☔️ Will it ever end?

Waseem Abbas

6 months ago

Awash in the rain

May 30 — It’s Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Tucker. A friend told me yesterday that we are about 1/4 of an inch from recording 10 inches of rain this month in Atlanta.

Things are going to look up on Saturday, I hear. In the meantime, my knee is still predicting rain. I used to hate when Grandpa Brown used to use his elbow to predict that day’s forecast. An aside: He also used to drive down the middle of Main Street in Chillicothe, Ohio because he was “only taking up half of the road” like any other law-abiding citizen. To be fair, it makes as much sense as asking your aching joints for the five-day forecast.

This week’s newsletter outlines good news heard at Tucker’s City Council meeting, a low-key election, a proud moment for the DeKalb County School District, and a brief update on a project that just won’t go away.

Have a great weekend,
Cathy

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Some unanticipated revenue for the city

The Tucker City Council heard at its May 27 meeting a financial report that indicated that revenues are significantly higher than expected.

Beverly Hilton, the city’s finance director, reported that the city’s budget, with 17 percent left in the fiscal year, reflects an increase of $333,000 in electric franchise fees above what was budgeted, and business and occupation taxes are currently $643,000 higher what the city expected to collect for the year.

Tucker City Engineer Ken Hildebrandt also outlined multiple recommendations made by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., which was hired to conduct a comprehensive study of the Hugh Howell Corridor.

Hildebrandt said a speed study on Hugh Howell Road revealed that late-night street racing is a problem, with speeds sometimes exceeding 80 mph. The road has also been known for rush-hour congestion. A multi-prong solution to all of the road’s problems are going to cost you.

Here’s the story.

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Headline preview…. ‘Turnout was low’

According to the very few people who are in the know, early voting for the Special Primary Public Service Commissioner (PSC) Special Election has started. The only item on the ballot is the race for District Seats 2 and 3.

If you are wondering what the PSC does, here you go: it oversees the regulation of gas and electric utilities, including determining Georgia Power’s plans and rates, so that’s pretty important to us. The PSC also sets/approves priorities for Georgia Power, including how funds are spent on new infrastructure and maintaining existing equipment.

The candidates are required to live in a certain district, but the seats on the PSC are voted statewide. The winners of each partisan primary will face each other in the general election in November. There are early-voting locations all around the county, but the most convenient for local residents is the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library at 5234 Lavista Rd.

Hours are as follows:
Monday – Friday (through June 13), 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday (May 31 & June 7), 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday (June 1 & June 8), noon – 5 p.m.

Who are the candidates? I have no idea, but here’s one guy who won’t be elected, even though his name will be on the ballot.

‘Bee’ proud, DeKalb County

Everyone needs to be proud to be a resident of DeKalb County and/or a graduate of the Tucker-based DeKalb County School District today, as one of its own, Sarv Dharavane, a fifth grader at Austin Elementary School, came in third at the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 29.

Just for context, more than 11 million students participated in the run-up to the national competition this school year, and Sarv, the youngest speller in the finals, beat out all but two of 243 competitors. He’s also the internet’s darling.

Read all about his journey here.

A hearing about Heritage

A controversial proposal to rezone part of the Tucker-adjacent Heritage Golf Course for residential housing that was defeated last September is apparently not dead yet.

To refresh your memory, the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 24 to deny a zoning change and 10 variances that would pave the way for a subdivision containing 229 for-sale homes on a Tucker-area tract of land that currently serves as a nine-hole golf course.

The rezoning proposal from R-200 (Residential) to TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development) for 46 acres of land would have allowed for the construction of 88 single-family homes, 40 duplexes and 109 townhomes.

The applicants, Parkland Communities and Burns Golf Course, LLC, filed a complaint last October challenging the denial and Gwinnett County followed with a motion to dismiss. A hearing about the case was held on May 16, but a decision has not been handed down yet, as it is in the discovery phase.

I will be keeping my eyes on this, but in the meantime, here’s the orginal story about the denial.