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12-17-1979 Regular MeetingDecember 17, 1979 The regular scheduled meeting of Mayor and Council was held at the City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia on December 17, 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 except Bill Darby who was out of the state on business. Also present was City Attorney Charles Camp, City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Finance Director Gunter Newsom, Police Chief R. E. Little, Fire Chief Don Atkinson, Public Works Director J. E. David, Building Inspector Len Williams, Civil Defense -Director Jim Farley, Parks and Recreation Director Asa Howard and representatives of the press. Invocation was given by Councilman Jack Shinall, followed by the pledge to the flag. Mayor Johnson advised those in the audience who had bids for the audit proposals that they could turn them in at this time if they wished. There were no citizens reports. Zoning request: Mrs. Matina Z. Maduros requested property located.at 1083 Concord Road be rezoned from Future Commercial to Limited Commercial to be used as a bookkeeping and income tax office. There was no opposition to the rezoning, and the Planning and Zoning Board had recommended it be approved. After discussion, Jim Hawkins made a motion the zoning be approved, with the stipulation the parking would be in the rear and the front of the building be bricked. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Show Cause Hearing - Red Dot Package Store, South Cobb Drive: Davie Bowie Gray, owner, his attorney Craig Wagner and all those subpoenaed were sworn by Attorney Charles Camp. Mayor Johnson explained the purpose of this meeting was that on November 27, 1979, Mr. Steven Carrol Hoats, an employee of the Red Dot Package Store sold liquor to a 17-year old which is in violation of the City Code, Section 3-63 and State law. He was found guilty in Recorder's Court and was fined for that charge. Attorney Wagner: With me tonight are David Gray, the licensee, Arlen Smith who is the present manager of the store, ands Gene Richardson who is one of the major stockholders in the corporation. Mr. Richardson is vice-president of the Coca- Cola Company and president of the Red Dot Package Store, Inc. We also have with us Mr. Steve Hoats who is the employee in the -store on the evening in question. I want to make it clear from the outset that we are as concerned and genuinely upset about what's happened as you must be. We feel that the problem of minors coming into the liquor store is our problem -- I have to be frank, I don't feel it's entirely our problem, we don't think the problems that bring them into the store in the first place is anything we can do anything about.' We do think that once they are inside the store it is our responsibility to see that no minors are sold and to take whatever actions are legally necessary to ensure that that doesn't happen.- We also think that our job could be made considerably easier if the City would take a strong position once minors have purchased alcoholic beverages in prosecuting these minors, in prosecuting minors who show false identification cards, in prosecuting minors who come into the store and don't show any identification cards and slip through our net. If the City would take a strong position with respect to these transactions the word would quickly spread, and I think it would spread quicker than you can go down to Red Dot and buy booze. I truly believe the problem would be significantly decreased if the word got around that the City was going to take an active stance and start prosecuting minors.' In response to the problem we have had I would like to show you what we have done at Red Dot to show the efforts we have made to try and minimize it completely. We have been in communication frequently with local authorities including Chief Little as to methods that would help keep these incidents to a minimum. We have posted large signs which we will show you later which demonstrate to minors that any purchase on their behalf is in violation of the Georgia Code and also the Smyrna Code.- We took a quick check of the other five liquor stores in Smyrna today and two stores had small signs, no stores had signs the size of ours and two stores didn't have any signs at all. Our signs are clearly larger and bigger than the signs in the other stores and some stores didn't have any signs at all. These signs have been up for six months. As a policy, we card all people who look under 25 years of age. Carding is required for anyone who looks under 25 years of age and the only card that is accepted is a valid Georgia permanent -picture drivers license. If the license appears to be defaced in any way, or if the picture doesn't absolutely match up then we require sufficient backup identification. We have offered to prosecute all instances of sales to minors -- we have offered to prosecute all minors who appear in the store because as you gentlemen all know, it's a violation (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) of the Smyrna ordinance for a minor to even appear in a liquor store unless he is accompanied by a parent or guardian. We have offered to run a full -page ad in the newspaper notifying minors and parents of minors that we are going to prosecute minors who come into the store, whether they buy from us or not. They cannot be in the store, we don't want their business and. will offer to prosecute even under those instances. We have changed our counter procedures as Mr. Smith will tell you, so that during the busiest hours of the day now we have two employees working one who can take any minor to the side and check his identification and the other can continue to work so that the flow of business in the store is uninterrupted. We have two employees at the busiest times of the day. We have offered to several council people to fire any employees who are flagrantly violating our policies for checking identification and we will do exactly that.. In fact, we have fired an employee recently, not because we knew he had been selling to minors but because his attitude and commitment about checking identification were not the attitudes that we expect of our employees. We have fully communicated our policy regarding minors to every one of our employees and they all know that their jobs are in serious jeopardy if we feel that they are not doing their jobs. We have done everything that we sincerely believe we can do at the store level to prevent these sales to minors. In all honestly, I know it will not sound right, but I believe our track record has been good,. We are now at the point of about 2300 sales per week. Our total number of sales since we opened in July, 1978 is just over 150,000. We.have sold approximately $400,000 per year. We are seeirig•a lot of people in that store. We have a tremendously large investment in that store: The stockholders have over $90,000 invested in the store and as any of you know, if you go into the store, you are not going to find a more pleasant place to shop. It's a place the ladies feel comfortable in, and this is the type of trade we are trying to attract. Taxes paid to the City last year since we have opened totaled $28,000 and if you -project the growth of the store you can see that the taxes are going to be greatly increased, even at a conservative pace. We card approximately on an average of 25 to 40 minors a week and throw them out. That is not counting the number of times we card other people who turn out not to be minors. In a recent incident here in Marietta apparently a very attractive woman was sent out to see if she could buy at all the.package stores and convenience stores around town and the people of Marietta are now prosecuting a lot•of liquor licenses.based on these sales. She did not buy in our liquor store.._ We feel that we do have adequate precautions but we hope that we can do a lot better. Mr. Richardson will tell you tonight that what we have is a new business. The numbers I gave you don't indicate that we have reached beyond .the pinnacle of success yet., we have got a long way to go. Any suspension during the Christmas season might be tantamount to a revocation because we just don't know whether this business can make it without this two -week Christmas season business. In addition to that, we are talking about six full-time employees who could possibly be out of work during Christmas. I think what we are talking about here is a business that is trying to do its best. Admittedly we have had our problems. We are going to put ourselves at your mercy and if you have any suggestions as to how we.can better perform and better do our jobs, we are open to hearing those.. We will re -dedicate ourselves to a new commit- ment of stopping this to the extent it can be stopped, and in return we ask you to vigorously prosecute minors who are buying and minors who are coming, into the store that we are not selling to, to help get the word around that this is not going to be tolerated,in Smyrna. Gene Richardson: Mr. Mayor and Council, my position on this is pretty much the way Craig stated it. When we opened the store and decided to invest in that store, we looked around the City and did a demographic study of the area and we said that this part of the country was growing and we felt like it -could support another liquor store, and a good one. We looked at our competition, we know what the other liquor stores are in the area and we set out to builda good store. We also at that time considered the area, the problems that we had in applying for liquor license and we know that there are some religious people .there that don't really hold with drinking, and I can understand that.. It's a good business, we set.out.to run the business honestly. We hired the best manager in this area and pay him more -money that.the average liquor store in town pays.. I have known Arlen Smith..for seven years -- he has been a contractor, his wife is in the beauty shop business in Marietta and he has.been at -constable. That is the type of person I wanted and I had to pay more money than we could have gotten by with compared to what.other people in the liquor business pay. The people that are stockholders in the store are not people who have ever done it before.. I have never been involved in a liquor .store in my life and David hasn't either. It.was strictly an investment on our part. We wanted to run a store that was a complement to the community and we wanted to run it legal. We had no intention of trying to do business with under- age teenagers or people that drink too much. We made a nice store,.where women can'get out-�of their car and shop and feel comfortable in. We.have stayed with (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) that the year and a half we have been in business. We have tried to adhere to the State laws and have had no problems with the State. We have tried to adhere to the County laws and have had no problems with the County. Now we find ourselves in an unfortunate position of being before you because we have an incident that happened, in spite of the precautions we took, although we didn't really take quite enough.. I'm at wits end and I told Craig that and I talked to Mr. Steely on the phone today and told him the same thing. If you have a suggestion in line with what we might do, we'll take it, if it's a reasonable business suggestion other than closing the doors. I think we have tried every way possible, to prevent these kids from buying liquor. We don't want that business and don't need that business. We have tried to ask everybody there was any question about for identi- fication. If I didn't feel like they had done a good job we would change employees. Councilman Mills: Mr. Richardson, you mentioned an incident. Is that incident or incidents? Mr. Richardson: That's incident. We've had a warning before from a couple of the officers where there were complaints, and Mr. Steely told me that he'had had some complaints about it. We've tried in every case where there has been a complaint to react to it. I can recall one for sure that was an employee of the supermarket down the street. I happen to know the boy because when we first opened I saw him come in there. In the beginning, he showed us a false identification but it was a legitimate temporary license as I recall, and it said he was of age to buy. Later somebody recognized him and asked us about selling to him -- that he wasn't of age. I don't know how you prevent that. Councilman Mills: I'm not referring to the cautions that you were given several of. I believe that you have been in court already one time prior to this, this year. Is that not true? Mr. Richardson: I have not. Councilman Mills: Has your business and your employee been cited into Recorder's Court this year for selling to a minor? Mr. Richardson: That's the one I am talking about. Councilman Mills: You're talking about the one where the minor was found guilty? Mr. Richardson: Yes. Councilman Steely: Approximately how many incidents has there been? Mr. Richardson: Other than this one, there is joist the one I mentioned where the minor was found guilty of the false identification. That's the two official incidents that we have had of that type of thing. Councilman Steely: Does Mr. Smith tell you if he has a complaint? Mr. Richardson: He has to my knowledge, every time, because we have checked out most of these. We have no reason to disbelieve Mr. Smith, but we have followed up on them. The reasons the signs are up is a result of the first complaint we received. Councilman Hawkins: On the previous incident, were you found guilty in Court? Mr. Richardson: Yes, the employee plead guilty. Attorney Wagner: He plead guilty but it did come out as evidence that he was shown a false identification license, as well as backup identification. We didn't start out with the policy of showing a permanent -picture license, we took the identification they gave us. We changed it later when we began having problems. Councilman Mills: You have been cautioned on numerous occasions -- you have been in court twice -- and it looks like, whether it is or not, that it is a habitual thing that your store is selling to minors. Councilman Coalson: Are the two employees mentioned who sold to minors still employed at your store? Mr. Richardson: Yes, they are. I'm not trying to defend Mr. Hoats. He is very well aware that he made a mistake and he was scared to death when he got arrested. The option we have is this: Is he a better employee because he has had a learning experience that is very vivid in his mind or should I go on the street and hire a (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) new man. This boy has been very faithful about coming to work -- he doesn't have any bad habits as far as drinking and partying. He has been honest in that store and has been with us 18 months. We have had 150,000 sales in the store in 18 months and turn back 40 to 50 people a week,. and this boy has made a little mistake. Now you tell me if I should fire him right before Christmas then I will fire him, but I don't feel like that's fair. Mr. Smith: At the time of this last incident, there was two obviously drunk men in the store and I actually believe they were trying to pick a fight with the young man we'sold to. Steve had to make a choice of dealing with them then, or hurrying the customer through. Steve has been very good about checking identifi- cations, but let this one incident slip by him. Wh eri we have had complaints we have followed through regardless of the cost, to stop it. Councilman Steely: Mr. Smith, did Mr. Hoats tell you of the warning he received three nights before this? Mr: Smith: Yes, he did. He was very impressed, and very scared. When I found out Monday night he had been cited, I couldn't believe it. Mr. Hoats: When I came back into the:=store there were two rowdy, very loud, obviously intoxicated regular customers that had come from the club next door. I wanted to deal with them and a'customer came to the counter. I looked up at him and the two men made a comment to him about his size, an antagonistic comment or two. I passed him through and then dealt with the other two men. Attorney Wagner: Did you sell to the intoxicated people that night? Mr. Hoats: No. Attorney Wagner: You know its a violation of the Smyrna Code. I don't want to embarrass the young man, but'I would like to ask Mr. Grieshober to just stand up. This guy has to be 6' 4". Councilman Shinall: Mr. Grieshober, may I ask you one question? In the incident as described, were you harrassed by these two drunks? Could you describe it in your own words. Mr. Grieshober: I believe one of the gentlemen said, "Don't you know its against the law, -to be that tall." I just shrugged it off. Councilman Hawkins: Have you made a purchase in that store before? Mr. Grieshober: No sir. Councilman Steely: Were you just taking a chance'on buying there or had someone told you that you could buy there? Mr. Grieshober: No sir, no one told me I could buy there. Councilman Steely: Do you have a valid Georgia drivers license? Mr. Grieshober: Yes. Councilman Steely: May I see it? (license handed'to Mr. Steely) You look a lot younger than that, don't you. Councilman Steely: Mr. Hoats, do you recall the night I came to your store? I think you stated you were going to card everybody, even if they were in a wheel- chair. Mr. Hoats: I remember that, and I have done that religiously since, and was in the process of doing that when this incident occurred. I was distracted at the time, and that's the only way it could have happened. Councilman Steely: You're under a lot of pressure in the store aren't you? Mr. Hoats: Yes sir. But its not unlike anything else in life, and I can handle it. Mr. Richardson: You can believe this or not, but putting us out of business is not going to stop these kids from buying liquor. (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) Councilman Steely: Mr. Richardson,,we're not trying to put you out of business -- you're doing a good job -of that yourself -- two appearances in one year. We're not trying to put you out of business, we're up here to help you. But we're up here also to help these kids out and everybody else out here. When you are selling to them that's not doing them a bit of good. Mr. Richardson: If there is anything we have not done, we will attempt to do it now. You tell us what to do that we have not done so far. Councilman Mills: Mr. Richardson, that's your responsibility -- that's what we have been trying to tell you. The ordinances and the laws are,your responsibility to see that they are enforced also. When the application was made to the City for the license for that place, Mr. Gray signed stating that he fully understood the laws of the malt beverage and liquor licenses of the City and State. You either„violated the law or you didn't -- we are getting into things that aren't relevant to the case. Mr. Smith: That is the law -,- we violated,the law. I don't believe anyone here can doubt that we did not violate that law intentionally. We have tried very diligently to avoid violating the law. I doubt there is a person in this court- room that has not violated some law intentionally. Attorney Wagner: Mr., Mills, j would point out that the Smyrna Code Section 3-65 (c) does make it.the responsibility of the licensee to examine.identifications, and authorizes the licensee to rely on drivers licenses. He may also require other identification if its reasonable under the circumstances. In a situation where we were faced with a phony drivers license, we required other identification and didn't catch it then. I'm not saying it makes it right but I'm saying that the Smyrna ordinances contemplate that a licensee can only go so far. I'm not saying we can undo history, but I am saying we're doing our best. The arresting officers Fawbush and Wrozier were called forward. Councilman Hawkins: Officer Fawbush, could you describe what happened on the night in question. Officer Fawbush: Mr. Grieshober, a 15-year old juvenile and an 18-year old adult were parked behind Belmont Hills. That was in an area where we patrol and we pretty well know who is supposed to be there that time of night, so we drove over to check it out. The car was parked and not moving at.that time. They were asked what they were doing and we got a response that would embarrass the people in the Council room, which immediately prompted Officer,Wrizier,and myself to exit our vehicle. We knew Mr. Grieshober was inebriated and asked to see an identification and found out he was not of age. The 18-year old was released, the 15-year old was taken to the Smyrna Police Department along with Mr. Grieshober and both parents were called. Charges were placed against Mr. Grieshober, and we released them both to their parents. Councilman Hawkins: When did you become aware that they purchased liquor at Red Dot Package Store? Officer Fawbush: On the scene. We asked the young gentleman where he got the liquor and he told us where he got it. We had the assistance of our ,shift commander Lt. Farmer and also the assistance of two detectives and they came to the scene. The detectives took Mr. Grieshober to the liquor store and he positively identified the gentleman that sold him the whiskey. The manager of the store readily admitted that that was his store's sticker on the bottle. Councilman Tolleson: In your day-to-day duties have you come across a case with this same problem or is this the only case you know of. Officer Fawbush: This is the only case I have had connecting any recipient of alcoholic beverages under age with Red Dot. Officer Wrozier: This is also the first case I have had connection with. Lt. David Farmer was called to testify. Councilman Mills: Lt. Farmer, do you recall any other incident with.Red Dot Package Store involving the sale to minors? Lt. Farmer: Yes sir, I do. 3 (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) Council -man Mills: Could you relate some of those to us. Lt. Farmer: I have personally given warnings to the different attendants on duty when I was in investigation. I cited Mr. Greer after a uniformed officer made a routine traffic stop.and there were four persons in that car that.made statements they had made a purchase of alcoholic beverages. Mr. Greer was cited in an .incident about the 22nd or 23rd involving a minor who had become inebriated and couldn't identify .the person to whom had sold him the alcoholic beverages. I was also present the night a citation was issued to Mr. Hoats. Councilman Mills: On the Greer case, could you fill us in a little bit about that. Lt. Farmer: This was a case where a uniformed car stopped a car for an illegal turn and they found alcoholic beverages in the vehicle. The boys said they had purchased it from Red Dot Liquor Store and the officers requested a detective. I went to the scene and questioned the boys. Myself and Detective Drake got the boy who said he had purchased the liquor and took him to the store, where Mr. Greer identified the boy as the one he had sold liquor to. Councilman Mills: Was false identification used in that purchase? Lt. Farmer: Not at that particular time. No sir. He had no identification other than his own which showed that he was 17 years old. He was found guilty in court, and the disposition, I believe, was probated sentence. He was found guilty of buying alcoholic beverages, and not for showing false identification. I believe it was brought out in court that the boy had purchased earlier in the same store from the same person, and did show his brother's identification which showed him to be 18 or 19 years old. Attorney Wagner: The false identification had been shown at an earlier time and he was a fellow that everybody in the store knew because he worked at Winn Dixie and after his proof had been scrutinized and they saw him every day, it wasn't checked on the night in question. This was a couple of months anyway, after he first presented the license. He had made at least two purchases that we know of. Again, I can't tell you how committed and how sincerely we feel about the problem. We are as troubled and frustrated with it as you are and quite frankly right now we are in severe jeopardy, we know that, and we're scared to death. I can't help but think our performance will be better. We've told you what we've done -- we're open to suggestions.-- that's not your function and.we know that. We are in touch with the Georgia Retailers Association to get ideas from them. We are searching around, we're scrambling,.we'.re doing everything we can to come up with ideas to prevent these things from happening again. For your benefit,,as.you confer with your city attorney., I would again like to point out that Section 3-65, subsection C makes it the responsibility of the licensee to examine identification and also says the licensee may rely upon a drivers license.. I would submit to you that the language that he may rely upon a drivers license is not exclusive, does not say there aren't other things that if reasonable under the circumstances, he couldn't rely on and I would submit to you that the case of Mr. Grieshober is an example of that where we had trouble in the store -- we were caught shorthanded. We have taken.steps to correct that and in an.attempt to prevent an altercation from occurring that night, Mr. Grieshober was allowed to purchase beer. As he told you tonight he -is 18, which is three weeks after the incident., We are doing our -best,. and I think there is some flexibility in,your Code. We ask .that you help us. Let us show you our new commitment -and if it happens -again, I don't. think I will be back here again -- you can have it. Councilman Mills: He purchased liquor, not beer. Attorney.Wagner: I'm..sorry -- liquor was purchased. Mayor Johnson called for a recess. Meeting.adjourned-at-8:57— Jerry Mills made a motion.the Red Dot Package.Store license be.suspended.for 30 days, effective at 12:00 tonight, with a 12-month.; probation period. John Steely seconded.the motion. Vote on the motion carried by a 6-0 vote. Malt Beverage and Wine Pouring License: Maybell E: McGibony requested,a malt beverage and wine pouring license for Tony's Pizza, 1024 Cherokee Road... There was no opposition.. Jim Hawkins read a,letter from Police Chief R..E. Little stating an investigation by his department did not reflect any factors that would bar the applicant from obtaining the license. Jim Hawkins made a motion the license be granted. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) Malt Beverage and Wine Package License: Suk Hoo Kong requested a malt beverage and wine pouring license for Windy Hill Grocery, 1687 Roswell Street. There was no opposition. Jim Hawkins read a letter from Police Chief R. E. Little stating an investigation by his department did not reflect any factors that would bar the applicant from obtaining the license: There was some concern that Mr. Kong's knowledge of the English language might interfere with his enforcing the ordinance. He stated he did understand the ordinance and would enforce it. After discussion Jim Hawkins made a motion the license be granted and that Mr. Kong sign the application on the last page, before he picks up the license. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried by a 4-2 vote. Jim Tolleson, Jerry Mills, Jim Hawkins and Jack Shinall voted for. Elbert Coalson and John Steely voted against. Pawn Shop Business License: Joe E. Brown requested a license to operate a pawn shop at 2650A South Cobb Drive. There was no opposition from the audience. Jim Hawkins read a letter from Police Chief R. E. Little stating an investigation by his department did not reflect any factors that would bar the applicant from obtaining the license. Mr. Brown said he would abide by the State laws as per interest charged. He also stated he was familiar with our ordinance as for making weekly reports to the police department, etc. Jim Hawkins made a motion the license be granted. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 5-1 vote. Jack Shinall voted against. Attorney John P. MacNaughton, representing the owners and tenants of Foxmoor Apartment complex, was heard with reference to the blocking of Love Street at the rear of the complex.- Approximately 15 people from the apartments and two home owners were present. Mr. MacNaughton stated the street was blocked without the input of the apartment owners and tenants, and his main request tonight was to ask for a meeting of Mayor and Council, the surrounding home owners, the apartment owners and tenants and their attorneys. It was his opinion, and he stated it was also the opinion of our Fire Marshal that the blocking of this street was a fire safety hazard. Also, without this exit being open it would be impossible for the tenants to get out if the streets were covered with ice. Mr. MacNaughton stated his hope was, that if the above mentioned parties could meet and discuss this problem, an agreeable solution could be reached. After a lengthy discussion it was agreed a meeting would be set up between the City Council, homeowners of Love and Reed Streets, apartment owners and tenants to discuss this problem. Mayor Johnson suggested January 10, 1980 as a tentative date. The owners of the apart- ments, the apartment manager and homeowners will be notified. It was agreed the gate blocking this entrance will remain as it is until after the meeting. Variance Request: Searcy B. Slack, Jr. of Southern Neon Displays, Inc. requested a variance of our sign ordinance, in order to install the regular Wade Ford sign, being transferred from their old business in Atlanta to the new business in South Cobb Drive. After discussion Jim Tolleson made a motion the variance be granted. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Commercial Building Permits: (1) Phil Torchio, Equipment Manager for Williams Enterprises of Georgia, Inc., requested a building permit to erect a metal building to use for the storage of materials and equipment, on their property on Marston Street. All storage of materials and equipment is now open. The estimated cost of the building is $70,000 and plans have been approved by the Fire Department. After discussion Jerry Mills made a motion the permit be granted. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion'which carried by a 6-0 vote. Jerry Mills made a motion a variance be granted allowing the large cranes to be stored outside. Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (2) Larry Snyder requested a building permit to renovate property located at 955 Concord Road to be used as a dental office. Cost of the renovation is estimated at $28,500. Plans had been approved by the Fire Department and the Inspections Department. After discussion Jim Hawkins made a motion the permit be granted. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (3) Winkenhofer McCurdy Funeral Home requested a permit for an addition to the interior of existing building for crew quarters. Estimated cost is $10,000. Plans have been approved by the Fire and Inspections Departments. Jack Shinall made a motion the permit be approved. John Steely seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (4) Cobb County Board of Education requested a permit for an addition onto Wills High School on Powder Springs Street. Estimated cost of this addition is $284,000. (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) Plans have been approved by the Fire Department and the Inspections Department. Elbert Coalson made a motion the permit be approved. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. (5) Southern Bell Telephone Company requested a permit to tear down two houses and pave a parking lot on Mimosa Circle, estimated cost to be $90,000. Plans had been approved by the Engineering Department, Fire and Inspections Departments. Jerry Mills made a motion the permit be approved. Elbert Coalson seconded the motion.which carried by a 6-0 vote. Bids on the.Audit proposals for FY1979-81 were opened, read and are recorded as follows: 1979 1980 1981 King Springs Park Arthur Anderson & Co. 25 Park Place, Atlanta $9,000 .$10,000 $11,000 $2,000 Magaro, Gross &Nelson 3688 Clearview Ave #210 Atlanta, Ga. $5,500 $6,000 $6,500 $1,000 McMullan & Company 400 Colony Square #1976 $14,060 $15,600 $16,820 $5,408 Atlanta, Ga.'' Max. $14,800 $15,900 $17,100 $6,500 Weiss, Moore & Cubbedge #225, Lawyers Bldg. Marietta, Ga. $7,200 $6,500 $6,500 $3,500 Anderson Hunt & Co. 10 Perimeter P1. #180 Atlanta, Ga. $8,400 $9,240 $10,164 $1,600 Connally, Pechter, Verner 6425 Powers Ferry Rd. Atlanta, Ga. $12,000 .$15,600 $15,600- Peat, Marwick, Mitchell Co. Atlanta, Ga. $8,500 $9,350 $10,250 $1,000 Kitchens & Russell 1753 Spring St. Smyrna, Ga.. $5,200 . $5,200 $6,025 $1,800 Pate & Shiver 2440 Canton Road Marietta, Ga. $4,500 to $5,000 for 1979, with increase not to exceed 10% per year for 1980 & 1981, plus any out-of-pocket expenses incurred. Gottenstrater & McClain 45 South Ave #112 Marietta, Ga. $13,750 $13,750 $13,750 $1,500 Touche Ross & Co. Atlanta, Ga. $8,000 $9,000 $10,000 $ 750 Jerry Mills made a motion the bids be turned over to the committee for review and recommendations for the top three to full Council. Jack Shinall seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Jack Shinall made a motion approval be given to pay the 1979-80 Georgia Municipal Association dues in the amount of $2,764.61. Jerry Mills seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Committee Reports: John Steely recognized Senator Joe Lee Thompson in the audience and told him he supports his bill to raise the drinking age. He also praised the Parks Department for the renovation of the Annex building and also congratulated Lola for the fine job she did with the Christmas Tree & Musical festivities. Asa Howard invited Mayor and all Councilmen to the Senior Citizens Christmas Party on Friday, December 21st at 11:00 a.m. (Continuation of December 17, 1979 Meeting) (Water) Jack Shinall advised that as of January 1, 1980 we'would be paying 27% more'for water and 50% more for sewerage treatment service from Cobb County. We are exploring the lowest possible increase to our citizens. Hopefully we will be able to secure some 75/25 funding for User Study and any other portion of the 201'requirements we have. Cobb County is the lead applicant and we have to go through them for any help.. Jim Hawkins said he thought Section­3-66 of our Code of Ordinances should be changed, raising the amount of fine for a minor being convicted of possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages from $50 for possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages to $150, and the fine for using false identification to process or consume alcoholic beverages be raised from $100 to $300. Jack Shinall made a motion Section 3-66 (c) of our Code of Ordinances be changed to read as follows: "Any minor convicted of possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages shall be subject to a fine of one -hundred and fifty dollars ($150), and any minor convicted of possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages under authority of a false identi- fication shall be subject to a fine of three hundred dollars ($300)." Jim Hawkins seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Elbert Coalson asked Jack Shinall to explain the water billing. Jack advised that due to the fire, we were five months behind in water billing. The bills that went out in October covered water used from July 1st through August lst. The bills mailed out in December covered August 1st through October 1st. Another double bill will be mailed out in January, and hopefully this will be the last _ci double bill. Jim Hawkins asked Jim David the status of the traffic light on Concord Road. He was concerned since the traffic guard almost was hit last Friday. Mr. David reported he had made a request for a study from the State, but as yet had received no reply. Jim Hawkins said he would like this body to take action on this during the holidays since he did not think the State had jurisdiction on Concord Road. Jim Hawkins asked the status of the budgets. Gunter Newsom replied the department head meetings had not been completed as yet, but as soon as the Finance Committee can get together they will be completed. Jerry Mills made a motion that the City Attorney be instructed to draw up a section.to be added to the alcoholic beverage ordinance stating that any owner or employee of an establishment selling or serving alcoholic beverages, and convicted of selling or serving alcoholic beverages to_a minor, be fined a minimum of three hundred dollars ($300.00): John Steely seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Jim Tolleson stated he was getting calls about speeders on Spring Road. He congratulated the Police Department for the good job they are doing, but stated it was not enough. He asked them to crack down during the holidays. Chief Little said he would like this body to take action to raise the speed limit on Spring Road so the City could use radar. The State Highway Patrol can use radar on any street with any speed limit, but the State sets the limit on streets where the City can use radar, and the Spring Road limit is too low. The Highway Patrol will be patrolling Spring Road for the next two weeks. Announcements: The Jonquil Breakfast on December 19th is sponsored by the City of Smyrna. Christmas holidays will be December 24th and 25th; New Year's holiday January 1st and the next regular council meeting will be January 7, 1980. Meeting adjourned at 10:14 p.m. December 29, 1979 The Special Called meeting of Mayor and Council was held December 29, 1979 at the City Hall, Smyrna, Georgia. The meeting was called to order by presiding officer Mayor Frank Johnson at 3:05 p.m. All Council members were present except Bill Darby. Also present was City Clerk Willouise Spivey, Director of Finance and Admin- istration Gunter Newsom, Director of Parks and Recreation Asa Howard and repre- sentatives of the press. Invocation was given by Elbert Coalson, followed by the pledge to the flag. (Continuation of December 29, 1979 Meeting) The purpose of this Special Called meeting was to set the percentage of the Freeport Tax exemption. Mayor Johnson explained the Freeport Tax exemptions, as approved by the citizens of Smyrna on November 6, 1979. After discussion, Jerry Mills made a motion the percentage of the exemption be set at 20%. Jim Tolleson seconded the motion which carried by a 6-0 vote. Meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m. 61 r FRANK B. JOHNSON, MAYOR WILLOUISE C. SPIVEY, CITY CAARK JAMES E. TO'LLE-SOfi, WARD 1 WILLIAM F. DARBY, WARD 2 q/ C- WARD 3 AMES M. HAWKINS, WARD 4 JACK SHINALL, WARD 5 ELBERT R. COALSON, WARD 6 TEELY, WARD