A “recovery fund” to assist small business owners impacted by the city of Atlanta’s water crisis is being established by the city.
Mayor Andre Dickens told the Atlanta City Council at its Monday meeting that the new recovery fund would help small businesses “adversely affected” by the water woes that started Friday.
“We know the crucial part that our small businesses play in our lives and our economy and making sure that we have thriving neighbors,” Dickens told council during an appearance in chambers. “We want to help them regain their footing if they were affected by these events from this weekend.”
Major water main breaks in Vine City and Midtown crippled much of the city over the weekend, including many restaurants and other businesses that were forced to shut down because of water outages or low pressure.
Councilmember Matt Westmoreland introduced the legislation to create the recovery fund. It calls for up to $5 million of city funds be transferred to Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency.
Invest Atlanta would administer the money. The current legislation does not explain who would be eligible for financial assistance or how the funding would be distributed — as a loan or grant.
The mayor came before council to thank members after they approved his historic $853 million budget. He also addressed the city’s water crisis and told the council the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers would be in Atlanta on Tuesday to help with evaluating the city’s water utility system.
“They will be here with boots on the ground to help us,” he said. “We have sought their assistance because they are the government entity that has the most actual experience in the type of crisis that we are in, with crumbling and aging infrastructure.”
Earlier in the meeting, city council members asked Atlanta Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Al Wiggins what could be done to ensure the city’s water infrastructure would not break down again.
“On a macro level, we’re looking at a comprehensive inspection of the entire water utility system,” Wiggins said. “We just have to keep in mind that the utility infrastructure is subgrade [below a road] and that everything has a life cycle.”
Wiggins said the city is instituting a quality insurance team to go back and do more extensive repairs at the major water main breaks.
He also said the city should look at contractors who tie into the city’s system for new developments to ensure certificates of occupancy are tied to a new water main connection.
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