City Council

Minutes Forsyth City Council Meeting May 2, 2022 Call to Order Mayor Pro-Tem Dodd called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation and Roll Call Mayor Pro-tem Dodd led the Pledge of Allegiance. In attendance for the meeting was Mayor Pro-tem Dodd, Councilmembers Goolsby, Stroud, Hewett, and Lawrence. Also in attendance for the meeting was City Manager, Janice Hall; City Attorney, Bobby Melton; and City Clerk, Regina Ivie. There were four members of council in attendance for the meeting therefore all unanimous votes will be four votes (Goolsby, Stroud, Lawrence, and Hewett). Mayor Wilson was not in attendance for the council meeting due to attending the Economic Development Summit. Mr. Howard was not in attendance for the meeting. Approval of the Agenda Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Seconded by Mr. Lawrence; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of the minutes from the council meeting and work session on April 4, 2022, and council meeting on April 18, 2022. Mr. Goolsby offered a motion to approve the minutes for the meetings on April 4, and April 18, 2022, as presented. Seconded by Mr. Lawrence; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of a memorandum of understanding for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia – Betsy Fitzgerald. Ms. Betsy Fitzgerald provided an overview of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia. A variety of programming to meet the needs of the community to assist with providing educated, and employable young adults. Mentoring services are offered to reduce violence, and negative interaction with law enforcement. An important aspect of the agreement it will allow the city to work together; connecting us with the business and school community in Forsyth to recruit more mentors, serve more youth, and build meaningful programming for the youth of Forsyth. Mr. Goolsby inquired about the position on the board of directors and offered a motion to appoint Councilmember Julius Stroud on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried with three votes (Goolsby, Hewett, and Lawrence). Mr. Stroud abstained from voting. Mr. Goolsby offered a motion to approve the memorandum of understanding for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia as presented. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of Georgia Municipal Association’s District 6 Officers – Ballot for 2022-2023 and designate City Clerk to submit ballot. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the ballot for the district 6 officers as presented. Seconded by Mr. Stroud; the motion carried unanimously. Approval to close sidewalk and parking space at 36 E. Johnston for rock removal and brick installation. Ms. Hall reviewed the request to close the sidewalk and parking space at E. Johnston for a period of 7 to 10 days. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the request as presented. Seconded by Mr. Stroud; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of active threat police department policy. Officer Glyn Corbitt reviewed the active threat policy. Mr. Stroud offered a motion to approve the policy as presented. Seconded by Mr. Hewett; the motion carried unanimously.  P age |2 Approval of location for fireworks event and road closures related to. Mr. Goolsby offered a motion to approve the location for the fireworks event as presented. Seconded by Mr. Stroud. Mr. Goolsby inquired about concert to be held the same night as the fireworks event. Ms. Hall stated a concert had not yet been set; perhaps due to the location of the fireworks event not confirmed until tonight. It can be planned, and the budget adjusted to have a concert the same night. Mr. Goolsby amended his motion to include planning of a concert with a band the night of the fireworks event. Seconded by Mr. Stroud; the motion carried unanimously. Approval of Requisitions Greater than $6,000 Davis Plumbing - $28,738.00 Mr. Hewett offered a motion to approve the requisition as presented. Seconded by Mr. Stroud; the motion carried unanimously. City Manager’s Report Ms. Hall provided the following report: - LOST negotiations letter received from Monroe County. Need to decide if will hire a consultant for the city to work on our behalf as it appears the County will be hiring a consultant. Mr. Hewett offered a motion to hire a consultant to work on the city’s behalf in negotiations for local option sales tax, not to exceed a cost of $10,000. Seconded by Mr. Goolsby, the motion carried unanimously. - Rebidding Adams Street storm drain project in hopes of getting better pricing than before. This continues to delay moving court to Welcome Center/Aldermen Hall. - Requesting 30-day extension on Vibrant Arts grant deadline to June 30 due to delay in obtaining materials. - Fire department continues required hydrant testing. Doing the testing in sections and posting sections to be tested. - NTP for May 9th given to PF Moon for emergency Air Piping replacement at NEWWTP. This is $340,000 project paying from City funds until USDA closing, then reimbursed from those funds. Should be a 90-day project. - Work continues for the emergency Filter #5 & #6 projects. #5 was taken out of service, should be back in service by beginning of June, then take #6 out of service. We will need citizens to conserve water from now until Filter #6 is back in service, possibly late July. Craig is contacting EPD to request increase in limits during this time so that we are not in violation of permit but can still meet demand. - Only 2 companies submitted bids for the playground equipment. I will work through the bid options that were submitted and return with recommendation. - Main Street Board voted to leave Farmers Market in normal location. - Ainsley Hall was able to complete all 15 residential appraisals and those have been forwarded to Mr. Melton for his review and handling to move forward with deeming those properties as blight. A letter has been delivered to Mr. Ingram providing him with 45 days to get plan in place and permits renewed for the Forsyth Station Senior Community. In addition to the work on these properties, I will be sending a Technical Assistance Request to the Regional Commission for a Property Condition Survey. This will provide us with photos and assessments of all properties located within the city limits. - Cody Ellis will begin working with the Regional Commission on the Annexation Plan. - Meeting last week with GDOT to discuss the lighting agreement portion of the CVL Project. We will have the same type of agreement as we currently have in that the lights belong to GDOT, and the city agrees to maintain the lights for 50 years. This agreement would not begin until the project is complete, and the new lighting is installed. - I have received several reports that customers in the Brookwood Drive area did not receive their utility bill on the 15 th. I am working with the Post Office to determine what may have happened as we can track the bills to the local Post Office. - MEAG registration is open. Lisa Cannon will be contacting everyone to get registration information for the conference. Dates are July 18-20. - Work session is scheduled for 4:30 on May 16 and dedication of North Plaza as the George Dexter King Plaza is scheduled for 5:30 on May 16. Planning & Zoning - Variance request for 139 Blount Street for community living arrangement property in R3 Zoning District; public hearing to be held on June 6 City Attorney Report Mr. Melton stated he will cancel the ad for the Benson Hamm conditional use request. A variance request for 139 Blount Street will come before council on June 6, 2022. Also, on May 19 th a called meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m. for the financing project by Davenport. Forsyth City Council – May 2, 2022  P age |3 Mayor’s Report Mayor Pro-tem Dodd had no further business to discuss. Council Board Reports Mr. Hewett stated a Housing Authority meeting will be held Tuesday, May 10th at City Hall, 3:00 p.m. Additional Business No additional business was brought forward. Public Comments Mr. Walter Goodson stated he has filed a complaint recently; he reviewed a trespassing event that occurred at his residence recently. He requested the processes of that night by the city needs to be reviewed. Executive Session No executive session was held. Adjourn There being no further business to discuss the meeting adjourned at 6:32 p.m. Forsyth City Council – May 2, 2022