City Council

Summary/Final Minutes – Work Session – August 30, 2013 Savannah City Government SUMMARY/FINAL MINUTES MAYOR and ALDERMEN WORK SESSION CITY MANAGER’S BRIEFING August 30, 2013 – 3:00 pm PRESENT: Mayor Edna B. Jackson, Presiding Alderman Van R. Johnson, II Mayor Pro-Tem Alderman Tony Thomas, Chairman of Council Alderman Mary Osborne, Vice-Chairman of Council Aldermen John Hall, Mary Ellen Sprague, Tom Bordeaux (left 4:45p.m. for a 5pm appointment) and Estella Shabazz City Manager Stephanie S. Cutter City Attorney W. Brooks Stillwell Asst. City Attorney William W. Shearouse ABSENT: Alderman Carol Bell (out of town) Mayor Jackson called the meeting to order and announced she received a call regarding the Savannah Hospital Authority Board and needed direction from Dyanne Reese, Clerk of Council on the steps to take. She stated they are preparing to do some bonding and needs a full board which they do not currently have. Mayor Jackson suggested possibly suspending the rules on advertising and asked members of Council to recommend individuals. Mrs. Reese informed Council that it is a policy and appointments can be made at any time. Alderman Sprague inquired about the number of members currently on the Board. Brooks Stillwell, City Attorney stated there are currently two members however, it requires seven. Alderman Sprague inquired if Amy Copeland was still a member. Attorney Stillwell replied yes and suggested having the discussion about possible members at the Council work session September 5 in an attempt to meet the Board’s timeline for conducting meetings. Mayor Jackson stated if any members of Council have recommendations to submit them to her by September 3, she will compile the list and Council will come to an agreement. Mayor Jackson turned the meeting over to Stephanie Cutter, City Manager to update Council on SPLOST. SPLOST Update City Manager Cutter stated the SPLOST list was submitted to Chatham County totaling $303,172,000. Of that amount $145M was for two Countywide projects: the Arena $120M and Police Headquarters $25M with City projects totaling $158,172,000. The County Chairman notified the City that there will not be any Level 1 or 2 projects and asked the City to prioritize what it’s requesting. Mayor Jackson and City Manager Cutter met with the County Chairman to discuss some options and she believes some headway was made. Council will now need to make a decision on whether or not to proceed with the arena. City Manager Cutter encouraged Council to decide on a location based on the tour taken. In addition, Council members submitted various 1  Summary/Final Minutes – Work Session – August 30, 2013 SPLOST projects and if Council decides to move forward with the arena, reductions will have to be made in other areas. The appropriate Council members will need to decide where the reductions will happen. City Manager Cutter stated she does not suggest making any reductions in the Neighborhood Vitality area, but has to be very sensitive when it comes to Community Centers for areas that already have them opposed to districts that do not. The major decision is on the arena and further cuts will need to be made with what has been identified. Alderman Osborne asked if the arena was put under Level 2. City Manager Cutter replied no, but it was submitted as a Level 2. She also stated she believes the discussion went well and compromise was made; she will meet with the City Attorney in reference to the legalities that will come before Council. Alderman Bordeaux asked the City Manager to give the difference and significance between Level 1 and 2 projects. City Manager Cutter replied Level 1 projects are court related such as courthouses and jails. Level 2 projects are those which benefit the entire County but do not fit into the Level 1 category. Those projects, whether Level 1 or 2, are priority and receive the first SPLOST funds. Alderman Sprague asked for clarification about the agreement made with the last SPLOST passed in reference to the City supporting the jail and the arena then becoming a Level 1 or 2 project in SPLOST 6. Mayor Jackson stated there was no agreement and it has to be taken into consideration the County had a turnover. Alderman Sprague stated she understands however, the City was very giving was burned very badly last time. She is very disappointed and believes the citizens of Savannah will be disappointed as well which will make it difficult to pass SPLOST. Mayor Jackson stated she thinks the arena should remain on the list. There are some questions the Chairman needs to discuss with the County Attorney before disbursing any information as to how certain things will be handled. The County Attorney will then meet with the City Attorney on legalities and what the State and Justice Department says before the information is passed on to Council. Alderman Sprague asked if Chairman Scott gave reasoning for not supporting Level 1 or 2 projects. City Manager Cutter replied Chairman Scott stated he does not want nor supports any Level 1 or 2 projects because in essence it takes away from the municipalities, and if he was Chairman during the last SPLOST the jail would not have been a Level 1 project. Alderman Osborne suggested Council take the advice of the City Manager and make a determination where the arena will be located at the next meeting of Council. Alderman Thomas asked why the City was bearing the brunt of a Police Headquarters when it’s a Countywide Police Department. The Chairman may not want to pay for a portion of it, but it serves the entire County. City Manager Cutter stated there are other municipalities (i.e. Pooler and Garden City) that have their own Police Department. The thought behind it is it’s not a true Countywide project. Alderman Thomas then asked will the County contribute a share to building it from their pot of SPLOST. City Manager Cutter stated the Chairman was not opposed to the City’s project, he was supportive of the project, but it will be discussed further after receiving 2  Summary/Final Minutes – Work Session – August 30, 2013 legal advisement from staff. Alderman Thomas then stated he is still very concerned about the cost of the arena. He knows where he would like to see it built, but has not seen any data to support how big it should be, what the cost to build is and the maintenance afterwards. City Manager Cutter stated the second phase of the study would have identified all of those concerns, but when making a decision looking at one site versus four sites saves money in terms of study cost. If Council decides to move forward, even if looking at multiple sites or all sites, at least a decision has been made and at that point would be able to move forward to answer the questions put on the table. Alderman Thomas stated he is very concerned and understands the City is under the gun with SPLOST, but needs some base to build from when leading the public on how much this will potentially cost. He remains that projects should be distributed among all six Aldermanic districts in the City so every part gets a project from SPLOST. If the sixth District does not have an adequate or significant project he will not support it and will lobby against it if that is the case. Mayor Jackson asked what the amount is that will not be taken out for each district. City Manager Cutter replied $1.5M. Mayor Jackson suggested Council members meet with the City Manager because in some areas there are multiple projects that need to be looked at and in other areas there may only be one or possibly none. Alderman Shabazz stated Council and the citizens need to know how the arena will be funded. In addition, the constituents in District 5 constantly remind her that the arena was going to be built on the Westside of Savannah. She feels the arena needs to be a project that comes out of SPLOST 6 and should be built at the site off of Gwinnett and Stiles Avenue (City Lot). There are major projects, situations and concerns in District 5 that need to be dealt with and should continue to be prioritized. There is a large tax base of citizens in the area and we need to get some type of project(s) according to how the funds flow to get improvements done in the area. Mayor Jackson thanked Alderman Shabazz and stated it is imperative that Council members review the list and make some sacrifices. There are multiple facilities in each district that have been built and have been taken care of, drainage projects throughout the City that have been taken care of and are still being taken care of. Currently, the things on the board now are in Districts 2 and 4 and those funds come from past SPLOST and are accounted for. If the money is not there to generate the funds, Council should not make commitments to the citizens that cannot be fulfilled. The priority should be the arena because a commitment was made. Alderman Thomas requested each Council member receive a revised list by District of distinct projects within geographical districts and the projects shared among those Districts. Alderman Hall stated he understands everyone wants their share of the pot in their District and asked what the County needs to do for the City that has not been done in reference to unused SPLOST money (i.e. sidewalk construct on Skidaway Road). When will they begin spending that money? The citizens need to see something going on. The money has been sitting for the past 20 years since SPLOST 1. Mayor Jackson agreed with Alderman Hall and stated she believes it should be addressed with Chairman Scott. Alderman Hall suggested Attorney Stillwell stop this as soon as possible, and 3  Summary/Final Minutes – Work Session – August 30, 2013 assist in getting the money as soon as possible. Mayor Jackson stated she agrees and also thinks she should contact the counterparts on the County Commission to push alongside the City. Alderman Bordeaux asked City Manager Cutter when making the list, Alderman Thomas requested to list where people live that will be benefitted by the projects because it’s nice to have a physical presence and no project benefits citizens all over the City. If a project is put in one district it may benefit citizens in other areas as well. Alderman Johnson stated ultimately this is an opportunity for prioritization, the arena is the project whether Council likes it or not. He cautioned Council regardless of what happens, particularly if the arena is placed in an area other than where it is currently, there still needs to be sufficient funds to deal with the current structure which is another issue. There is an administrative reality and a political reality and he hopes the two are balanced so each district can receive something. He is interested in seeing the County’s list because there are some items that may benefit the City City Manager Cutter stated in speaking with the Chairman he is looking at projects from the perspective Alderman Johnson stated. Alderman Hall stated he wanted it to be clear to the citizens and stated Council has been prioritizing from the beginning but at this point the task is to reprioritize what was already done. Mayor Jackson agreed with Alderman Hall and thanked him for his comment. Alderman Sprague asked City Manager Cutter for the amount out of the $303M the County offered the City. Mrs. Cutter replied $190M, which includes the arena but that amount will increase after today if the legal staff says yes. Alderman Sprague then asked what the projected amount of SPLOST funds is. City Manager Cutter stated $370M which is very conservative. Mayor Jackson stated the other municipalities are asking for small amounts. Alderman Sprague then asked the amount the County is requesting. City Manager Cutter replied currently it’s about $121M; originally it was $137M. Alderman Thomas asked if the interest on projects that have been sitting for over 20 years been has addressed. He believes this is a legitimate concern not only for the City of Savannah but the other municipalities as well. He would like to know how much interest has accrued. He stated he has been on Council for 14 years and has seen many SPLOST pass. Some projects have been completed in District 6 which closely overlays with the County but he would like a list of all projects that have been completed countywide within the City limits. Mayor Jackson agreed with Alderman Thomas and stated she began talking about SPLOST after LOST and suggested to begin meeting months ago. Her personal opinion is if there is no SPLOST now there will be issues in the primary election. She hopes SPLOST can be passed this time. Alderman Osborne agreed with Mayor Jackson and stated if the constituents in District 3 receive something to believe in, plus the general project of the arena which is for everyone including the 4  Summary/Final Minutes – Work Session – August 30, 2013 other municipalities, she believes there is a fair chance of passing SPLOST in the referendum because the citizens need to see and believe what is going on. Alderman Sprague asked if the City received a list of the $121M the County is putting into SPLOST. City Manager replied no. Alderman Sprague stated she believes the City needs to receive it because it will help council members push SPLOST. City Manager Cutter stated, it has been requested but hasn’t been received as of yet. Alderman Sprague stated she believes it should be published. Alderman Shabazz asked the City Manager to form the proposed list under Neighborhood Vitality section of the $1.5M for the sidewalks and curb and gutter only. City Manager Cutter stated if Council wants to change what the allocation is for it can be done, but it is her recommendation that the $1.5M per District stays. Alderman Shabazz asked if she meant under that category and the City Manager stated no, the category can be changed but the amount should remain the same. Mayor Jackson stated a decision will be made on the arena at the meeting of Council Thursday, September 5, 2013 and thanked the City Manager for all her hard work even while she was on vacation and thanked the staff as well. Mayor Jackson adjourned the meeting and asked for a motion to go into Executive Session. Executive Session Upon a motion by Alderman Osborne, seconded by Alderman Bordeaux and unanimously carried, approval was given to go into Executive Session to discuss litigation. Upon a motion by Alderman Johnson, seconded by Alderman Hall and unanimously carried, approval was given to come out of Executive Session. Dyanne C. Reese, MMC, Clerk of Council 5