MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL

REGULAR MEETING

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 – 7:30 P.M.

Members Present – Mayor Glenn Newsome, Mayor Pro Tem Russell Gross, Councilmembers Katherine Alexander, Bobby Jacobs and Bryan Standifer. Councilmember Martha Pompey was sick.

Staff Present – Bob Schwartz, City Manager; Gail Harris, Interim City Clerk, Bud Smith, Police Chief and Assistant City Attorney, Lee Abney.

Media Present – Ted Dunagan with the Monticello News.

Citizens Present – Rev. William Gibson, James Dover, Jason Cason, Liz Huckeba, Sharon Pennebaker, Beverly Whitehurst, Angie Lee Willis and David Dammann.

Regular Meeting – Mayor Newsome convened the regular meeting. Rev. William Gibson gave the invocation and Councilmember Jacobs led the Pledge of Allegiance. Gail Harris, Interim City Clerk, called the roll. Upon motion of Councilmember Standifer, seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, the agenda was approved with the amendment of adding item 16A for Council Committee appointments. All members voted in favor.

Minutes – Mayor Pro Tem Gross made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Standifer to approve the minutes of the August 31 and October 6 work session and September 8 regular meeting with the addition of the word electric in front of rates on page three under Mayor Pro Tem Gross’s comments. All were in favor.

Police Chief’s Report – Chief Smith reported that for the month of September the department had 458 calls for service, 167 stops for suspicious subjects, 109 escorts to the bank, 52 needs for an officer, 33 violations, 12 vehicles, 19 residential alarm calls, 5 fire calls, 17 emergency medical calls, wrote 117 citations, and collected $12,142 in fines. The Chief introduced the three new full time police officers: William Connell from Oxford, GA; Mark Gatlin from Jackson, GA; and Patrick Womack of Monticello. Also four part time officers Terrell Thomas – of Monticello with the Jasper County Sheriff Department, Ed Harris a Lieutenant with Forsyth, GA, Ian West – of Monticello a Sergeant with Newton County and Earl Favors from Newborn, GA is an Investigator for Newton County.

Mayor Pro Tem Gross asked Chief Smith to tell of his recent trip. Chief Smith was a winner of a scholarship to the Convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Denver, Colorado. He was chosen out of fifty participates depending on experience and the number of years in service. There were approximately 8,000 at the conference with classes every day; all day long. Also there were 800 vendors set up in the exhibit hall. Mayor Newsome thanked the Chief for representing the City.

City Manager’s Report - City Manager, Bob Schwartz presented his report. The warning siren is to be installed next month and tested with the silent tester it has on it. We are building a frame on the top of City Hall. Mr. Schwartz presented the finance report for September. It is the end of our first quarter and 25% through the year. We have spent $189,044 more than we have received through September. On Friday at 9:00 a.m. the Ad Hoc Committee of Councilmember Pompey and Councilmember Alexander will meet to look at the budget and cash flow. Mayor commented that it was a good thing to receive financial reports. Councilmember Jacobs commented that to reduce utility rates you will have to cut the budget (do away with anything not in the charter). The Manager displayed the Kill – A – Watt EZ which is a kilowatt meter to check refrigerators, appliances, etc. in your home. Every library has one available for citizens to borrow. It is $35.00 each to purchase from Amazon. The electrical upgrade from 4kv to 12kv is half way done. Half the city was done on Saturday, October 10 with the help of seven two-man crews from Griffin along with about a dozen workers in the substation from MEAG. The men arrived at 6:45 am and finished about 4:30 p.m. Each transformer (approximately 350) has to be changed. Dan Thompson with MEAG said Griffin is one of the best crews. We also had police officers at the traffic lights and two workers in city hall answering the phones. We will do it again on this Saturday, October 17 approximately from 8 am to 6 pm.

Mayor Newsome stated he appreciated the staff and the staff answering the phones.

Citizen Input – Rev. William Gibson commented he was glad to hear that the siren is here. He also inquired about the lights in Funderburg Park. He stated that there should be a gymnasium for the kids to practice during the winter.

Consent Agenda –Mayor Pro Tem Gross made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Alexander to approve the consent agenda items #10 – Payables, #11 – Approval of Water/Sewer Drawdown – Carter & Sloope Engineering - $2,301.25, #12 –Resolution approving GMA lease purchase for the 2010 Ford Escape to be used as the City Manager’s vehicle. The lease is for three years at the rate of 3.76%, #13 – Westview Cemetery request for return of streets and #14 –Honorary Councilmember of the Month which is a new program. Councilmember Jacobs questioned how we were to pay for a new vehicle when finances were struggling and asked the Manager not to take it personally. The Manager stated that the lease purchase for the vehicle was approved in the current budget. Motion was approved 3-1. Councilmember Jacobs voted against.

Old Business – Downtown Parking – Mr. Schwartz stated that there were postcard surveys delivered to merchants concerning making six thirty minute spaces around the square. He asked Council to approve six thirty minute signs. Councilmember Jacobs stated that the signs had to be approved by the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC). There will need to be an amendment to the city code and approval of the first reading. Mayor Pro Tem Gross made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Standifer to approve the first reading of the 30 minute parking limit spaces ordinance. All were in favor.

New Business – Certificate of Appropriateness – Mr. James Dover made a request to retain his structure at his place of business on W. Washington Street. The zoning ordinance requires a certificate of appropriateness for certain improvements in the Entrance Corridor Overlay District. Prior to Mr. Dover erecting his structure he went to the Jasper County Zoning Office for approval and they told him it was okay for him to put it there in May. He uses the carport to put his smoker under when it is raining. An entrance corridor is different from HPC because it is not in the Historic District. An entrance corridor is to be approved by the Zoning Committee and the City Council.

Mr. Dover presented pictures of the structure and stated that he had already covered one of the metal poles and painted the roof to match his other building.

Mayor Pro Tem Gross made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Alexander to approve Mr. Dover’s request. It failed 0-3.

Rev. Gibson commented that the Council should be sure to state in the newspaper clearly for this not to be confused with the last issue at one of the other meetings.

Mayor Newsome opened the floor for discussion. Councilmember Alexander stated that it was hard to tell someone no metal buildings and then uphold this one. Councilmember Jacobs stated that they needed to follow the rules and they should treat all equal. Councilmember Standifer stated that he agreed with Councilmember Jacobs and the ordinance states no metal building and HPC states no metal structure. He wants to support the business but wants to follow the rules. Mayor Pro Tem stated that many people were putting on metal roofs which were not an issue. The zoning passed last year in September. Mayor Newsome asked that Mr. Dover get together with Peggy Billerman, the Zoning Administrator to do the changes. Council will let the Manager know what changes Mr. Dover needs to make so he can let Mr. Dover know by Friday.

Committee Appointments – Mayor Newsome appointed the Council Committees as follows:

Public Safety – Mayor Pro Tem Russell Gross & Councilmember Katherine Alexander

Personnel – Councilmember Martha Pompey & Councilmember Katherine Alexander

Finance/Budget – Mayor Pro Tem Russell Gross & Councilmember Martha Pompey

Gas/Electric – Councilmember Bryan Standifer & Councilmember Bobby Jacobs

Water/Sewer/Streets – Councilmember Bobby Jacobs & Councilmember Bryan Standifer

Mayor Newsome stated that each committee should meet monthly with the Manager and Department Head and the Department Head to come to some meetings to report to Council. Councilmember Jacobs stated that this should be advertised properly. Councilmember Standifer made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Gross to approve the committees. All were in favor.

Code Enforcement - Councilmember Jacobs asked if the City could have joint code enforcement with the County. Mayor Newsome referred this to the Water/Sewer/Streets Committee.

Sewer Repairs – It was discussed in the work session that the proposal of $200,000 was in this year budget and $200,000 in next year budget. The disbursement of funds was $100,000 from sewer fees and $100,000 from the Competitive Trust Fund. Mayor Pro Tem Gross inquired about grants which will be looked into. Mayor Pro Tem Gross made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Alexander to approve a contract with Jordan Engineering to assist the City with our sewer system repairs with Council approval prior to the work in small increments of three months. All were in favor.

Council Comments – Councilmember Alexander commented that the meetings she and Councilmember Pompey would be having will be to tighten up on some things. They hope to decrease electric rates and were moving some things around.

Councilmember Standifer stated that Sergeant Eddie Davis retired September 30 and there was going to be a retirement event of thanksgiving for him on Sunday, October 18 at 4:00 p.m. and the Chief will have his employee recognition.

Mayor Pro Tem Gross commented that there was a great meeting with Mr. Jim Dove. He thanked Councilmember Alexander for her good ideas.

Councilmember Jacobs stated that it was good to have Department Heads that you could count on. He commented that he was disappointed of the graffiti that was on the Funderburg Park Pavilion and that it was very disheartening. He stated that the only way to reduce utility rates is to reduce services and staff.

Mayor Newsome stated that they made progress on Saturday. He thanked City Manager, Bob Schwartz for his leadership and the entire staff on what they did and continue to do so. The Mayor gave the Council a form for the City Manager’s six month evaluation which was not a formal evaluation it was just to help people to know in what areas were good and what needed to be enhanced. He also presented the Council with a self-evaluation not to be turned in.

David Dammann stated that he never received his form for the parking on the square. He commented that next time we need to make sure that every merchant received their material.

Adjournment - Councilmember Standifer made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Alexander to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. All were in favor.

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