[2:53] All right. Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to the September 15th meeting of the Community

[2:57] Human Services Committee. My name is Matt Westmoreland.

[2:59] I'm joined by council members Dozier, Winston and Bond.

[3:02] I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.

[3:05] Second by Dozier.

[3:11] The vote is open.

[3:17] The vote is closed for

[3:19] June is adopted.

[3:19] Joined by Councilmember Kelsey Bond.

[3:21] I'm. Make a motion to approve the minutes.

[3:23] Second by Dozier.

[3:36] The road is closed for your next.

[3:38] The minutes are approved. Thank you.

[3:39] Next up on the agenda is public comment.

[3:40] Folks will have three minutes to share whatever they'd like to.

[3:44] First person to speak is on Ray Jordan,

[3:47] followed by David Serrano and Matthew Nursey.

[3:57] Given unto us be to God everyone that's here in a unit straight gate.

[4:01] But why is the gate involved with the way

[4:03] that leading to destruction and many of that beat

[4:05] which go in there at Matthew seven, chapter 13 verse,

[4:09] any in at the gate

[4:11] now means that one must come through the narrow gate

[4:15] in order to reach the path that leads to eternal life,

[4:20] because ready to get an error is the way which leads to life,

[4:24] and few that be that find it.

[4:27] Saint Matthew seven, chapter 14 verse.

[4:30] Though many are on the broad way,

[4:34] they laid it to destruction, eternal separation from God.

[4:38] The gate that leads to life is so narrow

[4:41] that few that be that find it.

[4:45] If my people, which are called by my name,

[4:47] shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face,

[4:52] and turn from their wicked ways, then will

[4:55] I hear from heaven, and will heal their land.

[4:58] Second Chronicle seven, chapter 14 verse.

[5:01] While this promise was originally given to Solomon

[5:04] regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable

[5:09] to all who will call on the Lord and repentance and faith.

[5:16] Deliver me, oh my God!

[5:18] Out of the hand of the wicked.

[5:21] Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

[5:24] Psalm seven, chapter four verse.

[5:27] This psalm is clearly the prayer of an elderly man

[5:31] threatened by his enemies.

[5:34] James. Griff, you have proven to be my enemy.

[5:36] The word told me to work with him is to ask for death,

[5:41] and I will bless them that bless thee and curse him

[5:45] that cursed thee, and indeed shall all families of the earth

[5:50] be blessed. Genesis 12th chapter three verse God promised to make Israel

[5:54] a great nation, to bless those who bless him, and curse

[5:58] those who curse him, to give him the promised Land,

[6:02] and through his descendants, to bless

[6:05] all the families of the earth with a redeemer.

[6:09] When you seek to curse me, you ask to be cursed.

[6:13] So we want to seek blessings and not curses

[6:17] because we don't want curses on our lives.

[6:19] I know I don't.

[6:20] So I have to fight to speak the Word of God

[6:22] because the deliverance and the Word of God

[6:24] and I need God deliverance.

[6:25] I don't know about you, but I need it.

[6:28] I need to be what he says to me.

[6:29] I have to fight to live wholly, to obey Jesus.

[6:33] So I have you to have

[6:36] that same desire to be what Christ says to be,

[6:39] because he got more for us than we have for ourselves.

[6:42] I know I don't want to go to hell.

[6:47] Thank me either.

[6:48] Next up is David Serrano, followed by Matthew

[6:51] and Kay Stevenson.

[6:57] Okay.

[6:59] Hello. Community development and human services committee.

[7:01] My name is David Serrano and I am a

[7:02] sheltered homeless person currently staying in Grant Park.

[7:05] I work two low wage jobs here in Atlanta.

[7:08] I can't afford health care. I can't afford child care.

[7:10] I can't afford my own place to live.

[7:12] And on my days and on many days, I can't afford transportation

[7:16] to work here in Atlanta without skipping the turnstiles.

[7:19] Where I recently, recently received a citation,

[7:21] a warning from police for entering the emergency exit

[7:24] on my way to a job interview since I came to Atlanta

[7:27] looking for opportunity.

[7:29] One year ago, I learned that under the current mayor's administration

[7:31] and some council members here are misaligned tax dollars

[7:36] that were approved by voters

[7:37] a decade ago to expand public transit.

[7:40] Instead, they're spending the power

[7:41] of the city's purse to appease and preserve their billionaire

[7:45] corporate overlords. And donors like Cox Enterprises, owners of Cox Automotive,

[7:49] the largest automotive reseller in the country.

[7:52] All oppose any alternatives to motorized vehicles along

[7:55] the Beltline. Surprise, surprise.

[7:57] In 2016, Elena voters overwhelmingly approved

[8:00] the more moderate, more moderate and more Marta referendum

[8:04] to fund public transit projects using a half penny sales tax.

[8:09] To this day, almost none of those projects have been built

[8:11] and the people have been taxed for it.

[8:13] What's the holdup?

[8:14] It's time to build a rail

[8:15] that Alannah is voting for and paid for.

[8:18] We need tracks on the ground now

[8:20] and the willpower to make it happen.

[8:22] Let's get back on track and build.

[8:23] Beltline Rail

[8:25] Atlanta continues to rank

[8:26] as one of the most expensive cities

[8:28] in the United States for car commuting,

[8:29] while the rising cost of housing and transportation

[8:32] placed an increasing burden on Atlanta families.

[8:35] Our city desperately needs better public transit

[8:37] and to move away from car dependency.

[8:39] Beltline rail is a huge step towards achieving that.

[8:43] What's the holdup?

[8:43] For those not signed on to the council

[8:46] member Kelsey Bond's resolution?

[8:48] Is it fear for low income individuals more easily

[8:51] visiting high income areas like Buckhead and Tuxedo Park?

[8:55] Is it the love for economically debilitating car traffic,

[8:58] or do you want to continue the class war?

[9:01] Your billionaire overlord started 100 250 years ago,

[9:05] passed this resolution.

[9:06] Not only do the people need it, they demand it.

[9:08] They voted for it. They paid for it.

[9:11] Get the rails.

[9:12] Get the tracks moving now!

[9:13] Thank you, thank you.

[9:15] Matthew followed by K Stephenson and Paul.

[9:26] Hello.

[9:27] Good afternoon.

[9:27] Thank you. Committee.

[9:28] My name is Matthew Nursey.

[9:31] I am a member of Atlanta DSA

[9:33] and I live in district five, pretty close to the Beltline.

[9:37] I'm walking distance.

[9:39] I, you know, I walk over to the Beltline quite often.

[9:42] I also I don't have a car

[9:44] I haven't had a car for, for years now actually.

[9:48] And I personally, actually, I really don't want to get one

[9:51] if I'm being honest.

[9:52] I'm not one of those people that thinks

[9:53] every single person should own a car.

[9:55] Everybody should live in a house and not an apartment.

[9:58] Like that's not really sustainable, right?

[9:59] I think we should.

[10:01] We've all noticed it's getting very hot. Right?

[10:03] And this is actually probably one of the cooler summers

[10:06] we're going to have going forward.

[10:08] So Elana is also notoriously

[10:12] one of the most highly congested cities.

[10:14] You know, the traffic is is is bad here.

[10:17] Everybody knows that.

[10:19] And so I'm here to support Beltline rail being built.

[10:24] And it's not just about the climate. Right?

[10:26] I worked many, many years in food service and hospitality.

[10:31] And the Beltline has brought lots of restaurants,

[10:35] lots of different businesses with it.

[10:37] And people need a way to get to work, right.

[10:41] You know, working class people like me

[10:43] who take the Marta,

[10:44] rely on Marta, rely on the bus to get around.

[10:47] It'd be really convenient to be able to have

[10:50] a way to get around. Maybe we'd see a decrease in the amount of those,

[10:53] really dangerous bird scooters that are always zipping

[10:56] and flying around.

[10:59] If, you know, people were able to get to work by taking a streetcar,

[11:01] I think that would be, you know, really convenient.

[11:04] And I have a hunch that part of the reason

[11:07] why the project has been stalled.

[11:10] You know, I've seen lots of Waymo's around in Atlanta and,

[11:15] down in like the West End, I see beep.

[11:19] Right. And not every city has like, the proliferation of Waymo's

[11:23] like, this is a

[11:24] it's not in every city.

[11:26] It's, you know, particularly

[11:31] overboard here, I'd say.

[11:33] And it's, it's dangerous.

[11:35] We didn't ask for these things.

[11:38] Right. It takes jobs away from Uber and Lyft drivers.

[11:40] Gig workers.

[11:42] They cause issues with traffic when there's emergencies.

[11:46] And so I just my thing is

[11:48] we need to be funding projects like Beltline Rail

[11:52] and not getting into, like, deals with AI companies.

[11:57] And you know, these tech feudal overlords.

[12:02] Right? So thank you for everyone who has signed on to support.

[12:07] Really appreciate it. This is not just, you know, an East Side thing.

[12:08] This is, you know, whole city of Atlanta thing that can really

[12:12] like transform our city the way like working people get around

[12:16] in the way that, you know, our city just is in in operates.

[12:20] So the Beltline is a great attraction.

[12:22] People love it. But let's make it even better.

[12:24] This was always the plan from the start.

[12:27] Thank you thank you. Okay Stephenson

[12:31] by Paul and Chance smiley.

[12:36] Good afternoon.

[12:37] I'm Kate Stephenson I've lived in the Virginia

[12:40] Highland neighborhood of Atlanta for about 30 years.

[12:43] And in 2002 I was on the advisory

[12:46] committee working on the master plan for Piedmont Park.

[12:49] One of the people on our committee

[12:50] started telling us about the Beltline

[12:52] and what it was going to happen,

[12:53] and we asked, how long is that going to take?

[12:56] And they said, 20 years.

[12:57] And I jokingly said, it'll never happen.

[13:00] Well, here we are more than 20 years later,

[13:02] and we have not laid one mile of track.

[13:05] When Kathy Woolard and Ryan Gravel started socializing.

[13:09] This idea, I knew as a resident of Virginia

[13:13] Highland that it wasn't really being built for me,

[13:16] that I wasn't really the one that needed it.

[13:20] But I knew that

[13:22] it was going to make life better for the people in communities

[13:26] that have seen disinvestment for decades.

[13:31] Both because of

[13:34] white flight and because of splitting up the city

[13:37] and separating all these neighborhoods.

[13:39] This was going to bring these neighborhoods

[13:41] back together, and I was going to bring opportunity.

[13:45] I have to admit, my husband and I like to go out to dinner.

[13:48] And so if it meant

[13:50] we could go over to the west side and

[13:51] order a bottle of wine and drink the whole bottle of wine

[13:54] and not drive ourselves home, that was probably a good thing.

[13:58] So yeah, we would use it.

[14:00] And that's why I worked with Beltline Rail now to advocate

[14:03] for inclusion of light rail transit on the Beltline.

[14:08] That's why I went to almost every NPU in the city and gained support for light

[14:12] rail transit on the Beltline, and got them to sign petitions.

[14:16] And that's why I support it now,

[14:19] because I want to live in a city that offers opportunities

[14:23] and offers access to all of our community members.

[14:28] When we started this project,

[14:30] we were the thought leaders that every other city was looking

[14:32] to, and most of them have now leapfrogged us.

[14:36] Look at Charlotte. Look at Seattle.

[14:37] Look at these other cities.

[14:40] That is an embarrassment.

[14:42] And we really need to get on it and build it and build it now.

[14:47] Let's urge this administration to get off the dime.

[14:50] Build light rail, starting with the east side,

[14:53] which is shovel ready now.

[14:56] Just one more anecdote.

[14:58] About eight years ago,

[15:00] when the current mayor was head of transportation committee.

[15:04] I used to stand at this podium, and I would look at him

[15:07] and I would say, Andre, in my lifetime,

[15:10] I'm 70.

[15:12] I'm starting to have my doubts, but I'm still hopeful.

[15:15] Please urge

[15:16] the administration to build Beltline rail in my lifetime.

[15:20] Thank you.

[15:22] Thank you.

[15:26] Paul C followed by

[15:27] Chance and John Fisher.

[15:31] Good afternoon.

[15:32] My name is Paul

[15:35] and I've lived in Midtown for 12 years.

[15:39] I would like to make just several points.

[15:41] I'm here to speak in favor of a resolution

[15:44] for urging the male mayor to move forward with Beltline rail.

[15:48] I'm a supporter of that.

[15:50] A couple of points I'd like to make.

[15:52] We can all agree

[15:53] Atlanta would be a better city if we had fewer cars.

[15:58] I don't think anyone would dispute that.

[16:01] When I first moved here 14 years ago,

[16:04] the existing Beltline was under discussion

[16:07] and a lot of people were opposed to it

[16:09] and there was a lot of foot dragging.

[16:12] It was initially proposed in

[16:13] 1999, and we're about to finish it.

[16:17] Not yet, but we're about to.

[16:19] And I think everyone would now agree

[16:21] that it's been a huge benefit to the city, to the neighborhoods

[16:27] economic development. It's brought in new residents and new companies to the city.

[16:31] And so in hindsight, we all love it.

[16:34] I believe once we do build some Beltline rail,

[16:38] everyone is going to see it

[16:39] and they're going to like it also,

[16:41] and it's going to bring similar benefits.

[16:43] So I think it would be a wise investment

[16:46] to move forward with Beltline rail sooner rather than later.

[16:50] Thank you. Thank you.

[16:52] Chance Miss Molly,

[16:57] followed by John Fisher

[16:58] and Chet Tisdale.

[17:02] Good afternoon, chairman and the members

[17:04] of the Community Development in Human Service Committee.

[17:07] My name is Chante Smalley, and I am the president and founder

[17:11] of Jewel Foundation, a 501 C three nonprofit

[17:14] that was established in 2011 2011.

[17:18] Although our organization is new to Atlanta's community,

[17:21] we are not new to serving children and families.

[17:25] For approximately 15 years, Jewel Foundation has developed and administered

[17:29] youth enrichment after school and summer programs, child

[17:33] nutrition services, and community

[17:35] outreach and partnerships designed

[17:37] to remove barriers for children and families.

[17:40] We are now bringing that experience to Atlanta.

[17:44] Our local vision includes youth development

[17:47] and environmental education, Stem and agriculture.

[17:52] Oh, sorry.

[17:54] I'm a little nervous because I'm new to Atlanta, but

[17:57] I do have capability statements if you guys would like them.

[18:00] I look forward to just introducing our foundation

[18:04] to Atlanta and hearing from you guys soon.

[18:07] Thank you. You do?

[18:08] Welcome to Atlanta. Yeah. Other where?

[18:13] Next up is John Fisher,

[18:15] followed by Dale and Matthew Rao.

[18:24] I my name is John Fisher.

[18:27] I'm the current president of the Atlanta

[18:28] Downtown Neighborhood Association.

[18:31] Here to speak in support of 26.

[18:34] 015 ten.

[18:37] For the past year A.D.

[18:38] and A has been working closely with the Mayor's

[18:43] housing Office policy team

[18:46] and a goal to sustain,

[18:50] affordable homeownership downtown

[18:52] and protect our legacy residents.

[18:55] By definition of the city, we have over 400

[18:59] affordable homeownership units downtown.

[19:03] And due to rising land

[19:07] costs, construction costs, we're not building anymore.

[19:10] So it's an ultimate to protect those that we have.

[19:15] We've actually lost

[19:17] quite a few of the homes downtown

[19:21] in the past five years by count, probably over 150 units.

[19:26] And that loss has been to rentals

[19:29] and particularly short term rentals.

[19:32] There's a particular building that was 65%

[19:36] owner occupied as recently as five years ago.

[19:40] And has since been taken over by,

[19:43] private investors who turned it into an Airbnb.

[19:47] It's,

[19:49] threatened residents who live there

[19:52] and quite frankly, the legacy residents and the elderly,

[19:56] the only ones that are left and unable to speak for themselves.

[20:01] I had the opportunity

[20:03] to accompany a council member, Winston, to this property,

[20:08] and we saw firsthand what,

[20:11] unchecked short term rentals

[20:14] and the damage you can do to the community. So,

[20:18] Council member Westmoreland,

[20:20] we appreciate the,

[20:22] tweaking to the current legislation,

[20:25] and hopefully this will allow

[20:26] the city to move forward and help us enforce

[20:30] what we need to enforce and protect our community.

[20:33] So thank you. Hope springs eternal.

[20:35] Thank you. Next up.

[20:37] Teasdale. Matthew Rao and Lucas Sanchez.

[20:42] Atlanta has an affordable housing crisis.

[20:45] You know that it also has a tree loss crisis.

[20:48] And you know that I speak today only to the affordable housing

[20:53] crisis.

[20:54] Council member Dustin Hills has introduced a bill

[20:57] to reduce some of the recompense requirements

[21:00] for affordable housing.

[21:01] I think that's good.

[21:03] I think we've got to do everything

[21:04] we can to encourage affordable housing and recompense.

[21:09] Reduction is an important tool to do that.

[21:13] But there's one provision that I want

[21:14] to bring your attention to because it is of concern to me.

[21:18] Normally when you build affordable housing,

[21:22] you have to record on the deed

[21:25] that it will be affordable for 20 years,

[21:28] and that gives the city the ability to enforce it.

[21:32] Unfortunately, this proposed legislation

[21:35] from Council Member Hillis eliminates

[21:37] that requirement of 20 year maintenance of affordability

[21:41] and eliminates the requirement to put a deed restriction

[21:45] on the property.

[21:46] There's no reason that I can see

[21:49] that's given for that, and I see no reason why

[21:54] that should be in there, because it's an invitation

[21:57] to market rate developers

[21:58] to masquerade as an affordable housing developer,

[22:01] get a recompense reduction, tear down the trees, build housing,

[22:05] and charge market rates.

[22:07] That's not how we solve the affordability crisis.

[22:11] It's an essential element, I believe, of affordable

[22:15] housing, that when someone builds it,

[22:18] they have to be obligated for 20 years

[22:21] to maintain it as affordable housing.

[22:24] And they have to do that through a deed restriction.

[22:27] To fail to do that is to invite

[22:31] market rate developers to misuse the system.

[22:34] And I know you don't want that to happen.

[22:36] So it's a simple fix.

[22:37] I think if you bring it to Council Member Hillis attention,

[22:41] I think he will agree with you.

[22:43] I appreciate your attention and to this crisis of affordable

[22:48] housing, and I hope we can do everything

[22:49] we can to build more affordable housing.

[22:52] I salute you and the mayor for what you're doing.

[22:56] Thank you. Thank you. Next up, Matthew Lucas Sanchez.

[22:58] And our final speaker is Stephen ML,

[23:03] whose name I always mispronounce.

[23:05] Good afternoon, chair. Miss Westmoreland and the other members of c, h s.

[23:08] I'm Matthew Rao.

[23:09] I chair Beltline rail.

[23:10] Now I'm primarily here in gratitude.

[23:13] Gratitude for you all as having signed

[23:16] on as co-sponsors and gratified, gratifying.

[23:20] Grateful for you.

[23:21] Council Member bond for having

[23:23] written the resolution 26 R 3999.

[23:27] In support of Beltline rail and in demand of accountability

[23:32] from the parties charge to deliver it,

[23:34] the city government, the Mayor's Office, Atlanta Beltline Inc.

[23:38] and Marta to come forward with status reports and plans

[23:43] where the project stands

[23:44] and a clear path forward to pay for it.

[23:47] This is an amazing

[23:50] part of the council taking back its rightful role

[23:55] as the creator of the Atlanta Beltline, with Transit Center

[23:59] to demand answers and hold the parties

[24:01] charged with delivery accountable.

[24:03] As others have pointed out,

[24:04] we've been paying a tax for ten years

[24:06] and we have little to show for it.

[24:08] And as others have pointed out,

[24:10] Beltline rail was always a part of the Atlanta Beltline

[24:14] that the City Council created almost 25 years ago.

[24:18] I want to thank you for exercising that leadership.

[24:22] I want to point out

[24:23] a couple of things that I think are

[24:25] important in the resolution,

[24:28] and that is that the role of council

[24:32] as demanding accountability

[24:34] and asking for plans and updates is preserved.

[24:40] I would not like to see the council agree to any restriction of that role

[24:43] moving forward, and it would not like the council to agree

[24:46] on limits to roles that it does not possess.

[24:50] The implementation of the project

[24:51] is in the hands of Marta Atlanta Beltline Inc.

[24:54] and the mayor, and that is where it should be.

[24:59] And it is your job, rightfully, to demand

[25:03] answers about a project that is not moving forward right now.

[25:07] But that could be to the benefit of every Atlanta.

[25:10] The Beltline is

[25:11] perhaps the greatest thing

[25:13] our city has ever created as a public project,

[25:16] and it is not delivering those results to everyone equally.

[25:21] And that is what the transit is about.

[25:23] Before it gets too late

[25:24] to build the transit at a price we can afford.

[25:29] We urge you to continue to hold the mayor, Atlanta Beltline Inc.

[25:32] and Marta accountable to deliver this project.

[25:35] And again, I want to thank you.

[25:36] Council Member Collins, you were not here

[25:38] when I started my remarks.

[25:39] Thank you all for being co-sponsors on this resolution.

[25:44] Thank you.

[25:45] Not no direct comment to the person who just spoke,

[25:48] but if you

[25:49] when you come up, if you won't touch the microphone,

[25:50] it interferes with people's ability to hear on the.

[25:54] It's okay.

[25:56] Just want the public people to hear.

[25:57] Lucas.

[25:58] Followed by Stephen Imel.

[26:06] Good afternoon everyone.

[26:07] My name is Lucas Sanchez.

[26:08] I am a shop steward for, the Roswell Hub.

[26:12] For UPS Teamsters local 728.

[26:15] But today I'm speaking as an Atlanta resident.

[26:18] I just want to thank everyone here for supporting this resolution.

[26:21] I'm originally from the suburbs of Atlanta.

[26:23] I moved to the city of Atlanta back in around January.

[26:28] And in that time,

[26:30] I shortly ditched my car a little bit after.

[26:33] And since moving here, it has just been

[26:37] the experience of a lifetime.

[26:38] I have expanded social circles, I've made new friends

[26:42] and just created new family members, I would say.

[26:46] And I would like to think that that is because of the proximity

[26:48] of everything being so nearby.

[26:50] The chance encounters I've had on transit.

[26:53] Just having everything

[26:55] nearby and somewhat convenient compared to the suburbs.

[26:59] And I want and hopefully the city

[27:03] wants to expand that privilege along the Beltline.

[27:08] It is something that we all need.

[27:11] We should not need to have a car to get around.

[27:14] I don't think this is just simply a transportation project.

[27:16] I think this is a project to connect the city of Atlanta

[27:20] to finally undo the wrongdoings of the past,

[27:24] to truly build something that we can all be proud of.

[27:31] You know, I am incredibly proud to live in Atlanta.

[27:33] I think this is a really good city.

[27:35] And I think if we build

[27:36] Beltline rail, this can be a great city.

[27:38] Thank you.

[27:39] Welcome to Atlanta.

[27:40] Final speaker, Mr.

[27:41] Imel.

[27:46] How's it going, y'all?

[27:47] My name is Stephen.

[27:48] It wasn't my intention to wrap this up today,

[27:49] but I will keep it very short for y'all.

[27:51] I want to say thank you to everyone on this committee

[27:53] for signing on to support Councilmember

[27:55] Bonds resolution to demand that we get started on this project.

[27:58] And I want to say

[28:02] that while Beltline rail is incredibly important, we're paying for more, Marta.

[28:05] We're paying for a lot of it.

[28:07] And we want much, much more than just this project.

[28:09] So I hope that this is just the beginning of this process.

[28:12] Thank you.

[28:13] That concludes

[28:15] public comment, which takes us to the next section of our agenda.

[28:18] Without objection, colleagues, we have a couple,

[28:23] communications that we can take before our two presentations.

[28:27] A couple checks of Kalief Davis.

[28:30] Not here, nor is Timothy Sweet.

[28:34] All right. How about Kevin James?

[28:38] All right, Bob Johnson.

[28:42] William Clark.

[28:44] All right, let's sound number five, 26,

[28:48] 26 hour 4026.

[28:50] A resolution by Community Development

[28:52] Human Services Committee appointed Mr.

[28:55] William Clark to the City of Atlanta Special Event Technical Advisory Group

[28:58] as the city council appointee representing Piedmont Park

[29:01] event security coordination experience.

[29:03] And for the purposes.

[29:06] Thank you for being here. If you would take a moment to introduce yourself

[29:07] and tell us why you'd like to serve in this group.

[29:10] I'm William Clark.

[29:11] I'm a retired PD within 38 years, retired back in May.

[29:16] Been involved in the event industry since 1992.

[29:20] Have coordinated events through Atlanta and the metro area.

[29:24] All during that time

[29:26] frame from a thousand people all the way to 100,000 people.

[29:29] So I have a diverse experience within the event industry,

[29:34] and look forward to working with this committee

[29:37] to define some things and work on both sides of the aisle

[29:40] to make the events better in Atlanta all the way around.

[29:44] Thank you for your service. And I will.

[29:45] Second, Councilmember Dozier, motion to approve.

[29:52] The vote is open.

[30:00] Well, everyone please vote.

[30:05] The vote is closed. Six J0 nays is item is favorable.

[30:07] Thank you.

[30:09] Thank you. That takes us back to presentations.

[30:12] I do not see Catherine.

[30:14] Oh, yes, I do.

[30:15] She's here. My bad.

[30:17] Catherine vassal from the Atlanta Continuum of Care.

[30:22] Motion.

[30:33] All right.

[30:33] Good afternoon.

[30:35] Chairman and members of the committee.

[30:37] My name is Catherine Vassell.

[30:38] I'm the CEO at partners for home.

[30:39] Partners for home serves as the lead agency

[30:42] for the Atlanta Homeless Continuum of Care.

[30:46] You're good, I have it.

[30:49] Yeah.

[30:51] In July, we shared what the data was telling us

[30:53] about homelessness in Atlanta and the three pathways

[30:56] Atlanta Rising is building in response.

[30:59] Today I'll share progress to date

[31:01] and where we're headed in this next year

[31:03] of the Atlanta Rising campaign.

[31:07] This is a quick

[31:08] a quick snapshot

[31:09] of how we're leveraging Atlanta Rising

[31:11] to build a homelessness response system

[31:13] that moves people off the street and into housing faster.

[31:16] So I've presented to you many times over the years,

[31:19] and you've heard me talk a lot about street to housing.

[31:23] And this is something that we have been refining over time,

[31:25] and building the muscle of getting really good at

[31:29] when we have the resources,

[31:30] rehousing people directly from the street into housing.

[31:33] And we're continuing to build that muscle.

[31:36] But in addition, as a part of Atlanta Rising,

[31:38] we're couching that work with two new sets of activities

[31:42] that are really helping to transform the way in which

[31:45] our system moves people quickly out of homelessness,

[31:48] and even prevents them from comi

[31:53] Reaching every person will require the same level

[31:55] of coordination across outreach, shelter, health care, housing

[31:59] with support services, and prevention

[32:01] with enough capacity to meet the need.

[32:04] And that is in fact the ultimate goal.

[32:07] So starting first with prevention.

[32:10] As a reminder, Atlanta is one of ten cities

[32:14] that was invited to be a part of a pilot initiative

[32:18] with the goal of ultimately making the federal case

[32:21] to fund prevention initiatives all around the country.

[32:25] The good news is, is this has been proven

[32:27] to be effective in Santa Clara County.

[32:29] It was studied at nauseam by Leo

[32:32] the lab for Economic Opportunities

[32:34] out of the University of Notre Dame,

[32:36] and they took that show on the road

[32:38] to demonstrate its efficacy across the country.

[32:41] So one of being as one of ten cities

[32:45] that was selected to join in this pilot, Atlanta was the first city to

[32:48] launch. They wanted us to wait until January.

[32:50] January of 27. We said, absolutely not.

[32:53] We need to go as fast as humanly possible.

[32:56] So we launched in July

[33:00] as a pilot. This is not a traditional standard prevention program

[33:04] in that anybody that calls gets assistance.

[33:08] If we have a money, if we have money,

[33:10] and you have to meet lots

[33:11] of different parameters to get that money.

[33:14] In other words, you can only get

[33:15] half of your rent if that's what's owed.

[33:17] Or you can get your your water bill, but not your power bill.

[33:23] The unique part of this pilot is that it

[33:25] will pay anything that is required.

[33:28] If you meet the eligibility for the program

[33:31] to keep you in your housing, or to ensure that you stay in

[33:34] housing, or get to a safe place to stay.

[33:37] Rather than come into homelessness.

[33:39] So there is no maximum in terms

[33:41] of the amount of systems provided.

[33:44] To date, the average amount of assistance provided

[33:47] has been just under $4,000 per household.

[33:50] We've enrolled almost 200 households since July 1st,

[33:54] and we've deployed already $340,000.

[33:58] Our partner agencies who are providing the work on

[34:01] the ground are Power Atlanta, Atlanta, Volunteer Lawyers

[34:05] Foundation, Zabern, and Project Community Connections, Inc..

[34:10] Just a couple of success stories from that work.

[34:13] I wanted to share with you

[34:14] the beauty of having AVF

[34:16] as a partner in this work is that they've been able to deploy

[34:19] much needed legal assistance in addition

[34:22] to the financial assistance, so that

[34:26] when possible, we can actually thwart

[34:30] an eviction from happening altogether.

[34:31] And you see that in the second box

[34:33] where we approved $10,000 of emergency assistance.

[34:36] Request for a family of five facing imminent eviction

[34:40] after the provider successfully negotiated

[34:42] with the landlord to halt enforcement

[34:44] of a notice to vacate funding was used to resolve

[34:47] rental arrears and prevent the family's displacement.

[34:50] Another positive story.

[34:52] We stabilized a family of six by providing $5,000

[34:55] in rental assistance after an unexpected

[34:57] medical crisis left the household

[34:59] with significant medical expenses and rental arrears.

[35:03] So we're already seeing the impact of this.

[35:05] The work is being studied by the Leo Initiative

[35:09] out of University of Notre Dame,

[35:10] and we will have ongoing data

[35:12] to provide as the work gets moving over the months

[35:16] to provide back from Leo in terms of the efficacy

[35:19] of this program and how we are doing as a system

[35:22] at actually preventing people from becoming homeless now,

[35:27] but into the future over the next two years,

[35:30] as well as what kind of impact we're making on reducing long

[35:34] term inflow into the homeless system.

[35:39] As far as street to housing, as I said, that work continues

[35:41] and we're continuing to refine and build that muscle.

[35:46] This is a strategy we've already seen working downtown at scale.

[35:48] We know what we need to do.

[35:50] The question increasingly becomes

[35:52] whether the system has enough capacity to do it for everyone.

[35:56] So you've heard me talk about the proper pace

[35:59] and scale with which we need to move.

[36:01] We're getting more sophisticated in this space,

[36:04] so we are organizing

[36:07] at a much more coordinated, coordinated and organized way.

[36:11] All of our outreach providers across the continuum.

[36:15] This doesn't include just the funded agencies.

[36:18] This includes mom and pop organizations.

[36:20] It includes faith based organizations

[36:23] that might be providing outreach support on the on the weekends

[36:26] or at night, folks that are not touching the cock.

[36:30] We have a survey that we've launched,

[36:32] and we encourage you to share

[36:34] with your networks and your communities.

[36:37] If you know of providers that are on the ground in your districts doing this work.

[36:40] We're looking to provide that comprehensive overview

[36:43] of every person out there who is doing street outreach.

[36:46] Understanding the geography

[36:49] with which in which they are working, so that we can ensure

[36:52] we have coverage where it's needed most.

[36:56] Today, we have rehoused 640

[36:58] households who were unsheltered in the downtown area.

[37:02] We are now building on that work

[37:04] and moving outside of downtown.

[37:06] And our goal with the Atlanta Rising campaign is to house

[37:10] just under 2000 households by the end of next summer.

[37:20] So another component of

[37:22] this work is facilitating stronger coordination

[37:25] for more complex cases.

[37:27] I know you have all met an individual on the street.

[37:30] You've probably gotten calls about more than one individual

[37:33] on the street in your districts

[37:35] who has a multitude of challenges,

[37:37] whether it's complex mental health and or addiction issues.

[37:40] Maybe there's medical and accessibility issues, etc..

[37:45] So what we did at last

[37:47] summer was we launched a complex needs workgroup.

[37:51] We piloted it in downtown and it provided the results for you.

[37:56] You know, line by line in terms of the results of that work.

[38:01] Of the 37 people that were identified

[38:04] and supported during that pilot.

[38:07] We have created

[38:08] 25 solutions, housing solutions for those individuals.

[38:13] 19 of them have already moved into a pathway.

[38:15] And you can see in the list there

[38:18] that the pathways are diverse.

[38:20] And as we learned with this group of individuals,

[38:23] that is very high needs.

[38:24] We had to often leverage

[38:27] a number of partners and providers.

[38:29] We had to escalate situations

[38:31] to leadership in different departments

[38:34] in order to come up with the solution that worked for that individual.

[38:38] And there's a couple examples of that here on this slide.

[38:41] So the first example is after years of homelessness,

[38:45] a client joined the complex needs list in October 2025.

[38:50] This person had seen a number of providers across the time

[38:54] that they had been experiencing homelessness.

[38:56] And ultimately, it turned out that they had significant memory

[39:00] loss, more than likely severe dementia.

[39:03] All times are something of that nature

[39:06] because of the memory loss and confusion.

[39:09] As you can imagine, it made it really,

[39:10] really challenging to work with that client.

[39:13] But over the next nine months, we had Grady, Atlanta,

[39:17] mission safe House, Mercy Care, Atlanta Legal Aid, and Gateway.

[39:21] So we had six different providers engaging

[39:24] and supporting the exit pathway for this individual.

[39:29] And ultimately they were able to get the right medical

[39:32] diagnosis, which then enabled us to get them to the proper

[39:36] level of care, which wound up being a nursing home care.

[39:40] So six organizations in this case accomplished

[39:43] together what no single provider could have achieved.

[39:48] And I think this in and of itself demonstrates the sheer complexity

[39:51] of what one individual in our system can present to our system

[39:56] on any given day.

[40:00] The second thing that we're doing to address complex needs is we launched Project Heal.

[40:03] So you've heard me talk about this before,

[40:06] and we're very excited to share that we have begun

[40:09] filling those beds through Project Heal.

[40:13] We have 30 units dedicated at the waterworks site.

[40:16] 27 of 30 of them are now filled.

[40:19] This is the first ever pilot of this

[40:21] kind that I am aware of in no community.

[40:25] Am I where of five distinct and competing health systems

[40:30] coming to the table together to invest in a unified solution

[40:34] to serve individuals that are otherwise tying

[40:37] up their hospital beds, jeopardizing their bottom line,

[40:41] and really costing everybody

[40:44] more money than is necessary?

[40:47] So we pitched this to those health systems,

[40:50] and we are really excited to now share that

[40:53] every single one of them is investing in this work.

[40:56] We've got some incredible

[40:58] stories and I just selected a couple of them.

[41:01] So one is ten days after hospitals began

[41:06] being able to refer to Project Heal,

[41:08] we had three patients housed within the first ten days,

[41:12] the first unhoused uninsured.

[41:14] Well, Starr patient moved in,

[41:16] had spent 91 days inpatient at one of their hospital systems.

[41:21] So over three months

[41:24] and would have been extended there for,

[41:27] you know, indeterminate amount of time.

[41:29] But for this type of housing solution,

[41:32] another individual, a Grady patient

[41:34] who is dependent on oxygen, was homeless since 2018.

[41:38] He reports being hospitalized at Grady over 20 times.

[41:42] It was probably far more than that, and he is now housed

[41:45] in receiving on site medical and behavioral health care.

[41:48] So our onsite providers at waterworks are providing

[41:52] the on site behavioral health care and visiting nurse,

[41:54] providing the on site medical care.

[41:57] And we are working now on

[42:00] expansion of those teams so that we can deploy

[42:04] another 30 units at the Cooper Street site.

[42:09] The the next piece I really want to talk about

[42:12] is pathways to housing pathways from shelter to housing.

[42:17] So again, you've heard us talk a lot about street to housing.

[42:20] And we will continue to do that.

[42:22] But in parallel,

[42:23] we've recognized that

[42:24] we really need to bring support to our shelter system,

[42:28] to equip them

[42:29] to be able to move people out of those beds faster

[42:32] so that we can turn those beds faster, ensuring

[42:35] we always have a bed available for somebody who needs it.

[42:39] And that is essentially what this very complex, busy slide

[42:42] is depicting for you.

[42:45] So the goal here is that people,

[42:48] the ultimate outcome that we're tracking is

[42:50] that people would enter shelter

[42:52] and quickly exit to stable housing within 30 days.

[42:56] So that is an ambitious metric we know.

[42:59] But we always are striving to be as ambitious

[43:03] and aggressive as possible.

[43:06] The vision here is that we are creating a system that quickly connects

[43:09] people experiencing homelessness to shelter,

[43:11] and moves them into housing within 30 days,

[43:13] so a bed is always available for the next person in need.

[43:18] So we're testing this right now at Gateway and Zabern,

[43:22] and we're using some of the dollars

[43:24] from the Atlanta Rising campaign to be able to

[43:26] assist us in doing this.

[43:28] So we have teams on the ground

[43:30] every single day at Gateway and Zabern.

[43:33] We have a certain number of beds

[43:35] that are dedicated for rapid resolution clients,

[43:38] and we're identifying people as soon as they come in

[43:41] and fill a bed within 24 hours.

[43:43] We're doing an immediate assessment

[43:44] with them to determine

[43:46] can they exit homelessness with a little bit of support?

[43:49] Can they be rapidly resolved out of our system quickly?

[43:53] And if so, then we are positioning the shelter

[43:56] staff to move as fast as humanly possible to that end.

[44:00] And one of the things that is resulting from

[44:04] this work is really shifting the culture at shelter.

[44:07] And we've heard this directly

[44:09] from leadership at gateway and at Zabern.

[44:13] We're in our team at partners for home,

[44:15] and our consultants are on the ground

[44:16] in shelter working with the staff.

[44:18] They're coaching them.

[44:19] They've got whiteboards up in shelter

[44:22] with initials of every single person in those beds.

[44:26] What they need to be working on that day, what their timeline

[44:30] to exit is, and pushing aggressively on this work.

[44:35] So we have heard from shelter directly to say our staff

[44:38] are thinking about this differently.

[44:40] They're moving differently

[44:41] when they show up to work every day

[44:43] and they're approaching the work differently.

[44:45] And that is really the goal that we're striving for,

[44:48] to be able to build this

[44:49] and then grow it system wide across all of our shelters.

[44:53] So just in the short period of time

[44:55] that we've been working in these two shelters,

[44:58] we've reduced the length of stay by 16 days.

[45:01] So starting this work in early July.

[45:05] In June, we were at a 96 day length of time from entry to

[45:09] exit.

[45:11] We've shrunk that down to 80 days, so we've reduced the length of stay by two weeks.

[45:15] We've created a 40% increase

[45:18] in positive exits out of shelter and into housing.

[45:21] And you can see

[45:23] in July and August that we've been able to really

[45:27] double more than double our exits to housing

[45:30] in just the two months that we've

[45:31] been deploying the strategy.

[45:33] So we're very excited about the momentum

[45:36] that this is creating.

[45:37] We believe we have evidence that the pathways work.

[45:41] Now, the question is whether Atlanta has enough capacity

[45:44] to deliver them at the scale,

[45:47] at the scale of the need.

[45:50] So with that, I will close and I'm happy to

[45:53] take any questions that you may have.

[45:56] Thank you very much. We are going to start with Councilmember Dozier.

[45:59] Thank you so much, Mr.

[46:00] Chair. And Miss Vassell, just for the record.

[46:04] The chair pressed my speaker button.

[46:05] So, I wasn't going to ask

[46:07] any questions, but now I feel that's okay.

[46:09] You don't have to ask any questions.

[46:12] I was furiously taking notes.

[46:14] I will ask a few questions. One

[46:17] just something I'm hearing

[46:19] and seeing in a lot of my communities across the district.

[46:22] I recognize we do our annual pit counts,

[46:24] but there seems to be a perception that

[46:28] the homelessness challenge in our city

[46:30] is continuing to increase,

[46:31] especially now that we're past World Cup.

[46:33] And so a lot of resources that were available

[46:35] in the summer months to Downtown Rising aren't necessarily

[46:40] as robust as they might have been a couple months ago.

[46:43] There's a perception for non down, non downtown communities

[46:47] that folks that were downtown are being pushed out to the West

[46:49] End and People's Town and other parts of the city.

[46:52] And then for my downtown community,

[46:54] there's a perception that, folks that

[46:58] are not

[47:00] native to Atlanta or native to downtown are being dropped off

[47:02] or released in the city

[47:04] because we have such a large concentration of resources downtown.

[47:07] One, I guess.

[47:09] Are y'all seeing anything either in the enrollment data

[47:12] or in the outreach data that suggests that we're

[47:15] seeing an increase in our unsheltered population?

[47:19] And then two,

[47:21] I'm curious if you have any thoughts about

[47:24] how the city should be responding to,

[47:28] House Bill 237 I got past earlier this year.

[47:32] Some of the downtown leaders

[47:34] and hope that I was spoken with are very interested in

[47:38] leveraging that as a way to

[47:41] to address some of the challenges

[47:43] that they're experiencing at their doorstep.

[47:46] I know there's a lot of work that you and your team in town cares and others are doing to

[47:51] address this issue, but they may not always be aware of the work

[47:53] that's going in day after day to get folks off the streets.

[47:56] And so I guess the second part of that question

[47:58] is, are in what ways are y'all communicating

[48:02] to disaffected residents that, hey, we're doing this what?

[48:04] We're doing our best?

[48:06] And the

[48:08] threat of being sued under this new state

[48:10] law is not something that we should be.

[48:12] That's counter to the work that we need to be doing

[48:15] and get people to help that they need.

[48:16] So there's a lot to unpack there.

[48:18] And I happy to restate anything that that you might have

[48:21] missed, but just wanted to get your response to that.

[48:25] Yeah, definitely.

[48:27] Several questions in there.

[48:28] I would say the first question,

[48:31] around whether we're observing increases

[48:34] in the total number of people who are becoming homeless.

[48:38] Broadly speaking, no.

[48:40] We're staying relatively stagnant.

[48:43] If you look at the number of people who came into our system

[48:48] in total last year, it was actually less

[48:52] than the number before.

[48:53] Still high.

[48:56] You know, the summer months tend to cause

[49:00] an upswing in general to the number of people who are

[49:05] either technically homeless

[49:07] or just outside and perceived to be homeless.

[49:11] So we do see a lot of that in the summer where, perception

[49:16] changes and is fluctuates by the weather.

[49:20] And that's that is real.

[49:22] I mean, you know, we parks become more

[49:27] populated with all kinds of people

[49:28] and then with groups of people that might be perceived

[49:31] as being homeless, whether they are or not.

[49:34] We have had that happen time and again,

[49:36] where we have an outreach team go and respond to

[49:39] a group of people hanging out, and they come back and say,

[49:44] none of those folks are homeless.

[49:46] So there's a little bit of that happening.

[49:48] I think we have also heard some of what you've heard,

[49:52] which is, oh,

[49:53] they just pushed all the people out of downtown,

[49:55] and now they're in midtown, and now they're here

[49:57] because I've seen an uptick.

[50:00] You know, I think there's

[50:01] some natural mobility of our population.

[50:04] We also housed 600 people directly from downtown.

[50:10] So, you know, it's hard to explain

[50:13] every distinction in terms of movement and perception

[50:17] that people are feeling and hearing.

[50:22] As far as the non-native piece.

[50:25] Our data continues to reflect the fact that majority

[50:28] of the people who are homeless in Atlanta are from Atlanta.

[50:33] Their last permanent zip code was from

[50:36] the city of Atlanta proper.

[50:38] You know, roughly 60, 70%.

[50:41] That's from our pit count.

[50:43] And then

[50:43] the next big chunk

[50:45] is from the metro,

[50:46] and then a much smaller percentage, roughly 10%

[50:49] report their last known zip code was from out of state.

[50:52] Gateway collects last known ZIP code,

[50:55] and for every person they served, I.

[50:58] I can pull it up for you, but I want to say

[51:00] it was at least 80% of everybody they served

[51:03] in the last 12 months was from the city of Atlanta.

[51:06] So I think sometimes,

[51:09] people do experience somebody

[51:11] getting dropped off and that is real.

[51:13] And that does happen.

[51:14] But the reality is the majority of people

[51:16] who are homeless in Atlanta are from Atlanta.

[51:18] As far as HB 237.

[51:21] I mean, I think it's a it's a cautionary tale for all of us.

[51:26] I think I've heard from one business owner

[51:30] who was saying, I think I should take advantage of this.

[51:35] And so I think it speaks to the larger investment

[51:40] that's needed in this issue as a community to be able

[51:43] to fully and comprehensively address the issue.

[51:48] So thank you for sharing that.

[51:50] And, as I continue to have conversations

[51:53] with my constituents, property owners, businesses

[51:55] and the like,

[51:56] I want to continue to

[51:57] keep that line of communication with you and your team open.

[52:00] I've been very thankful

[52:01] and very appreciative of the work that you.

[52:03] I mean, you've been out there walking

[52:04] many of these encampments with me, you know, personally,

[52:07] and I've been very appreciative of that.

[52:08] And, my hope

[52:10] is that my constituency, that work is happening as well.

[52:13] And so anyways, in which our office

[52:16] or all of our offices can help amplify the work

[52:18] that y'all are doing each and every day.

[52:21] Please let us know how we can best assist,

[52:22] because I think part of it, like I said,

[52:24] I feel there's a big perception challenge.

[52:27] And the best way to combat perception challenges

[52:30] is to present people with information or make empower

[52:34] people, empower residents so they don't feel like their,

[52:38] their voices aren't being heard

[52:39] or their concerns aren't being heard or address

[52:41] when the reality is it takes time.

[52:43] And people, even people on the streets,

[52:46] have due process and have rights.

[52:48] And we have to respect that as we try

[52:49] to get them into sustainable and dignified housing.

[52:53] And so I appreciate that.

[52:54] One thing that has come up a lot is that what you kind of

[52:59] alluded to this in your presentation,

[53:01] but there's an apparent effort to

[53:05] make shelter operations more efficient and to

[53:09] ensure that we can get people

[53:10] into permanent housing as quickly as possible.

[53:14] But I am concerned about our overall shelter

[53:16] capacity in the city.

[53:19] If there and I wonder if partners for home

[53:21] is thinking about opportunities to expand that capacity,

[53:24] beyond the

[53:26] gateway, beyond saving parties and weather.

[53:30] And I recognize those entities have their own roles

[53:33] as far as when people can stay there.

[53:36] I've heard concerns, especially for my downtown residents,

[53:41] you know, wanting to see there's an opportunity to open up a day shelter so that

[53:44] folks aren't in the parks or aren't on the streets

[53:47] or aren't in the bike lanes,

[53:48] but they have a safe place in which they can go.

[53:50] I know Councilmember Bond led the way with efforts to try to,

[53:56] re do how we approach,

[54:00] the need for cooling cooling centers across the city

[54:03] in the summertime.

[54:04] I know that same conversation comes up in the winter time

[54:07] for when it's when it's too cold and when the warming shelters.

[54:10] And imagine expanding that shelter infrastructure

[54:14] can help

[54:15] kind of alleviate that issue,

[54:16] while also making sure people have a safe place to go.

[54:19] But I know it can be a very politically charged,

[54:21] you know, topic, right?

[54:22] We want to build a shelter here.

[54:24] You got neighbors, businesses who raise alarms,

[54:27] but I don't know if that's something that partners for home

[54:30] or the administration has been thinking about

[54:32] in terms of making sure that, yes, we're going

[54:34] to make our shelter operations more efficient,

[54:36] but let's expand the the pie a bit so that we can

[54:40] ensure that people have a safe place to go,

[54:42] not just to bed down at night,

[54:43] but also during the daytime as well.

[54:45] Yeah, thank you for bringing that up.

[54:47] Actually, I was remiss and not providing an update.

[54:50] Navigation center is also a component

[54:54] of our current campaign, so we are actively raising dollars

[54:58] for an additional 155 beds of zero barrier shelter

[55:06] that would operate 24 over seven accessible any time

[55:09] nights, weekends, whenever someone needs it.

[55:14] As a component of that, we will have 50 safe haven beds

[55:19] that are going to be operated by a skilled mental health

[55:22] provider who can bill Medicaid, to support

[55:26] individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.

[55:30] The navigation component is the 24 over

[55:33] seven piece that will be accessible for

[55:38] the airport. Marta, in particular are two priority areas.

[55:40] In addition to giving a relief valve for our outreach teams.

[55:46] Again, to be able to receive somebody,

[55:49] get them access to immediate needs, get them a bed for the night,

[55:52] and then get them triaged and referred to

[55:55] a shelter in our system and building

[55:59] in addition to that, building on that shelter to housing

[56:03] component that I said we're already building, with the idea

[56:06] being we're turning beds sufficiently quickly enough

[56:10] that that facility doesn't become logged.

[56:13] And we're we're constantly able to refer people out.

[56:17] There would be another additional

[56:18] 50 beds of just low barrier shelter on the site as well.

[56:22] So we're working through that now.

[56:24] We have raised a capital dollars,

[56:26] and we hope to be able to share more

[56:29] in terms of details on that imminently.

[56:31] No. Thank you so much for that.

[56:34] That's really exciting to here.

[56:36] And then just on a similar note, with regards

[56:38] to the mental health challenges that we're trying to,

[56:41] you know, what you share with Project Hill is amazing

[56:42] to see all those partners at the table.

[56:44] I am curious if Fulton County is also a partner in network.

[56:47] I know there was some back and forth earlier this winter.

[56:51] Or maybe it was last time, but I don't remember when we had

[56:53] this big press conference outside of 405 Cooper.

[56:57] But I recognized that

[56:59] the county is the one with the public health mandate.

[57:02] And a lot of these challenges stemmed from both mental

[57:05] public health, that that sort of umbrella of

[57:08] of services that the county is best equipped to provide.

[57:11] And I recognize, too, that homeless services

[57:16] more broadly, whether it's in Georgia

[57:19] or in other municipalities across the country, counties

[57:22] are typically the ones that are coordinating those efforts.

[57:25] Whereas here in the city of Atlanta,

[57:26] city of Atlanta is leading that charge

[57:28] in a much more robust way than maybe,

[57:31] you know, might have been done historically.

[57:33] And so I wonder if there's opportunities with

[57:37] we're going to have a brand new county commission in January.

[57:41] I don't know if we've already started socializing,

[57:43] the need for the county to get more involved in this work.

[57:47] I recognize there might be

[57:49] some aspect of this tied into the, in our discussion.

[57:53] But I just, you know, I would love to see

[57:56] the county be a more collaborative partner

[57:58] and more robust partner in this work.

[58:02] I know both Council Member Westmoreland and I are both serve on the

[58:05] the Continuum Care Governing Council.

[58:06] I know we have one representative

[58:07] from Fulton County on that body.

[58:09] I don't know, there's an opportunity for a second

[58:10] representative County just to make sure that that

[58:13] that connective tissue is more intentional.

[58:17] But we'd love to see more county

[58:20] resources at the table, this to support this work.

[58:22] And we're a city of half a million people

[58:25] supporting a,

[58:28] 29 county metro area

[58:31] with almost 50 or 60 municipal jurisdictions.

[58:37] In a state that, you know, we're only 8%

[58:39] of the state's population.

[58:40] But I feel like a lot of the

[58:42] challenges related to this topic falls on the city shoulders.

[58:46] And it will love to see more partners,

[58:47] more government partners at the table

[58:49] to ensure that we can get to the goal of 40 million

[58:53] dedicated a year.

[58:54] All the sorts of things we need to do to make

[58:56] homelessness rare and infrequent.

[58:59] And so,

[59:01] that was a, I guess, a loaded question.

[59:03] Have you all been talking to the county at all

[59:04] as far as future partnership opportunities? Yeah.

[59:07] I mean, I agree 100, 100 times over with everything you just said.

[59:11] We absolutely need the county

[59:13] and the state Department of Beha

[59:17] in a more meaningful way, financially at least.

[59:20] But yes, Mo Ivory, the I presume will be the incoming

[59:26] chair of the commission

[59:27] was was our governing board rep from the county.

[59:31] She stepped down since, running for that position.

[59:35] So we'll be replacing that.

[59:36] We can also look at having

[59:39] an additional commission representative.

[59:41] I think they would be interested in that.

[59:43] I have met with with her a couple times already to talk

[59:48] about what more intentional partnership can look like

[59:52] well beyond just the, you know, the

[59:55] the resources they provide right now

[59:56] for the supportive housing pipeline.

[59:58] So we welcome that.

[1:00:00] And, you know, the mayor has been very vocal and adamant

[1:00:04] to me about also wanting the county at the table.

[1:00:07] More so we'll be focused squarely on that

[1:00:12] in the, in the coming year with with the new commission for sure.

[1:00:15] Thank you. Thank you so much.

[1:00:16] It is my last question and I'll set up I promise to share.

[1:00:22] I know

[1:00:23] the Department of Parks and Recreation

[1:00:26] has done an amazing job expanding

[1:00:27] our public bathroom footprint over the last few months.

[1:00:32] Our partnership with with Throne Labs.

[1:00:35] I know the folks at Central Perez have been very excited

[1:00:39] to see that footprint footprint expand.

[1:00:43] However, I know they had some thoughts

[1:00:45] and some notes on how we can make that even better.

[1:00:47] And I don't know if partner for home had some thoughts

[1:00:49] about opportunities to expand the current pilot to ensure

[1:00:53] that more of our unsheltered population has access to,

[1:00:57] bathrooms and latrines and ways to be clean and hygienic.

[1:01:02] So, you know, another

[1:01:04] public health feather that maybe we should tap on county

[1:01:07] for to support to expand that pilot as well.

[1:01:10] But I don't know if y'all have had those thoughts

[1:01:12] or conversations yet with DPR,

[1:01:14] but we'd love to encourage that conversation to happen

[1:01:16] so we can expand the the network of public bathrooms

[1:01:19] that we started expanding on this year.

[1:01:21] Yeah, I love that we would welcome that conversation.

[1:01:23] I'm sure they would be open to it.

[1:01:25] We haven't discussed the expansion

[1:01:26] possibility yet, but anywhere we can add

[1:01:31] dignity to the street for people who are currently experiencing

[1:01:34] homelessness, is is welcome.

[1:01:35] So bathrooms would be fantastic.

[1:01:39] Absolutely. And I know Commissioner of also be presenting right after you.

[1:01:42] So that's more of a wink wink nudge nudge

[1:01:45] for the next presentation.

[1:01:46] But, Catherine, I appreciate you as always.

[1:01:49] And, Mr.

[1:01:51] Chair, I'll shut up and yield.

[1:01:53] Thank you.

[1:01:54] I don't have any questions or comments, he said.

[1:01:59] Next up, Councilmember Collins.

[1:02:05] Yes. Thank you so much.

[1:02:06] I think,

[1:02:08] you shared a lot with Jason's question.

[1:02:11] I just have a really quick question about the Atlanta and prevention pilot.

[1:02:15] And, just so I don't I know that this

[1:02:18] the pilot was from July is am I correct in

[1:02:22] looking at the the data in terms of the pilot from July

[1:02:27] to September of this year and then just understanding

[1:02:31] the timeline of continuing two two part question,

[1:02:34] the timeline of continuing this initiative,

[1:02:38] and what is the average?

[1:02:41] I guess with the assistance that you provide after

[1:02:44] what is the the next level of service

[1:02:47] or next level of support, particularly for those that take

[1:02:51] advantage of this program, are able to receive

[1:02:54] so that they don't, you know, fall back into, eviction.

[1:02:58] I know you share a little bit

[1:02:59] about what Avella is doing, but just kind of

[1:03:02] some additional conversation.

[1:03:03] I think it's a great program, just wanting

[1:03:05] to get more details. Yeah.

[1:03:07] So it will be a three year pilot.

[1:03:10] The goal is to serve 500 households a year

[1:03:13] and to then track and monitor

[1:03:16] the success or not, of

[1:03:19] how we do at keeping those families out of homelessness.

[1:03:23] It is a randomized, controlled trial.

[1:03:25] So it's a little bitter sweet in that for every household

[1:03:29] we support, the next one has to be referred

[1:03:32] back to the system, the control group.

[1:03:37] And so I just want to caveat that with, with that,

[1:03:42] in terms of so three years, ideally

[1:03:45] we, we served 1500 households over those three years.

[1:03:48] And over that time, we're also working to make the case

[1:03:51] for public dedicated support, to be able to continuously fund

[1:03:57] that type of intervention on an ongoing basis.

[1:03:59] So we actually met with the right at home people yesterday.

[1:04:02] And, they're already wanting to talk about,

[1:04:06] you know, what is the local, state

[1:04:08] and federal landscape for making the case for funding?

[1:04:13] So I was like, we just got started.

[1:04:14] You know, but that is the end goal.

[1:04:18] In terms of the types of services that folks are getting.

[1:04:21] So each one of those providers staffs a case manager

[1:04:26] or more to support individualized services

[1:04:31] and connections for the family being served.

[1:04:35] So if legal support is needed, then they will loop in AVL.

[1:04:40] If not, they will provide the

[1:04:44] the financial assistance and beyond that,

[1:04:47] they will work around the individual needs

[1:04:49] of that household to make connections.

[1:04:52] It's not a cure.

[1:04:54] All right?

[1:04:56] They're not going in

[1:04:57] and solving all the problems of that family,

[1:05:01] but they are doing whatever they can to stabilize them

[1:05:04] and then make sure they can maintain moving on.

[1:05:07] But it's really individualized

[1:05:09] based on the needs of the household.

[1:05:12] And if, if the pilot is successful

[1:05:14] is this is so it sounds like it'll be a separate

[1:05:19] funding piece, but not tied to the overall

[1:05:23] funding initiative,

[1:05:24] the overall

[1:05:25] homeless funding initiative

[1:05:27] that you guys are currently pursuing.

[1:05:29] It is.

[1:05:30] So the prevention pillar is

[1:05:33] one of the four pillars of our current campaign.

[1:05:36] It's a $10 million effort.

[1:05:38] And we've raised,

[1:05:41] six of the 10 million.

[1:05:43] We are in conversation with the Hilton Foundation

[1:05:46] right now and expect them to be contributing as well.

[1:05:50] So the pilot itself is a $10 million pilot.

[1:05:54] And then beyond that, we'd be looking to strategize around

[1:05:58] how we secure

[1:05:59] revenue and an ongoing basis to sustain that work.

[1:06:03] Great. And then my last. Thank you for that.

[1:06:05] My last question, I know you mentioned

[1:06:07] in terms of the plans to build a 150 bed, no barrier homeless.

[1:06:15] Show, navigation center, navigation center.

[1:06:18] What is the timeline for that?

[1:06:19] Or what do you what do you all thinking about in regards

[1:06:22] to being able to get that off the ground?

[1:06:27] We are looking to move

[1:06:29] as quickly as humanly possible.

[1:06:32] There's some things we need to finalize,

[1:06:37] in terms of next steps, but ideally

[1:06:39] we would be able to deliver that by,

[1:06:43] the second quarter of 27.

[1:06:45] Oh, okay. All right. Great. Thank you.

[1:06:47] Thank you so much, Mister Chair.

[1:06:50] That's all my questions.

[1:06:52] Thank you much.

[1:06:53] Councilmember bond.

[1:06:56] Thank you.

[1:06:57] Thank you. Catherine.

[1:06:58] And thank you, Council Member Dozier, for

[1:07:02] lifting up the heat safety resolution

[1:07:04] that I passed earlier this summer.

[1:07:06] As everybody knows, it's been extremely high

[1:07:09] for multiple days in a row. I think it was 90 degrees today in September.

[1:07:12] So I know that this has a disproportionate impact on folks

[1:07:16] who don't have central AC,

[1:07:17] but in particular folks

[1:07:19] who don't have homes at all or houseless community.

[1:07:21] So I'm curious how you all and folks on the ground

[1:07:24] have seen this show up this summer, in particular,

[1:07:27] impacting our houseless community.

[1:07:30] Is there anything that y'all think

[1:07:32] we should be concerned about that you've noticed?

[1:07:36] And what do you think are some of the barriers

[1:07:38] to getting people connected to services or cooling centers

[1:07:42] as weather becomes more extreme?

[1:07:45] Yeah, I mean, I think in general, the barrier

[1:07:48] to getting folks who are unsheltered into shelter

[1:07:53] is, you know, there's a sort of

[1:07:57] short list of items that

[1:08:00] we typically here in response from people that not only

[1:08:03] we speak to directly, but we survey and ask this

[1:08:06] question annually. Now,

[1:08:09] the question being, if shelter were available, would you go?

[1:08:12] And if no, why not?

[1:08:14] So one of the big ticket

[1:08:16] items is shelter rules and requirements.

[1:08:20] So maybe the,

[1:08:22] you know, the time with which I have to be

[1:08:24] there is, is too challenging.

[1:08:25] Maybe I can't work.

[1:08:27] Maybe I can't work at night.

[1:08:29] Those kinds of things.

[1:08:30] Then I think there's another category of things related

[1:08:34] to fear and concern about what I might encounter in shelter.

[1:08:38] Whether it's safety issues, my things not being safe,

[1:08:42] my body not being safe.

[1:08:44] Issues related to cleanliness

[1:08:47] and bedbugs and things of that nature.

[1:08:51] And then I think three is maybe individuals

[1:08:55] have already had about experience with the system.

[1:08:58] And they don't feel like

[1:09:00] that's a road they want to go down again.

[1:09:03] Also, they may have been in shelter

[1:09:05] and been exited back to homelessness.

[1:09:07] So that is one area where directly

[1:09:11] trying to focus on with rapid resolution and really

[1:09:15] trying to shift the orientation and culture in shelter, too.

[1:09:20] You know, I didn't say this earlier, but

[1:09:23] not every shelter has said yes to that.

[1:09:26] And so we're working on

[1:09:29] continuing those conversations and engagements to say,

[1:09:33] look, we're going to bring you the resources.

[1:09:36] We're going to train your staff.

[1:09:37] We're going to support you in doing this.

[1:09:40] But I think it's a lot about change management

[1:09:44] and getting folks to think about doing things a little bit

[1:09:47] differently or changing models, and that can be challenging.

[1:09:52] So those tend to be the main reasons.

[1:09:55] What we're also looking to see is,

[1:09:59] you know, the the communication chain among

[1:10:02] the homeless is real.

[1:10:04] Right. And, what we're curious about is as we get better

[1:10:09] at exiting people to housing from shelter,

[1:10:13] if word will start to spread that,

[1:10:15] hey, you got to go to shelter to get into housing.

[1:10:18] And we're sort of hoping

[1:10:20] that a little bit of that culture shift will translate to

[1:10:25] folks who are otherwise sleeping outside today.

[1:10:27] That. Oh, yeah, okay, I can go to shelter.

[1:10:29] I'm not going to be there that long. 80 days.

[1:10:32] And then from there I'm getting an exit

[1:10:35] to actual housing pathway.

[1:10:37] And then lastly, as it relates to cooling,

[1:10:40] and warming, frankly, you know, I mean, I think,

[1:10:45] this comes back to the same thing

[1:10:47] we've been talking about, which is

[1:10:50] the amount of resources we are able to deploy,

[1:10:54] to address these issues.

[1:10:58] And I think

[1:10:59] as a community, as a city,

[1:11:02] along with the county

[1:11:04] and whoever else, we we need to seriously contemplate

[1:11:08] a revenue stream to be able to fund all of these things

[1:11:12] and to fund them such that they can be stood up quickly.

[1:11:17] They can be stood up when the weather quickly changes.

[1:11:21] And to be able to provide the necessary

[1:11:23] support for, for people that are vulnerable.

[1:11:27] Completely agree.

[1:11:28] And and the reason I ask this is,

[1:11:32] I, I've been speaking to different,

[1:11:34] you know, folks who work in, like,

[1:11:35] homeless advocacy, different organizations and,

[1:11:40] some of them have raised that when the cooling centers open,

[1:11:43] they really don't receive

[1:11:46] any kind of email or notification or it's been like spotty over the years.

[1:11:48] And so I'm wondering if, if you've noticed how, how

[1:11:52] have you seen that communication to play out in practice?

[1:11:55] Are there ways that we can improve

[1:11:57] the way that we get that information out there?

[1:12:00] Yeah, that's a great question.

[1:12:03] We we have it sort of down to a science with in terms of how it operates in warming.

[1:12:06] We have a specific communication protocol.

[1:12:09] As soon as the city decides it's going to activate.

[1:12:13] I know my admin does something.

[1:12:15] I don't know if it's automated or what,

[1:12:16] but morning, noon or night.

[1:12:18] And on the weekends

[1:12:19] an email goes out to everybody on our listserv.

[1:12:24] And then there's other mechanisms that the city

[1:12:27] uses through emergency preparedness as well.

[1:12:31] On particular like weather, extreme weather events.

[1:12:35] So all that to say,

[1:12:36] I believe that is also the case

[1:12:38] for cooling, but I will need to double check.

[1:12:40] And if it's not, we can easily implement that.

[1:12:45] And should. Yeah I agree.

[1:12:47] And I'm just thinking out loud here, but I also spoke

[1:12:50] with some Fulton County library workers who told me, like,

[1:12:53] they take on a lot of that load of, you know, people

[1:12:57] coming out of Grady, coming into the library,

[1:12:59] needing help with services.

[1:13:01] And they also told me they tend to have to search

[1:13:05] very hard for when and where the cooling centers are open.

[1:13:08] So something to keep in mind.

[1:13:11] And another another

[1:13:16] anecdote I heard was that on one of the 96 degree days this summer,

[1:13:20] somebody went by the Celina Butler Cooling Center

[1:13:23] and noticed a bunch of people hanging out outside,

[1:13:25] and they'd, like, grab water and then go back outside.

[1:13:29] And I was wondering if maybe that had to do with

[1:13:32] the things you spoke to, like lack of welcoming environment

[1:13:35] or maybe lack of things to do or too many restrictions?

[1:13:39] I don't know if you

[1:13:42] I mean, I haven't had as much experience with the cooling centers,

[1:13:45] but what I can say about the warming shelters, in my experience,

[1:13:47] and having staff them over the years and, you know,

[1:13:49] being in and out, people love the warming centers

[1:13:52] and they're very welcoming.

[1:13:53] They're very, very low barrier.

[1:13:56] They're very easy to access in my experience overall

[1:13:59] and generally speaking.

[1:14:02] So it could just be it's summer and, you know,

[1:14:05] people want to be outside instead of being cooped up.

[1:14:08] I don't know, I can't speak to the individual's situation, but,

[1:14:13] but we we do tend to see that corollary of summertime.

[1:14:17] There's more people outside, there's more people hanging out.

[1:14:20] There's more, you know, behaviors going on

[1:14:23] of all of all sorts and flavors.

[1:14:26] Some good, some bad, but warming,

[1:14:30] you know, I can say is, is particularly welcoming.

[1:14:34] And usually most people accept access to warming.

[1:14:39] Selena Butler is one of the smaller sites,

[1:14:42] so that might have something to do with it.

[1:14:46] Yeah.

[1:14:47] We'll try to get to the bottom of it.

[1:14:49] And last comment is if you and Councilmember

[1:14:55] Dozier do end up

[1:14:57] speaking about expanding public restrooms, I would love to be part of

[1:14:58] that conversation and would like to put

[1:15:02] Pontes out there as a potential location.

[1:15:05] That's a great idea.

[1:15:06] All right, that's it. Thank you. Thank you.

[1:15:09] Thank you. Appreciate it.

[1:15:11] Next up, Department of Parks and Recreation,

[1:15:14] interim commissioner Douglas.

[1:15:19] Okay.

[1:15:20] Good afternoon, Mr.

[1:15:21] Chair. And members of council.

[1:15:23] Appreciate you inviting us today to present our quarterly report.

[1:15:26] We have not presented, I think, for about six months.

[1:15:29] We did not present in June.

[1:15:31] So I'm going to try to keep this

[1:15:34] 115 slide presentation short. But,

[1:15:38] but we do have some material.

[1:15:40] We appreciate your good.

[1:15:43] I did want to just thank publicly our team.

[1:15:47] We have some team members here.

[1:15:48] DC Galen Williams, DC

[1:15:51] LaShawn Dudley, DC Rachel Maher, program manager

[1:15:55] Kimberly Esteban I think our budget director,

[1:15:57] Henry Thompson is right here as well.

[1:15:59] So, they are an amazing team.

[1:16:01] I've loved working with them ever since I've been here.

[1:16:03] I've been about 15 years,

[1:16:05] but I've really relied on them heavily in the last few months

[1:16:07] and just really appreciate you publicly

[1:16:09] for supporting me in the department

[1:16:12] as we continue to grow.

[1:16:13] Did want to start,

[1:16:15] because it has been a minute just to kind of start level set.

[1:16:19] We have a departmental mission

[1:16:21] which is to provide equitable access

[1:16:23] to outstanding recreational, natural and cultural experiences

[1:16:26] that enhance the happiness, health, and well-being

[1:16:28] of all Atlantans.

[1:16:29] My understanding of the mission statement is that

[1:16:31] this is what we should be doing

[1:16:33] currently, and this is what we are aiming for every day.

[1:16:36] Our vision statement is what we are trying to shoot for

[1:16:38] in the future, which is to make recreation

[1:16:40] and parks the heart and soul of Atlanta

[1:16:42] through a diverse yet

[1:16:43] seamless and interconnected system

[1:16:45] of parks, recreation and natural areas.

[1:16:47] I think that is a great vision statement.

[1:16:49] I often say

[1:16:50] Department of Parks is the heart and soul of Atlanta,

[1:16:52] but I actually love the sentence that the mayor uses often,

[1:16:56] which is by creating healthy, thriving neighborhoods.

[1:16:59] We're building the best city

[1:17:01] in the country to raise a child,

[1:17:02] the best city in the country to raise a child.

[1:17:04] That makes a lot of sense.

[1:17:06] It's easy to remember, and I think it fits very well

[1:17:09] into what DPR is all about.

[1:17:10] And we do that by investing in people

[1:17:12] and places, one community at a time.

[1:17:15] About five years ago in 2022, we embarked on a master plan.

[1:17:20] It's called activate ATL.

[1:17:22] I love this plan to. It's very thick.

[1:17:24] It has many technical guides to it,

[1:17:26] but it really equates to three bottom line areas

[1:17:29] that we're going to focus on.

[1:17:30] Invest in Atlanta's assets, connect with our resources

[1:17:34] and grow the system.

[1:17:35] And I feel like we're doing that.

[1:17:36] We're on a trajectory to continue to do that.

[1:17:39] So as we start this presentation,

[1:17:41] I just wanted to kind of start with that.

[1:17:42] So the big Tada mentioned it before.

[1:17:44] We are now number 18th in the country.

[1:17:48] From the national

[1:17:50] dresser Public Lands score.

[1:17:52] We were 49th when the Mayor Dickens took offense.

[1:17:55] So we have I think we are number one in terms of the quickest

[1:17:58] and the largest amount of places risen in the score.

[1:18:02] That is only one reflection of who we are.

[1:18:04] But that's a good one.

[1:18:06] We do intend to be a top ten Parks and Rec system soon,

[1:18:10] and we have a couple of ways I can explain how we'll plan

[1:18:12] to get there through this presentation.

[1:18:14] We have been featured in news articles over 40 times

[1:18:18] since April.

[1:18:19] Almost all of them are good.

[1:18:21] But we have a lot to to be proud of,

[1:18:24] including our bathrooms that have been mentioned

[1:18:25] many times today, our 45th year of camp.

[1:18:28] Best friends.

[1:18:29] We have a $9.4 million

[1:18:31] grant from the Jeff Bezos through our partner, Park Pride.

[1:18:34] We have partnered to have Make Atlanta your own gym campaign

[1:18:38] with Fulton County.

[1:18:39] Emory and Morehouse.

[1:18:41] And we have reduced and increased

[1:18:44] sliding scale program to get more kids,

[1:18:46] more participants in our programs,

[1:18:48] which we thank both the mayor and council for that

[1:18:52] want to try to just kind of go through several of our pods.

[1:18:55] And we have many, several groupings of, initiatives

[1:18:58] that we do. I'm going to start with youth and seniors.

[1:19:00] As I mentioned, this was the 45th

[1:19:02] anniversary of Camp Best Friends year over year.

[1:19:05] Our numbers have increased.

[1:19:06] We had a 13% increase with youth.

[1:19:09] We had a 52% increase in teens.

[1:19:11] That's significant and astounding.

[1:19:13] And we had a 28% increase with seniors.

[1:19:15] We offer summer camps at 17 locations

[1:19:19] for youth and teens, and we have five locations for seniors.

[1:19:23] So we had a fantastic summer.

[1:19:26] But as soon as that ended in one week off, we started after school program.

[1:19:29] We have about 1000 people that children that participate

[1:19:32] in our after school program that is offered at 18 sites.

[1:19:36] And we also start our prime time

[1:19:38] senior program, which is offered at 20 sites.

[1:19:40] All of these programs have support.

[1:19:42] Thanks to council, the millage that we have been provided

[1:19:46] and our own resources through the General Fund to provide

[1:19:49] Stem, academic enrichment,

[1:19:53] cultural experiences, tutorial programs

[1:19:58] and creative learning for all of our programs.

[1:20:01] Our seniors get the same type of

[1:20:03] services provided, whether it be aerobics,

[1:20:06] water aerobics, opportunities for crafts, cooking.

[1:20:09] So we are very excited that

[1:20:11] those programs are all in place right now.

[1:20:13] They are all open for enrollment right now.

[1:20:15] As of the last check, we had 1500 prime time seniors.

[1:20:19] That has a record for us at this time,

[1:20:21] and we hope to see that it is all free for prime time seniors.

[1:20:24] So if you have seniors in your district, please tell

[1:20:26] encourage them to register.

[1:20:28] We do have a fall program that we're offering this year at four

[1:20:32] use sites and one senior site, as well as two teen sites.

[1:20:35] So that is for apps the week of October 12th to the 16th.

[1:20:39] And if you have anybody who would like to register

[1:20:41] for those programs, they are open now.

[1:20:44] I did want to talk briefly about two very important programs

[1:20:47] that are over now

[1:20:49] in some sense for the summer,

[1:20:50] but these have been really wildly successful

[1:20:52] for us this year. Number one is camp

[1:20:55] camp Best Friends, Lake Altoona.

[1:20:57] If you did not know, we have 200 acres up on Lake Altoona.

[1:21:00] It is absolutely beautiful.

[1:21:01] We had over 144 participants this year.

[1:21:05] That is a major increase over last year when we resurrected the camp.

[1:21:08] It had not been used

[1:21:09] as an overnight camp for a number of years.

[1:21:10] Covid was part of that,

[1:21:12] but for other reasons to the camp needed to be updated,

[1:21:14] and we have seen the number of children increased week to week,

[1:21:18] and it looked to that for next year.

[1:21:20] We offer an obstacle course, we have ski boats,

[1:21:22] we have a pontoon boat, we have archery,

[1:21:24] we have paddle boards, we have kayaks.

[1:21:26] We actually liked it so much.

[1:21:27] We brought 350 of our own staff up there for a day at the lake

[1:21:30] at the end of the season.

[1:21:31] Had a wonderful time.

[1:21:32] It is available for rentals.

[1:21:34] I talked to lingerie and Clay, who runs that operation for us,

[1:21:38] and they had a rental as early as last week.

[1:21:40] They come up on a Friday or Saturday, leave on Sunday

[1:21:42] and all that's available to the public.

[1:21:44] It's a wonderful spot. Lake Altoona is beautiful.

[1:21:46] The other one is aquatics.

[1:21:48] We had over 76,000 visits to our.

[1:21:51] We had 11 pools open this summer.

[1:21:53] We have one that is down for reconstruction.

[1:21:55] That was Pittman.

[1:21:57] But over the 98 day season, we had 76,000.

[1:22:00] I should have left this as a quiz.

[1:22:01] But our top three pools

[1:22:02] this year was were Grant, Johnny White and Adams.

[1:22:05] The interesting thing is that has always fluctuated.

[1:22:08] It is not always the same three pools.

[1:22:12] And I find it really interesting that Adams was one of our pools that has not been on the top

[1:22:14] three for a number of years,

[1:22:15] so I'm really excited to see that it's balanced

[1:22:17] and people are going to different pools.

[1:22:20] So we'll see how that goes next year.

[1:22:22] We did host our first swim meet.

[1:22:23] There's a little picture down on the bottom.

[1:22:25] We have our own developmental swim league.

[1:22:26] That's what DSL stands for.

[1:22:28] And we did our a swimming at Grant Park.

[1:22:30] And that was wonderful. And we hired 92 lifeguards.

[1:22:33] We're going to need a lot more next year.

[1:22:34] I have a picture of this new pool

[1:22:36] we're building at Pittman

[1:22:37] Park, Pittsburgh community, and I'm super excited about it.

[1:22:39] But you'll see why.

[1:22:41] We also had all of our pools staff with both Ranger

[1:22:43] and an AP. D had very few incidents this summer.

[1:22:46] Thank God everybody was safe and that's always the

[1:22:49] our standard bearer.

[1:22:50] Year over year,

[1:22:51] I talked a little bit about the teen program,

[1:22:54] the Atlanta teen program,

[1:22:56] what we call the Atlanta Teen Leader Program,

[1:22:58] or the Atlanta Teen Academy has grown by leaps and bounds.

[1:23:01] We are currently at 16 sites.

[1:23:03] That includes two at Promise centers.

[1:23:05] One is it metropolitan?

[1:23:07] One is. It's called southwest, but it's on MLK.

[1:23:11] We are planning on moving to our third at promise site, which is at the,

[1:23:14] the Walter and Andrew Young YMCA on Campbellton.

[1:23:17] We hope to be there by January.

[1:23:18] This program this summer, had over 650 children,

[1:23:23] teens enrolled, and 175 of them were hired for us.

[1:23:27] They work at our summer camps. They work at our

[1:23:31] senior sites, and they work at our, at our youth sites.

[1:23:34] So in addition to all the opportunities

[1:23:38] they have through the,

[1:23:40] the camp, the program, they also get a job.

[1:23:43] One important factor you have to be enrolled

[1:23:45] in the team leader program by December

[1:23:47] to get a job for the following year.

[1:23:49] So if you have teens that are interested,

[1:23:51] please have them enroll now

[1:23:53] before the end of the year, before December 31st

[1:23:56] so we can offer them into the program for employment

[1:24:00] next summer. We do have a number of programs that are set for the fall.

[1:24:04] One is we're opening up two new teen renovated teen rooms.

[1:24:07] One is at Roselle Fan, one is at Grove.

[1:24:10] And we have a whole litany of opportunities for teens that are coming up.

[1:24:13] We are working with the Atlanta Hawks on the Million Meal

[1:24:15] Packing program, providing food and meals.

[1:24:18] That's in a couple of weeks.

[1:24:19] We're doing something kind of unique.

[1:24:21] We're doing a parent appreciation.

[1:24:22] So if you have a team that's involved in our program,

[1:24:26] we're going to do a parent appreciation on October 3rd.

[1:24:29] We want to see the parents. We know that's a success rate.

[1:24:32] You can't beat if the if the parents

[1:24:34] of the children are program or behind that program.

[1:24:37] We'll get you more information on that on October 3rd.

[1:24:39] We also have

[1:24:41] a couple of programs listed on the bottom,

[1:24:42] which is our annual

[1:24:44] haunted house at Pittman Park that is usually drawn,

[1:24:47] they decorate the entire facility as a haunted house.

[1:24:51] We've drawn thousands to that event in the past.

[1:24:53] We have teens giving on November 19th.

[1:24:55] We do a sneaker and coat drive.

[1:24:57] You can offer coats and sneakers here at City Hall.

[1:25:00] The airport has been a huge help

[1:25:02] providing coats and sneakers for us on this program.

[1:25:05] Usually the the sneakers and coats are given out at Martin.

[1:25:08] That's going to be held on November 21st,

[1:25:10] and then we'll have a Winter Wonderland program for our

[1:25:13] teens on December 18th.

[1:25:15] So we're looking forward to that as well.

[1:25:17] Want to jump to athletics and meals?

[1:25:20] We have made a concerted effort in the last few years

[1:25:22] to increase the number of sports outside of football,

[1:25:26] basketball and baseball, and that is really paid off.

[1:25:30] These programs are still small.

[1:25:31] There are things like flag football, girls softball

[1:25:36] and soccer, and we've seen a tremendous increase in those programs.

[1:25:39] They're still small.

[1:25:40] We had over 1200 children right now

[1:25:42] participating in our football tackle football program.

[1:25:44] We have 400

[1:25:45] in our cheer program,

[1:25:47] and we have over 100 in our girls volleyball program.

[1:25:49] So we still have quite large programs,

[1:25:51] but we are trying to expand into these other opportunities.

[1:25:54] Another one of those areas is Tots,

[1:25:56] and I know a lot of y'all are participated.

[1:25:58] I know Councilmember Dozier, Councilmember Winston's

[1:26:00] children have participated in those programs.

[1:26:02] We offer both.

[1:26:04] Todd Olympics. We're doing Tot football right now.

[1:26:05] Goes to Tot soccer, basketball, baseball.

[1:26:08] It is all a riot and it is all chaos all the time.

[1:26:12] But we do offer those programs.

[1:26:14] And then one area that we're really focusing on,

[1:26:16] I'll speak on this a little bit later is adult sports.

[1:26:18] We don't do enough of them.

[1:26:19] We have started to do this the second year.

[1:26:21] We offer an intra departmental softball league.

[1:26:24] It is nuts.

[1:26:25] It's every Wednesday

[1:26:26] we fill the entire parking lot at Southside Park.

[1:26:29] We have many injuries to many city employees at these events,

[1:26:33] but they're having a great time.

[1:26:34] And I literally mean the parking lot is full.

[1:26:37] So on tomorrow

[1:26:38] night, Wednesday night, if you want to go down

[1:26:39] and just see a bunch of city employees,

[1:26:41] have a good time, it is it is fantastic.

[1:26:43] So we're really appreciative

[1:26:45] of our athletics team for doing that.

[1:26:47] Our meal program, we offer meals year round.

[1:26:51] Most of them we are well above, I think, 95% reimbursement rate.

[1:26:54] All these programs are offered

[1:26:55] through the Department of Agriculture,

[1:26:57] but we offered 56 sites where we offered meals this summer.

[1:27:01] 27 of those are literally sites that we own, like a rec center.

[1:27:06] For a total of 147,000 meals were distributed this summer.

[1:27:10] Over 2000 of the participants were met through a bus

[1:27:13] that we have. It's a rolling bus that provides the meals.

[1:27:16] And then we had another 21 sites that we actually have

[1:27:19] the vendor deliver the meals directly to the site,

[1:27:23] for them to get fed, and then we get reimbursed for that.

[1:27:26] We offered a new program called plates in the Park, where

[1:27:29] our our nutrition team literally takes,

[1:27:33] hot plate, hot plates and burners and goes to each of our rec centers

[1:27:36] and senior centers and cooks

[1:27:38] with the participants of the meals

[1:27:39] that will kick off this year on those fall camps.

[1:27:42] I was mentioned to you.

[1:27:43] And then it continues to every single site, in the system.

[1:27:47] And we're using Dunbar this year as our hub

[1:27:50] for the nutrition program.

[1:27:51] So we'll be bringing other sites

[1:27:52] to Dunbar to learn to cook and do demonstrations.

[1:27:56] And we have a hydroponic garden, as well as

[1:27:58] probably one of the best outdoor gardens in the city,

[1:28:00] just outside, Dunbar's Walls.

[1:28:03] So looking forward to that.

[1:28:05] Didn't want to kind of leave.

[1:28:07] It seems like it was a while ago,

[1:28:08] but we had a huge summer with FIFA.

[1:28:10] Just wanted to mention all the things we did.

[1:28:12] We offered a several community watch parties.

[1:28:15] We gave a soccer ball

[1:28:16] to every single child that was enrolled in camp.

[1:28:19] Best friends. Our theme was one world, one goal.

[1:28:22] We offered the Teens on Point, which is a group that helps

[1:28:27] build construction and carpentry skills with teens.

[1:28:30] They built over 40 goals that we put out

[1:28:31] at all of our parks for the summer.

[1:28:33] We introduced Foot Golf,

[1:28:35] which is a foot version soccer version of golf at Candler Park,

[1:28:38] which actually turns out, if I'm not mistaken,

[1:28:40] to actually be drawing more people during the hours

[1:28:42] that it's offered for that than for golf.

[1:28:45] So that was kind of interesting.

[1:28:46] We offered, as you mentioned before,

[1:28:48] the Throne labs were brought,

[1:28:49] not just for FIFA, but it was brought to make sure

[1:28:52] we had them in place for FIFA.

[1:28:53] That's been super successful.

[1:28:55] I have some more information about that later.

[1:28:56] We did watch parties for our staff,

[1:28:58] and we also developed an enhanced maintenance plan,

[1:29:01] which we worked very closely with other departments,

[1:29:03] Department of Public Works,

[1:29:05] a Dot and others to try to really focus.

[1:29:07] When we have these large events and towns, what can we do

[1:29:09] in the downtown areas or where people are located?

[1:29:11] Try to make sure the bathrooms and service litters picked up

[1:29:14] grass mode on an accelerated schedule,

[1:29:16] and we're able to use that and try to use those

[1:29:20] for future events. So I'm glad we we went through that exercise.

[1:29:23] The next sector I want to talk about

[1:29:25] is just the fact that this doesn't really end.

[1:29:27] We continue. We have a Playmobil, which we bring out.

[1:29:30] It's available for use.

[1:29:31] If you have any of your events

[1:29:32] you like the Playmobil to attend.

[1:29:34] I think our last schedule event this year is October 3rd.

[1:29:37] We did a 19 camp best friends events, 20 special events,

[1:29:40] and we've been to about 50 parks.

[1:29:41] We'll just go to a park, bring the vans, set it up,

[1:29:44] play Jenga, play bowling, play whatever we have in the van

[1:29:48] and it's available.

[1:29:49] We also do popsicles in the park.

[1:29:51] We did one last week at Grove Park on Thursday

[1:29:53] will be at Roselle Fan

[1:29:55] and then Brownwood after that for the following week.

[1:29:57] And we've been doing movies, unfortunately.

[1:30:00] Councilmember Bond, we keep seeming to get rained

[1:30:02] out for your events, but we will make them up.

[1:30:05] We were actually doing a makeup

[1:30:06] for Councilmember Amos this weekend.

[1:30:08] So this weekend on Friday will be at Grove Park

[1:30:10] and then night park on Saturday,

[1:30:12] and then Shirley, Clark, Franklin and Adams Park.

[1:30:13] And we are going to make up for the ones we missed.

[1:30:16] It turns out the sun showed up too,

[1:30:17] so we almost could have had it.

[1:30:19] But anyways, that's,

[1:30:20] Yeah, I know the next item we're going to talk about

[1:30:23] is just in that same vein. We have a great

[1:30:26] group of community,

[1:30:29] coordinators that work for DC, LaShawn Dudley.

[1:30:32] We've done 22 citywide events, reaching over 3500 neighbors

[1:30:37] since June. Some of those are listed on the screen.

[1:30:38] We do National Night Out partnering with APD. Obviously,

[1:30:41] we do a fresh cut series where you can get haircut.

[1:30:44] There also have other beauty, instruction that's offered.

[1:30:48] We've offered that at multiple sites.

[1:30:50] We have a Disability Pride month,

[1:30:52] Community Connections with the Urban Indigo

[1:30:54] Foundation, back to school bashes,

[1:30:56] and we've done a touch truck experience

[1:30:58] with our friends

[1:30:58] at DPW,

[1:31:00] upcoming events, as we mentioned,

[1:31:01] or popsicles in the park and movies in the park.

[1:31:03] We have a number of ribbon cutting.

[1:31:04] We expect that Lang Carson Park,

[1:31:06] the interior improvements have officially been completed.

[1:31:08] We are building a new playground at Deerwood Park,

[1:31:11] and all of the improvements that Lillian Cooper

[1:31:14] Shepherd Park, including a new playground,

[1:31:16] accessible parking lot

[1:31:18] and driveway have been completed as well.

[1:31:20] I will mention I was kind of surprised by that.

[1:31:22] We sometimes we try to branch out into wellness.

[1:31:25] We had over 30

[1:31:27] men show up for prostate awareness just two days ago, and

[1:31:30] I was really impressed by that. That was that was great.

[1:31:32] Thank you, LaShawn and Phillip for putting that on.

[1:31:35] That's something we're going to continue to do.

[1:31:36] 30 people for something like approximate awareness.

[1:31:38] That's that's good, that's good.

[1:31:40] We need to keep pushing that as well.

[1:31:43] Wanted to talk about just staying on that same van.

[1:31:46] And I mentioned earlier we do have a program

[1:31:47] called Make It Lana, your Own gym.

[1:31:49] The prostrate awareness was one of those opportunities.

[1:31:52] What we're trying to do is partner with our

[1:31:54] partners at Emory, at Fulton County Board of Health,

[1:31:57] to try to let people know that parks are a great opportunity

[1:32:01] for just overall wellness, whether it be hiking,

[1:32:04] biking, swimming, whatever we have.

[1:32:06] It's a free, great alternative to trying to be a gym or

[1:32:10] join a gym.

[1:32:11] We offer everything from the prostate exam

[1:32:15] I mentioned, but sometimes we just do the pop singles in the park

[1:32:16] or we offer a blood pressure screening.

[1:32:18] So if you see these

[1:32:20] and you're in your neighborhood, please encourage people in general

[1:32:22] just trying to make sure that people understand

[1:32:23] that we have a lot of outdoor fitness activity

[1:32:26] and equipment that we can use, and we're a great opportunity

[1:32:29] if you just want to stay healthy and well in our city.

[1:32:33] Next topic is going to be on golf and racket sports.

[1:32:37] We had a record breaking year in FY 26.

[1:32:40] We had 4.9 million brought in in revenue and over 192,000 rounds.

[1:32:46] This year alone, we mentioned the foot golf that we started at Candler.

[1:32:48] We've done a number of open houses.

[1:32:50] I think this Saturday as it Browns Mill,

[1:32:53] we offer opportunities for all ages

[1:32:55] just to get acquainted with the golf staff

[1:32:57] and see what our programs are.

[1:32:59] I'm disappointed that Councilmember

[1:33:02] Lewis isn't here today. He asked for a ball dispenser at Brown's Mill one time,

[1:33:05] and we got it installed yesterday.

[1:33:06] So it is fully completed and I'm glad that's happened.

[1:33:09] It was a great, great suggestion.

[1:33:11] I appreciate him for doing that.

[1:33:12] We did also re

[1:33:15] do five

[1:33:16] greens at Chastain and four T boxes at Top Homes.

[1:33:20] We had some issues that needed to be

[1:33:23] what the course

[1:33:24] superintendent explained to me is many of our courses are on

[1:33:26] what they call life support, meaning that the Greens,

[1:33:29] they can be made well, they can look good,

[1:33:31] but over time they're not sustainable.

[1:33:33] So it's better just to resolve them, get them refreshed.

[1:33:35] We're looking at a program to have all of them done

[1:33:37] at Chastain within the next growing season,

[1:33:40] so we're looking forward to that.

[1:33:41] It's really made a difference.

[1:33:42] I got to go out and two of them,

[1:33:43] they'll have the Mayor's Cup out there next week at Chastain,

[1:33:46] and we're super excited to host that event for Racket Sports.

[1:33:50] We've had over 7000 adult and junior players

[1:33:53] with our partner with Agape Tennis.

[1:33:55] One thing we have noticed is we still have room to grow

[1:33:59] the tennis program at Washington and Joseph McGee,

[1:34:02] and we have offered you can see some of these,

[1:34:04] and I'm happy to send them to you as well.

[1:34:06] 360 free tennis lessons and pickleball classes

[1:34:09] were hosted at Magee and Washington.

[1:34:11] We offer a $5, class kickoff in September,

[1:34:15] through November at Magee and Washington.

[1:34:17] So for $5, you can get training in either

[1:34:19] tennis or pickleball at either of those two sites.

[1:34:22] And we offer a free cardio program

[1:34:24] that sponsor with their partners at Beltline.

[1:34:26] So if you have people

[1:34:27] if you can't get a court at one of our other sites,

[1:34:30] please look at Washington and Magee. Those are.

[1:34:32] I know Councilmember Bond has been there many times.

[1:34:35] They're wonderful courses

[1:34:36] there, right on the Beltline, Washington's

[1:34:37] right on the Beltline, and as a great facility.

[1:34:41] And we're just looking to try to continue to see momentum with people using those facilities

[1:34:46] for park operations.

[1:34:48] Just a couple of highlights.

[1:34:50] We did move into a new skilled services warehouse.

[1:34:52] We were in Little Five Points and what was known as the Base

[1:34:55] Recreation Center.

[1:34:56] It was not a good center for

[1:34:58] for a skilled services team that needs to build things.

[1:35:01] But we'd been there for years.

[1:35:02] That property was turned over.

[1:35:04] It was part of the the title work we did with apps.

[1:35:06] So we are now in a lease facility off Marietta.

[1:35:10] It is wonderful. That's a picture of the warehouse

[1:35:11] we've actually never had and now we do.

[1:35:14] So we're looking very much forward

[1:35:15] to seeing that team continue

[1:35:17] to develop in their metrics and be able to get things done

[1:35:20] across all our parks and rec center.

[1:35:23] We did also send many of our staff or are sending many of our staff

[1:35:26] to a maintenance management school.

[1:35:29] There's something we used to do. We kind of over Covid, they stopped offering them.

[1:35:31] So our opportunity is to try to create succession planning,

[1:35:34] to try to develop in-house talent.

[1:35:37] Cannot be overlooked.

[1:35:38] And we're looking really forward

[1:35:39] to think that program starts in February.

[1:35:41] And then we did permit 22 gaited park events this weekend.

[1:35:45] Is Shaky Knees, probably

[1:35:46] one of our largest events in Piedmont Park.

[1:35:48] We've had a good season so far

[1:35:50] and hope that discontinues, Park Ranger program.

[1:35:54] They're an amazing bunch of people there.

[1:35:56] Pictured here, at Woodruff Park.

[1:35:58] We work very closely with Kathryn

[1:36:00] and her team at Woodruff, but at all of our parks,

[1:36:03] the the park ranger team

[1:36:06] is not a they're not they're not post certified.

[1:36:09] They do not have citation ability, but they are amazing.

[1:36:13] They are often the people that make

[1:36:14] first contact with people when there are issues.

[1:36:17] We have them at many of our special events.

[1:36:19] They ride the Beltline on the bottom.

[1:36:21] They're actually trained by a PD through a bicycle course,

[1:36:25] and overall, they're part of our larger

[1:36:27] safety and security team.

[1:36:28] That team actually won top honors

[1:36:30] this year, is being recognized as the Department of the year

[1:36:34] for Safety and Security.

[1:36:35] We also had the safety professional of the year,

[1:36:38] Kevin Burke, and our employee of the year,

[1:36:39] which is Carl McKinney, who built that warehouse

[1:36:41] and worked very hard with the skilled services team.

[1:36:43] So I'm very proud of that group.

[1:36:46] Look forward. We have also, if you've been to Woodruff Park,

[1:36:48] there used to be a reading room down there and we,

[1:36:51] have turned that into a ranger station.

[1:36:53] And during FIFA, we worked with the a C of VB

[1:36:56] to get brochures, maps of downtown.

[1:36:58] And it's been wonderful.

[1:36:59] So we've kept that open ever since.

[1:37:01] We're painting it over.

[1:37:02] So it says Ranger Station.

[1:37:04] The team likes working there, and we're

[1:37:05] getting a lot of good contacts just for people

[1:37:08] that are trying to find their way around downtown.

[1:37:11] These are some of our metrics.

[1:37:12] I know it's a lot to take in, but I will highlight

[1:37:14] what's going on here is we have a target

[1:37:16] for almost everything we do in the operations side.

[1:37:19] The next column is 2026, the current year from April to July.

[1:37:23] The next column is 2025.

[1:37:25] Most of our numbers on that screen

[1:37:27] are showing improvement year over year.

[1:37:29] There are a couple that are not,

[1:37:31] the one that we are looking

[1:37:33] most closely on is garbage cans collected.

[1:37:35] That is a we're still at a high rate at 90%.

[1:37:38] Some of our parks are just getting very heavily used,

[1:37:41] and some of them require multiple visits to keep garbage

[1:37:46] cans clean. We see that.

[1:37:47] We recognize that we will take this

[1:37:49] this season, in the off season where it does die down to relook

[1:37:52] at that. We're also working with DPW

[1:37:53] that has some metrics that they can use

[1:37:55] as well as some technology, so we're looking forward to that.

[1:37:59] On the flip side, the arborist numbers have come

[1:38:01] way up from 57% a year ago to almost to 100%.

[1:38:06] The last three weeks have been horrible

[1:38:07] and we've had plenty of trees in the street,

[1:38:11] so I'm not sure it's going to stay that way forever, but super proud of that.

[1:38:13] The other one I'll mention is just our carpentry division.

[1:38:15] I mentioned with our skilled services team,

[1:38:17] so much of what we do in parks ends up being called carpentry.

[1:38:20] That could be welding, could be fencing,

[1:38:22] could be doors, could be locks, windows, everything.

[1:38:25] And it's just a lot.

[1:38:26] So that's an area we're working on, dividing

[1:38:28] that between two supervisors with dedicated crews

[1:38:31] working on certain areas to try to see if that might help

[1:38:35] raise that metric.

[1:38:36] We are getting the work done,

[1:38:37] but it's taking us longer than we'd like to see.

[1:38:39] Still keeping a pretty fairly high metric at 75%.

[1:38:42] And our total work orders

[1:38:43] for this period went up by almost 500.

[1:38:45] So there's obviously work to be done,

[1:38:48] but I feel pretty confident we've got a good plan.

[1:38:51] Natural resources this is a group

[1:38:52] that was also funded through the millage.

[1:38:55] I just wanted to make sure people were aware

[1:38:57] of some of the good work they're doing.

[1:38:58] We also received an IRA grant,

[1:39:00] for about I think it's $5 million that hired three people.

[1:39:04] They are out, actually,

[1:39:05] in all of our natural areas, determining

[1:39:07] what kind of ecological systems are present,

[1:39:10] whether they're covered in kudzu or whether they're pristine

[1:39:12] and they're keeping a record of all of that.

[1:39:14] So we think we'll have all of that completed by this fall.

[1:39:17] Invasive removal.

[1:39:19] This is something we probably don't speak enough of.

[1:39:21] But over the last two fiscal years,

[1:39:22] we spent over $1 million

[1:39:24] in reducing invasive removal across the city.

[1:39:28] We have some big projects at South Bend, but many smaller projects as well.

[1:39:31] The smart tree inventory.

[1:39:32] You might have heard of this from Planning and Design.

[1:39:34] It's a co project. Every single street

[1:39:36] tree in the city of Atlanta has been radar,

[1:39:41] viewed through what they call leader, which is light detection system.

[1:39:43] It's actually assessing the health of that tree

[1:39:45] and will also give us an opportunity

[1:39:47] to then send an arborist out to try to see

[1:39:49] if that tree needs to come down, prune or what have you.

[1:39:51] Very few cities have even undertaken that.

[1:39:54] We've found 167,000 trees in city,

[1:39:58] right of ways that have been detected through leader.

[1:40:00] That program is done.

[1:40:01] We're expecting the data dump on that this fall.

[1:40:04] We also hired an environmental coordinator.

[1:40:06] Name is Elena Edwards.

[1:40:09] She's fantastic. It's our first environmental coordinator right now.

[1:40:10] She's working with all the different

[1:40:12] partner groups to learn what they do

[1:40:14] and try to find out where the voids might be.

[1:40:16] And she's going to be working closely

[1:40:17] with our campus friends and senior program and teens.

[1:40:21] And then we did get our first wayfinding package

[1:40:25] installed at Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.

[1:40:27] Work closely with Council President Marcy Overstreet,

[1:40:30] to get that project done.

[1:40:32] The importance of that project is that we are actually

[1:40:34] mapped and,

[1:40:37] with disc codes and GIS map, the entire trails.

[1:40:41] We've had plenty of people that have gotten lost in Cascade Spring Nature Preserve

[1:40:44] and don't know how to get to them.

[1:40:45] So they actually now

[1:40:47] have GIS pinpoints that we can send back to 911.

[1:40:51] And there are many,

[1:40:52] many, many trails, whether it be Morningside,

[1:40:54] whether it be Blue Heron, whether it be like Charlotte.

[1:40:57] And we're just trying to replicate this program.

[1:40:59] So we're super excited

[1:41:00] to have the first one off the page,

[1:41:02] and we'll be moving forward with that.

[1:41:04] Moving Atlanta forward.

[1:41:05] This is our parks design office.

[1:41:07] We have 71 projects to a tune of $146 million.

[1:41:12] Every single one of the projects have been initiated.

[1:41:15] We have one which is in planning and

[1:41:16] scoping, which is kind of the first step,

[1:41:19] which is our south side

[1:41:20] ball field renovations, the cloverleaf and south side.

[1:41:24] But all other projects are, as you see, we have 35 in close out, 22 in construction,

[1:41:28] nine in procurement for an engineering and the one

[1:41:31] with scoping and planning.

[1:41:32] We do have some very large projects

[1:41:34] like the William Walker Natatorium, the renovation,

[1:41:37] complete renovation, teardown of Grove Park,

[1:41:41] and Reverend James Orange are just three

[1:41:43] that are going to be large projects, no doubt,

[1:41:45] but those are all in progress as well.

[1:41:47] Since March of 2026, probably the last time we spoke

[1:41:50] to we've actually completed Brownwood Rec Center.

[1:41:53] The Southwest Maintenance District is being redone.

[1:41:55] That project is still ongoing.

[1:41:57] Alexander Park has just started.

[1:41:59] We've done about 30 citywide Ada projects.

[1:42:02] Many pools have been renovated, including Moseley,

[1:42:05] which actually got a new splash pad, and Candler.

[1:42:08] And then we are just about to start the South Bend Rec Center.

[1:42:11] In addition to that, we're doing master

[1:42:13] planning in a number of projects.

[1:42:14] The Chattahoochee Brick Company,

[1:42:16] that site is actually being coordinated with DCP as well

[1:42:20] as well as Riverlands Corridor, Memorial Drive, Greenway.

[1:42:24] We'll see a little bit slide.

[1:42:25] We continue to buy property

[1:42:26] along that greenway to make that happen.

[1:42:28] And that is moving forward.

[1:42:29] Red's Farm Visioning and Frankie Allen,

[1:42:32] which is now known as Bagley Park,

[1:42:34] also has a visioning plan that was just completed.

[1:42:37] These are just some pictures of some of the good work

[1:42:39] parks design has done. That's the Pittman pool.

[1:42:42] I know Councilmember Bond.

[1:42:43] You know that pool.

[1:42:43] Well, it's gone. It's coming back.

[1:42:46] And it's going to look something like that in the middle.

[1:42:48] This is going to be our first, facility.

[1:42:52] We met with the community. Doctor Williams met with the community last weekend.

[1:42:55] They were super excited about it.

[1:42:57] I'm super excited about it.

[1:42:58] This will open next May.

[1:43:00] It has a 19ft slide and a slightly smaller slide.

[1:43:04] It's got a lazy river.

[1:43:05] It continues to have lap lanes, which is important.

[1:43:08] We've had Olympians that have come out of,

[1:43:11] Pittman Park,

[1:43:13] Muhammad, Steve Lundquist, these are names that we want

[1:43:15] to keep that competition

[1:43:17] and the ability to swim laps at that pool.

[1:43:19] It also has a splash pad.

[1:43:20] We don't have anything like this.

[1:43:21] Nothing like this in the city of Atlanta right now.

[1:43:25] The closest I think we're talking about if, you know, in DeKalb County,

[1:43:26] they have a splash place called Browns Mill

[1:43:29] and this will be kind of our Browns Mill,

[1:43:31] which I mentioned next year,

[1:43:32] we're going to need a few more lifeguards.

[1:43:34] On the top is a project working on closely with Abi.

[1:43:38] It's the new pump track

[1:43:40] that is being built at Shirley Clark Franklin Park.

[1:43:42] People have already gotten into this park

[1:43:44] because they're so excited to get on this, this track.

[1:43:47] We expect that'll be officially open in November.

[1:43:50] On the bottom is Adams Park Pool,

[1:43:51] the one I told you it was third, this year for attendance.

[1:43:55] It had an old metal shell that is being

[1:43:57] totally replaced and rebuilt.

[1:43:58] And then the large picture is the conceptual drawing,

[1:44:01] for the Reverend James Orange redesign,

[1:44:04] which we did many, many meetings with the community about.

[1:44:07] And we're super excited where we ended up.

[1:44:08] And I appreciate everyone's help in getting us there.

[1:44:13] As we mentioned, public restrooms, you know, we get

[1:44:15] I don't know if this has been

[1:44:16] mentioned to you before, but we actually get a report

[1:44:18] every month that says last month,

[1:44:20] in August, we had 10,290 people use our Throne labs.

[1:44:24] We added two new ones just in the last month.

[1:44:27] One is right outside City Hall here.

[1:44:28] One is at John Calhoun Park.

[1:44:30] We know exactly how many people are using them

[1:44:32] and sometimes they leave comments like, this was great.

[1:44:34] I felt like I was in my own home.

[1:44:36] So I mean, it is it is really fantastic.

[1:44:38] They're all maintained through the program.

[1:44:41] If there's an issue, you can use your phone to either

[1:44:43] get access or report a problem.

[1:44:45] It is a it is not a permanent solution.

[1:44:47] Possibly, but it's a good solution and it's working well.

[1:44:50] We can move them if we find out that

[1:44:52] we maybe didn't pick the right location,

[1:44:53] if there's a better location and we can expand the program.

[1:44:56] So looking forward to that.

[1:44:59] Just the last couple of slides administratively,

[1:45:01] just so you know,

[1:45:02] we have about 500 employees that are full time

[1:45:05] in the summer. We double that.

[1:45:08] It goes to about 583 additional employees every year to manage that.

[1:45:11] Appreciate our HR team for helping us do that.

[1:45:15] A large part of of

[1:45:16] of all of

[1:45:18] what we do is, is training and making sure our people are properly trained

[1:45:21] before they get out in the field. So we spend a lot of time trying to go through that process.

[1:45:24] And one way to do that is to make sure our department stays accredited.

[1:45:26] This isn't accreditation year for us,

[1:45:29] so we have a whole team that is working on trying to meet 140 standards.

[1:45:32] There are only several hundred

[1:45:34] out of the thousands of parks departments in the city or in the country

[1:45:36] that are accredited, and we're one of them.

[1:45:38] So we're looking forward to that process.

[1:45:40] Will be submitting our application for that in January.

[1:45:43] On a staffing note, we do have a relatively stable

[1:45:48] vacancy rate now, overall, about 17%.

[1:45:52] I did want to note our goal would be closer to ten if we if we could.

[1:45:56] But I did want to note recreation as a 5% vacancy rate.

[1:45:59] That's astounding. That is excellent work.

[1:46:01] I appreciate the work they've done to try to retain staff.

[1:46:04] And if we do leave staff

[1:46:05] that they're backfilling those quickly.

[1:46:07] And I think that needs to be be commended.

[1:46:11] These are our millage numbers.

[1:46:12] Just want to give you a sense.

[1:46:13] One of the reasons why

[1:46:15] we have grown up in the rankings is because we are well funded.

[1:46:18] We appreciate being well funded.

[1:46:20] Millage was a big part of that.

[1:46:21] The way this works in the millage,

[1:46:23] if you remember, 50% of all millage dollars,

[1:46:26] go to Doctor Williams with his park planning and design, 40%

[1:46:30] go to park operations and maintenance, 3%

[1:46:33] go to safety and security,

[1:46:34] two go to wreck, and then 2% go to administration.

[1:46:38] Last year our expenditures were about 51 million.

[1:46:41] We expect this year

[1:46:42] our revenues are going to be about 42 million.

[1:46:44] The difference being that we have some funds

[1:46:46] that are carried over.

[1:46:47] And so that's how why

[1:46:48] there's a difference between what an expenditure

[1:46:51] might be versus versus a revenue.

[1:46:53] But we are very appreciative of that and use it every day.

[1:46:57] Last three slides and I'll shut up.

[1:47:01] I want to just bring us back to what we started

[1:47:03] with, with our main three goals invest, connect and grow.

[1:47:05] So there are many items I could speak to you about,

[1:47:08] but this is one of the things that KDS Committee

[1:47:10] brought up that they wanted to make sure this year

[1:47:13] that our plan matched, our activate ATL plan.

[1:47:17] And so I just wanted to give you some examples

[1:47:19] of how we're trying to do that.

[1:47:21] So investing

[1:47:22] of course would be things like improving the condition

[1:47:24] of existing facilities, investing in human capital

[1:47:27] training and resources,

[1:47:28] investing in programmatic opportunities,

[1:47:30] reimagining golf courses and the like.

[1:47:32] So one way of we have done that is we've invested in trying

[1:47:35] to increase our adult, as I mentioned, adult offerings.

[1:47:39] So we've actually dedicated one person who will have a team.

[1:47:43] That person has already started.

[1:47:45] They're putting out surveys as we speak

[1:47:46] to try to figure out what we are

[1:47:48] missing as a department in terms of offering adult programing,

[1:47:51] and that is how we're investing

[1:47:52] both back into the city and into our program

[1:47:55] to make sure we're offering, what we need to be offering.

[1:47:57] We've also included many inclusive playgrounds.

[1:48:00] Bessie Branham was just open right now.

[1:48:02] We're currently constructing Peachtree

[1:48:04] Hills and Perkinson Park three, to name a few.

[1:48:07] And then our math project, of course, we're investing

[1:48:09] across the entire city for connecting.

[1:48:13] This would be things like expanding

[1:48:14] trail network, improving wayfinding.

[1:48:16] I mentioned that prioritizing youth

[1:48:18] and seniors, developing environmental education

[1:48:22] mentioned that, and provided volunteer opportunities with park pride

[1:48:24] and developing a robust communications

[1:48:26] and marketing plan for Ada access.

[1:48:29] As I mentioned, we've done at least 30

[1:48:30] Ada projects so far with the math project,

[1:48:33] and we've created, thanks to council and the mayor.

[1:48:36] We've adopted the trails ATL master plan to make sure we are connected

[1:48:38] for small business connection.

[1:48:40] I thought this one was kind of unique

[1:48:41] something assets to look at and we absolutely do this.

[1:48:44] I know there was a person that was just here before.

[1:48:46] She's still here.

[1:48:47] But we hire about 18,

[1:48:53] small businesses to help us provide services to our after school program.

[1:48:56] Just what you do. And that's why I got your card.

[1:48:58] But we offer 18 of those.

[1:49:00] We offer hire everything from DJ's

[1:49:02] to ice cream

[1:49:04] to small food vendors when we do things

[1:49:05] like midnight basketball popsicles in the park.

[1:49:08] So I do see a connection there.

[1:49:10] And we work very closely with Abi on their marketplace program,

[1:49:12] which is allowing

[1:49:13] entrepreneurship on the Beltline.

[1:49:15] We are doing a review of our parks system to connect.

[1:49:19] We're going to make our eye

[1:49:20] parks, which is our online reservation program and app.

[1:49:23] Currently, we do not have that ability for it to be an app.

[1:49:27] It's web based. That's something we're looking forward to.

[1:49:28] We've already done the homework on it.

[1:49:29] We just need to implement it soon.

[1:49:31] And then, as I mentioned before,

[1:49:33] connecting with our residents, we

[1:49:35] initiated a new sliding scale, which makes it increase

[1:49:38] a higher income level can actually qualify to pay less.

[1:49:42] And that's super important.

[1:49:43] And it paid off big time this summer.

[1:49:45] And we've already

[1:49:47] continued to use that at their after school program.

[1:49:49] And then in terms of growth, last one, I promise

[1:49:52] we are acquiring parkland through the acquisition

[1:49:55] of joint use, increased parkland acreage through partnerships

[1:49:58] and ensuring communities have access to the offering.

[1:50:01] We have added 96 acres.

[1:50:03] Last year,

[1:50:04] Tatum Lake was one of the largest ones,

[1:50:06] but we've already added at least 30 acres this year.

[1:50:10] As you know, Bunin property was just purchased

[1:50:11] in the very last day of the fiscal year.

[1:50:13] We have three pending acquisitions

[1:50:15] that are already held by our partner,

[1:50:17] at the Conservation Fund that'll be coming forward.

[1:50:20] One is 404 Hamilton E homes.

[1:50:22] The other one is Boeing Forest,

[1:50:23] and the third one is a memorial greenway,

[1:50:25] which is a the old daddy D site that has now been

[1:50:29] been acquired by the the Conservation Fund

[1:50:32] and will be making resolutions to purchase that from them soon.

[1:50:36] Overall, we are at 4636 is our acreage.

[1:50:39] We are still small

[1:50:41] in terms of our acreage compared to a lot of our peer

[1:50:43] cities, but we are super connected.

[1:50:45] We have an 80 to 85% connected, which is basically known

[1:50:49] as a ten minute walk to a park.

[1:50:50] It also includes trails, so Beltline is a big part of that.

[1:50:54] But that's huge. Where one of the smallest, maybe by peer cities

[1:50:57] with actual acreage, but one of the most connected.

[1:50:59] And so that's where I think we just need to continue

[1:51:01] to buy acres where we can, but try to focus on that,

[1:51:04] on that connectivity. Last picture.

[1:51:07] These are just our staff, I love them.

[1:51:09] I just want to mention a lot of our staff,

[1:51:12] you know, they work for a paycheck just like we all do.

[1:51:14] These staff members,

[1:51:17] I will see them almost every Saturday and Sunday, every event.

[1:51:19] They're not there on their paycheck.

[1:51:21] They're there to see oftentimes

[1:51:24] either the product of their work,

[1:51:25] the kids that are in their programs compete.

[1:51:28] They are an amazing staff

[1:51:30] and know most of them are probably working right now.

[1:51:32] But if you do see them, please let them know I appreciate them.

[1:51:35] They make my job and I think all of our jobs so much easier.

[1:51:38] Parks and rec staff are amongst the best,

[1:51:40] and I really appreciate working with them

[1:51:42] and value them as colleagues.

[1:51:43] With that, I'll turn it over. Any questions?

[1:51:51] And the bus came.

[1:51:53] Applause. And in a move that will surprise no one,

[1:51:54] the first question is from Council Member Dozier.

[1:51:58] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[1:51:59] I love you too.

[1:52:00] Good to see Commissioner Voss.

[1:52:03] Firstly, before I start my questions,

[1:52:04] I just want to say kudos to you

[1:52:06] and the department on number 18.

[1:52:08] That's a huge jump.

[1:52:10] And I've been so appreciative as a council rep to be able

[1:52:15] to see the work that you all have been doing in real time,

[1:52:16] that progress being made day in, day out.

[1:52:19] I know that these aren't necessarily DPR projects right

[1:52:22] now, but I know district four is going to be adding to that.

[1:52:25] And the belt lines here

[1:52:27] with another park that they're working on over

[1:52:28] in the northwest corner of my district.

[1:52:30] And know Park Pride just got a $9.4 million grant

[1:52:34] to expand operations at or expand the landscaping.

[1:52:38] And the just

[1:52:40] the community work over at Four Corners Park in the southeastern corner

[1:52:44] of my district. And so I'm really excited about both those projects, and I'm

[1:52:47] looking forward to that, both helping expand that score.

[1:52:51] Just on the latter of those two projects before Corners

[1:52:53] Park, I know there's been some conversations with the community

[1:52:56] about the need to ensure that the recreation center

[1:53:00] there meets the same quality that we were expecting with this

[1:53:04] $9.4 million grant.

[1:53:05] This, this, I mean, this is a point of ignorance on my in.

[1:53:09] But typically when we are evaluating opportunities for a

[1:53:13] like a James Orange Recreation Center improvement,

[1:53:17] what is that process typically look like for the department?

[1:53:19] I recognize for like moving forward.

[1:53:21] I understand like the comprehensive

[1:53:22] transportation plan

[1:53:23] fees into this project sort of ideation process,

[1:53:27] but I'm not sure what that looks like

[1:53:28] for vertical construction, for parks improvements,

[1:53:31] those sort of things that would receive potentially received

[1:53:35] capital dollars to expand facilities operations.

[1:53:38] So, you know, what are y'all thinking?

[1:53:41] How does that look? How do we provide impact and put to you all

[1:53:44] so that those sorts of projects

[1:53:45] get prioritized now and we see that one? True.

[1:53:48] I mean, to have $9.4 million

[1:53:50] going to the park, but not include the rec center,

[1:53:52] something we absolutely need to look at.

[1:53:54] Rick McDevitt has been a long

[1:53:55] standing fixture in that community.

[1:53:56] Columbus Ward and the team out there,

[1:53:58] we start just the way you mentioned.

[1:53:59] I don't think it'd be much different.

[1:54:01] The only difference with that one

[1:54:02] is because it has been a partner site.

[1:54:04] We would obviously sit down with them first and try to figure out

[1:54:06] what that looks like, what their immediate needs are.

[1:54:08] It's a it's a rather small center.

[1:54:10] So we have to kind of look and see what opportunities.

[1:54:13] We've we've already spoken with Park Pride

[1:54:15] who's managing that grant to try to help

[1:54:17] see if they can help at least get us to that point and you'll

[1:54:20] be part of that process.

[1:54:22] Okay. And I would love to do whatever I can

[1:54:24] to make sure that we can advance that going forward.

[1:54:27] Similarly, I'm no longer representing

[1:54:29] the Oakland City community. I'm sad about that.

[1:54:31] However, a lot of those meetings that you talked about that

[1:54:33] you, in the department had participated

[1:54:36] in with the community over the last four and a half years.

[1:54:38] I was in a lot of those meetings taking my lumps to.

[1:54:41] And so I just whenever y'all have a timeline

[1:54:44] for the groundbreaking, I would love to be there,

[1:54:46] even though it's no longer in my district.

[1:54:49] I deeply care about that project,

[1:54:51] and I know the community has worked hard to make sure

[1:54:53] that they get a product that they can be proud of,

[1:54:55] and I just want to be there when we break the ground.

[1:54:57] Fair enough. I wanted to add that,

[1:55:01] a question about the

[1:55:03] all the amazing work that's happening around

[1:55:05] campus, friends, and just the general programing

[1:55:07] that's happening at recreation centers,

[1:55:09] especially in my district.

[1:55:11] I have two active recreation centers, Dunbar Neighborhood Center and K Scott.

[1:55:15] Sometimes I'm there

[1:55:16] with my kiddos,

[1:55:17] sometimes I'm there for community meeting,

[1:55:19] and I'll run with running to the staff and talk with them

[1:55:21] and they'll let me know.

[1:55:23] Hey, Councilmember Dojo, we had this amazing event, you know, last week.

[1:55:25] Wish you could have been there.

[1:55:27] I wish we saw you there. And it's like, you know, I get a little FOMO.

[1:55:29] And so,

[1:55:31] if there's any way that that your team can help

[1:55:34] and I'm sure my colleagues would appreciate this as well,

[1:55:36] there's events like that or any sort of programing

[1:55:39] or opportunities for our offices to be plugged in to the events

[1:55:42] that are happening at our recreation centers.

[1:55:44] That would be greatly appreciated.

[1:55:47] I know oftentimes, especially for the events that are that center my seniors,

[1:55:51] there's often asked for like, hey, can you sponsor a lunch?

[1:55:54] Or can you help provide,

[1:55:57] gifts or things for this event that we're doing?

[1:56:00] And we'd love to make sure that our office is where

[1:56:03] that there's that need and can have an ample

[1:56:05] opportunity to provide support for them.

[1:56:08] That's fair enough. And Aquia Pippins, who runs to Scott

[1:56:09] as a force to be reckoned with.

[1:56:10] She does amazing things. She has an amazing fish

[1:56:12] fry often, and I'm not invited either.

[1:56:14] We need to get on that list. But no, I am invited.

[1:56:16] But we need to make sure we do.

[1:56:18] That is amazing and has a very strong senior base there.

[1:56:21] And absolutely we'll do that.

[1:56:23] Yeah. And I just I also want your staff

[1:56:24] to feel empowered to reach out to me and my team.

[1:56:26] And there's a

[1:56:28] there's sometimes people can be a little shy,

[1:56:30] reach out to a member of council.

[1:56:31] But I want to have that open line of communication that's

[1:56:34] fair to be supportive.

[1:56:37] The cool season stats that you shared earlier.

[1:56:41] I, you know, love

[1:56:43] how far we've come along with the expansion and the

[1:56:47] support of our pool operations.

[1:56:48] I know when I was chair of this committee,

[1:56:51] when Councilmember Winston was chair of this committee,

[1:56:52] there was a lot of conversation

[1:56:53] about the vendors who were doing the maintenance

[1:56:57] and challenges with recruiting lifeguards.

[1:56:59] And there's, you know, the disposition of our pools

[1:57:02] today is much better than it was just a few years ago.

[1:57:06] My only question is overall poll season.

[1:57:09] I know a lot of our the ability for us to have open

[1:57:13] pools is tied to the fact that many of our lifeguards are

[1:57:17] students, are APS students.

[1:57:20] And when school's back in session and we then have to close pools.

[1:57:23] It's been an unusually hot year this year.

[1:57:25] And even beyond Labor Day, we we're continuing to see.

[1:57:29] I mean, it's 90 degrees today

[1:57:31] and we're in the middle of September.

[1:57:33] I wonder

[1:57:36] as far as like y'all's recruitment efforts in terms of lifeguards

[1:57:39] are all looking at ways to recruit populations

[1:57:45] outside of our typical

[1:57:46] high school student population,

[1:57:47] whether it's college students, whether it's seniors,

[1:57:50] just as a way, so we can expand pool

[1:57:52] operations beyond mid-August and beyond when school starts.

[1:57:57] Just, I mean, was hot, September still hot, and we'd love to see

[1:58:00] our pools, our outdoor pools, be able to stay open for longer.

[1:58:04] No. Absolutely. Absolutely correct. And I cringe this this year.

[1:58:05] I mean, we've had we've had washout August 2nd

[1:58:08] where it's rained every day and we looked like geniuses

[1:58:10] for for not being open, but I mean, not

[1:58:12] you know what I'm saying?

[1:58:13] It just it doesn't seem.

[1:58:14] But this year, obviously they were needed.

[1:58:17] We have already because of the Pittman Park pool.

[1:58:19] Honestly, that's going to change everything for us.

[1:58:22] We don't anticipate there's no way

[1:58:23] that pool is going to be built and not

[1:58:26] we don't want it to be closed.

[1:58:27] There are some days of the week

[1:58:29] we might not be open every single day.

[1:58:31] Weekends for sure, that type of thing.

[1:58:33] You know, Councilmember Bond and I have

[1:58:34] talked about this before.

[1:58:37] You know, we we do need to expand into wide variety of people who are applying.

[1:58:40] Not everybody needs to be an Apps student

[1:58:42] if we're trying to keep our pools open.

[1:58:44] We love APS students to be our lifeguards,

[1:58:45] but we need a mix.

[1:58:47] We've only been running our pools now

[1:58:48] for a few short years.

[1:58:49] Recently we went back to that.

[1:58:51] We had a contractor and it's taken a little bit of,

[1:58:55] you know, I think we have gotten better every year,

[1:58:57] but we're going to have to really make a big jump next year. Yeah.

[1:58:59] No, that would be great. And I mean, he'll send me to train training.

[1:59:02] I'll put in a couple of shifts in if I want

[1:59:04] to get my certification.

[1:59:05] So I just want to make sure we wrote you down.

[1:59:07] Yeah. Gotcha.

[1:59:09] Another question that I had

[1:59:12] is with regards to the nutrition club at Dunbar that you alluded to,

[1:59:15] want to make sure that you all talking to

[1:59:16] the folks at the community garden.

[1:59:18] I know it's no longer stewarding that rise.

[1:59:21] I believe it's a new organization

[1:59:23] that is now has taken over.

[1:59:26] Just want to make sure that it's healthy.

[1:59:27] There's some already some collaboration

[1:59:28] that's ongoing there or the one they're doing this

[1:59:31] fall will be all hydroponic. I'll be inside.

[1:59:33] But that that would be the anticipated would be.

[1:59:35] Yes. To meet work with rise for next spring.

[1:59:38] And if y'all need a point of contact, I'm happy to help

[1:59:40] make that connection happen soon. Georgia is great.

[1:59:43] Was proud to be at their, changing

[1:59:46] of the guard ceremony a couple, a couple of weeks ago.

[1:59:49] But they and they have interest in making sure that

[1:59:52] that guard is not just like,

[1:59:57] like, you know, we're growing things, but they want to cultivate youth and young people

[1:59:59] and give them opportunities to learn how to Stewart the land.

[2:00:01] And with the recreation center being right there with another.

[2:00:05] This is the last year Dunbar Elementary School.

[2:00:07] But there's so many opportunities

[2:00:08] for cross-pollination and collaboration.

[2:00:10] I don't want to lose sight of that.

[2:00:11] And so I'll follow up from this meeting

[2:00:14] with that connection separately.

[2:00:17] I know there is a food pantry that operates out of Dunbar

[2:00:21] Neighborhood Center that's operated

[2:00:22] by Blessed Divas, which they do community cleanups,

[2:00:25] but they also have this Saturday food pantry.

[2:00:28] And I wonder if that there's an opportunity

[2:00:30] to connect with them, since they're already at Dunbar,

[2:00:31] to plug them into that nutrition program as well.

[2:00:34] So if you haven't connected with hadn't thought.

[2:00:37] But I do know about that's a very popular pantry for sure every Saturday.

[2:00:39] Yeah. So I'll follow up on that as well. And then

[2:00:43] lastly, the connection of small businesses.

[2:00:46] I'm excited to see that y'all are growing that that program.

[2:00:49] One thought I have, like in terms

[2:00:51] of the types of businesses

[2:00:52] that I get a lot of feedback from my constituents

[2:00:55] that they love to see

[2:00:56] if there's more opportunities for concessions type

[2:00:58] opportunities, whether it's like,

[2:01:00] you know, I would love to buy a cup of coffee at a rec center,

[2:01:03] sort of, sort of thing. I know they're working.

[2:01:06] We're figuring things out over at Grant Park.

[2:01:08] But those the more those opportunities that we can find,

[2:01:11] it doesn't have to be at that scale.

[2:01:12] But sometimes a parent like me might be at their kids

[2:01:16] basketball practice and would love a cup of coffee.

[2:01:20] I'm sorry. And that is one of the items in the day. No it wasn't.

[2:01:22] That is part of our activate ATL plan.

[2:01:25] It is. It is not one. I would say we've moved the needle too far in the first.

[2:01:27] That has not been one of the ones

[2:01:28] we've we've done that we had

[2:01:30] we have we had one concession at the state tennis just open.

[2:01:34] We're using that kind of as a bellwether.

[2:01:36] Obviously, Grant Park is another one.

[2:01:39] We've got some work to do on that one.

[2:01:40] Yeah, and that was my last point of feedback.

[2:01:43] But once again, congratulations.

[2:01:46] Definitely want to continue to figure out ways

[2:01:49] to expand the Throne Labs partnership so that we move it beyond pilot and move it into a

[2:01:53] like a more sustained part of our city operations.

[2:01:56] But just appreciate all that all been doing for us.

[2:01:58] Thanks for the support.

[2:02:00] Mister chair, I yield. Thank you.

[2:02:02] Next up, Council member Michael Julian Bond.

[2:02:08] Thank you, Mr.

[2:02:09] Chair. Thank you,

[2:02:11] Commissioner Doug, for was the outstanding presentation.

[2:02:15] And I'm sure that the members of the public who,

[2:02:20] missed you guys presenting

[2:02:23] were probably astounded by how much the width and breadth

[2:02:27] of how much you all actually do and have accomplished.

[2:02:30] And I would encourage you and, well, my hat's off to you

[2:02:35] and your staff, and I would encourage you to take this link and share it.

[2:02:40] You know, to people who follow you.

[2:02:43] I don't know,

[2:02:45] but used to be able to sign up for notifications

[2:02:49] for different departments.

[2:02:50] But if that's possible, I would encourage you to share it.

[2:02:53] To whoever follows you with social media or email direct.

[2:02:58] I think it's very informative and people would benefit

[2:03:01] to know how well their tax money is being spent.

[2:03:05] And and I also want to compliment you.

[2:03:08] I mean, I've had the occasion we run into each other

[2:03:11] over a Washington park

[2:03:13] when I'm

[2:03:15] using my benefits, you know, over there.

[2:03:19] As matter of fact,

[2:03:20] this is my full time now, but I'm forced to be here instead.

[2:03:25] But I just want to compliment you all on how great things are,

[2:03:29] and I'm so happy that we do have we have taken that sunshine

[2:03:35] and to have our own lifeguards, to have our own staff

[2:03:38] of these facilities, to just work out beautifully.

[2:03:42] I mean, it's just amazing

[2:03:44] what you all have been able to do internally.

[2:03:47] And I really appreciate it

[2:03:49] and just wanted to be on the record for that.

[2:03:51] But I wanted to follow up really on the situation

[2:03:55] with the restrooms because, every,

[2:03:59] every time I'm out that I swim between 60

[2:04:03] Martin Washington and I go to, the Y sometimes,

[2:04:07] but everybody always stops him about the restrooms in

[2:04:11] some of our public parks and facilities.

[2:04:14] I'm glad the one outside of here

[2:04:16] is working well and functioning well.

[2:04:18] Are there any plans to expand them in other parks?

[2:04:22] Not necessarily.

[2:04:25] Well, along the trails and parks, actually, because,

[2:04:30] you know, folks who who are diabetics, who may have special needs,

[2:04:33] probably needs more access to a restroom than most.

[2:04:36] And this is working so.

[2:04:38] Well, what are the long term plans?

[2:04:41] Are probably expanding that use.

[2:04:43] No, that's an excellent question.

[2:04:45] We we're not opposed to the the permanent one.

[2:04:47] The one that lasted out here lasted for over 20 years.

[2:04:50] And this one, they take a long time to build

[2:04:52] when they're permanent and there's other functions.

[2:04:54] And we were interested in seeing what this program can do.

[2:04:57] Having said that, we are at the same time

[2:04:58] putting in permanent restrooms.

[2:05:00] We're putting on one right now.

[2:05:01] Two, actually, for Councilmember Winston,

[2:05:05] we've been using a product called the Portland Loop.

[2:05:08] We added one at Cohen Park, and this will be our second one.

[2:05:10] If that goes well, that's an opportunity.

[2:05:13] They kind of come pre-fab. They're very nice.

[2:05:15] We did the same thing at William Walker.

[2:05:16] We brought one and that's worked out well.

[2:05:18] So I think trying not to go always brick and mortar

[2:05:21] and trying to see what's on the market.

[2:05:22] The market's gotten much better.

[2:05:24] I think the opportunity

[2:05:25] we're going to have to balance out

[2:05:26] is it probably doesn't make sense to

[2:05:27] continue to,

[2:05:28] you know, rent to own type of thing

[2:05:30] when we can just build at some point.

[2:05:32] But I think the benefit of the, the,

[2:05:33] the throne lab is we can identify

[2:05:36] if it's a good location.

[2:05:37] You know, you wouldn't want to put something,

[2:05:38] invest all the hard in the concrete mortar

[2:05:41] and then find out that maybe it should have gone here.

[2:05:43] So that's kind of the benefit I think.

[2:05:45] I think that's I think Galen would agree with me on that.

[2:05:47] But no, we're absolutely want to do permanent restrooms.

[2:05:50] We have almost every one of our restrooms,

[2:05:54] currently open that are currently there.

[2:05:56] For a long time, a lot of our restrooms

[2:05:58] were there, but they just weren't open.

[2:06:00] One of those examples would be like, call your park.

[2:06:02] We have a beautiful restaurant above,

[2:06:03] and that's that's all fully functioning now.

[2:06:05] So we've made all of the ones that we currently have available

[2:06:08] and are open to use.

[2:06:10] We just got to look at those new sites.

[2:06:12] Okay. And I'm always security minded.

[2:06:16] And so I wanted to shift to, I guess, cameras or,

[2:06:21] and I don't necessarily mean flock cameras, but,

[2:06:24] you know, the type of cameras everybody likes, right?

[2:06:27] Those cameras. Yeah. Yeah.

[2:06:31] To expanding them amongst our trails,

[2:06:33] you know, in our trail network as as more people

[2:06:36] find out how interconnected our parks are, obviously

[2:06:40] more people are going to be biking.

[2:06:42] They're going to be walking.

[2:06:43] What are some of the long term plans?

[2:06:45] And making sure that our trail network is,

[2:06:50] is, has as many cameras as possible,

[2:06:53] and all of them plugged into the video integration system

[2:06:56] and monitored. Yes. Good. Good question.

[2:06:58] We have over 2500 cameras that are in the

[2:07:01] the venue integration system right now.

[2:07:03] We've taken most of our parks and trails.

[2:07:06] That's just it's part of the system now.

[2:07:08] We put in the trail we put in the park.

[2:07:10] A nota is a good example of that.

[2:07:12] Working with Abi

[2:07:13] that cameras will be at a node

[2:07:14] when that park opens in a few months.

[2:07:16] Cameras will be a part of the new bike park I mentioned up at,

[2:07:20] Shirley Clark Franklin. Same with the new pools.

[2:07:22] So it's actually just become integrated into what

[2:07:24] the cameras you're speaking of are just part of our part

[2:07:26] and parcel of the of the design and scoping.

[2:07:29] Okay. So it's it's no longer any special plan is just

[2:07:33] what's required from now on.

[2:07:35] It is it's

[2:07:36] actually we found it's just so much easier because of the conduit, the electrical,

[2:07:39] all the connections that need to be made.

[2:07:40] It's just you're almost better off doing it that way.

[2:07:43] Okay. All right, well, that takes care of my question.

[2:07:46] Thank you again. Thank you. Presentation.

[2:07:50] Oh, yeah. Got to because I love the heated pool,

[2:07:54] at Washington Park.

[2:07:56] You know, when I go to the private sector

[2:07:58] pool, it's like swimming and ice water.

[2:08:02] But watching Park is.

[2:08:04] It's refreshing. We should market it that way.

[2:08:06] Thank you.

[2:08:07] Yeah.

[2:08:08] We got hot water. It's good.

[2:08:11] Councilmember Collins,

[2:08:14] I'll. I'll make a quick.

[2:08:16] But thank you so much. This is this is a great presentation.

[2:08:18] I just want to give a shout out.

[2:08:20] Just for me having an opportunity

[2:08:22] to get to fully get engaged just with our Parks and Rec.

[2:08:26] So just want to give a shout out to the cutest golf tournament

[2:08:29] that I went to the Tub Cup, at Hamilton Homes.

[2:08:33] Golf course.

[2:08:35] The whole daddy caddy. It was just.

[2:08:37] It was super cute.

[2:08:38] But what it showed us is also

[2:08:41] our children are engaged in the the sport of golf as well.

[2:08:46] And so just having an opportunity to learn more how we are able to support, our,

[2:08:50] you know, as we get to budget season or whatnot.

[2:08:54] What are some of those opportunities that we can expand investment in some of the,

[2:08:57] you know, additional programing as well?

[2:08:59] And also just the understanding that our four golf courses

[2:09:03] throughout the city are public golf,

[2:09:07] you know, our our public golf courses as well, and what additional support

[2:09:11] is needed there. We just want to give a shout out to your team

[2:09:13] for that and everything else

[2:09:15] that you all are are doing in Parks and Rec.

[2:09:19] Truly a great experience for our families and citizens in the in Atlanta.

[2:09:22] So I just want to put that out there.

[2:09:24] No. And thank you so much.

[2:09:26] I've seen you several, several times in many events recently,

[2:09:27] and thank you for checking us out and seeing what's going on.

[2:09:29] It's been great. Yeah.

[2:09:30] Thank you, Councilmember Kelsey Bond.

[2:09:34] Thank you for the presentation, Commissioner.

[2:09:37] I just wanted to echo Council Member Dozier question

[2:09:40] about keeping the public pools open longer.

[2:09:43] Definitely got

[2:09:44] emails from parents

[2:09:45] asking about that. I think they may have closed

[2:09:48] like a week before school started.

[2:09:50] So my question is,

[2:09:52] is the biggest barrier to keeping them open longer?

[2:09:54] Is it staffing or is it general funding?

[2:09:57] Well, to be honest with you, that was just an error

[2:10:00] this year.

[2:10:01] The the there's normally the calendar.

[2:10:03] The last two years the apps calendar has been

[2:10:05] a little different than in other years.

[2:10:07] And I just don't think we scheduled that right this year.

[2:10:10] And I talked to our aquatics department. We all agreed.

[2:10:12] We tried to keep a few pools open on the weekends after that.

[2:10:14] I don't expect that to happen again.

[2:10:16] There was normally our our our our rule is

[2:10:20] they closed the Sunday before apps goes back.

[2:10:23] Well, the way the calendar work

[2:10:25] this year, that provided a whole week of kids

[2:10:28] being out of school and the pools being open.

[2:10:30] And I think it was like a thousand degrees.

[2:10:31] So I mean, that was just not good.

[2:10:34] And by the time we had let the staff,

[2:10:36] you couldn't really recapture that.

[2:10:38] That was an error. It won't happen again.

[2:10:39] It was a count, that calendar.

[2:10:41] We didn't really do anything different.

[2:10:42] But the way the calendar fell this year,

[2:10:44] it gave you the whole week off.

[2:10:46] That won't happen again.

[2:10:47] That's that's great to know.

[2:10:49] And, but if we were it, you know,

[2:10:52] hopefully this isn't true, but we're likely to see Septembers

[2:10:56] continue to be this hot going forward. So,

[2:10:59] what is the possibility of

[2:11:00] looking of keeping pools open into September

[2:11:03] look like for the future?

[2:11:05] I think in the Labor Day, what we probably will not do is keep every pool open.

[2:11:08] It'll be like this one.

[2:11:09] I'm talking about the new one,

[2:11:10] and we'll try to do it

[2:11:11] geographically based on where people are swimming

[2:11:13] and making sure we have someone easy access.

[2:11:15] But yeah, that's that's the plan. Cool.

[2:11:16] I will mention and

[2:11:19] Clyde Higgs is here to we are open

[2:11:22] and this is not swimming. And I Councilmember bond I have this conversation.

[2:11:23] Splash pads are not pools.

[2:11:25] Kids need to learn how to swim and and all that.

[2:11:27] But we do have a number of splash pads. We're up to about.

[2:11:29] We're opening a new one at a no to park, which will open up

[2:11:32] next year.

[2:11:33] The one at Pittsburgh.

[2:11:34] Pittman will have a new splash pad.

[2:11:35] And so we have opportunities to stay cool.

[2:11:37] And we've tried we worked with you with that too.

[2:11:39] But I know that's not swimming, swimming and swimming.

[2:11:41] And you need to have an opportunity to learn

[2:11:42] how to swim.

[2:11:44] Yeah. No I was going to ask about the splash pads because I

[2:11:46] seen kids at the Old Fourth Ward.

[2:11:47] One is so cute and I'm not sure when they close.

[2:11:51] 1st October. Okay, great.

[2:11:52] Okay. All splash pads are May 1st to October 1st.

[2:11:55] Awesome.

[2:11:58] All right. Those are all my questions. Thank you. Thank you.

[2:11:59] Council Councilmember Winston.

[2:12:02] Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I also reiterate comments from my colleagues.

[2:12:05] Great presentation.

[2:12:07] You know, love getting an overview

[2:12:08] of everything and appreciate all the hard work from

[2:12:10] from your team out in the field.

[2:12:12] I see folks at different events around my district.

[2:12:15] The southeast maintenance team is doing an incredible job

[2:12:18] at all the parks in my district, so just please let them know

[2:12:21] that we thank them from all their hard work and dedication.

[2:12:24] You did mention improvements to the I Park website.

[2:12:28] Just want to know if you can expound on that a little bit.

[2:12:30] Coming. No. That's great.

[2:12:31] And, you know,

[2:12:33] and it's interesting because that's actually considered like the the basis

[2:12:36] like that's what everybody uses in parks.

[2:12:37] But it's just not always that friendly.

[2:12:39] So the first step is going to be to have an app.

[2:12:41] So you don't have to actually be on your computer,

[2:12:42] and you can actually do it from an app.

[2:12:44] But there are some other structural behind.

[2:12:47] There's a hub. They just kind of makes it more easy to manage through.

[2:12:50] And then you and I have talked about

[2:12:51] we also just have to talk about some of our classes

[2:12:53] are filling up before we even get them on I parks.

[2:12:56] And so just that managing all of that

[2:12:59] is kind of what we're looking for.

[2:13:00] We have no issue with starting the app.

[2:13:02] I think by the end of the, you know,

[2:13:03] within this calendar year, but just trying to make sure

[2:13:06] we're posting things,

[2:13:07] class sizes, all of that, that just needs

[2:13:09] to be taken into account.

[2:13:11] And we see that and feel that on our side.

[2:13:14] Yeah. Really encouraging to see the popularity

[2:13:15] in a lot of the programs that we have,

[2:13:17] especially less swim lessons.

[2:13:19] But, you know,

[2:13:21] when we're opening them up at midnight and they're full at 1201,

[2:13:23] you know, Am is making it tough and not equitable for everybody

[2:13:26] to be able to use part of it.

[2:13:28] So definitely would like to change that.

[2:13:29] And I was joking around with Council Member Dozier.

[2:13:32] I said,

[2:13:34] you know, if we don't get these improvements to I parks done quickly,

[2:13:36] our wives are going to be down here

[2:13:38] public comment at your next quarterly report, yelling at all of us.

[2:13:41] Well, and I think I think the app is important,

[2:13:43] I think

[2:13:44] most people do have access on, on their phone,

[2:13:45] which they might not have if since we don't

[2:13:47] have the app right now as part of our program.

[2:13:49] So I do hope that makes it more equitable in sense.

[2:13:51] But we just

[2:13:52] I mean, I'm

[2:13:53] glad to see I mean, our swimming,

[2:13:55] just to be clear, like we were zero.

[2:13:57] I mean, we we came back from nowhere to being.

[2:13:59] All of our classes are full, so we have to catch up with that

[2:14:03] demand for sure. I mean, we were during Covid, we're not offering anything.

[2:14:06] And now we're, you know, full strength.

[2:14:09] And we need to even look at the next level of what we can offer.

[2:14:10] And I'm your biggest cheerleader in that.

[2:14:12] My four and five five now six year

[2:14:14] old can both swim thanks to Yolanda

[2:14:15] at the Recreation Natatorium.

[2:14:17] So, big thank you to her and her team over there.

[2:14:21] You know, excellent swimmers because of the program.

[2:14:23] So we appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah.

[2:14:26] Swing back to Councilmember Bond.

[2:14:30] Thank you. I forgot my other question, which was in the spirit of heat

[2:14:33] safety as it continues to be hot.

[2:14:35] Is there an inventory of water fountains at our public park?

[2:14:39] We do, we do.

[2:14:40] We have some? Yep. I surely do.

[2:14:42] And is there an inventory of which are functioning currently?

[2:14:45] We do, we do we?

[2:14:47] We could almost have a team, especially between April

[2:14:50] and May.

[2:14:51] Almost. Or. I'm sorry.

[2:14:53] April and October have like a team that just did water fountains.

[2:14:55] We borrowed the right water fountains.

[2:14:57] They're commercial,

[2:14:58] they get heavily used and we are always

[2:15:00] chasing our tail on that one.

[2:15:01] But yes, we have a list of all of them.

[2:15:03] We know where all of them are.

[2:15:04] Call 311. We do have a plumber.

[2:15:06] They go out there, happy to get them all fixed.

[2:15:10] Awesome. I think we might have an open ticket for one at Central Park,

[2:15:13] so that was just on my mind.

[2:15:15] That one makes me sad

[2:15:16] because that was supposed to be a new one.

[2:15:17] Okay, that's that's not good. But anyways.

[2:15:19] Thank you. We'll look into that. Thank you.

[2:15:22] Thank you sir.

[2:15:23] Thank you. Appreciate it.

[2:15:26] More applause.

[2:15:26] There we go.

[2:15:27] Let's see.

[2:15:31] That takes us to communications.

[2:15:34] Item number 126C5078A communication

[2:15:38] by Mayor Andre Dickens appointing Mr.

[2:15:41] Davis to serve as a member of the Atlanta

[2:15:42] Development Authority board of directors,

[2:15:45] as the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board representative.

[2:15:48] This appointment is for a term of four years.

[2:15:51] Without objection, let's go ahead and read in two, three and four as well.

[2:15:55] 26R4023A resolution by Community

[2:15:59] Development Human Services Committee appointed Mr.

[2:16:01] Tim Sweet Wood to the City of Atlanta

[2:16:05] Special Event Technical Advisory Group as the City Council appointee

[2:16:07] representing a class A gated and secured

[2:16:10] event production hosted within Piedmont Park

[2:16:12] within the last three years and for the purposes 26 R 4024,

[2:16:17] a resolution by Community Development

[2:16:19] Human Services Committee appointing Mr.

[2:16:21] Kevin James to

[2:16:22] to the City of Atlanta Special Event Technical Advisory Group

[2:16:25] as the City Council appointee representing class B or C

[2:16:29] event production hosted within Piedmont Park

[2:16:31] within the last three years and for the purposes

[2:16:35] 26 R 4025,

[2:16:37] a resolution by Community Development Human Services

[2:16:39] Committee appointed Minister Bob Johnson to the City of Atlanta

[2:16:42] Special Event Technical Advisory Group

[2:16:44] as the City Council appointee

[2:16:45] representing class D, R, E event production

[2:16:48] hosted within Piedmont Park within the last three years

[2:16:50] and for other purposes.

[2:16:52] Thank you. I'll make a motion to hold second by Winston.

[2:16:56] The vote is open.

[2:17:06] The vote is closed. Six days to go next. These items are held in committee.

[2:17:08] Takes us to section number letter I.

[2:17:10] If we can read captions six, 789 and 1026 01516

[2:17:16] an ordinance to waive chapter two, article nine, Division one,

[2:17:20] section 2-9 ten and to ratify the City of Atlantis.

[2:17:23] Submission of an application

[2:17:25] on behalf of the Department of City Planning to apply for

[2:17:28] and to accept a fiscal year 2026 led Hazard Reduction

[2:17:31] Demonstration Grant from the US

[2:17:33] Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Lead,

[2:17:36] Hazard Control and Healthy Homes for the purpose

[2:17:39] of administering the D program in an amount not to exceed

[2:17:43] $7,750,000.00, payable over the next four years.

[2:17:48] To authorize the execution

[2:17:50] of any necessary agreements, to accept the award,

[2:17:52] and to implement the grant to amend the FY 2026,

[2:17:56] the Intergovernmental Grant fund budget in the Fi 2026

[2:17:59] Community Development Grant fund budget

[2:18:02] by adding to anticipations and appropriations in an amount

[2:18:05] not to exceed seven $7,750,000.00.

[2:18:10] To authorize and fund positions within DCP.

[2:18:12] For the purpose of administering

[2:18:14] and overseeing the grant award, and for other purposes.

[2:18:17] Item number 72601517.

[2:18:20] An ordinance by Community Development

[2:18:22] Human Services Committee

[2:18:23] to waive the procurement source selection provisions

[2:18:26] containing Division four of chapter two,

[2:18:29] article ten of the City of Atlanta Dakota Ordinances,

[2:18:31] as well as any other conflicting code provisions

[2:18:34] to authorize the mayor or his designee to enter

[2:18:36] into the First Amendment to the agreement number listed.

[2:18:39] Right of way maintenance with Maroney Enterprise

[2:18:41] doing business and Castro Landscape

[2:18:43] to include the Department of Parks and Recreation

[2:18:46] as an authorized user and its associated

[2:18:48] funding in an amount not to exceed two $2,650,000.00,

[2:18:54] and to add funding on behalf of the Department

[2:18:55] of Transportation, and amount not to exceed $400,000.00.

[2:19:00] All contracted work will be charged to

[2:19:02] and paid from the Council listed hearing and for the purposes.

[2:19:08] Item number 82601518.

[2:19:11] An ordinance by Community Development

[2:19:12] Human Services Committee to waive chapter two,

[2:19:14] article nine, Division one,

[2:19:16] section two, nine, ten two retroactively authorized

[2:19:19] and ratified the City of Atlanta.

[2:19:21] Submission of the Automated Permitting Systems Demonstration

[2:19:24] Notice of Funding Opportunity Application

[2:19:27] from the United States Department of Housing and Urban

[2:19:30] Development on behalf of the Atlanta Department of City Planning,

[2:19:34] for an amount not to exceed $1,500,000.00

[2:19:37] to be utilized for the deployment

[2:19:39] of an automated Building Code permitting systems

[2:19:41] demonstration, and for the purposes.

[2:19:44] Item number 92601519,

[2:19:48] an ordinance by Community Development Human Services

[2:19:50] Committee admitting the FY 2027 Intergovernmental Grant

[2:19:53] fund budget by adding to anticipation

[2:19:55] and appropriation in the amount of $1,165,808.00

[2:20:02] to include the budget amount for the Santa

[2:20:04] Fe Build a House and complex,

[2:20:06] and authorizing the mayor, his designee,

[2:20:08] on behalf of the City of Atlanta, to enter

[2:20:10] into a housing assistance payments

[2:20:11] contract with G and S Santa Fe Villa effective January 1st,

[2:20:15] 2027 through December 31st, 2027 and amount.

[2:20:19] Not to exceed $1,165,008.00.

[2:20:24] For the purpose of paying rental subsidies for 100 units for low income,

[2:20:28] formerly homeless individuals at Santa Fe Villa

[2:20:30] Housing Complex pursuant to the section eight Moderate

[2:20:33] Rehabilitation Program sponsored by the US Department

[2:20:36] of Housing and Urban Development.

[2:20:38] All contracted work to be charged to

[2:20:40] and paid from the fund department

[2:20:42] organization and members listed hearing and for the purposes

[2:20:46] item number ten 260 1520.

[2:20:49] An ordinance by Community Development Human Services

[2:20:51] Committee authorizing the mayor has designee,

[2:20:54] on behalf of the Department of Grants and Community

[2:20:56] Development, to amend the 2026 Community Development

[2:20:59] Fund budget for the purpose of Reprograming 2025 Community

[2:21:03] Development Block Grant program funds in an amount

[2:21:06] not to exceed $1 million in special to facilitate timely

[2:21:10] and efficient exponential

[2:21:13] of FY 25 c, d, b, g funding.

[2:21:17] To reprogram and allocate

[2:21:18] funding to the Department of Parks

[2:21:20] and Recreation and amount not to exceed $1,000,000.00.

[2:21:24] And to authorize the Chief Financial Officer,

[2:21:26] on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation,

[2:21:28] to amend the Fiscal Year 2026 Community Development

[2:21:31] Fund budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation to add

[2:21:35] to appropriation in amount not to exceed $1,000,000.00.

[2:21:39] All contracted works

[2:21:40] shall be charged to and pay from the accounts

[2:21:42] listed here in and for the purposes.

[2:21:44] Thank you. Takes us to our regular agenda ordinances

[2:21:46] for second reading item number 112601493.

[2:21:50] In ordinance by Community Development Human Services

[2:21:52] Committee, authorizing the mayor of his designee

[2:21:54] on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation,

[2:21:56] to enter into a memorandum of

[2:21:58] understanding with Atlanta Beltline

[2:22:00] as part of its Smart Cities initiative

[2:22:02] to install, operate and maintain two publicly accessible

[2:22:06] electric vehicle charging stations and parking spaces

[2:22:08] at the historic fourth Ward Skate Park,

[2:22:11] providing for the exclusive use of the charging stations

[2:22:13] by City of Atlanta fleet vehicles during designated hours

[2:22:16] at no cost to the city and for the purposes.

[2:22:19] Any questions or comments?

[2:22:22] All right. So you know, and I'll make a motion to approve second.

[2:22:24] Second by Collins.

[2:22:28] The vote is open.

[2:22:32] Is closed six days.

[2:22:32] Your item is favorable.

[2:22:34] Item number 122601503

[2:22:38] an ordinance by council members Dustin Hillis, Antonio Lewis,

[2:22:41] Andrea Elbow, Wayne Martin, Isha Collins and Byron de Amos

[2:22:45] to mend chapter 158, article two, Division

[2:22:48] 20, section 15889.

[2:22:52] Reduction of the City of Atlanta.

[2:22:55] Code of Ordinances to remove certain

[2:22:57] of the conditions required to secure a reduction or waiver

[2:23:00] of required tree recompense for affordable for sale units

[2:23:04] in furtherance of the

[2:23:06] need to balance its goal of tree canopy preservation.

[2:23:08] With its goal to incentivize the development

[2:23:12] of affordable housing, and for the purposes.

[2:23:15] Thank you. Colleagues, I talk to the lead sponsor of this paper,

[2:23:17] and we're going to hold this for a cycle to tweak some of the

[2:23:21] loose ends. And so I will make that motion.

[2:23:23] Second by Dozier.

[2:23:26] The vote is open.

[2:23:34] Is closed six years.

[2:23:35] Your next item is held.

[2:23:37] Thank you. Our number 30.

[2:23:40] 260 1510

[2:23:42] an ordinance by Councilmember Matt Westmoreland

[2:23:44] to amend the Atlantic City Code, part two.

[2:23:47] Part 20, section 20, Dash 1004

[2:23:51] to update the City of Atlanta short term rental policy.

[2:23:54] And for the purposes.

[2:23:55] I want to make a motion to amend to

[2:23:58] have the effective date become January 1st, 2027.

[2:24:01] Second by Dozier.

[2:24:03] A couple of questions.

[2:24:05] The vote is open.

[2:24:09] Make a motion to the men, the first

[2:24:13] to amend it.

[2:24:13] There is a vote to amend.

[2:24:24] The vote is close five days.

[2:24:26] Your next item is amended.

[2:24:27] Thank you. Councilmember. Council.

[2:24:29] Yes. Just wanted to.

[2:24:31] I didn't get a chance.

[2:24:32] I know, council member Westmoreland.

[2:24:35] Mr. chair,

[2:24:36] we were just talking

[2:24:37] in terms of this,

[2:24:38] and I know the change

[2:24:39] will remove the primary residence and one additional

[2:24:44] residence requirement.

[2:24:45] And just curious in terms of any of the implications on

[2:24:49] what that means.

[2:24:54] I guess in terms of.

[2:24:59] What it will allow, is a person that owned

[2:25:02] multiple properties in the city to now be able to

[2:25:08] will now be able to

[2:25:10] get a permit for short term rentals.

[2:25:13] And so what I just do a deeper dive

[2:25:15] in terms of understanding how this will play out.

[2:25:19] Is that is there a cap on the

[2:25:22] is there a conversation on the cap on that?

[2:25:25] We've seen where you have an owner that has a has multiple

[2:25:30] LLC. Will each LLC allow them to add multiple properties?

[2:25:37] And so I think while I'm a supporter

[2:25:40] of allowing the autonomy of short term rentals,

[2:25:43] I also want to make sure that we're not putting our

[2:25:49] we're not putting ourselves in a place

[2:25:51] where we are creating an additional level of,

[2:25:57] temper, you know, in terms of short term, you know,

[2:26:00] temporary housing or short term capacity in that regard. So

[2:26:05] as the author of this paper

[2:26:08] and the person who wrote these nine words

[2:26:10] five years ago, I completely agree with you.

[2:26:13] Council passed this ordinance in March of 2021.

[2:26:16] It was supposed to take effect in September of 2021,

[2:26:18] and then we delayed until March of 2022.

[2:26:21] It has never been enforced.

[2:26:23] And the reasons for that stemmed from these nine words

[2:26:26] and the belief that it may lead to litigation.

[2:26:30] And so for the last five years,

[2:26:31] we have enforced none of this ordinance.

[2:26:34] I would like to enforce everything, the rest of it.

[2:26:37] And if that means that we can delete these nine words

[2:26:39] to enforce the rest of it for the first time

[2:26:41] ever, and all of the guardrails

[2:26:43] and protections that come with it for our residents,

[2:26:46] I think that is a win.

[2:26:49] Are there any guardrails

[2:26:52] being new to this before

[2:26:54] the, you know, after this created,

[2:26:57] are there any guardrails that we have not.

[2:27:00] Are there any guardrails in place like,

[2:27:04] we, you know, like a reasonable portfolio cap

[2:27:07] that we've seen in some areas,

[2:27:10] permitting additional property that are actually

[2:27:13] truly considered commercial multi

[2:27:15] property, short term rental operators.

[2:27:17] Have we looked at

[2:27:21] you know, you know,

[2:27:22] the guardrails in terms of truly local ownership.

[2:27:26] Just some of those things

[2:27:27] I just you know, just curious in terms of where the guardrails

[2:27:30] where are we with enforcement.

[2:27:31] Because while I do agree

[2:27:33] with you 100% in terms of the enforcement piece,

[2:27:37] you know, just wanting to see what they'll guard guard rails

[2:27:40] were I know there was a case that was shared in terms of

[2:27:44] of challenging what

[2:27:45] this looked like coming out of another circuit.

[2:27:49] And while it's not,

[2:27:53] while it's not leading authority,

[2:27:55] it does have persuasive authority for sure.

[2:27:58] So I don't know if Madam Attorney or anyone help me.

[2:28:02] Help. Help me help.

[2:28:04] Y'all give me some understanding in terms of moving this through.

[2:28:08] Is this, you know, will this truly achieve

[2:28:10] what we're trying to do without

[2:28:12] the unintended consequences of creating another system

[2:28:15] that we may have to draft policy to regulate at another level?

[2:28:20] My my quick thought on that.

[2:28:22] And then I'll turn it over to the city attorney is at the moment,

[2:28:25] anything can become a short term rental in Atlanta

[2:28:28] because we're not enforcing any of the ordinance.

[2:28:30] And I would like for us to start doing that.

[2:28:34] And there are a great number of protections

[2:28:37] that sit in the ordinance that we passed five years ago.

[2:28:40] And I will send you a copy of it.

[2:28:43] Okay. Great. I'll defer to the to the Madam Attorney.

[2:28:50] Good afternoon. Amber Robinson, City of Atlanta, Department of Law

[2:28:54] from from a legal standpoint, I don't really

[2:28:58] they're not concerned

[2:29:00] with the removal of the residency requirement,

[2:29:04] which is a effectively

[2:29:05] what the language that's being deleted has acted as that

[2:29:10] you must be a city of Atlanta resident in order to secure

[2:29:15] a short term rental license.

[2:29:20] And so the removal of that

[2:29:22] residency requirement,

[2:29:25] actually lifts some of the concern

[2:29:30] that has been raised by citizens within the city of Atlanta,

[2:29:35] as well as citizens outside of the city

[2:29:38] of potential constitutional issues.

[2:29:42] It is correct.

[2:29:43] We have not received any

[2:29:46] any challenges to this ordinance.

[2:29:49] But as stated by Council Member Collins, there has been a

[2:29:54] that's come down from circuit courts of appeal.

[2:30:00] In other circuits that would indicate that there might be some issue.

[2:30:04] So from a legal standpoint,

[2:30:06] there are no concerns

[2:30:09] with this proposed amendment.

[2:30:20] And just really quickly, Mister Chair.

[2:30:23] Do you the other the corresponding legislation

[2:30:27] that you were referring to with the guard rails?

[2:30:30] The original ordinance we passed was 2016 56.

[2:30:33] Okay.

[2:30:35] And that has the I didn't get a chance to look at it.

[2:30:37] That has a guardrails in there.

[2:30:39] It has the framework to to regulate short term

[2:30:42] rentals in Atlanta. Okay.

[2:30:44] All right. Well, let me I'll look at it really quick.

[2:30:46] I mean, I don't like I said, my biggest issue is the fact

[2:30:49] of what we're with the, the,

[2:30:50] the unintended beast that we may create by just

[2:30:53] allowing any short term rental owner and,

[2:30:57] long term tenant to be able just to have

[2:31:00] an unlimited access to register short term rentals in the city.

[2:31:04] There are I look at the.

[2:31:06] I look at that legislation right now.

[2:31:08] But I do think if it

[2:31:09] if it truly does create something,

[2:31:11] we may have to explore additional guardrails

[2:31:14] such as like, you know, portfolio caps or measures

[2:31:18] or some of the other lessons learned that we've seen through

[2:31:20] other major cities. So

[2:31:24] I share that concern, which is why I'd rather us

[2:31:26] have an ordinance

[2:31:27] that we're enforcing, rather than one

[2:31:29] that we're not enforcing at all, which is where we currently

[2:31:31] find ourselves.

[2:31:38] With your brother. But, you know, I think, you know,

[2:31:41] still what will be the enforcement in this regard?

[2:31:44] Sorry.

[2:31:46] You all I think that, you know, because that this has been an ongoing conversation,

[2:31:48] this being an ongoing conversation.

[2:31:50] Council member by Councilmember

[2:31:52] Amos has introduced legislation

[2:31:54] to create an office for enforcement.

[2:31:56] So will this policy change truly,

[2:31:59] truly move the needle in actual enforcement?

[2:32:03] Like, do we have a measure in here

[2:32:05] that requires an annual reporting to understand the

[2:32:08] the numbers of short term rentals?

[2:32:10] Who are the owners thinks of that nature?

[2:32:12] Do we have any of that in place?

[2:32:14] It is in the ordinance that isn't being enforced,

[2:32:18] which is why I'm trying to get us to start doing that.

[2:32:22] And these are the words that have been holding us back for far too long for who?

[2:32:25] But okay. Go ahead.

[2:32:29] Go on.

[2:32:30] I'm. I'm telling. Okay.

[2:32:31] Councilmember bond followed by Councilmember Winston.

[2:32:35] Yeah, I have I have similar concerns to Council Member Collins

[2:32:38] and maybe I'm not understanding correctly, but,

[2:32:42] Amber, could you maybe explain,

[2:32:45] how these specific lines are keeping?

[2:32:48] Explain again how these specific lines

[2:32:50] are keeping us from enforcing the other ordinance?

[2:32:55] Yes. And I want to be clear

[2:32:58] about the quote unquote, like keeping phrase.

[2:33:03] Right. We have not been challenged.

[2:33:05] There's not a court order

[2:33:07] or anything saying that this is a this

[2:33:10] we are not allowed to enforce our short term rental ordinance.

[2:33:15] There have been concerns raised due to post

[2:33:18] adoption of this,

[2:33:22] set of ordinances,

[2:33:24] litigation that occurred across throughout the United States

[2:33:28] that has said some doubt concerning the enforceability,

[2:33:34] of the residency requirement.

[2:33:37] Due to that doubt, policy decisions have been made.

[2:33:43] In order to

[2:33:45] mitigate against the potential for liability.

[2:33:50] As a result, that while the Department

[2:33:53] of City Planning will process

[2:33:57] and issue a short term rental license in accordance

[2:34:00] with this ordinance, and I believe has been doing so the

[2:34:04] throughout since the effective date of the ordinance.

[2:34:09] If a person or entity operates

[2:34:13] a short term rental without the license.

[2:34:18] There have not there have been various official

[2:34:20] and then unofficial moratoria,

[2:34:22] which is stated that there would not be any citation

[2:34:27] or enforcement for the operating without a permit,

[2:34:30] because that's where you get into

[2:34:33] whether or not they would be permitted to secure a license

[2:34:38] if they wanted to comply due

[2:34:41] to the residency restriction in the in the ordinance.

[2:34:48] So the removal of the residency restriction

[2:34:52] will remove any argument that they were unable

[2:34:55] to come into compliance with the remainder

[2:34:58] of the ordinance due to the residency restriction.

[2:35:02] So then any such persons would not have that

[2:35:06] as an argument, and we believe the city could more reliably

[2:35:14] such persons

[2:35:16] without the current potential

[2:35:20] for liability under said. So.

[2:35:24] We currently are not citing people

[2:35:27] who don't apply for a permit.

[2:35:31] Okay.

[2:35:34] That kind of makes sense, I think,

[2:35:36] because at face value,

[2:35:39] this amendment looks like it's just

[2:35:43] striking regulations of short term rentals.

[2:35:47] I don't feel comfortable voting yes on this.

[2:35:49] So I will either vote no or abstain.

[2:35:52] Just anecdotally,

[2:35:55] I have a close friend who lives in my district

[2:35:58] across the street from Piedmont Park.

[2:35:59] Amazingly, somehow she pays very cheap rent in,

[2:36:02] like a 20 unit apartment building.

[2:36:05] But half the units in her building are Airbnbs.

[2:36:09] And so we're continuing to see the proliferation of short term

[2:36:12] rentals, eating up the little supply

[2:36:14] we do have of affordable housing.

[2:36:16] And without additional guardrails in place.

[2:36:20] Simply striking this line makes me feel very queasy. So.

[2:36:25] Yeah.

[2:36:27] Councilmember Winston.

[2:36:28] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[2:36:31] One on this piece of legislation right here

[2:36:33] that I am supportive of.

[2:36:36] To me, it removes this area of this great area

[2:36:38] that we're operating in right now

[2:36:40] where people aren't being compliant.

[2:36:43] And because they aren't being compliant,

[2:36:44] we aren't able to enforce all the rules

[2:36:46] that are in place at the moment.

[2:36:48] So by removing this,

[2:36:50] like sort of gray area that we're operating in now,

[2:36:52] it will encourage more

[2:36:54] participation, legal participation in the program by

[2:36:57] registering as an STR operator.

[2:37:00] That being said, I'm glad to hear that

[2:37:03] you are Councilmember Bond.

[2:37:05] Kind of queasy about this because I have been working with

[2:37:09] our Chief Housing officer, Mr.

[2:37:10] Amanda Ryan, who's sitting in the back.

[2:37:12] We are working to

[2:37:13] hopefully introduce legislation

[2:37:15] soon that will create more guardrails,

[2:37:17] especially as it pertains to multifamily, short term,

[2:37:21] short term rental housing.

[2:37:24] Restrictions in the city.

[2:37:27] So I'm hoping to get colleagues on board as we flesh that out a little bit more.

[2:37:30] I'm sure all of you now are familiar

[2:37:31] with the landmark, which is now in district one.

[2:37:34] I know John mentioned earlier about some of the issues

[2:37:38] we've had. I know Councilmember Bond is Michael Julian Bond

[2:37:39] and spoke on that as well.

[2:37:41] And so I am looking forward to getting your support in

[2:37:44] that as kind of a step two

[2:37:46] after hopefully this legislation is passed by my colleagues.

[2:37:49] So with that, I will yield, Mr.

[2:37:51] Chair.

[2:37:54] Thank you, Councilmember Collins.

[2:37:58] Yeah.

[2:38:00] I yeah.

[2:38:02] So while I'm thank you for correcting

[2:38:04] because that was my question is 20 dash.

[2:38:07] 01556. Yep.

[2:38:10] In the guardrails I think for me, I think what

[2:38:12] we're just the hesitancy is whether you remove this or not.

[2:38:17] Does it still

[2:38:21] the ability of it and what are those barriers.

[2:38:24] And so it says a short term rental license may be obtained

[2:38:27] by short term rental owner or a long term tenant of a short

[2:38:31] term rental for their primary residence

[2:38:33] and one additional unit

[2:38:34] without any additional requirements fees.

[2:38:36] We're removing that all together so you can be a short term

[2:38:40] rental owner with multiple properties

[2:38:41] in Atlanta and get permits to operate all of those,

[2:38:45] and it can be ten homes, it could be five.

[2:38:47] It could be what.

[2:38:49] You know what. Whatever.

[2:38:50] So I think hearing that you guys are working on the guardrails,

[2:38:54] I would love to be a part of that conversation.

[2:38:57] And be a part of the additional parameters

[2:39:01] just to ensure that we're not creating.

[2:39:04] We're not, again, like,

[2:39:05] we're not creating a larger monster

[2:39:07] in our particularly in our housing market in Atlanta,

[2:39:10] nor the attractiveness of this city, period.

[2:39:14] Where even hotel revenue

[2:39:17] was down 10% from by 10% from World Cup,

[2:39:21] because most people did in fact

[2:39:23] use short term rentals for their stay.

[2:39:24] So I just wanted to put that out there.

[2:39:27] I yield, Mister Chair.

[2:39:28] I'm going to look at this 2020 to get caught up.

[2:39:31] And my

[2:39:33] we're not creating a monster to the extent

[2:39:36] there is a monster, it already exists.

[2:39:38] And we're not doing anything to to regulate the monster.

[2:39:42] I feel like we're back in the Star Wars.

[2:39:45] Comments from yesterday.

[2:39:47] Batman.

[2:39:48] Sorry, Batman.

[2:39:50] And so it.

[2:39:52] I hear Councilmember Bonds comment that it appears that

[2:39:56] we're

[2:39:57] removing an enforcement, but what we're actually doing

[2:39:59] is enforcing something for the first time ever.

[2:40:02] Councilmember Dozier.

[2:40:05] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just wanted to just kind of add my $0.02 on the matter.

[2:40:07] That last statement that you just made

[2:40:08] is exactly why I'm supporting this legislation.

[2:40:11] I've been on the record and very clear on the record

[2:40:13] and even gotten some lunch from some of my

[2:40:17] constituents.

[2:40:18] Because I voted against every single piece of short

[2:40:21] term rental legislation that's come before this body.

[2:40:25] Since I've been on the city council, because I've been adamant that

[2:40:29] I think we adopted a great piece of legislation back in 2021,

[2:40:32] and we have never enforced it.

[2:40:34] It was a point of consternation of mind

[2:40:36] when I was a chair of this committee.

[2:40:37] Every time Department of City Planning and Mr.

[2:40:41] Greg Pace was before us.

[2:40:43] I would always ask,

[2:40:45] when are we going to be enforcing short term rentals?

[2:40:47] When are we going to be forcing short term rentals?

[2:40:49] And the fact that we still haven't after all these years

[2:40:53] has been a point of frustration, but because this allows us to move forward with an opportunity

[2:40:57] to enforce this for the very first time

[2:40:59] as a city in this city at a time.

[2:41:01] As Councilmember, Kelsey had alluded to,

[2:41:07] where housing, the housing market has been shrinking.

[2:41:11] And many of us are representing communities

[2:41:14] that have been dealing with party houses and other nuisance issues,

[2:41:16] that not having a mechanism in place at all

[2:41:18] to where we can actually take these owners to task, these,

[2:41:22] these property owners to task through

[2:41:25] this process has been very frustrating.

[2:41:27] And so I am lifting the veil of my reluctance

[2:41:32] to support any short

[2:41:33] term rental legislation,

[2:41:34] because this takes us back to where

[2:41:35] I think we should have been in the first place,

[2:41:37] and enforcing something that this body

[2:41:39] did a due diligence on to, to adopt back in 2021.

[2:41:43] So with that, I will move to approve as amended.

[2:41:47] And I'll look forward to having further conversation.

[2:41:50] Second Council member Collins. Yep.

[2:41:53] One last question.

[2:41:55] And I mean walk me through how this will ensure enforceability.

[2:42:01] It will more than

[2:42:03] how we have been able to ensure it over the last four years.

[2:42:07] Now we know that this is the the

[2:42:10] sentence that keeps coming back in conversations

[2:42:12] with planning and law, primarily

[2:42:14] planning about why we're not enforcing what we have.

[2:42:16] And so if that's what we've been told

[2:42:18] is legislators, then we are removing

[2:42:20] what we have been told is the reason

[2:42:22] we're not enforcing something so that we will.

[2:42:24] So I'll clarify.

[2:42:26] Walk me through how this is precluding you from enforcing

[2:42:30] or planning from enforcing

[2:42:33] currently.

[2:42:34] Now what we what we have.

[2:42:37] So I want to be clear.

[2:42:40] We're not saying it is precluding, right?

[2:42:43] There is a there is an indication through case law

[2:42:47] that has come down from other circuits that this provision

[2:42:53] is constitutionally dubious.

[2:42:56] And if it were to be enforced

[2:42:59] there, such that a person

[2:43:02] who is a nonresident attempts to secure a permit

[2:43:08] from the Department of City Planning

[2:43:10] is there denied, because they do not

[2:43:13] they're not a resident of the city of Atlanta,

[2:43:16] that they would then have a potential cause of action

[2:43:20] against the city for violation

[2:43:23] of their constitutional rights.

[2:43:26] And so because of that baseline

[2:43:32] where we find ourselves,

[2:43:35] what stems from that is you can't then cite people.

[2:43:40] If we've decided that we don't want to go around

[2:43:43] denying people for licenses because of this residency

[2:43:47] requirement, that then when people operate

[2:43:52] and they don't have a permit because we're not enforcing

[2:43:57] that baseline residency requirement, then

[2:44:03] we can't cite them

[2:44:05] for operating without a permit.

[2:44:08] So at the very least, before we even

[2:44:11] get to any of the other more detailed,

[2:44:14] regulations that are in this short term

[2:44:17] rental ordinance, the the initial regulation

[2:44:21] of operating without a license is not something

[2:44:26] that the Department of City Planning has decided

[2:44:30] to enforce.

[2:44:38] Okay.

[2:44:40] I mean, okay,

[2:44:41] there's a lot of, you know, I'm going to leave it here.

[2:44:44] The there is no current case in our jurisdiction

[2:44:49] that has challenged any of this, right?

[2:44:52] The case has been referred to us is come out of Fifth circuit,

[2:44:56] which is Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana

[2:44:59] won one most conservative circuits in the country.

[2:45:02] So as as a potential part

[2:45:07] of what could be challenged,

[2:45:11] it's not a Leavenworth circuit, which is

[2:45:13] and I hate to get into the legal pieces of this,

[2:45:17] but what I'm hearing you saying is that this is

[2:45:20] we are being asked to let change

[2:45:23] based on what we possibly could think, could be

[2:45:27] brought to us to be challenged.

[2:45:31] I struggle with that because there's an ordinance

[2:45:33] that you said that said, we've been at this

[2:45:35] for the last six years and it hasn't been challenged.

[2:45:40] Well, we haven't

[2:45:41] been enforcing the problematic provisions.

[2:45:45] So there hasn't been a potential plaintiff withstanding to challenge it.

[2:45:49] So. Okay. I just okay.

[2:45:51] I think there's a I'm going to leave it here.

[2:45:56] And we can as I'm struggling with the I'll just I'll abstain

[2:46:00] because while I do support short term rentals in a space,

[2:46:04] I am also understanding our role as legislators that

[2:46:09] we legislate the move policy that that is enforceable,

[2:46:14] not based on the choice to enforce or not.

[2:46:17] And so for me, it's like,

[2:46:20] I don't know if it's the fearless part

[2:46:21] to say, well, if it's something that you don't like,

[2:46:25] but we're but it's legal, which is what we're being told,

[2:46:28] then there is a system to challenge it.

[2:46:31] So I'll, I'll just I'll leave it there.

[2:46:34] I'll leave it there and I'll get some more information.

[2:46:36] Mister chair, over time.

[2:46:39] Go from there.

[2:46:40] So thank you, I yield.

[2:46:41] Councilmember bond. Yep.

[2:46:44] Yeah. Sorry, y'all.

[2:46:46] Is there a

[2:46:48] if this were to pass the next full council meeting?

[2:46:52] Is there a commitment from the Department of City

[2:46:55] Planning to begin enforcing this after the passage?

[2:47:19] Department of city planning? Yes.

[2:47:23] Great.

[2:47:24] Awesome.

[2:47:25] Follow up question.

[2:47:27] If this is removed, is there any upper limit on

[2:47:31] how many short term rentals one person can own or operate?

[2:47:38] Short term rentals are not permitted in the Home Park neighborhood.

[2:47:41] So that's it.

[2:47:43] Is there any appetite at all?

[2:47:46] Oh, okay.

[2:47:47] From council members to hold this

[2:47:50] until we can put in place an upper limit,

[2:47:53] because that's not the same as residency requirement.

[2:47:55] Correct.

[2:47:59] I'll answer your question, which is?

[2:48:01] This is slated to take effect

[2:48:03] per the amendment we just did on July January 1st, 2027.

[2:48:06] If you'd like to work on

[2:48:08] legislation that addresses that by January 1st,

[2:48:10] I'd be more than happy to be a part of that conversation.

[2:48:12] Miss Robinson, I do want to,

[2:48:16] it's not in the legislation, but it is understood

[2:48:19] from a Georgia law contractual standpoint

[2:48:23] that if a person is a member of like a condo

[2:48:28] homeowner's association or other such,

[2:48:34] contractual organization that restricts

[2:48:38] how a person is able to utilize their residence,

[2:48:43] this would not in any way supersede it.

[2:48:46] So, for instance, if you live in a condo

[2:48:50] association where you are not permitted to,

[2:48:54] short term rental your condo,

[2:48:57] you still would not be able to short term rental your condo

[2:49:01] regardless of any action that we take here

[2:49:05] or don't take here like it cannot have an effect

[2:49:09] on those private right to contract.

[2:49:12] So there are privately enforceable

[2:49:18] restrictions on the number of short

[2:49:20] term rentals throughout the city in those in that manner.

[2:49:24] And as the Commissioner states, there is at least one

[2:49:29] neighborhood in the city where through zoning,

[2:49:32] short term rentals are currently prohibited.

[2:49:37] Zoning can be utilized by this body to limit short

[2:49:42] term rentals in a similar manner or in other manners,

[2:49:46] like through through various land use amendments.

[2:49:50] Okay.

[2:49:53] Council Member Winston, does the paper you're working on

[2:49:56] touch on upper limits.

[2:50:01] We're still fleshing it out. Okay. We'd love to be part of those conversations.

[2:50:03] Yeah. We'll talk. We'll talk. All right.

[2:50:05] Thank you.

[2:50:06] Motion by Dozier.

[2:50:07] Second by Westmoreland.

[2:50:10] The vote is open.

[2:50:16] The vote is closed.

[2:50:17] Three.

[2:50:20] Three, eight. Three. Abstention. That motion is not carried.

[2:50:22] Yes it does.

[2:50:23] Three motion.

[2:50:24] Yeah. Three zero nays.

[2:50:25] Three abstentions.

[2:50:27] Takes us on to resolutions.

[2:50:29] Item number 1426.

[2:50:31] Hour 3988. A resolution by Council.

[2:50:34] Byron de Amos, Michael Julian Bond, Wayne Martin,

[2:50:37] Aysha Collins, Jason Dozier, Dustin Hillis, Antonio Lewis,

[2:50:40] Matt Westmoreland, Jason H.

[2:50:42] Winston, and Liliana Bakhtiari,

[2:50:43] authorizing the installation of a historic marker

[2:50:46] to honor the late Reverend Joseph

[2:50:47] Boone for his lifelong service to the city of Atlanta

[2:50:50] and his contributions to the Civil Rights movement.

[2:50:52] And for the purposes.

[2:50:54] I understand there's been a request

[2:50:55] to hold this item, so I will make that motion.

[2:50:57] Yes. Second by Dozier.

[2:51:01] The vote is open.

[2:51:07] The vote is closed.

[2:51:08] Jonas, this item is held.

[2:51:09] Adam 1526 hours 3997.

[2:51:13] A resolution by Council Member Mary Norwood

[2:51:15] requesting the Chief operating officer to coordinate

[2:51:18] with the Department of City Planning

[2:51:19] and the Atlanta Beltline, Atlanta Housing

[2:51:22] and the Metro Atlanta Land Bank,

[2:51:24] to create a comprehensive inventory of vacant

[2:51:26] and underutilized privately owned properties

[2:51:28] within the City of Atlanta,

[2:51:30] which may be developed for housing and other uses,

[2:51:33] and which shall identify properties

[2:51:34] which are not residential, not publicly owned or vacant.

[2:51:38] Abandoned or neglected

[2:51:39] may qualify as nuisance properties

[2:51:41] and are under 30% forested and for the purposes.

[2:51:45] Councilmember Collins has a question for law.

[2:51:50] Yeah. Just curious on this, on this resolution.

[2:51:53] In terms of I know this being, like

[2:51:58] Norwood, it don't isn't there already

[2:52:02] inventories and spaces where you can identify like

[2:52:05] you can identify nonresidential, privately owned

[2:52:10] property.

[2:52:12] Vacant land abandoned, as stated in in here.

[2:52:18] I apologize.

[2:52:21] They're very well. Might be, though I am not familiar with what

[2:52:25] property databases

[2:52:28] or other resources exist.

[2:52:32] So I, I'm I'm unable to advise

[2:52:36] like the county records or

[2:52:39] I CD.

[2:52:41] Yeah. That I believe would be an operational question

[2:52:45] which I and I'm I'm not able to answer that from the legal standpoint.

[2:52:48] Okay. Commissioner we have an operator I know.

[2:52:51] Yes. APD

[2:52:55] or to this.

[2:52:56] So with just a little

[2:52:58] bit of tweaking, we could have this exact list.

[2:53:01] So just want to let you know,

[2:53:03] Council member Michael Bond.

[2:53:07] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[2:53:09] This is similar to a piece of legislation I did several years ago.

[2:53:12] The city's Office of Real Estate has a list of all city

[2:53:16] owned property.

[2:53:18] Everything. You know, it's mostly curb cuts and, you know,

[2:53:21] some right of way stuff.

[2:53:22] But it was on average, it was about 1300,

[2:53:26] maybe 1400 pieces of property

[2:53:31] at that time. And that was like maybe 6 or 8 years ago.

[2:53:34] So I'm sure the list has changed.

[2:53:36] But the Office of Real Estate,

[2:53:39] they know everything that the city has.

[2:53:43] So I think that this is an attempt to I don't want to speak for

[2:53:47] Miss Norwood, but that's what it reads as an attempt to create a list.

[2:53:52] Again,

[2:53:54] if if I may respond that.

[2:53:56] Councilmember.

[2:53:57] Yes. Councilman runs actually.

[2:54:00] Absolutely correct. This legislation was based off of his legislation

[2:54:03] that he just referenced.

[2:54:05] But this is not being me.

[2:54:09] This legislation relates to private

[2:54:12] property as opposed to city owned real estate.

[2:54:15] Oh, okay.

[2:54:18] And I think that's where just my question

[2:54:19] is in terms of,

[2:54:22] I mean, there's a resolution

[2:54:24] we it could be in terms of just understanding

[2:54:27] the nature of tracking, you know, nature of inventory to

[2:54:31] track private, privately owned property when we have other,

[2:54:37] you know, we have other spaces to gather that I know it says here

[2:54:39] to potentially be developed for housing and other uses, usages

[2:54:44] for other uses.

[2:54:46] So I think I just I mean, there's more questions

[2:54:48] that we can have in terms of who what who will hold this list.

[2:54:53] What for? I just don't want to create a space where people are being

[2:54:56] targeted in terms of their, their actual private property.

[2:55:02] I think that's different from you, Councilmember Bob,

[2:55:04] where it was our city, you know, publicly owned property,

[2:55:07] which is which is different.

[2:55:08] So those are some questions that I have.

[2:55:13] Any other questions or comments?

[2:55:17] All right. I motion by dozer which I will second motion to approve a hold.

[2:55:20] Approve.

[2:55:22] The vote is open.

[2:55:31] That was four years.

[2:55:32] One day one abstention. This item is favorable.

[2:55:34] Item number 1626 R 3998.

[2:55:38] A resolution by Councilmember Mary Norwood

[2:55:40] requesting the mayor of his designee

[2:55:42] to establish a process whereby persons and entities

[2:55:45] who apply for permits related to the installation or repair

[2:55:48] of any pervious surface necessary

[2:55:51] to transverse lot size, one third of an acre and larger,

[2:55:55] and the District Council member

[2:55:56] representing the location wherein

[2:55:58] the proposed installation or repair is to occur,

[2:56:02] may have an opportunity to attend a joint conference

[2:56:04] with the representatives from the city departments

[2:56:07] and offices charged with reviewing

[2:56:09] such applications and enforcing the City of Atlanta stormwater

[2:56:13] and other ordinances, state law, and state regulatory standards

[2:56:16] applicable to the installation

[2:56:17] and repair of the impervious surface

[2:56:19] necessary to transverse these larger lots

[2:56:22] prior to the city's issuance of any final decisions

[2:56:24] related to such applications, and for the purposes.

[2:56:28] Thank you. Based on conversations between the relevant departments

[2:56:30] and the sponsor, I'm going to make a motion to file second by.

[2:56:37] The vote is open.

[2:56:43] The vote is closed. Six days. You'll notice item is filed.

[2:56:46] Thank you. 1726R3999A resolution by Council members Kelsey Bond,

[2:56:51] Liliana Bakhtiari,

[2:56:53] Michael Julian Bond, Antonio Lewis, Jason Dozier,

[2:56:56] Wayne Martin, Jason H.

[2:56:57] Winston, Byron D Amos, and Westmoreland

[2:56:59] affirming the City of Atlantis support for light rail transit

[2:57:02] along the full 22 mile Bell Line corridor.

[2:57:06] Recognizing light rail transit as a central component

[2:57:08] of the adopted Atlanta Beltline vision,

[2:57:11] or affirming the use of the existing

[2:57:13] Beltline transit right away.

[2:57:14] Supporting roles on grass design where feasible.

[2:57:17] Requesting coordinated implementation

[2:57:19] and funding updates from Mayor Dickens administration, Marta

[2:57:23] Elena, Beltline and other relevant city departments.

[2:57:26] And for the purposes.

[2:57:28] We're gonna have a motion to amend in a moment to add

[2:57:30] two sponsors, I believe.

[2:57:32] But first, I will make a motion to bring forward

[2:57:33] the substitute in our packet. Second.

[2:57:41] The vote is open.

[2:57:51] Yes, Councilmember.

[2:57:52] Well,

[2:57:54] well, everyone please vote. Yes.

[2:57:59] Okay okay okay.

[2:58:00] Councilmember. Bond. Okay.

[2:58:03] And this is the combined substitute from legal and the administration.

[2:58:07] Correct? Okay.

[2:58:09] Could I ask a question of the administration

[2:58:12] substitute?

[2:58:16] Yeah. I was wondering if y'all could explain the rationale between the two

[2:58:19] about the two resolved clauses.

[2:58:22] Yes. Sorry.

[2:58:24] I was giving a second for Chief of staff to walk

[2:58:26] in, but I will speak in the meantime.

[2:58:28] Katie Molla, deputy chief of staff.

[2:58:29] Thank you all for having us.

[2:58:31] Yeah, the two pieces of recommended substitute language

[2:58:34] that we've had before you.

[2:58:35] The first one, I believe in

[2:58:37] the order, is a piece around affordable housing.

[2:58:40] And we believe very strongly that affordable

[2:58:43] housing and density must be intricately linked.

[2:58:46] I might defer actually, to our chief of staff

[2:58:48] and let him take it from here.

[2:58:50] They asked about the why the two pieces of the substitute. Oh.

[2:58:54] Thank you. Who you could have kept. You keep going.

[2:58:57] She was doing fine.

[2:58:58] Keep finishing.

[2:58:59] So the first piece was around affordable housing and density.

[2:59:02] And while we are enthusiastic about transit, and particularly

[2:59:05] along the corridor,

[2:59:07] we want to make sure that that conversation

[2:59:08] is inextricably linked to affordable housing.

[2:59:11] As transit around the world begets density,

[2:59:15] that density has to be coupled with affordable housing.

[2:59:18] Otherwise, we risk a fairly substantial displacement risk.

[2:59:23] And so we know many of you care about that risk.

[2:59:25] And we just want to make sure that any plan we bring forth to

[2:59:28] you is inclusive of that affordable

[2:59:31] housing need that must be coupled.

[2:59:33] So the the analysis and reporting that we'll bring back to

[2:59:36] you will be inclusive of the transit,

[2:59:37] but it will also be inclusive of the financial need

[2:59:39] and the pathways to to fund a permanent mechanism to support

[2:59:43] affordable housing along any future transit corridors.

[2:59:46] The second piece is around

[2:59:49] the need to make sure that any again,

[2:59:52] report and analysis that we bring back to you

[2:59:54] on how to deliver this is inclusive

[2:59:56] of the entirety of a transit vision.

[2:59:58] And so while it

[2:59:59] includes the Beltline corridor,

[3:00:00] it also includes things like our

[3:00:02] infill stations that the mayor's previously announced.

[3:00:04] It includes things like last mile connectivity,

[3:00:08] prioritizing our transit dependent writers,

[3:00:11] and that we have a funding pathway to fund that entirety.

[3:00:14] That does not mean that we are going to say

[3:00:16] that we need a proposal

[3:00:18] that is all or nothing right away,

[3:00:20] but that there is a line of sight

[3:00:22] to funding, to funding that entire vision.

[3:00:24] And that's what we'll bring back to you.

[3:00:25] And we would just ask that this council affirms

[3:00:27] its commitment to fund a complete vision

[3:00:29] and not a piecemeal vision.

[3:00:31] So those are the rationale.

[3:00:33] Thank you for that.

[3:00:34] Yeah, that was my

[3:00:35] kind of follow up question about the second resolved clause

[3:00:39] is whether the intention was,

[3:00:41] are we trying to have a funding vision

[3:00:45] and like something that's really we feel as possible

[3:00:48] and something we're able to move on versus

[3:00:51] I see the word available.

[3:00:53] And I just wanted to make sure that doesn't mean, you know,

[3:00:56] we feel like we have to have in front of us the full funding,

[3:01:02] source before moving forward and committing.

[3:01:06] Yeah. I think the spirit of it is not that that

[3:01:07] money is in the bank today and we have it,

[3:01:09] but that we believe they are viable

[3:01:11] funding sources for the duration of the project.

[3:01:14] And so,

[3:01:17] you know, with the federal climate being what it is, we will likely prioritize local funding sources for now.

[3:01:21] And so we will present to you a proposal that will be able

[3:01:24] to fund the entirety of that that we believe is viable today.

[3:01:28] So that's the vision.

[3:01:29] Yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me

[3:01:31] because we want to be responsible.

[3:01:33] And just thinking about how,

[3:01:34] you know, future presidential administrations or,

[3:01:37] you know, gubernatorial administrations

[3:01:39] may be more favorable.

[3:01:40] And so just keeping that in mind

[3:01:42] that in the future there might be more funding.

[3:01:45] Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you.

[3:01:47] Thank you.

[3:01:48] Will you please vote on the motion

[3:01:49] to bring forth the substitute?

[3:01:54] Councilmember Brown?

[3:01:58] It's closed six years to substitute before you.

[3:02:01] Any other questions or comments?

[3:02:05] Councilmember Collins yes.

[3:02:08] Go ahead. Jason, you probably going to say,

[3:02:11] oh, wow. Okay.

[3:02:12] I think just in terms of

[3:02:15] because this has been an ongoing conversation, we know that, Martin, there's new ship

[3:02:19] that Marta leadership that is now firmly in place.

[3:02:22] We see some

[3:02:25] that is happening

[3:02:26] and some structural pieces that are necessary for this.

[3:02:31] What is the next?

[3:02:32] Where are we in that conversation

[3:02:35] and where are we in terms of picking

[3:02:39] the conversation

[3:02:40] back up in terms of Beltline rail

[3:02:42] and what the overall comprehensive plan

[3:02:44] planning should be?

[3:02:45] Yeah, you.

[3:02:49] Hello, Mr.

[3:02:51] chair, members of the committee.

[3:02:52] Council member Collins, the.

[3:02:55] Oh, hello. Oh, I got right now.

[3:02:58] Yeah. The short answer to that question

[3:02:59] is that we've never stopped planning.

[3:03:01] The the byproduct of,

[3:03:07] the overall mayor's transit vision

[3:03:10] was in part with the Beltline presented last week.

[3:03:14] And so we have been diligently working on

[3:03:17] not just a rail vision or a transit vision

[3:03:21] for the Beltline or rail vision for the Beltline.

[3:03:24] But we've also been diligently working on a comprehensive

[3:03:26] transit vision for their entire city.

[3:03:27] And so what you will ultimately come back with?

[3:03:30] Yes, you'll have a plan

[3:03:31] that can be funded, that can be implemented

[3:03:34] for all 22 miles around rail, but you'll also have

[3:03:38] additional items to consider to bring additional transit

[3:03:42] to underserved communities like Thomasville Heights,

[3:03:44] for example, or like down the entire

[3:03:47] Hallowell or Bankhead corridor.

[3:03:48] And so we are working diligently

[3:03:51] with our partners at the Beltline and with Marta.

[3:03:54] GM hunt would have actually been here today

[3:03:56] had it not been for a meeting that he had in D.C.

[3:04:00] with the Secretary of Transportation, actually.

[3:04:01] And so we are in coordination, and we're prepared

[3:04:04] to move forward with the planning process.

[3:04:07] And just to get shovels in the ground and in, in,

[3:04:10] in this in, in this piece of legislation,

[3:04:14] we're it we're asking for we'll be asking

[3:04:17] for the next steps of that court of that plan,

[3:04:22] response, interagency responsibility,

[3:04:24] like that full plan by the end of January 2027.

[3:04:28] Are we on track in that regard?

[3:04:31] Yeah. So I can I'll let Clyde speak for for the Beltline.

[3:04:34] But we believe that three month window is more than enough time

[3:04:38] to bring back a plan

[3:04:39] that can be implemented around Beltline rail.

[3:04:42] Yeah. Thank you. Thank you chief.

[3:04:45] Oh, I see you Mr.. Here.

[3:04:46] That's why I need my glasses y'all.

[3:04:47] I know I'm squinting left and right.

[3:04:50] Yeah, right.

[3:04:51] Yeah I think my glasses my through you off as well

[3:04:53] where glass is on occasion.

[3:04:55] But, but thanks for that question.

[3:04:57] Mr. Chair, chief of staff,

[3:05:00] I appreciate the opportunity

[3:05:02] to be here, but yes, we think that is is plenty of time.

[3:05:06] We do want to make sure that we're being very responsive

[3:05:09] to that community comment period as well.

[3:05:13] And not to be presumptuous after,

[3:05:16] you know, we hear from community.

[3:05:18] We want to make sure that there is a real, real responsiveness to to what we get

[3:05:22] from the community survey as well.

[3:05:24] But we do believe that's a that's enough time.

[3:05:27] I will say with regards to the resolution,

[3:05:30] this is an exciting time for for sure.

[3:05:33] But I do want to make sure that we definitely pivot to

[3:05:36] to a conversation about about funding.

[3:05:39] I mean, that that is probably the biggest piece out there

[3:05:44] right now. You probably heard from our team.

[3:05:45] There's about a $3.5 billion

[3:05:48] nut to crack with regards to to Beltline transit.

[3:05:52] And and that's 2025 numbers just to be clear.

[3:05:56] And then it also does not include the operating cost

[3:05:59] for for transit on the Beltline.

[3:06:02] It also doesn't include infill stations.

[3:06:05] So we really have to think and get aggressive about what

[3:06:08] our funding strategy will look like.

[3:06:10] So, hate to be

[3:06:12] the sobering person here, but I just want us to go big.

[3:06:15] Let's go strong. Let's go hard.

[3:06:17] But we can figure this out.

[3:06:19] No, no, thank, thank you for that.

[3:06:21] I think the transparency,

[3:06:25] I mean, yeah, the transparency is necessary,

[3:06:26] particularly this, but I think it's all tied to

[3:06:28] that resolved clause.

[3:06:29] So, Mister Chair, I defer is hasn't been a second.

[3:06:33] There is not been a motion.

[3:06:34] Okay. Motion to approve.

[3:06:36] Second motion

[3:06:37] to approve on substitute as amended by Councilmember.

[3:06:41] We didn't amend the paper yet. I thought we did.

[3:06:44] I thought we did. No, no, you are you are right.

[3:06:47] Would someone like to make a motion to amend to add names

[3:06:51] of sponsors? I'll make a motion to amend additional sponsors.

[3:06:54] That will be Ish Collins, representing the Great Post

[3:06:58] three at ATL, also known at large.

[3:07:01] And, who else wanted to ask

[3:07:07] Mister chair? Oh, Dustin Hill is our great district nine

[3:07:10] representative to this paper.

[3:07:12] Got a motion to amend by Colin, second by Dozier.

[3:07:15] The vote is met through is.

[3:07:21] Closed six Z on this item has been amended.

[3:07:24] Thank you.

[3:07:25] Thank you. Motion to approve.

[3:07:28] Got a motion to approve on substitute, as amended

[3:07:30] by Collins. Second by Dozier. Council member.

[3:07:33] Bond of the Michael Julian variety of the.

[3:07:37] You, Mr. Chair.

[3:07:38] Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[3:07:40] Thank you, Mister Higgs, for being here.

[3:07:43] And this is a very exciting moment.

[3:07:47] Since I remember when the young man

[3:07:50] was bringing his paper from Georgia Tech

[3:07:53] and talking about the Beltline as a concept

[3:07:57] when it was still just railroad tracks.

[3:08:01] And so to be here today to see that we're poised on

[3:08:04] the precipice of actually having the rail

[3:08:07] come to a realization

[3:08:09] is a wonderful dawn here in the city to go

[3:08:14] with so many other great efforts from this administration.

[3:08:17] I wanted to put this in the atmosphere,

[3:08:20] even though we are not finished with the Beltline,

[3:08:24] but I've always thought the beltline should have spokes.

[3:08:28] There ought to be other trails of the past.

[3:08:31] Other.

[3:08:34] I mean, I've got this bus rapid transit thing that runs

[3:08:37] right outside of where I live and I can take

[3:08:42] I've counted

[3:08:44] very rarely abuts on it,

[3:08:48] but if something's going to circle

[3:08:52] Atlanta, other things need to be linked to it.

[3:08:55] And whether it's an overlaying of our more modern projects

[3:09:01] that still remain to be finished,

[3:09:04] or other opportunities to light rail or other bus rapid

[3:09:08] transit linked into the planning,

[3:09:11] I think we ought to

[3:09:12] lay that groundwork so we don't take another 20 years

[3:09:16] to kind of be at this point.

[3:09:18] You know, one of the things growing up here in Atlanta,

[3:09:22] and I started writing Marta, when I was in the third grade,

[3:09:26] was a cello to go from Oglethorpe School over to E.R.

[3:09:31] Carter to be in the symphony.

[3:09:33] Right.

[3:09:35] The cost cost $0.15

[3:09:38] to know Marty at that time,

[3:09:42] I really thought when they were building the

[3:09:46] they started building the east west line through March Brown.

[3:09:50] When I was in the fourth grade, we used to play in that tunnel.

[3:09:54] You know how dangerous it used to be for kids.

[3:09:58] We'd go in that tunnel and could not see the other end.

[3:10:01] Could have collapsed on us.

[3:10:03] And it'd be the memorial,

[3:10:04] be the overlooked elementary memorial tunnel

[3:10:09] for the children. But the point being is that that put us in the mindset.

[3:10:12] Then in the mid 70s, that we'd have monorails, trains

[3:10:17] running all through the city,

[3:10:20] you know, much like a Disneyland, you know, or

[3:10:23] some type of space age I speed rail

[3:10:28] project, you know, around the city.

[3:10:30] And that still can happen, you know,

[3:10:32] that still can happen where we have,

[3:10:37] clean transportation, affordable transportation.

[3:10:40] And I'm going to reintroduce the paper that I sent over

[3:10:43] the Marta a couple of years ago, asking them to do an analysis

[3:10:48] of what would it take for

[3:10:51] Lanta residents to ride Marta for free?

[3:10:55] How much money would we have to contribute,

[3:10:58] whether it's property tax or sales tax or,

[3:11:02] you know, just for everybody who's got a land address or land

[3:11:05] identification to get on the train

[3:11:07] for free, for everybody to get out of their cars.

[3:11:09] Now they send back to the analysis,

[3:11:11] but the wrong analysis.

[3:11:13] They looked at different routes for free

[3:11:16] and I was like, no, what we want is for for

[3:11:19] I got a Georgia driver's license, a resident of Atlanta.

[3:11:23] I can show it to a modern bus driver and Marta terminal

[3:11:26] get on the train and I when Marta had.

[3:11:29] And I'm going to wrap up and I'm going on.

[3:11:31] So when Marta used to have their free train riding

[3:11:35] days, you couldn't get on there.

[3:11:38] It was packed.

[3:11:40] It would do it like Labor Day weekend or over a three day period.

[3:11:43] People would ride Marta everywhere

[3:11:45] they went because they could get on for free.

[3:11:48] So people will ride the train.

[3:11:50] They just gotta have the right incentive to do so.

[3:11:53] So Council Member Bond, you know, from what

[3:11:58] I'm told, there's always high expectations from council members named bond.

[3:12:01] And you've done a great job in introducing this.

[3:12:05] I'm proud to be a co-sponsor on it and want to compliment

[3:12:09] you publicly

[3:12:11] for your vision and and for pushing this here today.

[3:12:15] Thank you.

[3:12:16] All right. But having said that, you know, this is just a

[3:12:18] this a good thing and it's good to witness it and I withdraw.

[3:12:25] Believe we have a motion

[3:12:26] from Collins and a second by Dozier.

[3:12:29] Correct.

[3:12:30] The vote is open.

[3:12:34] The vote is closed.

[3:12:36] Six days of your days. This item is favorable on substitute, as amended.

[3:12:39] Thank you. Mercifully brings us to the end of our agenda.

[3:12:42] That's correct.

[3:12:42] Are there any of there are general

[3:12:44] remarks, Councilmember Collins. No, no no, no.

[3:12:46] Oh, okay.

[3:12:49] Yeah. I just wanted to say, thank you to everybody.

[3:12:53] And I know a lot of the public commenters left, but thank you

[3:12:56] to those of you who showed up, you know,

[3:12:58] thank you to all the folks who've been rallying

[3:13:02] behind public transit for a really long time.

[3:13:05] Atlanta deserves this, right?

[3:13:07] Like we deserve a city where everybody can get around,

[3:13:10] whether you own a car or not.

[3:13:11] We deserve to have a city where, you know, we prioritize

[3:13:16] getting cars off the road and taking care of our climate, reducing our carbon footprint.

[3:13:20] And, you know, this is really going

[3:13:22] to determine the future of our city.

[3:13:25] Is it a city that is planning with intention as we grow?

[3:13:29] Are we planning for density along transit routes?

[3:13:32] So just really excited

[3:13:34] to work with everybody in the coming months and, to see

[3:13:38] the final product and report back to City council. And,

[3:13:44] Mr. Higgs, use the word aggressive and I'm ready to get aggressive.

[3:13:47] All right. Thank you.

[3:13:49] Anything else?

[3:13:51] All right. We are adjourned.

CD/HS Committee Meeting

Transcript