City Council - 25 February 2008 Minutes

WORK SESSION OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL

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.

No other items were discussed and no action was taken.

MINUTES OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
CITY OF DULUTH, GA

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Council member Bomar announced that the Duluth HS Mock Trial Team won the Regional Championship and will vie for the State Championship in mid-March.

Council member Hall announced that the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety acknowledged that the City’s “HEAT” Unit met all goals and objectives, and the City was commended for the work it does in implementing strategies and reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities within Duluth as well as across Georgia. The Unit is also to be commended for increasing awareness both in seatbelt and child safety seat use.

Mayor Harris announced that Councilmember Bomar was recognized by the Chamber and was selected as one of 25 outstanding women honoring her leadership and accomplishments within her company.

1. CONSENT AGENDA
   1. APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 11, 2008 MINUTES
   2. WAIVER OF FEES – FOSTER CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION – WP JONES PARK
      Approval of this item authorizes the waiver of the facility usage fees for the Foster Children’s Foundation Annual Egg Hunt to be held on March 15, 2008 at W.P. Jones Park from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Park Staff recommends approval of waiving the fees ($140 for duration of time; facility is normally $70 for 3 hours) upon execution of signed facility usage forms between the City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Department and the Foster Children’s Foundation.
   3. AUTHORIZATION AND WAIVERS – 2008 CITY EVENTS
      The following downtown events are deemed sponsored by the City of Duluth. Approval of this item waives food service requirements per Section 26-2-370 of the Official Code of GA, which exempts food vendors from having to obtain said permits provided that the event lasts 120 hours or less. It also waives signage fee and location requirements provided that the City Clerk and Public Works Director are given a list of where signs will be erected throughout the City for promotion of approved events. (Alcohol will be permitted only for events or portions of events denoted with asterisks.) The following are scheduled events thus far:
      
      General Events:
      
      Community Appreciation Day (March 15)
      Barefoot in the Park/Fine Arts Festival** (April 18-20)
      Memorial Day Services (May 24)
      Duluth Celebrates America** (Hudgens Park, July 3)
      Duluth’s Market of Treasures (July 12—tentative event)
      Brown Bag Lunches (Thursdays, last week in May-first week in August)
      Duluth Fall Festival** (September 26-28)
      Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast (Bunten Road Park, October)
      Winter Magic in conjunction with Annual Holiday Festival/Tree lighting**(December 5-7).
      
      Flicks on the Bricks 2008 Family Film Festival:
      The Bee Movie (June 14)
      Star 94 sponsored movie (July 19)
      The Water Horse (August 16)
      Surfs Up (September 13)
      Scooby Doo (October 25)
      
      SummerStage Concert Series:
      Smoke on the Mountain** (May 2)
      Rockin’ Thru the Decades** (June 28)
      USO Celebration with a Big Band Concert** (Aug 2)
      Fall Festival Concert** (Sept 27)
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Hall, seconded by Councilmember Bomar, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented.
      Those voting for: Council members Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      
      Motion carried.
2. NEW BUSINESS
   1. RESOLUTION TO AMEND ADMIN. CLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE/PAY PLAN
      Mayor Harris called for a motion to postpone this item until March 10, 2008.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Bomar, to postpone the resolution to amend the Administrative Classification Schedule/ Salary Survey and Pay Grade Study.
      Those voting for: Council members Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      
      Motion carried.
   2. ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE FY08 BUDGET – ISE STORMWATER CONTRACT [Exhibit “A”]
      The Mayor and Council considered an ordinance to amend the FY08 budget. City Administrator Phil McLemore explained that Gwinnett County started a stormwater utility last year, which is basically a tax that all citizens are paying that is related to impervious surface and its effect on water quality. All cities or counties are required to comply and obtain a NPDES permit. At that time, Staff and Council felt that performing this work in house would be much more economical for the citizens rather than have a tax passed along from the County that appears on the property tax bill.
      
      Mr. McLemore summarized the situation to date, and said that a consultant was hired last year to do inventory, and perform training sessions, etc. to bring the City into compliance and train staff to handle this task in the future. In January of 2007, Council approved a contract with Integrated Science & Engineering (ISE) in the amount of $182,712 and approved contingency funds $50,000 to pay the cost of parts 1-4 of the contract in FY 07. In February of 2007, Council amended the ISE contract by $7,650 and approved contingency funds to cover that cost. In FY 07, only $15,938 of the contract was invoiced and paid, leaving approved unspent funds of $41,712. The total contract balance to be paid in FY 08 is 176,425 but the FY 08 budget only included $40,000 for Storm Water/Erosion Management. Staff is requesting that unspent prior year reserves of $41,712 and additional prior year reserves of $92,350 be added to CD-06-08, Line item 100-506-425052222 in order to pay the balance due on the ISE contract.
      
      Councilmember Mundrick asked if the work would be completed in this fiscal year, and Mr. McLemore said that there would still be future expenses due to maintenance costs but that staff will perform most of these functions going forward. There is a chance that some of the work may have to be paid from next year’s budget. Mr. Mundrick then noted that for those living in unincorporated Gwinnett County, the cost for each household is approximately $90 per year. He also felt that the City could most likely handle this responsibility within our existing tax base.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Mundrick, seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve the ordinance to amend the FY08 budget as presented.
      Those voting for: Council members Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      
      Motion carried.
   3. GWINNETT COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
      David Hornsby, Environmental Health Specialist came before Council to give a brief overview of some of the programs that the Health Department oversees. Their responsibilities include performing inspections on community and business (hotel/motel) swimming pools, tourist accommodations, septic systems, and body art (tattoo and body piercing studios) as well as food service establishments. The City Clerk’s office will maintain contact information for these various programs.
      
      Councilmember Bomar noted that the newest community pool would be opening at the Aquatic Center at West Gwinnett Park on Tuesday.
3. MATTERS FROM CITIZENS
   1. EVENT PROPOSAL - “DOG DAYS IN DULUTH”
      Shelley Howard of 3657 West Lawrenceville Street came with a proposal to display a “public art in the park” project in the downtown area. The theme would be “Dog Days in Duluth” and would be on display July through September. Council requested Ms. Howard to meet and work out the logistics with Alisa Williams, PR Director and Parks & Recreation Director Kathy Marelle.
   2. STORM WATER UTILITY CLARIFICATION
      Carey Fisher of 3053 Canter Way came forward and asked for explanation on what a storm water utility is. Councilmember Mundrick summarized by explaining that in the same manner that citizens pay for drinking water and sewage service, the storm water utility is something charged for – has also been referred to as a “rain tax.” As required under the Clean Water Act and in an effort to ensure that water that comes off of our roads, streets, and parking lots doesn’t contain pollutants and does not degrade the water quality of our drinking water, a fee is charged that relates back to amount of impervious surface that water has to run off to get back to the ground for recirculation. Certain requirements are placed on cities and counties to protect our resources, and Gwinnett County has been handling this in the past but has now decided to start charging the citizens additional fees. The fees typically cover the costs of maintaining the infrastructure to handle water runoff.
      
      Planning Director Cliff Cross further explained that currently, the County keeps inventory of all stormwater structures. Duluth has contracted for a private inventory of these and going forward, Staff will be able to maintain it. The advantage is that it can be systematically inspected and rated, with the information captured into the City’s Geographic Information System ( GIS), so the City knows where the problems are, can maintain more detailed information, and can decide what needs to be repaired and can perform the work more reasonably. In this manner, Staff and Council have felt that the City can provide better service at lower rate. There is also a requirement to inspect 20% of the structures after the inventory is done.
      
      Councilmember Bomar added that the biggest advantage is building and maintaining the database, since things can be scheduled and budgeted accordingly, and the City can have better control where the dollars are being spent. Currently it’s handled on a response type of situation, which is always more costly when it’s an emergency. Councilmember Mundrick verified that in the past, the City budget included money for mostly repair work when something fails, not for maintenance or regular review.
4. MATTERS FROM COUNCIL/DEPT HEADS/CITY ATTORNEY
   1. AUTHORIZATION TO PURSUE FINANCING OPTIONS – DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
      Phil McLemore, City Administrator explained that the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is recommending the city pursue the use of a financing tool to assist in downtown projects that may not be economically feasible without assistance. Therefore the DDA recommended the City Administrator be authorized to work with Bond Attorney Earle Taylor to determine feasibility of utilizing a new redevelopment tool. Any future attorney fees will be divided between the City and the developer.
      
      Ken Odum, Chairman of the Downtown Development Authority came forward and explained the request in detail. He advised that if better financing tools were available, it would be more economically feasible for developers to come and develop in older areas. Many of these older areas have unknown variables to consider, and offering several alternatives for financing, such as property transfer to the DDA, offers tax advantages. The DDA can issue bonds, the developer pays off the bonds over several years, and the areas are positively impacted with quality developments. He noted that preliminary research has been done and asked that the City Administrator be given authority to take the next step.
      
      Councilmember Dugan asked if these financing tools would have to be tied to specific projects, and Mr. Odum responded that yes, each project would be handled separately.
      
      Councilmember Mundrick noted that he was in favor of the idea, but as part of the exploration, he would like to see some criteria developed to prevent overuse or abuse. His concern is that some of these projects, although in the future would contribute to additional tax revenue to the community, could potentially create a lot of service demands without being offset by revenue at that point in time. He noted the challenge with balancing the public purpose against the city using this tool, and wants to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of all possible concerns.
      
      City Attorney Lee Thompson explained the financing process in detail and said that the percentage on fees is lower, and confirmed that the Bond Attorneys typically base their fees on the amount paid in taxes. He noted Mr. Taylor’s expertise in this field.
      
      Councilmember Whitlock questioned ownership of projects financed under DDA bond issues, and Mr. McLemore said that each project would be looked at separately and determinations made individually. He confirmed that Staff doesn’t anticipate expenses at this point but there will be some in the future if these financing options are pursued.
      
      City Attorney Lee Thompson noted that Mr. Taylor has already been providing free advice with the understanding that he would be hired as bond counsel if the City moves forward. The actual fees are based on a percentage of bond amounts, but are also based on the amount of work involved and the risks involved with providing tax opinions, etc.
      
      A motion was made by Councilmember Whitlock , seconded by Councilmember Dugan, to approve authorizing the City Administrator to pursue financing options as presented and to further utilize the services of Bond Attorney Earle Taylor.
      
      Councilmember Bomar noted that since this is not specific to a certain downtown property, she felt that it was not a conflict of interest for her to vote on this matter.
      
      Those voting for: Council members Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      Motion carried.
5. EXECUTIVE SESSION – PERSONNEL, REAL ESTATE, PENDING/POTENTIAL LITIGATION
   1. A motion was made by Council member Whitlock, seconded by Council member Mundrick to adjourn to Executive session for the purpose to discuss potential/pending litigation, real estate and personnel matters at 7:55 p.m.
      
      Those voting for.: Bomar, Dugan, Hall, Mundrick and Whitlock
      Motion carried.
6. ADJOURNMENT