COUNCIL MEETING
May 15, 2008
Mayor Tipton called the meeting to order and Councilman Myrick led in prayer. Councilwoman Winn made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 1, 2008 council meeting. Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes. The agenda for the May 15, 2008 meeting was reviewed by council with a motion from Councilman Myrick to approve said agenda, Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Councilman Rawlings informed council that during the Keep Bloomingdale Beautiful campaign citizens were urged to submit before and after photos of the work they were doing to beautify their property and one of the citizens who submitted photos was Butch Godbee. Councilman Rawlings thanked Mr. Godbee for his participation and presented him with a plaque commending him on his contribution to the beautification of Bloomingdale.
During administrative and committee reports, City Administrator Brady advised council that there would be a public hearing on May 27, 2008 and June 12, 2008 at 6:00pm at City Hall to discuss Impact Fees within the City.
Councilman Myrick made a motion to adjourn into executive session for the discussion of attorney/client, real estate & personnel issues. Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes. At the conclusion of the executive session, Councilman Myrick made a motion to return to the general session and approval to sign the affidavit as required by the Open Meeting Acts and make it part of the permanent record. Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
A motion was made by Councilman Myrick to accept the recommendation from City Administrator Brady to employ Mr. Ferman Tyler as Fire Chief effective January 1, 2009 with a salary package of $46,000 with benefits as outlined in the personnel policy for other city employees. Ronald Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
OLD BUSINESS:
Councilman Strozier advised council that there was some concern that the bid received from the low bidder, Jimmy Hires of Extreme Hauling was $200,000 lower for the construction of Phase I of the Drainage Improvement Project than the other bids. Councilman Strozier advised that a meeting with Mr. Hires and Thomas & Hutton Engineering had addressed these concerns. Councilman Strozier recognized Doyle Kelley with Thomas & Hutton who informed council that the references from other cities and schools this company had worked with were all in high standing. He also advised council that this company produces cement rip rap and has a stock pile on hand. The rip rap they intend to use must meet the specifications and if it does not then they would have to use granite. Councilman Strozier made a motion to award the contract for the drainage project to the low bidder – Jimmy Hires/Extreme Hauling at a bid of $554,496. Citizen Barbara Griffin asked would this bid still be good while the city acquires the land. The Mayor advised that these are good for ninety days. Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with affirmative votes from Councilmembers Myrick, Strozier, Waller and Winn. Councilman Rawlings abstained.
Mayor Tipton stated that Councilman Strozier and City Administrator Brady had been meeting to obtain costs estimates to repair the lift station at the Bloomingdale Elementary School. Councilman Strozier informed council that based on the recommendation of Thomas & Hutton Engineering they had met with people that do this type of work to get cost estimates for the repair of the lift station and had received estimates to replace the liner of the existing wet well with a fiberglass liner and use the existing pump. Councilman Strozier made a motion to allow City Administrator Brady the authority to award the bid upon obtaining another cost estimate for the repair of the wet well to the lift station with a cap of $20,000. Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
NEW BUSINESS:
The Mayor recognized Citizen Barbara Rawlings who informed the City Council the History Society of Bloomingdale would like to plant a tree at Taylor Park in memory of Ann Williams. Councilman Myrick made a motion to allow the History Society to plant the tree at Taylor Park with the understanding they will water and care for the tree during the root establishing process. Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Mayor Tipton requested that Ms. Rawlings inform council when this will take place and they will plan to attend.
Mayor Tipton presented a request from Main Street Cove, LLC for a recombination of parcel #’s 8-0010E-01-004A and 8-00l0E-01-004B located at #2 West and #4 West Hwy 80 into one parcel. The Mayor recognized Mr. Juan Arias who represented Main Street Cove, LLC as a co-owner. Mr. Arias advised council that he plans to demolish the old block house, renovate and reopen the Bar-B-Q restaurant. Councilman Myrick made a motion to approve the recombination of the two parcels. Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Planning Commission Chairman Shearouse presented a recommendation to council for the approval of a two (2) lot minor subdivision submitted by Renee Smart for property located off Wallace Circle with the understanding that Chatham County Health Department must sign off on plat. Council was advised that the plat had been signed by the Health Department. Councilwoman Winn made a motion to approve the minor subdivision. Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Lou Diaz, General Manager for Republic Waste Services presented a request to council that the garbage pickup service currently being provided on Thursday be changed to include Thursday and Friday pickups. Mr. Diaz advised council that Republic would be responsible for notifying the citizens with advertisements in the newspaper and they will hand deliver door hangers with the information. Questions were raised concerning contact information for the Friday customers if the garbage was missed on that day. Mr. Diaz advised council that they work on Saturdays and an after hours contact number would be included in the information distributed to the citizens. Councilwoman Winn made a motion to accept this change with the understanding that Republic would be responsible for getting the information out to the citizens. Councilman Myrick seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
The Mayor recognized Mr. D. K. Morgan who presented a request to council for a 2’ variance on the front setback for a sign placed on his property located at #1718 E. Highway 80 to advertise a barber shop. Mr. Morgan was reminded that during a previous meeting council had advised him that no sign should be place on the property until a permit was issued. The sign has been placed on the South side of the existing flag pole. Council discussed other areas that the sign could be placed which would be clear of the front setback requirement and it was suggested that the sign be placed on the North side of the existing flag pole which would meet the ordinance requirement and would not need a variance. Councilwoman Winn made a motion to deny the 2’ variance with Mr. Morgan moving the sign and the permit to be issued as long as it met the sign ordinance requirements. Councilman Myrick seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Mayor Tipton presented a request from Ernest Grizzard, Public Works Superintendent for council approval to allow Quality Irri-Scape to install a 180’ drainage culvert in front of their property located at #5 Adams Road as allowed by City policy with the city inspecting the work. Mr. Grizzard informed council that this company does this type work but the city would check the grade. He noted that the city requires one cleanout be installed for this length of culverts but Quality will install three cleanouts. Councilman Myrick made motion to allow Quality Irri-Scape to install the culvert with the city inspecting the work. Councilman Strozier seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
City Administrator Brady presented council with a recommendation for an amendment to the “Fee Schedule Policy” to add water tap fees for pipe sizes not listed on the current “Fee Schedule Policy”. The recommendation is as follows:
1” $ 1,200
1½” $ 1,500
2” $ 2,000
3” $ 4,000
4” $ 6,000
6” $ 8,000
8” $10,000
Councilman Strozier made a motion to adopt these fees and amend the “Fee Schedule Policy” as listed above. Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Chief Gossett presented a request for council to approve the purchase of three (3) vehicles for the Bloomingdale Police Department. Several questions were raised and council was advised that the department had purchased three vehicles last year, would purchase three this year and in 2010 would purchase two. City Administrator Brady questioned if the vehicles would arrive prior to July 2008. Being advised that they should arrive prior to July, Mr. Brady advised council that an amendment to the budget would be necessary. Councilman Myrick made a motion to purchase the three vehicles and the amendment of the budget for $91,000 for this purchase. Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Mayor Tipton presented a resolution for the purchase of Fire Equipment for the City of Bloomingdale’s Fire Department from funds available in the SPLOST 2003-2008 collections. After the Mayor read the resolution Councilman Myrick made a motion to adopt the resolution. Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes. A copy of the signed resolution is attached to the original minutes.
The accounts payable were reviewed with Councilman Waller making a motion to pay the bills. Councilman Rawlings seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Being no further business, Councilman Waller made a motion to adjourn at 8:15pm, Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.
Mayor Tipton and Councilmembers Myrick, Rawlings, Strozier, Waller and Winn were present. Councilman Ray was out of town.
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.