Protecting the Okefenokee Swamp and Its Impact Yesterday, Today, and For the Future Generations of Tomorrow
Decatur, GA (10/24/2023) – The Dekalb County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution today expressing support for the Okefenokee Swamp in the face of a threat posed by a proposed titanium strip mine.
By a 7-0 vote, the commissioners noted the ecological and economic significance of the swamp, expressed solidarity with South Georgia government entities that have spoken out against Twin Pines Minerals’ proposed titanium mine along the swamp’s hydrologic boundary, and also stated their support for state legislative action to protect the Okefenokee.
“The Okefenokee Swamp is Georgia’s greatest natural treasure and is beloved by Dekalb County citizens,” said Commissioner Ted Terry, who introduced the resolution. “Mining along the swamp’s boundary is simply incompatible with this priceless ecosystem. Dekalb County joins numerous South Georgia local governments in urging the state to deny the permits for the Twin Pines project and urges the state legislature to pass the Okefenokee Protection Act that would permanently prohibit mining along the swamp’s boundary.”
Dekalb’s action follows similar resolutions passed by Ware, Clinch and Echols Counties and the cities of Valdosta, Waycross, Homeland and St. Mary’s that have expressed opposition to the mining proposal. Those resolutions in turn followed over 100,000 comments submitted by Georgia citizens to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division earlier this year in opposition to the project’s permit applications. The Okefenokee Protection Act has been introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives the last two years. The 2023 version has attracted 96 bipartisan cosponsors, including many from Dekalb County, and would prohibit mining on along the entirety of the swamp’s hydrologic boundary.
DeKalb County, GA — In an effort to generate support for environmental policies to redesign DeKalb County, commissioner Ted Terry hosted more than 100 residents at the Green New Deal Summit on Saturday.
The all-day conference included discussions on how to conserve energy and save on electric bills at home and presented ideas on how to make the county more accessible by foot or bike, less dependent on cars, and how to protect the trees, especially during new development.
“Some of these things are kind of radical, like building tiny homes and preserving 50% of land for non-development. Like that’s kind of controversial,” Terry told Decaturish. “You need people who support that concept, they have to say that they support it because that’s how politics works.”
Each presentation highlighted current initiatives for the county, with the goal of getting residents to come and support these initiatives at the county commission.
The sessions included groups that are already working with the county on sustainability efforts, such as the Southface Institute, which spoke with residents on common myths on how to save on their electric bills or upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient.
For example, if residents are interested in solar panels, they should consider making other changes to reduce their bills first and join a solarize campaign to crowdsource funding for buying panels in bulk rather than invest on their own, Southface Project Manager Jo’de Cummings said.
This is the Southface Institute’s first of five sessions for community engagement, and future sessions will continue to build knowledge, Terry said.
Presentations were also given by researchers and organizations that are promoting alternative methods of how to develop land in the county.
“I hope that I’ve convinced you we do not need to tear down a single tree,” said Ellen Dunham-Jones, director for Masters of Science in Urban Design at Georgia Tech, at the end of her presentation.
Dunham-Jones presented proposals by her students on different areas in the county that could be redeveloped with a more sustainable lens. This included proposals from students going back to 2021 about how to redevelop North Dekalb Mall, the Gallery at South Dekalb, Memorial Drive, and Scottdale. The students spoke with property owners and community members to help inform their proposals. They also analyzed historic maps that helped inform environmental conditions.
Some of these proposals are current areas that have been discussed for redevelopment in Dekalb, such as the DeKalb Farmers Market, which Dunham-Jones said plans to increase its operations and parking lot by about fivefold, and its plans are already approved.
“We love the farmers market. We absolutely want to be supportive. It is a fantastic asset to our community,” Dunham-Jones said. “But instead of having a massive urban heat island producing a lot of polluting runoff, this team [of students] proposed that instead the parking for the store [be put] in a parking garage attached to the new store.”
The land that would have been used for the parking lot could then be used to make a car-free neighborhood, Dunham-Jones said. The goal of more walkable areas includes increased accessibility for people who do not have a car or cannot drive, reduced traffic and reduced air pollution.
“Developers have had their run of DeKalb County for 60-plus years,” Terry said. “We can’t go back in time. So the best approach is to do two things: to conserve what we have and to make better use of what we’ve already done.”
The presentations were not only meant to educate residents on different ways of thinking about development in the county, but also how each of these issues is impacted by the county government’s planning and zoning decisions.
“Because we grew up in the 50s and the 60s, we have lots of roads connecting low-density neighborhoods, right? What does that mean? It means we have potholes everywhere. Why? We can’t afford to maintain our roads,” Walter Brown, who presented information on trails, said. “So what are we doing with our SPLOST, a huge chunk of it … goes to repaving. Wouldn’t you like to see that money reprogrammed to sustainable transportation alternatives?”
Brown presented information about the county’s research into multi-use trails, which also comes as two trail expansion projects are being looked at in Commissioner Michelle Long Spears’ district two: the Emory trail expansion and the Peachtree Creek Greenway. The presentation included discussing the benefits to health, job creation, and environmental benefits.
The final presentation pulled some of the prior discussions together by looking at village conservation communities where trees are preserved and land is used effectively. Greg Ramsey, founder of Village Habitat Design, said there is limited undeveloped land in DeKalb County.
The program looks at undeveloped parcels clustered together or near one another and creates designs based on the parcels where development should go, where trails can be implemented, and where walkability and community infrastructure can be put. The approach prioritizes nature, urban agriculture, and development.
“We need walkable villages and hamlets to bring local workplaces back so that it’s not an absentee neighborhood. Instead, it’s an active neighborhood,” Ramsey said.
An event highlighting existing climate resiliency and climate change mitigation strategies while inviting attendees to be a part of a movement for a green, clean, resilient, sustainable future in DeKalb County.
DeKalb County, GA (9/14/2023)– Commissioner Terry is proud to host the DeKalb Green New Deal Summit at Georgia Piedmont Technical College on October 14, 2023. This free, all day event will highlight existing, successful climate resiliency and climate change mitigation strategies in DeKalb County while also inviting attendees to be a part of a movement for a green, clean, resilient, sustainable future.
Attendees will have the opportunity to:
Taste a Productive Urban Landscape with Roots Down
Tour Sustainable Housing Cottages with MicroLife Institute
Imagine the Clean Energy Future with Southface Institute
Ride on an Electric Bus with MARTA
Retrofit Suburbia with Ellen Dunham-Jones and Georgia Tech Students
Expand your knowledge of trail networks in DeKalb County with Commissioner Michelle Long Spears and Walter Brown, DeKalb County Commission District 2
Conserve nature with the Village Conservation Community
See the Sunrise from Arabia Mountain with Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area and Dekalb County Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Affairs—Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
And so much more!
The climate is already changing, and DeKalb County residents are feeling these dangerous effects through high energy bills, flooding, heat, and extreme weather. The time for bold, urgent action is now. The time for a DeKalb Green New Deal is now. Whether you are a climate action champion eager to make connections, new to sustainability and want to make a difference, or curious how you can incorporate green initiatives into your own county or city, Commissioner Terry welcomes you to attend! RSVP HERE: bit.ly/dekalb-gnd-summit
Key Details:
Date: October 14, 2023
Time: 8 am – 5 pm
Location: Georgia Piedmont Technical College
This event is free to attend. Light lunch and snacks provided.
The DeKalb Green New Deal Summit also includes an optional sunrise hike up Arabia Mountain on October 15, 2023 at 6:30 am.
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners is asking taxpayers to chip in $15 million dollars for a new mental health crisis facility.
Part of the proposed special purpose local option sales tax — or SPLOST— will help the DeKalb County Regional Crisis Center meet the growing demand for access to mental health crisis intervention and stabilization services, Commissioner Ted Terry said.
The existing regional crisis center opened in 1997, and is currently the only designated behavioral health crisis center in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Newton/Rockdale counties for patients who are mostly uninsured adults.
Terry said taxpayer dollars are best spent investing in community emergency mental health services because the alternative perpetuates a broken cycle.
“The DeKalb County jail is the largest mental health care facility in DeKalb County,” Terry said. “And everyone agrees, all the actors agree, that if you’re having a mental health issue, being in jail is the last place that we really want to send someone.”
But if there is an issue, people in crisis have to be taken somewhere, he said.
The cost to fund the $25 million project is shared among state and local governments, Terry said, and includes construction of a new building to offer emergency evaluation services; temporary observation and crisis stabilization units; a transitional residential program; and a peer support center that would also serve as a meeting area for local Alcoholics Anonymous and other substance use disorder groups.
“It really would be the first of its kind in the state of Georgia, really looking at the whole gamut of crisis intervention and recovery at one location.” — Ted Terry
Shelby Roche, DeKalb County Regional Crisis Center’s director for crisis services, said the unit currently has 36 beds for people who need a temporary place to stay due to behavioral health illness.
Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta is one of the other crisis receiving facilities in the area, but with the closure of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center and other strains on the mental health care system, resources are stretched thin, she said.
“There is definitely a need (for more beds because) if the individuals don’t come to a crisis center for stabilization, they’re going to be crowding either our jails or our local hospitals,” Roche said. “And our hospitals don’t have the capacity to treat individuals.”
When complete, another 24 beds in the county’s transitional residential program will be available.
This is part of what Terry called a historic investment in improving access to mental health services.
“It really would be the first of its kind in the state of Georgia, really looking at the whole gamut of crisis intervention and recovery at one location,” he said.
This is needed because of the growing demand for help related to social anxiety and depression, which worsened as the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to quarantine and cope with the psychological and economical effects of the pandemic.
More than 36,000 Georgians have died from COVID-19, and more than 3 million cases of the infection have been reported, many of which resulted in long-term physical and mental health symptoms often grouped together as long COVID.
Using public dollars on behavioral health emergency services keeps residents out of the criminal justice system, which saves money and improves lives, Terry said.
“We are spending literally millions of dollars every year on all of these other facilities,” Terry said. “By investing in this crisis recovery center, we’re not only making an investment in the health and well-being of our neighbors, our residents, and our citizens, (we) also (have) a way to divert individuals away from these more costly care models at the ER as well as at the jail.”
Voters in DeKalb County can approve the SPLOST on the Nov. 7 municipal ballot. If approved, construction on the CSU’s new building could begin in April 2024.
Atlanta-Based Nonprofit to Develop Roadmap to Eco-Friendly Future
DEKALB COUNTY, GA (July 31, 2023) -– As part of widespread efforts to improve sustainability in DeKalb County under the Clean Energy Transition Plan, Southface Institute, an Atlanta-based sustainable building nonprofit, has been selected to steer the county towards a future of 100% clean energy, defined as energy produced through means that do not directly pollute the atmosphere. Southface will develop an extensive energy transition plan to be presented to county leadership by August 2024 and will partner with four other organizations – Atlanta-based Cherry Street Energy, Atlanta-based Clean Cities Georgia, Atlanta-based IB Environmental, and Maryland based Energetics.
“Southface is excited to continue working with DeKalb County to set and achieve ambitious goals that benefit residents, businesses, community services, and the environment,” said James Marlow, President of Southface Institute. “With county staff, Clean Cities Georgia, Cherry Street Energy, and other sustainability leaders collaborating, this outstanding team has what it takes to make a real impact.”
Components of this transition plan will include recommendations on how to enhance the use of solar energy in municipal buildings, increase the number of clean energy vehicles, increase equity, and address “energy burdens” (the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs) within the county. It will also include strategic opportunities for public education, which will begin as early as fall 2023. The funding for the plan came from the 2022 Fiscal Year General Fund Budget, an agenda item sponsored by District 6.
This partnership and plan development is another step towards making DeKalb a 100% clean energy county, a commitment the Board of Commissioners made in 2021 via unanimous vote. The 2021 resolution calls for the county to transition to use 50% renewable energy by 2025, and 100% by 2035. By 2045, the county would be using 100% clean energy community-wide.
DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry, a longtime environmental activist, champion of the Clean Energy Transition Plan, and leader of the DeKalb Green New Deal movement, says the partnership with Southface is a thrilling development that he’s been eagerly awaiting.
“Passing our transition plan in 2021 was a historic achievement. I knew even then that Southface was the right group for the job,” Commissioner Terry said. “Now and future generations need an action plan to save our planet, and that is exactly what we are developing with Southface and other tremendous environmental leaders. Together, we will make DeKalb a greener, more equitable place for all.”
Work on this yearlong project has already begun, partnering first with Energetics and IB Environmental to inventory greenhouse gas usage by government facilities and vehicles. Southface Institute will announce its initial public education and discussion sessions in August, allowing community members to get involved in this monumental process for the county.
Additional Partner Quotes:
As a small, local firm, IB Environmental is excited to be part of this project. Assessing and promoting energy equity for DeKalb County residents resonates deeply with our mission to increase the appreciation for water and energy resources, while promoting sound environmental policy through research, education, and action. We are looking forward to working with our partners Southface, Energetics, and Cherry Street to improve energy efficiency and low-emission strategies in DeKalb County.
-Stacey Isaac Berahzer, Founder and CEO, IB Environmental
“Energetics has a long history of supporting energy resilience planning and the development of clean transportation solutions, and we’re looking forward to working on solutions that impact the citizens of DeKalb County. We are equally excited to partner with Southface, Clean Cities Georgia, IB Environmental, and Cherry Street Energy to contribute our expertise to the development of the County’s Clean Energy Transportation Transition Plan.”
-Walt Zalis, Program Director, Energetics Inc.
“Clean Cities Georgia is excited to partner with DeKalb County on their Clean Energy Transportation Transition Plan. We have assembled knowledgeable partners with Southface, IB Environmental, Cherry Street Energy and Energetics. DeKalb is leading in developing sustainable buildings and transportation infrastructure. We think this is a model that can be replicated with other municipalities.”
“The Cherry Street Energy team is thrilled to support DeKalb County in its pursuit of this meaningful 100% clean energy goal. This project shows the leadership and commitment necessary to find impact for the community in the transition to renewable energy.”
On July 11, your DeKalb County Board of Commissioners passed a Non-Discrimination Ordinance, strengthening protections for vulnerable residents in unincorporated areas of the county.
The ordinance, along with a proclamation by DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and the Board of Commissioners recognizing June as Pride Month and our official raising of the Pride Flag, illustrates our county’s support for its LGBTQIA+ citizens.
The passage of both of these could not come at a more pivotal time. Many people across the country feel vulnerable to discrimination, notably following the outcome of major higher court decisions. It is critical that we as leaders do everything within our power to make our county inclusive and welcoming.
Here’s a clip from when I introduced this item in June at the BOC.
To say I am proud of the strides we are taking to achieve this would be an understatement. I echo and lift up our CEO’s support of these efforts, too:
“DeKalb County Governing Authority is committed to making the county an inclusive place for all to live, work and play,” CEO Thurmond said.
I also thank my fellow Commissioner, District 2’s Michelle Long Spears, for her support:
“I thank Commissioner Terry for bringing this matter forward and wholeheartedly support these efforts to create a more inclusive and welcoming county for all residents,” District 2 Commissioner Michelle Long Spears said. “Adopting this legislation codifies diversity, equity and inclusion in the provision of public accommodations, housing and employment in our County.”
The Non-Discrimination Ordinance prohibits “discrimination against any person on the basis of basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, genetic information, familial status, political affiliation, political opinion, sexual orientation, domestic relationship status, parental status, gender identity, or racial profiling in private employment and/or in places of public accommodations.”
Violation of this ordinance can result in a six-month suspension of a business license or, should they drive a taxi or other services, a suspension of their driver’s permit.
The ordinance was drafted in partnership with Georgia Equality, which has worked with several other Georgia municipalities, including Tucker, to pass similar ordinances.
The ordinance provides in-depth descriptions of the protected classes. This includes adding and updating definitions for gender identity, parental status, and any and all protected classes.
By Savannah Louie Published: May. 23, 2023 at 7:28 PM EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A solution to metro Atlanta’s growing pains has taken root at DeKalb County libraries with “productive urban landscapes,” or green spaces.
DeKalb County Super District Six Commissioner Ted Terry said six of the county’s 23 libraries have transformed their landscaping into green spaces for the community.
“We actually have a lot of space outside the library,” said Terry. “During the pandemic, there was a real emphasis on outdoor learning spaces.”
A green space contains grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. While green spaces provide a range of socio-economic benefits for communities, development poses a threat to natural ecosystems.
80 percent of DeKalb County is already developed with no sign of slowing down. According to the Urban Land Institute, the Atlanta region is expanding faster than any settlement in human history.
The DeKalb green space revitalization comes at no extra cost to the community.
“We’re already spending a lot of our taxpayer money on [public landscaping], but we’re shifting it to a more ecologically and sound system,” Terry explained.
Research from NASA finds green space exposes the body to good bacteria and can help improve mood, depression, neurological behavior, and stress.
Green spaces are also associated with lower rates of crime and can reduce the cost of public services, like police protection, sewer, and road maintenance, according to DeKalb County.
“We’re shifting the paradigm. We’re creating a more organic productive landscape,” said Terry.
The landscaping project in DeKalb County is facilitated by Georgia landscaping nonprofit Roots Down. Roots Down provides opportunities for local government and businesses to improve sustainability within landscaping.
Roots Down CEO Jamie Rosenthal said the pandemic highlighted the need for activating more green space.
“People are sad. They’re riddled with anxiety, depression, mental illness – and a lot of that can be helped by being outside and connected to nature,” said Rosenthal. “Nature is one of the best healing forces on the planet.”
Rosenthal said landscaping, a $140 billion industry, holds a lot of room for improvement.
“I would say people give it really little thought,” said Rosenthal.
Productive urban landscapes, also called edible landscapes or permaculture landscapes, contain pollinators and native plants that don’t require watering. Many of the plants produce edible fruit for the public.
DeKalb County, GA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is moving forward with a project to redevelop the Kensington station. The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved MARTA’s rezoning request for the property at the end of April.
The station is located at 3350 Kensington Road at the crossroads of Covington Highway and Memorial Drive. The study area includes 35 acres that currently house 1,912 surface parking spaces.
The property was rezoned from R-75 (residential medium lot-75), MR-2 (Medium Density Residential-2), and C-1 (Local Commercial) zoning districts to MU-5 (Mixed Use Very High Density) zoning district to allow a future mix of land uses to implement the Livable Centers Initiative plan and transit-oriented development goals at 3350 Kensington Road.
MARTA is working on creating a master plan for the Kensington MARTA station, which is located just outside of Avondale Estates. The master plan will direct the rezoning of the 35 acres surrounding the station and enable redevelopment from the private development community, according to the project website.
“We are grateful for the support of the DeKalb County Commission and this vital rezoning designation,” said MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood in a press release. “We are now ready to solicit developers to work with MARTA and DeKalb to turn the undeveloped and underused property around the rail station into a community hub with affordable housing and neighborhood amenities.”
In June 2022, MARTA and the county kicked off the master planning process. The Kensington TOD Master Plan includes affordable senior and workforce housing, and a new headquarters for the Housing Authority of DeKalb County (HADC).
“We have worked alongside MARTA in developing this TOD master plan and it is exciting to help achieve this milestone,” said DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry. “This type of development with convenient access to transit builds strong, connected communities.”
In the press release, Commissioner Steve Bradshaw said he has long supported MARTA and the important role the agency plays in community development.
“The Kensington TOD will provide affordable housing and other amenities while reflecting the diversity and spirit of our county and serve as a catalyst for the planned revitalization of Memorial Drive,” he said.
Representatives from the consulting firm working with MARTA presented the rezoning plans to the DeKalb Board of Commissioners on Feb. 28.
“MARTA has had a series of goals that ultimately led to this rezoning,” said Sarah McColley, urban designer at Perkins and Will. “They wanted to encourage a mixed-use walkable environment with housing, retail, office, and a new approach to parking. They want to offer a variety of housing choices at different price points, increase ridership on the MARTA system and generate revenue for MARTA, and then improve multimodal access and safety to the station and on the streets around the station.”
The county’s Livable Centers Initiative plan envisions the Kensington MARTA station as a regional center.
“In a more local view, it also can be a centralized destination for the surrounding community and the residents around it while we’re connecting to broader networks of trails and greenspaces,” McColley said.
MARTA has hosted various public engagement opportunities throughout the master planning process.
“The main themes that we heard is that making walking and biking easier and around the station is really important, that we need to add public greenspaces with recreation and space for events, offer a variety of housing types and make them affordable, adding quality retail and restaurants, including things for daily essentials, and then building a walkable mixed-use community destination,” she said.
To make the station a neighborhood gathering place, the plan and rezoning application set design parameters that address the themes.
“The first one is to create a connected street network with walkable blocks and better crossings over the tracks, redesigning the current stormwater pond into a usable public space, improving pedestrian and bike access to the station with additional access points, trails, and sidewalks, make it easier to access the bus bay from the street, creating a usable event space or park including a permanent location for Station Soccer and then testing smaller scale development types like small multifamily buildings and mixed buildings,” McColley said.
The plans for the station aim to maximize flexibility for MARTA. Perkins and Will has created three street and land use frameworks that address the design parameters and create developable blocks. In all three options, the south side of the property has a new street connection to Covington Highway, a MARTA parking deck, townhomes, and other mixed-use buildings.
For the first option, the north part of the property is arranged around a more square town green. Station Soccer would overlook the stormwater park in the northwest corner, and a series of multifamily and mixed-use buildings would overlook the town green.
The second option is more organized according to the surrounding street network.
“We have one continuous street on the north side connecting over the MARTA tracks down to Kensington Road, and then this one has a bigger town green in the center,” McColley said. “Again relocate Station Soccer to overlook the stormwater park and then the south side is consistent.”
The third option uses more of the current layout for the parking lots to organize the street network.
“[It] has a center town green that’s a little bit smaller, but because of that, we were able to fit in some smaller apartment buildings or smaller mixed-use buildings,” McColley said. “Station Soccer remains where it currently is located. Those larger mixed-use buildings overlook the green spaces and the stormwater park.”
The plan addresses parking needs, as the property currently has about 2,000 parking spaces. MARTA is looking to reduce the number of parking spaces, but new parking will be needed to accommodate the new development.
“It also expands bus service by reconfiguring the current bus bay and connecting the bus bay to the street network,” McColley said. “That allows the bus bay to be opened up to have four or five more bays, and that’s necessary because MARTA is looking to expand bus service at Kensington.”
A challenge of the land disturbance permits issued for Atlanta’s planned public safety training center has been appealed to the Superior Court of DeKalb County.
DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry filed paperwork on Wednesday against the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision that the county acted appropriately during its lengthy permit review process for the construction site.
Terry wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday morning.
DeKalb County gave the go ahead for construction to begin in January, nearly a year after Atlanta applied for land disturbance permits to build the facility.
In February, two DeKalb County residents, along with Terry, filed a formal appeal of the permits which accused the city and county of overlooking existing restrictions on sediment discharges.
But the DeKalb County Zoning Board of Appeals rejected the challenge during a meeting in April after unanimously deciding that the county’s months-long process to issue the permits complied with all requirements, and denied a request to halt the project.
A Fulton County Judge also denied an injunction that would have pressed pause on construction prior to the zoning board’s decision.
The appeal to the Superior Court of DeKalb County argues again that the planning director for the county overlooked environmental concerns caused by additional sediment deposited into Intrenchment Creek due to construction.
“The (Zoning Board of Appeals) erred by upholding the land development permit because the proposed construction will add sediment into Intrenchment Creek in violation of state law,” the new filing reads and requests the Superior Court takes up the case for review.
DeKalb County, GA — The DeKalb County Commission is considering raising the stormwater utility fee for residents for 2023-2025. The board deferred the vote during its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 9.
The commission will discuss the fee at its next committee of the whole meeting, which is scheduled for May 16.
The residential stormwater utility fee is currently $4 per residential unit. If the proposed increase is approved, the fee will increase to $8 per month in 2023, $9 per month in 2024, and $10 per month in 2025 and for subsequent years.
The county has not increased the stormwater utility fees since 2004. The utility was created in 2003 and became operational in 2004.
“It has been almost 20 years since we’ve had a stormwater rate increase, so this is not an option,” Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said. “It is now absolutely necessary due to the cost associated with the program. However, I want everyone to be comfortable with what is happening here. I believe that before we move the item forward officially, we should have a conversation in committee as to the rollout so that the public is completely engaged and aware.”
Some of the county’s stormwater infrastructure includes many retention ponds, catch basins, storm drain pipes, ditches, culverts, headwalls, and outfalls.
“To me, it is not apparent that this fee increase will be enough to handle that entire load, but this is a good start,” Commissioner Ted Terry said. “It’s a good movement in the direction of clearing the many, many years of backlogs.”
The county needs help when it comes to stormwater infrastructure, Presiding Officer Robert Patrick added.
DeKalb’s public works and infrastructure committee recommended approval of the agenda item with a 2-1 vote on May 2. Terry voted no. Terry, Cochran-Johnson and Patrick are on the PWI committee.
Some concerns have been raised about making sure the community has an opportunity to learn more about the increase. In an email to other commissioners dated May 4, Terry said he asked for a two-week deferral to better inform the public.
“Regardless of how many discussions were had at PWI on this issue, no one from the public were in attendance at these meetings, and no other commissioners were at those meetings,” he said. “The public now knows about this agenda item simply because it was put on the agenda Tuesday, by the CEO.”
Terry added the increases could lead to sticker shock for some customers.
“Some of our largest payees of these fees are schools and churches,” Terry wrote. “And those institutions know nothing about this… but they will find out pretty quickly once they get a surprise in their tax bill mailing later this summer, amounting to thousands of dollars in unplanned for fees that will now have to be addressed mid-way through their budget years.”
DeKalb Public Works Director Richard Lemke said during the May 2 PWI committee meeting that prices have increased over the last 20 years, and the county has had a decreasing ability to maintain the stormwater system.
“We’ve got infrastructure that’s failing simply due to age,” Lemke said. “What we’re trying to do is accommodate the needs of the system and of the infrastructure and our ability to provide the maintenance that this county so badly needs on that infrastructure.”
The increased fee would allow the county to hire additional crews to perform stormwater work, such as pipe and pond maintenance.
