Loading...
July 3/17, 1978 Council Meeting Ju 1 y 3, 1978 lar scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter 1978 at City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia. The meeting Ifla:;> called to order officer Mayor Frank Johnson at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Council members sent except Jim Tolleson who was on vacation. Also present was City y Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Director of Finance Gunter Newsom, ins John Steely, Police Chief R. E. Little, Parks and Recreation Director Asa rd, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Sherry Reavis and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the Flag. Only one bid was received for underground garbage can liners. and Is recorded as follows: It was opened, read Moultrie Grocery Company - $7.35 per can on approximately 1,500 Jack Shinall made a motion the bid be referred to committee. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion and the vote was 6-0. Gunter Newsom explained there was only one company that makes this type can, but three hardware companies In Moultrie handle them. Mayor Johnson instructed Gunter Newsom to contact the manufacturer and see what could be worked out on a straight purchase. He also Is to contact other cities using this can and try to work out a joint purchase. Commercial building permits were submitted by inspector John Steely and upon his recommendation the following action is recorded: (I) Smyrna Swim and Tennis Club requested a permit to build a club house on North Cooper Lake Road. Mr. Stee 1 y sa I d the reques t was for the club house on 1 y, the ems had been worked out, and he recommended the permit be approved approval of the Fire Marshal. Rem Bennett made a motion the permit be granted, subject to approval of the Fire Marshal. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (2) Eugene F. Sparks, 1439 Whitfield Street, requested a backyard variance in order to a room onto his home. Our ordinance calls for a 30 foot setback. The room addi would leave only 16.6 feet to the property 1 ine. A letter was sub- mitted from Mrs. Richard Brooks, the adjoining neighbor, stating she did not object to the variance being granted. Rem Bennett made a motion the variance be approved. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Jim Hawki made a motion we request bids, to be opened at the next council meeting for badge nd uniforms for the Fire Department for a one-year period. Bill Darby seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Cobb County Commissioners Charles Jones and George Langford presented Mayor Johnson ck for $95,000 for the paving of Les Charles Drive in King Springs Park. son thanked Mr. Jones and Mr. Langford for their work and effort in securing these county funds to go toward the cost of the park, and for the continued participation they have given the city. Elbert Coalson made a motion that Sanford Place be closed during the Pony League Baseball Tournament at Cobb Park, July 15 through July 20, 1978. Jack Shinall seconded the motion. Vote on the motion was 6-0. Elbert Coalson made a motion a permit be approved for the Smyrna Athletic Association parade on S 2, 1978. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried 6-0. The parade begin at 11 :30 a.m. at the Smyrna Drive-In, travel south on Atlanta Road, right on Cherokee Road, left on South Cobb Drive, south to McCauley, left into King Springs Park. Jerry Mills made a motion the minutes of June 5, 1978 be approved as submitted. Rem Bennett seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Jerry Mills made a motion the minutes of June 19, 1978 be approved as submitted. Rem Bennett seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Jim Hawkins made a motion the minutes of June 22, 1978 be approved as submitted. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried 6-0. -79 - Finance Director Gunter Newsom read a cover letter presented with budgets as follows: (Continuation of July 3, 1978 Meeting) "TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL: This package presents the proposed budget for the City of Smyrna the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1978 and ending June 30, 1979. This should be one that all segments of the city government can live within and this fiscal year in the black. This budget was prepared with the fol lowing assumpt ions: (1) That the charge for sanitation for all customers be raised $1.00 per month. (2) That the charge for sewer service be raised $1.50 per month; $1;00 a month of this will go toward normal operations and 50~ toward system improvements andrepa i rs. (3) That; all emp,loyees having cover<3ge under the dependent portion of, the city's health insurance program pay $2.00 per week toward the cost of this dependent coverage. (4) That the Council adopt "Method 2" of implementing the Pay and Classification Plan and merit raise system presented by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This would affect an average 6.67% salary increase for all employees. The City of Smyrna has been operating in a deficit position for the last three fiscal years. This has been caus.ed by the effects of inflation and the effects of the, M<3yor and Counc i 1 to ma i nt,a in a cost of government to' 'the" Smyrna c'i t i zens at the lowest possible cost. In order for this budget to be balanced it is necesSary that the Mayor and Council take the appropriate steps to implement the assumptions 1 isted above. , the city is in the process of re-eva1uating every activity that see if there is a way to perform that activity cheaper or whether that activity at all. As part of that process, the Mayor has all city departments not to fill any vacancies when until ly justified their need for this position. The Publ Depart- and Recreation Department are instituting a cent crib to the use of tools. The city has ceased paying any llowance lating the use of city owned vehicles in the pe a job. The so investigating the feasibil ity of implementing a motor pool for all leS. > there will be more and more actions taken to provide the services citizens at the most economical cost. Signed/GUNTER E. NEWSOM, made a motion the entire package be approved, the budgets, and Classification plan and merit raise system presen insanitation and sewer charges and efTjployees contr for dependent coverage of the health insur~nce program. the motion which carried 6-0. It was the decision of heads would not be included in the pay scale. Method 2 ARC, of $2.00 Mi 11 s that In the Jim Tolleson, MaY9t' JOllnson called on rector Asa fC:r a report. Asa reminded'everyone July celebration tomorrow at Nash Middle School and read a events. He also reported the GRPS District Girls Softball ToUrnament 7th through July 22nd. Finance Committee: Bill Darby stated the Finance Committee will be meeting with all department heads soon to go over the wage scale just adopted. Jerry Mills made a motion the new organizational chart for rtment be <3p.proved and entered into the minutes. Rem Bennett which carried 6-0. Jerry and poss meeting. also asked council to give some thought to considering the motor pool to Mayor Johnson that he appoint a sub-committee the Mayor Johnson advised he would appoint this commi the next Rem a letter being sent them they comply with the City of to post pql itical signs within the city. A $500 bond the City Clerk to insure the signs will be taken down. itical Ordinance must be Jerry Road. investigation showed no been read and approved by requ.ested a business 1 icense Bennett read a letter license should ittle. Rem Bennett made operate a Farmer granted. The a motion the (Continuation of July 3, 1978 Meeting) license be granted. Jerry Mills seconded the motion. During discussion Jim Hawkins asked Mr. Loden if he had read and understood the pawn shop ordinance. The answer Mr. Loden stated he had applied for a swap-shop license to buy, sell and t a pawn shop license. He also stated he could not operate a pawn shop at this location since there was already one in Belmont Hills Shopping Center and it was against their rules to have more than one business of this type. Mr. Loden was advised the swap shop comes under the pawn shop ordinance and the license would have to be issued as a pawn shop. After further discussion vote on the motion to grant the license carried 6-0. Bill Darby advised a Public Hearing on Federal Revenue Sharing expenditures would be held at the regular meeting on July 17, 1978. Mayor Johnson advised that Willouise Spivey received her Certified Municipal Clerk's Certificate at the GMA Convention in Savannah last week. He congratulated her for her efforts and completion of the certification program. Attorney Camp, in reviewing the pawn shop ordinance, noted that Section 14-52 read as follows: "All applications for licenses hereunder shall be acted upon by the Mayor and Council after a public hearing and after advertisement as required herein. No license shall be issued until it has been approved by the Mayor and Council-" The section of the ordinance requiring advertising had been overlooked and appli- cations for pawn shops had never been advertised. Jack Shinall made a motion the license request be reopened. Jerry Mills seconded the motion for discussion. Mr. Loden left the meeting with the understanding his license had been approved, and there was some question as to whether the request could be reopened since he had already left the meeting. After further research of the ordinance, Attorney Camp stated that when the ordinance was rewritten, or during the codification, the adver- tisement requirement had been omitted; therefore, the license approved tonight would be valid. The motion and second to reopen was withdrawn. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. ************************ July 17, 1978 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held at the City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia on July l7, 1978. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor k Johnson at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Councilmen were present except Jerry Mills waS in the hospital. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Finance Director Gunter Newsom, Police Chief R. E. Little, Public Works Director Jim David, Civil Defense Director Jim Farley, Parks and Recreation Director Asa Howard, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Reavis, Luke Boring who was filling in for City Inspector John Steely and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Jim Tolleson, followed by the pledge to the Flag. The first order of business was to consider the request for transfer of Cable TV franchise ownership from Jones intercable, inc. to Cable Holdings, Inc. Jim Hawkins made a motion the franchise ownership be transferred. Bill Darby seconded the motion. Doyle Graves represented Jones intercable. Robert Broz represented Cable Holdings, Inc. Mr. Broz presented a financial statement for Council review. He stated Cable Holdings, Inc. operates five other cable systems at this time. They have, through the use of satellite receiving stations, added programming at some of their other stations. Their plans are to add these in Smyrna in order to bring in a better pay TV package. The basic fee would remain ~e same, although the pay TV package might go up. Mr. Broz said it might be neces?~ry to add new amplifiers in order to provide service to some areas, but that he would see what could be done. The certificate of insurance will be transferred fr6m Jones lntercable, Inc. to Cable Holdings, Inc. Vote on the motion to approve the transfer of franchise ownership from Jones lntercable, inc. to Cable Holdings, inc. carried by a 6-0 vote. No action was taken on the request by Barry Williams for a business license, per his request to the business office. O. A. Kimball requested a business license to operate "The Study Hall of Smyrna", 1022-19 Cherokee Road. Mr. Kimball explained he wanted to open a recreation hall for children 12 through 18 years of age. He stated there would be a disco dance (Continuation of July 17, 1978 Meeting) a game room with pinball machines and foos bal 1 gam~s. The only be cokes, crackers, etc. Mr. Kimball stated he was fami 1 iar with on pinball machines. For clarification. Gunter Newsom said he IRS and was advised that a pinball machine did not require an IRS ration of any kifld was given. Mr. Kimball stated he would comply ing. He also said he was familiar with our ordinance and would have policeman on the scene during business hours. After further discussion, made a motion the license be granted. Jim Hawkins seconded the Rem Bennett advised Mr. Kimball two business licenses would be required. One for disco and another for the game room. Vote on the mot ion was 4-2. Bill Darby, Jim Hawkins, Elbert Coalson and Rem Bennett voted for. Jack Shinall and Jim Tolleson voted against. Public Hearing on Federal Revenue Sharing expenditures: Finance Chairman Bill Darby called on Finance Director Gunter Newsom. ihe total figure of $170,982 consist of $46,000 received in July, another $46,000 which will be received in October and the. rem,aLneler is an estimated figure based on projections received from the Revenue Sharing office earl ier. The exact amount of dollars we wi 11 receive for Entitlement 10 is not known at this time. Mr. Newsom advised the projected figure is about $30,000 less than we received last year. The amount is based on population and per capi.ta income and he felt the per capita income was 1 isted much too high. Copies of the Revenue Sharing budget were available to the public. There were no questions or inqtitries from the audience. Bids Fi re Department badges were opened, read and are recorded as fo 1 lows: Uniforms Cherokee Road, Smyrna $1.25 Fire Dept. $1.50 Fire Prevention Banner Uniforms 1259 Techwood Dr., Atlanta $ .93 Fire Dept. $1.25 Fire Prevention Jim Hawkins made a motion bids be turned over to the Fire Committee with authority to act. Jack Shinall seconded the motion. Bill Darby said he requested bids be sent straight to the manufacturers but it was not done. He feels we could save money by going directly to them. Jim Hawkins said he did not know the manufacturers and had to go with what he had. Vote on the motion was 6-0. Annexation: John H. Lanier requested 9.480 acres. located in LL 671 and 672 be annexed into the city. Mayor Johnson stated that Mr. Lanier and Raymond D. Moon Builders. Inc. were going to develop a subdivision on approximately 77 acres, 67 acres of are already in the city. The 9.480 acres which is being annexed would entrance to the subdivision from Ridge Road. There was no question about annexation; however, in their letter of June 19. 1978 they did make the followi request: (1) The city work with our sewer contractor by clearing the outfall the city equipment. (2) The city provide the tap and meter for water off of the county main on Ridge Road. i ne with (3) The city waive all subdividing and inspection fees associated with the develop- ment of Cedar Cliffs subdivision. Mr. Lanier said the reason for the requests was the sewer line outfall connecting the the county 1 i ne. approxi m,ate 1 y 2600 feet, wi 1 1 cos t $29,128.50. Th i s de their subdivision through county property. This does not include the sit ion wh i ch wi 11 be an add i t iona 1 $5600 more, does it for any rock along the outfall line. Presently. Road is water and he would like the subdivision to be on city water Mr. Lanier was advised the city had never made these all for con- what we do for one we have to do for all. lengthy Mr. Lanier said the for annexation did not hi 1 request. Bill Darby a motion the 9.480 acres be into become a part of Ward 2. Jim Tolleson seconded the the vote The legal description, deed and plat is to become these Commercial building permits were presented by Luke Boring and UpOn dations the following action is recorded: recommen- D. Bui lders, Inc. requested a rough grade permit on the sub- anneXed. Plans were in order. Rem Bennett made a motion the permit Jack Shinall seconded motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (Continuation of July 17, 1978 Meeting) (2) Fouts Service Station, 2158 Atlanta Street, requested a permit to add two bays. Plans were in order and he recommended permit be granted. Rem Bennett made a motion the permit be approved. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (3) Hess Oil Company, South Cobb Drive at Concord Road, requested a permit to re- build with self-service pumps and new canopy. Plans were in order and he recommended approval, subject to approval of the Fire Marshal. Rem Bennett made a motion the permit be approved, subject to approval of the Fire Marshal. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Jim Tolleson made a motion bids be requested for one (1) 1978 diesel lawn mower tractor to be opened at the first meeting in August. Rem Bennett seconded the motion which carried 6-0. This tractor to be paid for from Revenue Sharing Funds. Committee Reports: Parks - Jim Tolleson reminded council of the meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission after the council meeting tonight. Asa Howard read the recreational schedule for July. A meeting with LeRoy Brownlee is set for Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for an update on King Springs Park. Finance - Bill Darby advised, due to the lateness of getting the final 1977 tax digest, we were running short of operating funds. He made a motion we borrow $200,000 for a period of 120 days for operating expenses, to be repaid when taxes are received. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Bill also asked the date or final payment of 1977 taxes be set at forty-five (45) days after billing. We have been advised by Cobb County that the 1978 Tax Digest will not be ready until late December or perhaps the first of the year, which will make it necessary for us to bill the first half of the 1978 taxes from the 1977 digest. Fire - Jim Hawkins advised that Fire Chief Don Atkinson is attending the State Fire Chief's Convention in Marietta. Captain C. J. Sanford will attend the Arson Investigation seminar in Athens on July 24-27. Water - Jack Shinall advised the dates had been set back for the new water ordinance so that everyone will get proper notification and new bills with the new wording would be out within the next 60 days. Civil Defense - Elbert Coalson advised that Civil Defense Director Jim Farley had requested a meeting of the Civil Defense Committee on July 25th at 7:30 p.m. Inspections - Rem Bennett reported City Inspector John Steely would be out of town on vacation for two weeks. Shawn Cochran requested Mayor and Council to send a letter to the Cobb County School Board advising them of the additional 250 children expected to be brought in by the development of the new subdivision, in order for them to make plans to accommodate the children. Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.