Residents thank council for Juneteenth support and urge transit, affordability and youth engagement

Summary

Multiple unscheduled speakers thanked council for supplemental Juneteenth funding, urged better local transit and bus routing, raised affordability concerns and congratulated recently elected officials; a student from Sawyer Road asked staff to coordinate with the school board on school adjustments.

Several unscheduled speakers addressed the council during the open‑forum portion of the meeting.

Jareen Bonner Willis, representing the Cobb County NAACP Council, thanked the council for 26 years of support for Juneteenth programming and for supplemental scholarship funds that will benefit students. A Sawyer Road Elementary student, Jacob O’Neil, told the council he would help coordinate with the new school board representative for Ward 6 on school adjustments. Jerome Boate asked council to consider rerouting a bus down Whitlock Drive to improve access to the square and reduce walking distances for riders. Residents including Rosser Sutherland and Sam Foster congratulated newly elected officials and urged the council to be responsive to demographic change and the next generation of city leaders.

The mayor closed the public session and the council moved to an executive session on property acquisition and disposition.