Updates From Save Tucker!

Hi Save Tucker followers!

It has been a little while since we updated our blog, so we wanted to let you know that we're still here and we're still following the issue of new cities in the metro Atlanta region.  We try to give you our two cents on most of these topics, as often as possible.  But, even being prolific bloggers and involved citizens, we still need a break sometimes.  Plus, we wanted to give the new city of Tucker a chance to really get up and running before we started to point out anything that might be a cause of concern.   Since we live here, we are very hopeful that our new city council members and the mayor will be the upstanding citizens they want us to believe they are.  And, we want to believe that they have the best interest of all Tucker in mind with every decision they make.

Of course we are still skeptical because of things like this: 
Yes, that's three of our elected city leaders trying to evade a simple question just a day or two before the vote on city hood.  So, if that's what they do when they want our trust, what are they doing now that they don't really have to care about whether or not we trust them (unless they want to be re-elected when time comes).

GETTING A CITY STARTED ....
If you have been following the city meetings, you may know that they have hired some staff members, adopted a zoning code, taken over code enforcement at least in theory, and  they have found ways to fund everything so far.  They have opened a city hall and started a web site.  And, they have had many, many "special called" meetings, which usually means the public has less than 24 hours to find out what it is that they are going to meet about and how it might impact them.

Here's the information about the city hall:  Tucker City Hall | 4119 Adrian Street | Tucker, Georgia 30084 | 678-597-9040

And the website: CITY OF TUCKER WEBSITE.

DISTRICT 2 STILL AT RISK
In the meantime, our District 2 has probably been suffering the most while waiting for Tucker (the city of) to get its act together.  District 2 has no Super District representation right now and their regular district is not covered by Nancy  Jester like the rest of Tucker.  Instead, they have Sharon Barnes Sutton, who lost in the preliminary election to challenger Steve Bradshaw.  You can read more about him here:  VOTE Steve Bradshaw.  And, remember, if you voted for Bradshaw, the job isn't finished, yet.  He still needs your support in the November election, right around the corner, before he can be officially named as the new commissioner in DeKalb's District 4.


While it is a good thing to know that the ethically challenged Barnes Sutton is going to be replaced, the bad thing is that she has already announced that she doesn't feel it is her job to represent people in cities.  So, basically, there is no one interested in protecting the District 2 residents from potential harm during the interim period. 

What kind of harm?   Well, how about the kind of harm that comes when a new town home development is approved without any plan being discussed for storm water runoff.  And, that builder, SR Homes, decides to go ahead and clear cut the entire buffer even after he agreed to leave 20 feet of it in place?  That's what is going on behind the former Big Green Egg warehouse.

WHERE FOR ART THOU, CODE ENFORCEMENT?
Or what about homes that are abandoned or have fallen trees on them and no one is doing a thing about it?   That's another problem in District 2 that the new commissioner will hopefully do something about as soon as he takes office.  But, aren't some of these issues the kind of things that people thought a new city was going to do better than the county?  So far it seems the very creation of the city is exactly what is causing the neglect and the lack of rule following by the big developers who want to put multi-family housing anywhere they can find the room.

Former urban forest; future home of 45 town homes on Lawrenceville Highway.

 

Wasn't the new city supposed to PROTECT the single family neighborhoods and ENHANCE the quality of life we all enjoy right now?  Won't these new developments bring potential crime to our area?  Won't they become fire hazards, judging from the number of apartment fires one can see reported in the news on any given day?  And, won't they add more traffic to an already gridlocked 285 for those who chose Tucker because it gave them an easier commute to work than they would have if they were to live further away?

INNOVATION - JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS DONE IT
But, none of that really matters because they have hired an out-of-state company to help them navigate all the city related business anyway.  CH2M (minus the "Hill" part), the former provider of government outsourced services for Sandy Springs, was hired to pretty much run everything.  If Tucker is like most other governments, that relationship will be good for about two years until we can no longer afford it and they decide to bring things "in house" and set up a regular government just like everyone said we wanted to get away from.  Ho Hum.  It's so predictable it is hardly worth mentioning.  But, in case you are interested in what things will be headed our way if we follow the same path, here's a great article about it:  "Big Change in Sandy Springs..."

We're trying to stay positive, but there is a lot going on with our new city that seems to be cause to at least raise one's eyebrows over.   Like the huge development being discussed for the intersection of Mountain Industrial and Lawrenceville Highway... potentially named "Tucker Town Center."   Suddenly, the "center" of town is going to be a lot closer to Smoke Rise than it used to be, if you are following the general plan and reading between the lines.    Where will the town homes and "affordable" housing be located in District 1?   Or, did the pro-city activists actually start a city of Tucker in order to protect their own investments while significantly harming everyone else's?  Time will tell, right?

COME OUT OCT. 17 TO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING!
We hope you will tell your elected officials how you feel.  Good.  Bad.  Or Ugly.  (Shout out to the FB group by that name! )

In District 2, the representatives Noelle Monferdini and Matt Robbins are actually asking for feedback.  They are hosting a community engagement session Monday, Oct. 17, starting at 7 p.m., at Rehoboth Baptist Church Auditorium, 2997 Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker.  The meeting is expected to go until 8:30 p.m. and will include an overview of the new city's comprehensive plan.  To their credit, Monferdini and Robbins are making efforts to talk with the residents in their area before voting on plans that will impact the future.  If the other city council members are not doing this same type of event, perhaps they should consider it.

They are at least asking to hear from you, so what do you have to lose?  We thought the other districts were doing the same thing, but now that we checked the city website, not even the District  2 meeting is mentioned.  It's not on the calendar.  So, we will be sending them a message to find out what's going on.  We will post an update on our Facebook page.  If you are not already following us, please do:  Our public Facebook page is here:  https://www.facebook.com/SaveTuckerFromLakesideCity.

Thanks!   It's good to be back!