Those in attendance for the Council Meeting were as follows:
Mayor ProTem: Debbie Guthrie
Council Members:
Bernie Cohen, Walter Anderson, Tom Kitchens and George Sipe
City Administrator – Leigh Threadgill
Deputy City Clerk- Sandy Rosenberger
City Attorney- Dick Carothers
Citizens Present- 5       

CALL TO ORDER
Guthrie opened the meeting at 7:30 pm at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road.

I. APPROVAL OF OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
Sipe motioned to accept the agenda, Kitchens seconded the motion and all were in favor.  The motion passed.

II. PUBLIC HEARING   Budget 2006 Amendment and Budget 2007
There were no Citizens Comments.

III. MINUTES
Kitchens motioned to accept the minutes from the November 16, 2006 council meeting.  Anderson seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

Anderson motioned to accept the minutes from the December 7, 2006 council work session.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

IV. REPORTS
Guthrie noted that council had received reports from the following: the Police, the OEO, the Ordinance Committee, the Public Works Committee, the Financial Affairs Committee, and BLEMA.

V. MAYORS MESSAGE
Guthrie noted that Salter had submitted a written report to council, which said the following:
I am very pleased and proud to announce that the Executive Director of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful called me yesterday to say that the City of Berkeley Lake has been chosen as the 2006 Recycler of the Year.  In the body of the letter, which I brought to share with you, it says, “Your city’s efforts to expand your recycling program exemplify the practices that we work to implement in our community every day!”

Council is aware that Advanced Disposal has provided for us an unusually comprehensive list of recyclable items that they remove and deliver to various destinations as a part of our negotiated contract with them.  Additionally, on our Earth Days every year our city arranges recycling of everything from computers to human blood.  Congratulations and thanks to all our city staff and volunteers who have worked to put us in the forefront of this important community and environmental effort. 
 
I have asked our Ordinance Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector to visit with Mr. Ben Nash of Capitol Commons to see when the landscaping I had discussed with him some time ago will be done.  The buffers between his development and Berkeley Walk and Berkeley Commons need attention.

Since last we met I have attended several meetings that I want you to know about.  I was as guest of the Atlanta Regional Commission at their State of the Region meeting, which prevented the city from paying for my attendance at that fairly expensive occasion.  Water and transportation issues were most prominently discussed.  I and the Mayor Protem met with representatives of Hermitage Plantation to answer their questions about their possible annexation into our city.  Their entire group left feeling very enthusiastic about it and determined to begin contacting homeowners one by one about this.  They asked if I would be willing to meet with the entire subdivision for a question and answer session and I agreed to do so, though no date has been set.  Partnership Gwinnett is wrapping up the first phase of their project.  It’s a pivotal time for Gwinnett County and I believe it is very important for our city leaders, and indeed our citizens, to be aware of what’s happening in our larger environment.  For project documents and summaries, please visit www.partnershipgwinnett.com.  I plan to present some of this information in January to our homeowner presidents.  There will, of course, be other agenda items as well, and if any council members have something else you’d like me to make sure is discussed, please let me know.

I have asked Gene Rodgers to order the fire hydrant street markers that he researched and recommended.  Gene can also install them, and they should significantly support our fire protection.  Gene spent some time in preparation with the local fire department, and as you know, they were very positive about this addition to our streets.  Thanks to Walter Anderson for helping in the location research.

I have received an article from a friend of mine who is Deputy Executive Director of Savannah’s Metropolitan Planning Commission.  He authored the article, which appeared in the journal of the American Planning Association about Savannah’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified shopping center.  I know that some of you have expressed interest in possibly obtaining that certification for our City Hall, and if you would like to read it I will be happy to share it with you.

I have received a message from our waste removers as follows:  “Since Christmas and New Year’s fall on a Monday, please remind elected officials and key staff members who may be answering calls that trash, recycling, and yard waste will be a day behind.  This will be two Saturdays in a row.” 

Because of the concerns about pandemic avian flu and West Nile virus, I have been asked in a letter from the county’s emergency management leaders to share with our citizens the proper way to dispose of dead birds which might be found, so I include that here for the record.  You should put your hand in a plastic bag turned inside out and pick up the bird.  Turn the bag back over the bird, seal it and dispose of it in the trash.  Thoroughly wash hands in warm soapy water.
 
As you know, this is the time of year when I am searching for citizens who would be willing to serve on our committees for next year.  I have published requests for volunteers twice in Mayor’s Messages and gotten some responses.  If council members know of anyone who would be willing, please urge them to contact me and let me know of your recommendation of them.  You have by now received year-end reports from all 2006 committees except for Facilities and Communications.  Jackie apologizes and will get the Communication report to us when she gets back from England.  Barbara Carroll is working on hers and may have it at this meeting.

Thanks very much to Walter Anderson who has handled all the arrangements for Leigh’s new computer and installed it.  He researched and obtained the computer and various related items for less than the budgeted amount.

I have an update about lake lowering.  The subcontractor who will pump out the lake water has been unable to get a piece of equipment that he needs for that project.  He expects now to move in to install the siphon on January 9, so it is looking more like Jan. 15 before we could get the lake down, but even that is not certain.  Some of our citizens have asked for an exact date that they could plan on for dock repair, etc. and I have pressured our city engineer to give us one.  His response is as follows, “I can't guarantee that the contractor will come on that date.  That is the date he has given, but it could rain, he could have an equipment failure, or he could have a more lucrative offer between now and then.  The bottom line is this:  The contractor (Site Engineering) has 180 days to complete the project.  The owner (City) does not have control over his schedule.  We can ask when he will do parts of the work, and he generally tries to be accommodating, but if it will cost him more money to do part of the work at a certain time than at another time within the contract period, he will naturally want to change when he will do it.  He has already postponed the original December date that he was planning to do this work at the City's request in order for the BLHA to have their Christmas event.”  Those are Rich’s comments. I know it is frustrating, but I can only suggest again that citizens should check our website for current information in the coming weeks. Regarding the infrastructure project, which is under way, Rich reports that the contractor is 95% complete with the work at 01-West.   Regarding shoulder reconstruction:  Scotty Farmer says he will begin after Christmas.  If it does not happen then, Rich will follow through on my request that we terminate the contract and get a price from Site Engineering as a change order to the drainage project.

Randy Kirkus and I met with 2 representatives of the Georgia Safe Dams Agency today and walked all over the dam area, top and bottom, and the spillway.  They approved the work that Randy had kindly done for us at no cost, and pointed out some new (not urgent) problems near the concrete culvert along the road to which we must attend.  They asked that we continue to monitor the dam regularly, which Randy does, and that we remove some trees near the spillway, the roots of which may slowly displace the gabions there.

VI. OLD BUSINESS
a) City Hall Planning with special guest Eric Bosman of Urban Collage
Eric Bosman outlined his report submitted to council discussing the next steps to be taken in the planning of the new city hall.   Bosman also strongly suggested that there needs to be a half-day hand-off session with the design firm that is chosen in order to bring that firm up to date.
 
Guthrie asked Bosman’s opinion about which city hall design option for the current location on S. Berkeley Lake Road is best from a design standpoint.  Bosman responded that option A is a better choice for practical reasons, but option B would allow for better design, flexibility and expandability.

Sipe asked about LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and associated costs.  Bosman stated that typically building according to LEED standards is usually about 10% more expensive, but that you can expect to recoup those additional costs through efficiency and lower operational costs.  There are administrative costs associated with pursuing LEED certification, but Bosman did not estimate what those costs would be.

Citizen Comment:  Barbara Carroll 3430 Kingsland Circle
Barbara Carroll questioned Eric Bosman if there is a possibility that the new city hall have no parking access on Bush Road and only have parking on S. Berkeley Lake Rd.  Bosman confirmed that yes we could only have parking on S. Berkeley Lake Rd.

b) O-44-06d WA Ch. 11.103, Traffic Control, on-street parking  (for poss. 2nd read)
There was much discussion that there are still a number of concerns that need to be addressed.  Anderson stated that at this time council doesn’t have a consensus and should postpone second read of the ordinance.

Anderson motioned to postpone the second read and adoption of O-44-06d WA Ch. 11.103 Traffic Control until the next council meeting.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

c) Budget 2006 Amendment and Budget 2007  (for poss. 2nd read)
Kitchens motioned to accept the 2006 budget amendment. Anderson seconded the motion. 

After some discussion about the 2006 budget amendment, All were in favor. The motion passed.
 
There was much discussion about the 2007 Budget.
 
Cohen called for discussion about the MS4 permit and the associated budgeted cost, stating that the City has never had to spend that much money in the past to comply with regulations for stormwater management, and questioned why so much money is needed now.

Randy Kirkus, Chairman of the Public Works Committee, resident of 342 Lakeshore Drive, shared information regarding the MS4 permit. He stated that he does not know the details of what the budgeted cost covers.  We’ve paid someone in the past to prepare the report, which was not very expensive.  Public Works recommended that we not let Gwinnett County control the City’s Stormwater management and MS4 permit because we’d lose control of our facilities.  Now that the City is doing it without help from Gwinnett County, there will be more that the City will have to do to comply, such as measuring the stormwater flow coming into the City, which the County previously did.  We’d have to establish baselines and perform ongoing monitoring.

Kirkus stated that the details of the budgeted cost are important for everyone to know, but he doesn’t know those details. It’s also important to consider that if the City does not participate with other cities to share the administrative costs, then the expense to the City may be even more than what has been proposed in the budget.

It was determined that additional information on this topic was needed before council would be able to vote on the 2007 budget.

Cohen called for discussion about the 2007 budget for police.

Sipe read the following memorandum to council:
'I would like to amend the budget as proposed to restore police funding to $100,000 as we agreed at our recent budget work session on 12/7/2006.

At the currently proposed $88,000 amount, we will have no police presence in the city over 73.8% of the time.

Policing is a critical service to our citizens and a key factor in deterring crime occurring just outside our borders from expanding here. 

Doug McClure our policing coordinator has noted that we are "a bed of flowers surrounded by weeds."  For the safety of our citizens, we must continue to keep those weeds at bay before they spread here.  Police presence of itself deters crime and when public safety issues do arise local police presence assures a timely response.

I appreciate that the budget is tight, but believe the safety of our residents must come first.  I am amenable to other adjustments as necessary to restore police services to the minimal $100,000 level.  As Mayor Salter noted in a recent e-mail, part of our budget crunch is due to the tax cut from 4.35 mils to 4.1 mils passed by the slim majority of council.

At $100,000, policing would represent a very modest 5% of our $1.7M budget.  That is a minimal amount compared to other cities and even to other areas in our own budget.  For example, the budget proposes over a quarter million dollars just for the costs related to government administration.  Policing is a crucial service with a direct public benefit and must be given priority'.

Sipe questioned the change to the SPLOST Engineering Services line item in the 2007 budget.  There was much discussion about the change in costs associated with infrastructure testing that resulted in the increased 2007 budget for SPLOST Engineering Services.

Anderson motioned to postpone voting to accept the 2007 budget.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

d) O-47-06 Chapter 32-101, Regulatory Fees (for poss. 2nd read)
There was discussion about the Regulatory Fee ordinance.  Many questions and concerns still exist surrounding this ordinance. Anderson stated that we’re not yet prepared administratively for the adoption of this ordinance.

Anderson motioned to postpone second read and adoption of O-47-06 Chapter 32-101, Regulatory Fees to the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Sipe seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed.

e) O-48-06 Chapter 4-104, Occupational Tax (for poss. 2nd read)
There was much discussion about the Occupational Tax ordinance.  Sipe questioned the difference between telecommuters and home-based businesses under this ordinance. Anderson stated concerns about the lack of time to administratively prepare for implementation.  Guthrie stated the need for an ordinance for new businesses coming into the City.

Anderson motioned to postpone second read and adoption of O-48-06 Chapter 4-104, Occupational Tax to the next regularly scheduled council meeting.  Sipe seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  The motion passed.   

f) O-40-06 Chapter 39-807, Driveway Water Run-off Control (for poss. 2nd read)
Anderson motioned to put on second read and adopt O-40-06 Chapter 39-807, Driveway Water Run-off Control.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

g) O-45-06c WA TK Chapter 3, Administration Ordinance (for poss. 2nd read)
There was much discussion that the Ordinance Enforcement Officer, Gene Rogers, should be provided the opportunity to comment on this ordinance, especially Sections 3-701 and 3-702.  Council discussed increasing fines and treating each day as a separate offense.

Sipe motioned to postpone second read and adoption of O-45-06c Chapter 3, Administration Ordinance until the next regularly scheduled council meeting.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  The motion passed.

II. NEW BUSINESS
a) Money transfer $120,000 from operating funds to LGIP
Kitchens motioned to approve the transfer of funds.  Cohen seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  The motion passed.

b) Appointment of Deputy City Clerk
Anderson motioned to appoint Sandy Rosenberger as the Deputy City Clerk. Kitchens seconded the motion. All were in favor.  The motion passed.

c) Septic Tank Extension  Requests
Sipe motioned to approve the 3 septic tank extensions.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

d) Ordinance Enforcement Officer Compensation
Sipe motioned to approve the increase in the OEO’s hourly rate from $17 per hour to $18 per hour effective January 1, 2007. Kitchens seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. 

e) City Hall Holidays for 2007
Sipe motioned to approve the 2007 City Hall Holiday schedule. Anderson seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

f) Contingency for Stormwater infrastructure project
There was much discussion about the $1100 change order for the infrastructure project.  Cohen expressed concerns about this continuing to happen throughout the project, which could result in a significant increase in project cost.  Randy Kirkus, Chairman of the Public Works Committee, stated that the reason for the $1100 change is because there was a design change in the field, not because of incorrect engineering.  Randy stated that this isn’t expected to happen again.

Anderson motioned to ratify the approval of the $1100 change order.  Sipe seconded the motion.  All were in favor. The motion passed.

g) Infrastructure Testing
Randy Kirkus, Chairman of the Public Works Committee, discussed why infrastructure testing is important.  Mayor ProTem read a memo from the Mayor explaining how the testing works.  There was much discussion about the budget for infrastructure testing.  There was confusion about the cost of the infrastructure testing because the 2007 budget noted a cost of $21,670 and the information from the engineer noted a cost of $22,800. 

Anderson motioned to approve stormwater infrastructure testing not to exceed $22,800 in cost.  Kitchens seconded the motion.  All were in favor.  The motion passed.

VIII. CITIZENS COMMENTS
There were no citizen comments.

IX. ADJOURNMENT
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS, COHEN MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT APPROXIMATELY 9:45 PM. ANDERSON SECONDED THE MOTION.  ALL WERE IN FAVOR. THE MOTION PASSED.

Respectfully submitted by Leigh Threadgill (approved by Council January 18, 2007)