City Council Agenda Review Session - November 12, 2025
City Council Agenda Review Session - November 12, 2025
The City Council convened for an agenda review session to address routine approvals, discuss budget amendments for police programs, and review updates from city departments including Police, Fire, Parks & Recreation, HR, and IT. The session featured reports on major development projects, cybersecurity initiatives, and preparations for upcoming holidays and state events, concluding with a recess until 7:00 PM for the regular meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the October 8, 2025 regular meeting minutes.
- Protocol appointment for Cheryl to preside during Veterans Day celebrations.
- 1462 Blanch Avenue: Ongoing project with no new information; developer obligated for road/drainage improvements.
- Channel Street: No new information; curve cut confirmed on Wright Street.
- The Tune and Owl Claim: Routine review.
- General Consent Items: Four items on page five, five items on page six (including tourism grants for the World Cup and US Bicentennial), and additional funding for the NAACP.
- Five items on page nine regarding police correspondence budget amending (0895).
- Five items on page ten, including summer camp funding authorization (0945) requiring only contract review, not immediate budget amendment.
- Three final consent items regarding fund agreements.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No formal public comments or testimony were recorded during the provided transcript segment.
Discussion Items
- Budget Amendment Timing (0895): Council discussed waiving the second reading and adjusting the effective date of a budget amendment for the police correspondent program. Members agreed to add language specifying the ordinance becomes effective on January 4th rather than immediately upon signature to align with the implementation date and avoid code violations.
- Police Department Updates: Chief Beam reported on a new $172,000 grant from the Georgia Department of Education for the Police Athletic League (PAL), noting it is renewable and selected from 150 applications. He discussed new state training requirements effective January 2025, which doubled the initial academy duration from 11 to 20 weeks, extending the time to full solo status.
- Fire Department Schedule: Chief Milligan highlighted a new rotating schedule effective January 4th, designed to provide firefighters full weekends off at home for the first time in his 29-year career. This change rearranges existing shift hours without reducing total hours worked.
- Parks and Recreation: Director Rich previewed upcoming events, including the "Dollar Job" on Thanksgiving Day, a sweater parade, and a tree lighting ceremony on December 4th at Glover Park. He also announced a celebration for his upcoming retirement in two weeks.
- Staff Development (HR): Keisha Register reported on a new management development cohort from UGA, weekly healthy email reminders for employees, and the upcoming pension board election on November 21st. She noted that the City Manager's 25th service anniversary and other staff milestones will be celebrated at a special awards event.
- AI and Technology Initiatives: Ronnie outlined AI projects in cybersecurity (simulating deepfakes for employee training, SCATA network defense), call center efficiency (automatic summarization), HR (pension query bots), and a future citizen bot for the municipal code.
- Transportation and Infrastructure: Staff discussed a new AI-driven solution to warn drivers of approaching trains in downtown Marietta to prevent traffic jams. Updates were also provided on SpLOST funding negotiations with the county and radio system improvements.
- Event Planning: Discussion covered coordination for the World Cup and the US 250th birthday celebrations, noting the world's draw party on December 5th to determine team matchups.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Passed: Approval of the October 8, 2025 meeting minutes.
- Procedural Decision: Council agreed to suspend rules to waive the second reading for the police budget amendment (0895) upon adding language specifying a January 4th effective date.
- Grant Award Confirmed: City confirmed receipt of a $172,000 renewable grant for the PAL program after being selected as one of the top applicants.
- Schedule Change: Adoption of a new fire department shift schedule effective January 4th to grant full weekends to firefighters.
- Strategic Directives: Authorization to proceed with the development of a train-warning notification system and the implementation of AI-driven cybersecurity and operational tools.
- Agenda Scheduling: Items regarding the police budget amendment moved to the agenda for the 7:00 PM regular meeting for final vote after the consent agenda.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call the city council agenda review session to order, please. First item of business is approval of the October the 8th, 2025 regular meeting minutes. Make a motion to approve. Second. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. The first item was page one, which is the protocol of uh is celebrating Veterans Day. It's no other word for it, but I'd like to ask after I call the meeting to order that Cheryl be appointed to preside an officer and do the protocol for us. Okay. I can do that. I don't have to do that. Since it's a little out of order, so that's perfect. I don't have an objection on that. We've got the four cut. They'll be here about 6:30 to warm up their voices. And then after that, we have two on scheduled appearance, Mr. Barth and Mr. Stevenson. And then the next three items are on consent. 1462 Blanch. It's ongoing. Yes, sir. No new information to present at this time. There were some infrastructure improvement that the developer is going to have to do. If this doesn't pass, will they be done? I mean what? No, because a hundred of it's coming from Triton, a hundred from the so the road improvements and the drainage improvements. I'd need to confirm that with Mr. Rice, but my understanding it is that it the improvements are in response to this project. Mark, could you come down and explain what you're looking for there? Well no, we're driving it out. If you have expectations going to be fixed and it doesn't happen, would we have an obligation to do it if the developer doesn't do it? The the comments that are the stipulations, I guess that I put in for the uh street improvements on the existing streets, Crestridge and Scott specifically. Uh right now, as uh Mr. Cummings mentioned, they those streets do are not needing to be resurfaced. They will be in the next three, four or five years. Um, but right now they're not. So if it's not approved, we will get to it in that time frame. If it is approved, by the time the development is completed, it'll be on schedule for us to resurface at that point, and therefore we'll we'll schedule it appropriately at that point. Was there a drainage issue that was being addressed too? There is a drainage issue on Herbert Drive, and uh Mr. Goldstein has authorized us to use some of his ward money to remedy that situation, and we are in the process of completing that design to fix that situation. Okay, it's it's an open ditch, and we're just gonna pipe. So if this doesn't pass, that's being addressed. That's already being addressed for you, Mr. Mayor. Regardless of this, whether regardless of whether this passes, doesn't pass, or what whatever. The drainage is just something that I've been I've been hearing complaints about regardless, even without the development, it's something that needs to get fixed.
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