July 21st Mayor and Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025

The Dalton Mayor and Council met on Monday night for their second session of July. The meeting included the passage of a newly revised alcohol ordinance which, among other changes, places a limit on the number of package liquor stores that can be licensed within the City of Dalton. The ordinance was passed after a lengthy discussion by the City Council. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING

The meeting opened with a public comment period. Jim Lidderdale and his daughter Lillian, the owners of the Garmony House coffeehouse downtown, addressed the Mayor and Council to voice their concerns about the ongoing streetscape construction project downtown on Cuyler Street. The Lidderdales told the Council that the project, which has been hampered by multiple delays, has been negatively impacting their business and also neighboring businesses. At the June 2nd meeting, the City Council granted a 60-day extension for the completion deadline on the project because of delays caused by unexpected subterranean rock which had to be removed and also an exceptionally rainy winter that hampered construction. That extension ends on July 31st, and Parker told the Council that he had met earlier Monday with City Attorney Jonathan Bledsoe to discuss remedies to the situation including liquidated damages that are included in the contract. Parker expressed his frustration regarding the delays and problems for downtown visitors and business owners, and Councilmember Steve Farrow echoed those frustrations. 

Caption: (from left to right) Councilmember Nicky Lama, Mayor Annalee Sams, and Councilmember Steve Farrow listen during a presentation at Monday night's meeting

Octavio Perez also addressed the Mayor and Council, sharing his concerns about what he says are a growing number of panhandlers and homeless people that he and his real estate customers have observed around Dalton. Mr. Perez told the Mayor and Council that he has been told that homeless people have been transported by bus from the Chattanooga area to Dalton. 

To watch the public comment portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Council held the second reading of Ordinance 25-09 to amend Chapter 6 of the City's Code of Ordinances which deals with alcohol. The revised ordinance places a limit on the number of "package stores" that can be licensed within the City of no more than one license for every 2,500 residents. Based on the current Decennial Census numbers, that would equate to 14 package stores licensed in the City of Dalton. There are already 14 liquor stores licensed in Dalton. The ordinance states that if one of those licenses should become available, or if the population of the City grows and causes another license to become available, and more than one business owner applied for a license, that there would be a lottery system to determine which applicant would be able to take it over. The revised ordinance also changes the rules for downtown businesses selling alcohol to be consumed on-street within the downtown district where open containers are allowed. Previously, a business could only sell one beverage to a single ID holder. The newly revised ordinance changes that number to two alcoholic beverages per ID holder. 

A local business owner rose to address the Council during the discussion of the ordinance revision. The business owner said that he was in the process of attempting to open a new liquor store but had not yet applied for his package alcohol sales license. Assistant City Administrator Todd Pangle explained that the City started its study of changes to the alcohol ordinance when local liquor store owners asked the Council to cap the number of licenses for package sales. Pangle said that peer communities in northwest Georgia already place limits on the number of package stores that they license in their communities. 

At one point during the discussion, City Councilmember Nicky Lama made a motion to table the ordinance to allow more time for study and for public commentary. Councilmember Steve Farrow seconded the motion, and Councilmembers Dennis Mock and Tyree Goodlett voted no. Mayor Annalee Sams also voted no, breaking the tie. Councilmember Goodlett then made a motion to approve the ordinance, which was seconded by Councilmember Mock. Councilmembers Farrow voted yes. Councilmember Lama initially voted no, before changing his vote to yes while saying he favored more study and the potential for future revisions to the ordinance. The ordinance passed 4-0. To read Ordinance 25-19, click here. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Council also voted to: 

• Approve Ordinance 25-16 to rezone property on Trammel Street and Jones Street - The ordinance rezones tracts of land on Trammel Street and Jones Street from neighborhood commercial (C-1) to rural residential (R-5). The petitioner Sebastian Arroqui requested the zoning change in order to build duplexes on the properties. The Dalton-Whitfield Planning Commission and staff recommended approval of the change. To read the summary of the commission meeting, click here. To read the staff analysis, click here. To read the ordinance, click here. A first reading for the ordinance was held at the Council's meeting on June 30th. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the ordinance. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Ordinance 25-17 to rezone property at 501 N. Hamilton Street - The ordinance rezones a tract of land at 501 N. Hamilton Street from high density residential (R-7) to general commercial (C-2). The request from the petitioner Octavio Perez is being made to allow for the creation of a convenience store on the property. The property was originally zoned C-2 and had been used as a commercial property for many years, but was changed in recent years to R-7. The Dalton-Whitfield Planning Commission and staff recommended approval of the change. To read the summary of the commission meeting, click here. To read the staff analysis, click here. To read the ordinance, click here. A first reading for the ordinance was held at the Council's meeting on June 30th. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Authorize the City's participation in an amicus brief in the Chang v. City of Milton appeal - The Mayor and Council adopted Resolution 24-20 last December to participate in an amicus brief in the Chang v. City of Milton civil case in which the CIty of Milton was sued for damages resulting from a vehicle striking a fixed obstruction within the City's right-of-way. The City of Milton was found to be partially liable, and has filed an appeal. Resolution 25-12 authorizes the City to participate in an amicus brief supporting Milton's appeal. To read the resolution, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve the City's participation in the National Opioid Settlement - The Council voted 4-0 to approve Resolutions 25-13 and 25-14 which authorize the City's continued participation in the National Opioid Settlement by authorizing participation in two new settlement agreements. One of those agreements is with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, while the second settlement is with a group of eight different opioid manufacturers. To read Resolution 25-13, click here. To read Resolution 25-14, click here. The amount of money that the City of Dalton will receive for participating in these two new settlements will be determined after the rest of the communities eligible to participate opt in or opt out. The City has used the funds from the National Opioid Settlement agreements to fund addiction recovery programs based in the region. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve an agreement for the demolition of the Dalton Masonic Lodge - The old Dalton Masonic Lodge #238 located at 600 S. Hamilton Street was declared a dangeround building in the spring of 2023. At that time, the City entered into a demolition agreement with the trustees of the building, but the organization requested more time to study possibilities for rehabilitating the building. In the time since, the organization determined that it would not be feasible to repair the building. The new demolition agreement and easement calls for the City to remove the building and for the trustees to reimburse the City for the costs of the effort. The trustees will retain possession of the property, and hope to create a park on the property. To read the agreement, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the agreement. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Change Order #1 for the City Hall HVAC renovations - The City has been under contract with Cherokee Mechanical, Inc. since November 2024 for the replacement of the City Hall HVAC system. As work has progressed, the contractor found that the west wing of the second floor has several rooms that do not have their own duct work for individual heating or cooling. Those rooms were added by the Dalton Public Schools while they were renting the space. The City has worked with the contractor to engineer new controls and duct work to provide better climate control for these space. The change order will add $36,000 to the project budget which is being paid from project contingency funds. To read the change order, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the change order. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Change Order #4 on the Municipal Airport's hangar construction project - The change order is being made to provide for the purchase of more stone which is needed for backfill in a few areas adjacent to the new hangars. The cost of the change order is $1,100 which is being paid from the original project budget. To read the change order, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the change order. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve appointments for the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals - The Council voted 4-0 to approve the appointment of Steve Laird to the Planning Commission and the re-appointments of Jim Lidderdale to the Planning Commission and Kenneth Harless to the Board of Zoning Appeals. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a contract renewal for concession services at Parks and Recreation Department baseball, softball, and soccer facilities - The contract with Top Shelf Concessions is for concession services at the Heritage Point Park softball and soccer complexes, the Ron Nix Soccer Complex, and the Al Rollins Baseball complex. Top Shelf pays the City of Dalton 15% of the gross revenue for concession sales at the parks. The contract runs from July 21st, 2025 through December 31st, 2025. To read the contract, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the contract. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a contract for updating the City's website - The City of Dalton's website at daltonga.gov was designed and managed by a company called Municode. That company was bought out by a company called Civic Plus in the last few years which has continued operating the City's website with the exisiting agreement and exisiting software. However, the third-party company which updates and maintains the software used to update and maintain the website has stopped supporting that software. Initially, Civic Plus agreed to migrate the City's website to a new version of that software, however, that process proved too difficult and the third-party company was not successful in providing a seamless transition for other cities in the same situation. Instead, Civic Plus has agreed to migrate the City's website to one of Civic Plus' own proprietary formats. In order to maintain some of the design elements which Civic Plus considers to be "premium" elements, the cost is a one-time design fee of $7,500. The IT Department has also requested an ADA compliance feature called "Audio Eyes" which makes the website accessible for the visually impaired and costs $4,000 annually. The recurring service fee will be $12,713. The contract will be paid from the City's IT budget. To read the contract, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the agreement. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Mayor and Council's next meeting is set for Monday, August 4th at 6:00 pm in the Raymond A. Elrod Council Chambers at City Hall. 

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