Official Minutes of the April 17, 2014 Council Meeting
Approved by City Council May 1, 2014
The council meeting was called to order by Mayor Rozier with Councilman Myrick giving the invocation remembering Chief Pike’s wife. Councilmembers Griffin, Grizzard, Kerby, Key, Myrick, Otto, Attorney Raymond Dickey, City Administrator Charles Akridge and Asst. City Clerk Diane Proudfoot were present.
Councilman Myrick made a motion to approve the draft copy of the minutes of the April 3, 2014 council meeting. Councilman Grizzard seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes. Councilwoman Griffin made a motion to approve the agenda of the April 17, 2014 meeting. Councilman Otto seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
Administrative & Committee reports:
Councilwoman Griffin reported on the following:
The Spring Soccer/Baseball/Softball season is going great with approximately 180 children participating which is up drastically from 109 last spring.
The bucket for the tractor arrived and has been a great help
The ice machine has been installed
The new sign is not complete yet
The new pitching machines are working great
A game schedule has been distributed
A special thank you was extended to the History Society and all the volunteers during the Easter Egg Hunt
Councilman Grizzard reported that the next senior covered dish luncheon will be held on May 13 at 11:00am at the Community Building
Councilman Otto reported that the new chipper arrived and is working well
Councilman Myrick thanked City Administrator Akridge, city staff and department heads for all the work in producing a balanced budget and successfully completing it ahead of schedule
City Administrator Akridge reported that the Stagecoach Road repairs have been completed and there will be a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 10:00am at the Veterans Monument.
Mayor Rozier reported that everything is coming together well for the Patriotic Celebration that will be held on June 28, 2014 at Taylor Park.
Mayor Rozier shared an event that had taken place that shows what an impact the Veterans Monument is having on people. He received a video from a young lady who had purchased a brick to honor her father for his service to our country and when he came in town to visit, she took him to the monument to surprise him, at which time she captured the special, emotional, proud moment on her cell phone as he discovered the brick with his name on it.
Mayor Rozier opened the Public Hearing to receive citizen input on the request submitted by Herrin Developers, LLC & Robert W. Lee to rezone 155.21 acres located at Jimmy DeLoach Parkway and Towles Road from RA-1 to I-2.
Mike Wedincamp, spokesman for Herrin Developers & Rob Lee, pointed out some advantages of the rezoning:
a) This area would affect the least amount of citizens
b) This would open up the opportunity for more jobs
c) The proposed property is located in an area suitable for port related business
Mayor Rozier stated that the city council’s main concern is to protect citizens and he did not oppose a micro-transportation operation but he does have concerns over other types of business that are allowed in an I-2 zone.
Councilman Kerby and Councilman Myrick read the list of permissible uses for the I-2 zoning so that the citizens would know the type of activity that could take place on the property.
Citizen Doug McCurry stated he was against the rezoning.
Citizen Martin Collins stated he is not against development but is against an open ended heavy industrial rezoning.
Mayor Rozier questioned if a master plan showing the proposed activity was ready. Mr. Wedincamp stated the plan is not ready at this time but the owner is pursuing port related business only and the company that is interested is a tree transportation operation which would involve the hauling and shipping of raw tree logs from the property to the ports.
Charles Rogers stated that he had no objection to the rezoning and that Jimmy DeLoach was built as a truck thoroughfare.
Gaddy Turner stated he did not oppose the rezoning.
Councilman Grizzard questioned if the rezoning was approved wouldn’t a site plan of the proposed use have to be submitted and Mayor Rozier stated that a site plan would have to be submitted.
Councilman Kerby stated that any of the items on the list of permissible uses in the I-2 zone are subject to being operated on the property.
Attorney Dickey was questioned regarding the desirable industrial zones in the city and he stated that based on the 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update the desired industrial area would be located on Jimmy DeLoach abutting the Pooler city limits.
There being no further comments, Mayor Rozier closed the public hearing.
OLD BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS:
1) Consider Zoning Map Amendment submitted by Herrin Developers, LLC and Robert W. Lee to rezone 155.21 acres located at Jimmy DeLoach and Towles Road from RA-1 to I-2 (Extensive Industry) Councilman Kerby made a motion to deny the rezoning request. The motion failed due to a lack of a second. Councilman Grizzard made a motion to approve the rezoning request. Councilman Myrick seconded the motion. Mayor Rozier questioned Attorney Dickey as to whether conditions can be placed on the uses and he stated that if it is on the list as permissible then it would be an allowed use listed as allowed would be permissible use but a site plan would have to be submitted. The motion passed with affirmative votes from Councilmembers Griffin, Grizzard, Key, Myrick and Otto. Councilman Kerby opposed the motion.
Mayor Rozier stated this rezoning is not a popular decision and it is the responsibility of the City Council to protect the citizens and he strongly urged Mr. Lee to uphold the use that he stated in the public hearing.
Mr. Lee stated he would and his only intention is for port related activity and they have a desire to be good neighbors to the area. Mr. Lee requested that council give him a list of the undesired uses. Councilman Otto stated there would be upcoming amendment to amend the list of uses
2) Consider a request submitted by Del Ferguson for a Minor Subdivision consisting of two lots for property located at Hwy. 80 and Drescher Road. Councilwoman Key made a motion to approve minor subdivision. Councilman Grizzard seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
3) Consider the adoption of a Resolution in conjunction with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) for a loan for the Water Meter Replacement Project. City Administrator Akridge stated the resolution is step one of the loan process with GMA for the water meter replacement in the amount $400,000. Councilman Myrick made a motion to approve the adoption of the Resolution with GMA for the water meter replacement loan. Councilwoman Griffin seconded motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
4) Consider a request submitted by Mr. Osman Bholat to construct a duplex as a Conditional Use at 104 Pine Street. Councilman Myrick made a motion to present this request at a public hearing on May 15, 2014. Councilman Grizzard seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
Mayor Rozier reported that this concluded the items presented for consideration for inclusion on the Council agenda prior to the deadline of Wednesday, April 9, 2014.
The accounts payables were presented with Councilman Myrick making a motion to pay the bills. Councilman Otto seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
There being no further business, Councilman Otto made a motion to adjourn at 7:50pm. Councilwoman Griffin seconded the motion and it passed with six affirmative votes.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Proudfoot, Asst. City Clerk
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.