The decision to tie Five Points Station renovation permits to the completion of an audit into MARTA spending came directly from Mayor Andre Dickens, top city officials told transit authority staff, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The records appear to back up an assertion made by MARTA officials last month that the city has intentionally stalled the permit approval process on a project that is now in its ninth month of delay, and where each additional day runs the risk of a $10,000 fine.
The street-level renovation of MARTA’s busiest station, scheduled to start last July, was put on hold last year at Dickens’ request. MARTA and the city announced an agreement to move forward in November but, as of Wednesday, permits needed to start construction are still pending.
MARTA officials, who contend it is improper for the city to tie non-permit issues to permit approval, raised concerns about the process at a meeting with city executives in December.
At the Dec. 18 meeting, Atlanta Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks said the permit was “still tied” to an audit looking at how MARTA has used a half-penny sales tax to expand transit in Atlanta, according to official meeting minutes. Burks reiterated that point when questioned by Jonathan Hunt, MARTA’s interim chief counsel, the documents say.
“The mayor was very clear that he wants the audit resolved with or before the permitting is issued,” Burks said, according to the meeting minutes obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act. “They must move together at rapid speed.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
City officials have previously denied intentionally withholding permits and blamed any delays on mistakes in MARTA’s permit applications. On Wednesday, a spokesperson from the mayor’s office said notes from the meeting “are not always clear” and don’t reflect the full conversation. The city did not respond to questions from the AJC asking whether the minutes reflect the mayor’s position.
The meeting notes were taken by a MARTA staff member and circulated to participants, including city officials, a MARTA spokesperson said. The notes from the next meeting between the officials do not reflect any objection to the accuracy, but city officials are recorded as saying they didn’t receive the notes in time to review them.
It’s unclear whether any objection was raised before the AJC asked about the notes.
The “Five Points Transformation” is one of the first projects MARTA pursued after voters approved a transit expansion sales tax in 2016. The street-level renovation involves replacing the leaky concrete canopy with a translucent roof, as well as adding street-level bus bays.
Downtown business leaders and city officials have panned the design. Riders also objected to initial plans that would have closed the station to pedestrian access during construction.
Credit: Courtesy of MARTA
Credit: Courtesy of MARTA
Dickens first asked MARTA to pause the project last June based on preliminary findings from the city’s audit into spending on transit expansion projects. The audit came after City Council members expressed concerns that Atlantans weren’t getting more transit from the sales tax dubbed “More MARTA.”
MARTA agreed to pause the project in July.
The city auditor’s report, completed in August, determined MARTA overcharged for operating expenses which shortchanged the capital fund by nearly $70 million. MARTA has long objected to the methodology used by the city’s auditor and, in September, hired its own auditors to analyze spending. That report, released this week, found $865,630 is owed.
MARTA and the mayor’s office announced a deal to move forward on the Five Points renovation in November. It involved agreeing to keep pedestrian access and elevator service throughout construction, according to records reviewed by the AJC. Additionally, it capped More MARTA expenses at no more than $7 million beyond the original $233 million project estimate.
MARTA also agreed to transfer a portion of the excess charges identified in the city audit, about $10 million.
Records show MARTA officials believed these concessions had cleared the way for Five Points work to begin. But when contractors began filing permits in November, problems emerged almost immediately.
The first demolition permit was denied by the city a day after it was submitted. City planners told MARTA it needed a special permit that would require additional public engagement.
Hunt, MARTA’s attorney, said the city has never required that step in his 12 years with the agency. When he brought up other projects that proceeded without the special permit in the December meeting, Burks said they should have required it, according to the notes. She also said MARTA could request a waiver.
MARTA attorneys requested the waiver in January. It was granted a few days later, at which point MARTA resubmitted permit requests.
“The city is inconsistent on administration of the (special permit) process and these inconsistencies have been the primary cause of project delays,” MARTA spokesperson Stephany Fisher said in a statement.
Then, MARTA learned from its contractor that the city was charging a fee for the permits. MARTA is exempt from city permitting fees.
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said last month that he made the decision to pay the fees in order to keep the project moving.
“I feared if we stopped the process to fight the fight we’d be asked to resubmit,” he said on Feb. 27. “I didn’t want to take any of those chances.”
City spokesperson Allison Fouche initially disputed Greenwood’s account.
“The city has never requested fees from MARTA,” Fouche said on Feb. 28. “There has been no discussion on any type of fees.”
Records provided by both MARTA and the city show the planning office did issue fees to the transit agency on multiple occasions. MARTA and city planning staff had multiple conversations about fees related to one Five Points permit in August, according to emails.
The city issued a $250 fee before agreeing to refund it. Other, more substantial, fees were issued in February. Records show three invoices totaling $244,251 were issued. That amount matches the total on a check from MARTA’s contractor that Greenwood said was rejected.
A city spokesperson said Wednesday the address on the check is incorrect, referencing a suite on the second floor of City Hall instead of the third floor. The mayor’s office did not answer a request from the AJC to explain the discrepancy between the records and Fouche’s comment that the city never asked MARTA for permit fees.
Records provided by the city show the fees were waived, reissued, then waived again.
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
As of the end of day Wednesday, the permits were still pending.
The city’s permitting website shows staff marked one of the permits as “ready to issue” more than a week ago, on March 3. But the city said Wednesday MARTA’s contractor needs to file additional paperwork before that permit can be issued.
City officials did not respond to questions from the AJC about the next steps in light of the completion of the second audit.
All of the delay has a cost.
MARTA’s contractor has put the transit agency on notice for fees of up to $10,000 per day while it waits for the green light to proceed. And while MARTA agreed to cap the use of More MARTA funds for the project, Greenwood said the agency would charge for “continued or new delays actively caused by the city.”
A delayed schedule also means the city’s central MARTA station will be under construction during all the major marquee events planned over the next three years. Greenwood warned Dickens of those consequences at least as early as October, records show.
“Please note, we now risk hosting the 2028 NFL Super Bowl with a construction zone at (Five) Points if we do not move with urgency,” Greenwood said.
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