Members of a committee advising Clayton County government on its relationship with MARTA say they are being frozen out of the role they have played for more than a decade by elected leaders of the south metro community.
The Clayton County Commission last month created a new MARTA advisory board. The focus of the new board will parallel that of the Clayton Citizens Advisory Group, which has seen itself as the conduit between the public and the county on issues pertaining to MARTA since members began advocating for the transit service in 2010.
“It has been very disappointing because I thought we had been working well together,” CAG member and former state representative Roberta Abdul-Salaam said of the commission’s decision to create the new board.
Abdul-Salaam, who many credit as a driving force behind MARTA’s decision to launch service in Clayton, also represents Clayton County on the MARTA Board of Directors
The conflict comes as Clayton and MARTA are working on expanding services in the community that could mean millions of dollars of investment. That includes more bus routes; a fixed rapid transit system that has some of the attributes of a rail line; and a multi-purpose operations and maintenance facility the agency wants to open in the county in 2026. The facility would bring 350 jobs to Clayton.
A more ambitious commuter rail line project — potentially representing billions of dollars worth of investment — also is in the pipeline, but would come closer to the end of the decade.
Commissioners: New board, more voices
Commission leaders say they created the new board for additional structure, including having a chairperson and vice chairperson as well as the ability to replace members who fail to routinely attend meetings.
“Just because you were there in the beginning does not mean that you can continue to say: ‘Well, I’m on that advisory group,’” said Commissioner Felicia Warner. “If you don’t show up to meetings and you’re not involved, I don’t know if you can carry that title.”
Commission Chairman Jeff Turner said he also is concerned that they are getting advice from a very limited set of voices.
“We need to be hearing from more of our citizens,” Turner said. “That was the purpose of trying to put new folks on the Citizens Advisory Board so we could get different perspectives.”
Members of the original organization said they are not buying that explanation. They said they were never told of the board’s concerns and that the idea was sprung on them without warning.
“It was like, ‘We thank y’all for the ground work, but we got it now,” CAG member Sharon McMillon said.
Keith Parker, a Clayton resident who should not be confused with the former leader of MARTA, agreed. The CAG member was nominated Tuesday to be on the new board, but said he has little to no information about the organization or his role.
“I believe I’m just like they are, I’m not informed at all,” he said.
MARTA takes the leap
MARTA launched service in Clayton in 2015, five years after the Clayton Commission severed its ties with C-Tran, the bus service that previously served the county.
To get it, MARTA supporters went door-to-door to lobby residents to agree to levy an extra penny in sales taxes on themselves and to push the commission to support a referendum. Clayton voters approved the sales tax increase in November 2014 by 74%.
In addition to a Clayton County Citizens Advisory Group and now an advisory board, there also is a Rider’s Advisory Council and a Mobility Accessibility Committee, both of which meet monthly, MARTA Chief of Staff Melissa Mullinax said.
Of the communities that MARTA offers service, only Clayton has an advisory group, she said.
“There are no similar groups in DeKalb, Fulton or Atlanta,” Mullinax said, adding that MARTA does have an agreement with Atlanta regarding the MoreMARTA half-penny levy. That agreement establishes a program governance group that is primarily MARTA staff, City of Atlanta and Beltline staff, according to Mullinax.
Rika Wright, a member of CAG, said the organization will continue to advocate for citizens and their relationship with MARTA. Wright said members do not plan on ceding their influence, especially after being so instrumental in bringing the transit service to Clayton.
“We are not going to disband,” she said. “We are not giving up. Worked too hard for this.”
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