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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20051013CCMeeting1 1 1 @ @ITEM 2005 -10 -13 City Council Minutes Jason Buelterman, Mayor Pro Tem, called the October 13, 2005 Tybee Island City Council Meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Council Members present were Paul Wolff, Jack Youmans, Shirley Sessions, Eddie Crone, and Mallory Pearce. City Attorney Edward Hughes and City Manager Bob Thomson were also present. Council Member Shirley Sessions gave the invocation. The Tybee Memorial Color Guard posted the Colors and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Mayor Pro Tem Buelterman announced that Mayor Walter Parker was in California at a meeting with the National League of Cities and was trying to get backing for beach renourishment. He read a memo from Mayor Parker in which Parker said he hoped to get beach renourishment on the agenda in Washington. Paul Wolff thanked DPW and everyone for the huge success of E -Cycle Day. He said they had better than expected response. He said they took the recyclables to Lake Mayer and filled four and one half trailers. Wolff said this was such a success, that it is planned to have at least two a year in the future, so save your old TV's and other electronics that don't work anymore. Shell Solomon told Council that he was co- chairman of the Jack Youmans Retirement Committee. He said Jack was retiring from public service after more than eighteen years. Solomon said there was a party planned for December 10, 2005 at the gym and asked Council to declare December 10th as Jack Youmans Day. He said Mayor Walter Parker had committed to serve as Master of Ceremonies. He said tickets were $500.00 for a table of ten or could be purchased separately, but the current Council Members could attend at no charge. If anyone was interested in tickets, please call Diane Sikes at City Hall or him. He said entertainment was planned and invited everyone to attend and celebrate Jack's service to this community. Joel Solomon, owner of Cafe Loco, asked Council for a variance to build a water fall on the right of way at the entrance to his cafe. He said he was not asking for any money only permission. Solomon said he thought the water fall would beautify the area and he had already had a lot of trash and trailers removed. He said the proposed water fall would be ten feet long and five feet wide. Hughes said the City could not authorize the building of a non - transportational structure on the right of way. Hughes said there is lot going on right now in that right of way and he would suggest that Council just take this under advisement. Buelterman said they would take this under advisement. Buelterman said that Dac Cowart had asked for his presentation to be postponed until the next regular Council meeting on October 27t. 1 of 13 1 1 Jon Brown, candidate for City Council, addressed Council regarding a letter from Karp, Roning, & Tindol, who served as auditors for the City, concerning a checking account that had been opened by the Police Department without Council's approval. Brown said he understood the recommendation was to close the account and have all monies centralized through the Finance Department. Brown said when he requested copies of the account under the Open Records Act, he received a letter from Jan Fox, Chief Financial Officer, that she had no knowledge of this account. He said this letter was dated June 11, 2004 and in July of 2004, Mrs. Fox was a member of the Audit Committee and they had reviewed the auditor's management letter at that time. Brown said he also had a letter dated October 7th from Diane Sikes, stating that no City Funds were included in this account, and not part of public records, but he had a copy of a cancelled check signed by Jimmy Price and Chris Case in the amount of $1247.00. Brown said he also had the purchase order signed by Bob Thomson to be taken from nonobligated funds and a budget adjustment He said he had a message from Chris Case to Jason Cowan, a former Finance Director, asking to deposit funds as they were overdrawn. He also had a copy of an agreement signed by the Mayor authorizing a personal loan to Bob Thomson and that he had advised Council about this seven or eight times. Brown said the City credit card had also been used for personal items. He asked if anything was ever going to done about this or were we just going to sit on it. Buelterman said he would ask the City Manager and City Attorney to look into the accusations and then answer at a later time. Brown said he had been told that seven or eight times and asked what it would take. Buelterman said they would have an answer at the next Council meeting on October 27th. Jeff Schroeder reminded Council that he had talked to them at the September 8th meeting regarding the parking situation in front of his house. He said he had requested resident parking and it had been approved by the City Manager on September 20th and he had the signs installed. He said then after some complaints, he received a letter stating that it had been a mistake and cited some exclusions by the Corps of Engineers. Schroeder said on October 7th he received a letters stating that exclusionary parking was not permitted and there were no examples of such on the Island. He said on October 12th, the meter was reinstalled and the signs were taken down, and then today the meter was bagged. He said he had given each member pictures of about twenty examples of private parking on the Island, so it does exist. Schroeder went over the examples he had supplied. Schroeder said he would like to have the sign back but understands that will probably not happen. He said what he is asking is that all of other signs for private parking be removed. Schroeder said his wife also has a handicapped situation. Buelterman thanked Schroeder for bringing this to the Council's attention. Hughes said he felt that people had taken it upon themselves to put the private parking signs up and that he does not remember the City Council ever approving private street parking. When asked for his opinion, Thomson said he would recommend that all of the private parking signs be removed. He said that another issue has come up from the Corps of Engineers concerning any restriction on parking for the public. Youmans said years ago he had made about fifty signs and the City sold them to the residents. He said then it was determined that the City could not designate the City streets for private use but they belonged to everyone. He said all of those signs were then removed but evidently one still remains. Buelterman said Council could not act on this tonight as it was not on the agenda. Schroeder said it 2 of 13 1 was approved previously. Buelterman asked who approved it and Schroeder said Bob Thomson. Buelterman said he would to place this on the agenda for October 27th under Thomson's name and see if a policy could be approved to maintain consistency. Wolff asked if the handicap issue could be addressed and put a handicap parking spot there. Youmans said if there is a handicap place, it could be used by anyone who had a handicap tag or decal. When asked if he had a recommendation for this particular issue, Hughes said no, that the Schroeders had off - street parking. He said they could use their full yard for parking. Mrs. Schroeder said they do use it, and Mr. Schroeder said they have five vehicles. Hughes said that it seemed they had more vehicles than room to park them. He said the public right of way is just that, public. Buelterman said, in his opinion, these individual issues should not be acted upon tonight but placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Schroeder asked if he could have the signs back until all of the rest of them were removed. Schroeder said this issue is not going away and Buelterman agreed, and said that it would be discussed at the next meeting in two weeks. Schroeder asked if he could be reimbursed $75.00 he spent on the signs. Thomson said he thought they still had the signs. Sessions said the parking issue, especially in the C -1 District, keeps coming up. She said she thought it was a shame that people cannot park on the street in front of their home. Sessions said that people in that area complain about the lack of parking, however, when a different issue is discussed, they all feel differently. Crone said it is not just the condos that are taking the parking spaces. He said if you put restaurants there or anything else, the parking is not going to be there. Buelterman asked if anyone had a problem with bagging the meters until this issue is resolved in two weeks. Sessions asked who gave permission to pay for the signs. Thomson said he did and all he wants is consistency. Sessions said she is concerned about decisions made by Thomson and then issues are brought back to Council to solve. Thomson said he would find the signs and the decision was made to allow them to go back up for two weeks until the October 27th meeting. Buelterman advised the Schroeders that if they wanted to be involved in that discussion, they should attend the meeting. He said it would be on the agenda. David Ring addressed Council on a issue involving the rental of City facilities and the depositing of the cleaning deposit. Ring said he had rented the gym on October 8th and paid $450.00 user fee and $400.00 for the cleaning deposit. He said no one explained the new procedure of depositing the cleaning deposit in the bank. He said in the past, the check for the cleaning deposit was held, attached to the application, and then returned after it was determined that the facility was left clean. Ring said Jan Fox explained the new wording meant that the check would be deposited but he said he didn't interpret it that way. He said he didn't deduct the $400.00 from his account because he didn't think it would be put in the bank. Ring said because of this, he had three check returned from the bank at $28.00 each for a total of $84.00 and some embarrassment. He said he though the wording on the application should be made cleared so that other people would not have the same problems. Ring said he had noticed that contractors had tapped into the fire hydrants at the constructions site on Butler Avenue, and he just wanted to bring that to the City's attention. Thomson said there should be a meter on that so that the City knows how much water is being used. Buelterman asked someone from the Zoning Department to check and make sure there was a meter there. He asked if anyone wanted 1 to address the first issue. Sessions said she thought the person taking the application should explain these type of things so that it will be clear. Thomson said Nobles usually explains everything but he was not there and didn't take this particular application. Buelterman said he thought is should be added to the application in bold letters. Ring asked why the check was for the cleaning fee was deposited two weeks before the event happened. Buelterman said Thomson would look at the dates and that would be addressed also. Buelterman said he a had a couple of announcements. First, the Fire Prevention Program that was rained out previously, has been rescheduled for October 26th from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Fire Station. The date for the flu shots has been changed from October 28th to October 27th by the Health Department. Flue shots will also be given on October 18th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM and the cost will be from $20 to $25. Buelterman said he would open the meeting for each public hearing and then open the meeting for business legally presented and vote on the issue at that time. Buelterman opened the meeting for the following public hearing. Dick Smith, Chairman of the Planning Commission, presented the first public hearing for a site plan approval for 45 condo units at 211 Butler Avenue, PIN 4- 0004 -08 -004, Diversified Design, petitioner. Smith said this request had been withdrawn by the petitioner. Buelterman said Council still has to hold the hearing and ask for comments. Smith said this would come back to Council at the first meeting in November. Mary Ann Bramble, Kathryn Williams, and a gentleman all spoke regarding drainage, parking, and following the Master Plan. The questions that were to be addressed were the drainage plan, trees and landscaping, reducing the level of the property, and the parking plan. There was a lengthy discussion. Buelterman closed the public hearing, and no action was taken by the Council. Buelterman opened the meeting for a public hearing for a request for a site plan approval for 12 condo units at 18 Silver Avenue, PIN 4- 0008 -05 -003, The Carson Company, petitioner. Smith said the drainage plan had been submitted and the engineer's concerns had been addressed. He said the site engineer and the owner were present if anyone had questions for him. Smith said the PC voted to approve. Sessions referred to letter from Downer Davis, Engineer for the City, in which he addressed issues about the fire flow calculations and EPD approval may be necessary for any water load. Smith said he understood that an agreement had been reached that if looping was necessary or a new fire hydrant was needed, as there may be a defective hydrant, the contractor has agreed to provide that. Sessions asked if we had anything in writing. Smith said the information was included in the PC minutes and the contractor has said, if necessary, he would supply this. Mark Boswell, the Design Engineer for the project, said the concern was that the pressure was too low. He said when they checked, it was. Boswell said when they checked, they found a leak in the hydrant. He said when the leak is repaired, the pressure should be up. Sessions said she thought when this was repaired, then the request should be considered. Sessions said her concern is safety in case of a fire, as she had experienced a problem when she lived in that area. Youmans said they did loop those lines not too long ago. Wolff questioned the width of the driveway and quoted the 4 of 13 1 1 ordinance that states a residential driveway can only be 25 feet wide. Dee Anderson said this comes up often and the ordinance is not clear. Hughes said the ordinance actually reads that is for residential lots, but this is a commercial lot in the commercial zone. He said this had been discussed during another public hearing but no change has ever been presented. Hughes said the Code Section is 3 -080 in the Land Development Code and it refers specifically to residential lots and this is a commercial lot. He said a restaurant could be opened there and the driveway could be as wide as they want. Wolff said this is a residential use and therefore it becomes a residential lot. Hughes said he understood the argument but that is not what the Code says. Pearce asked about the existing trees and if they had considered the mitigation. Boswell said yes, there are five trees that will be moved and two additional would be planted. Sessions asked why Council didn't have the latest plan. Angel Schroeder asked about a variance for the setbacks, and Buelterman said there was no variance requested. She said this property abuts hers. She also questioned the noise from the air conditioning units. Schroeder also said she was concerned about fire. She also expressed concern about drainage. Patrick Hanson, architect on the project, said the air conditioning units will be placed under the building. There was some confusion as to where this property was located in relation to the Schroeder property. It was determined that this property does not abut the Schroeders. Buelterman asked Downer Davis to address the drainage for this project. Davis said he had asked for the retention pond to be deepened and the runoff to be widened, and Boswell has agreed. Davis said based on the calculations, there should not be a problem with the drainage. Davis also said there should not be a problem with the fire hydrant after the City performs the necessary maintenance. He said the builder has agreed to install an additional hydrant if the pressure for the existing one is not adequate. Sessions asked who is held responsible for following the approved plans if the property is sold once or more times before the project is completed. Hughes said the fmal owner is responsible. Jeff Schroeder said this property is behind his property. He said it does flood when we get rain. He said there is no storm drain on that street so where is the water going. Dee Anderson said this lot is not behind the Schroeders but next to the Beach Comber Motel. He said there is a fire hydrant on Butler and another one at the end of Silver on Strand. Boswell said they cannot fix existing drainage problems and all they can do is not make it worse. He said they are routing almost 100% of their water back through their pond and not letting any run off onto the adjacent property. Maya Byrd said she owns property with her brother, and she has never seen water stand on this property. Buelterman closed the public hearing and opened the meeting for business legally presented. Youmans motioned for approval, Crone seconded. Sessions said her concern is the re- tweaking that was talked about. Wolff said he would like to see the final drainage plan, fire flow calculations, and reconfiguring the driveway. Davis said the issues he had mentioned are not major and feels that they will be addressed. He said he is not the only one responsible for making sure everything is done. He said Mark Williams also reviews the plans, as well as other staff members. Pearce asked if the builder would be willing to redraw the driveway and Wolff said he would like to see it conform to the residential use requirements. When asked if he would amend his motion, Youmans said no. Vote was 3, Youmans, Buelterman, and Crone, in favor, and 3, Sessions, Wolff, and Pearce, opposed. Vote was tied, therefore there was no action. Hughes said they could come back before Council, and the hearing would have to be re- advertised. 5of13 1 1 Buelterman opened the meeting for a public hearing for a request for a variance for continued use of a non - conforming structure at 1014 Jones Avenue, PIN 4- 0006 -12 -007, Shawn Batterton, petitioner. Smith said the proposal is to move the carport to the front of the house and closing in the existing carport and making it heated living space. Smith said the owners are planning to move to Tybee full time and need the additional space. He said the PC voted to approve. Wolff said he normally doesn't vote for variances but this is a small house and all they are trying to do is to square up the house, and it involved very little space. He said he didn't have a problem. Buelterman closed the public hearing and opened the meeting for business legally presented. Wolff motioned for approval, Youmans seconded. Vote was 5, Wolff, Youmans, Buelterman, Crone, and Pearce, in favor, and 1, Sessions, opposed. Buelterman opened the meeting for a public hearing for a request for a major subdivision of five lots at 1318 Solomon Avenue, at Highway 80 and Bay Streets, PIN 4- 00026 -02- 018, Robert J. Groover, petitioner. Smith said the five lots all meet the size requirement and the drainage issues have been addressed. He said the PC voted to approve. Pearce asked about the large live oak that is in the middle of the property. Groover said that the plan shows the cul -de -sac and the road turning to avoid the tree. Wolff asked if all of these lots were single family. Groover said not, Lots 3 & 5 are single family, lot 4 is a duplex lot, and the other two lots would be commercial. Buelterman said when this came before Council previously, one issue was the traffic increase on Solomon Avenue. Groover said in the first plan, one lot on Solomon was to have been commercial but now it is residential so traffic should not be a problem. He said the commercial lots will front on Highway 80 and will be accessed from the highway. Sessions questioned the letter from the City engineer and asked if the issues had been addressed satisfactorily as it didn't state in his second letter. Davis said his concern was the water pressure for the fire hydrants but they will put in 2 -inch lines and it won't be a problem. He said once an issue is satisfied, he doesn't include it in subsequent letters. Davis said after visiting the sight today he didn't think drainage outfall to the east would be a problem. He said the project engineer will provide documentation that it would not adversely affect the adjacent property. The project engineer said they plan to connect to a neighbor's storm box and he talked with the neighbor tonight and he said he would not have a problem with that. He said there is no way they would connect to the box without a letter and an easement. Dr. O'Shaughnessy spoke against the project and the condo projects. Sessions asked about parking and a buffer for the commercial lots. Groover said he thought there would be plenty of parking but that would be addressed when the commercial proposal is presented, but now they are just asking for the subdivision of the property. Groover said if he is the one who develops the commercial lots, he would certainly provide the buffer for the residential lots. Dee Anderson said the commercial proposals would have to come back for approval. Buelterman closed the public hearing and opened the meeting for business legally presented. Pearce motioned for approval contingent on saving the live oak tree and the drainage plan approved, Youmans seconded. Buelterman said this project has come before Council before and all of the issues have been addressed and solved. Vote was unanimous. 6 of 13 1 1 1 Buelterman opened the meeting for a public hearing for a variance to the Shore Protection Act and a side setback for a duplex at 1 18th Street, PIN 4- 0009 -06 -001, Ciphers design for Rocker Development, petitioner. Smith said this request had been withdrawn by the petitioner. Buelterman opened the meeting for a public hearing for a site plan for a mixed use development of retail use on the ground floor and twenty residential condo units on the upper floors at 1415 Butler Avenue, PIN 4- 0007 -17 -001, Cipher Designs for Rocker Development, petitioner. Smith said there is 3800 square feet of retail space and the parking for retail is on the side street and the front. Smith said the parking for the residential units is on ground level and the PC approved this request. Gary Sanders, architect for the project, said that they have a slide presentation. He said this is a conceptual proposal to give Council a chance to review it. He said they plan to go back over the entire process again with final site plan. This structure will replace Cap'n Chris's Restaurant and the Happy Holiday Motel. The project has a green roof over the retail area, and the parking is screened from Butler Avenue. Sanders said they are asking for a variance for ten parking spaces for the retail area, but they are within 1000 feet of a municipal parking lot, which would be allowed if they were keeping the existing structure for retail. Wolff and Sessions agreed that this is what is needed in the commercial district. Keith Gay said that most of the commercial customers would be foot traffic. He said parking is a problem now. John Major asked about the height of the elevator shafts and Wolff said the 35 foot limit does not apply to elevators. There was some discussion about the parking. Buelterman closed the public hearing and opened the meeting for business legally presented. Wolff motioned for approval, Youmans seconded. Vote was unanimous. Hughes said the discussion for C -1 District multi - family is open but no vote could be taken. It has not been advertised for a public hearing. Sessions said we had a growth control ordinance at one time but it had an expiration date. She said this issue has gone back and forth between the Planning Commission and Council and she understood the PC has indicated they didn't think a change to the current codes needed any changes. She said these issues continually come up at our meetings and she thinks we do need to do something. She said Henry Levy, Shell Solomon, and some other citizens have come up with some great ideas. Crone said we do need some options, but Youmans said to leave it alone. Pearce said number of units per square footage is one option. Youmans said he thought everyone in that area should be notified. Anderson said he would assure Youmans that the people would be notified before this came to a vote. Anderson said he had a list of every lot in that district and the lot size varies greatly. Wolff suggested eliminating a couple of the largest and a couple of the smallest to get a workable average lot size. Wolff said he thought if we took the requirement for a duplex of 6750 sq. ft., dividing that, then using that as the requirement for a multi - family unit. Wolff said another option is increasing the setbacks per number of units. Wolff said we could also look at minimum lot size requirement, maximum lot coverage, and maximum number of unit per lot size. He said we have a long way to go but we need to open the dialogue. Buelterman said he felt sure other communities have had these same issues. Buelterman said he thought we should obtain a third party who has no involvement and is a complete 7of13 1 1 1 professional to look at this. Crone said we need input from citizens to remedy this issue and work together. Sessions said we have a lot of people on the Island who are interested and willing to work on this. Keith Gay said everyone says that we have no control with the current codes. He said, in fact, that is not true. We have parking requirements, height limitation, and setback requirements. Sessions agreed but said when the condos are rented, two parking spaces are not enough. Gay disagreed, and said this is predominantly a day trip Island during the summer. Henry Levy said you could control the density by the number of bedrooms. He said require a parking space per bedroom or more setback areas, or the square footage. He said we could bring in some experts, the City Manger should be competent enough to answer a lot of these questions. He said the people on the Planning Commission should be competent enough to do the research and come up with answers. He said Council should go outside and get some help. Penn Myrick said the condos are only used about three months out of the year. He said the condo owners are paying tons of taxes and saving the year around residents. Youmans said the owners who rent their units also pay a lot in hotel/motel taxes. Wolff suggested we invite a group from the DCA to offer some suggestions. Anderson said he could contact the RDC and Sessions suggested contacting the MPC. Buelterman asked Anderson to contact these organizations and try to find an expert to address Council on all of these concerns. He asked if it would be feasible to have some answers at the next meeting. Anderson agreed. Youmans said also have the property owners concerns considered also. Angel Schroeder suggested that some answers may be gotten from Beaufort, S. C. as they had some of the same issues and have solved them. Sessions asked Thomson about the planning firm we had hired and what they were doing. Thomson said they had submitted a proposal but it was too high. He said he had asked them to rework it and resubmit. He said he still had a proposal that was submitted in September and he would get that to Council. Buelterman adjourned for a short break. Buelterman call the meeting back to order. Smith said the Planning Commission table the discussion on property being used for rentals until their next meeting. He said they had invited the Chief to attend the next meeting, along with Mr. Gay, Ms. Gaster, and anybody else who is in the property management or rental business. Smith said it was brought before the Planning Commission to repeal the After the Fact Variance Ordinance. Smith said the PC felt that requiring someone to tear down a structure prior to coming before Council was too harsh. There was a long discussion regarding the extra cost to property owners in requiring an addition survey and an elevation certificate is already required when the first floor is finished. Chuck Bargeron said it is the owner's responsibility to comply with all codes. Buelterman suggested that we leave as is and give it more time to see if it will work out or be a problem. Hughes said this was not advertised so that no vote could be taken. He said if Council decided to 8of13 1 1 1 remove this ordinance, we would have to have a public hearing just like we did when it was put in. Mayor Pro Tem Buelterman opened the meeting for other business legally presented according to law. Buelterman explained the Consent Agenda, a new procedure Council would try to cut back on the length of the meetings. To be included on the Consent Agenda, an item must have unanimous approval, and if there is any controversy, it would not be included. The items on tonight's Consent Agenda are: 1. Alcohol License for Wild Side Tybee LLC, Brian J. Coates, Owner, at 1513 Butler Avenue. 2. Sunday Sales of Alcohol for Tybee Theater Cafe, Lorrie Rumpel, Owner at 402 First Street (Have existing Alcohol License.) 3. Minutes for September 22, 2005 Council Meeting 4. Terms of the terms of the commitment from Cellular Wireless, which is an agenda amendment. 5. The terms of the contract for Custodial Service for City Hall, Police Department, and Court Room, which is also an agenda amendment. Buelterman asked if anyone wished to speak to Council concerning any one of these items. Pearce motioned for approval, Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Buelterman said he didn't think we should act on the request by Joel Solomon. He asked Hughes is that was something that could be done and should we ask him to return with his proposal. Hughes said he didn't think what he proposed could be done that way. He said he thought he should amend his proposal and come back, when Buelterman asked what Solomon should do. Sessions motioned to approve December 10, 2005 as Jack Youmans Day, Wolff seconded. Vote was 5, Wolff, Sessions, Buelterman, and Pearce, in favor, and 1, Crone, opposed in jest. Council also agreed to waive the fees for use of gym on that day. Jan Fox requested a budget adjustment for the 911 Fund from the General Fund. She said the 911 Fund should have been segregated but was not done. She said she is trying to clean up some errors before the 2006 budget is set up. Wolff said there had been some talk about Thunderbolt joining our 911 system and asked if there was any information on that. Thomson said there was some discussion but it has not gone any further and thought it was a dead issue. Fox said they had a successful test of the second phase of the cell system and that money should start coming in soon. Crone motioned for approval, Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Fox requested a budget adjustment of $12,000 in legal line items between our general government and lawsuit account. She said it is revenue neutral. Crone motioned for approval, Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Fox said the beach related expenses were over budget for this year. She requested a budget adjustment for the Beach Task Force of $17,000 and two additional mobi mats for $11,000. Wolff said he recalled the Beach Task Force saying that could cut back on 9of13 1 Howard Marlowe's services. Thomson said that is true but, in fact, they are using him more. Fox said we would pay Marlowe a total of $28,000 this year, if this adjustment is approved. Buelterman said Marlowe knows his business and is lobbying for our beach renourishment. He said the cost of the renourishment in 2007 will be over $10 million and Marlow's efforts could get us $7 million from the Federal Government. Buelterman he thought this would be money well spent. Pearce motioned for approval, Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. Wolff motioned for approval of the adjustment for the mobi mats, Sessions seconded. Thomson said one would be used to extend the walk on 8th Street and the other will probably be on 11th Street. Vote was unanimous. Jason Nobles presented a request for a budget adjustment for skates at the gym in the amount of $16,000 from the 2006 budget. Nobles gave a brief outline of the plans for skating at the gym. He said they would target young people and families. He said they would rent the gym on an hourly basis for skating functions and only allow the use of the rental skates or approved privately owned skates. He said they plan to put a safety railing, at a cost of $2000.00, on one side, which is not protected. He said this would allow the gym to become a multi -use facility. Nobles said he did not have any figures from other facilities. Sessions asked if a survey was done to see who would participate. She said her concern is for us to be sure the facility would be used before we spend the money. She said that we have already spent $120,000 in the first nine months, and the projection is that we will spend $20,000 each month until the end of the year. She said she just wanted to make sure we will get a return on our money. Sessions suggested putting a survey sheet in the gym and churches, and then make a decision based on the results. Nobles said he thought the more we could do to use the gym, the more it would benefit the gym and the City. Sessions agreed as long as we are confident that people will support it. Buelterman asked Nobles if he could get some figures from other communities and bring it back at the next meeting. Nobles said he would do that. Fox said the Parks & Recreation Department has requested a truck now. She said it is included in the request for next year's budget and we do have the money now. She said they need a vehicle to get to the different parks and restrooms to perform the maintenance and custodial duties. Sessions asked what are they using now. Nobles said they have the old pick -up truck from DPW. He said it is not time efficient for two employees to share when they have to go to different locations and they also need the truck to transport equipment. He said the two vehicles they were using had been sold. Nobles said they have to transport brooms, mops, buckets, and other supplies, as well as, the landscaping equipment when they start the maintenance of the City Parks. Crone said the old Crown Victoria will bum a lot more fuel. Wolff suggested getting a 4- cylinder truck. Pearce motioned for approval, Youmans seconded. Vote was 4, Wolff, Youmans, Crone, and Pearce, in favor, and 2, Sessions and Buelterman, opposed. Fox presented a request for a budget adjustment for $39,600 for cameras for police cars. Fox said the Chief has requested cameras in the police cars in order to record traffic stops. Fox said there are two in next year's budget and one has been purchased already. Sessions said this is a lot of money but thinks we need this and thinks it will pay off in 10 of 13 1 1 the long run. Youmans said he would vote for it as long as there is no switch that the officer can cut off if they want to. Fox said she didn't know if there was a switch, but was told that the tape runs for eight hours. Todd Smith, IT Director, said he thought the tape stays on but you have to press the record button to start recording. Wolff asked about a digital system and how much more that would cost. Buelterman said Youmans brought up a very good issue and thought we should look into that before they vote. Buelterman asked Fox to bring back when she had the information. Fox requested a tax budget adjustment for $240,000 from the millage that stayed at 4.117 to be added to the Contingency Fund. She said the money is a result of increased property assessments. Sessions the Contingency Fund is to keep the City in operation in case of a disaster that shuts down operations. Fox said we have enough now for four and one half months. Sessions most experts feel that coastal cities should have at least six months of operating funds in a contingency fund. Sessions motioned for approval, Wolff seconded. Vote was 5, Wolff, Youmans, Sessions, Crone, and Pearce, in favor, and 1, Buelterman, opposed, on general principles, he said. Fox said the Waste Management contract that was negotiated last year was never signed. She said she was asked to bring it back to Council to get it ratified so that it could be signed. Fox said we are operating under this contract now. Fox said we will be receiving a $.07 reduction in our recycling because of it but it needs to be approved and signed. Wolff motioned to approve, Pearce seconded. Wolff said the savings will go toward paying the senior citizens' cost. Youmans asked if there wasn't a fuel surcharge. Fox said there was a fuel adjustment earlier this year before fuel cost went so high and they can only have one a year. There are four additional years on this contract. Fox said this one went to the year 2009. Vote was unanimous. Hughes said we have the contract from MuniCode. He said Council should have copies of the corrections to our current code. He said he had talked with their attorney and thought they were getting back on schedule. Hughes said we should be getting copies of the code in adoptable form very soon. Hughes said he would encourage Council to hold a public hearing to adopt an amendment to the code that clarifies the applicable setbacks when you have mixed uses and it would depend on the use. He said he understood the discussion at a previous meeting that Council wanted the residential setbacks applied when the residential use is on the second floor. Wolff asked if Section 3 -080 could also be amended so that when a commercial lot is used for residential, it would to conform to residential requirements. Hughes said yes, the code is inconsistent in referring to condos as residential in some sections and commercial in others. Thomson requested reimbursement for the expenses to the American Legion for Patriot's Day in the amount of $1936.00. He said this was for hot dogs, drinks, ice, etc., and it was not a budgeted item. There was discussion regarding this not being brought before Council before the event and as it was a community affair, maybe donations would have been the way to go. Youmans motioned to approve the reimbursement out of the 11 of 13 1 1 1 contingency, Crone seconded. Wolff suggested we send a letter advising the Legion of the process for approval for this type of event. Everyone agreed. Vote was unanimous. Thomson said issue is that the landscapers have to take their debris off the Island at a considerable cost and one or more of them is dumping their waste on the sides of streets for us to pick up. He said this hurts the rest of the these contractors. Thomson he and some of City staff have met with the contractors and have agreed for us to provide a place for them to dump their debris at a reasonable charge. He said we have a chipper at DPW and now have a blade that will chip the palm fronds. He said this debris can be chipped and this will reduce the amount of waste that goes to the landfill. The chipped materials could be used by the City and if there is an abundance, we could give it to residents. Thomson said the first idea was to issue individual tickets but after talking with Fox, he thought a $500 permit, which could be laminated and placed in the windshield, would be the best way to go. Thomson said this is just a suggestion and is open for Council to review and offer suggestions. He said it is not in the form of an ordinance yet. Wolff said he thought this was a good idea, to offer free much to the residents and also keep that waste out of the landfill. Youmans said that he would for the person that issues the licenses to inform the contractors that they can dump at the City DPW for a permit fee of $500 or whatever it ends up to be. Buelterman asked Thomson to see that is was put in the proper ordinance form. Wanda Doyle said her daughters have a landscaping business and they have to pay $2000 to $3000 per year for dumping. She said they would welcome this savings. Thomson said if a contractor doesn't join this program, he would be cited. Pearce motioned to approve, on second reading, the text amendment to the Weed Ordinance, Section 5 -2 with an amendment. Pearce said the amendment is to the exceptions A - D, not withstanding, any property that abuts developed property is required to have a five foot buffer zone cleared. He said the spelling of a tree on the list should be "Bumelia ". Sessions asked if he had talked with the Zoning Enforcement regarding this, Pearce said he had. Wolff seconded, and the vote was 5, Wolff, Sessions, Buelterman, Crone, and Pearce, in favor, and 1, Youmans, opposed. Pearce motioned to approve, on second reading, the text amendment to the Noise Ordinance, Section 11 -3 -3, to allow an exemption for DPW projects that have been approved by the Mayor and Council, Wolff seconded. Buelterman asked if this had anything to do with lawnmowers. Hughes said no, it is strictly Public Works projects that have been approved by Council. Wolff said it also applies to the contractor for the water line, as this is a public works project. Vote was unanimous. Hughes said there was a question on one of the public hearings at 18 Silver Avenue that ended in no action because of a tied vote. Hughes said there had been questions regarding the fire protection, drainage, and the driveway. He said a question was brought to his attention about reconsideration. Hughes said there are two types of reconsideration; one is that it be reconsidered at the same meeting and the other is that it be reconsidered at the very next meeting. He said a condition for consideration is that the motion is brought up by the prevailing side. Hughes said this resulted in a three to three 12 of 13 1 1 tie vote so there was no prevailing side. He said he would think that in this case, the prevailing side would be the ones who voted against the motion to approve. Sessions motioned to reconsider a place on the minutes. Hughes said since this is being done at the same meeting, it does not have to be advertised again. Buelterman asked how the people who are concerned will know that it is to be reconsidered. Hughes said you have already had the public hearing, but you could still hear comments and have discussion. Hughes said Council could direct that people be notified, but there is not time to re- advertise. Anderson said they could post a new sign and send notices out by mail to the adjacent property owners. Buelterman asked if Sessions would amend her original motion to include notifying the people who own property around this area. Hughes said he would post the property that the issue is to be reconsidered on October 27th. Sessions restated her motion, with the amendment, that the request on Silver Avenue is brought back at the meeting on October 27th for reconsideration based on the developer addressing the issues that were concerns of Council, Pearce seconded. Vote was unanimous. Hughes said the motion places this in the minutes. Pearce motioned to go into executive sessions to discuss litigation, personnel, and real estate, Sessions seconded. Vote was unanimous. Pearce motioned to return to regular session, Wolff seconded. Vote was unanimous. As there was no further business, Pearce motioned to adjourn, Wolff seconded. As the vote was unanimous, Mayor Pro Tem Buelterman adjourned the meeting. Diane Sikes Clerk of Council Mayor 13 of 13 1 1 1 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the Tybee Island Land Trust, Inc. has agreed to convey certain property to the City of Tybee Island, Georgia, subject to the reservation of a conservation easement; and WHEREAS, the City is a duly established municipal corporation with authority under its Charter to preserve and protect the natural resources, environment and vital areas of the State within the City, among other powers; and, WHEREAS, the City has authority under its Charter to acquire real property in fee simple or in a lesser interest; and, WHEREAS, the City wishes to accept the property described below subject to the conservation easement as described in the Deed attached hereto; NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Mayor and Council duly assembled in Open Meeting that conveyance of the following real property subject to the reservation of the conservation easement shall be accepted by the City, to -wit: ALL that certain lot, tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the City of Tybee Island, Chatham County, Georgia, known as LOT 86, TYBEE ISLAND, and more particularly described on Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof by this reference. The Mayor and Clerk of Council are hereby authorized to hereby execute any documents necessary to effectuate the acceptance of the Deed and to cause the same to be recorded in the records of the Clerk of the Superior Court, Chatham County, Georgia. ,,,pp ADOPTED IN OPEN COUNCIL MEETING, on the /Liai'' ay of ©61(Qe. 2004. ATT _ ST: IANE SIKES CLERK OF COUNCIL YOR WALTER W. PA 1 1 2005 -37 ORDINANCE NO. 2005-37 It is hereby ordained by the governing authority of the City of Tybee Island, in open meeting assembled, that the Tybee Island Code of Ordinances, Title 11, Chapter 3, Section 3, be amended to read as follows: Section 1. Section 11 -3 -3 is hereby amended to read as follows 11 -3 -3 Exceptions 1. The provisions of this Ordinance shall not apply to: a. The emission of sound for the purpose of alerting persons to the existence of an emergency. b. The emission of sound in the performance of emergency work. c. Agricultural activities, exclusive of those involving the ownership or possession of animals or birds. d. Public mass transportation vehicles. e. Church or clock carillons, bells, or chimes. f. The emission of sound in the discharge of weapons or in fireworks displays for which a permit has been issued. Public f4] projects sp€ (ORD.1996- 07;4/11/96) ly~ ap proved by the Mayor an lCo� Any ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict and this Ordinance shall have application to any violation of the Tybee Island Code of Ordinance of the City of Tybee Island, Georgia. Adopted th. 3th 4. i ! tober, 2004 ayor Walter ` . Parker City Clerk 1st Reading: 2nd Reading: October 13, 2005 Page 1 of 2 Enacted: 2005 -37 Page 2 of 2 1 1 1 2005 -36 ORDINANCE NO. 2005-36 It is hereby ordained by the governing authority of the City of Tybee Island, in open meeting assembled, that the Tybee Island Code of Ordinances, Title 5, Chapter 2, Section 8, be amended to read as follows: Section 1. Section 5 -2 -8 is hereby amended to read as follows 5 -2 -8 Weeds, grass and other growths- Notices to cut or remove. Weeds. All premises and exterior property shall be maintained free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches (254mm). all noxious weeds shall be prohibited. Weeds shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation, other than trees or shrubs provided; however, this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens. Rodent harborage. All structures and exterior property shall be kept free from rodents harborage and infestation. Where rodents are found, they shall be promptly exterminated by approved processes which will not be injurious to human health. After extermination, proper precautions shall be taken to eliminate rodent harborage and prevent reinfestation.(Ord. 2002 -25; 1l/14/2002)(Ord. 1996- 17;8 -8 -96 - Deleted in its entirety) (Code 1970, 8 -6; Ord. No. 3 -1986, 2- 13 -86) Rodents and Norwa 1 halt on incl iid eh u, Nqrwegicus. The following si are exempt frcinr any pr b. ardns e eropl�,[ plantings es b). :0 1.0 f l ordin ttract birds " b edge areas inulitd„ (Xanoxyium cla a- herc-nles). and Ber or ei a =tti tie or a o �lyrica ." ceri er ). Red d. Any ca Cert. riper plus the natural yr rents. pry by ter tr nd local i er allow che only Dcpa ertt ofN b. That n0 c. That such t d Buntin;i Georgia. or any other h b or"tree in this area owe only allcaw ¢l:xntl$e fail or winter. ( any;birds inclutlii g the .at 1 shrubs for nestiirgand breeding during spring and urun er). Any ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict and this Ordinance shall have application to any violation of the Tybee Island Code of Ordinance of the City of Tybee Island, Georgia. Adopted this 13 day of October, 2005 Page 1 of 2 City Clerk 1st Reading: 2nd Reading: October 13, 2005 Enacted: 1 Page 2 of 2 1 1 STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF CHATHAM ) AFFIDAVIT PERSONALLY appeared before the undersigned attesting officer, duly authorized to administer oaths, 3, g _- Q6 (�.4 q , who after being duly sworn, deposes and on oath state the following: (1) I was the presiding officer of a meeting of the Tybee Island City Council held on the i 3 day of 0c., -to h e •,` , 2005. (2) That it is my understanding that O.C.G.A. §50- 13 -3(b) provides as follows: When any meeting of an agency is closed to the public pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section, the chairperson or other person presiding over such meeting shall execute and file with the official minutes of the meeting a notarized affidavit stating under oath that the subject matter of the meeting or the closed portion thereof was devoted to matters within the exceptions provided by law and identifying the specific relevant exception. (3) The subject matter of the closed meeting or closed portion of the meeting held on the 12 of 7 f) bez , 2005, which was closed for the purpose(s) of li t,.F4- Ire.A hoc rz.(9 ,),Jo1 4,Q41 Ps1;0-e-- . as allowed by §O.C.G.A., Title 50, Chapter 14, was devoted to matters within those exceptions and as provided by law. (4) Any unrelated matters which were mentioned or attempted to be offered for discussion during the closed portion of the meeting were ruled out of order and not discussed. 1 5) This affidavit is being executed for the purpose of complying with the mandate of O.C.G.A. §50- 14 -4(b) that such an affidavit be executed. This 13 day of C cr0 , 2005. Sworn to and s ribed before day of , 2005 DIANE J. SIKES Notary Public, Chatham Count% GA My Commission Expires July 8, 2007 �f(yor/Presiding Officer