Not long before it incorporated in 2005, community leaders in Sandy Springs toured schools and civic groups to put on skits about forming their own city.
One portrayed Fulton County as an empty desk with a phone ringing relentlessy. A sign on the desk read: “Out to Lunch.”
“Year after year we came up with things to demonstrate our plight,” Mayor Eva Galambos said.
Seven years later, the city of 94,000 has money in the bank, an international reputation for small government and blueprints for a $100 million city center — all with the same tax rate residents had under Fulton County.
As residents demand more for their tax dollar each year, the new crop of north Fulton cities say they are delivering big time. Even so, some Sandy Springs residents are a little unsettled by the pace the city has adopted in making its mark, that it’s too focused on development instead of community.
At a recent panel discussion on regionalism, Galambos championed the city’s efforts, listing some of what seven years of self-rule has produced that she said would not otherwise have been accomplished:
- A 30 percent improvement in the surface condition of city streets, including resurfacing 126 miles of roadway.
- The completion of 42 intersection improvement projects and the installation of a traffic management center controlling 102 signals.
- 756 repairs and upgrades to a stormwater system that was on the verge of collapse.
- The creation of 27-acre Morgan Falls Overlook Park, the first new park on the Chattahoochee River in 50 years.
County Commission Chairman John Eaves applauds the northern cities for their accomplishments, but he said claims that they have accomplished more without the county than when they were aligned are subjective at best.
“To completely ignore all the infrastructure the county has invested in north Fulton is not fair,” he said.
Eaves pointed to the county’s investment in construction of Ga. 400, north Fulton’s chief commercial artery. Planning and zoning decisions made by the county provided further development opportunities in the area, he said.
Sandy Springs’ decades-long struggle to win autonomy from Fulton ignited other unincorporated areas. A half-dozen new cities have cropped up in metro Atlanta since 2006.
Johns Creek and Milton, both incorporated in 2006, have property tax rate caps freezing the mill levy at the same level it was under Fulton six years ago. Both say police coverage under Fulton was sporadic at best, with a handful of officers patrolling the area. Now, Johns Creek has 69 sworn officers, and Milton has a force of 32. Each has its own fire department.
“Prior to incorporation, very little was done with respect to capital improvement, other than what developers were permitted to do during construction,” Johns Creek City Manager John Kachmar said. “Since we incorporated, the city has added 22.5 miles of sidewalks and trails. That’s very significant.”
City crews have also resurfaced 20 heavily traveled streets, rehabilitated 11 bridges, improved road capacity at seven locations and launched a yearlong effort to improve traffic flow and enhance pedestrian mobility along Jones Bridge Road.
Over its six years as a city, Milton has worked to protect its rural landscape by creating a comprehensive land use plan and commissioning development studies for its commercial areas. It has also added park space and created 32 recreation programs to augment the single baseball program it had when it was unincorporated.
But while public sentiment remains strong among residents of the new cities, not everyone is delighted with the way things have turned out.
Sandy Springs resident Dick Farmer said basic services such as fire, police, paving and pothole repairs have unquestionably improved, but he thinks those who voted for cityhood had a different vision than what has come about.
City leaders seem consumed with commercial development to the detriment of residents, who see their streets more congested and their neighborhoods more crowded, he said.
“The City Council seems to focus only on the tax digest without regard to what effects these megaprojects will have on infrastructure and quality of life,” he said.
Local businessman Eric de Groot said he has felt the same way at times, with all the construction adding to traffic woes. But he has a lot of faith in Galambos.
There are other intangibles, he said.
During a snowstorm two years ago, de Groot said he had trouble driving up a hill to his home. Within a short time, the road was cleared.
Said de Groot, “You would have never had that from Fulton County — never.”
About the Author
