by Janice Daniel
The Mayor and Council of the City of Villa Rica met on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. at the Holt-Bishop Justice Center, Municipal Courtroom, 101 Main Street, with all Councilmembers present. The Invocation was offered by Tyler Thomas, Carroll County Fire Division Chief, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by U.S. Army Reservist Emily Kelly. Kelly is a senior at the University of West Georgia majoring in accounting, and is also president of the Blue Coats and an intern with Caliber One Construction in Villa Rica. Kelly plans to work for Caliber One when she finishes her education. She is also a U.S. Army Reserves Intelligence Analyst.
LeAnne Wilkins, Deputy City Clerk of Villa Rica was recognized for receiving her Georgia Certified Clerk Certificate from the Georgia Clerks Education Institute and Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Police Chief Michael Mansour was recognized for 20 years of service with the Villa Rica Police Department. Jay Collins, who was Mayor of Villa Rica at the time Mansour was hired, said the police department was in a real mess and under a federal monitoring program for being found guilty of racial profiling at the time Mansour came in as Chief. Mansour was able work out many problems and get them off this program early. Collins said Chief Mansour is respected across the state, is a true gentleman, and is steadfast in keeping the community safe while retaining a home-town feel for the VRPD. Jay Collins is currently the 71st District member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
Many other Villa Rica citizens, former councilmembers and police officers, as well as Attorney David Mecklin, were at the meeting to speak their appreciation for Mansour who said he was totally humbled and honored by everything that was said. He thanked them all, including current Councilmember Danny Carter who was on the Council who hired him, along with Mr. Amadon and the late Mr. Best. He said he loves the people of Villa Rica and has been very happy in his years there. He also announced that he would be retiring on October 24th, 2027, “in order to spend more time with my wife, who is my rock, and my kids Gabby and Nick, and most importantly to be a better Christian, husband and father. Chief Mansour received a standing ovation.
Mayor Leslie McPherson read a Proclamation that the William Wofford Chapter of the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century is locally sponsoring National Colonial Heritage Month during October, bringing to mind the first courageous settlers who arrived in America and who determined the direction for the formation of our country. The member of this Society, by virtue of their lineal descent from those early settlers, continue to convey the true meaning of the inheritance by reminding us that our privilege to live in a free country has stemmed from “loving our country, obeying its laws, respecting its flag and defending it against all enemies.”
In Public Comment John Hannabach again thanked everyone on Council and Staff who helped get the lease of the land for the Veterans Memorial park.
Pamela Whyte, of the Cleghorn/Anderson/Darden community, said “We are not just parcel numbers, we are actual human beings. God sees everything. You can’t love Jesus and hate us.”
Aleta Farmer said her family has owned their property in Villa Rica for 111 years. She told the Council, “We don’t want the road [Villa Rica Parkway]. We pay our taxes, keep up our residences, don’t break laws. Please respect our rights.”
Molly Elder said that Ward 1 wants the road stopped. She also brought up the unresolved school traffic problems from Thomas Dorsey Street to Eleanor Walk, narrow streets with cars parked on both sides of them. “It’s not fair to the residents of these streets who can’t even back out of their driveways.”
During Councilmember updates and announcements, Ward 2 Councilmember Matthew Momtahan presented a letter regarding the Villa Rica Parkway, from Amy McCoy [a real estate agent from Douglasville] to Jeff Reese [interim city manager at that time] regarding the Villa Rica Parkway [a subject which Aleta Farmer has spoken against at every council meeting for over a year]. The letter was a Letter of Intent on behalf of Lester Dobbs and Aleta Farmer regarding Parcel No.V05 0150063 in which Dobbs and Farmer were offering to sell one acre of their property at 216 Anderson Road, Villa Rica, for the sum of $1,000,000 (one million dollars), the one acre being a portion of the parcel located in the FEMA floodplain The letter was dated August 12th, 2024 and demanded a response from the city by August 16th, 2024 (four days) and earnest money of $10,000 to be forfeited if the purchase was not closed by September 3rd, 2024 . The letter required the city to pay for the survey and all legal procedures for subdividing the parcel in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations. It also required the city to put in two driveway curbs for a driveway to the remaining portion of the property; to pay any taxes due as a result of the purchase; to not pursue any future acquisition of any portion of the remaining property; pay Amy McCoy $30,000 (a 3% commission on the sale).
Momtahan emphasized that Dobbs and Farmer wanted $1,000,000 of taxpayer money plus $30,000 to Amy McCoy, leaving them with the rest of their property on that parcel which would then be located on the Villa Rica Parkway and worth $2 or 3 million to an investor. “What would have happened if the city had agreed to that?” he asked. “She sold herself out for a million dollars.”
At this point people started shouting out remarks from the audience which the Mayor tried to quash with threat of removal of them from the meeting, and she acknowledged Ward 3 Councilmember Stephanie Warmoth to speak.
“I don’t do well with surprises,” Warmoth stated. “I wish I had known this was going to be shared with the public in an open meeting – it makes me very uncomfortable.” She also opined that the sharing of the letter was “rage-baiting,” and added, “Maybe some meetings need to be one-on-one or even a town hall meeting, but this is inappropriate to bring to a public meeting.”
Councilmember Momtahan later stated that he got confirmation from a prior city attorney that the offer in the letter was expired and was therefore not subject to any closed meeting information rules because it was an abandoned offer.
Ward 1 Councilmember Shirley Marchman said she wanted to clear up a misunderstanding about the Council decision to name a street after Louis Harris. Marchman said his family is under the impression that the dedication of the street has already been done. “There will be a date set for the dedication of the street, but it has not yet been done. I will notify the family personally when it is done.”
Councilmember Warmoth, on a more positive note, thanked everyone who worked to make the Gold Rush Festival such a great success. “It’s really what Villa Rica is known for.”
Mayor McPherson thanked former Interim City Managers Jeff Reese and Diana DeSanto, as well as current staff, for the time they have spent trying to unravel the problems they had from “backing into this,” referring to the Villa Rica Parkway contracts prepared under “a previous administration.”
The Consent Agenda from the October 7th, 2025 Work Session was approved unanimously.
CFO and Interim City Manager Jennifer Hallman then gave the Financial Update as of August 31st, 2025. Total cash was at $49,316,182, a 2% increase. Hotel/Motel tax and Product Development is tracking at 86% of budget. The Water/Sewer Enterprise Fund net income was $1,517,166, largely due to an increased amount of water and sewer tap growth of over $500,000. Building Permits were also up substantially. The Sanitation/Solid Waste Fund showed a net income of $106,535, and both Douglas and Carroll sales tax revenue were up. Hallman stated she did not know if this was due to higher product prices or increased purchases. The bank balance for the self-funded insurance was at $2,095,428 with more than $500,000 in savings.
The Council then went into Executive Session, came back into Regular Session and approved the purchase of Parcel V05 0150056, 416 Darden Street, and purchase of a right-of-way and easement on Parcel V05 0150057, 312 Cleghorn Street.
The meeting was then adjourned.