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Record of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Agenda Work Session - April 7, 2025

City Council Archive View — Monday, April 7, 2025
BodyMarietta, Georgia
SessionCity Council Archive View
DateMonday, April 7, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:25

Call the city council agenda review session order, please.

0:28

First item was approval of the March 12, 2025 minutes of the regular meeting.

0:36

Any additions, reletions, corrections or updates?

0:39

I'll make a motion to reprove.

0:40

The revisions for the uh city council meeting from March 12th.

0:44

The review session was was good.

0:46

Motion to approve.

0:48

Second.

0:53

Motion carries.

1:07

Motion should have been for March.

1:10

The motions for the work session minutes, not for the March 12th one.

1:13

March 12th is city council.

1:15

Okay.

1:15

Yeah.

1:16

Now we should stop us.

1:18

So the March chief from fixed.

1:19

Yeah, March.

1:20

We'll get to March 12th.

1:20

Okay.

1:21

Exactly.

1:23

Okay.

1:23

I'm back with you.

1:27

So we have we started off the morning with a um short meeting with the rates committee.

1:35

I'll come back to that.

1:37

In the regular meeting, we we went with right after uh Terry Lee gave us a very nice invocation.

1:42

You did the pledge.

1:43

We recognize some of our linemen for the 2025 public power lineman appreciation month.

1:52

Um and there's also they have a special day.

1:54

So if you see a lineman, thank him.

1:57

Um the next thing is we went over the BLW policy and procedure about working hours.

2:04

So one of the things with linemen, they have kind of set hours in the in the event of an emergency.

2:11

So what this what this did was it bought the linemen in line with other entities, but it also on that first day of an emergency gives them 24 hours where they can work or permit it 24 hours straight, then they're off for eight or nine, and then they come back at 16 hours.

2:29

But really, what it does is it allows us to ramp up in the beginning when things are crazy and not have to worry about how we bring in you know a second crew or whatever, so they get 24 hours.

2:40

So that passed.

2:42

Um we got a nice legislative wrap-up from uh Ronnie.

2:47

Um separately in our meeting here.

2:51

Yeah, I could just do it all at the same time.

2:53

Okay.

2:54

That's fine.

2:55

Uh and then we we talked about the policies and procedures for disconnecting service of people who aren't paying their water and sewer bill.

3:03

And and again, really it's not something where they just go in the first minute, you don't pay it, they disconnect you.

3:09

There is a policy and procedure, and we just made sure that we had that correct, and that also passed 7-0.

3:15

And then we had a presentation by Mr.

3:18

Schalfont.

3:19

All right.

3:20

Um this um report, I'm gonna give a finance report first for the um for closing February 28th.

3:28

And the water sales for the month averaged 68 gallon uh million gallons a day compared with the budget of 67.5.

3:37

Water sales revenue totaled seven million dollars, which fell so the short of the budget expectation by 20,000, which is pretty much right on the money.

3:48

Uh net income for the month of um 3.3 million dollars exceeded the budget expectation by 771,000.

3:59

Uh year-to-date spending on capital projects totaled $3.5 million on the uh date of the financial report with the remaining CIP budget commitment of $88 million.

4:12

Cash reserved for CIP spending totaled $65 million at the end of February.

4:18

Year-to-date average rainfall uh was recorded over at the water authority totaled 7.6 inches at the end of February compared with 13.6 last year, which is about 44 percent below um from year over year.

4:38

Um the um water authorities, all their people are predicting that they have we have a drought this year, but pretty heavy drought coming, so be prepared.

4:51

Um we've uh got uh nine pipeline projects going on in in the process and uh three facilities projects going on, and we're bidding on one new project.

5:05

In addition, we've got nine unfunded mandates from the uh EPA.

5:13

So that's pretty much it, except the um we had some big news come out of uh the courts on last Monday, and um it was in the paper.

5:24

We had a call from the paper after it came out, but uh if you didn't read it, it's the uh the state of Georgia won another legal case in its long-running water wars with Florida and Alabama.

5:37

Federal judge Mundy sided with Georgia, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and the Cobb County Marietta Water Authority in dispute over allocation of water from Lake Altoona.

5:52

Um this decision upheld the Corps decision in 2020-21 to grant Metro Atlanta's water supply request from the lake and allocate more uh of the reservoir to meet the long-term needs of Cartersville and Bartow County.

6:10

The state of Alabama challenged this federal decision, and then we've been arguing over that for at least 10 years.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning and Land Use███████████████████████████27%
Legislative Updates█████████████████17%
Waste Management██████████10%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████9%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Procedural█████5%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Public Works████4%
Parking Management████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Agenda Work Session - April 7, 2025

The Marietta City Council held an agenda work session on April 7, 2025, at 5:15 PM (agenda time) to review and advance items for the upcoming regular council meeting on April 9, 2025. The session covered the Board of Lights and Water (BLW) report, CDBG action plan, zoning amendments for the Marietta Crossing development, a legislative update, and a solid waste management proposal. Several items were moved forward to the consent agenda or regular agenda with votes.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of March 12, 2025 Regular Meeting Minutes as Revised: The council approved the minutes with one amendment by consent. No objection.
  • BLW Report and Minutes: Council Member Richardson presented the BLW report, including financials, a rate committee approval (3.5% wastewater rate increase pass-through), and a legal victory in the water wars case. The BLW minutes were received and passed to the Wednesday agenda by consent.
  • PY2025 CDBG Annual Action Plan: The draft plan was discussed with the correction of a memo error. No public comments were received. Motion to move forward to Wednesday's agenda with recommended approval carried by consent.
  • Revised Detailed Plan – Marietta Crossing Townhomes: New elevations for the two-story product met staff architectural standards. Motion to move forward to Wednesday's agenda with recommendation of approval; no objection.
  • Code Amendment (Tree Protection and Landscaping): A code amendment modifying four sections, including clarifying that planned developments and infill residential are not exempt from tree protection. A small typographical correction noted. Motion to place on consent; no objection.
  • Hunt Street Traffic Calming – Public Hearing: Proposed installation of two speed tables on Hunt Street, with required 70% approval from property owners obtained. Set for public hearing on Wednesday. No objection to placing on consent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during this work session.

Discussion Items

  • Zoning Stipulation Amendment – 50 Powers Ferry Road (Marietta Crossing): Westplan Investors requested modifying stipulations to convert 10,000 sq ft of commercial space on the first floor of Building 2000 to 11 apartment units (initially stated as 12). The change would increase multifamily units from 236 to 248. Council members discussed the viability of commercial versus residential, with some favoring a live-work option. Council Member Goldstein disclosed family property interests in the area. A motion to move forward to Wednesday's agenda passed 4–3.
  • Downtown Solid Waste Management – Dumpster Enclosure Options: Public Works presented two options for a dumpster enclosure at Root and Hansel streets to address capacity issues from downtown growth. Option A: angled enclosure at the corner, losing two parking spaces. Option B: making Root Street one-way with angled parking, gaining a net of nine parking spaces, plus a right-of-way swap with First Baptist Church. Council discussed direction (north vs. south) and safety concerns near a school. Consensus favored Option B. A motion to move forward with the concept passed by consent, with details to be finalized.
  • Legislative Update: Council Member Ryan provided a detailed update on the 2025 legislative session, covering bills that passed, failed, or were tabled. Key items included: tort reform (SB 68 passed), municipal sovereign immunity (SB 59 did not pass), open records (SB 12), out-of-state landlord requirements (HB 399), UAV restrictions (HB 58 signed into law), and exemption bidding thresholds (HB 137). Discussion focused on the impact of potential insurance liability limits, with council expressing concern about discrimination against cities regarding sovereign immunity.

Key Outcomes

  • BLW Report and Minutes: Received and passed to Wednesday agenda by consent.
  • CDBG Action Plan: Approved for recommendation to regular meeting.
  • Marietta Crossing Stipulation Amendment: Advanced to Wednesday agenda with a 4–3 vote.
  • Marietta Crossing Townhomes Revised Plan: Advanced to Wednesday agenda by consent.
  • Code Amendment: Placed on consent for Wednesday.
  • Hunt Street Traffic Calming: Public hearing set for Wednesday.
  • Solid Waste Management – Option B: Concept approved; staff to negotiate final details with First Baptist Church and bring back for final approval.
  • Legislative Update: Noted for information; no action required.
  • Draft City Council Agenda for April 9, 2025: Approved by consent, including items discussed.
  • Next Meeting: Regular council meeting scheduled for April 9, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Call the city council agenda review session order, please. First item was approval of the March 12, 2025 minutes of the regular meeting. Any additions, reletions, corrections or updates? I'll make a motion to reprove. The revisions for the uh city council meeting from March 12th. The review session was was good. Motion to approve. Second. Motion carries. Motion should have been for March. The motions for the work session minutes, not for the March 12th one. March 12th is city council. Okay. Yeah. Now we should stop us. So the March chief from fixed. Yeah, March. We'll get to March 12th. Okay. Exactly. Okay. I'm back with you. So we have we started off the morning with a um short meeting with the rates committee. I'll come back to that. In the regular meeting, we we went with right after uh Terry Lee gave us a very nice invocation. You did the pledge. We recognize some of our linemen for the 2025 public power lineman appreciation month. Um and there's also they have a special day. So if you see a lineman, thank him. Um the next thing is we went over the BLW policy and procedure about working hours. So one of the things with linemen, they have kind of set hours in the in the event of an emergency. So what this what this did was it bought the linemen in line with other entities, but it also on that first day of an emergency gives them 24 hours where they can work or permit it 24 hours straight, then they're off for eight or nine, and then they come back at 16 hours. But really, what it does is it allows us to ramp up in the beginning when things are crazy and not have to worry about how we bring in you know a second crew or whatever, so they get 24 hours. So that passed. Um we got a nice legislative wrap-up from uh Ronnie. Um separately in our meeting here. Yeah, I could just do it all at the same time. Okay. That's fine. Uh and then we we talked about the policies and procedures for disconnecting service of people who aren't paying their water and sewer bill. And and again, really it's not something where they just go in the first minute, you don't pay it, they disconnect you. There is a policy and procedure, and we just made sure that we had that correct, and that also passed 7-0. And then we had a presentation by Mr. Schalfont. All right. Um this um report, I'm gonna give a finance report first for the um for closing February 28th. And the water sales for the month averaged 68 gallon uh million gallons a day compared with the budget of 67.5. Water sales revenue totaled seven million dollars, which fell so the short of the budget expectation by 20,000, which is pretty much right on the money. Uh net income for the month of um 3.3 million dollars exceeded the budget expectation by 771,000. Uh year-to-date spending on capital projects totaled $3.5 million on the uh date of the financial report with the remaining CIP budget commitment of $88 million.

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