City Council Preview: 911, PVC Farm Purchase and Impact Fees

Monday night, the Dunwoody City Council will be discussing a recommendation to finalize the purchase of the 'PVC Farm' property at 4000 Dunwoody Crossing.

The city authorized a sales contract for the nearly 16-acre property in late February.

Since then, the city has done an evaluation of the property, for potential environmental, survey and title issues.

The negotiated price for the land is $5 million. City Manager Warren Hutmacher, in a memo to the council, said the land is appraised at $6.5 million.

The city would pay for the land over a seven year period. The interest rate on the loan was 2.34 percent on Wednesday.

911 Update

Councilman Danny Ross will be giving an update on the potential issues raised with the city's decision earlier this year to switch 911 services from DeKalb County to ChatComm.

Ross is concerned that the move from DeKalb County 911 to Chatcomm will have a direct effect on homeowner property insurance rates in the city of Dunwoody, as those insurance rates are set based on a fire response ratings system set up by the insurance industry.

Ross says, in a memo that will be presented to the council Monday night, that homeowners insurance costs could go up $200 or more per year on the average Dunwoody home.

“The average homeowner will have an insurance cost increase that is equivalent to a 1.43 mils increase in property tax,” Ross wrote.

Ross will discuss ways for the city to work on that issue.

Discussion of Impact Fees

A discussion about impact fees, a revenue source collected as one-time fees on new development. The funds could be used to help pay for infrastructure costs for the city.

Also on the agenda:

• A discussion about a complete streets policy, which encourages improvements to streets to incorporate not only road improvements, but also bike lanes and sidewalks.

• City staff will present information about a possible crosswalk at Tilly Mill Road and Binghamton Drive. The issue had been brought up over several previous city council meetings. City staff is recommending that the council might consider putting a crosswalk in at Stonington Road instead of Binghamton Drive, as it appears there is more pedestrian traffic, better transit access and a higher level of safety at Stonington.

• discussion of replacing security guard services at North DeKalb Cutlural Arts Center with cameras and a key card system. Currently the city pays $45,000 per year for security guard services with a combination keycard and security camera system.

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