The City Council of Peachtree City met in a regular session, Thursday, November 16, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. Mayor Robert L. Lenox led those attending in the pledge of allegiance. Other Council members present were: Carol Fritz, Annie McMenamin, Dan Tennant and Bob Brooks. ANNOUNCEMENTS, AWARDS, SPECIAL RECOGNITION Mayor Lenox recognized Luther Holt and the Recreation Department for receiving the Georgia Recreation and Park Association award. Ron Ryan of Peachtree Golf Cart donated a golf cart to the Recreation Department. Mayor Lenox recognized Matthew Robinson for receiving the Employee of the Month award. MINUTES McMenamin made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 2, 2000, meeting as presented. Fritz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Design Contract, Landscaping Leach Fire Station 2. Consider Funding and Bid for Ladder Truck Brooks made a motion to approve the consent agenda as submitted. Tennant seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. OLD AGENDA ITEMS 11-00-01 Consider Alcohol License – The Dark Horse Pub, 288 N Highway 74 – Tabled At the applicant’s request, Lenox made a motion to table this agenda item until the December 7, 2000, meeting. McMenamin seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-00-02 Public Hearing – Rezoning – Lexington Commons - tabled Lenox made a motion to table this item until the December 7, 2000, meeting. McMenamin seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-00-03 Discussion of City Council Meeting Rules and Procedures – no action When the rules and procedures had been adopted earlier in the year, Councilmember Fritz had asked that this item be placed on the agenda to determine if additional changes were needed. Council briefly discussed the issue and felt the current procedures were working fine. No action was taken. 11-00-05 Consider Term-Limits for Commission/Authorities - no action Councilman Tennant proposed term limits for members of Commissions/Authorities similar to the limits imposed on City Council. He felt it would give other individuals an opportunity to serve and solicit fresh ideas. Tennant said he was grateful for those served. He said he realized the city could not impose legislation on the local authorities, but he suggested as matter of policy Council could limit the number of terms they would appoint an individual. McMenamin supported the issue of term limits, but hesitated to legislate such because she felt exceptions might be necessary. For example, she felt Council may want to reappoint an individual if they were involved in an on-going project. Rick Lindsey, City Attorney, suggested Council could adopt a resolution explaining their intent, instead of adopting an ordinance. Brooks suggested the way to impose term-limits would be not to reappoint someone. He also pointed out that it was difficult to find volunteers for some positions. He did not believe it was in the City’s best interest to limit term limits for qualified applicants, especially when there were no other applicants. But, he acknowledged that having a policy in place would make it less awkward to deny the reappointment of individuals when more qualified applicants were also being considered. Brooks said the City did not always reappoint volunteers. Lenox pointed out that no council could bind another. He felt the City always picked the best candidate. He also acknowledged that experience weighed heavily on an individual’s qualifications, but it was not the only deciding factor. He said all applicants are interviewed to ensure the most qualified is recommended for appointment. . Tennant was encouraged by the discussion that took place, and felt that it may not be necessary to legislate term-limits. No action was taken. 11-00-06 Consider City Flag - remanded to Recreation Commission to organize a design contest. 5-0 Tennant said that he travels often and has noticed that other cities have local flags flying at their City Hall. He learned that in the past, that Peachtree City had a flag as well, and he suggested it was a good idea to consider again. He suggested the City hold a local contest for school children to design a new city flag. Brooks pointed out that the last flag was chosen by a design contest. After a brief discussion, Council felt the contest should be open to all residents of the city. Tennant made a motion to instruct the Recreation Commission to organize a design contest for a new City Flag. McMenamin seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-00-07 Discuss Televising City Council Meetings - staff to evaluate cost, city attorney to evaluate legality of corporate sponsorship, recommendations to Council on January 4, 2001. 5-0 Tennant said the City had conducted a survey in the past to determine if citizens had an interest in televising City Council meetings. At that time the survey indicated residents were not in favor of doing so; however, Tennant pointed out that since that time, costs to provide such service had drastically decreased. Tennant said AT&T Cable Company has offered to equip the building at no cost, which was a savings of $17,000. He estimated the annual cost to videotape the meetings would be $24,000, which he determined to be 1/10th of 1% of the annual budget. He suggested obtaining corporate sponsors to pay for the expense. He acknowledged that there were concerns about people grandstanding or being inhibited from speaking. He said he did not know how many people would tune in, but he felt it was important that they could if they wanted to. Council discussed the issue briefly. Lenox made a motion to instruct staff to evaluate the actual cost involved, and for the City Attorney to evaluate the legality of using corporate sponsorships to provide funding. He asked staff to provide a recommendation to Council at the meeting on January 4, 2001. Tennant seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. NEW AGENDA ITEMS 11-00-08 Recommendation to Provide Site for Field of Hope – approved 5-0 Nick Harris, baseball coach and parent of a disabled child, requested Council to donate the land at the South Highway 74 Baseball Complex to be used as a Field of Hope. He explained that the "Field of Hope" would be fully accessible to special needs children, and in addition Little League could use the field for T-ball and other programs for younger children. He said no cost would be incurred by the city other than the donation of the land. He said money to build the field and a concession/restroom building would be raised through volunteer efforts. Mr. Harris gave a lengthy presentation describing the design of the proposed fields, which was similar to a field in Conyers. The Recreation Commission recommended approval of the request. Fritz commented that she had a disabled brother and she felt the proposed project was wonderful. McMenamin made a motion to provide the land for a Field of Hope as requested. Fritz seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-10-09 Public Hearing – Variance – Lot 11, North Cove – tabled At the applicant’s request, Lenox made a motion to table this item until the meeting on December 7, 2000. Tennant seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-00-10 Fayette County Transportation Alliance Discussion – staff to evaluate Eric Zink, of Peachtree City Taxi and Limousine, addressed Council to request the adoption of various rules and regulations for the transportation industry. He read a letter from Steve Folden, owner of another taxi service, supporting the request. He presented Council with a sample ordinance adopted by the City of Forest Park. . Brooks made a motion to instruct the Police Department to meet with Mr. Zink to get a full understanding of his concerns. He also instructed staff to evaluate the state laws and Public Service Commission rules regarding the subject and if staff felt there was a problem they should come back to Council with a recommendation. Tennant seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. 11-00-11 Jail Impact Fees – Capital Improvement Element, Resolution, and Intergovernmental Agreement – approved 5-0 Lenox explained that at a previous meeting, Council had approved the Intergovernmental Agreement for the proposed jail impact fee. Since that time, Fayetteville and Tyrone requested changes to address the renewal procedures for the agreement and to assure municipalities that the County would accept prisoners from the municipalities for the term of the agreement. The Capital Improvement Element and Transmittal Resolution were also submitted for Council approval. Brooks made a motion to approve the Capital Improvement Element for submittal to the Atlanta Regional Commission. McMenamin seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Brooks made a motion to adopt the Transmittal Resolution as submitted. McMenamin seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Fritz made a motion to adopt the revised Intergovernmental Agreement. Brooks seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Lenox made a motion to take a brief recess and to reconvene the meeting in executive session to discuss a legal matter. Brooks asked that they also discuss a personnel matter. Tennant seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. EXECUTIVE SESSION No action was taken in executive session. The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Attest:__________________________ Mayor Robert L. Lenox __________________________ City Clerk, Nancy Faulkner |