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Record of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Committees and Special Called Meeting - May 27, 2025

City Council Archive View — Tuesday, May 27, 2025
BodyMarietta, Georgia
SessionCity Council Archive View
DateTuesday, May 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

I'd like to call the city council special meeting to order, please.

0:11

The agenda that went out was based on what could have been needed for the SDS.

0:22

Meeting.

0:22

So those could be items that require no action.

0:27

Basically, to a subsequent event, which came Friday afternoon.

0:38

Take no action.

0:39

Take no action.

0:39

Present it and no action.

0:42

Correct.

0:43

First of all.

0:45

And then is you and Doug explain what judges and I thought we heard we're hearing that noise.

1:01

The final SCS meeting.

1:05

The city, the city attorneys basically were there in the city managers and a couple mayors, the council.

1:13

But we weren't privately what was going on between the last city.

1:21

So what the chat in favor, but it's still going to take a few.

1:35

Right.

1:36

Yes, sir.

1:36

So as you were saying, uh Friday, everybody was working hard trying to get us to this point.

1:44

At nine o'clock on Friday night, uh everything came together.

1:49

So that was a very good thing.

1:51

And uh we have had attorneys working on the documents ever since uh then and they're still working on them right now uh on the finals.

2:00

Um we do have a resolution which I passed out, which would be, as the mayor said, one of the items that would be after the ones we would you know ask you to not take action on.

2:10

So this would actually be the um one on the second page, which is called the service delivery strategy amendments.

2:17

Um and so this would be approving that resolution.

2:20

The other four items that uh come before that, the uh Animal Services Agreement, cooperative purchasing and transportation services, uh we would not be presenting an amended IGA for any of those items.

2:34

Uh none of the other cities will have those either.

2:36

And so those would go away.

2:38

Um the uh amendment uh dealing with paragraph 11 uh wouldn't be asking for that either, and then uh the the one that comes after the service delivery amendments, which is legal action, wouldn't be asking for that either, uh, since there is an agreement uh that everybody's been able to reach.

2:56

Um what uh needed to be done was uh Mapleton had to reach an agreement with Cobb in order to have our SDS agreement in total complete, and without it being complete, then uh we would have gone into or we would go into sanctions as of the first of June.

3:17

Um there because of the fact that there never was an agreement between Cobb and Mapleton, we couldn't get an extension because you can't extend something that doesn't exist.

3:29

So uh that was out.

3:30

We usually that that would be able to be granted uh for a short period of time, but can't in this case because there is no agreement, or has not been an agreement until now.

3:41

Um and so Cobb and uh Mapleton did agree.

3:45

Um both parties agreed to leave our agreements alone, uh, which uh the city the six cities agreements with Cobb to leave those alone, and uh so therefore, you know, our payments come in as as they were going to uh in November.

4:00

Um now the agreement that Cobb did with Mapleton is only for a year.

4:05

So um that means that we're all gonna have to get back together again, and we're gonna have to uh agree on where we go past that year.

4:15

Um Cobb and Mapleton have an agreement where Mapleton is gonna make a payment to Cobb and they're gonna be doing that for certain services, uh, but that'll be for that year period.

4:28

Uh and then they're they're gonna try to work out everything between now and then as far as where they go beyond that, because these are supposed to be 10-year agreements, and now there are triggering uh things that can happen during that 10 years that can open it all back up again, one of those being a new comp plan uh that the county would have and have to file with DCA.

4:52

Uh that will be coming up in a couple of years, so um that could be uh a triggering event which would open it back up again also.

5:01

So uh we'll we'll hope that they'll work out what they um they have currently so that it goes beyond a year, and if they can get that all worked out, then we can go ahead and have another amendment and hopefully carry this a little longer uh with what we've got.

5:17

Um said that, um Doug, anything else from the legal standpoint?

5:23

Uh no, sir.

5:24

Good summary of Mr.

5:25

Bruton, but the mayor, if he desires, made declare all the agenda items on page one need no action, or you all can vote to take no action.

5:36

Either way, it takes them off of the agenda.

5:38

Then you would go straight to the first item, top item on page two, and Mr.

5:43

Bruton has handed out the uh proper resolution, which we've all seen today agreed to, and it does give uh the mayor, city manager, and the city attorney uh the right to make minor changes, but you would need to vote to approve the resolution.

6:00

And and thank you.

6:01

And to tell you what else is still we're still waiting on, it's these documents, which we had from the uh the current one that we have, the service delivery.

6:12

And they're basically it's a schedule.

6:15

Um they're called form twos, and it says um, you know, form two summary of service delivery arrangements.

6:22

So in everything that we relate to Cobb County on, or another city relates to Cobb County, um, there is one of these sheets, and so it it just goes through bless you.

6:33

You you have basically you check a box, um, you know, is the service provider countywide?

6:41

Um service is only provided in the unincorporated area of the county by a single service provider.

6:46

You you have these different boxes you have to check, and uh then you basically add in at the end um where you're gonna where you get the money from in order to pay for those services that you're doing, um whether it's E911 services or animal control services or um water and sewer, all the rest.

7:07

And so you know there's one in there that talks about how we you know purchase water and uh that we deliver wastewater and you know how that works.

7:16

So there are all those different forms.

7:18

What needed to be done with them is Mapleton needs to be incorporated into these uh forms because they were not in there obviously to begin with.

7:26

And then there's some maps also that go in there uh that show service delivery areas that we've got.

7:31

Um those have all been worked out previously.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████18%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████16%
Legal Services█████████9%
Tourism█████████9%
Public Works███████7%
Public Safety███████7%
Public Engagement█████5%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Code Enforcement█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Committees and Special Called Meeting - May 27, 2025

The City of Marietta held a series of committee meetings and a Special Called Council meeting on May 27, 2025, starting at 10:30 AM. The meetings covered a wide range of topics including the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) agreement, the FY2026 budget, tourism grants, ethics code amendments, road race regulations, and multiple public works projects. Key actions included approval of a resolution for SDS amendments, approval of $25,000 for the Strand Theatre's 90th birthday celebration, and moving several items forward to future meetings.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes for Finance/Investments Committee (April 29, 2025 and May 13, 2025 special meeting).
  • Approved minutes for Personnel/Insurance Committee (January 28, 2025).
  • Approved minutes for Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee (April 29, 2025 and May 13, 2025 special meeting).
  • Approved minutes for Judicial Legislative Committee (April 29, 2025).
  • Approved minutes for Economic/Community Development Committee (March 27, 2025).
  • Approved minutes for Public Works Committee (April 29, 2025).
  • Approved minutes for Special Called Council Work Session (April 29, 2025).
  • Received and filed Hotel Motel Tax and Auto Rental Tax reports for April 2025.

The following items were placed on the consent agenda with no objections:

  • Lease extension of 156 Church Street (Clarke Library) to K Mike Whittle Designs (first extension term per lease paragraph three).
  • Rigby Street Speed Study (approval to proceed with speed study and set 25 mph speed limit).
  • Donation of Right-of-Way (250 sq ft each from 571 and 575 Lawrence Street for future sidewalk expansion).
  • Cherry Street Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (approval with WellStar covering half the cost, city share from safety funds).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were recorded during the meetings.

Discussion Items

  • Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) Agreement (Special Called Meeting): City Attorney Bill Bruton and Assistant City Attorney Doug reported on the SDS status. After months of negotiations, the City of Marietta and Cobb County reached an agreement with Mableton on Friday, May 23, 2025. The agreement leaves existing city-county agreements intact for one year. The council took no action on four items (Animal Services, Cooperative Purchasing, Transportation Services, and Paragraph 11 amendment) because no amended IGAs were presented. The council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor, city manager, and city attorney to finalize non-substantive edits to the SDS documents, which must be submitted to DCA by Wednesday, May 28, 2025, to avoid sanctions. Council Member Kent expressed satisfaction that sanctions were avoided but noted the one-year sunset.
  • FY2026 Budget Adoption (Finance/Investments Committee): Finance Director presented the proposed $428,392,732 budget. Key assumptions include no millage rate or fee increases, a 2% projected property tax digest increase, a 4% placeholder mid-year salary increase (pending December review), no employee health care cost increases (city absorbing costs), a reduction in capital to $1 million (from $1.5 million), and use of $2 million from self-insurance reserves. Two new full-time sanitation route driver positions were added to save money by bringing downtown trash service in-house. Council members discussed tight revenue trends (flat or declining business licenses, permits, franchise fees) and rising costs (vehicle/equipment, contractor bids up 30%). The budget was moved forward to the agenda work session pending a public hearing on June 3, 2025.
  • Personnel and Insurance Committee: The proposed FY2026 Pay and Classification System for City and BLW employees includes a 4% salary increase for all regular employees effective December 1, 2025 (if financial conditions allow), adjustment of maximum salary ranges, and authorization for step increases in lieu of merit. An internal auditor position was moved from Finance to the City Manager's office for autonomy. One Ambassador position was reclassified to a Support Services Tech Supervisor for evidence processing. The item was moved forward to the agenda work session.
  • Parks, Recreation and Tourism Committee:
    • 2009 Parks Bond Report: Progress update on West Park (advertisements out, bids due May 30, 2025) and a restroom project delayed to end of July due to third-party certification issues. Council expressed frustration with delays.
    • Tourism Grants Discussion: A list of 20 tourism organizations was presented for FY2026 grants (e.g., Marietta Visitors Bureau, Georgia Symphony Orchestra, Strand Theatre). Council Member Goldstein disclosed relationships with multiple organizations and recused himself from discussion and votes on those items. No action taken; recommendations will be compiled for the agenda work session.
    • Marietta Arts Council Additional Funding: Requested $2,500 for inclement weather costs during Trailfest, but actual costs were $1,200 (History Center rental). Council approved the $1,200 from tourism reserves (3-0).
    • Strand Theatre 90th Birthday Celebration: Executive Director Andy Gaines requested $25,000 for a week-long celebration (September 23-28, 2025), including movie screenings, live organ, and partnerships with local arts organizations (e.g., GSO, Georgia Metro Dance Theatre). Funding would come from excess tourism funds or reserves. Council approved the $25,000 as a lump sum (3-0), with Council Member Walker recusing due to his role on the event committee.
  • Judicial Legislative Committee:
    • Detailed Plan - 29 Doran Avenue: A 5-unit townhome development. Staff clarified comments; applicant stated they will underground existing overhead utility poles at their expense and provided staggered building offsets. Moved forward to agenda work session with instructions to correct elevation showing 6 units to 5 and address overhead utility variance.
    • Road Races/Walks Code Changes: Draft amendments to Chapter 9-8 to limit closures, allow rolling intersection reopenings, and require a Marietta community focus. Council discussed restricting events (currently 2 per month, but code change inadvertently removed limits for parades). No action taken; moratorium on new applications remains. Five applications are on hold, earliest July 14, 2025.
    • Ethics Committee Reappointment: Motion to reappoint Lee A. DeHihns III to the Ethics Committee for a two-year term. Date corrected to expire August 11, 2027 (not June 11). Moved forward to consent.
    • Ethics Code, Rules, Complaint Form: Proposed new ethics ordinance (starting from scratch, not a redline of old code). Council members requested a redline version for comparison. All three items moved to next month's committee meeting.
  • Economic/Community Development Committee: Lease extension for Clarke Library (156 Church Street) to K Mike Whittle Designs. Approved the first extension term as per lease paragraph three. Placed on consent.
  • Public Works Committee:
    • 2016 SPLOST TIP Summary: No new updates; waiting on Rottenwood Creek bid results.
    • 2022 SPLOST TIP Summary: Updates on Whitlock Drive intersection (bidding soon), Roswell Street four-lane gap (contractor mobilized), Mountain View Road widening (out to bid, utility delays possible), Mary Road Landfill (on schedule). Traffic calming meeting for South Woodland Drive on June 12, 2025.
    • May 2025 Public Works Departmental Performance: Report held steady; development at Bills Ferry (greenhouse project) expected to start vertical construction permits soon.
  • Special Called Council Work Session: Approved minutes. No executive session. Council member asked about sidewalk requirements for new construction; staff clarified that new developments require sidewalks unless varied by council, but infill single-family lots can choose sidewalk or right-of-way donation.

Key Outcomes

  • Service Delivery Strategy (SDS): Resolution approved authorizing finalization of SDS documents (vote: unanimous). Four items on page one of agenda received

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call the city council special meeting to order, please. The agenda that went out was based on what could have been needed for the SDS. Meeting. So those could be items that require no action. Basically, to a subsequent event, which came Friday afternoon. Take no action. Take no action. Present it and no action. Correct. First of all. And then is you and Doug explain what judges and I thought we heard we're hearing that noise. The final SCS meeting. The city, the city attorneys basically were there in the city managers and a couple mayors, the council. But we weren't privately what was going on between the last city. So what the chat in favor, but it's still going to take a few. Right. Yes, sir. So as you were saying, uh Friday, everybody was working hard trying to get us to this point. At nine o'clock on Friday night, uh everything came together. So that was a very good thing. And uh we have had attorneys working on the documents ever since uh then and they're still working on them right now uh on the finals. Um we do have a resolution which I passed out, which would be, as the mayor said, one of the items that would be after the ones we would you know ask you to not take action on. So this would actually be the um one on the second page, which is called the service delivery strategy amendments. Um and so this would be approving that resolution. The other four items that uh come before that, the uh Animal Services Agreement, cooperative purchasing and transportation services, uh we would not be presenting an amended IGA for any of those items. Uh none of the other cities will have those either. And so those would go away. Um the uh amendment uh dealing with paragraph 11 uh wouldn't be asking for that either, and then uh the the one that comes after the service delivery amendments, which is legal action, wouldn't be asking for that either, uh, since there is an agreement uh that everybody's been able to reach. Um what uh needed to be done was uh Mapleton had to reach an agreement with Cobb in order to have our SDS agreement in total complete, and without it being complete, then uh we would have gone into or we would go into sanctions as of the first of June. Um there because of the fact that there never was an agreement between Cobb and Mapleton, we couldn't get an extension because you can't extend something that doesn't exist. So uh that was out. We usually that that would be able to be granted uh for a short period of time, but can't in this case because there is no agreement, or has not been an agreement until now. Um and so Cobb and uh Mapleton did agree. Um both parties agreed to leave our agreements alone, uh, which uh the city the six cities agreements with Cobb to leave those alone, and uh so therefore, you know, our payments come in as as they were going to uh in November. Um now the agreement that Cobb did with Mapleton is only for a year. So um that means that we're all gonna have to get back together again, and we're gonna have to uh agree on where we go past that year. Um Cobb and Mapleton have an agreement where Mapleton is gonna make a payment to Cobb and they're gonna be doing that for certain services, uh, but that'll be for that year period. Uh and then they're they're gonna try to work out everything between now and then as far as where they go beyond that, because these are supposed to be 10-year agreements, and now there are triggering uh things that can happen during that 10 years that can open it all back up again, one of those being a new comp plan uh that the county would have and have to file with DCA. Uh that will be coming up in a couple of years, so um that could be uh a triggering event which would open it back up again also. So uh we'll we'll hope that they'll work out what they um they have currently so that it goes beyond a year, and if they can get that all worked out, then we can go ahead and have another amendment and hopefully carry this a little longer uh with what we've got. Um said that, um Doug, anything else from the legal standpoint? Uh no, sir. Good summary of Mr. Bruton, but the mayor, if he desires, made declare all the agenda items on page one need no action, or you all can vote to take no action. Either way, it takes them off of the agenda. Then you would go straight to the first item, top item on page two, and Mr. Bruton has handed out the uh proper resolution, which we've all seen today agreed to, and it does give uh the mayor, city manager, and the city attorney uh the right to make minor changes, but you would need to vote to approve the resolution. And and thank you. And to tell you what else is still we're still waiting on, it's these documents, which we had from the uh the current one that we have, the service delivery. And they're basically it's a schedule.

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