HomeMy Public PortalAbout20060622_TybeeCouncilMinsCouncil Minutes
Page 1 of 14
Meeting of 2006-06-22 City Council Minutes
Mayor Buelterman called the June 22, 2006 consent agenda meeting to
order at 6:30PM. Present in addition to the Mayor were Shirley
Sessions, Eddie Crone, Mallory Pearce, Paul Wolff, Wanda Doyle and
Kathryn Williams. Also present were City Attorney Bubba Hughes and
City Manager Diane Schleicher.
Mayor Buelterman read items for the consent agenda as; Memorial Park
Committee members listed as; Abby Burke, Sunni Brown, Lawanna Tsoulos,
Ellen Fulkerson, Jason Nobles-Staff, Tiffany Dennis-YMCA Staff, Wanda
Doyle-Council Member, Ethics Committee Members, Planning Commission
appointed Susan Hill, City Manager appointed Janice Elliott as
Employee Liaison and Staff support, Shirley Sessions appointed Bobby
Phillips. Alcohol/Entertainment/Sunday Sales License for Sea Dawgs
Oyster Bar, Approval of Council Minutes for 6-8-06,Georgia Land
Conservation Grant Application for $400,000 Land owner has agreed to
sell land for that amount conditional on future Park being named after
land owners Father and City paying for Appraisal and Survey if grant
is approved, Private Parking Text Amendment to change hours from
8:00PM
Ms. Williams asked that the Special Event Application say in clear
language that it is a requirement to apply with the state if you are
selling or giving away alcohol at an event.
City Manager introduced the Emergency Procurement and Hiring
Ordinances and requested they be put on the Agenda for July 13 for 1st
and 2nd readings.
Mayor Buelterman called the regular meeting of the City Council to
order at 7:00PM. All persons listed earlier were still in attendance.
Rev. David Laughner of Chapel by the Sea Baptist Church gave the
Invocation. The colors were posted by the Tybee Island Memorial Color
Guard and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Representative Burke Day presented Special Resolution 1822 to Former
Mayor Walter Parker recognizing him as an “Outstanding Georgian and
Statesman”. He said the House of Representatives has a tradition of
looking at people in their communities that have made significant
inroads and have done many things for the good of the community. They
voted to honor former Mayor Walter Parker by a majority vote. Ms.
Sally Day read the Resolution to everyone.
Former Mayor Walter Parker said he was privileged by the citizens of
Tybee to be able to lobby to the legislature for beach projects and he
thanked Representative Day for his good work.
Mayor Buelterman and Chief Price presented Representative Burke Day
with a Resolution naming him as Life Long Honorary Police
Council Minutes
Page 2 of 14
Commissioner. Mayor Buelterman read the Resolution and Chief Price
presented a badge. Mayor Buelterman also thanked Rep. Day for help in
getting the 2.93 million for Beach Renourishment from the State.
Representative Day said he is eternally grateful to everyone that had
faith in him and cast their future in his hands and to former Mayor
Parker for making him the first Police Commissioner on Tybee.
Mayor Buelterman announced a party on Saturday honoring Jason Ball and
his regiment. He also said he would present two proclamations to the
Soldiers and their Spouses on Saturday during the party with Council
approval. He also displayed a flag presented to Tybee by Jason Ball
that was flown in Iraq. Mayor Buelterman said he would have it framed
and posted at City Hall. He thanked Ms. Tsouolos and Mr. Locklear for
their hard work in setting up the celebration.
Mr. John Major, Chairman of the Audit Committee presented the
committee report to council. He said for 2006 they appointed Sam
Adams, Jim Anderson, David Birdwell, Sarah Jones, Lou Off and Freida
Rutherford and himself to serve on this committee. He said Sue Off is
the liaison between the Ethics Committee and the Audit Committee. He
said in March they had an organizational meeting as required by bylaws
and new committee members were nominated and Kathryn Williams agreed
to serve as council’ s liaison to the committee. He said the report
from Mauldin and Jenkins about the Audit contained one finding and two
constructive suggestions. He said it compared favorably with the
report from a year ago that contained seven suggestions. He said the
one finding was a holdover to last year and in order to correct it
would mean an addition to staff. The Auditors letter and financial
report is online on the City’ s Website. He said at the request of
Council the Audit committee has completed a review of contracts and
submitted a report. They will revisit the contracts in August. He said
they will also review the city’ s leases at council’ s request. He
said Ms. Fox has requested the committee take a more active role in
next years audit by contacting the auditors and setting an agenda. He
said after the next audit they will review the auditors work to see if
we need to go out to bid again. Mayor and Council thanked the Audit
committee for their hard work.
Ms. Patricia Miller Wann chairman of the Tybee Fine Arts Commission
gave a report to Council stating that they had applied for a grant to
hire consultants to help them conduct strategic planning for the
commission. She said Tybee was awarded its first grant from the
Georgia Council for the Arts in October and the City of Tybee matched
that grant. She said they voted to hire Blackmar, Tibbets and
Associates as consultants. She said they are applying for a grant for
a consultant to develop a plan for Cultural Tourism on Tybee. She said
this past Tuesday the consultants presented the Strategic Cultural
plan for Tybee Island based on the information received from the
surveys and focus groups. She said the Georgia Council will announce
its new grants in July and they are hoping to again be a recipient of
a grant. She asked Council approval of new commission members; Walter
Council Minutes
Page 3 of 14
Parker, Jim Wann and Jane Feiler. She thanked everyone for their
support.
Ms. Jackie Brown former City Clerk recommended to Council that they
not incorporate their Public Hearings into their regular council
meetings because of the time it takes to conduct the Public Hearings.
She said sometimes the public are here for other items on the agenda
and it should be a consideration in order to save time for the public
and council.
Ms. Brown said the other reason she wanted to address council was out
of concern for her two granddaughters and instant grandson. She said
there should be procedures in place to deal with the situation that
happened on June 1. She said she has know Tiffany the police officer
that handled her grandchildren all of her life and she is a wonderful
girl. She said there is trauma involved in something like this and she
feels there should be proper procedures for future incidents like
this. She said these children were placed in vehicles and she doesn’ t
like it. She said her instant grandson has severe Asthma and he was in
a car for over an hour with no air on. Her other concern is pre
warrant hearings. She said last year Detective Bryson told her that
the TIPD municipal court would not be handling this anymore as it took
up to much time of the officer and staff in getting ready to hold
court. She said she understood they were to be held at Magistrate
Court at Chatham County. She was surprised when she attended a pre
warrant hearing in municipal court over a week ago. She said they need
to set some priorities and let citizens know that if they get in
trouble this is the way it’ s going to be and not wishey washy back
and forth.
James E. Carter commander of Tybee Island Memorial Color Guard said
they want every house on Tybee to have an American Flag. He said they
have stocked 3 by 5 flags made of polyester and they have two
additional flag styles to choose from in addition to the American
Flag. He said these flags are not for sale and the group only accepts
donations. He said if someone needs their flag replaced the group will
be glad to come by and replace it and any donations received will be
used to purchase more flags and eventually poles to.
Mayor Buelterman announced Jack Kingston’ s Town Hall meeting on
Monday at 12:00 noon to discuss energy legislation.
Mayor Buelterman shared a letter from Rachel Perkins announcing her
resignation from the Planning Commission. He said he wanted to
recognize Rachel for her hard work and dedication on the Planning
Commission.
Ms. Williams announced the fundraiser for Tybee Beautification. She
said they will have a sunset cruise sponsored by Iris and Mike
Scarborough on Sunday Evening June 25. She said the tickets are
$25.00.
Council Minutes
Page 4 of 14
Diane Schleicher said in the event of a Hurricane or Emergency event
you have to post for employment and you have to have drug screenings.
She said we need to have a hiring procedure for emergency personnel
only in a declared emergency. She said she and Mr. Hughes have been
working on the language that would suspend the hiring requirements in
an declared emergency. She said there is also a procurement ordinance
that needs to be approved that would allow obtaining the needed
products without bidding out in case of a disaster. She said
concerning the requested budget adjustment of $28,347 staff had looked
at the supplies on hand and did a study on what supplies would be
needed in an emergency. She said they found communication as one of
the biggest issues. She said they received practical advice from
people out in the field in Louisiana and Mississippi. She said staff
had used this advice to come up with a list of needed supplies to take
care of people and have communication with satellite phones with
antennas.
Diane Schleicher said staff unanimously recommended Duncan
Technologies as the Pay & Display meter provider after the
presentations that were done last week. She requested that council
approve generating a long term contract for 36 months. Mr. Wolff asked
if the initial order would still be 42 meters. Ms. Schleicher said
yes. Ms. Schleicher thanked Ms. Fox for arranging for the
presentations. Ms. Sessions asked if the tickets purchased would be
good at any parking lot on the Island. Ms. Schleicher said yes this
will enable people to move to the other side of the Island with the
same ticket until their time runs out. Mayor Buelterman asked for a
projected timeline on this project. Ms. Schleicher said the North
Beach will be the easiest fix with just installing the machines and
removing the parking arms. She said the South Beach is a lot more
involved and they are working with an Engineer to develop two-way
traffic in that area. She said it would probably be late August or
September.
Diane Schleicher said the text amendment to the water & sewer cut off
ordinance is because they are changing their billing format and going
from a card system to a foldable system where the customer will
actually get an envelope. It won’ t be as likely to get lost in the
mail. She said the advantage to that system is we can add a lot of
public information in with the water bills. She said we have had a
late fee of $10.00 and a cutoff fee of $25.00 and instead there will
be a delinquency fee of $28.00. She said basically this will give the
customer a break because we are not getting to the cutoffs and this
system is not workable. Mayor Buelterman asked if he didn’ t pay his
water bill by July 1st it wouldn’ t be cutoff until the 10th. Ms.
Schleicher said yes. She said the only time an additional fee would be
charged would be if the city had to cut it on during non working
hours. Ms. Sessions asked that Ms. Schleicher make sure the public is
well informed of the change and requested the city take an assertive
stance but not aggressive. Ms. Schleicher said this is an important
service and they are paying attention to communicating well. Ms.
Williams asked when the new bills would go out. Ms. Schleicher said
Council Minutes
Page 5 of 14
at the first of the month. Ms. Williams said the customer would have
all month to pay. Ms. Schleicher said yes and the cutoff would not
happen for an additional 10 days but the delinquency charge will be
added after the first business day of the month.
Mayor Buelterman said the county commission meeting he and others had
attended left them confused about exactly what the commission wanted
from them regarding the SPLOST list. He asked what changes council
wanted to make concerning the List that they had submitted. Ms.
Schleicher said the city will receive an official notice regarding
what the county wants. She said her perception of what they want is
for the SPLOST list to be shorter. She said Public Safety seemed to be
their priority and also the county manager mentioned something not on
our list which was roads and storm water. She said she had talked to
the director of Public Works and he said it would take about $300,000
to do all the side roads East of Butler and about $200,000 or $250,000
to do Solomon if we decided to totally pave it. She said the County
Manager said we should at least have some roads on the list because
that was the original intent of SPLOST. Mayor Buelterman said they
should edit instead of subtracting and they should go down there and
fight tooth and nail for every dime of the money on the list. They
could use the statistics of how many people from the county are coming
to Tybee and how everything on that list will benefit them. Ms.
Sessions said they have Mayor Johnson’ s support and he stated that
Savannah and Tybee provide most of the recreation facilities for the
County. Mayor Buelterman said their mantra is if the county wants to
use population numbers for SPLOST then they need to use the July 4th
population and not by February 1st population. Ms. Williams encouraged
council members and concerned citizens to contact county commissioners
and make their views known. Mayor Buelterman asked if everyone agreed
to add funds on the list for roads and drainage. Ms. Schleicher said
it should go under infrastructure.
Jason Nobles, Director of Recreation introduced the special events
request to council. He said the first event is the Tybee Luau to be
put on by Tybee Fest on September 3, 2006 in Memorial Park. Mr. Nobles
outlined to council the cost of services they were requesting the city
to provide for this event saying it would cost the city $924.95 total.
He said $349.95 would be for Public Works services and the $575.00
would be for the use of city facilities. He said they have requested
that music be directed away from the residential areas.
Mr. Nobles said Parking Services did not sign off because they do not
want another event added to the already congested condition of the
island during that holiday. He said they also asked for use of the Gym
in case of bad weather. Mr. Wolff said he supports Ms. Conaway’ s
reservations and he is all for having special events to bring
additional people onto the Island but they need to focus on the
shoulder seasons before and after the summer vacation season. He said
Labor Day is already jammed and he would like to see the organizers
choose another weekend later in the month. He said he doesn’ t think
they should add to the Burden of the people that live here. Ms. Doyle
Council Minutes
Page 6 of 14
said she talked with the organizers and they said an event later on
Sunday Evening would help keep the people here for an additional night
instead of them leaving on Sunday.
Ms. Sessions said an event last year with music created a deluge of
calls because of the park being in a residential area. She asked what
type of music will be at the event. She suggested that music type be
added to the application so that the surrounding neighbors would know.
Mr. Paul Devivo of Tybee Fest said the band is called Big Pineapple
and they are from St. Augustine and they play Hawaiian music. He said
they stated this event at the request of a number of Tybee businesses.
It will be late Sunday afternoon at 4:00PM when the existing traffic
is starting to go home. It said it is a five hour event and they don’
t think it will impact traffic. He said they hope to accomplish
getting people to stay over for the additional night. He said they
hope to get Tybee businesses involved and make it a luau weekend. He
said for instance you could go to the Crabshack and you would get a
Hawaiian Leigh and their employees would dress Hawaiian. He just wants
to create a theme weekend and he doesn’ t see this becoming a big
event.
Ms. Sessions asked if Ms. Conaway had met with the organizers to share
her concerns. Ms. Schleicher said yes. Ms. Sessions asked where the
requested services would come from as far as the budget. Ms.
Schleicher said they would come out of the departments’ budgets. She
said normally the city would be compensated for services and
facilities provided but the organizers are requesting the city sponsor
this event.
Mr. Nobles introduced the next event as the Alee Shrine Festival to be
held on November 4. He said this is the local Shrine group and they
are requesting use of the Gym, Memorial Park, and Cafeteria and to
hold a parade on Butler Ave. to 16th Street. He said the total cost to
the city would be $1200. He said $500 of that would be for police
services to block the streets for the parade. Mr. Wolff said this is
the type of event the city should encourage because of it being in the
off season and bringing people to the hotels and restaurants.
Mr. Nobles said the next event is the July 3rd Fireworks requested by
the Tybee Tourism Council. He said total cost would be $2569.98
including Police, Public Works and Fire department. He said this year
the Fire Department will need to have three crews so that one can
remain at the station for calls and the other two can be on the pier.
Mr. Wolff suggested contacting the County to provide police support at
their expense because most of the people coming are from the county.
Mayor Buelterman agreed and said we should ask for help during the
Beach Bum Parade as well. Mr. Hughes said it would be an
intergovernmental agreement process. Mr. Wolff asked if that could be
done by the 3rd of July. Ms. Schleicher said she had talked with the
Chief concerning the lights at Johnny Mercer Blvd. She said generally
these are mutual aid agreements and the Chief feels comfortable making
the request.
Council Minutes
Page 7 of 14
Ms. Williams requested that all organizations that get an allotment
from Tybee be prepared to present their complete budget request for
next year so that additional funds will not be requested after
approval of the budget. She said in order to manage their finances
properly they need as much information up front as possible.
A concerned citizen requested that Council be aware of the extreme
heat and the illegal fireworks that are set off around July 4th. She
said they had a fire in Augusta and 28 firemen were overcome from the
heat last year.
Mr. Nobles presented the application for the New Years Eve Fireworks
to be held at the Pier that was submitted by the Tybee Tourism
Council. He said the cost to Tybee would be $411.98 for Police, Public
Works and Fire Department.
Mr. Nobles presented the application for the Pirates Fest in October.
He said the applicant is Tybee Fest and they want to have the event at
the South Beach parking Lot and have a parade through the streets. He
said the total cost for the event would be $2,648.18 for Parking,
Police and Public Works. He said Public Works will hang banners on the
street poles and is included in the cost amount. Also the city will
approve the electric hook up for the event in the parking lot but the
promoters will pay the cost of the electrical work. He said they would
only allow 10 parking passes. He said Parking Services reported a $600
loss of revenue for the 16th Street lot the year before. There will be
no on duty Police Officers but the event organizers will provide off
duty police officer through Tybee Islands Police Department. He said
there is potential revenue for the city through the vendor fees from
the thieves market. He said approximately half of the South Beach
parking lot will be accessible and open contingent on the pay and
display meters being installed. Mr. Wolff asked if the $600 had been
the amount in lost revenue from the same weekend from the year before.
Ms. Conaway said no the amount was estimated from the weekend before
the event. Mr. Wolff said that would be in September so he is not sure
that is comparing apples to apples. Ms. Conaway said it is all weather
related anyway. Mr. Nobles said the organizers proposed putting up
some type of snow fencing around the venue. Ms. Schleicher said it is
possible to have the pay & display meters installed by then. Ms.
Sessions asked what council can do to not dismiss Ms. Conway’ s
concerns. Mr. Crone said the only way to avoid parking problems is to
not have the event. Ms. Doyle said since Mr. Nobles said the
organizers just want to use half the lot that should eliminate the
problem Ms. Conaway has with the event. Ms. Schleicher said with or
without the pay & display meters it can be worked out so that parking
has half of the lot we can make it contingent on that. Mr. Wolff said
they need to make sure that Mr. Nobles works with the organizers to
make sure public safety is addressed and half of that lot can be used.
Mr. Nobles gave a brief status update concerning resurfacing the
Tennis courts. He said the company we contacted to resurface the
Council Minutes
Page 8 of 14
courts recommended that we contract with a local company to have
asphalt put down. Mr. Nobles said he had received quotes for asphalt
work in the range of $49,600 to $81,600 and that would be in addition
to the $5600 resurfacing cost. He plans to meet with the City of
Savannah tennis court expert to get advice on whether we should repair
or replace them and a recommendation regarding a local company. Mr.
Nobles said a guarantee is not possible at this time because of the
amount of cracks involved and the special treatment that is done on a
per foot basis.
Mayor Buelterman acknowledged the six members of the Memorial Park
Committee and said they will meet on June 27th and start working on
recommendations for the Playground Equipment that is due August 1.
Mr. Nobles announced the second movie in the series of Movies in the
park. It will be The Pink Panther and will be shown on July 29th at
9:00PM. He invited everyone to come.
Mayor Buelterman opened the business meeting with the following
consent agenda items, Private Parking text amendment to remove the
language allowing people to call the Parking Manager on any busy
weekend for permission to open and extend the hours from 8:00PM to
9:00PM, Ethics Committee member appointments which are Susan Hill from
the Planning Commission, Janice Elliott as Staff Liaison and
administrative support staff and Bobby Phillips appointed by Shirley
Sessions, Georgia Land Conservation Grant Application, Memorial Park
Committee, Alcohol Beverage License for Sea Dawgs and the minutes from
June 8, 2006.
Ms. Williams moved to approve all items on the consent agenda, Mr.
Pearce seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman asked council to approve the separate resolutions for
Jason Ball and his regiment and the Spouses. Mr. Crone motioned to
approve the Resolution for Jason Ball and his regiment, Mr. Wolff
seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff motioned to approve the resolution recognizing the Spouses
of the Regiment, Ms. Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman asked for a motion concerning the Arts Commission
appointments of Walter parker, Jim Wann and Jane Fowler. Ms. Sessions
motioned to approve the new members and also adopt the strategic plan
as presented, Ms. Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman introduced the Emergency Hiring Ordinance and
Emergency Procurement Ordinance and said they would vote on 1st and 2nd
readings during the next council meeting.
Mayor Buelterman asked for a motion concerning the requested budget
adjustment of $28,347 for Emergency Supplies to be taken from
contingency. Ms. Williams moved to approve, Mr. Wolff seconded and
asked how much this left in contingency. Ms. Williams said $2,000. The
vote was unanimous.
Council Minutes
Page 9 of 14
Mr. Wolff motioned to accept Duncan Technologies as the Pay & Display
Vendor contingent on contract approval by the finance department, Mr.
Pearce seconded. Ms. Doyle asked if there would be enough meters to
move some onto Tybrisa. Ms. Schleicher said yes. The vote was
unanimous.
Mr. Wolff motioned to approve the 1st reading of the Water Cut off
ordinance as written, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was
unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the addition of $500,000 for Roads and
Drainage to the original SPLOST list and leave the rest the same, Ms.
Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman told Ms. Brown that council does hold Public Hearings
at the first meeting of the month and the second meeting is city
business where visitors are encouraged however visitors are permitted
at the first meeting if they are listed on the agenda. Regarding
Police Procedures concerning the issuance of a warrant, Ms. Sessions
requested that Ms. Schleicher contact the surrounding municipalities
to see how they handle that. Ms. Sessions said there may be procedures
we can implement to reduce the trauma for the children. Ms. Schleicher
said some communities bring the department of Family and Children
Services to the scene if there is going to be children at the house.
Mayor Buelterman told Ms. Brown that they will check with other
communities and find the best way to execute a warrant with children
involved.
Mr. Pearce moved to approve the Luau on September 3rd at Memorial Park,
Ms. Doyle seconded. Ms. Sessions asked if the event needed a separate
license for alcohol. Ms. Schleicher said yes and Mr. Wolff said they
need a license from the state as well. Mr. Wolff asked Ms. Schleicher
if this was already budgeted. Ms. Schleicher said none of the event
amounts is already budgeted and that’ s why they are giving council
the information before approval. Mr. Pearce amended his motion to
include approval of the event only. Ms. Doyle seconded the amended
motion. Ms. Fox said in the past event organizers were billed for the
city services but this year the organizers are requesting donations of
city services. She said the city didn’ t know about the events so they
are not budgeted for. She said she advised Mr. Nobles to make sure
council was aware of exactly what event organizers were requesting.
Mr. Crone said on the Tybee Luau the only thing it would cost the city
would be $349.95. He said the $595 for the facilities would not be a
cost to the city. Ms. Sessions asked if the organizers were charging
citizens to attend this event. Mr. Devivo said no. Ms. Sessions
requested that if there are complaints from neighbors regarding the
music that our noise ordinance be enforced. The motion carried with
only Mr. Crone voting in opposition.
Mr. Crone motioned to approve funding the Tybee Luau, Mr. Wolff
seconded. Ms. Williams asked if Mr. Crone would consider awarding just
Council Minutes
Page 10 of 14
the facility fees and asking the event organizers to pay for city
services. Mr. Crone agreed to amend his motion. Mr. Wolff agreed with
the amended motion and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Alee Shrine Event on November 4, Mr.
Pearce seconded. The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the requested city services for $1200
because the Shriners do amazing things for burned children which this
kind of event helps with. Mr. Pearce seconded, and the vote was
unanimous.
Ms. Williams moved to approve the Fireworks Event on the 3rd of July,
Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce motioned to approve the city services requested for the
Fireworks on the 3rd of July. Mr. Wolff seconded. Ms. Williams asked if
the expenses were already budgeted. Ms. Fox said yes. Ms. Sessions
said the total expenses for the 3rd of July fireworks are $8,569.98.
Ms. Williams requested that all of these expenses be included in the
budget request for next year. The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Crone moved to approve the New Years Eve Fireworks Event, Mr.
Wolff seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Crone motioned to approve the funding for the New Years Eve
Fireworks, Mr. Wolff seconded saying this expense is relatively small
and this event benefits the businesses by bringing out people in the
off season. The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Pirates Festival Event on October 6th 7th
and 8th, Mr. Pearce seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Police Services only for $1335 for the
Pirates Festival, Mr. Pearce seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman told everyone about his trip to Washington to lobby
for Beach Renourishment funds. He said they are requesting 6.22
Million from the Senate. He said he would also attend the County
Commission meeting tomorrow to request $150,000 for Beach
Renourishment again this year.
Ms. Sessions gave council members a list of intersections on Butler
from 2nd to Tybrisa Street. She said council had prioritized a list of
concerns raised by the DCA team and citizens of Tybee and the number
one issue was safety not only on Butler Avenue but also along Hwy 80.
She said they have discussed how to slow down traffic for pedestrian
safety and a suggestion from that discussion was for Mayor Buelterman
to attend the next CUTTS meeting and start working with the DOT on how
we can get speed tables to slow traffic down. Ms. Sessions read a
report from the police department regarding incidents and crashes in
Council Minutes
Page 11 of 14
2005 and 2006. She said 3rd, 11th, 12th and 13th Streets do not have any
type of crosswalk for pedestrians or warning signs.
Mr. Wolff suggested a short term fix may be changing signs to create
more impact and also putting umbrellas type containers at the
crosswalks on each side of the street with orange flags for
pedestrians to carry as they are crossing the street. Mayor Buelterman
said he is going to attend the CUTTS meeting and bring the safety
concerns up with them. He also said they should discuss this at the
retreat scheduled for July 15th.
Ms Doyle said she would like for everyone to remember the issues at
the other end of town by Tybee Oaks and Sundance Square where there
are no crosswalks. She said there are people taking their lives in
their hands just crossing Hwy 80. She said there are many accidents
there with cars and it will not be long before a pedestrian is
involved.
Ms. Sessions asked if council had any power over installing crosswalks
at the intersections mentioned before. Mayor Buelterman said we may
have power to get the DOT to get them done quickly.
Ms. Williams suggested using a portable sign to warn drivers to yield
to pedestrians. Mayor Buelterman suggested sending a letter to the DOT
on Monday requesting warning signs at the four intersections that do
not have them. He said they could put a call in to Burke Day as Chair
of Public Safety asking for his influence. Also call the local DOT
folks and talk to them about it as well as addressing it at the CUTTS
Committee. He said we also want to suggest that the bumps or breakers
be put in. Ms. Sessions said to include the Hwy 80 issue also in case
they have to do a study it will get the ball rolling. She said they
should set a time frame of a week or two for a response. Council
requested Ms. Schleicher take care of sending the letters and
contacting our member of the house.
Mr. Crone said 35 miles an hour is to fast for cars to be traveling on
Hwy 80 and Butler Avenue. He suggested requesting a 25 MPH speed limit
during the summer months when the island is congested. Ms. Doyle
requested asking for a flashing light on 80 around Tybee Oaks also.
Ms. Sessions said according to the police report the majority of
speeding violations were 55 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. Ms. Sessions moved
to approve Ms. Schleicher sending the letter as described to DOT
asking for warning signs and crosswalks at 3rd, 11th, 12th and 13th
Streets and also including a warning sign and lights around Tybee Oaks
and look into the possibility of lowering the speed limit to 25MPH
from the beginning of the business district at Tybee Oaks on Hwy 80 to
the Park of Seven Flags. Mr. Crone seconded and the vote was
unanimous. Mr. Crone asked to preview the letter before it is sent.
Mr. Paul Wolff asked for council approval to send a letter to DNR
allowing us to move sand around between renourishments. He said this
is defining beneficial versus nuisance sand and identifying the fact
that there are places where it is accreting and causing problems. He
Council Minutes
Page 12 of 14
said there are places where it is eroding and causing bigger problems.
He said they want to establish blanket parameters in which individual
permits could be applied for eliminating a six month process. He said
it would be like when they wanted to remove sand from the crossovers
it was very difficult. Now they are allowed to call them up and say
they want to remove sand from a crossover and the DNR usually says yes
right then. Mr. Wolff motioned to approve sending the proposal to DNR
for review and ask them to send it back to council for approval. Mr.
Crone seconded. Ms. Williams asked if they could make a change on page
12 where it says the condition must be brought in writing to the City
Manager. She requested the Mayor and City Council be added to that as
well so that all applications must come to them also. Mr. Wolff said
anytime the city moves sand it will be moved within the sand sharing
system and will not be used to bring up an elevation on someone’ s
lot. Mr. Wolff and Mr. Crone accepted the change suggested by Ms.
Williams and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hughes addressed the letter sent by Jackie Brown requesting a lump
sum payout of insurance benefits that she receives from the city that
are paid under the early retirement plan. He said Ms. Brown and five
other employees fall under this plan. He said they are paying $343.36
a month and what she is requesting is the city pay it out now to her
in a lump sum and she forgoes any further claims for health insurance.
He said he checked with the GMA Attorneys regarding the Retirement
Benefit Package and they said it could be done with a couple of
reservations. The city would have to make the same opportunity
available to any other person in the early retirement category. Also
to avoid claims of a gratuity there would have to be a discount
applied and Georgia does have a statutory discount rate but he hasn’ t
calculated it. He said if council agrees to this an addendum would
have to be done to confirm with her early retirement that she has
requested this and agreed to it. He said he doesn’ t know what the
economic consequences would be if all the qualified employees
requested the same thing. He said they would have to offer COBRA if
they wanted to continue coverage at their own expense.
Mr. Hughes said with the GATSBY 45 coming out we will have to include
in the audit the actuarial cost of providing these continuing
benefits. He said if they all opted to take the lump sum payments the
city could avoid having to do that. Mr. Hughes said the downside could
be if Ms. Brown passed away prematurely then the city would have
already paid out the money that otherwise would have been a savings.
Mayor Buelterman asked if this was a common request from retired
government employees. Mr. Hughes said he has never heard of it and
neither had anyone at the GMA that he has talked with.
Mr. Hughes said Ms. Fox used a discount rate of 4 1/2 percent and it
came to $15,148.28 as a lump sum. Ms. Williams said they need to get
all of the data before making any decision on this. She said all
employees in this class should be contacted and they should have hard
numbers to look at. Mr. Wolff said he is concerned with the financial
Council Minutes
Page 13 of 14
impact this could have on the budget if everyone opted for the lump
sum payout. Mayor Buelterman said he would like to see if other cities
offer this. Mr. Hughes said he would get the numbers and report back
to council.
Ms. Sessions said she wants to commend the committees and non profits
that the city supports financially or otherwise, for providing their
minutes and reports each month. She said she would like to see more.
She commended the Beautification committee for the trashcan enclosures
they built for JC and Memorial park saying they look fabulous. She
said this began in 1985 or 86 as a committee appointed by council and
they have gone on to create their own non profit status to do
fundraising and continue to give back to the community.
Mr. Wolff asked if the 18 truck loads of debris that were hauled away
by DPW to clear 24 enforcement cases in zoning were billed to the
property owners. Ms. Schleicher said she would follow up on that.
Ms. Williams asked that the Emergency fund not be called the rainy day
fund because that money is to sustain the city in the event of a
catastrophic natural disaster. She said they cannot dip into it for
any little things. She thinks it is a misnomer to call it a rainy day
fund. It is an Emergency Fund and the public needs to understand that.
Mr. Wolff motioned to go into Executive Session to discuss,
Litigation, personnel and real estate, Mr. Pearce seconded and the
vote was unanimous.
Mr. Wolff moved to come out of executive session and adjourn, Mr.
Pearce seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Council Minutes
Page 14 of 14