Honors and Business at City Council Meeting

Sandy Springs Police detectives, city code enforcement officers, and the Mount Vernon Presbyterian School varsity basketball team, which won the state championship, in February, were honored at the start of Tuesday’s City Council meeting. 

And new City Council member Gabriel Sterling was sworn in to applause by Fulton Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Lee.

Here's a quick run down of a few of the items discussed.

• Downtown Study

Mayor Eva Galambos will go forward with an Atlanta Regional Commission agreement for Livable Center Initiatives funds to complete a study plan for downtown Sandy Springs. 

The estimated cost of the study is $100,000, half of which the city received in a grant from the state.  The city will seek a contribution from the Downtown Alliance for the other half. 

• Trees vs. Billboards.

A resolution presented by Sterling to request that Governor Nathan Deal veto House Bill 179, which would allow billboard companies to clear trees “in a view zone” in front of their signs was approved.

• Technology and other Services.

City Council approved selection of InterDev for information services; and Severn Trent for financial services. 

In an item to authorize City Manager John McDonough to buy the necessary equipment to migrate information technology systems, City Council agreed to finance costs of Cisco Systems equipment [at zero percent interest], and pay for non-Cisco products with cash using money from completed projects that came in under budget.  [Otherwise, the city would have obtained a loan for that equipment at 2.8 percent interest.]