The Dunwoody City Council will move its regular meeting up to 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, so residents, and council members, can be in front of a TV at 8 p.m. to watch the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
City Council meetings traditionally begin at 6 p.m. Mayor Denis Shortal said at the Jan. 2 special called meeting for the swearing in of a new council member and two re-elected council members that the council’s regular Jan. 8 meeting time would probably be moved due to the game starting at 8 p.m.
The council also appears to have a fairly light agenda. There is one proclamation and 14 items listed under the consent agenda.
Councilmember Pam Tallmadge, a UGA alum, said she asked Mayor Denis Shortal and some other council members Jan. 2 if they would support having an earlier meeting. They did.
“It’s not just the national championship … it’s in Atlanta and it’s the Dawgs!” she said.
Tallmadge comes from a divided football family. Her oldest son graduated from the University of Alabama. And while she paid his out-of-state tuition, she said she has no loyalty to Alabama. A friendly bet on who will buy the first round of drinks when he visits from his home in Germany for a wedding in June is in play, however.
“I’ll watch the game from home. I’ll probably put some food in a crock pot before the meeting so we can have something yummy to eat during the game,” she said. “I’m a football nut.”
Her prediction? Georgia by a field goal in the fourth quarter.
“It’s going to be a nail-biter,” she said.
Even the Georgia General Assembly is retooling its schedule due to the game, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Members will convene on the morning of Monday, Jan. 8, but then take Tuesday off after what is expected to be a late night of football and revelry.
The DeKalb County School District also announced Jan. 4 that its Board of Education’s monthly business meeting will begin one hour early on Jan. 8 “in light of the National College Football Championship Game between the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama.”
The Board of Education will hold its community input session at 4:45 p.m. and its business meeting at 6 p.m.
The board’s executive session, work session and Committee of the Whole meetings will proceed at their normally scheduled times of 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
Individuals who have signed up to speak during the community input session will be notified of the time change.