In this issue: Nuisance Property Legislation, Parks & Rec Virtual Public Feedback Meetings, and more...

Welcome to the February 2021 edition of the Atlanta City Council District 6 eNewsletter. Below you will find some helpful information about issues in our District and City.

As always, I encourage your feedback and comments. Please contact me at (404) 330-6049 or jnide@atlantaga.gov if I can be of assistance. I appreciate the opportunity to be your voice in our city government.

In This Issue

Valentine's Day Treat and Greet at Sidney Marcus Park
Georgia Power Storm Preparedness
Legislation Related to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' Nuisance Property Order Adopted by City Council
Alcohol License Compliance Legislation Update
Parks & Recreation's Virtual Public Feedback Meetings

Valentine's Day Treat and Greet at Sidney Marcus Park

Haygood United Methodist and Friends of Sidney Marcus Park are planning a sweet celebration at the park on Saturday, February 13 from 3 to 5 PM. The now-famous Haygood trailer will be transformed into a special Valentine treat-mobile with hot chocolate and candy on the menu.

Stop by and meet the Haygood Methodist church and school team to learn more about this terrific member of the neighborhood.

Friends of Sidney Marcus Park ("FSMP") will be at the park as well with more Valentine baked goods to share. As you may know, FSMP has won a $100,000 Park Pride matching grant to renovate the park in 2021. The survey and permitting process is underway with hopes that construction will commence mid-year. The FSMP team will be available at the event to review the renovation plans and discuss your ideas.

COVID protocols will be in place to keep everyone safe. Join FSMP on Saturday for the love beaming from the park on this special day!

Georgia Power Storm Preparedness

Our partners at Georgia Power sent us an update for safety preparedness tips during inclement weather. They're always helpful in getting streetlights replaced and our power back on after a storm! Following these tips can help us help them.

Before a Storm: Stay aware and check the weather forecast before heading outdoors. Check your emergency kit, and family plan. Unplug major appliances and charge cell phones in case you lose power.
During a Storm: Take safe shelter inside a sturdy building away from windows and doors. Avoid contact with conductors of electricity - appliances, metal objects and water.
After a Storm: Never touch any downed or low-hanging wire, including telephone or TV wires that touch a power line. Never pull tree limbs off of power lines yourself or enter areas with debris or downed trees as downed power lines may be buried in wreckage. Customers should call 911 or Georgia Power immediately if they see a fallen or low-hanging power line.

Tools You Can Use to Prepare for Severe Weather Year-round

@GeorgiaPower on Twitter – Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates and more.
Outage Alerts – Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
Emergency Plan and Kit – Visit the Georgia Power storm page for information on how to build a family emergency plan and emergency supply kit.

Legislation Related to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' Nuisance Property Order Adopted by City Council

Legislation to enact into law Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ Administrative Order strengthening the City's efforts to address nuisance properties has been adopted by the Atlanta City Council. The first phase is focused on ensuring businesses licensed in Atlanta as restaurants are actually operating as restaurants and not bars or clubs.

These businesses must submit a statement from a certified public accountant that the entity derives at least 50 percent of its gross food and beverage sales from prepared meals. The legislation also adds a maximum penalty of the revocation of the liquor license upon the business’ first violation.

“By strengthening the City’s policy on nuisance properties, the City has the opportunity to prevent crime before it occurs,” said Mayor Bottoms. “Thank you to the members of the Council for partnering with the Administration to provide residents and businesses a sense of security by fighting crime wherever it may exist.”

The legislation is the latest action taken under the One Atlanta: One APD Immediate Action Plan to Address Violent Crime. Mayor Bottoms also recently ordered a full assessment of the operation, location and coverage of all cameras integrated into the City’s Video Integration Center (VIC).

Alcohol License Compliance Legislation Update

In our most recent Council Meeting, my colleagues and I completed the last step of passing legislation to insure compliance with alcohol licenses. In our District and across the City, night clubs have been operating under the guise of restaurants and skirting regulations.

This has been a nuisance for a number of our residents, particularly in the Lindridge-Martin Manor and Morningside neighborhoods. Now, the City will be able to conduct annual audits to identify establishments who aren't abiding by the rules. This gives the City the teeth to enforce illegal and just plain annoying practices.

Audited restaurants that fail to demonstrated at least 50% of sales coming from served meals will be penalized. The enforcement operates on a three-strike method going from a fine and license suspension up to permanent license revocation.

Parks & Recreation's Virtual Public Feedback Meetings

City of Atlanta's Department of Parks and Recreation has kicked off its second round of public engagement for ActivateATL, its 10-year comprehensive master planning effort. Click here to visit the project website!

Thousands of Atlantans took part in our Summer 2020 Public Meetings. If you recall, those public meetings were focused on learning about communities' needs for Atlanta's parks and recreation system and identifying room for growth and improvement.

Over the last few months, the ActivateATL project team has analyzed the feedback collected from public meetings, surveys, social media, focus groups, app, and more, and identified strategies to both address challenges and guide the Department's growth moving forward.

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