Mayor Bottoms expressed her approval of city council's recent vote to approve a new 85-acre police & fire training facility in DeKalb County. Following the vote, she held a press conference where she touted the $90 million facility as a necessary part of reforming APD to better suit the community’s needs.
The vote split 10 to 4 in favor of the new facility, which has been divisive following over a year of protests related to policing. Causing more controversy, the facility will be built in Atlanta’s single largest green space, the South River Forest.
The Police foundation, which is spearheading the push for the new facility has been criticized for their lack of transparency surrounding the selection of the location. The mayor has claimed that it was the only real choice, “it’s unfortunate we didn’t have anything else to choose from quite frankly” said Bottoms.
Councilwoman Jennifer Ide remarked “I couldn’t even tell you what the criteria was for finding a location because I think the decision was made so early on by a small group of people.”