October 6, 2026 City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting

At the October 6, 2026 City Council work session and regular meeting of the City of Sandy Springs, council reviewed several funding and purchasing matters. It approved, on a 4–2 vote, submitting a pre-application for up to $3 million from Georgia’s Outdoor Stewardship Program for Springway Trail segment 2C. The project is estimated at approximately $13.99 million; the city identified $6.995 million in available capital funds, with PATH Foundation pledging $1 million and the Sandy Springs Conservancy $30,000, leaving approximately $2.966 million to be addressed in future budgets. Council members supporting the application also called for continued attention to safety, privacy, parking, environmental impacts, and project cost. Separately, council considered a $700,000 budget amendment for the Mount Vernon Highway multi-use path and intersection project, raising the construction contract estimate to about $13.23 million, a 6.9% increase. Staff attributed much of the increase to quantity-estimation errors and unforeseen pavement and subgrade conditions; council members criticized the consultant’s estimates and asked staff to strengthen project-cost review. The transcript does not capture the final vote result on this amendment.

Council also approved participation in a joint FY2026 Byrne Justice Assistance Grant application, with Sandy Springs eligible for $14,268 and no required match; Atlanta will act as fiscal agent. A proposed FY2027 employee health-benefits arrangement with Sigma ASO, moving the city to a self-funded model with projected maximum costs of about $10.65 million, was deferred for two weeks while council sought further information on claims oversight, cost-management measures, stop-loss coverage, and vendor performance. In the work session, council received a visitor-economy report and a housing-needs assessment update; these included economic and planning discussion but no procurement action was identified.