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09-06-1988 Regular MeetingSeptember 6, 1988 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter on September 6, 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. Also present was City Administrator John Patterson, City Attorney Charles E. Camp, City Clerk Melinda Dameron and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Reverend Elmer Foust, pastor of Welcome All Baptist Church, followed by the pledge to the flag. CITIZENS INPUT: Mayor Bacon recognized Ken Parris, candidate for the State Senate in the November election. PUBLIC HEARINGS: (A) Annexation of Mrs. Florence Bradley property on Belmont Circle. John Patterson said this has been tabled the last two meetings and the owner has now requested that the property not be annexed. Kathy Jordan made a motion the annexation be denied. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (B) Beer, wine and liquor package license - Neash Package Store, Sunrise Square II Shopping Center - Brij Bhagwandas Sidhwaney, applicant. John Patterson said that Mr. Sidhawney has applied for this new license as owner and operator of Neash Package Store at 822 Concord Road. The police investigation was favorable and there was no opposition from the audience. Mr. Sidhawney said he had been a resident of Cobb County since March 1987 and felt he understood the laws governing sales of alcoholic beverages in the City. As the owner/operator he will be at the business every day. Jack Shinall said this license will place three package stores within a one-half mile distance and asked the Community Development to possibly review a concentration ordinance in regards to the number of.package store licenses allowed in certain areas. Attorney Camp said to place a limit on the number of licenses would not be constitutional but a limit on distance between establishments might be. Jim Hawkins said at the last meeting he voted against a package license just down the street from this but that particular application did not meet distance requirements. This application does meet all requirements and Mr. Hawkins made a motion the license be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (C) Beer and wine package license - Winn Dixie, 2350 Spring Road - William Edward McGraw, applicant. John Patterson said Mr. McGraw has applied for the license as the appointed agent for the new Winn Dixie at 2350 Spring Road. The police investigation was favorable and there was no opposition. Mr. McGraw said he was the district manager for Winn Dixie and managed 10 stores. This will be the first alcoholic beverage license he has held. A store manager has not be appointed yet and Mr. McGraw said he applied for the license in his name since he is a resident of Cobb County. Bob Davis made a motion the license be approved as requested. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 7-0. FORMAL BUSINESS: (A) Bids for a portable air compressor were opened, read and recorded as follows: Sul -Air Equipment $8,790 EEE Equipment no bid Cobb County Tractor $8,995 Wade Lnenicka made a motion the bids be turned over to the Public Works Committee for their recommendation back to full council. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Bids for a ditch witch were opened, read and recorded as follows: September 6, 1988 meeting - continued Reinhardt Equipment Co. No bid Cobb County Tractor $25,640 Wade Lnenicka made a motion the bid be turned over to the Public Works Committee for their recommendation back to full council. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Bids for the environmental services contract were opened, read and recorded as follows: United Waste Service $2.36 cu/yd Browning -Ferris, Inc. $1.48 cu/yd Street Residential Sweeping No bid No bid $7.86/household No charge /city maintains-- lst 75 curb collection only miles $13.78/household $19.00/curb /ownership mile over 75 $7.86/household /collection & maintenance Install complete unit $334.30 Liner replacement $18.00 ea. Chambers Development $1.08 cu/yd $8.34/household $28.00/curb mile Laidlaw Waste System $2.06 cu/yd $13.92/household $20.00/curb mile Georgia Waste System $1.20-cu/yd $6.43/household $19.60/curb mile Wade Lnenicka made a motion the bids be turned over to the Public Works committee for review and their recommendation back to full council at the October 3, 1988 meeting. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (B) Amendment to dog ordinance. John Patterson said the ordinance presented tonight will limit the number of dogs allowed per household according to lot size in response to the many complaints we receive. This ordinance is in conformance with those in other cities around the country and they have been held constitutional. Jim Hawkins said there are some situations in our city where people are raising as many as 9 dogs at their homes. We receive complaints from neighbors but up to this point there has been nothing we could do. Jim Hawkins read the proposed ordinance as follows and made a motion it be approved: Sec. 4-33. Limit of Number of Dogs Allowed The keeping of dogs shall be allowed as an accessory use on any lot, as previously defined and regulated, provided such dogs are for personal use and enjoyment, and not for commercial purpose. The number of dogs permitted shall be in accordance with the following schedule, except that in determining the number of dogs allowed only those dogs six (6) months or older in age shall be counted. Number of Doas 1 to 2 3 4 5 or more Minimum Lot Size No requirement 20,000 square feet 30,000 square feet 40,000 square feet plus 10,000 square feet for each additional dog above 5 This limitation shall not apply to veterinary clinics, licensed animal shelters, pet shops or grooming establishments. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion to approve the ordinance. Wade Lnenicka asked if the grandfather clause would apply to those not currently in compliance. Attorney September 6, 1988 meeting - continued Camp said it would probably seem reasonable to do so, but if the dogs are affecting the health or welfare of the neighbors we could take action now. Vote on the motion carried 7-0. (C) Approval of conversion to Glock handgun in Police Department John Patterson said that several months ago the Police Committee was approached with the alternative provided by the local manufacturer of the Glock handgun to change over to their semi -automatic 9 millimeter handgun. A committee was established to review the conversion and based upon several months of study and test firing, it was determined that based upon the effectiveness of the weapon, safety considerations and training needs that it would be appropriate at this time to move to the Glock 9mm weapon as the service weapon of our Police Department. It is much safer, more reliable, has more fire power and the same knock -down ability as the 357 that we currently use and will provide our officers the protection they need while protecting our citizens. Bob Davis thanked the members of the committee who studied the conversion and tested this weapon and based upon their recommendation made a motion the City accept the conversion to the Glock 9mm automatic. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion. Jack Shinall asked if there was other cost associated with the conversion to this weapon; any money that must be approved either now or later. Bob Davis said that after the generous offer made from Glock on the conversion, it would cost approximately $5,000 for everything. We also are recommending night sights for that weapon which was highly recommended and we are adding that to the proposal tonight which will be approximately $6100. After further discussion, the motion and second were withdrawn. Bob Davis then made a motion we accept the recommendation for the conversion to the Glock 9mm weapon; also the purchase of night -sights at $6,160 and leather at a total of $5,000. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion and said that during the study they found this weapon is very reliable and probably more so than the current weapon they are using. Safety is another aspect and this weapon is probably safer than the 357 handgun, both for the public and officer using it. This is a very attractive offer from Glock and the cost for the conversion will be minimal. Our officers will not be issued these weapons until they have been thoroughly trained and are considered safe by our training group in the police department. Vote on the motion to approve the conversion carried 7-0. (D) Adoption of proposed Loss Prevention Program John Patterson said there has been considerable concern the last year about the accident review committee that was formerly in place and having worked with a new Risk Management company that has been appointed by our insurance provider, we have been able to establish a communication process and several committees that we suggest would be in the best interest of the City to enact and move forward. Jim Hawkins said we have had quite a few accidents with city vehicles lately and we are trying to take some action tonight that will place some responsibility for these accidents where it needs to be. This policy will form two new committees to replace the existing committee; one will be called the Safety Committee and be comprised of one representative from each department. They will act as a fact finding committee where there is a vehicular accident or other accident involving an employee's loss of time at work. They investigate the accident and pass that information onto the Accident Review Committee. They will be made up of the Chairman of the Finance & Administration Committee, City Administrator John Patterson and those two will appoint a third member to hear all vehicular accidents and major accidents involving loss of time. They will make recommendations as to what could have been done to prevent the accident and if necessary, make any disciplinary action that may be necessary. Jim Hawkins made a motion we adopt the Loss Prevention policy as outlined. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (E) Salary compression adjustment. John Patterson said in June of 1985 the Mayor and Council adjusted the starting pay for public safety employees in order to attract new candidates and also increased pay within the ranks a certain amount to retain those employees currently on staff. In doing so there was a compression problem, in that employees with 5 or 6 years of service with the City finally found themselves making what was then, starting pay. Council has recognized this as a problem, addressed it in September 6, 1988 meeting - continued year's budget and worked diligently to try and eliminate the problem. There was a considerable amount of calculations required to complete this study being presented tonight which, hopefully, will eliminate the compression problem once and for all. Jack Shinall said the Fire Committee supported the increases as presented but did not think this would address all the problems because he did not think all problems would ever go away. There will always be some who think they are not being treated fairly while others are treated a little more than fairly and don't say anything. Also, this would never have happened in private enterprise because in private industry when you have a job that needs the starting pay adjusted you don't do the same for all employees; you do it for that particular job category. After further discussion, Bob Davis made a motion the salary adjustments as presented be adopted. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (F) Appointment to Parks and Recreation Commission - Ward 5 Jack Shinall made a motion that Eddie Eldridge be reappointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission representing Ward 5. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 7-0. BID AWARDS: (A) Backstop at Ward Park. Bob Betenbaugh made a motion the backstop at Ward Park be awarded to Acme Fence, the low bidder at $8,786. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (B) King Springs storage building addition. Bob Betenbaugh made a motion the bid for the storage building addition be awarded to Hatcher & Sons, the low bidder at $8,413.69. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (C) Computer equipment. John Patterson said approval of this equipment will cover the automation for all departments discussed at budget time, with the exception of the Library. There is a computer user's committee established from the staff within the City and of that group there was selected a study committee to review proposals and make a recommendation to council on the needs for this equipment. The recommendation is that all of the networking systems including Police, Communications and Fire be awarded to the Tandy Corporation and that the stand alones be awarded to Compaq and be purchased from DP Enterprises for Utility Services, Parks and Recreation and Public Works. This will provide all the computer equipment we will need for some time to come except for the Library which will also be a networked system and we are investigating some of the Novell equipment providers. Jim Hawkins made a motion council adopt the recommendations of the committee and award the networking system to Tandy Corporation for $55,016.32 and the stand alones be awarded to DP Enterprises for $16,110.00. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion. Mayor Bacon said he thought the biggest concern council had after reviewing the proposals was whether or not these companies would be here in 5 to 10 years to provide service and parts. John Patterson said he could assure council that these companies would always be able to provide any maintenance or support needed. Terri Savo with IBM requested to make a statement and Jim Hawkins then withdrew his motion to allow discussion from the floor. Ms. Savo and Linda Heidt said IBM had serviced the City of Smyrna for quite a while and they very much want to continue the strong working relationship they have had with the City. They have the mainframe and are here frequently and would like to continue their support in the personal computer business as well. The first proposal they received was from the study committee and they asked that it returned within 48 hours. There were some inaccuracies in the request for proposals and although this was not sufficient time for an in-depth study, they did try to respond. Ms. Savo said they did not feel they had been treated fairly or given the opportunity to properly demonstrate their products. John Patterson said the initial request was informal, to test the market, and they later received the request to bid. IBM, more than any other company, has been aware of the needs of the City since they have been talking to us for over a year. They had recommended a number of pieces of equipment, in the Police Department and elsewhere. September 6, 1988 meeting - continued John Patterson said that IBM was 50o higher than three of the other companies that bid and without knowing the exact procedure the committee took, felt IBM was probably eliminated with several other companies in the early stages because of the cost. Jim Hawkins said he was concerned that they did not feel they had been treated fairly and made a motion this item be tabled to give IBM the opportunity to make their presentation to the committee. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which failed 3-4 with Jim Hawkins, Kathy Jordan and Bill Scoggins voting for; Jack Shinall, Wade Lnenicka, Bob Betenbaugh and Bob Davis opposed. After further discussion, Jim Hawkins made a motion the recommendation presented tonight be denied. Motion died for lack of a second. Jack Shinall then made a motion the staff recommendation be approved, to award the networking equipment to Tandy Corporation and the stand alone equipment to DP Enterprises for a total of $71,126.32. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion. Mayor Bacon said in view of the conversations tonight about these bids, he would have preferred to have gone through the entire bid process and let council look at every bid to find out who was low and who was high, at a public meeting. Vote on the motion carried 5-2, with Bill Scoggins and Jim Hawkins opposed. (D) Architectural design services for new fire station. Jack Shinall made a motion this award be tabled to the September 19th meeting until references on the firms being considered could be received. Bob Betenbaugh seconded the motion which carried 6-1, with Wade Lnenicka opposed. COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS: None for consideration. CONSENT AGENDA: (A) Approval to request bids for playground equipment (B) Approval of August minutes (C) Approval to request bids for fire hose. Kathy Jordan made a motion the consent agenda be approved. Bob Davis seconded the motion which carried 7-0. COUNCIL INPUT: Kathy Jordan gave a report from the Library and Clean City Committee. Mayor Bacon said several questions had been raised recently about stipulations placed on the shopping center zoning at Spring and Campbell. Mayor Bacon said he had a copy of the minutes from that zoning if anyone was interested in seeing them. 4 With no further business, meeting adjourned at 9:34 p.m. A. MAX -BACON, MAYOR BOOAV � S , JAR 1 3 KATHY BROOKS JORDAN, WARD 6 BOB BETENBAVGH, WARD 7