CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE

4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD

BERKELEY LAKE, GA 30096-3016

APRIL 13, 2000

Those in attendance for the Council Meeting were as follows:

Mayor – Lois Salter

Council Members:Tony Arakawa

Liz Branstead

Phil Cuttino

Ken Massaroni

Delicia Reynolds

City Clerk/Treasurer – Marcie Zielazienski

City Attorney – Tom Mitchell

Police Coordinator – Ray Dunlap

Citizens Present:12

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Salter called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road.

Mayor Salter announced that there would be a public hearing regarding the moratorium on signs. Attorney Mitchell explained that the moratorium was in place to prohibit placement of signs until the new resolution could be reviewed and presented. There were no comments at this time.

SPECIAL ADDRESS BY WAYNE HILL

Mr. Wayne Hill, the Chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, presented Mayor Salter with a proclamation of recognition of the cooperation between the city and the county. Mayor Salter asked if there was a possibility of attaining assistance from the governor's green space funds or funds from the county for buying the two parcels of land that the city of Berkeley Lake is interested in. Mr. Hill said that the $3 million amount, which the county received, would not go very far for anything on Peachtree Industrial. They are adding on to Shorty Howell Park for a ball field. He said that most of what they are looking at is 100 acre areas and there is not much of that in this area. He did say that they were open to look at presentations. Most of what they are looking at is in the north end of the county. There were other questions and comments regarding conservation and bus lines. Before Mr. Hill left, Mayor Salter presented him with a Cancer Relay T-shirt.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

None at this time.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Approval is needed on two sets of minutes. Councilmember Massaroni moved to approve the minutes of March 9 and March 31. Councilmember Branstead made one correction under Announcements. The sentence beginning "The Parson's property" was changed to read "The Parson's property is under option to be developed." The amendment was approved. The minutes were approved as amended.

APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL REPORT

Councilmember Massaroni moved to approve the financial report as presented. Councilmember Reynolds seconded. Approval was unanimous.

STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

Mayor Salter stated she had received reports from the following: the Conservation Committee; the Emergency Management Committee; the Greenspace Reforestation Committee; the Code Revision Committee; the Communications Committee; the Public Works and Safety Committee; a report from Officer Dunlap; and Councilmember Cuttino gave a verbal report from the Interagency Affairs Committee.

MEETING REPORTS

Mayor Salter asked someone to speak regarding the GWMA meeting. Councilmember Branstead gave a brief oral report. The written reports will be posted in City Hall for the citizens' review.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mayor Salter announced that a date for a special council meeting for a variance appeal will be held before the regular May 11 council meeting. Councilmembers should be there by 6:30 p.m.

A Town Hall meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel on May 3, 2000. The topic will be Buffers within the City of Berkeley Lake.

Mayor Salter gave a complete phone list of emergency numbers for citizens to call.

OLD BUSINESS

Earth Day

Councilmember Arakawa introduced William Milton, the President of All American Waste Management. Mr. Milton gave a brief description of his credentials and his company. They will provide three trucks for Earth Day, two of them at no cost to the community. He went on to explain some of the extra services available from his company. Discussion followed regarding some of the particulars for Earth Day.

Reimbursement by county for emergency expenses

Councilmember Arakawa stated that he and Marcie Zielazienski have been very persistent and they have a verbal commitment that the money is forthcoming.

Weiland maintenance bond

Bob Flaharty reported that he is continuing with the inspections and the punch list will be completed within the week.

Littering

Councilmember Massaroni presented an amendment to Chapter 31, Article 1 of the Ordinances of the City of Berkeley Lake that would add a new section to provide definitions, regulations, penalties, and enforcement relating to littering. Councilmember Massaroni moved that the Amendment be put on first read. Councilmember Arakawa seconded. Councilmember Reynolds offered one amendment, which was accepted. Approval was unanimous.

Wetlands appraisal

Attorney Carothers and Councilmember Massaroni continue to look into and have identified the appropriate way for recording the wetlands appraisal with the Corps of Engineers. They will hold it pending further discussion.

Sign Ordinance - 1st read

Attorney Mitchell reported that the proposed Ordinance was amended to narrow down some issues and to reflect some of the other cities regulations that have not been challenged at this time. Councilmember Branstead moved to put the ordinance on first read. Councilmember Massaroni seconded and approval was unanimous.

Metricom

Attorney Mitchell reported that City Attorney Carothers recommended that the Metricom contract be authorized subject to his approval. Mr. Ken Rosanski of Metricom was present and stated that Attorney Carothers had represented the City well while negotiating the contract. Mr. Rosanski stated he was available to answer any questions. Councilmember Branstead moved that the City enter into the right-of-way use agreement with Metricom, Inc. in substantially the same form as presented at this meeting and authorize the Mayor to execute the contract subject to approval as to form by the city attorney. Councilmember Reynolds seconded. Approval was unanimous.

July 4th City Celebration

Councilmember Cuttino reported on the status of the celebration. He would like the persons with pontoon boats to give tours to those who live off the lake so they can see the homes from the water. He has at least two volunteers to assist with the celebration, one from Berkeley Lake Commons and one from Miramont. Mayor Salter continues to seek one volunteer from each neighborhood to assist.

New city seal

Mayor Salter reported there was one reply that a new design was almost ready and asked for an extension of time. Mayor Salter reissued her request to anyone who lives in the community to submit a design. Also that they could submit a price for that design or they could donate the design. These should be submitted to Councilmember Reynolds, as this is a communications issue.

Grants

Councilmember Cuttino reported that he has heard no word on the grant application to Gwinnett County for funds for a covered family pavilion behind City Hall with a storage area underneath for City Park equipment. Councilmember Cuttino also reported that the City did not qualify for two of the grants he was reviewing because they were for lower income families.

Councilmember Arakawa reported he has signed up for one grant to assist with sidewalks. Many of the grants are unilateral and for substantial amounts so they were not considered. Councilmember Cuttino confirmed that there were many grants that were matching grants that would take considerable review to determine whether or not to apply. Councilmember Massaroni suggested a list of the top five priorities to pursue and the amount the City was willing to match. Mayor Salter asked the public to share their thoughts for priorities and this will be considered in the future.

Other

Councilmember Massaroni questioned if the ordinance relating to the Assistant Ordinance Enforcement Officer went to the P&Z, and if the Moratorium on sign Applications went to the P&Z. It was stated that they had. Councilmember Massaroni moved that the Resolution for a Moratorium on Signs be put on second read. Councilmember Branstead seconded. Approval was unanimous.

Councilmember Massaroni moved that the Council repeal Ordinance 11-104 relating to the vehicle sticker and the fees that are not being collected in connection therewith. Councilmember Reynolds seconded. Approval was unanimous.

Councilmember Cuttino reported that a "pontoon boat wash" is going to be held in connection with the Cancer Relay for Life.

NEW BUSINESS

Banking Resolution

Councilmember Reynolds reported that Peachtree Bank has requested we sign a Resolution to allow them to handle the City's money. Councilmember Reynolds moved that it be signed. Councilmember Massaroni seconded. Approval was unanimous.

New Website

Councilmember Reynolds discussed the renovations that have been done to the website and the new capabilities the citizens have such as access to the minutes and ordinances. Mayor Salter recognized Councilmember Reynolds and her committee for the donation of these services to the City. Councilmember Reynolds reported that for anyone who does not have a computer, the Duluth Library has one available for use. Special appreciation was given to Craig Belt for the donation of his services to the website effort.

Berkeley Lake Radio Station

Mayor Salter is still interested in a Berkeley Lake radio station. She stated a newspaper article reported Atlanta to be one of eight cities that would have the availability of creating low-power FM stations for non-profit agencies. The commercial entity is opposed to this and no outcome has been decided. Mayor Salter is requesting comments on this issue and ideas for what to air. Please contact Councilmember Reynolds' BLIS committee with those comments and ideas.

Other

Mayor Salter reported she had a call from Vasta Lucas stating there are holes in the water side of the dam, and that there are also ruts on the other side of the dam causing erosion. John Kelley has stated he can repair this. Mr. Kitchens reported that there has been a recent inspection of the dam and the only comment was concerning weeds in the spillway. It was decided that Mr. Flaharty and Mr. Kitchens will pursue this issue.

Councilmember Reynolds expressed concern about the recent hard rain causing so much siltation. Councilmember Arakawa stated there could be several reasons, pipes being too small, recent development on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and the fact that this hard rain was not typical. There are both private and public sides to this issue. Mr. Flaharty has a meeting with a professional contractor to clean the drains and discuss preventive maintenance. The public side of this issue was discussed, and an ad hoc committee was formed to look into this.

Councilmember Branstead requested more information on the Pace odor situation. Councilmember Massaroni reported that Pace has submitted their application for an air quality permit. They now have a 30 day period in which the state the State EPD will review the permit to make sure they comply with all the information on the permit.

Councilmember Arakawa commented that it was unfortunate that the recent Georgia educational reform legislation took some of the arts and music out of the local schools. He recommended initiation of a type of co-op program from the local artists in the community for students who no longer have the benefit of arts and music classes. He will pursue this issue.

Citizen Comments

Dan Miller (Berkeley View Drive) - Gave additional praise and appreciation for the website.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER NEW BUSINESS, COUNCILMEMBER BRANSTEAD MOVED TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION RELATING TO LAND ACQUISITION. COUNCILMEMBER ARAKAWA SECONDED. THE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:10 P.M.

After the Executive Session, 0 citizens were present.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, COUNCILMEMBER REYNOLDS MOVED AND COUNCILMEMBER BRANSTEAD SECONDED TO ADJOURN AT 10:15 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Patricia A. Gilbert, PLS

City Clerk Assistant