CITY OF BERKELEY LAKE
4040 BERKELEY LAKE ROAD
BERKELEY LAKE, GEORGIA 30096
PUBLIC HEARING/COUNCIL MEETING
Full Minutes
February 20th 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, and David Steventon
City Attorney - Thomas Mitchell for Richard Carothers
City Clerk - Claire Grimes
BLEMA – Tom Kitchens
Public Works – Marcie Zielazienski
Citizens Present - 9
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Salter called the meeting to order at the Berkeley Walk Clubhouse at 6:05 PM.
PUBLIC HEARING
A Public Hearing was held in order for citizens to comment on the following: The 2002 Budget Amendment and the Home Occupation Ordinance.
CITIZENS COMMENTS
There were no Citizens Comments
MINUTES
Council Member Steventon motioned to approve the January 9th 2003 Minutes as amended. Council Member Covington seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Council Member Reynolds motioned to approve the January 16th Minutes as corrected. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Council Member Steventon motioned to approve the September 21st Council Retreat Minutes. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Council Member Reynolds moved to accept the Financial Report as filed. Council Member Covington seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
STAFF AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mayor Salter announced that she has received the following reports: BLEMA, Arbitration Board, Finance Affairs, Stormwater Management, Communications, OEO and Police Report. Council Member Reynolds asked to be excused from reporting on the Finance Committee until such time that there is activity. Council agreed.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Mayor announced the GMA convention will be held in Savannah GA on June 21st - 24th. She also announced that Council will be having a retreat on February 22nd in City Hall at 8:00 AM. The Agenda will include the following discussions: New City Hall, City Manager, Conservancy, Dam and City Police. The Mayor also announced that Earth Day is April 12th. David Steventon will be in charge of the event. There will be much activity during the day. Mr. Steventon reported that other activities will include a Relay for Life Boat Wash, which will be a fundraiser for Relay for Life; a demonstration of electric boat motors will also be conducted and a seminar on trees will be held in the picnic area. Organization is underway for a lecture on “Lake Chemistry and the Fish” to be held in the picnic area. There will be hands-on demonstrations of the usage of kayaks and canoes at the beach area. There will be a T-Shirt sale in commemoration of Earth Day. We are also going to have a Town Hall Meeting in the Chapel which will be a presentation to citizens by the Berkeley Lake Conservancy and GOLT to explain to citizens about the Greenspace Land Trust. Citizens will have an opportunity to ask questions about this important issue. Council Member Lombardi announced that for the fourth year the City of Berkeley Lake has been named a Tree City USA.
OLD BUSINESS
Berkeley Lake Conservancy Exploration
Chairman Rodney Hammond began discussion by explaining the work done by the Conservancy to explore the options for preserving the City greenspace and to lay out a plan of informing the public about this issue. Mr. Hammond requested that the City Council make a commitment to take this issue further to the broader public by way of sponsoring a town hall meeting to discuss the issue prior to making a final decision. There was much discussion and many questions were asked by Council and the citizens present. There will be a letter mailed to all citizens that will explain more detail about the purpose of the Town Hall Meeting
City Manager – Steventon
Council Member Steventon presented the City Manager job description that has now been placed on the website. There was much discussion.
Council Member Massaroni motioned to place the City Manager Ordinance on First Read. Council Member Steventon seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Ordinance Chapter 17, Septic Systems
Discussion was postponed pending additional information.
New City Hall – Massaroni
Council Member Massaroni reported on the committee's visit to Capital Commons. He also reported that it was decided to explore the cost of rebuilding the existing City Hall in order to form a cost comparison. Mike Penny has been asked to develop plans that we could actually build from so that we can get a real cost estimate for rebuilding the current City Hall. These plans should be available by the next Council meeting.
Public Works Projects
The Public Works Director Marcie Zielazienski reported on the tasks and projects covered by her department in the last month. Council asked many questions.
Sidewalks
Marcie Zielazienski reported on the status of the sidewalk to be built from Berkeley Walk to the elementary school.
Home Occupation Ordinance – Sipe
After discussion, Council Member Massaroni motioned to table the discussion until George Sipe can be present to answer questions. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
2002 Budget Amendment – Reynolds
Council Member Reynolds motioned to adopt the Budget Amendment for 2002. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
NEW BUSINESS
Annual Roadside Maintenance Contract – Zielazienski
Ms. Zielazienski went over the list of questions asked by Council members. There was much discussion and some changes to the contract were made.
Council Member Massaroni motioned to put the Roadside Maintenance Contract up for bid subject to the amendments that have been discussed and that the Director of Public Works and Council Member Covington work together to clarify the hourly rate issue. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and four Council Members approved with Council Member Steventon abstaining.
LGIP Banking Issue
Council Member Reynolds motioned to adopt the Resolution for Banking required to change the signature card. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Greenspace Resolution
The Council discussed the greenspace documents presented by Attorney Mitchell.
Council Member Steventon motioned to adopt the County Greenspace Resolution. Council Member Massaroni seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
The following citizens made comments:
Theresa Sipe – 401 Lakeshore Drive – Theresa Sipe and Nick Lore presented a proposal from the Chapel committee to Council on conducting a Fun Run fundraiser for the Chapel. The event would require Lakeshore Drive and North and South Berkeley Lake Roads to be closed for a few hours (approximately 9AM to 12Noon) on the day chosen for the event. The Chapel will be charging $10.00 a person or $20.00 a family to run in the Fun Run. Refreshments will be confined to the Chapel grounds. There was discussion about the roads being closed to residents who may need to leave their homes. Police protection was also discussed along with the possibility of closing only half of the road. There was also discussion about the permitting of this type of event for one group and not for all groups who might apply later. The City Attorney stated that it is in fact very difficult once the City has allowed one group to have this type of event to turn down other groups of any kind. There was much discussion about how the City could legally allow the event which included making the Fun Run part of another event being held by the City. There was another issue about the legality of linking the Fun Run to a City event because the Chapel will be requiring donations. The City Attorney stated that he would look into the entire matter and have an answer for Council before the next meeting.
Nick Lore – 50 Lakeshore Drive -As a result of comments made by Nick Lore, the following motion was made:
Council Member Massaroni motioned to amend the agenda to include consideration of an Ordinance relating to the use of motorized vehicles in the City owned greenspace. Council Member Covington seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
Council Member Massaroni motioned to place on First Read an Ordinance to be formalized with the assistance of counsel to forbid the use of motorized vehicles in the City owned greenspace without prior authorization from the City. Council Member Lombardi seconded the motion and approval was unanimous.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER NEW BUSINESS, COUNCIL MEMBER MASSARONI MOTIONED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. COUNCIL MEMBER REYNOLDS SECONDED THE MOTION AND APPROVAL WAS UNANIMOUS. THE COUNCIL MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 9:10 PM.
Respectfully,
Claire Grimes
City Clerk
