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09-12-1977 Regular MeetingSeptember 12, 1977 The regularly scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held pursuant to the Charter on September 12, 1977 at City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon. All Councilmen were present. Also present was Attorney Chuck Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Finance Director Gunter Newsom, Building Inspector David Granade, Police Chief Everett Little, Assistant Fire Chief Hubert Cochran, Public Works Director Jim David and representatives of the press. ' Invocation was given by Jim Hawkins, followed by the pledge to the Flag. Luther Giesler of Parkway Drive asked if there was any way the city could give homestead exemption on property owned jointly, when only one spouse was 65 years of age or older. Jerry Mills stated our ordinance was the same as the state-wide ordinance but said he would check with the state. Attorney Camp advised us to get a ruling from the Attorney General. Bob Smith of the Shiloh Christian Academy asked permission to use King Springs Park for their physical education program. He stated they had approximately 150 students and he would like to use the park two days a week from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for ball practice. Mr. Canada said he understood the school had used the park in the past but was turned down this year by the Parks Director because the swimming pool would be under construction and he was afraid the children would be endangered. Mr. Canada advised Mr. Smith this would need committee approval only, and that he would advise him of the decision. Richard DeBord, 811 Church Street, asked that the littering ordinance be enforced. He said he lived on a main thoroughfare and had to pick up bottles and trash before he could cut the grass. John Bromall, Publicity Chairman of the Presbyterian Church, announced the Fifth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America will be hosted by the Smyrna Presbyterian Church September 12th through 16th. Over 1,000 people are expected to attend. He stated the Smyrna First Baptist Church has offered the use of their facilities. The meeting on Wednesday night will be open to the public and he urged Mayor and Council to attend. Mayor Bacon announced a number of City Firemen, Policemen and Civil Defense workers successfully completed the Emergency Medical Training course, as of August 31st, with the highest class score ever made in the State of Georgia. Fireman Donn P Flemming made the highest individual score ever made in the State. Mayor Bacon congratulated these employees and Councilman Jim Tolleson presented them with EMT pins. The instructor for the class was Andy Krantz. Those completing the course are as follows: Firemen Carr; Jerry Newton, Mike Collins, Jack Padgett, James T. Collins, Stephen Phillips, Lynward Cordle, George Prather, Donald Flemming, Donn Stubblefield, Herbert Douglas, Steve Thomas, Gilbert Jones, Stephen Towe, Ronald- McKinzey, David Vann, John T., Sr. Mahaney, Thomas Wehunt, Samuel Policemen Bates, Lavon Hansen, George Civil Defense Arseneault, Nanette Stephens, Debra Traylor, Erwin, Jr. Traylor, Renee Homer Kuhl requested property located at 1130 Concord Road be rezoned from R-15 to Future Commercial. Jim Hawkins stated the Planning and Zoning Board recommended this property be rezoned and he made a motion the rezoning be approved. Jerry Mills seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. (Continuation of September 12, 1977 meeting) Jesse E. Woods requested property located at 1030 Church Street be rezoned from R-15 to RM-10 (Triplex). After seeing a large number of people in oppo- sition to this zoning, Mr. Woods asked to have the hearing delayed until he could obtain legal counsel. Jerry Mills stated that since it had been advertised and posted the hearing would be tonight, he thought we should hear it. Rem Bennett made a motion to hear the zoning request. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Woods stated he wanted to build one building, with two units on the top and one on bottom, one of which he would occupy. He said the building would be a brick structure, and since there was already apartments, single family dwellings and a duplex on the street, he could see no reason that the property should not be zoned. It was brought out that our present Zoning Ordinance does not have a classification for a triplex, and if zoned as requested, and Mr. Woods should sell the property, an apartment complex could be built. A triplex classification is being considered in the new zoning amendments. Jay Sharpe, 3081 Clifton Road, spokesman for the oppo- sition, stated the schools were overburdened, apartments in the area were vacant, there was already a drainage problem and traffic on Church Street was heavy. Jim Hawkins made a motion the rezoning be denied. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion. During discussion Bill Darby said he did not see the difference in the zoning for a triplex and the zoning for the duplex approved earlier. Jim Hawkins said it would mean more drainage into the water shed which was already causing trouble and he recommended the property not be rezoned until the zoning amend- ments were approved. Vote on the motion was six for and one against. Jim Tolleson, Jerry Mills, Jim Hawkins, C. 0. Canada, Elbert Coalson, and Rem Bennett voted for the motion. Bill Darby voted against. Jim Tolleson made a motion to table the request for a residential business license, requested by Ike H. Boyette, Jr., 2950 South Cobb Drive, Apt. 30-1, until the next meeting, since Mr. Boyette was not present. Bill Darby seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Rem Bennett made a motion the request for a Bingo License for the Fraternal Order of the Orioles, 3265 South Cobb Drive, be tabled until a ruling had been made on the Amvets injunction. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion. Horace Crowe, Attorney for the Orioles, requested the delay. After discussion, vote on the motion was unanimous. Commercial building permits were submitted by Building Inspector David Granade and upon his recommendation the following action is recorded: (1) Cobb County Board of Education requested a permit to build a rifle range under the old gym at Campbell High School on Atlanta Road. Plans met the requirements of the Fire Department, Rifle Association and the Building Inspector. This range is to be used in conjunction with the ROTC program. After discussion Rem Bennett made a motion the permit be approved. Jerry Mills seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. (2) Allen Halpern requested a variance on a buffer zone requirement on property located behind the A&P store at Belmont Hills. The fifty -foot buffer was called for in previous minutes, but the present zoning ordinance calls for only a ten - foot buffer. Mr. Halpern wants to build a warehouse on this property and needs the footage. Jerry Mills made a motion the variance be granted. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Jerry Mills made a motion to hear the appeal of the decision of Recorder's Court, filed by Paul Alexander, at the regular meeting on September 19, 1977. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. C. 0. Canada made a motion to hear the appeal of the decision of Recorder's Court, filed by Angela Kurtz, at the regular meeting on September 19, 1977. Bill Darby seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Rem Bennett made a motion the minutes of August 1, 1977 be approved as submitted. C. 0. Canada seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. C. 0. Canada made a motion the minutes of August 15, 1977 be approved as corrected. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Jerry Mills made a motion the minutes of August 22, 1977 be approved as submitted. Bill Darby seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. (Continuation of September 12, 1977 Meeting) Under Committee Reports, Jim Tolleson reported the Certified City Program was going great. Spring Road has been cleaned and really looks good. The cleaning crew will cover all streets in the city. Jim Tolleson reported that Marion Wilhelm has been elected to the Board of Trustees for the Georgia Recreation and Parks Society. Quite a large number of residents of Ward I attended a burglary seminar at the City Hall last night. Jim thanked Police Chief Little and the Police Department for conducting the seminar. In answer to a question from Rem Bennett as to when Concord Road would be striped, Jim David said it had already been turned in to the County. Rem congratulated Jim David and Vic Broyles for the good job they had been doing. C. 0. Canada called a meeting of the Parks and Recreation committee. Jerry Mills stated the committee had reviewed the zoning ordinance changes and would like the opinion of the City Attorney on some of them. He made a motion the City Attorney review the changes and called out October 12, 1977 as the date for the public hearing. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Elbert Coalson made a motion Mrs. Milton (Dusty) Bennett be appointed as Super- intendent of Elections for the November 1, 1977 city election. Rem Bennett seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Citizens Input - A citizen reported some trees were hanging over the sidewalk on Church Street and should be trimmed. Richard DeBord asked who he should call if a sign had been knocked or taken down. It was also reported some poles had been put up in a yard at the corner of Church Street and Clifton Road, and a car could be damaged if it cut the corner too close. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:34 p.m. September 19, 1977 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held at City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia on September 19, 1977. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Arthur T. Bacon at 7:30 o'clock p.m. All Councilmen were present except C. 0. Canada who was on vacation. Also present was Chuck Camp, City Attorney, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Parks & Recreation Director Lee Silver, Building Inspector David Granade, Finance Director Gunter Newsom, Police Chief Everett Little, Public Works Director J. E. David, Civil Defense Director Jim Farley and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the Flag. _Appeal of the decision of Recorder's Court - Paul Alexander Paul Alexander, Lynn Montgomery, Lt. David Farmer and Officer Stacy Fuller were sworn in by Attorney Chuck Camp. Mr. Alexander stated he did not see any warning signs, did not hear the train whistle nor see the warning lights. He stated he did not stop completely before pulling onto the tracks and did not see the train until a second before it hit him. His opinion was the crossing was not sufficient- ly marked with warnings. Officer Fuller stated that when he arrived in answer to an accident call, the warning lights were flashing, with the bell. Attorney Miles Booth stated he was coming out of his office at the time of the accident and the lights were flashing and the bells were ringing. He said there was another train on the siding at the time. The Engineer of the train stated he was traveling approximately thirty miles per hour and the accident was unavoidable. He stopped the train before reaching the next crossing. Lt. David Farmer also witnessed the accident and showed pictures taken at the scene. He stated he was stopped for the traffic signal and that all warning signals were working properly. After further discussion Elbert Coalson made a motion the decision of Recorder's Court stand. Rem Bennett seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.