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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-03-2017 regular meeting City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes August 3, 2017 7:00 p.m. The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met in regular session on Thursday, August 3, 2017. Mayor Vanessa Fleisch called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Others attending: Terry Ernst, Mike King, Kim Learnard, and Phil Prebor. Announcements, Awards, Special Recognition Verock, Joshua Marich, Darrel Davis, Mayor Fleisch recognized Chris Hyatt, Justin Arnzen, Scott Y g Y and Roger Chaney of the Police Department's Bravo Team and Gary Meier, Heather Scott, Andrew Ward, and Ryan MacCallum from the Criminal Investigation Division for their work leading to the arrest of five suspects believed to be responsible for over 60 counts of entering auto, burglaries, and stolen golf carts. Corporal Stephen Stoyell of the Police Department was recognized as the Employee of the Month,and Jeff Felmet of the Fire Department was recognized as the Supervisor of the Quarter. Fleisch commended Public Works Supervisor Scott Hicks on earning the Advanced Certificate of Public Works Management from the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government in cooperation with the American Public Works Association. Minutes July 11, 2017, Budget Workshop July 20, 2017, Regular Meeting King moved to approve the July 11, 2017, budget workshop minutes as written. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. King moved to approve the July 20, 2017, regular meeting minutes as written. Ernst seconded. Motion carried 4-0-1(Learnard). Consent Agenda 1. Consider Renewal of MOU with Board of Education (School Resource Officers) 2. Consider FY 2017 Budget Amendment 3. Consider Change Order- LMIG Paving Project Learnard moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1, 2, and 3. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Old Agenda Items 07-17-03 Consider FY 2018 Budget Resolution Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore briefly reviewed the budget process,which included the City Council Retreat workshops held May 2 and June 6, budget workshops held June 26 and July 11, and public hearing on July 20. The various funds in the FY 2018 proposed budget included the General Fund ($34.878 million), Capital Improvement Program budget (CIP) ($1.553 million), Stormwater Operations ($2.353 million), Amphitheater Operations ($1.054 million), Hotel/Motel Tax ($1.522 million), and General Obligation (GO) Bond Fund ($629,000). Staff had received the property digest from the County the week prior to this meeting, and Salvatore discussed two kinds of digest growth-reassessment of existing property and new added grow (NAG). The majority of the growth was the reassessment of existing property,and the budget estimates had been based on those numbers. NAG was anything else that caused an increase in the net taxable digest, such as the value of new construction, but it did not provide as much City Council Minutes August 3, 2017 Page 2 growth in the digest as reassessments. He explained that the term "rollback" applied only to changes in the current assessed value of existing properties. Revenue increases from NAG were not required to be calculated for the rollback calculation because of the new expenses,providing services, for the new growth. The digest also included any changes in exemptions. Staff had estimated 7% growth in the tax digest for reassessments for the budget, Salvatore continued. The FY 2018 budget was based upon 3% property digest growth, and a 0.25 mil reduction had been proposed to roll back 4%of that estimated growth. The net digest had grown by 12.7%, including 3.75% from new growth. The new growth would support the 3% increase needed for the FY 2018 budget. Staff now proposed a full rollback of 0.524 mils. Salvatore added this had been the biggest growth in the digest that he had seen in 17 years. The proposed rollback completely negated the assessments,which meant there would not be a tax increase. There were no changes proposed to the FY 2018 budget because of the higher than estimated growth that would be offset by a higher rollback. Fayette County had over 2,000 appeals still pending due to the high increase in assessments, and Salvatore did not know how many were from City property owners. As a result, the City might not realize the projected $411,000 increase in the cash reserves, he said, adding the $41 1,000 was approximately 3% of the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) tax levy ($13,882,000). The millage rates would be set at the August 17 City Council meeting, Salvatore announced. No hearings would be required due to the full rollback. The M&O rate would be reduced by 0.524 mils from 6.746 to 6.232. The bond rate would be reduced by 0.036 mils from 0.309 to 0.273. The total millage rate would decrease by 0.56 mils from 7.065 to 6.505. Salvatore asked Council to take action on the budget resolution and supporting schedules as presented. Prebor said this had been all good news. King moved to approve and adopt the FY 2018 budget as presented for $34,466,930. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. New Agenda Items 08-17-01 Consider Bids-SR 54/Planterra Way Intersection Improvements-AM Construction City Engineer Dave Borkowski said staff had been working with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) on the improvements for the corridor for some time. The issues at this intersection included cars backing up in the left turn lanes on SR 54 and the split-phasing of the traffic signals. The improvements would create a dual left turn out of Walmart/Home Depot by removing the landscaped islands. A dedicated left lane, straight lane, and right turn lane would be created on Planterra Way, which would help get rid of the split-phasing. The length of the left turn lanes from SR 54 to Planterra Way and to Walmart/Home Depot would be extended 150 feet, and these improvements would be funded by the GDOT via a Quick Response Grant, Borkowski reported. Staff recommended the bid be awarded to AM Construction, the low bidder, for $852,628.12. Borkowski noted that the company's project manager had worked on projects in Fayette County previously and had good recommendations. There was no perfect time to do construction in a heavily travelled corridor, but by working with the contractor, Borkowski said they had a solid plan to mitigate the traffic impact. Some parts of the project had to be done during the day, but the majority of the work would be done at night. The work would also be phased, Borkowski said. The left-turn lanes on SR 54 would be done right away and completed by October 31. The remaining improvements would be done after the holiday shopping season had ended. City Council Minutes August 3,2017 Page 3 Funds were available in the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), $702,728.50; and GDOT would provide $150,000 for the left-turn lanes on SR 54. King asked what the estimated completion date was. Borkowski said the project,with the phasing, would be done in March 2018, reiterating that the left turn lanes on SR 54 would be done by October 31. Ernst agreed it was best to stop the work during the shopping season. City Manager Jon Rorie said that,without phasing,they would have tried to do all the work at one time with "substantial completion" by October 31, noting that was another way of saying "not completed." Barrels and barricades would remain in the area through the holidays. He continued that staff would issue the bid for the SR 54/MacDuff Parkway intersection by the end of September, with a plan of starting work on that project as soon as SR 54/Planterra Way was completed. Rorie emphasized there was no good time to do a transportation project on an active road, and they were trying to mitigate the effects on the public. Learnard moved to award the bid to AM Construction for the amount of $852,628.12 for intersection improvements at SR 54/Planterra Way as presented. Prebor seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 08-17-02 Consider Resolution of Support for Fayette County TIP Funding Application Borkowski said Fayette County was attempting to leverage federal money for the maintenance of the longer collector roads in the next round of Transportation Improvement Projects (TIP) grants administered through the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC). The City had submitted approximately nine miles of roads, specifically Peachtree Parkway and Robinson Road from SR 54 south to the City limits. Part of the process required Council approval of a resolution of financial commitment to the project. The City would need to have a 20% match ($975,445.80) for the funding given for its collector roads. The preliminary award determinations would start in the fall, with the grants given out in Spring 2018. Construction would likely begin in 2019. The funding would be available in the General Fund resurfacing line items, if awarded to the City. Prebor asked how this type of funding had come about. Borkowski noted that federal money had not been readily available in several years,and the County and municipalities had come together to provide a list after the call for projects had come out. Learnard moved to approve the resolution of support for the Fayette County TIP funding application and authorize the Mayor to sign the resolution of commitment. King seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Council/Staff Topics Lake Peachtree Spillway Project Update Rorie asked Public Information Officer/City Clerk Betsy Tyler to discuss how the public would be kept informed about the project. Tyler said there was a scrolling image on the left-hand side of the City's homepage with the link "Lake Peachtree Spillway Replacement." The link took people to the page with the information on the project. Six of the nine phases of the replacement had been completed. Tyler said updates would also be available in the weekly UPDATES newsletter. Rorie said this was a large project, with a lot of moving pieces that required quite a bit of coordination. The project was in Phase 7,which was bidding, and bids were due August 10. The design was complete, and the bid documents were out. Permits had been issued by the Army Corps of Engineers. The City had applied for the State Waters Buffers Encroachment Permit, and City Council Minutes August 3, 2017 Page 4 the public notice would expire on August 7. The City should receive the permit after the notice expired. The land disturbance permit had been issued by the City, and Borkowski was working an encroachment permit for the 100-foot reservoir buffer. The bids were sent out on July 11, and all the bidders were pre-qualified. Eight bidders had been prequalified, and seven had attended the pre-bid conference. Bids were due on August 10, and the bid would be awarded at the August 17 meeting. Assuming Council accepted staff's recommendation for the bid, the notice of award would be done on August 21, and the lake would start the lowering process on Monday, August 28. Everything was on target, Rorie said. Integrated Science & Engineering (ISE) would serve as the project managers and liaison working with Schnabel Engineering, basically serving as an extension of staff. The Notice to Proceed would be issued to the contractor on September 1, and the contractor was expected to begin installation of erosion control, tree save fencing, cart path detour signs, and miscellaneous items within two weeks of the Notice to Proceed. Rorie continued that the contractor would be allowed to work some nights when there were significant concrete pours, with three days advanced notice and permission. The piano key weir was a 160-foot concrete spillway that would be broken down into eight sections. Each section must be poured in one day, with work beginning early in the morning and going into the night. The contractor's deadline for substantial completion was May 1, 2018. Substantial completion was the point when the lake could begin to fill. There were substantial liquidated damages in the contract should the contractor not meet the schedule, Rorie said. The lake would be lowered eight feet (the amount done periodically so people could work on their docks) so the cofferdam could be constructed. After the first few months, the lake would go up two feet. In addition, the land bridge to the island and the bridge from All Children's Playground to Drake Field would be built in the dry areas while the lake was lowered. They were working on the engineering for the bridges, so they could be put out to bid and built while the lake was lowered. The lake would begin going back to full pool around May 1. Money would be moved from Cash Reserves to start the work, then would be reimbursed as the SPLOST funds came in. The cart path detour plan would also be posted on the City's website. The paths on the bridge on Kelly Drive could not be used during construction. A gravel path next to the Community Garden was part of the detour. The asphalt should be down by August 15. Site signage, including detour signage,would go up well before the lake was lowered and the paths were closed. Fleisch noted that many trees would be taken down,and the look of McIntosh Trail would change. Ernst asked how many concerts at The Fred would be affected by the path closing. Recreation Administrator Quinn Bledsoe there were concerts scheduled on August 26 and September 10. Rorie said the paths would close on August 29, so only one of the concerts would be affected. Marianne Dias asked how the construction and path closings would affect Huddleston Elementary School. Rorie said he did not think the school traffic would be impacted, but staff would check with the school. He did not want to emphasize the trucks going in and out, but it was not smart to have 10 trucks lined up on Kelly Road at 7:30 a.m., and there was some control over that. Rorie continued that the City had applied for a Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loan, which allowed the project to launch and created cash flow. The spillway was a SPLOST City Council Minutes August 3, 2017 Page 5 project, and those projects would generally be on a pay-as-you-go basis. The first revenue check from SPLOST was not expected until September. The reimbursement resolution would allow the City to reimburse itself for the funds spent on the project. The application would go to the GEFA board on August 22 for consideration. Staff would bring a resolution to Council on August 17 that would authorize the Mayor to sign any documents necessary should the City's application be accepted. Rorie said there had been some issues with the ingress and egress of the Fire Department's rescue boat into Lake Peachtree due to the incline of the boat ramps. The grade was too steep, and holes had been created at both the Battery Way and Pinecrest ramps. It was not a huge concern, but the issue was worthy of consideration while the lake was lowered, as long as it was cost effective to correct the problem. Learnard said this had been a great update, adding that people would still be upset when the lake went down and think it was out of control again. This would be a scheduled, controlled,well- managed project, and people could be referred to the website. Fleisch noted that having seven of the eight pre-qualified bidders attend the meeting was a very high percentage. Borkowski added it was a prestigious project, and companies were excited about it. This would be the first piano key weir in the United States. Rorie noted the interest rate on the GEFA loan was projected to be 0.81%. It would cost the City$107,000 in interest if the loan were carried for 10 years, but the cash flow created for the rest of the SPLOST projects was huge. The City could also pay off the loan at any time without penalty. King announced that the Peachtree City 12 and under Little League team won the state championship, and they had gone to Warner Robbins to participate in the regional tournament. Fleisch added the regional high school drone competition held at Riley Field the previous weekend had been a huge success. Executive Session Learnard moved to convene in executive session for threatened or pending litigation at 8:00 p.m. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. King moved to reconvene in regular session at 8:13 p.m. Learnard seconded. Motion carried unanimously. There being no further business, King moved to adjourn. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m. Pamela Dufresne, Deputy City Clerk Vd essa Fleisch, Mayor i