Survey Results: What do you think is the single most important issue that our city council should be concerned about?

One comment on “Survey Results: What do you think is the single most important issue that our city council should be concerned about?”

1. Creating our own school district so we are no longer part of Dekalb. This will be a huge benefit for residents with children and will hopefully increase property values as well.
   Schools – I realize these are not run by the city at the moment, but they are definitely the biggest concern for the ongoing vibrancy of our community. If we start being perceived as a place where young families cannot use the public schools, the area will suffer immeasurably.
   The school system. Inorder to grow and thrive, Dunwoody needs an A+ school system. The city needs to break away from Dekalb County and establish its own schools. The emphasis needs to be on quality and support for teachers. Overcrowding, drugs and not enough money is being put into improving our horribly performing schools.
   Schools and pushing hard to have our own Dunwoody Cluster
   Schools
   Getting schools locally controlled.
   a dunwoody city school system
   Establishment of an independent Dunwoody School System
   Education and proper accredidation of Dunwoody High School. The current DCCS situation is irresponsible and not only impacts our children’s educational future, it also impacts our home values.
   Dunwoody Schools
   Schools
   DeKalb County Schools are not the draw that they used to be. In order for Dunwoody to remain a popular place for metro Atlantans to buy homes, Dunwoody must evolve into a modern, thoughtful city with GOOD ROADS, MUCH BETTER RECREATION, a SUPPORTIVE BUSINESS CLIMATE and a City Council with a reputation for TRUTH, TRANSPARENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS.
   Forming the Dunwoody City Schools cluster.
   Currently, we need all Council members to support an independent school system if we have any chance of having Tom Taylor’s bill passed this session.
   the quality of education are kids are receiving
   Form a city of Dunwoody school system. It would be infinitely more instrumental in luring new residents than all the bike lanes, sidewalks, walking paths, roundabouts, tree lined parkways, and mixed use developments combined.
   Work to separate/isolate school system.
   The school system and trying to establish our own system in a reasonable time frame.
   schools
   Creating our own, City of Dunwoody, school system.
   Privatizing the Dunwoody School system.
   SCHOOLS
   Schools/education. We have good elementary schools but I’m concerned about the quality of the middle and high schools. We love living in Dunwoody but are considering moving to another county where the schools all rank as a “10.” The fact that the middle and high schools are not higher quality is our main concern.
   Education
   Improving the quality of public schools in in Dunwoody, whether through a charter cluster, establishing a citywide independent school district, or some other option.
   schools. even though it is not under the city’s jurisdiction, if our school situation does not improve, our city will be severely impacted.
   The school system and the need for the city to break away from Dekalb County and have it’s own Dunwoody City School system.
   taking over the school system from Dekalb
   Dunwoody schools
   Making sure we have local public schools that are appropriately accredited.
   Pushing for its own school district.
   Our schools.
   “Dunwoody school system – this would provide our children with a better education. The school board would include people from Dunwoody who understand what our children require to be competitive in the world today.
   Also, the high quality that would be demanded from the community would increase the status of our community.”
   Schools
   schools
   It is ridiculous that a projected new building for Austin Elementary is already overcrowded. Our public schools need to be our top priority. We have excellent teachers, but they can’t do their jobs properly with too many students in their classes. Our public school system needs to be the top priority.
   Independent school district!!!!!
   School system.
   Schools
   creating our own school system
   Schools- making the city of Dunwoody schools a reality!
   Doing what it can to help the Dunwoody Cluster become it’s own school system.
   Schools are important. If the reputation of the schools goes down we will have fewer new families choosing Dunwoody as option.
   Education
   Keeping Austin Elementary School IN the current Austin district. This means supporting a land-swap between City and DCSS for the senior ball fields, if the current Austin site proves to be too small and unworkable.
   Education
   Georgetown Renaissance project putting in town homes and adding more density on the most desirable land in Dunwoody. This is a sweetheart deal for a developer and reeks of corruption. Especially at a time when we could use it for schools or what it was originally purchased for–a 32 acre park.
   Also, the Dunwoody City Schools initiative is crucial to our home values. Parks and recreation would be third. Look at what the City of Sandy Springs has done with the Morgan Falls Overlook Park! We have Brook Run, which is not yet fully usable park space. We need soccer and baseball fields! It is all about quality of life and home values.
   Rush Hour Traffic on Mount Vernon.
   Traffic particulary on Mount Vernon and Womack during rush hour. We also need more police at major intersections where children are walking to school.
   Conditions of the major Roads; Chamblee-Dunwoody, Womack, Vermack from the stop sign up to Mt Vernon, parts of Mt. Vernon.
   Traffic – Widening Mt Vernon and adding round abts
   Never widening Chamblee Dunwoody Rd
   Stop putting sidewalks EVERYWHERE when the roads are in such terrible shape. We need the potholes fixed. We don’e need any more sidewalks.
   TRAFFIC!!!!
   The traffic light cnr Mt vernon & Tilly mill Road. There have been numerous accidents and when we called in they said they cannot do anything unless someone is fatally wounded (not in those words) but that is what they implied.
   Pot holes.
   Traffic on mt Vernon road
   Traffic
   traffic on Mount Vernon
   Traffic
   traffic patterns
   Creating right hand turn lanes at Nt Vernon and Chamblee Dunwoody and having a traffic cop there at rush hour
   Traffic
   Traffic and sidewalks
   Improvement of traffic flow in Dunwoody-notabbly, but not exclusively Mount Vernon corridor and intersection of Womack and Vermack. (I was in favor of the round-about.)
   “Fix The Roads
   The over all conditions of our Dunwoody Roads are
   Dreadful. Cracks, pot holes are worse now than before we became our own city.”
   Road work and traffic control
   Improved efficiency of traffic through and around the Perimeter area.
   Traffic is a growing problem. A great deal of the traffic is cut through traffic from other communities further North.
   Leave Dunwoody Village roads alone. We don’t need bike lanes/green space everywhere.
   Road paving and making Dunwoody Village Parkway look like Canton Street in Roswell.
   Traffic. Please do something to alleviate the traffic on Mount Vernon
   Widen Mt Vernon
   Infrastructure. The 2 lane roads cannot accommodate all the residential and business traffic.
   Zoning, paving, improving basic functions of government.
   Drop the Dunwoody Village Parkway project and the roundabout (Womack Rd. and Vermack Rd.) project. Use the funds to make a left turn lane at Chamblee Dunwoody and Womack Roads and street repaving.
   Paving on neighborhood roads. Ours is in terrible condition.
   Deal with traffic congestion. No more bike paths or paving until the proper infrastructure is in place.
   Paving our streets/new sidewalks
   “Traffic
   Time the lights will help. Do not take away lanes, Roundabouts are not the answer for the volume of traffic we have.
   Open Cheering Street back up to though way traffic. We are prisoners of our own neighborhoods.
   Tilly Mill with schools traffic and now NorthPeachtree is backing up. Having Cheering open – would Help”
   City planning – I would love for Dunwoody to have a city square like that of Vinings. Eat/Work/Play area which is hip and fun. The Parkway is going to be addressed, but the whole area could use a redo to alleviate congestion and make it pedestrian friendly. It is my hope that a few very loud members of our community do not hold back progress.
   A city has to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Given the neglect from decades from Dekalb County- Dunwoody has maintenance and road work- Equally important as ongoing maintenance is long term planning for the future of Dunwoody. Our master plans, traffic and schools need attention for our quality of life and increased property values.
   I feel it is very important to preserve the small town feeling of our community. No more apartments, please!! We need to fill up the homes and empty businesses that are already here- not build more. Paving and beautification is definitely needed to our existing infrastructure.
   Preserving our community. I would like to see a real effort in using the Dunwoody Village area more efficiently without tearing down trees and adding more asphault.
   Vision – I want to know what they are going to do to make Dunwoody a better place. I am tired of the negativity, I want to know what they will do.
   Around 6000 multi-family units have zoning in place to build in Dunwoody. These will be built within a year or two due to zonings allowed by DeKalb before the City was formed. Now is the time to put Impact fees in place to collect up to six million ($1000 per apartment) for the City. This fee would be less than 1% of the built value of these units
   business development plan – to grow our community in a way to make Dunwoody a destination to live, work, play – not just a drive thru Dunwoody on your way to get to somewhere else (400 – 285 ) !!!!
   The Dunwoody City Council needs to decide if they are in the business of changing the character and culture of the city from one that has attracted the people who live there to one that attracts businesses and tourists rather than residents.
   The proliferation of apartments. We have plenty now and at some point we need to call a moratorium on multi family dwellings. Such units take away value from the standard Dunwoody home and more importantly apartment dwellers contribute very little to the tax base.
   Tailored, structured growth, with all zoning laws and signage codes enforced. Keep the quaint “old town” feel we have; not end up looking like Buford Hwy.
   Quality of life issues; creating places and opportunities to promote a sense of community.
   Revitalizing Dunwoody Village. It’s very tired and old and not very inviting.
   Stop the parkway.
   Rezoning rewrite has to eliminate the 3,000 unit High Street Project which has been grandfathered in from DeKalb County. We are already 50% apartments. The number 1 reason Dunwoody voted to become a city was to control zoning. Our elected officials need to control growth that is not in the best interest of our schools, infrastructure and community.
   No more apartments
   I think they should keep moving forward to make Dunwoody a revitalized city. I don’t think they should let the minority Dunwoody No group set the agenda. Like an old house that needs renovating our wonderful city must continue to upgrade and grow. Dunwoody needs a city center that is welcoming and walkable, with good restaurants and fun shops.
   Revitalizing the town of Dunwoody. We have a lot of commercial space that sits empty. I think re-doing Dunwoody Village Parkway to the original master plan– with a main street feel is crucial to the development of our town center. If Dunwoody were more like Roswell, our home values would go up.
   Should the city be open and embracing of progress and change?
   Looking forward with vision and developing plans for the Dunwoody Village to become more pedestrian oriented and a destination. The village now is islands of retail/restaurants and it would be great to one day all be interconnected and accessible for pedestrians.
   All the empty storefronts and run-down looking office parks and shopping centers
   zoning rewrites that don’t make sense!!!!
   Plan and execute improvement projects that are needed, not visionary. Get out of the commercial real estate business.
   Real Estate Planning – proactively working on precluding multi-family housing in the wrong areas / traffic related issues / and general planning to deal with the one-offs that continue to arise and present challenges.
   city planning…parks, city center development
   We should be open to legitimate new business, but stay true to our small town borders. We do not have to be “all things to all people” outside our community.
   quality of life
   Dunwoody needs to continue ‘beautification’ efforts. For example, I support John Heneghan’s effort to get rid of the offensive and unattractive Marta bus stop shelters.
   Cleaning up Georgetown area
   Leave trees alone in updrading downtown Dunwoody
   contain apartment growth
   The need for the Council to obtain and abide by citizens’ input regarding Dunwoody’s major issues.
   Listening to the citizens and letting us vote on all issues.
   “Listening to what the residents want vs imposing your will on us
   Dunwoody was suppose to be different
   Started out well but Mr Mayor you will not get my vote again unless you quit the mass spending on less vital needs and focus on items like roads and infastructure”
   Listen to the residents. Stop looking down their noses at residents and thinking that they are a lot better than we are.
   “The Dunwoody City Council needs to conscientiously and respectfully seek and listen to the citizens and reflect that input in the council’s decisions and actions.
   I urge everyone to study all the candidates. Not just their backgrounds but their stances on the issues. Be informed. Then go out and vote.”
   They need to be accountable to the people who elected them and many of them seem to have forgotten that. They have spent a lot of money on things that seem foolish (personal opinion) and on things that many people clearly were against. Instead of investigating the controversies, they seem to have ignored them and done what they wanted to do.
   Listening to the citizens’ input, taking the concerns of the people into consideration. Openness and honesty in city government
   Representing the citizens and not their own personal interests!
   The Council seemed determined to plow forward with their plans despite wide spread opposition to road widening, tree removal and the parkway project. I would like to see them take a step back and listen to their constituents. I’m not a anti-change person but the level of discontent expressed in the Crier is disheartening.
   Making sure whatever decision they make (regardless of what it is) meets the will of the Dunwoody citizens. Do not bullnose something through because the council or mayor wants it to happen.
   Council needs to get themselves together and start acting like a professional team of representatives. There is entirely too much micky mouse, backhanded, nonsense going on for a city of this size. it’s imbarrassing.
   Bring city government back to the concerns and wants of the people using common sense.
   I think that City Council needs to be more open with the citizens and possibly doing surveys to see how their constituents feel about issues.
   Ensuring Dunwoody residents have input to changes in our community. Allow many open forums so that we hear from a majority before implementing changes.
   I think the most important issue that the Dunwoody City Council should be concerned about is to find effective ways that important issues can be fully aired between the government and the citizens of Dunwoody.
   Citizens opinion,
   The city should be concerned about the vocal minority of individuals that are opposed to change and improvement in our community and have the “my way or the highway” attitude to city government.
   Trying to keep Mike Davis’ ego and incompetence in check!
   Transparency / Communication – they do a terrible job of communicating early and often. People often feel that new projects are just dumped on them after decisions have been made.
   Citizen inclusion, listening to the electorate, soliciting public opinion, increasing transparency of city actions, ending secret back door tactics, more control over city manager, ending under informed city council being a rubber stamp for the city manager’s agenda
   Don’t run the city as if a dictatorship. Pay attention to what the Dunwoody residents are concerned about. Don’ t have Councilmen/women, with their own agenda.
   “Many people in Dunwoody feel they haven’t a voice in their government. We have an election coming up on Nov. 5 which is a sure way to have a voice in your city government, if people will vote! All the candidates for the three open posts on Dunwoody City Council are listed on the City of Dunwoody web site. Please check them out and VOTE!
   Bobbi S.”
   Public Safety – though I believe Dunwoody police do a great job
   CRIME
   “SAFETY

   The crime in Dunwoody continues to grow. I have lived in my home for 31 years.We moved to Dunwoody not only for the schools but because it was a nice quiet area with no issues. The number of robberies whether it is your car or your home has grown into numbers that are out of control.”
   Citizen safety/security
   Crime.
   I think the council should be concerned about the safety of the community.
   Crime. We seem to have a lot more crime in the past 3 years. Maybe they are just reporting more now that we have a Dunwoody police force but it seems that we have a lot of car break-ins and burglaries.
   Public safety in Dunwoody. We love seeing the Dunwoody PD cruising the streets and building positive relationships within the community.
   Public safety. Sidewalks near all schools and police officers or traffic lights at all intersections where we have a significant number of pedestrians crossing, especially during school commute hours.
   Crime
   Crime, Street repaving on worn out residential cut throughs, developing Brook Run, and enforcing sign code and grounds standards to clean up the Georgetown/Gateway area.
   Keeping a top-notch police force (which we have)
   Crime around the GeorgeTown shopping area.
   Security
   Ensuring our police force has the resources necessary to protect the citizens and their property.
   Their constant overspending!!! Projects citizens have endorsed come in much differently than citizens were told and often at 2-3 times the promised cost. This council needs to reign in their overspending!
   Fiscal responsibility
   Using our tax dollars wisely and staying within budget.
   Spending money simply because it is or may become available. Users of facilities (recreation, etc.) should pay for those facilities.
   End public-private partnerships that staff consultant employees. We’re wasting millions to pay middle men who run these consulting firms rather than hiring employees directly. Let’s be a smart city of smart people and save money by hiring directly! Use the cost savings from cutting consulting firms to add more police and lower our crime rate!
   Spending
   fiscal responsibility
   Budget overspends,
   Stop the infighting and lawsuits. This is only costing tax payers more money.
   “And lowered taxes so businesses can hire people and it will build our economy.

   LOWER health care costs for businesses!!!!!”
   The Council should ensure that the correct vendor is chosen to undertake each project. Unknown to the public, additional money beyond the cost of many projects has been spent to go back and attempt to correct huge, expensive errors made by the original vendor by hiring a new vendor. This results in a lack of fiscal responsibility and transparency.
   I do not think the City Manager deserves the bonuses he has received. He has made to many mistakes and there is too much back door dealing in my opinion.
   Stop taking kickbacks and building tons of new homes. Enforce the zoning that you promised.
   Parks and public spaces – helping our city attract new families.
   Environment
   Developing Brook Run and demolishing the falling down buildings in Brook Run.
   moving the Dog Park and an assortment of other issues that are being done that are not necessary!
   “Continue improvements for pedestrians, parks and recreation.
   Dunwoody should move ahead and into the 21st century and away from the car-centric seventies suburban model.”
   leaving the best dog park in the city, right where it is. Why spend money when everyone thinls it’s the best dog park around and all is kept up by volunteers? The proposed 1 acre parks, are way too small, with minimal shade.
   Progress…more green space, bike trails, parks and recreation for the kids. All done in a fiscally responsible way!
   Parks & Recreation. Our household per-capita income is DOUBLE the state’s average. It’s embarrassing to see the sorry state of our parks. We don’t even HAVE a “Recreation” component, as our neighbors do in Sandy Springs, Roswell, etc.
   Improving outdoor pedestrian and bike paths and generally making our streets and community more amenable to people with active lifestyles
   making the city walk and bike friendly
   JOBs!!!!!
   Getting rid of The asterisk
   The City Council needs to do a search for an experienced and qualified city manager to replace the current office holder.
   We need a local newspaper that reports the news- both sides of the news fairly and objectively. I don’t want their opinion- just the facts. Whatever happened to real reporting instead of opinion pieces dressed up like news to sway our opinions in a certain direction??? Enough – STOP!!
   Get rid of croneyism and elect smart, thoughtful and transparent City Council members. Then work on the items above.
   Note: I am very happy with Dekalb county sanitation. Don’t think City of Dunwoody needs to take it on.
   Re-brand the city with a logo that is appropriate this time and without spending a ridiculous amount of money ! $100,000 spent last time for a slogan that offended the rest of the county (“smart people”) plus an asterisk (that meant absolutely nothing) was both inexcusable and embarrassing.
   Public services – fire, police, ambulance