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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-19-2015 ergular meeting City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes February 19, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at City Hall. Mayor Vanessa Fleisch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Other Council Members attending: Terry Ernst, Eric Imker, and Mike King. Kim Learnard was out of town and unable to attend. Announcements, Awards, Special Recognition Mayor Fleisch acknowledged the McIntosh High School Boys Basketball Team, who had an undefeated season at the time of the meeting. Fleisch introduced Police Cpl. Justin Mobley and the City's newest K9 officer, Midas. Proclamations were read for DeMolay Month, 100th anniversary of Kiwanis International, and Small Business Week. The graduates of the most recent Citizens Fire Academy were recognized. Public Comment County Commissioner David Barlow, who represented District 1, noted that a portion of Peachtree City was in his district. He had attended the February 9 Planning Commission meeting and had heard comments regarding his attendance. He wanted to make sure residents he represented them and was always available to them. He appreciated the dialogue with Council. Minutes February 5, 2015, Regular Meeting Minutes Fleisch noted there was an addition to the dais - a staff correction to page 8 of the minutes. King moved to approve the February 5, 2015, regular meeting minutes with the corrections on page 8. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Monthly Reports lmker recognized Walmart for its $1,000 donation to the Police Department. Fleisch noted Walmart had donated to the Christmas toy drive. Consent Agenda 1. Consider Qualifying Location Permit-Tennis Center, 10 Planterra Way 2. Consider Letter of Intent-Trinity Overlook Commercial Development, SR 54 West 3. Consider Appointment to Convention & Visitors Bureau-Vendo Toming 4. Consider Agreement for Ambulance Billing Collection-Commercial Acceptance Company 5. Consider Facility Use Agreement-Southside Cycling Club 6. Consider Approval of Clinical Agreement with West Point Fire Department Paramedic Academy King moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 - 6. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Old Agenda Items 03-14-04 Consider Subdivision Entrance Sign Replacement Policy Community Services/Public Services Director Jon Rorie went over the draft policy with Council, noting that the City would maintain the signs on a five-year cycle, with the first option always being to repair the sign. Wooden signs were the greatest maintenance burden on the City. The replacement cost for signs would be limited to $3,500, and the new sign would be the City's template sign. If a subdivision wanted a more enhanced sign, the residents could file a petition City Council Minutes February 19,2015 Page 2 with Council with a least 50% plus one of homeowners in agreement to take ownership of the sign, which would allow the City to co-produce the service, providing a minimum standard and allowing residents to pay for more if they chose to do so. Citizens would need to bring anything over the minimum standard to Council for consideration. Ernst asked what the time frame would be for residents without homeowners associations (HOAs) to replace the sign on their own. Rorie said the plan was to create a flyer to send to residents in a subdivision whose sign was due for maintenance, so everyone would know the options. Information would also be put on the web site. Once the residents made a decision and the required signatures were obtained, Rorie said it should not take more than 90 days to bring a request to Council and have the work done. Imker noted that the City had 41 HOAs that maintained their signs, and the City maintained 171 signs for other subdivisions. He asked if the policy, as written, had only the 171 signs as part of the five-year cycle. He noted the costs for repairs, if contracted out, were $3,500, but the work could be done by the City for $1,000. lmker continued that there was $25,000 in the Public Works budget for sign maintenance, asking if that amount of funding would continue. Rorie said it would, and he did not foresee spending more, adding the policy stated "based on funding availability." Imker said the cost to replace all 90 wood/stucco signs would be $315,000. He asked if the standard replacement sign was a masonry sign. Rorie said it was a foam sign, saying there were some limitations based on the footprint at a subdivision. The sign would have to match the footprint. Imker asked what the lifetime was for the new foam signs. Rorie said wood signs usually had to be replaced. The foam signs had a long life if maintained properly. Imker addressed the fairness of having HOAs maintain their own signs, noting those residents paid taxes too, and their tax money would be used to pay for signs in other subdivisions. He asked how the fairness issue would be addressed. Rorie agreed that it was an equity issue. He did not have an answer, which was a reason a policy was needed. lmker said he wanted to be as fair as possible, saying the HOAs should benefit with a grant of $3,500 when it came time to replace their signs. Fleisch asked if the City had ever had this type of policy before. Rorie said it had not. Fleisch said there were many signs across the City that were showing wear. She noted one subdivision that had replaced its signs a few years ago, saying the two entries were very elaborate. An HOA could replace its signs more quickly than waiting for the City to have a policy, and many signs had been replaced. She noted her subdivision, which was 23-24 years old, saying the sign could have been replaced when the stucco started coming off if they had an HOA. Rorie said he understood the question of equity, but he did not have a good answer. It was difficult for staff to come up with a solid answer. Ernst said there was a paragraph in the policy that stated, "Should a group of homeowners within a subdivision, without an established HOA, desire to assume responsibility for maintenance, they may do so only after requesting ownership and maintenance responsibilities from city council. Should city council approve this request, the group of homeowners may be eligible for a $3,500 grant per sub-division..." He asked if HOAs could also be allowed to ask for a grant when it was time to replace their signs. Rorie said they could, depending on fund availability. City Council Minutes February 19,2015 Page 3 Imker said that was what where he wanted, to be able to provide the HOAs an opportunity for a grant for up to $3,500 when the time came. Rorie said that was the purpose for the policy, so they could have this discussion. There were already subdivisions maintaining their own signs. This was a problem 50 years in the making. There was always a better approach when the City and residents co-produced and residents took pride in ownership of their subdivision entrances. Rorie said he would like to add the verbiage discussed into the policy, have it reviewed by the City Attorney, and then bring it back. lmker moved to continue the consideration of the subdivision sign entrance policy to the March 5 meeting. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. New Agenda Items 02-15-08 Public Hearing-Consider Rezoning, GI to LUI-3, Osmose Utility Services, SR 74 South Senior Planner David Rast noted the 16.6-acre tract located on SR 74 South, known as the South 74 Industrial Park, was owned by South-Tree Enterprises, the applicant. Rinnai was located to the north of the tract, and the 665 Hwy 74 industrial building (also known as the Tiernan-Patrylo building) was to the south. To the east, the tract had access to SR 74, and the CSX rail line abutted the property to the west. Osmose Utility Services was developing a portion of the tract, and the developer/owner wanted to subdivide the remaining land. Rast continued that the owner was working on funding for the development and had looked at the subdivision process. To subdivide the property, the individual lots would have to meet the setbacks established within the specific zoning district. After discussions with the City Attorney, it was determined a rezoning from General Industrial (GI) to Limited Use Industrial-3 (LUI-3) was the cleanest way to accomplish what the developer wanted to do. Rast continued that the current GI setbacks would apply to the perimeter of the property, but not to the inside portion of the tract. The Planning Commission public hearing was held on February 9, and the Planning Commission and staff recommended approval with three conditions: 1. Approval of the rezoning shall not include approval of any site enhancements or improvements. 2. Any new development on the site shall comply with the established site plan submittal requirements. 3. The applicant shall coordinate with City staff to ensure notes related to the site access, parking, stormwater, and utility easements are properly addressed and included on the final plat. Chuck Ogletree of South-Tree Enterprises addressed Council, saying a road on the tract went from east to west, bisecting the tract. The Osmose portion was located to the south of the road, and the northern portion of the tract was open. He had been talking to several potential candidates, and the rezoning would make it easier to subdivide the tract and give more options. Fleisch opened the public hearing. There were no comments. Fleisch closed the public hearing. There were no comments from Council. Ernst moved to approve agenda item 02-15-08 Consider Rezoning, GI to LUI-3, Osmose Utility Services, SR 74 South with the three conditions. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Minutes February 19,2015 Page 4 02-15-09 Public Hearing - Consider Rezoning, GC General Commercial to LUC-26 Limited Use Commercial, Dolce - Peachtree Atlanta (Great Wolf Lodge of Georgia, LLC), 201 Aberdeen Parkway Fleisch reported that the applicant had asked to continue the public hearing until March 5. Rast said the applicant might ask to continue the public hearing as far out as March 19, but they were not certain at this time. If that were to happen, the hearing would need to be re- advertised. Imker said he had checked with City Attorney Ted Meeker prior to the meeting, and Council was allowed to discuss the item before continuing it, but they could not make up their minds on how to vote. He said if the plan came back with variances and changes on March 5, then he would ask the applicant to go back to the Planning Commission with the new plan. He did not want to vote on a change in the plan when he had no idea how the Planning Commission felt about the changes. To save a step, he asked that the applicant consider taking the plan with any changes back to the Planning Commission before coming to Council for a decision. King moved to continue agenda item 02-15-09 Public Hearing -Consider Rezoning, GC General Commercial to LUC-26 Limited Use Commercial, Dolce - Peachtree Atlanta (Great Wolf Lodge of Georgia, LLC), 201 Aberdeen Parkway to March 5. Imker seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 02-15-10 Discuss/Consider Official Staff Direction to Propose State Legislation Permitting Municipal Elections in Even-numbered Years King noted that he had discussed this issue during his campaign, and proposed the City should consider changing the election cycle from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years to match the national and state elections specifically to enhance voter turn-out. He noted that voter turnout in 2014 was 61% compared to 22.7% for the municipal election in 2013. In 2012, 78.92% came out to vote in the presidential election, but only 19% came out in 2011. In 2010, 60%voted compared to 22%in 2009. In 2008, another Presidential election year, the turnout had been 89%. King said it was not Council's purpose to force people to vote, but the City could make the opportunity more available to the majority of voters. The terms would continue to be staggered at two years, but the proposed change had to go to the state legislature through the City's legislative liaisons. He had timed his request so it would not happen this year, so the next Council would have to decide whether to extend or reduce their terms. A voter referendum would also be needed to shorten or extend Council terms. The onus of the decision would be on the citizens. King continued that a better voice was needed in electing people to Council, asking Council to allow staff to move forward with the proposed legislation so the City could make a decision next year. Imker agreed with King, saying he would like to see greater participation in local elections. He clarified the steps that would be required to get the referendum on the ballot. Meeker said any act to change the election cycle required legislative action first, and a referendum would be needed to shorten or extend Council terms from four years to three. Imker clarified that would only be for one cycle. Meeker said that was correct, adding the changes to the terms would get all Council Members on an even-year cycle. If the legislation had been City Council Minutes February 19,2015 Page 5 proposed earlier, then the changes in the terms could be in effect for the November election, and the remaining posts could run for three year terms in 2017 to get the City on the even-year election cycle, without the need for a referendum on terms. If the election was for four-year terms, then the terms of office would have to be shortened, requiring a voter referendum. King said his preference was to shorten the terms. lmker agreed. Imker asked if the legislation could be submitted to the legislative delegation this year. Meeker said it would have to be submitted by crossover day, which was day 30 of the legislative session. He did not know which day they were on. King said he did not see anything happening this year, but they should definitely look at the proposal to increase voter participation. Imker said it would also give time to get citizen feedback now that it had been publicly announced. Fleisch asked if Council wanted staff to spend time on this proposal. Imker said he wanted to wait a few weeks to give some time for citizen feedback. The newspaper articles should evoke some response. Meeker had looked on the General Assembly's calendar and day 19 or 20 had just been completed, saying there might be time to get something done this year. Council consensus was to wait. King moved to continue agenda item 02-15-10 Discuss/Consider Official Staff Direction to Propose State Legislation Permitting Municipal Elections in Even-numbered Years to April 2. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics City Manager Jim Pennington reported that the dredging process on Lake Peachtree had begun. The gravel had been put down for the curb cut onto SR 54, and 6,000 -8,000 truck trips were expected. He added that staff had been told to be prepared to deal with complaints as nicely as possible. The temporary repair for the spillway was also moving forward, and there might be water in the lake this summer. Pennington continued that Learnard had asked staff to meet with the Wilksmoor developers, and that meeting had been held February 9. It had been very productive. There were a lot of moving pieces when dealing with a potential buyer and two developers of property, and things looked very good. Kolter Homes was in the final negotiations to purchase the property owned by Brent Scarbrough and Company. Scarbrough was working on the relationship with CSX Railroad, and it should be taken care of soon. A lot of information had been presented in the meeting report sent to Council, and staff was ready to meet with Council in two by twos. Imker said he would like to schedule a meeting with staff to discuss the CSX item. Council had signed an agreement in November, and he did not think there were any more actions required from Council's point of view, except an issue left dangling regarding tunnels under MacDuff Parkway. Imker continued that he understood there had been negotiations at the February 9 meeting to implement at-grade crossings on one of the tracts and to complete the connection of the tunnel already under MacDuff to the service road along SR 54. Pennington said that had been part of the discussions. Staff was concerned about the lower end and making sure it all worked out. The upper end had become a concern because of the low-lying area and a place for a tunnel entry. There were issues on the west end of MacDuff, and staff was trying to pull everything together for the golf carts. City Council Minutes February 19,2015 Page 6 lmker said he did not want Council to hold up completion of the parkway, agreeing with other members in recent e-mails. He wanted to understand when the trade would be made formally if it were to happen. Pennington said the trade had technically happened in 2008 when it was recorded there would be no tunnels on that end of the parkway. Staff was trying to take what Council had discussed and put it into a better picture. The tunnel for the parkway extension was off the table. Imker said that was a difference of opinion, but he liked the idea of a trade. Pennington said staff had been working toward that. Executive Session King moved to convene in executive session at 8:00 p.m. to discuss personnel and threatened or pending litigation. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. King moved to reconvene in regular session at 8:55 p.m. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, Ernst moved to adjourn the meeting. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:56 . . P61,,k4 Pamela Dufresne, D uty City Clerk anessa Fleisch, Mayor