LAST WEEK: IS THE PROPOSED SOCCER COMPLEX A GOOD DEAL FOR DEKALB?
With no public discussion and a lot of fanfare, DeKalb’s interim CEO, Lee May, helped broker a deal where professional soccer team Atlanta United FC will get a $12 million incentive package to build its $30-million training complex near the jail and sanitation department off Interstate 285 on Memorial Drive. The complex will hold a 3,500-seat stadium, three practice fields, exercise facilities, locker rooms and offices for the club’s headquarters.
DeKalb will give AUFC $2.33 million a year for three years to facilitate the complex’s construction. The county wants some office space in the headquarters for its parks and recreation department in exchange. The incentive package also includes $5 million to clear land for the developments.
We asked readers if this will revitalize a part of the county with little commercial development. Or it is a government handout that will drain taxpayer money that would be better spent on infrastructure, schools or just about anything else.
Here’s what some had to say:
Hmmm invest in a soccer complex while the school system stays on the bottom of the list. Sick of Dekalb County. My daughter graduates in May & there will be a for sale sign in my yard by June. — Latasha Cannon
Why not? Atlanta has Turner Field, Phillips Arena, the dome and a new stadium. Fulton County has Wolf Creek amphitheater. — Jeanine Merritts
Dekalb is getting a horrible deal. That is why the next state inmate, the interim CEO, would not let the public speak. Do as much as you can for personal gain before your arrest. The soccer tournaments claim they may get will not happen. There are not enough fields being built. No hotel chains sre going to build by a jail or a crime ridden neighborhood. A professional team will put restrictions on the use of their fields to prevent damage. No recreational teams use the Falcons, Braves, or Hawks facilities. Let's be realistic, this is not a good deal. When is the last good deal Dekalb County made? — Tom Davis
Yes. What was there? Nothing. Funny that North DeKalb has so much to say about this? They're the same ones whining that South DeKalb is taking their money all the time. And this 'giveaway ' nonsense. Look at Mercedes? Look at Kia! Everything today to get a deal done is a giveaway. I didn't see these complaints when Gov. Perdue cut the Kia deal. — Jeffrey Harris
No, it's not a good deal for DeKalb. I am a big soccer fan. I played for many years, and still like watching. I really wanted to find something to like about this, as it would even be close to my home. For the money we'll be spending, where's the return? There will be no property taxes, no revenue generating activity, nothing for other businesses to anchor on. Not even soccer games to attend. Imagine how much good could be done in DeKalb with those millions of dollars instead of a corporate handout. If the Atlanta Silverbacks can be successful in DeKalb while paying property taxes, I think Arthur Blank can manage it. — Will Frishe
The soccer venue expenditure is the biggest debacle I have seen in my 68 years in DeKalb. There are so many egregious points. First, and most importantly, citizens present at the Commission meeting were not allowed to speak out due to a vote by the commission to not permit it. If this follows an ordinance or a set protocol, that should be voted out as people should always be able to speak about where their taxes are spent. After the recent water episode, money should be spent on what seems to be a failing water delivery system. Our roads are deplorable, and reports to DeKalb from friends and neighbors often get no results. Then if funds remain, there's always public safety and a school system that has come under scrutiny. Passing this issue represented a trampling of citizens' rights and a fine example of pork barrel politics. — Shelia Wilkins Harkleroad
Arthur Blank got a sweetheart deal from DeKalb County. Residents will have to ante up $12M for his new soccer practice facility with no compensating tax revenue. Remember, games will be played in new Atlanta Falcons stadium, so DeKalb gets no absolutely no revenue on that front. Once again stupidity and greed reign supreme in DeKalb. The question is not if money or favors change hands, but only who and how much. DeKalb CEO Lee May trotted out his absurd vision for redeveloping Memorial Drive into "Downtown DeKalb" through tourism and commercial development in January 2015. It sure seems he had already had soccer on his mind. The conspicuous lack of public input into the deal smacks of cronyism and good old fashioned greed. With less than a week to study the proposal, DeKalb's Board of Commissioners approved the plan in 4-3. At least Commissioners Gannon, Jester, and Rader saw the scam for what it is. As if the new Atlanta Falcons stadium was not enough, Arthur Blank makes still more money at taxpayer expense. —EO Smith
What should be done with a prime piece of real estate containing two historic buildings in downtown Canton?
The Canton City Council in late August approved a deal with its Downtown Development Authority under which the authority will act as a broker in the sale of the so-called “Building A and B” tract.
One of the properties it hosts is a former Canton Cotton Mills office and the other was the Canton Grammar School.
In 2010, the grammar school was put on the Georgia Trust’s list of places in peril. The organization said the vacant building had little maintenance done on it in the years since it had been shuttered.
The city got the land in a swap with the Cherokee County Board of Education in March. The Cherokee school district had at one time planned to demolish the two buildings and build a new central administration building on the site, but backed off the plan after criticism from historic-preservation-minded residents.
Under the deal, the DDA will seek a buyer, the city will sell the property to the authority for $50,000 less than the ultimate developer would pay, and any agreement that’s struck would ultimately go to the city council for approval. The agreement requires a developer to preserve the buildings and provides incentives.
The Cherokee County Historical Society has an ongoing campaign to raise funds to preserve these monuments through its Historic Landmarks Campaign.
What do you think is the best use for the property and buildings? Preservation? Demolition? A little of both?
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