A College Park City Council meeting held in Savannah on Sunday to select a new destination marketing organization is drawing criticism from residents, the mayor, and the Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association over transparency and whether the city followed state law.
Residents said they believe the meeting was held 240 miles away from College Park to prevent the public from attending. Even the mayor could not attend.
Mayor Bianca Motley Broom said council may have violated the Open Meetings Act if the meeting agenda was not posted at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront Hotel where the special called meeting was held.
“It’s my understanding the agenda was not posted at the meeting location, which I believe is a violation of the Open Meetings Act,” Motley Broom said.
More than a dozen residents traveled to Savannah to attend the special called meeting where council voted to replace the ATL Airport District as the city’s destination marketing organization. City council agreed to hire Destination Must Visit Tourism Alliance Incorporated, a Maryland-based firm that was officially formed May 26, 2026.
Motley Broom and city council members were in Savannah attending the Georgia Municipal Association Annual Convention. While it was unusual to hold a College Park meeting hours away, council held the special called meeting during a time that Motley Broom, who is the outgoing president of the GMA, was presiding over a convention session and unable to attend.
Richard T Griffiths, a spokesman for the First Amendment Foundation, which advocates for open government, said that holding the meeting while attending the convention presents a “cloak” over the city’s business.
“…It shows a complete disrespect for the citizens of College Park to have a meeting in another city, four hours away… That just seems absurd,” said Griffiths. “The city council needs to respect the citizens of the community and do their work in a way that the public from that city can see what they are doing.”
The Vote
The vote carries significant financial implications because College Park receives millions of dollars from hotel-motel tax revenue. A destination marketing organization is what many people know as a convention and visitors bureau, and promotes a destination to travelers and meeting planners.
The Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association warned officials in a June 23 letter that replacing the city’s destination marketing organization without the consent of its current marketing partner and the state Hotel-Motel Tax Performance Review Board could violate state law. Motley Broom has published the letter on her website.
Earlier this month, the mayor explained on her website that College Park is a member of the ATL Airport District, along with Fairburn, South Fulton, Union City and Hapeville. “The District receives 1.5 percent of hotel-motel tax revenues directly under state law, uses those funds to recruit conventions, meetings, and large events to the [Georgia International Convention Center] and Gateway Arena, and markets the corridor as a unified destination,” Motley Broom wrote.
Why city council would want to replace the ATL Airport District, whose contract ends this week, is unclear. Council did not publicly explain their reasons before approving the new organization.
City council appeared poised to vote on a new marketing partner two weeks ago at a special called meeting that was to follow their regular meeting.
In that case, on June 15, residents might not have normally known about the special called meeting, as the time was nearly 11:30 p.m. and followed a closed executive session. Residents who suspected a vote would occur were in attendance, but no vote took place because no council member would answer when Motley Broom asked who called for that special meeting.
“Unfortunately, it’s par for the course with this council and this city manager,” said resident Elizabeth Lester of Sunday’s Savannah meeting. “They like to hide. They say they’re transparent, but they’re not. They’re non-responsive. They dismiss residents’ concerns and gaslight us incessantly.”
Transparency questions remain
College Park City Manager Michael Hicks did not return an email from SaportaReport requesting a phone conversation and a copy of the agenda packet for Sunday’s meeting. Council members received binders containing information about the firms seeking the new contract, but materials were not available to residents attending the meeting or posted online beforehand, or by early Monday afternoon.
Resident Julie McGouirk, who attended the Sunday meeting, described the atmosphere for residents as “contentious.”
Mayors and other officials from local cities attended the unusual College Park meeting, which also drew Savannah’s local media.
“It was totally worth it to go because it was so awesome to see how respected our mayor is in the state of Georgia. You had to be there to feel it,” McGouirk said.
She and Lester believe Destination Must Visit Tourism Alliance Incorporated plans to subcontract the work locally.
“There’s a bigger deal in play here,” McGouirk added.
