Council to consider legislation authorizing contract for construction of diversion center
The Atlanta City Council will consider legislation Monday to authorize a task order in the amount of approximately $2.9 million for the construction of the Center for Diversion Services (22-R-4256). The scope of the project includes demolition and construction to convert approximately 12,000 square feet of space at the existing Atlanta City Detention Center into the new diversion center. The Center is envisioned as a pre-arrest drop-off point for law enforcement, which includes plans for living areas, consulting rooms, sobering areas, new restrooms and showers, medical labs, and lockers for users.
Other items on the agenda include:
• An ordinance to amend the City’s Charter relating to the boundaries of Council districts to adopt the new Council districts map with a related population summary report, plan components report, and the boundary descriptions of districts 1 through 12, as required by the City’s Charter following the 2020 U.S. census. This item will be considered by the Committee on Council before consideration by the full Council.
• An ordinance to amend the City’s Charter to establish a five-term consecutive limit for elected City officials. This item will be considered by the Committee on Council before consideration by the full Council.
• A resolution requiring the City of Atlanta to commission an independent appraisal of the Atlanta City Detention Center to determine the true market value of the building and property in order to make informed decisions regarding the highest and best use of the asset and funds allocated to operations at the site (22-R-4043).
• A resolution requesting that the Atlanta Police Department, Department of Aviation, and the City Auditor deliver an audit of police facilities under construction at the airport for the next four years and to deliver the final report to the Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee (22-R-4261).
• A resolution authorizing the mayor or his designee to apply for a Fiscal Year 2022 U.S. Department of Transportation Reconnecting Communities Pilot discretionary grant in an amount not to exceed $10.5 million for preliminary engineering for The Stitch using Eastside Tax Allocation District funds or other applicable funding streams (22-R-4262). The Stitch project is a proposed three-quarter mile platform spanning the I-75/I-85 Downtown Atlanta Connector between Ted Turner Drive and Piedmont Avenue.
• A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a cooperative maintenance agreement with the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) for the purpose of ADID performing services related to the maintenance of fixtures and improvements installed within the public right-of-way in the Broad Street area (22-R-4328).
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to pass legislation designating 1 percent of the state budget to specifically fund city, county, and state police departments, school boards and emergency responders to improve and enhance security technology upgrades that will expand the safety of public and private schools in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade (22-R-4265).
• An ordinance to amend the City’s Code of Ordinances to provide for the more reasonable and efficient enforcement of the Nuisance Animal Ordinance through reducing the amount of time which an animal must persistently or continuously make noise to be considered a nuisance from 20 to 10 minutes (22-O-1696).
• A resolution urging Congress to adopt the Afghan Adjustment Act to provide support for nationals of Afghanistan who supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan (22-R-4259). The bipartisan legislation would allow Afghans with temporary status that undergo additional vetting to apply for permanent legal residency in the U.S.
• An ordinance to amend the City’s Housing Code, which currently provides that the Council may authorize the waiver and release of liens imposed on properties in accordance with the judicial in-rem process (22-O-1711). The code section currently does not provide specific criteria governing those decisions. The legislation would update the code section and clarify the language regarding the circumstances to consider a waiver and release of property liens.
• An ordinance authorizing the acquisition of property located at 3724 Forrest Park Road from The Conservation Fund to be used for park purposes (22-O-1710). The proposed purchase aligns with the City’s goal of increasing the number of parks and green space acreage.
• A resolution authorizing a memorandum of understanding to supplement an agreement authorized in 2021 between Historic Atlanta Inc. and the Department of City Planning to implement an approximately $24,600 grant awarded by the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs to create an LGBTQ+ historic context statement (22-R-4332).
• A resolution urging the U.S. Congress to approve the Medicare for All Act of 2021 to establish a federally administered national health insurance program (22-R-4185).
The Council will present proclamations in recognition of Hello Fresh, Life University, Atlanta Police Department’s Zone 1, Angel Barnwell, and Bishop Christine Anderson.
During Monday’s meeting, DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond will deliver comments during the public official portion of the public comment period. He is in his sixth year as DeKalb County CEO. He will talk about the county’s achievements and aspirations for residents.
The Council’s Committee Chairs briefing will be held in person during the week of full Council at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chamber.
The Committee on Council will convene in Committee Room №1 at 11 a.m. ahead of Monday’s full Council meeting.
The full Council meeting will be held in person at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall. All meetings will be conducted in accordance with the City of Atlanta’s Charter, City Code of Ordinances, and the rules of Council as adopted for in-person meetings. In-person public comment procedures will be held as previously conducted and adopted by the Council in accordance with City Charter Section 2–104 and 2–105.
The meeting will be simulcast on the Council’s website, YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter pages, and Channel 26. Closed captioning will be available on the Council’s Facebook page.
