Dunwoody Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net
JUNE 12 — JUNE 25, 2015 • VOL. 6 — NO. 12
Inside
Going global
Ready for cars All Saints parking deck approved COMMUNITY 2
Now legal Cities monitoring fireworks sales COMMUNITY 3
Fish out of water
PUBLIC SAFETY 28
Tilly Mill sidewalks plan morphs into battle over bike lanes BY ELLEN ELDRIDGE
elleneldridge@reporternewspapers.net
PHIL MOSIER
The “Dunwoody Mermaids,” from left, Claire Rohrbach, Olivia Plumb and Hannah Plumb, throw seashells to children in the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s pool, during a party on May 31. The event, open to the public, featured music, dancing, face painting and door prizes. See another photo on page 4.
Guinn wants to set foundation for city’s future BY ELLEN ELDRIDGE
elleneldridge@reporternewspapers.net
Jessica Guinn said when people think about government, too often they think about the District of Colombia or the state capital. “What happens locally really impacts you so much more at home,” said Guinn, who has been named Dunwoody’s first assistant city manager. For her, a love of government started
while she was in the Master of Professional Administration program at Kennesaw State University, from which she graduated in 2005. She started working as a planner for Henry County, then joined a private sector firm that served local governments. In 2013, she became Woodstock’s community development director. She stayed SEE NEW ASSISTANT, PAGE 26
Jessica Guinn
What began simply as an effort to build a sidewalk along Tilly Mill Road has grown into a battle over bike lanes. “This started as a sidewalk project and it’s morphing out of control as we sit here and talk,” City Councilman Terry Nall said during the May 26 Dunwoody City Council meeting. The project is expanding as council members consider how to make room for bicyclists, cars, left-turn lanes and sidewalks, without encroaching on landowners’ rights. City Capital Projects Manager Mindy Sanders said the city would need to have a new contract with the project’s design consultant because the $50,000 threshold will be exceeded. “It’s now extending into a greater right-of-way effort, and a greater design and survey effort on that side,” she said. Mayor Mike Davis said he wants to consider all aspects of a project for Tilly Mill Road before getting started because he wanted to make sure what the city does the right thing. Councilman John Heneghan said he would endorse adding bike lanes only along the existing two-lane section of Tilly Mill between North Peachtree Road and Cherring Drive, with bicycles sharing the travel lanes with vehicles on the existing three-lane section, but Heneghan said he would want to take out the center lane completely. Resident Cheryl Summers said she and her neighbors wanted a sidewalk on Tilly Mill Road, but not bike lanes. Summers spoke against bike lanes during the meetSEE SIDEWALKS PLAN, PAGE 27
A Special Section Pages 10-15
Head for the Hills