The Dalton City Council on Monday voted 3-0 to more forward on three stormwater projects.
Council member Dennis Mock was absent during this section of the meeting, and Mayor David Pennington, who typically votes only when there is a tie, voted. One seat is vacant.
The council members agreed to:
• Accept a temporary construction easement for lining and improvements to stormwater pipes on Coronet Drive.
• Accept temporary construction easements for 616 and 618 McFarland Ave. to complete elements of the Ridge Street Stormwater Bypass Project.
“This is part of phase two of the Walnut North draining improvement project,” said Dalton Public Works Department Director Chad Townsend.
• Approve a corrective action plan and accept a temporary construction easement for 112 W. Crawford St. Townsend said the city will extend its stormwater pipes onto the property to capture runoff from a city-owned alley behind the building. He said currently stormwater runoff from the alley floods that property as well as the sidewalk.
The council members also voted 3-0 to:
• Approve beer and wine pouring licenses for Naren Patel doing business as Home2 Suites Dalton.
• Approve package beer, wine and liquor licenses for Tilak Patel doing business as Top Shelf Package.
• Renew the city’s agreement with the Junior Achievement Discovery Center of Greater Dalton for three years at $10,000 a year.
“This is a great way to incorporate city government information into the education sessions that they have with middle school students,” said City Administrator Andrew Parker.
Mock was also absent during this section of the meeting and Pennington voted.
The council members also voted 3-0 to:
• Confirm Matt Daniel as fire chief. The Public Safety Commission named Daniel fire chief at its Oct. 24 meeting.
Daniel was named the sole finalist on Oct. 5 after the commission members interviewed four applicants from the fire department. He will step into a vacancy left by the departure of Todd Pangle from the fire department to become Dalton’s assistant city administrator.
Daniel is a 20-year veteran of the Dalton Fire Department.
• Accept a request by Yessica A. Sandoval and Cesar G. Sandoval Silva to annex .19 acres at 1505 Hale Bowen Drive into the city with the condition that the owner be required to bring garbage to Frazier Drive for pickup. The property was in a small island of unincorporated Whitfield County surrounded by the city. The zoning will remain medium-density, single-family residential.
Mock voted on these two items and Pennington did not vote.
The council members also held the first reading of an ordinance to close an unopened right of way near Hamilton Medical Center.
“There’s no roadway, no improvements currently built,” said Parker.
Parker said the street was part of a subdivision that stood on the site before the hospital was built and was never properly closed. He said it needed to be officially closed for Hamilton to move forward with an expansion of its cardiovascular institute.
The city will retain a utility easement if the street is closed. The council members are expected to vote on the ordinance at their Monday, Nov. 27, meeting.
