A new report on historic and cultural resources at the site of Atlanta’s public safety training center is important mostly for what’s between the lines. While finding little of significance, the report lays the groundwork for detail on reuse of the debris of a historic library and two stone buildings that apparently will flank a future public entrance on Key Road.
Tag: public safety training center
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Public safety training center committee’s media-talk ban is based on unenforced Athens-Clarke policy
An attempt by the chair of the Atlanta public safety training center’s advisory committee to ban other members from speaking to the media is based on an Athens-Clarke County government policy posted on a website, internal emails reveal. But an Athens-Clarke spokesperson says that policy is not enforced and that its committee members talk freely to the press.
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Public safety training center advisory committee responds to debate with ban on members talking to media
News of Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center getting a final site plan was hard to hear over the sound of political tensions bursting at a January Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) meeting. The chair announced a ban on members speaking to the media – a move one expert says likely violates First Amendment free-speech rights.
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Who should plan the park next to Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center?
Planning for Atlanta’s public safety training center is increasingly focused on adjacent parkland with no clear authority and no communication with groups who will include the green space in a South River Forest input process launching in January.
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Public safety training center plan looks at parkland; explosives site to move elsewhere
The Atlanta public safety training center’s planners’ responsiveness to local concerns — including a willingness to help design adjacent parkland — drew praise from an advisory committee at its November meeting. But one surprise change means an explosives detonation facility will be moved somewhere else to be determined.
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Public safety training center review committee begins testing its powers
Nicole Morado of DeKalb County’s Starlight Heights recalls the moment earlier this year when her community learned that Atlanta’s covertly planned public safety training center would be built on the neighboring Atlanta Prison Farm property.
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Public safety training center gets revised plan, call for broader environmental review
A revised, denser site plan for Atlanta’s public safety training center was revealed Oct. 26 to an advisory committee whose community members pressed for a broader pollution study and more information in general.
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Public safety training center review committee makes debut with transparency concerns
An advisory committee intended to finally provide community input into Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center had a rocky start Oct. 12 with transparency concerns.
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Lost graveyard of zoo animals at Prison Farm may get a memorial
A lost graveyard for zoo animals may be memorialized in perhaps the strangest outcome of the debate over the future of the former Atlanta Prison Farm.
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Public safety training center wins City Council approval; opponents suggest fight to continue
The Atlanta City Council has approved a controversial plan to build a public safety training center at the Prison Farm site. Proponents are cheering what they say is a crime-fighting landmark, while opponents are indicating the political battle may have just begun. The 10-4 vote in a Sept. 8 virtual meeting was preceded by 17 […]
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City Council delays public safety training center action to hear 17 hours of public comment
The Atlanta City Council has delayed a possible vote on the controversial public safety training center until Sept. 8 to hear out an estimated 17 hours of public comments. The council’s Sept. 7 agenda included the lease agreement allowing the training center’s construction on the former Atlanta Prison Farm site. At the 1 p.m. start […]
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Public safety training center opposition group calls for delaying vote until election, creating mitigation agreement
In advance of a possible Atlanta City Council vote Sept. 7 on the controversial public safety training center, the main opposition group is demanding the issue be tabled until after the election. And if the project can’t be stopped altogether, the group says, it wants a detailed community benefits agreement. In a Sept. 6 letter […]
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Smaller public safety training center site plan is pitched; transparency criticism continues
By John Ruch As Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center heads toward a possible City Council vote just after Labor Day, its backers pitched a new, smaller site plan and an intent to form a community advisory committee at a Sept. 2 virtual meeting. Officials emphasized community-inspired changes to the concept and answered many public […]
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Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation says it had no role in training center site selection
By John Ruch The Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation says it played no role in picking the controversial location of a proposed public safety training center, contradicting an official site recommendation report, and later said it considers the choice “viable.” “When the Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation was asked to participate, the site was already determined,” said […]
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Atlanta City Council delays vote on controversial public safety training center, tightens legal language
By John Ruch The Atlanta City Council has delayed its vote on a controversial public safety training center at the former Prison Farm for three weeks, responding to pressure from opponents concerned about a lack of public input and impacts on forest and neighborhoods. The council also voted at the same Aug. 16 meeting to […]
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Atlanta City Council asked to vote on public safety center despite unknowns
So many unanswered questions.
In light of mounting opposition to its initial proposal, the Atlanta Police Foundation hastily presented an alternative plan at last Wednesday’s finance committee meeting of the Atlanta City Council for a new public safety training center on the site of the historic Prison Farm property in DeKalb County.
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Public safety training center plan heads to City Council with chorus of opposition
The controversial plan to build a public safety training center at the former Atlanta Prison Farm site is heading to City Council for consideration Aug. 16 in a downsized version that is still opposed by a coalition of community and activist groups. The council’s Finance/Executive Committee on Aug. 11 approved a version of the plan […]
