Joint Downtown Development Authority/ Mayor and City Council Meeting

Special Called Joint City Council and DDA Meeting July 28, 2025 at 6:30 P.M. City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083 Minutes 1 Mayor and Council: Dr. Beverly Jones – Mayor | Post 3: Mayor Pro Tem Ryan Smith 2 Post 1: Council Member Anita Bass | Post 2: Council Member Mark Marianos 3 Post 4: Council Member Gil Freeman | Post 5: Council Member Shawnette Bryant 4 Post 6: Council Member Teresa Crowe 5 6 DDA Members Present: Carl Wright, Denise Phillips, Robert Witherspoon, Thom Deloach, Sarah 7 Hage, Anita Bass, DDA Attorney Kyle Williams 8 9 Staff: Maggie Dimov – Interim City Manager | Shavala Ames - City Clerk 10 11 I. Call to Order - Meeting called to order at 6:35 p.m. 12 13 Determination of Quorum 14 PRESENT: Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Mayor 15 Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman (was absent at the start of 16 the meeting, later arrived at 6:59 P.M.), Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council 17 Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe, Mayor Beverly Jones 18 19 II. Adoption of the Agenda of the Day 20 21 ACTION: MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA OF THE DAY 22 Motion made by Denise Phillips, Seconded by Carl Wright 23 24 MOTION PASSED (UNANIMOUSLY) 25 26 III. New Business 27 28 1. City of Stone Mountain Lawn Project/DDA MTap Study/LCI Trail Study 29 30 DDA Member Carl Wright requested an update on the Lawn Project from Interim City Manager Maggie 31 Dimov. The City is currently collecting feedback from the Table Talks Survey regarding the conceptual 32 lawn designs. The survey will remain open through the end of the month. Once all responses have 33 been received and reviewed, the feedback will help inform the next steps in the project. 34 35 MTap – Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov provided a brief overview of the MTAP Study. Denise 36 Phillips emphasized that the core purpose of the MTAP Study is to revitalize and breathe new life into 37 Main Street. 38 39 LCI Trail Study – Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov provided an update on the LCI Trail Study 40 conducted by POND, noting that the full study has been posted on the City’s website. The next phase 41 will involve coordination with the City Engineer to move the project forward. July 28, 2025 Special Called Joint Meeting Page 1 of 2 42 Both members of both the DDA and City Council shared their insights, comments, and concerns 43 regarding the projects, with discussions focusing on revenue generation, the revitalization of Main 44 Street, and funding strategies. 45 46 2. City of Stone Mountain – Main Street Corridor 47 48 A discussion was held regarding the possibility of requiring unlicensed businesses to carry insurance. 49 Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov will consult with the City Attorney to determine whether such a 50 regulation can be incorporated into the City’s Code of Ordinances. 51 52 [Council Member Freeman entered at 6:59 p.m.] 53 54 Discussion was held regarding the grant currently under review by Senator Ossoff’s office. Both the 55 DDA and City Council agreed that alternative funding options must be explored in the event the grant is 56 not awarded. Interim City Manager Maggie Dimov recommended that, at minimum, the City Council 57 finalize the design of the lawn project to ensure momentum and help prioritize future initiatives. 58 59 Council Member Freeman brought up Champion Middle School, noting that a roundabout is being 60 considered for the area and emphasized that this project should be prioritized. 61 62 Denise Phillips provided an overview of the estimated cost for conducting another MTAP Study. Mayor 63 Jones recommended that the City focus on completing current projects before launching new ones. 64 65 The DDA Attorney clarified that a formal vote is not required at this stage to proceed with consideration 66 of another MTAP Study. 67 68 There was also discussion surrounding the GMC Building in relation to the lawn and parking. It was 69 confirmed that no final decisions have been made regarding the GMC Building. The greater priority is 70 determining the future use of the lawn property. 71 72 IV. Executive Session - None 73 74 V. Adjournment 75 76 ACTION: MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:33 P.M. 77 Motion made by Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Seconded by DDA Member: Robert 78 Witherspoon 79 80 MOTION PASSED (UNANIMOUSLY) 81 82 83 _______________________________ ________________________________ 84 Dr. Beverly Jones, Mayor City Clerk, Shavala Ames July 28, 2025 Special Called Joint Meeting Page 2 of 2