Town Council Meeting

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES February 01, 2024 at 7:00 PM Eric Dial, Mayor Gloria Furr, Mayor Pro Tem, Post 4 Jessica Whelan, Post 1 Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Dia Hunter, Post 2 Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Also present: Planning Commissioner, Terry Noble Lynda Owens, Recreation Manager Kristy McClenny, Recreation Assistant Bridget Smith, Accounting Specialist Mitch Bowman, Maintenance Supervisor 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 Hunter, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Campbell, Council Member Whelan. 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 January 4, 2024 minutes. 2. Approval of an updated Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement with GEMA. - 3. Adoption of Resolution 2024-01 naming Isaac Godfrey as Prosecuting Attorney for Tyrone Municipal Court. Town Council Meeting - Revised Page 1 of 8 February 01, 2024  4. Approval of the purchase of four (4) book shelving units from Demco for $6,178.25. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Whelan. Voting Yea: Council Member Furr, Council Member Hunter. VII. PRESENTATIONS 5. Employee Service Recognitions for April Spradlin (15 years) and Randy Mundy (5 years). Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Mr. Perkins recognized Chief Mundy and Ms. Spradlin for their years of service to the Town. He stated that Ms. Spradlin began on January 20, 2009. He shared that not many realize what an important support role the Court Clerk is to the Police Department, April, and Lindsay do a great job. Ms. Spradlin began as the Public Safety Clerk and then took the position of Clerk upon the retirement of Kathy Bright in 2017. Ms. Spradlin will begin her Masters Court Clerk training soon; he thanked her for her service. Mr. Perkins then shared that Chief Mundy took his former position 5 years ago when he assumed the Town Manager position. He added that Chief Mundy began on January 28, 2019, and was already a fixture making his mark in the community. He added that the Town was lucky to have him. 6. Presentation of the Audited Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2023 Ms. Beach introduced Ms. Julie George, CPA from Rushton. She stated that Ms. George had performed their audits for 5-6 years and that she was a great source of information. Ms. George thanked Ms. Beach, and added that she, Ms. Smith, Mr. Perkins, and the staff was very helpful and assisted in a smooth process. She began by sharing the letter from her staff regarding the significant audit findings. She relayed that there were four new GASBs this year the primary one being the Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements. She realized that GASB 96 was very time-consuming. She also noted that there were no difficulties dealing with management. She added that the letter contained many elements, and that the audit was very thick, thus the overview presentation. She began the presentation with the audit opinion, an Unmodified Opinion which stated that the financial statements were presented fairly. She added that it was an opinion that Mayor and Council could be proud of. The auditing standards were generally accepted in the United States of America and Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller General of the U.S. Ms. George explained that the Government-Wide Statements presented the Town as a whole using the full accrual basis of accounting. Page 2 of 8 There were columns within the audit for governmental activities, business-type activities such as the Sewer Fund, and the component unit such as the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Governmental funds were combined as a whole. That would be the General Fund, SPLOST, and Confiscated Assets. She explained that the difference was that it was combined and full accrual. The General Fund and SPLOST funds were modified accrual, cash paid out. With the statement of Net Position example, you could see balances. Ms. George informed everyone that the Statement of Net Positions presented the assets, liabilities, and residual net position of the Town. It was similar to a balance sheet. It listed the Town’s routine accounts payables, retainage payables, and bonds payable balance. She shared that the net position was the residual amount of the assets, less the liabilities. The Government Wide Net Position were the governmental and business type activities combined which had increased each year over the past 5 years, which allowed the Town to build its net position. The investment in Capital Assets was often the largest component of net position for any government. A restricted fund example was SPLOST. She shared that the Town ended the Fiscal Year, June 2023, with a total net position of $33 Million. There was an approximate transfer from ARPA funds of $2.8 Million. She added that ARPA funding was recognized as it was expended not received. The revenues for the General Fund increased by 11.61% at $705,931, taxes increased by $436,620, and the interest increased by $208,583 with no change in the Millage Rate. The expenditures increased by 36.4% at $1,870,095, the General Government increased by $87,592, Public Safety increased by $132,268, and Public Works increased by $1,447,013. Most increases were from Public Works’ Road paving and repairs. She added that the Unassigned Fund Balance for FY2023 had 15.7 months of annual expenditures for $9,200,570, and FY2022 was at $9,271,485 with 21.7 months. The Assigned Fund balance was $2.7 Million and the end of the Fiscal Year. That number would change as road resurfacing was completed. She added that the 15 months of annual expenditures were very healthy. Mayor Dial asked for clarification of ARPA for the audience. Ms. George explained that the American Rescue Plan funds were dispersed twice from the Federal Government. The Town elected to use the funds for general government services. She added that the nature of the grant was that the money was recognized when it was expended. She pointed to the slide which indicated a graph for expenditures reflecting the ARPA transfers received. She also noted another change in the graph from 2020 when the new Town Hall was built. Ms. George then shared the General Fund, Fund Balance of the last five years. The General Fund had increased along with the Unassigned. Those funds were not restricted nor assigned. She explained that restricted funds were those such as SPLOST and LMIG, they were restricted by law and had to be spent on certain projects. Page 3 of 8 Committed funds were those assigned by the Mayor and Council, the assigned funds would be those managed by the Finance Manager and Town Manager. She then explained the pie chart for the General Fund. The highest percentage was that of transfers from other funds due to the ARPA transfers. She added that the multiple colors in the chart represented multiple sources of revenue, which was good. The next highest was property and sales taxes which were common. Ms. George moved to the General Fund Expenditures by Function pie chart. She shared that Public Safety was usually the highest but Public Works were paving and repairing roads. She explained the Sewer Fund’s operating revenues over the last 5 years. She pointed out that the expenses exceeded the revenues over the last five years but was aware of a rate increase by Fulton County. The trend would change when the revenues were collected. Ms. George explained that the major governmental funds consisted of the ARPA and SPLOST funds. The ARPA funds were $2.8 Million of revenue and transfers. The 2017 SPLOST brought in $2.4 Million and expended $1.3 Million. She indicated that the last page of the bound report was a schedule of SPLOST projects. The list reflected the cost of each project. Ms. George specified that pages 78-79 of the bound report were the scope of internal controls and testing. She added that due to ARPA funding, there was an additional single audit performed. She shared that the results for the single audit could be found on pages 80-82. The results were that nothing came to their attention. Ms. George outlined the current report changes. She shared that the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB). She thanked Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith for the tedious gathering of information for their reports and reported that nothing came to their attention. Only one Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SABITA) was reported and that was the new financial budging software, ClearGov. She added that there were no new GAZBs to report for 2024. She shared that the Standards Board issued Statement No. 101, Compensated Absences. Effective for the Town for fiscal year 2025. The statement replaced GASB Statement No. 16, Accounting for Compensated Absences. This standard was regarding compensated absences or employee vacation time. Ms. George ended by stating that she and her staff were always available if anyone had questions regarding the report. Mayor Dial thanked Ms. Beach, Ms. Smith, Ms. Baker, Ms. Willis, Ms. Spradlin, and the Library and Recreation departments for making Ms. George’s job easier. Ms. George agreed and added that everyone was very attentive to their needs. She thanked Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith again for working so hard on the SABITA agreements, everyone was respectful and attentive. Page 4 of 8 VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS IX. OLD BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS 7. Consideration for plan approval of the Space Force flagpole addition at Veteran’s Park. Scott Lanford, Public Works Director / Town Engineer Mr. Langford shared that the Town was approached by citizens to add the Space Force flag to the Veteran's Park collection He stated that currently, there were five service flags at the park along with one U.S. flag. Adding the sixth service flag would make the overall flag display more symmetrical. It would also require removing and relocating approximately 15 feet of sidewalk on the northwest sidewalk. The project was within the grounds and sidewalk budgets. He shared that it would require pruning or removing a crape myrtle. He recommended removal. He added that SPLOST funding and the Tree Fund would assist with more landscaping of the park. The sidewalk relocation would allow room to place the flagpole, and the sidewalk would tie into the brick pattern at the same brick row as the southeastern sidewalk. He recommended approval. Mr. Perkins introduced Mr. Minor that was spearheading the project. Mayor Dial asked if the flags had an official order. Mr. Minor (inaudible) from the audience stated that there was an order and that he would assist with that. Council Member Hunter asked how often the flags get changed. Mr. Bowman shared (inaudible) from the audience that they were changed every eight months and that the new flag would coincide with the new rotation. A motion was made to approve the Space Force flagpole addition to Veterans Park. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hunter. Voting Yea: Council Member Furr, Council Member Whelan. 8. Consideration to approve a Fire Impact Fee Update CIE & STWP transmittal resolution to the GA Department of Community Affairs. Phillip Trocquet, Community Development Mr. Trocquet stated that the Fire Impact Fee was tied to the Capital Improvement Element & Short-Term Work Program. He explained that both items needed to be reviewed by the Atlanta Regional Commission and by the Department of Community Affairs. He added that being that we contract with Fayette County for fire services, the review also goes through the County. He recommended the approval of the transmittal resolution to be sent to the DCA. A motion was made to approve the Fire Impact Fee Update CIE & STWP Transmittal Resolution to the GA Department of Community Affairs. Page 5 of 8  Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Whelan, Council Member Hunter. 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. Mr. Burt Minor who lives on Nicoles Nook congratulated the newest Council Members along with Mayor Dial. He thanked Mr. Perkins for his work and thanked Council for their vote on the placement of the Space Force flag at Veterans Park. He served in the Air Force for 23 years and added that the Space Force was in their 5th year of existence with 8,800 members. He stated that the Space Force helped to track to assist with shooting down drones. He shared that there were six veterans who would like to help with the addition of static displays and upkeep of the park, perhaps through a committee. He thanked Council Member Furr for her continued work on Veterans Park. Mayor Dial shared that in the workshop meeting one of the discussions was that of Town building and park signage upgrades. He added that the Town was in the process of a signage facelift. Planning Commissioner Terry Noble shared that he attended the Planning & Zoning 101 session. He was grateful to attend, he learned a lot. He mentioned that several people had contacted him regarding the tire dump site on Lloyd Avenue, which had been reported. The tires were still there, it was an eyesore. Mayor Dial shared that the issue was discussed at the workshop. Mr. Perkins re-presented the item. He shared that the dump was initially reported in mid-December. The reason it was still there was that it was privately owned property, the Town was not allowed to clear the tires. He stated that the property owner had not returned any calls. The neighboring property owner had filed a police report. He added that it was the property owner’s responsibility to clear the tires even though they had been victimized by the individuals that had dumped the tires. Mr. Perkins shared that if the victim filed a report with the Town’s police department, it could be submitted to the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and if they qualified, they may be able to assist with the cleanup. At that point, the Town may be able to assist as well. He ended by stating that it was the Town’s goal to have the tires removed, however, we would need the cooperation of the property owner. XII. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Mitch Bowman Public Works Maintenance Supervisor gave his annual report. Page 6 of 8  He gave his staff a shout out for their continued hard work and shared their accomplishments for the year. He listed the items and the coinciding hours per item. Sewer locates were 94 hours, clearing of brush and trees 529, erecting signs 58, janitorial services 673, park duties and special event set up and break down, veteran bricks and park benches 518, road maintenance which included potholes 229, drainage issues and maintenance 367, roadkill pick up and drop off to the landfill 76, sidewalk repairs 28 hours, and building and equipment maintenance including administrative duties 532. He then broke down the trash and road kill list. There were 61 deer, 23 armadillos, 8 possums, 2 foxes, and 2 coyotes. He stated that domestic animals were often picked up but they were not listed. There were 506 bags of trash picked up which included those from AAbby, and 770 bags of dog waste were reported. Mayor Dial shared that the citizens needed to understand that the Public Works crew clearing the 969 Senoia Road property saved the Town $60,000, and we appreciate them. Council Member Campbell shared that citizens have told him how much they liked how it opened up the park. Mr. Perkins stated that alongside the audit report, one of the most important tasks for his team was to account for and to spend the taxpayer’s money well. He thanked Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith for their continued hard work. He added that department heads did well with listening to the citizens, creating projects, and all with a skeleton crew. He gave Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith a shout-out for always receiving a positive audit report. It was also a reflection of how the entire team functioned, taking the spending of taxpayer’s money very seriously. The Town had a lot to spend which included ARPA for $3 Million and the 2017 SPLOST which was $11 Million. He stated that the 2023 SPLOST was $13 Million. He added that staff had to keep the doors open, keep up with personnel and putting gas in the patrol cars. He thanked all staff and department heads for all they did and for the citizens. He stated that Tyrone had all the problems of a large city such as personnel, infrastructure, and legal issues that may arise, a lot of moving parts. He thanked Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith again for keeping everything in order and for the integrity of all staff members. He also thanked Mayor and Council for their support. Mr. Trocquet announced that staff would open the Tyrone Road cart path tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. and all were welcome to join. Mr. Langford gave the Public Works crew a shout-out due to their continued work on stormwater projects. There were fewer calls than previous after heavy rains due to their diligence. He thanked Devon Boullion for her work also on protecting the infrastructure, ponds, and streams during new construction. XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS Council Member Whelan stated that coming from a finance background it was impressive how our finance team always had a position review, congratulations to Ms. Beach and Ms. Smith for a wonderful job. Page 7 of 8 XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION XV. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Campbell. Voting Yea: Council Member Furr, Council Member Whelan, Council Member Hunter. The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 8 of 8