Mayor & Commission Meetings

Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Mayor and Commission Special Called Session Friday, June 14, 2024 9:32 a.m. City Hall Room 103 The Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia met this date in a special called session. Present: Mayor Girtz; Commissioners Davenport, Taylor, Link, Wright, Fisher, Houle, Culpepper, Myers, Thornton and Hamby. No one was absent. Commissioner Link arrived at 9:34 a.m. and Commissioner Thornton arrived at 9:37 a.m. The purpose of the meeting was to consider several items of old and new business and to enter into executive session for an attorney/client conference to discuss threatened or pending litigation and discussion of personnel matters. Public input The following spoke in support of the EMS MOU with Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center. 1. Bob Gadd 2. Sam Rafal 3. John Bandzul Old Business - Discussion A motion was made by Commissioner Wright, seconded by Commissioner Link, to adopt the following ordinance (#24-06- ) which was presented by title only. The motion passed by roll call vote with Commissioners Davenport, Link, Taylor, Wright, Fisher, Houle, Myers, Thornton and Hamby voting YES; and a recusal from Commissioner Culpepper. AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CODE OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA, WITH RESPECT TO SPECIAL USE APPROVAL IN THE C-D (COMMERCIAL-DOWNTOWN, WEST END) DISTRICT FOR FOUR PARCELS OF LAND AT 247 PULASKI STREET, 260 NEWTON STREET, 270 NEWTON STREET, AND 363 W. HANCOCK AVENUE COMPRISING APPROXIMATELY 2.04 ACRES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. The Commission of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia hereby ordains as follows: SECTION 1. The current C-D (Commercial-General, West End) District is hereby amended to provide for special use approval of a fraternity house. The affected parcels of land comprise approximately 2.04 acres, are located at 247 Pulaski Street, 260 Newton Street, 270 Newton Street, and 363 West Hancock Avenue, and are known as tax parcel numbers 171A2 E007, 171A2 E006, 171A2 E005, and 171A2 E003 on the Athens-Clarke County Tax Map, being on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department, 120 West Dougherty Street, Athens, Georgia. The date of this amendment to the Official Zoning Map as shown by Attachment A hereto shall be noted on the Official Zoning Map in the office of the Clerk of Commission and duly noted in the minutes of the Commission meeting. The subject parcel is further described in that certain document entitled “Site Layout Plan,” prepared by Breedlove Land Planning, Inc., designated in the lower right-hand corner as sheet number “C-200,” dated February 2, 2024, and which is on file for public inspection in the office of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department, 120 West Dougherty Street, Athens, Georgia. SECTION 2. The binding site plan associated with this ordinance and incorporated herein by reference consists of six pages in total. Each sheet is numbered, titled, and dated as shown in the table below. Sheet Title: Date: No.: C- Site Layout Plan February 2, 2024 200 A-05 “The Shack” Elevations March 1, 2024 A-06 “The Shack” Elevations March 1, 2024 A-08 Historic House – Elevations March 1, 2024 A-09 Historic House – Elevations March 1, 2024 A-10 Site Elevations – Newton & March 1, 2024 Reese St. Each sheet listed above is stamped “Binding 5-8-24” and is on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department, 120 West Dougherty Street, Athens, Georgia. The binding written plan associated with this ordinance and incorporated herein by reference consists of three pages in total, entitled “Special Use Permit Application Report,”  prepared by Henry G. Anderson III, stamped “Binding 5-8-24,” and is on file for public inspection in the office of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department, 120 West Dougherty Street, Athens, Georgia. SECTION 3. The following conditions of zoning shall be associated with the special use approved herein: 1. In the event that the zoning request is approved without granting of the variances, the plan shall be amended to comply with all applicable ordinances. All other elements of the plan shall be considered binding. 2. A combination plat to have the entire property combined into a single parcel shall be recorded at, or before, the time of permitting review. 3. A variance shall be granted from the requirement found in Section 9-10-6(D)(4)(b) of the Code of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, for ground floor transparency and alternative treatments for the same in a C-D zone. Said variance is listed as Variance #3 in the staff report associated with this zoning request. 4. A variance shall be granted from the requirement found in Section 9-10-6(C)(4) of the Code of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, for sidewalks to be placed along public street frontages in a C-D zone. The applicant shall install a six (6) foot wide sidewalk on North Newton Street at the backside of the existing curb. No beauty strip shall be required for said sidewalk. 5. The applicant shall consult with the Athens-Clarke County Transportation and Public Works Department and other appropriate staff with respect to the design of the retaining wall in order to minimize the impact on nearby trees and to minimize the height of the retaining wall. 6. Upon completion in accordance with applicable standards, the sidewalk and retaining wall shall be accepted by the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County. 7. The applicant shall consult with the Athens-Clarke County Transportation and Public Works Department and other appropriate staff with respect to the design of a six (6) foot wide sidewalk that stretches along Reese Street from the existing curb at the intersection of North Newton Street/Reese Street to the safest location on Reese Street for a mid-block crosswalk. The mid- block crosswalk will guide pedestrians to the existing six (6) foot sidewalk along Reese Street. No beauty strip shall be required for said sidewalk. 8. The applicant shall add a striped high visibility mid-block crosswalk, along with crossing warning signage, from the existing six (6) foot sidewalk along Reese Street that runs across Pulaski Street in order to enhance pedestrian traffic use of the sidewalk. 9. The applicant shall consult with the Athens-Clarke County Transportation and Public Works Department and other appropriate staff with respect to the design and construction materials for the retaining walls necessary to complete the curb for the installation of the six (6) foot sidewalk along Reese Street and North Newton Street so that the material protects the historic integrity and character of the downtown area. SECTION 4. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. A motion was made by Commissioner Myers, seconded by Commissioner Houle, to a. Approve revised EMS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Piedmont Athens Medical Center (PARMC) (Attachment #1 as per agenda dated June 11, 2024) with the below revisions (added language in italics) 1. In attachment 3, add the following note at the bottom of the chart for the “System Structure Key Performance Indicators”: Note: Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances used for response to 911 calls shall be staffed with at least one Georgia certified paramedic and one Georgia certified Advanced EMT (also referred to herein as “AEMT”). Advanced Life Support ambulances will not be staffed by any EMT-R or EMRs.  However, at times, it may be necessary to staff an ambulance with a Paramedic and an EMT. When this is necessary a paramedic in a quick response vehicle (QRV) will also be dispatched to the call to provide additional ALS level coverage for each call. Each Basic Life Support ambulance used for response to 911 calls shall be staffed by no less than two AEMTs. 2. Add a #5 to the “System Structure Key Performance Indicators”: 5. Daily # ambulances; NEMS Daily # of ambulances in ACC; daily # with daily # with paramedics. paramedics. Raw data reported, not averages. 3. Revise “System Process Key Performance Indicators” # 2 to read as follows: 2. Total Response Eight (8) minutes (meaning eight minutes Time and NEMS, fifty-fine seconds) of the time of dispatch ACCF in ES ninety percent (90%) of calls for urban transit . b. Direct staff to communicate with NEMS and PARMC the desire of the ACC commission that NEMS report at our annual meetings on their annual budget review as described in the 2008 Service Level Agreement in Schedule 1.15 of the 2008 Outsourcing agreement. In particular, such report shall include information on the NEMS Fee Structure as described in section 8.4 that addresses how “National shall ensure that its fee structure: a) Maximizes third party recoveries for service, while minimizing out of pocket expenditures” (p. 7); and authorize Mayor and appropriate staff to execute all related documents. c. The motion passed by unanimous vote. A motion was made by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Taylor, to a. Approve the proposed Transit Ground Lease Agreement for the Transit Facility located at Georgia Square Mall Redevelopment Project between ACCGov and the Owner (Attachment #1); b. Approve the Acknowledgement of Execution Document between ACCGov and the Owner (Attachment #2); c. Accept Verification Report and Supplemental Verification Report from Verification Agent (Attachment #3A and Attachment #3B); d. Accept the Closing Certificate of the Owner (Attachment #4) e. Approve the Amendment to the Community Benefits Agreement between ACCGov and the Owner (Attachment #5); f. Approve the Escrow Agreement between ACCGov and Synovus (Attachment #6); and g. Authorize the Mayor and relevant staff to execute all related documents and contracts. The motion passed by unanimous vote. A motion was made by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Taylor, to adopt the following ordinance (#24-06- ) which was presented by title only. The motion passed by unanimous vote. AN ORDINANCE TO LEVY AND ASSESS TAXES FOR THE CLARKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR THE CLARKE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA, FOR THE YEAR 2024; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. The Commission of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, hereby ordains as follows: SECTION 1. The following tax, as authorized by the Georgia Constitution, Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph I, is hereby levied and assessed for the year 2024; and the following described property shall be subject to the tax hereinafter prescribed. SECTION 2. There is hereby levied and assessed for the year 2024 on all of the taxable property in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, ad valorem taxes for school purposes for maintenance and operation at the rate of 18.80 mills, as certified by the Clarke County Board of Education, upon the value of said property as fixed by the Tax Digest of Athens-Clarke County. SECTION 3. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. A motion was made by Commissioner Myers, seconded by Commissioner Thornton, to appoint Niki Jones as acting manager effective July 13, 2024. The motion passed by unanimous vote. A motion was made Commissioner Thornton, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to enter into executive session for an attorney/client conference to discuss threatened or pending litigation and discussion of personnel matters. The motion passed by unanimous vote. A motion was made by Commissioner Wright, seconded by Commissioner Thornton, to adjourn. The motion passed by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 10:49 a.m. ___________________________________ Deputy Clerk of Commission