LAST WEEK: SHOULD GWINNETT COUNTY CREATE ITS OWN BELTLINE SIMILAR TO ATLANTA’S?
The Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District is considering new ways to connect McDaniel Farm Park to the larger Gwinnett Place commercial district and existing county trail network. In addition, nearly every city in Gwinnett has, or is planning to build, a multi-use trail with most working to connect to the 150 miles of existing county trails. How do Gwinnett residents hope to use this growing network of trails? Can Gwinnett envision these pathways becoming their own Beltline?
I love the idea! My parents lived in Druid Hills for years and the beltline has brought back the surrounding area with new life and fun. — E. McDowell
It's awesome but if you have hundreds of miles of trails, there's going to be a need for camping or shelter. I'm an avid hiker and would love to go for a two-day hike in my backyard. — M. Jackson
Gwinnett needs to concentrate on better roads and public transit. I was stuck for two hours on Highway 78 on Friday in one block! — H. Broome
A lot of what's named is north Gwinnett, and I say yes, but let's tie into points south of Lawrenceville. — R. Anderson
How is a beltline even discussed with our traffic here, especially in North Gwinnett. Oh, improving traffic doesn't pay. — B. Miller
If you are going to spend more money hire more cops. You want to walk, walk in a park somewhere. — G. Mitchell
Leave McDaniel Farm Park as it is. It's one of the few peaceful places left in the middle of the nightmare that is Gwinnett Place. — P. Mongrue
We walked one today - it's called the Lilburn Greenway - that's enough - plus it's minus the crime. — B. Callahan
Love the Camp Creek Greenway in Lilburn! I used to walk it often with my kids! Have recently moved and will definitely miss it this spring. — A. Blizzard
How about some roads that we don't have to pay tolls for, and some mass transit? — P. Ballenger
McDaniel Farm Park is great. Making it bigger sounds great. — M. Griffin
There is nothing hip about Gwinnett around the mall area. It is a sea of endless shopping centers and chain restaurants. I was just at the Krog City Market last night and it is thriving with youthful energy. It was so much fun to explore the market, have dinner (at a non-chain restaurant) and attend a gallery event. I am envious of the 'cool' things that have happened around the beltline and the lifestyle improvements for the people living along it. I would LOVE to see something like it around Johns Creek, Peachtree Corners and up to Historic Norcross. I just can't imagine ever wanting to go near Gwinnett Mall. — A. Rader
Nothing can and will ever compare to the Atlanta Beltline. Fantastic place. — J. Finley
There is nothing hip, fun or soul fulfilling about the Gwinnett Place mall (in it's current state) as a destination, for a beltline connection. If this is part of a renaissance of this area and provides a dedicated area to walk and socialize (monitored for safety and cleanliness), I think it would be a welcomed idea. That would make this section of Gwinnett and a new beltline a true OTP draw, rather than an area that many avoid and see as irrelevant. [This area] needs to be more of a refection of us as a melting pot, offering the best of ALL those living here and part of that is a connection, a shared and inclusionary sense of community, putting forth more than one cultural vision. The Beltline might just be that link. — C. Richelle
Karen Huppertz for the AJC
The DeKalb County school district will be asking voters in May to fund about $500 million for various security, renovation and technology improvements, among other things through the ESPLOST V. The matter will go before the public during May’s primary election on May 24.
If the penny sales tax passes, officials plan to seek public input in July and September and put together a detailed list of projects in December.
That cart-before-horse type of planning may prove detrimental. The lack of information about specific schools to be built or other improvements to be funded could have an impact on votes, for a district a few years removed from a multimillion-dollar deficit and threats of state oversight.
But district officials say that was necessary to stay in line with the past practice of having the vote to extend the 1-cent education special-purpose local option sales tax on the ballot at the same time as neighboring jurisdictions: City Schools of Decatur, Atlanta Public Schools and Fulton County.
While Fulton and Atlanta have provided a list of projects intended for their E-SPLOST dollars, DeKalb’s list is a work in progress because new Superintendent Steve Green wants to allow parents and other DeKalb residents to have a say in the decision-making.
In earlier news reports, DeKalb Board of Education Chairman Melvin Johnson said the wording of their resolution gives voters an idea of what type of projects to look out for as the process begins. That, in addition to the meetings set up through the fall, should go a long way in ensuring transparency.
“It will ultimately play OK,” Johnson said. “The reason why is we’re not just asking them to trust us. Unlike in years past where you may have had political decisions made, this board and the superintendent are dedicated to putting the resources where they’re needed.
“We still will have transparency. Nothing’s going to be done where the public is not aware.”
Transparency is a big deal when seeking money from the public, Scott Layne, board chairman for the Association for Learning Environments told the AJC in an earlier report. Layne said in Texas, where he’s assistant superintendent, a facility assessment is done across the district to clearly define projects to be completed before any money is sought.
“I’ve never really heard of anybody just taking money and trying to figure it out after the fact,” he said. “You owe it to the taxpayers to clearly identify what you’re gonna utilize the money for.”
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