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Home My WebLink About2025-04-25 April 25, 2025 Mayor and Council Retreat Minutes - Day 2 - Session 1 - LFMayor and Council Work Session I Retreat Minutes - Final MAYOR AND COUNCIL (Combined Session- Day 2) Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge & Conference Center 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway Buford, GA 30518 Roll Call Derek Norton, Mayor Tim Gould, Mayor Pro Tern (Ward 6) Glenn Pickens (Ward 1) Latonia P. Hines (Ward 2) Travis Lindley (Ward 3) Charles "Corkey" Welch (Ward 4) Susan Wilkinson (Ward 5) Rickey N. Oglesby, Jr. (Ward 7) City Attorney Scott Cochran City Administrator Joseph Bennett City Clerk Heather K. Peacon-Corn April 25, 2025 9:00 AM Present: 8 —Mayor Derek Norton, Councilmember Glenn Pickens, Councilmember Latonia P. Hines, Councilmember Travis Lindley, Councilmember Charles Welch, Councilmember Susan Wilkinson, Mayor Pro Tern / Councilmember Tim Gould, Councilmember Rickey N. Oglesby Jr. Also Present: 1 —Scoff Cochran Staff: 15 —Julie Barwig, Jennifer Bennett, Joe Bennett, Jill Head, Dat Luu, Brian Marcos, Russell Martin, Mary Moore, Paul Osburn, Eric Randall, Kristin Robinson, Carol Sicard, Christy Ullman, Andrea Worthy, Keith Zgonc 2. Call to Order Mayor Derek Norton called to order the April 25, 2025 Mayor and Council Combined Work Session - Day 2 held at Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge & Conference Center (7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, GA 30518) at 9:00 AM. 3. Formal Business A. 9a-11:00a Joint Work Session — Mayor/Council/Staff Paul Osburn, Deputy Public Works Director • Stormwater projects are substantially higher than previously • Evaluation needs to be done — It has cost $1.5M/year for two or three projects • Infrastructure has aged — corrugated metal • Data collection has been done — would like to raise UB fees • Yard waste bins — yard waste goes to the GFL transfer station Yard waste day would be more efficient to be the same day as regular pick-up day Currently, yard waste pick-up day is Monday Changing yard waste pick-up to dedicated trash pick-up day would save thousands of dollars Page 1 of 4 April 25, 2025 City of Smyrna Lanier Islands 09:00 AM Mayor and Council Meeting Legacy Lodge & Conference Center 7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy Mary Moore, Library Director More events are occurring on the greenspace The increased events create some problems — library parking becomes limited Expressed appreciation for the extra security Andrea Worthy, Economic Development Director • Long-term thoughts — look into acquiring properties for redevelopment • Look at other funding sources other than the general fund Jennifer Bennett, Community Relations Director • Be included in the decision processes • When changes occur in other departments, those changes are not communicated to her department — ex. Changing an event after it has already been published Carol Sicard, Human Resources Director • Staff is settled • Has asked for a new position to assist with risk management insurance Julie Barwig • Over 250 activities were coordinated last year — will not do as many this year • Will work with other departments to find better systems Mini -grand opening for pollinator pocket Joe Bennett, City Administrator, presented the following: Strategic Plan Successes 2024-2025 Strategic Focus Area: Economic Development • Launched the "Welcome to Smyrna" new business program. • Established the small business assistance program using Placer.ai. • Completed the City branding process. • Kicked off the downtown master plan process. • Economic Development is working with Trust for Public Land to develop additional trails as a catalyst for further development. • Successfully conducted the second Smyrna Safe Business Program which has expanded to 25 local businesses. Strategic Focus Area: Quality of Place • Construction of the Ward 7 splash pad in underway. • Construction of the downtown restrooms and 2-5 yo park is underway. • Downtown surface lot construction is beginning within the next week. • The short-term rental monitoring software is active. Strategic Focus Area: Public Safety and Security • Real -Time Crime Center build out is complete. • Fire Department completed their 2025-2030 strategic plan. • First ever Community Risk Assessment completed. • Fire Department obtained Applicant Status for Agency Accreditation. • Replaced two fire apparatus and completed upgrades to fire station 1. Page 2 of 4 April 25, 2025 City of Smyrna Lanier Islands 09:00 AM Mayor and Council Meeting Legacy Lodge & Conference Center 7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy Strategic Focus Area: Employee Excellence • The City's wellness program was re -imagined. • Employee evaluation process has been automated. • The Safety Committee was relaunched. • Mineral training platform was launched. • We have continued to reduce overall employee turnover (CY 2024 + 14.98%). Strategic Focus Area: Quality of Life • 30-year water main replacement and sewer rehabilitation plans have been completed. • Lead service line inventory has been completed (We are Lead Free). • Community Development has continued conducting occupational tax certificate checks on existing businesses. • King St. has been closed from Friday — Sunday until Daylight Savings Time to facilitate a safer downtown. Councilmember Rickey N. Oglesby, Jr. — has concerns about the number of unhoused people. Councilmember Latonia P. Hines — has concerns about the lack of affordable housing. Councilmember Charles Welch — unhoused issues and affordable housing is an investor issue. There is a mentality of NIMBY (Not In My Backyard). Scott Cochran, City Attorney — From his experience through the Cobb Housing Authority: • The property is taken off the tax digest through a private enterprise agreement • Best case scenario, take an existing apartment complex not in the best condition to avoid rezoning issues - Work with investors to improve the complex - Deed restrict it to certain income level for a certain amount of time Andrea Worthy, Economic Development Director — added that it will probably take some changes to zoning code. She also discussed the following — Church Redevelopment Project: • First Phase is on track • There will be a booth at the Jonquil Festival • Community meeting on Monday night • 714 people signed up for updates via email • This process is about public input and also public education • It would be good for Mayor and Council to visit different communities for ideas Kristin Robinson, Deputy City Administrator / CFO • The next COW meeting — budget presentation • CIP process — November — February - $3.26M was added to the wish list which was cut - Good financial position, but have to look at anticipated revenues, anticipated expenses, balances, reserves, etc. • Two positions approved: HR — Risk Management Specialist, Parks Technician (devoted to downtown greenspace) • Several reclassifications were approved • $376K deficit - Committed funds for debt service and retirement - $1 M set aside previously - $50K contingency — balances the budget • Property Taxes projection 4 2% growth in digest - Last year was the first year Smyrna was below Cobb County projection - Anticipating 1 % out of caution Page 3 of 4 April 25, 2025 09:00 AM City of Smyrna Mayor and Council Meeting Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge & Conference Center 7000 Lanier Islands Pkwy - Only adding $400K to budget - Will get the final numbers the last week of June - Staff is the single largest cost 4 $1.5 M added to salaries - $8.1 M for salaries increase - Capped COLA at 3%, total cap at 6.5% (includes merit increases) HB 489 added back in to budget 4 $2.1 M 911 salaries — paid by fees from phone companies, but there are problems in collecting those funds since the state took over (funds decreased dramatically) Councilmember Welch stated that his priority is public safety (Police and Fire) and infrastructure. Councilmember Lindley mentioned the process for developers coming into the City — update zoning maps citywide. Mayor Norton stated these retreats will happen more regularly and would like some feedback on how people feel this retreat went. He thinks the social time away from the City is important. Councilmember Welch said he would like monthly updates from consultants with timelines and budget. He also would like to see an updated financial spreadsheet. Councilmember Hines would like something other than minutes from last year's retreat, and she would like to readdress the Crown Vic situation in PD. Ms. Robinson explained there are mileage and age thresholds that have to be met. There are very few Crown Vics in the PD inventory. Councilmember Oglesby thanked the Mayor, Council, and staff for making his transition into public service so welcoming. He also stated he appreciates the attention paid to ward 7. Mayor Pro Tern Gould and Councilmember Wilkinson also thanked staff for making things easier for council. 6. Other Business 7. Adjournment Mayor Derek Norton adjourned the April 25, 2025 Mayor and Council Combined Work Session — Day 2 at 10:21 AM. Facilities are provided throughout City Hall for the convenience of persons with disabilities. THIS MEETING WAS PROPERLY NOTICED AND POSTED AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NOTICING STANDARDS AS OUTLINED IN O.C.G.A. 50-14-3: The City of Smyrna website — www.smymaga.gov City Hall, 2800 King Street SE, Notice Boards Page 4 of 4