– Thursday, June 6, 2024 –
Good morning. In this week’s public safety newsletter, we’re reporting on some progress and delays in building Chatham County’s mega emergency response center, federal legal action against the Brunswick Housing Authority and its fired former director, and an important human trafficking case underway in Savannah.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Reach out to me at jake.shore@thecurrentga.org.
ANALYSIS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Breaking ground … sort of.
Leaders in Chatham County and Savannah held a ceremony to break ground on its planned public safety center last week. The facility at 654 Gulfstream Road near the airport is slated to be the centralized hub for disaster operations, 911 dispatch, Savannah airport police, and non-emergency call center.
Officials have said the facility will serve as the solution for lingering morale problems at the Chatham 911 center and the future of emergency responses in the coastal county. It’s been a long time in the making too — a past estimate put the start of construction at 2018.
Despite the celebratory air of the groundbreaking ceremony, the county appears to have not yet selected a contractor to build the 83,000-square-foot “Multi-Agency Public Safety Facility,” according to the county’s own bidding website.
Chatham County opened a bid solicitation on its provider site, Bonfire, on March 11 and closed the window for offers a month later. The site does not show how many bids it received but instead shows the solicitation as closed. Its title says in all caps that “ALL BIDS REJECTED – WILL RESOLICIT.”
One document titled “Bid Tabulation” posted on the original solicitation put a potential price at $70 million for the contract.
The county created a new posting “soliciting for Construction Services for the New Multi-Agency Public Safety Facility Project” on May 22, eight days before county commissioners “broke ground” on the site.
The Current inquired to Chatham County on Wednesday afternoon to learn more about the bidding process, and we’re waiting to hear back.
NEWS: COURTS
Hiring problems leads to legal woes
Past actions taken by the former Brunswick Housing Authority chairman, accused of rampant misconduct when in office, and the former director continue to give legal headaches to the department charged with housing Glynn County’s poorest.
In a ruling issued last Friday, U.S. Southern District of Georgia Judge Lisa G. Wood ruled against former BHA chairman William Kitts, who wanted the judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Sabrina Johnson-Nixon. The suit says that in July 2022, BHA brass offered Johnson-Nixon the position of assistant executive director but rescinded the offer two weeks later after learning that Johnson-Nixon had sued her past employer in Wayne County for racial discrimination.
It was Brunswick City Manager Regina McDuffie, whom Johnson-Nixon was working for when she applied, who told Kitts and then-BHA director William Baker about the past lawsuit, according to court documents.
Why does this matter? Both Baker and Kitts were fired last year after accusations came to light from federal housing officials of misspending, charging illegal fees to residents, conflicts of interest and little oversight at BHA, The Brunswick News reported last year. In the months after their firings, the agency received a new board chairman and hired a new executive director in an effort to right the ship.
Decisions around hiring in public agencies can lead to lawsuits costly to taxpayers when not done correctly. While the case is still pending, it advanced past a crucial legal threshold that sets it on track towards a trial or mediation, instead of outright dismissal based on the facts.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Human trafficking arrests in Savannah
The Savannah Police Department arrested four people on charges of human trafficking two victims, one of whom was 15 years old, following a grand jury indictment last month.
The arrests mark a success for the Special Victims Units from SPD and for the prosecutors within the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office, an agency that has lost SVU-specialized attorneys in recent years. The state has put a premium on investigating human trafficking and, as the Savannah-area has grown, the problem has only worsened. Chatham County ranked fourth in the state for minor victims of human trafficking last year, according to local trafficking survivor shelter, Tharros Place.
The bulk of the charges went to Michael J. Jones. He is accused of one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, two counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of child pornography and one count of false statements. The other individuals facing charges include Lexsy Headrick, Rylan Bercovitz, and Isabelle Curl.
The indictment states that much of alleged criminal activity took place between January and June 2021.
Ogeechee Riverkeeper to sue over Hyundai site permits
The Ogeechee Riverkeeper on Monday filed a letter of intent to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for what it sees as deficiencies in permits for the Hyundai site.
Chatham’s 911 center is a toxic workplace, employees say
A workplace survey by Chatham County 911 employees takes aim at poor equipment and leadership, causing the center to become a toxic place to work and worsening short staffing.
Runoff candidates, November contests
Local runoffs will be held June 18. Check here for early voting information.
Glynn homes for homeless caught in bureaucratic slog
Despite four years of planning and $4 million in private donations spent on construction, the group’s 60 fully furnished homes remain vacant, an unfortunate illustration of how bureaucratic red tape can frustrate even the most determined advocates trying to solve the problem of homelessness in Glynn County.
Brunswick daycare loses appeal to stay open during death investigation
Report: Child choked on a 2-inch piece of watermelon
Federal appeals court blocks Georgia grant fund from giving awards exclusively to Black women
At issue was a contest offered by Fearless Fund with a $20,000 prize plus training and mentorship to Black woman-owned businesses judged to have high potential for success.
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