Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=fsk9m7bab&v=001zsj4A0_3E1F9vX6K_haVJOD1Nr5T0FPNBXqSqCfuYYmw_JvGV8RM5JObcCoOTS5FbCRjj9J2qHfNY5_uoP_BKe55OMX30pA01JebFvTToVmCwV3PKyH4AtrjCQdIM0Yng5dSDXvuLUwczBzApNur9csXrz8jJc6Rj0s2V8iCSWaigpxY-4pzba-3P4A3aYwdFCWqUMwX6ehfcj8x0_Td9PrmJkJQkn5ykVJyOzY-tc_jGPQcthMNqugRBl59e0fG

Labels: City Council, City Council Meeting, milton, Milton Georgia

Possible 5 seats up for grabs on council, Sunday alcohol, $29M city hall bond too


by Hatcher Hurd
write the author

July 20, 2011
ALPHARETTA, GA. – If Councilman Doug DeRito does indeed run for mayor in November (he says he hasn't quite decided), then the special election for his seat will be Nov. 8 with the other four council seats up for election.

With the first reading at the July 18 City Council meeting for the ordinance for the Nov. 8 council elections of posts 4, 5 and 6 – held by incumbents Cheryl Oakes, Jim Paine and D.C. Aiken respectively – a second was added at the request of Councilman Doug DeRito.

DeRito put his own Post 1 up for possible election should he qualify for the mayoral race. But DeRito left the door open to change his mind. He said he would not make his formal announcement until closer to qualifying time.

Qualifying is the term for formally tendering one's name for election to the post during the three-day qualifying period – Aug. 29, 30 and 31 – and paying the qualifying fee. According to City Attorney Sam Thomas, should DeRito qualify, by law his seat as a councilman would immediately be vacated.

By introducing this ordinance calling for a Nov. 8 special election for his seat concurrent with the General Election, DeRito said he was preventing a special election the following March. Not only would his seat be open for seven months, the city would be liable for the cost of the special election – estimated at between $50,000 and $100,000 that the city would have to pay Fulton County for conducting it.

If DeRito opts not to run for mayor, he would keep his seat and the special election ordinance for Post 1 would be rendered void since there would be no empty seat.

Councilmen Aiken and Chris Owens expressed concerns that introducing the ordinance with the intention only that DeRito may run for mayor, introduces a certain amount of doubt for prospective candidates for his council seat.

"How will anyone know if the post is really available? " asked Aiken.

Owens posed the opposite side of the dilemma. If anyone qualified for the seat and DeRito did nothing, they would have no seat for which to run and would be out the $450 qualifying fee for a council seat (it is $9000 mayoral qualifying fee).

That means there could be as many as five new faces on the council come Nov. 9.

Mayor Arthur Letchas has reached the end of his term limits for mayor and is retiring. Paine, who is serving the unexpired term of David Belle Isle, will have that term expire at the same time as that of mayor, i.e. Dec. 31.

For that reason, Paine will not have to resign his post to run for mayor and so will remain on council at least through December. Meanwhile, David Belle Isle, who resigned that post to run unsuccessfully for state senator, has announced he will also run for mayor.

"Is there any assurance the seat will be open," Owens asked.

Thomas said there are no guarantees (that DeRito will ultimately resign his post by qualifying) and that potential Post 1 candidates would file at their own risk.

DeRito spoke up to say that he only wants to prevent a costly March special election.

"However, I would not be doing this if I did not have a strong interest [in running for mayor.] My intent is to run for mayor. I am committed to making a firm announcement two weeks before [qualifying]," DeRito said. "I am not announcing now because I am not yet sure I want to do it. I want to make sure I have the full support of my family first."

After the meeting, he said he has a son studying in Oxford, England, and is waiting for him to come home and participate in the decision. He said the rest of his family are behind his running for mayor, DeRito said.

"I am not the kind of guy to get ahead of the curve," he said.

Labels: Alpharetta, alpharetta city hall, alpharetta community center, City Council, City Council Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jason Wright
jason.wright@cityofmiltonga.us
678-242-2523 (office)
770-825-3096 (cell)
Note: In an effort to provide the most up-to-date information for Milton citizens, the Communications Department will now send pre- and post-City Council meeting updates informing the public about events at City Hall and their outcomes. Following is the agenda for the September 28 Special Called City Council meeting.

The sole purpose of this meeting is an executive session to discuss potential land acquisition.

City Council meetings normally take place at City Hall, 13000 Deerfield Parkway Suite 107 Milton, GA 30004 the first and third Mondays of the month, barring a holiday or special-called meeting. Work sessions are held the second Monday of the month.

For a full list of all city sponsored meetings, click here to see the calendar.

Persons needing special accommodations in order to participate in any city meeting should call 678-242-2500.

CITY OF MILTON, GEORGIA
Joe Lockwood, Mayor

CITY COUNCIL
Karen Thurman
Julie Zahner Bailey
Bill Lusk
Burt Hewitt
Joe Longoria
Alan Tart

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Special Called Meeting Agenda 5:00 PM

1) CALL TO ORDER

2) ROLL CALL

3) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE (Led by the Mayor)

4) APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA (Add or remove items from the agenda)
(Agenda Item No. 10-1257)

5) PUBLIC COMMENT

6) EXECUTIVE SESSION
(Agenda Item No. 10-1258)
The purpose of the Executive Session is to discuss potential land acquisition
7) ADJOURNMENT
(Agenda Item No. 10-1259)

Labels: City Council, City Council Meeting, city milton, city of milton, milton, milton center, Milton City, milton city council, milton city hall, Milton Georgia

After multiple deferrals and a lot of work from builder Bowen Family Homes, city staff and concerned community members, City Council approved Dec. 7 a modified site plan for the Deerfield Green townhouse community at the corner of Webb and Morris Roads.


Bowen wanted the city to approve dozens of units with front entry garages instead of the rear-entry models approved by Fulton County in 2005.

A retaining wall on the property made it impossible to build the rear-entry units with enough space for residents to safely get into and out of their garages, company spokesman Corbitt Woods said.

However, city staff and community volunteers said that would change the look of the neighborhood to the detriment of the area. So the plan was sent back to the drawing board in November.

Community Development Director Tom Wilson said he recommended the new plan hammered out by everyone because it reflected community concerns and mitigated the visual effects.

“This does everything possible to screen those garages,” said Wilson.

As part of the plan, units 136 to 163 will have the front-entry garages. Of those, 18 will be set back 20 feet from the end of the sidewalk to ensure drivers can park entirely within their driveway and not hang over into the walking area. The rest will be set back 18 feet.
In addition, Bowen will plant landscaping near the homes to shield the front-entry models from passers-by.

The plan was approved 5-0, with councilwomen Karen Thurman and Tina D’Aversa absent.

“I think this was a good exercise in working together,” said Mayor Joe Lockwood.
---
Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
---

Labels: bowen family homes, City Council, city of milton, Milton Georgia

The Alpharetta City Council started discussing a simple grant application Monday night but ended up debating a bigger subject: the philosophy of taking federal stimulus money.

In the end, the council voted 5-2 to apply for a $276,702 federal grant that would equip a civilian crime scene technician and pay his or her salary for two years. The city doesn’t have a crime scene technician of its own.

Council members John Monson and David Belle Isle voted no, saying they support the police all the way but not President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.

Belle Isle said the stimulus package was a bad financial idea, akin to using a credit card to invest in the stock market, that will hurt the country in the long run. If the city accepts stimulus money, Belle Isle said, it would be like a thief caught red-handed saying, “If I didn’t take it, somebody else would.”

Belle Isle also said future generations will really be the ones paying for stimulus projects, including the crime scene technician.

Council member Douglas DeRito said he considered those arguments but decided the city needed to get something out of the stimulus package.

“Our children and grandchildren and we are going to pay this debt,” he said. “It’s going to happen whether we pass this or not. People in Washington have decided that for us.”

Monson complained the city will have to start paying for the crime scene technician when the grant runs out.

“This is no longer stimulative,” Monson said. “The net creation of a job is zero.”

But Council member D.C. Aiken noted the police department asked the council to apply for the grant.

“That tells me it’s a gotta-have,” Aiken said, “not a wanna-have.”

If the city receives the grant, it would pay two years of salary and buy about $88,000 in equipment, including a crime scene van. City Public Safety Director Gary D. George said the city often has to wait months to have evidence processed because it’s sent to the GBI lab, which has a backlog.

Labels: Alpharetta, City Council, stimulus money

It is no secret Milton's City Hall can be a tumultuous place. Council meetings have a tendency to drag on for hours discussing minor points and council members snub one another publicly -- and those are just the good days.

In the roughly 15 months since the city got off the ground, it has seen an unlikely and extraordinary confluence of events for a relatively quiet town of only 20,000.

There have been ethics complaints brought against a majority of the original City Council, and another charge lodged against a member of the Ethics Board itself. That is more ethics complaints than any local city has had in recent history. Two of those complaints -- both thrown out -- concerned whether City Council unduly directed staff.

An organizational psychologist brought in to help the newly elected council learn to work together never even got the chance after a newspaper reporter tried to sit in on the meetings.

Milton's first City Manager, Aaron Bovos, resigned after a filing mistake that likely cost the city $850,000 (legislation to restore it is pending).

Divisive issues and a bitter election turned neighbors against each other, their frustrations spilling into council chambers and refusing to die down months after the final votes were tallied. When the smoke cleared, only one incumbent was re-elected, and all three candidates were officially endorsed by the mayor.

And all this tumult may be causing Milton to lose its City Hall staff.

Of the five non-public safety, city-paid positions, three are gone [see sidebar]. Milton is mostly staffed by private company CH2M HILL OMI. At least two CH2M HILL department heads have been replaced, with rumors that another may be on his way out if a willing replacement can be found to work in Milton.

The latest high-ranking employee to leave was City Attorney Mark Scott, who was often in the embattled position of mediating council and citizen desires. He resigned from law firm Jarrard and Davis last month, and has been replaced by the firm's namesakes.

Sources for this article who did not wish to be named because of current or past business and personal relationships with the city described Milton as a place of "organizational immaturity," one where meetings have staff keeping their heads down for fear they could be the next target of the public or council's rancor.

But Mayor Joe Lockwood says those problems are at worst overblown. He said he does not believe any of the people who left "did so because of factors in Milton."

"I think this is a positive place to work and I think it's gotten a lot better," he said.

He was referring to the time before November's election, when a split on council lead to many late nights punctuated by public arguments.

Acting City Manager Chris Lagerbloom, one of the two remaining original city employees (the other is City Clerk Jeanette Marchiafava), said he doesn't believe the amount of turnover Milton has seen is different proportionally to any other organization.

"Each one definitely has its reasons," he said.

He also said much of the staff has been bit by what he terms the "start-up bug."

"Once you do it and you're deployed and get that start-up adrenaline, you want it back," he said.

In contrast, Johns Creek has lost none of its directors or managers since start up. However, it also has experienced none of the ethics, election, personality or financial issues of Milton.

Alpharetta's long-established government has only one department head with less than five years service in the organization. According to Robbie Rokovitz, assistant city administrator, the 12 to 17 people who leave per year -- out of 410 employees -- have little time invested in the city. Rokovitz, however, will soon be leaving his job. He was just picked by Holly Springs to serve as its city manager.

Lockwood said the shuffling around of staff is one of the strong points of a public/private partnership like the one Milton enjoys with CH2M HILL.

"For these people, if for some reason the chemistry isn't there, they're not out of a job. They can move them around," he said.

Lisa Maggart is the city's communications director and a CH2M HILL employee. She replaced Bill Doughty, who moved to Johns Creek in July 2007 after what Lagerbloom and Lockwood deemed a "personality conflict" with then City Manager Aaron Bovos.

"I love coming in to work every day," she said. "The staff here is incredible and you get to work with some great people in senior leadership."

That position is common among staff at City Hall, said Tami Hanlin, who acts as project manager for CH2M HILL. She said staff doesn't focus on the bad press surrounding Milton and gets along well with City Council.

"We certainly are still learning our role and their vision," she said. "I really don't see anything extraordinary about the turnover we've seen at this point and time, I really just don't link it to anything in particular. It's the natural process of a start-up situation."

Maggart agreed.

"I don't think the city necessarily has a bad reputation," she said. "A lot of it is the growing pains of a brand new city and brand new council."

Rokovitz, assistant city administrator for Alpharetta, said his council's stability is what keeps city's employees on staff, despite offers from the near-by start-ups.

"I think [high-level Alpharetta employees] show a great dedication to mayor and council, the stable and transparent governance they provide.

"Yes they disagree, but at the end of the day they develop a consensus," he said.

And like in Alpharetta, providing a comfortable work environment is paramount to Milton's long-term strategy.

"Employees are special things," said Lagerbloom. "And I don't think any of us here take that lightly."

Labels: City Council, City Hall, Milton Georgia

Next City Council meeting
Thursday, Oct. 11,Work Session, 5:30 P.M.Milton City Hall13000 Deerfield ParkwayBuilding 100, Suite 107 Milton, GA 30004View full calendar

Labels: City Council, Meeting, milton