Marietta Councilman Carlyle Kent said it’s time to “get creative” when addressing homelessness in the city, especially in the Bells Ferry area.
During the Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting in December, Kent, committee chair, called for a discussion about the volume of 911 calls from Shady Grove Baptist Church and the surrounding area.
“We can’t stick our heads in the sand. We’re responsible for the residents as well,” Kent said.
Kent said the discussion was prompted after hearing Cobb County’s police chief say the No 1. problem in the area was Shady Grove Baptist Church, located on Bells Ferry Road just off I-75.
During the meeting, Kent presented four pages of calls that were made in the area since April, gathered by Marietta Police Chief David Beam.
Nearly a page-and-a-half, Kent said, came directly from the Shady Grove property, with some of the most severe crimes including discharging firearms, physical fights, theft and domestic disturbances.
Most, but not all, of the calls were a result of the homeless population in the area, he said.