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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRegular Commission Meeting February 4, 2020 REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER FEBRUARY 4, 2020 Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:00 p.m., February 4, 2020, the Hon. Hardie Davis, Jr., Mayor, presiding. PRESENT: Hons. B. Williams, Garrett, Sias, Fennoy, Frantom, Davis, D. Williams, Hasan and Clarke, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Absent: Hon. M. Williams, member of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Mr. Mayor: Good afternoon. All right. Good afternoon, everybody. We’re going to call this meeting to order and we’re here to do the business of the people. The Chair recognizes Madam Clerk. The Clerk: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I call your attention to the invocation portion of our agenda which will be delivered by Reverend Dr. Timothy R. Green, Jr., Pastor of the Jenkins Memorial CME Church after which we would like to ask Ms. Pam Griffin of our Human Resources Department to please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Please stand. The invocation was given by Reverend Dr. Timothy R. Green, Jr., Pastor, Jenkins Memorial CME Church. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America was recited. The Clerk: Office of Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr., by these presence be it known that Reverend Dr. Timothy R. Green, Jr., Pastor of the Jenkins Memorial CME Church is Chaplain of the Day his spiritual guidance and civic leadership serves as an example for all citizens of Augusta. Given th under my hand this 4 Day of February 2020, Hardie Davis Jr., Mayor. Thank you so much. Mr. Mayor: Would you join me in thanking Pastor Green for being our Chaplain of the Day. (APPLAUSE) RECOGNITIONS(S) Years of Service A. Congratulations! January Years of Service Recipients. The Clerk: At this time I call your attention to the Recognition portion of our agenda. The Mayor and members of the Commission offer their congratulations to our January Years of Services Recipients who will be recognized by Ms. Pam Griffin of our Human Resources Department. Ms. Griffin: Good afternoon, Mayor Davis, Commissioners, Administrator, Madam Clerk, Directors, special guests and citizens of Augusta. My name is Pamela Griffin, H.R. Departments Employee Relations Team Lead for Augusta, Georgia. Today it is my esteemed pleasure to recognize the January Years of Service Recipients. For the Month of January we have 27 1 employees celebrating 5 to 20 years with Augusta, Georgia. This afternoon we would like to recognize our 25 to 50 years of service recipients. For the Month of January the total years of service in institutional knowledge being celebrated today is 425 years. When I call your name please come forward. Dennis Herring Augusta Utilities 25 years of service. (APPLAUSE) Bobby Dudley Augusta Utilities 25 years of service. (APPLAUSE) Susan Pogue Augusta Utilities 25 years of service. (APPLAUSE) James Joyner Engineering 25 years of service. (APPLAUSE) Geraldine Sams, Procurement 30 years of service. (APPLAUSE) Randolph Reese Fire Department 30 years of service. (APPLAUSE) Mark Bowles Engineering 35 years of service. If you are here and I did not call your name please come forward at this time. Congratulations to all of our Years of Service recipients. Please join me in a round of applause as we thank these employees for their loyal service to Augusta, Georgia. (APPLAUSE) Mr. Mayor: Madam Clerk? The Clerk: Are you ready, sir? Mr. Mayor: Yes, ma’am. DELEGATIONS B. Mr. Reis James, Business Development/Recruiter Ironworkers Local 709. (Requested by Commissioner Mary Davis) The Clerk: I call your attention to the Delegation portion of our agenda. Item B, Mr. Reis James, Business Development/Recruiter Ironworkers Local 709. Mr. Mayor: Mr. James, you have five minutes. Mr. James: Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor: If you will state for the record your name and the address please. Mr. James: Yes. My name is I’m Reis James. I’m with Ironworkers Local 709 and I represent the union here in Augusta, Georgia and Savannah. Where’s the mouse to bring up my presentation? Here we go, okay, thank you. Mr. Mayor: It’s right there on the desktop as well. Mr. James: Today I’d like to give a brief overview of what we do as the Union Ironworkers. We have a great future ahead of us. The U.S. Department of Labor says that the growth for the ironworking trade over the next ten years is 13% so that means there’s a lot of opportunities for the people of Augusta to join our trade. I’d also like to give you a little information of our training and then some of the skilled work that we do and some of the projects. We have a very diverse group that we work with. We have people of all different, you know we have male female we have all different groups. We have people that are young just entering the trade and we also have people that have been in the trade for up to 20 to 30 years. So here’s an overview of the jurisdiction that we cover. These are, this is the area we build our projects in. We cover 48 counties 34 in 2 Georgia, 8 in South Carolina and 6 in Florida. Here is an overview of where are residents abide, our members are living. You can see there’s a strong grouping of people that live in Augusta here that we represent. We have a total of 961 members, a total of 816 active members. So we have a motto that I believe sums up one of the great benefits of being a union ironworker and an apprentice with us. The motto is ‘Earn While You Learn’. When the person is receiving their training to be an ironworker, it’s a 4-year training program. There will be no cost to them. There will be absolutely no debt incurred for their training. Not only will there be no debt for the training they’ll actually be making money as they receive the on the job learning. So how is this all paid for? How do we spend tens of thousands of dollars each year on a single apprentice to train them to be a skilled ironworker? It’s paid for by our contractors. They look to the future. They see a need to have skilled ironworkers and so they invest every workforce hour that’s put on a project into the training program. So we have a great partnership that helps with our training and that begins with a State of Georgia Department of Labor. We’re an accredited apprenticeship with the state and they set standards that we train by. There’s guidelines they say that certain information that a person needs to know to be a skilled ironworker and so we train to those standards. They have to have a minimum of 1400-hours of on the job learning to move from one year to the next successfully. They have to have 204 hours of classroom instruction every year to advance. In addition with the State of Georgia we also have a JATC which stands for the Joint Apprentice Training Committee and that’s a great partnership. It’s with management and labor overseeing the training. Management, they know exactly what kind of ironworker they want on their projects are signing their checks so they have input into our training. Labor, they’re out there doing the work of an ironworker. They understand what it takes and what’s necessary to grow in the trade. And then the International Association of Bridge Structural and Ornamental Re-enforcing Ironworkers we’ve been around since 1896. We have over one-thousand 120,000 members throughout the United States and Canada. We put a huge emphasis on safety, a lot of potential hazards in what we do. We’re working in heights up to hundreds of feet. We’re currently working on the Vogtle Nuclear Project. We are the ironworkers for that project so we do a lot of training from OSHA 10 and 30, fall protection training and all the others that you see listed here. It’s pretty rigorous our training. We have, it’s threefold, it’s classroom training, hands on training and on the job learning. Here’s an overview of our curriculum. It’s been developed by professional educators. It’s also in conjunction with skilled ironworkers. So here’s the layout they go through their 4-years of training, here’s the different courses for the training. All the training is industry certified training; it’s industry recognized training. When they go through it it’s all documented, they receive a membership card on the back of it it’s a QR Code simply scan it all the certifications for the worker come up on their smart phone whether it’s a welding certification, rigging certification or any other training. We’re big on the fact that we’re a drug free workforce. We’re working hundreds of feet up in the air; we’re working with heavy equipment and machinery. We have a course we teach on the importance of having a strong work ethic; we’re so committed to this we have all of our members sign the Standard of Excellence. And so just an overview of the kind of money a person makes. A first year apprentice will be making anywhere between $15.32 to $17.98 plus the healthcare of $5.75 per hour and that includes them and their family so their total package for a person who’s just entering the trade is anywhere between $21.07 and $23.73. Now they’ve learned a little bit more through their on the job training classroom training. They’re a second year apprentice. They’ll be making anywhere between $17.87 and $29.98 per hour, the healthcare benefit is the same so their total package is anywhere between $23.62 to $26.73. A third year apprentice something happens here they not only make that hourly wage of $21.70 to $25.47 in 3 their healthcare but now we start getting pension monies $6.25 per hour. They also get a dollar an hour into their annuity so their total package is anywhere between $34.70 and $38.47 per hour. Now the fourth and final year apprenticeship they’re making anywhere between $24.25 and $28.47 per hour they’re making their healthcare benefits, their retirement so their total package is anywhere between $37.25 and $41.47 per hour. Once you graduate you make these pay scales here; the packages remain the same. If they’re on a project under $5-million dollars it’s $38.53 an hour, a larger project $41.20 and hour and if they’re at the Savannah River Site they’re making $42.97. So simply they fill out an application. They need to be 18 years of age, bring their birth certificate, high school diploma, driver’s license, have reliable transportation because we’re working all over in the 48 counties that I spoke of. If they’re a veteran bring their DD214. And there’s a great career opportunity waiting for the people of Augusta and I appreciate your time. (APPLAUSE) Mr. Mayor: All right, Mr. Reis. Please come back Mr. Reis, James, please come back. rd All right, the Chair recognizes the distinguished lady from the 3. Ms. Davis: Yeah, I just want to thank Mr. James for reaching out to me to come and speak to us. And we appreciate all the work that ya’ll do and it’s great opportunities for anybody who wants to get into this field so we need to continue to promote that. Mr. James: Well thank you, I believe that. Ms. Davis: I guess you don’t have a hard time filling these jobs or do you? Mr. James: No, we don’t. We have lots of people that are ready to go and learn a trade and make a good livable wage. Ms. Davis: Right and great benefits, thank you for all your good work. Mr. James: Yes, thank you. Mr. Mayor: Fantastic, a few more questions. Mr. James: Yes, sir. st Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1. Mr. Fennoy: I’d like to reiterate what Commissioner Davis just said. I think that we are fortunate today to have two members from the Board of Education here with us today and hopefully they have taken note of your presentation and information that you just shared with us they could take back to the Board or Education and share with the different principals and the different high schools. Mr. James: That’d be fantastic; we’d love that opportunity. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 5. 4 Mr. B. Williams: Thank you, sir. As we try to do here with the City of Augusta we have this concept called Ban the Box. When you have people that have previous records do you all just automatically throw them out of the box if they apply? Mr. James: No, we do not. I have some great stories I could tell if people that have had records that have gone on to have productive careers as ironworkers and have really made a difference. Mr. B. Williams: So they would just apply --- Mr. James: Yes, sir --- Mr. B. Williams: --- interview and you all would make a decision. Mr. James: --- correct. Mr. B. Williams: Thank you. Mr. Mayor: Thank you so much, Mr. James. Mr. James: Thank you for the privilege and opportunity. The Clerk: DELEGATIONS C. Update from Messrs. Don Clarke, Bob Young and Robert Mauldin relative to the Georgia Veterans Cemetery. (Requested by Commissioner Dennis Williams) Mr. Mayor: That again Mr. Donald Clarke who’s representing Forces United in the triumvirate of Bob Young and Robert Mauldin, Georgia State Veterans Cemetery and then I’ll nd come back to the Commissioner from the 2, okay? I do want to take a moment and acknowledge both School Board members Charlie Hanna and School Board member Dr. Wayne Fraser. Thank you both for being here in support of our Local Ironworkers 709, thank you. Mr. Clarke, five minutes again state for the record you name and your address, sir. Mr. Clarke: Don Clarke, 326 Habersham Way, Evans, Georgia. Thank you all for having me today, thank you guys for having me. So glad to be here on a great note and give you all some updates on where we are in our State Veterans Cemetery Proposal. We had an overwhelming amount of support and enthusiasm from throughout the community but I’d like to go ahead and acknowledge the fact that this effort was led by of course Augusta Richmond County. You all took the stance of being the first county to create a proposal and adopt and approve unanimously I’d like to say the Resolution that every county afterwards throughout the CSRA followed to the ‘T’ almost. But we received a great amount of support from that and that’s a great thing. We received also three letters of Congressional support two of which were from Georgia Congressman Rick Allen, Congressman Jody Hice and Congressman Joe Wilson. Along with those resolutions 5 along with those letters of support we also had a tremendous amount of support from our veteran community. Many organizations throughout the area on both sides understand the need and want for a State Veterans Cemetery. As you all remember the story that happened in June with the headstones and everything. Unfortunately that was a horrible situation but the beauty of that is it really accentuated the fact of bringing a state cemetery to the area. To date we pretty much delivered all those headstones. There are a few that are still missing because we haven’t identified the remains of those veterans. If we had a veterans cemetery again we more than likely wouldn’t have the situation we’re dealing with now. But that going forward gives us that momentum to really bring what is really needed and justifiably so in the area. So the next steps, next steps are really simple and I say it’s simple but it starts with the Governor. The Governor has to give the approval to add this to the budget. Once the Governor has agreed that it’s justifiable and that the people and the communities themselves have spoken, he'll determine if that budgetary line item is approved to go forward and we’ll move to the next step which will be initiating the preapplication for the VA process. So remember this application that is being submitted is done through Big VA so the Federal side and it’s a grant program and those funds can be approved up to 100% of the project could be paid for through that program. The benefit of us as a community and as a location is we have subject matter experts right here in Augusta who are very familiar, who are very just in the know when it comes to situating and presenting a state cemetery and that’s 2KM Architect firm. That’s where we have Mr. Rob Mauldin on to also introduce him and his firm so that they can be our subject matter experts on the ground to assist us with this. So the great summation of this is we’re looking good going forward. What we do need to identify are the land plots that we would do this on. We’re looking at a minimum of a 120 acres that will give us the room for growth so that we don’t run into what some of the areas have run into with not having enough land to accommodate everyone over the years. So right now we have a couple plots that are identified. A number of the directorates from the city are reaching out to assist also in identifying property. I think we had told you all once before the one thing to really make this entire process attractive is the land that we acquire needs to be either city owned, state owned or someone donate that land. One of the cemeteries specifically in Georgia was donated land from Georgia Forestry, another one was a family donated a portion of their farmland so we need to make this as attractive as possible. We’re not trying to purchase land for this process. It needs to be either state, city or donated. I’ll pause for any questions. nd Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 2. Mr. D. Williams: Well, Mr. Mayor, I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank the city for the fine work that they’ve done. This is a project that will be very beneficial to the veterans and our community and much needed. So they’ve done a very good job and we just want to make sure that we keep the public abreast as to the progress of this project. Mr. Mayor: That’s fantastic. I’ll add a few comments to that. It may or may not be known nd that yes they are doing good work; I echo the sentiments of the Commissioner from the 2. It’s important for our veteran community to know and understand that the Georgia Department of Veteran Services has a field office here in Augusta located in two buildings. One is at the Georgia thth War Veterans Nursing Home on 15 Street as well as the VA Medical Center also at 15 Street. Those are our two locations for the satellite or Augusta field office. There are some 697,000 veterans in the great State of Georgia who are receiving services as of 2019. In Richmond County 6 alone those veterans who are receiving services are 21,000 almost 22,000 and Columbia County almost 17,000. These are our veterans who are identified. I would suggest that, Mr. Clarke, as you are going back to the state and your committee’s working that you give the Governor and our legislators strong pause to consider the land associated with Gracewood State Schools and Hospital. There is substantial land there that as a transition that facility as a result of the Olmstead Act that you look at that facility. It’s not very far from Gate 5 but at the same time there are well over a hundred plus acres that are available on pristine land that is available. Mr. Clarke: And I don’t want to belabor the fact that is one of the options of course that we’re looking at. There’s some things we have to take into consideration with making sure there’s no wetlands and historical facts and otherwise so the benefit of having 2KM they can give us that informed understanding of if it’s a viable option or not. Hephzibah also has the Mayor of Hephzibah has also opened up an option of some land that he has and of course there would have to be some details that need to be discussed about how to allocate that land. It’s not just here you go Augusta and move forward so that’s for another discussion. Another option we reached out and talked to Fort Gordon and their committee right now is trying to determine some of the land that’s off of the installation not on the installation because we don’t want to have to deal with that aspect of it but off of the installation how hard would it be to reallocate that. So there’s some options. We’re also looking for some more and again some of the directorates are assisting us with that. st Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1. Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, you said what I was going to say. Mr. Mayor: All right, wonderful. All right, Mr. Clarke, thank you. Mr. Clarke: Thank you. And, Mr. Mayor, real quick can I say something? I’d like to thank our Commissioner Williams and Commissioner Fennoy for continuing to be the leads for this effort. They’ve been a great deal of support and they’ve been instrumental in keeping the communication flowing and bringing all the parts together so thank you both. The Clerk: I call your attention to our Consent Agenda which consists of Items 1 through 28, Items 1 through 28. Mr. Mayor: Madam Clerk, let’s pause for a moment. The Chair recognizes the st. Commissioner from the 1 State your inquiry. Mr. Fennoy: Mr. Mayor, I don’t know I guess by now everybody’s aware of the situation that took place over the weekend at Dent’s Funeral Home and to make bad matters worse there was a body in the funeral home that was burned beyond recognition and all of this happened because we have a issue with abandoned houses here in Richmond County. Unfortunately a lot of the abandoned houses that exist in Richmond County is in District 1 and District 2. Within two blocks from where I live I could’ve easily identified ten houses that have been burned because they were abandoned. Homeless people were living in it. They started a fire to stay warm and the house caught on fire. I think that it’s a tragedy, it’s a tragedy when we allow in our great city 7 something like this to happen. Somehow we have got to do a better job of addressing the issues of abandoned houses and we’ve got to do a better job of addressing the issues with our homeless population. I think that if you ask the Fire Department about the fires that they respond to this time of year they would tell you that a lot of these houses are abandoned and the probable cause of the fire was someone staying in these houses to try to keep warm so I just want to bring that to everyone’s attention. Again hopefully we could do a better job of addressing this. And also not related to this issue but would encourage this Commission and the City of Augusta to keep the family of Hawthorne Welcher in your prayers. Mr. Mayor: Thank you, sir. All right the Chair will entertain any motions to add or remove from the Consent Agenda. The Chair recognizes Mayor Pro Tem. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’d like to pull agenda Item #2 please and #1 I’d like to move it to two weeks from today, Commission meeting, is that correct? th The Clerk: Yes, for the February 18 meeting. st Mr. Mayor: All right, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1. Mr. Fennoy: I’d like to add Item 26, 27 and 28 to the Consent Agenda. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Already on there. The Clerk: They’re on the Consent. th Mr. Mayor: Already on Consent, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you. Back to Item 1 when it comes back I guess to Planning and Development I’d like to know why it was considered something that required a second reading or is that an error or something. The Clerk: Item #1? Mr. Sias: Yes. The Clerk: Yes, sir that was an error. The zoning petition petitioner and the other party the Goodwill they both asked that this matter be postponed for two weeks to give them an opportunity to continue their discussion. Mr. Sias: I’m just kind of curious that we --- The Clerk: Yes, sir, that was an error. Mr. Sias: --- okay no problem, thank you, I appreciate that. 8 th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6, the Chair recognizes the rd Commissioner from the 3. Ms. Davis: I’d like to make a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Mr. Frantom: Second. CONSENT AGENDA PLANNING 1. Z-29-01 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta Georgia Planning Commission to approve with the conditions below a petition by WSM Ventures, LLC, on behalf of Evans Best, LLC, requesting a change of zoning from Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) to Zone B-2 (General Business) affecting property containing 0.36 acres and known as 3133 Washington Road. Tax Map 011-0-025-02-0 DISTRICT 7 1. The current development standards and regulations shall be met when submitting a site plan. (Approved by Commission January 21, 2020 – second reading) 3. Motion to approve Planning & Development Department recommendation to amend Augusta, Georgia Code, Nose, Section 3-6-2 (b and d), so as to amend the hours for events in the Entertainment Zone, to Waive the Second Reading and to provide an effective date. (Approved by the Commission January 21, 2020) ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 4. Motion to approve Environmental Services Department requests the purchase of one new pickup truck at a cost of $26,320 from Allan Vigil Ford – Bid Item 19-280 (Approved by Public Services Committee January 28, 2020) 5. Motion to approve Fleet Management requests to purchase four vehicles for the Marshal’s Office totaling $106,908. Bid Item 19-172 (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) 6. Motion to approve a request from Juvenile Court to purchase one new 2020 Ford Transit, 15-passenger Van at $35,328. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) 7. Motion to approve Housing and Community Development Department’s (HCD’s) request to provide Laney Walker/Bethlehem Revitalization Funding to contract with Arbory Tree Services to clear seven (7) single-family, detached homes. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) 8. Motion to approve HCD’s Rehabilitation Program Lien Restructure request. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) 9. Motion to approve recruitment process to fill Administrator’s position. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) 1)-Commission review current Administrator’s job description; once agreed on final job description. 2)-Task HR Director to meet with General Counsel to make sure job description is in compliance with applicable law. 3)-Once review is completed by HR Director and General Counsel, the commission will select an Executive Recruiter/Headhunter/Executive Search Firm. Recruitment for the Administrator’s position will be national in scope. 9 4)-Recruiter/Headhunter shall meet with the commission for clarifications and details on the process as well as to determine Augusta’s vision, goals and objectives. 5)-Once recruitment process is completed; the recruitment consultant will screen candidates and present the top 12 candidates to the commission for evaluation. Recruiter will meet with the commission to narrow down to the final 7 top candidates who will be presented to the Mayor. The Mayor shall present as many as three top candidates for appointment along with his recommendations. PUBLIC SAFETY 11. Motion to approve Resolution – Honorary Road Name for the 1200 Block of Druid Park Ave to David Peterson Way. (Approved by the Commission January 21, 2020) 12. Motion to approve Resolution Road Name Change From Entrance to Augusta Municipal Golf Course to Jim Dent Way. (Approved by Augusta Commission January 21, 2020) 13. Motion to award RFP #19-267 Debris Monitoring & Financial Recovery Services to Witt O’Brien’s LLC and to authorize execution of the Contract Documents. (Approved by Public Safety Committee January 28, 2020) 14. Motion to award RFP #19-268 Debris Removal Services to Ceres Environmental Services, Inc. and to authorize execution of the Contract Documents. (Approved by Public Safety Committee January 28, 2020) 15. Motion to waive the hiring procedures of Section 800.011 of the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual for the testing and recruitment of high school seniors in the Richmond County School System. (Approved by Public Services Committee January 28, 2020) 16. Motion to approve the award of RFQ Item #19-251 Architectural Design Services – Training Center/EOC Building to Johnson Laschober & Associates and authorize the Mayor to execute the appropriate documents. (Approved by Public Safety Committee January 28, 2020) ENGINEERING SERVICES 17. Motion to approve the award of Bid Item #19-283 Mack Granite 64 Grapple Truck. There were five respondents to the bid, with Environmental Products Group, meeting all requirements of the bid. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 18. Motion to approve the award of Bid Item 19-254 – Articulated Dump Track. There were two respondents to the bid, with Yancey Brothers meeting all of the bid requirements. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 19. Motion to approve bid award Item 19-296 Deans Bridge Road MSW Landfill Phase III- 2019 Gas Collection and Control System (GCCS) Expansion to SCS Field Services, the lowest responsive bidder. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 20. Motion to approve tasking the Engineering and Utilities Departments with forming an internal task force to look at the hydrology and engineering and other aspects of what we need to develop a plan and path forward for keeping the pool in place relative to the Lock and Dam. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 202) 21. Motion to approve utilizing a trial run of using a premeasured tarp system to help with servicing yard waste piles and report back the results to the committee. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 22. Motion to approve the installation of 6 street lights in the Manchester Section 8B development with an annual cost of $1,080.00. Also approve the creation of a new lighting 10 tax district for the 27 lots within Section 8B. Funding is available in Street Lighting budget account #2760416105312310. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 23. Motion to approve the installation of 32 street lights in the Southampton Section 7 development with an annual cost of $5,760.00. Also approve the creation of a new lighting tax district for the 68 lots within Section 7. Funding is available in Street Lighting budget account #2760416105312310. Requested by AED. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) 24. Motion to authorize the execution of a Joint Funding Agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the operation, modeling and analyzing of monitoring wells to investigate water levels and water quality for Augusta’s groundwater production facilities. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee January 28, 2020) PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS 25. Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held January 21, 2020 and the Special Called meeting January 28, 2020. APPOINTMENTS 26. Motion to ratify the ARC Legislative Delegation appointments of Ms. Cher Best to fill the unexpired terms of Ms. Gwen Roundtree (Decease) to the ARC Library Board of Trustees; and Mr. Nathan W. Vick to the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission due to the resignation of Mr. Clyde Lester. 27. Motion to approve the reappointments of Mr. Paul Thompson to the Augusta Tree Commission representing District 2. 28. Motion to approve the appointment of Ms. Valerie Kelly to the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission representing District 5. Mr. Mayor: Voting. Mr. Clarke votes No. Mr. M. Williams out. Motion Passes 8-1. \[Items 1, 3-28\] Mr. Mayor: All right, Madam Clerk, we’re going to go top to bottom. The Clerk: PUBLIC SERVICES 2. Motion to approve Planning & Development Department recommendations to amend Augusta, Georgia Code, SIDEWALK ENCROACHMENTS, Section 3-8-11 so as to provide regulations for right-of-way encroachments/sidewalk café, definitions to include entertainment zone, permit requirements, and general regulations and to provide an effective date. (Approved by Commission January 21, 2020 – second reading) The Clerk: Mr. Sherman, let me give these to the Mayor and Commission. 11 st Mr. Sherman: Okay at the January 21 meeting presented to you an amendment to the Sidewalk Encroachment Ordinance and during the discussion there were two items that were discussed a little bit more so than the rest of the ordinance. One was the $25.00 dollar Application Fee and the other was a $25.00 dollar Regulatory Fee that the applicant would pay annually. It was the decision of the Commission to not include the $25.00 dollar Regulatory Fee. And so the ordinance that’s been handed out to you now removes the Regulatory Fee. It was included in three locations in that ordinance under the Permitting section. It was actually the $25.00 dollar Regulatory Fee spelled out and then referenced in two other sections. So that ordinance that you have before you should have all references to a Regulatory Fee removed. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, Mr. Sherman --- Mr. Sherman: Yes, sir. Mr. Sias: --- and this new and improved regulation, is everything correct? Mr. Sherman: I believe so. Mr. Sias: I’ll take your word for it. Mr. Sherman: Okay. Mr. Sias: I move that we approve this and waive the second reading. Mr. Fennoy: Second. Mr. Mayor: I’ve got a motion and a second. Everybody just suspend for a moment. Mr. Sias: Wait until Garrett comes back. It’s got to be unanimous. Mr. Mayor: Well, we’ve got a motion and a second. The Clerk: Who was that, I’m sorry. stth Mr. Mayor: The second came from the 1, from the 4. The Clerk: Okay well, this would be, okay good. Mr. Mayor: Voting. Mr. M. Williams and Mr. Clarke out. Motion Passes 8-1. 12 The Clerk: ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 10. Motion to approve the recommendations from HCD to solicit through and RFP the services of a museum management consultant to assist with the development of the James Brown Gallery in the Penny Saving Bank Building and to determine the highest and best use of the property to this regard. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6. Mr. Hasan: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, my colleagues, you know at the committee cycle we talked about this and not being a museum being more of a gallery. And that being said also we talked about I think the word came up about potentially hiring a consultant to be involved with this. But I think personally I think we ought to go ahead and look at an architect to look at that we already own the property the property belongs to us. And also we talked about for the total funding source we made mention that Director Welcher would be before us by the end of this month if everything goes well and he would be requesting some additional bond money and that bond money could be $3 to $4 million dollars to renovate that facility. So my position here today would be basically just make a motion to receive as information until the point that he comes back and with that and we try to tie this in to do renovations to the building. So I make a motion to receive as information. Mr. D. Williams: Second. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I would just like, I see Ms. Lewis’ deputy in the house. I understand we want to deal with Mr. Welcher primarily on this but we could she if she has any additional information to offer, if that’s possible. Do you have an objection to that? Mr. Mayor: I don’t have any. Mr. Sias: I’m just asking do you have an objection to that? Mr. Hasan: But I would think Mr. Benish Brown is the one who’s been working on this Welcher speak to one speak to both of them so you put them together several months ago. Mr. Sias: Okay so is there any additional update from either can come from Mr. Brown or Ms. Lewis. If not that’s okay as well for an additional update. rd Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 3. Ms. Davis: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. When we had the presentation last week and Mr. Brown was presenting some ideas that they have for a James Brown I guess walking trail that was going to depict albums that are put into the sidewalks. And we had a CVB meeting this week that 13 Commissioner Williams and I were at and they’re ready. I just wanted to make sure that this body realizes when he presented that last week he showed pictures and they’re actually ready to move forward with that so I just didn’t want that to come as any surprise to the Commission because it was kind of presented as just information. But correct me if I’m wrong, Mr. Brown, but ya’ll are ready to go ahead and implement those. So I just wanted to make sure this body didn’t have any questions for Mr. Brown. Mr. Mayor: Mr. Brown, would you come and approach please and just again speak to what rd the Commissioner from the 3 is talking about --- Mr. Brown: Thank you, Mayor and Commissioner --- Mr. Mayor: --- (unintelligible) conversation regarding the James Brown Heritage Trail th along 9 Street and more particularly the issues that have been raised by the Commissioner from th the 9 about this very issue. So again thank you all for that good work as that moves forward. Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown: --- thank you Mayor, members of the Commission Benish Brown with the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Yes, Commissioner Davis, we, we’re certainly ready to move forward. We know that the Commission wants to see progress and we still have some creative work to do some more planning but we just want to make sure we’re on the same page. Ms. Davis: Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to make sure there was no questions for him before they move forward. Thank you. Mr. Brown: Thank you. Mr. Mayor: We’ve got a motion and second just to receive as information without objection. Next item, Madam Clerk. The Clerk: ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 29. Motion to approve Correction of Inequities Created by Compensation Study. (No recommendation from Administrative Services Committee January 28, 2020) Mr. Wiedmeier: So Mr. Mayor and members of --- Mr. Mayor: Hold on. Just take a moment I’ve been out for almost seven, eight, nine days and I’m assuming this is just strictly to your department. Mr. Wiedmeier: --- yes. Mr. Mayor: Okay, fantastic. All right, the Chair recognizes the Chairman of Administrative Services. 14 Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. Mr. Wiedmeier will be making a presentation. We kind of looked over this before but we just hadn’t got to a good understanding of where it needs to be. And I totally concur with him. He’s requesting that some inequities be corrected to and at this time I’ll just with the consent of the Mayor, Mr. Wiedmeier, go ahead and make your presentation. th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 5. Mr. B. Williams: Just a question, Mr. Mayor, could this have been done through the Administrator’s Office without coming here? Mr. Mayor: Well, I’m not the learned attorney today, Attorney Brown --- Mr. Brown: Yes, sir --- Mr. Mayor: --- the question before us is could this simply have been handled administratively or not on the floor? Don’t step into it though. Mr. Brown: --- I don’t have an answer for that question. Mr. Mayor: All right, Administrator Sims. Mr. Sias: Can refer this to the Administrator’s Office then if it don’t work he can come back. Mr. Brown: Let me revisit that answer, Mr. Mayor. It depends upon whether any individual increase that’s --- Mr. Mayor: Over 15% --- Mr. Brown: --- over 15% it may have --- Mr. Mayor: --- correct the question is --- Mr. Brown: --- whether there are any above that would exempt it. Mr. Mayor: --- there’s only one, Director Wiedmeier. Mr. Wiedemeir: Okay, so there are two pieces of this that we felt required Commission approval. Most of this has been done by the Administrator. One employee will be slightly above the 15% threshold that’s within the Administrator’s authority. The second is the budget transfer to accommodate it so that’s why this is before the Commission. Mr. Mayor: So the only reason that your second piece is that it will require a budget transfer into your salary line item. Mr. Wiedmeier: Yes. 15 Mr. Mayor: Okay that’s why it’s coming before the Commission, okay. Mr. Hasan: Motion to approve. Mr. Fennoy: Second. Mr. Mayor: Voting. Mr. M. Williams out. Motion Passes 9-0. The Clerk: ENGINEERING SERVICES 30. Discuss the sub-par customer service provided by the Environmental Services Department. (Requested by Commissioner Sammie Sias) Mr. Mayor: Okay, Mr. Mehall, if you’ll approach the Chair recognizes the Commissioner th from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I’ve had a discussion with the Administrator and Mr. Mehall this was something involving some I guess one of their contractors for different services. So at this time I move that we take this as information. Mr. Hasan: Second. Mr. Mayor: I’ve got a motion and a second without objection, 31. The Clerk: ENGINEERING SERVICES 31. Update from Engineering Department – improved lighting on Ellis Street. (Requested by Commissioner Sammie Sias) th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. This is something that I was going to send back to the Engineering Committee anyway but however since we have a workshop and we can come back we can address this issue then. So at this time I move that we delete it. Mr. Hasan: Second. Mr. Mayor: Motion and a second to delete, voting. Mr. M. Williams out. 16 Motion Passes 9-0. The Clerk: ENGINEERING SERVICES 32. Augusta, GA Central Business District Parking Management Plan Service Area. (Requested by Commissioner Sammie Sias) th Mr. Mayor: The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 4. Mr. Sias: Thank you, sir. I just want to say something here about parking and then as a whole. Parking is something we need. Parking management is something we need in the downtown area however seeing that this program kind of got off I don’t want to say got off track but it was, there wasn’t a lot of clarity to everybody involved with this. So I’m hoping that we can break this down into pieces. One of that first piece would be just at least where we can agree on the area that will be in the management plan, not approving the plan, not approving an ordinance. Just simply says this is an area that will be included in that way any future discussions on this we’ll know what area we’re talking about. So and that’s the part I see, I done forgot what that’s the service area so basically asking that we can approve the service area. And I know Dr. Malik who is working this issue now had already said that that was fine based on their research and work the service area. So at this time I move that we agree, we approve the service area. Mr. Fennoy: Second. Mr. Mayor: Got a motion and a second for the Central Business District Parking Management Service Plan. Mr. Sias: Service area --- Mr. Mayor: Service area. Mr. Sias: --- I want to make sure we’re clear now. Mr. Mayor: As it says on the caption. Motion to approve what’s captioned, voting. Mr. Fennoy, Mr. D. Williams, Ms. Davis, Mr. Sias and Mr. B. Williams vote Yes. Mr. Hasan, Mr. Frantom, Mr. Garrett and Mr. Clarke vote No. Mr. M. Williams out. Motion Fails 5-4. The Clerk: APPOINTMENT(S) 33. Motion to approve the appointment of one from the following nominations from the Richmond County Hospital Authority: 1) Sanford Loyd 17 2) Catherine Knox 3) James Sherman, M.D. th The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 6. Mr. Hasan: I nominate Sanford Loyd. Mr. Clarke: Second. Mr. Mayor: Got a motion and a second. The Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the rd 3. Ms. Davis: Mr. Mayor, I was just curious. Did these nominations come from that authority? I just wanted to see who was the maker of this agenda item. The Clerk: Yes, ma’am, it came from Mr. Davis. I believe he’s the President of the University Hospital. Ms. Davis: Mr. Mayor, can I just ask the Clerk something else too? So are they suggesting one over the others as far as qualifications or just leaving it up to us? The Clerk: What they do is the law that created the Hospital Authority gave the appointing authority to both the hospital and the Commission. The Hospital Authority would make three recommendations to the Commission and the Commission will select out of the three. And what they have been doing in past practices the Commission would always ask if their recommendation from them. They would list the candidates in the order in which they’re recommending so in this case the Authority would be recommending Mr. Sanford Loyd. Ms. Davis: Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Thanks, Madam Clerk. Mr. Mayor: All right, we’ve got a motion and a second. Mr. Sias: I’ve got a question. st Mr. Mayor: Okay, the Chair recognizes the Commissioner from the 1. Mr. Fennoy: (Inaudible). Mr. Mayor: The floor is yours would you speak into the microphone, sir? Mr. Fennoy: At this time is it appropriate to make another nomination? Mr. Mayor: It is appropriate. Mr. Fennoy: I’d like to nominate James Sherman. 18 Mr. Mayor: Who is that, repeat that name please? Mr. Fennoy: James Sherman. Ms. Davis: I’ll second that, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Fennoy: (Unintelligible) question, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor: State your inquiry. Mr. Fennoy: Does one need to have six votes or majority? The Clerk: Oh, well, majority six votes. Mr. Fennoy: Six votes? The Clerk: Yes, sir, would carry today and they will be voted on in the order in which they were nominated. Mr. Mayor: All right, Madam Clerk, roll call vote. Roll call for both of these please. I believe this is the last business that’s before us today. Ms. Davis: Amazing, I wasn’t going to say that but. The Clerk: This vote will be on the nomination of Mr. Sanford Loyd, motion by Mr. Hasan and Mr. Clarke. The Clerk: Mr. Clarke. Mr. Clarke: Yes. The Clerk: Ms. Davis. Ms. Davis: No, ma’am. The Clerk: Mr. Fennoy. Mr. Fennoy: No. The Clerk: Mr. Frantom. Mr. Frantom: Yes. The Clerk: Mr. Garrett. Mr. Garrett: Yes. 19 The Clerk: Mr. Hasan. Mr. Hasan: Yes. The Clerk: Mr. Sias. Mr. Sias: No. The Clerk: Mr. B. Williams. Mr. B. Williams: Yes. The Clerk: Mr. D. Williams. Mr. D. Williams: Yes. The Clerk: Mr. Marion Williams out. Mr. M. Williams out. Motion Passes 6-3. Mr. Mayor: All right, Madam Clerk, I believe that’s all the business that’s before us. This meeting is adjourned. \[MEETING ADJOURNED\] Lena Bonner Clerk of Commission CERTIFICATION: I, Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of The Augusta Richmond County Commission held on February 4, 2020. ______________________________ Clerk of Commission 20