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12-12-1988 Regular MeetingDecember 12, 1988 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter on December 12, 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 Michael Carey, pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church. Mayor Bacon read a letter received today from 5 local businesses voicing their objections to the three temporary emission inspections stations in the City, stating they are an eyesore and do not meet building code requirements. Mayor Bacon said he also had talked personally with several of these people and hoped that next year, council would see fit to not issue any temporary licenses for this purpose. Mayor Bacon said he agreed they are an eyesore and did not think they should be allowed to operate at all unless they can provide full service emission control. Wade Lnenicka said the State mandates the emission control inspections and did not think it should be our fault for having to have inspections stations but we do need to be responsible to our citizens in allowing businesses in the City to set up operations so that people can get their cars inspected. Mayor Bacon also asked John Patterson to check those in business to be sure they meet our building code requirements. Mayor Bacon announced that the Recorders Court appeals on the agenda have been continued to the December 19, 1988 meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS: (A) Privilege license - massage therapist, 1330 Concord Road. John Patterson said Ms. Susan Cox has applied for a business license as a massage therapist at 1330 Concord Road. Being unfamiliar with our city limits or license requirements of Smyrna, she previously applied to Cobb County and was approved by them for a license at this location. When she became aware of our requirements, she immediately applied for the proper license. The police investigation was favorable and revealed nothing that would preclude the issuance of this license. There was no opposition from the audience. Ms. Cox said a massage therapist must complete a minimum 6 month training period including hydrotherapy, use of heat and ice, soft tissue manipulation and others. Their clients are people who choose to see them; often they are referred by physicians, chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons or neurologists. Ms. Cox said she had been nursing for about 12 years, ranging from critical care to psychiatric nursing. Currently she is on staff at Ridgeview and Brawners. Ms. Cox said she is a registered nurse and also graduated from the Atlanta School of Massage about 5 years ago. Jim Hawkins stated we have no license category for massage therapists and the category for masseur/masseuse is the only one that would be applicable. This code section states that massages may not be performed on persons of the opposite sex and asked Ms. Cox if that would not limit her business considerably. Ms. Cox said it would not because a lot of her clients have letters from doctors. Also, she is attempting to update the laws in Smyrna since they are behind the county laws. Jim Hawkins said that it seems it would be more appropriate to consider the ordinance changes first, and then hear the license. Ms. Cox said she already has male clients who have letters from doctors, and she is now practicing within the laws of the City. She does not take walk-ins and the first question she asks a new client now is if they are currently under the care of a physician and then requires a letter of referral. If they do not have a letter from their doctor she could, however, see them as an outpatient under the current City ordinance. Bill Scoggins asked about her state licensing since her application indicates a Florida license that expires this year. Mr. Cox said her Florida license is due to be renewed at the end of December; the State of Georgia does not license massage therapists at this time. Wade Lnenicka asked about the signage at this location. Ms. Cox said her sign would advertise therapeutic massage by appointment only and would be very low key. Mr. Lnenicka asked if she understood the current City of Smyrna ordinance and if she was prepared to abide by them until and if such time they are changed, and the answer was yes. December 12, 1988 meeting - continued Wade Lnenicka made a motion the application for the business license as a massage therapist at 1330 Concord Road be approved. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion. Jim Hawkins said he would oppose the license because he felt council was acting too quickly; the ordinance should be modified if needed prior to a license being issued because it was not designed for the .purposes stated here tonight. Jack Shinall said the required health certificate was not in his agenda packet. Ms. Cox said she had brought it to the business license department and it should be with the rest of the application. The motion and second were then withdrawn and Wade Lnenicka made a motion the application for a massage therapist license at 1330 Concord Road for Ms. Cox be approved, conditioned upon the City having in its possession prior to the issuance of the license, the required health certificate. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 4-3, with Jack Shinall, Jim Hawkins and Bob Davis opposed. (B) Privilege license - precious metal dealer - Flair Jewelers, 3315 South Cobb Drive. John Patterson stated that Thomas A. Taylor, Jr. is the owner of Flair Jewelers and has now applied for a license as a precious metal dealer at this same location. Mr. Taylor has been in business since January 1984. The police investigation was favorable and there was no opposition from the audience. Mr. Taylor said he has a lot of customers who are interested in swapping their old gold towards a new purchase and this requires a separate license. Mr. Taylor said he had read our ordinance and felt that he could comply with it. Following discussion, Jim Hawkins made a motion the license be approved. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (C) Privilege license - package beer and wine - Tenneco, 1166 Concord Road. John Patterson said that Tenneco Food Retail, Inc. is changing the name of their corporation to TOC Retail, Inc. In doing that, they have also changed the officers of the corporation and this application tonight is to approve the change in the corporate structure of Tenneco. Luci Hammock Wilson is the current agent for Tenneco and will remain the license holder for all three locations in Smyrna. There was no opposition. Doug Gosden with Powell, Goldstein, Frazer and Murphy represented Tenneco and said this is just a corporate structure change and Ms. Wilson will continue to hold the license. Jim Hawkins made a motion the application for 1166 Concord Road be approved. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (D) Privilege license - package beer and wine - Tenneco, 2610 Cobb Parkway. Jack Shinall asked Mr. Gosden if he was aware that Ms. Wilson seemed to have a problem in attending meetings such as this. She was not present the last time the license was transferred and also did not have time to stay for a meeting that was held with all license holders. Mr. Shinall said he had some concerns about her awareness of the responsibilities in holding the license. Mr. Gosden said she holds the license at a number of stores and as the retail supervisor for Tenneco felt that she was very responsible. Bob Davis made a motion the application for 2610 Cobb Parkway be approved. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (E) Privilege license - package beer and wine - Tenneco, 902 Windy Hill Road. Jack Shinall made a motion the license be approved. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (F) Variance - height and square footage of sign - Amoco, 3402 South Cobb Drive. John Patterson said that Amoco Oil is requesting a variance to increase the allowable square footage of the sign at their new station located on the corner of South Cobb Drive and Lake Drive to 180 square feet. They are also requesting a variance to increase the height from 35 to 43.4 feet. There was December 12, 1988 meeting - continued no opposition. Don Harkleroad represented Amoco and presented pictures of the type of sign proposed. Mr. Harkleroad said the existing signage blocks the view of the McDonald's sign on the adjacent property and the variance would help to eliminate that problem. Also, the increase of square footage is being requested to give them more visibility due to the traffic speed and width of South Cobb Drive. The new sign will be moved closer to the intersection of Lake Drive and South Cobb Drive but will still be in line with others in the area. Jack Shinall asked if they would have one or two signs. Mr. Harkleroad said there would be one sign with the Amoco logo, and a price sign below it on the same pole. Jim Hawkins asked if they could not alleviate the problem of blocking the McDonald's sign by using a smaller sign and placing it at a different location. Mr. Harkleroad said Amoco has two size signs, with the smaller one containing 90 square feet which would meet code requirements but they felt it would be dwarfed by the other signs on the street and would not allow them to properly advertise their store. After further discussion, Jim Hawkins made a motion the variance be denied. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (G) Variance - front yard setback - Trust Company Bank, 3345 South Cobb Drive. John Patterson said that Trust Company Bank is requesting a variance to reduce the front yard setback from 50 feet to 20.9 feet for the addition of two drive -up teller machines. The letter of hardship states that the visibility of these machines on the front of the property will give customers better security. There was no opposition. Ed Andrews represented Trust Company and stated they currently have six drive -through windows and two walk-up automatic teller machines. They are in the process of changing out the equipment and they would like to take out the two walk-up machines and build two machines that customers can operate from their car. The variance is needed for customer convenience and also for security reasons, since they are used 24 hours a day. They considered putting the new machines behind the existing structure but chose not to because of the security problem. Attorney Camp said this will not actually be a structure; it will be two islands with ATM machines having a canopy over them. After further discussion Jim Hawkins made a motion the variance be approved as requested. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 6-1, with Wade Lnenicka opposed. (H) Variance - front yard setback - Tenneco, 902.Windy Hill Road John Patterson said that Tenneco Oil is requesting this variance to reduce the minimum front yard setback from 50 to 5 feet for a new canopy. The existing canopy is approximately 7 feet from the front property line and does not meet setback requirements. The new canopy will be reduced in size and relocated, but will still be 5 feet from the new front property line after Windy Hill Road is widened. Cobb County is negotiating the acquisition price for the necessary 10 foot right of way to widen the road and a refusal of this variance may result in a drastic increase of the settlement price. There was no opposition. Ken Giannoni of Mayes, Sudderth and Etheredge represented Tenneco and said they must relocate the canopy before the road can be widened. They are moving the island 5 feet closer to the building and decreasing the width of the canopy from 6 feet to 4 feet but the canopy will still encroach into the setback line. Following discussion Jack Shinall made a motion the variance be approved. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. Mayor Bacon announced that the beer and wine package license for the new Amoco at South Cobb Drive and Lake Drive which was tabled at the last meeting had been withdrawn at the request of the applicant. December 12, 1988 meeting - continued FORMAL BUSINESS: (A) Appointment to Planning and Zoning Board - Ward 7 Bob Betenbaugh made a motion that John Heaton be reappointed to the Planning and Zoning Board representing Ward 7. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 7-0. (B) Appeals from Recorders Court: Rodney Allen Tumey, Annette P. Barker, Jimmy Richard Emory, Jr. and Donna Beth Licot Bob Betenbaugh made a motion the appeals be continued to the December 19th meeting. Kathy Jordan seconded the motion which carried 7-0. BID AWARDS: Nothing to report. COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS: Nothing to report. CONSENT AGENDA: (A) Approval of November minutes (B) No parking signs, McCauley Road Jim Hawkins made a motion the consent agenda be approved. Bob Davis seconded the motion which carried 7-0. COUNCIL INPUT: Bob Betenbaugh reported on activities in the Parks Department and also gave a brief report on the recent Congressional Cities Conference held in Boston December 3-8. Jack Shinall gave an update on the Fair Labor Standards Act law suit in the Fire Department and said we are still negotiating settlement. Hopefully the suit will be settled within the next few days. Wade Lnenicka said the new public works facility was dedicated last week in memory of Jerry Mills. This is the finest facility in the metro area and one that will house that department well into the future and more efficiently allow us to provide services to our citizens. Mr. Lnenicka commended council for having the foresight to initiate this development. With no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Amy" A. MAYqACON, YOR MELINDA bAkitON, TY CLERK BOB QAVIS�, WARD WADE,,LNENICKA, W l 2-XV X1,SHINALL WARD 5 KATHY*CKS JORDAN,� E. BOB BETENBAUGH, WARD 7 December 19, 1988 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held December 19, 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 Rev. York Chambless followed by the pledge to the flag.