Opening Remarks: The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m.
Approval of Meeting Notes: September 2026 Meeting Notes – September meeting notes approved without objection.
APD Zone 6 Update – Lt. Andrew Smith
Crime Statistics: Zone 6 crime is down a little over 16% year-over-year; citywide is down a little over 13%.
Q&A Highlights: E-bikes/e-scooters (Nina Gentry): Riders of e-bikes, e-scooters, and similar alternative transportation are required to follow the same rules of the road as vehicles — including stopping at stop signs — and are not permitted to ride on sidewalks; both are enforceable violations.
911 response times (Rex Burruss & Nicholas Kilduff): Both residents described lengthy delays — roughly two hours — in police response to active attempted break-ins at their homes.
City/State/School/Other Elected Officials
Council Member Jason Winston’s Office (Shad Rembert) – Irshad Rembert, Council Assistant (irembert@atlantaga.gov): Diaper distribution event: Saturday, November 14 at Ormewood Church. South Boulevard resurfacing has finished the segment from McDonough Boulevard to the Beltline and crews have now moved north of the Beltline.
Nina Gentry raised an unanswered email to Winston’s office regarding a sharp increase in her solid waste fees (more than doubling). Fulton County Commission, District 4 (Kysha Ferguson, Director of Constituent Services & Strategic Partnerships – 470-386-0889, kysha.ferguson@fultoncountyga.gov).
Shared voting information for the November 3 election; encouraged residents to vote in person rather than by mail given the volume of changes this cycle. Polling location changes – Grant Park’s two precincts (D and E) are now split between Ormewood Church and the Mechanicsville Library, and early voting is no longer at the Grant Park Rec Center — it is now at Beulah Heights University. Atlanta Public Schools, District 1 – Katie Howard, Board of Education Member (katie.howard@atlanta.k12.ga.us, 404-210-6170).
Joined at the invitation of Education Chair Kristen Silton to address the significant community interest in school redistricting. Katie’s BOE District 1 covers City Council Districts 1 and 2, which includes most SAND neighborhoods except Glenwood Park and North Ormewood Park.
Academic performance: APS saw its highest year-over-year growth since 2015 (when Georgia Milestones began) in math, science, and social studies, with growth across all subgroups; literacy results follow in November.
Budget: The Board adopted a balanced 2027 budget after working to close a significant gap, and also adopted a lower millage rate, providing about $10 million in property tax relief to APS property owners.
APS Forward 2040: The adopted facilities plan closes 16 elementary schools, including Dunbar (Maynard Jackson cluster), to concentrate resources into full programming, expanded high school pathways, and earlier childhood education (including pre-K and services starting at age 3). Closing schools will be repurposed as community “cluster hubs.” The district is also shifting its budget model from a student-count formula toward a more staff-based model.
Jaguar Access Zone proposal: Would let Dunbar families choose among Parkside, Benteen, and BAMO based on available seats. Woodland Hills and Boulevard Heights would shift out of Parkside into Benteen, freeing space for incoming Dunbar students; current Parkside K-5 students are grandfathered and may choose to stay. Nothing is final until the Superintendent makes a recommendation and the Board votes, expected around December.
Q&A – Parkside capacity (Jordan DeLellis): Parkside is already over capacity and this proposal may push it further, at least temporarily, while two historically under-60%-capacity schools move toward full enrollment. Katie said detailed, school-level resourcing plans will follow the Board’s final decision, communicated by each principal; a further realignment survey will run January–February.
Q&A – TADs (Nina Gentry): An independent TAD Investment Review Committee is evaluating a proposed extension of the Tax Allocation Districts; a report is expected around December, and no board vote is imminent.
Q&A – Equitable outreach (Taylor + Manuel Garcia, via chat): Asked what’s being done to reach families who don’t traditionally respond to district surveys. Katie noted the survey is also available in Spanish, that APS Multilingual & Family Engagement actively supports Spanish-speaking families (with Benteen specifically intentional about this), and that Dunbar’s own BOE member (Tony Mitchell, District 2) is in regular contact with Dunbar families. Several SAND members noted they have been sharing survey links through GPNA, playgroups, and local daycares to widen reach.
Katie welcomed follow-up questions any time and will send additional materials, including a recent Board presentation, for the President to include with the meeting notes.
Committee Updates
Education – Kristen Silton, Education Chair: Encouraged everyone—parents, community members, and future APS parents alike—to take the Jaguar Access Zone survey; the President stressed that these surveys often draw only a few hundred responses, so each response carries outsized weight.
Land Use & Zoning – Mike Snyder, LUZ Chair: V26145 – 1111 Avondale Ave., Ormewood Park (Applicant: Zach Cowan; zoned R4): Variance to reduce the rear yard setback from 15 feet to 10.3 feet and the front yard setback from 35 feet to 16.5 feet. The application was approved without objections. 635 & 637 Hamilton Ave., Boulevard Heights – A motion for SAND not to support pursuing a councilmember-sponsored ordinance was approved without objection.
Ormewood Park Makers Festival – The festival will still happen Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival will only be fully canceled if the city formally declares a state of emergency; short of that, the scaled-down event proceeds. Vendors were to receive direct communication about specifics and refund options; questions can go to festivals@makersfest.org. The President thanked the roughly 90 volunteers who had worked for months on the original full-scale plan, many of whom are understandably disappointed by the change.
Transportation – Brent Huff, Transportation Chair: A productive SMAWG meeting with the PATH Foundation on the Southeast Atlanta Beltline Connector Trail: once built, it will connect five SAND neighborhoods directly to the Beltline and on to DeKalb County’s South River Trail Network — an unbroken path from the Beltline at United Avenue in Ormewood Park, through Boulevard Heights, Benteen Park, and Woodland Hills, into DeKalb County via the Halidom property, with an additional access point at Woodland Avenue bringing in Custer McDonough Guice. A Benteen Elementary spur was also discussed, which would be especially useful given tonight’s redistricting conversation. PATH has committed to moving the project forward, though the design itself is still being defined, targeting an opening between 2030 and 2031.
Matters for Voting
APD Zone 6 Thanksgiving Appreciation Event – Donation Request. ▪ Coordinated annually through the Morningside Lenox Park Association, providing a $50 gift card to every officer in Zone 6; $300 donation approved without objection.
Neighborhood Announcements
Fulton County Commission District 4 Candidate Forum: SAND, in coordination with The Porch Press, is hosting a virtual candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for all four candidates in the District 4 special election.
SAND 2027 Officer Elections: SAND’s November meeting will include elections for all officer and committee chair roles.
SAND Meet & Greet with Elected Officials on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Halidom, with District 5 Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari and State Senator Nan Orrock. SAND will provide a $10 gift card toward meals. Informal mixer 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., followed by a formal Q&A session starting at 7 p/m.
The Porch Press 40th Anniversary Celebration: Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Ormewood Church Fellowship Hall.
Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was approved without objection.
