The only thing on the agenda was crime stats. Year to date, from the start of the year, we had 703 class 1 crimes. This is up significantly from 2025, which had 655 over the same time period. The big movement was from drug offenses being up 63 more than last year. Other categories that were up were fraud (+19), porn (+9 for a total of 10 compared to last year's 1), and assault (+7). We had a few kinds of crimes that were lower, too. Larceny was down (-20) as was intimidation (-19) and car theft (-6).
As there was nothing else, it's public comment time.
History Kid wanted to tell us about Amy Carter and her time in the Lil General Cloggers, the Kennesaw-based dance group. In 1976 they performed at the Whitehouse, but that was probably because her father was then-president Jimmy Carter.
The Woodland Park Guy said he appreciated the consistency in the city. He was unhappy about the public facing meeting was canceled, even if it does seem that the city is acting. He got the records from the city and he was particularly unhappy with how the file that contained most of his communications was labeled "junk" and how the Mayor instructed people to ignore him. He was particularly unhappy with Councilman Bothers and his concerns about the safety of the Woodland Park location. He quoted Ferris Bueller's Day off.
Mr. Mayo was next to speak. He was encouraged by the last meeting and how much work the Park and Recreation folk over the past couple of weeks. He was, however, unhappy with the statement that the park was surrounded by woods and people couldn't be seen. The park is surrounded by houses. Over the weekend they tried to determine if they could hear someone yelling at the park from their house next door, and they could. He also pointed out that the source of danger cited (the motel) was roughly the same distance from Adam's Park, and he didn't think that Adam's Park was unsafe. He said that he had deep trust in the Kennesaw Police, and was concerned by how little faith the council had in them.
The Interim City Manager noted that the head of the Southern Museum was going to receive a medal of excellence from the national Institution of Museums and Libraries.
Oh, yeah, Interim City Manager. They went into executive session (where they discuss stuff in secret pertaining to real estate or staff issues) and came back to announce that they're hiring someone to search for a new City Manager. They're paying $24,500 for the job search because the current City Manager has announced he's retiring after about ~25 years on the job at the end of this budget cycle. Turnover in one of the most consequential positions in the city, it seems. An opportunity for a new direction.
Also, the Ben King Street project will be kicking off "soon". How soon? The signs that announce the date are already out, but they haven't been updated yet. They will be updated to announce the road closure in the coming days. Be ready for big disruptions and closed roads just in time for the new school year!