Villa Rica officials are continuing their deceptive attempts to force Cleghorn-Anderson residents to give up their property rights.
Although community leaders have been calling for a Town Hall meeting, yesterday, City officials secretly met with a small group of residents, excluding those who have been leading the communication with the City their representative Amy McCoy.
The meeting included Council members, Shirley Marchman and Stephanie Warmoth, Mayor Leslie McPherson, and Deputy City Manager Diana DeSanto.
They presented plans and options to see if they could convince these residents to agree to give up land for the development.
Residents feel pressured and manipulated and that the City isn't engaging them respectfully or transparently. They feel that a meeting of this nature, including so many Councilmembers, should have been announced and open to the public.
Villa Rica has been engaging in these shady tactics for years. Although it used the fact that Cleghorn Anderson was a predominantly Black community to secure federal funding for the project (saying it would benefit the residents), the residents were lied to about the development plans for years. Community members only found out this year that City entered into the contract for this project in 2021. City officials were cagey and gave little information when, in 2023, residents started asking if a development was in the works after hearing whispers that the City wanted their land. While they now know the City wants to put a road right through their community, they still haven't gotten all of the details.
Community leaders are tired of the deception and want this project stopped.
Here's how you can help:
- Contact the Mayor McPherson and ask her to stop abdicating her responsibilities to all Villa Rica residents. Tell her that this project should be stopped and that all residents, especially those who are directly impacted and vulnerable, deserve a say in what happens with their land and community. Her email address is lmcpherson@villarica.gov and her number is 770-668-4942.
- Help gather support by sharing and posting this petition.
- If you have any media or legal contacts, that can help the community take legal action or that can help shine a light on what's happening in this community, please share this petition with them or connect them to Amy McCoy at amy@myhometownatl.com .