June 2nd Mayor and Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025

Dalton's Mayor and Council met on Monday night for their first of two sessions scheduled for June. The meeting's legnthy agenda was highlighted by a brief ceremony naming City Hall's Council Chambers in honor of the late Raymond A. Elrod, Sr. Mr. Elrod was mayor of Dalton for eight years from 2000-2008 and also served 12 years as a member of the City Council. He also served terms as a member of the City's Public Safety Commission and Recreation Commission. He passed away on July 10th, 2023 at the age of 85.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING

Mayor Annalee Sams opened Monday night's meeting with the reading of Resolution 25-06 to honor Mr. Elrod's life and contributions to the City of Dalton. The resolution noted Mr. Elrod's career as an entrepreneur and business owner in the textile and floor covering industries, as well as his extensive public service as a volunteer, as a councilman, and as mayor. During his time in elected office, Mr. Elrod helped to bring about many changes to the City of Dalton, including the construction of City Hall, the Police Services Center, downtown Dalton's streetscape project, and the expansion of services offered by Dalton Utilities. Resolution 25-06, which was unanimously approved by the City Council, designated the Council Chambers as the Raymond A. Elrod, Sr. Council Chambers. After the resolution was read and approved, Mayor Sams and the members of the City Council then joined Mr. Elrod's wife Susan Petty Elrod and members of the Elrod family in the corridor outside to uncover new lettering designating the chamber in his name. To watch this portion of Monday night's meeting, click here. 

Caption: Members of the Elrod family stand with Mrs. Susan Petty Elrod (center), wife of the late Raymond A. Elrod, Sr., after a ceremony naming the Council Chambers in his honor

Mayor Sams also presented a proclamation in honor of the City's Municipal Court staff. Governor Brian Kemp declared that June 9th-13th is Municipal Court's Week in Georgia, and Mayor Sams read the Governor's proclamation before presenting it to Court Administrator Jason James and the Municipal Court's clerks. The proclamation notes that "more people encounter Municipal Court Clerks than all other court personnel in Georgia and the public impressoin of the entire Georgia judicial system is largely dependent upon the public's experience with municipal courts." 

"I appreciate the opportunity to highlight the clerks from the Municipal Court of Dalton tonight," James said. "We couldn't ask for a better organization and group of clerks. They work hard, they're diligent, and they take pride in everything that they do."

To watch the presentation of this proclamation, click here. 

Parks and Recreation Director Steve Roberts presented a staff report to the Mayor and Council to announce that the swimming pool at the John Davis Recreation Center is now open for swimmers. The ongoing project to completely remodel and renovate as well as rebuild the John Davis Recreation Center forced the pool to remain closed over the past two summers. While delays have pushed back the completion date for the overall renovation project, the team of architects, contractors, and City staff have worked diligently all year to ensure the pool would be ready for June. In order to open the pool, a complete redesign of the electrical system for the project was needed, as well as extensive work by the contractors and the Parks and Recreation and Public Works staff, including working on nights and weekends. 

"Our swim team was (in the pool) at 7 o'clock this morning. We had swim lessons this morning, and into the afternoon, and it was open to the public at 2," Roberts said. "We did have a packed house. I was over there right around 3 o'clock and we had probably close to 100 in the pool." 

Roberts thanked the team of people who worked on the project for their hard work. Roberts also updated the Mayor and Council on plans for the 4th of July celebration next month. Plans will be finalized soon, but include the annual fireworks display which will be based at the North Georgia Fairgrounds and visible from the John Davis Recreation Center campus on Civic Drive. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Council also heard the first reading of two ordinances to rezone land within the City. The first, Ordinance 25-13, would rezone a tract of land at 323 N. Hamilton Street from transitional commercila (C-4) to general commercial (C-2). The request by Alex Vital and John Davis Battle Ridge Land Company was to accommodate use of the property as an event center as well as a children's play area. The planning commission and staff both recommended approval of the request. To read the summary of the planning commission meeting, click here. To read the staff analysis, click here. Because this was the first reading, no action was taken on the ordinance. It will be considered for a vote at the next Mayor and Council meeting. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The second rezoning ordinance, Ordinance 25-14, would rezone a tract of land at 632 Oxford Street from transitional commercial (C-4) to limited commercial (C-1A). The request by Kelly Roy was to allow for the possibility of placing a short-term rental property on the lot. Because of the small size of the property and the limited setbacks from neighboring properties, the uses for the property are extremely limited. The planning commission and staff both recommended approval of the request. To read the summary of the planning commission meeting, click here. To read the staff analysis, click here. Because this was the first reading, no action was taken on the ordinance. It will be considered for a vote at the next Mayor and Council meeting. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

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

• Approve Resolution 25-05 adopting the application of Accelecom GA, LLC to construct and maintain telecommunications lines and facilities - The company has applied to place telecommunications lines and infrastructure in the City of Dalton's rights-of-way. State law requires cities to allow such installations so long as they are registered with the State of Georgia. The company will pay franchise fees to the City of Dalton as part of the use of the rights-of-way. To read Resolution 25-05, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the resolution. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Resolution 25-08 to accept the Right-Of-Way Deed for Township Drive - The road was constructed by the developer of the new Hammond Creek apartment development for access to the property. The road was constructed to the City's specifcations, and will be maintained by the City of Dalton. To read Resolution 25-08, click here. To review the quit claim deed, click here. To view a map of the roadway, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the resolution. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Change Order #1 for the Franklin Street & Valley Drive Stormwater Bypass Project - This change order approves the savings of $21,855.62 from the original budget for the project. The savings for the project was made possible by value engineering on the project by DPW Project Manager Jackson Sheppard and the Wright Brothers, Inc. contractor. To view the change order, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the change. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Change Order #1 for the Pentz & Cuyler Street Corridor Improvements Project - The change order extends the date for substantive completion on the project to July 31st, 2025. This adds 61 calendar days to the contractural completion deadline. The project has been hampered by a number of delaying factors, including historic rainfall in the month of May as well as issues with existing utilities, material delivery delays, and unforeseen field conditions among other factors. To view 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 Arcadis Task Order #14 for Haig Mill Lake erosion and sedimentation control plans - This task order engages the Arcadis engineering firm to develop an erosion control plan and a sedimentation control plan as part of the project to pave the trail around Haig Mill Lake. That project is part of the 2025 Capital Improvements Plan for the Parks and Recreation Department. The task order will cost $40,500 which is being paid from the CIP budget. To review the task order, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the task order. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a 4-Way Stop Sign for the Spencer Street/Hagen Street intersection - This traffic control change was brought about by a citizen complaint about the safety of the intersection of Spencer Street and Hagen Street. Study of the intersection showed sight-distance concerns that meet current federal requirements for the creation of an all-way stop at the intersection. To review the traffic control change request, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the change. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve Change Order #1 for the Electrical Rehab Project at the Dalton Municipal Airport - The change order is being made due to an error in the original plans which called for 2 light box units instead of 4 on the PAPI system. The change order will cost $50,000 which is being paid from GDOT grant contract funds. To view 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 Individual Plan Order (IPO) #6 with Kimley-Horn for Construction Phase Services on the Electrical Rehab Project at the Dalton Municipal Airport - The contract is for construction administration and inspection services during the electrical rehab contract which is being carried out by TCA Contractors, Inc. The cost of the services will be $99,997.38 which will be paid from GDOT grand funds. To view the IPO, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the IPO. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve IPO #7 with Kimley-Horn for Construction Phase Services on the Taxiway Rehab Project at the Dalton Municipal Airport - This contract is for construction administration and inspection services on the taxiway rehab project to be carried out by CW Matthews Contracting Company, Inc. which was the winning bidder for the project. The cost of the services is $261,584.70 which is being paid by GDOT grant funds. To view the IPO, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the IPO. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve the construction contract for the Taxiway Rehab Project at the Dalton Municipal Airport - The construction contract with CW Matthews Contracting Company, Inc. is for work to include the full repaving overlay of taxiway and taxiway connectors as well as FAA-mandated taxiway connector relocation and the addition of taxiway fillets to accommodate larger aircraft. The cost of the contract is $1,737,574.63 which is being paid for GDOT contract #49. To view the contract, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the contract. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve two (2) new alcoholic beverage license applications - The new alcohol beverage applications were for package beer and package wine sales at the United Grocery Outlet #9 location at 918 Glenwood Avenue (applicant Salma Cuna of The Bargain Barn, Inc.) and for bar pouring beer and bar pouring liquor sales at the Dejavu night club at 224 N. Hamilton Street (applicant Maria Vargas Esquivel of Dejavu Club, LLC).  The Council voted 4-0 to approve the new license applications. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a hosting bundle agreement with CivicPlus - The City of Dalton uses a service called Municode to host the City's Code of Ordinances online in a searchable database. Municode was acquired by CivicPlus. The City's current agreement with Municode/CivicPlus does not include the ability to update the ordinances in real time. As a result, changes such as those made to the alcoholic beverage license ordinance last fall are not yet reflected in the database. This new bundle agreement will allow those ordinances to be updated much more quickly which is helpful for law enforcement purposes as well as public information. The add-on increases the cost of the service to $1,375 annually, which is an increase of $382.75  to the existing contract, paid from the general fund budget. To view the agreement, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the change. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a fire alarm monitoring contract for the new DPD Property and Evidence (P&E) Building - The Dalton Police Department's new building for property and evidence storage is nearly complete. The contract with Johnson Controls to monitor the fire alarms in the facility is for $750 annually to be paid from the general fund budget. To view the contract, click here. The Council voted 4-0 to approve the contract. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

During the meeting's public comments period, Dalton resident Virginia Countryman addressed the City Council to inform them that she is having problems with her HOA in the North Oaks neighborhood. She told the Council that after raising concerns with the association, the HOA has informed her that they have had complaints about the appearance of her residence. To view this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Mayor and Council's next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 16th at 6:00 pm in the Raymond A. Elrod, St. Council Chambers. 

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