01-21-1991 Regular MeetingJanuary 21, 1991
The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held January 21, 1991
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 Clerk Melinda Dameron,
City Attorney Charles E. Camp, Fire Chief Larry Williams, Police Major Kent
Sims, Public Works Director Vic Broyles, Personnel Director Jane Mears, City
Engineer Ken Hildebrandt, Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Reavis,
Library Director Laurel Best, Finance Director Emory McHugh, Community
Relations Director Kathy Barton, Communications Director Steve Ciaccio and
representatives of the press.
Invocation was given by Reverend York Chambless, followed by the pledge to
the flag.
CITIZENS INPUT: Billy Fisher, a resident of Turner Drive complained of junk
on Belmont Circle and stated officials from both the City and County had told
him it was not within their jurisdiction. Mr. Fisher was asked to contact
John Patterson the following day and he would refer him to the proper
authorities in Cobb County.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
(A) Variance request - reduce front yard setback from 50 to 32 feet at 2925
Atlanta Road
John Patterson stated that Mr. Neal Holbrook is requesting this variance to
build an additional service bay for Holbrook Automotive. This request was
tabled from the December 17, 1990 meeting and there was no opposition.
Mr. Holbrook said he had purchased this business after the State widened
Atlanta Road and they had lost approximately 34 feet on the front. The
variance on the front setback would facilitate an addition to provide
additional work space and parking. Originally they had planned on a masonry
type addition similar to the existing building but after meeting with city
officials had agreed to a facie siding acceptable to the City and in keeping
with the architectural design recommended by the Downtown Development
Authority.
After further discussion, Bill Scoggins made a motion the variance be
approved from 50 to 32 feet with the stipulation that Mr. Holbrook work with
the Downtown Development Authority Architectural Committee and conform with
their recommendations. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
(B) Business license request - Action Title Exchange, 3573 South Cobb Drive
John Patterson stated that Regis J. Fochler and Donna E. Harrison have a
requested a business license for a pawn shop at this address where they
currently operate as Fairchild Financial Services, Inc. The applicants have
stated they have read the ordinance and will abide by it and the police
investigation was also favorable. There was no opposition from the audience.
Mr. Fochler said he currently operates a financial service business and
recently had missed a lot of business because some of his customers could not
be approved for a loan and many of them have wanted to pawn their car title.
This license would allow him to grant loans to those that may not otherwise
qualify, based on their car title. Mr. Fochler said banks or loan companies
would generally would not grant loans on cars if the vehicle was over 1 or 2
years old. While this is a pawn license, Mr. Fochler said he was not
interested in accepting any other items for pawn and his business would be
limited to car titles only. The interest rate for title loans is 24%
annually.
Jim Hawkins said Mr. Fochler met all requirements of the code and made a
motion the license be approved provided vehicles not be stored at this
location. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 5-2 with John
Steely and Jack Shinall opposed.
(C) Abandonment and closing of Jane Lyle Road
John Patterson stated that council had previously approved a right of way
swap with Post Properties :'for a new Jane Lyle Road to be constructed to
intersect with Ridge Road. This right of way swap would facilitate the
construction of Phase II of Post Vinings apartments. This hearing was tabled
January 21, 1991 meeting - continued
at the last meeting because of concerns expressed with the sharp turn that
would have to be made to access the home at the dead end of the street. Since
that time, a turn radius at the intersection has been provided to resolve the
problem and has been approved by the Fire Department.
City Engineer Ken Hildebrandt presented a plan of the new roadway -to a group
of concerned citizens and Chief Williams stated that their largest piece of
fire equipment could make the turn with no problem. Some opposition was
expressed with one of the stop signs at the proposed 3-way intersection
because it was not needed and Mr. Lnenicka said it could be removed.
Following discussion Mr. Lnenicka made a motion the abandonment and
conveyance of Jane Lyle Road be approved in exchange for the new right of way
when completed with the stipulation that all emergency vehicles, especially
fire trucks, be able to access the dead end portion of Jane Lyle Road and if
there are any problems after construction, Post Properties must immediately
remedy that problem at their expense. Bob Davis seconded the motion which
carried 7-0.
(D) Closing of Bank Street
John Patterson stated that as a part of the downtown re -development, a
portion of Bank Street from Atlanta Road to King Street has been closed
temporarily and future plans call for the permanent closing of this portion
to facilitate Phase II of the project. Signs have been posted at each end of
the street and all advertisements made. A group of approximately 8 people
raised their hands in opposition and several were sworn in by Mr. Camp.
Roy Griffin of 2795 Parkwood Drive said there seems to be some discrepancy on
how the road will be closed and how long it would be closed. Mayor Bacon said
bad weather had delayed the new construction but with good weather, the new
road should be completed in about 2 weeks. Mr. Griffin said he wanted Bank
Street to remain open because it has always been a main artery through Smyrna
and having it closed had been terribly inconvenient for those living on the
west side of town.
Sondra Griffin also opposed the closing and wanted to know why it had to be
closed permanently. Jack Shinall said he had been told that when the
engineers designed the project they did not want any incline on King Street.
The only way now to keep it open would be to bring the grade up on King and
lower the grade on Bank Street because there is a 13 foot differential. Mrs.
Griffin said she felt they were doing a dis-service to the citizens on the
west side.
Eugenia Shepard of 1031 Bank Street said there was not enough thought given
to the closing and the people living there. Ms. Shepard said she was notified
by the newspaper of a public hearing and felt more thought should be given to
this matter before taking action.
John Patterson said two proposals had been received on the cost of keeping
the street open ranging from $175,000 to almost $400,000 to do just the
grading work that would be needed. In addition to that cost, we would also be
giving up access to the police station, the two drives to the west side
parking lot and the grade at the drive through window at City Hall would have
to be lowered. This proposal did not, however, take into consideration the
possibility of changing the grade at King Street.
Nancy Hancock of 1164 Bank Street said her family has lived in their home for
40 years and they were upset because they did not have the opportunity to
vote on the new construction and felt the people on the west side have
suffered because of it. Bank Street has always been considered a main artery
and the speeding problem still exists'.
Ms. Blondine Bailey of 1023 Bank Street said she objects to the closing
because it has been very inconvenient for them and they would like the road
to remain open.
Roger Lizotte of 1038 Bank Street was sworn and asked about the configuration
of the new street when completed. Mr. Lizotte said he was concerned that the
new street when completed, would cause additional traffic on Bank Street.
Jack Shinall said he has heard from several other people about the street
January 21, 1991 meeting - continued
closing and read a note from another person present that did not wish to
speak who opposed the closing. Bank Street has been a through street from
South Cobb to Atlanta Road for over 45 years. Many of the original people who
live there have paid for that street and some have paid twice for it to be
resurfaced. There are some who love the idea and they have voiced their
opinion. Mr. Shinall said in his opinion, Bank Street would have the same
amount of traffic whether it was closed or left open to Atlanta Road. The
construction time and timing of the closing has been very inconvenient for
the residents. The people on the west side deserve the right to come to City
Hall without going around the block and even though it would probably cost
$100,000 now to leave it open, felt it would be worth it to them. Bank Street
will have the same amount of traffic after the new road is completed and it
may even increase. Mr. Shinall said Bank Street was due to be closed, he
thought, in Phase II when the new City Hall was built. Jack Shinall made a
motion Bank Street remain open as a through street from Atlanta Road to South
Cobb Drive. Motion died for lack of a second.
Jim Hawkins questioned the action tonight since we are only closing a portion
from Atlanta Street to King Street. Mr. Camp said you would no longer be able
to traverse it directly to its culmination and in effect, they were closing
it. A street can be closed and still used since the right of way reverts to
the property owners on either side; in this case the City of Smyrna.
After further discussion Jim Hawkins made a motion Bank Street be closed from
King Street to Atlanta Road. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion which carried
6-1 with Jack Shinall opposed.
FORMAL BUSINESS:
(A) Bid opening - shelters for Cobb Park and Lake Court
Bids were opened, read and recorded as follows:
Leisure Lines $7,275.00
Redwood Leisure Products $5,900.00
Hunter Knepshield $7,423.60
Cedar Forest Products $7,243.00
RCP Shelters $5,968.00
Game Time $7,842.00
Bill Scoggins made a motion the bids be turned over to the committee for
review and returned to full council at the next meeting. Jack Shinall
seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
(B) Amendments to FY91 budget
Finance Director Emory McHugh explained the budget amendments and Jim Hawkins
made a motion the amendments be approved as submitted, seconded by Wade
Lnenicka. Jack Shinall said he would not support the motion because of his
personal feelings which he had already expressed concerning the
administration of the unused sick -leave pay. Vote on the motion carried 5-1
with Jack Shinall opposed. Bill Scoggins was out of the room when the vote
was taken.
(C) Validation of petition to annex property at 3603 Carson Road
Mr. Camp read the legal description as follows:
We, the undersigned, who constitute sixty percent (60%) of the electors
resident and sixty percent (60%) of the owners of the land area by acreage,
as described below, which is unincorporated and contiguous to the City of
Smyrna, hereby apply to have said area annexed into the City of Smyrna under
the provisions of laws of the State of Georgia, said property being annexed
being described as follows:
All that tract or parcel of land lying and being in Land Lots 698 and 699 of
the 17th District, 2nd Section of Cobb County, Georgia, being a part of Lot
9, Subdivision of John Lemon Land, and being more particularly described as
follows:
BEGINNING at a point located on the northwesterly right of way line of Carson
Drive, 640.68 feet southwesterly, as measured along the northwesterly right
of way line of Carson Road, from the point formed by the intersection of the
January 21, 1991 meeting - continued
northwesterly right of way line of Carson Road with the southwesterly right
of way line of Atlanta Road; thence south 46 degrees 14 minutes 29 seconds
west, 105.35 feet to an iron pin set; thence north 55 degrees 13 minutes 00
seconds west, 136.96 feet to an iron pin set; thence north 53 degrees 37
minutes 00 seconds east, 136.59 feet to a point; thence south 42 degrees 20
minutes 00 seconds east, 116.73 feet to a point located on the northwesterly
right of way line of Carson Road and the point of BEGINNING; being 0.344
acres, as shown on a plat of survey for Allan Kahlife by Paul E. Lee,
Registered Land Surveyor, dated July 19, 1989; and being a portion of that
property conveyed by that certain Warranty Deed recorded in Deed Book 4299,
Pages 90 and 91, Cobb County records.
WHEREFORE, THE UNDERSIGNED HEREBY APPLY FOR SUCH ANNEXATION.
Witness the hands and seals of 60% of the electors resident and 60% of the
record title holders in the annexed area: s/ALLAN W. KHALIFE
Wade Lnenicka made a motion the petition be validated and he public hearing
set for February 18, 1991. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried
7-0.
(D) Approval of sewer line installation on Smyrna Roswell Road
John Patterson stated it is estimated that the cost to sewer the portion of
Smyrna Roswell from Mom and Pops Food Store to Pine Village Apartments would
be $23,000. Mr. Dan Williams and Ed Thomas have offered to pay $8,000 toward
the installation. The City can install the line and then assess the other
property owners who wish to tie onto the line in the future a development fee
to reimburse the cost. The $15,000 balance for this line will be spread over
the remaining 15 acres and the City will eventually receive full
reimbursement for the installation of the line.
Bill Scoggins made a motion $23,000 be approved to install the line with Mr.
Williams and Mr. Thomas to pay $8,000 and the remaining $15,000 to be
reimbursed through line assessment fees of $1,200 per acre for those wishing
to tie onto the sewer line in the future. Wade Lnenicka seconded the motion
which carried 7-0.
RTn AWARnR-
(A) Stained glass windows
Wade Lnenicka made a motion the contract for the design, execution and
installation of stained glass windows for the Community Center and Library be
awarded to Jennifer's Glassworks, the low bidder at $27,811. Bill Scoggins
seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
(B) Landscaping contract
Wade Lnenicka made a motion the Mayor be authorized the execute the contract
to award the landscaping bid to POSL Properties for the new Community Center
and Library. Post will donate $250,000 to be combined with the $200,000 in
our budget for this project. The total bid award will not exceed the $200,000
budgeted. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
(C) Banking services agreement
John Patterson stated requests for proposals were mailed to 10 local banks
with only three complete bids returned. First American Bank was the lowest
overall bid received.
Jim Hawkins said it was the consensus of the Finance Committee that the bid
be awarded to First American Bank for a total charge of $45,945. Wade
Lnenicka made a motion the bid be awarded to First American for a three year
period, and the City Administrator be authorized to execute the necessary
documents. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried 5-2 with Jack
Shinall and Jim Hawkins opposed.
Wade Lnenicka made a motion the rules be suspended to consider an item not on
the agenda. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried 5-2 with Jack
Shinall and John Steely opposed.
Wade Lnenicka said Sizemore Floyd had worked with city staff for quite some
January 21, 1991 meeting - continued
time on furnishings for the new Community Center and Library and had
pre -qualified a number of dealers and installers to submit bid requests to.
Three bids were received from them; one from Office Pavilion National
Systems, Inc., one from Carithers-Wallace-Courtenay and one from Malone's,
Inc. Malone's had the lowest bid of $420,000 for a total of 148 items. Jack
Shinall had reviewed the bids closely and found several identified areas for
savings. There are different grades of quality and there are options and
possibilities for furnishings that will do just as well and cost a lot less
money, such as substituting cloth for leather and changing a number of the
other items included in the bid packet. Mr. Lnenicka said he did not think we
could re -bid the entire package and did not feel comfortable with postponing
this decision any longer if we are to meet the June completion date. Mr.
Lnenicka said there is nothing wrong with negotiating individual prices with
the chosen bidder and that is what he is suggesting tonight. By changing some
of the items in the specifications it is very easy to come up with a $45,000
savings which would bring Malone's bid price from $420,000 to $375,000.
Mr. Lnenicka made a motion the bid be awarded to Malone's who is the low
bidder at a price lower than the original bid, not to exceed $375,000. Bill
Scoggins seconded the motion.
Jack Shinall said in a matter of a few items they had been able to produce a
$48,000 savings and he felt it made the entire bid suspect. The exact same
items as specified in the bid with no changes produced a quote from another
vendor ranging from 15% to 20% in savings. Mr. Shinall said the statement
that delaying this matter would not allow enough time to make delivery before
the opening is incorrect and if he had known this matter was coming up
tonight he would have obtained a written statement to that effect. As of
today in a meeting with Sizemore Floyd, they agreed totally to have their
designer review the specifications again. Mr. Shinall said they had already
talked about waiting 2 weeks to act and the architect today had no problem
with that. Mr. Shinall said the savings he had found was not only in the
material but in other items that were specified in such a way that required
custom orders instead of normal production items. Therefore an item that
normally can be purchased for $3,700 was priced at over $8,000.
John Steely said he also agreed that this is a lot of money to spend and did
not see how it would hurt to delay this bid another 2 weeks. Mr. Lnenicka
said as a professional buyer he disagreed and our only option was to either
accept the bid or reject them in their entirety. Also, there is nothing
unethical in negotiating with the chosen contractor on specific points nor is
it unethical to try and negotiate a better deal with one or more of the
bidders provided it is not precluded by a prior understanding.
After further discussion Jack Shinall made a motion the bid award be tabled
to the February 4, 1991 meeting. John Steely seconded the motion which failed
2-5.
Wade Lnenicka restated his motion to award to the low bidder, Malone's, Inc.
at a price not to exceed $375,000. Vote on the motion carried carried 5-2
with Jack Shinall and John Steely opposed.
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Michael Dunn submitted a new application for a temporary emission inspection
station located at 750 Windy Hill Road, known as Vehicle Inspection
Corporation.
Mr. Dunn said they have 5 other locations in the Atlanta area and at this
f location he would have a partner who would also do auto detailing. This
location will not require an additional structure of any type, since they
will be operating from one of the existing bays in what is now a self-service
car wash. The State issues permits after cities grant the business license,
and Mr. Dunn said when the State approved the location, they would make this
a permanent location.
Kathy Jordan made a motion the license be approved from January 21, 1991
through May 15, 1991 with a stipulation that they not open for business until
a certificate of approval is received from the State with a copy on file in
the City. John Steely seconded the motion which carried 6-1 with Jack Shinall
opposed.
CONSENT AGENDA:
January 21, 1991 meeting - continued
(A) Approval of January 7, 1991 minutes
Jim Hawkins made a motion the consent agenda be approved. Kathy Jordan
seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
COUNCIL INPUT: Wade Lnenicka said a Neighborhood Watch meeting has been
scheduled for Campbell Road residents on February 7th at 7:00 p.m.
Bill Scoggins reminded everyone of the free concert at the Wills Educational
Building February 1, 1991.
Kathy Barton reported on Clean City activities.
Jack Shinall said action was taken tonight that may or may not have been
handled correctly and asked Mr. Camp for an interpretation in writing of
Section 3.4.13 of the contract with Sizemore Floyd regarding interior design
and furnishings. Mr. Shinall said he was very disappointed with the action
taken here tonight and felt we are taking the attitude of getting on with
construction of the Library and Community Center and throwing everything else
out the window.
Kathy Jordan said she felt it was time for us to all reflect on the men and
women in the middle East and let them know that our prayers are with them.
John Steely asked Vic Broyles for a report on construction of sidewalks on
North Cooper Lake Road. Mr. Broyles said the weather has delayed many
projects such as this, but they would begin as soon as possible.
With no further business, meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
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