Candler Park

Neighborhood Organization

Monthly Minutes – October 2026

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CPNO Monthly Meeting Minutes — October 19, 2026

Meeting: October 2026 Monthly Meeting Date: Monday, October 19, 2026 Format: Hybrid (in person and Zoom) Presiding: Chris Spruell, President

Call to Order

  • Chris Spruell called the meeting to order. The room audio was muted for the opening minutes, so the welcome, the standing meeting reminders, and the adoption of the agenda and minutes were not captured on the recording.

Guest Speakers

District 5 Council Update — Jacob Pierce, District Director (Council Member Liliana Bakhtiari)

  • Jacob thanked the Fall Fest team and volunteers for the festival despite the weather.
  • The council expanded parental leave for city employees and police.
  • Council Member Bakhtiari introduced legislation on the city’s use of AI and algorithms in decision-making.
  • The council passed a change to the Department of Watershed Management’s water meter process to reduce costs for residents.
  • The Department of Transportation is gathering resident feedback on the city’s transportation priorities for the next 15 years through community sessions, including one in District 5.

APD Zone 6 — Sergeant Copeland

  • No crimes have been reported recently in the Candler Park area.
  • Zone-wide, crimes against persons fell from five to three week over week, and property crimes from 39 to nine.
  • Residents were urged to keep cars clear of valuables, bring packages in promptly or have a neighbor collect them through the holidays, and put shopping bags in the trunk or bring them inside right away.
  • A member reported that several neighbors’ cars, including her tenants’, have been broken into more than once over the past few months. Sergeant Copeland’s figures covered only the last two weeks.
  • Matt Johnson, Safety Officer, asked for an update on the overnight of September 29–30, when, per Lt. Brown, about 40 cars were broken into across three to five streets. Sergeant Copeland said roughly 30 cars were hit. Ring footage identified the vehicles involved, some of them stolen and since recovered, and search warrants were executed on them. There is no suspect yet; fingerprints have gone to the GBI, and APD is running details with its criminal and auto theft investigators.

Trees Atlanta — Jacob McDonald

Jacob McDonald, who manages Trees Atlanta’s community forestry program, presented the 2026–27 planting season, which runs from October through March.

  • Trees Atlanta planted 114 trees in Candler Park last season with Mary Lin Elementary, the Candler Park Conservancy, and the Freedom Park Conservancy, including a student education and planting event at Mary Lin and two right-of-way trees on Sterling Street.
  • The program plants more than 5,000 trees across metro Atlanta each season in parks, schools, and public rights-of-way under its City of Atlanta contract. Volunteer plantings are on Saturdays, and each tree gets two years of mulching, pruning, and watering and ten years of structural pruning. Trees under power lines are kept to species that top out around 20–25 feet.
  • This season’s street tree plantings will cover McLendon Avenue, Candler Street, Euclid Avenue, and the surrounding area, and around Goldsboro Park. The full plan is 190 trees; after opt-outs, about 120–130 are expected.
  • Homes slated for a right-of-way tree will receive a flyer a month and again two weeks before planting. Residents may opt out; no response is treated as a yes, and a tree planted in error will be removed.
  • Saturday, November 21: planting to finish last season’s Candler Park Conservancy project. The Goldsboro Park date awaits city approval.
  • Growing with Pride, March 20, 2027, in Candler Park: Trees Atlanta’s annual planting with the Atlanta Pride Committee and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs. Volunteers will meet at Space Queen, a queer-owned consignment shop, plant street trees along McLendon, and close with a queer artist market, DJs, and food. Seven other cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Austin, will host plantings the same day, and the Mayor’s office will dedicate trees honoring figures from Atlanta’s queer history.
  • Trees Atlanta also offers free front-yard trees and pruning of street trees. The slides are available from president@candlerpark.org. No questions from membership.

Announcements

Statement from the President — Fall Fest Rumor and Member Conduct

Chris Spruell read a prepared statement. In summary:

  • The second day of Fall Fest was cancelled because of the weather, not because of Mark Clement’s behavior, as a rumor had it.
  • Fall Fest volunteers and event staff reported that Mark Clement’s conduct during setup and on the Saturday of the festival disrupted their work and twice led to police involvement.
  • Over the year, his emails, including threats of legal action, have taken significant board and committee time; the board retained legal counsel to ensure its responses met CPNO’s obligations.
  • The President and the Membership officer have each spoken with Mark about his conduct.
  • The board is exploring a membership code of conduct and welcomes input at president@candlerpark.org.

The full text of the President’s statement:

Several members reached out to me about a rumor that’s going around, saying they’d heard the second day of FF was cancelled because of Mark Clement’s behavior. That’s not true; it was weather.

That being said, FF committee volunteers and event staff informed me that Mark’s behavior was out of line, and we need to address these concerns. During setup, he was asked numerous times by the Fall Fest volunteers and event staff to stay out of the way so that they could do their jobs, to the point the police had to intervene to keep him from interfering. Mark started heated shouting matches with committee members. The Saturday of the festival Mark called City of Atlanta officials, culminating in the police showing up again to ask the volunteers to remove items from the pool house despite the Candler Park Conservancy having permission to use it for events. All of this took up event staff and volunteer time and resources.

For the entire year, Mark has wasted Board and FF committee time with numerous emails, including threats of legal action. The Board retained legal counsel to help ensure that our responses met the organization’s obligations. Dealing with these matters has required significant increases in Board volunteer time, including meetings with attorneys and accountants. That reduces the time available for other CPNO responsibilities.

I’ve spoken with 6 former CPNO Presidents and 3 former Fall Fest Chairs, and they’ve expressed similar frustrations and concerns about Mark’s behavior over time. I sat down 1:1 with Mark in January to address his unhelpful behavior. Our membership chair recently talked with him as well.

Mark, like every member, should be able to ask questions, request information, raise concerns, and disagree with leadership. At the same time, volunteers and event staff should be able to carry out their responsibilities without repeated disruptions or interactions they consider inappropriate or intimidating.

The Board is exploring a Membership Code of Conduct (Edgewood has one, for instance) with clear expectations for member behavior beyond the Bylaws governing CPNO meetings. We welcome your input on that. Our purpose in sharing these concerns is to keep the membership informed about issues affecting CPNO’s work and volunteer participation. We want to address those concerns fairly while maintaining a welcoming organization where members can participate, disagree respectfully, and work together for the neighborhood.

Anyway, just to reiterate, Mark’s behavior wasn’t why the second day of Fall Fest was cancelled, so let’s put that to bed. It was the weather.

  • No questions or comments from membership.

Candler Park Auditorium Construction

  • Per Van Jensen, construction on the auditorium may begin as early as this week.

In Memoriam — Stephanie Gay Miller

  • Stephanie Gay Miller, a Candler Park resident of 47 years who once opened her home for the Candler Park Tour of Homes, has passed away. A memorial will be held Sunday, November 15, 2:00–4:00 PM; details are in the meeting recording.

Fall Fest Recap

  • Mike Connolly, Fall Fest Co-Chair, could not attend and will give the Fall Fest recap at the November annual meeting.

Nominating Committee — Emily Taff

Chris thanked the committee: Emily Taff (chair), Alison Laing, Beth Keener Dent, Julie Franklin, and Lauren Welsh.

  • The committee sought candidates for the three officers leaving at year-end. Its nominees are Stephanie Case (Membership), Marisa Jenson (Fundraising), and Emily Grim-Throop (Communications). The rest of the 2027 slate are current officers continuing in their roles: Chris Spruell (President), Michelle Moulton (Treasurer), Allen Broyles (Secretary), Alexis von Dickmann (Zoning), Matt Johnson (Safety), and Teo Belli (External Affairs).
  • Under this year’s bylaws change, nominations were taken from the floor; none were made.
  • The nominees will speak at the November meeting, and introductions may run in the Messenger beforehand.

Safety Officer — Candler Park–Lake Claire Patrol

  • A member from Candler Street asked what became of the neighborhood patrol. Matt Johnson, who also serves as the patrol’s operations manager, said it still operates, with off-duty APD officers now driving APD patrol cars.
  • The patrol has about 225 paying members, down from upwards of 400 when it could field four or five officers. The Inman Park and Druid Hills patrols are more effective because of greater participation, and more members would allow more officers and overnight hours.
  • David (Page Avenue) asked how the patrol is funded. Annual memberships are $100 for seniors ($10/month), $250 regular ($25/month), and $175 for townhouses and condos not joining as a community ($17.50/month). Members can request vacation checks of their homes. One-time donations are accepted on the patrol’s website but are not tax-deductible, as the patrol is a 501(c)(4).
  • To reach the patrol, residents should call 911. Dispatch knows when a patrol officer is on duty in the neighborhood and will send that officer along with Zone 6 units.
  • Matt asked members to encourage neighbors to join.

November Annual Meeting

  • November’s meeting is the annual meeting, with the election of the next board slate and the yearly financial update. The Fall Fest financials will follow in December.
  • The board hopes for strong in-person attendance and is considering a potluck; details to follow.

Items for Vote

  • No items for vote this month.

Treasurer’s Report

  • The report shown was the wrong version, and some items, including Fall Ball and Tour of Homes expenses, are misclassified.
  • Fall Ball expenses have come in and are being invoiced and paid.
  • Michelle Moulton, Treasurer, was present for questions; there were none. Treasurer reports are posted at https://candlerpark.org/category/treasurer/.

Adjournment

  • With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Minutes prepared by Allen Broyles, Secretary — secretary@candlerpark.org

Committee Notes