By Arielle Robinson

Smyrna’s City Council held its regular meeting at City Hall Monday evening. Mayor Pro Tem Tim Gould filled in for Mayor Derek Norton as the council approved several agenda items.

One of the first few things to happen Monday was that City Councilwoman Latonia Hines, calling into the meeting, held a moment of silence for the two Cobb County sheriff’s deputies killed in an ambush Thursday, Sep. 8.

The killings occurred in Marietta and funeral services were held last week.

“If there’s one thing that we know about public service, and in providing public safety, there’s a sacrifice and … they lost their lives and there were two families that were changed because of that,” Hines said.

Hines said those who want to honor Deputies Marshall Ervin, Jr. and Jonathan Koleski could visit the Cobb Sheriff’s website, where there is a fund set up, and send condolences.

“We thank all of our public safety and first responders for the job they do,” Hines said. “It does not go without notice to us of the sacrifice, so prayers to the family members of the fallen deputies and to our fellow law enforcement in the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department.”

Gould seconded Hines’ comments.

“Many folks dedicate their lives to service for our community, but it’s our public safety folks who risk their lives everyday, and it’s a tragic loss, obviously for our community, for the deputies’ families, and for all those folks that know and loved the deputies, so our hearts go out to them,” he said.

Smyrna annexed eight parcels at Pebblebrook Road, with 100 percent of the owners requesting annexation.

The land is in land lots 396, 397, 398, and 399 and totals 80.31 acres. The annexation is effective Saturday, Oct. 1.

The annexation is in Councilman Lewis Wheaton’s Ward 7. Wheaton was absent Monday evening.

At a city council meeting last month, Smyrna approved three annexations. These included the communities of Heritage Mill, Vinings Brooke, and Buckland Oaks.

Monday evening, the city unanimously made its first approval of the charter amendment to adopt its redistricting plan since the release of the 2020 census.

The city does this about every 10 years. They will make the final adoption next month.

“For its decennial redistricting process, the city plans to keep the boundaries for wards 4, 5, 6, and 7 the same, while altering the boundaries for wards 1, 2, and 3. The city is required to reexamine council wards after the release of a new census to ensure districts have roughly similar population sizes,” the Marietta Daily Journal reported in July.

City council also approved code amendments to Appendix A of its zoning ordinance with regard to townhome standards and their designs. They amended the effective date of Saturday, Oct. 1 to Tuesday, Sep. 20.

To read more details on these code amendments, click here.

To watch Community Development Director Russell Martin provide details on the code amendments, skip to minute 47:22 in the recording of the city council meeting.