COUNCIL MEETING

November 6, 2008

 

 

Mayor Tipton called the meeting to order and Councilman Waller led in prayer.  The Mayor presented the minutes of the October 16, 2008 meeting for approval.  Councilman Ray made a motion to approve said minutes, Councilman Waller seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.  Councilwoman Winn made a motion to approve the agenda of the November 6, 2008 meeting.  Councilman Myrick seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.

 

The following information was provided during administrative and committee reports:  Councilman Myrick reported that the Homecoming Parade held on October 25th was a great success and commented that there are lots of kids involved in our recreation programs this year.  Mayor Tipton stated many citizens participated in the parade with the children and he wanted to thank them for their support.  Councilwoman Winn noted that for the last couple of years some of the elected officials, staff and citizens had hosted a meal on Thanksgiving Day for those people who may not have family nearby or anyone else who wanted to participate.  She stated that the event would not be held this year due to the potential complaints or problems that may occur with the use of City facilities.   Mayor Tipton noted that during the heavy rains in the last couple of weeks, the drainage canal was tested, but was working quite well.  The Mayor stated that some adjustments were being made to the wing walls, which should be completed in the next couple of weeks.  City Administrator Brady stated that the park bids would be available on Thursday and Mayor Tipton noted that the engineers were preparing a bid package for the new fire department building.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

 

Mayor Tipton requested a motion to remove the proposed tree ordinance from the table for further discussion.  Councilwoman Winn made said motion, Councilman Ray seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.  The Mayor reported that after the last council meeting, he, along with Denise Grabowski, Councilwoman Winn, Dexter Shearouse and City Administrator Brady, had gone over the tree ordinance and made some adjustments to address concerns about the ordinance and he was presenting the proposed tree ordinance with these changes for council’s consideration.  The Mayor recognized Mike Hargroves who questioned the source of the proposed tree ordinance and was advised by Mayor Tipton that the Planning Commission had used the City of Pooler’s ordinance as a guide and had made changes to adapt to Bloomingdale’s needs.  Mr. Hargrove stated that the Tree City USA website provided a copy of a very simple ordinance and asked if the City wanted a copy to review.  Mayor Tipton advised him that the proposed tree ordinance under consideration by council at tonight’s meeting had been simplified from the original version and it was the one council would be voting on.  Mr. Hargrove, using his laptop computer, continued to read to the Mayor and Council information related to the Tree City USA program.  Mayor Tipton asked Denise Grabowski if she was aware of the ordinance provided by this organization.  Ms. Grabowski stated that although she was familiar with the Tree City USA program, she was not familiar with their ordinance.  Ms. Grabowski pointed out that these two issues are independent of each other, but noted that if the City decided to participate in the program in the future, the City’s tree ordinance could be adapted to meet their requirements.  Councilman Rawlings asked about the benefits of participating in the program and Mr. Hargrove read a brief synopsis of the benefits to council and also went back over the requirements for participation.  Mayor Tipton asked that Mr. Hargrove provide Councilwoman Winn with any information he had on the program. Councilman Myrick stated that council needed to take care of the proposed tree ordinance as noted on the agenda.  Citizen William McCarty asked if the proposed ordinance would apply to private property since he had some trees he needed to take down.  Mayor Tipton advised him the ordinance did apply to residential property, but would not prohibit him from removing the trees.  Citizen Mary Mitchell pointed out that this was some of the same information that had been provided to the Mayor in the past.  After this discussion, Councilwoman Winn made a motion to approve the first reading, dispense with the second reading, and adopt the proposed tree ordinance as recommended by the Planning Commission with the changes as noted on the document.  Councilman Ray seconded the motion and it passed with affirmative votes from Councilmembers Rawlings, Ray, Strozier, Waller and Winn.  Councilman Myrick stated he had not had an opportunity to review the document and therefore he abstained from voting. 

 

Mayor Tipton presented a request from Lillian & William Brune, Jr. for a variance to install a chainlink fence on property located at #1006 E. Hwy 80.  It was noted that although the property is zoned C-1 and chainlink fencing is not allowed in this zoning district, a conditional use permit had been issued for the construction of a residence on the property and chainlink fencing is allowed in a residential zone.  The Mayor recognized Chris Brune who stated that he had installed a wooden privacy fence on a temporary basis, but would be replacing a portion of the fence with chainlink if council granted the variance.  Councilman Myrick made a motion to grant a variance to allow chainlink fencing at #1006 E. Hwy 80 due to the residential use of the property.  Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.

 

The Mayor recognized Pat Gaddy with Thomas & Hutton Engineering who presented Change order #’s 3a, 3b, and 3c for council’s consideration as related to the construction of the drainage project.  Mr. Gaddy provided the following explanations on the change orders:  Change #3a – There were some ditches along the canal that were intended to be filled, but due to opposition from property owners this did not occur, so rip rap material needed to be installed along the ditch outfalls to slow the water down to keep the slopes from eroding.  The contractor has to do the work from the opposite side of the canal because he cannot go onto the owner’s properties, so he has to rent a long reach backhoe to install the riprap.  The Mayor asked if the riprap would take care of the erosion and Mr. Gaddy advised him that it would alleviate the problem. Change #3b – Henry

November 6, 2008 council minutes con’t:

 

Morgan requested that the access between the canal and the pond at the eastern pond be widened to accommodate two vehicles as it was prior to construction, so additional fill material is being added and the existing pipe extended. Change #3c – With the recent heavy storms deficiencies in the existing drainage system were noted, so an additional 36” pipe at Lynn Street along with headwalls will be added to assist in relieving flooding along South Cypress and Lynn Street.  The contractor was able to use some materials on hand which reduced the cost and this change order will address now, rather than later, one problem area that would have been included in Phase II.  The total cost for the change orders is $19,547.85.  Councilman Rawlings asked if the contractor was willing to do the work for this amount of money and Mr. Gaddy stated that he had agreed with this price.  City Administrator Brady recommended the approval of these change orders.  Councilwoman Winn made a motion to approve the change orders as presented, Councilman Ray seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes. 

 

Mayor Tipton asked that City Attorney Dickey review with council the proposed Identity Theft Prevention Program Ordinance.  Attorney Dickey stated that the Federal Trade Commission considers the City a creditor and we are required to adopt an ordinance putting into place a program to help prevent identity theft and noted that this was the model ordinance provided by the federal government.  Attorney Dickey pointed out that the original deadline for adoption was November 1, 2008, but the deadline changed to May 2009; however, since there are very strict penalties for failing to adopt the ordinance in a timely manner he suggested council go ahead and adopted the ordinance now.  After a brief discussion, Councilman Myrick made a motion to approve the first reading, to dispense with the second reading and to adopt the ordinance as presented.  Councilwoman Winn seconded the motion and it passed with six 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, October 31, 2008.

 

The Mayor presented the accounts payable for approval and Councilman Ray made a motion to pay the bills. Councilman Myrick seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes. 

 

Councilman Waller made a motion to adjourn at 7:20 p.m.  Councilman Ray seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.

                                                                                           

Mayor Tipton and all councilmembers were present at the meeting.

 

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.