HomeMy Public PortalAbout050_011_20130917CityCouncilMinutes 20130917 Special City Council Meeting Minutes
Mayor Buelterman called the special meeting to order at 4:30PM. Those present Paul
Wolff, Tom Groover, Jan Fox, Barry Brown and Bill Garbett. Also attending were Diane
Schleicher, City Manager; Dianne Otto, Manager, Planning and Zoning Department; and
Janet LeViner, Clerk of Council. Mayor pro tem Doyle was excused due to a prior
appointment.
Consideration Local Requests and Applications — Funding, Special Events,
Alcohol License
Special Event Consideration: Sponge Bob 2: The Movie (September 30 —
October 5; October 21 — 26 and 28; October 29 — November 5): locations
detailed in event application. Laura Bryant approached mayor and council to
answer any questions. Mr. Brown asked Ms. Bryant how the businesses on 16th Street
and the Strand would be compensated for lost business during the filming of the movie.
Ms. Bryant responded that she has had the opportunity to meet with the key business
owners on the Stand and they have come to a satisfactory agreement for all parties
concerned. The crew did meet today and we able to narrow down the shots to get a
better idea of parking needs. They are "giving back" the requested parking spaces on
18th Street as they do not need it for the first week of shooting. This will help the
businesses on Tybrisa and Strand. Ms. Bryant explained that she and her assistant
visited all the business owners on Tybrisa and spoke with them personally to better
understand and address any concerns they might have. Mr. Brown repeated his
question. Ms. Bryant responded that businesses will not be shut down and will not take
any parking from their patrons. Her position is to be a liaison between the movie
company and the business owners to insure all concerns are addressed and each
addressed individually. Mr. Brown asked for a clarification of the issues in downtown
Savannah on Broughton Street. Ms. Bryant discussed the issues of parking and the
owners affected do receive a compensation fee for their inconvenience. Mr. Brown
then asked the time frame of completing the contract with the business owners. She
responded that once she speaks with them, she will leave an agreement and when it
has been signed, she picks it up and issues a Certificate of Insurance. The entire
process should take five (5) days. Mr. Wolff confirmed with Ms. Bryant that nothing is
being done on Tybrisa just Strand. She confirmed. Mr. Wolff commented in favor of
the filming as it will bring revenue to the Island and if approved by mayor and council it
would be contingent upon receipt of executed contracts from all the business owners
involved. Ms. Bryant assured mayor and council that she is very accessible to include
phone and email. She will be happy to share either or both with whomever that would
like it. Mayor Buelterman stated that the City supports this type of event and thanked
them for choosing Tybee Island as their location. Rich Hammons approached mayor
and council to speak in favor of the event. He stated that he did have concerns but
after meeting with Ms. Bryant feels confident that this will have a positive impact on the
Island. He once again asked mayor and council to approve the special event
application. Mr. Garbett confirmed with Mr. Hammons that his recommendation is to
approve. Mr. Hammons agreed. Mr. Wolff asked Ms. Schleicher to track how the
businesses are doing historically and going forward during and after these events as he
would like to have a year by year comparison. He would recommend going back to
2012 moving forward. Ms. Schleicher responded that the department of revenue does
not provide a point of sales. She stated that at the recommendation of mayor and
council they add a component to the permitting process that will address the stake
holders and how they might be affected with upcoming events. She also suggests a
survey be done as well as the post moratorium meeting. Mr. Wolff would like to have a
better idea of the impacts of the events. Mr. Hammons thanked Ms. Bryant for her
openness and availability to all the business owners as communication is key. Jenny
Orr approached mayor and council to express her concerns with the event. She did
meet with Ms. Bryant to discuss these concerns which is mainly Saturday, October 5,
2013. This date is a double digit day and October is a great month as it is a more
profitable month due to a more mature audience. This clientele eat and drinks
differently than the summer clientele. Once again, Ms. Orr stated she needs to have
her business back on Saturday, October 5, 2013 as that one Saturday will make one of
two payrolls for the month. She explained that Ms. Bryant has been very fair for the
second session and she would like the contract to sign and she does recommend
approval. Mayor Buelterman asked Ms. Bryant if there are weather issues and the
filming goes into that Saturday what is the plan. Ms. Bryant stated that the production
company has bought weather insurance to extend the shoot days which will allow them
to extend compensation to the effected business owners. Mayor Buelterman asked the
timeline for completing the contracts. Ms. Bryant responded that she anticipates having
all the contracts out electronically by end of day. Mr. Groover expressed his concerns
over the contracts being executed in a timely manner. Ms. Bryant stated that she has a
good faith agreement with all the business owners and she feels all paperwork will be
completed in a very short period of time. Steve Kellum, Tybee Times, approached
mayor and council. He stated that he was not aware of the event until last week.
Since then he did met and has spoken with Ms. Bryant and has a verbal agreement with
the production company. His main concern is the parking which has been resolved.
Bill Garbett made a motion to approve. Jan Fox seconded. Discussion: Mayor
Buelterman reminded mayor and council that if in the next few days it appears there
will be issues, they can reconvene to address those issues. Ms. Fox would recommend
that Ms. Schleicher provide a report via email within seven to ten days that all contracts
have been executed between the business owners and production company. Mr.
Groover asked that the vote be delayed until September 26, 2013 at which time mayor
and council will have a report on the executed contracts. Mayor Buelterman stated he
does not feel an amendment to the motion is needed. He further requested that an
agenda item be added to the September 26, 2013 regarding the status of the contracts.
Ms. Bryant stated that she will report to Chantel Morton when the contracts are
received back from the business owners. Vote was unanimous 5-0.
Bill Garbett made a motion to adjourn. Jan Fox seconded. Vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 5:20PM