Friends, we have arrived at Tuesday, November 4th, 2025.

And we're glad to have everybody here in City Hall.

We'll go ahead and begin by having the clerk call roll for us.

Here, Taylor.

Here.

Right.

President Fisher.

Johnson.

Call pepper.

Here.

Myers?

Here.

Thornton.

Obeat is here.

Handy.

Here.

We have a quorum.

All right.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

All right.

We'll begin with a civility pledge that was provided to us by the Georgia Municipal Association and dozens of cities across the state have adopted.

And that indicates that the way we govern ourselves is often as important as the positions we take, that our collective decisions will be better when differing views have had the opportunity to be fully vetted and considered.

That all people have the right to be treated with respect, courtesy, and openness, that we value all input and we commit to conduct ourselves at all times with civility and courtesy to each other.

First formal order of business tonight is approval of the minutes of meetings of Tuesday, October 7th, Tuesday, October 21st, and non-voting meetings of Tuesday, October 14th, and Tuesday, October 21st.

Do I hear a motion for approval of those?

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second from Commissioner Fisher.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed.

All right.

Hearing none, motion carries.

Madam Clerk, are there any written communications this evening?

Yes, sir, Mr.

Mayor.

On behalf of the Transportation and Public Works Department, we'd like to enter into the record notice of acceptance of Britney Way, which includes the right-of-way deed, right of way plat, attorney's title opinion, lender's release, and owner's affidavit.

We also have for the Athens Housing Authority, North Downtown Athens Development, the Minor Subdivision Plat for the Athens Housing Authority.

All required improvements and appurtenances have been deemed acceptable by Athens Clark County Transportation and Public Works Department.

All right, thank you, Madam Clerk.

I appreciate that.

Alright, friends, there are going to be several opportunities for public input tonight.

There's going to be an opportunity for public input on the consent agenda.

Then there will be an opportunity for public input on old and new business.

There will be separate opportunities for public input on each of the planning and zoning items tonight.

And at the conclusion of our meeting, since we're at the first Tuesday of the month in our voting meeting, we'll have an opportunity for general public input on any item that was not on tonight's agenda.

The format for public input will be the same for all of these opportunities.

Every individual will get to speak for three minutes.

No.

Motion to approve.

Alright, I've got a motion to approve the consent agenda from Commissioner Wright.

And I have a second from Commissioner Thornton.

I'm going to ask the attorney to read the ordinances associated with a consent agenda for us.

Agenda item one, an ordinance to amend the FY 2026 operating capital budget, Brathans Clark County, Georgia.

So it's to provide grant funding if awarded from the Georgia Department of Transportation Local Maintenance Improvement Grant.

LMIG for resurfacing roadways and for other purposes.

Agenda item number two, an ordinance for establishment of a yellow curbing on Herring Street between the intersection of Peter Street and Derby Street and for other purposes.

Second from Commissioner Thornton and reading of those ordinances by attorney Drake.

All right.

All in favor of the consent agenda approval, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

All right.

Hearing none, motion carries.

All right, we're gonna move forward to our three planning and zoning items.

Uh first one of those is item 13 regarding 480 South Millage Avenue.

Is there anybody here tonight who would like to speak to 480 South Millage Avenue?

Good evening, sir.

I'm Brett Thurman, uh, engineer at Armor Trip Matheny Thurman.

Um 330 Research Drive Athens.

I represent Alpha Z Delta along with Dave Matheny, who's here in the audience.

And I appreciate all the input from staff during this process as we'll as well as unanimous support unanimous support from the planning commission.

After tabling the project for a month at the planning commission, we resubmitted a much improved plan for the site.

The fire marshal was very pleased with the increased width of the existing drive aisles to 12 feet, the increased space on the parking lot side so that their ladder truck could put down stabilizers without having to move cars and the three fire department connections we proposed at the front so that their pumper truck does not have to go on the property to fight a fire.

We designed a stormwater solution under the parking lot to detain the rainfall recharge amount.

All larger storms are also contained in the gravel bed, so there's no increase in stormwater from the site.

In fact, we will now be directing that water to the private alley, thereby reducing stormwater flow into Millage Avenue.

There is sufficient parking on site for the number of members living on site plus the house mother.

Our parking falls within the range of on-site parking for other fraternities and sororities.

For additional parking, Clark Central High School will be approached for an additional 45 spaces for use during chapter meetings and special events.

We believe this is sufficient parking for the sororities' needs as they have a transportation policy limiting automobile access to the site.

There are seven variances that we have requested.

Mainly are a lot of them are related to the site size and the existing conditions.

The site, of course, was already non-conforming, and the planning commissioners agreed that all the variances were acceptable.

The front apartment building would be demolished for a larger chapter house.

The apartment building just cannot be renovated to provide the space required.

The new chapter house design has been before the historic preservation committee, and we will receive the certificate of appropriateness.

Street trees are provided in front of the new chapter house.

They're placed a little further back than normal because we have to be 30 feet behind the power lines.

Also, finally, my client agrees with the two conditions in the staff report.

We will provide the sidewalk access to the Millage Avenue sidewalk, and we will obtain a parking agreement with Clark Central and have it recorded before the project can receive a certificate of occupancy.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Thurman.

Is there anyone else here to speak to 480 South Millage Avenue?

Good evening.

I'm David Matheny.

Also with Armin Trap Matheny Thurman at 330 Research Drive.

The well, I just lost my words, but um that's a I've never had a loss for words.

But the actually the Historic Preservation Commission uh did approve our plan with some minor conditions, and so just wanted to bring that up again.

Also, I wanted to say that because of the site changes, there's not gonna be any new impact on either side of this new uh house, um, either right or left.

So I think that's a good thing, and I'm very happy that we are at this point and can introduce a new facility for the Alpha Z Delta Sorority, who has been looking for a presence on in Athens.

Currently, they are just part of the panelic uh building.

And um, so they're anxious to have their visible presence on Millage Avenue.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mathene.

Is there anyone else here to speak to us?

480 South Millage tonight.

All right, seeing none, I'll go ahead and turn to Commissioner Wright for a motion.

Motion to approve.

I'll second.

All right, I've got a motion with conditions.

Commissioner Wright for approval with conditions.

Second from Commissioner Link.

Uh Commissioner Wright, any remarks?

Um nope.

Just happy to have them have their presence and out of the Tate Center.

I'm ready to vote.

All right.

Any others from the body?

All right.

Have uh attorney Drake read the ordinance.

Ordinance to amend the code of Athens, Clark County, Georgia with respect to special use approval in the COM commercial option avenue quarter special district overlay for one parcel of land located at 480 South Millage Avenue and for other purposes.

All right.

Uh the motion and a second are on the floor.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

All right.

Hearing none, motion carries.

All right.

Item 14 is a request uh to amend section 9-15-16 of the code regarding home occupations and accessory structures and cottage food industry allowances effectively to come into concert with state code.

Uh is there any member of the public who would like to speak to item 14?

All right, seeing none, would a commissioner like to place a motion on the floor?

I'll move to approve.

Is there a second?

Second.

All right.

Got a motion from Commissioner Link, second from Commissioner Myers.

Commissioner Link, any remarks?

No.

Commissioner Myers.

No.

All right.

Attorney Drake, I'll have you read this ordinance.

Ordinance to amend the code of Athens, Clark County, Georgia, with respect to home occupations and for other purposes.

All right.

There's a motion of a second on the floor.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

All right.

Hearing none, motion carries.

All right.

Uh item 15 regards an amendment to chapter 9 of the code of ordinances regarding the definition and permitted locations of veterinary clinics and kennels.

Is there any member of the public who'd like to speak to item number 15 tonight?

Usually the animals draw a crowd, but not tonight.

All right.

Would a commissioner like to place a motion on the floor?

Commissioner Davenport, I know you have a commission to find option.

Yeah, CDO.

Um approved out of the CDO.

All right, I've got a motion from Commissioner Davenport for the commission to find option or second.

I'll second because I have a question.

All right, second from Commissioner Wright.

Uh Commissioner Davenport remarks, you may want to just outline the modification.

Slight modification and uh keeping a status quo where if you want um uh a vet clear they are not allowed in AR residential neighborhood zones, and that if uh in AR zones to get a permit for a kennel, you have to keep it um you have to go through special use.

So that's it.

The rest stays the same.

All right, uh Commissioner Wright, any follow-up?

I had a question.

It didn't it wasn't clear to me that this went through the planning commission.

It didn't have the pink sheet that the one before ahead of it did, and I I was curious if this sort of modification might need to loop back through.

Um I'm seeing from uh planning director Bruce Lonnie that that this is sufficient to go through.

Okay, all right.

Any other remarks from the body?

Uh Commissioner Myers.

It was in it.

I'm just I know I saw the CDO in our email.

And he put it but I'm looking at the publicly available amendment.

He said it last week.

No, I know I saw I saw it there.

I'm just saying it's not is it is it on the public one as well?

It's on the agenda page it's or as a model.

It's page 212 starts.

Yeah, I'm I'm just talking about the one that's publicly with that I just clicked on it.

So you just want to make sure that it's publicly that it's publicly available.

Yeah, that's all I just want to make sure that it's there.

All right, and our understanding is that that's publicly available on the web portal version, but which frankly I've not looked at.

I just downloaded the version from our internal board.

No, I'm looking at the web board.

So it's the first page of the web portal version.

Okay, just me.

Is that right?

Okay, it's perfect.

All right, any other questions?

All right, uh, I'll have uh attorney Drake read the ordinance for us.

Ordinance to amend the code of Athens, Clark County, Georgia with respect to veterinary clinics uses in the zoning ordinance of Athens, Clark County, Georgia, and for other purposes.

All right, we've got uh motion of second on the floor for the commission to find option.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

All right, hearing none, motion carries.

All right, we're gonna move on to old and new business.

And tonight that is numbers 16 through 20.

And so if any member of the public would like to speak to any item of older new business, you can go ahead and line up the podium and uh rules of input are as as described earlier.

It's a generous community.

Everybody wants to let everybody else go for it.

Very polite.

Chris Ward, I'm a 140 Beverly Drive.

I also picked a terrible day to get my eyes dilated.

So I apologize.

I did extra large fonts so I could try to get through this.

I did extra large fonts so I could try to get through this.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners.

So when I first looked at the proposal on 295 East Doherty Street, I honestly thought I had opened the wrong file because it looked like it belonged in Chicago, not in Athens.

It's big, it's cold, it's boxy, it looks like it's ready for a Starbucks logo and a Tesla store to move in the bottom of it.

But Athens is not Chicago.

We build community and we don't specialize in concrete.

Anytime we are asked to approve a project like this, we should address three simple questions.

First, does this bring well-paying jobs for Athenians to have a future right here at home?

Second, does this move the needle to create accessible and affordable housing for working people and professionals who already live here?

And third, does this expand the delivery of the exceptional public service that Athens prides itself on and make it to avail available to more citizens?

Unfortunately, this project does not hit any of those marks.

What this project really builds is a wall, a literal wall between Lay Park and some of the most vulnerable communities in Athens.

It cuts off access for families and kids who rely on that park every day during the summer.

It replaces a public space with private parking and asks tax tape taxpayers to backstop a project that serves almost no one outside of the tenant list.

We are being asked to pay interest over 5% for 15 years to finance a parking deck that I cannot see improving mobility.

It doesn't expand services, it doesn't create opportunity, and it actually opens new issues that we have done little to make sure our citizens feel welcome using new facilities that this plan purports to address.

Even the project itself acknowledges how tone-deaf it is to build something like this when shutting out local Athenians.

And this is a wall that we're building and we are paying for.

She worked with Commissioner Thornton back in her days at Head Start.

She said, if we're gonna build something here, build something that helps the kids.

And she's right.

If public money is on the table, let's make sure that this project addresses the needs of the community.

Let's make sure that this project builds something like a tech center, a community tech and learning center, partner with Athens Tech, partner with University of Georgia.

Put something in the bottom of this building that's actually going to help the people that need it the most in this community.

I'm gonna say something a little less serious, but it's still true.

The building doesn't look like Athens.

The facade is completely wrong.

Mr.

Ward, appreciate it tonight.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor.

Good evening, Commissioners.

I'm Reverend Dr.

Pippen Whitaker.

I am the Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens.

And I live in Commissioner Culpepper's district, not far from the congregation off Timothy Road.

I am here to speak on item 20.

And I want to thank you all for including this on the agenda.

The payment or the dispersal of funds to the food bank in the amount of 150,000.

As you know, there's a lot of people that are food insecure right now, people that are hungry.

There was a recent bill at the national level that could be, it's estimated that about three million people across the country are going to go without their food stamp benefits.

Food stamps save lives.

They are needed.

So I I appreciate that with very little time that you got this on the agenda so that you could discuss this really important issue.

I know you're all doing other things to address food insecurity and to address hunger and the spectre of rising hunker, and I want to thank each of you for doing this.

Thank you for taking care of our community.

I don't even know what all of you all are doing.

But I want to thank you for what you are doing.

And I want to thank everybody in this room.

I hope that you are all doing a little more than you have done.

Because we're gonna need all of us in this.

We're gonna need working across our differences, because we have these and other needs that are rising before us.

So thank you for considering this donation to the food bank.

I personally am making my own dramatically increased contributions.

I hope everybody else can look into that.

We can call our elected officials.

I know y'all are elected officials, but you can call your elected officials at the state level too, and ask for them to do more.

Because what we're doing here, what you're looking at is needed, it's impactful and it's not enough.

But keep doing what you can do.

I know that's not super inspiring to say what you're doing may not be enough, but the fact is that just because what you can do isn't enough doesn't mean you can't do it.

It doesn't mean it isn't needed.

And it doesn't mean it's not seen and appreciated.

So I see you and I appreciate each one of you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr.

Whitaker.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mayor and Commission.

I am Octo Jasmine Johnson, POBOX 67 13, Athens, Georgia.

We're here tonight in support of funding the food bank.

Thank you guys for bringing this to the table and for taking action in such a short period of time, but we're also here to ask you to do more.

We're calling on our local and state leaders to explore every possible solution to protect Athens families impacted by the SNAP freeze and the ongoing government shutdown.

As of November 2025, more than 9100 households in Athens Clark County rely on SNAP benefits.

That's over 18,000 people, including children, seniors, and working families who depend on this assistance just to eat.

Yet Governor Kemp administration has stated that it will not release emergency funds to support food access during this crisis, claiming that the responsibility falls solely on federal relief and private charities.

So what do we do?

What do we do after the 150,000 in local aid is spent?

What do we do when thousands of Athens restaurant residents still still is left wondering where their next meal will come from?

Hunger doesn't wait for political decisions.

When families go hungry, it leads to illness, higher stress, poor school performance, and even increased crime and instability.

Food insecurity is not just a moral issue, it is a public health and is a public health and public safety issue.

We're urging Athens Clark County to just do more.

We appreciate what you have done, but we're asking you to not just stop here because this is an issue that is going to go on beyond this next 30 days.

We're asking you to reach out to Governor Kemp and ask him to release those urgent emergency funds.

We're also asking you to put a plan of action in place and be prepared to help people that need to file appeals because there's two things that's going on.

One is that the freeze has happened on November 1st, but there's also changes in work requirements and eligibility.

So even when the freeze free has, even when the freeze has been released, there's still going to be people that is hungry and is going without food.

So we have to prepare for this beyond 30 days.

So again, we support the food bank.

I encourage people to donate, volunteer, and do what they can.

This is going to be a problem for the community, so the community has to rise up, and we're asking our local government to do more, to do everything you can to get more money to feed families and to support this community.

Thank you, Mocha.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm Jemia Wideman here with the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement, which is located on 3700 Atlanta Highway, Suite 67.

Also here to talk about the um ending of SNAP benefits.

So the end of SNAP benefits just before the holiday season has put a strain on millions of families.

In 2022, in Clark County alone, there were 15,853 SNAP recipients.

And while we're appreciative of the 150,000 being allocated to food banks, the food bank of Northeast Georgia feeds about 91,600 individuals, which means less than $2 a person.

$2 is a is two cans of evaporated milk at Walmart or one rusted potato at Dollar General.

One jar of peanut butter at Dollar Tree or a pack of tortilla shells at Family Dollar.

Two dollars is not a case of baby formula.

Two dollars is not a pound of veggies or a pound of meat.

Two dollars is not healthy meal.

Today I asked the local government to take immediate and compassionate action by increasing support for the food bank of Northeast Georgia and local food providers to keep shells stocked and food available for families in need.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jemia.

Good evening.

Good evening.

My name is Barbara Dane.

Um I'm coming to ask y'all to not approve number 16.

I'm asking because I know it seems like a lot of money and everything, and a lot of stuff gonna get done, but I can remember back in 2020, a lot of money got put out then, and nothing hadn't gotten done.

Affordable homes, we still don't have them.

Student homes, y'all still building them.

Kids is being pushed away, not only elder people, middle-aged people, kids.

They can't come outside to play because don't have any yard.

They're playing.

So I'm asking y'all to let lay park, stay, lay park, so the kid can have somewhere to go.

I'm looking at toward East Athens.

We have a problem there.

Kids can't go there.

This I say it over and over again, but I just don't understand why it takes so long for you all to buy to build affordable home for people, low-income people.

But yet you can come out here and build student housing.

And every time I come here, that's all I hear is about student housing.

My heart is full.

And it's making me very angry, but I trust and believe in God.

And he says, stand still, and I'll fight your battle.

And I believe he will.

But it becomes a politic thing.

I hear people talk about Democrat and I hear people talk about Republican.

But neither one of y'all know better than the other one.

So I can't understand.

Why can't you help people that need help?

It's not asking for too much.

It taking four and five years to build apartments.

People are tired of apartment.

Kids need to be in a place that they can run around, have fun, have their own yard.

People get tired of being stacked on top of one another.

People want to be able to move around.

But you're pushing all the people that were here away out of town, and you bring the people from out of town here.

When is this gonna stop?

I don't understand why it's so hard to y'all see this.

But you keep talking about student homes.

I don't get it, but I know it's gonna be it's gonna come pretty soon.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening, Dr.

Tawana Smith Matters.

Um born and raised on Pittle Road.

I represent all of Athens, and my heart is heavy.

Um, it's just a burden for me when I think about how I'm watching people having to move out of Athens, being displaced, and we are saying watching you all mayor and commission, you know, going into the business of student housing.

That's how I see it.

You shouldn't be in the business student housing, you should be in the business of making sure that the people who are living here who are born and raised here, people who've been here for a long time are able to afford housing and they are able to stay here because my main concern is the next generation, and the way that things are going.

I don't know where my baby with these babies are gonna be able to stay or if they're gonna even be able to live here.

And the decisions that you all are making, I just do not agree with that.

And I understand, you know, it's a beautiful plan.

I understand, you know, about the you know, the 7.8 million dollars, but to me, that's a slap in the face when you say, you know what, I'd rather give you 7.8 million dollars than your black and poor ass to stay in my establishment.

That's how I see it.

So just to have seven, you know, to give you know all of this money, and we don't even have a plan, like okay, we got seven, we get the 7.8 million dollars.

I think we already have $5 million.

I would have led with what is the plan.

When are we going to start seeing some building, some partnerships with you know partners who are building affordable homes?

I would have started with that.

But there's no trust because we don't see any concrete plans for how we're going to keep people and allow people to be able to, especially hardworking people to stay in Athens, and it's not right.

The next point, the next item, the T Splash Project 2023.

I want to say thank you to Commissioner Link, um, and Ms.

Diane Jackson and others who um had that meeting.

Um, you know, it was after the fact, but and we have to do better with that.

You know, we are too reactive.

You know, we have to beg and plead for community meetings, and I'm tired of these charreds.

We need to have actual meetings where people can be educated and we can ask questions.

And that was that kind of meeting when it came to the prioritization of these projects.

And people from the community were able to ask questions and give their lived experiences.

Because I don't know.

I I trust the staff, but at the same time, we have lived experiences.

I don't know if if in I don't know how many of the staff even live in Athens.

So you're making decisions that impact us and our lived experiences, and I want us to have better communication going forward.

But I want to say thank you for for that and for item number 17.

Thank you, Dr.

Maddox.

Good evening.

Hello, my name is Shelley Branch.

I live at 287 Morning Drive.

And I represent the Athens Clark County Democratic Committee.

And we echo the similar uh the remarks made earlier about food insecurity in Athens and giving funds to the food bank and for the local government to do as much as possible to fill in the gap.

Has the state and federal government fail us?

Thank you.

Thank you, Dr.

Branch.

Is there anyone else here to speak any item of old or new business tonight?

Yes, uh hello, my name is Eric Gisler.

Um I'm actually not a Clark County citizen, um, but I am running to represent Clark County citizens in the upcoming election in the State House.

Uh I just wanted to come and make a statement and express my gratitude for the mayor and commission uh for item number 20, uh the the money for the food bank.

Um the truth is that this really shouldn't be on your agenda.

This is on your agenda because of a failure of government at the federal and state level.

It's not really up to you guys to have to bail out the food bank in a time like this.

Um so I just want to express my gratitude that you did rush to get it on the agenda and you are considering it.

I hope that you you do pass it.

Um the truth is people have to eat, we all gotta eat.

Um and it really is due to uh dysfunction at the the higher levels of government.

Um the only other thing that I'd like to say is uh whether or not I'm in the state house next year.

I really hope that the state government will reimburse you and other uh communities around the state for having to do this.

Um so thank you again, and uh that's everything.

Thank you, Mr.

Gisley.

Anyone else here to speak to over new business tonight?

Good evening.

Good evening, Aaron Barger.

I live here in Athens on Inverness Road.

It's an honor to spend just a few minutes with you this evening.

Um, just would ask everyone in this room to take a deep breath and think about what um hundreds of people are doing right now, which is hopefully sitting around a family table and enjoying meal, talking about their day, thinking about the future, maybe talking about the upcoming holidays.

Um, as the president and CEO of the food bank, I can testify not only from the data, but when I look in the eyes of our neighbors who have moved from food insecurity to food emergency, that we are in a dire state.

This mayor and commission has been so generous with us earlier this year.

You supported the food bank of Northeast Georgia.

I can definitely testify to you that that has made a critical difference in Athens Clark County.

So you have moved our neighbors in this area to greater food security, and then snap cuts entered the picture.

Um, so to put this in perspective, um, if you compare year to date what the food bank has mobilized this period in 2025, compared to the same period of time in 2023, we have mobilized 45% more food.

That was before SNAP benefits were cut this month.

Also, our neighbor survey reveals to us that we have moved from food insecurity to actual hunger.

More than one third of respondents to our survey earlier this year reported that they are going an entire day without food.

40% of them experience this hardship chronically, monthly or more.

So I really have two things to say to you.

Thank you for what you have done, and I think the decision before us tonight is clear.

150,000 for the food bank of Northeast Georgia has tremendous impact.

We will make the very most of it.

We have a plan to mobilize an additional 500,000 in resources in the month of November.

We issued a call to action last Tuesday within 48 hours.

We had raised half of that goal.

So private philanthropy, corporate philanthropy, everyday people experience hunger, and everyday people are working with us to solve this problem.

We know that local government plays a role.

We see you stepping up to the plate.

We thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you have.

I did share some materials that hopefully put this in perspective.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Barker.

Good evening.

Good evening.

How y'all doing?

My name is Brian Middleton.

I'm from 110 Erwin Court on Add Georgia 30607.

Lay Park is was a big thing for that community.

So if you're going to get rid of that park, I will hope that you have a plan to do something for the kids that uh would uh replace it because this park was a very historical park for them, and that that's a place where they went and they played and they was able to learn different things.

So if you're gonna take that away, I will hope that you have a plan to um have something in place of it to do something about it.

Now the other one was um item number 20, which uh I'm just hearing that uh they raise uh money more money for the what um food bank, but um I wanted to say that um in uh Birmingham City, or if y'all check the news, Birmingham City itself had a million dollars in his reserve.

Now I don't know if y'all have a reserve or anything like that, but 150,000 for that amount of people is only gonna go so far.

So if y'all do have a reserve, that's or if y'all don't have a reserve and can create a reserve, that will be something that could be happening in the future where it can be an ounce of uh different problems and stuff where if it does arise, you will have a reserve that you could go into and use that as a um a way of a means of uh helping things.

So if my point is if you have uh 150,000, they're gonna have to stretch that for the amount of families that's going to be uh for the food.

They would need more, but since she's saying that they uh raise more, then I think that problem is pretty much getting uh solved.

But I do think that this uh city should have a reserve, and if you can go in the reserve, it'll be much easier.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Middleton.

Anyone else here to speak?

Any out of older new business tonight?

Good evening.

Hey, Mr.

Mayor, uh Russell Edwards, um Duncan Springs Road.

Just wanted to uh speak on item 16 and raise some some points perhaps to consider.

Um I've I've read information about uh the county commission planning to destroy Lay Park, and uh I'm not quite certain where that's founded, but that doesn't uh that doesn't appear in any of the materials that I'm looking at.

Um I'd like to make is you know uh four we're about eight thousand dwelling units behind where we need to be to currently fit fulfill the demand on our housing market, eight thousand dwelling units.

It's a question of supply and demand.

We have uh a growing community here.

People love Athens, they want to live here.

We're we're trying to grow the community, we're trying to increase investment in neighborhoods, we're trying to recruit businesses with high-paying jobs to come here.

That means growth.

And with growth comes a need for housing.

So if we're already 8,000 dwelling units behind, and we have some growing industries, some new businesses coming here.

You can imagine that uh folks are competing for homes, and it's driving up the price of housing across the county.

Here, one proposal, 1400 units in one proposal to help well to help meet that demand.

When it comes to UGA students, um UGA is the number one employer.

Uh, some students can be annoying, but uh thousands of students are basically what helped keep the economy going here in large part in this community.

Uh there's been a lot of hate and shade thrown on students.

I would say unfairly.

Maybe something to consider.

Allowing the students to live on private property that pays property tax is perhaps superior to having the university acquire more land, putting it off of the tax rolls and building dormitories.

So here we will collect funds.

Students living in private housing, they're not going to be going to our elementary schools, but they will be contributing property tax that support those schools.

Also, having 1,400 more residents downtown where all of our services exist for the largest part, is going to be good for downtown business.

It's going to be good for downtown restaurants and venues, the creative culture.

These folks are not going to be driving cars creating more traffic in your neighborhood because they're going to be able to walk where they need to go.

Something to consider.

Thank you, Mr.

Edwards.

Anyone else here to speak to any item of older new business this evening before we continue with commission deliberation?

Good evening.

Alan Jones, Xavier Drive.

Thank you, Russell.

I echo those thoughts.

I'm going to speak on one of the less sexy items that are up for a vote, and it sounds like it's going to get pushed off until next time.

But the board and commission issue.

I serve on the Athens in Motion and the T Splossed Oversight Committees.

And I also have a day job.

But I make time for my community.

And I drive down to these T SPLOS meeting in the late afternoon, take off work early, show up, and over half the time we don't have a quorum, so it's a worthless drive.

So I go home.

There's another meeting right after the T Sploss in the same building for the SPLOST group, and they have a hard time getting quorum.

So I thank you for this proposal where you would be combining those groups and making it so that the citizens of the community can participate in the process with without it being an undue burden.

So thank you for that.

I may be retiring early, so I may be able to be more involved and not have to worry about that, but that's yet to come.

I also appreciate that that codifies the Athens in Motion and the Land Bank and local ordinances, making them permanent.

So that is great.

Patrick and the rest of the GOC people, you've done a great job with that.

And Patrick, you also mentioned at one of the last meetings, speaking of Spost and T S PLOST, about the fact that we fund those backward, which I wholly agree with.

We wait until we have all the money for these T Sploss projects before we do anything with them because we don't want to do bond funding because there's there's interest.

Well, 10% interest on a loan to get something moving right now is a whole lot more effective than waiting five years for the price of that asset to overdouble due to inflation because we wouldn't pay for it earlier.

The community wants these things that are on SPLOST and T SPLOST built during the period that they are paying for them, not 10 to 20 years down the road.

So please support the BAC commission, and when it comes around time for the next Boston T S BLOS, reconsider the funding mechanisms.

Thank you, Mr.

Jones.

Anyone else here to speak to any item of older new business tonight?

Good evening.

Good evening.

I'm Michael McClendon.

I live at 201 Hamilton Road, Athens.

I'm here to encourage you to table item 16, pending adequate commission and public work sessions to fully address a range of really significant issues and questions.

And I note Russell Edwards brought up four or five policy issues in what he was suggesting, which have never been yet talked about.

This proposal was born in secrecy over a period of months, then advertised as being about parking when it's really about consequential, unrecoverable actions that will impact Athens Clark County for years.

And uh last week at the uh what I call a show and tell, you know, there were a lot of questions, a lot or a lot of brochures, posters, but there's no accountability for those things.

And it reminded me very much of we've been here before.

We were here with the mall fiasco 31 months ago.

We've been here with the arena where parking deck was promised, and now we are millions and millions of dollars in debt.

So it sounds like Athens Clark County kind of ignores red flags and presses ahead without competent due diligence and without a care as to the consequences.

In my view, we're repeating behavior here.

If this proposed agreement cannot withstand being tabled for a comprehensive scrutiny by commissioners and the public in open forums, then it does not merit any consideration.

What's the secret?

What are people trying to hide?

There are a lot of policy issues with this.

I won't go into all of them, but let me just hit a few.

This is a sole source agreement to give public land to a developer without any competition.

ACC has no business enabling one developer over another to gain a competitive advantage in the real estate market.

This also sets a bad precedent.

ACC is telling two contradictory stories.

On the one hand, you want to enable them tearing down a hotel, but on the other hand, the classic center authority spends money to go do hotel studies that continue to show that there's a shortage of hotel space in Athens.

So the question I would ask to you is what's Athens Clark County government's policy on hotel capacity and the needs.

Seems like here you're you're you're taking action that's against what Classic Center is trying to do.

ACC's own data shows that 19,464 beds have been added in Clark County since 2018 through August of this year.

Thank you, Mr.

McClendon.

Is there anyone else here to speak to any item of older new business before we come to commission deliberation?

Hello, my name is Tammy Foote, and I'm at 223 Fairview Street.

I'm here in regards to the item number 16.

Um, as Mr.

McClinn has stated, the public needs the opportunity to find out and see what is really going on with this development.

Um, the liquidation or the tearing down of the playground for the kids and everything, as Mr.

McClinnon has stated, that is not being totally clear to the public.

We need to table this and do a work session with the public so we can know what's going on as well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Ploot.

Any other input on older new business tonight.

Good evening.

Good evening, Commissioners.

I'm Andy Savoy with Core Spaces.

We are the developer that is doing the development at 295 East already item 16 on tonight's agenda.

This is my fourth time in front of you guys, and typically I go through a spiel of different public benefits, millions of dollars of public benefits, off-site sewer work, all that.

Tonight I'd like to talk about something a little different.

It occurs to me that many of you may not understand what makes this vote such an urgent one for us.

And that's that's on us because we haven't really messaged it.

Um I believe we've been pretty forthcoming about the majority of the residents uh in this project are expected to be students at UGA.

Because of that fact, we need to deliver in the summer, and the current target is the summer of 2028.

Um in order to deliver in the summer of 28, we need to start construction in March of next year, and in order to start construction in March of next year, we need to start our plan review pretty much now, because that takes about four and a half months.

And so for that reason, we're pushing up on a point where if it goes much further than this, we'll have to delay an entire year.

So that's a year delay on all of that public benefit on the off-site sewer work on the $7.8 million dollars, which would be a shame.

And uh that's not it because a lot can happen in a year.

Um tariffs can happen any year, wars that cause shortage of material can happen in a year.

Um there are you know agreements with the hotel operator that we would need to sort through.

So, worst case scenario, the whole deal could die, and we could be forced to pursue more of a buy right option.

And so I wanted to just make that clear to everybody about why this is all of a sudden so urgent.

We plan to be here in September, it's November.

Everything takes longer than you think, right?

That's not that's not your fault, but here we are.

And so uh I just wanted to put that out there and just kind of reinforce to you guys that uh this is kind of an urgent matter for us.

We'd like you to, I'd like to humbly ask you to approve this agreement or short of approving it.

Um if you can't find it in yourselves to do that, can you do whatever you can to keep us on track?

Uh that would include selecting a precise date for a public workshop that is soon, uh allowing for the rezoning of the butterfly lots to proceed, and also um allowing staff to start reviewing our plans uh while all of that goes on.

That would keep us on track.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Savoy.

Any other input tonight on older new business?

Good evening.

Um David Ellison, 2500 Daniels Ridge Road, uh, here to speak on behalf of item number 16.

Uh we welcome any opportunity to answer any questions or explain the benefits of this project and how they exceed what we can do by right.

Uh, this is our ninth uh uh meeting public meeting for opportunity to answer those questions and welcome any opportunity to do so.

Uh while we request that you please uh approve the development agreement.

We understand there is a commission defined option uh on the table tonight, and we would request uh two revisions to that in order to give this project an opportunity for success.

Uh the first one is the elimination of the condition that this is tabled until all related staff and mayor authorizations and definitely until the satisfaction of the polling conditions.

That is uh subsection A3 of the CDO.

Uh the reason why we're asking for that is two reasons.

Uh, one is uh Mr.

Savoy referenced, uh, we need to get uh concept review and plan interview going now to give this project a chance of success.

The second issue is that there are several titled effects that have been identified in the development agreement, and we want to get those resolved before any development agreement is signed.

If that those titled effects do not get satisfied that any closing will be delayed indefinitely, and that will delay this project by omitting that section that gives uh this project an opportunity for success by allowing plans review, concept review, but also allows us to try to get these title issues cured.

Uh so we request that you eliminate that and authorize uh staff and the andor the mayor, whoever, to at least allow us to proceed through that and specifically allow us to cure all title defects identified in the development agreement.

Uh the second issue is the elimination of the uh condition that the mayor and commission have approved the rezoning of the ACC conveyed property in the manner necessary to allow for the implementation of the development agreement.

That is subsection A lowercase B.

And the reason why we're asking for you to eliminate that is that your hands are tied under your local code and state law as to zoning procedures.

Uh y'all have complete discretion as to if you're going to approve the development agreement and when you're going to approve the development agreement.

However, under the zoning procedures law, you have certain timelines in which there any kind of zoning action can occur.

Under your ordinances, every sort of zoning action has to go before the planning commission.

And so if you condition a table on requiring the rezone of the ACC convey property, it has to go through the planning commission first, and you could have the planning commission tie up this project definitely and kill it and take it out of your hands.

And so we ask that you please eliminate that subsection B, because no matter what, if this project's going to be approved, this property has to be rezoned.

But if you approve that, it takes it out of your hands, and yes, that you please revise it.

Thank you, Mr.

Allison.

Anyone else here to speak to any item of older new business before we continue with commission deliberation?

All right, seeing none, we'll go ahead and move on to old business number 16.

Somebody like to lay a motion on the floor.

I'll make a motion that we'll approve the CDO development agreement for the redevelopment of public and private properties around 295 East Boy Street, um, along with myself, Commissioner Johnson, Myers, Taylor, and Thornton.

So motion for the CDO is written.

Is there a second?

Right, got a second from Commissioner Johnson.

Uh Commissioner Fisher, any remarks?

Yes.

Um, we've been going back and forth um with this development of project.

And let me say a couple of things so the public will know.

Um lay is not going to be torn down.

Um that's not that's not nowhere.

Um, was made that um coming that it's not gonna be torn down at all.

Um I'm going with this, and the developer made a point, you know, it took them a year to come up um with this um particular agreement.

Um we found the guided um several months ago, and um, and I think, and I said this is our general city that um for us as um elected officials, we owe it to our public.

First of all, for them to understand what we're doing, what impact this is gonna make on the Tom Lay Center, and and the benefits that we're gonna um get from this particular development.

Keep in mind now the developer by right can build student housing.

So my question is if you can build student housing, why do you need you know what actually why would you need delay if you want to build student housing building?

My thing is when we talk about acquiring um public property to um to get into the student housing building business.

Um I don't think that's a role that uh we should play as a government.

However, um I'm willing, and I I said this in the um CDO for the um developer and our staff to come before the public with a work session and get all these things, lay them out on the table.

And and it bothers me that people got a problem that we want the public to know exactly what we're getting and what we're not getting.

And that's all I'm asking for as an elected official for the people who voted to put me here, say, hey, this is what's going on in this community, this is what developers gonna provide, this is what is gonna happen, and what impact is gonna have on Tom Lay.

There's gonna be some impact.

Um when we look when I read that um agreement, you know, there was some negative things that we talked about, what was gonna impact.

But one thing that was left off there was programming.

We talked about parking, talked about drop off, but we didn't talk about programming.

So, how is that Tom Lay CERN gonna affect programming for those young people and the elderly who go there?

What's gonna be the impact on that?

Is it gonna decrease um demand there for the people in that community or even for the community for that matter?

So, again, for me, um, and I'm one commissioner, but for me, I think we put all the cards on the table.

Let's hear all the information and the mayor's 60 um work session.

He can do it as fast as he wants to do it, but um, you know, the timetable um is not on us.

Our thing is to this public and to this community what we should be providing and how we what we should be delivering.

So that's sort of my spill um on this and why I did the CDO to table it to get public input, get all the commissioners on questions answered, then we can move forward.

Commissioner Johnson, any follow-up?

I have I do have follow-up tonight.

I however I would allow I want to allow someone else to speak until I am ready to do so, please.

Uh Commissioner Culpepper.

So the CDO as it's written, um does it allow y'all to allow staff to move forward with everything?

Um, with the title work for uh plans review um and all that.

I think time is I want the public to have a chance to be heard, but I also don't want to delay this project.

As I understand how the CDO is prepared at this point in uh the rezoning is incorporated in the CDO is the the discussion of the resolution in order to allow the the rezoning to proceed, which would effectively have um a piece of the rezoning coming back if everything stays on schedule in January and another piece of it coming back in February or March with it.

Um and that was consistent with the original timeline or what was in envisioned in that in that piece of it.

So the work session that's referenced would fit in between today and then um and um as far as as far as I know, and as far as what I'm anticipating is during that time, plan review can can occur and take place.

It occurs at risk that obviously they're spending the money on preparing those plans and those plans proceed forward and the project is not approved, which of course then the plans don't have any meaning at that point.

As far as the title piece, I'm probably gonna look to the attorney because I don't know, I don't know what the defects in the title that are attempting to be cleaned and how those may or may not be inhibited by by the action.

Well, the defects, the title relate to the fact that there's currently a covenant on the property uh with the with the federal agency saying that we're about to get their approval to remove that so uh so this project can go forward.

And uh I I respectfully wish the attorney for the developer had contacted me before tonight to share all this because I don't I'm not sure how exactly that plays out, you know, because I mean I think the development agreement has to be approved.

I mean, for y'all to be able to release that, you know, I wouldn't do that.

I wouldn't allow the mayor, I think the mayor has authority to do that.

I think it has to come to y'all, you know, and this development agreement gives that authority, you know, to do that.

And so uh and you'd earlier you were indicated that at least in concept, federal agency had said that that would proceed.

Yeah.

I I read those emails to say they wanted something they wanted the development agreement approved and for they would release it, you know.

But so I I'm not sure what the attorney for developer is asking for is going to move this forward any quicker, to be honest with you.

But Commissioner Cole Pepper, anything else?

Um is it possible to put dates around uh you know, for us to put a date for a work session or if we have a vote on January 6th.

If this motion passed, I would schedule the work session for a week from tonight.

So again, mayor if this motion passed, I would schedule the work session for a week from tonight.

And it would actually be Tuesday.

Wednesday it would be Wednesday because of the holidays.

But Wednesday, apologize.

Yeah, uh, Veterans Day holidays Tuesdays week from tomorrow.

Because initially we thought that the vote will do a work session in December with the work session.

Um, but again, you said that you set the work session, so that's that's your prerogative from that perspective.

So Commissioner Myers.

Yeah, following up on this.

Um, I've been out of town and my name's on this, and and I can also hear I have a cold here.

Uh, but I do want to ask a question about that B on that I guess it's a you know, the one about the the approval the version I saw, which I don't know if it had it in here yet about approving the rezoning of the ACC conveyed the rezoning and not moving forward to that.

I was wondering if the manager could speak to what the norm, I mean, I think for many of us it's you know, the the you know, we usually have those done first earlier.

So what is how does this fit into a development cycle where this would come afterwards?

Yeah, so the way this is envisioned in conversation with um Mr.

Fisher is that there are two pieces of property that need to be rezoned for this to occur.

The first are the ACC Gov owned properties, the parking lots, those need to go from currently G to C D, and then there is property that is currently zoned and owned privately, C D that needs to be turned to G.

That would be the future parking deck.

So the way this is structured currently is there would be consideration of the rezoning by the planning commission of the two ACC Gov owned properties, and that would come back to you all for decision.

If that rezoning were approved, then you would move to step two, which is consideration of the development agreement.

And the reason for that is because the other rezoning, since it's on private property, really is is meaningless if the development agreement doesn't get approved because you would not rezone the property to G government on privately owned property.

So right now that's how this ultimately gets structured.

The big picture kind of uh one of the things that the development agreement that one of the things that complicates this a little bit is part of the reason I think for the um the sequencing of it is the development agreement in this case is actually spelling out what it would require for you all to be comfortable in transferring the ownership of the of the two parking lots, and so you're spelling out a lot of items relative to what the design would look like, what the requirements of the the development itself and so on, because what's going to be requested in the rezonings are straight rezonings, these are not planned developments, and so um that that does create a little bit of an issue because there's rezonings being considered that are independent of the development agreement.

The planning commission clearly can see what the intent is associated with it, um, but it will be a straight rezoning from G's owned property to C D, just as the rest of their property is.

So I think that was playing into some of the sequencing is to get some of these details worked out to where you all were comfortable in making that transfer.

That's why they were arranged that the way the way that they were.

And I would add we actually the manager commit communicated with Commissioner Fisher to allow that resolution so we can begin the process to try to keep it moving forward, trying to balance the interests of those who support the project and those we know who don't, you know.

So and Commissioner Fisher agreed to that.

Yeah, correct?

Yeah, and that and that's though you can't see that in B, that is actually embedded in that in that item B is kind of that sequencing, so that the resolution, the benefit of the resolution and moving forward with the uh ACC got initiate rezoning is it shortens that time frame back to what was envisioned, and again that's why I say it would come back to you all in January and then February or March for that next piece of that and trying to fit that work session in between those with it.

So it so to clarify that for me.

So if the if we would have uh ahead with this as B is laid out here, would we be voting on the rezoning and the development agreement at the same time?

You would and on January, but it would have to it could be by January, could it?

I mean, doesn't it have to go the rezoning the rezoning for of the two parking lots, so of the butterfly lots, if you will, will go through the planning commission cycle under this scenario and will be in front of you all in January.

So yes, that that piece the the benefit of initiating the rezoning is it accelerates the process because the staff's been actually reviewing aspects of this project for quite some time.

So yes, that piece would come back as soon as January.

So right now you're saying that if we approve this, we would be coming back with the work session and the approval in January.

Work session would happen before it's a good thing.

The work setting that's when they have the work session and it would get to the planning commission and go through them and then come to us in January.

Assuming yeah, assuming the planning commission forwards a recommendation, you would then consider it.

So it must be on their agenda right now.

No, no, it's it's not yet because it it really can't be a direct speech.

Okay, okay, got it.

I got it.

When y'all initiate a rezoning, it allows for a quicker time period.

Commissioner Lincoln then Thor.

Um, I I would ask that we consider the developers attorney's request to eliminate that A3 condition, the the all-related staff and mayor authorizations indefinitely until the satisfaction of the following conditions.

To me, that sounds like you know, to pass this CDO would prohibit this even moving on for rezoning consideration.

I mean I'm I'm unclear about the title specifics.

I don't know a whole lot about that, but that is such a broad statement that that seems to just freeze this right where it is.

Yeah, I think if I would uh could offer up one piece to that to kind of clarify because again, I want to make sure everybody kind of understands what's what the expectations of how we would interpret this piece.

I think under that section, since we're specifically referring to authorizations, those would be effectively legal actions.

So there's this would preclude understandably the mayor or staff actually doing any kind of final signatures, if you will, any kind of final legal approvals of documents until these steps have taken place.

There are many, many steps in between that that don't carry that same weight of authorization that we would be doing.

That's why I don't feel limited in what we can have staff reviewing in terms of the plan review, because there isn't any authorization attached to that prior to any any vote by the the commission stuff.

So I think to your point, yes, it is limiting, but I think what it is limiting is fairly narrow.

And so you know, manager Cowell, you know, it's something like the difference between saying, hey, here's your final stamped copy of where your inflow and outflow of stormwater management would be versus hey, we're gonna look at the plans to figure out just functionally what makes sense in terms of water flow.

Correct.

Now the the catch to that again could be this discussion of the the title issues because I don't know what you know what authorizations would be necessary for that, but um that's really tied to the development agreement anyway.

So anything further, Commissioner Link.

I just I I yeah, I was just kind of put aback by that broad statement and wondering if that could end up kind of being a poison pill.

Well, he that is what manager cowell said was is what was intended by that.

If you looked at the original agenda item, it it each one of the items, you know, like approve the development agreement says and allow the mayor, the staff, mayor and staff the authorization to take any other actions related there too.

And it talks about the IGA with the ADDA, it says the same thing.

So rather than repeat that long thing, I was trying to just encapsulate what the mayor just said by do making it applicable to all, you know.

And so the A B statement that refers to the conveyed property, um, you don't see that as upholding this moving through the rezoning process at all.

Well, AB is uh the theory.

The mayor commission approved rezoning.

I mean, we we look at that is speeding the process of uh that's no the A lowercase B to approve approve the rezoning of the conveyed property in the manner necessary to allow it.

That was put in there trying to let like I just said previously to allow it to kind of stay on the same track.

So even if the develop this C even if this CDO doesn't get approved and y'all approve the agenda item with the action items as they are, all the rezonings have to come back here.

If you don't approve those, the deals did anyway.

Right, yeah, I think that's a good observation that you know a final action is not until vote by the mayor and commission around a zoning question, but initiation, hearing, discussion, evaluation, review by staff, all of that is preliminary to that final item so um uh anything else, Commissioner Link for attorney to Commissioner Thornton.

Um no, not right now, Commissioner Thornton.

I just want to be um clear about Conda was whispering the mic to make sure I understood.

Um attorney Drake, so the suggestions that came before us some possibilities from the developers, this was probably the first time you heard some of this tonight.

It was the first time I heard I mean so we did share the CDO as soon as it went public yesterday afternoon.

I sent it to the attorney, Commissioner Ellison.

But I agree with the manager.

I'm not sure I don't I'm not sure it I agree with the necessity of the changes at all, you know.

But so without hearing more perception from him, I can't just sit here and try to figure out all the details of what they're trying to accomplish.

You know, that's why you anyway.

So I guess my next question is, and I think uh the mayor alluded, well, he didn't allude, he made a statement about when the um work session should be.

So it can't be no later, it cannot be in December and still meet these benchmarks.

Yeah, I think you have you currently have two work sessions.

We anticipate having next Wednesday is the soonest, and then December 9th, 9th, I think it's two.

Correct.

Now right now we anticipate just so you kind of know in terms of workload on for you all on those.

So at your work session next week, we anticipate two items.

Um, one of those being the presentation and discussion of the uh capital delivery system follow-up, and the other is the discussion relative to the collective bargaining agreement with fire and compensation.

So that's November right now.

December, we have only one item currently scheduled, and that's the uh the joint, hopefully what will be the joint meeting with Winterville and Bogart for the T S Floss 26 discussion.

Um so but both of those um are currently regularly scheduled work sessions before an item would come back to you all tied to the to the rezoning.

So again, if we meet next Wednesday Wednesday, Wednesday is Tuesday.

So yeah, so again, if we had that meeting in December, that is too late for what what we for trying to sub no either one of those would be available and still meet the timeline that we've talked about, meaning you would have the work session before you were asked to actually consider any items.

So either one of those dates would accomplish that in December.

December, December 9th or the November.

The December the 9th, okay.

I you know, I I think that next week, you know, it's just fast.

If we're going to have a work session, give us the time.

So if December the 9th would give offer us the same opportunity, uh especially with uh attorney Drake hearing some new information, I would I would support the work session for the December the 9th.

And I mean, I know that's but that's where I would stand.

Commissioner Johnson, were you prepared?

I do I support this CDO and I actually worked with Dexter on the language.

It was really important to me to draft this language because there is a process or a standard that we should expect.

I know that there are certain processes or or process orders that aren't required or our uh or our um say so, but at the same time, we also have the right to say we don't want we you know we don't want to review something that we receive so quickly, and I do appreciate the 12 13, 14 months of work you put into it and the conversations that you had with the commissioner, with one commissioner.

However, um Bob, I will disagree with you that this none of this makes us feel none of the communication that your office has provided, and I know you y'all were just trying your best, has made me feel more comfortable at all.

I it's made me actually read this document 550 pages three times.

That's why I just didn't know how to start because there's so much in my head.

I would like to know though, if the maybe I the mayor, can you answer this question?

When the applicant submitted the proposal the submission to the planning department, was there a subsequent meeting or follow-up meeting to talk about expanding the vision of what they originally submitted?

Did you not want to restate that question, Commissioner?

Yes.

When the core group originally submitted their plan agreement, was there a subsequent meeting with you and staff, or maybe you not you and or other staff members about expanding their project concept?

Was there a meeting about expanding their project concept?

Um, I'll say that uh as I noted in the prior meeting when we had agenda setting a couple of weeks ago.

Uh really this project is largely a buy right activity, and really this is just talking about swapping two triangles for a rectangle so that we can both produce a public parking deck that's been sought by the downtown development authority since 2019, uh, as well as have a better layout that does the things that are outlined in the agenda report, such as preserve the foundry building.

Um so it's it's really as simple as that.

Um how did the conversation come about to have to consider the swap if there wasn't a subsequent meeting after after the submission?

The that anticipation from the very outset of the downtown development authorities interaction with the Athens Clark County Commission in 2020 was that there would be public parking on both triangles, given that that proved fiscally infeasible, then we immediately went to the prospect of some property collaboration with the neighbor.

Uh the prior owner of the property wasn't able to collaborate given the ownership structure that they had.

They had this property package with a couple of dozen other properties, and they weren't able to peel it out of that ownership.

But when the property sold, immediately they approached the now development authority and said, hey, we understand that you've been seeking this public parking deck.

We would be happy to engage in in this property exchange.

So you're saying that core development group knew about this adjacent owner, and then on the record you're saying that they approached ADDA and said if they can't, we can.

Is that what you're saying?

Yes, uh, the those downtown development authority meetings were public, and uh we already had the development agreement with uh between the downtown development authority and the Athens Clark County Unified Government.

I want to share a conversation I had this morning with a developer who stated that he presented a he presented plans for a project.

They his group, and when they presented plans, they were invited into the office, into a clap an Athens Clark County office.

I want us to think about the overarching picture here.

There's nothing for free.

7.9 million million dollars is generous.

This development agreement, it benefits both sides, but at the end of the day, there's nothing for free.

Commissioner Fisher asked last week, is there any debt?

The response was no.

That is completely untrue.

The debt is up to 8.1 million.

If the partner decides not to continue, there's a lot of skepticism when it's when it's convenient.

Someone mentioned earlier about something negative and then the mall project, but the negativity came from the debt.

And someone said something about not incurring debt, but we didn't have a problem incurring debt with the Classic Center.

And there are still conversations about incurring debt about the Classic Center.

No this free money is not good money.

One the end of the conversation the gentleman group, the development group shared with me this morning is that when they submitted their document, they were invited in, and then they were courted or they are there was a conversation about enhancing the vision of their project that they submitted.

That was a year ago.

That slowed this that slowed it down.

That slows projects down, but no one should speak on their behalf.

They have a liaison.

One thing they also said was that their local, because they're from out of town, their local representative from the design firm that they hired, promised them a unanimous vote from the planning commission.

That is he promised.

He said it'll pass.

There is a reason why this is presented to us with four days notice and then 19 days review after it's been worked on.

After it's been worked on I started this with skepticism and I really tried not to do that but I don't see any benefit or reason why someone would be so philanthropic to just give the this additional money.

But last let me end with this we have people come through the podum every single Tuesday to speak.

And especially for the people who aren't talking or who never talked they are asking us to care about them.

We can we want them to care about us when we're running for an office but they are asking us to care about them and when it comes to housing affordable housing we don't have anything appreciable to show for it and she is right that one person that spoke about it we had 57 million 57.1 million dollars and COVID relief funding and we still have a housing problem affordable housing yes one gentleman talked about we still need 8,000 homes we we need affordable homes too.

Commissioner do you need additional time I I do thank you.

The Commissioner Johnson have additional time a few more seconds not only do we need houses we need affordable houses.

We do not have a plan you are right we don't have a plan we don't have a meeting we don't have a discussion we have a department but at the end of the day the priority is to do to produce single family homes for the low and moderate income individuals.

We don't have appreciable numbers to brag about we are the I have a I don't have a problem with a business person being a business owner.

I don't have a problem with the student housing but what I have a problem with is the county engaging with something to add to it to swap but not give us any time anyone that's asked for a meeting about affordable housing they push us down that kick that can that kick that can that tells me it's not a priority it's a priority to developers from out of town that the developers from out of town get treated from treated better than the developers in town I would like it to be stated very clearly be a just pay attention to the people who are not talking about poor who are not talking about affordable who are not talking about equity who don't engage in those conversations who don't ask questions and and keep helping me ask and and this the the woman that spoke about it she's been on Channel 2, 5 and 11 but can't get up here and get some change here in Athens Clark County so yes we need housing but there are poor people that live in Athens too thank you.

Thank you and I'm gonna I appreciate everybody being here but we need to proceed with the the business of the unified government before I turn to Commissioner Hamby to be recognized I do want to note for the record just that the number that would be contributed to the affordable housing fund isn't an ad hoc number or a matter of negotiation.

It's a number that's baked into an ordinance that this commission approved for inclusionary zoning in which for a density bonus dollars can be contributed to that affordable housing fund.

So it's it's it's formulaic and it's laid out in code so just want to make that clear for everybody.

Commissioner Hambey Mayor I'm gonna make a substitute motion that we approve uh the agenda item A B C D E F how many letters are in the alphabet I've got a substitute motion from Commissioner Hambee and a second from Commissioner Lincoln and two option two option two Commissioner Hambey remarks well my remarks are this y'all um I know this is a lot of angst and um and um I um I see this as a as a not only a housing project sorry sorry uh Alison I'm not speaking loud enough um I see this not only as a housing project but it's also an economic development project and mayor and and Commissioner Ryan I think y'all were both on board when uh Caterpillar came to town uh caterpillar came to town um and this government the state gave us uh gave a 45 million dollar incentive to caterpillar uh the local government gave um between us and Oconee County uh 30 million dollars we built a sidewalk for them we built a road for them we put sewer lines out there for them uh we did all sorts of things with this project the exact opposite is happening they're they're they're providing for our affordable housing fund they're providing for the next 15 years uh to the TAD for entry staff that's a joint uh roughly a million dollars uh each year and it will grow over those 15 years um because we know property taxes grow over year after year um so you know i I'm just trying to I'm just trying to understand there's been there's been um 13 meetings so far on this project uh we don't have that many meetings when we talk about our budget so there's been 13 meetings on this project uh there's gonna be there's gonna be four more opportunities to talk about two different zoning items uh as they come up so you know if

Because we know property taxes grow over year after year.

So you know, I I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to understand.

There's been there's been um 13 meetings so far on this project.

We don't have that many meetings when we talk about our budget.

So there's been 13 meetings on this project.

There's gonna be there's gonna be four more opportunities to talk about two different zoning items uh as they come up.

So you know, the information's there.

Uh I can I see the benefits.

I hope y'all do too.

And I hope you know if the motion to hold it um passes.

I hope, you know, at the end of the day, you know, you that you know you have an open mind about approving this, because I think it I think at the end of the day it is gonna be good for the community.

Uh and and so that's all I've got to say right now.

Um Commissioner Link is seconder and then Commissioners Taylor and Thorn.

Um, yeah, I mean, I'm I'm pretty appalled at the amount of misinformation and conspiracy theory and outright lies that are circulating out there in about this project.

I mean, they're they're not gonna the the agreement's been out there for a few months now.

Anyone can read it.

Anybody with a log degree can read it and come forward and tell us what in there is not legal or whatever Lay Park is not going anywhere.

Um this project brings eight million dollars towards our how affordable housing fund, which is the number one strategy of our affordable housing strategic plan, which we did have a work session update on in August.

So I mean, that wasn't all that long ago.

We did get a rundown of all the affordable housing projects that have hit the ground recently that we've contributed to that are in the works and and the strategy for implementing funds to invest in more.

Take a drive down Dublin Street, we'll see where some of our ARPA money went towards single family homes for families.

Um I was walking down the Firefly Trail last week, and vast acres of woodlands have been scraped for a large single family home development, Micah's Creek through the Habitat for Humanity, and we've contributed quite a bit to that as well.

And I'm hoping that these portions of these eight million dollars can contribute more.

Um we have hundreds of bedrooms right around the corner at NOTA that have been moved into just in the past few months, and there are hundreds of more that are waiting to break ground, and they can't break ground unless that sewer line is updated, and this project will get that sewer line updated so those homes can be built quicker.

Um I'm I'm all about getting all this information out there in public in a work session.

I in fact I had asked for one early on months ago.

Um, but the sooner this project gets off the ground, the sooner those public benefits can be paid out and reach the people that desperately need them.

Commissioner Taylor.

Um, yes, I first want to apologize.

I was stuck on 316.

It's a lot of traffic.

Yeah, so breathing.

Um, secondly, I support um Fisher CDO.

Um, because I was on the telephone um on my way down here.

I had hang up before I got on county lines to obey the law.

But a lot of things that have been said was that if we build this, students are gonna leave Inner East Athens or other residential neighborhoods, and they're gonna move and live in this.

Well, that's a lie.

That's a lie.

Those children are not gonna leave the privacy and the freedom of living in single family neighborhoods to come and live on top of somebody.

And I'm sure that that was the selling point for the MARC, for the ramble, for the whatever else, into whatever else, into whatever else.

Because every time a new developer from outside of Athens Clark County come in and and show us big pretty pictures, we fall on the sore for it.

We we make the phone calls, we get the votes, we have the private meetings, and we push it.

And at the end of the day, even if the money does go go into inclusionary um zoning, we are so overwhelmed with students living in our community that it ain't even gonna be anywhere for us to be affordable housing because private developers are buying up those parcels five at a time every day.

Investment companies coming in and buying it up.

So that money will be there.

It will be there.

And then you know what we'll do?

We'll find something else to do with the money because for the for in the beginning, it was for affordable housing, but now there isn't any room for affordable housing, and then we put people, our people who put us in these seats in apartments, and another thing.

Lay Park is gonna be overran with students, and there isn't gonna be any places for the children in Belms.

The the residents in Belder homes right now.

We have so many residents that's falling in between the cracks who have lived in squalor, who have lived with rats, who's lived in mole, who's lived, who's had to find alternate places to get downstairs because the stairs literally fell.

And people who lived upstairs had to get alternative, but we don't talk about it.

We don't talk about people having to step over somebody else's sewer when they walk out they don't in downtown.

But we can pat ourselves on the back for a development that does not have a playground for the children that don't have grass, and then to add insult to injury, the little um place where people are supposed to congregate.

It's locked.

So the residents, the black residents who lived over who live over there, who who've lived through the squalor, who's lived through the conditions, they don't get any of the things that we're patting our backs back, patting ourselves on the back to say, oh well, we did this for the poor blacks.

No, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves, honestly, because we let everybody else come in here and tell us what it's gonna be, and then can I have some more minutes?

Because I ain't been here.

Everybody okay with Commissioner Taylor submission.

So we let everybody come into Athens Clark County and tell us how to live, tell us what they're gonna do for us as a government.

It is our responsibility with the money taxpayers pay with the splash, the T splice, the East Flies, the W splots, whatever supplies, to upgrade the sewer and to finish NOTA because that was a a project between Athens Clark County and whoever else.

Columbia Residential.

I know what I'm talking about.

I'm just I'm tired, y'all.

But give me a minute.

So to say that students are gonna move out of East Athens to say that students are gonna move out of East Hancock to say that students are gonna move from 4th Street, 1st Street, 3rd Street to go and live on top of somebody else is a lie.

That is not going to happen.

What is going to happen is we're gonna have another big old building just like this building beside the multimobile that is only student inclusive with the nice big old rooftops, and and we can't even feed people.

We don't even have a plan for for um warming stations when it gets cold outside for the unhoused.

We are we are prog, we we are putting the cart before whatever.

We are not taking into account the people who live in Athens, Clark County.

I went to Kroger today.

Ground beef is $16.

By the grace of God, I was able to get that $16.

But I think about the the people that I represent, the people that Melissa Link represent, who um didn't put her in her team because they didn't vote for her, but who is she supposed to represent by saying this does not make it, this does not fit this area in my community.

Um our community deserves better, they dart they deserve better representation.

Um they deserve people who's gonna fight for them, whether it causes you to lose your seat or whatever, because that's why we was put here.

The core group does not belong in Athens Clark County, and nobody like it belongs in Clark County.

Um the University of Georgia alumni, they're gonna do what alumni's do.

They're gonna build, they're gonna come in, they're gonna live in it, they're gonna go off, and they're gonna rent it out.

That's what it is.

But we don't need big big people coming in like the core group making an economic donut, and what an economic donut is the the halves are in the inside and the have nots are on the outside.

And if we are if we are vigilant and if we are paying attention to what's going on in Athens Clark County today, the fact that we are building so much out on highway 29, guess who's gonna go out highway 29?

The blacks, the poor whites, huh?

The the senior citizens.

Yes, right.

Um, it won't be most of us, it'll probably be me because I'm still around them.

But most of us are not.

We'll still be in the center.

But we're allowing people to come in and push us out willingly because it does not affect us at our front door, and that's a shame.

I'm done.

Uh Commissioner Thornton and then uh recognize everybody appreciate you being here, but we just need to go ahead and continue with deliberation.

Got Commissioner Thornton and then Commissioner David Court.

The only thing I want to say, if if the C um if the CDO passes the table, I would like to add to Commissioner, well, our CDO that we have that work session December the 9th.

I think the mayor has a right to do that.

Well, I'm just requesting.

I'm requesting Commissioner David Corps.

Okay.

Um, I just got um general questions to Bob or to the mayor or um any staff.

So currently they can build by right.

What can we built there?

Um yeah, just start with that.

Yeah, on on the properties that they currently own, so independent of the butterfly lots, if you will, they are currently zoned CD, and they can um place nearly as many I'm gonna say nearly nearly as many rooms as what are being talked about.

I don't I think it falls slightly short of the number of rooms, um, but essentially that that number of rooms can be placed by right, um assuming you know it's constructable and all those kinds of things um associated with it.

So we'll lose the density bonus, correct?

No, in order for them to exercise that number, um, they would I think still be taking advantage of the inclusionary zoning component um associated with with it.

Um so um just come back to me, please.

All right, I've got uh Commissioner Wright and then uh Fisher.

Um yeah, this is a very passionate um topic, but the topics are also covering things that are outside of the bigger than the agenda item in particular that we're item 16.

Um I I feel bad that people feel like they're getting the information and different phases.

Um if we can nail down how this process can be improved, I think that will help us move on because as a member of the arena steering committee, and we're about to undertake a facility um facilitator for us to have these private public partnerships for a higher better use for the unit unified government's land.

Surface parking lots are not the best use of the land, and this allows us to get parking, which is uh a challenge, and it's gonna continue to be a challenge in the arena district area, and those parcels are gonna come before us in a very similar way for a public private partnership as well as with an authority.

So this is one of many things that are gonna be coming before us, and we need to work as a team, I think, to understand how the information and when the information comes forward um so that we're all absorbing it together and as well as uh the accurate information.

I it's very clear that people are um having different interpretations of the details.

Um I can't I'm gonna say it again.

Lake Park is not going anywhere, it's a gem of our community.

It's one of our properties that is uh like some of our other parks, love to death, and we're gonna protect that.

And this project, in my opinion, protects that uh the surface parking is another topic, but um I think that um we need to learn no matter which of these um moves forward, the process that we need to do to be partners and and embrace partnerships that we need in our community um authorities, private, public partnerships.

We need to make sure that everybody understands how how to move forward with those.

And I'll be I'll be um Mayor, if I may, I want to uh give some specificity to the question that Commissioner Davenport asked.

So Andrew just kind of pulled those numbers so by right 760, 760 rooms on the property they own, if they used the inclusionary zoning, that goes up to 950.

So those would be the by right numbers under the property currently owned privately zoned CD in comparison to what's proposed when you combine all the lots together.

Commissioner Fisher.

Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Wright for that.

And again, and that's my only point here, and I don't know why um people can attend because you want to sit down and have a work session, put all our cards on the table, and I know I I said this earlier.

While we're doing this, and what's the role and again I think the $64,000 question is what really is gonna be the impact on Tom Lay because I did some research in the state of Georgia.

There's not a parking deck nowhere that's this in front of the community center in the state of Georgia.

Nowhere.

So just think about that from our colleagues' perspective, just think about that.

Putting the parking deck there that serves for community.

And again, to the developers, it's good project.

I appreciate y'all want to build student housing and by right, you can do that.

But I for me though, what what really gonna be the impact?

Again, I said this now Jenna City.

Um years down the road, what is um that's gonna look like?

Um what's Tom Lake gonna look?

And we don't even need to talk about the Linden House.

I mean, uh how that's gonna be impact um by a parking and in the parking that Emlin in the study, the parking that's gonna be so big that you know sunshine is not even gonna shine in the Tom Lake Center.

So again, so from that perspective, I know my colleagues got a more show on the floor, Mike.

We wanna go ahead and put that out there.

That's fine.

I just I just want to make one more point.

Commissioner Fisher, you finish?

Yeah, I'm good.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Fisher.

I just want to make one more point.

I mean, you know, it just seems to me and you know, if we if you got us that are supporting it and those that are opposing it, if we already know how we're gonna vote, let's just go ahead and vote on it and move on.

Yeah.

I agree.

Oh good.

Yes or no, and no, don't waste our time, don't waste staff's time with a work session.

Commissioner Myers.

Well, I tend to agree with that as well.

Um, although I would like some work, there are more things that have come up the more we've dealt with this.

Um my uh concern with this development is not the student housing part, it's the use of public lands and the swap and the parking deck.

Um I perhaps I'm ignorant about how parking decks are used downtown, but I assume if I'm ignorant on how they're used downtown for student parking, then I assume much of our county is is ignorant on that in terms of us financing this parking deck for that.

I am also concerned about the impact on Lay Park.

It's not going away, but it'll affect the usage.

It definitely affects the usage.

I'm not gonna go and drop my kids off or go swimming or go camp and have to go up and down a swimming, you know, go at a parking deck.

Um there are there are other choices there, so it has that, and it has a budgetary effect on Lay Park, and it has the financing of the parking deck.

There are things I have to ask about.

And and I don't, you know, right now, actually, it is not core that owns this, but the Athens Hotel Partnership.

So I assume, like I I just don't even know what that role, their role has been, and how that they've you know, who's been working, who's been working on this development, and I do hope what with whatever's going on next with the arena that um those of us who aren't involved in that get an update on that sooner than later, just so that we can get with it and understand everything as that development goes through in the partner, private partner, uh public partnerships in there.

So I I do and in some ways I yeah, I do would like a workshop work session and more details on this, but I'm not sure how it will change anything.

Um my concerns are out there.

I've laid them out to my constituents as well as the benefits of the project.

I've probably heard from more people who are against the against it.

Um but uh it it's not I'm not being overwhelmed with emails on it, to be honest.

Um anyway, those are my points.

Let's go with the vote, my guy.

Okay, Commissioner Taylor is uh counseling a second opportunity.

Sorry, Commissioner Johnson and Davenport.

I'm sorry, and again, I'm not against the student housing either.

As long as it ain't in my district, I'm fine.

The student can come up here and be mayor and live.

My my concern is about Lay Park as well, because having this parking day in front of Lake Park and children, our children are at Lake Park, it is a it's a slap in the face.

It's a slap in the face to say to any parent who drops their child off because we have heard and Bob, me and you make um leisure services is gonna have to come up with a plan on student drop-off, right?

Tax play taxpayers are going to have to worry about how I'm gonna drop my child off because it is parking day, and what if we don't have money to be able to even park in the parking day to be able to go to Lay Park?

And then we talked about what people can park at at the Linden House, the Linden House will be available, but what is there if there is a um program going on at the Linden House?

Um I fail to believe that if this wasn't in a predominantly black marginalized community, that this parking lot wouldn't even be a uh uh concern.

It's sad that we are collateral damage when it comes to what outsiders want to have in Athens County, opposed to the people who live on College Avenue and the residents in Bethel Holmes because that is their only leisure.

We talk about gang violence.

This body or the previous body put nine million dollars into a pot for youth violence and development.

Well, whose child is gonna go to Lay Park when it's crawling with students and students don't feel comfortable with the little black boys and girls who have dreadlocks and ski masks on because that's the style.

Then what is this body gonna do?

Are we gonna talk to leisure services about making a plan to have the children kind of wear uniforms into Lay Park?

Because every every finish has a beginning.

This is the beginning of gentrification in this area.

Um with NOTA coming up and people being pushed out of NOTA, which we whether we want to say it or not.

Um, and I know we say, well, that has nothing to do with this project.

Well, the core group can build outright, they don't have to have lay parts parking.

Um but we're gonna give them that because we need them to do something for us.

We should think about our residents, and no, they probably don't show up to these meetings, but this is why they put us in these seats.

Um in 10 years, College Avenue is going to be predominantly white students.

Black people are not gonna be over there, and then another body, maybe not this body, is gonna say, well, look at what what good came out of it, but the collateral damage will be in 3015 commissioner Johnson, Commissioner David Ford.

For the core group, I just want to say that this isn't different from at any other voting meeting.

This is you know, the comments are not directed at your group personally.

There is there is um some disenchantment amongst some members of the of the commission because there are issues that are permeating in our community.

It's not it's not your problem, it's not is it's it's not your issue.

But we're fighting so hard, and it seems like you know, one some someone said going off topic, stay on topic, or rather stay on topic, and why can we just vote?

It's really important to talk to keep reminding people that you're not doing what you said you were going to do.

So no one, I don't think behind the rail means anything personally about the project, and we support the project, but we want the people that like the mayor, we want people that are in other in the manager's office to actually come up with the plan for the housing, the affordable, the children.

We don't have plans, y'all have a plan, and that's great, and we and we all seem to approve it.

I guess we all of this motion is circling the drain of frustration of in adequate, just you know, we just don't have a plan, and that's an embarrassment.

I've been in office eight months, and we took 12, 11 months, and we still don't have a plan to address those issues.

We give money to nonprofits, and we have some nonprofits that that fail us, and that's the reality.

Most do not, but I wanted to speak to a couple of comments.

You know, I heard someone say misinformation conspiracy theorists.

Um I would ask there's a couple of people saying nothing's going to happen to Lay Park.

Okay, that's great to say tonight.

I would ask, I believe there was a commissioner years ago that fought so hard about a church and wanting to create a historic designation.

I would ask that commissioner if they nothing is going to happen to Lay Park, put us at ease, create a historic designation, work on that, start that process.

Would you be willing to do that?

To say that we have projects going all over the place.

HCD is doing a great job.

The thing is, it takes forever to build single family homes for the low and the moderate income, not the middle class, above middle class.

That's I'm gonna pause for a second, that's it.

NOTA Hundreds of bedrooms.

That is not correct.

Hundreds of bedrooms are not available for Athenians.

I have seen letters.

I we we are not talking about, I am not talking about misinformation, conspiracy or a theory.

You know, the 1400 beds, nobody has talked about traffic.

The arena steering committee right now is talking about Commissioner David Poor.

I got I got 20 seconds.

The arena steering and I promise I hear you up.

The arena steering committee right now is talking about um possibly another another bond.

It's just discussion.

But I just want you to hear that out loud and while we're talking about this.

And I why we can't just go ahead and vote right now, you know you want to vote.

The thing is some of us have experienced being thrown away by our government, and we hope that you hear it, and you understand the emotion that is real, it's not emotion anymore.

We've lived that life, we hope that you hear it, and you hope that we hope that you have compassion to just make a decision to just hold for a second.

Thank you.

Commissioner Davenport and then Thornton, and then I'll say a few words move up.

Okay.

So my concern, well, just want to let everybody know just by right bill.

So I just want to make sure, Bob, can you repeat those numbers on those two lots that in the CD is 750 and 950?

760 and 950.

950.

So they can I would just hope that we will just tone it down just a little bit.

So because like these developers can pull out now, and we're gonna lose the Hoyt House, gonna lose a hotel, and that's you know, that could be perfectly fine.

I'm gonna lose a parking deck, um, gonna lose um we're gonna um lose the foundry, we're gonna lose um the sewer, and and I get that we do um that people in the public want to you know to have some time to absorb it, but just some of the comments that have been made, you know.

I just want to make sure that you know we we just stay professional and stay on topic.

Um but just uh and this will be a Kelly question or handby right link because I think y'all was on commission at the time.

Um years ago downtown, um there was going to be a Walmart and uh um Walmart with retail.

Yeah, a lot of people pushed back on that.

And that was um they pulled out, and what we got was what we are arguing with about now.

We also had an um we got this big blocky thing that's that's there, but we also had um an agreement or thought we had made it be had agreement, this is what I need correction on with the classic center with a corporate office in a swap of land, and that was denied, and now we have a uh a parking debt that's not there, and we have these 50 million, 70 million dollar, well, 100 million dollar boondoggle that doesn't have appropriate funding because we denied that.

My fear is that they're gonna build by right, these student housing.

And um I I would just like for us as a community to come together and say, how can we work together?

And instead of denying these public-private partnerships that literally have get benefits, and that hopefully the future bodies will be able to follow through with some of the concerns that people have in our community about Lake Park and about gentrification and some of that, because I'm not gonna be here for 10 years.

God bless it, I'm not.

Um, but um just want to just put the put that out there about buy right and what we have done in the past and deny some of these projects and what went into those places when we deny them.

Got uh Commissioner Thornton and then we'll wrap.

The only thing I was gonna say, um, yeah, if I voted tonight, it would definitely be a no, um, no doubt.

Um, because I got too many questions, and if they can't get answered tonight, it would be a no.

Um I do think that um a work session would be in order next week is too too soon.

I just think it should be December the 6th, just because one of the things that I would, you know, we do all of these studies, but we don't implement them.

Um I would have liked to see how the recommendations of the disparity study could have fit into this.

You know, we're talking about um economic development, but why we we do a study and we don't even connect it to opportunities.

So that would be one of my things uh I would like to talk to about at a work session.

Um guess what people haven't even thought about the disparity study, no, but is there and we did it and we paid for it.

My next thing, Commissioner Johnson kind of alluded to, and I was going to wait to the end of our meeting to ask the mayor if he would put on the agenda to look in into plans to make Thomas Lay historic, a historic site.

I've already talked to Tommy Valentine.

Once that becomes a historic site, all this misinformation could subside.

And none of us are going to be here forever.

But if it's a historic site, even those townhomes, if we could make it a historic district, I think we protect people because five years ago, someone from this government connected those residents that own those town homes, and they wanted to buy that property, and they brought up eminent domain.

But guess what?

Once you start doing that, we already see what eminent domain can do.

I can see them coming back and taking that whole college avenue.

So we got to protect.

Yeah, just quickly, I just want to um urge everyone to go back and revisit our affordable housing investment strategy and look at it in the context of this project.

You know, I mean, you can just flash quickly to pages 17 and 14, which identifies local funding sources.

Um, and and asks us to invest five million dollars a year towards our our local housing fund.

Um that money's got to come from somewhere, it's not gonna be coming from the federal government anymore.

Um, and it specifically calls out inclusionary zoning.

We've passed an inclusionary zoning ordinance.

We have folks who are willing to take advantage of it to have that local housing fund.

Um those monies can go towards down payment assistance for people to own their own homes.

Um they can go towards owner-occupied repair for people to stay in their homes.

Um, they can go towards building more single family infill, like we've seen on Dublin Street, and they can go towards building LITEC projects.

Um, you know, we've got to get that money from somewhere.

We have an ordinance on the books that bakes a funding source in.

Um we haven't had that in the past.

And we we have a lot of leverage in this project in in that there is a land swap deal on that can be leveraged to get more public benefits.

So that's that's where I'm going with that.

Thanks everybody for your input and fervor.

I appreciate that a lot.

Uh I understand that sometimes when you've got a project uh that that seemingly has a sort of simple path, it raises lots of questions about adjacent issues, uh, kind of whether directly pertinent or not.

As has been stated, Lay Park is a gem.

I can't count the hundreds of times I visited Lay Park over the last 15 years as a trash picker and uh reader to elementary students, uh, and most of all as a parent, um, what where I drop my son off on almost a weekly basis for um free basketball play.

Um I'll note that just from a social perspective, kind of one of the most beautiful scenes that I get to see on the outdoor courts is when you really have a multi-generational, multi-racial pick-up basketball game uh that includes uh black and right and brown young people and some college kids who show up and hang out.

And so I I I love that experience, and uh I'm uh intent on continuing to have that experience.

If that means that Lay Park becomes designated uh an historic monument uh ever the better.

Uh we've of course through this body contributed many hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lay Park uh over the last few years in Wi-Fi upgrades in the context of COVID, uh new computer lab for teens uh and a new floor for the gymnasium and uh as well as uh a new exterior shell.

And so we want to make sure that those investments are protected absolutely.

Um do you want to thank the core group uh in almost 20 years of work as a policymaker in this room?

I can't tell you the many uh investment interests that I've engaged with.

Um, but but they've been easy to engage with uh and have recognized that they can bring some benefits to the community that also benefits their mission space of uh producing student housing, which we know is gonna be a continued need uh given the material that everybody's had access to.

Thank you to the clerk for um passing along UGA's enrollment plan to everybody, just say that they've got that in front of them at their fingertips.

Um and I'll say should the substitute motion fail, and we move to a work session.

Glad to engage in a work session.

I think Commissioner Wright often makes the point that people have different learning styles, and while we've had a written document in front of you, uh an oral description from the manager, uh a pictorial set of displays last week.

Um if we want to do a uh a stage play uh Hoyt Street parking deck, the musical.

I'm happy to do that as well.

Um so uh looking forward to our continued conversation and and ultimately the success of this project.

So I'm gonna move to uh round table.

Uh they said the the live fee had I'm getting the text method that the fee has gone that they can't the public can't see our so I'll just I'll just ask the technology crew in the in the shop to make sure they check on that.

Thank you.

Okay, um, so we'll move to uh substitute motion, uh round table uh round robin vote beginning with Commissioner Hambi.

Handy Yes to approve.

Davenport no link, yes.

Taylor, no right, yes, Fisher?

No Johnson, no Paul Pepper?

Yes.

Myers, no, no.

Four yes, six, no.

All right, uh, we'll return to the original motion beginning with Commissioner Fisher.

Yes.

Johnson, yes.

Paul Pepper?

Yes.

Myers, yes, Thornton, yes.

No.

Davenport?

Yes.

Link, yes, Taylor, yes.

Right.

No.

A yes to uh thank you, madam clerk.

I appreciate it.

All right, we will be seeing this down the line.

All right, we're gonna move to item 17, which is the T S PLOS 2023, uh Project 26, the rest broad and Hancock Neighborhood Pedestrian Improvements.

I know Commissioner Link, you'd worked on that, so I'd ask you to place a motion on the floor.

Yeah, um, I'd like to move to approve.

Second.

All right.

Uh any further remarks, Commissioner.

Yeah, I want to thank staff and thank all the folks in the neighborhood who came out to our meeting.

And I want to thank the um the T SPLOSS project user group um who identified projects, and then we were able to um kind of hone in on them and prioritize them and and come up with a couple more um areas that need some attention.

And um I look forward to this stuff getting on the ground, ASAP.

Anything further, Commissioner Wright?

Uh no, ready to vote.

Any further input?

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed?

Hearing none, motion carries.

All right.

Uh item 18 is the Hawthorne Avenue Noglethorpe Avenue intersection improvement right-of-way acquisition.

Is there a motion anyone could place on the floor?

So uh motion to approve.

Motion to approve from Commissioner Fisher.

Is there a second?

All right, I've got a second from Commissioner Link.

Commissioner Fisher, anything else on this?

Yeah, um, as you all know, I was I was somewhat reluctant, but I know hadn't got a chance um get in touch with the owner based on everything.

So but I think we need to go ahead and that's from a safety perspective that um how we me that particular session need to really be approved from a safety standpoint.

So approved.

Commissioner Link.

Yeah, I mean it this intersection is long overdue for improvements.

It's really really scary, and um I I cross it on foot from time to time, and it's it's pretty terrifying.

So I I hope we can really improve it and make it safer considering how many pedestrians we are losing in our crosswalks these days.

Anything else from a body?

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Hearing none, motion carries.

All right, uh, item 19 is the GOC report regarding our board's authorities and uh commissions.

I know there's a request to hold to December 2nd.

Commissioner Davenport, would you like to place that motion on the floor?

Motion to hold to December second meeting.

Second.

All right, got a motion from Commissioner Davenport to hold.

Second from Commissioner Taylor.

All right, any remarks from anybody?

Just real quick.

Um, we've got a new commission saw on Thursday and she would like to review it.

And we have a meeting in two weeks for GLC.

If she has any of the new clerk commission has any suggestions, we'll address it then and then bring it up for a final vote in December.

Also, um at the bottom of the agenda packet, you have two options.

One option is to find um well, everyone all BACs will um BAC participants will get paid.

Um one of the options unfolds um combined all tabs for 46,000, and the other option is option two, which keep the tabs individual for 66,000.

Oh, 25 dollars per person per meeting.

So just keep that in mind.

All right, some more food for thought for next month.

Uh anything further?

All right, uh motion is to hold all in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any post?

All right, hearing none.

Motion carries.

All right.

Uh, we're gonna move on.

We've got one item of new business.

Could I get a motion for suspension of rules since this is its first hearing?

So move, Mayor.

Second.

All right, I've got a motion from Commissioner Fisher, second from Commissioner Taylor.

All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any post?

All right.

Uh, this is a motion for supplemental funding in the uh amount of 150,000 dollars for the food bank of Northeast Georgia.

Uh is there a uh ordinance associated with this as a budget matter?

Yes, Mayor.

Ordinance to amend the FY 2026 operating capital budget for Athens Clark County, Georgia, so it's to provide funding for the for financial support of the food bank of Northeast Georgia and for other purposes.

Thank you, Attorney Drake.

Somebody place a motion on the floor, please.

Move to approve.

Second got a motion from Commissioner Link.

I think uh second was they were quick.

Second was Commissioner Taylor, quick on the draw.

All right, uh Commissioner Link, any remarks?

Yeah, thank you, Mayor, for getting this on the agenda.

Thanks, staff for um, you know, finding these funds.

Um this year for the first time that I can remember, we um we gave some of our regular budget money to the food bank, and it's dire that they get even more.

Um I want to urge everyone out there to please reach out to our Congressman Mike Collins and urge him to do his job and get back to DC and um open the government and get people fed and also make sure people maintain their health care.

Um I want to urge everyone to reach out to your state reps and to the governor's office and urge them to use some of I believe the 14 billion dollars and surplus funds that the state of Georgia has to fill in the gaps where the federal government is failing the citizens of this nation.

Um and I I hope we can bring more money to our our local folks who are going hungry in these really ridiculous times.

Commissioner Taylor, any any further data bed of myself.

Anything else from the body?

All right, uh appreciate everybody being willing to consider this on such short notice.

Uh of course we live in some uncertain times.

Um sadly, uh I'm not certain this will be the last time we've got a similar discussion.

Um, we could have chosen obviously any number of amounts, and and and I'll just be transparent and say we don't know what next month holds or the following month or the one after that.

Um and so we wanted to retain some opportunity for the future.

Uh thus the specific 150,000 dollar amount that that I've placed on the agenda tonight.

Um do uh do want to keep in our hearts every family who is out there struggling, uh of which there are very many.

Uh mission of my life has been to support kids and their families, and um, we know it's a hard time in which to make that true.

So I appreciate you taking a little step toward making that just a little bit easier.

Um so if a motion and a second on the floor, all in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed.

All right, here and none motion carries.

All right.

Uh now is that time.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Now is that time uh when we get public input on any item that was not on tonight's agenda.

So this open mic night.

Uh there are any member of the public who would like to speak to any item not on tonight's agenda.

You have that same three-minute opportunity as I described at the beginning of the meeting.

Hello.

How are you doing?

Good evening.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Okay.

Um, I'm whether on the agenda or not, I just ask that you you know move with an open mind, an open heart on any decisions that you uh are making.

I'm a new resident here, and uh coming from the north.

I'm I'm I'm a little kind of sasswiping disappointed in some of the decisions that are being made.

Um, as it relates to you know, public housing or whatever it is, just consider the families in the districts that you guys represent, because that's more over important than anything.

So whether it's an agenda item that's mentioned or not, all of it is important.

You guys are a lifeline.

We voted you in those seats.

So with that being said, you know, I'm I I look forward to speaking with you on the sidelines and um, you know, get every family fed and get everybody housed because you know it's getting ready to get cold.

Uh I'd love to volunteer and see what the warming stations look like because I can't hold anybody in capacity in my apartment.

It just won't happen.

But uh if we all get together, and people over power is important to me.

People over power.

Because again, you would not sit where you sit if it wasn't for me.

Ma'am, can I just get your name for the record?

Oh, I'm so sorry.

My name is Jacqueline Austin.

I'm with uh Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement.

And I just like to say I'd like to see us move forward in some um things you guys are working on.

Thank you, Miss Austin.

If it affects you, it affects me as well.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else who'd like to speak to any item that was not on the agenda tonight?

Uh Alan Jones, I think this is my my first time double dipping, so uh I celebrate that.

But uh I uh I live in John Culpepper's district and want to speak uh about that district, which is Timothy Road and the Timothy Road shared use path that was on the T Sploss agenda and uh did not get um funding at least recommended by the the board.

Uh I do want to I did speak on this last time.

I did want to clarify.

I started at the beginning, mentioned that you guys had spent two million dollars to um plan this path, and then toward the end my mouth got excited and I said 200 million.

So um just gonna take that one back.

But two million dollars that you have spent, not just allocated, but spent to design to get architects or whomever this is to in to spend lots of time and citizen time to plan this from the end of Timothy all the way to the end of Mitchell Bridge, seven miles.

Um we have funded one mile of that currently, and uh I know Mike had to step out, but he was a big part of that, and I appreciate that.

But we have the uh Berkeley Hills to Skyline section that should be going in next year.

That's gonna be great, but that does not get the people from Berkeley Hills to anything that they could use by bike, because it's a little bit far to walk from Berkeley Hills to get to other things.

So what we put the multi-use path in, that was the plan.

Um connect it to Eppsbridge, connect it so they can get to the groceries there, that they can get to Walmart, that they take it a little bit further next time, maybe, so that Timothy Elementary is included.

We submitted five projects for the the Timothy Shared Path.

None of them got any love from the uh commission uh choices for the the T SPOS selections.

So whether it's uh reallocating some of the money or allocating some money from the money that you pre-designated, please consider that.

This is for the West Side.

The West Side didn't get anything.

Uh the West Side does not have City Sewer, the West Side does not have city trash.

All the West Side really gets is city homeless.

Um please do something, stand for something, champion something, do your job, represent your district.

You have really done nothing.

Today you spoke for 37 seconds, which might be close to a record.

Um please use your words.

And for the rest of you, geographic equity with these T Sploss is important.

Everybody contributes, everybody should get something from them.

It shouldn't just be the commissioners that speak the loudest.

There are already enough people running for mayor.

I don't think you need another one.

Thank you, Mr.

Jones.

Is there anyone else here to speak to any item not on tonight's agenda?

All right.

Uh we'll go ahead and move uh behind the rail.

Uh I've got a couple items of input.

We'll hear from the manager, the auditor, the attorney, and then the commission.

Um, three quick items tonight.

Um, do you want to thank uh Commissioners Thornton and Fisher who came out to the ribbon cutting at the 1900 unit affordable housing complex uh immediately adjacent to uh what we colloquially know as the space kroger on highway 72.

Um they are completely leased.

Uh there's uh 60 percent AMI LITEC project, uh three-bedroom unit is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars a month, uh significantly less than you're gonna pay at a market rate uh development.

Um very attractive uh units.

I wish I had that swimming pool myself.

Uh and it's to the credit of uh the private development partner, certainly this body who's approved the payment in lieu of tax structure as well as the affordable water and sewer connections and our partners at the Athens Housing Authority.

Um we have two more of those comparable projects in the pipeline, and I'm looking forward to actually getting some more uh kind of on deck in the months ahead.

I believe we can do that uh given the resources that we have.

Secondly, um I'm gonna be naming uh very um uh short-term ad hoc committee tonight that I will chair uh and that I'll uh serve on with uh Commissioners Meyer Thornton and former Commissioner Edwards, all of whom served as mayor's pro tem um prior to kind of the current year, uh, and what I'm gonna ask them to do is examine and make a recommendation to the full body for the compensation and time expectations embedded in the charter for both the mayor and the mayor pro tem uh examining both the unified governments in the state and those counties who have a chair uh who are of over 100,000 in population.

Uh it has long been the case that I believe that we've not sort of evolved those definitions sufficient to both the scale and complexity of this government, uh have a great benefit in this job of interacting with peers across the state and across the country.

Uh and for the good of all future mayors and mayors pro tem.

I just want us to modernize our expectations.

Um third thing, uh I want to apologize to the Neely family.

I do know that very recently um they attempted to get into their uh private cemetery uh that you have to access through Athens Clara County property and had challenge in doing so.

I'm sorry that that was the case.

And I do appreciate uh management leisure services staff working so quickly with them uh to ensure a uh permanent situation in which they won't face the same challenge.

Thanks uh everybody for sitting down with the Neeleys.

Uh I'm gonna go ahead and begin with Commissioner.

Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and turn first to the manager.

Uh anything tonight, Mr.

Manny?

Uh the only thing I want to acknowledge was obviously as you all know we had a missing person um case uh a week or so ago, and sadly that didn't end the way any of us had hoped that it would, but certainly want to acknowledge the work that was done by the folks involved, and that was the police department and the sheriff's um office, as well as the fire department and a number of volunteers.

Um they mobilized very quickly.

And if you remember how miserable the weather was over those couple of days, um they were out doing all that they could um with it, and so again, even though it didn't end the way any of us would have hoped.

I certainly want to acknowledge their um their efforts in in trying to um bring that to a successful conclusion.

So thank you.

Thank you for the efforts of everybody on staff, and I know folks were working over time to uh try and resolve that challenge.

Uh Mr.

Nothing from the attorney, no anything from the auditor's office.

No report.

All right.

Begin with uh Commissioner Thornton, and then I'll have us close with Commissioner Davenport who will adjourn us.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I did I was gonna talk about the ribbon cutting, so I scratched that since you got it covered.

Um I will say what was significant that it's a hundred percent occupied in 120 days, and there's a 700 um application list.

102.

So that speaks to how badly we need affordable housing, and they're beautiful, they're beautiful.

I I wasn't at the last meeting, and I I but I did hear about people concerned about Pinewood and the dirty water.

Uh, and it it bothered me a little, it bothered me a lot because I have been working and talking and with one of the owners for over a year.

I didn't even know what maybe two years ago, two and when uh I think Commissioner Thornton, uh Commissioner Thornton, Commissioner Taylor and uh Commissioner Fisher told me about it.

So that's been almost two years now.

So it really kind of bothered me that this came up because I thought things were working out, but I did ask the owner to send a detail, and he has been working.

Let me be clear, he has been working.

Um, but I asked him to send a detailed list of everything that they've tried to do to our manager and county manager, assistant manager, and I am so pleased that you know you guys have taken it up and are looking into what we can do to help fix this.

It's it definitely is going to need our help, but it's going to be difficult, but they are working very diligent, they've been working very diligently.

I don't think that came out with some of the uh folk that spoke.

One of the big biggies was is fire hydrants.

That area does not have fire hydrants.

So they've been working through that.

Now I don't know, but I just want people to know we're on it.

Everybody that spoke, I appreciate it, bring it back, you know, to the community.

I think that is awesome.

My other thing I want to holler out to the police department and the sheriff's department for their awesome job they did with the Halloween events.

I think Commissioner Fisher went to that when I went to the sheriff event.

And I I think seeing our police, our public safety um staff and these community events help promote morale.

Bless you, bless you, bless you.

Um promotes morale.

So I wanted to make because that's something they don't have to do, but I do think it's it's good for community and community morale.

And the last thing I've already briefly said it, but I'll say it again.

Is uh Mayor, I would like to see what it would take to um get Thomas Lay designated as a historical designation.

Um I I'll leave that to you, and or we'll all work together on it.

But I think if it's not core, it's going to be something else.

So let's go ahead and solidify and make sure those institutions, those buildings that are historic in the um black community remain.

I I hate it when I stopped going on those tours when Rosa Thurman was doing them, and she would say, Well, this was where the black barbershop was at, and this was where the black grocery store was at.

Everything was, was, was so I do think that this would be a good step to um start with Thomas Lay.

Um, and and we don't want to lose it no matter who the new neighbors are around that area.

Thank you.

Yeah, um, I just have one thing, and that is that uh district eight, we're gonna have a town hall uh next Monday, November 10th from 5:30 to 7 over at the Firehouse 7 on Barnett Schultz by the vet school and uh by east side residents.

I don't know if it'll solve anything, but we have someone from Georgia Power coming to talk about the outages that happen all the time.

Um, our new county manager will be coming and then as well to introduce themselves and um have a little update on the future land use map and east side development and our upcoming T S Plus 2026 projects.

Um yeah, is there a way and there was a lot of conversation about affordable housing?

Can we get a report on the number of affordable housing units that we have brought online in the past 12 months and then what's approved already?

Um because you know, y'all talked about the development, the ribbon cutting that you had last week was affordable housing.

Um, and I don't know if everybody was aware of it.

It'd be nice to see the amount of number of units that we've got that have come online and that we've got approved.

And you know, with that, we've got money that we put aside for affordable housing, but we're having trouble with the avenues of how to spend that money, and I think we need to come up with, you know, we can't just tell developers to build affordable housing when the numbers don't work for them.

So we've got to come up with creative ways for developers to use that and be able to use that money to create more affordable housing.

This project that we're talking about today, core project is going to um create money that's going into that uh affordable housing fund, and I we need to create, we need to make sure we have ways to build those units.

Um I think the core development project is gonna be a positive thing for this community.

It is gonna give some money for that affordable housing fund, but it also gives some give us the sewer capacity we need for other things downtown, and I hope that um we can get all the questions answered and we can meet the timeline that they have proposed um with the zoning, the rezones and all that to uh move forward.

But I want to make sure we get the questions answered for the community and the commissioners that are on um that are here that have some questions about it.

We'll update what was I think uh August was the reference with it.

So and that was tied back to the um housing affordability implementation strategy.

So yes, we'll update those numbers.

Thank you.

And and in our gig meeting that's coming up November the 10th.

Yeah, um, there's gonna be some recommendations and um numbers presented at and it's oh all of our meetings are open, all of them are open.

Yeah besides the 10th.

Yes, sir, the 10th Monday.

Uh Athens Housing Authority, 10 o'clock.

Thank you.

I want to apologize to those watching and those that attended tonight and the people behind the rail about my professional talking and voice character.

Okay, talking and character voice.

I'm not proud of that, and I'm surprised I did that.

I that's totally atypical to my behavior, but I it did happen, and I want to I want to for the record apologize to everyone.

It was not professional.

I want to share with you what I'm dealing with.

I'm frustrated.

I am very frustrated.

I know that I can only control my you know my own my own district and my own actions.

You know, there are things that happen behind someone alluded to things happening behind the scenes.

This is this is not you know a conspiracy a theory or a lie, but some of my colleagues get phone calls from the mayor about certain items.

I I've not ever yet received a phone call from the mayor to make a decision about an agenda item.

So when I so when I know that, and some of you have admitted it to me, it is hard to come into a meeting and fight for something that we want that we see as equitable after you've already made your mind up because you you've agreed to the ask.

That is frustrating because I I try to read, I try to engage, I try to talk, I try to answer the phone, I try to take down notes and and bring questions with me.

And when the opposite happens because you've already agreed to the ask, that is frustrating, and that's what I experienced tonight.

This is not the first time, but I want to apologize.

And additional information will be provided on my social media pages later this week.

Uh really quickly, um, someone made a comment, uh, didn't think it was a joke about why I'm late to meetings.

I just wanted to just share because it is obvious.

I I come in about two or three minutes after.

I am actually coming from class, and most of the time I'm changing in the truck.

So forgive me.

I I try my best to get here as quickly as I can.

Um so for those that are affected by the government closing in the reduction of benefits.

I want you to know that I I'm empathetic.

I hear you, I see you.

I reached out to people who've made comments that are not in my district, but just made heartfelt comments on Facebook to coordinate or match them with some of the services that they that they may not know about.

And I will continue to do that if I receive a message.

I I just don't want you to think that those out there that they don't have an have any options if your needs are beyond food.

Um I also want to brag about how well our Athens Clark County departments in partnership with the mall hosted a tremendous trunk retreat.

I think I I counted four or five hundred people on Thursday night, and it was a very cold night, but it was well attended.

All of the ACC departments should be proud.

They hosted a great event.

The cooper the next one is the cooperative extension.

I sent an email today, but I wanted to uh separate from the email but tangentially related.

I was watching the DeCap County and South Fulton Council meetings over the weekend, and I heard a request from a commissioner in both meetings about a landscaping schedule.

So I wanted to inquire to see if it's possible to get a landscaping schedule for a couple of reasons.

One for predictability, but the second one is because I had a conversation with someone that thought a certain area was the Athens Clark County's responsibility.

And I wasn't sure, and so I couldn't have an intelligent conversation, but just to have just to know what the standards are, if it's for is it if it's three feet or two and a half feet away from the the road, whatever that criteria is, if that could be provided to me, I would um certainly appreciate it, and that's all I have.

And that's all I have.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

And uh I do want to thank um first of all, thank our staff, Bob, Andrew, um, Judd, for um putting the CDO together.

And again, um just want to bring the community together, want to bring us together, get whatever questions we need to get um answered and um mayor um again, because I did ask about the schedule too, and I respectfully ask if you consider um the December um worksess, but again, I respectfully ask you that.

Um Veterans Day is next Tuesday.

I want to thank the men and women who have served this country and and really um give us the freedoms um that we have and for us to get up here and say what we want to say and and debate among each other and stuff, and uh I don't ever take that for granted.

Um had a brother who served and uncles and certainly um in the military.

Um it makes me proud that those men and women who um helped protect this um country, and so I just want to know Veterans Day is next Tuesday, so I want to give a shout out to all the veterans um athletes Clark County, um both men and women on the Ever Served.

Um with the food bank, um my wife and I have always been a supporter of the food bank, and I'm appreciate um CEO Aaron Barter.

There was a list of mobile pantries.

Um, and I won't I won't name them mayor, but there's a list of mobile pantries for the month of November that's gonna be going on around pretty much all around um Athens and stuff.

So hopefully people would take advantage.

And this is when, you know, I uh this is when a community comes together um to um to take care of the ones that are um less fortunate than we are, and for people to chip in, and that's what partnership looks like.

That's what we should be doing as a community, you know, and and I get it with the federal government and on the state level, but it it it it is um we should take it upon ourselves though to take care of people in our community.

So um, whatever anybody can give, especially the food maker, all their dollars, like I can say that all these dollars go towards providing food in in a 19 county area, um, not only Clark County, but 19 county areas.

So anybody that's listening um want to donate or even take food.

I know many churches um got food pantries and things, so I I I'm just proud that I live in this community and then people in this community always kick in with uh when things are going bad and help our fellow men and women.

So just want to say that mayor again thanks staff so much for what you all do.

And you know, I know at times we put a lot of pressure on you guys, but thank you um for coming through and answering the call whenever we asked you all to um to give us some information, but thank you all again.

I appreciate it.

All right.

Um I missed your committee, Kelly.

Did you say it was you, Myers and Edwards?

Uh and Thornton for it.

Thank you.

Yeah.

The three uh mayors pretend prior to the yeah, no, I get it, I get it.

I forgot about it.

I'm glad Abini didn't notice it.

I missed her.

No one noticed it.

I was just paying attention to my name.

There you go.

Thank you.

Well, thanks for not throwing something at me for getting your name on there.

Anyway, I'm I'm glad that you're um having that looked into uh with such a committee.

And then if we if there's any updates on your other ad hoc committee and the November, if there was a November potential that we might see something, is that gonna be agenda?

It certainly won't be uh obviously we're we're in the November uh voting meeting, but but I think the uh anticipation was that they'd finish uh at least a first recommendation in November.

Is that uh is that what we anticipate?

And so it might be on the December or January, yes.

Yeah, no, well that's that's first site for those of us who are gonna make sure it gets in the public realm so that we can all study it and understand uh what's underway and also to anticipate making sure those that have been um emailing us and contacting us about those issues will know uh it's estimated time coming forward.

All right, that's all I have.

Thanks.

Um first off, I'd like to thank staff for all of the hard work that you guys do.

Um also I would like to also shout out um Sheriff Williams for the trunk or treat fall festival that they had.

It was so awesome, and the commissioners had like special parking.

So we didn't have to.

I didn't get special parking.

I saw you walking.

I started to blow my heart, man.

Um we had so much fun and it got cold, but it was awesome.

So awesome.

Um, I would like to shout out the um people in belonging.

They have 400 cupcakes at a cake walk.

And the children, they were so excited about the music that you know, they just gave them cupcakes.

So shout out to people in belonging.

You guys are the real rock stars.

My kids was hyped up.

Um, I also want to shout out the police department.

Um, thank you, Chief Salters, for um, and um manager Kyle.

Can I call you Bob?

Yes, you can.

Okay, please do Bob for um keeping in contact with me with um Miss Lily being missing.

Me and Miss Lily worked at Wildmark together.

Um so yeah, I know her her family really well, and so it's very unfortunate, but thank y'all for keeping in contact.

Um I want to reiterate the requests for a list of our affordable housing units that have been built recently or on the way or are funded.

Um, and I know it, you know, not everybody wants to read a whole giant sheet of text.

If we could somehow get something formatted similar to to how the food bank has formatted the information that they gave us.

Um a one pager, you know, maybe with a list on the back.

Um you know, a lot of people digest stuff better in graphic form.

Um it would just really be nice to have something that we could share with our constituents to to let them know the hard work and the tremendous amount of dollars that are going into this effort, you know.

We kind of got a late start, and and you know, um and we have been trying to get ahead of the ball.

Um, this affordable housing crisis was kind of a long time coming, and it's only been in recent years that we we've started to really tackle it.

But we are making progress, and you know, it you can't just wave a magic wand and affordable housing sprouts out, you can't just throw money at it and it sprouts.

It takes a long time of gathering the different sources of funding and finding the property and finding the partners and you know the infrastructure and the building, and you know, when it's a public project, there are often folks who don't want it anywhere near them.

So, you know, it goes through the process.

There are a lot of hurdles to overcome, and we have had some success.

Um, and you know, I I think we need to tell that story better.

Um, and you know, tell that story better so we can hopefully attract more.

Um, so yeah, if we can get a nice palatable, pretty picture version of the work that we've been doing, and and you know, ask everybody to revisit that strategy, that plan that we I think we spent like a quarter million dollars on it, and it went through a year of public input and meetings um to get it out there.

So we do have a plan.

We have been trying to execute that plan.

We just need to tell our story better.

We definitely need to do more work, but we we also need to tell our story better.

All right, and conversation study I still playing.

Where are we on that and space allocation?

Um, Vita Thornton's having a brunch with Bob this Saturday.

I'm sorry, she didn't mention it.

Bob on the menu or Bob is the menu.

So I'm wondering.

11 o'clock at New Grove, and that's in Winterview.

Um, just want to thank the police department and the sheriff for the awesome trunk tree.

It's a great community event.

Welcome, Christine.

Um, God bless her.

Um happy.

It's a little early, but I'm gonna just throw this out there.

Happy birthday, Mayor.

Um, happy Thanksgiving.

Um, and thank the North E Georgia Food Bank and thank all the best.

Motion to adjourn.

There's second.

Second.

All in favor, please say aye.

Any opposed.

All right.

Uh at 840, we are joined.

Away we go.

Kelly, my mayor's work session on your birthday.