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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20070628CCMinutes2007-6-28 CC Minutes Mayor Jason Buelterman called the Consent Agenda Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Present, in addition to the Mayor were: Shirley Sessions, Eddie Crone, Mallory Pearce, Kathryn Williams, Wanda Doyle and Paul Wolff. Also present were Attorney Dana Braun and City Manager Diane Schleicher. Mayor Buelterman listed the Consent Agenda items as: Council Minutes for June 14, 2007 One Day Alcohol Permit for Peruvian Cultural Association August 4th or 5th. One Day Alcohol Permit for Savannah Chamber of Commerce August 16th. Extension of Buckley Property Contract. *** Mayor Pro Tem Sessions requested having a Planning Commission packet for new appointees put on the Action Items list. She said the list should contain duties and responsibilities of the position. Mayor Buelterman closed the Consent Agenda meeting. *** Mayor Buelterman called the Regular Meeting of the City council to order at 7:00 p.m. City Officials present at the consent agenda were still in attendance. Mr. Andy Lamon Trinity United Methodist Church gave the invocation and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Ms. Bacon representing the Skate park location committee gave their recommendation to Council. She said the committee looked at two additional sites when they found the North Beach site was too small. She said one was at DPW where there are currently some metal sheds and the other was the lot behind the police station. She said it is in an area the campground planned to expand into a super RV site. She said the site behind the police station s the best location with the parks being off the table at his time. Ms. Bacon introduced the committee members as Eric Alstad, Dick Smith, Alan Jones, Cindy Kinkle and Stephen Hines. Police Chief Jimmy Price requested the location behind the Police Station not be considered due to the Police vehicles being parked in the vicinity and the gas pumps and storage tanks for the city being located there. He felt it would be a safety hazard. Ms. Schleicher said the Department Heads believe it should be located in a park. Ms. Doyle said she would have liked to have paperwork submitted to council before this meeting for their review. Ms. Williams asked Chief Price if he believed the skate park should be located in a park. Chief Price said yes, he is not opposed to a skate park but it should be located in a public place. Mayor Buelterman said he received letters from Patricia and Terry Shell and Janice Haden, opposing the campground location. 1 of 5 Mr. Hemphill, Campground Manager said the city has planned all along to expand the campground into the proposed area. He said he is concerned that there will be safety issues with the 3-ton rigs that come down Fort Ave. every day all day long and the island children biking or walking to the area. He said they have been stringent in providing parameters as far as the programs the campground offers. He feels the skate park will stretch his staff and Tybee doesn’t have the infrastructure to provide parking. Mr. Lafavor lives on Van Horne approximately 1 ½ blocks from the proposed site. He said he opposes the location because of safety, having determined most of the City’s children reside on the south side of the island and would have to cross Hwy 80 twice. He asked about the hours of operation and how the site will be manned by city staff. He said if the skate park is located next to the police station Tybee will lose another historical structure because he will be forced to demolish the gas station to avoid a lawsuit. He said the property adjacent to the police station should be used to expand the campground and build a new public safety facility. He said he recommends other centralized locations that have been suggested as, next to the YMCA on Whitmarsh or in the 100 acre Park in Pooler. Mr. Bill Criner of Fort Avenue spoke in opposition and believes the recommended area is residential. He said the proposed parking is supposed to be for the beach to enable us to get much needed federal renourishment funding. Mr. Pinky Butler of Captains Row said he represents the Homeowners Association. He said they feel when you purchase a piece a property the right of enjoyment comes with it and locating a skate board park in that location would hinder their enjoyment. He said the City purchased the campground for 7 million and we are operating at a budget deficit of somewhere between $250,000 to $500,000 depending on who you talk to. He said he feels the best use is to expand the campground into that area because there is already water and sewer there. He said you make it into a highgrade area with $500,000 and $600,000 motor homes coming there and charge them a premium that will reduce the deficit. *** Mary Ann Miller representing Tybee Beautification said there are three ongoing projects the group is working on and they are; a gardening project, Tybee Prom and an anti-litter campaign. She said they are helping plant around the restored Guard House. Mr. Demery Bishop invited everyone to the Tybee Prom on Saturday, June 30th at the Legion. Ms. Sandy McCloud gave a presentation of how many cigarette butts are contained in the litter picked up during a Beach Sweep on Tybee. She said they actually counted that there is 10 to 1 more butts than regular litter. She said the butt stops that were placed on the pier and pavilion last year have made a huge difference there. She said they continue to have issues despite the butt stops and litter bags they added to the beach. She gave statistics concerning an International Coastal Cleanup and said 29% was smoking related debris. She announced their next Beach Sweep on September 22, 2007 at the pavilion. Tybee Beautification introduced their mascot “Naz-T-Butt”. Ms. Miller said the mascot will be seen locally and in town at events trying to publicize the litter problem with cigarette butts. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions thanked the local media and Tybee Beautification for providing publicity and helping get the word out. Mayor Pro Tem Sessions said Angela Beasley with Puppet People created the Butt. Ms. Williams said many of the wildfires that have started during this drought have been started with cigarette butts and also the tragic fire in S.C. that killed 9 firefighters started with a cigarette butt in the garbage can. She asked smokers to please dispose of their filters responsibly. 2 of 5 *** Sandy Major representing Tybee Neighbors gave an update on the Tybee Treasures Video. She said they had over 200 people show up for the preview at the cafeteria. She said it is shown on Channel 7 at 9:30-5:30 and 10:00. She said copies are available for $12.00. She said the generated funds will be used to update the video in the future. She said 48 volunteers collaborated and there were 1300 volunteer hours contributed to this project. *** Ms. Schleicher said she will meet with the residents and property owners of North Campbell on July 9th. She will be getting input from them to see if the speed bump that has been installed is doing its job. She said public safety department heads will be there as well as DPW. *** Ms. Schleicher said she had a meeting with Brad Gane from the DNR and Eric Olson. She asked about the marsh grass that was brought in on the high tides. She said our sand management plan said we couldn’t remove natural material from the beach. She said they will give us a waiver as long as we follow certain guidelines. She said they will be working on a plan to remove it from the most popular areas first. *** Ms. Schleicher said the special event request to hold an arts festival on a month to month basis had been pulled from the agenda by the organizers. She said the organizers already have a permit to do the festival in November. She said they were also given permission for July and August because the City Manager can sign off on events of that size. She requested guidance at the Council Workshop on what they want the parks used for. *** Mayor Buelterman gave an update on the Beach Renourishment situation. He said we should find out very soon if it is in the Senate Appropriations; which would be a very good thing. He said the Senate Appropriations on Energy and Water met at 3:00 today. He said they have had meetings with the Governor’s office, Lt. Governor; Senator Chambliss and Senator Isakson and Jack Kingston. He said we should find out soon if our request for 6.3 million is in the Senate Appropriations Bill. He said they have also been in contact with the Corps of Engineers to make sure if the money is there, the work can start on October 1st. *** Ms. Schleicher said the Tennis Courts are almost ready but there are a few low spots she wants corrected and the specs called for a green and blue tennis court and they are painted red and green. She said the contractor will make the repairs and repaint it and install the windbreak. She said the lights are scheduled to be in the park in about three weeks. She said they will have the lights go off at 10:00PM when the park closes. *** Ms. Schleicher said the Sports Lighting Proposal from Georgia Power is to replace the lights at the ball field that are about 30 years old and move them back. She said they are proposing a lease agreement that would be good for 60 months and then the rate will go down because it will have 3 of 5 paid for the capital cost of the lights. She said we can buyout the lease at anytime within that 60 month period. *** Mayor Pro Tem Sessions said the Pier and Pavilion Bathrooms are scheduled to be closed earlier due to vandalism. She said they are installing a fence on the pavilion that will be locked. *** Mayor Buelterman said he had not had his phone calls returned in trying to set up CoastFest. Ms. Williams recommended he call Susan Shipman. *** Mayor Buelterman opened the meeting for business legally presented and called for a motion on the Consent Agenda items as listed earlier. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Ms. Williams seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Pearce moved to approve the Sports Lighting Proposal for Jaycee Park, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the vote was unanimous. *** Mayor Buelterman read the votes for the Planning Commission Appointment. He thanked David Postle, Henry Levy, Ann Miller and Perb Fortner for applying for the position. Eddie Crone voted for Perb Fortner Mallory Pearce voted for David Postle Paul Wolff voted for David Postle Kathryn Williams voted for David Postle Shirley Sessions voted for Henry Levy Wanda Doyle voted for Perb Fortner Mayor Buelterman announced that Mr. Postle had been appointed to the Planning Commission with three votes. *** Mayor Buelterman and Council discussed the Skate Park and decided to put it on the agenda for their workshop on Monday and vote on it at the next council meeting. *** Mayor Pro Tem Sessions moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Real Estate and Personnel, Ms. Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** 4 of 5 Mr. Wolff moved to return to Regular Session, Ms. Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous. *** Mr. Pearce moved to adjourn, Mr. Wolff seconded, and the vote was unanimous. _______________________________________ Mayor Jason Buelterman ______________________________________ Vivian O. Woods, Clerk of Council 5 of 5