March 30th Mayor And Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, March 31st, 2026

On Monday night, the Dalton Mayor and Council authorized Dalton Utilities to issue a revenue bond to finance the construction of a new power plant. The bond issue was the highlight of the agenda for the council's third meeting of March, a session that was originally scheduled to take place April 6th. That meeting was canceled and moved to March 30th to allow staff members with children in Dalton schools to celebrate spring break next week. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO OF MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING

The Council voted 3-0 to enact Ordinance 26-05 after its second reading (Councilmember Dennis Mock was not present and Mayor Annalee Sams typically only votes in the event of a tie). The ordinance authorizes the issuance a $130 million utility revenue bond on the behalf of Dalton Utilities to be used in the construction of a 56.8 megawatt natural gas electricity generation plant. John Thomas, the Dalton Utilities CEO, noted that the need for the new plant is not related to any potential development of data centers in the community. He also pointed out that the money that will be spent on the project would still be spent on the community's power supply if the plant is not built. 

Caption: Assistant City Administrator Todd Pangle participates in a discussion during Monday night's Mayor and Council meeting

"These are dollars that are going to be spent one way or another on power supply for the community," Thomas said. "Either we build and own (a power plant) that we can own for the life of it, or we contract for more wholesale power supply (from other sources). (We'd) spend these dollars but then 10 years later, we're back in the market contracting again to spend more money. So, we feel like, the economics are what they are, it's prudent."

Thomas also noted that projections indicate that the new plant could save Dalton Utilities as much as a million dollars each year over the ten year lifetime of the revenue bond. Once the plant is paid off, Thomas says the company's projections show even greater savings over the expected 20 years of remaining service. 

"When the plant's paid for, we expect to save millions of dollars a month. And in today's market, those savings could reach close to $200 million over the latter 20 years," Thomas said. 

With the Council's vote to approve the bond, the issue now goes to the Whitfield County Superior Court for approval. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Mayor and Council also heard a pair of updates from City staff. Candace Eaton, who coordinates special events for the City, told the Council that the celebration of Georgia Cities Week will be combined this year with Downtown Dalton's "Beach Bash" at Burr Park on Friday, April 24th. The event will feature live music from 80's cover band Rubik's Groove. Eaton also told the Council that there will be a writing contest earlier in the week for local school students to imagine what they would do if they were mayor for a day. 

Tourism director Margaret Thigpen told the Council that January was a slow month for tourism in Dalton due to the impact of winter weather, but that the numbers rebounded in Februrary. Thigpen reported that tourism had a $1.1 million impact on the local economy in February, with the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department accounting for approximately $475,000. The Dalton Convention Center contributed an approximate $473,000 impact on the economy. Thigpen reported that the hotel-motel tax collections are trending slightly lower than last year, but that tourism officials are hopeful for a rebound. 

"Obviously, our hotel rates are going to follow along with what's going on in the world right now and obviously with gas prices," Thigpen said. "But in speaking with the Courtyard by Marriott, they think they're going to be able to hold their rates strong so we hope that it will level out if not increase a little with the business that we've got slated to come in this month, and in the future." 

To watch the staff updates, click here. 

The Council also voted Monday night to: 

• Approve five alcoholic beverage license applications - The Council voted 3-0 to approve four new alcoholic beverage license applications and also an addition to an existing license. The new package beer and wine (retail/gas station) license for Mapco #848 at 741 Riverbend Road (owner Jay Ganesh 741, LLC), new package beer and wine (retail/gas station) license for Dalton Food Mart at 1128 S. Thornton Avenue (owner 1128 Dalton Food Mart, LLC), new package beer and wine (retail store) for Dalton Food Mart at 1002 Underwood Street (owner Al Mateen, LLC), and new pouring beer (restaurant) license for Tacos el Conao de Dalton (owner Tacos el Cunao de Dalton, LLC) and addition of a pouring distilled spirits (bar) license for El Reventon Night Club at 600 MLK Jr. Blvd (owner Renee Solis Torres) were each approved. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Carter Hope Center for drug treatment services - The MOU is an extension of an existing agreement with the Carter Hope Center to use funds from the City of Dalton's portion of the National Opioid Settlement to provide drug addiction prevention and treatment services. The MOU provides the Carter Hope Center with $74,000 from the settlement funds over the next year. To read the MOU, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the MOU. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a resolution to accept the right of way deeds for roads in the new Hamilton Village development - Resolution 26-09 accepts the right of way deeds from the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority for the roads in the new Hamilton Village workforce housing development being built on land donated by the City of Dalton on South Hamilton Street. The City accepts the right of way deeds for Sorrel Drive, Flintwood Way, Jasmine Court, Sweetgum Street, Tulip Drive, Lantana Drive, and Camellia Street. To read the resolution, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the resolution. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.
• Approve an extension on the moratorium on the opening of certain businesses in Dalton - On June 30th, 2025, the Mayor and Council approved a six-month moratorium on the opening of certain types of regulated businesses within the City of Dalton to allow City leaders and staff time to research and consider possible regulation changes that could affect those businesses. The moratorium has since been extended once and Resolution 26-10 extends it for another three month period to expire on June 30th, 2026. The types of businesses affected by the moratorium include adult entertainment establishments, event centers, extended stay hotels, stores operating coin operated amusement machines, massage parlors, and pawn broker businesses. The original moratorium also included vape stores, but on March 16th the Council passed Ordinance 26-02 which bans the opening of new free-standing vape or tobacco stores in the City and regulates existing stores. Councilmember Steve Farrow indicated that he would support the resolution to extend the moratorium again, but that he is not in favor of continually extending it indefinitely. To read the resolution, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the resolution. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here.

Mayor Sams closed the meeting with an announcement that City offices and non-emergency services will be closed on Friday, April 3rd in observance of the Good Friday holiday. The next meeting of the Mayor and Council will be held Monday, April 20th at 6:00 pm in the Raymond A. Elrod Council Chambers at City Hall.