City Council

MINUTES CITY OF GOOSE CREEK, SOUTH CAROLINA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 – 5:30 PM FIRE STATION I – 201 BUTTON HALL AVENUE MAY O R/ C OU NC IL P R ES E NT : M a yo r G r e go r y S. H ab ib ; M a yo r Pr o T e m D e br a G r e e n- Fl e tc he r ; C o un cil me m be r H an n a h C o x ; C o u nc il me m be r Me l i s s a E no s -Si m s ; C o u ncil m e mbe r C hr i sto p he r H ar mo n; C o u ncil me m b e r G a yl a Mc Sw ai n ; C o un cil me m be r Je r r y T e kac CO U N CI L A BS E NT : N o ne . CIT Y ST A F F PR E S EN T : C it y A d mi ni s tr a to r N a t al ie Ze i gl e r ; A s si s ta n t C i t y Ad m in is t r ato r Br i a n C o o k; C i t y C l e r k K e l l y J. L o ve t te , C hie f Fin a nci al O ffi ce r T yl e r H o wa n yk ; Spe ci al Pr o je c t s Ma n age r Al e x i s K i se r ; Po l i ce C h ie f L J Ro sco e ; Fir e C hi e f M ike N i xo n PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT SC CODE 30-4-80: WRITTEN NOTICE WAS DELIVERED TO THE PRESS BY EMAIL ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025, AND DULY POSTED AT CITY HALL LOCATED AT 519 N GOOSE CREEK BOULEVARD, AN ACCESSIBLE FACILITY, AND ON CITYOFGOOSECREEK.COM I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Pro Tem Green-Fletcher called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. II. BUSINESS ITEM(S) a. DISCUSSION OF FIRE STATION IV GMP CONTRACT WITH J DAVIS CONSTRUCTION Alexis Kiser fully briefed City Council on the status of the plans for Fire Station IV. She stated City staff received our guaranteed maximum price with a contractor, and we are getting ready to move forward with that stage of the project. A review of the renderings was provided, and she stated approval has been received from the Carnes Crossroads ARB, to include the site plans. She stated before they got to the construction drawings, they were at the design phase and last year they were around 7.5 million; by the end of last year the City was at 8.1 million once the construction documents were completed. She stated City staff really took some time and had a lot of conversations with Chief Nixon and the design team in finding engineering options that made sense to cut costs, and they were able to get back down to 7.5 million. Natalie Zeigler stated it did not reduce square footage, but it did take away a mezzanine, which saved the City some money. All of City Council’s questions were thoroughly answered. b. PROPOSED CHANGES TO DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Natalie Zeigler stated there have been three (3) people who have used the Down Payment Assistance Program, and it has been around for about three (3) years now. She discussed the Town of Bluffton’s program and stated City staff compared the Area Median Income (AMI) with Bluffton’s and our numbers are very similar; however, the Town of Bluffton is actually doing quite a bit more because they are doing $25,000, but they are tying it to the AMI. She was just bringing it to City Council as a different way to look at it so it will adjust every year, and she adjusted it to $12,500. She provided some examples of how the City could move forward and added the City was still significantly below that of what Bluffton was doing with their program. City Council requested the item be placed on the agenda for the March City Council Meeting for consideration. All of City Council’s questions were thoroughly answered. c. DISCUSSION ITEM ONLY – OTHER POST EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS Tyler Howanyk thoroughly briefed City Council with a proposal surrounding health insurance for retirees of the City, to include a few scenarios surrounding the costs involved. He stated the retiree could stay on the Page 1 of 2  State Health Plan and before they are Medicare eligible age they would slowly transition over to Medicare. Natalie Zeigler stated if an employee retires from the City after 30 years of employment and they are too young to go on Medicare, they can only be on Cobra for 18 months, and after that they will have a gap in health insurance. She stated this would only be for employees who are eligible under the South Carolina Retirement System’s requirements. City staff were suggesting this would only carry them up to 66½ as they transition to Medicare. Mr. Howanyk stated the retiree would pay out of pocket for the premiums unless City Council approved a $300.00 supplement. He provided a few different types of scenarios as to how it would work depending on if the employee were a Class I or Class II under State Retirement. All of City Council’s questions were thoroughly answered. d. DISCUSSION OF CONTRACT UPDATE WITH CAMERON BAKER ENGINEERING ON MUNICIPAL COMPLEX OVERFLOW PARKING Natalie Zeigler thoroughly briefed City Council concerning the parking that will go behind and to the side of the Recreation Center and this will all depend on the sale of the property and closing to JJR. There were no questions from City Council. e. DISCUSSION ITEM ONLY - REQUEST TO PURCHASE – KUBOTA EXCAVATOR FOR GOLF Tyler Howanyk provided City Council with quotes and a proposal to purchase a Kubota Excavator for the Golf Department. He stated they were renting one in the past and it has gotten to be really expensive. All of City Council questions were thoroughly answered. f. DISCUSSION OF ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR CROWFIELD GOLF COURSE IMPROVEMENT Natalie Zeigler stated City Council previously approved hiring an architect to render drawings and there was a disclaimer we would need to hire an engineer. She stated the City needs to engage an engineer to provide services and submit for permitting; and this group is currently working on the redesign for the parking lot improvements and expansion, and it makes sense to bring them in on this project. It would be a quick turnaround, as they stated it would be about six (6) weeks of work, about the same amount of time the architect would be finished with their plans, and we could put it out for bid. All of City Council’s questions were thoroughly answered. g. DISCUSSION RE: MUNICIPAL ADVISOR SERVICES RELATED TO THE MID Tyler Howanyk stated the City is moving closer to a potential debt issuance and that we engaged with Water Street Public Finance and consulting services as it related to the annual MID Assessment Report. He stated they are now going to get rolled into municipal advisory services which is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Considering the potential upcoming MID Bond issuances, the City will need to engage the services of a Municipal Advisory (MA) firm. MA firms are regulated by the SEC and there is specific language that is required to be incorporated into an engagement letter. As such City staff would be seeking approval to sign two (2) engagement letters. All of City Council’s questions were thoroughly answered. III. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Councilmember Harmon Discussion: None. Carried: All ayes. 6:05 p.m. Date: March 11, 2025 Kelly J. Lovette, MMC City Clerk Page 2 of 2