DeKalb allocates $1M for rent, utility, food assistance

Some venues opted not to host voting amid pandemic.

DeKalb County will give at least $1 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to local organizations that can provide residents with rent, utility and food assistance.

The County Commission approved the allocation proposed by Commissioner Jeff Rader on Tuesday. Specifics still need to be worked out, but the plan is for the coun- ty’s Community Development Department to solicit grant applications from community-based organizations with experience providing the type of assistance desired. The goal is to get the funds distributed as quickly as possible. And Rader and other commission- ers suggested that $1 million should just be a starting point.

“We want to go where we can do the most good, serve the most people and those that are most in need,” Rader said.

In April, DeKalb County received $125 million in aid from the federal relief package known as the CARES Act. CEO Michael Thurmond has outlined an initial proposal for spending the money, which includes funding new mobile testing units, covering haz- ard pay for front-line county workers and starting a small business loan program.

In recent weeks, the county has given masks and sanitizer to thousands of residents and also hosted food distribution events with overwhelming turnout. At least two of the aforementioned mobile test- ing units have been rolled out as well.

Details of a new partner- ship with the Atlanta Community Food Bank are also expected to be revealed in coming days. And Thurmond said he hopes to present a “comprehensive strategy” for the $10 million small business aid program next week. Still, the CEO and Rader have frequently clashed over corona- virus-related spending.

“We need to move faster, and that’s what this is intended to do,” Rader said Tuesday.

Some two weeks prior to election day, DeKalb County is changing the location of 19 voting precincts.

The precincts had to be relocated due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said, with some venues like retirement communities and churches opting not to host voting June 9 due to concerns about the virus’s potential spread. New locations have been identi- fied for 16 of the affected precincts. But new locations are still being sought for three regular voting sites, all in the Decatur area: First Baptist Church of Decatur, Holy Trin- ity Parish and Oakhurst Bap- tist Church.

Relocated precincts, most the northern part of the county, include those listed below. The new locations were approved Friday by the county elections board. County officials said affected voters will be notified by mail.

The precinct changes do not affect early voting, being offered at five locations.

DeKalb County also recently added new drop boxes for absentee ballots. Boxes are now available near the elections office at 4390 Memorial Drive in Decatur; at Exchange Park, 2771 Columbia Drive in Decatur; and at Brookhaven City Hall, 4362 Peachtree Road NE in Brookhaven.

■ Voters who normally vote at Ashford Parkside Senior Residence (3522 Blair Circle NE, Atlanta) will now cast ballots at Montgomery Elementary (3995 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta).

■ Voters who normally vote at Coralwood Center (2477 Coralwood Drive, Decatur) will now cast ballots at Briarlake Elementary School (3590 Lavista Road, Decatur).

■ Voters who normally vote at Kingswood United Methodist Church (4896 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody), including those in both the Dunwoody 2 and Tilly Mill districts, will now cast ballots at Dunwoody High School (5035 Vermack Road, Dunwoody).

■ Voters who normally vote at Holy Cross Catholic Church (3733 Chamblee Tucker Road, Chamblee) will now cast ballots at Evansdale Elementary School (2914 Evans Woods Drive, Doraville).

■ Voters who normally vote at Dunwoody Pines Retirement (4355 Georgetown Square Road, Dunwoody) will now cast ballots at Peachtree Middle School (4664 North Peachtree Road, Dunwoody).

■ Voters who normally vote at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church (1790 Lavista Road NE, Atlanta) will now cast ballots at Margaret Harris Educational Center (1634 Knob Hill Drive NE, Atlanta).

■ Voters who normally vote at Mary Lin Elementary School (586 Candler Park Drive, Atlanta) will now cast ballots at Neighborhood Church (1561 McLendon Ave. NE, Atlanta).

■ Voters who normally vote at Ousley United Methodist Church (3261 Panola Road, Lithonia) will now cast ballots at Miller Grove Middle School (2215 Miller Road, Decatur).

■ Voters who normally vote at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church (2601 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta) will now cast ballots at Henderson Mill Elementary School (2408 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta).

■ Voters who normally vote at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church (1978 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody) will now cast ballots at Dunwoody High School (5035 Vermack Road, Dunwoody).

■ Voters who normally vote at Briarlake Baptist Church (3715 Lavista Road, Decatur) will now cast ballots at Briarlake Elementary School (3590 Lavista Road, Decatur).

■ Voters who normally vote at Grace Church International School (3434 Pleasantdale Road) will now cast ballots at Evansdale Elementary School (2914 Evans Woods Drive, Doraville).

■ Voters who normally vote at Rehoboth Baptist Church (2997 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker) will now cast ballots at Lawrenceville Road United Methodist Church (3142 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker).

■ Voters who normally vote at Brookhaven Christian Church (1850 Skyland Terrace NE, Atlanta) will now cast ballots at John Lewis Elementary (2630 Skyland Drive, Atlanta).

■ Voters who normally vote at Congregation Beth Shalom (5303 Winters Chapel Road, Doraville) will now cast ballots at Kingsley Elementary School (2051 Brendon Drive, Dunwoody).