Mayor And Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, February 6th, 2024

On Monday night, the Dalton Mayor and Council held their regularly scheduled meeting with a little extra energy and pep provided by the soccer state championship teams from the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department. The 10 & Under and 8 & Under all-star boys teams were honored by the council for their recent wins in the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association's state tournaments. 

The full meeting agenda with links to relevant documents can be viewed by clicking here. 

Also at Monday night's meeting, the Mayor and Council voted to: 

• Approve a contract for the July 4th fireworks. The council voted to ratify an agreement with Pyrotecnico Fireworks, Inc. to perform the annual fireworks display which will be held at Heritage Point Park. When Councilmember Steve Farrow asked about the possibility of returning to the tradition of having fireworks at the John Davis Recreation Center on Civid Drive once its reconstruction is complete, Parks and Recreation Director Caitlin Sharpe said that it might be possible to have events at the center while shooting off fireworks from the nearby North Georgia Fairgrounds, but not the center itself. Watch here. 

• Approve speed cameras for two school zones. The council voted in favor of a contract with Blue Line Solutions, LLC. to set up speed detection cameras in the school speed zone for Dalton High School along Waugh Street and the Roan Street School along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Councilmembers clarified with Dalton Police Chief Cliff Cason that the cameras would only be in operation during the hours the the school zone speed limits were in effect and also during the school day. The cameras will not be in operation on weekends, holidays, or times when schools are not in session (to include days when school is canceled due to weather or other reasons). The camera system is designed to detect speeding vehicles and then send the video of those violations to the police department where officers would review the potential violation and decide whether to issue a citation by mail. The cameras could be installed and operational by the start of the 2024-25 school year at the earliest, but likely not until later. Watch here. 
• Approve rezoning of a tract of land on South Hamilton Street to Urban Planned Unit Development (U-PUD). The land has been rezoned to make way for a planned infill development of workforce housing. The City of Dalton has provided the tract of land for the purpose of the development. Watch here. 
• Dissolve several citizen government advisory boards which are no longer active. The council voted to dissolve the Animal Control Board (which will be replaced by a new joint City-County animal control body), the Building Code Appeals Board (Whitfield County no longer appoints members and the board is not active and the board's purpose is now served by the Board of Zoning Appeals), and the Grievance Committee (few employees remain who are eligible to bring grievances before the committee and the Public Safety Committee or the Mayor and Council will now fulfill that role). Watch here. 
• Transfer the tennis courts at Dalton High School to the Dalton Public Schools. The courts have been donated to the control of the school system which needed to have control in order to perform needed maintenance. However, the schools have agreed to keep the tennis courts available for use by the general public when they are not being used by the schools. Watch here. Watch here. 
• Adopt the ADA Transition Plan. The council approved a detailed plan to bring any City of Dalton facilities which are not in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) into compliance. City administrator Andrew Parker noted that the City does not have many facilities which are not already in compliance thanks to the fact that most were built afte the law went into effect. Watch here. 
• Approve a contract for a rebranding project for the City. The council approve a contract with Confluence Design for design services for a rebranding of the City goverment to include a new City logo and brand style for City communications, signage, etc. Watch here. 
• Ratify a contract for a rebate calculation in regard to the Dalton Building Authority revenue bonds issue. As part of post-issuance compliance, a rebate calculation must be completed whenever the City issues revenue bonds to a building authority. The contract is with The Arbitrage Group, Inc. to perform that work. Watch here. 
• Approve a supplemental funding agreement with GDOT for the Dalton Municipal Airport. The airport encountered cost overruns while performing work to resurface and repair the airport ramp area and the FAA provided additional funding. The additional funding does not require any matching local funds from the City of Dalton. Watch here. 
• Approve several professional services contracts and a cybersecurity grant for the City's IT Department. City IT Director Jorge Paez presented several contracts for cybersecurity systems for the City's computer network that have already been funded in the department's annual budget. Watch here. 
• Appoint members to boards and commissions. Mayor Sams appointed Councilmember Steve Farrow to the Historic Preservation Commission and also appointed Councilmember Dennis Mock and herself to the new Land Bank Board. The council voted to appoint Ann Compton to another term with the Library Board, Josafat Rodriguez to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Brenda Barrett and Antoine Simmons to the Housing Authority, Lane Jackson to the Public Safety Commission, Zac Long to the Historic Preservation Commission, and Ron Blaylock to the Tree Board. Watch here. 
• Approve an Alcoholic Beverage License Application. The council approved the pouring beer license for Angel Hernandez (doing business as Billares La Cueva at 1107 East Walnut Avenue). Watch here. 

The Mayor and Council also heard public comment from City of Dalton resident Octavio Perez who commented on the lobby access at the Dalton Utilities building, the need for a new parking deck in downtown Dalton, and a need for parking at the new U-PUD development at 900 S. Hamilton Street. You can watch the public comment period and the resulting discussion here. 

To watch the full meeting, click play in the window below.