Call to order / Start meeting recording: 7:00pm.
33 attendees online, 21 attendees, including speakers, in the room. January 14, 2024 meeting minutes approved. January 2024 treasurer report approved.
Elected Officials’ Reports
Council Member Bakhtiari: Her office is focusing on the BATL trail through East Atlanta, which will connect to the Trolley Line Trail. Thanks to East Atlanta for setting the precedent on the case manager program, which because of its success here, will be expanded citywide. Gresham paved and lit pathway into Brownwood Park will become a reality soon. She would like to know how we feel about closing the section of Pendleton that bisects the developed and undeveloped areas of the park. The Atlanta Motel housing project is about to open and people from EAV will be the first to get housing there. She is looking into using the building on Moreland at the site of the giant chicken to serve for a limited time as a temporary emergency housing shelter, with the intention of getting campers off the street. The City Council and the mayor are debating how to treat the city Office of Inspector General. The city is studying the implications of opting out of the state floating homestead exemption, which passed in the November 2024 election. Q: Why has the tree ordinance been sent to NPU-W with just a month to examine it and vote? A: Because it is an election year. She will try to get experts to come to EACA meetings to talk about it. and get us more time. Q: Where will the BATL Trail be? A: She asked Chase to send the map to membership. She will work with Chase to set up a working/info session. Q: We need to connect the neighborhood to the BeltLine, but Moreland is so difficult for pedestrians to cross. Ormewood might be a good access point. A: GDOT is planning pedestrian crossings, but she wants the East Atlanta Trail to connect to the Trolley Line Trail and then to the BeltLine. She’ll get more input from residents. Q: The AJC article at the end of January talked about an audit of transportation spending. Does the council have an opinion on the lack of starting use of the SPLOST funds? A: It’s a problem and the council is livid. It is asking the administration for changes to the department, so these projects get done. Q: What’s the status of the problem house at Monument and McPherson? A: She’s working on it and will give more regular updates through Chase.
Dekalb Commissioner Nicole Massiah’s Office, represented by Isaac White (Isaacwhite247365@gmail.com), her aide who also lives in East Atlanta: Q: What more might DeKalb do with rainwater collection? A: Massiah would love to hear about alternatives such as that.
Public Safety Update
Zone 6 update, Lt. Robert Godwin – No. 1 crime is still theft from cars, but burglaries from businesses have gone up throughout the zone, so they are stepping up efforts on those. The portable police light and camera on Portland near Joseph will not stay there indefinitely. They are looking for a better spot. Q: Are all police cameras in the Village operational. A: The go in and out, but nobody seems to know why.
Arts and Culture team update – Rich Lindeman and Maria Edwards: Focuses for 2025: highlighting the talent we have in the neighborhood and creating projects. The start will be a full-page ad in The Porch Press that will highlight the opportunities to create murals and art projects.
Nate Minor: The East Atlanta Business Associaion is building an arts and culture committee led by Armando Celentano of Argosy. film@eastatlantabiz.co.
2025 EACA priorities and focus areas – Chase Miller (Please see slide program in meeting recording.) We’ve come up with three priorities for the year: A Vibrant Village, recognizing everyone’s interests in a thriving business district. A Unified Patchwork, pulling together the business community, the city residential community, and also the unincorporated DeKalb section of our neighborhood. Citizen Stewardship, making sure EACA members are heard and given opportunities to help the neighborhood.
East Atlanta Parents Network, Caitlin Mullins: They partnered with the EAV Café to kick off Black History Month and look forward to similar partnerships. The adults-only prom will be on Saturday, March 15 at 6:00pm. Tickets are available online. Volunteers are also needed for the prom and at other events. Volunteers will get discounts on prom tickets. Prom sponsors willing to provide food or raffle prizes are needed.
Land Use and Zoning update, Jenny Murray and Holly Sasnett (Please see slides in meeting recording.)
Announcements / Community Updates
SE Atlanta Neighbors Take Action, Paul Bolster, bolsterp@bellsouth.net, www.facebook.com/groups/996393888929965: This is a political group that aims to keep track of local officials and possibly support them or mount campaigns against them. Their next Zoom meeting will be on February 20.
Steve Carr: He brought free calendars that highlight Atlanta’s trees.
EACA Call for Volunteers – We’re excited for our role in shaping East Atlanta to be the community we envision for the future. 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. You can also check out our Volunteer page at eaca.net/volunteer.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment – 8:40pm.
