Mayor and City Council Special Called Meeting

Mayor and City Council Special Called Meeting Monday, April 07, 2025 at 6:30 PM City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083 Agenda 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 Staff: Shawn Edmondson - City Manager | Maggie Dimov - Assistant City Manager - 7 DDA/Economic Development Director | Bolarin Kushanu - Assistant City Clerk | Jeff Strickland - 8 City Attorney 9 10 Call to Order 11 Mayor Jones called the meeting to order at 6:34 PM 12 PRESENT: Council Member Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Mayor Pro 13 Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa 14 Crowe 15 16 ABSENT: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman 17 18 [Council member Freeman’s items were moved to the bottom of the agenda, as he was not present 19 when the meeting was called to order]. 20 21 New Business 22 23 1. Discussion: Decorum, requested by Council Member Shawnette Bryant 24 25 Council Member Bryant requested that the item be moved to the Regular Session in order to gather 26 all necessary information on the topic. 27 28 2. Discussion: Property Taxes, requested by Council Member Shawnette Bryant 29 30 City Manager Edmondson shared the results of his research regarding the upcoming tax increase 31 and outlined potential adjustments to prevent an increase in 2026. He also noted that Homestead 32 Exemption applications are still being accepted and that an increasing number of residents are 33 taking advantage of the opportunity. 34 35 3. Discussion: Pre-Planning for the 2026 Comprehensive Plan, requested by Council Member Anita 36 Bass 37 38 Council Member Bass provided an overview of what a comprehensive plan entails. City Manager 39 Edmondson followed by outlining proposed changes to help meet the 2026 deadline proactively, 40 rather than waiting until the last minute. He highlighted ongoing and upcoming studies, emphasizing 41 that this will be a collaborative effort with the Council to ensure the process stays organized and Page 1 of 4 42 addresses any shortcomings from 2025. Mr. Edmondson also discussed previous workshops and 43 past issues that are being used to help improve the planning process, in response to a question 44 from the governing body. 45 46 4. Discussion: GMC building used as a multipurpose facility, bingo night , workshops, Mentorship, 47 Virtual office, requested by Mayor Dr. Beverly Jones 48 49 Mayor Jones clarified that businesses operating with a virtual office must also maintain a presence 50 within the community. City Manager Edmondson noted the positive feedback regarding the 51 building’s use as a multi-purpose facility and confirmed that users will be charged accordingly. 52 Assistant City Manager Dimov added that permits and ordinances are currently being drafted to 53 regulate proper use of the building, as pricing for its use had not previously been addressed. 54 55 5. Discussion: 1-hour parking, requested by Councilmember Teresa Crowe 56 57 Council Member Crowe explained that the item was included on the agenda as a concept for 58 consideration. She also shared feedback from local businesses regarding a previous discussion on 59 paid parking. Members of the governing body joined the discussion on how 1-hour or 2-hour 60 parking limits could impact businesses. The City Manager noted that workable agreements could be 61 established with business owners to accommodate their customers and foster strong partnerships, 62 adding that the Methodist Church is also open to collaborating. Further discussion included 63 concerns that the proposed parking fees may be too high. Additionally, the City Manager mentioned 64 that the blue house demolition site is the most ready parking project, and explained how work on it 65 could begin as early as next week. 66 67 6. Discussion: New Employees and Code Enforcement Officer, requested by Council Member 68 Shawnette Bryant 69 70 City Manager Edmondson announced that former Code Enforcement Officer T.D. Johnson, who 71 previously trained Officer Roseberry, has returned to the City. He highlighted the excellent work Mr. 72 Johnson has already accomplished, along with positive feedback from residents. Officer Harris will 73 serve as Mr. Johnson’s part-time Assistant Code Enforcement Officer, having successfully passed 74 all required exams for the position. 75 76 7. Discussion: Check signing resolution to ensure all account numbers are listed on the resolution 77 (e.g., SPLOST-1, etc.), requested by Mayor Dr. Beverly Jones 78 79 Mayor Jones explained this item will be moved to the next meeting because of items needing to be 80 discussed still with Mr. Edmondson. 81 82 8. City Manager’s Report – Shawn Edmonson 83 84 City Manager Edmondson noted that his report would be postponed to the next meeting, as there 85 were no urgent matters to address at this time. However, he did highlight details of the upcoming 86 City-Wide Clean-Up on May 17th from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, followed by a community cookout at 87 11:30 AM on the lawn. 88 89 9. March Employee of the Month 90 91 This item was moved to the next meeting. 92 93 10. Downtown Development Authority/DDA Report 94 Page 2 of 4  95 Assistant City Manager/Economic Development Director Maggie Dimov presented a report covering 96 January 2025 through March 2025. She noted the reappointment of two members and provided an 97 update on the grant application process for local businesses, which took place in March. Ms. Dimov 98 also elaborated on the grant procedures and highlighted ongoing business projects within the City. 99 11. Consideration of an action on a request to approve Change Order #005-A: Traffic Calming on 4th 100 Street in the amount of $22,0000.00 for the installation of 4 speed tables with cap blocks, striping 101 and signage on the 4th Street between Mason Lane and Lucille Avenue through contractor A&S 102 Paving, Inc. 103 104 The governing body inquired about the size and cost of the proposed speed bumps. In response, 105 City Manager Edmondson provided a detailed explanation and offered further insights into the 106 overall project. 107 108 ACTION: MOTION MADE TO APPROVE CHANGE ORDER #005-A: TRAFFIC CALMING ON 109 4TH STREET IN THE AMOUNT OF $22,000.00 FOR THE INSTALLATION OF (4) SPEED 110 TABLES WITH CAP BLOCKS, STRIPING, AND SIGNAGE ON 4TH STREET BETWEEN 111 MASON LANE AND LUCILLE AVE THROUGH CONTACTOR A&S PAVING, INC. 112 113 Motion made by Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Seconded by Council Member: Post 2 114 Mark Marianos 115 116 Voting Yea: Council Member Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 117 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council 118 Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 119 120 12. Consideration of an action on a request to approve the position of City Planning Manager, 121 requested by City Manager Shawn Edmondson 122 123 City Manager Edmondson provided a detailed explanation of the reasoning behind the request, 124 outlining the benefits the position would bring to the City. 125 126 ACTION: MOTION MADE TO APPROVE THE POSITION OF CITY PLANNING MANAGER 127 128 Motion made by Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Seconded by Council Member: Post 1 129 Anita Bass 130 131 Voting Yea: Council Member Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 132 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant, Council 133 Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 134 135 13. Ordinance No. 2025-03: Ordinance to Establish Regulations Governing Special Events and 136 Permits, requested by Assistant City Manager/Economic Development Director Maggie Dimov 137 138 It was decided to postpone this item to the next meeting in order to gather additional information. 139 140 14. Resolution No. 2025-10: Resolution to Set Permit Fee for Special Events, requested by Assistant 141 City Manager/Economic Development Direction Maggie Dimov 142 143 It was decided to postpone this item to the next meeting in order to gather additional information. 144 145 [Mayor Jones called for a brief five-minute break to contact Council Member Freeman for an update 146 on whether he would still be attending the meeting, as his items had been moved to the bottom of 147 the agenda]. 148 Page 3 of 4 149 [The remaining items were not discussed at the meeting]. 150 151 15. Adjournment 152 153 ACTION: MOTION MADE TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:53 PM. 154 155 Motion made by Council Member: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Seconded by Council Member: Post 6 156 Teresa Crowe 157 158 Voting Yea: Council Member Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 159 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 4 Shawnette Bryant, Council 160 Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 _______________________________ ________________________________ 170 Dr. Beverly Jones, Mayor City Clerk, Shavala Ames 171 Page 4 of 4