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Meeting of 2006-08-10 City Council Minutes
Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Present in
addition to the Mayor were council members Sessions, Crone, Pearce, Doyle, Williams
and Wolff.
Also present were City Manager Schleicher, Assistant City Manager Anderson and City
Attorney Hughes.
Mayor Buelterman requested the following items be included on the consent agenda.
Minutes for July 27, 2006 with changes
Alcohol License for Tybee Tropics Pool Bar at Ocean Plaza
One Day alcohol permit for September 3rd at Memorial Park-Tybee Luau
Two Day alcohol permit for Oct 7 & 8 at South Beach Parking Lot-Pirates Fest
TEA Grant-Consulting Engineer’ s contract for Sidewalks from Theresa to End of Butler
Budget Adjustments
Approval for Friends of Tybee Theater to use allotted funds for King Mackerel Production
Emergency spending to fix sewer pipe on Jones Avenue
Ms. Sessions asked if the recycling issue had been resolved concerning special events.
Ms. Schleicher said the recycling containers were in place for the Music Festival last
weekend. She said perhaps the event organizers need to promote recycling in their
literature or announcements. She said the recycling bins would be in place for all special
events.
Mr. Wolff said the budget adjustment for an Air Conditioning unit at the Bath House at
the Campground seemed too high. Ms. Schleicher said the $9,000 is for multiple
bathrooms not just one. Mr. Wolff said that still is a high amount considering he did his
2000 sq ft house with central heat and air for $4500.
Ms. Schleicher said this is just the requested adjustment and is not indicative of the
amount the units will actually cost. She said they will get a minimum of 3 proposals for
best pricing.
Ms. Williams said they are reallocating the money for the Skate Park to be utilized for
the Guard House. She said they will be considering the Skate Park for the 2007 budget.
Mayor Buelterman asked how long the Guard House renovations would take. Ms.
Schleicher said the estimated time of completion was 165 days from the contract date.
Mayor Buelterman asked why the new drink tax estimate was so far off. Ms. Schleicher
said package sales were calculated in with the drink sales so they were overestimated.
Ms. Schleicher said last year the Council gave $4,000 to Friends of Tybee Theater for the
movies at the lighthouse. She said the movies are now a cooperation agreement and
have become the Movies in Memorial Park. She said Friends of Tybee Theater are
requesting to use that money for the King Mackerel Production to raise funds.
Ms. Schleicher said the approval for emergency spending came because of a cave in of a
sewer line on Jones that the City missed during the slip lining project last year. They had
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the cost estimate in hand and were able to arrange the repair. They did not get the
required three bids because of the emergency status of the situation.
Ms. Schleicher said the Contract approval for Hussey Gay Bell & DeYoung is for the
sidewalk project on Butler Avenue to bring the sidewalks into ADA compliance with curb
cuts that are handicap accessible. She said it would allow them to do the Engineering for
the sidewalks and issue the bid packages along with making sure we get all the
approvals from DOT. She said it is based on an hourly scale but will not exceed $25,805.
She said this is part of the TEA Grant and as soon as this contract is approved HGB&D
will issue a change of scope to the DOT concerning the grant in regards to it being used
for sidewalks instead of bike paths as originally applied for. She said they had received
early estimates of around $100,000 in cost including the Engineering and none of the
$80,000 grant has been used. She said the project should be completed in March 2007.
Mayor Buelterman closed the Agenda Meeting.
Mayor Buelterman called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:00PM on
August 10, 2006. All persons previously listed were still in attendance. Rev. Eddie
Adkins of All Saints Episcopal Church gave the invocation and the Tybee Memorial Guard
posted the colors. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Kelly Lewis of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center said they have had the best two
quarters in the history of the center. She said group program revenue was up 7 1/2 %,
public programs participants was up 26% resulting in revenues being up 29%. She said
visitors are up 6% resulting in revenue increase of 3% but it boosted the gift shop
revenue by 8.6%. She said they are implementing the new Tybee Island Discovery
Experience Programs. She said the center is now offering programs especially designed
for intimate groups at their convenience. She gave a Sea Turtle update and said there
have been 10 nests on Tybee which is up from last year and 5 have hatched so far. Ms.
Williams said the center has a tremendous volunteer group that has people sitting with
the nest every night in the days preceding the hatchings along with walking the beach
every morning. Ms. Williams thanked Lara Griffith for coordinating and all of the
volunteers that participate in that effort.
Bill Cannon of the Tybee Beautification Association announced the Adopt a Highway for
Saturday August 19, 2006 at 8:00AM at the Tybee sign. He suggested everyone come
dressed in proper attire with good shoes, gloves and a hat. He thanked Mayor and
Council for their continued support. He also announced the annual low country boil on
October 14th.
Mayor Buelterman opened the Public Hearing for the Zoning Variance for 15 Thirteenth
Street. Ms. Tsoulos said the petitioner Mr. Woodrum requested this be continued. She
said the request was for a lot reduction from the minimum lot size requirement of 6,750
sq ft to 6, 400 sq ft. to build a duplex. She said the planning commission recommended
denial of the petition. Mr. Anderson said the request to continue was made because of
illness. Mayor Buelterman read the opposition letter submitted by Edwin Hickey.
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Ms. Tsoulos presented the petition for a Special Review with Zoning Variances for a 10
Unit Condo at 13 Fourteenth Street by Petitioner Sheldon Hutton. She said Mr. Hutton
had withdrawn this petition. She said the planning commission recommended denial.
Mayor Buelterman asked that the 2 opposition letters received be included in the record.
Ms. Schleicher said regarding the Guard House recommendation the city had received
two bids. She said they recommend awarding the bid to Savannah Restoration. She said
their base bid was $345,800. She said the alternatives that are recommended are using
a simulated slate material instead of real slate for a savings of over $11,000 and is
LEEDS friendly. Also replacement of the Air Conditioning system at $8,000 is
recommended because of opening up the ceiling and adding additional square footage.
Also recommended is the addition of sprinklers in the building including the basement
and attic area at a cost of $20,000. She said the upgrade on the electrical was the other
alternate. She said it was done separately to see the breakout of that work and came in
at $56,800. Another alternate is weather stripping on all existing windows to make the
building more efficient at a cost of $900 and is another LEEDS element. She said the last
alternate was enclosing the lift area for $9,000 and would mean less maintenance and
the lift would last longer if it is protected from the elements. Bringing the total to
$429,518.00
Mr. Wolff asked if there was $350,000 in SPLOST funds for this project. Ms. Schleicher
said yes but they are proposing budget adjustments that will take care of the shortfall.
She said it will take 25 weeks after the bid is awarded.
Ms. Schleicher said the Tobacco use Policy started out as the Smoking Policy and
expanded to include all tobacco use. She said it states that no tobacco products will be
used in city buildings or vehicles. Also there will be no tobacco use for employees while
performing their jobs. She said there will be designated areas for tobacco use during
scheduled breaks and also the city will offer employee assistance to anyone wishing to
quit the use of tobacco products. She said while this is policy it can be expanded and
codified into part of the personnel code at council’ s discretion. Council thanked Mr.
Anderson for writing this policy. Ms. Williams asked when this could be implemented.
Ms. Schleicher said the policy can be implemented tonight but the ordinance proposal
would have to come through Mr. Hughes so that it would be in proper ordinance form
for adoption.
Mayor Buelterman opened the business meeting and called for a motion on the Consent
Agenda. He listed the items as; Contract for engineering work for the TEA Grant to
make the sidewalks ADA compliant and do repairs from Teresa all the way to the end of
Butler, Budget adjustments interdepartmental and projects, Friends of Tybee Theater’ s
request to use allotted money for King Mackerel Production, Emergency spending
approval for sewer line repair on Jones Ave, Alcohol License for the Tybee Tropics Pool
Bar at the Resort Inn at Ocean Plaza, Minutes from July 27, 2006, One day alcohol
permit for Luau on September 3rd, Two day alcohol permit for October 7 & 8th Pirates
Fest. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the items on the Consent Agenda as listed, Ms.
Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous.
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Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Guard House recommendation, Mr. Pearce seconded.
Ms. Williams thanked Mr. Crone and Mr. Chambers for their hard work on this project.
The vote was unanimous.
Mr. Crone moved to approve the Tobacco use Policy, Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote
was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman said Tybee had received more SPLOST money than any other
municipality. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions commended the Mayor for a job well done in
getting the needs of Tybee heard by the county. She said former Mayor Parker had
called to congratulate Mayor Buelterman on getting the extra money for Tybee. Mayor
Buelterman said it was a team effort with the whole Council being united on the list and
Pat Ferrell, Pete Lakakis, Richard Barrow, Burke Day, Pat Shay, Diane Schleicher, Jan
Fox and Dee Anderson contributing and Tybee Businesses made calls concerning the
Tybrisa Street project. Ms. Doyle added thanks to the City of Savannah and Mayor
Johnson for their support also.
Mayor Buelterman gave the SPLOST list items as, Tybee Beach Improvements, New
Administrative Facility, Fire Equipment, Water and Sewer Improvements, Green Space,
Qualifying Debt Retirement. Mayor Buelterman said if the Tybee Beach Improvements
does not include the 16th Street Project then we need to make sure it gets put on there
and sent to them. Ms. Schleicher said the County Improvements Program is where this
list will be fine tuned. Mayor Buelterman said he wants to make sure the South Beach
Revitalization Plan will be able to be funded out of this even though it is not specifically
mentioned. He asked if that would be included under Beach Improvements. Ms.
Schleicher said yes. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the stated list, Ms. Williams seconded,
and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Edward Hughes said retired City Clerk Jackie Brown had asked Council to consider
paying a lump sum to her for her Medical Coverage which would be buying out the
remaining contract for her healthcare benefits. Mr. Hughes said it can be done with an
agreement with Ms. Brown and COBRA notices. He said Ms. Fox had done an analysis of
the retirees that are in that category that would be entitled to the same treatment if
requested. The potential financial impact is and calculated at present value for Jackie
Brown and the other three people that are in that category. He said one of the person’ s
eligibility will end in December 2007. He said in Ms. Brown’ s case the calculated present
value of the stream of payments is $18,918 if it was paid now. He said if everyone
requested a buyout it would be $76,000. Mr. Wolff asked how this could be handled
with the budget. Ms. Schleicher said this is not a budgeted item so it would have to
come out of contingency. Mr. Hughes said in his communications with GMA they had
never had a request like this in regards to insurance. He said it is not unheard of but it is
not common. Mr. Wolff said the up side is the city would save between $2,700 and
4,600 on the three biggest retirees. Ms. Schleicher said the total calculated savings for
all four would be around $10,000 if they cashed out today. She said there would be
additional savings because the Auditors would not need to do the side bar reports
regarding these encumbered items and also insurance rate increases that might come in
the future. Ms. Williams said those savings would only be realized if all retirees lived
until their eligibility ran out. She said if this is done it would set a precedent for future
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request such as this that Council would not be able to deny. Ms. Williams moved to deny
based on the precedent this would set and the fact that this is not in the budget, Ms.
Sessions seconded. Ms. Sessions said using the contingency fund continually bothers her
and maybe this could be reintroduced at budget time for consideration. Ms. Williams
withdrew her motion and said she would be willing to table the petition and wait until
they go through the budget process; Ms. Sessions agreed. Mr. Wolff asked for
clarification concerning how long the city provided medical insurance to the retirees. Ms.
Schleicher said this was an early retirement agreement that was entered into a few
years ago that stated the city would provide benefits to the early retirees until they
qualify for Medicare. She said these four early retirees are the only ones that have this
agreement. Ms. Doyle said before this is considered again the other retirees that will be
affected should be notified. Mr. Wolff moved to keep looking at this and try to budget
for it, Mr. Pearce seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hughes said the GMA Gbiz agreement deals with enabling Utility Bills and Parking
fines to be collected via the internet through GMA. He said the cost is $4800. Mr. Wolff
said they are going to charge us a one time fee plus a percentage for every credit card
transaction that comes through this. He requested total numbers on the percentages.
He said it is definitely worth looking at because of the convenience it offers for people
making payments. Mr. Hughes said there would be a licensing fee involved as well. Ms.
Schleicher said the finance department would have a recommendation ready for the
next meeting.
Mr. Hughes presented the contracts with Duncan Technologies for the Pay & Display
Meters. He said there are actually three contracts with one being the products and
services, another being the software license and the other being an annual service
agreement. He said the contracts as presented have his and Ms. Fox’ s approval and
asked that Council authorize the Mayor to execute the documents along with Mr.
Hughes and Ms. Woods. He said essentially there would be 5 units installed for the
North Beach parking lot with the balance of the units coming in November. He said the
delays were because of the meters being made of Marine Grade Steel. Mr. Crone moved
to approve, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hughes said concerning the American Tower Lease that Council Authorized the
Mayor, Mr. Hughes and Ms. Woods to sign the finances on it have been finalized. He
said the revenue will be based on the square footage and will be $4825 a year spread
out over the months plus 10% of the cut on their subtenant. He requested Council
Authorize the Mayor, Mr. Hughes and Ms. Woods to sign the final documents after they
are e-mailed to Ms. Woods. Mr. Crone moved to approve, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the
vote was unanimous.
Mr. Hughes explained the ratification to the weed ordinance. He said many months ago
there had been a second reading on the weed ordinance and the minutes weren’ t clear
as to an amendment made during the course of the meeting regarding a buffer zone
abutting developed property. He said because the text of the ordinance didn’ t match
the minutes he recreated the ordinance to reflect what the minutes said. Mr. Pearce
moved to approve, Mr. Wolff seconded. Mr. Hughes explained that the original weed
ordinance allows for not cutting the weeds in a conservation easement. However the
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amendment stated that notwithstanding those exceptions if the conservation easement
is next to developed property then 5 feet of that conservation easement has to have the
weeds cut. Mr. Pearce said this was a compromise that he worked out when he
proposed the amendment and apparently it did not get recorded. The vote was
unanimous.
Ms. Schleicher announced the hiring of Campground Manager Woody Hemphill. His
experience includes being the Recreation Service Manager at Mt. Dora Florida and also a
Recreation Director in Lumpkin County Georgia as well as a Parks and Recreation
Director in Lady Lake Florida.
Mr. Wolff moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Personnel, Real Estate and
Litigation, Ms. Sessions seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce moved to end Executive Session and adjourn, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the
vote was unanimous.
_____________________________
Mayor Jason Buelterman
________________________________
Vivian O. Woods
Clerk of Council