Representative Mike Jacobs

It’s time again to contact county commissioners in support of the proposal by Commissioner Jeff Rader to roll back “last call” in DeKalb County to 2:00 a.m., instead of the present 3:55 a.m.Last month, the county commission voted 4-3 to defer action on this proposal until the commission’s meeting on Tuesday, November 13.

This motion to defer, a simple procedural motion to allow more time for consideration, was opposed by Commissioners Larry Johnson, Lee May, and Connie Stokes. Unless I am reading too much into their votes, it appears these three commissioners are opposed to any efforts to preserve homeowners’ rights to quiet enjoyment of their property, or to curtail the real-life public safety problems that certain DeKalb nightclubs have caused.

Before I receive a handful of e-mail messages proclaiming that “bar and nightclub owners have private property rights, too,” let me respond that property rights are a two-way street. The rights of bar and nightclub owners to pour alcohol into the wee hours of the morning should end where the rights of DeKalb County homeowners to raise their families and enjoy their neighborhoods begin.

I sincerely hope that Commissioners Johnson, May, and Stokes are not as intransigent as they appear. If three commissioners are opposed to doing anything to address neighborhood concerns about a very real problem in DeKalb County, then there aren’t the five votes needed to override the veto that CEO Vernon Jones has promised on this issue. The CEO’s repeated threats of increased property taxes and job losses if DeKalb eliminates alcohol pouring hours between 2:00 and 3:55 a.m. are one of two things: (1) a bluff, or (2) a sad statement about economic development in DeKalb County under his watch.

In addition to Commissioner Rader, Commissioners Elaine Boyer and Kathie Gannon deserve praise for their steadfast support of reducing DeKalb County’s pouring hours.  Along with Commissioner Burrell Ellis, who seems to be a swing vote on this issue, they are trying to hash out a compromise with the three “no” votes.  Hopefully a compromise that fully addresses neighborhood concerns and receives the necessary five votes is attainable.  This 1,500-foot proposal (click for link) is not a suitable compromise.

DeKalb County presently has the latest last call of any county in Metro Atlanta. That has attracted a stampede of new nightclubs to storefronts in our community. The latest, known as “Pure,” has opened in the Williamsburg shopping center located at the intersection of Briarcliff and Clairmont Roads. Two others, Club Miami and Hi-Tops (formerly the Cabin Room), both of which are located on Buford Highway, have caused significant noise and crime problems for homeowners in the Keys Lake Condominiums and Rivers Edge Townhomes, and in nearby Pine Hills.

The following is an e-mail I received from a constituent who lives in the Keys Lake Condominiums about an incident that occurred two weekends ago:  “There was another incident in the area of Club Miami.  Unfortunately, it was an incident that started at the Pink Pony and this occurred around 3:30 a.m. last Saturday night.  Guns, police, etc.  The individuals ran onto condo property and apartment property, directly across the street from Club Miami.  Five people were taken into custody, one person in the hospital with a gunshot…one person was found to have 100 hits of narcotic ecstacy on him and $8K in cash!! Mike, please do whatever you can to close the clubs down at the earlier times.  We will do whatever we can.  DeKalb County Commissioners need to show up on the weekends around 3:30 at these clubs.”

Consider these statistics recently reported by GoDeKalb.com (click for link): “NHTSA (National Highway Transportation and Safety Association) data showed statewide 32 percent of auto fatalities were alcohol related in 2005 in Georgia. The percentage for DeKalb was 41 percent; for Cobb 29 percent; for Fulton 32 percent; for Gwinnett 39 percent; and for Clayton 31 percent.”

These numbers don’t lie. Our county’s policy needs to change. Please call or e-mail the county commissioners. Their contact information is as follows:

Commissioner Elaine Boyer, District 1

njmcbrid@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-2844

Commissioner Jeff Rader, District 2

jrader@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-2863

Commissioner Larry Johnson, District 3

larryjohnson@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-2425 

Commissioner Burrell Ellis, District 4

burrell@burrellellis.com, 404-371-4907

Commissioner Lee May, District 5

lmay@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-4745

Commissioner Kathie Gannon, District 6

kgannon@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-4909

Commissioner Connie Stokes, District 7

conniestokes@co.dekalb.ga.us, 404-371-3053

Citizens should consider attending the county commission meeting on Tuesday, November 13, at 10:00 a.m. at the Maloof Government Center, 1300 Commerce Drive, in Downtown Decatur. Last month, opponents of Commissioner Rader’s proposal attended in droves and demonstrated in front of the building. Proponents were decidedly outnumbered.

As your State Representative, I will not rest until there is a successful resolution of the last call issue, whether or not that resolution occurs at the county level.