At the Oct. 13 meeting of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Woodstock, resident Gopi Govindaraj urged the council to expand local sustainability programs and to fill sidewalks gaps on Trickum Road, saying the investments would reduce reliance on the electric grid, reduce waste and improve pedestrian safety for neighborhoods that pay city taxes.

Govindaraj told the council he had discussed ideas with city staff and some council members and asked the city to survey fire-station rooftops for solar with battery backup to reduce grid dependence and save operations money. "We should look at rooftop solar for all fire stations with battery backup," he said, and noted federal funding opportunities that are available "for the next couple of years."

He recommended a community composting and food-waste collection program and urged the city to adopt a zero-waste policy for city events so food-service packaging is compostable or reusable. On electric-vehicle infrastructure, he suggested the city provide free EV chargers in the parking deck and questioned ongoing use of ChargePoint as costly, noting cities sometimes use a "normal home charger" and that installation should be by a certified EV charger installer, which he said is typically "less than $2,000." He argued level-2 chargers can attract EV drivers to downtown businesses even if they do not charge at full capacity.

Govindaraj also pressed the council to address sidewalk gaps on Trickum Road, saying several subdivisions pay city and county taxes but lack continuous sidewalks. "There is a half a mile that is completely missing," he said, and asked how long residents should wait for basic infrastructure. He cited conversations with neighbors in Woodview, Woodlands, Kingsgate, Regency and unincorporated areas and urged the council to use planned funding streams to address those gaps.

The council received the public comment during the meeting's public-comment period; staff later told the council they will pursue federal and regional grants for specific sidewalk and interchange projects and would submit grant applications with Cherokee County for a Ridgewalk Interchange construction balance and a Trickum Road sidewalk project (applications due Oct. 31). Mr. Moon said the county will lead several countywide CMAQ applications and that the city will be lead applicant on the Trickum Road sidewalk grant with the county paying for its jurisdictional portion.

The meeting transcript records no formal council action on Govindarajs suggestions; his remarks were part of public comment and staff noted they would pursue grant funding and return with any award documents for council authorization.

Ending: Council members thanked the public for attending; staff and council did not adopt immediate policy changes at the meeting but flagged the sidewalk project and federal funding as items they will pursue through grant applications and intergovernmental agreements.