By Tenesha L. Curtis, contributor 

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA — The Stone Mountain City Council discussed cemetery cleanup, a street sign topper request, and more at an in-person regular session on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Councilmember Shawnette Bryant was not present for this session.

City Manager Darnetta Tyus reported that the Public Works department’s one-time cemetery cleanup went well. The bulk of the service was completed near the end of business on Thursday, Oct. 13, though there is still some “detail work” to be done.

Regarding sign toppers, Tyus said that because “we were unclear as to where the actual toppers would be. The initial map that we had had twenty locations. Since then, the team and the Mayor have gone out and taken a look at it, and they have identified the ten places that they should actually go.”

Now that those ten locations have been noted, the city manager stated that the 21-day public notice before a public hearing regarding the topper could begin.

Mayor Beverly Jones noted that, even though the initial street sign topper locations amounted to twenty, an updated map of the proposed locations for the toppers brought that number down to 10. The Mayor’s proposal is for the topper to read “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.” Several examples of street sign toppers from other areas of the country were presented. Councilmembers will be able to use these examples to select a topper style they feel is a good fit for the city.

Councilmember Teresa Crowe asked who would be installing the toppers. The Mayor stated that Public Works would be installing the toppers. Councilmember Chakira Johnson asked, “Who would make the decision on what the topper looks like?” Examples of toppers from around the country were included in the meeting packet. The Mayor stated that the council would be able to review the examples and select ones they found favorable, so the council could eventually agree on one design.

An assembly permit was submitted by Chris Cobbs of One Georgia, Inc.

The City Manager stated that the permit was coming before council because there is “some use of the municipal parking lot associated with this project.”

The permit lists an unspecified assemblage as taking place at 925 Main Street starting at 10:00 a.m. on October 22nd, 2022. No end time was noted on the application. Councilmember Johnson asked how the event would be being promoted. The City Manager noted that the Downtown Development Association would help with that. DDA president Kayla Johnson stated that she had the emails of local businesses and would notify them that the assemblage was taking place.

Councilmember Crowe asked how long the event would take place. The City Manager said, “probably until 3 p.m.” Councilmember Crowe asked what kind of event the assemblage was. “Can we tell people who would be speaking or anything like that?”

The City Manager said, “I don’t know that. We don’t manage the programs of anybody’s special events.” Mayor Jones confirmed that the assembly would be “a rally.”

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