City Government
The First Days of the City of Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners Community Development Director and first full-time city employee Diana Wheeler recount the early days.
Ten years ago, when I was offered the opportunity to become Peachtree Corners’ first employee, I eagerly accepted because I thought that with over 25 years of government experience, I could make a real contribution to this new city.
I didn’t realize until I visited the first City Hall building for the very first time that I would be contributing more than just my knowledge and experience. I would also be contributing my cell phone, car, laptop and credit card.
The fledgling city of Peachtree Corners had a framework for governance in place and several part-time consultants to manage operations, but there were no other permanent employees or much of anything else. The space that had been leased for City Hall was an old, empty building with glass walls and a poor ventilation system.
I had my pick of any empty office I wanted. With my architectural training and an understanding of the building’s orientation, I could tell immediately that I would have a choice of either being too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer. (I went with too cold in the winter and invested in a space heater.)
Setting, and resetting, priorities
I spent that first morning in August 2012 making a list of everything that needed to be done and then got to work on my list. The first item was a call to the cable company to sign up for internet service. There was only so much I could do on my phone. Without computers and internet, there would be no way to start up this start-up.
Next on my list was a trip to a used furniture store to see about buying desks, chairs, file cabinets and other essentials. There was no time to order new furniture and wait for delivery. I needed to buy things that were on-hand — or second hand. Fortunately, six matching office sets were found, and I told the salesperson that I would take them all.
I was feeling a great sense of accomplishment until he asked how I wanted to pay for them. I told him that the furniture was for the City of Peachtree Corners and asked if he could create an account for the city. He said he never heard of Peachtree Corners, but he could set up an account if it was tied to a credit card or a bank account.
Well, of course, Peachtree Corners had neither, so I contributed the use of my credit card and hoped that the purchase cleared. Luckily, it was the beginning of the month, so the transaction was approved — and I was off to my newly re-prioritized next destination: the bank.
All went well there, but I thought it might still be prudent to call my credit card company and see if they would raise my card limit. They did and that made me happy until I started to think about explaining the next month’s credit card bill to my husband.
January 2013
Challenges and accomplishments
Over the next few weeks, I worked to secure office equipment, including copy machines, a plotter (for maps and plans) and AV equipment, as well as basic office supplies. Fortunately, my credit card with its increased spending limit was up to the challenge and carried us over until the bank issued the city a line of credit.
Meanwhile, without the benefit of coworkers, I often needed to find creative solutions to routine challenges. For example, when trash got dumped along Peachtree Corners Circle, I reached out to Gwinnett’s Sheriff Department and made arrangements for an inmate work crew to pick it all up. And when deliveries were made to City Hall that I couldn’t physically manage, a staffing agency sent folks with strong arms to assist.
I even put my family to work. Large tables and file cases with drawers were needed for building plan review and large format projects, so my husband Robert and son John assembled big IKEA dining room tables and cabinets that were later outfitted with glass tops. They worked hard interpreting Swedish instructional hieroglyphics over the course of a weekend, and I supplied a picnic lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, because a refrigerator hadn’t yet been purchased for the break room.
Celebration for the new city
One of the biggest challenges came at the beginning of December 2012 when the City Council announced that there would be a Grand Opening of City Hall with an open house in January — and the entire community would be invited.
It seemed like an impossible goal, but the City Council had just hired City Clerk Kym Chereck and that made all the difference. The two of us worked with a consultant, developed an action plan, delegated assignments — and everyone got very, very busy.
We worked up until the very last minute. A Boy Scout troop was even recruited to raise the flag at City Hall on opening day. It didn’t occur to me until the week before that the national anthem should be played when the flag is raised for the first time. It was too late to solicit a volunteer, so again, I pressed my good-natured, trumpet player son John into service. He did an admirable job and set the tone for a jubilant day.
The highlight of the Grand Opening came when Mayor Mike Mason unveiled the city name and logo on the wall of the new Council Chambers. The unveiling generated a standing ovation and marked the realization of a dream for all those involved and for a brand-new city. It was a truly remarkable achievement.
And 10 years later, we’re still living the dream. Happy Birthday, Peachtree Corners! ■
Although crime isn’t on the rise, and the Gwinnett County Police Department (GCPD) is fulfilling its role in fighting crime, the City of Peachtree Corners is asking residents, business owners and city stakeholders if they believe the city should form its own police department.
With over 100 people in attendance, City Manager Brian Johnson led the discussion about the future of policing in Peachtree Corners. He presented the findings from a survey conducted by the Center for Public Safety Management (CPSM), a nationally-recognized law enforcement consulting and training firm, as well as information about patrol officer staffing, response times, costs to tax payers and a potential timeline.
Ensuring public safety
Johnson kicked off his presentation by explaining that it is the duty of the mayor and city council to ensure public safety, including reviewing law enforcement.
“Maybe it needs to grow, maybe it needs to change its focus. But city council is the one that has the decision-making responsibility,” he said.
He was also adamant that this isn’t a done deal.
“I hit this point already, but I want to hit it again. This is the start of a conversation, a community conversation and feedback to council. There hasn’t been a decision,” he said. “Council has not received this presentation from me. They’re here to watch and learn from your feedback of this.”
Mayor Mike Mason was present at the meeting, along with all of the city council members except Eric Christ who was out of town and watching remotely.
Issues and obstacles
Johnson explained that the grounds for the inquiry were based on issues about communication, access to information and enforcement of city-specific ordinances. He cited an example where a city rule that private residences can’t be rented on a short-term basis like Vrbo or Airbnb wasn’t enforced by GCPD. An owner tried to circumvent the ordinance by only renting the outside of the house. A loud pool party ensued, and frustrated neighbors dialed 911.
“Officers showed up and they said, ‘We can’t enforce the city’s noise ordinance,’” Johnson said.
The first stage to fix this problem was creating the marshal program to bridge the gap between code enforcement and GCPD.
“[We thought] they would be able to enforce both local ordinance and state law, since they are a function of the city, and they could maybe be a force multiplier for Gwinnett since [marshals] don’t have to respond to 911 calls,” said Johnson.
But other issues arose shortly after the department was formed.
“We were still working towards getting that good balance, but we have been faced recently with a couple of things that make it harder for us,” said Johnson.
Seeking shared access
Instead of GCPD giving PTC marshals read-only, quick access to incident reports, dispatch calls and other information, the marshals department was required to file open records requests through the same process as any civilian.
“They were denied, as well as the city of Sugar Hill, [when] asked for the ability to see, not change, but see the computer-aided dispatch information, so that they would know where Gwinnett County police officers were; so that they could avoid stepping on their toes or maybe looking to support their efforts, and they haven’t been granted that,” said Johnson.
He added that the GCPD has video cameras on certain roadways that are used for various reasons, and law enforcement can use them when there’s crime in the area. Peachtree Corners marshals were denied access to those cameras.
“Conversely, we have a couple hundred cameras in the city, and we definitely want them to have access to them,” said Johnson. “So the frustration out of not being able to get that symbiosis between the marshals and police made us start thinking, all right, you know, is there another option?”
Community feedback
CPSM utilized data from GCPD to discern if Peachtree Corners could feasibly stand its own force. It also took into consideration crime trends, costs and many other factors. It recommended a 55-officer department, costing $12.1 million annually, with a $2.2 million upfront cost.
Comparing the two options to “renting vs. owning” the primary law enforcement agency in the city, Johnson presented pros and cons for each. Once the question-and-answer portion began, there was no obvious choice. Men and women, young and more advanced in age, had both similar and differing opinions.
One young man, who identified himself as a local small business owner named Alexander, argued that with artificial intelligence increasing the efficiency of administrative tasks, perhaps the city wouldn’t need a full 68-man department of civilians and sworn officers.
Some accused the city of devising a solution in need of a problem. Others were concerned that paying approximately $100,00 for a study was throwing good money after bad.
But at the end of it all, the city is continuing to seek feedback and is encouraging everyone to make informed decisions. The meeting was taped and is available on the city website along with Johnson’s PowerPoint presentation, a copy of the study done by CPSM and a survey.
As far as a timeline goes, city officials would like folks to take the summer to mull it over and come back in the fall to take another look at the proposal.
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