Affordable Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund to Provide Living Options for Atlanta Workers
Yesterday, the Atlanta City Council approved an inter-governmental agreement between the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) and the Atlanta Development Authority (ADA) to establish an Affordable Workforce Housing Opportunity Fund totaling $75 million.
Creation of the Fund will support Mayor Shirley Franklin’s New Century Economic Development Plan goal to create 10,000 new affordable workforce housing units by 2009. The Fund will incentivize the creation of new affordable workforce housing units and preserve existing housing units through mortgage down-payment assistance, land acquisition, multi-family loans, home builder incentives and loans for community housing development organizations.
In March, the Atlanta Housing Opportunity, Inc (AHO), a new AHA non-profit organization, will approve an agreement for the City of Atlanta to designate how the funds will be spent and the policies for expenditure. AHO will also approve an agreement for the Urban Residential Finance Authority (URFA), an ADA subsidiary, to issue the first bond series. These are expected in April for approximately $35 million, and will provide affordable housing options for 3,000 Atlanta workers.
“This is a giant step forward in offering working men and women and their families the chance to live in the city where they work. This improves the quality of life for all of us and makes our city more vibrant and exciting,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin.
For more information about the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund, visit here.
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City is “Weeding Out” Crime and “Seeding In” Change
The City of Atlanta Office of Weed and Seed has been selected to participate in a community economic development training program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Capacity Development Office.
The Weed and Seed concept brings together people and resources to prevent and control crime in urban areas. Atlanta was chosen from among 250 national Weed and Seed programs, and will join 12 cities selected for training. Training will be held monthly from September 2007 through May 2008 at the Southern New Hampshire University.
The program focuses on the theory of community economic development and trains leaders and policy makers to implement strategies that will improve the economic and social well-being of communities. Program coursework includes project design, financing community economic development, negotiation skills and managerial accounting.
Atlanta has been recognized for its best-in-class Weed and Seed program. In 2006, the City received several awards including: Rookie of the Year Award by the National Town Watch for Weed and Seed Communities; Coordination Award for “Keep Students in Schools” and the “Director’s Award for Excellent Program Management” for Weed and Seed director, Karen Rogers. Last month, Rogers jointly presented to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means on Atlanta’s successful public-private partnership strategies.
For more information on Atlanta’s Office of Weed and Seed, visit here.
The Atlanta Office of Weed and Seed brings together people and resources to help prevent and control crime in urban areas. For more information about this best-in-class program, visit the AtlantaGa.gov website. |
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Booth Packages Available for Arms Around Atlanta, an Earth Day Celebration
The City of Atlanta Environmental Team is calling on all residents, businesses, civic organizations and communities to help create a “Greener Atlanta.”
Join the City of Atlanta, Keep Atlanta Beautiful and the BeltLine Partnership by purchasing a booth for Arms Around Atlanta, the first citywide Earth Day celebration. On April 21 and 22, thousands of residents and stakeholders will converge to clean up right-of-ways around neighborhoods and parks on and close to Atlanta’s BeltLine.
It’s critical that the city of Atlanta is clean, healthy and sustainable for future generations. Purchasing a booth will allow stakeholders an opportunity to be part of the energy, excitement and education of Atlanta’s environmental programs.
Rates for a 10x10 booth are $350 for businesses, $250 for government agencies and $175 for non-profit organizations. 20x10 booths are also available to businesses for $500. Sponsorship packages are also available from $1,000 to $50,000. Contributions help keep Atlanta beautiful by providing recycled items for City parks, including rubberized jogging tracks, park benches and picnic tables.
For more information on how you can become a part of a “Greener Atlanta” call 404.330.6850 or, visit here.
Arms Around Atlanta, an Earth Day Celebration will take place on April 21 and 22. For sponsorship package information, visit the Atlantaga.gov website. |
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Atlanta Public Safety Departments More Diverse
The Atlanta Police Department (APD) and the Atlanta Fire Rescue (AFR) Department recently conferred diplomas on one of the most diverse recruit classes yet.
On February 21, 23 men and women from APD Recruit Class #196 received their diplomas from APD Chief Richard Pennington in Atlanta’s City Hall Council Chambers. The graduation keynote was delivered by noted U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russell L. Honore’.
APD’s recruit class included one female and 22 males. Of the 23 recruits, nine (9) hold college graduates; nine (9) have previous military experience and four (4) have previous law enforcement experience. Ethnically, 10 graduates were African American; 10 were Caucasian American; and three were Latin American.
The following day at the Atlanta Civic Center, AFR conferred diplomas on its first graduating class of 2007. In addition to firefighting and extrication skills, recruits acquired life-saving certifications as Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics.
For more information about joining the APD, visit here. For more information about joining the AFR, visit here.
A diverse class of public safety officers recently received diplomas from the Atlanta Police Department (pictured above) and the Atlanta Fire Rescue (AFR) Department. |
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Clean Water is Dirty Work: Clean Water Atlanta Project Update
The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) has completed the 10-million-gallon Custer Avenue Storage and Dechlorination Facility on-time and under-budget.
This $36 million project was part of the Clean Water Atlanta program. Completion of the facility complies with the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) consent decree program to reduce pollution in the Chattahoochee River and its tributaries.
The underground facility, along with the existing 34-million-gallon Intrenchment Creek Storage Tunnel, gives Atlanta an overflow storage capacity of 44 million gallons. CSOs will be stored in the tunnel until they can be transferred to the Intrenchment Creek Water Reclamation Center for treatment and discharged into Intrenchment Creek.
The dechlorination system will allow the plant to take chlorine, which is part of the treatment process, out of the flows before they are discharged. This will protect fish and wildlife in and near the receiving stream.
Originally designed as an above-ground structure, the facility was redesigned as an underground storage cavern based on numerous meetings and consultations with nearby communities. “This project is a reflection of our commitment to our customers and to the river,” said DWM Commissioner Rob Hunter.
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Mayor Shirley Franklin was among a distinguished list of inductees into the 2007 International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. The Walk of Fame is a tribute to pioneers of the civil rights movement on display at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. Click here to go to Video On Demand (VOD) webpage where you can watch the induction ceremony.
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Rave Reviews!
- Patricia L. Koch, a Community Coordinator with the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA), has been chosen to lead the 2007 Summer Internship Initiative for Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Youth Program. The internship initiative helps Atlanta Public Schools (APS) graduating seniors map out a plan for success after high school. Last year, the program placed more than 500 students in paid internships at over 100 organizations in the public and private sectors. Koch will use her expertise in workforce economic development and familiarity with the business community to cultivate the Summer Internship Initiative. A private business owner for over 15 years, Koch has worked with AWDA since 2003, developing the adult and youth healthcare programs. She recently spent a year working on workforce economic development in the Gulf Region with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce in Alabama. For more information and/or to register for the intership program, visit here or call 404.880.7235 or email PKOCH@AtlantaGa.gov.
- City employee Lance Clark, director of the Bureau of Engineering, Watershed Management Department, went beyond the call of duty during a recent keynote address at the February Caring for the Homeless program. Clark was the keynote speaker for the event. Following his address, he presented clothes and served meals donated by the Department.
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Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities
- The City of Atlanta will host “Generations of Women Moving City Government Forward” on Friday, March 9 from 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. This annual event will be held at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, and includes health seminars, panel discussions and screenings. Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, president of the Council of A.M.E. Bishops, is the luncheon keynote speaker. Door prizes include airline tickets. Tickets are $40, or $35 with a City of Atlanta employee ID; group tables are available for $400, or $350 with a City employee ID. For more information about this event, or to purchase tickets, call 404.330.6360.
- The City of Atlanta will host the 25th Annual Dream Jamboree for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students from Tuesday, March 27 – Thursday, March 29. This year’s event will take place at Turner Field on the Lexus Level. The highlight is the Parents/Public Night on Wednesday, March 28 from 7 – 9 p.m. This segment is open to the public, and all other metro Atlanta area students, from public and private schools. For more information call 404.330.6023, or visit here.
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Job Announcments
With the City of Atlanta’s online application system, you are able to create an account and select a Username and Password and then log in to your account.
After your account has been established, you can create an application by clicking on the “Build Job Application” link. Once your application is completed, it will be stored in the system and can be used to apply for future job openings. To get started by viewing current open positions, click here.
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Weekly Features
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