SPECIAL CALLED COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE
4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD
BERKELEY LAKE, GEORGIA 30096
Full Minutes for June 5th 2006

Those in attendance for the Council Meeting were as follows:
Mayor: Lois Salter
Council Members:
Walter Anderson, Bernie Cohen, Debbie Guthrie, Tom Kitchens and George Sipe
City Clerk- Jackie Wall
City Attorney- Dick Carothers
Citizens Present- 2
               
CALL TO ORDER
Salter opened the meeting at 7:35 pm at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road.

APPROVAL OF OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
Salter asked Council for approval of the addition of one item to the agenda and council agreed.
Kitchens motioned to add the City Engineer, Rich Edinger, to the agenda to speak regarding public works. Anderson seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed.

OLD BUSINESS
Public Works- Stormwater- Rich Edinger (Clark Patterson Associates)
Edinger said they had surveyed eleven sites identified in McFarland Dyer report. He said they would all require permanent easements to be acquired in order to maintain the work once it was completed. There were also other areas which would not require such detailed plans. It was noted that Carothers would be able to begin working on the easements by the following week, and that it would affect approximately twenty five homeowners. Salter asked the Clerk to draft a letter to those homeowners to explain the urgency of the issue in order to get one bid for all the projects by the deadline. It was acknowledged that homeowners could opt to keep their affected easements and would therefore be responsible for fixing and maintaining the area.

MINUTES
Kitchens motioned that the minutes of the meeting of May 18th 2006 be accepted. Anderson seconded the motion.  All were in favor of the motion. The motion passed.

MAYORS MESSAGE
Salter submitted a written report which stated:
Thanks to Steve Edwards and Advanced Disposal for purchasing the banners honoring our 50th anniversary.  They were quite expensive.  If any council members want to be involved in decisions about where to hang them, please let me know.

As you know, this year for the first time on Earth Day we had a blood drive.  I’m proud to report that, in spite of the rainy start, we had 17 citizens donate blood, producing 11 good units, which, I’m told, will save 33 lives. 

On May 25, Jackie and I met with two gentlemen who work for Gwinnett County and one from the Chamber of Commerce regarding the county’s economic development efforts.  We were told that for several years no inducements were offered to new business and industry to come to Gwinnett because so many were coming on their own.  Recently that has changed and the county is now targeting certain strategic businesses that meet a formula they have created based on number and type of jobs created, as well as net fiscal impact to the county.  If council members would like to review more information about this, please see me or Jackie. 

On another matter, I was very interested to be told, in some informal conversation with them after our conference, that Gwinnett County expects to begin negotiating service delivery strategies with cities in the near future.

I have asked Jackie to review the city right-of-ways on various city streets.  They vary somewhat, but I am preparing to include some information about that in the next mailed Mayor’s Message and to ask that citizens cut their shrubbery back in the ROWs by a certain date unless they prefer to let the City cut it.  That should help with road safety issues if people can see better along the roads.  Also in some places more room will be created for stepping off to avoid oncoming traffic.  Some small bushes around mailboxes, etc. may be left if pruned so as not to obstruct vision.  Also I’ve asked Jackie to call citizens beforehand who would have major impact if the City has to cut a lot in front of their house.  Does Council support this effort?’

In addition, Salter asked for a consensus from council regarding the right of ways. It was noted that shrubbery around mailboxes sometimes also obstructed visibility, and it should also be kept low enough for smaller cars to see past. It was also noted that the right of way is in excess of 10 feet from the side of the road and that citizens are responsible for keeping it clear, or the City is entitled to remove any obstructions. There was consensus of council that citizens should be informed, there should be some consistency, and the safety initiative should go ahead.

Salter also noted that the P and Z meeting scheduled for June 13th, had been postponed until early July.

NEW BUSINESS
Recommendations for millage rate- Treasurer, Pam Williamson
Williamson explained the background as to how the millage rate recommendation came about. She said that the Finance committee was recommending lowering the rate to 4.1 mills. She noted that the city would be receiving an extra $30,000 in utility tax that was not expected but that had been accounted for. She said the recommended rate would cover the budgeted amount for 2006, and leave approximately $20,000 to cover some costs that had already been identified as not being budgeted for. She said that 4.273 mills would cover the exact budget, and that 4.35 would be considered a small increase in taxes due to the increased income from property evaluations.

There was much discussion about the different philosophies as to whether the rate should be reduced or kept the same. Sipe and Cohen felt that taxes should be kept the same in case SPLOST no longer existed, and any additional money could be kept to pay more off the bond early. Currently a large percentage of the millage rate is dedicated to paying off the bond. However, several individuals felt  that the bond should not be paid off early and felt that property tax income would be increasing in the near future due to the building of River District and the two commercial areas, and a drop in millage rate would still equate to the same income.

There was further discussion as to whether a referendum could be held at the same time as the next election to ask citizens opinions as to whether to pay the bond debt off early or not. Carothers said that the law may not allow a referendum for such an issue as the question is one which should be decided by council but he would investigate the possibility.

There was discussion about the probable increase in costs for the Public works projects designated in the budget; however it was noted that many of the expenses could be paid from SPLOST funds and therefore should not affect property taxes. There was general agreement that a budget amendment should be considered to reflect the possible changes in the budget.

Anderson motioned to propose a 4.1 millage rate. Kitchens seconded the motion.
Kitchens, Guthrie and Anderson were in favor. Sipe and Cohen opposed. The motion passed.

EXECTIVE SESSION
Cohen motioned to enter executive session to consider land acquisition and personnel issues. Anderson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.

Cohen motioned to exit executive session. Anderson seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.

THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, COHEN MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 9:30PM. ANDERSON SECONDED THE MOTION, AND ALL WERE IN FAVOR. THE MOTION PASSED.

Respectfully submitted by Jackie Wall (Correct as of June 13th, 2006)