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Georgia State Sen. Fran Millar speaks to 60 people at a meeting hosted by the Vista Grove Initiative. Photo by Gabriel Owens

By Gabriel Owens, contributor

The Vista Grove Initiative held a town hall meeting last night at Embry United Methodist Church, with 60 residents in attendance.

State Sen. Fran Millar was in attendance and indicated he’d be willing to sponsor a bill to allow a vote to incorporate the new city, provided there’s broad support for the idea.

Vista Grove Initiative board member Andrew Flake held court at the start of the meeting.

“We’re not looking for a win here,” Flake said. “That implies competition. That’s not what we’re about. We are about trying to build a city.”

Flake discussed the difficulties and the advantages of cityhood, and showed a proposed map of Vista Hills.

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The new city would include Lakeside High, Briarlake Elementary, Sagamore Elementary and Oak Grove Elementary, though these schools would still be a part of the DeKalb County School system. It would also contain Northlake Mall, a potentially lucrative source of tax revenue.

Flake said being in a city would mean better services for residents.

Millar spoke briefly and said he would help in any way he could. He urged residents to develop a very strong consensus before he brought any bill for Vista Grove cityhood to the legislature.

“[Badly thought out] bills tend to die in the House,” Millar said. “I’m getting too old to have bills die on me.”

After the senator spoke, groups formed in the back of the room, each sitting with a member of the Vista Grove Iitiative to review ideas they liked and didn’t like, as well as review the proposed Vista Grove boundaries and possible inclusion of other nearby areas not shown on the map.

The group is raising money to complete a feasibility study to see if the proposed city would generate enough tax revenue to pay for services.

To learn more about the proposed city, visit www.vistagrove.org.

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