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CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE
4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD
BERKELEY LAKE, GEORGIA 30096
PUBLIC HEARING/COUNCIL MEETING
Full Minutes for July 17th, 2003 Those in attendance for the Public Hearing and Council Meeting were as follows: Mayor – Lois Salter
Council Members: Betty Covington, Frank Lombardi, Delicia Reynolds, and David Steventon…Council Member Massaroni was absent
City Attorney-Richard Carothers
City Clerk-Claire Grimes
Public Works – Marcie Zielazienski
Citizens Present -7 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Salter called the meeting to order at 6:05 PM at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road. PUBLIC HEARING
There were no citizens’ comments on the Home Occupation Ordinance CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
Representatives from T-Mobile made a presentation to the Mayor and Council on the possibility of having cell towers in the City. There was discussion. The Mayor stated that we have researched this possibility in the past and decided no but that Council would look over the packet of information and get back to them. MINUTES
Claire Grimes asked that the June Minutes approval be postponed until the August Council meeting. Council agreed. FINANCIAL REPORT
Council Member Reynolds moved to accept the Financial Report as filed noting that the Budget Amendment has not been applied. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mayor Salter announced that she has received staff and committee reports. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS
The Mayor reported that the billboard that the City has been fighting for two years has lost its case in the Federal Court. This is good news for the City, as billboard companies almost never lose their case. The billboard company has only two weeks in which to appeal and that time will be up on July 24th. There was applause from the citizens. The Mayor thanked everyone who has participated in fighting this issue. The Mayor announced the new Gwinnett County Aquatic Center to be built across from the City between Old Peachtree and North Berkeley Lake Road. The County has already bought 17 acres north of the Pete Maltese property and they are now negotiating with Mr. Maltese to sell his property to them. The Aquatic Center will seat 1000 spectators for swim team events. The City will be in the center of a real recreational site for the whole County with the Pinckneyville Park and this new Aquatic Center. The Mayor announced that Officer Hecht who has been one of the City’s regular officers has resigned in order to work for the Secret Service. The Mayor stated that she felt a very strong urgency to find a replacement for Claire Grimes very quickly. She stated that she had e-mailed Council a couple of weeks ago to please consider Jackie Wall. “Jackie is not a personal friend but I think all of us know of her and respect her dedication to the community. She has tremendous energy and enthusiasm and commitment to the City that we will not find from anyone from outside the City. Her ability to get things done in an expeditious and at the same time lovely way are things that our City needs.” The Mayor stated that she has spoken with one Council Member who she highly respects and they have suggested that the process is really more important than the person is in this case. The Mayor stated that she believes that the process is meant to be the servant of people and organizations and not vice versa. This is a time when we need to move fast because there needs to be a replacement for Claire very soon so that Claire can train. “Although the process has not been ideal, under these circumstances and with the strong feeling I think we all have about Jackie, I would like to appoint her to Claire’s position.” There was much discussion and Council asked many questions. Council Member Covington stated that Council should make it a priority to work on putting a process in place for when future positions become available. With that having been said… Council Member Covington motioned to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Jackie Wall. There were no seconds to the motion. There was more discussion about the possibility of other candidates in the community that have come forward to say that they are interested in the position. The Mayor stated that we need to get someone quickly. If we can notify people quickly and get responses and conduct interviews quickly that may be a possibility. Council Member Lombardi stated that he feels strongly that we need to make an attempt to find a qualified candidate. If we have only looked at one candidate we may not have a representative sample of what is available. The key is to find the best person. If that person happens to live in the City that would be great. Claire Grimes stated that knowing what I know about the job, I would be uncomfortable leaving without having someone in place even on a temporary basis that has had some training by Marcie or me. Claire further stated that she would like to have the next two weeks with a person, even a temp from the outside, in order for that person to at least be somewhat trained to operate the day to day business of the City. There also needs to be someone to take over writing the checks for the City by the 20th of this month. The Mayor asked for someone to make a motion as to how we should proceed to handle the business of the City from this time forward. There was more discussion about the logistics of advertising the position of City Clerk to the public and a time-line for interviewing etc. Council planned to have a called Council meeting on July 31st to appoint a new City Clerk. Council Member Covington motioned to hire Jackie Wall as a temp for the next two weeks at the same pay rate as the City Clerk. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. Council Member Reynolds motioned to use her bookkeeper who is willing to maintain the City Books on the side and charge the City a lesser fee than we are paying now. If she is not able to do the job I will find someone who is willing and able. Council Member Covington seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. Mayor Salter appointed Marcie Zielazienski to be the elections’ superintendent. Council Member Lombardi motioned to accept the Mayor’s appointment. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. OLD BUSINESS
Home Occupation Ordinance – 2nd Read
Council Member Reynolds motioned to adopt the Ordinance Chapter 39-1401.3 the Home Occupation Ordinance. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. Public Works Projects – Zielazienski
Marcie Zielazienski reported on the Public Works projects currently in progress. She also reported on the engineers’ reports as to the safety of the road at the Downy/Dalton pond. She urged Council to approve the expenditure to fix the road at the City’s expense and allow the property owner liability to be determined later. Attorney Carothers stated that the pond is a private pond and the structure has failed and in his estimation it is the homeowner’s responsibility. The road is the City’s responsibility. “I am not sure what Council wants to do about the existing structure and the silt removal. There is not an itemized report of what they will do and what each will cost and I am not sure how it will break down either way.” Ms. Zielazienski stated that the engineers have a problem presenting an itemized report because of the private property issues. She further stated that there are big issues to work through but we have an even bigger issue with the possibility that the bank is going to fall into the cove and the possibility that there is a void under the road that could create a catastrophic condition. Council Member Lombardi stated that the culvert and embankment should be replaced as per the engineers’ report and could we just get a price on that? The road is the City’s responsibility and at the very least we should do that. Ms. Zielazienski stated that engineers have told her that that is not the way to fix the problem. Volumes of water slamming up against the wall of that embankment are going to present a problem as far as the stability of the new embankment. It would be best to fix the entire problem rather than having to come back at a later time to fix the embankment over again. She asked for Council to at least approve for her to have the engineers design the best fix for the problem, even if it includes areas on private property so that Council can see the whole picture and then decide what part the City should pay for. Council Member Covington asked if the engineers could meet with Council at the next meeting. There was debate about closing the road. Council Member Steventon reminded Council that they should wait for the study of all the potential problem areas before moving forward to decide what position the City will take on all the ponds and stromwater problems throughout the City. Mayor Salter stated that while this investigation is going on, the City has an immediate problem and that is the Downey/Dalton pond area with the potential of large volumes of silt going into the lake and the possibility of the road collapsing. Council Members Reynolds and Steventon suggested closing the road. Ms. Zielazienski stated that the school buses would have problems as well as all the citizens in the City. She stated that she had a hard time believing that holding up the decision is worth more than moving forward right now. Council Member Lombardi agreed with Mr. Steventon and stated that rushing ahead on this is a mistake. The only liability for Council is the road itself and by fixing it we haven’t taken ownership of anything on private property and this would solve the safety issue etc. and gives the City the time to finish the evaluation of how we deal with this long term. The following motion was made: Council Member Covington motioned to approve money to be given to Ms. Zielazienski to come up with the best fix for the Downey/Dalton pond area. We will pay someone to come up with it anyway because that is part of the study we have asked for. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion. Council Members Reynolds and Covington voted for the motion. Council Members Lombardi and Steventon voted against the motion. Mayor Salter voted in the affirmative to break the tie. The motion carried. The Mayor asked if the engineers could be ready to report these findings by the 31st so that Council can be prepared to move forward at that time. Council Member Reynolds further stated that if the Mayor or Ms. Zielazienski feel that the road is a danger in the meanwhile to please close it. The Mayor stated that she did not feel that Ms. Zielazienski or herself should be any more responsible for that decision than all of Council. The Mayor asked for a motion by Council. There was much discussion. Ms. Zielazienski stated that the City is at risk of liability for every day the area is not fixed. Council Member Covington asked what the engineers are saying about the road. Ms. Zielazienski stated that the engineers are saying that the City is risking a catastrophic condition. Council Member Lombardi read from the engineers’ report that the engineers stated that it is their opinion that the embankment and Lakeshore Drive are in danger of catastrophic failure. Mr. Lombardi stated that that is good but the report does not say when the event will happen. Ms. Zielazienski stated that knowing what she knows now that she would recommend closing the road. The Mayor asked for a motion. Council Member Covington motioned to close the road and forget the study and get someone out there to fix it as fast as possible for up to $150,000. There was no second to the motion. Attorney Carothers stated that there are really two issues here. What is done with the road is one thing and what is done on private property is another. The silt has to be removed and put somewhere so that stabilizing soil can be put in and then a headwall would be put in that has no gaps in it. The water would then hit that headwall. The question is whether to fix the pond to allow for some detention. Either way Mr. Downey would have to give the City a right-of-entry on his property because the crew will have to put equipment on private property. Council Member Reynolds motioned to authorize Ms. Zielazienski to take whatever steps necessary to close the road. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. There was much discussion about the inconvenience to citizens in closing the road. There was also discussion about pushing the traffic to the center of the road. Council Member Reynolds motioned that Ms. Zielazienski work out the details on the best way to close the road with the engineers. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. The Mayor reiterated that the City Attorney will draft the release and Ms. Zielazienski will get the designs from the engineers no later than July 31st and the road will be closed. Council Member Reynolds asked the City Attorney to expedite any of the issues concerning the easements on private property. Council Member Lombardi motioned to approve the $4297.90 for street repair add-ons and the $69,792.80 for patching Lakeshore Drive before it is repaved and the $900.00 for the drain covers. Council Member Steventon seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Greenspace Uses and Retained Rights Council Member Lombardi stated that he would like to know who is doing what…There was discussion. The committee that was formed at the last Council meeting will have their report available soon after Council Member Massaroni returns from vacation. Other
Mayor Salter responded to the request made by Council Member Reynolds at the June meeting as to a proposed salary and duties for the Mayor if a City Manager was hired. Mayor Salter reported that she had spoken with the City Manager of Lilburn and the City Attorney to find some answers. Both gentlemen said that the duties of Mayor would be largely ceremonial but that in Lilburn the Mayor is the second signatory on Accounts Payable and receives calls from residents (residents would typically rather call the Mayor), attends special events, executes most contracts for the City. He is paid $5,000 a year. The Mayor further stated that she does not feel comfortable with this request other than to provide Council with this information.
NEW BUSINESS
Speed and Safety Issues
The Mayor stated that citizens on Lakeshore Drive are concerned about people continuing to run off the road particularly near 50 Lakeshore. She further stated that she had discussed this issue at the Homeowner’s Assoc. Presidents meeting. The other neighborhoods reported that for the most part they are not having the same problems that we have on Lakeshore. When asked about speed tables they said no! The Mayor explained about other Council studies on the issue. She suggested that Council suggest to citizens that they check with their neighbors to see if just a few speed tables could be placed along Lakeshore in targeted areas where there are severe problems. There was much discussion by Council. Council Member Covington suggested that there be an effort to do more research to discover some of the latest ideas and alternatives. Mayor Salter stated that she would ask Nick Lore to do the research. Sign Ordinance Enforcement
Mayor Salter asked Council a question asked by the OEO concerning how strict the enforcement of the Sign Ordinance should be. Mr. Sewell states that his policy has been that if the sign is off the roadway as far as possible with consideration for the topography that it may remain. If it is posted on a tree, traffic sign or pole he removes it. Yard Sale signs within the City are relocated if they are too close to the roadway and signs for events outside the City are removed. Council unanimously approved Mr. Sewell’s current policy. Mr. Lombardi suggested that the Ordinance be changed to fit the policy adopted by Mr. Sewell. There was more discussion. P&Z Commission Chairman Sipe suggested that the P&Z could offer some text to change the Ordinance. Website Questions – Reynolds
Council Member Reynolds asked Council and the City Attorney for opinions and discussion about the news media quoting directly from information located on the City website. Council Member Lombardi asked if it is just a formality that someone who is a publisher would ask for approval? City Attorney Carothers agreed and further stated that it would be appropriate for him to attribute the Berkeley Lake website for anything he puts in an article. It might be a good thing to have some of the publicity out there as long as it is attributed, but there is no legal problem with him doing this.
Budget Considerations 2004
Council Member Reynolds stated that the Financial Affairs committee would begin work on the 2004 Budget in August. She stated that if anyone anticipated any changes or additions to please let her know. Other There was no other new business. CITIZENS’ COMMENTS
Bill Downey 527 Lakeshore Drive – Bill commented on the whole issue of the pipe and the silt and the drainage problems. He agreed that it is a complicated issue. “There is a lot of history associated with that area and some of the Council Members were not here back in ’94 when we acquired the property. Shortly after that construction started in Miramont. Number one, I don’t think anybody knows how or why that pipe ended up on somebody’s private property. Obviously it had to be the result of the original engineering that was done when they built the road. I have talked with people and what I was basically told is that the location of the pipe is directly related to the angle of the slope of the bank. It has to be a certain distance/triangular or whatever. I certainly didn’t go to anybody and say, “hey let’s put that pipe a couple of feet on my property and then I will be responsible for it and you guys can be responsible for the other part of it.” It’s all part of one structure; the developer who built the roads originally built it. It’s all part of one structure, its connected; it’s not two different distinct structures. There is not a structure that comes across and then stops and then there is not another piece of pipe that comes on my property. It is all one piece of pipe. I understand that technically, legally you all think that this may mean that it’s on private property and somehow if you fix the pipe you are benefiting me. I understand that my neighbor Dan Dalton has lived here longer than I have and he has said that there have been previous problems with that pipe and there were previous sink holes and the City made previous repairs before I bought the property in ’94. I don’t know how much research the Council is willing to do but maybe you should talk to some of the previous ZEOs like Stan Kelly. There are records, there are Minutes, and there are documents in the City’s records where the City went into that pond and made repairs. At that time they could have perhaps moved the pipe and gotten rid of the whole issue. Dan Dalton tells me that repairs were made as far back as when Warren Coleman was the ZEO. This is not a new problem. If it is an issue today, my suggestion is that if the engineers can come up with a solution that will simply move that pipe and get it off my property and put it back in the City right-of-way that is what should be done. Then it will never be an issue again. We are only talking about a few feet. So that is one question, why can’t the engineers come up with this design. Why are you assuming that the pipe has to be put back right where it is now? It seems that you are making an issue when there really isn’t one. If the engineers say it can’t be done, I would be more than happy to discuss with the City an Easement or some other type of property transfer that the pipe can be where ever it needs to be. If it requires taking a 10ft by 10ft square around the pipe or what ever is necessary so that this problem won’t occur again. Let’s not just assume that you have to put the pipe back where it is. Let’s fix it and I am perfectly willing and I am sure my neighbor Dan Dalton will be perfectly willing to come up with a solution. We as homeowners want this thing fixed too. We don’t want for this to be a problem for future property owners. If we have to legally transfer property we will do what ever is necessary. Let’s engineer it the correct way now so that we don’t have the problem again ten years from now. The silt that is in the pond did not come from my property. Most of that was the result of the Miramont construction and it is still continuing. There is a huge sinkhole above my property and it is continuing every time there is a heavy rain there is too much water flowing out of the detention pond. This goes way beyond any reasonable person’s assumption that this one property owner’s responsibility. It is a drainage issue that involves multiple property owners and involves the Miramont Homeowner’s Assoc. I believe the City has to deal with it. I don’t think it is reasonable to expect a private property owner to have to deal with that. There has been a comment made tonight that somehow we have a huge amount of money from the Miramont developer. We did file a lawsuit against the developer to try to get them to come in and clean out the pond which they had previously promised to do. We eventually had to take a settlement because we did not have the financial resources to take on Ryland Homes. I don’t know how Chris Holben has done it. My wife and I don’t really care if there is a pond there or not. I hear y’all talking about the fact that you will benefit the homeowner. We just want the problem fixed. If the long term recommendation doesn’t involve a pond that is fine with us. If at some point in the future the City decides it will deal with the silt in the pond, even though I am legally prohibited to say what the settlement figure was, I will contribute that amount to the City if the City deems that it is appropriate to take over and deal with the long range problem. I will gladly turn over to you the net proceeds we got from that settlement. The problem will continue as long as the amount of water that is coming out of the detention pond and until someone addresses the amount of erosion that is continuing upstream; someone will need to clean out the pond every few years.” Jack Andreau 519 Lakeshore Drive- Jack stated that he thinks that if Council understood the stress and strain that the homeowners in the area have been under…that road has dropped a foot and a half with the rains. If Council lived on that part of the street you would understand the urgency to get that fixed. This is a serious situation. Jackie Wall 515 Lakeshore Drive - Jackie addressed the problem of the Sign Ordinance. She talked about the need to put flyers on the signposts to advertise upcoming events in the City. We try to take these down immediately after the event and it is a valuable benefits to everyone it the City. We hope that we can continue to advertise in this way.
Debbie Robinson 540 Lakeshore Drive – Debbie commented on the drainage situation next to her home stating that after the first big rain and seeing the first big batch of mud coming under the road and into the cove next to her home she thought she might be paying property taxes out of Miramont. She can now sit on her screen porch and smell the swamp gas emitting from across the road and down in the sink hole when the organic debris starts breaking loose and forced under the road along with bits of asphalt. Last week there were tree limbs coming under the road. This week it was asphalt and cinder block. It is unfortunate that every time it rains not only is Miramont coming down but now part of the road structure is included. Even if we fix the road, it is not that simple to build a culvert or an embankment…there is more involvement. This community is so focused on environmental issues and habitat preserves and we pride ourselves on that. I encourage you to look beyond the surface of a road structure. The City originally approved Miramont and the original plans and they made a mistake. We got a Miramont pond that was too small to control the stormwater. There is now an amazing amount of water coming down through this area. We need to look at what our problems are today and we need to get with the program now and try to address the big picture. The long-range plan of looking over the entire inventory is terrific, it’s pro active and it’s where we need to be. But we have urgent situations too. This situation is impacting things that can never be recovered. Steve Robinson 540 Lakeshore Drive – Steve stated his concern that there is a two-week minimum for advertising for a government position. Attorney Carothers suggested that Council place Chapter 39-1401.3 (Buffer/Fencing Exemptions) on First Read and refer it to the Planning Commission. Council Member Lombardi motioned to add Chapter 39-1401.3 to the agenda. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion and approval was unanimous. Council Member Lombardi motioned to place Chapter 39-1401.3 on First Read. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion. There were three votes for the motion. Council Member Steventon abstained.
Other
Mayor Salter reminded Council to give some thought to the T-Mobile presentation and e-mail her what the feelings are about this issue so that when these people call she will have an answer for them. COUNCIL MEMBER LOMBARDI MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. COUNCIL MEMBER REYNOLDS SECONDED THE MOTION AND APPROVAL WAS UNANIMOUS. THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:10PM.
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