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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20080228CCMeeting1 1 20080228 City Council Minutes Mayor Buelterman called the Consent Agenda meeting to order at 6:30pm. Present in addition to the Mayor was Mayor Pro Tem Doyle and Councilmen Brewer, Brown, Crone, Smith and Wolff. Also attending were City Attorney Hughes and City Manager Schleicher. Mayor Buelterman listed items on the Consent Agenda as: • Class and Comp Study Agreement with Carl Vinson Institute for $7,500 from line item # 100- 1320 -52 -1201. • Request to add all employees to the current class and comp plan. • HGBD Engineering Proposal for Grit Removal System with odor control and odor control at Lift Station #6 for $59,650 from line item # 505 - 4310 -54 -1407. • Coastal Grading Change Order request for 6 inches of No. 4 stone /fabric around lift station at a cost of $1,743 from item #320 - 7520 -54 -1405. • Coastal Grading Change Order request for landscaping, white rock and irrigation at ADA bathroom site for $5,390 from line item #320 - 7520 -54 -1405. • Coastal Grading Change Order request for concrete header at Blanco lane to hold brick pavers in place for $272 from line item #320 - 7520 -54 -1405. • Coastal Grading Change Order request to connect roof drains on Tybrisa Street to the city stormwater system for $14,279 from line item #320 - 7520 -54 -1405. • Request for reduced Guard House Fee of $600 for the Georgia World Organization of China Painters on March 2 -9. • Request for Gym use and waiver of fees of $300 for the Tour de Georgia to hold a staff meeting on April 20. • Waive Special Event Permit fees of $106 for the TIMSC Turtle Trot for April 26. • Georgia State HOG Rally Special Event Permit for September 11 -14. • South End Business District Policies and Procedures. • OMI Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator- Contract for professional services (6 months @ $28,099): Line item #505 - 4310 -52 -3850. • Approval of January 10, 2008 Council Minutes. • Approval of February 14, 2008 Council Minutes. • Proclamation for the World Organization of China Painters. • Out of State Travel for Mayor Buelterman to Washington, DC in April for lobbying trip. • Indigent Defense Services Agreement for 2008. • Utility billing rate schedule - modified for clarity. Mayor Buelterman closed the Consent Agenda meeting. ••• Mayor Buelterman called the regular City Council meeting to order at 7:OOpm. All City officials present during the Consent Agenda were still in attendance. Reverend Otto Immel of All Saints Episcopal Church gave the invocation and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Page 1 of 12 1 1 1 Mayor Buelterman thanked everyone providing the invitations and hospitality being shown to members of the Indiana National Guard that are visiting Tybee this week before going to Iraq. Mayor Buelterman announced the community blood drive on Thursday, March 13th at the Gym from 2- 7pm. Mayor Buelterman announced the Tour de Georgia race that will be coming to Tybee on April 21st. He recommended going to www.tourdegeorgia.com for more information. Mayor Buelterman said several weeks ago we had a presentation by Dr. Oshner from the Memorial Health Trauma Unit requesting Tybee's support for legislation to provide funds for trauma centers. He said four days after that presentation the Port Wentworth Sugar Refinery accident happened. He said he feels we need to do everything we can to support trauma funding. Mayor Buelterman read the Resolution in support of trauma funding. Mayor Buelterman opened the meeting for business legally presented and called for a motion on the Resolution. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Resolution for trauma funding, Mayor Pro Tem Doyle seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Mayor Buelterman presented the Resolution to Benji Cowart, David Carte and Brian Riley of the EMS. He also recognized Mike Pollack from Memorial Health. * ** Mayor Buelterman gave an appreciation plaque to Bill Garbett for serving on the Planning Commission. He thanked Mr. Garbett for his service to Tybee. Rusty Fleetwood said during the Tybee Neighbors investigation into Tybee taxes they found that Tybee property taxes account for 16.5% of Chatham County's total taxes. He said Islanders pay approximately $19.5 million in taxes and Tybee gets approximately $2.08 million of that money back. He showed a work chart of items that tax money pays for; Mosquito Control at $143,000 and EMS at $39,000 which is good but $7,600,000 for Schools and $390,000 for the Detention Center are not so good. He said the Two Million that Tybee gets back is chewed up on the Police Department cost of $1,400,000 and Public Works at $1,400,000. He said the results show that Tybee tax payers are paying for a lot of services they are not receiving. He requested that the Chief Financial Officer and Staff take a close review of the Chatham County and Tybee tax relationship and see where we might be able to keep some more dollars on this side of Lazaretto Creek. He requested this be done prior to the November Election because its time to put Tybee's needs in the forefront. Page 2 of 12 1 1 1 Mayor Buelterman said we are well represented in the County Commission by Pat Ferrell and we received $5,000,000 more in SPLOST funds than we would have received based on our population. He said Chatham County is giving us money for Beach Renourishment and we are talking about approaching them for help with support for the Lifeguards. Mary Ingalls talked about Arts Association Events on Tybee and said the City benefits from sales tax revenues and parking fees during the off season. Sandy McCloud announced the Sadie Hawkins Save the Animals sock hop at the American legion will be at 7:OOpm on March 1st. She said tickets are $20 and benefit Coastal Pet Rescue's Milton Project that helps abandoned and stray animals on Tybee. Jim Boyle gave an update on the Environmental, Ecotourism Committee. Mr. Pearce said the committee has selected him as Chairman contingent on Council's approval. He said they would be an advisory committee to council on environmental issues. He requested the environmental committee participate in the dune ordinance as a subcommittee. He asked for the committee to be allowed to give reports to council on variances or anything effecting the environment. He said Mr. Devivo and him are hoping to expand on discussing hosting birding festivals on Tybee. He requested an ex officio council member's participation on the committee and he asked for council to appoint members to this committee. Angela Byers requested a refund of $1,740 which is the aid to construction fee charged for the building permit for her mother's house. She said this fee is inappropriate because her house burned last March. She said the destruction of her house was not voluntary and they had no choice but to rebuild. She said April 2nd her house is supposed to roll down Butler Avenue on two trucks and she asked permission to stage it in Memorial Park overnight with a driver and truck to remain with it overnight. She said on April 3rd they will bring in a 250 ton crane to 911 Jones Avenue and they will need to shut Jones Avenue down for approximately 6 to 8 hours. She said she talked to Chief Price and he didn't have a problem with it and just needed to know what day. She said they will have people at both streets directing traffic. Mr. Owen O'Shaughnessy said we have lost 180 parking spaces on the Strand due to the new construction. He said this will cost a minimum of $1,000 a day. He said he was told by someone they should expect an additional 41 parking spaces on the strand. Ms. Schleicher responded that the City restriped the parking lot at 14th Street in anticipation of this project and gained 21 spots. She said we did lose some parking on Tybrisa and the Strand but with the additional parking in the 14th Street lot we only lost about 6 or 7 spots altogether. She said they are metering spots by Arby's and the South End Cafe that were previously unmetered and some revenue will be gained from those. She said they had to eliminate the middle row due to the lift station but they gained additional parking spaces when the bathrooms were taken down. Page 3 of 12 1 1 1 Jay Burke thanked citizens of Tybee and the City Council for their support of the Irish Heritage Parade on Tybee for the last 5 years. He announced this year's parade on March 8, 2008 at 3:OOpm. He said there would be 80 units total with 7 bands. He said the committee held a poster contest at St. Michaels that asked the children to draw something to reflect their St. Patrick's Day Irish Heritage on Tybee Island. He said this year's winner is Cassidy Strickland and she is our first Grand Marshall from Tybee Island. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle challenged all Council members to sign up to participate in the parade. Dr. Tsoulos said he believes open and transparent government is mandatory and one of the best things that has happened on Tybee in support of open government is the broadcast and re- broadcast of the City Council meetings as well as other meetings. He said he was surprised when the February 14th meeting re- broadcast was cancelled. He said he contacted the City Manager and Council. They promptly responded that a property owner had complained that the re- broadcast of the meeting containing comments by a resident of the Island could harm him economically. He said the property owner contends that the comments are inaccurate and therefore the city should not show the meeting on TV. He said if the city stops disseminating City Council meetings because of inaccurate statements they might as well close down City Hall. He said if a statement is harmful to the City the people have a right to know the statement, why it was harmful and the facts. He asked that the broadcast be resumed without censorship and a detailed explanation of what the reason was for the cancelation. Mr. Hughes said the city received an allegation that broadcasting that meeting included inaccurate information about an owner's property and would potentially cause significant economic damages. He said he was out of town and he felt they should maintain the status quo until he could make a few calls. When he completed the calls, it was decided to rebroadcast. Debbie Kearney announced the Marine Science Center open house on Saturday, March 1, 2008 from 3- 5pm at 1510 Strand. She thanked the Infrastructure Committee and City Manager for listening to their feedback concerning the trash compactor location. She said the committee and Ms. Schleicher expressed willingness to change the location and they appreciate that. Libby Bacon asked the City to leave the $60,000 for the Skate Park in the budget. Gloria Leonard said she figured the amount the city had spent on recreation over the last few years and it came up to $324,000. She said she is not criticizing those improvements because they were badly needed, but the skate park was the only one left out. She said the skate park supporters are the only recreation group willing to raise additional money to have what they want. She urged council not to make the budget adjustment. Larry Nesbitt said TIRPOA has never objected to a skate board park being privately built on land that would not affect the surrounding neighbors. He said on November 6th the people of Tybee conducted a meaningful survey titled an election. He said the election clearly pointed out that the citizens do not want their recreation money or tax dollars spent on a skate board park. He said the city is $25,000,000 in debt and these are troubled economic times that will challenge this council. He said it's time to put an end to the skate park and remove it from the park plan. Page 4 of 12 1 1 1 Mayor Buelterman read a letter from Janice Bentley in opposition to Memorial Park being used by private individuals. * ** Mr. Redmond presented the final adjustment to the 2007 budget. He said this adjustment is requested each year by our auditors to keep us in compliance with the state audit requirements which are to be within 5% on each fund balance. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle asked where the adjustment for the campground was. Mr. Redmond said no adjustment is needed because the campground is an enterprise fund. He said they will bring a request to council later to request a loan for the enterprise funds consisting of the Water and Sewer, Sanitation and Campground funds in order to cover shortfalls for the prior year. Mayor Buelterman asked for the increase on expenditures and revenue from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Redmond said in 2005 the total expenditures in the general fund were $5,600,000; in 2006 they were $6,600,000; in 2007 they were $7,700,000 and 2008 calls for $8,900,000. He said the amount for 2008 will be coming down due to revisions that will be proposed later tonight but it is still approx. $8,900,000. He said the millage rate has moved down over the last several years. He said it is down about two- thirds or one half of what it used to be 10 years ago. Mayor Buelterman asked if a balanced budget is required. Mr. Redmond said we are required by the state to have a balanced budget. Mr. Smith said the approved budget for 2008 is for $10,838,000. Mr. Redmond said $2,000,000 in debt and is not considered revenue or expense. He said he anticipates they will be financed. He said that includes proceeds from projected loans for equipment. Mr. Smith said at the time we were not planning on leasing that equipment but were planning on buying it out of the general fund. Mr. Redmond said while some of that was not anticipated, quite a few of the capital items were. For example the Ft. Screven Water Line was anticipated to be $1.3 million. Mr. Smith said the $2,000,000 in capital goods that we anticipate purchasing through the GMA lease was part of the $10,800,000 also. Mr. Redmond said early on they identified the voice over emergency towers and other things that were targeted for lease items. Mr. Smith said the former council passed a budget in December of $10,800,000. Mr. Redmond said that is correct. Mr. Smith said tonight we are looking at $8,853,000. Mr. Redmond said that is correct. Mr. Redmond gave a presentation on the 2008 budget amendment. The presentation is as follows: General Fund Expenditures Legal Settlements $14,000 Health Insurance Premiums - 48,000 Infrastructure 220,000 Lifeguard compensation - 27,000 Beach Crossovers 20,000 Skate Park - 60,000 Tour de Georgia 25,000 Page 5 of 12 1 1 1 Way finding Signage Program 50,000 Tybrisa /Strand Project 22,800 Debt Service 464,000 GENERAL FUND Expenditures Total Expenditures Percentage increase Water /Sewer Fund $8.8 Mil. 8% Revenues Service revenues $- 408,000 Expenditures Sewer compensation - 40,000 Contract Labor 40,000 Electricity 20,000 Grit Separator 59,650 Ft. Screven water line 200,000 Debt Service 238,000 Revenues 2003 SPLOST Revenues $405,182 Expenditures Fire Department equipment 163,310 Ft. Screven Water Lines 41,872 Business District renovation 200,000 Solid Waste Fund Revenues Service Charges $- 357,000 Expenditures Admin. Fees 36,000 Rivers End Campground Fund Revenues Rentals and store sales $- 305,900 Expenditures Compensation and benefits - 30,000 Capital improvements - 152,000 Page 6 of 12 1 1 1 Mr. Redmond presented a debt service schedule depicting the next 5 years. He said the items depicted in green are new items for this year and several are internal loans to the enterprise funds from the general fund which will be repaid with interest over a period of time if approved by council. He said in addition there is a GEFA loan that has been applied for and approved for $1.3 million for the portion of the Ft. Screven water line project not covered by SPLOST funds. He said there are GMA leases consisting of the Water and Sewer fund which was included on the debt schedule with an adjustment totaling $731,000 and a portion being financed for a three year period for 2.28 %. Long term five year items like the grit separator and service trucks will be 2.98 %. He said the importance of considering the GMA lease program is it gives us a uniform lease form that Mr. Hughes is very familiar with and we have the opportunity to borrow at what we consider to be below market interest rates. He said the actual debt is $19.5 million with the other $6 million being interest on the debt service for up to 20 years. He said the state of Georgia recommendation on debt is that it never exceeds 10% of your gross property evaluations. He said Tybee's gross property evaluations are about $511 million meaning our cap would be $51 million. He said that only applies to general obligation debt that is guaranteed and backed by the tax payers. He said if the city were unable to pay it they would have to go to the taxpayers through a millage increase or through a special assessment. He recommended at some point making changes to the City's debt policy because of the need to increase its water and sewer capacity. He said when you look at increasing our million gallons a day to 1.5 million gallons a day you're looking at a cost of 4.8 to about 6.8 million dollars. He said increasing the capacity to two million gallons will cost anywhere from 2 to 4 additional millions. He said all the debt the city currently has is revenue bond debt financed and paid for out of revenues that come back from services provided by those enterprises. He said at the current time the city has no general obligation debt that would go against the state limit. Mayor Buelterman said the only way to make up that debt is through water and sewer rates. Mr. Redmond said that is correct. Mr. Brown asked if the city brought in 7.7 million in revenue last year. Mr. Redmond said that is correct. Mr. Brown asked if the budget for 2008 is set at 8.8 million. Mr. Redmond said that is correct. Mr. Brown asked Mr. Redmond if he anticipated increased revenues of $900,000 for the city in 2008. Mr. Redmond said yes. Mr. Brown asked if this amount reflected the shortfall in the campground budget. Mr. Redmond said the campground is an enterprise fund but he did take the revenues down because they didn't do the expansion. Mr. Redmond said in response to council's concern for the revenue coming from licenses, permits and aid to construction fees, he was conservative in that estimate and took the number way down. He said last year the budget was $372,000 and that amount is about what it was in 2006. He said last year the number came in at $231,000 so they took the original budget which was $256,000 and cut it to $212,000 which is $17,000 per month. He said in January about $22,500 came in so that is a positive sign about how we are starting out the year. Ms. Schleicher presented a change order for Coastal Grading and Rental for preparation of the lifeguard site only, due to the conflict on the compactor's location. She said they modified the plan to put in as Page 7 of 12 1 1 1 little concrete as possible. She said the change order was for $35,826 just to prepare the site for the lifeguard trailer and storage trailer. She said during the Infrastructure Committee they discussed the city doing the electrical and landscaping portion of the change order and therefore reducing the amount of the change order to $9,351 with the committee's recommendation for approval. She said city staff are already doing the water and sewer hook ups. Ms. Schleicher explained the Royal Flush lease for portable ADA compliant bathrooms. She said it would be located at the same place that staff initially planned to build the lifeguard station. She said the water and sewer tie in and electrical is already located there. She asked to lease the bathroom for the 6 month season at $3,000 a month and revisit the subject at the end of the season to see if they wanted to continue. She said the Infrastructure committee recommended approval but were very clear about not renewing the lease until the results could be studied. She recommended starting the lease in mid April and continuing until mid October. * ** Ms. Schleicher presented the Shore Protection Act Application. She said there are outstanding questions about how to do a better job with beach management concerning escarpments and frontier dunes because our Corps of Engineers maintenance agreement states we are supposed to deal with escarpments that are up high and if they are a problem for turtles as far as nesting. She said they have discussed what to do about running out of beach between 14th Street and 16th Street. She said they want beachgoers to stay in that area because it is easier for the lifeguards to maintain safety. She said the other concern is where the contractor will put his equipment with less and less beach at high tide and he may have to encroach on the frontier area. She requested permission to work with Eric Olsen and DNR to apply for a permit to cover some of those items because it has to be done by law. Mr. Wolff agreed the permit is needed for public safety but asked for plenty of oversight from DNR to make sure we are doing due diligence and as quickly as possible restore the storm protection abilities of those dunes without negatively impacting the environment. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle asked if this permit could address the safety risks involved when the dune exceeds the height of the crossover. Ms. Schleicher said Mr. Olsen requested addressing that issue in a separate permit in order to have this one moveforward at a faster pace. Mayor Buelterman said he and Mr. Off are going to Hilton Head in April to look at crossover heights as well as other things and he invited Mayor Pro Tem Doyle to come. * ** Ms. Schleicher presented the special event request for the Arts Festival to be held on the Pier. She said they are not requesting City services for this event. Mayor Buelterman asked if this had to be approved because of the size of the event. Ms. Schleicher said yes. Mayor Buelterman said they need to address Page 8 of 12 1 1 1 this issue at some point in the long term because there are some legitimate concerns. He asked Ms. Allen to look at how other towns handle these situations. Mayor Buelterman opened the business meeting and stated the items on the Consent Agenda which were listed on page 1 of this document. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Consent Agenda, Mayor Pro Tem Doyle seconded, and the vote was unanimous. * ** After discussion about Mr. Pearce's request to have the Environmental Committee re activated. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle requested committees be put on the upcoming work session agenda for discussion by council concerning their missions, by laws and purpose. * ** Mayor Pro Tem Doyle said they should grant the refund of the aid to construction fee to Angela Byers because she did not intentionally move or destroy her home. Mayor Buelterman asked the infrastructure committee to look at the aid to construction and its application to replacement of structures destroyed by fire. Ms. Schleicher said her only concern is about Memorial Park as the staging area for the modular home set up and how much space they need. She said we are making an effort to not let vehicles in Memorial Park and a house on a trailer is quite big. She said what happens if the ground is torn up. She requested more detail. Mr. Brown moved to approve Ms. Byers request for a refund of her aid to construction fee and allow Ms. Schleicher to work out the details on using Memorial Park as the staging area for a short period of time, Mr. Crone seconded, and the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Crone moved to approve the final budget adjustment for 2007, Mr. Smith seconded. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle asked if this budget adjustment would be sufficient enough to bring the 2007 budget into balance. Mr. Redmond responded yes. And the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Crone moved to approve the 2008 budget amendment, Mr. Brewer seconded. Mayor Buelterman said regarding the removal of the skate park money from the budget that council had said during their campaign that they would conduct a feasibility study. He said he feels the study would come back in favor of doing a skate park for our kids. Mr. Wolff said in the spirit of compromise at the very least a feasibility study should be done. And the vote was unanimous. Page 9 of 12 * ** 1 1 1 Mr. Wolff moved to approve the change order for the Lifeguard Trailer and Storage Site for $9,351 from item number 320 - 7520 -54 -1405, Mayor Pro Tem Doyle seconded. Mr. Brown asked if the contractor agreed to the proposed changes in this change order. Ms. Schleicher assured Mr. Brown that the contractor would work with her on this. And the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Lease for the ADA Bathroom from Royal Flush for 6 months at $3,000 per month, Mr. Brewer seconded, and the vote was unanimous. * ** Mayor Pro Tem Doyle moved to allow Ms. Schleicher to move ahead with the Shore Protection Act Permit Application and allow the expense of up to $20,000, Mr. Smith seconded. Ms. Schleicher said she would make sure council reviewed the application before it goes in. And the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Arts Festival on October 18th and 19th at the Pier, Mr. Crone seconded, and the vote was unanimous. * ** Mayor Buelterman said he wanted to make sure that council directed staff to investigate and develop detailed plans for tax allocation districts or tax incremental financing as a way to get the property tax going to the county; to come to the city for improvements. Mr. Brewer moved to direct staff to investigate and develop plans for tax allocation districts or tax incremental financing. Mr. Smith seconded and asked for them to look at all C -1 and C -2 districts. Mr. Brewer agreed for the motion to be non specific to any special district. And the vote was unanimous. * ** Mayor Buelterman asked for colorful drought resistant plants to be installed in the median areas with left over grant money. He requested that the planting being done around the Welcome to Tybee Island sign be accomplished so that people can stand in front of the sign and get their picture made without trampling the plants. Ms. Schleicher said they have a deadline of May 31st to use the extra money from the grant and she would like to proceed according to the drawn plan. Mayor Buelterman asked if this would have to be bid out. Ms. Schleicher said yes. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle asked for staff to keep in mind that even zero scape plants need to be watered regularly until they are established. Mr. Crone said he personally doesn't think Tybee needs a skate park and he doesn't believe it should be on city Property. Mr. Brewer said his extensive research determined that most skate parks are regional. He said he believes the election sent a clear message about the majority of voters not wanting a skate Page 10 of 12 1 1 1 park. He said even if a feasibility study is done he doesn't think people want it in Memorial Park. He said he thinks the park is a veteran's oriented park. Mr. Wolff said he doesn't think the election was a one issue election and should mandate that no skate park be built. He asked council to give token money for the feasibility study. Mr. Crone moved to rescind all previous approvals for a skate park on any property owned by the City of Tybee Island, Mr. Brewer seconded. And the vote was 5 to 1 with Crone, Brewer, Doyle, Smith and Brown in favor and Wolff opposed. Mr. Crone moved to rescind all previous money allocated to the skate park and return all money that has been donated to contributors, Mr. Brewer seconded. Ms. Schleicher said currently the city is holding $18,899 worth of donated money which was donated by individuals, people that walked in with money and fundraisers. She said she believes the money should go back to the individuals that have been identified but the fundraiser money should be given to the group that wants the skate park. Mr. Brewer said during his investigations he found it was not unusual for people that wanted a skate park to have an organized group. He said they identified where it should be located and built and managed it. He said in some cases there were mobile skate parks that would move around to different communities. Mr. Hughes said he thinks the refunds could be given to the individuals that have been identified and the funds raised to the non - profit that he understands is being organized. Mr. Wolff asked if the funds on hand had been earning interest and if so could we give the group the interest earned. Mr. Hughes said he doesn't know how that would be calculated because of the money coming in at different times. Mr. Crone said the city should keep the interest because of the accounting time it took to track the donations. Mayor Buelterman asked Mr. Crone and Mr. Brewer if they would amend their motions to be at the City Manager's discretion. Both agreed. Mr. Crone added with no interest. And the vote was 5 to 1 with Crone, Brewer, Doyle, Smith and Brown in favor and Wolff opposed. Ms. Jennifer Kline and Katie Alvarado gave a presentation on services that are provided by the Department of Natural Resources and provided tours of the Coastal Ark to council and visitors. Mayor Buelterman called for a 5 minute break in order for everyone to visit the Coastal Ark. Mayor Buelterman called the meeting back to order. Present in addition to the Mayor was, Doyle, Brewer, Smith, Brown and Wolff. Mr. Crone left the meeting during the break. Mr. Wolff moved to approve the Recycling Trailer design with the baby looking over the tattooed fathers shoulder and take advantage of this grant and be able to use this trailer at special events, Mayor Pro Tem Doyle seconded. Mr. Brewer expressed his concern that the trailer design reflects approval of tattoos instead of focusing on recycling. He asked if they approved this trailer and received unfavorable comments could the city paint over the tattoo design. Mr. Wolff said we could just give it back to them. And the motion failed 2 to 3 with Wolff and Doyle voting in favor and Brewer, Smith and Brown opposed. Page 11 of 12 1 1 1 * ** Mr. Hughes explained the 2"d reading of ordinance 70 -38 regarding tiered water rates and deposits. Mr. Smith moved to approve for 2 "d Reading, Mayor Pro Tem Doyle seconded. Mayor asked both to withdraw their motions. They agreed. Mr. Smith asked if we knew what the City of Savannah charges for a deposit. Mr. Hughes explained that the deposit was recommended by Mr. Redmond to be an estimate of two months charges. Mayor Buelterman asked how you could estimate a new bill. Ms. Schleicher said the problem with section C is we will have a continued dialogue with the customer. She said staff can determine the average for two monthly bills but a $200 deposit is about the average for two months worth of bills. She recommended the deposit be $200 per unit because you can have multiple units using a lot of water and if it should go into arrears it would be much more than $200. Mr. Hughes said he would reword the ordinance to reflect the $200 per unit in what is now sub section E. Mayor Pro Tem Doyle recommended going with a flat rate for everyone. Mr. Brown said this is just a deposit and people would be given a refund when they decide to leave. Ms. Schleicher said yes but without interest. Mr. Brewer asked about commercial applications such as restaurants and hotels with laundries that use significantly more water. He said the power company ties their deposit to usage instead of just picking a number. He thinks it should be tied to the type of facility. Mr. Hughes said they would do some legwork to find out what Savannah does and bring it back. Mr. Wolff moved to go into Executive Session to discuss Personnel, Real Estate and Litigation, Mr. Brown seconded and the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Brown moved to end Executive Session, Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous. * ** Mr. Smith moved to adjourn, Mr. Wolff seconded and the vote was unanimous. Page 12 of 12 Vivian 0. Woods, Clerk of Council 1 1 1 RESOLUTION Whereas; trauma injuries are the number one killer of Americans between the ages of one and 44, and the number three cause of death across all age groups, and Whereas, Georgia's trauma death rate is significantly higher than the national average, and. Whereas, a trauma patient's chances of survival increase dramatically if he or she receives care within the "golden hour" immediately following injury and rapid response by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) technicians in ground and air ambulances is critical, and Whereas, Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah is one of only four Level 1 trauma hospitals in the State of Georgia providing a full range of trauma capabilities, and Whereas, the state of Georgia only pays hospitals in Georgia an average of 84 cents for every dollar it costs those hospitals to provide healthcare to Medicaid patients, and Whereas, Memorial University Medical Center's uncompensated care losses for Trauma services for the uninsured exceeded $6.5 million dollars, an increase of almost 100% since 2004, and Whereas, nevermore apparent was the need for a Level 1 trauma center in Southeast Georgia, than the emergency response to the explosion at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth, and Whereas, Memorial University Medical Center Level 1 trauma center's response, along with those of emergency response organizations throughout the region, saved lives that tragic night on February 7, 2008, and Whereas, the City of Tybee Island is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes and may one day experience an extraordinary circumstance in which access to a nearby trauma center is critically important, Now, therefore be it hereby resolved that the City of Tybee encourages the Georgia General Assembly to insure adequate funding to insure trauma hospitals in the state of Georgia are financially stable. Be it further resolved, the City of Tybee urges the Georgia General Assembly to support proposals in the 2008 legislative session to fund trauma hospitals closer to their costs for treating Medicaid patients and pass legislation to provide an annual source of trauma funding to offset the costs for hospitals to open and operate trauma centers. Approved this 28 'bay of February, 2008 or, Jason Buelterman 1 1 STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF CHATHAM ) AFFIDAVIT PERSONALLY appeared before the undersigned attesting officer, duly authorized to administer oaths, JO 5 wilt-8 L,t,e /4' , who after being duly sworn, deposes, and on oath states the following: (1) I was the presiding officer ofa meeting of the Tybee Island City Council held on the 62,75 day of Salb-ittaki , 2008. (2) That it is my understanding that O.C.G.A. §50- 14 -4(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 o� v of purpose(s) of I. r T r`4Gt r D vl 2008, which was closed for the e-'S o n 14, 7 ett b1/Las 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 *Pc a day of SOIPLa OAT , 2008. Sworn to and subscribed before Me this ,. day of , 2008 ayor/Presiding Officer VIVIAN WOODS Public, Chatham County, Gil lay Vision Expires May 25, 2009