March 2018
Monthly City Newsletter
Fayetteville City Hall
770-461-6029 • fayetteville-ga.gov 240 South Glynn Street • Fayetteville, Georgia 30214
Police or Fire Emergency 911 Police Non-Emergency 770-461-4441 Fire Non-Emergency 770-461-4548 City Hall 770-461-6029 City Manager 770-719-4144 Water & Sewer 770-460-4237 Water & Sewer After-Hours 770-997-5189 Public Works 770-460-4230 Main Street Fayetteville 770-719-4173 Code Enforcement 770-719-4150 City Court 770-719-4277 Building Permits 770-719-4062 Burn Permits 770-719-4051 Job Line 770-719-4182 Public Information Officer 770-719-4147
Fayetteville Fire Chief Alan Jones and Deputy Fire Chief Linda Black were joined by many of their fellow firefighters at a February city council meeting to help celebrate their 20 years of service in their current roles.
Fire chiefs celebrate 20 years Fayetteville Fire Chief Alan Jones and Deputy Fire Chief Linda Black were both recognized in February for serving in their current roles for 20 years. Division Chief Keith Harris was given the floor at the beginning of the Feb. 15 Fayetteville City Council meeting, and he and Deputy Chief Black surprised Chief Jones with a bugle, or “speaking trumpet”, trophy along with congratulations and thanks for serving 20 years as fire chief as of Feb. 10. Another surprise came moments later, when Deputy Chief Black was also presented with a 20-year bugle trophy. “She has also done a lot for our department,” Division Chief Harris said of Deputy Chief Black. “She’s behind the scenes and she’s very quiet, but she has saved the city a lot of money.” He said she had helped
secure over $3.9 million in grant money for the department. “The bugle is very symbolic to the fire service. It’ on our badges, our helmets and our collar insignias,” said Division Chief Harris. “The history of this goes back to the 1800s.” He noted that chiefs in those times would use bugles to direct the actions of firefighters on fire scenes. Fayetteville firefighters pooled their personal funds to purchase the trophies. “It has been an honor to work with some of the best people in the world over the last 20 years,” Chief Jones said. “Chief Black has been invaluable to me as my second in command from day one. “I appreciate the Mayor and Council’s continuing support of our department and its mission to serve Fayetteville.”
City of Fayetteville announces first-ever photography contest
The City of Fayetteville has launched a city-wide photography contest to encourage local tourism, promote the arts and to help decorate the City Hall lobby. Fayetteville is home to much architectural and natural beauty, and the community is filled with talented photographers. Contest organizers are anticipating such a good response to this contest that they have created a special e-mail address for the occasion: photos@fayetteville-ga.gov. Photographs must be original and submitted by the owner, and they must feature subject matter located within Fayetteville city limits (Starr’s Mill, for example, is NOT within Fayetteville city limits). The submission deadline is Tuesday, Mar. 13. Eleven chosen photographs will be displayed in the Fayetteville City Hall lobby for a year beginning in mid-April. One of those 11 will be declared the Blue Ribbon Entry, and its photographer will receive a special prize. For a detailed map showing Fayetteville city limits, visit fayetteville-ga.gov.
Official Contest Rules All photographs submitted to the 2018 City of Fayetteville Photography Contest must be original images owned by the sender. Photography must be taken within the city limits of the City of Fayetteville, Georgia, however contestants are not required to be city residents. Photographs must be high-resolution (3.2 megapixels, minimum), and they must be e-mailed to photos@fayetteville-ga.gov by Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The following information must be included in the body of the e-mail: the photographer’s name, phone number and address; and a description of the photograph (location, when taken, interesting details, etc.). Only one entry per photography contest participant. By e-mailing a photo to the City of Fayetteville, Georgia, contest participants implicitly give the City non-exclusive permission to reproduce the submitted photos for promotional purposes. Eleven photographs will be selected as winning entries to be displayed at Fayetteville City Hall, and one photographer will be the Grand Prize winner. Winners will be notified by the end of March. Photographs will go on display at Fayetteville City Hall by the end of April. Employees of the City of Fayetteville, Georgia are not eligible to participate in this contest.
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Remembering Councilman Glenn Brewer Glenn Brewer was a much-loved and respected Fayetteville City Council member from 1991 through 2007. He passed away on Feb. 23. Following is his obituary. Captain Glenn “Tex” Brewer, USN (Ret.), age 89, passed away peacefully at his home in Fayetteville, GA on February 23, 2018. Glenn Brewer was born on June 8, 1928 in Tyler, Texas, the only child of James H. and Pauline Brewer. He obtained a flying license at age 16 and enlisted in the Navy after graduation from John Tyler High School in 1945, where he was a 3 year letterman in football. He was a Combat Air Crewman and attended Aerial Photography School at Pensacola. Winning a fleet appointment, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1951, initially making three Korean War deployments on the destroyer O’BANNON (DDE-450), homeported in Pearl Harbor. After completing Deep Sea Divers School in Pearl, Glenn attended Submarine School at New London and served in various submarines and staff throughout his career. In 1957 he was assigned as Head of the Navy Underwater Photo team at the Naval Photographic Center in Washington. In 1964 he became Commanding Officer of the attack submarine VOLADOR in the Pacific, winning the ‘E’ Battle Efficiency Award and one of the few COs to have a “Peacetime Kill” sinking Ex-SEA DEVIL in a Operational Torpedo Weapons test. In 1966, Captain Brewer reported to the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff at SAC Headquarters, Omaha as the Polaris Missile Targeting Liaison Officer, followed by the Senior Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After a tour of duty in Washington as Special Projects officer with the Deep Submergence Program he assumed command of one of the National Military Command and Control Centers with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a post he held until retirement in 1976. Captain Brewer’s honors and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Commendation and Korean Service Medal. He was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal for obtaining the first pictures of the underside of the North Pole while SCUBA diving beneath the ice from the nuclear submarine SEADRAGON on the first East-West Polar Passage in 1960, for which he was made a member of The Explorers Club in New York City. In 1961, he received a Navy Citation for meritorious action for saving the life of a USS TENCH crew Page 3
member injured while skin-diving in Monaco. Glenn also received a special Letter of Commendation for establishing a record operational deep SCUBA DIVE. Several of his photographs taken during his Naval career were published in TIME/LIFE magazines. While on active duty, Glenn was a National Champion Hydroplane race boat driver, setting World Records in both straightaway and competition speed marks, placing him in the Gulf Oil Racing Hall of Fame and 100 MPH Club. Upon retirement in 1976, he worked as a consultant for the Government in submarine special projects programs until a serious hang-gliding accident in 1985 resulted in his being paralyzed from the chest down and confined to a wheelchair. Nonetheless, he continued at a late age to participate in wheelchair national athletic track, road racing and swimming competition. Glenn also served with distinction for 16 years as a City Councilman in Fayetteville, GA. Captain Brewer is survived by his wife of 67 years, the former Jeanne Fort of Jacksonville, FL; three daughters: Kathaleen Brewer of Fayetteville, GA; Barbara and Paul Cooper of Desert Hot Springs, CA; Cecilia and Jim Englehart of Chambersburg, PA; a total of nine grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter. He was predeceased by his only son, James M. Brewer of Austin, TX. A memorial service with military honors will be held in the Chapel at Mowell’s Funeral Home in Fayetteville on March 4, 2018 at 3:00pm. Immediately following will be a Celebration of Life at the Historic Train Depot located catty-corner through the parking lot. There will be food, a movie of Glenn’s life, and an opportunity for anyone to share a memory about Glenn. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make a donation in memory of Captain Brewer to either Hero Box (www.herobox.org) or The Navigators (www.navigators.org).
City of Fayetteville, Georgia Monthly Newsletter - March 2018
Vintage hats on display all year at the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum The Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum in Historic Downtown Fayetteville has rolled out a new yearlong exhibit called “Undercover: Vintage Hats”. “At one time, every gentleman and lady would not consider leaving their home without a hat on their head,” said Museum Manager Thomas Lee. “Hats kept hair clean and also made a fashion statement.” The museum, located one block west of the Old Fayette County Courthouse, has 45 of these hats on display in three cases located upstairs in the Arrowhead Room. Included are top hats, a Fedora, saucer styles and pill boxes. The arrowheads for which the room is named are still in the room as well. Guests will also enjoy the permanent exhibits
found in the Fayette County Room, the Civil War Room, the Veterans Room and the “Gone with the Wind” Room. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10-3, the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife Museum is located at 140 West Lanier Avenue, Fayetteville. Guided and self-guided tour programs are available. Adult admission is $5, and only $4 for students and senior citizens. Learn more at hdfhouse.com or by calling 770-716-5332.
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City launches new website The City of Fayetteville on March 1 launched its new website, still located at fayetteville-ga.gov, which expands opportunities to communicate and interact with the community. Residents will find it easier to make inquiries and payments. Businesses will experience a more streamlined permitting process. The community will stay updated with the latest news, events and important notices. If you have questions, e-mail info@fayetteville-ga.gov.
Police lose beards at charity event Fayetteville Police Department’s “No-Shave November” finally came to a close at the end of February. A shaving celebration of sorts took place Feb. 28 at J. Sam’s Barbershop, where Police officers donated $25 a month to the Piedmont Fayette Hospital Cancer Wellness Center from November through February for the privilege of growing a full
beard. Department policy normally requires officers to be clean-shaven or to have neatly-groomed mustaches or goatees. While Sam Burch and Tyler Powell shaved beards, Brad Brezina of The Harbin Agency cooked up barbecue, which was sold on a donation basis, also benifitting the cancer wellness center.
Top-left and center: Barber Sam Burch trims Police Chief Scott Gray’s beard back to a goatee the old-fashioned way. Bottom-left: Brad Brezina and Brian Schultz smoked up barbecue for the cause. Above: C.A.R.E. Unit Officer Eddie Hernandez was eventually clean-shaven, but barber Tyler Powell had a bit of fun with his beard along the way.
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City of Fayetteville, Georgia Monthly Newsletter - March 2018
Fayette Pavilion by the numbers The Fayette Pavilion shopping center on Fayetteville’s north side is one of the major retail destinations in the Atlanta region, but did you know it is also the single largest property tax payer in all of Fayette County and has been for many years? It may also be a much safer place than you realized. Based on numbers supplied by Fayette County Tax Commissioner’s office, Fayette Pavilion’s owner DDR Corporation was the top property tax payer in Fayette County. And that does not include the WalMart property, which is located within the Fayette Pavilion center but owned independently. WalMart, when you consider both the Fayetteville and Peachtree City properties, ranks as the second largest property tax payer. Now that the county-wide 2017 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax has been approved, Fayette Pavilion is naturally where more of that estimated $141 million (over six years) will be collected than anywhere else in Fayette County. Fayetteville is expected over these six years to receive more than $21 million of that money. Those S.P.L.O.S.T. dollars
are already being put to use funding infrastructure projects, and there’s much more to come in the years ahead. Sprawling over more than 130 acres, Fayette Pavilion offers more than 1.5 million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space. According to DDR Corporation, the 10-minute drive time trade area includes nearly 20,000 households. Fayette Pavilion is home to Fayetteville Fire Department Station #93, and officers from both the Fayetteville Police Department and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office regularly patrol there. Reported crimes have decreased over the years, and reported larceny incidents dropped to 170 in 2017. Of course, the City considers that to be 170 too many, and our police department takes each one seriously, but considering there are more than 80 retail locations on site, including Wal-Mart, Target, The Home Depot, Publix, Old Navy, Kohl’s and Belk, that is a relatively low number. That number was 285 in 2016 and 350 in 2015. Just the same, patrols have been stepped up, and our police continue to work
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closely with loss prevention teams and DDR security personnel to prosecute offenders, push those larceny numbers even lower and help people feel safe. Despite rumors that pop up now and again, Fayette Pavilion has very low violent crime numbers. There have been four aggravated assaults reported there over the previous 10 years, and there has never been a homicide. While there were 18 reported motor vehicle thefts across Fayetteville in 2017, only one of those took place at Fayette Pavilion. These are further testimonies, we believe, to the higher visibility of police in the shopping center combined with a strong reputation that crime in Fayetteville will not be tolerated, and offenders will be prosecuted. One other concern often heard at Fayetteville City Hall is that Fayette Pavilion is losing tenants.
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This, too, is a legitimate concern, but it has been misreported as well. Read that tenant list above, and you see that the top half-dozen retailers, the “anchor stores”, are all still doing well and show no signs of going anywhere. However, the Toys ’R’ Us location is closing due to corporate bankruptcy. H.H. Gregg closed in 2017 for the same reason. Fayette Pavilion, which boasts a strong retail position in this region of Georgia, is affected when retailers globally change their market strategies. As Fayetteville plans for the future, our City leadership team has reached out to DDR Corporate representatives to offer any assistance they may need to ensure Fayette Pavilion continues to be an important contributor and much-appreciated retail resource for the community in the decades to come.
City of Fayetteville, Georgia Monthly Newsletter - March 2018
More Fayetteville photos
Above: The first City, Commerce & Coffee event was held in February at Gremlin Growlers on the Courthouse Square. Local business leaders and city officials discussed the Downtown Redevelopment Plan. Below-right: Fayetteville Fire Department new recruit training continues. Firefighters recently visited a local automobile salvage yard to practice extrication maneuvers.
Above: The City of Fayetteville in February celebrated its ninth annual Tree City USA designation, an honor bestowed by the Arbor Day Foundation. Pictured at a recent city council meeting are (left to right) Councilman Paul Oddo, City Planner LaShawn Gardiner and councilmen Harlan Shirley, Rich Hoffman and Scott Stacy. City of Fayetteville, Georgia Monthly Newsletter - March 2018
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Coming soon... April 22-28 2018
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City of Fayetteville, Georgia Monthly Newsletter - March 2018
UPCOMING EVENTS: Mar. 6 Fayette Transportation Plan Open House Sandy Creek High School, 5-7 p.m. (see page 9) Mar. 31 EasterPalooza - Old Fayette County Courthouse, 3-5 p.m. Apr. 7 Suds on the Square - Old Fayette County Courthouse, 12-5 p.m. Visit SudsOnTheSquare.com Apr. 21 2018 Concert Series begins at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater (see page 11) Apr. 22-28 Georgia Cities Week in Fayetteville (see p. 10)
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Please direct questions about this newsletter to PIO Danny Harrison: 770-719-4147 dharrison@fayetteville-ga.gov
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