DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Meeting - July 14, 2026
DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Meeting - July 14, 2026
The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners held its regular meeting on July 14, 2026, beginning at approximately 9:00 AM and adjourning at 2:06 PM. The meeting featured an inspirational speaker, two proclamations, public comments on multiple topics, a public hearing on a rezoning application, and a lengthy consent agenda followed by numerous board action items. Key outcomes included approval of a scrap tire ordinance, approval of housing bond resolutions, and a denial of a rezoning request after debate.
Inspirational Speaker
- Norma Stanley, president and CEO of EEE Marketing Group and disability advocate, delivered remarks on Disability Pride Month and the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She emphasized that 52% of the U.S. population is directly or indirectly connected to disability, and urged the county to embed accessibility into planning, not just accommodation.
Proclamations
- Disability Pride Month: Commissioner Ladina Bolton presented a proclamation recognizing July 2026 as Disability Pride Month and commemorating the 36th anniversary of the ADA. Myrna Clayton of Show Ability accepted.
- LGBTQ+ Pride Day: Commissioner Ted Terry presented a proclamation declaring July 14, 2026 as DeKalb County Pride Day, with a theme of "For All of Us." The proclamation highlighted support for trans and non-binary individuals.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Transitional Housing (Park 500): Lynn Weaver, a resident of Park 500 transitional housing, expressed gratitude but asked commissioners to visit and hear directly from residents about needs, noting that residents still live in fear of losing stability.
- Animal Services: Dana Davis urged the board to fast-track a court-held dog coordinator position, citing that 94 animals were held for court cases as of June 18, 2026, and intake has risen 30% in two years, with over 9,500 animals admitted in 2025. She noted that no cost-of-care petitions had been filed since April 2025 despite a resolution reaffirming authorization.
- Data Centers: Multiple speakers (Regina Roberts, Joe Faxio, Renee Care, Dr. Conrad Hayashi, Valdera Baez Beasley, Dawn Rush, Rosalind McIntyre, Deborah Wallace, Larry Foster) urged the board to support an independent health and environmental study of data centers, citing concerns about water depletion, noise, pollution, electromagnetic fields, heat islands, and property values. Several speakers also opposed a rezoning for a new housing development on Columbia Drive.
- Youth Arts Program: Joe Faxio and two youth participants (Aubrey Lynn Faxio and Naomi Taylor) thanked the board for funding Joy to Infinity (formerly Justin Norman School of the Arts), noting 65 children enrolled in a free summer camp. They invited commissioners to an upcoming showcase.
Public Hearing
- Item 2026-0443 – Rezoning (Optimal Consulting LLC): Application to rezone property from R75 to RSM for up to 14 single-family homes. Commissioner Nicole Massaia moved to deny, citing lack of community support, public safety concerns, and the applicant's failure to demonstrate hardship. After debate, the motion to deny was seconded and passed on a vote of 4-3, following a failed tabling attempt. The property will be subject to a two-year freeze on new applications.
Consent Calendar
- The board approved a consent agenda including items 2026-1115, 1094, 0702, 1042, 1062, 1064, 1065, and 1120 (various contracts, grants, and approvals).
- Additionally, items 2026-1143 (Mason Mill Park improvements, substitute) and two walk-on items (easement abandonment and millage rate corrections for Stonecrest and Pine Lake) were approved.
Discussion Items
- Appointments: Several appointments to boards and authorities were approved or deferred. Dr. Leroy Reese was appointed to the Community Service Board; others were deferred pending scheduling.
- Scrap Tire Ordinance (Item 2025-0683): Approved as substituted, with Commissioner Robert Patrick noting collaboration with residents and staff. The ordinance strengthens enforcement against illegal tire dumping.
- Housing Investment Bond Program (Items 2026-1043 and 2026-1044): Approved as substituted. The resolutions authorize up to $25 million in taxable revenue bonds and create multiple programs (e.g., down payment assistance, multifamily acquisition, rehabilitation). An annual reporting requirement was added.
- Data Center Study Resolution (Item 2026-0244): A substitute resolution requiring an independent third-party health and environmental study before lifting the data center moratorium was deferred to the August 25th BOC meeting with a prior stop in PECS.
- Data Center Study Funding (Item 2026-0245): A companion resolution to allocate up to $150,000 (split evenly among districts) for the study was withdrawn after a failed motion to deny, following debate about process and cost.
- Other Items: Several ordinances regarding animal tethering, retail pet sales, blasting, and civilian oversight of surveillance were deferred to future meetings.
Key Outcomes
- Rezoning Denied: Item 2026-0443 denied (4-3), imposing a two-year freeze on rezoning applications for that parcel.
- Scrap Tire Ordinance Approved: Substitute approved, enhancing enforcement against illegal dumping.
- Housing Bond Program Approved: $25 million bond program and associated housing initiatives approved.
- Data Center Study Resolution Deferred: To August 25 BOC with August 11 PECS stop.
- Data Center Study Funding Withdrawn: After failed motion to deny, the item was withdrawn by sponsor.
- Consent Agenda and Multiple Contracts Approved: Including a $21 million water and sewer contract, traffic signal projects, and a $2.4 million fire truck purchase.
- Deferrals: Numerous items were deferred to later meetings to allow committee review, including the charter review commission report, civilian oversight resolution, and several purchasing contracts exceeding $3 million.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the July 14th Board of Commissioners meeting. I am your presiding officer and District 4 Commissioner Shekira Johnson, and this is our last meeting before our recess. We will not meet again until August 11th. Amen. A little housekeeping since we are a little full. If we have run out of agendas, there is a QR code outside the door that you can scan and see the agenda on your phone. We will go right into our inspirational speaker. Um Miss Norma Stanley, if you want to start making your way up to this front podium. There she is. Good morning. It is my honor to introduce today's inspirational speaker, Miss Norma Stanley. Miss Stanley is an award-winning disability community advocate and the president and CEO of EEE Marketing Group. She is a respected speaker, author, singer, and diversity and inclusion public relations consultant, whose work has touched communities across the nation and around the world. As a mother of an adult daughter with cerebral palsy, Miss Stanley has turned personal experience into powerful advocacy. Her mission is to serve as an international change agent for the disability community and to improve the quality of life for families of children with special needs through education, inspiration, media, music, and strategic communication, excuse me. She is widely recognized for her expertise in diversity and inclusion, particularly in advancing awareness and opportunity for the disability community, an often underserved but deeply important population. Through her leadership and voice, she educates, enlightens, and empowers others to build more inclusive communities. Please join me in welcoming Miss Norma Stanley. Good morning, ma'am. Good morning, everybody. I'm so glad to be here. Yeah, a lot of us have. And for me, that moment happened about 40 years ago. And it wasn't the fact that I had won communications awards or had received awards for various things that I've done. It wasn't the fact that I was a journalist or a speaker or communication strategist. It was when my daughter came into my life. And she was born with silver palsy and has both intellectual and physical disabilities. And uh what happened was the doctors didn't hand me a roadmap. What they handed me was uncertainty. They handed me questions, they handed me fear, and uh a future that I had no idea was ahead of me. What I didn't know then that what I didn't know then was that my greatest teacher was going to be my daughter. She didn't have words, she couldn't, she's nonverbal primarily, and she, you know, she wasn't gonna be able to write books, and she wasn't going to be able to stand behind a podium like I'm doing today, or be fully independent. I am her caregiver, and she's almost 40 years old. Yet every single day, Sierra has taught me what courage and resilience looks like. She's taught me patience, she's taught me resilience, she's taught me how to see people differently, how to see people for who they are. And she taught me that disability wasn't something that happened to other people, it happens to all of us. Today I know something different. Disability is not about them, it's about us. Because disability is not only the largest minority population in the country. I don't know how many of you know that 52% of this nation's population are people with disabilities. 28% with the individual, and another 28% of the people who are emotionally attached to them, like a parent or caregiver. It's a huge population that is mostly overlooked. So when you include people like myself who are emotionally connected to my daughter, um, and understand that the disability community is the only minority uh population that anyone can join at any time. You understand that it takes just one diagnosis, one accident, one illness, one birthday, one military deployment, one unexpected moment, and life can change. And that realization changes everything because disability can touch us all, and it mostly has. The likelihood is that it has touched all of us. But accessibility isn't about disability. Accessibility is about humanity. This month we celebrate Disability Pride Month, and we honor the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 36 years ago, it was signed on July 26th.
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