DeKalb County BOC Special Called Meeting – June 29, 2026
DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Special Called Meeting – June 29, 2026
The Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting on Monday, June 29, 2026, to address a lengthy agenda including the annual HUD consolidated plan, surplus property transfers, parks improvements, and the launch of a major housing investment bond program. Chair (District 3) presided with Commissioners Patrick (District 1), Longspears (District 2), and later Terry (Super District 7) participating. All votes were unanimous unless noted.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Agenda item 2026-0992 was approved without discussion.
Discussion Items
- HUD Consolidated Plan (2026-0948): Director Alan Mitchell, planning manager Browning Camp, and Tommy Phillips presented the mandatory 2026 annual action plan for CDBG, HOME, and ESG grants. Total HUD allocation is $7,095,011, a slight increase from last year despite a five-year cumulative decrease of $621,000. Proposed projects include $500,000 for the DeKalb Atlanta Senior Center design, Bruce Street Historic Ruins, street safety improvements, and public service activities (e.g., homeless initiatives, financial literacy, fair housing). Commissioner Patrick praised partnerships with St. Vincent DePaul and C-Packs. Commissioner Longspears asked about outreach to South DeKalb churches; staff noted an open application process but few church applicants due to federal regulations. Concerns about street outreach funding were raised: only ~$75,000 of the needed ~$400,000 is covered by these grants. Commissioners requested future committee reports showing broader spending. Approved.
- Surplus Property Transfer to Land Bank (2026-1023): Tamika Churchill requested 13 vacant county-owned parcels be declared surplus and transferred to the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority for redevelopment. Properties are in Districts 3 and 4 (Super Districts 6 and 7). Commissioner Longspears questioned why most properties are in District 3; staff responded they are working through a list of eligible properties without targeting specific areas. COO Williams noted the benefit of reducing county maintenance costs and returning properties to the tax digest. Approved.
- Parks and Recreation Items (multiple): Director Bass presented several items: LED sports lighting at Kidderich Park ($270,000, approved); playground replacement at Fraser Row Park ($295,533.60, approved); recreation management software upgrade ($112,890.01, approved); Eco addendum for invasive species training ($33,884 donation, approved); youth workshop agreement with How Big Is Your Dream Foundation ($135,000, approved); change order for NH Scott Park pool punch list (term extension, approved); court renovation at Bransby Park ($137,600, approved). On-call architectural/engineering services (2026-0844) were held for audit review.
- GIS Enterprise License Agreement (2026-0802): Director Greer presented a three-year renewal with ESRI for $3.9 million, providing flexible licensing for 900–1,000 county users. Commissioner Patrick noted the item is still under audit; held in committee pending return on July 14.
- Housing Investment Bond Program (2026-1043 & 2026-1044): Dr. Ferguson presented companion items to launch a $155 million housing investment bond program (first tranche $25 million) to produce ~75% of the county’s 15,000-unit goal by 2032. Programs include down payment assistance (up to $20,000), employee-assisted housing ($5,000), multifamily gap financing, capacity building (faith-based cohort, “Inside DeKalb” development training), land bank acceleration, multifamily acquisition and blight redevelopment, and transitional housing/homelessness services. Commissioners Patrick and Terry expressed strong support and requested one-page summaries. Discussion included leveraging: every $1 invested is expected to attract $12 in additional capital. Both items approved.
- Public Safety Ordinance (2026-0550): Chair (author) presented an ordinance to address drifting, unauthorized camps, and nuisance behaviors on public/private property. Police Chief Bulum requested clearer definitions (e.g., “extended period of time,” “ingress/egress obstruction”). Sheriff’s office expressed concerns about jail population. Chair emphasized the ordinance targets behaviors, not homelessness, and that officers retain discretion. Commissioner Patrick requested cost comparison data on incarceration vs. outreach. Deferred to August 11, 2026, for additional legal and stakeholder input.
- Racial Equity Study Resolution (2026-098): Resolution urging implementation of 2025 study recommendations. COO Williams requested 60 days to provide a written status update; agreed to report by August 11. Deferred.
- Data Center Regulations (2026-0341): Resolution seeking an update to a previously denied text amendment. Legal noted the board had already voted; item was withdrawn as moot.
Key Outcomes
- Approved unanimously: Items 2026-0992, 0948, 1023, 0800, 0856, 0900, 0901, 1012, 1015, 1043, 1044, 0864, 0843.
- Held in committee: Item 2026-0802 (pending audit), 2026-0844 (pending audit).
- Deferred: Item 2026-0550 deferred to August 11, 2026, for legal and operational clarity. Item 2026-098 deferred to August 11, 2026, for administration update. Items 2026-0015 and 0017 (sustainability) deferred 60 days for chief sustainability officer input.
- Withdrawn: Item 2026-0341 (no recommendation, previously decided by board).
- Next Steps: The housing bond programs are set for full board vote on July 7, 2026, with bond closing anticipated in August and program launches by end of Q3.
Meeting Transcript
I serve alongside of Commissioner Robert Patrick from District One and also my colleague Commissioner Longspears from District 2 as well. Presently we don't have any other commissioners joining us. It is Commissioner Patrick and I holding down the fort on a Monday morning here. Thank you all for adjusting your schedule and being willing to join this special call meeting today as the Board of Commissioners is going to take a little bit of a um uh a break, if you will. Um we are making an adjustment to make sure that we have an opportunity to go through uh some pertinent items on the agenda so that it won't get backed up. With that, uh Commissioner Patrick, if you've had an opportunity to review the minutes, I'll entertain a motion. Uh yes, uh motion to approve 0992. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you so much. We are gonna go along the uh Genta agenda, excuse me, as presented. Again, that was agenda item 2026 0992. And we are um just approved at minutes. So next is the agenda item 2026-0948. All commission districts, an update to 2024-2028 consolidated plan for the Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD programs, including the 2026 annual action plan, federally funded at no cost to the county. Great morning. Good morning. We have Director Mitchell and several others uh joining us today. Uh, this is gonna be very exciting. All right, you go ahead and take it away. Uh yes, good morning. Uh Commissioners, thank you for allowing us to present. Uh today is a day where we present to you uh our application to HUD. It's uh mandatory each year to get the funding, and as you know, we're funded with uh federal funds, not county funds. Uh this is a 2026 plan. With me uh to make presentations is Browning Camp, who's our planning manager. She's to my right, and also uh Tommy Phillips, who's to my left. He's gonna cover the ESG component of the plan. Uh, by way of background, last year this time we're nervous about being able to get funds from HUD. We thought that the administration would not would cancel out block grant funding, but we happen to tell you that we got uh funding for this year and slight slightly greater than what we got last year. So it's really exciting. The only other thing which is important before I turn the mic over to Browan is that uh this is statutory. So if we don't get the plan approved uh by the end of July, we don't get funds. And that's a statutory requirement from HUD, indicating that it must get on their desk downtown Atlanta by the end of July. Uh so with that, I'd like to uh migrate to having Braun take you through the plan. I'll I'll interject when need be to cover various aspects. So, Brawlen. Good morning, Commissioners. Um, as Alan mentioned, this is our annual update to our consolid five-year consolidated plan. As he mentioned, we're required annually to submit a update to our five-year plan. This is the 2026 um consolidated plan that covers our community development block grant, our home program, as well as our emergency shelter grant program. Um and the mission statement for the DeCAP Community Development Department is to develop viable urban communities that principally benefit low moderate income persons. And so, with all um our of our initiatives, that's what we keep first, along with our three basic goals, which are to provide decent housing, affordable decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities. Um, these are the programs that we manage through the HUD grants for community development. Um I've already mentioned CDBG Home ESG. Um, we have a neighborhood solutions grant, and we serve as the collaborative applicant for the continuum of care, although those funds don't come to us, but we administer that program for um the applicants. Um as Alan mentioned, we um you'll see on the next slide how much our allocation amount is for this year. But this is just an overview over the past five years.
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