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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070426TybeeCouncilMinutesCity Council Minutes 4-26-07 Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda meeting to order at 6:30PM on 4-26-07. Present in addition to the Mayor were City Council Members Sessions, Doyle, Williams, Crone, Pearce and Wolff. Also in attendance were City Attorney Bubba Hughes and City Manager Diane Schleicher. Mayor Buelterman listed the Consent Agenda items as; Confirmation of Chief Financial Officer- John D. Redmond May 21, 2007 Resolution to use GEFA funding for the Ft. Screven Water Line. Tennis Court Reconstruction Proposals and recommendation Sand Arts Festival, May 4, 2007-North Beach 1 day Alcohol permit for American Diabetes Association, May 19, 2007 Budget Adjustment for $2,000 from 1110-52-1201 Studies, Survey’s, Consultants to 1110-52-1200 Professional Services for Pier Dedication Presentation. Minor revisions to recorded plat Section 5-130 (J) (2)-Rex Templeton, 18 Eleventh Place-Zone R-2 Mr. Julian Pathford from Georgia Power gave an explanation to Council regarding concerns and questions about emergency response times. Ms. Carolyn Smith gave the invocation and the Memorial Color Guard posted the Flag. Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions read the Proclamation for Volunteerism for the Month of April 2007. Patricia Miller Wann gave the yearly report on the Fine Arts Commission and requested a part time city position be established for a Cultural Affairs Liaison. Mayor Buelterman made announcements: Turtle Trot on Saturday, April 28th Reception for the new roof on the Tybee Theater on Sunday, April 29th at the American Legion. Movie Series-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on Saturday, April 28 at Dusk thirty on the side of the gym. Walter Parker Pier Dedication on Saturday, May 12th at 10:00AM at the Pier. Congratulations to Cullen Chambers for winning the prestigious Georgia Humanities Award due to his nomination by Governor Purdue. Ms. Williams asked all sponsors of the Marine Science Center Kayak Race to get their donations in by this weekend. Tybee Beautification is hosting a Native Plant Lecture and Sale at City Hall on May 5th Ms. Doyle announced the ribbon cutting for the new playground equipment in Memorial Park on Saturday, May 5th at 11:00AM as well as a YMCA event that will include hot dogs and cake. Mr. Jimmy Carter requested postponing the badge presentation to council. The Chairman of the Hope House announced their annual Tybee Tour of Homes on June 2, 2007 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. She requested 400 temporary parking passes for the day and also that June 2nd be proclaimed as Tybee Tour of Homes Day. Mr. Frank Shuman requested a speed bump be installed in the 1300 Block of Lovell Ave. He presented a petition to Council signed by the property owners. Page 1 of 10 *** Mayor Buelterman opened the Public Hearing on the Veterans Memorial and asked Mr. Tatum to explain the project. Mr. Tatum said an agreement has been submitted to Council. He explained the six sections of the agreement. He said the agreement states the statue would be placed behind the Cemetery facing Jones Avenue in Memorial Park. Mr. Tatum said the grounds would be no less than 30 feet and no greater than 60 feet which will allow for future expansion. Ms. Schleicher asked for clarification on the dimensions. Mr. Tatum said the Memorial would be no greater than 60 feet in diameter. He said it would fit between the Palm Trees on the Jones side. He said they measured 38 feet from the Skate Park and 28 feet from the Gate of the Cemetery. Mr. Tatum said the pavers would be engraved with veteran’s names and organizations and sponsors. He said all forms for paver purchases will be closely examined to make sure they follow those guidelines. Mr. Tatum said the only concrete to be poured will be for the monument itself and will be 10 feet in diameter and 2 feet thick which will help the monument stay in place and not shift. He said the pavers will be locked in place with sand. Mr. Tatum said the lighting around the monument will come from four poles placed around the site and will be designed not to infringe on the surrounding houses. He said the lines will be underground. Mr. Tatum said there will be an agreement between the Veterans Committee and the City of Tybee Island and the fund set up for pavers and donations of sponsors will provide for the care and maintenance of the monument. He said the fund will also pay for any future expansions of the monument. He said the monument will be designed to require as little maintenance as possible. He said they will not ask for money from the City or Tax Payers to maintain this monument. Mr. Tatum said they have applied to the State to be a non profit but have not received IRS approval yet. Mr. Kindrick of the American Legion Post #154 said they made a $2,000 donation to the veterans’ memorial because their post was the home of the 8th Infantry when they returned home from World War I in 1933 and formed the American Legion here. He said when he became commander in 2002 the 8th Infantry unit was still around and the 13 survivors were all over 90 years old. He said 9 of the 13 veterans attended the last reunion where they retired their colors and bank account. He said they gave the last $822 to the American Legion. He said the American Legion Officers decided to take that money along with enough money to represent the fourteen past commanders of the Legion Post on Tybee totaling $2,000 and donate it to the Veterans Committee to help offset some of their initial cost. Mr. Kindrick said the park was dedicated to the veterans that served in WWII. He presented a picture of the original ceremony dedicating the WWII Memorial that stood where the Library is today. He said at that time the park was renamed Memorial Park. He said the original monument stood about 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. He said when that was torn down they took the plaque and put it on the Granite piece that is out front now. He said they hope to take that plaque and incorporate it back into this new memorial. Mr. Henry Levy said he is in favor of this memorial. He said architecturally he recommends moving the dog park to the end of an unopened street and place the Veterans Memorial in Memorial Park on Butler Avenue in front of the Gym. Page 2 of 10 *** Mayor Buelterman opened the business meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions moved to approve the Veterans Memorial project contingent on the final location being determined either in front of the Cemetery after input from Tybee Beautification and staff; or another prominent location on Butler. Mr. Hughes recommended adding that once the recommendation is made, it come back to City Council for final approval. Mr. Pearce seconded. Mayor Buelterman requested the motion be specific to having the Veterans Memorial located in Memorial Park. Ms. Sessions and Mr. Pearce agreed. Ms. Williams asked if the agreement would allow for construction to begin before the entire fund amount is established. Mr. Hughes said he could specify in the agreement a minimum amount of funds have to be on hand before construction begins. And the vote was unanimous. *** Ms. Schleicher gave Council updates on the Automated Meter Reading Equipment. She said after due diligence she feels it behooves us to go with the fixed network system. Ms. Williams asked if this system would be capable of detecting leaks. Ms. Schleicher said yes, it is a real time system and would send out an alarm regarding constant water usage. *** Ms. Schleicher said if the Tennis Court Bid is approved tonight, the project will be completed in 60 days. *** Ms. Schleicher said the Beach Bum parade has been held on Memorial Day Weekend in the past but this year it will be on the 18th due to safety concerns. She said the city is going to rent a flashing DOT sign warning visitors about rolling up their windows and locking their doors to avoid getting wet. After discussion regarding crowd control, Ms. Schleicher said the Police Chief can contact Savannah Police to request assistance. Ms. Sessions reminded everyone that: no water balloons are allowed, no pressure washers and no wetting Police Officers. *** Mayor Buelterman asked Council for permission to hire Eric Olson to take a look at the Seawall to gain strategies to remove it before renourishment. *** Ms. Williams requested postponement of the Landscape Plan for Memorial Park until September, due to the drought. She asked that the postponement be added to the Action items List. She expressed a need for a parking plan in Memorial Park to address parking away from meters. Mayor Buelterman asked that this be discussed at the next Council Workshop. *** Page 3 of 10 Mayor Buelterman restated the Consent Agenda Items as listed earlier during the Consent Agenda Meeting and called for a motion. Ms. Williams moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Ms. Williams commended Ms. Rutherford and Mr. Majors for serving on the interview team for the new CFO and expressed appreciation for the packet of information given to Council. *** Mayor Buelterman asked Council about the Part Time Cultural Liaison as requested by the Fine Arts Commission. He said we need to look into budgeting for it in the next budget cycle. He requested the Commission look for Grants to help fund the position. Ms. Schleicher said a lot of times there are opportunities for grants to pay for this type of position for the first three years. Mayor Buelterman suggested that he, Ms. Schleicher and Ms. Wann meet and discuss grants and particulars. *** Ms. Williams moved to approve the requested 400 one-day parking passes for the Tybee Tour of Homes and declare June 2, 2007 Tybee Tour of Homes Day, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Pearce moved to approve the Beach Bum Parade on May 18th, Mr. Crone seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Pearce moved to approve Mr. Shuman’s request to install a speed bump in the middle of the block of 1300 Lovell Ave. Ms. Williams seconded and the motion carried with Pearce, Williams, Sessions, Wolff and Doyle voting in favor and Mr. Crone voting in opposition. *** Mr. Pearce moved to approve for 2nd Reading the Text Amendment to Section 4-050 of the Land Development Code under district use regulations C-1-Dwellings or structures rented for special events. Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Ms. Doyle moved to approve for 2nd Reading the Text Amendment to the Soil and Sedimentation Ordinance, putting the exemptions back in and reverting to the state model. Mr. Pearce seconded. Mr. Wolff said there was confusion at the last meeting that influenced his vote. He said he thought they were voting to add the exemptions back into the existing ordinance for Tybee. He said according to the Clerk they voted to adopt the state model that does not offer protection to Tybee. He said it doesn’t have any definitions for minor land disturbing activities which are going to be allowed if we put the exemptions back in. Page 4 of 10 Ms. Doyle said her understanding was they were adopting the model ordinance until they could hold a workshop to see what additions to the ordinance would be needed for Tybee. Ms. Williams said she feels they would be doing a disservice to the Island if they adopt an ordinance that does not apply to Tybee. She said it is critical that the definitions be included. Ms. Sessions announced the public workshop on May 14, 2007 at 6:00PM. She said once they have the workshop and get the input from the public as well as Planning Commission and Council they will have a clear understanding and hopefully come to an agreement on what is right for Tybee. Mr. Brown said the Planning Commission’s recommendation was to put the exceptions back into the Tybee Ordinance. He said they only addressed the exemptions. Mr. Hughes said the motion for the 1st reading was to reinstate the exemptions and use the State Model Ordinance which was not what the Planning Commission recommended. Ms. Doyle asked the Clerk to restate the motion. Ms. Woods restated the motion as; Ms. Doyle moved to approve for 2nd reading the Soil and Sedimentation Ordinance with putting in the exemptions and reverting to the State Model. The vote tied with Doyle, Crone and Sessions voting in favor and Pearce, Williams and Wolff voting in opposition. Mayor Buelterman broke the tie in favor of the motion and 2nd reading. *** Mr. Pearce moved to approve for 2nd reading the text amendment to the Municipal Code Section 12-1 Beach Rules and Regulations- to add subsections:12-1a(14) Jumping or diving from the pier or public structure and 12-1a(15) Walking or climbing on public structures. Mr. Crone seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Mayor Buelterman said he thinks the City should maintain the ball field at Jaycee Park. Mr. Crone said Jimmy Bostwick with the city has the tractor with the screen to pull behind it to level the field. Mr. Crone said we need some clay to fill in the holes. Mayor Buelterman requested that an updated lighting system be put into the budget for next year. He requested the City Manager look into a way to address the maintenance of the ball field. He requested that safety pads be installed around the poles in the outfield to protect the players. *** Mayor Buelterman said when the emergency warning siren goes off everyone on the island can’t hear it. He requested they look into a voice system that you can actually talk through. He said he wants the city to move forward with getting an Island wide warning system to include voice notification. Mr. Crone recommended they put a system in that will last 20 years. Mayor Buelterman said they now have solar powered that will work even if the electricity goes out. Mayor Buelterman requested this be added to the Action Item list. Ms. Schleicher said we would need to look for budgeting and possibly installing it next year. She said they would start conducting the research. Mayor Buelterman recommended having a public awareness campaign to encourage people to purchase weather radios. He said no matter what system we install it will not be able to penetrate into homes. *** Mr. Wolff thanked the Ethics Advisory Board for their year and a half of grueling effort to create the draft of the Ethics Ordinance. He listed the members as Fretwell Crider, Sue Off, Ann Miller, Randy Bryan, Roma, Carolyn Smith and Linda Gladin, Chairman. He said this group has done a Page 5 of 10 great job. Mr. Wolff moved to approve for 1st Reading the Ethics Ordinance, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous. The Ethic Committee Members thanked Janice Elliott. *** Ms. Doyle requested the City take over hosting the Christmas Parade because of the liability expense for Tybee Fest. She said the Economic Development Committee felt this could be done in conjunction with Lights on for Tybee. Ms. Doyle asked if a City Committee sponsored the event if it would fall under the City’s insurance. Mr. Hughes said it would be covered by the City’s Insurance as long as it is a city function with city personnel or volunteers for the city involved. Ms. Sessions asked Ms. Schleicher to check the Insurance Policy to make sure it will cover events like this. Ms. Doyle moved to approve having the city take over the Christmas Parade in conjunction with Lights on for Tybee, contingent on Mr. Hughes checking on the Insurance to see if we need a Ryder on our policy. Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Ms. Williams proposed the City of Tybee reactivate the Downtown Development Authority which would include all businesses in C-1 and C-2 districts. She said their goal is to reactivate it tonight and to host a meeting in May. She said she is trying to schedule a meeting in which speakers would include Rick Winger of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, Chris Miller with Creative Coast and Lisa with Broughton Street Revitalization. Ms. Williams said Mr. Hughes is working with Tom Gray who is an expert on Authorities. She said Ms. Doyle, Ms. Marshall and herself will be attending training in June. Ms. Williams said in July they would like Council to appoint members to the DDA. She said the appointed members would have to attend training as a state requirement. She said their training would be scheduled for October in Columbus. Ms. Williams moved to reactivate the Tybee Downtown Development Authority inclusive of the C-1 and C-2 districts. Mr. Wolff seconded. Ms. Sessions thanked Mr. Gay, Chairman of the Economic Development Committee along with Ms. Williams and Ms. Doyle for their leadership. Mayor Buelterman asked if the Tax Allocation District could be done through the DDA. Mr. Hughes said that can be done without the DDA. He said the DDA couldn’t create a tax allocation district because they are an area of their own but they could be a beneficiary of the tax allocation. Mr. Wolff said he had attended the training and we could set up a TAD and the DDA could be the administrator of the funds. He said that way it could be directed to the business district that is generating the tax revenue. Mayor Buelterman noted that we need to be careful of the possibility of the DDA spending or getting funds and the taxpayers might have to foot that bill eventually. He said it is rare but he has heard that has happened. And the vote was unanimous. Mr. Hughes said there will be a resolution with the member’s names that will in fact activate the authority in July. *** Mr. Hughes explained the proposed Text Amendment to require that on Construction Sites containers containing debris and trash be covered at the end of the work day or weekend to prevent debris blowing all over the island. On sites where there are no containers or dumpsters they would have to put it in a confined storage area to keep it from blowing away. Ms. Williams moved to approve for 1st reading, Mr. Pearce seconded. Mr. Crone asked if that would apply to the trucks carrying trash and debris from the Island. Mr. Wolff said there is a state law that requires that you have to cover your load before leaving a job site. Page 6 of 10 Ms. Schleicher said she would convey to the Police Chief the concern over airborne garbage. Ms. Doyle asked who would enforce this when there is no enforcement on job sites to get the trash into the dumpsters. Ms. Williams said the Litter Committee of Tybee Beautification requested this ordinance. She explained that this would eliminate the excuse being it must have blown out last night when there is trash on a job site. She said it will also prohibit people from putting things in construction dumpsters during off hours. The motion passed with Williams, Pearce, Sessions and Wolff voting in favor and Doyle and Crone voting in opposition. *** Mayor Buelterman commended Mr. Hemphill on the great feedback he has received from the public regarding the campground. Mr. Hemphill said he has a great staff. He explained that the survey will help them know if they are meeting the wants and needs of the campers utilizing the campground. He said the cost is $1800 and bulk rate postage for every response that is mailed back. Mr. Hemphill said the cost will come from his department budget. Ms. Williams asked that the Marine Science Center and Fort Pulaski be added to the local attractions list on the survey. Mr. Hemphill agreed. Ms. Sessions asked that we take the customer service survey idea and apply it to other departments with the city to see how they are performing for the customer on a daily basis. Ms. Schleicher said she would talk with department heads on how our website can be more interactive where we can receive responses and who would be responding to the customer. Ms. Sessions asked if we have a web counter. She said she would be interested to see how many hits are for the city code or what other departments. Mr. Crone moved to approve the Campground Customer Service Evaluation contract with MacKinnon, Ms. Doyle seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Hughes explained the concept of condominium conversions and Condotels. He said this in reference to the Seabreeze project. He said he sent an e-mail earlier this month about provisions in state law that basically prohibit local government regulating forms of ownership as opposed to use of property. He said condominium is a form of ownership and anything can be owned in a condominium form under certain circumstances. He said he has conducted research and these are not uncommon situations. He said if you Google condotel they are all over the world. He said it is a hotel in which the units are owned individually but there is a rental office on the premises where an individual can rent rooms and the income would go to the actual owner. He said there would be cost and fees generated by the person on site or the management company along with maintenance of common areas. He said Hotel Motel taxes still have to be paid. Mr. Hughes said our zoning code assumes a condo is a residence with a couple of bedrooms that someone decides to move in. He said parking for instance is different for a condominium than for a Hotel. He said you can have valid density restrictions but you cannot regulate the form of ownership. He said for example with respect to the Seabreeze, their professed intention is to use it like it is now and they are not making any structural changes. He said they are an investment for the people who buy it but it keeps the market available for the people that rent rooms on a short term basis. He said obviously profit is the driving force. Mr. Hughes said GMA sent this to the International Municipal Lawyers Association because they hadn’t been asked and this is happening all over Georgia. Savannah and Chatham County have been seeing these types of conversions. He said the IMLA’s response was, if it is simply a change of ownership form and there is no construction changing from a hotel to a dwelling unit then it Page 7 of 10 would seem the Georgia State law would apply. He said if they were adding kitchens then the units would not be physically identical but this is not the case with the Seabreeze. He said he has a copy of the form Savannah uses when there is a change of occupancy and believes we should have this included with our Policy in the Zoning Department. He said he obtained a copy of an ordinance from Dewey Beach Delaware that lets you treat conversions if they trigger things other than just the form of ownership as only permissible by special use permits. He recommended Council review it for consideration. He said our biggest problem with this is parking and density in general but if the physical structure does not change and the only change is ownership then there would be no additional impact. Ms. Sessions said her concerns are that we do not have it identified in our codes. She said there is no definition. She said what we do have in our code addresses that particular street (Tybrisa Street) and the automatic use there is Hotel/Motel and condominiums are allowed above businesses but they have different restrictions such as parking. She said she feels as if they are allowing someone to change the rules and use without their knowing about it. She feels Tybee should take ownership of what they are allowing to happen and require them to at least have a special review before council to look at the parking. She said she thinks they should not rely on the State Law to govern this and sit back and allow this to change the complexion of the Island. She said we should at least address this in our code. Mr. Wolff asked if the same fire regulations would apply if ownership changes because Hotels and Motels are fairly well regulated and this could be a public safety issue if they are not required to have for instance a common alarm system or sprinklers. Mr. Hughes said Gregory Anderson of the Chatham County Inspections Department indicated there would be no code changes applicable as a result of this sort of change if they don’t physically change the structure. Mr. Wolff asked if there would be an association or management company that would oversee the maintenance of the safety equipment. Mr. Hughes said the State regulations would be applicable. Mr. Hughes said Ms. Sessions has a valid concern about the economics of this because it could possibly result in Hotels and Motels being gone because people want to have the investment property. He said Council can have control about the area in which this is allowed to happen. He said they do not have to allow condominiums in the entire commercial zone. He said some areas could be Hotel Motels only. He said parking does make density part of the issue and it might be a factor. His recommendation is that Tybee look at the parking requirement, the location and the setback issue because they are different for Hotels and residential type Condominiums. Ms. Williams asked if there would be anything that would prevent someone from buying a Condotel and living in it full time. Mr. Hughes said no. Ms. Williams said she talked with Burke Day and he said if they have specific concerns they could send those to him and he would check into them on the State level and see if there were changes he needed to make or promote on the state level. Mr. Hughes said they should look at the ordinances and regulations and perhaps add a C-3 where you regulate different uses in different areas. He said they have to keep in mind that if they allow an apartment building or a Hotel/Motel it can probably be converted without triggering a review. He said they might want to restrict the uses in the commercial zone where those uses are permissible. Ms. Williams said there are several old apartment buildings that are in R-1 or R-2 and today that would not be an allowed use. She asked if the owner could subdivide it into condos and sell them. Mr. Hughes said Condos are not an allowed use in the residential zone. Ms. Sessions said she believes there are differences in the requirements for Hotels versus Condominiums; and parking spaces and setback requirements are different for residential units which define condominiums. She asked if they are going to address this issue now. She asked if Page 8 of 10 Condotels are going to be added to our land Development Code and if they could dictate that all Condotels have to come before council for a special review. Mr. Hughes said it is Council’s call as to what they want him to do in respect to the project that is going on now. He said all he can do is tell them what the law is and what their chances are on the issues. He said he thinks that parking is a legitimate density control but he thinks this is not a very strong case to test that issue on. Mr. Crone asked Mr. Hughes to look at the issues involved and compare to our land development code and see if there is a way to stop it. He said if there isn’t anything in our codes to stop this project then we need to put something in to cover the next project. Ms. Doyle said she thinks Council is missing the definition as given by Mr. Hughes of what a condotel is. Ms. Sessions said if our ordinances don’t hold up as far as what we can and cannot control locally then we have no choice but to adhere to the State rules. Mr. Hughes said the State law is really unique in there are almost no other provisions like this in the context of the local governments zoning power where they come out and expressly say you cannot do this. He said most of the time you can be stricter than the state standard except when they’ve done preemption and here they have preempted. Mayor Buelterman said they should address it quickly if there is a desire by council to stop this practice. Ms. Williams said it concerns her that all this information is out there and this has never been brought to their attention by staff. She said in researching she found there are dockaminiums out there and they need to decide if they want people selling half of their docks. She said our staff has got to be more proactive on keeping up with the latest trends and bringing them to Council’s attention so they can address them and guide the future instead of things just happening. Mr. Hughes said the concept is Council has the power to regulate use not ownership. He said they could possibly have a zone in which short term occupancy is the only one permitted. He said that would require that even if it is owned in a condominium form it has to turn over. Mayor Buelterman asked that staff participate in the research on this issue as well as Mr. Hughes. *** Ms. Williams moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Litigation, Real Estate and personnel, Ms. Sessions seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Wolff moved to go into Regular Session, Mr. Pearce seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Pearce moved to adjourn, Ms. Sessions seconded and the vote was unanimous. ______________________________________ Mayor Jason Buelterman Page 9 of 10 ______________________________ Vivian O. Woods, Clerk of Council Page 10 of 10