CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE

4040 BERKELEY LAKE RD.
BERKELEY LAKE, GA 30096-3016
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
March 11, 1999

Those in attendance for the Public Hearing/City Council meeting were as follows:

Mayor - Marguerite Cooke

Council Members: Anthony Arakawa, Kelly Goff, Tom Kitchens, Sherwin Levinson, Sherry Ruys

City Attorney - Dick Carothers

Public Works Director - Bob Flaherty

Zoning Enforcement Officer - Stanley Kelly

City Clerk - Anne Mayton

City Treasurer - Marcie Zielazienski

CITIZENS PRESENT - Approximately 7

The City Council meeting was brought to order by Mayor Cooke at 4043 S. Berkeley Lake Road at 7:08 p.m. Mayor Cooke recognized Bob Flaherty who provided refreshments for the meeting.

Marcie Zielazienski, City Treasurer presented the Invocation. Miss Marcie gave a short history of her tenure as City Clerk, which began in 1987 until now with her transition into the position of City Treasurer. Her talk also included various changes that the City had undergone during this period.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

The following corrections were noted for the minutes of February 11, 1999.

Page 2- Paragraph 7, last sentence. 4100 should be changed to 4400

Page 12 Paragraph 3, line 1. Emergency Management Chain of Command should read Emergency Management Committee 

The motion to approve the minutes was made by Mr. Kitchens. Mr. Levinson seconded with corrections noted and the vote for approval was unanimous

Dick Carothers, City Attorney passed out a new ordinance. Mrs. Cooke, Mayor, instructed that it should be considered under New Business. Mrs. Ruys suggested that we should look it over first.

Page 8 is missing. We should make copies of Page 8 for everyone including Mr. Carothers.

Approval of Financial Report

Mr. Goff pointed out that there were two items under Office Depot – two machines. Items under $500 will not be capitalized.

The motion to approve the Financial Report with corrections was made by Mr. Levinson and seconded by Mr. Kitchens. The vote was unanimous.

STAFF REPORTS

The ZEO Report was approved as submitted. There was some discussion of covenants in the various subdivisions and Mr. Kelly’s responsibility in regard to these covenants. Mr. Arakawa asked to work with Mayor Cooke on a proposal regarding the covenant situation.

The Police Report
The Police Report was approved as submitted. Mr. Kitchens asked Officer Dunlap about complaints in the Park. Officer Dunlap said that he and his staff were checking on the Park on a regular basis.

Roads & Public Works Report - January
The January Roads and Public Works Report was approved as submitted. 

Mr. Goff asked Mr. Flaherty to check into the clearing of the property directly adjacent to the SunTrust Bank on South Berkeley Lake Road as well as the property adjoining that property on the South.

Roads & Public Works Report – February
The February report was approved as submitted.

There was some discussion between Messrs. Kitchens, Arakawa & Flaherty regarding cleaning up the Greenspace area.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Reports of the following committees were discussed:

City Hall Update Committee.

Homeowner’s Advisory Board Meeting

City Park Enhancement Committee
Mrs. Ruys explained that the estimates she had received regarding new playground equipment and the removal of existing trees would put the cost of enlarging the park out of our budget. Mrs. Cashdan has found a grant with matching funds, which could be accepted, or not. Should we continue with plans for enlarging the City Park, we will need 12 trucks of fill dirt.

Financial Affairs Committee Report

Ordinance Enforcement & Emergency Management Report
A complete presentation will be made at the April meeting.

Emergency Management Task Force Committee
Three (3) City employees are still meeting in Lawrenceville on a monthly basis and will continue to do this throughout the year and pass this information on to the Emergency Management Task Force for our City. Until we become more exposed to the training we need to provide to these people, we will continue with this until we feel comfortable that our City personnel are trained and organized should an emergency occur.

The grant from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency is ready to be signed by the Mayor.

Mr. Arakawa, Mr. Kitchens, and Mr. Levinson discussed Y2K compliance and its possible impact on the City.

Traffic Control Committee
Mr. Arakawa suggested we limit the number of waste companies that travel the City streets thus cutting down the amount of traffic within the community.

There was some discussion between Mr. Arakawa, Mr. Flaherty, and Mrs. Zielazienski about the re-paving of Ridge Road and Little Ridge Road. Mrs. Zielazienski stated that the City, prior to the re-paving, must repair these roads.

Mayor Cooke and Mr. Arakawa discussed the Citizen complaint about a turning lane onto Peachtree Industrial Blvd off of North Berkeley Lake Road. Mayor Cooke announced that we have received a letter, which stated that we could have no left turn signal. Mr. Arakawa said he would look into this matter further.

Mr. Goff and Officer Dunlap discussed the commercial truck traffic on South Berkeley Lake Road. Mr. Goff suggested we put up a sign so that truckers know that no commercial traffic is allowed in the City. Officer Dunlap stated that these trucks were the County’s responsibility. He also announced that he was now authorized by the Public Service Commission to stop these trucks.

The Gwinnett Municipal Association meeting is to be attended by Sherry Ruys

Georgia Municipal Association Meeting
Third District Meeting to be in April 13 at Turner Field in Atlanta. Mr. Arakawa indicated that he would be interested in attending. 

Mayor Cooke reminded Mr. Goff that he signed up for the April meeting of the GwMA.

Citizen Comments:

Liz Branstead of 350 Lakeshore Drive. Mrs. Branstead reported to the Council regarding the positive communication she and the Homeowner’s Association had had with Pete Maltese, who is about to develop the property (23 acres) across Peachtree Industrial Blvd from the City.

Stu Davidson of 296 Lakeshore Drive. In an effort to enhance the neighborhood, could we keep free newspapers and sale papers from being thrown onto the roadways? The AJC buyer’s guide will not be thrown in your driveway if you request that it not be thrown there.

Mayor Cooke, Attorney Carothers, Mrs. Ruys, Mr. Goff all entered into discussion of this issue. Mayor Cooke recommended that Mr. Davidson put notes in the mailboxes asking if these people would like to not have this paper delivered to their door.

Mr. Levinson: 4624 Briarhill Cove. A delivery was made at 3 a.m. on a large flatbed truck and the workmen started unloading. He had finished unloading by the time we had made the call to 911. 

Mayor Cooke, Attorney Carothers, Officer Dunlap, Mr. Levinson discussed the situation in regard to the City Noise Ordinance and the County Noise Ordinance and their enforcement. Officer Dunlap stated that the County’s Noise Ordinance can be enforced within the City and that in situations like this, the homeowner should get the tag number and we can then contact the truck owner and issue a warning.

Marcie Zielazienski, 506 Lakeshore Drive. I like Mr. Arakawa’s suggestion for one trash company within the City.

Mrs. Ruys and Attorney Carothers discussed adding the cost of trash pickup to the City tax bill.

WORKING SESSION - Old Business:

Financial Affairs Committee Ordinance (2^nd Read)
Mayor shall appoint City Treasurer and Members of the City Council to the Financial Affairs Committee.

Motion to approve made by Mr. Goff; Mr. Levinson seconded and the vote was unanimous.

Emergency Management Committee Ordinance (1^st Read)
(from Dick Carothers, City Attorney) read by Mayor Cooke

Motion to adopt the Emergency Management Commmitte Ordinance and put on 1^st Read was made by Mr. Goff and seconded by Mr. Levinson. The vote was unanimous.

Mr. Levinson recommended switching the location of the City Clerk and the Director of Public Works in case of an emergency. Mr. Flaherty agreed, because in terms of a major emergency he will be needed out in the field.

Motion that we amend the proposed wording under Section 15-105; seconded by Mr. Kitchens and the vote was unanimous.

Messrs. Arakawa, Kelly, Kitchens, Goff, and Mayor Cooke discussed a shelter for the Citizens in case of an emergency; an Emergency Kit in City Hall; designate the City Hall as the command center in case of emergency. It was decided to let the committee make the final decision on these items. The vote to put this ordinance on 1^st read was unanimous.

Job Description of the Director of Public Works
Mr. Kitchens explained and Mrs. Ruys, Mr. Kitchens, Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Goff, Mr. Levinson Mr. Arakawa and Mayor Cooke held discussion.

Mr. Goff made the motion to adopt; Mr. Levinson seconded it. The vote was unanimous.

Mayor Cooke: Decided we should change job description to read "and when requested attend Homeowner’s Association Board meetings." The vote was unanimous in favor of the revised job description.

Job Description of the City Engineer
Mr. Kitchens: worked with GMA and worked with the current City Engineer on this job description. The vote to adopt this new job description was unanimous.

The Seitz Plan
A drawing was submitted for taking down the roof on the Seitz garage with a letter asking for a permit. Mr. Levinson made the motion to approve and Mr. Goff seconded. The vote was unanimous.

Planning & Zoning Commission (George Sipe)
At their January meeting the Commission members decided that they are going to accept re-appointment.

Mr. Hansen 2000

Mr. Johnson 2001

Mr. Armendariz 2002

Mr. Sipe 2003

Mr. Herb 2004 

They are supposed to have 5-year terms and the Mayor is to reappoint at the beginning of each year. Mayor Cooke has asked Mr. Sipe to clarify this for her.

River Hollow Development
Mr. Arakawa, Mrs. Ruys, Mr. Carothers, Mrs. Zielazienski discussed the possibility of liability insurance for construction below the dam and the ramifications that result from this construction. 

Mayor Cooke was notified last week that a person from the State would come by to inspect the dam. But, the inspector never arrived. Mrs. Cooke asked Mr. Flaherty if he had been able to contact the State? Mr. Flaherty replied that he had not. Mrs. Zielazienski announced that a Bill was pending which would enable the State to bill us as much as $5,000 for having the Dam inspected. In connection with the area near the Dam, Mr. Goff announced that Mr. Henderson indicates that he definitely will be developing his property this year. 

Mayor Cooke: Please see the February Minutes, Page 6, Second Paragraph, Mr. Levinson asked if Mr. Arakawa or another Council Member were chosen as Police Chief could they write citations. Mr. Carothers explained that this would present a difficulty. The ZEO is probably the one to enforce City Ordinances. There was discussion about changing the title of the Zoning Enforcement Officer to Ordinance Enforcement Officer. Mr. Kitchens made the motion that, with concurrence of the Mayor and City Council, the Ordinance Enforcement Committee recommends that the ZEO title be eliminated and re-named Ordinance Enforcement Officer and that title would incur responsibilities for all ordinances including zoning. Mr. Goff seconded. There was some discussion. Mr. Levinson moved, after clarification by Mayor Cooke, that Mr. Kitchen’s motion be postponed until the next Council meeting at which time we should have the final job description; Mrs. Ruys seconded. This was followed by more discussion. The vote to postpone a decision on the responsibilities of the Ordinance Enforcement Officer until the next meeting was unanimous.

Workshop on Erosion and Sediment Control
There was some discussion about this workshop between Mrs. Ruys, Mr. Kitchens, and Mayor Cooke. The information regarding the workshop was faxed to Mr. Duckett, Mr. Flaherty, and Mr. Kelly; however, none of these persons has let us know if he will be interested in attending.

Mrs. Ruys was interested in the proposed rezoning and special use permit in the proximity of Berkeley Lake. Property was actually on Buford Highway. The City has no comment on this property as it is outside the City limits and it doesn’t appear that run off from this location will adversely affect the Lake.

WORKING SESSION - New Business

Maltese Property
Mrs. Branstead, President of the Berkeley Lake Homeowner’s Association, remarked that a year ago she and the Homeowner’s Association decided to become pro-active and began talking with Mr. Maltese who owns 23 acres across Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. At South Berkeley Lake Road. She let Mr. Maltese know that we at Berkeley Lake were not opposed to development but that we want to work with him and help him minimize the impact of the development on the Lake. Mr. Maltese was to submit plans on March 2. Mrs. Branstead introduced Dr. Hammond, Chairperson of the Waterways Committee for the Homeowner’s Association, and requested that the City appoint someone—Mr. Flaherty—to review these plans. We are very happy that Mr. Maltese is willing to allow us to review his plans. 

Dr. Hammond cautioned that this is a very important issue as this is going to be a massive development and there can be substantial impact on the Lake and that it is imperative that we have good relations between the developer and the community. What we don’t have is the expertise to respond to his offer to voluntarily examine his plans.

Mayor Cooke produced a letter from the City Attorney (dated March 4) in which he stated that it would be appropriate for the City to review plans given that have potential impact on the Lake.

Mr. Kitchens made a motion that we adopt the Homeowner’s request in support of review of the plans that Mr. Maltese will present to our City, and have the City provide the expertise to review those plans with the expenses to be incurred on this project not to exceed $1,000. Mrs. Ruys seconded; there was a great deal of discussion between Council regarding legal implications. It was decided that Mr. Flaherty and/or Mr. Duckett would review the plans. The vote was unanimous.

Mr. Arakawa congratulated and thanked Mrs. Branstead and Dr. Hammond for the work they had done.

Prior Authorization for Soil Erosion Control Plan
Letter Mr. Flaherty wrote to Mrs. Judy Waters, Chairman of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District. Feels that it would be highly advantageous to have the authority to review plans in place of using Gwinnett County to oversee our development.

Mayor Cooke: This is a request that Mr. Flaherty has made to the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District so that they might authorize the City of Berkeley Lake to issue permits in response to soil erosion control plans that are submitted to us by Developers. Requests motion from Council to approve our obtaining this memorandum of agreement with the possible goal of issuing our own permits.

Mr. Kitchens made the motion; seconded by Mrs. Ruys. The vote was unanimous.

City Hall Building Renovation - Outer Door
There was some discussion about adding a storm door and/or a wrought iron door. It was decided to wait on this decision for a couple of months as Mrs. Mayton is quite comfortable with the bar lock that was recently installed on the existing door. 

Mrs. Ruys has spoken with the electrician who intends to start work next Tuesday, March 16 on re-wiring the City Hall, install surge protectors, and an intercom system. It was decided that we need another electrical outlet on the front of the building. Mr. Levinson suggested that we put this outlet under the eaves near the security light.

Mrs. Ruys: We want to install a security light at the bench in the park. GA Power will install this light for us for about $600. Mrs. Zielazienski announced that she had already sent a check for this light fixture to GA Power. 

Mr. Goff and Mrs. Ruys discussed other possible improvements to the building. It was suggested that the Renovation Committee make the final decisions on further improvements to the building. 

Mayor Cooke: Signs to be going up on wall of City Hall. There will be a map on the door giving directions to important institutions nearby such as the Fire Station and Driver’s License Bureau.

Playground Expansion
Mrs. Ruys: Announced that she had gotten a bid on a picnic shelter from Leisure Lines of $9,150 installed with concrete pad. What about adding a charcoal grill sunk in the concrete between the picnic tables. Will have to remove trees and that will use up our money. 

Officer Dunlap spoke to the concerns regarding such a facility attracting undesirable people and recommended a light with motion sensors. 

Messrs. Goff, Arakawa, Mr. Levinson, Mr. Kitchens, Mrs. Cooke and Mrs. Ruys discussed the options for expanding the playground area and the money required for each option as well as the possibility of obtaining the Grant for which Mrs. Ruys and her committee have applied. And, we will need fill dirt. 

Mrs. Ruys made the motion that we make a playground enlargement and add one 2-bay, 4 swing set utilizing the Grant, not to exceed $15,000. 

Mr. Arakawa seconded and the vote was unanimous.

Trash Pickup
Mr. Arakawa: Using one garbage collection company (1) will bring better value to the City through reduced rates and recycling and also minimize the daily traffic in the City. Would like to bring in proposals from each of these groups for their best offer but we need a survey.

Attorney Carothers: Should have you or your Committee study it from the standpoint of what the citizens are paying. Will have to get a formal bid and advertise and have firm proposals submitted. They have done this in other jurisdictions. 

Mayor Cooke and the Council decided that Mr. Arakawa should get additional information to present to the Council in April.

Early Warning Siren
Mr. Kitchens: I would like permission to proceed on acquiring an Early Warning Siren. 

Mr. Levinson made the motion that Mr. Kitchens be authorized to proceed with installation of the Early Warning System and that funds be made available and budgeted for this purpose. Mrs. Ruys seconded. Mr. Goff announced that funds were not budgeted. He suggested we move money from our Road Maintenance Fund as our Contingency Fund is depleted. Mr. Kitchens stated that the probable cost of the Early Warning System will be $25,000 of which the Federal government will reimburse us 75% after the work is done. 

Mr. Arakawa seconded Mr. Goff’s proposed amendment to Mr. Levinson’s motion and the votes to approve the amendment and the main motion as amended were unanimous.

Executive Session
Mr. Kitchens motioned for the Council to go into Executive Session for the purposes of discussing personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation. Mr. Arakawa seconded and the vote was unanimous. 

After the Executive Session the City Council Meeting was resumed. No citizens were present. 

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, MR. LEVINSON MOTIONED FOR ADJOURNMENT. MR. ARAKAWA SECONDED, AND VOTE FOR APPROVAL WAS UNANIMOUS. THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 11 AT 7:00 P.M.

Respectively submitted,

Anne T. Mayton

City Clerk