2025-07-21 July 21 , 2025 Pre-Council Meeting Minutes - FINAL
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July 21, 2025 6:00 PM City of Smyrna Mayor and Council Meeting 2800 King Street SE Admin Conference Room Page 2 of 2 CON2025-008: This is in reference to the IGO Church property. The dollar amount for this is $2.4M for the property and $681K for shared land development which will come from the parking deck line item and interest income. Mayor Norton stated that if Council decides not to develop on that site, there is plenty of public interest in that piece of property. AGR2025-034: Councilmember Welch asked how much the payment is to this vendor. Jennifer Bennett, Community Relations Director, stated it is $4,000 per month as a retainer. She explained that Mitch Leff & Associates helps achieve more media coverage as he has well-established relationships with different media entities, and he provides extra assistance with events and other communications. 6. Other Business / Staff Comment Mayor Pro Tem Gould: Swimply issues are becoming a problem as people are renting out their private swimming pools. In one instance there has already been problems with double parking and noise violations. Russell Martin, Community Development Director, stated they will be addressing these through a code enforcement avenue first. There were only two entries in Swimply for Smyrna, and they will continue to monitor it. Councilmember Welch: Wolfe Center rate increase – would like to compare revenue generated prior to the increase vs after the rate increase because people may not be renewing their memberships. Kristin Robinson, Deputy City Administrator / CFO, stated that those who were already members prior to the rate increase are grandfathered and will not have a rate increase. Councilmember Wilkinson stated that the Wolfe Center is a community amenity and the city should not be “competing” with private businesses. Mayor Norton asked that the current fees and new fees be sent to Mayor and Council and a communications plan be put together. Councilmember Welch also asked if there has been any follow up about the trash can concerns. He reminded all that he had suggested that there be a fee for the extra can for yard debris. Ms. Robinson said she will speak to Paul Osburn, Deputy Public Works Director, about this. Councilmember Hines: Rose Garden and the Pride Festivals were great. Councilmember Lindley: Attended the virtual presentation from MKSK about the redevelopment of the Baptist Church land and saw first sets of options. Mayor Norton said he has been very impressed with MKSK. Councilmember Lindley would like to arrange a trip with Mayor and Council, the Church Redevelopment Advisory Committee, and maybe the Planning and Zoning Commission, to downtown Alpharetta for ideas. Councilmember Oglesby: The Beltline / Silver Comet Trail construction / stabilization should be done soon. He also said the inaugural Juneteenth event was a huge success, and he continues to get positive feedback about it. He is looking forward to next year’s event which will be on a Friday. Councilmember Wilkinson: She mentioned the virtual call with MKSK, and she stated she really enjoyed the presentation and looks forward to being able to view it more closely. 7. Executive Session (As Needed) 8. Adjournment Mayor Derek Norton adjourned the July 21, 2025 Pre-Council Meeting at 6:27 PM.