Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Join hundreds of other volunteers for the 20th Annual North Fulton Rivers Alive on Saturday, September 25th from 8:00 until 11:00 AM. Volunteers will help remove litter and debris from the Chattahoochee River and surrounding areas in Roswell and Alpharetta.

This is a great event for families, scout troops, service groups and individuals! This Rivers Alive Clean Up is brought to you by the City of Alpharetta, City of Roswell, Keep Roswell Beautiful and the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

Registration begins at Riverside Park, 575 Riverside Drive, Roswell at 8:00 a.m. Volunteers will walk, shuttle or drive to selected locations to help pick up litter and debris.

Volunteers may also choose to help with a privet pull at Riverside Park. Bring a canoe or kayak if you have one; otherwise, land areas are available.

Everyone will return to Riverside Park by 11:00 am where everything will be weighed and tallied.

Recognition from Roswell Mayor Jere Wood and Alpharetta Council Member Chris Owens will be followed by a cookout for the volunteers.

The cleanup will be part of “Rivers Alive”, a joint program of the Environmental Protection Division’s Adopt-A-Stream Program and the Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful Program. The annual Georgia Waterway Cleanup is expected to once again be the largest single volunteer effort to beautify Georgia’s water resources.

All volunteers under age 18 must have the Rivers Alive Volunteer Waiver Form completed and signed by a parent before arriving at the event. The form is available at the City of Alpharetta web site www.alpharetta.ga.us and www.keeproswellbeautiful.org

Labels: Alpharetta, Chattahoochee River, North Fulton Rivers Alive, Roswell City Council

As the mayoral race continues to heat up in Roswell, a pending lawsuit against the City of Roswell and others may add a crucial twist to the mix of already contentious issues...

As the mayoral race continues to heat up in Roswell, a pending lawsuit against the City of Roswell and others may add a crucial twist to the mix of already contentious issues. It stems from a house fire that occurred last year. The home was razed to mere ashes in a “keystone cops” ordeal where hydrants didn’t work, hoses didn’t pump and fire trucks crashed into each other at the scene.


WHO’S ON FIRST?


Questions linger. Was the dry hydrant actually tested? Has the City properly inspected and maintained water supply lines that feed hydrants within the City? Does the City have proper insurance to cover liability for failing to maintain these basic public services?


These are the many questions that Robert and Lori Cloaninger will be contemplating this election especially after they watched in horror as their home burned to the ground in February of 2008 even though a fire hydrant was directly located in their front yard. Why? The hydrant and water mains below did not produce water.


Despite efforts to resolve the matter, the City has taken no apparent steps to assist the Cloaningers or to facilitate their now transient life style through temporary housing. Why? “Sovereign Immunity.” The City has taken the position that they are immune from responsibility based on a recent Court of Appeals decision of April 6, 2009. The Court held that a municipality is absolutely protected from liability under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, for any actions or omissions of firefighters during an emergency or for the inoperability of hydrants during a fire, as a matter of “public policy.” As a result, all legal theories of any kind brought by an injured party are barred in this context.


COURTS ABSOLVE CITIES


Such a broad interpretation has not stopped the Cloaningers from bringing suit. Their lawsuit, filed by attorney Kurt R. Hilbert, Esq., seeks to challenge the Court of Appeals ruling and distinguish its applicability. The lawsuit asserts that if this principle is applied in all cases, it “provides no process for obtaining just compensation and provides no remedy to Plaintiffs.” In essence, the lawsuit argues that the Court of Appeals decision allows a municipality to create and enforce a “policy and custom of conscious indifference to a known risk of harm to all inhabitants of the City of Roswell” without any checks and balances or remedy. The lawsuit argues that citizens, who contractually pay for such public utility services and for the comfort of knowing that the services are being performed and that insurance exists to cover defects in their utility products, should have a remedy. The lawsuit further seeks to have the City of Roswell’s policy and custom scrutinized under federal law – as this issue is one that affects all inhabitants of cities like Roswell.


THE HEART OF THE MATTER


At the heart of the issue, and which may surface as an election topic, is whether the City can or should escape responsibility for its alleged failure to inspect and maintain water utility products within the City, and whether the City has or should have proper insurance coverage for injured citizens in such events. “What happens if a life was lost?” Hilbert asks. “The Court of Appeal’s decision says the City has no responsibility. This cannot be a correct statement of the law nor public policy in this State and should scare every resident in this state. Simply put, how do you know that water is in your hydrant and that you are safe?”


Such public policy and insurance issues may make their way on the agenda for the next debate.

Labels: City of Roswell, Mayor, Roswell, Roswell City Council

The City of Roswell is proposing its millage rate for fiscal year 2008-2009 to remain at 5.657 mills.

Revenues in the proposed budget are projected to increase 11 percent or $11,572,700 for a total of $117,326,387. Expenditures are projected to increase 12 percent or $12,050,611 for a total budget of $116,472,303. The increase in revenue will primarily be spent on public safety and transportation.

The typical Roswell property tax bill on a $300,000 home would remain $678.84.

Roswell Mayor and Council will hold three public hearings at City Hall in Council Chambers on the proposed budget: June 2 at 7:30 p.m., June 9 at 6:30 p.m., and the final reading and vote on June 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Labels: City of Roswell, fiscal year 2008-2009, millage rate, Roswell City Council

Roswell officials are reviewing a proposed $116.5 million budget that includes more money for police and road projects, but no tax rate increase.

Thanks in part to increased property values, the city's revenues are expected to increase this year by $11.5 million, or about 11 percent. Expenses are expected to rise by about 12 percent. The fiscal year 2009 budget will take effect in July.

New initiatives include $2.4 million for public safety improvements. Six new police officers and three additional detention officers will be hired. In transportation, the city plans to spend $5.6 million on intersection improvements, bridge maintenance, road resurfacing and traffic management.

Property tax collections in Roswell are expected to increase this year from $24 million to $26.2 million, said Mike Erwin, the city's budget director. The majority of that increase is due to increased property assessments, he said.

Mayor Jere Wood noted the proposed budget includes little shock value. "[The budget is] the most important decision we make of the year, and the least exciting," he said. "We try to keep the excitement out of the budget."

The City Council received the proposed budget in its meeting Monday and will review it in three work sessions this month. Sessions are scheduled for May 12, following the regular 7:30 p.m. council meeting, May 17, at 8 a.m., and May 22, at 6:30 p.m.

The city will hold public hearings on the budget and tax rate on Monday, June 2, June 9 and June 16.

Labels: Roswell City Council, Roswell Proposed Budget, Tax Rate