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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-06-2015 regular City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes August 6, 2015 7:00 p.m. The Peachtree City Mayor and Council met in regular session on Thursday, August 6, 2015. Mayor Vanessa Fleisch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Others attending: Terry Ernst, Eric lmker, Mike King, and Kim Learnard. Announcements, Awards, Special Recognition Police Lt. Mark Brown announced that Michael and Maryellen Medici had donated 10 body cameras to the department. The Medicis had been unable to attend the meeting. Brown thanked them for their donation. Mayor Fleisch recognized Jason McKinnon of the Police Department for 20 years of service and Jeff Koldoff of the Fire Department for 25 years of service. Human Resources & Risk Management Director Ellece Brown recognized Janice Dukes, Ramon Gonzalez, Jennifer Green, DaMarcus Hunter, Scott Pittman, Tim Smith, Greg Turks, and Bob Werner for their participation in the first Supervisory Techniques Accentuate Results (STAR) training program. Public Comment Tom Fulton and Eric Brown addressed Council concerning the amount of vegetation that had grown in the Lake Peachtree lake bed and asked them to take action regarding the growth. Fulton noted that, once the lake was refilled, the vegetation would be a problem for swimmers and boats with electric motors. Fulton said the growth would stick up above the lake once it was refilled, and they had concerns about the growth and its decay when the lake refilled. They asked the City to consider cutting the vegetation, saying the lake bed was hard enough for a tractor now. They also showed photos of the growth, which towered over Fulton, who said he was six feet tall, in some areas. Minutes July 16, 2015, Regular Meeting Minutes King moved to approve the July 16, 2015, regular meeting minutes as written. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Consent Agenda 1. Consider Adoption of 2015 Peachtree City CIE Annual Update 2. Consider Alcohol License-Palmer's, 991 Peachtree Parkway North 3. Consider Library Impact Fee Expenditure 4. Consider Budget Amendment- FY 2015 King moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1 - 4. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Old Agenda Items 06-15-08 Discuss/Consider SR 54 West Corridor Study Improvements Design • MacDuff Parkway(Authorize Design Only) • Planterra Way(Design Funded, Discuss Project Scope) • Commerce Drive /Marketplace(Discuss right-in/right-out concept for business input and vote at future meeting) Interim City Manager Jon Rorie said that Council had not been able to take action at the August 4 workshop, and staff wanted to clearly understand the direction in which they should be going with the scope and engineering of the plans. He asked Council to consider moving forward with the engineering plans for the MacDuff Parkway/SR 54 West intersection and to City Council Meeting August 6, 2015 Page 2 continue any further discussion on projects 1 A (Market Place Boulevard/Avenue/SR 54 West), 1B (Commerce Drive/SR 54 with extended left turn lane), and 1C (Westpark/SR 74) until September 17. Rorie said staff continued to have feedback from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) referencing projects 1 A, 1 B, and 1 C, and continuing the item would give staff more time for the dialogue. Imker noted that Council had voted on June 18 to spend $54,000 on the design for improvements at Planterra Way/SR 54. He asked if that money was part of this discussion. Rorie said Council would not be approving any new funds for that intersection. The planning had already been authorized for Planterra Way/SR 54. Rorie further explained that staff had negotiated the cost of the design with the engineering consultant, and the $54,000 was now $48,000. The scope of the design included projects 4 (shortening median on SR 54 to allow concurrent left turns from both Planterra Way and Walmart), 7 (SR 54 eastbound lane approaching Walmart), and 8 (Walmart Private Drive Exit). The only new money to be considered at this meeting was the $44,000 requested for the MacDuff Parkway/SR 54 improvements. Learnard said she did not have a good understanding of projects 1 A (Market Place Boulevard/Avenue/SR 54), 1B (Commerce Drive/SR 54 with extended left turn lane onto SR 74), and 1C (Westpark/SR 74). She needed to understand the impact if projects 1 A and 1 B were done without doing project 1 C. Rorie said the City had asked Pond and Company those questions. Staff had also gotten feedback from GDOT and the Police Department, which was another good reason to continue that part of the discussion until September 17. Imker moved to approve $44,000 for engineering for MacDuff Parkway (project 3). Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Imker moved to continue the discussion/consideration of projects 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 4, and 5 (Planterra Way left turn) for two weeks. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. New Agenda Items 08-15-01 Consider Adoption of Resolutions and Declarations of Taking for Use of Eminent Domain to Acquire Stormwater Easements for Golf View Project City Attorney Ted Meeker said there were initially going to be seven instead of six, but one of the property owners had reached an agreement with the City. Only one property owner had been non-responsive, while the rest had a variety of title issues that had to be cleared up, which was why this process had been used. Imker moved for Council to adopt the resolutions and declarations of taking for the Golf View project as in the agenda package (617 Golf View, 618 Golf View, 212 Oakmount, 213 Oakmount, 215 Oakmount, and 305 Pinemount). Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Fleisch asked if there was a timeline. Meeker said the petitions would be filed within the next few weeks. He would check with the stormwater manager and let Council know. 08-15-02 Consider Approval of Cell Tower Agreement Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore said the agreements were from the carriers that leased space on the tower located behind City Hall. The recommendation was to approval the agreements. Three of the companies were owned by Verizon, one from was Sprint, and one was SouthernLlNC. There was also a letter of agreement between the carriers that spelled out City Council Meeting August 6, 2015 Page 3 the cost contributions from the companies for cell tower improvements, and the City was not a party to that agreement. The City would need to give consent for the improvements on the tower spelled out in the letter of agreement. The companies had agreed to pay for improvements needed on the tower in order to support the existing and proposed equipment and spelled out who was paying what. Ernst asked why Sprint was paying so much less than the others. Meeker said the City had allocated a certain amount for the improvements, and the carriers had agreed to cover the remaining amount. The carriers had worked out those amounts, and the City was not a party to that. He added that Allen Davis of Community Broadband, LLC, the City's consultant, might address that in his comments. Salvatore continued that the cost of the upgrades the tower required was $308,118, and the City had $50,000 set aside in a capital improvement account for those types of improvements. The carriers on the tower would contribute $258,018. The $50,000 the City would use came from the windfall from the City's tower on Rockaway Road after the lease was extended. Those funds had been targeted for future cell tower improvements. No money would come from the General Fund or the Cash Reserves. The upgrades would result in improved service and 4G technology, according to Salvatore. Revisions to the lease schedules were included that would yield higher revenue for the General Fund. The City was the winner with the carriers providing funding for improved services and higher lease revenue-. The consultant had done a great job. Davis said the agreements were the result of that collaborative effort between City and the carriers that had started with Verizon's interest in establishing a new platform in the City, which was fiber wireless. The additional equipment that had to be installed required an upgrade and reinforcement of the cell tower. It took a great deal of time, but the net result was that the tower would be significantly upgraded and reinforced, a broadband platform would be available to the City, and there would be improved cell service. Public Safety's capabilities in the field would also be enhanced. Learnard asked if the new technology would help with the Fire Department's connectivity problems at Neely Station (#82) on Peachtree Parkway North. Davis said it would, adding that he had looked at that one spot to ensure connectivity would improve there. Davis continued that this technology was far superior to the copper to wireless platform used now. Fleisch asked if any other carriers were interested in using the tower. Davis said not at this time. While the tower was being reinforced, the carriers would be replacing/upgrading their antennas. There should be improved services for all carriers. Verizon was the only carrier on the tower that had a long-term evolutionary (LTE) license and was the only carrier that could offer that level of service. The other carriers would still be offering traditional cell service, but had wanted to upgrade their antennas. Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Georgia Southern/Southern LINC would contribute $77,004.50 each towards the improvements, while Sprint had committed to$27,004.50. Ernst moved to approve the amendments to the agreements with Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Georgia Power/SouthernLlNC, and Sprint. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Ernst moved to consent to the agreement between the carriers to improve the City's tower at City Hall. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Meeting August 6, 2015 Page 4 Rorie congratulated staff and Davis for a job well done. 08-15-03 Consider Authorization of Tennis Center Capital Improvements City Engineer Dave Borkowski addressed Council, recommending that Council accept the grant donations for lighting upgrades for the covered courts at the Tennis Center and authorize the Tennis Center manager to execute a contract with Frontier Electric for installation. He continued that the City's share of the $70,000 cost would be $25,000. Borkowski said the project was also a collaborative public/private partnership between Club Corp, the City, and three private contributors. Tennis Center Manager Jonathan Fralick took the lead on the project, working with Eaton (formerly Cooper Lighting) and the City's electrical contractor (Frontier Electric) to come up with a new lighting design that met the United States Tennis Association (USIA) standards. Fralick received a grant from the USTA for $10,000; and donations from Club Corp, $30,000; State Farm, $4,000; and Southern Crescent Tennis Association, $2,000. Borkowski added the lighting upgrade was an approved Facilities Bond project. Fleisch recalled the original estimate for the project had been $150,000. Rorie said Club Corp (the contractor for Tennis Center management and operation) had recommended the lighting upgrades at a cost of $100,000. Staff had worked with Club Corp to reduce the cost to $70,000, but Rorie said he had not supported the City totally funding the capital improvement. The private/public partnership was created as a result. Staff had done a good job in working with everyone to make the project a reality. The work would be completed by October. King moved to approve the Tennis Center capital improvement, not to exceed $25,000. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics Rorie introduced the new Planning and Development Director, Mike Warrix, who briefly addressed Council. Warrix noted that the resolution to adopt the CIE (Capital Improvement sElement) that had been on this meeting's agenda would allow the City to maintain its Qualified Local Government status with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The City's Comprehensive Plan update was coming up. Staff was working on putting the data collection component together, as well as how to conduct the public participation part of the process. The Department's SafeBuilt contract employee was working on a fiscal analysis program for staff to use to gauge the financial effects of proposed annexations and developments. Warrix said he was reviewing the City's zoning ordinance, saying it was in decent shape, but some housekeeping amendments were needed. He planned to work with IT on enhancing the City's Geographic Information System (GIS),which would be useful City-wide. He also would work with staff and the Planning Commission on the mission of the department, as well streamlining processes and increasing customer service. Another item would be looking at online permitting and plan review to help make the permitting process easier for developers and the public. Rorie added that Warrix had already reached out to neighboring communities and the County regarding the Comprehensive Plan update. Learnard said she had driven the extra lane by the tire store off MacDuff Parkway. She said it was very compelling, and there was an additional lane right there. Learnard moved to enter executive session at 7:49 p.m. for potential acquisition or disposal of real estate. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Meeting August 6, 2015 Page 5 lmker moved to reconvene in regular session at 8:00 p.m. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, Ernst moved to adjourn. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m. 44416, .10.41#qb 1 „„ Pam Dufresne, ty Clerk Vanessa Fleisch, Mayor