The largest dollar item was the Boyd Dam. The board approved a $591,300 contract with the engineering firm CDM Smith for design and engineering work on the dam, which is tied to the city's water system. Commissioner Joseph Guiliano explained that this is only the beginning of the project, which signals a much larger and more expensive undertaking ahead. For residents, it's the first visible step in addressing a significant piece of the city's water infrastructure.

In another major decision, the board approved a new four-year collective bargaining agreement, running from 2026 through 2029, with the Rome Philip S. McDonald Police Benevolent Association. This is the union representing the city's police officers. Contracts like this set officers' pay, benefits, and working conditions for years at a time, making them among the most financially significant commitments a city makes. The specific terms were attached to the resolution rather than read aloud, and the agreement passed without discussion.

Much of the rest of the meeting was about summer. The board booked a lineup of youth programs run by local instructors for children of various ages at fields and gyms around the city. Each is a small contract, but together they represent the kind of spending that lands directly with Rome families when school lets out.

The city also kept investing in its tree canopy, approving $42,000 for a landscaping company to plant shade and ornamental trees along city streets. This is part of a broader effort that includes replacing trees lost in the tornado. And it approved $10,000 in traffic engineering work to add speed feedback signs on Potter Road and Williams Road, continuing the safety improvements underway on those two roads.

The remaining business was routine. The board approved outfitting four police cars at a cost of about $62,800, clearing another round of surplus equipment for online auction, greenlighting the city's annual federal Community Development Block Grant program, and a few housekeeping items.