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05-16-1988 Regular MeetingMay 16, 1988 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and, Council was held May 16, 1988 at Smyrna City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 o'clock p.m. by presiding officer Mayor A. Max Bacon. All council members were present except for Jerry Mills and Bob Davis. Also present was City Administrator John Patterson, City Attorney Charles E. Camp, City Clerk Melinda Dameron and representatives of the press. Mayor Bacon said that Councilman Jerry Mills passed away this morning after a long illness from kidney and heart disease. Jerry was very important to this city and council and Mayor Bacon said from a personal standpoint, Jerry was one of his biggest supporters over the past few years. He loved the City probably more than anyone else on council and he will be missed. Mayor Bacon asked everyone to remember the Mills family in their prayers. Invocation was then given by Reverend Paul D. Hanson, pastor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church, followed by the pledge to the flag. CITIZENS INPUT: Nothing to report. Mayor Bacon said there were several people in the audience for the bid openings, and with no objections would move those items up on the agenda. BID OPENINGS: Bids for the new public works facility were opened, read and recorded as follows: B. L. Law Construction Hoaster & Landry William Benefield & Associates Dan Williams Construction Co West Enterprises $451,290 - base bid $653,340 - total with alternates $534,892 - base bid $622,629 - total with alternates $548,949 - base bid $772,660 - total with alternates $699,934 $417,310 - base bid $554,596 - total with alternates (no bid on #3, #5, #6) Hatcher & Sons $498,402.19 - base bid $746,858.44 - total with alternates Wade Lnenicka made a motion the bids be turned over to committee with their recommendation back to full council. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 5-0. Bids for a new ballfield conditioner were opened, read and recorded as follows: Blaylock Stowers no bid Stovall & Company $6,750 $7,420 (alternate) Metrack no bid Lawn & Turf $7,999 Bob Betenbaugh made a motion the bids be turned over to committee with their recommendation back to full council. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 5-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS: (A) Rezoning request - 48 parcels in Camp Highland/Argo Road area from R-20, Heavy Industry and Light Industry to General Commercial. John Patterson said that some time ago'this property consisting of 48 parcels in Land Lots 546, 606, 607, 618, 619 and 620 was annexed into the City. Mr. Marion Worley is representing the property owners in the area in this rezoning request tonight. This is an area in transition and is somewhat declining in value for residential use. This is in a sense a down -zoning of the property since a portion of it is currently zoned Heavy Industry. There was no opposition from the audience. May 16, 1988 meeting - continued Mr. Worley said this area is declining because it is land locked by other commercial developments, with Highlands Park to the south. The people living there don't want to invest a lot of money in their homes and they felt the area was best suited for commercial use. Bob Betenbaugh said the construction of the East-West Connector would impact this area when it was complete. Mr. Betenbaugh said the Planning and Zoning Board had recommended the rezoning with several stipulations and read those. Wade Lnenicka expressed his concern about zoning this area without any definite plans for development. Mr. Worley said he owned the majority of the property being considered for rezoning and they wanted to sell for commercial development similar to the Highlands Park. After further discussion Bob Betenbaugh made a motion the rezoning be approved subject to the following stipulations: 1) Not allow automobile repair (Section 712.6) 2) Not allow farm equipment sales and service (Section 712.17) 3) Not allow mobile home and travel trailer sales (Section 712.24) 4) Not allow produce stands and open air markets (Section 712.32) 5) Not allow truck and trailer lease and rental (Section 712.41) Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 5-0. Bob Davis arrived at the meeting at 7:48 p.m. and abstained from voting since he was not present during discussion. (B) Rezoning request - 9.9 acres at King Springs Road and South Cobb Drive from Future Commercial to General Commercial. John Patterson said that Mr. Goble Bryant is proposing the rezoning of this property which is contiguous to King Springs Road, abutting South Cobb Drive on a small portion. It is proposed to sub divide the parcel into three tracts. One parcel will consist of 2.35 acres for a funeral home site, 1.25 acres for a doctors office and 6.3 acres intended for an Extend -a -Stay Hotel/Motel. This property abuts Griffin Middle School on the rear with General Commercial to the north, the senior citizens home to the east, R-15 and RM-12 to the west. The Planning and Zoning Commission did approve the rezoning with certain stipulations. There was no opposition. Mr. Bryant said at the Planning & Zoning meeting he had agreed to change some of the zoning and could only address the 6.3 acres he was interested in. At the request of the Planning Commission, Mr. Bryant said he had agreed to 0&I zoning because hotels, funeral homes and offices all fall within that category. The area to the north is approximately 3 acres and they were asking for General Commercial zoning on that tract because there is preliminary discussion with Wade Ford concerning the use of that tract and they are willing to sell them the space they need. Bob Betenbaugh said there is a proposed funeral home by Winkenhofer-Mulholland on the portion that is closest to Griffin Middle School, consisting of approximately 8,800 square feet. Next to the funeral home will be a 4,000 square foot physician's building and the next facility will be an Extend -a -Stay Motel that will be built adjacent to the pipeline and adjacent to the physician's building. Bob Betenbaugh asked Mr. Bryant about his concept of an Extend -a -Stay motel. Mr. Bryant said these are people who are coming to the area for various reasons, either to work, have training, or to look before they get a permanent residence. There are at least 4 of these units of varying degrees of excellence in this area presently. Mr. Bryant said he felt this would be an asset to the City, if it was not, he would not build it. They envision people that come to stay at least a week but probably no longer than 3 months or so. Mr. Bryant said this would be his first Extend -a -Stay project but did run a successful apartment project in Marietta. The project will have a resident manager, and Mr. Bryant said it would be under his supervision daily. The rooms are a little over 200 square feet with a small refrigerator, cook top stove, sink, etc. in the efficiencies. Rates will be about $100 per week and they anticipate that about 800 of the rooms will be occupied by one person; the other rooms will be rented at $125 a week for two people. Jack Shinall said the people Mr. Bryant had described earlier as staying in these units were transients and since this is not a motel that rents by the day, could be classified as a quasi -apartment complex. May 16, 1988 meeting - continued Jim Hawkins asked if this development would be classified as a motel or apartments because there are two different sets of rules for the two different developments. Mr. Bryant said it is a hotel because of the amount of time people would stay there. Jim Hawkins said he was concerned that this development would be within walking distance of a middle school and elementary school. Bob Betenbaugh said Smyrna does not have a zoning category to handle a facility such as this. We are currently working on an ordinance for tourism but it has not yet been approved. Mr. Betenbaugh said because of that he had done some investigation into the information Mr. Bryant had provided by stating that many of the rooms could be utilized by visitors to patients in Smyrna Hospital, visitors to King Springs Village and perhaps in Smyrna Towers. Also, that there may be some business people who would be training at Highlands Park. Mr. Betenbaugh also presented some photos of an Extend-a-STay at the corner of Pat Mell and Austell Road which show that primarily projects such as this are occupied by itinerate construction workers as evidenced by the trucks, barrels of gasoline, etc. in the pictures. In talking with King Springs Village, they indicated they have a free apartment available for visitors and it has been used about 4 times since the village has been there. In talking with Smyrna Hospital they found that in 1986, there were 4,235 admissions with 3,594 of those coming from Cobb and Fulton County and 75% of that total coming from Cobb County. This would lead you to believe there is not a necessity for visitors to stay overnight. At Smyrna Towers they have all one bedroom units and most of their residents have sleeper sofas. They are allowed to have overnight guests for a maximum of 2 weeks. Some of their residents do have guests, but the majority of the residents are retired and they are the ones to visit their children and do the traveling. Mr. Betenbaugh said apparently the clientele for the Extend -a -Stay was not coming from any of these facilities as Mr. Bryant had indicated. Ridgeview Institute said there was a possibility they may have some use for the facility but would not elaborate further. Mr. Betenbaugh said he also interviewed school officials, PTA officers and school board members about the proposed development and had personally observed a lot of pedestrian traffic to both schools. The school officials were all very adamantly opposed to this facility because of the opportunity it would present for possible child abuse, drugs, prostitution. In summary, Mr. Betenbaugh said his investigations had confirmed a lot of reservations he already had about the development and felt very strongly that this development was not suited to the area. Following lengthy discussion about traffic, safety, etc., Bob Betenbaugh said he could not, in good conscience, support this development and made a motion the zoning be denied in the interest of the health, safety and morals of the community. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (C) Variance request - reduce side yard setback at 1730 Point Pleasant. John Patterson said that Bob Thornton is requesting a variance to reduce the side yard setback from 10 feet to 8.8 feet for this new home in Vinings Glen Subdivision. The letter of hardship states that the house was placed wrong on the lot and the error was not found until after the footing and slab were poured and the property surveyed. There was no opposition. Mr. Thornton said the house is already sold. When the preliminary plat was drawn it showed a 95 foot frontage on the street but when the survey was later made, it showed an actual 85 foot frontage. Mr. Thornton said they have double checked the other lots to be sure this error does not re -occur. After discussion, Wade Lnenicka made a motion the variance be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (D) Variance request - reduce front yard setback at 1821 Lakehurst Court John Patterson said that Mr. Neal Peavy is requesting a reduction in the front yard setback from 35 feet to 27 feet for this home under construction, also in Vinings Glen Subdivision. There was no opposition. Mr. Peavy said this home was being built for his own residence and Lawson Calhoun is the builder. The variance is needed because of storm drainage and sewer easements on the rear and sides of the lot. Mr. Peavy said this is a 3,300 square foot home, in the $300,000 price range. Following discussion, Wade Lnenicka made a motion the variance be approved. Bob Davis seconded the motion which carried 7-0. May 16, 1988 meeting - continued (E) Beer and wine pouring license - Bamboo Garden Chinese Restaurant, 3240 South Cobb Drive. John Patterson said that Ms. Rong Fong Huang has submitted an application as the new agent for the beer and wine pouring license at Bamboo Garden Chinese Restaurant. There was no opposition. Ms. Huang said she had never held an alcoholic beverage license before but she had a good knowledge of the laws of the City concerning sales of alcoholic beverage license. She will be the manager of Bamboo Garden and will be on the premises most of the time. Jim Hawkins said the police investigation was favorable and made a motion the license be approved. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (F) Beer package license - Petro -Retailers, Inc., 2410 South Cobb Drive. John Patterson said that Mr. Brian Polk of Petro -Retailers has applied for a beer package license at 2410 South Cobb Drive. Mr. Polk is the controller for the corporation and will be the manager of this store. This is a new location and meets all distance requirements. There was no opposition. Mr. Polk said he understood the ordinances concerning sales of alcoholic beverages and he has previously managed a store in Marietta. This store is still under construction and they hope to open June 1, 1988. Kathy Jordan made a motion the license be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (G) Closing of un-named street parallel to Atlanta Road at Jane Lyle Road. Wade Lnenicka said Post Properties is still working with the State DOT regarding curb cuts and made a motion this be tabled. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. FORMAL BUSINESS: (A) Amendments to Fire Code Jack Shinall made a motion the amendments to the fire code be tabled to the next meeting. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (B) Approval of recreation master plan. John Patterson said the recreation master plan was presented to the Mayor and Council at a December, 1987 meeting. The plan was prepared by EDAW through input from a committee of nineteen citizens and meetings held over a 3 1/2 month period. This plan evaluates Smyrna's present facilities and needs and makes recommendations for facilities and needs through the year 2000. One of the first needs identified in the plan is a community center to house gymnasiums, meeting rooms and classrooms. Bob Betenbaugh commended the parks and recreation staff and project committee members for their hard work and made a motion the plan be adopted, with council having the authority to amend or change as necessary any parts thereof. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (C) Set qualifying and election date for Civil Service Board member election. John Patterson said there is one member on the Civil Service Board who is elected by the Fire and Police Departments. Mr. Ted Farland is currently serving the unexpired term of earl Cochran, but that term will expire July 10, 1988. This election will be for a new 6 year term. Jack Shinall made a motion the election for this position be held June 23, 1988, with qualifying June 6-17, 1988. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 6-0. RTn nwapnC- (A) Street sweeping contract. John Patterson said that after a lengthy and difficult process, a competent vendor has provided reasonable prices to sweep the streets in the City. This has been discussed for some time and is needed. Bids were received as follows: May 16, 1988 meeting - continued Semi -Monthly Monthly (per curb mile - per curb mile - approx. 30 mi.) (approx. 15 mi.) Rouse Sweeping $17.10 $20.00 (with assistance from Chambers Development) Consolidated Waste $21.67 $21.67 BFI $22.63 $22.63 The following streets are proposed for sweeping: Semi -Monthly: South Cobb Drive (Pat Mell to Ridge) Atlanta Road (Pat Mell to Ridge) Pat Mell Road Ridge Road Concord Road (Atlanta to Hurt) Spring Street W. Spring Street King Street Memorial Place Church Street Monthly: Cobb Parkway (Lake Park to Spring) Lake Park Drive Village Parkway Roswell Road Church Street Bank Street Spring Street Ward Street Cherokee Road Wade Lnenicka made a motion the contract be awarded to Rouse Sweeping at an approximate annual cost of $16,000. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS: (A) Lamar Dickson requested a building permit for construction of office/warehouse space behind Dickson Shopping Center at a total estimated cost of $352,000. Jim Hawkins made a motion the permit be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. (B) Exxon Company requested a building permit for new construction of a convenience store with gas pumps at the southeast corner of Spring and Atlanta Road at a total estimated cost of $470,000. Wade Lnenicka made a motion the permit be approved, seconded by Jim Hawkins. Following discussion about agreements that may be in effect between the owners of this site and residents on Atlanta Terrace, the motion and second were withdrawn. Wade Lnenicka then made a motion this permit be tabled to the next meeting. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 6-0. CONSENT AGENDA: (A) Parade permit - Welcome All Baptist Church (B) Approval to surplus equipment from Public Works Jim Hawkins made a motion the consent agenda be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 5-1, with Wade Lnenicka opposed. COUNCIL INPUT: The entire council expressed their regrets over the loss of Jerry Mills today. Jerry had been sick for a very long but he was dedicated to the City and to the people he served in his ward and he will be missed. Wade Lnenicka reported on a meeting held recently with residents of Ann Road. The railroad is trying several different things to prevent trains from parking behind their homes and Wade said he was very optimistic because the situation seems to have improved. Wade Lnenicka said he had also met last week with John Wade concerning the widening of Atlanta Road. The county is still proposing a 20 foot wide grass median with minimum curb cuts and Wade said he thought all these problems had been resolved. The project has been put on hold again and until financing can be worked out, it may never dome to pass. Jack Shinall made a motion the rules be suspended to allow a motion concerning restriction of water use. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Wade Lnenicka made a motion the City adopt the same the policy the County is using concerning restriction of water use; no outside watering from 4:00 p.m. to May 16, 1988 meeting - continued 9:00 p.m. seven days a week until September 30th or until the County discontinues the policy. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 6-0. Mayor Bacon said the funeral for Jerry Mills would be Wednesday at King Springs Baptist Church, with Castellaw Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. With no further business, meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. A. MAX BACON, MAYOR RnR nAVTR WARM l