English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Sandy Springs, GA

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Georgia is full of bright, driven young people making a difference in and out of the classroom. That’s why Patch and T-Mobile have teamed up to spotlight students excelling in academics, athletics and community service.

This submission comes from Kim Noor, who nominated Saira Panah of Georgia.

If you know a student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured as a Star Student on Patch.

What is the star student’s name?

Sairis Panah

Find out what's happening in Sandy Springsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

What grade is the student in?

11th

How do you know the star student?

School

Tell us about your star student's accomplishments and why they deserve to be recognized on Patch!

Sairis is a kind individual. He always takes time to help others in class by explaining how to do something if you don’t understand. He does volunteer with the Lymphoma / Leukemia Society. He is an ECNL/ Varsity Soccer player! Our entire school enjoys watching him play during competitions. He is funny and a great person!

What three words best describe your star student?

Caring, compassionate and nice.

Keep up the great work, Sairis Panah. If you know an outstanding student who deserves recognition, we want to hear about them! Click here to nominate them to be featured on Patch.

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SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Atlanta Regional Commission has stepped in with an $18 million grant to help Sandy Springs construct all segments of PATH400 from its southern border with Atlanta to Central Perimeter.

The Sandy Springs City Council approved a budget amendment to accept the funding windfall May 6 after discussing the immense impact on regional connectivity and the build-out of the city’s Springway Trail Plan.

City Councilman Andy Bauman said the project is transformative, and the connectivity between cities and neighborhoods will propel the community forward.

Sandy Springs TSPLOST Program Manager Allen Johnson said the grant allows the city to construct the full 2.3-mile path from Loridans Drive within the city of Atlanta to an existing multi-use path built as a part of the Transform Ga. 400 and I-285 project.

“Segments one and three are currently in construction,” Johnson said. “At the end of the year, ARC said … these other jurisdictions can’t use the money, would you be willing to take it?”

Instead of the initial $4 million grant extended to the city in November, Sandy Springs received $18 million for final design and construction of the middle segment of PATH400 through the city.

One reason is the city’s strong finances.

Because of the project’s regional significance, the Atlanta Regional Commission recently announced an additional $18 million grant offer to construct the second, middle segment. That piece runs from Windsor Parkway to just north of Ridgeview Middle School within the High Point neighborhood.

Once complete, the greenway will stretch 5.2 miles from Central Perimeter to planned segments of the Atlanta Beltline and Peachtree Creek Greenway in DeKalb County. It’s an already popular 12-foot-wide path along the spine of Ga. 400.

“Our planning staff has done a good job coordinating with ARC to get these [funds],” Johnson said. “We always asked for the funding … often jurisdictions ask for everything and then they cannot use the money, and the ARC has to reallocate it.”

The city is setting aside an estimated $5.75 million for its local match for construction.

A budget amendment is needed because a new project is being created for the middle segment, the funding amount exceeds the city manager’s discretion and overall expenditures are being increased. However, staff says there is no financial impact to the city because of re-assigned grant dollars, the use of $2 million in capital contingency and leftover funding.

Construction on the middle segment is expected to begin next summer, Johnson said.

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“In four years, it will be done, hopefully it will be done earlier than that,” he said.

City Councilman Tibby DeJulio said if people head north of Lordans Drive along Ga. 400, they can already see construction work on the east side of the state route.

“People were asking me, and it sounded crazy that we were doing one and three but not two,” DeJulio said. “This means I can tell people we’re doing the whole thing now.”

Because of protections for an endangered bat species that roosts near Nancy Creek, contractors were required to remove trees before March 31 to avoid delays with a ban on tree clearing until fall.

Atlanta is funding construction of the 12-foot-wide multi-use trail from Loridans Drive to its city limits. Sandy Springs is then building the path’s bridge over Nancy Creek. Motorists along Ga. 400 can now see the path’s corridor.

“This project’s been around since 2017 … we started off with the design, right-of-way, pre-construction funding,” Johnson said. Because the city set aside design funding for PATH400 in its 2016 TSPLOST budget, he said his department has been managing the project. Fulton County’s TSPLOST program, approved by voters in 2016 and 2021, gives the city a share of sales tax revenue for transportation improvements.

Last May, the city funded the more than $20 million in construction of the first and third segment.

The Georgia Department of Transportation, which owns the right-of-way along Ga. 400, is funding 80 percent of the project’s costs through disbursement of federal grants.

Other Sandy Springs and Perimeter Community Improvement District projects are set to connect PATH400 at Peachtree Dunwoody Road into multi-use paths in Dunwoody’s trail network and to City Springs along Mount Vernon Highway.

Public Works Director Marty Martin says the city’s relationship with the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Transportation is strong, helping pull the construction funding together.

Mayor Rusty Paul said acquiring the funds for the massive construction project, estimated around $40 million, took a team effort. He said other cities couldn’t provide a match, but Sandy Springs could because of its financial management.

“It’s still just a relatively small part of our total trail network, but it’s a key part,” Paul said. “Because we’re a linchpin for all these regional trails, they all come together here; This is a very important milestone.”

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springers can now discover Orkin Lake via the first completed segment of the Morgan Falls Loop, a nearly 2-mile path connecting Roswell Road to the Chattahoochee River.

About 100 people, including community advocates, neighbors and city officials, gathered along the lakefront May 2 for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Representatives with regional trail advocates, like the PATH Foundation and the Sandy Springs Conservancy, thanked city leadership for prioritizing connectivity across the city.

Through community donations, the Sandy Springs Conservancy has chipped in around $65,000 toward design and construction of path segments around Morgan Falls Overlook Park.

The completed 1.88-mile path is 8 to 12 feet wide, connecting the city’s riverside park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway. The pedestrian and cyclist facilities open a piece of Morgan Falls Overlook Park that has been densely forested and inaccessible to the public for years.

The 2A segment is the first installment of the Morgan Falls Loop, a 5-mile path around Morgan Falls Overlook Park. Plans call for addressing the project in five segments.

The Springway is the name of the city’s ambitious 31.4-mile trail master plan, encompassing all scheduled multi-use paths within Sandy Springs.

Mayor Rusty Paul spoke during the ribbon-cutting, reflecting on progress made at the first park the city built after incorporation.

“Today, we celebrate not just the finished segment, but progress toward a greater vision laid out in the 2019 Sandy Springs Trail Master Plan,” Paul said. “Springway is not just about Sandy Springs, it’s designed to connect to the trail network in Roswell, Atlanta’s PATH 400, Cobb’s national recreation trails and Dunwoody’s trail system; this is truly a linchpin.”

Conservancy Board Chairman Jack Misiura said projects like the Morgan Falls Park Connector are what the nonprofit is all about. Misiura said the nonprofit and its volunteers are focused on building out the rest of the Morgan Falls Loop and other paths around the city.

The highlight of the path is a 2,933-foot-long boardwalk with concrete decking over Orkin Lake.

Work on the segment began in December 2022 but ran into some expensive delays when crews struck solid rock beneath the lake.

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The extra work delayed completion some 18 months.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources contributed $3 million for the project through a conservation grant under the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program. The city covered the rest of the $8.8 million construction cost of the first segment.

After approving work changes to the contract, some related to drilling for the boardwalk and others more routine, the project cost jumped $1 million. City officials have directed staff to pick more feasible path projects moving forward.

In February, the city submitted a grant application to fund segment 2C, which runs 1.6 miles from Morgan Falls Overlook Park along the Chattahoochee River to Grogans Ferry Road.

The rest of the project consists of retaining walls, drainage structures, pedestrian bridges, roadway realignments, landscaping and trail signage. For a map and more information, visit sandyspringsga.gov/springway-trails-morgan-falls-connector.

Brenda and Ed Gerber, live off Wing Mill Road and would have an easy neighborhood connection to the Morgan Falls Loop and the Chattahoochee River if the 2C segment is funded and built. The Gerbers said the existing segment was “impressive” as they took off across Orkin Lake to explore.

Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker said it’s great to have the complex construction project completed. Walker said he’s thrilled to see residents enjoying it.

The path allows nearby families easy access to Morgan Falls Overlook Park, including the Chattahoochee River, dog park and the hydroelectric dam, without using a car. The Springway has planned connections to surrounding neighborhoods, schools and parks on both side of Roswell Road.

City Councilwoman Melody Kelley, representing the Morgan Falls area in District 2, said there is a tangible human benefit to the trail, offering thousands of Sandy Springs families access to new recreational opportunities.

“This represents a part of a huge public investment in the city’s North End … we’re at around $70-$80 million invested right here in this district,” Kelley said, turning to a familiar face in the crowd. “I actually have a former student [at Georgia State] who happens to be a constituent, and I think about her family and their ability to access this trail.”

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs City Council met May 6 to give staff direction on drafting the 2026 operating budget.

During the first of three budget workshops, elected officials reviewed some of the assumed operating and capital expenses from each city department head.

Requests related to operations, like staffing, are paid through the general fund. Other project-related and multi-year requests fall within the capital projects fund.

Operating budget assumptions total just under $41 million, and forecasted capital expenses are just over $45 million. The public won’t see the city’s proposed budget or any breakdowns of specific funds until the third workshop, set for May 27.

The operations and capital improvement budgets make up only a piece of the city’s overall spending plan, which topped more than $1 billion across all funds last year.

Multi-year funds expand the city’s budget beyond what it spends annually. Examples include last year’s $530 million budget for the Public Facilities Authority and $230 million set aside for Fulton County’s transportation-focused sales tax. Those totals are expected to carryover with a slight decline after last year’s spending.

Sandy Springs operates on a fiscal year budget which runs from July 1-June 30.

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After a couple of rounds of feedback, the budget will come before the City Council for two public hearings June 3 and 17 to approve the 2026 spending plan.

Some of the assumptions in the city’s operating budget include $2.1 million for general liability insurance, an 18 percent increase, and an estimated $10.8 million for employee health insurance, a more than 20 percent increase.

Other operating assumptions include $12.6 million to service debt for the Public Facilities Authority and more than $10 million for several annual contracts for the 24/7 call center, ambulance services, animal control, jail services, public works and recreation and parks maintenance.

City Manager Eden Freeman said staff will discuss elected officials’ feedback May 20, the second budget workshop.

Fire Department initiatives

The largest potential expenses are $17.2 million for a rebuild of Fire Station 1 and around $3 million for an addition to Fire Station 3. The request is for a multi-year capital project, totaling $20.2 million.

Fire Chief Keith Sanders said his department’s data for response time demand shows Fire Station 1 off Spalding Drive needs to remain at its current site, but it’s in desperate need of repairs with a crumbling foundation and flooding.

Sanders said he is also proposing a change to shift schedules for firefighters and paramedics, a measure which 70 percent of them support. Instead of receiving two days off after a 24-hour shift, Fire Department personnel would receive four consecutive days off after two, full-day shifts.

Sandy Springs News

Sandy Springs’ North Fulton neighbors Roswell and Johns Creek have made the move already.

Elected officials responded positively to the change after Sanders described firefighters driving from Rome and Macon to the city for their shift. It’s estimated to cost around $175,000 for a six-month trial.

Sanders said another priority is to get Fire Station 4, which sits just inside the city of Atlanta off Wieuca Road, inside Sandy Springs city limits to better serve the southside.

City Manager Freeman said staff has been working on a future location for two years but have been unsuccessful because of current uses and costs.

“I have worked with our financial advisers, and we do have the capacity to issue the additional debt to be able to build Station 1, add onto Station 3 and build a new Station 4 … without affecting our triple A bond rating,” Freeman told elected officials.

City Councilman Andy Bauman said the 2026 spending plan doesn’t include Fire Station 4 and mentioned the city’s use of eminent domain to acquire a property. No specific site was mentioned.

Freeman also said the city’s pay-as-you-go capital program would be affected by an increase in debt service, meaning less progress on other projects around the city. Details on bond issuance will come later, Freeman said.

City watching economic shifts

The city manager told council members that there will not be a capital budget ballot during this year’s budget process.

When Sandy Springs has a funding windfall, staff develops a capital budget ballot for elected officials to prioritize a list of projects around the city. Last year, elected officials passed on allocating $800,000 in additional funding thanks to the state’s expansion of its local maintenance and improvement grant program. Instead, the city kept the money in reserves.

While discussing requests across various departments, City Manager Freeman said her staff is monitoring potential price escalations. She said there has already been a price increase for IT Department equipment, and she’s working with staff to “soften the blow.”

The city has stable funding sources, Freeman said, and it is monitoring construction prices and impacts from tariffs.

Following the meeting, Freeman said the city is holding off on a capital budget ballot this year is because it doesn’t have the extra money. Last year’s expansion of paving funds was a one-off, she said.

The Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center is requesting some additional funds for Chinese fireworks at the Stars and Stripes Celebration and general increases for food and drink, Executive Director Bill Haggett said.

“We’ve certainly serviced a lot of people, 81,000 people have gone through this past year to our Signature Events,” Haggett said. “They are free.”

Mayor Rusty Paul and City Councilman Tibby DeJulio said they remember when the city was predicting a $1-2 million annual subsidy for the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center just a couple of years ago.

Because the Performing Arts Center funds free community events at City Springs, Paul said a balance needs to be struck to ensure it can operate self-sufficiently.

“It comes down to management; Bill and his team have done a phenomenal job of managing this in a way that keeps us from having to subsidize it,” Paul said. “We have to be very careful with what we do with our presenting sponsors … we want it to all be successful.”

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Sandy Springs Education Force celebrated the individuals and organizations helping power its mission April 22 during this year’s annual Appreciation Breakfast at Riverwood International Charter School.

The Sandy Springs Education Force is the city’s leading nonprofit focused on enhancing learning opportunities and preparing students for a successful future. It delivers free programs to all 11 public schools in Sandy Springs.

Gonzalo LaCava, chief Human Resources officer for Fulton County Schools, said the Education Force is “ensuring every student has an opportunity to thrive both in school and in life.”

He thanked the nonprofit for “creating a lasting, measurable change for our students, community and schools.”

Students shared firsthand stories, illustrating how the Education Force programming has transformed their educational journeys.

Vanesa Hernandez, a student at Riverwood Charter International High School, said she translated technical medical information from her doctors as a young child for her parents who did not speak English. She said she aspires to pursue a career in healthcare and to open a clinic offering bilingual services.

At the High Demand Career Fair, Hernandez learned about a program for aspiring certified nursing assistants at Love Nursing and Medical Training, allowing her to complete her training while a student.

Hernandez described how she works on the weekends and pursues dual enrollment college credits during the week, crediting the Sandy Springs Education Force for helping get her on a successful path to her goals.

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“Someday, I hope to be Dr. Hernandez,” she told the crowd.

Education Force Executive Director Irene Schweiger stressed the importance of the organization’s volunteers and supporters to run 18 impactful programs in Sandy Springs public schools.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said city’s public schools provide students with a great education.

“You don’t have good public schools unless you have great public support,” Paul said. “This room is a reflection of the phenomenal public support that these schools get.”

For more information, visit www.sandyspringseducationforce.org.

— Hayden Sumlin