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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-05-2015 regular meeting City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes March 5, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met on Thursday, March 5, 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, Mike King, and Kim Learnard. Announcements, Awards, Special Recognition Mayor Fleisch proclaimed March 5 as Student Painters Day in Peachtree City. Leah Larson with Peachtree City Student Painters, a sector of Young Entrepreneurs Across America, accepted the proclamation. Minutes February 19, 2015, Regular Meeting Minutes Ernst moved to approve the February 19, 2015, regular meeting minutes as written. King seconded. Motion carried 4-0-1 (Learnard). Consent Agenda 1. Consider Elimination of Administrative Assistant Position & Replace with Staff Assistant- Police Department 2. Consider Approval of Service Agreement with Official Payments Corporation-Online Payment Service Provider King moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 and 2. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Old Agenda Items 03-14-04 Consider Subdivision Entrance Sign Replacement Policy Fleisch noted a new draft of the policy was on the dais. Community Services/Public Services Director Jon Rorie briefly went over the changes proposed at the February 19 meeting, saying they had been submitted to City Attorney Ted Meeker for review, and Meeker had indicated it was fine to move forward. Rorie continued two key changes had been made. The City's priority would always be repair and maintenance rather than replacement. The standard sign replacement cost would be $3,500, and a subdivision could take ownership of the sign maintenance and landscaping by having a petition signed by 50% plus one of the homeowners. Any grant awards would have to come before Council for approval. Imker moved to approve the subdivision entrance sign replacement policy as provided that day. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 09-14-08 Facilities Bond Update Rorie said the Facilities Bond funding had been approved for about 38 projects. To date, six had been completed, and four were in various stages of completion. Rorie noted that, currently, the projects were $100,000 under budget. Using City staff to demolish Clover Reach Pool helped with the savings and provided flexibility in moving forward with future projects. Rorie asked Council to consider additional project funding transfers, including the purchase of additional playground equipment and lighting upgrades for the Tennis Center covered courts, City Council Minutes March 5,2015 Page 2 which would be discussed under New Agenda Items. Sufficient funds were available to cover the projects. The projects were on track and staff was moving forward. No action was required. 02-15-07 Consider Lake Peachtree Dam/Spillway Expenses City Manager Jim Pennington said there had been some questions during the discussion on February 5 regarding the list of requests for expenditures concerning the dam and spillway. One additional item remained outstanding, $38,840 owed to Schnabel Engineering for work the company had done in conjunction with Integrated Science & Engineering (ISE) related to the negotiations with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) regarding the dam category. He added Schnabel's work was instrumental in securing approval from EPD for a Category Two dam. He asked Council to authorize the payment. Pennington continued there would be additional expenses as things moved forward, possibly another$200,000. He wanted to make Council aware the expenses would be coming up. Imker moved to approve agenda item and expenses for Schnabel Engineering for$38,840. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 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 noted the applicant had requested this item be continued to March 19. King moved to continue the agenda item to March 19. Learnard seconded. Imker noted this was the second request for a continuance, asking what the difference was between asking for a continuance or tabling an item. Meeker said, while there was a difference in Roberts Rules of Order, there was no real difference in how the City operated. Imker asked if tabling the item would allow Council to not include a date with the motion. Meeker said that from a zoning standpoint it was better to continue an item to a certain date. The motion carried unanimously. New Agenda Items 03-15-01 Consider Bids for Pacers Walk Drainage Improvements - Brent Scarbrough and Company Inc. 03-15-02 Consider Bids for Preston Chase Drainage Improvements - Ronnie D. Jones Enterprises Stormwater Manager Mike Madison asked Council to approve both stormwater project bids, saying both companies were the low bidders on the respective projects and had done work for the City in the past. Both bids came in under budget. Imker asked if both agenda items had been called. Meeker said Madison had referenced two agenda items, but only one had been called. Each item needed its own motion. Imker moved approve the Pacers Walk drainage improvements bid from Brent Scarbrough and Company as presented in the meeting packet ($129,866.20). Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Minutes March 5,2015 Page 3 Ernst moved to approve Ronnie D. Jones Enterprises as the low for the Preston Chase drainage improvements as presented in the agenda packet ($135,625). King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 03-15-03 Consider Changes in Full-time & Part-time Headcount in Buildings & Grounds - Public Services Rorie said that, when the FY 2015 budget was approved, a provision was included to come back to Council midway through the budget year to request additional personnel. Staff was asking to change six part-time positions to three full-time positions. The costs would be absorbed in this year's budget. Rorie continued that currently only two of the six part-time positions were filled. Changing the part-time positions to full-time was about getting results, and Rorie said he believed this was the best way to fill the positions. The proposed change would increase the FY 2016 budget by$7,092. King moved to approve New Agenda item 03-15-03 Consider Changes in Full-time and Part-time Headcount in Building & Grounds. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 03-15-04 Consider Grant Acceptance for Playground Equipment as Discussed in Facilities Bond Update Recreation & Special Events Administrator Cajen Rhodes addressed Council, noting that funds were currently available through the Facilities Authority bond for playground additions and upgrades. He continued that, according to the City's master recreation plan, a playground should be added to the southern part of the City. Staff's plan was to add a playground to the Peachtree City Athletic Complex (PAC) to create a more well-rounded park. In addition, Rhodes said the master recreation plan identified upgrades needed to other key parks, including Bluesmoke Park on the north side of the City, which was in need of additions/upgrades. Rhodes pointed out that one of the tennis courts at Bluesmoke had to be removed because the ground underneath the court kept sinking, creating potholes in the court. The park was heavily used, and the addition of equipment would be good. Rhodes continued that Programs Manager Quinn Bledsoe had applied for a grant from Play & Park Structures, and the Recreation Department had been awarded a $10,000 grant for playground project funding from A Playcore Company. The grant had to be applied to a minimum $25,000 purchase, and the City had the ability to choose any structure as long as the price met the $25,000 minimum requirement. The grant was valid through April 10. Staff had narrowed down the choices, with the most expensive at $27,354. The favored playground was manufactured by the company that provided the grant. Rhodes said staff recommended Council accept the grant from Play & Park Structures for playground equipment for the PAC. Ernst moved to approve New Agenda Item 03-15-04 Consider Grant Acceptance for Playground Equipment as Discussed in Facilities Bond Update. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 03-15-05 Consider Grant Acceptance for Tennis Center Lighting as Discussed in Facilities Bond Update Rorie noted the Tennis Center had been brought under the ClubCorp management structure after the entity recently purchased the Canongate/Sequoia golf interests in Fayette County. Six of the courts were covered, and the roofing had been improved. Rorie said they had looked at enhancing the lighting for the last two years, but he had wanted to ensure it was a partnership so the City did not have to absorb the entire cost. Currently, $235,000 of the Facilities Authority Bond funds had been budgeted for upgrades at the Tennis Center, including the replacement City Council Minutes March 5,2015 Page 4 of the roof (clubhouse), $175,000; HVAC replacements, $28,000; and awning replacements, $32,000. Two of the three projects had been completed. The Tennis Center projects were currently$12,000 under budget, and the Facilities Authority Bond projects were under budget by $100,000 in total. Rorie continued that the average club level lighting using current standards had a minimum of 53 foot candles with an average light rating of 72 light candles. To host additional covered court tournaments, a lighting level of 75 foot candles was required, according to Rorie. The current lighting level was seven to 10 foot candles. As a comparison, Rorie pointed out that the lighting in Council Chambers averaged 35 foot candles at four feet off the floor. He said the information was based on a photometric study and lighting plan developed by Eaton Corporation (Cooper Lighting),which was a local company. Frontier Electric, the City's name brand for electrical work, had submitted a proposal to upgrade the lighting for a cost of $63,695. The work included removing the existing light fixtures, removing and cleaning fixtures' lenses and installing new lamps, replacing ballasts as needed, and reinstalling the 60 fixtures with new supports and fixture whips in a new location. Since the improved lighting would help pull in tournaments, Rorie said he felt the costs should be shared. ClubCorp would contribute $30,000 to the project, and staff was applying for a grant from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) that would range from $15,000 to $20,000. He did not expect the Facilities Authority Bond funding to exceed $25,000. Rorie continued that if the City were to receive the USTA grant the City must commit to maintain the facility as a tennis center and to actively promote programs for five years from the completion date of the project. He added that Tennis Center Manager Jonathan Fralick was continuing to seek other donations from local businesses, so the City's share of the funds could be less. Learnard noted that agreeing to the USTA terms could encumber future Councils, which this Council could not do. Meeker verified that was correct. Staff's recommendation was to add the Tennis Center lighting upgrades as an approved Facilities Authority Bond project in an amount not to exceed $25,000 and to authorize staff to accept pending grants and donations as supplemental project funding for the lighting upgrades. Fleisch said ClubCorp had put their best foot forward since taking over the Tennis Center. Learnard asked if Eaton would be involved and if their fixtures would be used. Rorie said they were involved, and their fixtures would be used. Learnard moved to accept the grant for the Tennis Center lighting as discussed in the staff presentation. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics Pennington gave Council a copy of the proposed budget schedule, which would begin the next day with the distribution of instructions to the directors and chiefs. He noted that the budget work would be happening at the same time as the implementation of the new enterprise software system. The second meeting regarding MacDuff Parkway had been held, Pennington reported. The developers were still moving forward at rapid pace, and Pennington noted there were many pieces to the puzzle. He hoped to be able to provide a good picture of where work on the Parkway was soon. The bridge over the railroad tracks was integral to completing the road and City Council Minutes March 5,2015 Page 5 to the sale of property owned by Brent Scarbrough and Company to Kolter Homes. There would be significant changes to the land in order to build the bridge, as well as a temporary impact on Senoia Road, which could be closed for a certain time. Alternate routes were being looked at. They were also looking at what could be done with the MacDuff Parkway/SR 54 intersection. Pennington said notes were taken at each meeting. He was very pleased with what was happening. Pennington referred to a request from Learnard at an earlier meeting regarding a controlled burn of the vegetation in Lake Peachtree, adding the weather had caused a short shutdown of the dredging operation. He continued that Fire Chief Joe O'Conor had met with Georgia Forestry's chief ranger for the area, who had told O'Conor that the burning would not help due to the high water table and the lack of dead ground cover, which made efficient burning impossible. The chief ranger also believed the possibility of a significant loss of oxygen from decaying material was low and would not pose harm to the ecosystem when the lake was refilled, saying the material would provide an ideal habitat for bass and other fish in the future. The dead and dormant plant life would not thrive when the water level was returned to full pool. The chief ranger recommended leaving undredged plant material in place. Executive Session Learnard moved to convene in executive session at 7:33 p.m. to discuss sale or acquisition of real estate, personnel, and threatened or pending litigation. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Learnard moved to reconvene in regular session at 8:04 p.m. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, Learnard moved a•journ the meeting. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourne. at 8:05 p.m. —19444.&10, Pamela Dufresne, eputy City Clerk Vanessa Fleisc , •yor