By Madi Sutter
The City of Mableton voted in its June 26 meeting to approve the contract negotiations between Mayor Michael Owens and Georgia-based city planning firm Grice Consulting Group, the firm selected by the Council to assist with the development of Mableton’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
The vote was approved 5-2, with Mayor Owens and council members Ron Davis, Dami Oladapo, TJ Ferguson and Mayor Pro Tem Keisha Jeffcoat voting in favor, and council members Patricia Auch and Debora Herndon voting against.
This confirmation vote came after the Council’s June 5 meeting decision to allow Mayor Owens to begin negotiations to select the consulting firm.
City Manager, Bill Tanks, who led the consultant selection panel, presented the panel’s recommendation of the Grice Group before the council’s vote during their June 5 meeting, which was 4-3 in favor of starting negotiations with the prospective consultant. Mayor Owens and council members Davis, Oladapo, and Jeffcoat voted in favor, while council members Auch, Ferguson, and Herndon voted against starting negotiations with the prospective consultant.
“The Mableton 2045 Comprehensive Plan is a testament to our commitment to thoughtful, strategic planning and community engagement,” Mayor Owens said. “It will serve as a guiding document to navigate the city’s growth and development over the next two decades.”
The action item was discussed during the council’s June 26 meeting, with council members Herndon and Auch raising concerns about a discrepancy that occurred during the selection process that could have skewed the results. Mayor Owens responded that the time to discuss the process was the council’s previous meeting on June 5, when the council voted to move forward with negotiations.
The consideration and approval of the decision to retain the services of a professional planning firm for the Comprehensive Plan was deferred from the previous two council meetings on May 8 and May 22.
“This decision was the culmination of a highly collaborative four-month effort, and I am confident that we have chosen the best partner to guide us forward,” Mayor Owens said. “The RFQ process ensured we found a consultant that fits both our vision and budget.”
The Grice Group was one of six vendors who responded to the City Council’s requests for quotes (RFQs) in March. According to its website, Grice has been a planning and engineering consulting firm since 1995, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, DC, and Columbia, SC.
“Our firm’s planning studio establishes a long-term vision for the study area by promoting pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development, enhancing connectivity, ensuring multiple transportation options, and supporting economic growth and a high quality of life,” according to the Grice Comprehensive Plan’s website section. The selection panel expects to have a signed contract with the Grice group by the next council meeting.
Other vendors that were considered included Blue Cypress Consulting, JLL Qualifications, The Collaborative Team, Pond, and Jacobs.
“I am just incredibly excited that we are making great progress on the comprehensive plan because it is a critical tool in shaping our city to the Mableton that works for our citizens,” said Oladapo.
The Georgia Planning Act requires all cities in the state to develop and implement a comprehensive plan that guides growth and development. As an incentive, cities that enact comprehensive planning approved by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), have access to financial resource packages to aid in the implementation of plans, including Community Development Block Grants, water and sewer loans, economic development funding, and a variety of other programs from DCA and other partner agencies. Eligibility for these financial incentives is called Qualified Local Government status.
“The purpose of the comprehensive plan is to capture the community’s vision for what they would like Mableton to look like in the future,” Auch said in an email. “The comprehensive plan is going to be an important tool that helps guide future decisions about development and land use within our city.”
Comprehensive Plans must include the following elements, with the first three forming the core of the plan:
- Community Goals
- Needs and Opportunities
- Community Work Program
- Economic Development Element
- Land Use Element
- Transportation Element
- Housing Element
Additionally, the planning of each element of the comprehensive plan include an
opportunity for involvement and input from stakeholders and the general public.
“My excitement (for the plan development) comes because (of) our opportunity to hear from citizens about what they want, then negotiate it into the plan,” Ferguson said in an email. “Numerous District 5 and other Mabletonians have reached out to me expressing their desires for this City and I welcome feedback from others.”
Further requirements for DCA approved plans can be found in the DCA’s minimum standards and procedures document for local comprehensive planning.
“By having a plan, we will have a map for how to take Mableton from where we are now, to the Mableton we envision for the future,” Auch said.
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Madi Sutter has been reporting on city events from local council meetings to K-12 education for over four years. As a graduate of Emory University, she developed a love for Georgia politics and communities. She received her Masters degree in Journalism in 2022 from the University of Missouri at Columbia and currently resides in Little Rock, Arkansas. When she’s not covering Cobb County events, you can find her with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other on her porch.
