Neighbors who don’t ignore problems ABOVE THE WATER LINE

Winn Park in Atlanta’s Ansley Park neighborhood has been a part of my life for more than 30 years. It’s where my sons learned to ride bikes, sled and play baseball, where we buried Gerbie the gerbil and where our family dog stalked fish in the ponds.

Lately I’ve spent a lot of time in the stream that flows through Winn Park, thanks to my vigilant neighbor Paula Heer.

This unnamed stream – which receives water from storm drains in addition to its natural flow – is contained in an underground culvert for much of the park. It emerges from darkness to flow a few hundred yards through the park, then under The Prado and into The Dell Park on its way to Clear Creek, Peachtree Creek and ultimately the Chattahoochee River.

A residential real estate agent, Paula moved to Ansley Park from New York City in 1999. She says that she immediately fell in love with the neighborhood: “In two minutes, I can walk to a park, really a paradise with mature trees, ponds and an urban stream. Two minutes in the other direction and I’m in the midst of a brilliant city.”

By Sally Bethea

Sally Bethea is the retired executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (chattahoochee.org), a nonprofit environmental organization whose mission is to protect and restore the drinking water supply for nearly four million people.

In twice-daily dog walks, Paula keeps an eye on Winn Park and the stream where a bullfrog named Herman used to live and neighborhood children like to play, often running in the water through the pipe under The Prado.

This summer, Paula told me that the stream in the park was a whitish color and smelled: a classic description of sewage contamination. But, the water needed to be tested to verify the pollution.

After I retired from Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK), I became a volunteer stream monitor, collecting weekly samples in Tanyard and Clear Creeks. Now, I had an opportunity to test water closer to home in Winn Park, as part of CRK’s Neighborhood Water Watch Program.

The E. coli bacteria level in my first water sample, analyzed in CRK’s lab using federal protocols, was literally off the charts. Our data, taken over several weeks, convinced Atlanta’s Watershed Department that there was a serious public health problem in Winn Park. They worked over the Fourth of July weekend to investigate and then attempt to fix the problem.

The initial culprit was identified as a gas company that had inadvertently punctured city sewer lines in several places when it installed a gas line. The holes allowed untreated sewage to flow into an adjacent storm drain that led directly to the stream in the park.

The city repaired the holes and the bacteria level in the creek improved somewhat, but clearly there were more pollution sources to be found. The city’s sewer sleuths continued their work with CRK and the Ansley Park Civic Association urging them on.

The next discovery: an old sewer line with structural defects that needed to be replaced to keep untreated sewage from several residences out of the stream. This work is in process and water samples should eventually yield a much cleaner result.

Every neighborhood needs to have people like Paula Heer – citizens who don’t look away. They notice problems that affect them and their neighbors and they do something about them. Their vigilance helps make our communities better, safer places to live.

To become part of CRK’s Neighborhood Water Watch Program, see chattahoochee. org or contact Mike Meyer at mmeyer@chattahoochee.org.

The idea of retirement community living never really occurred to the Andersons. Their daughters wanted them close by and willingly did the research, visiting several communities, and eventually choosing Canterbury for its welcoming feeling. With T.J. actively composing most days, their newly renovated apartment had to provide a gracious home for his piano, as well as expansive art and book collections. That it also offered a great view of Peachtree fireworks was icing on the cake.

The Andersons invite you to discover their Canterbury Court.

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BUCKHEAD

Luxury townhomes centrally located to Midtown, Westside, I 285 and more. Open floor plans offer 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, with superior finishes. Community offers a fabulous dog park. Priced in the mid 500’s. Brandon School District

BROWNSTONES

OLD FOURTH WARD

Now Selling! Conveniently located to Downtown, Atlanta Beltline, Ponce City Market and Krog St. Market. Elegant townhomes offer 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths in a gated community with a pool.

410 Felton Dr.

Priced in the mid 500’s

Special features for both communities include ten foot ceilings on first and second level, coffered ceilings and fireplace in the living room, covered back decks, fabulous kitchens, spacious master suites with indoor & outdoor sitting area, elegant all marble master baths, much more!

Tacha Costner

404-274-8134 cell | 404-233-4142 office

Taking Charge How Atlanta leads with electric vehicles

By Stephanie Stuckey Benfield

Drive. Charge. Repeat.

That’s the commuting routine for many metropolitan Atlanta drivers of electric vehicles. In fact, FleetCarma, an EV fleet management and analytics company, recently named our city one of the top 10 electric vehicle (EV) markets in the country. What makes Atlanta a leader in this space? Our extensive public charging network, business tax credits toward the purchase of charging stations, streamlined permitting for EV charging equipment installation and low electricity rates all contribute.

This success comes despite the decision by the Georgia state legislature to repeal a $5,000 tax credit toward the purchase of EVs. But while the state stalls, the City of Atlanta moves forward to become a national leader on EVs. Our initiatives include:

• Adding 60 EVs and plug-in hybrids to the city’s fleet, with the accompanying charging infrastructure, through an innovative public-private partnership that saves the city money on our fleet operations;

• Adding five Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) to service the BeltLine – two for the Police’s PATH Force, two for the Fire Department’s EMC unit, and one for Parks and Recreation;

• Creating a one-year fellowship position housed in the Office of Sustainability that will focus on expanding low-emission vehicle opportunities in the city in partnership with the Electrification Coalition, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit group committed to policies that facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale;

• Plans to add 100 EV charging spaces at the airport parking decks, plus 300 spaces by end of 2017.

The following Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates physicians have been named to Atlanta magazine’s list of Top Doctors for 2016: Dr. Girish Anand, Dr. Norman Elliott, Dr. Charles Fox, Dr. Lori Lucas, Dr. Ralph Lyons, Dr. Enrique Martínez, Dr. Kamil Obideen, Dr. Neal Osborn, Dr. David Quinn, and Dr. John Suh

As a result, Atlanta now has one of the largest municipal electric fleets in the country, and we’re not slowing down. The city is working closely with partners such as the Clean Cities Coalition and Georgia Power Company to expand our network of charging stations. Georgia Power is a strong advocate for EVs and even donated the city’s first EV car to our fleet (affectionately dubbed the “PoLeaf” since it’s used by APD to patrol the BeltLine).

With more millennials moving to Atlanta and growing our workforce, we’re seeing greater interest in alternative commute options. In Mayor Kasim Reed’s Office of Sustainability, we’re working to ensure that these options are not only viable, but all the more practical and desirable. We hope to soon be at the point where saying “fill ‘er up” is as much of an anachronism as “hang up the phone.” Atlanta’s future is calling; let’s accept the charge.