Mayor and Council Meeting
Video Transcript
Duration: 48 minutes
Speakers: 14
Good evening and welcome to the City Of Roswell mayor and city council meeting of Monday, 06/09/2025.
I am mayor Kurt Wilson, and I'd like to introduce my colleagues and council members present. Council member Sarah Beeson,
council member Christine Hall,
council member Anne Pro Tem Lee Hills,
council member David Johnson,
council mayor council member William Wortland,
and council member Alan Sells is out on vacation this week. So we're missin' Allen. At this point, I'll turn the meeting over to our senior vice president and deputy city administrator,
mister Jeff Leatherman, to explain how the meetings run. Mister Leatherman.
Thank you, mayor. I've all also, just managed to break the button for the first time up here.
So
it's strong work to start with. In accordance with section chapter 3.7
of the city code, 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's website prior to the meeting.
This is a public meeting and some items do require a formal public hearing. An important component to the city council meeting 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 the mayor and council to consider as they contemplate each item. To ensure an accurate record of the meeting, if you would like to speak on an item, please complete a comment card located at the back of the room. We ask that everybody observe the principles of mutual respect and display the appropriate demeanor during the course of 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 necessary, to have an independent conversation, please exit the rear doors into the lobby area.
In addition, that we ask you to silence any of your electronic devices at this time. The mayor is the presiding officer over these meetings and will ensure the orderly exchange of comments, questions, and discussions.
We encourage everyone in attendance and in the viewing audience to visit the the city's website for information on news, events, and meetings. 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, which we use to promote our community, both physical activity and leisure, as we strive to make Roswell the number one family community in America.
And mayor, with your indulgence, I just wanna make one additional comment. We will have a new format, that we are using for this agenda on the regularly scheduled meeting items where our clerk in the back will call those items, and then the mayor and council will deliver it accordingly. So I just wanted everybody to know it is a little bit different format than one that we've used before, and this will be the first time that we're trying it out tonight. So thank you.
Jeff, thank you. Jeff, thank you so much, sir. Appreciate it. At this time, I have the great pleasure and privilege of asking the reverend Timothy Chudwicki
Timothy,
who is the lead pastor of the Realms of Glory International Church, to come forward to the front for the moment of silence and invocation. Welcome, sir. Thank you so much,
Emmanuel and honorable leaders.
Can we bow our heads
as we take the invocation?
Almighty God, the giver of every good thing and perfect gift.
We thank you for this day and for this gathering of honorable leaders,
devoted
public servants, and courageous men and women.
Who have who have answered the call to serve this city.
Lord, we leave them all before you.
This council, our mayor, and every member of the the city administration,
grant them wisdom to govern
with justice,
integrity, and compassion.
May every decision made here tonight
be guided by truth, unity, and desire to see the common good
flourish in this land.
Today, we also
mark a special moment in the life of our city and swearing in
of news fire service personnel.
We thank you for this brave individuals
who stand ready to protect and serve.
Even at
personal risk.
May their commitment be strengthened by your grace.
May their service be marked by courage, excellence, and compassion.
Bless their hands to bring help and healing.
Shield them from every harm. And may their presence bring peace
to every emergency they respond.
We also pray for their families.
Their strength.
May you preserve and protect them
throughout this season
in Jesus name.
May our city be better,
safer,
stronger
because of this dedication we celebrate today.
We ask
that
all this we reverence,
humility and gratitude,
amen. Amen.
Amen. Can we have a moment of silence?
This time,
I want everyone of us to
remember those who have honored and served us. Those who continue to serve, And those who have lost their life in line of duty.
We pause in gratitude, reflection and unity as a city.
Amen. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you, reverend Timothy
of the Realms of Glory
International Church for joining us tonight. Thank you for your lovely prayer.
At this time, I have the great privilege to ask ask United States army captain, captain James r Burdum,
to please come forward and lead us in the pledge of allegiance.
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.
Thank you, captain Burnham. I'm gonna ask with your permission just for you to stay right there, and And I'm gonna ask the council to join me for the first item under the mayor's report, which is a reading of the proclamation of the esteemed veteran of Roswell Ward.
And everybody else can sit down and relax.
Proclamation,
office of the mayor,
captain James r Burnham, esteemed veteran of Roswell.
Whereas, the city of Roswell proudly recognizes the extraordinary
service and sacrifice
of those who have worn
the uniform of the United States Army.
And whereas, captain James r Burnham honorably served The United States Army,
answering the call to duty in 2004
when he earned an army o t ROTC scholarship at Clemson University
and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 02/2008.
Whereas, throughout his distinguished army career,
Captain Burnham held numerous leadership roles including platoon leader,
company
commander, battalion supply officer,
and battalion operations and executive officer.
And whereas, Captain Burnham completed a number of army training pro pro programs,
including leaders' trainership course at Fort Knox, Kentucky,
leadership development assessment at Fort Lewis, Washington,
basic officer leader course at Fort Benning, Georgia,
and quartermaster officer leader course at Fort Lee, Virginia.
And whereas captain Burnham
earned multiple honors and recognition for his service,
including
the bronze star,
combat action badge,
army commendation medal,
army commendation medal second award,
Afghanistan
campaign medal with two campaign stars,
Maritania's
Maritania's
unit commendation,
national defense service medal,
global war on terrorism service medal,
army service ribbon,
and NATO medal second award.
And whereas captain Burnham
served in high level assignments including platoon leader with the eighty second airborne division,
task force Pegasus, fifth battalion, hundred and fifty eighth Aviation Regiment to Regional Command West,
Afghanistan
in support
of operation enduring freedom two thousand nine to through 02/2010.
Providing logistical support during operational Marja,
the largest air assault during the global war on terrorism,
and deployed
as a company commander with the hundred and first Airborne Division,
task force destiny
to Regional Command North
Afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom 2012
through 02/2013.
Whereas following his honorable discharge from the United States Army in twenty two thousand fourteen,
captain Burnham continued to pursue excellence through education,
earning a master's in business administration
from the University of Georgia.
Whereas, he remains actively engaged in community service through his involvement with his church
and volunteering at his daughter's school.
Whereas the city of Roswell
is proud to honor captain Burnham for his exemplary military service,
community involvement,
and lifelong dedication
to the values of integrity,
courage, and service.
Now, therefore, I, Curtin Wilson,
mayor of the city of Roswell, Georgia, mayor of the city of Roswell, Georgia,
do hereby name captain James r Burdum,
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, captain Burdum.
Hi, Jim. This is where you get the mic
Mayor, I appreciate it.
I don't deserve it.
You all do. Look look at this crew over here about to serve this community.
Council, mayor, everyone, you know, active citizens in the room.
It was just a a time that, you know,
you know, my my, peers had to step up and,
Bonfanti,
Lieutenant Bonfanti over here as well. There's I'm sure there's other other other veterans in the room.
It was an easy decision, and I I don't deserve any of this. But I will say,
I humbly accept it because, on behalf of the thousand we did lose,
and and the millions that that, gave up their the best years of their lives.
For me, it was some of the best years of my life. But,
you know, especially I I two friends I carry on my on my wrist every day,
CW five John Pratt and,
captain Jay Brainard,
you know, just they never made it home. And,
you know, I I, when I left Afghanistan,
this was not planned.
You know, there's a mural at Bagram, and,
it's a beautiful mural, and, it says,
you know, live a life worthy of their sacrifice.
And,
you know, this country is not guaranteed. This beautiful community of Roswell is not guaranteed, and it's it's due to people like you
that,
stand up every day, the parents in the room, that that protect this community,
and this country. And, you know, I think I I share this honor with all of you because, there's there's so many people in here that are that are standing up to that call as well. And, you know, I'm honored. I really appreciate it.
Mayor has been a friend the last few years, and I've got I've got something for you because he he served our country as well in the army,
and, obviously, is is sharing his his precious time and, and energy, you know, leading leading this great community.
So
on behalf of all of my buddies,
we've got
wow.
We've got a,
We've got a, a flag that was flown in Afghanistan.
I wish I could say it was flown during, like, a really cool Navy Seal air assault.
It was just a resupply mission, but, it was flown on a Blackhawk in Northern Afghanistan.
And I've I've kept it and, didn't know what to do with it, but couldn't think of a better a better,
person and and city to,
to share it with. And, and then one more item. So our our company,
you know, in the military,
those in the room are familiar. The these challenge coins are
are are very popular in the military. And so,
we had one made. This is Alpha Company four twelfth,
twelfth Combat Aviation Brigade,
and, it was just a great way to get the soldiers a little morale boost, you know. And, it's also,
a belt buckle. So I don't know if you, you know, you've you've got great style, but Yeah. Exactly. It may.
But it on the back, it reads, for excellence in combat, operation during freedom twelve thirteen,
do work was our very,
classy
company motto,
because our guys didn't do a lot of work. But,
but I'd like to to give this to you as well, mayor,
on behalf of of,
our team. And this is this is an honor, and I I accept it on on behalf of all of them. So thanks again, everybody. Appreciate it.
Jim, I'll give you a challenge coin, but we didn't have them in my day.
We didn't have challenge coins. This is awesome, man. Matter of fact, it goes.
Well,
thank you, Jim. Thank you, captain Burnham, for your service
to our country.
And, like a lot of guys, they always tell you they did nothing.
And,
as you can tell, they do a lot more than nothing.
Next on tonight's agenda
is the Roswell Fire Department swearing in ceremony,
And I'd like to turn it over to our fabulous,
fabulous interim fire chief, Pavel Troche, to lead the ceremony. Chief Troche.
Wow.
Okay. That's out of control. You guys are clapping for Troche that quick.
It's gonna be a long night. And make sure this is working.
Can you hear me okay?
Fantastic.
I'm gonna stand off to the side a little bit as they walk through.
So,
mayor, council, thank you very much for having me. This is probably
the proudest moment a fire chief can have is to be able to highlight the incredible team, that they have. And here at Roswell,
we have the absolute best of the best. So,
this is just a super exciting night for me and for everyone to be able to see the incredible people we have here. So good evening, everyone.
Tonight marks a proud and historic moment for the city of Roswell and for our fire department.
Mayor, council,
with your support and leadership, we are elevating 15 of our finest to the rank of fire apparatus operators.
This is more than just promotions. It's a bold step in continuing to build the foundation of our department's future.
These individuals have earned this advancement through skill,
service, and an unwavering commitment to public safety.
Additionally, we are pleased to welcome four new firefighter paramedics.
These new hires represent our continued effort to recruit and retrain and retain driven,
dedicated,
and high caliber individuals
to serve our community with excellence.
Together, these 19 appointments reflect the city of Roswell's ongoing evolution,
expanding
capacity, enhancing operational readiness,
and investing in leadership from the ground up.
We thank the mayor and council for recognizing the importance of this investment.
Your trust and support enables us to meet today's challenges and prepare for tomorrow's.
Let this moment stand as a testament to the strength of teamwork,
the power of vision,
and our shared commitment to serving Roswell with courage and honor.
Without further ado,
I will announce the newly promoted fire apparatus operators.
Please hold your applause to their end.
Adam Alexander,
Bradley
Adalet,
Dustin Bloom?
Thomas Botts?
Daniel Coburn,
Maurice Gates,
Nicholas Ampalazzeri,
Miguel Jimenez,
Nick Leslie,
Emmanuel
Rios,
Nathan Ricketts,
Max Rogers,
Christopher Smith,
and the famous John Wayne Junior.
Please give these FAOs a round of applause.
I thank you for everything that you do, for your dedication, for your service, and everything that you're gonna do for the city.
And
as important and equally as important for all the family and loved ones that are here in support of them, They're truly part of the best organization in the country
and part of an organization that truly appreciates them, loves them, values them. So I thank all the family members that are here,
supporting them tonight.
Next,
we welcome our new full time firefighter paramedics.
Andrew Riley.
Andrew Riley brings fourteen years of experience to our department,
Having previously served with city of Atlanta and the city of Alpharetta,
Riley is famous for his firehouse cuisine.
Next, we introduce Brendigail Sadowski,
who has four years of fire service experience, including time with the Milton Fire Department. Brandigail comes to us with
valuable experience in community paramedicine program.
We're also pleased to welcome Kyle Phillips.
Kyle has six years in the fire service with previous experience
in the city of Humble Fire Department located in Texas
and Wallachah County. Did I pronounce that right? Wallachah County.
Go. Wallachah County.
Fire Department of Florida. He's also a United States Army veteran. Thank you for your service.
Finally, we have Colton Stevens,
who joins us with three years of fire service experience from Hall County. Colton is also a state of Georgia smoke diver and operates his own part time arborist business.
It is now my pleasure to invite
mayor Kurt Wilson
to conduct the swearing in.
Alright, guys.
Hello. Hello. Alright. It's, oath time. You guys ready?
Alright. Let's do it. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I, state your name.
I, state your name. Do solemnly swear. Solely swear.
That I will support and protect the constitution that I will support and protect the
constitution
of The United States and of the state of Georgia of The United States and of the state of Georgia and that I will bear true faith
Loyalty.
And allegiance to the same.
That I am entitled to hold office under the constitution.
And laws of the state of Georgia. And laws of the state of Georgia.
And the charter of the city of Roswell.
Charter of the city of Roswell. And then I will faithfully perform all of the duties.
Entrusted to me. Entrusted to me. In my service to the city of Roswell.
In any position
to which I'm appointed or promoted
to the best of my ability to the best of my ability. So help me god.
Congratulations, everyone.
Pavel, I thought you guys were staying for the rest of the meeting.
Next on the mayor's report is upcoming events in the city of Roswell.
I'll ask, my friend, our pro tem, council mayor Lee Hills to make the announcements. Lee? Yes, sir. Thank you, mayor. Want to remind everybody to check-in with www.roswell,
365.com
to find out what's coming up in the city. It's a great place to find out,
what's coming up this week and and for the next couple of weeks or months. You can also register your own event there if it's something that you'd like to publish to the public
by, creating
a simple and free account and then put your own graphic on there, and it'll be published and expire at the date that you put in there. So So take advantage of that and share your good news. We've also got a lot coming up here. The summer is warming up. This Friday, June 13, get ready to relax under the stars with Music on the Hill. This is right here at City Hall and starts 7PM.
You can come early and get situated, but the music starts at seven featuring Doc Rock Radio. Play in all of your favorite soft rock hits from the seventies. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy a perfect Roswell evening.
Next week on Thursday, June 19 is our third Alive in Roswell. Hard to believe. It's warming up on Canton Street in downtown. So join friends and family and get a bite to eat and listen to the music and just enjoy yourselves being outside.
Then also on
on June 19, join us beginning at 5PM at the heart of Roswell Park to celebrate Juneteenth with DJ Tron. Mayor Wilson and the council will be on hand to talk about the importance and celebration of this holiday.
And every Saturday at 8AM until noon, the Roswell Farmers Market and Artisan Market is the place to be right here at City Hall. It's had a an outstanding turnout and lots of smiles coming and going. It's the best in North Fulton, offering fresh produce, handmade goods, and local charm.
And if you've been to our holiday Christmas tree lighting and it feels hometown, this is the same thing with this Roswell Farmers Market.
It's got great, great breath working within it and, pushing out great local things. So come check it out and just visit. You don't have to buy anything, but you certainly won't be able to resist when you get here. Again, check out rosville365.com
for what's coming up and more details on any of the things I just mentioned.
Mayor? Thank you, Lee. That ends the, mayor's report for this evening.
Next is the consent agenda.
Does council have any questions
or comments regarding any items on the consent agenda?
Thank you very much. At this time, I'll ask if any Roswell residents have any comments on the consent agenda?
Yes, sir.
Roman,
welcome.
I will use this on document that I'm not talking about something else.
I'll
start this one.
One can help me.
Okay. I'm using those agenda that I print on my computer.
I was a little bit surprised.
Roman, this is not on the consent agenda, sir. This is not on here tonight.
It's coming later.
It's it's a an item that comes later.
Okay.
What? It'll come. You'll be yeah. Just a few minutes.
I'll I'll wave at you and let you know it's the it's the correct item.
Thank you, sir.
Any other comments on the consent agenda?
Thank you so much. Bring it back to council.
Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?
Motion by council member Johnston. Do I have a second? Second by council member Markland. All in favor approval of the consent agenda, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is five to zero unanimous in a pro in a favor of the consent agenda. Thank you so much.
Next is the regular agenda.
City clerk Nancy Long, would you please re please read the first item?
Mayor, this item is approval of an ordinance to amend chapter three of the code of ordinances of the city of Roswell
to permit and regulate special event facilities,
to allow for wine to be brought into a special event facility under certain conditions
and for other purposes. This is the second reading presented by Joe Cusack, assistant city attorney. Thank you so much, Nancy.
Assistant city attorney Joe Cusack, would you please read the ordinance, sir? Yes, sir. Mayor,
this one is an ordinance to amend chapter three, article seven, section seven of the code of ordinances of the city Of Roswell.
Now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Roswell,
pursuant to their authority, do hereby adopt the following amendment.
Chapter three, article seven, section seven is hereby replaced with the amended and attached here to and incorporated herein by reference. And if approved, this is the second reading. Thank you very much, Joe Cusack.
Council, any thoughts, comments, or questions on the ordinance amendment at hand?
Council member
Hills. Thank you, mayor.
This is just for those of you just tuning in. This is for a cooking school, which is intended to be certainly educational and also social.
There's a new business opening up in the Eastside and East Village, and,
what this is doing is allowing folks that are participating in the cooking class to be able to bring a bottle of wine in so that they can enjoy that with their meal. And they'll have guidance from the school to what would pair well with it. So we're very excited to be able to provide this for new business here. And, nothing outrageous or crazy, just doing business in a really fun way. And hopefully, everybody here will be in in the city will at some point be able to enjoy taking a cooking class there. And if you can bring water if you like, but you can bring a bottle of wine if you would like so as well. So I'm happy to support this. Thank you, Lee, so much. Any other thoughts, comments, or questions from council? Very good. I'll ask if there any Roswell residents who would like to weigh in on this particular issue?
Thanks so much. Bring it back to council.
Anyone would like to make a motion?
Yes. Would you make the motion for me? Yes. Sorry. A motion to approve an ordinance to amend chapter three of the code of ordinances of the city of Roswell to permit and regulate special event facilities to allow for wine to be brought in to a special event facility under certain conditions and for other purposes.
Second reading.
It's this is the second reading. Thank you, Lee, so much. Motion made by council member Hills. Is there a second? Second. Second by council member Johnson. All in favor of the second approval of the second reading of this particular ordinance, please do so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is five to zero and unanimous.
Thank you very much. Nancy, would you please read the last item on the regular agenda?
Mayor, this item is approval of an ordinance to amend chapter 10 of the code of ordinances of the city of Roswell to permit and regulate short term rentals and for other purposes.
This is the second reading presented by Michelle Alexander, community development director.
Thank you so much,
Nancy. I'm gonna ask,
Joe Cusack, assistant attorney attorney, to please read the ordinance as well.
Sir, mayor, this is an ordinance to amend chapter 10, article 18 of the code of the ordinances of of the City Of Roswell to permit and regulate short term rentals.
Now, therefore, the mayor and council of the city of Roswell, pursuant to their authority, do hereby adopt the following amendment. Chapter 10 article 18 is hereby adopted with the amended and attached here too and incorporated herein by reference. And if approved, this is the second reading. Thank you, assistant city attorney, Joe Cusack. At this time, I'll ask community development director, Michelle Alexander to present the item. Welcome, Michelle.
Good evening, mister mayor and council. This is an item to,
enact the mechanism by which those who offer their homes to guests
through an Airbnb or VRBO system,
and it requires
that they achieve,
secure a license so that they can get their homes checked and inspected for occupational
hazard and safety
through the fire marshal. So it is meant to add a layer of safety and protection as well as communications
so that we have, 247
contact for any of those who do open their home and, have guests that, need the attention of the city to to keep things in order. So that's the intent of the code. I'm happy to discuss it more. I don't know,
if you want more details. Thank you, Michelle, very much. Does council have any thoughts, comments, or questions? Council members, Sarah, welcome.
Just wanted to say I appreciate all the staff's effort on this ordinance change. It's a culmination of efforts from not only community development,
but also
police, fire, finance, legal, you name it. Almost every single department within the city has touched this and shaped this ordinance in some way or another. To reiterate so we've covered this already in committee and also the first reading. So there's a multitude of details that went into this if anybody wants to watch those meetings to kind of see how it evolved.
But to reiterate, this is really to focus on the safety of people who are coming to visit us in Roswell.
Not only the the safety of the homeowners themselves, the safety of the neighbors and the surrounding community, but also the safety of the tenants who are staying in these short term rentals just to make sure that they are meeting basic fire and light codes, to make sure that they are safe, that there's working,
smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors,
that the ingress and egress is operable.
Really just making sure that people can stay here and be safe. It's not a way to try to get around or get,
to end our short term rentals here in Roswell. So just appreciate all the staff on on coming together for this and making sure that Roswell is a safer place to stay.
Sarah, thank you for work your work on this and bringing this forward and making it happen. Thank you, Michelle, to you and your team and all your work on this. Does counsel have any additional thoughts, comments, or questions on this matter at hand? Thank you very much. At this time Robin, this is the item. If you'd like to come, I'll start with you, sir.
No. No worries. Glad you're here.
I'm here. Okay. So this is the item.
Whatever I show you. Correct?
Yes, sir. We can see what you've got there on the
on the, This because I put in yellow and I want to give him my comments. Yes, sir. Okay?
I was a little bit surprised when I was reading here.
It says,
tourists taking advantage of short term vacation
rental.
I was shocked when I was reading it,
and I said, we are looking all the time to have tourists in this city and to do best of the city.
The tourist does not taking any advantage of us.
They are coming to Roseville to enjoy the Old Roseville
and other places,
drinking,
and we should not
say that tourists are taking advantage.
I think this is
if a tourist will read it, you'll not come to Roswell for 100%.
The story
of Roswell is translated
to one over 100
languages.
The people who coming from
all the world can read in their own ring language
what Roswell is.
So I think
to say to about the tourists so much, it's not appropriate.
I'm sorry.
A question.
Are
the areas around our city will have the same regulation
ordinance?
If no,
visitor can rent or short for short term,
any place
out of Roswell.
So
this is my question.
Just for clarity just for me. I'm sorry. Would you make I wanna make sure I get the clarity on your question. I wanna make sure I get get the question exactly a 100% correct. The question is,
would you say that for me again, sir?
Are there areas around the city,
in other cities,
that will have this has the same regulation ordinance?
If no,
visitor
can rent for short term in any other place
out of Roswell, like Alpharetta,
Jones Creek, or
Yes, sir. In the mountains and driving here to Roswell. Thank you. Yes, sir. Do you have additional questions, Roman?
You indicate that public safety,
is
a concern.
Sarah said that.
Do you have any documents
that says
that it was no safety before?
This happened something, incident or something like that, and you want to improve the safety?
Do you have any record or something like that? Yes, sir. That's your second question. Yes, sir. Okay. And do you have additional questions?
Nope. For this one, they said. Perfect. Okay. Any other comments?
Yes. But
Oh, go ahead. I want the answers.
Well, we'll I'll give you we'll we'll get answers to your questions. Any other comments that you'd like to make?
No. It's okay. I have some. But this is my concern that,
basically,
what's the reason?
Or maybe we should put something that, hey. In Roswell, you should not have short term
facilities.
And then you solve all the problems.
And there are some cities in The United States
that did that. We don't want in our place to have a short term
facility.
It's much easier. You don't need all the peep people for inspection and
checking and who is doing wrong or who is coming. All the stuff that you put in the report,
you really don't do that and save money.
That's it. Thank you so much, Roman. Thank you, sir. Let me just see if I can get you answers to your two questions. Jeff, I saw you writing down. Do you wanna you wanna did you wanna pass that off, or did you wanna answer that? I'll I'll text you. Or David, I saw you wanting to answer it. I'll look Okay, Jeff. I'll make comments there. Just real quick, Tiburon, and thanks for your time. Thank you. Thank you, sir. So the first question I'm sorry that I made a mistake. No worries.
No. Previous comment on number three and so on. No worries. No. Easy do.
So the first question of, is this ordinance and does this ordinance apply to all areas of the city? So, yes, it is contained within the boundaries of the city of Roswell.
There are similar ordinances and other jurisdictions in and around,
the Atlanta area. They're not all exactly the same depending on what different jurisdictions,
want to regulate and manage within their community.
As it relates to a public safety concern, the challenge that we have with short term rentals is that we're not exactly 100% sure where they all are within the city of Roswell. And so the first step is to,
have a licensing process so that we can inventory where we have short term rentals, where they're operating within our neighborhoods, and then begin that inspection process so that we can ensure that they are safe,
and able to be occupied on behalf of visitors within our community.
And so that was the second answer to your question, and I'll yield any other potential comments to the council. Thank you, Jeff. Sarah, yes, ma'am.
So to answer some of your concerns. So first with public safety, there was not any impetus specifically here in the city of Roswell that led to this change.
However, there have been examples in other cities. So, there was a pretty,
high profile
situation that happened fairly recently in a short term rental in another state where a, child passed away due to carbon monoxide poisoning in a short term rental because there was not any sort of alarm or detector that was in the home.
Also, we on council as well as the mayor have received pictures and complaints from residents from people who live in, just a standard swim tennis community sending pictures of their neighbors' homes with coach buses dropping off thirty, forty,
teenagers to go stay in the home either for, upcoming tournament or a bible group. Not quite sure what they they're all wearing matching t shirts. So they're all there for the same reason. That's a lot of people to be staying in in one single family home where you don't necessarily have any cap on the number of people who are staying there because it's never been inspected before.
But we also don't necessarily know the conditions of these homes. So having a business license allows us to inspect them. We, as a city, cannot inspect,
single family homes or private facilities. So whenever you turn a profit on it, that allows us as a city to inspect them to confirm that they are in fact safe,
with all of the,
what you would wanna have as a tenant staying at those places. And I realized that there's concern around,
the phrasing of the language, taking advantage of short term vacation rentals. It's not meant as a derogatory term. It's only meant to imply that they are, there to stay. We're not trying to get rid of short term rentals in Roswell.
To give you an example of surrounding cities, Alpharetta right now is actually capping their short term rentals. I wanna say,
Joe, is it 5%
in a single family community?
I believe it's 5% per single family community.
We're not looking to cap that at this point in time. And to answer and address your last concern of why we just don't do away with short term rentals altogether,
we wanna make sure that people can still operate these businesses. People do some some folks do depend on them as a source of income for their homes.
Other folks depend on them as a way of coming to visit here in the city of Roswell.
We don't wanna tell people that they can't come here to do business, that they can't come here to visit.
We are limited on our hotel supply. We are improving that. There are more nice hotels coming online as we're beginning to,
open up a few just here in the downtown area. But until that point in time, these short term rentals are one of the few ways that we have that allow people to, enjoy the city of Roswell who don't live here as tourists. So I hope that addresses all of your questions and concerns.
Thank you, Sarah. Any other thoughts, comments, or questions from council? In reference to the questions that were asked. Yeah. Councilor Johnson.
I'm Sarah pretty much know all of it, but I just wanna point out that my mother-in-law,
owns an Airbnb in Athens, Georgia.
And with Athens, the homeowner has to be present twenty four seven. They're inspected yearly.
And, I mean, it's a much more rigorous process than what we're putting in. So this is actually, I think, a good compromise between
city regulations
and homeowners who want to rent out their homes for,
you know, a profitable business. Thanks, council member Johnson. Alright. Yes, sir. Council member Markland, in reference to the questions we're asked, sir. Yes, sir.
City attorney Cusack, can you touch on real quick the ramp up time on this? This is not gonna turn into law immediately. We're giving people a little bit of a ramp up time here.
Yes. And that's correct. There is gonna be we're they're going to have to register next year. So there's basically a six month
on ramp,
for
us to get the
word out that you now have to register your short term rental within the city. So there is a little bit of a I wanna say grace period, but,
it is a leeway time to get your current Airbnb or current business registered and and properly
accounted for.
Thank you, Will. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, David.
Alright. Any other comments or questions from Roswell residents on this particular item at hand?
Thank you so much. I'll bring it back to council for any additional thoughts, comments
on the matter. If not,
councilor Beeson, this is, since you were been the leader on this, would you like to make a motion? I would like to, Mayor Wilson. Motion to approve an ordinance to amend chapter 10 of code of ordinances of the city of Roswell to permit and regulate short short term rentals. And for other purposes, this is the second and final reading. Thank you so much, Sarah. So a motion has been made by councilor Beeson. Is there a second to this motion? Second by councilor Johnson.
All those in a in favor of approving this ordinance, please do so so by raising your hands. Let the record show that the vote is unanimous and approved on a second reading. Thank you so much, and thank you for your work.
Let's see.
Last on the agenda is the city attorney's report. Joe, I don't think you have anything, do you?
Nothing to report. Alright. Very good. Well, being that there are no other items,
this mayor and council meeting of Monday, 06/09/2025
is adjourned. We thank you so much for being here with us.