from the MANA Board
Some of you may have seen a report on the Atlanta Progressive News website about the protest against Walmart at Suburban Plaza. There are several inaccuracies in the report that we would like to correct.
Someone was quoted as saying that MANA was offered $250,000 for supporting Walmart. This is untrue. There was a person purported to be from Walmart at one of the first public meetings who was overheard saying that Walmart usually supports local schools and community projects that surround their stores.
We have always welcomed the support of the local business community for Medlock Elementary programs and other neighborhood activities such as the Senior Dinner. We will welcome any future contributions, however, none were offered in exchange for the parking variance support.
MANA agreed to support the parking variance because we felt that it was in the best interest of the neighborhood and our watershed to have as little asphalt as possible at the site, and it was our understanding that the project would continue even if the variance did not pass.