East Point Council approves GoTo vendor switch, emergency tree removals and multiple personnel, legal and easement actions

The East Point City Council took a series of formal actions April 7, approving a vendor transition for its desk phone system, authorizing emergency tree removal at Conley Nature Trail and completing several personnel, legal and real-estate matters after executive session.

Votes at a glance

- Offboard vendor 1Path and adopt GoTo desk-phone services: Council voted to approve the offboarding and adoption of GoTo. Interim IT manager Brown told council, "If we can get the mayor's signature on the separation agreement, the work could begin in about 2 weeks. The project would take about 4 to 6 weeks to complete and it would cost us less money." The city attorney confirmed legal review of the separation agreement before the mayor signs. (Motion carried.)

- Emergency tree removal at Conley Nature Trail: Council approved emergency removal of hazardous trees on the Conley Nature Trail. Parks Director Shaloy Pickett said crews planned to start work on Thursday at 7:30 a.m. and that timing is contingent on weather. (Motion carried.)

- Adopt council agenda and approve minutes: Council adopted the April 7 agenda (motion carried) and approved the March 17 regular meeting minutes (motion carried).

- Table and removal from table (procedural): Item 3 (the offboarding item) was tabled earlier in the meeting to allow council review of the separation agreement; later the item was removed from the table and approved.

- Appointment of IT director: After executive session, the council voted to approve Don Wellman as the IT director with a salary of $122,763.99. (Motion carried.)

- Amendment to chief judge reappointment salary: Council amended the March 17 reappointment of Judge Oliver to reflect an updated salary of $185,400.18; the amendment passed on a roll call that recorded several "yes" votes and noted one member absent. (Motion passed.)

- Legal actions discussed and authorized: Council authorized the city attorney to accept service in Timothy Scott v. City of Eastpoint and voted to proceed as discussed in executive session on multiple pending matters, including Discovery Enterprises and the Osborne cases. Council also authorized retention of outside counsel Arnold & Porter (Arnold, Golden & Gregory referenced in the agenda) for limited purposes regarding the Commons Project. (Motions carried.)

- Easements: Council approved an electrical power utility easement and a water vault easement granted by the Fulton County Board of Education for property at 2816 Briarwood Boulevard. (Motions carried.)

- Executive session approvals: Council approved executive session minutes and made several motions reflecting actions on personnel, litigation and real-estate matters after closed session. The council approved going into executive session to discuss personnel (two items), litigation (seven items), and real-estate (four items), then returned to the public meeting to vote on the listed items. (Motions carried.)

Council members recorded routine "aye" votes on most items; where roll-call detail was recorded (the judge salary amendment) the clerk read the roll and the motion passed with the member noted as absent. Several motions were moved and seconded on the floor; the city attorney and city clerk confirmed legal review or availability of documents as part of the offboarding discussion.

No contract dollar totals for the GoTo onboarding were stated on the public record at the meeting; the mayor noted that any onboarding expected to exceed $25,000 required her signature. The interim IT manager characterized GoTo as less costly than the current arrangement.