Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

REGULAR SESSION

SEPTEMBER 14, 2004



The regularly monthly night meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was

called to order at 9:05 A.M., Tuesday, September 14, 2004, on the Plaza Level

of the Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Honorable Robert S. Poydasheff,

Mayor and John J. Rodgers, Mayor Pro Tem, presiding.





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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Poydasheff and Mayor Pro Tem John J. Rodgers

were Councilors R. Gary Allen, Wayne Anthony, Glenn Davis, Berry Henderson,

Julius H. Hunter, Jr., Charles E. McDaniel, Jr., Evelyn Turner Pugh, Nathan

Suber and Evelyn Woodson. City Manager Carmen Cavezza, Assistant City Attorney

Jamie Deloach, Clerk of Council Tiny B. Washington and Deputy Clerk of Council

Sandra Davis were also present.





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ABSENT: Councilors R. Gary Allen and Julius H. Hunter, Jr., were absent, but

were officially excused upon the adoption of Resolution Numbers 388-04 and

389-04 respectively. City Attorney Clifton Fay was also absent.





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INVOCATION: Offered by Reverend Albert Sanders, St. James Baptist Church.

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by the students of J. D. Davis Elementary School.



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STORM:



Mayor Poydasheff said it is great being back here in Columbus, Georgia

after being on the road for eleven days in Europe with his wife. He said it was

a pity that Ivan the storm didn?t veer away completely. He said they would be

going out to the citizens at 4:30 p.m., in a press conference to give you the

latest update on what we can expect. He said he can assure you that this City

is as prepared as any City can be for matters such as this.

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RECOGNITION OF NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COLUMBUS LEDGER:



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like to present to the City of Columbus,

the new leadership at the Columbus Ledger Enquirer and then called forward the

new Executive Director of the Columbus Ledger Newspaper, Ms. Pam Siddall.



Ms. Pam Siddall, Executive Director of the Columbus-Ledger said she has

not had the opportunity to meet all of the Council members and looks forward to

meeting them. She said this is home for here; however, she has been away for

three years. She said she is very excited to be here and is proud to be a part

of this community, tri-community.



She said the progress that this City has made is tremendous and she is

really looking forward to being a vital part of that. She said she thinks that

the Columbus Ledger Enquirer also playa a vital role in the community. She said

she always tell people to make sure that we don?t lose sight of the reach that

the newspaper has. She said in this market, they reach 8 out of 10 adults and

on an average day, they reach 108,000 readers and on a Sunday, they reach

130,000 readers. She said with that reach comes a great responsibility and they

take that very seriously.



Ms. Siddall said she is very excited to have someone as Mr. Ben Holden?s

caliber to be our new Executive Editor. She then introduced Mr. Holden.



Mr. Holden said in the short time that he has been here in Columbus he has

been more than welcomed by City Manager Cavezza, General Freakly out at Fort

Benning, and said the hotel that they stayed at when they arrived is owned by

Councilor Davis and said he was tremendous to him and his family. He said

everyone has gone out of their way to make them feel welcome. He said at every

turn, this community has embraced them and he feels very welcomed and right at

home. He said he is very honored to be your new Executive Editor.



Mayor Poydasheff thanked both Mr. Holden and Ms. Siddall and said we think

that the Ledger serves an important and usage service to the members of our

community. He said whether we agree or disagree, you present the facts as you

see them. He said one thing that he like is that you use writers from the

entire spectrum of politics.



Councilor Anthony said he appreciates the fact that the Columbus Ledger is

so involved in our community and is a wonderful corporate citizen that is

actively involved in helping to improve our community on many different levels

and you report, both the good things that are happening in our community as

well as some of those things that are challenging for us. He said he would like

to echo his appreciation for you both and your leadership at the Ledger.



Mayor Poydasheff said on last night, he and his wife attended a dinner in

Atlanta that was sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League where one of our

people, a Columbusite, Mr. Dan Amos, the President/CEO of AFLAC received the

Torch Award. He said this tells us something about the greatness of Columbus,

Georgia and what the people of Columbus do for the community and our Country.

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PROCLAMATIONS:



?ASSISTED LIVING WEEK?:



There was no one present to receive this proclamation; however, Councilor

McDaniel read the proclamation of Mayor Poydasheff, proclaiming September 12 -

18, 2004, as ?National Assisted Living Week? in Columbus, Georgia.



Mayor Poydasheff said he would see to it that this proclamation is sent to

the proper individual.



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?CONSTITUTION WEEK?:



With Ms. Peggy Vaden and several others standing at the Council table,

Councilor Davis read the proclamation of Mayor Poydasheff, proclaiming

September 17 - 23, 2004, as ?Constitution Week? in Columbus, Georgia.



Ms. Vaden then invited the Mayor and Council to Fort Benning at the

Infantry Museum on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 4:00 p.m., which is the time

the Constitution, was signed. She said White Elementary School will be ringing

the bell to designate that this is the 217th anniversary of the signing of the

Constitution.

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CITY ATTORNEY?S AGENDA:



WITH MR. RONALD EDWARDS STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE, THE FOLLOWING THREE

RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR HENDERSON AND

ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:





A Resolution (377-04) - Commending and congratulating Ronald Edwards upon

his recent induction into the Home Builders' Association of Georgia Hall of

Fame. Councilor Henderson moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by

Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council

present for this meeting standing to cast their affirmative vote.





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WITH MR. PAUL FORD & MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE,

THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR

TURNER PUGH AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:



A Resolution (377-04) - Expressing appreciation to Mr. John Paul Ford upon

his retirement with the Georgia Department of Corrections. Councilor Turner

Pugh moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Henderson and

carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting

standing to cast their affirmative vote.

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NOTE: The City Attorney?s Agenda is continued below.



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MINUTES: Minutes of the September 7, 2004 meeting of the Council of the

Consolidated Government of Columbus, Georgia were submitted and approved

unanimously upon the adoption of a motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers and

seconded by Councilor Woodson.

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COLUMBUS YOUTH FOOTBALL:



Councilor Davis called attention to an invitation that was distributed to

each member of the Council on this morning regarding the Opening Day Ceremonies

for Columbus Youth Football. He said these are our future young college stars

and possibly professional players one day. He said they will be playing at the

A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium, at 12:30 p.m., and he would like to thank

everyone who is involved in this organization.

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RESOLUTION FOR MR. DAN AMOS:



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said as the Mayor mentioned earlier, Mr. Dan Amos of

AFLAC, received the Torch Award from the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta on

last night and said he would like to call for a resolution for next week?s

Agenda congratulating Mr. Dan Amos.

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HISPANIC COMMUNITY:



Councilor Woodson said she would like to let the Council and the community

know that the Hispanic and Caribbean community is coming together to do a

fundraiser on October 2nd for the residents of Florida. She said more

information would be coming out through Channel 9. She said Channel 9 was their

first responder to come and look at what they are trying to do.

She said what?s so great about this fundraising is that you are having

businesses that have never communicated with one another in the community

coming together.



Councilor Woodson said the purpose of it is that they would like to show

Columbus that they do want to be a part of One Columbus and there will be some

announcements forth coming. She said there would be some donations and some

things done and all the proceeds will go to the Red Cross. She said the Red

Cross is coordinating this event; however, she just wanted to ask for the

community?s support to join them to show their support, not only for Florida,

but also to the Caribbean and Hispanic community.

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ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS:



THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE, WHOSE FIRST READING WAS DELAYED AGAIN ON LAST

WEEK WAS SUBMITTED AND PUBLIC HEARING WAS

HELD:



An Ordinance - Rezoning property located at 6910 River Road from an A-0

District w/conditions to an A-0 District w/ amended conditions. (36-CA-04-River

Island Group)



Mr. Marty Flournoy, representing the petitioner, 2520- Wynnton Road said

he is here on behalf of Dr. Jack Sidhpura, the developer for this property. He

said he would like to apologize for all the delays on this request. He said

they went to the PAC back in April with this request, which was approved in May

and they thought it was non-controversy, he thought. He said as they got into

looking at what was the best way to develop this property a couple of things

really came to light.



He said the number one emotional argument that has been brought forward is

the concern over traffic. He said there are a number of fatalities that have

occurred on the corner of River Road and Mobley Road. He said traffic trying to

exit from Mobley Road onto River Road to come to work or in the evenings;

trying to come back to events in town, this was deemed to be an extremely

dangerous intersection.



Mr. Flournoy said at the PAC hearing these concerns were voiced by two

members of the PAC and the traffic Engineering Department made light of the

fact that they had planned to put a traffic light there and that the

petitioner, Dr. Jack Sidhpura agreed to make sure that the light would be there

before any Certificate of Occupant is granted.



He said there was a request for an additional traffic study that had been

done and one of the requirements of the developer is an independent traffic

study prior to the completion of the development or a Certificate of Occupant.

He said these are two things that are in place that they felt was a concern of

the community, which they addressed.



Mr. Flournoy then went into further details in explaining the proposed

plans for this area, saying one of the things they wanted to try to do is a

very upscale home apartment development that would reflect apartments that are

already in the Green Island area. He pointed out that there were some concerns

of the density of the apartments and was requested to reduce the density. He

said the residents felt like they could support an apartment home community if

the density were more like what had been built by the co petitioners and in an

attempt to do that, and to utilize the terrain, the developer agreed to reduce

the overall density to 15 units per acres, with the provision that they could

utilize the land of the back of the slope.



Using large maps and drawings of the area, Mr. Flournoy continued for

approximately thirty-five minutes in future highlighting this project.



Mr. Flournoy said in an attempt to address some of the concerns of the

residents and to make them feel easier of what was happening in their

neighborhood, they meet with a group of residents in August and a number of

recommendations were put forth, one of which; that the office buildings be no

more than one story. He said this would allow visibility from the River Road

corridor where residents in the area likely to see the development. He said all

the roads would be interior oriented.



He said the out parcel is not owned by the current property owner, but is

a property that is stipulated to be interior roads though. He said it cannot

have roads directly on Mobley and River Road. He said one of the things that

they are trying to incorporate in an office development is to allow this out

parcel to also access their property from the internal road structure.



Mr. Flournoy said with the light in place, they feel that the roads needs

to incorporate an ability for the traffic to exit on Mobley Road and turn right

and come to the light in order to go southbound back out. He said early on some

of the neighbors requested that they no allow any ingress or egress off of

Mobley Road, but in talking with the Traffic Engineering, they have stated that

this would be an extremely dangerous situation to set up where people had to

exit only onto River Road and turn against the traffic or to have to go to find

a place to make a U-turn.



Mr. Flournoy said he have been told by the traffic experts that the

dangerous situation that is currently there will be vindicated.



He said they feel that the property as it currently exists it could be

developed by somebody for office only and the multi-family portion of the

property could be developed as it; however, they felt in the spirit of trying

to make a nicer product and have a nicer development overall, they have agreed

to limit the size of the buildings to no more than 6,000 sq. feet.



After Mr. Flournoy concluded his presentation, he then responded to

questions of members of the Council. Several members of the Council then

expressed their views regarding this proposed rezoning petition.



Councilor Henderson said he would like to see a preliminary sketch as to

where these buildings are going to be located.



City Manager Cavezza also responded to a question of Councilor Turner Pugh

as to why aren?t medical offices not included in the definition for

professional and

business office use.



Mr. Hugh White, 3412 Hilton Avenue said he is an agent with Flournoy,

Calhoun Realtors, representing Dr. Jack Sidhpura. He said he is also a member

of the Steele family. He also offered his support for this proposed rezoning

ordinance.

He said they have attempted to find some solutions, and as recently as last

week, they thought they had reached an agreement and some last minute changes

occurred. He said they would like to ask for the Council?s support of this;

because they have worked on this project long and hard and do think this is the

best and highest use of the property.



He said they meet with the people from Engineering Department on yesterday

and the traffic light is scheduled to be in within four weeks; so, they feel

like all the right things are coming into place. He said if this is deemed to

be the right project, they assure you they will go forward with it and make it

something that Columbus will be proud of. He said he appreciates everyone?s

time and attention on this matter because he knows that this has gone on for

some time now.



City Manager Cavezza said he thinks it will be longer than four weeks for

the traffic light. He said we are waiting for the bids to come in now and said

it will be coming to the Council for approval sometime soon.



OPPONENTS:



Attorney Alan Kamensky, 6930 Weathersfield Road representing the opponents

then appeared and went into some details in highlighting his clients concerns

as it relates to this proposed rezoning request. He said in response to a

question of Councilor Turner Pugh, the reason that there is a difference

between medical office and general office is traffic. He said medical offices

generate more traffic than general offices, which is an obvious fact. He said

in 1999, the neighborhood spoke against the rezoning at that time and said

traffic was an issue. He said the Council heard that and restricted this piece

of property to say no multi-family and no doctor offices, but we would allow

general offices.



He said five years later, there is a new group in town and they want to

rezone this piece of property and want to use the six acres tract for

multi-family, which would allow them to put 165 apartment units on. He said the

last proposal that he had in talking with them; they want to put 18 office

buildings with a maximum square footage of 6,000 square feet. He said that

would mean a huge amount of traffic in and out of this piece of property.



Mr. Kamensky said back in 1999, this Council that was too much traffic for

this piece of property to do medical offices and then asked, what has changed

in five years to improve the traffic situation. He said there has been more

development out River Road and increased traffic, but nothing has helped to

alleviate this. He said they have indicated that there will be a traffic light

installed and they are going to widen River Road, but said we are a long way

from that happening.



Mr. Kamensky said they have not seen any site plan or any engineering

plans, landscape plans, nor any road plans. He said nothing has changed since

1999 and there are no restrictions that need to be removed. He said if you get

rid of these restrictions, they can do whatever they want to do with this piece

of property.



He said what this Council did five years ago was right and these people

that are here today were there and agreed to that. He said they are back here

today, which shows you that their opinions have not changed. He said traffic

has only gotten worst and nothing has changed that should change your minds to

remove those restrictions.



He said if you get a site plan, good engineering drawings and a landscape

plan, then we can look at it to see if it is properly rezoned and properly

development. He said without those facts and documents in front of you, you

couldn?t make a decision that should change what happened in 1999.



Mayor Poydasheff then asked if there was anyone else who wanted to be

heard, but there were none.



Assistant City Attorney Deloach then pointed out this ordinance would be

voted on next week.





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THE FOLLOWING TWO ORDINANCES WERE SUBMITTED AND THEIR CAPTIONS READ BY

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY DELOACH AND A PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD ON EACH AS

ADVERTISED:

An Ordinance - Amending Ordinance No. #03-90 which rezoned property on the

south side of Veterans Parkway, between Lullwater Apartments and Turnberry Lane

from an R-1 District to an A-0 District, so as to delete condition Nos. 5 and 6

and to substitute a new condition No. 5. (48-A-04-Developers-Investors, Inc.)



PROPONENTS & OPPONENTS:



There was no one present to offer any objections; however, there were

questions of the Council. Mr. Doug Jeffcoat, representative for the petitioner

then responded to several questions of members of the Council.



Councilor Henderson said he would like to hear the petitioner explain what

has changed and the need for a variety of access points for this piece of

property.



Mr. Dough Jeffcoat, 7716 Lynch Road, Midland said on last year, they

rezoned this piece of property (12.5 acres) on behalf of the Fickling &

Company. He said Fickling & Company bought some property from the Bradley

Company in Maple Ridge to do an apartment development back in the early 2000s.

He said they purchased about 24.5 acres from them.



He said in the process of rezoning that property for them in 2000, one of

the conditions of rezoning those 24.5 acres for a restriction of the traffic

going into Maple Ridge coming out of the apartment community. He said there was

an agreement with the Maple Ridge residents that the access of coming out of

Lullwater Apartments would be a right turn only that would allow them to have

access to the traffic light that was planned for Cooper Creek Road and Veterans

Parkway. He said the 24.5 acres was rezoned and the Lullwater Apartments were

built.



Mr. Jeffcoat said they have 12.5 acres that sits in front of the Lullwater

project between the project and Veterans Parkway that they put under contract

with Fickling & Company on last year for them to expand their Lullwater

project. He said when they rezoned the property, they went ahead and took the

initiative to limit the access to that piece of property because of the

previous experience they had with the Maple Ridge residents. He said they were

adding 12.5 acres, which 120 apartment units to this project, they felt that as

long as the residents could get in and out of the project within the existing

network within Lullwater, there wasn?t a need for them to access directly into

Maple Ridge or onto Veterans Parkway.



He said with the questions that came up with the Veterans Parkway widening

issue that puts median in place along Veterans Parkway and the uncertainty for

a number of months as to how that widening was going to impact this particular

piece of real estate, Fickling & Company elected not to close on this piece of

property. He said the stipulations that were put in place basically limited

access to this piece of property from within the Fickling campus and when

Fickling opted not to close on this piece of property, those restrictions no

longer made sense.



Mr. Jeffcoat said his purpose of being here today is to get the

restrictions lifted so that they can utilize this piece of property. He said it

needs access to Veterans Parkway and the number of curb cuts along Veterans

Parkways needs to be dictated by DOT based on all the perimeters they use. He

said because Veterans Parkway is going to be widened, there is going to be a

median put in place.

He said if you access Veterans Parkway, but you needed to go back towards

Columbus, it would force you to immediately move over two lanes of traffic and

do a left U-turn to head back into Columbus once that median is put in place.

Therefore, for the long term safety of the users of this piece of property,

they felt it was prudent to give access to Turnberry Lane so that the users of

this 12.5 acres could come out on Turnberry Lane and make a left turn to a

traffic light that is planned at the intersection of Turnberry/ Veterans

Parkway and then make a safe left-turn to head back toward Columbus once the

Veterans Parkway widening has been completed.



He said the use of this piece of property has changed, which is no longer

12.5 acres that will be incorporated in the Lullwater project, but will be an

independent totally different user; and therefore, the restrictions that we

agreed to no longer makes any sense.



Mayor Poydasheff then asked Mr. Jeffcoat what has changed that would force

the Council to change their position they took a year ago restricting the

Turnberry Lane.



Mr. Jeffcoat said since Fickling is not buying the property, those access

points don?t exist any longer.



Deputy City Manager Richard Bishop then responded to questions of members

of the Council regarding this request.



After more then twenty-five minutes of discussion on this matter, with Mr.

Jeffcoat responding to further questions of members of the Council, Assistant

City Attorney Deloach then declared this public hearing held.





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An Ordinance - Amending the text of the Zoning Ordinance to allow services

operations such as meat storage, cutting and distribution; milk bottling and

distribution; ice cream manufacture; printing; bookbindery; lithography; and

publishing, as a Special Exception Use in the C-3 zoning district.

(49-D-04-Daffin)



PROPONENTS & OPPONENTS:



There was no one present to propose this rezoning ordinance. Councilor

McDaniel said he has talked with Planning Division, they are not really opposed

to this request. He said any new development in that area would be an

improvement, because this is a deteriorating area.



Councilor Henderson said he had an opportunity to see the PAC meeting on

this case and heard the entire presentation and he doesn?t think they have a

problem with it.



Councilor Davis said in the past he has done business with Mr. Daffin and

said his operation is quiet complex, but the new building he is proposing will

clean things up significantly and will be more creative from the standpoint of

a visible standpoint.



Mr. Johnny Daffin, 1353 Peacock Avenue, the petitioner was present, but he

did not make a presentation, as there was no one present to oppose this

proposed rezoning ordinance.

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CITY ATTORNEY?S AGENDA CONTINUED:



THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED AND ITS CAPTION READ BY ASSISTANT

CITY ATTORNEY DELOACH AND DUE TO AN INCONCLUSIVE VOTE WAS CARRIED OVER UNTIL

NEXT

WEEK:





An Ordinance - Rezoning property located at 1059 McBride Drive from an R-1

District to a C-2 District. (46-D-04-Flemister)



Councilor Suber made a motion that Ms. Flemister be heard. Seconded by

Councilor Woodson and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council

present for this meeting.



Councilor Suber said he has talked with Ms. Flemister and said he has

asked her if the beauty salon doesn?t work if she would be willing to put a

condition in the ordinance for it to revert back to R-1.



Ms. Arlesia Flemister, 1810 Susan Lane said she doesn?t have a problem

with that.



Councilor Suber said Ms. Flemister also stated that she was going to go

and talk with the neighbors in the area and bring us a petition, showing that

they didn?t

have any opposition.



Ms. Flemister said she did do that and has filed the petition with the

Clerk of Council. She said she did talk with the neighbors and they are in

agreement with a beauty salon going there. She said there was also a personal

letter written by one of the neighbors, Ms. Stephanie Robinson, also agreeing

to the beauty salon.



Councilor Suber then asked Assistant City Attorney Deloach if this would

be a material change to add a condition if the beauty salon fail, the property

would revert back to an R-1 District.



Assistant City Attorney Deloach said she doesn?t think we would have to

put that back on first reading. Councilor Suber then made a motion that we

amend the ordinance to include a reversionary clause to state that if the

beauty salon does not work out, the property would revert back to an R-1

District. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and carried unanimously by those eight

members of Council present for this meeting.



Councilor Suber then made motion to approve the ordinance. Seconded by

Councilor McDaniel, which resulted in an inconclusive vote of 5-3. Voting for

the motion was Councilors Anthony, Davis, McDaniel, Suber and Woodson. Voting

no was Councilors Henderson, Turner Pugh and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers.



Mayor Poydasheff then pointed out that this matter would have to come back

on next week for a vote, because we have two Council members absent and the

only time the Mayor can vote is when there is a 5-5 tie.





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THE FOLLOWING THREE ORDINANCES WERE SUBMITTED AND THEIR

CAPTIONS READ BY ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY DELOACH AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON

SECOND READING:







An Ordinance (04-85) -Rezoning property located 4420 St. Francis Avenue

from an R-2 District to a C-3 District. (45-CA-04-Spectrum Realty, Inc.) Mayor

Pro Tem Rodgers moved the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor

McDaniel and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for

this meeting.

















An Ordinance (04-86) - Rezoning property located at 3402 6th Avenue from

an R-4 District to a C-2 District. (47-CA-04-Austin) Councilor McDaniel moved

the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and carried

unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting.



An Ordinance (04-87) - Amending the Budgets for the fiscal year 2004

beginning July 1, 2003 and ending June 30, 2004, for the General Fund of the

Consolidated Government of Columbus, Georgia in the amount of $121,188,248,

appropriating amount shown to adjust department budgets to meet the legal

levels of control. Councilor Turner Pugh moved the adoption of the ordinance.

Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried unanimously by those eight members of

Council present for this meeting.





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While the Mayor and Council were waiting for the file to be loaded to show

the pictures of each of the properties outlined above, Mayor Poydasheff called

up Ms. Mary Mardis, who was listed on the public agenda to come forward.

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PUBLIC AGENDA:



MS. MARY MARDIS, REPRESENTING THE GREATER COLUMBUS HOMEBUILDERS

ASSOCIATION, RE: TO EXTEND AN INVITATION TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL:



Ms. Mary Mardis said she is here this morning to thank the Mayor and

Council for the good job that they do and said this morning is a good example

of the tough decisions that you have to make; not just in the Council meeting,

but during the day and throughout the night, you have the City of Columbus on

your mind. She said the Columbus Homebuilders Association would like to invite

the Mayor and Council to attend their Annual Fish Fry, which will be held on

Tuesday, September 21, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. in their parking lot, 6432 Bradley

Park Drive.





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THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE WAS ALSO SUBMITTED AND ITS CAPTION READ BY

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY DELOACH AND INTRODUCED ON FIRST READING:



An Ordinance - Providing for the demolition of fourteen structures located

at 4828 Old Cusseta Road (Leroy W. & Aldpohus Battle Sr., owners); 2610 Clover

Lane (George D. Boykins, owner); 3150 Plateau Drive, Lt. 441 (Buck Sport

Aircraft, owner); 718 6th Avenue (Church of God, owner); 3637? Buena Vista Road

(Johnny E. Davis, owner); 1214 Baker Circle (Wilson T. Harrison, owner); 2415 ?

Schaul Street (C. A. Hopkins, owner); 401 Brennan Road, Lt. 33 (King Gerald

Leonard, owner); 925 Benning Drive (Marie v. Petit, Estate); 2605 Walker Street

(Jacqueline M. Ryan, owner); 3466 Marathon Drive, Lt. 55 (Ivey & Dorothy

Summerlin, owners); 2714 14th Avenue (Nellie H. Thompson, et al., owners); 2608

14th Avenue (Dorothy C. Walker, owner); 606 Radcliff Avenue (Pearlie Wilson,

owner); and for demolition services for the Inspections and Code Division in

accordance with the Tabulation of Bid sheet.



Councilor Anthony said for the record, he would like to point out that all

of the individuals that are identified for the first reading of the demolition

of structures were notified that this hearing would be held today and had an

opportunity to be here.



Mayor Poydasheff said when the Council supports this ordinance you will be

doing a wonderful thing for the Columbus South Revitalization Task Force.



Councilor Anthony then asked if there was any way to know whether or not

these property owners if they live else where in the City. City Manager Cavezza

said we have the addresses and locations and said in most cases, in talking to

the owners, they came in for hearings.



Councilor Anthony said we have found in other cases, which illustrates our

problems sometimes these absent owners live in other sections of the City in

nice houses; but yet they provide these kinds of houses for people in our

community.



Councilor Woodson said we have been a lot of demolitions; however, there

is still people out there who are questioning what we are doing to clean up

Columbus South or the City as a whole, and then asked City Manager Cavezza to

look at, possibly in a Council Work Session, show the number of homes that we

have allowed the owners an opportunity to repair versus the number of homes

that have been demolished.



She said in response to Councilor Anthony?s question, she knows that there

are some of these properties that are owned by many professionals. She said she

thinks that the public needs to know how hard we are working to make it a

better quality of life by knowing the number of demolitions we have done so far

this year, and since the Community Improvement Program.



City Manager Cavezza said a lot more homes are repaired than torn down.



*** *** ***



PARKING LOT:



Councilor Woodson asked City Manager Cavezza to also provide a status

report on the property located on Victory Drive & Torch Hill Road where there

is a shopping center whose parking lot is in really bad condition.



City Manager Cavezza said it is a private parking lot and said there isn?t

really anything we can do about it other than talk to the owner.



Councilor Woodson then asked that we look at setting up a meeting with the

property owner.



*** *** ***



PROPERTY ON RIVER ROAD:



Councilor Davis said he knows that there are some legal matters pertaining

to this piece of property that is located on River Road across from River Road

Elementary School, which use to be a gas station. He said he really doesn?t

know the status of what?s going on, but he thinks that we need to have some of

our staff to go up there and board up that building and clean this property up.

He said every time he goes by there, it gets worst.



City Manager Cavezza said he would follow up on this matter.

----------------------------------------------------------*** ***

***--------------------------------------------------------------

CITY ATTORNEY?S AGENDA CONTINUED:



THE FOLLOWING TWO RESOLUTIONS, EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO THOSE EMPLOYEES

WHO HAVE RECENTLY RETIRED FROM THE SERVICES OF THE COLUMBUS CONSOLIDATED

GOVERNMENT WAS SUBMITTED AND READ BY MAYOR PRO TEM RODGERS AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION MADE BY MAYOR PRO TEM

RODGERS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SUBER, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE

EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (379-04) - Expressing appreciation to Mr. Vaughn Hixon upon

his retirement with the Public Services Department after 30 years of service.



A Resolution (380-04) - Expressing appreciation to Mr. Jerome D. Wilson

upon his retirement with the Columbus Department of Fire and EMS after 35 years

of service.

----------------------------------------------------------*** ***

***--------------------------------------------------------------

FUND BALANCE:



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said during the course of the first public hearing

on the sales and for the last several years, there has been a number of

questions that have arisen with respect to our fund balance at the City, which

right now is approximately $30 million unencumbered. He said the Mayor and City

Manager have asked that he take a few minutes to go over this Cash Flow chart

that we have available that shows that this money is not just sitting there

waiting to be used for some yet to be determined purpose, but is utilized on a

daily basis to cover our bills.



He said there is a zero line that runs across the graph and everything

under it, shows the City in an actual minus operating cash situation and said

it is in those situations that we have to dip into our fund balance to actually

pay our operating expenses on a day to day basis.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said our revenue does not come in on a regular

basis, but it comes in two tax payments in October and December. He said then

in the Spring we get our gross receipt tax and business license, but in between

we run out of cash and the alternative to using the fund balance to cover these

expenses would be to go to the bank and borrow money on tax anticipation notes,

which would in effect increase our expenses by having to pay interest on our

monies. He said this is a prudent use of that fund balance and in the absence

of it, we won?t have to look any further other than Macon, Georgia to see what

some of the potential consequences of it are. He said two months ago, they were

faced with not being able to make a payroll for City employees because they

were out of money.



Councilor Woodson said she we are having another public hearing on the

sales tax tonight at Baker Middle School and she would like to ask that this

slide be made available at the public hearing on tonight and that Mayor Pro Tem

Rodgers be available for comments.



Mayor Poydasheff and members of the Council then echoed those comments of

Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers and expressed their views on this matter as well.

----------------------------------------------------------*** ***

***------------------------------------------------------------

CITY MANAGER?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY MANAGER

CAVEZZA AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:





A Resolution (381-04) - Declaring surplus all of the property on Blanchard

Blvd except for the 10+/- acres identified that the City will save for the

Rugby "Field" and transfer said property to The Development Authority.

Councilor McDaniel moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor

Turner Pugh and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present

for this meeting.





*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING THREE RESOLUTIONS WERE ALSO SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY

MANAGER CAVEZZA AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE

MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR TURNER PUGH AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MCDANIEL, WHICH

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (382-04) - Authorizing the submission of an application and

if approved, accept a grant of $500 from Radio Shack for two-way radios to be

used during the Before/After School Program that will provide a quicker

response system.



A Resolution (383-04) - Authorizing the acceptance of funds from the

Bright from the Start (formerly Office of School Readiness) for reimbursement

of snacks provided for After School Participants.



A Resolution (384-04) - Authorizing the submission of an application and

if approved, accept a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant for $81,658 from the

Bureau of Justice Administration.



***

*** ***



UPCOMING EVENTS:



City Manager Cavezza highlighted the following upcoming events as outlined

below:



TOWN HALL MEETING- SALES TAX:



? Tonight, 6:00 p.m., Baker Middle School





BULL CREEK GOLF COURSE:



? Bull Creek Golf Course Ribbon Cutting





POW/MIA DEDICATION:



? Saturday, September 11th, 11:00 a.m., Plaza Level Government Center

----------------------------------------------------------*** ***

***--------------------------------------------------------------



THE FIRE HOUSE:



Councilor Henderson said he has some concerns about the Fire House club.

Mayor Poydasheff said that has been put off limits to the military by the

Commander of the United States Infantry Center.



However, Councilor Henderson said that doesn?t help the issue that he is

raising on today. He said he has received complaints from the residents as it

relates to noise at The Fire House and the loud music that is being played,

which is disturbing the residents early in the morning at closing now. He said

between 2:00 - 3:30 a.m., it is waking the residents up.



He said he would like to ask Mayor Poydasheff to look into those concerns

and let?s see what we can do to assist the residents in this area.

----------------------------------------------------------*** ***

***------------------------------------------------------------



CLERK OF COUNCIL?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF COUNCIL WASHINGTON AS

INFORMATION FOR THE MAYOR AND

COUNCIL:





Memo from Ms. Kelley Thomas, Department of Parks & Recreation, requesting

a nominee for the Council District Four representative on the Recreation

Advisory Board for the seat of the late Ms. Debra Aldridge.





*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING THREE RESOLUTIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CLERK OF

COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A

SINGLE MOTION MADE BY MAYOR PRO TEM RODGERS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SUBER,

WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (385-04) - Receiving the report of the Director of Finance

concerning certain alcoholic beverage licenses that were approved and/or denied

during the month of June 2004.



A Resolution (386-04) - Receiving the report of the Director of Finance

concerning certain alcoholic beverage licenses that were approved and/or denied

during the month of July 2004.



A Resolution (387-04) - Receiving the report of the Director of Finance

concerning certain alcoholic beverage licenses that were approved and/or denied

during the month of August 2004.





*** *** ***



MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING BOARDS WERE SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF COUNCIL

WASHINGTON AND OFFICIALLY RECEIVED BY THE

COUNCIL:



Airport Commission, July 28, 2004.

Tax Assessors, No. 34.

Water Commissioners, Board of, May 10, 2004.

Water Commissioners, Board of, July 12, 2004.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers made a motion that these minutes be received.

Seconded by Councilor Turner Pugh and carried unanimously by those eight

members of Council present for this meeting.





*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING TWO ADD-ON RESOLUTIONS WERE ALSO SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF

COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A

SINGLE MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR HENDERSON AND SECONDED BY COUNCILR SUBER, WHICH

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:___

_________



A resolution (388-04) - Excusing Councilor R. Gary Allen from the

September 14, 2004 Council Meeting.



A Resolution (389-04) - Excusing Councilor Julius Hunter, Jr. from the

September 14 2004 Council Meeting.



Mayor Poydasheff pointed out that Councilor Hunter?s father-in-law has

passed away and that the funeral will be on tomorrow at 12:00 noon.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS:



BUILDING AUTHORITY OF COLUMBUS:



Clerk of Council Washington said we need someone to fill the unexpired

term of Mr. Donald Gates, whose seat was declared vacant by the Council. There

were no nominations.





*** *** ***



CIVIC CENTER ADVISORY BOARD:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers is

working on a nominee for someone to succeed Mr. Terry Hattaway, who has

resigned his seat on the Civic Center Advisory Board.





*** *** ***



COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that we still need Councilor

McDaniel?s nominee for someone to succeed Mr. Douglas Bryant Council District

Four representative. There was no nomination made.





*** *** ***



KEEP COLUMBUS BEAUTIFUL COMMISSION:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that Mr. Chuck Granberry has

resigned from this board and we need someone to fill this unexpired seat. There

were no nominations.





*** *** ***



PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that on last week Councilor Suber

nominated Mr. Michael Eddings for Ms. Charlene LeBleu?s alternate position. She

then requested a week delay on this appointment, as there is going to be an

additional nomination forthcoming on next week. There were no objections to

the delay.





*** *** ***



PUBLIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMISSION:



Clerk of Council Washington said she has outlined the Public Safety

Advisory Commission seats and said that we still need a nominee for Council

Districts 2, 5, 9 and 10.



Councilor Henderson nominated Mr. Archie Rainey as his nominee.



Councilor Anthony asked that Clerk of Council Washington outline all those

nominees that have been made for the Public Safety Advisory Council. Clerk of

Council Washington said she would outline those on next week.





*** *** ***



With there being no further business to come before this Council, Mayor

Poydasheff then asked if there was anyone who was not listed on the Public

Agenda, but had an issue to bring before the Council, they could be heard at

this time. There was no one who indicated that they wanted to be heard.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:



Councilor Suber requested an executive session to discuss a personnel

issue.

and so moved. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and carried unanimously by those

eight members of Council present for this meeting.





*** *** ***



At 11:10 a.m., the regular meeting was adjourned to allow the Council to

go into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter.



At 11:32 a.m., the meeting was called back to order, at which time Mayor

Poydasheff pointed out that the Council met in an executive session to discuss

a personnel matter, but there were not votes taken





*** *** ***



With there being nor further business, Councilor Henderson then made a

motion for adjournment. Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers and carried

unanimously by those eight members of Council present, with the time being

11:33 a.m.







Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council

The Council of Columbus, Georgia