College Park City Council — September 8, 2026 | Council Watch

College Park City Council · September 8, 2026

26 findings

Financial Scandal · 3:44:49

McKenzie Names 9 Residents as Security Threats for Criticizing Her

“Many of these individuals have consistently and publicly been critical of my leadership.”
— Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie, describing why she requested taxpayer-funded personal security — in a letter that named nine College Park residents

McKenzie spent 30 minutes justifying a security policy that officially lists nine College Park residents — including a lawyer — as threats because they 'publicly criticized her leadership.'

Meeting Briefing

The September 8th College Park City Council meeting was equal parts theater and financial free-for-all. Council quietly buried a $2.1 million appropriation for the botanical garden's conservatory renovation inside the consent agenda — no discussion, no questions, no debate — pushing Councilman Gay's two-decade pet project ever deeper into public funds. Then came the main event: a 90-minute war over a new destination marketing organization contract that exposed fundamental questions about who controls College Park's tourism dollars, ending in a 3-1 vote with Councilwoman Arnold dissenting over an ordinance she says she was never consulted on. In between, council unanimously approved an elected official security policy with no dollar cap, no budget line, and no accountability mechanism, after Councilwoman McKenzie delivered a 30-minute stream-of-consciousness speech naming nine residents — including a practicing attorney — as security threats for criticizing her leadership. Residents who came to speak about a 261-unit housing development, the comprehensive plan, and the social media civil war tearing the city apart were given three minutes each while council spent unlimited time on its own grievances.

All Findings

Financial Scandal

$2.1M Botanical Garden Buried in Consent Agenda

Council slipped $2.1 million for Gay's 20-year pet project into the consent agenda — zero discussion, zero debate, zero questions.

3:24:47

Financial Scandal

$175K Festival Funding Also Buried in Consent Agenda

Gay's $175K citywide festival — $50K for Ward 4, $100K for 'citywide events' — slipped through consent with no discussion on how it's spent or who controls it.

3:24:15

Financial Scandal

Security Policy Has No Budget, No Cap, No Accountability

“For those who might be upset about the $39,000 because it's not budgeted, think about how you've participated in some of this behavior.”

Councilwoman Arnold proposed capping security at $65/hour, 10 hours/month — that's $39,000/year for all five officials. Council passed the policy without including any of those limits in the actual resolution.

4:08:55

Power Plays & Dysfunction

Resident Attorney Weaponizes Comprehensive Plan Hearing to Expose Security Policy

“Not as a resident who came to Ward 1 town hall on the 25th. Not as someone who gave input on the plan you're hearing tonight. But I'm on there as a security concern.”

Attorney James Walker — one of nine residents named in McKenzie's security letter — appeared during the comprehensive plan public hearing and cited specific page numbers to expose how the security policy violates the city's own plan.

2:56:57

Financial Scandal

McKenzie Accuses Mayor of 'Drinking at the Bar With Men All Over Her' at City Retreat

“Our mayor is sitting up there drinking at the bar with men all over her. I was appalled as a married woman to see another married woman. You're not sitting with the married...”

McKenzie used the security policy discussion to attack the mayor's personal conduct at a city-funded retreat — claiming someone sent her a photo of the mayor 'drinking at the bar with men all over her.'

4:02:12

Power Plays & Dysfunction

Mayor Fires Back: Accuses McKenzie of Illegal Subcontracting of Legislative Aide Position

“A person was given an email address, a badge, and the ability to park in the governing body's parking spaces unlawfully. That contract would have had to come back.”

McKenzie used the vote to approve her own legislative aide contract to accuse the mayor of running an illegal subcontract arrangement — and then the mayor responded in her council report with a direct rebuttal.

3:25:48

Financial Scandal

90-Minute DMO Contract Fight Ends With Arnold Voting No — Over Ordinance She Wasn't Consulted On

“There's no way I'm going to hand over the decision making process and in terms of who controls the purse strings without the city being involved in it.”

Council spent 90 minutes arguing over board composition of a tourism contract — then voted 3-1, with Arnold opposing because of an ordinance she says she was excluded from from the beginning.

4:14:27

Power Plays & Dysfunction

DMO Has 'Perpetuity' Clause Nobody Caught Until Tonight

“In perpetuity is a long time.”

Buried in the 96-page DMO contract was a clause binding the city to disburse tourism funds 'in perpetuity' — and nobody caught it until Councilwoman Arnold raised it tonight.

4:43:32

Financial Scandal

City Hall HVAC: $151K Unbudgeted Purchase Plus $446K 'Predates Me' Payment — Both Passed in 4 Minutes

“Yes sir, this one predates me to work the other day, I don't think it's time to pay them for the work that our previous people had already approved.”

Council approved $598K in City Hall HVAC spending in under 4 minutes — $151K unbudgeted and $446K for work a previous administration ordered. Nobody asked for documentation.

3:38:30

Power Plays & Dysfunction

$159K Street Resurfacing and $110K Stormwater Pipe: Buried in Consent, Approved Without Review

“Additionally, Superintendent Raymond Cotton recognized that he saw a lady pushing a baby. So he decided why the contractor was there to go ahead and add 75 feet of sidewalk...”

Two infrastructure contracts totaling $269K were approved in back-to-back votes with minimal discussion — one council member asked about a stormwater pipe they apparently didn't know existed.

3:32:51

Power Plays & Dysfunction

$959K Electrical Materials Approved — Prices Nearly Doubled Due to Tariffs

“How many decorative for the city do you have? Well, I mean, we're ordering 120 different decorative lights here. And that's on this order? Yeah.”

Council approved nearly $1 million in electrical supply materials including 120 decorative street lights — after learning conductor prices have 'almost doubled' due to tariffs.

4:57:53

Financial Scandal

City Attorney Silences Mayor Before She Can Speak on Legislative Items

“I will interrupt and make that admonish because of what occurred at the last meeting, which I thought we all would like to avoid at this meeting.”

City Attorney Denmark publicly admonished Mayor Motley Broom before any item was even called, warning she cannot speak during legislative deliberations — citing 'what occurred at the last meeting.'

1:41:42

Power Plays & Dysfunction

261-Unit Housing Development Approved Despite Stormwater Warnings and Affordability Math That Doesn't Add Up

“Medium income in College Park, according to the internet, is about $61,000. Awful low. That's $4,250 a month. Rule of thumb is you spend about a third of your income on your...”

Council approved a height variance for a 261-unit development on a city baseball field — after residents raised unanswered questions about shadow studies, stormwater capacity, and whether 'affordable' means what they're claiming.

1:43:49

Financial Scandal

Resident: City Used His Wife's Image in AI-Generated Fake Photo for Political Attack

“It was last week when a text message was shared that we found out the source of a lot of this information was none other than Councilwoman Jamelle McKenzie, who I voted for. In...”

Mose James IV told council someone created an AI image of Mayor Motley Broom kissing another man and posted it publicly — then revealed the source was Councilwoman McKenzie herself, citing text messages.

1:17:03

Power Plays & Dysfunction

35-Year Resident: 'Speak Up College Park' Group Targeting McKenzie Created Two Weeks Before She Was Even Sworn In

“The group Speak Up College Park was formed on October 19, 2023, because I came down here in a council meeting, and I was speaking in public comment and I was talking about...”

McKenzie disclosed that the anti-McKenzie Facebook group was created October 19, 2023 — before she was sworn in — and that the night she won her election, someone immediately tried to challenge the results.

3:50:51

Power Plays & Dysfunction

Comprehensive Plan: Only 2 of 31 Transportation Projects Completed in Five Years

“Out of about 31 projects, there was only two from the original list from last time that was completed. So we do have work that can be done there.”

College Park's comprehensive plan consultant revealed the city completed just 2 of 31 previously planned transportation projects. Two. Out of thirty-one.

2:39:32

Power Plays & Dysfunction

Comprehensive Plan Consultant Admits to Accuracy Problems in Housing Data

“We did go back and look at that and we looked at the area and it was the exact same area. It did once again show that there was a loss of units, but again, we're not able to...”

The consultant admitted housing unit loss data in the comprehensive plan 'could have a margin of error' and offered to just delete the problematic paragraph if council is uncomfortable with it.

2:44:53

Power Plays & Dysfunction

City Has 5,685 Emergency Alert Registrants — Only 169 Confirmed Receipt After Weekend Storm

“We had 5,685 people registered, 169 of them only confirmed, 113 was unreachable, and 5,423 did not respond. They got it, but they didn't respond back.”

After a major weekend storm, the city's emergency alert system showed 5,685 registered — but only 169 confirmed receipt. Over 5,400 people either didn't get the message or ignored it.

5:03:53

Power Plays & Dysfunction

City Manager: All 14 Departments Now Have Permanent Department Heads — No More Interims

“We are fully staffed now. All 14 departments have department heads. We have no more interim.”

After months of interim directors and mass departures, City Manager Hicks announced all 14 departments now have permanent department heads — including Communications Director Gerald Walker.

5:07:51

Power Plays & Dysfunction

Resident: Old National Highway Median Causing Traffic Deaths and Killing Businesses

“That intersection has doubled the absences and an additional fatality as well. Year for year compared to last year before that median was put in the middle of Old National....”

Councilman Gay says a GDOT median installed on Old National and Sullivan without council approval has doubled accidents, added a fatality, and cost nearby businesses 30% of their revenue.

5:35:08

Public Comment

Resident Calls Security Policy 'Paranoia' and Says No Amount of Guards Can Fix It

A resident who said she had 'no intention of speaking tonight' came to the mic to tell council that security won't fix what's really wrong — and that 'what you put into the universe boomerangs back.'

1:39:29

Public Comment

Resident With 14 Kids: 'College Park Has No Housing. I'm Living in a Hotel.'

A 35-year College Park mother of 14 told council she was displaced from Embarcadero apartments and is now living in a hotel — and demanded council stop fighting about gift cards and do something real.

1:53:57

Public Comment

Resident Who Signed Up for Security Told McKenzie: 'I Would Never Bring Mr. Gay's Personal Interest to Social Media'

A resident who identified herself as supporting McKenzie still told the council the social media war 'needs to stop' — and said it's 'floating in the school system, at restaurants, at bars' and embarrassing the city.

1:00:57

Public Comment

Developer Planning to Close on Ramada Inn Purchase on Old National Highway

A developer announced they've partnered to purchase the Ramada Inn on Old National — pledging anti-trafficking measures and community investment — and warned College Park about a new Georgia law exposing cities to lawsuits over homeless encampments.

1:32:32

Public Comment

Invocation Minister Prays for Council to Stop Letting 'Bad Angels' Control the Meeting

The opening invocation was itself a commentary on Council dysfunction — the chaplain prayed specifically for council members to resist 'bad spirits' and find 'an alternative to be a different council.'

0:07:40