Town Council Meeting

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 17, 2022 at 7:00 PM Eric Dial, Mayor Gloria Furr, Mayor Pro Tem, Post 4 Linda Howard, Post 1 Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Melissa Hill, Post 2 Not present Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Also present was: Sandy Beach, Finance Manager April Spradlin, Court Clerk Randy Mundy, Police Chief Social Distancing will be observed, and seating is limited. The meeting can be accessed live at www.tyrone.org/youtube. If you do not plan to attend, please send any agenda item questions or comments to Town Manager Brandon Perkins (bperkins@tyrone.org). Mayor Dial called the meeting to order with limited seating and broadcasted on YouTube Live at 7:00 pm, this was followed by the invocation. The public was invited to watch. I. CALL TO ORDER II. INVOCATION III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The first public comment period is reserved for non-agenda items. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. Ms. Connie Wesoloski who lives on O'Connell Street asked Council to seriously consider pickleball courts for the citizens and the children of Tyrone. She shared that she was an educator and that this would be a great investment for their future. She shared that she played pickleball and that it was the upcoming sport, exploding everywhere. She added that Griffin had state-of-the-art equipment, as did Newnan. Tyrone could have something similar. She asked that Council seriously consider it and do something about it, it would be advantageous. She added that she was in charge of a pickleball group in Peachtree City. She added that those players would come to a Tyrone facility. She stated that she was a retired educator, after 30 years and played pickleball in the mornings and evenings. She pleaded with Council to seriously consider creating pickleball courts in Tyrone. She added that she lived in Peachtree City for 30 years before Tyrone and that all of her Peachtree City friends would join her in Tyrone if the Town had courts. This would be an asset to Tyrone. She added that she often brought the children from Clear Water Academy, where she currently worked, to walk around the lake. It is a sweet little town; she loves the parks and pickleball courts would be a great asset to the Town. Page 1 of 6  Ms. Erin Kagey who lives on Kenmare Row shared her support for pickleball courts. She stated that she had met with Mr. Trocquet, the Town Planner last week to discuss the Redwine Park plans from 2017. She stated that the entire plan looked great. Including pickleball courts, were also bocce ball, shuffleboard, and volleyball courts were listed. This would be a great benefit for people of all ages. She also requested golf cart paths improvements for the downtown area. She could ride bikes or utilize the golf cart to support local businesses without getting in her car. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made to approve the agenda. Motion made by Council Member Furr, Seconded by Council Member Campbell. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard. VI. CONSENT AGENDA: All matters listed under this item are considered to be routine by the Town Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered separately. 1. Consideration of an updated inmate agreement between the Town and Fayette County raising the daily inmate house rate from $50.00 to $57.60 per inmate per day. 2. Consideration to approve Bethel Church's (c/o Bethel Church of Atlanta, Inc.) Stormwater Management Operations and Maintenance Agreement with the Town of Tyrone. 3. Consideration to approve the updated Field and Facilities Use Agreement with Tyrone Youth Baseball Association for 2022. 4. Consideration to approve the updated Field and Facilities Use Agreement with Tyrone Lazers Soccer Club for 2022. 5. Consideration to approve the Crossroads Christian School Shamrock Park Fun Run. This event will be held on April 30th from 10am-3pm. Rain date will be May 7th. They will be using our stage. This will be a free event open to the public. 6. Approval of Workshop and Regular meeting Minutes from February 3, 2022. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Howard. Voting Yea: Council Member Furr. VII. PRESENTATIONS VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS Page 2 of 6 IX. OLD BUSINESS 7. Consideration to approve a Grant Agreement between the Town and the Castle Lake Maintenance and Repair Funding Group, Inc. for the purpose of having the Town assist the Funding Group to obtain grant funding for upgrading and maintaining the dam in Castle Lake. Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Mr. Davenport informed everyone that conversations began with folks from the Castle Lake subdivision who was interested in entering into sponsorship for a grant application for work on the Castle Lake dam. They presented a strong case, they put the funding together, they assembled a corporate entity, and they hired an engineering firm. Council heard what they had to say, gave them a list of items to complete, which they did, and last May, Council voted to join in a sponsorship. Mr. Davenport stated that before Council, was the funding agreement with language that had been accepted by both parties. He highlighted a couple of conditions that would protect the Town. The Castle Lake Maintenance and Repair Funding Group, Inc. had committed $149,800, into an account for the local match if the grant were awarded, which showed good stewardship. The Town would make efforts to fill out the paperwork and shepherd it through the EPD process. He added that the funding group also indicated that they would reimburse the Town for any additional costs incurred. He added that the funding group also placed a 50- year funding commitment to the Town, which would be more than 50-years for maintenance, in perpetuity. Mr. Davenport stated that he believed the document before they expressed the conditions the Town wished to be met. He added that the funding group was an easy group to work with. If approved, he would meet with the funding group to finalize signatures and return the document to the Town for its record. Mayor Dial shared with Mr. Davenport that the Town did not make the process difficult for Castle Lake, however, would he agree that the Town did ask them to meet several high standards before the final agreement. Mr. Davenport agreed and added that as an example, Castle Lake residents came to the Town several years ago to sponsor a grant to clean up erosion around the lake. The Town declined due to the high liability involved. The residents did their homework, hired an engineer, funded some maintenance work, funded the local match with the anticipation of receiving the grant., and agreed to reimburse all additional costs. He added that all of those steps minimized the Town’s liability exposure moving forward. Mayor Dial asked Mr. Davenport to share the initial timeframe that the residents of Castle Lake approached the Town with the request. Mr. Davenport reported that they initially approached the Town, 10- 12 years prior with a slightly different version of the issue, most recently early 2021. This resulted in the agreement last May. Council Member Campbell asked if they were awarded the grant and all repairs were made, who would handle the maintenance costs moving forward? Mr. Davenport stated that the Town’s biggest hurdle on the front-end was to ensure that Castle Lake residents were good stewards with the federal funding that would come through the grant. The local match was assumed. They were required to expend the funding precisely according to the terms of the grant. The Town would be liable if that was not completed properly. They have committed to executing in that fashion. Page 3 of 6  He explained that the Town was more of an overseer. He added that what costs were to be incurred by the Town, the group had agreed to reimburse. Council Member Furr inquired about inspections. Mr. Davenport stated that the Town already had someone working on its behalf to ensure that the application was properly filled out and submitted to EPD, a cost that would be reimbursed. A motion was made to approve the Grant Agreement between the Town and the Castle Lake Maintenance and Repair Funding Group, Inc. for the purpose of having the Town assist the Funding Group to obtain grant funding for upgrading and maintaining the dam in Castle Lake. Motion made by Council Member Furr, Seconded by Council Member Campbell. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard. X. NEW BUSINESS XI. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The second public comment period is for any issue. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. XII. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Perkins addressed everyone regarding pickleball courts. He stated that the Redwine Park Master Plan, which included pickleball courts had been a SPLOST project since 2017. It was a lower priority, and SPLOST funding was not acquired at one time, it funneled in slowly. The plan was always to complete the project along with the installation of courts toward the end of SPLOST. That time was now approaching. He added that he had sent Council an email four months ago to begin the discussion, it was met with mixed feedback. To be placed within the FY2023 budget, the concept needed to be turned into a plan. He shared that he reached out to POND, the engineering firm that had worked with the Town through the LCI plan and a traffic study. POND representative, Andrew Kohr was a Park Planner by trade. Mr. Perkins asked for a quote for the Redwine Park Master Plan. The plan may or may not include everything. The budget for the plan was $350,000. He added that the plan called for eight pickleball courts. They were two tennis courts that could also be utilized as eight pickleball courts. The debate was, did the Town need more tennis courts or just pickleball. He would leave that to the professionals to decide. He assured everyone that he was moving forward to obtain the cost for the Master Plan and that the $350,000 would be placed in the FY2023 budget. Mayor Dial asked for a fair timeline for the completion of the project, if approved. Mr. Perkins stated that accounting for planning and weather, 1 ½ year. Council Member Howard acknowledged that she did not see a playground on the renderings. Mr. Perkins stated that it was not on the renderings but it was in the actual plan from the former Recreation Manager, Mitch Bowman. After recently speaking with Mr. Bowman, Mr. Perkins shared that Mr. Bowman suggested flipping the plan to utilize the softball field closer to the parking lot. Page 4 of 6  He added that he would also check with POND for their advice. Mr. Perkins added that the plan called for parking lot improvements, a playground, the courts, shuffleboard, and beach volleyball. He assured Council that the plan was to move forward. Council Member Howard shared that the first softball field was a better area and suggested placing picnic tables at the other end and to utilize the large trees at the end of the street. Mr. Perkins announced that CSX Railroad had notified him that they would be out again this year, beginning March 7th through March 11th for crossing improvements. The crossings were Senoia Road, Valleywood Road, Tyrone Road, Swanson Road, Sandy Creek, and Milam, and Shamrock Industrial. He stated that CSX offered to repair the industrial park crossing during the weekend, however, there were businesses within the industrial park that operated on the weekends, 24/7. CSX stated regarding the schedule to, “take it or leave it”. Mr. Perkins stated that he would attempt to reach out to one more person tomorrow. The announcement would be released to the public and the industrial park on Monday. Looking back, CSX made similar repairs during April, two years ago. They would repair the industrial park either the weekend before or after the week of March 7th – 11th. He also inquired if they could repair one side at a time, they said, no. Council Member Campbell asked for clarification regarding the schedule. Mr. Perkins stated that they would begin on one crossing and move to the next, for completion of all in one week. Mr. Perkins informed everyone that staff was in the middle of the Comprehensive Plan updates and that an online survey was published. He stated that there was an overwhelming response to the survey by middle-aged females. He added that the survey needed more diversity. He stated that Mayor Dial suggested the need for a postcard mailer. The postcards would be mailed to each home soon with the link, hopefully, that would lead to more feedback. Mr. Perkins also announced that this Saturday, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Circa Coffee was hosting their Coffee with a Cop event. He and Chief Mundy would attend as well as six officers for the public to be able to interact with them and ask questions. XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made to move into Executive Session for one (1) item of threatened litigation. Motion made by Council Member Furr, Seconded by Council Member Howard. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell. A motion was made to reconvene. Motion made by Council Member Furr, Seconded by Council Member Howard. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell. Page 5 of 6 XV. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Howard. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell, Council Member Furr. The meeting adjourned at 7:42 pm. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 6 of 6