City Council

City of Bowdon Mayor and Council Meeting Monday, February 13, 2023 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, February 13th, 2023. 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 Wes McEntyre Councilmember Randy Saxon Councilmember Marty Johnson Staff present: City Manager Gary Bullock City Clerk Susan Pierce Police Chief Mark Brock The Invocation was led by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson 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 January 9th, 2023 were presented for approval. Minutes of January 9th, 2023 were approved with no objections. *Recognition of Bowdon High School Football Team – no one was present to accept the Certificate of Recognition for the football team winning the State Championship. VII. Public Comments Two people were present at the meeting and signed up for public comments. Ryan Yates, 2156 Victory Church Rd., Bowdon, asked for an update on the Gymnastics Center addition and the drainage problem. Mr. Bullock informed him that the civil engineer for the drainage problem was being chosen tonight. Mr. Yates asked if the water drainage problem could be addressed at the same time as the building addition. Mr. Bullock told him the expansion on the building would have to wait until the water drainage issue was corrected. Mayor Chaffin also told him that we hope to get started by June, if the water drainage problem  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes February 13, 2023 is corrected by then. Mr. Yates then asked about the air quality report. Mr. Bullock said there was nothing needing abatement; just some cleaning needs to be done. Chase Smith, 4683 Stateline Rd., Bowdon, said he thought Allan and the Recreation Department were going in the wrong direction. He said Allan has done a good job fundraising and getting new scoreboards, but he feels Allan is using favoritism in picking coaches and feels he won’t listen to input from parents. Mayor Chaffin said Mr. Bullock would talk to Allan and encourage more communication with parents. Mr. Yates spoke again about Allan’s directorship of the Recreation Department. VIII. Business Session Mr. Bullock noted that we could go ahead and recognize the football team and give them the certificate later since they were not present. A. Bowdon Housing Authority Board Appointment – The council recommended to approve the appointment of Roger Landers to replace Blain Ferguson for the remainder of his 5- year term which will expire on March 9, 2026. Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve the Bowdon Housing Authority Board appointment of Roger Landers to the BHA as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. B. Library Board appointment – The Board of Trustees of the Bowdon Library met on Tuesday January 10, 2023. The term of Bowdon representative Bill Fordham has expired, and he has decided not to serve a second term. The Board voted to nominate Paula Steed to replace Bill Fordham pending the approval of the Mayor and Council. Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve the nomination of Paula Steed to the Library Board as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. C. Historic Preservation Ordinance – 1. Committee Member Qualifications Amendment - Mr. Bullock said that the language in the ordinance for the requirements for membership to the Historic Preservation Commission was more restrictive than the National requirements, and therefore needs to be amended as follows: “To the extent available in the city, at least three members shall be appointed from among professionals in the disciplines of architecture, history, architectural history planning, archaeology or related professions.” Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the amendment to the Historic Preservation Ordinance as presented; second by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson; motion carried unanimously.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes February 13, 2023 2. Survey Grant Application/Funding – Mr. Bullock informed Council that in order to remain a Certified Local Government we need to update our survey of historic properties. We have applied for a grant to pay for the survey; our cost with the grant would be 40%. The survey is estimated to cost $17,700, therefore the City’s part will be $7,080 and the grant request will be in the amount of $10,620. Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve the grant application and City’s participation as presented; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. D. Selection of Residential Sanitary Collection Service – Two companies submitted bids and were at the work session last week to answer questions, Secure Sanitation and Bowdon Disposal Service. Mr. Bullock recommended going with Bowdon Disposal Service since they are a new company, locally owned and proposed investing any profits back into the City of Bowdon. Councilmember McEntyre asked if the customer cost had been considered. Mr. Bullock proposed a monthly fee of $26.50, which would be $2.50 above what Bowdon Disposal will be charging the city. Motion by Councilmember Saxon to approve the selection of Bowdon Disposal Service for our new residential sanitary collection service; second by Councilmember Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. E. Selection of Water Infrastructure Engineering firm – GEFA requires engineering firms that are qualified to perform the infrastructure improvements be identified. After looking at the proposals, Carter & Sloope was the first choice, with HRC coming in second out of four total. Mr. Bullock also asked for the vote to include pursuing the GEFA loan funding. The total amount of the loan is $2,180,000, with $763,000 principal forgiveness, resulting in the actual loan amount being $1,417,000. Motion by Councilmember Marty Johnson to approve engaging Carter & Sloope as the engineering firm for the infrastructure improvements project and to approve pursuing the GEFA funding loan in the amount of $2,180,000 as presented; second by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson; motion carried unanimously. F. Selection of Civil Engineering firm for water abatement – Three firms submitted proposals for the water abatement project at the gymnastics building, Georgia & West, HRC, and Carter & Sloope. Mr. Bullock recommended going with HRC. Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve engaging HRC Engineering firm for the water abatement project at the gymnastics building as presented; second by Councilmember McEntyre; motion carried unanimously. G. Library Renovation Participation – The West Georgia Regional Library System (WGRLS) has submitted a list of renovations with a cost estimate from DCW Construction in the amount of $60,601. The City will pay 50% ($30,300.50) and WGRLS will pay 50%.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes February 13, 2023 Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson to approve participation with WGRLS for the renovations at the Bowdon Library as presented; second by Councilmember Saxon; motion carried unanimously. H. City Manager Reports – The soft-starts arrived today for the pumps at the Water Treatment Plant and should be installed this week. We have installed several new water and sewer taps. The water tower is being painted and will have the Bowdon “B” logo on it. I. Department Reports – Mayor Pro-tem Jan Johnson asked if budget sheets had been handed out yet. Mr. Bullock said they will be distributed next month. The auditors will be here on Friday February 24. XI. Financial Session A. Property Tax Unpaid Balance Summary – no report/no questions B. January Financial Reports –no questions C. Cash balances as of 02/09/2023 – 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