Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

For a while the steel and twin fiddles play.

I guess you're really going off to school. Mom, I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now,

Dad, I never really like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together? Yeah. Me too. I love you too, dad.

For a written transcript of this meeting or if you need reasonable accommodations including this communication in an alternative format due to disability, please contact the clerk to the Commission's office at (404) 612-8232.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the second regular meeting of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. Today is March 18. It is 10:10 o'clock AM. Madam clerk, please call the roll for purposes of a quorum.

Chairman Rob Pitts. Present. Commissioner Bridget Thorne. Present. Commissioner Bob Ellis.

Present.

Commissioner Dana Barrett. Present. Commissioner Marvin Arrington Junior. Vice chair Khadija Abdul Rahman. Present. Mister chairman, have a quorum.

Thank you. Please rise for the invocation followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Let us pray. Almighty God, we give you thanks for this day, your continued grace and mercy upon our lives. We pray now your blessing upon our commissioners. Give them your wisdom and direction. It is in your name that we humbly pray. Amen.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America. Thank you. Alright. Continue, madam clerk.

On page two, consent agenda. Twenty six zero one three one, adoption of the consent agenda. All matters listed on the consent agenda are considered routine by the county commission and will be enacted by one motion. No separate discussion will take place on these items. If discussion of any consent agenda item is desired, the item will be moved to the second regular meeting agenda for separate consideration.

Alright. Nothing on the consent agenda. Commissioners, any items on the consent agenda? Tonight, I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. Motion to do so by commissioner Thorne, seconded by vice chair, Abdul Rahman. Please hold.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes. Five yeas, zero nays. Bottom of page six, second regular meeting agenda. Twenty six zero one five one, adoption of the second regular meeting agenda.

Any items?

No items.

Alright. Where are the items by former commissioner Ivory? Where those shouldn't be on the agenda. Where are they?

They are on page 11.

Alright. Remove those from the agenda. Where on page 11?

The first two items. Alright. Twenty six zero one two two and twenty six zero one two four.

Alright. Strike those. So noted. Anything else? Okay. Continue. Alright. A motion to approve the agenda by commissioner Thorne, seconded by vice chair of Durock Fund. Please vote.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes. Five yeas, zero nays. Twenty six zero one five two ratification of minutes. Second regular meeting minutes February 18. First regular meeting postage in the minutes 03/04/2026.

Alright. Motion to adopt by vice chair Abdul Rahman, seconded by commissioner Thorne. Please vote.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes. Five yeas, zero nays. On page seven, twenty six zero one five three, presentation of proclamations and certificates. The first proclamation is recognizing Vietnam War Veterans Appreciation Day sponsored by commissioner Ellis with full board support.

I'd to invite Reverend McGee to come down here and join us. As he's coming down, I would just like to say that this this is is not my proclamation, this is the board's proclamation. This is all of our proclamation and something that we all are in unison on and in support of. As Reverend McGee comes down to join us, just a little bit of information about this man who's going to speak a little bit, but he's the chair of our Veterans Empowerment Commission which all of us are certainly strongly in support of. He's a Vietnam veteran himself.

He's a member of the Sons of Atlanta Vietnam War Memorial Task Force and he spearheaded an effort that's we're gonna shine a light on and a celebration that's gonna take place on on Sunday, March 29, right, at in Piedmont Park. So I wanted to share a little bit of information and proud to share this proclamation and then ask Reverend McGee to say a few words. Whereas Vietnam War Veterans Day was signed into law in 2017 designating March 29 as a day to honor the unwavering dedication and the countless sacrifices made by US service members and their families during the Vietnam War, and whereas 03/29/1973 is the date that the last US combat troops departed Vietnam. On and around the same day, the US Vietnam War commemoration stated that Hanoi had released the last of its acknowledged prisoners of war. And whereas Vietnam War Veterans Day pays special tribute to the 9,000,000 Americans, think about that, 9,000,000 Americans who served during the Vietnam War era, the 58,000 names that are memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, and those veterans who never received the recognition they deserved when they returned home.

In addition, according to the Defense POW and Missing in Action Accounting Agency, DPAA, nearly 1,600 Vietnam era service members remain unaccounted for. And whereas Fulton County salutes the work of our own Veterans Empowerment Commission, which guides the board of commissioners on priorities, objectives, and policies to support the veteran population in Fulton County, and the efforts of the Sons of Atlanta Vietnam War Memorial Task Force, which will host a memorial parade and monument dedication ceremony on Sunday, March 29 in Piedmont Park, and whereas the parade will be followed by a dedication ceremony for the new Vietnam Veterans Memorial Monument honoring the 240 service members from Atlanta and Fulton County who died in Vietnam. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners recognizes Vietnam War Veterans Day as an opportunity for a grateful nation to recognize the courage and commitment that Vietnam veterans showed and continue to show every day hereby proclaim Sunday, 03/29/2026 as Vietnam War Veterans Appreciation Day in Fulton County, Georgia.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Good morning. Good morning. No. We can do better than that. Good morning.

Good morning.

You know, this is a day that the lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. I'm I didn't come here. I'm from here. I'm a great baby, born in Fulton County, lived in Fulton County all of my life and there was two forty of my homeboys that was killed in Vietnam War, where I was wounded in combat.

I believe that I lived to tell their story, to tell their story, because we face two walls again. You know, two walls again and we're going to resolve them just as resolve them before this because we are one nation, you know, built on a constitution that gives us a standing against tyranny against tyranny, whether it be tyranny of enslavement or tyranny of the denial of democracy, the rights that we have under the constitution of these United States. These young men, I can tell you, all died believing one thing. We are one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. So as we stand here today, I'm pleased to say that we have a memorial in Piedmont Park for my homeboys, you know, for bringing them home, you know, so that their neighbors, that their friends, that their families can appreciate the sacrifice, can appreciate the sacrifice more.

So, thank you, Fulton County. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you.

The next proclamation is recognizing Public Works Appreciation Day sponsored by Commissioner Ellis with full board support.

And again, I wanna emphasize this is a full board proclamation right here. I'm just happen to be reading it and we want to invite all of the members of our public works teams who are here today with us. The ones that aren't having to wear boots this morning and trek around.

All right, come on

in spread it spread around on both sides here. All right, well without further ado, I'd like to share this proclamation. Whereas the Fulton County Board of Commissioners finds that the protection environment is vital to the health, safety, wellness, and economic progress of Fulton County and its citizens, and whereas the Department of Public Works demonstrates its commitment to managing resources through systematic planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of water and wastewater infrastructure in the most sustainable, efficient, environmentally sound manner and provides water and pollution prevention education to residents, business schools, and communities. And whereas the Georgia Association of Water Professionals is a nonprofit educational association for water professionals and serves as an authoritative resource for knowledge, information, and advocacy of sound public policy and water resources and related environmental fields in Georgia and beyond. Whereas on 11/04/2025, Fulton County's Department of Public Works received the following awards from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals.

Platinum Collection System of Excellence Award, Platinum QAQC Laboratory Award in drinking water serving greater than 100,000, Platinum and Gold QAQC Laboratory Award in the municipal wastewater Greater than 20 MGD Category somebody's going to tell me what all these acronyms mean Distribution System of Excellence Gold Award, Consumer Confidence Report Gold Award, Gold QAQC Laboratory award in the municipal waste water greater than 20 MGD category and water distribution system master plan in large utility category. Now therefore be it resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners recommends and commends the Department of Public Works for its continued dedication and public service to the county, and hereby proclaims 03/18/2026 as Public Works Appreciation Day for Fulton County, Georgia. Let's give them a huge hand. I will say while those awards may be, their reference may be somewhat confusing to some of us in the audience as you're hearing them, they are meaningful. And I will say we have invested quite a bit in our water infrastructure which serves largely Fulton County outside of Atlanta and it shows by that recognition.

And I'd like to invite the leader of our team, of our public works team up, David Clark to say a few words.

Thank you. Before I say that something, I do wanna introduce the Georgia Association of Water Professionals President to say a few words on behalf of the organization that presented us these awards.

Chairman Pitts, Commissioner Guest, I appreciate you inviting me here. My name is Gary McCoy. I'm the President of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals. I won't read out a lot of these awards because it did, but let me just say this, those awards highlights the dedication and hard work of your employees, of the two fifty employees that's in public works. The JWP, our main goal is just to highlight organization.

Well, our main goal is to protect our most precious resource, and one way we do that is just highlight and just recognize systems such as, for these types of awards. Normally, when I travel throughout the state, I present one award and that's it, but you all sort of showed out, so. When I was asked to come here and I seen this list, I said, wow, I'm glad David said this is in a proclamation because I had a whole list, so I don't have to have my cheat sheet. But, I just want to say this do demonstrate the hard work of your employees because when I started out over forty six years ago, I started out as a janitor and I see what it takes for every single member and, you know, the commissioners, we appreciate you for the hard work and giving the resources in order for you to be able to do your job, but the people who are out there in the streets at three in the morning when on Christmas fixing these water lines, you got to recognize them. I tend to get up when we won awards and be in front of the commissioners in Macon and get all the credit, but no, when I'm on a cruise,

I know where my people are doing, so

they do the hard work every day, so. I just want to say thank you for everybody who actually participated in this. And, like I say, these awards isn't by accident, it takes hard work and a lot of dedication, so, I, on behalf of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals, I'd like to congratulate you on a whole host of awards and this, I'm not just saying this because this is

the most I've ever seen at one time. So, just congratulations.

So, at this time, I would like to ask David to join me, and so you named all the awards, and I just want to say, on behalf of our association, I thank you for being a part of it, and congratulations on an achievement that not too many systems have in the state of charge. So,

The last proclamation is recognizing National Council of Negro Women Appreciation Day sponsored by Commissioner Arrington and Vice Chair Abdul Rahman.

Thank

you Commissioner Arrington. Commissioner Arrington is allowing me to read it. Will all any of the representatives of the National Council of Negro Women please join us looking so beautiful. I'm so honored.

I am

so honored to be able.

Come on in. We got enough on

both sides. Alrighty. Whereas the National Council of Negro Women was founded in 1935 by Doctor. Mary McLeod Bethune and is comprised of over three fifty campus and community based sections and 37 national women's organizations that enlightens, inspires and connects more than 2,000,000 women and men. Its mission is to lead, advocate for and empower women of African descent, their families and communities.

And whereas on 03/04/2016, NCNW, Greater Atlanta Section was chartered and the official installation was held on 03/20/2026 at Ben Hill United Methodist Church with two ten members, becoming the largest section in the eighty year history to be chartered. The chartering president was Diane Power, and please charge it to my head and not my heart, wanna say it correctly, Larche and founding members included Janet Brown, Economy Jackson, Kathy Moody, Michelle Thompson and Dorinda Thurman. And whereas NCNW Greater Atlanta Section will celebrate their tenth anniversary on March 2026 with the theme of A Legacy of Phenomenal Women, ten years of service and empowerment and host their first CORE Four Fest, now say that four times, first CORE Four Fest on Saturday, March 21, focusing on economic empowerment, education, health and social justice. The gala will serve as a fundraiser to support their future programs, their service projects and provide scholarships for two deserving students who plan to further their educations, and whereas the NCNW programs are grounded on a foundation of critical concerns that are NCNW priorities. The organization promotes education, encourages entrepreneurship, financial literacy and economic stability, educates women about health and promotes healthcare access and promotes civic engagement and advocates for sound public policy and social justice.

Now therefore be resolved that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners recognizes the National Negro Council of Women for continuing the legacy of making a powerful and positive impact on our communities and does hereby proclaim March 20 through the twenty first, twenty twenty six as National Negro Council of Women tenth anniversary weekend in Fulton County, Georgia. Would you please put your hands together for some phenomenal women taking the lead in our community? And I'm gonna turn it over to commissioner Arrington.

I'm just excited and honored to be able to honor these women that are doing great things in our community. Diane Larshay was one of those phenomenal women and just glad to be able to do this not only for the work that these women are doing, but in Diane Larshay's honor.

Hi, my name is Angela Brown. I proudly serve as the president of the Greater Atlanta section of the National Council of Negro Women. We would like to thank commissioner Arrington and Fulton County for this. We are so proud to have served the community of Greater Atlanta for ten years but we know that there is more work to be done. So please join us. Thank you.

Alright, madam clerk, continue.

Continuing on page seven, public hearings. Twenty six zero one five four, public comment. Citizens wishing to participate in public comment will be allowed to appear in person or may choose to participate virtually via Zoom video conferencing by registering on the county website, www.fultoncountyga.gov. Priority for public comment will be given to Fulton County citizens and those individuals representing businesses or organizations located within Fulton County. Speakers will be granted up to two minutes each.

The public will not be allowed to yield or donate time to other speakers. The public comment portion of the meeting will not exceed sixty minutes. In the event the sixty minute time limit is reached prior to public comments being completed, Public comment will be suspended and the business portion of the BOC meeting will commence. Public comment will resume at the end of the meeting. Mr.

Chairman and members of the board, we will start with the speakers here in Assembly Hall. We have received 14 speaker cards. Will the first seven speakers please come forward? LA Pink, Ellen Pierce, Joyce Farmer, Doctor. Valerie Montgomery Rice, Jeremy Beaman, Terry Ross, and Derek Green.

Alright speakers, when you have fifteen seconds remaining, I'll say fifteen seconds, that will be your clue to begin to terminate to conclude rather your remarks. First speaker.

Alrighty. Well, good morning. As I sit there, I had a deja vu a year ago or so. Mo Ivory sat behind me chasing after Hall's seat and now she sits behind me chasing after Rob Pitt's seat. I say that because there was a centecrete that went out, there was a DOJ report that went out and she sat behind me with these reports.

I came down here speaking out about the sheriff, talking about all the malfeasance and things that were going on over there, not one time did she feel an opportunity to go bond out an inmate. And so, it just bothers me and baffles me that all of a sudden when she check out, those were her stunts and fronts that she did in front of the community and I felt disrespected by that because I've been fighting for four years down here, coming down here faithfully, fighting for our inmates, talking about the things that's going on with the sheriff and for her to use it as an opportunity to campaign off of it is a slap in the community's face and those families' faces that's off in that jail to play around with it. So, I don't take it lightly and I'm not gonna take it a joke. I see that seat empty and it's going to remain empty until we find somebody that can uphold it. And, Pitts, we're pushing for you.

I know, Arrington, you're running for it but trust me, you got some flaws that you got to take care of before you come into any power or position And, I mean that because right now what we need is true leaders inside of this community because we already see the failure

Fifteen seconds.

That's taking place inside of it. The community right now needs dignity, They need empowerment. They need love. And, y'all can't give it to them with all the corruption you got going on.

Hi, morning, counsel. My name is Marlon Pierce. I am speaking on a different subject. I'm so happy that you had this proclamation today about the water situation. So, there's two issues I'm presenting today that you guys, as leaders, should present to Washington, D.

C. One is the water that they are using for these data centers, which they are trying to power the AI. Your brain uses very minimal energy to power the supercomputer that is inside your brain that God gave you, as opposed to these data centers, which is absorbing so much water, and eventually, they're wanting to build nuclear power plants next to these data centers to power them with electricity. We have to stop this before it goes beyond where it's going. Also, the other issue that I'm presenting today is the chemtrails that you see them spraying in the air. You guys can also speak about this too. There is a bill that is being presented in Washington, D. C. Called the H. R.

Seven thousand four fifty two, the Air Quality Act, which has been introduced to Congress, that its explicit goal is banning geoengineering, stratosphere aerosol injections, cloud seeding, solar radiation management, and other forms of intentional weather and climate modification across The United States. Florida has already signed on they've banned it in their state. There's other states that have banned it. Georgia has to ban this because this will have an adverse effect on the entire population of Georgia. As a Georgian, as a native Atlantan, I am urging that you guys push this forward with Congress. 7,452 is the bill. Thank you.

Good morning, Chair and Commissioners. I am Joyce Farmer, a resident of City Of East Point excuse me, City Of South Fulton, and also a retiree from the Fulton County Sheriff's Office that has served thirty years. So, the things that have been said, I know what has been going on inside the facility. As a taxpayer, how long are we going to continue to pour water into a bucket with a hole in it? The sheriff has received millions and millions of dollars, and we all see that he has done what he wanted to do with it.

We hadn't forgotten about that sprinter. Where is it? The $200,000 sprinter. Where are those bracelets that were supposed to let them know if an inmate is in distress? So evidently, Lee Sean Thompson didn't have on a bracelet because he was found with those bugs.

And we paid the family $5,000,000 and you gave the sheriff 5,000,000 to clean up the jail. I received the email also from the county stating that chair Pitts was proud to announce that the jail is 90% finished. I don't know if you received that report from the sheriff or did you actually go see for yourself? Because the word on the street is that they are tearing it up again because they don't have the staff to watch them. Never in the history of the sheriff's office they have hired a security company to come in and mail the man the jail.

That's unbelievable. The citizen we need a leader that prevent crisis, not be the crisis. Thank you.

Good morning. I'm Doctor. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine, and I am pleased to be joined today by our students, faculty, staff, and members of the community who are here in support of amendments that we would like to consider as you take action on Resolution 20 six-one 156. The question before us is simply not where we place a hospital, but how do we build a system that truly improves access, outcomes, and sustainability for the communities most impacted by the Wellstar closure? Through the work of Project CARE in partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, and the data showed that those communities that were concentrated in South And Central Fulton County is where we saw the higher disease burden, lower life expectancy, and fewer access points for care.

We believe that there are two things that are important. First, we must recognize that a distributed ambulatory network of care is required that brings care closer to where people work, live, play, and pray. And that a hospital should serve as a destination for complex care. What we also know as the proven premier educator and trainer of health care professionals in Georgia, with sixty five percent of our graduates remaining in communities where they are trained, that it is equally important that any hospital, regardless of location, has a diverse healthcare work force. So, while we fully support, we fully support at Morehouse School of Medicine, the hospital that is being proposed in Union City, we believe that it is imperative that Morehouse School of Medicine

Fifteen seconds.

Become part of that hospital,

allowing our learners and our trainers to be educated.

Kim: We also believe that we must build a system with coordinated approach for care. We've enjoyed our partnership with you and look forward to working in the future to make this a reality.

Good morning, Chairman. My name is Jeremy Beamon and I have the pleasure of serving as the President of the Morehouse School of Medicine SGA Student Government Association Program. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today regarding the Morehouse School of Medicine's proposed amendments to the resolution before you. As you can see from the audience, I am joined by many of my fellow students who are here because the decisions you make today will be critical to our future healthcare professionalism. I was born and raised here in the city of Atlanta via Piedmont Hospital, my sister at Crawford Long and my baby brother at Grady Hospital.

So, you can imagine how thrilled I was to be admitted to Morales School of Medicine and to pursue my dream of becoming a physician right here in my hometown because when you come to MSM, you not only receive an outstanding medical education but you also serve a lifelong mission. The medical school was founded fifty years ago to both increase the diversity of the healthcare system as well as improve the workforce and health equity in underserved rural and urban communities, much like in Central And South Fulton County. Today, I am privileged to represent my fellow students here today and back at the school who have had the opportunity to be trained in communities like Central And South Fulton County, which is vital to carrying out the MSM mission after we graduate. But I'm also here to represent future MSM students who have not had the opportunity to walk the halls of Grady or work in an ambulatory clinic or a physician's office in an underserved area. Those engagements are what sets our foundation, whether we are medical students, nursing students, physician assistant students, master of public health and PhD students become the culturally humble healthcare providers that our community requires and needs.

Therefore, it is critical that is built in Metro Atlanta or Georgia community, Morehouse School of Medicine students are allowed to receive a part of our education and training at those facilities. We expect that whether a hospital in Union City or the City Of Atlanta, students are Morehouse School of Medicine students will receive that training. This Friday is National Match Day.

Thank you. Thank

you. Thank you.

Good morning, Board of Commissioners. My name is Terry Ross. I'm a community member in the Mid And South Fulton area, and I'm here to support the proposed amendment by Morehouse School of Medicine. Living in South Fulton is we have the distinction of having the highest rate of chronic diseases within Fulton County. We need health care and we need health care options.

And that's why I'm here today to speak to you to ask for your support for Moyhaus' recommended amendment. Doctor. Rice pointed out that we have the highest level of chronic diseases. We don't have specialists like neurologists and cardiologists. We need those specialties within our community so that the community has and choices for health care. And this is all towards building a healthy community. We, of course, support the hospital in Union City, but we also need we need touch points within Mid Fulton and South Fulton. We need that. We need the options. We need the same options available on the North Side.

Personally, when I have to go see my cardiologist, I have to travel forty minutes to get there to see the cardiologist. I just also wanna emphasize that this is not just for me personally, but it's also for the generations to come. When my youngest child was born at Atlanta Medical Center twenty five years ago, there were more health care options. Commissioner Arrington, I saw you Sunday at our church. I'm also an ordained deacon at West Hunter Street Baptist Church. We posthumously celebrate Reverend Abernathy's one hundredth birthday and thank you for coming. But

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When Reverend Abernathy was there, there were more health care options. When my child was born twenty five years ago, there were more health care options. The health care options are dwindling. They need to grow, and we ask for your support. I thank you very much.

Good morning. I'm Derek Green, project director for Obuah School of Medicine, Trust Neighborhoods Initiative, and resident in Fort County Commission District Six. I also support the recommended amendments by Milwaukee School of Medicine that Doctor. Rice referred to. I also like to point out, I was born in Fort Worth County, I'm a fifth generation Atlantan.

And since I was born in Holy Family, later Southwest Hospital, four hospitals have closed Central And South Fulton. They include Southwest, Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta Medical Center South which was formerly South Fullerton, and McLennan Hospital in Hunter Hills. Four hospitals were closed. My grandson who lives in Fairburn, South Fulton, less have less options in Fulton County than I did, and I was born eight years after President Johnson's Great Society Plan. It does not make sense.

We need representation, hospitals in Central Atlanta, Central Fullerton County. And I just support all of what you're doing. Thank you Commissioner Pitts. Thank you for the Board of Commissioners for what you're doing. Of course, I support what's going on in South Fullerton and recommend the hospital and I hope we approve it. My parents still live in South Fullerton. My children do and of course my grandchild. But we do need representation in hospitals in Central Florida County and please make that decision as we move forward in these processes. Thank you.

Last seven speakers in Assembly Hall please come forward, John Aman, Minister Brett Love, Margie McLeod, Mo Ivory, Sean Walton, Dorothy Harp, and Sherry Norman.

Good morning, I'm John Amman, the President and CEO of the Westside Future Fund. I also live in Vine City on Sunset Avenue and I'm a Fulton County Grady baby native, so longtime at Lannan. I'm here to say thank you to the Fulton County Commission for your support of the Westside TAD, specifically projects supported by the Westside Future Fund. Mr. Chairman, thank you for taking the tour with Patrick Alexander some number of months ago.

I'm very excited to report that we're on track to start $100,000,000 worth of development this year in English Avenue, Vine City. All of that is affordable, 100% affordable development, prioritized to members from the community. English Avenue Vianesee graduates of AUC schools in Booker T, Washington. So I'd hope to have the opportunity as the Fulton County Commission deliberates on the Westside TAC projects to have the opportunity to really demonstrate to you the ROI we're contributing. This $100,000,000 is on top of $200,000,000 of Westside Futures funds already invested in English Avenue Vineland City, helping grow that Westside TAD that income being reinvested into community growth.

So we're excited about it and would offer the opportunity for any of you to take a tour to really see it firsthand. So thank you for that and just look forward to the opportunity to come before you later this year as we advance projects that we really think offer an outstanding return of investment to the county and its Westside TAD. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Good afternoon, everybody. We should all get along. But I didn't come down here. I do go to Morehouse Clinic. And I'm supporting that because they started sending the veterans there now. So it's important that you all give them that support. But then also, I want to talk about the jail. Thornton, we have veterans in that jail. That jail, I went there yesterday, day before yesterday, it smells. Want, Thornton, you wouldn't want your child going to that right street.

So what I'm saying to y'all, we must take care of that jail, get rid of that jail, whatever you need to do, that's what you need to do. Because Rob Pix, you wouldn't want your daughter be in that jail. So what I'm saying is election time. We are listen. We are monitoring y'all because the election is coming up y'all. Hey, vote for me. But what you gonna do when you get in that seat? And what do you do? You're turning your back against the community. You can't give us chicken no more, not the seniors, because the seniors are getting wise.

They're checking things out. And that's what I'm here for, because the community, I warn y'all, homelessness is not getting no better. It's getting worse. We're getting ready for the World Cup. That's all we're thinking about. But how about people losing their jobs? You see the airport? Y'all try to give them any money to pay their utility bill?

Fifteen seconds. To pay

their rent? I want to see what you do. That's what we are here for. Empower to the people. No more fooling us no more. Take care and be blessed. And I am a veteran. But maybe we need to talk about woman on the court. Is that right, McGee?

Praise the lord. Praise the lord. Greetings, people. I am minister Breed Love, and I have a word for you today and a message. The Lord said to love one another, and that's why I wrote a sign that said love.

Do you love one another as Jesus love us all? We gotta love one another, and the word speaks this. And I wait and I hear what you all say, but do your heart and your mind speak the truth? As a forty three year missionary, civil rights leader, marched it with many leaders, and Jesse Jackson, just buried him. I walked across that bridge, and I made a commitment, and I'm gonna keep it.

As the member of the first black millionaire, madam CJ Brelov Walker, we was farmers. I plowed the mules in the field. I picked the cotton all day for $6 a day, and I and we own our property today. We love town. I came to give you a message. I have waited and waited. As been arrested in 02/2002 for something I did not do, This city owed me $500,000,000. I was a wealthy woman. I supported English Avenue, Vine City, 80%. Many politicians fed many people on the streets, went and traveled many cities.

Today, I asked as I took this case and sued the city of Atlanta, and they the Supreme Court said to tell the commissioners and the rest of the people

Fifteen seconds, that it's

time for you to get paid. Now, college students, you are here today. We got the monies. You all gonna work with me. We're gonna fight this fight. This city gonna give me what belongs to me and every college.

Alright. Good

morning. My name is Commissioner Mo Ivory. I wanna begin by noting that I see there is a discussion item today regarding my District 4 vacancy. It is really unfortunate to see that the board of elections has decided to hold the district four election until November. In the meantime, I remain committed to making District 4 constituents are represented.

Residents can still reach out to me at moivoryfulton@gmail.com if they need assistance. And my constituent services director, Keisha Ferguson, is still actively working in Fulton County responding to District 4 needs. While I was required by law to vacate my seat, something I did not take lightly, I want to be clear that I am the only candidate in this race required to do so because of how the terms align. Even so, I am stepping up for something bigger than myself, and I remain committed to serving. I also want to acknowledge the hospital plan that the board is voting on today.

I am glad to see the commission finally recognizing this issue and committing to action. However, the plan still does not address the health care desert between Union City and Grady Grady and fails to include a partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, the only historically black medical school in Georgia with a proven track record of educating and training the health care professionals that Georgia needs. On average, sixty five percent of Morehouse School of Medicine graduates will remain in Georgia to practice medicine in those communities. It's important to have hospitals, but equally important to have access points. Finally, I urge you to support item twenty six zero one twenty two to conduct a full independent audit of the county budget.

My constituents in District 4 have asked over and over again for budget transparency and I look forward to being able to deliver that to them and to all of Fulton County when I become the first African American Latina commission chair of this commission. It is a pleasure to see all of my colleagues today and I look forward to continuing to see you in the meetings and when I become the chair in June.

And foremost, I want to give a moment of silence for the breath of life that god has given us. Take that moment now. Second, I want to represent the encore for Morehouse School of Medicine in their request for a piece of the pie to be represented in the medical plans going on in Union City. I know that many people have come up to speak, but you also see the white coats as well as the students. So consider this the encore.

And you have not heard from all of these people. You have seen them stand up. You have seen them clap their hands. But I'm going to give them an opportunity right now to stand up one more time for the encore. Moore High School of Medicine stand up and make some real noise. Make some real noise. Make some real noise. Y'all make some real noise. Now, that's they voice. And now, let me go ahead and speak on my behalf as it relates to Morehouse School of Medicine.

My brother graduated from Morehouse College. We were born and raised in the city of Atlanta, single parent of four, had moved every time the rent was due, but my brother graduated and he provided generational wealth for our family. So, not only is this an opportunity for people to have access to health, but also an access to generational wealth. You see how the city of Atlanta is also the place where there's the greatest gap in economic mobility. This is an opportunity not only for Fulton County, not only for Union City, but also for people of color to experience some type of vitality, not only in health, but also in finances. Know that Moore High School

than a that

community, a school that represents and also knocks on doors when it comes to health equity opportunities for all. And I'm a witness of that. I am also one of the people who support them. That's my time.

Good morning, commissioners. My name is Sheree, and I am a resident of 14 County. I came here to address Commissioner Rob Pitts. Rob Pitts, I'm sure you remember me. Given your tenure as you have been on the board since 1990 I think it's like 1977.

Anyway, I'm here today to follow-up on the meeting that I came down. Some of the seniors, they couldn't come down, that they requested I come down because of the fact that they couldn't be here, so I came on their behalf. Anyway, the meeting that I came with another senior on 11/06/2025 regarding my removal from the Friends of Emma Darnell. During the meeting, I shared with you the details at certified letter that I received allegiance of something about Sparkman and mister Gregory. I think it's Andre Gregory.

I believe the allegations was very vindictive. And you had told me that you would get back in touch with me. I never did hear from you in a way regarding this issue. I mean, I think that that was kinda disrespectful. I'm just I'm just really concerned of the lack of communication and the potential suppression of speech speech that I shared with you at the Darnell Center and some of the other centers throughout the county.

Anyway, I understand that you said something about leaving a suggestion box, but if you had been going to the Senior Buildings and not just coming out when it's time to be voted, you would know that there are already some suggestion boxes that are in most of the senior centers. Anyway, I understand that you also

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We really just need new leadership. We need new leadership here in Fulton County. The seniors are really tied and fed up with all of this. I mean, they told me not to leave any type of business card. They just told me to leave a deck of cards of a joker. They seem to think that there is a joker.

Mister chairman, members of the board, we have 10 speakers on Zoom.

Good morning commissioners.

One more.

The first person to speak is

Just a minute. Just a minute. Just a minute. We have one more in the assembly hall. Go ahead ma'am. Okay.

Good morning everyone. How are you all today? I'm blessed. My name is Dorothy Harp. I'm from I'm from Atlanta, Georgia.

And I just want to say to the commission, all of you all, it's good that you're thinking about bringing a hospital to South Fulton. That's a good thing. But what the people were saying out there, the Morehouse students, they should be employed at that hospital because we always have to go to the North Side to get service when we always got everything on the South Side. If the commission would look around and say, okay, we're going to make the South Side get these people get these jobs. And also my other BD is I live on Grant Road.

And I've been calling the city trying to get them to change my street back to Grant Road, but some joker come out there and put Grant Street. So I'm having a problem trying to get my mail. And I called the city of Atlanta, but no one never seen it call me back. No one never seen it want to talk about it. So y'all just come out there and change the name of that street without any of the neighborhood knowing anything. I think that is so wrong. And y'all need to fix that. All of y'all need to find you another job if you can't do your job. Amen. And I love every one of you, but you got to get your attitude and do better by the city of Atlanta. Because I live in the city. I don't live in South Fulton. Love you. Have a great day.

Mister chairman, members of the board, we have 10 speakers on Zoom.

Good morning, commissioners. First person to speak is Amara Kennedy.

Good morning, commissioners. I hope that you all can hear me okay, and my apologies for not being able to physically be with you this morning. But I just wanted to take a moment as the vice chair for the Fulton County Arts Council to thank you, each of you, for your ongoing continued elevated support of art and culture throughout Fulton County. Specifically, I wanna highlight something that the department spearheaded this past weekend, was beyond phenomenal. As I'm sure many of you all are aware, we are in the throes of the time of the year when we take a moment to celebrate and honor the contributions of women of every descent, throughout this globe.

I was so honored to attend the opening of the Empower Her exhibition that is predominantly housed at the Emma Darnell Aviation Cultural Center, but also has pieces of work throughout the government complex there. And I say why? Because we had close to 200 women artists submit their works and be accepted into this powerful exhibition. What was beautiful about what we experienced on this past weekend was we had well over 500 folks from all across the county representing the diversity of this county come together to not only celebrate our sisters in art, but to celebrate the power transformative power of art and culture. And that is because of the continued support that each of you commit to giving in Fulton County.

So I'm not coming to ask for anything. I'm just coming to simply say thank you. We see you. We honor you, and know that an investment in art and culture is an investment in Fulton County. Thank you, and god bless.

The next person to speak is Robbie Caban.

Greetings. My name is Robbie Caban, and I'm a Fulton of I'm a resident of Fulton County. For years, I've been asking this board to order a forensic audit of the Fulton County Animal Control Animal Services Services contract with the county contractor Lifeline Animal Project. This request is based on multiple whistleblowers throughout the years, former staff, Lifeline staff, and who have left on their own accord and some who have been retaliated against, and volunteers who have been banned who have come forward reporting mismanagement, abuse, and dangerous conditions both in the shelter and in field enforcement. This board has now removed Lifeline Animal Animal Project from animal control enforcement.

That decision alone raises a serious question. What happened over the past ten years? For a decade, Lifeline operated animal control under this contract, taxpayer funded contract. Officers were deputized under the sheriff and responsible for public safety enforcement and took an oath. It is now publicly known through whistleblowers and statements and through the Fulton County Police Department who posted publicly cruelty cases were not properly investigated, laws were not enforced, and the system fails in its core duty to protect residents.

This is not just an animal issue, although if it were, that would be just as important. Animal control is a public safety and public health function. Taxpayers like me paid for these services. So I'm asking, where is the forensic audit? Where is the investigation? Will the contractor be held accountable? Will residents be compensated for services not rendered? Additionally, Lifeline still controls shelter operations and continues to influence the system all throughout the state of Georgia. That presents an ongoing risk. There have already been multiple lawsuits, including wrongful death cases acknowledged by this board, incidents involving dogs that were not

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Contract. Personally, I do not I have not felt safe, and I have not been safe walking in my own neighborhood due to law loose dogs and dangerous conditions. This is unacceptable. I am respectfully requesting order a forensic audit of Lifeline animal contract, investigate what occurred last decade, and provide transparency and accountability to the rest.

The next person to speak is Brianna Sailor. Brianna Sailor. The person to speak is Charmaine Cook. I'm sorry. Charmaine Cook.

Charmaine Cook. Next speaker. Next person next person to speak is Duke Virginia. Duke Virginia. Next person to speak is Gladys Jones.

Gladys Adinayi Jones. Next person to speak is Jen Simmons. Jen Simmons. Next person to speak is Nick Waters. Nick Waters.

And this concludes our Zoom public comment.

Alright. Continue, madam clerk.

Bottom of page seven, presentations to the board. 20 six-one 155, MARTA quarterly briefing.

Good morning, chair Pitts, commissioners. My name is Jonathan Hunt, interim general manager and CEO of your Marta Transit System. I wanna thank you for having me and Marta here today. I also wanna thank our dedicated work of our Fulton County board members, Frieda Hartaj, Al Pond, and Beth Bolton Harris, as well as board member Ryan Loak, who's here the room with us today, as well as if my staff members would stand for a moment, Jennifer Losa, Carolina Ramos, and the chief capital officer, Larry Prescott. Thank you for joining me today.

Commissioners, I got a very full briefing for you today, which brings me a lot of pride to do so. We'll move on to the first slide. Our agenda for today will go through ridership, capital programs, partially funded projects, as well as community engagement and other news. Moving to the next slide, which will be ridership. Next slide, the ridership for streetcar.

Pre Streetcar closures are ridership improving well beyond pre pandemic levels. Additionally, our mobility ridership is strong year over year, well surpassing our pre pandemic levels. Bus ridership has remained steady and leveled out, and we are very optimistic that the next gen bus network redesign, which we'll be launching next month, will increase ridership due to its increased service in higher frequency areas. In rail, we're initiating Better Breeze, which we're going to talk about a little bit later on, throughout our system. With Better Breeze, we're installing new fare gates in the system and transitioning riders to an entirely new fare payment method.

As a result, we have many fare gates that are under construction, some that are also open because of needing to maintain access to all stations. Some stations only have two points of access. Once we launch the Better Breeze system, we expect these numbers to have a much better reflection of our our numbers. So you'll see a spike in January. In January, we went beginning in December, rather, we went to a manual count.

So we randomly, manually counted our ridership as well as taking video to account for our ridership. And what it's already showing us is that our loss due to fare evasion, fare gates that are malfunctioning, folks who are going through exit entry points are really diminishing the amount of ridership that we show, which has an impact on us, both from what we're actually performing for Fulton and for the region, but also for what we submit to the FTA. Next slide. We're going to move now into our capital program section. Next slide, I'd like to move to the airport station.

We continue to see progress at airport station, both the on the left, the new elevator is completed. It's still boarded up when you go down there. And the new ride store is nearly completed. We are working on our fare gates at airport station. So at airport station now, you leave the MARTA station through some exit doors and come back in to the airport.

But we're feverishly replacing those and that work, all of this work will be done prior to World Cup. In fact, my team and I met with the general manager at the airport to coordinate completion of our construction activities so that we will not be working completely done prior to World Cup. The next slide and project I'd like to go to now is the MARTA Rapid A line. We have a few slides on this project because we are extremely excited about the soft launch coming on April 18 and a formal groundbreaking this project will happen after World Cup. One note I've mentioned in prior briefings that our bus manufacturer, New Flyer, is having some issues with their batteries and the charging on those.

We are definitely moving forward with the launch. We'll be servicing the whole corridor. Four yellow stops will be our temporary stops, and the other stops will have our permanent shelters already installed. The yellow stops, the stops will be adjacent to the permanent locations, and we'll be servicing the corridor with 40 foot regular buses that are designed to look like the bus battery electric buses. The battery electric buses are on-site.

And as soon as that recall fix has been done by the manufacturer, they will go immediately into service. Next slide. The station canopy for City Hall has been installed as well as many other locations. What you see on your screens is on the left, the station canopy installation work in front of City Hall. And on the right is what you see for our Carver Station at the South Terminus location, which also includes the battery electric chargers, structures.

There'll be a second installation of a shelter at that location, which is located adjacent to Terminal South, a wonderful new food hall. This next slide Thank you. This next slide shows two photos of the intersection of Abernathy Boulevard and Georgia Avenue, if they intersect with Hank Aaron Drive. The photo on the left is from 2018. And the exact same photo, same angle on the right is from a few weeks ago.

As you can see, the change is dramatic, and it clearly illustrates how concerted economic development along the transit corridor can transform a community when business leaders, elected officials, and other agencies partnered together on a transformative project. This transformation wouldn't have been possible without Fulton County's commitment, in particular the development authority of Fulton County acquiring 450 Hank Aaron, the former Ramada Plaza Hotel, which is being transformed into a mixed income community. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente, you may have heard, has now acquired property along the corridor up to seven acres for a development just North Of Georgian Avenue. The next slide relates to our MARTA Rapid Response public engagement, which has been robust. We are shifting to a get ready to ride phase, and we're preparing customers for a new payment process.

With BRT, you pay and you validate off vehicle. This increases the speed in which people get on and get off the vehicle and allows for a more rail like experience. The picture to the right is our rapid response team sharing information in January in the Peoplestown neighborhood at their Peoplestown Neighborhood Association meeting. Let's move on to the next slide, please. And I'm going to turn to our 5 Points transformation project.

And just as a reminder, 5 Points transformation is two projects in one. The transformation, which is at grade and above, and those are some of images you see in there and then the station rehab project, which I'll get to at the next slide. We've relocated our MARTA Police Department, MARTA Hope, which is our outreach program, to assist folks who are unhoused, as well as maybe experiencing drug or mental health issues and are on our system, as well as our lost and found office to Ashby Station temporarily. We've also partnered with Mercedes Benz, as well as several other downtown stakeholders to increase policing and beautification around the entire transformation project. And we're very excited about the launch of that, which will be in place prior to World Cup.

Next slide relates to the station rehabilitation project. I won't dwell on this because the commissioners, you've all heard about this project before. We will complete this prior to World Cup, and we continue to make outstanding progress on the tiling on the floors and the walls, including new seating areas for patrons and the lighting, bouncing off of all of that bright and lightened tile work has made a dramatic, dramatic improvement. Let's move on to the next slide, where I'll discuss MARTA's Cleveland Metropolitan ART project. Pictured on the left is a design rendering of the typical ART bus stop being installed throughout this project.

On the right is the full alignment. And the full alignment spans approximately 20 miles in total. And within the quarter, the route will cross over 40 intersections with transit signal prioritization to help speed up the delivery of our service. And that prioritization is being installed by GDOT. Other benefits of this project include queue jump lanes.

So around eastbound Cleveland Avenue and at Springdale Road, the bus will actually have a queue jump lane to allow it to get out in front of traffic to help speed up the delivery of the service. We also have four pedestrian safety beacon or mid block crossings with beacons to allow safer routes to transit along this route. In total, there'll be 53 bus shelters along the corridor, and 38 of those will be solar powered. All kiosks or I mean, excuse me, all shelters will have real time kiosk information as well. Could we move on to the next slide?

The Rapid Sea Line or the Campbellton BRT project along with the Greenbrier transit hub. I do have some good news for the commission on this. The Campbellton BRT has officially received a medium high rating from the FTA for their FY 2026 annual report for funding recommendations. So in short, that means we're eligible for small starts capital investment. It's not a guarantee, but it puts us in a much shorter line, and we're very, very excited about the possibility of getting supplemental federal funding for this project.

We still need to reach final design, but we're doing so in partnership with the community. We have a flyover bridge in this alignment. That bridge is being put in place to minimize the impact on the neighborhood, to increase the speed and efficiency with which we deliver this bus rapid transit project, as well as having a pedestrian pathway along there to allow for safer routes to transit. We have engaged the public through MPU meetings, bus ride alongs, other public briefings, and they are and the public will be included throughout our design and construction projects. I am very pleased to report that our engagement and our construction teams have done a lot of outreach to the community, especially around the flyover.

We hosted community leader roundtable in November, and we will continue to host those quarterly going forward. Our next slide, this is the Bankhead Station platform extension. We're very excited. Under the leadership of our board of directors, we completed a land swap in February. So if you're looking at the image, the portion that says bus loop that's below the existing station, that area was not MARTA property.

We conducted a land swap with a private party. It allowed us to move the bus the bus loop from underneath the station to that one location. It allows for better circulation, better pedestrian safety, as well as allows us to maintain the no western side of the station for that plaza. We are excited that we are currently at 60% design, and the scope thus far meets all of the needs of the increased platform station. So no more short trains going into Bankhead Station in the coming years.

And additionally, it will facilitate our new train cars being able to go into that Bankhead Station. I'd like to move on to the next slide, which is the Marder Wrap Clifton Corridor project. We previously stated in September that we would be coming to you with the LPA study by the 2026. And I want to be transparent with this group. Due to us launching several other initiatives, many of which I'm covering here today, the World Cup, we were concerned about getting full and robust public engagement.

So we are moving that engagement in the LP study back. And we're going to complete it in 2026, but we're going to go to the public in Q3. So it did slide, it slid by about six months. We're still engaging in that, but we did move it back to a Q4 twenty twenty six target. Could we move on to the next slide, which will get us into the partially funded projects?

The first of which is on the next slide, which is our Georgia 400 bus transit project. And we're continuing to advance this project in association with the Georgia Department of Transportation and their partner SR400 Beach Partners. We were at about 30% design on the proposed three in line station in close coordination with GDOT. And I know the image you see shows four dots or four stations. One of those stations is not fully funded, as well as there's other aspects of the projects that are not fully funded.

We did receive a million dollar state bond a million dollar state bond and $26,000,000 as part of the solicitation execution of the transaction with SR Peach Partners. But that is short of the full amount needed in order to fully develop and build this project. Marda is working diligently to identify additional local funding sources as well as preparing this for potential additional federal funding. We've worked closely with TrueNorth CID to update the cities of Roswell and Alphewatera on the project and to discuss how we can create truly engaging stations that will allow safe routes to transit that are inviting, considering this is a center running highway BRT project. If we can move to the next slide, I'm excited to talk about the ATN pilot or the Automated Transit Network project.

This pilot project's being conducted down at GICC in partnership with the ATL Airport Community Improvement Districts, the AACIDs, in studying the feasibility and deployment of an automatic automated train transit network easy for me to say in South Metro. The study will evaluate potential benefits, costs, and impacts, impacts as well as operations and costing. The second project governance meeting, and I want to take a moment to thank you, chair Pitts, for attending that meeting in January. The PGC committee unanimously approved the notice to proceed for phase three of construction activities. We held a groundbreaking on February and construction has commenced on this project.

Next slide. On the feasibility side of this project, so that's the pilot side, and construction's begun on that. On the feasibility study side, in conjunction with the ATN pilot, we've held meetings that were in conjunction with the PGC and independently. The route evaluation methodology included two tiers. The first tier focused on network connectivity, population, and employment access, and the second tier criteria focused on the feasibility implementation considerations as well as minimizing community impacts.

At the second PGC meeting in January, the southeast connection or the orange line received the majority of the committee support. So that particular route is gonna move forward for additional feasibility study. If we can move on to the next slide, and the next segment of our presentation here is community impacts. I will not detail all of the hard work that our external affairs group has been doing. I will highlight a couple of items.

In February, the community affairs group hosted several robust events throughout Fulton, but specifically, for my comments in South Fulton and Districts 16, And 7, each event effectively built awareness around MARTA, our new initiatives launching today I mean, last week through the April. We also held several open houses in MARTA headquarters that went extremely, extremely well. We conducted additional events in North Fulton at the Benson Senior Multipurpose Facility as well. Can we move to the next slide? In other news, and we have a robust other news, our legislative priorities, we were happy to hear that our house bill eleven thirty seven received unanimous support in transportation committee.

It did not make crossover, but we are hopeful that we're able to revive that piece of legislation. Also, the BRT camera enforcement legislation currently sits in the Senate Transportation Committee to move forward. And we're optimistic at this point that that's going to move forward. And that bill will allow the buses to have cameras to enforce the bus only lane instead of having to have officers stationed throughout the bus only lane in order to maintain a rail like experience. On the next slide, I'm gonna talk about our next gen bus network, which we are thirty one days away from launch.

We are working extremely hard internally to prepare for the launch, including a very, very large staff deployment over launch weekend. We've developed a launch day playbook, and we're training all of our bus operators for the new bus network now. In the month of February, we held 25 open houses in the community and had gave everybody the opportunity to directly engage with Marta regarding any concerns, questions regarding this launch. And we've also provided partner tool kits to all of your staff so that you're up to date and aware. And just for a moment, on the next slide in terms of engagement, this slide is put up there just to show you where we are and how excited the MARTA team is.

This is a result of work that began back in 2021 from six public meetings and stakeholder 26 stakeholder briefings all the way through public hearings till being just a hair over thirty days away from launching a new network that took into account many years of public engagement as well as planning. We can move on to the next slide, which is MARTA REACH. As part of the NextGen bus network is MARTA REACH. We launched MARTA REACH a week ago very successfully. It's the 12 zones you see in the image on your slide.

Rides will be complementary through March 28. And customers will see zones and be able to use MARTA REACH through the app. You can get ride through our website, or you can call for our on demand curb to curb service. And just as a reminder, each one of these zones allows people to hail a ride, connect with one of the fast frequent bus routes, or to our rail service. And if your ride begins and ends within the zone, then you'll get a door to door service.

On the next slide, we're going to go into our Better Breeze, which is coming. And on this one, sort of like the airport I want to remind, we're going to have some short term pain for long term gain. We currently have over 23 stations that are under construction now replacing fare gates. 95% of our rolling stock, so all of our buses that have tap to pay, 95% of that equipment has been replaced. And additionally, we're working through the rolling stock for our neighboring jurisdictions that also feed into the system in Cobb and Gwinnett.

We encourage riders to spend down their fare during this period through May 2. We've listened to our our customers. After May 2, we'll be fully on the Better Breeze system. So from March 28 to May 2, we'll have a transition period. You can use either system. From May 2 forward, it's just a better breeze system. But from May 2 to October 30, we're allowing you to transfer any balances or trips from the old system to the new system so you don't have any loss. We're very excited about that. And thus far, we're very, very proud of what we're going to deliver to the community. Next slide.

The next slide is on public safety. I saved this one for last, not because it's the least, but it's what I get the most excited about. And I don't want to run on too long about it. As of March 2, our overall crime rate is down 21% as compared to last year. And it's just a reminder, last year, we dropped our overall crime rate by north of 25%.

We had no homicides thus far this year. I do want to be transparent with this group. Our robbery percentage was up 50%. But what that actually represents in hard numbers is we went from two robberies through this time in 2025, and we've had three robberies through this time in 2026. None is the goal, but I just wanted to put that in context and to share that you have one of the safest transit systems in the nation that we are extremely proud of, as well as being able to partner with Fulton County, as well as many other cities for special enforcement actions, whether driven by MARTA or driven by those jurisdictions, police forces, and targeting specific crimes.

Previously, when I first came to this group in early September, I indicated that we wanted to get to two fifty officers, which was our budgeted amount, before the 2025. I am pleased to report that by the November, we reached 250 off sworn officers on the rolls. And I also mentioned to this group that I committed for 2026 an additional 30 officers over the budgeted allotment. Today, we are at 278 sworn officers with additional cadets in all of the participating academies like Fulton and Clayton that support us by allowing our officers to go through the academies. So we will be over that number, and we are just over the moon about that as well as how safe they're making the system.

With that, I think I'm at the end of my I am. I will yield for questions.

Thank you. Great news on the hires. Vice chair Abdul Rahman, you have the floor.

Thank you, chairman. I just have a couple of questions, some concerns that my office has personally received. Any of the martyr stands that have trash receptacles at them, Whose responsibility is it to make sure those are emptied?

So that is that is very interesting. It's not a simple answer, but I'm gonna give you the truthful answer. In part, it's MARTAs. In part, it's the local jurisdictions. So you have a receptacle that's in the public right of way.

Typically, it's it's whatever government jurisdiction's obligation to empty the trash. Acknowledging that we're placing an additional burden, we, through our advertising contracts, have two receptacle when we take the receptacles and empty them twice a week to augment whatever that local jurisdiction is also doing. That is kind of the deal, for the lack of a better word, in Fulton County. So if there's any trash receptacles that are overflowing, we should be getting calls as well as your services as well. But that's the complicated

Thank you for answering, because I have had constituents call in and I gave them the same answer. But I think if you all would do a little bit better outreach in letting the community know that you are trying to do your part in making sure it's done but it is not all the way your responsibility. And so, this is why I asked it openly because I wanted you to answer it openly and it not come from me. Secondly, a concern of mine.

Yes.

Aesthetically, some of our stations don't look as good as other stations. I would like in reference to the Bankhead Station. I've passed by there a couple of times and the aesthetics of the grass and the area that's outside of the station needs a little better upkeep. Since we have the World Cup coming, I don't want the constituents to be left out after the World Cup leave. And so, would ask that Mata takes a proactive role in making sure that all the stations are aesthetically pleasing to the eye for all the citizens of Fulton County.

I have personally passed that particular station a couple of times and I'll be honest with you, I was disappointed as to how it looked versus other stations that I have passed. And so, I would ask that even though it may not look like an equity issue, it can be perceived like an issue that you're not being equal with how some of the stations look on one side of town versus the other and this is coming from me. Last but not least, I know that we have seen publicly people who have had concerns about their money on their cards not transferring. I know that you stepped on it, you talked about it, but do you have does MATA have a plan in place for those that for whatever reason because we know anytime you're going from one system to another, it can glitch. There's got to be some type of follow-up or some type of way to resolve the last thing that I ever want to hear as someone who was a single parent, as someone who used to have to get on a bus, a train and a bus to drop off my children at the local day care and go to work and go to school, missing funds off my card could be the difference between me keeping my job, could mean the difference between me getting my children to childcare.

And so I would just ask, and you don't have to tell me what the plan is, but I will hope that during that little catch period of changeover that you all will be open to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks of losing any funding that they have on their cards.

We Commissioner Abdul Rahman, thank you. I'm gonna take your your last two notes in reverse order. First, with the concerns. We are keenly aware and attuned to that and how not everybody is a choice writer. Some are dependent writers. And during that May 2 to October 30 period, it's not just technological solution. To your point, may glitch, may not catch it right, may not somebody may transpose a number or the system might not get a number. Exactly. But with our customer service department, we're in training them now. They will have a human being that they can call to assist them to get through that so they don't lose any funds. So we're keenly aware of that.

I appreciate that.

And on the aesthetics point, you stated that exceedingly well. I'm gonna state it more plainly. If a station doesn't look good, tell us. We need to do better. So you mentioned Bankhead, but we're not doing beautification for World Cup, although that's important. We're doing it for our Metro Atlanta citizens, Fulton County citizens, day in and day out. We the level of attention and care and service to our customers is raising at MARTA. So if there's a point where we're not providing that, do let us know.

I definitely will. And I just want to challenge you and because you're at the helm of leadership is all of the energy and everything that we're doing now which is great, we want to keep that same feeling afterwards, we want to keep that same posture afterwards. Being someone that just recently turned 62 years old, I can remember the Olympics and I can remember all of the work that was done during the Olympics, can remember even the posture of the changes it was going to make, some businesses were going to just be able to carry money bags to the bank and it didn't happen. I would say that MADA has a golden opportunity here. And, the beautification, you are correct, should go on.

It has been going on and we look for MADA to be the leader in making sure that it goes on. But I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that there are constituents that are concerned. They feel as though it's almost like when you have company from out of town and you make sure the house is clean and everything, the bathroom has pine sol and everything and it's spic and span and you can eat off the floor and then when the company leaves, it goes back to looking the same. So, would just challenge you into saying what you're doing, let's continue to be partners and keep it going.

Couldn't agree more Commissioner Abdulrahman, could not agree more.

Thank you Vice Chair. Commissioner Thorne?

Hey, thanks for coming down here Jonathan. I just had a question. Did MARTA update their payment systems like three years ago, two or three years ago? I know it was before your time.

No. Well, I've I've been working at Marta fourteen years, so I can't I can't use that excuse. We did do upgrades to the Better Breeze system, but it wasn't a wholesale replacement by any stretch of the imagination. These systems get stale, technology moves forward. So to allow us to continue taking fares, we need to do upgrades. But it wasn't what we're doing now.

Okay. Because I remember some type of payment system right around when I first took office. But I knew this payment system was in existence. So we upgraded and now we're We're

not redoing. So for example, we didn't have tap to pay. So how you go to the grocery store now, that existed three years ago. We didn't have that. We had the same fare gates. We didn't replace those three years ago. We didn't replace the equipment on the buses three years ago. It was mainly a software update in the back end rather than a front end wholesale replacement of our entire fair payment system, which is what we're experiencing now.

Okay, yeah. Because I knew in New York they had this system three or four years ago in place.

You can't let New York outdo us.

They have a little bigger system there to work with. True. Okay. And then secondly, I noticed that we had a new shelter on MLK as well that looks identical to the city hall shelters.

That's the standard shelter. They'll all look like that to help identify, hey, you're at a bus rapid transit stop versus a normal bus stop, which is why the ART shelters also look just slightly different than those two.

Okay. Thank you. That's

all My I pleasure.

Alright. Other questions? While you're here, would you address the your request for the resolution for the extension of the 1p. And that bail the bill didn't cross over,

did it?

The bill did not cross over. We're still working with leadership under the Gold Dome in terms of figuring out a way or a path to attach our legislative priorities to it in order for it to move forward. My external affairs group had a great idea when I took over at the helm, myself and deputy general manager, Ron Allen, Allen, to come to all of the jurisdictions and explain all of our legislative priorities and ask for a resolution of support for those legislative priorities, one of which being the penny. The penny supports our underlying work. So we do receive a lot of federal funds, formula funds.

We receive some state grants. We receive other miscellaneous grants that we can apply for. All of those funding mechanisms have strings attached, meaning we can only use them for certain things. That core penny is our sustaining penny, is our sustaining and largest funding source. It pays for things like my salary, the the the staff salary, but also pays for all of those officers.

It it pays for all of our employees who live in Fulton County as well as throughout our jurisdiction, and even broadly. We have we have employees who live as far away as Butts County and up Cherokee County. So it's not just within our footprint that Marda is an economic development engine. If we get underneath the thirty year period, because with the request is to support a resolution to extend the penny from 2057 to 2067. If we get within that thirty year period, then all of those funding sources will look at your core funding source, your core local funding as more in jeopardy, making meaning you're less competitive for grants at the federal level in particular, which is things like CIG grants, which I mentioned we are in a good position for for Campbellton.

We've already gotten allotment of 60,900,000.0 that we look really good for the Southlake BRT, which will connect directly in the airport. All of that becomes more at risk. Additionally, of quarter

quarter nineteen.

The The

the first

we have a lower bond of rating, that results in a higher interest rate, not a cost of capital because of change orders, because the price of steel went up, because the price of petroleum products went up, merely because we didn't move quickly enough to make sure that we didn't get within that thirty year period, effectively raising the cost of all of our capital projects, putting downward pressure on our ability to items as well. That's why we sought out the resolution and sought out the additional engagement early on.

So now that the bill since the bill did not cross over, you're no longer seeking that resolution from us?

We would love, we always love your support and we would love to have the resolution because we are still working with leadership under the Gold Dome to see if there's anything they could do.

Okay. Alright. Other questions or comments? If not, see you next quarter.

Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

On page eight, county manager's items under open and responsible government twenty six zero one five six finance. Request approval resolution of the board of commissioners of Fulton County expressing its intention to advance phase three of the project care initiative and pursue the acquisition, construction, equipping, financing, and completion of a new hospital facility in South Fulton County pursuant to the arrangements with the Grady Health System and the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority.

Okay. Let me explain what's before us here and then there is a presentation, correct? Yes, I'm make a presentation. But in summary, what's before us is Project CARE and this resolution simply expresses the board's intent. Keyword here is intent to do three things.

Number one is to move to complete phase three of project care. You'll recall that phase one was the creation building of a freestanding emergency clinic in South Fulton. Phase two, which I've talked about, is the freestanding medical facility which will house specialties. And this is phase three which speaks to a brand new hospital in South Fulton County. So our intent then today, what this resolution seeks to do is to advance phase three to move forward.

And number two, it will provide for the construction, the equipment, and the funding, which is important, of this. And number three, it would authorize the manager and his staff to begin negotiations with the parties and the parties being Fulton County government, Grady Hospital, and the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority. This is a $900,000,000 project, dollars 300,000,000 from Fulton County, dollars 300,000,000 from Grady Hospital, and $300,000,000 from the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority and their supporters. So I'm going to move approval and we will hear from a presentation and hear from members of the board and I hope that we will act favorably.

Point of order, Mr. Chair, I've already moved approval and Commissioner Abdul Rahman has already seconded the motion.

I didn't see the the okay. The And then when after after the I have an amendment that I'd like to make after your presentation and others will be joining you for the presentation.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Pamela Rochelle, Chief Operating Officer, Fulton County. Good morning Chairman, Vice Chair, and members of the board. Today, our discussion is related to agenda item twenty six zero one five six, which will discuss the restoration and expansion of the healthcare infrastructure in Fulton County with a special and specific emphasis on South Fulton. Today, I will briefly ground the discussion in the public health context that brought us here today. I will then be joined by the Grady team who will walk through their public health response strategy, and then our CFO will discuss specifics related to the resolution, which includes a funding strategy.

As you all may remember, in 2022, there was a closure of two health care facilities, the Atlanta Medical Facility Central and South, which created a sudden and disrupting impact for healthcare access in Fulton County. This hospital and these hospital closures really pointed to the sole acute care hospital in South Fulton ceasing operations. We also had the Central Fulton facility which was operating at a 180 bed capacity closed after more than a century of service. Thousands of residents were left confused, frustrated and without information and most importantly without proximity to emergency and in patient care. The immediate impact was sorely felt in what were already medically and disadvantaged vulnerable communities.

Patients were forced to travel substantial distances for care, existing providers had to absorb the overage of these closures without planning or notice, and the community again was impacted which resulted in fear and instability in the system. Next slide. Next slide. As a result, the board of commissioners recognized the magnitude of this issue and treated this as a public health emergency, not simply a market shift. Rather than react episodically, the county initiated a structured, data driven response known as project care.

Next slide. This was a seven week undertaking and the results were sobering. While we knew of existing healthcare inequities, there were some specifics that I want to cover today, if you could go to the previous slide. This study specifically pointed to three things. We wanted to assess the existing healthcare gaps.

We wanted to assess access structure, we wanted to quantify those gaps, and we wanted to analyze healthcare outcomes. Specifically, the healthcare access issues that were uncovered, there were 12 specific zip codes that were identified as medically underserved, however, eight of those 12 were within five miles of the closed hospitals. No acute care or ER services were in South Fulton and residents traveled thirty minutes or more to reach care. The study also revealed that South Fulton had fewer than 10 sites of care per 100,000 residents versus 28 sites of care in Central Fulton. And as we move to healthcare outcomes, life expectancy in Central And South Fulton was a staggering five years lower.

Doctor. Rochelle, did you need the previous slide?

Yes.

Can we get the previous slide please?

Thank you, thank you. There was also a lack of specialty care, cardiologists, pulmonary physicians, cancer care physicians were nonexistent and are nonexistent. In a community that suffers from higher than average chronic care conditions. As we looked at the social determinants of health, fifty percent of the county residents lacked a lacked a college degree and 70% in South Fulton. We also looked at other social determinants of health that simply did not bode well for overall health outcomes outcomes in South Fulton.

So the Project CARE study pointed to all of these revelations, some again that we were quite aware of and some that were uncovered by the study and we in the county at the direction of the board made some significant investments to begin closing the gap. Next slide please. What you see here is a map of Fulton County, which points to 14 investments totaling $61,000,000 that were immediately launched after the conclusion or at the conclusion of the study in April 2023. These investments span the entire county, but as you can see, are centralized in what was the most impacted part of the county due to the closures. These investments include a behavioral health crisis center, North Point Parkway 23,000,000, a health and human services north facility at 61,000,000.

We also launched a Medicare senior clinic to provide access to seniors who had not been using their Medicare wellness visit. We deployed a team across all four senior multipurpose facilities and one neighborhood senior center that was closely aligned with the healthcare desert. We concluded that work at the December with one team, and that RFP is on the street right now for us to continue that work into 2026 and beyond. We also opened a South Fulton Developmental Disabilities Training Center with an investment of ARPA dollars at $5,600,000 This restored access in South Fulton for families who had been traveling to our central facility. We also partnered with Grady Hospital for two primary care clinics that you will hear about during their presentation.

We, in addition, opened a primary care clinic in partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, right down the street from one the closed hospitals. We also opened a behavioral health crisis center at Oak Hill, which is serving that community with the first behavioral health crisis services in Fulton County. And, we are planning a health and human services facility in South Fulton, which will house an array of public health and human services. That feasibility study will be brought to the board in June. And finally, we worked in partnership with Grady Hospital and the board approved a $19,000,000 investment for the construction of the freestanding emergency facility that will open in June.

I'd now like to turn the conversation over Hospital team who will walk you through their public health response.

Good morning, Mr. Chair and Commissioners. Commissioners. Thank you for arriving at this moment. We've together been doing a lot of work, the board. And I really want to recognize Doctor. Rochelle, Dick Anderson, and Sharon Whitmore. We together have spent much time getting to this point over the last two years. And the support and the partnership from the county has just been phenomenal, so thank you. So continuing that discussion around the next steps from Project CARE, Grady opened, took three different actions.

On the left side of the slide, you can see that Governor Kemp provided $130,000,000 in ARPA COVID funding for us to be able to add an additional 160 inpatient beds on the main campus. That includes 52 critical care beds as well and that entire project of creating that occurred within twelve months. That additional bed capacity pretty much replaced the average daily census that was being seen at Atlanta Medical Center. Secondly, as Doctor. Rochelle noted, we opened two new ambulatory clinics South Of I-twenty, one at Cascade which opened in July 2023, and the Lee and White Center in September 2024.

Through these we've been able to bring primary care and specialty care to those communities to close that gap in healthcare coverage. And finally, and very importantly, in the midst of COVID and the closure of these hospitals, we worked with both counties and the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority to sign a truly landmark county operating agreement, which we signed in December 2024. Providing, it provides the county the ability to use the funds donated or given to Grady to help expand the need in communities of need. So thank you. Now I want to introduce to you Grady's.

He's been, this is Anthony Saul by the way. Anthony's been with Grady for seven years. He was VP of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, became a Senior Executive Vice President over Operations, and as of yesterday became Grady's President and Chief Operating Officer. And I will continue to serve as the Chief Executive Officer through the end of this year. And as of January year, Anthony will be the president and CEO of Grady Health System.

And so we're thrilled, absolutely thrilled. I will be hanging around to help raise 300,000,000 from philanthropy for this project and to assist these two incredible folks with some oversight of this project. So with that, I'll turn it over to Anthony.

Thanks, John. Good morning, Commissioners, Mr. Chair. Next slide, please. Grady's approach and vision for the South Fulton market is more of a two pronged strategy.

While we recognize the need to and the call to action to bring medical services to that community, a community of over 300,000 community citizens, we also realized that we must preserve the capacity at downtown trauma center for the high acuity services that the market needs. So, we envision this strategy not only benefiting the South, but also as a strategy to strengthen the trauma center. It will create space for future inpatient critical care expansions at the trauma center, as well as create a sustainable clinical financial hub for the South, which will link clinics, urgent cares, to the inpatient care that those citizens need down South. Next slide, please. The phased approach, as you all have heard, begins with the freestanding ED, which opens this summer, a public private partnership with the county, a $38,000,000 investment.

For Grady as a system, this will alleviate over 20,000 visits from those zip codes that currently come to the trauma center and being able to service them with care closer to home. Phase two, as you all have heard, is bringing more doctor services in a medical office building to that market. This five story, 100,000 square foot facility will add primary care, specialty care, orthopedic services, imaging labs, rehabs, as well as a partnership with Children's of Atlanta that will bring much needed pediatric specialties to the market. And the third phase, as you all are aware, is the new acute care hospital. This $900,000,000 investment represents an opportunity to improve access, improve the health of our communities, and show the communities of the South that their care matters as much as everyone else.

In total, Grady is investing with his partners over $1,000,000,000 in this market. We're proud to stand with the county commissioners and be in service of this great opportunity, but also the citizens who are our communities, who are our families, who are our friends. And I'll turn it over to Shannon Sale to talk more detail about the strategy.

Thank you, Anthony. And I think we are right at noon, so good afternoon to the commission. I'm Shannon Sale. I'm the chief administrative officer for Grady. I've been with Grady for about fourteen years. If you could hit the next slide please. So this we are thrilled to show you. This is a concept of the campus. Today we are talking about and we're shortly going to celebrate the opening of the freestanding ED. It is that smallest part of the campus there to the right.

We'll open that on June 2. I'm grateful again for the partnership for us to get there. Building out the medical office building allows us to build out the medical staff and those services Doctor. Rochelle mentioned, that Project CARE illuminated, Anthony went through, those services that we know the community needs closer to home. And so imaging surgery, cancer care, orthopedics, and again that partnership with CHOA to bring pediatrics to the community.

Very thrilled about that. And so the medical office building takes a little it doesn't take quite as long to build as a hospital. We'll start that here shortly as we continue on the journey to that 200 bed acute care facility. This allows folks to get to care closer to home. It immediately addresses that social determinant of health of transportation and not having to drive twenty to thirty minutes but having care close to home, community health resources.

And once we have that fully designed campus, so this gives us the first this is actually phase one, two, and three but you can kind of see up to the right that this the hospital could actually be duplicated. And over time we set that vision to it could be a 400 bed hospital into the future as we continue to, the community continues to grow and we see those needs being met. As Anthony mentioned, it's a $1,000,000,000 investment in total. We'll have over 2,000 jobs created and that we see as jobs for the local community. So the community will reflect the people who work at the hospital, all of our staff will reflect the community.

It gives great opportunity for growth and economic advancement. And we see the full campus being developed by 2031. If you'll go to the next slide please. So this is again kind of restating those major key points of the jobs created, the billion dollar investment and focusing on the needs of those 360,000 residents who live in that area. This project we've referenced, you've heard throughout the day of Project CARE.

This project directly addresses the needs that were identified in Project CARE. Redistributing those assets to enhance health access, enhancing care delivery efforts, creating a delivery system, not a fragmented system that some of it's close to home and some of it's far away that's all together right there in South Fulton. Reducing financial barriers, we remain committed to our mission as a safety net and treating folks regardless of their ability to pay, Being again able to address that social determinant of health around transportation, reducing transportation costs and economic development for the community. So go to the next slide. So putting it all together, again, we have we're really thrilled for the opening of the freestanding ED and again grateful for the partnership on getting us there, funding being distributed between Grady and the county with the county bonds of $19,000,000 The medical office building will be developed with developer funds and through the Grady operating expenses.

And then looking at that inpatient acute care hospital, dollars 900,000,000 as previously described. Looking at that as $300,000,000 through county bonds, dollars 300,000,000 through philanthropy and $300 from Grady debt. And so all told, when we put this all together, again a billion dollars invested in transforming South Fulton from a healthcare desert to a thriving healthcare destination and addressing the needs that were identified through Project CARE. We again are grateful for the opportunity to present this to you, for the partnership to get us here today as John said earlier and look forward to what's to come for the community.

Okay.

We'll take any questions.

Anything else at this point? No. Alright, so this is a Mr.

Chairman, we do have the CFO is rounding out the presentation. Thank you, sir.

Thank you Doctor. Rochelle. Mr. Chairman I will be quick. To round it out with regard to the item that is before you today that would authorize us to begin to move forward with that bond issue.

Of course, we will be working with the Volt and DeKalb Hospital Authority to issue the bonds. They would be underwritten and supported by intergovernmental agreement. We expect that they would be thirty year bonds and based on current analysis at current interest rates, max annual debt service of around 19,300,000.0 So that's the summary of the financial obligation for the county and we would look to actually be issuing those bonds in 2028.

Okay. All right. The motion on the floor is to approve. Speaker, Commissioner Arrington, Vice Chair Abdul Rahman and Commissioner Barrett, and I'll make a few closing comments. Commissioner Arrington, you have the floor. Motion on the floor is to approve.

Thank you. I guess, you know, the big elephant in the room is all of these wonderful Morehouse School of Medicine students. What current arrangement do you have with Morehouse School of Medicine? And how do you envision Morehouse School of Medicine being involved going forward with not only the hospital in phase three but also phase two in the office buildings?

Absolutely. So Grady has had a nearly fifty year relationship with Morales School of Medicine and our other physician partners at Emory School of Medicine. As we have grown, our two partners have grown with us. So the current Grady environment we have doctors from Morehouse, doctors from Emory, doctors from Grady. We expect those conversations to continue in all our future growth opportunities.

Okay. So I guess it sounds like there's not necessarily any formal arrangement.

So we are working on an extension of the affiliation agreement, our contract with the two schools. The three of us are at the table together and that's looking at a ten year extension. So, it's a formal contract with the schools of what we provide with where we partner. And so, embedded in the conversation now is every new doctor position that Grady brings to the table, the three of us partners will discuss them and decide who's best to employ that physician. So, it's embedded in the contract and how we go forward.

And so would Grady wouldn't have any problem including Morehouse School of Medicine and other Emory and other local schools in this intention language or intention resolution you wouldn't have any problem with that would you?

With having the discussions in the planning and who occupies what seat and employs what docs, no absolutely. They would absolutely welcome our partners to continue being at the table.

Okay, awesome. So I'm going make a motion to amend the resolution to include working with Morehouse School of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine and other any other local schools of medicine that will make sure that we have the diverse staff and diverse skills that you all already have. And, you know, because I mean, what I'm looking at is I saw the agreement for it was agreement that that that we did with Grady and extended I guess, were two term two ten year terms. Right? So what what I'm looking for is to know that over the thirty years of this bond of Fulton County taxpayers helping finance the building of this, that we will make sure that we are using these qualified, competent doctors of the future who, you know, be taking care of me and others.

Right? We need to make sure that they are at the table. Sounds like you all do not oppose that, have no objection to it, and are enthusiastic about doing.

Absolutely. Our intent all along about staffing this hospital and the MOB is always to include our academic partners. However, we do have our own medical group as well. So if we have created a new infrastructure through our agreement with the schools that gets all three parties to the table to discuss who should get which resources and what type of physicians are needed and who's going to employ them. Because almost all of these physicians at the main hospital are employed by Morehouse School of Medicine or Emory School of Medicine. We cover the cost.

Okay, awesome. To your point, Commissioner Arrington, when I said earlier that I wanted to make an amendment, what you've just stated is in the amendment and I can share it with you. We can do it at this

Well, I've already made the amendment. I don't need you to make the amendment that I already made. Commissioner Abdul Rahman, as the seconder of the motion, will you accept the amendment to make sure that they include Morehouse and other local schools of medicine?

Commissioner Arrington, not that I won't second it, but can you allow everybody because Commissioner Barrett had some comments she wanted to make. So I don't want to kill your motion as of yet, but if we can

y'all y'all let preside.

Let let this let let the I wanna let my colleague to give opportunity to Oh, yeah.

No. I want Just minute. Minute.

Just a minute, everybody. Just a minute. This is a great day for Fulton County. It's a great day for South Fulton. Let's be be happy. Commissioner Arrington has the floor followed, as I said earlier, followed by vice chair Abdulrahman, followed by Commissioner Barrett.

Yeah. No, I was Commissioner Abdul Rahman. I was not trying to foreclose anyone else from speaking, but I was just trying to make the amendment to make sure that we include the next generation of leaders.

Yes. I understand and I completely support it. I just want to give all colleagues the opportunity to speak.

Yeah. No. I don't think it would for anyone would be foreclosed from speaking. This is just about the amendment. So, you know, I guess that that's my biggest concern. I do wanna also just set the record straight that because I've I've been hearing these these things on on TV and all these announcement at press conferences. We're all excited about this new hospital. And to some extent, it doesn't really matter who gets the credit. Right? But we have people that are going around beating their chest, talking about that they came up with the term health care desert.

And and when on 12/07/2022, I was the person that authored the legislation declaring a medical emergency in in Fulton County, in South Fulton. And you, mister chair, did not even vote in support of it. We had six votes, and now you're going around talking about you came up with the term health care desert? Please. What are you talking about?

I've got the record right here. 12/07/2022. That is what led to doctor Rochelle doing the study. That is what led to project care. And so you have not only not led but not only did you not lead, you didn't even vote in support of declaring a health care state of emergency in Fulton County. So we're gonna set the record straight here today, right now. Okay? This is about making sure people have health care. This is not about you running around talking about health care desert. Not only is it a health care desert, was more important.

And, what I said on that day is that it is an emergency care desert. More specifically, because there's a bigger, broader health care desert, but the closure of the two Wellstar hospitals, what you lose when you lose a hospital is you lose the emergency care. And, in an emergency, that is what is most needed. And not only that, what it really is is medical apartheid going on in South Fulton. I am happy.

I am grateful and thankful to Grady for doing what Grady has done and stepping up, but do not think for one second that that is enough. They got at least four hospitals in North Fulton, and we need at least four hospitals in South Fulton. So don't run around here talking about you coined the term what you call a health care desert. You didn't even think about it. You don't even know what that is. Please get out of here with that.

This is a happy day for Fulton County, especially the people in South Fulton County. Vice Chair, Abdi Rahman, you have the floor.

Oh, Lord, have mercy. Thank you, Morehouse Medical. Thank you. Y'all really showed up and showed out and I appreciate you all. Listen, you all, I often say this, and I'm going to say this first as I go into my other comments.

I was a Grady baby, but more importantly, my two eldest siblings, they're deceased, were McClendon Hospital babies. And so, what I think happens a lot of time when we have these conversations, individuals begin to lose focus. I love what is happening today, you know I support it, I've been behind it. But let's be crystal clear, this is the beginning of a solution. We need another hospital.

We need the caregivers to have a holistic approach. We've got to look at the social determining factors. We've got to look at the fact that a lot of the people in the district are living below poverty level, a lot do not have the adequate skills, life skills, a lot have issues that a holistic approach needs to be used. And so, I liken this because the conversation has went a direction that a lot of times it goes, but let me bring it back. If I am starving if I am starving and you give me cheese and crackers, I'm going to be satisfied with that.

And Grady, you're not cheese and crackers, so please understand. Grady saved the life of many of my family members, including my eldest child. So, let's be crystal clear, Grady is not cheese and crackers, but if you give me cheese and crackers while I'm starving, I'm gonna say, oh, that tasted like filet mignon. We are in need of more than one hospital. Let's be crystal clear where I stand.

This cannot be the beginning and the end of a conversation for the other side of I 20 for a hospital. Because, see, what happens is that people with their own political agendas, as we saw this morning, will hijack conversation and tell you, you should be just happy with peanuts. No pun intended. We must have a bigger conversation, which means it includes more hospitals, it includes changing the mindset at the state. It does not matter what our goals are, my colleagues, until we get the state to understand that health care is not a desire, it should be expected for all.

And until we have people at the state to understand that we need expanded health care, we will continue to have these arguments with each other pitting Grady against Morehouse, Morehouse against Emory, Emory against stop, time out for that. Morehouse Medical is a great institution, Medical is part of the fabric of the landscape. You cannot talk about the city of Atlanta, you can't even talk about Georgia and not talk about More house Medical. But you also can't do it without talking about Grady. And both of them have made great contributions.

And so let's not take today and politicize it and say okay, we get in the hospital, woo hoo hoo hoo, because baby, baby, baby we need more than one. We need more than one. The South Side has suffered a long time, and I know I'm going get in trouble for this, Chairman Pitts, it has suffered a long time with people who looked like me in leadership positions. So as my elderly mother used to say, you may be my color, but you are not my kind. And so we have a problem here that people are trying to hijack, and I will not be on that plane with the hijackers.

We need more than one hospital. I am in full support of this, I am fully in support of Grady, I am fully in support of Morehouse Medical, Emory, and all of those others being at the table, but let's be honest and candid with each other. This is not the solution to a problem that's been going on for years. Let's not pretend it is. Let's not pretend that there's not a lot of work at the state and at the table that needs to be done to make sure that all the institutions that are represented today have not only their fair share at the table, but can work in harmony.

I am so tired of individuals pitting one against the other for their own political, financial means. It is 2026, it is time over for that. And so, I say as the vice chair is that we need a broader conversation here that below I 20, we need more than one hospital. We need a holistic approach. We need individuals that are going come to the table and not only look like us, but understand it's bigger than sending somebody to an emergency room.

It's bigger than just having a conversation. You've got to find out where people are, how they're feeling, how they're living, what they're eating, what they're dealing with from a mental point of view. If we're truly going to be about setting goals of dealing with a healthcare desert, I get so tired of that healthcare desert being thrown around like it's a meal at Shoney's, and I'm showing my age now. It's not about a health care desert. It's about a holistic approach of making sure that our generations moving forward will have the full behavior, mental health, societal health, all the health they need to flourish.

Thank you, Chairman.

Thank you, Vice Chair. Commissioner Barrett.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know it's a rare thing for me to say this but I kind of agree with all of my colleagues. Look, at the end of the day this is a very good day. We're gonna move forward on having a new hospital in Union City in South Fulton which is a phenomenal thing. This is really like the very first step in that third phase of just putting out the moving forward with the bond induce ment. So that's great. I'm thrilled for that. But I do want to echo well first of all I want to talk about the language here a little bit because I think there's some confusion and I don't know that the terms matter all that much. There is a health health care desert.

We do have a health care emergency as Commissioner Arrington pointed out in Fulton County. But whether you want to call it an emergency or a desert, it doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, the outcomes are significantly worse in South Fulton County than they are in North Fulton County. People die younger. They get sicker.

They have more chronic health issues. Childbirth and women's issues are not taken care of in the same way they are in the north part of the county, there are significant inequities in our health. And to be clear, those existed long before the two hospitals closed. So putting a hospital, to my colleague's point is not the solution. It is part of a much larger solution.

And the other terminology I think that's getting a little intermixed, think there's like two different plans that are being talked about here that are all sort of being lumped under Project CARE. And so I just want to be clear because a lot of people do actually pay attention to this stuff and I'll come to you Doctor. Rochelle for a little clarity here. But the Project CARE study was that presented in 'twenty three?

Yes ma'am. It concluded in April '3. We presented the findings which included a five part strategy. The primary strategy was to redistribute access and to create new access points.

Right and my recollection is not going to be 100% clear on everything in Project CARE because I don't have it sitting in front of me. However, that was a partnership between Morehouse

School

of Medicine, and Fulton County to develop that Project CARE initiative. The three phase paid for it.

Yeah, we paid for it with Morehouse School of Medicine.

Right, so we paid for it. Excellent, thank you for that addition Mr. Chairman. This three phase plan is not the same as anything in the project. This is separate three phase plan to put a hospital and services in Union City.

It not phase three of Project CARE. This is phase three of the Grady Hospital plan. So I just want to make that clear because if anyone goes back and pulls the Project CARE study which is available online I believe, this is not it will be confusing. So I want to just make that abundantly clear. And I think to my colleague's points, if you drive around Fulton County in District 3 Or 2 Or 1, there are many, many, many hospitals.

I have lots of choices if I want to go to the hospital in my district or if I need to go to the hospital. There are many, many, many, many, many medical office buildings. So having one is phenomenal. Very excited about it. But we need a lot more.

And I think it is clear by the attendance today by the folks from Morehouse that they are at least feeling shut out of conversation. And that should not be happening because we need all the partners. We need to work with all the partners and to make sure we're covering as much geography as we can, as many specialties as we can, and that we're keeping our homegrown medical professionals here in our community. So I do want to say again, I'm going to keep coming back to this is a great day. Don't want them to be left out.

And I don't want us to think that we've checked the box and that Project Care is done when this hospital is built because it isn't. We need ambulatory care throughout South Fulton. We need clinics. We need community health workers. We need co pays at federally qualified health centers. These are all things that were in that original study if I recall and I'm sure there were others. So I'm very excited that we're moving forward on this but I don't want them to be shut out. And so I think what I have my concern I guess is they are asking for some amendments here. And I know you have some language, Mr. Chairman.

I know Commissioner Arrington suggested some things. But I just want to make sure that and I want to Doctor. Montgomery Rice, I don't know if you want to come up or not. But my understanding is you're welcome to come up. Yeah.

I wanted to just clarify because I know we've talked about this. But putting aside right now the ambulatory care network that I know you all want to build in partnership with us, you also, I think, were talking about having this Union City Hospital be a teaching hospital. Is that correct? Correct. Okay.

And I want to just let everybody know that even though they're not here in droves, I also did hear from folks from Emory who would like to be participants in that as well. So I'm going to come back to you, John, in a minute. But can you speak to where you feel like Morehouse School of Medicine fits into this ongoing initiative to address these inequities in South Fulton? Sure.

Thank you. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak. And, I speak on behalf of not just our learners, but our faculty members, our clinicians, and the community. And, I speak on behalf of our partners. Grady has been our longstanding partner in who we utilize to educate and train our physicians and they've been great partners.

And what we saw with the closure of the Wellstar Hospital shocked all of us, But, as you said, it didn't just start there. But it did energize all of us to really come together to come up with a, I think, informed, integrated strategy. And while Gray has been working on one thing, we've been working on with you all, Project CARE. Much of what Doctor. Rachelle brought out was what was in Project CARE.

The one great thing that we saw was we could actually, for one of the first times, see where assets had been placed and where they were not, but then also see a solution. And that solution to me is multi pronged. It is not just about a hospital. It is about building out an ambulatory integrated network that will place assets where people work, live, play and pray. And they should be within a two mile radius and it should be able to address the level of care that the person is seeking such that they don't have to go to our great emergency room at Grady and wait for seven hours because they cut their finger.

And we can do this if we partnership. So, you are right. We've sort of been working somewhat on two different things but we need to come together and work together. Now, I believe and I think the community agrees with us that all opportunities should be opportunities to educate and train because I know we produce the most culturally competent and culturally humility driven providers when they're able to work in all communities. So, that is why I would love to see the hospital in Union City or wherever we put another hospital, that it will always have a teaching component to it because I think that's critical.

And, I would like to see this ambulatory network built out and I'm totally open to doing it with Grady. I've never not wanted to do something with Grady. Grady is our partner. But I also think there are other entities within the state that can bring value to this. So it's about partnership for us.

It's about partnership and doing this together and what I have seen with these commissioners and I've worked with you all, I've met with each of you all with the exception of Commissioner Ellis, but I know that you care also. But I will say to you all, I think everybody is committed to this so let's do it together and let's make sure that nobody feels that they don't have a voice at the table to make sure we do right for the residents of Fulton County. Thank you for that.

I will not take up too much time. John or Anthony, I don't know which one of you want to answer. I'm like going half formal, half informal how I'm addressing people. Don't know why. Formal. Sorry, formal, sir. I know you like it formal. Can you guys speak to sort of the decision about whether or not the Union City Hospital should be a teaching hospital, the cost differentiation between a non teaching hospital and a teaching hospital? Because I know, I certainly don't know what those numbers look like and I'd like to understand that.

Yes, so the decision was made early on this would not be a teaching hospital. And one of the main reasons is the federal resources that exist to fund graduate medical education are not there. And Grady does not have the resources to fund each and every resident position, which the cost is $200,000 each. The federal government, when they do provide reimbursement, provides around $135,000 So Grady is already underwriting medical education for the program we have to 20,000,000 a year. Now I do want to add that in the years I've been at Grady, the allocation of those scarce resources, which are GME positions, graduate medical education residencies, We have increased that presence for Morehouse by 50%.

While at the same time, it's only increased by 1% for Emory School of Medicine. I don't ever want anyone to think that Grady does not have an incredible passion for investment with Morehouse. But I will be honest with you, infrastructure and the costs that come with graduate medical education need to remain on our main campus. It would not be affordable on this campus. Apparently there's going to be a second hospital around I-twenty That could possibly be a teaching hospital if the resources are there.

But I don't think that's what we want this facility to be. We want this to be a community hospital where the patient has a sustained direct relationship with their providers. As you said, this isn't just the solution at all. And we didn't mention it here, but we are going to be creating additional multi specialty sites throughout South Wilton as well as urgent care centers as we move along this pathway. Because as you said, Commissioner, this is kind of a starting point. But you do have to have critical mass to make a hospital work given particularly the funding issues that all hospitals are facing. Did that help?

Yes and no because I understand that the cost per resident and that there is some federal funding but it's hard to know how that impacts the overall cost of how many residents are we talking about, what does that change in terms of the overall cost to operate on an annual basis. So I mean, is a number. It's not all the numbers.

And

I think there's more conversation maybe or data that I need to really fully understand that. I do see that Doctor. Montgomery Rice I think wants to make a comment here and I'm happy for that to happen. So.

Yeah and I just wanna add I didn't come here to get into a debate.

No absolutely not and I'm not I'm not looking to make a debate.

So you all can decide where that goes.

No no absolutely not trying to to have a debate.

This is no debate. This is this is an a n conversation And, I think that Commissioner Abdul Rahman said something that I think we have to take into consideration there are opportunities to partner with the state. There are other opportunities to look for where we can get additional funding through some of the supplemental payments, etcetera, to consider this. But one thing that I know for sure, and the data does support this, that when you create a training opportunity, and particularly in residency training, that is the highest chance that someone is gonna stay in that community to practice. And what we're talking about is how we create sustainability and stickiness.

And so, we believe that there is a value added opportunity when learners are in the hospital system. And so, while I am not wanting to get into a debate at all about how we fund this, but I think that if we put our smart brains together, we can look at solutions and pull in other stakeholders with us. There may be some opportunities for this, for us to make sure that we are able to create the stickiness that's required for people to have an experience there and then to stay in that community. Community.

Yeah, I just want to be like abundantly clear. I was not trying to set up a debate. I'm not trying to pit one hospital, know, one group against another here at all. So I apologize if it felt like that. Mr. Halpert, not my intention. What I do want, you know, I was not expecting the entire room to be filled with more house folks and I just want to make sure that, you know, because they're here and this is an issue they obviously care deeply about, that they're heard and that we are continuing to work with all of our partners to serve the entire community. I To me this is a yes and. Great day and what else can we do? Great day and how do we include all of these folks in the solution?

That is literally all I'm trying to get to here. Not pitting anybody against anybody else. Just to be clear. Think that was all I oh, I did want to make one other comment and I think this is more of a comment than a question. Look, a community hospital is great. We also lost a level one trauma center. This will not be a level one trauma center. So just getting back to the things we lost, is also another reason why this is more needs to happen, more needs to be done. I think I literally there's one other question I think it's going to probably pop up for me when someone else starts Did

I say don't think you did.

I did mention that Emily also is interested in the teaching options. So I think everybody wants to help be part of the solution again. So definitely not a three way debate either but I do think they would like to be a part of this conversation as well. So I guess my other question is I know this is really just this move forward on the funding for the build But will there be other opportunities that come before this board to have some more of these detailed conversations about integration here for lack of a better term.

This just expresses our intent so there will be other opportunities. All

right. Did you want

to add Yes, something two comments Commissioner. One, it's about the model and the funding. There's a reason those other hospitals weren't sustainable. So it's about the model and the funding. So there's a lot of discussion to go on what model works and what model can't work without additional subsidies from counties. And secondly, the trauma center just to comment on that. We've studied data, we've studied the numbers of what AMC was doing. Grady's nearly doubled in size its trauma center with plans to once we're able to move out some of these medical patients to Union City to continue increasing that capacity. And so we'd love to sit at the table with you and talk about that as well.

I appreciate that.

John, there's one more.

Just real quick, just so you know, when that hospital closed while it was operating state recognized level one trauma center, it had not been federally verified. But it was part of that ecosystem. And so we did get into a regional conversation about, okay, how do we regionally address this? Because it doesn't necessarily make sense to have two level one trauma centers within three miles of each other. And so I was thrilled when I got into a conversation with Wellstar that they agreed to upgrade their Kennestone Hospital to be a federally verified level one trauma center.

They became a level one trauma center. And Northeast Georgia Medical Center did the same thing. And so when it comes to level one trauma centers, you have three well dispersed geographically separated level ones to serve the community. And we have numerous level twos, which pretty much have the same ability as a level one.

I'm going to state the obvious. Those are to the north. The things you're mentioning are north, not south. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Okay, I Well, and

this hospital is intended to be a level three trauma center. That was in

our report.

Got it, yes. Okay, I think that's all I have. I'm happy to support this obviously and I think the chairman has an amendment coming up that will get to some of this so I'll look forward to the rest of my colleagues comments.

And I'm gonna address the funding aspect of it too. I have a brilliant idea so I'm gonna talk to our CFO about it. Commissioner Thorne, you have the floor.

Thank you. And commissioner Barrett, I agree. I came down here thinking this is a great day for South Fulton and then I was kinda shocked that there's some battling that I wasn't aware of with the whole Morehouse relationship going on here. I wish I could have been contacted to be preempted by that before showing up at this meeting. I think I do have an open door with you, Doctor. Rice. Anytime, love to sit down with you. And thank you for that explanation on a teaching hospital and what it involves. My main goal right now is to get the help in South Fulton. And cost is an issue.

So we need to operate, get a hospital up and running, operational. I'm looking here at the impact it's going to have in the community to reduce financial barriers, the economic development, the 2,000 jobs, the enhanced care that it's going to deliver. I think there were some comments about the ambulance service lacking, or the time to get to hospital. It's going to reduce that time. And then to redistribute assets to enhance health access.

So I applaud you for the efforts that you've done in those four areas. I hope maybe in the future, once this hospital's up and running, maybe it could incorporate more of a teaching aspect to it. And like my fellow commissioner, Vice Chair, Abdur Rahman said, this is just a start, a starting point. And I'm hoping with that economic development, we can get better jobs, we can get better schools, better quality all around on that whole road of continuing care in the hospital industry. And Doctor.

Rice, thank you for the clinic that you've set up and the community health service workers that you have there. I'm hoping that they will know that they have employment right around the corner and not having to come in town to a hospital. Overall, Georgia has a shortage of doctors, you know, from what I hear. The state is possibly opening a medical school at university system in Georgia.

I don't

know if anybody wants to speak to that. Because even in the North, I have one hospital in my district, and even getting care there, appointments are months out to get an appointment. So I look at it as a state issue, not just a local issue. Would you someone want to talk to that?

So it's very interesting that you bring up the state medical school and you bring up the appearance of Morehouse School of Medicine students here. So let clarify for for this this body body and and for for those those listening. Listening. One of the things that is a part of an educational experience is to be able to listen to the voice of the community, listen to the voice of your patients and those who you are humbled enough to be able to provide care to and hear what their needs are. And Morehouse School of Medicine has been great at doing that for the last fifty years.

In fact, that's why we were founded. We were founded to diversify the healthcare workforce in Georgia. We were founded to work toward the elimination of health disparities. We were founded to address access issues. And that's what we've been doing for fifty years.

So, the appearance of our students here today was in support of this hospital and to say that we believe that it should be an opportunity for us to also have it as one of our locations for where we educate and train the community and our students to understand how we can be better. So, there was nothing against Grady, this is nothing against Fulton County, this is what advocacy looked like and you see some people here in a blue jacket. Those are public health students. They lived their entire career advocating for the community and for the public. So, this was an opportunity for us to show them what this looks like in real time.

And we appreciate this Commission having a forum where you can do open public statements. And we signed up appropriately, so it wasn't a surprise that we were coming. We signed up appropriately that we were coming. And, my students wanted to come and I wanted them to come because I wanted you all to see how much they care about this and how much they feel that we need to invest their time and energy in the South Side. Now, as it relates to the University of Georgia New Medical School, when it was coming, when it was announced, the AJC called me and wanted me to make a statement.

And, my statement was bring it on. We have 119 counties in Georgia that are underserved. That means they don't have enough providers to care for the population. So, this is always in hand. And we welcome the opportunity for University of Georgia to start their medical school and to be partners with them in that medical school because Georgia needs more healthcare professionals.

Our workforce is aging and it takes a long time to grow a doctor, to grow a nurse, to grow a Miles per hour student, even to grow community health workers now. And so, we need as much as we possibly can in this healthcare workforce to make sure that we're meeting their needs. So, we are very supportive of the new medical schools coming on board and hope that we can share in resources to increase our educational efficiency and to save cost on how we educate and train this next generation.

Yeah, and it will be several years before they even have a medical student ready to go into a hospital environment at the student level, not a resident level. And we call that LCME. But we have been discussing with the University of Georgia having their medical students potentially participate at Grady. However, they can only participate if they go through Morehouse School of Medicine or Emory. And so that is ultimately a Morehouse and Emory discussion. We've had discussions with the Emory dean, their former dean, and they will consider that. But Doctor. Rice is correct. We need all the doctors we we can can get. Get. Well,

just wanna conclude thanking all of you for being so prompt and responding to a need to help people in South Fulton. And I me, you guys are moving to at lightning speed with your clinic up and running within ninety days to a standalone emergency room to the medical building and now a hospital. So I just want to applaud and I want to applaud your efforts, the county team as well, Doctor. Rochelle and Dick Anderson and CFO Sharon Whitmore working together as well as Commissioner Pitts for being in on getting everybody together and everybody at a a seat at the table. So I hope you all feel like you have a seat at the table.

But just thrilled that I think it is a good day, Commissioner Barrett, that we're gonna get a hospital hopefully soon in South Fulton.

Commissioner Arrington?

Okay. I wanna be clear and make sure that I understand. We're looking at 900,000,000 for the hospital, 300,000,000 being financed from the county, 300,000,000 from the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority.

300,000,000 from Grady Health System, not from the hospital authority.

Okay. So 300,000,000 from the county, 300 from Grady, that's 600. Where's the other 300?

300,000,000 in philanthropy. Local philanthropy. Okay.

Alright. And so when we talk about the decision being made. So, when I pull money out of my pocket, I make all of the decisions. When I go ask somebody else for some money, guess what? They get to be involved in those decisions.

So, what I need to hear is for me to make an informed decision, what are what are the costs for making it a teaching hospital? Because you're asking me for money. You're you're not coming in here saying, hey, we're financing this ourselves and we decided. Unfortunately, y'all don't get to make the decision because y'all are asking us for money. So, we're involved in that decision. Right? If we're gonna provide money, we're gonna have to be at the table and involved in that decision. So, I need to understand what those costs are and why you guys are making the recommendation that you are making. Right? It might cost more money.

Maybe we've got more money. Maybe we wanna put up more money to make sure that it's a teaching hospital. So we don't one one party doesn't get to make that and then go ask somebody else for some money. Certainly not for $300,000,000. Right? For $300,000,000, I need to know what's going on. I need to know how much does a teaching hospital cost? What what does it cost for not being a teaching hospital? I I I don't think anyone gets to make that decision and then go ask somebody else for some money.

In general, a teaching hospital versus a community hospital, the teaching component increases the underlying cost by 40%. Now, teaching is incredibly important. And on our main campus, we made the decision, the federal government only funds four fifty positions. We have a need at both schools for 500. Grady is fully funding those other 50 residency slots of which the majority have gone to Morehouse versus Emory. And that's a cost we bear through our operations.

Contribute $50,000,000 a year to your operations. So, we're back at the table again. And, I'm not trying to put you on the spot. Not saying it's something that we have to answer today. I'm just Absolutely. Saying I'm just saying that, hey, we can't come in. You can't come here and say, we made this decision that we're only gonna do this and ask us for money at the same time. Yeah. Right? Sure. And, if you're asking us for money, we're gonna ask about these other things and say, hey, how do we get there? And, you may have a perfectly reasonable answer as to why you're doing it. It costs 40% more or whatever. But, if you're coming to us asking us for money, we have to be involved in that decision.

Well, and you all just need to define how you want to be involved. We have been meeting every week with the leadership team. They've been involved in the medical staff model planning, planning, decision around teaching, non teaching. But you know, we are fully transparent and we will share whatever information you want. Now we can get you quickly a small white paper about that cost and what goes into that.

Thank you. I mean because, you know, you just can't come here and say, hey we made this decision but we want you all to put some money up. Right? Like, know, that's gotta be part of the discussion. And, you know, I don't necessarily know what the leadership is. My definition of the leadership are the seven six people up here on this board. The ones that make the decisions and have to vote. That that's what my definition of the leadership is. So maybe we have different definitions of leadership.

No. We don't have a different definition. I'm talking about the team behind the scenes. Our team behind the scenes that spent hours and hours and hours and hours looking at the data, running the reports, determining if this could work, what it needs to be, what the models need to be, so that it could come here because this is your decision. But there was hundreds of hours of work that went into this for you all to decide.

And I'm thankful for that. But as we see, obviously, there there might are have to be more hundreds of hours that go into it. Right? But, we're for Grady for building this freestanding emergency room for phase one, phase two office building, and phase three full blown hospital. But, you know, it's apparent that there have to be some further discussions. At least to me.

We'd be glad to engage in those discussions, whatever you decide those are.

So, I guess I will just restate my amendment, Commissioner Abdul Rockman. Think mostly everyone has had an opportunity to speak to amend this item to make sure that it includes because this is just about our intentions to move forward. Because our CFO said that this wouldn't this bonding wouldn't happen until 2028, I believe. So, I want to make sure that we are clear that that we do an amendment to include discussions with what I would just call area medical schools, right? Which includes Morehouse School of Medicine, Emory Emory School of Medicine, Morehouse and Emory School of Medicine as part of our intentions for moving forward with the financing for phase three.

Awesome,

thank you. Commissioner Ellis.

Thanks Mr. Chair. I'll try not to be redundant but I wanted to say it is a phenomenal day. Do we know when the last public hospital County Hospital was built in Fulton County? I mean built in the state of Georgia?

No, in the state of Georgia. Probably 1958 probably was

who? Seventy plus years.

Right. We

were 1892.

Right. So, you know, probably going back to like the 50s or 60s. So we've gone the other direction. The Grady model has worked. I mean, look, I mean, can go back sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years and you know the conversation in this room is a mess about Grady, right? Now we've got a model that has been so effective. We had two hospitals closed now and what you shared with us, 166 beds, funds contributed by who?

The The government.

The state. That's partnership. They saw a model that would work. They recognized where their problems were, and that loss was largely absorbed, right? Now we had this gap, right, that existed. We did the study. We identified, okay, where would be, seem to be the most appropriate location for this facility given where the needs were, correct? Doctor. Rochelle?

Yes sir, that's correct.

Right, this became the identified location. We started this in 2023.

Yes.

Right? And we're talking about we've got something about out of the ground to start to run with the emergency department and then we're on to these next phases. I'm not gonna pick on them but let's contrast that with the amount of time it takes to get a transit project done. Decades, right? This two fully operational.

Correct.

Started the conversation 2023. So listen, conversations and doing all this kind of stuff, it's messy work, right? We all know that, We understand that and that's where this is the business that we're in. But this shows something that hadn't been done in the state of Georgia in sixty, seventy, eighty years, whatever it is, right? Predates probably any of us being born in this room.

So let's recognize that and let's celebrate it. Yes, there's continued work to be done, continued discussion that needs to be had, but this definitely is a historic day and I hope that's what we will focus on today with the continued sort of focus of moving forward just like Fulton County has always done. Do we know how much we invest in health resources relative to any other county in the state of Georgia?

Overall, when we consider operations personnel, it's approximately 200,000,000. Million.

Right

and best we could tell probably there's no other county in Georgia that even strikes up close to that, right?

No sir, our study did look at comparable counties and none of them were in full in Georgia.

Okay. So you know, let's recognize that, let's celebrate it, let's also recognize that we have more work to do, but let's not let that get lost today. Thank you.

Okay, anybody else at this time? Well, just one moment. Do you want to say something right now?

I do want to make sure that we are clear. Morehouse School of Medicine values significantly its partnership at Grady. It is our primary teaching hospital. But I also want to make sure that we understand that we share that with Emory. And Emory has 70% of the resident slots and Morehouse School of Medicine has 30%.

And part of the challenge with us being able to grow, as John said, is that they are over the cap and so we can't expand more. But, when you have a need for GI, need for cardiology, etc, and we have four twenty five people who apply for three slots of GI or seven twenty five people who apply for a slot for cardiology, that tells us that we need more. And another hospital is another opportunity for that. So we are not opposed at all to the hospital in Union City. We just believe there's more that's needed and there's an ambulatory for integrated network that needs to make sure we place the assets in the right places such that people are not utilizing the hospital for services that can be given in an ambulatory setting.

And I think we all agree with that. And so I look forward to those continued conversations.

Sounds like y'all need 70% at the new hospital in Union City. Emory needs 30% so we can have equity.

All right. Any further comments at this time? Okay. So I want to commend the folk who've been working on this for some time. Doctor.

Montgomery Rice, you and your staff, chief operating officer, the manager, CFO, we spent hours, weeks, and months working on this to get us to where we are today. That's why I say today is a great day in Fulton County, Georgia, but more importantly, a great day for the people in South Fulton County. And it's come clear to me. I've been reading and reading and reading about this. And the reason why this issue about Morehouse School of Medicine is so important because everything that I've read says that healthcare outcomes are better when physicians look like the people that they're treating.

That's why this is so important. And I'll also say that a great Atlantan once said, You can accomplish a lot in life if you don't care who gets the credit. And I totally believe that. The other point I'd like to make from reading the document, and I read it two or three times last night to make sure I understood, is that cost overruns will be borne by Brady. Is that correct?

That's correct.

Let me repeat that. Cost overruns will be borne by Grady, not Fulton County. And lastly, on the financing of it, and Madam CFO, I mentioned this to you briefly. I spent a lot of time doing international stuff and one of the things that occurred to me, in fact, a couple of days ago was that from a financing point of view, there's a federal program called EB-five program. It's federal a program.

And somewhere between 2535% of projects like this can be paid for using federal dollars. That's when it's called EB program because foreigners who want to come to this country, they pay millions of dollars. And that money goes into a pot that is used for projects just like this. And hospitals have been funded. So I'm asking that we review while we're again, we're expressing our intent here today, but we look at this EB-five program and see how that see whether or not, even though I have concluded that it is, that it is applicable to this 900,000,000 that we're talking about here.

And if it is applicable, that will certainly reduce some of the financial burden on the taxpayers of Fulton County. Now the motion on the floor is to approve. That motion was made by commissioner Arrington. It was seconded by vice chair Abdur Rahman. Commissioner Arrington has made a wants to amend it, which I support the amendment.

I have some language that I think encompasses not speaking for him, but I think it encompasses the spirit of what he's saying. And that is, be it resolved that the clinical operations associated with the Grady Health System and the new South Fulton Hospital project shall not may shall incorporate and utilize residents, fellows, and trainees from Morehouse School of Medicine's graduate medical education programs to ensure the availability of clinical training placements, residency rotations, and faculty appointments from Morehouse School of Medicine. Second. Emory, right? At Emory.

So Yeah, conclude that

right. Second.

I think that

the compass I will accept that as a friendly amendment but I think I see our partners from Grady over there. Is that language acceptable to you all? I thought I saw a couple flinches.

We need a definition of shall. Well

Shall is compulsory. Well, Shall is compulsory.

Could

could struggle with that definition. Just a Just a minute. Just Just a minute. We're in court on shall already.

So we we understand No. We're we're not in court over shall. We're in court over we're in court over people that wanna miss try to misapply it and misuse it. The word shall is compulsory. They there's may, there's will, and there's shall. The word shall is compulsory, period.

So included in this resolution, it authorizes the management team to continue negotiations and anything will have to come back to us. So this is this today, as I said earlier in my opening comments, expresses our intent and I hope that what I just read encompasses what Commissioner Arrington's motion.

All right. We are open to Morehouse having that seat at the table. It just changes the if you change the model, have to go back to the management team and review the numbers. That's all. But we're open

to Back to this, any cost overruns in the document will be borne by Brady. So that's key.

Well we're talking capital cost overruns.

Well I didn't say it.

But we're now into the operating costs and that's where we have to relook at the model and get with the administrative team about it.

Alright, we'll be negotiating that assuming this is approved today. Alright, the Arrington motion to amend is on the floor. It's been seconded by commissioner Abdul Rahman. Is there any further discussion at this time?

With the language.

Is that the language acceptable?

That language is accepted.

I

I accept the friendly amendment. Alright.

Further discussion or comments? Alright. Cast your votes please. I hope they're affirmative.

And the vote is open. And the motion passes. Six yays, zero nays.

That's a round of applause for that. Madam Clerk, next item. Do want? What do we got?

Next item, 260157, county manager, presentation of the Fulton County operational report.

Mister Jerry, it's 01:00.

Are we

gonna go through the whole operational report before I've asked him

to cut it down. So how long is the operational Can

you cut

it down to five minutes?

Just a minute. Just a minute. Yeah. Well, let's recess and come back to it.

Yes. Thank you, chairman.

I entertain a motion to recess for lunch and executive Second. Session where we may take up items of real estate personnel and litigation. Let's vote.

And motion passes. Four yeas, zero nay.

Who still the candidates can opt to put their party behind their name, they don't have to.

But there's probably already a likelihood given the general

kindness. And what if we lived with a heart of kindness? What if we love like we've been loved? If that's all that we're remembered for, behind us. But if we live with our kindness, what if we love like we've been loved, if that's all that we're remembered for, will that that word

If love was a melody, I'd want you to sing to me in that voice that whispers my name. If the world was a dance floor, I'd walk you shore to shore while the steel and twin fiddles play.

I guess you're really going off to school. Mom, I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now,

Dad, I never really did like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together. Yeah. Me too. I love you too, dad.

When you can't do it all, do what you can. Compassion for others, pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Sharing. Pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Where's Tommy? Tommy? Don't stop. Keep playing.

Here we go. Here's the fun part.

Encouragement. Pass it on.

I believe kids ought to stay kids as long as they can. And every breath's a gift, the first one to the last. I believe most people look good and most mamas ought to qualify for sainthood. As bad as it looks.

I believe most people look good. I believe most people

we lived with the heart of kindness? But if we love like we've been loved? If that's all that we're remembered for, well, let that be enough. So when they stand and tell the stories of who we are and what we've done, of a thousand things that we could leave behind us. But if we live with our kindness, what if we love like we've

If love was a melody, I'd want you to sing to me in that voice that whispers my name.

I guess you're really going off to school. Mom, I'm gonna miss you.

Listen, who am I gonna go fishing with now, Dad,

I never really did like fishing.

I just

Wanted to be together? Yeah. Me too. I love you too, dad.

When you can't do it all, do what you can. Compassion for others, pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Sharing. Pass it on. A message from the foundation for a better life.

Where's Tommy?

Tommy?

Don't stop. Keep playing.

Here we go. Here's the fun part.