District 8 News & Updates
Government works. Not smoothly. Not efficiently, although we’re working on that. And, for sure, not to everyone’s satisfaction. But it works. Cynics would have you believe otherwise. But while I admire healthy skepticism, I have little patience for cynicism. If I did, I could not serve as District 8’s representative on Atlanta City Council. To be cynical is to be disillusioned. I am a realist with enough optimism to believe any problem can be solved. This edition of our monthly newsletter asks the question: How do we make and measure progress? The answer is the sum of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of small steps. Taken together, they move us forward. Good people make government work, and we tip our hat to one of the best, Richard Cox, as he leaves his post as the city’s chief operating officer to return to his private-sector job. Among his many accomplishments, Richard got us through the tough slog of how best to spend Renew Atlanta/TSPLOST infrastructure funds. Later on in this newsletter, we'll provide you with a list of the $36 million worth of projects approved for District 8. Good government also is not always harmonious, as we have seen in two ongoing issues --- a proposal by Holy Spirit Preparatory School to expand its campus and the re-bidding of the contract to run Atlanta’s five tennis centers, including Bitsy Grant and Chastain. Regardless of conflict and opposing points of view, good citizens resolve their differences and move on allied in the best interest of their community. I hope you’ll take the time to read this newsletter in full, react, and share your thoughts with me, Katie, and Jim. All of our contact information can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. Although summer is almost upon us, we will not rest in our wok to build a better District 8, a better Atlanta.
Table of Contents
How We Measure Progress
The Powers Ferry bridge is taking shape.
Richard Cox: A True Public Servant
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting a proclamation declaring June 3, 2019, Richard Cox Day in the City of Atlanta. It was one of the more fun things I've done as a council member and certainly one of the most deserved honors I've presented. Richard Cox, who has been the Chief Operating Officer for the City of Atlanta for the last 15 months, will leave the City in July to return to his corporate career at Cox Automotive. And we owe him, and Cox Automotive who loaned Richard to the City, a huge thank you for a job well done! The Chief Operating Officer oversees all of the City's operations - from the airport, to police and fire, parks, planning and public works, watershed, IT, human resources, and procurement. That's over 9,000 employees who deliver critical services to our city each and every day. When Richard started the job in March 2018, Mayor Bottoms had just taken office and her cabinet was in transition. We needed an experienced manager to step in, steady the ship, and effectively run the operations of the city. And that person was Richard Cox, who brought 25+ years of executive experience with Cox Automotive, AutoTrader, Orbitz, and Worldspan to the city. Within weeks of his arrival, the city was hit with a massive cyber attack that crippled its computer network. Richard was there front and center, across many long nights, providing strong leadership to get the city through this ordeal and back on its feet. Next, Richard tackled the city's budget, to align resources with finances and instill more financial discipline among departments. This is one of the big factors that allowed us to provide the largest pay increase in city history to our police and to fill five times as many pot holes as we did the prior year. And let's not forget Atlanta's hosting the Superbowl, which was truly super, under Richard's watchful eye. We will miss Richard a great deal. but I am confident we will not miss a beat as our new Chief Operating Officer, Joshua Williams, takes over July 1st. Joshua has been Deputy Chief Operating Officer under Richard for a year and has earned high praise for his candor and honesty through the city-wide Renew/TSPLOST re-baselining meetings this spring. Prior to joining the city, Joshua was the Chief Operations Officer for Dekalb County Schools and held various facilities planning, management, and construction positions. Many people have asked what I'm most surprised by at the City. My answer is unfailing: I'm surprised by how many passionate, capable people work for the City. Richard and Joshua two great examples of the kind of people our city is fortunate enough to employ.
The Final Renew Atlanta/T-SPLOST List
This is the final list of District 8 building, road, sidewalk, traffic signal, and bridge projects that comprise the nearly $36 million from voter-approved Renew Atlanta and T-SPLOST capital improvement packages: Chastain Pool: Filtration and disinfection systems, starting blocks, and electrical upgrades --- Complete. Fire Station 26: Ventilation, ADA plan, and roof --- Complete. Windows and kitchen, ADA and facility upgrades --- Pending. Fire Station 27: Ventilation --- Complete. ADA and facility upgrades and HAZMAT abatement --- Pending. Chastain Arts Center: Porch repairs, parking lot paving and striping, and ADA upgrades --- Pending. The rebuild of the Powers Ferry Road bridge in Chastain Park is District 8's most-expensive project at $3.6 million. Although it has taken longer than expected, the bridge’s beams are in place and concrete is being poured. We look forward to the bridge reopening soon. More than 12 miles of roadways have been resurfaced or are scheduled to be repaved, accounting for about one-quarter of the $36 million in Renew/T-SPLOST funds. These roads include:
- West Wieuca (soon to be renamed Chastain Park Avenue) between Powers Ferry Road and Lake Forrest Drive
- Powers Ferry
- West Paces Ferry Road, west of I-75 to the city limits
- Northside Parkway (Northside Drive to West Paces Ferry Road & West Paces Ferry Road to city limit)
- Bohler Road
- Collier Road
- East Andrews
- Peachtree Battle
- Springlake Court
- Margaret Mitchell Drive
Also on the list is the Howell Mill Complete Streets project, which crosses Districts 8 and 9 and will greatly improve traffic flow and walkability along this developing stretch. The District 8 portion of Howell Mill will receive much needed improvements including lane re-striping, bicycle lanes, new wide sidewalks, and signal upgrades. Sidewalks valued at $2 million have gone in as part of the PATH around Bobby Jones golf course, and work is beginning on $1.7 million in walkways at nearby Memorial Park. An additional $1.2 million will go toward widening the PATH at Chastain Park on West Wieuca. Sidewalks have already gone in on Dudley Lane, West Paces Ferry and Moores Mill. Intersection upgrades are coming to Moores Mill, West Wesley, and Mt. Paran-Northside Parkway. And, in even more good news, traffic signal improvements are either underway or planned for half a dozen of our thorniest thoroughfares. Other intersection and traffic signal upgrades have occurred or will occur at:
- Mt. Paran/West Conway/Randall Mill
- Habersham and West Wesley
- Howell Mill and Peachtree Battle
- Howell Mill and Collier
- Moores Mill and Northside Pwky
- Howell Mill and Moores Mill
Safety beacons have been added or are planned at W.T. Jackson and E. Rivers Elementary Schools, Sutton Middle School, and Atlanta Classical Academy. Finally, these streets are to be repaved using the portion of the gas tax we get through the state annually: Brook Hollow Road; Twin Springs Road to Millbrook Drive; Argonne Drive to Andrews Drive; Stelle Drive to Loring Drive; North Garden Lane; Garen Lane to Loring Drive; Steele Drive; Deering Road to dead end, and Habersham Way. As you can tell from this exhaustive list, there is a lot of investment going on to keep the buildings and thoroughfares in District 8 up to snuff. And it’s never enough. There were insufficient dollars for other worthwhile projects, necessitating difficult choices. This is city maintenance at its most granular. Each of us, in some way, is touched by these projects on an almost daily basis. I am especially grateful for citizens who pay attention and care deeply about how their city dollars are spent.
Why the Holy Spirit Prep Expansion Matters
A ‘Let’ on Tennis Center Bidding
Cleaning Up Sewage Overflows in Memorial Park
Tree Protection Ordinance Rewrite Meetings
District 8 Contacts
J.P. Matzigkeit
jpmatzigkeit@atlantaga.gov
404.330.6051
Katie Howard
Jim Elgar
jqelgar@atlantaga.gov
404.546.4911
