OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City of Marietta City Council Agenda Work Session - August 10, 2026

City Council Archive ViewMonday, August 10, 2026
BodyMarietta, Georgia
SessionCity Council Archive View
DateMonday, August 10, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:04:03
Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Called a city council agenda review session.

0:07

Work session order or if some people said the third presentation of the twilight zone or something.

0:18

Quite a period lately, so maybe this one would be quite as much fun.

0:23

But first item is the July the 6th, 2026 agenda work session minutes.

0:29

Is there a motion?

0:30

Motion to approve.

0:31

Second.

0:32

All those in favor, please raise your right hand.

0:35

Motion carries.

0:36

Thank you.

0:37

Mr.

0:37

Kent, BOW report, please, sir.

0:40

Yeah, I'm a punt to Ron.

0:41

They had so much uh information in there, and I'm sure he can do uh 100%.

0:50

I'll I'll run through it real quick.

0:51

Uh, first up, we had the uh employee uh recognition.

0:55

This was our electric department.

0:57

Eric brought in some of his uh senior staff come in.

1:00

Cody Tibbets, Alan Matthews, Hewlett Norville, and um trying to think who the fourth one was.

1:08

But Steve Graham didn't show up, he's one of the ones that's gonna be retiring from uh distribution.

1:13

Then we had a uh good presentation from Cole Blackwell from the Cobb County Marital Water Authority report.

1:18

He did a good job explaining the uh the uh what's going on with Cobb County Water.

1:24

I don't know.

1:24

Maybe Griff can speak to that a little bit later.

1:27

Yeah, the BLW presentation here.

1:31

Then uh Eric got up and we had some changes to a couple of rates.

1:35

The first one was our general service rate 3.2, and all we're really doing to that rate is changing the availability up to 10 megawatts.

1:44

That's for general service customer.

1:46

Uh we don't really have a customer right now that's 10 megawatts.

1:49

Our largest one is the hospital, they're probably about eight and a half, nine megawatts, and then it kind of trickles down from there.

1:56

Um so they approve the uh change to that.

1:59

Then the next rate is the large load rate, and really what we're doing there is changing that rate to uh to accommodate the uh potential new customer that we may have since they're purchasing their energy or at least putting up a some type of financial instrument to secure the uh the generation that we'll have to have to purchase to serve them.

2:22

So that will be a different billing structure than what was originally in the large load rate for the existing data center that we have.

2:30

Um so we've we've added that.

2:32

Uh you see the components there.

2:34

There's a metering charge, the demand charge, and then the uh uh kind of the margin of what we'll make on the uh on the actual rate itself.

2:44

Yes, sir.

2:45

Um question regarding those two policies.

2:49

Um I know one policy is dealing with something below to a below 10 megawatts of certain of a certain definition term, another one's in excess of 10 megawatts on a certain definition term.

3:00

I know the terms are not the exact same.

3:02

Um is there any gap between those two?

3:05

And if there is is there another policy that covers out that deals with contract rates or something?

3:10

Yeah, the uh the customer choice policy would handle that anything over of thousand KW, one megawatt would be uh on a contract rate, which would come to the board for pricing.

3:20

So it'd either go on the general service rate, uh, customer choice rate or the large load rate if it was somewhere in between, but that's how we would handle that.

3:29

Okay, thank you.

3:32

Okay, so uh I think that was uh for the most part the biggest change to uh to that uh to that rate 3.5 and then the next item was the um the actual contract itself.

3:51

It was uh for information purposes only for the uh board to review and would uh ask the council to do the same, review that contract if you got any changes to it, let us know because we'll have to bring it back.

4:02

Uh if the council approves something, if you don't, then it we'll just kind of hang on to we we have something.

4:09

So then the next item was uh Eric went over the uh marketing objectives for the uh for the department, and that should be in your book.

4:21

Um kind of the same most of the same information I would would like to note on the rates uh for the residential customer when you average the rates throughout the year.

4:34

We are the lowest between Cobb EMC and Georgia Power.

4:38

So I thought that was very good, and then uh also puts together some information about how much uh the average customer would save on us compared to the total if you combine everybody at the public service commission.

4:51

This is what they would save if they were using us instead of the the average of the uh rates at the PSC.

5:00

So it's kind of the electrical show today so we finished that then we had the uh we received and filed the water authority report so griff I don't know if you want to get up and speak to that yeah so all right how about I'll just go through the agenda all my parts and you can call up um Griff and a patina for the financials and the mayor for the uh report that was finance then the two items that I had were the uh annual subscription for the supplemental power it's a form that we have to fill out every year for the uh for me Act to handle our surplus and we check box five the form that was submitted um that was in the book today was actually checked wrong and I think Stephanie's got a corrected copy uh is uh for participants with excess capacity uh we've got that box checked so that form will need uh that's what the mayor would sign and Stephanie's got the corrected form and then the uh human resources plan uh kind of went over that and kind of really the um the I guess the key note to know of this was in our um folks that can retire we said we target one to five years but at the I think the well no I think I know the majority of those kind of fall in the first three years so we're closing in on a lot of uh experienced people getting ready to retire we're we're just closing in as this time rolls on so that was kind of the big takeaway so I'll I'll entertain any questions if you have any if not that we conclude my report yes sir on the uh annual subscription for sub for supplemental power since Marietta is the con the agency that contracts me act does the city council need to approve that yes that was a recommendation from the board to city council for approval yes so we'll need that that as an item for the agenda correct that's correct I don't know Mr.

7:01

Gilson's first question just to show what has happened with this data center worldwide push or US bush we review do we have any people that over 10 megawatts that we're selling now after a hundred years no sir's the closest they're eight and a half maybe nine yes people don't question why we're so slow or but I mean this we have what have four or five that are eight or bigger megawatts or six or more do we is that way the question do we have them uh it it drops off you got um when you really the the report that I get is when you aggregate some of the meters uh Cobb County comes in next they're probably in the four to five range uh southern poly is a uh master meter to count like the subset the uh transformer that serves that facility so they're all kind of aggregated on one meter there are three or four megawatts so yeah after Canistone it kind of drops down quite a bit you know tip tops in there at probably three or four two or three some what something like that but yeah it falls off fairly quickly after after the hospital power is that okay part of Lockheed is they had a cut customer choice rate we do the uh the uh robotics the stealthing out at Lockheed we've got a substation out there with two banks for redundancy but they're yeah they used to be uh a lot larger than they are now they cut back on production anything else yes sir if you're gonna bring up that we put in an appeal process um mr mayor if we're going to talk about that I think I probably have to make a disclosure yes correct it that could be your call but it it was presented purely and yeah we did have one item disclosure on my stuff okay yes sir yeah we did have one other item uh we've got a uh it's an easement with another uh customer attached to it and the where the easement is located the other other customer doesn't feel like they can attach and I've spoken to the customer and told them they can feel like we've got the right the way the the document shows the the actual easement itself on the property line but when you go out and measure the utility pole is off in literally two inches three inches something like that.

10:01

So I feel like we're covered.

10:04

Kevin's looked at it, so we'll after and so they the board supported the position that uh we had taken.

10:14

So after the city council ratifies our minutes, then I'll contact the customer, tell them that we've got the easement, the second customer can attach, and we'll go from there.

10:29

Henceforth somebody disagreed management make a decision and then it could be appealed.

10:35

Yeah, I mean the bottom line is the the easement shows the easement with the property line running through it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████18%
Energy Management█████████████13%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████10%
Data Center Development██████████10%
Zoning and Land Use█████████9%
Tourism Promotion███████7%
Revenue Management████4%
Contract Management████4%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Marietta City Council Agenda Work Session - August 10, 2026

The City Council held an agenda work session on August 10, 2026, at 5:15 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting covered reports from the Board of Lights and Water (BLW), financial updates, a mayoral report on energy challenges, discussions on convention center funding, support for a state rehousing program, appointments, and review of upcoming agenda items. Several items were moved forward to the regular meeting on August 12, 2026, and the council entered an executive session for legal and real estate matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The July 6, 2026 Agenda Work Session minutes were approved by unanimous consent.
  • BLW Report: Council Member Kent presented the BLW report, which included employee recognition, rate changes (general service rate 3.2 and large load rate), and a contract review for a potential data center customer. The report was received and filed.
  • Board of Lights and Water Appointment: Dr. Stephanie Meyer was appointed as a non-resident member of the BLW board by a vote of 7-0. The appointment was placed on consent for the regular meeting.
  • Workers’ Compensation and Fiduciary Insurance Renewal: The council approved renewal of Workers’ Compensation Excess Insurance and Fiduciary Insurance policies for the period beginning August 17, 2026, with Midwest and Chubb Insurance, respectively. Motion carried 7-0.
  • Annual Subscription for Supplemental Power: The council approved the BLW recommendation to submit form selection number five to MIAG for the annual subscription for supplemental power. Placed on consent.
  • Civil Service Board Appointment: Derek Greenacre was appointed to the Civil Service Board after the previous appointee took a job with Cobb County. Motion carried 7-0, placed on consent subject to his acceptance.
  • Special Meeting Minutes and Executive Session Minutes: Minutes for July 6 (special), July 8 (regular), and July 28 (special) were approved with revisions. Five executive session minutes were also approved. All placed on consent.
  • Planning and Zoning Items: Upcoming rezoning cases (407 Atlanta Street, Copper Leaf Partners, and Whitehawk properties) were discussed and placed on the Wednesday consent agenda with noted stipulations.

Discussion Items

  • Finance Report (BLW – June 2026): Patina presented financials for the month ending June 30, 2026. Water sales averaged 8.1 million gallons/day (budget 8.3 million) with revenue shortfall of $379,000. Net income for the month was $5.3 million, exceeding budget by $600,000. Year-to-date net income exceeded budget by $1 million ($2.9 million excluding unrealized losses). Capital projects spending totaled $36.8 million with $47 million remaining in CIP commitments. Cash reserves for CIP were $53 million.
  • Mayor’s Report on Energy and Data Centers: Mayor Tumlin reported that the Georgia Public Service Commission had placed a one-year moratorium on new data center commitments. MIAG issued an RFP for new generation, and Marietta is committed to 50–150 megawatts. New policies require customers to pay upfront capital costs, limiting new large loads. The city’s generation capacity is sufficient until 2029 but will be tight due to the planned retirement of the Addison plant.
  • Convention Center Funding Allocation: Discussion on reestablishing the Hotel Motel Tax allocation for a second Tourism Event Center. Key points included the need for a qualified 501(c)(6) organization (DMO) to receive funds, with the Downtown Marietta Development Authority (DMDA) and the Cumberland CID as potential options. The council agreed to move the item forward for further discussion and directed the city attorney to draft a motion for the August 12 meeting.
  • Georgia Rehoused Program – Emmanuel’s Village: Council Member Gaddis recused himself (employer: Georgia DCA). An MOU was presented supporting the application and allocating at least $50,000 of Opioid Settlement Funds. Discussion focused on ensuring the commitment is consistent with normal zoning processes and state law. The item was moved forward to the regular meeting with Gaddis abstaining.
  • Georgia Tech Response – Data Center Ordinance: Council reviewed a proposal from Georgia Tech’s Energy Policy and Innovation Center to assist in drafting a data center ordinance, with costs up to $50,000. Council Member Anderson expressed concerns about the scope of expertise (e.g., noise, air quality). The item was referred to the Judicial Legislative committee for continued discussion. Council also noted an AI-compiled ordinance draft from existing ordinances across states.
  • Public Hearing Procedure for Zoning Case: The council debated procedures for an extraordinary public comment session on a rezoning case. It was agreed to allocate 15 minutes for proponents and 15 minutes for opponents, followed by council questions. The mayor clarified this is public comment, not a hearing, and will be listed on the August 12 agenda.

Key Outcomes

  • Appointments: Dr. Stephanie Meyer (BLW) and Derek Greenacre (Civil Service Board) were appointed unanimously.
  • Insurance Renewal: Approved Workers’ Compensation Excess and Fiduciary Insurance policies.
  • Convention Center Funding: Moved forward to August 12 regular meeting for further discussion and motion drafting.
  • Emmanuel’s Village: Moved forward to August 12 regular meeting with Gaddis abstaining.
  • Data Center Ordinance: Referred to the Judicial Legislative committee.
  • Consent Agenda: Several items placed on consent for the August 12 regular meeting.
  • Executive Session: The council voted 7-0 to enter executive session for pending litigation and real estate acquisition.

Meeting Transcript

Called a city council agenda review session. Work session order or if some people said the third presentation of the twilight zone or something. Quite a period lately, so maybe this one would be quite as much fun. But first item is the July the 6th, 2026 agenda work session minutes. Is there a motion? Motion to approve. Second. All those in favor, please raise your right hand. Motion carries. Thank you. Mr. Kent, BOW report, please, sir. Yeah, I'm a punt to Ron. They had so much uh information in there, and I'm sure he can do uh 100%. I'll I'll run through it real quick. Uh, first up, we had the uh employee uh recognition. This was our electric department. Eric brought in some of his uh senior staff come in. Cody Tibbets, Alan Matthews, Hewlett Norville, and um trying to think who the fourth one was. But Steve Graham didn't show up, he's one of the ones that's gonna be retiring from uh distribution. Then we had a uh good presentation from Cole Blackwell from the Cobb County Marital Water Authority report. He did a good job explaining the uh the uh what's going on with Cobb County Water. I don't know. Maybe Griff can speak to that a little bit later. Yeah, the BLW presentation here. Then uh Eric got up and we had some changes to a couple of rates. The first one was our general service rate 3.2, and all we're really doing to that rate is changing the availability up to 10 megawatts. That's for general service customer. Uh we don't really have a customer right now that's 10 megawatts. Our largest one is the hospital, they're probably about eight and a half, nine megawatts, and then it kind of trickles down from there. Um so they approve the uh change to that. Then the next rate is the large load rate, and really what we're doing there is changing that rate to uh to accommodate the uh potential new customer that we may have since they're purchasing their energy or at least putting up a some type of financial instrument to secure the uh the generation that we'll have to have to purchase to serve them. So that will be a different billing structure than what was originally in the large load rate for the existing data center that we have. Um so we've we've added that. Uh you see the components there. There's a metering charge, the demand charge, and then the uh uh kind of the margin of what we'll make on the uh on the actual rate itself. Yes, sir. Um question regarding those two policies. Um I know one policy is dealing with something below to a below 10 megawatts of certain of a certain definition term, another one's in excess of 10 megawatts on a certain definition term. I know the terms are not the exact same. Um is there any gap between those two? And if there is is there another policy that covers out that deals with contract rates or something? Yeah, the uh the customer choice policy would handle that anything over of thousand KW, one megawatt would be uh on a contract rate, which would come to the board for pricing. So it'd either go on the general service rate, uh, customer choice rate or the large load rate if it was somewhere in between, but that's how we would handle that. Okay, thank you. Okay, so uh I think that was uh for the most part the biggest change to uh to that uh to that rate 3.5 and then the next item was the um the actual contract itself. It was uh for information purposes only for the uh board to review and would uh ask the council to do the same, review that contract if you got any changes to it, let us know because we'll have to bring it back. Uh if the council approves something, if you don't, then it we'll just kind of hang on to we we have something. So then the next item was uh Eric went over the uh marketing objectives for the uh for the department, and that should be in your book. Um kind of the same most of the same information I would would like to note on the rates uh for the residential customer when you average the rates throughout the year.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com