|
Newsletter for April / May
2004
Hi, everyone! Here is the latest
Smyrna news. I have a lot to report on in this issue.
1. Smyrna named a "Tree City USA": Following
up on Smyrna being named in January as a "City of Excellence,"
the National Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org)
named Smyrna a "Tree City USA" in March. To win this
coveted designation, Smyrna had to demonstrate that we had established
a Tree Board, adopted a Tree Care Ordinance, maintained a Community
Forestry Program, and observed Arbor Day. The award was presented
to the City by Joe Burgess on behalf of the National Arbor Day
Foundation. Joe is the Urban/Rural Interface Coordinator for
the Georgia Forestry Commission.
We are all very proud of this
recognition, and it is yet one more bit of evidence as to how
Smyrna is considered a model city by so many other communities.
Much credit is due to the City Staff who all work so hard to
meet your needs. The citizens of Smyrna can also take pride in
their role in winning this award, because without the generous
civic involvement of many good people like you the City would
never have won such a prestigious award.
I hope that sometime soon our
City Limits signs will begin to show evidence of this award and
the "City of Excellence" award to all those who come
here. This is wonderful news, and everyone should be proud of
their community.
2. The Cobb County 20th Century Veterans Memorial:
The City of Smyrna was honored on March 26th with a visit from
the Secretary of the Navy. Gordon England was traveling through
Georgia visiting Navy and Marine bases accompanied by Senator
Saxby Chambliss and Congressman Phil Gingrey and several senior
Navy officers (including at least one Admiral). They took time
out of the trip to visit our Veterans Memorial.
Mayor Max Bacon, Council members
Bill Scoggins (Ward 3), Mike McNabb (Ward 4), Jimmy Smith (Ward
5) and Pete Wood (Ward 7) along with myself and the officers
of the Veterans Memorial Association of Smyrna, GA, Inc. (VMAS)
were at the Veterans Memorial to greet the National Commander.
Keith Hardman, the Commander of American Legion Post 160 in Smyrna
was present, as was the State Commander of the American Legion,
Charles Barrett, who is also a member of Post 160. A number of
local Veterans, citizens, and City Staff were also present.
We welcomed the group to Smyrna,
showed the Secretary the Veterans Memorial and explained its
history and meaning to our community. He was very impressed by
what we had done, that was very clear to see. It was Senator
Chambliss' first visit to the Veterans Memorial and to the "new"
Smyrna downtown area, and he also enjoyed seeing the Memorial
and meeting everyone. Congressman Gingrey has visited the Memorial
and Smyrna many times, and he enjoyed the trip, too.
(Interestingly, we did not
invite Secretary England to visit Smyrna, we did not even know
of his upcoming trip until the day before his arrival. The Secretary's
Staff contacted the City Staff and asked if they could visit
the Veterans Memorial. The Secretary had heard of it, and he
wanted to see it! As a footnote, last week the VMAS received
a check from the Secretary ordering an engraved marble paver
in the Veterans Memorial and enclosing a personal check for the
purchase. That says a lot about how he felt about what he saw
here.)
As with the visit to the Veterans
Memorial last January by the National Commander of the American
Legion, I was so proud of Smyrna. What an great thing it is when
a person gets to represent the City of Smyrna at events like
this! I am honored to serve the people in this capacity.
The City Council also voted
this month to add the names of 2 deceased Cobb County Soldiers
to the Veterans Memorial Wall of Honor at the request of their
family members.
- Harold Eaton lived north
of Marietta, entered the Army in WW II and was captured in the
1944 Battle of the Bulge, and later died in a German POW camp.
His widow Pattie still lives in Ball Ground, GA.
- John C. Hayes lived in Atlanta,
joined the Marine Corps, and his family then moved to Smyrna;
John came home to Smyrna on leave at least 4 times and deployed
to the Republic of Korea from his parents' home in Smyrna, where
he was killed in November of 1950 during the advance to the Chosin
Reservoir area. John's brother, Hugh Hayes, still lives with
his wife in the family home on Hayes Drive in Smyrna.
Both Soldiers meet the criteria
established for having their name engraved on the Veterans Memorial.
We hope to have that done before Memorial Day this year.
As a reminder, it is still
possible to order an engraved marble paver honoring a family
member or friend who is a Veteran, and anyone can buy an engraved
clay brick to show their support for the Veterans Memorial. Order
forms are available at the Veterans Memorial, City Hall, and
the Smyrna Library. Or you may call the Veterans Memorial Association
at 770-805-4290. The pavers and bricks make great lasting gifts
to family members or friends - don't forget Mother's Day and
Father's Day are coming up soon!
3. Former Brawner Hospital Property Update: As
noted in the section below regarding the City Council's recent
weekend Retreat, this was the number one topic of discussion
for the Elected Officials and the Staff at our 3-day Retreat.
Mike McNabb, Ward 4 Councilman, put forth a proposal to lease
part of the property to a non-profit arts group for classes and
various artistic activities. There was a huge debate about this.
This proposed use was not in the Comprehensive Parks & Recreation
Master Plan adopted by the City Council a year ago after extensive
study by our appointed volunteer Parks & Recreation Commission,
paid consultants, and Staff. Still, the idea was intriguing to
many.
One of the implications of
this idea is that instead of the City tearing down or moving
most of the buildings off the property so as to create open green
space, some buildings would have to be left for the arts group
to use, and the City would have to maintain at least the exteriors
of those buildings. If some buildings are to be saved for this
use, which ones and how many? How much land will be left for
green space, and is that amount meaningful?
These are difficult questions
to answer without a lot of study. I also proposed to the Council
that the City should not make a "sweetheart" deal with
one arts group without offering the same option to other similar
arts groups. It was agreed to issue a "Request For Proposals"
to a number of arts groups, offering some portion of the property
for their use, and seeking their ideas on how they best could
use the site and asking how their presence would serve to benefit
the people of Smyrna who own that property.
The Mayor, City Council and
Staff will evaluate the proposals received, and then determine
whether to accept one or more of them, or reject them all.
Once we develop a site plan
for the property that we can show citizens, then maybe we can
form a "Friends of the Park" group to raise funds to
help with the conversion to a park. We will need your help and
support with that when the time comes.
In the meantime, the Mayor
and Council recently approved the demolition of more buildings
on the site, and allocated the necessary funds to do that. One
small building, really a trailer, is already gone. Two small
wooden buildings to the left of the main building were burned
in March by our Fire Department working together with the Fire
Academy. Planned for demolition soon are the cafeteria building,
gymnasium, and pool building, all towards the north side of the
property. Left for further discussion and consideration are the
main former hospital building, a dormitory building, an office
building, and the office building presently housing some City
Staff.
The Smyrna Historical Society
has again asked the City Council to delay demolition of the historic
Taylor House on the front of the site. It was agreed to give
them until the end of December, 2004, to raise funds to preserve
the exterior of the structure. The Council agreed to spend the
money the City would have used to demolish the building to help
renovate the exterior, but only if the Historical Society could
raise the other necessary funds in the time allotted. If that
preservation effort was successful, it was agreed to allow the
Historical Society another 2 years to raise the necessary additional
funds to renovate the interior of the home, and to complete that
work. Once again, we made it clear that time is running out because
City Staff has inspected the building and determined it to be
unsafe. If demolition is inevitable, certain historical elements
will likely be saved for future use, for example the old windows.
As always, I will keep you
informed of any significant news pertaining to this site.
4. City Web Site Update: The City continues to
update its web site, and keeps adding new information and features.
Please visit the City's web site at: www.smyrnacity.com for the
latest news and information about the City. If you have any questions
or suggestions, please let us know.
5. Ridge Road Green Space Park: I have very good
news that I am proud to report! After more than a year of negotiations,
the City has agreed to buy 1.11 acres of vacant land on the east
end of Ridge Road, on the south side of Ridge Road and just above
and behind the tire store on Atlanta Road, for use as a City
park. Funding came from State of Georgia money earmarked for
purchase of green space land. Purchase of this property accomplishes
a number of very positive goals for the City and the area:
- Acquisition of green space
and undeveloped areas meets a goal set forth in the Comprehensive
Parks & Recreation Master Plan adopted in January, 2003;
- Purchase of this property
stops any potential Commercial development from going down Ridge
Road into the neighborhoods there. The subject parcel is today
zoned General Commercial (something that was done decades ago,
I would never support that rezoning today) and almost any sort
of business could have located there;
- Conversion of this property
into a park will require the trees on the site be protected from
development, even from park development (although up to 10% of
the land can be used for trails and other passive uses). Preserving
the trees there has many obvious environmental and aesthetic
benefits to the area.
My thoughts at this time are
to work with the City Staff to design and build a walking trail
on the site, connected to a sidewalk or crosswalk so folks can
get to it. I am thinking that an exercise trail, with different
stations for different exercises, might be nice to have, and
unique to the City Park System in the area. For example, one
station could be for stretching, one for sit-ups, one for pull-ups,
one for pushups, one for ... whatever. What are your thoughts
on how to use this land? Please contact Steve Ciaccio, Parks
Director, via email at: sciaccio@ci.smyrna.ga.us
or give me your ideas. All suggestions are welcome.
I had to fight hard to keep
this money from being spent on other properties elsewhere in
Smyrna. We need more park space in the southern part of the City,
and this will be a help to that end.
6. Smyrna Wins Another LCI Grant: The City of Smyrna
was notified early in May that it has been awarded $1.4 million
in Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Program grants by the Atlanta
Regional Commission. The grant will fund improvements to Atlanta
Road from Concord Road on the south up to Windy Hill Road on
the north. The improvements include a landscaped median - like
the one on Spring Road in Smyrna, a 10-foot wide multi-use sidewalk/bike
trail, new streetlights, and landscaping.
Many readers will recall that
during 2003 a Task Force of around 75 citizens worked extensively
with consultants and City Staff to prepare an LCI study of future
development in Smyrna. This latest grant is a direct result of
that LCI study done by the Task Force. Without the LCI study,
Smyrna would not have been eligible for this grant. MANY THANKS
are due to all the citizens, many from Ward 6, who worked on
and contributed to this LCI study last year!
One of the personal goals that
I continue to work for is the extension of the Silver Comet Trail
northwards up Atlanta Road through the heart of Smyrna, so that
it can connect with the trail segment on Atlanta Road going north
from Windy Hill Road. This LCI grant funds the downtown portion
of that trail, among other things. We are now that much closer
to being able to safely ride a bicycle from the Atlanta Road/Ridge
Road area north into the downtown area, or further. That will
be nice if we can finish it.
Credit for the LCI grant must
also be shared with Alan Durham, the City's new Economic Development
Coordinator, who prepared the grant application. THANKS, ALAN!
7. Street Resurfacing Contracts: The City has been
awarded State of Georgia funding to resurface 7 streets in Smyrna.
Two of the streets to be resurfaced are in Ward 6. They are Glenhurst
Drive and Hayes Drive. We expect that work to be done later this
summer.
8. Public Hearing on Abatement of Pollution in
the Chattahoochee River: The State of Georgia's Environmental
Protection Division (EPD) is working to establish "pollution
budgets" in the Chattahoochee (and Flint) River basins.
They are working to identify sources of bacterial and sediment
pollution, to establish how much pollution is in the river today,
and to then work to reduce those amounts over time. The Atlanta
Regional Commission (ARC) is working with local governments to
help progress on these issues.
The EPD and the ARC are holding
a public meeting in Smyrna to get public input as part of this
process. At the meeting, you will:
- Learn what is planned for
the community;
- Have the opportunity to make
comments on the plan; and
- Be able to share your ideas
on how we can have a cleaner
Chattahoochee and/or Flint
River.
The next meeting will be at
the Smyrna Community Center on Wednesday, June 23rd, at 6:30
p.m. in the Community Room. Please attend if you have an interest
in this area.
Additional information is available
at: www.atlantaregional.com/cleanerstreams
and comments may be sent to Matthew Harper at the ARC at: cleanerstreams@atlantaregional.com
9. Summer Concert Series: It is time for the Summer
Concert Series! Mark your calendars now and plan to attend the
following concerts on the Village Green:
- Saturday, May 15th, 7:00-10:00
p.m., our first visit from the band "Seven Sharp Nine"
- Saturday, June 12th, 7:00-10:00
p.m., is "Dance Night on the Green" with the "Mike
Veal Band"
- Saturday, July 10th, 7:00-10:00
p.m., is "Jazz Evening on the Green" with the "Uptown
Entertainment Band" back from last year
More concerts are planned,
the complete schedule is available in a brochure that can be
picked up at the Community Center or at City Hall. The City's
web site also features events happening during the current month.
10. Proposed Cobb Parkway Overlay Design District:
Smyrna is in discussions with Cobb County and the City of Marietta
to see if all the local governments can agree on a standard set
of design guidelines for this major road corridor. What we have
today is a poor blend of building styles and colors, sign types,
streetscaping requirements, etc., that result in the corridor
not being as attractive as it should be, or could be. Smyrna
already has such corridor overlay districts on all our major
roads, and over time we have seen the appearance of these road
corridors change for the better. I support extending the same
sort of requirements to this corridor in conjunction with the
other governments to provide a consistent appearance and to treat
all those property owners fairly, i.e. the same.
11. Preservation of Unique Civil War Fortifications:
As a result of a recent annexation of 75 acres on Oakdale Road
in the southern part of the City, Smyrna is now the only city
in the world with a Civil War "Shoupade" in it. Please
let me briefly explain.
During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign,
the Confederate Army fortified a bridgehead on the north bank
of the Chattahoochee River that was 4 miles long. It was called
Johnston's River Line (after the Confederate Commanding General,
Joe Johnston). The Brigadier General in charge of building this
defensive line was named F. A. Shoup, and he designed an infantry
fighting position that came to be known as a "shoupade."
Shoupades were arrowhead shaped earthen forts pointed at the
enemy lines, with logs on the exterior and interior walls. About
36 shoupades were built on this line, with artillery batteries
placed every so often in-between the shoupades in fortified redoubts.
Trenches connected the forts.
When General Sherman and the
Union Army came upon this line of fortifications, they refused
to attack them. Some Union generals called this River Line the
strongest set of fortifications they ever saw during the entire
Civil War. The Union Army outflanked the line on both sides,
and the Confederate Army withdrew into Atlanta.
Today, sadly, only less than
a dozen shoupades remain, all on private property. No systematic
effort has ever been made to protect or preserve them - until
now. As part of the annexation and rezoning stipulations the
City put on the developer of the Oakdale Road property, the shoupade
on the property has to be protected and donated to the City to
become part of a park to be built in the area. A fence has already
been erected around this valuable site and plans are being made
for its future. We are also in discussions with other property
owners and local residents to see if the other shoupades can
be preserved and joined with trails into some sort of Civil War
park.
I grew up in this area, and
I must confess that until 6 months ago I had never heard of or
seen a shoupade. The ones that are left are mostly in very good
condition, as are some of the artillery redoubts. I hope to be
"part of the solution" in the effort to save these
sites. Your comments, suggestions, and help are welcome if you
have an interest in this area.
"Save Our Shoupades!"
12. Web Site for Wade Lnenicka & Ward 6: As
a reminder, we will maintain during this 4-year term of office
the web site that was created for last year's re-election campaign.
I will use the web site to post newsletters (like this one),
announcements, or other items of interest, as well as offer visitors
to the site information about my background and service to the
community. The web site also offers the means to email me and
the campaign team, and we will maintain that capability as well.
The web site address is located at: www.wadeforsmyrna.com . Please
continue to visit this site for updates and the latest information.
13. City Council Retreat: The Elected Officials
(minus Melleny Pritchett, Ward 1, who was ill) and City Senior
Staff met March 26th-28th in Athens for a weekend Retreat to
do in-depth planning for the future of the City. We discussed
a number of topics, including setting our own "ground rules"
for how we can more civilly discuss things among ourselves. Probably
the biggest item of discussion was what to do with the former
Brawner Hospital property to make it into a park, what kind of
a park it should be, and how we should plan to pay for it. We
also discussed other strategic goals for the City and heard ideas
on various topics from the City Staff. I think we had 3 days
of very good meetings that will help to guide us on our decisions
about the City in the future.
14. Atlanta VietNam Veterans Business Association
(AVVBA): The AVVBA will sponsor a special ceremony on Thursday,
May 27th, at 11:00 a.m. on Bank Street, across from the Cobb
County 20th Century Veterans Memorial. During the Ceremony, the
AVVBA will dedicate a monument on the Smyrna City Hall grounds
to honor a Soldier from Smyrna who was killed in action in VietNam.
The AVVBA exists only to raise
funds to build appropriate memorials to fallen VietNam Veterans
of the metro Atlanta area. Starting in 1987, they have dedicated
17 memorials to various local Veterans who were killed in action
or died as a Prisoner of War (POW). They have a web site which
explains who they are and what their mission is. You may locate
it at: www.avvba.org As their
web site states:
"Our primary focus is
a commitment to erect a memorial plaque in various locations
in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia for an individual
from the Atlanta area who was killed in Vietnam. This is a small
way for the Association and its members to honor those who did
not return home."
Their very first memorial was
placed at the Galleria Complex in Cobb County, just outside the
City of Smyrna. Their memorial to be dedicated this year will
honor a Soldier from a local Smyrna family. The public is invited,
and I urge everyone reading this to attend. The AVVBA does this
work in a "First Class" manner, as befits the Soldiers
they honor. Help them, and us, honor a local deceased Soldier
by attending this Ceremony.
15. Memorial Day Event: The City of Smyrna, together
with American Legion Post 160 and the Veterans Memorial Association
of Smyrna, GA, Inc., will sponsor the 2nd Annual Memorial Day
Ceremony at the Cobb County 20th Century Veterans Memorial in
downtown Smyrna. The Ceremony will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.
on Monday, May 31st, with a flyover of an Air force C-130 cargo
plane built by Lockheed-Martin Corporation here in Cobb County.
The public is invited, and all citizens are urged to attend and
pay your respects to the brave Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen
who gave everything they had to protect our Freedom. Show your
support for our troops who are now in combat operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
16. Campaign Fund Raising Needs: I am still working
to raise several thousand dollars for ongoing campaign expenses
(like maintaining the web site). I need your help to pay those
expenses and continue moving forward. Election campaigns cost
money, and the expenses from last year's campaign and to maintain
the web site over the next 4 years will likely amount to more
than a year's salary of the City Council position. I have not
asked any citizens for any money during the previous 12 years
when I was unopposed for re-election, but I could use your help.
If you are able to make a campaign
donation (which is not tax deductible) please make your check
out to "Committee to Re-Elect Wade S. Lnenicka" and
mail it to my campaign treasurer at:
Mickie Higgins, C.P.A.
Campaign Treasurer
2116 Jarrod Place
Smyrna, GA 30080
Please include your occupation (required by State campaign laws),
and your phone numbers in case we need to contact you.
I appreciate the confidence
you have shown in me over the years. Thank you!
As always, thank you all for
allowing me to represent you and your neighborhood on the City
Council, and I very much appreciate your support. Please contact
me if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way.
Wade S. Lnenicka
Mayor Pro Tem & Councilman, Ward 6
(City Hall Office) 770-319-5311
(City Hall Email) wlnenicka@ci.smyrna.ga.us
OR wade@wadeforsmyrna.com
View more previous Newsletters
from the archives:
09-2004
Newsletter
08-2004
Newsletter
04-05-2004
Newsletter
01-02-2004
Newsletter
11-12-2003
Newsletter
Election
2003
09-10-2003
Newsletter
07-08-2003
Newsletter
|
