City Manager's Report-May 19, 2025 by collegeparkga

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

MAY 19, 2025

DR. EMMANUEL ADEDIRAN CITY MANAGER

DR. EMMANUEL ADEDIRAN

To the Mayor and Council, resident and business owners in College Park:

As we wrap up spring, with plenty of April showers in May, we dealt with some power outages and minor ﬂooding, our public works and utilities teams hit the streets as soon as the storms blew through. There is no greater responsibility for the government of a municipality than working to ensure the safety of our residents. While we have had problems with crime, and longstanding hot spots of criminal activity, I am proud to report that the expanded community policing, recruitment & hiring (aided by a compensation adjustment), as well as technology investments such as more LPR and networked security cameras are collectively having a signiﬁcant and positive impact. Crime is down by double digits over the prior year in all four wards, and in hot spots like the Old National Highway/Godby Road corridors of our city in Clayton County, several categories of major crime are down by more than 50%. Property crime is down by 19% city wide. If you get a chance, please take a look at this article from the Marietta Daily Journal and Fulton Neighbor, "College Park Crime Declines as Police Target Hotspots with New Tactics,"

I want to salute our Police Chief Connie Rogers, as well as note the overall improvement in department morale, and the higher performance by all of our public safety personnel. National Police Week was May 11-17th, in addition to recognizing and thanking our police o cers and command sta , we held remembrances for those who lost their lives protecting ours. Their sacriﬁce will never be forgotten.

This week is Public Works week, running from May 18-24, 2025. Their work may not be as high proﬁle as public safety, but it is also critical for our transportation, waste management and the quality of our roads, bridges and sidewalks. By this time next month, we hope to be celebrating the grand opening and dedication of the Gateway Pedestrian Bridge, reconnecting our historic downtown to the GICC and Gateway Arena and traversing Camp Creek Parkway. Public works has completed many aspects of preparation, site clearance and the connectivity which this new multi-purpose trail and bridge will provide to residents and visitors alike.

On the e ciency and technology fronts, we are moving forward with a transition in our finance operations to move from paper checks to ACH electronic transfers for the payment of city vendors. In addition to relieving finance sta from preparing hundreds of manual checks each month, for our vendors, these payments automatically process into their bank accounts, reducing potential for check fraud, gaps in cash flow and more quickly paying our long-time vendors an increasing number of who are local small business owners.

I want to again thank our department heads and managers, as we have completed hiring or converting Interim department heads to full-time, for continuing to improve both performance and morale. We can and will still do better, but real and lasting progress comes over time, and better with the participation and buy-in by our employees as well as our community.

Proud to serve you

Dr. Emmanuel Adedrian City Manager

BUILDING AND PROPERTY SUSTAINABILITY

OCCUPATIONAL TAX DIVISION BY THE NUMBERS

CODE ENFORCEMENT - For A Cleaner Future!

The 2025 Alcohol License are due now. All approved businesses in the state of Georgia that have alcohol licenses must have a City of College Park alcohol license before selling alcohol within the city. Our team will work with Code Enforcement to issue any citations for those who are not in compliance with the ordinance. “Code Enforcement that is used equitably, e ectively, and e ciently is one of the most promising approaches to vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties”.

Strategic Code Enforcement

Broken doors, high grass, or a sagging roof are more than just visual cues of a property being vacant. They pose serious health and safety concerns, and communities have the power to take action in response through code enforcement.

Code Enforcement, deﬁned broadly, includes all of the elements involved in obtaining compliance from private owners of vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties. Property ownership comes with important responsibilities, including maintaining properties in compliance with local codes.

Stats for the Month are as follows: (May)

CITY CLERK

OPEN RECORDS

The City Clerk’s O ce and sta remain committed to operating e ciently and transparently, while diligently processing all open records requests in a timely manner. This includes reviewing, coordinating, and responding to requests in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, while ensuring that public access to government records is upheld and protected. Their ongoing e orts help promote accountability and foster trust between the City and the community.

Training and Advancements

Deputy City Clerk Queenie Brown attended the annual ACCG Conference in Savannah, GA as part of her journey toward earning her Georgia Clerk Certiﬁcation. During the training, she gained valuable insights into Georgia’s 159 counties, the state’s legislative priorities, and had the opportunity to witness the installation of new ACCG leadership. Although city clerks don’t typically participate in ACCG events, it was a great opportunity for Deputy Clerk Brown to connect with fellow clerks and expand her professional network.

With this class completed Government 102, which talked about the Open Meetings Act, Open Records and city and county laws, Queenie now has just three more classes to go—putting her on track to become the ﬁrst Deputy City Clerk in College Park to achieve this prestigious certiﬁcation.

City Clerk Kelly Bogner attended Elections Training hosted by the Georgia Municipal Association at the City of Peachtree Corners on May 1, 2025. Sta are receiving continual training in processing open records requests. Sta participated in website training provided by CivicPlus in anticipation of the City’s updated website launch. City Clerk Kelly Bogner and Deputy City Clerk Queenie Brown also attend regular meetings to prepare for the implementation of the new agenda management and meeting software, OneMeeting, o ered by Granicus.

Processes and Procedures

On April 17, 2025, sta from various departments convened to discuss ways to streamline the special events application and approval process. The meeting focused on improving e ciency, enhancing interdepartmental coordination, and reducing the administrative burden. As part of this e ort, sta explored the implementation of Cognito Forms, a digital form-building platform, to simplify the submission, review, and tracking of special event applications. The goal is to create a more user-friendly and transparent process for both applicants and City sta

COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION

The O ce of Communications and Public Information (OCPI) continues to work to create new procedures and content series for information gathering and public dissemination of various content pieces.

Key Messages

External

• National Teacher Appreciation Day

• Safe Drinking Water Week

• Municipal City Clerk’s Week

• National Public Works Week

• Older Americans Month

• Summer Camp Budget Hearings

• MARTA upgrades

• Burn Ban

Internal

• New Hires

• Internal Recognition – IT, Public Works, City Clerk, Customer Service

• Skillsets & Fire Safety Reminders

• Tra c Notices & Projects

• Quiet Room - Coming Soon

Projects

KABOOM Embarcadero Playground Build

Tuesday, May 20

• Media Event

• Partnered with Delta Gateway Pedestrian Bridge Monday, June 16

Media Event

Congressman David Scott

Special 6 West Signage

Technology

• CivicPlus Website Training

• Launch scheduled for the end of May

• CyberSecurity Training

• Server Onboarding Details Pending

CONVENTION CENTER, ARENA AND GOLF ENTERPRISES

April was busy start-to-ﬁnish with a wide range of events from Delta Vacations, Planning Meetings, Expos, Coco Cola Scholars, GaETC, Tastings, ThriftCon a very popular event, the 25th Annual World Natural Hair Healthy Lifestyle event, Fellowship Breakfasts, and social events, from Proms to a Pro Boxing Match came through our campus.

GATEWAY CENTER ARENA

With the NBA G-League basketball Season ending at the Gateway Center Arena, sta is now gearing up to prepare for upcoming events for the Spring and Summer. Additionally, the venue hosted the Easter Worship Experience on Easter Sunday. The Arena is centrally located near Hartsﬁeld-Jackson airport and local hotels making it ideal for all types of sporting events. This was the venue’s ﬁrst time hosting a BLK Prime boxing match featuring the Wilder v. Harper roster.

HISTORIC COLLEGE PARK GOLF COURSE

As we approach the end of April and Spring is in full e ect, we have been working diligently to implement some exciting changes at our golf course. The Ludacris Drive, Chip, and Putt event was a signiﬁcant success, with both children and parents enjoying a delightful Spring Day. I am pleased to report that we are seeing a steady increase in the number of golfers visiting us daily, thanks to the favorable weather conditions. Additionally, we have received positive feedback on social media regarding the improvements made to CPGC, which indicates that we are progressing towards becoming one of the ﬁnest golf courses in the metro area. Furthermore, April marks the beginning of the golf season with the commencement of The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. We welcomed visitors from Ireland, Japan, England, Switzerland, and South Africa to CPGC. It is truly exciting to witness our international guests enjoying our wonderful golf course and amenities year after year.

ELECTRIC POWER

Solar Power Generation

Construction is underway for a major project in Wilcox County, Georgia to provide clean energy to College Park.

The project, named Pineview Solar LLC, is a joint e ort by Linea Energy and MEAG Power to provide clean renewable energy to 22 Cities, including College Park.

The project is located on 600 acres of farmland between Pineview and Pitts, Georgia. The 80 MW generation will be in commercial operation by 2026, and College Park will receive 4.1 MW.

The project utilizes innovative technologies, including bifacial solar panels and racking equipment that tracks the sun Bifacial panels capturing sunlight on both sides of the panel, taking advantage of light reﬂecting o the ground while the racking systems adjusts their tilt to follow the sun throughout the day.

College Park Power presently delivers 90% emission-free power to its 9000 customers. Solar will contribute to the clean energy mix of nuclear and hydro.

Solar Customers

College Park Power has interconnection agreements for solar power at 21 locations within the City. Most of these customers are homes with roof mounted panels.

The largest solar installations are located at Woodward Academy, totaling over 500 KW.

Those that meet the qualiﬁcations are placed on a distributed generation rate and will sell back to the power company at a market energy rate if their generation exceeds their needs. Since all the electric meters in the City are advanced, they have the ability to measure power in both directions.

Solar Lighting

College Park Power has installed solar street lighting on Hospitality Way and Tahoe Avenue. The installations were simple and did not require any underground trenching which resulted in a much cleaner look.

Solar lighting will continue to be a great addition to areas, such as our parks, to ﬁll in dark spots and to eliminate trenching.

Although a free source of energy, solar power is still limited because of cloudy and rainy days and tree shades. The lighting lumen output is much less than AC powered lighting and batteries may not last all night but are still a good option.

ENGINEERING

Reviewed ROW cut, LDP, applications

Provided regular operational support for City departments, functions, and initiatives, including but not limited to Planning and Zoning, Code Enforcement, Economic Development, Fire, Police, City Clerk (JustFOIA), and the City Council.

There was particular focus during this period on administrative tasks such as contractual agreements, software licenses, budget review and requests, and ongoing grant compliance. Several enhancements were also added to GIS mapping applications including expanded search capabilities, updated tools and data layers. The property can be searched by address or parcel ID now.

PLAN REVIEWS

INSPECTIONS: SITE INSPECTION SUMMARY

FINANCE

Transitioning From Paper Checks to Automated Clearing House (ACH) Payments

The City of College Park is excited to announce an important update concerning vendor payment processes. In our continuous e orts to increase e ciency and improve operations, we will be transitioning from traditional check payments to Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments.

This vital change is designed to enhance the speed and security of our ﬁnancial transactions. ACH payments typically process faster than their check counterparts, allowing vendors to receive payments directly in their bank accounts. This shift is set to signiﬁcantly reduce the time previously associated with check delivery and clearing.

To support this transition, we encourage all vendors currently receiving payments through checks to provide their banking information to facilitate the ACH setup. The required information may include the bank name, account number, and routing number. We assure you that we will handle all banking information with the highest levels of security and conﬁdentiality.

To ensure a smooth transition, we will distribute further instructions on how to set up your ACH payments in the coming weeks. Moreover, we are here to assist with any questions or concerns that vendors may have regarding this transition. Thank you for your cooperation as we implement this enhancement to our payment processes.

FIRE RESCUE

Fire Department Response Statistics and Activities

YOUR DEPARTMENT AT WORK

On May 14, 2025, at approximately 4:00 pm, fire personnel were dispatched to a report of smoke in the area of 3679 Herschel Rd. Upon arrival, E-1 found heavy smoke conditions inside of the structure (house) with no flames. E-1 initiated a “Full Alarm” where all other units responded. The house is located approximately 500’ from Herschel Road and down a long dirt driveway. The residence appeared to be vacant but partially furnished. After further investigation, fire personnel found a couch completely burned without probable cause. We continued our investigation and conducted a primary search of the entire structure to look for possible victims and fire extension. The residence was cleared, and no other hazards were found. Fire Inspector King responded to the scene to investigate further cause. At that time, fire personnel secured the house as best as possible and returned to service.

FIRE PREVENTION

1. Check for damaged or overloaded electrical outlets, cords and cables.

2. Keep anything that can burn away from electrical equipment.

3. Never leave portable heating devices unattended

HUMAN RESOURCES & RISK MANAGEMENT

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Economic Development - Mainstreet

College Park’s Main Street Entrance new sign reads, “Welcome To The City of College Park”. Building and Grounds Supervisor Samuel Nelms, along with Mayor Pro-Tem Jamelle Mckenzie and Councilman Joe Carn, celebrate the final completion of the new Welcome To The City of College Park Main Street sign which is all in the e ort for beautification in College Park. Main Street and the Power Department worked with Glenn Spivey, Power Department Head, to install floodlights to enhance the lighting on the Welcome to College Park entrance sign and the Nucleus Artwork on Main Street.

Celebrating the grand opening and ribbon cutting at Cliché Tapas & Wine Bar Restaurant at 1650 Virginia Ave. The restaurant has a roof top lounge to enjoy a sunset evening! College Park welcomes Cliché to the

It’s That Time! Spring Flower Installation. All ﬂowers on Main Street and Howell Slade Circle have been changed for the spring! CPMSA and Russell Landscape work together to keep Main Street beautiful with color!

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The updates listed below are related to Strategic Goals: Quality of Life, Public Safety/Security, Governance/Customer Service

Public Safety and Security New Cameras for Housing Authority

The College Park Housing Authority has requested 6 new cameras to be strategically placed around the housing projects. I have spoken with them to determine the payment for these cameras. Once this is resolved and the locations are known we will move forward with deployment.

Governance/Customer Service

Brady Recreation Center

The Brady center is undergoing remodeling, and our computer cables need to be relocated. I have contacted the vendor to get a quote to relocate the cabling that goes to the computer lab.

We have recently sent all users a cyber security training link for each user to complete the video training. These video training links will be sent each quarter and are MANDATORY for everyone to complete.

POLICE

Background and Recruitment

In our continued e ort to recruit eligible candidates for the police department and assist them through the hiring process, background and recruitment investigators held a physical agility test on May 15, 2025. There were twelve (12) potential candidates, who traveled from near and far to showcase their agility and strive toward the noble goal of joining the College Park Police Department. It was a true display of grit, passion, and commitment to serving the community.

National Police Week

The week of May 11-17, 2025, was National Police Week. We proudly recognized and honored the brave men and women of the College Park Police Department and law enforcement o cers across the nation who put their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities.

We especially remembered and honored those who made the ultimate sacriﬁce in the line of duty. Your service will never be forgotten.

To our o cers: Thank you for your courage, dedication, and commitment to the safety and well-being of College Park. Your hard work makes a di erence every day.

Airport Rotary Club O cer

Huge congratulations to O cer Belinda Poarch for being recognized by the Atlanta Rotary Club at its ﬁrst responders’ luncheon. The Atlanta Rotary Club honored ﬁrst responders from College Park, East Point, Forest Park, Hapeville, and the Atlanta Airport Police Departments.

Mother’s Day

On May 8, 2025, the College Park Police Department held its annual Mother’s Day Bake O with another round of delicious competition! O cers and sta brought out their best baked goods to celebrate the amazing moms in our lives—and the results did not disappoint.

PUBLIC WORKS

Building and Grounds

This department plays a vital role in maintaining the functionality, safety, and overall appearance of the City of College Park. Responsible for everything from structural upkeep to landscaping, this team of skilled and multi-talented individuals ensure that spaces remain clean, e cient, and welcoming for employees, visitors, and the community. Their work is essential in creating a well-maintained environment that supports daily operations and re ﬂ ects the organization’s commitment to excellence.

Remember last month’s reveal of the new City of College Park’s Welcome sign? It is a sight to see at night. I encourage you to see how we welcome visitors to our expanding community at night. The addition of lights and shrubbery is not only inviting but contributes to the city’s identity and pride. It’s sure to leave a lasting impression. More than just words – it’s a beacon of hospitality!

Public Works Week

Public Works Week runs from May 18th to the 24th, providing a valuable opportunity for the department to highlight the dedication and hard work of its team members. This annual event is deeply important to the Public Works Department, as it recognizes the often-unsung professionals who keep the City of College Park operating e ciently. Their work supports essential daily services, often unnoticed but fundamental to the community’s well-being and functionality.

Reliable and always ready to assist, this team ensures city tasks are completed e ciently while supporting additional needs. They played a key role in helping Ward III remove playground equipment from Phillips Park, transporting and unloading it at the community container in Subrenia Park.

RECREATION & CULTURAL ARTS

Fun Playground Coming to Phillips Park

Families and children in the community have something to look forward to—Phillips Park will soon be home to a brand-new playground! The new play space will o er updated, inclusive, and safe equipment designed to inspire active play and creativity for children of all ages and abilities. The project is part of the City's ongoing e orts to enhance recreational spaces and improve quality of life for residents. Grading has already begun, and completion is slated for early summer. The Recreation and Cultural Arts Department is thrilled to bring this exciting new playground to Phillips Park, and it will be a vibrant, engaging space where kids can play, explore, and connect with one another while families enjoy everything the park has to o er. The investment in Phillips Park is part of a broader initiative to revitalize public parks and expand outdoor recreational opportunities citywide. This project is supported.

Building Upgrades

• New ﬂooring was recently installed at the Tracey Wyatt Recreation Complex

• The Brady Center gets new heating and air

Runners Win Big in District & State

On April 18–19, 2025, the College Park Favor Track Team had over 60 athletes compete in the GRPA District 4 Track Meet held at Villa Rica High School in Villa Rica, GA. The event was a tremendous success, with College Park athletes earning 26 gold medals, 15 silver medals, and 17 bronze medals, along with numerous top eight ﬁnishes. A total of 36 athletes, who placed in the top three, advanced to the GRPA Class A State Track Meet on April 25–26, 2025, at 12 Oaks Stadium in Lovejoy, GA. Runners ﬁnished the state meet with two Gold Medal winners. Kyler Burnam won the 9- 10 girls softball throw and Jaxon Seals won the 6-8 boys 400M dash.

Mark Your Calendars