Mayor and Council - Regular Meeting

Hi, Brio.

Thank you.

We're going to get this meeting started. You want to hit it again?

Hit it again.

All right. Welcome, everyone. We've got a pretty packed house tonight. A lot of good things going on. I want to... I'll formally introduce her in a little more detail coming up. But we have our honorary mayor of the day. This is Eliana Fonts, and she's five years old, and it's at St. Benedict's, and she is going to help me run the meeting tonight. So you can all give her a round of applause. That'd be just great. We have tonight Mr. Welch. Councilman Welch is going to lead us in the invocation and pledge. If you all will please rise.

Let us pray. Our kind and gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for just bringing us here tonight to do the business of the city of Smyrna. And we just ask that you bless each and every one of us, Lord. Help us to be civil. Help us to bring forth the best decisions that we can for all of the citizens. We ask that you watch over each of our police and fire, Lord, as they go through their duties on a weekly basis. Be with us this evening as we travel home. In your name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, Mr. Welch. We have one agenda change. We spoke in pre-council about the bollards that are blocking traffic on King Street between Bank and Powder Springs. We've had those up for the FIFA watch parties, and I think it's the will of the council to leave those up at least through when everybody's back in school and we meet again. uh, August 17th. So I need a motion to add to the agenda. That would be agenda item to be under consent, uh, agenda item D to leave the bollards up through, uh, August, Monday, August 17th. Can I have a motion to add that? Okay. Uh, Mr. Lindley has made the motion. Ms. Hines had seconded, uh, everyone please vote. Okay, that's added to the agenda. That will be under consent. Item D. Next is my mayoral report. It's been a month since we've met. That's typical of the summer. And we've had quite a bit going on since then. We had, as I mentioned, the FIFA World Cup watch parties at our green space. We aired every match. And so we've had anywhere from a few hundred to 2,000 people down there. And it's been a really good community event. Along that time, we had the Brush and Boxes art event. And so if you were down there for FIFA, you've seen those art boxes along King. That was a great community event there. We've had our summer concert series. We had a Juneteenth celebration that I understand had almost 9,000 people this time, which was almost close to double what we had the last time, shepherded in by Mr. Oglesby. And then if you've been just right around here down, uh, by our city hall, we have 250 American flags out on our veterans Memorial for our country's 250th birthday. And it looks fantastic. So, uh, I want to thank all of our staff, uh, public safety and parks and rec and public works for all of their efforts. And I'm sure they're very happy that we had the FIFA world cup watch parties and I'm almost positive. They're sure they're glad that they're, they're done now. So, um, Thank you to the staff. Now, to our very important item of business, we need to introduce formally our honorary mayor of the day. This is Eliana Marie Fonts. She's five years old and is preparing to start kindergarten at St. Benedict's Episcopal School. In addition to participating in tonight's council meeting, she has had a big day. We met at City Hall with she and her parents, Mike and Allie, And their sister, Brielle, who are right over here. Brielle is taking residence on this first pew right here. We had a good meal. We had a tour of City Hall. We went and had lunch, talked about all things Smyrna and got some good spaghetti, didn't we? And they got a police escort over to the police station and toured that and the fire department. And you got to go up on the fire engine today. and now is helping me run the meeting. So we're very thrilled to have you here. What I found out at lunch was she's very sweet and polite and was one of the best colorers I've ever seen, all in the lines.

Mr. Mayor, if you don't mind, I like to keep discourse between the PD and the fire department. Yes. Would you ask her which one she enjoyed most?

Yeah, if you had to say which one did you like more, the police station or the fire? This is the honorary mayor for the day and maybe a future mayor. You never know. That was a great answer. All right, so what we're going to do now is come down and get a photo, okay? Come on down with me. Where do you want us? Right here? Is this a good spot? Come on over here. Let me get down here with you. Make sure you get the city seal in the back.

Awesome. Y'all want to come up? Sure. Y'all come get them. Y'all come get them.

You don't want to be in it? Oh, man. Okay. All right.

Come on. Thank you.

Now, you've got to come back up with me and help me run the movement. I told everybody my daughter is almost 11. but this is her about six years ago. It's pretty crazy how fast it goes. So next, and we've had the pleasure of having several groups here who have excelled in both academics and athletics, and tonight is just another one. But we are so proud of the Whitfield Academy boys soccer team who were the state champions. And they've been good each of the last four years. I think they finished number three, number four, number two last year, and then number one this year. Is that right? So all the way have been awesome. And, Coach, if you want to come up, and I'll have you introduce your players. But this is just a little bit about this team. They were the GHSA Class A, AAA Private State Champions. Man of the match was Jack Raymer. Where's Jack? There we go. Awesome. The Region 5A Champions, ranked number one for Class A, ranked number four in the state of Georgia, all classification, ranked number 12 in the nation for spring soccer. I can't imagine how many. Teams are out there. We've got the number 12 team right here in Smyrna. Their season record was 21-1. They went through region, not losing a match, 6-0, 6 wins, no losses. They scored 88 goals and only gave up 11. Pretty awesome. So here's your first team 5A all-region players. Ruben Clarson, Player of the Year. Where's Ruben? Bo Bradford. Bo here? No, Bo's not here. Okay, well, we'll do a special recognition for Bo at another meeting. Camilo Hanau. Is that right?

All right.

Roman Lindsey. Titus Messner.

Titus. All right.

Cole Rabelais. And Parker Shim. Ruben Clarkson was also a first team Al Cobb County along with Cole Rabelais and Parker Shim and then Ruben. Jack Raymer and Roman Lindsay were first team all state. They had four final four appearances, two state final appearances, one state championship, and I already mentioned their rankings over the last couple years. So Coach Peterson, Coach Whitaker, you all want to come up and say a little bit about this team and kind of the road to it and what you all have accomplished? We are so, so excited you brought a state championship. Just speak right into the microphone. That way the thousands of people watching at home will be able to hear you too.

Yeah, of course. Well, thank you for having us here. Really appreciate it. Just wanted to introduce the guys that are here today. Ethan Whitaker, defender. Mikey Calloway, defender. Parker Shem, striker. Jack Raymer, winger. Cash Peterson, also my younger brother, midfielder. Jack Holton, defender. Jackson Malhotra, defender. Louis Register, defender. Reuben Clarkson, goalkeeper, going to play at Cornell in the fall. Roman Lindsey, midfielder, defender, attacker, played all over the place. Michael Johnson, midfielder, Camilo Henao, defender, Liam O'Halloran, midfielder, and Ryan Holton, defender. So thank you for having us. These guys had a great season. Coach Hellyer, our head coach, is not here today, but just a few words about the team. They played with a lot of heart, a lot of passion. I thought they represented the Whitfield community really well. It was an honor to coach them, and I thought they represented the greater community of Smyrna and Cobb County really well. So really proud to coach you guys this year, if you had anything to say as well.

Again, equally as proud of these boys, proud of the support we got from Smyrna as well. I'll say the inspiration, belief, comes before ability. These boys did not have the ability to win state when I started working with them four years ago. Over time, we built the ability, but they never lost belief. They kept the belief, and by the time we played Atlanta International School this senior year, this year, we were the better team, weren't we, boys?

Yeah.

And then that was tantamount to us beating the Soviet Union in Lake Placid on 1980. After that, we weren't going to lose the final match. So these boys are awesome. They have great parents, great schooling, and we're all very blessed. So thank you, Mayor Norton.

We're going to come down and get a photo. Our honorary mayor of the day would like to say something to you boys.

Congratulations. Congratulations.

We'll get right here.

We would like to present to you something very, very special to us. I think it should go right above. Right there?

I thought you were giving me that. Oh, you get to keep that. This has to go right there. That goes right there. Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. Y'all, come here. Let's get a picture. I like that. Does this look okay, Carson?

What do we need to do?

Tell them you direct traffic here.

If you can see the camera, he can see you.

Awesome, guys. Congratulations. Thank you. Awesome.

Congratulations. Cornell?

This is the part where y'all came to be recognized and we're very proud of you. And if you're looking to catch up on your sleep, you can stay for the rest of the meeting, but you don't have to. So this is your chance.

Next is item seven.

Item seven is community development items, and we have a public hearing. This is zoning request Z26-004. allow rezoning from GC to TD conditional for the development of six single-family attached dwelling units at a density of 5.71 units per acre, 1.05 acres, land lot 606-4691 Camp Highland Road. Melissa Murillo. And Joey, you're going to handle the presentation for us?

Yes, sir. This is rezoning case C26-004. Prior to the May 11th Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the applicant met with the community. The recommendation from the Planning Board on the May meeting was to deny five to zero. The applicant had another meeting with the community between that and the next hearing, which was July 13th, and the Planning and Board Zoning Commission recommended approval three to one. This shows the location of the property. It's at the intersection of Camp Island and Argo Road, specifically 4691 Camp Island Road. It's 1.05 acres. It's currently vacant, and they're proposing six townhome units. The existing zoning is general commercial. Most of this area used to be zoned general commercial, and some of it's been rezoned for residential. The future land use is medium density residential, which is up to six units per acre. So it is under that six units per acre cap. This is the original site plan that the first Planning and Zoning Commission saw. It had the open space dog park area at the intersection. It had the detention area adjacent to Woodland Brook. They heard a lot of comments about relocating the detention pond and the proposed open space. And that is shown on the next revision. So originally they did need a side setback reduction between this town home unit number one and Woodenbrook. So they have shifted it to meet that setback. They've pulled it up to Camp Highland, 10 feet from the property line, and the front setback on Argo is 20 feet. They meet the side setback requirement of 25 feet and the rear setback of 30 feet. So that's the location of the townhome building. TWO CAR GARAGES ON EACH UNIT WITH TWO PARKING SPACES IN FRONT OF THE GARAGES AND SEVEN GUEST PARKING SPACES. THE ACCESS DRIVE WILL BE ON ARGO SOUTH OF THE PROPERTY AS THEY CAN MAKE IT AWAY FROM THE INTERSECTION. THE STORMWATER DETENTION AREA HAS BEEN MOVED FURTHER AWAY FROM WOODENBROOK AND THERE'S SANITARY SEWER LINE. mail kiosk and the open space has been moved to the northwest part of the site or southwest. They will be installing a five foot sidewalk and two foot grass strip on Camp Island and Argo. They're proposing, well they're committed to putting in a raised crosswalk and flashing beacon to cross over Camp Island and to act as a traffic calming measure. So the two variances are the front setback along Camp Highland from 25 feet to 10 feet and the front setback reduction on Argo from 25 feet to 20 feet. between the meeting on the 13th with the Planning and Zoning Commission and they have revised the renderings to have three stories facing Camp Highland and four levels on the back of the property where the garages will be accessed. The top portion of the rear will be deck area, so it's not heated floor area. These were the original elevations. The community had a lot of opinions about the appearances that they tried to make them more traditional looking. They did do a traffic study. The traffic study estimated that they would have 3 a.m. peak hour trips and 3 p.m. peak hour trips with 42 two-way 24-hour trips. Along with the level of service analysis, this development is not proposed to make any change to the level of service for the intersections that were studied. These are examples of the finishes they're proposing, the subject property, and some adjacent properties. We're recommending approval from the rezoning to GC to TD conditional. with the standard conditions and special conditions regarding the setbacks. They're responsible for fire, water and sewer and stormwater improvements. They will install the five foot sidewalk and two foot grass strip along the road frontage. They will have a minimum of seven guest parking spaces. They'll have a maximum of six townhomes with two car garages Right-of-way dedication on Argo Road. They will provide the raised crosswalk with the flashing beacon along Camp Island and is conditioned to the submitted site plan elevations provided with the application. I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Can you say any questions?

Any questions of council?

Yeah, just a few. Thank you, Joey, for your presentation. Are the developers here today? Yes, they are. Will they be able to answer some questions? Yes.

Okay.

I'll hold my questions for you.

We've got one question. Mr. Gould. Joey, a few years ago, we put a lot of work into townhome standards. Yes. More updated, modern look, but does it meet all the townhome standards? It does. So architectural dimensions and all the things that we require, we maintain high quality.

Yes, they're compliant with that.

Mr. Mayor, I do have one question for Joey. Currently, it's zone GC, correct? Correct. Can you let our audience who may not be well-versed in that, what GC means to us currently as a city?

General commercial is the most, allows the most uses in our zoning ordinance. It is mostly auto-oriented uses, retail, landscape contractors. There's about 100, over 100 different uses that are allowed in GC.

All right. Quick trip, racetrack?

Yeah. Okay.

What happens if, say, a quick trip wants to move into that space tomorrow?

I mean, it would depend on their site plan. They may need variances, but it would be an allowable use under the zoning ordinance.

Okay. Thank you.

Any other questions of Joey?

Okay.

I'd like to invite the applicant up now. Hello.

Hi.

You need to swear her in.

Okay. Okay. Hi.

Yes, I do.

Good evening. You'll just state your name for the record?

Yes. My name is Melissa Marilla. Thank you, everyone, for your time here. The soccer team is a hard act to follow. As Joey explained to everyone, since our project was submitted the first time, we've made several significant changes. And I won't go through everything in detail. Joey's covered a lot of things. Here on our first slide, we basically show the first site plan that was submitted and our final site plan. All of the changes that we made are represented by the green check marks here. This is the final site plan that shows the dog park that was moved to the western side of the development and the detention pond moved to the lower southern side. We led the corner of Argo Road and Camp Highland and empty space so that there's plenty of visibility there since traffic was a big concern of everyone. This is our fire truck turn exhibit just showing how the southern entrance on Argo Road allows for the fire truck to have plenty of room to go in and turn around and come out. Following the discussions with the city staff and also considering public input, we relocated the playground and the dog park, as I mentioned, to the western side of the development. and the detention pond to the southern side. These changes create a safer amenity area and they improve storm water management and they better integrate the features into the development while maintaining the enhanced landscape buffers. As I mentioned, safety's been a big concern of everyone's. With that in mind, we preserved the visibility triangle at the intersection of Camp Highland and Argo Road by limiting landscaping to low-height plantings and maintaining unobstructed sight lines. In addition, we are proposing, with the city's recommendation, a raised pedestrian crossing with a flashing beacon signage to improve pedestrian safety and increase driver awareness. Another change to the project was the enhancement of the landscape buffers. We increased the side buffer from 20 feet to 25 feet and the rear buffer from 25 feet to 30 feet to provide greater privacy and visual separation for neighboring properties. We also eliminated the requested side setback variance on the western side. The landscape plan includes green giants along with complimentary landscaping and we'll continue to work closely with city staff during the final landscape review to ensure that the selected plants meet the city standards and provide an attractive long-term buffer. We also refined the architectural design throughout the process since the original design that was proposed met a little bit of pushback. It was a little bit too modern. Brick was added to the facade. The monument sign was relocated to improve visibility at the corner. And the overall design was refined to better complement the surrounding neighborhood while maintaining the character of the project. Another big topic has been parking. Each townhome provides four dedicated off-street parking spaces, two inside the garage, two in the driveway, and then the development also provides seven visitor parking spaces, which gives a total of 31 spaces or just over five parking spaces per home. While we understand that holidays or special gatherings can temporarily increase parking demand, these situations occur in every residential neighborhood. We believe that the parking supply appropriately serves the day-to-day needs of this community. One concern raised during planning and zoning meeting was that the original rendering appeared to show the site as completely flat, making the buildings appear taller than they will actually be. We appreciated the feedback and prepared the updated renderings to more accurately reflect the site's natural topography. As shown here, the buildings are carefully integrated into the site through grating and retaining walls, allowing them to step into the terrain and reducing their apparent height. This rendering provides a much more realistic representation of how the completed project will appear. We also wanted to provide some context regarding building height. While these townhomes contain four occupied levels, the flat roof design results in an overall building height that is comparable to, and in many cases, lower than a traditional large single family home with a steep pitched roof. Looking only at the number of stories doesn't accurately represent the building's overall height or visual impact. As Joey mentioned, we also hired a traffic engineer to conduct a traffic study to evaluate the project's impact using nationally recognized ITE standards. The study concluded that this six-unit development will generate minimal traffic and that all surrounding intersections will continue to operate at acceptable levels of service. At our request, the engineer also compared this project to a four-home single-family development. The analysis showed that the single-family scenario would generate essentially the same traffic and even slightly more daily trips, meaning the choice between townhomes or detached homes would not materially change traffic conditions. The recommendations from the traffic study was just to make sure that we have one entering lane and one exiting lane, the stop controlled driveway approach on Argo Road, and provide and confirm adequate sight distance. Again, this is an updated rendering that shows from the Camp Highland side, it will appear more as a three story building. And from the rear view, you can see where we have retaining walls, and the building is cut more into the grating. And this is an aerial view where you can appreciate the buffers. Thank you for everyone's time, and we're available to answer any questions.

Any questions of the applicants?

Yes, Mr. Oglesby. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for coming today and presenting. There were some additional promises during the last zoning meeting that was brought to my attention. So I just want to be sure that we don't gloss over those. I want to be sure those were taken care of and documented. Because I don't know the details, I won't go too deep into it, but you mentioned changes to the garage or there was a request for that. Can you speak on that a little more clearly so we understand exactly what that change was and why?

I'm not the engineer, but that involved the grading where the garage is basically lowered down using grading so that the building is not sitting on top of the property, on top of the existing soil.

And that rendition did show that, correct?

That's what we are trying to show, yes.

Right, okay.

On the elevation, and that's why retaining walls would be used.

So speaking of retaining walls, can you go a little more in depth on the retaining walls and how those retaining walls will be or if they will be naturally? It looks like you've got some support coming up.

Yeah, I was going to say I can see my engineer coming over my shoulder and he is really the person to talk to.

Oh, sure. Thank you. Thank you for being here.

Do you have any more questions for me or do we just turn it over to him?

Oh, sure. Whomever. Okay. Hey, your name?

Jamal Raglin. Jamal Raglin.

You can't hear me? Wow. Wow. Oh, the rain. Yeah, I'm sorry. I do apologize. So my first question, and I'll repeat that, was in reference to elevation in the garage. And I think you actually did answer that question. But did you have more input on that? That was a concern at the last zoning and commission meeting, correct? Correct.

Correct. Yeah, she answered on it. So basically with the elevations on the first level, the main level, you got two stories going up and then on the backside, the garage is one level down. So on the rendering that we had best to shown, you're basically going down one floor to help with the retaining walls and everything like that to address that situation from last meeting.

Okay. So speaking of retaining walls, that also was a topic of conversation. So first, can you go a little more in depth on a retaining wall and how that natural barrier will be set up?

the retaining wall?

Or if there will be one?

So depending, if we go with the garage being the lower level, then we'll probably need like a one, maybe two foot retaining wall. If we were to be all four stories, then four feet would be the natural, the regular height. But with the retaining walls, there are different retaining wall mechanisms depending on appearance and everything like that. But I'm assuming it would be like regular MSE, which is like stone, something that looks very presentable to the community. Okay.

I did notice in the pictures the tennis courts, which is Woodland Brooks tennis courts that backs up the property. There is a major concern. Our tennis courts there are very popular. We are a tennis court community. So with that being said, how would that be protected?

So the landscape barrier that's required by jurisdiction will have plants that for shading, for screening purposes, and I'm assuming they already have a fence around it, but that's kind of like the barrier that will kind of separate the property. there shouldn't be, I guess, from a concern like trespass and all that, there shouldn't be the availability of that, if that's the question that you're asking.

So I think I heard large trees. Did I hear that?

That are, yes, large trees that are, I guess, recommended by the jurisdiction. So wherever planning-wise is recommended by the jurisdiction, for the best, to answer your question, we'll be planning there.

Okay. That's all I got.

Any other questions?

No? Okay. Thank you.

You are almost out of there. Mr. Lindley's got one.

He waited too long. So what is the timeline, if approved, what is the timeline for construction? And I'll give you, while you think on the answer carefully, we find ourselves approving a lot that is not being built. So I'm curious, what is the real timeline? Not what you think, but what do we... Expect if passed, when would dirt start moving, and you expect to have for sale signs in the units.

Oh, you've got to be sworn in too. Next time we'll swear them all in at the beginning.

Yes, sir.

My name is Alejandro Hernandez. I'm part of the developers. Our timeline for this project is around 10 months, maximum 12 months.

So if approved, you get started fairly quickly.

Yeah, as soon as possible.

Anyone else? Any more questions?

Okay.

Thank you. Hey, Bear.

Real quick. I'm sorry. I know I said I was done. That's okay. I'm almost done here. All right. Since you're up here. This is shovel ready, correct? So how will that affect the neighboring communities with the construction as far as noise and drainage, all those things? Do we have contingency plans in place for that?

So to answer your question, when we're doing the plans and going through LDP, we'll have to get our erosion control methods approved. So that will show all the erosion control method to make sure that none of the dirt leave the site and nothing contamination or et cetera like that. So we have to meet a certain requirement and a certain way of handling that. That has to be approved through the jurisdiction.

Okay. And that means no burying of debris?

It means you should have a clean street.

Okay. All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This is a public hearing. I'd like to invite anybody who even thinks they're going to speak on this but want to speak for or against to come up and be sworn in now. Anybody else out in the audience think they might want to speak, come and get sworn in now. Yes. Everybody come and get sworn in together. And if each speaker would state their name and address for the record, please.

Since I'm here. Dylan Morgan, 4841 Claybrook Drive, Smyrna, Georgia, 30082. And I'm happy to stay and speak now, or I can... Okay, brilliant. Mayor and council, I want to begin with what I'm not asking you to do. I am not asking you to preserve obsolete commercial zoning indefinitely, and I'm not asking you to, and I'm not opposed to residential redevelopment of the property. I'm asking you to decide whether this particular six-unit, four-story project fits this particular parcel. THIS IS NOT MERELY A NEGOTIATION BETWEEN A DEVELOPER AND ITS NEARBY RESIDENTS. YOU ARE EXERCISING THE CITY'S ZONING AUTHORITY UNDER STANDARDS THE CITY HAS ADOPTED TO PROTECT BOTH THE PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS AND THE PUBLIC WELFARE. SMRNA'S OWN STAFF MEMORANDUM SAYS NINE FACTORS IN SECTION 1508 MUST BE EVALUATED BY PLANNING AND ZONING AND BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL. The applicant did revise the plan after receiving public feedback, and I acknowledge that. The detention facility moved, the decks moved, the elevation changed, landscaping was added, and one guest parking space was removed. But those changes did not address the central objection. The project's intensity remains unchanged. It is still six attached units, still four stories, still 5.71 units per acre, and still a single six unit row. The record documents that the drawings changed. It does not demonstrate that the unchanged scale now fits the property. In fact, the revised plan provides some of the strongest evidence that six units do not fit naturally. To restore the normal 25-foot setback beside Woodland Brook, the applicant moved the building towards the roads and created two new deviations, a setback of only 10 feet along Camp Highland Road and 20 feet along Argo Road. One setback problem was not solved, it was relocated. The explanation is that the property is constrained by an irregular shape and 20-foot sanitary sewer easement. But these constraints are not reasons to waive the standards while holding the unit count constant. They are reasons to reconsider the unit count. Four or five homes would still convert the property to a residential use and advance the future land use plan without requiring the city to compress a four-story building against both public road frontages. Medium density residential allows up to six units per acre. Up to is a ceiling. It is not an entitlement to the maximum density. This site is a transition point. Townhomes exist to the north, but detached homes in the Woodland Brook amenity area lie immediately to the south and the west. The appropriate question is therefore not simply whether townhomes are permitted somewhere within the MEDR category. It is whether this scale, form, and placement provide a suitable transition for these actual adjoining properties. On that question, the staff analysis offers conclusions rather than evidence. It says the proposal will not adversely affect the nearby properties. It said the building's land area and height have no negative impact, but the record identifies no property value study, no visual impact or massing analysis, and no explanation of why six four-story units are appropriate rather than five, four, or a lower scale design. Staff also acknowledges that the parcel has reasonable economic use under its current zoning. So the denial of this application does not render the property unusable, nor would denial prevent residential redevelopment. It would simply require a proposal whose intensity is supported by the site rather than one that requires site standards to yield to the desired unit count. Community engagement should not be measured by whether a plan changed somewhere. It should be measured by whether the changes address the principal concern. Here the arrangement changed, but the density, height, attached form, and unit count did not. I respectfully ask you to deny this application. At minimum, defer and direct the applicant to return with fewer or lower scale units. Residential redevelopment can be appropriate here, But the record before you does not establish that six four-story townhomes are appropriate use of this constrained transition parcel. Thank you.

Thank you. Give me just one second before the next speaker comes up, if you don't mind. So sometimes best laid plans, you have what you think might be a short agenda, and it becomes a little longer agenda. And when you've got a five-year-old and a three-year-old, that matters. So what we're going to do is say thank you. We've got to say thank you to our honorary mayor of the day, Eliana. And I told her when we started this that she'd get to bang that gavel again. We are not adjourned, but she's going to bang that gavel again. Yes, you can have that pen. You absolutely can.

We're paying for that.

They did a great job. Excellent.

Thank you all so much.

And if y'all will send Christy, wait, I can contact you, I'll send some of the pictures to you, okay?

All right, thank you.

Y'all wouldn't believe my area up here. Okay, next speaker, please. Thank you, and thanks for the pause.

Robert Lowe, 4800 Claybrook Drive. and I'm respectfully speaking in opposition. Your Honor, Mayor Norton, the water management is a concern amongst others. What was going to be retention, which holds water, but was set aside because maintenance would be required. So they went to detention. Detention slows water movement, but it does not hold water. That is my understanding. I'm not a civil engineer, but that is my understanding. That retention pond, I mean, the detention pond, if I may correct myself, is now not at the lowest point on the property, as best I know. I walked around the property, and the lowest point, is my understanding now, is where the dog park and the playground is. It was moved closer to Argo Road, which you could argue was not above Woodland Brook, but actually it still is because the tennis courts are right there, and the parking lot, and the pool. I've never seen any drawings of all the things. Everything is always shown level on all the renderings. They always look level. That is not the case at all. There are parts, Argo Road is probably about a blue diamond ski slope once you get away from Camp Highland. And it goes down and it's even worse as you go closer to Claybrook Drive. I'd like to know how the playground and the dog park are going to be made level. Who wants a playground that's on a slope? If they're on the steepest slope, and if you do level it, how are you going to create retention on the downward side so that water doesn't flood into our tennis courts? Yes, so the pond, that detention pond was moved closer to Argo, but again, I don't believe that's the lowest point on the property. So how would the water be directed there? And when you look at the drawing, that, well, first of all, that 1.06 acres, whatever, is now totally pervious. meaning water can soak in throughout. And I didn't do the calculations, but just doing a broad view of it, I would say 60% or more of the property is now going to be impervious. That's a lot of water to manage when you get a serious downpour. And I've never seen any or heard any details given on gallons per minute or volume or storage or anything. It's all been very just general talk about water management. And I'm scared to death that our property is going to be damaged in Woodland Brook, and who's going to be responsible for repairing it? Are we going to the HOA that I pay into? Are we going to be required to clean up the mud or whatever? And this sounds like an emotional appeal, but I've just never seen enough technical details to prove that they've truly managed the water management. Parking. They say it's adequate, but please understand that Argo Road is 30 feet wide. That is two lanes of traffic. There is not one inch for a parking spot along Argo Road. If by chance there is a need for overflow parking, again, five parking spots per unit, Those are, they have multiple bedrooms, I believe three or four bedroom, I'm not sure which, doesn't matter. That means their families living there. It might be teenagers. How many cars are they gonna have? Are the garages actually gonna be used for cars? Are they gonna be used for stories like many people do with their homes? So if there is a parking problem, what are the visitors gonna do? They cannot park along Argo. They cannot park along Camp Highland. They should not come into Woodland Brook where we live. There is no solution for overflow parking. They're trying to squeeze too much into a one acre plot of land. From a water perspective, a parking perspective, it just doesn't make sense. And if I could have a few more minutes, I'd like to just make kind of an emotional aesthetic appeal. Close your eyes and imagine you're driving from East West Connector now on to Camp Highland. First thing on the left is Westchester Commons. Beautiful little development tucked down in. You barely even know it's there. Wonderful. You go across the bridge, it goes over the Silver Comet Trail. There's this patch of woodland. Very nice. Yes, it's okay to be developed. But what do you see to the left? On Argo Road, you see single family dwellings. You go a little bit further and you see Woodland Brook, our development with 166 units. All single family homes, stucco, stone, all brick. Camp Highland Road is the delineator between us, Woodland Brook, to the left, to the south, and Highlands Overlook to the right. It's a beautiful little townhome community. It was just built a few years ago. So there's this delineator of a road. One aesthetic look on the right, another aesthetic look on the left. Let's put it in reverse and come off of East-West Connector again onto Camp Highland Road, only now this structure is there. Again, beautifully to the left is Westchester Commons. You start coming across the bridge that goes over the Silver Comet Trail. Boom, there's the three-story building. It looks kind of like the one on the right, except it's another story higher. Now the delineation between townhomes on the right and single-family dwellings on the left has been destroyed. All you're going to see is this huge structure as you go across the bridge, and it just doesn't fit. It's surrounded by older single-family homes to the left on Argo, 25-year-old beautiful homes, again, brick, stucco, stone to the right. They surround this big structure. And also imagine being at the bottom. That is a very, very steep slope. Claybrook Drive, I would tell you right now, which is just to the right of this property, is like a black diamond ski slope. I wouldn't even attempt to ride my bike up it. It's that steep, and I ride a bike pretty nicely. And I just don't see how this is going to be managed on such a steep slope and make it work. I'm sorry, I just can't see it. Okay. It's out of place, it's out of character. Townhomes on the right, single family homes on the left, totally destroyed. It just doesn't belong there. It's out of place, out of character. And I'll ditto everything Dylan had to say too. The person who preceded me. I think that covers all that I have to say. So I respectfully ask that you reject this development.

Thank you. I have a question of Joey. and Rusty, five spaces per unit, that seems like more than we normally do. Is that, for a unit like that, there's usually two spots?

Yeah, for single family developments, code requires two off-street parking spaces. Okay. So, and for townhome development, it's, One, it's a guest space for 25% of the development. So with respect, they have two garage spaces, two driveway spaces, and then they have seven guest parking spaces. So they have plus one guest space per every unit. So they... What's required with respect to code, they're over-parked at this point. Almost double.

Okay.

All right. Thank you. And then if I would, no, no, I'm going to, what's that? Yeah, you can sign up. I want to bring the engineer back up. Can you address, if you wouldn't mind, we can do this at the end or we can do it now. I might as well do it now since it's fresh. Talk about the detention retention process. Talk a little bit about, I know you'll grade that site, and can you give a little bit of, a little more specificity to how you're going to deal with the water and the impervious surface?

Yeah, sure.

Jill or whoever, can you all put that site plan back up there? Just since it was mentioned about stormwater runoff and detention, I just want to get a clear idea of how that's being dealt with.

And also educate us on how that system works.

Doesn't have to get into just kind of high level. Yeah, high level. This is how we're going to get to it. I just want to.

Okay, so high level. So originally we had the stormwater retention pond in the corner, closer to the tenants rack. Per comments, per the neighbors, we moved it. So just the first concern, that's always gonna be the lowest point is that corner. We just made sure that the stormwater is further away from it. The second point, we had originally a retention pond, but there was a concern about mosquitoes. So to fix that solution, we switched over to a dry detention pond. So it drains out within 24 to 48 hours. So mosquitoes don't have enough time to lay their eggs. So that was the purpose of switching over to a dry detention pond for a regular wet detention pond. So with the dry detention pond, there will be certain soils compacted with certain materials that will let it infiltrate. and we'll have to do some borings with geotech report. But from a high level, we will have to meet the code to drain a certain, infiltrate the soil at a certain rate. And then on top of that, for the dry detention pond, we have to make sure we take account for offsite storm water that drains onto our site. So not only at our site, we have to take account for other storm water that drains onto our site. So from that, we get contours, survey, and we'll see from the survey and contours and elevation what actually drains to our site to treat. Hopefully that answers the question in a high level.

I just needed a little bit more clarity about what exactly we're talking about, how much, you know, on a huge event, how we're dealing with that water. I thought I remember... that y'all had it in a different place and then moved it. And that gives me some, now I know the reason you're trying to work.

And then also on top of that, we have to meet code through the jurisdiction. We have to go through their guidelines and checklists to make sure we meet the requirements per Georgia standards as well.

We got a civil engineer as our city administrator, so I know he understands that stuff. If there's anything, yeah.

So I was just going to ask, hi, thank you for coming tonight. What is the grade separation from this property to the single family homes in Woodland Brook?

So if I remember correctly, I think it's roughly about 10 feet, but it drains. So the high point is at the corner from the north. So like where the crossing is at, then it drains to that side. So with the town homes and the grays, you can slope the town homes 1% to 2% because they drop staggered. That helps with the grays. And then on the dog park, depending again on the direction we go with the garage being retained or not, that helps the site out a lot as well because you're losing roughly 10 to 12 feet with the drop we're retaining walls.

OK, thank you. Next speaker, please.

Alex Munoz, 4801 Claybrook Drive. I don't really have much. I know that Phillip's going to come up, and Dylan and Bob, there's not much more I could. I just want to be sure I'm here to sign this sheet in opposition to this project. I believe that it's not an appropriate building to put in our community. I'm directly at one of four homes on the west end, on the border of this property. of this project that is directly, excuse me, that is directly affected and impacted by this project. We would prefer to hope to see similar homes built there, whether it's a cul-de-sac with a four or whatever's appropriate, as Dylan was explaining as the norm. And again, I just wanna make sure I sign this. I've spoke a lot more fluently in other meetings. I'm on board, I apologize sometimes I'm not as, prepared tonight, but a lot of my fellow neighbors have spoke well. I know that I've gotten some texts as I've been sitting here of our HOA president, Ziad. Those who may know who he is and He speaks very fluently, and I know he'd be here beating a drum in hopes to protect our community as well, but he's not unfortunately here today, so I can't speak for him, but I just wanna know that there's a lot of support, and we're not all here representing today, but in other planning board meetings, we were all here, and we all communicate, and we talk about this, and we're very concerned. And there's a lot of answers. I'm on the West End. I'll just go as far as to say, again, with the drainage and the elevation, we're all concerned if this project were to be approved that the West End, because of drainage, would have to be built up. And I'm not sure if that was discussed about how much dirt would have to be pushed in. And for those who have our borders and our property lines, if that dirt is pushed in, then there's retainment required. I know that, I'm going to call it monstrosity, it's an enormous building, no matter how they're scaling it down, because it's now been changed into the grade, that visually, if you saw this building, it would... from the recreation area of Willenbrook, where we have our clubhouse, where we have our tennis courts, there would be a lot of retainment. There would be walls over, I believe, 18 to 20 feet. It would have to, just to the, I believe, to the level, and I could be corrected, to where they're parking it. and then from there it's blocking the sun. And there's, again, five units, four units, and there's a large community around it that unfortunately cannot benefit. Thank you very much.

Okay, next. If you'll make sure to speak into the microphone.

This doesn't cut into my time, right? So this doesn't cut into my time, right? Okay, thank you. Good evening. My name is Philip Toledo. I am at 1627 O'Mara Lane. If you're looking at the site map, I'm at the corner on the far left. So if I heard the engineer earlier correctly, the low point where all the water drains is right next to my deck, where I see a big storm drain that I have to perennially go out and clear all the weeds from. And so I'm speaking as one of the homeowners who's directly affected by the decision you'll be making tonight. And I don't envy you for that, but there's a few questions that I have that I would still look for some clarity before. If I were in your position, I would be making a decision that could be affecting my family, certainly as one of the properties that borders this development, but also all of our current and future neighbors. uh... what was mentioned by several of uh... the neighbors before was uh... the elevation so this would be uh... one of the tallest structures uh... just in the visual uh... surrounding area and i know that we uh... discussed earlier that they had proposed dropping the garage uh... we could see it in some of the pictures here uh... but i had the opportunity to read through some of the documents that were uploaded to the meeting notes prior to this And in one of them, forgive me, there was like 10, I don't remember exactly which, but I believe it said that they would have to be held to the elevations that were submitted on June 9th. So I guess one question for whoever to answer would be if what they discussed tonight is accurate, are they held to that if it was not in the plans that were submitted on June 9th? So that's one thing that I would, if I were you, I would be asking that question for some clarity. The second thing is we did talk about the retaining walls at the front of the property. I haven't, and it may have been just me not picking up to it, but for where I walk out, my back deck, I'm at the low point. And so I'm not quite sure what I would be seeing as far as the grade goes. I think it's about a 20 to 25 foot slope. I know because every spring I have to walk up with my machete and cut down the old neighbor's bamboo, which by the way, thank you to the city for helping to take care of that problem a few years ago. But bamboo is tricky. And so it's a very steep slope. And so what I don't understand quite yet is are they leveling in the middle of the property and letting the rest of it grade down? Or is the whole property going to be leveled to the back, you know, to where the tennis court in my property will be? And am I going to be looking at, you know, a five-foot retention wall, a two-foot retention wall, or a 15-foot retention wall? That's one question also that I would ask. And then finally, just for the record, I don't know if this is the appropriate place to bring it up, but in the renderings of the crosswalk, I think that's a good spot for a crosswalk, but if we're gonna add one there, we should probably also add one that crosses Argo Road, because you're not gonna go anywhere if you're trying to get to the Silver Comet Trail through that one crosswalk. So there should be one going this way, too. And I think that's all I have. Thanks.

Thank you.

Hey, Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Hugginsby.

Is Mark here? Hey, can we bring Mark up? Hey, Mark, I'm sorry. I didn't see you over there.

Mark Wolfe for the Engineering Department.

I have questions about the drain in my neighbor's backyard near his dad that you spoke on. how does that work? How does the city protect neighbors or homeowners who have these type of drains in their yard currently with respect to new developments in the area?

How do we protect them?

What's the current protocol here? What would be the protocol for the developer if this is approved?

So they will need to comply with our ordinance, which requires a downstream analysis from their site. So they'll need to manage stormwater generated on their site and also coming onto their site. And their engineer may be better to speak about what the plan is for their stormwater management. They'll be required to manage the outflow from that pond to 10% of the peak flow that it is currently. So right now, it's a wooded site. And when we have a rain event, there's a peak storm event and peak flow coming off that site. for a five-year, 10-year, 100-year storm, their requirement is to reduce that peak flow by 10%. So however they size their pond, however that pond is constructed, with infiltration, volume, to retain a certain amount of water and release it at a certain rate to meet that 10% reduction from the existing flow.

So I'm not an engineer, and I respect the fact that you are also an engineer. But what I thought I heard is we don't know their plan for this. Is that correct?

I mean, we just heard from the engineer. We asked that specific question about water and about runoff and about how they're going to deal with it.

About the drain in his backyard.

I don't know about the drain, but I would think that everything they're doing to mitigate would would make the flow once it makes the drain.

So it sounds like he has an inlet in his backyard. Is that correct? So he's got like a pedestal inlet drain that drains into the stormwater system in his backyard is what it sounds like. I don't know where his lot is in comparison to where their pond is, but there may or may not be any water coming from the pond to his inlet.

Do we, on the detention ponds, they have to physically pipe from the detention pond into the stormwater?

So they will be required to do a downstream analysis, which will determine, again, their engineer may be better to speak to this because I'm not sure what their plan is, but the outlet from their pond can be discharged on their site and then flow over the ground to the neighboring property. Or there can be a direct connection from their pond outlet to

another pipe so it doesn't it doesn't go over the ground at all you want to come and answer that question while we let's get some clarity while we're talking about it you get more steps in you thought you're going to get tonight aren't you talk talk about talk about what he's just discussed as far as treatment of that water

So regarding the treatment of water, again, going back to what I stated first, everything has to be treated on site. Now, how we release the water, if we release any water, is going to be determined by the borings that we get from the geotech report. And then also when we get back our additional survey regarding the utilities on the storm drain piping, water lines and everything like that that we can make a better clarification on that but the goal is ultimately to make sure that we don't downpour and add more additional because that's the heaviest concern that we have with the meeting so the answer is you work with staff yes you work with our professional staff to make sure that whatever you're releasing is within the limits to make sure that

this gentleman's drain is not overwhelmed and goes into his property.

Correct.

Okay.

Does that satisfy you? A lot of this is done, you know, with our professional engineering staff as they're doing it.

Yes, I just wanted to be sure we have – there will be a plan in place. Obviously, I'm very familiar with his backyard. And, I mean, it can be really bad there if it's overflowed water, especially storm water. And also the tennis courts, which is his next-door neighbor too – That was mentioned earlier. How will that be protected? You talked about a natural barrier, which I do like, right? But that takes time, right? Trees don't grow overnight.

Correct. Depending if you buy already medium to adult trees. But to answer that question, currently what's right now, how everything already slopes there. So I'm assuming that he's already catching everything from the road without it being developed. So that's his current problem right now. when we come in and develop, he's gonna have significant difference of what's going back there from through our site, period. So his concern right now is what he's seeing because there's no development. So if he's catching everything from that road, everything's gonna flow right into his property. And unless someone comes and develop there, then he's gonna have that continuous problem unless the city or something is interpreted on the curb and gutter or another storm drain system interpreted by the city.

You have a hydrology report. I've looked at it a few minutes ago, but is the water from the overflow structure piped or is it across the ground?

From our proposed system? Yes. That will be determined once we get more information from the survey on the actual utility locates out there and then borings. Because we need that additional information to do that. And again, currently, like, Typically, when we come to these planning commissions or something like that, we invest enough knowledge and we work with the city through the development, getting some of the off-site contours and information. But depending on how much you invest, you don't also want to shoot yourself in the foot because it's a lot of money to... Can I just interject real quick?

If it became a problem, Rusty, Joey, if it became a problem that the borings or whatever it was... prevented them from accomplishing what they're trying to do from a water retention and water treatment, then you would bring that back to us or we would read that would, that's not, that's going to be dealt with. It's not, it's not going to just, right.

There, there is not going to be a development permit issued for this site. until everything is resolved, right? So we're not just going to say, oh, we think it's going to happen this way.

I just wanted somebody to say that.

He's got to go get the information to understand how much water he's really dealing with from off-site. He knows what the site is probably developing, but we don't know because the surveys aren't completely done what external water he's having to deal with and manage at that point too, right? So once we get all that information and they run the studies in the hydrology, there is at that point back towards the tennis courts, there is an inlet that catches the stormwater from that section. There's an established easement. I think what he's trying to articulate is once they figure out the volume that they're going to retain, And what is actually leaving the site and the rate that it's leaving if the pipe that's they need to convey that water out of there is going to be sized appropriately to go into that pipe or. if they actually need to make further improvements down the line to upgrade the size of that pipe to accommodate that stuff. But all that stuff is figured out during the plan review process. And we will ensure that that happens. We don't issue the permit unless all that's resolved and done in accordance to Georgia Blue Book standard. Yes. And Mark and Claire are looking at that. We're all looking at that to make sure. that we're not creating adverse effects for adjoining properties.

Thank you. All right, part two of your question. Sorry to interrupt you.

Rusty, you might be the one to answer this, and maybe not. I don't know if the engineer may be the one. Part two of the question is, I understand there is an inlet structure at some point downstream that this water will flow to from the overflow structure in the pond. You've gotten up to me about this before. Do you know approximately how far that is?

No, I don't. No, I don't. Are you talking about from the inlet point to where it comes into the road from the discharge to the inlet? Here, it's looking, what is that, 230 from the end of that pond to the, or from the property width. So you're, I mean, it's at the halfway point, so you're looking at 115 feet, 130 feet more or less. Okay.

Thank you. Well, is there anybody left to speak? Has everybody spoken that got sworn in and was here to speak? Okay, that was it, okay. Ms. Wilkinson.

Yes, it's about the proposed dog park. Are there requirements that they have like a weigh station on the property, on the dog park?

No, typically we let the community manage that and if it becomes a code issue and they're not managing it, then code enforcement will step in and address it with their HOA.

Am I understanding that's the low part of the property from what I was hearing? Yeah. So that runoff from that dog park, it has to be managed, but I see the engineer shaking his head, so thank you.

And just not to beat a dead horse or anything, but with respect to the... Oh, it's been beaten. With the respect to the stormwater management, this is as a GC zoning category, zoning designation, if they came in with an entitled project that didn't require rezoning, they would still have to go through all this stormwater review and have to do the same thing as well. So that's going to be, whether this is a townhome development or if it's commercial development or whatever, it's an issue that the city is going to address during the development process for this.

Any other questions, comments, or anything for the applicant? Okay. We'll close the public hearing now, and this is in Ward 7. I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Oglesby for a motion.

Yes, Mr. Mayor, thank you. I'm going to recommend that this is approved based off the updates that were given at the last zoning meeting. So I do recommend approval here.

I'd like a second, please. OK, we have a motion to approve by Mr. Oglesby and a second by Mr. Gould. Will everyone please vote? And that's approved 7-0. Thank you, and I appreciate everybody coming out tonight. I want to thank the residents for speaking and also to the developer, the applicant for working with the community. I know you had two community meetings, made a lot of changes. and so hopefully this will be a successful project alright we'll move on now we don't have any privileged license or show cause hearings we'll move on to formal business we have six items on formal business the first is item A this is our third public hearing where we will vote on the adoption of the 2026 millage rate so I'll Mr. Jones to give any background. This is the third of our last public hearing. We've had two other ones, one this morning and one a few days ago. The highlight being that we are keeping the millage rate the same as we've had for the last 18 years since 2008. And so if you are a homesteaded property in the city of Smyrna, you are not getting a city tax increase. I just want to make that clear. There's a lot of chatter out there that we're raising taxes on Smyrna homeowners, but that's not the case. Mr. Jones, any other background?

Yes, sir, Mayor. So the FY27 budget was approved by the council and included revenue projections for property taxes based on the existing 8.99 mills, and that millage rate was set in 2008 and has continued unchanged for the last 18 years, remarkably. This is the last of three required public hearings before the formal adoption of this 8.99 millage rate. So the tax digest information we received back from Cobb County on June 18th, The official notices were posted to Marietta Daily Journal on July 4th, 5th, 11th, and 12th, and a press release was sent to Marietta Daily Journal on June 30th. It's also been posted on our city website, and additional hearings were held on July 13th at 6 p.m. and again this morning at 8.30. So this being the third of three required public hearings, Staff recommends adoption of the millage rate as it stayed maintained for yet another year at 8.99.

Thank you, Mr. Jones. This is a public hearing. I'd invite anybody who wants to speak on this, either for or against, to come on up and be sworn in. Anybody? All right. We will close the public hearing, and I will entertain a motion to adopt the 2026 millage rate. So moved by Mr. Lindley, seconded by Mr. Welch. Everyone please vote. And that's approved 7-0. Item B is resolution to adopt the Cobb County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan update and authorize the mayor to sign and execute all related documents. Mr. Jones, background please.

The local hazard mitigation plan, it provides sustained action to eliminate or reduce risk to people and property and the effects of natural and man-made hazards. The plan shows the planning process for Cobb County and participating jurisdictions and identifies applicable hazards and vulnerabilities. The plans are on a five-year rotation. The 2026 plan has been prepared by a company called Blue Umbrella Solutions and is recommended for approval by our Smyrna Fire Department, our EMA agency.

Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any discussion or questions from council? I will acknowledge that Mr. McBrayer has sat through. He drew the short straw tonight and is here for any questions. We thank you for being here for this long meeting, and it doesn't look like there are any. I'll entertain a motion to adopt item B. A motion to approve item B by Ms. Hines, second by Mr. Pickens. Everyone please vote. Approve 7-0. Thank you. You did a heck of a job tonight. Thank you very much. Item C, this is an item to purchase a 2027 Ford F-550 Super Warrior Transport Capable Rescue Unit. In discussions with the council, in pre-council, they are requesting some additional information on response time from current ambulance services and other things. Until we get all that information, they're asking that we table this until our next meeting, which is in two weeks. So I will take a motion now to table item C until the next meeting of the mayor and council.

I'll make the motion to table it until the next meeting.

And we have a motion by Ms. Welch. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Ms. Wilkinson. Everybody please vote. And that's approved 7-0 and tabled to the next time we meet. Item D, authorization to purchase four Dodge Durango Pursuit all-wheel drive SUVs in the amount of $45,509 per vehicle, totaling $182,036 from Akins Ford Dodge under the Georgia statewide contract to be funded by the Emergency Vehicle Replacement Fund, vehicle outfitting by Dana Safety Supply to be funded by the Asset Forfeiture Fund, had an additional $22,238.40 per vehicle, totaling $88,953.60, and authorized the mayor to sign and execute all related documents. Is there any other background besides what I just read, Mr. Jones? No, sir. Pretty straightforward. Do I have a motion to approve item D? So moved by Mr. Lindley. Second?

Second by Mr. Pickens.

All in favor, please vote. Approve 7-0. Item E, approval of a three-year contract under RFP 26-019 for citywide fire systems inspections and maintenance to Cliffs Fire Extinguisher in Woodstock, Georgia in an amount of $23,501.24 and authorize the mayor to sign and execute all related documents.

Mr. Jones, any additional background?

The RFE was let and rebid, and it was an award of a three-year contract for the fire system inspections. The city received five responsive bids that were evaluated, and based on that evaluation, the evaluation team has made the determination that the award go to Cliff's Fire Extinguisher and recommend approval.

Any discussion? I'll entertain a motion. Move approval by Mr. Lindley. Second. Second by Mr. Gould. Everyone please vote. That's approved 7-0. The last item under formal business, item F, authorization for a budget amendment to purchase two Laser Z X-Series 72-inch riding mowers at a cost of $16,014 each for a total of $32,028 and one Vanguard ride-on blower at a cost of $11,880 totaling $55,788 from Howard Brothers Incorporated in Duluth for the maintenance of the Campbell Middle School property and authorize the mayor to sign and execute all related documents. I think we had an option here where we could add this to our landscape agreement with Russell Landscape or we could get equipment and have our guys do it on our own. So this is a one-time cost versus an ongoing cost of $40,000 or $50,000 a year. So any other background, Mr. Jones?

Yes, sir. If my father is listening out there, if we had had a Laser ZX Series 72-inch riding mower, I wouldn't have minded cutting the grass quite so much.

Yeah, right.

But we didn't. And so this follows an approval of the joint use agreement with the Board of Education for Campbell Middle School property, and it is now the responsibility of the city of Smyrna to maintain that property in the Parks and Rec's department. can maintain the property with the purchase of this equipment, and we recommend approval.

Thank you, Mr. Jones. Any discussion or questions on council? Okay. Entertain a motion to approve item F. Motion to be passed by Mr. Lindley. Do I have a second? Second by Mr. Oglesby. All those in favor, please vote.

And that's approved 7-0.

And now we'll go to the consent agenda. Mr. Jones, we just have approval of the minutes from June 11th, 15th, pre-council, and 15th, mayor and councilman.

I won't even make you read that.

Do I have a motion to approve? Oh. Oh, and item D. Yeah, well, okay. I was moving too fast.

Mr. Jones? You almost got away with it. Almost. So we have the three meeting minutes, the committee of the whole, the pre-council, and the mayor meeting minutes to approve the mayor just mentioned. But there was a motion earlier that passed to add an agenda item, and that is to extend the King Street closures to August 17th, basically leave the current bollards in place until that time.

Thank you. I'd forgotten that we did that because that was so long ago. May I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? Approved by Mr. Lindley, second by Ms. Hines. All those in favor, please vote. All right. That is approved 7-0. We're at our public comment portion of the meeting. Is there anybody who signed up to speak tonight that hasn't already spoken? Looks like there's just one. Anybody want to speak? All right. We'll close that portion. We'll go to our ward and staff reports. One thing Real quick that I mentioned in my mayoral report was the 250 flags that's on our Veterans Memorial. I wanted to thank Scout Troop 220 and Barrett Carter in particular. They came out there. It was really hot that day. And those scouts put all those in there. And then Jack and I and my son helped put the last one in. But they did all the heavy lifting and the volunteers. So thank you for coming out and doing that. Mr. Pickens. No report this evening. Ms. Hines.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say, once again, wonderful job for the brush and box event that happened, and then that we also participated, some of us on council, for the Georgia Municipal Association Conference, and that was a very well-attended conference, and so without a yield.

Travis, you missed that this year, didn't you?

Yeah, I did. I missed it a lot.

Mr. Lindley.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just wanted to quickly thanks for a huge thanks to the staff. There has been so much going on. I know they're taxed and hope they get a little reprieve as we get into the cool month of August. I want to congratulate my colleague from Ward 4 on his retirement. I hope I live that long. I don't think Mr. Welch is either. In the back, the lone participant is my godson from Tennessee. He's wearing that lovely Tennessee orange. He is a rising second-year law student who is shadowing me this week and for some reason is enduring all of this. God bless you, sir. I close with a question. Is Carson in trouble because why did she have to endure all of this? And I yield.

The answer is yes, she is. So, Mr. Welch, first day of retirement, so what do we do? We hold a military hearing at 8.30 a.m. on day one and a long council meeting at the end. So happy retirement. Mr. Welch.

Thank you, Travis. With that, I yield.

Ms. Wilkinson.

So congratulations to Councilman Corky Welch. And also I want to just also thank the staff about what a wonderful job they did with the concert and the soccer events that were going on in the downtown. It was really amazing. And also I did not realize it was a Boy Scout troop that put up all the flags, but that was really awesome too, you know, I thought it was our parks department, so thank you for clarifying that. I actually thought it might have been to help grow the grass back up there because it was... Anyway, but it really looked nice and it helped.

It still does look nice.

It's still out there. Yes, it does look nice. Anyway, but I did see some people doing an obstacle course in there around the different posts. So they did make use of it too. Thank you. Anyway, it was really nice. Thanks.

Mr. Gould. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just a couple of quick things. Tomorrow night is Forest Hills night at Stillfire. So the Forest Hills Preservation Group is hosting with Jerry, Stillfire's coordinator, for a night at 6 p.m. Tomorrow night at Stillfire. So come on out. Next Tuesday, I think it's the 28th, the Smyrna Area Middle School principals will have a meet and greet at Taylor Brawner Park during Food Truck Tuesday. So come on out and meet your middle school principals for Campbell Middle School, Griffin, and Pearson Middle Schools. And then lastly, just want to thank Parker Recty just to continue to do an amazing, amazing job with all the different activities in the downtown, and they deserve a rest after the wrapping up World Cup this past Sunday. Thank you, sir.

Mr. Oglesby. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I want to speak briefly on Juneteenth. We held our second annual Juneteenth Festival here in the city of Smyrna, and I'm very happy to report that last year we had a great number, 5,500 people to attend. This year we had about 8,800 people. to attend. So I think it's safe to say that this is now truly an annual event. And so I'm so, so humbled and proud.

And next year you won't have a worldwide soccer tournament.

You won't have the congestion of trying to switch over. But I do want to thank all the city staff that helped make that possible. And the planning committee, man, y'all did an awesome job. We had to do some things, you know, at the last minute to accommodate certain situations and it was done and we had a great time. Also, Cobb County City's learning students are going back to school real soon, real, real soon. So I want to wish everyone a great year. And, you know, as far as our athletes, yeah, bring home some more of those trophies. I'll go back to you, Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Jones. Mr. Cochran. You don't have anything you'd like to do? I thought you were going to speak on the fact that Mr. Jones didn't have on the jacket tonight. I'm sorry about that. You don't get through. Ms. Jill, Ms. Carson, anything? Okay. All right. If we don't have anything else to be brought before this body, we're adjourned from the Joplin City at 835. We're so used to short meetings. These long ones.

Thank you.