Happy Friday, y’all!
First, a quick reminder about the East Athens East Egg Hunt at Heard Park tomorrow at 10am! We are still looking for two more volunteers to help set up and run the event; feel free to call or text at 502-396-9023 if you’d like to lend a hand. Either way, hope to see you there!
Also on Saturday, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement will host an Athens Mayoral Candidate at the ACC Library in the Appleton auditorium at 1pm. Hear from candidates Kelly Girtz, Pearl Hall, Bennie Coleman III, and Mykeisha Ross on the issues that matter! Use this link to submit any questions you may have for the candidates.
Looking ahead to next week, at Tuesday’s Work Session we will hear from Central Services staff on plans for the Athens Neighborhood Health Center expansion and from Diversity and Inclusion Officer Selah Gardner on the coming Black History Center and the Linnentown Walk of Recognition (LWOR) on UGA campus. I am particularly excited for the LWOR, which should break ground in the coming year and pioneer a new form of community involvement in public art, allowing residents to help design and install the LWOR mosaic. The full Work Session agenda will be available online later this afternoon.
Next Thursday, April 14 from 10:00am–12pm, ACC Gov will convene a meeting to discuss the disparity study commissioned in the FY22 budget. The study evaluates and analyzes ACC Gov’s purchasing/contracting with minority and women businesses for concrete evidence of inequity. The study also includes business owner testimonies used to identify successes of and/or barriers to their ability to win contracts or subcontracts. This is our first step toward implementing policies that set aside a percentage of government contracts for women and minority businesses and decrease economic inequities in our community.
Businesses are invited to attend to learn more about the study and to discuss experience doing business (or attempting to do business) with the Unified Government. The event will be virtual; register here.
Thursday is also shaping up to be a busy one. That afternoon, housing stakeholders including myself, Commissioner Tim Denson, planning commissioners, and housing nonprofit leaders will reconvene to begin crafting a request for proposals to spend $7 million dollars of American Rescue Plan funds on housing. Though tasked with developing a strategic plan, stakeholders decided in our last meeting that immediate action must be taken to address the housing crisis. Once these initial funds are disbursed, the remaining $4 million dollars allocated for housing will be spent in response to needs identified in a longer-term strategic plan. The meeting will take place at 3:30 in the auditorium of the Planning Department on Dougherty Street.
See you out and about!