HomeMy Public PortalAbout19741028CCMeeting1
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Savannah Beach, Georgia
October 28,. 1974
The Regular Monthly Meeting of Savannah Beach City Council
was held this evening at 7:00 P.M. in the Councilroom at Savannah
Beach City Hall with Mayor Michael J. Counihan presiding and a
quorum consisting of the following Councilmen present: Mr.
Richard DeLoach, Mr. John Wylly, Mr. Joseph Agnew, Mr.James Bond,
and Mr. Edward J. Fahey. Also present was City Attorney William
H. Pinson, Jr.
Visitors and petitioners present at the meeting were:
Mr. & Mrs. Julian Kelly, Mrs. Louise Shaw, Mrs. Laura Mackey,
Mr. Robbie Robertson, Mr. Earl Anderson, Mr. & Mrs. James
Fabrikant, Mr. Walter Parker, Mrs. Karen Losey, Col. Dick Stewart
and Mrs. Stewart, Corinne Helmy, Mrs. Charles Walsh and Mrs.
G. W. McDonald.
Mrs.Julian Kelly appeared before Council again to complain
about and to protest the high speed limit at present in effect
on Butler: Avenue, bringing about more noise and traffic that
moves too fast. She stated that, since being informed that the
State Highway Department controlled speed limits on Highway 80,
she had contacted Jesup and talked to Mr. McKenzie's office, who
advised her that they would contact the Savannah Beach officials
with the view of setting up an open meeting for the purpose of
discussing the various speed zones within the City and having
another radar check made.
Mayor Counihan called upon Councilman Edward Fahey,
Chairman of the Police Committee, for his report on this problem.
Councilman Fahey stated that as a result of Mrs. Kelly's contact
with Mr. McKenzie's office in Jesup, that an open meeting would
be held to which all interested parties would be invited, and we
could thereby get input from all interested, citizens in regard to
the speed limit. Mr. Fahey stated further that there had not
been a speed study made down here since 1969; making their in-
formation on our traffic situation obsolete. He therefore
recommended that a new speed study with radar be made and requested
the Clerk set up a meeting with officials of the State Highway
Department, City Council and all interested citizens at a time and
date most convenient for them. Councilman Fahey then requested of
City Attorney Pinson, a ruling as to whether or not a Traffic
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Ordinance adopted by the Savannah Beach City Council, controlling
traffic on Highway 80, would be legal. City Attorney Pinson ruled
that it would not; stating further that all speed limits on High-
way 80 would have to be set by the State Highway Department and
then adopted by the City of Savannah Beach.
Mrs. Kelly then discussed our present Zoning Ordinance
with Council, pointing out several omissions in it and in general
being very critical of it.
Ex- councilman Walter Parker stated that he was appearing
before Council as a concerned citizen and, knowing some of the
problems facing Council,'he would be willing to offer his services
as a private citizen in any way Council felt he could be of help.
He stated further that as effective and efficient as City Hall
could be, sometimes, they do need some outside help. He made the
further statement to Council that the seat he was occupying to-
night was a lot more comfortable than the ones that they were
occupying.
Mrs. Laura Mackey, director of the ABC Kindergarten
Screven, appeared before Council to request that Thrushwood Avenue,
which is adjacent to her school, be repaired sufficiently with the
necessary fill dirt to enable the parents bringing their children
to the school to come and go without getting bogged down. She
stated further that at the present time the parents were having to
stop and park on Meddin Drive and walk through neighbors yards
to get their children to school. This matter was referred to Mr.
Ernest Hosti, Chairman of Public Works Department by Mayor Counihan.
Mrs. Louise Shaw stated that at the last Council Meeting
she had-tasked Mr.Joe Agnew, Chairman of the Finance Committee, to
tell her how much the town was in debt and he had promised to have
some figures for her at this meeting. Mr. Agnew stated that at
the present time, the only indebtedness of the town outside of
current obligations was our long term debt, principal and interest
on our two bond indentures, etc. He stated further that he felt
we were in pretty good financial shape, being approximately even
with the board or perhaps a little better. He stated that our
biggest problem at the present time was the same as most other
folks, that we were having to pay more for what we got and at the
same time not take in any more money. He stated further that in
checking through the records of past years he found that it was
not unusual for the finances of the town to dip down near the end
of the fiscal year and the City would then have to go to the bank
for a loan to tide them ovek. He said then when the taxes come
in for the followibg year, the town was able to pay up that loan
and then go ahead. He said this is approximately where we stand
at the present time. He stated further that before this fiscal
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year was out, we would probably have to do the same thing and
borrow some money, but as of right now we were allright He also
said that it did look like the town would have to come up with
some means of obtaining additional income, but as of right now we
were holding our own. Mrs. Shaw asked if the new method of paying
taxes in two installments had been a help, perhaps enough to make
borrowing from the bank unnecessary. Mr. Agnew replied that we have
a certain amount to pay whether you pay it all at one time or in
two installments, it came out to the same amount of money. -
Mr. & Mrs. James L. Fabrikant appeared before Council
complaining about the very acute and continluing problem of "no
sewage" on Lewis Avenue. He stated further that they had not
heard of any action that the City Council had taken on this problem
and they would like to know if anything had been done. Are there
any plans for anything to be done?; and, when will it be done?
He stated that they, like most of the other residents of Lewis
Avenue, did not have the use of their commodes over the entire
past week -end. Mr. Fabrikant praised the present employees of
the sewerage department and stated that they were doing all that
they could do but that they just did not have anything to do with.
He stated further that this was not a new situation that it had
been going on for years but that it was getting worse and that
they had now reached a point where they could stand it no longer;
and that if they could not get some relief soon they would be
forced to move to a motel. The Mayor then adked Mr. Bond, Chair-
man of the Water and Sewer Department to look into this and bring
back a written report to Council within ten days. Mr. Bond stated
to Mr. Fabrikant that he knew Lewis Avenue was a problem, and that
the only thing he could tell him at this time was that the problem
was going to continue until we got new sewer lines on Lewis
Avenue. Mr. Bond stated further that he went to Atlanta several
weeks ago in company with City Attorney Pinson and called-on both
the Environmental Protection Agency of the Federal Government and
the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia. State Depart-
ment of Natural Resources, and he did not get any definite starting
date from there even though they hand carried the entire package
of the necessary application, Resolutions, etc; all of the paper
work that we felt was required to get this project moving. He
stated that he would guess that it would be probably three, four
or five months and possibly longer before we see any construction
started. Mr. Bond stated further that we have done all the paper
work that we felt was required but every time we think we have
got it solved - more paper work. The Chatham County Health Depart-
ment has called and written Atlanta, he stated. In short, he
stated, we have done everything within our power to get this job
started.
Mrs. G. W. McDonald, a retired Chatham County teacher,
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to do in order to operate an ambulance service from the Beach.
He stated that with this letter, he had sent a copy of the State's
statutes dealing with this subject and that these statutes
required that we have a license which is issued from the Georgia
Department of Public Health, and it listed in step -by -step order
what must be done to submit an application for such license. Mayor
Counihan stated that he had received this letter from City Attorney
Pinson with copy of the statutes and that he had turned this over
to Councilman Fahey, Chairman of the Police Department, with the
suggestion that we train several members of our Police Department
in first aid and the other necessity as required for licensing
purposes. Chairman Fahey stated that he agreed wholeheartedly
with the Mayor that he too would like to see several policemen
get trained to perform these duties, but that 'her only had eight
men on the police department, and that it was going to take a
little time because, during recent weeks, the Savannah Beach
Police Department has had more than its share of problems. He
wanted it clearly understood, however, that they were going to
make every effort to accomplish this. Councilman Bond informed
the. Mayor and Council that he had been working on another aspect
of providing ambulance service for the Beach. He had been in
contact with Mrs. Ginn of the EMS and that it was a possibility
that she might bring this problem up at one of her committee
meetings with the view of making some kind of deal to provide
ambulance service for the Beach. Mr. Bond stated further that
there was a possibility that we might make a deal involving
the donation of our ambulance to the EMS in return for such
ambulance service for Savannah Beach.
Mayor Counihan informed Council that a petition had been
received from Mrs. Edna R . Macher and several residents in the
area of Jones Avenue and 6th Street, requesting that at least
four lots in that area be cleared of brush, trash, etc. and
that the ditch be cleaned out allowing the drainage of the
standing water. Councilman Edward Fahey stated that he had been
looking into this situation and that they had made every effort
to contact these people, the owners, but had been unable to do
so. He, therefore, moved that this property be cut and cleared
by the City and the cost be charged to the tax account of the
owners. This motion was seconded by Councilman John Wylly and
unanimously carried. Mayor Counihan requested that Mr. Tommy
Reed be so instructed.
Mayor Counihan then informed Council that we had received
some similar complaints from Mrs. Malone, who resides on Jones
Avenue. He stated that this too was a bad situation that he
had look into it himself personally and that this property, which
is owned by a group who call themselves the Tybee Twelve, should
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be cleared as soon as possible. He stated further that the
owners had a small house on this land which they used only a
few times during the year. He stated that he had tried in vain
to contact them on the phone. Since he has been unable to do so
and, since they have failed to answer our request to have their
property cleaned out, he would recommend that the City due this
job also, and charge it to the tax account of the owner.
Councilman Richard DeLoach then moved that the grass, weeds,
and other vegetation on the land owned by Tybee Twelve be cleaned
by the City and added to their tax bill. This motion was seconded
by Councilman Jim Bond and unanimously carried.
City Attorney Willian H. Pinson stated that he would like
to make a comment on both of these cases. He stated that he
understood the problems the City was having here and had been
looking into the present ordinance the City had covering this
problem. He stated there had been some question raised as to the
enforcement provision of it and, he stated, that he hoped he
would be able to give Council a legal opinion on the enforcement
of this ordinance by our next council meeting. He stated if he
found our present ordinance needed amending, he would prepare
such amendments and have them ready for the next council meeting.
Mayor Counihan informed Council that he had requested Mr.
Earl Anderson, Zoning Administrator, to look into this situation,
that is, the enforcement of our so called "weed ordinance ", and
to check with the City of Savannah to find out how they enforced
theirs. The Mayor then asked Mr. Anderson if he would give Council
a report of his findings. Mr. Anderson stated that Chatham County
Health Department had informed him that the way they handled this
in Savannah and Chatham County, was that Dr. Lundquist, the Health
Officer, was given a list of all lots that needed cleaning. He
signed this list and then inserted it in the paper, labeling such
overgrown land as a health hazard; and calling upon the property
owners to have them cleaned by a certain time. Mr. Anderson stated
further that Dr. Lundquist had agreed to db this same thing for
Savannah Beach. He stated that Dr. Lundquist had promised him .
personally that he would do this. City Attorney Pinson stated
further that this question had come up in a recent conversation
he had with the Health Department, and that since we do have an
ordinance, we have to either change it or do away with it and
adopt one similar to what Chatham County has. What this amounts
to, he stated is that we have an ordinance now that we are either
going to have to follow, or do away with and enact another one.
This is what he proposes td have ready for the next meeting. He
also pointed out that the City would probably have problems with
the two cases they just ruled on due to the fact, for instance, our
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ordinance at the present time does not have any provisions for
bids to do the work. These are the type things, he stated, that
you have to provide for in an ordinance and he said he would try
to have the proper ordinance ready for the next council meeting.
With regard to the apparent heavy usage of gasoline by
City vehicles, Councilman Fahey stated that an in depth study
was being made by him, together with several other department
heads with the view of curtailing some of this usage. Council-
man Fahey stated further that there had been some slight decrease
in usage this month as compared with last month and that this
use of gasoline would be watched very carefully by all concerned.
He also stated that they were trying their best to cut down on
the use of gasoline where ever possible.
Councilman Jim Bond, Chairman of the Water and Sewer
Department, stated that he had instructed the water and sewer
personnel not to purchase any gasoline from any service station
on the island so long as they could get it from our pumps. Mr.
Bond stated further that the only time they were authorized to
buy any gasoline from a service station would be on a week -end.
They have all been instructed to fill the tanks of all the trucks
up prior to the week -end so that there would be no necessity to go
to a filling station over the week -end.
With reference to the purchase of meals for local prisoners
Police Commissioner Fahey reported that it had been the practice
here at the Beach in the past to let the signed tickets for meals
stack up and then turn them in all at one time. He stated that
orders had now been given to the Police Department to see that
these meal tickets are turned in on a weekly basis. The officers
who purchase these meals will also see that the names of the
prisoners for whom the meal is intended would be put on the bills.
Councilman Fahey stated further that this would give us a better
record than what we have had in the past.
City Attorney William Pinson reported to Council that on.
April 30th, they adopted a resolution requiring the payment of real
property taxes in two installments with the final installment to .
be adjusted to the new valuation as received from the Chatham
County Tax Assessors' office for the year 1974. He stated that
this tax digest had now been received from the County and therefore
a resolution had now been prepared adopting that tax digest for the
year. The resolution was read by the Clerk as follows:
RESOLUTION
Following the reading of this Resolution a motion to adopt
same was made by Councilman Joseph Agnew, seconded by Councilman
Fahey and unanimously carried.
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Councilman John Wylly stated that it was his understanding
that Savannah Beach City Council desired to take a stand on the
abolishment of the Blue Laws and ask for comments on this question
from the various members. of Council present. Councilman Agnew
stated that his stand would probably be unpopular; but that, he
was in favor of the Blue Laws although he stated that he felt like
the laws would be repealed. He stated further that aside from
the religious aspect of it, he felt that this old world was in
too big of . a hurry already and needed one day to stop and look
around and see what was here. So, he stated, that that was the
way he would vote in the Referendum - against the abolishment
of the Blue Laws. Councilman Fahey stated that in view of the
people here at Savannah Beach that it affected, he would have to
say that he would vote in favor of the abolishment of these Blue
Laws. A motion was then made by Councilman Wylly that Savannah
Beach City Council go on record as favoring the repeal of the
Blue Laws. This motion was seconded by Councilman James Bond
and carried by a vote of four to one, Councilman Wylly, Bond,
and DeLoach voting FOR and Councilman Agnew voting AGAINST.
City Attorney Pinson stated to Council that he would like
to refer back to our Beach Erosion. Project wherein on June 28,
1971, the City of Savannah Beach, Georgia, entered into an
agreement with the old State Parks Department of the State of
Georgia for the purpose of looking into a study of the feasibility
of undertaking the Beach Erosion Project. This agreement was
subsequently superseded by one dated April 3, 1974, between the
State of Georgia, Chatham County and the City of Savannah Beach
together with the Federal Government, the agreement which we
were now operating under; and for some reason, he stated, this
old agreement was never repealed.. Even so, he felt we were
legally in the clear. However, in order to make sure that our
position was correct on this, he would recommend that Council
authorize the Mayor to officially execute documents rescinding
the old agreement with the former Department of State Parks of
the State of Georgia. He stated that this would leave no doubt
as to the fact that any obligations we might have had under that
agreement were now officially brought to and end. He stated
further that he had prepared a resolution accordingly for Council
to adopt to accomplish this. This Resolution was then read by
the Clerk.
RESOLUTION
Following the reading of the Resolution, a motion was
made by Councilman Jim Bond, Chairman of the Erosion Committee,
that this Resolution be adopted as read. The motion was seconded
by Councilman Agnew and unanimously carried.
City Attorney Pinson announced that pursuant to a request
from Council, he had prepared a Resolution to the effect that the
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Council and the Mayor would not accept any compensation for their
duties as Councilmen and Mayor. This to be made effective as of
September 9, 1974. The Clerk then read the following Resolution:
RESOLUTION
Following the reading of this Resolution, Councilman John
Wylly moved that the motion be adopted. This motion was seconded
by Councilman James Bond and unanimously carried.
City Attorney Bill Pinson stated to Council that he had
been requested to look into a problem that was being experienced
by City Hall in regard to the billing of Personal Property Tax.
This problem started back several years ago when it was decided
not to bill any personal property tax on the advice of the City
Attorney at that time. Later it was discovered that we should
be billing the commercial aspect of Personal Property or, that
personal property used for commercial purposes; also boats.
However, he stated when the print -out of the Digest was received
from Chatham County Board of Tax Assessors covering these per-
sonal property valuations, it was discovered that there were many
discrepancies in this digest; namely, that some people had not
been billed at all, although their next door neighborr had been
billed; and, several other enequities which the City brought to
the attention of the Chatham County Tax Assessors, who then made
an attempt to update their digest and sent us a revised one.
Following the receipt of this new Digest, City Attorney Pinson
stated that at this item he was requested to look into it to
make several determinations, namely:
1. Whether or not we were obligated by to base our
billing of this personal property tax on the County
Digest as submitted.
2. How we could force the payment of the personal property
tax by those citizens who did not make the payment of
this tax after they had been billed.
3. What legal responsibility we would have basing our
billing on the County Digest as received from the
Chatham County Tax Assessor.
4. Whether or not we could go back and collect last year's
taxes from those people who did not pay them at the time
they were billed.
City Attorney Pinson continued stating that an extensive research
into this had been conducted and that, even though the case law
was not clear on this, it Was clear by statutes that the City
of Savannah Beach was obligated to use the County Digest evaluations
submitted by them. He stated that we had no other choice. He .
reiterated that the law states that we are obligated to use the
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County Digest as submitted to us. On the other hand, Attorney
Pinson stated the law placed the responsibility on the individual
himself, who finds himself not on that Digest or who discovers
that his property is undervalued, to bring this to the attention
of both the County and the City so that relieves us of the obli-
gation of going out and forcing them to make a return. The
statutes also provides, he stated, several', ways in which this
can be enforced. He said we must give twenty days written notice
to anyone that we discover has failed to make a return or to any-
one whom we feel has their property shown undervalued. Then, he
said, at that time if they failed to make a return there were two
different ways that we could enforce it. One is by convening a
board of arbitrators consisting of three persons. One selected
by the tax payer, one selected by the City and the third by the
two previously selected. A ruling would then be made by this
board of arbitrators on the issue; or, finally we could petition
the Superior Court to enforce the payment Of this Digest. This
leaves some questions unanswered he stated, as to whether or not
we can go back and recover last years unpaid yaxes. We do know
that the State can go back two years and recover taxes that were
not paid or were not ever billed; and in cases of fraud, they
were allowed to go back seven years, but he found that it was un-
clear as to whether or not the City has this same power. He
stated that he could not give a conclusive answer at this time
because he was still looking into it. He said he would advise,
before any action is taken on this;that, they allow him to submit
a complete written report to the Mayor and Council outlining the
necessary steps that would have to be taken due to the fact that
he felt there was still many inadequacies and inequities in this
latest digest submitted to us by Chatham County. Attorney Pinson
again emphatically requested of Council th.t he be allowed to
submit a full and complete written opinion on the billing of
these personal property taxes to the Mayor and Council before any
action is taken as to the billing of them. It was agreeable
with Council to withhold any action on the billing of these taxes
until the City Attorney had had time submit a written report..
City Attorney Pinson brought to the attention of Mayor and
Council an individual tax matter which had been submitted to them
at the last Council Meeting by Mr. Jack Brady. Mr. Pinson stated
that Jack Brady had a problem, in that the City-had gone through
a tax sell on several pieces of his property, some of which the
tax due was dated back as far as 1967. Mr. Pinson stated further
that, as Council knows, he had submitted a written report to each
of them on these various pieces of property. He said that four
different lots were involved. He said that during this time a
proper fi fa had been issued by the City; a proper tax sell had
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been held on August 4, 1970; and a proper tax deed to the property
had been received by the City. This gave the City what is known
as legal title, he stated. At that time the property was legally
in the title of the City. However, under the law, he stated, Mr.
Brady did keep what is known as an equitable interest in the pro-
perty; that being the right to deem it upon submitting to Council
the proper amount of money as required by the State. He said that
the specific statute that we were dealing with in this case out-
lined the maximum amount that can be charged. So as of August,
1970, he stated, the title to the property was officially and
legally vested in the City of Savannah Beach. Therefore, no
further taxes could be charged to Mr. Brady from that time, because
the City held the legal title to the property. He said, from that
time up to the present time when Mr. Brady offered to redeem the
property, we were unauthorized by law to charge additional taxes
to him. Mr. Pinson stated that we were allowed to charge addi-
tional taxes that were due up to that time; and in addition, total
length of time of four years that came after the tax sell. We were .
also allowed to charge him for advertising and recording costs, he
stated, which were incurred by the City in that tax sell bill and
10% of the amount paid for the property to cover the legal expenses
that were incurred by the City. He stated that we were also legally
allowed to charge him the remaining taxes for 1974, that is the
taxes remaining on this year. He said he had figured this out and
it came to an amount of Seven Hundred and Ninety Dollars and
Seventy -four Cents ($790.74). Attorney Pinson continued stating,
that when Mr. Brady offered to pay this amount to the City, the
Council would then be obligated to authorize the Mayor to execute
a Quit Claim Deed to Mr. Brady. Attorney Pinson stated further
that, he had also checked into the possibility of charging Mr.'
Brady an amount for rent during the time that he had used the
property; but, had found case law prohibiting this.
Attorney Pinson also stated that besides the property of
Mr. Brady's that we had a problem with, there were several other
pieces of property which are in a similar situation. He said that
he was working with City Clerk on this, and that they were attempting
to set up a procedure whereby that this sort of thing will not
happen in the future. He said, after this, once a tax sell has
been held, the City would wait for a full twelve months during
which time the taxpayer has the right to redeem his land; and
after this period of twelve months has run, we can then file what
is known as a Bar of Redemption, which is similar to a tax sell,
in that it also has to be advertised. However, once that we have
completed this, the City then holds full legal title to the
property; and the taxpayer cannot then come back and pay all back
taxes and charges and redeem it.
Mayor Counihan then congratulated City'Attorney Pinson on
the tremendous amount of research work entailed in this project.
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He stated further that he felt that the Council, as well as him-
self, had gain enlightment from Mr. Pinson's outline of the problem
and the solution. A motion was then made by Mr. Wylly that upon
payment of the amount stipulated by Attorney Pinson, that Council
authorize the Mayor to execute Quit Claim back to Mr. Brady. The
motion was seconded by Councilman Fahey and unanimously carried..
Mr. Earl Anderson, Zoning Administrator, stated that, as
most people knew, our Zoning Ordinance, as presently written, leaves
a great deal to be desired; and, it needs a lot of work done on it.
He stated that his purpose in appearing before Council today was
to report that the Metropolitan Planning Commission was in the
process of revising our entire Zoning Ordinance. He also stated
that he would like to inform all present, that since it would take
several months to get our Zoning Ordinance revised completely,
certain changes in the Ordinance were needed immediately; and these
proposed changes would be brought before Council in the very near
future, and not wait for the general revision of the Ordinance.
Mr. Anderson stated that this involves yard set back; also, a
provision to permit a reduction in the front yard set back requir-
ments for residential uses under certain conditions when other
residential uses do not conform to the required set back. The .
third proposal, Mr. Anderson stated, was concerning home occupations,
or just exactly what constitutes home occupations. And lastly, he
stated, that a proposal would be made concerning the present
marina situated on the inlet near Chatham Avenue and Venetian Drive.
He stated, that at the present time and at the time our present
Zoning Ordinance was enacted, this was placed in a classification of
a "non- conforming use ". He stated that it was now proposed to
make this a neighborhood marina with restrictions to prevent it from
blossoming out into a large marina with everything that goes with
a large marina. He stated that the proposal would be to make this
a neighborhoold type of marina so that necessary repairs and upkeep
could be made to the facility, and yet with the necessary restrictions
to keep it to its present size. Mr. Anderson then asked permission.
of Council to set up a public hearing on these various proposals
which he had outlined. Mayor Counihan informed Mr. Anderson
that this would be handled by the Council.
City Attorney Pinson stated that he had one more item which
he would like to report to Council that was not placed on the agenda,
due to the fact that it involved Chatham County Health Department
and Mr. Shuble Bolling, who was associated with the Chatham County
Health Department; and that, Attorney Pinson continued, he had not
been able to contact Mr. Bolling until today, too late to notify
Council prior to this meeting; and that this involved an amendment
to our ordinance covering the housing code. He stated that, most
specifically, it concerned an agreement the City had entered into
with the Health Department of Chatham County to enforce our housing
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code. Mr. Pinson stated that this act occurred prior to his
becoming City Attorney; but, shortly after being named City
Attorney, he was contacted by Mr. Bolling of. the Health Depart-
ment, who stated to him that the Health Department was unable to
carry out the terms of that agreement due to the fact that our
present ordinance merely adopts the 1969 Southern Standard Housing
Code; and since that time, the Southern Standard. Housing Code had
been revised and the latest is a 1973 edition. Also, our present
ordinance does not provide for the enforcement mechanism to be
carried out by the Chatham County Health Department, and this,
also, has to be remedied. He stated that he had now prepared an
ordinance which takes all these things in the simplist fashion;
striking out the old ordinance, which adopted the 1969 Southern
Standard Housing Code, and then adopt the 1973 edition of the
Southern Standard Housing Code. It provides that this will be our
housing code, and it further provides any violations of that code
will be handled in the Recorders's Court here at the Beach. This
prevents it from being transferred to the Recorders's Court of
Chatham County, since the Chatham County Health Department would
be involved in handling it.
In Section 2 of the Ordinance, abides striking the words
"Building Official" and substituting, in lieu there of, "Chatham
County Health Department" that empowers the Chatham County Health.
Department to carry out the enforcement of the Code, thus enabling
the agreement that we already have with them to be carried out. Mr.
Pinson stated that the Ordinance was prepared and ready for their
adoption. If it was agreeable by unanimous consent of all Council-
men present to enact this Ordinance on first and second reading at
this meeting, then only one reading would be necessary. It could
then be adopted this evening. Mayor Counihan then requested the
Clerk to read the Ordinance in its entirety, which was as follows:
ORDINANCE
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Councilman Agnew moved that this amending Ordinance be
adopted by unanimous consent on first and second reading at this
meeting. This motion was seconded by Councilman Fahey and uanimously
carried, thereby enacting this ordinance on first and second readings.
Mayor Counihan then requested the Clerk to read the Resolution.`
which had been prepared regarding the payment of the legal fees as .
billed by ex -City Attorney W. Lance Smith. The Resolution was
as follows:
RESOLUTION
This Resolution authorized the Mayor to sign a promissory
note to Mr. Lance Smith in which it was agreed to pay the law firm
of Smith and Portman the sum of Twenty Thousand Six Hundred and
T wenty -five Dollars and Seventy -two Cents ($20,625.72) for legal
services rendered by our former City Attorney Lance Smith and the
law firm of Smith and Portman do be paid as follows:
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- 14 -
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) cash immediately payable
to the law form of Smith and Portman as partial payment on this
account. The balance of Ten Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty -five
Dollars and Seventy -two Cents ($10,625.72) to be paid with
interest at the rate of eight percent (8 %) per annum for a period
of one year in equal monthly installments of Nine Hundred and Fifty -
six Dollars and Thirty -two Cents ($956.32) each beginning on the
First day of December of 1974; and the indebtedness evidenced by
this note may be paid either in whole or in part by the undersigned
on any installment due date; and also, that this entire agreement
be conditioned upon the law firm of Smith and Portman furnishing
all necessary documents, files, certificates of titles, and any
other data held by that firm pertinent to the legal business of
the City to our present City Attorney, Mr. William H. Pinson.
Following the reading of this Resolution, a motion was
made by Mr. James Bond that it be adopted. This notion was seconded
by Councilman DeLoach and unanimously carried.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned
to the next regular or special called meeting.
CITY CLERK
41L
MAYOR
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AN ORDINANCE
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTION 5-48 OF 'THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH, TYBEE ISLAND,
GEORGIA TO PROVIDE A HOUSING CODE FOR THE CITY OF
SAVANNAH BEACH, TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA ESTABLISHING
MINIMUM STANDARDS GOVERNING THE USE, OCCUPANCY AND
MAINTENANCE OF DWELLINGS, DWELLING UNITS AND ACCES-
SORY STRUCTURES; ESTABLISHING MINIMUM STANDARDS GOV-
ERNING SUPPLIED UTILITIES AND FACILITIES, AND OTHER
PHYSICAL THINGS AND CONDITIONS ESSENTIAL TO MAKE
DWELLINGS SAFE, SANITARY, AND FIT FOR HUMAN HABITA-
TION; ESTABLISHING A MINIMUM STANDARDS GOVERNING
THE CONDITION AND MAINTENANCE OF DWELLINGS AND
ACCESSORY STRUCTURES; FIXING CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
AND DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OCCUPANTS OF DWELLING;
CREATING A HOUSING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS AND APPEALS
AND FIXING THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES THEREOF;
AUTHORIZING THE INSPECTION OF DWELLINGS AND ACCES-
SORY STRUCTURES AND PROVIDING FOR THE CONDEMNATION
OF ALL BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES DEEMED UNFIT FOR
HUMAN HABITATION AND USE; AND FIXING PENALTIES FOR
VIOLATIONS.
SECTION I.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEN of the
City of Savannah Beach, Tybee Island, Georgia in regular
monthly council duly assembled, and it is hereby ordained
by authority of same that Section 5 -48 of the Code of Or-
dinances, City of Savannah Beach, Tybee Island, Georgia is
hereby stricken in its entirety and a new Section 5 -48 in-
serted in lieu thereof which shall read as follows:
"Sec. 5 -48. Code; adopted, penalty.
For the purpose of establishing uniform rules and
regulations, there is adopted that Code known as The Southern
Standard Housing Code, being particularly the 1973 edition
thereof and the whole thereof, save and except. such protions
as may here in.after be amended, of which not less than two
(2) copies have been and are now filed in the office of the
City Clerk, and the same are hereby adopted and incorporated
as fully as if set forth at length herein and from the date
on which this Ordinance shall take affect, the provisions
therein shall be controlling in the use, maintenance and oc-
cupancy of all dwellings, dwelling units, and /or structures
within the area of jurisdiction of said city. Any person
who fails to comply with the Housing Code ahall be punished
as provided in Section 1 -8 of this Code.
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SECTION II.
By striking wherever it may appear in said Southern
Standard Housing Code, 1973 edition, "Building official" and
substituting in lieu thereof "Chatham County Health Department ",
so that as amended said Code shall provide for the administra-
tion and enforcement thereof by the Chatham County Health
Department.
SEAL
Enacted in open council this 28P "d
ay of October
THE CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH,
TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA
BY:`�
M. J Court Than , Mayor
,1974.
ATTEST
E. M. Patterson, City Clerk
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R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH, has incurred
certain legal fees in the amount of $20,625.72 for services
rendered by former City Attorney, Lance W. Smith, III and
The Law Firm, Smith and Portman; and
WHEREAS, the City is desirous of settling this
account and has worked out suitable terms for all parties
involved;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of
Savannah Beach, in council assembled, does hereby authorize
the Honorable Michael J. Counihan, Mayor of the City of
Savannah Beach, and Edward M. Patterson, Clerk of the City
of Savannah Beach to immediately issue a draft in the amount
of $10,000.00, payable to the Law Firm of Smith and Portman,
as partial payment on this account;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and City
Clerk are hereby authorized to execute a promissory note on
behalf of the City of Savannah Beach to the Law Firm of Smith
and Portman in the amount of $10,625.72, at eight per cent
interest per annum for a term of one year with the principal
being paid in equal monthly installments;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the payment authorized
by this Resolution is conditioned upon the Law Firm of Smith
and Portman furnishing all necessary documents, files, cer-
tificates of title, and any other data held by that firm
pertinent to the legal business of the City to our present
City Attorney.
The within resolution is adopted and approved this
day of , 1974.
SEAL
THE CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH
TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA
ATTEST
E. M. Patterson, City Clerk
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R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, through Resolution under date of April 30,
1974, The City of Savannah Beach, in council assembled, adopted
a resolution requiring the payment of real property taxes in two
(2) installments, with the final installment to be adjusted to
the new valuation as received from the Chatham County Tax Asses-
sors for the year 1974; and
WHEREAS, The City of Savannah Beach has now received
the new valuations for the year 1974 from the Chatham County Tax
Assessors which reflect the one hundred per cent (100 %) market
value of all real estate to be $19,657,770.00 and the gross tax
bill at 28 mills to be $220,167.02; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that THE CITY OF
SAVANNAH BEACH, In council assembled, does hereby adopt these
new valuations for purposes of payment of the final installment
of real property taxes.
The within resolution is adopted and approved this
28th day of October, 1974.
SEAL
THE CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH
BY:
M. J. C• inihan, Mayor
ATTEST
E. M, Patterson, City Clerk
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R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The City of Savannah Beach, entered into an
agreement under date of June 28, 1971, with the Department of
State Parks of the State of Georgia for the purpose of reclaiming
natural resources which had deteriorated due to erosion; and
WHEREAS, this agreement was later superseded by an
agreement under date of April 3, 1974, between the United States
of America and the State of Georgia, the City of Savannah Beach,
Georgia and Chatham County, Georgia for the purpose of authorizing
the construction of the Tybee Island, Georgia Beach Erosion Project;
an d
WHEREAS, the effect of the April 3, 1974, agreement was
to rescind and supersede the June 28, 1971, agreement; and
WHEREAS, The City of Savannah Beach, and The Depart-
ment of Natural Resources of the State of Georgia are desirous
of officially rescinding the June 28, 19710 agreement; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that THE CITY OF SAVANNAH
BEACH, In council assembled, does hereby authorize the Honorable
Michael J. Counihan, Mayor of the City of Savannah Beach to exe-
cute any and all legal documents necessary to officially re-
scind the June 28, 1971, agreement between The Department of
State Parks and The City of Savannah Beach.
The within Resolution is adopted and approved this
28th day of October, 1974.
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SEAL
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THE CITY OF SAVANNAH BEACH
. ounihan , Mayor
ATTEST
E. M. Patterson, City Clerk
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STATE OF GEORGIA )
COUNTY OF CHATHAM )
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, the Charter of Savannah, Beach, Tybee
Island, Georgia, provides that the salary of the Mayor of
the City shall be fixed as to amount by the City Council,
but the salary of the Mayor shall not exceed Two Thousand
Four Hundred Dollars ($2,400.00) per year and that the
salary of each Councilman shall also be fixed as to the
amount by the City Council, but the salary of each Council-
man shall not exceed Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) per
year; and,
WHEREAS, the present Mayor and Council consider
it an honor and privilege to serve in their respective
positions and they do not desire to be compensated there-
fore;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of
Savannah Beach, in council assembled, pursuant to the author-
ity vested in it by the City Charter, hereby sets the annual
salary of the Mayor and of each Councilman of the City at
Zero Dollars ($0.00) per year as of September 9, 19.74.
The within Resolution is adopted and approved
this 28th day of October, 1974.
SEAL
Mayor
Clerk of Council
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75
Savannah Beach, Georgia
November 7, 1974
A Special Called Meeting of Savannah Beach City Council
was held at 4:30 P.M. this afternoon in the Council Chambers of
Savannah Beach City Hall, for the purpose of considering a pro-
posal from Savannah Bank and Trust Company to settle our claim
for unearned interest due us on our Bond Sinking Fund Account due
to non - investment by the bank; and also, to consider amendments to
our Zoning Ordinance as proposed by the Metropolitan Planning
Commission.
This meeting was presided over by Mayor Michael J.
Counihan and a quorum of the following Councilmen was present:
Mr. Jim Bond, Mr. Ernest Hosti, Mr. Joseph Agnew, Mr. Edward Fahey,
Mr. Richard DeLoach, Mr. John Wylly. City Attorney William H.
Pinson was also present.
Also in attendance were: Mr. Earl Anderson, Zoning
Administrator, Mr. Franklin Burnsed, Building Inspector of City
of Savannah Beach, and Mr. Bill Saxman, Planner of the Metropolitan
Planning Commission.
Following the opening of the meeting, the Clerk was
requested by the Mayor to outline the purposes for which the
meeting was called.
Following this, Mayor Counihan called upon Zoning Ad-
ministrator, Earl Anderson, to submit the recommended proposals
to amend our Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Anderson stated that on
August 28, 1974, the M.P.C. staff was requested to develop several
text amendments for the'City of Savannah Beach's Zoning Ordinance;
and also, an amendment to permit a boat marina in a special
district.
The first amendment suggested to be incorporated into
Savannah Beach Zoning Ordinance was to:
1A)
B)
2
Amending Section A -
(11) of Article 5 of
Amending Section B -
(5) of Article 5 of
Residential District,
the Ordinance
Commercial District,
the Ordinance
The second amendment is also suggested to
corporated into the Ordinance by amending
Residential District, Sub - section (11) of
of the Ordinance
Sub - section
Sub - section
be in-
Section A =
Article 5
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2
3 The third amendment is suggested to take the place of
the present Home Occupations definition in Article 3 -
Section (b), specification definition. Definition Numbe
14 - "Home Occupation ".
Mr. Anderson stated that the object was to delete the present number
14 and substitute it with a new number 14 for "Home Occupation ".
Zoning Administrator, Earl Anderson, then outlined the
proposal to amend our Zoning Ordinance so as to permit the re-
development of an existing boat marina, located between Tybee Creek
and Venetian Drive. He stated that, in our present ordinance, this
marina was classified as a non - conforming use; and, due to its
deterioration, this classification was now working a hardship on
the owner because of his inability to make suitable and necessary
repairs. Mr. Anderson stated further, that, it was recommended
that the marina be allowed to be re- developed, and that a special
zoning district be established to permit marina activities, such
district to be restrictive enough to protect the surrounding
residential properties from any adverse activities; and,the proposed
boat sheds be moved back from the front property line an additional
fifteen (15') feet so as to be at least twenty (20') feet from the
front property line; and, that remote off street parking requirements
be included in the new Zoning Amendment to be incorporated into the
re- development plan.
Councilman Jim Bond questioned Mr. Anderson regarding the
proposed remote off street parking. Mr.. Anderson stated that they
would probably never have enough business to use up his present
off street parking and then use the remote parking area. Council-
man Hosti stated that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that a
marina was needed on Tybee at this location; but, that since it was
in the middle of a residential district, he stated that he would
not like to see cars and boat trailers cluttered on a lot in this
area. Mr. Anderson answered by stating that he felt like the
responsibility for parking rested on the individual himself, who
owned the trailer and the automobile; and that, this marina had
no right to authorize any man to go and park his car and boat
trailer anywhere except on the property owned by him; but that,
he felt that the complaints should be registered against the
automobile and trailer owner and not against the owner of the
marina. Mayor Counihan then asked City Attorney Pinson if it
would be legal for the marina owner to lease this vacant lot from
its present owner and then turn around and allow his partons to
park their cars and boat trailers on it. Attorney Pinson stated,
this seemed to be a legal question and it depended on what was in the
Ordinance itself. Mayor Counihan said it would have to be included
in there because at the present time, there was nothing in there to
forbid this.
Councilman Agnew asked Mr. Anderson how inclusive was the
term "neighborhood marina ", in other words, just exactly what did
this include. This question was answered by Mr. Bill Saxman. He
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stated that what went into a "neighborhood marina" must be
something that would not be detrimental to that area and that
at the time the public hearings were held and the full scope
presented as to what was to be put in the marina, it could be
determined at that time whether or not it would be something that
would be detrimental to the general neighborhood area. In regard .
to the possibility of a store and other similar structures being
placed in the facility, it was brought out that a store is already
allowed under the present ordinance. Mr. Anderson re- emphasized his
concern was the way the facility was at the present time and the
state of disrepair that it was in, he was afraid that if repairs
were not made very shortly, that someone may get hurt. He felt
that it was getting to the point where it was almost unsafe to
be used and that the owner needed to be able to make these repairs.
He stated further, that he felt that now was the time for Council
to say that they were either going to allow him to refurbish it
or get rid of it all together. Mr. Anderson stated that he also felt
that Savannah Beach needs this facility very badly, that we should
permit it; but, we should be restrictive so that it would not
develop into some big marina with a lot of noise and other extra
curricular activities which would be detrimental to this residential
neighboorhood.
Mr. Anderson stated he also would like to inform Council
that he had heard a rumor that Mr. Sivils, the owner of the lot in
question that had to do with the remote parking area, was planning
on building some boat sheds on this property; and that this man
had no intention of building any boat sheds anywhere except on his
own property.
Councilman Fahey said that it seemed to him the thing to
do was to let this matter go ahead to a public hearing. Councilman
Bond stated that what ever is done should be something that is
short of killing the marina because if we were to kill the marina,
we would hurt a lot business down here on the Beach. City Attorney
Pinson commented that he felt before a public hearing was held, a
legal review of the entire question should be made, and that he
would like to get together with Mr. William Saxman of the Metro-
politan Planning Commission to iron out any questions that needed
taken care of prior to the public hearing. He stated further that,
these things should be taken care of also prior to any advertising
of the public hearing. He stated also, that, however, he did not
anticipate any rdal problems with it but he did feel that we should
do that first.
Zoning Administrator Anderson stated that he would also like
to point out one other thing, and that was, that our Zoning Ordinance
stated that proposals of this kind .must go before our Planning
Commission. Since our Planning Commission had not been active
lately, the Metropolitan Planning Commission had been acting on
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our behalf. He stated further, that we need one of these two
bodies to make the recommendations to Council. Mr. Anderson then
requested Mr. Bill Saxman to check this out with the view of
finding out whether or not it was legal for the Metropolitan
Planning Commission to act in our behalf in this capacity, in lieu
of our Savannah Beach Planning Commission doing this. City Attorney
Pinson stated that he would check this out.
Councilman Ernest Hosti questioned Bill Saxman of the
Metropolitan Planning Commission, asking if this were not the
same action that was accomplished by the set backs in our Sand
Dune Ordinance. Mr. Saxman responded that they had tracked the
identical language as presently in the Sand Dune Ordinance in
this proposal to be incorporated in our Zoning Ordinance. In
the discussion that followed, City Attorney Pinson stated to Council
that the State Department of Natural Resources had required us to
do this and that it would not be in variance with our present
Sand Dune Ordinance.
Councilman Hosti stated, that from a legal stand point,
he would like to know if this were not encroachment on the people's
property to tell them what they could do and what they could not
do. This question was answered by Attorney Pinson. He stated it
did have some problems in it, and that we were facing some of them
right now; but, that an opinion had been issued by. the State Attorney
General on the marshland protection area, and he ruled that you cou1K'
restrict the use to which a property could be put, but, that you
could not make it so that the property owner could not use it at
all. He said that this would be a taking of the property. He
stated further that the law does recognize that the property is
subject to being used in a way of public good and under the will
of the managing authority, whether it be City, State or Federal
Governement; so, we are allowed to put in those restrictions.
However, he stated, it is according to how far we go whether or
not we get into a legal question, and our Ordinance does leave
some things to be desired. We are looking into that at the pre-
sent time. Mayor Counihan then asked City Attorney Pinson if he
would be willing to render a legal opinion on this at our coming
Regular Meeting of Council on November 18th. Mr. Pinson stated
that he would.
Mr. Saxman asked Council if they had had a chance to look
over the questionnaires which Mr. Bob Brown, of the M.P.C. had
proposed to send out to one group of businessmen on the Beach,
and another group to the residents. It was agreeable with Council
that these be sent out.
Council then took up the second purpose for which the
meeting was called, that is to consider proposal from the Savannah
Bank and Trust Company to settle our claim for un- earned interest
on our Bond Sinking Fund Account due to non - investment by the
Savannah Bank and Trust Company.
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City Attorney Pinson stated that this item concerned .a
problem that arose when it was discoverd by our auditors that
the funds in our Water and Sewer Bond Sinking', Fund Account were
not being invested by Savannah Bank and Trust Company. He stated
further that Council was familiar with the correspondence that
had taken place between Councilman Joe Agnew, Finance Chairman,
and Mr. Ron Freeman, Trust Officer of Savannah Bank and Trust
Company. After which, several different positions were taken by
the bank on this problem; but the last stand that was taken by
the bank before Mr. Agnew turned it over to him for his handling,
was that they were taking a hands off position and standing :firm,
in other words, implied that they were going to do nothing about
it. After that, Mr. Pinson stated, he had a meeting with Mr.
Dennis Ronning, of our auditing firm of Karp and Aaronson, to
get some figures on this apparent mishandling of the Sinking Fund
money as to what amount of money we probably lost due to these
funds not being invested by the bank. Mr. Pinson stated that it
was indicated by Mr. Ronning that during the period of time in
which these funds were not invested by the bank, we had apparently
lost an amount of money between Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars,
and Twelve Thousand ($12,000.00) Dollars. Mr. Pinson stated
further, that as a result of that, he arranged a meeting with Mr.
Freeman, which was attended by himself, together with the City
Clerk and Mr. Dennis Ronning. At this meeting, it was indicated
to Mr. Freeman that under the agreement the City had with the
bank, the City was being charged Ten Cent (10) per coupon paid,
One Dollar ($1.00) per bond paid, and Five Percent (5 %) of the
earnings of all the income that they had invested. At this time,
Mr. Freeman had already discussed with us the waiving of the 5%
earning charge. It was agreeable with Mr. Freeman to get the bank
to do this; but in order to recoup all that we had lost, Mr.
Freeman was also asked to get the bank to waive all that they
had been charging for the coupons and the bonds. He, at that
time, indicated that he did not have the authority to do this
without checking with some of his superiors. Mr. Pinson stated
that if the bank would agree to all of this, then during the
period of the Bond Issue, we would save some Ten Thousand Five
Hundred Dollars ($10,500.00) according to our auditors. He stated
that we felt this would be a break even situation with this arrange-
ment. It was further reported by Mr. Pinson that he has now
received information from Mr. Freeman that the bank had agreed to
accept this entire arrangement as indicated in a letter which he
(City Attorney Pinson) had given a copy to all the Councilmen.
City Attorney Pinson then recommended that this proposal
be accepted as a compromise offer simply due to the fact that if
we did not do this our only recourse would be to seek remedy in
court with which we would incur additional expenses, and have
approximately a fifty -fifty chance of recovering. He stated that
he felt our chances of recovery were good but that we would incur
a legal expense in accomplishing it.
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City Attorney Pinson also stated that there was another
fund under this Bond Issue, which was known as the Savannah Beach
Water and Sewer Construction Fund. The monies in this account
have been invested by the City Clerk and no interest from this
investment have been lost on this account and the yield on it has
been very good. Attorney Pinson stated that the bank wanted them
to handle the investment of it. Attorney Pinson informed Council
that based upon the past handling of the investments of this
account by Ed Patterson, the City Clerk, mainly because the
high yield of the investment and also due to the fact there were
no investment charges involved in the transactions, he stated,
that if the bank handles these investments, we would have to
pay them to do it; and he, therefore, recommended that the City
continue to handle its own investments of this Construction Fund
money. Attorney Pinson stated that it was his understanding that
the Sinking Fund money had now been invested by the bank, but that
he wanted to get this in writing.; He also wanted to give the
bank notification that we, the City, would continue handling the
investment of the Construction Fund money.
To summerize, in order that Council may make the appro-
priate motion, Attorney Pinson stated that the authority he needed
was as follows:
1. City Council accept the compromise offer of the bank.
2. The City maintain our investing of the Construction
Fund as is presently being done.
A motion was then made by Councilman Ernest Hosti that the
compromise as set forth by City Attorney Pinson be accepted. This
motion was seconded by Councilman Edward Fahey and unanimously
carried.
City Attorney Bill Pinson requested permission of Council
at this Special Meeting to make an informal report on a recent bill
rendered by Smith and Portman, and the securing of our legal files
being held by them. He stated that late this afternoon, he had
received a telephone call from Mr. Barney Portman, of Smith and:
Portman, law firm; and that as of this time, the check as agreed
to, had been turned over to Smith and Portman; the promisory note
had been turned over to them; the proper certifications had been
received from them; and all the files held by them would be turned
over to him in the morning. Attorney Pinson stated that this
required no further action from City Council and was being related
to them merely as information.
Mr. Pinson stated that there was one other piece of in-
formation he desired to transmit to Council, and that was that,
after the last Council Meeting, he did notify some of the Council-
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men as to the standing of the bill for legal services with the
present City Attorneys. He stated further that as agreed with
Council, they would be billing on a quarterly basis, and as of the
last meeting, they had put in some one hundred and six (106)
billable hours, which did not include some thirty (30) odd billable
hours, which they did not bill the City for, because these hours
were put in bringing themselves up to date in making the transi-
tion of the City's business; and, that they felt like the City
should not be:•billed for these hours. He stated further that under
the present retainer system, the City was paying for approximately
fourteen and one -half (141) legal hours of work per month, and his
firm would be billing on a three months basis. The first billing
of which would be coming up this month, so it could be readily seen
that the time put in is very much higher than the time called for
by the retainer. He stated that this is merely being passed on to
them as information, because he did not want it to come as a sup -
prise. Also, that it had been indicated by one of the Councilmen,
that, Mr. Pinson stated, that he would like to clear the air on this
understanding; and that at this time, he had asked Mr. Beckman to
attend the meeting with him in order that this might be discussed.
Mayor Counihan stated that in his opinion, if we were going to
have the work for our attorneys, we were going to have to pay them.
Councilman Hosti stated that he felt that Mr. Pinson had been doing
a very good job, and it seemed to be the opinion of the Mayor and
Council that they would like the arrangement continued as it had
been going and as had been agreed upon. Mr. Pinson informed Council
that, as they knew, the present attorneys had inherited a lot of
problems and if they could ever get some of these behind them,
that there would be much less time submitted for legal services
rendered. Councilman Hosti stated, that at the present time, we
were in a crucial period wherein a more than normal amount of
hours were being required of our Attorneys. Councilman Agnew and
Fahey also implied that :these were ..ur sual times for the /City.;. that
we,•.were moving on many fronts, and that quite naturally, we would
be more and more demanding on our Attorneys' time.
Attorney Lou Beckman, a member of the law firm representing
our City, stated that the only reason he was here was because he
was the one who had entered into the agreement with the City; and if
there happen to be any question regarding this agreement, he would
like to be here personally to answer same. He said that since he
was here, though, he would like to pass along to Council one ob-
servation:,,. and that was that, he certainly had observed that Mr.
Pinson had aggressively pursued every problem that had been pre-
sented to him, and that the entire firm had endeavored at all turns,-z .
of the road to enform Council of what they were doing and the
reason why. As an example, he stated, that Bill Pinson's handl-
ing of the Savannah Beach Recorder's Court had been extremely good,
8
a bit unpopular maybe with certain segments of the public; but
he felt our Police Court was in excellent hands. City Council
and the Mayor were unanimously in accord with these statements
and seemed happy and satisfied with the services they were receiving
from our legal representatives.
Prior to the close of the meeting, Councilman Jim Bond
asked for a Special Meeting to be called for next Monday evening,
to consider doing the Lewis Avenue job as outlined by Mr. Joseph
Hutton, of Thomas and Hutton Engineers. City Attorney Bill Pinson
stated that before Council moved in this direction, he would like
to review the Site Certificates on this job but that he really did
not forsee any problem in this area. He stated further that the
problem area sofaras Site Certificates were concerned, was in the
area of Alger and Thrushwood Avenues. He said that he had discussed
this with Mr. Hutton, and that what was going to be required was to
run a Certificate of Title on each individual piece of property in-
volved, which would be a monumental task. He stated further, that
if we could break Lewis Avenue off from the rest of the project,
this would not be a problem. Councilman Bond informed Council that
the word he had received from Mr. Hutton was that, it would cost
the City only approximately Nine Thousand Dollars ($9,000.00)
more to do Lewis Avenue job at this time than if they waited on
the entire program. He stated further that in this, we were pro-
bably talking about a period of time of approximately eight or
nine months. Councilman Agnew suggested that, due to the urgency
of this matter, and everyone agreed that it needed to be done an
quickly as possible, he would like to see it get moving and not
wait for a Council Meeting. Councilman Bond stated that the only
thing he wanted to do was to make sure that it was understood by
all members of Council that this was agreeable with them, that is,
to take it out of the project, even though the City would have to
spend approximately Nine Thousand Dollars ($9,000.00) additionally,
and proceed to get the job done. The Mayor and Council informed
Councilman Bond, there was no objections whatsoever from Council
to handle the Lewis Avenue job in this manner. This was accepted
by Councilman Bond as his authority to proceed with this work.
City Attorney Pinson informed Council, as a matter of
information, that he had arranged to meet with Congressman Bo Ginn,
last week because of the concern that he had in getting into our
Erosion Project, due to the fact that, after ten years, the Federal
Government is getting out of the project so far as financing is
concerned. He stated that this would leave an awful heavy burden
on this City and he wanted to find out what arrangements could be
made insofaras holding the Federal Government in the Project. He
stated that Congressman Ginn had indicated, that, it had been the
usual procedure in the past for the Federal Government to commit''
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itself to a contract of this kind for only ten years; and that,
he felt, we would would have no problem in renewing it for another
ten years, so that, the Federal Government would continue to
finance its share of the Project for the additional time. Attorney
Pinson stated, that, when Congressman Ginn had had an opportunity
of looking into it further, he would transmit a more substantial
opinion to him at that time.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned
to the next regular or special called meeting.
CITY CLERK
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