Friday, November 30, 2001
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Friday, November 30, 2001 |
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Kenn wants Fulton Industrial cleaned up By JOHN
THOMPSON After years of neglect, Fulton Industrial Boulevard may soon see home help in crime prevention and beautification. In a press conference Tuesday at Brown Field, Fulton County Commission Chairman Mike Kenn announced a five-year plan to clean up the street. The announcement follows on the heels of a recent clean-up sweep headed by County Commissioner William "Bill" Edwards in which several businesses were cited for code violations. After complaints of petty crimes, prostitution and loitering along Fulton Industrial Boulevard, county police will open a new satellite office at Fulton County Airport-Brown Field, in hopes of reclaiming the corridor, said Lisa Glanville, Kenn's liaison for South Fulton County. "This is something the chairman has been aware of for months. It started out as a conversation between Kenn and businessman George Hill," she said. Other components of the project include a plan to provide reserve officers with Federal Aviation Administration radios to patrol Brown Field's ramps and runways, and a plan to help crack down on crime in the area. The mini-precinct will be staffed with 32 officers that Fulton County is calling out of reserve and retirement. The county also has plans for tax breaks and having code enforcement officers cracking down on some of the violations by businesses on the boulevard. The boulevard also will be cleaned up of trash, and the state Department of Transportation will be notified to keep the area free of trash, said Kenn's spokesman. Glanville said the cost of the program for the first 18 months is pegged at nearly $700,000, but the funds will come from other areas in the government, so taxpayers will not be looking at in increase to pay for the program. "We are losing business to Cobb and Douglas counties because they have newer facilities and keep them in better shape," she said.
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