May 2025 WEND General Body Meeting Minutes

GENERAL BODY MEETING MINUTES

West End Neighborhood Development Inc. 

Tuesday, May 6th, 2025, 7:00 PM 

Online Meeting

2025 Officers:

Marquise “Tony” McNeal, President – president@atlantawestend.com 

John Mitchell, 1st Vice President – firstvp@atlantawestend.com 

Kimberly Carlisle, 2nd Vice President – secondvp@atlantawestend.com 

Troy Farina, Treasurer – treasurer@atlantawestend.com

Dave Mardis, Secretary – secretary@atlantawestend.com 

Melba T. Furlow, Recording Secretary recordingsecretary@atlantawestend.com

Kim Scott, Past President – kimscottmanagement@gmail.com

Terry Ross, Parliamentarian – t-ross01@hotmail.com

 

INTRODUCTION (Tony McNeal, President)  

CALL TO ORDER 7:02 PM

  • Welcome
  • Motion to adopt May Agenda by Kimberly Carlisle, and seconded by Caleb.
    Favor: 23   Oppose: 0    Abstain: 2
  • Motion to approve April 2025 Minutes by Kimberly and seconded by John Mitchell
    Favor: 20   Oppose: 0    Abstain: 4

 

PRESENTATIONS PT I 7:08 PM

  • Big Tigger’s Beltline Bike Fest – Saturday, June 14th. Brittany Brewster speaking for the event. Purpose is to give bicycles to kids who may not otherwise have access to them. EMS and APD will be present per conditions of event permit. The event will begin with a bike ride and then there will be a festival. The organizer is partnering with APS to help ensure that the students who are most in need get bikes. For more info, visit 

 

CITY REPRESENTATIVES & ELECTED OFFICIALS 7:11 PM

  • City Council District 4 – Councilman Jason Dozier’s Office. DeMicha Luster Director of Community Engagement. Office: 404-290-2174 EMAIL: DLuster@atlantaga.gov. To reach Councilmember Dozier: 678-330-6047. Email: JDozier@AtlantaGa.gov
    • Budget season has started. Every department is making their presentations. Budget hearing will be Tues-Thurs for the next several weeks. Please attend online or in person. Thanks to everyone who came out to Jazz Fest and the Job Fair this month. 

 

PRESENTATIONS – PT II 7:14 PM

  • Peeples Street Master Plan-. Matthew Bedsole speaking for AUD+APS. This is not a zoning request, but rather to inform the Atlanta Public School Board as they decide how or if to move forward with the development of the site. APS is requesting a letter of support and/or guidance from the neighborhood.  In addition to a recommendation regarding the residential portion of the site, they’d also like input regarding a 1.3acre southern portion of the site which they propose to sell to the Willie Watkins Funeral Home for use as a parking lot. 
    • Site details:
      • 67 units proposed for the site, the majority 3bdrm, with the vast majority being 2-3bdrm. 
      • 11 for sale units in a land-trust model to make them permanently affordable.
    • Resident Questions/Comments
      • Question: What is the at-cost price of the 1.3 acres that will be sold to Willie Watkins and whether there will be an open bid or if it is a done deal that Willie Watkins Funeral Home will be allowed to purchase the land.
        Answer: An appraisal will be done prior to sale. Presenter hypothesizes $500K-$1M/acre.
      • Comment: Would like to see more commercial and ownership on site.
        Response: Ability to do this is constrained by need to follow APS guidance that 4-4.5 acres should be reserved for possible future use by APS.
      • Comment: A resident presented a graphic representation of a canvassing of neighbors whose properties surround the parcel that would indicate their opposition.
      • Question: How many meetings has AUD+APS hosted or attended?
        Answer: 5 in-person, 4 online. And they’ve also been at WEND meetings. 
      • Affordability breakdown: 30% affordable 70% market on rental units. All affordable on ownership units.
      • Question: Does APS have other properties that they’re planning to hold onto?
        Answer: Yes
      • Question: Do you have a comment regarding the survey of property-owners surrounding the site that suggests their opposition to the AUD+APS proposal??
        Answer: We appreciate their work. We propose that the question of how this parcel should be used is also one for the larger neighborhood as well.
      • Question:How did you reach out to the community?
        Answer: we flyered at local businesses. We announced it at the WEND meeting. 
  • West End Farmer’s Market – Sister Deborah Williams – The West End Farmers Market has moved to 555 Hopkins St. SW for 2025. It will begin in June. It will run on Fridays, 2pm-7pm. Vending space is available. Call 404-755-9441.

 

PRESIDENTS REPORT 7:55 PM     

Upcoming Events:

  • June 21st – Community Day Picnic
  • June 28th – Tour of Homes and Gardens. One of WEND’s biggest events of the year. There will be a trolley to take folks around.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS 7:57 PM

  • Education – Krista Verdelotti
    (Education does not have a standing meeting, but communicates by text chain. If you’d like to join, email WENDeducation@gmail.com)
    • Camp Best Friends enrollment is open
    • New playground at M. Agnes Jones Elementary
    • Field Days are coming up. 
    • Looking forward to a scholarship in collaboration with WEND.
  • Environmental Health & Beautification – Kristen Koehnemann
    (Does not have a standing meeting, but if you’d like to join, email WENDbeautification@gmail.com)

    • Beautification will be doing small street-based trash pickups. Have a street you think could use some love, reach out!
  • Friends of the Parks Groups
    • West End Park. We’re wrapping up a grants
    • Rose Circle Park. Water fixture installs, environmental graphics. More info to come over the next few months about a rainbow road sidewalk mural installation. 
  • Events – Doug Cain (absent)
    (Does not have a standing meeting, but if you’d like to join, email wendevents@gmail.com)
  • PR+Marketing – Brittney Cain
    (Does not have a standing meeting, but if you’d like to join, email AtlantaWestEndPR@gmail.com)

    • Atlanta Streets Alive West End to Grant Park will be on Sunday May 18th from 2pm to 6pm.
    • The Malcolm X Festival will be May 17th-18th.
    • Spread the word that May 1st-31st is the application window for the anti-displacement tax relief fund.
  • Membership – Brooks Payne
    (Meets the last Thursday of the month at Strangers in Paradise at Lee+White)

    • Every last Friday, Strangers in Paradise will give a 10% discount for WEND Members.
  • Preservation & Urban Design
    • No new applications in April. 
    • Updates
      • The Illegal demo of 1291 Greenwich St. The investor who bought the property had it accidentally fall down while they were doing illegal work. City will require it to be rebuilt exactly as it was before.
      • 1341 Latham St – Thanks to Kathi Woodcock for helping the applicant.
      • 1298 Lucile – Investor illegally removed windows. Filed for permit, City approved and told them they had to return to historic standards.
    • New case tomorrow: 1140 Oglethorpe – Split-level at corner of Oglethorpe and Queen St.
  • Zoning Committee – Tony McNeal, for Larry Frazer
    • Big Tigger’s Beltline Bikefest. Motion to support from Brooks Payne. Second from Nicole Jenkins.
      Favor: 40  Oppose: 0  Abstain: 0
    • Peeples Street Master Plan. Motion out of committee is to defer the vote in order to iron things out. Discussion.
    • Members will be notified by email a week before the special-called zoning committee meeting.
    • Motion from committee is to defer on whether or not to write a letter of support for the AUD+APS proposal.
      Favor: 34  Oppose: 4  Abstain: 2

 

WRAP-UP & ANNOUNCEMENTS 8:25 PM

 

ADJOURN 8:27 PM

 

Draft Minutes Completed on 5/6/25 by DM

 

By Published On: May 7th, 2025Categories: General Body Meeting Minutes, Minutes0 Comments
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