HomeMy Public PortalAbout19820811CCMeeting1
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Tybee Island, Georgia
August 11, 1982
A regular meeting of the Tybee Island City Council was held at 3:30
p.m. on Wednesday, August 11, 1982 at Tybee Island City Hall. Mayor Charles J.
Hosti presided and the following members of Council were present: Sebastian
J. Orsini, Jerome W. Bettencourt, Klima J. McCutchen, Jeanne M. Hutton, John C.
Wylly, Jr., and James L. Fabrikant, Jr. The city attorney, Mr. Thomas J. Mahoney,
Jr. was also present.
Mayor Hosti welcomed members of the Tybee Island Fire Department and
of the Bureau of Fire Prevention. A presentation explaining the functions of the
fire department was given by Fire Inspector Tom Scholl and by the Fire Chief, John
P. Solomon. Limitations of the local volunteer department, according to the pre-
sentation, are: not enough manpower, inadequate equipment, inadequate housing for
present equipment, and doubts as to adequacy of water supply. It was further noted
that the tougher the local fire code, the less money will be needed to equip an
adequate fire - fighting service.
Mayor Hosti expressed the Council's appreciation for the volunteers,
stating that Tybee Island has one of the best fire departments in the state. City
Attorney Thomas J. Mahoney, Jr. then administered oaths to two fire department
members - Mr. F'., T. Scholl, Fire Inspector, and Mr. C. L. Sasser, Jr., Fire Investi-
gator. Mayor Hosti congratulated both men on their acceptance of responsibility
within the local Fire Department, and thanked all the volunteers for their devotion
to community service.
No one in the audience responded When Mayor Hosti called for visitors
wishing to address City Council, so the meeting was opened for business legally
presented.
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Minutes of the meeting of July 14, 1982 were approved by unanimous vote,
upon motion by Councilperson Fabrikant and second by Councilperson Orsini.
Bills for the month of July were approved as follows: Fire Department -
$1,304.24, Recreation - $79.00, Ceramics - $751.23, Sewer Department - $9,212.15,
Water Department - $1,413.14, Sanitation Department - $3,485.95, Public Works -
$5,408.62, Lifeguards - $1,024.49, Parking Meters - $336.78, Police Department -
$6,826.87, Other Expenses - $112.20, Capital Outlay - $363.00, General Government-
$5,808.04. Remarks concerning expenses were as follows: Public Works - $480.00
was spent for red flags to mark jettys. Police Department - $884.00 in May and
$595.00 in June was spent to house prisoners at County Jail. Radios were purchased
for lifeguards. Bills were all approved for payment.
Councilperson Orsini, liaison with the Planning Commission, reported that
a recommendation for an extension of the PUD for Battery Point Townhouses be
granted. The extension would be for six months, and the recommendation was qbalified
by a clause "providing all fire codes are met ". Mr. Orsini asked that the city
attorney work closely with him to be sure that all city building codes are met. He
then moved that the extension be approved ( a six - month extension from date of this
meeting or until February, 1983) and Councilperson Fabrikant seconded. The motion
passed unanimously.
Councilperson Hutton reported that the beach cleanup has been successful
and that Fred Hughes, President of the Tybee Islam. Chamber of Commerce, has donated
50 or 60 trash cans for the beach; Ms. Hutton thanked him, and also thanked the
public- spirited citizens who are setting an example by picking up litter on the
beach. She thanked the Marine Rescue Squandron for donating their time and work
marking jettys and informed everyone that more than $1,000.00 has been spent thus
far on this project. She thanked those canpanies who have donated radio time for
messages on litter control, and asked the citizens to be alert for vandals, and to
report them to the police department. This is very important because the red flags
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used to mark jettys have been a favorite target for lzanda1s. Mayor Hosti added
that anyone caught taking these flags will be made an example, and the penalty
will be harsh because the danger to swimmers is real, especially from those
jettys just becoming exposed.
Councilman Bettencourt gave a report on the history of the Tybee Museum
fran its inception during the term of Mayor James Brown, and crediting John Wylly,
Tan Br- coley, and Lee Berry for their roles in organizing and funding the museum.
He stated that the city funds the museum at a cost of $500.00 per month and that
it has been a tax - exempt corporation since 1977. He stated that he believes this
$6,000 annual cost is money well spent, and he considers it to be one of those uses
of hotel /motel tax money which is supposed to be spent for the promotion of tourism.
Under Communications, the clerk read a letter from Arnold J. Seyden, Jr.,
dated June 14, 1982 and also a memorandum to City Council from Mr. Seyden, dated
June 11, 1982. The subject of this communication was the Lighthouse Point develop-
ment. After the reading, Councilperson Orsini moved that it be made a part of the
permanent record; Councilperson Hutton seconded, and the vote was unanimously in
favor. A copy is attached to, and becomes a part of, these minutes. Councilperson
Fabrikant noted that the quitclaim of the other 30' portion of the street known as
Hollywood Avenue did not came before the council for vote and he questioned whether
council action is needed. Mayor Hosti turned this matter over to the city attorney
for his study and report.
A letter from Dr. Louis L. Castilian, congratulating the City Council on
the approved appearance of the public beaches, was read and accepted as information.
A letter from Commissioner Joe Tanner of the Department of Natural Re-
sources promising a visit to the island in the near future was accepted as information.
Mayor Hosti then announced his intention of appointing Mr. John Patrick.
Smith of 1509 Chatham Avenue to the Tybee Island Planning Commission. He stated
P.O. Box 561
Tybee Island, GA 31328.
14 June 1982
Mrs. Rowena Fripp
Clerk of City Council
P.O. Box 128
Tybee Island, GA 31328
Dear Mrs. Fripp:
Attached is a fact sheet pertaining to events that led' the letter.of.
8 June 1982 from the Tybee Island Planning Comiission.to the'City Council
concerning the 30- foot'Quit Claim Deed.request for'Hoollywood'Avenue by
the Lighthouse Point Association. It is requested that this letter with
inclosure be recorded in the minutes of..the next City Council meeting.
Hopefully, this will set the record straight and clear up any, improprieties,
that have been suggested by'Mrs. Marion :Dean.
oasipastetr/gY
Incl ARNOLD J. SEYDEN, JR.
as Chairman, Tybee Island
Planning . Commission
"
S U B J E C T : F a c t S h e e t C o n c e r n i n g L e t t e r t o C i t y C o u n c i l ,
L i g h t h o u s e P o i n t A s s o c i a t i o n R e q u e s t
M E M O R A N D U M O R A N D U M F O R R E C O R D 1 1 J u n e 1 9 8 2
1 . O n 7 J u n e 1 9 8 2 , t h e T y b e e I s l a n d P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n c o n d u c t e d
t h e i r r e g u l a r s c h e d u l e d b u s i n e s s m e t i n g . O n e o r d e r o f b u s i n e s s o n t h e
a g e n d a w a s a r e q u e s t b y t h e L i g h t h o u s e P o i n t A s s o c i a t i o n f o r a c h a n g e
i n t h e s i t e p l a n s f o r P h a s e I I o f t h e i r p r o j e c t . A t t o r n e y E r w i n
F r i e d m a n , r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e A s s o c i a t i o n , r e q u e s t e d a c o n d i t i o n a l a p p r o v a l
f r o m t h e P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n f o r :
a . R e d u c t i o n o f 5 4 u n i t s t o 5 1
b . R e l o c a t i o n o f t h e o r i g i n a l l y a p p r o v e d s i t i n g o f t h e s e u n i t s
s o t h a t a b e t t e r v i e w o f t h e o c e a n c a n b e o b t a i n e d .
c . A d d i t i o n o f a n e l e v a t o r a n d c o m m o n a c c e s s b r e e z e w a y c o n n e c t i n g
t h e u n i t s .
2 . P a r t o f t h e r e q u e s t e d c h a n g e s i n c l u d e d a s e p a r a t e r e q u e s t t o C i t y
C o u n c i l f o r a 3 0 ' Q u i t C l a i m D e e d t o H o l l y w o o d A v e n u e R i g h t - o f - W a y w h i c h
w o u l d b e r e q u i r e d t o p r o v i d e a c c e s s f o r p a r k i n g w i t h t h e n e w s c h e m e .
3 . T h e P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n v o t e d t o p o s t p o n e a f o r m a l d e c i s i o n o n
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t o C i t y C o u n c i l u n t i l t h e C o u n c i l m a d e a d e c i s i o n o n t h e
3 0 ' Q u i t e C l a i m D e e d o f H o l l y w o o d A v e n u e R i g h t - o f - W a y .
4 . I n d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e p r o p o s e d c h a n g e s t h e q u e s t i o n w a s a s k e d b y
t h e P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n a s t o w h e t h e r t h e A s s o c i a t i o n w o u l d b e w i l l i n g
t o p a v e t h e e n t i r e r i g h t - o f = w a y s o a s t o a c h i e v e t h e i r a c c e s s f o r
p a r k i n g u n d e r t h e n e w s c h e m e a s w e l l a s p r o v i d e p u b l i c a c c e s s t o t h e
b e a c h f r o n t i n t h i s a r e a . T h i s w o u l d h a v e b e e n i n l i e u o f t h e C i t y
g r a n t i n g t h e 3 0 ' Q u i t C l a i m D e e d . T h i s p r o p o s a l w a s n o t a c c e p t a b l e
t o t h e L i g h t h o u s e A s s o c i a t i o n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s .
5 . U p o n c o m p l e t i o n o f t h e m e e t i n g , t h e C h a i r m a n o f t h e P l a n n i n g
C o m m i s s i o n r e q u e s t e d t h a t t h e r e c o r d i n g s e c r e t a r y m a k e s u r e t h a t t h e p r o p o s a l
p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e p a v i n g o f t h e s t r e e t b y t h e d e v e l o p e r a n d t h e p u b l i c
a c c e s s t o t h e b e a c h b e c l e a r l y r e c o r d e d i n t h e m i n u t e s a n d u n d e r l i n e d .
I t w a s t h e n p o i n t e d o u t b y t h e s e c r e t a r y t h a t t h e r e w a s d o u b t t h a t t h e
m i n u t e s c o u l d b e t y p e d a n d m a d e a v a i l a b l e i n t i m e f o r t h e C i t y C o u n c i l
m e e t i n g s c h e d u l e d o n t h e 9 t h o f J u n e 1 9 8 2 .
6 . C o n s i d e r i n g t h e f a c t t h a t t h e m i n u t e s o f t h e P l a n n i n g C o t m l i s s i o n
m e e t i n g s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e c o m m e n t p e r t a i n i n g t o H o l l y w o o d A v e n u e , w o u l d
n o t b e a v a i l a b l e i n t i m e f o r t h e C o u n c i l m e e t i n g , t h e c h a i r m a n w i t h
a s s i s t a n c e f r o m f e l l o w c o m m i t t e e m e n c o m p o s e d a l e t t e r o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n
f r o m t h e C o m m i s s i o n . T h e f o l l o w i n g m e m b e r s o f t h e P l a n n i n g C o m m i s s i o n
who attended the 7 June 1982 were contacted by phone to discuss the
letter: Messrs Jim Lynes, Frank Mills, Ed Spiers and Arnold Seyden.
Numerous attempts were made to contact Mrs. Dean for her opinion but
no contact could be made with her the entire day of 8 June 1982. Phone
calls were made to her home and the Tybee Welcome Center between the
hours of 0930 am to 1030 p.m. No attempt was made to contact Mrs. Julianne
Meyers or Mr. Pete Deppe as neither of these Commission members were in
attendance at the business meeting of 7 June 82. All members contacted
were in agreement that the attached letter be furnished City Council
before the meeting of 9 June 1982. These 4 members of the Commission
represented a majority vote so the letter was hand - delivered to the City
Clerk the morning of 9 June 82.
7. At approximately 11:30 am on the 9th of June, Mrs. Dean was contacted
by phone to inform her of the contents of the letter and find out her
opinion. Mrs. Dean was informed that the letter had already been delivered
to the City and that 4 members of the Commission had agreed to its contents.
She was informed that the chairman had tried all day before to contact
her concerning her opinion. Mrs. Dean objected strenuously to the letter
and explained that her present home had been built in the pathway of
one such unopened right of way and had caused her many problems. She
said that the unopened street had not been shown on her surveyed sheet
and that the city had approved her building plans. She explained that
after her home had been built she learned that an unopened street passed
right through the house location. She indicated that she obtained a Quit
Claim Deed from the City.
8. The following persons also received a copy of the attached letter
to Council from the Planning Commission: Mr. Erwin Friedman, Mayor
Counihan and newly elected Mayor Host'.
9. At the City Council meeting of 9 June 1982, the Council 'voted 3 to 2
in favor of Quit Claiming the 30' Hollywood Avenue right of way to the
Lighthouse Association as well as the other 30' side of the Avenue
to Mr. Ed Berry. Mr. Ed Berry, through his attorney Lee had originally
objected by letter to the Planning Commission, to the City granting a
Quit Claim Deed to the Lighthouse Association.
10. It is the opinion of this writer that the Planning Commission is still
obligated to conduct a special meeting in order to make recommendations
to City .Council for those itmes as presented in paragraph la thru lc of
this Fact Sheet. These recommendations would then be furnished City
Council for their action.
11. The clear cut ownership of unopened streets as shown on the County
Tax Digest Maps for Tybee Island still remains a clouded issue and a
legally debatable item. This problem must be cleared up before accurate
city planning can be achieved. Perhaps a court declaratory judgement.,
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if applicable in the state of Georg, can be a
situaaian is clarified. sue.
c
8 June 1982
The Honorable Michael J. Counihan
Mayor, City, of Tybee Island, GA
P. 0. Box 128
Tybee Island, GA 31328
Reference: Lighthouse Point Beach Club, Phase II
Dear Mayor Counihan and City Council:
The Tybee Planning Commission recommends that the city not quit claim
Hollywood Avenue to the developer. Access to beach for the public and
some additional parking spaces can be achieved in another way which will also
serve the developer's need. If developer is willing to pave the full width
of street installing good paving, curb and gutter in a design satisfactory
to the city, the Planning Commission recommends approval of the plan, pro-
vided the buildings constructed by the developer have a reasonable set back
from the street and there is no private construction on the city's public
street. City should accept the street for continued maintenance in a
formal resolution. This does not unduly injure the party across the street,
Mr. Ed. Berry, as his view of the ocean will be essentially the same as
under the presently approved plan.
CF:
Mr. Erwin A. Friedman
14 East State Street
Savannah, GA 31402
Mr. Charles J. Hosti
P. 0. Box 1538
Tybee Island, GA 31328
Sincerely,
Aion67 , d4061
ARNOLD J. SEYDEN, JR.
Chairman, Planning Commission
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that Mr. Smith will be replacing Mr. Pete Dieppe who is moving, and that his term
will begin idiately, upon Council's approval, and end on March 18, 1984. The
City Council unanimously endorsed Mayor Hosti's appointment. Councilperson Orsini
suggested that a thank -you letter be sent to Mr. Dieppe who has served the planning
commission faithfully for several years.
City Attorney Mahoney read Ordinance #3 -1982, a repeal of a bond requirement
for contractors. The ordinance passed unanimously on first reading.
Ordinance #2 -1982 was brought before Council for Second Reading. Council-
person Orsini made a public statement explaining a survey he made before the election.
He said the non- political survey was made, mostly in the area of the post office, and
that the results were given to each mayoral candidate. He said 289 people wanted
evening meetings, and that many, many people were against Wednesday nights, but that
no promises were made. He added that he personally had voted against Wednesday night
meetings on several previous occasions. Councilperson Fabrikant moved to accept the
ordinance, Councilperson Bettencourt seconded and the vote was four (Fabrikant, Wylly,
Bettencourt and McCutchen) in favor and two (Orsini and Hutton) against. The ordi-
nance passed, and becomes effective at once. The next regular meeting of City Council
will be held on Wednesday, September 8th, at 7:30 p.m.
Councilperson Wylly introduced a Resolution setting the millage for FY82/83
at 12 mils. Mayor Hosti noted that the former administration had tried to cut the
millage to 9 mils after the budget was adopted, but that it was immediately evident
that to do so would result in deficits, since most departments required mate
expenditures for maintenance and upkeep of equipment, etc. He further stated that
the two hours per day he had promised the people has proven to be not enough; he is
spending the majority of each weekday at his desk in City Hall. After some further
discussion Councilperson Wylly moved to adopt the resolution and Councilperson Bet -
tencourt seconded. The resolution was adopted by unanimous vote and a copy is
attached to, and becomes a part of, these minutes.
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Councilperson Hutton announced that the city is seeking a permit to
locate a dry trash fill on the island, and that a survey of available city property
is necessary before the permit application can be completed. Council unanimously
accepted a proposal from Barrett Land Surveying, Inc. in the amount of $1745.00 to
survey and mark two possible locations, and provide maps and water table levels for
both sites.
A contract with Barfield Company for laying a new sewer line, and plugging
the old line located at Butler Avenue and First Street was discussed. Councilperson
Orsini expressed his appreciation to the citizens residing in the area who have been
living with an awkward situation between Highway 80 at Second Street. He stated that
they have been most understanding of the emergency procedures the city has had to use,
and that they have not complained. He then moved the contract's approval; Council-
person Wylly seconded, and the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Hosti noted that
the contract has already been signed, due to the emergency situation, and that today's
action is a formal approval of emergency action taken by the Mayor and the Water/
Sewer Committee last week. The total contract amount is $18,666.32.
The Second Reading of Ordinance #3 -1982 followed. After a short discussion,
the council unanimously adopted the ordinance. It becomes effective at once.
The meeting was adjourned.
(3"
CLERK OF COUNCIL ALtK
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STATE OF GEORGIA )-
COUNTY OF CHATHAM )
1, FT
, do solemnly0Wear that I will faithf111Y
discharge the duties devolved on me as.17VP"rCC /01't Of
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the Tybee Island Volunteer Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention; that
I will faithfully execute and enforce the laws and ordinances of the City of
Tybee Island to the best of my ability, skill acid knowledge, SO HELP ME GOD.
Sworn to and subscribedbefore me
this fie day of , 1982.
Thoma J. Mahoney, Jr.
Recorder
City of Tybee Island, Georgia
STATE OF GEORGIA )
COUNTY OF CHATHAM )
I, e. z. Aff 5/z ,TR. , do solemnly swear that I will faithfully
lr-
discharge the duties devolved on me as ,L.,64/67.fr/e;/97-01.?
of
the Tybee Island Volunteer Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention; that
I will faithfully execute and enforce the laws and ordinances of the City of
Tybee Island to the best of my ability, skill and knowledge, SO HELP ME GOD.
Sworn to and subscribed before me
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this �/ day of /19e/../(77- , 1982.
Th J. Mahoney, Jr.
Recorder
city-of Tybee Island, Georgia
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P.O. Box 561
Tybee Island, GA 31328
14 June 1982
Mrs. Rowena Fripp
Clerk of City Council
P.O. Box 128
Tybee Island, GA 31328
Dear Mrs. Fripp:
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Attached is a fact sheet pertaining to events that led to the letter of
8 June 1982 from the Tybee Island Planning Commission to the City Council
concerning the 30 -foot Quit Claim Deed request for Hollywood Avenue by
the Lighthouse Point Association. It is requested that this letter with
inclosure be recorded in the minutes of the next City Council meeting.
Hopefully, this will set the record straight and clear up any improprieties
that have been suggested by Mrs. Marion Dean.
Sincerely,
Incl ARNOLD J. SEYDEN, JR.
as Chairman, Tybee Island
Planning Commission