9/15/2025 Meeting Preview
You’ll see below some of the agenda highlights for our second meeting in September. I’ve added information from the council agenda memos and background on items that may be of particular interest, along with my thoughts on those issues. You can watch our meetings on the city’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Our meetings are typically on the first and third Mondays of the month. Workshop session begins at 6:00 pm; regular session begins at 7:30 pm; executive session, if necessary, takes place at the conclusion of the regular session.
You can access the full agenda packets here.
We welcome your attendance at our meetings and public comment is available near the start of the meeting, before any actions are taken. You can speak in person at the meeting or submit an e-mail with your name, address, and comment or remark to pcomment@collegeparkga.com no later than 7:30 pm on the evening of the meeting. The City Clerk will read your name, address and comment into the official record. If you have feedback for Mayor and Council directly, you can e-mail us.
WORKSHOP SESSION
1. Discussion on a request to approve the contract from vendor Prime Engineering Inc. to provide Civil Engineering and Site Design Services for the Flint River Headwaters Nature Preserve in Ward 1 in the amount of $250,000. This agenda item is being requested by Economic Development Consultant Brian Hooker. This item is sponsored by Mayor Pro Tem Jamelle Mackenzie. This item is funded by a HUD Award Grant of $500,000. This item will service Ward 1.
This project has been in the works for nearly a decade, thanks to the hard work of Hannah Palmer, a Southside resident who has championed Finding the Flint since its inception. We were able to get support from Congressman David Scott’s office in 2023 for this funding, and it must be used by the end of this month. This is a step in the right direction to move this amazing plan closer to reality.
2. Discussion on Ordinance Regarding Certificate of Occupancy provisions, Multi-Family Inspection Amendments, and Habitability Standards This item is sponsored by Councilman Joe Carn.
3. Discussion on Ordinance regarding Blighted Properties Condemnation Procedures and Millage Rate Increase This item is sponsored by Councilman Joe Carn.
Councilmember Carn and I discussed some tweaks to these ordinances last week. I think they both move us in the right direction and align us with state law regarding the habitability of dwellings. We need to be consistent on our application of these measures to ensure safe, stable decent housing for all.
4. Discussion on a Resolution regarding the Adoption of Residential Housing Stability Programs and Service Agreement This item is sponsored by Councilman Joe Carn.
The city is considering two new programs — one for homeowners and one for renters. It appears the goal is to help people put down roots and stay in their homes. For new homeowners (those who’ve been here three years or less), the program would offer things like small repair help, insurance support, and education to make sure they don’t lose their footing early on. For renters, the proposal is about giving a safety net through financial assistance and services that could help prevent evictions and housing instability. These are worthwhile goals, and I believe supporting stable housing is critical for a thriving community. But right now, there are a number of details missing. We don’t know where the $200,000 price tag is coming from, who would run the programs, or how we would measure success. I’ll be asking those questions because if we’re going to make this kind of investment, it needs to be clear, accountable, and truly beneficial for the people of College Park.
5. Discussion and Possible Action on Council-Sponsored Agenda Item Procedures
One of the most fundamental responsibilities of an elected official is to bring forward the concerns of the people they represent. In College Park, that means placing items on the City Council agenda as the roadmap for all of our decisions. Without access to the agenda, there is no public debate, no vote, and no accountability.
Questions have been raised about whether the mayor should have the ability to place items on the agenda. This goes to the heart of fairness, representation, and whether the mayor — and by extension, every resident in College Park — has a voice in shaping the city's future.
Our charter makes clear that the mayor presides over council meetings and ensures the orderly conduct of public business. By virtue of being the only member of the governing body elected at-large, the mayor represents the city as a whole. The charter does not prohibit the mayor from placing items on the agenda.
Department heads operate under their approved budgets, and when they have expenditures exceeding $10,000, they come directly before council for authorization. Staff, the city manager, and city attorney all have established pathways to bring items forward. Applying different standards to the mayor would be inconsistent with these established procedures.
Mayors have the right to add agenda items in communities across our region. This is standard practice for elected chief executives who represent their entire communities. The City Council approved the mayoral community enhancement budget in June, including funds for projects to benefit residents citywide. Clear agenda access ensures these approved funds can be used responsibly and transparently for their intended purposes.
This issue centers on fundamental principles of representation and governance. The charter supports mayoral agenda access, established practice supports it, and regional standards support it. The goal should be ensuring fair, transparent government focused on serving the people of College Park.
REGULAR SESSION
7. Public Hearings
A. Consideration of and action on a request to commence a Public Hearing on Monday, September 15, 2025 at 7:30 pm in City of College Park's City Hall Council Chambers for citizen comments on the proposed adoption of the current year's rollback millage rate of 11.493. The Total Tax Levy per fund is: General Fund $17,355,239.00, Hospitality Fund $3,075,097.00 and GICC Convention Center Special District $729,919.00. This agenda item is being requested by Terry Jackson, Finance Director and Phil Latona, Tax & Revenue Administrator. These are Budgeted items: Fund - Ad Valorem GL 100 0000 31 1100/1110, 270 4980 31 1190 and 275 4975 31 1190.
This year’s proposed millage rate would generate roughly the same level of revenue for the city. It is important to note that while a millage rate rollback may result in taxes being lowered for homeowners, it is specific to the county’s valuation of an individual property. Overall, this is good news for homeowners.
8. Consent Agenda
As I’ve noted before, “[a]ccording to the Georgia Municipal Association’s Handbook for Mayors and Councilmembers, a consent agenda can be a useful tool when a governing body has a lot of business to cover. It typically includes noncontroversial items or those previously discussed and needing final approval, such as permit issuances, street closures, or bill authorizations. While a consent agenda can save time, it should never be used to bypass public participation or stifle open dialogue.”
We regularly utilized consent agendas in 2023. The items on the consent agenda were part of the workshop session for discussion and then approved in the regular meeting. Any member of the body could pull an item off of the consent agenda in the regular session for individual consideration. This process ensured each elected official understood the business at hand before a vote. This hasn’t happened with the use of consent agendas in 2024 and so far in 2025.
Additionally, for FY2025–2026, each member of the governing body has been allocated $900,000 in community enhancement funds—$500,000 designated for capital projects and $400,000 for non-capital expenditures.
Unlike the formal budgeting process undertaken by staff—where every dollar is tied to a specific line item—I and my colleagues did not go through that level of detail when these enhancement funds were allocated. As a result, some of the items being funded through these accounts are appearing for the first time on the consent agenda without any prior discussion.
In the spirit of transparency—and to ensure you have a real opportunity to weigh in on how these public funds are used—I believe that any community enhancement expenditure not specifically identified in the adopted budget should appear in the Regular Business section of the agenda, not the Consent Agenda.
As this fiscal year continues, I will provide quarterly updates detailing how your community enhancement dollars are being spent. You deserve to know where and how your tax dollars are being invested.
K. Consideration of and action on a resolution authorizing the City of College Park to enter into a Professional Services Agreement with A&H Paving for the paving of Yates Road and a portion of Herschel Road, and the repair of damaged curbs,in the amount of $242,108.75. Funding from the Ward 4 Community Enhancement (Capital) GL Account #100-110054-7184 FY2026. This item is being sponsored by Councilman Roderick Gay.
Since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, A&S Paving has been awarded nearly $1.5 million in paving contracts. (The references to “A&H Paving” in the agenda packet are scrivener’s errors; the supporting documentation clearly identifies the vendor as A&S Paving.)
As part of the FY2025–2026 budget, each Councilmember and I have $900,000 of community enhancement funds: $500,000 dedicated to capital expenses and $400,000 for non-capital. In just ten weeks, the following Ward 4 capital expenditures have already been approved:
Milling and repaving Arundel Lane, Brannon Road, and Williamsburg Drive: $289,540.26 (8/18/2025)
Remediation work on a city stormwater creek easement at 4673 Winthrop Drive: $54,053.59 (8/18/2025)
Restoration of a stormwater ditch at 4107 and 4099 Monticello Way: $30,389.79 (9/2/2025)
Milling and paving the city-owned parking lot at 2540 Riverdale Road: $625,000 (9/2/2025)
The parking lot paving was tied to proceeds from the proposed sale of Bill Evans Field. Last year, the Council transferred the Bill Evans Field property and half of the football practice field next to it to the Business and Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), which agreed to sell those 6.5 acres to Creed Acquisitions for $1.5 million. In May 2024, council adopted a resolution directing that the $1.5 million be used “to fund a project to construct replacement baseball fields on six (6) acres of City-owned property located on Riverdale Road.”
At the last meeting, those same proceeds were earmarked in a resolution to pave a parking lot. When I asked about the contradiction, the City Attorney described the resolutions as “complimentary.” But it is difficult to understand how this one pool of money will fund multiple projects simultaneously — especially when the sale has not even closed.
Also at our last meeting, council approved a Supplemental Post-Closing Agreement with Creed Acquisitions that outlined unusual financial obligations surrounding the sale, including $823,534.75 to relocate an FAA tower on the site. Even more irregular: the city itself is not a party to the sale — BIDA is — but the city is nonetheless obligating itself to costs such as Creed’s attorney’s fees for the FAA work.
Between the tower relocation, legal fees, and other encumbrances, it is hard to see how much, if any, of the $1.5 million will remain to build the replacement baseball fields that were promised.
Regardless, one thing is clear: the money from the Bill Evans Field sale is not available now. And Ward 4’s capital account — which only contains $500,000 — is already fully spent less than three months into the fiscal year.
9. Regular Agenda
C. Consideration of and action on authorizing a payment of the civil judgment in the Southeast Capital Land BIDA Litigation in the amount not to exceed of $443,408.90 by September 30th, 2025, from G/L: 558 4985 52 6590. This item is requested by Brian Hooker, Economic Development Consultant.
This payment stems from litigation with the residential developer selected in 2019 to build at Six West.
