Mayor and Council met for a Work Session August 30, 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, 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 did not find any corrections that were needed in the minutes.

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

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that he had notified Mr. Drew indicating Council’s desire to transfer the property over to private hands. Sumner stated all of the private streets within the City, with the exception of Marshall Street had been paved. Sumner stated Puett Drive had never been paved and it was basically a driveway and unpaved parking lot for Drew Apiaries. Sumner stated Mr. Drew was requesting that Puett Drive be transferred over to him. Sumner stated that Mr. Drew had the property surveyed at his own expense. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if the water lines had been located on the property. PWD Warren responded the lines had been located. Councilman Clendenin stated he felt the easement location was needed in the legal documentation before action could be taken on the property. Mayor Bullard stated the easement location would be included as a stipulation in the legal documentation.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council this was part of the certification for the Police Department to run radar in the City limits. Sumner stated DOT requested this every few years and this year there were questions was from Chief Davis and Council, if the speed limits on S. Hall Street and Haganbridge could be lowered. Sumner stated he spoke with the traffic engineer at the district office in Tifton and he replied that a traffic study would have to be performed, which would cost the City about $8000 dollars. Sumner stated he had the D.O.T district office forward an original copy of the speed limit ordinance for review. City Manager Sumner stated he would entertain any questions Council may have. There were no questions at that time.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that the official action was taken on this item back in the year 2002 and it was authorized by Council, but the deed was never executed. Sumner stated the action and the resolution had been prepared by the City Attorney so it could be formally transferred. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she believed the closure of Marshall Street was also discussed in the year 2006. City Manager Sumner stated it was discussed during a work session meeting in the year 2008 but he wasn’t sure about being discussed in 2006. City Manager Sumner stated when it was discussed in 2008 at a work session; it was found that a resolution had to be passed to move forward with the transfer of the property. Mayor Pro Tem Adams was concerned with why something was not done back in 2008 when this was discussed. City Manager Sumner responded that a resolution could not be done when a previous administration had decided something and it had not been completed.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that a request was made by an adjacent property owner to purchase property that belonged to the City of Hahira. Sumner stated the property was adjacent to Ms. Fannie McCann’s property which was located on Wright Street, and her son was interested in purchasing the property. Sumner stated he felt the property would be marketable as a home lot. Sumner stated he needed direction from Council, if they chose to bid out the property on the method and pricing for bidding on the property. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned with how the property was zoned. Sumner responded the property was zoned as residential. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she would like to have the property advertised and bid upon. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if the property could be put on govdeals and advertised for bid. Sumner stated a combination of the two would be needed. Sumner stated it would need to be advertised and include in the advertisement how to get to govdeals to bid on the property. Sumner stated the information provided to Council on the property was incorrect, and would have the correct information by next month’s meeting.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that that Gateway Project had been disappointingly placed on hold and funding was anticipated for a significant improvement to the water and sewer system through the economic development grants. Sumner stated that project had been postponed. Sumner stated that left certain items to focus the remaining resources on, like the nursery project, the land application expansion, and the extension of the sewer system into the county. Sumner stated after the purchase of the wireless meters, there was about $200,000 dollars left for improvements. Sumner stated that Water and Sewer improvements have always been a top priority for Council, but if Council wanted to shift that to road improvements, that could be done as well. Sumner provided Council with information on how much each improvement would costs and stated it was for their review and could be discussed at a later time to give Council time to review the material.

Councilman Cain stated to Mayor and Council that he would like to discuss the tap fees that were raised back up to $5000 dollars. Cain stated he had done some researching on the tap fees and he stated that he did not feel it was a good time to raise the tap fees in the July meeting. Cain stated he was absent for the meeting in July but felt that due to the economy being down, he felt raising the tap fees back up to $5000 dollars was not a good decision at the time. Cain stated the new home construction had decreased inside the City limits of Hahira and felt the tap fees should have stayed at $3000 until at least the beginning of 2011. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated she was concerned with how many approved taps the City was holding but have not been paid for by the developers. City Manager Sumner stated when the fee was reduced to $3000 dollars; the developer would come into City Hall and fill out the application for EPD approval, get the approval at $3000 but not come back and pay until the house was ready for construction. Mayor and Council agreed to have the City Manager draft a letter to be sent out to all contractors, giving them 60 days to come in to City Hall and pay for all taps approved by EPD at the rate they were approved.

Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated to Mayor and Council that she spoken with Director Warren and Chief Davis regarding the grass clippings on the streets of Hahira. Adams stated that the clippings were clogging up the storm drainage systems around the City. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated that the landscapers that come into the City to mow a citizen’s yard, was blowing the clippings out into the streets. City Manager Sumner read the Valdosta ordinance that pertains to this and stated it read that it was unlawful to obstruct the drainage systems. Sumner stated the City’s current ordinance should cover this matter of grass clippings obstructing the drainage systems. City Manager Sumner stated he would work on changing the wordage in the current ordinance to include the grass clipping issue and have that ready for Council to review.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council this was what had funded all of the improvements in front of the Courthouse, the sidewalks, the poles, the street lights, etc. Sumner stated the City had applied in the past for a couple of sections of town and that the max to apply for was about $450,000 if the City put up about $70,000. Sumner stated he had contacted the City Engineer on putting an application together and was informed there would be a fee to put together an application. Sumner stated in the past the City had Ingram and Associates eager to do any work for the City, but in the past there was no work that was needed. Sumner stated an RFP could be sent out or Council could decide to move forward with Ingram and Associates if they were willing to apply for the funds. Councilman Clendenin stated he was concerned if Ingram and Associates were going to present an application free of charge. Sumner stated Ingram was willing to do the application work for free. Council agreed to have the City Manager contact Ingram and Associates and keep Council updated.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that nothing had changed since the last Council meeting which was held in August 2010. Sumner stated he would entertain any questions that Council may have. Councilman Clendenin stated the federal numbers were in and the increase would be two tenths of one percent. Councilman Clendenin stated a salary study was performed for the City of Hahira and nothing was ever changed on the way the employees were being increased on their salary. Mayor Pro Tem Adams stated the City did have employees that were only making just above minimum wage an hour, and there was a recommendation from the salary study that was performed on how to increase the employee’s wages. Councilman Clendenin recommended that the City Manager come up with a plan on how to adjust the salaries, and postpone the COLA for at least another month. Mayor Bullard stated the COLA was budgeted for 2010, and next year Council could discuss methods on how to adjust salaries as needed.

PWD Warren stated to Mayor and Council he was requesting an implement truck for the Public Works Department. Warren stated the truck he was using was non-dependable and his department was in need of a new truck. City Manager Sumner stated this was a SPLOST expenditure.

PWD Warren stated to Mayor and Council that the lift station pump located on Haganbridge and Coleman road was not working and the price to repair the pump was around $7000 dollars. City Manager Sumner stated this was a SPLOST expenditure.

City Clerk Belinda Chappell stated to Mayor and Council that she had decided to postpone the Clerk’s training classes in Athens Georgia until February 2011.

Chief Bennett stated to Mayor and Council that the Fire Department was requesting to replace the fire reporting software. Bennett stated the cost of the software would be around $3000 dollars and it would greatly help his department run more smoothly. City Manager Sumner stated this was a SPLOST expenditure.

City Manager Sumner stated to Mayor and Council that the budget was required by code to be adopted on a preliminary level before October 1, 2010. Sumner stated there had not been much discussion in Budget Workshop 1 and that he had not received any comments from the citizens. Sumner stated if Council had any questions or comments they could be addressed and hopefully have the budget ready for preliminary adoption at the Thursday night Council meeting. Sumner stated the budget would be advertised and be available for final adoption at the October Council meeting. Sumner stated he would answer any questions or comments that Council may have. There were no questions at that time.

Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to come out of the regular meeting and enter into executive session for the purpose of discussing legal matters. Councilman Benjamin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Clendenin, vote was unanimous. Mayor Bullard asked for a motion to come out of executive session and enter back into the regular meeting authorizing the Mayor to sign the affidavit saying the only thing discussed was legal matters. Councilman Benjamin made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cain, vote was unanimous.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 P.M.

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Mayor, Wayne Bullard

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City Clerk, Belinda Chappell