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Mayor and Council Meeting

VIDEO Mayor and Council Jul 28, 2025 at 07:00 PM Processed: Jul 29, 2025 at 03:16 AM

Video Transcript

Duration: 47 minutes

Speakers: 15

00:00
Speaker 1

Of Monday, 07/28/2025.

00:03
Speaker 1

I'm Mayor Curt Wilson.

00:05
Speaker 1

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

00:10
Speaker 1

Council member Sarah Veeson,

00:12
Speaker 1

council member Christine Hall,

00:16
Speaker 1

council member and Pro Tem Lee Hills,

00:19
Speaker 1

council member David Johnson,

00:22
Speaker 1

council member William Mortland.

00:24
Speaker 1

Welcome back, Will.

00:26
Speaker 1

And council member Alan Sells.

00:29
Speaker 1

At this point, I'll now turn the meeting over to our chief administrative officer

00:33
Speaker 1

and city administrator,

00:35
Speaker 2

mister Randy Knighton, to explain how the meeting is run. Mister Knighton. Thank you, mayor Wilson. And as always, good evening, everyone, and welcome. In accordance with section chapter 3.7

00:45
Speaker 2

of the city code, the city council shall hold regular public meetings. And the purpose of city council meetings are for the public to participate and speak on agenda items which constitute formal decisions by the elected body.

00:57
Speaker 2

These items can be accessed via the public agenda, which is published on the website prior to the meeting. This is a public meeting and some items do require formal public hearings.

01:07
Speaker 2

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

01:13
Speaker 2

Residents are at the top of the organizational chart for the city of Roswell. Therefore, public comments and questions are essential

01:19
Speaker 2

for mayor and council to consider as they contemplate

01:22
Speaker 2

each decision.

01:24
Speaker 2

If you wish to speak on an agenda item, we ask that you complete a comment card

01:29
Speaker 2

and hand it to hand it to the city clerk at this time. If you don't have a comment card,

01:34
Speaker 2

you certainly can raise your hand and one of our team members will provide that to you.

01:38
Speaker 2

Speakers are called for each agenda item

01:41
Speaker 2

in the order the cards are received, and we ask that everyone observe the principles of mutual respect and display the appropriate demeanor during the course of the meeting this evening, which should be and is reflective of this great community.

01:53
Speaker 2

With respect to the proceedings, we ask that attention is given to the person speaking.

01:58
Speaker 2

If it is necessary to have an independent conversation, we ask that you exit the rear doors to the vestibule area.

02:04
Speaker 2

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

02:09
Speaker 2

The mayor is the presiding officer and will ensure the an orderly exchange of comments, questions, and discussion leading to decisions by the elected body.

02:18
Speaker 2

And as always, we encourage everyone in attendance and the viewing audience

02:21
Speaker 2

to visit roswell365.com

02:24
Speaker 2

for a calendar of events.

02:27
Speaker 2

There are a number of events upcoming in the city of Roswell, which promote community,

02:31
Speaker 2

physical activity, and leisure,

02:33
Speaker 2

as we all make Roswell the number one family community

02:37
Speaker 2

in America.

02:38
Speaker 1

Mayor Wilson. Thank you, mister Knighton.

02:41
Speaker 1

At this time, I have the great privilege of asking Monte Rivers from Fellowship Bible Church

02:47
Speaker 1

to the front for the invocation and moment of silence. Welcome, Monty.

02:50
Speaker 3

Thank you, Mary. Good to see you again. Good to see you, sir.

02:54
Speaker 3

I'd like to start us out if I could to set the tone in a moment of silence.

03:11
Speaker 3

Well, father, we come to you tonight giving thanks for this day. We don't take this day for granted.

03:16
Speaker 3

We don't take the fact that we're here today for granted either, lord.

03:20
Speaker 3

I'd like to lift up the city council, the mayor, and all the council members.

03:24
Speaker 3

We give thanks for their service.

03:26
Speaker 3

We wanna grant them wisdom and discernment

03:30
Speaker 3

as they lead this agenda this evening.

03:32
Speaker 3

May their decisions be guided by your truth,

03:36
Speaker 3

for all citizens here in Roswell. We pray for clarity of thought

03:40
Speaker 3

and understanding for each member of the council. May they be able to see the needs of the city

03:45
Speaker 3

and act with integrity and fairness for all.

03:49
Speaker 3

Father, we, we pray for unity and collaboration

03:52
Speaker 3

as the council members work together for the betterment of the city of Roswell.

03:57
Speaker 3

And father, I have a a heart this evening just to continue praying for,

04:02
Speaker 3

our city in terms of our schools, which are about to,

04:06
Speaker 3

embark upon a new school year. And I wanna lift up, all of our teachers and all of our administrators,

04:13
Speaker 3

for safety and

04:14
Speaker 3

guidance and discernment for their year as well. And for all the children that are about to engage reengage in school this year, we wanna lift each of them up as well as they pursue their education and for their safety.

04:27
Speaker 3

I give thanks that Fellowship Bible Church partners very well with our officers here in the city of Roswell.

04:33
Speaker 3

So I always wanna lift up our officers and our fire department

04:37
Speaker 3

for the work that they do in keeping our city safe and caring for everyone here in the community.

04:42
Speaker 3

And I'd like to lift up this evening's agenda. And for all of those that would be recognized this evening, we give thanks

04:48
Speaker 3

not only for the service that they provided for our country,

04:52
Speaker 3

but for the service they're they're about to provide

04:56
Speaker 3

signing up for this evening, dear Lord. So we lift all of this up in your son Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

05:04
Speaker 1

Monty Monty Rivers from Fellowship Bible Church, thank you so much. That was fantastic.

05:11
Speaker 1

At this time, I would like to ask United States Marine Corps Corporal

05:16
Speaker 1

Christopher Collins

05:17
Speaker 1

to come forward and lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

05:24
Speaker 4

I pledge allegiance

05:26
Speaker 4

to the flag of The United States Of America

05:29
Speaker 4

and to the Republic for which it stands,

05:32
Speaker 4

one nation under God, indivisible,

05:35
Speaker 4

with liberty and justice

05:37
Speaker 5

for all.

05:39
Speaker 1

So corporal Collins, if you'll do me a favor and please stay up there for the first item under the mayor's report,

05:45
Speaker 1

which is a proclamation

05:47
Speaker 1

for the esteemed veteran of Roswell

05:49
Speaker 1

award. Counsel, please come down and join me as well.

05:57
Speaker 6

Good. Good. Cecil, actually, my hand right here and then it's more of this plaque. Thank you, Jean.

06:26
Speaker 1

Proclamation,

06:27
Speaker 1

office of the mayor,

06:29
Speaker 1

corporal Chris Collins,

06:31
Speaker 1

esteemed veteran of Roswell.

06:33
Speaker 1

Proclamation honoring Chris Collins as esteemed veteran of Roswell.

06:37
Speaker 1

Whereas Chris Collins, a proud resident of Roswell, Georgia,

06:41
Speaker 1

answered our nation's call to service

06:44
Speaker 1

by enlisting The United States Marine Corps in August

06:47
Speaker 1

2005,

06:48
Speaker 1

shortly after graduating high school.

06:50
Speaker 1

And whereas, he completed rigorous boot camp training

06:54
Speaker 1

at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island in South Carolina,

06:58
Speaker 1

followed by infantry training at Camp Geiger in North Carolina,

07:02
Speaker 1

and was then assigned to India Compia India Company,

07:06
Speaker 1

Third Battalion, Second Marines,

07:08
Speaker 1

based at Camp Lejeune.

07:11
Speaker 1

And whereas, corporal Chris Collins

07:13
Speaker 1

courageously served on two combat deployments

07:16
Speaker 1

to Iraq in 2006

07:18
Speaker 1

and 2007

07:20
Speaker 1

in support of operation Iraqi Freedom,

07:23
Speaker 1

where he operated in the volatile An Anbar province,

07:27
Speaker 1

fulfilling critical roles, including

07:29
Speaker 1

point man,

07:30
Speaker 1

fire team leader,

07:32
Speaker 1

and squad leader.

07:34
Speaker 1

And whereas for his valor and leadership in combat,

07:37
Speaker 1

he received multiple honors,

07:40
Speaker 1

including a combat meritorious meritorious promotion to corporal

07:44
Speaker 1

awarded by Brigadier General Gorgonas,

07:48
Speaker 1

the combat action ribbon,

07:50
Speaker 1

the presidential unit citation,

07:52
Speaker 1

and the sea service deployment ribbon.

07:55
Speaker 1

And whereas following his deployments,

07:58
Speaker 1

corporal Collins continued his service as a combat combat arms instructor

08:03
Speaker 1

from Mojave Viper at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms, California,

08:10
Speaker 1

training

08:11
Speaker 1

and mentoring marines

08:13
Speaker 1

preparing for global deployments around the world.

08:17
Speaker 1

And whereas, after his honorable discharge in 02/2009,

08:21
Speaker 1

Chris Collins brought his unwavering dedication to public service into law enforcement.

08:26
Speaker 1

First, with the Atlanta Police Department as a tactical field officer,

08:31
Speaker 1

and

08:32
Speaker 1

later with the Roswell Police Department beginning in 2016,

08:36
Speaker 1

serving our city with integrity and commitment.

08:40
Speaker 1

And whereas Chris Collins

08:42
Speaker 1

continues to serve the Roswell community

08:44
Speaker 1

through his local business,

08:47
Speaker 1

North Fulton pressure washing,

08:49
Speaker 1

and through meaningful charitable contributions,

08:52
Speaker 1

such as donating professional services annually to Camp Twin Lakes,

08:56
Speaker 1

a sanctuary for children with special needs.

09:00
Speaker 1

And whereas,

09:02
Speaker 1

he carries with him the weight of war,

09:05
Speaker 1

memories of fallen brothers,

09:08
Speaker 1

and the enduring pain of those returned home with invisible wounds,

09:14
Speaker 1

yet chooses to live a life

09:16
Speaker 1

marked by compassion,

09:18
Speaker 1

humility,

09:19
Speaker 1

and quiet strength,

09:21
Speaker 1

honoring their legacy in all that he does.

09:25
Speaker 1

Whereas Chris Collins is a devoted husband,

09:29
Speaker 1

a loving father to Eva and Cooper,

09:32
Speaker 1

a veteran,

09:33
Speaker 1

a protector,

09:35
Speaker 1

and a neighbor

09:36
Speaker 1

whose life of service reflects the very best of Roswell

09:40
Speaker 1

and The United States Of America.

09:43
Speaker 1

Now, therefore, I, Curt m Wilson,

09:45
Speaker 1

mayor of the city of Roswell, Georgia,

09:48
Speaker 1

do hereby name Chris Collins,

09:50
Speaker 1

an esteemed veteran of Roswell,

09:53
Speaker 1

and call upon all our citizens

09:55
Speaker 1

to recognize his outstanding service to our community

09:59
Speaker 1

and to our country,

10:00
Speaker 1

and that there is no higher calling than those who've served the United States Armed Forces. Congratulations, Chris.

10:21
Speaker 1

Okay, Chris. I promise you get the microphone. Okay.

10:25
Speaker 4

I just wanted to say thank you

10:27
Speaker 4

for everyone, and, thanks to my family for showing up. I'm a very shy introverted person, so this is

10:35
Speaker 4

an experience for me. But thank you.

10:37
Speaker 1

Well

10:42
Speaker 1

done.

10:43
Speaker 1

Yeah. Come on up.

10:45
Speaker 7

Come on up, guys.

11:09
Speaker 4

I'll be serious. Okay.

11:42
Speaker 8

Thank you.

12:22
Speaker 1

Thank you, Collins family.

12:31
Speaker 1

Alright. Next on the mayor's report is the appointment of Joe Cusack to the Public Facilities Authority.

12:38
Speaker 1

Does council have any questions regarding this appointment?

12:43
Speaker 6

Yes, ma'am. Councilor Beeson. Not so much a question as a comment, but to reiterate the conversation from committee,

12:49
Speaker 6

of why we were choosing, Joe Cusack, who is our assistant city attorney, who's also a resident,

12:54
Speaker 6

but because of the need of having someone who is an attorney, who is a part of this group. So essentially met a lot of needs internally. And then this is also the group that essentially is comprised of us. So it's all pretty much internal anyways. So just to recap that for anyone who's like, why? Thought we appointed him for something else recently. Yes. He you did, but this is there's many reasons why, all covered in committee.

13:17
Speaker 1

Thank you, Sarah. Any other comments from counsel?

13:20
Speaker 1

Thank you.

13:22
Speaker 1

Do I have a motion to approve the appointment of Joe Cusack to the public facilities authority?

13:27
Speaker 1

Motion made by council member Christine Hall. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by council member and pro Tam Lee Hills.

13:34
Speaker 1

All those in favor of the appointment of Joe Cusack to the public facilities authority, please do so by raising your hands.

13:40
Speaker 1

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

13:43
Speaker 1

and congratulations,

13:45
Speaker 1

Joe, very much. Congratulations, Joe.

13:48
Speaker 1

Yes. And I'm sorry.

13:51
Speaker 1

Alright. Next on the mayor's report is the appointment of David Woodrow to Roswell Retirement Plans Committee.

13:57
Speaker 1

Does council have any questions regarding this appointment?

14:01
Speaker 1

Thank you very much.

14:03
Speaker 1

Do I have a motion to approve the appointment of David Woodrow to the Roswell Retirement Plans Committee?

14:09
Speaker 1

Motion by council member Will Moreland,

14:12
Speaker 1

seconded by council member David Johnson.

14:15
Speaker 1

All those in favor of the appointment of David Woodrow to the Roswell Retirement Plans Committee, please do so by raising your hands.

14:22
Speaker 1

Let the record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous. Congratulations to mister Woodrow.

14:27
Speaker 1

At this time, I'll now yes. Your hold your applause.

14:33
Speaker 1

At this time, I'll now ask, Joe Cusack and David Woodrow to come forward to to read the oath of office.

14:39
Speaker 1

Kara, I think, has a copy of the oath and the bible for each of you. And, I will do them separately because I think the oaths are a little different, so I apologize.

14:51
Speaker 7

Yeah.

15:23
Speaker 1

State

15:25
Speaker 1

of Georgia.

15:26
Speaker 1

Sorry. Raise your right hand. Oh, sure. That's right. Your right hand, put your left hand in the bottom. Thank you, sir.

15:32
Speaker 1

Oath of office, state of Georgia, county of Fulton, city of Roswell.

15:36
Speaker 1

I, Joe Cusack. I, Joe Cusack. Solemnly swear or affirm. Solemnly swear or affirm. That I will support the constitution of The United States and the state of Georgia. That I will support the constitution of The United States and the state of Georgia. And that I will in all respects.

15:50
Speaker 1

That I will in all respects. Observe the provisions of the charter.

15:54
Speaker 5

Serve the provisions of the charter. And ordinances of the city of Roswell Ordinances of the city of Roswell. And I will well I will well and truly perform the duties Truly perform the duties of the office

16:06
Speaker 5

Of the office. Of public facilities authority. Of public facilities authority. And then I will to the utmost of my skill And I will to the utmost of my skill. And ability And ability. Endeavor to promote the interest Ever to promote the interest And property And property. Of said city

16:23
Speaker 5

of said city

16:25
Speaker 5

without fear

16:26
Speaker 5

Without fear

16:27
Speaker 5

Favor

16:28
Speaker 5

Favor

16:29
Speaker 5

or affection

16:31
Speaker 5

or affection.

16:32
Speaker 7

Or affection. So help me god. So help me god. Congratulations, Richard.

16:44
Speaker 1

Alright.

16:45
Speaker 1

Dave, raise your right hand and put your left hand on the bible, sir. Oath of office, state of Georgia, county of Fulton, city of Roswell.

16:53
Speaker 1

I, Dave Woodrow.

16:54
Speaker 1

I, Dave Woodrow. Solemnly swear or affirm.

16:57
Speaker 1

Solemnly swear or affirm. That I will support the constitution of The United States and of the state of Georgia. That I will support the constitution of The United States and the state of Georgia. And that I will in all respects. I will in all respects. Observe the provisions of the charter.

17:13
Speaker 7

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 retirement plans committee.

17:29
Speaker 1

The Roswell retirement plans committee. And then I will to the utmost of my skill. And I will to the utmost of my skill. And ability. And ability. 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. Favor. Or affection. Or affection. So help me God. So help me God.

17:51
Speaker 7

Congratulations, mister Woodrow. Thank you, mayor. Thank you. Yes, sir.

18:27
Speaker 1

Thank you, mister Cusack. Thank you, mister Woodrow, for your service to our city. Both of you, thank you for stepping up

18:33
Speaker 1

and, giving on yourselves. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you, council.

18:39
Speaker 1

Last item,

18:40
Speaker 1

I think,

18:42
Speaker 1

on the mayor's report is upcoming events in the city Roswell. Ask council member and pro tem Lee Hills to share a few moments on the upcoming events. Absolutely. Thank you, mayor. I want to encourage you as I always do to visit roswell365.com.

18:57
Speaker 9

This is your one stop shop to find out what's coming up in the city, what's hot, what's happening, and it's also a great place for you to post something if you have something you'd like to advertise to the public. So if your HOA

19:08
Speaker 9

or your place of worship or nonprofit or

19:11
Speaker 9

a group that you serve in would like to advertise something to the city, to the folks that have access to this, website, which is anybody and everybody that has the address, you can go create your own,

19:23
Speaker 9

account on there that's free and put the date in there that the event

19:28
Speaker 9

will take place. It'll automatically expire. You can load your own image, and that information will be out there to, be shared across,

19:32
Speaker 9

the eyes that see that. So visit roswell365.com

19:36
Speaker 9

frequently, and, hopefully, we'll see you at some of the events listed there. We've got a a great lineup of some, events coming up real quick that you don't wanna miss. Join us and celebrate the official start of

19:47
Speaker 9

You Asked For It, You Passed It, the construction for our downtown parking deck. The groundbreaking ceremony is on Thursday,

19:55
Speaker 9

August 7 at 01:30

19:58
Speaker 9

in the heat of the day, just so you're all clear,

20:01
Speaker 9

and it will be at, 10:54

20:03
Speaker 9

Alpharetta Street. That's Thursday, August 7 at 01:30PM,

20:07
Speaker 9

1054

20:08
Speaker 9

Alpharetta Street. Find out more about the groundbreaking

20:11
Speaker 9

as well as project details at www.roswellconnections.com.

20:17
Speaker 9

Roswellconnections.com

20:19
Speaker 9

forward slash parking deck. I also, wanna tell you this is open to the public, so this is your invitation. Tell a friend. You'll come celebrate this. The roswellconnections.com

20:29
Speaker 9

site is great if you wanna go look at some of the events and projects that we've got going on. Sorry. Not they are events, but, projects coming up. And it's a great place to just kind of peruse and see what's coming up, in the city of Roswell.

20:41
Speaker 9

Music on the Hill is back on Friday, August 8, right here on City Hall Grounds beginning at 7PM.

20:47
Speaker 9

Bring your blanket,

20:48
Speaker 9

or chair, unpack your your picnic, bring something to sip on that's refreshing, and unwind by listening to some of the best live music in Atlanta. Guardians of the Jukebox is a five star nostalgic eighties powerhouse.

21:00
Speaker 9

Their shows are packed with high energy and smash hits accompanied by a video backdrop of everything eighties.

21:06
Speaker 9

And every Saturday at 8AM, the Farmers' Roswell excuse me. The Roswell Farmers and Artisans Market is the place to be right here at City Hall. If you haven't come in, you need to do that. It's quite the hip hopin' place, all ages,

21:19
Speaker 9

all tastes, and lots of fun. It's the best in North Fulton, offering fresh produce, handmade goods, and local charm.

21:27
Speaker 9

Personal note, and I don't see him in here right now. The gentleman that brought the waters up here, his name is Carson

21:33
Speaker 9

Knighton, and he just got engaged about a week ago. And I just wanted to say that up here publicly because I'm so excited for him. So

21:41
Speaker 9

where are you, Carson?

21:43
Speaker 9

We're so excited for you. We'll be looking for that invitation in the mail.

21:47
Speaker 9

So, refresher, if, if you wanna see what's coming up, visit roswell365.com,

21:53
Speaker 1

and hopefully, we'll see you around Roswell real soon. Back to you, mayor. Thank you, Lee. And congratulations, Carson. That is a surprise.

22:01
Speaker 9

What? It's not a surprise that he's engaged.

22:04
Speaker 9

Actually, I kinda Did he kept it from you?

22:08
Speaker 1

Then she said yes. She's a surprise that she said yes.

22:13
Speaker 1

Alright. That ends the, mayor's report. Next is the consent agenda.

22:18
Speaker 1

There are three items on the consent agenda. City Clerk Nancy Long, are there any Roswell residents who would like to speak on the consent agenda?

22:29
Speaker 10

Do not have any cards.

22:30
Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you, Nancy.

22:35
Speaker 1

Before I go to counsel, were there any Roswell residents who didn't put a card in that would like to speak?

22:40
Speaker 1

Thanks so much. Counsel,

22:42
Speaker 1

any comments on the consent agenda or questions?

22:46
Speaker 1

Alright. Being that there are none, being that there are none, do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? Motion made by council member Johnson to approve the consent agenda send senate agenda, seconded by council member Alan Sells.

22:58
Speaker 1

All in favor of passing the consent agenda tonight, please do so by raising your hands.

23:03
Speaker 1

Let the record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous unanimous and the consent agenda passes. Thank you so much.

23:10
Speaker 1

Alright. Next is the regular agenda.

23:13
Speaker 1

Item one,

23:15
Speaker 1

city clerk Nancy Long, would you please re please read the first item?

23:19
Speaker 10

Yes. This item is comprehensive growth plan 2045,

23:23
Speaker 10

appointment of members to the stakeholder committee. This will be presented by Michelle Alexander,

23:28
Speaker 10

director of community development.

23:31
Speaker 1

Thank you so much, Nancy, and welcome, Michelle.

23:54
Speaker 11

On this time.

23:57
Speaker 11

Good evening, mayor and council. Excuse me. Good evening, mayor and council.

24:10
Speaker 11

This agenda item is to appoint

24:13
Speaker 11

members to your stakeholder committee for the comprehensive growth plan and,

24:17
Speaker 11

the stakeholder committee is assigned to,

24:20
Speaker 11

provide

24:21
Speaker 11

input to the development of the plan. Just to recall that the comprehensive growth plan, we just had the kickoff for it and it's the initiative to create an economic and development growth plan that's going to marry market analysis, economic development, and your infrastructure planning. And it also serves

24:38
Speaker 11

to update your comprehensive plan 2040

24:41
Speaker 11

and prepare for a 2045

24:43
Speaker 11

planning horizon.

24:44
Speaker 11

There will be other engagement,

24:46
Speaker 11

such as community events and fact sheets in the web page and we'll work to keep everybody informed as the project gets developed.

24:52
Speaker 11

And the next slide just mentions that the stakeholder committee is actually a requirement by the state. The Department of Community Affairs,

25:01
Speaker 11

does require that among other aspects of putting the plan together. And this committee will have regular meetings and provide input and feedback to the preparers of the plan.

25:11
Speaker 11

The commitment will be probably four to five times meeting throughout the process of of developing the growth plan, and we look to this committee also as we prepare prior to going to the any community event,

25:23
Speaker 11

to vet our materials and to get feedback on it.

25:27
Speaker 11

As a recollection, this is also just the overall process,

25:30
Speaker 11

and we're so,

25:32
Speaker 11

appreciative of the volunteers and folks who serve on our committees.

25:36
Speaker 11

The folks on the next slide is that,

25:38
Speaker 11

you have a list that, is prepared.

25:41
Speaker 11

We're recommending to appoint the following members,

25:44
Speaker 11

council member Christine Hall, council member Alan Sells,

25:48
Speaker 11

Deb Ewing,

25:50
Speaker 11

Ward Green,

25:51
Speaker 11

Denise Roche,

25:53
Speaker 11

Claire Snedeker,

25:54
Speaker 11

Jeff Jovaninski,

25:56
Speaker 11

George Cromley,

25:57
Speaker 11

Bill Wilkinson,

25:59
Speaker 11

and Jay Corona. And excuse my,

26:02
Speaker 11

mispronunciations

26:03
Speaker 11

for your humor.

26:06
Speaker 1

So that's our recommendations. You got my green beans. Wrong. I think you messed up, Ward. Just to let you

26:13
Speaker 1

you know, Michelle. You did great.

26:16
Speaker 1

Thank you. Yes, sir.

26:19
Speaker 11

So is that is that it Michelle? Presentation of the names? Recommending to, action to this evening to appoint this committee.

26:26
Speaker 1

Okay. Cool. Thank you so much.

26:29
Speaker 1

Alright. Does council,

26:32
Speaker 1

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

26:37
Speaker 10

Yes, ma'am. We have one speaker, Courtney Rozier.

26:40
Speaker 7

Okay.

26:42
Speaker 1

Welcome, Courtney.

26:54
Speaker 8

My contact information's on the card.

26:57
Speaker 8

I had a few questions.

27:02
Speaker 8

One of my questions had to do with I noticed that there wasn't an and I don't since there isn't background in regards to the members,

27:10
Speaker 8

if any of the members are part of the planning commission,

27:13
Speaker 8

in the on the website,

27:15
Speaker 8

it indicates under the planning, commission description

27:18
Speaker 8

provides

27:21
Speaker 8

input into the comprehensive plan. So that if there's not a stake member,

27:25
Speaker 8

on the or sorry, if there's not a community member

27:29
Speaker 8

or an actual

27:31
Speaker 8

member of the planning commission listed here,

27:34
Speaker 8

how will the planning commission be involved in informing

27:38
Speaker 8

the comprehensive

27:39
Speaker 8

plan?

27:41
Speaker 8

I also noted in the information that was posted on the website

27:46
Speaker 8

that the first stakeholder meeting is this Thursday, 07/31,

27:50
Speaker 8

with the a time and place to be determined. That was this morning, so I was wondering if the time and place has been determined yet. Is the meeting public and will it be streamed? I also wanted to know if the data,

28:06
Speaker 8

will be made available to stakeholders will also be loaded to the website

28:10
Speaker 8

by or before the meeting for the general public. And will this include,

28:16
Speaker 8

the data that the consultant has collected, including trends and observations?

28:20
Speaker 8

And if not, when and if will that information be made to the public?

28:26
Speaker 8

I also was interested in knowing if there was a scorecard available or a report,

28:31
Speaker 8

that will be posted

28:33
Speaker 8

regarding the 2040 comprehensive

28:35
Speaker 8

short term work program.

28:39
Speaker 8

Let's see. Also, for the 2040 comprehensive plan, there was a racial impact assessment that was done,

28:46
Speaker 8

and, I was not given a copy of that assessment when I asked about it,

28:50
Speaker 8

prior. This was several years ago.

28:54
Speaker 8

But I was told that the assessment was incorporated into the 2040 plan.

28:59
Speaker 8

And so,

29:00
Speaker 8

I was wanted to know if

29:03
Speaker 8

have a copy of the racial impact assessment

29:06
Speaker 8

and how it's going to be incorporated or used within the 2045

29:09
Speaker 8

comprehensive plan. Thank you.

29:12
Speaker 1

Thank you, ma'am, very much.

29:17
Speaker 1

Do you want to address some of those Michelle?

29:26
Speaker 11

Welcome back Michelle.

29:28
Speaker 11

Sure. Just to address two,

29:30
Speaker 11

one is regarding the date.

29:33
Speaker 11

Those were targets dates. We wanted to establish target dates. So the planning excuse me. The stakeholder

29:38
Speaker 11

committee has not yet had an opportunity to let us know their best times for meetings. So we will change that immediately,

29:45
Speaker 11

for that first stakeholder committee meeting that's on the web page.

29:49
Speaker 11

I did wanna mention too there was a request about the scorecard and reporting on what was called the short term work program. So that's also known as the community work program. So in 2040, there's a long list of there's a list of activities we, commit to and a yes. The part of this process with the 2045

30:08
Speaker 11

update, we do have a report of accomplishments. What did we do? What did we not do? And that helps us decide what would you all like, to put on for your new community work program.

30:20
Speaker 1

I hope that helps. Michelle, thank you so much. If there any other questions that we might need to follow-up with, we'll just follow-up with them in writing back to Courtney

30:28
Speaker 1

and and to to the counseling team.

30:31
Speaker 1

Thank you so much. Thank you.

30:33
Speaker 1

Alright.

30:34
Speaker 1

Thank you, Nancy and thank you, Courtney. Were there any other Roswell residents who want to speak on this item?

30:41
Speaker 1

Thank you so much. I'll ask if there are any comments

30:44
Speaker 1

or questions from the council?

30:47
Speaker 1

Being that there are none, is there a motion to approve these appointments?

30:54
Speaker 1

Thank you, council member Johnson, for the for the motion. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by council member Lee Hills.

31:01
Speaker 1

All those,

31:02
Speaker 1

understand that this to pass the appointment appointment of members to the stakeholder committee for the comprehensive growth plan 2045,

31:09
Speaker 1

and you see the names as as listed here. It's based on the action request. Motion's been made and seconded. All those in favor, please raise your hands.

31:16
Speaker 1

Thank you. Let the record show that the vote is six to zero. Unanimous, thank you very much. Congratulations

31:22
Speaker 1

to Christine Hall, Alan Sells, Deb Ewing, Ward Green, Denish Rausch, Claire Snedeker, Jeff Lubonsky

31:29
Speaker 1

sorry, Jeff. George Crumley,

31:31
Speaker 1

Bill Wilkinson, and Jay Corona.

31:34
Speaker 1

Second item, city clerk Nancy Glong, would you please read the second item on the regular agenda?

31:39
Speaker 10

Yes, mayor. This is the first reading of an approval of an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program and guidelines

31:47
Speaker 10

presented

31:48
Speaker 10

by Darryl Connolly, director of economic development.

31:52
Speaker 1

Thank you so much.

31:54
Speaker 12

Chief legal officer and city attorney David Davidson, would you read the ordinance, please, sir? Thank you, mayor. This is an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program in the city of Roswell, Georgia.

32:04
Speaker 12

Now, therefore,

32:06
Speaker 12

the mayor and council of the city of Roswell, pursuant to their authority, do hereby adopt the filing ordinance, text of which is incorporated herein by reference, and they've approved this as the first reading. Thank you, David. Welcome, Daryl. Glad to have you.

32:20
Speaker 13

Good evening, mister mayor and members of council. I'm excited to be here tonight, to talk to you about the ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance program and guidelines.

32:31
Speaker 13

As mister David said, this is the first reading.

32:34
Speaker 13

It's an item that we discussed at committee

32:37
Speaker 13

last month.

32:40
Speaker 13

As way of background,

32:42
Speaker 13

back in 2024

32:43
Speaker 13

in July,

32:44
Speaker 13

mayor and council adopted an economic development strategy

32:48
Speaker 13

that included

32:49
Speaker 13

various goals and objectives to grow the economy,

32:53
Speaker 13

prioritize target locations

32:55
Speaker 13

for growth engines and diversify the tax base. We also talked about establishing a set of tools to help catalyze new development in line with that economic development strategy.

33:05
Speaker 13

The Roswell development finance program is one of those those tools.

33:10
Speaker 13

It's designed to further our our strategy.

33:14
Speaker 13

What the program does is it leverages

33:16
Speaker 13

a law that was set put in place by the state.

33:20
Speaker 13

It's OCGA 3,660

33:22
Speaker 13

two-seventeen,

33:23
Speaker 13

otherwise known as the Commercial Property Assessed, Conservation Energy and Resiliency

33:28
Speaker 13

Act or CPACE.

33:31
Speaker 13

What we've done is that is a broad based law

33:34
Speaker 13

that helps to finance

33:36
Speaker 13

certain types of improvements in a broad

33:39
Speaker 13

range of property types, commercial property types. What we've done is we've taken that law and we are focusing in on hotel development. We're using that as a strategic economic development tool to help

33:53
Speaker 13

further

33:54
Speaker 13

hotel development within the city and finance

33:57
Speaker 13

in a very difficult hotel financing environment.

34:04
Speaker 13

The program highlights, as I mentioned, this would be for new hotel development.

34:08
Speaker 13

This isn't for rehabilitation,

34:10
Speaker 13

but new product

34:12
Speaker 13

along with any ancillary uses such as retail or office if that's part of the overall development.

34:20
Speaker 13

The program would be subject to a minimum completed project value of $20,000,000

34:25
Speaker 13

and that would be a $4,000,000

34:27
Speaker 13

loan minimum.

34:30
Speaker 13

The eligible improvements would be energy efficiency, water conservation,

34:34
Speaker 13

renewable energy and resiliency

34:36
Speaker 13

improvements.

34:38
Speaker 13

This would be administered

34:40
Speaker 13

by the city through the Roswell Development Authority,

34:43
Speaker 13

the the RDA.

34:44
Speaker 13

The way that the law reads,

34:46
Speaker 13

at the state level, you have to work through a development authority. So we've chosen the Roswell Development Authority as that mechanism.

34:53
Speaker 13

But the city would be administering it on behalf of

34:57
Speaker 13

the Roswell development authority. So we would be the the administrator through an intergovernmental

35:01
Speaker 13

agreement.

35:03
Speaker 13

The program uses third party capital

35:05
Speaker 13

paid back through a special tax assessment. This is not,

35:09
Speaker 13

city capital. It's not government money. This is third party,

35:13
Speaker 13

lenders who would be lending on these improvements and will be part of the capital stack for a hotel development.

35:22
Speaker 13

Benefits of the program.

35:24
Speaker 13

This enables property owners to improve the economics

35:27
Speaker 13

of a project,

35:29
Speaker 13

enables them to finance with a lower interest rate because this is technically

35:33
Speaker 13

a first lien

35:35
Speaker 13

in line with what property taxes

35:38
Speaker 13

would be. It's a special tax assessment. So they get a lower interest rate. It's very secure for the lender. It has longer amortization periods up to thirty years.

35:47
Speaker 13

The loan itself could be transferred to a new property owner should the,

35:52
Speaker 13

property owner sell the property to another party.

35:55
Speaker 13

The city as the administrator

35:57
Speaker 13

would be receiving fees

35:59
Speaker 13

on the program and I'll go into that a little bit in the next slide.

36:03
Speaker 13

This particular program as we're limiting it right now to hotel

36:08
Speaker 13

projects

36:09
Speaker 13

in the future, if mayor and council desires, they want to expand the program to other property types,

36:14
Speaker 13

you could do that. Right now, we're focused on hotel

36:17
Speaker 13

development.

36:20
Speaker 13

This actually enables us to test the test new product in the market in Georgia, focusing on products that align with our economic development strategy.

36:31
Speaker 13

The fee structure,

36:33
Speaker 13

as we've proposed is a loan application fee, dollars 500, that's non refundable.

36:38
Speaker 13

Upon closing the loan, it would be 1% of the loan amount payable at closing.

36:43
Speaker 13

There would also be a legal fee,

36:46
Speaker 13

capped at 25,000.

36:47
Speaker 13

So we're calculated at 50 basis points or

36:50
Speaker 13

half a percent of the loan amount. Then there would be a servicing fee

36:55
Speaker 13

that would be paid annually and that's added to the tax bill.

37:00
Speaker 13

The process for establishing the program,

37:03
Speaker 13

we've already

37:04
Speaker 13

gone to committee. We're now, doing the first reading of the ordinance and the guidelines.

37:11
Speaker 13

On the August 19,

37:13
Speaker 13

we'll be going before the RDA

37:16
Speaker 13

to approve an intergovernmental

37:18
Speaker 13

agreement, and then we will be coming back for the second reading

37:21
Speaker 13

on the twenty fifth. And when we come back, we'll come back with,

37:25
Speaker 13

the ordinance and the guidelines as well as an intergovernmental agreement with the IGA, essentially saying that the city is going to administer the program on behalf of the RDA.

37:35
Speaker 13

After that's approved, then we can immediately launch the program

37:39
Speaker 13

with an application

37:40
Speaker 13

and procedures

37:41
Speaker 13

for the program.

37:45
Speaker 13

As a first reading, we're requesting the approval of the ordinance to establish the program, Russell Development Finance Program.

37:51
Speaker 1

Darrell, thank you so much. Appreciate that. Well done.

37:55
Speaker 1

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

38:00
Speaker 1

I have no speakers for this item. Thank you very much. Any Roswell residents who thought heard it when to speak?

38:07
Speaker 14

Thank you so much. I'll ask counsel. Yes, sir. Councilman Brown sells. Thank you, mayor. Just a couple of quick comments. Thank you, Daryl, for doing this.

38:15
Speaker 14

The first is, you know,

38:17
Speaker 14

this is just another of the tools just like the PFA. We're we we as a as a government are trying to maximize the use of the limited what is it? 14% of our real estate in Roswell is is even

38:30
Speaker 14

susceptible to economic development. Lot of it needs to be redeveloped. This is another tool in that belt just like the PFA.

38:36
Speaker 14

So we're putting those things in place to maximize that. But what what we did

38:40
Speaker 14

with this particular one that I'd like you to speak to is how we limited in size, meaning that it needs to be big enough to cover its cost because there are costs to the city for administering this. We're basically on the collection arm for this loan. So just we want these to be sizable projects and to cover their costs. And so would you talk just briefly about how we set the guidelines around that? Sure. So we have a minimum loan amount of $4,000,000

39:05
Speaker 13

So if you looking at a $4,000,000 loan, 1% of that is $40,000

39:10
Speaker 13

So,

39:12
Speaker 13

most projects, if it's a hotel project, it's going

39:16
Speaker 13

to be probably larger than that. So we're looking to cover our costs.

39:21
Speaker 13

We also have a structure in place because

39:24
Speaker 13

which would be based on the 1% of the payment that's made. So there's an ongoing collection that we have to make sure that we're compensated for and we can pay for the overhead. But this is an opportunity to really test

39:37
Speaker 13

the program. So it's with a hotel

39:42
Speaker 13

focus on hotels. If you want to expand it,

39:44
Speaker 13

modify the the guidelines, we can do that in the future. So the model

39:49
Speaker 14

makes this a self sustaining program. To the extent that we do this, it's gonna be self sustaining. It's gonna help the developers and improve our opportunity to

39:56
Speaker 14

build new commercial

39:59
Speaker 14

things in our property that we can build commercial in. So that's the goal. Right? Yes. That's the intent.

40:04
Speaker 1

Thank you, Councilmember Sells. Any other thoughts, comments, questions from council?

40:08
Speaker 1

Very

40:10
Speaker 1

good. Alan, would you like to make a motion to approve the first reading of this ordinance?

40:15
Speaker 14

I would, mayor. Thank you.

40:17
Speaker 14

I would make a motion to for the approval of an ordinance to adopt the Roswell development finance

40:22
Speaker 1

program and guidelines. This is the first reading. Thank you very much. Do I have a second to Alan's motion? Second.

40:29
Speaker 1

Seconded by councilman Wirthlin. I know you're a long standing champion. We all thank all your efforts on this on this project as well.

40:36
Speaker 1

So the motion has been offered up and seconded.

40:40
Speaker 1

All in favor of the approval of an ordinance to adopt the Roswell with Development Finance Program and guidelines in the first reading, please do so by raising your hands.

40:49
Speaker 1

The record show that the vote is six to zero and unanimous.

40:53
Speaker 1

Thank you very much. First reading passes.

40:56
Speaker 1

And, as you saw the schedule

40:58
Speaker 1

goes forth now accordingly, according to help Daryl's presentation.

41:01
Speaker 1

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

41:07
Speaker 10

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

41:20
Speaker 1

And I think before we even get to reading the ordinance, I think council member sales would like to address Yes, sir. Thank you, mayor. The, planning commission and staff have been working very hard

41:31
Speaker 14

to make this a better project and to clarify some things that we're open. So they need just a little bit more time. So I would like to make a motion that we defer this

41:39
Speaker 14

to the next mayor and council meeting. Council member

41:43
Speaker 1

Sells has made a motion to defer item three to the next council meeting. Is there a second? It's seconded by council member Johnson. All in the council understand the motion and the second in front of you, which is a deferral of item number three.

41:55
Speaker 1

If you're in agreement with this and agree to defer it, please do so by raising your hands.

42:00
Speaker 1

Let the record show that the vote is six to zero, and item number three will be deferred to the next council meeting. And I thank you very much.

42:08
Speaker 1

Let's see.

42:09
Speaker 1

Last on the agenda is the city attorney's report, chief legal officer and city attorney David Davidson. Would you please read the first item? Thank you, mayor.

42:18
Speaker 12

The first item on my agenda is resolution updating the City Of Roswell's tax allocation district,

42:24
Speaker 12

TAD, number one,

42:25
Speaker 12

base value to correspond with the Fulton County Board of Assessors certified base value.

42:31
Speaker 12

Basically,

42:32
Speaker 12

in 2024,

42:33
Speaker 12

the city adopted

42:34
Speaker 12

a resolution

42:35
Speaker 12

approving the TAD. And at the time, we had to,

42:39
Speaker 12

base it on the estimated tax digest value.

42:43
Speaker 12

When we went forward with it, we sent that down to the state,

42:48
Speaker 12

the Fulton County Tax Commissioners.

42:50
Speaker 12

Our amount was 681,376

42:55
Speaker 12

681,000,000,

42:56
Speaker 12

sorry, 370

42:58
Speaker 12

$367,230.

43:03
Speaker 12

The Fulton County came back

43:05
Speaker 12

on December 27 with an actual value of $703,026,260.

43:14
Speaker 12

That was sent down to the state.

43:17
Speaker 12

The state, however, had went ahead and certified

43:20
Speaker 12

our previous resolution,

43:22
Speaker 12

which was the estimated value.

43:25
Speaker 12

We need to actually have the

43:27
Speaker 12

actual value for Fulton County to

43:30
Speaker 12

go forward with the collections.

43:32
Speaker 12

And so this resolution would basically

43:35
Speaker 12

ask the state to adopt the Fulton County certified number

43:39
Speaker 12

as the certified amount.

43:41
Speaker 1

Alright. So David, as the chief legal officer,

43:44
Speaker 1

Bill as a CFO, any additional commentary? I know it's a little can be sound a little confusing, it's actually very simplistic,

43:51
Speaker 1

but it sounds very confusing. Any additional commentary,

43:54
Speaker 1

Bill from you, sir?

43:57
Speaker 1

David, anything from you? No.

44:00
Speaker 12

This is just kind of a fluke

44:03
Speaker 12

from a legal perspective. We had we did what we're supposed to do. Fulton County did what they were supposed to do. It was just kind of timing issue and got messed stuck down at the state. Thank you, sir.

44:14
Speaker 15

Mister mayor, David said what I was gonna say, this is just a matter of a timing difference between the timing of, the interim certification

44:20
Speaker 15

or the interim value provided to us and the final value as certification.

44:25
Speaker 15

So this is just rectifying the two numbers and finalizing the tab. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, Dave.

44:31
Speaker 1

To answer you along. Are there any Roswell residence residents who'd like to speak on this item?

44:37
Speaker 1

There are no speakers for this item. Thank you so much. While I have the floor, are there any Razzle residents now that you've heard the item would like to address it?

44:45
Speaker 1

Thank you so much. I'll bring back to council. Council member sales? Yes, sir. Why don't we make it through anyway?

44:51
Speaker 14

If you don't mind, would you very brief this is the third thing we're

44:54
Speaker 14

voting on tonight. I'll be quick so David can get to that,

44:58
Speaker 14

beverage.

44:59
Speaker 14

But, let

45:01
Speaker 14

just just briefly

45:05
Speaker 14

just briefly talk about the use of the tag, just in a few sentences, how this is gonna be used for us to drive development,

45:13
Speaker 14

in in the commercial zones of Roswell. Would you speak to that really briefly?

45:17
Speaker 15

Sure. So we will,

45:19
Speaker 15

devote a certain portion of incremental tax revenues to an economic development,

45:24
Speaker 15

tax from the tax allocation district. Taxes raised on the incremental values of these properties,

45:30
Speaker 15

will be used to fund certain economic development,

45:33
Speaker 15

activities and projects that are within a tad district,

45:36
Speaker 15

that cover,

45:38
Speaker 15

mostly the desired areas that we have targeted,

45:40
Speaker 15

for improvement and for opportunities have been presented to us. So so this sets the floor at 703,000,000.

45:47
Speaker 14

Any taxes on that area

45:49
Speaker 14

above that during the life of the TAD would be used for redevelopment

45:53
Speaker 1

in that in the TAD. Within that zone. Yes, sir. Yeah. Thank you. Pleasure. No. Thank you, Alan. Thank you, Bill. Alright. Counselor, any thoughts, comments, or questions on this matter at hand?

46:04
Speaker 1

If not,

46:05
Speaker 1

do I have a council member that would like to make to a motion motion to approve this item?

46:10
Speaker 14

Councilor Sales? Thank you, mayor.

46:12
Speaker 14

I would like to,

46:13
Speaker 14

make a motion that we adopt the resolution updating the City Of Roswell's tax allocation district.

46:20
Speaker 14

Number one, base value to correspond with the Fulton County Board of Assessors

46:25
Speaker 14

certified

46:25
Speaker 1

base value. Thank you, Ellen, very much. Do I have a second? Second. Seconded by council member Johnson.

46:32
Speaker 1

All on council understand the item number four in front of you. If you're in a agreement of approving this motion, please do so by raising your hands.

46:41
Speaker 1

Let the record show that the motion number four passes unanimously six to zero. Thank you very much.

46:48
Speaker 1

Chief legal ops legal officer and city attorney Davidson, please read the last item on city attorney's report. I do not have a recommendation for closure. Thank you very much.

46:57
Speaker 1

Alright. Being that there are no other items,

47:00
Speaker 1

this mayor and council meeting of men Monday, July 2825 is adjourned. Thank you all very much. Have a good night. God bless.

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