City of Atlanta near deal to let state permanently close Mitchell St. by GA Capitol in exchange for upgrades to DLH

[arjay57]

I would probably be okay with it as long as the state agreed to keep the block open to pedestrians. From time to time I have to go up there and I want to be able to walk right in, not deal with a bunch of bureaucratic baloney.

[seussie]

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-new...N5R6PKXAP4TJI/

the saga continues

[Born 2 Roll]

Here is a link to a non-paywall story:

ATLANTA — The Atlanta City Council on Monday voted to override Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' veto over a contentious deal proposed between members of the council and the state of Georgia to exchange control of a city block next to the State Capitol for improvements to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

It is believed to be the first time the council has voted to override a mayoral veto in a number of years, and the first time it has done so with Mayor Bottoms.

City Council overrides Bottoms' veto on deal with state over improvements on Hollowell Parkway -
The ordinance essentially hands control of a city block next to the State Capitol to the state in exchange for the improvements. (11Alive News)

[Yoski]

Sounds like the KLB and the city council really need to develop or repair their working relationship to better serve Atlanta and Georgia taxpayers. Working with Microsoft to flow private funds into improving DLH, or at least a private/public partnership would be the way to go. That should have been a part of a packaged deal with MS. Also something the state government would seemingly be motivated to be a part of as a driver for increased location/relocation of industry into Georgia. From what I’ve heard about KLBs predecessor, it seems like something he and the former governor would have been on top of and partnering on.

[ronricks]

Originally Posted by Yoski

Sounds like the KLB and the city council really need to develop or repair their working relationship to better serve Atlanta and Georgia taxpayers. Working with Microsoft to flow private funds into improving DLH, or at least a private/public partnership would be the way to go. That should have been a part of a packaged deal with MS. Also something the state government would seemingly be motivated to be a part of as a driver for increased location/relocation of industry into Georgia. From what I’ve heard about KLBs predecessor, it seems like something he and the former governor would have been on top of and partnering on.

Or those of us that are City of Atlanta residents can vote the incompetent KLB out of office in November. Seems like a more viable path to solve the litany of problems KLB has caused and created.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Yoski

Sounds like the KLB and the city council really need to develop or repair their working relationship to better serve Atlanta and Georgia taxpayers. Working with Microsoft to flow private funds into improving DLH, or at least a private/public partnership would be the way to go. That should have been a part of a packaged deal with MS. Also something the state government would seemingly be motivated to be a part of as a driver for increased location/relocation of industry into Georgia. From what I’ve heard about KLBs predecessor, it seems like something he and the former governor would have been on top of and partnering on.

From what I understand, much of the disagreement between Mayor Bottoms and the Atlanta City Council appears to be wrangling over legal technicalities.

The Atlanta City Council appears to desperately want improvements to Hollowell Parkway, which Mayor Bottoms appears to be saying that the City Council is not authorized by law to negotiate with Georgia state government over city-owned right-of-ways like the block of Mitchell Street in question.

Mayor Bottoms also appears to be saying that the Atlanta City Council possibly may have given away the block of Mitchell Street in question to the state without getting anything in return.

That’s because KLB is saying that the agreement between the ACC and the State of Georgia does appear to explicitly promise or guarantee that the state will pay for the desired improvements to DLH (a right-of-way that the state owns and is responsible for) after receiving control of Mitchell Street/Capitol Square from the City of Atlanta.

The Mayor appears to be raising some legitimate technical and legal concerns here.

Though, in the end, I do think that one way or another, DLH ultimately will receive the improvements that it so clearly needs.

This instance of technical, legal and political wrangling between KLB and the ACC is just normal sometimes messy part of how policy gets made in a representative democracy.

These political clashes between high-profile political entities (like KLB and the ACC) are just a normal part of the democratic political process during the making of public policy.

[Yoski]

I understand tension and reefs between a city council and a mayor, and I’ve seen much worse. I still think that in this instance there was great opportunity for cooperation at the state and city level to hammer out incentives and requirements for Microsoft as a part of the overall deal, which should have included infrastructure improvements, yet we see the mayor and city council publicly squabbling with the state right in the middle of it. Kasim Reed never had an override from the city council from what I’m reading.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Yoski

I understand tension and reefs between a city council and a mayor, and I’ve seen much worse. I still think that in this instance there was great opportunity for cooperation at the state and city level to hammer out incentives and requirements for Microsoft as a part of the overall deal, which should have included infrastructure improvements, yet we see the mayor and city council publicly squabbling with the state right in the middle of it. Kasim Reed never had an override from the city council from what I’m reading.

But there still may be an opportunity for cooperation between the State of Georgia and the City of Atlanta, particularly with Microsoft building a major campus and generating increased levels of investment along part of the stretch of Hollowell Parkway in question.

Improvements are going to come eventually, if only because Hollowell Parkway is a state-owned and maintained right-of-way.

... Which potentially may be part of the argument that Mayor Bottoms may be making, which is that the city ideally should not have to give up a stretch of city-owned street (Mitchell Street/Capitol Square) to get the state to fund improvements to a roadway that the state is already responsible for and should be paying for anyway in Hollowell Parkway.

[Born 2 Roll]

False rumors that Mayor Bottoms made a deal with Microsoft to widen Hollowell Parkway to five lanes enraged residents of Grove Park before being found to be untrue.

“The word on the street is the Mayor promised Microsoft a five-lane highway,” according to a message from Grove Park Neighborhood Association President Brandon Pierre-Thomas. Pierre-Thomas added that Councilman Dustin Hillis, whose westside district includes are of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, had requested that Pierre-Thomas share the information with residents.

No one has produced evidence to support the notion of the mayor’s involvement in any backroom deals for bigger roads to appease the tech giant. But that didn’t stop the rumor from igniting residents’ fears. People from the neighborhoods along Hollowell quickly filled up councilmembers’ voicemail accounts with comments for its Monday meeting, leading to a rare override of a mayoral veto.

False text message enraged Atlanta residents over road project (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)