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HomeMy Public PortalAbout19720524CCMeeting1 i 1 Savannah Beach, Georgia May 24, 1972 The Regular Monthly Meeting of City Council was held this afternoon at 3100 P.M. in City Hall Council Room. The Meeting was presided over by Mayor Michael J. Counihan and the following Councilmen were in attendances Edward Jung, Robert F. Cary, James Stettler and George Schwarz. Also in attendance were City Attorney Bart Shea and Police Chief John J. Price. Visitors at the Meeting were Charles Masterpolis, 011ie Palmer and Mrs. Evelyn_Butler, Weis Snell, Allen L. Hendrix and news reporter Stan Bowman. Mr. Snell, who is in charge of the Tybee Museum, appeared before Council to request several things for the Museum which he stated were urgently needed and had been needed for a long time. He listed eight items as follows: (1) Re -coat roof and secure against moisture (at the present time the•old tar is cracking off). (2) It is requested that $1,000 per year be budgeted to be used by the Director to maintain and upgrade the exhibits (such as show cards, security alarms, and additions, painting, etc.) (3) Install two air conditioning units - one unit in the upper hallway and one over the entrance door. (4) Replace water- damaged plywood and supports of display cases. (5) All display cases be given one coat of good paint. (6) The two dehumidifiers need to be worked on. (7) The badly rusted army tank needs painting and scraping. (8) Reorder 10,000 brochures. Mayor Counihan informed Mr. Snell that he would get together with him some time in the near future; and also Mr. Thomas Reed, Superintendent of D.P.W., in order to see how much of this work we can do with our own forces, He stated that what we could not do with our own forces we would have to do on a bid contract. The Minutes of the Meetings of March 15th, 1972 and April 19th, 1972 were approved as written. 59 60 Finance Chairman Edward Jung, presented Council with the Budgets for the fiscal year May 1, 1972 to April 30, 1973. He first discussed the general budget. This budget anticipated a revenue of $410,500.00 for the coming fiscal year. Chairman Jung noted that there were increases all along the way, both in the appro- priations and also in the anticipated revenue. He particularly noted provisions in the appropriations for a new fire truck. Motion was made by Councilman Cary that this budget be adopted. The motion was seconded by Councilman Schwarz and unanimously carried. BUDGET - GENERAL FUND Councilman Jung then read the Water Fund Budget. Councilman Cary moved that this budget also be adopted. The motion was seconded by Councilman Schwarz and unanimously carried. BUDGET - WATER DEPARTMENT Councilman Jung informed City Council that on Monday, May 15th, he, Mr. Paul Ramee and E. M. Patterson, City Clerk, went to Washington, D.C. and, in the company of Senator Talmadge, appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee headed by Senator Stennis to plead for the appropriation of the Federal share of our Beach Erosion Protection Grant. TESTIMONY OF SENATOR TALMADGE Councilman Jung informed Council that in the opening remarks to the Committee by Senator Talmadge, he told Senator Stennis that he was only sponsoring two bills this year- -one, the Savannah Beach Erosion Bill and the other was the Chattahoochee River Project near Atlanta. Mr. Jung stated further that he felt we got good results in Washington and he was hopeful the money would be in the 1973 Federal Budget. City Attorney Shea stated that on yesterday, Tuesday, May 23rd, he met with the Corps of Engineers and said that we would have to complete the acquisition for the property needed for the Beach Erosion Project. He said that, in addition to this property, there were two areas on the beach that would either have to be condemned or we will have to obtain easements and rights of way over it. One, he said, was at Lovell's Point where there was some property on which taxes were still being paid and which was under water. He stated that he was at the present time getting a list of these property owners and that they would each one be contacted personally in an effort to obtain the necessary ingress and egress. He said that this was necessary because in the re- nourishing process the pipe line from the south end to the north end would be run on the beach side of the sea wall. He then asked Council for permission to negotiate with these property owners for 1 1 1 1 61 the necessary permissions for ingress and egress; or, if this is not possible, then to proceed with condemnation. Councilman Schwarz moved that Attorney Shea be permitted to proceed along these lines. The motion was seconded by Councilman Cary and unanimously approved. Bills for the various departments were approved for payment. Councilman Schwarz, reporting for the Committee handling the paving of the Tybrisa property, reported that since the projected paving was to be from the Strand Line to the sea wall, they were waiting for the Strand Line to be located by surveyors. Councilman Schwarz stated to the Mayor that since there were only two members on this important Committee, he would like to see another one named to it. Mayor Counihan stated that this would be taken under consideration and another member named to it. Attorney Bart Shea stated that he would like to be an ex- officio member of that committee due to the fact that he was going to have to negotiate with Mr. Lou Thompson in regard to the 16.4 feet he owns along the board walk. Councilman Schwarz stated that he would get together with Mr. Shea at a later date. Councilman Cary, Chairman of the Police Committee, stated that his committee had received an application for a beer license from Mr. J. R. Davenport and Mrs. Betty Anne Davenport, new owners of the DeSoto Beach Motel. He stated that this had been checked out by the Police Committee and they recommended it be granted. There were no objections from Council and so the application for license was approved. Councilman Cary informed Council that our Police Department would rejoin the Chatham County communications system as of June 1, 1972. He also requested that the City Clerk be instructed to inform the City of Savannah formally of our intention to terminate our communi- cations agreement with them. Mr. Cary said that new numbers for the cradle of the telephones were now being printed. Councilman Jung, speaking on behalf of Councilman Zittrauer who was absent, requested that the City Attorney bring Council up to date on our Pollution Abatement Program, especially on the progress of our new Water and Sewer Revenue Bond Indenture. City Attorney Shea informed Council that County Attorney Anton Solms informed him yesterday that the County Commissioners had negotiated a contract with the City of Savannah Beach. Attorney Shea stated that as soon as he received the completed contract from the County, he would turn it over to Mr. Ed. Maner in order that all the legal require- ments of the Bond Issue would then be satisfied for the issuance of $1,455,000 worth of Revenue Bonds for the purpose of financing the Water Pollution Program. Mr. Shea stated that he had received a call from Mr. Hutton and he stated that he anticipates approval within the next day or two from both the Federal and State Agencies. We 62 have already signed a contract with Varnedoe, Chisholm and Skinner and Johnson,. Lane & Space who are to handle these bonds. The advertising, the bid, the award of the contract and the acceptance has been completed, he said. So now, he stated, only one thing remains to be done and that is getting a complete audit of the Fiscal Year just passed. He reminded Council that in the City's contract with Varnedoe, Chisholm and Skinner which was agreed to by Council at its meeting on May 14th, it states* "Prior to the delivery and payment for the bonds the city must have employed a firm of Certified Public Accountants whose responsibility will be to assist the City in setting up bookkeeping procedures for the operation of the water and sewage system. Said bookkeeping procedures shall provide a quarterly operating income and expense report to the initial purchaser of the bonds." Attorney Shea stated that, due to the fact that the City's present auditing company was not staffed or equipped to handle the accounting and auditing in connection with the new Bond Issue, he had contacted the accounting firm of Spillane, Rhoads, Lebey, et al., and, he stated, that if it met the approval of Council he would set up a meeting with representatives of that firm; together with the Mayor, the Finance Chairman and other representatives of the City including the City Clerk and Mrs. Cary, the chief bookkeeper, very shortly because an audit is badly needed of last year's fiscal operation and the water and sewer account, because these two accounts, after the issuance of the bonds, will be joined and will be one account. Attorney Shea continued saying that he felt the Spillane firm was fully qualified to do this job and he recommended that Council authorize the Mayor to negotiate with this firm on some basis to represent the City. Councilman Cary moved that we get together with the Spillane firm, negotiate the terms and fees to be paid them and enter into an agreement with them contingent upon our being able to get together on these fees, etc. The motion was seconded by Councilman Jung and unanimously carried. Councilman Cary announced to Council that he would have a full report on the suspended police officers at the next meeting of Council. City Attorney Shea told Council that he would like to have its permission to order from Trotter Business Systems, a Uniform Citation System. He said the prices which had been quoted to him was $61.00 per thousand sets and he recommended that 5,000 be ordered. He said the criminal subpoenae were $37.00 per thousand. Attorney Shea said that these are the same forms currently being used by the City of Savannah, Chatham County and other municipalities. He said that he had already met with Mr. Trotter and made the necessary revisions in the form in order to adapt it to Savannah Beach. Mr. Shea stated that when this system is installed, no 1 1 1 citation can be voided by anyone except the Judge in Court. He stated that the form to void a case was a simple mimeographed form. Mayor Counihan said that he felt we all needed more information on the system itself and he was turning the City Attorney's recom- mendation over to the Police Committee for them to thoroughly investigate and see if this system was what was needed. This was agreed to by Council. Police Chief Price reported to Council that our Ford Police Car had been completely burned out through negligence on the part of one of the police officers. Mayor Counihan asked the Chief the name of the officer responsible for this and he responded that it was Officer Helverson who at the present time was under suspension. He said the repair work had been completed and the car returned to service. The cost to repair was a little over $900.00. Mayor Counihan inquired about our patrol cars going past Lazaretto Creek when in pursuit of another car when orders were to break off pursuit at Lazaretto Creek and call Thunderbolt and Chatham County Police and have them intercept. Chief Price stated that this was an instance where Officer Helverson did not obey these standing orders and did pursue beyond Lazaretto at speeds of 100 miles per hour without water in the radiator and consequently burned up the engine. City Attorney Shea stated that all our police officers have been told and are aware that they should not leave the corporate limits of the municipality unless in pursuit of someone who has committed a crime within the corporate limits of the municipality. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned to the next regular or special called meeting. CLERK OF COUNCIL O) 64 1 1 1 1 1 1 BUDGET - GENERAL FUND Budget - Fiscal Year May 1, 1972 - April 30, 1973 Revenue: Real Estate Taxes Business Licenses Beverage Taxes Police Court Fines Parking Meters Parking Violations Building & Stubbing Fees State Government Miscellaneous Income Public Utilities Museum Penalty & Interest On Delinquent Taxes Truck Decals Sewerage Fees (Income) $162,000.00 4.2,000.00 12,000.00 53,000.00 L0,000.00 16,000.00 5,000.00 9,500.00 5,000.00 9,000.00 3,000.00 1,000.00 3,000.00 50,000.00 Total $410,500.00 APPROPRIATIONS: General Government $ 50,000.00 Police Department 80,000.00 Public Works Department 65,000.00 Sanitation Department 45,000.00 Sewerage Department 45,000.00 Fire Department 5,000.00 Parking Meter Department 12,000.00 Insurance 8,500.00 Parks, Recreation & Library (adv.) 10,000.00 Museum 3,500.00 Street Improvements 8,500.00 Vehicle Maintenance (Gasoline & Oil) 11,500.00 Social Security 8,000.00 Police Automobile 3,000.00 Fire Engine (Down Paymt.) 7,500.00 Sanitation Packer Truck 9,000.00 Reduction of Long Term Debt 10,000.00 Contingencies 12,000.00 Interest on Bonds 4,500.00 Rockwell Co. (Meters) -Final Paymt. 2,185.00 Front End Loader (Final Paymt.) 5,315.00 Hospitalization Benefit Plan 5,000.00 Total $410,500.00 1 1 1 BUDGET - WATER DEPARTMENT Budget - Fiscal Year May 1, 1972 - April 30, 1973 Anticipated Revenue.: Commercial & Residential Consumers Delinquent Accts. (Comm. & Res.) Tapping Fees Interest On Reserves Cut Off & On Fees Operating Expense: $ 95,000.00 2,000.00 5,000.00 2,500.00 1,000.00 Total $105,500.00 Salaries $ 30,000.00 Electric Service 3,500.00 Repairs & Maintenance 5,000.00 Office Expense 7,000.00 Truck Expense 2,000.00 Insurance 1,850.00 Social Security 1,500.00 Hospital Insurance Benefits 700.00 Certificate Retirement 6,000.00 Interest On Certificates 2,400.00 Cash Reserve 15,000.00 General Government 30,550.00 Total $105,500.00 1 1 (TESTIMONY OF U. S. SENATOR HERMAN E. TALMADGE BEFORE THE PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE URGING FEDERAL SUPPORT OF THE BEACH EROSION CONTROL PROJECT FOR TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA, MAY 15, 1972, 10800 A.M.) Mr. Chairman, I am gratified indeed to appear before you and your subcommittee today, along with these distinguished Georgians, to acquaint you with a serious problem which exists in Tybee Island. A beautiful section of Georgia's seashore is vanishing, and is being replaced by an ugly collection of refuse and litter scattered by the sea across a scarred landscape. We hear a lot these days about man's neglect of his environment. A great deal of what we hear is true. But the forces of nature, when left unchecked and unregulated, can also do cruel and vicious things to the beauty which surrounds us. If we are spending billions of dollars to protect our landscape from being abused by man, then surely it makes good sense to protect it from nature, as well. Tybee Island is a beautiful place of which all Georgians are justi- fiably proud. Indeed, Georgia is often described as stretching from, "Rabun Gap to Tybee Light." The latter part of this phrase refers to the old lighthouse which is found on Tybee Island. The project for which I am requesting funds today has been badly needed for many months. Georgians have already recognized this crisis, and appropriated $419,000 of their money to meet it. I am asking this committee to respond to that effort with a matching appropriation of $404,000. The sea wall which has, for years, protected the lovely beaches of Tybee Island is growing dangerously weak. This condition was brought dramatically into focus on November 9 of last year, when a savage storm hit the island. A 70 foot section of the sea wall collapsed completely and extensive damage resulted. The Federal Government has already expended $65,000 in emergency repairs, alone. But these expenses are in the nature of first -aid, and are not a cure. If corrective steps are not taken, another breach in the sea wall could occur virtually without warning. When the storm struck last year, huge chunks of the beach were literally ripped away, and carried out to sea. Vast portions of the remaining sea wall were left dangerously exposed. The turn- buckles are badly corroded with rust, and some of the tie rods have actually been pulled apart. Instead of sloping gradually into the sea, the beach breaks off sharply, and rubble has been piled up against it to prevent further 1 1 erosion. In some cases, the beach has eroded all the way back to the sand dunes. This results in a tragic loss of beauty, and a sharp drop in the value of seafront property. Mr. Chairman, I urge your able subcommittee to respond to this crisis. It has been allowed to exist for too long. The substantial damage which has already been done is nothing compared to what may be done. These distinguished gentlemen can now provide you with additional details of the situation, and respond to any questions you may have. I commend both them and their project to your attention.