Local leader forecast for 2022

COMMENTARY

What to watch: Local leaders share their 2022 predictions

2022 certainly promises to be another news-filled year, from a continued fight against COVID-19 to a debate over whether Buckhead should break off from Atlanta. Reporter Newspapers surveyed local leaders to hear what they think will be the biggest issues in the next 12 months. These responses were edited for space. Read their full responses at ReporterNewspapers.com.

— AMY WENK

Rusty Paul, Mayor, Sandy Springs We are excited to showcase our Performing Arts Center to the metro Atlanta area and beyond. As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll offer a number of exciting performances, concerts and events to our visitors in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. While crime has increased nationwide, our police department ensures Sandy Springs remains one of the safest places to live and visit. COVID-19 remains a concern, but we continue to adapt and move forward as safely as possible. Our fire department has hosted a number of educational and vaccine events throughout the community. The City selected the Heritage Building at 6110 Blue Stone Road to house the Georgia Holocaust Memorial and Anne Frank in the World exhibit. This important memorial will feature a greatly enhanced set of high-tech exhibits drawing on state-of-the-art technology.

In the coming year, we’ll also continue our pursuit of water reliability for the residents of Sandy Springs. This is part of the City’s long-term vision and our residents deserve the opportunity to decide from where and how they receive their water.

Lastly, it’s time to start working on the next phase of City Springs. We’ve come a long way since the development of our City Center campus, but there’s work to be done to update our master plan and expand our footprint.

Lynn Deutsch, Mayor, Dunwoody

Even with the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, Dunwoody has continued to thrive. City Council remains focused on connectivity by purchasing additional parkland, enhancing pedestrian and cyclist safety with new sidewalks and crosswalks, paving roads, hosting events and partnering to encourage improvements to the Dunwoody Village area.

In 2022, Council will continue to make public safety a priority. In order to attract top talent to the Dunwoody Police Department, City Council approved a significant salary increase, as well as providing excellent benefits. Ambulance response times, which had improved before the pandemic, have not returned to an acceptable level. We are working with DeKalb public safety officials and our county commissioners on this important issue.

We will begin construction of a new park in Perimeter Center and continue to work on plans for two other parks. The City will start constructing additional multi-purpose trails for both recreation and commuting. We have unveiled several public art pieces and have many more planned.

We are thrilled that Hapag-Lloyd selected Dunwoody to be its North American home, and we anticipate similar announcements in 2022. A key takeaway from the pandemic is that outdoor space in commercial areas is as important as indoor spaces. High Street, Campus 244, and Ashford Lane will all add green space and amenities to the Perimeter area.

John Ernst, Mayor, Brookhaven As always, the thing that affects most people more than anything else is traffic. We have made significant headway with recommendations from the Top End I-285 Transit collaborative with all of the cities and CIDs to work with the GDOT on the critical transit alternatives needed on the perimeter between Smyrna and Tucker. Of course, we’ll also be back at work paving our roads, making them some of the best in the state, leveraging SPLOST funds that were approved by voters in 2018. Speaking of SPLOST, Brookhaven’s new Public Safety Building, housing our police and Municipal Court, should be open for business this year. Also, design work will be underway for Phases II and III of the Peachtree Creek Greenway, which extends our “model mile” literally and figuratively, into a model for transit alternatives for the region.

Construction on parks improvement projects will also be in high gear in 2022. Beginning in January, we’ll be working on all Lynwood Park projects at once, which will be an epic transformation in less than a year.

We’ll continue to keep our eyes open for the latest developments in the worldwide COVID pandemic, and make any changes necessary to ensure the health and safety of our residents and our workforce. Having said that, with multiple vaccines readily available and changes in the way we all go about our daily routines, I believe 2022 will usher in an era of normalcy which I think all of us are looking forward to.

Once of the fun things we’ll be bringing back is our annual Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival, back at Blackburn Park on March 26 and 27, 2022. I personally guarantee it will be a blast.

Robb Pitts, Chair, Fulton County Board of Commissioners The most important issue of 2022 is going to be the same as it was in 2021 and 2020 – fighting and defeating the COVID-19 pandemic. It might have briefly felt like we put this crisis behind us, but by June of this year, more Americans had died of COVID-19 in 2021 than in all of 2020. This year, we faced the Delta variant which caused a tremendous spike in cases and in deaths; in 2022, it seems likely we’ll be up against the Omicron variant and others. We know how to defeat this virus – by getting everyone fully vaccinated it becomes much more difficult for the virus to continue mutating. Unfortunately, the fight we’re in now is convincing people to actually get the vaccine. They have been in use for over a year now and just over 60% of eligible people in Fulton County have gotten a single dose. Now, we know that to be fully protected you need the booster shot – which only around 30% of eligible Fulton County residents have received.

Alan Goodman, President & CEO, Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce

Our City, just as most municipalities in the State of Georgia, is climbing out of a rough time for both our neighborhoods and businesses. Brookhaven, in my opinion, is ahead of most communities, in that more and more people are deciding on our city, which allows our businesses to attract new clients and tourists and once again continue to flourish. Simply look at the numbers of people who are walking around and driving and doing!

As an intelligent friend of mine states, “Police, parks, and lack of potholes makes ours an attractive place to live and work; add to this formula, the amazing development going on around Children’s Hospital/Emory and a couple of other corridors”…enhancing our appeal even greater. My friend, whom I paraphrase here, is Mr. Joe Gebbia. Joe retired from our City Council after 12 years, but the council has added another strong person who (like the rest of the council including the Mayor) loves this place and will continue to help us grow this city.

Stephanie Freeman, President and CEO, Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber Companies will continue to manage return to work guidelines, offer stay-at-home options and navigate any government mandates. If businesses require employees to be in office, the amount of traffic will increase, which will add more stress to already challenged retailers and restaurants who are confronted with issues while recruiting and retaining employees. Continued adaptation to curbside pickup and delivery options, as well as combating the loss of revenue due to delivery apps that reduce profit margins added to supply chain shortages, may also cause continued stress to many businesses. The real estate bubble may cause increased property taxes associated with inflated values, and there may be a long-term impact on commercial real estate due to remote working environments. The redevelopment of Dunwoody Village into a destination-for-all spot is an exciting and much anticipated project, one that will come with its own set of challenges as development gets underway.

Jim Durrett, President of The Buckhead Coalition, Executive Director of Buckhead CID

Standing at the edge of 2022, it’s difficult to imagine that there has ever been a more pivotal year in Buckhead’s history than the one that lies ahead. Crime and cityhood are far and away the most pressing issues facing our community, and both have the potential to reshape the future of Buckhead, and the City of Atlanta, in dramatic fashion.

The Buckhead Coalition and Buckhead Community Improvement District are heavily engaged on both fronts, working closely with many community-based groups to improve public safety and take a unified stand against the movement to split from Atlanta.

We will continue working closely with the Atlanta Police Department in 2022 to grow the police force in Buckhead and reduce serious crime. We will also continue pushing for enforcement of license and permit violations to reduce illegal ac-

tivity at problematic establishments.

The first quarter of 2022 will be dominated by work to stop Buckhead cityhood legislation from passing in the Georgia General Assembly. With every passing day, more people are joining the effort to keep Buckhead a part of Atlanta, demonstrating a shared understanding that we are stronger together. I look forward to working with some of Atlanta’s most recognized leaders and its most passionate citizens to keep Buckhead and Atlanta unified.

Denise Starling, Executive Director, Livable Buckhead Some years it can be difficult to anticipate what issues will be most pressing, but that is definitely not the case for 2022. Without a doubt, crime and cityhood will be the two biggest issues facing Buckhead in the year ahead. These are big challenges and there are no quick fixes, but I am encouraged to see the level of engagement in our community as people step up to advocate for a safer, more unified Buckhead. It’s important not to lose sight of other issues that have a dramatic impact on our quality of life, such as traffic. Livable Buckhead is taking innovative approaches in 2022, starting with a program for employer-subsidized housing that would make it more affordable for Buckhead’s workforce to live here instead of commuting from other parts of the city. We’ll also launch an on-demand shuttle service – similar to Uber or Lyft – that makes it easier for people to get around Buckhead without a car. And the final, major phase of PATH400 between Wieuca Rd. and Loridans Dr. will begin construction in 2022. When complete, Buckhead residents can walk or bike from one end of the community to the other, avoiding traffic and adding exercise to their daily routines.

Ann Hanlon, Executive Director, Perimeter CID 2022 will be another year of growth for the Central Perimeter market. We have several new large companies bringing energy to the market, including Carvana in the Park Center campus and Insight Global in the 1224 building. We are also excited to welcome Hapag-Lloyd to Perimeter, where they plan to lease space in Ravinia.

On the infrastructure front, 2022 should be a banner year for project funding from the federal government. It will take time and thoughtful consideration as we work with our elected officials to determine how and where those dollars will be invested. A successful TSPLOST referendum in Fulton County will also bring huge opportunities to invest in projects that benefit the Sandy Springs community on the Fulton County side of our District. Finally, as the 285 @ 400 interchange enters the final stages of construction, we can all begin to see how impactful this project will be when it is complete – not just for Central Perimeter, but for all of Metro Atlanta.

Malaika Rivers, Executive Director, Chamblee Doraville CID 2022 is determined to be quite a year. For businesses, labor shortages, supply chain issues, cost of materials and pandemic-related health concerns will continue into 2022 and impact all of us. Passage of the trillion dollar federal infrastructure bill presents major opportunities all the way down to the community level. Public-private partnerships are the name of the game as it allows dollars to stretch further. Much of the money will repair aged infrastructure but the feds also intend to push the needle on innovation. Politics is also always on the table. If Buckhead succeeds and forms its own city that will have major consequences. Metro Atlanta’s collective ability to attract and retain companies is our lifeblood and carving out a new city, essentially along racial lines, would be destructive on so many levels. That, combined with the divisive tenor of political rhetoric so prevalent today, will make for a wild ride in statewide races and midterm elections in 2022.

Bob Fiscella, President, Dunwoody Homeowners Association

Looking into my crystal ball, the biggest issue facing Dunwoody in 2022 will continue to be the DeKalb County School District and how it deals with overcrowding and failing infrastructure at virtually all of its facilities within the borders of the city.

Dunwoody needs to continue to press for the construction of the proposed new elementary school near the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. and Shallowford Rd. Is it the perfect location for a new school? Perhaps not, but it is necessary.

It is also necessary to eliminate the overcrowded situation at the high school, and unfortunately adding onto the current facility is not the answer. An addition simply does not address some of the major issues including lack of athletic facilities and parking.

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