Loading...
January 21, 1991 Council Meeting January 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 Broyle3, 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 meetins 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 recomnlended 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 mo~ion the license be approved location. Bill Scoggins seconded Steely and Jack Shinall opposed. met all requirements of the code and made a provided vehicles not be stored at this 1:he motion which carried 5-2 with John (C) Abandonment and closing of Jane Lyle Road John Patterson swap with Post intersect with construction of stated that Properties Ridge Road. Phase II of council had previously approved a right of way for a new Jane Lyle Road to be constructed to This right of way swap would facilitate the 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 and3everal 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 3aid 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 $17:5,000 to almost $400,000 to do just the grading work that would be needed. I~1 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 dri'le 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 iCing Street. Nancy Hancock of 1164 Bank Street sald 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 cl<Jsed or left open to Atlanta Road. The construction time and timing of the ~losing 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 '.ould 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 Cicy Hall was built. Jack Shinall made a motion Bank Street remain open as a thr<)ugh street from Atlanta Road to South Cobb Drive. Motion died for lack of a ser~ond. 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 Redwood Leisure Products Hunter Knepshield Cedar Forest Products RCP Shelters Game Time $7,275.00 $5,900.00 $7,423.60 $7,243.00 $5,968.00 $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 set 7-0. Lnenicka made a motion the petition be validated and he public hearing for February 18, 1991. Bill Scoggins seconded the motion which carried (0 ) 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 tle 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 remalnlng $15,000 to be reimbursed through line assessment ,=ees 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. .",." BID AWARDS: (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 Pos: 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 IJotion 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 consemms 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 foe 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 wi.th negotiating individual prices with ... the chosen bidder and that is what he i3 suggesting tonight. By changing some of the items in the specifications it ~s very easy to come up with a $45,000 savings which would bring Malone's bid p~ice from $420,000 to $375,000. Mr. Lnenicka made a motion bidder at a price lower than Scoggins seconded the motion. the bid be awarded to Malone's who is the low the original bid, not to exceed $375,000. Bill 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 wi th t:hat. 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 tneir 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 G 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 opposec. COMMERCIAL BUILDING PERMITS 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 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 handled correctly and asked Section 3.4.13 of the contract and furnishings. Mr. Shinall taken here tonight and felt construction of the Library and out the window. taken tonight that mayor may not have been Mr. Camp for an interpretation in writing of with Sizemore Floyd regarding interior design said he was very disappointed with the action we are taking the attitude of getting on with Community Center and throwing everything else ..... 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. ~d------ /' ; .".,If/I /' ~ JOHN STEELY, WARD 7 ....".