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Work Session Notes Page 1 May 6, 2004 Present: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Scott Dean, Mayor Pro tem Robin M. Root, Councilman Tom Blalock, Councilman Rudolph Dixon, and Councilman John Thigpen; City Manager Jean R. Dove, and City Clerk Debra E. Moore. ABSENT: City Attorney Barry Fleming. VISITORS: Ann Blalock and Daniel Cason. The Work Session was called to order by Mayor Dean at 6:28 p.m. The Invocation was given by Councilman Dixon. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Dean. Project Reports-Daniel Cason and City Manager Dove- a. Sewer Plant-Mr. Cason reported that the liner in the pond did not meet the density test. Currently the pond was wet and it needed to dry out in order for them to do another test. After it passes the test then the baffles can be replaced and will be able to bring it back on line. b. Shady Grove/McArthur Drive-The bid opening date has been set for May 25, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. c. Point Repair/Slip Lining Project-Mr. Cason reported that the point repair had been completed. The slip lining had not been done. John McClellan is to have a start date this Monday. d. TE Grants-The current grant comments have been addressed by John McClellan. The main issue is with the type of sprinkler system to be used. DOT wants to use pop up sprinkler heads; Mr. McClellan recommends using a soaker hose system. He needs approval on this item; he has gotten approval on this on other projects he has had. Mayor Dean stated that the pop up system wastes water. Mayor Dean reported that we did not receive the new TE Grant that we applied for; City Attorney Fleming is checking on the legislative side as to why we did not. Fire Study Committee Report-This should be listed as “Public Safety”. Councilman Thigpen reported that they would be meeting again on Monday, May 10. There will be a called meeting on Thursday, May 13 at the Library to possibly make a decision. Scott Johnson will have a power point presentation ready for that night. It will consist of the pros and cons of going to “Public Safety”. City Manager Dove recommended inviting the Fire Department and Police Department. Mayor Dean asked for a report on the control burn. City Manager Dove reported that it has been set up for Friday, May 14, 2004 with a rain date of May 17, 2004. Notification letters are being sent to the residents in the area. Renew Fleet Service Agreement-Council will need to approve the Agreement. City Manager Dove reported that the agreement was the same, there were no changes. Work Session Notes Page 2 May 6, 2004 Policy for Museum-Mayor Dean reported that the ITT Committee had met. Kathy Ham reported at the meeting that there had been interest from outside sources to use the building on a regular basis. The Committee felt that they should have some type of policy in place to cover this. There has been a draft policy provided for Council to go over; they used Grovetown and Thomson’s policy and are getting a copy of the Library’s to come up with a draft for us. The fees that would be collected would be used to cover the after hour employee time. Soil & Erosion Ordinance-City Manager Dove reported that the basic change between this ordinance and the current one we have in place is that EPD is now mandating that a fee be charged of $80.00 per acre to developers. The fee is to be collected and turned over to EPD. Mayor Dean requested for City Manager Dove to check with Columbia County to see when and if they passed theirs; we will need to mirror theirs. Walking Track Plans for Park-Mayor Pro tem Root reported that Councilman Thigpen, Councilman Blalock, City Manager Dove and she attended a mock City Council meeting at Harlem High School on May 3, 2004. The class had taken a field trip to the city park to get an idea of how to do their drawings. The class did the drawings; four drawings were chosen. Out of these, one was chosen. They would like to present it to Council Monday. Mayor Dean suggested getting John McClellan to look at the drawing to give his thoughts, comments, estimates, etc. Mayor Pro tem Root stated that a request had been made to dedicate the track to their class. Other-Feed the Kids Summer Program-Mayor Dean reported that Reverend Roger Vest had received approval for the program from the Richmond County school system. The program will need front money; Mayor Dean is asking the City to front the costs. The money will be returned to the City. City Manager Dove will need to check with Mr. Berry, the city’s Auditor, to see if we are able to do this or not. The amount needed should be no more than $2,500.00. This will be used for wages; the food is provided by Richmond County. Councilman Blalock expressed his concern with the condition of an unnamed citizen’s yard in the City. City Manager Dove reported that she had already spoken with Chief Baldwin about this matter and he was handling it. Councilman Dixon asked if there could be any reconsideration to the addition of space to City Hall. Mayor Dean responded that the major concern at this time was the water and sewer issues. In the next round of SPLOST (2006), Tier I was dedicated to the water and sewer. Tier II and Tier III had funds designated for Buildings and could be reconsidered at that time.
Work Session Notes Page 3 May 6, 2004 The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Debra E. Moore
Regular Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2156 May 10, 2004 Harlem City Hall The City Council of the City of Harlem, Georgia met for the Regular Meeting on Monday, May 10, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall with Mayor Scott Dean presiding. Present: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Scott Dean, Mayor Pro tem Robin M. Root, Councilman Tom Blalock, Councilman Rudolph Dixon, and Councilman John Thigpen; City Manager Jean R. Dove, City Clerk Debra E. Moore, and City Attorney Barry Fleming. VISITORS: See attached list. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Dean at 7:00 p.m. The Invocation was given by Councilman Dixon. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chief Jerry Baldwin. Approval of the Minutes-A motion was made by Councilman Thigpen to approve the Minutes of the April 12, 2004 Regular Meeting, April 16, 2004 Called Meeting, and April 26, 2004 Called Meeting as written; 2nd by Councilman Dixon. Motion carried; all in favor. Robert Rosier-American Heart Association-Mr. Rosier recognized John (Tripp) Lonergan, Todd Baldwin, and David Bullard as local heroes. Mr. Rosier presented each with a Life Saver Medal for their response to a call on April 9, 2003 to assist with a patient who was in respiratory distress. Their response and work resulted in the life of the patient being saved. Employee of the 1st Quarter 2004-Mayor Dean recognized Wayne Davis of the Sewer Department as the employee of the quarter for the 1st quarter 2004. He was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation and $100.00 savings bond. Reports-The following reports were given for the month of April 2004: Police Department-Chief Jerry Baldwin Administrative Department-City Manager Jean R. Dove Fire Department-Asst. Chief Mike Baldwin ITT Department-Dept. Head Kathy Ham Public Works-Superintendent Daniel Cason UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Project Reports-John McClellan- a. Wastewater Treatment Plant-Mike Baldwin reported on this item as Mr. McClellan was out sick. Mr. Baldwin reported that half of the tests done on the soil had passed. Regular Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2157 May 10, 2004 Continued from page 2156 UNFINISHED BUSINESS (cont’d): Project Reports (cont’d): The thickness of the material was fine; the kaolin was a little dry to test. It will need to be wetted down and rerolled. A leak test will need to be done and then should be set to go if it passes. Councilman Blalock asked if there had been any feedback on the testing of the soil removed for the French drain; Mr. Cason stated that there had been and we were told that we should be able to take it to the City landfill after we turn the information in to Ted Staak. We received the final report today. b. Shady Grove/McArthur Drive-The bid opening has been set for May 25, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall. c. Slip Lining Pipe-Mr. McClellan was to get a start date from the contractor and report on it tonight. City Manager Dove had been unable to speak with Mr. McClellan on this matter. d. TE Project-City Manager Dove reported that we are waiting on the final comments from DOT and their response on the watering system, pop up sprinklers vs. drip irrigation. Public Safety Committee Report-Councilman Thigpen reported that they had met on May 3 and May 10. Scott Johnson is preparing a power point presentation which should be completed tonight for the Called meeting to be held Thursday night, May 13, at the Library at 6:00 p.m. City Manager Dove to notify the newspaper of the meeting. Other-There was none at this time. NEW BUSINESS: Fleet Service Agreement-The agreement is basically the same as the existing agreement that we have. Mayor Dean called for a motion to accept and to sign the agreement for another year; so moved by Councilman Dixon; 2nd by Mayor Pro tem Root. Motion carried; all in favor. Policy for Museum-City Manager Dove made one change to the policy. The change was made on page 2, first paragraph. This paragraph defines who can rent the room; this was made due to not being able to secure the Museum (memorabilia) from the room. Mayor Dean called for a motion to accept this policy and procedure for the Museum with the change; that motion was made by Councilman Blalock; 2nd by Mayor Pro tem Root. Motion carried; all in favor.
Regular Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2158 May 10, 2004 Continued from page 2157
NEW BUSINESS (cont’d): Soil & Erosion Ordinance-Mayor Dean stated in order to pass an ordinance that there has to be a second reading. Mayor Dean asked for a motion to waive the second reading of this ordinance; that motion was made by Councilman Thigpen; 2nd by Mayor Pro tem Root. Motion carried; all in favor. Mayor Dean reported that this is an update of the current ordinance we have in place. The County passed this ordinance in February 2004. What it does is that it requires the City to collect from developers a fee in the amount of $80.00 per acre to go to EPD for land disturbance. Mayor Dean called for a motion to accept the ordinance as written; that motion was made by Councilman Thigpen; 2nd by Mayor Pro tem Root. Motion carried; all in favor. Walking Track-City Park-Jacqueline Grimes’ drawing was chosen by her class at the mock city council meeting. Mayor Dean reported that the City has a certain amount of money allocated for the City Park. The normal procedure for projects over $25,000.00 is to go to bid. Mayor Dean is asking for a motion for Council to allocate up to $25,000.00 from the SPLOST funds and for Mayor Pro tem Root, Councilman Thigpen and City Manager Dove to proceed with formalizing this project with John McClellan and to proceed from there; that motion was made by Councilman Blalock; 2nd by Mayor Pro tem Root. Motion carried; all in favor. Mayor Dean stated that at the end of the project, there will be a monument placed that will display the names of the students who helped with the project and will list Ms. Grimes as the architect. Summer Feed the Children Program-City Manager Dove reported that Harlem qualifies to provide free lunches to the children of Harlem and the surrounding area. Richmond County will cook the meals, which will be picked up and delivered to Harlem Middle School. There are fees due for the use of the school and to an employee of the board of education for the oversight of the use. There will be some funding needed up front to cover these fees. Reverend Roger Vest has requested that the City help with this; she has checked with the Auditor and he stated that this will fine as long as the City is working with the project. There will be volunteers needed for the program. They do not need to be adults; they will accept volunteers that are 12 years in age and up. Mayor Dean asked for a motion to accept the City’s participation in the program and to provide any up front money’s needed, up to $2,500.00, to be reimbursed from donations received by the Harlem Foundation, Inc.; that motion was made by Mayor Pro tem Root; 2nd by Councilman Thigpen. Motion carried; all in favor.
Regular Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2159 May 10, 2004 Continued from page 2158 NEW BUSINESS (cont’d): Announcements- May 12 Community Breakfast Harlem Middle School 7 am May 13 Women in Business Breakfast 8 am May 14 Control Burn by the Fire Department May 14 Mayor’s Business Breakfast 7:30 am BG’s May 15 Sonfest 10 am to 3 pm May 19-20 Mayor Dean Washington DC with Chamber May 21 Columbia County Chamber Breakfast Meeting BG’s 7:30 am May 21 Quarterly Employee Luncheon/Meeting 12 noon May 25 Bid Opening Sewer Project 2 pm May 26 Quarterly City/County Meeting 11 am – 1 pm Woodmen Bldg. June 10 Work Session 6:30 pm June 12 Tall Tales of Harlem 7 pm Library (tentative) June 14 Regular Council Meeting Mayor Dean announced that Clay Smith agreed to donate any bricks to the City after the control burn of his house to be used in the Memory Garden. Public Comment-There was none at this time. Other-There was none at this time. A motion was made by Councilman Dixon to adjourn the meeting; 2nd by Councilman Thigpen. Motion carried; all in favor. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Debra E. Moore
VISITORS LIST FOR THE MAY 10, 2004 REGULAR MEETING Rosemary Dixon
Called Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2160 May 13, 2004 Harlem Public Library The City Council of the City of Harlem, Georgia met for a Called Meeting on Thursday, May 13, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. at the Harlem Public Library with Mayor Scott Dean presiding. Present: COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Scott Dean, Mayor Pro tem Robin M. Root, Councilman Tom Blalock, Councilman Rudolph Dixon and Councilman John Thigpen; City Manager Jean R. Dove, City Clerk Debra E. Moore and City Attorney Barry Fleming. Purpose: Public Safety Committee Report and Recommendations The meeting was called to order by Mayor Dean at 6:00 p.m. The Invocation was given by Councilman Dixon. Mayor Dean turned the meeting over to Scott Johnson of the Public Safety Committee. Mr. Johnson provided a power point presentation on the pros and cons of going to Public Safety. Advantages: 1. Unity of Command (Director of) Disadvantages: 1. Breaking of tradition Breakdown of Disadvantages: 1. Breaking of tradition · The department cannot survive without the volunteers
Called Meeting, City of Harlem, Georgia Page 2161 May 13, 2004 Continued from page 2160 Breakdown of Disadvantages (cont’d): 2. Initial Costs · New uniforms ($3,500.00) The current budget categories should be sufficient in the interim. A portion of the lump sum settlement from the County may also be used. Mike Baldwin brought up whether there would be enough turnout gear available for the police officers. There would have to be some purchased but only after the police officers had been certified. 3. Divided Responsibilities · Officers serving in the Police role may leave the City for a
fire call 4. Equipment Decline (Possible) · DPS Director should have equal loyalty to each division · Budgets may remain separate · Budgeting can be done by committee with input from the Assistant Director on each side · SPLOST funds may be used · County vehicle maintenance will be familiar with vehicles State Training Requirements: Police Department-20 hours Fire Department-120 hours Most training can be provided in house by state certified instructor. Proposed Organization: Mayor/Council
Called Meeting, City of Harlem Page 2162 May 13, 2004 Continued from page 2161 Candidate Selection: Director of Public Safety: · Paid position Police Captain: · Paid position Fire Captain: · Paid position 1. Member of the current Fire
Department and have been there a minimum of five years Mr. Johnson and the appointed study committee made the recommendation that the Mayor and Council strongly consider consolidation of the current Emergency Services Departments to form the Department of Public Safety Department. He recommends that this merge take place as soon as possible to show the strength of the City of Harlem. Discussion: Questions arose concerning incident command and what the status of the current officers would be upon the consolidation of the departments. These were addressed by Chief Jerry Baldwin. Council expressed their appreciation for the work done by the study committee.
Called Meeting, City of Harlem Page 2163 May 13, 2004 Continued from page 2162 Mayor Dean stated that at this time he would entertain a motion on the direction of where to go from here. Mayor Pro tem Root asked as to whether the City’s charter made provision for a Department of Public Safety or would there have to be a change made; City Administrator Dove responded that the current charter does make provisions for having a Department of Public Safety. Councilman Dixon made a motion for Council to take time to absorb all the information received before making a decision. This motion died for lack of a second. Councilman Thigpen stated that since there was already an ordinance in place to provide for a Public Safety Department, he would make the motion to create the position of the Public Safety Director and that person shall be considered the Police Chief and Fire Chief. The City Administrator shall have the authority to fill this position; salary and benefits to be decided by the City Administrator. The Police and Fire departments will be combined as the Harlem Public Safety Department effective immediately. There was a 2nd by Councilman Blalock. Discussion-The committee that formed to do the study will stay structured in case of any problems with the transition. Motion carried; all in favor. Councilman Dixon made the motion to adjourn the meeting; 2nd by Councilman Blalock. Motion carried; all in favor. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Debra E. Moore
VISITORS LIST FOR THE MAY 13, 2004 CALLED MEETING: Daniel W. Cason |