Call to order by GPNA president, Robert Selby, at 7:30pm. The meeting was held in-person on the 2nd floor of the Oakland Visitor Center at 374 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Attendees were also able to join online via Zoom.
The November GPNA meeting minutes were approved.
Special Guests from the Hulu Show, Chad Powers, were in attendance and gave a short presentation with information on an upcoming location shoot in Grant Park for season 2 of the series. The filming is on the 300 block of Ormond St SE and there will be a full road closure. Dates of the shoot are Jan 14 and 15, 2026 at night. Maps were shared to show attendees the impacted areas. On January 13 from 7:30am to 9:30am one or more members of the crew will be at Ollie’s Market and Deli and you can stop by to ask questions or raise concerns. As a show of good will and community partnership the production is donating $5,000 to GPNA.
Last month we had the official “First Read” of three proposed amendments to the GPNA bylaws. The bylaws were each presented again (related to Meeting Formats, Quorum, and the Conflict of Interest Policy) and then a vote was called. Each amendment was voted on separately. A 2/3 majority vote of members present is required to pass each amendment. Both virtual and in-person voting options were available. Votes will be tallied and shared at the end of the meeting.
Treasurer, Travis Peterman, could not be present so GPNA president Robert Selby provided the update on the end of month GPNA balance sheet and income statement. One thing that was noted is that the money for the Parkside School Bike initiative (~$17,000) was received. It is kept as a separate line item since it is not GPNA’s money. The organization is a conduit/holder to disburse funds to the group, as they need it.
Outgoing Vice President, Troy Bell, then provided a year-end update on GP Sunburst distribution. Current inventory (as of Dec 2025) was Full-size Sunbursts: 42 in stock and Mini Sunbursts: 58 in stock. Total Sunburst revenue in 2025 was $5,355. Inventory levels are healthy heading into 2026, and planning is underway to begin the next production cycle in early 2026. Troy will continue to distribute GP Sunbursts as a GPNA member and volunteer in 2026.
Safety updates were next from Safety Committee chair, Loyal Charles. The renewal of Ollie’s Market and Deli liquor license was discussed. There was a mix up with the city and it didn’t get to the NPU for the meeting last week. Rather than make the business wait until mid-January it was brought up for approval tonight so that it can go before the full NPU on Wednesday. The neighborhood vote on the application for Ollie’s to renew their liquor license was approved by membership. Loyal then went over approved applications for 2 events in Grant Park, Fostering Life Day on May 31, 2026, and Black Ass Cookout on June 6, 2026. Finally, there was much discussion about the large number (~140) of car break-ins the night of December 6 & 7. Lt Brown from Zone 6 was online and said they have videos and leads from some incidents, and they are following up and hope to make advancements in the incident shortly. He reminded all that Ring cameras should be set to the correct sensitivity level to get recordings. A member raised concern that if nothing was taken from a vehicle then it seemed that it was not included in the report or the count. Further they said that the incident(s) aren’t from small-time actors because of the organization and coordination and there is heightened concern with the neighborhood. Another member said it felt like the stats were being manipulated. Lt Brown said the number of vehicles gets logged under the same case number so that the individuals responsible are held accountable for everything under that case number. They do not consider what happened as separate incidents, so they are not recorded as separate incidents. A question from a member asked what is considered “suspicious” and what warrants a 911 call. The officer responded that pulling on door handles, anyone who you haven’t seen before who seems to be walking aimlessly or that makes you feel something is “off.” Another member expressed that just seeing someone you don’t know walking should not warrant a call and they don’t want Grant Park to become a “police state.” President Robert Selby reminded everyone that for $50 an hour there is a Grant Park Security Patrol, and it was possible to beef up security patrols during the holidays– a time when incidents like these car break-ins tend to rise. The Atlanta Preservation Center (APC) representative in attendance, David Yoakley Mitchell, said the APC would put $100 toward this. A motion for a vote by GPNA was then brought forward to donate $1000 for these off-duty police officers to patrol more through the holiday season. The motion was passed.
GPNA Homes and History chair, John Sitton, presented an update on the 316 St Paul Avenue – their Historic preservation application was voted on and approved in committee. The committee now came to the general body asking for us to also support this so they can move forward to receive a certificate of appropriateness. A motion passed without objection to support the Homes & History Committee’s recommendation to support the project. It will go to LUZ for rezoning application which is separate.
Sky Hassan, Land Use & Zoning (LUZ) chair, provided an update on 1030-1040 Grant St., the 300-unit apt building at The Beacon. The vote is deferring again at the request of the neighbors, and the developers have agreed to push until January. On January 22, 2025, it will go to Grant Park LUZ committee. On February 17, 2026, it will go to the Grant Park general body during the regular meeting.
Transportation chair, James Austin, could not attend the meeting so President Robert Selby, who attended the Transportation committee meeting the prior night, provided an update. Boulevard Complete Streets is currently underway. Street lighting was discussed and the categorizing of lighting concerns into (1) light broken (2) insufficient lighting (3) no lighting. There was then a request to discuss alleys, which were abandoned by the city in the 1970s, and are now the responsibility of the homeowner(s). Feedback was requested on those who used the alley to send GPNA information on how the alleys are kept up. Also, NPU-W is compiling a list of cut through streets and would like to know which streets in Grant Park should be on this list. This will help determine streets to monitor for speeding. A member then addressed the body about Georgia “Sunshine Laws” and said they felt GPNA had violated them in regard to Boulevard Complete Streets. President Robert Selby countered that the organization is not governed by this since it is not a government entity.
The Grant Park Gateway Task Force then provided an update. There is a new Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) in place and President Robert Selby and task force member, Mike Walbert, had a meeting with the new CPO to see how GPNA and the community can help the process. They were informed that for this next RFP a new “Pre-Solicitation” period will be in place, to gather leads early and get more bids in the pipeline. The CPO is trying to address and correct missteps of the past – for instance the “lease” will be provided upfront.
Catherine Manci from the Bylaws Special Committee provided an update. She reminded everyone that every 5 years GPNA takes an in-depth look at the bylaws. At the special committee’s November meeting they discussed the logistical challenge of the member/voter logs. Noting that the organization dated back to the 1970’s and over the years there had been paper records, excel spreadsheets and other methods used to record membership. This is a logistical issue, and it’s become nearly impossible to keep track of who has attended a meeting, and there’s no way to know if someone moves. So GPNA rosters are inaccurate. 2 options were presented regarding how to potentially update the membership rule/requirements. Option1 is a Yearly affirmation via an online form or membership portal.Option 2: Attend a general body meeting in the past 3 years.
Ceci Villanueva gave a presentation on the Grant Park Conservancy. Most notable is that the playground is now open and the main sponsor was Delta Air Lines. Also, the Erskine fountain has been restored.
Finally, President Robert Selby let members know that Grant Park is opening two new public restrooms in 2026, one on top of the Gateway and the other will be attached to the Rec Center. Also, note that when the pool is open, that restroom is considered a public restroom.
Votes were counted and shared. All 3 amendments from earlier in the meeting passed with the minimum 2/3 vote.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:54pm.
