1/6/2025 Meeting Preview
Happy new year! I hope your 2025 is off to a great start.
You’ll see below some of the agenda highlights for our first meeting of the year. I’ve added information from the council agenda memos and background on items that may be of particular interest, along with some of the questions I have raised about these items. You can watch the meeting on the city’s Facebook or YouTube pages. Our meetings are on the first and third Mondays of the month. (Please note: our second meeting of January will be on the Tuesday the 21st in observance of the MLK, Jr. holiday.) Workshop session begins at 6:00 pm; regular session begins at 7:30 pm; executive session takes place at the conclusion of the regular session.
You can access the full agenda packets here.
We welcome your attendance at our meetings and public comment is available near the start of the meeting, before any actions are taken. You can sign up to speak if you’re at the meeting in person, or you can submit an e-mail with your name, address, and comment or remark to pcomment@collegeparkga.com no later than 7:30 pm on August 19, 2024. The City Clerk will read your name, address and comment into the official record. If you have feedback for Mayor and Council directly, you can e-mail us.
REGULAR SESSION
9. Consent Agenda
I am still concerned over the use of consent agendas in our meetings. As I noted in an earlier post, according to the Georgia Municipal Association’s Handbook for Mayors and Councilmembers, “[a] consent agenda typically includes items that require a decision but are not controversial. A consent agenda includes action items on which little or no discussion is anticipated or items that have been previously discussed (and possibly voted on) but that require final approval. Typically, any item can be removed from the consent agenda for discussion by the full group and have a separate vote taken on that item if requested by any one member of the group. Some local governments place the consent agenda near the end of the meeting because its contents are generally noncontroversial and rarely involve public comment (e.g., issuance of permits, street closure requests, authorizing payment of bills), while other local governments elect to place the consent agenda near the beginning of the meeting (after approval of the order of the agenda) in the event an item on the consent agenda is judged to be controversial or is the subject of additional public input.”
While a consent agenda can save time, it should never be used to bypass public participation or stifle open dialogue.
We regularly utilized consent agendas in 2023. The items on the consent agenda were part of the workshop session for discussion and then approved in the regular meeting. Any member of the body could pull an item off of the consent agenda in the regular session for individual consideration. This process ensured each elected official understood the business at hand before a vote.
Thirteen items are on this consent agenda. There is no delineated place for discussion of these items in the workshop or earlier on the agenda. While I have raised these concerns with my colleagues, the agenda remains in its current form.
D. Consideration of and action on a request to approve the construction of a gazebo at College Park Memorial Commons.
From staff: There is no staff background information.
Three quotes were not obtained on this project because the vendor has already been approved through the State of Georgia via Sourcewell.
G. Consideration of and action on a request to approve a Professional Consulting Agreement by and between the City of College Park and Lexicon Strategies, LLC for the Legislative Session in the amount of $37,500.
From staff: The Officer of the City Manager is requesting the Mayor and City Council approve payment for a Professional Consulting Agreement with Lexicon Strategies, LLC for a three (3) month duration, with options to renew. The compensation for this agreement is in the amount of Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars and 00/100 ($12,500.00) per month. Lexicon Strategies will provide strategic and general consultant services as agreed upon and assigned by the City for the upcoming legislative session. Therefore, the City manager is requesting approval of this agreement.
In our budget under line item 100 1300 52 5510 for state lobbying services, the budgeted amount is $72,000. With the lobbyists under 9I already having been paid for at least one month of work through the city attorney’s office, we will exhaust our budgeted funds quickly, if we haven’t already. Additionally, I am concerned these services are duplicative of item 9I.
H. Consideration of and action on a request to approve a Communications Services Agreement by and between the City of College Park and CSI Crane, LLC for Communication Services.
From staff: The Office of the City Manager is requesting the Mayor and City Council approve payment for a Communication Services Agreement with CSI Crane for a three (3) month duration, with options to renew. In consideration for Services, CSI shall be paid at an hourly rate by the City. CSI shall be paid at a rate of Two Hundred and Eighty Dollars and 00/100 Cents ($280.00) per hour. CSI Crane's production managers shall be paid either (a) One Hundred and Fifty Dollars and 00/100 Cents ($150.00) per hour; or (b) One Thousand Dollars and 00/100 ($1,000.00) per full and complete production or post-production day CSI Crane's account team shall be paid Eighty Dollars and 00/100 ($80.00) per hour. All paid interns for CSI Crane, LLC shall be paid at Twenty Dollars and 00/100 Cents ($20.00) per hour. This Agreement states a three (3) month term, with options for renewal. CSI Crane, LLC shall provide public relations and crisis management services for the City. Therefore, the City manager is requesting approval of this agreement.
The City Manager indicated Mr. Crane’s bills were initially paid through the City Manager’s discretionary funds, then through line item “52 5510.” I am attempting to seek clarification regarding the City Manager’s remarks. The City Manager indicated the budgeted amount for the line item “52 5510” was $207,000. This is the same amount he shared was allocated for the contractual services for lobbying. I cannot find another line item in our budget for contractual services for $207,000. If is the same 100 1300 52 5510 as above, Mr. Crane’s services are not contemplated in the spending detail. Since August, it is my understanding Mr. Crane has been compensated $9,750.00/month. Up until this point, his contract has not come before Mayor and Council for review, but the City Manager’s spending authority under Section 4-7 Charter of the without approval from the governing body is $10,000. That is not $10,000/month - it is $10,000.
I am also concerned why the contract does not include a "not-to-exceed" amount. Without such a limitation, I am unsure how we ensure our expenditures remain within budgeted amounts and would like to understand the measures in place to prevent overruns. For reference, our former PR firm, Hemsworth Communications, had a fixed rate of $3,800/month.
I. Consideration of and action on a request to approve three (3) Lobbyist Agreements - A.R. Long, Georgia Link and Southern Capital Strategies - for the Upcoming Legislative Session in the amount of $25,999.98.
From staff: The Office of the City Manager is requesting the Mayor and City Council approve payment for three (3) lobbying firms engaged to assist the city. These three firms, A.R. Long, Georgia Link, and Southern Capitol Strategies were each retained for a one-month term and at a cost of less then (sic) $10,000 each, which is within the spending authority of the City Manager. Further, the newly amended provision in the City's purchasing policy specifically excludes lobbying services from the public bid requirement. However, as it is anticipated that these legislative services will be required for a longer duration, Mayor and City Council approval is required for the additional costs associated with each of the three (3) individual contracts. The City Manager is requesting approval of these costs for three months with each lobbying firm. The legislative session is quickly approaching, and it is critical that the city maintain these vital relationships.
The City Manager said funding for this expense is coming from line item “52 5510.” As I noted earlier, the budget for state lobbying services this fiscal year is $72,000. The decision to engage three lobbyists represents a significant cost increase, considering that the City previously retained a single lobbyist at $5,000/month. I want to understand the justification for this increased expense and how these services are not duplicative of Item 9G. Additionally, I need clarity on the duration of engagement for these lobbyists and whether their charges have been processed through the City Attorney’s office up until this point.
M. Consideration of an action to approve Resolution 2025-XX by the Mayor and City Council of the City of College Park, Georgia to enter into a ground lease with Fulton County, Georgia for Camp Truitt to develop a botanical garden; to provide an effective date; and for other purposes.
From staff: There is no staff background information.
The resolution indicates "the City will bear and facilitate the cost of this Project by pursuing grants and other funding." In the interim before grants and other funding come through, I have questions about the plans to maintain these 39 acres. There is no information in the packet to suggest there is a budgeted source for this. There is no cost projection in the packet, nor an assessment of whether additional staff will be necessary for this project. It is also unclear which department(s) will be responsible for the upkeep.
10. Regular Business
C. Consideration of and action on a request to approve Smart Sheets Project Management Software in the amount of $21,798.36.
From staff: Each department has been trained on using Smart Sheets. This will also be used for our Strategic Planning and Goals.
This is not a budgeted item. The source of funding from the budget will be from 52-5240, which is the telephone line item in each department. Each department will pay a once-yearly fee of $1,557. The city does not currently have any strategic planning or enterprise project management software.
F. Consideration of and action on a request to restructure the Legislative Department.
From staff: The Legislative Department will operate more effectively and efficiently with a Legislative Chief of Staff who oversees the operations of the department. The recruitment of staff for this position along with four part-time Legislative Assistants will provide the staffing necessary to increase efficiencies within the department as they relate to the completion of projects and other assigned responsibilities.
This is not a budgeted item. The source of funding identified is unfilled positions elsewhere in the budget. If all five positions were filled, the annual cost to the City could exceed $230,000. I am still unclear as to the demonstrated need for this restructuring.
G. Consideration of and action on a request to rename College Park Elementary School to Eva L. Thomas Elementary School.
From staff: Eva L. Thomas High School opened in 1964 and operated as a high school until the spring of 1970. It was named after Atlanta Public Schools educator Eva Louise Thomas, who passed away a year before the school opened for students. In 1969, The Fulton County Board of Education decided to close the school after pressure from the federal government to desegregate, which was met with protests by College Park students and parents. In the Fulton County Schools documentary on Eva L. Thomas High School, former teachers and numerous alumni are featured and recount the protests against the Fulton County Schools system and their love of this special school. They bear witness to the wounds created by segregation and desegregation, which led to the fight to keep the College Park school open in the late 1960's. The Eva L. Thomas Elementary School building, located on Princeton Avenue was demolished in 2012 and rebuilt, however it was renamed College Park Elementary School instead of its original historic name. We now seek consideration to request the Fulton County Board of Education restore our city's legacy and African American history by honoring a courageous black woman who stood up for our children and for the dignity of our community by renaming College Park Elementary school to EVA L. THOMAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
I have been in communication with PHOAA, Preserving the Heritage of the Original African Americans of College Park, and they are supportive of the name change. I think it is appropriate that we adopt a resolution in regard to our decision, which is not currently in the packet. Additionally, Fulton County Schools has a formal school naming policy and procedure, so we need to work with FCS to see this through if it passes. If you’d like to learn more about the history of Eva Thomas High School, you can watch an amazing documentary produced by FCS here.
One last note:
You might see that I’m a little more focused on budgetary issues in this latest post, and you’d be right. We are halfway through our fiscal year, and we have not received a budget report since spring 2024. This concerns me. I have asked for a budget review and will continue to ask for one. How we spend your money is one of the most important things we do as a governing body. We need to know how we are performing in relation to our budget so we can adjust accordingly and meet your expectations. I am hopeful we get this information sooner rather than later and ensure we are remaining good fiscal stewards on behalf of all of the stakeholders in the City of College Park.
