Atlanta City Council approves legislation to initiatestreet resurfacing, transportation and infrastructure improvements

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council approved an ordinance requesting that the Atlanta Urban Redevelopment Agency issue $120 million in revenue bonds for surface transportation and infrastructure improvements to include critical road resurfacing and restriping, traffic signalization and lighting, sidewalk and ADA-compliant ramps, and digital, variable, and static wayfinding systems, and related improvements within a redevelopment area (24-O-1483). This item was sent to the mayor’s office post-haste.

Other items that the Council adopted include:

• A resolution requesting that the director of the Urban Design Commission nominate the Chastain Arts Center and Gallery, established in 1968 on the Chattahoochee Brick Company site, as a landmark building or site under the City zoning ordinance. The building was constructed in 1910 to house Fulton County’s Black impoverished citizens, a role it played until it was repurposed as an arts center in 1968 (24-R-4204).
• A resolution authorizing application for a $4.9 million 2025 Local Maintenance Improvement Grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation. The funds would be used for street resurfacing throughout the city (24-R-4291).
• A resolution on behalf of the Department of Enterprise Asset Management (DEAM) approving the execution of agreements to provide city-wide construction, renovation, and other services for $100 million annually for a three-year term with two one-year renewals (24-R-4200).
• A resolution enabling the Atlanta Police Department to seek a $2.4 million Department of Justice grant to support law enforcement crime reduction and community partnership programs (24-R-4202).
• A resolution asking the Atlanta Department of Transportation to provide the Council a list of all outstanding Renew Atlanta and Moving Atlanta Forward infrastructure bond projects within 45 days (24-R-4197).
• An ordinance amending the agreement with the nonprofit Park Pride organization to add $750,000 in funding annually beginning in Fiscal Year 2025 to support historically disinvested communities through the Community Park Fund (24-O-1548).
• A resolution creating a Joint Task Order Fund and providing a $3.5 million allocation to support various projects managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), including signage, parking, environmental improvements, and other park renovations (24-R-4215).
• A resolution calling for a $201,000 contribution to the Department of Parks and Recreation for lighting and ADA improvements at Windsor Street Park (24-R-4203).
• A resolution calling for the honorary dedication of Brown Avenue SE as “Reverend Doctor Robert Rice, Jr. Way” in honor of Rev. Rice’s 50 years of service as pastor of Brown Avenue Baptist Church and adding the name to existing signage (24-R-4211).

Items introduced for consideration include:

• A resolution extending the reporting deadline for the task force reviewing the Office of the Inspector General and Ethics Office by 14 days to Nov. 8, 2024. This item was moved for immediate consideration.
• A pair of ordinances revising existing legislation relating to amplified sound in outdoor areas of eating or drinking establishments. One would repeal relevant regulations contained in the City’s alcohol code. The other would establish the same rules under the City’s noise ordinance. The Atlanta Alcohol Technical Advisory Group III recommended the revisions.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 10 of the City Code of Ordinances to define the term “additional facility” and to create a stand-alone ordinance to provide direction concerning amplified sound and live entertainment in outdoor areas of establishments licensed to sell alcohol for consumption.
• An ordinance amending the Fiscal Year 2025 budget by adding $489,000 of accrued interest from the 2015 General Obligation Public Improvement Bond Issuance to fund improvements at the Municipal Market.
• A resolution requesting the formation of a commission to determine a proper way to honor Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore. Moore was the first woman to serve full-time on the Atlanta Municipal Court benches, the first woman to serve as Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County, and the first African American woman to serve as Chief Administrative Judge of any Georgia Judicial Circuit.
• A resolution authorizing a $50,000 donation to 100 Black Men of Atlanta.
• A resolution requesting that the Department of Parks and Recreation conduct a feasibility study for the renovation and expansion of the Rambo Park Recreation Center.

The City Council presented proclamations and recognitions to Etta Gay Favors, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation, and the Georgia State University Department of Africana Studies 30th anniversary.