VOLUME 21 NUMBER 33
FREE
NOVEMBER 14, 2015
Published Since April 1995 Serving DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale Counties • www.facebook.com/ocgnews
HOUSE DISTRICT 92
Doreen Carter is sworn in, ready to work
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By Valerie J. Morgan
urrounded by family, friends, colleagues and constituents, Doreen Roberson Carter was sworn in as the newest member of the House of Representatives on Nov. 12 at the Georgia Capitol. “I have my I.D., parking pass, and I have my office. I’m ready to go to work,” said Carter, who was elected in the Nov. 3 special election to represent House District 92, which covers portions of DeKalb and Rockdale counties. DeKalb County Judge Ronald Ramsey, himself an immediate former state senator, administered the oath of office to Carter, who was joined by the eldest of her three sons, Roland Carter, 18. Carter’s two younger sons, Caleb, 16, and Joshua, 14, were in school when the ceremony took place, she said. “Ms. Carter, you are about to embark on an awesome responsibility. You are responsible now or will be for 10 million people in this great state,” Ramsey told Carter at the start of the swearing-in ceremony. The new state representative thanked Ramsey for performing the ceremony and acknowledged Congressman Hank Johnson and his wife, DeKalb Commissioner Mereda Johnson, and several other supporters.
Doreen Carter is joined by her eldest son, Roland, as she is sworn in by DeKalb County Judge Ronald Ramsey. Photo by Glenn L. Morgan
Carter, who formerly served on the Lithonia City Council and was elected as the 2014 Democratic nominee for Secretary of State, said campaigning for the House District 92 seat was “10 times harder” than the statewide seat she had sought last year because there was such a short window for the Nov. 3 special election. Tonya Peterson
stepped down from the House District 92 seat to run for the Senate 43 seat. “We had 33 days to put a campaign together, raise some money, knock on doors, make phone calls, figure out how to get a few mailers and some friends tweeting,” said Carter, who says the work continues. Carter said she plans to reach
out to constituents in the district immediately. “We are planning our first listening session, which will be held in the upcoming weeks. I am really eager to hear from my neighbors, so that I can vigorously advocate for the issues See Swearing in, page 6
DeKalb: costs too high to bring Atlanta United to the county Plans to bring the Atlanta United pro soccer team to DeKalb have dried up. Atlanta United and DeKalb County have decided they will not proceed with plans to build Atlanta United’s headquarters and training facility on the 41-acre site near Kensington Road and Memorial Drive. The decision followed discussions and a mutual conclusion that the site is not a viable location for the complex due to higher-than-anticipated site preparation and remediation costs necessary for a project of this nature, DeKalb officials said in a news release. Atlanta United’s multi-million dollar training complex is instead headed to Cobb County. The Marietta City Council approved the memorandum of understanding on Nov. 11, outlining a development plan aimed at revitalizing Marietta’s Franklin Road corridor. AUFC hopes to break ground on the complex in January so the team can be ready for its 2017 kickoff. DeKalb’s Interim CEO Lee May said as it turns out, the project would have been too costly for DeKalb to pursue. “As Interim CEO, I always am looking for opportunities for collaborations where all sides come out winners. After reviewing the reports with Atlanta United FC, we decided together that the numbers going into it have changed so much that proceeding would not be a responsible decision for either party, and certainly not the DeKalb taxpayers,” said Interim CEO Lee May. “We hope to work with Arthur Blank on another project in the future.” The land due diligence process, which included environmental and geotechnical site analysis, was directed by the county and began in early September.
Preliminary Renderings Released for Atlanta United FC Complex
Under the terms of the non-binding memorandum of understanding between DeKalb County and Atlanta United, DeKalb County would incur site preparation and remediation costs, which were estimated to exceed $20 million, making the site not financially feasible for the county, its taxpayers or Atlanta United. As is common with due diligence work, both parties knew uncertainties existed entering into the memorandum of understanding, but were not able to accurately predict site preparation challenges and costs for the complex until the detailed analysis was
completed. The Atlanta United plan for developing the entire 41-acre site, in addition to the specific requirements of a Major League Soccer facility, made the remediation challenges unique to the project and factored into the significant additional costs for ground preparation. The site would be less challenging for many other commercial development projects requiring different uses for the land. The county remains committed to the vision of a robust, vital and thriving Memorial Drive corridor.