Mayor Andre Dickens issued the following statement on the South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force presenting their recommendations.

“For several months, the members of the South River Forest and Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force have worked diligently and passionately to deliver recommendations about the future of more than 300 acres of land surrounding the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

“I am deeply appreciative and thankful for their time and commitment to sticking to the charge for developing a vision and action plan around four major areas that will positively impact the forest and the new training center: (1.) Parks and Greenspace; (2.) Police, Fire and E911 Curriculum; (3.) Sustainability and Resilience; and (4.) Visioning, Memorializing and Repurposing the Former Atlanta Prison Farm Site. Over the span of four months, 38 people held 21 meetings with the support of APD Urban Planning and Management.

“Over the next 30 days, my administration will thoroughly review the recommendations. We encourage members of the greater public to also review the plan and continue to engage in constructive dialogue about the future of the site. The presentation will be available at atltrainingcenter.com. In addition, my team will send report to the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) for their review.

“This work represents the very best of our city. It affirms a commitment to preserving accessible greenspace now and in the future. And it is vital to our north star of redefining and leading the nation in preparing fire-rescue, police and emergency medical service providers to better serve the diverse and vibrant neighborhoods that comprise our city.  

“Our public safety personnel must have modern, top-quality training programs and facilities throughout their careers, from their first day in the academy to routine training thereafter. This includes the most progressive training curriculum in the nation which includes learning and practicing de-escalation skills, mental health training, anti-bias training, and building relationships with residents to continue strengthening community trust.

“It shows that we can have an open and transparent engagement process with citizens to create inclusive and community-driven recommendations about a topic of great importance not only for the residents of the South River Forest community, but for all Atlanta residents. Together, we can move Atlanta forward.”