u/A_Soporific

The Data Center Moratorium was the first thing up. Zoning and Planning said that they could use a 6 month moratorium while they create zoning rules to handle a data center should one come up. They can extend if they need it.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon asked why it was for 6 months and not a year. The city attorney said that it's easier to fend off a challenge if it matches what staff actually needs to work up a set of rules. "No, because we don't like it/you" isn't a valid stance that will hold up to scrutiny, so getting the full year without needing a full year could theoretically give some developer an excuse to sue. Councilor Orochena noted that there was an error in the agenda notes, which the attorney sheepishly noting that it was made and they'll get it fixed.

They voted on the Moratorium and passed it 5 - 0.

Another moratorium popped up as well. This one is for Freestanding signs. Like campaign signs and signs advertising businesses. As there have been a couple of major court cases the laws on the books might not be strictly speaking okay any longer. So, staff needs some time to rewrite the rules, and so they voted a 60 day pause on any new signs to give them a chance to permit new ones properly. This won't affect campaign signs that are temporary and thus not regulated under the previous ordinance.

This also passed 5 - 0.

There's a liquor license up. This one is for 41 Package, a new store in with the Olde Towne and Cigar Cellar just south of Summer Street on Cobb Parkway. It passed the distance requirements so there was no reason to deny.

It passed 5 - 0.

Now we got some Public Comment.

First up was History Kid. The Kennesaw Police Department moved from City Hall to the new Public Works building late last month, so he wanted to know where the KPD was based throughout Kennesaw's history. Turns out "nowhere" from the founding of the city to 1936. The first ~50 years they shared space. In 1936 they got two whole rooms, one for the officers and one as a lockup, in the city hall of the time. They used those two rooms until 1973. Between then and the first dedicated PD building in 1980 they were somewhere, but records aren't clear on where exactly. The little building at Cherokee and Main only lasted until the current City Hall building was expanded in 1988, and they finally moved out last month. Hopefully, they'll last in their new digs for more than eight years.

A Main Street Mom spoke next. She pointed out that there a Flock camera pointed at the only entrance/exit to her street. So she feels as though people can track her from the moment she leaves to the moment she gets back. It's a camera contracted by the city, too. Recent court cases have also ruled pretty aggressively against Flock, too. A camera that sees a single person on the street equals a bystander and legal. A network of cameras that track a person everywhere they go equals a stalker and that isn't. The city has shown deep deference for rights in the past (between the 2nd Amendment rules and the lack of action on Wildman's) so what is different here? The cameras don't make her (and others) feel safe, quite the opposite. The contract for the city's cameras are also expensive, totaling more than a hundred thousand dollars in some years, so how can the city include that easily in the normal budget while not including things for families like the parks and the natural playscape.

It turns out the Woodland Park Guy was unable to attend. So he asked the Lady Lion to speak on his behalf. She noted that Councilman Jones didn't explain the reason for his vote on the budget, or the discrepancy between what the city had claimed (reserves for 18 months) and what was listed in the budget (reserves for 13 months). She told the councilman who the Guy's barber was and asked for better accounting in exchange.

Mr. Lion was next to speak. He wanted to know why lengthy (and circular) discussion of data centers was a priority when the damaged sidewalks, the problems associated with walking to Kennesaw Elementary, and park issues passed by without comment. He went on to note that Woodland Park Guy was adopting the stream behind the Woodland Park, thus getting access that the city previously denied.

There was a vote to fill the vacant Interim Assistant City Manager until the position can be filled. The vote was on the Police Chief, which makes sense as he has experience running a large department and has strong working relationships with city's other departments. They voted to give him the temporary role with a 5 - 0 vote.

The Interim City Manager announced that they are going to be presenting some contracts for Woodland Park in the upcoming week. They have actually been working on it all this time, they say. The bollard that replaces the chain might take longer, though.

The Cobb County Disaster Plan was also approved through 2030, so the city now has access to block grants should we face flooding or tornadoes or any such crisis. This is good news, since it not being approved would make recovering substantially slower since everything would have to go through the normal process.

Also, one of the ladies on an advisory board moved and it turns out that she's no longer inside city limits. As a result, she's no longer permitted to be on the board. RIP. The council voted 5 - 0 to accept her resignation.

They started off with a quick discussion, notification really, of fee changes. The fingerprint fees for bail bonds have been reduced to $35 and the fingerprinting requirement for pawn brokers are dropped entirely. They're increasing the fee for the community center by $5 and room rentals as well. They're changing park pavilions to a time block system so you can't get a single hour any longer.

This was moved to consent.

There was a liquor license up. This one is for "41 Package" in the shopping center on Cobb Parkway where the Olde Towne Grill is right at the bridge over the railroad tracks. He did the workshops and they're sufficiently far from anything of note. It's very likely to be approved.

Public Works found a busted stormwater pipe and a sinkhole on Shillings Chase Drive. It's going to eat the house's driveway and sidewalk in short order so Public Works asked for $47K to get it fixed immediately, staff recommends approval because delay will result in a much more expensive fix.

Parks and Recreation want to surplus some lawnmowers. One walk behind and a zero turn. This got moved to consent (to be auto-approved unless someone complains). They're to be auctioned on GovDeals.

Now it's public comment.

The Woodland Park Guy wanted to thank the former councilman who spoke previously for pointing out that the council can take independent action. He went further to criticize Councilman Jones, noting that he didn't speak up last week to pre-fund his priorities. He wanted the council to take a more adversarial position with staff and the Mayor to compel results. He said that at least the former city manager would take meetings with him, while the Mayor doesn't. He wants a good answer as to why the park still isn't closed but also doesn't have the things that the council generally approve of unfunded. The end of the comment period got particularly snippy with the Mayor.

Mr. Mayo really enjoys going to the park with his grandson. It's a big thing for him. Even though he really does enjoy it, he hopes that whomever was responsible for the ADA violation would be held accountable. The kid also noted the lack of infrastructure at the park and asked Mr. Mayo when that stuff will go in, Mr. Mayo wishes he had an answer. Mr. Mayo also managed to get his mother out of the house for the first time in a while, and she was overjoyed by how many kids were out and about and how many houses had been fixed up. He wants the city to keep on working to allow the recovery of the old neighborhood to continue. He thanked them for removing the chain one last time.

The former Councilman Blinkhorn went up to speak he noted that the staff had been throwing numbers around in an informal capacity that ended up not aligning with what the budget actually said. He noted that no one on the council questioned it. He said that he would have, as would former Councilman Ferris. He would like the council to ask more questions about inconsistencies.

A Playground Mom turned up again. She said that while people were making safety arguments against the Depot Park natural play scape, but there are plenty of other safety issues. While the sidewalks in front of her neighborhood are new other ones, especially those along Cherokee Street, are broken and uneven. Traffic along Main Street is far too fast, making it a challenge to cross even at lights and the lack of a School Zone sign on Rutledge also makes it much harder to walk her kids to Kennesaw Elementary. Many people spoke up in favor of the playscape, and she doesn't think safety should be an excuse when it doesn't seem to be a priority in other spaces. She is aware that many of these things are going to be addressed eventually, but its hard to take that seriously when it seems like the big projects are constantly pushed years into the future for no clear reason.

The role of Interim Assistant City Manager is open. The former Assistant Manager is Interim City Manager, so we have a vacancy. The city tapped the Police Chief to fill the role temporarily until a permanent Assistant City Manager can be hired. It's not uncommon for Police/Fire Chiefs to be tapped in such situations. No one objected.

The Data Center Moratorium was up for discussion. It got a bit repetitive, but the discussion boiled down to as follows: Moratoriums are temporary measures not solutions. Passing a Moratorium won't block data centers forever, they will only stop applications until a permanent zoning solution can be found. If the moratorium is short (like 30 days) then they can just vote one in, but if it is longer (like the year asked for) it requires a public hearing under State Law. The moratorium can only work if city staff is working on a permanent zoning solution actively.

Despite there being no sign that a data center is imminent, the council will be voting on approving the hearing for the moratorium next week. Freezing applications until the ordinance is written seemed to them to be the responsible move.

Hey y'all. It's about that time of year again. With some uncertainty around the mail, I recommend as many people as possible take advantage of the drop boxes and early voting.

There are a couple of somewhat convenient locations to Kennesaw. The ones with drop boxes for mail-in ballots are the North Cobb Senior Center at 3900 South Main Street in Acworth and the Main office at 995 Roswell Street in Marietta. The local ones without drop boxes are The Ben Robertson Community Center at 2753 Watts Drive here in Kennesaw and the West Cobb Regional Library at 1750 Dennis Kemp Lane also here in Kennesaw.

These locations open on October 13th and close on October 30th. During the weekdays from Monday to Friday they will all be open from 7 AM to 7 PM. On Saturdays they will be open from 9 AM to 5 PM. Only the North Cobb Senior Center, South Cobb Community Center, East Cobb Government Center, Boots Ward Recreation Center, and the Main Office will be open on Sundays, so don't turn up to Ben Robertson after church. Sundays will be from Noon to 5 PM.

Do check your registration status at MVP.SOS.GA.GOV just in case. You have one week to resolve any challenges or paperwork snarls. Mine looks good, still active and no flag. It will also tell you your day of precinct (mine is KE3A at Ben Robertson) in case you don't recall. Your sample ballot is already accessible at the bottom of your Personal Information tab, so do your research early and often.

I will be working this election as a poll tech. I hope to see y'all out there.

Today there wasn't a lot on the agenda, but the 2027 budget was on the agenda there.

Before things really got going Former Councilman Blinkhorn decided to speak. He even gave me a handout. He does have concerns about the budget. He had a few things to cover. The first one is that the city has $38.2 million unassigned, there's no rules about how or when that money can be spent. It could be spent to zero by a vote on anything or nothing. The second bit he wanted to comment upon was that a number of things people came to comment upon remain unfunded. You could earmark funds for the Depot Playground, Woodland Park, and the pollinator gardens now and design the plan to the budget already allotted over the year rather than forcing people to wait until the next budget. The third was that the council had the authority to change the budget, the council has ceded a lot of power to the mayor and manager by simply instructing the staff to make plans and voting up/down the plans presented. The city has a strong council design, and the council can do things on its own. He also had some concerns about previous comments. Previously, there was a suggestion that the city manager might "find" money. That's not how that works, it should always be communicated clearly where the money was coming from, be it from reserves, new revenue, a grant, or a transfer from a funded priority. Another instance was a council member suggesting funding might be "a conversation for executive", and that's a bit alarming. If it's not pertaining to city employees, legal issues, or land purchases/sales then it shouldn't be discussed in private. The Open Meetings Act has few exemptions. He asked what the priorities of the council was, not the Mayor, what the council thought. He asked them to vote no on the budget and include tangible support for what the citizens have told them they want: the playground, Woodland Park, and the pollinator gardens.

I've covered the budget numbers a couple of times, so I won't write it out again. You can review the ~200 page budget here.

The council voted 4 - 1 to approve the budget. Councilor Orochena was the sole no vote.

The council voted on the SPLOST budget. That one went 5 - 0.

Nicky's Undefeated wanted a retail pouring license to allow them to do beer, wine, and Sunday sales. The location is in the Kennesaw Marketplace on Barrett Parkway. They did the distance survey and turns out that it's good.

Councilman Bothers had a question for the applicant. He wanted to know what their ID policy was. The owner said that it was 100% checks on everyone every time.

The license was approved 5 - 0.

The ribbon cutting for the Public Safety Building is set for Wednesday at 2 PM.

Now it's time for the Public Comment.

It's the 139th anniversary of the city. The 1887 charter lasted only about 20 years when they got the first big update. The 1907 update gave the city new powers, powers like taxing traveling salesmen. There was a completely new charter created in 1950 this one was deeply comprehensive down to regulations on Merry-go-rounds. The current charter was recreated from scratch in 1971, this time it was less specific so no rules about Merry-go-rounds. The last major update to the charter was in 1998 when it created a City Manager position.

Woodland Park Guy was next. He applauded that the chain was removed, but he was still upset by how long it took to get it done. Before the chain was removed he even filed a FOIA request about the chain, but all he got back was receipts from the relevant home improvement store. There was no discussion about why it was put up, and so the request didn't show the important bits. The process of decision making being so opaque doesn't just make it hard for him, but with the near complete turnover of senior city staff how will the new staff have any idea what is going on and why?

Mr. Mayo went up to say "Thank you, finally". He was a little bit choked up about playing with his grandson in the park. It was a genuinely big deal for him. And yet he was still upset over how long it took and how hostile things got. He was even called out by an officer for holding a small chain across City Hall's doors for a picture, which he felt was way overkill. He was upset by the fact that the Mayor seemed to be more interested in writing, looking down, rather than looking and listening. Ultimately, he ran out of time and was cut off.

Mr. Lion, the third Woodland Park resident to speak, was up next. He wanted to applaud Councilor Orochena for listening, but noted that it seemed that the council had trouble raising issues. Councilman Guiterrez-Leon attempted to discuss a data center moratorium and couldn't get anything going, and despite Councilor Orochena having the votes to get movement on a Pollinator Garden it wasn't allowed to get that far. It looks bad when you have a majority vote voiced but still nothing happens. He wanted the council to listen more, not just to the residents who went up to speak but to one another.

The interim City Manager noted that the 5K last Saturday had 800 runners and this upcoming weekend is the last Depot Park Concert of the season. This one featuring an ABBA cover band.

Bonus Round:

I asked Councilor Orochena about her no vote. I didn't want to guess as to her motivations. She told me that it was unclear why the city needed to have so many reserves. When she got State of Georgia training they recommended cities keep 3-6 months of operating budget as a reserve. The city's plan calls for 12 months. But we have 18 months in reserve with no explanation as to why. She believes that we could hire more staff and do more things with the reserve to get it back down to what the plan calls for with no downside.

When the meeting picked up Councilor Orochena asked if they would get the chance to finish the playground discussion. The mayor said that they would, but at the appropriate time.

The first thing on the agenda was Nicky's Undefeated. This is at the corner of Barret Parkway and Cobb Parkway there next to the Whole Foods in the Kennesaw Marketplace shopping center. They want a license to do beer, wine, and Sunday sales, and they are not close to a house, school, church, or public building so no hearing is required. They're almost certainly just going to pass it along to an up or down vote.

Crime stats are up next. We had one fewer crime in August 2026 than we did in August 2025. There were 10 fewer drug charges and 9 more larceny charges. So we swapped druggies for petty thieves at a slightly better than even rate. Is that better or worse? I guess that's a your mileage varying sort of situation.

The police also want to replace a Ford Explorer. It's a 2019 with 86,000 miles on it and the engine disassembled itself while in use. The police managed to sell off enough old equipment on GovDeals.com to cover the cost of buying a new one, and Ford itself said that rebuilding the engine isn't recommended for a vehicle that old with that many miles.

Councilman Jones asked if this was a unique failure or if we should start planning for the other Ford Explorers to fail as well. Staff said that the other ones don't seem to show any signs of failing so it looks like a one off sort of problem.

Public Works want a vote on some landscaping. There's a bit for Depot Park to repair some of the landscaping there and a bit for the city flag pole at city hall. The Depot Park plan involves replacing magnolia and cherry trees that aren't doing so hot with creeping yew and serviceberry trees. They also intend to plant 1,000 spring-flowering bulbs. Total cost is about $14,700. The city hall plan involves resoding the degraded area around the flagpole for about $8,000.

Councilman Jones spoke up to ask about the sod, since that sounds really expensive. Staff explained that it is to remove the existing grass, regrade the lot so that water drains more appropriately, and then lay down new sod. So that explains why it's a bit pricier.

Now it's time for Public Comment.

Some guy went up there to ask about a bridge. I didn't exactly get good notes about that. Something about a trail behind a Baptist Church and a bridge being out? Something about falling or something? I don't know. But the city decided to actually answer that one since they did have news, in the past week or two they secured HUD funding to replace not just that bridge but several ones on that trail. It's not going to be an immediate fix, but it certainly looks like something.

The next one up wasn't the Woodland Park Guy, but another neighbor of Woodland Acres who was there to speak because the guy himself wasn't available. The Woodland Park Guy would complain, if he were able, about the amount of litter and trash that has been disposed of in the creek and the hard to reach portions of Woodland Park. The absent man wanted to say that when he walked the area with Councilman Bothers the elected official said that it wasn't that bad actually and the city attorney wanted people to stop volunteering to clean it up themselves on the off chance that injury and lawsuits result. It seems that the fellow who ran afoul of conflicts of interest heard staff say that people shouldn't go rogue and that scheduling a clean up day with the staff would have resulted in a good photo opportunity that would have benefitted the city. But, both the man who wasn't there and the one who was wanted to ask the city to organize a clean up day, replace the sign for the park that was stolen three years ago, and to replace the chain already. The man who spoke reiterated his offer to remove the chain at no expense should the city grant him permission.

Mr. Mayo also went up to speak. He noted that he was a taxpayer, a neighbor, and a liver transplant survivor. So he isn't likely to just give up and pack it in. That said, he needs that chain removed because he is tired of disappointing his grandson who plays at the park. He can't join his grandson because he lacks the mobility to get to the park with the chain up. He's beginning to feel a bit betrayed that he asks for something that seems simple but is unable to get any sort of movement at all. As far as he can tell, there's no budget item in the budget the city is voting on that could be used for the park, which makes him fear that it will be a year or more before the chain is removed. That's a year of his grandson's life he won't be able to get back.

Finally we got back around to the conclusion of the Depot Park discussion from a few weeks back.

Councilor Viars, who is here again, said that she is concerned by the loss of top staff at public works. The department has a lot of ordinary work to do and will have to do more with less until the city can hire a new head of that department and get them up to speed. That said, a study that defines scope and budget so that more constructive discussion can happen makes sense from where she sits.

The Mayor chimed in saying that the city already has plans and would like to focus on the existing plans.

Councilman Jones said that he things that at least instructing the staff to do the study is necessary.

Ultimately, the mayor instructed the acting city manager to do the study for the natural playscape and present an actionable plan when practical. Despite that concession the Mayor noted he didn't want any more distractions from executing the existing plan.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon then brought up another distraction. He noted that the discussion of the Data Center Moratorium wasn't brought back up again. The City Attorney said that they were still reviewing documentation that the state was delaying. It's a rapidly moving field with a lot of action and so the city attorneys are reviewing the other sorts of bans that being put in place in Georgia to get a good grasp of the risks and benefits of each. It will come back up again, but not yet.

That's where the meeting wrapped up.

Uncommonly, we had someone give a public comment at the beginning about something on the agenda. It was Former Councilman Blinkhorn. He went up to say that he was a previously a member of the council and he had some questions about the budget. The city has 18 months of operating budget in reserve. The recommendation is a minimum of 2 months, with each city to do a risk assessment to determining how much extra to have on hand in the event of something going wrong. So, why 18 months? What risks justify holding so much in reserve when we have unfunded priorities like the Woodland Park, Pollinator Garden, and Depot Park natural playscape? Not including those things is stalling them a whole year, even if a full proposal isn't ready to go right now. The city charter allows the Council to make whatever adjustments to the budget it sees fit, so he urged them to include budget adjustments for those priorities during the discussion on the 14th prior to the final vote on the 21st.

Next up is the Operating Budget.

The headline numbers are the city has $35 million coming in on $33 million in expenses and is shifting the rest to other accounts. The city is getting $28 million in on taxes, and $750k from interest on reserves. The biggest expenses is the $20 million in costs related to city staff, and I personally believe that we could spend a bit more on staff since they seem constrained on the ability to handle sudden issues. A big concern is the impact fees that come from new construction, those are down 84% which indicates that nothing big was started last year, no new apartments or commercial developments. That will be a problem if people don't actually start construction sooner rather than later. The city was running a deficit until 2017 and since then it has been built up tens of millions of dollars in savings.

Next up is the El Taco Azteca liquor license, the thing that you all have been waiting for. The city attorney wanted to speak up a bit first, pointing out that this was an administrative hearing so it's similar to but much less formal than a trial. The license for El Taco Azteca was rejected by city staff because it was too close to a private school and church. The hearing is to override that decision. The standard for approval was granting the license wouldn't harm the church or school, even in terms of property value.

City Staff testified. They said that the license was denied because it was too close to the church and school. The place previously had a license from 2014 to 2024. They didn't renew the license for 2025. The church might be defunct as the city didn't have an active license for them. The school was there when they were issued a license the first time, but there were no complaints for the decade they previously operated. Other bars are also within a relevant distance to the school, but the staff didn't have the authority to ignore city ordinance on their own.

Ms. Taco Azteca testified. She said that she didn't believe there was a conflict as there were several businesses between them. The place has a history of being in good standing and strict limits on serving those who showed signs of intoxication.

The city attorney asked if they talked to the school. The applicant said that it was a private school that doesn't operate when they normally serve, so they hadn't gotten in contact with them.

The Former Councilman said that he thought it was a great restaurant. Besides, it would be inconsistent if the city were to license Pisano's and Prohibition (previously SuBourbon) and deny them. He also wasn't aware that it was the license seeker's obligation to reach out to the school. Had the city reached out?

The Woodland Park Guy spoke next. He said that he's 5 years sober, so he wouldn't be availing himself either way, but he had personal knowledge that the church in question was defunct. He had some bricks from the demolition.

A neighbor of the Azteca spoke up, he said that it was a great restaurant run by good people who follow the rules. Approve plz.

A former employee of El Taco Azteca went up, they confirmed the strict rules about serving and that they rarely sold booze during or immediately after school hours. When she worked there she strongly preferred evening shifts for precisely that reason, booze leads to better tips after all.

They had a vote and El Taco Azteca's liquor license was approved 5 - 0.

Next up was the Shell's Due Cause hearing.

The Shell is the on the corner of Cobb Parkway and Summer/Kennesaw Due West on the far side. It's not the new gas station at that intersection but the old one that has been there for a couple of decades. The owner of the gas station didn't get a lawyer for the hearing.

The city's case was a 19 year old working with the city went in to the gas station on July and purchased two alcoholic drinks with no ID check. This isn't the first time this has happened. The city is asking for a 90 day suspension of the license and a 12 month probation period. They missed the end of their previous probation period by a few weeks.

The Shell's defense was that they had been operating in the location for 22 years and it's their only business. They had been doing their best but violations have proven "unavoidable". They fired the cashier responsible and trained the new hire on liquor laws.

The police officer testified that they did this at 17 businesses and the other 16 all refused to sell to the teen. When confronted at the time the cashier claimed that the teen had been there previously and had previously shown a valid ID, so they didn't think it necessary to check ID again.

Councilman Bothers asked if they even asked for an ID. The Officer answered no.

The Teen was next. He said that he only had his underage ID, had never been to that specific gas station before, and had never shown a license at that location on that or any other date.

They noted that there were previous violations including but not limited to a 2014 suspension for expired permits, a 2021 underage sale, and a 2024 underage sale. This seems to keep on happening.

Shell said that they tried their best. The Cashier was negligent and therefore fired. The new gas station across the street is doing them dirty and they need help to survive.

Councilman Bothers said he didn't want to suspend but this just keeps happening. How do they train employees to not do this again? Shell replied that they outsource to a training company, but the employee just entered a nonsense DOB instead of following protocol. Bothers went on to ask if ID checks were mandatory. Shell said that policy is to check IDs of anyone who looks under 50 years of age, and could override with a sufficiently old date of birth entry. Bothers finally asked how much of the gas station's sales were booze. Shell answered about 22%.

Councilor Viars asked if they could do a point of sale thing that requires an ID scan 100% of the time. Shell said yes, they could do that.

The mayor asked if the city could require 100% scan ID checks as a rule for the probation period. The city attorney said yes.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon asked if this was a standard penalty. The city attorney said that there are no default suspensions, but this is a typical suspension for this kind of offense.

Councilman Bothers suggested a 60 day suspension with 12 months of probation that includes two big stipulations: 100% ID scans and immediate and permanent revocation if there is another violation. The mayor set that as the vote.

Council approves suspension with a vote of 5 - 0.

Next up is Public Comment.

History Kid wanted to talk about motels. Kennesaw's first motels went up once the "Fourlane" was built. Modern day Cobb Parkway/US-41 never had a good name. The first motel was the Smith Motel, founded by Mr. Smith in 1951. It had a good run, only closing in the year 2000 with Mr. Smith's passing and was demolished 2007. The Gold house was built where the Culver's is today in 1954. It burned down. The Key of Rest had a neat name and was built around Blue Springs in 1957 and burned down in 1972, the shortest run of the city's motels. The last one was built in 1972 and lasted all the way until a fire in 2018, even though it spent its last couple of decades as an extended stay. The opening of the interstate shifted most hotel accommodations outside of city limits and on the other side of the city.

The Woodland Park Guy was up next. He's very confused about the chain. It was first raised as an issue months ago. He's unclear why the city is hesitant to act on the pollinator garden due to the risk of lawsuit when the chain not being in ADA compliance is a similar lawsuit risk. He asked the mayor to swallow his pride and allow all the public to use a public park.

Mr. Mayo is up next. He is exactly the person the ADA is there to help. He even first turned up to a meeting to defense his neighbors who had been falsely accused of putting up the chain at the start of all of this, so he doesn't have any idea why the city has been so slow to address the chain. He can't safely get around the chain with his limited mobility to play in the park with his grandson. He is grateful to the city for doing what they have done so far. He recognizes that it is a fair bit, and yet for him exactly nothing has changed because he still can't go to his neighborhood park.

Mr. Lion was up next. He wanted to offer Councilor Viars condolences for her loss and to reiterate his offer to remove the chain himself. He'd do it for free, if budgeting was a concern. I believe his exact words were "I got you, just let me know."

In the wrap up we had the City Manager remind everyone of this upcoming Thursday's Farmer's Market. And a guy got appointed to the Sister Cities Committee. Then they disappeared in a back room to discuss personnel issues, which is something they have to do in private. I suspect, but cannot prove, that it has to do with the current City Manager's retirement and the selection of a new City Manager.

First things first. My condolences to Councilor Viars. She lost a family member and was unable to be present.

They opened with an executive (private, no audience allowed) session for 38 minutes to discuss "land". They're buying land or selling land and can't/won't tell us more details until they're ready to announce it formally. Whatever it was passed with a vote 4 - 0 (with Councilor Viars absent due to family tragedy).

El Taco Azteca's liquor license is up for next week. But staff doesn't recommend its approval. They are within 600 feet of both a school and a church. The council can override those concerns if evidence can be presented that their tasty margaritas won't negatively impact the church and school. I think that maybe people at said church testifying to enjoying margaritas after services would go a long way.

The City Manager is retiring, so they want to sign a consulting agreement for the current manager to hand over all the projects in process and be on call for questions that pop up.

The city won $3,000,000 in federal grants for road repairs and sidewalks. They got a $3,000,000 contract added to a State of Georgia Contract with one of their engineering firms to start work as immediately as possible. Congratulations to: Knightsbridge, Kentcrest, Kennesaw Springs, Tara and Blackjack Estates. Y'all are getting your roads did and sidewalks added.

The ADU update is that they don't wanna until the Comprehensive plan is done. They do have an argument. It doesn't make sense to create rules if they're going to have to immediately redo the rules next year anyways. But I don't have to like the delay.

The Data Center Moratorium is set for 12 months, the maximum allowable under state law, now all we need to do is let the lawyers write the thing to vote upon.

Now: Public Comment.

1. The first guy wanted to compliment the city on its work on the Living Cities Initiative and the like, but he's worried about McCollum and Cherokee. Sometimes people make a left out of the center lane, and that's not cool. But, he wonders if it can be made cool. Like, if they paint the turn arrow and two turn lanes then it might make the whole thing move easier. He also liked the idea for a pollinator garden and playground at the Depot.

EDIT It was brought to my attention that it wasn't McCollum and Cherokee but rather Big Shanty and McCollum. I got stuff garbled when jotting stuff down. Similar concept though, as there's a straight only into the Vulcan Quarry that is only used at very specific times of day, but people making a left from downtown to Chastain backs up, sometimes to where the old Dry County used to be. Repainting could stop that back up and make things flow safer and faster. My apologies to first guy for inaccurately recounting his point.

2. Cystal also wants the play space. She pointed out that the original plans for the park had lots of good family activities including a playground and a train play set and a fountain. She says that finally adding in those amenities would bring Kennesaw's downtown more in line with Marietta and Woodstock, places that she would go more often if she didn't live so close to Main Street. Also, Kennesaw Elementary lost their traffic officer and the mornings feel a bit unsafe.

3. The Conservation Landscaper was next to speak. He cares a lot about the pollinator garden and notes that turning a vacant lot full of crab grass or empty planters into a pollinator garden might have great Return on Investment. You have to mow a vacant lot twice a month, but a pollinator garden only once a year. That and he'll even volunteer to help out.

4. A dad of three wanted to express support for the natural playscape. He says that kids can play anywhere but the lack of an organized place to do so has been a hinderance to him when the family goes to Main Street to shop or eat out. A natural playscape also is a unique thing to make Kennesaw stand out.

5. Two KSU professors went up to talk. They noted that the pollinator gardens would be a boon to their classes. Volunteering in them would allow them to get real life experience and it would be a natural place for them to do demonstrations for their students. They would love for there to be more connections between campus and the city and the pollinator garden would naturally become one of those.

6. One of the mom from the Main Street area wanted to complain about how many projects feel just a little bit unfinished. Swift-Cantrell Park finished without the full set of amenities. Depot Park didn't either. The lack of shade and seating is an especially large problem. Furthermore, she wanted to push back on some of the arguments from last time. Adam's Park is unsuitable for people coming from across the railroad tracks. The argument that parents might leave children unsupervised during concerts is rich given that happens during baseball/softball at Adam's Park all the time, if anything there are always friends and neighbors around at those festivals and concerts who collectively watch the kids making it much safer to leave kids to run around in an organized way than letting them completely loose as happens now.

7. Another Main Street Lady wanted to ask the council what came up on google when she searched "Depot Park Kennesaw". Turns out it's a playground. People have asked her at the park where the playground was. The playground was featured prominently in early concept designs of Depot Park, too. So there should be some sort of playground. Also a traffic cop is desperately needed at Kennesaw Elementary, someone is going to get hurt.

8. Some North Cobb Students turned up. They noted that they also go to playgrounds even at their age and a playscape would be a fun addition. They really like the natural concept. A lot of the entertainment aimed at them and kids don't have any space for imagination or environmental consciousness. Having rocks and logs would help them reconnect.

9. Donovan is back, the guy who very nearly took Councilman Bother's seat. He was also noting that Adam's Park isn't Depot Park, and that Depot Park could use some more activities when there isn't a festival or concert. But mostly he was there about Pedestrian Lead Time. Turns out the light turns for walkers and cars at the same time, which often leads to conflicts between pedestrians and cars when cars go immediately. Delaying the green light for cars by a couple of seconds means that drivers can see people crossing the street before they pull out, and makes the whole thing a lot safer.

10. The Woodland Park Guy finally gets a word in edgewise. He notes that there is more than one lock on the chain at Woodland park. One of his former neighbors used to park a trailer and boat at the park, and a lock with its combination set to his street address is still on the chain. This is (potentially) an outrage if the former neighbor was given access to the chain to store private property in a neglected public park but the city can't do the same for people asking for ADA compliance.

He also turned up with a chain themed t-shirt with almost a dozen others.

11. Another Woodland Park Neighbor went up. He was pleased that they got some progress at the park, but he had a quibble with the care. He recognizes that treatment of weeds are necessary and some overspray is unavoidable, but he had some significant damage done to garden. He also offered to remove said chain himself, if that was easier for everyone.

12. Butterfly lady said that she was a member of the Georgia Native Plant Society, the group that put together the pollinator garden plan. She also went through Kennesaw 101 (and was my classmate in that) and said that those classes encouraged her to get involved. The pollinator garden sounded like her chance to do just that.

13. Mr. Mayo was next. He didn't just wear the chain-themed T-Shirt, but also a chain around his neck. He was not happy with the Mayor's dismissive body language and really, really wanted an ADA compliant entry to the park. He still has mobility issues and the chain has been keeping him out of the park. To make matters worse he's been in conflict with some of the neighbors who want to keep the park as is on social media. He's sick of the slander and demands to know what this "damning information" about Woodland Park is that makes it unsuitable for refurbishment. He has no idea what that information might be and would appreciate the city being candid about it should the city know.

14. The last lady to speak was unhappy with the gatekeeping of Woodland Park. Who can restrict people from having access to the park? After all, there are two other locks beyond the city's that give access on that chain, so why do they get the right to access but the neighbors don't? Why is access even restricted in the first place? Why can't the chain be removed or replaced with an ADA-compliant bollard? What is the timeline with the park? Some progress is obviously being made, but the illegitimate limits on access is a big problem for her. It is a public park, is it not?

Finally, we're off to the presentations.

The first one is for the Pollinator Garden. The Georgia native Plant Society had a presentation. They noted that original site was north facing and wasn't getting enough sun to be a proper pollinator garden. They also looked at two roundabouts, but figured that pedestrian access would be too limited. So they settled on one acre at the corner of Ben King and McCollumn. That whole acre was left over after the roundabout was put in and the much larger intersection was removed. This was, coincidentally, ideal for their purposes and could even save the city money as native plants need much less care and the grass seed the city put down didn't take. They are willing to provide volunteers, insurance for said volunteers, the seeds, and $500 to offset any drain on city resources. The plan is to add a demonstration pollinator garden along the roundabout, put "rain gardens" around the existing trains to smooth out runoff and provide neat microbiomes, and turn the current crabgrass field into a native meadow consisting of 5 native grasses and 16 native wildflowers. They also envision a walking path to better connect foot traffic to and from. They are incredibly flexible on what parts they do and don't do, but want to get started immediately because they're losing the planting season. Ideally, they'd have everything in the ground by the end of October if it's going to survive the winter and so they had a draft Memorandum of Understanding included in the packet on the off chance that the council wants to vote in favor right here and now.

Councilman Jones asked about maybe adding benches. If we're doing walking paths then why not? The city attorney paled, after all permanent structures in a right of way for car traffic (whether the road still exists or not) is a lawsuit begging to happen. Councilman Bothers asked if the city would have to destroy the grass. The Native Plant Society said yes, if they were going to make this growing season. Councilman Jones suggested (jokingly?) flamethrowers. The Native Plant Society conceded that flamethrowers were theoretically possible, but an unnecessarily expensive solution. The City Attorney briefly turned white at the suggestion.

The City Manager stepped in to slam the breaks on the situation. He thought that they were going to just be doing some stuff with a planter. Now they were talking about an acre of land that might be needed to stage supplies for the road work on Ben King that will be starting Soon ^TM . He asked if they can just start with the pollinator garden and expand in future years. The Native Plant Society was down. They just presented a more maximalist vision and were happy to scale down as needed.

The City Attorney said that he was alarmed by some of the suggestions (flamethrower!?) and he won't be signing any MOUs until details were settled and the potentially dangerous suggestions settled.

The manager and legal will work on this and once they're done there will be a vote on it.

The Natural Playscape at Depot Park was the last bit of business. There wasn't much of a presentation to this one, but Councilor Orochena wanted a comprehensive vote on it after the last time it was up it was something of a split decision. Councilor Orochena, Councilman Jones, and Councilman Guiterrez-Leon voted yes. Councilman Bothers voted no. Councilor Viars wasn't present due to bereavement. The Mayor said that this will wait until everyone was present. When someone in the audience noted that three was a majority and four councilmembers was a quorum so technically they didn't need to delay the Mayor reacted strongly. The topic was tabled until all members could be present.

OOF. This one was a big one.

El Taco Azteca's liquor license is on the menu. It's been one of the most commented upon issues here, and there will finally be movement on it. But that's nowhere close to everything.

A data center moratorium is up for discussion along with the ADU update promised a couple months back. I expect a lot of people would like to comment. I'll only have 3 minutes to comment myself, so if you want to say something then you have to show up yourself.

The city got $3 million for sidewalks and other infrastructure upgrades for the Knightsbridge, Kentcrest, Kennesaw Springs, Tara and Blackjack Estates subdivisions. A guy will be giving a presentation and a bid, so it's the last chance to include or exclude anything before they start work.

They'll be doing a budget presentation, which is a goldmine for insufferable busybodies like me.

And in scandalous news, the Stop 2 Go Shell on Cobb Parkway was caught selling booze (specifically Fireball and "BeatBox Orange Blast") to kids. The city is trying to revoke their license at the September 8th meeting, so it's on the work session agenda for discussion and input from the community generally.

Finally, Councilor Orochena will be giving an update on the Pollinator Garden project as well as the Natural Playscape at Depot Park concept.

If you want to nudge any of these things do come out to City Hall on Monday at 6:30. I'll be going to dinner on Main Street afterwards so feel free to join me. This one is going to be a consequential one.

Yeah, that happens a couple of times a year.

But I went to the Mountain View Aquatics Center. I have to say, the pools were substantially larger and deeper than I expected. It was like $4.50 to get in without a membership, which was also less than I expected. They had a bunch of old folks doing a class in the instruction pool, which is the one you can stand in. There were ten or so folks doing laps, but there were plenty of available lanes. The competition pool was closed when I went, but I am sure that there's plenty of stuff going on there as well. It was all indoors, so it seems like it'd be great option to keep on swimming during winter.

I'd go back again, but it is a ways out of the way out there in East Cobb by the Chattahoochee Tech campus at Sandy Plains and Shallowford. If there was one in North Cobb I'd go all the time.

There's an opportunity to influence the city's Comprehensive Plan tomorrow. They'll be setting up a booth at the Kennesaw Farmer's Market in Depot Park from 3:30 to 7 PM. I am certainly going to go, but it would be better if more folks go as well.

I'll also be getting some sweets and stuff from the vendors at the Farmer's Market. There's also a couple of places that sell local meats that are worth checking out.

If you're interested in hanging out a bit do let me know if/when y'all are available.

It's a late assignment. I know.

Anywho.

We had a full house but two council members were remote. While they had to be asked to answer "yes or no" verbally instead of just raising a hand it didn't result in much of a problem.

First thing first, the Southern Museum staff showed up and showed off their medal. Apparently some Museum and Library Science group gives out five awards a year and the choochoo place downtown got one of them. Neat. Check out the trains the next time you got a chance.

Then the land use permit for a home embroidery business. The guy was there but I didn't get a chance to ask him about the name of the business or how to contract him. The term include no customers or employees at the house as well as no signs or noxious odors. The permit is valid for 24 months and was approved 5 - 0.

Next up was the Annexation, Rezoning, and Variance for the project at Old 41 and Robin. There had been objections due to traffic and density concerns. The lawyer for the developer said that they walked back a plan for townhomes to a neighborhood of no more than 35 single family, detached homes with a pocket park. They noted that the median new home price in Kennesaw was $800,000, while this development is targeting $400,000. They didn't do a traffic study, but the county won't even do one for a development of this size. They don't expect the 35 houses to add substantial traffic. But, in response to criticism they reoriented the development from being built off of Robin to having the only access off of Old 41. They would be adding turn lanes to Old 41 as well.

Councilman Jones noted that the developer had done good work in the past and ask if the houses being 1,200 sq feet was a good idea. The developer responded that that was the minimum size of house for the new zoning and they planned for the houses to be ~2,000 sq ft.

Councilman Bothers also expressed that he liked the developer in his capacity as a real estate agent, but was concerned over the variance. He had a big ass truck that would take up the entire 20 foot set back and believed that having a short driveway would result in people parking in the street. The developer said that they are prioritizing big back yards, the lot is a weird shape, and there is a creek that limits the buildable area. Also, the HOA will prohibit the use of the two car garages for storage and require parking inside the garage rather than on the street. Councilman Bothers repeated his preference for longer driveways.

Councilor Orochena asked if the city would be responsible for the roads, stormwater, and other infrastructure. The Public Works and Zoning people were a bit confused on this point. Turns out that the area is currently just outside of the city in the county, but that bubble of the county is disconnected from the county by the city. The stormwater and infrastructure will be the HOA's responsibility as they can't be made to connect to city stuff directly. Councilor Orochena asked if this would make the border gore better or worse. Staff replied that it would partially, but not completely, close a hole in the city and would make it make more sense. She then asked if the property taxes from the development would cover the costs to the city. That's a great question, and one that staff didn't know the answer to off the cuff but they also said that they didn't anticipate it adding additional costs due the small size and the fact that the road and stormwater are the HOA's responsibility overseen by the county.

They voted 5 - 0 to annex the land into Kennesaw. Then they voted 5 - 0 to rezone it from County R-20 to City RA-6 (smaller numbers are more dense). Then they voted 5 - 0 to approve the variance from a 40 foot setback to a 25 foot setback due to Councilman Bother's preference.

Next up are Liquor Licenses. It seems that someone complained, because they made more of a show of why they approve despite statutory limitations.

The first one was for the Chevron on Cobb Parkway. They're looking for a retail package license to sell sealed booze out of their gas station. This is within 600ft of a daycare. This would normally prohibit the license, unless it didn't negatively impact the daycare's property value or function. The evidence they used is that this is just a change in ownership of an operating business that has had a license since 2000. The daycare opened in 2006. The daycare would not be impacted negatively because the booze sales had been going on the whole time. This was deemed sufficient and they approved the license 5 - 0.

The Ignite Lounge on Cobb Parkway was looking to get a pouring license, so the ability to serve people drinking on site. This also needs a closer look as it is within 300 feet of a house. This license is to expand an existing business, so the house shouldn't be additionally devalued just because the Ignite Lounge is larger. This was deemed sufficient as it was larger.

The third one was the Smash Hit Catering over at the Nest on Cherokee Street. They are within 300 feet of a house and also the Kennesaw Police Department Annex. They don't have the excuse of selling beer for decades already as they replaced the now defunct Nest only a year or so ago, and how can they argue the police won't be impacted by the booze? Well JK doesn't matter, none of those restrictions apply in the Entertainment District. Councilman Bothers wanted to clarify one thing before the vote, do they do universal ID checks? The owner of Smash Hit was there and said that they will ID everyone every time. The license was approved 5 - 0.

So, Crime stats. Looks like 2026 is a crime-ier year than 2025 with 820 crimes to last year's 768 from January to July. Most of that comes from a big spike in drug crimes coming in with 56 more than last year. Other big gainers include Fraud (+18), Simple Assault (+17), and Porn (+12). We saw some big declines as well. The biggest losers were Larceny (-18), Intimidation (-14), Vandalism (-8), and Motor Vehicle Theft (-6). Traffic Citations were down ~15% while Traffic Warning were down 50%. Arrests were up. The number of pedestrians hit by cars with injury is more than double from last year at 7.

Next up, Public Comment.

History Kid was first. He investigated a map of Kennesaw that's framed in the mayor's office that shows a much larger grid than what exists today. He was able to confirm that the lots line up and determined it to be an original or copy of an 1871 plat map by Rowland Property, a rare piece indeed that gives a unique snapshot of the city very early in its history.

The Woodland Park Guy was next. Interesting note: that wasn't his truck after all. He talked to the guy from last week and they determined that it was his neighbor's truck after all. Anyways, on to his comments.

He said that he's been going to council meetings for 4 months now, and he's disappointed that other people (maybe me?) don't speak up all that often. He's tired of being made to feel like he's the problem. But he doesn't really want people to speak up for him, he wants other people to bring up their own issues and champion their own charges. He thinks that the only way this works is if there's real communication. Also, he would like to have the chain when it is removed from Woodland Park, please. He'd be happy to pay double for it. He wants that specific chain for sentimental purposes.

And that was it for public comment, the City Manager had a little bit to say. He wants to remind everyone that this Saturday (8/22) is the big concert at Depot Park. You can set up earlier in the day, but the music starts at 7PM. It's the RumorsATL cover band that does Fleetwood Mac for the most part.

Also, the Comprehensive Plan where the city sets its goals for the next decade is having its next public engagement meeting. This time it's going to be Thursday (8/20) at Depot Park from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM. This will coincide with the Farmer's Market, so no reason to not do both.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon was supposed to attend remotely, but a solid connection couldn't be made. So he was absent.

The first up is a Land Use Permit for 3786 North Hampton Drive. The folks there would like to do home embroidery. Because it's a low intensity use that would be invisible from the outside of the house staff recommends approval.

The next bit is a bunch of things to tow lots: 3227 Old 41 and 3137 Robin Drive. The plan is to annex a bit missing form the city, combine the two lots into one, and rezone it from R-20 (one house per 20,000 square feet) to City RA-6 (one house per 6,000 square feet). The plan is take two lots and turn it into a 35 house neighborhood. The location is just past Rutledge backing up to the Northwest Classical Academy, that private school that faces Cobb Parkway. Staff recommends approval.

The next bit is Alcohol License applications.

The first one is the Chevron Food Mart at 2057 North Cobb Parkway. They previously had a Beer, Wine, and Liquor license but there is a change in ownership with the new guy being the original guy. The place is within 600 feet of a Daycare, but the council can waive that limitation. Staff recommends approval.

Councilman Jones asked for more detail about why the license needed to be replaced.

The next one up is a pouring license for Ignite Lounge at 2655 Cobb Pkwy. It's that hookah lounge between Watts/Pine Mountain and Summer/Kennesaw Due West. They're well within 300ft of a house, but the city can waive that restriction if it doesn't bother the house.

The third one is Smash Hit Catering wanting a Pouring License. This is about 300ft from my house over where the Nest used to be on Cherokee Street. It's also too close to the Police Annex building, but all of these concerns are moot since it's in an Entertainment District so it doesn't matter. Staff recommends approval.

The Police Chief came up next to tell us the crime stats. Overall July 2026 is flat compared to July 2025. There was a big drop in Drug Crimes, and lesser drops in Burglary, Weapons Offenses, and Vandalism. There was a big jump in Simple Assault, and more moderate increases in Porn, Intimidation, and Larceny. Traffic Citations and Warnings were all down big, but we had two more pedestrians hit by cars which is very concerning.

The Police also got a "Big Green Machine" to fill tires with nitrogen to make them last longer like a decade ago. Problem: It broke. So they want permission to sell it for scrap.

The Public Safety Building is also taking longer than anticipated (it was planned to be ready end of June, but currently it is on track for start of September) and that means that the Architects are getting antsy as their contract ends in a week or so, they want an extension and another payday to stay on the job.

Councilman Bothers asked if we needed them to do work, and the answer is "probably" if something comes up in construction we'll need them. The councilman asked more about the timeline and why it missed schedule. Turns out that the foundation wasn't solid dirt as they found old trash pits that had been buried for decades that needed to be dealt with, and more recently the access road had to be completely redone when the original plan proved infeasible. Bothers then asked why everything comes in late and overbudget, and staff replied that the answer to that was above his pay grade.

Art and Culture was up next. They need road closures for the Holly Days festivities this December. They'll be doing a Holiday Parade on the 5th of December at 6 PM to coincide with the tree lighting. They also need one for December 13th for the Drone Show and such.

Councilor Orochena asked why they wanted "all of Cherokee Street" to be closed, as that would be an unmitigated disaster. Turns out that they only wanted the bit right in front of Depot Park., and that was a tyop.

Councilor Viars decided to recuse herself for the next one. She sold one of the houses in question years ago, and wants to avoid the appearance of favoritism or corruption.

Turns out some folks want to build a "Wedding Barn" on that triangle bounded by Dallas, Lewis, and North Main Streets. It's directly across from Kennesaw First Baptist. In order to do so they need to smoosh two lots together into one lot. The Mayor wanted to move it to consent, that is to approve it without a separate vote next week, but being down two members of council it could have been derailed by only one person. No one did the funny, though.

Now it's public comment.

Woodland Park Guy was the first one to speak. He started by telling Mayor and Council that he was 1/33,000th their boss and asked the City Manager to share the numbers of exactly how much the city spent on Woodland Acres. The Manager had previously said he would be glad to prove that the city spent big money on it months ago but never coughed up the specifics. He further pressed them on the chain barring access to the park and the promised town hall. He claimed the rest of his time and challenged the City Manager to respond. The City Manager did not, leading to a minute or so of increasingly awkward silence.

Mr. Mayo was up next.

He mentioned the chain, but he also said that he believed that the city was doing something about it behind the scenes. So while it's still a problem to people of impaired mobility like him that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. He said that he had a trash can for more than a decade. More than a decade of being filled with cat litter from seven cats and five boxes. It smells to the point of bothering his neighbors. He called the city to get a new one, and they said that as long that it works he can't get a new one. He said that it works. So they told him to break it. That got Mr. Mayo worked up, as doing so would be hugely wasteful just to satisfy a check box on some paperwork. He wanted this policy to be reviewed so he didn't have to damage city property to get the trash can swapped and rehabbed.

The Senior Center Set were here today, so a completely separate group than the traditional angry old people. They said that they don't oppose development and progress (much) but they thought that developments haven't been well thought out. All in the various new developments along Main Street from the Airport to the North Cobb Library are adding 785 more cars, and there haven't been any improvements to the road to handle the traffic. How is the City planning to handle this?

Finally there was a new guy. It was his first ever time attending a council meeting so he asked if he could ask questions. They told him that he could ask anything but they didn't have to answer right then and there. He had a bunch of questions. He didn't know that we were doing a Public Service Building and wanted to know why we were spending so much on it. He got enough explanation to get him to nod along. He also said that the opposed the removal of the chain. After all, he just moved into the house across and down a few houses from the park and there's this sliver truck that often parks at the Woodland Park that he can't see around. He doesn't want to just YOLO it and it's made him late for work before. The City Manager suggested that he call the police should it be creating unsafe road conditions, non-emergency if it isn't an emergency of course.

To wrap it up the City Manager reminded everyone that the Butterfly House at the Smith-Gilbert Gardens is closing next week. I HIGHLY recommend y'all check it out this week(end) before it does. That place is neat. There's also the Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band playing the Depot Park Amphitheater on the 22nd (two weekends from now).

After the council meeting the new guy and the Woodland Park Guy compared some notes. The mystery was solved. The truck that has been annoying the new guy belongs to the Woodland Park Guy. What are the odds. I'm hoping that they'll work it out so we don't hear about it again, but who knows.

Before we started the Mayor read off a explainer. While state law requires it to be advertised as a "tax increase" the floating homestead exemption keeps the taxable property the same year after year, so if it's your primary residence there won't be a tax increase. Unimproved lots, commercial properties, and rental properties might see a tax increase, though.

They voted on a base M&O rate of .775 mills (0.0775%). This is the same as last year. It was approved 5 - 0. They voted on a bond rate, covering the 2004 bond issuance to build parks and roads, of 1.4 mills (0.14%). It was approved 5 - 0.

They had a vote on the 911 console improvements. Kennesaw does a 911 call center for Kennesaw and Acworth, and they need an upgrade. When it first came up they got a quote and approved that quote, but inflation or geopolitical changes or tariffs made it more expensive in the interim. They approved the higher quote 5 - 0.

Next up was the pipe rehabilitation project. They'll be relining existing stormwater pipes to ensure that they don't fail catastrophically. It's pretty expensive at $319,000, but way cheaper than even one of these pipes failing and causing a sinkhole. They approved the contract 5 - 0.

Next up was the Cobb DOT asking for a piece of land. They want to build an extension of the Noonday Creek Trail and in order to bridge across Cobb Parkway in that wetland area between the boat dealership and the Kennesaw Station shopping center. The city voted to sell the corner of the lot for $7,200, and it was approved 5 - 0.

Next up was Public comment.

History kid was up first. The most common connection to the Congressional Medal of Honor was the Great Locomotive Chase, but that's not the only one. Turns out a fellow stormed a Confederate trench and captured 29 in the run up to the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, winning the medal independently.

The Woodland Park Guy was up next. He didn't appreciate notes being taken and people not making eye contact during his three short minutes. He would rather the Mayor engage rather than watching the clock on his three minutes, after all he could watch the clock himself. He was still asking about the missing documentation about how much the city spent on Woodland Acres after the city manager's comments. He asked when the chain will be replace with a bollard to make the place accessible to people like Mr. Mayo. There were a lot of questions that went unanswered. He invited the Mayor and council to use some of his time to speak, even though he knew they weren't obligated to reply. He noted that they could choose to speak even if they weren't required to speak, and used the silence effectively to underscore the point.

That was the end of public comment.

The City Manager and Kennesaw Police noted that there were a couple of events coming up.

Tomorrow, Tuesday (8/4), there will be the "National Night Out" at Swift Cantrel Park. It's a meet and greet for Kennesaw Police, Cobb Fire, and local EMS groups. The kids can get a good look at equipment, including a helicopter, and they'll be grilling and playing music. Event runs from 6 - 8 PM.

This Friday (8/7) there will be the First Friday Concert on Main Street right next to the 1885 and the Secret Tunnel to Depot Park from 7 to 9 PM. This time it is G Clef & The Playlist. They've played Kennesaw events before, and they're pretty good.

Finally the Amphitheater Concert Series is picking back up. This time it's in a couple of Saturdays (8/22) from 7 to 10 PM. This time it's Rumours ATL: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute, they have a bit of a following. If you happen to like that sort of music, do stop by.

They had the first of three public hearings for the millage rate. It was advertised as a "tax increase" due to state law, so there were quite a few people there ready with pitchforks. But they explained up front that they weren't changing millage rates and that the floating exemption meant that the only people whose rates were going up were people without homestead exemptions, rentals, vacant lots, and commercial property.

The M&O rate is the rate that covers most city services and will remain at .775, same as last year. The Bond Rate from all those loans the city took out in 2004 to cover needed road expansion and setting up the big parks at Swift-Cantrell and the like are still at 1.4, substantially higher than the base rate. We will finally pay off those bonds in the next couple of years.

Now on to the work session. The 911 call center project was quoted $116,000 and was approved for that amount, but the suppliers noted that for geopolitical reasons the cost is now up an extra $6,000. So, the city had to cough up a little bit extra to get the project going.

The public works folks bid out the Pipe Rehab project. They'll be adding a liner to existing pipes at places like Chastain Pointe, Collier, Emberwood, Bayswater, and Travelers Trail. The lowest complete bid was $319,000 so they got it. They had a healthy number of bids this time (13 in total). Councilor Viars noted a typo in the contract that needed cleaning up.

The county reached out about a piece of property. Turns out the city owns a right of way that goes in front of the marshy spot between the Park Marine boat place just past the Martin's on the one side and that Kennesaw Marketplace shopping center on the other. The county wants to buy a part of that because they're extending the Noonday Creek trail and will building a bridge over Cobb Parkway to accommodate it. The county needs a corner of that lot for access to the proposed bridge location. They offered $7,200 for a bit of land the city isn't going to be using any time soon anyways, so the city is going to let them have it.

Now it's time for public comment.

The Woodland Park Guy was first. He said that it had been a struggle to communicate. He spent a lot of time and money digging deep into things, but still not all questions have been answered. He's especially unhappy because he still can't get definitive numbers on how much the city has been spending on given neighborhoods, despite the City Manager's claim. He doesn't enjoy feeling like a troublemaker, but that's where he's found himself. He appreciates that the Mayor thanks people for making comments, but he doesn't feel like disagreement or hard questions are appreciated.

Mr. Mayo was next up. He really appreciated Parks employees still putting in the work, and he was excited by the conclusions that the council came to after the last discussion. He thinks the pavilion and barbecue space would go a long way to make the place a gathering place for the neighborhood again. But he really, really needs action on the chain. There are plenty of people with limited mobility that are struggling with that chain. He wanted to thank Councilman Jones for leading up the conversation. He also thanked Councilor Viars, Councilor Orochena, and Councilman Guiterrez-Leon for specific actions and stepping up.

And that's where it wrapped up. It went pretty quick given how much was covered.

The only thing on the agenda was crime stats. Year to date, from the start of the year, we had 703 class 1 crimes. This is up significantly from 2025, which had 655 over the same time period. The big movement was from drug offenses being up 63 more than last year. Other categories that were up were fraud (+19), porn (+9 for a total of 10 compared to last year's 1), and assault (+7). We had a few kinds of crimes that were lower, too. Larceny was down (-20) as was intimidation (-19) and car theft (-6).

As there was nothing else, it's public comment time.

History Kid wanted to tell us about Amy Carter and her time in the Lil General Cloggers, the Kennesaw-based dance group. In 1976 they performed at the Whitehouse, but that was probably because her father was then-president Jimmy Carter.

The Woodland Park Guy said he appreciated the consistency in the city. He was unhappy about the public facing meeting was canceled, even if it does seem that the city is acting. He got the records from the city and he was particularly unhappy with how the file that contained most of his communications was labeled "junk" and how the Mayor instructed people to ignore him. He was particularly unhappy with Councilman Bothers and his concerns about the safety of the Woodland Park location. He quoted Ferris Bueller's Day off.

Mr. Mayo was next to speak. He was encouraged by the last meeting and how much work the Park and Recreation folk over the past couple of weeks. He was, however, unhappy with the statement that the park was surrounded by woods and people couldn't be seen. The park is surrounded by houses. Over the weekend they tried to determine if they could hear someone yelling at the park from their house next door, and they could. He also pointed out that the source of danger cited (the motel) was roughly the same distance from Adam's Park, and he didn't think that Adam's Park was unsafe. He said that he had deep trust in the Kennesaw Police, and was concerned by how little faith the council had in them.

The Interim City Manager noted that the head of the Southern Museum was going to receive a medal of excellence from the national Institution of Museums and Libraries.

Oh, yeah, Interim City Manager. They went into executive session (where they discuss stuff in secret pertaining to real estate or staff issues) and came back to announce that they're hiring someone to search for a new City Manager. They're paying $24,500 for the job search because the current City Manager has announced he's retiring after about ~25 years on the job at the end of this budget cycle. Turnover in one of the most consequential positions in the city, it seems. An opportunity for a new direction.

Also, the Ben King Street project will be kicking off "soon". How soon? The signs that announce the date are already out, but they haven't been updated yet. They will be updated to announce the road closure in the coming days. Be ready for big disruptions and closed roads just in time for the new school year!

There was almost nothing on the agenda this week other than the discussion topics. The "almost" was crime stats.

For the first time in several months the crime stats for June came in rosier than last year. June of 2026 saw 113 Class A crimes, down from 122 in June of 2025. Fraud was up 11 from last year, but several other categories saw drops including Vandalism (-6), larceny (-5), weapons charges (-4), drugs charges (-4), and sex offenses (-2). Year to date we are still running higher than last year (703 so far in 2026 versus 655 in the same period of 2025).

The Woodland Park Guy spoke first. He brought a poster. He started off sarcastically thanking them for ignoring the graffiti, but some honest thanks for getting Parks and Recreation out there to do some work since last Thursday. He said that the discussion of the park scheduled for today should have happened months ago.

Mr. Mayo wanted to thank the Park and Recreation crew who came out to help fix up the park. Between the brush hog flattening the undergrowth, the park and recs crew, and the community clean up day the park looks as good as he can remember it being. The Public Works department go out and did some more work along the streets, which really made sidewalk more usable. His biggest complaint is that the chain is still up, which prevents him and his parents from accessing the park as they require it to be ADA compliant.

The fellow who organized last weekend's cleanup got up there and said that he really appreciate the city getting out there. He's excited by the progress made by city employees an volunteeers.

Dame Dobbs was next. She wanted to highlight that the place hasn't been as abandoned and neglected as her social media said. She had pictures of the city getting out and doing a cleanup in 2024, and a copy of the hand-written thank you note she sent with some council members that are no longer with us. You know, out of office. She wanted to shout out the work of previous city councils, and fight back against narratives that paint her neighborhood in the poor light.

A KSU student was next. He's a resident of Paulding County, but he goes to school at KSU and so would like to comment about Kennesaw. He is motivated by the Data Center situation in Marietta and wants the city to enact a limit of its own prior to the county moratorium ending in six months. He doesn't think six months is long enough to figure out the real costs and believes that city resources are stretched enough before struggling to figure something out in the face of a data center plan.

That's that for public comment and the start of first discussion item.

Councilman Bothers said that when he was elected he stated he wanted to name something after the outgoing Councilman Ferris. Former Councilman Ferris was a lifelong resident (except when he went to UGA) and was an elected official for 25 years in two stints. He always asked questions in the meetings and was a master parliamentarian who kept city business flowing. So, he figures that naming part of the Sardis Street Extension after former Councilman Ferris makes sense, especially since renaming only the block of Sardis he lives off of would only change his own address and no one else's. He stressed how cost effective this would be as they would be changing all the names anyways.

Councilman Jones chimed in saying that former Councilman Ferris really helped him when he started out and is down for naming something out of him.

Councilor Viars noted that former Councilman Ferris was deeply involved with the Museum and Cemetery, so if they name something after him it should probably be in one of those two institutions.

Councilor Orochena noted that former Councilman Ferris opposed the Sardis Street Extension project. She noted that it seemed like a backhanded compliment to name something he worked to oppose after him.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon reminded everyone that we typically name things posthumously for a reason, not that there's any reason to believe that Former Councilman Ferris did anything wrong. He also believed given the former Councilman's affiliation with railroads it would be more fitting.

The Mayor summed it up by directing staff to identify something railroad or museum related to name after Former Councilman Ferris.

The next discussion topic was Councilman Jone's discussion about the Woodland Park and Butler Creek Park.

To start things off he said that he was out there on Saturday and got a real good look at the place. He thought that the old blacktop that had been a basketball court at some point could have the cracks filled in and be used as the foundation for a pavilion, he could envision a couple of benches and trash cans and a barbecue pit being added. He wasn't that big on a playground there. As far as Butler Creek Park, it had actually been closed since 2004, as opposed to being just chained off, so it would be a bigger project but even though it was closer to a creek and more likely to flood the Butler Creek Park seemed more suited to a playground.

Councilman Bothers came out and said that he didn't think Woodland Park was safe. At least, he wouldn't let his kids play there. He reiterated many times that it was recessed into the woods, that he couldn't see the park area from the road, and he didn't feel safe there. He said he could see it as a "walking park" with a trail, but he was categorically opposed to things that might cause children to congregate or hang out because he didn't think it was safe.

Councilman Jones reiterated that he didn't intent to propose a play set.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leong said that he thinks that we should speed up the town hall to as soon as it can be organized, but even before that he thinks we should swap out the chain for a bollard.

Councilman Jones said he wants to just skip the town hall and make a quick executive decision, or as quick as the process allows. He doesn't want to make changes to the park now only to have to redo them when the big plan comes through.

Councilor Orochena said that she and a couple of other council members went door to door with a survey and noted the results. The biggest thing was that most people weren't aware of neighborhood parks and wanted to discuss Depot or Swift-Cantrell. But after getting past that misunderstanding most people want the neighborhood parks to walk and have their kids play. The biggest barrirs were (34/53) the parks look to be in a state of disrepair, (30/53) they lack necessary amenities like "shade" and "places to sit", and (20/53) they seem unsafe. Common threads seemed to be that people didn't want a lot of flashy things, as they didn't want people from outside the neighborhood coming in to use the parks, but they really want a place to do things with their neighbors.

Councilor Viars also says that the chain needs replacing as soon as practical. She also noted that there's a motel very close to the park and the lack of visibility from the street. She prefers any play set to be at Bulter Creek as opposed to at Woodland. She was also concerned that this issue was taking up too much of the city's bandwidth, as there's a lot of other stuff going on but an issue for one neighborhood has been dominating the agenda.

The Mayor noted that because so many council members had been out knocking on doors that they nearly violated the Open Records Act. Whenever a quorum of the council (3 or more members) get together and do anything city related they need to document it as though it were a council meeting, to prevent shady stuff like agreeing how people will vote at a restaurant before a meeting and before hearing the people comment. He also went on to note that the council can't vote something at a work session, the most they can do is order staff to work up a proposal they can vote on at a regular meeting.

The city attorney confirmed that the most action they can get today was ordering staff to create a proposal that can be voted upon.

Councilman Jones clarified that he wanted to get staff to price out a pavilion, trash can, some benches and a barbecue area at Woodland Park. He also wanted Butler Creek reopened with amenities roughly equivalent to the new Kennesaw Station Park.

Councilman Bothers reiterated that he opposed anything more than a walking trail and benches as he felt the place was unsafe for children and doesn't want people gathering somewhere dangerous.

Councilman Jones then suggested that we add cameras to the parks as the new Public Safety Building would add the capacity to watch surveillance of the parks.

The Mayor, at this point, told the Woodland Park Guy to shut it. He was upset that the guy was chiming in during the discussion. Speaking out of turn seems to make the Mayor upset.

Councilman Jones got back on track, reiterating that the plan for the two parks. Councilor Orochena noted that the survey made it clear that the respondents wanted a small play set, so as to not tempt people from out of the neighborhood to turn up.

And so it was ordered for Parks and Recreation to price it out and make a formal proposal that can be voted upon.

Now it's the last discussion topic of the night.

Councilman Guiterrez-Leon wanted to discuss a moratorium or ban of Data Centers. He noted that there are already 165 in Metro Atlanta and a number of places have temporary holds on them including a number of nearby counties. The core of Atlanta (within 20 miles of the beltline) bans them as does Fayetteville. There are a lot of issues with them, he cited power bills, water usage, noise, and the lack of jobs. No Data Centers have applied within city limits yet, but he doesn't see a reason to wait.

Councilor Orochena asked how long moratoriums can last. She would prefer at least a year while they do research.

The Mayor noted that "data center" doesn't appear in any of the city's zoning.

The city attorney was then ordered to create a memo and do the research to do a moratorium. The city attorney believes that an outright ban like Fayetteville's will end up in court and might not survive but they will take the year to draw up something suitably restrictive that won't get the city sued.

Y'all. Watch the Video.

First up was a guy commenting on something on the agenda. This rarely happens, and it is a separate comment period than the normal one. This fellow wanted to complain about the liquor license. The neighborhood behind that shopping center is already a bit rough, they get break-ins sometimes and he's worried that a new liquor store there would be throwing gas on that particular fire. He also noted that when the shopping center was approved a condition of the zoning was no liquor stores, but that didn't pop when the city staff was doing the work. Was it not recorded properly? Did they say something to the neighbors that wasn't true to tamp down opposition? Who knows.

The next thing to come up was the Liquor License for Carni Spirits at 2953 Cobb Parkway, at Cobb Parkway and Mack Dobbs Road. They did all necessary paperwork and took the classes. Finance Department recommended approval. The business was within 300 feet of houses which is restricted, but that can be waived if the council believes that it wouldn't negatively impact them. The business owner spoke saying that owning a business was his life-long dream, that he is a veteran, and he wants to work with the city. The vote came up. It was 5 - 0 in favor of approval.

History Kid spoke about the bicentennial, 50 years ago. The cities in Cobb County decided to focus on local history. There were a few big efforts, the most visible one was updating Big Shanty Spring, on the site of City Hall and the reason why Kennesaw is here at all. Unfortunately, that work was redone into its current form in the 2010s. Bu that wasn't all. The event itself was marked with a Bonfire at the Depot and a "Trade Days" that featured a buy/sale/swap of homemade goods and historical artifacts. This also marked the genesis of the Big Shanty Festival, which is one thing we still have going on.

Now the fireworks start. The Woodland Park Guy came up. He handed out copies of e-mails and other documents to make sure everyone has them. He pointed out that staff had told him that repairs will be happening that ended up not happening. He said Councilman Jones promised a discussion that didn't happen. He hammered pretty hard on certain representations.

This got Councilman Jones to respond. Councilman Jones strongly objected to some of the things that the Woodland Park Guy said he said, particularly the use of racial epithets. This degenerated quickly with people talking over one another and voices being raised. I wasn't capable of keeping up with the notes and conflicting voices. Please watch the video to get a full understanding of what was said by whom.

Ultimately, I was present at the time and place that this happened but I cannot say that I heard the alleged statement. I wasn't directly involved in the conversation being nearby so it's entirely plausible that I just didn't hear it although I think I should have if it occurred as alleged.

Getting back to the next public commenter, Mr. Mayo was up next. He had questions. He wanted to ask again about the trail camera. He know it's the cities, but why is it there? Why hasn't anyone been willing or able to explain what is up? Why is the gate still chained off? He has limited mobility and the chain greatly restricts his access, as he requires ADA compliant access but the chain blocks the closest access to that. He highlighted his deep roots in the area, his family's involvement in the city for decades decades ago, and the historic disinvestment in the area. He wants that town hall where he can sit face to face with city staff and actually get his concerns answered as soon as possible. He still doesn't feel heard.

To wrap it up the city Manager wanted to thank the city staff for their hard work for the Independence Day festivities. Things went pretty well despite the estimated 15,000 attendees and weather. Councilman Bothers wanted to say that the city really came together to pull off the event. Councilman Jones said that he was grateful that the weather held off just long enough.

After the meeting I chatted with a few council members. The fireworks thing wasn't a result of the city cutting the budget so much as they didn't increase the budget and the cost of fireworks was much higher this year due to a spike in demand. Also, I have from several councilmembers that they intend to have a discussion on the Woodland Park next week, but the Mayor controls the agenda so there could theoretically be complications there.

Also, a community clean up of the park is being organized by the woodland acres folks who turn up to the meeting, one of their employers is sponsoring a dumpster, the dumping fee, the truck, and the sort of gloves that will let you handle glass safely. If you're on Facebook then check out their group if you're interested in volunteering this weekend.

Naturally Zoom only worked for Councilor Orochena. Councilman Bothers had to call in in order to ensure everyone was on the same page.

First up was an alcohol license. Carni Spirits will be opening at Cobb Parkway and Mac Dobbs. They're applying for package retail for beer, wine, spirits, and Sunday sales. Problem? They're within 300 ft of a bunch of houses on Summer Stream Lane. The city can approve it anyways if no one complains.

The police are reupping their deal for cooperation with Cobb County PD. It's a fairly standard agreement that the city seemed very familiar with. It got put on Consent, so it'll be approved next week with no further discussion.

The police also want to surplus a bunch of older cars as well. They're going to auction them on GovDeals.com first and then scrap them if they don't sell. There are 13 in all. 6 are Ford Interceptor Sedans, and four of them are being drummed out because they're north of 100,000 miles, but 2 are for transmission failures. 5 are Ford Explorers, 4 that hit that 100,000 mile mark where self-insurance no longer works and 1 with a borked engine. There's a Ford Fusion SE that's just hit the mile cap and Chevy Tahoe whose transmission failed. Then there is a Ford F-350. Do not buy the Ford F-350, it has "multiple points of failure" including interior water leaks, charging system failures, and "general condition".

The Devin's Shire townhomes on Duncan Drive want to update their plat because lot 29 was built a bit different than the plans had it. They'd rather fix it up front rather than get dragged into court about it later. It was moved to consent because it is mostly good bookkeeping and there's not a lot to actually complain about there.

Now it's public comment and the week off didn't cool off tempers any.

The Woodland Park guy was first off. He wanted to comment on the attempt to ban commentors from referring to staff or council by name, and was pleased that the initiative failed to pass muster. He was further disappointed that a council member (I don't know which) referred to some of the SeeClickFix tickets as "minor" when they were referring to anti-police and racistly prophane graffiti. He managed to get some of it off with his own power washer but couldn't get some of the vulgarity gone with his own tools. He wants the city to have better dialog, and is deeply disappointed that the Woodland Park Town Hall was pushed to November.

Another guy from the neighborhood followed up. He pointedly addressed the Council rather than the Mayor and Manager because he felt that the Council was the only group that heard him out previously. He then noted that there was a trail camera installed at the Woodland Park site and he couldn't get an answer as to who put it there and why. He found it odd.

The Mayo spoke next. He was also very concerned about the trail camera. Worried that it was found a nefarious purpose he contacted the Kennesaw Police about it, and they said that it is the same sort that Public Works uses sometimes, but he wasn't able to get an official response from the city as to why it is there. He also would like a town hall where people can sit down and really explain what is going on and why to him.

That's that for the meeting.

Oh, wait, SPECIAL BONUS MEETING!

It's the preliminary budget meeting for the 2027 annual budget.

The headline budget they're asking for is $35 million. Slightly above last year's, but not keeping pace with inflation so it's functionally less than last year.

There's a 2% increase in property tax that offsets the increase in the budget. In 2024 they reduced the tax rate from 8 mills (0.8%) to 7.75 mills (0.775%).

They plan on putting ~$350,000 in reserves and giving a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment to staff.

They want to pull a cool $1 million out of the general fund (not reserves) to do more roadwork in addition to the big projects ($3.5 million for the Cherokee Street project, $1.8 million for the Ben King projects, and the Sardis Street Extension).

Fees from developers is still real low. The number of new projects of either residential or commercial character is down again this year. So we're two years away from approving most the things that are in progress. Somewhat concerning, as developers are finding funding challenging.

They're going to up the fee for the Rec Center by $5/year and get them automated car readers to streamline the process.

Storm water is increasing by $0.50/year and the streetlamp fee is going up by $0.05. Both these systems have required expansion or replacement of large amounts so upping fees is necessary to try to catch up.

The city is looking to get $1.19 million from the county out thanks to new state laws shifting stuff around.

The Senior Tax Exemption is costing the city $1.9 million in 2027, up $300k. The City Manager doesn't seem super happy with it.

The various departments asked for 6 new full time positions and 2 new part time positions. The city manager intends to deny all such requests.

There's a couple of highlighted expenditures in the budget:

• They want new generators for city buildings so that work can continue during power outages.

• The police need license scanners and authentication software because digital driver's licenses are going to be a thing.

• The police are looking for 5 marked and 3 unmarked police cars to replace cars that wore out.

• Public Works is getting a hot asphalt trailer to allow them to do longer lasting road patches. The cold trailer they have is way cheaper, but they patches wear out quick when there are trucks and buses invovled.

• The Southern Museum is getting a new sign.

• The bathrooms in Adam's Park by the baseball/softball fields need to be ripped out and replaced in their entirety.

• The skate park at Swift-Cantrel Park also needs a complete overhaul.

• There's half a million for various deferred projects in Woodland Park.

• Knightsbridge, Kennesaw Springs, and Blackjack Estates will have their streets and sidewalks redone at the start of the 2027 budget year so this fall/winter.

There was more meeting, but I had to duck out about that point. You can find the full budget here.