New park will be built in Dunwoody to resolve dispute
A five-acre park will be built in Dunwoody as the result of a $4 million settlement between the city and DeKalb County.
The Dunwoody City Council and the DeKalb Commission unanimously approved the settlement Tuesday to resolve a 2010 lawsuit filed by the city. Dunwoody had alleged that it was entitled to a share of proceeds from park bonds issued in 2006, two years before it became a city.
The agreement includes $3.2 million for the park in the Georgetown area along North Shallowford Road, $500,000 to update the city's parks master plan and $300,000 for construction of a great lawn at Brook Run Park.
“We believe this agreement will not only fund the construction of a new five-acre park, but also greatly enhance future park space and amenities,” said Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davis. “Our goal throughout negotiations with the county was to acquire bond money, which our residents paid through previous tax outlays.”
The funding was included among $39.4 million allocated by the DeKalb Commission earlier this month for parks, libraries and sidewalks across the county.
“I’m very pleased that now taxpayer dollars are going to where they need to be going, which is for park improvements and not for legal fees,” said Commissioner Nancy Jester, whose district includes Dunwoody. “The improvements and installation of a new park will benefit all the residents of DeKalb.”
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
