Mayor and Council met for a Work Session November 02, 2009 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.　

Mayor Bullard asked if there were any questions concerning the minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she couldn’t find any corrections that needed to be made to the minutes.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council he had challenged the students at Hahira Middle School to make straight A’s on their report card and if a student made all A’s, he would pay $10 dollars per A to the student. Davis stated he had a student that received all A’s and he would be paying her $70 dollars on Thursday night at the Council Meeting and would be recognizing her for her excellence in achievement in school.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that this item was placed back on the agenda at the request of Councilman Benjamin. Council Benjamin stated he had spoke with the owner of the property located directly behind Mrs. Mitchell and that he had signed a letter stating that he was in agreement to let Mrs. Mitchell use the property if Council agreed on the variance for the Rear Yard Setback. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if the owner would be willing to sell Mitchell the property. Benjamin stated the property owner wasn’t willing to sell the property at the time but was willing to allow Mitchell the use of the property. Benjamin stated Mitchell was also willing to sign anything the City needed for her to sign to allow the variance. Councilman Cain stated he was concerned on whether the inspections were done on the property. Councilman Benjamin stated he was told they were done but would find out a definite answer on the inspections. Anne-Marie Wolfe stated she would also check on the inspection issues.

Anne Marie Wolfe with the Planning and Zoning Commission stated to Mayor and Council the Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously but the Planning and Zoning Staff denied approval due to the building ordinance the City of Hahira had in place. Wolfe stated Bailey was requesting to have a 12 foot set back and an opaque fence installed. Wolfe stated the ordinance stated a 22 foot set back was required with an opaque fence installed and landscaping was to be planted. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if any comments had been received on the variance request for the storage buildings. City Manager Sumner stated he had not received any comments on the variance request for the storage buildings.

Anne Marie Wolfe with the Planning and Zoning Commission stated to Mayor and Council a revised copy of the Overlay District was sent to the City Manager for distribution to Mayor and Council. Wolfe stated the ordinance was being revised to try and extend the character of downtown Hahira out to the interstate. Wolfe stated several of the items being revised were to help bring the building closer to the road, the installation of sidewalks and landscaping, certain percentage of building materials required, signage regulations, and interconnected access were included in the changes made to the ordinance. Wolfe stated it was mostly cosmetic changes being made to the ordinance. City Manager Sumner thanked Anne-Marie Wolfe for all the hard work she and her staff put into the text amendment. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was very pleased with the results of the changes to the Ordinance and thanked Anne-Marie for her hard work. City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council the representatives from Harvey’s were attending the meeting if anyone had any questions, they would entertain them at that time. Mr. Rob Neal with Primax Properties stated to Mayor and Council that Primax had a 20 year finalized lease agreement with the Harvey’s grocery store. Neal stated the plans were drawn up without anticipating changes in the ordinance from Council. Mr. Neal stated with the changes to the existing building ordinance it would produce a significant change to the amount of time and money already spent on the plans that were drawn according to the existing building ordinance Hahira had in place. Neal stated if Primax wasn’t able to use the existing plans, he was not sure they would be able to move forward with Harvey’s being built in Hahira. Mr. Neal stated Harvey’s would be willing to donate the land that was needed for the sidewalks and street lights, but the City would be responsible for installing the sidewalks and streetlights with the grant money the City would be applying for. Councilman Clendenin stated he had researched the previous minutes and found that the City clearly stated they wanted the early 19^th century phased carried out to the Gateway project and that this was discussed and understood by the property developer Avery Walden. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if that issue was ever presented to Primax Properties. Mr. Neal responded the discussion of the 19^th century phased was not ever discussed with him. Councilman Benjamin stated he was concerned if there would be a buffer behind the Harvey’s building. Benjamin stated this was a concern of the residents that lived on West Main Street Extension. Mr. Neal stated the plans he had were in accordance with the existing ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned with what would happen if the building become vacant. Mr. Neal stated if the building was to become vacant, they would try to lease it to another super market, but he was not aware of that happening to Harvey’s because they have been in their buildings for decades. Mr. Dewayne Tut with Harvey’s Real Estate stated to Mayor and Council that Harvey’s had approved a certain dollar amount to build the Harvey’s in Hahira. Tut stated if that dollar amount changed then he would have to go before the executive board for Harvey’s and try to explain the reasoning behind the cost change. Tut stated Harvey’s could decide not to go forward with building in Hahira due to the changes in cost. Councilman Benjamin stated other small towns in Georgia were looking to revitalize their downtown, and stated to the Harvey’s representatives that this would be the time to make changes to accommodate the smaller towns in Georgia. Councilman Clendenin stated the changes that would be made in the Overlay District would help protect the citizens in Hahira in future developments. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated in the overlay guidelines, there were guidelines that stated a fence or wall was to be built behind the store to protect the citizens that live in that area. Mr. Neal stated that was one of the changes that could be made in the existing plans to protect those residents, but to change the entire site plan would be too costly for the company. City Manager Sumner stated there would be more discussion on this agenda item on Thursday night at the Council Meeting.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council this was the Third Reading of the text amendment to the Golf Cart Ordinance. Davis stated the verbiage would be changed to state that golf carts could not travel up or down South Church Street but would be able to cross South Church Street at designated intersections. City Manager Sumner stated this was the third and final reading of the text amendment to the Golf Cart Ordinance.

Mayor Bullard asked of there were any questions concerning the bills. There were no questions concerning the bills.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that GMA had went up on their health insurance rates and the total for the year for Hahira employees would be around $10,000 dollars. Sumner stated that the budget did not anticipate a hike in insurance and that there was no money in the budget for the increase in rates. Sumner stated there were other options that included getting quotes from other insurance companies, but employees would be required to fill out health questionnaires. Sumner stated he needed Council’s direction on whether to send out for bids from other insurance providers. Mayor and Council agreed to give the City Manager permission to get quotes from other insurance companies.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he had provided them with a bid tab from four different companies that provide water meters. Sumner stated that about 80 to 90 percent of Hahira’s water meters were Neptune meters. Sumner stated that all four bidders were close, but something to take in consideration was manufacturers who offer Neptune meters, due to the fact that the majority of the meters the City currently had were Neptune meters. Sumner stated that he scored the bids and recommended Lanier/Municipal Supply for the provider of the radio read meters. Sumner stated this was due to Lanier Municipal Supply manufacture Neptune meters and is local if something needed to be ordered or repaired on the meters. Sumner recommended the entire meter system needed to be overhauled and stated that it was an eligible SPLOST expenditure. Sumner stated that the new system would take out all possible human error and upload the meter reads into the software system from Lanier which would be compatible with the software the City was currently using. Sumner stated there was a 20 year warranty on the new radio read meters and its software.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council the purpose of the right of way ordinance was to protect the City from Utility Companies performing a job or digging on the City’s rights of way. Sumner stated the ordinance would also protect the franchise agreements the City had with the Utility Companies. Sumner stated he was having the City Attorney Rob Plumb review the right of way ordinance and Plumb would let him know if any changes were needed. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. There were no questions from Council.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he moved this agenda item ahead a month, that it is usually on the December agenda each year. Sumner presented Mayor and Council a copy of the schedule. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned with the dates for the Council meeting in October. City Manager Sumner stated the reason the date was moved was due to the Honeybee Festival being later in October 2010. Sumner stated changes could be made to the schedule if Council agreed.

E.) City of Ethics Re-Certification Resolution (City Manager)

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council it had been four years since Hahira became a member of the City of Ethics. Sumner stated that GMA decided that the City of Hahira should re-certify for City of Ethics. Sumner stated in order for Hahira to re-certify Council needed to adopt the resolution and he would send the signed resolution back to GMA.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he had provided Council with suggestions for the Union Road recycling center. Sumner stated the issue with the site was how Council wanted to staff the site. Sumner stated several options that Council may want to consider on having the site available to the Hahira citizens. Sumner stated if would be very difficult to have the site open without some type of supervision on the premises. Sumner stated one of the options was to rotate the employees from Public Works and have the site open on Saturdays. Sumner stated the residents of Hahira would need to show some type of proof of residency to gain access to the site. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she believed that most of the citizens would prefer the recycling center to be open on Saturday’s due to the fact that most people work during the week. Sumner stated another option was to have an increase in sanitation fees for the residents in order to provide a part-time employee to staff the recycling center. Sumner stated another option would be to require the City and County residents to purchase a permit to use the center. Sumner stated there would be more discussion at the Council meeting on Thursday night.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had requested from the City Manager a web site policy and he provided a policy to her. Adams stated there was a link in the policy that needed to be deleted because she did not believe it needed to be a part of the policy. Adams stated that the policy the City Manager provided was a very good policy for the web site, with a few changes that needed to be made. City Manager Sumner stated he would delete that last link in the policy if Council agreed. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she would provide Council with more information regarding the web site at the Council meeting on Thursday night. Adams stated the web site was a gift to the City from John Adams the web site owner.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she had received several complaints regarding the speeding on these streets and also had witnessed the speeding herself. Adams stated she felt there were more stop signs needed on Lawson Street to slow down the speeding, because there were many children on both of these streets and also the Daycare was located on Stanfill Street. Chief Davis stated he had patrolled over in that area and clocked speeders at 39 miles per hour but a State law required the speeding be at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. Chief Davis recommended putting the 4-way stop at the intersection of N. West and Lawson Streets to solve the speeding problem.

Chief Davis recommended placing the stop signs at the intersection of North West and Lawson Streets to help control the speeding in the area.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council he would like to do something different for the volunteers. Sumner stated with the help of Emily Newkirk, they had discussed maybe trying to do something like a meet and greet business after hour’s party for the volunteers this year. Sumner stated this would be more cost effective for the City to have this type of party for the volunteers. Sumner stated the employee Christmas party would be about the same as we had last year and the cost would also be around $ 650 dollars for the employee party.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council the bonuses are usually given out at the Christmas party for the employees. Sumner stated there was funding available in the budget for these bonuses and excess sick leave. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned if this was in the 2009 budget. Sumner responded this was budgeted for in the 2009 budget for the Christmas bonuses and excess sick leave.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council this reimbursement was for the Fire Department volunteers who pay money out of pocket during the year for training classes. Bennett stated this was to reimburse the volunteers back the money they paid.

Chief Davis stated to Mayor and Council the Mayor’s Day Motorcade this year was on December 10, 2009. Davis stated the City participated in this event every year and donations were taken up during the year for the patients of the Southwestern State Hospital. Davis invited everyone who would like to attend this event with the City of Hahira.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council, with the help of Councilman Clendenin, the City was able to find a vendor who supplied the globes for the lights. Sumner stated he estimated the City would need about five globes to replace the broken globes on the street lights. Mayor Pro Tem Adams suggested putting up some type of guard to block the places where people are backing into the post and breaking the globes.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council he would like to purchase a radio for one of the staff members of the Fire Department. Bennett stated the firefighter was currently using one of the radios and pagers from the County Fire Department and would like to request the City purchase a radio for him to use. Bennett stated the cost of the radio would be $1326.98 and the pager cost would be $ 385 dollars. Bennett stated the purchase could either be a capital expenditure or SPLOST expenditure.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 P.M.

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Mayor, Wayne Bullard

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City Clerk, Belinda Chappell