Smyrna holds brief City Council meeting before Thanksgiving

The exterior of Smyrna City Hall, a red brick building with four large columns

by Arielle Robinson

Smyrna City Council held a short regular meeting in City Hall Monday evening. Below are some of the things the mayor and council did:

  • The City issued a proclamation in honor of National American Indian Heritage Month. City Councilwoman Latonia Hines read off the proclamation.

City council unanimously approved the following:

  • Awarding an RFQ to Ardito Construction Company, Inc. for storm drainage systems installation, repair, and maintenance. For more information on this, read the issue sheet from the city.
  • Awarding an RFP for the annual contract for concrete work to all five contractors that submitted proposals. The financial impact will depend on overall cost, availability, and performance, according to the city’s issue sheet. Click here to read more on this.
  • The 2023 city holiday calendar. Smyrna’s Human Resources Department schedules these holidays each year. Here is a list of the holidays.
  • The amendment of a contract with Rebuilding Together Atlanta, Inc. for the administration and implementation of a Home Repair Grant Program. The program provides grant funding for housing rehabilitation projects to lower-income homeowners. The amendment is to extend the termination date from December 31, 2022, to March 31, 2023. Funding for this comes from the Community Development Block Grant.

City council also approved its consent agenda 6-1, with Councilwoman Susan Wilkinson voting against it. Some of the consent agenda items included, but were not limited to:

  • Approving the reappointment of the Downtown Development Authority members. Mayor Derek Norton will serve as chairman. This one-year term expires December 31, 2023. Members are Ron Davis, Kevin Drawe, Jim Duelmer, Kimberly Gangemi, Dianne Rasin, and Jason Saliba.
  • Approving the appointment of Heather Bacon to the DDA and Urban Design Commission, which also goes through December 31, 2023.
  • Reappointing the UDC members also through December 31, 2023. Norton will also be chairman of this commission. Members reappointed are Davis, Drawe, Duelmer, Gangemi, Rasin, Saliba, Greg Teague, and Chuck Young.

Announcements:

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, from 5 p.m. through 9 p.m. the city will host its annual Coming Home for the Holidays celebration, in honor of the upcoming holiday season.

A large Christmas Tree will be lit and Santa will arrive at 7 p.m. Visitors can meet Santa in the Market Village after the tree lighting ceremony, according to the city’s website on the event.

City Clerk Heather Peacon-Corn briefly discussed where residents can go vote for the runoff Tuesday, Dec. 6, election.

An appeals court recently allowed Saturday early voting.

Peacon-Corn said that a new Saturday date from 12 p.m. through 5 p.m. will be added to the city website Monday evening and to look out for that.

The city clerk also said Smyrna’s Community Center will be holding early voting on Sunday, Nov. 27, from 12 p.m. through 5 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 28, through Friday, Dec. 2, from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.

For a full list of locations and times Cobb County residents can early vote at, click here.

Arielle Robinson is a student at Kennesaw State University. She also freelances for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and is the former president of KSU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists as well as a former CNN intern. She enjoys music, reading, and live shows.