Mayor and Council met for a Work Session November 29, 2010 at the Courthouse with Mayor Wayne Bullard presiding.　

Mayor Wayne Bullard, Councils: Mayor Pro Tem Adams, Ralph Clendenin, Bruce Cain, Terry Benjamin, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, City Attorney Rob Plumb, Police Chief Terry Davis, Fire Chief Dwight Bennett, Director Donnie Warren, City Clerk Belinda Chappell.

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the minutes. There were no questions concerning the minutes.

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the bills. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had questions concerning a bill that was paid to Griffin Waste Management on the inert debris charges for $5004.44. Adams stated she needed to know the exact charges for the inert debris due to the error in coding the charges in the system. City Manager Sumner stated the charges were $627.84 for the inert debris charges and stated in the future, the charges would be separated with the tickets for the dumping fees for better explanation of charges. City Manager Sumner stated the remaining charges were for the roll-off container services. Mayor Pro Tem Adams also questioned the bill from the City of Valdosta for $750 dollars. City Manager Sumner explained this payment was made due to the City of Valdosta sending a check to Hahira in error back in November of 2006 and this was for reimbursement of the check. Adams questioned a payment made to Wiregrass Development. Director Warren stated this was for the rock that was needed to fill in some potholes on the streets. Adams stated a $50 dollar check was reimbursed on the rental of the rec. center and questioned why this was made. Sumner stated $50 dollars was reimbursed to the Brady family due to the heat not working at the center.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had several questions for the City Attorney regarding the transfer station. Adams was concerned with the meaning of the word amortization and would like for the City Attorney to explain the meaning of the word. City Attorney Rob Plumb explained the meaning of amortization was like calculating your mortgage payment, like the amount your borrowing and the interest rate you would pay and how long of a term you would pay that amount. Plumb stated amortization showed what your monthly payment would be and how much of that payment was for interest and how much was principal. Plumb stated that Allgreen wanted a longer term lease to be able to recoup the cost of building the facility. City Manager Sumner stated an example was given to Council on the explanation of the investment amount, interest rate, and the term of the proposed investment. The amortization schedule showed the value of the facility from 5 to 20 years term of the proposed contract. Mayor Pro Tem Adams was concerned if Council could tie up future Council with debt on an investment such as the transfer station. City Attorney Plumb stated this was not just talking about property but also the assumption of debt for future Council. City Manager Sumner stated that Council incurs debt all the time in terms of revenue bonds and loans, but this was something that Council should consider before going any further with the discussion of the transfer station. Plumb stated that Council would not be just taking on debt, the City would also be getting improved property back from the investment. Councilman Cain stated he had a question regarding the lease agreement portion of the code. Cain stated it read after a 5 year term lease it could be renewed for an additional 5 years but after that it would have to go out for bid, is what he understood. City Attorney Plumb stated technically the City would need to put it out for bid now, before going any further with the proposed investment to be in compliance. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned with the dimensions of the property to be leased and thought it needed to be added into the lease on the exact amount of property that Allgreen would want to rent from the City for the transfer station. Adams also asked that the number of buildings that would be built on the property be included into the lease agreement. Mayor Pro Tem Adams had questions concerning the section on waste services in the lease. Adams stated she needed to know if Allgreen was going to let the Hahira citizens use the center free of charge. Adams was concerned if there would be tipping fees, pulls, etc that the City would have to pay. Mr. J.C. Gillenwater, a representative from Allgreen stated the City would have no fees to pay unless the City exceeded the cap that was placed on the tonnage, which would be determined at a later date. City Manager Sumner stated he and the representative from Allgreen could get together to try and come up with a number for the tonnage based on the population increasing in Hahira to determine where the cap needed to be. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she disagreed with charging the City after going over the cap and stated she felt it should remain free of charge. Adams stated she could not see how the City would go over 30 tons of debris in one month. City Manager Sumner stated if the City made it mandatory for the residents to provide a current water bill and driver’s license to dump at the site it should cut down on the tonnage per month being dumped and then the City should not exceed the cap. An Allgreen representative commented on the example of the amortization schedule and sending the transfer station out for bid. Allgreen stated they were anxious to build the transfer station in Hahira and stated it was a win-win partnership for the City, as well as, Allgreen.

City Manager Sumner stated there were two amendments to the FY 2010 budget. Sumner stated there was one associated with the general fund and one with the Proprietary fund. Sumner stated the one in the General fund was for the Better Home Town in the advertising line item for $6111 dollars, which was paid for through the business owners but still counted as an expenditure in the general fund. Sumner stated the amendment in the Proprietary fund was for the inert debris line item and $15,000 dollars was needed to be added to amend the budget. Sumner stated the Special Revenue budget showed basically what was actually expended for 2010. Sumner stated the amendments were advertised per code in the newspaper. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned with the Special Revenue Budget and how much was actually in the bank. City Manager Sumner stated that could be found in the bank statement for the Special Revenue account. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had questions with the BHT amendment on why the City would deduct from the Police patrol budget to amend the BHT budget. Sumner stated there was more budgeted in the Police budget than what was spent and the reasoning was due to the fluctuation in personnel in the Police department, so the funds would not be expended for that department. Sumner stated the funds did not have to be moved from the Police department, they could be moved from any other department that had extra budgeted funds that would not be expended by the end of FY2010. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated that Council needed to review the BHT budget in January 2011 and maybe cut back on the advertising line item. City Manager Sumner agreed.

See discussion in the Public Hearing section, (A)

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that this was discussed at the special called meeting and that nothing had changed since then. Sumner stated there was a cost associated with the project that was not discussed at the meeting and it was lower than what it was estimated two years ago. Sumner stated the total project cost estimate was $310,000 and that 25% of that cost would be what Council would be committing to if the grant was funded. Sumner stated around $75,000 would be the amount Hahira would have to commit to for the project. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. Councilman Clendenin had a question concerning the piping of the project. Sumner stated he understand they would be putting the sidewalks further away from the ditch and would just be looking at using fill dirt for the project, if he understood correctly. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned with how many total feet the project would be. City Manager Sumner stated he would have that information for Council by the Thursday night meeting.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council the amendments to the FY2011 were not required until December of 2011. Sumner stated there were representatives from Partners Health Benefit to explain the insurance premiums to Council. Mr. Ronny Blanton and Paul Watkins explained the health benefits to Mayor and Council and the competitive pricing for the insurance companies. Blanton presented Mayor and Council with a comparison sheet for the different insurance companies. Blanton stated he had received quotes from several companies and they were actually higher than the renewal price of Nippon Life Insurance. Blanton stated a quote from Coventry Healthcare was received and was cheaper, but Blanton explained the pros and cons of the company. Blanton explained Coventry was not in the network of several of the local hospitals or physicians, which the employees would be utilizing, but their rates were cheaper per employee. Blanton explained the difference in deductibles and co-pays for the employee if the insurance was needed. Blanton stated if Council wished to pay less for the insurance coverage for the employees, then the choice would be Coventry but the employees would not have as many hospitals or physicians in the network and if they wished to pay a little higher premium for the insurance and have hospitals and physicians in the network then Council had the choice of staying with Nippon Insurance. Councilman Clendenin had a question for Council. Clendenin stated did Council think the employees could pick up the $100 dollar a month difference in the premiums. City Manager Sumner stated he would refer that to the department heads to answer. Director Warren stated his employees who were making just a little more than minimum wage could not afford to pay out an extra $100 a month. Warren stated they would have to drop the insurance coverage if they had to make up the $100 a month. Mayor Pro Tem Adams suggested the option of maybe raising the wages of the employees to cover the employee paying the extra insurance premium. City Manager Sumner stated that self insurance is almost impossible to afford. City Manager Sumner stated maybe Council could decide on which insurance company to use by Thursday night at the Council meeting.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated to Mayor and Council that in the overlay district there had been two signs that were installed at businesses and there had not been pre-applications filled out for the permit to be pulled. Adams stated the permit office needed to be notified of any construction going on in Hahira, a pre-application was needed before any work was to be done. City Manager Sumner stated he would contact the permit office and make sure a pre-ap is present before any permits are issued.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated to Mayor and Council that she appreciated City Manager Sumner presenting Council with a copy of the ordinance relating to the advertisement policy. Adams stated she would like for Mayor and Council to go the extra mile on posting the advertisement for the citizens of Hahira to be notified of the meetings. Adams stated she would like for the sign to be placed on the front door, as well as, the marquee for the special called meeting advertisement. City Manager Sumner stated this would be done for all future meetings.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council the annual Chamber of Commerce Dinner was approaching and needed to know if Council would like to buy a table for 10 at $350 dollars. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated the last few times people was not attending the dinner and the table was not full. Adams suggested buying individual tickets and whoever wished to attend could purchase a ticket. City Manager Sumner stated the individual tickets were $35 dollars per person. Sumner stated Council could discuss this and decide whether to buy a table or purchase individual tickets by the Thursday night meeting.

City Manager Sumner stated the City of Hahira has donated $1000 dollars for this support committee in the last several years and needed to know if Council wanted to continue with this donation. Sumner stated this was for a good cause and recommended this be funded again for this year. Councilman Clendenin stated the way the economy was at this time, he felt $1000 was an expense the City could not afford. Mayor Pro Tem Adams agreed the $1000 was alot of money at the time to spend on this contribution. Clendenin suggested maybe contributing $250 dollars to the committee.

City Manager Sumner stated this was discussed in the last meeting and was postponed. Sumner stated that nothing had changed and it was up for consideration again.

Chief Davis stated the City was required by law to have a probation officer and Jessica had done a great job for Hahira in the past in bringing in revenue to the City as the probation officer.

City Manager Sumner stated Robert Mellott’s contract for technical support was up for renewal.

City Manager Sumner stated it was time to renew the garbage contract with Griffin Waste Services. Sumner stated if the contract was renewed, the City would still have the 90 day notice in place to switch garbage services if they chose to do so. Sumner stated he was working on the RFP for bids on the garbage contract from other companies. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she would like to see a new contract drawn up to exclude the roll-off portion of the contract. Adams stated she would like to get away from the roll-off services with Griffin. Mayor Bullard asked if Council was willing to get away from the billing for the roll-offs and just continue the billing for the residential garbage pickup. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated if the City was no longer doing the roll-off services, then the City would not be billing for those services, it would be through Griffin Solid Waste.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:15 P.M.

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Mayor, Wayne Bullard

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City Clerk, Belinda Chappell

HAHIRA CITY COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETING
DECEMBER 2, 2010
7:30 P.M.
COURTHOUSE

Mayor and Council met for a Council Meeting December 02, 2010 at the Courthouse with Mayor Wayne Bullard presiding.

PRESENT:

Mayor Wayne Bullard, Councils: Mayor Pro Tem Adams, Terry Benjamin, Ralph Clendenin, Bruce Cain, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, Police Chief Terry Davis, Fire Chief Dwight Bennett, Director Donnie Warren, City Clerk Belinda Chappell.

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Wayne Bullard

ESTABLISH QUORUM: Mayor Wayne Bullard

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Wayne Bullard

INVOCATION: Councilman Terry Benjamin

REVIEW/CORRECTION OF MINUTES:

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had a correction that was needed on thanking Councilman Benjamin and former Councilman Ogundu for their hard work on putting the ethics ordinance together and being involved in helping Hahira become a certified City of Ethics. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion. Councilman Cain made a motion, seconded by Councilman Benjamin, vote was unanimous.

REVIEW OF BILLS/ BUDGET OVERAGES:

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the bills. Councilman Clendenin stated he had a question regarding the revenue statement on showing the SPLOST money in the general fund. Clendenin stated it was misleading showing the amount as revenue in the general fund. Clendenin stated if a person did not understand the way it read, it would seem that the City was ahead in revenue. City Manager Sumner stated all of the expenditures were booked through the general fund to help balance out those books and it payed for general fund capital expenditures per the referendums. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion. Councilman Clendenin made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Adams, vote was unanimous.

PUBLIC HEARINGS: