Atlanta’s public safety training center is scheduled to open before the end of the year, and city officials are looking at even more money for heightened security measures because of the high number of attacks on the site during construction.
Atlanta City Council members are considering a $1.7 million contract with Brasfield & Gorrie to address “a need for security provisions” at the 85-acre property. It’s the newest installment in a series of price hikes that city officials attribute to increased security.
The legislation does not provide details about what upgraded security the money will buy. But Marshall Freeman, chief administrative officer for the police department, said “there are some changes and modifications that are needed to the physical site itself, as well as some technology enhancements.”
Freeman told council members on the public safety committee that the money would also allow them to reduce the number of officers at the site. APD beat officers have been assigned to the complex since February of 2023, but it’s unclear how many have been taken out of neighborhood and how much overtime has been worked.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
When Atlanta City Council approved funding for the law enforcement training hub, the public’s share of funding jumped from the originally promised $30 million to $61 million due to a leaseback provision that more than doubled the originally stated cost. City and police foundation officials argue that the leaseback was always part of the funding plan and that there is actually no change in cost to the public.
Regardless, in January, city officials told council members that additional security needs raised the total price tag from $90 million to $109 million and that the police foundation would cover the increase.
Atlanta’s Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks broke the news to the city’s elected leaders in September that the cost had jumped again to $115 million — again due to damage done to construction equipment by opponents. At the time, Burks told council members the city was “confident” it was the last increase to the project price tag.
The legislation that would approve another $1.7 million in funding waives the procurement process and gives the job directly to Brasfield & Gorrie — the primary contractor on the project.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
Opponents have targeted the company and its leadership for years due to their involvement in training center construction. The company’s offices in Atlanta and Cobb County have been vandalized multiple times.
In 2022, the Alabama home of Brasfield & Gorrie Executive M. Miller Gorrie was vandalized. In March of this year, two protesters climbed more than 100 feet in the air and tied themselves to a crane at a Midtown construction site operated by the company.
Council member Antonio Lewis asked why the city would waive the procurement process for the upgraded security provisions, to which Freeman responded that the city is unable to use another company since Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor on the project.
“We have a procurement process in the city of Atlanta that we always use to make sure we get the best price, the best bids in this process,” Lewis said. “So unfortunately, I won’t be able to support us waiving the procurement code for that reason.”
Council member Andrea Boone, chair of the public safety committee, motioned to approve the legislation which passed 3-1. It now moves to full council for a final vote.
