Meeting recording. Call to order / start meeting recording, 37 participants on Zoom, 25 in person.
July 11, 2023 Meeting minutes approved.
July 2023 Treasurer’s report approved.
Elected Officials’ Reports
Council Member Bakhtiari’s Office, Patrick Husbands, bakhtiari@atlantaga.gov; phusbands@atlantaga.gov, Crime is going down. Park maintenance fund has been increased. Ormewood Forest deal is done on the city’s end, just waiting on removal of a few trees by the developer. Looking into trash at the former sites of Delia’s, Dance 411 and Long John Silver’s and have called on code enforcement to investigate. They are working on the flooded tennis courts and drains are being repaired. Q: When will the barriers be moved from in front of Sabbath? A: Have asked the appropriate department but did not get a response, so he will ask again. Q: Is the Starbucks at Long John Silver’s a done deal? A: It doesn’t have a drive-through, so the car-centric-ness of the business is not a problem. Zoning has approved the plan.
Commissioner Johnson’s Office, Florence Coram, Lots of school supplies and food have been given out to students going back to school. See meeting recording for other upcoming events. Q: When will Intrenchment Creek reopen? When will South River Trail reopen? A: Ms. Coram isn’t familiar with the park and says reopening is up to the county parks CEO. She will try to find out about the trail.
Public Safety Update – Zone 6 Representative and Myron Polster, Zone 6 Update, Lt. Nicholas Mercado APD, nmercado@atlantaga.gov – They are working on several aggravated assault cases that happened in the neighborhood in July. In two out of three, the victims do not want to cooperate. The recovery rate on stolen vehicles for Kia’s and Hyundai is in the 90s, and in the 80s for other make of vehicles. Maynard Terrace homeless encampment: They are working with social services on outreach to find homes for those people. Crime rate has gone from 34 in May to 14 in July.
EACA Public Safety update, Myron Polster – Public Safety committee meeting was last week and they are targeting a couple of things such as street lights and code enforcement and will have more to report soon.
Special Guest – Saira Draper, State Representative for District 90. Please see meeting recording for her update on the last legislative session and learn what issues and priorities are top of mind for her. Sign up for her newsletter at www.SairaDraper.com.
Parks & Greenspace Update – Alex Levy and Matt Day, Friends of Brownwood Park update – see meeting recording for slides and video
Thanks to grants driven by East Atlanta Kids Club (EAKC), the basketball court has been revamped with new equipment and repainted. Thanks to EAKC for their efforts in securing the grant and to CashApp who sponsored it.
Playground and Tennis Courts – A Corporate sponsor stepped up to fund a huge portion of the playground update and to re-pave the tennis courts. This is exciting as it ultimately means more funds to revamp the park; it also required us to accelerate plans for the playground and tennis courts
After receiving multiple rounds of feedback from the community, we have nearly finalized plans for the playground update. EACA has issued a “Letter of Intent” for the below projects and is applying for funding through the City of Atlanta / Park Pride: Pavilion update and re-vamp, an inclusive/accessible playground, an adult fitness area, and revamped park entrances on the north side of the park. We’re considering ideas for the old volleyball court.
Outreach – Ishita Chordia: On Sunday, July 23, the Outreach team held a Q&A panel discussion with community leaders in this space. If you missed it, check out the livestream recording on our Instagram page eaca1980. EACA has also kicked off a Slack group to help coordinate donations to the Eastside Church food pantry. You can join the group and find out how to best make donations and sign up for your family to host a donation one day in the coming weeks. About this effort: EACA is launching a strategic effort focused on the unhoused community within East Atlanta. Initiatives will focus on obtaining social services support, organizing food, and clothing distribution, supporting our unhoused neighbors in their transition to temporary and permanent housing, and equipping all residents with the knowledge and resources needed to support this community. If you’re interested in getting involved, please email president@eaca.net or outreach@eaca.net.
Land Use and Zoning – Karla Lightfoot Causey, see Zoom recording for the presentation. Z-23-035 and CDP-23-004: Bouldercrest Triangle Neighborhood Commercial-16 (NC-16) EACA’s LUZ Committee, in collaboration with the community, has drafted updated legislation that will shape the future of development in the Bouldercrest Triangle. Example requirements included in the legislation include maximum building height, required incorporation of retail space, music/noise restrictions, max number of allowed bars/nightclubs, and a list of uses that would not be allowed in the area (e.g., gas stations, discount retail stores). The legislation in its current draft form was approved at the July NPU-W meeting and will now move into the formal process of review by the City of Atlanta and potential adoption. You can read the legislation here. You can view the supporting documents here (e.g., site maps). There was a lengthy discussion. See meeting recording for details.
NPU W Community Impact Grant, Dawn Rivera – This grant will be used for wayfinding signage and online maps. There will be a survey on ways to implement the grant.
Announcements / Community Updates
EACA Call for Volunteers – We’re excited for what we will accomplish in 2023. But we won’t get there without engaged members of the community to help make it happen. Please reach out to president@eaca.net or any member of the EACA Executive Committee to find out how and where you can support.
List of Open Positions / Ongoing Recruitment for Committee Involvement: Arts and Culture, Communication, Community Outreach, East Atlanta Parent Network, Education, Fundraising and Grants, Land Use and Zoning, Membership, Neighbor in Need, Parks and Greenspace, Public Safety, Transportation
Closing Remarks and Adjournment – 9:00pm.
