CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE
4040 BERKELEY LAKE RD.

BERKELEY LAKE, GA 30096-3016
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
October 8, 1998

Those in attendance for the 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
• Asst. City Clerk - Phyllis Jones
• Public Works Director - Bob Flaherty
• Zoning Enforcement Officer - Stan Kelly

CITIZENS PRESENT - Approximately 25

Mayor Cooke called the meeting to order. She noted that Mr. Arakawa was not present, but there is a quorum with four council members present.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:

The following changes were noted for the minutes of September 1, 1998:

Page 5, second paragraph from bottom - correct $60,000 to $50,000;

Page 7, last paragraph - correct to say "when it is time to do that."

Page 7, fifth paragraph - correct to say "substances to differ. . ."

Page 8, first paragraph - correct to say "paying off some of the. . ."

With those changes noted, the minutes were unanimously approved.

APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL REPORT:

Mayor Cooke requested three corrections to the report in itemized expenditures:

City Attorney fees of $9,436 are for 3 months;

Mayor pro tem salary - $100 per month;

P & Z Chairman salary - $100 per month.

With no further comments or objections forthcoming, vote for approval of the financial statement for October was unanimous.

STAFF REPORTS:

Zoning Enforcement Officer (Mr. Kelly) - Mr. Levinson requested a copy of the calculations for tree density study. Mrs. Ruys requested information detailing the size of trees planted , what kind of trees, and when they are to be planted. This information is pertaining to John Wieland property in article "J" of ZEO report.

With no further questions forthcoming, Mayor Cooke asked that the report be approved as submitted. There were no objections, so Mayor Cooke noted approval.

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Police Report (Officer Dunlap) - Reviewed that a flyer regarding the crime prevention activities went out in the last issue of "Reflections". Only received two responses because the area code (should be 404) of the phone number for responding was incorrect. If there is enough interest, a crime prevention program will be scheduled in the community.

With no further questions forthcoming, Mayor Cooke asked that the report be approved as submitted. There were no objections, so Mayor Cooke noted approval.

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Director of Roads and Public Works (Bob Flaherty) - Mr. Flaherty is asking Council to consider some recommendations for landscaping of the road shoulders. He would also like Council to consider obtaining competitive bids for an annual road maintenance contract, based on specific unit prices.

Mr. Dale Higdon, Senior Forester with the Georgia Forestry Service, was present. He noted that the contractor was finished with his work in the Greenspace. Mr. Higdon said the contractor had done a good job. The work performed meets all the recom- mended best management practices for erosion control and all the recommendations

of the Georgia Forestry Commission. There are a lot of logs left on the ground, and it looks bad in some areas. This is because there was a major storm that came through, but, overall, the logging job was carried out very well.

The application of the mulch is going to help in the reseeding process and in one to two years, you will hardly notice that there are any logs down in the Greenspace. Certainly, in one year, there is going to be a huge difference. Mrs. Ruys would like to get a bid to remove or spread those piles of logs which were left behind.

With no further questions forthcoming, Mayor Cooke asked that the report be approved as submitted. There were no objections, so Mayor Cooke noted approval.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

CITY HALL UPDATE - Mrs. Ruy’s informed that with only a few things left to do, the renovation of City Hall was accomplished 10% to 20% under budget.

CITY DECORATIONS COMMITTEE - Mrs. Ruy’s reported that this committee had met and was organized to purchase the supplies and decorate City Hall for the Holidays. A lighting ceremony is being planned for November 27 at 7:30 p.m.

FINANCIAL AFFAIRS - Mr. Goff reported that another $100,000 Certificate of Deposit has been obtained. The rate of interest on this certificate, obtained from Summit Bank, is 5.9%.

Mr. Kelly would like to trim the budget by approximately $23,500. Will be recommending that Council consider and approve some line items changes.

ORDINANCE ENFORCEMENT - Mr. Kitchens reported that this committee is recommending the following criteria for ordinance enforcement:

1. Ordinance violators will be sent a maximum of three (3) warnings;

2. To keep City costs to a minimum, the City Clerk wills end the initial

violation letter(s);

3. The City Attorney will send the final warning with the caution that the

next violation will result in the issuance of a citation;

4. The minimum fine will be established by the judge of the Recorder’s Court

and will include the fine plus court costs (approximately $500 to $600).

Some discussion ensued regarding whether city employees should be assigned the responsibility to enforce ordinances and what would be suitable alternatives

The committee will be looking at the definition of R-100 zoning and what constitutes a zoning violation.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT - Mr. Kitchens reported that he will be setting up a meeting with Mr. Frank Daniell of Gwinnett County Emergency Management. He handled the mammoth task of the tornado recovery for the entire county so can share a great deal of response and procedure information.

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CITIZENS COMMENTS:

Mr. Rober Shutt (116 Ridge Road), a member of the Financial Affairs Committee, referenced that there was some discussion regarding increasing the Mayor’s salary. Wasn’t sure if this was a certainty or not, but pointed out that an increase, a change in the line item on the budget, would throw the budget out of balance.

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Mr. George Sipe, Chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission introduced Mr. Frank Stephen’s, Gwinnett County Dept. Director of Engineering. Mr. Stephens was invited to the meeting to discuss the installation of the effluent line along Peachtree Industrial Blvd.

Mr. Stephens explained the County’s plans and said should there be a widening

of Peachtree Industrial Blvd. (PIB), he has been told that it will be on the opposite side from the pipeline.

He showed that the present layout for the installation of the pipeline is to lay the pipe parallel to PIB, on the opposite side from the City for about 600 feet. Then there will be a long diagonal boring under PIB to bring the pipe to the City side where it will run for about another 600 feet. It will be placed on the City side entirely within the right-of-way.

Regarding erosion and sediment control, it is no less important to have best management practices on one side of PIB than on the other side, because the drainage is ultimately all in the City’s direction. As far as whether it is better on one side or the other, would submit that it would be more visible on the City side and, thus, more easily monitored and maintained. Whether it is 60 more feet away will not matter much in the controlling of pollution. Most of the silt that has gotten into the lake has come from developers, not from work on PIB.

The criteria for erosion control in the Department of Public Utilities has been significantly upgraded in the last couple of years - what is being required for our design engineers as well as our construction contractors. Exposed areas from installation of the pipeline will be covered over immediately.

Further discussion ensued with no motion forthcoming.

WORKING SESSION

CITY OWNED CUL-DE-SAC EASEMENT:

The City owns land on Lakeview Lane for cul-de-sac that was never built. Council has been asked by a resident on Lakeview Lane to determine how this land can be used. The residents would like to know where their property boundaries are in regards to this City owned land and what kinds of activity are allowed on it.

Mr. Carothers recommended that the City abandon the property, thus giving each property the land from a 10 ft. right-of-way (from edge of pavement) on a straight line to their side lot boundaries. Mr. Levinson motioned to approve a Resolution for the City to abandon the cul-de-sac property to the residents on Lakeview Lane (Resolution attached). Mr. Goff seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

MEETING OUTLINE OF MOTIONS & DISCUSSIONS:

Mr. Levinson motioned that an outline of the motions & discussion at the City Council meetings should be made available to all the citizens. Mr. Goff seconded.

Mr. Levinson would like to have a general distribution of these outlines. Mr. Carothers commented that he would have difficulty in recommending that information of this type be placed in mailboxes. This is getting too close to the City and could cause some problems with the Postal Department, which has become quite strict in this regards.

Mr. Levinson then would like to see enough copies made for all the citizens and distributed, unofficially, by volunteers. Vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

CITY CLERK HOURS:

Mrs. Jones reviewed that the City Clerk has requested that she be allowed to keep the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon as permanent hours. Mr. Goff motioned to same. Mr. Levinson seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

PROCEDURE TO FILL COUNCIL VACANCY:

There was unanimous general consensus to postpone this discussion until the next City Council meeting.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINKING FUND:

There was unanimous general consensus to postpone this discussion until the next City Council meeting.

PERFORMANCE & PAYMENT BOND ORDINANCE:

An ordinance was placed on second read - to amend Section 32-202 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Berkeley Lake to increase the minimum contract amount for which general contractors shall be required to obtain a Performance and Payment Bond for contracts with the City of Berkeley Lake; to repeal conflicting laws; to provide an effective date; and for other purposes.

With no discussion, Mayor Cooke called for a vote. There was a unanimous vote of "yea" in favor of approval of the Ordinance.

CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE CHANGE:

An ordinance was placed on second read - to amend Section 3-204 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Berkeley Lake to provide for a new monthly meeting date; to repeal conflicting laws; to provide an effective date; and for other purposes.

After some discussion, Mayor Cooke called for a vote. There was a unanimous vote of "yea" in favor of approval of the Ordinance.

NEW BUSINESS

CITY CODE (CHAPTER 39) ZONING ORDINANCE CHANGES:

Mr. George Sipe, Chairman of the Planning Commission, reviewed changes recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission. These changes pertained to boat houses and docks, temporary buildings, setbacks, permit expiration (Use Permit - three year limit), variance approval expiration.

It was proposed that these recommended changes be placed on a first read in the form of an ordinance at the November meeting.

ATLANTA GAS LIGHT ORDINANCE:

Mr. Goff motioned for a first read and approval of the amendment to the Atlanta Gas Light Franchise Agreement. Mr. Levinson seconded the motion. Vote for approval was unanimous.

AUDIT ENGAGEMENT LETTER:

Mr. Levinson motioned to accept the audit engagement letter from Simmons & Jamieson, P.C. and the provisions therein. Mr. Goff seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

RIGHT-OF-WAY BID FROM ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN:

Mr. Goff motioned to accept the bid of $16,563 from Environmental Design, as it will be amended, based on current conditions & approved by Mr. Flaherty. Mrs. Ruys seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

RIVER MANSIONS STREET LIGHT CHARGE REPAYMENT:

Mr. Goff motioned to repay citizens of River Mansions for those fees paid to the County for street lights, with homeowner to provide proof of how much they paid lights and how long paid. Mrs. Ruys seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS:

Mr. Levinson motioned that all City employees present to Council Members comprehensive job descriptions before the December meeting. Mr. Kitchens seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

STORM WATER MANAGEMENT:

Mr. Levinson motioned for approval of a resolution to allow distribution of information on dumping. Mr. Goff seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

COMMITTEE REPORTS & STAFF REPORTS:

There was a consensus of Council that these reports should be provided to the City Clerk no later than the 1st Thursday of each month. This would allow ample time for distribution to Council prior to the meetings on each 2nd Thursday. There was also a consensus that copies should be made available for the citizens.

RESOLUTION:

Discussion ensued regarding a resolution to name the four priority goals which this Council will pursue. Mr. Kitchens would like to see the annexation of property between North & South Berkeley Lake as the first priority.

Not to be included in the four goals, but as a priority, Mr. Goff would like to have public hearing for citizens input in deciding the goals most important. Mr. Levinson motioned to hold a town meeting on January 24, 1999. Mr. Kitchens seconded the motion. After some discussion Mr. Levinson amended his motion to call the meeting the ‘Citizens Planning Meeting". Mr. Kitchens seconded the amend- ment to the motion. Vote for approval of the motion with the amendment was unanimous.

It was suggested that the purchase of the property owned by Dr. Ferrier should be added as a suggested goal at the January 24 meeting.

POSTING OF AGENDA:

Mr. Levinson motioned that the City Clerk post the agenda on the City announcement board at three days before a meeting. Mrs. Ruys seconded, and vote for approval of the motion was unanimous.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

Mr. Goff motioned to go into Executive Session to discuss pending litigation and personnel issues. Mr. Kitchens seconded the motion, and vote for approval was unanimous.

After the Executive Session the meeting was called back to order. No citizens were present and no motions were forthcoming.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, THE MEETING WAS CLOSED.

THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 12 AT 7:00 P.M.

Respectively submitted,

Marcie E. Zielazienski

City Clerk/Treasurer