Potential New Residents Get Face Time with the City

Dominic Perello was against the annexation measure at the last city-sponsored meeting—but a recent incident has changed his mind. About three weeks ago, a car accident occurred while he was out walking in his neighborhood on Hammond Drive, in the area proposed for annexation into the city limits. Both parties took off, but he was able to chase down the car at fault and jot down a description and tag number.

Perello tried to go to the Gwinnett County Westside precinct, near the onramp at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and I-85. But when he got there, as sign on the door said that the building wasn’t open to the public. When he called the county, they said he was in the City of Norcross and refused to take his information. “It’s time to take a hint,” he said. “The county’s divorcing you.”

Some residents of the area Norcross has proposed for annexation came to a free-form meeting yesterday, with stations set up by the city’s public works, planning, police, code enforcement staff and others to provide information and one-on-one consultation about the measure, which will up to for a resident vote at the Nov. 8 special election.

This was the second meeting that property owners in the area, the only people who will vote on annexation, were invited to. The first , some against the city measure to bring a 1,117 residential and some additional commercial parcels into the city limits.

Around 5:30 p.m., the number of residents started to pick up, with the total number visiting around 25 people.

Mayor Bucky Johnson was in attendance for part of the meeting. “We’re not here to change minds,” he said. “We’re here to educate.” He mentioned that he’d met several people who were for and against the measure in attendance—and a few who came in with an open mind.

City Manager Rudolph Smith said that the residents were most interested in getting a calculation of how much their taxes would increase if the measure passed. City staff had the ability to look up specific addresses and give a tax bill estimate.

Linda Gould, a 28-year resident of the area, said she was actually surprised to see the numbers. “It was not as bad as I thought it would be,” she said, though she’s still not sure which way she’ll vote on the 8th.