COMMUNITY
SCENE
Neighbors will take back the night on Aug. 7 in observance of the 35th anniversary of National Night Out. 3
Hundreds of children got free book bags and thousands of pounds of food at the Let’s Move! DeKalb Back-to-School Expo. 7
Police-community awareness
Put Litter in Its Place
CHOICES on the case
Let’s Do Our Part to Keep DeKalb Beautiful A PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE FROM CROSSROADSNEWS
EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER • STONECREST
August 4, 2018
Copyright © 2018 CrossroadsNews, iNC.
Volume 24, Number 14
www.crossroadsnews.com
DeKalb levels playing field for primary, subcontractors By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Prime contractors doing business with DeKalb County government can no longer force subcontractors into arbitration following the passage of new legislation by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners. The landmark ordinance, approved 5-0 on July 24, prohibits forced arbitration clauses in agreements between primes and their subcontractors. District 6 Commissioner Kathie Gannon abstained and Super District 7 Commissioner Gregory Adams was absent. Prior to passage of the legislation, prime contractors were able to use their unequal bargaining power to force small businesses to sign away their right to pursue a claim in a court of law if a dispute arose.
treated fairly. “A small business should not be forced to give up its right to a jury trial in order to work for DeKalb County,” said Davis Johnson, who call the first-of-its-kind local legislation “precedent-setting.” “I hope similar ordinances are adopted nationwide, because small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy,” Davis Johnson said. Mereda Davis Johnson The ordinance amends a 1988 law to require prime contractors to sign an affidavit declaring under penalty of perjury its intention to comply fully with the provisions of the article, and to attest to the truth and accuracy of all District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson, who information provided to the county. “All prime contractors and LSBEs must adhere to all sponsored the ordinance, said it levels the playing field between prime and subcontractors and helps ensure that small businesses doing business with DeKalb County are Please see ARBITRATION, page 2
“A small business should not be forced to give up its right to a jury trial in order to work for DeKalb County.”
Glenwood sidewalks won’t be done by January County says gas, water lines fuel project delays
Only about 30 percent of the $4.4 million project to build sidewalks along Glenwood Road between Candler Road and Columbia Drive has been completed.
By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Pedestrians and homeowners battling a sea of construction barrels along a twomile stretch of Glenwood Road in Decatur that is getting sidewalks, will have to fight them longer than the 18 months originally projected. A year into the $4.4 million project to build 5-foot-wide sidewalks along both sides of Glenwood Road between Candler Road and Columbia Drive, only about 30 percent of the construction has been completed. County spokesman Andrew Cauthen said this week that the project, which is being done by BRTU Construction Inc., is behind schedule but that the delay will not impact the cost of installing the sidewalks. “DeKalb County’s Transportation Division has asked the contractor to submit an updated schedule in August,” he said. “Any extension of the contract beyond Dec. 31, 2018, if requested by the contractor, would require a change order approved by the Board of Commissioners.” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond and District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson were among county officials who helped break ground on the project on Aug. 3, 2017. Johnson, who last year called the project’s start “a great day on Glenwood Road,” said Tuesday that he is disappointed that the project has fallen behind schedule but that he is committed to seeing it completed as soon as possible. “I fought so hard to get it done,” he said. “It took eight years to get the funding.” When it is completed, Johnson said it will enhance the area. “Having a pedestrian-safe and a walkable community is very important,” Johnson said. “I just ask pedestrians and residents to be patient. We are going to give them a safer place to walk and it will help get our com-
PhotosByJenniferFfrenchParker/CrossRoadsNews
munity where we want it to be.” Cauthen blamed the project’s delay on utility companies. “As part of the Glenwood Road sidewalk project, the contractor is installing storm drain Larry Johnson pipe and there have been delays due to other underground utilities being in the way,” he said. “Contractors have encountered many gas and water lines along Glenwood, which have to be moved or worked around.” At present, Cauthen said the contractor is still working within the original contract terms and is scheduled to be substantially complete by the end of the year. In early 2000s, Glenwood Road was considered among “the most dangerous streets in Georgia” because of the number of pedestrian deaths on it.
Pedestrians and motorists will have to navigate construction barrels longer than originally projected.
The sidewalk project, which will include a HAWK pedestrian crosswalk – where walkers can stop traffic with the push of a button – near Shoal Creek Park, is the second phase of a three-part, $11.6 million project that began in 2009. The first phase, from I-20 and Candler Road to Glenwood Road, was completed in 2010 at a cost of $7.2 million. Georgia
Department of Transportation and federal funding is covering $3.1 million of the Glenwood sidewalk project. The county is providing $1.3 million in matching funds. The project’s final phase will continue the sidewalks from Columbia Drive to Covington Highway. There is no timeline yet for it to be completed, but Johnson says it’s on the District 3 list for SPLOST funding.