HomeMy Public PortalAbout20060511_TybeeCouncilMinsCouncil Minutes
Page 1 of 6
Meeting of 2006-05-11 City Council Minutes
Mayor Pro Tem Shirley Sessions called the Consent Agenda Meeting to order at
6:30PM on May 11, 2006. Present in addition to Mayor Pro Tem Sessions were
Council Members Kathryn Williams, Wanda Doyle, Eddie Crone and Paul Wolff.
Also present were City Attorney Bubba Hughes, City Manager Diane Schleicher
and Assistant City Manager Dee Anderson.
Absent were Mayor Jason Buelterman and Councilman Mallory Pearce.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions and Council Members decided to put the following items
on the Consent Agenda, Jason Ball Homecoming Special Event, the
recommendation for Davis Enterprises to replace the City Hall Roof and a
budget adjustment of $4,420 to come out of Building Maintenance, Minutes for
April 27, 2006, Alcohol License for MacElwee’ s Seafood and Alcohol License
for Bernie’ s Tybee Island, Inc.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions closed the Consent Agenda Meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions called the regular meeting of the City Council to
order at 7:00PM on May 11, 2006. All persons previously listed were still in
attendance. Reverend Hale Bishop gave the invocation and everyone cited the
pledge of allegiance to the flag.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions welcomed the new city manager, Diane Schleicher, to
the city and thanked Dee Anderson for filling in during the interim.
Diane Schleicher told everyone a little about herself and said she is very
excited about being here and working for Tybee.
Presentations scheduled for Walter Parker and Burke Day were postponed until
a later date.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions presented the City with a Flag donated by the Aviation
Brigade, #3rd Infantry Division. This flag was flown over Bagdad on November
29, 2005.
Theresa Concannon from the Ga. RDC talked about plans to update the Master
Plan for Tybee. She said the City is expected to review, revise and adopt a
Master Plan by October, 2008. She said two years is plenty of time to
accomplish this. She felt that having the DCA team come and conduct visioning
sessions and assess the issues and opportunities was an excellent first step
towards developing the new plan. She said also looking at some of the key
topics the DCA is pushing for inclusion into the plans are character areas
such as the Back River area and the Beach area. Mr. Wolff said a draft report
from the DCA should be online in the next couple of weeks for public comment
with the final version coming in August. Ms. Concannon said there is a format
and process change that brings the new master plans up to National standards
best practices but they have provided a lot of tools to accomplish this. They
have developed checklist and suggested list of stakeholders. She said the DCA
website has documents you can print out that will answer a lot of the
questions and help to start the process.
Bill Cannon of the Tybee Beautification Committee reminded everyone about the
Adopt a Highway that will be on May 20, 2006 at 8:00AM and they will meet at
Council Minutes
Page 2 of 6
the Tybee Sign on Hwy 80 at Lazaretto Creek. He requested everyone come in
appropriate clothing to accomplish the task including gloves and hats.
Dan Lockwood, a resident of Jones Ave. on Tybee, said he has been using the
small boat launch on the Back River several times weekly since 1996. He said
this spring the boat launch has been blocked by fisherman with coolers and
tackle boxes and they set up chairs right on the boat launch. He said Major
Case from the Police Department told him the problem is there is no ordinance
prohibiting blocking or fishing from the boat launch so they cannot enforce
it. He said Major Case said to call the police anytime if he had a problem
getting them to move. Mr. Lockwood said it isn’ t easy to call the police as
your coming into the boat launch on a windy day with people in your way. He
requested an ordinance be adopted and a sign be put at the boat launch.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions opened the Public Hearings with the first one being
the Public Park at 19th Street. Mr. Anderson said through research with the
Historical Society they have discovered that the old park used to be called
Amfico Club Park and Playground. He said now it is overgrown but the Gazebo
and fence are still there intertwined in the weeds. He said someone has
offered to build this park for the city. He said this was a public hearing to
get input before going forward with the idea. He said Cullen Chambers of the
Tybee Historical Society has written a letter giving his full support on this
project. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions asked that the letter from Mr. Chambers and
an opposition letter written by Helen Downing be added as part of the minutes
as well. Mr. Wolff asked how many parking spaces the city would lose. Mr.
Anderson said we would lose about 8 parking spaces that are only used for
overflow parking. Mary Adams spoke in opposition to the park. She said the
concept of a park with bathrooms seems like a benign idea but in this
situation it is not. She said one reason is the south end has a history of
late night partying and carousing. She believes a park would ask for more of
that. She said at night it is an isolated section where people come to stay
up all night. She said that end of the Island is so dangerous with many
people drowning there. She said her brother has saved 35 people from
drowning. She said just a few years ago even with life guards in the area a
child got in trouble 5 feet from the shoreline and Sprague Exley saved him.
She said a life ring sits on the porch of the house just in case they need
it. Howard Reeves said his mother owns the house midway across the street and
his wife owns the property next door to that. He said they were not notified
of this meeting. He asked if the buildings would have to comply with federal
laws. Mr. Hughes said all buildings would have to comply. He said he doesn’ t
think it is a good idea to have bathrooms there because it is a residential
area. He said they have all kinds of traffic in front of his mother’ s house
and they leave a lot of things behind. Mr. Hank Buckley spoke in favor of the
Park and said he grew up about two blocks down from the old park. He said it
would be a good thing to preserve in its original state. He said he is not in
favor of the new plan because it is not original. He said he was looking for
a legacy for his Dad that was City Clerk for 41 years. He said his Dad had
received the Carnegie Medal for rescuing 3 people off of that sandbar in
1951. Sissy Ward said she has rescued 3 sets of people off of the sandbar
also. She thinks it is a bad idea to invite people to go there. She said it
is a dangerous situation. She said a park is a good idea but access to the
water is not. Carol Hyman said his family had redone the AMFICO Park in 1984
by removing all the rock bands and junk that had collected there. He said
there were car break-ins that were happening about 10 years ago that were
brought under control by his adding a roof deck on his house. He is concerned
about crime because he is the only one there in the winter. He said at a
minimum there needs to be a fence that is posted with times so that he could
Council Minutes
Page 3 of 6
call if someone goes in there after hours. He said the crime elements that
have been addressed over the last 21 years need to be considered. Ms. Jo
Buckley said she raised her children down there and she loves parks and she
likes the new design better than the original park. Mr. Henry Levy said the
children’ s play area should be where people can observe it. Ms. Williams
said the area Mr. Levy pointed out was a driveway that can’ t be moved and
the trees to the east are in a conservation easement. Mr. Levy said the
bathrooms should be moved forward and the gathering place should be moved to
the back. Mr. Sam Adams of 1904 Chatham Avenue said there is a right of way
that is a driveway that is not shown on the drawing. Mr. Crone said the
driveway is already there and is not included in the drawing. He said years
ago the city decided that they wanted a water tower located there. The
neighborhood rallied against it and won. He said the neighbors are surprised
again. He said a public park with bathrooms in a high value neighborhood is a
bad idea. He asked if Council is looking out for visitors or tax payers. He
said he resides at his house on Tybee about 6 months a year. He asked if the
visitors that come here to stay up all night and drink will do so where a
patrol car is likely to pass them or are they going to the southern tip? He
said they know they live at a public beach and their expectations of public
decorum are low and they are often woken up in the middle of the night. He
said the Southern Tip has adequate parking to qualify for the Beach
Renourishment money and taking away any spaces could be interpreted by the
Feds as Tybee acting in bad faith. He suggested that Council not let this
public park distract from their scrutiny of the Campground deal. He said in
his opinion that is the purpose of the park. He said look at the campground
deal for what it is and either do it or don’ t do it but it should stand on
its own. He has decided to personally look at the campground deal. He said if
he were on city council and a relative of his employer had a major deal
involving tax payer dollars in front of council he said he would be bound by
ethics to recuse himself and not to vote or push the deal with fellow council
members. He said the park cannot block their ability to get to their home.
Ms. Williams said Mayor Buelterman had requested that they postpone making a
decision on this park until a future date. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions asked Mr.
Hughes if they have to table the petition. Mr. Hughes said they do not have
to take any action at all but they can table it if that is what they want to
do. Ms. Williams motioned to table the 19th Street Park, Ms. Doyle seconded,
and the vote was unanimous. Council requested that the 19th Street Park be put
on the next agenda. Mr. Wolff said they should revisit the restroom location
and consider how much parking is being lost and possibly lean towards the
historic nature of the Gazebo as was suggested. He said this should not be
misconstrued as a visitor attraction because it is a neighborhood park and
one of the suggestions from the DCA team was for pocket parks throughout the
island on city property. He believes the restrooms should be locked at dark
and possibly a fence being installed as well to prevent disruption in the
neighborhood. Ms. Doyle asked that the City Manager review it and come up
with some different discussion ideas. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions requested that
Ms. Schleicher look into Police presence at that end of the island late at
night.
Lawanna Tsoulos presented the petition for a Front Setback Variance of 5 feet
at 1707 Butler Avenue for a deck from Petitioner Jimmy Harper. She said it is
in the C-1 Zone and the 200 ft rule does not apply because it is a
residential property in the C-1 Zone. She said the PC voted in favor of the
petition. She said the motion was conditioned on them putting the steps under
the new porch. Ms. Lisa Harper presented revised plans and said they have
tried to move the metal building off of the property but no one will move it.
Mr. Crone asked why PC had recommended they move the building. Ms. Harper
Council Minutes
Page 4 of 6
said because the building was put on the property line for storage and they
need to move it over 5 feet. Mr. Anderson said the PC did not say anything
about the metal building but the City Staff had made that request because it
was against the ordinance. Mr. Wolff said with the 5 foot addition it seemed
that they would still be in line with the other houses and the proposed deck
will not come out as far as the steps do now. He said it will be a deck and
not a screened porch. Ms. Williams asked if the existing steps would be
removed. Ms. Harper said yes. Mr. Charlie Wilkins said he lives at 1708
Lovell and their back yards connect. He just wanted to make sure the deck
would be the only change. He asked if the new drawing showed any changes that
were not addressed. Mr. Anderson said the new drawing should show the steps
under the deck and that would be the only change. Mr. Wilkins asked what the
setback would be after the variance. Mr. Wolff said 15 feet. Ms. Williams
motioned to table the petition to have staff review the revised plans. Motion
failed for lack of a second. Mr. Crone motioned to approve the revised plan,
Mr. Wolff seconded. Ms. Doyle said Ms. Harper had done the second drawing
because the Planning Commission had recommended it and it isn’ t fair to
penalize her for doing what they requested. Ms. Schleicher suggested an
amended motion to include the contingency that it is approved only after the
Zoning Staff has verified the revised plans. Mr. Crone amended his motion as
suggested, Mr. Wolff seconded the amended motion, and the motion carried 4 to
1 with Ms. Williams voting against.
Ms. Tsoulos presented the Petition for a setback variance for Trinity
Methodist Church in Zone R-2 at 911 Butler Ave. She said they want to expand
the social hall. She said the PC approval was contingent on the Metal Shed
being moved to the property line. Ms. Williams asked if the 200 ft rule
applied. Mr. Anderson said no because this is the rear yard and the 200 ft
rule only applies to front yards. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions presented a letter
from the adjacent neighbor that is in favor of the variance. Reverend Hale
Bishop said the metal shed met the code when they put it there and they would
like the petition approved without having to move the shed unless it gets
destroyed during construction. Mr. Russell Bridges, the other adjoining
neighbor said he was in favor of the project. Mr. Crone motioned to approve
the petition as presented without condition, Ms. Doyle seconded, and the vote
was unanimous.
Ms. Tsoulos presented the petition for a side setback variance at 156 South
Campbell for Charles and Sandra Brewer. She said it is a continuation of a
non conforming side setback for a den and bedroom expansion. She said there
was also a petition for a cantilever deck to go into the 25 ft buffer line.
She said the PC recommended denial. Ms. Brewer asked to table the petition
for the cantilever deck and go forward with the side setback variance. Mr.
Hughes said the Council could address each issue separately. Mr. Wolff asked
if the expansion was coming to the edge of the concrete pad. Ms. Brewer said
that was correct. Ms. Brewer said her hardship was that the fireplace had no
mortar left and they will have to take that wall out with the fireplace so
they wanted to expand the living and bedrooms while they were doing that so
they would have more of a view. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the bedroom
extension contingent on all storm water runoff being diverted away from the
marsh, Mr. Crone seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff motioned to table the variance request for the deck pending our
findings from the study that is being done right now on our buffer ordinance,
Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Wolff said the first
draft of that ordinance should be done sometime in May.
Council Minutes
Page 5 of 6
Ms. Tsoulos presented a Site Plan for a maintenance shop at the Tybrisa Beach
Resort at 1 15th Street in C-1. Ms. Tsoulos said the PC had approved
contingent on the siding being the same on all sides and the elevation on the
ramp being the same at the property line and the street Mr. Tom Olson of Kern
Coleman said he had addressed both concerns of the PC and had submitted new
plans to Mr. Anderson last week. Mr. Wolff motioned to approve the new plans
submitted, Ms. Doyle seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Pro Tem Sessions opened the meeting for items legally presented with
the consent agenda as, the Jason Ball homecoming and the City of Tybee co-
sponsoring this event, Recommendation from Staff to have Davis Enterprises
replace the roof at City Hall for $24,420 and a budget adjustment of $4,420
from Building Maintenance, Minutes from April 27, 2006, Alcohol License for
MacElwee’ s Seafood and Alcohol License for Bernie’ s Tybee Island, Inc. Mr.
Crone motioned to approve the consent agenda items, Ms. Williams seconded,
and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Anderson recommended postponing the decision on the Engineering Firm
until next meeting so that Diane Schleicher can review the proposals. Council
Agreed and asked for this to be put on the next agenda.
Mr. Hughes prepared a resolution to be adopted regarding the campground
lease. Mr. Wolff motioned to approve the resolution authorizing the
appropriate actions with respect to the bond validation & agreement within
the parameters indicated & to authorize the execution of the lease agreement
when appropriate, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Mr.
Wolff asked if we would be leasing the campground during the term of the bond
and once the bond is paid off we would take ownership. Mr. Hughes said yes.
Mr. Wolff motioned to go into Executive Session to discuss, Real Estate,
Litigation or Personnel, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Ms. Williams motioned to go into open session, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the
vote was unanimous.
Ms. Doyle said she had received a call from Mr. Hansboro regarding the
purchase of trees and removal of stumps. She said he told her about a
representative of the adjacent property owner cutting the trees down on his
property without his permission in order to move a house out. She asked how
the city could issue a permit to cut down trees on someone else’ s property.
Mr. Anderson said the agent was representing an LLC group of property owners
and the property is not shaped in a square so there was confusion about where
the lines ended. He said as soon as the agent was made aware of the mistake
he offered to replant the trees. Mr. Hughes recommended that the city wait to
see how this is resolved between the property owner and the agent before
taking action. Ms. Williams disagreed and stated that she feels that the city
should take action to ensure that this does not happen again. Mr. Anderson
said that the agent had looked at the alternate route to take the house out
but it was determined that the house would not fit through the Ft. Screven
Gate. Ms. Williams said there should be consequences for this and council
agreed that the city should hold the agent accountable. Mr. Hughes will check
into this matter and report back to council.
Mr. Wolff motioned to adjourn, Ms. Doyle seconded, and the vote was
unanimous.
Council Minutes
Page 6 of 6
______________________________________
Mayor Jason Buelterman
______________________________
Vivian O. Woods
Clerk of Council
(2006-05-11, Amended, 09/07/2006, delected draft and corrected heading to lower case)