December 5/19/29, 1977 Council Meeting
ar scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter
er 5, 1977 at City Hall, Smyrna. Georgia. The meeting was called to order
ng officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Councilmen
were present. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise
Finance Director Gunter Newsom, Parks and Recreation Director Lee Silver,
g Inspector David Granade, Police Chief Everett Little. Fire Chief Don
nson. Director of Public Works Jim David and representatives of the press.
Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson. followed by the pledge to the flag.
Jack Shinall thanked and commended Chief Little and the Smyrna Police Department for
the efficient manner in which they handled the call and apprehended the burglar who
entered his home today.
Rem Bennett made a motion that in order to promote and protect the health, safety,
and welfare of the Citizens of the City of Smyrna. and to create an ordinance to
provide for a ive Flood Plain Management Program. as set out in Section
1910.3 (d) of isaster Protection Act of 1973, the Code of Ordinances of
the City of Smyrna be amended. by deleting Section 6-3 in its entirety and adding
the revised Article 6-3 to Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinance. a copy of which will
be on file in the office of the City Clerk. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion and
the vote was unanimous.
Commercial building permits were submitted by David Granade and upon his recommen-
dation the following action is recorded:
(1) Taco Bell requested
Plans met the requir
made a motion the permi
was unanimous.
a permit to erect a building at 2721 South Cobb Drive.
of the Fire Department and the city codes. Rem Bennett
be granted. C. O. Canada seconded the motion and the vote
Jerry Mills reported that Powder Springs Street. at the creek. was undermined and
in danger of caving in. He had contacted Cobb County about a bridge at this location
but noth could be at this time. Jerry made a motion that approval be given
to build wall under street at this location. at a cost of approximately
$1400.00. to be paid f State Grants Funds. C. O. Canada seconded the motion and
the vote was unanimous.
Jerry Mills stated that he, and he thought the majority of council. had checked
out the request of Mrs. Mary Childs. 3015 Clifton Road. that the city build a wall
on the rear of her property. Jerry said he could not See where the wall was needed
and made a motion the request be denied. Rem Bennett seconded the motion and the
vote was six to one. Jim Hawkins voted against the motion.
Gunter Newsom gave a report on the Industrial Park Study. Presnell-Kidd &
Associates had advised him a draft report of this study would be delivered by
December 9. 1977. This study will perform a cost benefit analysis and the feasi-
bility analysis of developing two sites within the city as industrial property. We
presently have an the property on Matthews Street and have paid a total
of $3000.00 Pres Associates report this property has marginal potential
as an industrial site; however. it has greater potential as a public use site. The
positive aspects te as industrial property are that water and sewerage
tly can be developed cheaply and the market price for
1 la antly higher than the purchase cost. The negative
aSpects are i om major highways. that it has no rail access. and at
this time the 1 sites in the county presently developed that can
absorb most of the antiCipated industrial development for the next five years.
The greatest potential s property seems to be as the future site for the
city public works depar as based on the following factors: (1) 8 to 10 acres
in one site. (2) it is located within l~ miles of the present municipal complex.
(3) the cost of developing this site would be minimal. (4) this site can easily
be buffered from existing development and (5) this type of use should not be incom-
patible with existing and probably future land uses in the area. Mayor Bacon stated
we need to make a decision on this study before the end of this year.
Committee reports: Jim Tolleson commended the Smyrna Firemen for starting a
lotting a few minutes each day to call and talk with a Senior Citizen.
ay of doing something for the citizens. as well as keeping up with
their needs.
orted the Certified City's program was progressing. Green Brothers
ill provide the plan and the First Bank & Trust will help in buying shrubs
(Continuation of December 5. 1977 Meeting)
for the tria~gle at Atlanta Road and Memorial Drive. Also. the bus shelter at
Belmont Hills will be painted and shingled like the one on Atlanta Road at Spring
Street.
Bill Darby asked for discussion on purchasing turkeys for the employees for
Christmas. He said there were 211 employees and the cost would be between $1500
and $1800. After discussion Bill Darby made a motion that Gunter Newsom be
instructed to go ahead with the purcha~e of turkeys for all full-time employees.
C. O. Canada seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Elbert coalson r~ported the Smyrna Community Theatre made a profit on their last
production and urged everyone to support them.
C. O. Canada reminded everyone of the Lighting of the Christmas Tree on Tuesday
night.
he thought the City of Smyrna's Mayor and Couucil<W'ereunderpaid
going to ask that the salaries be raised for the next administra-
with the beginning of the fiscal year. July 1, 1978.
Mayor
and
tion,
On motion by Jim Hawkins. seconded by Jim Tolleson. the minutes of November 7. 1977
were approved as submitted. by unanimous vote.
On motion by Jerry Mills, seconded by C. O. Canada. the minutes of the bid opening
on November 10. 1977 were approved as submitted. by unanimous vote.
Jim Hawkins made a motion the minutes of the special meeting on November 16, 1977
be q.pprpved as submitted. C. O. Canada seconded the motion and the vote was
unanimous.
Jim Tolleson made a motion the minutes of November 21. 1977 be q.PProved as sub-
mitted. Bi.ll Darby seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Jerry Mills made a motion the minutes of the special meeting on November 21, 1977
be approved as submitted. C. O. Canada seconded the motion and the vote was
unanimous.
Mayor~acon asked council to meet after the meeting to discuss the zoning with
Attorney Camp.
Meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.
************************
December 19. 1977
was
of
Chief Don
press.
sch~duled meeting of Mq.yor and Council was held at City Hall, Smyrna,
19. 1977. meeting was called to order by presiding officer
at 7:30 p.m. All Councilmen were present. Also present
Chuck Camp. Attorney Al Cochran, City Clerk WillouiseSpivey. Director
Administration Gunter Newsom. Building Inspector David Granade. Fire
Atkinson. Director of Public Works Jim David and representatives of the
was given by Elbert Coalson. followed by the pledge to the flag.
Presentation of the award to Frank Gardner was cancelled. since he could not attend
the meeting.
stated he thought it was time to take action on the R1,Jff case. He,
Attorneys Al Cochran and Charles Camp met with Mr. Ruff and Attorney Dupree last
week and discussed curb cuts and the cut-off of the point of the two streets. The
the curb cuts would be the state's responsibility. Mayor Bacon stated
the City had advised C91J~cil to rezone the property. Rem Bennett said;:;gi'HiiSSffSiiiili
he was against rezoning. that the first request to rezone was made before he ~
came 9~ council. he did not agree with the judges decisions, had learned you could
thinks we capable planning and zoning board, that the
this zoning times. the city twice, that the property needs
and he was against rezoning. Elbert Coalson asked what
rezoning was and a motion the Ruff property be rezoned as re-
tracts A and C rezoned from R-12 to 0 & I. tract B rezoned from R-12 to
(Continuation of December 19, 1977 Meeting)
NS. Bill Darby seconded the mot~on. Jim Hawkins stated that he was going to vote
to rezone the pr rty because, as he saw it. the city has two options. The first
option is to rez as requested, the second is to do nothing. If we do nothing
the courts w likely declare the property free from any zoning and there
will be no ons at all. He said he personally detested having to go along
w~th the ju but thought the ci~y would come nearer protecting the people by
complying wi court order. Jerry Mills stated he would vote for the rezoning
for the same reasons, to protect the people. If he thought it would do any good
he would go into contempt of court tonight. but if the majority did that, Mr.
Ruff could do anything with the property and he would vote for the rezoning, but
his vote would be under protest. Bill Darby asked the City Attorney if there was
any way we could expedite getting the increased value of this property on the Cobb
County tax digest, since he understood it usually takes in eXCeSS of a year to get
the assessments changed. and we need the tax dollars. Attorney Camp answered that
there testimony that the value of this property. if rezoned.
would .000. and h the only thing necessary would be a call to the
county tax asseSsor. He did not think the current court order would effect an
individual parcel assessment. Jim Tolleson said we had been backed into a corner
and he would vote for the rezoning but did not want to. Vote on the motion to
rezone the Ruff property was six for ~nd one against. Rem Bennett voted not to
rezone.
Jerry Mills made a motion a copy of the Court Order of the Super~or Court of
Georgia. R. L. Ruff, Sr. vs. City of Smyrna, be made a part of these minutes.
C. O. Canada seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Bacon asked Attorney Al Cochran what he thought our chances were on the
Lindwall property Attorney Cochran said a suit had been filed by Lindwall
and was now in c personal opinion was this suit is even stronger than
the one we had tigated on the Ruff property. The reasons being that the
Lindwall prope situated on busy Spring Road. is adjacent to property already
zoned 0 & I and Hamby and Ruff d~cisions. He feels that if coun~il
does not rezone th y as requested, ix will end up in the same kind of
litigation as the e and the ultimate results will be the same. Jim Hawkins,
referring to f the August 15th meeting. stated several residents of
Carolyn Drive ning of this property would depreciate the value of
their property and asked Attorney Cochran if this would have any bearing on this
case. Mr. Cochran said the court rulings were ,that if the zoning would benefit the
owner and not harm the community as a whole, it must be rezoned. Mr. Hawkins asked
Mr. Cochran if we have a case on any of the following four reasons given when the
was denied, ( ty does not meet the Zoning Ordinance required set
the required (3) it does not comply with the Future Land Use
and (4) it will f st an area that is already a problem. Mr. Cochran
that if you have Ordinance, or any ordinance. that has a prov~sion
effectively c the land. for any reason, it is inverse condemnation and
1 st down. The Hamby and Ruff decisions are "landmark"
and are he must draw on for his opinions. Even though he may
not agree with th sions. he does respect them because they have been spoken
from the highest court in the state.
motion the Lindwall property at the corner of Spring Road
from R-15 to 0 & I. C. O. Canada seconded the motion.
should fight this zoning and try to preserve the
Vote on the motion to reZone was five to two. Jim
voted against the motion.
Elbert Coalson made a
and Carolyn Drive be
Rem tt said he
nances e
d Rem Bennett
Commercial bu~lding permits were presented by David Granade and upon his recommen-
dation the following act~on is recorded:
(1) A request from Western Electric Company, 1369 Spring Street, to construct
a temporary loading platform at the front door of the building. Mayor Bacon
instructed David Granade to go to this site. check out the plans, and action would
be taken on the request at the meeting on December 29th.
Elbert Coalson made a motion
Court. made by Daryl H. Ray.
and the vote was six to one.
to hear the appeal of the decision of Recorder's
on December 29th. Jerry Mills seconded the motion
Jim Tolleson voted against the motion.
a special meeting for December 29. 1977 at 7:30 p.m.. and asked
try to think of anything that needs to be cleared up by this
(Continua~ion of December 19.
Me~ting)
reports. Jer:j'Cy a letter from the Depart-
the following streets curbed due to drainage 880
and 895 Powder Springs Street. a total of 288 at a
. also at 340 and 351 Smyrna Powder Springs Street. a total of 380
of $1140.00, the work to be scheduled after the first of the
made a moti-on t:bese two items be approved. C. O. Canada
and the vote was six to one. Jim Tolleson voted against the
be paid from 5t:ate Grants Funds.
asked the Civil Defense Committee to meet with him immediately after
this
Attorneys Al Co Ghran and Chuck Camp for
the decision was disappointing. they
our Judges were also bound by laws and
on the
tried.
to go by
them.
Meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m.
************************
December 29. 1977
call~d meeting of MaYOr and Council was held at City Hall, Smyrna,
December 29, 1977. +'be meeting was cal]_ed to order by presiding
Arthur T. Bacon at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Councilmen....w~re present.
Attorney Cha.Fles Camp, City Clerk Willouise $piyey. Parks
Lee Silver. Building Inspector David Granade. Director of
Gunter1'lewsom. Police Chief Everett Little.. Fire Chief
Public Works Director Vic Broyles and repres~ntatives of
given by Jim Hawkins. followed by the pledge to the flag.
was driving a milk truck out
When he turned off Austell
for his delivery, he was
increase his speed. Officer Bailey was in
in behind him. catching him after he had
the Waffle House. In opinion the
in that distance. Bailey
Poole Road at 65 miles hour. After
motion the decision of s Court
motion. Vote on the five to
O. Canada voted against the motion.
by David Granade.
<::onstruct ct. loading platform
Street. David reported he
which showed it
and will be in use
He asked Council to make the
permit. Jim Tolleson made a. motion the
the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Qnly request
front
the
over
ar~port on
would like
a lengthy
of the
to make a
decision was
Mayor
on this
next meeting.
asked if Council
to minutes
up a new Zoning
(5) member board be changed
of the SeVen wards.
b~ apProved, and
changed and
act on the zoning
12, 1977 Public
Appeals, he
(7) member board.
a motion the
1402. Establishment
as follows:
amendments.
the amend-
stated
from
th.e Zoning
Board of
"A of Zoning
consist of seven (7)
a term of three years, two
hereby established. Said Board shall
two (2) of whom shall be appointed for
appointed for a term of two and
(Continuation of December 29. 1977 Meeting)
three (3) appointed for one year terms. Members shall be paid $20.00
per meeting. None of the members shall hold any other public office
or position in the municipality. Members shall be removable for
cause by the appointing authority upon written charges and after public
hearing."
Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the vote carried by a six to one vote.
Tolleson voted against the motion.
Jim
Mayor Bacon stated that Ridgeview Institute (Smyrna-Cobb Mental Hospital) re-
quested we apprOve a Resolution enabling them to issue more ReVenue Bonds in order
to buy land and erect more buildings. The Resolution was read in full by Attorney
Camp. Jerry Mills made a motion the Resolution be adopted. Jim Hawkins seconded
the motion. During discussion Bill Darby said he did not understand why the
hospital would be tax exempt. Attorney Camp said that with the issuance of more
bonds. it would be longer before the city had any control over the hospital. Jim
Hawkins then made a motion to dismiss the former motion. Rem Bennett seconded
the motion and the vote was six to one. Jerry Mills voted against. A motion
was made by Jim Tolleson. seconded by Rem Bennett. to table action on the
Resolution. Motion carried by a five to two vote. Jerry Mills and Elbert Coalson
voted not to table. A meeting will be set up with Directors of the hospital in
an effort to get more information and insight into the hospital and its operations.
C. O. Canada made a motion to annex into the city 77.472 acres. surplused by the
U. S. Government and given to the city. property being located in Land Lots 518.
563 and 590 and is contiguous and becomes a part of Ward 1. Elbert Coalson
seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
The rezoning of the Lindwall property was discussed and Attorney Camp read the
Court Order. signed by Judge Ravan. as fallows:
Richard L. Lindwall, Plaintiff vs. Mayor and Council, Defendants
ORDER
It being made to appear to the Court that the governing authority of
the City of Smyrna. Georgia, has taken action rezoning the property described in
the petition from R-15 to 0 and I, and that this is the only relief prayed for
by the plaintiff in the above and foregoing case;
The action of the Mayor and Council of the City of Smyrna. Georgia, in
rezoning the property from R-15 to 0 and I is hereby made the final judgment
of this Court. inasmuch as the Mayor and Council of the City of Smyrna. Georgia,
have satisfied s of the plaintiff's petition.
SO ORDERED. this 21st day of December, 1977.
JUDGE. COBB SUPERIOR COURT
COBB JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
PRESENTED BY:
Ben F. Smith, Attorney for Plaintiff
Jim Tolleson made a motion to reconsider action taken on December 19. 1977. when
Council zoned the above property. since it was done without posting or readver-
t Bennett seconded the motion. Jerry Mills said he was against re-
twas zonedd due to the fact Mr. Lindwall had filed suit
c rezone was based on the Ruff Court ruling. also the
the case was even stronger than the Ruff case. In
Darby's q if we were bound by this court order. Attorney
aid the courts no slature had no set procedures. therefore he was
not sure if it d have been advertised. but in his opinion, this was Mr.
Lindwall's p Jim Tolleson said the correct way would be to readvertise and
inform the people. He stated 37 residents of the neighborhood were ready to file
a class action suit against the city because they feel it was zoned illegally.
After further d n the motion lost on a four to three vote. Jim Tolleson.
Jim Hawkins tt voted to reconsider. Jerry Mills. Bill Darby, C. o.
Canada and Ison voted against.
(Continuation of December 29, 1977 Meeting)
all the Planning and Zoning Boards and laws.
made> a motion to
for lack of a second.
he had received permission to
Memorial Drive. Work should begin
Under
beautify the triangle at
this week.
Bill Da~PY stated the railroad crossings were in bad shape and in need of repairs
and suggel?ted a letter be written to L & N Rai_lroad. Jim Tolleson the
Certified City Committee had already contacted the Railroad about this problem.
asked from Council to change the specifications
on police cars to a lower horse In his opinion we can buy cars as cheap.
a bid basis as we can through the State contract. He said we
deal of trouble with the last Fords and he would like to i_nvesti-
cars and have bids the automobile companies. He asked
change the request bids as soon as possible.
a motion Police Little be given authority to change the
for new police cars and request bids for four (4) cars. bids to
be from all companies. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the vote
was
said he needed to meet with the Street committee. There were rumors
highway was being planned through Ward 7 to Cobb General Hospital.
original plans were that the highway would go Hurt Road and he
would work with him in trying to keep it from going through Ward 7
area. Charlie Jones has been contacted and is going to help.
C. O. Canada stated the Parks and Recreation Department buys approximately
1000 softballs per year and in the have ordered a few at a time. The
Association specifies a certain ball must be used, and we can buy them
much <;::heaper if we buy the years on a bid basis. C. O. Canada made a
ask for bids for 1000 softballs. bids to be opened on January 23rd.
seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
the second meeting in January should be changed
the f01:irth Monday in order to attend Mayor's Day,
made a motion to change the date of the second meeting in January
16th to January 23, 1978. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the
Therepeing no further business the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
made a motion the meeting be reopened. C. O. Canada seconded the
the vote was unanimous. Mayor Bacon said we had received a letter
County Board of Education's attorney, requesting a quit-claim deed
roadway running from Ward Street through school property to Wayland
Court. After discussion. C. O. Canada made a motion any action on>t:his request
be delayed, pending an indepth study of the property lines. Jim Hawkins seconded
the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 9:33 P. M.
WILLOUISE C.
JIM TOLLESON, WARD 1
'J