Archived News

by Alice Murray

In the soon-to-be city of Brookhaven, volunteer committees are shaping the form of services and facilities likely to meet the needs of residents for years to come.

Even before the Nov. 6 election of a mayor and council members and the city’s official establishment Dec. 17, 10 committees formed by Brookhaven Commission Chairman Ben Vinson are investigating needs in order to provide recommendations for the new government.

At the third meeting of the commission—appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal to meet the future city’s interim needs—Vinson praised the quick response to his committee assignments. “Clearly there’s been a lot of work done already. I look forward to seeing all these committees channel their energy into shaping our city,” he said.

During the meeting Sept. 27 at St. Martin’s Episcopal School, the commission appointed Lyn Rosser to serve as pro bono executive secretary and announced the names of citizen co-chairs and expert advisors for each commission committee.

Because the commission has no budget, volunteers from the community are setting the course of the new city with support from the Georgia Municipal Association and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

The commission approved an official mailing address and voted to continue meeting each Thursday at 8 p.m. in the atrium of the school located at 3110-A Ashford Dunwoody Road NE. The commission will meet until elected officials take office—either immediately after the Nov. 6 election or following a possible run-off election on Dec. 4.

The official mailing address is Governor’s Commission for The City of Brookhaven, 4060 Peachtree Road Suite D, #359, Atlanta, GA 30319-3020.

Vinson invited all interested Brookhaven residents to join in the process by signing up for committees at the commission’s web site: http://brookhavencommission.com/wordpress/.

Commissioners stressed that while the committees are outlining staffing needs and job descriptions to pass along to the elected officials, they are not accepting resumes for future job openings at this time.

The following committees are co-chaired by a member of the commission and a community member, with an expert on each function providing advice.

The committees and their leaders are:

Contracting & Proposals: District 1 Commissioner J.D. Clockadale, citizen co-chair Pat Hoban, and expert Eden Freeman

Executive Search: District 2 Commissioner Todd Lantier, citizen co-chair Kathy Forbes, and expert Julian Jackson

Offices & Facilities: District 3 Commissioner Jed Beardsley, citizen co-chair Mike Elliot, and expert Mike Dvorscak

Project Management & Communications: District 4 Commissioner Kim Gökçe, citizen co-chair Shawn Keefe, and expert Tisa Moore

Transition Services: Commission Chairman Ben Vinson, citizen co-chair Don Bolia, and expert Mike Bell

Finance: Commissioner Lantier, citizen co-chair Bruce Whitmer, and expert Monte Vavra

Planning, Zoning & Municipal Code: Commissioner Beardsley, citizen co-chair Jack Honderd, and expert Nancy Leathers

Police: Commissioner Clockadale, citizen co-chair Charles Robertson, and expert Terry Sult

Parks & Recreation: Commissioner Gökçe, citizen co-chair Sue Binkert, and expert Karen Whitehead

Public Works: Commissioner Gökçe, citizen co-chair Michael Roberts, and expert Joe Palladi

Meeting dates and locations of the committees will be announced on the commission web site.

Voters approved the establishment of the 12-square-mile city on July 31.