Eva C. Galambos Files on the City of Sandy Springs, 1974-2007

Summary

Creator:

Galambos, Eva Cohn.

Date:

1974-2007

Extent:

8 box(es) (8 linear feet, 8 megabytes, and 4 audiovisual items)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Eva C. Galambos Files on the City of Sandy Springs, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.

Background

Scope and content:

The Eva C. Galambos Files on the City of Sandy Springs consist of clippings, correspondence, memoranda, announcements and flyers, meeting minutes, articles of incorporation, subject files, and publications. The collection documents the history of the City of Sandy Springs and the various organizations that lobbied, from 1975 to 2005, for its creation. Material from the Committee for Sandy Springs makes up the majority of Series II. Other groups represented are the Citizens for Sandy Springs, Friends of Sandy Springs, Georgia Future Communities Commission, and Northside Woods Neighborhood Association.

Biographical / historical:

Eva C. Galambos

Brief biography, as provided by the City of Sandy Springs (http://www.sandyspringsga.org/tPanel.aspx?P=EC3486BAFBEE4DA2B4667C27B63D0BCF):

Mayor Eva Galambos has lived in Sandy Springs for almost five decades. She is a retired economist specializing in urban finance and labor economics. She has also served as an arbitrator resolving disputes between labor and management.

She was president of Committee for Sandy Springs from 1975-2005 leading the effort to incorporate Sandy Springs. She is a co-founder and former secretary of Sandy Springs Revitalization; founder of Sandy Springs Clean and Beautiful; chairwoman of services committee for the Sandy Springs Council of Neighborhoods; former chairwoman of the Fulton County Public Housing Authority and founder of Sandy Springs Civic Roundtable.

Ms. Galambos has a Ph.D. in economics from the Georgia State University, holds a masters degree in labor and industrial relation from the University of Illinois and a bachelor in business administration from the University of Georgia.

She is married, has three adult children, six grandchildren and resides in the Bentwater neighborhood of Sandy Springs. In her spare time Ms. Galambos and her husband enjoy spending time with the family, hiking and gardening.

City of Sandy Springs

Excerpted from the City of Sandy Springs web site (http://www.sandyspringsga.org/)

In 1851 Wilson Spruill donated five acres (two hectares) of land for the founding of the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church, near the sandy spring for which the city is named. In 1905 the Hammond School was built at Johnson Ferry Road and Mt. Vernon Highway, across the street from the church.

After World War II, Sandy Springs experienced a housing boom, bringing new residents and major land development. In the 1960s and 1970s, Georgia 400 and Interstate 285 connected Sandy Springs to metro Atlanta.

Debate over incorporation began in the 1970s when the city of Atlanta attempted to use a state law to force annexation of Sandy Springs. The attempt failed when the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that the law was unconstitutional. In response, the Committee for Sandy Springs was formed in 1975. In every legislative session since 1989, state legislators representing the area introduced a bill in the Georgia General Assembly to authorize a referendum on incorporation. Legislators representing the city of Atlanta and southwestern Fulton County blocked the bills using the procedural requirement that all local legislation be approved first by a delegation of representatives from the affected area.

In early 2005, the procedural rules previously used to prevent a vote by the full chamber were changed so that the bill was handled as a state bill and not as a local bill. The referendum initiative was approved by the Assembly and signed by Governor Sonny Purdue. The Assembly also repealed the requirement that new cities must be at least three miles from existing cities, because the new city limits border both Roswell and Atlanta.

The referendum was held on June 21, 2005, and residents voted 94% to 6% in favor of incorporation. Many residents expressed displeasure with county services, claiming that the county was redistributing revenues to fund services in less financially-stable areas of the county, ignoring local opposition to rezoning, and allowing excessive development. Many residents of unincorporated and less-developed south Fulton County strongly opposed incorporation, fearing the loss of tax revenues which fund county services.

Mayor Galambos and six city council members were elected in early November 2005, and formal incorporation occurred on December 1. The six city council districts are roughly northwest (along the Chattahoochee River), northeast (north of Dunwoody), southwest, southeast, east (along Georgia 400), and central.

Processing information:

Oversized materials and audiovisual materials have been separated for preservation purposes. Series II has not been processed beyond the series level, folders are loosely grouped by format or topic.

Arrangement:

The files are divided into two series: I. Clippings, arranged chronologically; and II. City of Sandy Springs Files. Audiovisual items are at the end of Series II.

Related

Related material:

Rodney Mims Cook PapersSidney J. Marcus PapersWilliam Armstrong Smith PapersReflections on Georgia Politics

Separated material:

John Greer Paper, Special Collections, Georgia State UniversityWilliam Berry Hartsfield Papers, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Library, Emory UniversityPeggy Childs Legislative Papers, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Library, Emory UniversityPanke M. Bradley Papers, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Library, Emory University

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Women.
Cities and Towns -- Growth.
Sandy Springs (Ga.)
Women mayors.
City planning.
Urban development.
Daughters of the American Revolution
Photographs.

Names:

Galambos, Eva Cohn.

Places:

Fulton County (Ga.)

Restrictions:

Financial information has been restricted.

Series II. City of Sandy Springs Files contain digital files. To access these files, please request the folders you would like through the finding aid using your research account. An archivist will be in contact with you to explain how to access the files. Please note that not all file formats are currently supported by the library for research use.

Terms of access:

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred citation:

Eva C. Galambos Files on the City of Sandy Springs, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.