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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-01-2018 regular meeting City Council of Peachtree City Meeting Minutes November 1, 2018 6:30 p.m. The Mayor and Council of Peachtree City met in regular session on Thursday, November 1, 2018. Mayor Vanessa Fleisch called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Others attending: Terry Ernst, Mike King, Kevin Madden, and Phil Prebor. Announcements, Awards, Special Recognition Fleisch recognized members of the Fayette County Retired Educators Association and declared Sunday, November 4, as Retired Educators Day in Peachtree City. She also honored Financial Services Director Paul Salvatore and Assistant Financial Services Director Kelly Bush in recognition of the Finance Department's certificate from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for Excellence in Financial Reporting, FY 2017. Minutes October 18, 2018, Regular Meeting Minutes King moved to approve the October 18, 2018, regular meeting minutes. Madden seconded. Motion carried 4-0-1, with Ernst abstaining due to his absence from that meeting. Consent Agenda 1. Consider Appointments to Planning Commission- Frank Destadio, Michael Link, Scott Ritenour(Alternate) 2. Consider Revision to EMS Medical Director Agreement 3. Consider Purchase of Laserfiche Software Upgrade Ernst moved to approve Consent Agenda items 1, 2, and 3. Prebor seconded. Motion carried unanimously. New Agenda Items 11-18-01 Preview of Fayette County Comprehensive Transportation Plan City Engineer Dave Borkowski described the Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) as a collaborative effort between the County, the Cities, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), and Jacobs, the County's consultant firm. He introduced Fayette County Public Works Director Phil Mallon to give an overview of the draft plan. Mallon reminded Council that it received a presentation on the SR 74 Corridor Transportation Plan at its last meeting, and that the plan was posted on the County website for public review and comment until November 26. The CTP was separate, he pointed out. Mallon noted that the CTP was a combination of two separate studies. It included a Transportation Plan that was updated every seven or eight years, along with a one-time Master Path Plan. Public input was encouraged and many comments were provided over the past year or so, Mallon reported. Draft recommendations would be presented at this meeting. Those recommendations consisted of projects that were in the old plan, but not yet completed, and new projects identified at public meetings or that came from the consultants' work. He said they were now at the most important part of the process, getting input from public officials.They would be giving this presentation to all the local governments. Comments from these meetings and from the public would be taken into account, and a draft list of projects would be posted online for review and comment. City Council Minutes November 1, 2018 Page 2 Mallon thanked City staff, especially City Manager Jon Rorie and Senior Planner Robin Cailloux, for their work. They attended meetings and helped host a public meeting on the Transportation Plan. Michael Kray, project manager with Jacobs Engineering, said the CTP was funded through an ARC program that gave grants to local jurisdictions for transportation plans. The ARC wanted to make sure local counties knew what their priorities were to aid in forming the basis for a regional transportation plan. This was a way of driving the training process from the bottom up. Kray said they looked at all modes of transportation, such as automobiles, bikes, pedestrians, and even freight movement. Not every county created a Master Path Plan, Kray stated. The CTP was an update of the 2010 Transportation Plan, and the hope was that they would be regularly updated to remain as a record of priorities. The ultimate goal, Kray stated, was to establish a vision for the future, one not only vetted by the community, but also adopted by government leadership. He was present at this meeting to make sure Council was fully aware of the recommendations and had time to comment. Kray stressed that they wanted to be as upfront as possible. Nothing was set in stone at this point, but he did not anticipate many changes because there had been such good input and communication with staff. A road map to implement the vision was included in the Plan. Kray said it consisted of a project list, some policy tools to implement the strategy, and some financial strategies. The Master Path Plan consisted of a strategy to connect multi-use paths throughout the County. It offered solutions to fill gaps in the path system, such as along Redwine Road where there were two trails, one from Fayetteville and another from Peachtree City, with a gap in between. They anticipated paths to connect destinations, such as schools and parks, with areas of residential and commercial density. In addition to identifying where a new path should be, they considered street crossings, lighting, parking, and other factors to create a consistent path system throughout the County. Kray said the CTP looked at multiple concerns involving roadways, including where new roads should be built, safety, and intersection improvements. He said they considered where last mile connections to the path system could help activate the system. Kray felt they had sound technical backup for the conclusions they reached. For the Master Path Plan, they considered population density and conducted a walking propensity analysis, which showed the likelihood for pedestrian traffic if paths, trails, or sidewalks were provided. A bicycle level of comfort analysis helped them identify roads that could be made more conducive to bicycle traffic. Finally, the stakeholder committee and the project management team were encouraged to think about their goals and where trails might be needed. For the CTP section, they used a travel demand model up to the year 2040 and incorporated real world Global Positioning System (GPS) data regarding congestion in the County. Other studies looked at roads with high accident rates. Key input came from the community. Kray said he was impressed at the level of civic engagement he found in Fayette County. The planners solicited input at community events throughout the county, including the Peachtree City Night Market and the Fayette County Balloon Festival.There were two rounds of public meetings,and two electronic surveys were offered.They talked to more than 400 people at the open houses, and there were more than 1,300 responses to the surveys, which Kray reported as a good response rate. City Council Minutes November 1,2018 Page 3 King asked if they knew from what parts of the County those responses came from, and Kray said they had the information, but he did not have it with him and offered to provide it. A stakeholder committee and project management team helped draft the plan, and Kray noted again the good input from all Fayette jurisdictions. Kray showed a map of the Master Path Plan,with greenway trails that would be similar to the Silver Comet Trail, with their own rights-of-way, often surrounded by a park-type setting. Side paths would be similar to what was in place in Peachtree City today. Sidewalk recommendations and signed bike route recommendations were also shown. Kray pointed out some interesting recommendations, including FTP 404, a greenway trail parallel to SR 54 that would provide a connection from Peachtree City to Fayetteville. He said this bubbled up in their analysis as a great connection and was a popular project when talking to citizens. A side path along Redwine Road would provide another connection between the two cities. A couple of recommendations to connect Tyrone and Peachtree City with paths were also included. On the roadway side, Kray said it was important to note that the CTP would incorporate the final recommendations of the SR 74 Corridor Study that was still ongoing. He said they would not suggest anything in excess of the final recommendations for the SR 74 study. Kray showed recommendations for corridor or safety improvements, saying they identified a couple of corridors in the City that were hazardous. They also would be recommending one of two connections to Coweta County. Their analysis showed a lot of desire for a northbound left movement into Coweta County that would alleviate pressure on the SR 54/SR 74 intersection. There was also a recommendation for a long-term project to widen SR 54 west of SR 74. King asked if he was recommending crossing into Coweta County at TDK Boulevard,and Kray said that was correct. King asked if the City or the County would fund this project. Kray told him that was a good question, and had not been determined. King replied that the CTP was asking Peachtree City to open a thoroughfare through the City, onto Crosstown Road. In this area included an elementary school and Ebenezer Road, which had some of Fayette's most scenic rural property. Since it was not a state highway, the funding for that would have to come either entirely from the City or through a combination of County and City funds. Once it was opened, it would eventually require widening, and the City would have to pay for that. At the same time, Coweta County had said it did not want to make any improvements south of 1-85 and SR 74. He said he knew the SR 54/SR 74 intersection was a headache to City drivers and especially drivers from Coweta County, but he did not want to pay for roadways for Coweta County transient traffic. Other Council members voiced their agreement with King. Kray said he agreed that the analysis showed a significant amount of traffic flow from Coweta into Fayette County. King asked if Coweta County had been brought into this discussion, and Kray said Coweta had indicated this was something they would like to pursue. Coweta would begin updating its Transportation Plan within a year,and Kray noted they would likely include this project. He said connections on Collinsworth Road would probably also be included. King remarked that Coweta should shoulder at least half the cost of extending TDK, and Prebor said it should be more than half. City Council Minutes November 1,2018 Page 4 Fleisch asked about the widening of SR 54 West at least to the county line, and Kray said it would go beyond the county line. The logical terminus would be McIntosh Trail to the west, he reported. Madden said he attended the open house at the Library and found it to be nicely done. His problem with the CTP was that there was no indication of a potential bypass of Peachtree City from Coweta County.This could be accomplished by widening SR 85 and connecting traffic from Coweta on the south or constructing a corridor on the north by Tyrone Road. Madden stated he could not remember anything that antagonized the citizens of the City more than Coweta County telling them they must build a bridge over their lake and widen their road so Coweta County could dump their traffic off by Oak Grove Elementary School and connect to Ebenezer, putting additional strain on SR 54/SR 74. When they came off TDK, he noted, most drivers would make a left to get on SR 74. He assured Kray that this TDK proposal would not be accepted by the City's residents or government.To have a traffic plan that did not include a bypass or a potential bypass on the Coweta side would create a bone of contention for years to come. Kray replied that discussion with Coweta County staff showed there was potential on the north side for widening Tyrone/Collinsworth Road to create a better connection to 1-85. He said their analysis showed a need for additional capacity on that roadway. A follow-up study would look at Tyrone Road, and Coweta County staff had expressed support for that study. Prebor said he noticed numerous new subdivisions when he traveled in Coweta County and, if TDK were opened up, there would be more, flooding Peachtree City with traffic. He asked if there was a way to convene leaders from Peachtree City, Senoia, Coweta County, and Fayette County, plus the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), to plan for traffic growth in this area and figure out how to handle it. Kray said GDOT was on the project management team and played a significant part in the CTP process. Prebor asked what GDOT said about all the traffic coming from growth in Coweta, and Kray replied that GDOT wanted to defer to the CTP process and see what came out of it. Ernst commended Kray on trying to get a plan on paper, but he was concerned by the statement that it might be a year or more before Coweta County began updating its own CTP. He wondered how the City could go along with the draft CTP if it included projects Coweta County would not be discussing for many months. Kray noted that Coweta had an existing CTP, but said Ernst was correct in that these connections were not part of that, perhaps because of the conflicts that occurred in the past. He said the update might include those connections. There needed to be coordination between the two counties, and that should be ongoing. Fleisch asked Kray to identify some of the roads on the map he was showing, and he pointed out TDK and the airport, explaining that they were talking about an extension of TDK across Line Creek to connect into McIntosh Trail in Coweta County. He showed an alternative in the area of the Peachtree City Athletic Complex (PAC), with Rorie noting that on the Coweta side it would be Stallings Road. In reality, only one would built, or perhaps neither would be constructed. Kray said Rockaway Road was another potential alternative, but it was too far south to accommodate the travel demand. King said that was true if they were trying to get to 1-85, but his original point of trying to get them north in Coweta County still applied. It was not just the Collinsworth Road exit; it was the Fisher Road exit, too. Kray said their analysis showed that the end destination for many of the vehicles was not 1-85 or points north. Peachtree City had a major employment center off SR 74, and much of that traffic City Council Minutes November 1,2018 Page 5 was a circulation between the two counties, not just people from Coweta County trying to go north. Madden recalled that the last study done showed 35,000 vehicles a day traveling eastbound to the SR 54/SR 74 intersection. Of those, only 6,000 went north on SR 74 to the interstate. His point was that those cars heading east from Coweta County would like SR 85 to be widened so they could get into Fayetteville without going through the SR 54/SR 74 intersection. People in the north part of Coweta would love to have a northern route to bypass that intersection, Madden stated. People in Peachtree City would be delighted to have this lessening of traffic. He said he was glad the drop-off to SR 74 was on the plan, but he hoped the next time he saw the plan, there would be a northern connection as well. He believed the northern and southern connections should be built before they considered anything in the middle. There was a breaking point, Kray conceded, at SR 54/SR 74, and there must be an alternative. Deciding where it would be was part of the planning process, and that would be explored further. He said Coweta County could be brought in for a more in-depth discussion. Rorie commented that this was a draft CTP, and the purpose of presenting it was to receive comments from Council and from the public. He said the City Engineering Department had tried to arrange a meeting with GDOT and officials from Coweta County and Senoia. A border community could not plan on just one side of the border, and they could not plan for a regional problem without regional solutions. It was true there were subdivisions popping up all over Coweta County, and that 36,000 vehicles per day traveled from west to east in the morning. Of those 36,000, roughly 66%ended up on the east side of SR 74, but that was not necessarily straight east- west traffic. Some vehicles came up SR 74 from the south and turned right on SR 54. Others came from the north. Rorie said they had talked about how to handle the SR 54/SR 74 intersection by widening the roads, with underpasses and overpasses, and with displaced left turns, which was a projected project for 2020. All of this was to enhance mobility along the SR 54 corridor. There must be some level of diffusion of the traffic. The purpose of staff trying to meet with GDOT and Coweta County was to plan for these bypasses. If 36,000 vehicles per day could be reduced to 26,000 through bypasses to the south and north, it would be manageable. Rorie said that would take regional solutions requiring collaboration and planning. It would be 10 or 20 years out and required prioritization and funding strategies. Kray said policy recommendations were part of the CTP, and one potential recommendation could be the formation of a working group to consider these types of issues. That could be done in lieu of a specific project recommendation. It would just acknowledge there was an issue and create a mechanism for solving the problem. King wondered if they could ask the ARC to chair this group. Kray said he believed they would be agreeable to that. Fleisch asked what road 209 was on the map, and Kray said it was Flat Creek Road, identified as needing safety improvements. Prebor thanked Kray for leading the discussion and asked him not to take any of their comments personally. Kray returned to a map of roads needing safety improvements, telling Fleisch they were designated because they had a higher than expected crash rate for the volume of traffic. Flat Creek showed up as one of corridors needing improvement, and Fleisch said that surprised her. Crosstown was another that had a higher than average rate. Fleisch noted that it was high in City Council Minutes November 1, 2018 Page 6 volume, but Kray said it must have a higher than average number of crashes. Fleisch remarked that widening Crosstown to four lanes had been proposed in the past, but Kray said there was no recommendation for widening in this CTP. The Mayor also asked for clarification about standardizing the path system in the County. Kray said there would be recommendations for design guidelines for the path network in the County, and it would be good to coordinate the design in the Cities. Fleisch said she was concerned that Peachtree City, which started the path system, would have to adjust its standards, but Kray said existing paths would be grandfathered in. Cailloux pointed out that most of the draft ideas were based on Peachtree City's standards being applied elsewhere. Fleisch remarked that people had been contacting her about the paths in the Starr's Mill High School area. She did not want Fayette County leading the way when it seemed there were issues with the paths they had installed. Kray said they were following the lead with what Peachtree City had done with its path system. Signage warning motorists of golf cart traffic was one example that could be used in the rest of the county. King asked how many miles of path Fayette County intended to install. Kray said he did not know. This was a 50-year vision and paths would be prioritized based on the impact they would have. Mallon reported that there would be few new paths. The County wanted a plan showing future paths, but the paths would be developed as land was developed and connected over time. The developers would pay for them, Mallon confirmed. 111 King pointed out that the developers would pay for building the paths, but the County would eventually be responsible for maintenance. Therefore,the residents of Peachtree City,which had 100 miles of its own paths,would also be paying for County cart paths through their County taxes. King did not think the citizenry would look favorably on this, and Mallon said that was a fair point. Mallon said he wanted to make sure the City's viewpoint was understood, so he encouraged Council to write up its positions on the recommendations, such as funding maintenance on County cart paths and the TDK crossing into Coweta. He went on to explain that the first thing GDOT did when they were contacted about a local project was to open the CTP and see if the project was included. Mallon said it would be best to note in the CTP that there was a future project to create a regional east-west solution, but the specifics, such as the location, did not have to be included. However,if there was interest in a future connection,it should be mentioned in the CTP in order to provide a project number and a reference. Mallon also mentioned it would be important to note any future sites where a bridge or tunnel might be built over a state road to accommodate a path. Just putting a dot over the anticipated location could aid in getting future state or federal funds. Fleisch said the potential for tunnels was one of the considerations when they were planning for the continuous flow intersection (CFI) at SR 54/SR 74. She asked Borkowski about progress on the CFI design. He said he had reached out, but had not heard back. Fleisch wondered if tunnels that helped with the SR 54/SR 74 intersection should be included, and Kray said if tunnels were a possibility, then they should be included in the plan. Rorie recommended adding a tunnel at Crosstown and SR 74 South, one at Peachtree Parkway and SR 74 North, one at SR 54 East in and around Genevieve Court, and another at SR 54/SR 74. City Council Minutes November 1, 2018 Page 7 A member of the audience suggested one at Walt Banks Road, and Rorie said that would be good, too. The take-away, Rorie said, was to include in the plan that there would be a regional planning group to look at the cross border projects. The City should also add anticipated tunnels and bridges.Mallon said he and Kray could draft a proposal and send to Rorie, Borkowski, and Cailloux for feedback before it was inserted into the CTP. 11-18-02 Consider Bid for Splash Pad & Pool Renovation Borkowski described the location at the Glenloch Recreation Center,saying there was an existing pool and a kiddie pool already in place. This was a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) project. They were about a year into the SPLOST, and Council had already seen conceptual plans for the splash pad. A design had been completed that rendered the concept quite well,with all the water features,as well as canopied shade structures. Borkowski showed that the splash pad would be next to the existing pool and overlap some of the existing parking lot. Several parking spaces would be shifted, with perhaps the loss of one space. He said they were lucky in having a good location because a splash pad required power,water, and sewer, and all three were easily accessible at this location. They bid the project out with the intention of having the splash pad open by Memorial Day 2019. The only bid received was from Innovative Pool & Spa. Borkowski showed a breakdown of costs for the splash pad itself, $152,000, and for the equipment at $99,000, totaling about$251,000. The project also included pool renovations at the Glenloch pool, which was more than 30 years 111 old, and they did not want the brand new splash pad next to an aging pool. The pool needed more than cosmetic work, including resurfacing, installing new concrete, changing out valves to ease maintenance, and adding a non-slip surface. The total for the pool work was around $216,000, and when everything was added together, this project would come to about$468,000. Borkowski said they recommended awarding the bid for constructing the splash pad and renovating the pool to Innovative Pool & Spa, based on their experience in this type of work. He also recommended that the City do a direct brand name purchase of the splash pad equipment because of the quality, aesthetics, and the local manufacturer, Aqua Play Solutions. It had stainless steel features that would not rust. Fiberglass was cheaper, but would fade after a few years. Borkowski said the City could service the equipment easily compared to other manufacturers. The pumping equipment would be buried in the ground, with a door for access. He also liked the fact that Aqua Play Solutions was a local company, so the money would stay in Peachtree City. Prebor asked why there was only one bid, saying he did not like doing anything with just one bid to consider. Borkowski said several people showed up to the pre-bid meeting, but only one company came through with a bid. Ernst recalled that the owner of Aqua Play made a presentation to Council several months ago, and Prebor said he was happy to stay local and purchase the equipment from Aqua Play. Fleisch noted that the pool was built during the 1970s and wondered if these renovations would be worthwhile in the long run or if, five years from now, more work would be required. Borkowski began listing the renovations planned, saying there would be a new deck and edge coping installed, and the inside of the pool would be resurfaced. City Council Minutes November 1, 2018 Page 8 Rorie asked if it was fair to say that everything would be new except for the hole in the ground. Borkowski confirmed that, adding that they were replacing everything except the equipment in the closet in the building. The Mayor recalled that,several years ago, they were given just three months to decide if another bubble should be purchased for the Kedron Aquatics Center. At the time, they were told the lifespan would be about 15 years, so they were about halfway through that period. She asked if they should figure out another strategy for the pool now they knew the cost. She said it might mean delaying the splash pad. They had been looking at consolidating recreation facilities, and Fleisch asked if there were enough public pools in the City.They had been working to consolidate facilities, and the would increase use of the Glenloch facility, but she knew they would soon have to make a decision on the Kedron Pool and wanted to make sure they had enough time to evaluate, unlike the decision for the current bubble. Borkowski said they did not have to decide on the splash pad project that night. Rorie explained that he inherited a brand new pool bubble when he arrived seven years ago. It had cost an exorbitant amount of money due to electrical issues and grounding issues found during construction.That was one of the first projects that revealed underlying problems with what was initially constructed years ago. Rorie noted this was two projects combined into one - pool renovations and a splash pad. It was bid together so one contractor was responsible for both jobs. The spillway and bridge had constructed under the same concept. He said he first discussed a splash pad about four years ago. At the time, the City was looking at pool usage and learned there were about 1,600 pools in the City. This led to the removal of the under-used pools at Pebblepocket and Clover Reach. Now there was a therapeutic heated pool and a public lap pool at Kedron, and a public outdoor pool at Glenloch. Rorie's original idea had to replace the Glenloch pool with a splash pad, but a citizen committee tasked with looking at other splash pad facilities had recommended keeping the pool. The pool now required a lot of upgrades and repairs, such as the installation of stairs. Rorie then addressed the question of location, saying this was a SPLOST project that specifically said pool renovations and a splash pad at Glenloch.The project could not be declared infeasible, so it became a question of location. He wished there had been half a dozen bids, but there were not. Both of these were appropriate bids from respected local companies. He said the splash pad project was estimated in the SPLOST to cost$330,000.The bid had come in at about$251,000, but the project was over the estimate when all the pool renovations were considered. The project could be re-bid and rolled out in FY 2019, he acknowledged, to see if there was a better response rate. Rorie said he visited Kedron that week and looked at the bubble, and it was no longer new. A decision on whether to purchase a new bubble would soon be required. The long-term decision would be whether to have a winter pool. This was a nuanced decision, Rorie pointed out. The City had to decide whether to fix its existing pool with the one bid or if it should be re-bid. Ernst pointed out that it would not get any cheaper next year. King said the bid for the splash pad was about$80,000 less than the SPLOST estimate, and he had no problem with the one bid because they were local companies.The Kedron pool and Glenloch pool should be looked at separately, he stated. When the SPLOST list projects were approved, King recalled that they said they would be done according to the priorities established at the City Council Minutes November 1,2018 Page 9 time, and he did not wish to deviate from that. He did not want to delay this project and wanted to get it open by May of 2019. Prebor asked how long it took to get bids. He suggested contacting companies that had built splash pads in other areas. Fleisch clarified that she considered this more of a splash park. A splash pad was a geyser-type arrangement, like in Centennial Park in Atlanta, but the one they were looking at, with more features,would be a splash park. Fleisch said the Kedron bubble was still on her mind, and it seemed unwise not to plan for that because they knew it was coming. Prebor remarked that he understood what King was saying about keeping them as separate issues. He asked what the problem was during the bubble installation. Fleisch said the electrical system had to be grounded properly. Borkowski said it had to be brought up to code. Rorie noted that the City was approaching 60 years old, with aging infrastructure. They had just completed a spillway project to replace a structure built in the 1960s before there was a code. He said they needed to keep focus on this issue in an aging City. Rorie said the City actively solicited bids for its projects. Recreation and Special Events Director Quinn Bledsoe said about 10 or so people came to the pre-bid meeting, but most chose not to participate in the bid process. Rorie noted staff specified that stainless steel would be used for its longevity and ease of maintenance. Rorie summarized that this was costly, and there was just one bid, but Innovative Pools was a local company that installed pools in the City.Their reputation was on the line. King asked if there was consensus to move forward,and Ernst said he was ready to make a motion. This was a policy issue, Madden remarked. When people said 1,600 pools, that was great, but the City had three pools - two for swimming and the shallow therapeutic pool. There were 35,000 residents in the City, and many could not afford a private pool. It got hot in Georgia. Peachtree City was a special city that should have at least two swimming pools for the public. He supported a splash pad for the younger residents and felt this was an honorable expenditure of the residents' taxes. He liked the idea of having local people manufacturing the equipment, and it would be good to have a local company to call when there was a problem. Madden moved to approve New Agenda item 11-18-02 and accept the bid for splash pad and pool renovation. King seconded. Motion carried 4-1, with Prebor dissenting. Executive Session King moved to convene in executive session to discuss pending or threatened litigation and the acquisition or sale of real estate at 7:50 p.m. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. King moved to reconvene in regular session at 9:08 p.m. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. King moved to appoint Clay Collins as the Municipal Court Judge. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. City Council Minutes November 1, 2018 Page 10 I There being no further business to discuss, King moved to adjourn the meeting. Ernst seconded. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m. A Martha Barksdale, Recording Secre ary Vanessa Fleisch, Mayor