Dunwoody Mayor: Many Plans on the Horizon for the City

If 2010 was a year of planning for the city of Dunwoody and 2011 will be a time to finish and begin implementing those plans, said Mayor Ken Wright, in his State of the City address Thursday night.

Wright spoke at the Thursday night about where the city has been and will be moving in the next few years.

Wright outlined the city’s four master plans – , , and – and stressed their importance in the city’s growth.

He also highlighted the city’s budget and police department.

Budgets and business

Wright touted the city’s fiscal conservatism, including keeping the city’s tax rate flat at 2.74 mills, a $3.5 million surplus and maintaining a small city’s budget.

“Our total budget in 2010 was right about $18 million. That is our total budget,” Wright said. “We do a ton with a relative little amount. Obviously this could not have happened without very careful planning amongst all my fellow councilmen and staff.”

He also said the city has done what it can to be business friendly.

“As a council, we’ve done what we can to keep taxes low and keep new business coming in,” Wright said.

The city is hoping to draw more new businesses, Wright said. Newly hired Economic Development Director Michael Starling will be promoting the city to businesses.

“We have a lot going for us in Dunwoody and unfortunately I don’t think that’s really been shouted loud enough, or high enough, or out to the masses as much as it should have been in the past,” Wright said.

Parks

The city will be finishing its Parks Master Plan in 2011, Wright said, and likely asking voters to approve a $56 million bond to be used for the city’s parks plan, which is estimated to cost $61 million.

“If you look at our total green space per capita, we are way below any measure,” he said. “We are way, way under the mark.”

However, he pointed out, that the city won’t be able to expand and improve the parks system on its own, with an $18 million budget.

“It’s just not there and it will never be there,” he said. “For that reason, I think you will see our city council, sooner than later, approve a bond initiative for probably a 1.5 mill tax increase.”

The bond would be put on the November ballot.

Transportation

The city is entering the second year of a five-year plan to repair and resurface roads and sidewalks, Wright said.

In 2010, the city spent about $700,000 on such projects, and in 2011, the city will spent more than $2 million on paving and sidewalk projects, he said.

Wright said the city will be finalizing its transportation plan in 2011, which deals with larger issues of possibly adding new roads, sidewalks, roundabouts and turn lanes on Dunwoody roads.

“Yes, traffic is terrible in Dunwoody, although traffic is terrible in metro Atlanta,” he said. “The good news is we’re not alone in our misery here. But we, obviously, as a community want to do everything we can to help alleviate that in an acceptable manner. That’s what the transportation plan will do for us.”

The mayor also touched on a possible regional tax that would bring the city $800,000 in transportation funds each year, but said he’s unsure he’ll support such an initiative. That tax would be voted on in 2012. Rather, he said he’d like to see more of an effort put into funding transportation on a metro-wide basis, instead of a piecemeal fashion.

Police

Wright pointed out the police department’s community outreach initiatives such as the Explorers program, driving courses and situational awareness classes.

“An active community is a safe community, so these things that the chief and his folks are doing day in and day out are very, very important to all of our safety and well-being,” Wright said.

The mayor acknowledged that the city faced several violent crimes in 2010 – the murders of both Russell ‘Rusty’ Sneiderman and double homicide of Roger and Dot Abbott.

“These cases have proven extremely intricate and I can assure you that our police department has been working day and night,” Wright said.

for the Sneiderman murder and was indicted by a grand jury on Tuesday. Police have identified, but not made public, .

Finally, the mayor promised that a resolution on 911 would come before year’s end.

“We’ve been discussing it in council chambers for quite some time,” he said. “In 2011 it will be decided.”

The council has been debating whether to , a 911 center used by Sandy Springs and Johns Creek.