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01-18-1982 Regular Meeting (2)Continued - January 4, 1982 21st or 22nd, when the water and sewer rate study is completed and the citizens are also invited to attend this meeting to provide their input. Mayor Bacon said he would have regular hours in the Mayor's office and everyone was welcome to stop by. _ With no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. ************************ January 18. 1982 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held January 18, 1982 at Smyrna City Hall. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Council members were present. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Police Chief R. E. Little, Acting Fire Chief Hubert Cochran, Parks and Recreation Director Sherry Reavis, Public Works Director Jim David, Civil Defense Director Jim Farley, Building Inspector Dan Steely and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the flag. Citizen Reports: Jack Hembrough of 3740 Ridge Road said he had been without water at his home for 8 days and it had been called to his attention that some of the building practices used on his home were not in compliance with the Southern Buildinc Code. Some of the water pipes were not buried properly and inside pipes not insu= lated. Mr. Hembrough said he was angry with the builders, but more than that, with the city officials responsible for inspecting the construction and not making the builders live up to the code. Jim Hawkins said he would have to disagree with the statement that the City does not make builders comply with our code and the building inspector employed 2 years ago when these homes were built is no longer with the City. Jim said he could locate the former inspector and find out why these viola- tions occurred, if they did. After discussion Mayor Bacon assured Mr. Hembrough that he and the building inspector would come to his home and inspect the pipes. John Dinsmore, also a resident of Cedar Cliff Subdivision said he has had problems and after moving into his home found that there was no ventilation for the furnace. When he had the ventilation system installed he was told that his family could -have been harmed from gas accumulation in the attic. Mr. Dinsmore asked council to take better notice of what was taking place in various subdivisions. Mike Reynolds of Cedar Cliff subdivision said he had also experienced problems but felt our current building inspector was competent in enforcing the building code. Rezoning: Mr. James Crist requested rezoning of property at Emerson Center, 2800 New Spring Road from Office & Institutional to Neighborhood Shopping for construc- ^� tion of a shopping center. The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended the rezoning be approved and the request was tabled by Mayor and Council at the last meeting because Mr. Crist was not present for the hearing. There was no opposition and Jim Tolleson made a motion the zoning be approved. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Annexation: Ted Jones and J. W. Holloway requested annexation of property located in Land Lot 631 on Emory Drive, the legal description having been read and made a part of the minutes of the December 21, 1981 meeting. Jim Tolleson made a motion the property be annexed, to become a part of Ward 1. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Annexation: James V. Wilbanks, Adelia W. Eubank and W. G. Wilbanks requested annex- ation of property located in Land Lot 631 on Spring Street, the legal description having been read into the minutes of the December 21, 1981 meeting. Jim Tolleson made a motion the property be annexed to become a part of Ward 1. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Management Change: The Timbers, 715 Concord Road requested a change in management for their wine, malt beverage and liquor pouring license with the applicant being Aloma Lee Balenger. Sarah Jones said the fingerprints had been received from the State and everything seemed to be in order, and made a motion the management change be approved. Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Appointment: Jack Shinall made a motion that Billy Stephens be reappointed to the Planning and Zoning Board representing Ward 5., Max Bacon seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. We the concerned residents and home owners of Smyrna are apposed to the rezoning of property located in Land lot 454 from limited comerical to General Commerical. o 0 0 �L 0 n • Continued - January 18, 1982 Award of Bid: James Williams said the Police Committee had met and reviewed the bids received for four police cars. The bid from Hub Motor Company of $8,634.03 plus $43.35 for amp, oil pressure and temperature gauges was apparently the low bid. However, after reviewing their bid it was found. that the $43.35 price was per gauge, bringing the total to $130.05 and their total bid price to $8,764.08 per car. There- fore, the committee recommended that the bid be awarded to Wade Ford, the lowest dollar bidder at $8,695.86. James Williams made a motion the bid be awarded to Wade Ford, with the stipulation that it be verified upon receipt that the vehicles meet all specifications. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Variance: Jim Bechtel of Post Properties requested a variance on height requirements for construction of a clock tower which would serve as a directional landmark for their new development. The tower would be 45 feet in height, a variance of 10 feet from the code. Jim Tolleson made a motion the variance be approved, seconded by Jack Shinall. Vote on the motion carried 7-0. Variance: Don Delozier with Georgia Federal Savings requested a variance on buffer strip requirements for their proposed new office at 3261 South Cobb Drive. Their request was that the 10 foot buffer strip requirement be waived to allow additional parking spaces. Mr. Delozier said at the present time there are four curb cuts on the site and their plans are to close two of the curb cuts which will add additional grass area. There was noopposition and Jim Hawkins made a motion the variance be approved. James Williams seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Commercial Building Permits: Commercial building permits were presented by Inspector Dan Steely as follows: (1) Kathy Garmon requested a building permit for an addition to the rooming house at 1408 Spring Street. This request was tabled at the January 4, 1982 meeting. Inspector Dan Steely said the plans had been approved by the Inspections Department and Fire Marshal and made a recommendation the permit be approved subject to compliance with certain requirements set forth by the City Engineer. Elbert Coalson made a motion the permit be approved, seconded by Jack Shinall. Mrs. Garmon's plans call for a 10' 6" side yard setback and one of the requirements to be met by the City Engineer is that the plans be changed to allow a 15' setback. This would require a change in the architect's plans or a request for a variance at a later date. Mrs. Garmon said this was actually not a boarding house, but a home for elderly people who are all able to take care of themselves. She has 8 boarders now and the addition would allow room for 10 additional people. Mrs. Garmon said her mother lived at the home to care for the boarders and after the addition she would hire another full-time person. Max Bacon said he was concerned for the welfare of these people and felt it would not be properly supervised; therefore he would oppose approval of the permit. Mayor Bacon said he felt there were some misunderstandings about the rooming house, but Mrs. Garmon had met all the requirements set forth by the Inspections Department in applying for the permit. Attorney Camp explained to Mrs. Garmon that she had two choices; to either have the architect's plans changed to comply with the 15 foot side - yard setback requirement or come before council at a later date and request a variance, which would cause a delay in beginning construction. After further discussion, vote on the motion was 3-3 with James Williams abstaining. Voting for was Elbert Coalson, Jack Shinall and Jim Hawkins. Opposed was Sarah Jones, Max Bacon and Jim Tolleson. Mayor Bacon voted in the affirmative to break the tie and approve issuance of the permit. Committee Reports: (Finance) Jim Tolleson said the City has operated in the black for the first six months of this fiscal year and all loans have been paid off. By the end of this month we should be getting financial statements on a regular monthly basis, hopefully before the last council meeting of each month. (Civil Defense) James Williams read a letter from the Georgia Department of Human Resources to Jim Farley stating that their application for a medical first responder license had been approved. The letter also reminded them of their responsibility to maintain compliance with their regulations. (Streets) Jim Hawkins made a motion the old lowboy trailer from Public Works Depart- ment and street sweeper be decalred surplus and sold for scrap metal. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 7-0 vote. Jim Hawkins thanked the Public Works employees for the good job they did during the ice and snow. Some employees stayed 3 consecutive nights trying to keep the streets clear. Continued - January 18, 1982 (Water) Jack Shinall said the Water and Sewer department employees also put in quite a few hours and did a good job. Jack said that in response to complaints heard tonight from citizens in Cedar Cliffs, he thought it would,be a good idea for the Water and Sewer Committee to meet once each month at a date to be named, to hear these complaints from citizens. (License & Permits) Elbert Coalson said we were beginning to have problems with portable signs in the City again and the Inspections Department was going to begin a stricter enforcement of the ordinance. Mayor Bacon thanked the Public Works, Police, Fire and Civil Defense employees for the good job they did during the ice storm, and said he appreciated their efforts. Mayor Bacon reminded everyone of the called meeting on January 25, 1982, at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the increase in water and sewer rates. With no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m. ************************ January 25. 1982 A special called meeting of Mayor and Council was held January 25, 1982 at Smyrna City Hall. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon. All council members were present. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp and City Clerk Willouise Spivey. Mayor Bacon explained the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the water and sewer rate increases to the City from the Cobb -Marietta Water Authority. The water rates were increased from 47¢ per thousand gallons to 58� and sewer service to 80� per thousand gallons, effective January 1, 1982. At the request of Mayor and Council, Wallace Pate prepared a rate study for the City and Mr. Pate was asked to present his recommendations. Mr. Pate stated his report showed the current rates, Cobb County rates and alterna- tive rates based on a $5.00 charge for each customer, plus an additional base rate charge to commercial users based on the size of meter. Multi -family residences would be based on a $5.00 charge per unit in the complex. He also recommended the' City have a study conducted to determine depreciation rates or return on investment necessary for the perpetual maintenance of the system. Basically, the alternative rate would be a $5.00 charge per customer, plus 85¢ per thousand gallons for water or sewerage. There is also a variation in meter charge for commercial users, due to the increased cost of maintaining the larger meters. A 1" meter charge would be $15.00, 1z" - $35.00, 2" - $65.00 and 3" - $200.00, with larger meters on cost in relationship to residential meters. An average bill for 6,000 gallons consumption is $11.43 under present rates. The new Cobb County rates for 6,000 gallons is $17.80 and the alternative plan would be $15.20, for water and sewerage. The break-even point for water customers only is 9,000 gallons due to the fact that Cobb County bills us for water and sewerage treatment, even though we bill our customers for water only. Mr. Pate said the alternative plan was a compromise between the City's current rates and new Cobb County rates. If the City mAf taifns the present rate the projected loss from operations under the current budget would be $450,000 and the alternative plan would project a $16,000 loss. The net anticipated increase in funds under the alternate plan is projected at $21,000. This plan allows for funds required for improvements and expansion and should eliminate the need to borrow from other funds when major repairs are needed. Jack Shinall made a motion the alternative rate be accepted as proposed in the rate study conducted by Pate, Shiver & Looney based on the base rate of $5.00 per meter for residential areas and the graduated rate as contained in the report for commer- cial users, plus 85¢ per thousand gallons for water and sewerage. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion. Jim Tolleson said the Cobb Municipal Association officers and Mayors from Cobb County were meeting Wednesday night for the purpose of discussing these increases to see if there is any alternative and what can be done to prevent unexpected large increases in the future. Jack Shinall said the City had applied