Mayor, police chief visiting residents near Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
Mayor Dickens walks, talks with residents who live near planned public safety training center
Most headlines surrounding the incoming Atlanta police training center show protesters pitted against police officers or intense political debates at Atlanta City Hall. But, what about the DeKalb county neighbors who have had to live with all the fallout from the controversial project? FOX 5 tagged along as Mayor Andre Dickens met with residents to hear their concerns.
ATLANTA - Atlanta's mayor and police chief made private visits to the neighborhoods bordering the site of the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
Mayor Andre Dickens, who earlier admitted leaders did not adequately explain the project, took members of his cabinet to DeKalb County to listen to the residents' concerns.
The homeowners have been catching the fallout from months of protests, which are sometimes violent.
Marc Bolden, a community leader in the Boulderwalk neighborhood, asked Mr. Dickens to come out and speak to his neighbors.
"We cannot vote for him, and he cannot seek votes here," Bolden told FOX 5. "We just want to have a real conversation because we have nothing to do with what is going on over there."
The DeKalb County neighbors have, for years, grown tired of hearing the gunfire that comes from the existing training center.
That is one of the things Bolden wanted the mayor and Chief Darin Schierbaum to address.
And they did.
Dickens told small groups of residents their concerns are being heard and met.
The planning for the law enforcement training center locates the pistol range further away from those neighborhoods. Plus, Dickens told residents, there will be a significant buffer of trees to shield their homes from the sound.
To show residents that he is serious about having a frank dialogue, the mayor is making the visits without reporters following along.