Atlanta City Council authorizes donations to Park Pride
The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday authorizing a $2.8 million donation to Park Pride to support district-specific greenspace improvements and park upgrades in communities across Atlanta (23-O-1074). In 2021, the Council approved legislation calling for a referendum to consider three ballot questions to provide $750 million toward transportation, recreation, public safety, and arts projects. In 2022, Atlanta voters approved the referendum known as the Moving Atlanta Forward initiative. As part of the initiative, District Council members were authorized to allocate funds to community projects not already listed as part of other specified investments. This legislation commits a portion of these discretionary dollars to Park Pride for park improvements.
Other items approved include:
• An ordinance to authorize the City of Atlanta to apply for a $750,000 Improving Neighborhood Outcomes in Disproportionately Impacted Communities Grant from the state of Georgia’s allotment of federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund in an amount not to exceed $750,000 to support the visioning, planning, and designing of a memorial, greenspaces, and park at the former site of the Chattahoochee Brick Company (23-O-1102).
• An ordinance to grant a special use permit for a community center for property located at 25 Newcastle Street SW in the Ashview Heights and Atlanta University Center Special Public Interest District (22-O-1833). The center’s vision will be to provide programs to help youth in crisis.
• An ordinance to waive a provision of the Procurement and Real Estate Code to authorize the Atlanta Police Department to donate 140 Motorola radios no longer used by the department to the Atlanta Police Foundation (23-O-1123). The department’s older radios have been upgraded. The donation aims to better facilitate communication within Operation Shield to promote safety.
• A resolution authorizing Renewal Option №2 as part of a contract with SP Plus All N One Joint Venture for on-street parking management services for a term of one year (23-R-3272).
Proclamations and recognitions were presented in honor of Dr. James Densler, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., former State Rep. “Able” Mable Thomas, and the David T. Howard Middle School boy’s and girl’s varsity basketball teams.
Items were also introduced to be considered in committee, including:
• An ordinance to authorize the execution of the third amended and restated intergovernmental agreement between the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Housing Opportunity Inc. to expand the applicable units and increase maximum funding for the small multi-family developer loan program in regard to the Housing Opportunity Bond.
• An ordinance to amend Chapter 94 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances, which prohibits discrimination throughout the city, to add two seats to the Human Relations Commission.
• A resolution requesting that the mayor takes into consideration and funds priorities that the Council recommends be included in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. This legislation helps set the policy framework for budgetary decisions as Council establishes priority areas for the coming budget year.
• A resolution requesting the Georgia Department of Transportation to include the replacement of the Martin Luther King Jr. bridge located over I-285 in the I-285/I-20 interchange project and to request the Georgia Department of Transportation host additional public forums with the affected communities.
