07-02-1979 Regular Meeting (2)July 2, 1979
The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter
on July 2, 1979 at the Court Room of the Police Station. The meeting was called
to order by presiding officer Mayor Frank Johnson at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Council
members were present except Bill Darby who was expected to arrive late. Also present
was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Finance Director Gunter
Newsom, Fire Chief Don Atkinson, Police Chief R. E. Little, Parks and Recreation
Director Asa Howard, Assistant Public Works Director Vic Broyles, Building Inspector
Len Williams, Civil Defense Director Jim Farley and representatives of the press.
Invocation was given by Councilman Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the flag.
There were no citizens reports.
Gunter Newsom was asked to give a report concerning the City's computer system which
damaged by fire and declared a total loss. Mayor Johnson stated that after hearing
the entire report tonight he would ask the Finance Committee to review the findings
and make their recommendation back to the Council for final action. Gunter explained
that he, Tom Hill and Willouise Spivey had been investigating four computers for
replacement. The existing computer is a Burroughs 700 and is a total writeoff as far
as the insurance company is concerned, and as far as Burroughs is concerned. The
machines they have looked at for replacement are: 1) Burroughs 800 2) Burroughs 1800
3) IBM System 34 4) Univac BC7-800. All of these, with the exception of the 1800,
are very similar, the 1800 being a much larger machine with greater growth potential.
One problem with it, is the 1800 would take a lot of time and money as far as con-
version time and delivery time. Under those conditions, they felt it would put that
particular machine out of the running compared to the other three. The Burroughs
800, IBM System 34 and Univac all have 128,000 characters of memory in the central
processing unit. All three -vendors came in with different line printers.. Both the
Burroughs and the IBM machine will accommodate, for all practical purposes, all
programming languages, while the Univac will only accommodate at this time, RPG2 plus
a language that is solely utilized by Univac called Escort. In assessing -the amount
of time and money involved in converting from the existing system which is not
operating now -to one of these three, we have judged that the conversion -to the
Burroughs 800 would be minor, while the IBM and Univac, both major. On a B800, we
can run as a B700, which is what we have now: It has the ability to run on a batch
processing mode. The other two will only operate on multi -processing mode. The
Burroughs 800 also acts as multi -processing. It is a more versatile machine and will
make the conversion easier, in that we don't have to go out immediately and buy a lot
of software programs. We can run as we are running on a B800 and have Tom, as our
programmer, develop some of the programs and in some cases be more deliberate about
purchasing software that is needed. The cost is figured on a lump sum cost basis.
Each machine can be leased, bought on various time purchase agreements, and various
other combinations. We are using the lump sum cost for you to make a better comparison.
The B800 is $67,500, the IBM System 34 is $70,230 plus approximately $131 per month
rental on operating programs, the Univac will be $66,325. Their recommendation is to
purchase, on a 5-year purchase/payment plan, the Burroughs 800. One of the over-
whelming reasons for this is it is a cheaper monthly cost, and under the Burroughs
lease/purchase agreement at the end of each budget year, should we decide not to
continue with it, or if we do not budget the money for it, we can turn it back to
them without any penalty. Gunter explained that with the B800, assuming we made a
$6,900 down payment, the monthly cost would be $1,158.98 per month on a lease/purchase
plan, and at the end of 5•years it would be ours. IBM, on the other hand, would have
a lease cost on a monthly basis of $2,047, plus having to lease some of their systems.
The Univac comes on a 1-year rental basis at $1,942 per month plus maintenance, as
well as plus maintenance on the Burroughs system. Tom Hill explained that it was
really hard to compare one computer with another. There are a lot of hidden costs
involved and what we are doing, or trying to do, is find a machine that will enable
us to cut down conversion cost. If we ordered the 1800 machine, for example, it
would be 9 months before delivery could be made. Burroughs would charge us $50 per
hour run time, until our machine is delivered. In the long run, the B800 machine
will be cheaper. Tom stated that in his personal opinion, the best machine is
actually the IBM, but what we are concerned with right now is what is best for the
City and what is the cheapest way for us, between now.and the time the machine can
be delivered. It could possibly cost the City $25,000 just to convert to the IBM.
Gunter stated that Burroughs could deliver major components within 3 to 4 weeks.
Univac also says they can deliver in 3 to 4 weeks. IBM, if we pay a premium and buy
through a broker, can deliver in 3 to 4 weeks, probably. If we wait until mid -
December we could get the system for $70,000. The IBM machine would be delivered on
a third -party lease, meaning the machine would be delivered and assembled piecemeal.
We could end up with two disc drives and a printer with no processor and still be
looking:at $70,000 and a November delivery date. Gunter stated that we hoped the
back part of the building at City Hall would be ready for occupancy within a week
(Continuation of July 2, 1979 Meeting)
to ten days after we let the contract, so storage would be no problem. Bill Darby
stated that we had hired Tom as our programmer, and if he recommends we use the
B800 then he was in favor of going with it. Mayor Johnson suggested that the
Finance Committee meet again with Gunter and Tom just as quickly as possible and
have a called meeting to approve whatever recommendations might come from this
group. Bill Darby called a Finance meeting for Thursday at 5:00 and a called
meeting will be scheduled as soon as possible for full Council to approve the
purchase. Jim Hawkins made a motion to table the recommendation for purchase of a
computer, seconded by Jerry Mills. Vote on the motion carried 7-0.
Commercial building permits were presented by Len Williams, and upon his recommen-
dation the following action is recorded:
(1) Dr. R. L. Lindwall, 2345 Spring Road requested a building permit, which was
tabled at the last meeting. Elbert Coalson made a motion this item be brought off
table. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which.carried 6-1. Jim Tolleson voted
against. Len.stated that the contractor involved bas,pur.ghased a.;kusiness icense
and everything is in order with the Fire Department and Inspection Department.
Elbert Coalson made a motion the building permit be approved. -Jerry Mills -seconded
the motion. Vote on the motion carried 6-1. Jim Tolleson voted against.
Jack Shinall made a motion the minutes from June 4th be approved as submitted.
pJim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried 6-0, with one abstention.. Elbert
Coalson abstained due to the fact he was on vacation and not present at the meeting.
Jerry Mills made a motion the minutes from June 26th be approved as submitted.
John Steely seconded the motion which carried 7-0.
Committee Reports: John Steely stated that by next week we should be ready to send
out bid packages for the reconstruction of City Hall.
Mayor Johnson called for a 10 minute recess.
Mayor Johnson called for a meeting of Council after adjournment with Leroy Brownlee.
On July 4th festivities will be held at King Springs Park and Mayor Johnson reminded
everyone to be there. July loth there will be a CMA meeting in Acworth. This
will be a steak dinner at Acworth Beach for the families. Next Council meeting
will be on July 16th.
With no further business, meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m.
July 16, 1979
The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held in the.Court Room of the
Police Department on July 16, 1979. The meeting was called to order by presiding
officer Mayor Frank Johnson at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Council members were present.
Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Finance
Director Gunter Newsom, Police Chief R. E. Little, Fire Chief Don Atkinson, Director
of Parks and Recreation Asa Howard, Director of Public Works Jim David, Director of
Civil Defense Jim Farley and representatives of the press.
Invocation was given by Jim Hawkins, followed by the pledge to the flag.
Citizens reports: Mrs. Crane of 3689 Wisteria Lane stated a neighbor parked his
truck on the street directly across from her driveway, making it difficult for her
to back out of her driveway. She said she had hit the truck once and other cars
had hit it also. She asked that the curb be painted yellow, prohibiting parking.
Mayor Johnson stated we were bound by law as to what we could do and suggested he
speak to the neighbor before any action was taken. John Steely advised he had al-
ready contacted the neighbor and he refused to move the truck, and he made a motion
the curb be painted. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion. Attorney Camp advised that
in his opinion, to paint an isolated section of curb would be discriminatory. Jerry
Mills and Jim Hawkins both said they thought the police could act if the vehicle
was parked so as to create a nuisance or obstruction. After further discussion
Mayor Johnson again asked Mrs. Crane to give him the opportunity to contact the man
about the truck and rules the motion out of order.