DeKalb County: ask the CEO about greenspace dollars, annexation, cityhood and education

The AJC reports that DeKalb County's Interim CEO Lee May will host six community meetings during the month of August. The topics will cover "accomplishments and issues, including cityhood and government structure." Lee May (County Commissioner for District 5) was appointed interim CEO by Governor Deal in July 2013 when then CEO Burrell Ellis was suspended following his indictment on felony charges.

The meetings are scheduled to run from 7:00 - 8:30pm on

Aug. 7  at Derwin Brown Memorial South Precinct (2856 H F Shepherd Dr., Decatur, GA 30034),
Aug. 12 at Stonecrest Library (3123 Klondike Rd., Lithonia, GA  30038),
Aug. 14 at St. Timothy United Methodist Church (5365 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain, GA 30083),
Aug. 19 at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library (5234 LaVista Rd., Tucker, GA  30084),
Aug. 21 at Welcome Friend Baptist Church (3198 Bouldercrest Rd., Ellenwood, GA 30294), and
Aug. 26 at the Maloof Auditorium (1300 Commerce Dr #5, Decatur, GA 30030).

Please attend or email the Commissioners with your thoughts and concerns. Their contact information appears at the end of this post.

Recently, CEO May released a document reviewing his first year in office as interim CEO. "A Retrospective Look Back, A Progressive Move Forward" outlines accomplishments in public safety, police and fire services, disaster response, infrastructure, sustainable communities, development, leadership and youth services.

July 2014: AJC map shows overlapping 
cityhood proposals.

Hopefully, the above meetings will offer a chance to get answers on topics not covered by this annual report such as


Cityhood:  Some folks in Druid Hills are exploring annexation to the City of Atlanta. In early July, leaders of the overlapping Lakeside and Briarcliff proposals announced a collaboration, but no updates have been issued.  Our neighborhood's fate in these deliberations remains unknown.

Schools: A Druid Hills annexation raises questions about what would happens to DeKalb County public schools located in Druid Hills neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the Druid Hills Charter School Cluster proposal (created in response to dissatisfaction with how DeKalb County schools are administered) continues to meet resistance from the DeKalb Board of Education and Superintendent.

Greenspace funds: It makes more
sense to invest in existing commitments
via Commissioner Kathie Gannon

Greenspace funds: For several months now, the Civic Association Network (CAN) and our Commisioners Rader and Gannon have actively questioned a proposal to use $5 million greenspace dollars to purchase the South DeKalb YMCA. The Board of Commissioners' agenda for August 12 includes a vote on this purchase. Please see this Decaturish.com item summarizing Commissioner Gannon's reasoning that the County is better off investing in facilities it already owns and that are in need of maintenance and development.

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Commissioners' emails ready for cut/paste: ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov, jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov, larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov, sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov, lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov, kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov, stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov

Commissioner   (District)	Assistant(s)	Phone	Email
Elaine Boyer (District 1)	Bob Lundsten Courtney Townsend	404-371-2844	ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov
Jeff Rader (District 2)	Caroline Enloe	404-371-2863	jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Debbie Schneider
Larry Johnson (District 3)	Margaret Britton	404-371-2425	larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Ingrid Butler
Sharon Barnes Sutton (District 4)	Judy T. Brownlee	404-371-4907	sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Marguerita M. Lance
Lee May (District 5) Interim CEO	Latrese Young	404-371-4745	lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Edmond Richardson
Kathie Gannon (Super District 6)	Corrin Wagnon	404-371-4909	kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Davis Fox
Stan Watson (Super District 7)	Kelly LaJoie	404-371-3681	stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Tiffany Campbell

Laurel Ridge Elementary Open House [Aug 6]

From Laurel Ridge Elementary School

Open House will be on August 6 from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm. In addition to our school parking lots, parking is also available next door to the school at University Heights UMC.

Families who need to register new students or kindergarten students will need to report to the cafeteria to register first.

For returning students and students who have already registered, teacher assignments will be posted at the front of the school. Please visit your child's class to meet the teacher and fill out the required paperwork. Be sure to bring an updated proof of residency which should be a gas, water, or electric bill dated within the last 60 days. You may also provide a current lease.

After meeting your child's teacher and filling out the paperwork, please visit the cafeteria to:

• Join the PTA,
• Buy agendas (required for 2nd - 5th graders),
• Buy communication folders (required for Pre-K, K, and 1st graders, optional for 2nd - 5th graders),
• Purchase spirit gear (T-shirts, Water Bottles, Magnets, etc),
• Register for the Eagles Landing After School Program,
• Learn your bus route,
• And much more!

Shopping square footage showdown

Altanta Tomorrow's News Today has an update on the renovations/expansion at the Kroger (corner of North Decatur Road and DeKalb Industrial): "half of the store is to be complete by the end of August, the other half by September, 2015" to fit the Kroger Marketplace format.

In a previous report, Tomorrow's News Today noted that the expansion will offer a drive-through pharmacy, a larger Starbucks, additional self-checkout lanes, expanded health foods, school supplies and kitchenware sections, and two additional gas pumps.

Our area retailers are certainly bullish on growth!

Store	Current Footage	Future Footage
Kroger (2875 North Decatur Rd.)	63,419 sq ft	110,000 sq ft
Walmart (at Suburban Plaza)	(under construction)	149,000 sq ft.
Your DeKalb Farmers Market	140,000 sq ft	500,000 sq ft of retail (and over 800,000 sq warehouse) over the next 10 years

Fire Department helps collect school supplies for DeKalb elementary school kids [ends Aug 4]

Our closest fire station: 3858 North Druid Hills Rd.
near the Shamrock Plaza Publix.

Click to enlarge the Chief's letter.

Darnell D. Fullum, Director/Fire Chief of the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department, invites us to donate school supplies to benefit DeKalb County elementary school children.

You may drop off supplies at any DeKalb County fire station. Supplies must be delivered by 5pm on Monday, August 4.

Our closest station is Fire Station 9, located at 3858 North Druid Hills Rd. For a list of other County locations, click here.

To ensure the supplies are a good match, please refer to this wish list:

1. Backpack
2. Elmer’sschoolglue
3. Gluesticks
4. Blunt safety tip scissors
5. Number 2 pencils–NOT mechanical
6. Highlighters
7. Dry erase markers
8. Washable markers
9. Coloring pencils
10. Pencil pouch with zipper
11. 24/32/48 count crayons
12. Large erasers
13. Ruler
14. Wide ruled notebook paper
15. Black and white composition books
16. Construction paper
17. Spiral notebook
18. Index cards
19. 1.5 inch binders with pockets
20. 3 prong folders with pockets
21. Hand sanitizer
22. Anti-bacterial hand soap
23. Box of Kleenex
24. Paper towels
25. Zip lock type bags – sandwich/quart/gallon

Printable list after the jump...

Greg Germani Trust Fund

For updates on Greg's condition and to contribute, go to

http://www.gofundme.com/GregGermaniTrust

This is for our neighbor Greg! Please go to http://www.gofundme.com/GregGermaniTrust to make a donation. 

"On the evening of June 9, while cycling home from work, Greg was viciously, intentionally run down by a driver and left for dead. Thanks to the help of fast-acting strangers and the amazing work of doctors at Grady Hospital, Greg's life was saved that night. 

Greg has received outstanding medical care every step of the way. Seven weeks after the attack, however, Greg is facing a long road to recovery. He has suffered multiple injuries, the primary one being a severe brain injury from the impact of the incident. (Importantly, he was wearing a helmet.) There is so much unpredictability about a brain injury, but the consistent word is that Greg will recover on his own timetable... 

Contributions made via GoFundMe (or otherwise) will go to this third-party special needs trust, and those funds will only be used to meet Greg’s health care needs not otherwise covered by insurance or other means in accordance with the terms of the trust."

This fundraiser was also covered here: http://www.cbs46.com/story/26162211/fundraiser-set-up-for-atlanta-man-injured-in-hit-and-run 

Delicious Tuesdays: Fresh produce @ North DeKalb Mall

"An outdoor produce stand will be selling the summer crop on Tuesdays from 3 pm to 7 pm through September 2nd. It will be located between Bank of America and Macy's Auto Center on the southeast side of the mall. (Cash only.)"

See more about the North DeKalb Mall community garden at http://www.northdekalbmall.com/#!community-garden/cpdm

Plantings include: "eggplant, tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, okra, bush beans, French marigolds, African marigolds, sunflowers, zinnias, mustard, watermelon, cantaloupe, basil and others) plus varieties of kale, Swiss chard, butter crunch lettuce, watercress, mung beans, pole bean varieties, southern peas, tomatillos, collard greens, radish varieties, carrots, broccoli, onions, lavender, mint, chocolate mint, parsley, cilantro, chives, cone flowers, peonies, gardenias, coreopsis, larkspur, linaria and more."

According to Patch, there are plans for fall/winter crop sales too.

Lost dog (Scott Blvd.)

This little rascal busted out the front door last evening (July 26)...