Reporter Newspapers Small Business of the Year, 2013

SANDY SPRINGS/PERIMETER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Sandy Springs Reporter www.ReporterNewspapers.net

OCT. 31 — NOV. 13, 2014 • VOL. 8 — NO. 22

Roll with me Leah Arouh, dressed as red dice, reflects the theme of “Viva Las Vegas,” for the North Springs Charter High School’s 51st anniversary Homecoming Parade on Oct. 25. Leah and her fellow students at Woodland Elementary School, as well as those at Sandy Springs Middle School and other local organizations, participated in the event, which traveled down Spalding Drive. See more photos on page 5. PHIL MOSIER

Inside Perimeter Business PAGES 9-15

Preserving the past History Center records vets’ stories COMMUNITY 18-19

As planned performing arts center grows, city considers how to run it BY JOE EARLE

joeearle@reporternewspapers.net

As city officials hammer out their plan for what to include in a performing arts center to anchor the proposed Civic Center, they are starting to consider how best to run the place once it’s built. During a Sandy Springs City Council discussion on Oct. 21, members raised questions about how the center would best be governed and how to pay for its operation once it opens. Mayor Rusty Paul said the council must decide whether the center should be considered a community amenity to be subsidized or an entertainment facility that should pay its own way. “This is a crucial political question we’ll have to deal with,” Paul said. “If you don’t like saying ‘no’ [to some groups that want to use the facility], you’ll have to write a check. What is this facility’s primary purpose?” During the meeting, council members agreed that a large hall in a performing arts center may contain up to 1,350 seats – 350 more than the council had approved in the past. Consultants working on the proposed multi-use hall said discussions with a wide variety of arts and community groups showed a demand for the larger hall. “This is what the community said they wanted,” Paul said at the end of the 4-1/2hour discussion at Heritage Green. “We gave the designers [of the proposed facility] more flexibility to see what can be accommodated within the footprint and the budget.” SEE AS PLANNED, PAGE 6

Lessons this police officer learned on the street BY ELLEN ELDRIDGE

elleneldridge@reporternewspapers.net

From his Sandy Springs police cruiser, Sgt. Scott Levy points to a car trying to turn left in front of a sign prohibiting it. He waved at the motorist, signaling for him to turn around somewhere else. “That’s an example of me getting soft,” he joked. Both Levy and the driver knew the officer could have pulled the car over, but Levy says he’s learned to let a lot go. He understands that while he has the legal ability to take away some-

one’s freedom, that ability is something he has to take seriously. Later, he uses radar to measure a car speeding in the opposite lane, driving 57 mph in a 35-mph zone. Again, Levy lets it go. “I know with certainty, I look at things differently,” he said of the perspective he’s developed after many years of law enforcement. “I’m more forgiving. It’s part of the maturing process every officer goes through.” SEE LESSONS, PAGE 29

Sandy Springs Police Sgt. Scott Levy says he tries to correct driving behavior. ELLEN ELDRIDGE