September 18, 2023 - Strategic Performance Report

BIWEEKLY STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE REPORT

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

STANLEY D HAWTHORNE CITY MANAGER

I am pleased to transmit the 6th installment of the Community Building Leadership Team’s (CBLT’s) Strategic Performance Report (SPR).

The SPR showcases activities and information across the full range of College Park’s operations and administration, every two weeks coinciding with the regular meetings of the Mayor and Council. The format and its content are topical based; concise in nature; accented with images and illustrations for more relatable reading; and organized by the alphabetical ordering of offices and departments, which follows a lead topic(s) from the City Manager in the opening pages of the report.

FISCAL YEAR 2024 ADOPTED BUDGET: 1ST QUARTER REVIEW

On May 1, 2023, following numerous budget workshop meetings and a comprehensive review of the referenced “Big Book” Fiscal Year 2024 Proposed Budget, a motion was passed by the City Council providing special instructions concerning the proposed budget.

The motion directed the City Manager to develop an organization restructuring plan along with other considerations (including the compiled list of priorities requested by members of the governing body during budget workshops) that would be considered post- adoption of the budget during the first quarter, July 1 through September 30, as potential budget amendments.

On June 20, 2023, the City Council approved the Fiscal Year 2024 Proposed Budget premised on a property tax rate of 13.619 mills.

On September 5, 2023, I reported to the Mayor and Council in the Strategic Performance Report on anticipation of completing my assessment of organizational realignment for action by the October 16, 2023 Regular Meeting of the Mayor and Council. I shared an updated “City of College Park, Georgia Proposed organizational chart.” As part of that same report, I outlined a new process for Budget Modifications Review to meet the direction given to the City Manager by Mayor and Council on May 1, 2023.

The new budget modifications review process is already under way during this first quarter of the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. Budget modifications are used as a tool to assess how to build better community for College Park.

Departments are expected to assess their functional responsibilities for improving services on behalf of College Park’s constituents. Budget modification requests must be aligned to a strategic goal and justified by meeting at least one of the following criteria: service improvement, revenue generating, program mandated, cost reduction, or a workload change.

On September 22, 2023, the Community Building Leadership Team and I will meet to review the dozens of budget modification requests that have been submitted. I believe these discussions as well as City Manager recommendations will assist the Mayor and Council in its deliberations on potential first quarter budget amendments and the final setting of the property tax millage rate on October 16, 2023.

AIRPORT AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

MEETING THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL AND LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS

Informal “meet and greet” discussions have been conducted with many of the Department Directors and will continue over the duration of this month. Meetings with Council Members have been underway the past two weeks and will continue to ensure all critical information is obtained from all elected officials. The primary focus and goal of these meetings is to understand each set of priorities, expectations and identify “early wins” regarding airport affairs, government relations, and grant opportunities.

There have been discussions with our federal and state lobbyists, our aviation regulatory attorney, and the City’s real estate management services company, of which a tour of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) building was conducted to address lease items. Also, stakeholder engagement has begun with Stream Realty regarding the Six West development.

The next quarterly meeting with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport staff will take place in October 2023. Working with department directors/designees to address the previous meetings’ discussion will take place to ensure we have an updated list for resolution.

GEORGIA MUNICIPAL CLERKS CONFERENCE

TThe Office of the City Clerk had the opportunity to attend the annual Georgia Municipal Clerks Association (GMCA) Fall Conference in Athens, Georgia that was held from September 10-12, 2023.

Deputy Clerk Queenie Brown is working towards her Georgia Clerk Certification which is awarded with a successful completion of 101 hours of coursework and instruction. While at the conference, Ms. Brown took classes regarding the millage rate and records management which are both required for the Georgia Clerk Certification.

City Clerk Shavala Ames took continued education courses which included grant writing and the preservation of original records. In addition to coursework, Ms. Ames is now in receipt of the Clerks Masters Education Management Development Program Certification which was awarded at this conference. Ms. Ames is the first to receive this designation in the City of College Park as City Clerk.

NEW FEATURES ON THE WEBSITE

There has been expressed concern from various members of the governing body regarding the proper display of photos captured at Council and City events. It was stated that photos are not being shared on the website; however, this was not a normal practice for the City of College Park in the past few years.

Additionally, a new photo gallery feature AND videos and reels feature is now available on the City’s website. Go to www.collegeparkga.com. Click on the first tab, “About Us.” Then click on “City Gallery.” Upon clicking the “City Gallery” tab, you will see the latest events with a link to access all photos captured from those events.

FIND THE FLINT

On September 1, the City participated in a tour, hosted by Finding the Flint. In 2017, Economic Development staff began working with Finding the Flint and The Conservation Fund to purchase 7.47 acres of property owned by the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority for the creation of the City’s first nature preserve. The property, located on Willingham Drive, contains the headwaters of the Flint River. The Flint River is a 344-mile-long river in the State of Georgia.

The river drains 8,460 square miles of western Georgia, flowing south from College Park to the wetlands of the Gulf Coastal Plain in the southwestern corner of the state.

The tour began at the proposed nature preserve, following the path of the Flint River, with sites in East Point, Hapeville, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Clayton County.

MAIN STREET

The Main Street Manager reports that the 3699 Main Street building – which includes Hattie Maries BBQ, Rods-NRazors Inc. Barber Shop, and Direct Auto & Life Insurance – is under new ownership. The new owner is Oakhurst Realty Partners. The Main Street Manager also reports a new business opened at 3819 Main Street - Main Street Tonics & Cuisine.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM TRAINING

This event was a great week of training for Fire Department recruits. They shared their classroom and practical exercise with the fire recruits from the City of Forest Park. All recruits have earned their hazardous materials awareness certifications, that is a requirement to become a certified Georgia firefighter.

REMEMBERING SEPTEM 11, 2001

The members of both our Fire Rescue and Police Departments including neighbors from the community shared in remembrance the 22nd anniversary of 9/11/200

PROTECTING FIREFIGHTERS QUALITY OF LIFE

Because they’re often seen as pillars of strength in their communities, it can be easy to forget that firefighters are human. Resting and recuperating after a fire or any other traumatic incident is critical to their quality of life. While rules exist to ensure firefighters get the rest they need, these aren't always adhered to.

One way to improve compliance with such guidelines is to use an automated process to monitor rest time between jobs, ensuring firefighters are always allowed appropriate recovery time. If a firefighter is injured, automation can also monitor their recovery.

GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTER

GATEWAY ARENA AND HISTORICAL GOLF COURSE

DIRECTOR'S OVERVIEW

We continued our busy pace throughout the month of August. The Georgia International Convention Center (GICC), the Gateway Center Arena and the College Park Historic Golf Course reported the following year-to-date revenues for August 2023. The GICC reported revenues of $1,142,381.66 representing 10.1% of the adopted budget. The Gateway Center Arena generated $562,659.28 or 26.92% of the adopted budget. The Historic College Park Golf Course reported revenues of $71,611.67 or 9.5% of their adopted budget.

The Gateway Campus events ranged from the Black Beauty Expo, SW Christian Hospice with country singer Zack Williams, SMU Steel Summit, to southside’s Destination Marketing Organization, the ATL Airport District’s 10th year celebration. The Arena also remained busy with celebrity rehearsals and hosting five Atlanta Dream home games that reached capacity crowds.

HISTORIC COLLEGE PARK GOLF COURSE

August was a very busy month for the College Park golf course, even with the severe heat index reaching over 100 degrees for a majority of the month. We held our last event for the summer series golf tournaments that brought out twenty-five golfers. The continuation of the Golden Golfers’ bi-weekly events brought out 30 players for each tournament.

I am also working with the graphic designers from Trap Golf, to paint a mural on the front portion of our event center. Sales have been on par with the rest of the summer months at $42k in total sales. August was the first month of our new girls’ golf program, “Dreams of Lois” and they are using our facilities weekly.

HUMAN RESOURCES & RISK MANAGEMENT

BENEFITS

On Thursday, August 31, 2023, the Office of Human Resources met with our representatives from NFP to discuss the Post Open Enrollment Review. In this meeting, we discussed the Enrollment Activity. This enrollment period was successful, with 62% participation from employees and Retirees. Our Medical enrollment, including employees, retirees, and Cobra, has 410 participants, with 81% participation. The dental plan has 90% participation. The vision plan has 68% participation. This year, the Human Resources team and our NFP brokers changed the vision plan to an improved one for our employees.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Below is a list of current vacant positions with the City of College Park as of September 11, 2023.

For full details and additional information about vacancies and employment with the City of College Park can be found on City of College Park Employment Opportunities.

WINDSTREAM NETWORK UPGRADE UPDATE

We have more great news since kickoff for this upgrade. Several of our locations have the new SD-Wan technology installed and are ready for cutover. Brady Recreation Center, Godby Road Recreation Center, Power, and Public Works are all now on the update bandwidth.

CCESS CONTROL UPDATE

tegrated Solutions technology arted the access control project n September 14, 2023. The test cation will be the back door of ity Hall where select staff arking is located, and other staff nters from parking lot. They have n identification badge as a test ensure current badges will work ith the new system.

SAGE GOV. COLLABORATION SOFTWARE

The UAT testing is over, we are moving to the Customer Service training phase. Once this phase is complete the hope is to go live by November 2023. The date continues to move based on the training of end users.

INSPECTIONS AND PERMITS

CODE COMPLIANCE

The Code Enforcement Section will be instituting new performance standards to respond to and resolve code violations more efficiently and effectively. These metrics will focus on proactivity, response times to calls for service, and compliance rates.

TRAINING

Team members completed a webinar - Unlocking Efficiency in Code Enforcement: How to Master Task Prioritization Confirmation

COMMUNITY BUILDER UPDATES

New Building Inspector/Plan Reviewer will start on September 25, 2023.

New Code Compliance Officer will start on September 25, 2023.

PERMIT INTAKES UPDATE

Fifty-four permits were issued for an aggregate total of $29,000. Nine Certificate of Occupancy were issued for Rocklyn Homes.

Eight new businesses issued were issued certificates of occupancy.

POLICE OFFICERS GRADUATION

September 1, 2023, Officer Jitia Ellis and Officer LaShaunta Lusk graduated from Fulton County Public Safety Training Center, Basic Law Enforcement Class and will enter the Police Department forty (40) working day Field Training Program. The Field Training Program is universally described as the most important stage in the process of becoming an independent law enforcement officer.

POLICE MAJOR INTERVIEWS

On September 8, 2023, the Police Department interviewed three (3) very qualified candidates for the Police Major open position.

RECRUITMENT

To continue our recruitment efforts the Police Department held physical agility tests on September 7 and September 14, 2023, at the Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center.

The physical agility test consists of a series of nine interspersed individual tasks, arranged in a continuous format that may be viewed as being essential (physical) job tasks for law enforcement training.

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POWER DEPARTMENT

ONGOING RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

Hawthorne Station Subdivision

This project is located off Hersch Road south of Camp Creek Parkway. Phase one is nearing completion of 200 single family homes. Brannon Park baseball fie improvements are mostly completed including grading, ne lighting, and a new fence. Bathrooms, a pavilion, and a spla pad with cabana are completed

Diamond Project – A fourstory apartment building containing 60 rental units on Harvard Avenue east of Main Street is underway with the exterior essentially finished. College Park Power has installed conduit and underground primary to a pad mounted transformer.

This project is located at 1805 Harvard Avenue across from the Diamond Project and beside the Methodist Church: An existing 3 story educational building separated from the church sanctuary was converted to condominium lofts for 16 tenants on the second and third floors. The bottom floor will be utilized for a coffee shop, café and workshop rooms for residents. Power supply to the project is complete and units are almost finished.

Academy Condominium Building –

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

HIGHWAYS, STREET, AND STORM WATERS

Have you ever received email notifications about street closure alerts and wondered what they meant? These alerts are sent by the Water and Sewer department when there is a need for underground utility repair, such as water, gas, or sewer lines. After the repair work is done, the Highway, Streets, and Storm Water team follows up with pavement repairs on the streets that weree cut open. You can see pictures of the pavement repairs at 2106 Park Terrace below.

SANITATION

We are aware that illegal dumping is still a problem in our city. Our department is working closely with Code Enforcement to minimize the occurrence of illegal dumping and to ensure that our city remains clean and safe for everyone.

KEEP COLLEGE PARK BEAUTIFUL

On September 12th, the Director of KCPB attended a grant training session with the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. The session covered various grant application areas such as executive summaries, letters of support, marketing, and budget. We also discussed buzz words and target groups that are sought in the presentation of the grant. The session also included a discussion on demonstrating the sustainability of projects and getting partners’ commitment/buy-in. Other topics discussed included creative titles and addressing all areas of the application.

[PARKS]RECREATION AND CULTURAL ARTS

METRO-ATLANTA CITIES WELLBEING INITIATIVE

The City of College Park is one of the six municipalities to participate as a wellbeing steward for this initiative. Other stewards invited to participate in the wellbeing initiative included the City of Atlanta, City of Decatur, City of Chamblee, City of East Point and City of Clarkston. The initiative was an eight-month program that assisted in providing tools to help better understanding the metrics and deliverables unique to the goals of each city and help the identifying needs and provide steps for a wellbeing action plan presented on August 23, 2023.

The City of College Park is one of the six municipalities to participate as a wellbeing steward for this initiative. Other stewards invited to participate in the wellbeing initiative included the City of Atlanta, City of Decatur, City of Chamblee, City of East Point and City of Clarkston.

2023 MUSIC FEST AT TRACEY WYATT RECREATION CENTER

The College Park Recreation and Cultural Arts Department held Music Fest at the Tracey Wyatt Recreation Center on Saturday, September 9, 2023, from 4:00 PM6:00 PM. The featured entertainer for the event was Beale Street Entertainment featuring 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music. This free event is supported by the Fulton County Arts and Culture grant.

The full and complete City Manager's biweekly Strategic Performance Report is available online at: www.collegeparkga.com

Very truly yours, Stanley D Hawthorne City Manager | City of College Park 3667 Main Street | College Park, GA | 30337