Mayor and Council Meeting

And I'd like to introduce my colleagues and council members present.

Council member Sarah Beeson,

council member Christine Hall.

Michelle, you good? Just wanna make sure you're alright. I'm just I'm good messing with you. I loved it when you were laughing at Sarah and Christine at the same time. It was awesome.

Council member of Pro Tempe Lee Hills,

council member David David Johnson,

council member William Mortland,

and council member Alan Sells.

We have a very special guest tonight. Maybe Michelle, you're probably laughing at Sharon, weren't you? You come out, you were right. I don't blame you. We have a very special guest tonight. Mister Knighton is,

at home enjoying his family. We miss him.

But we definitely have a very special guest, our senior vice president and deputy city administrator, Sharon Izzo, is filling in. And Sharon will explain how the meeting is run. Miss Izzo.

Thank you.

In accordance with section chapter 3.7

of the city code, the city of Roswell, the city council shall hold regular public meetings.

The purpose of city council meetings is for the public to participate and speak on agenda items that constitute

formal decisions by the elected body.

These items are listed on the published agenda, which can be accessed via the city website prior to the meeting.

This is a public meeting and some items do require a formal public hearing.

An important component of city council meetings is to hear directly from residents on items listed on the agenda.

Residents are at the top of our organizational chart. Therefore, public comments or questions are essential for mayor and council to consider as they contemplate each decision.

If you wish to speak on agenda item, please complete a comment card and hand it to the communication staff member, James Turner, at the back of the room.

James is waving to you everyone. He's in the the light purple shirt.

Thanks, Chiefs.

Speakers will be called by the city clerk for each agenda item in the order cards are received.

We ask that everyone observe the principles of mutual respect and display the appropriate demeanor during the meeting, which should be and is reflective of our great community.

With respect to the proceedings, we ask that attention is given to the person speaking. If it is necessary to have an independent

conversation, please exit the rear doors to the vestibule area.

In addition, we ask that you silence any electronic devices.

The mayor is the presiding officer over the meeting and will ensure an orderly exchange of comments, questions, and discussion.

We encourage everyone in attendance and the viewing audience to visit the city website for information on news, events, and meanings.

We also encourage you to participate in the various activities and offerings in the city, which can be found on roswell365..com.

There are a number of events upcoming in the city of Roswell, which promote community, physical activity, and leisure as we all make Roswell the number one family community in America.

Thank you, Sharon. Well done.

At this time, I have the great privilege of calling lead pastor, Dustin Schott from Northside Church to lead us,

in our invocation of moment science. Welcome, pastor Schott.

Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council members and staff. It's an honor to be here with you. Wish I could spend the whole time with you. I have to go home and grill burgers because my wife doesn't know how to.

And so, I'll be going home to join her. I'd like to read two verses of scripture,

have a moment of silence, and offer a prayer.

Two says, first of all, then I urge you that supplications, prayers, intercessions,

and thanksgiving

be made for all people, for kings, and all those who are in high positions,

that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified

in every way. Let's bow our heads for a moment of silence and rest and then a prayer.

Heavenly father, we thank you for the gift of this day and for the opportunity to gather here in the service of our beautiful city.

We lift up our mayor, council members, and staff, grant them wisdom in their leadership, clarity in their discussions,

and rest in the midst of their responsibilities.

Lord, I pray that you would bless their families.

Give them gentleness and patience also as they hear the concerns, suggestions,

and even complaints of those they serve. May their words be marked by fairness and their actions by integrity.

We pray for the safety of Roswell. Protect our neighborhoods, our schools, our businesses, public safety officials,

and all those who call this city home. We ask for prosperity, not only in economic growth, but in strong families, healthy communities, and neighbors who care for one another.

We continue to ask for your special care and provision for the Levante family and especially Alyssa.

We pray that our city would be a place where the beauty of your kingdom is on display in homes, workplaces,

parks, businesses, and places of entertainment.

Bless the work that will be done in this room. May it be productive, marked by unity, and aimed at the common good. And may we never forget that all wisdom and guidance ultimately come from you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Pastor Schutt. Pastor Schutt from Northside

Church, it was a beautiful prayer. And we are all gonna be praying for you right now after your comment about your wife and the hamburgers.

We also have the great privilege of having Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kell,

to do the Pledge of Allegiance. Chris, please come forward and lead us, sir.

All right. Thank you.

Pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America

and to the Republic for which it stands,

one nation

under God, indivisible

with liberty and justice for all.

Lieutenant Colonel Kell, thank you. And I was gonna stay up there, please, sir, right where you are while I ask the rest of the council to come join me on the first item of the mayor's report,

which is a reading of the proclamation for the esteemed veteran of Roswell award.

Start the timer now?

Yes.

That's an excellent idea.

Wow.

Proclamation.

Proclamation.

Proclamation.

Proclamation. Okay. There we go. Yeah. How about that? Very nice.

Proclamation

office of the mayor, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kell, esteemed veteran of Roswell.

Whereas, the city of Roswell is proud to recognize and honor members of the United States Armed Forces

who've demonstrated

extraordinary commitment to our nation through service, leadership, and sacrifice.

And whereas Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kell,

a resident of Roswell, Georgia, began his military service in December

1998

at the age of 25

while working full time as a high school teacher and coach

and enlisted in the United States Army Reserves,

later transitioning to the Germany Georgia Army National Guard.

Whereas, over the course of his distinguished

twenty six year military career, Lieutenant Colonel Kell served in numerous critical roles,

including as a military police soldier,

a tank platoon leader,

an executive officer,

and a mortar platoon leader during operation Iraqi Freedom three.

He later trained officer candidates,

led forward support operations,

and provided a senior logistical coordination

for joint military and federal missions.

And whereas he was mobilized to Fort Bliss, Texas

to support to support joint logistical operations and later served in a pivotal role with the three hundred and seventy seventh leader sustainment command during the COVID nineteen pandemic.

He coordinated emergency support missions for FEMA and the Department of Defense.

His final assignment was at Army Material Command

overseeing

pre positioned stockpiles in the Asia Pacific region and supporting US and NATO operations

during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

And whereas Lieutenant Colonel Kell received numerous decorations for his service,

including the Bronze Star

and Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of his leadership and valor in combat

and his contributions during national emergencies.

And whereas throughout his career,

Lieutenant Colonel Kell was known for his humility,

teamwork, and deep respect

for the mentorship

of senior enlisted personnel,

particularly during nontraditional operations

such such as the COVID COVID nineteen response.

Whereas following his retirement,

in 03/31/2025,

lieutenant colonel Kell continued to serve others

forgive me,

continued to serve others as a mentor to MBA students at Emory University's

Gazette Business School,

as a coleader of Pepsi's

Valor Veterans Employee Resource Group,

and as a supporter

and as a supporter

of children of fallen patriots.

And whereas he's an active member of the local community,

a devoted husband,

and a father to a blended family of six children,

and a proud contributor to Roswell's civic fabric.

Now therefore, I, Curtin Wilson, mayor of the city of Roswell, Georgia, do hereby name Lieutenant Colonel Chris Kell,

an esteemed veteran of Roswell,

and call upon all our citizens to recognize

his outstanding service to our country and to our community.

And that there is no higher calling than those who serve the United States armed forces. Congratulations, Chris.

Tried to keep it that way. Hey. So thank you very much. I appreciate the city of Roswell. I appreciate the community as a whole.

Robert's appointment. You guys will get to hear from Robert soon,

and others. So really quickly, my family is extended. It's a it's what we call crazy love. It's a lot of people. And, unfortunately, some of the kids are not here, but they are a part of this. I've got nieces and nephews and friends and family that are here that are awesome. My sister-in-law, I saw her somewhere.

She's in here too. Awesome. And,

really, for the the veteran piece for me is is part of my family as well. And when I retired, which was right before April Fool's Day

yeah. Government cuts, man.

It was really important for me to kinda continue to do things. And this message came across, and I really appreciate this.

The one thing I will say, please, and I'll keep it short, timer's going,

is you can remember the veterans, and you can remember those who paid that ultimate sacrifice.

Sacrifice. But please remember those who supported them and continue to support them. And those that are not here, either in training or currently training other nations to support their loved ones. If you will, just remember those people

that support the veteran.

That's all I can ask. Thank you.

And

we just we have a little surprise for you. This was a surprise for us. Somebody, a former esteemed veteran of ours,

master sergeant Andy McNichol is here,

and I understand that he had

a help to get you started in your career. Andy, will you come up for a second, please?

He slipped out.

Yep. Twenty five years ago. Anyway, he is very proud of you.

Awesome. Wow. That's great.

It really was just a trick. We Andy's not here, but we thought we did that. Yeah. There's a couple of folks.

Thank you,

Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Kell.

Next on the mayor's report are appointments to the boards and commissions.

First is the appointment of Robert Zappula to the Historic Preservation Commission.

Does council have any comments or questions?

Do I have a motion to approve this appointment?

Motion by member councilor Christine Hall. Do I have a second? Second by councilor David Johnson.

All in favor of the appointment of Robert Sapula, the historic preservation

commission, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is unanimous. Six to zero. Thank you very much and congratulations,

Robert.

Next is the reappointment of Kitty Singleton to the planning commission.

Does council have any comments or questions?

Thank you very much. Do I have a motion to approve this reappointment?

Motion made by Pro Tem and Council Member Lee Hills. Do I have a second? Seconded by Council Member Will Moreland. All in favor of the reappointment of Kitty Singel to the planning commission commission, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is 60

and unanimous. Congratulations,

Kitty.

Next is the reappointment of Jose Gonzales to the recreation commission.

Does council have any comments or questions?

Do I have a motion to approve this reappointment?

Motion by Councilman

made by Councilman Will Morton. Do I have a second?

Seconded by Councilmember Sarah Beeson. All in favor of the reappointment of Jose Gonzales to the recreation commission, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the record the road is six to zero and unanimous. Thank you very much. Congratulations, Jose.

The final appointment is for Tim Houghton to the Roswell Development Authority.

Does council have any quest comments or questions?

Thank you very much. Do I have a motion to approve? This is a is this a reappointment?

Shows appointment here.

Sorry.

Do I have a motion to approve the appointment of Tim to the Roswell development authority? Motion made by council member David Johnson. Do I have a second? Seconded by council member Allen Sells. All those in favor of the appointment of Tim Houghton to the Roswell development authority, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous. Congratulations,

Tim.

Alright. I'm gonna ask,

each of you, Robert Zappulla, Historic Preservation Commission, Kitty Singleton, the Planning Commission, Jose Gonzales, Recreation Commission, and Tim Houghton, the Roswell Development Authority to come up. And I'm gonna read each of your oath separately since you're each from a different commission.

So Robert, we'll go first.

Right here.

I

will

support

the constitution of The United States And the state of Georgia. And of the state of Georgia. And of the state of Georgia. And I will

that in all respects Observe the provisions of the charter

and ordinances

of the city of Roswell and ordinances of the city of Roswell And I will well And I will well and truly perform and truly perform the duties of the office the duties of the office of Roswell Historic Preservation Committee of Roswell Historic Preservation Committee of Roswell Historic Preservation Committee and that I will to the utmost of my skill

and ability and ability and ability endeavor to promote endeavor to promote the interest and property The interest and property. Of said city. Of said city.

Without fear. Without fear. Favor. Favor. Or affection. Or affection. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations, brother. Thank you.

For the notary?

Hi, Kitty Singleton. Hi, Kitty Singleton. Solely swear or affirm Solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the constitution of The United States that I will support the constitution of The United States and of the state of Georgia and of the state of Georgia and that I will in all respect and I will in all respect observe the provisions of the charter observe the provisions of the Charter. And ordinances of the city of Roswell. And ordinances of the city of Roswell. And I will well And I will well And truly perform and truly perform the duties of the office the duties of the office of planning commission of planning commission and that I will to the utmost of my skill

and ability and ability and ability endeavor to promote the interest endeavor to promote the interest and property and property of said city. Of said city Without fear. Without fear Favor. Favor Or affection. Or affection. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you.

Thank

you.

I, Jose Gonzalez. Solemnly swear or affirm. Solemnly swear or affirm. That I will support. That I will support. The Constitution of The United States. The Constitution of The United States. And the State of Georgia. And the State of Georgia. And that I will in all respects. And that I will in all respects. Observe the provisions. Observe the provisions. Of the charter. Of the charter. And ordinances of the city of Roswell. And ordinances of the city of Roswell. And I will well. And I will well. And truly perform. And truly perform. The duties of the office. The duties of the office. Of recreation commission. Of recreation commission. And that I will to the utmost of my skill. And that I will to the utmost of my skill. And ability. And ability. And ability. Endeavor to promote. Endeavor to promote. The interest. The interest. And property. And property. Of said Of said city. Of said city. Without fear. Without fear. Favor. Favor. Or affection. Or affection. So help me God. So help me God. Congratulations, sir. Thanks, sir. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello? Thank

mister Houghton, Tim, if you'll do me a favor and raise your right hand and place your left hand on the bible and repeat the oath of office after

me. Oath of oath of office, state of Georgia, county of Fulton,

city of Roswell.

I, Tim Houghton. I, Tim Houghton. Solemnly swear or affirm Solemnly swear or affirm. That I will support the constitution of The United States That I will support the constitution of The United States and of the state of Georgia and of the state of Georgia and that I will in all respects And I will in all respects observe the the provisions of the charter forgive me. Observe the provisions of the charter That I will preserve

the provisions of the charter. And ordinances of the city of Roswell. And ordinance of the city of Roswell.

And I will well. And I will well. And truly perform. And truly perform. The duties.

Of the office. Of the office. Of Roswell Development Authority. Of Roswell Development Authority. And that I will to the utmost of my skill. And I will to the utmost of my skills. And ability. And abilities. Endeavor to promote. Endeavor to promote. The interest. The interest. And property. And property. Of said city. Of said city. Without fear. Without fear. Favor.

Or affection or affection or affection So help me guide. So help me guide. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Leave. Picture.

Hey. You guys left. Picture.

They still out there? Joe, they gone? No.

There's yeah.

Jose, it's just gonna be it's just gonna be you, I think.

You got a speech? Okay. Awesome. Alright, councilor. Join me for a picture.

Thirty seconds. Mister mayor? Yes? Dear council members,

I'm celebrating eighteen years as a volunteer coach with this beautiful city. So I did wanna picture with you.

Thanks, Will. I got completely

lost that one.

Thank you all very much. Thank you Roswell residents for stepping up and filling very important and pivotal roles in our city.

Thank you, Kitty, for your ongoing service with the Planning Commission.

I think Will Morflint is going to give you a shout out later when we get to the overlay and say thanks to all the work and hard work of you and the rest of your colleagues in the Planning Commission. Thank you, Jose, for your ongoing work on the Rec Commission and everything you do. Robert is

excited about having you in the HPC.

And, mister Houghton, we're tickled to death to have you in the RDA. There's a lot of work ahead.

Alright. Next on the mayor's report is the Roswell results update. I believe this is new. Instead of Roswell events, we're doing a Roswell results update presented by Pro Tem Tim and council member Lee Hills Lee. Thank you, mayor. Yes. The city of Roswell has been working hard to keep projects moving forward. Projects that strengthen our community, grow our economy, and honor those who serve. From new infrastructure to new jobs, from public safety to honoring our heroes, Roswell is delivering on its promise to build a stronger future. Just this month, we broke ground on the downtown parking deck at 1054

Alpharetta Street. This $20,000,000

investment will add nearly 400 parking spaces to ease congestion,

support local businesses, and make it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy everything downtown has to offer. And when it's complete, Roswell residents will be able to park there for free. That's

next summer by next summer. We're also proud to welcome PBS Aerospace to Roswell. This global company is hosting its grand opening in Roswell September 4. They're bringing their new their North American headquarters,

manufacturing, and research operations right here to our city. That means up to 200 high paying jobs in aerospace and advanced technology, and it cements Roswell as a leader in innovation and economic growth.

Just this past weekend, we came together as a community for the LaVonte five k, honoring Roswell police officer Jeremy LaVonte,

who was tragically killed in the line of duty earlier this year. The race, organized with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, raised money to support the families of fallen first responders and veterans nationwide.

It was a powerful tribute to Jeremy's life and to the sacrifices of our heroes.

Just today, the city held a formal ceremony dedicating the Georgia 400 And Holcomb Bridge Road interchange

in officer LaBonte's honor. This dedication

this dedication will serve as a lasting reminder of his service, sacrifice,

and commitment to protecting the Roswell community.

These tributes to officer LaVonte remind us why investing in public safety is so important.

As we honor his service and sacrifice, we also are making sure Roswell's officers have the very best resources to protect and serve our community.

The Roswell Police Department is settling into its brand new public safety headquarters.

Patrol and investigations are already operating out of the building, and by the end of the year, almost every division will be under one roof with nine one one moving into its new facility by the 2026.

Our new public safety headquarters gives our officers the tools and resources they need to keep our community safe at the Summit Buildings close to 400 off of Highway 92.

Together, these milestones show Roswell's commitment to progress, innovation,

and community.

We're investing in infrastructure, bringing in high high quality jobs, honoring our heroes, and strengthening public safety.

Roswell is thriving today, and we're building a future that's even stronger.

And we will be showcasing even more of these exciting wins on our upcoming website, roswellresults.com.

That's www.roswellresults.com.

Be on the lookout for our launch coming

soon. Mayor, back to you.

Thank you, Lee. Appreciate you bringing us up the on the Roswell results update. That's cool. Thank you. Cool stuff.

Alright, everybody. That ends the mayor's report for this evening.

Next is a consent agenda.

There's two items on it. City Clerk, Nancy Long, are there any Rosser residents who would like to speak on the consent agenda?

There are no speakers for the consent agenda. Thank you very much. I'll ask thank you, Nancy. I'll ask, does the council have any comments or questions regarding the consent

agenda? Thank you very much. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? From a motion made by council member Sarah Beeson to approve it. Is there a second? Second by council member David Johnson.

All those in favor of the passing the consent agenda as stated, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous and the consent agenda passes for this evening. Thank you very much.

Alright. Next is the regular agenda.

We go to item one. City clerk Nancy Long, do we would you please read the first item?

Yes, mayor. This is approval of an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program and guidelines. This is the second reading presented by Daryl Connolly, director of economic development. Thank you so much, Nancy. Would you do me a favor? Our chief legal officer and city attorney David Davidson, would you read the ordinance, please, sir? Yes, sir. Thank you, mayor. This is an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program in the city of Roswell, Georgia.

Now therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Roswell, Georgia, pursuant to their authority, do hereby adopt the following ordinance, text of which is incorporated here in by reference and have approved this as the second reading. Thank you, David, very much. Welcome, Daryl. Glad you're with us. Look forward to your presentation, sir. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and members of council tonight.

We've got two items. Both are related to the Roswell development finance program.

This is the

as David mentioned, this is an ordinance to establish the Roswell development finance program.

Back in July 2024,

the Mayor and Council adopted the economic development strategy, which included

goals and objectives to grow the economy,

as well as prioritizing

target locations,

growth engines and

diversifying the tax base.

We also talked about,

establishing a set of tools to catalyze new development within the city. Roswell Development Finance program is such a tool.

Program is designed to leverage

OCGA

thirty six sixty two seventeen. That is the Commercial Property Assess Conservation

Energy and Resiliency Act that was passed by the state legislature,

in 2024,

otherwise known as CPACER or CPACE.

What we've done is we have

designed the program really to focus on hotels.

The law itself

allows the financing of various property types. We want to create a strategy that would get some hotels off the ground,

given the current economic

environment.

The program highlights,

this is for new hotel developments along with ancillary commercial uses,

including retail

and office, subject to certain minimums. The minimum project value would be $20,000,000

the minimum loan at $4,000,000

Eligible improvements,

in accordance with the act

that was passed by the state legislature

are energy efficiency,

water conservation,

renewable energy and resiliency.

The program would be administered by the Roswell Development Authority.

They are going to be working with us, the city, as the administrator for the program.

This particular program uses third party capital paid back through special tax assessments

put on the property.

This particular program would enable property owners to improve the economics,

with a lower interest rate,

longer amortization,

and transfer of loan to new owners.

The city will receive fees from the program administration

and collection.

Council, in the future, if you want to expand

the program, you can do so.

This particular program, it's we're limited to hotels, gives us the opportunity to test a new product and focus on projects that align with our economic development strategy.

The program fees,

an applicant would have to pay a $500

nonrefundable

application fee upon closing of a loan. It would be 1% of the loan amount, and then they'd also have to pay a legal fee of 0.5%,

50 basis points, as well as a servicing fee,

on an annual basis of 1%.

These fees would help the city offset any administrative costs associated with the program.

To establish the program,

we met with you back in July

for the first reading.

On the August 19, the RDA approved an intergovernmental

agreement,

and we're now coming to you for approval of the

ordinance and guidelines.

And later on, this evening, we'll talk about the approval of the IGA.

The city is ready to launch a program immediately. We have,

program guidelines,

establish a guidebook. We have an application ready, so we're ready to hit the ground running.

So

today, I'm requesting your approval of the ordinance to establish the Roswell development finance program.

Outstanding. Thank you, Daryl, so much. Appreciate that presentation.

City Clerk Nancy Long, are there any Roswell residents who would like to speak on this item?

There are no speakers for this item. Thank you very much. Does council have any comments or questions?

Council member Lee Hills.

Thank you, mayor.

Thank you so much for the presentation, Daryl, and I am grateful that we've narrowed this down to a hotel new hotel development,

program.

And I just wanted to get a couple of things, out for folks that are listening to this maybe for the first time. I understand that there are no abatements that are

involved in this program. Correct? That's correct. Alright. And then risk to taxpayers,

if for some reason the owner or the project owner falls into peril financially and sells, that doesn't fall to the taxpayer. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay.

And,

I think that was it actually. So thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Lee. Appreciate all your work and all the work of all the council and the economic

development team on this through couple of years, and it's been a little bit delayed. Will can't wait to talk on it. You can see our timing on this is a little delayed August 25 because we had to wait to make sure Will was here. It was council member of Mortland.

Just to follow back on, council member Hill's point,

the the only thing I wanted to make clear to to our public is the funds that are generated,

the the funds of these loans, these are not Roswell City funds. These are private capital funds. Correct? That's correct. Thank you.

Will, you want to restate that just for clarity because things like this can be,

particularly when they're new and

they got fancy names on them.

People have questions like, how is this going to impact me and why are you doing it and is there any what's the downside?

So let you have it.

So,

Daryl, would you like to take this or would you like me to take this? So the Turns you up to softball. Are we passing it off now? No.

The loans are from third party capital providers. They are not city funds.

The,

capital provider would provide the loan. The city

would put a special assessment on the property

and administer the loan. So we would collect through the special tax assessment

and then pay the

the loan back. So this is

we're just a a pass through. We're facilitating

the transaction, but it helps economic development

projects,

new hotels,

to go up within the city. Specifically hotels

with this program? Only new hotels. And this is Daryl, go ahead and be more specific. What it does is it helps with the cap stack. Correct? Yes. Yes.

So typically, when you finance a finance a project,

you would have a, say, a first mortgage. You might you'll have equity, but then you'll have what they call a mezzanine loan. Mezzanine loan is really the

the highest risk loan. It usually has a high interest rate, somewhere around 15%.

So what this will do is this will the

Roswell development finance program CPACE loan will replace that mezzanine loan with interest rates that are much lower.

They're lower because there's less risk to the the lender. So you may end up having a an interest rate of somewhere

around 7% instead of 15%, and that

benefits the project and helps the project

become more financially feasible. And specifically, the economic team addressed hotels specifically because

of the area

around lending and financing today's marketplace. You want to elaborate on that? Yes.

Hotels are extremely

difficult to finance in this particular market.

And we know that there is a demand for hotel product within the city. So we're trying to help,

bridge the gap and help these projects,

get off the ground. Outstanding. Yes, sir. Councilor Sales, did you want to address this? He covered that. The reason the capital is cheaper is because it has a tax lien. So really, all we're doing is acting as the servicing arm and we're getting paid for that. And I believe you did an analysis to make sure that

this covers our costs, so more than covers our costs, what we're charging for the servicing in particular. Right? Yes. Absolutely.

Yeah. So it's just that it really is,

like you say, that that that gap between the first mortgage, which is the first position and the mezzanine, this really puts this down there with the taxes. I mean and so it will not it's not expunged by a bankruptcy or anything of the sort. So it makes it a lot lot cheaper for the lender. That's correct. Yep.

Thank you, Alan.

Councilor, any thoughts, comments, questions?

Daryl, thank you so much. Let's see if we got

a motion. Would Councilor Mortland, would you like to make a motion on this item?

You've been waiting a long time to do this.

This has been long time coming.

Motion for the approval of an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program and guidelines.

Second reading. Thank you, council member Moreland. Is there a second in council member Moreland's motion? Seconded by council member Sells.

All in favor of the approval of the item tonight with the second reading, the Roswell development finance program and its guidelines, please do so by showing by raising your hands.

Let the record show that the vote is six-zero and unanimous and that the item passes very much. Congratulations,

Daryl.

Congratulations,

Will. Thank you very much. Thank you.

City Clerk Nancy Long, would you read the second item on the regular agenda, please?

Yes, mayor. This is approval of an intergovernment

assessment agreement related to the Roswell development finance program, also presented by Daryl Connolly. Thank you so much, Nancy.

This particular item,

this is the approval of an intergovernmental agreement with the Roswell Development Authority.

The agreement provides a framework for the Roswell Development Finance Program

and the city would be the program administrator.

The main points of this agreement

is that essentially property owners will voluntarily

participate in entering assessment agreements with the RDA.

The city will then levy and collect the special assessments, which are used

to repay

notes that are on the property.

And as a program administrator, the city will receive fees

for its services to fund program operations.

I'm requesting your approval of the intergovernmental assessment grant. Thank you so much, Daryl.

City clerk Nancy Long, are there any Roswell residents who would like to speak on this item?

Yes, mayor. We have one speaker, Mary Robichaud.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mary Robichaud. And this is more just a question, I guess, for this and the previous,

ordinance that was approved.

Understand there's a minimum.

Did the council is there a maximum

amount

that the loan slash the appraised value can be?

There there's only a minimum. There's no maximum.

Thank you, Mary. Thank you so much, Daryl.

Nancy, is that it for Roswell residents?

Thank you so much. Your work of microphone is working like mine. I like it.

Hey, does council have any comments or questions?

Councilor Sales? Yeah. So so the maximum, Daryl, correct me if I'm wrong, but the maximum would be basically whatever the market would bear because they're going out into the public market. They're going to banks and other

type of lenders, more high high interest rate lenders. That's where the the maximum on this would be set would be negotiations with that third party whose money would be used for the loan, not the city's money. Correct? That's correct. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you, Alan. Thank you, Daryl.

Being there are no other thoughts, comments, or questions from the council, council mayor Morland, would you like to make a motion on this item, please, sir?

Yes, sir.

Motion to approve an intergovernmental

agreement,

inter

intergovernmental

assessment agreement related to the Roswell development finance

program.

Motion to approve. Thank you so much, council member Moreland. Is there a second? Second by council member Alan Sells. All understand the item before you, the approval in your IGA,

to the Roswell to the RDFB,

all understand it and in agreement with it, please do so by raising your hands.

Thank you very much. Let the record show that the vote is six-zero and unanimous. Congratulations, Darryl and congratulations,

Will. Thank you very much.

City court Nancy Long, would you plea re please read the third item on the regular agenda?

Yes, mayor. This is approval of final plat two zero two five two one two one for Little Lakes Estates located at 385

Pine Grove

Road, presented by Jeanne Payton, planning and zoning director. Thanks so much, Nancy. Welcome, Jeanne.

No Jeanne. Angela.

Angela.

How are you?

Good evening, mayor and council. I am filling in for miss Payton this evening.

As stated, we have a final plat this evening for Little Lakes Estates

located at 385

Pine Grove Road.

The request, of course, is approval for an eight lot subdivision. It is located west of the intersection of North Coleman Road and Pine Grove.

So just for, proximity, that's an aerial picture. You can see that the

road has been constructed.

Just a little background. It's on RS 18.

It's approximately

5.53

acres,

eight single family lots, one,

additional lot for detentions.

The 10 foot multi use trail along Pine Grove Road has been constructed,

inspected,

and approved, and it also meets ADA guidelines.

The minimum house size,

is between 4,045

4,500

square feet, with additional,

unfinished basement space.

As required, the HOA documents were submitted with the application,

and the stormwater management inspection and maintenance agreement,

clearly states that the store stormwater management facilities shall be constructed and adequately maintained by the landowner,

and

after that, the property owners

and HOA.

That is the plat,

that we are asking for approval

of this evening.

It's a close-up for you.

This plot does have some history in front of council, so I'm just gonna take a moment and touch on some

key dates.

In November '21, the preliminary plot for five lots was approved by the planning commission.

In March '21, the Landis Durance Permit

application was received.

This application,

has since expired.

In February '23, the applicant

applied for a rezoning

from RS 18 to RS 12.

Council denied this rezoning but approved

a concurrent variance

to reduce,

setbacks.

In May '23,

second preliminary plat was approved by the planning commission. This one had eight lots.

In November '20 and I'm sorry. October '23, Landis Dermot's permit was issued May '25.

The final plat that's before you tonight was submitted and staff review was completed in

July.

That concludes staff presentation.

Angela, thank you. Looks like a beautiful subdivision. I think I wanna

live here. Looks like a nice place.

City clerk, Nancy Long, are there any Roswell residents who'd like to speak on this item?

There are no speakers for this item. Thanks so much, Nancy. Does council have any comments or questions?

Very good.

Do I hear a motion?

Motion by council member David John. Would you make the Johnson the motion, please, council member Johnson. I apologize. Yep. Yep. My bad.

So motion for approval. Final plat 20252121

for Little Lakes Estate located at 385

Pine Grove Road. Thank you, council member Johnson. Is there a second to the motion? Second. Seconded by Pro Tem and council member Lee Hills. All in favor of the approval of the motion as stated by council member Johnson, please do so by raising your hands.

Let the record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous. Thank you very much. And approval of final plat tonight is granted for that for that property. Thank you, Angela.

City clerk Nancy Long, would you please read the last item on the regular agenda?

Thank you, mayor. This is approval of a text and map amendment to the unified development code for the Hill Street overlay. This is the second reading presented by Michelle Alexander, director of community development.

And I would ask chief legal officer and city attorney David Davidson to please read the ordinance. Sorry, Michelle. Go ahead, please, David, sir. Thank you, mayor. This is an ordinance to amend the Unified Development Code by modifying Article eight overlay districts. Now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Roswell, Georgia, pursuant to their authority, do hereby amend Article eight overlay districts, text of which is incorporated here and by reference and have approved this

is the second reading. Thank you so much, David. Welcome, Michelle. Glad you're here.

I know you've been working on this a lot, and we're so glad to have you with us. Thank you. Thank you, mister mayor, members of council,

and madam SVP

Aizon.

Yes. So this document is

a zoning mechanism

to

regulate and control a very specific district that is the Hill Street District. So the overlay means that it is both a map amendment. You'll be changing the map to identify and put boundaries around this location,

as well as a text amendment. And the text language

provides for additional

rules,

standards, and permissions,

for this given district.

And in this case, it's for a very special purpose. It's a very carefully considered unified mixed use plan,

that will will be enabled through this legislation

with use regulations

and design dimensions.

And the,

distinction is that it's in your unified development code. That means there's full transparency. Folks can see what the rules are. It's not hidden in some not hidden, but it's not in a zoning file somewhere that you have to dig for. It's in the public eye, the transparency

for the standards for the high quality that you demand.

It's the last time we were here was in July, July 14, and I wanna thank especially the planning commission for all the,

intensive hours that were,

dedicated to this. This is just to show you that we had several different versions and we improved it so that it was better organized,

clearer, and made made sure we met the intent of council

and the community.

And we've gone through several

briefings prior to getting to this point today.

Just a brief overview. There's a few things that changed since the last time that we were before you.

If I draw your attention to the right side,

the boundaries

originally were around the entire,

Hill Street, Atlanta

Forest,

and Oak,

and that encompassed the entire boundary around it.

To the left is the changed boundary. You see that it's been reduced.

So

properties that were along the Atlanta,

and Oak Street,

many of those were removed

from the overlay to simplify it.

And we more clearly careful more clearly

categorized

the two projects. One, we have the city's project, which is labeled as a,

the Hill Street project for which is the mixed use project, and then you have an area the properties adjacent, which are area b. So it's simplified that we have an area a and an area b.

Almost the entire,

ordinance

relates

to area a with all of the regulations and,

standards in place. Some of the other changes we made, we put, a lot of the lists of tables excuse me, the list of dimensions and standards we put into a more readable form. So we have several different tables

through the document.

We also

identified within the concept plan that regulates

the location.

So where you see all the buildings, the layout of that, that's a regulating plan that is required. The text requires that the project get built according to that layout.

And that's your regulating plan, and we labeled the all of the buildings,

which helped as you read through the

document and you see different tables. We label

label the names of the buildings so you could associate

an easier to follow and track what was being regulated.

So we replaced a lot of the lists with tables and

clarifications.

I know that was a brief review. I know that there was intensive reviews of this through all of many briefings,

available for questions, but, we do recommend

approval of the text and map amendment to the UDC to establish the Hill Street overlay district.

Thank you, Michelle, so much.

Appreciate all, again, the hard your hard work, the hard work of your team, the hard work of the legal team, the hard work of the economic development team,

the hard work of the city senior staff team.

Thank you very much to the planning commission, especially for all the hard work they've done. They have done yeoman's work as Roswell residents being highly involved in this entire process. So I want to thank all parties who've been such an integral part of this.

City Clerk Nancy Long, are there any Roswell residents who'd like to speak on this item?

Mayor, are there any speakers for this item?

I've seen doctor Joe Panito raise his hand

standing next to a gentleman in a purple shirt, and I'm guessing he's coming up here to speak on this item.

Welcome, sir.

Nancy, would you recognize the gentleman?

Joe Zirkus.

Close enough. It's Zirkus. Sorry.

I was, writing that very fast, so I apologize. My handwriting was a little sloppy on that.

I just wanted to ask, is there any requirement for green space in this area, or is it just going to be a big

urban jungle kind of sprawl? From the map, I couldn't quite tell and the charts were a little small for me to read from back there. So I just wanted to to see if there would be a green space requirement. No. Thanks for that question. Absolutely. Michelle, you wanna address that?

Yes.

Absolutely. There's, 13%

of the overall site is dedicated to usable amenity space for public accessible

publicly accessible

amenity space,

and there is,

throughout it different areas of

comprehensive landscaping and tree and streetscape,

dedication to the overall project. So, yes, it was carefully

designed so that the public space is inviting

and has plenty of open space to enjoy and have public activity in the area outside.

Thank

you. Thanks for the question. Thank you, Michelle.

I think you'll be very happy when you see the the amount of green space on the on the finished project.

Any other Michelle's I mean, that's it, Nancy. Right?

I love that microphone back there. It's so quiet.

Committee meeting.

Any thoughts, comments, or questions from council?

Councilman Werkler.

Yes, sir. As as you were mentioning at the beginning of the meeting, and and I'll just echo this as well,

the the amount of work and hours that the planning commission as well as many of our other boards and commissions have put in on this in conjunction with working with community development

as

they have just really turned this upside down and and made sure that we are getting this as buttoned up and precise as as right.

The safeguards that are in place

due to everything that we have,

reviewed and and brought forward,

I feel very confident that Roswell is going to get a fantastic project

with the work that has been done here and just can't thank the the members

and the,

and and all the hard work that has gone into this. So thank you so much for that.

Thank you, Will. Council member Hall, Christine.

Thank you. And and I do wanna

echo

the the thanks to our,

Roswell volunteers.

I mean, basically, these folks are unpaid volunteers that volunteer for our boards and commissions,

especially planning commission.

I I know

I mean, forty hours on a weekend probably went in one weekend by these folks just just to

make sure that this is really buttoned up and the best project that Roswell

that that Roswell can get.

It it's it just

really warms my heart that people

are so willing to give of themselves and do that. And and Kitty Singleton is is one of those folks sitting here. We just really can't thank you enough and the rest of your team members on the planning commission as well as,

on some of the other boards and commissions. Thank you so much.

Councilmember Ridley Hills, are you gonna pile on? I'm piling on.

Just so you know, these are open meetings to the public. You can listen to them online or you can attend, all of those boards and commissions meetings. And if you go on www.roswellgov.com,

in the very top right corner, there's some tiny words and one of them is calendar. Go click on calendar, and you can find the upcoming meetings on there and click on those.

And then, I don't know, at least the day before or day of, you can get the agenda on there, the link to listen or watch. Most of them are listened. But just so you know, you have access to that. You always have. That's not new as of tonight. That's been going on for a long, long time. But,

we welcome the the feedback in those. You can make public comment, I think, in all of them,

and and be recognized by the chair and the board or the commissioners and, have a say there. So that ultimately gets translated into what we hear from that board or commission. So

just wanted to update you on that. Roswaldgov.com,

top right corner, look for the word calendar,

and you can pop right into pretty much anything, see what's coming up for the month. Thank you. Thank you, Pro Tamley Hills. Customer sales. Thank you, Pro Tamley Hills. Customer sales. Thank the month. Thank you. Thank you, Pro Tamley Hills. Customer sales.

Yeah. I guess I'll pile on a little bit. I I want to talk just briefly about the fact that this is great. This is a great deal for the city because,

I mean, we are literally at this moment dedicating the summit. The police are moving out of this building, and we're instantly moving into an economic development opportunity

with an asset that the city has

no more useful because it didn't fit our purpose. And so we this is a perfect use of the assets of the city for the for the residents.

It was a complicated

deal. Not only

the planning commission work and the, and the staff work to bring it to this point, but even before that, the deal itself was complicated. And so there were lots and lots of moving pieces. Our development partners as well, the flexibility that they showed, I mean, working together

because we recognized

that they had to cover their they had to cover their nut. So we tried to find ways to make this an attractive project for them,

economically viable for

our development partners, attractive for the cities. There's a green space, an open green space right off the restaurants.

Think, the back porch at Lucky's

kind of thing. You know, that there's some great spaces there at this that will be, a benefit to this part of of of the city. So I'm very, very excited about that. And the fact that these people,

you know, Kitty and company just

all the hard work and working with the staff and with the developers and getting that done is really, really great work and I appreciate it a lot.

Thank you, council member Sales.

Council member Johnson. Council member yes. Council member Visa. I was gonna look over there. Sorry.

Just wanted to add on as well. So one of the improvements of this area as well is,

as many people know around the Groveway area, we have the Roswell Housing Authority, which is directly around the corner. So not only are we redeveloping that area as well where we are increasing the total number of units, this also provides an excellent opportunity for the residents within that area to have amenities

close to walking distance from their homes as well as jobs that are walking distance to their homes. So it's a great contribution to the neighborhood.

Also, there's housing components as well. So making sure that it's just a true addition to the community, not just something that is randomly copied and pasted out of nowhere.

Thank you, Sarah. Well said. Casper Johnson. Well, you know how much I love to speak publicly.

So, no. Also, I think we need to thank the DDA,

for for their work

on this. I'm just kidding. No. This is a this is a great economic project for the city, you know. Alan knows the numbers better than I do, but, you know, what 28,000

a year in tax revenue currently 16. I think

16.

Going to close to a million dollars and this is how If you're not gonna include the pilot Yeah. Yeah. Just I mean, just the basics. Just numbers. I mean, this is,

why I'm here, right, sitting in this seat. It's because, you know, we're gonna see better economic deals coming to the East Side Of Roswell soon and need we

we got this done because of good work from the planning commission, because of the work of this mayor and council,

because of the DDA,

because the developer wanted to work with us, and be because of a,

you know, a consultant that's talked about a lot publicly.

But he's the reason why this deal was, you know, brought to life, you know. And I I I think, you know, twenty years from now when millions of dollars are coming into the city's coffers,

right, you know, the the the amount of money we pay that consultant is going minuscule

compared to what this deal is.

Thank thank you, David.

Any other thoughts, comments, or questions from

councilman Wortland? I've never seen you in such an urge golly. We did twice. Welcome. Yeah. Is this for you twice? Yes, twice.

Last,

last bit that that I failed to recognize earlier, and that is someone that deserves special

accommodations

on

this. And he is not here tonight, and that's Jeff Leatherman for being the conduit between the planning commission and city staff.

He,

he's he's been the he's been the true negotiator between both sides of this. And and thank you very much. Between the planning commission and, yeah, and the Community development. Community development. Yep. There's been a lot of different negotiators. There there's been a lot in there, but but Jeff does deserve special credit for this as well. I'm glad you mentioned Jeff. And, actually, Will, you started this and you're exactly right. Kitty and team, thank you. Eric, you guys put in a lot of work, make a big difference in the city, help us get a better product. We'd be remiss if we didn't say thank you to these ladies to our right starting right here at their sitting down.

Our Com Dev Director, Michelle

Alexander and her team,

everybody inside the city knows Jackie Deibel, but nobody outside of the city or the regular residents understand

the magnitude of the work of ComDev, Michelle and her team and Jackie Deibel and Angela and Jeanne and the amazing work that they do.

I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the work of the senior staff,

including the legal team and how much they have been involved in this incredibly complex project.

This project, ladies and gentlemen, when we kept when came into office,

was a 96 apartment project stand alone multifamily project with 7,000 square feet

of mixed use retail. In other words,

basically, stand alone apartment complex project. It was the highest

density approved apartment project in North Fulton County

at, it was 96 per acre. The project sorry, 77 per I'm trying to remember. I forgot my math, but I remember it was the highest per capita. It was a 96 unit

project. And,

through the hard work and ingenious and by the way, so myself and primarily

some of the council here worked on this project in 2022

and began to look at trying to change

the

the manifestation of what's current of how it was entitled.

And we came up with an agreement actually in October

2022,

and I'm so glad the agreement didn't fall through. That that the agreement didn't come through

because

David just said it.

The fact that we hired SEER,

worldwide to come into the equation in January

2023

changed the scope of the project, changed the dynamics of the project.

And if we had done it before, we would have done it like most other cities. We've been a positive project, been a plus,

but it wouldn't had all the creative gems that this project has as we begin to unfold this with the closing October 15.

This project has so many gems because,

don't call it business, just call it common sense.

Like

the city is going to benefit from this from a financial perspective

in such a dramatic fashion. Just alone,

just alone on the ground lease, it's worth $670,000

a year, which that's before

escalators and projections of time cost of money. If you take a ninety nine year ground lease, you can do the math times $670,000

you can see it's well over $60,000,000

into the city's coffers. Again, not including escalators cost time and money. There's 50% pref on the sale when the when the developer ends up selling this at the at the ten year threshold, the 15% pref. There's a pilot program that's incredibly ingenious where a pilot program almost always goes against the municipal or county government. In this particular transaction,

the pilot program

is going towards the city, another significant part of tax revenue. There are so many pieces of this. This is such a complicated transaction. It's not for the faint.

It is very sophisticated.

It's taken a lot of work from all hands on deck in this city and a special thanks to this council in front of me.

But Peter Shirkov has led the charge on this. Talk about value.

The value is dramatic in terms of the payback to the city. And that's why I really extensively Peter is the chief commercial officer of the city. That's what he is. He runs the economic team.

And we as a city are far better off because we can put together an incredibly sophisticated

project like this. Again, not for the faint hearted, not for those who are not accustomed to dealing in this kind of level of sophistication, and it's taken a magnificent effort of all parts of the city to make this happen. So when the thank yous go

out, there's a lot of thank yous.

And the work that

the payoff for this will be is an incredible project to improve the quality of life and improve the downtown corridor

and improve the aspects of anybody who visits us and it's going to critically improve, obviously, the sales tax revenue. But it's going to improve the quality of life for the city of Roswell and be another great place for people to come for twenty, thirty, forty years to come. Very proud of it. The overlay had to happen. Well done. We've been slow. We've been disciplined

about putting this together. So well done, everybody. Thank you.

Alright.

Enough said.

Council member Mortland, do you have a motion to make this, sir?

Oh, council member Salz, did you wanna say something? No. I'm Oh, council member did you wanna make the motion, Alan? You want me to make it? You wanna make the motion? I'll make the motion. Make the motion. Yes, sir. Council member sales.

Thank you, sir. Thank you, mayor.

Oh, by the way and thank you to the property owners for being a part of this and getting behind this and supporting this

adjacent to this big deal. Thank you, Ron and team. Thank you guys for making this happen as well. Thank you. Appreciate you.

I'd like to make a motion to, for approval of a text and map amendment to the United Develop Unified Development Code, the UDC for the Hill Street overlay.

This is the second reading.

Thank you very much, councilor Merssells. Do I have a second to the motion?

Second by council member William Mortland.

All understand the approval of the text amendment, you you the UDC for the Hill Street overlay, HSOD, second reading as stated and read and discussed.

If you approve of this, please do so by raising your hands.

Let the record show that the vote is six to zero, unanimous,

and this issue passes. Thank you very much. Congratulations,

everybody. Michelle, thank you. Well done.

Last on the agenda is the city attorney's reports, chief legal officer and city attorney, David Davidson, please read the item on the city attorney's report.

Mister mayor, I do not have any recommendation for closure. Thank you very much, sir. Since there is no motion for closure,

being that there are no other items,

this mayor and council meeting of Monday, 08/25/2025

is adjourned. Thanks so much for being with us.

I was lost. Yeah.