Town Council Meeting

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES December 07, 2023 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 Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Also present: Police Lt., Philip Nelson Sandy Beach, Finance / HR Director I. CALL TO ORDER II. INVOCATION III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: 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. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made to approve the agenda. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill. 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. Approval of the November 16, 2023 meeting minutes. 2. Approval of the 2024 Holiday Schedule for office closures. 3. Approval of the re-appointment of McNally, Fox, Grant, and Davenport, P.C. as the Town Legal Counsel. 4. Approval of Fayette County News as the Town's Legal Organ. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda. Town Council Meeting Page 1 of 7 December 07, 2023  Motion made by Council Member Furr, Seconded by Council Member Hill. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Campbell. VII. PRESENTATIONS VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS IX. OLD BUSINESS 5. Approval of a Resolution adopting the local amendment to the Plumbing Code. Dennis Davenport, Attorney Mr. Davenport shared that he presented a findings resolution in October. The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District asked metro communities to issue the resolution if they agreed with the proposed revisions to the plumbing code as it pertained to water preservation. The revisions included low-flow sensors, for homes and landscaping irrigation. He stated that Tyrone adopted the resolution, and it was sent to DCA and DCA then responded. It was now up to Tyrone to adopt a resolution implementing those changes to the plumbing code. Once adopted, it would serve as an amendment to the plumbing code for Tyrone. He added that builders would then need to look at Tyrone’s amendment to the plumbing code and follow our previsions. A motion was made to adopt the revision of the Tyrone Plumbing Code. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hill. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Furr. X. NEW BUSINESS 6. Consideration to appoint Mr. Terry Noble to Post 5 of the Town of Tyrone Planning Commission. Mayor, Eric Dial Mr. Trocquet stated that Mr. Terry Noble had applied for Post 5 of the Planning Commission. Mr. Carl Schouw had stepped down and the post was vacant. A motion was made to approve the appointment of Terry Noble to Planning Commission Post 5. Mayor Dial then administered Mr. Nobel's oath. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill. 7. Consideration to approve the FY 2022/2023 Budget Amendment. Sandy Beach, Finance / HR Manager Page 2 of 7  Ms. Beach stated that the 2022/2023 fiscal year was the first time the SBITAs (Subscription Based Information Technology Arrangements) were required to be reported on financial statements. Due to the GASB 96 change in reporting, the Finance Department needed to amend the original budget because of the nature of the subscription software that was used, including payroll, accounting, and budgeting/transparency software. She reminded Council of the Town’s new finance software system, ClearGov. According to the lease agreement, the Town had to utilize the system for at least three years. She stated that three years of expenses needed to be recognized at one time. She stated that the overall budget was not changing, the funding was a reclassification where the extra expenses reported were reclassed from the contingency line item that was budgeted in Administration. A motion was made to move $50,000 of contingency funds to the Finance Software SBITA line item for the FY 2022/2023 budget. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Howard. Voting Yea: Council Member Hill, Council Member Furr. 8. Consideration to approve a 2023 Senoia Road Streetscape & Mobility Schematic contract with TSW in an amount not to exceed $200,000. Phillip Trocquet, Community Development Mr. Trocquet shared that the Town received an LCI master plan grant in 2021 for our downtown area. The grant served a twofold purpose of setting a consistent direction and purpose for the Town Center District (Downtown) as well as enabling the Town to pursue further LCI and State grant monies for downtown. He added that the latest LCI application was aimed at honing a streetscape plan for Senoia Road and other minor streets downtown. The 2023 grant was for $160,000 (matching 80%). The plan would be a cohesive project as we were currently working with TSW. He added that the matching 80% would come from the Atlanta Regional Commission and recommended approval. Council Member Campbell asked what line the $40,000 would come from. Mr. Trocquet stated that it would come from the Planning and Zoning Technical Services line. He added that the project would include a complete survey of the downtown area including utilities, and pre-engineer work. He stated that approximately two million dollars of SPLOST funding was dedicated to the streetscape. The project would be a good first step. Council Member Howard inquired about the timeline. Mr. Trocquet stated that it would take approximately 10-12 months including citizen input. He added that the grant approval also opened the Town up for future Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) grant funding. A motion was made to approve the 2023 Town Center Streetscape & Mobility Study contract with TSW in an amount not to exceed $200,000. Page 3 of 7  Motion made by Council Member Hill, Seconded by Council Member Campbell. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Furr. 9. Consideration to approve a Downtown Signage Design contract with TSW in an amount not to exceed $25,500. Phillip Trocquet, Community Development. Mr. Trocquet explained that in conjunction with the Shamrock Park improvements and the LCI study, improved signage for all town facilities as well as gateway and wayfinding signage for the downtown area was listed in the 2023 SPLOST. He explained that wayfinding signage would direct travelers to destinations and gateway signage was along Highway 74 on the north and south ends. He shared that the total number of signs would be approximately twenty signs. He shared that TSW was the low bidder of the project. Council Member Campbell asked if the sign replacement would include Town buildings and parks. Mr. Trocquet stated that it would include all buildings and parks. A motion was made to approve the contract with TSW for downtown signage design in an amount not to exceed $25,500. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hill. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Furr. 10. Consideration to approve a contract amendment with SAFEbuilt for Permit Technician and Code Enforcement Services. Phillip Trocquet, Community Development Mr. Trocquet began with the Permit Technician component of the contract. Mr. Trocquet informed Council that the Town had faced a prolonged vacancy in the Permit and Compliance Specialist role causing a noticeable decline in the level of service and effectiveness of permit management, building department operations, and code enforcement. Additionally, attracting and hiring qualified individuals for the multi- faceted position has proven to be a significant challenge. Municipalities either have a code enforcement officer or a permit technician. He explained that currently, Safebuilt provided our plan reviews for the building projects in town. Safebuilt currently receives 60% of building official-associated fees and 100% of Plan Review fees. This was on an as-needed basis and funding for the building department came from permit fees. The proposed operations were to expand Safebuilt's role to include permit tech services. He added that after a review by Safebuilt, the additional services would increase their percentage of building official-associated fees to 100%. He shared a chart as an example of standard fees and what Safebuilt and the Town's shares would be. For a residential home, the standard fee was $2,000, Safebuilt currently receives $1,200 (60%). With the proposed percentage, Safebuilt would receive $2,000 (100%). For other fees the Town would gain 100%. Page 4 of 7 He reiterated that the impact would not be through the General Fund as a cost born by the taxpayers but by contractors and developers. He added that because of that, SAFEbuilt’s additional 40% capture of fees was completely self-sufficient and did not affect the Town’s bottom line year to year. That made moving to that model for permit technician services much more efficient for the Town. He added that the Town would continue to net collections on other non-SAFEbuilt related permit fees each year but at a reduced rate. The permit tech position would be completely funded by building permit fees. He recommended moving forward with the building permit component. Council Member Howard inquired about the fee chart. Mr. Trocquet gave examples of the base residential fee, residential plan review fee, and T-Pole inspection fee. Safebuilt would gain 100% of those fees. He then explained that the Town would keep the Tyrone Administrative fee, the Land Disturbance fee, and the Certificate of Occupancy fee. Mayor Dial asked if the fees would also be applied to commercial permits. Mr. Trocquet stated yes, it would include all building and planning-type permits. Mayor Dial then inquired about the date of the contract and the 90-day clause. Mr. Trocquet stated that it was an ongoing contract that the Town could exit at any time without penalty as long as we notified Safebuilt within 90 days. Mr. Trocquet then moved to the Code Enforcement element. He stated that the contract amendment offered SAFEbuilt to handle all code enforcement activities in Town at a rate of $60/hour for a minimum of 16 hours/week. The minimum annual cost implication was roughly $50,000. He compared that of an employee. The budget for a position (Salary, Benefits, Retirement, Training, etc. would be $65,000. That would be a $15,000 savings that could be flexed for more or less code enforcement services as needed. He then shared that the additional level of service would increase to a continuous and consistent level. He added that currently, staff could not maintain the code enforcement complaints. It would allow the Town to be more proactive and not reactive to complaints. It would also more than double code enforcement hours on the street from what employees were previously able to dedicate. He added that Safebuilt was familiar with the system leaving little onboarding There would be no interruptions due to sick days or employee turnover. He then shared the financial benefits. There would be an increase in fine revenues to offset some costs. He added that the reasoning behind code enforcement was not to gain funding from fees. There would be savings through discontinuing the Fayette County IGA of approximately $3,000/yr, and there would be a reduction in equipment costs associated with computers, vehicle maintenance, and gas, and HR-related expenses. He recommended approval. Council Member Campbell asked how many staff members would be dedicated to code enforcement. Mr. Trocquet stated that there would be one, and if that staff member was sick or out, another member would be available to fill in when needed. Council Member Campbell asked if the Town would save money going through Safebuilt for these services. Mr. Trocquet stated that there would be an annual savings of at least $15,000. Page 5 of 7  A motion was made to approve the contract with Safebuilt to add Permit Technician and Code Enforcement services. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill 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. Newly Elected Planning Commissioner, Terry Noble thanked Council for their vote and the opportunity to bring value to the community through his position. He and his wife moved here when their son was six years old in 2005. XII. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Perkins received approval from Council to combine staff's weekly emails which informed Council of Town projects and happenings, into the bi-weekly staff reports during Town Council meetings. Mr. Perkins stated that the Rockwood/Senoia/Crabapple Lane 4-way stop was coming along well. There have been unmarked police overseeing the intersection. XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS Council Member Howard announced that the Friends of the Tyrone Library were hosting Santa and Mrs. Clause on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., there would also be food and crafts. Council Member Campbell gave a shout-out to Ms. Owens and Ms. McClenney for their outstanding efforts during the Christmas Tree Lighting celebration. Despite the weather, the DDA gave out more than 500 cookies. Council Member Furr welcomed Mr. Noble to the Planning Commission. Mayor Dial asked Mr. Tracy Young with the Fayette County Development Authority to come up and share some good news. Mr. Young announced that the United States Soccer Federation had chosen Fayette County as the site of the national training center. He added that over a ten-year period, there would be 440 jobs filled with a $100,000 salary. There would be approximately 15 outdoor fields and 2-3 indoor fields. This was a big win for the County. Mr. Davenport thanked Council for allowing his firm to serve the Town for another year. His firm had been the Town's legal counsel since 2008, and he looked forward to another year. XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION XV. ADJOURNMENT Page 6 of 7  A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill, Council Member Campbell. The meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 7 of 7