Happy Wednesday!
Last night was a long meeting so let's jump into it. Last night was a regular voting meeting, therefore most of the discussion on the items occurred during the work session. Please refer to those recaps for more detailed notes if you are interested. And as always, these are my notes from the meeting and not official meeting minutes.
Unfinished Business:
Appointments by the Mayor to the Ethics Board was approved. Appointees are George Coletti and Paul Hollis, terms end December 31, 2021. It was stated that if a ethics complaint were made against Councilmember Hollis, that Paul Hollis would recuse himself to avoid any conflict of interest.
New Business:
The contract with Georgia Fresh 4 Less 2020 Program was approved.
The Intergovernmental Contract between the City and the DDA was approved 4-2, with Council members Hollis and Bryant voting against.
Motion was made to establish a planning and zoning committee with an appointment process similar to that of HPC to consist of 3 to 7 members who have a vested interest in the City and to serve 3 year term. City Council would generate a short list of candidates for the Mayor, who would make recommendations from that list to the City Council for final appointment confirmation. Council member Monroe gave a lengthy argument about Council having the authority and not the Mayor to make these types of appointments. Although the motion on the floor was not in disagreement with his argument. The motion was approved by a split vote, Council member Little, Hollis, and I were in favor and the Mayor broke the tie for the approval. There will still be needed changes to existing ordinances to reflect the approved motion.
In the meantime the administration requested direction on how to proceed with continuing servicing the public until the committee can be formalized. Several options were discussed and there will likely be a special called meeting next week to implement a temporary measure so that existing pending zoning applications can be processed.
The appointment of Michelle Dunbar to the DDA to fill an unexpired term to expire September 2021 was approved. Mrs. Dunbar and her husband are the owners of Aztec Cycles. I am extremely excited to have her join the DDA.
Conditional approval was given for a Main Street Road Closure March 20th and 21st for Parallax Productions who will be doing filming. Road closure will be from 9am to 4pm. The approval of council is contingent upon the applicant meeting all the other necessary filming permit requirements.
Approval was given for Sweet Potato Cafe to place yard signs in the right-of-way to advertise the Open Mic event on March 14th. Signs will be permitted from March 9th to March 14th. A sign will be placed near Mimosa Drive, 2 at JBR, 1 at the City entrance and 2 near the municipal parking lot.
New Ordinances and Resolutions:
Resolution 2020-05 was adopted urging DeKalb County and the General Assembly to pass changes to the DeKalb Ethics Ordinance.
Resolution 2020-06 was adopted for a fiscal year 2020 budget amendment. Items included increased funding for the purchase of 2 additional police cars, funding the sidewalk project in conjunction with SMMA and funding the contract for a summer reading program.
Resolution 2020-07 was adopted to reset the date of the May work session to Thursday May 21st, and the November regular meeting to Thursday November 5th.
Executive Session:
Council adjourned to executive session to discuss personnel and real estate. There was no action taken from the discussion.
Disclaimer: This City Council Recap is taken from my personal notes and memories of the meeting. For the official minutes of the meetings please visit the City web page.
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