Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

WORK SESSION

NOVEMBER 22, 2005



The regular monthly Work Session of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was

called to order at 9:05 A.M., Tuesday, November 22, 2005, on the Plaza Level of

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

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



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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers was Councilors

R. Gary Allen, Wayne Anthony, Glenn Davis, Berry H. Henderson, Julius H.

Hunter, Jr., Charles E. McDaniel, Jr., Evelyn Turner Pugh and Nathan Suber.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley, Assistant City Attorney Jamie Deloach. Clerk of

Council Tiny B. Washington and Deputy Clerk of Council Sandra Davis were also

present. Councilor Woodson arrived at 9:07 a.m.,

ABSENT: City Attorney Clifton Fay was absent.

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INVOCATION: Led by Mayor Pro Tem John J. Rodgers.

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GOD BLESS FORT BENNING:



Mayor Poydasheff said he couldn?t think the Council members enough for

being in attendance at the God Bless Family event that was held on Saturday. He

said he would like to especially thank Councilor Davis for opening up his hotel

and hearts for the big celebration for the God Bless Fort Benning event.



He said he couldn?t say enough about our Public Safety personnel and the

teamwork with the Police Chief, Sheriff, Marshal, as well as the Fire & EMS and

the work that they did during these two events.



Mayor Poydasheff said unlike other cities, again this City was deluged

with approximately 16,000 SOA Watch demonstrators and a little over 10,000 in

attendance at the God Bless Fort Benning event. He said he commends those

individuals for conducting a very peaceful demonstration except for some who

broke the law. He said Fort Benning arrested 36 individuals and we arrested 2

individuals for having weapons in public at that site and 3 more for failing to

disperse outside the jail; which was all done in an extremely professional

manner.



He said he wants to thank Assistant City Attorney Jamie Deloach for being

on call for 48 hours and then being down there making sure that what we did,

was perfectly in accordance with the law at the jail.



Mayor Poydasheff said he also want to thank the Georgia State Patrol. He

said they wrote 610 tickets and they gave out 358 warnings and were able to

pick up 9 DUIs and 4 people with outstanding warrants. He said he did issue a

media release on Thursday morning to notify the citizens that the Georgia State

Patrol was going to pick up the slack, and encouraged them to drive within the

speed limit, which some did not. He said as they did in the past, the Georgia

State Patrol sent us their helicopter, with Fort Benning allowing us to land

there safely.



He said he would also like to thank those individuals at Freedom House who

allowed them to use that as a headquarters. He said all in all, it was a job

well done by our Public Safety personnel.



Councilor Henderson said he thinks that we ought to invite the State

Patrol into our community anything they have the manpower to be here.

He said our Public Safety personnel works so hard and they are stretched so

thin. He said the more they can support us on the Interstate, the more we can

slow some of the traffic down and maybe prevent accidents.



Councilor Davis said we are truly fortunate to be blessed by so many good

people in our community and the generosity and care of their hearts have

reached out to our friends and neighbors out at Fort Benning and have supported

them tremendously; which is truly admirable and he appreciates them so much.



He said he also went out and spent some time with our Public Safety

personnel at the protest and said he is proud and amazed at the professionalism

and how they handled themselves. He said we really do have one of the best

Public Safety Departments in this country. He said he thinks that Columbus

should be really proud of our Public Safety Department, all of them, because it

was a coordinated effort. He said there re so many good things that happened

this week, and he thinks that we need to prepare some resolutions and get these

people in here to recognize them.



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RESOLUTION OF THANKS:



Councilor Hunter said there was an article on the first page of today?s

newspaper, written by Chuck Williams concerning two individuals, who over the

weekend rendered assistance to an individual who had an automobile accident. He

said they were on their way to the Iron Bowl Game in Auburn and apparently

there was a gentleman who had fallen asleep at the wheel and ran off the road

and they came to his assistance. He said they

were offered an escort by the State Trooper to the game; however, they refused

it and went to the hospital to check on the gentleman who was in the accident.

He then asked the City Attorney to prepare a resolution thanking them for their

assistance.



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PEANUT BOWL:



Councilor Woodson asked City Manager Hugley to get the results of the

Peanut Bowl and if there were any teams, who won the Championships, let?s do a

resolution and then bring them to the Council.

GOD BLESS FORT BENNING EVENT:



Referring back to this event, Councilor Anthony asked City Attorney to

prepare a resolution of thanks to commend Jack and Eve Tidwell, as well as Jan

Pease for hosting the God Bless Fort Benning event.

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MINUTES OF LAST MEETING: Minutes of the September 6, 2005 Meeting of the

Council of the Consolidated Government of Columbus, Georgia were submitted and

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

seconded by Councilor Allen, which carried unanimously by those ten members of

Council present for this meeting. .

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CONSENT AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING TWO RESOLUTIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL

PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR WOODSON AND

SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ALLEN, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE TEN MEMBERS OF

COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS MEETING: _____________________



A Resolution (542-05) ? Authorizing payment to employees for unused

sick leave in accordance with Section 16B-15-6(2) of the Columbus, Georgia

Code of Ordinance.



A Resolution (543-05) ? Authorizing the acceptance of $1,623,600 in grant

funds from The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) to assist with

emergency sheltering cost for Hurricane Katrina Evacuees.



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THE FOLLOWING TWO NEW ZONING PETITIONS WAS SUBMITTED AND AN ORDINANCE AND

PUBLIC HEARING WAS CALLED FOR AS PART OF THIS CONSENT AGENDA:___________



Petition submitted by Mark Alexander to rezone approximately 10 acres of

property located at Schomburg Road, southeast of the main entrance to Maple

Ridge Subdivision from SFR1 (Single Family Residential 1) & RE1 (Residential

Estate 1) Districts to RO (Residential-Office) District. (Recommended for

approval by both the Planning Advisory Commission and the Planning Division.)

(63-A-05-Alexander)



Petition submitted by George C. Woodruff Company to rezone approximately

14.85 acres of property located at 6939 Warm Springs Road from SFR1 District

(Single Family Residential 1) to SFR2 District (Single Family Residential 2).

(Recommended for conditional approval by both the Planning Advisory Commission

and the Planning Division.) (64-CA-05-George C. Woodruff Co.)

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WORKSESSION AGENDA:



City Manager Hugley said he wanted to bring before the Council on today

some proposed changes in our Health Care plan. He said the proposed change is

centered on the continued increase in the cost of healthcare for the employees

of this government. He said back in FY-00, the total cost all inclusive for

healthcare for this government was $12.1 million and in FY-05 when we closed

out on June 20, 2005 our actual cost for healthcare was $16.7 million, which is

approximately 37.98% increase in the cost of healthcare. He said based on our

monthly trends, $1.350,000.00 we anticipate that we are going to be well over

$16 million as we close out FY-06.



Mr. Hugley said when we talked with our provider, Blue Cross/Blue Shield

they have given us an estimate for the calendar year, from January 2006 ?

December 2007, a projected $17.8 million in the cost of healthcare. He said the

increase cost of healthcare is a trend that?s not just in this government, but

it is something all across the United States.



He said in our Drug, the average drug cost in the HMO plan is $33.66, PPO

plan $46.91 per prescription. He said the indemnity retirees over 65; the

average cost of prescriptions is $103.03. He said the average for the plan is

$44.11. He said a serious a recommendations will come forth within the next few

months to try and address the major issues that we have in healthcare, such as

drug therapy, well prevention programs, rate adjustments and retiree health.



City Manager Hugley said we have already signed up for the prescription

Medicare supplement program with the Federal government and said we should see

this program getting started in January 2006.



He said our first approach is to try and share some of the cost with our

employees and to control the cost, which is our objective. He then went into

some details in outlining the proposed changes to the healthcare plan, which is

outlined below.



City Manager Hugley said we are going to present to you what we term as a

preferred rate. He said the preferred rate would be the current rate that the

employees are paying today. He said all the employees, whether they are

individual or family plans, pays the same rate. He said that is the preferred

rate that he is going to be referring to today. He said this effort today as it

is presented to you will be talking about tobacco users when he talk about the

preferred rate.



Preferred Rates for Healthy Lifestyles (tobacco product abstinence)

Spousal Rate Surcharges when City plan selected and other employer plan

available



Dependent Audits to verify eligibility and deter fraudulent coverage

Definitions







City Manager Hugley said as he presented this to the Council Budget

Finance Committee, they urged him not to wait until the next budget process to

move forward with a dependent audit, but to do that within the next 30 days.

He said we will look at our employees carrying family coverage with dependents

to randomly do audits to determine if they are true dependents of our employees

or not.



Mayor Poydasheff said he thinks that is a very wise decision because

recent statistics from the Department of the Army has indicated that there are

quiet a number of people that are carried as a dependent and given an id card

who shouldn?t have been carried as a dependent.



City Manager Hugley said within the next 30 days he will be sending out

notification to all of the employees advising them of this matter. He said we

would extend the open enrollment period throughout the end of December.



He said there is an amnesty period, therefore, if they know they are

enrolled in family coverage and they have dependents on their insurance

coverage who are not truly dependents, then they would have an opportunity to

come and correct that and we won?t ask any questions. He said if they failed to

do that and we do the random audit, we would kick them off the plan for at

least one year.



Councilor Suber then asked if we are sending the information out,

clarifying dependents and the ages, making sure everyone understands what a

dependent is.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said he agrees with it, but the penalty that the

employees are going to suffer for any future fraud makes it encumbered upon us

to make sure that during this amnesty period, every employee has put into their

hands, what the consequences are going to be.



Councilor Hunter said he would ask that we go a step further with this. He

said beyond age, he would suggest that we include in bold print, define fully

what constitutes a dependent so there will be little run for error.



Mayor Poydasheff asked Assistant City Attorney Deloach to work with the

City Manager and the Human Resources Director to come up with the appropriate

language.



Councilor Allen said in order to make it abundantly clear, he thinks that

they should have to sign a separate sheet with that statement included, what is

a dependent.



Councilor Turner Pugh said She wants to make sure that the City Attorney?s

office work with the City Manager?s office prior to those changes being made on

the forms as it relates to dependent coverage to make certain that everything

is legal on it. She said she knows that there are a lot of grandparents who

are raising their grand children, but they must have legal custody of that

child in order to carry them on their health insurance.

She said they need to be explained all of this.



City Manager Hugley said they would do all those things that have been

requested by this Council.



He then continued forward with his presentation on the proposed changes.



Preferred Rate: The current rate paid by City employees for health insurance



City Manager Hugley said the preferred rate would be the rate that the

employees are paying today. He said if they are tobacco users they will be

surcharged an additional $18.50 bi-weekly, which is paid by the employees

ineligible for the preferred rate. He said we are promoting healthy

lifestyles.



Healthy Lifestyles: Tobacco product abstinence for now, later more

requirements may be added.



Spousal Rate Surcharge: Extra premium charge when a spouse elects City health

plan when other employer group health insurance is available



Dependent Audit: Random audit to verify eligibility of insured dependents



Tobacco Product Use



City Manager Hugley said as we look at tobacco produce use, studies show

that tobacco users incur higher average health care costs. He said it also cost

employers more in other ways, which includes higher absenteeism

decreased productivity yearly, (disability) retirement, and higher life

insurance premiums. He said there is a higher risk of fire damage, higher fire

insurance premiums.



He said higher premium charges for tobacco users are both appropriate and

reasonable. He said the State of Georgia charges an additional $40 monthly and

Synovus charges an additional $20 monthly. He said this is becoming a trend

where many cities and companies are currently charging extra premiums to

smokers.



Current Rate Structure



HMO Bi-weekly Individual Family

Current Rate $19.00 $71.00





Proposed Rate Structure



HMO Bi-weekly Individual Family

Current Rate $19.00 $71.00

Standard Rate $37.00 $89.50











City Manager Hugley said if the Council comes during the budget process

and decides that we need to increase the current rate, which is the preferred

rate, then the preferred rate would increase, then obviously the preferred for

non-tobacco users would increase; which also means that the standard rate for

tobacco users would go up even higher.



Preferred Rate Proposal - For Healthy Lifestyles

? Signed attestation of tobacco abstinence required for Preferred Premium

? Random nicotine testing may be used to deter false enrollments

? False enrollment results in 1-year plan suspension (same as State plan)



City Manager Hugley said if employees tell us that they are not a tobacco

user and we give them the preferred rate, and then later determine that you are

a tobacco user, we consider this as false enrollment and it will result in the

suspension from the plan.



Councilor Suber said most people don?t understand COBRA if they haven?t

had to deal with it and said he thinks that it is important that we put a cost

with COBRA. He said it is a substantial increase in their bi-weekly premiums

and most people can?t afford it, if they had to. He said we need to let people

know that this is not cheap venture, being out of our healthcare plan for over

a year.



Mayor Poydasheff said we need to make sure that we have this listed under

the definitions in this plan.



City Manager Hugley said they would make sure that in our communication to

the employee, we give an example of COBRA in our correspondence to them.



City Manager Hugley then responded to further questions of members of the

Council, after which he then continued with his presentation of the proposed

changes.



Preferred Rate Proposal - For Healthy Lifestyles



? COBRA rates available for suspended plan members

? Smoking cessation programs will be offered

? Three one-month prescriptions of Zyban at regular co-pay rate allowed per

member

? Other ?healthy lifestyles? initiatives such as annual medical screening may

be added to future preferred premium requirements



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers asked if we are strictly defining tobaccos users as

smokers.



City Manager Hugley said when he says smokers; he intended to say tobacco

users.





Mayor Poydasheff said he wants the City Manager to make sure the term

smoking cessesation program is included in the definitions.

Councilor Davis asked what costs would the City incur to do this random

nicotine testing.



City Manager Hugley said we are going to keep the cost at minimum and said

he don?t anticipate that our random testing will be expensive. He said we are

going to determine how much we can afford to spend on that which will be very

little. He said we won?t do as much random testing as we would like to do, but

employees will know that there is still a chance that maybe 1 out of 300 that

there is going to be selected for testing and there is a random testing

process.



Councilor Davis said he would like to be provided with information as to

the average cost of testing to determine whether or not there has been any

tobacco use by an employee.



City Manager Hugley said he can tell you the cost to do the tobacco use

test, but he won?t be able to tell you how much we are going to spend on that

because we are going to do that when we get into the budget process. He said

that is when we will look at what we can afford to put in that particular line

item.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she thinks that before we talk about how much

it?s going to cost, that we would go out and get bids to deal with this kind of

testing. She said we don?t know what it?s going to cost.



City Manager Hugley said they could check with those local companies who

are currently doing it, to determine the average cost of testing for tobacco

use. He said as we get into the process, if this is part of the budget; then we

would determine how much we would be put into the testing.



Councilor Allen asked if we have talked about or thought about assessing

the employees the cost of the test if they failed. He said he thinks is

something that we need to consider. He then asked City Manager Hugley to look

into and consider the possibility of assessing the employees for the cost of

testing for tobacco use if they should fail the test. He said in the

disclaimer where they sign, it might be something that we might want to put in

there as well.



SPOUSAL INSURANCE PROPOSAL:



? $14 biweekly surcharge (above designated premium) when spouse has access to

other employer group health insurance

? Signed attestation and spousal employment & benefit verification release

required

? False enrollment results in 1-year plan suspension (same as State plan)

? COBRA available for suspended members



City Hugley said on the spousal insurance proposal, if a spouse works for

another agency and could carry insurance, but opts not to do so, then the

employee would be charged an addition $14.00 to carry their spouse, which is in

addition to the $18.50 bi-weekly charge if they are also a tobacco user.



Councilor Suber asked if there is going to be any differentiation as to

who would cover the dependents besides the spouse, if the spouse works in

another location and that individual can have individual coverage, but beside

their insurance policy states that if you cover one, you might as well cover a

family. He said he knows that the State requires that the person who was born

first. He said if you have two individual within a household, then the birthday

rule would come into effect. He said we needs to make sure that we can

different between spouse coverage individually versus the family or insured and

dependent coverage.



City Manager Hugley said they have not gone into that discussion, but said

he thoughts on that is that the employee and his spouse would decide whether or

not the spouse carries the dependent with their insurance or whether he or she

carries the



In his conclusion, City Manager Hugley went into further details

explaining the Dependent Audit Proposal.



DEPENDENT AUDIT PROPOSAL:



? City HR Department will conduct audits

? Proposed program start date is January 1, 2006, with announcement to plan

participants about one month prior to start

? An amnesty period will run from initial announcement until December 31, 2005,

during which time ineligible dependents may be removed without consequence

? March 2006 start random selection of several plan participants for audit each

month

? Plan participants selected for audit must provide documents to prove

dependent eligibility

? False dependent enrollment results in 1-year plan suspension



He said we would proceed forward within the next thirty days and gets the

letters out to the employees and will proceed with the dependent audits.



In concluding his presentation, City Manager Hugley reminded the Council

of the three areas in which we will be focusing on in this new proposed health

changes, which includes Preferred rate for non-tobacco users and the standard

rate for tobacco users - $18.00 bi-weekly, spousal rate - $14.00 bi-weekly. He

said this is what he will be bringing forward in the upcoming budget process

and they will proceed forward with the Dependent Audit.

Councilor Turner Pugh said one of the things that she wants the Council to

understand is that during the budget process, the next budget year is going to

be totally different from any budget we have ever had to deal with and there

are new things that are being tried and discussed and he just all of us to keep

an mind when its brought to us. She said with everything that we are looking at

is from a cost savings prospective because the funds are not there.



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TRAFFIC SIGNAL ENERGY SAVINGS:



Deputy City Manager Goodwin said this was a Management Development

Project, III, in which Mr. Hamlett did this study and said the significance of

this program is the cost savings in terms of energy and safety factors.



Mr. Ronald S. Hamlett. Traffic Engineering Division Manager said he brought

two traffic signals with him today to give you an idea of what you see

everyday. He said the reason for a traffic signal is to assign rights-of-way

and to get people to apply to those. He said he has several questions to being

his presentation.



1) Is it Green or Red?

2) Can it be brighter?

3) How much energy is consumed?



He said there are three different kinds of flashers, which include Energy for

traffic signals, intersection flashers, and school flashers. He said based on

his discussion today will be based on a traffic signal. He said a basic traffic

signal Energy cost is average of $18.45/1000 watts. He said it has increased

since this presentation was done. He said the average annual Energy cost is

$220/year and in FY-05 signal Energy cost is $79,811, but FY-05 signal Energy

budget is $76,800



Mr. Hamlett said what is occurring in this particular year with the

hurricanes has highlighted it more than before, is that we have a trend of

Energy cost going up continually each year. He said in 2002 it was $53,827 and

up to 2005, it was $79,811.00. He said within a three year period we have

increase $25,984.00, which is a considerable impact to our budget.



He then went into some details in outlining the Traffic Signal Description



? City maintains 250 traffic signals

? City maintains over 3,571 signal/ped heads

? Signal heads use 116 to 150 watt incandescent bulbs

? Pedestrian heads use 69 watt incandescent bulbs



Mr. Hamlett pointed out that all of these signals, just as the one he has

demonstrated here this morning all use an incandescent bulb just like you do at

your home. He said the wattage on those ranges from 116 to 150 watts in traffic

signal heads like this one and the actual pedestrian signal heads, they us 69

watts.



He said what they are talking about is using a newer technology in

lighting displays. He said it uses the acronym (LED), which is Light Emitting

Diodes.



Mayor Poydasheff asked Mr. Hamlett if the National Safety Public Council

and others sanctioned the use of these bulbs. He asked if they believe that

this is an appropriate approach to traffic light.



Mr. Hamlett said yes, they have and that is basically becoming the new

standards.



INCANDESCENT VERSUS LED:



? Incandescent bulb uses 150 watts

? Incandescent bulb life is 8,000 hours

? City crews change 1,950 bulbs annually

? New Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lenses



? LED bulb uses no more than 25 watts

? LED bulb life is 100,000 hours

? LED bulbs/lenses are five times brighter

? Typical LED Signal Conversion

? Typical LED Signal





He then went into some details in outlining the Typical LED Signal

Conversion, which includes:



? Incandescent signal display with 10 Signal heads & 8 Ped heads uses 1,712

watts

? LED signal display with 10 Signal heads & 8 Ped head uses only 322 watts

? LED conversion reduces energy consumption by 81%

? LED conversion saves $150.11 annually



Conversion Costs

Typical LED signal conversion

10 LED Signal Heads = $3,389.30

08 LED Ped Heads = $1,350.00

Intersection TOTAL = $4,739.30



Cost Benefit Analysis

Convert all 250 Traffic Signals =$1,049,818

Annual Energy Savings = $60,164

Rebulbing Savings = $136,500

Pay back period is 5.3 years



Traffic Signal standard is LED

? City crews have already constructed four new traffic signal installation

using LEDs

? CBD Streetscape project will reconstruct seven more signals with LEDs

? Traffic Engineering requested Georgia DOT to provide LED signals for 80

intersections on state routes on February 15, 2005

? Benefits for using LED signals













Benefits for using LED signals

? LED signals provide 100,000 hours

? LED signals are brighter/more visible

? LED signals provide better motorists compliances

? LED signals reduces bulb replacements allowing more work by signal crews

? LED signals reduce electrical energy costs

? LED signals use energy more efficiently



Mr. Hamlett said their project recommendations was to go ahead and begin a

program for replacing all incandescent traffic signal, intersection flashers &

school flashers with LEDs and to seek funding source to implement LED

conversion over a three year period. He said they have already done that we

with support of the Georgia Department of Transportation agreeing to do the

State routes. He said hopefully, they would have a shipment date from them

within the next couple of months.



He then showed an example of a traffic signal at Woodruff Farm Road near

the Soccer complex with LEDs and the comparison of two traffic signals with the

LEDS versus the incandescent.



After the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Hamlett then responded to

questions of members of the Council.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said if we do this all at one time with $1 million

out of the fund balance, we would begin to recognize the savings right away, as

well as reduce Mr. Hamlett?s budget because he won?t have that ongoing expense

of going out and repairing or replace them.



Mr. Hamlett said since the DOT has confirmed that they would replace that,

they have also applied for doing the reminder of our traffic signals, but we

are just waiting on that decision. He said if they approve those that would

save the City much more money.



After continued discussion on this subject, and Mr. Hamlett responded to

further questions of the Council, this matter was then concluded.



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BIG BOX ORDINANCE:



Deputy City Manager Goodwin said Mr. Rick Jones would now talk about the

proposed Big Box Ordinance, which will deal with the retail development of

community significance.



She said present in the Council Chambers this morning are some of the

committee members who have worked on this ordinance with the staff, who

includes Mr. Milton Jones, Ms. Ann King, Ms. Elizabeth Barker and former Deputy

City Manager Richard Bishop. She said they were very instrumental in working

with this Big Box Ordinance.







Mr. Rick Jones then gave a forty-five minute presentation on the Retail

Developments of Community Significance, which includes the following:



He then pointed out some background information, pointing out that the staff

formed the Committee in April to develop a ?Big Box? ordinance Committee

consisted of Ann King, Harold Bryant, Milton Jones, Rachel Buice, Will Johnson,

Elizabeth Barker, Leah Braxton, Phillip Thayer, Stella Shulman and Richard

Bishop. :



He said the committee reviewed ordinances from several communities,

including: Peachtree City, GA, Gwinnett County, GA, Carrollton, GA., College

Park, GA., Fort Collins, Co, Roswell, Ga. Stoughton, WI. in terms of what they

actually have on the books and what they had to go through with their ordinance

and how they put it together and what it looks like.

He said they had to start from the beginning on this, but they did look for

experience from other communities.



Purpose

? He said from their standpoint is to maintain an overall integrity to

development to include:

? Landscaping

? Architectural design

? Signage

? Promote pedestrian access

? Insure long-term health of the natural environment



Applicability

? Retail development totaling 200,000 square feet

? Developments of 100,000 square feet



Mr. Jones said the ordinances that they looked at throughout the State, as

well as the country varied in terms of what they looked at. He said some had as

little 20,000 ? 25,000 square and 75,000, but felt that 100,000 was a good

benchmark for them to look at and deal with from this standpoint.



Councilor Allen said as he was reading the materials on this past weekend,

it seems like maybe 100,000 is too high. He said he knows that you are using it

as benchmark, but said to make sure that we can capture any dark buildings, it

seems like maybe we need to consider 50,000 ? 75,000.



Mr. Jones said that is within the realm of the Council as to what they

want to do with it, but said 100,000 was just their ballpark figure in dealing

with that. He said at times there were some concerns as to how to deal with a

small building. He said most of the departments that are going into buildings

now are around 100,000 square feet.



After responding to questions of the Council, Mr. Jones continued with his

presentation.











Compatibility with City Plans

? Requires written compatibility report

? Detailed description of project

? Compatibility with adopted city plans

? Impact on utilities

? Impact on physical and ecological conditions

? Impact on the community

? Transportation and traffic impact analysis



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers asked if the committee or the Planning Division

considered any type of retroactivity in this ordinance.



Mr. Jones said yes, they have. He said there is no time limit specified in

the section that deals with how the vacant buildings are dealt with, but said

it is reactive in that sense.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said what he specifically had in mind where it says

the applicability of 200,000 square feet or more or gross leaseable area. He

then asked what if a present development adds on to their present location,

does it then fall under this ordinance. He said he is referring to some of the

applicability rules that were in the tree ordinance, whereby if more than 50%

expansion was done, they had to go back and comply with it as if it was a new

development. He said he is asking if that is the same thought process in this

ordinance.



Mr. Jones said the thought process is involved when it hits the number of

100,000 square feet. He said if there is a building with 80,000 square feet and

another 20,000 square feet is added, then they would look at it. He said they

have not looked at that possibility with existing buildings. He said that had

been recommended to them for others, but they have not actually looked at that.



After continued discussion on this aspect of the proposed big box

ordinance as it relates to the development 100,000 square feet, Mayor

Poydasheff and several members of the Council expressed their views regarding

this subject, after which Mr. Jones then responded to further questions of

members of the Council.



Councilor Davis asked the staff to provide some examples to the Council of

the square footage of different buildings around the City to have a gauge to go

by when it comes to the square foot of a building size.



Councilor Hunter said with regards to the expansion of a building that

exceeds 100,000 square feet under Paragraph B of the ordinance, asked if that

would be includable. He then read the section The provisions of this section

shall be applicable only in retail developments totaling 200,000 square feet or

more of gross leasable area; or uses that result in a building of 100,000

square feet or more of gross leasable area whether by new construction or by

expansion of existing uses. These sections shall also apply to all contiguous

out parcels associated with the overall development. Mr. Jones said yes, that

is correct.



After much discussion on this provision of the square footage amount

between the Council, Councilor Turner Pugh asked for permission to allow a

committee member to answer questions as it relates to this particular ask.

Councilor Henderson so moved. Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried

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



Mr. Milton Jones then responded to a question of Councilor Turner Pugh, as

to whether or not there was any discussion on the limit of the minimum amount

of space and why, was the 100,000 square feet selected.



Councilor Allen said one thing that he needs clarification on is the

applicability, as touched on earlier by Councilor Hunter. He said as he read

this, which says in the 200,000 square feet section 200,000 square feet or more

of gross leasable area. He then asked if they have a building that?s 200,000

square feet total, but they corner off a section of that is maybe 50,000 square

feet of a storage area or where they house their wares, is that going to

disqualify them from meeting the 200,000 square feet requirement.

He said the storage area is not a leasable area to him.



Mr. Jones said that is one thing that the committee was concerned about

too, making sure that there was not a loopholes and tried to close them as best

they could. He said he don?t know of many businesses that don?t lease the

storage when it comes to the building.



Mayor Poydasheff said Mr. Jones might want to consider using definitions

to resolve this matter.



Deputy City Manager Goodwin said we would go back and clarify those

issues.

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

NOTE: Mayor Poydasheff pointed out he has to leave the meeting at this

time and he will relinquish the gavel to the Mayor Pro Tem. He left at 10:30

a.m.

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Design Requirements

Transportation/Infrastructure

? Interparcel vehicle access points between contiguous tracts

? Utility lines underground

? Sidewalks, streetlights and lighting for parking areas per the UDO

? Raised pedestrian walkways through parking areas

? Parking lots divided into separate areas using landscaping and/or sidewalks

? Interconnected walkways

Design Requirements

Landscaping Requirements

? 20 Tree Density Units

? Landscaped islands throughout all surface-parking areas under the UDO

? Minimum 10 foot wide landscaping strip between primary developments and

adjacent parcels

? Landscaped strips in accordance with the UDO requirements for buffers and trees



Parking/Yard, Height & Setback

? 25 percent of the required parking spaces may be reduced for small vehicle

parking

? Decorative, commercial quality bicycle racks, cart return areas, benches and

trash receptacles



Signage

? Modest, coordinated signs throughout the development

? Requires a planting area around the base of any monument sign

? Allows consolidated signs

? Prohibits: billboards, painted wall signs, bench signs and roof signs

? Allows internally illuminated signs



Architectural Design

? Roadway facades shall be made of glass, wood, and/or brick, stone or stucco

? No metal sided or portable buildings

? Use of selected roofing materials and designs

? Screening of all rooftop mechanical equipment

? Railings, benches, trash receptacles, bicycle racks shall complement the

building design



Architectural Design

? Additional performance guidelines

- Facades of multi-tenant buildings shall be varied in depth or parapet height

- Distinct architectural entry for individual tenants? entrances shall be

provided for suites exceeding 10,000 square feet

? Out parcels shall be compatible to the principal structure

? Walls visible from roadways/parking areas shall incorporate changes in

building material/color

? Roof parapets shall provide visual diversity

? Articulation of building design shall continue on all facades visible to the

general public



Outdoor Storage

? Exterior storage structures are to be properly screened from view

- Includes truck parking and loading areas

- Screened attractively from adjacent parcels and streets

- Cannot be located within 15 feet of a public street, sidewalk, or on-site

pedestrian way



Outdoor Storage

? Seasonal merchandise (Christmas, Halloween)

- may only be displayed in an outdoor area 4 times per calendar year

- Cannot exceed 8 weeks per year

? Storage areas and sale of other merchandise

- Permanently defined and screened

- Screening materials to conform to principal structure

- Fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, cement, etc. cannot be stored outside





Maintenance of Vacant Buildings

? Applicable to vacant buildings over 100,000 square feet

? Owner to keep the exterior appearance as when it was fully occupied

? Owner to maintain landscaped and parking areas, cleanliness of the site, and

security patrols

? Efforts by the owner shall be made to market and re-tenant the property



Maintenance of Vacant Buildings

? Buildings vacant more than 60 days and have not complied with ordinance

- City notifies the owner in writing to comply within 30 days

- Failure to comply, the owner will be cited by Inspections & Codes and then go

to Recorder?s Court



Councilor Allen said he would like to ask the Assistant City Attorney if

she would provide an opinion regarding the recent U.S. Supreme Court case

concerning eminent domain; as to whether or not this may be a good use of the

law regarding dark boxes or dark buildings. Also, determine whether or not we

can take advantage of that under this ordinance, and possibly consider

incorporating some language concerning that in the big box ordinance.



He said if you have a building that large $1,000.00 is miniscule and said

it seems to him that probably ought to have the ability to take them to State

Court or Superior Court. He said he is not sure how the law guides us in that

are, but he would like to have an opinion on that.



Assistant City Attorney Jamie Deloach said what they have done with people

that are not responsive to citations is that we continue to cite them. He said

the first time around it would be $1,000.00 or $2,000.00 depending on many

violations there are. She said failure to show or failure to comply with the

Judges? order; we would continue to write citations until they came into

compliance. She said though initially it might seem like a small thing, if they

continue to be cited. She said maybe this might be something that we can put on

our Legislative wish list, as we will be meeting with out legislatives on next

month.



After more than forty-five minutes of discussion on this matter, with Mr.

Jones concluded his presented, he think responded to further questions of the

Council.



The Council as outlined below made some additional requests.

Other Possible Vacant Requirements

? Require a demolition bond of 110% if 70% of the building becomes vacant

? Require a voluntary vacating if the property is not used in a set time, to

allow the landlord to lease to another company

? Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the developer and the

City to determine what is to be done if the building becomes vacant



Councilor Davis said one of the key advantages that our City has over

others is that we have the ability to market our quality of life and we have a

lot of people that are concerned about that. He said this proposed ordinance

has a lot of good requirements in it and he certainly believes in the

directions of the committee and what has been presented to us. He then asked

the staff to see if we can get some information from other cities as to what

they are doing in order to protect their cities from blighted buildings; which

sits vacant for an extended period of time. Also, let?s look at ways of how we

can better protect our community when it comes to vacant buildings.



Councilor Henderson said we needs to be a little stricter on what delivery

times are to these businesses, which back up to residential areas.

He said we are having problems with businesses on Schomburg Road and those

homeowners in that area. He said he thinks that may be the opportunity to

restrict those big box retailers that are going to get more and more

deliveries.



In response to Councilor Turner Pugh, Mr. Jones said they had originally

thought about bringing this ordinance back to the Council during the first week

in December; but with hearing some of the comments this morning, they would

like to go back and do some additional research and bring it back at a later

time.



Councilor Suber said he thinks that we need to go back and look at the

dumpster area and the sanitation people that pick up the trash at these

businesses. He said he knows that former City Manager Richard Bishop had some

discussions, but nothing has come out of that discussion. He said this Council

passed an ordinance that they were not aware of it and now that they are aware

of it, they sent information that saying it would detrimental to the business

and some other businesses and that has not come before them yet. He said he

would like for the staff to see about getting this expedited because there has

been some discussion on that and we haven?t done anything about it.



In concluding his presentation, Mr. Jones then should several pictures of

the different types of Wal-mart stores that are built around the several

different cities.



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UPTOWN COLUMBUS 2010:



Mr. Richard Bishop, President of Uptown Columbus said over the years there

have been a number of Master Plans developed for Uptown Columbus.

He said Uptown Columbus Inc. retained LDR in 1999 to update the 1994 Central

Business Master Plan. The Columbus 2010 Plan is the result of an interactive

planning process between LDR, Cities of Columbus and Phenix City,

public/private leadership and citizens from Columbus and Phenix City



He then went into some details in outlining the goals of Uptown Columbus

and the work that has been done in reaching these goals, as well as what other

work needs to be done.

Fundamental Goals



q Improve and build upon Columbus? image as a pleasant, historic, southern

river town

q Establish a sense of ?completeness?

- 35 projects were identified

- 19 have been completed or under construction



He then stated a quoted from Edmund Bacon which states that a clear vision

crafted by the decisions of a city?s citizens and government leaders can meld a

multiplicity of wills into positive, unified action to substantially change the

character of a city.



STREETSCAPES:

? Scope of Work

- Landscaping

- Signage

- Lighting

- Hardscapes



Mr. Bishop then highlight those projects that have been completed and/or in

progress in Uptown Columbus, which includes:

1300 Block- YMCA

1200 Block- Flowers Building

1100 Block Broadway- H. L. Green, Tarver/USO Building

1000 Block Broadway ? CUS Mixed Use @10th/Broadway and Broadway

1000 Block Broadway

900 Block Broadway ? RiverCenter Deck, RiverCenter, CSU Music Dept.

400 ? 800 Blocks Broadway ? Heritage Park

Riverfront ? Trade Center, TSYS

Bay Avenue Deck, Synovus, CSU Arts Campus





The Four Point Approach?

A community-driven comprehensive approach to revitalize our Uptown in four

distinct areas



Organization

? Involves getting everyone working together to establish the short and

long-term plan through:

- Leadership

- Citizenship

- Public/Private Partnership

- Ownership



Design

We will get Uptown into top physical shape through long term planning and

capitalizing on its best assets:

- Historic buildings/facades

- Pedestrian friendly streets

- Public areas

- Streetscapes

- Safety

- Cleanliness

- Parking

- Building codes

- Vehicular movement

- Linkage



Promotion

We will develop a positive image for Uptown that encourages consumers and

investors to live, work, play, shop and invest in Uptown

? Events

? Advertisements

- Web page

- Civic talks

- Billboards



Economic Restructuring

? Recruiting businesses that respond to the consumer?s needs in Uptown

- Office

- Residential

- Retail

- Tourists

- Conventions

- Military



Principle of Success

? Focus on the Big Picture (Comprehensive Plan), but implement small projects

with Quality



Why Continue Revitalizing Uptown

? Uptown is the most visible indicator of community pride representing our

community heritage and history

- Reflects Community Image

- Historic Core

- Reduces sprawl

- Promotes Historic Preservation



Why Continue Revitalizing Uptown

? Quality of life in our Uptown is what separates successful cities and towns

from becoming declining communities

- Prominent employment center

- Large tax base

- Ideal for business

- Protect property values

- Offers convenience

- Government service center

- Venue for special events



Three-Year Plan

UPtown Columbus Inc.

Our Mission

To facilitates and coordinates economic revitalization initiatives in the

Uptown Area



? Organization

? Design

? Promotion

? Economic Restructuring

? Organization





In his conclusion, Mr. Bishop then read a quote from Margaret Mead which

states: ?Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can

change the world; indeed, it?s the only thing that ever has.



Mr. Richard Bishop then responded to questions of members of the Council

regarding the Bid Board as well as Uptown Columbus.



*** *** ***



With there being no other business to come before this Council, Councilor

McDaniel then made a motion for adjournment. Seconded by Councilor Henderson

and carried unanimously by those ten members of Council present for this

meeting, with time being 11:23 a.m.







Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council

The Council of Columbus, Georgia