Marietta City Council Committee Meetings — March 27, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Marietta City Council Committee Meetings — March 27, 2025
The Marietta City Council convened a series of committee meetings on March 27, 2025, covering Finance/Investments, Parks/Recreation/Tourism, Judicial/Legislative, Economic/Community Development, and Public Works, followed by a Special Called Council Work Session. Key discussions included hotel-motels tax collections, park bond project updates, zoning amendments for Marietta Crossing, legislative updates on tort reform and other bills, CDBG allocations, SPLOST projects, utility variances, and traffic calming.
Consent Calendar
- Finance/Investments Committee: Approved the February 25, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee: Approved the February 25, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Judicial Legislative Committee: Approved the February 25, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Economic/Community Development Committee: Approved the January 28, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Public Works Committee: Approved the February 25, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Public Works – Donation of Right-of-Way: Accepted a quitclaim deed for 43.56 sq ft of right-of-way at 70 Reynolds Street (Ward 3A) via consent agenda.
Discussion Items
Finance/Investments
- Hotel Motel & Auto Rental Tax/Fiscal Update: The finance director reported February hotel/motel collections of $269,000, the highest for February in a decade. Year-to-date collections are approximately $2.5 million, tracking with FY2023, with a full-year budget of $3.84 million. Auto rental tax and general fund revenues remain strong, although motor vehicle taxes are lagging. Commercial permits rebounded in Q2; business license revenues are pending the March 31 deadline. Salary savings have accelerated due to fewer vacancies. The committee received and filed the reports.
Parks, Recreation and Tourism
- 2009 Parks Bond Report: Staff reported $868.44 in interest earned, held as contingency for Wildwood restroom. The restroom delivery is delayed, but no cost increases expected. West Dixie Park final plans are nearly complete; bidding expected by end of April. Glover Park irrigation repaired after power work; new Tahoma Bermuda sod installed; some areas remain challenging due to shade and event trampling. Council discussed sprinkler performance.
Judicial Legislative
- Marietta Crossing – Zoning Stipulation Amendment: The developer requested to modify the condition requiring 10,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail in Building 2000 to allow six live/work units (5 live/work with retail frontage, 1 commercial-only). The proposal would replace retail with entrepreneurial office/residential combo. Council members expressed mixed views; some preferred all-residential to ensure safety and market viability. The committee voted 3-0 to move the item to the work session (scheduled for April 7) for further consideration and renderings.
- Marietta Crossing Townhomes – Revised Site Plan: McKinley Homes presented plans for townhomes with three-story and two-story units, smaller tree species (redbuds, dogwoods) due to limited green space. Staff noted architectural adjustments needed for two-story units. The committee voted 3-0 to advance to the work session.
- Bonding Company Escrow Ordinance: Second reading of an ordinance amending escrow amounts for professional bonding companies; no discussion needed. A minor capitalization error noted for correction before final reading.
- Legislative Update: Ronnie provided an update on state bills. Key items: HB 92 (annual opt-out for housing) – passed Senate, back to House; HB 225 & 651 (school bus camera fines) – under Senate consideration, with HB 651 (sponsored by Speaker) more likely; HB 318 language added to HB 155 (annexation reform); HB 531 (tort reform) – critical discussion. The current version raises municipal liability limits to $3M per person/$5M per event, with added provisions waiving sovereign immunity for sanctuary city policies and cyber immunity. Staff noted severe cost impacts (potential 50-100% premium increases) and ongoing lobbying efforts by GMA and city lobbyists. Council members expressed strong opposition and planned to engage delegation.
Economic/Community Development
- PY2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan: Staff presented draft allocations; housing rehab corrected to $273,733. Public comment period runs through April 4. The committee voted 3-0 to advance to the work session for final approval after public comment closes.
Public Works
- 2016 SPLOST TIP Summary: Rottenwood Creek Trail project bid date set for May 2, 2025, after GDOT coordination.
- 2022 SPLOST TIP Summary: Roswell Street four-lane gap project out for bid; Tower and James intersection improvements complete (ribbon cutting April 8); East Dixie Trail utility work ongoing; Merritt Road landfill capping moving forward. Franklin Bridge project preparing bid documents.
- February 2025 Performance Report: Operations steady; no questions.
- Comcast Utility Variances (Mountain View Road & South Avenue): Approved variances to over-lash fiber on existing poles for specific segments (698 ft on Mountain View, 120 ft on South Avenue) with condition that future undergrounding at Comcast’s expense. Both motions passed unanimously.
- Hunt Street Traffic Calming: After a public information meeting on Feb 19, 2025, 13 of 15 affected parcels (87%) supported speed tables. Marietta Fire, Police, and Schools had no objections. Estimated cost $3,000. The committee voted to move the item forward to the next work session (Wednesday) without recommendation due to the required public hearing.
Special Called Council Work Session
- Minutes: Approved February 25, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Executive Session: No executive session needed; meeting adjourned.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes for all five regular committee meetings (Finance, Parks, Judicial, Economic/Community Development, Public Works) and the Special Called Work Session.
- Received and filed finance reports (Hotel/Motel Tax, Auto Rental Tax, Finance Update).
- Moved to work session (April 7): Marietta Crossing zoning stipulation amendment and revised townhome site plan; CDBG Annual Action Plan (after public comment).
- Approved utility variances for Comcast on Mountain View Road (Ward 3A) and South Avenue (Ward 1A).
- Moved forward Hunt Street traffic calming to public hearing and work session.
- Accepted donated right-of-way at 70 Reynolds Street.
- Discussed legislative advocacy on HB 531 (tort reform) and other bills; council committed to contacting state delegation.
- Noted no executive session was required.
Meeting Transcript
Finance committee meeting to order the first item on the agenda is approved the minutes for February 2025. Do I hear most make a motion to approve? Second. Motion has been made in second. All our favorite, raise your right hand. All right. Next, we have a I guess taking order the hotel motel tax, auto rental tax, and the finance update. Good evening, Chairman. And council. So I'll take all three of those items together. Starting with the hotel motel. Our collections are running in line with the prior years. February's collections of 269,000 is the most collected in the month of February that we've seen over the last decade. So that that was a positive uptick for us this month. Year to date, the collections are tracking with the fit um fiscal year 2023, running at approximately 2.5 million year to date and full year. Um 2023 collections totaled 3.85 million for the year, and we have a budget of 3.85 million. We have a budget of 2.3.84 million for the year. Okay. And if you take a look on page two, the fiscal year collections thus far have exceeded the distributions, and that'll potentially add to the reserves at uh fiscal year end. Ideally, we would like for those distributions and collections to match at the year end so that we are utilizing all of our uh revenue collected for the um throughout the year. For our finance update, our revenues continue to come in strong despite some areas of volatility, such as um motor vehicles. Um that um particular area has struggled all year, so we're running um behind on that. Um that is has a lot to do with um the economy and and the purchasing of new vehicles. So um we'll continue to monitor that as we can um go throughout the rest of this fiscal year and next year. Uh commercial permits um have rebounded this quarter. Um, so we've seen some positivity there. Uh business license, which is a significant contributor to the general fund, has their um deadline on Monday the 31st, so we'll see how they um come in as far as revenues, and then we'll start with uh collections for um uh delinquent um licenses for the for the remainder of the fiscal year. Um also um to mention successful hiring uh measures have resulted in a um fewer vacant positions than we anticipated or budgeted, and so that has accelerated the use of our salary savings, so we'll continue to monitor that. Um but we're still in good standing for our year-in capital. Any questions? Any questions? Do we need a motion to receive and just receive and file, yes, sir? Make a motion to receive and file. Second motion has been made and second. All in favor, raise the right hand. Is there any other business to come before the finance hearing none? The finance committee is concerned. I'd like I'd like to uh Mr. Sims is uh traveling, I believe, today. Uh and he asked if we would all speak up to where he could hear. But I'd like to call the parks and recreation and tourism committee meeting to order the first item on the agenda or the regular meeting minutes for February 25th. Make a motion to approve those February 25th meeting. Make a motion to approve. All in favor. Is that an eye good aye? Minutes are approved. Uh Rich 2009 Park Bond report. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good evening, everyone.
openpublica.com