Brannon Hill Residents Ask Leaders to Clean Up Complex

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Inside the Brannon Hills Condominium Complex, you will find dumpsters overflowing with trash and rusty nails protruding from wood from buildings that were demolished many months ago. Abandoned buildings are missing roof tops, but residents say that doesn't stop homeless men from rigging electricity.

Most of the residents immigrated from East Africa and Eastern Europe more than a decade ago. They say they love their homes, but hate the piles of trash and debris piled throughout the community.

"This is not what I thought my American dream would look like. I love my home and it's better than what I left back in Somalia 10 years ago, but it's not that clean. We need the political leaders who promised to help us clean it up a month ago to do what they said they are going to do. I don't even let my kids play outside here," said one resident who did not want to reveal her name.

DeKalb County officials the conditions at Brannon HIlls, located just outside of Clarkston, have gone from bad to worse following a series of fires, criminal activity and buildings left neglected by property owners who've left the state or even the country.

Commissioner Nancy Jester, who does not represent Brannon Hills, toured the complex with residents Monday. She was stunned to see the dilapidated conditions she had only heard about prior to hour hour-long visit.

These people are living in a crisis situation. This is clearly a failure of government. This needs immediate attention and we need to figure out how to get sanitation out here immediately to remove all of this trash," said Jester, who was elected to the board nearly a year ago.

Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May says leaders from several county agencies started tackling the blight at Brannon Hills a year ago, but he says the process of tracking down the private individuals who own several different buildings is time consuming.

"We would love to be able to clean up this place overnight, but there are policies that have to be followed when you're talking about private property. We have to reach more than 300 property owners-many of whom have left the state or even the country-so that they can be served with legal papers."

Sharon Barnes Sutton represents the Brannon Hills complex. She told Fox 5 she is just as frustrated as the residents and is working hard to clean up the facility, but conceded the process in painfully slow.

"I want the people to know we are really trying to work with the courts on this to take legal action, but this is the government and we have to follow the policies in place. In the meantime, we are trying to find affordable alternatives so that these families don't feel trapped," said Barnes, who has served on the County Commission for eight years.