Athens Justice and Memory Project

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the March 15th meeting will be remote. The regular meeting for the Athens Justice and Memory Project will be available to watch live on YouTube at the link available on the ACCGov calendar. Athens Justice and Memory Project Team Meeting #6 Monday, March 15, 2021 5 pm – 6:30 pm Virtual WebEx Meeting A. Moment of silence for Linnentown decedents a. The Committee will take a moment of silence to acknowledge and show respect to those who are no longer with us. B. The chairperson will ask that all participants state their name before speaking, since some members are calling in via phone a. The secretary will lead a roll call of team and support members i. Hattie Whitehead, Committee Chair and First Descendant of Linnentown ii. Bobby Crook, First Descendant of Linnentown iii. Linda Thomas, First Descendant of Linnentown iv. Christine Davis Johnson, First Descendant of Linnentown v. Jennifer Rice, UGA Professor and Researcher, Parliamentarian vi. Kelly Girtz, ACC Gov Mayor, non-voting/supporting member vii. Krystle Cobran, ACCGov Inclusion Office and non-voting/supporting member viii. Shayla Lee, ACCGov Inclusion Fellow, non-voting member ix. Alison Kaye, ACCGov Inclusion Fellow, non-voting member b. Reading of the last meeting minutes (Vote) C. Special thanks: a. Our mayor for writing the Proclamation, which included an apology b. To all the Linnentown Project and the Justice and Memory Team for your hard work in getting resolution to the point of being voted on and passing. INCLUSION OFFICE THE UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA P. O. Box 1868 ∙ Athens, Georgia 30603 (706) 613-3015 ∙ Fax (706) 613-3029 www.accgov.com D. Subgroups reporting: a. Dr. Jenn Rice: Walls of recognition b. Ms. Hattie Whitehead: Black History Center E. Mayor Girtz will be contacting an Economist to join team F. Budget Recommendations: a. Notes from Mayor Girtz: get a current snapshot on each of those categories; elements of the budget that come from department heads; work with Krystle and legal b. Affordable Housing i. Propose to provide a down payment to an individual that wants to have a path to home ownership but cannot afford the down payment; don’t know if we can do that or not ii. Rent deposit: if a family is stuck in a bad living condition and can’t move out, help with the situation by paying a realtor deposit iii. Needed house repair for senior homeowners - 1. Mayor Girtz: fund programs through Historic Athens and Action Inc -- both expandable programs but if have an expenditure over 5000 that then kicks in in older neighborhoods, there are some remediation requirements (ex: asbestos); 2. Ms Christine: asked if a program exists around housing repair for senior citizens c. Economic Development: i. Income equity for ACC employees - $15 minimum wage 1. Mayor Girtz: ACCGov - only 21 employees make under $30,000 a year which is about $15 an hour; actively working with partner organizations that have a lower payscale - lifting up to where ACC is now ii. Black History Center 1. Trying to find information to provide in a description that will go to the Mayor and Commission d. Telecommunication Services: i. In zipcodes in low income areas, family and homes don’t have high speed internet or wifi so we want to enable those families to have high speed internet and wifi - need a description around that 1. Subcommittee group members will make description 2. Mayor Girtz: American Rescue Plan act - one of the designated allowable expenditures is in this area - anticipate could see this happen sooner rather than later e. Public Transportation: INCLUSION OFFICE THE UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA P. O. Box 1868 ∙ Athens, Georgia 30603 (706) 613-3015 ∙ Fax (706) 613-3029 www.accgov.com  i. Emergencies and uber passes - bus system is good, but if you don’t live in the area or if the car breaks down and can’t get to school, an uber pass could help with that. f. Public Art: i. Wall of recognition - the item we’ve been talking about on Finley; need to move forward g. Discussion: i. Charlene Marsh: Potential policy recommendation: a type of control when it comes to private developments that are occurring near existing neighborhoods. COuld it be further explored? 1. Mayor Girtz: a group exists to explore “Inclusionary Zoning” which is generally the idea that local government incentivized people to create some affordable units within any new development - first phase done by planning commission; recently issued a report with several recommendation - broad and general and the more specific work is starting - they’re going to make recommendations about how to launch inclusionary zoning plan; 2. Ms Hattie Whitehead: low income housing is a problem in athens; low income areas, people can afford them but they’re not at the standard they need to be - want to be able to go in and help people to get their homes to a standard, even if it’s in a low income area; almost impossible to buy a house in Athens because people can’t afford, so they move out. Landscape in Athens is changing fast, developers are buying and making changes. Some things we can’t change because developers have deep pockets and the problem with Linnentown is that when the first descendants moved out, there were no banks that could help an a. Ms. Linda agreed, Linnentown residents forced out and received no support ii. Mayor Girtz: have the Land Bank Authority that could do more work in this area to lock up the existing properties that are unoccupied; iii. Ms Hattie Whitehead: need UGA to be responsible for some portion, not just the City of Athens INCLUSION OFFICE THE UNIFIED GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA P. O. Box 1868 ∙ Athens, Georgia 30603 (706) 613-3015 ∙ Fax (706) 613-3029 www.accgov.com