Fresh Loaf

MARTA officials recently asked the Georgia General Assembly to ease a state-mandated spending restriction on the transit agency’s main source of funding — a one-cent sales tax in Atlanta, Fulton County and DeKalb County. If not, the cash-strapped agency could face drastic service cuts. Some lawmakers responded that the agency instead needs to change its governance structure and raise fares. In the op-ed below, Mayor Shirley Franklin, Fulton County Chairman John Eaves and DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis echo MARTA’s plea.

For more than 30 years, visitors and residents of Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb counties have paid an extra penny in sales taxes so our region might have mass transit. Needless to say, the benefits of mass transit have extended far beyond the borders of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb. Can you imagine the Centennial Olympic Games choosing Atlanta without a means of moving millions of people? Or that major conventions, the lifeblood of our local economy, would locate here if their attendees were unable to move around? MARTA has been a major economic generator not just for Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb, but for our region and the entire state.

Which is why we are asking, in a time of severe economic crisis, for the Georgia General Assembly to help MARTA. This year, we are not asking that the General Assembly commit one extra dime to help MARTA — though other state governments across the nation promote the economic benefits of public transit and routinely appropriate millions for both operations and expansion. We are only asking the Legislature to give MARTA the ability to use the funds it already has at its disposal during this time of great economic need.

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On Feb. 2, nearly 30 officials from various local, state and federal transit agencies, most of whom were locked in a bitter dispute over Beltline tracks near Piedmont Park, sat down with Congressman John Lewis’ staff in his Atlanta office. Their purpose: Let’s figure out what we’re going to do with “The Decatur Belt,” a segment of city-owned property near Piedmont Park that includes tracks vital to the Beltline project.

Officials have declined to comment on what was discussed at the meeting and how things have progressed. In a joint press release issued the day of the sitdown, agency officials said they would work toward a common solution and report progress in 30 days.

According to MARTA’s notes of the meeting, obtained by CL in an Open Records Request, some of the transportation agencies sound — contrary to many of their comments after news of the dispute broke — seemingly unsure of their options. And they really didn’t want to involve the media. What’s more, the notes suggest a disappointing  — but not entirely surprising — reality: Local and state transportation agencies, at least prior to the Feb. 2 meeting, were not communicating with each other in a productive manner.

But with federal funding and millions of dollars in taxpayer and private investment on the line, the officials said they needed to figure this one out.

Download the meeting notes here. To see who attended the sitdown, download the meeting’s sign-in sheet here. UPDATE: GDOT has responded with its notes from the meeting. They’re much more detailed than MARTA’s. In them, GDOT says it wants to explore what other parts of the city would be suitable for a train terminal into which commuter rail or inter-city rail could operate. That transcript is pasted after the summary.

If you’re adverse to downloading the files, I’ve written a rather lengthy rundown of the meeting after the jump.

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Tom Coffin, the Atlanta arborist whose firing last summer caused a firestorm of controversy, says he’s suing the city.

In a suit filed Friday, Coffin’s attorneys say his supervisors at City Hall violated the state’s “whistleblower” statute when he was fired after raising questions about his colleagues’ alleged lax enforcement of the city’s tree ordinance.

“The City Council passed and the Mayor signed the Tree Protection Ordinance in recognition of how important trees are to the health and well-being of the city,” Coffin says in a press release. “I was hired to enforce the law and to ensure that my colleagues did so as well. My firing leaves the city with a broken ordinance and a mockery of enforcement. It is outrageous that I should have to sue for my job while the City, in the midst of a severe economic crisis, pays five field arborists to ‘look the other way’ and make excuses for their lack of performance and accountability to the law.”

Coffins wants the city to rehire him and pay compensatory damages. He is represented by Brian Spears and Gerry Weber, former legal director of the Georgia American Civil Liberties Union.

View the press release and a pasted version of the suit after the jump. You can also download a PDF of the suit here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The hardest part about making progress in metro Atlanta is fixing the mistakes of its past — namely, the sprawl created in part by an auto-dependent lifestyle and cheap land stretching out in all directions.

Thankfully, the Atlanta Regional Commission has some idea of how to turn that sprawl into walkable and livable areas — places you actually want to be.

Today, the commission announced several new sites for its Livable Centers Initiative, an award-winning program that funds planning studies for cities and counties to help retrofit sprawl-afflicted areas. The two closest to home? The Donald Lee Hollowell-Veterans Memorial Parkway Corridor in Atlanta and Cobb County and the North Druid Hills Road Corridor in DeKalb County.

More details from the commission about those sites after the jump.

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If you’ve attended or watched an Atlanta City Council committee meeting, you’ve witnessed the blunt opinions and insight of Dave Walker, a 63-year-old Vietnam veteran and street vendor who says he’s attended nearly every meeting since 1984.

How did you end up in Atlanta?

I was hitchhiking around the country back in the ’70s and I went to Los Angeles. And then I went from LA to New York. And I was standing in my sister’s front yard in New York, and I asked the almighty God “Where do I go now?” And clearly he said to me, “Atlanta.” And that’s how I got here. I came hitchhiking with two pennies.

How does God manifest himself to you?

He can talk. God talks to man’s conscience.

Do you still hitchhike?

No, I am afraid now. And a little too old. (laughs).

Do you like Atlanta?

The thing that I used to like about Atlanta is that Atlanta was a wholesome town. But it’s no longer wholesome. If I left Atlanta, I would starve to death. So I stay here. No other city could I have gone to and become famous. I am famous now, so I like it.

When you say that you are famous, what do you think you are famous for?

I am famous for my quick wit. I am famous for my knowledge of world events, etc. I don’t think there is no council member, no government official, in this state or in this country, who is as qualified to talk about government as I am.

Why do you wear hospital scrubs? [Ed. Walker often wears scrubs to meetings.]

Every great man has to have their notch in history, their notch in the community; the scrubs are part of my notch, part of my identity. Most doctors, nurses, they have on scrubs and I view myself as somewhat of a doctor. And scrubs secondarily are very comfortable. They are versatile and you can wear them anywhere, anytime. And the reason I don’t have them on now is it’s too damn cold. But I tell you, I miss them. (laughs)

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Good news if you have abandoned or foreclosed homes on your block:

Federal housing officials have approved plans by six Georgia communities to spend nearly $36 million to combat the effects of high foreclosures and declining home values.

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On Monday, HUD approved plans involving $18.5 million for DeKalb County and $12.3 million for Atlanta and smaller plans for Savannah, Augusta-Richmond County and Clayton and Muscogee counties.

Under the plans, emergency assistance will be targeted for specific neighborhoods by acquiring and redeveloping foreclosed properties that might otherwise be abandoned, leading to blight.

Cities and counties have 18 months to spend the grants.

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Let the taps flow. For now, at least.

From the city’s Department of Watershed Management:

The Department of Watershed Management is restoring water service to Morris Brown College after officials presented the Department with a certified check for $30,000 a few minutes ago. In making the payment, the college complied with Judge Henry Newkirk’s order that Morris Brown pay $100,000 today ($70,000 after this morning’s hearing and $30,000 before 5 pm) toward its delinquent water/sewer bills. The balance on the remaining outstanding accounts, approximately $214,000, is to be paid on or before February 17, and the college must pay current charges.

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Consider, for instance, recent negotiations to purchase the northeast quadrant of the Beltline, a 22-mile loop of transit and trails that will one day circle the city.

That deal — and the history of the controversial plot of land — has resulted in the city parting ways with two developers and paying millions of dollars that critics say was squandered.

Mike Dobbins, a Georgia Tech professor and Atlanta’s former planning commissioner, says the city rushed to pay Gwinnett County developer Wayne Mason and his son Keith $65 million for land that could have been had for much, much less.

“Buying out Mason was a flawed proposition,” Dobbins says. “I mean, name me anyone who wouldn’t love to make a 300 percent profit in three years on a $25 million investment. It’s crazy.”

Says Keith Mason: “I’m pleased with the outcome.”

Read the rest of this story.

(Photo by Jim Stawniak)

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His name’s James Shelby. He previously served as deputy commissioner and acting commissioner. According to the City of Atlanta, Shelby…

… was appointed by Mayor Franklin to provide leadership for the Department of over 200 employees which is comprised of the Bureaus of Buildings, Code Compliance, Housing and Planning. Prior to joining the Department in 2004, Mr. Shelby served as Planning Director for the City of Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Shelby holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in City and Regional Planning from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Shelby’s got a big job ahead of him. Although former Commissioner Steve Cover has, by nearly all accounts, left the department in good shape for his successor, Shelby’s taking the reins at a time when the city’s still dealing with a foreclosure crisis and its accompanying code-enforcement problems. City Councilmember Mary Norwood recently targeted the bureau of buildings for an audit. That bureau’s arborist office is still reeling from allegations it fired Tom Coffin, its most dedicated of treehuggers, to appease disgruntled developers. (An internal investigation concluded the arborist wasn’t a team player.)

Regardless, welcome to the job, Commissioner Shelby!

(Many apologies for the terrible photo. The city doesn’t give you too many options when it comes to photos of employees.)

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In anticipation of the large number of people who plan to attend this weekend’s BET Hip Hop Awards, the city’s shutting down some roads. Here’s the list from the city:

Saturday: From 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight the following streets will be closed:

Piedmont Ave. from Baker St. to Pine St.
Ralph McGill from Central Park to Courtland Ave.
Pine St. from Central Park to Courtland Ave.
Currier St. from Courtland Ave, to Piedmont Ave.

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The internal investigation conducted by the City of Atlanta into why former arborist Tom Coffin was fired is complete, the AJC reports. Its conclusion? He wasn’t a team player, yo.

On Monday, the city’s human resources director wrote a letter to Coffin that said he was fired by the city’s Planning and Community Development department “as a result of an unwillingness or inability to work in a team environment.” The three-page letter says Coffin reinspected properties checked out by co-workers without his supervisor’s approval, unnecessarily issued “punitive citations” as the primary means of tree conservation and that he too frequently sought reprimands against his subordinates instead of trying to mentor them.

Coffin denied each of the findings and said he plans to sue the city for wrongful termination.

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There are times in a journalist’s life when he or she feels they are simply screaming into the void. Casting information into the ether and metaphors into the vast unknown realm where ponies, wishes and jet skis go to die.

Then there are times you bring about sweeping, monumental change, and you remind yourself why you do what you do even though you live under a bridge and eat copies of your own newspaper for minimal sustenance.

Now, my friends, is one of those times.

After it originally considered scaling back its recycling and leaf-and-limb programs to offset the budget shortfall, the city today announced it will continue picking your aluminum cans as it always has. On July 7, the city discontinued its contract with Dreamsan, the private contractor that’s managed the program since 2002, and will now use city trucks to do the hauling. The move saves cash-strapped Atlanta an annual $3 million. We take full credit and if anyone says otherwise then nah nah nah.

An excerpt of the city’s announcement follows after the jump.

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Government operating budgets are, by law, public information.

Decatur posts its budget online. So does the state. Even the $3 zillion federal budget is available online.

The city of Atlanta’s budget is not online. Worse yet, the city will not show it to me.

On Feb. 21, I called several people at the Department of Finance. No one with a copy of the budget picked up the phone or returned my calls.

Last week, I complained to Mayor Franklin’s office, which prompted a phone call from Margaret Crenshaw, director of the office of administrative and legislative services in the finance department.

Crenshaw told me I’d have to pay a per-page fee, even for a digital copy of the budget. She also asked me to submit a written Open Records Request.

I sent such a request to Crenshaw on Feb. 26. She has not yet responded.

According to the Georgia Open Records Act, Crenshaw’s office had three days to honor my request, or cite a provision under state law that would prevent her office producing the public documents I requested.

Whether it’s the result of incompetence, malice, or a combination of both, the city’s failure to share public information is obnoxious. The city is facing a budget crisis brought on, at least in part, by mismanagement. With severe budget cuts on the way, the public has an interest in knowing how the city is spending public money.

Is the city hiding the budget from everyone? Is it something I said? Are they waiting for someone from the Geek Squad to show up and teach them how to e-mail PDFs?

For now, all I can do is complain. Sadly, the Georgia Open Records Act is toothless. The fine for hiding public records is a measly $100.

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A steady stream of water has been bubbling up from near the water meter in front of my house in southwest Atlanta’s Capitol View neighborhood since last month.

Immediately after the tenant informed me of the leak Nov. 28, I called the city of Atlanta’s water department to tell them (404-658-7220).

The operator said it’d be fixed in five to seven business days. Crews are very busy, she said.

One week later, the tenant called back. He says the water department said it would take another 10-15 days.

The flow continues, so I called back today.

The city water employee I spoke to said that someone from the department inspected the meter and that there’s nothing wrong with it.

“That’s a street leak,” she said, meaning the leak is coming from a pipe under the street, adjacent to the water meter.

“When are you going to fix it?” I asked.

“After the first of the year,” she said. “We don’t want to tear up your street during the holidays.”

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