Council approves bond referendum vote for parks, trails

By Cathy Cobbs

The Dunwoody City Council voted 6-1 to let voters decide if they want to finance major improvements to their city’s parks and trails.

At its May 22 meeting, after listening to a presentation by member Tom Lambert, the council approved a resolution that will put a $60-million, $20-year bond referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot. Councilor John Heneghan was the lone dissenting vote.

Heneghan did not elaborate on his reasons for voting against the measure but said after the meeting that his dissenting vote reflected the lack of specificity regarding the projects on the bond list.

“In negotiating for a possible bond referendum, I was hoping for a more detailed list of specific projects that would be funded with the bond proceeds and I also requested several bond questions on the ballot vs the ‘all or nothing ‘aspect that was finally presented,” Heneghan said. “During my questioning of the proposed projects, the city attorney explained that the question being presented to the electorate on the ballot will give ultimate flexibility to the city council and that no specific list will need to be followed, but instead the items listed Monday are highlevel aspirational items to be funded where numerous changes can be made.”

Heneghan said his vote against the bond referendum “was me stating that

I wanted more transparency as to where specifically the proceeds would be going and additional referendum options on the ballot.”

At the meeting, Lambert and other officials said that since there is another measure on the November ballot asking for a renewal of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, having more than one question about city improvements could be confusing.

Lambert laid out the options for financing the improvements, which include paying the cost out of the city’s existing operating budget, allocating the expenditures in a “pay-as-you-go” model, or issuing bonds.

“Across the nation, bond financing is the most common means to fund infrastructure improvements,” Lambert said. “With a bond vote, the decision will be made by the residents of Dunwoody.”

The improvements were narrowed down by council after considering public input for months, and will include:

■ Buildout of Homecoming Park, formerly referred to as Vermack Park and the yet-to-be-named park on Roberts Drive;