by Janice Daniel
The Mayor and Council of the City of Villa Rica met on Tuesday, May 6th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. for their monthly Work Session, at the Holt-Bishop Justice Center, Municipal Courtroom, 101 Main Street. All were present except Mayor Pro Tem Anna McCoy.
Mayor Leslie McPherson read a Proclamation about National Public Works Week which is May 18th through 24th. This year marks the 65th annual National Public Works Week sponsored by the American Public Works Association/Canadian Public Works Association. Public works professionals focus on infrastructure, facilities and services that are of vital importance to sustainable and resilient communities, and to public health, high quality of life, and well-being of the people of Villa Rica. Without public works employees’ dedicated effort in rebuilding, improving and protecting our water supply, water treatment and solid waste systems, public buildings and other structures and facilities and essential services, the city could not function for its citizens. The Mayor urged all citizens to pay tribute to our public works professionals, and to recognize the essential contributions they make to protecting health, safety and quality of life for all citizens.
The Consent Agenda for the Regular Meeting scheduled for May 13th, 2025 was prepared as follows:
1. Request for approval of the qualifying dates of August 18th through August 20th, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. This is for the General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
2. Request to appoint City Clerk, Theresa Campbell, as the Municipal Election Superintendent of the City of Villa Rica.
3. Request approval of the following candidates as GMA’s District 4 Officers for 2025-2026.
President Michael Johnson, Mayor, Temple
First Vice President Tammy Howe, Councilmember, Warm Springs
Second Vice President Steve Fry, Mayor, Williamson
Third Vice President Jacqueline Bridges, Councilmember, Carrollton
4. City Attorney, Kevin Drummond, presented Developmental Regulations update to require Utility Availability Statements. Before permits are issued to begin any construction project, applicants must obtain a utility availability statement. This would allow the New Construction Moratorium to expire.
5. Tiffany Lanford, HR Director, presented changes to the City’s 457(b) retirement plan, to transfer the plan to Empower Retirement. This is the optimal time to make changes to the plan to ensure that the plan is relevant and modernized at little to no cost to the City or employees. Lanford said Empower is going to offer employees more hands-on experience when it comes to saving and investing money for their future as well as more financial guidance. Lanford asked for approval of changes to the following sections: Contribution Types, Excluded Employees, Matching Formula, Vesting, Forfeitures, Trustee, Loans and In-Plan Roth Option, and to authorize the City Manager to sign the plan document once Legal has approved it, and the Trustee will be Empower as Custodian.
6. Tracey Ivey, Director Parks and Recreation, asked for approval of rental fee increases effective July 1, 2025, with the additional revenue allocated to help offset the cost of hiring one part-time staff member dedicated to facility operations, and also to support rising operational costs. The proposed changes are as follows:
Powell Park: Daily fee increase from $150 to $300
V-Plex Civic Center: Daily fee increase from $300 to $450
Venue on N. Avenue: Daily fee increase from $300 to $500
Gold Dust Gym: Per Hour, increase from $30 to $35
Downtown Gym: Per Hour, increase from $30 to $35
Field Rental (includes staff) – Daily fee increase from $150 to $200
There is no change proposed for the hourly field rental of $25, pavilions hourly min. 2 hours $15 per hour, splash pad admission per person is still $2.00, and splash pad private rental 2-hour evening is still $150.
The Gold Dust Gym daily per court is still $300, the downtown gym is still $300 daily and the football field is still $300 daily.
7. Rachel Linn, Library Manager, asked for approval to make some minor housekeeping changes to the Library Advisory Board’s Constitution & By-Laws. Change #1 – The addition of Article I, Section 6: “A former trustee who previously served their full terms to their limits can reapply for a board position after one year.” Change #2 – An addition to Article III, Section 5: “Members should contact the board’s designated contact person if they are unable to attend a meeting whenever possible.”
8. Jennifer Hallman, Interim City Manager/CFO presented 2025 Budget Amendments #133-150 to record transfers of funds from Carroll SPLOST to Gold Dust Park, pickleball courts, pavilion, resurface tennis courts, etc. at a total project cost of $499,400; transfer from General Fund Capital to downtown gym Parking expansion $78,810; book supplemental funding from LMIG for road resurfacing projects, and transfer from Fund Balance $84,776 for hotel/motel product development – downtown parking. Hallman advised there is no impact to the budget with these amendments, that she is just moving money to correct general ledger accounts.
There was a discussion led by Drummond about new appointments for the Villa Rica Development Authority. He suggested that this Authority could be combined with the Downtown Development Authority with the addition of three members. Drummond said that, since he has come on-board with the city, the VRDA has not done much work. Their purpose is to bring commerce to the city, and the DDA is to focus on the downtown area. He advised that all seven (7) seats on the VRDA have expired, but if the VRDA was combined with the DDA, some members of the DDA are not qualified to sit on the VRDA, and also, due to State requirements for the VRDA, this Authority must be kept in place while bonds are in place. He also said the governing agency should give the DDA access to the VRDA funds.
There was brief discussion on some liquor license applications and a rezoning application, but since all require Public Hearings, these items will be taken up in the Regular Meeting Tuesday, May 13th, 2025.