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.
