HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-21-2005 Meeting
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FINANCE & APPROPRIATIONS
COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE ROOM - February 21,2005
2:00 P. M.
PRESENT: Hons. Bob Young, Mayor; Boyles, Chairman; Beard, Co-Chairman;
Grantham and Williams, members; Fred Russell, Administrator; Andy Tisdale, Attorney;
Chris Naylor and Sanford Loyd, DDA; E. W. Reece, Tax Assessor; North Williamson,
Tax Commissioners Office; Sandy Wright, Risk Management; Mark Johnson, Landfill
Manager; Rick Acree, Facilities Management Director; Yvonne Gentry, DBE
Coordinator; Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission.
Th(;~ Clerk: We have one addendum item to consider the purchase of tickets
for the Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce which will be held on
Thursday, February 24 at 11:30 at the Radisson.
Mr. Williams: I move that we add this.
Ms. Sims: Second.
Mr. Chairman: May we add and approve?
Mr. Williams: That's fine.
Motion adopted unanimously.
Mr. Chairman: We have a request to delete Item 4.
4.
Approve the acquisition of Two Full Size Crew Trucks for the Utilities
Department - Construction Division for $41,319.00 from Legacy Ford of
Mc])onough, Georgia. (lowest bid package for Bid 04-136)
Mr. Chairman: Ford has announced that they have cut off the pricing of the 2005
models and will no longer take orders. Fleet Management will be required to rebid this
item through normal procurement procedures.
Mr. Grantham: So move.
Ms. Beard: Second.
MotIon adopted unanimously.
CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:
1. Con:sider abatement of 2004 tax balances on six parcels now owned by DOT.
3. Approve the acquisition of One (1) Full Size Pickup Truck for the Utilities
Department - Water Production Division for $17,530.25 from Bobby Jones
Ford of Augusta, Georgia. (lowest bid package for Bid 04-125)
6. Motion to approve final Federal Grant check in the amount of $13,270.00
from GEMA into an account for the Emergency Management Agency to be
used in conjunction with LEOP (Local Emergency Operation Plan)
expenditures for completion of the LEOP.
11. Consider abatement of taxes on City owned property.
14. Consider a request for a blanket purchase order through December 2005 for
the purchase of frames for the Mayor's Office and charge to the Promotion
Account.
Mr. Williams: I so move we approve these as consent items.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously.
2. Consider approval of a Comprehensive Parking Survey for the Central
Business District with funding from the Urban Services Fund balance.
Mr. Loyd: This would give you a comprehensive layout of what your parking
needs are likely to be in the next several years and the cost of funding those needs. It also
talks about your current parking needs including off street parking and parking garages.
Weare asking that you consider funding this project from the Urban Services fund
because there is enough funding in that account to cover it. The cost is about $55,000.
Mr. Russell: After reviewing this and talking to the attorney, it would be our
recommendation that we take that money out ofthe SPLOST funds that are allocated to
the DDA.
Mr. Loyd: We were told by the previous attorney that SPLOST funds could not
be used for that.
Ms. Tisdale: I will verify that opinion in writing to Mr. Russell by tomorrow just
to make sure.
Mr. Chairman: Let me ask the Finance Department when Mr. Persaud is back on
our next Finance Committee agenda to give us an up to date briefing on what the Urban
Services are.
Mr. Williams: Can I make a motion we look at the report and then determine how
we can get the funds to help them with this study?
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Mr. Chairman: Perhaps if Andy can find out what we can do on the SPLOST, it
could be done through that.
Mr. Williams: I make a motion that we pass it to the full Commission subject to
SPLOST funding if we can use that.
Mr. Grantham: I'll second that.
Motion adopted unanimously.
5. Consider a request from J. Clay Coleman for funding in the amount of
$175.00 for reproduction services to cover the cost of printing 100 additional
copies of the brochure entitled Cedar Grove Cemetery A Historic Augusta
Cemetery founded 1820 and charge to the Promotion Account. (Requested by
Mayor Young)
Mr. Mayor: If you wanted to do more than that, we would have to get the correct
numbers for that.
Ms. Beard: I move that we check on buying 500 and have the price back by
Tuesday.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously with Mr. Williams out.
7. Motion to approve an agreement between Augusta and the Department of
Human Resources Division of Family and Children Services.
Mr. Grantham: I so move.
Ms. Beard: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously with Mr. Williams out.
12. Consider a request from Curtis Baptist Church for tax exempt status for the
following parcels of property: 036-4-275-00-0,036-4-256-00-0 and 036-4-194-
00-0.
Rev. Mark Harris: We have property we bought for the expansion of the church
over the last several years. Taxes were paid on that property in 2003. We made an effort
to have folks out of the property by the end of2003 and we filed the necessary paperwork
to have that property tax exempt because it was operated by the church. This fall we
received a tax bill for three of those pieces of property and we contacted the Tax
Assessors Office and were told that because those buildings were still standing in January
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of 2004, even though they were not occupied and there was no income from them, they
would not be tax exempt and we would have to pay taxes on those buildings. We told
them that we had used the area for parking and they said that they could maybe exempt
the part of the land that people for parked on for services at Curtis Baptist, but the
buildings would still be taxable.
Mr. Reece: We have pulled it as far as we could on the exemption. If the
buildings had been used for ministries such as youth groups and such, we could have
exempted it. I think a precedent would be set if we did this.
Mr. Tisdale: Mr. Shepard had wanted to pull this for two weeks and we would
ask if we could carry this to the next committee meeting so that we could look at the past
history.
Mr. Williamson: The 2004 tax accounts are about to be fi fa'd on the execution
docket and if you think it is advisable that we not do it in this case, I can put a stop on it.
Ms. Tisdale: We would request that you do that until we get back with you.
Mr. Grantham: How much are you talking about?
Mr. Tisdale: About $5,500.
Ms. Beard: I move that we follow the recommendation of the attorney.
Mr. Williams: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously.
8. Approve Excess Worker's Compensation Insurance with Employer's
Reinsurance, an A-rated insurer, for $25,000,000 limit with $600,000 SIR
(Self Insured Retention; otherwise, known as the deductible).
Mr. Williams: I so move.
Mr. Grantham: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously.
9. Approve the concept of the Public Works and Engineering Department
purchasing and owning carts to be used by citizens for solid waste collections
at an estimated cost of $7.5 million dollars to be amortized over the life of the
contract.
Mr. Chairman: Why don't we let Engineering Services look at this first and see
what they want to do? You also have two other items related to that.
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After a short discussion, Mr. Williams: I move that we refer it back to
Engineering Services.
Ms. Beard: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously.
10. Award a contract for construction quality assurance to the company who
presented the best responsive bid.
Mr. Johnson: We have just completed the bids on this and we are requesting that
Genesis Testing be approved for this work.
Mr. Russell: I would agree.
Mr. Grantham: I so move.
Mr. Williams: Second it.
Motion adopted unanimously.
13.
])iscuss activities being performed by Heery International. (Requested by
Commissioner Williams)
Mr. Williams: I need some clarification about what this firm does and how much
money has been spent with them already.
Mr. Bob Munger: I am program manager for the capital improvements program
for Augusta Richmond County. We are working on a few projects such as the Public
Works Administration Building, the Judicial Center, and recently we have worked on the
Joint Law Enforcement Center project. We have worked on the Library and the SPLOST
programs in general with the Administrator. We have reports here on our activities.
Mr. Williams: I would like to see those and some of the bills involved.
Mr. David Kimmel: We can provide that information. We only bill for work that
has been directed to us by the City to perform.
Mr. Tisdale: They can also provide a copy of the contract with the scope of
servIces.
Mr. Williams: I would like to see the invoices along with services they have
performed and that this information be brought back.
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Mr. Chairman: Are you being allowed to do the things that you're supposed to
do? Could you include that also?
Ms. Gentry: I would also like some information about the minority participation
in that.
After further discussion, it was determined that Mr. Tisdale set up a meeting with
representatives from Heery and the city to discuss and gather information that was
requested.
Mr. Grantham: I move that we receive this as information and bring it back to the
next committee meeting.
Mr. Beard: Second.
Motion adopted unanimously with Ms. Beard out.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Lena J. Bonner
Clerk of Commission
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FINANCE & APPROPRIA nONS
AGENDA
COMMITTEE ROOM - February 21,2005
2:00 P. M.
I. Consider abatement of 2004 tax balances on six parcels now owned by DOT.
2. Consider approval of a Comprehensive Parking Survey for the Central Business
District with funding from the Urban Services Fund balance.
3. Approve the acquisition of One (I) Full Size Pickup Truck for the Utilities
Department - Water Production Division for $17,530.25 from Bobby Jones Ford
of Augusta, Georgia. (lowest bid package for Bid 04-125)
4. Approve the acquisition of Two Full Size Crew Trucks for the Utilities
Department - Construction Division for $41,319.00 from Legacy Ford of
McDonough, Georgia. (lowest bid package for Bid 04-136)
5. Consider a request from J. Clay Coleman for funding in the amount of $175.00
for reproduction services to cover the cost of printing 100 additional copies of the
brochure entitled Cedar Grove Cemetery A Historic Augusta Cemetery founded
1820 and charge to the Promotion Account. (Requested by Mayor Young)
6.
Motion to approve final Federal Grant check in the amount of$13,270.00 from
GEMA into an account for the Emergency Management Agency to be used in
conj unction with LEOP (Local Emergency Operation Plan) expenditures for
completion of the LEOP.
7. Motion to approve an agreement betweewAttgusta and the Department of Human
Resources Division of Family and Children Services.
8. Approve Excess Worker's Compensation Insurance with Employer's
Reinsurance, an A-rated insurer, for $25,000,000 limit with $600,000 SIR (Self
Insured Retention; otherwise, known as the deductible).
9. Approve the concept of the Public Works and Engineering Department
purchasing and owning carts to be used by citizens for solid waste collections at
an estimated cost of$7.5 million dollars to be amortized over the life of the
contract.
10. Award a contract for construction quality assurance to the company who
presented the best responsive bid.
11. Consider abatement of taxes on City owned property.
12.
Consider a request from Curtis Baptist Church for tax exempt status for the
followmg parcels of property: 036-4-275-00-0, 036-4-256-00-0 and 036-4-194-
00-0.
13. Discuss activities being performed by Heery International. (Requested by
Commissioner Williams)
14. Consider a request for a blanket purchase order through December 2005 for the
purchase of frames for the Mayor's Office and charge to the Promotion Account.