City Council

January 23, 2017 STATE OF ALABAMA, LIMESTONE COUNTY, CITY OF ATHENS. The City Council of the City of Athens, Alabama met in regular session at the Athens Municipal Building, 200 Hobbs Street West in the said City on January 23, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Councilman Joseph Cannon, President of the Council. Upon roll call the following were found to be present: Councilmember Chris Seibert, Harold Wales, Frank Travis, Joseph Cannon and Wayne Harper. Kade Sparks, Kennedi Brown and Jonah Griffin, members of the Mayor’s Youth Commission, joined Mayor Marks in leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Annette Barnes, City Clerk, was present and recorded the minutes of the meeting. Joseph Cannon offered the invocation. The Chairperson stated that a quorum was present and that the meeting was open for transaction of business. The Chairperson stated that the Minutes of the January 5, 2017 City Council Meeting had been submitted for approval. Councilman Seibert moved that the reading of the Minutes be suspended and that the Minutes be approved as recorded. The motion was seconded by Councilman Harper and was unanimously carried. The Chairperson stated that the Minutes of the January 5, 2017 City Council Work Session Meeting had been submitted for approval. Councilman Seibert moved that the reading of the Minutes be suspended and that the Minutes be approved as recorded. The motion was seconded by Councilman Harper and was unanimously carried. Councilman Travis introduced the cast of “Arise and Build,” the musical about the Historic Trinity School based on the book written by author Charlotte Fulton. The cast performed a song from the musical, “Sunday Morning.” Councilman Travis extended an invitation to everyone to attend the event, scheduled for the first weekend in February. Proceeds from the musical will benefit the activities held at the Pincham-Lincoln Center to be held the first weekend in February. A public hearing was held to hear comments on a rezoning request for property located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Lindsay lane and Summit Lake Drive. Council President Cannon turned the gavel over to Council President Pro Tem Seibert to preside over the public hearing related to the rezoning request and the subsequent vote on the related ordinance. James Rich, Public Works Director, stated that the City’s Planning Commission has heard the request and recommends the City Council approve the rezoning request. The public hearing was closed. Councilman Harper introduced the following ordinance: STATE OF ALABAMA, LIMESTONE COUNTY, CITY OF ATHENS. ORDINANCE NUMBER 2017-2011 AN ORDINANCE TO REZONE PROPERTY FOR BILLY CANNON JR AND LINDSAY LANE BAPTIST CHURCH FROM THE R-1-3 AND R-2-1 RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS TO THE B-3 BUSINESS DISTRICT. PROPERTY CONSISTS OF APPROXIMATELY 2.58 ACRES LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF THE INTERSECTION OF LINDSAY LANE AND SUMMIT LAKES DRIVE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Athens, Alabama, has heretofore adopted, “The Zoning Ordinance of the City of Athens, Alabama,” and, 1  WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Athens, Alabama, has made a recommendation to the City Council of the City of Athens, Alabama, that the hereinafter described area should be rezoned from the R-1-3 and R-2-1 Residential Districts to the B-3 Highway Business District. The City Council of the City of Athens, Alabama, finds that “The Zoning Ordinance of the City of Athens, Alabama,” should be amended so as to rezone the hereinafter described area as “B-3”. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, as follows: That all of the hereinafter described area or real estate is hereby zoned “B-3 Highway Business District” in accordance with and defined by “The Zoning Ordinance of the City of Athens, Alabama,” and that the area which is zoned as aforesaid is situated in Athens, Limestone County, Alabama, and is more particularly described as follows: A tract or parcel of land located in the Southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 3 South, Range 4 West, Limestone County, Alabama, and being more particularly described as follows, Commence from the intersection of the centerlines of Lindsay Lane and Summit Lakes Drive, said point also being the Point of True Beginning; thence North 89 degrees 44 minutes 1 seconds West along the centerline of Summit Lakes Drive a distance of 430 feet to a point; thence South 1 degrees 26 minutes 5 seconds West a distance of 313.1 feet to a point; thence South 87 degrees 58 minutes 41 seconds East a distance of 349.9 feet to a point; thence South 1 degrees 59 minutes 22 seconds East a distance of 26.2 feet to a point; thence South 88 degrees 00 minutes 38 seconds East a distance of 80.1 feet to a point on the centerline of Lindsay Lane; thence North 1 degrees 10 minutes 10 seconds East along the centerline of Lindsay Lane a distance of 352.4 feet to the Point of True Beginning, and containing 2.58 acres, more or less, plus public rights-of-way. ADOPTED and APPROVED: This the 23rd day of January, 2017. /s/ Joseph Cannon PRESIDENT, CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA /s/ William R. Marks MAYOR, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA ATTEST: /s/ Annette Barnes CITY CLERK, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA Councilmember Travis moved that unanimous consent be given for immediate consideration of and action on said ordinance, which motion was seconded by Councilmember Wales, and upon the said motion being put to vote the following vote was recorded: YEAS: Councilmembers Seibert, Wales, Travis, and Harper; NAYS: None. One abstention by Councilman Cannon. The President thereupon declared that the motion for unanimous consent for immediate consideration of and action on the said ordinance had been unanimously carried. Councilmember Harper thereupon moved that the ordinance be finally adopted, which motion was seconded by Councilmember Travis and upon the said motion being put to vote the following vote was recorded: YEAS: Councilmembers Seibert, Wales, Travis, and Harper; NAYS: None. One abstention by Councilman Cannon. The President thereupon announced that the motion for the adoption of the said ordinance had been unanimously carried. Council President Cannon rejoined the meeting and resumed presiding over the remainder of the Council meeting. A public hearing was held to hear comments on charges for weed liens for properties located at: 1310 Woodside Drive, 700 North Clinton Street, 1200 Elkton Street, vacant lot on Plato Jones Street, 808 Irvin Street, 1416 North Houston Street and 1200 Elkton Street. No one spoke in favor of or against. 2 The public hearing was closed. Councilman Travis introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION NUMBER 2017-1507 A RESOLUTION ASCERTAINING, FIXING AND DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF ASSESSMENT TO BE CHARGED AS A WEED LIEN ON CERTAIN PROPERTIES IN THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, AS A RESULT OF THE CITY ABATING OVERGROWN GRASS AND WEEDS THEREON PURSUANT TO THE CITY’S LOCAL WEED ABATEMENT LAW WHEREAS, the City of Athens, Alabama (the “City”) received numerous and persistent complaints about overgrown grass and weeds on the following described properties, which constituted a public nuisance and a violation of Section 2 of the City’s Local Weed Abatement Act, Act No. 2015-35 passed by the Alabama Legislature and approved by Alabama’s Governor on April 7, 2015: Property Address Parcel ID No. 1310 Woodside Drive 1008280000051000 700 N. Clinton St. 1003054001029.00 1200 Elkton St. 100204200005000 Vacant lot on Plato Jones St. 1003083002059.001 808 Irvin St. 1003053001003.000 1416 N. Houston St. 1003051004017.000 1200 Elkton St. 1002042000005000 WHEREAS, the City abated the public nuisances at the City’s expense in accordance with the City’s Local Weed Abatement Act; and WHEREAS, the Enforcing Official prepared the Itemized Statements of Expenses attached hereto as “Exhibit A”; and WHEREAS, the Enforcing Official gave notice of a public hearing to consider such Itemized Statements of Expenses in accordance with the City’s Local Weed Abatement Act; and WHEREAS, said public hearings were held by the Council; and WHEREAS, it is now the desire of the Council to fix the costs which it finds were reasonably incurred in connection with the abatement of the public nuisances and assess the costs against the subject properties as a weed lien. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA as follows: 3  Section 1. That the Council hereby assesses the following sums to be the costs reasonably incurred by the City in connection with the abatement of the public nuisance located on the respective properties below, which shall constitute a weed lien on the subject property: Property Address Parcel ID No. Amount of Weed Lien 1310 Woodside Dr. 1008280000051000 $621.27 700 N. Clinton St. 1003054001029.00 $246.29 1200 Elkton St. 100204200005000 $146.29 Vacant lot on Plato Jones St. 1003083002059.001 $389.73 808 Irvin St. 1003053001003.000 $214.54 1416 N. Houston St. 1003051004017.000 $439.54 1200 Elkton St. 1002042000005000 $443.76 Section 2. That the City Clerk is authorized to file a certified copy of this resolution in the offices of the Limestone County Revenue Commissioner. Upon filing, the Limestone County Revenue Commissioner shall add the amount of the weed liens to the ad valorem tax bill for the respective properties and shall collect the amount as if it were a tax and remit the amount to the City. ADOPTED this the 23rd day of January, 2017. ___________________________________________ Joseph Cannon, City Council President CERTIFICATION OF CITY CLERK STATE OF ALABAMA ) LIMESTONE COUNTY ) I, Annette Barnes, City Clerk of the City of Athens, Alabama, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of a Resolution duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Athens, Alabama, on the 23rd day of January, 2017. Witness my hand and seal of office this ___ day of _______, 2017. ____________________________________ Annette Barnes, City Clerk The motion was seconded by Councilman Harper and was unanimously carried. EXIBIT A 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Councilman Seibert introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, to appoint Patrick Chesnut as Municipal Court Prosecutor through September 30, 2018. The motion was seconded by Councilman Travis with three yeas and two nays by Councilman Wales and Councilman Harper. Councilman Wales introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, to authorize the Manager, Gas Department, to award a purchase order to Mayer Electric Supply Company for a Model TG250 Engine Driven Generator and spread the same on the minutes. The motion was seconded by Councilman Seibert and was unanimously carried. Councilman Travis introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the SAFER grant program assists fire departments in hiring needed personnel by funding part of the cost of salaries and benefits; and WHEREAS, Athens Fire and Rescue needs three new firefighters to address growth and have adequate staffing to respond to incident scenes; and WHEREAS, the grant would fund 75 percent of salaries/benefits the first two years and 35 percent the third year; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOVLED that the City Council of the City of Athens, Ala., authorizes the Mayor’s Office to apply to the SAFER program for three firefighters with the grant funding $335,780 over three years, and the city’s share plus equipment costs being $226,642 over three years. ADOPTED and APPROVED this, the 23rd day of January, 2017. /s/ Joseph Cannon PRESIDENT, CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA /s/ William R. Marks MAYOR, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA ATTEST: /s/ Annette Barnes CITY CLERK, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA The motion was seconded by Councilman Seibert and was unanimously carried. Councilman Harper introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION NUMBER 2017-1508 WHEREAS, the City of Athens has made it known their intention to apply to the State of Alabama for Recreational Trails Program Funds to extend and construct a trailhead on the Swan Creek Greenway, and 12  WHEREAS, said programs are limited to funding a maximum of eighty percent (80%) of the proposed project cost which will be used to construct improvements to the trail. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the City of Athens will commit $50,000 of the proposed $250,000 project cost for matching the Recreational Trails Fund Project, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in the event the grant is awarded, the City of Athens understands that it will sign assurances complying with all applicable Federal and State laws, rules and regulations. ADOPTED AND APPROVED by the Athens City Council, on this the 23rd day of January 2017. ADOPTED and APPROVED this, the 23rd day of January, 2017. /s/ Joseph Cannon PRESIDENT, CITY COUNCIL, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA /s/ William R. Marks MAYOR, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA ATTEST: /s/ Annette Barnes CITY CLERK, CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA The motion was seconded by Councilman Seibert and was unanimously carried. Councilman Wales introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, to accept the low bid of $120,670.00 from Hawkins Groundwork, Inc. and authorize the Utilities General Manager to enter into an agreement with the company for the work as specified in the bid document. Bid document on file in the Athens Utilities office. The motion was seconded by Councilman Harper and was unanimously carried. Councilman Seibert introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ATHENS, ALABAMA, that the low bid of $500,790.70 be accepted from Taylor Electric Service for construction of a 46 kV transmission line from the Greenbrier Substation to the substation under construction to serve the new GE Aviation facility. Councilmember Harper moved that unanimous consent be given for immediate consideration of and action on said resolution, which motion was seconded by Councilmember Wales, and upon the said motion being put to vote the following vote was recorded: YEAS: Councilmembers Seibert, Wales, Travis, Cannon and Harper; NAYS: None. The President thereupon declared that the motion for unanimous consent for immediate consideration of and action on the said resolution had been unanimously carried. Councilmember Seibert thereupon moved that the resolution be finally adopted, which motion was seconded by Councilmember Wales and upon the said motion being put to vote the following vote was recorded: YEAS: Councilmembers Seibert, Wales, Travis, Cannon and Harper; NAYS: None. The President thereupon announced that the motion for the adoption of the said resolution had been unanimously carried. 13 Councilman Harper introduced the following resolution: RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the Athens City Council assessed costs related to the abatement of overgrown grass and weeds concerning Tax Parcel #07-09-32-1-000-017.000, at 18738 North Jefferson Street (the “Property”) in the amount of $1,161.31, pursuant to Alabama law; WHEREAS, the prior owner(s) of the Property (the Department of Housing and Urban Development and others) received notice of the assessment but failed to put the current owner on notice; WHEREAS, the current owner acquired the Property prior to the City’s assessment of the costs and notice to the Revenue Commissioner, such that an inquiry to the Revenue Commissioner would also not have revealed the Assessment; WHEREAS, in this unique situation where the new owner has no actual notice, the City Council, although following Alabama law, has elected to waive the assessment on the Property in the interest of equity and good policy; THEREFORE, BE IN RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Athens that the aforementioned assessment on the Property be rescinded, with the Mayor and City Attorney directed to take such actions as are necessary to carry out the intent of this Resolution. The motion was seconded by Councilman Seibert and was unanimously carried. * * * There being no further business to come before the meeting, the same was, upon motion by Councilman Wales and second by Councilman Seibert, duly and properly adjourned. /s/ Joseph Cannon PRESIDENT, CITY COUNCIL ATTEST: /s/ Annette Barnes CITY CLERK 14