Public Hearing: YES ? NO ? Department: Board of Commissioners - District 6
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): Districts 4 & 6
Approve $100.000.00 from District 6 ARP appropriations to support a Brannon Hills Public Health and Public Safety Fund
Body
Information Contact: Commissioner Edward "Ted" Terry
Phone Number: 404-371-4909
PURPOSE:
To appropriate District 6 ARP funding to establish a Brannon Hills Fund to support current and future public health and public safety initiatives implemented by Public Safety, other DeKalb County departments, and service providers that can address the myriad Brannon Hills Condominium resident's needs.
NEED/IMPACT:
Brannon Hills condominiums has been dubbed the worst neighborhood in America. The 369-unit condominium association was once an affordable but livable option for Somalian refugees in the 1980s. The condos were so inexpensive that buyers were able to pay cash and avoid having to obtain mortgages. These modest dwellings were their piece of the American Dream. But over the years, owners say that Brannon Hill has been led by a corrupt board. For years they collected assessments but never seemed to do any maintenance or repairs where conditions are less suited for the third-world inhabitants, many of whom are former refugees from east Africa and the middle east. Squaller and uninhabitable units fester violence and crime.
In 2017, the county began a phased approach to cleaning up the Brannon Hill complex and demolishing vacant and damaged units. Phase I consisted of demolishing two buildings (28 units) and removing more than 1,200 tons of debris in July 2017. Phase II consisted of demolishing an additional two buildings (40 units) in December 2017.
DeKalb County has literally been putting out fires as they erupt, and joint efforts to increase police presence, strategies to arrest and convict violent offenders, and major cleanup efforts are some of ...
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