January 23, 2023

Election Cycles, STVRs, and More

JANUARY 17 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The agenda session recording can be found here.

The business meeting recording can be found here.

The meeting minutes can be found here.

At last week’s agenda session, the city council:

• discussed councilwoman Coonrod’s proposed legislation to align city election cycles with state and county races and to establish term limits for council members. Because this legislation would amend the city charter it would need to be approved by the general public in a referendum. The council decided to table the discussion to allow further review.
  • The legislation, as currently written, would move city elections to August 2024 (to align with state and county races) and every 4 years thereafter. City races would remain non-partisan. The legislation would also impose term limits of four four-year terms for both council and mayor (this would be an increase of two terms for the mayor).
  • Councilwoman Hill strongly opposed aligning city elections with the more partisan state and county races.
• discussed proposed STVR legislation. Councilwoman Hill proposed a combination of the versions presented by councilman Henderson and by the mayor’s administration. The subject was deferred for another week.

At last week’s business session, the city council:

• voted on several rezoning cases (see agenda for full details) including:
  • a request to rezone 3917 Lightfoot Mill Road to R-2. RPA staff recommended to deny the request, the Planning Commission recommended to approve the request (approved on final reading).
  • a request to rezone 7725 Shallowford Road from R-1 to R-3 to construct five 20-unit apartment buildings (withdrawn).
• voted on 2 lease agreements (see minutes for full details).
• voted to increase previously approved child service programs from 126 children to 134 children for an additional amount of ~$75k.
• voted to confirm the appointment of Lea Anne Wiles, Allie Beukema, Kimberly Braddock, and Lisa Daughtery to the Community Advisory Committee, Region 3.
• voted to confirm the appointment of Peggy Douglas, Helen Pinkerton, Misty Bolt, and Jeremy Bradford to the Community Advisory Committee, Region 8.
• approved 3 routine purchases, including a ~$1M purchase of firefighter protective gear.
• voted on the release of 1 Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
  • An RFP for an Airport Inn Developer and Supportive Services provider (approved).
• Three citizens addressed the council on the issue of homelessness, including a report on the status of families displaced from the Budgetel Inn. You can view the full comments here.

JANUARY 24 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The proposed meeting agenda can be found here.

The proposed city council agenda for this week includes:

• a vote on a request to rezone 420, 421, and 422 E 16th Street to U-CX-3 and U-RM-3 to create a new apartment complex and several small commercial units (first reading).
• a vote on amendment to the lease of the Tivoli Theatre and Memorial Auditorium.
• three votes to approve grants of up to $40k each to Habitat for Humanity for the construction of affordable homes.
• a vote to waive $6k in park fees to support Riverfront Nights.
• a vote to update the Department of Parks & Outdoors “Parks Animation and Community Enhancement” (PACE) Program.

JANUARY 31 CITY COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS

The proposed meeting agenda can be found here.

The proposed city council agenda for next week includes:

• a vote on a request to rezone 420, 421, and 422 E 16th Street to U-CX-3 and U-RM-3 to create a new apartment complex and several small commercial units (final reading).
• votes on a number of leases (see agenda for full details).
• a vote to update the Employee Information Guide, including the addition of a new multi-factor authentication policy and revisions to dress code, PTO, pay, pension, and more.
• a vote to begin the process of annexation of 1.27 acres along Clark Road in Harrison and the request of the property owner.