Brookhaven approves special tax district project list

Brookhaven will start moving forward with projects funded by its new special tax district. 

At an Aug. 23 meeting, the Brookhaven City Council approved a list of projects to be funded by its Special Service District (SSD), including $60 million for its new City Hall. The council approved the SSD, which has certain business owners pay more in property taxes to help fund infrastructure improvements, in 2021, and approved a millage rate of 4.0 mills for the SSD at a June meeting.

The SSD lines up with the area for the city’s Urban Redevelopment Plan for potential redevelopment of designated “blighted” areas of the city, which the city approved in June. The resolution that the council approved designates these projects for the city’s Urban Redevelopment Agency. The city matched the Urban Redevelopment area with the SSD so that the city could use future funds from the SSD to make improvements within the Urban Redevelopment areas. 

City Manager Christian Sigman said the SSD projects were chosen to promote connectivity in the city. The city first presented the list and held a public comment session at its Aug. 9 meeting, and held a second public comment session at the Aug. 23 meeting. 

Lauren Kiefer, the executive director for the Peachtree Creek Greenway, spoke in favor of the list and thanked the council for including greenway funding. City spokesperson Burke Brennan said the city received one email from a resident who spoke against the SSD project list and recommended a deferral.

In an email requested by Reporter Newspapers, Michael Runestad recommended deferring the SSD project list, saying he thought the city had not provided an adequate explanation of why they chose specific projects. 

The council approved the list unanimously. Councilmember John Funny said he believed the list fully encompassed all corners of the city. 

“It includes a comprehensive list of projects that really touches every corner of the city of Brookhaven,” Funny said. “It’s not about the neighborhood. It’s not about the district. It’s about the city as a whole.”

Sigman said the city will come back at later dates with more information about contracts or financing for specific projects. 

The project list that was approved is the same as the list that was presented at the Aug. 9 meeting. It can be found below.

• $5,250,000 for replacement of the W. Nancy Creek Bridge. The city approved a design contract for the replacement bridge at its Aug. 9 meeting. 
• $5,280,000 for the Peachtree Creek Greenway local match of Federal Highway Administration funding
• $60,000,000 for Brookhaven City Hall
• $2,500,000 for an intersection at Ashford Dunwoody Road and Peachtree Road
• $8.440,000 for an Ashford Dunwoody Road multi-use path
• $400,000 for a sidewalk at Chantilly Drive
• $780,000 for an I-85 vehicular bridge
• $4,060,000 for a Dresden Drive sidewalk
• $625,000 for a multi-use sidewalk at Apple Valley Road
• $612,500 for a multi-use path at North Druid Hills Road
• $10,000,000 for the Peachtree Road LCI
• $1,000,000 for improvements to the Buford Highway streetscape 
• $5,000,000 for streetscape improvements along the North Druid Hills Road corridor 
• $1,900,000 for a land purchase on Johnson Ferry Road and a Nancy Creek multi-use path
• $600,000 for right-of-way and state route beautification efforts