Explore More: Sandy Springs @ 20 from Rough Draft

In 2005, Sandy Springs pioneered the public-private partnership model, delivering city services at considerable savings. As our needs changed, we adopted a hybrid service model, saving an estimated $26 million in just the last five years. Our collaborative approach with contracting partners ensures we keep operations both efficient and effective. Now, the city is advancing even further, embracing digital innovation and AI to promote efficiency.

As we continue to invest in innovative solutions, our commitment remains focused on empowering staff and maximizing resources.

Public safety has always been a top priority. In July 2006, we established the Sandy Springs Police Department by swearing in 86 officers. This year, we opened the department’s first city-owned police headquarters and municipal court, a modern facility in the North End designed for greater service.

After founding our fire department in December 2006, we have continued to invest: this year saw the purchase of land and bond issuance for a new Fire Station No. 4, a replacement for No. 1, and expansion of No. 3, following last year’s opening of Fire Station No. 5. When this work is completed, we will have completely new facilities for all our public safety professionals.

Connectivity and infrastructure are ongoing challenges for a city originally designed around vehicular travel. To meet these needs, we have constructed new roads, reconfigured major corridors like the Mount Vernon Highway (expected to be completed in spring 2026) and invested more than $480 million in capital improvement and T-SPLOST projects. This year, the first segment of the Trail Master Plan, Springway 2A, was completed, and alongside PATH400, sets the stage for future connectivity, from Sandy Springs all the way to the Atlanta Beltline, while providing recreational opportunities for our residents.

These developments are building and strengthening the connective tissue of our community, and there’s no better example of that than our City Springs District. In 2018, we opened City Springs, which was built to establish a downtown gathering space. In six years, it has become a hub for activity, both economic and leisure, drawing nearly 500,000 people for performances at our Performing Arts Center and community events on City Green and delivering significant economic impact.

As I look to the next 20 years, the momentum is strong. We remain focused on enhancing public safety, infrastructure, trails, the City Springs District, the North End, and more, embracing innovative solutions that will continue to make Sandy Springs a vibrant home for generations to come.

The post Building on momentum as Sandy Springs celebrates 20 years appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The agency surveyed several sites. It looked at downtown Atlanta near the Civil Rights Museum and other exhibits, but found the challenges and expense was too much. The Bremen Museum is too small to host this exhibit, has limited parking and the Jewish Federation is evaluating the campus’ future, so too much uncertainty exists there for such a long-term investment. 

Further, the state is concerned about locating its non-sectarian exhibit on a campus so closely aligned with sectarian organizations.

Kennesaw State? Too far from Metro Atlanta’s core communities to be viable.

Because the Anne Frank and the World Exhibit was already in Sandy Springs, GCH approached the City about locating it in our community.

Our founding mayor, Eva Galambos, and her husband, John, were each a survivor of this terrible historic tragedy along with numerous Sandy Springs residents and their families. John was sent to Bergen-Belsen, the same concentration camp in which Anne and her family perished. So, city council voted to invite this state agency to combine an updated Anne Frank Exhibit and the state Holocaust memorial in Sandy Springs.

Pursuant to the legislative mandate, the Commission has secured $4 million in donations and pledges along with a $3 million letter of credit to cover construction costs, now estimated between $3.6 and $5 million, and the creation of modern exhibits housed in the new facility.  In addition, GCH is a state agency backed by the legislative purse, so this compromise ensures we face minimal risk while retaining full control. 

After several community meetings to get citizen input, the council voted to construct the facility at the Blue Stone Building that once served as home to Heritage Sandy Springs. Real estate experts say it is economically unwise to invest in the existing building, hence a new facility is needed.

However, because this site has long been city property, council wants to retain ownership and control how the building looks. The state, justifiably, felt that if that amount of its funds were going into the project upfront, the state agency should own it.

So, the agreed upon compromise council was the City would build it and the Commission would pay for it via rent payments. The donations and the letter of credit indemnifies the city in case of default. In addition, the new building would house a City Springs police precinct and offices for Visit Sandy Springs, the city’s tourism office with VSS paying its portion, too.

The reason we don’t know the full cost is because the building is not yet designed, however the agreement ensures that whatever the cost, GCH is totally responsible for its entire share.

As we extend City Springs south in the next couple of years, there are differing viewpoints on what phase two should be. Some want to create a nightlife district with bars and restaurants along Blue Stone and Hildebrand and worry that the exhibit would have a dampening effect on that use.

I believe we should maintain the family-friendly environment we created at City Springs and this project’s educational components provide a great opportunity to engage children in history. As one middle Georgia school superintendent remarked, this would put Sandy Springs on the map as a Georgia educational center.

Some wonder why just the Holocaust which, while affecting many others, is seen largely as a Jewish tragedy. GCH is a non-sectarian state agency, so its exhibits will explore other historic aspects of that period. It looks at the concentration camp military liberators and their stories.

It chronicles the work of Georgia’s William Alexander Scott, an African American photographer who was charged by General Dwight Eisenhower to photographically record the horrors remaining at these camps, saying “someday, there will be those who will deny this ever happened.” 

Other rotating exhibits will explore additional aspects of that era, too. 

Meanwhile, it will feature technology developed by Stephen Spielberg that blends thousands of videoed survivor and liberator interviews with artificial intelligence allowing students and visitors to engage these historic individuals and receive specific answers to direct questions about what their lives were like – even decades from now.  This is the high-tech marvel this exhibit will become.

It also will recreate the tiny room in which the Frank family hid so visitors can see the cramped quarters that required them to remain motionless and silent for days on end. Plus, we will receive a clone of the Chestnut tree that was the sole source of hope for Anne during her confinement.

Finally, I believe it reflects the values of our community. We are a welcoming community that celebrates its diversity and in these fraught times of our own history, we will have a small, but significant beacon that warns us all about the evil that can emanate from the dark side of human nature. For these and other reasons, I fully support the plan to bring this world-renowned story to our community.

The post Commentary: ‘Why I support placing the Anne Frank Exhibit in Sandy Springs’ appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Rusty Paul, Sandy Springs Mayor

While there are a number of issues in front of us, the City of Sandy Springs is poised for greatness in 2022. We are excited to showcase our Performing Arts Center to the metro Atlanta area and beyond. As we continue to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll offer a number of exciting performances, concerts and events to our visitors in a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.

The health and safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority. While crime has increased nationwide, our police department ensures Sandy Springs remains one of the safest places to live and visit. COVID-19 remains a concern, but we continue to adapt and move forward as safely as possible. Our fire department has hosted a number of educational and vaccine events throughout the community.

The City selected the Heritage Building at 6110 Blue Stone Road to house the Georgia Holocaust Memorial and Anne Frank in the World exhibit as part of our partnership with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust. This important memorial will feature a greatly enhanced set of high-tech exhibits drawing on state-of-the-art technology.

In the coming year, we’ll also continue our pursuit of water reliability for the residents of Sandy Springs. This is part of the City’s long-term vision and our residents deserve the opportunity to decide from where and how they receive their water.

Lastly, it’s time to start working on the next phase of City Springs. We’ve come a long way since the development of our City Center campus, but there’s work to be done to update our master plan and expand our footprint. We’ll focus on market needs, economic development and pedestrian enhancements, along with several other initiatives. The future is bright for Sandy Springs and we’ll take the next step toward that future in 2022.

The post 2022 Predictions: Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

In my first elective office, the mayor made $100 a month and the council (of which I was one) made $25 a month. Stone Mountain was and is still a small town. To save the city money, the mayor or his wife worked the 11-7 police dispatcher shift almost every night.

Council felt this was patently unfair, so we conspired to raise his salary to $500 a month, and state law at the time required we simultaneously raise council pay, so we bumped our monthly stipend to $50. After our surprise vote, the mayor vetoed our ordinance, telling us that he appreciated the sentiment, but this was about community service, not compensation.

It was a lesson in public service that I never forgot. Randolph Medlock served as Stone Mountain’s mayor for 40 years and he was neither rich nor elitist. His day job was an installer for the pre-deregulated Atlanta Gas Light – or as he called it, “the gas company.” One thing everybody knew: Randolph Medlock loved his town, and his service was how he showed it.

When it was recently argued that the lack of benefits for elected officials was a barrier to seeking office, my first thought was of this long ago learned lesson and the character of the man who taught it. It is a lesson I have tried to emulate since.

Councilman Dejulio accurately captured the sentiment that Eva Galambos expressed when Sandy Springs became a city. Mayor and Council are part-time, citizen legislators and the hallmark of those positions is service to community with a professional city manager and staff operating the city day to day. Eva Galambos and Randolph Medlock were alike in that regard.

I believe Councilman Bauman is sincere, but those opposing the benefits proposals are equally sincere because they harken back to that traditional view of public service. It is neither elitist nor insidious, but a genuine assessment of our proper role.

Mayor and Council are still part-time positions, not full-time jobs with commensurate salaries and benefits. We provide guidance and set policy for the professional staff, pass laws and ordinances as needed, set the budget, respond to constituent needs and inquiries, and provide oversight to city operations. Under the City Charter, that is our role.

My first campaign cost $100: $25 qualifying fee, one black & white printer plate, and a case of paper. Using a borrowed offset printer, I printed a brochure and walked door-to-door explaining why I wanted to be a council member. I won.

This year’s mayor and council races will cost significantly more: one consultant gave me a budget of $235,000. I cannot in good conscience spend that much, so I’ll do what I can with help from family, friends and supporters. Council races will be in the $25,000-$35,000 range. If anything, that is the barrier to seeking office, but this is the reality of modern campaigns in a city of 110,000.

Your council does not always agree on everything, but we have always treated each other with respect and, except last Tuesday, we never question our colleagues’ motives. When we are on the losing side of a vote, we put it behind us and move on, thus avoiding the bitter politics that typifies governance elsewhere.

On Tuesday [Aug. 4], every member of council will have their say and vote on the benefits issue based on their conscientious beliefs and values. Once it is over and the result announced, I truly hope we will put this vote behind us as well.

The post Commentary: ‘Why Public Service Is About Just That – Service’ appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.