Dunwoody Incorporation/School Redistricting (hoa, apartment, house)

[RoslynHolcomb]

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Since I'm now officially a registered voter, it would probably behoove me to get an understanding of the issues. I've been reading about it in the Dunwoody Crier, but I suspect that they're less than an unbiased source. Will taxes go up? And most importantly, will we then get someone to pick up yard debris? We had to do quite a bit of clearing on our property, only to discover to our dismay that we have to pay someone to haul it away. That wasn't an issue in our previous house, but, of course, we lived in the city. Still, it's very strange considering.

Much the same about the school redistricting, building a 4/5th grade school. What is the story there? It's my understanding that they can't simply redraw the districts to relieve overcrowding because the parents don't want it. I'm not really sure why, though some say that people don't want the 'dreaded apartment kids' in their school. Of course, I'm not really sure where the DAKs are, though I suspect it's Hightower.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

We had to do quite a bit of clearing on our property, only to discover to our dismay that we have to pay someone to haul it away.

It sounds like you've been hoodwinked. Dekalb picks up lawn debris as a standard service one day per week (my pickup day is Friday, yours may be different). They also remove virtually anything you put on the curb for free (aside from certain toxins).

It's impossible to know for sure how incorporation will impact taxes and services until you actually incorporate. The Dunwoody Crier, as you said, is VERY pro-incorporation and will paint the rosiest picture possible. In my opinion, you will probably pay more in taxes if Dunwoody becomes a city.

[RoslynHolcomb]

I think I'll call to find out when our pick-up day is. We cut some branches off trees, and there was also some old wooden fence posts left on the property (don't ask). My husband cleaned out the gutters which were full of leaves and twigs, and we bagged it up and put it on the curb in big black garbage bags. We hauled it to the curb, but it hasn't been picked up. It's been at least ten days, but maybe we missed our pick-up day. Our neighbor told us that they don't pick it up, that really freaked us out.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I think I'll call to find out when our pick-up day is. We cut some branches off trees, and there was also some old wooden fence posts left on the property (don't ask). My husband cleaned out the gutters which were full of leaves and twigs, and we bagged it up and put it on the curb in big black garbage bags. We hauled it to the curb, but it hasn't been picked up. It's been at least ten days, but maybe we missed our pick-up day. Our neighbor told us that they don't pick it up, that really freaked us out.

Roslyn, I don't even live in DeKalb (over here in East Cobb, trash collection is all private and the county has no involvement at all). But I googled and found this: DeKalb County Sanitation Division

Note the part about plastic bags being unacceptable for yard waste.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I think I'll call to find out when our pick-up day is. We cut some branches off trees, and there was also some old wooden fence posts left on the property (don't ask). My husband cleaned out the gutters which were full of leaves and twigs, and we bagged it up and put it on the curb in big black garbage bags. We hauled it to the curb, but it hasn't been picked up. It's been at least ten days, but maybe we missed our pick-up day. Our neighbor told us that they don't pick it up, that really freaked us out.

They won't take lawn debris if it's in plastic garbage bags (oops, RainyDay beat me to it). You have to use the paper lawn bags like you get at Target, Home Depot, etc. Or you can use a trash can so long as it is a trash can that is NOT used for household garbage.


From the Dekalb Sanitation website:
DeKalb County Sanitation Division

• What kind of containers should we use for yard debris?

Use biodegradable paper bags, clean cardboard boxes or durable clean cans that have not been exposed to household waste. All bags, boxes, or containers must not exceed 20-40 gallons in size or 50 lbs in weight. *** Please note *** Plastic bags are not acceptable.

[RoslynHolcomb]

Okay, that makes sense. We just got a big 50 gallon garbage can, that we haven't used yet. I guess we can just dump the leaves and other debris from the gutters in it until we can get some paper bags.

[JPD]

You might want to talk to some other neighbors. If the county isn't coming out to pick up lawn debris, they should be. Maybe call the county and find out what's up.

I get the feeling this could be a case of a buttinsky neighbor/wannabe HOA president who doesn't want to see a pile of lawn debris and is lying to you hoping you'll call to have it removed imediately by a commercial debris removal company.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Since I'm now officially a registered voter, it would probably behoove me to get an understanding of the issues. I've been reading about it in the Dunwoody Crier, but I suspect that they're less than an unbiased source. Will taxes go up? And most importantly, will we then get someone to pick up yard debris? We had to do quite a bit of clearing on our property, only to discover to our dismay that we have to pay someone to haul it away. That wasn't an issue in our previous house, but, of course, we lived in the city. Still, it's very strange considering.

Much the same about the school redistricting, building a 4/5th grade school. What is the story there? It's my understanding that they can't simply redraw the districts to relieve overcrowding because the parents don't want it. I'm not really sure why, though some say that people don't want the 'dreaded apartment kids' in their school. Of course, I'm not really sure where the DAKs are, though I suspect it's Hightower.

As everyone else has said -- yard waste is absolutely picked up, though maybe not this week (sometimes when there is a holiday it messes up both yard waste and recycling).

The school situation is more complicated than it should have been. Dunwoody is a very difficult community to please and from my perspective, the system took the path of least resistance, though one that is more certain to fill the building. Redistricting involved lots of assumptions since much of the development of Ashford-Dunwoody had slowed to a halt as the economy has slowed.

[RoslynHolcomb]

We'll have to trim some of the branches as I think some are longer than 4 ft. We don't have a chainsaw, but maybe we can pick one up.

Our garbage can is a 50 gallon, so we might just get the paper bags since they say they should be no bigger than 40 gallons

LMM, is the concern about the 'apartment kids' about test scores? I'm assuming that most of them are immigrant children. I guess that could impact property values since a lot of people choose schools that way. I'm just trying to get my head around the notion of building a whole new school when they've got two schools that are below 80%. It sounds crazy, but I probably don't know the whole story.

[spacelord75]

I think it's part apartment kids and part just the fact that, like any area, they are adverse to change. Think about it - considering the relatively high "rankings" (for whatever they are worth) of both Austin and Vanderlyn, you are asking people to send their kids from the known to the unknown, so naturally you are going to have disputes over this. I think I said somewhere in another thread a long time ago that either way, I'm sure the new school for 4th/5th grade will be fine, it will at least be much more advanced technologically than Austin/Vanderlyn. Despite the fact that some families will be inconvenienced, I think the move to a "buffer school" like this before going to PCMS is a good way to break in kids the idea of merging with a larger student base. Fortunately it seems as if many of the families in D-wood are highly involved, so I'm sure it will succeed.

Regarding lawn pickup - it is on Tuesdays and, take it from me, they will take absolutely anything! We bought our house in the 'wood a year ago and had an entire backyard of ivy and various other debris and we finally have it all grass. I used to try to bag the ivy, but finally realized that baling it into massive balls was the way to go....each one weighed in at 70lbs easily and they were all picked up. I've put upwards of 50 bags at the corner before as well as 2'x2' tree stumps out there and they've picked it all up. I did find, however, if I put the lawn refuse in a plastic bag it would stay there until I put it in the lawn bags. They actually sell them at Kroger, so pretty easy to grab.

In terms of cityhood, as someone who grew up in Dunwoody and has now chosen to move back with plans for a family, I feel it is an important step. Dekalb county is going to hell in a handbasket and the leadership is extremely corrupt. My bro-in-law, a police officer in the north precinct, has told me enough about how under financed and under-manned police in our area is to make me want a change. The bottom line is that it is always good to have a say in where you money goes and to have some semblence of chance of exacting change....in the current set-up, there is no chance. I am willing to take on higher taxes if need be.