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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 03/19/2012 - MIN 03 19 12 REG (Migrated from Optiview)Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 1 of 15 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 March 19, 2012 at 6:00 PM, Mayor Joe Lockwood presiding. INVOCATION Dr. 011ie Wagner, Pastor at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Lockwood called the meeting to order. ROLL CALL City Clerk Gordon called the roll and made general announcements. Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Karen Thurman, Councilmember Matt Kunz, Councilmember Bill Lusk, Councilmember Joe Longoria and Councilmember Lance Large. Councilmembers Absent: Councilmember Burt Hewitt IF PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Lockwood led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Approval of Meeting Agenda (Agenda Item No. 12-055) Motion: Councilmember Thurman moved to approve the Meeting Agenda with the following change: • Remove Item No. 12 under Consent Agenda (Approval of a Contract between the City of Milton and Ed Castro Landscape, Inc. for the Construction of a Park at 12785 Birmingham Highway, 12 -PRO], in the Amount of 5160, 000) to New Business. Second and Vote: Councilmember Longoria seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Lockwood read the rules for Public Comment. • Public comment is a time for citizens to share information with the Mayor and City Council. • To provide input and opinions for any matter that is not scheduled for its own Public Hearing for today's meeting. • There is no discussion on items on the Consent Agenda or First Presentation or from Council. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 2 of 15 • Each citizen who chooses to participate in Public Comment must complete a comment card and submit it to the City Clerk. • This is not a time to engage the Mayor or Council in discussion. • When your name is called please come forward and speak into the microphone stating your name and address for the record. • You will have five minutes for remarks. No public comment. CONSENT AGENDA City Clerk Gordon read the Consent Agenda Items. 1. Approval of the February 13, 2012 Special Called Regular Minutes. (Agenda Item No. 12-056) (Sudie Gordon, City Clerk) 2. Approval of the February 13, 2012 Work Session Minutes. (Agenda Item No. 12-057) (Sudie Gordon, City Clerk) 3. Approval of Financial Statements for the Period Ending October, 2011. (Agenda Item No.12-058) (Stacey Inglis, Finance Director) 4. Approval of Financial Statements for the Period Ending November, 2011. (Agenda Item No.12-059) (Stacey Inglis, Finance Director) 5. Approval of a Contract with the Firm Davey Tree Expert Company for the Purpose of Providing Professional Services for the City of Milton. (Agenda Item No. 12-060) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) 6. Approval Indication of Roundabout Support and Lighting with GDOT for the Intersection Improvement at SR 372/Birmingham Highway at McFarlin Lane and at DR 372/Crabapple Road at Crabapple Chase Drive. (Agenda Item No. 12-061) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 7. Approval of a Professional Services Agreement between City of Milton, Georgia and Universal Engineering Sciences, Inc. for a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and Geotechnical Evaluation for 15155 Hopewell Road. (Agenda Item No. 12-062) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 8. Approval of a Consent to Assignment of Drainage Easements between Paul and Maura Demit and the White Columns Community Association, Inc. and Siobahn and Robert Schaffer and the ' White Columns Community Association, Inc. 1 (Agenda Item No. 12-063) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 3 of 15 9. Approval of a Survey Agreement between the City of Milton, Georgia and Onsite Civil Group, LLC for a Boundary and Topographic Survey for 15155 Hopewell Road. (Agenda Item No. 12-064) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) 10. Approval for the Execution of a Contract Agreement with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) to Receive Grant Funding for the Real Communities Milton Project. (Agenda Item No. 12-065) (Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager) 11. Approval of a Parks and Recreation License Agreement between the City of Milton and YMCA to Offer an 8 Week Summer Day Camp. (Agenda Item No. 12-066) (John Rebar, Parks and Recreation Director) MOVED BY MOTIONAND VOTE TO NEW BUSINESS 12. Approval of a Contract between the City of Milton and Ed Castro Landscape, Inc. for the Construction of a Park at 12785 Birmingham Highway, 12 -PRO I, in the Amount of $160,000. (Agenda Item No. 12-067) (John Rebar, Parks and Recreation Director) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Longoria seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS 1. A Proclamation Recognizing March for Meals Awareness Month. (Presented by Mayor Joe Lockwood) FIRST PRESENTATION (None) PUBLIC FEARING (None) Zoning transcription is verbatim ZONING AGENDA 1. RZ12-01— To Amend Article VI, Division 2 -AG -1 (Agricultural District) as it Relates to Allowing Structures Housing Animals within the Front Yard and Fencing Along Public -right-of-ways. (Agenda Item No. 12-033) ORDINANCE NO. 12-03-129 (First Presentation at the February 6, 2012 Regular Council Meeting) (Discussed at the February 13, 2012 Work Session) (Deferred at the February 22, 2012 Regular Council Meeting) (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 4 of 15 Kathleen Field, Community Development Director: Thank you Mr. Mayor and members of the council. You have before you proposed text amendment relating to allowing structures housing animals within the front yard and also a second proposed text amendment relating to fences along public right-of-ways. As the city clerk mentioned, this was discussed at the February 22nd meeting and at that time there were several proposed changes and so the vote was to defer it at that time until this meeting until such time as the city attorney could put those proposed changes into a revised ordinance which you have before you in red. I have taken the liberty of basically summarizing those changes. There is a chart at the back of the memo and it is also up on your screen showing what the changes were that you discussed at the February 22nd meeting. They are here before you this evening along with the ordinance with changes shown in red. Not to forget the fencing text amendment on page 79 of the ordinance with the red changes you will see that part dealing with the fences along public right-of-ways. You have those two items before you both included in the ordinance with the red line. Mayor Lockwood: Are there any questions from council? Joe Longoria, Councilmember: Kathy, I just appreciate all this coming together in a much more clear format so it is easy to go over. There seemed to be some confusion after the last discussion we had related to the fencing requirements. The local paper, I thought, didn't quite understand what we were going for there. So, I just wanted to make sure that my understanding was correct and that is, we are not passing this text amendment related to fencing to compel people who own land adjacent to public right-of-ways to put in fences. That is not the purpose. The purpose is to cover the structure, construction, and materials related to fences that go in. Is that correct? Kathleen Field: That is correct. Thank you for that clarification. Mayor Lockwood: Basically, if it is the property owner's will to put up a fence there are guidelines for that. We are not forcing anybody to put up a fence. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: This doesn't obligate owners with violations or anything contrary to the standard to remove them and replace them with the new standard. Kathleen Field: No, just as we move forward. Karen Thurman, Councilmember: I know there has been some question by people about, you know, the fact that barns and rinks and all will be allowed in the front yards now. But they still have the setbacks and all of that that will have to be adhered to so it's not like somebody with a one acre lot is going to be able to put a barn in their front yard because most likely it would not fit. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 5 of 15 Kathleen Field: That is correct. And in addition, most of these will require a use permit and staff is starting to prepare the criteria under which a use permit would be given as it is referred to within the ordinance. Those circumstances that will need a use permit will have criteria developed and we will bring those criteria before you for your review. We will also establish firm definitions for riding arenas and for the other proposed uses. Councilmember Thurman: But even for those that do not require a use permit, we still have restrictions as far as setbacks from... Kathleen Field: That is correct. Councilmember Thurman: Livestock and things like that so that you are not going to see barns and cows in people's front yards in one acre subdivision. Kathleen Field: That is correct. And we also have setbacks that are even more onerous as it relates to occupied residential structures as even further setback requirements. Lance Large, Councilmember: The criteria you are talking about, especially for like the covered riding areas and the ones that are lit, will include lighting spillover, maybe hours of operation, those types of things. Kathleen Field: Yes, and we will include those in the use permit language that you will get to review. Absolutely. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: On the fencing side, is there any kind of a use permit or anything like that for anybody who may any type of variance? I haven't thought about asking about that before but just in case if someone had a different idea for their property that they wanted to bring to council. Is there a mechanism for that? Kathleen Field: Yes, they could go to the BZA to ask for a variance but, of course again, they would have to prove a hardship. Mayor Lockwood: Do we have any public comment on this? Sudie Gordon, City Clerk: No sir, we do not. Mayor Lockwood: Okay, then I will close the hearing and continue if there are any more questions from council or discussion. If not, I will open it up for a motion. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 6 of 15 Motion and Vote: Councilmember Thurman moved to approve Zoning Agenda Item RZ 12-01. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. End of verbatim transcription UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Approval of an Ordinance Restating the City of Milton's Defined Benefits Pension Plan. (Agenda Item No. 12-048) ORDINANCE NO. 12-03-130 (First Presentation on February 22, 2012) (Sam Trager, Human Resources Director) Sam Trager, Human Resources Director: • The ordinance in front of you tonight, relates to the pension plan. • Every four or five years, GMA is required to go to the IRS to get the plan reviewed in order for us to maintain our tax status. • As part of that process, the city has to approve, by ordinance, a re -stated pension plan. • At this point, there are about 285 organizations going through the same process in getting the plan approved in its re -stated form. • There are very minimal changes that they made. '� • They made some changes about military service that if someone is called for active duty we are E 4 required to keep their pension plan going during the time they are in active duty. • If someone goes out on disability insurance, it requires them to apply for Social Security disability in order to receive their benefit. • It also addresses some criminal activity issues that if someone commits a crime they would have to make restitutions back to the city in order to collect their pension plan. • There are not any cost increases associated with these changes. • Our plan basis essentially remains the same. • It is really just a matter of approving a re -statement of our current plan in its current form. • Are there any questions? Councilmember Thurman: • This is just a formality we have to go through, correct? Sam Trager: • Correct. Councilmember Thurman: • I don't think it is any secret that I think this needs to be looked at in detail to see if this is the right plan for the city but I do understand that the IRS requires us to go through these hoops every few years. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Longoria moved to approve the Unfinished Business. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 7 of 15 NEW BUSINESS 1. Approval of a Resolution and Contract for Acquisition of Right of Way for Project HPP00-0005-00 (448) State Route 372/Birmingham Highway at CR27/Providence Road/New Providence Road. (Agenda Item No. 12-068) RESOLUTION NO. 12-03-214 (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • This resolution is for a contract approval. • It authorizes the city to begin acquisition of right-of-way for the roundabout at the State Route 372 and the Providence Road/New Providence Road intersection. • This is a formality with GDOT. • We handle it as a resolution versus a contract. Mayor Lockwood: • Carter, could you please give us a brief synopsis of how this process works? Carter Lucas: • The first step we did a couple of months ago we had a property owner's meeting. • We combined the meeting with this intersection with the State Route 140/New Providence intersection. • We brought all the property owner's together that would be affected by the plan and asked for any comments or concerns they had about the project. • That allowed us to make any adjustments to the plans that we thought would be necessary and it allowed them to identify any areas we were not aware of in the development of the plans. • Depending upon how GDOT has evaluated the value of the properties regarding the easement or right-of-way acquisition, either through a databook evaluation or full appraisal, then we move forward with offers to the property owners for both permanent and temporary easements and right-of-way acquisitions. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: • Has the alignment been determined? Have the limits of the properties been determined? Carter Lucas: • Yes, on both of those. Lance Large, Councilmember: • Is this for right-of-way and construction easements? How did the property owner's meeting go? Carter Lucas: • I thought it went pretty well. Some people had some concerns but for the most part people recognize that there is a need for the intersection improvement and they are looking forward to something finally being done. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 8 of 15 Councilmember Large: • Were all the property owners at the meeting? Carter Lucas: • They were not. We probably had a total of two or three property owners between the two projects who did not attend the meeting. I think we had a total of 22 property owners that did attend the meeting. The vast majority of property owners attended the meeting or we have spoken to them in person. Councilmember Thurman: • Is it still moving along on schedule? Carter Lucas: • Yes. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: • Have you heard of any objections from anyone? Carter Lucas: • There are some concerns from some of the property owners regarding the extent of the impact but no outright objections at this point. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Kunz moved to approve Agenda Item No. 12-068. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. 2. Approval of a Request for the Abandonment of the Public Right -of -Ways within The Highlands at Echelon Subdivision. (Agenda Item No. 12-069) (Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • This is the first application we have received for right-of-way abandonment under our new abandonment policies and procedures. • This is merely the acknowledgement of an application for an abandonment. • Approval of this does not in any way grant the abandonment. • This is just a step in our process that makes you aware that an application for abandonment of a public right-of-way has been submitted. • This particular abandonment is for the Highlands at Echelon Subdivision. • It is on the very north end of Milton off of Freemanville Road. • It was platted back in 2007 and no activity has occurred in there other than the development of the infrastructure. There are no homes in there. • The new property owner has purchased the lots and would like to make the roads private so the owner of all of the lots within the subdivision just happens to be a clerk and thought the final plat was filed which made them public roads so we are going through this process to make the roads private. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 9 of 15 • Tonight's vote to move forward would just allow the applicant to move forward through the abandonment process and we will be back for a public hearing vote at a future date. • Since this particular process is only one owner, they will be coming forward with 100% approval so there will be only one public hearing as opposed to two. Lance Large, Councilmember: • This is a recent right-of-way and not a really old one. In my experience, people hold underlying fees on right-of-ways sometimes undisclosed. In this case, is there any underlying fee that is being held by the person who originally created the right-of-way? Carter Lucas: • No, it was by dedication from the original property owner. Karen Thurman, Councilmember: • Have the roads within the right-of-way actually been approved by Milton in the past? Carter Lucas: • The plat was approved and so they do exist. Councilmember Thurman: • I thought we had to go through another step in addition to just approving the plat to actually accept the roads. Carter Lucas: • Signing the approval of the plat establishes the ownership and dedication. The dedication agreement is part of the plat. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Large moved to approve the Agenda Item No. 12-069. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. 3. Approval of a Resolution to Adopt the Personnel Policies of the City of Milton. (Agenda Item No. 12-070) RESOLUTION NO. 12-03-215 (Sam Trager, Human Resources Director) Sam Trager, Human Resources Director: • The document you have before you are the revised policies of the employee handbook. • The committee has spent a lot of time on this document and believes that the work we have put into it will pay off in the long run regarding our policies by making them up-to-date, completely compliant, and a lot easier to administer. • We tried to stay as much as we could with our current policies. • We reviewed our current policies and made changes based upon our current practices and what is more reflective of what the City of Milton is actually doing. • We then took the document to Ken Jarrard's office and they reviewed it and provided some input and updates to bring us into compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act as well as drug testing policies. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 10 of 15 • During that review, we also added the city's ethics policy as well as a workplace violence policy. 47 • The committee then reviewed those changes along with the City Manager. • The final document is much more comprehensive than what we currently have. • It better protects the city and the employee and better helps establish our expectations of employees as well. • Are there any questions? Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Thurman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. MOVED BY MOTIONAND VOTE TO NEW BUSINESS FROM CONSENT AGENDA 4. Approval of a Contract betwcen the City of Milton and Ed Castro Landscape, Inc. for the Construction of a Park at 12785 Birmingham Highway, 12 -PRO I, in the Amount of $160,000. (Agenda Item No. 12-067) (John Rebar, Parks and Recreation Director) John Rebar, Parks and Recreation Director • This is a Fulton County Board of Education owned property and intergovernmental agreement discussions for purpose of this property started over a year ago. • The intergovernmental agreement was signed on March 25, 2011. • It is a 1.8 acre piece of property. • The requirements of the intergovernmental agreement is for the city to develop a park, the park has to contain certain items such as, a walking or fitness trail, concrete basketball court, a pavilion, a playing field, landscaping, etc. • The agreement is for ten years or less through 2021 and then it will be up for renewal. • During that time period, the city would be responsible for the maintenance and utility such as irrigation, water, etc. • The site sits on Birmingham Highway adjacent to Crabapple Crossing, in between Crabapple Crossing Elementary School and Northwestern Middle School. • Crabapple Crossing Elementary school will use it fairly extensively during the day and it will be open evenings, weekends, summers, and breaks for Milton residents to use it as a pocket park. • The playing surface could also be used as an overflow practice site for rectangular type of practices for younger age groups such as, soccer, flag football, etc. • The bid went out and we have a bid for the construction of $160,000. • One thing that did come up after the bid was out and the bids were coming in was that there is going to be a change from the way that we connect for water supply for irrigation. • Originally, the school board had approved for us to tap into their fire line for the irrigation meter. • They have since made a requirement that we have to run our own line out to the main on Birmingham Highway and establish our own account,etc. • If we cannot make it work with the existing price, that could be a change that might be coming later. • But other than that, as it was bid, the price is $160,000. • We are requesting approval. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page I 1 of 15 Mayor Lockwood: • John, I know you have been going through our master parks and recreation plan and making sure we make good use of this money. Will our citizens benefit from this park? John Rebar: • Yes, definitely. As of now, Crabapple does not have a public pocket park and this will serve the citizens well. Mayor Lockwood: • From what I understand, our Parks and Recreation Board is fully on board with this? John Rebar: • Yes, they have been involved since the beginning. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: • Could you please explain how it is beneficial for us to spend money on a piece of property that we do not own and can be taken away from us at any time. John Rebar: • If you look just at the language of the agreement, you are correct. • The City of Milton does not own the property. • We have an agreement with the Fulton County Board of Education. • There is a 90 -day out clause from either party throughout the term. • So there are no guarantees. • However, all of the inter -governmental agreements we have, and we probably have about four of them, contain this same language. • The Fulton County School Board of Education has expressed zero interest in this piece of property. • They see this as an eternal agreement. • However, since the City of Milton does not own this land there is no guarantee. Councilmember Kunz: • So that is a risk we will have to take? John Rebar: • Correct. Joe Longoria, Councilmember: • $160,000 is our initial investment in converting this piece of piece of property into something that will be suitable for use. If you look at that amortized over ten years, you are talking about $16,000 per year. What are we estimating the cost, on an annual basis, will be just for the upkeep of the property? The $160,000 only covers the initial work that needs to be done. John Rebar: • I apologize, this was originally a consent so I did not bring that information but I can easily email that out to all of you. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 12 of 15 Bill Lusk, Councilmember: • I have never heard of Ed Castro Landscape, Inc. Have we checked them out? John Rebar: • Yes, the agreement was reviewed by our attorney. Lance Large, Councilmember: • The initial agreement is for ten years, correct? John Rebar: • Yes. Councilmember Large: • What happens after ten years? Will it have to be renewed? John Rebar: • Yes. Councilmember Large: • Is there any language in the initial agreement about the renewal process? John Rebar: • No. Councilmember Large: • As far as the investment is concerned, when private investors make investments on property they lease all the time. • I believe that this is good use of the money that the city is spending and it is great that we are actually moving forward on improvements for the city that benefit the citizens of Milton. • 1 would really like to see more of this done. • Studies are great but like we are doing at Bell Memorial Park and the acquisition of that additional property, we actually create amenities for our citizens on all parts of the city. • As you know, I have proposed a couple of areas that I think would make great parks as well. Mayor Lockwood: • I would just like to clarify that we all believe that this is a good use of money for our citizens and in no way precludes us from moving forward with other projects. • It doesn't mean that we are going to pass up another opportunity that may come up that will allow us to make improvements to our city that have a positive impact on our citizens. Motion and Vote: Councilmember Longoria moved to approve Agenda Item No. 12-067. Councilmember Large seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. 7 Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 13 of 15 MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS Mayor Lockwood: • I would just like to say that by now, all of you have probably already heard that Milton High School's basketball team is the state champion. • I am very proud of them. • There was a ceremony Friday afternoon which I was not able to attend but I appreciate Councilmember Lusk filling in for me. • Congratulations to our Milton Eagles. STAFF REPORTS Chris Lagerbloom, City Manager: • This Wednesday evening at 6:00, there will be a meeting about Crabapple in Crabapple at, hopefully soon to be at some point in the future, the Milton Government Complex which today is owned by the City of Alpharetta. • I would like for you to spend some time on the article that was published on our website today about the finances of the city and where they are as a result of our audit this year. • I am very pleased with our financial position. • Thank you for making some good financial decisions because we are in a very good position so far this year. • We kicked off the cost of serve study last week with Dr. Dorfman. • It has about a 90-120 day horizon and we will be able to report on some of the results of that study very soon. • I would like to ask Councilmember Thurman a question with respect to our participation with the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the Progress Partners group. • In the next month or so we will be bringing to you some mid -year budget requests for some re - appropriations for additional dollars in insurance premium tax revenue that came in higher than anticipated based on some census data. • One of the things I would like to get your general viewpoint on is whether or not we want to make an investment in the Progress Partners group. • I am going to recommend that we do as most other cities in the region participate. • We would like to handle economic development on a regional basis as opposed to an individual basis. • We obviously have some individualism that we need to put into economic development but we also need to be mindful of the fact that if Alpharetta or Roswell lands a big business in one of their commercial corridors, those people are living in some degree in Milton. • So we all benefit when each other wins. • Our investment in Progress Partners would be $25,000 for one year which includes a whole list of deliverables which I can email you that information. • At this point, I would like to see if you would like me to move forward in sending them our attachment to show them that we have an interest in participating. Mayor Lockwood: • I have met with Progress Partners and seen their presentation. • I agree with Chris in that generally for the whole area it helps Milton. • I would certainly support it. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 14 of 15 • It is nice to have someone out there looking at the big picture for us. • I would rather be on that bus than not on that bus. Councilmember Thurman: • The person that was brought in last week to talk to us about Progress Partners reiterated how important it is that we all work together. • The resources that Progress Partners has are much more than we could ever buy for $25,000 of our own money. • I think that it is a good use of our money because of the resources they have. • You are right; if any of us win then we all win. • I think it is very important for us to get a list of deliverables so we all understand what we can expect by joining this group. • As long as we all know what we will be getting, then I would definitely be in favor of it. Councilmember Kunz: • I agree that we need to take part in this but we also need to recognize that Progress Partners will only be as successful as they are in bringing businesses to the area. • Once they decide to come in the area, we will still need to compete for those businesses which may involve additional costs and some other features such as doing something with the Milton Business Alliance. • We have to consider those alternatives because if Progress Partners is successful, that doesn't necessarily mean that Milton is going to be successful. • We cannot just simply rely on Progress Partners. • We have to compete in this league and aggressively pursue other avenues. Mayor Lockwood: • I agree. This does not mean we are limited. • This is just one avenue to market Milton. • We need to pursue other opportunities as well. Councilmember Lusk: • I also attended the presentation and I think this is a great opportunity to join forces with the other cities in the area. • I think we will get tremendous value for the investment. • However, it is not all business that we are competing for. • There are a lot of other benefits associated with joining this group. Councilmember Longoria: • I agree, there is a symbiotic relationship with all of the surrounding cities and it would be very difficult to point to one attractive business and not realize its positive impact on all the cities around here. • I'm not sure why we did not include this cost in the original budget. Councilmember Large: 0 I. am familiar with Progress Partners and the reach that they have. Regular Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 15 of 15 • I think it is important that we become a part of that group and let it be known that we are interested in business development in this area. • I agree with Councilmember Kunz that we should continue to work with other organizations, as well as Progress Partners, to develop business opportunities in our area. EXECUTIVE SESSION (rf needed) ADJOURNMENT (Agenda Item No. 12-071) Motion and Vote: Mayor Lockwood moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Councilmember Lusk seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Hewitt was absent/excused from the meeting. After no further discussion the Regular Council Meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Date Approved: April 23, 2012. Gt . Sudie AM Gordon, City CIA Joe Lockwood -)r r