Tenant talk [Vol. 5, no. 2 (Winter 2001)]

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GBA

A Newsletter of the Georgia Building Authority Helen Scholes, Executive Director Volume 5, No. 2 Winter Issue

CARL E. SANDERS

FIREPLACE ROOM DEDICATED

Governor Barnes, former Gov. Lester Maddox and Gov. Joe Frank Harris in attendance for ribbon cutting ceremony
By Heather Hedrick

On Thursday,

January 4, 2001, the

Georgia Building

Authority (GBA)

hosted a dedication

and ribbon cutting

ceremony in the

newly renovated

Carl E. Sanders

Fireplace Room, in

honor offormer

Georgia Gov. Carl E.

Sanders. Sanders

governed Georgia

L to R: GBA Exec. Dir. Helen Scholes, fonner Gov. Carl E. Sanders, fonner First Lady Betty Sanders, Gov. Ro)' Barnes and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor cut ribbon

from 1963 until
1967. During the 2000

General Assembly, several leaders of the Georgia House ofRepresentatives, includ-

ing House Speaker Tom Murphy (D-18lh) and Representatives Terry Coleman (D-

See Carl E. Sanders, page 3

GBA IMPROVES ADA COMPLIANCE

''Our office is really appreciative ofGBA's commitment to improve accessibility on Capitol Hill. It's an ongoing effort.''

By Heather Hedrick

Mike Galifianakis, Georgia ADA Coordinator

In an effort spurred by recommendations from Representative Burke Day (R-153rd), the Georgia Building Authority (GBA) has recently updated Capitol Hill mechanisms for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Representative Day, who is currently serving his fourth term representing 'fybee Island in the Georgia

House ofRepresentatives, traveled around Capitol Hill with Helen Scholes, GBA Executive Director and Gena Abraham, GBA ChiefEngineer during the 2000 Session and pointed out several specific suggestions for improvement to make the grounds and facilities on Capitol Hill more accessible to people with disabilities.

See ADA, page 2

NEW Parking signs that surround the State Capitol designating parking areas for the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker ofthe House and Secretary

PARKING of the Senate have been replaced with new and improved signs. The new parking signs are designed to alleviate problems with visitors illegally occupying these

designated spaces. The parking signs are located on Mitchell Street, Capitol
SIGNS Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

EXPECTED TO REDUCE
ILLEGAL PARKING
By Heather Hedrick
Parking Coordinators should call the GBA parking office to report illegal
parkers at 404-656-3251 .

Parking Coordinators within each of these four offices are responsible for

assigning the Capitol curbside parking spaces to designated employees. Often

when the employee is away from the office, unknowing visitors occupy these

parking spaces, causing great frustration when the employee returns to find his or

her parking space taken. The new signage posted above every

..

space clearly designates each space as be.longing to a staff person, RESERVED

and is intended to prevent visitors from using these reserved spaces. FOR

Rosemary Brumwell, Governor Barnes' Office Special Assis- GOVERNOR'S

tant who coordinates parking for the Governor's staff explained,

OFFICE .

''There is nothing more frustrating than to arrive at work only to

STAFF

discover a car parked in your assigned parking space. This situa- SPACE #39

tion was occurring on a daily basis here at the Capitol. Finding



another space for the employee to park in and locating the visitor to

move their vehicle was very time-consuming. Since the installation ofthe

new parking signs around the Capitol, I have not bad one complaint!"

"Some ofthese people have waited up to 10 years or more to get these special

parking places. It is really not fair when they finally get a good spot, and then have people stealing their space all the

time," explained Amanda Pollard, who works in GBA's parking office.

Donald Evans, GBA Transportation Administrator, supervises all ofGBA's parking facilities. He hopes that the new

parking signs will reduce the amount ofillegal parking in spaces surrounding the Capitol. ''The Capitol curbside spaces

are extremely vulnerable," he explains. "People who are dropping offpackages, stopping in for a quick visit or running in

their own office to pick up something they forgot, just pull into these spaces. This sends the OBA parking office into a

tailspin trying to find an alternative parking space for the employee who is assigned this space. We have to run a check on

the illegally parked vehicle, and sometimes even call the towing company to come take the cars away. Hopefully the new

signs will get people to pay closer attention to where they're parking."

Employees who come to work to fmd a visitor illegally parked in their assigned space should call their agency's

Parking Coordinator to report the problem. Ifpossible, the employee should note the color, model ~d tag number of the

illegally parked car. Parking Coordinators should call the OBA parking office to report illegal parkers at 404-656-3251.

RING BELL FOA ASSISTANCE

Winter Issue 2001 - Page 2

-

CA I
Continued from page 1

AND ROOM

142"d), Larry Walker (D-141st) and Calvin Smyre (D- l 36lh) sponsored House Resolution 1430, requesting GBA to name the Fireplace Room banquet facility after Governor Carl E. Sanders, in honor of his service to the state of Georgia throughout the years. After six months ofrenovations, GBA invited more than 500 people to attend the official dedication and ribbon cutting of the new facility.
Many of Governor Sanders' coworkers and acquaintances from his term in office, now located all over the state, attended the ceremony, along with former Governors Lester Maddox and Joe Frank Harris, as well as University ofGeorgia Athletic Director Vince Dooley. Governor Roy Barnes, Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor, Speaker Tom Murphy and Representative Terry Coleman all gave remarks praising Governor Sanders for his service, both in the public and private sectors in Georgia.
The Fireplace Room, a banquet and meeting facility located inside the Capitol Education Center at 180 Central Avenue, underwent extensive renovations beginning in the spring of2000. The general contractor for the work was The Wmter Construction Company and the architect that handled the design ofthe room was Lord, Aeck and Sargent.
According to Gena Abraham, GB A's ChiefEngineer, the Fireplace Room has undergone a complete makeover, including the addition ofa full kitchen, two restrooms, a bar/beverage station, new flooring, carpeting, walls, sprinkler and plumbing systems. ''We're really pleased with the progress that was made in the Fireplace Room," she said. "It is now a first class facility that can be used by GBA's tenants for their catered banquets, meetings and events."
Finishing touches were being added

right up until the

guests arrived on

Thursday, Janu-

ary 4 for the

dedication and

ribbon cutting ceremony. The

Gov. Carl . Sanders

morning ofthe event, GBA employees

carried in the bronze and marble bust of

the Governor, donated by Governor

Sanders himself, to be placed in the

room to honor him. GBA has ordered a

bronze plaque that will be mounted in

the room above the large stone fireplace

to dedicate the facility to its namesake.

In addition to the new Carl E.

Sanders Fireplace Room, GBA oper-

ates five other banquet facilities located

on Capitol Hill, available to state em-

ployees and private groups to rent for

special events or meetings. These

facilities include the Empire and Floyd

Rooms, located on the 2Qlh floor of the

Twin Towers Building, the Freight and

Blue Rooms, located inside the Georgia

Railroad Freight Depot on Martin Luther

King, Jr. Drive and the Cafeteria Con-

ference Room, located in the lower level

ofthe Twin Tower building. These

facilities are reserved through the GBA

Stately Events office, which also handles

catering services for events on Capitol

I-fill.

According to Sherrell Wommack,

Stately Events Banquet Office Manager,

each year banquet facilities book quickJy

for the three months during the legislative

session. Most blocks of time for break-

fast, lunch and dinner reservations in

these facilities are booked for the 2001

legislative session. "We're already

taking reservations for 2002," she

explains. Each of the GBA banquet

rooms are available Monday through

Thursday, and can be reserved by calling

Stately Events at 404-656-3850.

See Sanders, page 4

Winter Issue 2001 - Page 3

244 WASHINGTON STREET

RENOVATIONS COMPLETED

Project Estimated to Total $8.5 Million

By Heather Hedrick

Tenants of the 244 Washington Street office building are pleased to be spending this winter season in their new offices, complete with top-tobottom renovations and improvements. The Administrative Office of the Courts, Clerk of the Supreme Court and the Public Service Commission have all been moved into the
244 Washington Building from their previous .locations in the Health Building,
where they were temporarily housed while renovations were being completed. GBA began renovations on 244 Washington Street, a six-story office building on Capitol Hill, on March 16, 1999. "We gutted that entire building," explained Gena Abraham, GBA's ChiefEngineer. ''There was nothing left in there except the concrete slabs, concrete columns and the exterior skin ofthe building.''

Employees of the three agencies located in the 244 Washington Building now enjoy new lobby areas, office furniture, carpeting, elevators, painting, wall structure and improved plumbing and restroom facilities. Funds for the 244 renovation project were Capitol Outlay funds, generated from government bond sales through the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, headed by John Butler. The project is estimated to have totaled $8.5 million in full.
Tenant Talk caught up with Leslie Johnson, Clerk of the Board of Court Reporting, as she directed the GBA employees who provided the muscles for the move of the Administrative Office ofthe Courts into their new offices. "It's nice to have clean and bright work space," she said. "We'll be nicely organized this time."
The Public Service Commission is housed on the first and second floors

ofthe newly refurbished building. The Administrative Office ofthe Courts is located on the third floor and the Clerk ofthe Supreme Court's offices are located on the fourth and fifth floors ofthe newly redone 244 Washington Building.
Renovations of244 Washington Street also included the complete demolition ofthe popular lunch cafeteria and full kitchen that was located on the sixth floor. A structural investigation ofthe kitchen area found corrosion in the I-beams on which the kitchen's foundation rested. The project team decided to demolish the existing kitchen and cafeteria to begin again from scratch. GBA engineers had the kitchen facility tom out altogether, and revamped the cafeteria tables area, serving line, short-order grill and checkout aisles. "Le Grill on theHill" is the newly renovated cafeteria on the sixth floor, which opened for business in February of2000.

CARL E. SANDERS
Continued from page 3
GBA Executive Director, Helen Scholes, said "GBA is delighted to have completed renovations for the Carl Sanders Fireplace Room. The area now has such a cozy and warm atmosphere. We expect it to be one of the most utilized banquet facilities we operate. I'm proud to have it named after this great Georgian."
Governor Sanders is recognized throughout Georgia for many achievements during his years ofservice to the state of Georgia. A native ofAugusta, Georgia, Sanders attended the University ofGeorgia where he received his Juris Doctorate degree in 1948. He served his country with valor during World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a B17 bomber pilot, and was elected to the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1996.
Sanders served in the Georgia House of Representatives in 1955 and 1956, and then in the Georgia Senate from 1957 through 1962. He was elected Governor in 1962 and served in this capacity from January of 1963 until 1967.
Carl Sanders was widely recognized as a progressive Governor, who ushered the state of Georgia into its modem growth era. He is credited with adding 10,000 new public school teachers to the state, and increasing university salaries by 32 percent He established colleges within the commuting distance ofevery Georgian. Governor Sanders is said to have created the nation's best community airport program by building more than 70 airports throughout the state of Georgia.
Governor Sanders now resides in Atlanta and practices law with the firm Troutman Sanders LLP.

Winter Issue 2001 - Page 4

ADA IMPROVEMENTS

Continued from page 2
the Capitol." After the addition ofthe new
door to the Capitol, GBA turned its ADA improvement efforts.toward the l.egislative Office Buildings (LOB) and installed new hardware at therear entrance of the building.
Bernard Baker, staff member of the organaationDisability Link, visits Capitol Hill regularly as a member of several interest groups supporting disabled Georgians. He rates the Capitol auilding and its surrounding grounds as easily accessible, compared to other facilities in Atlanta. "Although some of the rooms are small," he said, "I've never actually had a problem getting around the Capitol. LOB is also pretty easy to get to."
When asked about Capitol Hill's ADA accessibility in comparison with other Atlanta facilities,Representative Day commented, "It's up to par, ifnot better. I just wish more local governments would take more initiatives in this area."
In addition to the construction of door access compliance, GBA has improved the sidewalk comer ramps on all street comers that surround the State Capitol. Curbs that used to be one or two inches off the road surface were re-poured, making comer access easier for wheelchair accessibility.
Representative Day said, ''The curb cuts before were functional, but ifyou were riding over them in a wheelchair or scooter, as I use, you'd wonderifyour head was still attached to your shoulders. Now,

they're smooth as glass." As a member ofthe Governor's
Council on Developmental Disabilities, Cheryl Laureudeau was pleased to hear of GBA's efforts to smooth
the concrete curb cuts to create easier access for wheelchairs. While she felt that the Capitol itself is very accessible, she found it difficult to maneuver over the steep lips of the curb where it joined the road surface. "As
a member of the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, we get involved with and set policy for disability related things around the state. We have grant money and we dole it out to further the cause ofdisability accessibility and other concerns." Georgia ADA Coordinator Mike Galifianakis said, "Our office is really appreciative of GBA's commitment to improve accessibility on Capitol Hill. It's an ongoing effort." The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the most comprehensive federal civil-rights statute protecting the rights ofpeople with disabilities. It affects access to employment; state and local government programs and services; access to places ofpublic accommodation such as businesses, transportation, and non-profit service providers; and telecommunications. The ADA was passed in 1990 and has been amended several times since its passage. Itundergoescontinuous interpretation in the court systems. GBA is currently working with Galifianakis on restroom accessibility in the Department ofTransportation (DOT) building.

Winter Issue 200 I - Page 5

GBA TEAMS WITH GEORGIA FARMERS

By Heather Hedrick

The Georgia Building Authority

(GBA) teamed up with Christmas tree

farmers across Georgia to begin a new

holiday tradition in December of2000.

With the help of the Georgia Christmas

Tree Association (OCTA), the Building

Authority erected a live "Christmas

Tree Forest" in the Rotunda of the State Capitol. Five live Christmas trees were donated by farmers from GCTA, to be

Left: GBA Executive Director Helen Scholes with Santa. Above: CHCEC c/iildre11 observe cere1nony.Right: The Leyland Cypress, White Pine, Virginia Pine, Carolina Sapphire and Red Cedar Christmas trees,

housed in the State Capitol for the

do11a1ed to GBA by tree fanners across Georgia.

holiday season. The forest was ceremo-

niously lit with sparkling white lights by Governor Roy Barnes and First Lady Marie Barnes on December 4, 2000.

The trees were driven to Atlanta in November of 2000 from as far away as Cordele, Georgia. Root systems still

attached, the trees were placed in large buckets for storage and packed with ice for conti nual watering. Each of the five

live trees was a different tree variety native to our state. The Capitol Rotunda housed a Virginia Pine, Leyland Cypress,

White Pine, Red Cedar and Carolina Sapphire. The floor of the Rotunda was covered with a blanket of white snow,

and layers ofdeep red poinsettia plants that created a beautiful contrast with the dark green forest of trees.

Trent Ozburn, GBA Landscaping Architect Manager, and his staffworked around the clock during the Thanksgiving

holiday weekend to make the forest a success. "This year's decorations had the most changes ofany of my years here

at GBA, and it turned out beautiful," he said. "The GBA landscape and recycling staff worked several weekends and

evening hours. That shows a true dedication to yourjob, and to GBA."

In an effort to contribute to Governor Barnes' greenspace initiatives, the Georgia Building Authority replanted all

five trees in the metropolitan area following the holiday season.

Cafeterias
Continued from page 5
baked chicken breast and one serving of three vegetables are offered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for $3.95 p1us tax. Calories, fat, fiber and sodium are itemized and displayed per serving size for nutritional information and value.
Other added extras to the Twin Towers Cafeteria consist ofSunkist and Ocean Spray juice machines, Ultimate Smoothies Fruit Drinks, homemade pastries, cakes, pies and breads, a Tuesday self-serve Pasta Bar, a Friday self-serve Barbecue bar, a self-serve hotdog bar and new baked sweet potatoes with optional brown sugar or pecans.
Plans are even underway for a debit card payment system at the Twin Towers location. "Details are being discussed as we determine the cost involved for the debit card component to be added to our Aloha

systems," says Bullock. If approved, GBA plans to make the debit card system available this year. The Twin Towers Cafeteria is managed by Sherman Leggett and is GBA's largest operated cafeteria.
Each cafeteria location offers daily managers' specials, ice cream and fresh desserts. Charles McKine manages the Garden Room Cafe, Georgette Davis manages #2 Peachtree Cafeteria and Le Gril on the Hill is managed by Robert Cooper.
Stately Events Banquet Services, also operated under Bullock as a division ofGBA food service, has continued to improve services as well. In the past year, the Georgia Railroad Depot has undergone major renovations and the recently dedicated Carl E. Sanders Fireplace Room is now available as a meeting area and banquets venue. Already off to an assiduous start in 2001, Stately Events provided the food, arrangements and set-up for the Annual Wild

Hog Feast on January 7 and catered the 250 Years of Representative Government Legislature Celebration on January 8. Stately Events supervisor is Dwayne Robinson.
For more information about food service on Capitol Hill, call GBA's External Administration at 404-657-
6811.
Tena
AW#e-'iqfrr Helen Schol l!xecullw Director
1 MLK, Jr., Drive, Atlanta, GA SOl34
Ptione: 404 8S8 1118 Fax: 404 817-0337
Subml11lon lnfprmattoo: Heather Hedrick, Editor heather.hedrlckOgw.gba.state.ga.us Phone: 404-463-()334
Carletta Henderson, Editor
carletta.henderson Ogw.p.state.ge.us Phone: 404-463-0732