Mayor & Commission Meetings

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Monday, May 20, 2024 Committee Members Present: Commissioner Patrick Davenport, Committee Chair Commissioner Mike Hamby Commissioner Tiffany Taylor Commissioner Melissa Link Commissioner Dexter Fisher Staff: Blaine Williams, Manager Stephen Bailey, Transportation Public Works John Hawkins, Deputy Chief Attorney Director Austin Jackson, Senior Assistant Attorney Rani Katreeb, Transportation Public Works Chinesia Thompson, Recorder Assistant Director Committee Chair Davenport called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. A. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Fisher made the motion to approve the Minutes of the April 15, 2024 meeting. Commissioner Link seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote. B. Commission Identified Items of Interest: Prioritize unpaved roads for surfacing with FY24 funds and others that may follow (Mayor Girtz assigned to GOC on September 5, 2023) Manager Blaine Williams opened the meeting with an overview of the Dirt Road situation in Athens-Clarke County, noting that there are currently 3 miles of unpaved roads. He explained that if the policy were approved without changes to the criteria, staff would proceed with preliminary ranking. However, if criteria were modified, staff would need to reassess and return with updated information based on the committee's preferred criteria. TPW Director Stephen Bailey presented two policies for consideration: a Dirt Road paving policy and a voluntary dirt road paving policy program. He provided the committee with a prioritized list of unpaved roads based on specific criteria and weighting. Assistant Director Rani Katreeb detailed the weighted criteria, which included: 1. Current maintenance of dirt roads 2. Existing right of way versus needed right of way 3. Topography and stormwater challenges 4. Traffic zoning, density, and loading 5. Need for a turnaround  Rani clarified that these were staff-proposed criteria used to rank the unpaved roads. Stephen noted that the top two roads on the list were relatively straightforward projects, having connector roads and the necessary right of way, and would not require extensive design work. The committee then discussed the dirt road policy and community engagement. Stephen explained that the Mayor and Commission could choose between a dirt road policy that requires residents to take two different routes. He outlined two potential approaches for the policy which were: 1. Opt-in: Residents would be notified when their road was next on the list, requiring 65% approval for paving to proceed. 2. Opt-out: Paving would proceed unless 65% of residents chose to opt out. Stephen indicated that staff would prefer the opt-in approach in this case. The committee then shifted focus to the voluntary dirt road policy. Stephen outlined the process for the voluntary dirt road policy. A neighborhood would initiate the process by contacting staff to express interest. The neighborhood would need to submit a petition showing that the residents of the affected parcels are approving and signed agreement letters (to be drafted in collaboration with the attorney's office). The neighborhood would be responsible for determining funding or financing options for the project. Commissioner Hamby motioned to forward both policies to the full Mayor and Commission. Commissioner Link seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Manager Williams then sought clarification on several points. The 65% threshold: He noted this differed from the current policy and needed to be explicitly stated. Consensus requirements: Manager Williams asked for direction regarding scenarios where a single resident could potentially halt the process. He requested that the committee specify if unanimous agreement from all property owners should be required in the policy. The committee discussed the fact that some residents on the list prefer to keep their roads unpaved. Stephen proposed an operational solution. When a road comes up on the list, send a letter to the district commissioner. The commissioner would select a community representative. If 65% of residents approve, the project would proceed. The committee discussed utilities. Rani explained that utilities were not included in the cost presented on the handout. Rani suggested added a 10% contingency to total. Commissioner Hamby made a motion to adjourn. The motion passed by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 2:08 p.m. Government Operations Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 05202024