Atlanta City Council - Regular Meeting

So Coach Bree, who's here, who's the director of programs and strategic partnerships. Mackenzie, who if you haven't figured out, belongs to me, is our director of tennis. And her husband, they just got married Juneteenth, is our program coordinator. Coach Tyler Williams is our program coordinator and coach. He is a graduate of, I was going to say the wrong M, Maynard Jackson. And he also was a graduate of our ambassador program. Coach Bree is also a graduate of May's, so I forgot to bring that out. So hey, DeVito. So let me get all my comments. I want to thank Councilman Amos for his faithful support of our mission to advance equity and well-being through youth sports. He supported us from day one during his service on the school board. I also want to recognize Councilmember Westmoreland Collins for their support. as well as that's going as far back as their APS days as well. Thank you to the full council for unanimously approving our MOU during its last session, and to Councilman Hillis for his support when the project was initially in your district and then all of a sudden it wasn't. Councilmember Martin, thank you for your support, and Councilmember Boone, who helped us host my nephew Tony Jordan's repass in her district when his life was cut short by gun violence. I think it's important to also note that our chief of staff, Courtney English, was one of our inaugural coaches in our lead APS middle school lead back in 2009 when he was a teacher at Best Academy, and they were our inaugural champions of that lead. And last but certainly not least, I want to acknowledge Mayor Dickens for his continued support for our programs and youth since he was Councilmember Dickens. At LEAD Center for Youth, we serve about 350 youth annually from Atlanta public schools from third through fifth grades using the sports of baseball and tennis to train them on how to overcome three curveballs in life, crime, poverty, and racism. To date, over 6,800... of our youth have been served through our programs. And for those who complete our program through high school, we have 100% graduation rate from high school, 90% are accepted into college and earn scholarships, whether that's athletic and or academic, and about 10% choose military service, workforce, or entrepreneurship. We're here today to call attention to a crisis unfolding in youth sports. The travel youth sports industry is a $40 billion industry in a city where two thirds of our black children live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. And many of our families in APS are spending 30 to 50% of their income on housing and national reports showing that 60% of youth growing up in poverty quit sports due to costs. It's easy to see how many of our economically vulnerable families are left out of the current pay-to-play system of youth sports. And that's where LEAD Center for Youth and sports-based youth development come into play. SBYD is the intentional use of sports to remove barriers that prevent marginalized youth from making healthy transitions into adulthood. It's using sports to help our youth get through the day-to-day of everyday life. by filling it with positive youth development experiences that grow social-emotional learning, executive functioning, and all of the 21st century skills they need to represent and lead a global city like Atlanta. When we searched the nation to see if any other local, state, or national body had lifted up the name of SBYD, we couldn't find one piece of legislation that did so. So in the spirit of our core value of innovation, and in the spirit of Atlanta influencing everything, We reached out to Councilman Amos to make this happen. This is important because legislation brings awareness and awareness brings funding. Our hope is that all of us standing in solidarity today, declaring August 27th as Sports-Based Youth Development Day in Atlanta, we will be the rising tide that lifts all sails. Thank you for standing with us as we stand with our youth through sports.

One of the first things you learn while doing sports is to watch the clock. So we got about 30 seconds to take a picture. So if everybody could move up front.

Thank you, congratulations. okay and we're moving on to our next proclamation that will be in recognition of the 30th anniversary of rick's barber and beauty salon all those here in support of that proclamation please come forward to the dais

Please join us, all those that are here to celebrate this amazing Southwest Atlanta staple.

You have a reception out?

It was free.

Okay. Please come up. Welcome.

All those that are here to celebrate with Rick Walker and the team at Rick's Beauty and Barber, please come up now so we can celebrate.

I'm going to tell you, even though we love you more than 15 minutes, The proclamation is going to be 15 minutes because we have other areas in city hall where we can do more celebration, but it's 15 minutes. I also would like to recognize that we are joined by our past mayor, Kasim Reed. Welcome. Welcome.

Welcome.

All right. As we all know, August is Black Business Month all over the country. And in Atlanta, we are no stranger to black businesses. In fact, we hold the record for having the most black-owned businesses in the entire country located right here in the city of Atlanta. And so we thought it would be great for us to highlight one of Atlanta's staple businesses, Southwest Atlanta's staple businesses, a District 11 business in the form of Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon. Can we give a round of applause for this amazing business? Rick Walker is our five proprietor. He is here surrounded by all these wonderful Atlantans. We have a short video presentation we want to show to get us started and we'll come right back with our presentation.

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. You know.

Right. So not only is Atlanta home to the world's greatest aggregation of Black-owned businesses, Atlanta has a rich history, especially in the hair care space, as we think about the history of the Crystal Palace, which is at the corner of Auburn and Peachtree in the early 1900s, all the way to the Browner brothers, you know, and their great impact on the world of black hair care. Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon has a place in Atlanta's history, and we're here to celebrate 30 years of that today. So one more round of applause for this amazing leader. and his amazing business. I'm gonna start with the proclamation and then we're gonna bring a few folks to speak. I also wanna acknowledge my colleague, Council Member Boone, who I wanted to do this, but she actually made sure it happened, Rick. Like on me like white on rice. And I'm really grateful for her and her presence in helping us push this. And so our proclamation is in recognition of the 30th anniversary of Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon. And it reads, whereas The city of Atlanta proudly recognizes the 30th anniversary of Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon, a business that has served as a cornerstone of entrepreneurship, professionalism, and community engagement while contributing to the vitality of Southwest Atlanta and the city's thriving barber and beauty industry. And whereas William Gordon Walker, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, immigrated to the United States as a child and discovered his passion for barbering at the age of 13. when he first picked up a pair of Clippers and earned his first income through determination, initiative, and skill, an experience that sparked a lifelong commitment to excellence. And whereas, before pursuing barbering full-time, Mr. Walker, who was tagged with the nickname Rick, By his grandmother, growing up developed valuable leadership and business acumen while working in manufacturing where mentor Giuliano Stiglianelli inspired and prepared him to become a successful entrepreneur. And whereas, inspired by Atlanta's promise and opportunity, Mr. Walker relocated to the city in the early 1990s, purchased his first home, attended Sam Verley Barber College, honed his craft that respected local barbershops, and transformed his vision into reality. when Rick's Barber and Beauty officially opened its doors on May 13th, 1996 on Campbellton Road. And whereas alongside his wife and later through a strategic partnership with Atlanta native Vincent Clemons, Mr. Walker expanded Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon into multiple locations across the city, creating jobs, Mentoring barbers and beauty professionals and building a trusted brand that has faithfully served generations of Atlantans and whereas for three decades Rick's barber and beauty salon has exemplified the spirit of small business success by providing more than quality grooming services it has fostered meaningful relationships strengthens neighborhoods and demonstrated that integrity consistency and genuine care for people are the foundation of lasting achievement Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that we, the members of the Atlanta City Council, on behalf of the residents of Atlanta, do recognize and celebrate the 30th anniversary of Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon. We commend William Rick Walker for his outstanding entrepreneurial leadership and unwavering commitment to the city of Atlanta and extend our best wishes for continued success and many, many more years of service in the community. Today is Rick Walker Day in the city of Atlanta. Well, go on, Rick. Absolutely. It goes without question that the list of clients of this kind of shop usually stays private. But today, we're exposing some of the individuals that get their hair cut. And it is with great privilege and honor that I welcome to the podium the 59th mayor of Atlanta, one of our city's best mayors, Mayor Kasim Reed.

Oh man. He's so happy. I'll tell you, Ricky's been my barber for 30 years. And on the highest days of my life, he's been by my side. So when Andrea and Wayne said they were doing this event today, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. I wanted to be by your side. When I got sworn in as mayor, you were here. When I got sworn in again after my reelection, you were with me. When I was headed to the Bahamas to propose to Sarah Elizabeth's marriage, the press followed me to get my hair cut and it was revealed because I was with you. Barbershops are sacred places. They mean so much to all of us and they mean so much to Atlanta, you have been an exemplar. You are the power of example in the city of Atlanta. And I wanted to be by your side to honor you and to tell you, I love you like a brother. God bless you. Congratulations.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now we're going to hear from council member Boone.

Thank you, council member. The legendary Rick's Barber and Beauty Salon, Atlanta, Georgia, is going strong, Rick. Thank you for all you do. I met Rick in 2011. And I saw you in the city of Atlanta loading dock. And I said, this must be somebody real special. This must be an extraordinary barber who would drive in the city of Atlanta loading dock and go through the mayor's elevator. So I met you through Mayor Reed. And I knew that you were extraordinary, Rick. But thank you for what all of you all have done. You are not only an extraordinary barber, but you are an amazing neighbor, an amazing friend. a mentor, a teacher to so many. For those that are suffering and cannot pay their booth rent, you always make sure that they continue to work overtime and send them clients. Who does that? Who does that? It wasn't about the money. It never has been about the money. It was about nurturing those young barbers and beauticians on Camelton Road, not only from Camelton and Fairburn, but County Line in Fairburn. And then on the other side of the South Fulton, near the Sandtown Pub in Fairburn. So thank you, Rick. Thank you for all you have done for the city of Atlanta and its people. On behalf of my entire family, you live three doors from my elderly mother, and you always tell us what's going on in her yard, and we appreciate that more than anything in the world. The corner of Wallace and Madison Trace. And Yolanda, thank you as well. Rick, we have a small token here for you. a special recognition award on behalf of the entire city of Atlanta.

And what better than one businessman than two? We did not want the day to go by or this moment, this momentous occasion of 30 years in business, which is, by the way, a very long time for businesses to stay in operation. But we also wanted to honor my fellow native brother, Vincent Clemons, man. You have also been... You've also been... This is right in the front of the barbershop. I don't get a chance to go very much. I bought a ball pretty early in life. Me and Byron Amos. But when I get by the barbershop, you know, I always see you first. And that same smile that you just flashed is what always greets everybody, man. So we want to salute you as well on 30 years of exemplary business service to the city of Atlanta. Thank you so much, Vincent. Yeah. So what we're going to do, we're going to hear from Vincent first to give a few remarks, and he'll be followed by our honoree, Mr. Rick Walker himself. It's in your hands, Vince.

Give an honor to God, who is the head of my life. I try to take him everywhere I go. But I just want to pay homage to city councilwoman Andrea Boone, City Councilman Wayne Martin. I want to thank Mayor Dickens for considering us and honoring us on this special occasion. I met Rick 27, 28 years ago. He was a young man from Connecticut by way of Kingston, Jamaica. And he planted feet at 3640 Camelton Road, one exit from where I grew up, in a historic district, in a historic community, Cascade Heights. Rick chose the darkest plaza to open up a business. Drug infested, looks like crime, high crime area. And I raised the question, Rick, what are you planning on doing with this? Are you going to grow a business here? He said, well, he answered with one word, light. Light. We're going to light this corner up so you can see it from 285. Because as you know, light drives out darkness. Rick has driven out darkness, brought in with that light, barbers, hairstylists, with that light, he's brought in hard work, dedication, with that light, he's brought in clients, generational clients from years and years. They start off coming at three and now they're grown with three-year-olds themselves. So I just wanna thank Rick for letting me stand shoulder to shoulder with him for 27, 28 years. I've grasped that light. Thank you for shining and sharing that light on me. And we look forward to a brighter future. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. I would like to thank Rick's family for standing by our sides for 30 years. You all have been patient with us. You all have worked diligently with us. And I'm grateful for you all.

Thank you.

Now for the man of the hour, Mr. Rick Walker himself. Let's receive him with a great round of applause.

Hello everyone. Thank you City Council for inviting us out into your lovely home. This is a gracious day. I have a little weight on my arm, but we're gonna give you the best day possible. I tell you, moving to Atlanta in 1993, I was only 27 years old. But I'll take it back to 1989 when I visited Atlanta. That visit, I came to see a football game with four friends of mine. We stayed at the Omni Hotel to see Dallas Cowboy versus Atlanta Falcons. I know how Atlanta now feels about the Falcons. everybody's wearing the hat, everybody's wearing the jersey, and on game day, nobody wears the Rick shirt. But that's okay, because Atlanta has provided myself, my family, and my staff a wonderful life, a great life, a life that I imagine, and I only imagine, I saw a print back in Connecticut, worked for a manufacturing company where I became a leader in the company at the age of 19. That was a very young age to lead in an organization with two other entrepreneur owners. But I want to say a special thanks before we go any further to my mom for giving me that leadership those skills, the manners, the respect, the dignity, the passion, the compassion to lead and follow that people can appreciate. It was through following my boss, in Connecticut, Julie Stangalini. It's an Italian guy that took me under his wing because of the manners, the respect, the leadership that he saw in me. And he trained me in his business to understand and have kindness for others, and also to make sure that the work gets done. It was visiting Atlanta in 89 to see something as wonderful as a football game, right? So when I came here, I saw people, black people, beautiful black people, people with hair on their head, people dressed up going to work every day. And that was inspiring to me. I read about it in Magazine, Black Enterprise, Jet Magazine, Essence Magazine, read about young people, colleges, HBCU, all those good stuff. His mother is the first HBCU grad of our family. Lauren Walker. And this is her son, Billion. And he does have something to say. And so I was so inspired by that visit to Atlanta. I told my friends I was coming back. And I wasn't only coming back, I was going to move back. And they all said, you're going to give up your job? I said, yeah. You're going to give up your business you built? See, I built the business of barbering on street corners in Connecticut. Every housing project I knew I went and I built a clientele and I had a nice small business and I was earning a good living. But I saw myself in Atlanta after my first visit. I knew that Atlanta holds the dream and the quality of life that I wanted for myself. And so I moved here in 1993, attended Sam Verley Barber College. And there's a few of my Sam Verley brothers here that we went to school with, and I'm thankful to see them on this day. And they know when I came to Sam Verley, I was a student. The important thing about going to Sam Verley as a student, the important thing about going to Sam Verley as a student was one of the reasons why I didn't go to school in Connecticut. I knew that I was a lonely soldier in this town, knew no one. I didn't know anyone. So I know going to school was the best way to meet people. So I chose to come here and do my education for barbering and hairstyling. On top of that, I worked in a few shops that didn't quite suit what I was looking for. I had a lot of experience in the managing space, and I needed more than what those shops offered. So in 1996, after the last location closed, I had no choice but to go out on my own. There's one operator here that I would like to celebrate today, and that's Shelly Harris. Shelly Harris and I.

Bring him back, bring him back, bring him back. Okay, okay, okay, okay.

This has been my life, nurturing. nurturing. So Shelly and I, and she's probably the only operator I could never fire because I didn't hire her. She just showed up with me. She followed me in the gates of Rick's Barber and Beauty. And she has been a dear friend to not just me, but to my family. And Shelly and I charted the course into establishing where we are. After launching out, and the first clients started coming in, and we weren't quite set up to really handle the traffic, only our personal clientele. But after about three months, we received another seven operators. And as we were working, we were painting, fixing, cleaning, and polishing up the place at the same time to make it what it is. Nothing has to be perfect, it just has to be right. And it was right. And so we charted out and years pass and we hired more and more people. We hired people till we got to the capacity of 23 operators. That 23 operators led to a partnership within the business in 2001 with Vincent Clemens. That partnership led to building additional stores. From 2001 to 2008, we were able to build a total of seven location and 177 chairs. In doing so, we met people of all walks. But I tell you something, the people came from everywhere, but they represented one thing, quality. It was just something about Rick's that always drove quality and we receive quality. In order to build a good business, you have to have quality. Quality drives everything when you're in business. Customer service means everything. To package customer service quality is to have brilliant people around that understand it. When you see a room full of brilliant people on Campbellton Road, as Vincent said, we were in the dark, but we brought light. Inside that light, there were so many shining customers. And so I want to thank each and every customer that have patronized Rick's Barber & Beauty. And I'll tell you something, we don't have just small customers. We have customers that career-wise range from doctors, lawyers, politician, teachers, janitors, post office worker, investment bankers. One of my dear client and dear friend, Mark at Chester. You see that big building downtown that says Invesco? We also have clients that work in there, not just clients, partnering businesses. We service the last, Mayor, Mayor Kasim Reed. I met Keisha Lance Bottom through Kasim Reed. We have service doctors. Raymond Allen, one of my dearest client, oh dear to my heart, saw my grandson's ultrasound and also saw his mother's ultrasound. And when my daughter Lauren, My daughter Lauren asked him to do her ultrasound. He was honored to do it. That's the kind of passion we have at Riggs. And I want to thank those type of people. I want to thank, I truly, truly thank, I'm grateful to have these people in my life. I started going to church when I came here. Had to find a church home. Huh? You want me to preach? I can preach too. I can do that too. I'd like to say thank you to Brother Darrell. Thank you so much. And Vincent, I appreciate you and your family. I've learned so much from you being an Atlanta native. I've learned the roads of Atlanta. I've learned the Atlanta culture, sitting up at night and just having conversation. And you know there's a real Atlanta culture, right? And so you have to educate yourself when you're a part of Atlanta. And you have to become smarter than the Atlantans because they're gonna tell you. i heard the gentleman earlier oh i'm a grady baby when you have to go toe-to-toe in the barbershop with the atlanta culture they're going to tell you i am a grady baby thank you so much all right so we did not want

We're going to take 30 more seconds and take a picture, but we do not want the ladies in your life. I heard Mayor Reed refer to Yolanda as the first lady. So these two arrangements, they're very heavy. That's why I didn't give them to you yet. There's one for you, and there's one for you, Ms. Beverly. We're going to present them to both of you all. They're very, very heavy, though.

I'll let you hold on to that.

That is for you. Yes. Thank you. Yes. And this one's for Miss Beverly. We salute you all as well for supporting this amazing businessman and this amazing business. So thank you to Miss Yolanda and to Miss Beverly. All right, let's go get a picture.

Thank you so much. As you all exit to the right, we'll have our next proclamation come up. We're a little behind time, so we're going to have to Our next proclamation is Frederick Douglass High School class of 1976, celebrating their 50th year anniversary. Frederick Douglass, you guys can come up on my left side of the dais. The Honorable Michael Julian Bond presiding.

Thank you, Madam President.

It's supposed to be a slideshow. Thank you so much.

Hey!

Wonderful. Yeah, welcome class of 1976. They got pens for y'all. We put together a slide so you can watch while we do that.

Is this everyone? Well, I want to say good afternoon to everybody. Oh, good afternoon. Oh, it's great to be here with you on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the class of 1976 from the Frederick Douglas High School in Atlanta. This is a great occasion on, not just for their reunion from their scholastic experience at Atlanta Public Schools, but also their graduation, their matriculation through this high school came at a time of great optimism, great spirit of patriotism in America, Unlike the 250th, the 200th anniversary of this country was a very unifying experience. Plus, they began their career at Frederick Douglass High School at the time when they had an eighth grade, but also at the time at the end of segregation, where students were on a fully equal basis to finally compete on their own, based on their own intellect and their own skills and talent. So I'm pleased today to have a proclamation in honor of this distinguished class and fellow Astros from the class of 1976. Now, one would argue before 1984 that They were probably the greatest graduating class of all time. I'll leave that to historians. But I'll give you the, I will read the proclamation in pertinent part. And of course, for those of us in the chamber, you can glance over. We've got a very good slideshow presentation of them in action 50 years ago. Recognizing the Frederick Douglass High School class of 76, Whereas the Atlanta City Council is proud to recognize the Frederick Douglass class of 1976 as it celebrates its 50th class reunion, September 18th through the 20th, honoring the remarkable generation whose achievements embody the enduring spirit of 76. Where it's founded in 1968 and located in Atlanta's historic Collier Heights community, Frederick Douglass High School quickly emerged as a center of academic excellence, athletic achievement, leadership, cultural pride, serving the communities of Collier Heights, Center Hill, Adamsville, Southwest Atlanta, and the surrounding neighborhoods. And whereas the class of 76 graduated during a defining period in Atlanta's educational history, when black students and families embrace expanded opportunities through scholarship, civic engagement, excellence in education during the years following school desegregation. Whereas the school's traditions draw inspiration from its namesake, the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whose publication of the North Star embodied a hope, truth, and freedom, the North Star emblem of the Astros' mascot reflect the guiding light of Douglass' vision. And whereas the school's motto is, right is of no sex, truth is of no color, a quote from Douglass and its black and gold colors continues to inspire generations to pursue justice, integrity, and excellence. And whereas under the leadership of Principal Dr. Lester W. Butts, the class of 1976 distinguished itself through outstanding academic extracurricular accomplishments while witnessing one of the greatest eras in Douglas athletics, including consecutive appearances in the state boys' basketball championships three in a row, and the 1976 under legendary coach Donald Dollar, who the... Court was just renamed for, and becoming the oldest graduating class in the school's history to have both its football and basketball teams compete for the Georgia State Championships during the same academic year the Astros were the 1975 North Georgia football champions. And whereas America's bicentennial class, the spirit of 76 also came of age during the historic expansion of civic participation, becoming among the first generation to exercise the right to vote at age 18, and has since produced a scene with physicians, attorneys, educators, coaches, pastors, business owners, authors, law enforcement professionals, public servants, elected officials, and city attorneys and leaders who contributed to continuing to strengthen Atlanta's community and its progress. Now, therefore, we, the Mid-Atlantic City Council, on behalf of the citizens of the city of Atlanta, hereby proclaim this day as Frederick Douglass Class of 1976, day in our first city, and witness thereof, I have set my hand and have caused the seal of the city of Atlanta to be hereunto affixed. Congratulations.

Thank you. Bunch in, bunch in a little bit.

Y'all squeeze in a little bit, real quick. OK. Let me take a quick picture right here for you. No, but look natural. Look like we're in motion. Smile.

He's saying, just come up here.

Yeah, just.

No, no, no, no, no.

Not yet. OK.

All right.

Now, before we allow Ms. Holder to speak, we want to acknowledge our representative of District 3. And I echo a little sentiment. District 3 is the greatest council district in the city, because I used to represent District 3. Come on up, Council Member Amon.

You know, it feels a little funny standing up here amongst all this black and gold as a proud graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School. But all jokes aside, one of your classmates, when I was elected to the school board, always supported me. But she never missed the opportunity to remind me that the Frederick Douglass High School was the North Star. When we was going through this whole thing about whether we was going STEM or STEAM and what identity should schools be, she reminded me that Douglas was already doing that with the School of Engineering and Applied Technology. You know, that STEM and STEAM stuff wasn't new. Douglas had been doing it. When I was at my school, I remember kids was paying tuition to Atlanta Public Schools in Cobb County to attend Douglas High School. So that's the foundation that you guys lead. That's the foundation that we are fighting to get back to. So as Douglas, as I'm proud to have Douglas anchoring the northwest corner of my district, one of two high schools that is actually in it, the only public high school that is in my district, and that is Frederick Douglas High School. Yes, I have to stand here and say congratulations, but more importantly, thank you. for the role that you have laid and the foundation for the other students to stand on. So thank you very much.

Hi, my name is Naomi Holder, chairperson for the Frederick Douglass High School class of 76 reunion. On behalf of the Frederick Douglass High School class of 76, we want to thank the city of Atlanta for our proclamation. We thoroughly, thoroughly appreciate it. We were a class of 364 people. And as it was stated earlier, we had the best basketball, football, and band of all times.

thank you thank you thank you madam city attorney would you like to say a word

Only because Naomi had told me I had to do this. I just want to thank all of you all for recognizing what was a really unique class of Douglas High School. Dr. Butts instills in us excellence, and he just railed it all in us. So all of us were inspired to do great things, and as the council member mentioned, we have gone on to do a great job deal of contributions to the city, the country, as well as a few of us have excelled internationally. So I just wanted to let you know that we appreciate the recognition. We also appreciate all of us being here to live long enough to celebrate a 50th reunion, because everybody did make it. So thank you very much for the recognition. We appreciate it.

And also to recognize our two council members that was from the Frederick Douglass High School.

We had that prepared for a reason, Madam President. Please keep it on display. Please keep it on display. Thank you, I appreciate it. We're still within our time, so there's no reason to interrupt us. Thank you. You actually interrupted us right now. Please continue the slideshow. That's a part of our presentation in the honor of this class. Thank you. I would deeply appreciate it. Thank you. Please keep it going, staff. I apologize to the class for that. But we want to make sure that when we're honoring people, we're honoring them, not hurrying the honor, not pushing the honor, but displaying what you did. Because what you all did as a class is incredible. This is a class of people who not only, even though by great distinction of their athletic prowess as Astros, they were the number one academic high school in the city their senior year. And this is after the segregation. This is after a generation of African-Americans had to go to APS using other people's books that were used. So we went to great lengths to make sure we had a display of them to be shown to the public. Now, I got a clock on my phone. I got a watch on my wrist. So if we want to see the time go down, somebody needs to check. I can give you the time. But I want to ask, I feel put upon. So I want to ask again the display go up because I don't appreciate what's happening here today Because we went to great lengths to honor these people and they're gonna be honored this year that I have their reunion in September and People make great Hey about the time that we take and we've been we've had three minutes a lot for our time having to deal with this So I don't appreciate it But I don't want to spoil it for you all because you're the reason that we're here. You're the reason that we're here. We want people to know what you did. We want them to know you were the drum major. We want them to know that you were on that football team. Where are the majorettes at? Where's the Chileans at? We want people to know that you were... Patrice was a majorette? I don't believe that. you're gonna have to show me what you did. As a matter of fact, we got a picture of you, we got the major rest on that side presentation that is still not up. So we love you, we appreciate you, but guess what else? Even when I went to Douglas, there were people trying to hold the Astros back.

But they can't do it.

They can't do it. Even when you all were there, they didn't want to give you all the credit for the achievements that you had. But you're getting it today. We love you. We support you. And we want you to know how special you really are.

Thank you, sir.

And so with that.

We good, we good.

No, we good, we know that. Because on Douglass High, thy name we acclaim.

We proudly hail and cherish thy fame. We'll always be loyal and true. Thy precepts taught in everything we do. Lift up our hearts and trade our minds to aid all mankind. Oh, Douglas High, thy name we all love. Symbolic of the North Star above, we sing thy praise to us all. High as the sky, always true to Douglas High.

Now we'll do what the city council does best. We'll take a picture. You come around to the front. Let's bring the proclamation. Come on.

Right here.

One, two, three. Again. Three.

All right.

Take care now. All right. I will.

I'm not going to fuss with you right now.

Oh my God. We have one more proclamation. For all those here to recognize new Pope AME, please come forward, join us on the dais.

And you come in either way, coming right through there. Come right up here. Here we are. We are, we are. You're 30th as well. Anniversary. Of course it is. I'm thinking of what just happened. It's been a long day. This is a very special proclamation and a very special day because we are celebrating 157 years of the New Hope AME Church. Hallelujah! and we are honored to have pastor david f richards iii with us today our great pastor new hope ame and here is the proclamation to pastor and the congregation whereas new hope ame church is grounded in united states antebellum history as enslaved african americans gathered in brush arbors on land that they one day would own to practice religious spiritual and cultural traditions and whereas new hope ame church was founded in 1869 by these formerly enslaved African Americans, who in 1874, under the leadership of Pastor Joseph Woods, erected a formal church building built by Aaron Honeycutt, the only black carpenter in the area at that time. and whereas subsequent generations of congregants have worshiped on the same property, as the church has served as a hub of activity, a gathering spot, and a specific point of reference in the fabric of the city of Atlanta. and whereas New Hope AME Church landmark building and site designation recognizes and protects a historic location in the city, including two cemeteries, which clearly conveys a sense of time, place, and historic character. And whereas New Hope AME Church is one of the last remaining locations of many lost black communities in Atlanta's prestigious Buckhead area, a section of the city that was heavily developed and then gentrified in the decades following World War I. And whereas New Hope AME Church and the Buckhead community have worked hard to develop an enduring relationship that embodies the ideals of generosity, shared fellowship, and mutual support, demonstrating that we build stronger communities by investing in each other. And whereas the story of New Hope AME Church is an example of the multifaceted and complex nature of Atlanta's history and its recognition and protection will help allow the full story of Atlanta's history to be told to future generations. And whereas New Hope AME Church leadership have served as exemplary stewards of the church and cemeteries, have worked hard to preserve both, and have developed and nurtured important public-private partnerships that demonstrate the importance of Atlanta's group projects. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, the members of the Atlanta City Council, on behalf of the citizens of Atlanta, do hereby recognize New Hope AME Church on this 17th day of August 2026 for its historic and cultural embodiment of Atlanta's founding African-American communities and for its significance to Atlanta residents today and for generations to come. congratulations my colleague councilman Lewis would like to speak and then pastor we would like to hear from you

And my wife, my wife's father, so my father in love, Pastor Charlie Fogle out of St. Thomas A&E, I greet you and I congratulate you. My family is now three generations of pastors out of Savannah, Georgia. And so I understand, AME pastors out of Savannah, Georgia. So I truly understand the impact that you do in the community. I tied. To the AME Church, because we still have to make sure we're taken care of back home. So truly thankful for what you're doing in the Buckhead community, because I know about some of the history of it. And for you to still be standing strong is something that's needed. So congratulations again. And thank you, Council Member Norwood, for recognizing the AME Church. New Hope AME. Thank you again.

to this amazing pastor and amazing congregation. I too am a son of the AME Church. I'm Pentecostal now, but my mother grew up in St. Paul AME in Lithonia. And so we send our, the McGuire and Baker family sends our love to you all in this momentous occasion. Keep doing what you're doing. Thank you, Council Member Norwood.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Anthony Knight and I'm in the Department of City Planning in the Office of Design. And it's our department that works with community members like the folks at First, I'm sorry, New Hope AME to make designations possible. We designated the property in June of this year. And before I turn it over to Pastor Richards, I'd just like to read a few remarks. Enslaved African Americans were quite familiar with the contradictions of white religions, espousing messages of kindness, love, forgiveness, and mercy for all people while holding captive and forcing to work millions of black children, women, and men, often under inhumane and violent circumstances. Out of this environment, the African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1787 by Richard Allen. It was the first independent black denomination in the United States. And while the AME Church adheres to traditional Wesleyan Methodist theology, the principle motivating factor that inspired Mr. Allen to form his own denomination was the desire to escape the discrimination prevalent in the Methodist Episcopal Church he attended. Just over eight decades after Mr. Allen founded the AME Church in Philadelphia, A group of formerly enslaved Georgians founded New Hope AME Church in 1869 in the community we know as Buckhead. It's not lost on me and our department the significance of a property and its congregation that have endured for over 150 years. A congregation formed just four years after the end of slavery during the tumultuous Reconstruction era. A congregation that endured during the Jim Crow era's 100-year reign in the South. A congregation that bore witness to the heady decades following the Civil Rights Movement and a congregation that now is taking firmer control of its history and moving purposefully to secure its future as the country convulses once again from symptoms of unresolved racial bias and anti-blackness. New Hope AME Church stands as a beacon of light for those of us committed to preserving our country's history, all of it, and telling all of its stories, even those that are painful. My team and I are grateful to City Council for strengthening our work by presenting new hope and its leadership with this proclamation. Thank you.

I would just like to say that God ordained it. Our ancestors have. They built it. They fellowship together. They raise their families. And we today are continuing in that work. and it's a sweet, sweet spirit in that place, and we are grateful to the city council for giving us that extra layer of protection, because in today's climate it is needed, and we just give God all the glory for it. Thank you.

To the city council, we thank you very much for this proclamation. Mr. Norwood, thank you for standing with us. Matt Westmoreland, thank you for always being there. We thank the community in Buckhead, but I thank the legacy of the members of New Hope African Methodist Episcopal Church. Now, the true bloodline, go ahead and raise your hand. Don't be ashamed, amen. These hands you see reached back before Emancipation Proclamation because we could not own anything before 1865. So the evidence of Adidas Slave Cemetery tells you that the first pastor elected to serve, he was born in 1821. then asked in 1869 to be the pastor. So with that profound resilience, and when you go home, look up the word resilience. It'll let you know that you've been through something. But even in this climate, with Peachtree Road, with Christ the King, with Avakim, with these churches and Northside Baptist, we have founded a relationship to work together. Regardless of what was done in the past, we look to the heaven where our Heavenly Father Adonai Eloheinu reigns. He governs all things and he's blessed us to endure through hardship because when you read the word of God, everybody that has been pressed down, Disrespected, they all have shined. Even when you put them in a den with lions, you can still come out unscathed. Even when you put in a fiery furnace and you have not been fried or singed. Even when you've been lifted up on a cross and stretched wide and crucified. But three days later, you get up. It tells you that he reigns with all power through eternity. Thank you for allowing us to have this proclamation. Now I bring our member and preservationist, Dr. Laniece Littleton.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Dr. Laniece Littleton. I serve as senior historian and the director of community collaborations in the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, where we are beyond excited about the things that are happening with one of our favorite community partners, New Hope AME Church. I am the author of the designation report that was used to designate the property. I had to enlist the support of an excellent friend and researcher, Dr. Danielle Pace, so I would like to acknowledge her as well. And I'd like to say in closing that writing the history of an African-American church founded by free men and women in one of the oldest church congregations in the city of Atlanta is a great honor. The preservation work at New Hope AME Church is an example of what happens when a community is knowledgeable about its history, is proud of that history, and thus takes the necessary steps to preserve it on their own terms. The preservation efforts at New Hope AME Church embody the ideology of what I call self-determining preservation. Let New Hope stand as an example of what happens when community members care about the places, spaces, and structures where memories are formed and legacies are created. The community collaborations initiative based in the Keenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center was created to identify and support African-American preservation projects in the city of Atlanta. When I came into the role of director of community collaborations in 2022, I thought it necessary to return to the historic African-American church in Buckhead, just two blocks away from the Atlanta History Center on Ardenmore Road. I inquired if they, or shall I say we, could benefit from my professional expertise as a public historian and the multitude of resources in the Kenan Research Center to support efforts to preserve their history and stories. Coincidentally, the New Hope AME Church Preservation Project was already underway. Pastor David F. Richards III, whom we've nicknamed the preservation pastor, had been actively working to clean up and restore the historic cemetery across the street from the church, which was purchased in 1898. There's another cemetery on the property behind the structure, which we believe contains a number of burials of people who were enslaved in the area. Over the past few years, Pastor Richards, the Preservation Pastor, the congregation and bloodline of New Hope AME Church, and myself have worked diligently towards preserving the history and legacy of New Hope AME Church. We're thankful for the recognition today. And as a community, we often say that we are our ancestors' wildest dreams. Yes, we believe that far and wide. We know what they wanted for us and what they dreamed for us. But at New Hope AME Church, that is a reality for us. And so we are beyond thankful. for what is the very beginning of an ongoing preservation project to preserve our structure, to restore it to its original beauty. The original structure was built in 1874. The current structure is nearly 100 years old, having been built in 1928. after being destroyed by a fire and then having the second floor built in 1936. So not only are we a historic building and a landmark site, but we are the last surviving African American church in the Buckhead area, as many communities no longer exist. So we are thankful for the opportunity to come here today. We are thankful for the recognition and we hope to see you all on Sunday for our homecoming celebration at 11 a.m. where we are going to throw it back to the camp meetings of the 19th century and be out in the heat under the tent. So all are welcome to come and celebrate with us. We thank you for this amazing recognition and we'll see you very soon. Thank you so much.

And now we will have a photo, so we all come up this way. And Pastor, if y'all will come. And everybody come gather around, and they will take it. If you can't see the camera, the camera can't see you. So, let's all come.

I guess we can go out this way.

Come on.

Okay, well that concludes our proclamations portion. I'll do a quick note while council members are getting back to their seats. I've received quite a few complaints on our proclamations going over the allotted coded time of 15 minutes per proclamation. No, there are no penalties that can be assessed to council members when they go over time, but I do understand your frustrations when we do ask for you as public commenters to stick to two minutes and seated time, and we are going over our proclamation time, and there has to be a solution for that. We don't have that in this moment.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

but I hear you and I appreciate you bringing all of that to my attention. Council members, please note that our code states that proclamations should be 15 minutes. If you do not like that code, you all need to change it with legislation. That'll be the only way you will be within your guidelines as council members in proceeding with proclamations. They should be 15 minutes in length in totality. We also as a council decided that we wanted to display a stop clock. don't mind looking at videos, one or two, maybe even three loops, but the stop clock, you all, by unanimous consent, decided that that should be done via stop clock. So that is also now something that we have to adhere to. Again, if you don't like that, you should actually put in the legislation to change that. So that is where we are. Please try to stay within our code as council members. That is what we are here to do. And let's do that so that we're fair to our public commenters as well. With that being said, we will now move on to, it's not discussion time. It's not on the agenda. We're not discussing.

I'm trying to hold a moment of silence for a shot officer. Absolutely.

Thank you, Wayne Martin.

Yes, ma'am.

Today, we did have an incident in our city, and our Chief Siobhan is gonna come by and speak with us. We have an officer that was shot today. I understand that he's fine, and we're going to get updated on the incident, but we do wanna have a moment of silence for him. Is there anyone else that anyone would like to have a moment of silence for?

I'd also like to add we had two victims of a house fire that lost their lives in Heritage Valley over the weekend as well on Valley Ridge Drive. I won't release their names, but I want to definitely hold their families in prayer as well.

Thank you. And what about you, Council Member Amos?

Yes, Madam President. For the District 3 family and definitely City Hall family, most of you would know the name of Reggie Dreher. Reggie was the community engagement person for then Councilmember Ivory Lee Young. We lost Mr. Dreher over the weekend and just definitely want his family to know that we as a building and as District 3, with all of the work he put in beside Councilmember Young, just want to honor him and lift up his name as well. Thank you.

Absolutely. Councilmember Lewis. Oh, Matt Westmoreland. Sorry. Councilmember Lewis.

And I want to send prayers to the family of Brother Ken Hillman. He lost his life last night. The family of Brother Ken Hillman.

OK. One of your district residents.

He's a high-ranking member of a messianic lodge in my district.

Got it. Thank you. Council Member Westmoreland. Thank you, Madam President.

Joanna Adams passed away last week. She was born at Emory Hospital, graduated from Emory University. She was one of the first women ordained in the Presbyterian Church and served at Central Presbyterian, Trinity Presbyterian, Morningside Presbyterian, and First Presbyterian and helped found both In-Town Cares and the Agape Center.

Thank you. Let's all take a moment of silence for everyone mentioned. Thank you. That brings us to our remarks of the public. This is our public comment portion. Each speaker will have two minutes or up to 10 minutes with donated time pursuant to our code. Anyone receiving donated time should be at the end of the speaker's list. And let's get started with our list. Our first three speakers, Henri Jordan, Brother Anthony Muhammad, Muhammad and Michael Collins, you each have two minutes. Please come forward.

My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12, chapter 9, verse 1. Paul's thorn in the flesh is characterized further as a messenger of Satan. Deliver me not over into the will of my enemies. For false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. Psalm 27, chapter 12, verse 1. David first expresses his complete confidence and trust in his God. How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answered words? Their remain is falsehood. Joel 21, chapter 34, verse 1. Joel striked at the heart of his friends' assumption that the wicked are judged and the righteous are blessed. Jesus created the income through me for your protection plan. The field is the world, the good seed of the children of the kingdom. but the tares of the children of the wicked one. St. Matthew 13, chapter 38, verse. The leaven is not just false profession of unsaved church members, but false doctrine that they will attempt to bring into the church. Jesus said, I cannot marry James because he committed adultery when he was married. Put your faith in Christ. Ask Christ what he wants you to be, not what your flesh has to be. Because flesh reaps death. To pursue evil is to pursue death and not life.

Thank you, Brother Anthony Muhammad.

I am what I am, Brother Anthony Muhammad. Abracadabra. Abracadabra. I want to make it very clear today, council people, council members, we have these proclamations. You have only two minutes that I'm going to have today. Three minutes in council meetings. But you let these people come down, 15 minutes, 40 minutes, or longer, take their time. You have council members can bring in at the last minute. I want to talk to my members that support my interest. What about what is just and fair for people that are suffering on the street of Atlanta? I'll talk about the 14th Amendment. Mr. Trump brought it up, 2026. The 14th Amendment was initiated in 1866. Martin Luther King, civil rights workers, 1866. ADAS, who are ADAS, American Descendants of Slaves? We had rights in public and private contracts. We had a right, just like Caucasians got. But why are we living in the streets? Why we don't have you council members speaking for reparation? You got the American, Democrat, Socialist America. These peoples are talking more about the condition of poor people, affordable housing, health care, having a right for people like myself to get some reparations. But you members are what? You've been here. You're not even willing to talk about it, Mr. Bond. You brought the idea up, but you went to sleep on it. And yet, we've got the people still not getting access to opportunity. But I greet you as I did not greet you in the words of peace and paradise in the Arabic language. As-salamu alaykum. I say, I say, I say.

Thank you. Joycelyn Lewis, Proffitt, Curtis, Martin. We don't speak, this is their time for public comment. No, the answer is no. Proffitt, Curtis, Martin, Harrison, Giovanni Serrano. You each have two minutes. Michael Collins, you're next. Yes, thank you. You have two minutes.

We're in public comment, and that's what we're doing right now. Council Member Bond? We're not debating. We're not debating. Seriously.

Thank you, Mr. Collins. You have two minutes.

Hi, my name is Michael Collins. I'm the director of Playfair ATL, a coalition of 40 organisations that work to ensure the 2026 World Cup benefited Atlanta communities rather than leaving them behind. Playfair ATL took a post-World Cup hiatus, but I'm back today to support the introduction of the People's Voice Act, and I urge council members to support its passage. Over the past year, Playfair ETL spent time in this building speaking about housing, diversion, workers' rights, immigrant communities, homelessness, transparency, and public spending. We have seen firsthand that public comment matters. It is one of the few opportunities residents have to speak directly to people making decisions that affect their lives. Holding meetings during the workday already makes participation difficult. Council should make public comment more accessible, not more restrictive. What happened today illustrates the point. A proclamation was allowed to run about 15 minutes over its allotted time. I don't object to that. Sometimes flexibility is appropriate, but if council can exercise that flexibility for proclamations, why can't there also be flexibility for residents speaking about complex issues? This is why seeded time matters. Sometimes two minutes isn't enough and seeded time helps organisations represent people who cannot spend hours waiting at City Hall. This matters as we think about Playfair ATL and our future. The World Cup brought together organisations across housing, labour, criminal justice and immigration and other issues. These challenges did not begin with FIFA and they did not disappear when the tournament left. We are beginning our next phase of strategic planning and considering how Playfair ATL can become a lasting vehicle for community accountability and power in Atlanta. The People's Voice Act protects that principle. I support its introduction and urge the council to pass it. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Collins. Joycelyn Lewis. Two minutes, well, Joycelyn Lewis, Prophet, Curtis.

There was Giovanni Serrano after.

You are 10th.

Oh, I'm 10th, okay.

So it's Joycelyn Lewis, and then Prophet, and then Giovanni.

How you doing? How you doing? I think I had three or two minutes. My name is Jocelyn Lewis. I am an Atlanta entrepreneur and community advocate, and also the founder of Rising Above Homelessness. Atlanta is known as the city in a forest, but some of those woods are hiding a serious humanitarian crisis. I recently went into the woods near the Southwest Cleveland Avenue and documented people living in unsafe conditions, surrounded by trash and hazards. This is what homelessness look like in our communities. Let's stop pretending this crisis is only about drugs and alcohol. It's about math. Landlords are demanding that working people make more or make double or triple the rent just to qualify for housing, while many just simply don't make double or triple the salary. People are not earning enough to live comfortably to afford housing. I know this reality because Due to low-paying jobs, I have not been able to see my children for the last three years. And when people cannot afford housing, they end up sleeping wherever they can, including our young adults in need of mental health services and healing. Through my nonprofit and Rising Above Homelessness, I want to bring services directly to the Southwest Cleveland Avenue area where We can provide sanitation or pay cleanups, sanitation work, employment support, and affordable micro housing. I've identified abandoned properties that can potentially become a part of the solution. And also, sanitation mobiles to help our people in our community with hygiene supplies, basic grooming, and I also partner with a person who is willing to get free haircuts Just a simple haircut can give them the confidence they need to get their stability back in their housing. They are not getting jobs for their appearances and it's not right. Everyone is not a drug and alcohol. I'm on myself on a verge of homelessness now.

Thank you, Ms. Lewis.

Prophet Harrison, you have two minutes. I apologize.

Amen. Praise God today. My name is Prophet Curtis Hairston. You know, I've been coming to you for a while. You know, the same same occurrences came. Things happen. We need to know what's going on on our local jobs. You know, discrimination of of How it may be, whether it's gender, whether it's gay or straight, whether it's straight or gay, whether it's a straight person discriminated against a gay person, or it's a gay person discriminated against a straight person. You know, I'm a prophet of God, so I don't fear nothing, nobody, in Jesus' name, right? But the fact of the matter is, for one, the jealousy in the black community or what we call, we say jealousy, but really it's discrimination. But we say it's we don't like each other. You can't, if you don't trust the person you go to war with, you're gonna lose that war. A constituent and a confidant and a comrade, Know the difference, you know, of the three, right? So you don't get but two minutes. Been waiting two hours for, three hours for two minutes. You know, but my point is this, that Nolan Wells, I think y'all know the story, went swimming with his white friends and never came back home. But we say, what's the issue? What's the problem? Say, when you look at me, what you see? What do you see? When you look at me, you don't know me. You don't know me. But when you look at me, what do you see? You don't got to answer that question. But the fact of your tone or your mannerisms tells me the story. The difference is this. You're black or you're guilty because you're black or you're black because you're guilty. You're guilty and you're black or you're black because you're guilty. The Atlanta Dream is a league that's led by African-American women. But African-American women in the league don't get no respect.

Thank you. Giovanni Serrano, you have two minutes.

Good afternoon, my name is Giovanni Serrano, community organizer with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. GLAAD has continuously show up at this podium to share different concerns about various topics. Today we join the People's Voices Coalition in support of legislation that will be introduced by Kelsey Bond. As GLAAD, we talk to voters and community members about the importance of participating in democracy. the importance to show up to city council, to contact their legislators, and to show up and to share their concerns. Quite often our community members are not able to speak in spaces they don't feel comfortable or they don't feel they belong. often elected officials ignore or refuse to speak to their constituents when the same people that they chose to elect are refusing to listen to them. Sometimes it's a little bit hard to encourage them to get out to the polls. Sometimes they show up to every community meeting, whether they speak the same topic, whether you like it or not, it is your duty to listen because they're the ones that led you in the first place to this seat. In addition, to be involved in canvassing your community, besides election, that's something that we ask that do more for your community, canvass your community so they can get to know you more than just on election season. People want to hear from you. And sometimes coming to this building is close to impossible, especially on the times, the delays probably coming to us. So just go on campus, talk to your community members that are outside on the streets. Um, and we, at this moment, we also want to continue supporting this, uh, legislation that will be introduced because we think that public comments will be more accessible, uh, to everyone that lives in the city of Atlanta. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next three, Tanisha Dorr, Tyrone Clemons, Ara Bhatti. You each have two minutes. Please come forward.

Good afternoon, Tanisha Dorr. Last week I stood before CDHS and talked about protection, deeper affordability, displacement prevention, continuity of care, and making sure the people already here are protected before redevelopment moves forward. Then I stood before finance and I talked about accountability, following the public dollar, measuring the return on TAT investments, and making sure our contracts and funding actually support the policies we say we believe in. today i bring those two things together because i have said it before investment cannot move faster to protect any protections i see it as i see it as a responsibility well i'm sorry excuse me fulton county has now declined participation in atlanta's proposed 30-year tad extensions while demanding clearer plans projects protections and accountability on that point i do agree with them but I do not see their decision as a victory over Atlanta. I see it as a responsibility placed back before Atlanta. Do the plans, identify the projects, put the protections beside the investments, not years behind it, and show the public what our investments is expected to produce. But council also approved examining ways to reduce unnecessary detention for a certain low-level offenses that cannot be separated from the conversation. Housing instability, poverty, behavioral health, homelessness, diversion, and jail eventually meet the same residents. I have already provided this council documentation showing why the pathway around jail must be protected just as seriously as the decision not to jail someone in the first place. So if Atlanta wants 30 years of reinvestment, the protections must work. If Atlanta wants fewer unnecessary jail bookings, the diversion system must work. And on Wednesday, I will carry the other half of this message to Fulton County. I am not choosing between the city or the county. I am holding both to the same standard. Invest early, protect people, measure the return, and build prevention with the same seriousness that we build our response to crisis. Thank you. Thank you.

Tyrone Clemons, you have two minutes.

Thank you for the time, Tyrone Clemons, activist resident of Southwest Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and I'm just here to speak again about the importance of incremental and intentional development in the Southwest region. What we need are jobs, what we need are dollars, and what we need are space for people to thrive generationally. What we don't need are large industrial developments put in our neighborhood that can potentially cause toxicity and negative externalities for the next 30 years. So again, I'm here to plead with the city council to continue to vote and think in the minds of not just this current generation, but the next three generations when it comes to what can benefit and what can expand and help Southwest Atlanta excel. We don't need more industrial waste. We don't need data centers. We need positive incremental development that empowers the community that can provide affordable housing and that can help Southwest Atlanta grow as the community needs and intends.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. You have two minutes.

Thank you, Council President. There are two places in downtown Atlanta where lives change every single day, just four minutes apart. One is Grady Memorial Hospital. The other is the room that we're sitting in today. Good afternoon, Council President and members of the Atlanta City Council. My name is Aira Bhatti and I'm a Georgia Tech student studying biology and public policy. Every week I work with patients and I've learned something important. Many of the biggest barriers to health aren't found inside of the hospital. They begin long before a patient ever walks through its doors. Now picture the next patient who arrives at Grady Memorial Hospital. Their story doesn't begin in the emergency department. It begins long before they enter. As health care workers, we can treat infection. We can prescribe medication. We can perform surgery. But we can't prescribe a grocery store. We can't create safe neighborhoods. Council members, when you vote on transportation, you're voting on whether someone can make it to their follow-up appointment. When you invest in parks, you're investing in disease prevention. When you strengthen neighborhoods, you're investing in public health. As healthcare workers, we cannot change this issue alone. By the time a patient comes into our care, the health decisions we make have already been shaped by the city's resources. People often ask me why someone pursuing medicine cares so much about public policy. My answer is simple. I don't see them as two separate paths. I see them as partners in saving lives. Atlanta has always been a city willing to lead. As we shape the future of transportation, housing, public safety, and community investment, we also have the opportunity to shape public health. One day, I hope to wear a white coat. But before I ever wear it, I want to understand the rooms where health begins. One building treats today's patients. The other can shape tomorrow's. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next three, Kaylin Gilstrap, Stephen Williams, Emmett Lump. You each have two minutes. Please come forward. Ms. Gilstrap, two minutes.

Hello, council members. I thank you for your attention today. My name is Kaylin Gilstrap. I'm a Sylvan Hills resident. I'm a visual artist and a commercial creative, so this is about the most uncomfortable place I can be in front of you. I understand how long it can take stories to unfold and how the decisions we make, especially you council members, have a long time effect. The AI industry should be something we're all paying close attention to. The leaders of this industry brag that it will replace labor across industries. It should be noted that many of the companies that jumped on this bandwagon hired back the customer service representatives they had let go because apparently human interaction is important. Then they start building these new data centers to fuel this product, not like the centers we've seen before and been living amongst. These are bigger and demand more. They build them across the nation at a rapid speed and under a cloak of secrecy. so that many communities don't know what is being built down the road until it's too late. They monopolize valuable resources and damage others, all while having a product problem. The industry doesn't seem to have control over the very thing they say is inevitable. Getting a special permit means to me you are different. You are an exception to the rule. What I have to say to those that want to move into our communities is if you wanna be different, you have to act different. See, this is why it's uncomfortable for me to be in front of you. I don't pretend to know how hard your job is council members. I grew up in a town of 75 people and I rarely saw them get along. I really appreciate the efforts of Councilmember Kelsey Bonds for putting forth the task force. I hope that you all will support the passage of the task force and it will create regulations that will protect communities around the state. But I also hope it creates transparency for its citizens. And also thank you Councilmember Collins for spending time with us after the committee.

Thank you. Stephen Williams, you have two minutes.

Good afternoon, council members. My name is Steve Williams. I'm a water conservation consultant and live in Southwest Atlanta, District 12. And because I cannot speak directly about the specific zoning ordinance at 713 RDA Boulevard, I would just like to say I'm opposed to any development that is not supported by the neighborhoods impacted and can have a negative impact on its residents and the environment. I've contacted you in the past about this, and I'm more than happy to discuss this in the future.

Emmet Lump, you have two minutes.

All right. My name is Emmet Lumpy. I live in Capitol View. I've been a transmission line engineer for over 13 years, and I wanted to share some of the impact that data centers have had on the power grid itself. It's been a huge resource constraint. Capital maintenance projects have been falling by the wayside. It's been more of a reactive versus proactive situation, waiting for things to fail. We've got lines in Georgia that were built in 1910 with no plans to replace them. What happens when we don't properly maintain our transmission lines? You can Google the PG&E fires in California, so a lot of destruction. Our material lead times have gone through the roof. Large substation equipment can take two to three years. The data centers have started taking on some of this procurement themselves to speed it up, which could lead to equipment that doesn't meet the usual standards going on to the system. We're having a lot of trouble getting outages because there's too much work going on. Fun fact, customer choice, which is data center projects, take priority over capital maintenance projects. A lot of the infrastructure build out required for data centers, they often pay for the substations, but just the substations, no other upgrades like transmission lines or work in adjacent facilities or just the extra stress on the whole system. From my experience, data centers pay about 60% of the project costs, so that leaves another 40% on the utility companies, the power companies, and I wonder who they're going to pass those rates on to. Generation doesn't exist in the state. The loads that are being studied exceed what's available by multiples. So to meet that demand, coal and gas are being powered back up. A lot of the data centers have clauses in their contract that limit when their service can be interrupted or curtailed. The utilities have a duty to serve, but that does not necessarily mean guaranteed electricity under all conditions. And in my opinion, this wordage is way too loose to protect Georgians in the future. Yeah, crush it.

Thank you. Our next three speakers, Matthew Nercy. You can come forward. You have two minutes, Matthew Nercy. Tim Reistetter. Kevin Kuzava, you each have two minutes. You can come forward.

Good afternoon. Thank you, council. My name is Matthew Nercy. I'm with the Housing Justice League and I live in Kirkwood. We are here today in coalition to support the People's Voice Act. These council meetings for Atlanta City Council are held in the middle of the day. Lots of other cities and other levels of government hold theirs in the morning or in the evening. A lot easier for working people to be able to get out there. And for Housing Justice League particularly, you know, these new rules that have been, or not, these rules that have been being enforced this year make it more difficult for us to be able to be able to represent our members and, you know, tenants who are working during the day and maybe they can get 30 minutes off for lunch to come sign up for public comment. and then they gotta go, you know? So it makes it harder to be able to come represent them. And so, We would like to support the People's Voice Act, and especially now at a time where the federal level and the state level, we are quite literally dealing with fascism and a dismantling of democracy. And so I've said this many times here, but municipal government is kind of like the last line of defense right now. And so we really need to be doing everything we can to protect free speech and expand democracy. And I know a lot of this public comment, people can be redundant. Some folks can be a little off the wall. But I will remind you that you all chose to run for office. And public comment, listening to the public, is a huge part of that. So you all chose to run for these positions. So please pay attention to us and expand the right to speak. Thank you.

Thank you. Tim Reistetter. You have two minutes.

Good afternoon. My name is Tim Reistetter, and I'm here to talk about Cheney Field and Summer Hill. It is part of 20 acres of green space in the heart of our neighborhood. The Atlanta Track Club wants to use roughly half of it for a 3,200-seat indoor track arena. Cheney Field was a former city dump that served as the only green space in Summer Hill. The community wanted to convert it into a badly needed park. Instead, in the 40s, the Board of Education acquired the land and built a whites-only football stadium in a predominantly black neighborhood. That is the start of a familiar pattern for Summer Hill. When Atlanta needs land for something, it looks to our neighborhood. It began with a segregated football stadium, then highways, then the Braves, then the Olympics, then Georgia State, and now the Atlanta Track Club. Each time, land in our neighborhood is used primarily for those outside of it. The track club originally approached the city about Department of Public Works property near the Beltline in Grove Park. Moving that site was cost prohibitive and APS land was suggested instead. That is why our children are in danger of losing their soccer field, because it is cheaper to move a kid's football club than to move trucks. The hardest feedback to hear from the community has been, if we say no, who will maintain our track? The right to ask. After serving as an Olympic warm-up track, it sat neglected for decades until the track club refurbished it. At nearby Phoenix 2 Park, roots grow through the basketball court, a court that still bears a Winn-Dixie logo, a company that closed all its Atlanta stores in 2005. We want the relationship between Summerhill and the city to change. We don't want our green space turned into a 3,250-seat arena. We don't want our kids' soccer fields turned into a parking lot. We're asking the city to work with APS to preserve Cheney Field, expand the city-owned Phoenix Park, and help the track club find another site. For generations, when Atlanta needed something, Summer Hill provided. This time, we want the city to provide something for us, and what we want is the best park in Atlanta. Thank you.

Thank you. Kevin Kusava, you have two minutes.

Hey guys, I've got some more anti-Atlanta Trek indoor facility bullet points. I live in Summerhill. I've been there for 17 years. We would lose one third of our green space. This is the residential part of the neighborhood. There's acres of unused parking and undeveloped land, even in Summerhill, closer towards Hank Aaron, Georgia State, and all that. It's 175,000 square foot facility. So to picture that, that's a football field wide and two football fields long, and it's 50 feet tall. ATC is pretending this is about Olympic legacy. Summerhill wasn't even their first choice, so don't fall for that. Also, the Olympics displaced 10,000 residents. Cheney was a practice field. There were no Olympic events there. It didn't have running water or permanent bathrooms. And it was Cheney Field decades before the Olympics, so what about that legacy? Residents have traffic concerns with GSU football, baseball, and the Convocation Center right up the street. These are narrow one-way streets with street parking, and not everyone has a driveway. They want to close a three-lane-wide street facing north for pedestrian traffic. Even though the two adjacent streets are running south, they have a 90-day traffic report that I doubt we'll hear the results of before Atlanta Public School votes. So we're concerned about that. Atlanta has nice weather 10 months of the year. California has no formal indoor track season because of its climate. Shit. It will still bring revenue for the city wherever it is. Just don't plop it in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Last meeting, Atlanta Track Club took four questions in two and a half hours. They haven't engaged in good faith. There were about 200 people showed up at that meeting and literally four or five questions. They just steamrolled us, went through their PowerPoint and tried to take up that entire two hours for themselves. Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kina went on NBC and said this is a place residents can call home I don't even know what that means. I've lived there 17 years. Why an indoor track would be a place I can call home? If we keep letting these moneyed interests run with every pet project, we'll have flock cameras, data centers, drones, and a concrete hellscape.

Thank you. Thank you. Myrna Clayton, Samuel Andrade, Owusu Hadari, you are our three speakers, our next three. You have two minutes each. Ms. Myrna Clayton.

Good afternoon. My name is Myrna Clayton. I am commissioned by the U.S. State Department to represent American music at U.S. embassies around the world. I'm also founder and executive director of Show Ability, a nonprofit that supports talented disabled artists I'm across the disability spectrum, and I'm also founder of Bridgewell International Cultural Exchange. What I'd like to do is thank you for three things and make three requests. Also a long time resident of Atlanta, Georgia, APS, yada, yada, yada. First of all, the thank yous. Thank you for contributing to the arts. If I could annex Atlanta out of Georgia, I would. And so therefore, thank you for the support of the arts. Also, thank you for your support of the disability community, financial support of the disability community. And then also thank you for supporting international immigrant residents in Atlanta. The three requests. First and foremost, I would love to have Atlanta City Council get involved with GDOT dismantling NPUIJ&H. It's horrific to us as residents there, and we'd like to get you involved in GDOT. Also, would like for you to consider increasing the budget for the Office of International Immigrant Affairs, because they need to do more within the city with more and more immigrants and international persons coming to Atlanta. Lastly, would like for you to consider something that doesn't exist in this country, which is a public-private partnership for a fully accessible, inclusive performing arts center. Back of house is not accessible for artists with disabilities. The disability community is the largest minority population in the country. 56% of the US population is connected in some way to the disability community. So I'd like to recognize that and also inform you that $1.3 trillion spending power is within the disability community. Thank you.

Thank you. Samuel Andrade.

Hello, Councilman. I wish to voice our concern for the creations of AI dentists across this nation, but also particularly in the state. Across this country, we have seen the consequences of data centers. We have seen what they have done and the power that they are able to articulate. Harkening power that is equivalent to a hundred thousand homes Which have drains up overall demand and strained regional power grids We have seen that they require millions of gallons of water In places where water is a scarce resource we have also seen that They leave large industrial footprints in the communities of which they are established in. They have altered rural or suburban landscapes, and cooling fans that cool down the system in general produce high amount of noise pollution, causing a continuous low hum around the areas that they're in. All of these are concerns that are in the long term for data centers, or even just short term, as we have seen in states like Texas and whatnot. But also there is a deeper concern that is on a systematic level. The concern is that if the prolonged construction and the allowance for these data centers continues, either in other states, but even in this state continues, it will show not only to us, but also to the nation that people within your seats of power don't care about their constituents, but are rather willing to bet everything on appealing to corporations and corporate donors. and also that corporate donors and corporations are above the needs of constituents, their welfare, their safety, and economic prosperity. Thank you.

Thank you. Awusu Hadari. You have two minutes.

Good afternoon. Once again, talking about Sloan Circle Street, about 13 minutes from this chamber. I've been working with Councilman Winston's office and we secured a meeting with the Department of Transportation to try and find out what was the prognosis for some kind of work being done on a street that has never had curb, gutter, any type of paving whatsoever. We understood that at that meeting, the prognosis was not that good. But we should keep trying to address the situation because the street is almost impassable. Therefore, deliveries and things like that, many times during a rainy season like what we've just experienced, they don't even want to come down that street. I was assured at a meeting with them on June 23rd that they would in fact make sure that they did shape and gravel for that street very soon. At that particular point in time, I tried to get a definition of shape and gravel, and I still don't know what that is. However, on August 11th, a notice was put on the mailbox that they were going to begin the process of shaping gravel in the next 48 hours. On August 12th, a machine showed up, did a little work. I guess that was called shaping. And we're still waiting to find out if there is any gravel work that's ever going to be done on our street because it's almost impassable. I understood on August 3rd. that $2.9 million had been set aside to survey and evaluate unpaid roads in the City of Atlanta. I hope Sloan Circle meets the cut. Thank you.

Thank you. Chloe Harper, Viviana Osorio, K. Ann Harris, you are our next three speakers. You each have two minutes. Please come forward.

Hi, I'm Chloe Faith Harper, an Atlanta native and 20-year resident of Hopkins Street Southwest in the West End. Our neighborhood needs community-centered development, housing, and community support. I see far too many of my neighbors struggling to pay historically high utility bills. Data centers have not only raised most of our utility bills, but at a time where the world is rocked by water shortages, global warming, and natural disasters, we don't need any more data centers anywhere. We need accountability from our elected officials. We need to dethrone Georgia power and the systems that support its monopoly. Greed has harmed us enough. Thank you all for your time.

Thank you. Viviana Osorio. You have two minutes.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Viviana Osorio. I wish I could turn around and face my neighbors right behind me because I'm talking to you. There's this book, it's called The Design of Everyday Things. It takes 300 pages to say that everything ever has been designed. So if something's a certain way, it's a deliberate choice. Public comment is in the middle of the day on purpose. I dare Atlanta to have this at 7 p.m., but they won't because they're scared. Do you expect or trust our government to fix anything anyone has brought up today? I've heard infrastructure, affordable groceries, there's a housing crisis, we need more transport options, our education is in the gutter, there's systemic racism all over the city, obviously it's Atlanta, the data centers, and no one said this, but minimum wage is still at $7.25. Council already knows that we have these problems. They've already heard it. So obviously this is not working. I have one question to everyone today. What is the next step to fix our lives because these people are not helpful? Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. And Paris, you have two minutes.

Thank you. Kay Ann Paris. I'm in District 12. I've been in Capitol View neighborhood for the last eight years, and I was in Edgewood neighborhood for five years before that. I went to undergrad and graduate school in Atlanta, and I grew up in the metro area. I'm supportive of a data center task force to ensure transparency, but I would prefer an outright ban in the city of Atlanta. especially while the task force is writing their findings. It's disappointing and frustrating that residents make their voices heard, be it Beltline Rail, sidewalk funding to reach Vision Zero, or wanting to vote on a police training facility. But the city doesn't listen, but outside corporations say that they want to build something that does not net benefit Atlantans, and the city says yes, and throws tax breaks to boot. We deserve better from our representatives. We have another 100 plus degree heat index today, and Atlanta has not opened a cooling center for residents. The last time the city did, it was a single one for the entire city, and one where MARTA Rail did not reach. It's wonderful to see that Buckhead was able to get the city to buy 30 acres of forest land through support of Councilwoman Norwood. The purchase preserves Lucinda's dense tree canopy and prevents the wooded land from being cleared for large residential construction. How lovely for Buckhead to be able to preserve their tree canopy. Keeping Atlantans, our residents, safe from heat, keeping the air free of carbon monoxide and noxious gases, keeping Buckhead's community noise-free, I would love to see this type of effort equally across the entire city, selfishly where I live, south of 20 and on the west side. and I would like to use my last 20 seconds. I might just stand here because my two minutes were taken last week during the zoning meeting because I said the word data center, and I very much did not appreciate that. I spent three hours here. I've been here for three hours, and I am a resident, and I should be able to be heard, so thanks.

Thank you. Daniel Lebrun, Roberta Myers, and Bianca Campbell, you are our next three speakers. You each have two minutes, you can come forward.

Thank you and good afternoon. My name is Daniel Lebrun. I am a resident of Beecher Hills. I stand before you today as a concerned citizen. I am concerned about data centers, like many of us, and the insidious foot in the door that they represent. I'm concerned about the precedent it sets when my neighborhood or any neighborhood opens their doors to a data center. I'm concerned about the signal this sends when it shows that laws can be bought, even when they're placed, if the price is high enough. I am concerned that in a world with weekly food recalls and growing foodborne illnesses, where we can't trust the food in our own grocery stores, that we would even consider the thought of building a center that has been linked to crop, garden, and wildlife destruction. I am concerned for the neighborhoods, any neighborhood, mine or any in the future, that are forced to reconcile with the noise and physical pollution brought on by a center. Forced into a decision to either move, which those with the means to do will do, or stick it out, stay put and acclimate to the new normal and accept the lie of redevelopment and growth and investment that they were promised for access to their neighborhood. I ask that all of you here today, when faced with a decision about data centers, AI, anything of the sort, please invest in Atlanta's future and your community's future. We've had a lot of amazing speakers today. We've given a lot of amazing awards. And that's, I think, what we should be focusing on. Those are the community members that we should be building up. Those are the people that we are all here to represent. outside conglomerates or companies trying to bring in, you know, false claims and wanting these tax breaks to further drain on our own utilities and give us false promises. So thank you.

Thank you. Roberta Myers, you have two minutes. Please come forward.

That was the woman that you spoke to at the party.

Yeah, okay, I would like to meet with her soon. Bianca Campbell, you have two minutes.

Thank you, President Overstreet. I am Bianca and I am in Councilman Lewis's district. My family moved here 20 years ago in 2006 after developers brought economic development and pushed my parents out. The jobs the developers promised weren't for my mom, they weren't for my dad, two GED holders, working blue collar factory jobs in the day, janitors at night. The jobs, the economic development, the opportunity were for the people who would come after we were gone. I have lived and loved in Sylvan Hills for 10 years and I refuse to lose my home again from the proliferation of data centers across the state. I speak to Councilwoman Norwood as a fellow mother. I speak to other council members as uncles, aunts, parents, big cousins, protectors of families. I speak to you as people who just said they were happy and honored to see New Hope AME endure 150 years, who by that measure say they want people to belong here. We cannot belong here. We cannot endure here. We cannot love here with the proliferation of data centers, even ones with improved legislation that ultimately cannot be enforced against a billion dollar company. I hear my neighbors ask for economic development, and I hear developers respond with a dangling carrot of data centers with retail and mixed use. And I've heard those hopeful despairs before. Low wage retail jobs will not cover high electricity bills. Fancy tech jobs will not hire most of us, will not train us, and I want more for my people than low wage jobs. Southwest Atlanta has several data centers already, and to quote my immigrant grandmother, still may not see no change. So it's not enough to have these data centers. I represent a diverse group of people who want something better and want our people to grow old. Thank you so much.

Sarah Hunt Blackwell. Sarah Hunt Blackwell, you have two minutes. You're our last two-minute speaker for the day.

Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Hunt Blackwell. I'm the senior policy counsel with the ACLU of Georgia. I'd like to thank the council for the opportunity to speak this afternoon, especially because providing public testimony is such a critical function of our democracy and our First Amendment rights. I'm here today because the ACLU of Georgia supports the People's Voice Act, an ordinance that makes public testimony like the one I'm giving now even more accessible. A bedrock principle of the First Amendment is for the people to be in communication with their elected officials. Maintaining fair, open, and accessible public comment procedures is an easy way for the council to better facilitate that communication. The voices of the people helped to make Atlanta the city that it is and the city that it always has been. Hopefully, this council shares the belief that we should be amplifying these voices, not restricting them. Please provide favorable consideration for the People's Voice Act. Thank you.

Thank you. We're moving to our yielded time portion. Our first speaker will be William King. You have four minutes. It's Tamecia. King here? Okay. You have four minutes, Mr. King.

Thank you for being willing to listen to citizens coming before you because it's not all levels of government where this is that easy for us to be able to talk to you. Some time ago, oh, maybe almost 10 years ago, I came across the fact that of the 10 cities in the world with the most cameras per capita, eight were in China and the other two were London and Atlanta. We were told that there would be 10,000 new cameras in this administration, but there were 30,000 new cameras in this administration. I'm sure we've got the most cameras per capita in America. You've seen this stuff start to go up. We see more of it every day. We'll be driving along and my wife will say, look, it's on the interstate now. It wasn't here yesterday. We see it coming up all over the place. I'd like to play just a little comment here. Sorry it's taking so long. I should have had it up. There we go.

Not for when you're driving drunk. That's to cut you off driving when you're in the 15-minute cities.

Yeah, they're talking about the cutoff switch. The cutoff switch that's going to be in all the cars after 2020. Seven, they say this is in case you're drunk. The car will know that you're drunk and it will cut off. It'll cut off anytime they want to cut you off.

And it's all because of AI. That wisdom that is worldly and devilish, James 3, verse 15 says. That's what the data centers are for. And I get dozens and dozens of emails every single week from people, Kevin, the data centers are just there so people can keep using their phone. The data centers are there so people can just keep using their chat GPT. The data centers, we have to have in order to keep up with China. Really? Because China has 1.3 billion people. You know how many data centers are in China right now? 449. America has one-fourth the population of China. Do you know how many data centers will be in America by the end of this year? 7,000. The data centers are not there to support your phone. The data centers are there to collect and store and process and analyze your data. They're the control grid on the mark of the beast system. Kill switch that you got in your brand new car.

That's not for when you're driving drunk.

That's to cut you off driving when you're in the 15 minute cities. And it's all because of AI. That wisdom that is worldly and devilish, James 3, verse 15 says. That's what the data centers are for. And I get dozens and dozens of emails every single week from people, Kevin, the data centers are just there so people can keep using their phone. The data centers are there so people can just keep using the chat GPT.

I'm sorry, it started over again. Let me shut him up. Sorry about that. OK, I passed out to the people who are in the zoning committee. I don't know if the rest of you got it, but it's this training manual for the CIA, for people who are going to become part of this conspiracy. First, they called this silent weapons for a quiet war. People would pay for a situation. They'll go along with the situation. They'll quit using cash and they'll use a debit card. Okay, and then they change their phones all the time. And pretty soon they're building this wall around you. They invented this code to keep track of you. So everything you buy has this on it. You buy it with your card. They know everything you're doing. I showed you this the last time. You can see the three sixes in the Google Chrome logo. This is Satan. These aren't good people, and they don't have good intentions. And if you were being, if it was- Thank you, Mr. King. That's your four minutes. If it was 1933 and you were being asked to approve a concentration camp, would you do it?

Thank you. Our next speaker is Kendall Long. Mr. Long, you're supposed to have six minutes. Your time is yielded by Devin Franklin. I actually see him here, but I think that one of your speakers, Anne Marie, had to leave.

That's not correct, but I will say Roberta Meyers, she did wish to donate her time, but as you're aware, she had to leave because of the timing today.

You have six minutes.

Thank you. I'm Kendall Long, First Amendment Policy Counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights. Throughout this term, we've raised concerns about the administration of public comment during this council term on multiple occasions. I'm grateful to be here today. As we mentioned before, we're here for solutions, not for argument's sake. So I'm here today to speak in support of the introduction of the People's Voice Act. We're thankful and grateful for the leadership of Councilmember Kelsey Bond and the willingness to engage the coalition on this issue. Throughout our advocacy for public comment, we've seen a wide variety of policy issues faced in the various constituencies that have come before council to advocate on those issues. That includes TADS, Beltline Rail, budget concerns, police diversion resources, as we've seen today, data centers. The need for accessible public comment does not just concern one policy issue or one community over the other. The entire business of city council is affected by how accessible public comment is. All of Atlanta is affected by how accessible public comment is. Through the years of the creation and modification of public comment ordinance, many of the legislation that modified public comment made for more restrictive comment. However, there have been periods where the council decided that public comment accessibility can and should be expanded. For example, increasing the sign-up window for public comment in 2019, doubling the length of public comment in 2006, and even creating the option for yielded time, which has been much discussed in 2000. This council has the opportunity to place itself in line with the prior ordinance changes that expanded public comment access rather than being on the side of councils that restricted public comment. And the People's Voice Act would do just that. With the focus on the implications of public comment rules on seated time speakers, the People's Voice Act will enshrine that people who are called to speak in the order that they signed up, preventing prolonged waiting times to speak just because someone receives or is choosing to donate time. And it will enshrine that people who donate time to another speaker don't have to pointlessly wait in council chambers until the end of public comment period when seated speakers speak. These changes to the administration public comment will improve the predictability and accessibility of which people can advocate of issues important to each of their communities. Throughout the People's Voice Campaign, and especially today, we've witnessed why the People's Voice Act is needed. It's a common occurrence for people to have left council chamber by the time their name is called, sometimes hours into the council meeting. It's a common occurrence, as occurred with Ms. Myers, for people to have their seated time cut short because the time donors who signed up at the start of the meeting weren't able to stay until the seated time portion of the meeting, Like today over two hours and 40 minutes into the meeting It's been common occurrence for the ordinance controlling proclamations to be leniently enforced allowing proclamations as today to run over 16 minutes But the ordinance controlling public comment is strictly and restrictively enforced and interpreted limiting many people's ability to speak the People's Voice Act is important now more than ever with rollbacks to democracy happening on the federal and state level, local political engagement must be protected and expanded. We should be concerned when democracy is threatened from the federal government in Washington, DC. We should be concerned when it happens in the state legislature under the Gold Dome, and we should be just as concerned when it happens here in the city council chambers where we're all gathered today. All eyes are on Atlanta. What happens here affects the rest of the state. Atlanta has the opportunity as a council to be the exemplar for how elected bodies furthers the accessibility for its community to engage them. While the changes to public comment this term may seem small and harmless, exactly these small erosions to the aspects of democracy that leads to much drastic and concerning erosions over time. And that makes all of us less safer and our local government less accountable. It cannot be understated how important and powerful a tool public comment is. It's the unique opportunity for members of the public to engage directly with the entire body responsible for legislating for the well-being of Atlanta. That need for accessibility is especially true for the city council considering that meetings happen in the middle of the day. The need for accessible comment is important to make it more predictable and people might be able to speak due to the number and length of proclamations at each meeting. The need for accessible public comment is more important now more than ever when the city wishes to pay consultants to engage the public rather than engaging directly. The need for more accessible public comment is important when both the mayor and the council have caused public outcry due to lack of transparency and censorship on major policy issues. The People's Voice Act is a product of the community. It reflects the experiences and challenges that many community members have experienced in attempting to utilize public comment. We're proud to be a part of a coalition, some of which you've heard from today, of organizations that support the People's Voice Act. That includes Playfair ATL, Bard Business, Black Futurist Group, Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, Legal Action Center, New Life Second Chance Outreach, the Southern Center for Human Rights, Stop the Criminalization of Our Patients, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, the ACLU of Georgia, DSA Atlanta Chapter, and Housing Justice League. At a prior committee meeting, it was said that there was a desire for more community input on the state of public comment. And so this coalition represents many portions of the Atlanta community and a variety of issues that were on a united front of wanting an accessible public comment. But even further, we'll continue to engage the community to learn more about people's experiences using public comment on august 27th the southern center will be hosting a community town hall to discuss the implications of accessible public comment on local policy decisions members of the public and members of council are all invited to attend more information can be found on our instagram at southern center our website schr.org the people's voice or flyers that we made available today and will soon pass up to council While the act works its way through council, we want to continue to engage the public on why public comment is important. We again thank Councilmember Bond for the introduction of this legislation, and we look forward to working with the entire council on seeing this bill pass. Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Andrew Seiler. Mr. Seiler, you have four minutes. Is Caitlin Whitenack here? All right, you have four minutes.

Hello, my name is Andrew Keiler. I'm a registered voter, I'm a homeowner, and I'm proud to be part of the Summerhill community since 2005. Our mayor, Andre Dickens, has been quoted as saying, green space isn't a nice to have. It is essential to Atlanta's future. My neighbors and I could not agree more. Unfortunately, Atlanta Public Schools seems to be fast-tracking a proposal from Atlanta Track Club that would destroy one-third of Summerhill's green space and replace it with a three-story, 50-foot tall, 175,000 square foot building with retail space, offices, 3,500 spectator capacity, and parking. Now, this is all in the Summerhill, in the heart of the Summerhill residential area, a residential area lined with narrow, one-way streets. To make matters worse, Atlanta Track Club's proposal asked Atlanta public schools to charge no rent for the first three years of construction. Essentially, this would be subsidizing the building of Atlanta Track Club's facility in our neighborhood with our hard-earned property tax dollars. As you know, Atlanta has a shameful history of allowing moneyed interests from outside the community to come in with a handful of promises to grab land, erase neighborhoods, all to erect buildings that primarily suit the purpose of the moneyed interests, but not the communities in which they are located. If you don't know anything about this history, I would recommend that you check out Congressman Jason Dozier. He wrote an excellent piece for the Supporter Report. And to be clear, my neighbors and I are not against Atlanta Track Club building a world-class indoor facility in Atlanta. We are against destroying green space to allow Atlanta Track Club to build an indoor track in a residential area in Summerhill, especially when you consider that Summerhill, Peoples Town, Mechanicsville all offer commercial lots for sale both on and around Hank Aaron with the proper infrastructure, high capacity roads, and parking to suit their needs. Hank Aaron Drive also offers access to MARTA's new rapid transit A line. It has easy access to I-75, I-85, I-20, and there are many more commercial lots with appropriate infrastructure and belt line access throughout the city. I would like to congratulate this body, the mayor's office, and the Green Cabinet for the strides we have recently made in terms of moving Atlanta's ranking up in the Park Score Index. However, there's a lot of work to be done. As the Trust for Public Land says, only 8% of Atlanta's land is currently used for green space. To put that into context, you can compare that with New Orleans at 26%, Washington DC at 24%, New York at 21%, San Francisco at 21%, and the median average of all US cities at 15%. So in closing, my neighbors and I would humbly ask this body help us protect Summer Hill's green space so that the whole city can continue to enjoy Cheney Field for our healthy activities, small gatherings, and celebrations. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Our last speaker of the day is Renee Carter-Woods. Is Dave Martis? Okay. You have four minutes.

Okay, thank you. I just want to make a note of core takeaway. My husband mentioned earlier during the proclamations that each one of them was very people focused. It was an investment in community. Good afternoon, council members. My name is Renee Carter-Woods and I've lived on Melrose Drive in Southwest Atlanta for more than 30 years. I've taught in our schools. I've raised my family here and witnessed firsthand how decades of disinvestment have shaped the health, safety, and opportunity of the people who call this community home. When you live here long enough, you just don't see the statistics. You feel them. You bury neighbors too early. You watch families struggle with chronic illness. You see young people fighting uphill battles for stability and opportunity. This is the lived reality of Southwest Atlanta. Studies of historically under-invested urban neighborhoods show consistent patterns of shorter life expectancy, higher rates of chronic disease, elevated mental health strain, higher crime rates, and lower economic mobility. These findings match what we have lived in Southwest Atlanta for decades. We are a community fighting for equity, and research shows that the equity requires people-centered development, not more industrial-based development. Studies of data centers and urban centers show that they create very few permanent jobs, consume massive amounts of energy, produce heat and noise, generate no street level activity, do not improve health outcomes, safety, or economic mobility, often become isolated industrial hotspots. For a community already carrying the weight of shortened lifespans, chronic illness, mental health strain, and limited economic opportunity, a data center does not move towards healing and equity. For our community already carrying, I'm sorry, the highest and best use of land near Amarda, especially in neighborhoods with long histories of blight, is the development that improves daily life. Mixed income housing, small business development, green space development, community amenities that support families, youth, and seniors. transit-oriented development that strengthens MARTA and reduces car dependency. These are the investments that research shows improves life expectancy, reduces crime, support mental health, and create long-term economic stability. I urge the council, to reject these centers and their development in Southwest Atlanta, and to prioritize land uses that directly improve the quality of life for the people who live here. We deserve development that heals, development that uplifts, and development that finally aligns with the long range vision of equity this community has fought for since the days of Mayor Maynard Jackson. Thank you. Thank you.

That concludes our public comment portion of our full council. very, very thoughtful comments today. Thank you so much for sharing, especially the stats and the good information. So thank you. Um, with that, that brings us, uh, to our report of the journal, madam clerk.

Good afternoon, madam president, members of council. Hi, Corinna, Linda municipal clerk at the city of Atlanta do hereby certify that the minutes of the regular meeting held on Monday, August 3rd, 2026, and the special call meeting held on Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 are true and correct.

Let it follow that course.

Oh, I'm sorry.

The chief is here. I'm thinking that we should speak with the chief first. Can we vote on this? Can we go ahead and vote now? Is that what you're saying? Okay, in that case, we'll just finish this and then we'll get to the chief. Motion to approve from Juan, second by Worthy. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote. This can be done by unanimous consent. Madam Clerk, what's that sound? 12 yays, 0 nays. 12 yays, 0 nays. This item is approved. Okay, so we have a motion to suspend the rules by Hillers, second by Bakhtiari. This can also be done by unanimous consent. Madam Clerk, please sound that count. Twelve yays, zero nays. Twelve yays, zero nays. The rules are suspended so that we can hear from our Chief of Police, Darren Shearbaum. First, we'll hear from our COO, LaShondra Burks, followed by our Chief of Police. Thanks for coming to counsel.

Thank you and good afternoon Madam President and all the members of the Atlanta City Council and thank you for suspending your rules to allow us to come over today. We thought it was important, we had two major events happening in our city today and we thought it was important to brief everyone at the same time and try to see if we can answer any questions. And then after Chief Sherbaum finishes, I'm going to come back. We do have an ask of you of counsel as a result of these incidents today. Chief will come and brief you on what happened with two beautiful children, young ladies who were kidnapped. We have an update on that. And then we will also right after that update you on an officer who was shot this morning so that we can give you all an update on both of those situations.

Thank you.

Chief Sherbaugh. Thank you, Madam Chair. C.L.

Alberts.

Madam President, members of council, good afternoon. Thank you for this time to update you on two important cases to our city. Most of us woke this morning sawing that two small children, the least of these in Atlanta, had gone missing overnight. They were kidnapped through the course of the weekend. Since before midnight, your police department has been very hard at work. to recover these two young citizens and bring them home to their mother. And I want to thank all of our officers that have worked tirelessly. We were able to locate the kidnapper and the two children still in the city, and they are now safely back with mom, getting the medical care they need to make sure they were not in any way harmed. This was a combination of technology and old fashioned police work just being out on the ground. And so please be very proud of your officers. And I want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, specifically the agents from the Atlanta field office that provided support for us to be able to bring about this resolution. Also this morning, while the department was actively engaged in finding these two young children, we were called to a residence here in the city on Clock Howard Lane, a report of an individual in a mental health crisis, and the 911 caller told us that that individual had access to a firearm. Two of your officers, both assigned to the Zone 4 precinct to day watch, did enter the home in an attempt to resolve the situation. This individual was known to the Atlanta Police Department in a series of 911 calls over the last number of months where this individual was in a mental health crisis. Within the last 48 hours, we had responded to the home, and the individual was transported for care at a local medical facility, and we were back today. While we were in the home attempting to resolve it, a gun was produced. Our officers were fired upon. One officer of the department was struck in the arm, and he was also struck in his bulletproof vest. He was quickly able to exit the home. His partner was able to apply a tourniquet, and he was quickly transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. I want to thank Grady EMS and the phenomenal staff at Grady Memorial Hospital for treating him. Because of the vest and because the round had passed through without striking a bone, he was able to be released just a short while ago. He's on his way home, and he's currently with his family. Right now this underscores A, the hard work of men and women that report to duty every day, but it also on that second call underscores the importance of mental health. That the department would be returning repeatedly to the same location is of concern. Right now we have a family that's traumatized by what they saw in their own living room. what they were experiencing and now now we have an officer of the department recovering and another officer of the department that was in a very close situation of her also being harmed. I wanted to bring you this as an update to you all. You are our closest connection to the citizens of the city as our elected representatives. I want to make sure you as a council had this information and obviously prepared to answer any questions you may have. But thank you Madam President for the time and the members of this body for allowing me to speak today.

Absolutely. And thank you for the update. Council Member Martin, if you have a question.

Yes, I just want to say thank you, Chief, and to the team, the officer that was struck that happened in District 11. And, you know, I was made aware this morning that there had been a lot of repeated calls. But just thank you for the officer's bravery. Please extend that to him if you can speak to him. And we're going to continue to do what we can to support the not only our officers, but to your point, ensuring that we have the mental health resources that we need to help deescalate these kinds of situations and stop our officers from having to come out in the first place. But thank you. Thank you.

Council Member Amos.

Chief as well, I just want to say thank you for giving us an update. I'm definitely on the officer. Our prayers definitely go out for full recovery. But the two young ladies that went missing, District 3, English Avenue, if a quarter of a mile away from my house. I was at an event with the mayor. Captain Jones, the zone one, came to me, gave me an update. So your people keeping us involved and informed is very important as well. But for you to come here and tell us that all prayers was answered, the babies are back at home, I have no problem in saying we're prosecuting whoever did it to the fullest extent of the law and then some. But just thank you for bringing us that update. And I know we're all happy they made it back home. Thank you. You're welcome, sir.

Thank you, any other council members? You wanna close out COO Burks?

Thank you, Madam President. And I am actually coming to you today when a press conference was held this morning at Grady Hospital, several things that the mayor talked about. and it really was around mental illness and the support that we need in this city and in this state around mental illness. Every morning at 8.30 a.m., the mayor, the chief and I talk and it's not a week that goes by that most incidents that we talk through is a result of mental illness. And so the mayor challenged everybody who's running for office, he's asking our city council, as you talk to people who are running for office, as you're out in your daily work, that we really, really push for support in this city for mental illness. Today's incident, mental illness. Several incidents over the weekend, mental illness. and so we continue to see that things come back to mental illness we actually met the mayor met this afternoon chip and i with a group of people individuals who you all have been meeting with around the violence interruption work and they were very clear this afternoon mental illness continues to be at the center point of things that are going on. So it's just an ask from the mayor to you all as city council members, president of council, that as you are out in your daily work, let's not forget to talk about the impacts of mental illness in our city and in this state. So again, thank you. Again, I want to thank Chief Sherbaum and the entire Atlanta Police Department. What you heard today was a very small snippet of the story. Both of the incidents that we discussed today could have ended very different. We could have had an officer, a mother, a sister, and a gentleman who was having a mental crisis today, all deceased. We could have had two small children deceased, but for the work of the men and women of the Atlanta Police Department. So I just want to say thank you, Chief, to you and the team again for working tirelessly overnight with the kidnapping and being very very accessible this morning as we had an officer involved in a shooting so again thank you to each of you and we're hoping that you will stand with us and support as it relates to mental illness in the city thank you thank you for that update council members we are back in our regular session um we don't have to make a motion i'm told i did ask and also uh

The report of the journal that we adopted, you sure that could be done on unanimous consent? We did unanimous consent. But that's fine. We usually vote. Yes. OK. All right. In that case, let's move on to communications.

Thank you, Madam President. The next item is, first item is 26C-5073. It's a communication from Council President Marcy Culler-Overstreet appointing Mr. Scott Barr to serve as a member of the Downtown Atlanta Community Improvement District. This appointment is for a term of four years. Staff recommendation to refer to Community Development Human Services Committee and Committee on Council.

Okay, let it follow that course.

Madam President, if I may take items two and three as a block. Yes, please. Item number two is 26C-5074. This is a communication from Council President Marcy Culler-Overstreet reappointing Council Member Jason Dozer to serve as a member of the Downtown Atlantic Community Improvement District. This appointment is for a term of four years. Next item is 26C-5075. This is a communication from municipal clerk Corinne Lindo submitting a report of administrative corrections made to previously adopted legislation between the regular council meeting dates of August 3rd, 2026 and August 17th, 2026 to the Atlanta City Council in accordance with Section 2-275 of the Atlanta Code of Ordinances. That's 230, 1558, and 26C. 5027 staff recommendation for both those items is to accept and file.

I'll entertain a motion to accept and file those items. So moved by one second by Bakhtiari. Please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote.

The vote's closed, 13 yeas, zero nays. 13 yeas, zero nays. Those items are accepted and filed. That concludes our communication items, Madam President. Okay, what about consideration for veto legislation? We have none. Unfinished business? There is none. Okay, that takes us to our consent agenda section one. These are the items that receive unanimous votes out of committee. Are there any items to be removed from consent agenda section one? I see Council Member Winston.

Thank you, Council President, I have two items. The first is on page nine, item number 17, that's 26-0-1445, and then number 18 on page nine as well, which is 26-0-1450. Okay, 26-0-1450, 26-0-1445.

All right, Council Member Westmoreland.

Thank you, Madam President. I've learned after our nationally televised chairs meeting this morning that I need to pull two items off consent. The first is item seven on page five, it's 2601431. And the second item is item number nine on page six, it's 2601433. Okay, please repeat that. 260-1431 is item seven on page five. And then 260-1433 is item nine on page six.

All right. Okay, Council Member Boone. Yes, thank you, Madam President. We also like to pull off 26-R-3907, item 35, page 18. 26-R-3908, item 36, page 18. Thank you.

All right, okay, I'll entertain a motion to adopt the consent agenda section one with those items being pulled. So moved by Juan, second by Bakhtiari. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote?

The vote's closed, 13 yays, zero nays. 13 yays, zero nays, consent agenda section one is adopted with those items removed. Council Member Winston, is that new or?

Yes, I'd like to send an item post haste.

Okay, which item?

Item number 26-01449. It's number 16 on page 8.

Anyone else have any items they want to send post haste? Okay, seeing none, We can accomplish this by, well, is there a second? Second. Second by Amos. Madam Clerk, this can be done by unanimous consent 26-0-1449 to be sent to the mayor's office post-haze. 13 yays, zero nays. 13 yays, zero nays. This item is sent to the mayor's office post-haze. Is that it? Okay, we're moving on to consent agenda section two. These items were introduced for first reading committees and are being referred back to their respective committees. Are there any items to be removed from consent agenda section two? None, okay, seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to refer all of the items so moved by Come council member Martin second by box. The re a madam clerk, please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Well, I won't please vote. The both close 13 years, zero nays, 13 years, zero nays.

These items are being referred back to their committees and that takes us to our standing committees. That would be Vice Chair Bakhtiari for City Utilities.

Thank you so much, Madam President. We only have two items. Okay. Item number one, 26-0-1356, item one, page 36, a substitute ordinance by City Utilities Committee to amend chapter 130, article three, and four of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to adjust the taxes, assessment, service fees, and other charges for solid waste services specified therein and clarify the qualifications required for exemption from payment for backyard collection services to amend Appendix B fees to remove all references to solid waste fees and for other purposes. The recommendation coming out of committee is to adopt.

Recommendation is to, you move to adopt. Yes, ma'am. It does not require a second because it's coming out of committee favorably. Madam Clerk, please repair the vote. The vote is open.

Will everyone please vote?

The vote's closed, that's 12 yays, one nay. 12 yays, one nays, item 26-0-13-56 is adopted.

Thank you. Item number two, 26R-3853. And I would like to motion to bring forth the substitute to read the substitute caption.

Is there a second? Second by Worthy. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote to bring forth the substitute.

The vote is open.

The vote's closed, 14 yays, 0 nays. 14 yays, 0 nays, this item is before us, the substitute is before us. Thank you so much.

A resolution by Council Members Kelsey Bond, Jason Dozier, Jason H. Winston, Liliana Bakhtiari, Andrea Boone, Antonio Lewis, Michael Julian Bond, Matt Westmoreland, and Ishe Collins as substituted and amended by City Utilities Committee and as substituted by the Atlanta City Council to establish a City of Atlanta Data Center Task Force in accordance with Section 3-401 of the City of Best Practices for the regulation of data centers and related facilities and making written recommendations to the Mayor and the Atlanta City Council to require the task force to hold no fewer than 10 public meetings and two, public hearings and to make an initial report no later than 150 days and a final report no later than 180 days from the first meeting of the task force and for other purposes. The recommendation coming out of committee is to adopt on substitute.

Recommendation coming out of committee is to adopt. We have speakers. Council Member Wan.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, this morning we all received a memo from the chief strategy officer, Zafir Senge, informing us that there is a kind of a complementary or concurrent effort going on by the administration already with a Atlanta data center strategy group. As you all know, I'm sort of low to reinvent the wheel or do multiple efforts at the same time when we really should be operating as one effort one city plus i i don't like the idea of us kind of um asking different people where there's a lot of overlap um asking the same people to serve on two unique bodies um i fully support this effort i really do think we need a group to look and review but i i think we should kind of hit the pause button for a little bit just for a chance for the administration and the author to sit down and reconcile both the membership, the objectives, and make sure that we first get the product and the deliverable we want, but that we also don't, again, tax people to ask them to serve on the same that are gonna be doing the same work. So I'm gonna offer a substitute motion to refer this back to committee only for one cycle. Cause again, this is important work. I know that they've got a internal deadline with their strategy group of October 30th, 2026. So we're kind of racing down the same time clock, but I will make that motion to give a chance to either consolidate or make sure that we minimize the overlap on this work.

Second by Norwood. Motion made by Wan to refer back to committee. Second by Norwood. Any discussion with that? Yep, let's get to the next person. Council Member Kelsey Bond.

Yeah, thank you colleagues. Fully understand the perspective of not wanting to duplicate work or strain the city departments that would be tasked with reporting to this task force. I do really want to stress that I truly hope that this paper is not held more than one cycle and I do want to explain why I think specifically a public facing task force is really essential. My understanding of The administration's perspective is right now that they are aligning city departments to create a common policy framework to guide this task force, because this is very rapidly changing technology. It's a lot to understand if you're not an engineer. So I do understand that perspective. But where I'm coming from with this, the creation of this task force specifically is to have these conversations in a public light that are publicly documented with meetings and recorded meetings and meeting minutes with the task force calls for two public hearings with the newest substitute the task force would last 150 days and would be expected to provide a report to the council and the mayor's office after 180 days and so just creating a public footprint and track record of these conversations of the conclusions that are come up with through this task force I think are very important and to make sure that we are bringing community members into this conversation, that they feel like these voices are heard. Clearly, our constituents have a lot of opinions about data centers, but importantly, to bring environmental experts and advocates to the table, to invite, sorry, I have a cold, by the way, to invite public health experts to the table, and I don't see those entities currently listed in the mayor's administration's current working group, and so I just really wanna stress that I don't think these two bodies are interchangeable. I think they serve very different purposes. I think it makes sense to not hold these two working groups or task force at the same time. But I see the initial body that is currently meeting as kind of creating a framework, and the second one to bring in those public voices, those advocate and expert voices, to make sure that no perspectives are missed in crafting data center protections in Atlanta.

Okay, thank you. Next speaker is Councilmember Martin.

Thank you so much, Madam Chair. I support the motion to hold. I think, also want to commend my colleague, I'm sorry, to refer, my apologies. I also want to thank my colleague, Councilmember Bond, because, Kelsey Bond, because this kind of conversation needs to be had. There are a lot of bad acting data centers all over the state of Georgia and all over the country. but there are also a number of innovations that are underway to address the environmental concerns, the water usage concerns, concerns around power usage, and most importantly, the public health concerns. I think we need to have a very public and robust conversation about this because I think the reality is as we become a community and a city that is ever more reliant upon streaming technology, saving pictures on our phones and all kinds of things we do in our daily lives, the public needs to understand what these technologies mean to that. And so I support the legislation and I also support the fact that we're going to refer it so that we can have and make sure that we really have the right kind of conversation and the administration can bring in the right kinds of experts on the matter. So thank you, Madam Chair.

Council Member Collins.

Yes. Thank you so much, Madam chair. Um, excuse me, Madam president, but also just want to, um, in regards to the support legislation, having been intricately involved in the recent conversations about what we are with, um, you know, not only data centers, data exchanges finding, um, in the legislations that was passed in 2024. some provisions and pieces of it. It conflicts and needs some work, but that's what we're here for. What I will say for the record, and I want my colleagues to sit on the committee as you all take this back as it referred, looking at the composition of the task force, there are five seats on the task force that is allocated to the mayor's office or mayor's designee. And so what I was thinking as well, consolidating those roles, replacing those pieces with the work group or whatever the group that the mayor already has and have that individual or that representative or that group of individuals supplement this part, not supplement, supplant this part of the legislation. I don't know if anyone else, it was new to me today, just the information in terms of what the administration is doing, a deeper dive into this topic, which I truly appreciate. So for those that are sitting, that are on city utilities, would love for you all to consider what that consolidation would look like with this being referred to committee. The second piece of this that I also want to go on record and would love for you all to consider is a composition of this task force, while it's very robust, one piece that isn't mentioned, and it could, you know, whether it's good or bad, is an entity or representative from, I don't know if it is the data center collective, whoever that individual or entity or association representative is, Because while we want to do a deeper dive in this and have very, very strong, but also what I think innovative and possibly policy of first impression and setting precedent of how we can actually get this right as a locality, but also setting the stage nationally. I do think we do have to have a balanced approach in a task force. So my last piece to that for you all to consider, again, consolidating those five seats on the administration side, working with them to understand who is this work group, who will be the representative that can supplant in that regards, and think about adding someone or some entity or some representative from the data infrastructure space, even if it's a Georgia, someone from Georgia Tech, and they are here in Atlanta to that task force so we can just truly have a robust conversation. I still support this legislation. I do think it's where we need to be just with everything that we've been involved with over the last, well me, what I've been involved with over the last year, understanding all the nuances and also the different pieces of this, but also being fully transparent with the community on it. So Madam Chair, excuse me, not Madam President, I'm going to defer there and would truly appreciate for the committee to consider those pieces next week. Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Lewis.

I truly appreciate both pieces of legislation, both from Council Member Bond and from the mayor's office, both looking at it. I've been all over this issue for the past three years. So much so that today I'll be introducing two pieces of legislation that we immediately need, one that will eliminate some of the water issues that we saw, and I'll be introducing another piece of legislation that can eliminate some of the tax loopholes that people have seen. So I've been all over this and listening to the community, also understanding that a lot of our community, if you look at the amount of people who've switched from TV to streaming services, from TV to streaming services, looking at YouTube, YouTube TV, and Netflix, just knowing that people are using this. So I don't want us to be an anti-data center city. I want us to at least be the city that gets data centers right. And so today I'll actually be introducing two pieces of legislation that will help move this forward that I'm sure that are coming across nationally because I've actually been asked to speak nationally on this issue. So thank you again for this.

Okay, so we are at referral. We have the motion and the second.

To approve, right?

To refer.

Refer.

Yeah, so Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote. The vote is open. To refer back to city utilities.

Will everyone please vote?

You did, but you're chair, so you can't do it now.

The vote's closed, 12 yays, one nay.

Oh, Council Member Bakhtiari, what is your vote? Thank you.

What is your vote?

My vote will be to refer today, but I will say I do want to make.

13 yays, one nay.

Yes, yes, sorry. If I may explain my vote. Oh, let her close it out first. Okay, go right ahead.

Sorry.

Madam President's walking me through the ABCs. Please, go right ahead.

Yep. What's up? 13 yays, one nay. This item is being referred back to committee. Council Member Bakhtiari.

Thank you. I first wanna take a moment to thank Council Member Bond for putting this forward because the data center piece has been such a contentious topic of conversation, not just in our city, but nationwide. And as we've seen, there's been really heated debates about this and people that feel very strongly. I will say that earlier, one of the things I want to highlight was earlier in the year, I think actually towards last year, we did a comprehensive base reform. And one of the biggest things we saw was we were not meeting quorum for meetings and especially for task forces. And so I appreciate what everyone has brought up. What I do want to say is Council Member Bond has my full support to work on this because I agree with them that they shouldn't. It should not be held, but I do believe in discussing consolidation and making sure there's not duplicative efforts and that people are actually going to show up to this task force and figuring out what the operations are because the last thing I want to see happen is momentum to be cut down and for us to see this base sunset or this task force sunsetted because they're not meeting. And so Councilmember Kelsey Bond, I just want to tell you that you have my full support to work with you on this during the next cycle. And I don't intend on, you personally, I do not intend on letting this get held and dying on held. So I just wanted to say that for the mic. I understand where folks are coming from, but this is extraordinarily important, and I will do everything I can to make sure that we don't lose momentum. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Vice Chair Fatiari.

Our next committee is CDHS, the Honorable Matt Westmoreland.

Thank you, Madam President. We have now three items. The... First two were removed from consent for a substitute and they, actually, you know what? I'm gonna come back to that one. Let me take item 2601435. It's a substitute ordinance by community development human services committee to waive the procurement source selection provisions contained in division four of chapter two, article 10 of the city of Atlanta code ordinances, as well as any conflicting code provisions to authorize the mayor who's designated to enter into a month-to-month agreement for a term of six months commencing on November 1st, 2026 and ending May 31st, 2027, and to amend the agreement listed herein by adding funds in an amount not to exceed $750,000.00 on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation, all contracted work to be charged to and paid from the accounts numbers listed herein and for other purposes. This is coming to the body favorable on substitute with five yays and one nay. I will make a motion to adopt.

Motion to adopt by Westmoreland does not require a second. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote. The vote is open.

Like when please vote.

Council member Lewis is a yes. The post close 12 years there on a 12 days. Zero nays. Well, Bakhtiari, where'd she go that fast? All right, 12 yays, zero nays. This item is adopted.

I'll make a motion to send that to the mayor's office post haste.

Motion by... Matt Westmoreland. Motion by Westmoreland to send to the mayor's office post haste, second by Juan. Does not require a vote. It can be done by unanimous consent. Madam Clerk, please sound that count.

12 yeas, zero nays.

12 yeas, zero nays. This item is sent to the mayor's office post-haste.

Thank you. Next two came off consent. I will need to make a motion to substitute both because the caption changes to change the dollar amount we will be receiving. So I'll make a motion to bring forth the substitute on 2601431.

Motion to bring forth substitute by Westmoreland, second by Wan. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote to bring forth the substitute.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote?

The vote is closed, 12 yeas, 0 nays. 12 yeas, 0 nays. Substitute is before us.

An ordinance by Community Development and Human Services Committee as substituted by the Atlanta City Council authorizing the mayor as designee on behalf of the State of Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services Workforce, WorkSource Atlanta Office to accept a WorkSource Innovation Opportunity Grant in an amount not to exceed $802,734.00 from the Technical College System of Georgia Office of Work Support Development to authorize the Chief Financial Officer to amend the FY27 budget by adding to anticipations and appropriations in an amount not to exceed $802,000.00. $734.00 or work shall be charged from and paid from the accounts listed herein and for other purposes. Make a motion to approve on substitute, adopt on substitute.

Motion to approve on substitute. Is there a second? Second. Second by one. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

One moment.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote.

12 yays, 0 nays. 12 yays, 0 nays. This item is adopted and substituted.

Thank you. Next up is 2601433. I'll make a motion to bring forth a substitute which changes the dollar amount by $1.

A motion by Westmoreland to bring forth the substitute second by one. Please prepare the vote.

Really?

OK. Louis, yes.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote?

13 yeas, 14 yeas, zero nays. 14 yeas, zero nays. Substitutes before us.

An ordinance by Community Development and Human Services is substituted by the Atlanta City Council authorizing the mayor as designee on behalf of the City of Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services, Workforce Atlanta Office to accept a workforce innovation opportunity grant. a dislocated worker program grant in an amount not to exceed $1,329,568.00 from the Technical College System of Georgia Office of Workforce Development to authorize the Chief Financial Officer to amend the FY27 budget by adding to anticipations and appropriations in an amount not to exceed $1,329,568.00. All work shall be charged to and paid from the accounts listed herein, and for other purposes, I will make a motion to adopt on substitute.

Motion to adopt on substitute by Westmoreland, second by Martin. Please prepare the vote.

The boat is open.

The vote's closed, 14 yays, 0 nays. 14 yays, 0 nays. This item is adopted as substituted.

That concludes our report.

Thank you, Chair Westmoreland. Moving on to transportation, the Honorable Alex Wan.

Thank you, Madam President. Colleagues, we are on page 42 of the agenda. We have two papers to address today. First item is Ordinance 260-1417, an ordinance by Transportation Committee authorizing the mayor or his designee on behalf of the city of Atlanta to abandon and convey a portion of right-of-way along the public street known as Law Street Northwest, consisting of 0.05 acres, lying and being in Landlot 113 of the 14th District of Fulton County, Georgia, and being more specifically depicted in the attached Exhibit A to Law and Order LLC, authorizing the mayor or his designee to execute a quick claim deed for such abandoned right-of-way and any other documents necessary to effectuate the abandonment and for other purposes. Recommendation from the committee is to adopt.

Motion to adopt by one, doesn't require second because it's favorable out of committee. Madam Clerk, please open the vote.

The vote is open.

The vote is closed, 13 yeas, zero nays. 13 yeas, zero nays, this item is adopted.

Next item is 26R3853, a substitute resolution by Transportation Committee supplementing a joint task order fund in an amount not to exceed $99 million and zero cents for use under agreements IFB number listed 2024 unit price contract IDIQ small with A, Astra Group LLC, B, Construction 57, Inc., C, Precision 2000, Inc., D, Southeastern Site Development, Inc., and ESDNC Inc. on behalf of the Atlanta Department of Transportation on a task order basis. All contracted work shall be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account numbers listed herein and for other purposes. This came out of committee favorable on substitute on condition. The condition has been met. Motion is to adopt.

Motion to adopt by Juan, second by Martin. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote. The vote is open.

Will LeBron please vote?

The vote calls 12 yays, zero nays. 12 yays, zero nays. This item is adopted on substitute on condition.

Madam President, that concludes my report.

I'm sorry, it's not 13.

Council Member Bakhtiari, what is your vote?

So it's 13 yays. 13 yays, zero nays. 13 yays, zero nays. This item is adopted. All right. That takes us to finance. The Honorable Jason Winston, finance exec.

Thank you, Council President. Colleagues, as you will recall, I had two items that were pulled off the consent agenda. The first is 26-0-1445. This is on page nine. Number 17, so the FEC recommendation was unanimous and as favorable. First, I would like to make a motion to bring forth the substitute.

Motion to bring forth the substitute by Winston, second by Bakhtiari. Please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote?

13 yeas, zero nays. 13 yeas, zero nays. This item is adopted. Substituted. Substituted. Yes. See, stop it. Seriously.

So we have the substitute before us, colleagues, that updates the account string. So I'll read that new caption. An ordinance by Councilmember Alex One as amended by the Finance Executive Committee as substituted by Atlanta City Council waiving sections listed through 2-1574 the city of atlanta code of ordinances authorizing the mayor or his designee on behalf of the city of atlanta to enter into an intergovernmental land swap agreement with the atlanta independent school system an entity created by an act of the georgia general assembly managed and controlled by the atlanta board of education to exchange certain city-owned real property or portions thereof to aps for property or portions thereof owned by APS to execute all documents necessary to effectuate said transactions and for other purposes. I'll make a motion to adopt and substitute it.

Motion to adopt and substitute by Winston, second by Martin. Please prepare the vote. The vote is open.

Will everyone please vote?

The vote's closed, 13 yays, zero nays. 13 yays, zero nays. This item is adopted and substituted.

Thank you. My next item is item 26-0-1450. I will also make a motion to bring forth the substitute on this item.

Motion to bring forth substitute by Winston, second by Martin. Please prepare the vote.

The vote is open.

Opposed, close. 13 yays, 0 nays. 13 yeas, zero nays. This item is the substitutes before us.

Okay. I'll read the new caption. An ordinance by Councilmember Jason A. Swinston as substituted by Finance Executive Committee and as substituted by the Atlanta City Council to amend the City of Atlanta fiscal year 2027 budget by adding to anticipations and appropriations bond proceeds in the aggregate principal amount not to exceed $200 million for the refinancing by the City of Atlanta and Fulton County Recreation Authority of the publicly financed portion of the new downtown stadium and for other purposes. Colleagues, the substitute is to match the dollar amount that was in a companion piece of legislation. So I'll make a motion to adopt as substituted.

Motion to adopt as substituted by Winston. Is there a second? Second by Amos. Is there any discussion? Councilmember Alex, one.

Thank you, Madam President. And this question is for finance. I know we had a pretty in-depth conversation about this financing mechanism. And I just want to affirm that while we are increasing the dollar amount from this from $169 million to $200 million, there remains no intent of drawing down new money for new projects and then Once I get that confirmation, what is the safeguard process either here at the city or potentially with the authority to make sure that that does not happen once we release this paper?

Yes, that is definitely the intent, and that was in the authorizing legislation 260149. If there was new money, it would have been spelt out there. This is just a refunding.

So... This one only allows you to refund the bond period. Exactly.

This does not allow us to issue any new debt.

Very good. Thank you.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Please prepare the vote. The vote is open.

Will everyone please vote? Marvis, yes.

The vote is closed, 14 yays, 0 nays. 14 yays, 0 nays. This item is adopted as substituted.

Thank you. That takes us to resolutions 26-R-3850. This item was recommended FEC recommended this item and it was favorable on condition. So I'll read the caption. A resolution by Council Member Andrea L. Boone authorizing the City of Atlanta to donate a total amount not to exceed $250,000.00 to the Grove Park Foundation, Inc. as a fiscal agent to the West Hollowell Foundation, Inc. pursuant to section number listed of the City of Atlanta's charter. to support neighborhood partnership organization capacity building services in certain neighborhood reinvestment initiative communities authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into a donation agreement which shall detail the actions of the Grove Park Foundation Inc. to provide and continue neighborhood partnership capacity building services to authorize the chief financial officer or his designee to make all payments from the accounts listed herein and for other purposes. Colleagues, I will make a motion to amend, which changes the name Brookwood Hills to Brookview Heights.

Motion to amend by Winston, second by Juan. Please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Mark the yes.

Council Member Boone, what is your vote? Aye. Ms. Moreland? 14 yays. 0 nays. 14 yays, 0 nays. This item is amended.

Thank you. That takes me to 26 days.

Oh, sorry. Move to adopt as amended.

Move to adopt as amended.

Moved to adopt as amended by Winston. Is there a second? Second. Second by Lewis. Please prepare to vote.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? Council Member Martin, what is your vote?

Collins is a yes.

She said yes.

14 yays, 0 nays. 14 yays, 0 nays. This item is adopted as amended.

All right. Now that takes us to 26-R-3911. This item was favorable. by the committee and amended resolution by Community Development Human Services Committee authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into a memorandum of understanding between the City of Atlanta and the City Parks Alliance for the 2028 Greater and Greener 2028 International Urban Parks Conference authorizing the chief financial officer to make a donation in an amount not to exceed $125,000.00 for the purpose of providing host city funding for the conference. All amounts shall be paid from park improvement accounts listed herein and for other purposes. Colleagues, I'll make a motion to bring forth the substitute, which changes the account stream from parks improvement to the general fund.

Second. Motion to Uh, a man by Winston substitute, bring forth substitute by Winston second by Martin. Madam clerk, please prepare the vote. So the vote is open.

It's a full substitute.

Okay.

Council member Amos, what is your phone?

The vote is closed, 14 yays, zero nays. 14 yays, zero nays, the substitute is before us.

Now I'll move to adopt as substituted.

Move to adopt as substituted by Winston, second by Worthy. Please prepare the vote, Madam Clerk.

The vote is open.

I mean, you gotta give me a nod or something.

Will everyone please vote?

The vote is closed.

Councilmember Hillis, what is your vote?

Fourteen yays, zero nays. Fourteen yays, zero nays. This item is adopted and substituted.

Thank you, that takes us to our last item, 26-R-3912, a resolution by Finance Executive Committee authorizing the mayor or his designee to exercise the first renewal option with account number listed, fitness center management of the on-site employee wellness center with Aquila Fitness Consulting Systems Limited on behalf of the Department of Human Resources for a term of one year effective from August 9th, 2026 through August 8th. 2027 in the amount not to exceed $419,847.96. All contracted work will be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account number listed herein and for other purposes. Colleagues, I will make a motion to file.

Motion to file. It's coming out of committee favorable to file, so it doesn't require a second. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. The vote's closed, 14 yays, 0 nays.

14 yays, 0 nays. This item is filed.

Thank you. That concludes my report.

Thank you, Chair Winston. Committee on Council. Council Member, Vice Chair Collins. Yes.

Thank you so much, Madam President. We have two items on the report. If there are no objections, we can take these items together as a block. Please do. All right communications number 26 dash C dash 5, 0, 6, 8, a communication from their Andre Dickens appointing miss Halima white Esquire to serve as a member of the civil service board. This appointment is for a term of three years. Item number 26 dash C dash 5, 0, 6, 9, a communication from mayor Andre Dickens appointing Ms. Carly Swift Esquire to serve as a member of the Stakeholder Oversight Committee. This appointment is for a term of two years. The items come before the body favorable by committee or council and from their committees of purview. Accordingly, the recommendation is to approve.

Motion to approve by Vice Chair Collins. Does not require a second. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. No, we're just gonna hide. The vote is closed, 13 yays, zero nays.

13 yays, zero nays. This item is adopted. Both items are. Great, thank you. That concludes our report. Okay, thank you, Vice Chair Collins. Our next report, public safety legal, no, it's zoning. The Honorable Mayor Norwood. No report. No report, wow. Next is Public Safety Legal Administration, the Honorable Chair Andrea Boone.

Thank you, Madam President. We have three items on today's report. Item number one, 26-0-1440, an ordinance by Councilmember Byron D. Amos to amend the Atlanta City Code, Part 2, Code of Ordinances, General Ordinances, Page 2, Administration, Article, Boards, Councils, Commissions, and Authorities, Division 2, Citizens Review Board Section 2-2020-03, appointment of members to revise the appointing authority for one young adult member of the Atlanta Citizens Review Board by replacing Street Smart Youth Project Inc. with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and for other purposes, Motion to file.

Motion to file by Chair Boone. It's coming out of committee favorable to file, so no second is needed. Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

The vote is open. Will everyone please vote? Council Member Westmoreland. Thank you. The vote's closed, 14 yays, zero nays.

14 yays, zero nays, this item is filed.

Madam President, if there are no objections, may we take the next two items together? No objections. 26-R-3907, item 35, page 18, a substitute resolution by Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee to amend resolution number 26-R-3028, which authorized payment in the amount of $1,392.51, and settlement of the property damage claim of James Carger against the city of Atlanta in order to correct the payee information and for other purposes. Item 26-R-3908, item 36, page 18, a resolution by public safety and a legal administration committee to rescind resolution number 26-R-3456 and authorizing payment in the amount of $8,000.00 in settlement of the property damage claim of Mel Bradshaw against the City of Atlanta and for other purposes. Motion to refer both items back to Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee.

Motion to refer back by Council Member Boone, second by Martin Lewis, second by Martin. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, please prepare the vote.

Martin is a yes.

The vote is open.

Amos, yes.

Council Member Amos, what is your vote?

Yes.

Fourteen yays, zero nays.

13, you said 14 or 13?

14.

14 yays, zero nays. These items are referred back to committee. Thank you, Madam President. This concludes our report. Thank you, Chair Boone. That takes us to our personal papers. Wow. We made it. It's 4.51, okay. Who is first with personal papers? We do not have any immediate consideration, so we'll move right into items to be referred. Chair Lewis.

Councilman Lewis.

Councilman Lewis. Oh, you're a chair now?

God willing, one day again. 40944. A resolution by Councilmember Antonio Lewis, Councilmember Andrea Boone, Councilmember Ishe Collins, Councilmember Byron Amos, Councilmember Michael Julian Bunn, Councilmember Wayne Martin, Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, A resolution requesting that the mayor or the Department of Finance, the Department of City Planning, Invest Atlanta and all of the applicable city departments and agencies ensure that entities, developments and operators, including but not limited to those related to data centers seeking, receiving or renewing any tax credit tax abatement, tax incentive, grant subsidy, or any other economic development benefit from the City of Atlanta shall be in full compliance with all applicable City of Atlanta taxes, fees, assessments, and financial obligations requesting that no such incentive be awarded, renewed, or dispersed to an entity development or operators including but not limited to those related to data centers that is delinquent on city taxes or other required payments requesting coordination with Fulton County and all other government entities to verify tax compliance and for other purposes.

40944 to be referred to FEC.

Elms 40947. A ordinance by Councilmember Antonio Lewis, Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, Councilmember Byron Amos, Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, Councilmember Michael Julian Bond, Councilmember Wayne Martin. An ordinance requiring data centers located within the City of Atlanta and data centers served by the City of Atlanta municipal water systems through wholesale or intergovernmental water service agreements to transition to closed-loop water cooling systems and prohibit the use of portable municipal water for routine data center cooling operations, establishing requirements for new and existing data centers, directing the Department of Watershed Management to incorporate such requirements into permits. service agreements, development agreements, and water contracts, requesting coordination with municipalities receiving City of Atlanta water, providing for exemptions in limited circumstances and for other purposes.

40947 to be referred to City Utilities. Chair Boone.

Thank you, Madam President. Elms ID number 40945, and it's by Councilmembers Andrea L. Boone and Michael Julian Bond to install two permanent historical markers at Washington Park, recognizing the park's more than 100 years of history and the historic Washington Park pool to authorize the installation of an interior commemorative plaque within the Washington Park Natatorium and for other purposes.

40945 to be referred to CDHS.

Hey, Boone, I think I signed on to that one as well. Councilmember Ishe Collins and Byron Amos. Thank you.

ELMS ID number 40911, an ordinance by Councilmember Andrea L. Boone authorizing the mayor or the chief financial officer to execute, deliver, and perform a master lease agreement between the city and its assigned leaser, one or more related financing schedules. Any escrow or other agreements are related to the acquisition of communications equipment, but used by the Atlanta Police Department provided that such lease Financing shall be authorized in a combined principal amount not to exceed plus an applicable interest component. All rental payments will be charged to and paid from the fund department and organization number as determined by the chief financial officer and for other related purposes.

40911 to refer to FEC.

ELM's ID number 40954, a resolution by Councilmembers Andrea O. Boone and Michael Julian Bond to create the Municipal Option Sales Tax. Alternative uses tax force to evaluate opportunities for the future utilization of most to examine the fiscal, legal, operational, and policy implications of modifying the use of most proceeds to develop recommendations concerning the next potential and most of any state or local legislative changes necessary to authorize the additional uses and for other purposes.

40954 to be referred to FEC.

An ordinance by Council Member Andrea O. Boone. An ordinance to retroactively authorize the mayor or his designee to exercise the first renewal option for RFPS 1220354 Fitness Center Management of the On-site Employee Wellness Center with Aquila Fitness Consulting Systems, LTD, on behalf of the Department of Human Services for a term of one year effective August 9th. through August 8th, 2027 in an amount not to exceed $490,847.96 to ratify the acceptance of services rendered and the payment of any invoices. Therefore, in connection there with beginning August 2026 through the execution of the renewal authorized hereby, all contracted work will be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account number listed here and for other purposes. 40903 to be referred to FEC. Thank you, Madam President. Elms ID number 40952, a resolution by Councilmembers Andre L. Boone, Michael Julian Bond, Ishe Collins, requesting the Mayor's Office, Department of Aviation, and other appropriate city departments to conduct a comprehensive analysis of city-owned airport-related properties. located outside the current operational footprint of Hartsville-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for a potential public economic development and revenue generating uses and evaluation of potential uses including but not limited to and evaluation like industrial uses, information technology related uses such as data centers and data transfer facilities and other public or community serving uses, requesting an assessment of the feasibility of establishing a special improvement district enterprise zone or other appropriate economic development or value capture mechanism to capture or reinvest incremental revenues generated from potential land uses, requesting that the findings and recommendations be submitted within 120 days of approval of this resolution and for other purposes.

40952 to be referred to transportation. Thank you, Madam President. Okay. Thank you, Chair Boone. We got... Wayne Martin, Councilmember Martin.

Thank you so much, Madam President. Ready to read in my one piece of legislation. Okay. ILMS ID 40959, a resolution by council members Wayne Martin, Andrea Boone, Jason Dozier, Thomas Worthy, Alex Wan, Dustin Hillis, Michael Julian Bond, Ishe Collins, Mary Norwood, Antonio Lewis, and Byron Amos. A resolution requesting that the Atlanta Police Department, in coordination with the mayor's office, conduct a comprehensive study on the feasibility of establishing a seventh Atlanta Police Department patrol zone and for other purposes.

40959 to be referred to Public Safety Legal Administration. Thank you so much, Madam President.

You know, I have a paper like that, too. Yes, ma'am.

Oh. Yep.

And Georgia Tech. Oh, I'm ready. Georgia Tech is supposed to be doing the work. So let's talk about that.

Thank you, Madam President. Ams 40943, ordinance by Councilmember Byron D. Amos to amend the Charter of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, 1996, Georgia law listed, adopted under and by virtue or authority of the Municipal Home Rule Act of 1965, Georgia Code, listed as amended by amending part one, chapter and related laws subpart A, Charter, appendix... 4, Citizens Review Board, Section 3, appointment of members to revise the appointing authority for one young adult member of the Atlanta Citizens Review Board by replacing Street Smart Youth Project, Inc. with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and for other purposes.

40943 to be referred to Public Safety Legal Administration.

AMS 40940, an ordinance by council member Byron D. Amos to amend chapter 14 amusement entertainment article five four, and that ordinance is authorized by state law listed related to the operations of bonafide corn operated machines, amusement machines, and to amend chapter 10 article 2 division 2 subsection 2 section 10 109 to provide that the violation of certain state laws or certain city ordinance related to the operation of corn operating machines shall be due cause for adverse actions to be taken against a license to sell alcoholic beverages and for other purposes 40940 to be referred to public safety and finance dual referred AMS ID 40906, a resolution by Councilmember Byron De Amos authorizing the mayor or his designee to initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to state law listed against property located at 748 Neal Street Northwest to remedy blight within the city of Atlanta and for other purposes.

40906 to CDHS.

Ams 40905, a resolution by Councilmember Byron D. Amos authorizing the mayor or his designee to initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to state law listed against property located at 699 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard to Remedy Blight within the city of Atlanta.

40905 to be referred to CDHS.

Ams 40904, a resolution by Councilmember Byron D. Amos authorizing the mayor or his designee to initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to state law listed against property at 533 English Avenue Northwest to remediate blight within the city of Atlanta.

40904 to be referred to CDHS.

and AMS ID 40908, a resolution by Councilmember Byron D. Amos authorizing the mayor or his designee to initiate combination proceedings pursuant to state law listed against property located at 293 Sunset Avenue Northwest to remedy blight within the city of Atlanta and for other purposes.

40908 to be referred to CDHS.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you. We have Councilmember Worthy.

Thank you, Madam President. First paper is ELMS ID 40946, a resolution by Councilmember Thomas Worthy requesting the mayor is designee to make the intersections of North Ivy Road Northeast, NYUCA Ward Northeast, and Lordens Road Northeast, NYUCA Road Northeast three-way stop controlled intersections to request that the Atlanta Department of Transportation install stop signs and rumble strips at the intersections and for other purposes.

40946 to refer to transportation.

Elms ID 4 0 9 4 9, a resolution by council member Thomas worthy requesting that the commissioner of the Atlanta department of transportation to relocate the existing beginning point of the Sarah Smith elementary schools school zone Eastward towards the section of path 400 trail and why you could road Northeast to promote a safe environment for students attending the Sarah Smith elementary school and for other purposes.

40949 to be referred to transportation.

Elms ID 40951, a resolution by Councilmember Thomas Worthy requesting the mayor is designated to install a pedestrian crosswalk in the vicinity of Lordens Road Northeast and Wayuka Road Northeast and for other purposes.

40951 to be referred to transportation.

Elms ID 40948, an ordinance by Councilmember Thomas Worthy to waive the procurement source selection provisions contained in Chapter 2, Article 10, Division 14, Real Estate of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances, as well as any other conflicting code resolutions authorizing the mayor as designee on behalf of the City of Atlanta to execute all appropriate documents granting Arpit Realty LLC, a Georgia Limited Liability Company, an access easement agreement consisting of approximately 26,833 square feet or .616 acre over through and upon a portion of city-owned real property located in Landlot 189 of the 19th District, 3rd Section, Paulding County, Georgia, for the purpose of constructing, utilizing, and maintaining an access road and for other purposes.

40948 to be referred to transportation.

Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilmember Worthy. Councilmember Hillis. Chair Hillis.

Thank you. First is Elms ID 40958, an ordinance by Councilmember Dustin Hillis waiving the fees related to encroachment agreements set forth in the City Code of Ordinances section listed and Appendix B, authorizing the mayor or his designee on behalf of the City of Atlanta to execute an encroachment agreement with the Shannon Simpson for the purpose of allowing an installed retaining wall in the right-of-way located at 1896 Mallard Street, Northwest Atlanta, Georgia 30318 and for other purposes.

40958 to be referred to transportation.

ELMS ID 40916, a resolution by Councilmember Dustin Hillis authorizing the Mayor and his designee to enter into cooperative agreements for the purchase of battery, electric, medium, and heavy duty vehicles and electric vehicle supply equipment for the Ecofleet ATL program to provide for payment from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Heavy Duty Vehicles Grant Fund and local match funds allocated to the Department of Aviation and the Department of Public Works Office of Fleet Services with a total amount not to exceed $3,338,707.84 and for other purposes. Oops, I'm sorry. 40916 to refer to city utilities. Elms ID 40907, a resolution by council members Dustin Hillis and Andrea Boone authorizing the mayor, his designee, to initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to OCGA section listed against property located at 2795 Donnelly-Hottowell Parkway Northwest to remedy blight within the city of Atlanta and for other purposes.

40907 to refer to CDHS.

Please, my items, thank you.

Thank you. We have Chair Wan.

Thank you, Madam President. I've got ELMS ID 40901, a resolution by Councilmember Alex Wan, authorizing the mayor who is designated on behalf of the city of Atlanta to execute all documents necessary to consent and approve the assignment to OTG Concessions Management LLC from OHM Concession Group LLC for FC... 5467 concourses B and F food and beverage concessions at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport package number seven and for other purposes for zero nine zero two to be for transportation I know one that was one yes ma'am so is it Oh HG or Oh HM Oh HM oh no

to OHM?

Correct.

That's supposed to be O2.

They're both the same companies. Both papers have the same companies, just different concourses.

Okay, so it's fine. See right here? One says OHG, the other one says OHM.

It's the same? Okay, yeah.

Yeah, these are...

I did 4091.

Just so you know, you'll all need to look at those acronyms. Okay, thanks. 40901 to be referred to transportation.

Sorry about that. 40902, a resolution by council member Alex Wan authorizing the mayor or his designee on behalf of the city of Atlanta to execute all documents necessary to consent and approve the assignment to OTG concessions management LLC from OHM concession group LLC for FC 8484 concessions lease agreement food and beverage concessions on concourse C midpoint at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and for other purposes.

40902 to be referred to transportation.

All right, and then Elms ID 40927. This is an ordinance by Councilmember Alex Juan and all the other members of Council, except for Michael Bond, since he's not here, but to authorize a donation to the Atlanta Pride Committee in an amount not to exceed blank on behalf of the Atlanta City Council to support the 2026 Atlanta Pride Festival pursuant to Section 6306 of the City of Atlanta Charter and for other purposes.

40927 to be referred to FEC.

Thank you. Not yet, I'll come find you.

Do you wanna stop? Okay. But I would love to, as always. Okay.

Council Member Bond. Kelsey Bond. All right. Elms ID 40941, an ordinance by Council Members Kelsey Bond and Liliana Bakhtiari to amend the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances Part 2, Ordinances Chapter 2, Administration, Article 2, Council, Division 2, Meeting, Subdivision 2, Rules of Procedure, Section 2-104, Remarks from Public to Expand Opportunity to Provide Public Comment. by allowing members of the public to speak in order of sign up during public comment at city council meetings and for other purposes.

40941 to be referred to COC, Committee on Council. Oh, Chair, well.

Speaking into the universe.

Not chair, Dozier.

Thank you, Madam President.

Oh, okay.

First item is ELMS number 40953, a resolution by Councilmember Jason S. Dozier urging the Atlanta Department of Transportation to preserve, maintain, and enhance a protected multi-use path along Centennial Olympic Park Drive. to maintain the facilities as a permanent component of the city's multimodal transportation network to continue implementation of a safe and continuous connection between downtown, midtown, the Atlanta University Center, MARTA, major sports and entertainment venues and other destinations and for other purposes.

Okay, I'm already talking, which one was that? All right, it's 40953 to refer to transportation.

My final item is ELMS number 40926, an ordinance by Councilmember Jason Dozier to amend Part 3 Land Development Code Part 16 Zoning Chapter 18R Mechanicsville Neighborhood Special Public Interest District Regulations Section 16-18R.012 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances to amend permitted awnings and canopies and for other purposes.

40926 to refer to zoning.

Is that it?

Chair Winston.

Thank you, Council President. I have two items. The first is ELMS ID 40914, a resolution by Council Member Jason H. Winston authorizing the Commissioner of the Department of Watershed Management to adjust water and sewer service charges on certain customer accounts in accordance with the City of Atlanta Code Section 154-28 in an amount of $90,402.39 and for other purposes. 40914 to be referred to FEC. Elms ID 40915, resolution by Council Member Jason H. Winston authorizes the Chief Financial Officer to refund customers for overpayments to water and sewer accounts in the amount of $242,247.38, all funds to be charged to and paid from the fund department organization and account number listed herein and for other purposes.

40915 to be referred to FEC.

Thank you.

That's it? Okay. Council Member Collins.

Thank you, Madam President. Elms number 40957, an ordinance by Council Members Ishe Collins, Antonio Lewis, and Matt Westmoreland to amend Chapter 10, Article 2, Section 1094 of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances in order to provide an exemption from the distant requirements to a private residence and public library set forth in sections 10-88A and B of the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances for on-premises consumption for 633 Deal Avenue Southwest and for other purposes.

Okay. Collins. 40957 to refer to PSLA. Yes ma'am, thank you.

Elms ID number 40913, a resolution by council members Mary Norwood and Ishe Collis authorizing the mayor or his designee to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the state of Georgia Department of Transportation on behalf of the Department of Watershed Management for design, build, construction services relating to Georgia Department of Transportation project PI number 0017135. slash 0019965 I-285 top end express lanes phases one and two, including the removal, relocation, protection, or adjustment of certain city water and sanitary, excuse me, sanitary sewer utility facilities within the project limits at no cost to the city, authorizing the city to provide a Build America by America Act certificate of compliance and for other purposes. 40950 to be referred to transportation. Great, thank you. And my last one is ELMS ID number 40950, a resolution by council members Mary Norwood, Thomas Worthy, and Isha Collins authorizing the mayor or his designee to execute a project management agreement with Buckhead Community Improvement District for the Northside Resurfacing and Concrete Repairs Project and the Longleaf Drive Westbrook Haven Drive and Terrace Drive resurfacing project to execute any required agreements for the project participation and implementation on behalf of the Atlanta Department of Transportation in an amount not to exceed $4,500,000.00. All contracted work to be charged to and paid from the fund, department organization and account numbers listed herein and for other purposes.

So that is 40950. That goes to transportation. The one before that was 40913 should be going to refer to city utilities. Yes. Thank you. Yes, Madam President. Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks. There you go. Okay. Good evening. Elms 40955, ordinance by Westmoreland and Collins authorizing a donation in an amount not to exceed blank to the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta pursuant to section 6306 of the Steve Linus Charter to support LGBTQ outreach and for the Mayor's Youth Scholarship Program and for other purposes.

40955 to be referred to FEC.

40956, Westmoreland, Bakhtiari, Wan, and Collins, to donate an amount and a total amount not to exceed blanked in-town collaborative ministries pursuant to Section 6303 of the City of Atlanta's Charter to support place-based street outreach and rehousing through the In-Town Carers Homeless Services Program, authorizing the mayor as designated to enter into initial agreements to effectuate the donation, authorize the chief financial officer as designated to make the donation authorized hereby from the council to herein and for other purposes.

40956, to refer to FEC.

Thank you.

Colleagues we do have an item for immediate consideration that's been brought to my attention. And that will be done by Council Member Boone.

Thank you, Madam President. ELMS ID number 40960, a resolution by Council Members Andrea L. Boone, Ishe Collins, recognizing the newly chartered South Fulton and City of Atlanta area section of the National Council of Negro Women Incorporated and for other purposes.

Do I need to read all of the whereases?

Yes.

Whereas the National Council of Negro Women Inc., N-C-N-W, founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod, is comprised of more than 350 campus and community-based sections and 37 national women's organizations, collectively enlightening, inspiring, and connecting over 2 million women and men. Whereas the NCNW's mission is to lead, advocate for, and empower women of African descent, their families, and communities through civic engagement, education, economic empowerment, health, equity, and social justice. And whereas on June 18th, 2026, the South Fulton area section of the NCNW was officially chartered with the charter ceremony scheduled to be held on August 23rd, 2026. Whereas the South Fulton and City of Atlanta area section brings together a diverse body of charter members who collectively contribute their talent, service, and leadership to strengthen the community and advance NCNW's four national priority areas. And whereas the programs and initiatives of NCNW are rooted in addressing critical concerns that uplift women and families. Now therefore be resolved by the city of Atlanta that the city council of the city of Atlanta congratulates and recognizes the newly chartered city of Atlanta, South Fulton area section of the national council of Negro women incorporated for its commitment to service empowerment and community advancement.

Motion to approve.

Move approval by Martin second by worthy. Please prepare the vote. Madam clerk.

The vote is open.

Oh, good. Okay, what's more left? Council Member Boone, how do you vote? Aye.

What's more left, I'm gonna make it.

Councilmember Lewis?

Norwood's gone. Councilmember Amos? He's not here. Is Amos here?

Kelsey Bond, how do you vote? Bond is aye, Boone is aye.

That's it. Aye.

Westmoreland, aye. Lewis is away.

Westmoreland's an aye.

All right. 12 yays, zero nays. 12 yays, zero nays. This resolution is adopted. Thank you, Madam President. And that takes us to our general remarks. Does anyone have general remarks? I actually do. I want to, you have general remarks? I'll get started. I want to congratulate my sister, Dr. Cherry Collier. Now she's Cherry Davis. She married now, y'all. And I just want to congratulate her and Tump. I'm so excited about their reunion. And we had a really good time celebrating them and their marriage on 8th. 8 p.m. We had a good time and that takes us to councilmember bond Michael Julian bond will be followed by councilmember Boone and Martin Thank You madam president earlier today There appeared to be a Unfortunate disagreement about protocol I

Marcus Aurelius teaches us that though he was emperor of all Rome, he followed the philosophy of stoicism. And in that philosophy, you are taught that you cannot control the actions or words or deeds of others, but you are in wholly, 100% control over yourself. And so with that, I failed to follow stoicism for which I practiced. So I wanted to come to the mic today. Well, I wanted to do it earlier, but I had a doctor's appointment at 3, so I had to leave. But I'm here now. And I believe that offenses that are committed in public though I was encouraged to do otherwise, to pull people to the side and make my apologies in private. But I feel that if people felt that they were offended in public, the only restitution for that is to make that apology in public. And so to colleagues, presiding officers, and particularly the staff, I want to apologize for losing my temper earlier. It was inappropriate. You know, the city council is not a clubhouse. And though you may know people for years and feel familiar with them, there's a certain level of decorum that we have to display for this institution, this separate branch of government, and that extends to our personal behavior. And I felt sort of that earlier today, so I want to apologize. But I want to extend my apology further, really, to the staff. I've said this before, there's an ancient African proverb that says, when elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers. The staff doesn't come to work today to be subject to personality conflicts or disagreements of those that have supervisory roles above them. They're here to work and they do an exceptional job. So I wanted to make sure that I extend an additional apology to all the members of the staff who show up at this great institution and work every day. And so with that, I will begin my closing of this statement. I want to apologize, and I want to reassure the public that I wanted to make my statement earlier while they were still here and before I had to leave to go to my appointment. But this is on tape, so if they care to see it, they will. That we need to continue to strive to preserve this place and its decorum as for what it is. And no matter how many years of familiarity that we may have with one another, where we forget our decorum, that we still have to strive to meet the standard of our institution that we all love and serve in. And so with that, Madam President, I withdraw.

Thank you. And received by us all.

Next is Council Member Boone. Thank you, Madam President. It's cupcake time and it's birthday time. We would like to wish council members Alex One and Kelsey Bond a happy birthday. Please join us for cupcakes, ice cream, and all types of goodies. Thank you all for what you do for the city of Atlanta. Council member Alex One and Kelsey Bond have a wonderful, wonderful birthday celebration throughout the month. Also, we have a congratulations to our president, Marcy Correa-Overstreet, who received an Alzheimer's Advocate Award yesterday at the Atlanta Aquarium, her fight with her neighbors to help research. And help with the caregivers has not gone unnoticed. And she was awarded on yesterday. Big crowd. We are so very proud of your advocacy for Alzheimer's and your fight continues with your neighbors. Thank you, President Overstreet. Congratulations.

Thank you, Chair Bone. Next is Councilmember Wayne Martin.

Yes, thank you so much, Madam President. We always celebrate our students that are in grade school that return back to school, but I want to celebrate our college students in Atlanta. Our Atlanta universities and colleges really make us the vibrant city that we are. So to every student that's going to CAU, Morris Brown, Morehouse, Spelman, Georgia State, there we go, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Emory University and all the other schools that make Atlanta such a rich academic environment. We wish you a happy return to your school year and to my son who entered into the Morehouse class of 2030. I'm watching you. Straight A's. Thank you.

All right. Anyone else with any general remarks? Okay. See you, Nunn.

we are ready for our roll call.

Madam Clerk.

Yes, Madam President, thank you so much. We have Madam Council President Marcy Culler-Overstreet. Present. Council Member Michael Julian Bond. Yes. Council Member Matt Westmoreland, post two at large.

Yes.

Council Member Ishae Collins, post three at large. Yes. Council Member Jason H. Winston, District 1.

Yes.

Council Member Kelsey Bond, District 2. Yes. Councilmember Byron D. Amos, District 3. Councilmember Jason Dozer, District 4. Present. Councilmember Lilliana Bakhtiar. Here. Councilmember Alex Wan. Here. Councilmember Thomas Worthy.

Present.

Councilmember Mary Norwood, District 8. Sorry. Councilmember Dustin Hillis, District 9. Wait, I'll do this. Councilmember Andrea Obun, District 10. Present. Council Member Wayne Martin, District 11. Council Member Antonia Lewis, District 12.

I love it. All right. That's our adjourn and roll call. With that, we are adjourned. Thank you, public. That was a good meeting. You're supposed to be up here. Come on. Wait a minute.

Back up, buddy.