August 4th Mayor and Council Meeting Notes

Tuesday, August 5th, 2025

The Dalton Mayor and Council met on Monday night for their first session of August. The meeting was highlighted by the presentation of a special honor for the City's Public Works Department and also a call for a municipal election to be held this fall. Two City Council posts will be on November's ballot along with a pair of school board seats and a special election concerning homestead exemptions to local taxes for senior citizens. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF MONDAY NIGHT'S MEETING

Last month, the Dalton Public Works Department received the American Public Works Association's Georgia Project Of The Year Award. The honor was presented at the association's annual Georgia Chapter meeting in Jekyll Island. The award was presented for the department's work to mitigate stormwater problems and flooding in an area north of Walnut Avenue with a four-phase project that became known as the Walnut North Drainage Improvements Project. The last of the four phases, the Franklin Drive Stormwater Bypass, is in the finishing stages. On Monday night, Mayor Annalee Sams welcomed the Public Works Department's management team of director Chad Townsend, project manager Jackson Sheppard, and engineer Jorge Campos along with consulting engineer Richard Greuel from Arcadis and presented their award before the City Council. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Caption: The Mayor and Council honored the City's Public Works Department management team for their APWA Project of the Year Award (from left: City Administrator Andrew Parker, Councilmember Dennis Mock, Arcadis Engineer Richard Greuel, Project Manager Jackson Sheppard, Public Works Director Chad Townsend, Mayor Annalee Sams, Councilmember Tyree Goodlett, Councilmember Steve Farrow) 

At the outset of Monday night's meeting, the Mayor and Council welcomed public comments from those in attendance. Two residents rose to speak, expressing their concerns about the access to healthcare for children in the Dalton community. Also, downtown Dalton business owner Jim Lidderdale returned Monday night to follow up on his public comments from the Council's meeting on July 21st in which he and his daughter complained about the slow and delayed progress of the streetscape improvements project on Cuyler and Pentz Street. Mr. Lidderdale reported to the Mayor and Council that he was very pleased by the progress that had been made over the past weeks to bring the project near completion and ease the strain on his business. He thanked the Council and the Public Works Department for their efforts. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

Tourism Director Margaret Thigpen presented a report to the Mayor and Council detailing visitor information for the Dalton-Whitfield communityin the month of June. Thigpen reported that the Convention and Visitors Bureau welcomed several first-time visiting groups to the Dalton Convention Center, including the annual Georgia GOP convention, Metropi-Con and a Rubik's Cube convention. She also reported that collections for hotel-motel tax are ahead of their target. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

During Monday night's meeting, the Council voted to: 

• Approve a navigational aid service agreement for the Dalton Municipal Airport - The agreement DBT Transportation Services saves approximately $4,000 annually over the airport's previous navigational aid services provider. DBT Transportation Services will provide FAA-required preventative maintenance services on the Instrument Landing System (ILS/LOC), Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS) and approach lighting system at the airport. The contract cost is $15,780 annually and is paid out of the airport's general operations budget. To read the statement of work for the navigational aids, click here. To read the statement of work for the AWOS, click here. To read the contract terms, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the agreement (Councilmember Nicky Lama was not present and Mayor Sams typically votes only in the event of a tie). To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a traffic control change on Kingsridge Drive implementing a "no parking" zone - The change prohibits on-street parking on the north side of the street on Kingsridge Drive between the intersection with Westchester Drive to the terminating cul-de-sac. Because of the relatively narrow width of the roadway and because it is a dead-end street, having vehicles parked on both sides of the roadway posed a hazard for emergency vehicles and public safety. The Public Works Committee recommended the change on July 17th. To review the change request and a map of the affected area, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the change. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a traffic control change for an all-way stop at the intersection of Delaware Drive and Frazier Drive - The existing traffic control system for the intersection featured a one-way stop for Delaware Drive as it ends at Frazier Drive. Study of the intersection showed that it did not meet acceptable sight-distance requirements for traffic on Delaware Drive to safely enter Frazier Drive. The Public Works Committee recommended the change on July 17th. To review the change request and a map of the affected area, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the change. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Approve a contract for annual LMIG milling and resurfacing of various City streets - The winning bidder for the 2025 LMIG repaving and resurfacing contract was CW Matthews Contracting Company with a bid of $1,688,362.53. The resurfacing program includes 5.901 centerine miles of roadway associated with 17 City streets. The contract calls for a completion date of May 31st, 2026. The funding for the project comes from the 2025 LMIG allotment, 2025 LRA funds, and the 2024 SPLOST. To view the contract, click here. The Council voted 3-0 to award the contract. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 
• Call for a municipal election in November - Each election year involving municipal elected positions, the City Council is required to present a resolution calling for an election. Resolution 25-15 calls for the City of Dalton's general and special elections to be held on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025. The resolution appoints the City Clerk Bernadette Chattam to act as Municipal Qualifying Officer for the election and authorizes the Whitfield County Elections Superintendent to appoint any poll officials necessary to facilitate the election. The general ballot will include elections for City Council Ward 2 (currently held by Nicky Lama), City Council Ward 4 (currently held by Steve Farrow), as well as the Dalton Public Schools Board seats currently held by Matt Evans and Manny Meza. The special election ballot will include votes on homestead exemption measures for senior citizens. The Council voted 3-0 to approve the resolution. To watch this portion of the meeting, click here. 

The Mayor and Council ended the meeting in an executive session to consider real estate matters. No action was taken after that session. 

The Mayor and Council's next meeting is set for Monday, August 18th at 6:00 pm in the Raymond A. Elrod City Council Chambers. 

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