Sandy Springs City Council votes Tuesday, Oct. 6, on a $712,922 budget increase for the Mt. Vernon Highway project. The agenda also includes a $3 million trail grant application and a police technology grant.
The three items top a packed agenda at the 6 p.m. meeting in the studio theater at City Hall, 1 Galambos Way.
Mt. Vernon Highway overrun
The budget amendment would bring the Mt. Vernon Highway Multi-Use Path construction contract to $13.2 million, according to Appen Media. The city approved the original $12.3 million contract with Excellere Construction in February 2024.
The nearly 7% increase stems from additional paving and asphalt needed to finish the work, plus extra gravity walls and stone facing after the project engineer underestimated quantities. The council has already approved six change orders totaling $129,228 since construction began.
A seventh change order on the agenda would extend the contract's performance period. The project reached substantial completion Sept. 18, more than 100 days past the original deadline, after the city expanded the project's scope.
The Mt. Vernon Highway corridor runs from the Sandy Springs Library to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station. It adds a multi-use path on the south side and 6-foot sidewalks on the north side. Funding comes from the transportation special purpose local option sales tax (T-SPLOST) that voters approved in 2016 and the Perimeter Community Improvement District.
Chattahoochee trail grant
The council will also consider approving a preapplication for the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP), a state grant administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Sandy Springs is requesting $3 million toward a 1.6-mile trail segment along the Chattahoochee River, connecting Morgan Falls Overlook Park to an existing sidepath at Grogans Ferry Road.
The segment, known as Springway Trail Segment 2C, carries an estimated total cost of $13.9 million. The city has $6.9 million in capital project funds available and estimates future budgets will need an additional $2.9 million to fully fund it.
If the grant is awarded, the city would also accept a $1 million contribution from the PATH Foundation and a $30,000 donation from the Sandy Springs Conservancy. The Conservancy reported in its August 2026 newsletter that the trail design was 60% complete.
An earlier state grant application for the same project was rescinded in early 2025 amid federal budget cuts, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. Grogan's Bluff Homeowners Association leaders have expressed concerns about the trail's terminus near their 126-acre neighborhood.
When completed, the segment would expand the Morgan Falls loop from 1.8 miles to about 3.4 miles, moving closer to a long-term vision of a 5.6-mile trail loop around the park.
District 6 Council Member Andrew Chinsky has voiced support for multimodal projects. "We have to provide people other ways to get around and also help people stop driving through Sandy Springs," Chinsky said in June during a Transportation Master Plan discussion, as reported by Appen Media.
Police blockchain grant
The Sandy Springs Police Department is seeking permission to apply for a Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant alongside Fulton County and eight other cities, including Roswell, Alpharetta and Atlanta. The grant requires no local match.
Sandy Springs would receive $14,260 toward a one-year license for blockchain analysis and investigative tracing software for its Criminal Investigations Division. The total license cost is estimated at $15,000; the department's budget would cover the remaining balance.
The meeting will be streamed live at sandyspringsga.gov/stream.
