Mayor and City Council Work Session

Mayor and City Council Work Session Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 6:30 PM 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 Staff: Shawn Edmondson - City Manager | Maggie Dimov - Assistant City Manager - 7 DDA/Economic Development Director | Shavala Ames - City Clerk | Jeff Strickland - City 8 Attorney 9 10 11 Call to Order 12 Mayor Jones called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM 13 14 Determination of Quorum 15 PRESENT: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Mayor Pro 16 Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette 17 Bryant, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 18 19 Invocation and Pledge 20 Mayor Jones led the pledge, followed by the invocation 21 22 Citizen Comments 23 24 Citizen Comment 1: Denise Phillips: Congratulated Council on the cadence of the Special Called 25 Meeting; Council needs to be prepared to discuss items on the agenda; Don’t put taxpayer’s 26 information on a public document. 27 28 Citizen Comment 2: Ginny Andino: Supports Main Street Melody’s; City of Stone Mountain did a 29 great job creating an event that features local talent and variety of musical styles; Great representation 30 of the many demographics. 31 32 Citizen Comment 3: Rhonda Morrison: Mentioned audit findings she found online; Line item 33 2022.001 is out of balance; The $2,100 difference has not been identified; Misuse of SPLOST funds; 34 Deficiencies due to untrained staff; suggest City Manager meets with governing body monthly or 35 quarterly to discuss financials. 36 37 Citizen Comment 4: Joan Monroe: Mentioned gun laws in the State of Georgia and felons; Spoke on 38 the audit and city does not reconcile its property taxes - leads to public errors and fraud; Council 39 operates lazy government; Lack of skill and budget to do audit correctly; Misappropriation of SPLOST 40 funds; The Mayor and Freeman are the only ones who wanted to look into the financials. 41 42 Citizen Comment 5: Cheryl Dudley: Supports the removal of confederate symbols from the City’s 43 cemetery - the City of Stone Mountain is 70% minority; Do not need to glorify the confederacy; Page 1 of 7 44 Saturday is the annual Stone Mountain Memorial Ceremony – Walter Kennedy is the founding member 45 of League of the South which is a hate organization. 46 47 Citizen Comment 6: B. Patterson: Concerned about finances; Mentioned the audit report that came 48 out does not look good - SPLOST funds are not being used properly; The report looks like people are 49 stealing; Last finance report was in October 2024; Management did not do a good job at selecting 50 finance staff. 51 52 Citizen Comment 7: Sheila Ligon: Mutts on Main event was amazing and hope it can become an 53 annual event – many left the event to adopt a pet; Many seniors were not able to attend but was excited 54 about the event. 55 56 Citizen Comment 8: Jelani Linder: Mentioned Mutts on Main was a great; Need to make provisions 57 for other events on the lawn; Communication needs to get better on a whole 58 59 Citizen Comment 9: Ms. Thomas: Thanked Mr. Whitaker for the past audit; 2024 needs to be looked 60 at because it is a mess; 4/2 keeps voting to spend money that we do not have; SPLOST I was 10 mill – 61 streets are a mess; Parks did not get what they expected; City is divided; Everyone should worry about 62 4/2 to increase millage rate. 63 64 Citizen Comment 10: Ginger Criswell: Mentioned she was disgusted with who decided to overrule 65 Tunes by the Tracks with Main Street Melodies; Spoke regarding the previous City Manager obtaining 66 grant in Pine Lake; The Mayor is the most divisive. 67 68 Citizen Comment 11: Clint Monroe: Mentioned the Mayor and Council did not have anything to do 69 with the decision to monetize for the CSX parking lot and the anger of the city is well deserved about 70 how they handled it; The audit has gaps due to the conversion from Clear Gov. 71 72 Citizen Comment 12: Joy Lesure: Asked about an update or resolution regarding the adjacent 73 building was requested; Council Member Freeman was the sole member to provide a response. 74 75 V. Reading of Communications 76 77 VI. Adoption of The Agenda of The Day 78 79 ACTION: MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA OF THE DAY AS WITH THE FOLLOWING 80 CHANGES: MOVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ITEM #3 – 2023 AUDIT UPDATE, TO THE TOP 81 OF THE AGENDA; MOVE NEW BUSINESS ITEM #5 – POND PROJECTS UPDATE, TO THE 82 TOP OF THE AGENDA; MOVE NEW ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS BEFORE 83 UNFINISHED BUSINESS; REMOVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS ITEM # 7 – 1 HOUR PARKING 84 DISCUSSION, FROM THE AGENDA; REMOVE NEW BUSINESS ITEM #1 – CHANGE 85 ORDER #6 WITH A&S PAVING, FROM THE AGENDA; ADD GMC BUILDING USAGE FOR 86 DEKALB ELECTIONS, TO THE AGENDA 87 Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Seconded by Council Member: Post 2 88 Mark Marianos. 89 90 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 91 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe, Council Member: 92 Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 93 94 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman 95 96 MOTION PASSED 97 Page 2 of 7  98 VII. Committee Discussion Items 99 100 1. Stone Mountain Community Garden - Julian Pierre gave an overview of activities for Stone 101 Mountain Community Garden. 102 103 2. Planning Commission – No update. 104 105 3. Historic Preservation Commission - No update. 106 107 4. Parks and Recreation Committee - Joan Monroe gave updates on Parks and Recreation, which 108 included recommendations on a poetry slam, family fun day, book benches, Pan African Festival 109 and movies in the park. Park’s need maintenance. The Public Works Director should attend all 110 meetings. City Manager meeting was requested. 111 112 City Manager Edmondson confirmed that many items requested are not within budget. City 113 Attorney Strickland suggest drafting legislation to formerly establish the Parks and Recreation 114 Committee. 115 116 VIII. Staff Reports 117 118 1. Public Safety Report & Award Presentation 119 120 Public Safety Report - Major S.E. Parks gave an overview of all police statistics and updates for the 121 month of May. Officer Wilson was presented with the top shooter award. 122 123 IX. City Manager’s Report 124 125 City Manager, Shawn Edmondson gave an overview of the handout of the City Manager’s report and 126 Administrative Stats for the month of March. March Employee of the Month - Bianca Smith, Chief Clerk 127 of Court. 128 129 X. Council Policy Discussion Topics 130 131 XI. Updates 132 133 1. Discussion: 2023 Audit Update, requested by Council Member Gil Freeman 134 135 Auditor James Whitaker gave an overview on the 2023 Audit conducted by his firm. SPLOST Audit 136 I and II were also included in this discussion. 137 138 Mr. Whitaker opened the floor by asking if any Council Members had questions he could address. 139 Council Members inquired about the delay in completing the audit. Mr. Whitaker explained that the 140 delay was primarily due to turnover in personnel, as well as challenges related to the level of 141 experience on the accounting side. He also noted that a significant gap occurred when key 142 financial information was not provided to him until after the fiscal year had ended, which further 143 prolonged the process. 144 145 A question was raised regarding why Stone Mountain City Hall is listed under the name of the 146 Georgia Municipal Association. Mr. Whitaker explained that this arrangement stems from 147 the financing structure in place at the time of purchase, which required the lease to be managed 148 and paid off through GMA to support the City's cash flow. He noted that once the lease is fully 149 satisfied, ownership of the property will be transferred to the City. 150 Page 3 of 7 151 When asked about the most concerning findings in the audit, Mr. Whitaker stated that there may be 152 instances where funds will need to be returned. However, he emphasized that no evidence of fraud 153 was discovered during the audit. He noted that if any such issues were found, they would be 154 thoroughly investigated, as they often indicate underlying errors. 155 156 Mr. Whitaker also addressed the use of SPLOST funds, explaining the restrictions and eligible 157 uses of those funds. He stressed the importance of the City maintaining direct oversight of 158 revenues and receivables, especially given recent organizational changes and a lack of 159 transparency in certain areas. 160 161 Mr. Whitaker cautioned that the delayed audit could impact the City’s eligibility for state grants and 162 trigger requirements under federal single audit regulations. He provided additional details regarding 163 the implications of these issues. 164 165 2. Discussion: POND Projects / City Council Update and Stakeholder Engagement, requested by 166 Assistant City Manager & DDA Director 167 168 The consulting firm POND delivered a presentation and project update on key initiatives for 169 future city development. Lilian Haddad provided a comprehensive timeline outlining the project's 170 origins, key milestones, and the final stages of formulating recommendations and repayment plans. 171 She also detailed the timeline and structure of the community open house and the steps taken to 172 reach the current phase of the projects. Additionally, she shared data on website engagement and 173 community participation. 174 175 Consultant Andrew Smith further emphasized the importance of public safety, particularly in 176 response to Council Members’ concerns about aging sidewalks. He acknowledged that many 177 sidewalks do not meet current accessibility standards, including ADA compliance for wheelchair 178 users and safe routes for children. He proposed conducting a citywide ADA assessment to identify 179 priority areas and help establish a fixed budget for phased improvements. While not all issues can 180 be resolved immediately, the primary objective is to enhance safety for the community, an aim 181 that several Council Members strongly supported. 182 183 Funding options were also discussed. Mr. Smith explained the differences between securing local 184 or state funding versus pursuing federal funds for large-scale infrastructure projects, outlining the 185 pros and cons of each approach. Council Members posed additional questions to gain further 186 clarity on the initiatives. A community survey has been conducted, and the official project kickoff is 187 scheduled for next Tuesday at 10:00 AM. 188 189 ACTION: MOTION TO ADJOUNRN THE MEETING AT 10:03 P.M. 190 Motion made by Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Seconded by Council Member: Post 5 191 Shawnette Bryant 192 193 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 4 Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Bryant 194 195 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 1 Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Marianos, Mayor Pro Tem: 196 Post 3, Council Member: Post 6 Crowe 197 198 MOTION FAILED 199 200 ACTION: MOTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS: 201 CSX SPECIAL USE PERMIT, GMC BULDING USE FOR DEKALB ELECTIONS, HB 581 OPT 202 IN, AND DESIGNATING THE CITY MANAGER AS A SIGNATORY 203 Motion made by Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Seconded by Council Member: Post 6 204 Teresa Crowe Page 4 of 7 205 206 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Marianos, Mayor Pro Tem: 207 Post 3, Council Member: Post 6 Crowe 208 209 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 210 211 MOTION PASSED 212 213 XII. Unfinished Business 214 215 1. Consideration of an action on a request for a Special Use Permit to allow paid parking services 216 with the CSX right-of-way on the western side of Main Street between the Train Depot and 217 West Mountain Street, requested by City Planner 218 219 Meetings were held between Planning/Zoning and City Council to address and resolve issues 220 related to the CSX parking services project. Assistant City Manager Maggie Dimov provided an 221 overview of ongoing discussions with CSX and noted that Mr. Daniel with Preferred Parking had 222 also been involved in these conversations. City Planner Elizabeth Mitchum was present to clarify 223 the reasons behind the project’s postponement. Council Members raised concerns on various 224 aspects of the project. 225 226 ACTION: MOTION TO SEND BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION BEFORE MAYOR 227 AND COUNCIL MAKES A DECISION 228 Motion made by Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Seconded by Council Member: Post 5 229 Shawnette Bryant 230 231 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 232 233 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 234 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 235 236 MOTION FAILED 237 238 ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE SPECIAL USE PERMIT, WITH CONDITIONS FOR CSX 239 PARKING 240 Motion made by Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem: Post 241 3 Ryan Smith 242 243 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 244 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 245 246 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 247 248 MOTION PASSED 249 250 2. Consideration of an action on a request to approve the amended Facility Use Agreement between 251 the City of Stone Mountain and Dekalb County for the utilization of the GMC Building for election 252 services. 253 254 City Clerk Ames explained regulations that the City cannot charge the County for the use of the 255 GMC Building per Georgia Code. 256 257 ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE ADDING GMC BUILDING FOR DEKALB ELECTION USE Page 5 of 7 258 Motion made by Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Seconded by Council Member: Post 2 259 Mark Marianos 260 261 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 262 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: 263 Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 264 265 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 266 267 MOTION PASSED 268 269 3. Resolution 2025-11 to Rescind the opt out of the Homestead Exemption 581 and opt in HB 92 270 271 Mayor Pro Tem Smith provided an explanation of the significance of House Bill 92, highlighting its 272 potential benefits for seniors and low-income residents. City Attorney Strickland further clarified 273 that HB 92 permits cities that previously opted out of House Bill 581 can now opt in to the 274 exemption offered under HB 92. He emphasized that the decision to opt in is time-sensitive and 275 would require prompt action if the City chooses to pursue this option. 276 277 ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2025-11 AND OPT IN HB 92 278 Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Seconded by Council Member: Post 6 279 Teresa Crowe 280 281 Voting Yea: Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 282 283 Voting Nay: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 284 Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 285 286 MOTION FAILED 287 288 4. Consideration of an action on a request to approve adding the City Manager as signatory on the 289 signature card, requested by Council Member Mark Marianos 290 291 City Attorney Strickland confirmed that this action does not substitutes the Mayor’s signing 292 authority. 293 294 ACTION: MOTION TO APPROVE ADDING THE CITY MANAGER AS SIGNATORY ON THE 295 SIGNATURE CARD 296 Motion made by Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, Seconded by Council Member: Post 6 297 Teresa Crowe 298 299 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Anita Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Mark Marianos, 300 Mayor Pro Tem: Post 3 Ryan Smith, Council Member: Post 6 Teresa Crowe 301 302 Voting No: Council Member: Post 4 Gil Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Shawnette Bryant 303 304 MOTION PASSED 305 306 XVII. Adjournment 307 308 ACTION: MOTION TO ADJOURN MEETING AT 11:04 P.M. 309 Motion made by Council Member: Post 4 Freeman, Seconded by Council Member: Post 2 310 Marianos 311 Page 6 of 7 312 Voting Yea: Council Member: Post 1 Bass, Council Member: Post 2 Marianos, Mayor Pro Tem: 313 Post 3, Council Member: Post 4 Freeman, Council Member: Post 5 Bryant, Council Member: 314 Post 6 Crowe 315 316 MOTION PASSED (UNANIMOUSLY) 317 318 319 _____________________________ _____________________________ 320 Dr. Beverly Jones, Mayor Shavala Ames, City Clerk Page 7 of 7