OPINION
County chairman: Millage hike would be bad for residents ► PAGE 3 J u l y 1 0 , 2 0 2 5 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 4 , N o . 2 8
Three candidates enter race for District 4 seat By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs City Councilwoman Jody Reichel announced her run for mayor in early January, and three candidates are running for the District 4 seat she will leave behind. Reichel, first elected as District 4’s council representative in 2017, is running against District 3 City Councilman Andy Bauman, incumbent Mayor Rusty Paul and the 2021 runner-up Dontaye Carter. Sandy Springs, approaching its 20th anniversary as the state’s seventh most populous city, holds non-partisan municipal elections every four years. All seats on
the City Council and the mayor’s position are on ballots Nov. 4. There are no staggered terms. It’s a four-way mayoral race, and the city has already budgeted $300,000 for a runoff election. If the candidates for mayor or a council seat fail to receive a majority of the votes cast, a runoff is held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. State law requires the runoff to be held 28 days after the general election, or Dec. 2. City Council races are determined by district, and voters may only cast a ballot for candidates running in the district in which they reside. District 4 is in east-central Sandy
Springs, including North Springs High School, the northern terminus of MARTA’s Red Line, St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, Sandy Springs Racquet Center and private schools like Weber and Mount Vernon. United Parcel Service has its corporate headquarters in District 4 off Glenlake Parkway, but the site has a city of Atlanta postal address like so many others in Sandy Springs. Roswell Road (Ga. 9) forms the district’s western border from the Mount Vernon Highway and Johnson Ferry Road intersection north to Pitts Road, including Big Trees Forest Preserve and the North Fulton Service Center.
Its southern boundary zig zags east from Veterans Park along Mount Vernon Highway, Glenridge Drive and Abernathy Road to its eastern border with Dunwoody in Central Perimeter. While Pitts Road represents the northernmost boundary of District 4, there are a couple of neighborhoods south of the roadway and east of Ga. 400, including Woodland Elementary School and some streets off Spalding Drive, that lie in District 1. To view a map of districts, visit www. sandyspringsga.gov/council-membersand-council-districts.
See SEAT, Page 7
Sandy Springs submits projects eligible for impact fee funding By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs submitted its annual Capital Improvement Element to the state June 30, a required component of the city’s impact fee program that brings in millions each year from new development. The City Council approved the annual update, outlining infrastructure projects needed to support future growth and their timeline and funding sources, during a four-minute meeting with hours to spare before the state’s deadline.
Because the Georgia Community Affairs Department (DCA) gave the city final approval June 25, Sandy Springs needed to authorize its adoption June 30 to maintain compliance and its ability to collect and use impact fees. Community Development Director Genger Sottile, who oversees the annual update process, told elected officials that everything was ready for adoption after her staff responded to two rounds of comments. The Atlanta Regional Commission and DCA are required to review the city’s annual update before the city can adopt it.
See FUNDING, Page 7
HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA
Sandy Springs Fire Station 5, at Spalding Drive and Mount Vernon Road in the city’s panhandle region, is one example of a public safety project funded in part by impact fee collections. The new station opened July 1, 2024, and the Fire Department has since reported decreased response times.
ROBIN BLASS
#1 SMALL TEAM COMPANYWIDE 2024 404-403-6561 C | 770-394-2131 O RobinBlass.com
Atlanta Perimeter Office | 4848 Ashford Dunwoody Road | Atlanta, GA 30338