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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 04/08/2013 - MINS 04 08 13 REG (Migrated from Optiview)l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, AprilS, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 1 of 10 This summary is provided as a convenience and service to the public, media, and staff. It is not the intent to transcribe proceedings verbatim. Any reproduction of this summary must include this notice. Public comments are noted and heard by Council, but not quoted. This document includes limited presentation by Council and invited speakers in summary form. This is an official record of the Milton City Council Meeting proceedings. Official Meetings are audio and video recorded. The Regular Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton was held on April 8, 2013 at 6:00 PM. Mayor Joe Lockwood presiding. INVOCATION Pastor Jeff Kane with C3 Church, Milton, Georgia CALL TO ORDER Mayor Joe Lockwood called the meeting to order. l ROLLCALL Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Lusk, Councilmember Kunz, Councilmember Thurman, Councilmember Large, Councilmember Longoria, and Councilmember Hewitt. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA (Agenda Item No. 13-085) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Longoria moved to approve the Meeting Agenda. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). PUBLIC COMMENT (None) CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval of the March 18, 2013 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. (Agenda Item No. 13-085) (Sudie Gordon, City Clerk) l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 2 of 10 2. Approval of a Construction Services Agreement between the City of Milton and North Georgia J Concrete, Inc. for the Landrum Road Bridge Replacement. (Agenda Item No. 13-086) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 3. Approval of a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Milton and Pond & Company to Provide Final Engineering Services for Intersection Improvements at the Hopewell Road -Birmingham Road Intersection. (Agenda Item No. 13-087) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Thurman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS 1. Patriots Day Proclamation Presented to the Sons of the American Revolution. (Councilmember Bill Lusk) JFIRST PRESENTATION 1. Consideration of an Ordinance to Adopt Amendments to the Fiscal 2013 Budget for Each Fund of the City of Milton, Georgia Amending the Amounts Shown in Each Budget as Expenditures, Amending the Several Items of Revenue Anticipations, Prohibiting Expenditures to Exceed Appropriations, and Prohibiting Expenditures to Exceed Actual Funding Available. (Agenda Item No. 13-088) (Stacey Inglis, Assistant City Manager) 2. Consideration of U13-01NC13-02 -Birmingham Highway (SR 372) East Side, Luca Gianturco for a Use Permit for one baseball field and an 8,800 square foot barn. A concurrent variance is also requested to delete the 75 foot buffer and 10 foot improvement setback adjacent to AG­ llResidentially used property and provide a 50 foot setback along the north and east property lines. [Section 64-114(3 )(b)] (Agenda Item No. 13-089) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) 3. Consideration of T13-01-AT&T and American Towers, LLC and AT&T Mobility Corporation, 14295 Birmingham Highway, Ellen Smith for a new 140 foot tall (145 foot including screening tree branches) and related antennas and equipment wireless telecommunications facility designed as a tree. ] (Agenda Item No. 13-090) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 3 of 10 4. Consideration of RZ13-08 -To adopt a new Use Pennit within Article IX, Division 5, Miscellaneous Uses, Section 64-1840 -Barns or Riding Areas. (Agenda Item No. 13-091) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) 5. Consideration of RZ13-09 -To Amend Chapter 64, Zoning Ordinance, Article I, In General, Sec. 64-1 Definitions as it pertains to Barns and Riding Areas. (Agenda Item No. 13-092) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Hewitt moved to approve the First Presentation Items. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). PUBLIC HEARING (None) ZONING AGENDA (None) l UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) NEW BUSINESS 1. Consideration of a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Milton and Michael Elliott, Ph.D for the Purpose of Providing Facilitation Services for Two Sub-Areas within the Route 9 North Visioning Study Area. (Agenda Item No. 13-093) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) l Kathleen Field, Community Development Director: As you know, the city is participating in a visioning study for the Route 9 North area which is the corridor along Route 9, north of Bethany Bend to the Forsyth County line. We have identified two areas that we are having a difficult time reaching a consensus with the major stakeholders involved in the areas. These two areas are the Bethany Bend area and the area in front of the Five Acre subdivision. In order to achieve consensus regarding these two areas, we felt it would be important to hire a third party mediator. We are asking for your pennission to hire a professional mediator at the rate of $125.00 per hour. I have attached his resume to the back of the contract. He is an architect, city planner, and has a Ph.D from Georgia Tech. He has had a lot of mediation experience. Regular Meeting ofthe Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 4 of 10 Mayor Lockwood: ] At the last meeting, how was this idea received by the landowners and stakeholders? Kathy Field: Both groups representing these areas, the landowners and the HOA members are willing to participate. Five Acres subdivision already has their group organized in terms of who they would like to participate. We are working with the Bethany Bend group. The landowners are willing to participate as well as a group of neighbors. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: I attended the meeting and I think hiring a mediator is a good idea. Obviously, a lot of opinions are circulating right now and it would be nice to come to a conclusion. Will the two areas you are referring to be treated separately; separate days, separate meetings? Kathy Field: Yes, separate days and separate meetings. Everything will be separate. Councilmember Kunz: How will this idea be promoted so that everyone can be a part of it? Kathy Field: We are working with the mediator, Dr. Michael Elliott, to establish the process. He suggests that we J identify a working group. I have proposed a group of about 12 people; however, we could have more or less. First, Dr. Elliott would contact each person in this group, individually by phone, to find out the most important issues and their vision for the outcome of the process. Then, the public meetings would be held. Joe Longoria, Councilmember: Is this part of the broader Highway 9 Visioning Study that we are conducting? Kathy Field: Yes. Councilmember Longoria: So, we are having trouble specifically with the Bethany Bend area and the area in front of Five Acres Subdivision? Is Crooked Creek Subdivision included in this process? Kathy Field: Yes, I asked a representative from the Five Acres Subdivision to provide me with a list of prospective group members. His list included a few residents from the Crooked Creek Subdivision as well as the Lake Laurel Subdivision. Councilmember Longoria: What about residents who do not live in a subdivision but own homes nearby? ] Michele McIntosh-Ross, Principal Planner: We have contacted each of those residents individually. l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, AprilS, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 5 of 10 Councilmember Longoria: Mediation usually ends when the mediator makes a decision that neither of the parties could have negotiated on their own. Normally, the parties agree to agree with whatever the mediator decides. Do we have any other examples of when we had to go to mediation to resolve an issue? Kathy Field: Not that I am aware of. Councilmember Longoria: I find this quite odd because these studies are just that, "studies". Nothing gets set in concrete. It is just a visioning study where ideas are brought forth and discussion occurs. Any final decisions have to come before the council for approval. Kathy Field: We have tried very hard to get a vision from everyone for this corridor. We found that we had major obstacles. These two groups were so far apart in terms of a vision that we just didn't think: we would actually get a vision. We came to a consensus regarding the other parts of the corridor; however, we were not able to come to any conclusion regarding these two areas. Councilmember Longoria: l My concern is that if we hire a mediator and he comes to a conclusion then all the participants will think: that the decisions that were made during the mediation process will become the final visioning outcome. Once that vision is brought to the council for approval it mayor may not be the final outcome. If that is the case, it will leave our residents wondering what all the discussion/mediation was about in the first place. Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager: I was the one who initially offered the opportunity to Kathy to explore. Part of the reason for this was because when we were in the visioning sessions, the two sides were very much on opposite ends ofthe spectrum. The staff was trying to facilitate these meetings and immediately became the enemy of someone in the room. It is probably better to phrase this initiative as a facilitation service rather than mediation. I have been involved in mediations in the past and, from my experience, as long as nobody is happy in the end, the mediator has been successful. In speaking with Dr. Elliott, he likes to refer to his work as consensus building as opposed to mediation. Our goal is to get our staff and elected officials away from being the bad guy to half of the people we are dealing with so that everyone's voice can be heard. We would like to remain neutral throughout this process. We are confident there is a middle ground solution. I sat in the back of the room during the last visioning session and it wasn't an effective facilitation because we are too involved in the situation. We felt a good solution to this problem would be to hire an outside facilitator to help build consensus between these two opposing groups. l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 6 of 10 JCouncilmember Longoria: I understand what you are saying; however, I hope we are not going to be directing the council accidently. These mediation sessions will bring forth to the council an idea that mayor may not be the vision of the council. There is no guarantee that the council will agree to the outcome of the mediation sessions. Mayor Lockwood: It was very difficult during the visioning study meetings to get both of these groups to even listen to each other. A mediator would help facilitate the meetings and help these two groups work together. Karen Thurman, Councilmember: I agree; however, I am a little concerned that the decision being made will be strictly based on what they come up with and it will take the council out of the decision making process. Councilmember Longoria: I am in favor of giving staff the tools they need to get the job done. However, I just want to make sure that it is communicated correctly to the participants involved that the decisions that are made mayor may not be the direction that the council takes. Mayor Lockwood: That is correct. These sessions are not making decisions for the council. Just like when we hire a J consultant. We are just asking someone to help us facilitate a meeting and hopefully gain new insight and ideas about a particular issue. Councilmember Thurman: I agree that it is important for the stakeholders and landowners in those areas to help us come up with ideas. The last thing we want is for the courts to make those decisions for us. City Manager Lagerbloom: I have told both of these groups that when the visioning sessions are over that just means that the visioning sessions are over. No final decisions are made until the issue comes before the council. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: I am assuming you will have the same representation from Oak Stone Glen Subdivision as well? Kathy Field: Yes, and also from some individual landowners in that area. Councilmember Lusk: Based on the contract, it looks like the maximum amount of time the mediator will spend on this project is 80 hours. I hope the project does not exceed this amount of time. Kathy Field: JWe will be monitoring his expenditures and progress throughout the project. Councilmember Lusk: Do you know where these meetings will be held? l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 7 of 10 Kathy Field: No, I do not know. I am leaving it up to the mediator to make that decision. Lance Large, Councilmember: Once a vision has been established, will that lead to adjusting the future land use plan? Kathy Field: Yes, it will be an amendment to the land use plan. Councilmember Large: What if the two groups involved do not come to some type of agreement when the visioning sessions have been completed? Kathy Field: We are really looking from some direction from the neighborhoods in what they would be satisfied with. Councilmember Large: Have we investigated whether or not the parcels along Hwy. 9 are part of the Five Acre Farm Subdivision? l Kathy Field: We have and we discovered that there are not any covenants relating to the Five Acre Subdivision so they are free to develop those parcels as they would like to; however, the current zoning is AG-l. Councilmember Kunz: Please explain how these meetings will be advertised to the public. Kathy Field: We encouraged everyone who attended the previous meetings to give us their email address so we could send them individual invitations. In addition, all of the meetings will be advertised on our website and an email blast will also be sent to individuals who are signed up to receive information about the City of Milton. Councilmember Large: Do these meetings have to be opened up to the general public? Usually mediation involves only the parties that the issue pertains to. City Manager Lagerbloom: I do not want to be in a position, at this point, to close the meetings. We will not accomplish as much by opening the meeting to the general public; however, I do not want the perception of a closed meeting. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Thurman moved to approve Agenda Item No. 13-093. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 8 of 10 ] 2. Consideration of a Resolution Supporting a Grant Application to Firehouse Subs Foundation for the Purchase of a Fire Safety Education "Smoke House." (Agenda Item No. 13-094) RESOLUTION NO. 13-04-255 (Matt Marietta, Fire Marshal) Matt Marietta, Fire Marshal: One of the most important issues in any Fire Department is to help prevent fires from happening in the first place and, more importantly, preventing injuries. So, the City of Milton's Fire Department is very involved in public education, specifically visiting schools, daycares, and community groups, to teach fire prevention methods. One of the central places that fire prevention education takes place is the fire house or "smoke house". At this time, Milton does not have a "smoke house". Each time we receive a request for a group to take a field trip to a "smoke house", we contact Alpharetta or Forsyth County to see if we can use their facility. It would be nice to have our own "smoke house" for these types of education endeavors. I am asking for your approval to apply for a grant for an inflatable fire house. It looks like a "bouncy house" but there is no bouncy on the floor. It is inflatable so, therefore, it can be used only when it is needed. When we take it to an educational event, we can fill it up with smoke allowing smoke detectors to sound. Then, we would teach children how to get down close to the floor and safely crawl out of a smoke-filled Jroom. It would specifically be used as part of an "Exit Drills in the Home" program that we are implementing in the community. The initial means of funding this item will be through a grant application. When the Firehouse Subs restaurant was first established in Milton, one of the managers approached a member of our fire administration and explained that they really like to reach out and be involved in the community. Peachtree City received a grant to support safety in their community through the Firehouse Subs Foundation. The total grant would be around $12,000 which would pay for everything we would need for this initiative. Before we approach the local Firehouse Subs restaurant, we wanted to get your permission to apply for this grant. Councilmember Lusk: Are we competing with other jurisdictions for this grant? Matt Marietta: They have a rolling deadline in which they consider grants two or three times per year. I would imagine that there are other jurisdictions with a Firehouse Subs restaurant in their community that are ].. actively pursuing grant funds as well. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Large moved to approve Agenda Item No. 13-094. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). l Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 9 of 10 3. Consideration of a Resolution Amending Resolution No.1 0-0 1-127, A Resolution Appointing A Board Member For District 1 To The Planning Commission. (Agenda Item No. 13-095) RESOLUTION NO. 13-04-256 (Mayor Joe Lockwood) Councilmember Thurman: I am asking for your approval of Peyton Jamison as a board member on the Planning Commission for District 1. Peyton is a resident of Roswell and currently serves as Vice President of Diversified Financial Planning. Diversified Financial Planning is an investment management company with over $200 million in assets under management. Prior to his current position, he was employed with Citigroup Smith Barney in Atlanta. He is active in the Crabapple community and serves as the President of the Crabapple Community Association and the HOA treasurer of the Crabapple Crossing subdivision. He lives in Crabapple with his wife, Megan, and their two children. He is a member of the Alpharetta United Methodist Church. He and his wife own "Just for Giggles" in downtown Crabapple. Peyton graduated from Roswell High School and earned a B.S. in Business from Auburn University. l Motion and Vote: Councilmember Hewitt moved to approve Agenda Item No. 13-095. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS STAFF REPORTS Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager Please reserve Friday, May 3rd for a two-day strategic plan update. The staff will meet on Thursday, May 2nd and then council will meet on May 3rd • We are almost to the end of the second year of our three year strategic plan and we need to discuss where we are and where we are going. Later this week, the transforming local government conference is coming to Atlanta. I am planning to attend part of the conference which will be a great opportunity. We are working diligently to move forward with our senior programming which will be initially offered off-site in Milton. Once the Hopewell House is renovated, then the programs will be held there. We have been talking about using our Community Development Block Grant Fund (CDBG) to fund part of the renovation of the Hopewell House, future programming, etc. In order to do this we must meet certain criteria. Milton is unique in the fact that we do not have more than 50,000 people in our community, so we are not eligible to administer our own CDBG funds. Seniors, as a class, are routinely considered to be low to moderate income because many of them live on fixed incomes. L Regular Meeting ofthe Milton City Council Monday, April 8, 2013 at 6:00 pm Page 10 of 10 JFulton County collects a lot of infonnation from municipalities that use their programs. So, instead of them taking into account the income of just the senior person in a household, they are now considering the income of the entire family. Therefore, if the household income takes the senior out of the low to moderate income range, even if the senior might be in this range, they don't qualify as being low to moderate. The five-page document in front of you is required by Fulton County and would have to be completed by every senior in Milton that wanted to participate in our programs. These documents ask for some very personal infonnation. As I looked at these documents, I wasn't sure if we wanted to mail these types of questions to our seniors in order to receive this funding. There are also many other requirements we would have to meet in order to accept funds from HUD. There would be certain restrictions on how the building could be used, the contractors we could hire, wage issues, etc. If we decide to pursue these funds, we would receive about $50,000 per year. We have the ability to receive the first three years of funds during the initial onset of the project. So, we would initially receive about $150,000 toward this project and then $50,000 per year going forward. We have to decide what the funds are worth to us based on the restrictions that would be placed on us by HUD. We contacted HUD and asked them if they would work with us on these restrictions. They said that if the jurisdiction that administers the funds, Fulton County, requires these stipulations then we have to adhere to their requests. J So, I am asking you to think about this situation and, at our next meeting, be prepared to give me some direction about whether or not you would like to pursue this funding. EXECUTIVE SESSION (None) ADJOURNMENT (Agenda Item No. 13-096) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Thunnan moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:25 p.m. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (7-0). After no further discussion the Regular Council Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Date Approved: April 22, 2013. ] Sudie AM Gordon, City Clerk JOeLOCk~