Local choice voting, parks and new city hall on agenda

By Logan C. Ritchie

Brookhaven City Council approved a resolution at its Feb. 15 meeting asking the Georgia General Assembly to select the city as a pilot community for local choice voting.

Local choice voting – also called ranked choice – would end runoff elections as voters make their second choice at the time of the general election.

The city wants to pilot the program during its Nov. 7 municipal elections.

Mayor Pro Tem Linley Jones said voters are weary of runoff elections.

“[Local choice voting] eliminates runoff elections, which I think people are so, so weary of and we want to be at the vanguard of getting rid of the runoff elections, let our voters go to the polls once both for the candidates they want and come out with a decision,” Jones said.

The city council also approved two resolutions to begin work on Briarwood and Brookhaven Parks.

The parks update comes as Brookhaven is moving forward with for parks and facilities. The mayor in 2019 appointed the Parks Bond Oversight Committee to stay involved in the master plan process, project design and expenditures.

When Brookhaven incorporated in 2012, the city inherited 12 DeKalb County parks. Based on completed master plans, the city’s planning firm in 2018 estimated $77.5 million was needed for park improvements.

In other action, the Urban Redevelopment Agency asked the council to approve a supplemental resolution to the Series 2023A bonds, which passed in December 2022. The $88.5 million in bonds will finance a new City Hall, structural and streetscape improvements, and multi-use paths and sidewalks.

“A local government is reflective of the residents it represents, and Brookhaven residents want and deserve quality,” Mayor John Ernst said. “The bonds will empower us to improve the quality of our infrastructure and construct an iconic City Hall, and the ratings on the bonds from Moody’s and S&P are a powerful endorsement of the building a 4,000 square foot lake house at Murphey Candler Park; upgrading the Briarwood Recreation Center parking lot, stormwater and utilities as well as adding a new community garden; and at Brookhaven Park, building a dog park, playground, pavilions and restrooms.

In July 2018, nearly 60% of Brookhaven residents voted yes on a park bond referendum and $40 million in capital improvements was authorized quality of our fiscal stewardship.”

Brookhaven received the highest rating from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s on the financial health, management and fiscal policies of the city.

The City Hall, which will be located adjacent to the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station is already in design phase with a price tag of $78 million.