Board of Mayor & Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Yeah, that's me. Hello, Louise. Hey. I'm looking right down on you, Mike. Hello. Hello, hello, hello. No. Can you hear me? No, I mean my mic.

Hello. Hello. Hello.

Hello, hello. Can you hear me? Is that coming in?

Hello? Hello? Hello?

I know. I agree.

Hello? Hello?

I can hear you, Jonathan.

so louis can hear me online okay but no one out there can hear me well not hello hello Hello? Testing, one, two. Testing. Should I sing? Hello?

Can you test your microphone? To me? Nope. Say something else. Are you there, Louie? Yes. Okay, good.

We can hear you now. Okay.

The agenda is correct. Ready?

okay all right everybody all right this is city of avondale estates board of mayor commissioners regular meeting it is uh july 22nd 2026 it's 5 30. i'd like to call the meeting to order we have an agenda before us do i have a motion to adopt

was light i do have a second second that was mike all in favor say aye aye all right commissioner comments we're gonna start here with mayor pro tim uh i just have two short things tonight um i want to thank everyone that came to uh the commissioner chat last week commissioner suazo and i hosted I think we had a really good discussion. It's always nice to be able to have conversations in a very informal, relaxed environment. So thank you to everybody that came. I think we had a good discussion. And be on the lookout for the next one. I don't have it planned yet, but I'm hoping to have them every couple of months. Thank you for that. And my second thing, I was very happy to attend the ribbon cutting for Galore Market this morning. I know that... We've all enjoyed seeing that building and that corner transition to what it is today. And I would just encourage everybody to stop by and check it out for yourself. It's really nice and a great addition to our city.

Commissioner Smith? Yeah, I'll echo Commissioner Ramey.

Really happy and excited about the market. Our go-to has always been Oakhurst Market. They have the prepared meals and stuff, and it's nice to have something, you know, in our neighborhood, so I can't wait to take a look. All right, good deal. Commissioner Stevan?

Hey, good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming. I prepared a statement that I would like to read. I just want to take a few moments to address the incident that occurred after the June 23 millage rate hearing, and in particular the allegations regarding my involvement with Avondale FYI. I believe we can all agree, regardless of anyone's suspicions or concerns, the events of June 23rd were not the appropriate way to address them. If there were any questions about my involvement, I would have welcomed a direct conversation. Questions should be asked before conclusions are reached and concerns should be addressed through respectful dialogue rather than public accusation. That approach serves everyone better and reflects the professionalism our residents expect from their local government. Because the questions were raised publicly about my integrity and alleged involvement with Avondale FYI, I believe it is appropriate to answer them directly. I want to be clear. I did not create Avondale FYI. I did not write its articles. I do not operate or manage the publication. I have never financially contributed to it in any way. I'm a subscriber and I read the publication. That is it. One of the allegations stemmed from a paid subscriber designation that appeared on my Substack profile. After learning of that designation, I contacted Substack directly to determine how it occurred. Substack's records confirm that I never provided a credit card or any other payment information and have never paid Avondale FYI any money. Although my account displayed a paid subscriber designation, that was not a status I requested, selected, or was even aware of. According to Substack, the designation appears to have been applied by the platform potentially inadvertently. I wanted to share that documentation because facts matter, and I believe questions about... Public officials' integrity should be answered with objective information whenever it is available. Throughout my career and through my campaign, I have never hesitated to express my opinions publicly or ask difficult questions, whether people have agreed with me or not. or disagreed with me. I have always known where I stand because I've never been reluctant to say so openly. I was elected to represent this community and that position gives me a public platform. I do not need an anonymous publication to express my views. If I have concerns about city government, I will continue to raise them openly, respectfully, and under my own name, just as I always have. If any resident has questions about my positions, my votes, or the work I'm doing on your behalf, I would be happy to meet with you and have that conversation. I welcome respectful dialogue and thoughtful disagreement. What I will not do is engage in ongoing back and forth debates on social media. I believe meaningful conversations are best had face to face, over the phone, or in meetings like this one. The events of June 23rd We're unfortunate. I appreciate the city manager's apology and acknowledge that the manner in which he addressed the situation was inappropriate. I accepted that apology because I believe people should accept responsibility for their mistakes because I believe our community is best served when we move forward constructively. As we move forward, I hope we all remember one important principle, that there is a difference between asking questions and making accusations. Questions seek facts. Accusations assume conclusion. Questions are healthy. They're a good part of good government and accountability. My commitment to this community has not changed. I will continue to listen to residents. I will continue asking thoughtful questions. I will continue making decisions based on facts and evidence. And I will continue expressing my views openly under my own name with the transparency and accountability that public service requires. Well, sorry, got to turn the page. That is how I campaign, and that is how I have served, and that is how I intend to continue serving the people of Avondale Estates. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Louie? Commissioner Suazo is online. He's out of town, so he's going to Zoom in tonight.

Yeah, no, I have no comments tonight.

Okay. All right. Well, I have quite a few announcements, so stick with me. So, sorry. The city and the district, the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office will host a community support event tomorrow, Thursday, July 23rd, from 4 to 7 at the Avon Theater to provide resources for those affected by the gunfire incident that occurred outside the city's 4th of July fireworks. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet with organizations that serve individuals impacted by gun violence, learn about the criminal justice process, receive referrals to mental health providers and other support services, speak with on-site counselors, visit with therapy dogs, and learn more about trauma, available resources for adult and children, and how parents and caregivers can support children experiencing distress. We're very thankful that the DA's office is bringing victim advocates trained in community crisis response through the National Organization for Victim Assistance, otherwise known as NOVA. And again, that's the city and the DA's office. That's tomorrow, Thursday, July 23rd, 4 to 7 at the Different news, Avondale Estates is turning 100, so we'd like you to join the celebration. The city is gearing up to celebrate a monumental milestone at Centennial, beginning in August of this year and concluding in January 2028. We will be celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, our 100th birthday. We also are having a kickoff street festival Friday, August 28th. That's the official kickoff, the centennial celebration. That'll be Friday morning, August 28th, on Franklin Street between Olive and Pine Streets. The street festival will bring the whole community together for an evening of, well, it says morning, but evening of music fun and food for the whole family. So stay tuned. All right. We also, we'd like you to join Cremolosa's Back to School Bash. That is Saturday, August 1st, from 2 to 6 at the Town Green. It's free. There will be live music, face painting, bubbles, games and prizes. Local businesses and artists will be there. There will be giveaways. Of course, plenty of Cremolosa gelato. The whole family is welcome, and admission is free. That event is presented with support from the City of Abingdon Estates, the Book Bird, Birdie Dental, and Associated Credit Union. I'd also like to point out there's a flyer over here on the stand with the agendas that Margaret Lunsford asked us to put out. And it's for they are throwing a community community. I mean, a roaring 20s gala on August 29th. And all the information there's Margaret right there. Thank you, Margaret. And so all the information is in the flyer. Please pick that up. We're all very excited about the Centennial, so please read the information and get involved. And lastly, this morning in my news feed, I saw an article from the Atlanta Regional Commission about our road dive, which was really a fantastic article. We literally could not have done that project without the Atlanta Regional Commission, so we appreciate the good write-up. One of the taglines was, Avondale Estates is now a place to drive to, not through. And I really I was like, man, I wish I'd have thought of that. It's really great. But I do. I just want to point out the article I did. I did want to thank the ARC for all their help with that project and staff and all of you really. And and for the fantastic write up. So it's a lot of good news. That is it for me. Appreciate you all listening to that. Yep. That's it for me. All right. So with that, any other comments up here? Lou, are you good? Okay.

If anybody's planning to go to the gala and would like to volunteer to help, please reach out to me and let me know.

Okay, thank you. All right, so we're going to open it up for public comment. I say this at every meeting, three minutes per speaker, one comment per speaker. We're not setting a time limit, but just please approach the podium, name and address please, and You know, everything's said to us. We just try not to get in dialogue with the audience or with you. So open for public comment. Jen.

Jen Hover, 89 Berkeley. My husband Bill and I went to the farmer's market, the Avondale Estates farmer's market on Sunday. And I have to say that I feel it's almost exhilarating to see all those wonderful people in our city. And we stopped, the family, was taking a picture of you. And so we stopped to let them do that. And then Bill turned and said, would you like me to take a picture of all of you? And they said, yes. And my thought was, 10, 15 years ago? I can never imagine a family standing in a downtown area in Avondale State and saying, will you take my picture? Yes. So successful.

Thank you, Jan. I appreciate it.

Yes, ma'am. Kelly.

I'm pretty horrified by this situation here.

I'm really late to the party on it, obviously. But I'm certainly filing a complaint, I suppose, for an ethics review of the behavior, the assault, the verbal assault on Lyda by the city manager. and yourself. I think it needs to be investigated. And per Substack, which I read today, first time ever, there is clearly a process. And I'm curious right now, what has already been done to address this? And forgive me, I was not here at the last meeting. I understand there was some kind of discussion that you had came to some agreement to, but I don't see anything changing. So what was that agreement that

I'm going to comment on that later. But as far as the ethics board, Mr. Attorney?

All right.

Mayor and commissioners, I have some notes here in anticipation of this question. So I reviewed the city's ethics code, which was adopted in 2003. So a few years before my firm started representing the city. So I can't speak to what exactly was intended at the time. I can only go by what I read. Now, first and foremost, if there's a complaint filed with the ethics board, then the ethics board will address it, presumably according to the code that they're there to follow. So I want to really emphasize that I'm not prejudging any potential complaint. I'm just going to summarize what I read in our ethics ordinance about complaints. So I guess the first question is, who's covered by this Code of Ethics? The answer is in Section 2-94, entitled Scope of Persons Covered. And the persons covered are the members of the VOMC, the Planning, Zoning, and Architecture Board, and all advisory commissions and committees of the city. So who is not covered is employees of the city, including the city manager. What conduct is prohibited? That's addressed in section 2-96, standards of conduct. So you have subsections A through E. which explicitly apply to only commission members. And those are things that have nothing to do with the discourtesy allegation that I was asked to look at. Then you have items F through G. These are applicable to employees, which I'll come back to. and they involve the handling of public monies and public property. They don't say, They do apply to city officials, but that doesn't mean that the ethics board is the way those are enforced. If the city official in question is not a board member, which includes this board and the other boards that I mentioned. So how could that, if let's just say hypothetically that one of the employees mishandled public money, obviously there's a consequence to that. If it's someone the city manager supervises, then the city manager would give out that consequence, not the ethics board. If the city manager has done something wrong, including mishandling the public money, then this is a prohibition, but it doesn't bring that into the realm of what the Ethics Board would address. The Board of Mayor and Commissioners is empowered to give a negative employment action to the city manager when deemed appropriate, not the Ethics Board. so then we have uh items h through k also apply to all city officials including the city manager these involve divided loyalties with other employers or potential employers or misallocation of city resources and spending powers again these are apply to everyone involved with the city But that doesn't mean that the ethics board would be empowered to discipline an employee. They are not based on Section 2-94 scope of persons covered and also on Section 2-104, which is the final one I wanted to talk about. what are the penalties that the ethics board can give out? Those are set forth in section 2-104. And basically, if you look at these, you will see that every single one of them is very specifically addressed to board members, this board or the other boards. So consequence number one would be A written reprimand by the board of which the violator is a member. Consequence number two would be a financial fine imposed by the board of which the violator is a member. Number three would be a request for resignation issued by the board of which the violator is a member. So my conclusion is that Ethics complaints are appropriately filed, assuming the facts support them, against members of this board, the planning and citizens board, and other appointed committees. There are certain conduct prohibited that applies to employees in the ethics code, but that doesn't mean that the ethics board would be the entity that that would be appropriate to enforce those rules of conduct. I think that's all I've got, unless anybody has a follow-up question about that.

Thank you. Thank you for six minutes of legal ease. Well, then, if all that is an issue, then I will just ask for his resignation. That's all I'll do. suggest happens because this is intolerable. It's absolutely abuse. And there is no way that this woman can function in this board after that event. And he can't continue to lead this community. The development's great. Buildings look great. Thank you for the increase in property value. You can't look at the money and look away from the people. So And it makes changes. I'm shocked, quite frankly, that there wasn't already a resignation ready this evening. That's where I stand.

Any questions for me? Okay. Okay. Other comments?

bill bill over the united brooklyn room um while i found the event unfortunate uh my understanding is that the board investigated it uh met in both sessions to determine what appropriate actions would be taken those appropriate actions were were taken and in accordance with the decisions made by the board and the matter is closed at this point. I have no problem with Patrick Simont as a city manager. I think he's done a wonderful job. I think it's regrettable that he lost his temper in this particular situation. And if there needs to be a panel engrossed to investigate is necessary and isn't called for. I would hope that all facts and circumstances involved in how that situation occurred would be considered. And so decisions aren't being made by the very tail end of what I presume was a situation that did not start in the parking lot. Thank you.

All right. Anyone online?

Yes. All right, Julie.

Can you guys hear me?

Yes, we can.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Fantastic. Julie Fleming, 40, Clarendon. Hello from Canada. If you guys know me and my family, you might know that we are a Canadian-American family. prepared some comments for tonight that happened to echo Jan Hover's comments. I've been coming to the same farmers markets in Canada for 25 years and each time I think I wish we had something that's good in Decatur or Avondale and this year I celebrated we do and we have something better. I'd like to recall us to January 28th where in this meeting We celebrated Avondale Estates Award from the Atlanta Regional Commission as a green community, bronze level, which was a really meaningful award for sustainability. And how did we get there? One of the ways was our Sunday farmer's market. Our second way was another way. There were actually four was curbside composting. Um, on May 29th, Ted Terry, who is a DeKalb County commissioner, sent representatives to Avondale Estates to talk about curbside composting. And I was in the pilot program. Now I pay for it. Um, I went to the event. Um, since that event, we have been busy planning July 4th. Shelley Greaves and I worked, mostly Shelley did, on Christmas in July. you know, the collection that was fantastically successful for our city workers. And then, of course, we got caught up in the aftermath. So I'm speaking for curbside composting. The benefits are landfill waste diversion that takes some pressure off of our neighbors in South DeKalb, where our landfill is. Greenhouse gas reduction affects climate change. Our steps are incremental, but we should be taking them. And we support local agriculture with the product, the actual waste of our households. So I encourage us to include curbside composting in our Avondale Estates 2026 Comprehensive Master Plan update. I don't know where we are on that, but I would love to find out. Right before we left for Canada, I went on the Sunday after the 4th of July to Banjo Coffee, one of my local favorites, and it was crazy busy. So I commend all of this work with the farmer's market and the downtown businesses to bring people to Avondale Estates to spend their money here, to fall in love with our ambiance. and to learn from our leadership teams. I did not prepare a statement as a witness to the events in the parking lot, but I was. And speaking now, I'm echoing what Bill Hover said, and I think he said it well. I'll see as many people as I can walking around Avondale Estates next week when we're back. And of course, I'll be at this meeting two weeks from tonight. And thank you, everybody, for all of your service.

Well, thank you, Julie. Enjoy your time up in Canada. Okay. All right. Other comments? Kathy?

Oh. I want to thank the police department for their rodeo. I haven't seen the numbers. Thank you, please, Chip. I hope that we have gotten more golf carts registered. I also would really, really beg the police to start enforcing the rules. We've given the community ample opportunities I'm seeing just as many young people driving the vehicles, going the wrong way down streets, ignoring stop signs, and multiple young people on a vehicle that probably don't need to be on the vehicle. So I just would thank you for the rodeo. I hope we got more cars registered, golf carts. But please, start enforcing our rules. That's why we have them in every instance. Code enforcement, whatever. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. One last call for Zoom comments. Okay. And one last call here. Lisa? Lisa?

Yeah, Lisa Chork-Bell, 6 Clarendon Place. I wanted to thank you guys and city staff for the great newsletters that we've all been receiving in our mailboxes. And I particularly wanted to call out the column on the city millage and taxes. And I hope that every resident reads it. I know we can put it out there, but we also depend on residents to read information And I would ask that in the future, any millage conversations, the city continues to parse out the rate of the property tax increase in the single-family residential area versus the commercial district. It's very important because doing so gives us insight into how our tax base is changing and the true impact on single-family homeowners and the way, a way to visualize what's happening in the downtown. So I'm just asking you continue to have such a detailed response every year because it really does give us a much more detailed picture and perspective on what's going on. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Other comments?

Going once.

Going twice. All right. I'm going to close public comment and just read this statement in general. Following the incident on June 23rd, the BOC met in executive session twice on June 24th and June 30th. The board followed a legally prescribed process to meet an executive session to handle personnel issues. The issue was thoroughly discussed, and the board universally agreed on how to move forward. As stated before, the matter was addressed directly and respectfully, and the BOC considers the matter to be closed. Later tonight at our work session, we will be We'll begin a discussion on a formal mode of conduct to establish standards for interactions among city officials, city staff, and others conducting city business. And we're going to, like I said, start discussing that this evening. So please stick around for that. Okay. All right. Item number five, our first item of business. We have before us the... It is, ma'am.

How can that be the end of it?

Well, as I said, we discussed it in an executive session, as we're allowed to do, and we completely matter.

Public comments.

Ma'am, public comments closed.

I'm sorry, question?

Public comments closed.

You're silencing her and now you're going to silence me?

it's not about that it's just public comment it's closed we're here to conduct business ma'am harry ma'am you're out of order i don't know what to say all right so item number five we have before us the uh meeting minutes of the july 8th 2026 regular meeting and the july 8th 2026 work session do i have a motion to engross that was light i do i have a second

Second.

That was my call. Say aye. Aye. Aye. That was five. Okay. All right. Now, item number six. This is the first read of an ordinance to adopt a 2025 budget amendment. As we voted on some time ago, we have the option of a consent vote. I think this is the first time we've done it with this bunch with a consent vote. I would make a motion for a consent vote. If all five of us agree to a consent vote, we can then vote on the ordinance change itself. We don't have to vote 5-0 on that. We just have to vote 5-0 to vote on it. Got that? That's just how it has to be structured. Stephen, am I getting that correct? You got it exactly right, Mr. Mayor. Okay. Okay. so uh do i have a motion for a consent vote on the first read of an ordinance to adopt a 2025 budget amendment so moved that was graham do i have a second okay that's mike all in favor say aye aye aye well i was hoping to have a little discussion first we can still do that well before we vote Yeah, I mean, we would only discuss the consent vote itself.

Well, because, you know, I generally don't like to vote for things, you know, in one reading. You know, that's kind of the way I feel that we should have the two readings. But if this is just something to clean up the financial stuff in order to get the audit finished, then I'm okay with it.

Well, okay. Tell you what. Mr. Manager. Yes. Did you...

Could you do the lead up as you would have done? Sure. So this amendment package is not necessarily tied to the timing of audit submission. So they are not tied together. They both have to be completed, but they don't rely upon each other. So if the question you're asking is, But regardless, we planned on doing that immediately after anyway, because the timing lined up. And I think, and Stephen, correct me if I'm wrong, do you have a problem with discussing the elements of the amendment during the consent motion? Or do you think we need to get through that before we discuss the elements of the amendment?

No, I think it's fine to have a discussion. I mean, the... We already have a motion on the table.

I think my main question really is, is this stuff that's already been done, it's just being documented? Correct. Okay.

Yes, that is correct.

I just wanted to clarify that. Okay.

So one more time. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Okay, that's five. So all that does is enables us to go ahead and vote on the first read.

Now, was there anything you'd like to add before we go to the first reading? No, just that if there are any remaining questions about these proposed amendments in this document, feel free to ask them, and we're happy to answer.

So, any questions, comments up here? None? Louie?

No, no comments.

All right. So, do... I have a motion to adopt an ordinance amending the budget for fiscal year 2025 for the city of Avondale Estates. So moved. That was Graham. Do I have a second?

Second.

That was Mike. All in favor say aye. Aye.

Point of order, Mr. Aye. Aye.

That's five. Yes.

I probably should have said this during the consent vote, but my understanding is you're getting ready to approve the first reading. Is that correct?

We just voted to approve the ordinance itself.

Well, normally that requires public comment before.

Which would have been.

At the bottom of your agenda, it says that public comment is allowed before you vote on matters like this.

During the public comment item.

I don't think that's your procedure.

Sorry. And I could be wrong.

Well, this is not a public hearing.

I apologize. I had a number. I had just two key questions that I wanted to ask. And because I misunderstood the rules, I didn't get a chance to ask the questions.

We do have a questions card over here.

We do have a questions card.

But I'm sorry.

I mean, we just voted 5-0 on it.

Clarify one other thing.

I'll try.

The agenda says first read, which usually implies a second read. But what you're saying is you can avoid the second read with the consent vote?

Yes. And we voted on that two, three years ago?

Yes. That procedural change, I think it was even longer than that. I think it was. I recall you doing that.

I missed it. Misunderstood. Thank you.

Okay.

Sorry.

Okay. All right. So that concludes business. Do I have a motion to adjourn? That was Lida. Do I have a second? Second. That was Graham. All in favor say aye.

Aye. Aye.

For anyone who hasn't been here before, we're going to take a 10-minute break. It is now 6.06. We'll return at 6.16. We're going to convene down there at the table for our work session. So you're welcome to

Stay. All right, this is the City of Avondale State's Board of Mayor and Commissioners. This is our work session. It's July 22nd, 2026. It's now 6-17. I'd like to call the meeting to order.

We have an agenda before us that I have a motion to adopt. So move.

Second.

Very good. All right. First item of discussion, 2019-2026 Mid-Year Crime Statistics Update. That will not be me.

Okay. We're going to tag team this way. First, I want to just kind of lay the groundwork for what you're looking at. So what Chief Hess and I did was look at... first half of year crime stats, beginning with current year and dating it all the way back to 2019. So this memorandum discusses eight years worth of crime statistics that are generated from January through June. So you can kind of get a good seasonal comparison of activity across a broad spectrum of time. And so the memorandum you have before you is essentially a summary with graphics to that effect. And then I'm going to let Chief Hess go ahead and kind of update you as to those trends. If you have any questions, what the statistics bear out is we are a city that has very limited instances of violent crime. The bulk of our Part 1 crimes, now Part 1 crimes are classified as such by the FBI. So you have Part 1 crimes, Part 2 crimes. Part 1 crimes are more serious offenses than Part 2 crimes. And what you see here is that the overwhelming amount of crime And I'll let Harry explain to you the different types of property crimes so you can understand the difference between robbery, burglary and larceny and how we account for those. So you can you can better understand the statistics laid out before you in the memo.

So property crimes, as he as it says for itself. burglary to someone breaking into a house or a business uh larceny and theft and that's our probably leading prime um i will say that i don't like that title because it encompasses any type of theft and let me give you one example is um i'll use laurie as an example hypothetical laurie loses her driver She needs to report and replace that said driver's license. The classification for that is actually theft of lost or mislaid property. And we do have a lot of those throughout the year. So it is considered a theft or larceny by divers reporting, but it's more of a lost, mislaid property. A loss of your tag. If your tag falls off your car, you have to report it as a theft. So the property crimes that we generally deal with are those type of petty thefts or loss of mislaid property. Obviously, vehicle thefts, sporadic throughout the year. But those are the type of crimes that we generally deal with. And I'm happy to say that our violent crimes are virtually nonexistent. Better not go wood. We occasionally do have a classification, but as the stats show, we have not had a murder or a rape since 2019, well before that. Additionally, the robbery numbers are extremely low, and the aggravated assault numbers are low, considering where we are with Metro Atlanta.

And then next we want to kind of turn your attention to an anomaly that you may have seen in this memorandum, which is an uptick in DUI incidents. And there is a reason for that. It's, yes, some of that can be attributed to driver behavior, but Harry, could you talk about our traffic unit and the expertise there?

Yeah, so recently we started a swing shift that works We have an officer that works on each of our rotations. We have two rotations on patrol. Swing shift is kind of an ad hoc traffic safety unit. I don't like calling it traffic because part of that unit is actually educational purposes and driver education to safety and pedestrian safety. I recently hired an individual with, don't quote me on this, 15 plus years of law enforcement experience, an extensive background in DUI detection. Of the 14 DUI arrests that we've made this year, he accounts for seven since he started in February. That kind of shows you the trend there. Additionally, we have had our staff, we've had several Impaired driving training, standardized field sobriety, intoxicator 9000. And we have a couple officers that will be going by the end of the year to a class called A-Ride, which is roadside impairment. It's not just alcohol, but also narcotics. and some other stuff. The reason behind that is obviously safety to the motor and public. EUIs contribute to the most injuries and vehicle accidents, deaths, and collisions statistically in the nation. And we want to try to stay ahead of the curve versus being reactive. So we're being a little bit more proactive in the last couple of years, specifically this year.

Okay.

So, Do y'all have any additional questions about this report or any of the statistics contained therein?

Is this going to be something we'll be seeing on a periodic basis?

Yeah, I think, yeah. And so after the conclusion of the next six-month period, we'll give you the exact same report. I think it's beneficial to do that way because there are kind of seasonal changes in the types of crimes that are committed. So it's really a good way to do this analysis.

Thank you. I have a question.

Thank you. You are the police force. As I said before, we were all sleeping and hanging out and doing stuff in the pool and whatever. You guys are still doing your job and we appreciate that.

It's not being instant when they're in our department. They're doing a great job.

Thank you. Questions? I'm here. I'm Louie. Thank you.

Louie.

Okay. All right. So sometime in December, we'll be seeing the DJ, I guess.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's right. Okay. All right. Item number four discussion, 2026 budget amendments.

Okay. So we want to have this discussion in two tranches. Uh, first we'll talk about, um, the summary of recommended changes to the operating budget. for FY26 and then some recommended changes to the capital program. So I will hand it over to Toni Jo and let her explain to you the recommended amendments to the operating budget first and the from the millage rate decision.

Yes. So that is included in her memo in this first section, both in the table and the first paragraph. What we have done is included the impact from the recently adopted millage rate at 9.3, which was a decrease from the assumed millage rate of 9.55 at the time of budget adoption. Also, in coming up with that number, we did assume a conservative 3.5% appeal rate and 1.5% delinquency rate. So the impact of that is a decrease in those revenues of $155,351. To offset that, we are seeing that the miscellaneous revenues are trending higher. So there is a recommended increase in your miscellaneous revenue of $13,209, and that's where you get the net $142,422 impact to revenues. And then additionally, we have that same impact to the expenditures to keep it balanced. So we did have a need for additional funding of $38,500 for the centennial celebration events. And then to help us balance back to that $142,422. We are recommending reducing your transfer out to the capital. That total amount that was included in that budget of $180,922. That's your expenditure net impact is $142,000. Redeclared by any of those statements.

Yep.

So is this the number that's that number after the 3.5 and the 1%?

Yes, that was one. Well, this number is the impact that we think is going to get to the tax revenue based on this sort of out of that chart that I showed you. Yeah, this number comes from the decrease your revenues and you increase that. So you've got that net there. Same thing with your expenditures. You've got one going down and one going up, so you haven't met.

So decrease in the transfer of the capital fund is $8,922. Yes. That's $142,422 plus $35,000. Correct. Sometimes I would say it out loud. Yes.

No, it's fine. I had to think about it. I was like, wait, they're met. I'm going the opposite direction.

And there was no room.

HAB-Masyn Moyer- About operating what what what do you mean by like from another one item decide to transfer to capital group I don't see anything currently trending will like low enough to be able to fill in 30 that. HAB-Masyn Moyer- Louie.

HAB-Masyn Moyer- Good.

HAB-Masyn Moyer- Okay, moving on yeah we'll get a lot of. Yes. Okay.

Okay. Moving on. So we provided you with two documents, the existing capital program document, and then a recommended revised capital program document. As we discussed at the budget workshop that we held earlier this year, the current capital program did not include or yet anticipate the $1 million investment a donation made possible by Waffle House. And then there were some other discussions that we had at the time that you will find reflected in these recommendations. One of those is an increase to the existing budget for the renovation of City Hall to provide for office space, additional meeting space, finishing out the second floor, which is... is home to a lot of unfinished space. So we have made that recommendation here. We also removed the land acquisition line item. When the Washington Street extension was proposed to go through another spot of the downtown, it would have required the acquisition of land to make that happen. That is no longer necessary, so those funds have been recommended to be repurposed. A couple of other things of note before we get into the Waffle House donation. We have added or amended the police vehicles and equipment line item to include for the contract y'all recently entered into for the additional police radios. You'll see that there. We are also recommending adding funds to that line item for tactical gear. We have yet to bring forth a memorandum explaining that need in detail with quotes, but generally speaking, after the active shooter event adjacent to the 4th of July fireworks, we recognize that, you know, God forbid an incident like that happen again, we want to make sure that our police department and is not exposed to any danger or unsafe conditions when responding to such an event because of the lack of equipment and or protective safety here. So we'll be bringing that to you very soon. Two projects that were a part of the previous capital program but were unfunded have been added, and those are the renovations for both Windsor and Willis Park. And then we reclassified the shared streets grant that we had to clarify now that the DDA has entered into an item. the purposes of matching that grant award. A couple of other items I want to speak to. We had projects budgeted in the SPLOST I category because we still had several hundred thousand dollars of SPLOST I funding left over following the conclusion of that revenue being generated. And if y'all recall, the board made that decision previously to pledge those resources to paving Majestic Circle and Chatsworth.

That's 1264?

Yes, correct. That is 1264.

And it's already been done.

Yes, that was done earlier this year. So that has been reflected as The projects that were previously prescribed to be funded out of SPLOST 1 have been moved. Also, SPLOST 2 projects, if y'all recall, when we entered into the IGA with the DDA to transfer monies for the production of Washington Street, Those came from two line items, which were Washington Street and Franklin Street. Those projects have been executed and removed, and now there is $20,000 left over from those line items that are proposed to be repurposed. were able to repurpose some of the monies that would be available for the mitigation of the Southwood stormwater and dam stabilization project. So we were able to repurpose $382,045 of the county contribution to SPLOST the additional contribution, that $2 million contribution to SPLOST II toward that project, which would require us, if the cost exceeded what we currently have proposed to be budgeted, it would require fewer grant awards to make up those dividends. We also have contained all of the non-Southwoods and dam rehabilitation project monies that are related to Lake Avondale from their various source funding locations, all into the capital fund. We have essentially a million dollars of proposed rehabilitation at Lake Avondale that is exclusive of the Southwood Stormwater Project. And we're actually showing that. I mean, it's not earmarked per se, but what we're showing is that the revenue side of the capital fund now includes that million dollar Waffle House donation. And essentially, without definitively earmarking there is a one-to-one offset between those monies and the planned expenditures succeeds. And the restoration of the Northwoods, the resulting marsh or mud pit as it had become from the Northwoods erosion that has now been solved. So we can restore that back to a wet condition. So those monies are now all shifted from various funds into the capital fund. That's We also increased the budget for the trees and sidewalks line item to include that to be available for trees, sidewalks, and paving, and increased because we removed some of the projects from the stormwater fund to other funds. funding available for stormwater emergency repairs which you are all aware we encounter often and most of the time without warning so those are the changes that that we are being we are proposing to make uh there is one additional project that has been added to the program, and that is the project that we will discuss following this discussion, the Center Street Stormwater Infrastructure Project that we are expecting to cost $355,000. If y'all recall, the mechanism for executing that project would be an IGA with the DDA, and the DDA with a method of developing their development agreement with Avila Hedgewood to include for that infrastructure upgrade in addition to the building of the Washington Street extension, the stormwater pond, and the utility relocations. So if y'all have any questions, feel free to ask. Tony Joe can also talk to you about these from an accounting standpoint if there's any confusion about the funds that are available or the resources that are available. But that is what we're recommending that y'all... Amend as a part of the 26 mid year budget amendment. Of course, you know, like, we always like to say, um, the capital program, especially, it's kind of a living document. And circumstances change all the time. Um, so, you know, it's never written in stone. It can always be amended to tackle other projects if they come our way.

Completely related to that amendment or this particular thing.

I just want to put it, I want us to put number one on the strategic planning session for the fall capital rest room. We don't need to talk about that. We're talking about budget.

Can I also include one other thing that I failed to mention that is important? Your capital fund balance is now inclusive of the amendments to the 25 budget that you just made. Okay, so the capital fund balance, right, the available funds in the capital fund that are available for these projects include the transfer to the capital fund that y'all just approved as part of the 25-minute process. Okay.

And the Windsor Park and Willis Park, those are both included in T616, is that correct?

Yes.

Okay, so that's Willis and what?

Windsor. Windsor.

Yeah, so that would be, you know, we did the Fletcher Park renovations, and now these would be the Willis Park renovations coming behind me.

Yes.

Okay. Yeah, anybody else? I have a few questions.

Yeah.

Okay, one where it's underspoken. Is that money that's actually, I know we got $2 million from the county from their SPLOST funds that are in there that we've already received. So are these county funds, do we have additional coming in or are those already in the SPLOST 2 fund?

They're already there. This is just repurposing those. Those are SPLOST.

Okay. So we already, that's part of our balance sheet. Correct. Okay. So let's see. So this one, okay, this $1 million and the $440,000, those were taken out for the part of the $2.2 million.

Yes, correct.

Okay.

That was the, if you recall, a lot of the... The city transferred the $1.42 million, which was its portion of that $2.2 million. It was $780 million. Yeah, that's correct.

The DDA was already had. So my question is, is this SW-2601, is this no longer needed now for $729,200? Because, I mean, technically we gave $2 million for all this kind of stuff.

That is not a part of their development. Are you talking about the Washington and Pine Stormwater Saloon? Well, it just says Washington Street. Yeah, it is. It's at that intersection. And that is very much still a project that needs to be funded that we are close to bringing to you. It doesn't have anything to do with it.

So is this something, are y'all getting grant money for this?

No, this is coming from, I mean, what you see budgeted here is our money.

So we're looking at the $729,000 plus the $355,000?

No, the 355 is Center Street. That is a completely separate project.

Well, I understand it's a completely separate project, but it's also in the downtown.

The Washington and Pine Project is addressing a flooding issue that occurs at that intersection that is causing significant roadway erosion. And the other piece of that puzzle, too, is the paving of the remaining Pine Street spur that is currently gravel. Prior to you being on the board, the reason that this project has lingered is because we had a difficult time locating the infrastructure that was supposed to be in the area here in Waterhill. We've now successfully done that and are moving forward in the process.

Well, I don't know whether to talk about it now or talk about it later. But, you know, the DBA was created to, you know, help with projects. items like this and infrastructure, you know, to promote downtown development and everything and assist with that. But it was also to help deal with, you know, repairs and stormwater and infrastructure within that area. You know, we already put in $2.2 million this year towards the downtown, this project, plus we've got another $521 million K that we put in every year, you know, that we're paying, that's coming out of the general fund. That's most of that money was for the park. And we just got an enormous amount of projects here. And I just kind of wonder why the DDA can't pick up some of this. You know, they've got 3.8 million, they've got a 4 million, $4.9 million notes receivable on their books. And I think they're starting to get pay on that. this month, and I just feel like that maybe they should pick up some of these big projects because we have so many others.

That would be a question for them. What I would say to you guys is they would have to be amenable to that and then agree to do that. There's no you know ford so that's why it's in the city scaffolding program plus it is a another thing is it's um not necessarily an infrastructure improvement for economic development it's because they're negligent i mean like not negligent but a known condition there yeah i mean it has existed for a long long time so it's something that we need to do from safety perspective

Well, this 355 actually, you know, it said that it was being constructive to serve the Maple Street development in the resolution.

Well, sort of. So we have a condition that we know that is causing harm property on which the development will sit. So legally, we have a responsibility to take care to the property and then their responsibility is from the property to the stormwater amenity that we are doing as a shared project to contain both water from the development and water from outside downtown. I also want to talk about SPLOST II. And remember, we only have two potential expenditures that we can make from SPLOST II. roadway. And this project actually kind of satisfies both of those. So that's why it's included as loss to project.

Oh, nevermind.

Do we have floor plans and estimates on the City Hall renovation?

No, we do not. So we are in the process of obtaining a proposal from an architect to perform the design of the facility we just anticipate based on general estimates that we we received previously that that project will run about a half a million dollars it's always possible that that can come under calls but we just don't forget okay and when will we be receiving will you be getting three bids for that Oh, we would have to. It would exceed the public works law, so we'd have to bid that out.

And then we would be getting copies of all of that.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah. And we'd have to go with the lowest responsible bidder. That's it. That's it.

Yeah.

Or hire somebody off the state, right? Yeah. That's right.

Okay, so what is the next step on this item?

So we will bring this forward at the next meeting to begin the ordinance adoption process. That will be first read?

Yes. That meeting will be August

That meeting is going to be August the 12th. So the first read, August the 12th.

All right. All good? Yes. All right. So item number five, discuss potential IGA with DDA, Percent of Street Stormwater Infrastructure Extension.

Yes. So what you have in your packet tonight is an IGA that has been authored by Kyle Williams, who represents the DDA and then edited and approved by Stephen to provide the mechanism for the city to transfer $355,000 to the DDA so that the DDA can exist. So the DDA could amend its existing development agreement for infrastructure with Avalon Hedgewood to provide for the construction of this project. If you recall, when we introduced this project to you, the reason we're recommending that approach is because the contractor will already be mobilized, reducing the potential cost of that project. And of course, that same contractor will be performing the taking that stormwater to the stormwater amenity at the northwest corner of the Oak Development site. Just to recap, what we have currently as a condition is an incorrect sized exposed pipe that spills out of the ground onto and causes some significant runoff onto the developer's property that is proposed by this developer. That condition has only exacerbated since the completion of the 278 project, because the upgrades there slightly changed the trajectory of water, and as such, it is arguably sizing of the pipe, burying it underground so it doesn't spill out into the roadway, and then the developer will connect it at their property line and run it all the way to Stormwater River.

It's 350, not 355.

Well, which one is correct? It's 355. Right. We've got some, the IGA says

not a problem yeah well i'm not comfortable with the city transferring money to the dda to bypass um bids i mean i understand what you're saying but to me if it's because the developer is already going to do the project that just says to me even more that the dda should be picking up the cost on this that's just my opinion

I don't know.

See, I'll understand. Yeah, you understand the mechanism. Okay. Okay. Sure. And then so that means the accountability for the work will be handled by the DDA.

Okay. Louis?

Yeah, I'm good. I'm hearing it all.

Uh, everybody else. So the next, so we will go to this August 12th. Correct. With 355 number.

Yes, we will revise the IGA to match the proposed number that has been made. Okay. All right.

Next item. Discussion of civility pledge.

Can you state it? I can do a quick introduction. So the board asked me to look for examples of municipal regulations that would govern the conduct of elected and appointed officials in terms of their interactions, being respectful, et cetera. I searched online. Well, I talked to a couple lawyers in the field. Nobody had something like that in their code. I looked online and looked at some examples from other states in the U.S. You know, and there was a few things I found that I thought we could maybe piece something together. But then I found that GMA has published what they call the Civility Pledge that they encourage all Georgia cities to resolve to abolish And that seemed to be at least close to what y'all asked me for. So I provided that. This is a resolution that GMA drafted and promulgated. And if the city approves it, we can be listed along with a bunch of our sister cities as GMA platform. Does it have to be called that? I think that I would have if we want to be a city of civility, I think I would need to ask GMA what's their flexibility? Do we need to adopt it exactly as you have Promulgated it, or can we make changes? For example, calling it something different. And then that would only be relevant to whether or not they would list those with other cities as the city of stability. I mean, thinking about it now, we want to be listed. And we want to also. Have some additional or different. Rules or terms when we could do 2 different resolution. Or we could just say, this is what we want to do. We're only going to do one. And GMA hopefully will list us on their list. But if not, we'll accomplish our goals. Is this our primary goal? Right.

Our primary goal is what?

Our primary goal is not this list with GMA. Agreed.

If you look at, I think it's Decatur's commission website, you know, where it has information about the members and stuff. I think they listed under their masthead, you know, city of civility or something like that.

But that would be nice, but not with, it's not a primary goal. So, well, I mean,

We have two versions here. We have the initial version that you researched and came up with.

I brought it to y'all verbatim from what GMA has on their website. Right.

That's like a template.

And then there's a second version with these red letter edits that were added. As of this morning, we have a third version that's not in the packet and the public hasn't seen. We could talk about it next time. I mean, we can introduce it tonight, but just as a point of order, it's not in the packet.

It doesn't stop us from talking about it. It's just they haven't seen it. And I'm fine...

I mean, I don't take issue with any of the three. Okay. I don't know how, if you guys have read the latest, greatest, we will have to talk about it again because no one's seen it, but just, and I don't even have to print it out, but I just need to leave.

I'll leave. What's up? of what all this encompasses.

Yeah, that is kind of vague. I agree with you. That's why I felt like it should be clear because my problem with the original template is it just really addressed the board's relationship and our relationship with the residents. And I think it should be applied to all appointed officials, employees, and board. And so that's why I made some changes to it.

I mean, as long as we kind of define what that term That's fair enough. At the beginning. I had a few other little things. One point in one of the whereases, it mentions the constituents of their district and city. Yeah, well, that was in the... We're all kind of... We don't have districts. We don't have... And then there's one edit. under the now, therefore, be it resolved as follows. Section 1, the city pledges to practice the flexibility of the Federal Prison Control Act when city officials as a means of combating legislative and administrative duties. And I didn't know exactly what administrative duties means, because I don't know that I have.

No, but that's including staff.

That would be the staff.

Yeah.

Okay, wait a minute. Staff already has... I think there are some procedural questions as to what the enforceability of this would be for me to the staff. You know, we would certainly have to update, which is in the capital program, our employee handbook to clarify that language so that it would be applicable. But Stephen, perhaps you can weigh in on that a little more. I mean, it seems like what we're Right.

You included.

Right. Not the remainder of city staff. I don't know that we should include the remainder of city staff except you. Agreed. Because they are already under a different thing, right? Right. So, I mean, certainly we want staff to be professional and courteous and all that, but I don't know that we need to roll that into this.

My last little question, this I think is in the third version. There's a few places where it talks about official interaction. So what is, I mean, I know that our meeting would be considered an official interaction. Not that I'm looking disrespectfully on the outside of the meeting. I'm just saying like, how do we define official interaction?

Well, there's been every day. Yeah, I think you could take official out of there.

I don't know. I mean, I think an official interaction occurs when at least one of the people is carrying out their official duties. So that would, I mean, for the board members, that really just means attending a meeting and casting votes. For the city manager, that means all kinds of things. Anything job related? Right. Everything that the city manager does in his or her job. I think that, like Ms. Steadman said, taking out the word official, I mean, is there, unless there's some intent to leave it okay to, because remember, it only applies when you're interacting with the other members of the community. So I think that there's, we're going to be covered if we just, it's actually a broader term and yet more clear to just say interaction.

Yes.

It does say in the original template, this pledge strives to show courtesy by treating all colleagues, staff, and members of the public in a professional and respectful manner. But I guess that is just basically saying that the board and the city manager are to do that. So are we going to specify board and city manager through this? Instead of just telling city officials so it's clear?

I think the best way to do it would be to just add a clear statement at the beginning of who it applies to. It sounds like the consensus is that it applies to the the city management.

What I said before about staff... What about appointed officials? Does that not apply to him as well? There are two things that you are beholden to?

The city manager is not subject to the personnel is that what it's called associate handbook i think it might be called but it's the personnel book and so they okay so nevertheless the personnel handbook is applies to all the employees but the city manager and the city manager makes the ultimate decisions if there's a discipline so

All right, so version two, we're okay with. You're not okay with version three? What's that, Louie?

I've got a question comment for Lyda, Commissioner Stedman. No disrespect on your adding the clause, but I just wanted to clarify that. So the clause that you proposed adding, because the rest of it was just adding words or a couple of words, but the Board of Mayor and Commissioners recognizes that effective local government depends on mutual trust, accountability, respectful communication, and professional working relationships, while recognizing the distinct responsibilities of the city officials under the city charter.

i it may just be me being a little obtuse i don't really understand the function of adding that entire clause that whereas well because um you know there are distinct responsibilities of the board and distinct responsibilities of the city manager by charter and we need to respect those responsibilities in each other as well as saying

Yeah, and it might be me, but I'm just trying to figure out what is that adding to the rest of it?

What is it adding that was missing from the... Well, let's call that... Is the line to find somewhere else? Because we've called it the line before.

I don't think it's the drug standing. I mean, we have talked about mutual trust and accountability and respectful communication, but... I do think that recognizing our roles is important in what we do.

Jonathan, if your question is, are those the preamble to the document, if that makes sense. So regardless of whether it's in here, those are clearly defined as a matter of law in our existing charter. So would you agree, Steve, was just pointing to that?

I think that's the intent, yes. I mean, I kind of see the point that that is delineation of roles is not necessarily the same topic as this civil interactions but i don't think that i don't view it as specifically problematic well i mean i i think it's fine i mean it's it's just kind of an affirmation yeah yeah which you know this is kind of what this is yeah a lot of this stuff is kind of going to be all

Okay, so are we okay with version two?

Well, did you say we would also talk about version four? I did add a couple of them. Well, the blue, the blue.

That's version three.

Yeah.

I mean, we can talk about it, but I actually don't have a copy. The public hasn't seen it. We just got that this morning. If you want to read those in or read those, just follow me. Everybody okay with that? Yes.

Can I just ask a procedural question?

If we read it in tonight, then will this be put into a document for us to discuss next week? I believe so. And then...

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah, just like anytime y'all provide staff with direction, if y'all decide that, let's just, let's call it we're working from version two, but if you want to add language to version two, then that new version would become the version that is in the packet and discussed as a following.

Okay. Yeah. Well, I'll read the three things I added. Okay, so this is, whereas the Board of Mayor and Commissioners recognize that maintaining the public's trust requires all elected officials and city staff to conduct themselves with integrity, professionalism, and every official interaction. And, I mean, we could take city staff out of there and just put...

I think we can use a term like city officials that we'll define as being these six...

And then I've got after the end of avoiding personal ill will, which results in the best interest of residents, and then I put and, and then I added recognize that those responsibilities are best fulfilled when Elected officials and city staff respect one another's roles and work collaboratively in carrying out the city's business. What section is that one? It's the one, one, two, three, four, fifth whereas.

Okay.

And then the last one is, this is one where... This commitment extends to all interactions, whether occurring during meetings, at city facilities, during city-sponsored events, through written correspondence, electric communications, or in any setting where city officials or staff are acting in their official capacity. Do you have a copy of it, Stephen?

I don't have it with me right now. I was forwarded that, you know, this afternoon, so I'll be able to incorporate it. That's what the board wants.

I would like to recommend that we put this in the packet and we talk about it. I can't. I got to read it all the way through, you know,

But how about, just to propose a next step, how about if I take version two, make the limited edits that we talked about tonight that everyone seems to agree on, circulate that document, and then we can add the version three changes as the second document. And then you'll have that to look at for your next meeting. Yes.

Well, you couldn't put it in one thing with like I did highlighting it in a different color and then we can strive or keep?

That's exactly what happened.

Okay.

Okay, Louie.

Yeah, I want to just add, I really like this civility pledge and I'm glad we have this. I'm glad we, I'm glad the GMA put it together. So I'm happy that we're doing this.

Okay. And when I make that next round, I'll, it'll be less generic. It would be specific to Avondale. Yeah.

That's good.

All right.

So, all clear?

Yep.

All right. All good?

Yep.

Louie? Okay. Public comment on the items we have discussed this evening. What's that?

In world session, yeah. Kathy?

sorry again thank you for your report she has and everything this is a report that i get at work and it's very very simple and it's something that i'm in the part of the scribble bone my granddaughter don't fall over But I just want to go and see how this can be reported out even on a monthly basis. Much simpler. It's just their COVID reports and they make them public. And I'm sorry. I have. Anyway, that's just another format for the information that was shared. And it's a lot more user friendly, I think. That's my comment. Thank you.

Thank you.

Bill. over 89 Berkeley Road and not to make what seems to be a very convoluted process, more convoluted, but with the civility pledge, I guess I have some concerns about how it's enforced and I'm not asking for it to be, but it's enforceability, how that would work or it's explanation at the time it's adopted. And maybe the other thing is, I don't know if an addendum is allowed for something like this sort of pledge to provide some sort of reference to the specific ordinances or legal aspects that it's I guess, link to, even though they're not specifically mentioned within that resolution document. So if we're trying to understand how this thing works, there's those references to consider as well. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anybody online?

Yes.

Hey everybody, can you hear me?

We can.

Yeah, I'd like to thank the BOMC for their reduction of the millage rate, along with the robust dialogue that took place during its consideration in recent meetings, and Toni Jo for her updates and detail in her reporting. I would also like to thank Patrick and Chief Hess for the first half public safety update. The detail and the format are a big improvement and are much appreciated. A couple of thoughts. First, if it's possible to add a section for significant events like our recent flying car incident and consider illustrating stats based on population, i.e., per capita. I think that'll help as our population increases significantly in the coming years, and it'll also allow us to more effectively compare safety stats in Avondale versus other cities. I do think the capital discussion that we just had highlights a continued need to discuss how we meet infrastructure needs in both the CBD and the residential area. The type of questions Commissioner Steadman was raising will become even more relevant as more dollars start to flow into the TAD. And we're struggling to keep up with infrastructure demands across the city. And then lastly, whether ethics rules as discussed in the regular meeting or the civility resolution that y'all just spent time on, everything, whether it be rules and consequences, really should apply to all. It's not about what this, ultimately, it's not about what this body puts into writing, but about what all of you put into action. And I appreciate your time that you're spending on it. Thanks.

Paul Dora, 820 Stratford Road. I had two or three questions and then a proposal. Do we have an update from the engineers on the Lake Avondale situation?

No.

Excuse me, the dam situation.

Probably about five weeks out. Per the timeline that we entered into via the contract.

Last year, the placeholder was $5 million. Do we have any idea whether it's going to be less or more than that?

Not until we receive that produced material.

Okay. So we should have that by the end of August?

I don't know the exact date around then.

Okay. Okay. The reason I ask, the proposal I'm going to make is really dependent on what those engineers say the dam repair is going to cost. Because if you step back, we've been here almost 10 years, and if you step back and think about where Avondale was 10 years ago... and where it is now, especially in the downtown area and the $350 million development, it's almost a positive, perfect storm in terms of the additional cash infusions that the city is getting. The big one is the IGA, or the intergovernmental agreement that the DDA and the city did this spring. The DDA is contributing, I think, $5 million, and the city's contributing $2.2 million, which is about probably only a fourth of what the downtown streets and infrastructure is going to cost.

Is that about right? They're about 75% and...

So that's a huge thing in terms of the capital budget that we're talking about tonight and we'll continue to talk about in the future. The second big cash infusion is the $3.3 million from the Shared Streets grant. And I think all of that needs to be spent in the downtown area. Is that correct? Has to be. Has to be. Okay. And then another positive development is if the dam ends up being $4 to $5 million, it looks like Splash or the county is going to supply a little under half of that. Is that right? Then The other one that's important, the proposal I'm going to make, is it was an innovative thing that someone thought of to bond this FLOSH to proceeds. Because now the city is sitting on millions of cash that it can use to do those programs. At the commissioner's chat last week, Bill mentioned he had done, his rough estimate is that we're probably looking at 15 to 20 million in capital projects over the next few years. Well, if that's about right, we've got lots of cash to handle most of it. My proposal has to do with the, and it's a new item on the capital budget, The Lake Park improvement, it's Lake Park improvements, $1 million. And according to this information, we're paying for that with about $850,000 from projects that we'd already allocated. And we're adding a little bit more to get to $1 million. Is that correct? Yeah, Nancy Jo identifies the projects, and you referred to them. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Tony Jo.

Yeah, the specific projects are listed there. What I'm getting at is with all of this that's going on, there's millions and millions of cash infusion and a million-dollar gift from Waffle House. that's unrestricted, and I think their only stipulation was that it be used for long-term purposes. I think that's correct.

The stipulation... Go ahead. Well, not technically. It was for legacy purposes.

Legacy purposes. Okay. What if... What if the community and the board of mayor commissioners created a Lake Avondale legacy fund with that Waffle House gift? And either and use that in some fashion to help maintain, to produce an income stream that helps maintain Lake Avondale for decades to come. So instead of spending the Waffle House million dollars on one or more projects, we could actually designate it as either a restricted fund or an endowment fund, however you want to set it up. I think it's an important idea to consider. And so I've boiled it down into just a suggestion that you all consider as we're doing the capital program tonight and two weeks from now and so on, that you think of the current proposal as option one, but that you take a little bit of time and think about option two, which is to evaluate using the Waffle House gift to create a permanent funding source for the long-term maintenance of Lake Avondale. If you did that, it would generate $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 a year in the early years and would really help relieve the city budget from doing some of that work. So the, if you all could make, oh, I'm sorry. But the decision you make on this really results, one of the results is going to be Lake Avondale will look a lot different. If you'll do option two, Lake Avondale will be taken care of for 30, 40, 50 years or more. So thank you. I'm sorry.

No, that's okay, Paul. Thank you. I can distribute it. Yeah, I can just scan this in and send it to him. Thank you. You're welcome. Mr. Dieters.

Thank you.

David, here's to Miron Avenue and chair of the DDA. Just in speaking about this IGA, a lot of you ask a fair question. It's certainly something that we could discuss. It's clearly an infrastructure project in the Central Business District. But I would point out that just in the last year, we have allocated over $5.6 million to to infrastructure projects. And I don't remember, I apologize, I don't remember who pointed it out, but they made a very fair point that those dollars have been allocated towards projects that are directly tied to new development. This is a repair of something that has needed repair for years. And I don't know that it's the best use of our funds. We're obviously very supportive of moving forward with it.

So thank you. Thank you. Kelly.

This pause is kind of, it's just really insulting, I think, to Nick Dedman and all of us. It's basically saying, you know, things we all know we're supposed to do or anything we learned in kindergarten, and we're going to say, oh, well, now we're going to be a city of civility. Giving this man an excuse for his behavior... is completely unacceptable. It is out. It is visible. This behavior is completely unacceptable and it's a symptom of everything that is going on that's wrong with our country right now. And if it's allowed to stand, you're going to go down with him. He's got to go. That's it. This is so insulting to all of us. You want people to drive to Avenue? What, for the civility? Hashtag, come for the civility. Our town leader has not been civil. This was not, and to suggest like, oh, it was in the parking lot. That makes it okay. Or even if she antagonized him, doesn't matter. He went way beyond where it was reasonable in any kind of setting with a coworker. I'm a nurse. If I called you a bitch, If I called you a name, I'm sorry, I'm upset. If I called you a name, would you want me to continue to be your nurse? If I said sorry? Probably not. And it's not like a one-off. This seems to be a pattern of intimidation. If other people are anonymously posting because they don't feel comfortable bringing things here. He's gotten too comfortable. He's been here too long. If he's okay with behaving that way and you behaving that way is not okay. I'm not the only person on this event that feels that way. If they're not here, I'm kind of shocked to be here now at 5.30. They used to be like 7, 7.30. You can be here at 5.30. You guys have to take some action. I mean, I'm not an elected official, but I live here and I am not comfortable with Patrick continuing to be paid by my taxes after what he's done. I'll contribute in any way I can to a difference.

We're only supposed to talk for three minutes and one time. Um, I, I just want to say that I totally disagree with that. Um, I think that it's one incident. I know that, excuse me, excuse me. You all had your chance. I'm going to say something now. This didn't start with this episode. There has been a period of going after our city manager. You don't, you can't just step right now and think, okay. This is what happened now. You have no idea of the concerted effort to get rid of this city manager that goes back more than a year. So it makes sense to me that somebody would get upset thinking from the context of that. Stability in terms of residents during meetings when someone wasn't a commissioner, rudeness, miscommunications. And residents, I just want to say that I'm sorry that you all feel that way, but you need context. You absolutely need context. No, you don't.

Yes, ma'am. There's no dialogue, please, between the speaker and the audience.

I'm done. I'm done. Thank you for your time.

All right. Can I just ask everybody maintain respect, okay?

We're here to receive public comment. Okay.

So any other comments about the items we discussed tonight in the work session? Any others online?

No.

Okay. Any others out there? Last call. All right. We'll bring it back. Close public comment. Any closing remarks up here?

Just for public clarification purposes, just so that we're all on the same page, we are amending the IGA to 355 instead of amending the capital program to 350. Yes. Okay. All right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Okay. Anybody? Louie? Thanks for zooming in. Appreciate that. All right. So with that, do I have a motion to adjourn? That was my second. Second. Mike, I'll say aye. Aye. That's five. Okay. Thank you all for being here this evening. We appreciate it. And hopefully we'll see you on the show.