CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE

4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD

BERKELEY LAKE, GEORGIA 30096

PUBLIC HEARING/COUNCIL MEETING

FULL MINUTES FOR January 9, 2003

Those in attendance for the Public Hearing and Council Meeting were as follows:

Mayor – Lois Salter

Council Members – Betty Covington, Frank Lombardi, Ken Massaroni, Delicia Reynolds, David Steventon

Richard Carothers – City Attorney

Tom Kitchens – BLEMA

Marcie Zielazienski – Deputy City Clerk

Citizens Present - 8

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Salter called the meeting to order at 6:05 PM at 4043 South Berkeley Lake Road.

CITIZENS COMMENTS

A Citizens comment was made by the representing police officer. He stated that he is looking for a lost flashlight that he lost during a traffic stop in September. He noticed a red Corvette at the time and asks citizens to please look out for the car and driver so that he can ask if they saw the flashlight that evening. Council Member Steventon stated that he might know who it is and would ask the homeowner.

WORKING SESSION

Topics discussed during the Council Work Session included the following: Contracts coming up for bid which are the following: Roadside Maintenance, Dam Maintenance, and Waste Management. The Mayor suggested that the City combine the Roadside Maintenance and Dam Maintenance in one bid. Council Member Lombardi asked Mr. Kitchens if he was happy with the dam maintenance. Mr. Kitchens replied that although he was happier than with the contractor who had been maintaining the dam prior to the last contract, he feels that ultimately the job of Roadside Maintenance and Dam Maintenance should be combined thus the City officials would only have to monitor one person. The monitoring of the maintenance contractors has been difficult in the past and he would like to alleviate this potential problem. After discussion, it was decided to present the contract as separate line items so that contractors can bid each item within the contract.

Claire Grimes presented the Waste Industries contract proposal for 2003-2004. After much discussion, Council asked Ms. Grimes to propose the new price to be $48.00 per quarter for every week yard waste pick up and report back to Council at the January 16th meeting.

After discussion, Council decided that the next retreat date would be Saturday, February 22nd at 8:00 AM. This date will be finalized at the January 16th meeting.

The Mayor appointed Council Members to continue to head the following committees: Frank Lombardi—Conservation, Delicia Reynolds—Finance. Council Members were asked to begin work to have committee members' names by January 16th. The Mayor also appointed Tom Kitchens to continue to monitor the dam.

MINUTES

Council Member Reynolds moved to approve the November 19th, 2002 Minutes with the correction to change on page 2 under Announcements and Appointments the last sentence to say; "the Miramont ARC would decide when the fence comes down." Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

The Minutes from the September 21st retreat will be approved at the January 16th Council meeting.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Council Member Reynolds motioned to accept the Financial Report for November. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

The Mayor stated that she has received reports from the OEO and the Police. The remainder of the reports will be due by the January 16th Council meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mayor Salter announced that Charlie Sewell has brought a copy of the Ordinances from the City of Auburn to share with anyone who is interested. They will be in City Hall for the next few weeks if anyone would like to view them.

APPOINTMENTS

Mayor Salter reappointed Claire Grimes as the City Clerk.

Council Member Lombardi motioned to accept the appointment of Claire Grimes for City Clerk. Council Member Steventon seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter reappointed Richard Carothers as the City Attorney.

Council Member Massaroni motioned to accept the appointment of Richard Carothers as the City Attorney. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter reappointed Charlie Sewell as the Ordinance Enforcement Officer.

Council Member Massaroni motioned to accept the appointment of Charlie Sewell as the Ordinance Enforcement Officer. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter appointed Jan McKinney as the Chief Judge and Margaret Washburn as Associate Judge.

Council Member Lombardi motioned to accept the appointments of Jan McKinney as Chief Judge and Margaret Washburn as Associate Judge. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter appointed George Sipe to a three-year term on the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Council Member Reynolds motioned to accept the appointment of George Sipe to a three-year term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter appointed Wayne Mitch to replace Juan Armendariz on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mayor Salter stated that Wayne has lived in the City for over 20 years and has served the community in numerous ways including heading up the project of cleaning out the lake from all the silt left over from the building of Miramont. He has integrity and intelligence and is an appraiser of property so therefore, could bring to this job a great deal of knowledge about the issues. Council Member Lombardi asked to hear similar information about the other candidates for this position. Mr. Lombardi also stated that Council might benefit from the input from the P&Z on candidates. The Mayor stated that she has already solicited the input from Chairman Sipe. Chairman Sipe stated that in fact, the Mayor has contacted him but it is not up to the P&Z to choose. "All we can do is give advice as does the Council give advice to the Mayor because it is her decision who she nominates." He further stated that he agrees that the person she has selected is an excellent candidate for the job. He is not the only excellent candidate but he defers to the Mayor as being her choice. Council Member Massaroni asked Chairman Sipe to recite the current names and addresses of the members currently serving on the P&Z. Council Member Massaroni pointed out that all four members live in the lake community. Chairman Sipe stated that we all live in Berkeley Lake and the P&Z represents the entire community. Council Member Massaroni stated that that wasn't the question. Chairman Sipe stated that the current members of the P&Z do not live in any of the newer subdivisions. Council Member Massaroni stated that he feels that the representation on the P&Z should be from one of the newer communities. Chairman Sipe stated that the Mayor specifically asked him about this topic and he stated that he feels very strongly that Juan in no way ever represented the interest of Miramont. Juan was always completely impartial, as is every other person on the P&Z. If Juan had been representing the interests of Miramont then he would not have been following the guidelines that he needs to and are stated in Chapter 39 for the consideration of a Variance. Council Member Massaroni stated that he did not say that he did. He further stated that he was pointing out that people from different parts of the community would understand different issues from different perspectives. Where people live in this community absolutely gives them a different perspective. "The City has a Council which has four lake members versus one newer community member. Now we will have a P&Z, which will have no representation from the community outside the lake community. As a result, I think that is a very bad precedent to set and I have gone out to find someone from the Miramont community that has expressed an interest and who is a very fine candidate. He has worked in the Miramont community. He worked on the ARC and looked at revising the ARC guidelines several years ago. He is a fine upstanding member of the community and well respected in Miramont. This is an opportunity to bring a very fine candidate into City business." Chairman Sipe continued speaking by stating that he had told the Mayor that the P&Z was not the place to be a learning environment. It is hard to get people off the P&Z because you have to do it with cause, you have to do it in writing and there has to be a Public Hearing. It is not the place to have a learning experience with City government. Chairman Sipe further stated that he has stressed to the Mayor that in so far as she has been elected as the Mayor and the Code calls for her to make the nomination; that she nominate someone that she is personally familiar with and trusts. Council Member Reynolds stated that she thinks it is a good opportunity for that person to take back to the Miramont community the zoning issues and it might be a great way to educate another part of the City. Council Member Covington stated that she does not know either of the two people under discussion; however, having just built a house that needed a variance she can say that from a homeowners perspective, she was uncomfortable with having the person making a decision about whether she could do something or not be also the person that had a very personal experience with the property she purchased. She stated that she might have a problem with a person who makes their living as a property appraiser and would be making P&Z decisions for the same people. The homeowner might feel as if they are being treated unfairly. Council Member Lombardi agreed with Council Member Covington and stated that it was also a concern for him. Mr. Lombardi further stated that he has a concern with Skip Johnson, who is an active real estate agent, being on the P&Z. Mr. Lombardi also stated that he supports Mr. Massaroni's thoughts on making sure that there is representation from the newer neighborhoods.

No motion was made.

Council Member Massaroni requested that the Mayor appoint Dan Maslaney to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Mayor Salter stated the following: "Unfortunately I can not do that until I talk with him and I need to do that. I have already talked with two other people and I feel real strongly about both of them so I am going to appoint both of them or at least make an effort to appoint them tonight; you all may feel strongly about Dan and you may have to wait until next week."

Mayor Salter appointed Gary Moore to replace Juan Armendariz on the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Council Member Massaroni stated that he objects to the whole process. "If we are going to wait for a whole week and you are telling me you have to talk to this other candidate and yet you are going to put a second and third candidate of your choice before you talk to mine and potentially run those candidates up for a vote, that is fundamentally unfair. I have given you good reason why I think my candidate should be considered and you have heard at least several other people say that fundamentally the individual sounds like he should be considered. I would suggest that we defer this until next week instead."

Mayor Salter stated, "let me respond to that because I understand what you are saying and I disagree. I did make an effort to find out about Dan by asking what he had done and the only thing that I have heard is also valuable to me. I share your feeling that it is valuable to have someone from Miramont represented on the P&Z. If I had frankly heard from you earlier about this guy, I might not have gone out beating the bushes; but I did and having found these people that I am frankly astonished would be willing to do it and knowing what I know about your candidate. The only factor that I have heard is that he lives in Miramont." Council Member Massaroni stated that he sent an email outlining Dan's qualifications about what he has done in Miramont. "Did you not get that?"

Mayor Salter stated that she had gotten an email stating that Dan had been active in Miramont activities and emailed back to ask if you (Mr. Massaroni) could elaborate and you emailed back and said essentially the same thing.

Council Member Massaroni stated, "it was not in direct response to the Mayor's email, but in response to someone else that I explained where Dan worked and what he had done in Miramont and how long he lived there etc."

Mayor Salter stated that Mr. Massaroni must not have sent the email to her. She further stated that the only email she received was a vague statement saying that Dan had been active in the community and that by itself did not add up to her. "These people I feel so strongly about that I wish to make these appointments based on what you have let me know about Dan. If there is something else about him other than he lives in Miramont ... as I have tried to say before, I do think that is valuable, I just think that the P&Z, as George said, is not the same as my suggestion earlier that people be brought into committees. I think the P&Z is much more critical. I think if we have the benefit of someone who has served the community, the whole community not just a part of it, actively and wonderfully well for years that a large number of people know and trust, I feel like that is a superior qualification and having that choice, my choice is to nominate Gary Moore. Gary invented Earth Day, which has had a huge impact on our City. He has served on the Arbitration Board and on BLEMA. All these things are citywide activities. He has served on the Chapel board and has been Vice President and Secretary of BLHA. This is not just a lake group but the only community organization that is open to everyone in the City. Gary has very little travel that would keep him away from the City. He works out of his home and is a financial planner and advisor. He is my next appointment."

Council Member Covington motioned to approve the appointment of Gary Moore to the P&Z. There was no second to the motion.

Mayor Salter appointed Rodney Hammond to replace Juan Armendariz on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Rodney has worked with the Berkeley Lake Conservancy. He is a well thought of person in the community. He has served on BLHA as a leader.

No motion was made.

Mayor Salter stated, "there being no motion, I will call Dan and if there is anyone else you would like me to consider, please let me know because I would like to get this done this week if we can. I just feel very strongly about the person versus the area." Council Member Massaroni stated that he will have Dan contact the Mayor this week. Mr. Massaroni also stated that all the candidates the Mayor has nominated are outstanding individuals and are people who have done great things for the community; but he feels passionately about the importance of having a balance to the extent we can get a balance on every governmental body in the City. He realizes that the newer communities do not have the same degree of participation in activities as the people in the older part of the City; so when people from the newer communities volunteer we should not discourage them.

The Mayor stated that she would like to appoint the following people to the Arbitration Board: Tom Kitchens as the Chairman, Sherry Ruys, Gary Moore and Bill Crawley. There is a vacancy created by the absence of Ray Dunlap and Mayor Salter stated that although Debbie Guthrie is part of the old community she would like to appoint her. There was much discussion.

Council Member Lombardi motioned to accept the appointments by the Mayor for the Arbitration Board. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter appointed Tom Kitchens to continue as head of the Berkeley Lake Emergency Management Agency.

Council Member Massaroni motioned to accept the Mayor's appointment of Tom Kitchens to BLEMA. Council Member Steventon seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter stated that she would like to appoint Marcie Zielazienski as the new Director of Roads and Public Works. "Her job performance has been wonderful. We have accomplished more with her informally doing that work than we did when we had a City Manager. The reporting back to us as a group has been very good. She has done a good job. One Council Member has suggested that to increase her pay to $17 an hour might be acceptable but not the title." The Mayor stated that the title is significant because when Marcie calls the County and interacts with others on public works issues, it makes a difference to be able to identify herself as the Director of Roads and Public Works as opposed to the Deputy City Clerk. She can still continue to support Claire and that has worked well for them. There were many questions asked by Council, which included the ability of the Director of Roads and Public Works to enter into contracts. The City Attorney explained that in fact, the Director of Public Works has been given no power to execute contracts or anything of that nature. "These must come to the Council to be authorized and then executed by the Mayor." Another question was the possibility of a conflict between any future City Manager and the Public Works position because the job descriptions overlap. The Mayor answered by stating that at this point we do not have a City Manager and probably won't have one any time soon. When we do get a City Manager, he or she could end the Public Works job. "It is wrong to ask Marcie to do the phenomenal job she has done without being compensated or recognized or have the support of the title to do her job well. We have to deal with the reality as it currently exists." Council Member Lombardi stated that although Marcie has been doing a great job, the Public Works position is a job description that needs to be revised. He suggested the possibility to increase the salary as Council Member Reynolds suggests and give her an acting title until a City Manager is hired. This would allow her to be recognized appropriately around the County etc. while we define the job description. The Mayor stated that she does not see what we gain by tacking "acting" on the front of her title other than to diminish her authority with people that she needs to deal with.

Ms. Zielazienski stated that right now there is a tremendous amount of Public Works on the table. It is very hard to try to do this job without a title because when calling people high up in the County or State, sometimes it is difficult. It is important for whoever does this job to have a title. "When a City Manager comes on board if they decide they don't want this position that is fine with me."

Mayor Salter stated that she appoints Marcie Zielazienski to the Director of Roads and Public Works.

Council Member Covington motioned to accept the appointment. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Mayor Salter then asked Council to move in response to her request that the salary for that job be set at $17.00 and hour.

Council Member Covington motioned to accept the Mayors request of $17.00 an hour for the position of Director of Roads and Public Works. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Council Member Reynolds motioned that Ms. Zielazienski's pay raise to $17.00 an hour be effective January 1st, 2003. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Council Member Covington stated that when a City Manager is hired she would like to see this person and Marcie sit down and separate these jobs a little bit better so that she won't (once again) be doing a job that is twelve levels above what she is getting paid for. There needs to be fairness.

The Mayor stated that if we make a change as major as bringing in a new City Manager, then all the job descriptions will need to change. I think it is fair to say that all the City employees have worked well together to accomplish the tasks before us, including the Public Works issues.

OLD BUSINESS

Policy on use of City Logo - Carothers

Attorney Carothers stated that he has sent out the proposed Resolution and the Trademark and Trade Name License Agreement and to date he has received comments a few minutes ago from Mr. Massaroni. He thinks this will work for the City. He will incorporate Mr. Massaroni's comments and have it ready for the next meeting.

City Manager – Steventon

Council Member Steventon stated that Council had approved (in October) the going forward with exploration of a City Manager. Mr. Steventon had suggested at that time that the job description be reviewed in order to make the position more meaningful and more effective to the City. "We have done that and have passed some copies of the proposed changes to Council and Mayor. Mr. Steventon asked for suggestions from Council and the Mayor regarding the changes. The intent of the new document is to specify the knowledge and skills required for the position. Most of the job descriptions in the Code do not contain the basic language that says, 'these are the skills required for the job.' The Codes as they stand now are very vague."

The Mayor suggested that when important documents are changed to please get it on the website so that all of us can view it; not just for this, but for anything we change in the future. Anything that we are going to discuss at Council needs to be placed on the website as much in advance as possible. Mayor Salter further stated that she would like something said in the document to make clear that they (the City Manager) get along with other people; that they have effective inter-personal skills and will work well as a team. This needs to be specified very clearly. Secondly, there needs to be an ethical provision.

Council Member Massaroni stated that he believes that the matter of ethics is addressed to cover all positions held in the City in another area of the Code. Attorney Carothers agreed.

Council Member Reynolds stated that there is too much overlap of the responsibilities of Treasurer.

Council Member Lombardi stated that the City Manager would have the responsibility to oversee the Budget to make sure that it is done and done on time etc. The City Treasurer would report to the City Manager, as would all department heads. The City Manager would then be held accountable to the Mayor and Council.

Council Member Covington stated, "I think that unless it is clearly delineated for the person that holds this job there could be some uncomfortable situations with this person reporting to the Mayor as well as to the City Council. It needs to be clearly stated when an issue needs to be brought to the whole Council or when conversation with the Mayor is adequate. We don't want to hamstring someone that we put into a new job."

There was discussion about whether to place the changes on First Read. Attorney Carothers stated that only changes to Chapter 39 needs a Public Hearing and advertisement.

The decision by Mayor and Council was to make the necessary changes and place on the website and then possibly place on the Agenda for February.

City Hall Planning Update

Council Member Massaroni introduced Ben Nash from the Capital Commons project. Mr. Nash answered questions and showed drawings with site plans and elevations of the office buildings. There was also discussion of the possible annexation of the Capital Commons development into the City. There was much discussion and Council asked many questions. This information was part of the ongoing investigation of planning for a New City Hall building versus looking at other alternatives like the Capital Commons building for our City Hall. Mike Penny was going to put pins around the existing City Hall to show where a possible new City Hall would be built, but to date there are none.

Resolution re: City/County Inspection Agreement – Carothers

Attorney Carothers stated that he is trying to set up a meeting for he and Council Member Steventon to meet with the County to get the questions answered about the vague definitions. Council Member Reynolds asked if Attorney Carothers would meet with the County to expedite the situation even if a Council Member can not attend. Attorney Carothers answered in the affirmative. Council Member Covington asked what happens during this time of negotiation. Attorney Carothers stated that he believes that the County is still doing the inspections. The Mayor asked if we could finalize this issue by the February meeting. Council Member Reynolds stated that she would like for the City Attorney to meet with the County at his earliest convenience; and could Council resolve the agreement without these procedures. Attorney Carothers stated that there are some questions about the basic agreement and we ought to ask them. The County is continuing to do what is in the agreement. We need to learn more about the definitions.

Building Permit Revisions

Council Member Steventon stated that the Inspection Agreement and Permit Revisions go hand in hand and what we are trying to do is be certain that when we contract services with the County, we are not duplicating the services in the City.

County Development Regs and Floodplain Mgt. Ordinance

Claire Grimes stated that Ordinance is advertised for Public Hearing on January 16th, 2003.

Annexation and Rezoning of Ferrier Property

Advertised for Public Hearing on January 16, 2003.

Sidewalks

Marcie Zielazienski stated that because the City could incur the entire cost of the sidewalks, she would need approval from Council in order to move forward. Kim Conroy with the County DOT says that the sidewalk does not fall under the criteria for the County because of the distance sidewalks would be placed from the road. There was much discussion about who owned the property. Council Member Lombardi and Ms. Zielazienski will continue to work with the County and contact the Berkeley Walk Association to obtain a clearer picture of the placement of the sidewalk.

Kudzu

The Mayor announced that there is no Kudzu in our greenspace. Greg Harris has walked the area and states that the Kudzu is a few years away from reaching the City property.

NEW BUSINESS

Home Occupation Ordinance, 1st read – Sipe

Mr. Sipe stated that Council has asked the P&Z to look at the Home Occupation Ordinance in regards to what types of activities could be permitted in a residential district without being considered running a business from that location as the primary purpose of the location. These are changes to Code 39-811. Many questions were asked by the Council Members, such as: are stables or kennels grandfathered and clarification of the accessory structure clause. Chairman Sipe explained that the P&Z explored the changes by asking themselves what they would feel if each and every one of their neighbors went to the maximum in these ways. Mayor Salter asked that the changes be placed on the website so that all people in the City could see the potential changes.

Council Member Massaroni motioned to place the Home Occupation Ordinance on First Read. Council Member Reynolds seconded the motion. Four Council Members approved with Council Member Steventon abstaining.

Shoulder Boulders – Zielazienski

Ms. Zielazienski stated that she recommends that the boulders be removed from Ridge Rd. There was discussion about moving the boulders to the foot of the dam. After discussion, Council approved the removal of the boulders in other areas where they could present a hazard to vehicles. Council Member Reynolds also asked Ms. Zielazienski to look into the drainage problems so that dangerous curbing can be removed from the side of the road; and report back with a cost estimate at the February meeting.

Biker Signs

Claire Grimes reported on the cost and the design of the proposed biker signs along Lakeshore. Council Member Reynolds stated that she is opposed to putting up any more signs in the City. "The bikers know that they are subject to all traffic laws. The signs won't solve the problem; they will just be littering the City with more signs. A better solution would be for the police officers to stop every biker, whether they are in violation or not, and remind them of the law." There was much discussion about the cost and the placement of the signs. Council Member Steventon stated that he has asked the police officer his opinion and the officer said that signs don't stop bad behavior. It will take stopping them on a Saturday during the spring when the bikers are out in large numbers. The message will get out quickly. The Mayor stated that Berkeley Lake needs to become the biker's speedtrap of Gwinnett County! The consensus of Council was to contact the Police during the Spring and ask them to stop the bikers and remind them of the law.

Chapel Lease Agreement – Theresa Sipe

Ms. Sipe presented the Lease Agreement and answered questions asked by Council. The only major changes are the amount of the rental; the rent will go up after the renovation. The Chapel Board suggests a 40% discount to the City because of the two-year lease. If there is a one-year lease, the discount would be 20%. There was discussion about dates the City will be using the Chapel. Earth Day will be April 12th. Ms. Sipe stated that a one-year lease for eighteen meetings would be $3600.00 at $200.00 per meeting.

Council Member Covington motioned to accept the Chapel Lease Agreement for one year. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.

Capital Commons – Ken Massaroni

Council agreed that Mr. Massaroni should endeavor to take the citizens committee to visit the Capital Commons project so that they can see for themselves the pros and cons of the project possibilities.

Other

Ms. Zielazienski stated that the City needs to pay the taxes on the Ferrier property. Council authorized the payment.

Mayor Salter stated that the City now has an arrangement with the Gwinnett County Jail such that people for whom we send out Bench Warrants or who are in violation of our laws or our Municipal Court may be incarcerated in the County Jail.

Council Member Lombardi stated that he has been asked to become part of the E-Alert program, which will cost $55.00 for the year. He will be submitting an invoice for reimbursement to the City.

Council Member Steventon stated that City would be sponsoring a Relay for Life team again this year and the cost of sponsorship is $100.00. Volunteers are welcome and needed.

Council Member Reynolds reminded Council that the City article for Reflections will be due on February 1st and asked everyone to be thinking what they might like to contribute.

CITIZENS COMMENTS

George Sipe stated the following: "I want to preface my comments with this has nothing to do with the Planning & Zoning Commission as the topic I am about to address is not related at all to zoning. It is a topic, which I have addressed privately in e-mail, but I definitely want to have on the record at this time. This is the issue of safety inspections in Berkeley Lake and Councilman Steventon's involvement with those changes, which has to do with the fact, as you are all aware, he is involved in an active construction project. To have him as the lead person designated by Council and still continuing at this time – as you know you have asked him to work with our City Attorney to work on some of the provisions of how this agreement might be worked out with the County – is clearly a conflict of interest. This is a significant ethics issue and he should not be the person doing this. There are other people on Council who do not have that conflict of interest who should be appointed to that function. With Council allowing him to remain in that role, you are becoming a party to this problem ... the second thing I want to address is that the County may or may not (I assume they are because you say they are) be continuing to inspect as always. I don't believe it is as always. I believe we are in a situation where they don't have legal authority to do this; so that if in fact, they are allowed to come onto a property (and it pretty much has to be up to the homeowner's invitation) and find a violation and put a Stop Work Order on it until the safety violation is addressed; I doubt they could actually enforce that. That is a significant issue as well. I did point this out in an e-mail; this is continuing to be unresolved and the wrong person is continuing to lead the effort. What should happen is you should authorize the Mayor enter into an agreement with the County at the earliest possible opportunity; you can revise that at any time if you have cause to believe that there is a term or condition that is inappropriate. In the meantime, I believe we have an ongoing ethics issue and the City may be at some risk for liability at some point in the future if the lack of a safety inspection causes a problem."

The Mayor asked Council if there was a need to move into Executive Session. There was discussion; it was decided to adjourn without Executive Session.

Tom Kitchens stated the following: "I am sorry that I let the Citizens Comments pass after George made the comment that he did and I fully expected to hear some position from a Council Member or the City Attorney. I didn't hear his question answered and I really feel uncomfortable at this point with what he posed to the City Council with no follow-up either by our City Attorney or another Council Member. I would like to hear that. I feel like there is a conflict of interest that was well pointed out by George, so if nothing else, I would like to hear what the City Attorney's thoughts are about this."

Attorney Carothers responded by saying, "With all due respect I am not going to reply on a conflict of interest question. If the Council wants me to issue an opinion I will do so, but I am not going to off-the-cuff respond to something of that gravity and I will have to look at the Code sections and so forth."

Tom Kitchens asked, "What is the position of the rest of Council? What are your thoughts about what George posed to this Council? Is that a conflict of interest?"

Mayor Salter stated that we are not in Citizens' Comments now so could we take that up at the next meeting? Tom Kitchens agreed to the Mayor's suggestion.

Council Member Lombardi motioned to adjourn the Council meeting. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion. The Council meeting adjourned at 9:25PM.

Respectfully,

Claire Grimes

City Clerk