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Home My WebLink AboutMay 17, 2005 meeting - Augusta-Richmond County REGULAR MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER May 17, 2005 Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 2:10 p.m., Tuesday, May 17, 2005, the Honorable Marion Williams, Mayor Pro Tem, presiding. PRESENT: Hons. Hankerson, Smith, Colclough, Grantham, Beard, Cheek, Sims and Boyles, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. ABSENT: Hons. Bob Young, Mayor and Mays, member of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Also Present: Steve Shepard, Attorney; Fred Russell, Administrator; Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission. The Invocation was given by Mr. Leon Banks. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. The Clerk: Mr. Banks, on behalf of the Mayor and the members of the Commission, we would like to express our gratitude for you being here today and petitioning heaven on our behalf. And in honor of that, by these presents, be it known that Leon C. Banks, lay minister of the St. John United Methodist Church, is the Chaplain of the Day, for his civic and spiritual guidance, demonstrated throughout the community, serves as an example for all of the faith community. God bless you and thank you again. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Madame Clerk, recognition? The Clerk: RECOGNITION: B. CONGRATULATIONS! Mr. Lonnie Wimberly (ARC Public Services Department) on earning his degree of Master of Business Administration in Business Administration Management from Brenau University during the Graduation Exercises held Saturday, May 7, 2005. The Clerk: At this time we would like to offer congratulations to Mr. Lonnie Wimberly. Would you please come forward, sir? Mr. Wimberly, on behalf of the Mayor, in his absence, who requested that this recognition be placed on the agenda, the Mayor Pro Tem, and members of the Commission, would like to commend you for your efforts and ability in furthering your education and developing your skills. Mr. Wimberly works with our Augusta-Richmond County Public Services Department. We congratulate him on earning his degree of Masters of Business Administration and Business Administration Management from Brenau University during the graduation exercise held on Saturday, May 7, 2005. Congratulations. 1 (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: Mr. [inaudible], did you want to say something, or Mr. Russell? Mr. Speaker: Good afternoon, everybody. [inaudible] Mr. Wimberly is an example of a great employee. Mr. Wimberly is in charge of all [inaudible] providing motivation, direction and leadership to [inaudible]. He’s doing a great job for us, works from 7:30 to 5 and it takes a person with a lot of fortitude and a lot of drive and motivation to [inaudible] education from 6 o’clock to 10 o’clock at night. This is just one indication of a great employee that has decided to take the next challenge to better himself so that we can better this organization. It’s just a great honor to be affiliated with Mr. Wimberly. He’s going a great job. On behalf of the entire division we congratulate him. Thank you for all your hard work. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: RECOGNITION: A. Employee of the Month Award Lt. Ralph Jenkins Augusta Fire Department The Clerk: We will now recognize our Employee of the Month, Lt. Ralph Jenkins of the Augusta Fire Department, along with Chief Willis and other members of the Fire Department, if you’d like to join the Mayor Pro Tem and the Administrator here up front. The Employee Selection Committee writes: The Employee Selection Committee has selected Ralph Jenkins as the April, 2005 Employee of the Month for the City of Augusta. Mr. Jenkins is a lieutent with the Augusta Fire Department and has worked for the City for 24 years. He works out of Station # 2 located at 1425 Walton Way. Mr. Jenkins was nominated by Deputy Chief Carl Scott for his condition above and beyond the line of duty. On March 9, 2005, Engineer Company #2 was dispatched to the MCG Hospital where an individual had broken out a window on the fifth floor and was dangerously standing on the edge, the ledge above the entrance to the hospital. Lt. Jenkins was harnassed to a safety rope with Sgt. Herbert Smith and Firefighter Michael Hooker assisting, deployed the ledge and negotiated the man within his reach and helped him back into the window. This was a dangerous situation which Lt. Jenkins handled with courageous patience and professionalism. The Committee felt that bsed on Deput Chief Scott’s recommendation and Mr. Jenkins’ dedicated and loyal service to the City of Augsuta, he should be awarded Employee of the Month. We would appreciate you joining us in awarding Lt. Ralph Jenkins Employee of the Month for the month of April. Congrtuatlions, Lt. Jenkins. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Jenkins: [inaudible] 2 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me repeat that. To let Herbert hang out on the ledge with you, you got to be a brave man. We just thank you for all your hard work and we know it takes a special person to be a fireman and I share that with sincerity that everybody can’t do your job. There a lot of people that would like to but they just don’t have the fortitude to be able to deal with it, when you live 24 hours a day with a group of men and to undertake the type job that you are called to do 24 hours a day. It really takes a special person. So we congratulate the entire Fire Department and we certainly congratulate you for your efforts. I know Chief Willis may have something he wanted to say. Mr. Willis: Just like Mr. Williams says, Ralph has been one of our main employees for a number of years and [inaudible] and we are certainly proud to have people like Ralph and the teamwork with all of our firefighters. We have a lot of them standing out in the hall. We work together on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, taking care of our citizens and we’re certainly proud of them and we’re proud of Ralph and certainly congratulate him on this. Thank you. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: PROCLAMATIONS: C. National Public Works Week The Clerk: Engineering Services Committee, come down for this? In honor of our National Public Works Week, In recognition of National Public Works Week, Whereas, public works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizens’ everyday lives, and Whereas, the support of an understanding and informed citizenry is vital to the efficient operation of public works systems and programs, such as the management, oversight and maintenance of apparatus for water, sewers, streets, traffic control, solid waste collection, city owned rights of way and public buildings, as well as trees and landscape beautification efforts, and (Tape 1 ends) (Tape 2 begins) Mr. Russell: [inaudible] try to get you a microphone [inaudible] little bit louder so everybody could hear you. There you go. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: [inaudible] to you and to your staff and to your entire department, as a Commissioner, as the Mayor Pro Tem, along with the other Commissioners, I see the chairman and some of his staff is here. But we want to say congratulations for all that you do. Even though it may seem like the citizens don’t 3 realize and don’t appreciate it, but there are some people who really appreciate all of your hard work that you and your staff do and all that you do. So we want to say again congratulations. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Smith: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I appreciate this group of folks. I’ve got my shirt on that shows that I support the group. And my district, District 8, is the largest district. We’ve got a lot of dirt roads and a lot of trash dumped on the side of them and they are familiar with my phone calls when I call in and they are very efficient and I appreciate everything y’all do. Thank you. Mr. Colclough: Ms. Smith, I’ve been on this Commission about six years and I’ve seen Public Works and all the folks in Public Works do a fantastic job under your leadership and I just want to say congratulations. I’m looking forward to Thursday night. Ms. Smith: I usually don’t say much, at least not in this particular forum, unless I’m asked a question, of course. But I did want to say with this being our Fifth Annual National Public Works Celebration, there are a couple of things I wanted to say. My appointment to the director of Public Works in September of 2000 was the last professional accomplishment that my mother lived to see, as she passed away in October of that same year. Upon being appointed director there were three major things that I had hoped to accomplish within the department. The first was the development of a vision and mission in conjunction with a strategic plan for the department. The second was development of formal policies and procedures for use by our employees. And thirdly, it was to address issues of employee morale that dealt with low salaries, fair and equal opportunity for advancement, and most importantly to demonstrate to our employees that they really are our most valuable resources. The first two were good business practice issues that needed to be addressed and we were successful in doing so. The third and most important was the first and most difficult task that was undertaken. Fortunately I did not have to create or invent anything to start moving forward with accomplishing this particular goal. In February of 2001 I found out about National Public Works Week. This is a program founded by the American Public Works Association to focus and recognize public works for the day-to-day contributions that they make to our society. This year’s theme “Public Works is Everywhere You Look” is a testament of those things and those contributions that we make to the community. With that, I would like to recognize all of the Public Works and Engineering employees that are here with us today. So would everyone that is here please stand? (A round of applause is given.) Ms. Smith: I would like to invite each of you to join us in the remaining activities for this year’s celebration. Tomorrow we have an open house at Augusta Common from 2:00 to 4:00. Thursday night we have our employee appreciation banquet that will be held at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel. And then on Friday we have a closeout event that’s being held at the Boathouse where we are going to do some training. One of the 4 things that we’ve also started to do and have focused on is to give back to the community during this week. In the past we’ve had children from the elementary schools to come out for our open house. We’ve had some contests. We’ve had some writing contests and some other things that we have done. We’ve also added a blood drive. This year, this morning as a matter of fact, we held a blood drive where we had almost 40 participants, both Public Works employees and some citizens that came out to assist. But an expansion of that this morning—as I mentioned my mother passed. She passed of cancer, and the City of Augusta has a Relay for Life team. And this morning I came just off the cuff and asked the employees of Public Works to give us a contribution for the City of Augusta’s Relay for Life activities. And in honor of my mother and in memory of Commissioner Lee Beard, I would like to present $200 from the Augusta Public Works Department. (A round of applause is given.) Ms. Smith: Again, we hope that you will all come out. The activity at the Augusta Common is from 10:00 to 2:00. What did I say it was? It’s from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. We will be shutting down at 2:00 so please don’t come at 2:00. Come between 10:00 and 2:00 p.m. And we have information and displays on the activities that Public Works and Engineering does, and yes, we all recall [inaudible] and are aware that it’s no longer the Public Works and Engineering department. We have Engineering, we have Public Services and we have Solid Wastes. However, we have and will continue to work as a team. Thank you. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: D. National Stroke Awareness Month Ms. Ashley Foster, Miss Augusta 2005 The Clerk: In recognition of the National Stroke Awareness Month, Whereas, every 53 seconds someone in the United States experiences a stroke, and Whereas, a stroke or brain attack is the third leading cause of death in America, killing 160,000 people annually, and Whereas, Georgia is the sixth state leading in deaths due to stroke and is considered the buckle of the stroke belt, which is mostly the southeast. Stroke is the leading cause of disability in America and every year stroke kills twice as many women as breast cancer, and Whereas, there are more than four million stroke survivors in the United States, with 2/3 living with a moderate to severe disability, and Whereas, the United States spends more than $52 billion in direct and indirect costs on stroke, and 5 Whereas, the majority of Americans cannot identify a single symptom of stroke, which includes sudden trouble talking, walking or seeing and sudden severe headaches with no known cause, and Whereas, stroke is one of the most preventable of all life threatening health problems, yet many Americans don’t discuss their stroke risks with their primary health care providers, and Whereas, public awareness of risks and warning signs of stroke is essential to prevention and early treatment. Prompt treatment of stroke can save lives and reduce disability, and Whereas, National Stroke Association celebrates National Stroke Awareness Month in May and urge people to take charge of their health by asking their doctors about stroke risks and adopting healthy lifestyle habits to lower their risks, Now, therefore, I, Bob Young, Mayor of the City of Augusta, do proclaim May as Stroke Awareness Month in Augsuta, Georgia and encourage all citizens to ask their doctors about stroke prevention and warning signs of stroke. In witness where, I have unto set my hand and caused the seal of Augusta, th Georgia to be affixed this 17 day of May, 2005. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ashley, I want to say on behalf of the Mayor, Bob Young, who is not here, we do thank you for your effort, for your awareness, that you will continue to do this for many, many years. We pray and hope that people will take advantage of the message that you’re trying to send out to let them be aware of their health and to inquire. Too many times we often pass stuff by as if it’s nothing. But we need to look at it seriously and know that it can happen to any of us at any time. Thank you very much for all you do. (A round of applause is given.) Ms. Foster: I really do appreciate this time that you have given me to come here today. As they said in the proclamation, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. And National Stroke Awareness Month began by the National Stroke Association probably about five years ago. And I thought it was vital to get everyone around this area in specific to know about strokes because Richmond County, we’re the sixth leading county in the state of Georgia [inaudible]. And this is a very important step, to recognize that we do have a problem. The National Stroke Association has declared this year as Ask Your Doctor [inaudible] promotion and so I encourage you to go ask your doctor what could be your [inaudible] for having a stroke, whether it’s being diabetic, being obese, having it run in your family. It is a genetic disorder. And also your ethnicity or race. African Americans are more prone to have a stroke. And that’s also [inaudible] sickle cell anemia. Right now at the Medical College of Georgia they are doing research with sickle cell anemia patients with the link between sickle cell and with stroke and I must say working with those patients is very heart breaking to see. Three- year-old little girls dying as [inaudible] they’ve having strokes once or twice a week. And we normally think of it as a grandmother’s disease or grandfather’s. I’ve also worked with the elderly. I’ve done a lot of work with the rehab. I want people to know that they don’t need to give up on their future. They need to take charge of their life and 6 make healthy choices now and their future will be much, much brighter. Thank you very much. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Boyles: Mr. Pro Tem, Mr. Pro Tem, if I may? At this year’s Red Carpet Tour at the Masters Tournament, I had a chance to talk to Ashley and we talked about they need some help in trying to get a license plate, a Georgia license plate. And I’m just wondering if we could ask our Clerk if she would place that on our legislative agenda, that it would go to the 2006 General Assembly in support of Ashley and what she’s trying to do. Ms. Foster: [inaudible] (Laughter) Mr. Boyles: Not today. But we need to do that. So if we could forward that resolution up, Ms. Bonner. The Clerk: Okay. Sure will. Mr. Smith: I just want to say thank you to Ms. Foster. She works with stroke patients. I think I’m fixing to have one— (Laughter) Mr. Grantham: Jimmy, you’re always trying to pick on pretty girls. (Laughter) The Clerk: Commissioner, we have some EMTs in the house. (Laughter) The Clerk: E. Emergency Management Week Ms. Debra McKenzie, Rural Metro Ambulance The Clerk: Along with other safety – Ms. McKenzie: [inaudible] The Clerk: In recognition of Emergency Medical Services Week, Whereas, emergency medical services is a vital public service, and 7 Whereas, the members of emergency medical service teams are ready to provide life saving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and Whereas, access to quality emergency care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury, and Whereas emergency medical service providers have traditionally served as a safety net of America’s health care system, and Whereas, emergency medical service teams consist of emergency physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, educators, administrators, and countless others, and Whereas, approximately 2/3 of all emergency medical service providers are volunteers, and Whereas, the members of emergency medical service teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life saving skills, and Whereas, it is appropriate to recognize and value the accomplishments of emergency medical service providers by designating Emergency Medical Service Week, Now, therefore, I, Bob Young, the Mayor of the City of Augusta, do hereby proclaim the week of May 15-21, 2005, as Emergency Medical Service Week in Augusta, Georgia. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: As chairman of Public Safety and the Mayor Pro Tem, I would like to say congratulations to this whole staff, this whole group for all that you do, realizing that you go out sometimes and sometime it’s more [inaudible] than others, you never know what you run into out there when you dealing with emergencies. You get their sometimes and it’s something that people just panicking about, that you can go in and just kind of ease things for them in a few minutes. Sometimes it’s just totally opposite. So we know that you have a rough job. We understand that emergency services is something that people really don’t understand unless you work into it. But I want you to know from the bottom of my heart I appreciate all that you do. I thank you for your time and your effort to put in a job like that. You could have chose another profession. But instead you chose this one, and we just thank God for people like you. Congratulations to you and your whole staff again. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Speaker: On behalf of the employees of Rural Metro, as well as the other EMTs and paramedics that work in the Augusta area, we thank the Augusta Commission, thank you, Mayor Pro Tem and Commission, for recognizing EMS week 2005. Thank you. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: 8 F. PRESENTATION: Mr. Bernard Morgan and Ms. Lynn Brantley (Requested by Commissioner Willie Mays) The Clerk: It was once said that good teams have good coaches and great teams have great ones. This afternoon we’d like to recognize two individuals who fit those descriptions, who have benefited both of these worlds. If you would please allow me to share in some highlights of achievements during their illustrious career of these individuals. Ms. Lynn Brantley, 36 years of teaching and coaching, two years at Hephzibah and 34 years at T.W. Josey, and has coached girls’ track, softball, volleyball and 36 years of basketball. She has 711 wins and 240 losses. Region Champions 10 times. Region Coach of the Year 10 times, Augusta Chronicle Coach of the Year 1987, 1998. Region Coach of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association 10 times. The 1995- 96 J.C. Penney Outstanding Coach of the Year. The 1997-98 Georgia Hall of Fame Coach of the Year. The 2002 Georgia Athletic Coach Association Dwight Keith Award for outstanding role model and outstanding contribution to basketball. Coach Bernard Morgan, 1966 B Varsity Coach, 1975, 1998 basketball varsity coach, First State Champion, four state tournaments, three regional championships, state record 7-3, overall 165 wins, 55 losses. One of the first round NBA draft picks first team players in the Division 1A and 2A NCAA, the 1978 Coach of the Year and the 1978 Georgia Coach All-Star Team. And like many good coaches, you’ve learned how to help your team players maximize their skills and achieve top performance and that is evident in the many awards and recognitions you have received. And excerpt taken from a speech Ms. Brantley gave, “My Incredible Journey,” she states, “The awards that I have received on the journal pale in comparison to the relationships that I have built with hundreds of young people. One day I may forget the accolades but I will never forget each ball player and the love, respect and admiration I have for them.” I believe these words Ms. Brantley speaks are for both she and Mr. Morgan. In honor of their tireless efforts we would like to recognize them. A certificate of recognition presented to Coach Lynn R. Brantley and Coach Bernard Morgan, for your commitment and dedication to the T.W. Joseph Comprehensive High School and our community, by officially naming the James Henry Roundtree Athletic Complex basketball court as the Brantley-Morgan court. The City of Augusta recognizes and applauds your devotion to academic and athletic excellence. Congratulations. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Brantley and Mr. Morgan, I [inaudible] sports, I don’t know anything at all about sports. But I can say to Coach, for those many years and those teams that you coached, you had to be more than just a coach. You had to be a mother and a father, a friend, you had to control some people, you had to encourage some people who wanted to give up I know on the way. But I just thank God for people like you who have the fortitude to stand and stay with people who want to give up and didn’t think they could be successful in anything. So I know now that you’ve touched their lives in sport, but you touched their lives [inaudible] taught them and things you showed 9 them. So again, congratulations and we pray that God continue to bless you for many, many years to come. Thank you again. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Morgan: I would just like to thank the Commission for this great honor. I’m looking at Ms. Beard. Ms. Beard was a championship basketball player when I first started teaching at Lucy Laney. They won a state championship for Lucy Laney. I [inaudible] that but it was a great pleasure for me for a few years at Josey and we had great kids, great athletes. I’m just happy to be a part of that. Ms. Brantley: I would also like to thank the county Commissioners and the Mayor for this wonderful presentation. As I said in my speech, I’ve been on an incredible journey. And every year my husband of 45 years asks me is this year? And I always tell him yes. And I always come back. I cannot imagine my life without coaching and teaching the wonderful young people at T.W. Josey. I have been blessed. I found out a long time ago that the way to break all kind of barriers is to be able to love and accept love. And I have been blessed all of my life with these wonderful young people. And everybody asks me when I’m going to retire and I tell them I’m not. I’m just going to die. Thank you. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: Ms. Brantley? Mr. Mays wanted—he had requested that this placed on and Commissioner Hankerson asked me if I was wearing this green jacket in honor of Tiger. And I said no, that I was representing Commissioner Mays and T.W. Josey with the green. (Laughter) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Bonner, where are we now? The Clerk: DELEGATIONS: G. Mr. Barry White, Executive Director Augusta Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau Re: AMCVB’s Branding Summary Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Barry, come and give us your name and address for the record. Mr. White: Barry White, executive director of the Augusta Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau located in Enterprise Mill on Greene Street. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I appreciate you allowing, letting us be here today and all members of the Commission, thank you for allowing us this time to come present. All the recognitions and 10 proclamations we’ve heard certainly make us proud to live in Augusta and to work in Augusta. I want to talk to you a little bit about how proud we are to help make Augusta a great place to visit. In the past year we adopted a new branding campaign at the CVB. And Commissioners Hankers and Boyles sit on our board, representing you, the Commission, and they’ve heard some of this before, so if you’ll bear with me as we go through it again, I wanted to make sure we shared this with everybody here. A few years ago we set out and conducted a lot of research to tell us what we need to be doing, how we need to be positioning ourselves in the mind of a visitor. It became apparent after some significant research done by Georgia Tech and another group called North Star Destination Strategies that we’ve got to capitalize on golf. We’ve got to embrace golf and use golf as a hook to tell people what else there is to see and do in the Augusta area. Tell them about our culture, our atmosphere, our history and our heritage. We need to treat that relationship with golf in a way that’s going to attract people who play golf, people who try to play golf, and people who have never heard of golf before in their lives. So we want to appeal to everybody. We’ve had some examples such as some headlines—“Not All Water is Considered a Hazard”—be the headline of an ad, then going in and talk about the canal and the river and the swamp and the great water attractions that we have. They suggested a new tag line that we would use, which is “I Played Augusta, Georgia.” And that would work at a great many levels and that’s what we’ve incorporated in a tag line. Implementing this you can see a couple of our ads up here. One is “Not All Groups Come as Foursomes.” Again, a golf related ad that was used in a military reunion publication and we co-opd that with some other attractions in town. And then this one right here is an example of the “Not All Water is Considered a Hazard” campaign. We’ve created a new logo which incorporated golf into our name and we’re using the tag line “I Played Augusta, Georgia” in merchandising opportunities such as tee shirts and stickers that we have copies and samples for you here today. We’ve thing we’ve also incorporated into every single publication that we’re doing, a visitor guide, everything that we do, and our new website. I want to show you a few slides from the website that we’re using to attract visitors to Augusta. You know, about 80% or 85% of the people who travel now are going to the web to learn and research about the destinations to which they go. So we’ve put a lot of money and a lot of time and effort into creating a website that we think represents Augusta well. We’ve got a grant from the State Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism for over $25,000 to help pay for this website. So in addition to the money we get from the hotel tax, we had $25,000 to work on this website. Go through a couple of quick slides. Maps. We have a new map, which is a very interactive map. It has a downtown area. I encourage you at your leisure to go on www.augustaga.org, our website, to go on here and check it out. And you click on lodging, it will put all the hotels. You can zoom out, zoom in, click on attractions and move the map around. Dining, it throws all the restaurants in. It’s a very interactive map and each can be printed out. You can customize this. If you’re planning a trip a trip to Augusta you can go in and click and highlight which restaurants, which hotel, which attractions you want to see and then print out your map and have it in hand when you come here. Calendar of events. Visible right on our home page. If you go in this calendar of events you can search, you can tell everything there is to see and do. This is updated daily and weekly. You can do a search by days. You can go into the calendar, you can also do a search by word, if you want to, if there’s a particular word 11 you want to look for. You can go in and do key words and searches and find that event under what to see and do for visitors. Attractions, museums. You can search here. For attraction, if you went down to whatever attraction, you can map the attraction and it takes you to that attraction and shows you where that is on the map, when you find out what you want to see and the description, take that route. It shows where the canal interpretative center is. One other area, we have sections for meetings and event planners. Shows off the facilities, the square footage, and you can even download a PDF of our facilities guide. A little quicker. In the media section, [inaudible] people could come in and write stories about. We also have a photograph section. You can zoom in and click and get images when you’re writing that story for Southern Living or some other place you can go on and get images of Augusta to put with your story. Just wanted to give you an idea of what the new website is like. And then finally we’ve got some handouts. We’ve got a quarterly report that was requested last time we negotiated our professional services agreement, that we’d provide a quarterly report. So we’ve got that. Great news in there. The first three months we’ve had over $17 million worth of visitor spending due to conventions and meetings in January through March. Hotel revenues is up 18% so we’ve seen a tremendous turnaround there. And please take your time and read through this and if you have any questions at all please feel free to call us or talk with Commissioner Hankerson or Boyles. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Can I get a motion to receive as information? Ms. Sims: I so move. Ms. Beard: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Been a motion, properly seconded. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Cheek out. Motion carries 8-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Barry, thank you very much for your presentation. Mr. White: Thank you very much. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ll look through this package. Thank you again. Next, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: H. Mr. Charles Utley, President Hyde and Aragon Park Improvement Committee Re: Conditions of housing, flooding and abandoned properties. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Utley, give us your name address for the record, please. 12 Mr. Utley: Charles Utley, 3417 Sutton Place, Augusta 30906. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Utley, what do you want us to know this afternoon? Mr. Utley: Well, I guess I’m getting to be a regular down here. The only reason we came today is because of the news we’ve heard. And let me say first of all I thank this Commission for even allowing us to come and be before you this afternoon. We’re coming simply because you know if you’re cooking on a stove and things begin to get lukewarm it’s because the oven have been cut off or the [inaudible] has been lowered down. But since I’ve been here in I noticed there were a lot of issues that were taken up. One thing I was proud to note that there is a war going on for cancer, because we have 286 deaths in our community as of five years ago. We notice you had the EMS, some things going on for emergency medical care service. We’re glad they’re there because we need them daily. And also glad they are walking for sickle cell because that is a disease that plagues mostly among Blacks. And I was glad to see my coaches from T.W. Josey because I was in the Class of ’66. So as I sat here and watched them I saw the Visitors Bureau. This whole community has now embarked upon bringing a [inaudible] to the city. We had tried to bring the national but there were not enough hotels and we were working with the visitor bureau as well as the visitors center to make sure when the national came we would have rooms for them. And I’m glad to see that was discussed. And I’m also concerned about Hyde Park, Aragon Park and Virginia Subdivision. I didn’t hear them being discussed. And not only that because we are here because I did hear when you—when I say you I don’t know in particular—you are considering another neighborhood [inaudible]. We’re concerned. What happened to Hyde Park? What happened to Virginia Subdivision? We have been coming down here. I know my mother was back in 1968 when we just wanted toilets. We wanted flush water. We wanted running water. We came down and now we’ve been asking for relocation. Floods, contamination, floods, abandoned houses. All of this day in and day out. The people here, sitting here, they have been wondering themselves how long before we are going to have the heat turned up on our community. And we find out these communities are being bought out, where does that money come from we [inaudible] a few weeks ago asking you to consider Hyde Park for a relocation? But all of a sudden money came up. [inaudible] we’ve gone to the Governor, we’ve gone to Zell Miller, we’ve gone to Congress, we’ve gone to Cynthia McKinney before she moved, and we’re going to continue to go and we’re going to be that thorn in the side if we may be, but we need for you to take seriously what we are trying to do as a community. And we notice [inaudible] pictures [inaudible] Pittsburgh just like Hyde Park. They revitalized them, they moved them, and they made it a viable place for children to grow and develop to their fullest potential. But our sign says hazardous to those that are playing in the ditch. And it’s time not for those signs to be in our neighborhood. So I’m asking that you consider—not saying that those areas are not needed—they’re abandoned, they’re boarded up, and they look bad. But do they come and ask you for it? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Utley, let me interrupt just for a second. What are you asking for this— 13 Mr. Utley: I’m asking that whatever you are using for the Dover and the Lyman Street, why couldn’t some of that be put in Hyde Park, Aragon Park and Virginia Subdivision? I’m asking why all of a sudden these areas become important when they have been out there for all of their lives. And to me and to them it looks as though we were overlooked. And we don’t want to be continuously overlooked. And like I said, we’re not saying it’s not a bad area, it’s not a blighted area. It is. But how did they get in front of Hyde Park, Aragon Park, Virginia Subdivision is my question. And we’ve also had a petition signed and we have others that are coming on and that you’ll get later. And I’d just like to give them to Ms. Bonner. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I see Commissioner Hankerson’s hand. He’s got a question. Mr. Utley, hold up. Commissioner Hankerson? Mr. Hankerson: Right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. It wasn’t in the form of a question but as I was hearing him speak and address those particular subdivisions that we all are very familiar with and as you did say [inaudible] signs saying not to play in the ditch or not to work in the ditches and so forth in the Hyde Park area, the Virginia Subdivision and the [inaudible] Subdivision, the one we spoke on a couple of weeks ago, I spoke to Mr. John Rosenthal. As a matter of fact he came to Augusta. I met with him on something else but the conversation came up. I know we have the brownfield committee. Commissioner Williams, I know that you’ve been active in that, too, in that area. I think that what we need to do is have him to come back to the Engineering Services Committee and invite Mr. Rosenthal down because he had a lot of ideas how he could bring some money, brownfield money into this city, may make that possible move forward doing what he’s saying, is relocation and so forth. I know you have been working on that brownfield project over there at the Goldbergs’ and cleared that up and so forth and it’s a lot of money out there now in the brownfield. I would ask that if the Clerk would put that on the agenda to come back to the Engineering Services Committee and we could discuss it in detail and maybe as the Commissioners we could decide that we could take on that brownfield program. Because I think it’s finished with Goldberg but we need to look at some other areas that is contaminated and I think it’s possible that we can do that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me ask how many people are with Mr. Utley. If y’all can just stand and we can get a count of how many people are here in opposition of what’s going on. Mr. Utley: Commissioner Hankerson is correct. We’ve brought in over $12 million in those areas generated by this community. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: When Mr. Utley contacted me, I explained to him I didn’t know where the money came from. I was aware of the Dover and Lyman Street processes being done. Hyde Park has been there and I been [inaudible] Mr. Utley about the conditions over there for many, many years. I commend your community for coming. It’s time for you to stand up and be heard for that area. There is a sickness in that area 14 when children have to play with the conditions that this facility been in for a long time. Commissioner Hankerson mentioned about putting it on the agenda. We need to look at it. We been told, I’ve been told for almost six years that something is going to happen to Hyde Park and nothing happened yet. Now Dover Street came up in six months ago and something happened already. So I think it’s time to see something done with that area and not just talk. The brownfield is something had you not taken the initiative to create and get something done, along with the Mayor—I want to give the Mayor his credit as well. But a lot of talk, a lot of talk. And every day, Mr. Utley, and I remember when you was at Josey and you had black hair then. But time is changing. Mr. Utley: We both had it. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: That’s right. You didn’t have to say that. (Laughter) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: But time is changing, time is steady getting by us, and we need to do something. And I commend your community for coming and asking those questions and I think you need to continue to ask those questions because if I go to the doctor and I been there for two hours and somebody walks in and going to be treated ahead of me, then I’m going to feel like I’m discriminated against. I think it’s only fair. You’ve been there for a long, long time and y’all stayed, y’all didn’t leave, y’all still paid taxes. You don’t have the best looking neighborhood but still you still there, you’re still trying to survive, you still want to—you’re still an active taxpayer and we need to treat So we’ll receive this as information if I can get a motion and put it on you as such. the agenda to talk about it in our committee. Ms. Sims: So move. Mr. Boyles: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Been a motion, properly seconded. All those in favor—Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: I have a statement I’d like to make. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Go ahead. Ms. Beard: Mr. Utley, I want you to know I know what your community and you are going through, but I want this entire body to know that the problem we have is not just your area. We have a nasty blighted area in the inner city. Now, I understanding you wanting and putting yours on the agenda. That’s fine. But I have also aksed that the Bethlehem area be placed on the agenda. Now, the real problem here is a lot of people really don’t know the problems of the inner city. And the problem is not going to be solved with the small amount of money when you look at the overall picture going into the Dover Street area. I didn’t fight the Dover Street area even though ever since I’ve 15 been on this Commission I’ve been concerned about the inner city. Why? Because it was the first time I saw them building it back. And I said I want to watch you do this because I want you to look at the Bethlehem neighborhood and then you mentioned your neighborhood. We may need to look at where funds are going in the city of Augusta. Right now we’re looking at doing a $100 million arena. What could we do with that in the inner city? So maybe that’s what we need to be fighting for. More funds for the entire inner city. And not divide ourselves. Mr. Utley: And that’s one of the things we would like for this body to know. We generated, the community itself, over $12 million for the city of Augusta and introduced the brownfield to the city, which has generated not only this, and I don’t want to get off it, but I noticed in today’s paper, that the Mayor presented a plaque in Washington. We brought that to you about six months ago [inaudible] to Savannah River Site that it would travel through your railroad tracks down here in Augusta. We’re just saying a lot of these issues we’ve already brought up to you. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Hankerson? Mr. Hankerson: I’m going to be very brief. I think one thing we need to have some clarity here on, on understanding the funds that are being used. There’s a difference in the funds of what I was speaking of for brownfield. That’s for hazardous. There’s a lot of new money out there but you can’t use brownfield money for Dover or Turpin Hill or any other area unless it’s contaminated. This is some new money here, what I’m speaking of, to bring to the committee that we need to look at the money that is available from the federal government for the brownfield program. Millions and millions of dollars are available and is waiting but we as Commissioners must come together, we must organize [inaudible] as Rev. Utley has been doing, as Mr. Rosenthal has been doing, and put these guys to work and [inaudible] to bring the money in and it’s not going to cost this city a dime. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Boyles? Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem. Rev. Utley, is it the desire of the residents of Hyde Park to be relocated? Mr. Utley: Yes, sir. Mr. Boyles: Do you recall, you and I worked together on this, side by side, a little section of this city called Savannah Place? Mr. Utley: That’s correct. Mr. Boyles: When that collapsed the way it did and how quickly we were able because it was a hazardous condition to get the residents out of there and relocated? Mr. Utley: Right. 16 Mr. Boyles: We need to go back probably and check where that source of funding came from, but it should be there. Mr. Utley: You’re right. Mr. Boyles: I just never did realize that that was the ultimate goal of Hyde Park, was to be relocated. I thought it was go get everything taken care of. But again, it looks like a hazardous situation from the ditches and whatever. And you know I’ve been over there many times. It’s not ever going to improve, so relocation is probably the only answer. Mr. Utley: [inaudible] Goldberg site could only be cleaned up to industrial. It was too dirty to go [inaudible]. Mr. Boyles: [inaudible] Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me say I’ve got a picture of Hyde Park back in the early 60’s, maybe even in the early 50’s, and I never been to Vietnam, Charles, but I can’t imagine— Mr. Utley: I went. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: --I can’t imagine Vietnam looking any worse than the area looked and it hasn’t gotten much better even now. And I commend these people who live and stayed there cause they had no other place to go. Now, Dover and Lyman, I agree that’s an area that need to be—something need to be done. But I say again that if you was in line first, if you sick, if you need some assistance, all this new money out there, all the old money that been here, ain’t nobody did anything yet. And I’m looking to see somebody do something for a community who’s been struggling, who’s been stricken with grief and just all the negative things that you can have, from children not being able to go in their own back yards. And you talk about the cancer victims that passed in Hyde Park, just alone. We don’t know what the people sitting out here may be dealing with now. So it’s vitally important. And if you don’t wave the flag, if you don’t stand up, if you don’t say nothing you certainly won’t get nothing. So we are going to go on and try to carry this morning. I got a motion and a second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting, to put it on the committee, to come back to Engineering Services. Mr. Cheek out. Motion carries 8-0. Mr. Utley: Thank you. The Clerk: Mr. Utley, that meeting is Tuesday, May 31 at 3:00 o’clock. 17 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next? The Clerk: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, Ms. Sims had requested through the Mayor’s office: RECOGNITION: Richmond Academy Soccer Team The Clerk: They are here. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let’s go ahead and do that. The Clerk: Ms. Sims, Mr. Grantham, the Mayor Pro Tem, Mr. Russell, would you please? In recognition of the 2005-2005 State Champion Richmond Academy Musketeers, a certificate of achievement for contributing to the Academy of Richmond High School Musketeers Men’s Soccer Team and winning the 2005 Class AAA Championship, the city of Augusta recognizes and applauds your athletic achievements. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: Record year. Repeat. Repeat. Way to go. Paul Menk, a senior. Please come forward. Peter, Peter Menk. I’m sorry. John Paul Wilcox. Sean Audry. Conner. I’m sorry. Conner. Mitch Smith. Chris Smith. Will Weston. Austin Moss. Hodges Usry. Trevor Whitehead. Trevor? Trevor’s not here? Luigi Committi. Not here? Okay. [inaudible]. Parker Rogers. Remer Brinson. Mark Quintez Jackson. Oh, he’s not here? Mr. Will Batson. Mike Smith. Marquez Jackson. Marshall McKnight. Mike Cardero. Jeff Shurtleff. Will Fletcher. And to the head coach of these students, Chris Hughes. (A round of applause is given.) The Clerk: Mr. Hughes, we recognize you for contributing to the Academy of Richmond County High School Musketeers Men’s Soccer Team and winning the 2005 AAA State Championship. We recognize and applaud your coaching achievements. This is a great team; right? (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Hughes: First of all we’d like to thank the city of Augusta. For the last two years we’ve kind of been on a great run and we’ve got a lot support from the city, a lot of support from the city Administrators and just the people of this community. So it’s greatly appreciated. It’s real easy to coach such a fine young group of men. It’s a testament to them, it’s a testament to their families and they’re just fun to be around. The best thing about these young men is not only are they champions on the field for the last two years but they are champions in the classroom. These guys are great student athletes 18 and it’s remarkable what they’ve done, and they deserve all the praise and accolades they’re getting. So we appreciate it. (A round of applause is given.) Ms. Sims: We want to thank you and we want to thank you fellows for bringing us another win. So whoever is not a senior this year, y’all have got a lot to do next year and we’re looking forward to you coming back again. I would be remiss if I did not also mention that Aquinas soccer team won their AA Championship. (A round of applause is given.) Ms. Sims: So we want to be sure that Aquinas gets their recognition and I believe in a couple of weeks we will be able to present them. But thank you for coming down today. It’s the last day of school and they left exam, hopefully acing everything. And we thank you boys for coming. Mr. Grantham: Thank you very much. Having walked the same halls you guys are walking right now, having been in the same shoes as a state champion in baseball and in others, I know how you feel and I know how much it means to you. But let me tell you, it’s going to mean more to you in the future for having accomplished what you did. And as you go in life, you’ll take this with you and it’s something you can always been proud of. I appreciate Ms. Sims doing this and all these moms and dads to come down and see these fine young men and what they have accomplsiehd. Thank you very much. (A round of applause is given.) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Bonner, consent agenda is next? The Clerk: I. Downtown Development Authority Mr. Chris Naylor, Executive Director Re: Parking Study The Clerk: The Downtown Development Authority asked that the item be deleted from the agenda and be rescheduled at a later date. Item I. The delegation from the Downtown Development Authority. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: No objection to taking it off. The Clerk: The consensus of the body? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: The consensus of the body. The Clerk: Okay. 19 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ll go into our consent agenda, Madame Clerk. The Clerk: Our consent agenda consists of items 1 through 26, items 1 through 26. For the benefit of any objectors to our planning petitions, once the petitions are read, if there are any objections, would you please signify your objection by raising your hand? Zoning Petitions: PLANNING: 1. Z-05-39 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Jeanine Bayiha Everett requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (h) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a Family Personal Care Home affecting property located at 2350 Richwood Drive and containing .37 acres. (Tax map 167 Parcel 353) DISTRICT 6 2. Z-05-41 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Jacquelyne Telgren requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (f) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a Family Day Care Home affecting property located at 2708 Lumpkin Road and containing .24 acres (Tax Map 96-2 Parcel 125) DISTRICT 5 3. Z-05-43 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the condition that the minimum building line on all lots fronting Mayo Road be no less than 30 feet; a petition by Johnson Laschober & Associates, on behalf of Charles D. Bourne, requesting a Special Exception in an R-1A (One-family Residential) Zone per Section 9-2 (a) to allow greater flexibility for a proposed detached single-family residential subdivision not to exceed 4 units per acre in density affecting property located at 2715 Mayo Road and containing 5.33 acres. (Tax Map 6 Parcel 13) DISTRICT 7 4. Z-05-44 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Latter Rain Deliverance Church requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (a) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a church with day care activities affecting property located at 2323 Golden Camp Road and containing 4 acres. (Tax Map 69-4 Parcel 54) DISTRICT 5 5. Z-05-45 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the following conditions 1) that if the salvage yard should cease to exist the zoning shall revert to B-1 and LI, 2) that no HI use of the property except a salvage yard be allowed and 3) that any other use be only those allowed under the current B-1 and LI zones; a petition by John T. Gibbs, III, on behalf of Nelle B. Gibbs, requesting a change of zoning from Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) and Zone LI (Light Industry) to Zone HI (Heavy Industry) with a Special Exception to bring an existing salvage yard into zoning conformance per Section 24-2 (16) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for 20 Augusta-Richmond County affecting property located at 329 Sand Bar Ferry Road and containing 27.22 acres. (Tax Map 61-2 Parcel 1) DISTRICT 1 6. Z-05-46 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Woody Belangia, on behalf of Edward Sikes, requesting a change of zoning from Zone A (Agriculture) to Zone R- 1E (One-family Residential) to approve a single-family attached housing concept affecting property located on the northern portion of 3745 Old Waynesboro Road and containing approximately 24 acres. (Tax map 170 Part of Parcel 3.01) DISTRICT 8 7. Z-05-47 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Lata Development Corporation requesting a change of zoning from Zone HI (Heavy Industry) to Zone B-2 (General Business) affecting property located at 1238 Gordon Highway and containing 3.17 acres. (Tax Map 60 Parcel 11.1) DISTRICT 1 8. Z-05-48 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the condition that a 20 foot vegetative buffer that conforms to the Augusta-Richmond County Tree Ordinance be constructed and maintained on the north property line (perpendicular to Peach Orchard Road); a petition by Rebecca Wall, on behalf of Ferrell Gas LP, et al., requesting a change of zoning from Zone LI (Light Industry) and Zone R-1A (One-family Residential) to Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) with a Special Exception to allow a commercial building that would have in excess of 15,000 square feet and a Resolution per Section 21-1 (d) to add a furniture store as a permitted use in a B-1 Zone affecting property located at 3439, 3441, 3443, 3445 and 3447 Peach Orchard Road and containing 3.7 acres. (Tax Map 133 Parcels 10, 11, 12, 13, & 14) DISTRICT 6 9. Z-05-49 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Malisa Copenhaver, on behalf of Alonzo P. Boardman, Trustee, requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1C (One- family Residential) to Zone P-1 (Professional) affecting property located at 2708 Wheeler Road and containing .18 acres. (Tax Map 33-2 Parcel 101) DISTRICT 1 10. Z-05-51 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the following conditions 1) that the only B-2 uses of the property be a plant nursery or an antiques and consignment shop and 2) the only other use of the property be those allowed under B-1 zoning; a petition by Georgia P. Mandarini, on behalf of Betty A. Pender, requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1B (One-family Residential) and Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) to Zone B-2 (General Business) affecting property located at 2841 Central Avenue and containing .88 acres. (Tax Map 43-2 Parcels 64.01 & 65) DISTRICT 3 The Clerk: Are there any objectors to those planning petitions? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Are you objecting? Which one are you objecting to, sir? Mr. Speaker: Item 6. The Clerk: Okay. We’ll pull that one. 21 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ll call you up in just one minute. We just need to note that you object. The Clerk: We have no alcohol petitions. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: No alcohol petitions. Gentlemen, what’s your pleasure? Ms. Sims: I make a motion to approve. Mr. Grantham: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second to approve. Let’s go ahead and vote and then we’ll pull those items that we need to pull. The Clerk: You need to pull first. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Okay. We got a motion and second now. We’ll go ahead and pull those items you want off the agenda. Mr. Smith: Item 6, Mr. Pro Tem. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Number 6. Anybody else? Ms. Beard: Number 5, I believe. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’d like to see about item 13, item 15, 18 and 21. Also, Madame Clerk, item 23. I need to pull that one as well, get some clarification on some of this stuff. Mr. Boyles: How deep are we going into the consent agenda? I thought—how far as we going? To item 26? The Clerk: Yes, sir, those are the consent items. Ms. Beard: I have a couple more. Item 14, 16 and 22. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Anybody else? Commissioner Hankerson? Mr. Hankerson: 12. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Shepard? Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem and members of the Commission, you may want to consider adding to the consent agenda number 40, the lease agreement for the victim/witness office for the State Court Solicitor. 22 ATTORNEY: 40. Approve Lease Agreement with Rex Properties for 409 Watkins Street Office-Victim/Witness Assistance Program – State Court Solicitor’s Office. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Is there any objection to adding item 40 to the consent agenda? None heard. Then we’ll add item 40 to the consent. Mr. Boyles: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, sir? Mr. Boyles: From the Finance Committee, item 30, 31, and 34, if we could add those. Mr. Cheek had a question on 34 and he met with Mr. Sherrouse and they got that straight. If we could just consent that. And item 33, I’d like for us to refer that back to committee because I don’t think we’ve got enough time today to listen to what we have on that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I can agree with 31 and 32. I need some discussion on 34, Mr. Boyles. So if you want to add item 31 and 32 to the consent. Mr. Boyles: Item 30, also, that’s just an audit schedule. That’s just a normal, routine thing that we do. That would be item 30, 31, 32. Refer item 33 back to committee. And then we’ll hear item 34 at your request. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Madame Clerk, I have no problem with that. Have you got that? Item 30 I may need to look at that, Mr. Boyles. That’s the approval of the internal auditor’s schedule for 2005. Mr. Boyles: I think the finance director is here. He could probably explain it to us. Yes, sir, there’s a regular, set audit schedule that we go through. I believe it’s in the backup information. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I need to hear from the finance director on item 30, Madame Clerk, so we need to pull that. Mr. Boyles: It’s in the backup information. FINANCE: 31. Approve the acquisition of Two (2) All-Terrain Forklifts for the Utilities Department – Water Production Division – one (1) for Hicks Filter Plant and one for Central Avenue Filter Plant from Dougherty Equipment Company of Evans, Georgia, for $25,053.00 each (lowest bid offer on Bid 05-076A). 32. Review first quarter March 31, 2005 fiscal year operating statements and accept as information. 23 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Madame Clerk, I’ve got items 5, 6, 12, 14, 16, 22, 13, 15, 18, 21 and 23 to be pulled. The Clerk: Yes, sir. And we’re adding to the consent agenda items 40, 31, 32. Referring back to committee item 33. And pulling item 34. Did you have some discussion on that, you said? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, item 34. I need to hear a little bit about the grant that we getting, exactly what that is. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS: PLANNING: 1. Z-05-39 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Jeanine Bayiha Everett requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (h) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a Family Personal Care Home affecting property located at 2350 Richwood Drive and containing .37 acres. (Tax map 167 Parcel 353) DISTRICT 6 2. Z-05-41 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Jacquelyne Telgren requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (f) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a Family Day Care Home affecting property located at 2708 Lumpkin Road and containing .24 acres (Tax Map 96-2 Parcel 125) DISTRICT 5 3. Z-05-43 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the condition that the minimum building line on all lots fronting Mayo Road be no less than 30 feet; a petition by Johnson Laschober & Associates, on behalf of Charles D. Bourne, requesting a Special Exception in an R-1A (One-family Residential) Zone per Section 9-2 (a) to allow greater flexibility for a proposed detached single-family residential subdivision not to exceed 4 units per acre in density affecting property located at 2715 Mayo Road and containing 5.33 acres. (Tax Map 6 Parcel 13) DISTRICT 7 4. Z-05-44 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Latter Rain Deliverance Church requesting a Special Exception per Section 26-1 (a) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County to establish a church with day care activities affecting property located at 2323 Golden Camp Road and containing 4 acres. (Tax Map 69-4 Parcel 54) DISTRICT 5 5. Deleted from the consent agenda. 6. Deleted from the consent agenda. 7. Z-05-47 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Lata Development Corporation requesting a change of zoning from Zone HI (Heavy Industry) to Zone B-2 (General Business) affecting property located at 1238 Gordon Highway and containing 3.17 acres. (Tax Map 60 Parcel 11.1) DISTRICT 1 24 8. Z-05-48 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the condition that a 20 foot vegetative buffer that conforms to the Augusta-Richmond County Tree Ordinance be constructed and maintained on the north property line (perpendicular to Peach Orchard Road); a petition by Rebecca Wall, on behalf of Ferrell Gas LP, ET. al., requesting a change of zoning from Zone LI (Light Industry) and Zone R-1A (One-family Residential) to Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) with a Special Exception to allow a commercial building that would have in excess of 15,000 square feet and a Resolution per Section 21-1 (d) to add a furniture store as a permitted use in a B-1 Zone affecting property located at 3439, 3441, 3443, 3445 and 3447 Peach Orchard Road and containing 3.7 acres. (Tax Map 133 Parcels 10, 11, 12, 13, & 14) DISTRICT 6 9. Z-05-49 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Malisa Copenhaver, on behalf of Alonzo P. Boardman Trustee, requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1C (One- family Residential) to Zone P-1 (Professional) affecting property located at 2708 Wheeler Road and containing .18 acres. (Tax Map 33-2 Parcel 101) DISTRICT 1 10. Z-05-51 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the following conditions 1) that the only B-2 uses of the property be a plant nursery or an antiques and consignment shop and 2) the only other use of the property be those allowed under B-1 zoning; a petition by Georgia P. Mandarini, on behalf of Betty A. Pender, requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1B (One-family Residential) and Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) to Zone B-2 (General Business) affecting property located at 2841 Central Avenue and containing .88 acres. (Tax Map 43-2 Parcels 64.01 & 65) DISTRICT 3 11. ZA-R-171 – A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve an Amendment to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County amending Section 20, Professional Zone, to provide for office or professional use which is similar in character to those listed to be permitted upon resolution if the Planning Commission deems fit. PUBLIC SERVICES: 12. Deleted from the consent agenda. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES: 13. Deleted from the consent agenda. 14. Deleted from the consent agenda. 15. Deleted from the consent agenda. 16. Deleted from the consent agenda. 17. Motion to approve the CDBG, HOME, ESG Program Grant, HOPWA Funding Approval Agreements for the Fiscal years 2005-2009 in association with the Consolidated Plan and Fiscal Year 2005 Annual Action Plan. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee May 9, 2005) ENGINEERING SERVICES: 18. Deleted from the consent agenda. 25 19. Motion to approve resolution requesting a road name change of a portion of Frontage Road (between the Columbia County line at Flowing Wells Road and Wheeler Road at Interstate Parkway) to Interstate Parkway. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) 20. Motion to approve Construction Project Budget Change No. One (CPB 323- 04-299823999) for the Augusta Council Regional Flood Control Feasibility Study in the amount of $252,352 to be funded from SPLOST Phase III Recapture. Also authorize the Engineering Department to release funds in increments as requested by the Corps of Engineers. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) 21. Deleted from the consent agenda. 22. Deleted from the consent agenda. 23. Deleted from the consent agenda. 24. Motion to approve recommendation of the Director of Engineering with an update to the committee at the next committee meeting relative to the concept plan for the Walton Way Extension Storm Drain Improvements Project (CPB #322-04- 204822378) and authorize the Engineering Department to proceed with developing construction plans for Alternative Number Three. Also approve the construction project budget in the amount of $445,000 to be funded from SPLOST Phase I Recapture and Phase II ($55,000) Recapture Funds. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS: 25. Motion to approve minutes of the regular meeting of the Commission held May 3, 2005 and Special Called Meeting held May 9, 2005. APPOINTMENT: 26. Motion to approve the appointment of Mr. Lawton Wylds to the Augusta Ports Authority representing District 8. FINANCE: 31. Approve the acquisition of Two (2) All-Terrain Forklifts for the Utilities Department – Water Production Division – one (1) for Hicks Filter Plant and one for Central Avenue Filter Plant from Dougherty Equipment Company of Evans, Georgia, for $25,053.00 each (lowest bid offer on Bid 05-076A). 32. Review first quarter March 31, 2005 fiscal year operating statements and accept as information. ATTORNEY: 40. Approve Lease Agreement with Rex Properties for 409 Watkins Street Office-Victim/Witness Assistance Program-State Court Solicitor’s Office. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All those in favor, let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Cheek out. 26 Motion carries 8-0. [Items 1-4, 7-11, 17, 19-20, 24-26, 31-32, 40] 33. Discuss responses from financial institutions in Richmond County on their contributions to Richmond County on Community Reinvestment Act. (No objection to referring this item back to the Finance Committee) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Our first item I think is item 5, is that right? Ms. Beard? The Clerk: You’ve got an objector here for item 6. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, we’ve got someone. Let’s go on on that one. We’ve got one person here for item number 6, if Ms. Beard don’t mind. We’ll go ahead and get this. We had somebody objecting to item 6. The Clerk: 6. Z-05-46 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve a petition by Woody Belangia, on behalf of Edward Sikes, requesting a change of zoning from Zone A (Agriculture) to Zone R- 1E (One-family Residential) to approve a single-family attached housing concept affecting property located on the northern portion of 3745 Old Waynesboro Road and containing approximately 24 acres. (Tax map 170 Part of Parcel 3.01) DISTRICT 8 (1 objector noted) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Give us your name and address for the record, please. Mr. Morines: Dennis Morines. 4410 Goshen Lake Drive South, Augusta, Georgia 30906. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: What can you tell us? Mr. Morines: I’m here to represent the Goshen Residents Association to just inform you that we’re not opposed to progress in south Richmond County, of course, but we are concerned about the additional numbers of people, automobiles, and how it will affect our schools and roads. As you know, we’re sandwiched between Highway 56 and Old Waynesboro Road. Highway 56 is bad enough and we hope the improvements out there will help us some, but we’ve been shortchanged on by the Highway Department on a turn lane so we hate to see the same thing happen to Old Waynesboro Road. So I’d like to present this petition for your consideration. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Give your petition to the Clerk. Is Mr. Patty here? 27 Mr. Patty: This is a 58-acre tract that’s for sale close to Highway 56 on the north side of Old Waynesboro Road, and the petitioner wants to buy 21 acres of the 58. This is the easternmost part, the part closest to 56, and build 210 townhouses on it. The zoning classification that they’re asking for requires that the units would be offered for sale. It would be condominiums or townhouses and he’s got a plan showing what he wants to do. Staff—we did not have opposition at the Planning Commission level. Staff recommended and the Commission recommends that you approve it. We would think carefully about extending that density of development on as you go toward Covington Subdivision, but this property either adjoins or is very close to adjoining commercial property. We would think it’s a good step-down from the commercial to the single- family residential. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Jimmy? Mr. Smith: Mr. Pro Tem, it’s in my district and I’ve had a lot of phone calls last night and this morning concerning the traffic on the two lane with Cross Creek High I would like to School there and Goshen Elementary there. And we are asking and make a motion that this be postponed for two weeks and give them time to put together a presentation to come down and meet with us at our next meeting. Mr. Hankerson: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Is that in the form of a motion? The Clerk: Yes. And he has a second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and a second. George, is the petitioner here, the person who—give us your name and address for the record. Mr. Belangia: I’m Woody Belangia, 220 Boy Scout Road. We have a contract, it’s under contract with the buyer. Mr. Sikes is here. So anything we do in terms of extension is going to have to be based on his okay. They’re asking for another two weeks essentially. But we have a contract with Mr. Sikes, so without his blessing I don’t really think we could unitlaterally say we could extend it. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Sikes, do you understand they’re asking for a two week extension to come back before this body in two weeks’ time to get a ruling--that’s been approved by Planning, but to come back to this Commission in two weeks. Would that be okay? Mr. Belangia: Mr. Sikes will agree with that. Mr. Sikes: Yes. Mr. Belangia: I would like to talk about this a little bit and I have a handout on it even though [inaudible]. 28 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Give it to the Clerk, if you would. Mr. Belangia: And this is just a little summary of some pictures of what we intend to build. I understand the concern about traffic. I mean for everywhere, everybody is dealing with the traffic issues in Augusta. I understand that Goshen Plantation is two miles away from this property. We’re closer to downtown. Goshen traffic is going to affect us more than the other way. When you stand at the end of this property looking out you can see a Family Dollar, a Food Lion, a car wash, a boiled peanut stand, and a package store. This is on the fringe of a commercial area. I think you’d give us serious consideration as a commercial property, but as a residential it seems to me it’s a slam dunk for everybody concerned in that area. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Any Commissioners got any comments or questions for the—Mr. Grantham? Mr. Grantham: Just out of interest. Woody, how many locations have you, your company, your dad’s company been involved with in Richmond County? Mr. Belangia: Oh, must be fifteen at least. Mr. Grantham: Which would come up to about how many units? Mr. Belangia: They are varying sizes. Have you got a guess on that? Mr. Speaker: 600-700. Mr. Belangia: 600-700. Mr. Grantham: And this is going to be 200-and-some-odd units? Mr. Belangia: That’s right. Mr. Grantham: And on 24 acres? Mr. Belangia: That’s right. And you can see the picture of one of our typical entrances. I mean if you go out there and look, assume it’s going to be comparable [inaudible], I mean it’s going to be the nicest looking thing in the area. You can see the homes on the other side and you can—I gave you an aerial photo. If you see the sort of brown trapezoidal area right in the middle—I meant to outline it—but that’s basically the property we’re talking about. And you can see how close it is to all the commercial stuff there in the upper right hand corner of that drawing. Mr. Grantham: I just wanted that information. Mr. Belangia: Okay. 29 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith: I think what the Goshen people and I have not had an official meeting with them, it’s just phone calls that we’ve had. They are concerned about the possibility of these being rentals. The rentals that are in Goshen are having a lot of burglaries as people move in and out and it’s really not a situation that [inaudible] to family. They’ve had a lot of that. The other stuff you mentioned, Food Lion and so forth, that’s on Highway 56. Mr. Belangia: Right. It’s in plain view. Plain view of this property. Mr. Smith: I’m aware of it. I live out there. Mr. Belangia: Right. Mr. Smith: I’m just open to their concerns and what they want to do is come back and make a presentation and whatever the vote is, that’s what it is. Mr. Belangia: Can I at least say something to that concern, cause this is— Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Direct your question to the chair, please. Mr. Belangia: Oh, I’m sorry, sir, Mr. Chairman. These are for sale units. This is a subdivision. And so we are not requesting the zoning category that would allow it to be multi-family right now. That’s not our intention. It’s certainly to do single-family homes and not multi-family. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I can respect the Commissioner wishes to postpone it for two weeks. Let me just say, too, now we talking about the digest and talking about growth in Augusta. And when growth comes, most people got cars. Very few people still riding horses around here. You going to have some traffic. I mean when growth starts to grow you might as well get ready for it. You can’t grow without everything that goes with the traffic. I can respect the Commissioner who represents that district, who wants to get an opportunity to talk with some of the people that he represents and I got no problem with that. But at the same time when we’re talking about building up, when you build up and you have people come—when you’re talking about 200 townhouses that’s going to be for sale, that go on the tax books in this city, we need to look at that as well. And you can’t expect those people not to have those automobiles. So that just something we are going to have to deal with. That just my two cents. Mr. Smith, your hand’s up again. You want to be recognized? Mr. Smith: We are not again economic development in south Richmond County. For the last fourteen years our group has worked hard to do that and some similar things are being done in the front part of Goshen now on Highway 56 and we are supporting 30 that, and we’ll support this if it’s what we think it is. But we just need some time to look at it. Mr. Belangia: Sure. I appreciate that. Apparently Mr. Sikes is amenable to waiting two weeks and I certainly am if that’s what we need. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I think we have [inaudible] today. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor to postpone this for two weeks and bring it back to this body for final vote, let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Cheek out. Motion carries 8-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Now we’ll take item 5, Madame Clerk. The Clerk: 5. Z-05-45 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the following conditions 1) that if the salvage yard should cease to exist the zoning shall revert to B-1 and LI, 2) that no HI use of the property except a salvage yard be allowed and 3) that any other use be only those allowed under the current B-1 and LI zones; a petition by John T. Gibbs, III, on behalf of Nelle B. Gibbs, requesting a change of zoning from Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) and Zone LI (Light Industry) to Zone HI (Heavy Industry) with a Special Exception to bring an existing salvage yard into zoning conformance per Section 24-2 (16) of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for Augusta-Richmond County affecting property located at 329 Sand Bar Ferry Road and containing 27.22 acres. (Tax Map 61-2 Parcel 1) DISTRICT 1 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: I’m wondering—they are talking about what, a salvage yard. Exactly what will they be doing there? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: George, can you— Mr. Patty: This has been Gibbs salvage yard for years and most of this property pre-dates the current zoning ordinance, 1963. So most of it is legal non-conforming right. And there’s some question about the rest of it. Mr. Gibbs is prepared to sell this property to another company, will do exactly what they’ve been doing, maybe even move things in and out quicker, and cleaner, and he’s here to answer any questions you would have. But the zoning would not change. But he has some people from Olde Town that came to the meeting that were concerned not about what he wants to do and what he’s been doing but what might happen if this is no longer a salvage yard, that some chemical plant or something like that might buy it. So we added some conditions to protect it from that. Mr. Gibbs is here to answer any questions you have and that’s really all I know. 31 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Gibbs, you want to come and give us your— Mr. Gibbs: I’m John Gibbs. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: You want to tell us what it is you’re proposing to do. Ms. Beard may have some questions for you. Go ahead. Ms. Beard: Actually we are trying to improve that highway, that Sand Bar Ferry Highway, and changing from what, a light industry to heavy industry? Mr. Gibbs: Yes, ma’am. Ms. Beard: We have a number of churches, homes and we’re about to get a new school in the area. And we have an area, you know I guess our industrial complex or something. So why is there a need for this to be [inaudible] to heavy industry? Mr. Gibbs: Well, we also—it needs to be changed to heavy industry to have a salvage license, to perform [inaudible] license. Mr. Patty: Well, you know, it could probably be left the way it is because like I said it predates the zoning ordinance of 1963. It does have legal non-conforming grandfathered rights and he could probably continue to do what he’s doing forever but the new buyer wants to have a clean title and clean zoning history, and in order to do that the property would have to be zoned. That’s the only reason that they’re up here. I don’t think anything will change if it’s zoned from what it’s been since I’ve been in Augusta. Mr. Gibbs: We’ve been down there for 50 years. Ms. Beard: Well, in that case could we leave it light industry as it is and grandfather it in for the next owner, rather than changing it and then it’s that? You see what I’m saying? Mr. Patty: Well, if you’re going to establish a salvage yard today you need heavy industrial zoning and the special exception. And that’s what they’re asking for today. You could not do it in light industrial zoning. I think the question is will the buyer buy it with this question on the current zoning classification. Ms. Beard: Now when you say salvage yard, what are you, what type of— Mr. Gibbs: Auto wrecking yard. Car wrecking yard. Junk yard. Ms. Beard: Have you talked with the citizens in the area? Mr. Gibbs: Yes, ma’am. 32 Ms. Beard: And they have agreed? Mr. Gibbs: Yes, ma’am. I mean we’ve been part of that community for a long time. We’ve kept it up for a long time, also. Mr. Grantham: Mr. Mayor? Ms. Beard: Go ahead. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Don? Mr. Grantham: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. Ms. Beard, I can give you a little history on part of that property that goes back into the early 60’s when the State actually owned part of that property under the Georgia Ports Authority, prior to the deeding of the property on the river from the Georgia Ports Authority to the Augusta Ports Authority, back in the middle to late 70’s. This property, part of it was sold to Mr. Gibbs’ family and it was under heavy industry at that time based on usage by the State and they elected to put it under light industry. So what we’re actually doing is going back to a reversal of what the State had it at one time under those conditions. And now what I think the new owner needs is to have it zoned under heavy industry so that he would be under the ordinance that we have in place and they would have to conform to that ordinance with the exception that if it’s ever sold that it would not be sold to any type of chemical or anything like that. It would revert back to the light industry, as Mr. Patty indicated. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me say—George, is that the way this special exception going read, where if it’s sold it would revert back? Mr. Patty: Well, there are three conditions. I’m going to read them to you. One is that if the salvage yard should cease to exist—in other words, if it stops being a salvage yard, then it reverts back to the current zoning, which is B1 and LI. Second, that no HI use of property except a salvage yard would be allowed. That’s so they can’t shut this down and convert it to a chemical plant or something like that. And third, any other use would be only those uses allowed under B1 and B2, I mean B1 and LI which is basically a restatement of the first statement. So the property could change hands. Somebody else, this particular buyer, if five years down the road they want to sell it to somebody else to operate a salvage yard they could do that but they couldn’t convert it to anything else. And if it sits there vacant for more than two years then it loses its rights and goes back to B1 and LI. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: And I think what I’m remembering is that we got a similar situation on Savannah Road where a piece of property sits. And [inaudible] on it all the time. Not Gibbs but somebody else. You know what I’m talking about. And we had the neighborhood to come out and come against and that kind of thing because they been dealing with it for quite some time. Not my district. I just wanted to make a comment. Ms. Beard, have you got anything or you want to make a motion of any kind? 33 Mr. Grantham: I make a motion to approve. Mr. Smith: I second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Got a motion and a second to approve. Mr. Boyles: Mr. Mayor, may I ask one question before we vote of Mr. Patty? George, exactly what is the difference in LI, light industry and heavy industry? Tell me what the—what kind of safeguards will be in there if you’re changing this from light to heavy? How can we safeguard that heavy doesn’t happen in a light industry? Mr. Patty: Well, light industry is a less restrictive zoning. There are fewer things you can do in light industry. There are more things you can do in heavy industrial zoning. You can do the chemical plants and the salvage yards and all the really, really heavy stuff and heavy industry. And he’s asking for heavy industry because that’s what it would take to do a salvage yard but he’s also being restricted so that that’s the only heavy industrial use of property you could make. Mr. Boyles: So the safeguards are built in that he can’t basically change from [inaudible]? Mr. Patty: [inaudible] if you accept it, the rightful use of this property is the salvage yard and the safeguards are there so that it can’t be anything else. Mr. Boyles: Thank you. Ms. Sims: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, let me just be sure we understand. What we’re talking about is the same thing will be taking place on this property that is now taking place and has been taking place for 50 years? Mr. Gibbs: Yes, ma’am. Ms. Sims: I think that’s what we want. We want [inaudible] that nothing more will take place. Mr. Gibbs: That’s exactly right. Ms. Sims: And so the only reason you’re changing it is because the legal terminology has to be worked into the contract, am I understanding that? Mr. Gibbs: [inaudible] Ms. Sims: Simply because of the new ordinance. Mr. Gibbs: That’s exactly right. 34 Ms. Sims: But Ms. Beard can be assured that what’s been happening over the years is the same thing that will be happening from now on, just under new ownership perhaps? Mr. Gibbs: That’s right. Ms. Sims: Thank you. Mr. Colclough: I have one question for the Attorney. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Richard? Mr. Colclough: Steve, if we change this to heavy industry with the understanding that nothing would change from only operating of a salvage yard, the new owners purchase the property and want to do something different and we deny it, can he go to court and say that I already have the zoning for what I want to do? Mr. Shepard: Mr. Colclough, the conditions will run with the property and therefore I think that the new owner would be bound by whatever is done to that. Mr. Colclough: That answered my question. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I don’t see any other hands. We’ll go ahead and call for the question, call for the vote. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Cheek out. Mr. Williams and Ms. Beard abstain. Motion carries 6-2. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk, item 14, is that right? The Clerk: Item 12. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’m sorry. 12. The Clerk: 12. Motion to approve forfeiture of Surety Bond for Mr. Eddie Trimble, d/b/a Trimble Construction subject to submission of receipts from complainants. (Approved by Public Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Sherman: At the May 9 meeting I presented you with an agenda item and it’s a request that the city forfeiture the surety bond for Eddie Trimble, doing business as Trimble Construction. Mr. and Mrs. Trimble were at the meeting. You asked that they come back to this meeting with an itemized list or receipts for the monies that they 35 claimed to have paid Trimble Construction. I met with [inaudible] before this meeting. She does have receipts for some of the money. Not all of it. $3,500 [inaudible] is what she’s claiming to have paid Trimble Construction. She has receipts for $2,927, excuse me, $2,992.79. The difference, $510, is cash payments that she does not have receipts for. She is asking to file a claim against his bond for $3,700. That is based on an estimate from another contractor. Itemizing that, it’s $,1700 in labor, $600 in dumpster fees to dispose of the concrete that’s already poured, and then $1,400 for concrete. Mrs. [inaudible] is here. Mr. Trimble is not here. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Hankerson, you had this pulled? Mr. Hankerson: Right. Cause I asked for them to produce the receipts on this. On the $500 paid in cash I know we had receipts, copy of receipts that the contractor gave them for payments received. So we’re talking about receipts that was not presented to us? Mr. Sherman: That’s correct. And Mrs. [inaudible] is here. She has the receipts. We described this contract between [inaudible] and Trimble Construction is probably the worst contract that you can imagine. And I think it’s been a learning experience for both of them. They paid in part using their credit card. The [inaudible] she has receipts for on her credit card for concrete, $800 worth of concrete was delivered to their house. Mr. Trimble also charged $800--$805 of additional concrete for a project he was doing down the street from them. She says that they do have receipts for that concrete, which was the $1600. We still do not have receipts for $510 that was paid in cash. Mr. Hankerson: I don’t understand that. I know that was a real unprofessional way to do construction on both sides, but also we want to be fair with both parties because most of the time the contractors say they did everything they supposed to do and of course the other parties that having the work done is dissatisfied. But by listening to that in committee meeting, if the receipts were produced I wouldn’t have a problem with the whole amount. But in order to follow precedence of honoring an amount that we do not have receipts for, I think that that’s setting the wrong precedence. Because it could be a billion dollars. We’re talking about $500. If it was a bigger job it could be $5,000. [inaudible] receipts and we are going to still make them responsible for that full amount on the bond. I’m just—my suggestion is that the bond be paid minus that $500 that they can’t produce the receipts. That’s why I asked for the receipts to be produced with that because the pattern that we saw that he was giving receipts for cash money, so why did we not have those receipts for $500? He gave receipts and that was in our backup in the committee meeting for receipts of cash and so forth. We can listen to— Ms. Speaker: What I’m requesting is—what I’m getting from another contractor is that it’s going to cost me $3,700 to fix what Mr. Trimble ruined. And if you have seen the pictures, I mean it’s really not worth what he did. I don’t think it’s fair to me to pay the $500 extra that I don’t have to another contractor when Mr. Trimble did that bad work that he did. 36 Mr. Hankerson: I think you need to work with the contractor that is going to come in and do the work behind him, but you’ve got a $500 difference there. I sympathize with you and our goal is to make sure that all contractors are bonded. And I know that sometimes we get shoddy deals. I know that. But in order to—I have to make the ruling on what we have, what we see. If you would have all your receipts, that $500 that you minus, I would have no problem. One thing that I’m, I was pleased with that the contractor that you was dealing with was bonded. He had two bonds. But the $500 that you can’t produce receipts for, I just have a problem with that part. If you could come back and produce the receipts. Ms. Speaker: Well, I mean I cannot produce receipts from receipts I didn’t receive, you know. I gave him the money, my husband gave him the money in good faith, saying that he was going to finish the job. We [inaudible] receipts. But as you can see we have an itemized list with [inaudible] we gave him the money. Mr. Hankerson: Yes, I can see that but I also saw receipts that the contractor did give you. So that mean he have a pattern of giving receipts for the money that he I make a motion that the bond be minus that received. So that’s all I have to go on. $500, unless you want to delay it longer, ask the contractor to produce the receipts for the $500, or your husband. I be willing to delay it. Ms. Speaker: [inaudible] Mr. Sherman: [inaudible] you can’t produce the receipts. Mr. Hankerson: I hope that you would understand that. I think [inaudible] court, pursue him in a civil suit, I think that would be up to you. But I think the judge would make that same kind of ruling with what you have to present, because that’s your word against his on that. We want you to have the best job done and we want to stop contractors from doing shoddy work and I’m glad you brought him down but we have to give you for what we see. I hope you understand that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Sheaprd, if I can get some legal opinion here. Mr. Shepard: She has the burden of proof and she’s obviously met it with the receipts. You’re on safe grounds to go with the receipt amount. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Okay. Is that your motion? Mr. Hankerson: Right. The $3,200. Mr. Smith: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and proper second. All those in favor, let it be known by the normal sign of voting. 37 Motion carries 9-0. The Clerk: 13. Motion to approve the selection of Augusta Staffing as the Provider of Temporary Employment Services for the City of Augusta for the period of one year with an automatic renewal of option of an additional year. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I asked for this to be pulled. I needed some clarification. First of all, the automatic renewal kind of got my attention. What are we approving this for? Fred, I guess you’d be the man. Mr. Russell: Yes, sir, that’s where we hire temporary services. Secretarial positions, clerical positions. We have an ongoing contract with this company so that we can bring in part time people for those kind of temporary kinds of services. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: When I heard the automatically renewal deal for another year, I don’t know how much we use those for clerical people or for any other persons. Is that only going to work for clerical? Is that going to work for anybody? Exactly what are we doing? Mr. Russell: They’re mainly clerical kinds of positions that are brought in. Secretarial positions. Somebody sit for a short period of time, we’ll bring somebody in. If there are individuals that are out for short periods of time, somebody leaves and the position is crucial and needs to be filled right away we’ll go ahead and fill that temporarily. I think we’ve got—in some of the specific offices they’ll use a temp for a while to cover those positions until they’re either filled or until that individual is back to work basically. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: And automatic renewal is something we’ve been doing all the time, Fred? Is that how it [inaudible] you eliminating anybody else who may be interested in coming to the table when you doing automatic renewal. Why we doing a year? We might as well do two years? I mean when you talking about renewal? Mr. Russell: The automatic renewal would give us the opportunity to review that after a year if we’re not satisfied with the service, we can then renew or we could bid it again. I believe that’s the position we would take. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Shepard? Mr. Shepard: I would restate that so that you have the option to renew, not the requirement to renew. 38 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Option may be a lot better than automatic. Ms. Pelaez, I see you’ve stepped to the plate [inaudible] help us out a little bit. Ms. Pelaez: If the language of option to renew will get it passed, then let’s go with the option to renew. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, the language may get it passed, but the intent is what I’m trying to find out. [inaudible] automatic renewal it sounds like it ought to be what it is. And if it’s a two year agreement it ought to be a two year agreement. If it’s an option that we may have and choose not to, then it ought to be stated that way as well so we can— Ms. Pelaez: No, sir. Essentially the intent here is after the first year of service, we are happy with the services that they are providing us. Instead of having to go back out for request for proposals, that we would be given the authorization to go back in and enter in to another year contract with that entity. If we are not happy with those services then we would of course have to go back for request for proposals from additional firms. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I think the wording is very important then that we word it so that we have an option to use them again if we so desire rather than saying—because if I was a vendor and came in and it had automatic renewal, I mean it would be automatic. That’s what automatic means. Is that there’s no debate, we just go on into something else. I don’t have anything else. Mr. Colclough? Mr. Colclough: Automatic renewal sounds like one of our evergreen contracts that we just got out of and I think we need to put a time limit on it. We got into a lot of problems with that before. Rather than getting back into that whole evergreen aspect I think we need to put a time [inaudible]. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Can I get a motion of some kind? Mr. Colclough: I make a motion that we pass this measure with the one year contract with an option to renew for an additional year. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Been a motion, properly seconded. Any comments? Hearing none, all those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. The Clerk: 14. Motion to approve an Ordinance providing for the demolition of certain unsafe and uninhabitable properties in the Bethlehem Neighborhood, 1718 Twelfth Street: 1514 Twelfth Street, 1529 Twelfth Street, 1537 Twelfth Street, (District 2, 39 Super District 9); Laney Walker Neighborhood: 1015 Ninth Street, 1020 Ninth Street, 1112 Ninth Street, 823 D’Antignac Street, 850 Adams Street, 806 Hopkins Street, 1105 Hopkins Street, 1027 Eighth Street, 940 Barnes Street, (District 1, Super District 9); Olde Town Neighborhood: 246 Walker Street, (District 1, Super District 9); Turpin Hill Neighborhood: 1705 Franklin Street, (District 2, Super District 9); South Augusta Neighborhood: 3034 Gibson Drive, (District 5, Super District 9); and waive 2nd reading. Mr. Cheek: I so move. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: Actually I guess there is nothing we can do there but in the information it talks about the Georgia Redevelopment Powers Law. And I’d like for someone to explain that law to me. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Shepard? Ms. Beard: And is this the same thing that is going to be on SPLOST? Mr. Shepard: The Redevelopment Powers Law is not on SPLOST but it’s on the June referendum with the other two [inaudible]. And that will be the policy if three things happen. If a local bill passes [inaudible] and if you pass a resolution here asking for that power to be available to Augusta-Richmond County—you have done that. The third thing is before the Redevelopment Powers Act can be applied in Richmond County, used in Richmond County, there has to be a referendum. That’s the purpose of the vote on that next month, Ms. Beard. You can’t use it until we authorize it. Those three steps. But it can be used on specific projects county-wide. I recall a discussion, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, on use of it on open land, also use of on it blighted area. A [inaudible] tool that we will have but we do not now have it. Ms. Beard: Do we have any plans to use this tool at this time? Where will we be using it? Mr. Boyles: There’s a development that’s projected to go at Riverwatch Parkway and I20. It’s called tax [inaudible] district. It’s good for the entire county. Ms. Beard: But when do we use this to go in the inner city and how do we go about getting it there? Mr. Shepard: Obviously the first of three steps would be to pass the referendum on the tax allocation district. And once that is passed the Commission should identify projects, both open land redevelopment or development, and blighted area st redevelopment. So if it passes on June 21— 40 Ms. Beard: I think it’s very important that I know exactly how to go about doing that. You know, it seems that we never really get to some things that we should. I’m saying that because in the information it talks about the inner city and all of this and the Redevelopment Powers Law. And I’ve heard about other projects for it, but nothing for the inner city. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard, maybe I can enlighten you a little bit. This piece of property we’re talking about doing, it was designed for lower to moderate income situations. Now we are applying it to other areas on Riverwatch which doesn’t fit in that, I mean it could, but it was designed for. But I think came out of committee, I think it’s here on this floor for us to vote up or down, whether we are going to use it not. But if you do the research, if you look at what it was designed for, and I did some checking to know that that’s part of it. But it’s on the floor now to be voted up or down and if you want to bring it back up in committee we can talk about it in committee to get somebody to enlighten us on what the law says as well. But we need to vote it up or down. Ms. Beard: I’m saying—you’re talking about Virginia Avenue and I’m talking about—and I know you’re talking about a project. It seems that we could possibly do some things that might help these areas. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, ma’am. Had we applied them in those veins. What I’m saying is that we just had the Hyde and Aragon Park come up. We talk about Virginia subdivision. We talking about Lyman and Dover Street. Now we’re talking about another piece which is on Riverwatch Parkway. Which I met with some of the developers and some of the attorneys out of Atlanta to talk about it and what it could do. And we could use it all over this city once we adopt one, but it was set up, it was designed for areas that is blighted and need some revamping and reviving. But it’s on the table today to vote it up or down as to what we going to do. And if you need to put it back on the agenda so we can put it on committee so you can get some information, then we need to do that. Ms. Beard: Well— Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let Ms. Sims— Ms. Sims: I need clarification. I didn’t find what you’re speaking of in my back- up [inaudible]. Where is that in the back-up? I mean I don’t see it. Ms. Beard: It may be with the Land Bank Authority. Ms. Sims: Oh. Ms. Beard: May I request that our lawyer talk with me in reference to this? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Sure. 41 Ms. Beard: So that we’ll know how to proceed. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Hankerson? Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. We still have to vote this up or down. I hope it doesn’t be voted down because I have a piece of property that we’ve had long time complaints about and it’s already have been before the courts and I’d like to call Mr. Sherman up and explain that 3034 Gibson Drive in the Terrace Manor area, District 5, because we’ve been working on demolition of that one piece of property and it’s been before the Judge. It’s all housed into all of these but we’ve got a ruling I think on that piece of property. There was some insurance issues that was there, too, and I think it need to be noted. Mr. Sherman: 3034 Gibson Drive, there are two structures on the property and I believe it was sometime in the fall of last year that a private school bus managed to hit both of the structures. The insurance company representing the private school paid a claim to the owners of Gibson Drive. The owners did not demolish the structures, did not address any of the problems. This, along with the other properties, have been through Magistrate Court. The Judge has ordered them to be demolished. So in our process of demolishing the Gibson Drive property, we will place a lien against it for the cost of doing the demolition in hopes that the property owner will pay the City back because they have already been paid a claim by the insurance company. Mr. Hankerson: And what we wanted to do is because the citizens—that’s an eyesore, a negative impact to that area, right there in Terrace Manor, Gibson Road, Gibson Drive, that we want to go ahead and demolish that and we have to go after the owner of that property to recoup the money back, then we proceed in putting the property into the land bank. So I hope that if we vote to do something else with these other properties that are in question that I can pull this one piece of property out so we can go ahead and deal with it, because it’s been quite a while that we’ve been working on it and it’s already been before the Judge to do this. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: I just wanted to ask a question. The vote on the tax allocation districts is coming up in the referendum and everything really is kind of moot at this point. Do we still at this point have the ability to down select the projects that we call prioirities at the district areas that we want to make and which ones will be implemented first? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Boyles? Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Pro Tem. I think if I remember reading the tax allocation [inaudible] that has to be requested by the developer. I mean we can’t just go in and say you’re going to do this and this. The developer comes in. I think you found 42 out in your conversation up at Riverwatch Parkway. The developer requests that. What the Commission does it put enabling legislation there for them to request that, on the tax allocation districts. Am I right, Mr. Attorney? Mr. Shepard: That’s correct. Once you pass the basic documents and the public approves it, you don’t have to come back and have all those steps taken again. You have multiple tax allocation districts, both in open land and in the city. Mr. Boyles: But the developer has to request it; right? Mr. Shepard: The developer is requesting it in the present—in the one that would probably be tax allocation district number 1, assuming that project moves forward. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Russell? Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I think what we’ve done is cross wires here on a couple of things here and I thing Ms. Beard has brought forth a good point, where the tax allocation districts are a tool that we’ll be able to use as we look at not only the open land in this specific area, but in the inner city. But what we have in front of us today in this particular item is the demolition approval for things that are being demolated. Demolated. Mr. Shepard: Demolished. Mr. Russell: Demolated is a new way to demolish things here, that are here to be demolished. (Laughter) Mr. Russell: I think what I’d like to do maybe at the next committee meeting or maybe sit down and talk with you about what the tax allocation districts can do and what that would mean on the ballot, but at this point we’re mixing apples and oranges at this particular point in time. The issue in front of us is to approve the demolition of several properties that have gone through the process and the tax allocation district issue is an issue where we would have another tool to help in renovating not only the inner city but other available properties while allowing an individual to come in that would be given a tax break or something like that to help bring forth new houses in the inner city or to develop commercial areas in open land or something like that. So what I think what we’ve done is cross wires here. Ms. Beard: So you will bring forth some information? Mr. Russell: Yes, ma’am. I’ll be happy to do that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Do I have a motion? 43 Ms. Sims: So move. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Colclough: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Got another motion and another second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Ms. Beard abstains. Motion carries 8-1. The Clerk: 15. Motion to approve attached job descriptions and organization charts for Public Services, Engineering & Environment Services and Solid Waste & Recycling Services. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee May 9, 2005) 23. Motion to approve attached job descriptions and organization charts for Public Services, Engineering & Environment Services and Solid Waste & Recycling Services. (See background information under Item 15 on Administrative Services) (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I asked this to be pulled because I had some questions. When I looked at the salary differences, and even with the job description I’m still not satisfied. Almost $24,000 going to be increased in Public Works; is that right, Fred? Mr. Russell: Approximately, yes, sir. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Approximately $24,000. Mr. Russell: Part of it would come out of the general fund, the other part would come out of the landfill fund. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, that don’t tell me nothing cause money is still money. When it comes out of one fund and goes into another one, people don’t understand that. They just know it’s taxpayers’ money and y’all know how I am with this. And when I look at the increases, almost $10,000 has been added to the two additional positions which I think is probably maybe a $3,000 difference from the director’s position that was running this operation all the time before. Now, we went in and we making changes and we said that they needed a break and you’re taking some things off. And maybe I’m looking at this thing wrong but to supervise and direct and oversee the day-to-day- operations and increasing the other salary—now I got no problem with increases but I think we ought to be fair. Cause fair is still fair. Now we went almost $10,000 per person to increase the salary for the two different other positions. We still got—and this is almost the identical, same job description for that person in that position, with all the 44 unfairness and the records building that we built last year and how [inaudible] wasn’t getting done and how we was behind and all that, I ain’t heard none of that. Not one thing about that since we went in and added to the game. We split it but we added to it. And it going to cost this government almost $25,000 a year more. And the same job description. I can’t call the director now cause see I still don’t know who is doing what, beside somebody doing roads and somebody cutting grass. But you going to increase $10,000 a person a year salary and say that’s justified? I need to hear from the Administrator. If you think there’s justification for that then that will be. I can’t support it, I think that’s truly, truly wrong. And I don’t blame those people for asking for [inaudible]. But the same responsibility, they still got, but the other people making $3,000 less than the director sill making? Now, if we doing somebody a favor now, that’s a—well, that’s a very unusual way of showing it. I’m a little, I’m a little concerned that nobody else has addressed that or even thought that, that $10,000 would be added to a person and then leave the directors [inaudible] gave them that $25,000 I can see [inaudible] but have we even talked about all that, and I know the [inaudible] we got in the newspaper about the amount of money they was making then [inaudible]. I hadn’t forgotten the conversation saying that [inaudible] sat on the doorstep trying to get the pay. This is a professional engineer we talking about. This ain’t no yard man. This ain’t nobody that lay pipes. This is a professional person that we talked about, qualifications, stuff that we ought to be paying folks to do. We talk about bringing folks in with the educational requirements. Got all of that. Still don’t have nothing in the file. Still have not been reprimanded. Still have not been written up. Not one time. And I think it’s very unfair for this body to sit here and to agree to go along with that and act like that’s nothing, that’s fine to do. Now if y’all can sit here and say that, then somebody need to tell me something. Fred? And I know where you are. I know your position as Administrator. I know what you’re trying to do. But I don’t see no fairness in that at all. Not even a car allowance, no incentive to do anything else. Now, maybe y’all are trying to get the person to quit. Maybe y’all are [inaudible] put enough pressure on it and throw enough stones that they’ll just walk away, but I’m telling you, I hope she never even thinks about doing nothing like that. I hope she stay until as long as life stay in her body cause that’s really disgusting, that’s really bad for a government to talk about fairness [inaudible] DBE person over there, talking about doing people right, we ain’t even close. It hadn’t even got on the same page yet. So I can’t support that and I’m going to keep it on this agenda, I’m going to keep it in the committee. Every week, Madame Clerk, you make it an automatic thing for me. You don’t have to ask me about it. I’m going to keep this on the table that we need to talk about it because I think it’s very unfair. I have not talked with the director. Not one time. She hadn’t even complained. Hadn’t said a word. But how are we going to sit here and quote ourselves as Christians and say we believe to do what is right for everybody and treat people in this government? The interview I had with the fire chief ain’t changed a bit since I talked to him yesterday. Thank God he don’t get the job, one thing. Mr. Hankerson: Mr. Mayor? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Hankerson, go ahead. 45 Mr. Hankerson: I was looking at the salaries as you were looking at it. I also looked at—you were speaking of the director, of a increase. I know we decreased the duties and didn’t decrease the salary. I want to ask Ms. Pelaez would she come to the podium and we looking at salaries of job descriptions here and see whether there is any inequities there that, anything that, reason for the amount of increase, the steps and so forth, is that justifiable for what we’re doing for these positions? These are director positions. You’re human relations director? Ms. Pelaez: No, sir, I’m human resources director. Mr. Hankerson: I mean human resources. Human relate to me and you’re resources. Ms. Pelaez: Well, it was my recommendation that we review all of the salary grades and we had a lengthy discussion—we being me and the Administrator regarding leaving the salary grade of the public works director where it currently is located or reducing it to a salary grade consistent with the Public Works director and with the Recreation and Utilities director. But it was felt that since we were still in the process of recruiting for some high level engineering positions that perhaps we should leave it at Grade 63 now so that we could better address those salaries issues and get those other positions filled. Mr. Hankerson : Thank you. I think that’s pretty well clear to me and I wanted to hear it from the human resource department that looked at the salaries. With that in I make a motion that we approve mind, then, I support what is the agenda item and these salaries. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Pelaez, we’ve got a motion and a second. But let me ask you a couple of questions here. First of all, when you ask for the educational requirements in this city or any other city we have been, we have been lacking in the pay when someone comes in for a job and have those requirements. I guess what I’m asking is, is it beneficial for somebody to get those requirements, those educational requirements to come to see about a job or you can walk in off the street just don’t have those requirements, are you telling me that the job description, the grade level with those requirements fit those salaries that we are proposing? Ms. Pelaez: What I was saying is that the grade level of the positions fit the requirements. Now the salary and where it’s set is a completely different arena. The salary range is [inaudible] educational requirements. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let’s go back to the salaries then. We’re talking about the salaries. How can we justify giving $10,000 additional salaries for the additional work? [inaudible] but $10,000 how can we justify that then if you’re talking about salary? If the Administrator going to answer then just don’t go nowhere, just stay there. 46 Ms. Pelaez: Yes, sir. Mr. Russell: You know, this is my final decision and we had several discussions at some length with Human Resources and my executive staff. And it was based on the points that you brought to my attention. As you remember, my initial conversation, I wasn’t planning on raising the salaries for these particular individuals. But after some lengthy discussion which we’ve had over the past several weeks, I and executive staff, and I think Brenda agrees, that what we’ve done is changed the nature of their employment so that those two individuals—one in an interim capacity, which is normal for us to reward those persons that move into interim capacity—and the second is the recommended director of a department. What we’ve done is changed the working relationship that this organization has with that individual. No longer are they classified employees. No longer do they have the benefits, protection of the classification system that we have. They now work at the pleasure of this group. They work at the pleasure of the Commission itself. The requirements of those positions, the accountability of those positions raises to a greater level. It was my thought then that they be compensated to reflect that. The numbers that we came with were based on their current salaries and based on what’s been the position of this particular government in the past is to give a percentage of that current salary as part of the compensation for either increased duties or increased responsibilities or in this particular case a difference in the relationship with this government in which they no longer have some of the safety net, I believe, one of them mentioned to me as we talked about it that he had as a classified employee, with the benefits involved there. Once again, that was my recommendation based on conversations with Human Resources, based on conversations with the people in my executive staff, the Finance director, the two other deputy administrators, it came to that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Russell, let me interrupt you here. I just want a simple answer and you answered it for me, but— Mr. Russell: Let me just say— Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me finish now. I’m in the chair today. Y’all know how I am anyway but I’m in the chair today. Let me finish. The job description for the director has not decreased. She still got all the responsibility but everybody else got their raise, got their monies. I wouldn’t know what to call—and I said I wasn’t going to allow her to be used by calling her and asking her or giving her the authority to be over and to run this show and if she wasn’t do it then we needed to take away from it and that’s what this body did. So if been taken away from her then she don’t need to have—I’m not asking for a raise for her and she’s not getting anything, but she shouldn’t have the responsibilities over the people who got the raises, who got the money, who is going to be getting paid, but she’s going to be the ultimate one to take the blame when she supposed to be the supervising director and overseer for the day to day operations. Mr. Russell: So— 47 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Russell, I think we got a motion and a second. I’m going to go ahead and let y’all vote on this. But I don’t need no more conversation. I see the unfairness in it and I want to make sure that that that’s put out. Mr. Cheek got his hand up. I’m going to recognize him and then we’ll go ahead and take a vote. Mr. Cheek: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. I’ll be brief. I support the measure in that this is a developmental issue of reorganizing staff to hopefully gain some improved productivity across the board. I’ll say what I’ve said in committee and I’ve said on this floor before. The arrangement is a transitional arrangement at this point in time and I for one expect cooperation across the board. This is consistent with industry reorganizational practice across the country in governments and the private sector. And I simply say this as well. If there is a problem among staff in working together to assist in the transition then perhaps they need to reassess their salary continuation plan and find employment elsewhere. We are looking for people to be team players here to work together through this for the betterment of this City. It’s going to take us some time to tweak this thing to make it right. We are working with that. Staff is doing that. And we’ve still got a lot of holes to fill in these three departments to make them whole. But the bottom line on all of it is that this was done by the Commission in the interest of the betterment and productivity of the City and I just urge support for this and let us continue to refine this machine to make it work better. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me say, Commissioner, I agree. I thank you for your comments. But let me say first of all I say again the director had not said one word to me. I feel that it is unfair. I feel that in my own spirit that this is vitally wrong. If we going to split it then it ought to be a split. You talking about downsizing and what corporate business does. Corporate business don’t operate like this. Now the same job duties, the same responsibility is still here [inaudible] on them with somebody else in the driver’s seat. Then there was increased $10,000. I still say I don’t like that. I don’t blame them and I think they ought to ask for some increase cause they got increased responsibilities. But to leave them there, to have their necks chopped off so to speak, to have them in the position to say well, somebody told me or they told me or they didn’t tell me or I don’t know what to do, there ought to be some clear guidelines as to who is doing what. And if what can’t do it, what ought not be paid to be doing it. And it’s still unfair. I call for the vote. All those in favor, by the normal sign of voting let them vote. Mr. Williams votes No. Ms. Beard abstains. Motion carries 7-1-1. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Number 18, Madame Clerk? Is that where we at? The Clerk: 16. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: 16? Mr. Hankerson: 27. 48 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let’s go ahead. We’ve got somebody waiting. Let’s do that. The Clerk: PLANNING: 27. Z-05-50 - A request for concurrence with the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission to approve with the following conditions 1) that a formal site plan, including solid board fencing of the rear yard and adequate fencing of the front yard, be submitted and approved by the Planning Commission before this petition is presented to the Augusta Commission and 2) no Certificate of Occupancy may be issued until the site work is completed and inspected; a petition by Amanda A. Fouch and John H. Cain, Jr., on behalf of John H. Cain Jr., requesting a change of zoning from Zone R-1B (One-family Residential) to Zone B-1 (Neighborhood Business) affecting property located at 3107 Mike Padgett Highway and containing .24 acres. (Tax map 111-3 Parcel 61) DISTRICT 6 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: George? Mr. Patty: I asked y’all to put this on the regular agenda. This is property on the west side of Highway 56 and south of Old Louisville Road. It’s a 75 foot wide tract and there’s commercial zoning in the area, commercial land use in the area. And these folks want to do a full-blown day care center on the property. Have approximately 25 kids in there. And we were very concerned about it. The zoning patterns supports what they want to do but there’s a ditch in front of the property in the driveway and I saw the potential for some real serious traffic safety issues. And so we approved it with conditions if the applicant would give us a plan, which we supervised, told them what to do to make it as safe as we could. And the applicant did that and I’ve got it here and it shows no parking in the front. All parking is in the rear. They’re going to go in and fix five spaces back there, privacy fence around the back, chain link fencing around the front. And like I say no parking in the front yard. All the access will be from the back. I think that’s the best you can do. They’re here and it’s just one of those dilemmas we find ourselves in that the zoning pattern and land use pattern supports it but it’s a pretty substantial tract and a safety potential problem and I think they’ve dealt with it the best they can, so we recommend you approve it with the condition that they put in these improvements and show before we issue a certificate of occupancy or a business license for it. I’ll pass this around. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Commissioner Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Just a couple of questions for the applicants. Are these conditions that you guys can I guess live by? Part 2 of the question is you are in a somewhat mixed residential and an area that’s in transition, more towards a commercial nature. Will you 49 uphold this business in a manner that it will not detract from the residential homes in that area and keep it as aesthetically pleasing as possible? Ms. Fouch: Yes, sir. Mr. Cheek: I have had no calls or complaints on this. It is in my district. Due to the nature of Old Louisville Road and the proximity of so many children in the area that I’m going to make a motion to approve. we could possibly get off the streets, Ms. Sims: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second. Any other discussion? Mr. Hankerson: What kind of business is it? The Clerk: Day care. Small business. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Hearing none, all of those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Madame Clerk, we go back to where we were then. 16. Mr. Boyles: Mr. Pro Tem, Ms. Turner from the Board of Health is here. May I request that you take item 28 while you’re at that point? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I was going to get this and get a break, Mr. Boyles. Y’all done wore me down. Ms. Turner, if she’ll just bear with us we’ll get this one then. The Clerk: Where are you now? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: 16. The Clerk: 16. Motion to approve the Land Bank Study Subcommittee recommendations relative to new policies and procedures. (Approved by Administrative Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: I just had one question in reference to this. It talks about the fees. It looks like we will have set fees in purchasing the land now. And we have our home town contractors and developers and we know how blighted the situation is. So I think we should do all we can to get them to purchase these lots and build. So I don’t have a 50 problem with anything except the developers and I’m wondering if that could be maybe 35% instead of 50% for buildable lots and maybe 15% for non-buildable. Because you have people like Allen Collier, Paul King and many others out there working with these situations. And I just think we need all the help we can get and it might encourage others to do it. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. While I understand the Commissioner’s concerns, one of the things I want everyone to be aware of is this has been modeled after the Macon plan which is very successful and they’ve successfully dealt with blighted areas and other things. What I would ask the board to consider is to allow us to get this up and operational, to get the staff people in place, to do the things that we need to do, and then look at fee adjustments as necessary on a case-by-case, project-by-project basis when we start addressing. Because there will be times when we look at the inner city or other areas that we have been able to assemble land through this tool we’re putting in place now that we may want to offer some incentive to get people to come in and redevelop them. And I think that is within our authority to do that. Also, I would ask too that in the language in the Land Bank Authority that we do add a Commission representative to that board. One sitting member from this board. There has been some concern in the past about the board not being a separate authority and so forth. And I think those are two things I would just request having brought this forth as process improvements and maybe allow us to get this thing on the ground and then we will adjust. I think Steve, maybe you can correct me on this, but I think we will be able to work with the Land Bank, for instance if we assemble 100 properties in Bethlehem, to offer them up through the Land Bank as a piece and basically dictate the type, make adjustments to make it attractive to developers, working with the Land Bank. Mr. Shepard: Mr. James is the lead counsel in this area, but that’s one of the ways we’ve delegated our responsibilities. It’s my understanding that you want to assemble properties for redevelopment and I think that this would be an excellent use of the Land Bank to assemble those properties. And you would have more, a more attractive project for any developer, rather than have a stand along lot. But you’re concentrated in an area where you could really see some impact. And I [inaudible] was going to touch on some of this tomorrow. Harry and I had been talking. I notice the Land Bank has some money in it and there are a backlog of some properties, the title searches. And I’m thinking that the title searches need to be current, but more importantly the lawyer that’s doing them could be replaced by a paralegal so we could use our resources better. Mr. Cheek: That’s all part of the package that went [inaudible] this recommendation. It’s instructing staff to take immediate action because there is a funding source, we have identified the positions needed, the document details that [inaudible] and outlines it. The committee did a heck of a job. I didn’t see you sitting back there, sir. I’m sorry. You’ve done a lot of good work on this. But do we have the flexibility in this document to address, at a future date can we address on a case by case basis the things that Commissioner Beard is concerned about? 51 Ms. Beard: And I’m going to say this because—and it is excellent. It’s a very good document. But it seems to me that you want things to be standard. Do you see what I’m saying? And not change from one day, you know, to the other. And if that is so, I especially think the contractors in Augusta should be given the same opportunities as the others. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me say we’ve got several groups that building and doing some new home construction [inaudible] development and through private resources as well, such as Allen Collier you mentioned. And I say many times I don’t see how we can take in so much and nothing goes out. I say nothing, [inaudible] list Sand Hills is doing. Maybe [inaudible]. But how can we have these CHDOs that wanting to do some things, got the federal dollars to do them and we have not done them yet? It’s, there’s a breakdown somewhere. Hopefully this will give us an alternative that we can get something going to be able to continue to see some improvement in some things. We got about [inaudible] Ms. Beard, that’s going to be demolished and folks still holding on them. But hopefully this project will get us going. Harry, would you like to add anything? Ms. Beard: I would like to ask him. Harry? My only question was that—and I do, I think you’ve done a magnificent job here, is that if buildable lots, buildable lots for developers could be 35%, as the others, and maybe 15% for non-buildable, for developers, with everything else remaining the same? Mr. James: I’m quite sure that the board will be more than happy to take a look at that and that certainly would be something that I believe is doable. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Anybody else? Don? Mr. Grantham: Question. Don’t you have that flexibility within the framework right now? Mr. James: Yes. It is very flexible. Mr. Grantham: See the flexibility it there to do that, Ms. Beard. And I know what you’re saying. You want to fix it. But I’m just wondering should we fix it to where we’re penalizing some and not helping others? Ms. Beard: Don, it’s a schedule of disposition fees. A qualified appraisal firm will appraise all properties. The disposition fee is calculated as a percentage of the appraised value of the property and expenses [inaudible] with the acquisition and maintenance of the subject property. In my opinion this sounds like something we are going to implement because we’ve been doing different things. But now we’re going to try to make it uniform. Am I right or not? 52 Mr. James: That’s correct. This is something that the Land Bank Authority board has discussed. I’m going to let the chairman explain why he wanted to percentages the way they are. Mr. Speaker: Not so much as where the percentages are other than the fact that we’ve really done research on this and looked at other communities, and specifically, as Commissioner Cheek had mentioned, we actually have done site visits to Macon, really looked closely at their operation and used their disposition, fee schedule and other aspects of the program to draft ours. What I would suggest if the Commission would allow us would be establish this. We need to have a [inaudible] standardized way of operating. And every way, every time we do business we do it in the same way. And that was the intent behind this. I would like to see us, if you could agree, to allow us to put this in place and give us a chance to see how it operates. We can fine tune it. Probably be taking a look at it after three months or six months and adjust it as needed over time. But again this is not set in concrete per se, other than the fact that we do need to monitor how it goes and be willing to make adjustments as needed. Ms. Beard: I agree with that. I agree with that. But I’m wondering if we could do that with you taking it back to the committee and talking with them in reference to it. I mean we should want everyone we can get to be a part of this. There are a number of people out there, you know, and they want to. And they are. Mr. Speaker: Commissioner, we are going to be having a Land Bank Authority meeting very soon and I will make that recommendation to the board that fees for developers be lowered to 35%. I’m quite sure that it will pass. Ms. Beard: Thank you. Mr. Speaker: I think you will have the consent. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Just for today’s—and I hope we can pass this. We only had 2-1/2 months of publicly-held meetings on this and went through the committee process. We got the documents in everybody’s hands almost three weeks prior to it coming to committee. I mean I understand the concerns but again this—the whole point with the Land Bank was it was basically understaffed and not really able to do the function very well. We’ve addressed that with the stipulation that it strive toward self sufficiency based on some of the fees generated. Nobody wants to see this city in areas that have been neglected more than I do. But we have a tool here to begin that process. We need I’m going to go ahead and make a motion to approve it today and to get it in place. go back to the Land Bank Authority and talk about the fees with the stipulation that through whatever means necessary that we add a position to the Land Bank Authority, a seat for a commissioner representative from this board. Mr. Hankerson: Second. 53 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second. Ms. Beard: Question. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: I’m going to add that we approve it, too. But that we look at this change and try to get a recommendation to change the portion in reference to developers. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All those in favor, let it be—the attorney got his hand up. Mr. Shepard:That would be an ex officio position where I wanted to clarify. it acts primarily as a liaison to the Land Bank, Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Held in the same status as our representative on the Aviation board and the— Mr. Shepard: Board of Assessors. Mr. Cheek: --Board of Assessors and so forth. Mr. Boyles: Ex officio. Not a voting member. Mr. Shepard: [inaudible] Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All those in favor, let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Hankerson: Question. On the question he asked I didn’t quite hear him. Were you talking about the addition to the board? Mr. Cheek: Addition to the Land Bank Authority, to address the concerns expressed on the floor of the Commission about the authority being not really accountable to the board directly, that we actually put a Commission representative on the board. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Commissioner Boyles, you wanted to bring someone from the Board of Health up. Is that— Mr. Boyles: Yes, sir. 54 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let’s move to item 28 right quick then so we can— The Clerk: PUBLIC SERVICES: 28. Approve an amendment to Augusta Richmond County Code Title 4, Chapter 2, Section 74 to prohibit the outside storage of tires where water could accumulate in such stored tires. (No recommendation from Public Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Boyles: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, when you asked that this come back on the agenda I told you that I would get Ms. Cheryl Turner, who runs the mosquito control program for the Board of Health. I don’t see if Mr. Sherman is still here. Yes. I see him. I think they’ve worked out some wordology or something in there. Ms. Turner? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Turner, give your name and address just for the record. Speak into the microphone over there. Ms. Turner: My name is Cheryl E. Turner and I serve as an environmental health specialist with the Richmond County Board of Health and I’m over the mosquito control program. Rob Sherman and I talked at great length over this ordinance. And we decided that the best thing to do is to change the wordage to the tires must be protected so as not to create mosquito [inaudible], [inaudible] for mosquitoes and stored tires must be protected from the view of the public. Mr. Sherman: The proposal as it is in front of you, it addresses all tires. We have a little background. The scrap tire ordinance addresses scrap tires. They have to be stored inside. We have our junkyard ordinance. Our junkyard ordinance says that any tires or parts removed from junk vehicles have to be stored indoors. We do not have anything in the ordinance that addresses used tires that are resold or new tires. The proposal before you was to address that concern with tires period that are stored outdoors, that they be kept under cover or in a building or enclosed on all sides so as not to allow the collection of water in the tires which could be possibly a place where mosquitoes [inaudible]. Cheryl and I talked and I think we can meet the same intent by saying what she just said, that the— Ms. Turner: The tires be protected. Mr. Sherman: The tires be protected so as not to create [inaudible] for mosquitoes and also that if the tires are stored outside, that a privacy fence be installed around the property so it’s not visible from the public right of way or from adjoining properties. What we were talking about that because the way it’s proposed, tires shall be stored in a building or in a container and closed on all sides by a solid screen, we know right off that when we start to enforce that we will have to compromise on that because we know that there are businesses in some of the older neighborhoods that are not going 55 to be able to afford to build a structure, that we will end up saying okay, cover them up, use some tarps or whatever. So if we say that they have to be what she said, in a situation not to create a [inaudible] for mosquitoes, that’s saying that they have to be covered. Tent like structure, tarps, or if they’re new tires that are not outside for an extended period of time they can use something as simple as what Cheryl was saying, using salt. She says that will address the— Ms. Turner: Mosquitoes will not breed in saltwater in Richmond County. Now if we were in Savannah, adding salt to the tires would not be sufficient. Mr. Colclough: I didn’t hear what you said. Ms. Turner: Salt. Mr. Sherman: I think also the key point to that is because there are areas where the tires are outside, it appears to be blighted condition, with the screening around the property, and preferably a privacy fence but where [inaudible] we’ve gone to allow them to use, if they already have a chain link fence, to use the screening that you see up around the Augusta National that’s meant to be attached to chain link fence. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me ask a question. If you use a privacy fence how would you know that the tires are being—how could you supervise or how would you be able to police that tires are being kept in a fashion that water won’t accumulate, even if they are being treated with salt, I mean? I mean if we use a privacy fence how could we determine they are being— Mr. Sherman: We would have to periodically inspect the property. Prior to, I guess before July of last year we were under a scrap tire grant through the State and they funded a position. The position—that grant played out. That person we still have but she’s been moved to another code enforcement position. She would be doing— Ms. Turner: She could be facilitated or helped by us. We could put out [inaudible] to catch mosquitoes if there was some question about whether or not they were providing [inaudible]. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Anybody got any questions? I’m still not clear. I hear the statements. I just don’t know how we can determine. I mean even if you put anything in place you’re going to have those violators. You are going to have those people who are still trying to violate. But when you got tires exposed, and you put a privacy fence up and the tires are not protected, meaning that they’re not covered to keep the water from accumulating in them, ain’t nobody in their right mind is going to tell me that you can go in and look at all those tires and say water is not in the back row. I mean there is just no way humanly possible, whether it be new or used tires. It’s just entirely too many. We don’t have that kind of staff to do it. So. 56 Ms. Turner: If the law says that the tires have to be protected then we can do it on a case-by-case basis and determine whether or not they are being adequately protected. If you say that they have to be in an enclosure and you set up stipulations then you’re going to have things built that are not to the standard which we would like and we can go in and on a one-on-one basis make sure that they are kept in an orderly fashion. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: On the tires that are kept outside, couldn’t we just treat them with larvicide? I mean is that—between the rains wouldn’t that take care of growth within the tires? Ms. Turners: Right. But all you have to do is stack the tires so that water doesn’t get in them. And if it does get in them all you have to do is treat them with salt which would act as a larvicide. And that would be inexpensive. If the tire, if the tire were emptied of water and then water came back in it the salt would still be there and it would be a permanent—until the tire was gone it would be permanent. And you’d leave like maybe a tablespoon of salt at most if they are being adequately protected. We aren’t going to get that much water. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: One can of [inaudible] would probably treat an entire yard. Ms. Turner: [inaudible] would do it for a price. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Attorney? Ms. Turner: You stack the tires one on top of the other instead of laying them down or having them all jumbled up. You aren’t going to have water getting in them. Mr. Shepard: I’m a little unclear where she wants to put this language but I think we can clarify that at the break and bring it back. I think we’ve had it here two and I would just ask that we lay it on the table right times for sure, probably three, now and see if we can incorporate the language that she suggests into what we have already. Ms. Sims: So move. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Thank you very much for your time. This is very serious matter. We do address this issue when the nature of the mosquitoes is really just starting to [inaudible] out now with the rain we had and the green stuff that’s there. It’s enormous to know how many people have to really deal with this situation. And we got 90% of those type businesses located in District 2. And that’s why it’s so important. I have a lot of calls about it. We talked about the mosquito service that go through our neighborhoods that supposed to spray. We realize we don’t have very many trucks to do 57 that. But there is a great need to try and get ahead of this. An epidemic could break out that could affect our people in this city. So Mr. Shepard, if we want, we can just table this or put it, take it in legal and then work the wording. Is that what you want to do? Mr. Shepard: I would like to have it laid on the table. I don’t know that there’s any legal we need to do with it. If we lay it on the table I’ll talk to Ms. Turner. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Okay, can I get a motion to table? Ms. Sims: So move. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Undebatable motion. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Boyles out. Motion carries 8-0. The Clerk: Are we going to break? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, we will take a five minute break. [RECESS] Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Where did we leave off with, Ms. Bonner? The Clerk: I beg your pardon? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Where did we leave off? The Clerk: Tabling item 28. PUBLIC SERVICES: 28. Approve an amendment to Augusta Richmond County Code Title 4, Chapter 2, Section 74 to prohibit the outside storage of tires where water could accumulate in such stored tires. (No recommendation from Public Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Shepard, do we need to take it off the table now or what? Mr. Shepard: Well, I have some language that Ms. Turner has proposed. I don’t think Mr. Sherman is as comfortable as I thought he would be. The answer to that question, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, is no. 58 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Can I get a motion then we just postpone this for two weeks, to bring it back? Ms. Sims: So move. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Got a motion and a second that we postpone this item 28 for two weeks to give the, give Rob and his staff time to look over this to try to come up with something we can all live with, I guess. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Boyles and Mr. Grantham vote No. Motion carries 7-2. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Where are we at now, Madame Clerk? We’ll go back to the items pulled. The Clerk: Yes, sir. Under the consent agenda. We’re at item 21 under the consent agenda. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Item 21? The Clerk: Item 18: 18. Motion to approve resolution creating street lighting districts. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I asked this to be pulled. I know about the street lighting district but I’d like to know who is included, who can be included, what this process, I guess, is. Mr. Shepard? Mr. Shepard: I guess I’ll have to address is. There have been apparently petitions filed in each one of these streets. I’m most familiar with the one, Dogwood Drive, and they petitioned to have the lights put up and they’re willing to pay the cost of the lights. The bottom line, each one of these districts will fund the lighting as shown on each one of these districts. There are I think six of them. I didn’t write the backup but that’s the summary of it. Mr. Cheek: Motion to approve. Ms. Beard: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I just need clarification. I just want to know [inaudible] street lighting [inaudible] but I got not problem with it. Been a motion and a second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. 59 Mr. Hankerson out. Motion carries 8-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: 21. Motion to approve Landfill fee schedule amendment for inclusion of a category for “Solid Waste with Beneficial Use”. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I did have this pulled because I’m uncertain about the amendment for the fees and schedule. I got a lot of conversation from some of the haulers and some of the residents as to what’s being what. Mr. Attorney? Mr. Shepard: Yes, sir, and I’ll let Mr. Johnson talk about the technical aspects of this. But he asked that we recognize a new category in the fee schedule which is known as solid waste with beneficial use. It’s materials that can be used at the landfill for covering the landfill and he wanted to have a favorable rate for that so that there would be an incentive to bring it to the landfill. And so it appears, so that it is organized, it appears in the new ordinance in the solid waste categories, after solid waste, 10,000 or greater tons per month disposal and before [inaudible]. And he said that he needed that rate to compensate for the expenses of taking it in, but he would have a use for it so therefore he would discount it off the rate. And he also asks that he or his designee have the right to determine the quantity of usable material at any given time so that if his requirements for daily cover were already met he wouldn’t have to take in any at this rate. It would be adjusted by the director and I thought that was appropriate. That’s what we are trying to do here. And to keep it simple for Steve, as we’ve said before, and since it appears in the main schedule and right almost in the middle of it, I suggest just reaffirm all the categories with this amendment and make it effective on a date that’s certain, st which would be June 1, and he would have his new category and a few schedule that he could post that was easily known so that you don’t have to piece it together from several ordinances. That’s the whole idea. I turn it over to Mr. Johnson for any other questions. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, sir, I need to know what impact this is going to have on our citizens. How much more? If it’s going to be a fee, the impact to them. That’s my biggest problem, to know. We vote on this fee schedule and knowing what it’s going to impact. Mr. Johnson: The change here won’t impact any of the citizens. It’s designed for [inaudible] that’s not currently classified, with brick slag. It’s something that gives us beneficial use. We can cut down the amount of rock that we use, effectively saving us some money in building internal roads. So we in effect could lower the fees for that. So if anybody else wants to bring us brick slag, there’s a discount for them as long as we can put it to beneficial use. 60 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Again [inaudible] adjust our fees you’re saying? Mr. Speaker: If we can find a beneficial use then we can afford to lower that fee. Because we’re not having to buy the [inaudible] and do those other things. So it becomes a win-win. Mr. Smith: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Smith? Mr. Smith: This would also add about $400,000 a year to the coffers out there and it is very good material coming from the old Babcock place. And we have a [inaudible] sitting there, some of that stuff has been sitting there 40-something years. I recommend it. Mr. Cheek: I move to approve. Ms. Sims: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Attorney? Mr. Shepard: And as a technical point, so that this could be implemented on st June 1 I’d ask the Commission to waive the second reading. Mr. Cheek: Yes, so move. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Been a motion and properly seconded. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. The Clerk: 22. Motion to approve Letter of Intent relative to a request from the committee of the Official Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Memorial Observance of the CSRA and Thumbs-Up, Inc. with Grantee Rights that the site of the King Statue across from James Brown Boulevard’s front entrance to the Judicial Center be named in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and that the property at said site be named the Martin L. King, Jr. Park or Plaza. (Approved by Engineering Services Committee May 9, 2005) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Beard? Ms. Beard: Well, I just, I certainly think we need a statute of Martin Luther King somewhere, but I think it may be a little premature to say that it will go at this particular 61 spot at this time, simply because we are working on projects for that area. So in my opinion we should really—this is something we should determine later. Maybe we could file it some place or what have you and make that determination when we are farther along with the projects for that area. Mr. Boyles: I move that we follow Commissioner Beard’s recommendation. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: I guess, is that to receive as information, Commissioner? I’m going to second Tommy’s motion. Mr. Boyles: It was to file it away for future reference, I believe, [inaudible] at the proper time to be determined. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Second. Any other discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Hankerson abstains. Motion carries 8-1. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: 23, Madame Clerk. The Clerk: Item 23 was a companion item. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Okay. Yeah, that was a companion item to 18. We’ll move on to our regular agenda then. The Clerk: PUBLIC SAFETY: 29. Discuss ordinances relating to known sexual offenders around walking distances to schools. (Requested by Commissioner Boyles) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Commissioner Boyles? Mr. Boyles: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. In view of the many calls that probably all of us have had because of some news articles and the concern that the Board of Education has and Mrs. Minchew is here that represents Super District 10 on the Board of Education, they also discussed this at their meeting last Thursday night, I believe it was. What I wanted to try to get done here was to get some clarification from our attorney whose statutes that we fall under because I think it’s becoming more and more of a growing problem in the community and would just like to have some guidance and 62 some form of direction for either our law enforcement people or educators or just our plain citizens. So I think our attorney has looked up some information for us. Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, members of the Commission, the current Georgia law provides for residence of a registered sex offender to be prohibited 1,000 feet from a school, child care facility or place where minors congregate. This is the basic ruling. It is a felony for them not to register and I think a felony offense for them to violate this prohibition. So it’s being regulated very extensively by the current Georgia criminal law. That being the case, I would take the position that this, an ordinance by this body would be preempted by the state law legislation. And I would recommend that the 1,000 foot distance, since it’s part of the general statutes of the state of Georgia, if you want to adjust it so that there is a greater requirement, a greater distance requirement than 1,000 feet I would suggest the most appropriate thing to do is to put this into our legislative package and request that the delegation pass an amendment to the state law. That way we won’t have any challenges about the prohibition, I mean preemption. And I talked with Mr. Fletcher about it and he said that he thinks that this is an appropriate way to handle it. So I would ask that there be a resolution going to our delegation, because clearly they could make these distances larger if they so desire. It’s been a great enough problem for there to be statewide regulation and that’s Code Section 42-1-13. Mr. Boyles: Mr. Chairman, I move that we give the attorney the authorization to send a resolution to the Legislative Delegation. Ms. Sims: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second. Let me ask a question here and naturally I would love to see something done. I’m just trying to figure out how can you regulate, how can you—when you’ve got people like that, Tommy, that lives in and around a school. I mean they ought to be registered and we understand that. But you’re talking about walking distance around a school. I’m just trying to figure out how, cause you got them living in neighborhoods and most of these people have children and some are married and I guess some are single, but I’m just trying to figure out how can we do that? Mr. Boyles: Commissioner, I agree with what you’re saying. I think that the distance between our schools, especially in the congested area, schools are almost within a mile and a half of each other anyway. It does make a little difficult situation. And I agree, it’s something that’s going to probably take some sort of study and something else to really look at. But it is a concern out there and it’s things you and I have talked about. It is a concern. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I think it’s very valid. I’m just thinking now I know several schools with residences directly across the street in the front door of the school and property right behind the school where people live and whether those people are registered or not. But I’m just trying to figure out how can we—and maybe the legislators can come up with something that [inaudible] do that. [inaudible] sign in the 63 front door, in the front yard so you would know [inaudible] net to find out. It’s beyond me. I would love to know how we could regulate or do something about that. Mr. Boyles: You know I think it used to be if you lived within a mile and a half of a school wasn’t it that you walked to school, you know? And so that’s a lot of property and a lot of space. If somebody is walking by and they live a mile and a half from the school and a child walks by then you’ve got a problem. It’s a tough situation. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ve got a motion and a second. Commissioner Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Just my concern on this. We had a situation on Richmond Hill Road where we had a sex offender who was in the data base and he was diagonally about four doors down and after we searched the data base—it’s been a couple of years—we watched the house for several months. My concern is that these people will register at a given residence but we’re not really following up on tracking them where they’re actually living because we never saw the individual whose photo appeared in the data base who was listed at this address ever go or come from that house. And so my concern is that while these guys are out on parole and are required to register and reside in a given residence that we’re not patrolling it and keeping a handle on where they actually live, so we may never know if they’re actually near a school or any playground or park or anywhere else and I would encourage the arm of the government that’s responsible for following up on assuring that these people are where they say they are and doing what they are supposed to be doing, that they I guess redouble their efforts to make sure that’s in fact happening. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We have a motion and second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: FINANCE: 30. Motion to approve Internal Audit schedule for 2005. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Is Mr. Persaud here? Someone from Finance? Mr. Russell: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, this is required annually to approve the audit schedule for the internal auditors. This is a standard practice that we use. In addition to that, as you well know, we occasionally use those for other audits as directed by the Finance Committee Chair and the Mayor at this particular point in time. It’s just how we do that. David can speak to the schedule. I think he just walked int. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: David? 64 Mr. Persaud: Thank you, Fred. The schedule is the work place for 2005. It’s being presented a little late this year. But initially the internal auditor [inaudible] Commissioners, the Mayor and the Administrator [inaudible] schedule of what is planned for audit for the next year and it is presented to this Commission for approval. [inaudible] necessary [inaudible] working on a contractual basis. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: David, has any of this work been performed already? Here we are almost mid year and some of this stuff already been done for ’05 or the last of ’05 or the beginning of ’06? Mr. Persaud: Some of the—I think one particular area is revenues in the Recreation Department. That’s a continuation. But [inaudible] continuation and some are new projects. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We don’t know to what extent what’s been completed already now. We’ll get this when? Mr. Persaud: Number 1, the audit in Human Resources, that’s a follow up to an audit that was done two years ago and [inaudible] are in place and is being addressed. [inaudible] in that some of the [inaudible] were delaying the process of remitting the revenue on a timely basis. [inaudible] county attorney’s office [inaudible] follow up. [inaudible] random audit done periodically to ensure that there is integrity in the process [inaudible] strengthen the integrity of the tax collection process. [inaudible] review process [inaudible] audit. The water department, this is a new audit. [inaudible] looking into receivables and billings and collection process. Because these are new audits [inaudible] follow-up from prior [inaudible] audit findings. [inaudible] decentralized [inaudible]. When you have decentralized collections points there are several areas of collecting cash. You normally have exposure [inaudible] follow up to that area. License and Inspection, likewise a follow-up on an audit of a prior year to ensure that the billings and collections are done on a timely basis. [inaudible] new audit and also [inaudible] special project as requested by the Commission. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: And the reason I had a question about this is in light of what happened in Recreation already and the stuff that we already been put in place, the golf course. I’m remembering several other things that we had an internal auditor to go in and to look at. Some things [inaudible] put in place we had some specific things that happened and we asked to be put in place and I don’t know that [inaudible] put in place at this point or not. But I want to know where we were and I see some new things that are here. Ms. Bonner, I would like to get that subcommittee activated that we had and been placed out to look at an internal auditor for this government. And works entirely for this government. To answer to the government. I mean my personal opinion we go after the horse has got out and then we want to close the gate and it’s always too late. We have not been effective at all with this process and I think we need to change process to see can we get to do better. Can I get a motion? 65 Mr. Cheek: I make a motion to approve. Mr. Grantham: I second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: 34. Approve use of $206,250 from Third Level Canal, SPLOST Phase III funds to match a DOT grant of $825,000 for the extension of New Bartram Trail. (Referred from May 3, 2005 Commission Meeting) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I asked for this to be looked at. I wanted to get some information. We know there’s a grant and any time we can take advantage of it I don’t rd have any problem. But can you tell me where we are now with the process, the 3 level of the canal, this grant money along with the money we’re putting up, what is in store? What we got coming I guess is a better— Mr. Sherrouse: Okay, this part of the project extends New Bartram Trail from th 15 at Reynolds at the entrance to Waters Edge up to the top of Hawk’s Gulley, down the levee and then [inaudible] to the river, parallel to the river, across the King Mill and the Sibley Mill [inaudible] and [inaudible] into the existing trail that was completed with the previous phase on the north side of the Sibley Mill [inaudible]. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: And this is a walking trail, a bike trail? I mean exactly what? Mr. Sherrouse: Both. It’s a multi-use trail. For biking and pedestrians. And there will be two new bridges. There was a bridge across the King Mill and a bridge across the Sibley Mill [inaudible]. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Will any of the money be used for—Commissioner Cheek been concerned very much about the critters he calls them, under the bridges. He calls them critters. Mr. Cheek: Critter holes. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yeah. Critter holes. Will any of this money be used to help with any of that or just for the walking trails? 66 Mr. Sherrouse: This is simply for the construction of the trail and the bridges that go along with the trail. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: Thank you, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. I’ve talked with the director of the Canal Authority and the area that they’re planning on putting this trail in [inaudible] and the cost and they’re going into pretty much a wilderness area and establishing some really nice trails and bridges. We appropriated $2 million to repair the tow path and the diversion dam out of Utilities money so that’s a separate pot to fix critter holes. But I think this is a good expenditure and I urge support for. I think the Canal Authority is going to leverage this money to really add some pretty nice trail ways which will be directly across the river from the North Augusta greenway. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: One other question. I guess our bid process to—are we using as many local businesses to do as much as possible to [inaudible] this money back in the city? Mr. Sherrouse: Of course we bid it and unless there is some compelling reason that we can’t award it to the low bidder, we award it to the low bidder. But it’s a DOT grant and so we have to comply with the City requirements and the Georgia Department regulations and prior to bid they’ll establish whether there is a minority participation as a part of the bid process. And whatever that is, we will have to comply with. But that’s given to us by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: And this is not directed to minorities. This is directed mostly to the local businesses that [inaudible] here and a lot of times we don’t use those. We been very adamant about trying to get the money spent back into the, into our local area. I don’t have any reason to hold this up or to even mention other comments. I just wanted to ask that question since you was here. And to try and encourage us to do all that we can for the—I know we got guidelines to go by. We have them up here so it’s not something you do as you will. Be we certainly appreciate all that’s been done and we want to continue to do everything we can to help those in this community to strive and to move forward. Can I get a motion? Ms. Sims: A motion to approve. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ve got a motion and a second. All in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? 67 The Clerk: PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS; 35. Select voting delegate for Annual Georgia Municipal Association’s 2005 Annual Convention in Savannah. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Can I get a nominee? Ms. Beard: I nominate Bobby Hankerson. Ms. Sims: Second. Mr. Hankerson: I’m on the board. Ms. Beard: You’re on the board? Mr. Cheek: That means you’ve got to be there to vote. Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, though, but we need somebody else. Mr. Cheek: I nominate Commissioner Williams. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Since Commissioner Hankerson going to be there already, though. Mr. Hankerson: I’m on the board. Ms. Sims: He can vote. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: He can vote. You ain’t voting for the board. You’re our delegation. If you going to be there. The Clerk: [inaudible] Mr. Hankerson: I don’t know. It may be some conflicts [inaudible] voting for myself. I just want somebody else there. (Laughter) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: 68 PENSION AND AUDIT COMMITTEE: 36. Receive report from Pension and Audit Committee and make selection for International Investment Manager. (Requested by Commissioner Tommy Boyles) Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: [inaudible] Mr. Boyles: I am, Mr. Williams. From the Pension and Audit Committee, I’d like to read this information into the record. This is coming from the Smith Barney Citigroup who handles the pension fund for us. And it says – and we approve this with international markets that outperform US stock and bond markets by a wide range since 2002. With about ½ of the world investment opportunities located outside the United States, an international focus offers opportunities that would otherwise not be available. We believe a fundamental shift in developing economics has created a rare opportunity for investors. By diversifying a portion of the available assets outside US markets should [inaudible] spread risk [inaudible] overall portfolio. [inaudible] US and international [inaudible]. This came from Charles and Edward May, who are our pension consultants and we have authorized an international management search. I guess it was last Wednesday we interviewed three companies that came in with their information and it was Delaware Investments, J.P. Morgan/Morgan Stanley, and a company called Lazard. And it is the recommendation of the Pension and Audit Committee that we go with the firm Lazard, which is recommended also by our pension and investment company. So that is handled through them. The fees are already in place through them. It’s just that we do it and every bit of this is for the pension plan and we chose Lazard because they also handle\the IBEW here. They had a total list of all the governments in Georgia they also work with. But it just so happens that the money is being made now in the international markets and not so much the United States market. And so that was a goal That’s to expand the portfolio and the resources of the 1977, 1945 and 1949 pensioners. the recommendation from the Pension and Audit Committee after we researched it and heard the – and I make that in the form of a motion that we approve that recommendation. Ms. Sims: Second. Mr. Boyles: And I do have those for any Commissioner that would like to-- Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ve got a motion and a second to receive this as information. Mr. Boyles: No, sir. It gives the authority to Smith Barney, our investment people, to— Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: What’s the motion now? Mr. Boyles: The motion is to approve the Pension and Audit recommendation that we use the Lazard firm in conjunction with our Smith Barney financial consultants. 69 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We’ve got a motion and second. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: APPEALS HEARING: 37. Consider a request for reconsideration from Mr. J. Pete Theodocion, Attorney At Law, regarding Commission action taken in the regular meeting held March 15 and March 29, 2005 denying a new application request by Back Hap Ja Son for a retail package Beer & Wine license to be used in connection with Corner Mini Mart located at 635 Laney Walker Blvd. District 1. Super District 9. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Give us your name and address for the record, please. Mr. Theodocion: Yes, sir. My name is Pete Theodocion. My home address is 2221 Kings Way in Augusta, Georgia. I do represent the petitioners in this case who th applied for a license. If you recall on March 15 this board denied their request for a license to sell beer and wine. It does note on the agenda that the matter was taken up th again on March 29. The reason that we’re here now, in accordance with the local ordinance, we were told that we had five days to respond, to ask for a rehearing. We did that in a timely manner. After that, however, we were not notified of any day and time that the matter would be reheard and I think Mr. Shepard looked into that and agreed with me that we were still entitled to our ordinance reconsideration as define in the local Code. So we are here today, just to refresh your memory. The Corner Mini Mart is at 635 Laney Walker Boulevard. I guess it’s what you call the lower end of Laney Walker Boulevard. It’s about two blocks towards Gordon Highway from the Laney Walker Grocery Store. It is a lone building on a very small block. To its immediate left is nothing. To its immediate right on that block is no building. To the front of the building is a fenced-off subsidized housing area. To the immediate right of the Corner Mini Mart is an abandoned gas station, an old Spur gas station that previously had a beer and wine license until that business went out of operation. Within 200 yards up Laney Walker—I use the terms down and up—within 200 yards up toward the Medical College of Georgia there is the Laney Walker Grocery that has a beer and wine license and also there is J’s, a structure which is a liquor store, which of course sells beer, wine and liquor and in fact th advertises Seagram’s in the window. If you recall from the March 15 hearing, Mr. Larry Harris was here. He indicated on behalf of License & Inspection that the applicants met the requirements, that their application was in order, that the location was proper as to all distance requirements and all zoning requirements, and they recommended that the th license be granted. At the time on March 15, there was one objector present. I don’t believe there are any here today. We presented a petition with numerous signatures of people from the area and there has been little opposition throughout this from that area. And thus we were surprised when that application was denied by this group. In your 70 letter of denial—and frankly at the time of hearing I was interested in what the reasons would be for the denial—the tone and tenor of the conversation that day primarily focused on alcohol and the evils therewith and the desire to not have people sell beer and wine and not have people drink beer and wine. The letter we were given from the City indicating the reasons for the denial of our application was Augusta Code 6-2 65A4, location, and I’ll read from this letter. According to that section, location—the location for which the license is sought as to traffic congestion, general character of the neighborhood and effect such an establishment would have on the adjacent and surrounding property values. Now in accordance with your local ordinance, in the rehearing procedure, we are allowed to present evidence at this reconsideration. It’s not strictly just a reconsideration of what has already been gone into. And so what we’ve tried to do is look at the reason it was given and take these one by one. Number 1, traffic congestion. And what I have to offer today is an affidavit from James Huffstetler. Mr. Huffstetler from 1997 to 2001 was the Traffic Engineer for Augusta-Richmond County. I’ll save this body the chore of reading the affidavit to you, as far as his educational background and his professional qualifications. Needless to say, he is qualified in the area of traffic. I will move on to paragraph 11 and this is of course based on his familiarity with the area and his study of the location as part of his involvement in the case. And I quote “it is my professional opinion that the inclusion of beer and wine sales at the existing Corner Mini Mart located at 635 Laney Walker Boulevard would not have a significant impact on the traffic at that location or nearby.” Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Theodocion, let me interrupt for one minute. Mr. Theodocion: Yes, sir? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I need to [inaudible] to another lawyer for a minute. Steve, are we to hear this case as brand new, as to hear new evidence and this kind of thing? I know this an appeal. Now, Mr. Theodocion said that—and he’s an attorney so I’m sure he understand that language—but I need to know from the man we pay is that, is that, is that the process here? Can appeal is to hear it and we can consider it or not consider it, but are we to go through this? Mr. Shepard: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, it is—first of all let me comment about why we’re back here. The Clerk took the position that we properly notified Mr. Theodocion and his client. I was surprised that he was not here. We discussed this and it was determined that in order to eliminate any procedural due process claim that Mr. Theodocion might have, that we afford him the rehearing opportunity. And we do go into some additional evidence at this time, which Mr. Theodocion is prepared to present, which I am prepared to present. So I would agree with Mr. Theodocion that we could have additional matters considered by this body. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, now, you just said the Clerk said that was did notify him properly in proper time. So that tells me that his time period had expired from the time he was supposed to have came back if he was notified properly. 71 Mr. Shepard: Well, yes, sir. And in order to eliminate that as an issue— Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, wait, wait now. Our Clerk is here. Now, if that’s the case then it’s eliminated. We don’t need to go through any more. But now I understand your willingness but I don’t want to go back through this whole thing again if we did what we supposed to do. If we have not then I think Mr. Theodocion should have the right to stand in front of us and give us the information. But if we’ve done what we’ve supposed to do then why are we going through this now? Mr. Shepard: To eliminate a procedural due process claim in its entirety. [inaudible] he has no procedural process claim. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’m going to allow him to go ahead but Mr. Theodocion, please spare us the unnecessary—just the details so we can get on, please. Now, I think our Clerk done what she supposed to do and I believe you been notified properly, but the word of our Attorney we going to go through this one more time. Mr. Theodocion: I appreciate that, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. And actually the notification that the ordinance requires is from the Director of License & Inspection and the ordinance requires him to give us notice of the next day and time or the next regular meeting. And I have the notice here. You can look at it. Neither the day nor the time is on here, so in fact there is no argument that could be made that we were given proper notice. Also, going again one by one on the three points that were given. Traffic congestion, property values, and general character of the area. With regard to property values, I also have an affidavit, and I’m going to give both of these original affidavits to the Clerk and asked that they be kept in the file on this case. I have an affidavit from Ashby R. Krouse, III, who is a member of the Augusta Planning Commission, who has a real estate broker’s license in both Georgia and South Carolina. Again, I will spare you the details of his qualifications but he is appropriately qualified to make this opinion. And I’ll move to paragraph 9 of his affidavit. “It is my professional opinion that the issuance of a license to sell beer and wine at the Corner Mini Mart located at 635 Laney Walker Boulevard would not have any measurable impact on the surrounding property values in the area.” And so with regard to the traffic and with regard to property values, I think we’re covered there. And of course this board heard no evidence related to that. We [inaudible] concerns but at some point we have to hear some evidence. Lastly we have general character of the neighborhood. As I’ve indicate and as I’ve—I don’t have to educate this board on Laney Walker Boulevard. It’s a commercial street. It’s a four lane road. It’s closer to Walton Way than it is to a residential road. Driving up and down it, and I do frequently, it’s hard to find a residential structure there, houses. You have business. You have some, but mostly you have grocery stores, you have general stores, you have attorney office space, you have general office space, you have the Medical College of course as you go up Laney Walker. To suggest that a grocery store selling beer and wine does not fit the general character of this location I don’t think is supportable when you look at other similar roads in this area and other areas. All you have to do is drive down the street. This fits in to have a cooler of beer and wine at a grocery store. Certainly the inclusion of beer and wine sales at Laney Walker Grocery 72 fits in with the community there, the character of that area, and in fact as I’ve indicated, within 200 yards there’s liquor being sold there. So I think that is also unsupported by the record. Lastly I’d just like to say, and I said this same statutory language the last time I was here but I do have to repeat it again for other reasons. There used to be the idea that selling beer and wine was a privilege and not a right. Well, the law is that once a board such as this outlines objectives and ascertainable criteria that an applicant has to follow to get this kind of license, once you set out what you have to do, then when an applicant meets those criteria they have a right. And denial of that right is a denial of their due process under the law. It is our opinion that because we’ve met all of the objective criteria for issuance of this license the denial of the license would be a violation of my client’s equal protection and due process rights as guaranteed by both the State of Georgia Constitution and the Constitution of the United States of America. And I’ve heard talk of fairness here today and I can’t think of anything more fair for a government to do than when it says this is what you have to do to sell beer and wine and an applicant does that, when they meet the criteria that you set out for them you must grant them that license. If not, you’re not being fair to these people. And so I’m going to present the affidavits to the Clerk and I respectfully request that you change your decision and following the recommendation from License & Inspection and grant this license. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’m going to call on the attorney in a minute, but I’m going to say in your travel up and down Laney Walker, Mr. Theodocion, you failed to recognize there is five churches and even a Catholic school in that same vicinity that you have to pass by when you go from the Medical College down to the business district that you’re talking about. But I want to hear from the attorney to see what he has. Mr. Shepard: In the hearing at this time to receive evidence from any entity opposing this license and I’d like to now call on a representative from the Housing Authority to come forward and give his name and address for the record and I’d like to have the opportunity to present to the Commission the plat of the area that shows that notwithstanding that its meets the distance requirements, other factors such as the congregation of minors in the area can be considered. And I would ask the gentleman from the Housing Authority to come forward and state his name for the record. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Give your name and address for the record. Mr. Speaker: Richard [inaudible], I’m the Director of Planning Development for the Augusta Housing Authority. Mr. Shepard: Mr. [inaudible], I’m going to show you this tax map overlaying the property lines on this map. And as the staff person at the Augusta Housing Authority, are you familiar with the corner of Laney Walker Boulevard and Twiggs Street? Mr. Speaker: [inaudible] apartments, public housing. Mr. Shepard: What is your capacity with the board there, the Housing Authority? 73 Mr. Speaker: Director of Planning and Development for all our properties. Mr. Shepard: And M.M. Scott consists of a mid-rise, I think; is that correct? Mr. Speaker: Yes, sir. 100 units. About 25 of those units are in a mid-rise apartments for the elderly. The other 75 apartments are scattered throughout the site. Mr. Shepard: Is it your responsibility to keep up with the census of the residents at the housing development? Mr. Speaker: It’s not my responsibility but I talked to the Director of Management in there and she gave me the number. Mr. Shepard: Tell me, sir, how many children or minors are in that area. Mr. Speaker: M.M. Scott has 89 minors residing there. th Mr. Shepard: And I’m going to ask you to locate the corner of 7 Street and Laney-Walker Boulevard on this map, can you refer to that? Mr. Speaker: It’s that little corner right here. Mr. Shepard: Put that as location #1. And then if I can, sir, within this property line, this red boundary here, is where the property is bounded by Twiggs Street on the east, Laney Walker on the north, and Summer Street on the west and Spruce Street on the south. Within that area, within that property defined by that area, that is M.M. Scott Homes, is that correct? Mr. Speaker: Yes, sir. Mr. Shepard: And then from this aerial photograph overlay by the tax map property line there appears a rectangular area which I’m going to mark as #2. What is that, sir? Mr. Speaker: That’s a basketball court. Mr. Shepard: And then where I mark #3, what is that? Mr. Speaker: A basketball court. In addition to that, it’s a playground. Mr. Shepard: And I’m going to mark that as #4. All right. And finally, do you understand where the location of the applicant’s proposed business is on this map? Mr. Speaker: Yes, sir. 74 Mr. Shepard: Yes, sir, mark that with #5. And sir, is—we’ve been referring to a map which has a scale on it of about an inch to 100 feet, I believe, if I’m correct. Mr. Speaker: That’s correct, an inch to 100 feet. Mr. Shepard: And so the basketball court is from the property line of the applicant’s proposed location to that court marked #2, that’s less than 200 feet, is that correct? Mr. Speaker: Yes, sir. Mr. Shepard: And then the boundary of the property line of this complex, M.M. Scott Homes, is less than 100 feet directly across the street from this? Mr. Speaker: Correct. Mr. Shepard: And there are 89 minors there who do congregate on the basketball courts and the playground; is that correct? Mr. Speaker: 89 minors residing in M.M. Scott. Mr. Shepard: And the Housing Authority, do you have any position with respect to this license? Mr. Speaker: [inaudible] Mr. Shepard: Would it be in your opinion appropriate to locate this across the complex where 89 minors are prone to be using the playgrounds and the basketball courts? Mr. Speaker: I don’t have a comment on that. Mr. Shepard: I’m going to tender into evidence and to the Clerk’s hands, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, the certified plat of Augusta-Richmond County GIS which is prepared today and shows the locations as marked. When the [inaudible] are met, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, that’s one reason for denying it, but you can also consider the fact that there’s minors in the area, which I think the residences of these minors have been adequately shown on the record. And the Supreme Court has said in a case involving Augusta- Richmond County that even though we are perhaps not violative in this, in the application of the distance requirements, that other considerations can be made such as the congregation of minors in the area. And therefore I would ask that for the showing and the showing before the Commission the last time, which also included a certified plat, that the motion for reconsideration be denied and the previous motion of the Commission, the action of the Commission be sustained. Ms. Sims: So move. 75 Ms. Beard: Second. Mr. Theodocion: I’m sorry, the ordinance does allow me to cross-examine the witness. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: No, no, we’re not in court now. Mr. Theodocion: The ordinance allows me to cross-examine any witness against this application and I demand that right. Mr. Shepard: I would agree with that, Mr. Williams. We do not want to deny due process here. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Well, I didn’t want to get into this anyway but I allowed it. Now, we going to go through cross-examination and all this but come on, let’s get it over with. Mr. Theodocion: I’d like to cross-examine, question the witness. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Have the witness to come back. Mr. Theodocion: You indicated there were 89 minors that live in that complex; you don’t have any figures as to how many use those courts at a particular time or in fact congregate on those courts, do you? Mr. Speaker: No, I do not have a number. I do know the courts are used. Mr. Theodocion: Okay. And Mr. Shepard indicated to you that there was less than 100 feet property distance and less than 200 feet distance from the courts. Isn’t it true, however, that to get from those locations you can’t go straight to the Mini Mart because there’s a big wrought iron fence that blocks that; isn’t that right? Mr. Speaker: Around the property there’s an 8 foot high ornament fence that is along the perimeter of the property. Mr. Theodocion: And in fact if you use one of the entrances or exits to that property the distances will be much larger than 100 and 200 feet as Mr. Shepard, the figures Mr. Shepard used, isn’t that right? Mr. Speaker: Yes, if you have to walk around to the main entrance it would exceed those distances. Mr. Theodocion: Okay, thank you very much, sir. That’s all I have. 76 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me step in. That’s a good question you brought out but let me share something with you. You can stand on that corner of that property and see the children and some adults walking through the fence cause the bars been displaced from there. There’s an opening and it might as well be a gate there. Because they do it all the time. They are not going to walk around 200-and-something yards when they can go through the fence, and they done found a way to do it, to cross there. I need a motion. Ms. Sims: So move. Ms. Beard: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and properly seconded that we deny this for the last and final time. All those in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Colclough abstains. Motion carries 8-1. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk. The Clerk: ENGINEERING SERVICES: 38. Consider approval of Amendment No. 9 to the Agreement with OMI- Inc. to include local, minority-owned and women-owned business participation language and to exercise Augusta’s Option to extend the Agreement for four additional years. Ms. Sims: A motion to approve. Mr. Boyles: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: got a motion and second. I need to hear from [inaudible] from the DBE person [inaudible] if I can. I’ve got some concerns with this. I voiced them and I’m going to take that liberty to voice them again this afternoon, but Ms. Gentry, can you attest to the DBE and the women owned businesses that’s affiliated with this? Ms. Gentry: Mr. Pro Tem and Commission, I had the opportunity to review the historical DBE documentation provided by OMI last week. I had several concerns and I would just like to address them with you, as I did with them. The first thing is the numbers were impressive; however, when we actually provided the [inaudible] it revealed a disparity among minorities as well as women owned business. Definitely OMI handles all of your procurement opportunities for the City of Augusta to include material supplies as well as services. This process does not allow or include an individual from the City of Augusta to ensure that we identify local minorities business for non-specialty products and services. Lastly, OMI contract indicates 20% DBE participation. That was a concern because it’s a lot lower than the historical data of 2003 and 2004 and what they 77 shared with me was that this number is lot lower due to the estimated decline in construction projects for the upcoming year. I met with several individuals from OMI and due to the time element that we had to put this together and get it back to Ms. Bonner’s office, I requested them to provide me a commitment letter to address the concerns that I just indicated. Two of the real important things was a detailed action plan that they would agree to provide me within the next 30 days of how they will address the increased disparity among women as well as minority owned business. In addition to that, Mr. Tony Johnson and I will meet monthly to discuss upcoming procurement opportunities for local business. Your agenda book includes information, the letter from OMI. I’m recommending that the OMI letter be incorporated by reference to the contract. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Thank you, Ms. Gentry. Let me go ahead and say first of all [inaudible] not saying they have not done a good job. That’s not in question here. Last year when it was [inaudible] to this body about doing a five year contract we disagreed and we asked for some participation from women owned and minority business and local businesses that we was promised [inaudible] stuff on paper that really looked good. Even to this day I have not seen that. But I’ve got a serious issue when we try to come back. We did a year extension, renewal for a year with option. Now we come back with a four year option again. In my calculation, in my little figuring up [inaudible] we talking about $24 million or $25 million project. How can we sit here and think we can give or we can award that kind of a bid or that kind of process without going through a bid process? Now I say again I think they did a good job. It’s not a matter of whether they did a good job or not. But we can’t take the liberty to just continue to award bids of any kind, especially of that kind, and not see what else we can get for that kind of money. We been in this process for at least six years already and I think Mr. Shepard has got an ordinance there that he’s willing to show us. I was privileged to get some information from him. But the year is not up yet. We’re probably going into the sixth month of the last agreement. Now we talking about a four year deal which hadn’t been proven to do what we asked them to do in the beginning. Now that’s—these are taxpayers’ money that we are using. We’ve got to be mindful of how we spend and what we do with those monies. And if we going to award those kind of bids, those kind of [inaudible], we ought to have at least the fortitude to go and [inaudible] come back with a RFP of some kind to see what else we can get out there. Commissioner Cheek had a hand up and then I’m going to recognize Ms. Sims after him. But Commissioner Cheek was first. Mr. Cheek: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I’m going to yield to Commissioner Sims and ask for the floor back after she’s through, please. Ms. Sims: Well, I would just like for you all to—I’m sure everyone saw this—the County Government—where Augusta-Richmond’s Award Winning Waste Water Plan—I read it and I thought, you know, it says OMI. Operations Management. The highest accolades that an organization can be bestowed upon. That’s what we have working for us. Right here. I cannot think every time we ever say what does a company put back into our community and I look and I see what OMI has put back in to this community. They have put thousands and thousands of dollars back into Richmond County. They have 78 participated in every way possible to make us a better community. I do not see—if you’re sailing on a great sailboat, I just don’t see taking down the sail and drifting away. So I’m asking that we approve this. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Cheek? Mr. Cheek: You know, I thought about it and I was going to just take this back to legal but I think I’m going to just going to air it out and get this done with right now. We—several of us have been approached with the fact that we may or may not be violating a state ordinance. I’ll ask our Attorney in public. Are we violating a state ordinance by granting this contract? Mr. Shepard: No. Mr. Cheek: Can we sustain a challenge in court by awarding this contract? Mr. Shepard: It is my opinion we can. Mr. Cheek: No further questions. Mr. Grantham: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Grantham? Mr. Grantham: We do have a motion, do we not? Ms. Sims: I made a motion. Mr. Grantham: I meant do we have one that’s seconded? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes. Mr. Grantham: Okay, thank you. I just wanted to say that looking back six years now it seems to be a question now why we are doing four years when back six years ago they gave a five year contract. And these people have proven their work. When the first contract was given, it’s my understanding that there was about six people on board as far as employment of that company. And what has happened is we look for industry to increase and we look for people to come and go to work in our community and to help better our community and it’s my understanding now they have over 100 people engaged in work not just at that plant, but engaged in work with various companies that they are affiliated or associated with me. To me that’s industry, to me that’s improvement, to me that’s an increase in the workforce of Richmond County taxpayers, and whatever we want to do, to nail it down. I was in question of this last year, having just come on board, and I did raise a few questions. I did ask that we look at it. And once I was given the opportunity to review and see and know what these people are doing I’ve been convinced in the last year’s time now that they are a very reputable and outstanding company and I 79 am in full support of the four year extension that they are asking for. The only thing I ask them to do is work as hard as you have been working, do the type of job that you’ve been doing and prove to these people that are in question of what they are saying about you, that you are a better man than they are. And I thank you for what you’ve done. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me, let me respond to that, Don. I don’t know who else beside me who ain’t a better man than they are, I don’t know who that relates to besides me. But— Mr. Grantham: [inaudible] Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: No, no, no, no, I didn’t say you was. I can say it right here with them or anybody else. I don’t see and I don’t agree that we take the taxpayers’ money and award a $24 million project for four years to anybody. Now never have I said that the company did not do a good job. I said to Max and everybody else what [inaudible] running everything else. That’s a lot of money that we put out [inaudible] Savannah [inaudible] and this last conference we had down in Savannah [inaudible] who wants to come and I think they contacted the Administrator about wanting to at least see what we are getting. Now I don’t know who’s who and I really don’t care. All my job to do is to let you know what you doing when you do it. Now it’s up to the six votes. Whatever the six votes says is fine with me. But I’m not going to sit here and stick my head in the sand and act like I don’t know what’s going on and not say nothing about it. So whoever it is that you was referring to, and if it’s me I’m a grown man. In fact, I’m past grown. That’s right, feel really good. And I’m man enough to say what’s on my mind and my heart. And I think that it is very wrong for us to sit here and act like we don’t know that there are other companies out there that will give us at least the opportunity to know that we are getting the bang for our bucks. Now when you turn around and we done done other contracts differently because we trying to save money. When we was in Savannah, we looked at situation about going back in house with our fleet management service because we trying to save money. But because it’s water money, because it’s coming from another source, we continue to spend it like it’s water. It’s not water. It’s still money and it’s still taxpayers’ money. And you was elected to do the best that you could for the taxpayers. And if you think not going out for bids or to ask for someone to come in to give you a proposal to see what you are getting, then you less than I thought as a Commissioner. Mr. Cheek, go ahead. Mr. Cheek: I’m just going to say that about this time last year when we started working on the contract, you gentlemen here know that we did not have six votes and there was skepticism on the board. I asked you to go back and to look at restructuring the contract to deal with DBE and other things and you’re working with our DBE representative. You’ve been a tremendous asset. I didn’t convince the other Commissioners to your worth to this city. You did, by your performance. And the challenge is and what has been said is if you’re given a long term contract that your performance will fall off. I trust that that won’t happen, because of the level of commitment that you’ve shown so far. Every now and then contracts need to be rebid. But this city and all of us sitting here can say something that none of our predecessors 80 can say, is that for the last four decades the Messerly Plant has run more months in conformance with clean water standards that ever before in history. That is just one statistic due to your operation. There’s a value to what you add to this community. In spite of all the other things, political undercurrents that go on, you’ve put us in the newspaper and the magazines in a positive way. We have a hard time doing that ourselves up here. But I urge support for this today. I had my concerns about the challenge, and we probably will be challenged in court over this. But I just say you’ve done a good job, keep up the good work. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I think it’s been fully discussed. I call the question. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Commissioner Hankerson? Mr. Hankerson: Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I was impressed also, as Commissioner Sims stated about that magazine. I did reserve that. I read the whole entire article. I was kind of proud to see Augusta moving up, having some first quality firms working for us. I think we need some more of them. I just consider this OMI as just a flagship for us. They’ve really been doing a great job. I was more impressed—I was impressed also, not only with the service that they have given and the working relationship they have with our director, and also the combining, the OMI model combining excellent service and corporate citizenship, where they have given their support to the community, over $117,000. I think that’s a message to send. And we’ve always been asking that. We want people that we do business with to show that they care for the community and do something in the community, too, so they have stepped forward to do that, there are organizations doing that, but I think they’ve taken the lead on doing this and I hope that we will support OMI, this agenda item today, because really they deserve it as an award for the great work and the accolades they’ve already received in that award, they received this year. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me just say in response to Commissioner Hankerson, too, I received that information as well, the money that they put back in our community. But let us not forget where the money comes from. That’s, those millions of dollars came from us. That’s our money going back in the community. Now that ain’t nobody else’s money that we putting in there. We ought to have good sense. We ought to be able to receive some things. I ain’t never said and I repeat again I did not say the company did not do a good job. I said [inaudible] reasonable enough with the taxpayers’ money to be able to go out and just see what we’re getting without a four year contract. I’ve got a motion on the floor. All those in favor, let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Mr. Williams votes No. Motion carries 8-1. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Fred? Mr. Russell: Mr. Williams, at this point under other business I’ve got an announcement that I need to make, just to let y’all know. 81 39. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. Russell: For the past several hours we’ve been dealing with an issue with our fuel cards. The company that we have our fuel card business with was sold to another company. During the transition today they had an issue with the card that we use, for those of you that have the Fuel Man cards. They’ve not functioning well and we’ve been dealing with—not functioning at all basically. We’ve been dealing with the fire chief, with Emergency Management, and Ron Crowden as we work toward a way to get that done and we’ve got that set for tonight. But if you’ve got a Fuel Man card it will not function for the next 48 hours and so we’re working on that. But I did want to assure you that we do have the gas and the diesel for the fire trucks and the police cars throughout the night. We’ll be working on that first thing in the morning. I wanted to apologize, that’s one of the reasons I’ve been running in and out so much is that I’ve been trying to deal with that. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Next item, Madame Clerk. Mr. Hankerson: Mr. Mayor? I have a question about that. Does that put, how does that put our emergency vehicles and our police department? Are they in any danger of not receiving fuel? Mr. Russell: No, sir, Commissioner. We worked out where they’ll have sufficient fuel for the evening. We’ve got some backup supplies of diesel that are available to us at both the Transit Department and the landfill but we’ve worked with a couple of our local— (Tape ends) 41. LEGAL MEETING: A. Pending and potential litigation. B. Real Estate. C. Personnel. D. Discuss Municipal Building Security. Mr. Colclough: I so move. Ms. Beard: Second. Motion carries 9-0. [LEGAL MEETING] (First tapes picks back up) 82 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. Bonner, we can go on and call the meeting back to order. 42. Motion to approve authorization for the Mayor to execute affidavit of compliance with the Georgia’s Open Meeting Act. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We need a motion to sign the affidavit. Mr. Shepard: We’d ask for a motion to sign the affidavit for the purposes stated in the agenda book, less pending litigation. Mr. Colclough: I so move. Mr. Cheek: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second. All in favor let it be known by the normal sign of voting. Ms. Sims and Mr. Grantham out. Motion carries 7-0. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Need a motion to adjourn. Mr. Colclough: So move. Mr. Hankerson: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Motion and second to adjourn. [MEETING ADJOURNED] Lena J. 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 Augusta Richmond County Commission held on May 17, 2005. ________________________ Clerk of Commission 83