City Council - 30 July 2007 Minutes

MINUTES OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
CITY OF DULUTH, GA

Mayor Shirley Fanning-Lasseter called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

PRESENT:
Mayor Lasseter, Councilmembers Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, Hall
City Administrator, Department Directors, City Attorney

ABSENT:
Councilmember Kirouac (arrived at 6:10 p.m.)

1. EXECUTIVE SESSION
   1. It was be necessary to call an executive session on pending/potential litigation.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Hall, to adjourn to executive session to discuss pending/potential litigation Matters at 6:00 p.m.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
      Motion carried.
      
      After the discussion, a motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Mundrick, to return to regular session at 7:00 p.m.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
      Motion carried.
2. CONSENT AGENDA
   1. APPROVAL OF JULY 23, 2007 MINUTES
   2. ACCEPTANCE OF DONATION - $50 – VETERANS FLAG AND MARKERS
      Approval of this item accepts a $50 donation from Ruth M. Sampson, for the Flag and Marker program, account number 100-37114.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Dugan, seconded by Councilmember Bomar, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
      Motion carried.
3. NEW BUSINESS
   1. ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE FY08 BUDGET – REPLACEMENT VEHICLES [Exhibit “A”]
      Two police cars were totaled in accidents during the months of April and June (FY07 budget year). This week, the City received reimbursements from the insurance companies the following amounts: $7,624.00 and $16,743.97 for a total of $24,367.97. These funds will be needed to replace the two totaled units. Council agreed to bring forward these funds into the FY08 budget.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Hall, seconded by Councilmember Kirouac, to approve the ordinance to amend the FY08 budget as presented.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
      
      Motion carried.
4. MATTERS FROM COUNCIL/DEPT HEADS/CITY ATTORNEY
   1. RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A SIX-MONTH TEMPORARY MORATORIUM PROHIBITING THE ERECTION, CONSTRUCTION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF ANY BUILDING OVER 75,000 SQUARE FEET IN ALL ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS [Exhibit “B”]
      
      Council member Mundrick requested that Council consider approving a resolution placing a six month moratorium prohibiting the erection, construction or reconstruction of any buildings over 75,000 square feet in all zoning classifications until January 31, 2008. He read the resolution as presented.
      
      Councilmember Bomar requested clarification on what staff would be directed to do during this time period.
      
      Councilmember Mundrick explained that his intentions were for staff and possibly outside consultants to examine impacts (if any) from large buildings. He wants to ensure that our development code provides an appropriate mechanism to regulate buildings of this size, as he stated there are such things as roof pitch requirements that may or may not be appropriate for large buildings. He would also like to determine if there are issues caused by differing uses of buildings, and include studying types and hours of operation. Councilmember Mundrick said the priority should be to determine if our codes promote the preservation and improvement of the public welfare in the City. He would like the Planning Commission to direct these efforts, taking all parties into consideration -- the public at large, the development community, and retailers -- to see if modifications are necessary.
      
      Councilmember Bomar felt that staff should be performing a support role since the department is still short-staffed, and that a consultant might be needed and should be budgeted for at this time.
      
      Councilmember Mundrick indicated that a contingency would be needed to assist with the engineering of an impact study.
      
      Councilmember Kirouac also requested that the study include responsibilities for vacant space, as it leads to blight.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Bomar, to accept the moratorium resolution as presented.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Kirouac, Bomar, Mundrick, Dugan, and Hall
      Motion carried.
      
      Councilmember Bomar said that staff should work with Council to very clearly define the scope of the study, and then negotiate a fee with the on-call consultants that the City has. The Mayor summarized that staff should expect that Council is willing to provide financial support for this project and its completion as quickly as possible.
      
      Councilmember Dugan was hesitant to state an approved amount since the time period this study will take is unclear at this time.
      
      The City Administrator was directed to contact firms and come back with a contingency request to fund the study.
5. ADJOURNMENT
   1. A motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Mundrick, to adjourn to work session at 7:20 p.m.
      
      All for. Motion carried unanimously.

WORK SESSION OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL

A work session was held to discuss other matters.

1. RED CLAY/2nd STAGE UPDATE – SHELLY HOWARD

Shelly Howard came forward and gave an update on the status of performing arts in downtown and presented ideas on events, promotional and holiday ideas.

Other items up for discussion will be placed on future work sessions due to lack of time.