DeKalb County urgent community meeting with Claratel officials cancelled, Super District Commissioner Bolton explains why

Claratel has cancelled the Wesley Chapel IDD Project & Tonight's Community Meeting Good afternoon Community Partners, To provide the most current update: it has come to my attention that correspondence was distributed by the CEO of Claratel stating that Commissioners were previously notified of the Wesley Chapel Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) project. It was stated that this occurred during the Inside Out Tours held on September 10th and September 18th, for which Commissioners were invited to attend one of the two dates.   I would like to clarify that this information is inaccurate. During the September 18th tour, the general concept of IDD Programming was presented via PowerPoint; however, Wesley Chapel was not listed as a potential program site. Please click the link to view the supporting documentation of the slides provided to our office during the tour. Click for Document It is important to be clear and factual: our awareness of the situation came directly from the community. Claratel’s communication regarding this project was not provided to our office until after Commissioner Districts 3, 5, & Super District 7 initiated a letter inquiring about the construction. We are actively working toward a solution to ensure that, moving forward, both the Board of Commissioners and the community are properly informed when new projects are planned within our shared community spaces.   We appreciate the continued partnership and service that Claratel provides to our DeKalb County residents. Furthermore, Claratel’s decision to halt construction and pivot toward identifying a new, more suitable location for the IDD program(s) is reassuring, however, it has not yet been communicated to our office whether a new proposed location has been identified. With this decision, Claratel has also chosen to cancel their community engagement meeting previously scheduled for today at 6:30 p.m. at Southwest DeKalb High School.   Our office believes there remains a strong need for continued dialogue so that the community and county fully understand Claratel’s processes, authorities, future site considerations, and the resolution of outstanding questions. We hope this moment serves as an opportunity to broaden and strengthen communication as a result of the advocacy put forth.