After more than two years of residents filing complaints with the Attorney General’s Office alleging a lack of transparency and violations of the Open Meetings Act by College Park officials, recent city council actions are drawing increased scrutiny from state officials.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Kristen Settlemire sent a June 30 letter to city attorney Winston Denmark requesting an explanation for why council held a special called meeting in Savannah last Sunday, and whether a notice of the meeting was posted at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront Hotel where it was held. She requested a response within 10 days.
Settlemire also cited an unusual council meeting that was to be held June 15 at 11 p.m. following closed executive session but did not take place.
“It is unclear whether technical violations of the Act occurred in how the called meetings were noticed. At the very least, however, it does not appear that the city’s actions fostered public transparency,” Settlemire wrote.
She also wrote that holding Sunday’s meeting “four hours away from the city most certainly does not promote public participation in city government.”
Denmark did not respond to a SaportaReport request for comment.
The Attorney General’s Office provided the letter to SaportaReport.
Settlemire said the Attorney General’s Office received several complaints from residents about the College Park council meeting in Savannah. Fifteen residents traveled to the special called meeting where council voted to replace ATL Airport District as the city’s destination marketing organization.
Mayor Bianca Motley Broom did not attend the meeting and has said that she also believes city officials violated the Open Meetings Act.
Residents have told her that council did not acknowledge them during the meeting, Motley Broom added.
“If that is the case, I find it utterly disrespectful to the people we serve,” the mayor said. “Residents took time out of their weekend to engage in the civic process nearly 250 miles away from College Park. The least you can do is acknowledge their presence and look them in the eye.”
Since early 2024, the Attorney General’s Office has received dozens of citizen complaints about the current College Park council. Among the most notable was a complaint filed that year after the council added a controversial rezoning item to its meeting agenda at the last minute without public notice or discussion.
The rezoning for a battery energy storage facility had been denied by city council in 2023, but was approved after it was added to the 2024 meeting agenda.
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