Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-17-2010 Regular Meeting ,.-.., City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes June 17, 2010 7:00 p.m. The City Council of Peachtree City met on Thursday, June 17,2010, at City Hall. Mayor Haddix called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Council Members attending: Vanessa Fleisch, Eric Imker, Kim Leamard, and Doug Sturbaum. Announcements. Awards, Suecial Recoe:nition Mayor Haddix recognized the vo1unleers at the Peachtree City Library along with the volunteer coordinator, Paul Lentz. Haddix issued a Proclamation to "Let Freedom Ring" on July 4, recognized residents of Dartmouth Place who participated in a drowning rescue, and recognized Ricky Howard of the Fire Department for 10 years of service. Ae:enda Chane:es There were none. Public Comment There was none. Minutes _ June 1, 2010, Budget Workshop June 2, 2010 Budget Workshop June 3, 2010, Regular Meeting Fleisch moved to approve the meeting minutes as presented. Leamard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Ae:enda 1. Consider Alcohol License - NEW - Borgo Italia, 288 Highway 54 West 2. Consider Alcohol License - NEW - Tuscany Wine Distributers of Georgia, 1000 Cooper Circle #102 3. Consider Adoption of Partial Plan Update to the Comprehensive Plan Leamard moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Old Ae:enda Items 06-10-01 Public Hearing - Consider Rezoning, LUR-13 to GR, Newgate Road Haddix noted that the Plarming Commission recommendation memo was on the dais. Brendan Barr and David Dixon with Norsouth addressed Council regarding their proposed age- restricted community, Kedron Senior Village. Barr said there had been some misconceptions about the project and clarified that the most frequent question he received was if this was a _ subsidized housing project. He said it was not, and the apartments were marketed to seniors not receiving aid. City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 2 ~ The parcel was 5.62 acres currently zoned for multi-family development, which was consistent with Peachtree City's Land Use Plan. The site had good access to Highway 74 and to Kedron Shopping Center, as well as to medical offices, the multi-use path system, and the Kedron Fieldhouse and Aquatic Center. Barr said Peachtree City's demographics supported the need for this type of housing, which had no impact on schools and minimal. impact on traffic. He said the project would provide an economic benefit to the City. The target residents were moderate income seniors, with an approximate armual income of $30,000, capable of independent living. The community would have additional services such as on-site medical screenings, exercise classes, and pottery classes. There would also be gardening plots, game rooms, and private space for group meeting. The restrictions on age would be included in the deeds, financing, and zoning covenants. The target market was predominately female and beginning at age 70. Rents would range from $660 to $950 per month. Barr explained that there was a period, varying in length for each person, when older residents were between wanting a single-family home and needing assisted living. This community filled that gap. ,...., Barr said that tax credits were a financing mechanism used to develop affordable housing, with the tax credit passed on to the equity investors financing the project, which in turn allowed for the lower rental rates. Barr said the project adhered to the step-down zoning advocated by Peachtree City's Land Use Plan, with higher density development closer to the village center. It also promoted the availability of senior living accommodations to keep up with the changing demographics of society, and promoted the mixture of income brackets advocated by the plan. Barr then reviewed statistics, noting that the United States' population was quickly growing older, and seniors were the fastest growing segment of the population. Additionally, the average life expectancy was increasing, thus increasing the need to extend retirement income with this type ofproject. Barr said the proposed development would actually improve the traffic impact over the current zoning for the property. The project would add $5.8 million in onetime benefits, and $6.6 million in recurring benefits to the community. The project would also include sustainable development features, including energy efficient appliances and lighting fixtures, a rainwater harvest system, drought-resistant landscaping, low flow plumbing fixtures, energy efficient outdoor lighting, and resident education programs on issues like recycling. - Project architect Bill Foley then reviewed the site plan, noting the site was surrounded by green space, although the site had been pre-graded for commercial development several years previously. Foley said the proposed project was sized to include significant amenities, and the overall count had been reduced to 100 units. Golf cart parking had also been added, along with City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 3 - secured parking and garden space for the residents. The buffer along Highway 74 would virtually obscure the entire development. Foley said Norsouth would connect into the path system and would look at a more direct connection to the shopping center. The facility was three-storied with elevators. Dixon added that Norsouth loved Peachtree City and the standards the City had set. They were committed to building an asset to the City. He said he realized the community was traditionally opposed to multi-family housing, but this was a completely different type of project, designed for mothers, mothers-in-law, and grandmothers. The rental rates were the standard for this age range and market. Norsouth also had a long-range commitment to the project. Community Development Director David Rast then reviewed staffs recommendation. He said several representatives of staff and the Planning Commission had toured other properties by Norsouth, and Rast had met with representatives of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) about the tax credit program. ,...., w The project was on land currently zoned for a 21-unit townhome development. The Land Use Map designated the site as multi-family. When Kedron Village had originally been zoned, the property within the Georgian ParklPeachtree Parkway/Highway 74 loop had all been zoned for commercial use. Newgate Road, within that area, included the Georgia Park Car Wash, Holiday Inn, a gas station, and this site, which had originally been two to three additional commercial sites. The sites were pre-graded but were not sold. In 2007, the City rezoned the property for a town-home development, and the Land Use Plan was changed to multi-family to reflect that change. Rast said, as part of the overall Kedron Village zoning, the property on the outer loop of Kedron Drive, including the neighborhoods off Regents Park, were all designated for multi-family development. The vision was that .the area would have townhomes and condominiums to take advantage of the lake views. Pathway Communities had chosen to develop the area at a lower density, with single-family detached residential. The 5.62-acre site was formerly zoned GC and was currently zoned LUR-13 for 21 townhome units. The proposed zoning was GR-18, with a gross density of 17.9 units per acre. Rast said that people often talk about sticking to Peachtree City's "plan." He said the 1985 Land Use plan called for a mix of dwelling types, sizes, and processes to meet the current and projected needs of residents of all socio-economic groups.. The 1990 Comprehensive Plan discussed the village concept and having higher density development closest to the village retail centers, and recommended multi-family and medium density residential developments in close proximity to the centers. ".-., I' , In 1995, the Land Use Plan was updated to call for a limit on multi-family development to no mote than what was absolutely needed to support the city at build-out. City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 4 f!""""'!J In 2006, the City began the update of the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Assessment revealed that the majority of Peachtree City's population was between the age of 40-55, and that population would pass 65 in 20 years. The Comprehensive Plan Committee raised issues about whether the City had the resources to accommodate an aging community as far as housing and transportation were concerned, and if the City needed to increase the availability of senior housing developments. Opportunities outlined in the update included designating additional areas for senior and/or age restricted housing, conducting an inventory of existing senior housing or cluster communities and determining if services were being provided or if improvements or enhancements were necessary, and considering a redesign of existing apartment communities to accommodate senior housing. Council adopted the plan with these elements to forward to the DCA. Rast then reviewed recently approved senior-oriented developments. These included the 144 luxury apartments at Towne Club, which was complete; Somerby, with 310 age-restricted units, which had not broken ground yet but was anticipated to begin by the end of 2010; and the Scarborough Tract in Wilksmoor Village, which would include 650 age-restricted units, but the project was on hold. Rast then reviewed existing apartments in general per village, and apartments geared specifically toward seniors. He noted that Kedrclll had no senior apartments. He also reviewed current rental rates (a copy of the presentation is included in the official meeting file). ".,..". Rast addressed the Tax Credit program, saying it had been enacted by Congress in 1986 to provide the private market with incentives to invest in affordable and workforce housing. Through the program, Federal housing credits were awarded to developers of qualified projects, then sold to investors to raise capital to build the projects. This reduced the debt the developer would otherwise have to borrow, allowing for more affordable rental rates. The program was administered through the DCA. Housing Tax Credits applied to residential rental property that had to commit to low-income occupancy threshold requirements. The developer was required to restrict rents, including utility charges, in low-income units, and to operate under the rent and income restrictions for 30 years or longer, pursuant to written agreements with DCA. Compliance requirements included a minimum affordability period of 30 years (15 year compliance period + 15 year extended use period), armual tenant income certification, and DCA inspections of properties on 3-year cycles. ~ Rast explained the Plarming Commission expressed concern about Norsouth obtaining approval and then walking away from the project. To address this concern, Norsouth was proposing to place deed restrictions on the property to limit occupants to senior adults 62 years of age and older. Those deed restrictions would stay with the land and could only be removed by a change in zoning. Additionally, the Federal Housing Act (FHA) stipulated age restriction requirements, and DCA would place a Land Use Restrictive Agreement on the property to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Housing Tax Credit program. The Land Use Restrictive Agreement would run with land and could not be repealed without consent of DCA. Finally, the City's GR- ,...., - City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 5 18 zoning designation had been written specifically for this development. Any change to use of the property would require a change in the conditions of zoning. Staff was recommending approval of the project with the following conditions: 1. The schematic site plan submitted as a part of the rezoning request is illustrative only. The Applicant shall prepare a detailed conceptual site plan, which must be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission as a part of the established site plan review and approval process. It is understood the general layout of the buildings, parking areas and amenities may change once final engineering documents are prepared. 2. There shall be no more than one hundred (100) apartments, all of which shall be age- restricted, within the overall development. 3. Existing vegetation within all tree save and landscape buffers shall be preserved to the greatest extent practicable prior to, during and following construction activities. 4. The exterior building materials and color selection shall be submitted to and approved by the Planning Commission. Building architecture, exterior materials and color selection shall follow the city's design guidelines ordinance. 5. The Applicant shall coordinate with City Staff to determine the location and extent of the multi-use path connection from this development to the existing path on Newgate Road. The path shall be designed and constructed by the Applicant at no expense to the city. 6. The maintenance of all internal parks, landscaped areas and signage shall be the sole responsibility of the developer and/ or the community association. 7. The Applicant shall coordinate with the Fayette County Water Department and the Peachtree City Fire Department to ensure appropriately sized water lines are constructed as a part of this development. 8. The overall development shall comply with the city's post-construction stormwater runoff management ordinance and provide water quality Best Management Practices (BMP's) on greenbelt areas dedicated to the city. 9. The location of the floodplain shall be field located and surveyed prior to preparation of the engineering drawings. Absolutely no development shall be permitted within the floodplain. 10. The Applicant shall coordinate with the Peachtree City Building, Fire and Police Departments to ensure their understanding of the proposed development, internal circulation routes, emergency response, building design and life safety issues. 11. The developer shall pay impact fees as identified within the city's Impact Fee Ordinance. 12. At the Applicant's request, the property and units constructed thereon shall be restricted to housingfor older persons as defined in 42 u.s.e. 33607. Said development shall be intended and operated for occupancy by persons 62 years of age or older. The City shall publish and the developer shall adhere to policies and procedures that demonstrate the intent required under this provision. In addition, the Developer and its successors and assigns shall comply with rules issued by the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for verification of occupancy, which shall: provide for verification by affidavit with photo identification listing each resident's date of birth and include examples of the types of policies and procedures relevant to a determination of compliance with the requirement of this Paragraph 1318. City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 6 "".",.., . 13. The annexation and rezoning is conditioned upon the execution of the Development Agreement between the City and the Applicant attached hereto as Attachment "B ". The Development Agreement shall be recorded in the Deed Records of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Fayette County, Georgia, so as to provide notice of the conditions of this zoning to all parties in interest. Rast said the Planning Commission held two public hearings and voted unanimously to recommend approval, but added conditions to those already proposed by staff. Those additional conditions were: - 14. The Applicant shall notify the City of Peachtree City of any changes in ownership or management of the development. 15. The Applicant shall work with City Staff and the Fire Marshal to identify a suitable location for the security gates with the intent being to move the gates as far into the property as possible. 16. The Applicant shall provide covered parking for golf carts on the property. 17. The Applicant shall provide line of sight elevations from SR 74 and Georgian Park to determine the impact of the building on these areas. 18. The final site plan and architectural plans shall ensure that all mechanical units are properly screened from view. 19. The landscape plan shall be reviewed and approved by the City Landscape Architect and the Planning Commission in accordance with the city's landscape ordinance. 20. The Applicant shall work with City Staff to determine the location of the access to the existing golf cart path. This shall include reviewing a proposed new path connection across the existing creek to provide direct access into the retail center. 21. A copy of the annual audit report shall be provided to the city. Haddix asked for those in favor of the project to speak. Al Yougel, Keep Peachtree City Beautiful, said he was tired of having to clean up the site. Juan Matute asked about parking, saying that if there were 100 units and 100 parking spaces combined for automobiles and golf carts, it would force some people to use their cars to go to the nearby shopping center. He said requiring either a car or a golf cart could be a problem, and he asked if they could expand the parking so that some people could have both if they wanted them. Matute said the sociological impact of the gap this project would fill would result in a transient population that would reduce the community integrity that Peachtree City strove to attain. Frank Destadio said he had been a developer and an engineer. He felt the presentation was very one-sided, and questioned whether the decision had already been made. He said developers were also in business to make money, and asked, if they could not fill all the apartments, would they then come back to request an ordinance change. He said Peachtree City should support seniors, but he did not think Peachtree City was set up for low-income housing. ,...., City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 7 r Ellen Ulkin said that she was approaching 70 and would probably fall into the "low income" category of these apartments, and they sounded very nice. She said it was not up to Peachtree City to discriminate against retirees who made $30,000, and everyone needed a place to live. Carol Mitchell said older residents needed to stay in their homes and commented at length about an unrelated issue. Betty Robison said she lived in Twiggs Comer next to Peachtree Villas, the only true "low- income" housing for seniors in Peachtree City. She said very few people in town were even aware of that project. She said $30,000 annual retirement income was not low-income, and there were a lot of residents who could not afford Towne Club. She was in favor of the project. - Learnard asked Rast about the potential issues if the project did not fill up. Rast said there would be a deed restriction recorded on the property that would include the age restrictions and the conditions of the zoning. If the property changed hands, the new developer or owner would fall under the same requirements. Any change would have to come back to Council for a change in zoning. The Development Agreement would be between the City and Norsouth, the land use restrictions would be between DCA and Norsouth, and the restrictions would be part of the zoning. Those were three separate guarantees that would impose the restrictions and conditions until and unless they came back to Council. Rast said Norsouth's agreement with DCA bound them for 15 years as a moderate income community for seniors. To opt out, there was an application process during which DCA would have the first right to find a new owner to operate the property under the same conditions. The intent, from DCA, was to keep this the same type of property regardless of ownership. Sturbaum asked if a new owner could opt out of the DCA requirements before the 15-year time- frame. Dixon responded, saying the age restriction would be perpetual, but the income restrictions, which only applied to 80% of the property, must extend the full 15 years, and there was the expectation that the income restrictions would extend another 15 years. Haddix said that, if the project failed in 7 years, it would sit empty. Barr confirmed that it would sit there until it could be filled with resident~ age 62 and older. Sturbaum asked how a unit might go out of compliance. Barr said that 80% would have a moderate income restriction, and non-compliance could mean leasing to someone under 62 or to someone who earned more than the income restriction, but it could also include maintenance issues if the property was not kept up. In those cases, DCA issued a notice to the IRS about the problem that the owners had to address or be subject to penalties or tax credit recapturing. Dave Kuhn asked, if a resident had a grandchild move in, who would monitor the situation. Barr said that would bring the unit out of compliance and could be addressed by reporting it to either the City or DCA. ~ Haddix said he thought the amount of owner-occupied homes by seniors was very high in Peachtree City. He did not want the misconception that Peachtree City did not currently have a lot of seniors in homes at this time. City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 8 ,-. , Learnard asked what the other Norsouth properties were like, and ifthey had changed ownership. She asked Rast ifhe would feel comfortable having his mother live at one of the properties. Rast said that, as someone whose father p'assed away two years ago and whose mother was still in the house with the family unable to find a place they could afford for her to live, he would have no qualms about moving her into one of these properties. Rast said they had visited facilities in College Park, East Point, and elsewhere, still owned by Norsouth. They were all in very good condition, well landscaped and well maintained. The amenities, which were required as part of the program, were designed to prevent the residents from sitting alone in their apartments with no communication. Fleisch asked if Peachtree City had any other locations that had used this type of funding. Rast said Harmony Village had been one of the initial recipients of tax credits. Rast spoke with the representative from DCA, who indicated the application at that time was very short, and once the credits were awarded, the applicantwent bankrupt and pulled out of the project, but it was still funded through the Tax Credit program. - Imker asked if there were any other locations that had the opportunity for razing and rebuilding or starting from scratch to build this type of proj ect. Rast said some of the older apartment complexes were zoned OR for apartments, but that properties geared toward seniors were not laid out on larger tracts of land - they were kept small, single buildings, to keep all the residents close to the amenities. Rast said that, realistically, there were probably several sites in town that could one day have requests to be redeveloped in this manner. Learnard said the bottom line for her was whether it met the needs of Peachtree City, and she believed it did because of the aging population. She said she liked the location and the compliance with the Land Use Plan, and that they were built with environmental considerations. She also felt the imposition of restrictions was well-considered and that this was not a low- income project. She said it was a good solution in a good location. Haddix said there had been a lot of history of overbuilding in Peachtree City, and the apartment communities already here had been the reason for the multi-family rezoning moratorium. AMLI had sold its complexes due to their age. He said the big hindrance to him was that, if it did not sell, it would sit empty. He also did not like dropping homes in the middle of commercial and office development, saying it was isolating the residences. He felt there were too many negatives to vote for the project. Fleisch said she felt there was a need, but she would rather something already zoned be redeveloped. She felt the City did not need to have something else that would need to be maintained down the road. ,....., Sturbaum said he had concerns about the turnover long-term. Imker said he was not prepared to increase any zoning density by 500%. Fleisch moved to deny the rezoning request. Imker seconded. Motion carried 4-1 (Leamard). City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 9 "...., 06-10-05 Consider Approval of PCT A Lease Agreement Haddix prefaced the item by saying that there had been some deliberate misinformation and false rumors put out, and he wanted clarify that he was a strong supporter of seniors and he wanted to make sure the groups using the annex had a place to continue meeting. City Manager Bernard McMullen said the lease had been discussed at the previous meeting, with two options for locating the welcome center. Option A was in the space that was immediately adjacent to the box office, and Option B was in the space next door, known as The Oathering Place Annex. Council had asked staff to look at other options for the groups using the annex, and McMullen reviewed staff s criteria in evaluating various spaces. The facilities looked at included The Oathering Place, the Annex, the lower level at City Hall, Kedron Fieldhouse Room 2, and the Floy Farr Room of the Library. The evaluation criteria included ADA accessibility, parking, restrooms, impact on other programming, event-appropriateness of the space, recreation staff oversight, the maximum number of tables possible, and available storage space. The Oathering Place had the highest score, with the annex coming in second, because City Hall and the Floy Farr room had challenges with parking during the work day. The Kedron room also had parking challenges and had events for age groups that might conflict with the programming from the Annex. None of them could provide the needed storage space. ,.,...., Janet Werner, Leisure Services Coordinator for The Oathering Place, reported that losing the Annex would result in the discontinuation of Tuesday night, Wednesday, Thursday night, and Saturday ACBL Bridge Oames. Music Alive practices would have to be cancelled, and several rentals for The Oathering Place would have to be cancelled. Haddix asked for clarification on where Music Alive practiced, and a representative ofthe group confirmed that it was on the main level of the Annex. Leisure Services Director Randy Oaddo said they had been moved from downstairs when Oriffin Tech relocated to that space. Haddix asked whether the function ofthe Oathering Place was as a rental facility or a facility to serve the citizens. Werner said, until two years ago, they had not sought rentals, but there had been more of a focus on revenue during the recent economic downturn. Oaddo said Council had directed staff to develop more revenue sources to offset operating costs, which rentals helped to address. -- Haddix said he understood that the direction had come from Council, but he was now asking for Council input on whether that direction was warranted. Fleisch said it did not make senseto her to focus on revenue generation at the Oathering Place when that was the only spot available for seniors. Imker said both The Oathering Place and the annex needed to serve citizens first and only be rented when the rental did not interfere with. the programs. Sturbaum said he was concerned that the emphasis on revenue was displacing the facility users at The Oathering Place. Learnard noted that, in the decision matrix, The Oathering Place had offered the most benefits to City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 10 - i- I the bridge group, and asked if they were still looking at moving the bridge group to the most ideal setting. ~, Imker said the old box office area (Option A) would meet the short term needs for the Visitors Center, and maybe the long-term needs, and would not interfere with the current activities at the annex or The Gathering Place. Haddix said he had a problem with calling it a short-term solution. Imker asked for feedback from Tourism Executive Director Nancy Price. Price said the current space was temporarily adequate, but it would not work for the long-term if Council and the Tourism Association wanted to expand the Visitor's Center into a true Welcome/ Information Center such as had been operated by the major developer in previous decades. A citizen asked how many visitors carne to the Visitor's Center. Price said about 60 per month, but the goal was to bring those numbers up significantly. lInker asked about the renovation co.~ts. McMullen said they did not have specific estimates, but he was estimating around $10,000. The annex space, though larger, was open and would not require a lot of modification; the box office side was more involved because it would require the removal and relocation of walls. Haddix said he felt it was not cost effective to modify the smaller area as a temporary solution. ~ Imker said he could live with the center in the smaller space for a year, even if fifty people a day visited. He also felt the renovations could be completed fairly cheaply, and an alternative still needed to be found.. Learnard asked if the funds for the renovations were available in Council Contingency. McMullen confirmed that the funds were available. Haddix remained uncolllfortablewith the temporary solution, and asked Price for input. Price said the Annex space was optimal, but they could certainly live within the box qffice space for now. Haddix asked and Price confirmed that there would be no room to expand the center into an Information/Welcome Center. Haddix said he was also trying to look toward the future and ways to bring in new revenue. Fleisch clarified that the hope was to have a center to help market the City, and the question before them was whether to have a facility of the size necessary to have interactive displays for prospective residents. She admitted she was surprised at the variety of groups using the annex since the space was usually empty when she visited the Box Office. Learnard said she would also love to see the center using the entire building, but the space was in use, and if Option A could be made to work, that was what needed to happen for the time being. Sturbaum asked if there was any grant funding available to expand the building. McMullen said not that he was aware of. Price said DCA did some grants for Visitors' Centers, but there would be no funding available soon. ,.-.. Haddix asked about using the larger space and moving other Gathering Place activities into the smaller space. Price said that would be a logistical challenge due to the special wiring for the City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 11 ..-. box office in its current location. McMullen added that the space was not large enough for more than about six tables, and classes would be disruptive to the box office and Tourism operations. Haddix said Council would like to hear a final solution for the location in one year. Fleisch said by that time the Griffin Tech lease would be up for the lower level of the building. Gaddo noted that Griffin Tech had provided the ESL and GED classes in Peachtree City for many years, and Fleisch asked about providing them an alternate location. McMullen said that ran into the same challenges for office space and materials storage. Haddix said the one-year deadline gave staff time to address the scheduling and usage, even though it looked like rentals would have to lose out. lmker said the best solution might be a $200,000 bond referendum at the next election to increase the size of The Gathering Place. He felt that would be acceptable to the citizens in lieu of the multi-million dollar bond proposed last time. McMullen said the City truly had a space problem, and the only real way to solve it was to create more space. Imker said enlarging The Gathering Place could address those needs for ten or more years. Haddix asked if there was still time to put a bond referendum on the November ballot. City Attorney Ted Meeker said it would have to be called by the beginning of August to meet the deadlines. Learnard said that was one option, and Council discussed having a bond referendum on the County ballot in 2010 versus the City ballot in 2011. - Haddix said he would like to see. a resolution by January to have the various groups in a permanent location and then leave them alone. A member of the audience asked about the temporary solution and why this was suddenly an issue when there had been a Visitor's Center for years. McMullen explained that the staffs of the Amphitheater and the Tourism Association had been consolidated and reduced, so their operations needed to be located together. Imker moved to approve the PCTA Lease for Option A, the space adjacent to the Box Office, for one year, with up to $15,000 from Council Contingency to accommodate the facility modifications. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council asked staff to look at a bond referendum to expand the Gathering Place for the 2010 election, if feasible, or 2011 if not, and to look at a permanent housing solution to the location of the Visitor's Center. Sturbaum asked staff to report back on a monthly basis. Imker stated that the citizens needed to understand that, if a bond were passed, a millage rate increase to support that bond would be passed. He said he just wanted that to be clear at the outset. Mayor Haddix called for a five minute break in the meeting. !"'"' New Al!enda Items 06-10-06 Consider Canceling the July 1, 2010, Council Meeting City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 12 ......, , lmker moved to cancel the July 1, 2010, City Council Meeting. Leamard seconded. Motion carried nnanimously. 06-10-07 Consider Lake Peachtree Usage/Rental Fees Haddix said there was an additional document on the dais, a letter from the Lake Peachtree Association President, Tim Therrell. Gaddo said the City had granted a one-time Lake usage permit to a conference center for a dragon boat teambuilding exercise in April. The existing Drake Field rental rate had been used. At that time, Council had asked staff to form a lake use committee to look at the issues surronnding renting the lake. The committee included a representative from the local hospitality industry, an event promoter, a member of the Lake Peachtree Association, a local sport fisherman, a local triathlon organizer, a member of Council, and staff. The group met several times. ~ The committee recommended approval for lake usage and had recommended a rental fee, with specific criteria and conditions. The approval would only apply to the two conference centers large enough to host this type of event (Wyndham and Dolce), and any other requests would be considered on a case by case basis. The centers would choose their own event promoter to coordinate with the City, and that promoter would be responsible for completing the special event application packet and ensuring rules were followed. The application would be fast- tracked to all City departments in acknowledgement of the conference centers' need to quickly put together bids for conferences. ~^ Gaddo said the committee recomITIended exempting three existing events, the Rotary Dragon Boat Races & International Festival, and two locally-organized triathlons. Scheduled events would include only non-motorized boats except for authorized safety or support boats, and would be confined a specific area at the northem end of the lake, just south of Highway 54, to minimize impact. The primary boat launch point would be Drake Field, with Battery Way serving as a secondary launch to retrieve boats if necessary. As pilot program, only 10 such events would be permitted through the end of 2010, with eight being held on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and two held on weekends between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. After each of the first three events, the committee would review the process. Additionally, by the end of2010, the committee would determine if there needed to be an annual limit on these events. Gaddo said staff was hoping to have the policy in place as quickly as possible to allow the conference centers to be ready for the fall conference season. The committee also recommended a rental fee of $500 per event to cover the lake and Drake Field rental and staffing costs, along with a $300 refundable security and cleanup deposit. ,...... , ~. Gaddo said all the committee meITIbers expressed the same concern, which was the care and maintenance of Lake Peachtree. City efforts already underway to protect the lake included grass carp being budgeted in the Recreation DepartIrietlt budget, increased enforcement of the non- resident fishing restrictions, increased patrols of the lake parks by the Parks Monitor, and plans City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 13 ~ to provide the Parks Monitor with the authority to issue citations. Volunteers were also helping to address litter around the lake. Therrell, who also served on the committee, said he had met with the Lake Peachtree Association that week on the proposal. There had not been much opposition to the proposal, but there was concern that the rental fee was too l?w. He said the fee was partially going to Drake Field, and some should be earmarked for the lake, either to supplement the grass carp or dock repairs, and asked how the roughly $300 of the fee for the lake would be used. McMullen said that the fees would have to go into the General Fund, and could not go into a fenced account unless that was the primary funding source for the project. McMullen suggested tracking the events and the fees, possibly doing a budget amendment for the fees collected this year to designate specific projects. McMullen did not foresee any problems tracking the funds. Sturbaum asked that the costs to each department also be tracked. Fleisch, who also served on the committee, said that, in looking at the fee, they considered that the conference centers were Peachtree City residents that paid both property tax and Hotel/Motel Tax, and the lake use was another tool for them to attract conferences. She noted that Police and Fire costs would be paid for separately from the fee. ,..... Therrell said the fee was nominal, and Gaddo said the fee was primarily based on the staffing costs to process the application and prepare the site for use. Leamard said her main concern was erosion of the lake shore. Sturhaum asked that the internal costs be tracked to ensure the fee covered the program. Imker said it would become a financial nightmare to try to track all the costs and revenue and then earmark funds for specific uses. Therrell said his primary reason for bringing up the request was that Lake Peachtree had never beep. ll1a:keted for commercial use. Imker asked if there was a policy about earmarking funds, and'McMullen said he was actually suggesting tracking the costs. Paul Lenz asked what steps would be taken during these events to make sure the traffic did not impact the Library. Gaddo said that, for these types of events, the participants were brought in busses and they were not events the general public would be attending, so they should have no impact on the Library. Sturbaum moved to approve the lake rental proposal as presented by staff. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Sturbaum asked Therrell to keep working with the committee as they evaluated the events held. Sturbaum moved to continue the meeting past 11 :00 p.m. Imker seconded. Motion carried unanimously. - f 06-10-08 Consider Decommissioning the Peachtree City Library Commission City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 14 Gaddo said staff was recommending that Council dissolve the Library Commission, assign the public access element of their mission to the Recreation Commission, and encourage the Library Commission volunteers to participate in the Friends of the Library. Gaddo then provided background information on the two organizations, saying the Library Commission formed first as a CoID1l1ittee in 1995 to spend down enhancement funds ($428,000) left from the County Library SPLOST. The committee was changed to a commission in 1996, and their role had been to spend the enhancement fi.1r14s, promote and support the Library, recommend policies for operations and programs, recommend budget needs, and advise the City Council and staff. The Friends of the Library (POL), a registered 50l(c)(3) non profit association, was chartered in 1973, when Peachtree City did not have a library. Their organization had continued over the years, and they provide guidance to Library operations, recommend policies and procedures, raised money, and dispensed the funds. The group had a current membership of 95. When formed in 1973, the FOL started out with one part-time staff person in the Library, which served Peachtree City's approximately 2,000 residents. ~ ~' Gaddo noted the similarities between the missions of the two organizations, and then reported that, in 2010, the Library staff had four people with Master's Degrees in Library/Information Science and Grade 5B Librarian Certification, had a fully accredited full-time supervisory staff, and he said Library Administrator Jill Prouty is one of the top Librarians in Georgia. This staff served Peachtree City's population of 37,000, with 36,000 cardholders for the Library, most of them Peachtree City Residents. In addition to the full and part-time staff, the Library had 1,900 hours worked by volunteers. The staffing reductions, budget reductions, and reduction in hours in 2009 meant the staff had less time to do more work because Library use had not decreased. Gaddo said the professional staff of 2010 did not need guidance in operating a Library or additional layers in their chain of command. At this point, they needed a more streamlined support system. Dissolving the Library Commission would eliminate the current duplication of missions, giving staff a single volunteer body with which to coordinate. The Commission members could continue their involvement through the FOL, the Recreation Commission would continue to provide a vehicle for public input, and the FOL would continue to raise funds, provide input, and assist with volunteer staffing. Gaddo said the Recreation CommJssion would be copsidering accepting their new role at their meeting the following Monday. lmker said he had been considering postponing the decision until the Recreation Commission met, but would be willing to conditionally approve the dissolution based on the Recreation Commission's acceptance the next week. r- Gaddo added that the Library Commission had operated in an extremely professional and competent manner over the years. This proposal had nothing to do with their operation, but the timing seemed to be optimal. Haddix agreed that the volunteers on the commission had been City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 15 ,..... excellent. He said he would like to see a member of the Recreation Commission act as a liaison with the FOL and attend their meetings. Haddix asked if the bylaws for the FOL were in a current and acceptable format. Gaddo said they would look at them. The FOL met quarterly. Imker asked if Gaddo would be f()llowing up with the by-laws changes for the Recreation Commission to reflect their new role. Gaddo said yes. Imker asked that the Recreation Commission be kept in the loop on relevant decisions to garner public input and provide that input to the City Council. Haddix said they already had that power, but lmker said their bylaws did not reflect that ability. Sturbaum asked Lenz what the Library Commission's thoughts on the recommendation had been. Lenz said they acknowledged Council's authority to make the decision and would do what Council wanted. Sturbaum said the Library Commission had been an advocate for the citizens and users of the Library, and the Recreation Commission would certainly have to pick up that role. Additional comments were made by Lenz away from the microphone so they were inaudible. Learnard emphasized that one of the issues was that Prouty's time was more and more in demand, and requiring her to attend to two volunteer groups was really unreasonable. _. , Leamard moved to approve decommissioning the Library Commission, assign the public access function to the Recreation Commission, encourage the Library Commission members to join the FOL, and that the Recreation Commission assign a liaison to the FOL. lmker seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 06-10-09 Consider LARP Agreement for Resurfacing Public Services Director Mark Caspar said this was a Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Local Access Road Program (LARP) contract to pave 1.67 miles of Dividend Drive from Paschall Road to TDK in the amount of $86,884 for materials only. The estimated cost for materials, labor, and installation totaled $245,000. Based on past LARP projects, the refund rate was about 80%, so he expected a reimbursement of $69,000, which meant the City would be funding $175,000 out of the $245,000 total cost. The funds would come from the remaining Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. lmker asked to see the chart of SPLOST funding that remained available, which Caspar reviewed. lmker said this was how Council planned to stretch out the remaining SPLOST funds, and Caspar confirmed that. Imker asked that, when SPLOST funds were discussed, staff highlight which funds were dedicated for use in 2011 and which were for 2012. ~ lmker said he did not have any concerns about the project, and Haddix agreed. Fleisch asked if the striping could be done for the bike route during the project. Caspar said that could be included as part of the bid document, which would be written later. City Council of Peachtree City June 17,2010 Page 16 ,..... Imker moved to approve the LARP contract for 1.67 miles of Dividend Drive in FY2011 in the amount of $86,884.80. Leamard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 06-10-10 Consider AdditionalGrass Mowing on Secondary Roads Haddix noted that there was an additional memo on the dais. Caspar said that, based on the discussions at the budget workshops, he had looked at costs to increase the right-of-way mowing schedule to an eight-eight-four schedule for the remainder of the year, which would increase mowing on the secondary streets currently being mowed to monthly, and other secondary streets not currently being mowed would be added and mowed once every two months. Two additional times for mowing this season would cost an additional $3,028 for the roads already being mowed. The 73 locations not currently being mowed would have an up front cross for additional maintenance at the beginning and would cost $11,700. The total for both portions of the increase was $14,728 for the current year. Caspar noted that some of the previously un-mown areas had been maintained by concerned volunteers, and staff would continue to monitor those areas to see if they needed to be included. Imker said the cost to add the new locations had gone up from figures he had seen a couple of days previously. Caspar said the' additional cost was to cover bringing those areas into a maintainable state, since they had not been maintained for two years. Imker said that, ,..... essentially, the first mowing of those areas would be $8,000. Staff confirmed this. Sturbaum moved to approve the increase in the mowing of secondary roads for FY 2010 in an amount not to exceed $14,728. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. McMullen asked for a motion to cover the funding source, and Sturbaum moved to fund the increase from the Council Contingency Fund. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics Library Master Plan Prouty gave a presentation on the Library Master Plan, beginning with statistIcs on their operation. There were approximately 90,000 items in the Library's collection, and they had 36,000 active cardholders. The Liprary saw over 250,000 visits in FY09, and circulation had increased 134% since re-opening following the expansion. Over 13,000 had attended Children's programs; there had been 17,000 reference assists; and there had been 38,842 uses of the Internet stations. ,..... Prouty said that they were a member of a consortium of 265 public libraries in Georgia, and Peachtree City had the third busiest circulation in the PINES system and the 19th busiest library in the state. The state average for circulation per capita was 4.69, and the national average was 7.28. Peachtree City's average was 12.28. The Library currently had 11 full-time equivalent employees, and Prouty noted that the average staffing for branch libraries in the top 20 in circulation was 18. City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 17 ,...., Prouty then reviewed goals established following the 2008 Library User Survey. She said several "ease of use" issues had been identified, and the slow Online Public Access Catalogs had been replaced this year. The end panel information on shelves had been updated, and they were testing the self-checkout service with new vendors to address problems with multiple item checkout. There was still no real way to efficiently address the request for a drive-up book return at this time. The Library budgeted about $10,000 each year to address requests for more books. They had implemented staff training twice yearly, at which time the Library was closed, and had developed a staff training manual. Due to staffing reductions, the Library had not been able to work toward fostering a relationship with the local schools. Expanding the adult programming, along with technology replacement and building maintenance, would be dependent on the budget in the coming years. Prouty concluded her report by noting that libraries were among the most effective of all public services. The Peachtree City Library served more than 3/4 of the community's residents with less than 4 percent of the tax dollars. Nationally, the average cost to the taxpayer for access to public library resources was $31 per year, about the cost of one hardcover book, and that cost in Peachtree City was $28 per year. ,...., Imker asked the City Manager to revisit funding the addition of a swing door at the reference desk, currently showing as being in the FY 2012 budget, to improve staff access. McMullen and Gaddo said the estimate was about $5,000 because of the material involved and the need to relocate the wiring to the desk. Itnker said he would visit the Library to see the issue for himself. Hot Topics McMullen reported the Paschall Tunnel was proceeding with one minor change order, and was still on target for completion by the end of August. The proposed changes to the ordinance and application process for Communications Towers had been through a Planning Commission workshop and were on schedule to come to Council on July 15. Rast would be meeting with the Camden Apartments owners regarding an easement for the MacDuff Parkway Tunnel connection, after which design work could begin. The GDOT seemed to making good progress with the Rockaway Road realignment for the September completion. Other Items Imker said he wanted to reemphasize the City's ongoing effort with Code Enforcement, and that the officers were moving forward with the new ordinance enforcement that reduced notices and increased citations. He said that ,Gaddo had mentioned the Parks Monitor getting citation authority, and asked about getting that ability as well. McMullen said the Parks Monitor position had been reclassified, but the transition of Code Enforcement to the Police Department had delayed the necessary training. -- . Imker asked about replacing the Kedron Swimming Pool bubble with a bond, and Learnard asked if it would be the same bond as The Gathering Place expansion. Imker noted that no one had set aside funding to replace the bubble. McMullen said that, ifit was put on a bond and the City Council of Peachtree City June 17, 2010 Page 18 -. bond failed, then the City could not finance it another way. Imker thanked McMullen for that information. Sturbaum asked about a residential property needing cleanup in Kedron Village. McMullen said the property had been put under rehab, and SturbaUID asked McMullen to email him a report on the status. SturbaUID then noted a recent news .article that indicated businesses were t~lling people if they were currently unemployed, they need not apply. Sturbaum encouraged local businesses to refrain from this practice due to a lot of good employees being out of work through no fault of their own in the current economy. He added that one such employer in Atlanta was specifically mentioned in the article, and he found the trend very disturbing. Sturbaum encouraged employers to evaluate prospective employees on their own merit. Haddix said he was concerned about the trend to boycott BP, noting that the local gas stations were owned and operated members of the community and could notbe held responsible for the actions of the corporation. Meeker said they had one personnel item for Executive Session and asked if Council had received the relevant information in.advance. Council confirmed they had. ,.. ......,...,.... .............. ,'"',,. .,. ,...., Fleisch moved to enter Executive Session for a personnel issue at 11 :30 p.m. Leamard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Leamard moved to reconvene into regular session at 11 :54 p.m. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. SturbaUID moved to uphold the decision of the City Manager and the demotion of John Dailey from Fire Marshal to Firefighter/EMT. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business to discuss, Leamard moved to adjourn the meeting. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 11 :56 p.m. .({2. ~~ D Haddix, Mayor !"'"'"