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Hey, Brookhaven / Chamblee! This week: DeKalb's school board weighs making Norman Sauce III the permanent superintendent, and Brookhaven's paid EV chargers are drawing far fewer drivers than before. We've also got a "dirty soda" drive-thru in an old McDonald's and a packed weekend of festivals and concerts to plan around.

- News — The DeKalb school board's Oct. 5 superintendent vote leads a lineup that includes redistricting options, the ESPLOST VII ballot lists, and a $53.3 million plan to turn the Presidential Hotel into 282 homes.
- Business — Swig, the "dirty soda" chain, opened its first metro Atlanta shop in a former Cambridge Square McDonald's off Ashford Dunwoody Road.
- Events — Turnpike Troubadours and Dermot Kennedy at Chastain, the St. Elias Mid-East Festival, and Fall Festival on Ponce make Saturday the day to plan around.
- Government — Brookhaven council weighed grandfathered-building zoning rules and a Peachtree Creek Greenway contract shift, while DeKalb commissioners again put off the camping ban and eyed data center rules.
- Construction — Five Silverton townhouses cleared life safety review on Manifest Drive, and traffic-signal work is underway along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Let's dive in.

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Brookhaven City Council reviews EV program, insurance at monthly work session
At the Sept. 28 work session, the council heard that Brookhaven has 27 public EV stations, up from none in 2014, and that charging became paid last April, which sharply reduced usage while gross revenue averages about $1,000 a month. Cigna representatives also described a potential 28% premium rise for the city's employee plan, with higher deductibles and cost-sharing planned and the program's total cost increasing 8%.

Chamblee participates in statewide Georgia Recovers bus tour
The City of Chamblee welcomed the statewide Georgia Recovers bus tour, which highlighted local addiction recovery resources and behavioral health initiatives. The event brought together civic leaders and healthcare advocates focused on reducing stigma and expanding community-based support services.

DeKalb Schools to consider hiring Sauce as superintendent
The DeKalb County Board of Education will consider making Norman C. Sauce III permanent superintendent at its Oct. 5 meeting, after approving him as sole finalist in a 4-3 vote on Sept. 14. Sauce has served as interim superintendent for 11 months following former superintendent Devon Horton's federal indictment and resignation, and his interim contract expires in November.

Breaking down DeKalb Schools' redistricting options by cluster
The district proposed three elementary options and two middle-high school concepts, with estimated student shifts of 1,619 under Option 1, 2,057 under Option 2 and 3,184 under Option 3. The current phase addresses overcrowding in the Lakeside, Cross Keys, Chamblee, Tucker, Dunwoody and Druid Hills clusters, and the board is expected to vote on a plan by the end of the year.

What ESPLOST projects are on the ballot for DeKalb voters
ESPLOST VII is expected to collect more than $925 million across three school districts by 2032 if voters approve it on Nov. 3, with DeKalb County School District estimating about $825 million. Options discussed by the district include 14 roof replacements, 20 HVAC replacements, and a $175 million Druid Hills High School modernization already approved in December 2025.

Permit issued for redevelopment of long-vacant former Presidential Hotel tower in DeKalb County
DeKalb County issued a building permit for a $53.3 million adaptive reuse of the former Presidential Hotel near Spaghetti Junction. Aramar Investments plans to convert the 14-story structure into 282 residential units.

DeKalb County board postpones vote on camping ban again
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 29 to postpone a vote on the proposed ordinance by Commissioner Nicole Massiah banning "urban camping" in public spaces, which had previously been deferred in August. Under the proposal, a person who does not move after a warning and an offer of services could be arrested, and housing advocates attended the meeting in opposition.

BUSINESS

Drive-thru beverage chain Swig opens first metro Atlanta shop in Brookhaven — Swig, known for its "dirty soda" drinks, opened this week in the Cambridge Square shopping center off Ashford Dunwoody Road, replacing a former McDonald's and becoming the chain's first metro Atlanta location and its second in Georgia.

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Monday, October 5
- 8-Week Fiction Writing Workshop | Wild Aster Books
- Circus Vazquez | Plaza Fiesta

Tuesday, October 6
- Adult Life Skills Class | Chamblee, GA
- Tech Help for Beginners | Chamblee, GA

Wednesday, October 7
- Wrestler Storytime | Brookhaven Branch Library

Thursday, October 8
- LEGO Day at Chamblee | Chamblee Branch
- Celtic Thunder | Buckhead Theatre
- Small Business Development Center: Critical Finance Skills for Small Businesses | City of Chamblee
- Mindfulness for Everyday Life | Chamblee Branch

Friday, October 9
- Turnpike Troubadours | Chastain Park
- Murder Mystery @ Petit Violette | 2948 Clairmont Rd

Saturday, October 10
- Dermot Kennedy: The Weight of the Woods Tour | Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park
- Fall Festival on Ponce | 1451 Ponce de Leon
- 48th Annual St. Elias Mid-East Festival | St. Elias Orthodox Church
- Brookhaven Farmers Market | Brookhaven Farmers Market
- Mushroom Cap Workshop | Brookhaven Branch Library
- Don't Get Taken for a Ride: Master the Art of the Car Deal | Chamblee Branch
- Namiwalks 2026 | Assembly Park in Doraville
- 3rd Spot: Georgia vs. Alabama | City of Chamblee
- The Price of Love 2 Premier | LOOK Dine-In Cinemas
- Social Renaissance | Distillery of Modern Art
- Magic: The Gathering for Teens | Chamblee Branch

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Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

City of Brookhaven
As covered in today's news section, the work session featured the EV charger update and the Cigna renewal presentation, and the council took no votes on either. Councilmembers also went into a closed executive session by a 3-0 vote. At the regular meeting that evening, the council took up a contract transfer from Heath & Lineback to Parsons Transportation Group that covers later phases of the Peachtree Creek Greenway and on-call engineering work. The agenda also included a public hearing and vote on changes to the zoning rules for nonconforming structures and uses, which decide what owners of older, grandfathered buildings can rebuild or expand. Other items included a state road resurfacing grant application, the timeline for the coming budget hearings, and a hearing on how the city spent its federal community development money last year. The Audit Advisory Committee met Sept. 29 with a capital projects assessment and an enterprise risk audit on its agenda, and minutes aren't yet published for that meeting.

DeKalb County School District
The board's Policy Committee met virtually on Oct. 1 to review three district policies. Members looked at rules on solicitations in schools, limits and documentation for board member pay and expenses, and acceptable internet use for students and staff. The committee took no final votes, so each policy still has to move through the board's reading process before it becomes official. If you have kids in DeKalb schools, the internet use policy is the one that touches them most directly. The committee reconvenes Oct. 28 for further review.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
The board's Sept. 29 agenda was packed. As covered in today's news section, the camping ban ordinance was postponed again. Commissioners also had a proposed ordinance on the table that would define and regulate data centers in the county, setting rules for where these power- and water-hungry facilities can go. A $3.2 million design contract for 2.1 miles of new sidewalks along Flat Shoals Parkway was up for a vote, along with a 10-year plan for water and sewer investments. On the public safety side, the agenda included about $640,000 in early design money for a joint fire and police training facility and a police evidence storage facility, plus a resolution seeking independent civilian oversight of the county's surveillance camera network. The board also met Sept. 30, but no documents are available for that meeting.

Notable Neighborhood Mentions

City of Brookhaven
- Peachtree Creek Greenway — The council considered transferring Phase II and Phase III trail engineering contracts to Parsons Transportation Group.

Chamblee Design Review Board
- 2342 N Shallowford Rd & East Johnson Cir — A rezoning and Development of Community Impact review is on the agenda across ten assembled parcels for a potential residential or mixed-use redevelopment.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education | Oct-05 | key topics: fuel contract renewal, facility maintenance and bleacher upgrades, artificial intelligence policy, high school athletic improvements
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Committee of the Whole | Oct-06, 5:30 PM | key topics: Old Briarcliff Road and Briarcliff Road rezonings, HUD park grants, data center moratorium study, curbside composting pilot
- City of Brookhaven — Planning Commission Work Session | Oct-07, 5:30 PM
- City of Brookhaven — Planning Commission Regular | Oct-07, 7:00 PM | key topics: Woodrow Way residential downzoning and concurrent variances

CONSTRUCTION

Permits

- 4625, 4627, 4629, 4631, and 4633 Manifest Dr. Life safety reviews for five new townhouses in Chamblee closed out on 10/02. Those reviews are a step in the approval process for new construction, so this row of homes is moving forward.
- 4625, 4627, 4641, and 4643 Manifest Dr. New water meter and sewer tap permits for the Silverton townhouse development also closed on 10/02. Two of these addresses overlap with the reviews above, and the other two show the project stretching further down the street. Utility connections are a sign the project is progressing, so expect continued work nearby.
- 5070 Peachtree Blvd, Ste B110. Interior restoration of the existing United Bank suite closed on 10/02. It's an interior job, so you shouldn't notice much from the street.

Road Work

Under Construction
- Atms/ Sys Optimiz Peachtree Ind Blvd Fm P'tree to New P'tree — Traffic signal and traffic management system upgrades along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard between Peachtree and New Peachtree roads.
- SR 13 from Fulton County Line to Cs 757/Chamblee Tucker Rd — Resurfacing of SR 13 between the Fulton County line and Chamblee Tucker Road to improve the road's low pavement rating.
- Ashford-dunwoody Road Eb Ramp @ I-285 — A third lane is being added to the eastbound Ashford Dunwoody Road ramp onto I-285 northbound to relieve evening rush-hour backups.
- Path 400 Trail Ext Fm Windsor Pkwy to N of Baroque Cir-ph Ii — This is the middle section (Segment 2) of the PATH400 Trail extension, which Sandy Springs left out of earlier construction bids because of limited funding.

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Until next week,
Brookhaven / Chamblee Busybody

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