City Council

City of Bowdon Mayor and Council Meeting Monday January 13, 2025 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, January 13th, 2025. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Randy Saxon at 7:00PM. The invocation was led by Jamie Beam, Antioch Baptist Church Minister, and was followed with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members present: Mayor Randy Saxon Councilmember Jan Johnson Councilmember Bobby Elliott Councilmember Wes McEntyre Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson Staff present: City Manager Jeff Reese Main Street Director Jan Gibbs City Clerk Susan Pierce Police Chief Mark Brock City Attorney Kevin Drummond V. Approval of Meeting Agenda Motion by Councilmember Jan Johnson to add to the agenda the proposal from the Bowdon Sprig ‘n Dig Garden Club to purchase, care for, and erect flags in Freedom Park; second by Councilmember Elliott; motion carried unanimously. VI. Approval of Minutes The minutes from the December 9, 2024 meeting were approved with no objections. VII. Public Comments None. VIII. Business Session A. Decision – Sanitation Service Bids – City Manager Jeff Reese gave an overview of the bids received for the commercial dumpster service. The bids were as follows: Martin Environmental - $18,786.79 GFL – $19,426.36 Bowdon Disposal - $20,738.90 He and the staff recommended Martin Environmental Services. Motion by Councilmember Elliott to approve awarding the commercial sanitation service contract to Martin Environmental Services; second by Councilmember McEntyre in order to open discussion concerning the bids. After discussion, Mayor Saxon called for a vote. Motion was denied with a vote of 1-3, with Councilmember Elliott voting in favor and Councilmembers McEntyre, Jan Johnson, and Marty Johnson voting against. After the vote, there was further discussion, with Councilmember McEntyre asking for a re-bid to include a pre-bid conference.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes January 13, 2025 Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to re-bid the commercial sanitation services contract and include a pre-bid meeting; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried with a vote of 3-1, with Councilmembers Jan Johnson, Marty Johnson and Wes McEntyre voting in favor and Councilmember Elliott voting against. Mayor Saxon stated that we would need to send out another RFP which would include a pre-bid conference. City Clerk Pierce asked if that would be ethical. City Attorney Drummond noted several issues with possibly re-bidding. After discussion with the council and comments from bidders, motion was made to rescind the previous motion and conduct another vote. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to rescind his previous motion; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Elliott to accept the low bid from Martin Environmental Services for commercial sanitation services; second by Councilmember McEntyre; motion carried unanimously. B. First Responders PTSD Insurance Coverage – HB 451 passed stating that all Public Entities in Georgia that employ first responders are mandated to purchase PTSD Insurance effective January 1, 2025. We contacted our workers’ compensation insurance brokers for a quote. Bitco Insurance quote is $4488 for the annual premium. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve going with Bitco Insurance for PTSD coverage for our first responders; second by Councilmember Elliott; motion carried unanimously. C. Workers Compensation renewal coverage – Bitco offered a renewal premium of $22,054, an increase of $1546. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the renewal of our Workers Compensation insurance with Bitco as presented; second by Councilmember Elliott; motion carried unanimously. D. Board Appointments – The following re-appointments were presented for approval: Benny Boggus – Ethics Board Mary Mallory – Historic Preservation Commission Katie Morgan – Main Street Board Motion by Councilmember Jan Johnson to approve the re-appointment of Benny Boggus to the Ethics Board; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Jan Johnson to approve the re-appointment of Mary Mallory to the Historic Preservation Commission; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Jan Johnson to approve the re-appointment of Katie Morgan to the Main Street Board; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. E. Rate Increases for Recreation Department, Gymnastics, and Senior Citizens Center rental – Recreation Director Allan Fordham checked with other departments and recommended the following: Gymnastics birthday parties (non-gymnastics team member) $200 (from $150) Gymnastics birthday parties (gymnastics team member) $175 (from $150) All Recreation/Sports activities $65 (from $60) Amenity rental fees (Sr. Center, Copeland Hall gym, athletic fields) $75/hour; $275/4 hours; $500/8 hours or all day (from $50/hour)  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes January 13, 2025 Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the Recreation Department, Gymnastics and Senior Citizens Center rental fees as presented; second by Councilmember Elliott; motion carried unanimously. F. Zoning Code/Development Rewrite proposal – City Manager Reese recommended approval of the proposal from West Georgia Planning to create a new Development Code for the City of Bowdon in the amount of $28,000, to be funded by 2021 SPLOST funds. Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to approve the proposal to contract with West Georgia Planning for the creation of a new Development Code for the City of Bowdon in the amount of $28,000 as presented, and to authorize the City Manager to sign the contract agreement on behalf of the City of Bowdon; second by Mayor Pro- tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. G. House Bill 581 – City Attorney Kevin Drummond stated that if the Council wanted to “opt-out”, no action was necessary. H. Mayor’s Reports – Bowdon High School will do the Proclamation at the Championship Parade, time to be determined. February 2 at 3:00PM will be the new Gymnastics Center dedication. The Garden Club wishes to place flags on the perimeter of Freedom Park on certain holidays. Councilmember Jan Johnson asked if we could check on a flag and flagpole for the Municipal Complex. I. City Manager Reports – Mr. Reese mentioned that we will be meeting with Lori Brill from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government on the Charter update. He also updated Council on the LMIG funds. We are in the process of getting a water usage study completed. Falcon Design is working on a Master Plan for downtown. Bell Architects are working on a cost estimate for the Police Department wing. Mr. Reese is working on an employee organizational chart and is working with Jan Gibbs on budget revisions. Watts Park will be redesigned in phases. There are also plans to upgrade the sidewalks. He also recommends a possible MOU with Kids Peace for more security. We have 2 new police officers in the Academy. We had a meeting with the Fire Marshall this week on fire inspections coinciding with business license renewals. J. Department Reports – no questions. IX. Financial Session A. Property Tax Unpaid Balance Summary B. November Financial Reports C. Cash Balances as of 12/03/2024 Motion by Councilmember McEntyre to enter into Executive Session to discuss personnel; second by Councilmember Jan Johnson; motion carried unanimously. X. Executive Session Motion by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson to exit Executive Session; second by Councilmember Jan Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Motion by Councilmember Elliott to approve the employee position title change from Main Street Director to Community Planning Director and to authorize the Mayor and City Manager to talk with Susan Pierce and Jan Gibbs to get their salaries commensurate with their respective jobs with the City of Bowdon; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously.  City of Bowdon Mayor & Council Meeting Minutes January 13, 2025 There was a brief discussion regarding Main Street becoming an affiliate program and a recommendation to keep the board. No motions were made and no votes were taken. Motion by Councilmember Elliott to adjourn the meeting; second by Mayor Pro-tem Marty Johnson; motion carried unanimously. XII. Adjournment _________________________ ________________________ Mayor Randy Saxon City Clerk Susan Pierce