Inside City Hall: Where do Atlantans fall on the training center?
An Emory University faculty poll provided exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gives us what might be the first glimpse into how Atlantans are really feeling about construction of the planned public safety training center in DeKalb County.
Just under half of Atlantans polled support the training center at 48%, with 46% opposed. Support for the facility was much higher in Buckhead, with 61% of those residents backing construction.
Controversy over the project has dominated discussion at City Hall both during council meetings and behind closed doors. Especially with Mayor Andre Dickens announcement of his new task force, which leads us to our first newsletter item this week.
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An invitation: Letters went out last week from the mayor’s office to “Atlanta stakeholders” invited to take part in the newest task force created to provide input on the planned public safety training center.
The South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force will be comprised of around 50 members who weigh in on issues like greenspace, repurposing the former Atlanta Prison farm site, sustainability, and public safety training curriculum.
“As we move forward, I want to ensure that we are doing so together, as one community,” the letter reads.
Members will be asked to attend bi-weekly meetings for about four months, starting in April and ending in July. Two of the meetings will be the entire task force while others will be broken into subgroups.
Invitees were required to respond with their decision on whether or not to participate by last Friday.
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10,000 affordable housing units: The Atlanta Housing Authority presented it’s five-year strategic plan to City Council members after Dickens replaced a majority of its board members last year.
Dickens campaigned on a promise to build or preserve 20,000 units of affordable housing within eight years. The Housing Authority’s current goals aim to get half way there by 2027.
Atlanta Housing President Eugene Jones, Jr. told council members on the Community Development and Human Services Committee that the “plan aligns with Mayor Dickens strategic priorities.”
The agency hopes to build 5,000 new affordable housing units and preserve and improve 5,000 current units in the next five years.
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ICYMI: Our friends at the Saporta Report reported that Former City Councilwoman Carla Smith is returning to City Hall with a new job at the Atlanta Department of Transportation. Smith told us Monday that she is now a ATLDOT program manager who assists the Community Improvement District and MARTA.
“I am excited to have this opportunity and to be back working for the city of Atlanta,” said Smith.
Smith preceded Jason Winston as District 1′s councilmember after Smith decided not to seek reelection in 2021. March 13 was her first week in her new role.
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Guard duty: The Department of Parks and Recreation said it is aggressively recruiting lifeguards to work at community pools during the hot summer months. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, 12 pools around the city are scheduled to open to the public.
Commissioner Justin Cutler said that there is a “critical need” to hire over 100 lifeguards and pool managers to be able to open all 12 polls. If not enough staff is hired, Cutler said, pools will be opened selectively based on how many residential areas it’s able to serve.
Want to be a lifeguard but don’t know how to swim? The department said its happy to teach you. Interested applications can apply online here.
About the Authors
Riley Bunch is a reporter on the local government team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering Atlanta City Hall. She covers the mayor and Atlanta City Council while also keeping an eye on the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
