March 17th Mayor and Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, March 18th, 2025

The Dalton Mayor and Council met on Monday night for their second meeting of March, and several members of the council and the audience wore green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Monday's agenda featured votes on seven zoning measures as well as the final revisions for the 2024 budget and some changes to the timeline for the John Davis Center renovations. 

Caption: City Administrator Andrew Parker (left) speaks to Councilmembers Dennis Mock, Nicky Lama, and Mayor Annalee Sams during Monday night's meeting of the Mayor and Council

CLICK HERE to watch the video of Monday night's meeting

On Monday night, the Council voted to: 

• Approve Ordinance 25-02 to amend the Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO) - The amendment to the UZO does not affect the City of Dalton and only allows commercial poultry farming in the unincorporated parts of Whitfield County. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval of the amendment. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. You can read the review of the Planning Commission's public hearing by clicking here. You can read Ordinance 25-02 by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve (Councilmember Steve Farrow was not present and Mayor Annalee Sams typically only votes in the event of a tie). To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Ordinance 25-03 to rezone a tract of land at 436 S. Glenwood Avenue - The ordinance rezones the tract from Rural Residential (R-5) to General Commercial (C-2). Elda Ramirez wishes to sell the property with the option for commercial use. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. Ethan Calhoun from the Planning Commission did recommend that the Council include a condition to include any commercial businesses at the property must meet minimum standards for parking and the Council did include that condition in the approval. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Ordinance 25-04 to rezone a tract of land at 909 Riverbend Road - The ordinance rezones the tract from Heavy Manufacturing (M-2) to Transitional Residential (R-6). The property is too small for heavy manufacturing and the property owner wants to build a residential tri-plex on the property. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. You can watch this portion of the meeting by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Ordinance 25-05 to rezone a tract of land near Water Street - The ordinance rezones the tract from Heavy Manufacturing (M-2) to Rural Residential (R-5). The property owner proposes to have five lots on the property to contain a mix of single-family homes. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Ordinance 25-06 to rezone a tract of land at 400 S. Hamilton Street - The ordinance rezones the tract from Transitional Commercial (C-4) to Central Business District (C-3). Property owner Jason Jackson intends to replace old commercial trailers on the property with a permanent structure. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Mayor and Council adopted a recommendation from the Planning Commission to include a condition that any vehicles being worked on at the facility be stored on the property out of view of the street and not in street parking. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Ordinance 25-07 to rezone a tract of land near Cargal Drive - The ordinance rezones the tract from Heavy Manufacturing (M-2) to Rural Residential (R-5). The owners say there is a lack of commercial or industrial development potential for the property and believe that the proposed residential rezoning would be a better fit with the neighborhood. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. You can watch this portion of the meeting by clicking here. 
• Approve Ordinance 25-08 to rezone a tract of land at 404 W. Hawthorne Street - The ordinance rezones the tract from Limited Commercial (C-1) to Medium Density Single Family Residential (R-3). Property owner Don Adcock indicated that he intends to rent the property as a residential dwelling due to a lack of commercial interest. The Dalton-Varnell-Whitfield County Planning Commission's staff analysis recommended approval. The Planning Commission also voted to approve. You can read the Planning Commission's staff analysis by clicking here. You can read the review of the public hearing by clicking here. You can read the ordinance by clicking here. The first reading of the ordinance was held at the March 3rd Mayor and Council meeting. The Council voted 3-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Budget Amendment #6 for the 2024 General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, and Capital Improvement Funds - Dalton CFO Cindy Jackson presented the final budget amendment for the 2024 budget to the Mayor and Council. Jackson noted that the adjustments were based on transfers in and out of various funds. To review the final budget amendment, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the budget amendment. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve a merchant processing agreement with Heartland for the Nob North Golf Course - The golf course's current payment processing system for the range ball vending machine is no longer being serviced. The Heartland company will install new payment processing software for the vending machine. The approval grants Parks and Recreation Director Steve Roberts to be able to sign the agreement. To review the agreement, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the agreement. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve Change Order #2 for the John Davis Recreation Center renovation project - The change order includes several adjustments to the plans and timeline for the completion of the John Davis Recreation Center project. The main items include shear wall bracing in the administrative building that needed to be corrected, adding air conditioning to stairwells, and other miscellaneous items. The change order also adjusts the substantive completion date to November 20th due to the contractor encountering 81 days where work could not be performed either due to unsuitable weather conditions (50 days), and other delays. However, the pool facility at the center is still expected to be open and operational by June 1st as originally scheduled. The cost for the various changes to the plans is $136,479 which is included in the project budget's contingency fund and therefore does not require any additional investment in the budget. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the change order. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve a hangar development contract at the Dalton Municipal Airport - The contract with Integrated Builds, LLC calls for the development of three hangar buildings on three different sites on the airport property for a total of 29,000 feet of additional hangar space at the airport. Development of the project began when the Georgia DOT awarded a $3 million grant to the airport for new hangar construction. The low bidder for the project, Integrated Builds, LLC, came in at $4.028 million. The cost overrun will be paid off with leftover unused GDOT funding from last year's runway renovation ($1.025 million) and an anticipated additional grant award from the state DOT. However, if the additional grant funding is not awarded, the contract calls for the scope of the project to be reduced with the elimination of one of the hangars to adjust and remain within budget. To review the contract, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the contract and also construction administration and inspection services by the Kimley-Horn engineering firm. To review that agreement, click here. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

The Mayor and Council's next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 7th at 6:00 pm in the City Hall Council Chamber. 

Click "Play" in the window below to watch Monday night's meeting