Good evening.

I'd like to call the mayor of the city council to order, please, for Wednesday, October the 8th.

And you call in the order before we can jump into the agenda.

We have three cleanup items, and I'd like to call upon Cheryl Richardson to make a few motions.

Mayor, I'd like to suspend the rules and add a motion.

Second.

All those in favor, please raise your right hand.

Motion carries.

I'd like to add a motion to add in the presentation by the board uh by the Marietta Power and Water recognizing the 2025 public power clean water poster contest winners from Marietta City Schools.

Motion carry.

And it will come after 2020 5077.

The next item will call upon Mr.

Goldstein to make a motion to suspend the rules and add an item to the agenda under denial of claim.

Please indicate your vote.

Motion would be to deny the claim of Christopher Sutton.

That is my motion.

Second.

Please indicate your vote.

Motion is carried.

Any objection to consent?

No objection.

Thank you.

Next week Shalfante had one concerning the Baptist Church.

Oh, um.

Okay, I'd like to uh suspend the rules and make a motion to table the um just been and add a motion.

And add a motion.

Your second.

Second.

Please indicate your vote.

Motion almost.

Motion carries.

They should keep us on the toes, Green.

There you go.

There you go.

Um I'd like to make a motion to um table the um number two oh two five oh seven six oh downtown solid weight management district service.

Second.

Please indicate your vote.

Motion carries.

Thank you.

I'd like to call upon all our kent to lead us in the invocation.

Can we all bow our heads, please?

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you with grateful hearts, thankful for the privilege of serving our community and for the citizens who gather here tonight to help shape its future.

Lord, as our nation navigates a time of political division and uncertainty, we ask that you guide our hearts toward understanding patience and unity.

Remind us that we are bound together by far more than far more that unites us than divides us.

Help us to remember that we all share a common story where our ancestors arrived through Ellis Island and during the passage of slave ships across the southern border, seeking hope.

We all are part of one great American family, striving for a better life for our children and generations to come.

Lord, please bless this nation and all of our truths, both serving abroad and here in the United States.

Protect them, strengthen them, and keep them in your care.

Grant us wisdom in our decisions, compassion in our debates, and humility in our service.

May your spirit of peace rest upon this chamber, our city and our nation.

Amen.

We're going to have the national anthem presented today by a select number of members from the GSO chorus.

We all recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

One nation under God, indivisible liberty, justice.

Thank you to the Georgia Symphony Orchestra.

That was wonderful.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Next item is the Fire Prevention Week poster contest winners, if you uh I'm Chief Garner, I'm the Fire Marshal for the City of Marietta.

And the Marietta Fire Department is pleased to be able to promote once again the annual fire prevention week activities nationwide.

This year's theme is Charge into Fire Safety, Lithium Ion Battery Safety in the home.

And with more on our poster contest, I'm going to turn it over to our community risk reduction section, uh, Lieutenant Daniel Simons.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you all for coming out.

Um, like Chief said, my name is Lieutenant Simons.

I'm with the Marietta Fire Department Community Risk Reduction.

First, before I get into this, I want to introduce my teammates here with the community of risk reduction.

Over here you have Lieutenant Matt Brown and Captain Brad Wood.

So this year theme, I says charge to fire safety.

Excuse me.

Our goal every year is to try to educate our children and young ones on the hazard that certain things that we use have.

Um lithium ion batteries is used in our phones and other a lot of other things that we that we use.

Um it's always great to let the kids and young ones express what they learn through artwork, and that's what you see up here.

So without further ado, I'm gonna go into the names and uh schools of those that um won.

From A.

L.

Burst, Osano Feliciano.

From Dunleaf, Nyla Almond.

That person may not be here, we'll make sure they get it.

From Hickory Hills, Bellamy the Busher.

From Lockheed, Victoria Dills Dotto.

From Marietta Center, Advanced Academics, Cotessa McKnight.

Emma Perez.

From Westside, Collins Roberts.

The next item is the public power week posters.

Yes, sir.

There you are.

Sure.

Hi uh my name is Bronson, I'm with Marietta Power and Water.

Uh every year we have a contest where uh different themes each year, but uh this is about kind of what the power linemen and the water crews do in the community.

Uh this year is seeing them as superheroes and got some interesting uh entries to that uh that are they're posted out there by the in the uh we make copies of them, they're posted out there in that display window thing.

And they'll be posted at Marietta Power and Water if you guys want to come by and see them there.

I don't know if everybody's here.

I was able to check uh some, but we there's uh four winners from uh water and four winners from power.

Um I'll announce the power the water first here.

Uh third place winner Ariana Ramirez.

Is Ariana here?

Oh second place winner in uh water was Judith Mehia.

The first place winner in in the water side was Carla Suar.

And then the w in the water side, the grand prize winner was Alessandra Mercado.

For power, the third place winner was uh Genesis Yokute, the moose.

Second prize, uh second prize went to Chris Escobar.

Come on down.

Whichever way you want to go, okay.

First place fifty, uh second place twenty-five, and uh third place uh fifteen.

Wow.

What did they do with a draw?

Yeah.

Oh I see.

Congratulations.

Next item is a presentation to purchase purchasing division distinguished milestone award.

Who's gonna do that one?

That was a definitely um very hard acts to follow.

Um I can't um say that I'll be as cute as they are um in my presentation.

However, would you like to start off?

Okay, so my name is Patina Brown, and I am the finance director here at City of Marietta.

I am bringing forth the award that was presented to our purchasing department by our online auction platform for the goal of reaching three million dollars in sales.

What that means is for our online auction platform, we sell surplus obsolete and confiscated assets that we receive through the city.

And by auctioning them off online, we receive revenue from that that goes back to offset expenses, operating expenses that we have throughout the city, also helping with our budgetary needs each year.

So over the uh course of the few years, we have uh reached a milestone marker of three million dollars that we have received back, and that as I mentioned goes directly towards our operating budget and um helps offset the cost of our ongoing expenses.

So it is hard work that has been done through multiple departments, including our fleet and our public works department, as well as our purchasing collaboration together.

So I would just like to um mark this milestone for them and congratulate them on the hard work that they've done.

Georgia Sheffield Orchestra's 75th anniversary, Cheryl.

Good evening, everyone.

I was gonna try a new thing after uh the guy came up with the harmonica.

I was actually gonna sing this.

But then I really thought about it.

I really can't sing, so I tell you what, let's do that to get me started.

It's exciting.

All right.

Anyone else need to come down?

We're all here all up.

All great.

So we have a proclamation for um GSO's 75th anniversary.

Uh the Georgia Symphony Orchestra has been a prominent contributor to the culture life of the City of Marietta for 75 years.

Significantly enriching our residents' quality of life through outstanding musical performances, as we saw part of it today a little bit, and robust community engagement.

Whereas it is the founding in 1951, the GSO has been a vital contributor to Marietta's artistic landscape, helping the establishment well, helping to establish the city's reputation as a center for the arts by presenting high-quality symphonic jazz choral experiences that inspire and connect our diverse community.

And the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, established in 2006 as the GSO's educational division, has dedicated 20 years to actively fostering the talents of young musicians, including many students from Marietta, which is great, providing valuable training that instills discipline and lifelong appreciation for music.

And under the dedicated artistic direction of Timothy Burville.

Okay, all right, uh, who has led the orchestra since 2016?

The GSO has experienced significant growth and earned reputa and earned uh recognition for innovative artistic excellence and community engagement.

His visionary leadership has expanded the orchestra's reach, created inclusive opportunities for underrepresented populations and developing uh pioneering programs such as sensory friendly concert that ensure music is accessible to all.

The Georgia Symphony Orchestra, through its commitment to original programming, educational outreach, and community partnership, continues to serve as a value culture asset for the City of Marietta, making exceptional music and transformative experiences above available to all of our citizens now, therefore.

Do hereby recognize and commend the Georgia Symphony Symphony Orchestra for 75 years of extraordinary artistry, 20 years of dedication to youth education through the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra, and its ongoing commitment to innovation under the artistic leadership of Timothy Furville.

Yes, and express our sincere gratitude for their enduring contribution to the cultural character of our great city of Marietta.

Let's give them a hand.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Do I get to say something?

Yes, you do.

Thank you so much.

We want to express our sincere gratitude to the city council, both for this proclamation and for their extraordinary support of our 75th anniversary season.

Because directly because of their support, we were able to announce today five new performances that will happen right here within steps of this building at Zion Heritage Museum, the Strand Theater, and at St.

James and Lawrence Chapel.

So we have uh because of your generosity been able to expand our schedule right here within the city limits of Marietta and offer more opportunities for music in this city.

So we're very grateful to the city council for that support.

We want to invite all of you who have not had an opportunity to experience us to come and do that, and you can do that this weekend right here at the Cobb Civic Center, uh, Jenny T.

Anderson Theater, you can come and experience our sensory-friendly programming and family programming.

Uh, you can come here.

We got lots of kids here.

It's called Level Up, and it is the Symphony playing video game music.

So come and hear it.

It will be very exciting for you guys.

So uh we thank you all for your support, and uh we also have a very special invitation to the city council to a special event before our premier concert on October 25th.

And so I will leave this uh invitations with you, Stephanie, and um hope that you will all be able to attend.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you to the ship.

I would like to say one thing.

This is a special honor for us because Sheffield was founded in 1950 on Van Purburg's home, and he served us well, and he'd be thrilled if he knew.

He didn't live there at the time, but he did for a long time.

But we looked at the names of the women who signed that chart and been very, very dear members, and I think they would be proud of what has come to pass.

So thank you for that.

We thank y'all.

We got so many proclamations tonight.

I'll make sure I got the right one.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I want to first thank the mayor and council for voting to make uh Marietta a part of GMA's uh reading club.

Also want to recognize Miss Irene Barton, who's my cohort, Miss Sam Bass, and I'm sorry, I don't know your from uh from the school system.

Um this is a great honor.

Uh I found my passion a couple of years ago, and Irene has helped me along the way to be able to contribute and and promote early literacy.

So we are honored today to issue a proclamation, which is the final step in clack and declaring Marietta as one of the GMA reading club uh members cities.

So whereas literacy is not just educ an education issue, it's an economic workforce and quality of life issue.

And whereas research shows that children who can't read proficiently by the end of the third grade are more likely to experience poor health, have discipline problems, and drop out of high school, and whereas each year in the United States, low literacy levels are linked to hundreds of billions of dollars in the non-productivity, health care, and judicial cost.

And whereas 68% of Georgia's fourth graders do not read proficiently.

And whereas collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships must be undertaken to address literacy issues.

And whereas the mayor's reading club program is offered through Georgia Forward, a Georgia Municipal Association Managed Nonprofit.

And whereas the goal of the program is to improve literacy skills overall and overall success with early reading among children and youth in Georgia Cities through encouragement, support, and leadership from city mayors.

Whereas Georgia Forward has commissioned a children's book series to use as part of the program to teach young root young readers about local government and a copy of the first three books in the series titled Georgia Caroline Visits City Hall, Georgia Caroline visits our hometown heroes, and Georgia Caroline visits the water treatment plant is provided in the program starter kit.

And whereas the mayor's reading club is flexible and can be delivered in person or virtually and promotes partnerships and collaborations between the city, county, schools, public libraries, and local nonprofits and business communities.

Now, therefore, our mayor, Steve Tumlin of the City of Marietta, do hereby join the mayor's reading club program and proclaim October the 8th, 2025 as Mayor's Reading Day in Marietta, Georgia, and encourage all residents, businesses, and community partners to help promote and elevate literacy as a community priority and support the mayor's reading club to improve Georgia's economic vitality one book at a time.

And I want to thank the mayor for allowing me to be the program coordinator for the mayor's reading club and uh and thank all of those who support early literacy.

If you haven't seen the mural that's on the corner of Lemina, I can't help from promoting it, Lemon and Cole Street.

It's not just art.

Um it's based off of a program that was developed by Harvard University called The Basics to help childhood development from birth to preschool.

And so it has five steps, and they are implicated on that mural.

And it was it was it was a great experience to uh work with the artists to develop that and see, and there's also a plaque that has a QR code where parents can scan and they can get more information, or they can get texts twice a week if they sign up of activities that they can do with their kids.

It's all about engagement.

We need to turn this around.

I mean, there are a lot of programs to help kids when they fall fall behind, but if we can stop them from falling behind by making sure they're reading on level, statistics show that those kids more likely graduate from high school, go to college, and and and find a career that they can support that family, and that cycle repeats itself in the same way the other way.

If they're not reading on level and they and they drop out of school, get involved in in drugs or alcohol or crime, that cycle repeats itself also.

So thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Council, for allowing.

Mr.

Gosling, National Community Planning Month.

Good evening, everyone.

This time I'm going to hand the program over to Daniel Cummings as we say as the city count uh before before uh and then he'll get back to me to read the proclamation, designating October 2025 as commit as community planning month in the City of Marietta, and help him recognizing our planning department and our and the members that are appointed to members of the planning commission and BZA.

So, Daniel.

Thank you, Chairman, and good evening, everyone.

As you mentioned, my name is Daniel Cummings.

I am the Assistant City Manager for Economic and Project Development, and I'm also the acting director of development services.

So I'm honored to be here and honored that the city are celebrating community planning for the field that it is and celebrating the decisions that get made and the strategy behind all of it.

So I have behind me uh an incredibly professional staff of planners.

Um I'm grateful for the work that they do.

Uh, if you're not familiar with the field of planning, it's a highly technical field.

It requires uh a different diverse array of skill sets that you know really start off at really understanding and being able to analyze uh things that are very nuanced and very complicated, being able to distill those things down in a way that um is understandable to the public and also to the decision makers, um, and to be able to uh monitor and track those things well and to um see those things through.

Uh it's a field that requires a lot of short-term and very small decision making.

Uh it also requires a broad lens, something that looks far out into the future as well.

Uh and so I'm honored to work alongside these professionals, and um I'll look forward to uh you all learning a little bit just from the proclamation that uh Chairman Goldstein will read.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Before I read the proclamation, do want to I do want to acknowledge we also have uh for our former plan uh planning director, Rusty Roth here, a uh Boozion Planning Commission, correct?

And and Don Barth is a four member of our B of our board of uh Board of Zoning Appeals.

Southern and Ross Southern is also on our board, our board of setting appears as well as well.

So thank you all very much for either serving as a staff member or serving on our boards.

Whereas change is constant and affects all cities, towns, suburbs, counties, boroughs, townships, rural areas, and other places.

And whereas planners can help navigate this change with data-driven insights and expertise that provide better choices for how people work and live, and whereas community planning provides an opportunity for all residents to be meaningfully involved in the making choices that determine the future of their community, and whereas the full benefits of planning require public elected and appointed officials who understand support and demand excellence in planning and plan implementation.

And whereas the month of October is designated as National Community Planning Month throughout the United States of America and its territories, and whereas the American Planning Association endorses National Community Planning Month as an opportunity to highlight how planning is essential to every community and how planners are uniquely positioned to identify solutions to communities' most difficult housing, transportation, and the land use questions.

And whereas the celebration of National Community Planning Month gives us the opportunity to publicly recognize the participation and dedication of appointed planning commission and zoning board members who have contributed their time and expertise to the improvement of the City of Marietta.

And whereas we recognize the many valuable contributions made by the professional planning community and staff planners of the City of Marietta and extend our heartfelt thanks for the continued commitment to public service by these professionals.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the month of October 2025 is hereby designated as community planning month in the City of Marietta, Georgia, in conjunction with the celebration of National Community Planning Month.

Thank you very much.

Can I actually ask all four as well to call on now to tell uh been apart or have been part of the stuff?

No, they're not going to call it.

It's hard to be last after you after all this talent we've had here tonight.

But uh as we celebrate fire prevention month, I'd like to read a proclamation prepared by the city and the mayor's office.

Whereas the City of Marietta is committed to ensuring the safety of all those living in and visiting our city, and whereas the Marietta Fire Department is dedicated to reducing the occurrence of home fires and burn injuries, and whereas the 2025 Fire Prevention Month campaign is charging to fire safety, lithium batteries in your home.

I Steve Tellman, Mayor of the City of Marietta, Georgia do hereby proclaim the week of October 5th through 11th, 2025 as fire provision week, and thus promote the developing a safety plan that includes the appropriate charging and storing storage of lithium iron batteries use smoke alarms, residential fire sprinkler installations, and maintenance, as well as a home fire inspection plan to aid in preventing and limiting home fires.

Now, therefore, I call upon the people of Marietta to participate in fire prevention activities at home, work, and school, and to remember the charge into fire safety to ensure personal safety and minimize the loss of fires within the city of Marietta.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Captain Bradwood, Deputy Fire Marshal.

I just want to take a second to thank the mayor and the city council for their steadfast support of the fire department and fire prevention week.

This year's theme, Charge into Fire Safety, Lithium Ion Batteries in Your Home, underscores the importance of educating your community about emerging fire risk.

Your commitment to public safety helps ensure our residents are informed, prepared, and empowered to prevent fires before they start.

Thank you.

Thank you, and congratulations that everybody was honored tonight.

That was been a good check session.

Are there any announcements from the Nice Diocese?

Yes, sir.

Um just want to remind everyone uh over on October 23rd, uh, I believe it's a Thursday, there will be an information meeting on a speed uh speed study and possible speed traffic calming um for Charles Avenue.

So that will be held over at the public works building, I believe, correct, Bill?

Or correct Mark?

Yep.

Um then we've got a few uh a few festival festivities coming on up, whether it is the homecoming um game and parade this Friday night for Marietta, Choctoberfest this weekend on the square, Harvest Fest, the we the next weekend on the square, um Halloween on October 31st, and a thank you to all who served uh on for Veterans Day on November 11th, which will be the day before our next council meeting.

Mr.

Mayor.

Yes.

Uh just want to acknowledge that we're gonna have our Ward 6 Town Hall meeting on October 29th, which is a Wednesday, um, at Sawyer Road Elementary School from 6 30 to 8 30.

This will be the last one for the year.

Um that's it.

Mr.

Mayor, I would just like to ask.

I see in our audience, we have a Boy Scout, and I would ask that he stand, state his name and what uh troop he's with.

Thank you for being here, sir.

Thank you.

Anything else?

That's it.

Next time we schedule appearance.

We have three people that have signed up.

Uh first one is uh Revere D.

Burris.

Come on down, please, ma'am.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor and Council Rivier Burris.

I'm with the law firm of Artist Law in Cop County, and I represent Deep Roots Wine Bar, which is a new wine bar coming to the square very soon.

We're really excited about it.

We're here to just discuss a potential um ordinance amendment that I believe Councilmember Richardson has uh agreed that we could possibly be on the October 28th agenda to discuss it a little bit more, but just wanted to kind of give a little bit of a brief overview about the business and then why we think this might benefit um residents and then also business owners here in Marietta.

So essentially our client is uh is a wine bar, but it's also um it's a wine market, so it offers really neat quality wines, domestic wines from all over the country, um, and it offers a lot of experience as well as far as bringing family and friends together to enjoy a nice glass of wine.

Um, and they've got several of these.

They've got one in Shambley in Roswell, and so we're bringing one to Marietta.

Um so one of the changes, because our client is going to be um have a package license with an ancillary wine on-premise consumption, they would like to also offer um a variety of beers um to consume on premise, but it would be a very, very low amount.

And so our proposition would be to allow for both um package stores that sell wine and sell beer the opportunity to not only have their respective alcohol sold on premise consumption, but also allow them a very small percentage of the other.

So, for example, for the insulary wine to allow the um wine market to have wine on premise and then about 10 percent or less of beer on premise.

So again, limiting it, but also kind of allowing these businesses to have an extra offering and bring more people together.

So I know that we this is just public comment, and we'll be back on October 28th, but I wanted to give a brief sneak peek of what's to come.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr.

Tracy Shevinson.

Hello, City Council, Tracy Stevenson.

I just have a few things I want to talk about.

Number one is uh I went through trying to get an irrigation meter through uh the water utility, and what I found was there's a lot of shortcomings in the system that needed to be addressed.

I'm gonna offer you, I gave you each a handout of a better way to do this rather than spending so much money.

I would have had to spend $1,500 to set a meter, which I didn't really want to do, but I would have paid the $1,500.

But I really didn't want to get the street cut across the street.

I didn't want to have to cost the city well over the $1,500 I was gonna pay just to get an irrigation meter.

The payback for me is slow enough.

I mean, it's five years, y'all won't get paid back for it.

But at the end of the day, what winter quarter averaging for sewer.

I've given you the handout, I'll give you the highlights.

The sewer charges are based on residential water consumption, but the winter quarter average is designed to allow customers to pay for usage based on their winter months consumption.

The winter months are used to calculate the average, as that time period provides a true picture of interior water use when water consumption is not impacted by outdoor water use, such as filling swimming pools and heavy use of lawn sprinklers.

Benefits.

Sewer charges remain consistent each month.

Three-year rolling average spreads out the water use impact from weather conditions such as drought, allows customers opportunity to lower their sewer bill by reducing water use during winter months, accounts for changing household, i.e.

children moving back from college.

It's a real simple calculation, doesn't cost anybody anything to do, and we quit wasting money with people wanting to put in irrigation meter meters.

If you're committed to wanting us to be able to save some money by using irrigation meters and not paying sewer bills on it, we ought to look at this.

Fulton County does it.

Other cities do it.

This just happens to be from Plano, Texas.

Mormon daughter is director of public works.

But at the end of the day, it's a smart way to do things.

The phone calls I had were extremely frustrating because I got answers like it's just it's it's against our our standards.

We don't know why.

The gentleman I talked to couldn't explain to me the difference.

I have a currently, I have the system, my irrigation system for five years running off a three-quarter inch line.

All they want to do is tap my three-quarter line again, set another meter.

He kept trying to tell me once it goes through two meters, wouldn't go through two meters, it'd be a T.

But I got this circular conversation, then I asked the question on the phone.

Do you even know at 35 pounds of pressure how much water is delivered in a three-quarter inch line?

He wasn't much of an engineer.

You couldn't answer that.

That was simple.

101.

It's six and a half to twelve gallons, by the way.

So I just think that we need to have smarter engineering people.

We need to look for alternatives.

What's the best way to do this?

Y'all don't recoup that investment.

You pay $1,500.

If I'd paid the $1,500, they would have cut the road, they would have put in the pipe, they would have done all this work, they spent a day or two fiddling around with that, and Mark Rice would have had to pay a thousand dollars to patch the road.

All right.

So there's no way it's it makes money for the city.

It's no way it makes financial sense for the city.

So I just want to start thinking out of the box.

All right.

Now my next thing is if anybody's looked at last month, not this most recent, um, planning and zoning uh board.

It was what, 12?

It was 12 minutes long.

It's pretty embarrassing that we've got a group sitting on that board that can't even run the meeting.

Daniel Wade had to step in and shut the meeting down and says we can't handle this meeting.

Have y'all watched that video?

Have you?

Have you seen it?

Are you proud of your appointees?

Because it was an embarrassment.

That's all I got to say about that.

Thank you.

The next person that signed up, Mr.

Larry Wilson.

Larry Wills, 60 Oakmont Drive.

Whitlock Avenue is also State Route 120 and currently identified as an arterial roadway by Georgia Dot.

Whitlock Avenue and the 82 acres historic district and closing it will never be safe until Whitlock is taken off the state route system.

It has been slated for upgrade to urban arterial standards since the 1990s.

G DOT made a serious attempt to accomplish this goal during the Dunaway administration and almost succeeded in turning our residential collector street into another Powder Springs Street Killer Roadway.

Only citizen outrage stopped the destruction of our historic neighborhoods.

A gentleman's agreement between Marietta officials and G Dot stated that Whitlock would not be upgraded until city officials requested the Avenue by be widened to a hundred plus feet and realigned to run up Reynolds Street to a new connector with the Marietta Loop at the Confederate cemetery.

Mayor Tumlin was a state legislator when this battle took place.

And he never would tell me where he stood on the widening of Whitlock.

He is again running for mayor, and his opponent noticed on December 12th, 2024.

The Cobb Ford plan included a city sponsored Whitlock Avenue widening project on their list of capacity projects.

Mr.

Foster also made it clear he was eager to see changes made to Whitlock Avenue.

I think both candidates for mayor and all the city council candidates need to make it absolutely clear to the voters where they stand concerning the future of Whitlock Avenue.

Makes no sense as long as it suffers a logjam where it comes into the square.

Thank you.

The next item is a I might call upon Mayor Pro Tim Johnny Walker to conduct a consent agenda.

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

If everybody would take out their agenda and notice on the left side on most of the items tonight, there's a little asterisk.

That means that those items are on the consent agenda.

We've already uh gone through committee meetings, agenda work sessions, and we're assuming that they will all pass in order to save time.

We'll vote on those all at one time.

Mr.

Haney, is there any changes to the consent agenda?

Yes, sir.

Mr.

Walker, I will go through page by page and identify the items.

The first change is on page five.

The item related to 462 and 480 Roswell Street will be added to consent.

It dealt with the front elevation and fencing to the property, and it is added to consent.

The next change is on page seven.

It started out on consent.

It was taken off consent.

It's back on consent to table.

The item related to the downtown solid waste management district service is added to consent to table the matter, and it goes back to the committee.

Mr.

Walker, those are all the changes.

On page four is the denial of claim that was added for Christopher Sutton.

And that was placed on consent.

I thought it was added, no.

It's already on there.

We added it.

Added on consent.

So that's it.

That I do not remember.

Okay.

I believe it was on, but further to that point, the uh denial of claim of Mr.

Sutton was added to the agenda and added for consent to be denied.

And sir.

On the tabling for the downtown slide waste management district.

I know the initial motion showed me as against on the tabling.

I am it's unanimous on that.

The table on four.

Thank you.

Anything else from I'd like to make a motion to approve the consent agenda, please.

Second.

Second.

Please cast your vote.

We have a motion and a second.

Consent agenda is approved 7-0.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Walker.

Next item is zoning Z 2025-20 for 209 Westie Avenue.

This will be a public hearing.

Mr.

Haney, will you conduct such?

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mayor Chairman.

This will be a public hearing regarding 209 West 60 Avenue.

The rezoning request.

Is there anyone here tonight that is opposition to that matter?

Anyone in opposition?

Mr.

Cummings, the floor is yours.

The public hearing is now open.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Haney, and good evening.

For KZ 2025-20, the app applicant Raymond Caston Quay is requesting the rezoning of 209 West Dixie Avenue from OIT office institution transitional to R4 single family residential.

Coinciding with this request is a variance request to reduce the minimum lot width from 75 feet to 70 feet.

And Mr.

Castinquay is here to present of the request.

Good evening.

I am Raymond Castongay, owner of 209 West 60 Avenue in Marietta.

The reason for this request is I recently acquired this property, which tragically burned down a couple of years ago.

And the property is actually vacant as of now.

And uh I saw this as an opportunity to purchase this uh property and build a house for my son, single family residence.

So what I'm asking is basically to bring this lot into conforming state for an SFR, basically.

Um it will be my son and future spouse here that will be living in the uh property right across the street from our parents, actually.

So it all works out.

So this request is very straightforward.

I I believe there we go.

We have the the plans in choosing the property.

We want to make it conforming with basically the other properties surrounding that as well, too, and the uh um cognizant of the environment that is going to be built in so from a height perspective and lot and property dimension uh as well.

So I'm asking for your approval.

To bring this property into conforming state, sorry.

Any questions of the applicant?

Any questions?

This is a public hearing.

Is there anyone that would like to speak on this matter?

Seeing non mayor tumbler, the public hearing is closed.

Okay.

Chair recognizes the council person from Ward 1.

Mr.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to approve this application.

Second.

Discussion.

Thank you.

We ain't voted yet.

All right.

All those please indicate your vote.

Motion carries.

Thank you.

Now I'm dismissed.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Yes, sir.

The next item is the West Dixie Avenue and Raymond Street stop sign.

This is a public hearing also, Mr.

Handy, where you conduct such.

Yes, sir, Mayor Timmer.

This will be a public hearing on the motion to authorize the public works department to convert the intersection of West 60 Avenue and Raymond Street to a three-way stop condition with a pedestrian crosswalk and sidewalk access points.

Modification with a total estimated cost of $2,500.

Mr.

Mark Rice will make the presentation.

The public hearing is now open.

Mr.

Rice.

Thank you, Mr.

Haney.

Public Works received your request to evaluate the installation of a three-way stop at sign at the intersection of West Dixie Avenue and Raymond Street with the associated pedestrian improvements for crosswalks at this intersection.

We have completed this evaluation.

We do not find any issues with the installation of a three-way stop condition with pedestrian crosswalks.

These improvements will require the installation of pedestrian crosswalks and improvements at the sidewalk access sidewalk access points.

Total estimated cost for these items are $2,500.

This is located in Ward 1A.

This does require a public hearing.

This is public hearing.

Is there anyone that would like to comment on this matter?

Anyone would like to speak?

Mayor Tumman, the City Council, the public hearing is closed.

Thank you, Mr.

Rice.

Recognizes the councilperson from Ward 1.

Mayor I'd like to make a motion approving this request.

Second.

Any further discussion?

Or any discussion?

Hearing none, please indicate your vote.

Motion carries 7-0.

Thank you.

I'd like to open up the floor for unscheduled appearance.

If any citizen would like to come forward, please do.

He's in the guys.

Somebody's ahead of you, sir.

Please.

Number one is that in the back.

Please.

Please be ready.

Flip a coin.

No.

He's getting ready to talk.

Oh.

No, not.

Hold on.

At the very back, very back.

But hold on.

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

For your patience.

All right, I'm 75 minutes.

Good evening, everyone.

I hope everyone has had a great day today.

I tell everybody right now as I leave instead of just having a great day, a great week, a weekend.

Have a great life.

Have a great life.

Last time I was in here, I was 77 years old.

Since then I've become 78 by the grace of God.

And uh the reason I'm here tonight is that I came uh in February, and I spoke about a situation of an area that I've lived in since probably around 2013.

Bought this house in 2002.

My son lived in it for a little while.

But a little bit about me, um, I'm a disabled vet went in service 59 years ago, August 15th, and my uh MOS military occupation specialty was communications.

They uh lifted me up higher and higher because of my good work and everything.

And the first thing they taught us was they taught us about Pearl Harbor.

And they said there was a communication glitch in Pearl Harbor why it was bombed.

And they told us tonight, you guys cannot make mistakes.

And uh so I'm very partial to you know, communication, and there was a communication glitch here, and I've asked uh that each and everyone hear what I'm trying to say.

I've been fighting an HOA here for a lot of years, and they didn't have an HOA.

They started it and never renewed it until I started distributing different documents throughout the neighborhood.

And then they started one.

And they've been doing things illegally, lying, and it said that when man is given power, he is apt to abuse it and take it to a whole nother level.

And that's what they have been doing.

And I when I first came in and talked to my councilman, I told him, I said, we got to stop these people, you know.

Griff, we got to stop these people.

He said, okay, come back next month.

So this is my fourth time.

And it's the same thing, but it's gotten worse and worse.

And they I went to a meeting they had September 6th.

They lied and they revealed over two years ago that we're uh in our community, there's a detention pond that I never knew was there.

I said, a detention pond?

They said, yes.

So I went and tried to look through the fence and couldn't see it.

There's no uh access to it, so I took my truck, climbed up on a ladder, and took pictures of all kinds of trash and everything down there.

In two years since I took that picture, they have not done one thing to fix it.

We have an entrance that when I got back from my hometown in Virginia one year, the uh HOA sign had been knocked down by a drunk driver.

They put up a little itty-bitty sign.

They can't cut the hedges in front of all the electrical were torn down.

They have never replaced it, and that's almost eight or nine years ago.

So these people are running rampant, doing whatever they want to do.

I went to the Secretary of State, Secretary of State, said we issued a license, but we don't regulate it.

So as I asked the last time I was in here in April, you are a board.

I appreciate that each and every one of you would think about what's going on.

You wouldn't want your child or live in a situation like this, and I'm 78 as a disabled vet.

I'm here fighting.

Nobody is here to support me.

Nobody in the neighborhood.

I have three PhDs working with me uh from different states and in this city who has helped me compile all these papers.

They say we don't understand why these people don't follow you.

So, mayor, I'm gonna end it right here.

When I saw this when I was making copies, I've made over 100, 200 worth uh copies uh to distribute through here.

Here we go.

I hope we can provide the citizens of Marietta a government that will incorporate fairness, efficiency, equity, openness, justice, access, and balance for everyone of Marietta's 57,000 residents, no matter if they live in a trailer park, apartment, or a residential home.

Each and every citizen is important, and we vow to take care of each and every one of you.

I asked that I need that uh I've asked for someone to come through that neighborhood to just look because I've distributed throughout here hundreds of dollars of copies that I've had made, and I don't know what happened to them because I did call said the communication glitch.

I'm asking the mayor and my councilman, Griff Cost.

I heard you're not gonna run anymore to please help me with this, because I don't know how much longer I have.

I was at the VA yesterday morning, five o'clock, as they told me.

I got to the front door and the front door was locked.

That's a communication glitch.

And God sent a nurse coming out the door over here.

I said, What am I supposed to do?

She said, You got to go around to the emergency room.

I said, Well, if I knew that, I would have gone to the emergency room at first.

I was at the VA all day.

Almost every time I come over here, I have not had any rest.

I haven't had any rest.

My boss is about gone.

I'm weak.

I'm asking.

I need help.

You guys are aboard.

Please help.

Mayor, I'm standing on this vow.

I have everything.

I would like for you and Griff to please sit down with me so I can show you all that I have.

And somebody drive through that neighborhood, Cunningham and Westwood Drive, and just drive through there.

Drive through there at night.

You can't even see the sign.

There's no lights on it.

You go to the tra uh behind the attention pond, it's number trash, snakes back there, all kinds of animals.

They haven't done anything about it.

They raise the dues from 70 to 150 this year, and they're talking about raising it to 300 by uh 2026.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.

Give everyone yells.

Thanks.

My name is Peter Friedrich.

Honorable mayor and council members, a Kennesaw State professor sued for teaching history, a Marietta journalist threatened for reporting facts, a local church targeted for interfaith dialogue about religious nationalism.

This is not hypothetical.

Georgia State Senate Bill 375 makes it possible.

SP 375 is transnational repression, a government silencing its critics beyond its national borders, disguised as civil rights law.

Presented as faith protection, it would write Hindu phobia into law.

But this is not about protecting Hinduism as a faith which deserves protection.

This is about Hindutva, a political ideology aiming for a Hindu first state rooted in exclusionary nationalism, not religious practice.

Let me show you three ways that this threatens Marietta.

A professor teaching about India's caste system in a sociology course could face legal action for alleged Hindophobia.

A journalist reporting on violence against minorities in India could face legal harassment.

Local researchers could be branded as bigots.

This bill will shut down free expression in this city.

Here's what's already happening in America.

Dr.

Audrey Trush of Rutgers University has endured doxing and death threats.

The 2021 dismantling global Hindutva conference sparked bomb threats in nearly one million protest emails demanding cancellation.

Federal authorities recently uncovered plots by Indian spies to assassinate activists on American soil.

Death threats, legal harassment, career destruction.

Security experts call this transnational repression.

And the Indian American Muslim Council and this report exposes how Indian government actors use FBI identified tactics, harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and threats.

This creates a climate of fear that undermines First Amendment rights and forces self-censorship.

Professor Mohandatta warns Hindatva silences dissent by labeling it as Hindophobia.

Its disinformation network uses social media to attack and silence those who question the hate pro the hate promoted by Hindutva by calling them Hindophobic.

This is what is coming to Georgia.

SB 375 would write this repression into Georgia law.

It would let extremists use legal mechanisms to label journalism advocacy and research as Hindophobia.

That is censorship with a legal stamp.

If it passes, professors will self-censor, journalists will spike stories, researchers will abandon topics, graduate students will choose safer dissertations.

That is what we lose.

It opens the floodgates.

Some of you may have already received emails pushing you to support this bill.

Maybe dozens, maybe hundreds, all carbon copies saying exactly the same thing.

That coordinated pressure from Hindutva apologists, that's the preview.

Here's what makes this different from legitimate civil rights protection.

Real anti-Hindu bigotry exists and must be condemned.

Hate against any religious community is wrong, but existing civil rights law already protects Hindu Americans from discrimination.

We don't need SB 375 for that.

SB 375 does not address genuine discrimination.

Instead, it deliberately confuses legitimate civil rights protections with criticism of a political movement.

That's the trap.

Even Hindus for human rights, Hindus themselves warned that Hindu phobia has been weaponized to silence critics and provide cover for violence.

Criticizing Hindu nationalism is not bigotry.

Today it's Hindutva critics.

Next time it could be any group, any ideology, any dissent that foreign pressure groups in Georgia's legislature want to silence.

You have the power to stop this right now.

Three actions.

One, pass a resolution opposing SB 375 and affirming Marietta's commitment to free speech and academic freedom.

Two, send it to every Georgia state senator and representative, demonstrating that Marietta rejects the criminalization of dissent.

Three, make noise.

Stand firm, reject SB 375, defend freedom.

And I have for every member of the council a copy of a report on this issue.

Sorry, you find it.

Good evening, Council, Mr.

Mayor.

I'm back.

I didn't sign up, but here I am.

I brought a friend of mine with me too, a pet rock.

I want to remind y'all that rock right there will give me more fair hearing than the Planning Commission for the City of Marietta right now.

There's no doubt in my mind that anyone that will go back and review what's going on with the Planning Commission will say there's something wrong.

Now we had a member of the Planning Commission try to run us through this week, and he forgot we needed their traffic study.

He said just pass it anyway.

He couldn't get a second.

So we had another member get up and he said, well, let's pass it and then we'll give them a traffic study after the fact.

That's dumb and dumber.

You can't get any worse than those two things, and then the bottom fell out in that meeting.

The rest of it's history.

Go look at what went on.

But in Z 2025, 17, we'll never get a fire hearing in the City of Marietta.

And you know it and I know it.

And it's nothing against Trayton Holmes.

Trayton is a victim in this.

Second of all, let's talk about Marietta and how we're going to join together.

We're a non-partisan race.

We are in this city together.

We don't have to agree on anything.

We don't have to part our hair the same.

We don't have to color our hair the same.

I mean, y'all know what I'm talking about.

But what we do have to do is realize that in a non-partisan race, we have outsiders that are coming in here beating down our paths, our doors.

They're coming in here trying to take Marietta back with crazy talk.

Craziness.

Where's this affordable housing going to come from?

Do y'all got any spare money in your budget?

You carrying a rat in your pocket that's got a lot of money?

Because affordable housing costs money, and you've already done a fair share with the Marietta Housing Authority.

We know that Marietta is a good place to live, or we'd all packed up and gone somewhere else.

A couple of y'all going to the retirement pasture.

I don't blame you a bit.

So at this time, I want you to all remember it's not a partisan politic thing right now.

It is about Marietta.

The citizens of Marietta will speak.

We will go on.

But we cannot turn our back as they come in and get us to fight amongst ourselves.

The Marietta is for the citizens of Marietta.

And that's it.

Thank you.

I'm taking my rock.

Would you like to speak?

Yes.

I know that what I came to speak on has been tabled.

Name please.

Sorry.

And I live in Marietta as well.

I'm hoping that people are not going to turn a blind eye and limit people's uh free assembly, peaceful rights, and free speech.

Especially because it's all in the Constitution, it should be our protection.

And I know you have tabled it at the last minute, and I can't guarantee that I'd be here on the next go-round.

So I just want to at least let you know.

I hope for whatever reason y'all don't do any permitting unless you really have to for like um safety reasons to have maybe extra officers there to ensure the public safety.

That is great.

And then also on another note, if you had a family of six, I mean, if they were gathered somewhere on the street corner, they could be harassed if they were carrying signs or talking, even if it was for a church or a charity or a fundraising event.

They could also be, you know, against what regulations they're wanting to be passed if you decide to.

That seems a little ridiculous in an in a bad way, you know.

Um, some families, mine is five.

And if I and I have an adopted daughter, it was making sick.

So I'm hoping that people can kind of use some common sense and logic and not go to the extreme and try to silence people.

It's just not right.

And on the second note, the person on the literature on the children, yes, but keep it exciting.

Have those books available and resources available that encourage, enlighten, and give them facts, not something boring because you will steer them away.

You want it exciting, and that will help keep them, and they need resources to back it.

But I applaud you for doing that.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Don't do it.

The City Council placed an item on the consent agenda under the BLW actions for tonight's meeting.

That will that doesn't.

Well, this item came from the BLW, and y'all put it on the consent agenda.

And it'll cost the Marietta customer, BLW customers, and the citizens of Marietta 1.3 million dollars.

It is essentially an experiment in technology to address a problem that might never happen.

The city has also not identified what the future cost of maintaining this technology is going to be.

The citizens of Marietta at least need a detailed written justification for this expenditure.

A row an open vote by the city council in a city council meeting for approval and the opportunity to voice our opinion at a public hearing concerning this type of unusual expenditure by our unregulated utility.

It is just too easy for uh the city to kind of bury things in the consent uh agenda and keep the citizens in dark in the dark about things that uh that should be public, more public knowledge.

Thank you.

Anyone else like to come forward?

See, no, no, I'd like to close the public session.

Any need for executive session?

No, sir.

No, sir.

Anybody have any other comments or questions?

Meeting adjourned.