Marietta City Council Meeting — September 9, 2026
Marietta City Council Meeting — September 9, 2026
The Marietta City Council met on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting opened with an invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and presentations for the Marietta High School Senior Band members and a Distinguished Service Award to Mark Maloney. A proclamation declaring October 4–10, 2026 as Public Power & Clean Water Week was presented. The council then heard scheduled appearances from four residents, debated a rezoning and a variance, and unanimously approved the consent agenda and several other items. Unscheduled public comments addressed concerns about a previously approved AI data center, surveillance technology, and civil service board composition.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously (7–0) the consent agenda, which included: approval of the August 12, 2026 meeting minutes; appointment of Chase Clark to the Board of Zoning Appeals (Ward 3); denial of three claims; Tree Replacement Fund amendment ($8,800); Travel and Training Code Amendment (first reading); Welcome Center Tourism Funding Agreement amendments (totaling $680,250); summer camp funding application; Franklin Gateway Community Park Advisory Committee members; street closures for Marietta the Gathering; Custer Park field rental policy; 2027 Employee Group Benefits Program administration; Distinguished Service Award for Mark Maloney; Lights of Life event road closure; Hickory Drive speed study; Ardis Street no-parking zone ($500); equipment upgrades ($35,000); September 2026 committee meeting date change; and September 3, 2026 BLW actions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Perry Barrett (scheduled): Expressed strong opposition to the approval of the PowerSphere AI data center, arguing that the developer (Prime Group Holdings) is an untrustworthy private equity firm, that the technology is unregulated and harmful (citing job losses and potential for abuse), and that the council should ban AI data centers.
- Reggie Copeland (scheduled): Criticized the Civil Service Board appointment process as lacking diversity, noting the board is 100% white while the city is 42% white and 31% African American, and that the police and fire departments are diverse. He threatened a march and protest if the council does not reconsider, asserting that favoritism undermines board integrity.
- Tracy Stevenson (scheduled): Disagreed with Perry Barrett, defending data centers as beneficial technology and criticizing the Democratic Socialists of America, arguing that socialism leads to worse government.
- Donald Barth (scheduled): Emphasized community values, praised police training, urged the council to follow its own policies and procedures for scheduled speakers, and raised concerns about a blighted property at 204 Goldie Drive in Ward 7.
- Joel Becker (unscheduled): Vowed that voters would not forget the council’s approval of the data center and demanded reconsideration; threatened to vote out council members who supported it.
- Stephanie (unscheduled): Opposed the data center’s energy and water demands (108 megawatts, equating to ~80,000–108,000 residential customers) and criticized Flock cameras and mass surveillance, urging the city to cancel contracts with Flock, ban data centers, and invest in community.
- Perry Barrett (unscheduled, continued): Reiterated that the developer misled the council about AI uses, presented evidence of a nationwide AI data center network map showing three sites in Marietta, and argued for a complete ban on data center construction.
Discussion Items
- Rezoning Z2026-21 (1516 West Oak Drive): Applicant Sonya Edwards (Edwards Realty Group) requested rezoning of 0.46 acres from R-2 to CRC (Community Retail Commercial) to maintain an existing daycare. Staff and planning commission recommended OI (Office Institutional) to limit intense uses. The council discussed concerns about preserving the daycare while preventing future incompatible uses. A motion passed 7–0 to rezone to OI with a special land use permit restricting the property to daycare only; any other use would require a return to the council.
- Travel and Training Code Amendment (20260842): The council suspended the rules, waived the second reading, and approved the amendment 7–0.
- Variance V2026-28 (729 Colston Road): Robert Clotfelter (on behalf of Bercher Homes, LLC) requested a variance to waive a sidewalk requirement for the Highvale Subdivision on Colston Road, noting that adjacent houses have no sidewalks. The public hearing had no opposition. The council approved the variance 7–0.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda approved 7–0.
- Rezoning of 1516 West Oak Drive approved 7–0 (OI zone with daycare-only restriction).
- Travel and Training Code Amendment approved 7–0 (second reading waived).
- Variance for sidewalk waiver at 729 Colston Road approved 7–0.
- Council announced community events for September 11 remembrance and National Day of Service & Remembrance at Marietta National Cemetery.
Meeting Transcript
Mr. Jason Wars of War 2 the latest in the invocation Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege gathering here tonight in service to the people of Marietta. As we approach September 11th, we remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the courage of the first responders and citizens who served others in the face of unimaginable danger. We ask for the same spirit of service and unity tonight. Give our mayor, counsel, and staff wisdom, humility, and courage, help us listen well, disagree respectfully, and make decisions that serve the people of this city. Protect our first responders, military members, city employees, and all who serve our community. Then I'm gonna let Councilman Goldstein say a few things. He actually played for the Red Coat band in Athens and you know, and Marietta. But a after sixth grade, they asked me to stop playing. So I'm gonna let him talk. Hey, good to see you. Good to see you too, and welcome welcome here to the council meeting tonight. Um thank you all very much for coming on down. I know it's been a lot of prep work and uh already for this is uh the football season sort of is y'all's season started up for competitions. I know it's been a lot of stuff at band camps, and I know it's been a lot of hard work put on in. So I'm gonna have I'll have to hand this on over to you to make sure to recognize these seniors that have come on through and put in a lot of work, a lot of musical work and a lot of athletic work to make it on through and make this a reality. Thank you. Hey everybody, uh it's uh really honestly a pleasure uh for all of us to be here in front of you and to be here, Marietta. Um we love the city of Marietta. Um we are all servants of of Marietta. We believe in community and these kids in front of you are are uh some of our seniors that could come out tonight and uh they're just fantastic people. Uh I have had the privilege of seeing them grow up since some of them since eighth grade, and uh it's been uh really honestly a privilege of mine. But um they are incredible people. They will continue to um be game changers wherever they go. Uh I always tell them that uh when they come into my classroom and the marching man, they uh we don't just do notes and rhythms, we uh talk about becoming better people, and uh I'm really excited for them to to have this this year to be able to just uh show that off, to be honest. Uh the marching man is preparing uh like you were saying, uh, for uh fantastic season. We have three conferences in October. Uh we do practice a lot. We have a lot of hours in in the sun. Uh we take a lot of breaks and uh they they march and play. Uh and our show this year is actually um a pretty cool show. It's about uh the uh Greek mythology, the fates if you guys know anything about that. But um in the meantime, we also love uh cheering on our team uh and uh and cheering on Marietta. So you'll see us on Friday nights uh playing and cheering everybody on, and so um without further ado, I wanted to actually have our senior drum major, since it is nine eleven, which is a special thing for me. I lived in Philadelphia personally when nine eleven happened, so I'll have a personal connection to that. And uh um I'll talk to the seniors, or they've heard this story a lot. Um, but our senior drum major, Abdul's gonna come up and he's gonna play our national anthem for us if you guys don't mind standing. I guess we're sweet. I'm gonna have to go upstairs. Okay. And three, two, one. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Daniel Gaddis, the Ward Three City Councilman. I'd like to ask uh the former Ward Three City Councilman Johnny Walker to come up here. Johnny Walker uh wisely appointed uh Mr. Mark Maloney to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and so I'd like to invite him to say a few remarks about his his appointees. He's gonna be retired. Yeah, that absolutely.
openpublica.com