College Park has been under public scrutiny for months over a multitude of issues. Resident complaints to the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, city council approving rezoning for a critical project without public notice and censuring the mayor for talking too much during council meetings are only a few problems facing the city.
A common theme is the public’s concern of a lack of transparency and intense contentiousness between city council and Mayor Bianca Motley Broom.
This year, residents including Motley Broom have submitted dozens of complaints to the Georgia Attorney General’s Office regarding possible open meetings violations by College Park City Council. But city officials appear to be standing by their actions.
In January, city council approved an ordinance that limits the mayor’s ability to speak during debate on agenda items. Despite the ordinance, the mayor has spoken out by asking for more clarity on agenda items during meetings and she’ been met with misogyny and such remarks as “bully” and “childish” by council members.
“In the minds of some, I haven’t stayed in the role or the place they expected me to,” Motley Broom said in an Aug. 19 video statement to residents. “I haven’t followed the rules they think a woman should follow.”
Motley Broom has a pending federal lawsuit against the city of College Park that alleges her First Amendment right to free speech has been violated by the new city ordinance.
Public concerns include actions by interim City Manager Emmanuel Adediran during a special-called council meeting on Aug. 9. The purpose was to formally censure the mayor for asking questions during a previous meeting.
Residents filled city council chambers in support of the mayor. When they stood in applause as Motley Broom’s husband shouted out a statement objecting to the censure, Adediran ordered police to “clear the room.”
Removing the public from the meeting appears to be illegal and unconstitutional and College Park could be liable for monetary damages, according to Richard T. Griffiths, a spokesman for the First Amendment Foundation.
City Attorney Winston Denmark responds to citizen complaints about the meeting in a Sept. 4 letter to the Attorney General’s Office that was obtained by The Saporta Report. He describes the audience as “aggressive and unpredictable.”
“The city manager and police chief exercised their independent judgment in this circumstance to maintain order and ensure public safety,” Denmark wrote.
Video of the meeting is available on College Park’s Youtube page. The clearing of the room begins moments after the 18:48 minute mark.
The public’s right to know
While College Park has seen controversy for more than a year, the city is experiencing some of its greatest pushback from College Park and South Fulton residents who are upset over a rezoning approval that allows for the building of a $400 million lithium-ion battery storage facility near a residential community.
The College Park property owned by NextEra Energy Resources borders South Fulton on three sides and was denied rezoning last summer after residents voiced concerns about facility fires and explosions that have occurred across the U.S. and globally. Earlier this year, city council approved the rezoning over objections from the mayor during a regular meeting in which there was no public hearing or public notice.
A group of residents have hired an attorney and started a Go Fund Me fundraising campaign to try to prevent the battery plant from being built.
Currently, College Park is searching for a permanent city manager. Adediran and two outside candidates are finalists for the position. But Motley Broom says she and the public have not been fully informed about the process.
The departure of the previous city manager, Stanley Hawthorne, was another questionable issue.
Council moved to fire Hawthorne in January knowing he intended to resign. His firing was rescinded and the city agreed to pay him nearly $140,000 in a resignation agreement.
Adediran was named interim city manager and has been under criticism from residents and Motley Broom who say he fails to provide transparency and adequate information.
City Council will hold a 30-minute town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Friday to allow citizen comments on the city manager search. At 6:30 p.m., council is scheduled to decide on the new city manager appointment during executive session according to a city statement.
The City Manager alone made the determination to clear the city council chambers of residents/public. I was one of the residents cleared from the chambers.