Avondale completed the revamping its Downtown Development Authority by naming three new members this week: local business owners Parke Kallenberg, Nick Purdy and Rachel Herzog. Each term will last until Jan. 31, 2021.

Since November the DDA’s seen a complete turnover with the exception of Jessica Covington as the lone holdover.

Avondale’s board must be comprised of three city residents and four business owners in the central business district.

Mayor Jonathan Elmore said a second joint meeting between city commissioners and the DDA is slated for next month. Elmore wants a funded DDA to have power to buy property, take out bonds, develop property and market the city’s downtown, among other things.

A funded board must be preceded by an intergovernmental service agreement allowing for the transfer of money from the city to the DDA and would also include a formal mission statement for the authority.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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