Various Sandy Springs Homeowners Associations Sandy Springs, GA. February 13, 2011

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1 Various Sandy Springs Homeowners Associations Sandy Springs, GA February 13, 2011 Ms. Nancy Davis Chairperson of Workforce Development Committee Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Haynes Bridge Road Suite 100 Alpharetta, GA VIA and U.S. Mail RE: IOI for Gwinnett Technical College North Fulton Campus Site Selection Dear Ms. Davis: The undersigned Homeowners Associations located in the City of Sandy Springs represent concerned citizens throughout Sandy Springs. We are writing to you today to inform you of our objections to the decision represented by the City of Sandy Springs City Council 4-3 vote of January 18, 2011 authorizing the City to move forward with a response to the above referenced IOI, and reasons why we do not support that decision. Following are a few of the key points on which we base our objections and therefore do not support the City vote: 1. The citizens of Sandy Springs strongly object to the use of $5M our tax dollars to incent GTC to locate within our community. We already pay taxes to support GTC and other public education institutions and believe this to be a form of double taxation. This practice of seeking incentives from public bodies to locate a public institution is highly unusual and quite out of the norm. 2. The citizens of Sandy Springs have been told only $2.5M of our tax dollars would be used for this incentive as the balance will come from corporate contributions. As of the date of the City vote, no corporate contributions were committed in written form. Whether $2.5M or $5M, the citizens of Sandy Springs would prefer our tax dollars be utilized to support other capital projects within our city. 3. The citizens of Sandy Springs do not believe the City of Sandy Springs proposal will meet the requirements as stated in the IOI: a. Site - The campus would be located on no less than 35 acres of undeveloped land (preferably 100 acres). The North Springs MARTA site which we believe will be proposed by the City of Sandy Springs falls far short of this requirement and will not allow for future expansion. The Marta site is only 11 acres and there is no room for expansion around the site. In addition, this Committee should be aware the City of Sandy Springs site selection committee was originally chaired by an individual who is president of a publicly traded - 1 -

2 company that owns a commercially-zoned site directly across from the North Springs MARTA station. This individual stepped down as committee chair when the North Springs MARTA station was identified as the final site. The City representative who sat on the committee was Mayor Galambos, who cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the proposal which is so strongly opposed by the city residents. In the January 18, 2011 City Council meeting, residents identified other sites suitable for consideration whose owners/managers indicated a strong desire to discuss terms to locate GTC on their properties. In fact, the City Council s passing motion included such additional investigation previously dismissed by the City s site selection committee. We understand one such site, previously discounted by the site selection committee, is now also included with the City s proposal along with the North Springs MARTA site. b. Access to public transportation - As this campus is intended to be a regional campus serving the North Fulton County population, locating at the North Springs MARTA station brings no value as North Fulton residents do not have access to a rail line. Only those coming from the South Fulton and DeKalb County will be able to take advantage of MARTA rail service. Other sites within walking distance of MARTA stations, where supporting infrastructure such as roads is already in place, were discounted or not considered. c. Evidence of coordination between or among jurisdictions There has been no official outreach by the City of Sandy Springs to the City of Dunwoody, which is located within a mile of the North Springs MARTA site. Given the location of the North Springs MARTA site, GTC stands to have a greater impact on Dunwoody than on Sandy Springs. In fact, when contacted by citizens of Sandy Springs for input, at least two (2) Dunwoody council members strongly suggested the City of Sandy Springs should reject the North Springs MARTA site as a candidate for the proposed GTC campus. d. Distance from institutions offering similar programming or course offerings We submit to you an analysis of education offerings available at Perimeter College and Art Institute of Atlanta found on Attachment A to this letter. You will see quite a few duplicative or at the very least, similar, course offerings at one or both of these institutions which are within close proximity of the North Springs MARTA site we believe the City of Sandy Springs has included in its proposal. The Art Institute is within 1 mile of this site and Georgia Perimeter College is within 5 miles of the proposed site. e. Adequate utility infrastructure The single access road to the North Springs MARTA site would require widening and sanitary sewer would need to be built. No study has been done to determine the current adequacy of water pressure for fire protection, nor for the addition of personnel and equipment to support emergency needs. A quick estimate by the City Engineer to widen the road is close to $10M dollars, bringing the taxpayer bill to at least $15M. f. Multiple points of site access from arterial or minor existing public roadways The only point of access to the North Springs MARTA site is from Peachtree Dunwoody Road. By agreement with MARTA, the existing ramps from GA400 are dedicated for - 2 -

3 ingress/egress to the MARTA parking deck which by agreement with MARTA cannot be opened for access to the proposed building site. 4. The City of Sandy Springs proposal, as presented to its citizens, will allow for GTC access to North Springs Charter High School campus after 4:00 p.m. This Committee should be aware the North Springs Charter High School is already a fully utilized facility with over 1300 students currently enrolled and numerous extra-curricular activities using the campus after regular school hours. Additionally, the facilities are highly utilized by existing community programs from Adult Soccer leagues to pre-k classes. Further, it is the understanding of the citizens of Sandy Springs that at the time of the Council vote, the City was not empowered by the Fulton County School Board to make this commitment as was presented to the community. 5. It is unclear to the citizens who would be responsible for the North Springs MARTA site ground lease, terms of which have apparently been negotiated by the City. Will it be GTC or will it be the City of Sandy Springs? Unfortunately, our elected officials have not been transparent on matters pertaining to this proposal. 6. Environmental considerations This Committee should be aware the North Springs MARTA site is crossed by Marsh Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River. MARTA is bound to comply with all Tributary Buffer Zone Ordinances which will further decrease the available building space on this site. This Committee should also be aware of the Colonial pipeline which is in close proximity to the North Springs MARTA site and the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC) requirement that schools should be located 600 ft. to 1000 ft. outside the easement for a structure of this nature. As further evidence of the community-wide opposition to the City of Sandy Springs proposal, please find enclosed an article from the Sandy Springs Reporter as well as one citizen s letter to the editor and open letter to Mayor Galambos, both of which are very representative of residents feelings across our community. We thank you for your consideration and urge you to locate GTC in a community whose citizens fully support the recommendations of its Mayor and City Council. Sincerely, Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods (Volunteer group of HOA Officers from each city district) Mary Vorus, President, Drayton Hall Homeowners Association Lisa Bragg, President, Greater Branches Neighborhood Association Barbara Malone, President, Mountaire Springs Neighborhood Association J. Cortne Pappas, Co-President, North Riverside HOA Lisa Azar, Co-President, The Oaks of Dunwoody Homeowners Association Maryalice Buettgen, President, Westfair II HOA Enc. (3) CC: Brandon Beach, President & CEO, Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Sharon J. Bartels, President, Gwinnett Technical College - 3 -

4 Dan McBride, Director of Institutional Advancement, Gwinnett Technical College Carl E. Swearingen, 6 th Congressional District Member, Technical College System of Georgia Lynn Cornett, Member at Large, Technical College System of Georgia Senator Judson Hill, Senate District 32 Senator Horacena Tate, Senate District 38 Senator Fran Millar, Senate District 40 Senator John Albers, Senate District 56 Representative Harry Geisinger, House District 48 Representative Wendell Willard, House District 49 Representative Joe Wilkinson, House District

5 Attachment A GTC GPC 4.5 miles away from North Springs MARTA Station site Arts Institute.7 miles away from North Springs MARTA Station site Arts and Sciences Associates in Arts and Sciences Health Sciences Dental Dental Hygiene Assisting, Dental Lab Nursing Nursing Radiologic Technology Radiologic Technology Business and Finance Associates of Science Business Advertising, Advertising Design Accounting, Business Admin, Bus Management, Marketing Administration Public Safety and Service Criminal Justice Criminal Justice Computer Science Computer Science Digital Design, Visual & Game Programming, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics Culinary and Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Visual Arts, Fashion & Design Culinary Arts, Baking and Pastry, Culinary Arts Mgt, Food and Beverage Mgt, Wine, Spirits and Bev Mgt Fashion and Retail Management, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Media Arts& Animation, Residential Interiors, Video Production, Video Skills, Photographic Imaging, Commercial Photography - 5 -

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