Board of Mayor & Aldermen

MINUTES BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN REGULAR MEETING April 19, 2011 Board present Staff present Mayor Billy Paul Carneal City Manager Paul John Nutting Vice-Mayor Bruce Head Asst. City Manager Regina Holt Alderman Willie Mason City Recorder Jane Shugart Murphy Alderman Jerome Ellis City Clerk Connie W. Watson Alderman Ann Schneider City Attorney Jim Balthrop Alderman Shane Shoemaker Alderman James Hubbard 1.1 Mayor Billy Paul Carneal called to order the regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen at 7:30 p.m. The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. 1.2 Chief Ronnie Williams, representative of the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, presented the Springfield Police Department with a plaque in recognition of their completion of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. 1.3 A special award was presented to Chief Mike Wilhoit by the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. 1.4 Public Hearing: 1. Ordinance 11-03, an ordinance establishing rules and regulations for storm water management within the City of Springfield by rescinding Ordinance 04-25, and replacing it with new rules and regulations for storm water management and amending the Springfield Municipal Code by adding new rules and regulations for storm water management as an amendment to Title 20 entitled “Miscellaneous” by adding them as a new Chapter 3 entitled “Storm Water Management.” 1.5 Alderman Schneider moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen held on March 15, 2011, the special meeting held on March 28, 2011 and the special joint meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Robertson County Board of Education held on April 12, 2011. The motion was seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously. 2.0 Legislative 2.1 Alderman Mason moved for the approval of Ordinance 11-03 on 2nd reading, an ordinance establishing rules and regulations for storm water management within the City of Springfield by rescinding Ordinance 04-25, and replacing it with new rules and regulations for storm water management to read as set forth in “Exhibit A” attached and amending the Springfield Municipal Code by adding new rules and regulations for storm water management as set forth in “Exhibit A” attached as an amendment to Title 20 entitled “Miscellaneous” by adding them as a new Chapter 3 entitled “Storm Water Management.” The motion was seconded. The City Manager recommended amending the ordinance by eliminating the requirement that the entire ordinance be codified and included in the Springfield Municipal Code. He stated that the ordinance is too large to be codified and it would be difficult to keep the ordinance current for reference purposes due to the fact the Springfield Municipal Code is updated only one time per year. It would be best to publish the ordinance separately in the same manner that the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations are published. He stated this would make it easier to make amendments and to distribute the updated publication in a timely manner. Mr. Nutting recommended that the ordinance be amended by eliminating the last five lines of the caption and Section 2 of the ordinance which refer to codification. Section 3 will become the new Section 2 and Section 4 will become the new Section 3. Alderman Ellis moved to amend the ordinance as recommended by the City Manager. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. The original motion passed by 7-0 roll call vote. This ordinance amends the rules and regulations for storm water management as mandated by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control. 2.2 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Ordinance 11-04 on 1st reading, an ordinance amending Ordinance 08-05, Ordinance 08-28 and Title 9 of the Springfield Municipal Code entitled “Business, Peddlers, Solicitors, Etc., by amending Chapter 4 entitled “Taxicabs,” by rescinding Sections 9-406, 9-418, and 9-419 in their entirety and substituting new Sections 9-406, 9-416, 9-418, and 9-419. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. This ordinance changes the requirements for criminal history checks, increases the fee for the replacement of an unexpired taxicab driver permit that has been lost or damaged, and changes the anniversary dates for franchise permit holders and permanent taxi driver permit holders. 2.3 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Resolution 11-04, a resolution changing the name of the northern portion of Crescent Drive to Weaver Lane and renumbering the property addresses along the street. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 2.4 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of Ordinance 11-05, an ordinance amending the City of Springfield Annual Budget for Fiscal Year 2011 by amending certain General Fund and Utility Fund budgets. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 2.5 Alderman Shoemaker moved for the approval of Resolution 11-10, a resolution declaring certain property as surplus and authorizing the disposal of such property. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.0 Administrative 3.1 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve the TVA wholesale fuel cost adjustment beginning May 1, 2011 from the current effective amount of $0.02376 per kilowatt-hour to $0.02347. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. This adjustment represents a decrease of approximately 0.4% in wholesale electric rates. The net result will be a decrease of approximately $0.20 to $0.50 on an average residential electric bill, depending on the usage. 3.2 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve the retail gas rates of the Springfield Gas Department for the month of March as presented. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. This adjustment represents an increase of approximately 6.8% in the monthly gas rates. 3.3 Allan Ellis, Director of Public Works, briefed the Board on a request from Mr. Michael Watts to temporarily access City owned property in order to connect to Southwark Drive to allow for the sale of his property as a residential lot. The City owned property is the right-of-way for the extension of Batson Parkway to Highway 41 South. The residential property will have direct access to Batson Parkway after it is constructed. Alderman Shoemaker moved to authorize access to the City right-of-way in order to allow temporary access to Southwark Drive, as requested by Mr. Watts. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.4 Alderman Schneider moved to authorize a request from the Public Works Department for an extension of the contract with TRH Contracting for mowing right of ways and litter control for an additional twelve (12) months. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.5 The Board heard a request from the Community Development Department to appeal a decision of the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals that granted a variance to a property owner to repair two (2) houses that were initially ordered by the Community Development Department to be removed under the provisions of the slum clearance ordinance. Scott McDaniel, Codes Administrator, made a power point presentation explaining why the houses at 305 and 307 19th Avenue East, owned by Mr. Mac Baggett, should be removed under the provisions of the slum clearance ordinance. The agenda packet also included memorandums from the staff explaining how, in their opinion, the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals had exceeded its authority in granting a variance to the owner to allow him to make limited repairs to the houses. Mr. McDaniel explained in his presentation that the limited repairs authorized by the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals were not sufficient to bring the houses into full compliance with City codes. After Mr. McDaniel’s presentation, City Attorney Jim Balthrop asked if there were any representatives of the owner present. A representative of the owner was not present. Alderman Mason moved to reverse the decision of the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.6 Alderman Hubbard moved for the approval of the following parade applications: 1. Covenant Confirmers Ministry submitted an application to hold a benefit parade for the “Tennessee Biker Medical Clinic,” a free medical clinic for the community on June 4, 2011. The parade will assemble at 8:00 a.m at the church, start at 10:30 a.m. and return at 1:00 p.m.. 2. Greater Faith Community Action Corp. submitted an application to hold their annual “Drug Rally” at the Courthouse Square, July 2, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Set up will be at 9:00 a.m. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.7 The City Manager informed the Board that the project for the new roofs for City Hall and the Main Fire Station will be funded with proceeds from the 2008 TML Bond Fund Loan. He stated that the HVAC units and duct cleaning at City Hall are badly in need of replacement, the units are requiring frequent maintenance, which is causing a negative impact on the roof. For that reason, the bid for the construction of new roofs at the Main Fire Station and City Hall will also include alternate bids for the installation of new HVAC units and duct cleaning for City Hall. He stated that the low base bid for the roof replacement at the Main Fire Station and City Hall came in at two hundred eighty-five thousand dollars ($285,000.00). Alternate bid #1 for the replacement of the HVAC units for City Hall came in at thirty-eight thousand five hundred ninety-three dollars ($38,593.00) and alternate bid #2 for the duct cleaning came in at nine thousand three hundred ninety-eight dollars ($9,398.00). The total of the project came to three hundred thirty-two thousand nine hundred ninety-one dollars and the architect’s fee will be five percent (5%) of the total cost. Alderman Ellis moved to award only the base bid. The motion was seconded and passed by 6-1 roll call vote. Ayes: Ellis, Shoemaker, Schneider, Carneal, Mason, Head. Nayes: Hubbard. Alderman Schneider moved to award only the base bid to Marion and Green Roofing and Sheetmetal Company in the amount of $285,000. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.8 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve a request from the Fire Department to award the bid for a new pumper truck to Ferrara in the amount of $417,797.00. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.9 Alderman Hubbard moved to approve Change Order 21, for a new “S-1” sink and faucet in Classroom 202 at the Highland Crest-College Campus in the amount of $3,477.91. David Brewer, City Engineer, answered questions and informed the Board that the construction of the Highland Crest-College Campus is in its final stages and is well within the budget. The motion to approve Change Order 21 passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 3.10 Alderman Hubbard moved to appoint Ms. Virginia Boyd to serve out the remainder of Mr. Allen Sweat’s term on the Planning Commission for Ward 1. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call. 3.11 No action was taken on the appointments to the Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals. 3.12 The Board discussed changing the policy on rubbish and bulky waste collection. No action was taken. 3.13 Roger Lemasters, Director Water/Wastewater Utilities, briefed the Board on the status of the Highway 431 South water transmission main relocation. 4.0 Consent Alderman Hubbard moved to approve consent items 4.1, and 4.2. The motion was seconded and passed by 7-0 roll call vote. 4.1 The Public Works Department request for approval to award the bid for the utility street repair and maintenance contract to Four Star Paving Co. in the amount of $235,450.00. 4.2 Springfield Gas Department request for approval to purchase two (2) extended cab pick-up trucks on State Contract to Alexander Ford in the amount of $39,954.00. 5.0 City Manager’s Report 6.0 Adjournment With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned. ______________________________ Billy P. Carneal, Mayor Attest: ______________________________ Jane Shugart Murphy, City Recorder