Fresh Loaf

Jim Maddozzzzzzzzzzz

Sleepy Jim is stepping aside. The Dean is done.

Yes, the aged alderman, whose dozing antics can be viewed on the city’s own public-access Channel 26, is finally retiring after 32 years spent warming an Atlanta Council seat.

Maddox, who in recent years had taken to referring to himself as the “Dean of Council,” will turn 75 in October. During his eight four-year terms, he’d transformed his office into a veritable travel agency, crisscrossing the globe as a self-appointed economic development ambassador for Atlanta.

Even in the press release announcing his retirement, Maddox can’t resist boasting about squeezing a few more international destinations out of his gig before he leaves office:

In fact, Maddox will be leaving for Argentina this week, where he will meet with mayors and city council members from South American countries, in an effort to promote Atlanta in economic exchange opportunities. He then heads to St. Petersburg, Russia and Moscow on a diplomatic mission on behalf of Mayor Franklin and the Council.

Why am I being so hard on this poor, tired guy?

Because when I try to think of Maddox’s legacy, I draw a blank. Then the image appears of a bump on a log  —  a log being sawed in half. His Southwest Atlanta district includes the Cascade Road area, long a seat of African American wealth and political power. His constituents include Shirley Franklin, Lisa Borders and, before that, Michael Lomax and countless other movers and shakers.

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At a well-attended town hall meeting on the subject of public safety Thursday night, Council President Lisa Borders put forth an interesting idea that could hold promise for oft-burgled Southside residents: a community improvement district to help fund extra security.

Borders, who hosted the gathering at Cascade United Methodist Church, suggested that money for surveillance cameras, community patrols and other security measures could be generated by creating a self-taxing district to which commercial property owners would contribute.

It’s an intriguing idea. There are a number of very successful CIDs around metro Atlanta — the Galleria and Perimeter areas and central Buckhead, perhaps most prominently — that fund everything from landscaped medians to shuttle buses to fancy lamp posts.

But I believe I heard Borders say there are no CIDs south of I-20. If that’s the case, it’s surely because there’s simply not the concentration of commercial property to support such an effort. It’s one thing to talk Perimeter Mall, Cousins Properties and Barry Real Estate into ponying up to spruce up the neighborhood. But when you’re dealing with a bunch of mom-and-pop businesses, as well as a hefty number of vacant storefronts — well, that’s a tougher sell.

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