COUNCIL MEETING

COUNCIL MEETING

NOVEMBER 16, 2000

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Strozier with Councilman Waller leading in prayer.

The minutes of the November 2^nd meeting were reviewed. Councilman Waller made a motion to approve said minutes, Councilman Tuten seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

OLD BUSINESS:

Mayor Strozier reported that he had talked with Mayor Carter and asked him to set date that was convenient for his committee for a meeting to discuss the Senior Citizens Center and advise Bloomingdale of said date.

The Mayor informed council that he and Councilman Tuten had met with Bill Lovett with Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung, Inc. to discuss the pursuit of an increase on our water permit. Council was reminded that after reviewing the proposal by the City of Savannah on purchasing water from them, council agreed that the additional tap-in fees would be a hardship on our citizens and wanted us to pursue other alternatives. Mr. Lovett will prepare a letter on behalf of the City to submit to EPD.

Council discussed disposal of surplus vehicles/equipment and agreed to hold an auction on these items. The items and proposed minimum bids included the following: Two 1995 Ford Crown Vics and one 1987 Nissan Pathfinder, minimum bid $3500 each; one 1994 Ford Crown Vic and one 1969 500A John Deere Backhoe with 4’’ ditching bucket, minimum bid $2500 each; one 10KW Generator, minimum bid $2,000; one 1969 Chevrolet Dump Truck, minimum bid $500; and one 1978 Toyota Pickup Truck, minimum bid $300. After a discussion of this matter, Councilman Tyler made a motion to declare these items as surplus and conduct an auction on January 11, 2001 at 3:00pm for their disposal at the minimum bids outlined above. Councilman Tuten seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

NEW BUSINESS:

The Mayor recognized Grant Washington who presented a request from Johnny Padgett to use Main Street as access to his property located off Hwy 80. Approval of this request would allow a building permit to be issued for this property. Mr. Washington stated that it appeared the roadway was already being used for public access. The Mayor informed him that the City had given a construction company permission to use the old railroad bed for the hauling of dirt from a nearby pit and they had done some grading work on the roadway to allow better access. However, Mayor Strozier advised him that this portion of the old railroad bed has not been established as a public right of way and there are no plans at this time to make said dedication. The Mayor also pointed out that there are no water/sewer service line extensions in that area. Mr. Washington informed council that although an access easement to the lot from Highway 80 had been granted it was his understanding this would not comply with the City’’s requirement for a building permit. Attorney Gerard advised him that the property would have to abut Hwy 80 by at least 25’’ before a permit could be issued and this 25’’ strip would need deeded as part of the tract of land not just an easement. After this discussion, council agreed that Mr. Washington needed to get with Attorney Gerard to determine exactly what would have to be done with the property before he could obtain a building permit. Councilman Tyler made a motion to table the matter, Councilman Johnson seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Mayor Strozier advised council that we have been informed by our engineers that in the construction of the Pooler Parkway, the City’s existing sewer force main has been fully exposed. It appears that when the parkway construction is complete the PVC force main will partially obstruct flows and will be vulnerable to damage. In addition, there could be a conflict at a proposed ditch inlet structure since the top of the force main may be only about 9"" below the inlet invert. Apparently, Thomas & Hutton Engineering Co., the engineers for this project, were not aware of the City’s sewer force main location. The Mayor informed council that Bill Lovett suggested a letter be sent to the county requesting a change order for the work and for the county to provide funding for said change order. Mayor Strozier advised council that he had instructed Bill Lovett to send this letter to the county.

Council was advised that the City has received notification from FEMA that the revised Flood Insurance Rate Map submitted to us in March will become effective on May 7, 2001. The clerk stated these changes were the result of the City’s request that our maps be updated to include our current City limits. Also there was concern that there were too many flood zones in our area without base flood information. However, only small portions of these areas were reviewed and although some zones did receive base flood information, many did not. Also, the flood zones were enlarged in portions of the City.

The Mayor informed council that we had received notification from SunTrust Bank that a $5.00 service fee will be charged to the City on all returned checks processed through our accounts. Based on this information, Councilman Waller made a motion to increase our returned check fees from $20.00 per check to $25.00 per check effective immediately. Councilman Rawlins seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Mayor Strozier advised members that in the next couple of days the City would receive copies of the Updated Chatham County Water Supply Management Plan that must be adopted by December 7, 2000. Copies of this report will be distributed to councilmembers for their review and the Mayor asked that members be prepared to adopt the plan at the December 7^th meeting.

The Mayor asked for council’s input on a possible amendment to the City’s trash disposal policy to add the garbage truck as one of the vehicles that can be used by citizens for disposal of trash. Mayor Strozier pointed out that Councilman Tyler had used the garbage truck, rather than the trash truck, a couple of times for collection of cardboard boxes. Since the garbage truck has a compacting device, more boxes can be loaded onto the truck. The Mayor stated that if the garbage truck were added, the spare truck would be used. Also discussed was the importance of having all requests for these trucks go through the front office so the proper paperwork can be completed and deposit fees collected. After a discussion of the matter, Councilman Rawlins made a motion to add the garbage truck to the trash disposal policy, Councilman Johnson seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes. It was noted that use of the trash or garbage truck would continue to be on an ""as available"" basis and should not interfere with the City’’s schedules of operations.

Council was advised that the December CMA meeting will be held on December 13, 2000 at the Mighty 8^th Air Force Museum at 6:00pm. The City of Pooler is hosting the meeting. Councilmembers were advised that spouses/guests are invited and the clerk needs to know by December 1^st if you plan to attend.

The Mayor recognized Fred Chance, a resident from #205 Oak Street, who complained about the sewer smell coming from the lift station and asked what was being done to eliminate the problem. Mayor Strozier pointed out that several neighbors in the area have been asked to contact the City if there is a problem with the smell, but we have not had any calls lately. Mr. Chance stated that since the area has been built up, the smell has been overwhelming, at times, and feels it is coming from the lift station. Councilman Tuten stated that he had noticed a smell in the area when he was walking, but could not trace the smell back to the lift station. He noticed there was some water standing in the drainage ditch and thought that maybe that was the source of the problem. The Mayor asked that Ernest Grizzard and Councilman Tuten to monitor the situation and take whatever steps are necessary to fix the problem. Mr. Chance asked if the City planned to cover up the drainage ditches in the area and was advised by the Mayor that we had no plans to put pipe in any of those ditches.

The accounts payable were reviewed. Councilman Waller made a motion to pay the bills, Councilman Tyler seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

Mayor Strozier advised council and those present at the meeting that copies of the police tapes on the accident that occurred last Saturday night in which two teenagers were killed had been released to the news media on Tuesday afternoon. He understood, however, that there had been some complaints from family members of the victims who said that we should not have released the tape. The Mayor pointed out that the release of this information was a requirement of the Open Records Act of the State of Georgia. Mayor Strozier stated that he understood the concerns of the family, but the City had no choice in the matter. The Mayor informed council that the tape would be shown at the close of the meeting for those wishing to view it and invited the citizens wanting to see the tape to stay after the meeting.

Being no further business, Councilman Johnson made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Tuten seconded the motion and it passed with five affirmative votes.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45pm.

THOSE PRESENT:

Mayor Strozier
Councilman Johnson
Councilman Rawlins
Councilman Tuten
Councilman Tyler
Councilman Waller