Dunwoody suing DeKalb for park money

By April Hunt

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County owes Dunwoody more than $7 million for Brook Run Park, according to a lawsuit filed by the city on Monday.

The amount is what should be left of the $11.5 million that the county voters approved be put into the park in a 2005 bond referendum.

The county has spent about $4.5 million of that money for a skate park and playground near the entrance of the 104-acre park off North Peachtree Road, according to the lawsuit. The case has not yet been assigned to a judge in DeKalb Superior Court.

“The city of Dunwoody is entitled to a declaration that it has a vested property right and is entitled to receive the remaining bond proceeds,” the lawsuit claims.

City officials declined further comment, citing pending litigation.

DeKalb County officials said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on its claims.

Dunwoody took possession of Brook Run and six other parks from DeKalb County in June, following a long-running battle over ownership. An attempt at mediation to solve how much the city should pay and if it should receive bond money failed after the city incorporated in 2008.

Last spring, the General Assembly approved a bill allowing Dunwoody to assume ownership of the parks by paying the county $100 per acre. The bill also called for the “timely transfer” of the remaining bond funds.

The lawsuit says city officials sent a letter to DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis in September, demanding that transfer. The letter went unanswered, the suit says.

The city wants to use the additional funds for whatever upgrades or projects recommended for Brook Run in a master plan for all parks. A report on that analysis is expected next spring.

The city has hired Leah Ward Sears, a former Georgia Supreme Court Justice, as its attorney in the case. The lawsuit also lists long-time city residents Don Converse, Carl Franklin and Renata Herod as plaintiffs affected by the dispute.

Those residents, as well as all others in the city and county, will pay taxes on the bond referendum until 2026.