COUNCIL MEETING

November 20, 2008

  

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Tipton and Councilman Ray led in prayer.  The Mayor presented the minutes of the November 6, 2008 meeting for consideration.  Councilman Ray made a motion to approve the November 6th minutes, Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.  Councilwoman Winn then made a motion to approve the agenda of the November 20, 2008 meeting, Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.  Mayor Tipton advised the citizens that Councilman Myrick was sick and could not attend tonight’s meeting.

 

Under administrative and committee reports, the following information was provided.  Councilman Strozier reported that the resurfacing of Douglas Court was finished and Mayor Tipton stated that the workers had done a good job.  Mayor Tipton asked Fire Chief Tyler about the results of the fund-raiser held at the fire department.  Chief Tyler stated that he did not know the amount of money raised at this time, but the funds were for the annual Christmas party held for the children.  Mayor Tipton reported the break room at the maintenance department had been completed and was being used by the employees.  The Mayor stated that construction of the canal was still underway and some work was being done on the wing walls.  Councilman Strozier asked if the City was supposed to be providing anything to the contractor regarding the replacement of the wing walls and was advised by Mayor Tipton, Pat Gaddy, and City Administrator Brady that there was nothing that was needed from the City.  Latrelle Kling questioned why the City was redesigning and rebuilding the canal.  Mayor Tipton advised her that the plans had not been changed, but the wing walls were not installed according to the plans, so new ones were being constructed.  The Mayor pointed out that the citizens he had talked with were pleased with the canal’s performance.  Ms. Kling commented that it could not be working because it was not yet completed, but she was advised that some citizens had already experienced relief during the recent heavy rainfalls.  Mayor Tipton stated that the plans for the fire department building were approved, but concerns had been raised about the engineering costs related to preparation of the bid package, so work was still being done to resolve this issue.  The Mayor reported that he and City Administrator Brady had enjoyed a fine lunch yesterday at the Senior Citizens Center in Pooler and stated the seniors who attend the activities offered by this program really appreciated Bloomingdale’s participation.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

 

Mayor Tipton recognized Tim Baumgartner with EMC Engineering Services, Inc. who submitted, for council’s consideration, the bids received on November 13, 2008 for the park improvements at Moore & Poplar Streets.  Mr. Baumgartner stated that OCS, Inc. submitted the lowest bid in the amount of $155,655.00 and EMC recommends awarding a contract to them for this project.  He pointed out that the firm had worked with this contractor on similar projects in the past.  Councilman Strozier commented that it was his understanding that the City would obtain price quotes on the use of concrete for the parking lot area, but the only price on the bid abstract was for asphalt.  Mr. Baumgartner stated that he could get a price from the low bidder and bring it back to council for consideration, but if it was too high, he could then go to the second lowest bidder.  After a brief discussion, it was agreed that this would be the best option since re-bidding the project for this one item would not be practical.  City Administrator Brady recommended council move forward with the project with the contract to be awarded to the lowest bidder with the change from asphalt to concrete on the parking lot.  Citizen Barbara Griffin asked how the project was being funded and was advised that $50,000 would come from grant funds and the balance from SPLOST funds on hand that were designated for recreation.  Councilwoman Winn made a motion to move forward with the park project at Moore & Poplar Streets with the understanding that the engineer would obtain prices from the two lowest bidders to use concrete rather than asphalt on the parking lot area and the contract would be awarded to the contractor providing the lowest bid after making this change.  Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

Mayor Tipton presented a request from the Westside Christian Church for a temporary permit to sell Christmas trees from their property located at #1108 East Highway 80.  The sale of the trees will be from November 23, 2008 through December 22, 2008.  Their hours of operation will be Monday thru Friday, 5:00pm until 8:00pm, Saturday, 11:00am thru 9:00pm and on Sundays 1:30pm thru 8:30pm.  Council was reminded that the church holds this sale every year as a fundraiser for their youth and, in the past; the City has waived the temporary permit fee of $50.00.  After a brief discussion, Councilman Strozier made a motion to issue the permit to the Westside Christian Church for the sale of the Christmas trees as requested and to waive the $50 fee.  Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

The Mayor recognized Alan Hamrick who stated that he was seeking a temporary permit to sell Christmas trees from property located at #506 W. Hwy 80.  Council was advised the sale would take place from November 22nd until December 22nd.  The hours of operation will be Sunday thru Thursday from 12 noon until 8:30pm and Friday & Saturday from 12 noon until 10pm.  Mr. Hamrick stated there would be lights along the driveway with an area to park at least ten (10) cars at a time and a tent would be placed on the property. He also noted that there would be two-way traffic along the driveway and a turn-around for vehicles near the house.  Councilman Rawlings advised him that the City would not be waiving the temporary permit fee of $50.00.   After a brief discussion, Councilman Ray made a motion to issue the temporary permit to Mr. Hamrick for the sale of the Christmas trees at a cost of $50 for up to 45 days.  Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

A request was submitted by Donna Howard for a temporary permit to sell Christmas trees from #1728 East Highway 80 on property owned by Ann Pickard.  Council was advised that Ms. Howard had obtained written permission from Ms. Pickard to use her property for the sale.  The sale will take place from November 27th thru December 24th with the hours of operation from 7:00am until 9:00pm.  Council reviewed a sketch provided by Ms. Howard showing the traffic flow and parking arrangements.  The Mayor asked if the driveway could accommodate two-way traffic and was advised that it was only wide enough for one vehicle, but an area would be provided off the driveway for customers to park their vehicles.  Councilman Ray made a motion to issue the temporary permit to Ms. Howard for the sale of the trees at a cost of $50 for up to 45 days.  Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

Mayor Tipton advised council the City had received a request from Jancie Key for a home occupation license to operate a lawn care business from #307 Miller Street.  Since Ms. Key was not present at the meeting, Councilman Ray made a motion to table this request until Ms. Key could attend the meeting.  Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

The Mayor recognized Emerson Gamble who presented a request from Fortune Plaza, Inc. for the issuance of an occupational license for the sale of produce from the building located at #1717 E. Highway 80.  Mr. Gamble explained that the property had been zoned C-1/PDOD in 2005 and Fortune Plaza, Inc. had purchased it in 2007.  However due to the slow down of the economy, his client wanted to try to get some income from the property by renting out the block building that already existed on the property.  Mr. Gamble explained that it would take approximately 18 months for the owners to make some changes to the development plan and, in the interim, they were hoping council would allow them to rent out the building.  Mayor Tipton reminded Mr. Gamble that the purpose of a Planned Development Overlay District was to provide better controls on the type development that took place on properties rezoned for commercial use.  The Mayor advised him that without an approved amendment to the site plan, the property could not be used for commercial purposes in a manner that differed from the existing plan.  After this information was shared with Mr. Gamble, Councilman Strozier made a motion to deny the request for the occupational license for a produce market at #1717 E. Hwy 80.  Councilman Ray seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

Council was advised that the Planning Commission submitted a recommendation for the approval of a minor subdivision for the Brantleys for their property located at #414 Hickory Street provided both lots met the required road frontage for a developable lot.  It was noted that the minor subdivision consisted of two lots, 85’ x 400’ and each contained .78 acres.  The 85’ width complies with the frontage requirements on the original lots of record for this portion of Bloomingdale, but the property is located at the end of Hickory Street and questions had been raised about the second lot having the required access to Hickory Street.  Mayor Tipton recognized Ms. Brantley who provided some aerial photographs showing the location of the driveway of their lot and the opened portion of Hickory Street abutting the property.  City Administrator Brady stated that he and Attorney Dickey had visited the site and it appeared that there was enough road frontage on Hickory Street for the development of Lot B.  After additional discussion, Councilwoman Winn made a motion to accept the recommendation from the Planning Commission to approve the minor subdivision since there was verification from staff that at least 25’ of Lot B abutted Hickory Street.  Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

Mayor Tipton stated that this concluded the items presented for consideration for inclusion on the council agenda prior to the deadline of Friday, November 14, 2008.

 

The accounts payable were reviewed.  Councilman Ray made a motion to pay the bills, Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

 

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilman Waller.  The motion was seconded by Councilman Ray and it passed with five affirmative votes.

                                                                                                    

Mayor Tipton and Councilmembers Rawlings, Ray, Strozier, Waller and Winn were present at the meeting.  Councilman Myrick was sick and not able to attend.

 

Note:  Section § 50-14-1 of the Official Code of the State of Georgia Annotated requires that the minutes shall, as a minimum, include a description of each motion or other proposal made, and a record of all votes.  These minutes meet the minimum requirements.  However, in an attempt to provide as much information as possible to the citizens, the recording clerk has included additional background data and discussion on the subjects presented to council.  The statements of individuals are not verbatim and may be summary in nature.