City Council - 26 February 2007 Minutes
WORK SESSION OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
PRESENT:
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick, Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, Hall
City Administrator, Department Directors, City Attorney
ABSENT:
Mayor Lasseter
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick explained that the Mayor had surgery last week and
would be out for several weeks at minimum, and said that Council wished her a
speedy recovery.
A work session was held prior to the regular scheduled meeting to allow the
elected officials to discuss and ask questions of department directors regarding
this evening’s agenda items.
OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED:
A request for a waiver of location and signage fees ArtTrain exhibit at
South-eastern Railway Museum and the Ethics ordinance were also discussed and
agreed to be added to the agenda for consideration.
MINUTES OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
CITY OF DULUTH, GA
7:00 P.M. - CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Pro-tem Mundrick
INVOCATION:
Council member Marsha Anderson Bomar
PLEDGE:
Daryl VanLuer, Boy Scout Troop 419
WELCOME RESIDENTS:
Governor’s Landing/Sweetbottom Plantation
- CERMONIAL MATTERS
- DHS CHORUS – ADVANCED WOMEN’S ENSEMBLE
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick recognized the Duluth High School Department of Choral Arts’ Advanced Women’s Ensemble for earning the top high school spot for the January 2007 Georgia Music Educator’s State In-Service Convention. Ms. Lori Ignatius and Vice President Elizabeth Moale were present and announced that there would be several upcoming opportunities to hear the Ensemble; on March 15th the Duluth cluster is having a concert at the First Baptist Church, another local competition March 20-22nd and the final competition on March 30th at Six Flags.
- DHS CHORUS – ADVANCED WOMEN’S ENSEMBLE
- CONSENT AGENDA
- APPROVAL OF JANUARY 29 WORK SESSION NOTES AND FEBRUARY 12, 2007 MINUTES
- ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE DULUTH CODE - TATTOO & BODY PIERCING
[Exhibit “A”]
Approval of this item adopts an ordinance to amend the Duluth Code by amending regulations for Tattoo and Body Piercing establishments, as requested by the Gwinnett County Health Department. - CONTRACT FOR SOLID WASTE - UNITED WASTE/ROBERSTON [Exhibit “B”]
Approval of this item authorizes the Mayor Pro tem to execute the contract for solid waste services, as drafted by the City Attorney and United, and reviewed by the City Administrator, which will be effective April l, 2007 for a three-year period with the option of two, one-year renewals. There will be an increase in cost of bags to $26. For seniors and the disabled who are below a $25,000 annual income level, boxes are $13 at City Hall with a four box maximum per year. - WAIVER REQUEST – FOSTER CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION – WP JONES
The Foster Children’s Organization has requested the use of W.P. Jones Park for their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 31, which has been previously scheduled at the Town Green. Approval of this item waives all fees associated with this event, as recommended by Staff. - ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE DULUTH CODE – LITTERING [Exhibit “C”]
Approval of this item adopts an ordinance to amend section 10-2 of the Duluth Code regarding prohibition of littering in the City. - ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE DULUTH CODE – ABANDONED WELLS
[Exhibit “D”]
Approval of this item adopts an ordinance to amend section 5-222 of the Duluth Code regarding requirements for maintenance of abandoned wells on property in the City. - ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE DULUTH CODE – SOLID WASTE [Exhibit “E”]
Approval of this item adopts an ordinance to amend Chapter 13 commencing with Section 13-1 and ending with Section 13-40 of the Duluth Code regarding requirements for solid waste, including recycling provisions. - AMENDMENT TO PERSONNEL POLICY AND PROCEDURE HANDBOOK
Currently, City employees are given three floating holidays plus their birthday. The Capital Reserve and Retirement Benefits Investment Committee recommended amending Section 3-202 of the City’s Personnel Policy and Procedure Handbook effective 1/1/08 by deleting the verbiage “All full time employees may consider their birthday as an additional holiday” and listing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as an official holiday for all City employees. Approval of this item amends the policy as presented. - ALTERNATIVE/EARLY RETIREMENT –PENSION REQUIREMENTS
City Council previously ratified a recommendation received from the Investment Committee to add two alternative retirement options (age 62 with 20 years of service, and 60 with 25 years). The Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) reported that there would be no difference in cost to the City to require that the employee is actively employed at the time they became eligible to take advantage of these alternative dates. Since there is no cost difference as long as the requirements are met, whether they are actively employed or not, approval of this item amends the pension agreement with language stating that “employees are not required to be an active employee at the time of request.” - ACCEPTANCE OF DONATION – $1,000 - VETERANS LIVING MEMORIAL
Approval of this item accepts a $1,000 donation from Thomas J. Andersen for the Living Memorial, for account number 352-37.1005. - WAIVER REQUEST – ART TRAIN EXHIBITION
Approval of this item grants a waiver of location and signage fees from March 1st – 19th for the Art Train exhibit at the Southeast RR Museum. Sponsored by the Gwinnett Council for the Arts and the Gwinnett Public Library; it will be open for touring March 17th & 18th, free of charge. - ORDINANCE & RESOLUTION – CITY OF ETHICS [Exhibit “F”]
Approval of this item authorizes an ordinance and resolution to start the process of becoming a certified “City of Ethics” through the Georgia Municipal Association, which applies to elected officials, board members, and employees of the City. Mayor Pro tem Mundrick read some of the requirements, which are as follows: “to serve others, not ourselves, use resources with efficiency and economy, treat all people fairly, use power of positions for well being of constituents, and create an environment of honesty, openness, and integrity.”
A motion was made by Councilmember Dugan, seconded by Councilmember Hall, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried.
- PUBLIC HEARING
- ORDINANCE OF REZONING MODIFICATION – REVISE PUD -
CASE Z#0187C-07
MPM DEVELOPMENT, LLC SWEETWATER PARK TAX PARCEL 6-266-071
[Exhibit “G”]
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick noted that the Zoning Map was on display in the council chambers, and opened the public hearing to consider an ordinance of rezoning modification as requested by MPM Development, LLC, to have property modified from the original Planned Unit Development (PUD) approved December 10, 2001 in order to change the layout of town homes and location of access.
Planning and Development Interim Director Shelley Stiebling came forward to make the presentation for Case Z#0187-01 to consider revising the PUD located in Sweetwater Park. The property is on the 3300 Block of Summit Ridge Parkway, comprising 7.207 acres in tax parcel 6-266-071. She noted that the major issues associated with this request are stream buffer requirements, overall layout and design; and change in conditions.
Ms. Stiebling showed site photos of the property and explained that when the initial approval was given in 2001, it had two townhouse developments, an office development and a commercial portion. The property was graded and the pad ready, and then the project was halted by the intersection improvement at Pleasant Hill and Buford Highway. Two acres were directly affected by the DOT work. She also described the surrounding properties which also required modification for redevelopment after the initial plans required changes due to the overpass project.
Planning Staff has reviewed the application and feels that the stream buffer issue falls under more of a ‘grandfathering’ of the 25 feet which was the requirement at the time of approval, as opposed to a waiver request of the 75 feet that is now required. Ms. Stiebling showed the site plan as approved by the Planning Commission, and noted that the new plan has more “Traditional Neighborhood Design,” with the community park, etc. and said there was a suggestion by the Planning Commission and staff for even more connectivity. She demonstrated the newly proposed egress and ingress to subject property.
Staff and the Planning Commission recommend approval of the zoning modification request for the reconfiguration of the town homes on the site and the relocation of the access point to the private drive provided the following conditions are met:
1. To restrict the use of the property as follows:
Multi-family town homes limited to 41 units at 5.68 maximum density per acre.
The proposed development shall be in general accordance with the submitted
site plan with changes necessary to meet conditions of the zoning modification and development regulations.
2. To satisfy the following site development considerations:
All other existing access drives shall be removed and closed.
Reviewing the feasibility of having one end of the proposed driveway to the units next to the private drive relocated to the main driveway to provide some type of connectivity is analyzed by the applicant for review by the City Engineer.
The proposed landscape island needs to be landscaped and contain appropriate streetscape amenities and a plan illustrating such needs to be submitted and approved by the Planning Director or his designee prior to the issuance of any land disturbance permits.
A zoning site plan showing all modifications shall be submitted and approval by the Planning Director or his designee prior to the issuance of any land disturbance permit.
The following revised conditions from the Ordinance of Rezoning dated June 11, 2001 for Z#0187-01 attached, Town home Tract #2, in the Site Development section shall apply:
All facades shall be of brick, stucco or stacked stone and hardi-plank siding or a mixture thereof. No vinyl or metal siding shall be allowed. Split-faced concrete block shall not be allowed.
Sidewalks shall be provided on the south side of the private road and on all internal streets, drives, and park areas and shall be five (5) feet in width.
Lighting shall blend with the architectural styles of buildings and be approved by the Director of Planning and Development.
Driveways shall be laid out to promote pedestrian circulation and ease of access from all points within a development.
Review of the final site plans and architectural elevations must be approved by the Planning and Development Director prior to the issuance of a development permit.
All approved conditions must be recorded on the plat.
The townhouses shall reflect the elevations submitted by the applicant.
The applicant submitted February 21, 2007 a revised site plan addressing the conditions approved by Planning Commission.
Councilmember Bomar asked about the layout and possible relocation of the detention area. Her concern was there was a dead end street with no cul-de-sac, that emergency vehicles would not be able to traverse the road.
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick questioned the access, which was initially through a public right-of-way, now going through private drive.
Ms. Stiebling responded that a permanent easement has been requested.
Applicant Lonnie Moss of MPM development came forward. He said that due to the acreage taken by the DOT, it was necessary to reconfigure the site plan, and that all of the issues raised by the Planning Commission have been addressed, including more interconnectivity through added sidewalks, etc. He said he also felt that fire trucks could back out, but he would comply with the requirements of the Fire Marshal.
Councilmember Bomar also had concerns about the marketability of some of the homes due to location on busy streets and asked about the detention pond.
Mr. Moss said that the detention area could not be changed since it serves not only this PUD but other properties as well.
Ms. Maxine Garner of 3182 Crestview Circle came forward and questioned the density of the proposed project as opposed to the density of the original proposal, and encouraged Council not to approve a higher density. (It was determined that the original 7.2 acre town home development was approved with 51 units at 5.62 units per acre.)
Gerald Davidson, attorney for the applicant, came forward and requested that density not be lowered. He said that everyone has studied the 2001 plan very thoroughly, and there are trade offs from one site to another. He felt there were many topographical challenges for this site as well, and said they had chosen ingress and egress areas to Summit Ridge Drive and with safety in mind. Calculations were presented that show this plan as only approving ½ unit more than the original plan.
Councilmember Dugan wanted clarification that there needn’t be a separate condition for the emergency vehicle access.
Ms. Stiebling confirmed that the fire marshal plan review would catch this, if necessary.
Councilmember Kirouac clarified that this stream buffer would be 25 feet for this project only, but for future development, required buffers are 75 feet.
There being no further comments or questions, Mayor Pro tem Mundrick closed the public hearing and called for a motion.
A motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Kirouac, to approve the ordinance of rezoning modification for CASE Z#0187C-07 as presented by the Planning Commission.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, and Dugan
Those voting against: Councilmember Hall
Motion carried.
- ORDINANCE OF REZONING MODIFICATION – REVISE PUD -
- NEW BUSINESS
- RESOLUTION TO AMEND ADMIN. CLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE/PAY PLAN
[Exhibit “H”]
Councilmember Dugan, as a member of the Capital Reserve and Retirement Benefits Investment Committee, presented the 2006 Administrative Classification Schedule and Pay Plan Study as conducted by Human Resources Manager Ed Johnson and reviewed by both the Executive Pay and Investment Committees. As part of an annual process to keep Duluth competitive, maintain a fair salary for employees, and to avoid large salary increases in any one year by staying current with the market, the study also reviews the classification of various duties performed to determine if they have been placed in the appropriate pay range compared to other cities.
Councilmember Dugan explained that this year’s summary:
(1) increases the pay grades of 15 job titles;
(2) changes 5 job title names;
(3) increases the number of steps on the pay grade chart from 41 to 45 steps;
(4) recommends that the Council consider increasing the pay grade for the City Administrator from grade 36 to some higher grade, up to and including grade 42.
If approved, the changes will be implemented on July 1, 2007. The cost to implement these recommended adjustments would be $14,243 (0.16% of employee salary and benefits), and will be figured into the FY2008 budget. He said that one other position currently under review is the GIS manager, which will review in 2008.
Councilmember Dugan pointed out that the recommended increase for the City Administrator position from a job classification step 36 to 41 places him one step above the highest placed city employee, which is the Municipal Court Judge, but does not actually increase his salary.
A motion was made by Councilmember Kirouac, seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve the resolution to amend the Administrative Classification Schedule/ Salary Survey and Pay Grade Study as presented.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried. - SALE OF ROMULUS DRIVE PROPERTY – TAX PARCEL 7-201-018
City Administrator Phil McLemore reported that the City received two bids for the sale of the Romulus Drive property at the bid opening on February 22, 2007. Bids received were as follows: Charles V. Smillie - $12,598, James T. Algard - $6,000. A third bid was received after 9:30 a.m. and was not accepted. Staff recommends rejection of both bids.
Mr. McLemore explained that the City was contacted by a real estate company that was selling the adjacent property, who told us they were accepting approximately $150,000 per acre. Bids came in so low for the three acres, there is no reason to sell at this point. He noted that the City has been paid more than that to preserve green space.
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick asked City Attorney Lee Thompson what the process would have to be if a property exchange were proposed to obtain equal property in a more suitable location to be maintained as green space.
Mr. Thompson said that the sealed bid process is only required if the sale or disposal of the property is the goal. The property has not been appraised at this point, but the City Administrator noted that he would start the process only if approached by another interested party.
A motion was made by Councilmember Dugan, seconded by Councilmember Hall, to accept the staff recommendation to reject both bids for the Romulus Drive property.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried.
- RESOLUTION TO AMEND ADMIN. CLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE/PAY PLAN
- MATTERS FROM COUNCIL/DEPT
HEADS/CITY ATTORNEY
- PDP TRANSFER and ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE FY07 BUDGET -$43,142
[Exhibit “I”]
Due to two separate accidents in which two police vehicles were totaled, the Police Department requested approval to transfer monies to pay for two new police vehicles from existing PDP’s and a budget amendment to incorporate automobile claim revenues as attached.
A motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Kirouac, to approve the PDP transfers and ordinance to amend the FY07 budget as presented.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried. - CONTINGENCY REQUEST – $51,000 - PUBLIC SAFETY ELECTRICAL
The Mayor Pro tem and Council considered a contingency request to cover costs of electric service for the Public Safety building. As this is its first full year in operation, original budget figures were purely estimates.
A motion was made by Councilmember Kirouac, seconded by Councilmember Bomar, to approve the contingency request as presented.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried. - CONTINGENCY REQUEST - $7,650 – IS&E CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION
[Exhibit “I”]
City Administrator Phil McLemore explained the process thus far for the City to obtain its own MS4 permit for the Storm Water Management program by 2008.
Integrated Science & Engineering was informed by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) that every city must pass an audit prior to issuance or renewal of any NPDES permit. In order to insure that Duluth passes this district audit in time to allow for issuance of the new NPDES Phase I MS4 permit on January 1, 2008, EPD recommends that the audit be commenced by August 1, 2007. The City does not currently have the staff sufficiently trained to accomplish this. IS&E has agreed that they can add this service to their existing contract for $7,650 and also train City staff how to do this in the future. Council considered an amendment to the contract as well as a contingency request to cover fees.
A motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve the contingency request and authorize the City Administrator to amend the contract with IS&E to perform the audit.
Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Dugan, and Hall
Motion carried. - ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilmember Bomar announced that the Duluth High School mock trials were very successful; the plaintiff team and defense team competed separately in eight categories and DHS won five out of eight.
Councilmember Dugan congratulated Mayor Pro tem Mundrick and his wife Sandy on their 30-year anniversary today.
Councilmember Hall noted that the Gwinnett Gladiators had just celebrated their salute to Atlanta Traffic, where the players had 50s type jerseys, and said the event was very well received. He thanked Public Works for their assistance in lending barricades, etc. for this event.
Mayor Pro tem Mundrick said that the State Dept of Transportation approved the following streets for resurfacing under LARP – Davenport Road, Washington St, and Hill St.
Councilmember Dugan noted that the Annual Strategic Conference of the Mayor and Council will be held this coming weekend, March 3-4, 2007 at Emerald Pointe conference center at Lake Lanier. Any concerns, questions, or comments to the Council beforehand would be gladly accepted.
- PDP TRANSFER and ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE FY07 BUDGET -$43,142
- ADJOURNMENT
- A motion was made by Councilmember Hall, seconded by
Councilmember Bomar, to adjourn at 8:15 p.m.
All for. Motion carried unanimously.
- A motion was made by Councilmember Hall, seconded by
Councilmember Bomar, to adjourn at 8:15 p.m.