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12-04-2017 December 4, 2017 Mayor and Council Meeting Minutes - SIGNED - LFGEORGIA Monday, December 4, 2017 City of Smyrna Meeting Minutes - Final City Council 7:00 PM Roll Call 2800 King Street Smyrna, Georgia 30080 Council Chambers Present: 7 - Mayor Max Bacon, Councilmember Derek Norton, Councilmember Andrea Blustein, Councilmember Charles Welch, Councilmember Susan Wilkinson, Councilmember Doug Stoner and Councilmember Ron Fennel Also Present: 8 - Scott Cochran, Tammi Saddler Jones, Scott Andrews, Terri Graham, Ashley Youmans, Maxwell Ruppersburg, Jennifer Bennett and Davi Santos Call to Order Mayor A. Max Bacon called the meeting of the Mayor and Council to order at 7:00 PM Invocation and Pledge: Mayor Max Bacon called Pastor Jeff Pennington of First Baptist Church of Smyrna, Georgia who provided the invocation and led all in the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. Agenda Changes: 3. Mayoral Report: Mayor Bacon stated there were no agenda changes The Mayor reminded citizens of the election on December 5, 2017 to elect a Ward 3 Councilmember. The Mayor called for any candidates that were in attendance to come and speak. Mary/ine Blackburn, who is running for the City Council Ward 3 seat came forward. She encouraged citizens to vote. Polls are open on December 5 from T00am — 7 00pm at the Smyrna Community Center. The Mayor called on City Clerk Terri Graham for more information on the elections. Ms. Graham stated that the run-off elections will be held at Smyrna Community Center. There is also an election for state senator. She encouraged all to come out and vote. A. Smyrna Education Foundation Report Mayor Bacon recognized that the Mayor's Education Award Ceremony was held prior to the Mayor and Council Meeting. These awards are given to students, teachers and volunteers in the local Smyrna Schools. The Mayor called on Kathy Young of the Smyrna Education Foundation, Inc. to give a report on the foundation. Ms. Young reminded that the foundation is an advocate for City of Smyrna Page 1 Printed on 1211812017 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final December 4, 2017 the Smyrna schools. The foundation has awarded grants, and has acquired other funding for the schools. Ms. Young thanked the Council and the City for their support of the Foundation. 4. Land Issues/Zonings/Annexations: There were no Land Issues, Zonings or Annexations. 5. Privilege Licenses: There were no Privilege License hearings. 6. Formal Business: A. Approval to Adopt Resolution 2017-21 in Support of the City's pre -application to the Recreational Trails Program grant administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and authorize the Mayor to execute all related documents. sponsors: Wilkinson TSJ provided the background for the resolution for recreational trails. it is a 80 / 20 matching grant. This is the pre application. Susan asked Maxwell to come forward to explain the grant. It comes from the Federal recreation. They are asking for the single use trail which is the lesser applied for grant. They are requesting the $200,000 grant. They want to put in natural trails A. RES2017-21 Approval to Adopt Resolution 2017-21 in Support of the City's pre -application to the Recreational Trails Program grant administered by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and authorize the Mayor to execute all related documents. Aye: 6- Councilmember Norton, Councilmember Blustein, Councilmember Welch, Councilmember Wilkinson, Councilmember Stoner and Councilmember Fennel Commercial Building Permits: There were no Commercial Building Permit applications. Consent Agenda: Mayor Bacon called on City Administrator Tammi Saddler -Jones to read the consent agenda aloud. A motion was made by Councilmember Ron Fennel to approve the consent agenda as read aloud by City Administrator Tammi Saddler Jones; seconded by Councilmember Doug Stoner. The motion to approve carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Councilmember Norton, Councilmember Blustein, Councilmember Welch, Councilmember Wilkinson, Councilmember Stoner and Councilmember Fennel City o/ Smyrna Pape 2 Printed on 12118/2017 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final December 4, 2017 A. Approval of the November 20, 2017 Mayor and Council Meeting Minutes Sponsors: City Council B. Approval of the November 20, 2017 Pre -Council Meeting Mintues Sponsors: City Council C. Approval of the November 16, 2017 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes Sponsors: City Council D. Approval to use Council Chambers for Ward One Neighborhood Meeting, Tuesday, December 12, 2017 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm Sponsors: Norton E. Approval to use Council Chambers for Vinings Forest HOA Meeting, Tuesday, December 19, 2017 from 7:00pm - 9:00pm Sponsors: Stoner 9. Committee Reports: Councilmember Derek Norton advised that the Ward One meeting on Tuesday December 12th has been postponed to a later date. He also thanked the Parks and Recreation department for their work on the Christmas decorations on the Village Green. Councilmember Andrea Blustein encouraged all to take time to enjoy the holiday season. Councilmember Charles "Corkey' Welch congratulated Ann Kirk on her retirement from Keep Smyrna Beautiful and congratulated her replacement Ms. Janet Liberman. He announced that Keep Smyrna Beautiful won the first place affiliates award for Keep Georgia Beautiful. Councilmember Susan Wilkinson stated that the Christmas tree lighting was beautiful. She thanked the many choirs that came to sing which helped to make this a fabulous event. Aunt Fanny's Cabin will host Santa on several days. The specific dates and time may be found on the City's website. On December 9, the City is hosting an Ugly Sweater Block Party and Movie night at 5:30. December 16th is "Brunch with the Big Guy." 'Christmas at Brawner Hall" will be December 15th and will include a coat drive and a movie. Friends of the Library Christmas party will be December 9th at the library. Councilmember Doug Stoner cautioned citizens to be careful about having packages delivered to their homes when there is no one thereto receive them. The Smyma -- Police Department encourages citizens to ask neighbors to watch for packages or have packages delivered somewhere else. Mr. Stoner announced that the City was awarded a $300, 000 grant by the Atlanta Regional Commission for a transit feasibility study. City of Smyma Page 3 Printed on 12/1a42017 City Council Meeting Minutes - Final December 4. 2017 Councilmember Ron Fennel added that police departments are encouraging the "Clean Seats" program. This encourages shoppers to keep packages out of sight in their vehicles and to keep their vehicles locked. He also encouraged homeowners to keep their garage doors locked. Mr. Fennel recognized Kristin Robinson the Finance Director for her work and wished her a quick recovery from surgery this month. The councilmember praised the Mayor's Education Awards and the recipients of the awards. These awards are very important to the community as they encourage the Smyrna Schools. Mr. Fennel reminded citizens to vote in the election. City Clerk Terri Graham reiterated that Election Day is December 5, 2017. Early voting has taken place for the last two weeks. Six (6) precincts will be open for voting for the State Senate 6 seat. The Community will hold the Council Ward 3 seat as well as the District 6 Senate seat election. She encouraged all to come out to vote. 10. Show Cause Hearings: 11. Citizen Input: 12. Adjournment: There were no Show Cause hearings. The Mayor called for citizens input, one person signed up, Unnie Moore of 3818 Cliff Crest Drive. She voiced her opposition to the proposed Hands -Free Ordinance. She expressed her concern that there are assumptions in the draft that, according to her research, she finds to be unfounded. She has found no data or published reports that support the ordinance's conclusion that the hands free ordinance will make Smyrna a safer place to drive. On the contrary, research shows that there is no correlation between the ban of hand held devices and a reduction in car accidents. Where research has been conducted, there is either no evidence to support hands free driving as being safer or the evidence is inconclusive. Ms. Moore quoted the National Safety Council's statement which states that the issue is more mental than physical. It states that there is no difference in distraction between people using hand-held devices and those using hands free. The distraction is in listening to the phone in general. She referred the Council to watch the Myth Buster's August 20, 2015 video tilled 'is Hands Free Cell Phone Use safer?" The program concludes that it is not. She says it is a head problem, not a hand problem; the distraction is in the telephone call itself. She is also concerned about whether the ban is enforceable or not. Mayor Bacon stated that the adoption of this ordinance has been put off until after the election so it may be voted on by a full council. There will be a public hearing again about the proposed ordinance. Mayor A. Max Bacon adjourned the meeting of the Mayor and Council at 7:29pm. U City of Smyrna Page 4 Printed on 12118/2017 MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING A. MAX BACON, MAYOR y4 WAN ANDREA BLUSTEIN, WARD 2 01M�� G . t,J SIX Ca1 CHARLES A.WELCH, WARD 4 t"/ ol (i - DOUG S O ER, WARD 6 TERRI GRAHAM, CITY CLERK A VACANT WARD 3 'OF SMrRti'; OFFICIAL SEAL ,,QNA i GeOQ•```•