Town Council Regular Meeting

Town of Tyrone Council Meeting Minutes October 4, 2012 Present: Mayor Eric Dial Mayor Pro Tem Gloria Furr Council Member Ken Matthews Council Member Ryan Housley Council Member Linda Howard Town Manager Kyle Hood Police Chief Brandon Perkins Finance/HR Manager Penny Hunter Town Attorney Patrick Stough Town Clerk Dee Baker Call to Order, Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Dial called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The invocation was given by Mayor Dial. The invocation was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Comments: Approval of Agenda Council Member Housley made a motion to approve the agenda. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Approval of the Consent Agenda: Approval of Minutes, September 20, 2012. Council Member Furr made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. PRESENTATIONS/RECOGNITION: 1. Consideration and action on entering into an agreement with Mid-South Planning and Blue Cross, Blue Shield for the provision of employee health insurance benefits from November 1, 2012 through October 31, 2013. Penny Hunter Finance/HR Manager 1|Page Karen Larkin and Meg Marland represented Mid-South Planning, a broker that finds the best insurance companies with the best rates for the Town. Ms. Larkin stated that her company has been working with the Town for five years. She stated that the employees have been happy with Blue Cross/Blue Shields (BC/BS) plans. Through her research she indicated that BC/BS still has the best plans to offer the Town’s employees for the money. Ms. Larkin offered the Town three insurance plans. She stated that BC/BS had a total reconstruction of all medical plans, they went from 400 options to 152. She gave examples of a few of the changes. Ms. Larkin stated that currently the Town is paying $13,282.07 per month for employee insurance coverage. Due to the changes made by BC/BS with the proposed plan, the Town will pay $14,552.59 per month. A brief description of the offered plans were given; the base plan will be a Point of Service (POS) with a $500 deductible and 100 % co-insurance after the deductible is met. If employees with children/family coverage found the increase in premium more that they could afford, they will be offered a plan with a $500 deductible and 90% co-insurance. The cost for this buy-down plan will be less than what employees are currently paying for family coverage. In addition, a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) will be offered at a cost lower than employees are currently paying. Ms. Larkin stated that if an employee chose the HMO plan they would have to stay in the State of Georgia in network to receive the plan. If you are on the POS plan however and you are in another state you can use your plan for services if they except BC/BS. Ms. Larkin stated that all three plans offered have a $500 deductible. Council Member Furr made a motion to approve the three insurance plans offered through Mid- South Planning by Blue Cross/Blue Shield for the November 1, 2012 through October 31, 2013 coverage period. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. PUBLIC HEARING: 2. Consideration of a Text Amendment to the Tyrone Zoning Ordinance; Article III Amendments Section 3-2 B-2 Map amendment application. Changing the amount of plats that must be submitted for a rezoning from three (3) to ten (10). Dina Rimi, Planning/Zoning Coordinator Mr. Perkins stated that the amount of copies needed to be increased due to the need of the number of copies needed to distribute to different county departments. He added that the Planning Commission voted to recommend this change. Mayor Dial opened the Public Hearing. No one spoke in favor or opposition. Council Member Matthews made a motion to approve the change to Section 3-2 B-2 to require (10) copies of a plat to be submitted. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. 2|Page 3. Consideration of a Text Amendment of the Zoning Ordinance Article V District Regulations to remove the conditional use of kennels in CR2, CR3, R-20, R-12, DR, RMF and MHP. Dina Rimi, Planning/Zoning Coordinator Mr. Perkins stated that currently kennels are allowed as a conditional use in all residential zoning districts. The request is to remove kennels in all residential zoning districts with the exception of AR zoning. He stated that the Planning Commission voted to approve this amendment. Mayor Dial opened the Public Hearing. No one spoke in favor or opposition. Council Member Housley made a motion to remove kennels as a conditional use in the ordinance with the exception of AR. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Council Member Housley and Howard withdrew their motions. Council Member Housley made a motion to remove kennels as a conditional use from the residential zoning districts except for AR. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Council Member Furr inquired as to the limit of animals that were allowed in a residential zoning district. Attorney Stough confirmed that in regards to dogs and kennels the limit is 4. OLD BUSINESS: 4. Consideration of Utilities Reduction Specialist (URS) as the Town’s utility consultant. Penny Hunter, Finance/HR Manager Ms. Hunter updated Council on the fee based utility audit. She stated that according to her research, Utilities Reduction Specialist (URS) would complete the work within 4 months with little work required by staff. Council Member Housley made a motion to approve the proposal by Utilities Reduction Specialist to perform an independent audit review for the Town’s utility bills. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Council Member Housley amended his motion. Council Member Housley made a motion to approve the proposal by Utilities Reduction Specialist to perform an independent audit review for the Town’s utility bills with the understanding URS will retain 45% of the findings. Motion was approved 4-0. 5. Consideration of upgrading the financial software. Penny Hunter, Finance/HR Manager Ms. Hunter updated Council regarding this item. She stated that Council approved $60,000 for a financial system upgrade. She stated that several issues were discovered after conferring with 3|Page Mr. Perkins and the Town Attorney. She stated that due to the S.A.V.E. (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) program requirements, it is becoming difficult to continue with using the Town’s current payroll system. She added that currently the finance department does not have the staff to implement a new finance and payroll software system. Ms. Hunter recommended upgrading to version 10 in the current Incode system. This will allow finance to create excel based spreadsheets for reports, it would also have the capabilities for a purchase order module for other departments and it is internet based. She stated that in response to Council’s request for time clocks; to purchase time clocks it would cost the Town an initial investment of at least $11,444. This includes 4 Bio-metric time clocks, set up and installation. The total cost for a financial software upgrade and time clocks. A discussion took place regarding the time clock lease verses purchasing a time clock. Council Member Housley stated that there are three separate issues; financial software, a pay roll system and time clocks. A discussion then took place regarding fees for the software. Council Member Housley reiterated that the necessity is the financial software, the payroll and time clocks can be added as we go. Mayor Dial asked Ms. Hunter for a report with a few bullet points showing the benefits from each module and how this would assist each department, for the next meeting. Council Member Matthews made a motion to table this item until the October 18, 2012 meeting. Council Member Furr seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. 6. Consideration and action on the inclusion of the specified projects for the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG). Brandon Perkins, Police Chief Mr. Perkins informed Council that at the September 20th meeting the Mayor presented at letter from GDOT announcing that the Town was eligible for up to $66,179.27 in Local Maintenance Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds. He stated that staff was directed to research local needs and report back to Council the findings. He added that LMIG requires a 30% match and the Town would have to contribute $19,853.78. Given that criteria, the project or projects would have to total $83,033.05. Mr. Perkins stated that there are currently 13 projects that are eligible under LMIG, which include; patching, leveling, resurfacing, replacing storm drain pipes or culverts and sidewalks adjacent to a public roadway or street. He stated that after speaking with Environmental Technician Beth Vaughn and Public Works Director Renee’ Holt, it was apparent that the focus should be on the Town’s stormwater and sidewalk infrastructure. Of the Town’s 13 stormwater projects budgeted this year, 6 of them qualify for the LMIG funding. Mr. Perkins stated that after conferring with Ms. Holt and Ms. Vaughn, a list of 19 sections of sidewalk/curbing that need immediate attention was compiled. He stated that it is safe to assume, along with the stormwater projects, the sidewalk improvements could potentially satisfy the 4|Page additional $42,533.05 to meet the LMIG requirements. Mr. Perkins suggested acquiring the services of the Town engineer to complete an analysis of the sidewalk/curbing projects and provide cost estimates so that these may be included in the LMIG. Mr. Perkins stated that if we have enough projects to qualify for the full amount of the grant, the Town would spend $19,853.78 which would be taken out of the public works budget. He added that $100,000 was included in the budget this year for stormwater improvements and the current list of 13 projects is estimated to cost $62,050. If the 6 projects mentioned above are approved for the LMIG funding, $43,500 of that would be covered by the grant. Mr. Perkins indicated that the Town would pay only $18,550 “out of pocket” for the remaining 7 stormwater projects on the list. Council and Mr. Perkins discussed the projects. Council Member Housley made a motion to approve the six (6) stormwater projects in the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) application. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Council Member Matthews made a motion to direct Mr. Hood to ride along with staff to obtain a new project list on sidewalk repairs. Council Member Furr seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. NEW BUSINESS: Public Comments: Staff Comments: Mr. Hood stated that in respect to the LMIG, he will work with Mr. Perkins on the project and suggested that the project be expedited due to the time constraints on the grant. Ms. Hunter stated that a Public Works employee resigned today and the position was posted on the Fayette County Development Authority website and on the Town’s website. She ended by stating that the Library Supervisors position would be posted next Friday. Council Member Furr requested that Ms. Hunter perform an exit interview. Mr. Perkins stated that Living Proof Church is relocating their Christmas Tree lot to the vacant lot next to Burrito Brothers with permission from the owner. Mr. Perkins stated that in the ordinance pertaining to the use of a tent as a temporary location there is mention of a fee, but the fee has not been set. He stated that Ms. Rimi researched and found that the average amount for this fee is $25.00. Council Member Furr made a motion to institute a $25.00 permit fee for temporary tents. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. 5|Page Council Member Matthews made a motion to waive the $25.00 set up fee for the purpose of the Christmas Trees and also extend the tent set up to a maximum of 35 days for this particular event. Council Member Housley seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Ms. Baker stated that early voting for the General Election will be held in the Town Hall Council Chambers starting October 15th through November 2nd , Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, including Saturday October 27th from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. She stated that the deadline to register is October 9th. Early voting will also be held at the Peachtree City Library and Fayette County Election office. Ms. Baker stated that during the retreat in February, Council voted to advertise for available Planning Commission seats. Three positions will expire on December 31 of this year. An ad was placed to run on October 10th, and information will be placed on the Town’s website and TV. Ms. Rimi has created an application for the citizens that are interested. Ms. Baker stated that the outdoor burn ban is in effect from October 1 st through April 30th. If weather conditions permit, citizens can call the Fayette County automated outdoor burning information line at 770-305-5468 for a permit or visit their website. Council Comments Council Member Furr shared her concerns with the multiple scratches on the Recreation Department’s floor. Council Member Matthews shared his concerns with the leakage of the front windows at the Recreation Department. Council Member Howard asked for an update on the Pitney Bowes postage meter. Ms. Hunter stated that she did receive a quote back from Opti-Mail for $25.95 per month lease which includes the software and maintenance. Mayor Dial stated that more information would be prepared for the next Council meeting. Executive Session Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-14-4 (b) of the Open and Public Meetings Act, Council will meet in Executive Session to deliberate: (1) item of threatened litigation Council Member Furr made a motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss (1) item of threatened litigation. Council Member Howard seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Council Member Furr made a motion to reconvene. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. 6|Page Adjournment Council Member Furr made a motion to adjourn. Council Member Matthews seconded the motion. Motion was approved 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm. By:________________________ Attest:______________________ Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk 7|Page