DeKalb County PECS Committee Meeting – February 26, 2026
DeKalb County PECS Committee Meeting – February 26, 2026
The Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services (PECS) Committee of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners met on February 26, 2026, to consider several agenda items, including a major proposal to establish a day center for unhoused residents, appointments to the Land Bank Authority, and multiple contracts for parks, recreation, and public works. The committee also discussed data center regulations and deferred two items for further review.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the appointment of Elizabeth M. Roberts, Esq., to Position 1 of the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority (voice vote).
- Approved Item 1718: Fence installation, repair, and maintenance annual contract with Hawk Fence LLC and ASAP Management Group LLC, total not to exceed $750,000 (voice vote).
- Approved Item 0156: Change order for restoration and maintenance of athletic fields (JMB Landscape, Inc., $55,596.76) (voice vote).
- Approved Item 0306: Change order for tennis court construction and maintenance (Signature Tennis Courts, $72,910.00) (voice vote).
- Approved Item 0313: Aquatics maintenance and lifeguard services contract with Stand Guard Aquatics, total not to exceed $1,234,140.80 (voice vote).
- Approved Item 0318: Acceptance of WIOA additional funds for dislocated workers ($100,000 from Technical College System of Georgia) (voice vote).
Discussion Items
- Day Center Implementation Plan (Item 2026-0396, substitute): Director Alan Mitchell and COO Zach Williams presented a plan to establish a day center for unhoused individuals at Peace Baptist Church (4000 Covington Highway). The 6,300 sq ft facility would operate six days a week (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), providing meals, hygiene services, case management, job training, and housing navigation. The budget was $1,234,028 for a one-year lease with Salvation Army, plus $75,000 added for Claritel mental health outreach. Key features include mobile showers, an armed security guard, and a maximum capacity of 100. Commissioners discussed transportation, pet accommodations, children, and the use of existing county vans. The item was approved after adding $75,000 for Claritel.
- Data Center Health and Environmental Impact Study (Item 0245, substitute): Commissioner Terry proposed funding a study by Science for Georgia ($15,000) to analyze health, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts of data centers. The committee deferred the item to March 12, 2026, to allow further discussion and allow Science for Georgia to present.
- Data Center Regulations (Item 0341): Commissioner Terry presented a resolution requesting the administration and planning department to update the recommended text amendment (2025-0972) with three provisions: capping data center developments at 500,000 sq ft per phase, requiring a special land use permit for all data centers, and raising the clean energy incentive to 100% (including on-site or grid-based renewable energy). The motion was approved, with the planning department invited to offer additional suggestions.
Key Outcomes
- Day Center approved (motion by Commissioner Terry, second by Commissioner Long Spears): $1,234,028 for Salvation Army contract plus $75,000 for Claritel outreach, from the general fund. The item will be presented as a substitute to the full Board of Commissioners.
- Fence contract approved (750,000).
- Athletic fields change order approved ($55,596.76).
- Tennis court change order approved ($72,910.00).
- Aquatics contract approved ($1,234,140.80).
- WIOA funds approved (100,000).
- Land Bank appointment approved (Elizabeth Roberts).
- Item 0230 (demolition contract) withdrawn due to plans for structural assessment.
- Items 1752 and 1774 (UGA Cooperative Extension MOU) deferred to next meeting to allow Dr. Perry to present.
- Data center study (0245) deferred to March 12, 2026, for further committee input.
- Data center regulations resolution (0341) approved, directing planning department to update the text amendment.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Nicole Messiah. The honor and pleasure to serve as your District 3 County Commissioner, but also as the Chair Peck's Planning Economic Development and Community Services. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Colleen Saya. The honor and pleasure to serve as your district of the County Commissioner, but also as the Chair Peck's planning economic development and community services. Agenda item ending in 0380. I'm sorry, you know that's um the minutes is zero. Thank you so much. Uh all those in favor. A second. Are those in favor? I guess next we have um a presentation by Dr. I mean um Mr. Alan Mitchell and I believe our COO Zach Williams um will also weigh in. And if you gentlemen are ready, um we are ready to go. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. What we've like to present is directly related to operating a day center, establishing and operating a day center uh to care for the unhoused um uh beginning in about uh in the next four weeks, that's what we're hoping. So we have uh met with a number of agencies and kind of discussed a number of the needs, and Mr. Mitchell will kind of articulate what we've come up with. The intent is to provide a location where the unhoused would be able to not only um be uh quite frankly uh during the day, but to uh receive certain services. So Mr. Mitchell will talk through some of the wraparound services that will be provided at this facility, and we see this as another front door, uh, an opportunity to get people um assistance, uh, get job training and ultimately get housing. And so uh I'm gonna turn it over to Mr. Mitchell who will talk through uh our planned use of the facility, our uh estimated timeline, and how we'd like to move forward. Fantastic. And I'll just briefly uh read the agenda item, and that's for those following along, agenda item 2026-0396, all commission districts, the Cab County Day Center implementation plan for the Cab County citizens experiencing homelessness, and you'll we also have Commissioner Robert Patrick that is joining us and will be a member of PECS starting in two weeks. And and before uh Mr. Mitchell uh starts, I just want to make another uh critical point quite frankly, and with your adoption of today's budget, um, you know, some of the programming that we talked about with housing, housing affordability, and assistance to the unhoused. This is a prime example of one of those programs for the assistance of the unhoused. So, Mr. Mitchell? Yes. Good afternoon. Uh Commissioner Patcher, do you have a copy? I'm not sure. Thank you, Director. Uh Commissioners, good afternoon, and thanks for allowing me to uh present. We've got an exciting proposal for you, something that we've not done in the county. We've had uh experience having small day day centers, but we haven't had a fairly large way had an initiative to accomplish so many things that are very positive about a day center. You might be personally uh familiar with the day center, but I'll take you to a lot of uh the slide deck which talks about what it actually does and the concept is an entree to housing. Um to be able to have uh a facility where individuals can hang out, socialize, and get uh overt services, wrap around services prior to being uh going to a shelter or for that matter, going back to places where they they currently house themselves. So the uh picture here is actually the front of um uh a building which we've adopted as being a location for the day center. It's uh Peace Baptist Church, which is located at uh 4000 Covington Highway in District 6 and District 4. And I'll take you through a series of things related to that. Keep in mind that building the pathway to stability uh for unhoused individuals is through the day center. Uh so what is the S. We're asking today specifically to approve uh an agenda item uh to enter into a lease with Peace Baptist Church.
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