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Record of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Meeting – July 9, 2025

City Council Archive View — Wednesday, July 9, 2025
BodyMarietta, Georgia
SessionCity Council Archive View
DateWednesday, July 9, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

I'd like to call the city council agenda review session to order, please.

0:06

That's to the June 11th, 2025 regular meeting minutes.

0:11

Addition, deletion, changes, motion.

0:14

Make a motion to approve.

0:15

Second.

0:16

All those in favor, please raise your right hand.

0:19

Motion carries.

0:21

City Council agenda review.

0:25

Get ready, Bill.

0:30

Well, the best dress is ready to give our invocation tonight.

0:40

And then from the personnel and public safety, whoever wants to join with the chief to present our 70 officers.

0:52

Still confusing after the chairman change.

0:55

I think this is Johnny and Griff.

0:58

You forget that every time.

1:07

Mr.

1:08

Morris going to speak.

1:12

Is the only person signed up for the scheduled appearance?

1:15

Yes, sir.

1:15

We we had one more that uh came to us after the after the deadline uh and talked about speaking, so he said he may speak at the end.

1:28

The two the regular meeting and the special minutes meeting and the special meeting minutes are on consent.

1:38

Any objection, those two?

1:40

No.

1:43

The next on page three, every item that denial of claims in the historical board review appointments on consent.

1:53

Any objections?

1:55

No objection.

2:02

Yeah.

2:04

Yeah, the final adoption of the advalorum tax.

2:08

So all the hearings have been held now both for the seat.

2:11

Yes, sir.

2:13

Is it better to vote in public on it or put it on consent if public?

2:21

Okay.

2:21

So consent on it.

2:24

Did you say consent was good or bad?

2:26

Well, I I would like to do ours in public.

2:29

I know that the school board did theirs today.

2:32

I mean, if we want to put that on consent, but I think we should do ours in public.

2:38

And once again, state that we're not raising.

2:44

That's a good idea.

2:46

Since I still is raising theirs 150%.

2:50

We won't mention that.

2:52

We don't want to let that one go.

2:53

Well.

3:01

Okay.

3:03

Yeah, that's I think low gas prices don't help them.

3:10

Because they were all they were lower than us for years.

3:14

Oh, yeah.

3:14

Yeah.

3:14

They were three points something.

3:21

The tree funds on consent, but not the other two.

3:24

Uh Kennesaw Battle Town House, anything.

3:29

That's on consent.

3:31

I'd like to leave it on consent.

3:37

The road races and mayor history center on consent.

3:41

Yes, sir.

3:42

On on the road races, we'd ask you to leave that on consent if everybody feels good about it.

3:46

On the actual fees, we're going to ask that council table that because we've got some other issues that came up today with fees uh dealing with different events, parades, and all the rest.

3:58

And so we just need a little bit of time to make sure that we're uh taking everything into consideration when we put that together.

4:06

So are the fees on the agenda?

4:08

Yes.

4:09

These are the later times.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation███████████████████████████27%
Procedural████████████12%
Employee Benefits███████████11%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Public Safety████████8%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Economic Development█████5%
Sports Facilities Development█████5%
Public Health████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Marietta City Council Meeting – July 9, 2025

The Marietta City Council met on July 9, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included the presentation of new police officers, a proclamation for Parks and Recreation Month, a scheduled appearance by Donald Barth, approval of consent agenda items, public hearings on three variance requests, and extensive informational reports from city staff on development projects, AI initiatives, employee benefits, and departmental updates. The council discussed and voted on several items, including the final adoption of the FY2026 ad valorem tax levies and the Marietta City Schools millage rate, and tabled a proposed fee modification for road races.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the June 11, 2025, regular meeting minutes and the June 25, 2025, special meeting minutes.
  • Reappointment of Dorothy Woodruff to the Historic Board of Review (Ward 1) for a two-year term.
  • Denial of claims for Scott Davis, Cindy Lu Phoi Tam and Johnny Tam (Council Member Goldstein abstained due to a conflict), Sumellow Jones, Brianna Lawhorne, Julie Doan, and Rosa Pearson.
  • Approval of the detailed plan for Kennesaw Battle Townhomes (20 units) at Tower and James Street with conditions (Council Member Kent voted against).
  • First reading of changes to City Code Chapter 9-8 concerning road races and walks.
  • Approval of the Marietta History Center’s request for permanent removal of collection items.
  • Approval of an ordinance amending the FY2026 Tree Replacement Fund Budget to receive and appropriate $10,175.00 for a tree density deficit at the Ed Voyles Kia Ph. II site.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Scheduled Appearance: Donald Barth was scheduled to speak but no details of his remarks were provided in the transcript.
  • Public Hearings on Variances: Three public hearings were held with all parties sworn in:
    • V2025-05 (Mike Panjwani/Westbrook & McGuire, LLC): Requesting six variances for property at 1810 Williams Drive. The applicant’s representative submitted a revised site plan increasing parking from 11 to 14 spaces. Council discussed that on-street parking on Williams Drive would not be permitted due to safety concerns.
    • V2025-09 (Total Property Advisors, LLC): Requesting two variances for properties at 486, 490, 494 Waterman Street and 160 South Avenue (setbacks for a patio/fireplace and gravel parking surface).
    • V2025-11 (Malone’s Automotive, Inc./Malone Hamby Holdings, LLC): Requesting seven variances for property at 1912 Lower Roswell Road. The agenda noted a motion to table this item.

Discussion Items

  • Final Adoption of FY2026 Ad Valorem Tax Levies and Marietta City Schools Millage Rate: Council decided to vote on these items in public (not on consent) and stated that the city is not raising its millage rate. The school board’s millage rate increase of 150% was noted. The resolution for Marietta City Schools adopted a maintenance and operations levy of 17.970 mills.
  • City Fee Chart Modification: Staff requested that the proposed fee modification for road races/walks be tabled because additional issues with fees for other events needed further review. Council agreed to table the item and refer it to a committee.
  • City Manager’s Reports:
    • Drone video presentations of: Rebel Ridge (former landfill now capped and replanted), the Greenhouse development (largest annexed land since the 1990s, ~600 acres off Bells Ferry), Atlanta United training facility expansion (including solar panels and new media space, expected completion around September), the Studio Movie Grill site (old Harry’s, groundbreaking set for July 29 at noon), and the July 4th parade.
    • AI initiatives: Implementation of AI tools for network security (autonomous threat response), customer care call summarization, sentiment analysis, whisper mode for supervisor coaching, chatbot for call takers, and future projects for HR inquiries and citizen permitting questions. The city is also exploring AI-driven cybersecurity training simulations.
    • Employee take-home pay calculator: Demonstrates that despite lower hourly wages, city employees often have higher take-home pay due to lower insurance costs and non-participation in Social Security. The tool is built in-house and used for retention.
    • Employee health clinic: Run by WellStar, offers free visits, medications, and comprehensive annual blood tests. The clinic has detected early-stage cancers in employees, leading to successful treatment. The clinic’s PA received state and system-wide awards.
  • HR Updates: Ice cream celebration on July 19 (Friday or Monday), HR team participating in International Festival at Jim Miller Park, mammogram bus on September 25, service awards on December 12. A video promoting the city as an employer was shown.
  • Police Department Updates:
    • Promotion of Lt. Gretchen Ingram to Major (26 years of service, master’s degree).
    • Zero police officer vacancies; one officer leaving for firefighting, with 17 applicants for that position.
    • Transfers: Lt. Michael Braxton to investigative services; Lt. Tim Lemmings returns from the academy to a technology lieutenant role.
  • Fire Department: Two new trucks are expected soon.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Consent Calendar: All items listed under consent calendar were approved by majority vote, with noted exceptions.
  • FY2026 Ad Valorem Tax Levies Ordinance: Adopted (final adoption) – no tax increase for the city.
  • Marietta City Schools Millage Rate Resolution: Approved and accepted at 17.970 mills.
  • Variance V2025-05: No vote recorded in transcript; the revised site plan was presented but not formally decided. The item was likely continued or tabled.
  • Variance V2025-09: No vote recorded; public hearing held.
  • Variance V2025-11: Motion to table was on the agenda; no final vote shown.
  • City Fee Chart Modification: Tabled and referred to committee for further review.
  • Road Races/Walks Ordinance: First reading approved on consent; second reading waived to end the moratorium and allow pending applications.
  • General: The council received informational updates on development projects, AI initiatives, and employee benefits, but no formal decisions were made on those items.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call the city council agenda review session to order, please. That's to the June 11th, 2025 regular meeting minutes. Addition, deletion, changes, motion. Make a motion to approve. Second. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. City Council agenda review. Get ready, Bill. Well, the best dress is ready to give our invocation tonight. And then from the personnel and public safety, whoever wants to join with the chief to present our 70 officers. Still confusing after the chairman change. I think this is Johnny and Griff. You forget that every time. Mr. Morris going to speak. Is the only person signed up for the scheduled appearance? Yes, sir. We we had one more that uh came to us after the after the deadline uh and talked about speaking, so he said he may speak at the end. The two the regular meeting and the special minutes meeting and the special meeting minutes are on consent. Any objection, those two? No. The next on page three, every item that denial of claims in the historical board review appointments on consent. Any objections? No objection. Yeah. Yeah, the final adoption of the advalorum tax. So all the hearings have been held now both for the seat. Yes, sir. Is it better to vote in public on it or put it on consent if public? Okay. So consent on it. Did you say consent was good or bad? Well, I I would like to do ours in public. I know that the school board did theirs today. I mean, if we want to put that on consent, but I think we should do ours in public. And once again, state that we're not raising. That's a good idea. Since I still is raising theirs 150%. We won't mention that. We don't want to let that one go. Well. Okay. Yeah, that's I think low gas prices don't help them. Because they were all they were lower than us for years. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They were three points something. The tree funds on consent, but not the other two. Uh Kennesaw Battle Town House, anything.

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