Work has stopped – mostly – at the site of a controversial proposed soapbox derby track in DeKalb County.
Chief Executive Burrell Ellis said Friday that he had ordered crews to stop cutting down trees and brush at the 10-acre site on Rock Chapel Road, north of Lithonia. Workers remained at the site, though, to put down hay and other land covering for what Ellis said was necessary erosion control on the sloped property.
“I’m not going to press the issue,” he said three days after the DeKalb County Commission voted unanimously to halt the work, saying it had never approved construction.
The board took that action after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed that county taxpayers paid $91,819 on clear-cutting trees and other work that Ellis authorized without a commission vote.
Nearby homeowners later called for a halt to the work, saying they were unaware of the project when trees began falling at the property, located next to the Bransby Outdoor YMCA.
Commissioner Elaine Boyer applauded the order to stop but pointed out that the resolution also calls for Ellis to issue a report detailing all taxpayer money spent on clearing the land or other work.
She also has asked whether the county followed its own tree ordinance, which limits how many can be removed and spells out requirements for preserving “specimen trees” that have at least 15-year life expectancies. The local law applies to all tree removal, whether on private or county-owned land.
“Don’t just stop work but tell us what you’ve done,” Boyer said. “There are still questions.”
One remaining question is whether Ellis will exercise a veto if he decides he can reject the resolution. He said he still believes the commission’s vote to spend $585,000 to purchase the site in a complicated land swap last year was an approval to begin work but added he would let the commission dictate what comes next.
“To do more there, we need direction from the board,” he said.
A board committee has twice asked for a plan that would add other activities to the derby park, most recently on May 15. The concern is the $1 million cost to build the 900-foot track is too high for a project that may host only eight events a year, said Commissioner Lee May.
“I think we’ve been clear we’re waiting on a plan that gives us more use of that park,” May said. “We’d hope the administration would come back to us sooner than later so we can put this project behind us and move forward.”
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