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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetreat 2011 r- 2011 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT MINUTES March 25-26, 2011 Council Chambers Friday, March 25, 8:00 a.m. Mayor Don Haddix called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Other Council Members present: Vanessa Fleisch, Eric Imker, Kim Leamard, and Doug Sturbaum. Copies of all PowerPoint presentations are included in the meeting file. City Manager Jim Pennington opened the Retreat with an overview of his philosophy, saying the immediate focus was strategic planning, with budget becoming the focus later. He said he had asked staff to look at the current state of affairs in their departments and discuss the challenges. Pennington continued that Council, the City Manager, and staff were a team and had to function as one. He said change was the one thing that was certain, and the expectations of the constituency were high. Information Technology Systems Administrator Matt Robin~on noted in his presentation that 64% of the active fleet of computers was five years old or older, adding that IT was tightly integrated in just about all operations of the City. Haddix referred to operational speed, crashes, and lock-ups, asking how that 15-30 second delay translated to the employees and whether the needed software could be supported. He said he was also interested in finding out if a voice to text program would assist in the preparation of minutes, so time would be spent proofing minutes rather than writing them. He wanted to evaluate technology in the broad context. Leamard asked about the computers in the Library and who was responsible for them. Robinson said the City owned and maintained the ha.rdware, noting that some of the areas were the responsibility of the Flint River system. At one time, the Library had a network specialist who maintained the Library computers, but a staff decision five years ago was made to focus on Library staffing with IT assuming the technology role, as Library staff could handle questions regarding usage. Leisure Services Director Randy Gaddo said that more of the staff hired at the Library had experience with computers, and that was working well. Fleisch referred to discussions about using cameras to help with loss prevention in some areas, asking what locations were under consideration and whether the cameras would feed to the Police Department. Robinson said the placement would be up to Gaddo and Police Chief H.C. "Skip" Clark, and there would be a feed to one location. Recreation had cameras in place, where there had been incidents or petty theft. There were hard-to-patrol areas on the path system that could be monitored. Clark said golf cart thefts were frequent along Prime Point. A review of the footage could help the Police. Gaddo said he needed cameras to be movable, noting that they could be placed in other areas as issues were resolved. Administrative Services Director Nikki Vrana pointed out that openly discussing the locations would defeat the purpose of the cameras. Pennington agreed, adding that in another city, the cameras had actually been stolen after announcing the locations. Imker said he would like to see the City go paperless as much as possible. Imker asked how many terabytes were managed for the back-up requirements. Robinson said two day-to-day, with the 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 2 ".-. , > i potential of going up to 22 with the new cameras in the Police vehicles. lmker said he was unsure that all the computers older than 2007 had to be replaced in 2012. Robinson said that was based on a five-year replacement cycle, asking if there was a generally accepted standard replacement cycle. Imker said it should be easy for the City to have a five-year cycle, noting there should always be some computers with the latest applications. Imker asked if there was a way to take staff out of the recreation league registration process and get the participants running the organizations more involved. Gaddo said staff was primarily involved in adult league registration. Imker said full-time City staff needed to be taken out of the role of doing the work for the sports organizations. Taxpayers should not pay the whole price. Imker asked that management ask their employees if they needed a computer 100% of the time, adding that the City needed to look a.t sharing computers, which was an easy solution to reduce the number of computers managed by the small IT staff. Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore said the recurring theme in the budget process was sustainability. It was a matter of reaching a point where the technology was sustainable, adding that technology permeated all the divisions. Haddix said there was a new city manager, there were a lot of challenges, and staff should be given time to dig into it. Administrative Services/Convention.& Visitors Bureau (CVB) City Clerk - Public Information Officer/City Clerk Betsy Tyler Tyler gave an overview of the status of the City Clerk's office. r- Human Resources & Risk Management - Human Resources Administrator Ellece Brown Human Resources Administrator Elle~e Brown reported that there had been 20 investigations in areas such as discrimination, harassment, and retaliation during 2010 (Brown had been in the position since January 2010), more than expected for 240 full-time employees. She said that, in the majority of cases, training would have made a difference. Pennington agreed that this was what happened when no training was done. When the managers were trained, the numbers should drop. Haddix said that had to be laid on Council's doorstep as Council had urged the previous City Manager to cut training to save money. Vrana added that this was primarily internal training conducted by Human Resources. Without additional qualified bodies, the training situation would not improve. Brown said the City was not a designated drug-free workplace, which required pre-employment drug testing and drug tests following work-related accidents and injuries. Imker asked the cost of a pre- employment drug test. Brown said it was $37 per person, with an annual estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. Vrana added that it had been in the budget last year, but had been cut. Pennington said this was the first city he had worked in that did not have pre-employment drug screenings. Testing up front would cost the City less in the final analysis, saving money in the long-term. Imker asked how many applications were received for each position that was filled. Brown said there were probably 25 for each position, but the problem was the quality of the applicant. Imker said the good applicants would not have a drug problem. ,...., Sturbaum asked if the manager training could be put on online, allowing employees to do the training and receive a certificate at the end. Brown said they would like to do that. Vrana said staff had videotaped the Defensive Driving and Sexual Harassment training to show new employees. Brown said the cost was more, but it was a great investment. Robinson said the City had the technology to 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 3 - put the training online. Vrana added that the live interaction for some of the training was critical, too. Imker suggested setting aside $8,000 for drug screening, adding that every employee should be tested in June. He said it was something they should keep in mind during the budget discussions. Vrana said the cost for random testing would be $ 12,500. Fleisch asked if the City had ever been certified as a drug-free workplace, possibly losing it after a few years of budget cuts. Brown said that, as far as she could tell, it had not. Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth said drug screening was in the budget for the Fire Department, and it was also done after any accidents. Clark said that the Police Department had pre-employment screening. Imker said that covered approximately 140 employees, so the cost could be less to test the others. Pennington said all the divisions should be working from the same set of standards. Brown continued that audits were also needed for 1-9 forms and insurance forms. She said U.S. Customs & Immigration Enforcement (ICE) required an Employment Eligibility Verification Form 1- 9 for every employee. Audits were recommended so any corrections could be made. There had never been an audit. The fines ranged from $110 to $1,100 per form. Last year, over $6 million in fines were collected. Brown said an audit on eligible dependents on the insurance plans was also needed, as the City paid up to a capped amount for them. Vrana said employees would be required to bring a copy of their ,....., marriage certificate when signing up for health benefits, or birth certificates, divorce decrees, and adoption papers. Imker asked why the audits had never been done. Vrana said the people responsible for getting it done were no longer with the City. Pennington said this was one of his major focuses. All of this had a financial impact on the City. Brown said the goal was to improve and protect the City. There was a break from 10:20 - 10:36 a.m. Municipal Court - Court Supervisor Linda Morton, City Solicitor Marcia Moran Imker noted that the Evidence Room at the Police Department was very well organized, but running short on space. He asked Community Development Director/City Planner David Rast if there would be any space in his area for Moran to keep records after the renovations were completed. Rast said the renovations were in progress, giving an overview of the plans for the area. Vrana added that Moran's records were either electronic or were documents, so they would not use space downstairs at City Hall. Robinson added that there was also a transition of in-car technology taking place, and Moran had problems getting what she needed from the cars that still had the older technology. Scanning had just started of some of the documents Moran needed to access. The flow of information should improve. - Imker asked how plans for a video link to Fayette County Jail on Wednesday (court day) were progressing. Clark said the technology was expensive, and the County had not come through yet on the use of Skype. Robinson said the County was not ready to use Skype, which would save the City money due to the transporting of prisoners. Vrana added it was a project for the County Clerk of Courts, and due to the recent shift in judges, it had been placed on the back burner. Imker said all the municipalities could benefit. Haddix said it was a good topic for an Association of Fayette County Governments (AFCG) meeting. 2011 Council Retreat Minntes Page 4 "..,.., Fleisch asked if there was a trend in .older people shoplifting. Moran said there was, and those cases could go to State Court since the state's first offender program could help keep the charges off an older adult's record. Moran added that, due to the economy, older adults had found themselves in new situations. Public Information/Marketing - Public Information Officer/City Clerk Betsy Tyler Fleisch asked Tyler what kind of photography she needed. Tyler said local scenery and more shots with people were needed, as well as local events. Fleisch said that, with the recent Camera Ready designation, there should be a good file of stock photographs for the City and the County for Amphitheater Director/CVB Executive Director Nancy Price to use, too. Price said she and Tyler needed to meet regarding several areas. Haddix agreed there should be an across-the-board selection of stock. Peachtree City Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB)/The Frederick Brown, Jr., Amphitheater Learnard asked Price to quantity the subscription base at the Amphitheater. Price said that, in booking acts or talking with other venues, they could say 1,000 tickets were sold right off. Haddix asked if there would be more tribute bands. Price said there would be a four-concert tribute series, produced by the same person who produced the Bon Jovi tribute in 2010, running from July to September, which would have lower-priced tickets. Resident Caren Russell asked if a package of two or three shows had been considered for ticket sales. - Price said staff had looked at the option of choosing three concerts for a package. It was administratively challenging, and they were looking at doing it next year. Price reported that the City had just been designated Camera Ready, and was one of 73 selected in the state. After making the arrangements to shoot "Joyful Noise" at the Fred, staff had learned a lot and needed to refine the process. Russell asked if the scouts were based locally. Price said some were located here, and the state film office was very active. Community Development Community Development Director/City Planner David Rast referred to the renovation in downstairs City Hall, saying the goal was to have a space that would be called a Community Room, and it would be a place where information on site plans, concept plans, and other information would be available to the public. It would be a place to take visitors to see what the City was doing. - Economic Development - Economic Development Coordinator Joey Grisham Imker pointed out Grisham was now the single point of contact for the City compared to the confusion before on whom to contact, and it should be clear on anything sent out by the City. He said confidentiality was a necessary requirement. Haddix said the "golden rule" of economic development was that they (the company) said how it was going to work; there could not be one single rule or process. Grisham said a lot of companies required confidentiality and usually worked through the state or Georgia Power. Every project was different. Haddix agreed with Grisham, reiterating there could not be an iron-clad process because each project was different. Fleisch said that was why it was good to have Grisham as a single point of contact. Haddix said if a company came to him asking for confidentiality and saying the process would start with the mayor, then that was how he would handle it. It wollld get to Grisham eventually. Imker said Haddix should be able to include Grisham in on those conversations; Grisham was the professional who should work with 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 5 the campany. Haddix said there was na daubt he had ta hand aver a praject ta sameane wha cauld mave it alang. There was a lunch break fram 12:15 -1:30 p.m. Property Maintenance - Housing Official Tami Babb Learnard asked haw it was warking ta have twa Cade Enfarcement .officers warking under the Pal ice Department while Babb was warking under Cammunity Develapment, adding the questian did nat need ta be answered that day. Fleisch asked what the gaal was .of the fareclasures list. Hausing Official Tami Babb said there were a lat .of requests fram the public regarding fareclasures and their status. Fleisch said the numbers Babb reparted an fareclasures were cansiderably higher than numbers she had gatten fram the tax assessar .or the Geargia Multiple Listing Service (MLS). She cantinued that, after the initial natice was published in the paper, peaple often warked aut an agreement with the bank, and the City's list gave an inflated number. Babb said there was na magic list; staff had ta track everything. From what she cauld tell, just aver .one-third .of the fareclasures that were published in the newspaper had been recarded. It was all public inrarmatian. Haddix said a shart sale might get an .owner aut .of fareclasure, but it still damaged the hame values .of the neighbarhaad. Babb said HB 110, if appraved, wauld put limits an a fareclasure registry and definitely benefitted banks. City Attarney Meeker said the bill had nat been passed yet, but it wauld require waiting far 60 days befare fareclasures cauld be registered. ,-. Comprehensive Plan Rast nated the City had several stand alane plans that were nat always cansistent, saying the gaal .of the Camprehensive Plan was ta have .one saurce that cauld be used far budgeting, facilities plans, and ather areas. Leisure Services Fleisch asked Gadda if staff s recammendatian was ta expand The Gathering Place. Gadda said staff, , had nat been asked, and he was reluctant ta answer as that was a citizenlpalitical decisian. Council Involvement in Programming Gadda nated this tapic had surfaced when the Gun Shaw scheduled at Kedron Fieldhause & Aquatic Center had been canceled. Gadda said he made the decisian ta da sa. Haddix said Kedran was a City facility, and same .of the programming included habbies and callecting. Gun and knife callecting were papular habbies, and he had nat seen any reasan ta exclude such a shaw fram Kedron Fieldhause. When a shaw was nat promating samething illegal, and it tied in with habbies and callecting, Haddix said Kedran shauld be available. The facility served the entire City, nat just the neighbars, Gadda said he felt he had made the right chaice based an 'input fram several peaple, nating that mast .of the regular programming invalved mare active sparts, Haddix said if the facus was active sparts, then there shauld nat have been a jewelry shaw. Sturbaum asked if mare sparts clinics were ta be added ta the pragramming at the facility. Gadda said they were warking hard ta find saurces. Learnard said the issue was nat wh~ther there shauld be a gun shaw, but whase decisian it was ta make, asking wha decided what types .of shaws wauld be held. Haddix said Cauncil set palicy and general guidelines. Vrana said she made the decisian an the Gun Shaw alang with Gadda, and they 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 6 had not violated any policy or ordinance in doing so. Haddix said that he was looking to the future ....." with this discussion. Kedron was a City facility and it should be for all citizens. It seemed like an artificial standard had been put in place. Leamard asked if all the shows should be brought to Council for approval. Haddix said, if a show was legal and would bring in revenue, it should be held. Gaddo said there had been a lot that had gone on over time at Kedron, particularly with the neighboring subdivisions. He felt the potential for negativity had not been worth the potential revenue. Haddix said that, by saying no, there had been negativity in the opposite direction. Gaddo said he understood, but the next week a gun had accidentally discharged at a show held in the western United States, which validated the decision in his mind. Haddix said he had been a pistol coach, and shooting was one of the safest sports with the lowest insurance rates. Sturbaum asked if any weight-lifting events had been held at the fieldhouse. Gaddo said they had and had turned out well. Fleisch told Gaddo she trusted his judgment on this decision, making the decision he felt was best. Imker added that he appreciated Gaddo' s efforts to find another venue to hold the show. Pennington said he, Gaddo, and Meeker would discuss the issue. There were some liability issues to be considered, adding that the issue would not go off the radar. There was a break from 3:35 - 4:47 p.m. ~ Public Works Public Works Director Mark Caspar gave an overview of Public Works and the Stormwater Utility. Leamard asked if road paving was contracted out. Caspar said it was, adding the smaller-sized patches and crack sealing in residential neighborhoods were done by the City. He said the purpose of the street crew was to keep the good roads good longer. Vehicular bridges in the City were assessed by the Departtnent of Transportation (DOT) every two years, and most of the bridges were in good condition. The DOT considered anything with a span of over 20 feet as a bridge, including culverts. Maintenance was needed on some. Caspar added that the cart path system's bridges and tunnels had never been assessed. Caspar said there were approximately 2,600 catch basins and 60 miles of pipe in the stormwater systems. They were using a zone approach for cleaning the system, cleaning the older infrastructure first. Haddix asked if there was an estimate on how many metal pipes needing repair could be done with a sleeve fit as opposed to a complete replacement. Caspar said the question was whether to open trench a pipe or sleeve it. A pipe failing underneath the cart path was fairly easy to fix compared to a pipe 15 feet under the ground that might fail in the next five years, but a sleeve might prevent the failure. Another factor to consider was whether residents would be isolated from their homes if a pipe failed. Caspar said it was not just age and condition that were a factor, but also the environment in which it was located. Leamard asked what made the City in compliance with the Clean Water Act. Caspar said the City was doing all the Best Management Practices outlined in the Notice of Intent on an annual basis, which meant it was in compliance. A report was due by January 31 of each year. Imker asked if the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) used the Geographic Information System (GIS). Robinson said they did. Imker said that, with the duplication of billing 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 7 ......, and other efforts and experienced' employees, the City could save $1 million a year if W ASA consolidated with the City. He said he would address it more during budget discussions. Caspar said he had moved the management of the Stormwater Utility contracts to Ken Williams, the outsourcing contract manager. It was the final year of the TruGreen contract, and there were several proposed changes if the agreement were to be renewed, adding that there were areas of the agreement that needed to be more specific. Caspar said they also recommended removing the litter portion of the agreement and giving that to Keep Peachtree City Beautiful (KPTCB). Fleisch asked how much TruGreen was paid for litter pick-up. Caspar said he believed it was $300 per month. Fleisch asked if that funding could be paid to KPTCB. Caspar said it could be added to the City's agreement with KPTCB. Meeker said the City would need to send a notice of termination of the existing agreement to ensure the dates were correct. Imker said he would like to add cart path clearing and tree trimming to the contract, pointing out pine needles caused only a few feet of the path to be visible in some area and noting there were problems with trees and shrubs along the paths. Caspar said that work was done in-house, so it would be an addition to the contract. Imker asked to have the item placed on the April 17 Council meeting agenda as a change order. The meeting adjourned at 5: 17 p.m. Saturday, March 26, 8:00 a.m. Mayor Don Haddix called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Other Council Members present: Vanessa Fleisch, Eric Imker, Kim Learnard, and Doug Sturbaum. Fire Department Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth reported that the new Insurance Services Office (ISO) standards followed the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710 standards, making compliance for higher ratings easier to obtain since the Department had been following both standards for several years. Imker asked if there was a way to determine the average savings for homeowners if the ISO rating were to go from a 3 to a 2. Eiswerth said that staff had searched for that, but nothing was published. A survey of insurance companies would have to be conducted. Imker said that could be important information as an increase in the millage rate to cover what was needed by the Fire Department could be offset by a savings in insurance. Eiswerth said there would be some savings, but it depended on the insurance company. Vrana added that the rate calculation included other things such as personal credit history, so it was very difficult to determine the average savings. Eiswerth said that a better ISO rating would also help the commercial, retail, and industrial property owners. Pennington added that was normally where the real savings would be seen. Imker asked what the role of Council was in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Eiswerth said Council's help was needed in making strategic decisions and to be the interface with the community, so the residents would know the City was still operating. Imker said he would like to participate in a drill. Eiswerth said there would be an exercise in the next 60-90 days. Haddix pointed out that the computers in the EOC needed to be dependable, adding they were not during the last drill that was "....., held, and they had to be dependable during a disaster. ! . . Imker recalled that Council had approved a stipend increase for the volunteer firefighters in December 2009, with the intent to keep the number of firefighters on a call from going down. 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 8 - Eiswerth said that, while the amount of money an individual received increased, the line item did not, and the money ran out. Eiswerth pointed out that 34% of the. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls were for 10% of the population, seniors over the age of 65. Fleisch asked if one station received more EMS calls than another. Eiswerth said Station 84 (Satterthwaite) received the fewest calls, but there was only a 5% to 7% difference between all the stations. Haddix said it seemed as though there had been a large increase in the nurnber of sirens he heard. Eiswerth said tbat the Department was running 12% more calls this year compared to this time last year. Ifthings stayed on track for the rest of the year, there would be a 26% increase in calls over two years. Imker asked if there were two firefighters per apparatus with the volunteers. Eiswerth said it depended on whether the volunteers were on duty or not. Imker asked about the additional firefighters hired with the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, saying he thought the requirement for two firefighters was being met all the time with the help of the volunteers. Eiswerth said sometimes it was met, sometimes there were more than two firefighters, and other times there were not. Some volunteers signed up early for shifts, but they were not required to do so. Some of the volunteers planned ahead, scheduling their time, while otbers might just show up, which Eiswerth did not want to discourage. The shift commander would know how many were on duty. Eiswerth said the volunteers saved the Department $500,000 - $700,000 per year. Police Department _ Police ChiefH.C. "Skip" Clark confirmed that the Department was fully staffed as of January. ".. Imker asked why two Code Enforcement officers were moved to the Police Department. Clark said it had not been his decision, but he had understood tbat working with law enforcement fit better with what the Code Enforcement officers did. Rast said the Police and Code Enforcement could issue Notices of Violation and citations. All three Code Enforcement officers were certified, and Tami Babb had been designated as the Housing Code Officer, responsible for enforcing the International Property Code. Molly Drennen and Tim Maret enforced the municipal code, zoning ordinance, and land development ordinance. They worked together very well, but Babb's position focused on property rehabilitation, while Drennen and Maret focused on the other codes. Imker noted there had been an increase in Code Enforcement citations (68 issued in 2010 compared to 35 in 2009), pointing out the increase was probably due to stopping the multiple warnings that had been issued in the past. Clark said the focus was still on getting the problem corrected. Property owners were given 48 hours to fix the issue, and if they did not, they were cited unless there was an extenuating circurnstance. In most cases, the property owners complied, which was the goal. Haddix said it was always better for tbe enforcement to have "teeth." Learnard noted that there were a number of citations for Occupational Tax required. Vrana said the penalties for non-renewal of the Occupational tax went into effect in May. A list of the businesses that had not renewed would be turned over to Code Enforcement in May. At one time, Code Enforcement called the businesses and reminded tbem first. Now, the businesses received citations. ~ Clark added that the businesses were sent notices tbat they were out of compliance before May. The notices had not worked, so as the enforcement arm, citations were issued. If the business had closed, then the owner was notified of the requirement to notify tbe City. 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 9 Clark said five true gangs had been identified with members of some level in the City, and eight of "..., the 47 incidents of graffiti in 2010were affiliated with gangs. The issue had reached down to the middle school level. Pennington said this was a national trend, reaching down into middle school. Middle school students used to be wannabes. The City was on the low end of gang activity, but it was still here. Clark said the City could not hide from it. Sturbaum asked if there was any information regarding gang symbols so people could identify them. Clark said he did not want to identify specific symbols because they did not need wannabes duplicating them. He added that Tony Whitley frOrll the IT Department had worked with Fayette County to develop a website, www.favettegangs.org. There was a break from 9:48 - 10:00 a.m. Financial Services Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore went over the budget calendar for FY 2011-12, adding that part of the process included training staff on the new budget software. He said a 6% decrease in the property tax digest was expected based on the preliminary information he had received. Recreation Special Purpose Funds (Fenced Accounts) Learnard asked who decided whether additional fees ($5 per participant per season) were charged for the use of recreation facilities by the sports associations. Salvatore said that had been a Council decision in May 2004, and the money was to be used for maintenance at the facility used by the particular sport. Salvatore said it was philosophical decision whether Council decided to keep the fenced accounts and budget less in General Fund for maintenance and operating costs for the facilities or keep the fees in the Geperal Fund, which provided more flexibility on the use of the funds. There could be a misconception that the facilities were not getting their fair shares if the fees went into the General Fund. Fleisch clarified that the fenced accounts were user fees. Salvatore confirmed that. He said the associations also provided volunteer labor, estimated at $10.95 per hour, which was valued at approximately $100,000 per year, as well as providing other improvements from their own funds. Imker asked if, at any point, the City accepted any funds from the associations as a gift. Salvatore said there were some donations, adding that some donations could create an ongoing maintenance expense. Gaddo said that, over the last three years, the fees would have been used for larger capital items, but as the budget was reduced, the association funds had gone to regular maintenance and operation costs. Salvatore added that the fenced accounts were originally set up for "nice to have" items and the funds were now used for maintenance. He pointed out that funds from the fenced accounts were used to pay for the treatment of the recent infestation of army worms. Salvatore said staff needed direction from Council on whether to keep the accounts as they were or to put the fees into the General Fund. Learnard asked for a copy of this presentation. Imker said he would rather see the issue discussed at a regular Council meeting with representatives from all the associations in attendance. He also wanted the opportunity to discuss other ideas with Salvatore and Gaddo. Imker said he also wanted a recommendation from the Leisure Services Commission, noting they met on the third Monday and Council met on the third Thursday. Haddix 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 10 ~ agreed the discussion needed to b~ held with the public in attendance. Everyone needed to be represented and aU sides needed to participate in the discussion. Pennington said there were many items that would lead to future discussions. Getting into specific details would come as part of the process. Bill Quarles, Girls SoftbaU Association, said there was no City involvement in their tournaments as their volunteers prepared the fields and cleaned up after the tournaments. It was revenue to the City with no real offsetting cost. Meade Field was not a first-rate facility. Their association was using the fenced account, and they were buying dirt, repairing fences, and performing other upkeep for normal wear and tear. The money was used to keep the fields functional. Salvatore said his understanding was there was a financial impact to the City post-tournament. Randy Logan, Youth Soccer Association, said the fenced accounts had worked very well. They had used the money to repair the fencing and the fields, adding that many people used the fields, not just the associations. The system was not broken and worked weU for everyone. Fleisch asked how many fields were taken care of for $617,000 per year. Gaddo said approximately 50. Pennington said that, until everything was charted to see the layers of who did what and when, it was very confusing. He said they wanted to show there had been a discussion of the pros and cons. Gaddo clarified that Leisure Services met on April 18, and Council wanted the fenced accounts on the April 21 meeting. lmker said he hoped that would happen. Haddix said Council should let "....., Pennington take the lead on this and look at it with staff first. 2011 Resident Survey Results Tyler gave Council a brief overview of the results of the 20 II resident survey, noting there had been 1,936 responses (14% of households) compared to 1,619 in 2010. Council was surprised that 595 respondents who had curbside garbage service did not have curbside recycling. Tyler said 22% of those respondents recycled somewhere else, 18% believed it cost extra, 15% were unaware of the program, 5% believed they had to sort the items, and 5% believed the recyclables were dumped with the regular garbage. Keep Peachtree City Beautiful Director Al Y ougel said there were signs that told residents that curbside recycling was available at no cost located at the Recycling Centers on Rockaway Road and McIntosh Trail. For some people, it was a habit to bring their recyclables to the centers. lmker and Learnard asked that the information on curbside recycling be sent out again, using the word "free." lmker asked how the answers regarding roadway maintenance compared to other years. Tyler said the question had changed enough that it would be difficult to determine. lmker said the numbers did not need to be exact, just a trend, so Council could understand what was going on. Haddix said the City had always gotten complaints, and the percentages seemed about the same. lmker asked Tyler to go back to 2008, before the crews were let go, to see what the trends were. Per the survey results, 46.4% of the respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with ,,-,. the mowing of the recreation fields.. Gaddo said the standards for the fields were very stringent, noting the fields could have been mowed to the standard, then there could be a couple of days of rain before a game was played, so the fields would not meet the desired standard. 2011 Council Retreat Minutes Page 11 Learnard referred to the statistics for the question on winter pool availability, and Tyler noted that 65.2% of the total felt it was either very or somewhat important, 59.4% with the head of household 55 and over felt it was very or somewhat important, and 75.7% of the families with children felt having a winter pool was very or somewhat important. Learnard asked if it made sense to have a screening question, asking if the respondent used the facility first. Sturbaum referred to the questions on usage of the path system, noting that if 1,036 respondents accounted for removing 450,000 car trips from City roads per year, then the 11,000 registered golf carts removed three million trips, clearly making golf carts and the path system an alternate transportation system that should be included in HB 277. He said that was good statistical data that could be used. Imker noted that path patrols had almost doubled from 2009 to 2010. He asked Clark if the Police would patrol the path system more in 20 II. Clark said the goal was to increase the hours every year. Haddix said the maintenance of subdivision entrances had been taken out of the budget in 2008 due to the cost, which also skewed a lot of the perception about TruGreen. ~- Learnard pointed out that 62.8% of t)1e respondents had no children in their household, asking how that compared to the City's demographics. Tyler said it seemed high, and it might be a matter of time available to answer the survey questions for those residents that had children. Based on what she remembered of the 2000 survey, the numbers were about 5% off. Fleisch added th~t 80% of the respondents were over the age of 45, so the results were skewed anyway. Imker thought the respondents would be younger because the survey was online. Haddix said he did not find the results skewed, as seniors were the City's largest demographic, and the number of students in the school system was going down. Leamard said the respondents were generally older, and 55% of them opposed The Gathering Place expansion. Pennington noted they were dealing with anecdotal information, rather than empirical data, but the results gave a picture. The cost for collecting empirical data was significant. ~ Wrap Up Pennington said he was very excited about what he had heard. If he was getting a good picture, then the residents should also be getting one. There was a lot of work to do, but he felt they could come up with a workable plan. ~ oljo="" 11,16 om. Pamela Dufresne, D uty City Clerk ~