City Council Preview: PVC Farm, 911 and Voting Rights Act

It was late February when the city announced it would be moving forward, pending any issues with the property, with the purchase of the 16.18-acre ‘PVC Farm’ property at 4400 Dunwoody Park.

Monday night the city council will discuss the finalizing of the purchase of the property during its work session.

Since the purchase date, the city had 45 days within which to inspect and perform due diligence on the property. City Manager Warren Hutmacher, in a memo to the council in preparation for Monday’s work session, said city staff will recommend the council move forward with the purchase.

The city, , had an appraisal done on the land which found the value of the land, under current market conditions, is $6.5 million. Weibel and Associates, Inc., a state -certified general real property appraiser, performed the assessment.

An environmental assessment of the site found no issues on the property.

While the city has enough in reserves to purchase the property outright, Hutmacher is recommended at 7-year loan from RBC Bank at 2.55 to 2.7 percent per year through the Georgia Municipal Association lease/purchase program. The city would instead transfer $5 million into a debt service fund account, to cover payments over the seven years, but allow those funds to be used for cash flow purposes, Hutmacher said.

City Looks at ‘Bailout’ from Voting Rights Preclearance

• As with many southern states, under the 1965 Voting Rights Act Georgia’s voting districts and municipalities are required to undergo a pre-clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before making any changes such as redistricting, annexation, bond referendums, etc. Cities are required to request pre-clearance at least 60 days before any such election decision, according to Warren Hutmacher.

However, cities that have clean voting rights records are allowed to ‘bailout’ of the pre-clearance requirements. The city staff is recommending that the city attorney negotiate a fee with legal counsel to help Dunwoody explore a bailout.

The city, along with several other newly formed cities in the Atlanta area, has come under some scrutiny after a . The group is asking that the charters of these cities be nullified

Though Decision has been Made, 911 Back for Discussion

• Councilman Danny Ross will be discussing 911. The council chose in late March to join ChatComm, a private 911-service provider that currently serves Sandy Springs and Johns Creek. The service was criticized a week and a half ago when a North Brookhaven family says the 911 call was prolonged after having gone to ChatComm and then transferred to Atlanta, and then DeKalb County. See .

Other issues slate for Monday’s Work Session include:

• a discussion of the city’s 5-year paving plan and 2011 capital paving projects

• a discussion about amending the Dunwoody Village overlay district’s regulations, to conform to the recently passed Dunwoody Village Master Plan.

For the full agenda, click here.