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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

DeKalb County PECS Committee Meeting - October 14, 2026

Board of Commissioners & Committees — Wednesday, October 14, 2026

BodyDekalb County, Georgia

SessionBoard of Commissioners & Committees

DateWednesday, October 14, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 58:31

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:04

Great afternoon, everyone.

0:06

Welcome to PECS Planning Economic Development Community Services.

0:10

My name is Nicole Messiah.

0:11

I have the honor and pleasure to serve as your chair as well as the DeCap County Commissioner District 3.

0:18

I serve in this committee alongside Commissioner Robert Patrick from District 1, who's with us today, and also Commissioner Michelle Longspears from District 2.

0:30

We are going to follow the uh agenda as printed.

0:34

If there's any modifications, I'll let you know uh ahead of time.

0:37

I appreciate those who are sticking in with us.

0:40

I know it's um a bit later than what was expected, but we want to make sure that we are using as much time as possible to do the business of the county.

0:48

So I thank my um committee members for joining us and everyone else for uh being a part of this as well.

0:54

With that, the first item is under the minutes, and that's 2026-1455, all commission districts minutes for 20 August 25th, 2026 Planet Economic Development and Community Services Committee meetings.

1:08

If my colleagues have had an opportunity to review the minutes, I'll entertain a motion.

Speaker 2

1:12

Motion to approve.

Speaker 1

1:14

Second.

1:15

All those in favor?

1:16

Aye.

1:17

Thank you so much.

1:18

And then we're gonna jump right into the appointments.

1:20

We have um two of the three individuals that um have uh made applications that are with us today to be interviewed.

1:29

The first is under appointments 2026-1129.

1:33

All commission districts appoint Angela Shambli to post three of the DeCab County Board of Family and Children's Services.

1:41

If you wouldn't mind, please step to the podium.

1:46

And thank you so much for being with here um with us today and for um being amenable to stay with us throughout um this later on in the evening.

1:57

We have uh just a couple of questions, but could you start with you know what tell uh look describing excuse me a little bit about yourself and uh what interest you have in serving the DeCab County Department of Family and Children's Services Board and include any professional personal experiences that you think help to prepare and support the board's mission to protecting children while preserving our family integrity?

Speaker 3

2:22

Absolutely.

2:23

So good afternoon.

2:24

My name is Angela Chambliss.

2:26

Um I am a proud um born and raised the Cab County Um resident.

2:33

Um I have I come to you with experience, four years of experience at the state, um, working with the Department of Community Health, and then 16 years working in the federal government.

2:48

Um I also have a lot of experience with community organizations throughout the county serving on the board for junior league of the CAB County, um, being a part of Leadership DeCABS, emerging leaders of the CAP program, as well as um within my sorority serving on the board for the past 12 years.

3:06

Um I come really with the interest and a passion as a nonprofit owner of Angels in Tech.

3:12

Um I have worked with the CAB through various organizations as part of my nonprofit, providing STEM resources to students working with the DeCAB County Sheriff's Office and other organizations, um, just helping provide outreach programs for kids at risk.

3:30

Um we also have a part a program with the Department of Juvenile Justice where we provide STEM resources and help get those students re-acclimated into the into society.

3:43

I'm interested in being a part of this particular committee and serving as a part of the um DFACS board to help just really review and be provide financial integrity as it relates to the funds and taxpayer dollars that are being um granted to the county.

Speaker 1

4:04

Thank you

Speaker 3

4:05

for that.

4:05

Um

Speaker 1

4:06

Commissioner Patrick, if you have a question.

4:08

Uh yes, madam chair.

Speaker 2

4:10

Um, first of all, thank you for being here.

4:12

Appreciate your interest in public service.

4:14

Um the DFACS board serves as a liaison between the community and the county by evaluating local child welfare services and family assistance programs like foster care, uh TANF and SNAP.

4:27

How would you engage with how would you engage with community stakeholders to better understand local needs and strengthen these services?

Speaker 3

4:37

Absolutely.

4:38

So working with the community to really understand what their needs are.

4:42

I would I would I'm sure there's some type of process in which they provide.

4:46

So I'm a project manager by trade, right?

4:49

So always do some type of analysis to really understand what the need is, what the benefit is, um, and what the impact will be.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

Um I think it's really important to understand those financial, those those key points, critical points, to be able to assess how funds should be distributed based off the need of the community partners, um, and really understanding what the cost benefit will be for that organization and the impact that they intend to provide and receive.

Speaker 2

5:16

Perfect, thank you.

Speaker 1

5:18

Thank you so much.

5:19

Uh I'm sorry, Commissioner Patrick.

5:23

And Commissioner Longspears.

Speaker 4

5:25

Um, sure.

5:26

Um, I will ask the a question we ask of all of our candidates.

5:30

Um, are there any extenuating circumstances or potential reasons for recusal that could preclude or impede your service to the Department of Family and Children's Services Board?

5:40

And again, thank you for your desire to serve on this board and um nice to see you again.

Speaker 3

5:45

Yes, yes, there and there I know um

Speaker 4

5:50

wonderful, thank you.

5:51

I yield back.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████22%

Homelessness██████████████14%

Purchasing And Contracting██████████████14%

Procedural████████████12%

Appointments███████████11%

Zoning And Land Use█████████9%

Food Insecurity██████6%

Property Maintenance████4%

Economic Development███3%

Summary of Proceedings

DeKalb County PECS Committee Meeting - October 14, 2026

The Planning, Economic Development, and Community Services (PECS) Committee of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners met on October 14, 2026, at 8:30 PM. Chaired by Commissioner Nicole Messiah (District 3), the committee, also attended by Commissioner Robert Patrick (District 1), and initially Commissioner Michelle Longspears (District 2), reviewed and approved numerous agenda items. Commissioner Longspears departed early, leaving Chair Messiah and Commissioner Patrick to handle the remaining items.

Meeting Opening

The committee approved the minutes of the August 25, 2026 PECS committee meeting.

Appointments and Interviews

Angela Chambliss was interviewed for Post 3 of the DeKalb County Board of Family and Children's Services, and later unanimously approved. She shared her experience in state and federal government and nonprofit work.
Kendra Price was interviewed for Post 4 of the DeKalb County Community Services Board, and unanimously approved. She highlighted her role at Emory University and focus on building partnerships.
Ronald Mignum was not present; his appointment to the Board of Family and Children's Services (Post 7) was held in committee.

Support for Homeless Prevention

The committee approved $264,000 in Community Development funds to Safe House Outreach for rental assistance, utility deposits, security deposits, and case management. Melvia Richards, Housing Programs Manager, noted an increased demand and that the agency served 1,365 households in 2025, housing 125.

Property Transfers

Land Bank Surplus Declaration: The committee approved declaring 30 vacant county-owned properties surplus and transferring them to the DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority. The goal is to return properties to tax rolls, remove blight, and create affordable housing. 18 parcels are in District 3.
Brookhaven Easement: The committee authorized a permanent easement and property transfer to the City of Brookhaven for a sidewalk project.

Service Contracts and Community Investments

Senior Meals: A three-year contract for congregate and shelf-stable meal services was awarded to Meals on Wheels Atlanta, not to exceed $1,885,529.
Workforce Services: A change order was approved to extend the contract term for workforce services through June 2027 with no additional funds.
Extension Services: The committee approved the annual financial agreement with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service for staffing in agriculture, family services, and 4-H ($154,373).
Farm Fresh Mobile Market: A purchasing policy exemption was ratified for a contract with Ratanza LLC to operate a mobile farmers market, up to $378,000.

Parks and Recreation Contracts and Grants

Routine Contracts: Approved contracts include pressure washing ($75,000), feed/hay/shavings for the county horse farm ($660,000 over three years), athletic uniforms ($134,000), athletic field restoration contract extension ($65,000), and engineering services ($115,575).
HUD Grants: Five community project funding grants were accepted for park improvements: Avondale Dunair Park ($1,985,160), Arabia Mountain Bridge ($349,475), Wade Walker Park ($850,000), Roland Park ($1,200,000), and County Line Park ($250,000).
Lithonia Park: A portion was renamed to DeKalb Lithonia Park.

Nuisance Abatement Contract Held

The committee discussed a proposed three-year contract for nuisance abatement and remediation services (up to $450,000) awarded to Cascade Services Inc. and Executive Realty Solutions. Chair Messiah raised concerns about vendor selection and the standing of one firm. The item was held in committee for further review.

Key Outcomes

Votes: All items except the nuisance abatement contract were unanimously approved by the commissioners present. The meeting started with three commissioners, but from the second page of the agenda onward, only Chair Messiah and Commissioner Patrick were present for votes.
Next Steps: Approved items will be forwarded to the full DeKalb County Board of Commissioners for final action. The nuisance abatement contract will be revisited at a future committee meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Great afternoon, everyone. Welcome to PECS Planning Economic Development Community Services. My name is Nicole Messiah. I have the honor and pleasure to serve as your chair as well as the DeCap County Commissioner District 3. I serve in this committee alongside Commissioner Robert Patrick from District 1, who's with us today, and also Commissioner Michelle Longspears from District 2. We are going to follow the uh agenda as printed. If there's any modifications, I'll let you know uh ahead of time. I appreciate those who are sticking in with us. I know it's um a bit later than what was expected, but we want to make sure that we are using as much time as possible to do the business of the county. So I thank my um committee members for joining us and everyone else for uh being a part of this as well. With that, the first item is under the minutes, and that's 2026-1455, all commission districts minutes for 20 August 25th, 2026 Planet Economic Development and Community Services Committee meetings. If my colleagues have had an opportunity to review the minutes, I'll entertain a motion. Motion to approve. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you so much. And then we're gonna jump right into the appointments. We have um two of the three individuals that um have uh made applications that are with us today to be interviewed. The first is under appointments 2026-1129. All commission districts appoint Angela Shambli to post three of the DeCab County Board of Family and Children's Services. If you wouldn't mind, please step to the podium. And thank you so much for being with here um with us today and for um being amenable to stay with us throughout um this later on in the evening. We have uh just a couple of questions, but could you start with you know what tell uh look describing excuse me a little bit about yourself and uh what interest you have in serving the DeCab County Department of Family and Children's Services Board and include any professional personal experiences that you think help to prepare and support the board's mission to protecting children while preserving our family integrity? Absolutely. So good afternoon. My name is Angela Chambliss. Um I am a proud um born and raised the Cab County Um resident. Um I have I come to you with experience, four years of experience at the state, um, working with the Department of Community Health, and then 16 years working in the federal government. Um I also have a lot of experience with community organizations throughout the county serving on the board for junior league of the CAB County, um, being a part of Leadership DeCABS, emerging leaders of the CAP program, as well as um within my sorority serving on the board for the past 12 years. Um I come really with the interest and a passion as a nonprofit owner of Angels in Tech. Um I have worked with the CAB through various organizations as part of my nonprofit, providing STEM resources to students working with the DeCAB County Sheriff's Office and other organizations, um, just helping provide outreach programs for kids at risk. Um we also have a part a program with the Department of Juvenile Justice where we provide STEM resources and help get those students re-acclimated into the into society. I'm interested in being a part of this particular committee and serving as a part of the um DFACS board to help just really review and be provide financial integrity as it relates to the funds and taxpayer dollars that are being um granted to the county. Thank you for that. Um Commissioner Patrick, if you have a question. Uh yes, madam chair. Um, first of all, thank you for being here. Appreciate your interest in public service. Um the DFACS board serves as a liaison between the community and the county by evaluating local child welfare services and family assistance programs like foster care, uh TANF and SNAP. How would you engage with how would you engage with community stakeholders to better understand local needs and strengthen these services? Absolutely. So working with the community to really understand what their needs are. I would I would I'm sure there's some type of process in which they provide. So I'm a project manager by trade, right? So always do some type of analysis to really understand what the need is, what the benefit is, um, and what the impact will be. Um I think it's really important to understand those financial, those those key points, critical points, to be able to assess how funds should be distributed based off the need of the community partners, um, and really understanding what the cost benefit will be for that organization and the impact that they intend to provide and receive. Perfect, thank you.

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