HomeMy Public PortalAbout20061026_TybeeCouncilMinsCouncil Minutes
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Meeting of 2006-10-26 City Council Minutes
Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda Meeting to order at 6:30 PM on October 26, 2006. Present
in addition to Mayor Buelterman were Williams, Doyle, Crone, Sessions and Pearce. Mr. Wolff was absent
due to his attending a Coastal BETA Technology Awards Banquet. Also in attendance was Attorney Dana
Braun, City Manager Diane Schleicher and Assistant City Manager Dee Anderson.
Mayor Buelterman read the list of Consent Agenda items as follows:
Tybee Economic Development Committee By Laws
One Day Alcohol License for St. Michael’ s Church Men’ s Club
Agreement with Five and Fifty Films to use Police Facility for Film
Bellsouth Agreement for Surveillance Cameras and additional bandwidth
Ms. Sessions asked the amount in the contingency fund. Ms. Schleicher said there will be $120,996 left if
the budget adjustments are approved tonight.
Mayor Buelterman asked about the Beach Cleaning Equipment that was purchased last year. Ms.
Schleicher said DPW has been testing the equipment on the beach with the new tractor and will be using
it full time next week at around 7:00AM.
Ms. Sessions asked if a request for a waiver of vendor fees would not be handled with a form submitted
to the City Manager as established several years ago. She said they generated the form because they
were receiving request from visitors on the agenda with no information on the cost involved to the city.
Ms. Williams said the organizations need to ask for all the money needed during the budget process
because the city can’ t provide services that are not covered in the department’ s budget. She said Ms.
Fox has suggested that the City may need a policy on these kinds of requests to eliminate all but the
most extenuating circumstances.
Mr. Crone said there should be no recommendations given by staff it should be council’ s decision.
Ms. Schleicher said she was unaware of the form and process and assured council the procedure would
be followed. She asked Ms. Ingle if she would like to fill out the form and present it to council at a later
date with all the information needed for council to make a decision. Ms. Ingle said she would like to fill
out the form and follow the procedure so that council would have the requested information.
Mayor Buelterman called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:30PM on October 26, 2006.
Everyone listed as present during the Consent Agenda were still in attendance.
Mr. Chad Eason gave the invocation and the Tybee Island Memorial Color Guard posted the colors.
Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Buelterman and Kathryn Williams gave Outstanding Citizenship Certificates to the following
volunteers from the Marine Science Center for their efforts during the Turtle Nesting Season. The
honored volunteers were Monica Bailey, Michaela Cole, Pat Cummings, Sissy Farley, Jessica Farthing,
Michael Hall, Whitney Harris, Amber Hogfeldt, Peach Hubbard, Roy Hubbard, Karen Hulsey, George Anne
Inglis, Rob McLellan, Sandi Postle, Shannon Richter, Tammy Smith, Todd Smith, Cheryl Tilton, Ed Walton,
Linda Wright, Lara Griffith, Kristin Bartoo and kellie Lewis.
Wanda Doyle presented an Outstanding Citizenship Certificate to Charles Burel for digging 20 tires out of
the marsh to bring to the trash bash for recycling.
Ms. Sessions said City Staff is working on developing a special recognition reception for honoring the
many volunteers that we have on Tybee.
Mr. Lou Off presented the Beach Management Plan to Council. He said it’ s primarily to give the City a
tool for managing the redistribution of sand. Mr. Pearce suggested a few changes. Mr. Off said he
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welcomed all input from council members. Mayor Buelterman said they would take a look at it and make
suggested changes.
Mr. Hemphill announced the Campground Grand Reopening to celebrate the purchase of the
campground. He said it will be November 3rd and they will serve Hot Dogs, Smore’ s and conduct
hayrides. He invited everyone to attend from 6-8PM.
Ms. Hodges of the Tybee Neighbors gave an update concerning their group activities and announced the
next meeting on November 2, 2006 at City Hall.
Ms. Perkins presented a tree survey of the unopened Street area surrounding Solomon and Polk Street.
She said there is an extensive invasion of Chinese Tallow Trees in that wetland. She said she hopes the
city is making a commitment to heal this wetland by removing those invasive trees. She asked that a five
foot trail be cut through on Estill to allow people to enjoy the pine forest. She asked to approach the
Environment and Ecotourism Committee on this. She said she has a source on some good volunteers to
accomplish this.
Mr. Crone said Estill is the last high ground in that area and there is North Beach access on Polk and
there have been discussions about turning a portion of it into a parking area. He asked that the
Environment and Ecotourism Committee keep the parking area in mind while researching this because
that is the only area that we can put parking in.
Mr. Nesbitt of the Tybee Residents and Property Owners Association announced a reception to honor City
Manager Diane Schleicher and her husband John. He said it will be Sunday November 12, 2006 from 3-
5PM at the Old School Cafeteria. He invited everyone to attend. He said they are a new association and
they meet on the first Monday night of each month in classroom number 6 at the Old School.
Mr. Joey Solomon asked Council to consider asking Chatham County to have a Fire Hydrant put in on the
Crab Shack side of 80. He said there is no existing Fire Hydrant on that side of the road and their worst
case scenario would be a strong west wind and a structure on Spanish Hammock. He said the water line
is being installed across the Street for the new subdivision so now would be a good time to ask the
County for an intergovernmental agreement to accomplish that so that a fire would not close Hwy 80. He
said Commissioner Farrell suggested he ask council to approach the county commissioners. Mayor
Buelterman suggested a meeting with Mr. Solomon, Mr. Farrell, Mr. Lakakis and himself to discuss what
options they might have.
Mr. Solomon thanked everyone for showing up at the open house at the Fire Department and reminded
everyone to check their smoke detectors because they save lives.
Ms. Schleicher said city staff has been working with the managers of short term rental properties on the
island. She said the group is called TIARA (Tybee Island Association of Rental Agents). She said they had
a meeting last week with the Police Department and Zoning Department. She said they are scheduling a
workshop on Thursday November 16 from 6-9PM and representatives from Police, Zoning and TIARA will
be there. She said they will discuss the pro active things that are being done to deal with enforcement
issues and give the public a chance to have their concerns heard. She said they will notify people that
have submitted complaints regarding rental properties about the meeting.
Ms. Schleicher said the DCA Grant is for $40,000 to make improvements to the main entrance to Tybee.
She said they will work with Tybee Beautification to help with the concept. She said they do need to get
that project done in a year.
Ms. Schleicher introduced the text amendment to add a $300 fee for a Sunday Sales License. She said for
the last several years Tybee has been charging a combined fee for Sunday Sales and a Beer, Wine and
Liquor License. She said the department of revenue recommended separating the licenses for
enforcement purposes. She said staff recommended the fee for Sunday sales be set at $300.
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She said the other item is an entertainment license that is currently $50. being increased to $250. She
said this is for live entertainment.
She said the $250 fee used to be charged and they couldn’ t find the record of why it was decreased to
$50. She recommended that Council go back to the $250 fee.
Mr. Crone said he thought the city was trying to help our businesses not hurt them.
Ms. Schleicher said there is justification on the Sunday Sales License for a separate charge because of
additional bookkeeping and reviews that is required.
Mr. Anderson said the City of Savannah charges $190. for their Sunday Sales License and Thunderbolt
does not separate theirs. He said Thunderbolt does not have a separate entertainment license and the
City of Savannah’ s is based on projected revenue for the event.
Mr. Anderson said they researched and found an old license from 1995 that had a Sunday Sales fee of
$150 and the entertainment license was $250. He said they increased the fee because of that record
being from 10 years ago. Ms. Sessions asked if the staff was recommending this. Ms. Schleicher said yes.
Ms. Sessions said in looking at the fee list for licenses, this may be a good time to review the fees we
charge for all the businesses and bring them into alignment with other cities. She said they do not want
to put another burden on their businesses. She said she would like to see a breakdown of the cost
involved to the city for issuing and enforcing the licenses as they would owe an explanation to businesses
for the increase. Mayor Buelterman suggested keeping the entertainment fee at $50.00 and only
increasing the Sunday sales license by a nominal amount like $50.
Mr. Crone said we have Police Officers that are working 24 hours a day so it wouldn’ t hurt to have them
go into the bars licensed for Sunday Sales to see if they have a working kitchen. He said that could be
accomplished with no extra charge. Ms. Williams asked if everyone would be agreeable to tabling this
until next month when the budget is finished and staff has time to get the requested figures for them.
Mayor Buelterman said he had talked to legislators about getting a special entertainment district
established so that Sunday Sales would be allowed without a kitchen. He said he was told the whole
council had to agree on requesting that and it has to be in the form of a Resolution so the legislators can
take action on it. Mayor Buelterman said he would write a resolution and put it on the agenda.
Regarding the Action Items List, Mayor Buelterman asked for an update on removing the Jetties, Seawall
and Rip Rap from the North Beach area. Ms. Schleicher said they met with Col. Held from the COE and
asked them to look into the history and report on why the jetties were not removed earlier. Mayor
Buelterman said he would call Dan Parrot and ask for that report.
Ms. Doyle said there are so many meetings scheduled about the Buffer Ordinance for this coming month
that she and Ms. Tsoulos decided to postpone a Planning Commission and Council joint workshop until
January.
Ms. Williams said Mr. Hughes is writing a draft of the Animal Control Ordinance for Council’ s review at
the November 9th meeting. She said they have scheduled a public workshop for November 29th at
6:00PM and she will ask Todd to put the information on the website for review before the workshop.
Mayor Buelterman said concerning drainage they had received a list of projects from DPW and council
had requested a timeline on completion. Ms. Schleicher said she sent the list to Mr. Wilson, the DPW
supervisor and he is working on the list so she can present it at the next council meeting. She said they
would like to publish the list of projects that have been accomplished this year for the public to see.
Mr. Crone said that list is real old and needs to be updated. Ms. Schleicher said that is what Mr. Wilson is
doing.
Ms. Sessions asked for an update on the crosswalks and speed tables for Butler, Meddin and N.
Campbell. Ms Schleicher said she attended a Ga. DOT conference on pedestrian and bicycle safety. She
said she was able to network with Ga. DOT officials and express our concerns to them. She is meeting on
Tuesday with the regional Engineer to discuss Hwy 80 and how to make it safe on Butler Avenue.
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Ms. Williams verified with the clerk that the ordinances have been codified and are being shipped now
from Municode.
Ms. Schleicher said Mr. Smith was at a conference where the GMA was using the Tybee Website as an
example. She said people attending were saying that’ s what they wanted. She said we are leading the
pack on website design.
Ms. Schleicher presented the requested budget adjustments to council as follows:
DPW $11,537.76 New Truck ordered in
05 delivered in 06
DPW 80,000.00 New Back hoe
DPW 14,000.00 Additional overtime
Storm water (reduced) 75,000.00 GIS study delayed
Building Maintenance (reduced) 130,000.00 City Hall remodeling
delayed
Beach Related 150,000.00 Additional set aside for
Renourishment
Beach Related (reduced) 35,000.00 Beach Tractor
Purchased by DPW
Beach Related (reduced ) 3,910.00 Beach Equipment not
purchased
Contingency (reduced) 11,627.76
Police Equipment 10,000.00 Voice Logger
Mayor Buelterman said the City, County and State do a great job of setting aside the money for
renourishment every year. He urged everyone to contact Saxby Chambliss, Jack Kingston and Johnny
Isakson and urge them to abide by their part of the contract for beach renourishment. He said even if
Tybee sets aside more money they can’ t use it because it has to be 61% federal money.
Ms. Schleicher said she felt the best way to get the most stakeholders involved in the Master Plan process
early on was by involving a representative from stakeholder groups. She said this group will meet in
almost a staff like manner.
Ms. Schleicher introduced the proposed project team for the Master Plan as;
Arts Association Richard Adams
Historical Society Cullen Chambers
Tybee Neighbors John Major
Property Rights Carrie Efird
Tourism Council
Economic Development Keith Gay
Planning Commission Chuck Powell
City Council Shirley Sessions
Ms. Sessions said she wanted Tybee Beautification added to the list.
Ms. Williams said she wanted the Marine Science Center added to the list.
Mayor Buelterman said he wanted the Marine Rescue Squadron added to the list.
Ms. Schleicher presented a change order for IAM Construction for the Hwy 80 W/S project. She said in
one of the areas there is a large Oak Tree they want to protect. This is a direct quote to do a directional
bore for water and sewer for an additional $13,600. She said the engineer had checked with an arborist
and he said boring would increase the chances of survival for the tree. Ms. Doyle said this was brought
up during the Water Sewer Meeting and it seemed more feasible to have it done while the machinery is
still on the Island.
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Mayor Buelterman opened the meeting for business legally presented and asked for a motion on the
Consent Agenda items.
Ms. Williams moved to approve all items on Consent Agenda, Mr. Pearce seconded, and the
vote was unanimous.
Ms. Sessions moved to table the amendment to the license fees, Ms. Williams seconded, and
the vote was unanimous.
Ms. Williams moved to approve acceptance of the DCA Grant, Mr. Pearce seconded, and the
vote was unanimous.
Mr. Crone moved to approve the operational budget adjustments, Ms. Williams seconded,
and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce moved to approve the Master Plan Project Team with the additional members to be added
later, Ms. Sessions seconded. After discussion regarding the motion. Ms. Sessions moved to approve
the list of the Master Plan project team as follows:
Arts Association Richard Adams
Historical Society Cullen Chambers
Tybee Neighbors John Major
Property Rights Carrie Effird
Tourism Council
Economic Development Keith Gay
Planning Commission Chuck Powell
City Council Shirley Sessions
Tybee Beautification
Marine Science Center
Marine Rescue Squad
Ms. Williams seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce moved to approve the change order for $13,600 for IAM Construction, Ms. Doyle
seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mayor Buelterman nominated Carolyn Smith as his choice for the Ethics Advisory Board. Ms.
Sessions moved to approve Carolyn Smith’ s appointment to the Ethics Board, Mr. Pearce
seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce said the Georgia Ornithological Society has scheduled a meeting here in January. He said he is
requesting the city’ s support but it won’ t cost any money. He wants to advertise it on Channel 7 and let
the Tourism Council know. Mr. Pearce moved to support the event in January with no monetary
contributions but to officially support and welcome the committee and do whatever we can
to help publicize the event with the cable, website and marquee, Ms. Sessions seconded, and
the vote was unanimous.
Ms. Doyle requested that the Ecotourism Committee submit their meeting minutes to the Council so that
they would be able to keep up with what they are doing. She said she doesn’ t know when they hold
their meetings.
Mr. Pearce said they meet the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00PM at City Hall. He said he would
speak to the president about submitting the minutes to council.
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Mr. Pearce 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 open Regular Session, Ms. Williams
seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
Mr. Pearce moved to Adjourn, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous.
________________________________
Mayor Jason Buelterman
__________________________
Vivian O. Woods Clerk of Council