Despite reports that all safety hazards have been removed from Intrenchment Creek Park in DeKalb County, the popular recreation area that sits adjacent to the site of Atlanta’s proposed public safety training center remains blocked off to the public.
DeKalb Commissioner Ted Terry is pushing to have the park reopened.
Terry has sponsored a resolution that would force a reopening of the park, which was closed by order of DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond after the discovery of “booby traps” allegedly hidden in the park by opponents of the training center. The DeKalb Commission voted earlier this week to defer Terry’s proposal for at least 60 days.
Terry says that won’t stop him from talking about the issue.
“The whole purpose of this resolution is we don’t have to wait for the CEO to decide,” Terry said. “The commissioners can vote on it, but … some would just rather not talk about it than make a decision.”
Thurmond has said that the park remains closed in preparation for a $1.8 million construction project to add a concrete path, trailhead, pavilion and remote control airplane runway. However, Terry said the planned construction only touches a portion of the park and should not require a full closure.
There is currently no timeline for when the park will reopen. In an email response on July 28 to a request from Terry to lead a nature walk through the park, Thurmond’s executive assistant Zachary Williams said that they will have a better idea of when the park can reopen “after the design and construction documents are completed.”
Williams also stated in the email that Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission and DeKalb Soil and Water Conservation District toured the park last week with DeKalb County staff. But Dell MacGregor, the conservation commission’s DeKalb chair, told the AJC that it has not surveyed Intrenchment Creek Park, only the land where the public safety training center is to be built.
The July 25 site inspection report only lists the “training center” as the land that was surveyed.
In an email to the AJC on Aug. 3, DeKalb County Communications Manager Andrew Cauthen acknowledged that the water conservation district’s survey was only of the training center site. Additionally, Cauthen said there are “ongoing inspections” in Intrenchment Creek Park by county personnel.
Williams also wrote in last Friday’s email that a survey would be done of the site on Aug. 1, but it is unclear who would be conducting it, and if the survey was of the Intrenchment Creek Park land or the site of the planned public safety training center. Cauthen clarified on Aug. 3 that the survey has not taken place yet and is scheduled to happen over the course of several days in Intrenchment Creek Park sometime this month.
Terry called the confusion over the inspected site “disappointing,” but not unexpected.
“When you have an administration that exists at 30,000 feet, they can’t be bothered with the details,” Terry said. “Because I’m a commissioner and I represent this park, it’s my business to know these details, and so it’s not surprising that they would just completely confuse two completely different areas.”
Terry has opposed the public safety training center, challenging a decision to uphold the land disturbance permits for the project’s construction in May.
Joe Peery is among several community members calling on Thurmond to reopen the park. He and other members of Atlanta’s mountain biking community utilize the park’s trails for recreation and transportation. With the park closed, Peery said several safety issues arise for bikers, due to the fast traffic on surrounding roads.
Terry and Peery joined about 20 other community members and environmental group representatives on Saturday for a walk through of the park, despite communication from the Williams that doing so would violate the executive order.
After the Monday meeting, Terry said that he made the decision to enter the park against the CEO’s executive order because “the board of commissioners has the right to seek information.”
“The way I read it is the executive order (closed the park) to the public,” Terry said. “Well, I’m not from the public. I’m here representing the public, so as far as I’m concerned, my office has the right to go on to county-owned property to seek information, and I’m glad we did because nobody ever sent me any information about this.”
In his Friday email to Terry, Williams shared the proposed trail map and said the map is a product of a survey carried out on June 21 “to determine the best route in order to minimize the impact to specimen trees” and “avoid the larger hardwood forested areas in the interest of preserving the greater ecosystem.”
Williams also wrote that the CEO’s office is creating a bi-monthly working group to reduce the timeline on permits, bids and approval from the Board of Commissioners. Cauthen said construction document preparation will begin this month and should take about 90 days to complete.
However, some community members have pointed that the planned trail runs close to several significant sites on the property, including the location where “Stop Cop City” protester Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran was shot by a Georgia State Patrol officer. Peery said that visiting the shooting site was emotional, as people who knew Teran spoke about the legacy of the organizer’s life and the pain their family has endured.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says Teran shot first at troopers, wounding one in the stomach, before being fatally shot.
“That’s sacred ground, and that cannot happen,” Peery said.
Peery said if the trail is constructed as planned it “certainly goes against the will” of organizations like Friends of Intrenchment Creek Park, Defend The Atlanta Forest, the South River Watershed Alliance and other local neighborhood groups.
Peery is involved in the lawsuit contesting the City of Atlanta’s land swap agreement with Blackhall Studios, along with Executive Director of the South River Watershed Alliance Margaret Spalding. A resident of unincorporated DeKalb, Spalding was a frequent visitor of the park before its closure. She said that the connection between Intrenchment Creek Park’s closure and the public safety training center land cannot be ignored.
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