The City of Atlanta will hold the first meeting of The South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force on Wednesday, April 19th. The Community Task Force, appointed last month by Mayor Andre Dickens, is charged with providing recommendations on the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and the surrounding green space.

“Atlanta works best when everyone comes to the table to work together,” said Mayor Dickens. “I am grateful that these community members have agreed to lend their time, expertise and perspectives as part of our continued work to reach every stakeholder in this work.”

The 40-plus-member Community Task Force is made up of a diverse array of community members and experts who are being asked to provide recommendations on a variety of issues, including public safety training curriculum, green space enhancements and sustainability and resilience. The Community Task Force complements the ongoing work of the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, whose recommendations have already led to several enhancements to the plans for the site.

The City also released new educational materials on the planned Training Center, including:

Testimonials from Atlanta residents from neighborhoods near the Training Center.
Myths and facts about the Training Center.
Architectural renderings of some of the facilities on the Training Center campus.

“There has unfortunately been a lot of misinformation about this project, and I am hopeful that we are able to work together to separate fact from fiction as we move forward, together,” Mayor Dickens added. “I invite every Atlantan with questions about the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and the South River Forest to visit ATLTrainingCenter.com to learn more.”

These materials and previously published facts, documents, videos and more are available at www.ATLTrainingCenter.com. That site includes pages on:

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, including videos, documents, facts and project updates.
The South River Forest, including the February 2023 Atlanta Regional Commission report on the vision to protect, connect and activate the South River Forest in SE Atlanta and SW DeKalb County.
The Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee, including past meeting recordings and a summary of enhancements made to
The South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force, including the mandate and membership of the group.