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

Citizens Present- 6

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

MINUTES
Salter said that after the previous meeting, Sipe had asked the clerk to send copies of the minutes to Council and both Rick Rice and Frank Lombardi for their comment, so they would be comfortable that they were quoted correctly.

Cohen motioned to accept the minutes from February 19th, 2004. Zielazienski seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion passed.

REPORTS
Salter said they had received reports from the Ordinance Enforcement Officer and the Police. She asked if there were any comments.

Sipe noted the armed robbery that had been mentioned in the police report, and that it was very close to the community.

Salter said she thought the police in the City made a difference, as similar incidents had jumped over the City, and she hoped it would stay that way.

MAYOR’S MESSAGE
Salter announced she was proud that the City had received a Five Year Tree City Award, which would be kept at City Hall. The Signs outside the city had been updated to show that too.

Salter called attention to information she had put on the website regarding police impersonators, and the advice she had solicited from the City chief police liaison.

Salter announced the resignation of Debbie Guthrie from the Ordinance Committee, as she has been appointed to Council. David Bell will replace her. Virginia Andreu will replace Gay Smith on the Ordinance Committee too.

Salter said Sipe would now be liaison to BLEMA, as he was Mayor Pro tem, and he would be able to step in should there be an emergency when she was out of town. Guthrie would become liaison to the Facilities Committee, as she was already involved in it.

Salter said she had written to the General Assembly regarding the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax) issue as directed by Council at the last meeting. She said she had heard from the Mayor of Roswell. GMA (Georgia Municipal Association) were close to negotiating a compromise with the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.

Carothers said he had just been informed that some legislation had been introduced that day. He said it provided for cities to negotiate through inter-governmental agreements or through population analysis. He said there was a trade off in annexation disputes. He said he would analyze it and let everyone know the details once he had read it thoroughly.

Salter reported to Council members that she had met with several county representatives including Charlotte Nash (County Administrator), as to how the County will look in 20 years. She said she had further details and would provide them to anyone who was interested.

OLD BUSINESS
INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS- ZIELAZIENSKI
Storm Damage
Zielazienski said that during the windstorm a couple of trees had fallen in the playground and one on Ridge Road. They had been cut and cleaned up along with several other trees that needed to come down and the trees were pruned away from the streetlight at the curve before 50 Lakeshore Drive.

Road Safety
Zielazienski said that in December, she had written a letter to Brian Allen, (Director, Gwinnett County DOT), asking for their help in getting the curve at 50 Lakeshore Drive marked. She said there was a delay in replying, as Allen was out of the office for a family emergency. He passed her correspondence on to Kim Conroy, who told her that the County will take care of marking the curve and will at the same time further assess the homeowner’s request for guardrail. She said she expected this to happen in the very near future.

Dalton/Downey Culvert
Zielazienski said there had been concerns with the culvert repair at the Downey/Dalton pond. The weir was set Monday evening and questions were raised as to whether it was the right one for Alternate 4, how it was going to function, etc. As a precaution, Zielazienski contacted the engineer to get him to come out and check the project. He said was fine, and work is continuing at a good pace with the good weather. She said although there had been panic, she appreciated being apprised of concerns regarding any aspect of a project. She said more eyes watching helps to guarantee a good outcome for the entire community.

Culvert between 182 and 186 Lakeshore Drive
Zielazienski said the engineer had visited the culvert site between 182 and 186 Lakeshore Drive. She said he proposed conducting a survey of the existing conditions and research of public records to determine property lines for the area upstream and downstream of the culvert location. She said he was going to prepare a conceptual plan for the repair of the culvert in question. This plan may consist of more than one alternate fix the culvert. She said required easements would be shown on the drawings. These conceptual plans, which are not as detailed as full plans, would be submitted to contractors for preliminary pricing.

Spillway
Zielazienski said that the engineering firm of QORE Property Sciences has visited the spillway site, and were waiting for the lake to lower to determine how this effects the water flow through the hole on the left bank of the spillway. She said they also plan to put dye into the water to see where the flow from the water through the hole is emerging.

Salter asked if the County would be looking at other areas in the City when they considered marking the road on Lakeshore Drive.

Zielazienski said that she had discussed that with them, but it would probably be done separately.

Cohen asked when the culvert at 182-186 Lakeshore Drive conceptual plan would be ready.

Zielazienski said it should be ready in 2-3 weeks.

Sipe asked how urgent the job was and if it could be delayed two months. He said he would still like to investigate other sources of funding for the project.

Zielazienski said she thought it would naturally be delayed that long, as it would take some time to do the groundwork anyway. She said unfortunately that would mean the City may not be able to save mobilization costs as they had previously hoped, however it would depend where the contractor equipment was located at that time.

CLEAN AIR ORDINANCE (CHAPTER 13-201 to 213)– SALTER
Sipe motioned to put the ordinance on second read and adopt it. Zielazienski seconded the motion.
In discussion, Sipe explained the changes from the original version. He suggested some additional wording in 13-207. He also suggested 13-209 be deleted completely.

Carothers agreed with the omission. He said the numbering would need to be changed.

Sipe also asked that the OEO be included in 13-210 (a) and (b).

Sipe agreed to amend the motion with the changes outlined. Zielazienski seconded the motion and all were in favor. Motion passed.

Salter noted that the State is considering a no-smoking law all over Georgia. One house of the state legislature has passed it.

NEW BUSINESS
ORDINANCE 3-703-8(M) BERKELEY LAKE CONSERVANCY (BLC) - SIPE
Sipe described the change he was suggesting. He said the BLC was largely an advisory committee, except for this section. He said that this would mean that the BLC would have to follow the Open Records and Open Meetings act in this capacity. He suggested that it did not change their power, as Council could always overturn any decisions they made with the current wording. He said he believed the only net change would be that that they would purely be an advisory committee as a result of this ordinance. It was not meant in any way to diminish their role. Sipe said he had discussed the change with four out of five members of the BLC, and he said they were comfortable with it.

Citizen Comment
Debbie Robinson 540 Lakeshore Drive
Robinson said she had been on the Subcommittee (with Ken Massaroni and Julie Stuart) appointed to review documents for the BLC easement and the Prohibited Uses and Reserved Rights. She said they had put together the final recommendations for Council. She said the wording currently in the documents was not an oversight. It was intended that the BLC be given some power and credibility, so that some of burden be taken from Council. The BLC would be responsible for their decisions, and the impact they made. She described how any work completed on the Greenspace could be administered through the BLC using a permit system. Robinson said she knew Council had ultimate control, but that they envisioned that the citizens had another layer of careful review by those with more expertise in the area.

Sipe said he agreed with almost everything Robinson had said, and he hoped all the committees would be considered the experts in their fields. He said he hoped Council would not make any decisions without consulting the BLC. He said that it did not make any difference to what the BLC could do, because as it was currently written Council could already make decisions without consulting them. He said it did not empower them in any additional way. He said it would make them an advisory committee like every other committee.

Bernie asked about the format of the Ordinance and whether it was acceptable. There was general discussion as to how an Ordinance should be laid out, and Carothers explained the legal reasons behind it.

Carothers suggested that form formats should be distributed so that every thing looks the same.

Sipe reiterated that he had explained the consequences of the change to the current members of the BLC. He said that it was still only on first read, so that more thought could be put into it and citizens comments be taken into account.

Citizen Comment
Debbie Robinson 540 Lakeshore Drive
Robinson suggested that as this was only on first read and that in order for more people to see it and think about it, that the second read be delayed from the normal two week period between meetings, to a month.

Sipe said he agreed, and he was going to suggest that later in the meeting.

Sipe motioned that Ordinance 3-703-8(m) be put on first read. Cohen seconded the motion.

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

ORDINANCE 3-204-1 REGULAR MEETINGS- REYNOLDS
Reynolds said this was ‘housekeeping, as Council had already decided to meet twice a month.

Reynolds motioned to put the Ordinance on first read. Cohen seconded the motion.

In discussion, Zielazienski asked if the Ordinance could be written to allow meeting date flexibility.

Carothers suggested that this ordinance should be written this way, in order not to advertise every meeting. He said meetings could be cancelled in advance if necessary. He said people generally understood that if a meeting fell on a holiday then it would be cancelled.

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

COMMITTEE TASKS- SALTER
Salter said she had posted the document on the web site and sent it to all the Committee Chairpersons. She said that it was on the agenda as she disagreed with Sipe on the Ordinance Committee. She said they had been charged with looking into all the ordinances, so long as anything that had to do with zoning, and she quoted, “any recommendations regarding zoning should be forwarded to the Planning and Zoning commission (P & Z) for that body’s review”. She said she had consulted with the City Attorney about it, and he had no objections to it. It was good to have additional people looking at it from a practical point of view.

Sipe said the list was an excellent list, and that the Mayor had put a lot of effort into it. Sipe said he hoped the tasks would give the Committees focus on specific areas, and allow for their expertise. He said the vision Council had for the Committees had remained consistent since the beginning documents, all except the Ordinance Committee description in the newest document, which had changed. He said the Committees are almost a staff who are supporting Council, and who are supported by them. He said he hoped that their expertise would grow within the community and that they would become subject matter experts. He said for that reason there was no overlap by design, and he described some examples: Safety and Public Works won't work on City Hall plans, and the Communications Committee won't plan the July 4th celebration.

Sipe said there was an exception for the new tasks to be assigned to the Ordinance Committee. He described what was written in the various documents already distributed:

In the Mayoral Appointments document (distributed at meetings in January) it said:
”The Ordinance Committee performs research then provides recommendations and drafts of ordinance changes. They work both proactively to update and improve all City code as well as by special requests from Council.”

In the January Mayor's Message it said:
”Ordinance Committee - Review and update our City ordinances. These affect not only our homes, but also the ways in which we live together, no doubt about it.”

He said that it concerns him that the latest description of Committee Tasks currently proposed says:
”Ordinance Committee - Review and update our City ordinances. These affect not only our homes, but also the ways in which we live together. The goal is to restrict citizens’ private decisions about their property as little as possible while concurrently supporting the property values of their neighbors. This is sometimes a difficult line to draw. People should be able to enjoy their homes, and express themselves therein as long as they are not negatively impacting others in significant ways.

You should also consider the expectation that we will someday have commercial property in our City. Ordinances may be crafted to protect us from intrusive lighting, damaging stormwater runoff, and other similar problems.

Any recommendations regarding zoning matters should be forwarded
to the Planning and Zoning Commission for that body’s review.

Current ordinances should be reviewed for clarity and consistency. Consider the pros and cons of paying an outside company to electronically codify our current ordinances.

Sipe said he agreed these are all crucial things, but if the P & Z were included in the list of Committees, then that would be how you would describe what the P & Z’s role is. He said that the P&Z has direct responsibility and delegated authority in this area. They are subject matter experts on zoning issues unlike the Advisory Committees. He said in the Charter, the P & Z is mentioned in 1.12(b)(23), chapter 3, chapter 39, chapter 40, O.C.G.A. 36-70-1 and other state laws. He said the Council must obtain the recommendation of the P&Z before making any change to zoning code. However it is certainly legal and very appropriate for others to have opinions and suggestions as Carothers has suggested.

Sipe said individual committee members, as well as all citizens, should forward opinions and suggestions to the P&Z, any Council Member, or the Mayor. However, the Ordinance Committee per se should not be charged with this role nor spend precious committee time on it.

Sipe said his concerns were that the Ordinance Committee should be subject matter experts in legal issues of ordinances: formatting, logging, resolving conflicts, etc. They should both work self-directed in fixing our existing code and assist Council and other committees in amending or adding new code. He said that there is no benefit to this unique overlap, and they will not be the subject matter experts the other committees are.

He said he fully supported that these Committees are defined and appointed by the Mayor, however he believed that as a practical matter that the Council should be on the same wavelength as to what they do.

Sipe said he recommended that Ordinance Committee should have a charge such as “Ordinances are the blueprint for our City's operation. Adopt a consistent standard format for our ordinances, develop processes to manage ordinance changes, work with Council and other committees to research and draft ordinances on specific topics as needed, and assist individual Council Members as requested on ordinances they are amending or drafting”, or words to that effect.

Sipe said he was not looking to pass a resolution to force anything. He said he still believed they must remain Mayor appointed and directed committees.

Salter said that the original brief one sentence to describe the P & Z was never intended to be a complete charge, which is what the current document is. She said it was not unusual to add any further descriptions as she had done so to all the committees. She said she did not want to direct them towards anything that may directly conflict with P & Z, and that she would be glad to add words to that effect. She said she would however, like the Ordinance Committee to be free to give input to the P & Z should they wish to even on ordinances affecting zoning matters. She did not want it to be off limits to them.

Sipe reiterated that the P & Z were subject matter experts in zoning. He said the Ordinance Committee should have expertise in legal matters, and consistency of code, what can and cannot be said, and in research etc. He said he did not want to see them suggest Ordinances to Council on Zoning.

Salter said she was not suggesting that.

Cohen said the Ordinance Committee would not be experts on legal matters, they would just know where to look for answers in Ordinance questions. He said any of the committees could pass their ordinances for the Ordinance Committee to review, but there should be consistency in how the ordinances were approached.

Sipe said after the P& Z has deliberated a zoning ordinance, the Ordinance Committee could look at it for form and consistency, but should not be considering the content as they are not subject matter experts in zoning.

There was general discussion about how committees could get information for ordinances, and research that could be done using outside sources.

Salter said the Ordinance Committee were not formed just to format Ordinances, but also to have their own ideas about Ordinances. She said she wanted to hear their ideas. She said she wanted them to go to P & Z if they have ideas about zoning, but they should not be restricted in what they choose to do.

Sipe said they should not be spending their Committee time discussing matters regarding zoning. This could also be applied to other areas such as the BLC, the Ordinance Committee should not decide upon restricted uses for example. He said it should be the BLC’s job

Reynolds said she didn’t understand why there was so much discussion on this subject. She said that she understood that the Committees are appointed by the Mayor, as are their charges. She said Sipe has made his recommendation, and it is Salter’s decision as to what to do with it. She said she liked the way the document reads, (the current version), and she was happy that it had been shared with Council.

Guthrie said she had mixed views, she could see both sides of the argument. She suggested the committees have a more restricted charge to start with, so they get their priorities done first. Then it can be changed as they get more experience and be broadened.

Salter said she preferred they had a broader charge to start with, so the committees can start where they wish. She said she would be happy to include more verbiage for Sipe, so that any P & Z Ordinances should be created by them, and to reinforce their role. However she did not want to forbid the Ordinance Committee to look at zoning ordinances completely. She said she would rewrite it and try to encompass some of the suggestions. She would encourage the Ordinance Committee to share their ideas for Ordinances, and if they included zoning ideas, she hoped they would share them with the P & Z, so they could write their own.

ORDINANCE PROCEDURE –SALTER
Salter distributed copies of Ordinance 3-206-9(a), which she said she had tried to get Council to take note of. She said it says:

a) Preparation. All ordinances shall be prepared or reviewed by the City attorney. No ordinance shall be prepared for presentation to the Council unless ordered by a majority vote of the Council, or requested in writing by the mayor, or prepared by the City attorney on his or her own initiative.

b.) Administrative staff approval. All ordinances, resolutions, and contract documents shall, before presentation to the Council, have been approved as to form and legality by the City attorney or his authorized representative, and shall have been examined and approved for administration by the mayor or his or her authorized representative where there are substantive matters of administration involved. All such instruments shall have first been referred to the head of the department responsible for the administration of the ordinance, resolution, or contract document.

Salter said she would like Council to adhere to the Ordinance, although she appreciated that Council were preparing their own Ordinances to save the City Attorney legal fees. She asked that everything be sent to the Attorney before it is brought to a meeting.

Sipe said that ordinances do require two reads, so the very most anyone could ask is that it is put on first read. If the City Attorney were not present, it could be postponed until he had seen it.

Salter said it does not always work that way. At the last meeting, Reynolds brought a change to the second read of the Mayors spending Ordinance at the meeting, which no one had seen before, even the attorney.

Sipe said nothing had changed significantly, and so there was no real issue with that one. However, he did agree that the public had not seen the change before either. He said there would have been if changes occurred.

Salter said the change in the Mayors spending ordinance did have consequences, which was explained to her by the City Attorney.
Carothers explained the difference.

Salter said it had left her confused, and that she takes her responsibility about spending very seriously. She said she would have felt much better if the change had gone through the City Attorney before Council voted on it. She said the bottom line was that Council should do as the Ordinance says or change it.

Reynolds said if things were going to be discussed in open meetings, then such a change would delay the process another two weeks. She said that was no problem, ordinances could be left for the attorney to check over until the next meeting, and voted upon then.

Salter said she was happy with that idea.

Reynolds described how she interpreted the current Ordinance.

Salter said she would still like to see proposed ordinances posted on the web site, and sent to Carothers before they are acted upon.

There was further discussion about how long the process could take, and how the process could be improved. It was agreed that the current Ordinance is not very clear about the process.

Zielazienski asked about discussing the issues by email, and if this can be done without contravening the Sunshine law.

Carothers said there were many issues with the use of email but none had been resolved. He suggested that it was fine to have email discourse, but to consider that eventually the email may become an open record by state law. He said when an email is written, it should be written as if it were open record.

Salter said that in general discussion should be able to go ahead in email with that in mind. However, if the discussion was regarding an issue that comes up in a meeting, then it should be posted on the web site as a reply to the proposed Ordinance.

Zielazienski said that in order to avoid lengthy meetings, it may be a good idea to “cook” the ideas by email first.

Salter said that a new or changed ordinance should be posted on the web site first, and copied to the City Attorney. Then any replies could be made to the posting in order to keep everything as open to the community as possible.

Sipe suggested other ways this could be achieved by posting emails on the website to make it easier.

Salter reiterated that any significant changes to Ordinances should be run by the City Attorney first. She said that a change in the current Ordinance may be appropriate for the Ordinance Committee to look at.

Sipe reiterated the idea adopting Robinson’s suggestion that Council wait four weeks for second read on any future ordinances. It would give longer time for review and public interaction.

Reynolds suggested that after the first read, the edits could be made as normal. Then at the next meeting two weeks later, it should be reviewed once again with the edits, so the final clean copy could be ready for the next meeting.

Salter said it was a great suggestion.

Citizen Comment
Debbie Robinson- 540 Lakeshore Drive
Robinson asked Council to think how they would like the Ordinances drafted for their review, in the legal format or as a working document.

THERE BEING NO MORE BUSINESS, SIPE MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:49 PM. ZIELAZIENSKI SECONDED THE MOTION, AND ALL WERE IN FAVOR. MOTION PASSED.

Respectfully submitted

Jackie Wall, City Clerk