Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann to hold Town Hall Meeting to discuss 2018 Property Assessments
Assessment Notices will be mailed late May
Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann, District 1, will hold a Town Hall Meeting on April 24th at Chattahoochee High School to discuss 2018 Property Assessments in order to provide information and assistance to understanding how property is assessed. Assessment Notices will be mailed late May.
“It is my hope that homeowners will attend this important meeting,” states Commissioner Liz Hausmann. “I am holding this town hall to give them an opportunity to ask questions, learn how their property is assessed and to learn about the appeal process if they disagree with the assessed value of their property.”
On Tuesday, April 24th, Commissioner Hausmann, along with staff from the Tax Assessors’ Office, will be at:
Chattahoochee High School
5230 Taylor Road
Johns Creek, GA 30022
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Visit www.fultonassessor.org for more information about property assessments.
This is one of the biggest outstanding issues we face going forward. We all know the issues we have had with the Tax Assessments here in Johns Creek and the rest of Fulton County. Around 1/3 of this City’s revenue comes from property taxes.
We also have every reason to believe that valuations are going to rise much much faster than most are prepared for. And we know the flaws we all face with such a system.
Our city, county and school officials can negate the major portion of this problem by agreeing to start at the “roll-back” rate every year.
Were officials to do this, then over the course of time(10 years for example) the impact to you and your property taxes should be as minimal as possible. The average of your increases in the years where your property values went up would balance with the years where your property valuations stayed the same IF the roll-back rate was selected every year.
But of course, I cannot be sure I would trust officials to do this over the course of ten years and neither should you. The temptation for a windfall in tax revenues is just too great for some elected officials.
We encourage you to attend this meeting. Voice your concerns. And be sure to ask why there are certain business properties that have also not been revalued for many years.
Only pressure from all of us will encourage a fair and reasonable system to be implemented for all of us.
-EJM
Johns Creek and 141: What’s Really Driving Our Traffic?
Over the last few years, no road has been discussed more in Johns Creek as to what to do to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion than Medlock Bridge Road(or 141). The objective is to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion. It has always been this author’s contention that unless we have defined the problem, we will not be able to select the right solution. I have witnessed the opposite. We start with a solution and then try to justify it.
It’s important that we begin to cut through the many myths about the 141 corridor and study the facts instead. As the start of a multi-part series on this topic, I encourage you to review the pdf file attached in the link below. It will show you the volume of vehicles in each direction at every intersection along 141 from the split between Peachtree Parkway and Peachtree Industrial Blvd to McGinnis Ferry Road.
Johns Creek Post Spring Update
Spring has sprung, and change is all around us.
That applies to the Johns Creek Post going forward.
EJ Moosa will taking over as Editor of the Johns Creek Post.
EJ is assembling a list of co-editors that will be working with him to address many of the important issues in and around Johns Creek.
You may notice that there will be some changes as things move forward and we look forward to your feedback.
John Bradberry TRIUMPH VICTORY for Post 3 Council Seat
There was 4 vying for the seat from the start, and John Bradberry won the runoff with almost 600 more votes than his opponent.
According to Fulton County Elections:
John Bradberry got 2151 votes = 57.76%
Vicki Horton got 1573 votes = 42.24%
January 8th meeting will be the swearing in ceremony.
Go Vote! Polls Open til 8pm
Today is Election Day for the City Council Runoff for Post 3
Polls open till 8pm.
To find your polling location, type in your address here….
Perimeter Church Opens Its New Atrium to the Community This Christmas Season
Perimeter Church invites the community to see the “Festival of Trees” in its new Atrium this Christmas season. The Atrium opened in May 2017, and features the new Atrium Café, and for the Christmas Season, the Festival of Trees.
The Festival’s trees are decorated by different Perimeter ministries, and highlight different ways Perimeter serves the community. The Festival of Trees begins Saturday, December 1, and will run through the holiday season. Saturday evenings, and Sunday mornings, enjoy live music, and special holiday treats. You can sit, talk and enjoy some coffee and delicious food from Perimeter’s new Atrium Café as you take in the holiday sights and sounds.
In addition, Perimeter invites the community to its Christmas Eve Services on Sunday, December 24 at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Perimeter’s Christmas Eve services include a candlelight singing of “Silent Night”, and other beloved Christmas Carols, and a special message for the children in the audience. Childcare will be available for ages infant through age 5 for all services with the exception of the 9 p.m. service. Perimeter Church is located at 9500 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek, Ga. 30097, at the corner of Highway 141 and Old Alabama Road in Johns Creek.
For more information on these events and others, please visit www.perimeter.org/christmas.
Medlock Bridge Rd Widening – Update
Many have asked about the status of the proposed 141 widening. It was tabled and should come back in the new year. Whoever is elected to the Post 3 seat, will likely vote on it.
This question was asked in the recent Post 3 runoff debate. Below are short videos of candidates answers. Please note the tabled projects for TSPLOST Tier 1, which is referred to in the videos:
– Medlock Bridge 6 Lane Widening
– Jones Bridge Rd Widening
Vicki Horton on TSPLOST Tier 1 https://www.facebook.com/JohnsCreekPost/videos/vl.154783218385095/1922286791371154/?type=1
John Bradberry on TSPLOST Tier 1 https://www.facebook.com/JohnsCreekPost/videos/vl.154783218385095/1922287898037710/?type=1
On a side note: It was disclosed by the public works director during the 141 widening town hall, acceleration lanes will not be allowed with 6 lanes, as they are considered too dangerous. This will impact All the subdivisions on Medlock Bridge Rd.
Also as a result of the widening of Old Alabama Rd, there has been an increase of accidents at Perimeter Church, some very serious. There is a blind spot with the additional lanes and is very difficult to cross over quickly enough into the entrance.
8th Billboard in the Works: Another for Medlock Bridge Rd
As expected, Action Outdoor Advertising submitted their 8th Billboard application AFTER the election.
It will take approximately 6 weeks for GDOT to issue their permit. Construction could happen early in January 2018.
The Giant 48 feet wide, double-sided LED sign will be close to the road, 10 feet from the Right of Way, even though in the original 2007 application, 40 feet was applied for.
The location is 10960 Medlock Bridge Rd, Johnson Automotive Group.
Below are screengrabs from Freedom of Information Act Requests
Here is the applicant and property owner:
On the bottom of the form for Approved uses for this zoning type: the billboard company handwrote:
“Permitted Pursuant to the terms of a legally binding settlement agreement between City of Johns Creek & Applicant”
Why? The property prohibited billboards when it was zoned.
Here is a screengrab from the zoning stipulations.
It is understood that the Fulton County Sign Ordinance was ruled unconstitutional. However, these restrictions were in the zoning for the property. Certainly, there were legal and customary definitions of what a billboard is that could have been defended in court. Where would the City find the legal definition for a service station or commercial amusements?
Courtesy of the settlement Mayor Bodker and Cori Davenport negotiated, this will be the 3rd billboard on land prohibiting such structures within the zoning.
Again, we need to ask, if the billboard companies had a legal right to erect billboards on land that prohibited billboards, why was a settlement necessary?
If the billboard companies had a legal right to erect 31 LED billboards, why did they settle for 10?
Sources: Google maps & City of Johns Creek
Early Voting NOW – Ocee Library
Early voting Now through Friday, December 1st
8:30am – 7pm
