City Council

Minutes February 1, 2021 Forsyth City Council Meeting Call to Order Mayor Wilson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation and Roll Call Mayor Wilson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Hewett gave the invocation. In attendance for the meeting in person was Mayor Eric Wilson, Councilmembers Chris Hewett, and Mike Dodd. In attendance for the meeting via zoom was Councilmembers Greg Goolsby, Melvin Lawrence, Julius Stroud and John Howard. Also, in attendance for the meeting in person was City Attorney, Bobby Melton; City Manager, Janice Hall and City Clerk, Regina Ivie. All members of Council were in attendance for the meeting therefore all unanimous votes will be six votes (Goolsby, Dodd, Howard, Lawrence, Hewett, and Stroud). Approval of the Agenda Mr. Dodd offered a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of the Minutes from the January 19, 2021 Council Meeting and January 24, 2021 Council Retreat Meeting. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the minutes of the January 19,2021 and January 24, 2021 meetings as presented. Seconded by Mr. Goolsby; the motion carried unanimously. Public Hearing to consider Zoning Variance Application of George Emami/The Brokery Mr. Melton reviewed the variance application request submitted by Georgie Emami; for tax parcel F35 029 located at the corner of East Morse Street and Cedar Street, containing .151 acre of land. The variance request seeks allowance for two dwellings on the lot, for a reduction of the required minimum square footage of heated floor area for any dwelling unit, for rear parking, and for crush and run driveway to allow two dwellings on the lot with less than 1500 square feet per building, rear off-street parking. The current zoning for the property is mix-use, zoning shall remain unchanged. Planning & Zoning approved the variance at the December 28, 2020 meeting. The public hearing was advertised in the Monroe Reporter on January 13, 20, and 27, 2021. Mayor Wilson opened the floor in favor of or opposition of the proposed variance. Mr. George Emami stated the properties will be built with top quality products; a nice addition to downtown; will serve a specific type of resident that will want to enjoy the downtown amenities that doesn’t require a lot of square footage. A high-quality product will be built that’s more affordable; it’s one lot with 2 houses on the location. Ms. Tammie Pierson reviewed the current mix use zoning for the location; the unclear parameters of the mix use zoning and why the variance is being requested.  Page |2 Mr. Ben Sosby stated he’s not opposed to the request. There being no further comments for or against the zoning variance request Mayor Wilson closed the public hearing. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to deny the variance request. Seconded by Mr. Stroud; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of application for alcohol beverage license for Emily Katherine Rowland of Old Mill Market Company, LLC at 94 East Adams Street Mr. Melton reviewed the application request of the Old Mill Market at 94 East Adams Street for the sale of alcoholic beverages (beer/malt-package and wine package). All qualifications have been met. The notice was advertised in the Monroe Reporter on January 20, and January 27, 2020. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the application for alcohol beverage license as presented. Seconded by Mr. Dodd; the motion carried unanimously. Review and Award Engineering Bid for 2021 Community Development Block Grant -CDBG Mr. Dean Nelson with Middle Georgia Regional Commission reviewed that on December 15, 2020 a request for qualifications was requested for engineering services to support the Community Development Block Grant application. A review committee was designated and completed a thorough analysis of the responses received based on the various firms experience, staffing capacity and project approach. A total of 7 firms (Bryant Engineering, Falcon Design Consultants, Harbin Engineering, Hofstadter & Associates, Inc., Ingram & Associates, LLC., Paragon Consulting Group, and Turnipseed Engineers) responded to the request of qualifications. Mr. Nelson further stated that Hofstadter & Associates, Inc ranked the most qualified firm due to significant project experience, staffing capacity, and their project approach; request the City to approve Hofstadter & Associates, Inc. as the engineer for the 2021 Community Development Block Grant. Mr. Dodd offered a motion to award the engineering bid to Hofstadter & Associates, Inc. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of Interconnection Agreement for Interconnection and Parallel Operation of Distributed Generation Equipment with Geoffrey Revard at 214 Indian Springs Drive. Ms. Hall stated Mr. Revard has installed solar panels on his house; Electric Cities of Georgia and the City’s electric department has inspected the necessary equipment. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the interconnection agreement with Mr. Geoffrey Revard. Seconded by Mr. Lawrence; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of Resolution regarding membership and support of the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition, Inc. Ms. Hall reviewed the City has been a member of the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition since it’s inception; resolution is being requested with the annual dues of $500.00. Forsyth City Council – February 1, 2021  Page |3 Mr. Goolsby offered a motion a motion to approve the resolution as presented. Seconded by Mr. Dodd; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of event permits for summer camps – Yvonne Stroud. Ms. Yvonne Stroud requested permits to conduct educational summer camps for Pre-K and Kindergarten students; reinforcing foundational skills, to be able to give tools to the parents to assist the children in learning. No fee will be charged. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the event permits as presented. Seconded by Mr. Goolsby. Ms. Hall requested a waiver of fees for the usage of the buildings. Mr. Hewett offered an amendment to the motion; to waive the fees for the use of the requested buildings. Seconded by Mr. Dodd; the motion carried with five votes (Goolsby, Howard, Lawrence, Hewett, and Dodd). Mr. Stroud recused himself. Mayor Wilson called for a vote on the original motion; to approve the event permits as presented. The motion carried with five votes (Goolsby, Howard, Lawrence, Hewett, and Dodd). Mr. Stroud recused himself. Approval of request by Michael Buss, French Market & Tavern Ms. Hall reviewed Mr. Buss’ request to have five tables permanently placed outside the French Market & Tavern. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Mr. Lawrence; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of IPT Agreement with Fitzgerald Water, Light, and Bond Commission Ms. Hall stated the agreement is for the purchase of excess capacity that’s required by MEAG. Mr. Dodd offered a motion to approve the IPT agreement with Fitzgerald Water, Light and Bond Commission as presented. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of lease agreement with Quadient Leasing Ms. Hall reviewed the lease agreement with Quadient for a new postage meter for 63 months at $173.19; a savings of $28.81 monthly. Mr. Lawrence offered a motion to approve the lease agreement with Quadient Leasing. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of surplus equipment Ms. Hall reviewed the surplus equipment to be sold on GovDeals.com; 1994 John Deere Tractor and a Dog Kennel that’s no longer in use. Forsyth City Council – February 1, 2021  Page |4 Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the surplus equipment items as presented. Seconded by Mr. Dodd; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of Requisitions Greater than $5,000 Pyles Plumbing $64,770.00 – 2020 SPLOST Mr. Dodd offered a motion to approve the requisition for Pyles Plumbing as presented. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. City Manager’s Report Ms. Hall provided the following report: - Administratively continued the 80 hours of paid sick leave mandated by the Federal government for 2020. Any employee that has not used the 80 hours and is out for COVID-19 will be paid first from COVID leave and when the 80 hours has been exhausted, they will be required to use their accrued leave. Writing policy regarding the use of the 80 hours COVID-19 leave. - I reported during the retreat that rather than providing the full report for Economic Development at the retreat, I would like to have a report presented by each department to City Council. We are working towards providing these reports during the 2 nd meeting in March. - Schneider has contacted me, and they would like to start back on projects. They were previously looking at partnering with us to do a complete meter change out to remote read meters for water and electric. Scheduling a meeting with Schneider and Mike, Craig, and I to begin those discussions again and then they will make a presentation to Council. - When the Monroe County Development Authority entered into an Agreement with the new property owner for the purchase of the Regency Inn property, the City and County agreed to reimburse the Development Authority for the funds they invested in the property, which was $200,000 from the proceeds of the additional sales tax generated by the development. We began making those payments to the Development Authority in August 2020 and to date have paid $16,215 of the $45,000 that is our portion. - Reminder that Kathy Rowland requested to come off the Housing Authority when her term expires at the end of May 2021. Please provide me with any names that you would like considered for this seat. An appointment should be made no later than the 2 nd meeting in May. - Noticeable progress is being made on the City Hall building. Change Order #4 extended the completion date to April 5; however, as stated numerous times we are reviewing the timeline and schedule to determine if this in fact is a realistic completion date. - Draft of new Personnel Policy has been received. The department heads and I will review the draft and once a final draft is created, it will be presented to Council for your review and approval. - West Main Street and Blount Street waterline replacement projects continue to move forward and both have had their share of delays. - February is Black History Month but unfortunately due to COVID-19, Rosemary Walker will not have her exhibit this year. We are working with her to hopefully put some displays around town and she has purchased new banners that will go up this week honoring leaders in our community. We have also asked the Main Street Board to consider partnering with Mrs. Walker on the purchase of the banners. This will be the 13th year for her exhibit. - We were not able to hold our annual employee appreciation luncheon last year, but I would like to recognize those that would have received their years of service pins in 2020: o Eddie Bowden – 5 years Forsyth City Council – February 1, 2021  Page |5 o Matthew Walker – 5 years o Roger Gassett – 10 years o Michael Lucear – 15 years o TJ Alford – 20 years o Davis Norris – 25 years o Alexander Daniels – 35 years o Eddie Harris – 35 years o Steve Jones – 35 years Hopefully, we will be able to return to holding our annual employee appreciation luncheon this year and recognize the employees reaching these milestones. Congratulations and thank you to these employees for their years of service to Forsyth. City Attorney Report Mr. Melton had no further business to report. Mayor’s Report Mayor Wilson expressed his appreciation for Council for their work during the retreat held on January 24, 2021. And for everyone to continue to stay safe and stay well. Council Board Reports Mr. Hewett stated a Housing Authority meeting will be held Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. at the Annex. Additional Business No additional business was brought forward. Public Comments No one came forward for public comments. Executive Session No executive session was held. Adjourn Mr. Hewett offered a motion to adjourn the Council Meeting. Seconded by Mr. Dodd; the motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m. Forsyth City Council – February 1, 2021