Residents of Summit Chase, City Officials and Others to Speak During Tonight's Town Hall Meeting
The City of Snellville will hold a town hall meeting to discuss the dam and drained lake in Summit Chase. The Mayor tried to dispel some possible misinformation and rumors on her Facebook page before the meeting takes place.
The City of Snellville will host a town hall meeting on Thursday, Nov. 8, to discuss the dam and lake at the Summit Chase subdivision.
The public is invited to offer comments on the situation. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at city hall.
Councilman Mike Sabbagh has urged the council to deal with the low water levels at the lake and subsequent rodents -- which the homeowners association at Summit Chase has attempted to deal with, according to HOA president Patricia Port-- as soon as possible, but other council members and Snellville residents question whether it should be city business at all.
“It’s a community lake,” said Sabbagh. “The problem I see is that this is an environmental hazard. Some neighbors say rats are coming up to their houses and they’re bigger than a cat. One of them attacked [a resident’s] dog. If this dam is not fixed, the road to the homes will be damaged. That’s a huge bill to fix if that street collapsed. Fix it before it becomes a major issue.”
The issue at hand is a broken dam by the lower lake. The internal mechanism is shot, according to city manager Butch Sanders.
In December of 2011, the lake was drained by order of the Summit Chase homeowners association, according to Summit Chase resident Lorry Jordan. More than 50 fish died due to that action.
"Our collective hope is that the city do the repairs and then assess the home owners," said Jordan in an email to Snellville patch. "And, have the lake open to all the residents of Summit Chase and Timberline without bias. This is an option that would help make the Timberline Roadway safe before the big rains and we can be sure that the City will make proper repairs with engineers, not "dredgers" that start digging without a permit."
It would cost between $85,000-$98,000 to fix the problem, an amount that the HOA of Summit Chase does not have, according to Port.
There are a few options on the table, ranging from allowing the lake return to nature, raising taxes on Snellville residents so that the city can pay for the repairs to the dam or paying for it with stormwater fees.
According to Mayor Kelly Kautz, there will be no vote during the town hall meeting. Additionally, the special assessment -- not "tax" -- would be for residents who live in the Summit Chase homeowner's association or those who use the stormwater shed.
"We're not raising taxes on residents," said Kautz. "It's a special assessment on residents only in that area."
The Mayor also posted a message on Facebook concerning possible misinformation about tonight's meeting:
"Before the meeting I would like to clear up some misinformation that has been floating around the community. First, no decisions have been made regarding this issue and no vote has been taken by Council. That is why we are holding this Town Hall meeting, so that wr can hear from the people that are affected.
Second, yes I live in Summit Chase along with Councilwoman Krause but we have not voted on anything. I have not been a part of any of the meetings with the HOA and the City or with the homeowners even though our City Attorney has advised Council that there is no conflict (on video during our last work session).
Third, the City owns the road that goes into Timberline Subdivision which is built across the dam. At the start of this issue there was a potential flood threat to the road, that is why the City has become involved. Whether that is the extent of the City's involvement is a policy and legal question that will not be decided until after the Town Hall meeting.
The lake in question is a private lake that currently is only used by the Summit Chase Homeowners for recreational purposes, but several hundred residents in the area use the lake as their drainage/detention pond.
Finally, there are several options regarding the repairs to the dam. One option is for the City to pay the repair costs upfront and then to require reimbursement from the members of the community who are in the water shed area. This would be through a special assessment on those homes and would not be a tax on the entire City.
The dam repairs have caused a new situation in the City of Snellville which we as leaders must address even if it means we decline to take action we must take a stance. I do not know the answer and that is why we have asked to hear from you the people at tomorrow's Town Hall meeting. I hope to see you there."
More than just Summit Chase residents benefit from the stormwater drainage that the lake offers. On the other hand, no one but Summit Chase members are allowed to use the lake for personal use.
Stop by the town hall meeting and let your voice be heard. You can also express your opinion in the comment section.
For further reading:
Ralph Greene
8:35 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
The property and water retention is a private area and is restricted to use by and for that one community. The city has absolutely no authority to even bring this as a question. There would need to be a very powerful impact to public property or public safety, proven...not speculated...to bring this forward. Raising taxes...using money collected as a tax (storm water) should not even be whispered let alone discussed. The subdivision should let the area return to nature if that is a viable option, if not, they should seek finance options and use their current resources to clean up the attraction/food source of the pests and exterminate the nests.
Ralph Greene
12:38 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
As an addition to my previous comment, the Mayor suggested an option to allow the citizens of Snellville through the city of Snellville to make the needed repairs for the HOA as a "loan" allowing the HOA to make payments to the city/citizens. Do I have to say more than, "really"? Other citizens have repairs that need to be made to properties that could cost thousands of dollars that the property owners don't have. Perhaps we all could get together and think of asking the city to call a special meeting to consider repairs city wide? Really?
John Hornbuckle
9:18 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING! Exactly how many elected offials on City Council live in that community and belong to the Summit Ridge HOA? Politicians ACT when their personal interests are affected. OMG this could be the issue that brings this factious institution together. Imagine this could be the start of something beautiful. Grown up elected officials actually acting like adults.
Dave Emanuel
1:17 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Two members of the City Council belong to the Summit Chase (Not Summit Ridge) Homeowners Association.
John Hornbuckle
8:20 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I repeat the question. How many elected officials live in that community. Please name them. My apologies to the Summit Chase HOA. It is the City Council that behaves like they live at Summit Ridge.
Brenda Lee
8:32 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
John, in answer to your question, Mayor Kelly Kautz lives on Brooks Dr. and Council Member Diane Krause lives on Classic Dr., which are both part of the Summit Chase HOA. I incorrectly reported that Council Member Mike Sabbagh was also part of the Summit Chase HOA. That is not correct, he lives on Summit View Dr., which is an adjacent subdivision with a separate HOA. Does that answer your question?
Brett Harrell
9:57 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
I've warned since 2008, at the inception of the storm water scheme in Snellville, that governments use of enterprise funds all too often simply provides the elected official a sound bite - "I didn't raise taxes"; all the while creating new "revenue" and bureaucracy that continues to grow as all government is prone to do. Not only is your home at risk because the City bills this non-tax fee on your property tax bill, but members of Council are now suggesting expanding its' use.
My semi-humorous articles on the subject of Snellville's Storm Water Fees here:
http://brettharrell.blogspot.com/2012/07/stormwater-schemes-appetite-outpaces.html
Dave Emanuel
5:11 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
All members of Council haven't suggest expanding its use. Only two of them have and oddly enough, they're both quoted in the article above.
Kenneth Stepp
10:04 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
It will be interesting to hear the members of the council, that live in this neighborhood, and will benefit financially from the city's citizens paying for this, explain how they get around the city code of ethics here.Voting yes and living there is a clear violation of these codes.
Brenda Lee
8:29 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Ken, the two members of council that belong to the Summit Chase HOA are Mayor Kelly Kautz (Brooks Drive) and Councilmember Mike Sabbagh (Summit View). Both are advocating for the Dam repairs to be paid by the citizens of Snellville.
Dave Emanuel
12:43 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
The journey that brought this issue to City Hall was a long and arduous one, traveled on a road with numerous twists and turns. But when you straighten the road and drive directly to the point of contention, you find that it revolves around private property rights and responsibilities. The lake and the dam are on private property and are owned by the Summit Chase HOA. The HOA made that very clear with a sign posted by the lake that stated, “LAKE ACCESS For SCHA, Inc. Members Only”.
The city, which was not responsible for building the dam, is not responsible for maintaining it. Further, in the past, requests for assistance with dam/lake maintenance from at least one other subdivision has been turned down. At its core, this situation is no different. Further, this problem with the dam isn't a new one, and previous remedies were undertaken by the HOA without any city involvement, and as I understand it, against recommendations made by the city.
Unfortunately, this isn't a simple matter. There are a number of considerations that-- forgive the pun-- muddy the waters. Those considerations, some of which have serious legal implications, have to be resolved before there can even be meaningful discussion of a remedy for this situation. Use of taxpayer funds is an entirely separate matter. I don’t believe that the expenditure of funds for a repair of a dam on private property serves the interests of our city’s citizens, and I don’t believe such expenditures are legal.
Pat Greene
10:30 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Mr. Emanuel makes a very good, to the core point.
Will Thompson
11:59 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Pat Greene- from what I see he usually does. He does a good job of cutting through the BS and doing whats right for the city. I agree with you that he made a very good point about this lake thing.
Kenneth Stepp
8:51 pm on Monday, November 5, 2012
Brenda. I believe Diane Krause lives there too. I could be wrong. I've been doing my own research and believe this to be correct. I haven't heard where she is on this issue, but would be surprised if she was for it. In the past she seems to care more about the taxpayer than anything that may serve her personally.
Susan
10:55 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
This is not a Snellville problem any more than the draining, or should I say non-maintenance of Lake Carlton. I have had to trap Beaver which caused 1000's in damage to our subdivision in Bradford Park due to their migration into our neighborhood yard's. Summit Chase is not a public access, fishing etc. nor a drinking water supply.
Kenneth Stepp
6:52 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Sec. 3-71. - Prohibition of conflict of interest.
A city official may not participate in a vote or decision on a matter affecting a person, entity, or property in which the official or employee has a substantial interest; in addition, a city official or employee who serves as a corporate officer or member of the board of directors of a nonprofit entity may not participate in a vote or decision regarding funding by or through the city of the entity. Where the interest of a city official or employee in the subject matter of a vote or decision is remote or incidental, the city official or employee may participate in the vote or decision and need not disclose the interest.
(Ord. No. 2011-03, §§ 1—4(exh. A), 2-28-2011)
Kenneth Stepp
6:55 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Sec. 3-51. - Standards of conduct.
(f}
All public funds shall be used for the general welfare of the people and not for personal economic gain.
(Ord. No. 2011-03, §§ 1—4(exh. A), 2-28-2011)
Pete Larson
9:45 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
There is also an issue with the road adjoining the lake, Timberline Trace. This road is the only access in and out for the neighborhoods of Timberline, Misty River, and Misty Fairways. All these neighborhoods are within the city limits of Snellville and are occupied by tax paying citizens. It is the responsibility of the city to maintain the road. The road should be fortified so there is no chance of a collapse that would prevent citizens to commute to work, church, school or leave in event of emergency. The lake could be allowed to return to nature, but the road still needs to be stabilized.
skitch
8:11 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Mr. Sabbah's neighborhood, Summit View is not a part of the Summit Chase HOA. Residents in Summit View do not have access to or rights to the lake in question.