DeKalb commissioners preview agenda; warming centers set to run 24/7, MARTA sublease and $35,000 ARP walk-on placed on consent

Commissioner Marita Davis Johnson, presiding officer of the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, opened the meeting with committee reports and a review of the board’s preliminary executive agenda.

The county will operate multiple 24-hour warming centers during the expected cold spell, County staff member Zach told the board. "Each of those 4 will be open on a 24 hour basis until further notice," Zach said, listing Front Line Response International (2585 Gresham Road), Toby Grant (593 Parkdale Drive), Mason Mill Recreation Center (1340 McConnell Drive) and Exchange Recreation Center (2771 Columbia Drive). Zach also said North DeKalb Senior Center (3393 Malone Drive) would be open on an overnight-only basis and that transportation pickup points would be shared via an email blast; the name of the transportation provider was not specified in the meeting record.

Commissioner Michelle Long Spears, PECS (Planning, Economic Development and Community Services) committee chair and representative for District 2, told the board that her committee had allocated $375,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to support the county’s warming centers. "We did allocate $375,000 of ARP funds for our warming centers," Long Spears said.

Committee updates included action taken by the Employee Relations and Public Safety Committee. Commissioner Ted Terry reported the committee approved extending the AMR ambulance services contract, approved information-management services for the Clerk of Superior Court, and awarded professional brokerage and consulting services for employee health and welfare benefits to Buck Buck Global; the contract funding for those services runs through Dec. 31, 2026. Terry said several other contract items were deferred to the afternoon meeting for further consideration.

In Planning, Economic Development and Community Services, Long Spears reported committee recommendations to move several appointments to the full board for approval, including two nominees for the Historic Preservation Commission and reappointments to the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority for a Dr. Karen (last name not specified in the record) and Representative Bennett (first name not specified). The committee accepted an amendment to the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs (RPCA) 10-year master plan and recommended approval to the full board pending receipt of additional information. Long Spears said two housing items — creation of an affordable housing trust fund and establishing a housing-first model — were deferred for further committee discussion.

During the review of the board agenda, the administration announced a walk-on item proposing a sublease agreement allowing MARTA to sublet 150 square feet of County-leased space at 3 Ravinia Drive (the county leases 440 square feet at that location). The sublease was described as $1,500 a month; County staff characterized it as a small-dollar consent item and the board placed it on the consent agenda without objection. A separate walk-on appropriation — $35,000 of ARP interest funds for Decatur Cooperative Ministries for Hagar House — was also distributed and set for consent.

Several preliminary agenda items were set for committee consideration: two fire-rescue grant items (to be taken in IRPS), two Public Works items for PWI (including an $800,000 FHWA Safe Streets and Roads for All grant and $800,000 in GDOT funds for North Fork Peachtree Creek Greenway), and purchasing/contracting items routed to the committees of jurisdiction. The board clerk’s minutes items and other routine airport lease items were placed on consent.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, a second and a voice vote in which the presiding officer recorded "Aye." The record does not include individual roll-call vote counts for the adjournment.

Notes on what the meeting record does not specify: the transcript identifies several people by first or last name only (for example, "Dr. Karen" and "Representative Bennett"), and the transcript lists the consulting firm as "Buck Buck Global"; no additional contact details or full legal names for those individuals or entities were provided during the remarks captured in the record.