Mayor and Council met for a Work Session May 03, 2010 at the Courthouse with Mayor Wayne Bullard presiding.　

Mayor Wayne Bullard, Councils: Mayor Pro Tem Adams, Ralph Clendenin, Bruce Cain, Councilman Terry Benjamin, City Manager Jonathan Sumner, 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. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she could not find any errors in the minutes.

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the bills. Councilman Clendenin stated he had a question concerning the revenues in the BHT budget. Clendenin was concerned with an amount of $6421 and if that amount was revenue coming into the City. City Manager Sumner stated the miscellaneous BHT revenue had been created in the system to show revenue from the sale of t-shirts, advertising, billboards, etc. from the BHT department. Sumner stated the budgeted amount was showing zero, but the actual amount received was around the $6421 amount, which was shown in the parenthesis, which normally means a negative in the budget, but this was due to not budgeting any amount in that line item. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated the parenthesis was misleading because it made the BHT look as if it was over budget. Sumner stated when entering the amounts in for the budget each year, you have to enter them in as a negative because that was the way the INCODE software was designed. Councilman Clendenin stated in the Nutrition department, it seemed to be already over budget for this time of year. Sumner stated $10,000 was budgeted and the department had already spent $8000 for the year. Sumner stated part of this expenditure was due to the increase in the workers compensation costs. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated the nutrition vehicle was costing more in repairs each month; she was concerned if the City had a better vehicle for the nutrition department. Sumner stated the Police Chief was in the process of gaining several vehicles from the govdeals website, and these vehicles were free of charge. Sumner stated the only costs of these vehicles was the cost of fuel to go pick them up, and hopefully one of the vehicles could be used for the nutrition department. Mayor Bullard asked if there were any more questions regarding the bills. There were no more questions.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council that false alarms were becoming costly for the State of Georgia. Davis stated each time an alarm is set off, the Police department as well as, the Fire department responds to the call. Davis stated the City of Valdosta had adopted an ordinance that stated when a false alarm was made 3 or more times in one month, there would be a charge of $100 fine made to that business or residence. City Manager Sumner stated he had City Attorney Rob Plumb review the ordinance and the Attorney found no additions or corrections that needed to be made to the Alarm Ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Adams asked Chief Davis if he agreed with the fine of $100 dollars for the false alarms. Davis stated he agreed with the amount of the fine. Fire Chief Bennett stated each time a false alarm was made, it costs the Fire Department around $120 dollars to respond to the call, and that was not including the costs for the Police Department. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if these false alarm calls came from the alarm center. Chief Davis stated the calls his department was called out on are from the alarm center. City Manager Sumner stated the ordinance needed a correction on the number of false alarms being changed to three in one month other than three in a year.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council that he had done some research on the beer and wine license fee for surrounding cities and found that the City of Hahira is well below the average fee of the beer and wine license, pouring license and the application fee for the license. Davis stated that the City of Hahira currently does not charge an application fee and the charge for beer and wine license combined is $100 dollars. City Manager Sumner recommended that the City of Hahira start charging an application fee due to the costs for advertising and staff time it takes to do a background check on the applicant. Sumner stated the comparison to the City of Remerton looked the most beneficial for the City of Hahira. Councilman Clendenin agreed that the City of Remerton had a reasonable fee schedule. Sumner recommended a fee schedule at least as much as Remerton and maybe leading up to the Valdosta beer and wine fee schedule. Councilman Clendenin asked Chief Davis how long he spent working on the background check for an applicant applying for a beer and wine license. Davis responded it took him anywhere from one hour to eight hours to perform a criminal history and background check on an applicant. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated if the merchants paid a higher fee for the license, it would make them think more responsibly and not sell to underage drinkers, due to they could have their license revoked.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he had received costs estimates from the City Engineer to see what it would cost to run infrastructure out to the subdivision. Sumner stated the original agreement with Sweetbay Properties was executed in February of 2008. Sumner stated the owners that executed the agreement had not been able to fulfill some of their other obligations, so the property had transferred back to the original owner. Sumner stated the owner of the property had inquired about getting the subdivision built. Sumner stated the water was available for the subdivision, but the sewer would have to be run to the property and a lift station would also have to be installed. Sumner stated the cost estimate had increased to $400,000 dollars for the subdivision project. Sumner stated the subdivision was budgeted for around 152 houses to be built, but the developers could only commit to 30 homes at that time. Sumner stated the developers were requesting permission to get the subdivision started. Councilman Clendenin requested to postpone this agenda item for further review. City Manager Sumner stated he would postpone this item if Council so wished.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he ran the advertisement in the newspaper per code requirement and there were no major changes being made within the charter that would require any type of action by the General Assembly or any type of referendum by the Populous. Sumner stated the charter had some updated language and some more clearly stated powers and duties. Sumner stated he had spoken with the City Attorney and they both agreed there were only a couple of things that may need to stay the same, these were the term of residency for Mayor and or Council and the method of appointment. Sumner stated if these two things were changed in the charter if would require it to go before the General Assembly. Sumner stated if the method of appointment stayed the same as it was written in the charter, a special election would need to be held if a vacancy for Mayor and or Council became the issue. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated it would cost the City close to $5000 if a special election had to be held. Mayor Pro Tem Adams did not agree with leaving the appointment process the same. Adams stated if a vacancy occurred, the Mayor should be able to appoint someone to fill the position. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she felt the method of appointment and the residency section needed to be changed in the charter. Sumner stated if these two sections were changed in the charter, it would be required to go before the General Assembly. Sumner stated he would ask that Council have a vote on the charter with the revised language and he would set up a meeting and start the process of getting the charter to go before the General Assembly.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated to Mayor and Council that a covered shelter was needed at Boone’s Triangle Park. Adams stated there were more families using the park and a shelter was needed for parents to sit under and enjoy watching their children play at the park. Adams stated that Boone’s Triangle was the only park in the City of Hahira that did not have a covered shelter. Adams stated if and when funds come available, she would like to request a shelter be built on Boone’s Triangle. Mayor Bullard stated this year there was not any funds for the shelter, but maybe in the future it could be considered. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated maybe there could be donations from the community to help with the costs of the shelter. City Manager Sumner stated there would be a separate fund set up in the software for the donations for the shelter.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated to Mayor and Council that the City currently had a good policy for the rental of the rec center, but in the past there were problems with people duplicating keys to the center, using the center without permission, leaving the utilities on, etc. Adams stated on occasion there were three different groups that use the center in one day. Adams stated the rental agreement needed to be critiqued. Mayor Bullard stated other cities were experiencing the same problems with their rec center. City Manager Sumner stated about 90% of the rec center use was by non-profit organizations. Mayor Bullard stated the City Manager could revise the current policy and Council could vote on the new policy for the rec center. Sumner stated he would have a new revised policy by Thursday night’s Council meeting.

Councilman Cain stated to Mayor and Council he had several complaints about the costs of the roll-off containers. Cain stated the complaints consisted of Griffin Waste not having competitive pricing. Cain stated that most of the complaints were that Griffin Waste was at least $100 dollars more expensive than the other roll-off companies. Cain stated a citizen of Hahira was using another roll-off company’s container free of charge due to she was good friends with the owner of the container and she was told she could not use the other company for that service even though she was using it free of charge. Cain stated citizens should not have to pay a higher price for a service if they could get it cheaper somewhere else. Councilman Clendenin stated the issue needed to be addressed with Griffin to see if they could set the prices to compete with other companies. City Manager Sumner stated he would set up a meeting with Todd Griffin of Griffin Waste and discuss this issue on competitive pricing of the roll-off containers, and report back to Council on Thursday night.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council he would like to purchase new fire equipment for the Fire Department out of grant funds received. Bennett stated he had received 3 quotes on the equipment for Council to review.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council he would like to request funds to complete the bottom half of the Fire Station. Bennett stated that Coombs Heating and Air had donated some materials and labor to help with the costs of completion. Bennett stated he would like to request about $15,000 dollars out of SPLOST to complete the Fire Station. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned if this would come out of SPLOST V or SPLOST VI. City Manager Sumner stated that SPLOST IV had about $18,000 dollars left in it that could be used for the completion of the Fire Station if Council agreed.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council he would like to attend the National Fire Academy conference for the executive management training seminar. Bennett stated this would be held in Maryland, and the lodging and classes was free, the only expense would be travel and meals.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council he would like to attend the annual Chief’s conference in Savannah Georgia during July 25, through July 28, 2010. Davis stated the costs were around $900 dollars and he would receive a 40% discount off that. Davis stated this was a budgeted item for the Police Department.

Public Works Director Warren stated to Mayor and Council he needed to purchase a new motor to rebuild one of the pumps at the lift station. City Manager Sumner stated this would be a SPLOST expenditure.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 7:45 P.M.

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Mayor, Wayne Bullard

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City Clerk, Belinda Chappell

Mayor and Council met for a Council Meeting May 06, 2010 at the Courthouse with Mayor Wayne Bullard presiding.

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: City Manager Sumner

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the minutes. There were no questions concerning the minutes. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion. Councilman Clendenin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Benjamin, vote was unanimous.

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the bills. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated the questions she was concerned about were answered on Monday night at the Work Session. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion. Mayor Pro Tem Adams made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cain, vote was unanimous.

There were no citizens to be heard.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council he had tweaked the ordinance and changed the amount of false alarms to be fined from 3 in one year to 3 false alarms in one month. Davis stated the schedule of fines to be charged were as follows: Third, Fourth, and Fifth false alarm fine was $100, Sixth and Seventh false alarm fine was $200, Eight and Ninth false alarm fine was $350, and Tenth and over false alarms in one month would be fined $500 dollars. City Manager Sumner stated the fines for the false alarms would be shown under the Fire Department and Police Department Fines and Forfeitures budget line item. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned with why the City would wait to charge after the third false alarm, why not charge after the second? Chief Davis stated the State of Georgia used the fee after the third false alarm was made. Councilman Benjamin stated he was concerned if the City was going to notify the businesses about the alarm ordinance. City Manager Sumner stated that it could be put into the upcoming newsletter to notify the business owners. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if the Police Department responded to alarm calls outside of the City. Chief Davis stated his department only responded to calls within the City limits. Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions. There was none. Mayor Bullard asked if there was anyone wishing to speak against. There was no one wishing to speak against. Mayor Bullard asked if there was anyone wishing to speak in favor. There was no one wishing to speak in favor. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion. Councilman Clendenin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Benjamin, vote was unanimous.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council that he had done some research on Beer and Wine license fees on the surrounding cities and found that Hahira’s Beer and Wine license fees were well below what the other cities were charging. Davis stated that Hahira was only charging $100 dollars for a beer and wine license combined and was not charging an application fee. Davis recommended raising the beer and wine license fee and also start charging an application fee for the license. City Manager Sumner stated after reviewing the fees the surrounding cities were charging, he felt that Hahira should raise their fee somewhere between what the City of Remerton and Valdosta were charging for their beer and wine license and application fee. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated that the ordinance should read that the business should have their beer and wine license revoked if they were caught selling alcohol to minors. Adams stated by raising the fee for the beer and wine license, that maybe the business owners would be more cautious on selling beer and wine to minors. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if Chief Davis knew the dates on when the other cities raised their fee for the beer and wine license. Davis stated he did not know what dates the fees were raised for the surrounding cities. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to postpone this agenda item until the City Manager could come up with a new fee schedule for the beer and wine license for next month’s meeting. Councilman Benjamin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cain, vote was unanimous.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council by request, he would advertise to hold a Public Hearing for the changes to be made to the Charter. Most of the changes updating form and content could be held under the home rule provision of the Georgia Code, which requires that cities advertise the amendments to the charter in the legal organ for three consecutive weeks preceding a consideration of the changes in two consecutive meetings of the Council. Three provisions would then require an action of the General Assembly in their next session, such as allowing the Council to appoint a replacement in the event of a vacancy if that vacancy had a period of unexpended term remaining of no more than 12 months. The other two amendments requiring legislative action by the General Assembly concerned residency, which was proposed to be changed from 12 to 24 months prior to election for the office of Mayor, and from 6 months to 12 months for the office of Councilmember. Councilman Clendenin stated he felt that the residency requirements was non-compliable and that in the past, a candidate needed to live in Hahira for 6 months before running for election. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to run an ad in the newspaper on changes made to the Charter. Mayor Pro Tem Adams made a motion, seconded by Councilman Benjamin. Mayor Pro Tem Adams, Councilman Benjamin and Councilman Cain were in favor. Councilman Clendenin was opposed, motion carried.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that he revised the current rec center policy and that some of the changes made were that each renter of the rec center would have to initial beside each individual statement, and would have to sign to acknowledge that they had received the policy agreement. Sumner stated that the hours of use and charges were also defined in the policy. Sumner stated that none of the original charges had changed for the rental of the rec center. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if any and or all organizations that used the center would be charged. City Manager Sumner responded that any non-profit organization that used the center less than two hours per month would not be charged. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to approve the new rec center policy. Mayor Pro Tem Adams made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cain. Mayor Pro Tem Adams, Councilman Cain and Councilman Benjamin were in favor; Councilman Clendenin was opposed, motion carried.

Councilman Cain stated to Mayor and Council that he and the City Manager had a meeting with Todd Griffin, of Griffin Waste Inc. on the competitive pricing for the roll-off containers. Cain stated after meeting with Griffin, they came to the conclusion that Griffin Waste was being competitive with the other roll-off container companies. Cain stated that Griffin also offered two 15yd containers at the price of $275 dollars each, if anyone was needing to use it for spring cleaning or just needed a smaller sized container. Cain stated the reasoning behind the complaints was that consumers were using a larger container than needed, which costs more, when they could have been using a smaller size container for the job they were doing, and would be cheaper for a smaller size. Cain stated that after having the meeting, he was satisfied with Griffin Waste Services.

Councilman Benjamin thanked the Department Heads for doing a great job, thanked the Mayor and fellow Councilmember’s and thanked the citizens for attending the meeting and wished everyone a safe weekend.

Councilman Cain thanked Chief Davis and Public Works Director Warren on getting the surplus items for the City. Cain thanked Chief Bennett for working hard on getting grant money for the City. Cain thanked all the Department Heads for continuing to do a great job. Councilman Cain reported that he would like to revisit the issue of the roll-off container pricing when the Griffin Waste contract came up for renewal next year.

Councilman Clendenin thanked Emily Newkirk for making the Art Around Town a successful event. Clendenin thanked the citizens for attending the meeting and thanked the Department Heads for continuing to do a great job.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams thanked City Clerk Belinda Chappell for doing a great job on the meeting minutes. Adams reported that Coastal Plains was connecting the building to the playground for the children to use.  Adams thanked Councilman Clendenin for the music he provided for the Art Around Town event and also thanked Downtown Development Coordinator Emily Newkirk for a successful Art Around Town event.

City Manager Sumner thanked Mayor and Council for the opportunity to serve. Sumner thanked all the Department Heads, the City Clerk and the Finance Clerk for continuing to do a good job. Sumner thanked the citizens for attending the meeting.

Mayor Bullard thanked the citizens for attending the meeting. Mayor Bullard thanked the Council and the City Manager for their support and continuing to serve the City and also thanked the Department heads for continuing to do a wonderful job and keeping the City running smoothly.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:30 P.M.

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Mayor, Wayne Bullard

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City Clerk, Belinda Chappell