City Council - 11 February 2008 Minutes

WORK SESSION OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL

6:00 P.M. – WORK SESSION Main Street Conference Room

PRESENT:
Mayor Harris, Councilmembers Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock, City Administrator, Department Directors, City Attorney

A work session was held prior to the regular scheduled meeting to allow the elected officials to discuss and ask questions of department directors regarding this evening’s agenda items.

OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED:
Council directed Staff to ask current engineering firms to resubmit qualifications prior to appointing them for 2009, and to have a review process on a regular basis.

MINUTES OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
CITY OF DULUTH, GA

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
MOCK TRIALS: will be held in the Municipal Courtroom on February 11th and 14th, 18th and 19th from 6:30-9:00pm.

COMMUNITY APPRECIATION DAY: scheduled for Saturday March 15th from 11am to 6pm. There will be fun, food, entertainment and tours, a great day for the whole family.

BAREFOOT IN THE PARK: The 4th Annual Fine Arts Festival/Show in downtown Duluth on April 19th and 20th

KIRKWOOD, Missouri incident: Councilmember Mundrick referenced the tragic shooting deaths of two members of Council, the Public Works Director, two police officers and the critical injuries to the Kirkwood Mayor. He asked everyone to consider and remember the contributions of those who were lost in the line of service to their communities.

DULUTH HS BAND: hosting a “Savory Sounds” fundraiser March 8th at the Gwinnett Environmental Heritage Center, 7pm.

COUNCIL WORK SESSIONS: It was noted to the public that prior to every Council meeting there is a work session in the nearby conference room to review the agenda items, and the public is welcome to attend.

1. CONSENT AGENDA
   1. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 28, 2008 MINUTES
   2. APPOINTED ENGINEERING FIRMS OF RECORD FOR 2008 - WILLIAMS & ASSOCIATES
      Approval of this item adds Williams & Associates to the current list of appointments approved as the City’s Engineering Firms of Record for 2008.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Hall, seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Whitlock, Mundrick, Hall, Dugan and Bomar
      Motion carried.
2. NEW BUSINESS
   1. AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT -- UNITED WASTE/ROBERTSON SANITATION [Exhibit “A”]
      City Administrator Phil McLemore came forward to explain a request by United Waste for the Mayor and Council to consider an amendment to the “Agreement for Residential, Commercial and Industrial/Roll Off Refuse and Residential Recycling Collection and Disposal with Republic Services of Georgia d/b/a United Waste Service and Robertson Sanitation” (hereafter “United”) that would allow United to increase fees. This request is permitted on an annual basis per the contract dated February 26, 2007.
      
      Mr. McLemore explained that United proposed a 4.4% cost of living rate increase as well as a 4.4% fuel cost increase for a total of 8.8%. The current franchise fee payment from United for this past year was $53,690.28 and the current bag subsidy paid by the City is $1.20 per box. A 4.4% increase would raise the box amount by another $1.20, which could be absorbed and paid from the franchise fee. Based on the 21,816 boxes of bags sold last year and a new subsidy rate of $2.40, total amount would be $52,358.40. However, there would be insufficient funds remaining to help offset the increased cost to businesses.
      
      Staff recommended considering only the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as stated in the contract, which is 4.4% for this past year, since fuel costs are normally considered as part of the CPI. Staff also recommended absorbing the increase in residential service by taking the added costs from the City franchise fee with no change in bag costs. New rates would go into effect on March 1, 2008. Additionally, the City has been asked to consider providing a smaller sized bag. Staff has discussed and found that the smaller bags could be made available at a reduced rate.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve a rate increase of 4.4% to the cost of trash pickup by United and to increase our subsidy by the necessary 4.4% so that this year the residential pickup does not see an increase, with a recommendation that the City Administrator pursue the opportunity and ability to use the small bags as long as there is no cost to the City.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      Motion carried.
   2. AWARD OF BID – CITY HALL CLEANING SERVICE [Exhibit “B”]
      The Mayor and Council considered awarding the bid for cleaning services at City Hall. The City advertised and requested bids for a yearly cleaning contract. Approximately 16 companies responded and attended a walk-through of the building before the bid. Three companies submitted bids and one of those was disqualified. The two remaining firms were Showcase Cleaning Company and Building Maintenance Services Inc. Staff reviewed both bids and performed reference checks. Having worked for similar sized governments, both firms were determined to be qualified for the work.
      
      The City of Cumming had used both firms on their City Hall and therefore was able to directly compare their services and share feedback. Cumming indicated that Showcase was a little more expensive but felt they provided better service and fewer problems. Upon further investigation, staff discovered that
      Building Maintenance Services subcontracts out parts of their work rather than having just their own employees. Cumming indicated that this practice could cause an accountability problem.
      Staff recommended that Showcase Cleaning be awarded the bid for $31,320.48 per year as compared to the bid of Building Maintenance Services for $27,900. The estimated budget for cleaning services is adequate to cover service until June 30th but an increase in the FY09 budget will be necessary.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Mundrick, to approve awarding the bid to Showcase Cleaning in the amount of $31,320.48 per year as presented.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      
      Motion carried.
3. MATTERS FROM CITIZENS
   1. WASTE SERVICES CONCERNS
      Brittany Vincente of 4229 Berwick Farm Drive came forward and said she felt that the United Waste bags have not being very sturdy. City Administrator Phil McLemore responded that defective bags can be brought back to City Hall for exchange. Councilmember Whitlock requested that quality control be emphasized to United.
   2. ROAD PROJECTS AND DOWNTOWN CONCERNS
      Lewis Corley of 3650 Ridgeway Road came forward and asked about the status of the Ridgeway Road extension. Mr. McLemore responded that the federal funding originally dedicated to the Ridgeway extension was no longer available as it is not designated as a “collector road.” Since the City no longer has the grant money available to move forward with putting the road in, the costs would need to come from City funding. Currently, an appraisal is being conducted. The next part of the process is to obtain additional rights-of-way.
      
      Mr. McLemore explained that the federal funds that were previously available for this project are hopefully going to be reallocated to the hospital connector road, which does meet the requirement of a “collector road.” SPLOST funding could be used for Ridgeway.
      
      Mr. Corley asked about additional width of the right of way, and Mr. McLemore confirmed that it would come from the Towne Park Place side of the road.
      
      Dan Woodley, developer of Towne Park Place, came forward and questioned the timeframe and funding mechanisms for the Ridgeway extension, and asked what the short-term plans are for this year for the betterment of the business and residential downtown areas. He is willing to donate toward a County library facility and do all he can to make this into a viable entertainment district, including partnering in providing downtown parking.
      
      Mr. McLemore said that in the first part of 2009, he hoped to have the money to purchase rights-of-way for Ridgeway, unless the money could be taken from prior year reserves. He noted the mixed use development being considered for the old City Hall block as improvements for downtown. He also responded that the City is appraising Mr. Woodley’s property now and is carefully considering the corner property and what the best fit will be to benefit the whole area.
      
      Councilmember Bomar referenced possible new funding sources to help expedite these projects, and noted that Mr. Woodley’s property is perfectly suited for parking with other uses on top of it. She pointed out that she is going to have a vested interest in the success of downtown, both as a private business owner and a resident.
      
      Councilmember Whitlock noted that part of the upcoming Strategic Planning session would be setting goals with the intention of speeding things up. Mr. Corley asked about the Planning Commission’s role in approving what would go on the property, and Councilmember Dugan commented that as a point of clarification, the City does not own all the property in question. He also noted that many things are going on the background but not everything can be announced.
      
      Councilmember Whitlock wanted to be sure that the Downtown Development Authority was made aware of Mr. Woodley’s concern about downtown parking only benefitting one particular development.
4. EXECUTIVE SESSION – REAL ESTATE, PENDING/POTENTIAL LITIGATION, AND PERSONNEL
   1. A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Hall, to adjourn to executive session at 7:55 p.m.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      Motion carried.
      
      After the discussion, a motion was made by Councilmember Bomar, seconded by Councilmember Mundrick, to return to regular session at 8:45 p.m.
      
      Those voting for: Councilmembers Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      Motion carried.
5. ADJOURNMENT
   1. A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Hall, to adjourn at 9:00 p.m.
      
      All for. Motion carried unanimously.