Albany Commission votes to approve land bank authority

ALBANY — The Albany City Commission approved unanimously Tuesday an intergovernmental agreement with Dougherty County that will create the Albany/Dougherty County Land Bank Authority.

The action taken by the board sets in motion the naming of a seven-member board that will oversee action of the land bank, which Albany-Dougherty Planning Services Director Paul Forgey said will allow the city and county to “repurpose dilapidated structures in the community and put them back on the tax roles.”

The Dougherty County Commission signed off on the land bank legislation at its April 17 meeting.

There appeared to be some confusion among commissioners as they discussed the land bank concept, but Ward V Commissioner Bob Langstaff, who’d researched the issue extensively, gave an impromptu Land Bank 101 tutorial that eased some of the concerns.

“We’re way behind the curve in doing this,” Langstaff said after he explained that land banks provide a means for purchasing and repurposing dilapidated and tax-delinquent properties like those that are rampant in the city.

Ward II Commissioner Bobby Coleman expressed concern about the makeup of the board that will govern the land bank authority.

“The concept is great,” Coleman said. “But we need to appoint a board that reflects the community. We’ve got to put checks and balances in place to keep out the crooks. Because there are Realtors who are crooks, too.”

City Manager Sharon Subadan will present a group of four candidates for the City Commission to approve, while County Administrator Richard Crowdis will name three such candidates for the Dougherty County Commission to approve.

Also at Tuesday’s marathon meeting, which lasted just short of four hours, the commission:

— OK’d an alcohol license for Homerun Foods No. 10 at 2307 Dawson Road;

— Gave special approval for Victorious Life Church to build a new church at 2275 Cutts Drive;

— Signed off on change orders that included $49,477 for Pace Street sewer repairs; $188,280.54 for street resurfacing; $78,395 for additional storm drainage in the city’s ongoing Phase II alley paving project; $636,702 to expand the storm recovery paperwork being done on the city’s behalf by Tetra Tech Inc., and $441,300 for a technical assistance contract with Tetra Tech;

— Approved the Albany Police Department’s request to apply for a $34,250 Governor’s Office of Highway Safety grant for DUI and child safety seat enforcement.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, APD Chief Michael Persley accepted a framed reaccreditation certificate from Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Regional Program Manager Vince Dauro. The CALEA official said evaluators called APD’s preparedness “second to none.”

“What this award represents is a commitment to doing the right things, the right way for the right reasons,” Dauro said in making the presentation.

In post-meeting commentary, Ward I Commissioner Jon Howard decried the ongoing violence in the community, noting the most recent incident that left two young men dead.

“We’ve got to get our heads out of the sand,” the long-time commissioner said. “With all this gun violence, this is a scary time now. We have, what, five or six killings in our community this year, and if I’m not mistaken it’s all been black-on-black crime? We have to address this. I’m concerned not just for my neighborhood, but for the whole city and the whole county.”