District 1 DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester is seeking reelection on June 9, 2020, to continue her work as the Chair of the Finance, Audit and Budget committee and as a member of the Public Works and Infrastructure committee, where she has focused on resolving the sewer issues and insuring compliance with the Federal Consent Decree.

Commissioner Jester has served three years on the Public Works Committee, and with her fellow commissioner from Super District 6, Kathy Gannon, leaving both the board and the committee, Commissioner Jester is the only remaining board member with historical knowledge of DeKalb County’s sewer restrictions and problems.

When Commissioner Jester was elected five years ago, the Board of Commissioners was not fully informed about the County’s sewer issues and federal consent decree. She discovered the County had been allowing businesses to connect to the outdated, unmaintained sewer system, often in conflict with the requirements of the Consent Decree. Commissioner Jester began attending meetings where previously the board was not represented and spearheaded a change in process. Given the fact that the County will likely miss the deadline of June 2020 to update and fix the sewer system to meet EPA standards, the matter will have to return to federal court to get the consent decree amended.

Commissioner Jester is committed to holding the County accountable for doing the work to upgrade and fix the aging sewer system. Upsizing, redesigning, cleaning and ongoing maintenance of the pipes will help gain capacity to alleviate the constraints and sewer spills. Commissioner Jester’s goal is to work with DeKalb County, have transparent and open communications with area businesses and work towards a viable solution so that DeKalb County’s economic development can thrive.

In the midst of continued focus on resolving DeKalb County’s sewer issues, COVID-19 occurred. DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond exercised his power to issue State of Emergency Executive Order for the county on March 23 and a stay-at-home order on March 27 (Governor Kemp issued a statewide order on April 1). Commissioner Jester and the DeKalb Board of Commissioners supported the CEO’s course of action, however, they are concerned about the economic effect and burden the pandemic will place on local, national and international businesses. Commissioner Jester remains hopeful for a V-shaped recovery and a swift reopening of the county, state and nation. As the Chair of the Finance, Audit and Budget Committee, she is closely monitoring the financial implications of this crisis for the County.

Commissioner Jester has always been appreciative of the partnership and support from TSCID. She believes that the CID’s leadership and communication on behalf of its owners and members are what makes TSCID successful and that the organization is an integral and important driver for economic activity and revitalization for the County as a whole.

Tucker Brewing Company has approached this challenging time with productivity and humor. The brewery’s walk-up window remains open during certain hours where the community can still purchase Tucker Brewing’s original brew and the TKR kitchen construction remains on track to open once the pandemic has passed.

Employees have all kept their jobs, but have been redirected toward other tasks within the company like canning and packaging (for wholesale markets and the walk-up window), painting the exterior and squeezing a lot of lemons (for a new product to be introduced in the summer). Meanwhile, Tucker Brewing took to social media to get the public’s vote on Malt Madness, bracket-styled voting to replace March Madness, for the most popular ingredients to include in a new product. They announced the winning ingredients on Friday, April 10, as pineapple, vanilla, Caramel 40 malt and Citra hops. Look for the Malt Madness pilot batch in the tasting room this summer.

Brand new marketing director, Eliana Barnard, credits the amazing Tucker community for being so supportive during these uncertain times.