Those in attendance for the Council Meeting were as follows:
Mayor – Lois Salter
Council Members: Bernie Cohen, Ken Massaroni, Delicia Reynolds, George Sipe and Marcie Zielazienski
City Attorney- Dick Carothers
City Clerk- Jackie Wall

Citizens Present-16

CALL TO ORDER
Salter called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM at 4043 Berkeley Lake Road.

MINUTES
Cohen motioned to accept the minutes from January 5th, 2004. Massaroni seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion passed.

FINANCIAL REPORT- December 2003
There was no motion to accept the financial report. Cohen said that as only two of the current members of council were part of the council at that time, that he felt current council could not approve the financial report. He suggested that the auditor be asked to check it and certify it was correct.

Cohen motioned that the auditor certify the financial statement as being correct for December 2003. Zielazienski seconded the motion.
In discussion Massaroni said he was not comfortable with approving it anyway, as he had only just seen it.

Reynolds said the auditor was a CPA and unable to verify the financial report based on the documents submitted. She said he would be doing an audit of the books for 2003 anyway.

Cohen suggested council wait until he has finished the audit to approve the report for December 2003.

Cohen modified his motion to allow the auditor to do his audit before accepting the financial statement for December 2003. Zielazienski agreed with the amendment and all were in favor of the motion. Motion passed.

MAYOR’S MESSAGE
Salter announced that a stoplight would be installed in the next 90-120 days at the entrance of Berkeley Commons on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. This was as a result of much discussion in order to ensure the safety of the citizens. This was confirmed by email from the Gwinnett County DOT. Salter thanked Cohen, Sipe and Zielazienski for meeting with Burt Nasuti and reinforcing her previous requests.

Salter said she had followed up on the Radon Test kits she had spoken about at the last meeting. She said there were 200 free test kits available directly from Lawrenceville. However, she had permission to distribute the forms, which could be handed into City Hall, and they would be collected and distributed from there.

Massaroni said the kits could also be purchased from “Lowes” for $15 each and the results would be emailed to you directly if you did not want to wait for the state kits.

Salter also announced that a cement truck had overturned on Little Ridge Road the previous morning. No one was hurt but the road had been closed most of the day whilst they righted the truck.
Salter said she was invited to speak at the Berkeley Walk Home Owners Association meeting on the coming Sunday, with Cohen who is their new council liaison.

OLD BUSINESS
AMEND P&Z COMMISSIONER TERMS (3-701-2), 2ND READ – SIPE
Sipe motioned to put the new version of the Ordinance on to 2nd Read and adopt it. He said there were minor changes and he described them. Cohen seconded the motion.

In discussion, Massaroni commented about accountability to citizens and the notion that virtually every other committee member was appointed to a single year term. The council members and mayor were also elected for just four years, with a possible change in council every two years. He said he felt that five years was too long for P and Z members. Experience was necessary but they could still be re-appointed every three years.

Sipe said it was important to build up a knowledge base. He said it took him two years to get comfortable with the process. He said there was a process for a Commissioner to be removed within the five years should it be necessary. He said the purpose of a five-year term was so that their appointment was not subject to political influences. Sipe said it was only recently that P and Z terms had been changed to shorter terms.

There was further discussion regarding when and how the terms were changed, as well as possible removal of Commissioners. It was pointed out that the Planning and Zoning Commission was different to the other committees in many ways. Their role is very important to keep the City as it is. It was agreed this was so, however accountability was still an issue, and there were different perspectives on this.

Reynolds asked why there was not a public hearing on this issue as all changes in Ordinances had been placed on Public Hearing previously.

Carothers confirmed that only issues regarding changes in Chapter 39 require a public hearing.

Cohen, Sipe and Zielazienski were in favor of the motion. Massaroni opposed the motion and Reynolds abstained from the vote. Motion passed.

REPAIR OF LAKESHORE DRIVE – ZIELAZIENSKI

Zielazienski said that the contractor, Renfroe Mining & Grading, was notified of the start date of January 28. She said that contractor has the go-ahead to order the headwalls as it takes about two weeks for these to be built and for the concrete to cure before they can be moved. She also said, with the City Attorney’s approval, that she had notified Mr. Renfroe to proceed with the paperwork for a Performance Bond and to forward current insurance information.

Zielazienski said she had received a very good communication from the BLHA complete with the fixed allocation number and a copy of their signed contract with Aquatic Solutions. BLHA will need a 28 day notice before the dredging can begin, as it will take some time for the company to get the dredging equipment moved and into place. This notice will be provided once council is confident that the drainage improvement/road repair project is progressing well and a completion date can be determined.

Zielazienski said that the communication from BLHA, along with the homeowner’s Warranty Deeds, completes the information that the City Attorney needs for the easement request information.

Zielazienski said she has also investigated as to why the hole in S. Berkeley Lake Road had not been repaired yet, even though she had received a confirmation of her service request to the County on December 8. She was told it was the responsibility of the Gwinnett County Dept. of Public Utilities, and she was directed to a Mr. Glen Roberts. He said today, that the sinking road cut would be repaired the next day unless they needed a special type of patch. In that case, it will be repaired on Monday.

Zielazienski said that work on the sewer line had sat idle until the beginning of this week. She had spoken with the contractor to find out why and was informed that the foreman had been very ill, so very little work could continue until he returned. Since then, work has been progressing very well as they are out of the rock for now and are able to work faster and cover more distance quickly. Zielazienski said they should be back on schedule now.

RIVER MANSIONS PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION MEETING (RMPOA)- MASSARONI
Massaroni said that he had posted minutes to his meeting with the RMPOA on the web site under their forum.

Massaroni said they had also mentioned the hole in the road and Zielazienski said she had heard from them too.

Massaroni said RMPOA had asked whether any of their members who did not live in the Berkeley Lake side of the sub-division could be members of any of the committees, particularly the events committee.

Massaroni said RMPOA had also asked when the sidewalks would be put in on Bush Road as they will be re-landscaping near there soon. There were also issues about the culvert of Mill Creek running under Bush Road. They also requested help on the “Stewart” property, as the new owners had a permit to put in a driveway, which will run partly through the city boundary and back out again. There could be zoning issues associated with it.

There was discussion about the history of this property.

Massaroni said that RMPOA had also asked about repaving that needs to be done within their sub-division.

Zielazienski said they had discussed this before and it would need to be looked at in the budget. She said that Dave Garramone had told her that the county will begin on the Mill Creek project in late Spring. Bush Road will completely closed for three months.

Everyone was concerned that this project did not coincide with the closure of Berkeley Lake Road and the sewer line as there would be a time when the junction of the two roads would also be closed. Some discussion would be necessary with the county about the two projects.

Citizen comment- Bill Downey 527 Lakeshore Drive
Downey said he was concerned that the repairs on Lakeshore Drive were due to start on January 28th and the homeowners had not yet seen any easement documents for review. It was possible that they may need to change something, although he hoped not.

Carothers said that the easements would be ready early the following week.

Salter responded to the question of the non-resident RMPOA being part of a city committee by suggesting that residents should get the opportunity to be part of the committees first and they could be asked if they would like to invite non-residents. Although there were other “cons” such as city taxpayers would be funding events and that could open the doors to other non-residents.

There was general discussion about different possibilities. This resulted in suggestion that the rest of River Mansions Sub-Division be annexed into the city to solve the problem. It may be a consideration if the RMPOA wants to consider it.

It was suggested that all council members report back from their Home Owner Association meetings by posting a summary on the web site so all could read it and it would save time at meetings. Issues resulting from them could then be added to the agenda.

CITY COMMUNICATION- REYNOLDS
Reynolds asked when the Mayor's newsletter would be sent out as she had not received it yet.

Salter said she had been waiting for a contract to be signed before she sent it out. The City attorney has not been able to complete the contract yet, so the newsletter will be mailed out ASAP.

NEW BUSINESS
APPOINTMENTS – SALTER
Salter appointed Jackie Wall as City Clerk, Carol Seitz as Deputy City Clerk, Charles Sewell as Ordinance Enforcement Officer, Richard Carothers as City Attorney, Pam Williamson as City Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair, Jackie Wall as Communications Committee Chair and Tom Kitchens as BLEMA Chair.

Reynolds asked what creates a committee and whether there should be a committee chair before there is a committee.

Sipe read the relevant section in the City Charter regarding committees- (Section 2-20 Rules and Procedures).

Salter said that she appoints the chair and committee members, but she was waiting to see if any more citizens want to participate on any of them before she appoints their members.

There was discussion as to which are standing committees.

Sipe moved to establish all the committees on the handout entitled City 0f Berkeley Lake Mayoral Appointments 2004, which will be attached to the minutes. The committees are: Arbitration Board, Audit Committee, Berkeley Lake Conservancy, Berkeley lake Emergency Management Agency (BLEMA), Communications Committee, Community Affairs and Events Committee, Facilities Committee, Financial Affairs Committee, Ordinance Committee, Planning and Zoning Commission, Safety and Public Works Committee and Stormwater Management Committee. Massaroni seconded the motion and all were in favor. Motion passed.

Massaroni moved that the appointments of Jackie Wall, Carol Seitz, Charles Sewell, Richard Carothers, Tom Kitchens and Pam Williamson to the respected positions all be adopted. Cohen seconded the motion.

In discussion Sipe said they were all fine appointments.

All were in favor and the motion passed.

DEPUTY CITY CLERK COMPENSATION – ZIELAZIENSKI
Zielazienski said the responsibilities of City Clerk are demanding and increasing and there is need for the City Clerk to have help.

Zielazienski motioned that the deputy city clerk be paid at a compensation to be determined by the mayor but not to exceed 80% of the city clerk’s hourly pay. Sipe seconded the motion.

In discussion, it noted that 80% of the City Clerk’s salary is currently $13.60. The mayor said she had offered $10 an hour to start, which had been agreed to.

All were in favor of the motion and the motion passed.

AMEND TREASURER'S AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FOR DELEGATION (3-404) – COHEN
Cohen said he had reviewed the minutes for the last 6 years and had found that the city had been operating outside the current ordinances. Once separated from the job description of the City Clerk, the ordinance requires that the Treasurer actually carries out all of the responsibilities without being able to delegate anything.

Cohen said the Ordinance proposed allows the Treasurer to delegate some of the responsibilities. Cohen motioned to put the Ordinance on First Read. Zielazienski seconded the motion.

Sipe said a citizen had suggested it be amended to include “with the consent of city council” to allow flexibility and oversight without changes to the ordinance.

Reynolds asked if the Clerk could delegate her responsibilities. It was suggested she could but the Treasurer is specifically not able to.
Cohen adjusted his motion to include “with the consent of City Council”. Zielazienski agreed to the amendment. All were in favor and the motion passed.

Salter asked Williamson to review the responsibilities to see what she would like to delegate.

There was discussion about compensating the City Treasurer, however Williamson had declined to be paid and the attorney saw no reason why she should be if she did not want to be.

Reynolds motioned that the council accept the Treasurer’s offer and pay her nothing, Cohen seconded the motion and all were in favor. Motion passed.

CORRECT CONSERVANCY (BLC) CHAIR APPOINTMENT PER CITY CHARTER (3-703-6) – SIPE
Sipe described the Ordinance and motioned to put it on first read. Cohen seconded the motion.

Massaroni asked what the changes were.

Sipe clarified that the idea was to have all committees have a chair appointed by the mayor and this would allow it to continue in that vein.

All were in favor of the motion and the motion passed.

Cohen asked about the appointment to GOLT.

Salter said she had met with interested parties and had someone in mind for both that and the Chair of the Conservancy. She said she would appoint them at the next meeting.

PRIMARY SECURITY ACCESS AND CONTROL (KEYS, PASSWORDS, ETC.) – SIPE
Sipe described the resolution, which would give the mayor, as head of government, control and access to all the equipment, services etc. that the city owns or operates. This would mean she would never be locked out of anything and could provide emergency access if necessary. He said most actions that were not of an emergency nature would be discussed with council at the next meeting.

Sipe motioned that the resolution be accepted as attached to the minutes. Zielazienski seconded the motion.

Reynolds asked if the mayor would have a list of everyone’s password or code.

Sipe said she would just have the master password or master key.

There was discussion of definition of what the mayor should have. Whoever has the master of any password, they should pass it to the mayor. There had not been a case of anyone refusing to give it to the mayor but she should have it for emergency purposes, in case there should be an accident, for example. At least two people will then have the passwords.

Cohen, Sipe and Zielazienski were in favor of the motion. Massaroni and Reynolds abstained. Motion passed.

CITY WEBSITE MANAGEMENT – SIPE
Sipe made a motion to accept the resolution as attached to the minutes. The resolution was to pass the web site administration to the Communications Committee.

Sipe said Reynolds was currently the web master and she had done a fantastic job of it. He acknowledged that she had worked countless hours on it and put in a lot of hours over the years. The web site is better than a lot of other cities. However, he felt it should be moved from a council member to become an administrative item. He described how the services are currently set up. He said it should be a direct service, as how it is currently set-up is a conflict of interest. He said she had never taken advantage of it but it still does exist as a conflict of interest and it should be removed.

Reynolds asked how it is a conflict of interest.

Sipe said there is a variety of things in the City Charter which describe a conflict of interest and he described them. He said her role as a City Council member is in conflict with her role as a sub-contractor of services to the city. This can be done independently for only a small amount of money more. If the city is billed directly, any decisions in budgeting etc can then be independent of any personal involvement.

Reynolds said she had no financial interest or advantage from the web site and asked again what the conflict of interest is.

Sipe repeated the issue was her status as a paid service provider.
Massaroni said he was fine with the resolution except the ending, which he read aloud.

Sipe said he wanted to keep the resolution as it is. He said the 30% discount the city received through Reynolds at a couple dollars monthly was not a sufficient benefit when the city could be directly billed for the same service and subsequently avoid any conflict.

Reynolds said she will be happy not to do the work but she was concerned about no one being trained to take it over. She asked what the transition plan was.

Sipe said Reynolds could continue maintaining the website until the Communications Committee was ready to take over. Reynolds said she would not be comfortable maintaining the website once the resolution was passed because the wording of the resolution made it effective immediately.

Sipe said he would amend the resolution to postpone it to April 1st to enable a transition period.

Reynolds agreed to maintain the website until the Communications Committee is ready or until April 1st.

Cohen, Massaroni, Sipe and Zielazienski approved the motion and Reynolds abstained. Motion passed.

PROPERTY OFFERED AS A GIFT TO CITY – SALTER
Salter said that Jackie Henderson currently owns the piece of land surrounding the water wheel area on Bayway Circle. She would like to donate it to the city along with landscaping and a bench as a memorial to her husband Bob Henderson who passed away recently.

Zielazienski motioned that the city accept the gift offered by Jackie Henderson. Sipe seconded the motion.

There was discussion about the generous gift. However there could be other possible implications to the city’s liability insurance as well as to those who live in the vicinity.

The city attorney said he did not think that there would be any changes necessary to the insurance and it would be adequately covered.

Salter said Henderson was donating it as a memorial place for her husband. She suggested that the council resolve to ask the city attorney to proceed to discuss the transfer of the property to the city and to report back to the city at the next meeting.

Zielazienski and Sipe accepted the suggestion as an amendment to the resolution.

All were in favor of the motion and the motion passed.

RESOLUTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS – ZIELAZIENSKI
Zielazienski said that two CDs of $100,000 are maturing the week of January 18. She said there is going to be an outlay of funds for the spillway outfall pipe replacement and for the drainage improvement/road repair project on Lakeshore Drive.

Zielazienski motioned that when the two CDs of $100,000 each mature, the funds be transferred into the city’s savings account with the local government investment pool. Reynolds seconded the motion and all were in favor. Motion passed.

CITIZEN COMMENTS
Salter recognized the letter sent to council by Frank Lombardi, which was posted on the web site, sent to council, copied for citizens and will be attached to the minutes.

(Inserted here for archive purposes):
"At the January 5, 2004 council meeting, a suggestion was made and is found in the minutes, the essence of which is as follows:

'Massaroni said that former councilman Steventon had brought up the issue before regarding email for communication. He suggested that in the interest of open communication that a forum be created on the web site for communication among council members instead of emails, so there would be no behind the scenes communication. He said the public could then see communication that was going on between meetings.' ......'The general idea was that all city business should be public except those things discussed in executive session.'

I think this is an excellent idea and one that I hope is brought to fruition quickly. Continuing on with the text from the minutes:

'Sipe said he liked the idea but recommended that the communication
committee look at this'......'Sipe reiterated that all the ideas should be forwarded to the Communications Committee and for them to make a recommendation as to the best way to achieve this."

I suggest Council pick up the ball on this and make it happen sooner, rather than later. By the time the new communication committee is formed, members appointed, develops a charter, studies the issue and makes a recommendation, several months of communications will have passed. Yes, in the interim, interested residents could request that the emails be disclosed, but that could get very cumbersome and unnecessarily burden Council and/or the City's staff.

There is additional text concerning how the residents might interact, as follows:

'There was further discussion as to whether citizens would be able to
comment on the same forum.'

I think that giving the residents the ability to comment on current, active issues would be invaluable. If you have any thoughts on the subject of a communications forum and how it should be implemented, I encourage you to pass them on to Council to ensure this works for the residents, as well as allowing Council to conduct City business expediently."

as posted by Frank Lombardi

Sipe responded to the letter by reading the following:
“As I commented last week, I am strongly in favor of openness and generally support this idea. I would like to see all non-privileged discussion of City business between council open to the public. I have no goal, and believe it would be deeply contrary to the City's interests, to “have no behind the scenes communication”. It is not practical nor advisable to record every utterance between individual council members or between council members and citizens. I do believe it would be a good thing for council group email messages in particular to be open.

If the Communications Committee recommends this be implemented, it would be my recommendation to make available all similar council communications over the last couple years as the public has an interest in that record as well.

I am requesting the Communications Committee carefully look at the pros and cons as well as various potential implementations of this. There are legal, equal web access, overall effectiveness, politicization, and other issues that need research and consideration. That said, I think this is do-able.

I was surprised that Frank repeatedly stressed the urgency to make this a top council priority, only 10 days after he left office. He reiterates Ken's comment from last week that David Steventon recommended this in the last council. I could not locate any such comment supporting open communications in the minutes, but interestingly did find a comment directly to the contrary. On September 19, 2002 see under "Communications Issues" ... "There was also much discussion about the proper use of e-mail by the City Council. Council Members Steventon and Massaroni spoke out against the use of e-mail between Council Members when making any decisions for the City."

Massaroni said Lombardi had misunderstood his comments in the minutes, Steventon had said that council should use less email OR make it public. He said that was what he was trying to convey.

Cohen said the communications committee should decide this.

Jeff Pahl 881 Lakeshore Drive
Pahl said he had been annoyed over the last few years to hear council talk about an issue at council meetings that they had been discussing over email. He said if email was the preferred method of communication, then it should be made public where everyone can see it.

THERE BEING NO MORE BUSINESS, COHEN MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:52 PM. ZIELAZIENSKI SECONDED THE MOTION AND ALL WERE IN FAVOR.

Correct as of Jan 29th, 2004