OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole Meeting - February 17, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Tuesday, February 17, 2026
BodyDekalb County, Georgia
SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees
DateTuesday, February 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the Cab County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting today is February 17th.

0:17

I am presiding officer Shakira Johnson, also your District 4 Commissioner.

0:22

Um, before we get into the agenda too far, I did want to take a couple times a couple moments to make a couple announcements.

0:29

We'll start with a happy announcement.

0:31

Today is Commissioner Nicole Messiah's birthday.

0:37

Thank you.

0:38

Happy birthday.

0:39

Thank you.

0:40

And it's so fun to spend your birthday during a board of commissioners' meetings.

0:44

Oh, yeah.

0:45

Because my birthday is March 10th, and we will be right here on my birthday as well.

0:48

So I feel you on that.

0:50

There you go.

0:51

Um, and then we do have uh a little less happy news to uh announce today.

0:56

We wanted to take the time to send prayers to the leak family for the loss of their son recently, and also we wanted to take a moment of silence for the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson.

1:09

Heard of that news first thing this morning when we woke up.

1:12

He is a pillar in our community, of course, and I think it's very appropriate in the middle of Black History Month to honor him and his life and legacy and what he has meant to all of us.

1:21

So if we could just bow our heads for a moment of silence.

1:34

Thank you for that.

1:35

Our prayers go out to the the Jackson family, and again, of course, to the Leak family as well.

1:40

So now we will get into the um agenda, and again, we're doing a little different from what we did last year.

1:47

We will have our committee reports, our agenda setting, and then our presentations.

1:52

So uh are we ready for committee reports, Commissioner Patrick.

1:57

Uh yes, uh, Madam Presiding Officer, thank you, and good morning.

2:00

Um, Commissioner Masai.

2:03

21 forever.

2:04

There you go.

2:08

Um, with that said, I'm Commissioner Robert Patrick and the current chair of public works and infrastructure.

2:13

Uh we had about nine items at our last meeting.

2:16

And uh of those items, you know, oftentimes we handle some large projects for water and sewer and pro approved about 50 million dollars worth of sewer rehabilitation work.

2:26

But I also want to note that we get into some smaller details uh but that are still important to the community.

2:31

So uh Northwoods Historic District uh had asked for some sign toppers.

2:35

Of course, this is the unincorporated portion.

2:37

Uh, they had asked for some sign toppers to help identify their historic neighborhood, and we were happy to approve that.

2:43

Um, we also approved um about 20 million dollars for ElMIG, which is local maintenance and improvement grants program.

2:52

Uh, for those of you who don't always pay attention, that means we're getting about 20 million dollars more worth of roads paved in our county, and I believe that'll be happening over this year and next year.

3:02

Um, as always, public works and infrastructure is the greatest show on earth, and so I invite you to join us today at 3:30.

3:09

Madam Chair, thank you.

3:10

Thank you, Commissioner Patrick.

3:11

Um, Commissioner Bolton.

3:14

Thank you, madam presiding officer.

3:16

Again, I am Ladina Bolton, your Super District 7 Commissioner.

3:20

I am also the chair of employee relations and public safety.

3:24

Our last meeting for ERPS was February 3rd.

3:29

On that committee serving with me is both Commissioner Johnson and Commissioner Shakira Johnson.

3:35

Um, attending that meeting with us was Commissioner Masaya and Commissioner Patrick.

3:41

Of course, we did go ahead and approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026.

3:47

We had a pretty light agenda.

3:49

We looked at a couple of new items, one under fire rescue item 2026 0210.

3:57

We approved that item, and this was for FY26 grant award.

4:01

This was for EMS trauma-related equipment with the Georgia Trauma Commission.

4:07

In addition with DECAP Emergency Management Agency or DEMA, this item 20260256 was also approved.

4:17

And this was a contract for a new alert solution or a new alert system called RAVE, RAVE.

4:25

This is a five-year agreement so that citizens can be alerted and notified during critical events or situations.

4:33

And then the last item that we discussed came out of District 7 and District 5.

4:41

We worked in partnership to establish a regulatory oversight for blasting.

4:47

I know this is especially important to folks in the Stone Crest area.

4:51

Currently, we have a whole lot of development going there, but this was control blasting and safety ordinance to promote public safety, environmental protection, and community stability.

5:02

So that item was deferred.

5:04

We still have a bit more discussion on that, but we look forward to passing that in the coming weeks.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Food Insecurity██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Public Health███████7%
Easement Regulation██████6%
Homelessness████4%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Airport Operations██2%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole Meeting - February 17, 2026

The Committee of the Whole meeting was called to order by Presiding Officer Shakira Johnson (District 4) with opening announcements including a birthday greeting for Commissioner Nicole Messiah and a moment of silence for the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Leak family. The meeting proceeded with committee reports, agenda setting for the February 26 regular meeting, and a detailed presentation on the DeKalb Mobile Market pilot program. A last-minute walk-on item regarding an easement donation was also introduced.

Committee Reports

  • Public Works & Infrastructure (Commissioner Robert Patrick): Reported approval of approximately $50 million for sewer rehabilitation, Northwoods Historic District sign toppers, and $20 million for the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grants Program (LMIG) for road paving over the next year.
  • Employee Relations & Public Safety (Commissioner Ladina Bolton): Approved minutes from January 20, 2026; approved an FY26 EMS trauma-related equipment grant from the Georgia Trauma Commission (Item 2026-0210); approved a five-year contract with DeKalb Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) for the RAVE alert system (Item 2026-0256); and deferred a proposed regulatory blasting ordinance for further discussion.
  • PECS (Commissioner Nicole Messiah): Approved 10 agenda items; heard from Chief Housing Officer Dr. Ferguson on an innovative housing plan; and approved a CIP for "Reimagining the Stone Mountain Trail as a Corridor" art project presented by Commissioner Ted Terry.
  • Finance, Audit & Budget (Commissioner Ted Terry): Summarized two meetings—a special call on February 9 focused on the diversion center study and a regular meeting on February 10 with budget presentations. Key statistics from the diversion center study: the jail books approximately 700–800 individuals annually for criminal trespass with no other charge and a mental health diagnosis, costing about $29 million per year to house; a pre-arrest diversion center would cost about $7.4 million annually, a delta of $22 million (close to the proposed $21 million annual tax increase).
  • County Operations/OPS (Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson): Approved minutes from January 20 and January 22 special call OPS meetings. Among items: a resolution for a temporary moratorium on hangar development at Peachtree-DeKalb Airport was withdrawn; a resolution on impoundment and court-held dog coordination was deferred for substitute language; and several items were not heard due to time.

Agenda Setting for February 26, 2026

Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams and Clerk of the Board Ms. McCloud presented the proposed executive agenda for the February 26 meeting (urgently moved to a Thursday due to NACo conference). Agenda items included:

  • Public Hearings: Six items, including a moratorium on commercial sexual device sales (Item 0280), watershed abandonment, and similar items (Items 0291, 0332–335).
  • Consent Items: K9 retirement (Item 0321), airport lease termination (Item 0300), and various purchasing/contracting items.
  • Committee Assignments: Many items assigned to ERPS, FAB, OPS, PECS, and PWI committees.
  • Walk-ons: Two walk-ons from administration: (1) addition of 16 police Tahoe vehicles to fleet using SPLOST I funds, not to exceed $994,708 (urgent to secure vehicles); (2) appointment of Chief of Staff for the Board of Commissioners.

Presentation: Mobile Market Pilot Program

Kashi Segel, founder/CEO of Rataza, presented results of a three-month mobile market pilot (Nov 10, 2025 – Feb 23, 2026) funded by DeKalb County. Key statistics: 44 market events, 117 unique items, served 2,600 neighbors, distributed 8,400 pounds of local food (estimated 8,500 nutritious meals). A total of $29,500 in community credits allocated by commissioners had been distributed, with about $1,000 in credits used per market. Feedback was positive, with high demand for collards, sweet potatoes, and other staples. Commissioners discussed demographics (seniors and families), SNAP usage, and potential expansion including adding a third day, stocking proteins/dairy/eggs, and using the county's "Fresh on Deck" bus. CEO Williams indicated administration is developing a broader food security strategy for the upcoming budget.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda Setting Approved: The February 26 agenda was set, with walk-ons accepted for police vehicles and chief of staff appointment.
  • Attorney Walk-On: County Attorney Phillips introduced a last-minute walk-on item (Henrico 183 LLC) to accept a donation tied to a 2022 easement exchange, in order to preserve the county's right to funds before a deadline on February 26. The item was assigned to the PECS committee but may be pulled forward for board action if an extension is not obtained. Commissioners requested the original agreement for review.
  • No Executive Session: The meeting adjourned without executive session.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the Cab County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole meeting today is February 17th. I am presiding officer Shakira Johnson, also your District 4 Commissioner. Um, before we get into the agenda too far, I did want to take a couple times a couple moments to make a couple announcements. We'll start with a happy announcement. Today is Commissioner Nicole Messiah's birthday. Thank you. Happy birthday. Thank you. And it's so fun to spend your birthday during a board of commissioners' meetings. Oh, yeah. Because my birthday is March 10th, and we will be right here on my birthday as well. So I feel you on that. There you go. Um, and then we do have uh a little less happy news to uh announce today. We wanted to take the time to send prayers to the leak family for the loss of their son recently, and also we wanted to take a moment of silence for the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson. Heard of that news first thing this morning when we woke up. He is a pillar in our community, of course, and I think it's very appropriate in the middle of Black History Month to honor him and his life and legacy and what he has meant to all of us. So if we could just bow our heads for a moment of silence. Thank you for that. Our prayers go out to the the Jackson family, and again, of course, to the Leak family as well. So now we will get into the um agenda, and again, we're doing a little different from what we did last year. We will have our committee reports, our agenda setting, and then our presentations. So uh are we ready for committee reports, Commissioner Patrick. Uh yes, uh, Madam Presiding Officer, thank you, and good morning. Um, Commissioner Masai. 21 forever. There you go. Um, with that said, I'm Commissioner Robert Patrick and the current chair of public works and infrastructure. Uh we had about nine items at our last meeting. And uh of those items, you know, oftentimes we handle some large projects for water and sewer and pro approved about 50 million dollars worth of sewer rehabilitation work. But I also want to note that we get into some smaller details uh but that are still important to the community. So uh Northwoods Historic District uh had asked for some sign toppers. Of course, this is the unincorporated portion. Uh, they had asked for some sign toppers to help identify their historic neighborhood, and we were happy to approve that. Um, we also approved um about 20 million dollars for ElMIG, which is local maintenance and improvement grants program. Uh, for those of you who don't always pay attention, that means we're getting about 20 million dollars more worth of roads paved in our county, and I believe that'll be happening over this year and next year. Um, as always, public works and infrastructure is the greatest show on earth, and so I invite you to join us today at 3:30. Madam Chair, thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Patrick. Um, Commissioner Bolton. Thank you, madam presiding officer. Again, I am Ladina Bolton, your Super District 7 Commissioner. I am also the chair of employee relations and public safety. Our last meeting for ERPS was February 3rd. On that committee serving with me is both Commissioner Johnson and Commissioner Shakira Johnson. Um, attending that meeting with us was Commissioner Masaya and Commissioner Patrick. Of course, we did go ahead and approve the minutes from January 20th, 2026. We had a pretty light agenda. We looked at a couple of new items, one under fire rescue item 2026 0210. We approved that item, and this was for FY26 grant award.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com