Gregory Reeves, Dacula City Councilman

Not often is it easy to find oneself in an unfortunate situation and be proactive enough to turn it into something good. With member Gregory Reeves, that’s exactly what he did, and now has a political career to show for it.

It started back in 2003 when the city contracted with a company to do road-widening and sidewalk installation on Reeves’ street.

“The contractor left huge holes – about six to eight inches deep – in our side yard and refused to do anything about it,” he said. “It was a nightmare to cut grass without breaking an ankle.”

The company refused to do anything about it, so Reeves took matters into his own hands.

“I fixed it myself,” he said.

Today, he’s been on the city council for six years, and he attributes the incident to getting him involved with local politics.

The councilman is from Dacula and graduated from in 1988. He went on to attend Gainesville State College and began working in law enforcement in Dekalb County in 1990.

Reeves works as a realtor now, and has done so since the early 2000s. However, he does not buy nor sell real estate within Dacula, other than his personal home.

“Even though it is legal, as authorized by the Georgia Real Estate Commission, I do not do it as a matter of personal ethics,” he said.

As far as recent accomplishments he’s proud of, Reeves has a number of them.

“We have made road improvements through SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funding,” he said. “This has included resurfacing and road-widening projects. Also, the revitalization of our Historic Downtown has been started through a seven-year-old TE grant from the Feds.”

He added that one of the most important things he’s proud of is the Marshal’s office. Over two years ago, he made a motion to add an to the Marshal's office.

“The Marshals are an amazing supplement to our great county police force,” he said.

For the future, Reeves hopes to continue road resurfacing projects and widening projects. He also hopes to work with county commissioners to implement sewer systems in the downtown area. After that, he said that he would entertain the idea of possibly getting it for the residential areas.

“As some people may not know, once the infrastructure of sewer is installed on the streets, it is up to the resident to connect it from the road to their house,” he said. “This can be expensive ($2,000-$10,000 per household). I hope to find a program where we can reduce those costs significantly for the individual homeowner.”

Reeves, who hasn’t voted for a property tax increase since he’s been on the council, added that he believes .

“Many local artists would benefit from a town green or pavilion for performances,” he said. “Of course, only SPLOST funding would pay for this.”

Though a rough incident got Reeves started in politics, it’s the issues that keep him involved.

“I enjoy listening to the people and getting their input on the projects that the city undertakes,” he said. “Having a vote on such critical issues on how our growing city develops is humbling and something I take pride in.”

He also said that despite its tremendous growth over the past 20 years, Dacula still has a small-town feel, and that’s what makes it special.

“Everyone knows each other and people go out of their way to be friendly,” he said. “Whether you’ve been here 10 years or all of your life, people are welcomed here, and we do everything we can to enjoy life and to help others when they are in need.”