Big bucks are coming to Atlanta's park security with a unanimous City Council nod for a $1.5 million camera and cop boost following a pair of chilling slayings. The hefty fund is earmarked for police patrols and high-tech peepers in 20 major parks as temperatures rise and folks flock outdoors, according to Councilman Michael Bond, who says, "We want to make sure that all of our visitors and residents are safe in our parks.", per reports by FOX 5 Atlanta.
Meanwhile, tempers flared in City Hall over the drama of filling a vacant Council seat, arguments hot enough to rival Atlanta's summer sizzle, sources note, waiting is not an option after ex-Councilwoman Keisha Sean Waites' abrupt exit to chase a court clerk role left council members down one vote, as detailed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The clashing over a May versus June qualifying interval for the suddenly up-for-grabs seat boiled over on Monday, with some elders on the council like Andrea Boone calling the whole ordeal "an embarrassment."
As Atlanta pads its parks with security in response to past crimes, including the still unsolved Piedmont Park stabbing that set off alarm bells about surveillance shortcomings, Bond hopes every nook and cranny of city green space will get the high-tech treatment, eventually; his rationale firmly forming after tragedies that took Jakari Dillard and Katie Janness from their communities, the sting of their losses now pushing preventative policies forward.
Back at the ranch, where the City Council is busy duking it out over how to fill the gulf left by Waites, who dashed for those greener pastures in the judiciary, without nailing a final call on the special election debate they landed on June qualifying dates amidst the squabble, despite Bond's passionate disapproval of excluding potential candidates, and a suggestion to plant a placeholder that won't run come the bustling November ballot, overlapping with a presidential face-off that's sure to get the vote mills grinding.
As Bond pointedly reminded peers during the council stare-down, "This place is like your family, you don’t get to pick who your family is," while citizens look on, they wait to see who'll step up to serve, and whether their parks will be safer or just better watched as the year unfolds and the politicking plays on.
