COUNCIL MEETING

February 15, 2001

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Pro-tem Waller who lead in prayer.

The minutes of the February 1^st meeting were reviewed. Councilman Tyler made a motion to approve said minutes, Councilman Tuten seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Bid Opening:

The following bids were received on surplus vehicles/equipment:

Item : BOGUE Electric Mfg. Co., 10KW Generator, Serial #5700-1235
Bid #1 – John Bacich - $585

Councilman Johnson made a motion to accept this bid of $585 for the generator, the motion was seconded by Councilman Rawlins and passed with five affirmative votes.

Item: 1995 Ford Crown Victoria, VIN #2FALP71W7SX201845
Bid #1 – Garry Hardigree - $4550
Bid #2 – Wesley Spivey - $4266
Bid #3 – Joe Mulle - $4750

Councilwoman Key made a motion to accept the high bid of $4750 from Joe Mulle for the vehicle and to award the bid to Garry Hardigree for $4550 if Mr. Mulle fails to meet the City’s deadline or requirements of his bid. The motion was seconded by Councilman Johnson and passed with five affirmative votes.

Item: 1995 Ford Crown Victoria, VIN #2FALP71W9SX201846
No bids were received.

Item: 1987 Nissan Pathfinder, VIN #JN8HD16YXHW032834
No bids were received.

OLD BUSINESS:

Fire Chief Tyler reported the demolition of the structure at #9 Chestnut Street took place on Saturday, but it will take several weeks to complete the cleanup of the debris.

Attorney Gerard reported that preparation of the bid package for the paving projects was complete except for a decision on the length of time to allow the contractor for the construction. After discussing the matter, Councilman Johnson made a motion to allow 120 days for construction, Councilman Rawlins seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Council was advised that the City would continue to pursue the right of way easements needed for the extension of the water line east on Hwy 80.

Attorney Gerard reported that he had talked with Planning Commission member Wayne Tipton about the telecommunications/antenna ordinance, but Mr. Tipton’s opinion is that the City should not allow these towers to be constructed in or near residential areas. Council was advised the Planning Commission would be discussing the ordinance at their meeting on Tuesday night.

Mayor Pro-tem Waller recognized Ms. Frankie Sparrow who stated that she was in the process of obtaining the quit claim deeds to the property along the unopened portion of Cregor Street as directed by the City. She stated she had obtained the signatures of all of the property owners, except the Brannens who own property directly across the road. Ms. Sparrow stated that the Brannens had some questions about the development of the roadway and drainage so she had asked to be placed on tonight’s agenda so council could answer their questions. Adrian Brannen stated that her family did not want to sign over the 20’ needed for the widening of the road because they felt their property might be flooded with water from the road. Council advised Ms. Brannen that there did not seem to be a problem with the drainage in this area now and did not anticipate any if the road was developed according to the City’s specifications. Ms. Sparrow asked council what her options would be if she could not get their signatures. Attorney Gerard stated that one possible option would be to obtain easements, rather than quit claim deeds, and to develop the road as a private access roadway, however, with this option the City would not maintain the road or the ditches. Mayor Pro-tem Waller stated the Mayor has suggested the General Services Committee (Councilmembers Tyler, Rawlins and Waller) along with Fett Burke meet with Ms. Sparrow and the contractor to discuss exactly what would be need to be done to make the road improvements and if the Brannens attended the meeting, their questions may be answered at that time. Ms. Brannen stated that she did not think her family was interested in signing over the property for the road. Ms. Sparrow’s sister asked if they could not get the Brannens signatures, could they dedicate the entire 40’ right of way from their property. Council discussed the matter and agreed that until a meeting was held to look at the situation, they could not give her an answer on this suggestion. Ms. Sparrow stated they would make arrangements to meet with the committee and the matter was tabled until the meeting could be scheduled.

Council was advised the Mayor was in the process of obtaining prices for the removal of the structure/debris at #9 W. Hwy 80.

Mayor Pro-tem Waller stated that Mayor Strozier had asked that a committee be formed to work with him on a solution to the leak in the roof at City Hall and council give this committee the authority to proceed with whatever action was needed to correct the problem. Councilmembers Tuten and Johnson agreed to serve on this committee. Councilman Tuten made a motion to approve the committee and their authority to proceed with action necessary for repairs to the roof, Councilman Rawlins seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

NEW BUSINESS:

Council reviewed a request from L.B. Davis to operate a lawn care business from his residence located at #507 Oak Street. Mr. Davis owns the property and has advised the City that the only vehicle to be used in his business would be an S-10 Chevrolet truck with a 16’ trailer. Council was reminded that this would be considered a home occupation business and they had the option to waive the required public hearing. After a brief discussion, Councilman Tuten made a motion to waive the public hearing, Councilwoman Key seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes. Councilman Tuten made a motion to approve issuance of the home occupation license, Councilman Tyler seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Mayor Pro-tem Waller reported that Bill Grainger, who is dividing two five-acre tracts from his property on Bloomingdale Road, has submitted a minor subdivision plat to the City for our review. Both tracts meet the required 125’ road frontage. Although this minor subdivision is exempt from the subdivision process, Mr. Grainger wanted to make sure it met the City’s requirements so building permits could be issued. Council was advised the Mayor had reviewed the plat and stated it was in order. However, since the surveyor indicated a portion of the tracts were in the floodplain, the subdivision plat would need to show the exact location of the flood zones. Also, the Chatham County Health Department requires specific information on the plat concerning the septic system and the director will need to sign-off on the plat before it is recorded. Council agreed that once these requirements are met and a copy of the recorded plat is submitted to City Hall, applications for building permits could be processed.

Fire Chief Tyler requested council approve the advance of the April, 2001 payment to the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department due to some unexpected expenses. He explained that an influx of new firefighters required them to purchase some additional turnout gear and the funds would not be available until they received this final $7500 payment from the City. After a discussion of the request, Councilman Tuten made a motion to advance the April, 2001 payment to the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department, Councilman Johnson seconded the motion and it passed with four affirmative votes. Councilman Tyler abstained from voting.

Council discussed the disposal of the 1987 Nissan Pathfinder and the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria. Also, Chief Anderson reported he had a 1969 Ford Pickup truck that had just been condemned and could be sold. After discussing the surplus vehicles, Councilman Johnson made a motion to solicit bids on the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria with a minimum bid of $2500 and the 1987 Nissan Pathfinder with a minimum bid of $2000. Also, to declare the 1969 Ford Pickup Truck as a surplus vehicle and solicit bids on the truck with a minimum bid of $300. Councilman Rawlins seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Mayor Pro-tem announced the quarterly CMA meeting would be held on March 7^th at the Holiday Inn Express on Highway 21. Port Wentworth would be hosting the event with the social hour starting at 6:00pm. Those councilmembers planning to attend should notify the clerk as soon as possible.

Recreation Director Joe Young reported that Kim Pennington had submitted her resignation from the Bloomingdale Recreation Executive Board. Mr. Young presented a request to purchase a new copier from Automatic Business Resources for the recreation department at a cost of $4200 with a maintenance agreement at $304 per year for 16,000 copies. Councilwoman Key made a motion to approve the purchase of the copier and signing of the maintenance agreement, Councilman Tuten seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Council was advised that signups for baseball/softball season would be held at Taylor Park starting this Saturday and a Valentine Dance would be held at the Bloomingdale School gym on Saturday night from 7pm until 10pm.

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

Being no further business, Councilman Tuten made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Tyler seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

THOSE PRESENT:
Mayor Pro-tem Waller
Councilman Johnson
Councilwoman Key
Councilman Rawlins
Councilman Tuten
Councilman Tyler

Special Called Council Meeting February 16, 2001 4:00pm

Mayor Pro-tem Waller called the meeting to order and explained the purpose of this meeting was to reconsider the bidding of the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria and the 1969 Ford Pickup Truck.

The clerk explained that a bid had been submitted on the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria, VIN#2FALP71W9SX201846 by Joe Mulle, but was overlooked during the bid opening on February 15, 2001. Based on this information, Councilman Tuten made a motion to recend the motion from the February 15^th meeting to rebid this vehicle and lower the minimum bid. Councilman Tyler seconded the motion and it passed with four affirmative votes. Councilman Tuten made a motion to accept the bid of $4750 from Joe Mulle for the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria, VIN# 2FALLP71W9SX201846. Councilman Johnson seconded the motion and it was passed with four affirmative votes. Council was advised that Garry Hardigree had bid on the other Ford Crown Victoria that was awarded to Joe Mulle and stated that if either vehicle was not purchased he was interested in buying it. Councilman Tuten made a motion that in the event Joe Mulle fails to meet the City’s requirements or deadline for payment of his bid, the vehicle could be offered to Garry Hardigree for a purchase price of $4750. Councilman Tyler seconded the motion and it passed with four affirmative votes.

Council was advised that the confiscated 1969 Ford Pickup Truck that was declared surplus at the February 15^th meeting does not have to go through the bid process because the value of the vehicle was determined to be less than $500. The City’s ordinance does not require the bidding process for surplus items valued at less than $500. Councilman Tuten made a motion to accept offers on the 1969 Ford Pickup Truck through 5:00pm, March 1^st, but set the minimum selling price at $250. Councilman Johnson seconded this motion and it passed with four affirmative votes.

Councilman Tuten made a motion to adjourn the called meeting. Councilman Johnson seconded the motion and it passed with four affirmative votes.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00pm.

THOSE PRESENT:
Mayor Pro-tem Waller
Councilman Johnson
Councilman Rawlins
Councilman Tuten
Councilman Tyler