FREE
VOLUME 25, NUMBER 27
OCTOBER 4, 2019
News 24/7
Stay connected
ocgnews.com
Our New Number: 770-678-5607
Published Since April 1995
Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties
facebook.com/ocgnews
Mirtha V. Ramos to lead DeKalb Police Department
CEO Thurmond appoints Mirtha Ramos as DeKalb’s new Police Chief City of Stonecrest inks deal to purchase former Sears building for city’s Public Safety headquarters
T
he Stonecrest City Council approved the purchase of the former Sears building at The Mall At Stonecrest at a special-called meeting on Oct. 3. The city is spending $2.1 million for the building, which it plans to use for a public safety building it hopes to share with DeKalb County’s Police Department. Mayor Jason Lary said the purchase, which will be funded by the city’s SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) includes two buildings—the 142,000-squarefoot Sears building and its
15,000-square-foot tire and battery center. “I am so elated that we got it done. Public safety has been our No. 1 priority and now we will have our own facility. Our plan is to combine our forces with DeKalb County so we can properly cover the Stonecrest area,” said Lary, who led negotiating the terms of the deal. Lary said the city has been working on the purchase for two months. The City Council approved sending $105,000 in earnest money to Sears, Roebuck and Co. for the
purchase of the building and to start the 60-day due diligence process. T. Dallas Smith & Company is handling the transaction on behalf of the city and is sending the funds on Oct. 4, Lary said. “We expect the facility will be a functioning police precinct by the second quarter of next year,” said Lary. Stonecrest City Councilman Jimmy Clanton, who represents District 1 where the Sears building is located, said he was pleased with the contract. The purchase, he said,
SEE STONECREST page 7
Judge dismisses RCG Ventures’ lawsuit against city of Stonecrest DeKalb Superior Court Judge Asha F. Jackson has dismissed RCG Ventures’ lawsuit against the City of Stonecrest, upholding the city’s denial of a SLUP (special land use permit) for a Popeye’s Chicken drivethrough at 8200 Mall Parkway. RCG was seeking to build a drive-through Popeye’s restaurant in the plaza where Panera Bread is located. The city denied a special land use permit that would have permitted the drive-through at the location, after an uproar from community residents who opposed it. Mayor Jason Lary, who vowed to stand by the community, said he was pleased with the court’s decision. “Our citizens expressed that they didn’t want this and we were successful in court,” said Lary, who attended the court hearing. “There will be no more chicken houses in Stonecrest or Dollar stores. The community has said it does not want any more of these types of businesses in the city.” The suit was filed on June 13. Attorney Emily E. Macheski-Preston, partner for Coleman Talley LLP who represented the city, received the court’s final order on Sept. 24. The order stated that the city’s planning staff substantiated that the SLUP for the drive-through was
not consistent with the needs of the neighborhood and was not compatible with other properties and land uses in the district. “The neighborhood already had a proliferation of drive-through restaurants and the citizens had a desire to become more pedestrian friendly….Many of the surrounding neighbors also emphasized their desire to have sit-down, more pedestrian friendly and healthier options in their neighborhood,” Judge Jackson stated. Macheski-Preston said RCG Ventures has 30 days to file an appeal.
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has appointed Mirtha V. Ramos as chief of the DeKalb County Police Department, effective Nov. 4. Ramos, who is leaving the Miami-Dade, Florida Police Department, was selected after a nationwide search was conducted to replace former Police Chief James Conroy, who retired in April and then accepted a job as police chief of Roswell. Ramos will be responsible for leading nearly 800 sworn police officers and 110 civilian employees, and managing the police department’s $95.1 million budget. “Chief Ramos has embraced community policing as an effective tool to reduce crime and improve public safety,” said Thurmond. “She is an innovative leader who brings a wealth of experience, training and professionalism to this important position. I am confident that our new police chief will dedicate herself to advancing DeKalb County’s public safety priorities.” The county’s top public safety priorities include: • Enhancing ongoing efforts to recruit, train and retain qualified police officers. • Expanding law enforcement and community-building initiatives designed to interrupt the cycle of gun violence and illegal gang activity. • Strengthening partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to reinforce DeKalb County’s commitment to protecting law-abiding citizens and residents. Ramos, a 22-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department, rose through the ranks and has held several leadership positions including division chief, major and captain. As police division chief forboth the North Operations and Special Investigations Divisions, Ramos was responsible for leading one of Miami-Dade Police Department’s largest divisions, consisting of 1,047
SEE CHIEF page 7