Fox 5 Atlanta is reporting today that a large amount of marijuana was seized by Douglasville Police this morning at the El Oasis grocery store on Fairburn Road. Fox 5 has a video of the scene from their helicopter.

UPDATE
WSBTV reports that a unexpected drug bust began this morning at the El Oasis grocery store with Douglasville Police Officer Robert Long was on patrol checking businesses on Fairburn Road during dawn. Officer Long noticed a man loading marijuana into a white van. Suspects fled the scene, but the owner of the store and the driver of the van had been arrested. A third suspect is being searched for a warrant for arrest.

Police found 211 bundles of marijuana weighing out at 4,000 pounds, suspect of being from Mexico to be transplanted into Atlanta for distribution. It is the largest drug bust for the Douglasville Police Department to date.

WORK SESSION AGENDA
DECEMBER 3, 2007
10:00 A.M. – BOARD ROOM

CITIZENS’ INPUT

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Regular Commission Meeting of November 20, 2007.

PRESENTATION
2. Employees of the Year Awards. (Commission Meeting only)

3. State Route 6 Corridor Study. (ARC Representatives - Commission Meeting only)

PUBLIC HEARINGS TO CONSIDER
4. The proposed 2008 budget. (Jennifer)

BUSINESS
5. Authorization to amend the SPLOST budget to reflect additional SPLOST proceeds received for parks, roads, and fire projects. (Jennifer)

6. Amend the budget by increasing State Aid Revenue and DOT budget by $166,000 to reflect the 100% reimbursable Lee Road @ 1-20 Interchange Project. (Jennifer)

7. Authorization for Chairman to execute employment agreement with Laurie Fulton for Election Superintendent’s position.

8. Approval of Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Taxation of Leasehold for Industrial Developments International (Georgia), L.P. and Alston and Bird. (Joe Fowler/Robert Reynolds)

9. Approval of Lexis Nexis Agreement for Legal Department. (Legal)

10. Authorization for the Parks & Recreation Department to apply for a $100,000 Recreational Trails Grant through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (Gary)

11. Easement acquisition for Fairplay Ball Field. (Wayne)

12. Authorization for Chairman to execute agreement with Georgia Department of Transportation for various County roads – Plant Mix Resurfacing - PR000-S010-00(942). (Randy)

13. Authorization to advertise for a public hearing to consider changes to Chapter 5 (Animals and Fowl), Article I - Section 5-2 (Definitions), and Article IV (Restraint) - Section 5-42 (Confinement of Animals) of the Douglas County Code of Ordinances. (Tim)

DISCUSSION ITEMS – BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
14. Preliminary Plat- Sanctuary Cove. (Cynde)

15 Water Conservation Report. (Wayne)

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please plan to attend the Design Charette for the Livable Centers Initiative for the Highway 92 Corridor. These public meetings will take place December 4, 5 and 6, from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm at Sunset Hills Baptist Church. Community input is a valuable tool for this study, please plan to attend.

COMMISSIONERS’ COMMENTS

EXECUTIVE SESSION - Personnel, Litigation, Land Acquisition

Contributed by Ginny Ray (aka Obi’s Sister)

In a weird way, life has a way of coming full circle. As a child, my family would trek from Jonesboro to Flint Hill Church in Douglas County for the family reunion of my grandparent’s siblings and distant relations. Being young, I had no idea of where we were - only that there long tables covered with fluttering tablecloths, groaning with food. I remember playing hide and seek in the cemetery with my cousins, what seemed like mobs of white-haired little old ladies and being shooed away from giant platters of fried chicken.

Now I live in the very same county I used to unknowingly visit as a child. Fourteen years ago, we moved here for the affordable housing, good schools, a reasonable commute and cows. Yes, you heard me. Cows. Where else could you see cows on your way to work? Rolling pastures, woods for miles, little cafes, two lane roads - the quiet ruralness of it all was comforting. I only wished it had lasted a little longer.

Losing Georgia noted the other day

“Douglas County has less greenspace per acre than metro Atlanta as a whole.” (Douglas Neighbor Newspaper cited)

While most studies are usually done with a hidden agenda, all you have to do is drive around this little county to see that this one hits close to home. Any space bigger than a sandbox is being dug up / paved over / built upon. Doesn’t matter there is an entirely empty shopping center down the street - let’s build another!

Lately, along with the spate of bad manners (and my readers know my opinions on manners - I’ve ranted enough about it here,here, and here for starters) shown by everyone from the media to the clerk at the grocery store, there’s been a good deal of talk around the county - basically “What Happened?”. One day, we’re the little forgotten neighbor to the West, the next we’re just as over-developed and crime-ridden as the rest of Atlanta. So many factors go into making a community, for better or worse. How do city fathers navigate the tangled web of growth without ruining what attracts people to their town in the first place? When do you cross the line between building infrastructure to support residents and schools to the greed of development for the sake of expanding the tax base?

Greed, personified by The Ol’ Grinch himself, used to be a sin. Along with lying, cheating, stealing, killing… you get my drift. Nowadays, everything is acceptable. But think for a minute (just a short, little minute), of the story of The Grinch. Remember his surprise when - after he’d stolen all the toys from Whoville, the honkers and sqonkers and the Roast Beast - he heard the Who’s singing on Christmas morning? That he knew that Christmas (and therefore, ahem life) wasn’t about greed or avarice or envy? Remember, his heart grew three sizes that day. What a lesson….

I’m still waiting for the Grinch’s heart to grow here in DC.

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The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting this evening that the Transit Planning Board has decided on four mass transit projects that will cost $54 billion and are to be completed by 2030. The catch phrase is that it will cost an Atlanta resident a dollar per day. The point to the traffic projects is to broaden the current transportation system by implementing alternatives like commuter rail, expanding the MARTA network, and streetcars. Below is an excerpt of the four transit projects.

• extend MARTA’s existing heavy rail lines to Windward Parkway in north Fulton County, as well as Fulton Industrial Boulevard and a yet-to-be-built intermodal hub near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which already has direct MARTA service
• launch commuter rail service from downtown Atlanta and the intermodal hub to destinations as far away as Gainesville and Athens to the northeast, Peachtree City and Senoia to the southwest, Lovejoy and Griffin to the southeast, and Bremen and Douglasville to the west
• fund the construction of the Atlanta Beltline, the Peachtree Street streetcar, and light rail connections to commercial centers in the cities of Atlanta and Decatur and in Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Fulton counties
• add bus rapid transit service along Interstate 20 east to Conyers, I-75 south to McDonough, I-285 east to Doraville and I-285 west to Cumberland-Galleria

The Douglas County Sentinel (requires registration) is reporting today that the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will be hosting a water quality stream monitoring workshop at the Sweetwater Creek State Conservancy Park. The workshop is part of the “Adopt a Stream” program and will be on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. covering four topics: “temperature of air and water, pH (acidity), dissolved oxygen and conductivity.”

Those interested in participating are urged to register by calling DNR Coordinator Allison Hughes at 404-675-1635 or via e-mail allison.hughes@dnr.state.ga.us.

Water Online is reporting today that the WSA’s South Central Water Reuse Facility (SCUWRF), on Fouts Mill Road, has been given two awards by the EPA under the Clean Water Act. SCUWRF was presented with the “EPA Region 4 2007 Clean Water Act Operations & Maintenance Award” and the “2007 Clean Water Act First Place Award for Operations and Maintenance.”

The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting today about RealtyTrac’s latest report for foreclosures for the month of October. Georgia ranks 5th in total foreclosures in the nation with “11,352 filings in October.” The rate of foreclosures grew by 37.8 percent from September and 64.6 percent in October 2006.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting this evening that local auto parts store, Pep Boys, is closing up along with stores in Decatur and Stone Mountain. The three stores are deemed by the Philadelphia-based company as “low return” stores, joining a total of 31 stores nationwide that were forced to close today.

The move comes to a loss of revenue and a shift in refocusing the companies efforts toward automotive products and services. Considering the amount of auto parts stores in Douglas County, this is not entirely a big loss with the exception of another vacant building in the near future.

The Douglas Neighbor is reporting today that “Douglas County has less greenspace per acre than metro Atlanta as a whole.” A recently published report [PDF] by the Atlanta Regional Commission on the amount of greenspace in the 20-county area. Douglas County has 3.5 percent (4,433 acres) of greenspace compared to the 128,149 acres that make up the county, which is about average.

However Douglas County has not had a ballot measure to acquire and protect greenspace that was voted in favor. Only eight counties approved these type of ballot measures, including neighboring county Paulding which has the largest amount of acres of greenspace per 1,000 residents. Most greenspace in Douglas County resides in parks, along the Chattahoochee River and in the Sweetwater Creek State Conservancy Park.

The Douglas County Sentinel (requires registration) is reporting today that it has taken over 20 years for the WSA to manifest new flood plain maps. Previous maps only relied on large streams and creeks in the Chattahoochee Basin, however the new maps include “smaller tributaries.” Residents who already live in a flood plain have the option to purchase flood insurance at a reduced rate.

The new flood plain maps will be available for viewing by the public in a meeting on Thursday at the WSA boardroom, 4:30p.m. to 5:30 p.m.