CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE

4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD

BERKELEY LAKE, GA 30096-3016

COUNCIL MEETING

MINUTES – July 13, 2000

Those in attendance for the Public Hearing and Council Meeting were as follows:

Mayor – Lois SalterCouncil Members:Tony Arakawa

City Attorney – Richard CarothersLiz Branstead

City Clerk/Treasurer – Marcie ZielazienskiDelicia Reynolds

Claire Grimes Phil Cuttino

Citizens Present:15

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Salter called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Councilmember Reynolds offered three corrections to the minutes of June 8. On page one under Staff and Committee Reports, in the fourth from the last line replace “Frieden” with “3425 Kingsland Circle”; on page two under New City Seal, insert “from Britt Collins” after the word drawings; and on page three, under Welcome Package, delete the last sentence. Councilmember Arakawa moved to approve the minutes as corrected. Councilmember Reynolds seconded. Approval was unanimous.

APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL REPORT

Mayor Salter noted that the Finance Committee is beginning to work on the budget and for council members should bring any issues or concerns to them. Councilmember Reynolds moved to approve the financial report. Councilmember Branstead seconded. Approval was unanimous.

STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

Mayor Salter stated she has received the following reports: Conservation Committee Report for June; Councilmember Branstead gave an oral report on the July Conservation Committee report; Financial Affairs Committee; Code Revision Committee report deferred this month; Communications Committee; Public Works and Safety Committee; Interagency and Community Affairs Committee; the Ordinance Enforcement Officer; and the Storm Water Management and Watershed Protection Committee. Mayor Salter asked if there had been a response from Janet Vic regarding the truck washing and electroplating pollution. Claire Grimes said there will be a meeting tomorrow with Steve Leo from the County to show him the problem areas. Mayor Salter said she had received a report from Berkeley Lake Emergency Management Agency (BLEMA) and part of that report was regarding the dam. Mr. Kitchens reported he has talked with an engineering consulting firm to come look at the dam and make an evaluation as to repairs needed. Councilmember Branstead moved to accept the proposal for the evaluation of the dam. Councilmember Arakawa seconded. Approval was unanimous.

Bob Flaherty reported on the drain damage repair under the road in Berkeley Walk. It is the pipe from the headwall to the yard before the road that is also crushed. There is no way to tell how far the pipe is crushed. The cost will depend on how many feet need replaced. He will pursue getting bids from other contractors in addition to the bid already received.

MEETING REPORTS

Mayor Salter reported she had attended a meeting with the HOA at Berkeley Walk and reported concerns expressed by the Berkeley Walk residents to the council for their consideration; a meeting where all Gwinnett County mayors met with CEO of the Atlanta Regional Commission; the Duluth City Council meeting; and The Gwinnett Planning Committee meeting. Councilmember Cuttino attended the Governor’s greenspace meeting. At the Duluth City Council meeting the developer agreed to honor Mayor Salter’s requests, but has now decided not to. Councilmember Branstead moved for a resolution for the Mayor to write a letter to the Duluth City Council requesting they not use the name Berkeley Lake in their road and that there be traffic mitigation so the traffic will not be directed onto North Berkeley Lake Road or South Berkeley Lake Road. Councilmember Cuttino seconded and approval was unanimous. Councilmember Branstead reported she attended a Georgia Urban Forest Council meeting in Griffin, Georgia.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS

Mayor Salter appointed Charlie Sewell as the new Ordinance Enforcement Officer. Councilmember Branstead moved to approve the appointment. Councilmember Cuttino seconded. Approval was unanimous. Mr. Sewell’s pager number is 404-382-8056. Mayor Salter then appointed Tom Kitchens as Chairman of the Arbitration Board. Councilmember Arakawa moved to approve the appointment. Councilmember Cuttino seconded. Approval was unanimous.

OLD BUSINESS

Weiland maintenance bond - Carothers

Attorney Carothers has mailed a letter to Weiland giving them a deadline to either do the work or pay the bond. Their response date is July 20. If no response is forthcoming the Board will contact the bonding company.

Grants - Cuttino

Councilmember Cuttino reported that money will be forthcoming on all three grants they have applied for at this time. He further stated the needs of the city should be established and prioritized and then the city government should go after the grants that will apply to those needs. He pointed out that since most of the grants are for matching funds that careful attention should be paid to what they apply for. Everyone is asked to e-mail Councilmember Cuttino their ideas and he will report on the consensus of priorities

Mediaone - Carothers

Attorney Carothers reported that Mediaone has been sold to AT&T and there is still no franchise agreement executed. He had written a letter saying the issues are service and the desire for internet access to be provided. Their response was that service issues will be addressed on an individual basis, and that internet access is a service and the City cannot require them to provide it. He will try to get a representative to attend the next meeting to address service complaints.

Greenspace Trust - Carothers

Attorney Carothers stated that he did not believe the greenspace land trust falls under any limitation based on the fact that the greenspace is subject to the bond. Most general obligation bonds are assured by the tax dollars of the city it covers. He will review this with his bond counsel and report at the next council meeting.

Roadside maintenance – Arakawa

Councilmember Arakawa reported they are moving forward with the current contractor. The contract with the previous company has been properly terminated. Some invoices are being held because the work was not completed.

Billboard

Mayor Salter reported that she has received a letter stating Crown Media has been contacted by the County and told they were out of compliance and must remove the sign. Copies of the Journal Constitution article were available for citizens. She is getting names of persons who would be available to go to an appeal board if Crown files an appeal.

Ordinance Chapter 3, 2nd read

Councilmember Cuttino moved to table the 2nd read until next month. Councilmember Branstead seconded. Approval was unanimous.

Waste management - Arakawa

Councilmember Arakawa reported the specification for bidding is nearing completion and should be ready by next month. It will be posted in City Hall and on the website for citizens to review. Hopefully the bids will be back by October so there will be time to make a selection before the first of the year.

Odor problems

Bob Hoskins has been in contact with the state EPD concerning the odors from Pace. The EPD is requiring Pace to make odor control measures. Councilmember Cuttino will contact the City of Duluth to get them involved since it also affects their area.

Other

There are still littering problems and it was discussed signs will be posted. The signs will include amounts of fines that may be imposed. The OEO officer was asked to contact persons who are advertising with items that are littering, asking them to remove the litter and possibly impose fines. The signs will also be posted near construction areas. It was suggested that if you get a tag number of someone who is littering, also get a description of the person driving.

NEW BUSINESS

Sidewalks - Arakawa

Councilmember Arakawa distributed copies of the application for the sidewalk grant to the Councilmembers. As it requires 20 percent of the bid to be matched, it will be necessary to keep that in mind when determining how much to request. Discussion followed about how much sidewalk to build. It was decided that the first priority would be for the sidewalk to be completed the length of Berkeley Lake Road. Phase two would be from the beach up to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and phase three would go all the way to Bush Road.

Atlanta Urban Resources Project

Mayor Salter, Councilmember Reynolds and Councilmember Massaroni have completed a grant application for funds to purchase the Mill Creek property. Councilmember Branstead moved to approve the grant application. Councilmember Cuttino seconded and approval was unanimous.

Character city

Mayor Salter gave information she received on becoming a Character City to Councilmember Cuttino for his review.

Year 2000 Taxes

Councilmember Reynolds reported she has received a printout from Gwinnett County stating the maximum millage rate for the city is 5.84. She moved that that it be advertised at 5.84 mills for the year 2000. Councilmember Arakawa seconded. Approval was unanimous. There will be a public hearing before the next council meeting to set the millage rate.

Citizens Comments

BJ Barrett reported on the July 4th event. The issue of illegal fireworks being set off is of major concern. This year was the largest ever display of fireworks, and most dangerous considering the drought. She stated that after the fireworks there were several instances of vandalism and a large amount of trash to clean up. The BLHA Board voted unanimously to be in compliance with the state of Georgia to ban fireworks on BLHA property. She suggested to the City that a professional display be arranged that will be safe for both the citizens and the property.

Tom Kitchens suggested that the City consider a study be conducted for a sewer application in the city where there is no sewage. This is necessary because sometime in the future the lake will be threatened by septic tank spills and uncontrolled sewage.

Britt Collins volunteered to look into a professional fireworks display, to obtain the proper permits, find a safe location and investigate the costs and report back to the Council.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER NEW BUSINESS, COUNCILMEMBER REYNOLDS MOVED TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR LAND ACQUISITION, LITIGATION, AND PERSONNEL ISSUES. COUNCILMEMBER BRANSTEAD SECONDED. THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:30 P.M.

After executive session there were 0 citizens present.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, COUNCILMEMBER BRANSTEAD MOVED AND COUNCILMEMBER CUTTINO SECONDED TO ADJOURN AT 10:25 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia A. Gilbert, PLS

City Clerk Assistant