HomeMy Public PortalAbout20100826 Minutes revised 10 6 10vw
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 1 of 27 20100826 City Council Minutes Mayor pro tem Shirley Sessions called the Consent Agenda meeting to order at 6:30pm on Thursday, August
26, 2010. Council Members present were Wanda Doyle, Bill Garbett, Frank Schuman, Sr., Kathryn Williams and Paul Wolff. Also present were City Attorney Bubba Hughes, City Manager Diane
Schleicher and Zoning Director Jonathan Lynn. Mayor Buelterman was late. Mayor pro tem Sessions listed the following items on the Consent Agenda: 5/27/2010 City Council Minutes 7/08/2010
City Council Minutes LexisNexis Non-FCRA Annual Application & Agreement for Government Agencies: Monthly Fee of $135-Parking $185-Police Budget Line # 100-1535-52-1300 HGBD (BRW Construction)
Change Order #2 for Butler Ave. Crosswalk Improvements $4,654.95 Budget Line #100-7570-54-1420 Corps of Engineers Letter-Extension of Tybee’s Beach Erosion Control Project City Attorney
Bubba Hughes asked for the Application for Alcohol License for the North Beach Grill to not be placed on the Consent Agenda, but considered at the regular meeting due to the fact Kathryn
Williams would recuse herself and the Consent requires a unanimous vote. Mayor pro tem Sessions adjourned the Consent Agenda. Executive Session A Motion by Paul Wolff to go into Executive
Session to discuss Litigation and Personnel was seconded by Wanda Doyle. The vote was unanimous. A Motion by Kathryn Williams to end Executive Session was seconded by Paul Wolff. The
vote was unanimous. Mayor Buelterman arrived late and called the regular meeting of the City Council to order at 7:05pm. Those present at the Consent Agenda were also in attendance for
the regular meeting. Hillary Brodofsky gave the Invocation and everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 2 of 27 Reports of Staff, Boards, Standing Committees and/or Invited Guest Quarterly Reports: Vivian Woods, Clerk of Council said the City
Clerk’s office is invisible to most people and stated the office manages paper and records for the city instead of people and it is a complicated process that not everyone in the City
is aware of. If you need history, open records or anything of that nature you would come to the Clerk’s office. Ms. Woods gave a brief summary of the activities of the Clerk’s Department
and Mayor and Council. She stated this quarter had thirteen meetings consisting of; six regular council meetings, four budget work sessions, two budget hearings and one quarterly work
session. Agendas, synopsis, minutes, and packets were prepared for those. Ms. Woods stated the department had processed registrations and travel arrangements for conferences and training
classes for Mayor and Council as well as assisted them in the arrangements for the Guardhouse Dedication to Eddie Crone they hosted. She stated the department had processed documents
from research required by council and processed open records request from citizens as well as research requested on council decisions, copies of ordinances, etc. Ms. Woods said she is
in the process of attending the Georgia Records Association Certificate Program to earn her certification in Records Management. The department is continuing work on organizing the Minute
Books and also updating the Council’s appointed committee listing which should be available shortly on the website for everyone’s accessibility to contact information and their terms.
She attends records conferences and clerk classes to be more diligent in her position. The Clerk’s department also researches other municipalities on their agendas to make sure ours
is as informative to the Council and citizens as the others are and makes changes as needed. Mayor Buelterman expressed appreciation for having the packets made available to the Citizens
on the website so if they are inclined to they can see the same information council does. Ms. Sessions asked about Ms. Wood’s Assistant. Ms. Woods said her administrative assistant is
Denise Woodard and she works diligently in her job. Joe Wilson presented the DPW report. He stated projects worked on during the quarter were; rebuilding the Tenth Street crossover,
Fifth Ave drainage problems, Ninth, Eleven and Thirteenth Avenues, which are in the dune drain fields, they are doing some catch basin work and pollution controls. A lot of time was
spent this quarter on reworking parking spaces. The Department also processed 125 service orders and 128 work orders. Major projects were the BRW 14th Street drainage project, renovations
of the Marine Science Center restrooms, and the new roof at the cafeteria. Mr. Wilson stated Karen Reese; our facilities coordinator had done an excellent job at increasing our revenue
since the 1st quarter of 2010, by over $10,000. He said she had issued 283 Beach Permits. The Guardhouse had 80 uses, Memorial Park 105 uses, and the Cafeteria close to 300, all increasing
in revenue. Wanda Doyle asked about the 14th Street Drainage and if it is going to be completed. She gets quite a few calls on this. Mr. Wilson replied it is going to be completed by
the end of September which is on target. Right now they are forming up and pouring the driveways back. We are
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 3 of 27 scheduled to pave the at the end of September to beginning of October, 14th Street all the way up to where the entire project has been
done. Ms. Doyle stated we need to have a celebration with a ribbon cutting when it is all done. Shirley Sessions thanked Mr. Wilson and his total staff of 26 for doing such a good job.
Mary Hogan presented the Finance report and stated this quarter had not only been the busiest quarter on Tybee but also one of the busiest years. She said parking revenues have been
up and it is from people complying with parking not just the fines, compliance is really what we want. She stated we had also increased parking staff slightly this year but starting
the week after Labor Day seasonal staff will begin to be laid off and they are aware of that. Enforcement staff has increased by putting full time staff out after 6:00. It doesn’t cost
any more but does make sure people are on the streets the full twelve hours. Ms. Hogan stated the two biggest accomplishments this quarter were the budget, and council is aware of all
the work that went into that, and the Audit. The auditors have come and gone. They finished all their onsite work and should have a draft by the end of August and be finished up by September
30. She stated she doesn’t know who was on council when the fiscal year was changed and put in the middle of the busy season but would like to talk about that at some point. December
might be a better time of year to go thru an audit if it could be voted on. Ms. Hogan stated another big item is the staff has got the debt collections process going. We are sending
extremely late utility payers to a collection agency and now we are starting to send extremely late parking tickets. Ms. Hogan stated the last thing is she is continually looking for
more space. Finance is continually asked on a daily basis from citizens, staff, as well as council, to do more and more special tasks or projects, and we are happy to do them, we have
the skills and staff willing to do it but our physical space is what is lacking to get our jobs done. We have been talking but there is no easy solution, but you may begin to hear more
on that. Mayor Buelterman asked how the Hotel/Motel tax is doing. Ms. Hogan replied for last year it was about where it should be, actually a little bit under what had been budgeted.
This year was a better July, then last July, so they should be a little bit better. In general though, we are collecting from more Innkeepers, so we have more participating then we ever
had before, and most willingly. Staff gets help from the community who call and say they think their next door neighbor may be renting their house out. Staff follows thru and checks
on it and there is pretty good compliance. There are a few that fight on it but not many. Skip Sasser presented the Fire Department report. Chief Sasser stated we have 38 volunteer members
at this time and 1 part time fire fighter, who is a Savannah Master Firefighter and 1 paid fire fighter. During this this quarter we had 54 calls; 10 false alarms, 7 fire calls most
after 1:00 am, 3 boat responses, 30 Squad 6 calls, and 4 community service calls, which was people coming up wanting us to check their blood pressure, batteries in their house or at
the fire station. He and the Emergency Management Director, Jimmy Brown attended the Chatham Emergency Management Conference and Hurricane Conference. Mr. Brown attended several meetings
with the Mayor and City Manager and Chatham County on Hwy 80 concerns, such as
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 4 of 27 evacuations, traffic accidents and other emergency scenarios. An agreement is currently being worked on to provide heavy equipment
on standby, etc. Chief Sasser stated CEMA is also working on doing an amendment to the Hwy 80 evacuation plans. Chief Sasser said the Hurricane Exercise was planned during the quarter
which involved meetings with CEMA and GEMA and Mr. Brown had worked diligently in all the preparations. He and Mr. Brown had gone to Dublin, where the City Hall staff would be staying
and stationed for a temporary site during an evacuation. The site was all in order and the people there were quite receptive. Chief Sasser stated Todd Smith with the IT Department went
to preview the necessary equipment to be provided and everything on that end seemed to be in order. During this quarter the concerns on the Gulf’s oil spill prompted a meeting with the
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit on what to look for even though they felt it was not going to come up this way. If tar balls were spotted or any other indications, they would take control
and assume operations. Chief Sasser stated Mr. Brown has been assisting the Fire Department on pre-planning other locations which has been valuable, such as obtaining current information,
what actions should be taken, accessing the area, etc. Chief Sasser also reported on Ocean Rescue. During this quarter there were no drownings but we did have 124 rescues. Chief Sasser
stated 42 of the rescues were from the sandbar, which is still a nightmare. He stated several of the rescues were life threatening. Other Ocean Rescue activity involved 425 medicals,
152 lost persons-adults and children, 2 fights, 225 public servers, over 7000 preventive actions, and 795 jelly fish. Chief Sasser said Ocean Rescue’s use of available resources consisted
of 4 calls to the Coast Guard, 6 calls to the Fire Department for boat, personnel or Squad 6. The Police Department was requested 76 times, and the EMS 33 times. The beach mules were
used on 368 368 cases, jet skis launched 45 times for rescues and wheelchairs were issued out 28 times. Chief stated they try to keep a tally on all that is happening on the beach. Bill
Garbett asked if the Jelly fish problems were diminishing. Chief Sasser responded in July we had over 5761 jelly fish treatments. One weekend or week it may be slack and then they pick
up again. Mr. Garbett asked if any were life threatening. Chief responded there were several that had reactions to them and had panic attacks. EMS was dispatched and victims were transported
to the hospital. If it was a chemical reaction or a weak heart, being unsure we transport. Some tags have gone all the way up their thighs, hips and upper body and those were transported.
Kathryn Williams asked for the Chief to expand on the public service. Was this for schools and that type of thing? Chief replied no. We noted anything responding to public requests;
such as checking their blood pressure. They also get calls from citizens where they heard something in in their attic but don’t think it is anybody in there but think it may be fire
related. Paid staff is dispatched to check it before sending out full department. Chief Sasser stated logs are kept on calls and dispatches. Mayor Buelterman asked Ms. Woods, the Clerk,
if she would schedule a trip to the Life Guard station, during the next council workshop, to take a look at the condition and size of that facility.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 5 of 27 Kathryn Williams stated the wheelchairs are available when the Life Guards are on duty but are they available during the off season
or when the Life Guards are not on duty? Chief responded we don’t have many request for them during those times, but if we do, we try to make arrangements where the Fire Department personnel
meets them and takes care of it. Ms. Williams stated that is a wonderful service being offered. Robert Bryson presented the Police Department’s report and stated it was an honor and
privilege to serve in the capacity of Interim Chief for the City of Tybee Island. To say the Department has gone through a lot of changes through this quarter would be a massive understatement.
During this time we have a total of 26 personnel. All personnel have done a great job at keeping their heads down and on the job completing their missions to the best of their ability
with all the distractions with media and everything going on. There have been some outstanding arrests in some recent cases. To cover the last quarter the officers wanted to work split
down the middle, some full time on days and some full time on nights. They work a twelve hour shift. This is done so officers get use to having the same sleep patterns for their health
and safety, and to be expertsat night time when the City of Tybee puts on a different face then during the day. Having the same officers working night time and knowing what cars belong
in what driveways and certain areas of the city certainly helps instead of changing every week or month. This is something that is being tried and the officers seem to really like it
and think it has been very affective. For the longest time we have been taking court fees by credit card over the phone and now we are up and running with our own website and this takes
the liability off the city with any type of credit card numbers; the employees working have to take the credit card numbers. The economy is rough and people are losing money with card
numbers being scammed. This way they pay it themselves thru tybeeislandtixs.com. There is no cost to the City for this. Bryson stated the person paying the fine bears the cost of the
processing fee for the citation. The citations that require court appearances are blocked and the person must show up for court, the site will not accept the payment. It is an excellent
service and has also improved the efficiency of the Records Clerk, not having to run back and forth getting the numbers, processing them, etc. They can use this time for other things,
like preparing for court. Citations during this quarter: First, we rode 2787 calls which 1991 citations were issued. Also included in these calls were 26 felony arrest, 136 misdemeanor
arrest and 161 violations of city ordinances. The Department had training this quarter focusing on Autism awareness and people suffering from mental crises and those types of things,
thru the Matthew Reardon Center outreach program. Jennifer McGee, Instructor on Autism and parent of Autistic children gave training to the entire department. We are also getting further
training thru the State Post on Crisis Intervention techniques and that will result in half the Department being certified and trained in Crisis Intervention techniques and dealing with
people who have mental disabilities or may be having some type of problem or crisis which the officer can help with. Wanda Doyle stated the Public Safety Committee utilizes the Police
Department, Fire Department, and DPW. All these staff persons that work day to day, hour by hour also attend these extra meetings. The meeting that was held today was not only very informative
but very
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 6 of 27 well done and she applauds the staff that put their extra time into all these meetings. The meetings are mostly after hours and Ms.
Doyle stated she appreciates all the extra effort. She stated the Infrastructure Committee is the same way. The staff really does a great job. Frank Schuman commended Interim Chief Bryson
for all he has done since all the issues have come up a while back and the good job all the officers are doing. Bryson expressed his thanks and stated he would spread that to the officers.
Shirley Sessions asked Interim Chief Bryson to address the GA State Patrol’s presence on the Island as she had received several calls or comments from residents. Bryson replied he had
been in law enforcement for twenty-one years, 10 of those at Tybee. My relationships through out the law enforcement community include the GA State Patrol. Captain Kirk McGlamery is
in charge of the GSP District area, The Night Hawk unit and he and I have a great working relationship. We were having a lot of issues here and this unit is a great resource without
additional cost to the City. The GPS Night Hawk Unit does nothing but DUIs. This is at no cost to us. All the fines from cases heard in our court all come to us, GPS doesn’t get a dime.
Those guys at the GPS are working extremely hard and some even getting furloughed and we still get all the money from the fines they bring in through the DUIs and extra work they are
doing to help create a safe pathway back and forth to Savannah on Hwy 80, just by taking one DUI off the road, here on Tybee, to save someone’s life not getting hit head on in a wreck
is worth the State Patrol being down here. It is an asset we should embrace and not look at it like we are being picked on by the State. Interim Chief Bryson stated these are just other
law enforcement professionals willing to jump in. They are also in Savannah, out of Post 42 in Rincon and now on Tybee. They are doing a great job and we welcome them. We have set them
up with their their own court date so it is separate from the rest of the officers’ court dates. We try to accommodate them as much as possible. Ms. Sessions asked about the Crimestoppers’
partnership? Interim Chief Bryson replied we have a partnership with the Crimestoppers’ Board of Directors and a partnership with Crimestoppers where we are going in half way to provide
signs reminding people to lock their doors and vehicles, stow their valuables, and other safety tips. Bill Garbett asked about the two recent events that were sort of out of the ordinary
for Tybee, the Pharmacy robbery and pistol whipping, and if he would comment on those. Bryson answered they are still under investigation and he could not say much. He did state the
patrol officers working the streets everyday made the arrest and if it wasn’t for that officer being at the right place at the right time being on patrol driving his vehicle and right
there when the crime occurred, able to arrest one of the subjects at that time. It is nothing we see here normally, not a regular occurrence, but the economy is tough and citizens need
to be vigilant against someone stealing things. Lock your doors and car doors. A good relationship is something the officers depend on to have feedback to solve these crimes. We had
excellent feedback on this crime that aided in catching people breaking into cars this morning. It was a citizen that alerted the Police and we were able to catch the people responsible
last night. Bill Garbett commented he was amazed and flabbergasted at how quickly they apprehended the suspects in both of these incidents. Bryson stated it was good detective work and
patrol work
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 7 of 27 and cooperation from the Richmond Hill Police Department. I have a good relationship with the Richmond Hill PD as well. Interim Chief
Bryson also reported on the City Marshal activity during the Quarter. He stated the City Marshal had citied over 50 property maintenance violations; notices to cut grass, remove debris,
cover dumpsters. On city right-a-way complaints or violations; he removed or relocated eight trailers with boats, six trailers, five vehicles, three vehicles did not have tags or decals,
and removed three RV’s and relocated them. He also assisted the department in placing warning and information signs for beachgoers around the island to warn them about bottles on the
beach, etc. He removed signs in violations in city right-a-way such as garage sale signs, advertisements signs, etc. He is getting new decals for roll-out carts to remind people about
requirements to roll back the containers after they have been picked up or emptied. Woody Hemphill presented the Quarterly Report and the Monthly Financials for Rivers End Campground.
He showed a visual report indicating additional expenses anticipated in July associated with operations, for example, marketing initiatives for the remaining 2010 and beginning of 2011.
We greatly exceeded what we anticipated in revenues and came in under what was anticipated in expenses. We have had the auditors here the last couple of months and some of those expenses
may carry over to the month of August. But for the month we cleared a profit of about $58,768.77. Mayor Buelterman commented the anticipated for August is significantly less than for
July. Is there that much of a drop off because of school starting back? Mr. Hemphill answered, yes sir. A few things are working against us right now. We always see a significant drop
off because of school starting back, but from what I have heard talking to people in the campground and other campgrounds around the area, the Gulf being in better health, people are
checking that that area out to see what the big deal is about. The rainy days and high heat index also impacts us in August, not that this August is any different than any other August.
Mr. Hemphill also presented a visual Customer Satisfaction Survey with overall ratings of B or B+. The cabins are a new rating area and we received an A rating. Mr. Hemphill also showed
graphs and scales from different areas of revenues with historical data and the same with expenses. The monthly tent revenue is one area staff will be working on during the off season.
He reminded all attendees and viewers at home that the campground does propane refills if anyone needs that service. The good news on our cabin revenues is we have stayed right in line,
and even a little better than what was done in 2009, with that year being impacted by the movie being filmed on Tybee. This is our second year of cabin operations. The Overall Gross
Revenue graph showed the campground started getting busier earlier in 2010. Mr. Hemphill stated the overall trend is going in the right direction. Mr. Hemphill stated, as far as the
Quarter goes there were a few operational items of note during that time frame. We will start offering our monthly campsites for our winter, off season and shoulder season guests, the
week-end after PirateFest. We are also working on site maps. We serve about 17,000 guests a year and each party checking in receives this. It is done at no cost to the city but supported
by advertisements for the businesses. The campground has also has been represented and participating on the City’s
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 8 of 27 Green Team, which has been formed to improve sustainability efforts within the City’s staff as a whole. Steve Platke, our camp operator
has helped us step up our recycling efforts with more bins around the grounds and installed motion detector lighting at our dumpster enclosures and outside arriving area around the bathhouses,
as well as, timed lighting in our bathhouses. Frank Schuman asked if he gets very much input from the big events on Tybee like the PirateFest, Beach Bum, etc. Mr. Hemphill answered,
yes sir, PirateFest is one of our biggest weeks of the fall and Beach Bum is usually the busiest week of the year, even bigger than Memorial Day this year. Ms. Doyle commented good job.
George Reese presented the Water & Sewer Department report. The press is now off potable water. It has been off since August 1st. It’s not considered reuse because it is coming off clarifiers.
We just put a new reuse pump in so hopefully the whole plant will have potable water by the end of the month. Bill Garbett asked how we are doing with our withdrawals as compared to
our permit, which is always a big issue. Mr. Reese replied we will be all right. We are about 100,000 less, according to Bill Lovett, for the year for our average. We are coming down
slowly. Mayor Buelterman confirmed we are coming down. Kathryn Williams commended Mr. Reese and his staff, as she is always getting calls from residents who have had broken pipes, etc
and they are always very complimentary of the response time and the professionalism of his staff. Mr. Reese responded thank you, they work very hard at it and Ms. Williams agreed. Hillary
Brodofsky, former Director of the Tybee YMCA addressed Mayor and Council and announced she had accepted a position at the West Chatham YMCA and expressed her appreciation for their support
during the four years she was at the “Y” here. She introduced the new Director of the Island’s “Y”, Mrs. Gina Casagrande. Ms. Casagrande has over four years of experience with the YMCA
and holds a Masters in Sports Medicine, as well as a certificate in Genealogy, so she has a great interest in working with seniors. Her husband is a coach at the new Island High School,
so she had the team and sports background as well. She was at the West Chatham branch so we have just traded branches. She has experience in childcare, teens, sports, aquatics, fitness,
pretty the entire gamut of the “Y” programs. I am sure you are going to love her. Mrs. Casagrande addressed council and expressed her appreciation for the warm welcome she has received.
She presented a slideshow presentation of the summer activities. Mayor Buelterman expressed his appreciation to Ms. Brodofsky for her hard work and service to the community and said
she will be missed. Mayor Buelterman commented on the $10,000 contribution to the Priceless Gift Campaign from Critz Dealerships. The donation was made to the Island’s “Y” in lieu of
giving it to St. Michael’s. Wanda Doyle commented she had been the “Y” liaison on the board the four years Ms. Brodofsky has been here and she has done an outstanding job at leading
the “Y” into great
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 9 of 27 things. Ms. Doyle stated she will miss her terribly, as she has been like one of her own, and she wishes her well. Ms. Doyle stated
she has spent some time with Ms. Casagrande already and if she can be of any help to please let her know. Jonathan Lynn presented the Community Development report. Beginning with the
Better Home Town initiatives, Mr. Lynn stated Tybee did receive their Better Hometown Designation from the State of GA. Ms. Morton had been working on that for the last year and a half
and now that is completed she will be focusing on Third Thursdays starting back and continues working with DCA on market studies for tourism. In addition we did receive the Bronze Level
of Sustainability for the City from the State and Ms. Morton is chair of that committee and has done a great job on that. The zoning staff has worked on the Land Development Code and
has Article 3 coming back to council the first meeting in September. We continue to attend workshops and we participated with the GEFA project and submitted the RFP and received the
contracts during that period, hopefully we will have that contract going here shortly and begin the WaterFirst process. The date it was due was actually August 15, 2010 and we did meet
the deadline. Mr. Lynn stated he attended the Downtown Development training class at the GA Municipal Association Conference and the Municipal Law training class. Mr. Lynn commented
the numbers for the quarter was 12 hearings before the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council, worked 3 site plans for variances, 2 special reviews and 3 text amendments. Mr. Lynn
stated the big numbers that are positive in a way is the last quarter in 2010 shows our building permit revenues were up to $48,567.00, the highest they have been in almost two years.
Hopefully this trend will continue. Not quite half way thru the quarter we implemented the new building permit fees. So we will see how those have affected, once they go for a full year.
In addition, we did collect $48,469 business license fees during that quarter. We did well on our projections. We didn’t quite hit the marks we had set for ourselves but we made a lot
of progress towards the end of the year. Wanda Doyle asked if council would be able to see Article 3 in time before the council meeting. Mr. Lynn answered it would be to them tomorrow
and it would be a very clean copy that has the word “DRAFT” on it. Jimmy Brown gave a powerpoint presentation on the recent Hurricane Exercise highlighting the Objectives and the Positive
Feedback from those participating, as well as, Recommendations for Improvement. Mayor Buelterman asked if Chief Lovett had given any indication of how long it would take for them to
give us the plan for evacuation of Hwy 80 if there is a wreck. Mr. Brown answered no sir, not a definite timeline. He is looking into that. Some of the recommendations have been taken
care of and we are working on the others. Kathryn Williams asked about the area of concern, even with Chatham County, of the evacuation of the nursing home patients. Do we have this
area covered or is this something we have to focus on? Mr. Brown replied that is not just a Tybee problem, it is county wide. He spends every hurricane season speaking with CEMA, Clayton
Scott and trying to work out
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 10 of 27 something. We have even taken it to the state legislature trying to get a law enacted that Emergency Operation Plans would have to
be on file with CEMA. That did not even make it through the house. The Emergency Operations Plans they do have are very vague. But it is in our operation conditions for the City; my
responsibility is when we go into a certain opcon position, like opcon 4, we go over to the nursing home. We have been working very close with Mary Sheppard over there to make sure they
are aware of what is going on and if an evacuation does come, they are out of there. One of the things that holds up the nursing homes is they have an out of town transport that comes
to evacuate the persons of the nursing home. Unless it is a declared evacuation order or disaster, they do not get reimbursement for the bus service. There is a fine line, it has to
be a mandatory evacuation or declared disaster for them, when they call for it or they won’t be reimbursed. It is all over the State of Georgia, not just Chatham County. We try to keep
a tab on it. Mayor Buelterman stated we were close to enacting a law on that but the nursing home folks fought against it. Frank Schuman asked about transferring everything in the TEMA
room to the gym in case of an emergency because of the TEMA room being on ground level. Mr. Brown responded we leave 1/3 in the TEMA room, 1/3 in the Gym, and take 1/3 to Dublin with
us. We have things in three locations so if the School gets wiped out we still have some in the Gym, if the Gym goes we still have some in Dublin with us. Citizens to Be Heard Jim Kluttz
addressed council with an update on fundraising efforts to benefit the Tybee Theater. The Friends of Tybee Theater sponsored a Wine Tasting event this past April, which was a huge success
raising almost $30,000. Shortly after, a lady that has a house on Tybee, who recently won an academy award for “The Blindside”, who wants to remain anonymous, gave a major contribution,
which we thank thank her for. Mr. Kluttz expressed a major thank you to the Mayor and Council. We believe we can restore Tybee’s Post Theater so that it can be used for movies, performances,
and for lectures. It can be something on the island everyone can use, young and old. Mr. Kluttz referred to the “Y”’s presentation that they are basically for everyone, the theater is
the same way. The other benefit to the theater is that there is going to be an economical benefit for the businesses. The money we are going to raise is going to be raised on Tybee and
stays on Tybee. It will benefit the people of Tybee. The City Council has agreed in this year’s budget; to contribute if, and only if, the theater also raised money from the citizens
and the businesses. Mr. Kluttz stated they are applying for grants of small increments, $10,000-$30,000. But most of the money is being raised on the Island for the next year to two
years. People will be working together to benefit the people of the Island. Greg Stoeffler and Amy Gaster spoke on behalf of the Leadership Tybee’s fundraiser coming up to support the
Friends of the Tybee Theater. In February the City started a program similar to the program in Savannah and it is called Leadership Tybee. It is a cross function of many types of businesses
on the Island and we feel fortunate enough, with others, to represent the business community. We are proud to be a part of Leadership Tybee and have been meeting
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 11 of 27 every month. Part of the requirements for Leadership Tybee is to break into smaller groups and come up with a project that has a positive
impact on Tybee Island. We finally came up with partnering with what the City has committed with their matching grant fund, and a great way for us as students in the first year of Leadership
Tybee, to come in and kick start this momentum that has been initiated by the board and the City. But we really need community support. Mr. Stoeffler announced they will be doing a fundraiser
with prefacing “FUN” Tybee style. Coming up with a way to raise money like Buy Local, here on Tybee, raise money local, have it stay local, and have a positive impact on the residents
locally, the businesses, and the tourists coming and our neighbors coming across the bridge. Mr. Stoeffler stated after much talking and meetings and going through a lot of steps we
wanted to make a formal announcement to everyone of the game plan. Amy Gaster addressed council and announced the “FUN” raiser campaign of three months of “Fun” Tybee style. We need
everyone to help us to re-open the Post Theater. Ms. Gaster stated the name of the campaign is “Casting for Stars” and will be a Tybee star search. We have a lofty goal because we do
want to see the theater re-open and to do that we need to take it up a notch. Our community has done this before, we have raised $100,000 for other campaigns in the past by doing what
we do best……having parties, having events, having unique Tybee events…..and that is what we plan to have. The way we are going to do this is have 10 contestants competing against each
other to be the “Tybee Super Star”. The kick-off is September 26th at Marlin Monroe’s. We hope this is going to be a win win for everyone. A sing and dance routine was demonstrated.
Ms. Gaster stated you can sign up at www.tybeestars.com . Mayor Buelterman thanked the Leadership Tybee group for taking this project on. Shirley Sessions commented everyone is doing
a great job and she concurred with Mr. Kluttz this is a great way to bring the community together. How can you not want to get involved? She pointed out the support of every Council
since the theater has been a possibility. Ms. Sessions indicated former council members attending tonight; Barry Brown, Dick Smith, Pam O’Brien from 2001 & 2002 and thanked them for
starting off the support of the re-opening the theater. She also thanked Leadership Tybee for this campaign. Mayor Buelterman thanked Ms. Sessions as she was also on that Council supporting
it when it was not a very popular thing to do, to save the theater when it was close to the wrecking ball. Mayor Buelterman also recognized Jack Youmans as part of that support. Richard
Adams was not present. Carolyn Elm addressed Council and stated she and the Mayor had previously spoken and she had asked him when would Jimmy Price be reinstated, and he said soon.
Ms. Elm said she is present tonight to ask a few questions and would like a straight answer. Ms. Elm asked what Chief Price did wrong to be suspended. Mayor Buelterman stated when he
met with her and they had a good and cordial meeting he had stated we would resolve this issue soon, however it played out. Mr. Hughes stated there had been a lot happen since you had
that meeting. One
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 12 of 27 of which is a proposal to resolve the status of the Chief and that is on the agenda tonight under his name. He stated council could
take it up early if the council wishes to. It basically involves reinstatement and retirement by the Chief with him receiving benefits under the agreement. It is a mutual resolution,
and in his view, is in the best interest of the City. Chief Price has signed it. Mr. Hughes stated council will have to address it. He said he doesn’t think in light of the fact it hasn’t
been signed and the nature of the agreement is such that it doesn’t become effective for several days that it would be improper to be discussing any details about how we got to where
we are because of that and because of related litigation council is familiar with. Mr. Hughes stated he wished he could give a better answer but under the circumstances that is all he
can say and will say. Ms. Elm asked if it has to be voted on tonight. Mr. Hughes responded, yes. Ms. Ms. Elm asked if Chief Price is in agreement with this. Mr. Hughes answered we have
an agreement that has been signed by Chief Price. Ms. Elm asked the Mayor if he or any other council member had brought in Chief Price to talk with him when the tasing incident happened.
Mayor Buelterman stated Mr. Hughes had asked that he refer any questions to him. Mr. Hughes stated it would have to be the same answer. The City is a defendant in a lawsuit that has
come out of the tasing incident and he doesn’t want council to comment on anything related to that incident. There is no upside in doing so. Ms. Elm stated when they had the petition
signed; it was signed to have Chief Price reinstated, to become our Chief of Police again. For years Tybee has been a safe place. Now we had better start locking our doors and our cars.
Just the other night, two young women were robbed at gunpoint down on the strand. Ms. Elm commented she thought Chief Price should be shown respect for the 31 dedicated years he has
given to the City of Tybee and should not be thrown away like yesterday’s trash. Respect is missing here and in our country. That is what’s wrong with us today. You cannot learn it,
you earn it. After 31 years Chief Price has earned it. Sundi Marino addressed council stating for several reasons she also wanted a resolution, but she wanted the right one. We need
to show there is no weak link out here. Several people have already mentioned the rash of crimes already and referred back to what Ms. Elm had mentioned about the robbery. Two men with
guns went into a condo on Strand, where a bachorlette party was in progress and stole all the women’s’ purses. This adds to the home invasion, the pistol whipping, the pharmacy armed
robbery and the guys stealing out of the cars and from beachgoers. Jimmy Price has dedicated his career to serving this island. Ms. Marino stated she speaks for herself and for others
that feel they can’t speak up because of the consequences they may face. If someone doesn’t agree with how this city is being being run or stands up to the City Manager, or says no to
her, they are gone. Ms. Marino commented our Police Force has been threatened by her scare tactics…….Mayor Buelterman interrupted and stated she is making allegations against people
that are unfounded in his opinion. Ms. Marino stated she has a source. Mayor Buelterman stated she was making a threat that in somehow this City and this Council would hold people to
account or there would be consequences if somebody came up and said something………every meeting people come up and say something and then we go out and have dinner with them. Ms. Marino
stated she wasn’t talking about
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 13 of 27 public people; she was talking about city employees. Mayor Buelterman stated he understood what she is saying but he feels it is unfounded.
Ms. Marino said she has several sources that have told her they have been threatened with little stories that people have found out and is holding over their heads and using against
them. They are afraid of losing their careers and pensions. Ms. Marino stated many businesses feel it is hard for them to stand up because things could be made difficult for them. City
employees are afraid to talk to anyone anymore because of repercussions within city hall. Ms. Marino urged council to not support the proposed agreement, to let Jimmy Price go back to
work and retire on schedule. We are paying him to do that anyway. Push your personal agendas aside and ask yourself, if he can be pushed aside for no reason, who else can be? This isn’t
about the tasing case. The GBI made that perfectly clear. Jimmy Price did nothing wrong. Ms. Marino stated if he is being punished for what his officers did and what actions they took;
if he is being held accountable and responsible for that. Then; his superior should be held responsible and accountable because she was MIA that weekennd Ms. Marino said don’t let her
bully you or push you because the citizens will remember come next November. Ann Miller addressed council on the alcohol license for the North Beach Grill being brought up tonight. Ms.
Miller stated the lawyer hired by council signed a letter on May 4th, Kathryn Williams signed a Blind Trust on May 20th, and council issued her an Alcohol and Liquor License on July
22nd, so the Blind Trust was broken. Ms. Williams was not supposed to be doing that. Ms. Williams has been operating since August 9th and has had problems over there. Ms. Williams or
the business put out a flyer and stuck them on people’s doors. Ms. Miller commented she had a friend call her with one. It was an advertisement but had a paragraph stating they had had
a problem that previous Wednesday night with music and please be sure and call them if there were any problems. Ms. Miller stated her main concern is if council allowed Ms. Williams
to operate for two weeks with a license that should have been null and void or never issued in the first place. Ms. Miller asked council to please think before issuing another license
in Mr. Spriggs’s name when they can’t seem to follow their own rules. Kathryn Williams stated the Application for the Business License the North Beach Grill is operating under was submitted
months and months ago and upon the advice of the independent attorney we are redoing that. Ms. Williams stated there were no advertisements passed out at all. There was a letter delivered
to the neighbors and it was not an advertisement. Ms. Miller stated it was an advertisement. Ms. Williams stated she would be happy to share it with you. Ms. Miller responded she had
it at home…. Mayor Buelterman interrupted and asked Ms. Williams to make her point. Ms. Williams responded her point is what was just stated is not true. George Spriggs addressed council
stating he is the other owner of the North Beach Grill and wanted to clarify some of the things that had just been said. He stated the letter that was sent out a few days ago was the
result of a noise complaint they received on Wednesday evening when there was entertainment at the North Beach Grill. Mr. Spriggs stated he and Ms. Williams
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 14 of 27 felt it would be a good idea just to send a letter to the neighbors letting them know we were very much in favor of being good citizens
and good neighbors and that we would abide by all noise ordinances. And if there was a problem, their first line of communication could be us. We personally had the advertisement delivered.
Mr. Spriggs said the application before council tonight is to transfer the Business and Liquor License from Ms. Williams name to his. Ms. Miller stated the paper she has at home and
is referring to was stuck in her friend’s door. Isn’t that illegal? Are we supposed to put flyers out? Mr. Hughes stated there is an Ordinance that prohibits handbills and flyers and
similar distributions, yes. Every couple of years we run into the constitutionality of that. There is an Ordinance that is on the books. Ms. Williams asked, didn’t that deal with windshields
and mailboxes? Mr. Hughes stated that is correct, but it is actually in the Sign Ordinance with a separate prohibition on peddlers, that would theoretically prohibit that. Mr. Hughes
stated it is very suspect constitutionally frankly. Ms. Williams commented this was a letter delivered to the immediate neighbors, it wasn’t something widely passed out. Ms. Miller restated
it was stuck in her friend’s door. Mr. Hughes commented he would have to look into it. Ms. Miller stated during the elections they were told they couldn’t do that. Mr. Hughes said that
is what he is talking about; the whole issue of passing out documents leaving them on cars, houses, and all of that. There is an ordinance that restricts passing out documents and that
is when the issue of its constitutionality came up and it’s close. Ms. Miller read on the back of the agenda tonight that items are supposed to be in by Wednesday noon; Ms. Williams
was in with the liquor application to change into Mr. Spriggs’ name on Thursday, which was past due, how did it get on the Agenda? Ms. Williams answered she did not handle it at all
and she believed it was turned in on Wednesday. Consideration of Boards, Commissions and Committee Appointments Historic Preservation Committee Mayor Buelterman stated there had been
emails back and forth and questions about the Historic Preservation Committee and asked Mr. Garbett to comment on it. Mr. Garbett issued a plea for volunteers to serve on the Historic
Preservation Committee and stated this is an extremely important part of preserving Tybee and a major part of our Better Hometown program. We currently have two open positions of three
year staggered terms. The qualifications are you should have a great interest in historic preservation or architecture or the beauty of Tybee. You do need to be a resident and that has
really cut out some of the gifted preservationists that happen to live in Savannah or Wilmington Island. For instance, it disqualifies Cullen Chambers. We do currently have three recognized
Historic Districts on the Island; Fort Screven, the Strand area, and the Back River area. We would really like to put in place the protection and the opportunity for people who own these
historic buildings to benefit from tax advantages, building permit exceptions, for instance, you don’t have to bring it all up to code if you have this historic district…..let’s just
say we are reopening applications for this and ask citizens to please apply and we will keep it open until it is filled.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 15 of 27 Ms. Williams stated on most committees you do have to be a resident, but as Mr. Garbett stated in some incidents there are many highly
qualified people in the area that could really be an asset. Mayor Buelterman commented that on the Beach Task Force we have people serving in an ex-officio capacity. We can certainly
have people come in and advise. Mr. Garbett commented we would always have Mr. Chambers come in and advise and others like Bob Ciucevich that will participate. Mr. Garbett concurred
with Ms. Williams and asked if we could expand the qualifications and have a few non residents, it would certainly benefit. Ms. Williams asked Mr. Hughes if there was any legal reason
why we could not do this. Mr. Hughes stated none that he was aware of. Mayor Buelterman stated someone could put that on the next agenda. CORE MPO Citizen’s Advisory Committee Mayor
Buelterman stated this was to replace one of our long standing representatives on the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee. He asked Henry Levy how long he
was on that committee and Mr. Levy responded about ten years. Mayor Buelterman stated every year Mr. Levy fought for the road, the crosswalks, and the bike lane on the bridge, just like
the Mayor had asked him to. Mr. Levy commented at the last meeting he attended they had agreed to put the Tybee road, for safety, a priority above every other road project in Chatham
County. Mayor Buelterman thanked Mr. Levy for doing a good job. Mayor Buelterman stated anyone wishing to fill that position, we welcome the application. Bubba Hughes Proposal regarding
Jimmy Price Mr. Hughes stated what was before council was a document that had been signed by Chief Price yesterday and it basically agreed on the seventh day following execution by him,
he would be reinstated and then retire as Chief of Police. It provides for certain benefits to be paid in exchange for a release, which is customary, in these circumstances where you
have a separation and securing a release. It doesn’t affect his pension in any way and is written in the document as well. For a number of reasons, I recommend this to you, particularly
as the Chief has signed it and agreed to it. Mr. Hughes stated Mr. Painter, Chief Price’s attorney, is presently out of town, but he spoke to Mr. Painter and he will sign it Monday.
Mr. Hughes encouraged council to approve this. Mayor Buelterman called for a motion. A Motion by Shirley Sessions to approve the agreement as the City Attorney has advised with the understanding
that Chief Price has agreed and has participated in this resolution was seconded by Paul Wolff. Ms. Sessions stated certainly there is no discounting the wonderful job the Chief has
done for the community and that is a separate issue that needs to be acknowledged and addressed at a different time
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 16 of 27 Wanda Doyle asked Mr. Hughes to go over again the reinstatement process; the number of days before the vote is called for. Mr. Hughes
answered the agreement provides that there is a certain amount of time period provided by law in these circumstances that is kind of like the right to recision if somebody sells you
something at your front door you have three days to withdraw it. This is a seven day provision and if council approves this, seven days following his signature, seven days from yesterday,
next Thursday he would automatically be reinstated and simultaneously retire so that he is not under suspension or anything else. The rest of it is the release terminology. Of course,
he gets whatever benefits had been approved and pension benefits. Bill Garbett commented everyone in this community knows this has been a painful experience and I know it has been for
the Council. He stated he personally is having an extremely difficult time approving this because of the precedence it will set. It is to some degree a mismanagement of funds; it is
not an appropriate use of funds. Mr. Garbett stated on the other hand, we have something that has not been proposed by the City Manager. This is something that has been proposed by the
City’s counsel and other attorneys working on litigation involved with this city. Mr. Garbett stated he is torn, he believes accepting this is going to be the best thing for the City,
but he is only doing this on strong advice from counsel, not just Mr. Hughes, but other people involved in this. Mr. Garbett said he really wished the people of Tybee would consider
that when they want to ask council why they made this decision. Wanda Doyle stated she had been a supporter of Chief Price’s since all this started. This has been a very difficult decision
for her for many different reasons. She stated she had spoken with Chief Price and his name, his signature is on this reinstatement, retirement, and release form and for that reason
she thinks he agrees with this because his signature is here. Maybe his heart says one thing and his mind another. Ms. Doyle stated she does support this but for a different reason than
from what Mr. Garbett is saying. Ms. Doyle said she wants the people out there to know she has supported Chief Price throughout this whole process The vote was Sessions, Wolff, Doyle,
Garbett and Williams in favor and Schuman opposed. Consideration for the Consent Agenda A Motion by Paul Wolff to approve the consent agenda was seconded by Kathryn Williams. The vote
was unanimous. Mayor Buelterman called a short break. Mayor Buelterman called the meeting back to order. Public Hearings Mayor Buelterman opened the public hearing and stated this had
been on the agenda the last meeting but council had delayed it so we could give a little bit more information to people on this issue. The main issue is that our Water Sewer Fund is
not breaking even.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 17 of 27 Mayor Buelterman asked Diane to explain the PowerPoint slide on the screen. Ms. Schleicher explained, Ms. Hogan, the Finance Director,
had done a water revenue comparison and she will be more than happy to explain it to you, she would start with some history. Ms. Schleicher explained the City Council in December, 2008
adopted a rate structure, the first set of rate changes for the tier rates and they would start in January of 2009. There was a second and third set of increases that were to be potentially
adopted. One was to be adopted in June of 2009 for review and one at the beginning of this year. We did not review those scheduled but after looking at where we are with Water & Sewer,
we realize even with the new automatic readers and monthly billing we need to go ahead and adopt the last rate structure that was scheduled for January of 2010. Ms. Schleicher stated
she wants to make sure the Water & Sewer Fund is made whole because after looking at our unaudited budget we are short about a quarter of a million. She had asked Ms. Hogan to do some
calculations on adopting that third tier, which would have been what we would have done in January, and would help us shore up that short fall. Ms. Schleicher stated that is shown on
the green column of the chart displayed. Ms. Hogan stated what she thought she was asked to do was to compare where our revenues would be if we left the rates where they are now versus
where the revenues would be if we adopted the January 2010 rates which were proposed by the engineering firm. On the exhibit shown she stated she took the lowest month of consumption,
January 2010, and the highest consumption or usage month, June 2010, and applied the current rate and the proposed increase rate to it. She used primarily only the Water Fund. Ms. Hogan
noted if indeed we propose the rate that was proposed by in December 2008, when they sort of didn’t know what they were talking about back then, and if we can pass that rate, with just
a few thousand dollars short it will make us whole this year. The only problem we are going to have with this year is we have already passed two whole billing months. If we had started
this on January 1 we would indeed be 100% whole. In future years we can be whole again. Ms. Hogan stated she wanted to point out the yellow highlighted items on the two charts. Single
family homes that use less than 3000 gallons a month will see no increase at all. This increase is based on the tiers based on charging those people that use what might be considered
more than their share, and she is not being judgmental, but those that use more than others, are going to pay more at a higher rate. The increases are primarily in buildings that have
multi-units, a duplex, and triplex and for those that use more than 3000 gallons a month. Those are the only two groups that are being affected. The water revenue increase would be about
$130,000 and the sewer increase about the same. That puts us at about $250,000 higher than what our current deficiency was last year. For this year it will just get us through till the
end of the year. Mayor Buelterman asked what happens if council does not approve this. Ms. Hogan responded then you are another quarter million dollars in the hole again next year. Mayor
Buelterman asked where that quarter million dollars would come from? Ms. Hogan answered probably the undesignated, unreserved funds. Ms. Hogan stated the biggest problem is going to
be your revenue bond. The bond requires the rates be set high enough to meet the expenses and that is not what we had currently done. As we have currently not set the rates high enough
to
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 18 of 27 meet the expenses of the department. Mayor Buelterman asked what happens if the bond rating goes down. Ms. Hogan answered they could
call the bond on us at any time if we are flagrantly ignoring the requirements of the bond, they could actually call us, where we would have to pay them the balance that is owed on the
bond. She stated she didn’t know if they would do that, but if you have the chance to be in compliance and you have the chance to operate one of your departments at even steven and constantly
not be operating in the red, it is fiscally a responsible idea and that would be her recommendation. Ms. Hogan stated we could look at cutting cost, and that is always the other option.
Besides raising revenues you go back to that budget and see where you can cut more expenses. It doesn’t look like there is a lot of fat in that budget, or in any budget, but that is
always an option. Mayor Buelterman stated we had talked about this at the last meeting and why it looks as if expenses are going up. But the answer was that a lot of it was, we were
using this revenue to pay down the loans we took out to do a lot of the various projects like Ft. Screven waterline, Butler waterline, and a lot of the other things we had done. Is that
right? Ms. Hogan answered yes and stated if she could be candid, we have been in the hole in this fund for a few years but basically in order to meet expenses and have the funds to take
care of emergencies and repairs we have just been borrowing money for the last few years. Which has worked for you but now we have managed to have our loan payments; principal and interest,
just for this fund, at a million dollars a year. Because we continue to borrow every time something goes wrong. At some point, as does every consumer, we need to start paying our debts
down. Ms. Hogan stated we can continue to wait until something else happens and go borrow more money but that would not be her recommendation. She stated this is a public hearing so
she will let others give their opinion. Mayor Buelterman commented we are basically just kicking the can to another generation. Wanda Doyle asked if we go with the orange column the
fund will break even? Ms. Hogan answered basically with just a little bit left over, about $20,000 a year. Ms. Doyle stated she had mentioned this at the last council meeting because
one of the hotels had mentioned it to her. But if there are 100 units that means there are 100 units that may sit idle for a month or maybe just half of them, they are still paying that
base rate of $46 or whatever it is. Ms. Hogan answered it would depend on how many meters there is. Ms. Doyle responded it depends on the number of meters? Ms. Hogan stated that is correct,
each meter pays the base rate. Ms. Hogan stated she didn’t know which hotel Ms. Doyle was referring to but some of them are configured separately. Ms. Schleicher commented when it is
a multiple unit, what happens is $24 or $25 each meter then each unit, no kitchen……..for the water for a Commercial unit is $10.87 and each unit with no kitchen is $7.00 for the water.
For the sewer charge, each unit is additional $7.00. The total is $14.00 and is the base rate for each room if it is sitting idle, per month. So if you are looking at the Ocean Plaza
or the Desoto and you have a room that is not rented and there is no consumption or you are looking at the base rate for that room it is $14.00 for water and sewer. That is the stand
by rate. Basically what we have built in for the base rate is infrastructure cost, the standby, the maintenance and taking care of the system. The standby built in cost is built out
across the whole rate. Then the consumption is basically the cost of treating the water, delivering the water and on the sewer side, the cost of treating
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 19 of 27 the outflow. That is the thought. When you have the base you should basically, have the cost of having the water, treatment plant,
and availability of having the sewer plant year round. You don’t know if someone is going to need that in water & sewer in January, you have to spread it out. You have to have the plan
available, the staff available, the chemicals to take care of everything and you have to have all of this year round. Because someone might not rent a room or occupy a house seasonally,
you still have to have the treatment plant to take care of the wells year round. So we have to spread that cost year round. That is what that standby base rate is based on. Ms. Hogan
commented it is similar to your phone bill, if you don’t use your phone at all you still pay your base rate. Ms. Doyle commented if Ocean Plaza is sitting there with 50 empty rooms for
two months they are paying $14.00 for each room. Ms. Schleicher commented to clarify they were paying $12.00; it is going up to $14.00. William Mosley addressed council with concerns
the increased rates will punish large families like his. He has 7 children and 2 grandchildren, most of which live with him, and yes they use a lot of water. His water bill currently
runs about $197.00 a month. He stated he can’t take more. He does have a rental unit. He asked what is going to go on with this. He pays the double base fee and he understands the tier
fees and wanting people to conserve. With that double base fee why can’t he have double the water before it increases, just like a single person in a single home. The first 3000 is included
in the base, it goes up after 5000. Mr. Mosley asked, if he has a double base why not make it 10,000 before he gets hit with his increase in the tier. Mr. Wolff answered you have 3000
for the house and for the rental unit, if you are paying two base fees. Mr. Mosley stated no one has been able to explain things to him. Mr. Wolff said the base fee is for each meter,
if you have two meters. Mr. Mosley answered he has only one meter. Mr. Wolff answered oh. Well…. Mayor Buelterman confirmed with Mr. Mosley there was only one meter for both units. Mr.
Mosley responded yes, only one meter but he has been told he pays a double base meter fee because he has the two units. Mr. Wolff answered he thought he was supposed to have a separate
meter for each legal renting unit. Mr. Mosley answered it has been there for forty or fifty years. Mayor Buelterman asked staff if it was standard if they have one meter for multiple
units they pay double the base rate. Ms. Doyle commented that is one of the complaints she heard from a friend that has a house with two apartments and one meter, it is an older home
like Mr. Mosley is talking about, but he is paying triple. That is one of the complaints and something she hasn’t been able to explain to him. Mr. Wolff stated the way it was originally
set up and should be is; for each base rate you pay, you get 3000 gallons a month. That is it. That is the way it works. So, even if you only have one meter but you are paying two base
rates, and he doesn’t understand how that is happening and that is what is throwing him off, he doesn’t understand why he is paying two base rates if he only has one meter. Mr. Mosley
stated he was told it was because he has a second unit with a kitchen, he gets charged a double base fee. That is the way they did it when they didn’t want to give out the meters. Ms.
Doyle stated that was happening. Ms. Hogan stated she
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 20 of 27 would look into this and see what has been happening. Mr. Wolff answered; you should be getting the 3000 for each base rate you pay.
Ms. Schleicher responded yes if he is paying a base rate it should be 3000 gallons for each one he is paying. Mr. Mosley asked if it goes into the tier will it go for that same way.
Ms. Schleicher answered yes; each base rate comes with 3000. If you have not been receiving that, then we need to look into it. Ms. Schleicher stated we will work on this in house. Mayor
Buelterman commented the $197.00 water bill is too high. Ms. Schleicher answered she thought so too and will look into it and make sure he is being billed correctly. Ms. Sessions stated
this would apply to anyone in this same situation. Mr. Wolff offered Mr. Mosley some advice in making sure with that many family members to make sure he has low flow toilets, etc. Ace
Hardware has a dual flush for about $20 and will save a lot of water and money. Kathryn Williams asked the City Manager would a situation like the Mosley’s fall under “Residential Multi-Family”
and then per kitchen. Ms. Williams stated there is “Residential Single Family” and “Residential Multi-Family” which, she assumes means another unit, or a mother-inlla suite or something
like that. Ms. Schleicher answered right, we will find out exactly what his situation is. But whatever, he is allowed 3000 for each base rate, that is already built in so there may be
a mistake somewhere and staff will look at his bill and make sure it is done correctly. If anyone else has a question if they are being billed based on a multi-family use, they should
make an appointment with staff. They will look at their particular situation and analyze it and make sure they are being billed correctly. It may just be a misunderstanding on how to
categorize them. New Water and Sewer Rates Mayor Buelterman closed the public hearing. A Motion by Paul Wolff to approve the suggested rates at the recomendation of the Finance Department
was seconded by Bill Garbett. Mayor Buelterman asked if the Water/Sewer Committee ever voted on this. Paul Wolff answered the Infrastructure Committee looked at it again this week and
made the same recommendation to approve it. Mayor Buelterman asked if that was a unanimous vote. Mr. Wolff answered yes it was only Mr. Garbett and himself, Ms. Williams was not present.
Wanda Doyle asked if George Reese supports this. Mr. Wolff answered yes. Mr. Reese does not have any money to work with. He has been deferring improvements that the Water/Sewer system
needs because he doesn’t have enough money. This will help a lot to keep things operating properly. Ms. Hogan asked for council to please set a date. Does it start tomorrow, next month
or when?
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 21 of 27 An Amendment made by Paul Wolff to add that the rates become effective with the October Billing for September’s water was seconded
by Bill Garbett. Kathryn Williams stated she wanted to point out; council members all have to pay the increased fees as well. This is not something that was done lightly, not only did
the Finance Department have a great amount of input but the engineer has as well, dating back to the last council when these tiers were put into place. This is something none of us have
taken lightly but it is based on the advice of all the experts that it is something that has to be done to balance that fund. Mr. Garbett reiterated it is an Enterprise Fund and it has
to pay its way. Basically it is not and we are going against our own policy in the current situation. He reminded everyone that the increase for people that use the base rate will be
zero and people who are in the 3000-6000 a month tier, your bill will go up about $2.00. This is not a tremendous increase but over the 3500 units it will make up the difference in what
we are losing now and what we need to break even. As Mr. Wolff has stated there are a number of projects that Mr. Reese is waiting on. He is repairing motors instead of replacing them,
and things like that. This will certainly help us maintain our system in a much more efficient manner. Shirley Sessions stated she wanted to reiterate this was part of the audit findings
over a period of many years. Ms. Schleicher agreed and said that we were not meeting our bond requirements because of the short fall. Hopefully this, not this audit, but future audits
we will not have that finding, when we are made whole. Mayor Buelterman commented this is why it is so important for us to get money from Splost to do water and sewer projects. The vote
was unanimous. Consideration Local Requests & Applications-Funding, Special Events, Alcohol License Application for Business License, Retail Beer/Wine/Liquor Alcohol License and Entertainment
for North Beach Bar & Grill, Applicant: George L. Spriggs, Jr Location: 33 Meddin Drive. Kathryn Williams recused herself. Mayor Buelterman asked Mr. Hughes to explain this. Mr. Hughes
explained a license had been applied for the business by Kathryn Williams early on and was conditionally approved. The conditions were apparently satisfied or thought to be satisfied
and somewhere in there we got Mr. McRae involved to render an opinion on Ms. Williams involvement in the business, and the license should not have been applied for in her name. This
is not really transferring the license in as much as it is transferring the application. It is rather unique. It is just really cleaning up where we are. It is by Mr. Spriggs so it gets
Ms. Williams out of the relationship between the business and the City.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 22 of 27 A Motion by Frank Schuman to approve transferring the applications and the license would be issued in the new name was seconded by
Shirley Sessions. Ms. Doyle asked if then there is really no issue with council going thru this process, there is no problem with them continuing selling, business as usual with alcohol
sales, right now at this point. This is a question she has been asked several times and she just wants the clarification. Mr. Hughes answered he has been doing his best to avoid having
opinions on anything relating to this. This is a very unique situation. We haven’t had an application transferred for this sort of reason ever. His thought was it would be unfair and
inappropriate not to consider it as a continuation of the license. Once they satisfied the conditions that were imposed on them; as far as the Health Department issues, inspections,
back taxes, and that sort of thing. Ms. Doyle stated so it is like Mr. Spriggs stated it is just to come into compliance. Mr. Hughes answered right. The situation could be argued on
either side, but what sense does it make to stop it in the mean time. As a practical matter, Mr. Hughes stated he doesn’t see where it would be in the City’s best interest to treat it
any other way. The vote was unanimous. Consideration of Ordinances, Resolutions 2nd Reading Ordinance to Amend the Code of Ordinances Section 70-43, Bill adjustment for water leakage
and special circumstances. A Motion by Wanda Doyle to approve was seconded by Paul Wolff. The vote was unanimous. 2nd Reading Ordinance to Amend the Code of Ordinances Section 5-90 Variances
to add Section 5-090 (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Code of Ordinances, no application for a variance may be accepted nor may any variance be granted with respect to
any property that is then not in compliance with the requirements of Ordinances for the condition on which the variance, unless the applicant files with the application a detailed written
explanation of how, when, and by whom the need for a variance was created. A Motion by Wanda Doyle to approve was seconded by Paul Wolff. The vote was Doyle, Wolff, Schuman, Sessions
and Williams voting in favor and Garbett opposed. City Manager’s Report -Diane Schleicher Action Items List Mr. Hughes asked if council would add the Juvenile Ordinance to the action
items list.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 23 of 27 Ms. Doyle stated that would be a good idea. They had briefly touched on it at the Public Safety Meeting and she had talked briefly
with Interim Chief Bryson and she wanted to talk with Mr. Hughes about it. She and Ms. Schleicher will be talking with Mr. Hughes and then placing the ordinance on the public safety
agenda for September. Shirley Sessions stated we had agreed that no one had any questions on the Action Items and had talked about it at the workshop, so does anybody else have anything.
Kathryn Williams stated it does seem to be missing some ideas we were going to add. She would go through her notes and would email them. Mayor Buelterman asked when we are taking up
the off-season parking issue. Ms. Doyle answered she was going to put it on the first meeting in September because it is a time sensitive issue. FY 2010 End of Year Final Budget Adjustment
Mayor Buelterman asked Ms. Schleicher or Ms. Hogan to explain the significant adjustments that were were made in this versus what we approved when we approved the budget. Ms. Hogan replied
what she did and what she thought is expected of her is; once all the revenues have been counted and all the expenses have been counted we sort of make one budget adjustment. Take all
the revenues and put them where they belong, and get all the expenses all shored up so in the end it is just cleaning up the books. For the most part there was nothing significant; a
few accounts may have been over budget and others under, those kinds of minor accountant kinds of adjustments that don’t have a significant impact on the management of the issues of
the City. The biggest one that kind of saved us this year was we had budgeted about $550,000 to be transferred from the General Fund to the Solid Waste Fund, because we had similar issues
with that fund that we had with Water/Sewer. In the end, thanks to a huge part of her staff working really hard and a small rate increase, we only ended up having to transfer only about
$58,000. That was a huge amount of cash we had not budgeted to spend on anything else and at the end of the year was able to use and spread through out to kind of shore us up in some
of the other places. Our engineering bills, our legal line items, several line items that were much higher than what had been budgeted. At the end of the year there really was no cash
so that overage kind of got distributed equally. The auditors will give you the actual numbers and she really doesn’t want to tell council where we are at year end because the auditors
are still doing their work. They really don’t expect any huge adjustments. Ms. Hogan stated that is what she had done and what she felt she was expected to do but if council would like
her to do anything else, let her know. Mayor Buelterman stated council has agreed they think she is doing a great job, audits are being done in a timely manner and everything seems to
be going well and they appreciate it. A Motion by Frank Schuman to approve was seconded by Kathryn Williams. The The vote was unanimous.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 24 of 27 Council, Officials and City Attorney Considerations & Comments Jason Buelterman Corp of Engineers Letter-Extension of Tybee’s Beach
Erosion Control Project Mayor Buelterman stated we had inquired as to the Beach Renourishment Federal Project’s sunset in 2023 or 2024. It has a sunset of fifty years, which means we
could theoretically get thru two more beach renourishments, and we asked what we do to extend that. The letter was written in Federal jargon that he really didn’t understand and he is
going to forward it to Congressman Kingston and ask for guidance. Mayor Buelterman requested that the letter be included with the minutes. Bill Garbett Coastal Saltwater Intrusion Stakeholder
Meeting Report Mr. Garbett stated Georgia and South Carolina have a joint task force that looks into the issue of saltwater intrusion in our freshwater wells and the Aquifer, which is
where we draw our drinking water from. Many of you know Hilton Head is already being severely impacted. They have wells on both sides of the Island that are unusable because they are
contaminated with saltwater. That is partly an effect of the topography of the underwater aquifer, it is much closer to the surface there then it is here. The reason they have had saltwater
intrusion there is because Savannah draws so much water. We have known that for years and have been looking into ways to mitigate it but the two states have been fighting over who’s
model to use. They finally came together and have a model that both parties agree on and they know what has been happening and are setting up a steering committee. They would like someone
from the City of Tybee to be a member. They have asked him but we could find someone else to keep abreast of this. This is not forecast to affect Tybee until the year 2050 but it is
going to hit Tybee. Mayor Buelterman stated it wasn’t forecasted to hit Hilton Head until long off and it got there a lot sooner than they expected. Mr. Garbett stated Hilton Head just
budgeted budgeted four million dollars for a pumping station to take treated water from the Savannah River and inject it into the Aquifer in the off season so they could pump it out
in the new season. That doesn’t include the price of the water they are buying it is just the facilities. Those are things we all need to be aware of. Mr. Garbett stated he had not gotten
permission to travel out of state to that meeting and he needs to ask permission for that from council. Mr. Wolff asked for clarification if Mr. Garbett was saying the four million dollars
Hilton Head budgeted is for aquifer storage and recovery, which has been a hot topic in Georgia and voted down every time. Mr. Garbett answered that is correct. It is prohibited in Georgia
but
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 25 of 27 permitted in South Carolina. Mr. Wolff commented same aquifer though. Mr. Garbett answered yes. Mayor Buelterman commented Hilton
Head is paying for it. He stated he had brought up at a local legislature delegation meeting that if Tybee gets hit with saltwater intrusion we should not be responsible for paying for
that kind of thing because we do everything we can. Shirley Sessions commented if we did get hit with that we would have a lot more to worry about than beach renourishment. Kathryn Williams
commented or water rates. Mr. Garbett stated if we stopped pumping water today we would have saltwater intrusion in the foreseeable future. Just cutting back a little bit is really not
going to do much for the problem. Mayor Buelterman stated we should adopt a resolution at a future meeting that we are not going to be responsible for paying the bill. Mr. Garbett stated
there may be, the channel deepening is probably going to reduce the thickest of that impervious layer so that is going to aggravate it a little bit in our situation and we need to ask
them if they have studied that. Mayor Buelterman commented the Stakeholder Evaluation Group says it won’t. Kathryn Williams asked if they were going to guarantee it. Mayor Buelterman
commented he is surprised Hilton Head has not gone after funding from others causing, what is called the Cone of Depression. Mayor Buelterman asked if Mr. Garbett would be willing to
spearhead the Resolution to the State to let them know we are paying attention to this. Mr. Garbett agreed. Mayor Buelterman asked for approval of the out of State travel for Mr. Garbett
to attend this meeting. A Motion by Shirley Sessions to approve out of state travel after the fact was seconded by Paul Wolff. The vote was unanimous. Kathryn Williams Usage of Public
Restrooms Ms. Williams stated she has had several communications with Dean Morrison and he has been having a huge problem with people taking mini showers in the sinks when they change
their clothes and it clogs up the plumbing and causes a lot of problems. She has also heard Joe Wilson at the Infrastructure meetings state the City is also facing this problem, the
sand in the sink. It is not helping the plumbing situation at all. She wanted to see if council has any ideas of what we can do. She stated she and Ms. Schleicher had spoken and agreed
they don’t want to introduce an Ordinance that would be extremely difficult to enforce island wide. But do feel it would be in the best interest of the community if we could address
it in some way. Explore the usage of signage asking people to only use the sinks for hand washing or something along those lines. She wanted to introduce it and thought there were going
to be some people here to speak on it but that is not the case. So if council has any thoughts or ideas, we don’t want
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 26 of 27 to do anything that is going to have a negative impact on tourism but a lot of people are not going to be happy being told they can’t
do this in a public restroom. People coming behind them aren’t going to be happy either seeing a disgusted sink full of sand, and not be pleasantly impressed with our restroom facilities
either. It is kind of like a double edge sword. Maybe we can put it on a workshop agenda or action item list to come up with some ideas. Or maybe the Tourism Council can be asked to
assist with how we can address this problem without negatively impacting our guests, while protecting our City resources, and in the case of the pier, County resources as well. Shirley
Sessions stated it is an issue that needs to be addressed, the frustration level, not only with Mr. Morrison, but plumbing and cleaning the restrooms as well. It also holds up people
being able to use the facilities. Maybe it would be feasible to check other coastal community ordinances. And with signage is this something we need to be helping Mr. Morrison with financially
in our own restrooms. She asked Mr. Hughes if he is familiar with any ordinances. Mr. Hughes answered not really but he hasn’t really looked. She agreed we do want visitors, tourism
and day trippers but it is tough thinking about people going back where they came from all sandy but ….we only have foot washers. What she is hearing Mr. Morrison say is people are actually
taking showers in the sink with soap, towels and all. That is a problem. Ms. Doyle stated they are doing it in city bathrooms as well and restaurants where they can get in to change.
Mayor Buelterman commented he still believes if you have showers, that the use wouldn’t make such a difference, because you have them on anyway and you have the issue of them using the
bathroom water more. If you had low flow showers and he understands Mr. Garbett’s issue with the aquifers but we do not use too much water. Ms. Sessions stated she agrees but remembers
seeing people with soap and shampoo and taking full showers, but agrees with the Mayor it would be nice to have a few showers and look into the public facilities not to be used as a
bathhouse. Mayor Buelterman asked if we can get the business community involved. Mr. Garbett suggested looking at sinks that would not allow this, but doesn’t think the showers will
make all that much difference. Ms. Doyle suggested she would take this item to the Tourism Council. Ms. Williams asked Jonathan Lynn to ask Chantel Morton to solicit input through businesses
associated with Better Hometown. Mayor Buelterman clarified to help find creative ways to discourage improper use of public restrooms. Executive Session A Motion by Paul Wolff to go
into Executive Session to discuss Litigation and Personnel was seconded by Wanda Doyle. The vote was unanimous. A Motion by Paul Wolff to go back into Regular Session was seconded by
Wanda Doyle. The vote was unanimous.
DRAFT Draft Minutes revised 10/5/10vw Page 27 of 27 Adjournment A Motion by Paul Wolff to adjourn was seconded by Kathryn Williams. The vote was unanimous.