City Council

March 1, 2021 City Council Meeting Minutes 6:00 PM The regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council for the City of Gray, Georgia was held on Monday, March 1, 2021 at 6:00pm in the D.V. Childs Civic Center. Present: Mayor Ed Barbee, Mayor Pro Tem James Collins, Council Members David Tufts, Terry Favors, and Terrell Fulford, Police Chief Adam Lowe, City Attorney John Newberry, City Superintendent Frank Ross, Fire Chief Keith Eisele, City Clerk Cindy Yancey and Assistant City Clerk Ashley Roberson. Guests: Haley Watson, Sherri Rollins, Glenda Wood, John Wood, Tim Pitrowski, Judge Mike Greene, Chris Smarr, Ken Kay, Donnie & Sandra Melton, John Daugherty, Bobby May, Justin & Stacie Kelly, Dakota & Savanna Clark, John Harrelson, John Griffin, Danny & Donna Mundy, Pat & Cecil Starley, Pat Willis, Kameron Flournoy, Clyde Green, Zack Grogan, and Debbie Lurie-Smith, The Jones County News. Mayor Barbee called the meeting to order at 6:00pm. Councilman Tufts gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilman Tufts made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Collins, and unanimously voted to amend the March 1, 2021 agenda to add Greg Boike with the Middle Georgia Regional Commission to the agenda under Old Business. APPROVED 4-0 Councilman Tufts made a motion, seconded by Councilman Fulford, and unanimously voted to approve the February minutes. APPROVED 4-0 Councilman Fulford made a motion, seconded by Councilman Favors, and unanimously voted to approve the February accounts payable. APPROVED 4-0 Mayor’s Report: • No report. Main Street Gray – Haley Watson: • Main Street Gray Director Haley Watson gave the list of events scheduled for Turkey Fest 2021: o April 1st-11th Virtual Egg Hunt o April 23rd Gobble Wobble Food Truck Friday o April 24th Turkey Trot 5K and Turkey Fest o April 30th Turkey Scramble Golf Tournament • Mrs. Watson also added that the Chamber of Commerce is hosting their first Networking Night in over a year at the Chamber on March 25th. Old Business: 1. Greg Boike – Middle Georgia Regional Commission o Mr. Boike updated Mayor and Council on the status of the CDBG project. Response for Qualification bids were put out and only received one engineering bid from Carter & Sloope and no bids for housing administration were received. He explained that due to the deadline approaching it may be best to start working towards the 2022 grant instead of 2021. Councilman Tufts made a motion, seconded by Councilman Fulford, and unanimously voted to accept Carter & Sloope as the engineering firm for 2022 CDBG grant application. APPROVED 4-0 Page Two City Council Meeting Minutes March 1, 2021 New Business: Councilman Favors made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Collins, and unanimously voted to close the Council Meeting and go into a P&Z Hearing. APPROVED 4-0 1. P&Z Hearing: • Item A: Gateway Development Center, Inc.: Requests to rezone from C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) to C-2 (General Commercial), in order to allow a restaurant with a drive-thru. Property is located at 203 West Clinton St and consists of .87 +/- acres. • Item B: Gateway Development Center, Inc.: Request to re-zone from R-1 (Single Family Residential) to C-2 (General Commercial), in order to allow a restaurant with a drive- thru. Property is located on Fraley St, behind 203 West Clinton St, and consists of .55 +/- acres. Planning & Zoning Director Tim Pitrowski presented the request from Gateway Development. Sherri Rollins with Gateway Development Center, Inc. explained that this project includes four parcels two of which are already zoned C-2. This project will include a ten-foot landscaped buffer across Fraley Street. Mrs. Rollins stated that the tentative restaurant with drive thru is one that only develops in small downtown areas like Gray. She also stated that their restaurants have a wraparound porch with a stacked stone fireplace in the front and are heavily landscaped. Chris Smarr of 116 Stewart Avenue stated that she does not see how this project could make the street any busier than it already is. Ms. Smarr stated that she does not believe anyone has worked harder to “Grow Gray Gracefully” than Mrs. Sherri Rollins and she knows she will make sure there is a nice barrier for Fraley Street. Mayor Pro Tem Collins asked if the drive thru was the only difference between C-1 and C-2 zoning and Mr. Pitrowski explained C-1 is Neighborhood Commercial and C-2 is General Commercial. Judge Mike Greene of 162 Fraley Street stated that he is in favor of the project. He stated that when he learned Mrs. Rollins purchased the lots he knew that she would make sure the corner looks much better than it does right now. Justin Kelly of 122 Washburn Drive spoke in opposition of the rezoning. He feels it will cause more traffic and be an eyesore to residents of their neighborhood. Mr. Kelly stated that a rear entrance on Fraley Street is ludicrous. Donnie Melton of 179 Fraley Street spoke in opposition of the rezoning. He believes it will have a negative impact on the safety of the area due to traffic and feels it will decrease property values. Bobby May of Harris Morton Road stated that he used to live on Fraley Street, and he does not believe that anyone would want a restaurant in their neighborhood. Danny Mundy of 125 Washburn Drive spoke in opposition of the rezoning. He asked Mayor and Council to consider the integrity of their neighborhood and that they keep it residential. Dakota Clark of 178 Fraley Street spoke in opposition. He stated that his property is right beside the property in question. Mr. Clark has a 15-month-old and he said play in the yard daily. He worries about the safety of a high traffic restaurant being so close to a residential area. Mayor Pro Tem Collins thanked everyone for speaking. He stated that he would not be in favor of having a rear access on Fraley Street. Page Three City Council Meeting Minutes March 1, 2021 Police Chief Adam Lowe stated that they have had the speed trailer on Fraley Street over the weekend. Thursday and Friday there were 400+ cars and Saturday and Sunday 500+ cars. Chief Lowe stated that the average speed was 28mph. Councilman Favors made a motion, seconded by Councilman Fulford, and unanimously voted to close the P&Z Hearing and reopen the Council Meeting. APPROVED 4-0 Planning & Zoning Item A: Mayor Pro Tem Collins made a motion, seconded by Councilman Favors, and unanimously voted to approve the rezoning from C-1 to C-2. APPROVED 4-0 Planning & Zoning Item B: Mayor Pro Tem Collins made a motion to rezone the lot to C-2 as requested with the stipulation that there can be no Fraley Street entrance and it must have a 20-foot buffer of fence and vegetation; the motion was seconded by Councilman Favors. Councilman Tufts voted in favor of the motion and Councilman Fulford voted in opposition. APPROVED 3-1 2. Applicant Edward Spencer requests beer/wine and liquor pouring license for Spencer Group of Georgia, Inc. located at 125 West Clinton Street, Gray, Georgia 31032. Councilman Favors made a motion, seconded by Councilman Fulford, and unanimously voted to approve the beer/wine and liquor pouring licenses for Spencer Group of Georgia, Inc. APPROVED 4-0 3. A Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Gray, Georgia to supplement the General Appropriations Resolution passed by Mayor and Council the 5th day of October 2020, for fiscal year 2021; and for other purposes. • LMIG Councilman Tufts made a motion, seconded by Councilman Fulford, and unanimously voted to approve Resolution 21-R-003. APPROVED 4-0 4. A Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Gray, Georgia to supplement the General Appropriations Resolution passed by Mayor and Council the 5th day of October 2020, for fiscal year 2021; and for other purposes. • Firetruck Councilman Fulford made a motion, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Collins, and unanimously voted to approve Resolution 21-R-004. APPROVED 4-0 5. Authorization for Mayor Barbee to sign a Lighting Service Agreement w/ Georgia Power regarding LED lights @ W Clinton St and the Bill Conn Connector. Councilman Favors made a motion, seconded by Councilman Tufts, and unanimously voted to authorize the signing of the Lighting Service Agreement. APPROVED 4-0 6. Authorization for Mayor Barbee to sign an engagement letter from Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker, LLC regarding the services that are to be provided concerning the audit for the year ending December 31, 2020. Page Four City Council Meeting Minutes March 1, 2021 Councilman Fulford made a motion, seconded by Councilman Tufts, and unanimously voted to authorize signing of the engagement letter. APPROVED 4-0 Public Comments: • Glenda Wood requested a streetlight to be added halfway down Arnold Rd. She also asked for a pothole to be filled in front of 127 Office Park Rd. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned. ________________________________ Assistant City Clerk