Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-01-2012 regular meeting C'.lt.y Counc.. iI of Peachtree City of Peachtree City '. ..~ '.. .... ....,. ". . y MTTtin~ ^^inutes March 1,2012 7:00 p.m. The Mayor and Council of City of Peachtree City met in reglJlar sessicm on Thursday, March 1, 2012. Mayor Don Haddix called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Other members attendirig: George Dienhart, Vanessa Fleisch, Eric Imker, and Kim Learnard. Announcements, Awards, Special Recoanition Mayor Haddix recognized Robert Rarkins, Andy Lee, and Chad Matheny of the Fire Department for 15 years of service. Public Comment I Council consensus was to allow BiHy Posey to speak, although he had not signed in per the rules for Public Comment. Posey noti3d that he had spoken to Council. with the exception :of Dienhart, who took office in Janudry, on November 17 regarding Bradford Pond, telling them ne had asked for two things at that time. The first was for one of them to be a hero, step forward, and help him and his wife resolye the issues in their neighborhood. No one had stepped forward. He said his efforts to get help had been cut off, and he had not been given gOOd answers. Posey referred to the $eptember 22, 2011, Planning Commission approval of t~e parking lot expansion at Southside Church. Posey lived behind the church and had be~n opposed to the expansion. He hoe asked Council to place ostayon the parking lot expansion. Posey said he had appealed Council's decision not to place a stay on the expansion. He reported that the church's silt fen~es had breached on February 23 and again on February 29, flooding his back yard. Posey tol<J Council he and his wife were tired of dealing with the City and would be talking with an attorney the next day. j:] Aaenda Chanaes There were none. Minutes January 19, 2012, Regular Meeting .Minutes February 2,2012, Regular Meetingtu~~te.s February 16, 2012, Regular Meeting Minutes Haddix noted there Were ;; cdditional documents on the dais proposed corrections/amendments to the Fs=;bruary 16, 2012, regular meeting minutes from Fleisch arid City Attorney Ted Meeker. I Fleisch moved to approve the January 19, 2012, regular meeting minutes and February 2, 201'2, regular meeting minutes as written, and the February 16, 2012, regular meeting minutes dS amended by herself and the City A,ttorney. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Aaenda 1. Consider Mutual Aid Agree~entwith Coweta County 2. Consider Budget Adjustments - FY 2012 Learnard moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 and 2. Fleisch seconded. Motion carri~d unanimously. Old Aaenda Items 02-12-04 Consider Contract 4th FCDA and prc City Council Minutes March 1, 2012 Page 2 Haddix noted there was an additi9n(Jl.docurY1~lItoll the daIs__ the finqlcjr9ft of the proposed agreement between the City and rayette County Development Authority (FCDA). Approval of the agreement would create ang. implement an existing business retention and expansion strategy on behalf of the City and other policy directives. The agreement included the addition of one staff member to the FCDA \^tho would serve as a catalyst for economic development in the City, particularly in regards to office, commercial, and industrial activities, with a budget impact to the City of $75,000 per year. Imker noted that the agenda ite(Y1 had been continued while Council. waited for verbiage changes in the agreement. He pointed out that much of the agreement included boilerplafe material, but there were additional. changes he wanted Council to consider. Imker went over ,a PowerPoint (included in the meeting file) with a summary of changes to the final draft proposed either by himself or Haddix. Imker referred to paragraph II. Services to be provided by Fayette County Development Authority, F. Essential services. He proposed that the sentence, The Authority will manage all human resource needs of said employee and it will not be the responsibility of the City to provide any funds or benefits other than those as outlined in .this contract, be moved to paragraph III. Financial Management, as subparagraph C. Imker said this would make the paragraph clearer. Under Section 11(2), Imker referred to the sentence - Develop and implement a Busine:ss Retention and Expansion survey in order to formulate future strategies for retention, Imker proposed replacing "survey" with "strategy." After the phrase "in order to," Imker wanted to add, "increase favorably by 1 (on~) percentage pointthose percentages found in the 2012 PTC Development Stats as of March ..1st, 2012 spreadsheet as produced by the City Planning Department. Annual updates of the spreadsheet and continued similar favorable changes are expected." . Imker went over the developmentstatistics put together by the Planning Department (a copy is included in the meeting file), which included every plot of land in the City, with its zoning, square footage, and other data for the year 2012. He pointed out that. per the data, 94.8% of the Industrial Park was developed and filled. Data about parcels that were undeveloped aDd developed but not filled was also included. Imker compared the 2012 data to the 2011 dat,a, which showed that the numbers h9d gotten better; showing the percentages of developed and filled properties had increased from 9;3.i)% in2011 to 94.8% in 2012~ .The cjata alsoshowed the developed and unfilled propertiesin the Industrial Park had decreased from 6.2% in 2011. to 5.~% in 2012. Imker also noted th9t the humbers were better in retqil ()ffice areas, which he attribute..d.. ,..... .... ....... ........,. ..................,............ ...... ...... ..........i to the favorable environment provided in the City. Imker said a metric was needed so the City would know it was getting what it paid for from the person hired. The information he had just gone over supported the one percent favorable change he proposed be added to the agreement. Haddix said he understood what lmker was saying, but he was concerned about the sense ,of measure, saying they could not go exclusively by the square footage. He noted that, per the City's development statistics, Sany was 100% filled but not in 100% usage, noting 70% of the building was empty. The situation was the same with Panasonic. He knew of several business,es that had a filled, but underutilized space, and the requirement to increase the statistics by one percent would not take those cirqumsJanc~s into acc()unt,ast~el"ewould not technically be. a change in the percentage. Redevelopment of a space to get better usage would not show as a favorable change using the squ?re footage method either. City Council Minut~s March 1, 201.2 Page 3 Haddix continued that the survey of the businesses was essential and was different from 'a strategy, which was covered unde.rstJbparagraph 1. He continued that the survey provided 'a sense of measure. Dienhart said the idea behind the t;netrics was to hold someone accoLJntable when things went wrong or right. They needed as mqny metrics as possible. Haddix said this was just one metric. ; Fleisch felt Council should defer tpMqttFprshe~, FCD,A.President/CEO, on this point. She said she was not comfortable putting d one percent increase in the agreement. The agreement could be cancelled by either party at any time. If the report showed the City was wasting money on the person, Council wquld know it. She continued that metrics were nice, but t~~ reality was it was not a good way tp measure effectiveness. . I Forshee said both sides had valid points, adding the statistics were excellent. buthe would like ~o expand on it. He said the chart m7ght have included viewpoints from staff working in the office. What was missing was the person going on visits to talk with the businesses. The information compiled by staff, in conjunction with regularly scheduled meetings and business retentiQn surveys, could be adapted to bring in the additional metric to shpWWhCltwqs truly going on. Panasonic was interested in subleqsing some of its space, but that space was not accounted for in the information compiled by City staff. Haddix said he knew Panasonic wanted to subletth~ir space for a purpose, and asked Forshee what metrics he recommended. Forshee said thE? agreement included items that could be listed as metrics, anej the database they were I I discussing was a good additional metric that could be used. Dienhart asked Forshee whathe tQ()ught of the one percent goal. Forshee said if, assuming the 95%.. number regarding the Industrial. Park. was accurate, there. was only five percent of the Industrial Park left to fill. Imker sai~ the n.urY1b~rs vvere n.otc:()mpletely accurate, but the surv:ey did include a City employee contacting all the businesses and asking questions regarding the usage of the facilities. It might need to be done again. He was not opposed to including something in the contract about the employee "cleaning up" the charts to provide information of value to the City. The chart gave a perspective of whether things were improving or not.. A quick simple change might be aiL that was required to affect the implementation of the chQrt. Dienhart said the chart looked like a good dashboard. Haddix agreed the tool was good, but wanted to take the one percent requirement out of the contract. The information should be a databank Council could look at. ' Imker suggested removing one percent improvement and replacing it with "favorable changes should be reported." Meeker saiej he would just strike the "one percent" part. Forshee offered the wording "positive change." Irllker said he wqs fine with the wOfejing "change favorably." . Haddix said he did not want to Jose the value of o.business reterlti()nsLJfvey. Surveying the industrial partners was critically important as they had come up with great ideas. Imker suggested the wording "develop and implement a business retention and expansion strategy, the chart as described here, withJhe goal of favorably improving it by going out and surveying the businesses that are affected." Dienhart felt Haddix wanted asSLlranye thqt thereVv'()LJldstill.9~asLJr'ley. Imker said that was included. Haddix said the data. should fall under another point to make sure it was covered. . Imker said that, to him, the surve/Vv'dsfheefforftogoouf"and get the information. The new ~ire should take over that role. I City Council Minutes March 1.2012 Page 4 Learnard said she believed in hiring the experts. then turning them loose to do what they felt was necessary. She did not see the ne~d for there to be.a command to do a surveyor tell a person to do things one way or another. (Sndinciuding Hasa requiremenfto be done a certain wa'y. Dienhart said they were arguing oyer nothing., Haddix said he was finewith the way the point was originally written. Forshee said the intent of doing a survey was so there would be a broad- based understanding of everything from getting a building permit to giving feedback on what the business had done. as well as b~ing part of the community. I Fleisch asked Forshee if the FCD;.. would support the changes Council made. as they had already approved the agreement. Forshee said the concern was with the term of tne agreement. , , City Manager Jim Pennington said that, during his discussions with Forshee, the FCDA would wo'rk with City staff to get data and feedback. The problem was there Was not a strategy or program. They tried to work the language so it would stay general enough so it would not bog down. Haddix said he wanted the language to be broad. He did not want Council to set the exact parameters; he wanted to get the business people involved. ' Dienhart said they all seemed to agree about the one percent. Haddix said his concern w<;Js eliminating the survey and going to a defined strategy. The strategy needed to be opened up to the business community. Dienhart said the survey could be used to back up the strategy. Imker asked if there was a recommendation on wording. Pennington said there were a number of tools to be used to get to the strategy. and a survey was one of those tools. Forshee arid Meeker suggested the phrase. "develop and implement as a ~o(]1 a business retention and expansion strategy utilizing tools such as. but not limited to, a business and retention survey. In order to increase favorably those percentages found in the 2012 PTC Development Stats as of March 1." Dienhart asked if the c;ontract should say "annual PTC Development Stats" rather than using 2012. Imker asked to add the Water & Sewerage Authority (WASA) to subparagraph 4. since WASA had been an issue in the past, preventing potential development. Under subparagraph 5, Imker requested "bi-annual" be changed to "semi-annual." Under II(F)(5). the list of reports to oe done by the employee. he would add "(g) Updates of the City Planning Department's Development Stats." Payment of the $75.000 was the next subject to be discussed. Imker said the original agreement had January 12. but it was already March. so he wanted to pay when work began. He asked for feedback and verbiage. Haddix asked if the FCDA wanted payment at the beginning br end of each quarter. Imker said He was looking out for the City's funds and was sure the Ci'ty would get a refund if work stopped prior to the end of a quarter. Imker suggested the wording, "payment shall commence upon work being started" or "payment in quarterly installments shall commence upon hire." Forshee said that, per the FCDA'S agreement with Fayette County, the County paid at the beginning of each quarter. Forshee said he would rather have a specific date. as the suggested wording was vague. Pennington suggested beginning payment on April 1 throu~h the end of 2012. Forshee said 30, days was aggressive in terms of hiring someone, but they were ready to get started. The consensus was to begin payment on Monday. April 2. City Council Minutes March 1, 2012 PageS Under X. Term, Imker proposed striking most of the paragraph and use the wording, "The term Of this agreement shall be from the fi~stday of work by the new hire until notice is given by either party in accordance with paragraph VII. Termination Clause." I Meeker clarified that any agreement for services had to have a definitive term. The bottom Iirie was it was a year-to-year agreement with a 30-day kick-out clause. Imker said that, if the wording was a legal requirement, he was fine with it. He said the term could begin on April'2 and end December 31 , then go yeor to year from that point. Fleisch asked if Pennington would t;>e the point-of-contact for the employee, noting that Council Members would contact the employee through the City Manager. Pennington said that was correct. Fleisch noted that $164,000 had been allotted for the economic development coordinator in the City budget, and the City would pay the FCDA $75,000, saving $85,000. The contract relieved the City of much of the administrative cost. The new hire vvould hqveqn office at City Hall and at FCDA. She said it was a strategic partnership with the FCDA, similar to the agreement with Fayette SeniOr Services, and put economic development in the hands pf those who knew what they were doing. She also thanked Forshee, the FCDA, and Nikki Knox, adding it was her idea. Forshee sa[dthe board was very excited. ' Learnard moved to approve the agreement with the changes as discussed this evening. Dienhart seconded. Motion carries) unanimOusly. New Aaenda Items 03-12-01 Public Hearing - CQnsider Transmittal of Pea<:;htreec:ity Comprehensive Plan - 2012 Partial Plan Update City Planner David Rast reminded:CouncilthIs was the annuql housekeeping exercise with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) regarding the Short Term Work Program (STWP) and Capital Improvement Element (CIE) of the City's Comprehensive Plan. The Georgia Planning Act required the City to transmit the Partial PIQn Update annually to show the City's progress on the STWP fClE, as well as an annual Impact Fee Report. Following the public hearing and Council's approval of the transmittal resolution, the report would be sent to the ARC)orreview." Qnc::e the report was returned with ARC's ar)d DCA's comments for adoption, staff would bring it back to Council. Once approved by Council, it would become the 2012 Partial Plan Update. The public hearing opened and closed withno commentfrom the public. Learnard asked Rast to define theSTWP fCIE. Rast said the STWP was a summary of the projects, goals, policies, and objectives id~ritified inthe City's Comprehensive Plan and the update On achieving those goals. Most were, boilerplate-type projects. Staff hoped to have more specific projects after completing the phqse of the Comprehensive Pion that would begin in April. The CIE [the City's Public Improvement Program (PIP)) update was required since the City assessed impact fees. The impact fee an'lual report was included in the City's budget document, ard showed the percentage of impact fees used in projects identified when the impact fees were assessed. Learnard moved to approve the transmittal resolution and authorize staff to forward tre document to the ARC and the DCA. Fleisch seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 03-12-02 Consider Bid - Capital Equipment Lease Haddix noted fhat the agenda item had to be continued due to a technicality with the advertising requirements for the P~achtree City Governmental Finance Corporation. City Council Minut~s March 1,2012 Page 6 ~ Learnard moved to continue the agenda item until the special called meeting on Friday, March 9. Fleisch seconded. Motion carrie[junanimously. 03- 12-03 Consider Approval ql LMIG Contract wifh .GDOTfor Paving of Peachtree Parkway North Public Services Director Mark ~aspar said this year's annual Local Maintenance arid Improvement Grant (LMIG) contrast with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) was for a 3.24-mile portion of Peachtre~ Parkway North between SR 54 and SR 74. Caspar continued that the contract amount with GD<;n was $225,999, which was the approximate cost of materiqls only. Staff estimated the total project cost would be approximately $500,000 based on recent bids for similar services. Caspar odded that, based on past projects completed under the program, staff generally projected receiving only an 80% reimbursement of the contract amourt from GDOT, or $180,799.50. The City's share of the project should be approximately $319,200.50, which would come from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds. Caspar said they would have to move fairly quickly on the project as the GDOT had implemented firm dates for completion of the contracts, anp the City received the contract one week ago. ' Imker asked if the $319,000 to be fQnded from SPLOST fLJnps \!fq~ On oojicipated or new project. Caspar said the repaving projects were rated when submitted for the grants, and this project had been included. ' Imker noted that Peachtree Park\^{ay North crossed the intersections at Loring Lane and Tinsley Mill, asking if any improvements to the intersection were included in the cost. estimate. Caspar said the improvements were not iQcluded in the costs, but staff could bring the information on the proposed traffic-calming options and improvements to the March 15 Council meeting so the work could be done at the same time. ' , i Fleisch recalled Council had not \!fanted to put in any of the traffic-calming options present4d at the August workshop for various reasons. City Engineer Dave Borkowski said the directiQn given staff was to come back for Q10re discussion \lVh~n ther~\IV~rE:')()ny improvements done on Peachtree Parkway. Staff was to also bring any mOre data collected regarding whether the traffic-calming devices reduced accidents. Imker referred to information on ,the SPLOST project list that included a paving project on Peachtree Parkway North, with an estimate of $414,000, asking if this was the same project. He continued that on the original list a contribution of $397,000 was included. He asked wh,at happened to the possible contribution, and if it was the same project. Borkowski said ttle project on the SPLOST list was the iotersection improvements. Meeker said the SPLOST list also in~lup~p strE:')E:')t resLJrfOc;ing, and the project before Council vJas the street resurfacing. The lane improvements were a second project on the list. Borkowski sqid the developer contribution was to come from the Target developer, but he was not sure where the amount had come from or expctly what it was for. It was not included in the development agreement. Imker said that wgs not .a good answer. Borkowski said the development agreement the developer was ... responsible for the intersection improvements if they were warranted. Meeker clarified that the .c;ondition vvas imposed as part of the Target development by the original developer. It applied to the original developer and any successors; it did ~ot expire. I Imker asked what was on the rest:offherepovinglist. He also wanted similar information for t~e cart path repaving that would be 'done this year. Caspar said he would send the lists. IJII'II""\ City Council Minutes March 1,20t2 Page 7 Fleisch moved to approve the LMI<f clgreement with GDOT for 3.24 miles of Peachtree Parkway North. Dienhart approved. Motion carried unanimously. ' 03-12-04 Consider Grantfrorn:~~()l'gia(jDI'CJryServic:e Community Services Director Jon R,orie adc:jrt:1ssec:jCQuDc::H! saying the Library could receive up to a $100,000 grant from the Geor!;lia Public Library Service's major repair and renovation grant program, and the City had made, the short list. He continued that the City was required fo designate $215,000 for its share of tbe roof repairs, which were estimated at $315,000. Rorie sai.d the estimate was conservative, but it was only an estimate. The City's funds would come fro~ the Public Facilities Authority Bond contingency account. Fleisch asked when the grants would be awarded. Rorie said iLvvQl)ldbe frorn..FY 2p12-201~, which would begin in July. Pennington asked Rorie to explain why the new roof was needeQ. Rorie said he understood thert:1 hq9 been rootl~Clkssinc:e~arly 2006. It was difficult to pinpoint where the leak was located. TherE? was evidence in variolJs loc;ations. Seven?1 contractors had looked at the situation, and their c~msensus was it was time to replace the roof. The under laykr of the roof was saturated. The areq involved was not part of the renovation, but of the original building. Imker noted that grants were paid by somebody, and that was usually the taxpayer. He continued that $2 million in grants would be given to 50 or so projects. Only four would receive $100,000, and the City's Library wa~ in that group. Imker moved to designate $215,000 of the Facilities Bond qs tht:1. qty' s share of the replacemeht of the Library roof. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics Hot Topics Pennington said the first topic was the Kedron Bubble, noting that Council had been given a cost breakdown. Borkowski said Jht:1 original contract with ArIzon had been for $454,000 to provide for the demolition and installation of the new bubble, including the fabric membrane, the air handling equipment, a new foundation, anchoring system, and other items. Additional funding had been requested in October due to previously unknown issues ranging from materials upgrades, water line relpcation, grounding, bonding, and electrical issues. A fenc;:e was added, and most recently, $93,000 was added in change orders for more water line relocations, electrical revisions, aod additiona.1 engineering revisions. Most of the issues hQd been resolved, and the public see.med to be enjoying it. There were some outstanding issues to be resolved, including the Amerie:answith Disabilities. (ADA) air lock and automation control issues, but nothing that involved th~ daily use of the facility. Imker encouraged the media to get a copy of the itemized list of the costs. People did not understand that some items had ,been ac:jded,. such as the ADA wheelchair entrance, which had not been anticipated when the original $250,000 estimate had been made 10 years ago. Imker pointed out that Council was trying to look out for the public's dollars in the best wp,y possible. He continued that the expense side of things was only half the story. The operation ,of the bubble brought in revenue. With a few changes in management and training certificatiqn, City employees could take on some roles. When the expenses, revenues, and loan costs were added up and amortized over 20 years, the cost of the bubble per resident was $1 per year. Imker said he thought it added valu~ to the community by helping to keep up the fair value market, of real estate, and that if that was too :lnuch for soI11~. residents, then perhaps Peachtree City was not the right place for them to live, He thought it was well worth it. City Council Minut~s March 1,2012 Page 8 Haddix said numbers could be thr?wn around and manipulated. The bottom line was the City had the bubble, and the City was paying for the bubble, but it was incredibly expensive. There were approximately 34,000 residents, and less than one and one-half percent actually used the pool. In the final analysis, each citi~en would have to determine if it was worth it to them or not, Pennington said there were two rriajor issues that would be dealt with at the March 9 Retrec)t. Council had received copies of the latest Public Facilities Maintenance List. It could take the afternoon to go over and discuss the list. The Retreat would begin with a discussion of VC$' s analysis of the City's computer systems and proposed recommendations for changes, which should also take about two hours. The team was working hard to get ready. . Pennington continued that the mcsnthly report from Fayette Senior Services had come out thot day, and he was pleased to see fhat a description of what was happening at The Gatherihg Place was included. He said the $60,000 for improvements at The Gathering Place was very important, and staff had worked hard to nail down the cost. The goal was to start on the work March 19, after the March 6 election, since The Gathering Place was a polling place. It should take two weeks to complete the improvements, and the facility would be closed during thot time. Fleisch said she understoodIt was very difficult to change a polling place. Penningt6n said it was, as the requirements were very strict. . Fleisch praised ValleyCrest Landscdping, saying they were doing an incredible job. Imker asked about the dredging oHake Peachtree, its tributaries, and the north lagoon [north bf SR 54). Borkowski said the Fayett~ County Water System had surveyors out to determine the level of siltation in certain areas, particularly in several tributary inlets along the lake. The lagoon was not part of what was in the su~eying contract: which basically included the areas south of SR 54. Imker said he thought the point was to tag on the dredging of the lagoon with the County's effort. He asked why thetity was not tagging along orl the surveying to determine tne siltation in the lagoon. Pennington said it was something the City could do, but staff was not sure there was any siltation in the lagoon. Borkowski did not recommend spending the money on the lagoon, adding that the lagoon did not receive any water from Flat Creek or Cherry Branch during most rain events. Cherry Branch turned before it hit the lagoon, going into Flat Creek. Flat Creek went past the lagoon gnd under SR 54. The only time the lagoon would get water from those areas was during a large flood event. Borkowski said he had also never seen any vegetation growing up in the lag<>on, which told him it was not the area sifting up. Learnard asked if there was a baseline. Borkowski said he did not know if there had ever been qn underwater survey of the lagoon orea. Learnard said it was too late to get in with the County's contract, but it would not be difficult to get a bid and get it done. Borkowski agreed. He said the lagoon had always been shallow, but they could talk about it at another time. Imker said he had been touch with the Towne Club's marketing director and had gotten information on the occupancy stqtus. The facility had 77 of 119 independent units occupicid with almost 100 residents (65%). They were adding 26 assisted living units that would be ready 'in May, and there were already reservations for 18 of those units. Imker referred to the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations, asking when the negotiatiorls would begin and conclude, so the City could do proper budgeting. Meeker anticipated that the County would send out notice after their Retreat, but he did not know when that wQs scheduled. Imker asked that Council be notified when the dates were set. Imker said he received information, on how the $60,000 at The Gathering Place would be spent. To him, this was the first authorize~ USE} of thE} FqcilitiE}sAuthgrity money. He would like for the -1:;,.~-.-:-:.:;.-.:-:,:,:~.:-.,,_.::._- ~ City Council Minut~s March 1,2012 Page 9 ~ information on how the money wds spent to be shared better. It was the citizens' money and was being used for their benefit. As a citizen, he wanted to know what was being done, what the status was, and the estimated date of completion. He did not want any more projects to end up like the CSX bridge on SR 54.. Pennington said there would be a regular monthly report that would have the status of all the major projects so they would not get dropped. Council could add any projects to the report if one was not on the list. Imker's next topic was Robinson Road/Redwine Road and Peachtree Parkway/Crosstown intersections. BorkoWski said staff~ad requested additional accident data, then gotten back with the original traffic engineer on Robinson Road/Redwine Road. There had been two more side-impact accidents, but that diq not change any of the recommendations in the traffic study. The County Sheriff said the intersection was not in the County's top 10 intersections for monitoring. Staff also spoke with the County's Public Works Director, who told them the upcoming budget year was one o.f the tightest, and he would have to ask the Commissioners if they wanted to contribute anything. Borkowski added they probably would not since the improvements were not warranted according to the traffic study. The cost to construct a 100- foot long turn lane on Robinson Road was estimated at $40,000, which would give a left arid right turn lane. The estimate only included materials and labor, no engineering, right-of-WdY acquisition, or grading costs. He was trying to confirm a level of service increase if the lane wbs added, but the report said the int~rsection would still be an "F" with the.additionallane and;a traffic signal. He had not gotten a response yet from the engineer on that question. He said staff would bring the issue back to Council to ask Council to allocate the $110,000 on the SPLOST list to other projects. . Borkowski said the cost for fhEl.. adqition of a single right-turn at Peachtree Parkway/Crosstown .. .. .. .......... ... ..jfi.:, .....:.....,.:. C',:. ::.....,:..,..... .:', ....: _",:: ......c..., ',...... .,' ,_: .,", d ......:. .......< "', ...... '.: '"," ,'.. .. ,'.. ,', .. ':",'.. ...... .. .... . from Crosstown onto. Pe9chtreEj( parkw~::lY South was estimated at $140,000, including engineering and right-of-way acquisition. The traffic study and engineer said they could not measure that option by itself. althpugh common sense indicated it would help with the traffic flow. Imker said he would like to hgve an item oothe next agenda regarding the reallocation bf the $110,000 for the turn lane at RQbinson Road/Redwine Road, with Council consensus. Hadqix said everything Borkowski had reported supported his beliefs about the Robinson Road/Redwine Road intersection. . Imker asked about the new four-way stop sign at Windgate Road/Raintree Bend. A citizen had asked him about the new signs, aOd the citizen was confused about why the signs were install~d because he had not known of anyaccidents at the intersection during the 25 years he had Iiv~d in the area. Borkowski said he unqerstood Why it was a surprise. Information had gone out' a week prior to the installation in the Update. Imker said the resident wqs not computer savvy and did not use e-mail. Borkowski said he understood. A traffic consultant had done a study of the intersection according to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The report recommended a multi-way stop be installed because of sight distance issues, the vertical CUrve, and the volume of traffic. There had been four accidents at the location. Staff had moved .. ':'.....,.:.....,..". ..........',.. .'....-.'.....'...-.....',.....:.....'.'...'.........-..-.'........':........:....::..'.'.....':..':::.::.'.'''''_.,.............".....:.....'.........".':''.. ......-,.:.."...',.:.:."....:.:.... I forward with the recommendation, The accidents had occurrec:i since 2009, . Imker said he did not want to get into staff's day-to-day business, but this had been a significant change to the City. For reference, there was only one traffic light in the City that was not on SR 54 or SR 74. He thought the new four-way stop should have come to Council just to advise the.m and so it would get in the minutes. It would also have been in the newspapers, so the information could have gotten oufto the residents. Dienhart said he drove that road every day, and he did not know that the four;way stop would improve traffic. He also would have want~d to know about it. ~ ~ fIIiKI"'" City Council Minutes March 1,2012 Page 10 Imker asked what the threshold wQs to bring such items to Council. Borkowski said he felt such issues were engineering decisions, put staff could inf()rm Council.'Nh~n such actions.were taker. Haddix said he did not think Cou~cil wanted to know. every time a new sign went up. Many times the installation 'Nas ouL()fJh~City's hands as it was mandated by federal law. Oienhdrt asked how many four-way stops were installed each year. Borkowski said it did not happen often, but there had to be safety issue involved and those decisions had been made at stqff level. Imker recommended the City Manager use his judgment to determine what should conie before Council as an informational item. Council would let him know whether or not it was an ", .. .... ........ .. ',... ...... .. ..'.. ",'" ....,....' .... .. '. ... .... .. l item the residents should have notice about. ' Jim Savage told Council he drove that street several times a day, and he said the four-way stop probably did make it a safer intersection. The street lighting in the area did' not illuminate H)e intersection very well, and a street light might be more effective than the stop signs. Most of the accidents probably happened ot night. He had previously mentioned to Fleisch arid Pennington his concern regarding 0 number of street lights in the City that did not work. Addihg a stop sign anywhere in the City should be of. concern to Council. Other issues needed to I:?e considered from a safety standpoint. He added that the new streetlights and poles at Walt Banks, Robinson Road, and Peachtree Parkway intersections on SR 54 still did not work. Borkowski said staff was working with Georgia Power to get the lights reinstalled. The GOOT had provided the mast arms for the Ii~hts when the intersections were rE;done, but told staff they were not going to install the lights as it was not part of their contract. Their policy was they did not install street lights, even thougl5 GOOT removed. the lights that had been in place. The goal was to get Georgia Power to maintain the lights. The City was responsible for some of the lights on the state. routes, put did.. n.ot haXE;tDE; eCl~iPnlE;nt to nlaintain streetli~hts. Learnard reiterated Borkowski's statement, noting the :City did not have the necessary equipment to maintain the poles. Borkowski said the City had to call a contract()r to replace the bulbs in the lights. The entire SR 54 corridor had been reqone, and the issues with streetlights going out were now the City's problem. The intersection lights were a higher priority than the lights on the CSX bridge. Haddix compared the situation to something he was told about signage by past GOOT Commissioner VanceSmith when$mith visited the City. Haddix said Smith warned him that if tl5e GOOT or the law said a sign was needed, and the sign did not go up, then the City became liable for any injuries that occurred. If a sign went up that was not authorized, the City was still liable. ' Imker asked whether, now that tQe City had been notified that the Robinson Road/Redwine Road intersection was rated "F," t,h~ City would be liable for any accidents since nothing was being done. Meeker said when it ~ame to putting up signs, there was still some judgment on the engineer's part that could be ma<;:le. Rating an intersection as an "F" could mean there was! a higher volume of traffic, not that it was a liability. There were intersections in the City with full traffic control measures, including fraffic signals, which still had accidents. Imker asked if it was possible to gq back to the two-way stop at Wlndgate Road/Raintree Bend. Borkowski said it woul<;:l notpe a good idea. . Imker said a citizen had pointed out there was a proliferation of fire ants in the City, with hills popping up everywhere. He had asked staff if there was a treatment policy, and he had been told no. He asked, if it only took a few hundred dollars .cmd. a chOnge order to the contra~t, then why not add that service. ~aspar said he had gotten the numbers for the cost of tt'1e service. The cost for preventativ~ treatment was $300 an acre, and the City had around 631 acres, so the total was significant"; It would go down at the beginning of the year, and theY City Council Minufes March 1, 20'12 Page 11 would guarantee no fire ants. Spot treatments would cost $25 an acre, but as soon as the treatment went on a hill, they wou]d pop up somewhere else. Imker said he was done with th,at topic. I ! He also asked about Human Resoyrces, noting the myriad entries .that had to be done by harid. He asked if it would be discussed qt Retreat. Pennington said it was part of the VC3 study. Imker asked about the new scannerin tre Planning Department, and if it was still needed. Borkow~ki said he understood it was on hold for the VC3 assessment. ' Learnard moved to convene into executive session to di~cuss pending or threatened litigation and a personnel matter at 9:00 p.m. Dienhart seconded. Motion carried unanimously. ' Learnard moved to reconvene irrto regular session at 9:30 p.m. Dienhart seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, L~arnard moved to adjourn the eeting at 9:54 p.m. Dienhart seconded. Motion carried unanin1ously. Jk~ Pam Dufresne Deputy City CI. .