The Atlanta City Council has approved a $1 million donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta to support low-income youth in the city and especially those living in disinvested neighborhoods.
The donation, approved at the council’s Nov. 20 meeting, is being made to support Mayor Andre Dickens’ Year of the Youth Safe Spaces Program. The money will be donated in two $500,000 installments, one in fiscal year 2024 and the other in fiscal year 2025. A map of disinvested neighborhoods identified by city officials can be found here.
The Boys and Girls Club will use the funding for the necessary expenses and resources to add 300 teens to its programming capacity at no cost to the participating households.
Other actions approved by the council on Nov. 20:
• An ordinance authorizing a donation of $10,000 to the Atlanta Police Foundation to supplement the reward for information which results in the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the hit-and-run of Brittany Glover. Glover, 33, a flight attendant, was leaving an event on Sept. 19 when she was hit and killed while crossing Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. The driver sped off and has not yet been found. According to pedestrian advocacy organization Propel ATL, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway is considered one of the worst streets in Georgia involving pedestrian crashes resulting in serious or fatal injuries.
• An ordinance requiring that all video surveillance cameras obtained for use in the City of Atlanta parks or any city facility are compatible with the specifications of the Atlanta Police Department’s video surveillance program.
• An ordinance to amend the city code of ordinances to mandate a minimum fine of $500 for a person or entity guilty of the offense of the unlawful disposal of litter where the litter is disposed of in an area of 100 square feet or more on private property or property open to the public within the city.
• A resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Sandy Springs for the construction of the PATH 400 multi-use trail extension along State Route 400 from Loridans Drive within the city limits of Atlanta through the city limits of Sandy Springs and south of Johnson Ferry Road in an amount not to exceed $400,000.
• A resolution urging the Georgia General Assembly to enhance super speeding and drunk driving laws in Atlanta. The legislation is titled Erica’s Law. The resolution’s recommended punishments for violating super speeder and DUI laws are: first offense — 5-year license suspension; second offense —10-year license suspension; third offense — lifetime license suspension.
