City Council

City of Bowdon Mayor and Council Meeting Monday, November 14, 2022 7:00PM Mayor and Council Chambers, 182 Grammar School Road I.-IV. Agenda Items: The Mayor and City Council met for a regular meeting on Monday, November 14th, 2022. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jim Chaffin at 7:00PM. Roll call was conducted by City Clerk Susan Pierce. Members present: Mayor Jim Chaffin Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson Councilmember Marty Johnson Councilmember Wes McEntyre Members Absent: Councilmember Randy Saxon Staff present: City Manager Gary Bullock City Clerk Susan Pierce The Invocation was led by Councilmember McEntyre and was followed with the Pledge of Allegiance. V. Approval of Meeting Agenda Agenda was approved with no objections. VI. Approval of Minutes Minutes of Mayor & Council Meeting on October 10th, 2022 were presented for approval. Minutes of October 10, 2022 were approved with no objections. VII. Public Comments None. IX. Business Session A. Health Insurance renewal – Mr. Bullock stated that the premium for this year is up 12.5%. The deductible will be increased from $1500 per person to $2000 per person, however he proposes the city cover anything for employees over the $1500 with a health reimbursement account. With this, the increase becomes 10.3%. We will also implement the “spousal carve-out”, which requires spouses of employees who have coverage at their place of employment to seek coverage there instead of being covered by City insurance. We also will cease paying any dependent coverage premiums for new hires after December 1.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 We will continue to pay 50% of dependent coverage for existing employees. We had a 5% increase in dental premiums and no increase in vision. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the health insurance renewal as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. B. Alcohol License renewals – City Clerk Susan Pierce reported that the following had submitted renewal applications and paid renewal fees: El Mezcal restaurant Magnificent Group convenience store Bowdon Piggly Wiggly Bowdon Kwick Shop Brown’s Package Store 701 Red Devil (Discount Food Mart) Bowdon Mini Mart Cuatro Locos restaurant Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the alcohol license renewal applications listed above as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Ms. Pierce also noted that Rick’s Classic American restaurant had submitted their renewal application but had not yet paid the renewal fee. Patel Food Mart has been sold; the new owner has applied and paid the fee but will not be ready with advertising until the December meeting. Tacos El Torito (new restaurant) which was previously approved has not yet opened and has not yet paid the license fee. C. Library Board appointment – The Board of Trustees of the Warren P. Sewell Memorial Library met Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Board member Martha Stephens has decided to resign from the Board. The Board voted to nominate Dorcas Bishop to replace Martha Stephens pending the approval of the Mayor and City Council. Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve the appointment of Dorcas Bishop to replace Martha Stephens on the Warren P. Sewell Memorial Library Board of Trustees as presented; second by Councilmember McEntyre; motion carried unanimously. D. Public Safety Grant – Cindy Moss is in process of writing a grant application for a Public Safety Grant through ARPA funds. The amount will be approximately $150,000 and will be used for new radios, and laptops and Wi-Fi hot spots in police cars. We are gathering letters of support along with other information for her to include with the grant request. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve submitting the grant request for a Public Safety Grant as presented; second by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson; motion carried unanimously. E. Intergovernmental Agreement for Building Inspections – Mr. Bullock reported that after reaching out to Carroll County for guidance concerning permits and requirements in order for the County to perform our building inspections, the County submitted the attached Intergovernmental Agreement. Mr. Bullock spoke with the County to clarify the terms of the agreement.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes November 14, 2022 Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement with Carroll County for Building Inspections as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. F. City Manager Reports – Mr. Bullock reported that the Gymnastics building air quality test was completed last week, but we do not yet have the results. The topo field work is almost complete; there are some elevation problems which may be corrected with precise grading. The trees in the ditch will have to be removed. GFL, our sanitation service provider, will no longer be providing residential trash service. We have sent out a Request for Proposals (RFP), with bids due by November 29. Engineers are working on surveys for Mitchell Street and Bevis Street for infrastructure improvements. We have notified VC3 that we are cancelling IT services with them as of December 10. Revenues are up; we have had several new tap fees. We met with the owners of Solid Ground Mobile Home Park on Wedowee Street. They will be paying for several new sewer taps. We had a successful sale of our surplus equipment; only 2 items did not sell. Bowdon By Candlelight went well. G. Department Reports – no questions XI. Financial Session A. Property Tax Unpaid Balance Summary – no questions B. October Financial Reports –no questions C. Cash balances as of 11/04/2022 – no questions Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to adjourn the council meeting; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. X. Adjournment _________________________ ________________________ Mayor Jim Chaffin City Clerk Susan Pierce