Hundreds of people attended Dunwoody's seventh annual State of the City event where Mayor Denis Shortal spoke. In his speech, the Mayor discussed maintaining fiscal responsibility, increasing funding for road paving projects, preparing for an upcoming major highway construction project, supporting renovations to the Brook Run Theater, and the city's growing commercial occupancy. He closed by asking residents to contribute to their community. The well-attended event was hosted by the city and local Rotary Club.

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Dunwoody Mayor Denis Shortal addresses a packed crowd at the State of the City event Feb. 25. (Photos
Dyana Bagby)
Hundreds of people packed the Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel for the seventh annual Dunwoody State
of the City, this year given by Mayor Denis Shortal.
“We’re a family,” Shortal said of Dunwoody’s residents, adding that he is here to serve the residents
and not himself.
Some key points from Shortal’s speech:
• The city has 82 volunteers serving on boards and committees. “You can’t talk about our city without
talking about our volunteers. That’s what makes our city special,” Shortal said.
• “We have to make sure we are fiscally prudent … to ensure long-term financial stability for our
city,” Shortal said.
• The city’s 2016 paving budget is essentially the same as 2010, Shortal said. “On March 14 I’m going
to ask the council to add an additional quarter million dollars for our paving budget,” he said. The
city is also receiving another $100,000 in state and federal funding to go toward paving, he added.
Ten miles of sidewalks have also been paved since the city was founded.
• The I-285/400 project by the Georgia Department of Transportation and State Road and Tollway
Authority is expected to break ground in late 2016 or perhaps early 2017, Shortal said. The 48- to 51-
month project will cause traffic inconvenience, Shortal said, but will ease congestion in the long
term.
• On the controversial Brook Run Theater proposal, Shortal said he supported renovating the building in
the park now for a community theater and meeting space and his statement was greeted with

2. applause. Shortal added that the perhaps $20 million project would need to be funded by a “massive
amount of private funding” — perhaps up to 90 percent. “We’ll see what happens with that.”
• The city’s commercial occupancy is now 87 percent when just five years ago it was approximately
60 percent. “We need to protect our residential area with buffering. We continue to say we are a
residential community that is business friendly.”
• Shortal closed with by recalling John F. Kennedy, saying, “Tonight, my fellow citizens of
Dunwoody, ask not what your city can do for you, but what you can do for your city.”
The event was hosted by the city of Dunwoody and the Rotary Club of Dunwoody. A cocktail hour
with heavy hors d’oeuvre preceded the mayor’s address.
Rotary Club President Lorri Christopher welcomed residents and dignitaries to the event.
Norlaundra Huntington
City Manager Eric Linton honored Municipal Court Clerk Norlaundra Huntington for her hard work
and contributions as a city employee.
Tina Wilkinson
Sustainability Committee member Kevin Sok presented Tina Wilkinson with the City of Dunwoody’s
Sustainable Hero Award for 2015.