HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 Retreat
l"""""'\
2912 CITY COUNCIL RETREAT
MINUTES
March 9, 2012
Council Chambers
Mayor Don Haddix called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. Council Members present: George
Dienhart, Vanessa Fleisch, Eric Imker', and Kim Learnard.
Overview of Retreat, opening com~entsand presenfationof Exec",tivt!$t(].ff's perception of
Peachtree City, including Positives qnd Challenges - (Something to think about later in retreat)
City Manager Jim Pennington went over the positives in the City and the challenges, which,
during his career, he found to be sir)1i1ar everywhere. There were a number of issues that would
be addressed during the day, from the computer system to stormwater to the City's public
facilities. He asked Council to thinKgl)9LJtjhE( positives of the City in the coming weeks. The list
included the AAA credit rating and low ISO rating. He said the list included items that were
extremely important when comparing the City to other communities, particularly related to
median income and the City's hallrpark - the cart path system.
The challenges included attracting good employees. Pennington noted that Financial Services
Director Paul Salvatore had spent months looking for someone. to fill the Assistant Finance
Director position when Janet Camburn retired, and it was taking a lot of time to find someone
with the necessary talent. The City had no policy regarding annexation. The demographics
were changing; the City was getting more mature. Growth was a subject for discussion,
including what was good growth, bad growth, and controlled growth. The City's human
resources policies were out-of-dat~ and often went through several sets of hands. The policies
needed to be refined. There was, a lack of positive attitude, and lack of unified vision/plan.
There needed to be a discussion. Opvvh90ndwhat PeClchtryeSity 'NClS and where it wanted to
be. The quality of life needed to be maintained, and it was getting harder and harder.
Pennington said the positives and 9hallenges were not unique to the City. The same pervasive
issues were dealt with by all cities.
Discussion ofthe SAVE and E-Verify'mandates on the City's operations
City Attorney Ted Meeker briefly went over the requirements for E-verify and the Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which had come into play with the Immigration
Security & Compliance Act that w~nt Into law in 2011. He said staffnoyv hag gn understanding
of the impact of the programs from. a documentation standpoint, explaining if someone other
than a United States citizen applieo for a benefit from the City, staff was required to get on the
SAVE system and check on the pE;?rson, and to make copies of the documentation provided
from everyone. The same was reqUired of every contract/purchase the City entered into with a
third party, which increased thy. demand on the Purchasing Department. The Police
Department issued solicitor's permits, alcohol handling permits, and gold permits that also
required this process.
~
The law was written so the forms cpuld no longer be mailed in. People would have to come in
person, and staff had to make copies of the required documents and retain them. This was a
state mandate, and the City had no choice but to comply. There would be more work on staff.
Meeker referred to the Front Desk at City Hall, noting that the Front Desk would be left
uncovered for the CustomerServicreRepresentative to gomake a copy. They were looking at
installing a copier in the Front Desk office or a scqnner that work instantly. There might be some
additional manpower needed to fQcilitate the transactions.
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 2
Public Information Officer/City Clerk Betsy Tyler said the City had approximately 80 alcohol
licenses, and all those businesses h9d employees that were required to have handlers permits,
and approximately 1,800 occupatipnal taxes issued to businesses. Most annual payments for
those were mailed to the City. .... Equipment and staffing challenges affected the Police
Department, the Front Desk, and Purchasing.
Tyler continued that every time staff checked on a person who was not a citizen, the cost to the
City was 50 cents for a Level 1 chec;k verifying the person was a legal alien. If the check had to
go to a Level 2, then another 50 cents was charged to the City and the check could require a
few days. A Level 3 check was anofher 50 cents, and it took a few weeks to get an answer. She
said a service fee might need to, be added to cover staff time and the payments for the
verification required for non-U.S. citizens. Meeker clarified the service. fee was considered a
regulatory fee and could be add~,d to coverthe cost, but it must accurately reflect the true
cost.
Tyler said the requirements had been phased in over several years. Meeker added that people
were used to mailing in their appliqations with the required documents. He expected that the
City would get a number of complaints from those people who had done that. The surge of
mailings came in November and DE;?cember.
Meeker said in the past everyone could mail in applications. Since the requirements were
phased in, copies of the docu!)1ents had not been required for those renewing their
Occupational Tax and alcohol licenses prior to December 31 , 2011. Since January 1, 2012, the
documentation had been required. Depending on the surge of people in November and
December to renew, people could:be waiting in line.
Pennington said the people manning the stations had to be very diplomatic as some people
were very upset about the requirements. Staff had already seen it hoppen when people came
in without all the documents. Havirg people who were bilingual on staff also helped in getting
the job done. Staff knew compliance would cost more, and they had an idea of the equipment
that was needed, adding Council that would hear more during the year.
Fleisch asked if the same process had to be done every year if the person was already in the
system. Tyler said the same docum~nts were required every year for every benefit.
Haddix asked how much training was required to use the E-verify system. Meeker said he did not
know, but the system seemed to De somewhat user-friendly. Tyler confirmed that it was fairly
easy to use once into it.
Presentation and discussion of th~ YC3. report and recommendations relative to the City's IT
system and what impact it will hav~ on current and f",t,urt! budgets
Fleisch noted that Matt Robinson, fhe City's Information Technology (IT) administrator, would be
leaving the City's employ for another position on March 14. She thanked Robinson for
everything he had done through 'the tight budgetary times, adding his efforts had not gone
unnoticed.
Sandy Reeser, president of VC3, qnd Ryan Wilson, Georgia regional manager, presented the
report and recommendations to ~ounc;il, noting that VC3 had been asked to provide an in-
~ depth technology assessment" and to provide findings, a summary analysis, and
recommendations based on the assessment. The scope of the project included reviewing all
data networks, IT systems, and services utilized by the City, including staff interviews with key
department leaders. Reeser said t6eend result Y"gsthgt VC:2Y"as aple Ip provide a technology
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 3
,....., road map that allowed the City to chart a budgetary and technology plan for short, mid, and
long-term decisions.
The City's technical environment hgd many areas for improvement in technology infrastructure
and design, according to the assessment summary. Reeser said VC3 felt the City's technology
budget would best be spent on a premise-based cloud solution, which would provide increased
performance for the end-user, a more robust and reliable infrastructure, and cost savings
through reduced hardware capital expenditures as compared to a traditional (non-virtualized)
environment. Moving to a premise-based cloud solution would also position the City to easily
transition to a hosted cloud in the fl1~ure.
The key findings included an environment not designed/architected for manageability
(prioritization of support and manageability over price; prioritization of consistency over price);
not leveraging zero cost featur~s to provide better end user experiences, support the
environment more effectively, and reduce staff time to deliver end user functionality; not
leveraging mature technology to reduce capital cost lack of staff/skill set for complexity of
current environment; focus on end user hardware made if difficult to get momentum behind
solving core foundation issues, a lotl'of one off disparate applications; cmd a rating in the bottom
25% of same-size organizations of core infrastructure.
The Recommendation Summary included re-architecting the environment - moving to a private
internal cloud (saving approximately $48,000/year), which implemented properly would build
out the Active Directory, clean up 'server issues, facilitate Native butl()(?k. c:lientDeployment to
all users, and centralize all AV and"Patc:hMgnagement. Fixing the staffing/skill set issues would
cost more than what was currently spent and would address the CIO role internally or externally.
Other recommendations included ,simplifying and solidifying the backup strategy, cleaning up
the networking infrastructure, creoting a Steering Committee, and developing a long-range
cloud and Disaster Recovery/BC plan.
Wilson continued that staff interview comments included the need for the full Outlook Client;
Incode integration with other soft\l\(are, such as connectivity needed between the 21 separate
Access databases; more reliable ..IT infrastructure; faster response to technology issues and
projects; IT seen as a bottleneck; need to. change to another system to work with the County
easier; need to pull reports without contacting IT; manual submission of time cards; no option for
self-service by employees or management staff; applications running slow; two different versions
of Incode in place; frequent viruses on personal computers; Excel spreadsheets and active
databases were manual and dupli(::ated; and need for project management software.
Wilson went over an assessment pf work~tations and. using Thin Clients as a virtual desktop
environment rather than PCs, n,pting that 82% (191) of the City's workstations needed
replacement. Dienhart asked for~larification. that VC3 recommended. using Citrix Systems for
that. Wilson said they were very familiar with Citrix and had muc::h success with it. Reeser
compared a Thin Client to a lightweight PC at about one-half to one-third the cost of a PC.
Haddix asked about connectivity gnd bandwidth, saying if either one was lost. then the desktop
was lost. Wilson said that was why they had recommended a private cloud, adding that issues
were encountered with hosted c19uqs orth~loss()fth~ netY"()r~ s()r1n~sti()n. As I()ng as the
users could still connect to the private cloud, the users would still have access. Wilson and
! Reeser said the private cloud option also provided the flexibility to move to a public cloud in
future, noting that things changed and improvements were made quickly so a public cloud
could be the best option in the fl)ture. Dienhart asked if there wOl)ldb~. any cost savings to
moving to a public cloud now. Re~ser said there would Dot be a sayings, and the price point for
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 4
a public cloud was still on the higher end, but they believed the cost would go down over time.
Dienhart asked if there would be any off-sitebackup. Reeser said there were some suggestions
in the recommendations for later oq, k:)ut there were()th~r rrl()re pressing issues for the short term.
Haddix said that, at this time, he w9,s not comfortable with the security in a public cloud. Wilson
also noted that 53% of the City's serVers (eight of 15) were at the end of life.
VC3's short-term recommendation~ included, upgrading the existing core network switches,
implementing server virtualization, creating a new centralized City domain, implementing a
private cloud (thin clients, remote access, virtualized desktops), implementing centralized
backup solution and including all servers in backup, implementing centralized AV and patch
management, and deploying Outlook client to desktops. The estimated total for Phase 1
projects with fixed costs was $480,204, and included an update of the existing core switching
($8,051), implementing server virtualization ($133.521), centralizing City Domain infrastructure
($88,4860, implementing private c1dud ($120,834). premise e-vault backup ($69,564). centralized
A V & Windows patch managemeht ($54,126), and deploying Outlook Client to 150 desktops
($5,625) .
Mid-term recommendations includyd implementing an IT Steering Committee and IT alignment
processes, moving to a full service 24X7X365 proactive support model, and upgrading the
remaining network switches. Phas~ 2 projects with fixed costs included upgrading remaining
switching infrastructure ($134,000), and Phase 2 projects with recurring costs included the 24X7
proactive service model ($28,614 monthly).
The long-term recommendation.s included implementing a centralized City wireless
infrastructure, implementing a g~ographicallY separated Disaster Recovery Solution. and
implementing a Iifecycle replacerpent process. The total for Phase 3 projects was $56.867;
including a centralized secure City'!wireless infrastructure ($48,707) and a disaster recovery-bare
metal restore ($8,160).
Fleisch asked if the Airport Authority (PCAA) and the Water and Sewerage Authority (W ASA)
were included in the assessment. R,eeser said they were not.
Reeser said Phase 1 would take ap'proximately 90 days to implement, and training was included
in that time and should be minimpl as most things were similar. Fleisch asked if software for
Human Resources was included. l{~eser said itwgs not., FI~ischaske.c:J if it hgd, been evaluatl3d
as far as the best program. Financial Services Director Paul Salvator~ said there had been a
presentation at a past Retreat,roting the funding levels for IT, and there was $417,000
earmarked in the FY2012 budget. Much of that funding was still there waiting for the evaluation.
Salvatore said he and Robinson hap discuss~d thecloudtec,hn()loQY, but felt there w(]s no need
for an IT strategic plan when there was no money to support it. The basic infrastructure needed
to be in place.
Pennington continued that recommended changes would change the entire environment. If
the City did not choose to implem€'mt Phase 1, there was no point in doing anything else. Phase
1 provided the foundation. Once the core wasIn place, the City could start utilizing the abilities.
Reeser said that, from an environ,ment perspective, it would take quite some time to set up.
Once everything was in place, th$n decisions could be made regarding the applications and
the applications could be rolled oLlt 10times more efficiently.
,.....,
Dienhart asked if the training durin9 Phase 1 would also be for the on-site IT Department. Reeser
said it would. Dienhart asked if the infrastrusture\^lould give the City the ability for an Enterprise
Data Warehouse (EDW) for all its d9tabases. Reeser said it would give the foundation, but it was
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 5
.., not a decision for a centralized application. Dienhart clarified that all the applications used
currently would just be on a new infrastructure. Reeser said with two ~xceptions, the full Outlook
Client and anti-virus software. ,)VVilson(1??~d, there were" some ,. instances where new
applications were needed, but in of hers, it was a matter of training to link the applications. They
needed to research it some more.
Haddix said the current IT situation "dated pQc;k multiple Councils, including members who did
not understand technology, could not see beyond the money, and did not understand how
much production time was lost. Noyv was the prime time to make the changes and save money
down the road.
Dienhart asked if the costs were ba$ed on purchases or leases of equipment. Reeser said there
were all kinds of arrangements oyqilable., Salvatore said there was 0 possibility of alternate
funding; and one of the first things s,laff needed to do was to discuss with VC3 how to reallocate
that $417,000 for the best use. Di~nhart said if money could be saved by leasing rather than
buying, the option should be considered. Pennington said he needed to meet with Salvatore
and the City's investment counselpr, as well as VC3, to determine what would be the best
alternative. Salvatore said they ne~ded to Iqok at how much VC3\N9LJ,ld charge for its services,
as well as the equipment costs. There would' also be s~veralpudget amendments needed.
Pennington said staff wanted to mqke sure Council had, a picture of where the City was. Now it
was just a matter of finding the right combination.
Haddix asked Reeser if he had a ref()rnnlenqqtIqrl on Which c;ompany to use for the equipment
as they were all different. Rees~r recommended Dell, which the City had already been
considering.
A break was held from 10: 1 0 - 10:30' a.m.
Discussion of storm Water Utility ane{ future financing
Public Services, Director/Stormwate,f utility Manager Mark Caspar briefed Council on the Storm
Water Utility's previously established goals and what had been achieved. The achieved goals
included implementing a new sto, rmwater ordinance, complying w, ith the, National Pollutant
I~ ,-,.',_, ...,..,.........:....:.:.. ...,\....,....<.:'.:,. _,':.<> <',,:::,', ....,... .,', '...:.,-'" ,..',-:-'"-,''' :. ", .... " "", ',_ .. '..-', '0. -', '." .. '._ .0. .."
Discharge Elimination System (NPQES) Phase II permit, implementing a public education and
information program, mapping drainage system features, modeling and evaluating the City's
watersheds, implementing a ! long-term water quality monitoring program, and
identifying/implementing a long-term funding strategy. Those goals that were ongoing included
assessing the Flat Creek dissolved oxygen total maximum daily loqd (TMDL), evaluating septic
system impacts in the City, and addressing the highest priority stormwater flooding projects.
Haddix asked Caspar if staff was yvorking with the Fayette County Health Department on the
septic system monitoring. Casparsoid there was a big footprint of septic systems along Lake
Peachtree, and they just kept an eye on them. There had been failures in the past few years,
and the monitoring had help catcn the failures. They did work with the Health Department.
Caspar continued that the goals moving forward included ensuring all new construction strictly
followed the City's standards, mpint(1ining compliance with the MPDES Phase \I Municipal
Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit, continuing to monitoring water quality trends in the
City's streams and surface waters,rehabilitating several majordrainage control facilities in the
next few years, implementing a., more aggressive MS4 inspection program, beginning the
implementation of a proactive ..' capital rehabilitation program, and ensuring long-term
maintenance of drainage systems as they were rehabilitated. Caspar noted the City's MS4
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 6
permit expired in September 2012, adding he was sure the requirements would be more
stringent and there would be more rnandatesto implement.
The major drainage control issues were the 67 City-maintained detention ponds, the drainage
system assessment, an evaluation system, and addressing known issues.
Common detention pond needs inqlud~d removing trees and vegetation growing on the dams,
failing or inadequate outlet structures, non-existent or failing emergency spillways, not meeting
the City standards for free boardquring the 100-year design storm, downstream homes that
were located within the breach zpne of a dam, and the need to provide significant flood
protection to downstream homes., Commqn goals for detention pond rehabilitation including
removing trees from the dams, installing new or repairing outlet control structures, installing a
plunge pool at the discharge point of outlet pipes, flattening slopes on downstream faces of
dams as needed, installing emergency spillways as needed, and maintaining flood protection to
downstream homes during constrUction. Areas of concern includeq theRQc;kspray Pond and
dam, Kedron West detention pond, Kedron East detention pond, and the Bradford
Estates/Creekside Crossing/Southside Church (BCS) pond.
Fleisch asked if the reason for the p~oblems with the dams was the lack of maintenance. Caspar
said the history of the detention pOr'lds was the developer put them in, and everyone else forgot
about them. The utility had been 'making way with the crews cleaning the smaller ponds out
and fixing them. They had not been given the priority they should have.
Caspar said much of the system wCls quickly aging to its useful life and much of it was made of
corrugated metal pipe. Prior to fO'06, minimal routine maintenance items were completed.
Several systems were/might be undersized. Approximately 96% of the infrastructure was
corrugated metal pipe, and there were areas where gas lines and other utilities went through
the storm drains, as well as many places where the bottoms (inverts) of the pipes were gone.
Metal pipes had a 25-year average useful life, Caspar said 42% (1,780 locations) of the metal
pipe was 25 years old or older. Twenty six miles of metal pipe would need maintenance or
replacement soon.
Proposed improvements included implementing a formal maintenance prioritization program
that would use criticality to establish a pipe class, inspection of the system in order of class,
prioritization of maintenance based on inspection, and using the maintenance need to
determine funding. In addition, staff proposed inspecting the drainage system once every five
years and utilizing in-situ rehabilitation methods to the maximlJm extent practicable and cost
effective. The prioritization program included Class 1 System Components (pipes under roads
with limited access, pipes that p<:med within approximately 10 feet of a structure), Class 2
System Components (pipes under collector roads such as Peachtree Parkway and Robinson
Road, pipes that passed within approximately 25 feet of a structure, detention ponds), Class 3
System Components (all other pipesexc:ept those under cart paths). and Class 4 System
Components (cart path pipes).
The inspection priority goals inch,;oed inspecting all Class 1 pipes this year, completing the
inspection of the remaining system over the next five years, including re-inspections as needed
each year for more critical observSJtions, using inspections to determine pipe replacement and
maintenance priority, catching failures before they occurred, and utilizing in-situ rehabilitation
methods to the maximum extent p~actic()ble and cost effective.
Caspar said staff was considering using centrifugally-cast concrete pipes, noting that cast-in-
place concrete pipes and pre-ca~t concrete pipes had a 75-year average useful life. Caspar
-
t-"
~
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 7
said rates would need to be adjust~d to do some of the work needed, and a new bond would
be needed. Haddix asked what th~ t9tal,qillW9s,: c:::9spar said it depended on how much they
wanted to accomplish each year. Currently, staff had budget $500,000 annually for the
concrete linings or in-situ work, so the bond amount would be in the, $8 million range. Several
million was needed without the lining component just for the projects that had to be done.
Learnard said the work had to be dipne to stay compliant and legal, and the citizens sometimes
just wanted to know the money w~s going for what needed to be done. Haddix noted the
funds could not roll over into the c;eneral Fund. Dienhqrt sqig JhE(rE(WouI9ClIs,9PE(gl~-year
system instead of a 25-year system, so the money would go a lot fLJrtherthan ithad in the past.
Fleisch asked if the work woul,d be c:;ortractecl. ' C:9spar said the lining ,work would be put out for
bid and brought to Council for approval. Fleisch asked how many linear feet could be done
with the money in the bond. Caspqr said less than 1 % of the total system, and 42% of the system
was at or near the end of its useful life: Hqddix stated it was a no-option issue.
Discussion of Public Facilities,(Jl"lcjJ~cr(!!(1ti()l"Ilrnprovements and budget impacts
Community Services Director Jon R'orie briefed Councilor the Fac;ilitIE(sAlJthqrity bond, noting
that $3 million was authorized and approximately $1 million had been encumbered to date. The
initial identified projects for Public Services inclu,qed, bulk" oil storage repair and relocation
($50,000), an addition to the Bas~ball Soccer Complex (BSC) building maintenance facility
addition ($75,000), and break roorD and restroom renovation ($40,000). The identified projects
for Community Services totaled $1,544,255 and included the Kedron bubble replacement
($454,000) , Tennis Center covered:court r09f ($150,000), Amphitheater building improvements
($100,000), Library exterior sealing ($100,000), Kedron large pool resurfacing ($40,000), All
Children's Playground resurfacing ($50,000) , Battery Way boat dock replacement ($150,000),
and the BSC parking expansion ($590,000). Rorie said he already knew the $50,000 budgeted for
the All Children's Playground resurfacing was a low figure, and the actual cost could be closer
to $100,000.'
Public Safety's identified projects included Station 81 driveway and parking lot ($100,000),
Station 82 exterior wall sealing ($55,000), Station 82 roof remoO~1 ($175,000), Station 81 exterior
wall sealing ($75,000), and parking lot resurfacing ($75,000). The projects totaled $480,000.
Unidentified projects included $810,745 for projects that were to be detE3rmineg. Uses for those
funds included $243,000 in Kedron, bubble change orders, $19,000 for the Kedron pool fence,
$60,000 for The Gathering Place r~modE(l, and $214,000 for the Library roof. The administrative
total was $555,000, which left $255,000 in available bond funds.
Rorie gave Council a seven-page list of projects that included the cost, funding source, status,
project type, and priority for eqch project. He noted some of the projects had been
completed, adding that as many os 50 items had been identified for use of the rernqining funds
in the Facilities Authority bond. Rpriesaid Recreation's top three projects were the Glenloch
remodel, tennis court replacement, and repairs and upgrades for the Braelinn Recreation
Complex. There were items that '?vE(rE(r9t qn th~list,Inclu9ing the HV AC system at the Tennis
Center, which had had two receni failures.
Rorie continued that staff hadlq,okedqth9w )9deterrnirethE(fLJr"lcjir"lg priorities based on
objective facts, reasons, and prindples. The ranking criteria for the projects were core, essential,
and discretionary. The analysis included facility assessments, the "second right answer"
considerations, price vs. cost, and'utilitariani$m. A core designation was critical to remedying or
preventing a major health or sqfety hazard. Examples included sewer line problems and
sinkholes in roadways. They were legally mandated and had to be done. Essential projects
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 8
induded those that generated positive fiscal impact that could feed back into further repairs,
maintenance, or funding other proj~cts.
Rorie referred to the project f9r Arl1phitheater repairs, adding that the engineering consulting
company was to assess the Amphitheater the next week. They would look at the entry of the
facility. Staff already knew the roof leaked badly. The assessment would help determine the
best use of the bond proceeds.
As an example of the "second right answer" considerations, Rorie referred to the Battery Way
Boat Dock, which had $150,000 designated in the initial Facilities Authority bond. It was listed as
a core project due to health and sqfety issues. The options induded doing nothing (possibility vs.
probability), removing the risk/eliminating the exposure, controlling the risk/reducing the
exposure, and replacement (possioility vs. probability). He said the assessment revealed a very
low risk of failure under normal cgnditions and use. The dock vyas fine, provided 100 - 200
people did not try to crowd on to H9sthey did on July 4th. He pointed, out that the dock had
been closed during the 2011 festivities, recommending that continue to be done. The risk could
be controlled. Rorie said the mOQey designated for the dock could then be used for other
projects. .
Rorie referred to the $100,000 designated for the storage building for the Kedron bubble. For as
long as anyone remembered, the bubble had been stored inthe ~E(crE(qtipn A9rnin Building
basement when not in use. The bLJbblE(,vyqsst()rE(dgn pallets that were picked up by a forklift,
and the bubble had been damaged when it was moved. The proposed project included a
metal building shell with a green I"netal roof, gray split-faced block, and a maintenance free
arbor. The 1 O-year cost was $130':066. Staffhqd looked a price vs. cost and found another
option. For an initial investment of $9,000, six steel storage containers could be used to house
the bubble and moved anywhere in the City. The annual moving cost would be $1,000. The 10-
year cost would be $19,000, leaving $110,000 for other core and essential needs.
The next example was the Basepall Soccer Complex (BSC) parking lot, and $500,000 was
earmarked in the Facilities Bond f~r paving, which was probably a rough estimate. Staff had
looked at potential sites, where grass was located and people were already parking. Rorie
pointed out the facility had 342 spots, and at times, the lot was full. Therewas a plan to add
another 68 spots. Staff looked at areas already used for parking, trying to tie them into the
existing stormwater issues. The apditional 68 spots still might not be enough. There was a
tournament planned in June with qver 1,200 participants. Rorie said a second option was to use
a grass pave system. The turnkey price was approximately $210,000 per acre or 100 spots. The
system included rock placed into d form that was grassed over. The advantage was an acre of
greenspace that could also be u~ed as a field if nee9E(dqsVYE(II.g.~()YE(rfl()\fVparking. Rorie
continued that the area would not be used every week, but for overflow parking. There were
still maintenance issues, and the qrea ~(Jdto be kept under an acre',st?ff,vvas evaluating the
option, so it might not be the finql recommenclation, but for now, it appeared to be the best
alternative for a long-term investm~nt.
Rorie said utilitarianismmE(qnt th€?9reatest amount of good for the greatest number, which was
the toughest element to calculat~. Staff hoped to complete the facilities assessment in 30 - 45
days, and then would bring the as$essments to Council on the core fac;IljtiE(svyiiQ cost estimates.
Dienhart thanked Rorie for making sure the City was using taxpayer money to the best possible
extent. Pennington said it was .a real teqm effort withRorie,c:::asper, City Engineer Dave
Borkowski, and Salvatore. There wgsa possibility there might be another bond needed.
!f.'
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 9
Fleisch asked Caspar if the sewer pt Shakerag had been eVdluated and if there was a cost
estimate. Caspar said the evaluation was undyrway. There were issues with the line, incllJding
identifying where everything was located. An estimate would be done when the assessment
was completed.
The Retreat broke for lunch.
Discussion of Public facilitie,s. (Jm:l~~<:re,C1t!9I1J."provementsand budget impacts
The Retreat resumed at 1: 15 p.m. '.
Rorie continued that the facility qssessments had idElntifIyd rqLJtinEl/rngIntyngncy Iterns that
would not be included in the facilitjys bond (weather stripping, painting doors, etc.). Recreation
had worked with Buildings & Grounds and utilized community service workers to complete many
of the routine maintenance issues. There were many other items not on the list dealing with
parks and facilities.
Rorie noted the City had 32 recreation facilities and 416 acres Of recryption .lgnd.. Some. of the
parks were smaller and. difficult to..' find. The facilities include. d..15.. ..b... a....s.. e.....b.......a.....I..I.,.....s....e...v..e.. n.... s..o... f.t.ball,..1 O.
soccer, and two lacrosse fields, .a~wellas lifenniscourts, 22'piaygroUnd7fofIOts, and eight
concession stands/restrooms. .
The Recreation Master Plan covere..d 2007 to 201..1, bu. t..w.as...n. o.t.. fu.lI.y. im..p..I.e... m.e...nte.. d. .Some of the.
.. 'I'~" .....< ",::' '- ":"0 ','.. ", '-' ...: ....: <: :", ........ ......... ..... "........... ...,....,.. '':'. " ....... ':.: :,,:' "'. ",... ..." <. ,.,'.. . .' , ':. ......,
.:.. ...': ....... '.' ...." ....:.... ..' '.
elements needed to be reviewed 9Elfore rnQving forward. Rorie said the goal was to provide a
high level of recreation, but the focps now neede9 to b. y qn.> rng'.I...nt...y09nS.e. .
. .. .' ...,...-'.".....'..,....'....,.",..,..'"..'.
Rorie said the City had a lot of voluhteer supporfbut there Were sOme pockets of opportunity to
fill in gaps. The report also assum'ed recreqtion acreage wOlJld remain the same but would
require more financial supportfrom higher user fees and grants/sponsorships. The plan was also
based on a 2008 population of 37,~pO, which had not been achieveQ yet.
The plan's objectives included assessing the adequacy of existing maintenance of the facilities
and periodically reviewing maintenance operations for the most economical providers.
Financing objectives included rey~nue from Impact fees and implementing a three-tier fee
structure for Peachtree City, Fayette County, and out-of-county users. This latter item had been
implemented, but that did not meqn it .was qnElquitable approach.
Rorie noted that the fields at BraeIinnhad nOfpyyn appropriately mpintained by the City and
needed work and that maintainirlgfields was more thanm()vving. True turf management also
addressed the volume of field us~.Hy saidyserfees andirnpact fees needed to tie into the
maintenance of these faciliti.es to be equitable.
. . .--1' .
The sports leagues (adult and youth) served about 11,000 participants, 70% of which were
Peachtree City residents. Adult Sqftball was the. single largest sport,. followed by Youth Soccer.
Little League Baseball and Youth $PSSyrVVery syying slight but steady declines in participation,
as were the other youth sports. Rorie said it should not be Cl surprise due to the gradual aging of
the City's residents. The 2010 CeQsusrevealed minor drops in the children's age groups and
minor increases in the 55 and older brackets, similar to the demographic changes happening to
the country at large. That might l)1ean the City needed to look at the focus of the Recreation
Master Plan in the coming years to meet the programming needs Of the community.
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 10
Rorie said, in contrast to the decr~ases in participation, the costs to maintain these facilities
continued to increase. Therewa~, a growing gap between the user fees and the costs to
maintain the facilities.
The Facilities Bond list identified several projects, including public tennis court
resurfacing/replacement. The B$Cprojects included restroom'" renOvations, parking lot
expansion, fencing, netting, cond~ssions roof, entrance signs, field resodding, storage, and
irrigation system replacement. The 8raelinn complex also needed fieldr~sodqing. Some of these
were more appropriately categorized as routine maintenance. Haddix asked about the option
of extending the use of re-use wat~'r for the irrigation system, and Rorie said that was also under
consideration.
Rorie noted the public tennis cou~ts needed maint~nal'"lce, via either. crack-fill resurfacing or
requiring a complete rebuild. The I?ILJeSm9ke courts had a sinkhg1y otJ9h9gpyyn. d()sed for a
year. Glenloch, despite volunteE;lr assistance in maintaining, had structural problems that
required serious remedies. Staff bjdqut tynnis.sourtrysurfpcIng for 2012, with $36,000 in the
budget. Six courts were put in the bid, two of which were optional. Four courts carne in at the
$36,000 limit. Fleisch asked if the ~roblem with Bluesmokec9\JrtsVv'as,r~Jgt~qJ() qs.tormVv'ater
issue. Haddix asked staff to asseh. court usage and to look at all the options, noting that
contracting out use of two of the pools had been very beneficial.
Rorie then reviewed photographs of the maIntenance problems at the City recreation facilities.
He said problems ranged from major issues to minor issues that ne~deq to pe adqressed before
they became major issues.
Haddix asked if the security at the ~SC now an()\^Ieq the Littl~ L~gglJe access to the aAutomatic
external defibrillator (AED) units. pienhart added that a citizen hadtqlkyg to him earlier inthe
week about the location of the ASps, saying Little League needed to notify the coaches of the
location of the units. Recreation A}:1.mill.istratg.r.<::ajen Rhodes noted the units were accessible in
the restroom areas and were no longer locked in the concession areas.
Fleisch asked about the French dr.aJn...thyqs,s()sia!I()Il....h.o.......d.. p. ropos.ed for one.....o. f.t..h. e lower field
, .I~ " .. .. '. .. .. .' .< ......... .. .. .. .. .,' .,.",..... .. ':-- ..,..,.,...,.<".'.~.,,,,,;,.., .:.':',,'.-:-'>;-:"',.,.... -:,::"""",:":-:-",,-:.:,,,:.,.,:.::-, ,', -,.;.,
-,-',", ".,,,.,,_.,,-,.-,,-"'..""-,,',,,,,,:.,,: -,-,,:> ,-,::.. .... ,-. ",.' :.., ' , .:. "" ..,,', "" ",:', , '
areas at the BSC. Rorie said that project was underway as a joint effort with the association and
staff, and they were working on other solutions to avoid the Fr~nch qrain, if possible.
Fleisch asked if the reconstructi<;;m required at the Braelinn tennis courts was related to
stormwater. Rorie said he did nofthinks()gue tothe.ylevatedlocptionof the courts. He said
most of these facilities were reachillg the end of their typical life span.
Rorie noted the exterior restroomsptGlenl()ch were inba9sh9pe. .The heaters did not work, so
users were plugging portable heq;ters int() an~)(t~rnql<?utlyt tq .hygf thy,P9thr()()m~:. . Thy City
had removed those due to thy potential. liability. .. Rorie. tontinuedthe greatesf concern at
Glenloch was electrical issues, 'and th9t .nyEl9y9 ..t(). '. pe researched. before any other
improvements or maintenance wqs undertaken at the faciHty. ..
",-.,
Staff was recommending completing the facility assessments, followed by a Council workshop at
which the fees and facility maintE}nance requirements could be .reyiYVv'yqanq gIsyLJssed. ..This
would include youth sports, prog(amming, and pool usage and membership. Dienhart asked
how the City's fees compared to other cities, and Rorie said staff. .was gathering comparison
data from similar cities on user fee$ at that time.
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 11
~ Haddix said staff needed hard dot? to present regarding the number of users, the total costs,
and the claims that the amYllitjys:,.99<9~g.y(]ILJyJ2it1,()rnys,Y'Ct1~tp,.~[,Y,~~gi.BrQ'<2r">i~()riyfylt
maintaining the existing facilities was an important c6risideratf6n6~C:<:1use. cilf9'.Ning' them to
decline would lead to. declines in .QJber grygs, QiynhqrLqgreed. but vvas concyrned that the
fees were too low and should be tI1oroughly reviewed. Rorie said he WQntE99 to rnake sure the
fee discussions included all the \Js~C~. FleIschsaIgit VVClS, important t()noty that a parent with a
child in football paid $100, but only $5 came to the City. Rorie said there were many equity
issues that needed to be addresseg::al1cllllc:ILJge9 In ClI1()'v'yrallgnalysis.
Rorie noted staff was also looking at short-term actions to address somE9of the issues. At the end
of the day, the issue needed to b~ <:tddressed.. Haggi)(9~ky.gth~mt()~.~~~9nxguitable formula
that did not put the burden on the'back of Peachtrye (:ity property owners. Dienhart agreed,
especially for participants who Iivedqutside the City. Haddix said a rational. fact-based analysis
would help to explain the issues to ,the citizens. RoriE9 sqigthE9rE9'.N~ryD.9s,Cl9ry.9,c()vvs" Clng the
issue would not be reviewed from:an, ingivi<:JLJ(]I. perspective or interest.. Pennington said staff
was about two thirds of the way through the analysis. and the issues of equitability were the
hardest questions.
Learnard noted that comparing, the state of the City's facilities,. fields. and parking in
comparisons to other cities was dis~eartening. She said she was glad they were addressing the
issue. Haddix said Peachtree City was certainly not alone in struggling to address these types of
issues, but had to find an answer right for this community. Pennington said Recreation was one
of the City's hallmarks. The facilitj'es were aging, and economic downturns always affected
recreation first. Rorie hqgdY\lyl9ped a team concept to address some of these issues. and
Pennington would present that to C:ouncil in ExE9cutive Sessi()n thy f.9H,()vviI1Q week... ,He was going
to introduce another program th9,t had been successful in other areas for revitalizing these
areas.
Relevant Issues
City Image
Pennington said there were areas qf the City that needed to be revitaliz~9. The City needed to
be cognizant of the issue and gevelop programs to address it. Civic engagement and
identification of the areas that werEi?starting to degrade were the first steps.
Pennington said the NEAT (Neighporhood Enhancement al1dAppearance Team) approach
had worked in other. comm\JnitIe~, with (~tyamrepresyntiQQallk~y departments. as well as
water and sewer providers, to go in'to a neighborhood for an assesSrnE9nt.
Dienhart said the City also needed to know if, the.. cOrnrY1LJnity was 'living up to resident
expectations, and he did not thin~, it currently was. Pennington said he also had several emails
from newer residents asking why H)8c:ity did not have . certain stores or qmE9nities, ,for a city this
size. It would ultimately be up to C'ouncH to sE9t the course for tb~ type of community Peachtree
City would be in the future. Pennington noted that he had also baclrn9ry positive comments
about Peachtree City than about <;tny city where he had served before. He added the residents
felt, overall. that Peachtree City still looked pretty good.
Pennington asked if Council had ~:my input on the City's image. Dienhart said he felt the City
was on a slippery slope and wqs not heqding in the right direction. He noted that the
landscape maintenance had Improved greatly this year, and he was pleased to see. the focus
on maintenance of public spaces. However, the signage needed to be addressed and the
areas of disrepair needed to be mqintained.
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 12
~ Fleisch agreed, saying that replacing the Kedron bubble played into that philosophy. The City
could not say they would notmaintainvvhot',Nashere. She notedthCltPeqc:htrE?ec::ity homes
were maintaining their value in th~ economy, even though the average home age was 21
years. This was due to the parks dhd omenities the City offered. People who bought homes
here also bought the intangible elements of the commlJnity, and that was what held Peachtree
City above other locations. Thatwqs',Nhy maintaining what was in place was so important. She
did not support adding new infrastn.j'cture, but felt they had to maintain what was in place.
Haddix noted that recreation was not a factor inhisfClrnily's decision to move here 25 years
ago, and he was not seeing that Ejmphasis. The highest reason he saw for people moving to
Peachtree City was the sign ordinance. Fleisch asked ifit was noJtQE?sc:hools, and Haddix said
no because many of them did not have children.
Haddix said the safety was the secqnd factor he heard, and the path system. The schools were
only important to those with childre('1. Haddix said that the recregtiollClI Clll1enities Vv'er~ nice, but
they were not what brought residents to the community.
Dienhart said that might be the cdse, but when signage and parks became rundown, people
began complaining and influenc~d potential residents to move. else',NhE?rE?.. HCldgix agreed,
noting that they had to maintain th~ City to support the appeal of the motivating factors.
~
Pennington said that there was Ql1e key element in selling the City, and that was Council.
Everyone had to have selling the City as the primary focus and put the City's image first. Haddix
agreed, saying that when the FireQall Run participants had voted Peachtree City as their best
stop, they cited the presentation arid involvement of the elE?cted offic:I(JI~inh9sting their stop.
I' . .
Learnard said she moved to Pea<;rhtree City from Alpharetta specifically for recreation. She
came for a road race and, driving back, told her husband ,hovv beautiful the City was. Her
second influence was the City's green spaces. While she had hE?Clrd.from.a citizell about the
need for maintenance of the greerispaces, and she had toured th~ City with Caspar; however,
this was not Hilton Head, and the g'reen spaces were kept in a natural, preserved state. She felt
that was very important. Her thi(d influence was the path system. She echoed Dienhart's
comments about the need for nevy.and lJpgraded signage to give the community a facelift.
Learnard said, regarding another element of image, was that she thought there was a negative
perception that Peachtree City was a difficult location tOE?st9PlJsQ d.PLJsin.E?ss, ,~h,E3. sqi(jth~y
needed to better understandthe <;;:hallenges faced by local businesses. Fleisch said she felt this
was something the new Fayette County Development Authority employee could address and
help to streamline. Haddix said ityvgs notas p(]d ClsIt y,sedto()~: ?ut5()~I~ stHI be Improved.
Learnard said there needed to be a single location on the web site and people needed to
~ .... .. ,...., ........ .... _,' - ....,.. ..'..,..,......,1,'...., .. '.<_ ..,....,. .:,..,....... .. .." .." '. -, .. -,.' .. '... , .. ..-..... -- .- " .. '.', .... -,'0 ',' ..,
." ..........
know the City would help.
Fleisch added that, in her experience dealing with relocating families, the first component they
looked at was the school system. 'Peachtree City's amenities were then the cherry on top, the
thing that brought people to the cpmmunity.
Annexation
Pennington said he wanted Coun<;::i1 to discuss their position on annexation. To him, it reflected
control of environment, and said. thE?re vverefvyo or thrE3eare(Jsth(]tnE3~dedtobe. controlled.
He said east, west, and south of file C:ity were huge developmental Issues that would impact
Peachtree City. Pennington clarified that he was specifically talking about areas to which Public
2012 Council Retreat Minutes
March 9, 2012
Page 13
Safety already responded. He saic:i he wouldl,ike to see c::ouncil takea, close look at those
areas.
Learnard agreed. H. addix said ther~vyqs odefinit~ d~e.a. to. the south. t.h.at.n.ee. de..d...........r..e.....v...i.e...w............T...h. e..
.'" .. .." '. . '. --.- ", ....' ";,_ ..".--.... 'C""" ,....,.:.,_'... ":.'........._:.::'...-,...'.,: ,>'.";'.....,. '.:":;'''':'':','.:: :"::'.>:. .".':.>".'."."......:,:..;',,'<...',:<~:..1i.::.',
;.',..'t:.:..,,'.:;,;;,::;-,'.;:..,,:-;.;..:.\:'.!::..':.:,.~~,v.>.,;...:;o':..:....,:.,,''>..:... .::': ...::,.:....:...:.:,.: :.,:...:.'.': .... . :.., .. .... .... '. :',:
area to the east only moved the, line out and could .leCld t(). 9~c:liti()nClIJssLJ.~s. ..... Pennington
clarified that he was speaking of areas that vyerE? notiQthe(:itybut Peachtree City was, to
some extent, taking care Of. Pennington said he was hgping Council would support bringing
discussions of these ar~as fOrward.."[)i~nhart Clgreed that it was better to prepare for possibilities
than to wait until a request was ma<;je. . .
Pennington noted that some state~ considerec:l a. thr~~::-mil~. C1r~Cl()eyondmunicipal borders as
an "extra territorial jurisdiction," witr zoning control or input within those areas to ensure that, if
an area was annexed, it was already in conformance with the rest of the City. Development on
the immediate borders gf a.c::ity did, not occur without that city's input.
Learnard agreed that they should proceed with a review of these areas.
Budget Schedule
Salvatore reviewed the schedulefqr the preparation of the FY 2013 Budget. There would be two
workshops in June, public hearings in July, and adoption of the budget scheduled for the end of
July. Learnard noted she would b~ outof town the last week of July. Salvatore noted that staff
level budget work would begin in March.
Pennington said his final item was tQat rnany operational changes had been implemented in the
preceding year. He was continuing forward with those and would he.vyould continue bringing
improvement proposals forward to Council to help streamline the operations.
Learnard said the City needed f9 plOy LJpthe things Peachtree City did better than other
communities did. She also sqidthqtfh~ Cityhad a number of veterans programs, and they had
been nervous about some of thf changes over the past year. Learnard thanked staff for
working with the veterans groups to allay their concerns and keep the special events on track.
Retreat adjourned at 3:03 p.m., with attendees touring the new Community Room on the lower
level of City Hall. City Planner pavid Rast gave a brief verview of the upcoming "ONE
Peachtree City" program for updafing the City's Compre ns' e Plan.
~~
Pam Dufresne
~~~~Ztt
City Clerk