Dalton City Council sets date for special election for council seat

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Jul. 18—The Dalton City Council officially accepted the resignation of council member Annalee Sams, who stepped down to run for mayor, Monday night.

By a 3-0 vote, the council members accepted the resignation of Sams from the Ward 2 seat and called for a special election for the unexpired term for that seat, to be held the same day as the regular municipal election, Nov. 7. Mayor David Pennington typically votes only if there is a tie. The unexpired term ends Dec. 31, 2025.

The council members also voted 3-0 to:

—Approve a contract with KRH Architects of Dalton to design a new property and evidence building for the Dalton Police Department. KRH will receive 6% of the cost of the project, which is estimated to be around $2.5 million. The project will be funded from the city's share of the 2020 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

—Approve a resolution to accept $150,000 in federal funding for obstruction removal at the runway of the Dalton Municipal Airport.

—Approve a $63,633.43 contract with Croy Engineering of Chattanooga for design of that obstruction removal.

—Name businessmen Zab Mendez and Jim Waskin and former City Council member Denise Wood as the city's representatives to a citizens advisory committee that will help determine projects to be funded by a proposed 2024 SPLOST. The city will also name one alternate. City Administrator Andrew Parker said city officials have not finalized a selection for the alternate and will do so before the end of July.

The committee members are supposed to be finalized by the end of July, and the committee will begin meeting in August.

Members of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners have said they want to place a SPLOST referendum on the ballot in 2024. A SPLOST is a 1% sales tax on most goods sold in the county that can pay for capital projects.

The SPLOST approved by voters in 2020 expires at the end of October 2024. It has funded among other projects the creation of Riverbend Park and Rocky Face Ridge Park, Whitfield County Fire Station 12, two soccer fields at Heritage Point Park, renovation of Dalton's John Davis Recreation Center and road paving across the county and the city of Dalton.

—Reappoint Octavio Perez to a four-year term on the Dalton-Whitfield-Varnell Planning Commission.

—Approve a request by Benjamin Cordova and Mary Mendoza to rezone from transitional residential to high-density residential .59 acres at 1905 Abutment Road to develop two duplexes.

—Approve alcohol pouring licenses for Birdies on Morris, El Rey De Oro, The Juicy Seafood and Olive Garden.

—Update the city's contract with Alternative Probation Services, which handles probation for Dalton Municipal Court. The update was requested by Alternative Probation Services to include items requested by the state Department of Community Supervision, which oversees probation. There are no major changes to the contract.