Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

REGULAR SESSION

NOVEMBER 15, 2005



The regular weekly meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was called

to order at 9:05 A.M., Tuesday, November 15, 2005, on the Plaza Level of the

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

presiding.



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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Poydasheff were Councilors

R. Gary Allen, Glenn Davis, Berry H. Henderson, Julius H. Hunter, Jr., Charles

E. McDaniel, Jr., Evelyn Turner Pugh, Nathan Suber and Evelyn Woodson. City

Manager Isaiah Hugley, City Attorney Clifton Fay, Clerk of Council Tiny B.

Washington and Deputy Clerk of Council Sandra Davis were also present.



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ABSENT: Councilor Wayne Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers were absent, but

were excused upon the adoption of Resolution Numbers 540-05 and 541-05

respectively.

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INVOCATION: Offered by Tony Gray, Director- Baptist Student Union, CSU.



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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by students from the Columbus Seventh Day Adventist

School.

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PROCLAMATIONS:



?AFLAC INCORPORATED DAY?



With Mr. Kriss Cloninger III, President, CFO & Treasurer of AFLAC, Inc.,

standing at the Council table, Councilor Allen read the proclamation of Mayor

Poydasheff, proclaiming November 17, 2005 as ?AFLAC Incorporated Day? in

Columbus, Georgia.



At the request of Councilor Turner Pugh to make some remarks about Little

Blessings, Mr. Cloninger said Little Blessings is a Nurturing Center for

under-privileged children two to four years of age. He said they currently have

40 children in the school now and will be adding two new classrooms to increase

to 60 children. He said the other addition that they have is a Bakery, where

they will be selling Pound Cakes and Cinnamon Rolls, which they would be using

as a fundraising activity for the school. He said the mothers who have children

in the program are going to assist them in this endeavor. He said they are

trying to help the entire family improve their circumstances.



Councilor Turner Pugh said one of the things that Mr. Cloninger is very

proud of is his wife Lisa and said the Daycare Center was really a brainchild

of her grandfather.



Mr. Cloninger said his wife?s grandfather used to be the Mayor of Houston,

Texas and after he retired as Mayor, he and his church started a similar

Nurturing Center in Houston, which is called Small Steps. He said they take

children Ages 2 ? 4 year olds that would otherwise sit at home with very little

intellectual stimulation or ability to inter-act with other children their age.

He said because of the success of the program in Houston, his wife Lisa was

inspired by the need in Columbus and decided to develop a similar program to

serve the underprivileged children of our community. He said it has been very

successful, which was started in March 2003. He said they have approximately

100 children on the waiting list and currently have 40 enrolled now.



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APPOINTMENT OF A FIRE CHIEF:



Mayor Poydasheff said as you know, Chief Roy Waters will be retiring at

the end of this month and said on today he will be nominating a person that he

thinks will continue to serve the community and the Fire/EMS Department.



He said his policy has been to promote from within, if appropriate. He

said he did so with the City Manager, Isaiah Hugley, and our Police Chief, Rick

Boren and said on today, he will follow the same policy. He said we are

fortunate to be able to have, not only one person who is capable of being a

fire chief, but several. He said it demonstrates the outstanding leadership of

Chief Roy Waters who saw to it that people were trained and given the

opportunity for leadership and he thanks him for that.



Mayor Poydasheff said it was a tough decision for him to make, but said

leaders are paid to do just that. He said no one knows it better than this

Council and said together, we make tough decisions everyday.



He said today he nominates Jeff Meyer who is well knowledgeable about fire

suppression, is committed to the community and has been a career firefighter

for over twenty-three years. He said it is rare when we have a fire as

devastating as the Jordan Mill fire. He said in watching that fire and the

great professions that night, he knew that if we ever had such a fire in the

future, we would need a person because of his or her background can distinctly

handle the situation.



Mayor Poydasheff said he is not unmindful of the superlative work of

others, particularly Assistant Chief David Arrington. He said without him and

his supreme knowledge of EMS and his managerial skills; the success union of

Fire/EMS would not be the success that it is. He said in his conversation with

Chief Waters and Meyer, they are going to name Chief Arrington the First

Assistant Fire Chief, with Deputy Chief Fountain being the Assistant Fire Chief

and Battalion Chief Dutton will take over as Homeland Security. He said in that

way, he can assure the people of Columbus and his brothers and sisters on the

Council that the Fire/EMS organization will continue to be second to none in

America.



He said he would submit Chief Jeff Meyer?s name for confirmation as Chief

of the Fire Department and request the adoption of the resolution, which was

distributed around the Council table.



Councilor McDaniel moved the adoption of the resolution, confirming Jeff

Meyer as Chief of the Fire Department. Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried

unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting, with

Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting.



THE ABOVE ACTION ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:



A Resolution (530-05) ? Confirming the appointment of Mr. Jeffery Meyer as

Chief of the Department of Fire/EMS at a salary of $71,613.45, effective

December 1, 2005.



Fire Chief Roy Waters said he supports the Mayor, City Manager and the

Council?s decision of Jeff Meyer as the new Fire Chief. He said he knows that

he is going to do a good job. He said there would be a pinning ceremony for Mr.

Meyer on December 1, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. He said he knows that Chief Meyer is

going to take the department to greater heights than where it is right now, as

we have one of the best in the Southeast. He said he appreciates what the

Council has done to assist him in his tenure as Chief of the Fire Department.



Members of the Council then thanked Chief Waters for his service to the

Columbus Consolidated Government and all that he has done for this government.



Councilor Allen then asked City Attorney Fay to prepare a resolution on

behalf of the Council to recognize and commend Fire Chief Roy Waters for his

services to the Fire/EMS Department and the Columbus Consolidated Government.



Chief Jeff Meyer then introduced his wife Holly, his mother Betty Roberts

and son, Garrett.



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?NIGHT OF LIGHTS?:



Mr. Elliott Waddell, Chairman of the Night of Lights Committee and

Ms. Shelby Guest of the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau came forward to

extend an invitation to Mayor Poydasheff and members of the Council to attend

the Annual Night of Lights Celebration, which will be held at the Phenix City

Amphitheater at 6:00 p.m. He said there would be a lot of entertainment to kick

off the Christmas Holidays.

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ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS:



THERE WERE NO ZONING PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED FOR TODAY?S MEETING.

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CITY ATTORNEY'S AGENDA:



WITH MR. EDWARD DUBOSE AND HIS WIFE STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE, THE

FOLLOWNG RESOLUTION WAS READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR SUBER AND ADOPTED BY

THE COUNCIL:__



A Resolution (531-05) ? Commending and congratulating Mr. Edward DuBose

upon being promoted from Second Vice-President to President of the Georgia

NAACP at the 63rd annual Georgia NAACP Convention. Councilor Suber moved the

adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Hunter and carried

unanimously by those eight members present standing to cast their affirmative

vote.



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WITH MR. ROGER BUTERBAUGH STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE, THE FOLLOWING

RESOLUTION WAS READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR HENDERSON AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:______ _



A Resolution (532-05) ? Commending and congratulating Mr. Roger Buterbaugh

upon recently elected as Director of the Georgia State Council of the Society

for Human Resource Management. Councilor Henderson moved the adoption of the

resolution. Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried unanimously by those seven

members of Council present at the time, with Councilor Allen being absent for

this vote.



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THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY MANAGER HUGLEY

AND INTRODUCED ON FIRST READING: _



An Ordinance ? Amending the budgets for the fiscal year 2006 beginning

July 1, 2005 and ending June 30, 2006, for certain funds of the Consolidated

Government of Columbus, Georgia, appropriating from fund balances amounts shown

in each fund for purchases and activities continued from the 2005 fiscal year,

and for other purposes.



City Manager Hugley said these are purchases and activities continued from

the 2005 FY Budget. He said $670,000.00 of what we are asking for in the

adjusted budget today would be new requests, but said we have $710,000.00 that

we have received in new revenue. He said all other requests that are being made

today are simply carry-overs and activities carried over from the FY-05 budget

to the FY-06 budget.



He said the FY-06 adopted budget is $184,877,392.00, with purchase order

rollovers which equal $1,527,275.00. He said these rollovers were products and

services that were initiated in the last fiscal year, but were not completed.

He said we have some work in process requests that totals $564,534.00; which

are requests that were in the bid process when we closed out FY-05 that ended

on June 30, 2005.



City Manager Hugley said the new requests amounts to $670,468.00; which

comes due to some change in circumstances. He said we didn?t know that we were

going to have AF2 Football at the Civic Center when we closed out the fiscal

year; therefore we are having to make new requests to capture the new revenue

that would come in for that, but yet to handle the expenses that would come in

from those things. He said they would be circumstances that have changed

between the adoptions of the budget and now.



He said the new revenue that he is reporting to you today is $710,071.00

and said we projected during the budget process for 2006 insurance premiums

that we would receive from the State where they access charges to insurance

companies and allocate those premiums to municipalities across the State of

Georgia $8,672,000.000 that we would receive, but said we received a check in

the amount of $9,330,000.00 which was an addition $657,946.00 revenues that we

received.



City Manager Hugley said we also received a $50,000.00 donation from a

private donor for the Junior Marshal?s Program, as well as Sam?s &Wal-Mart

donated $2,125.00 to Fire/EMS to purchase smoke detectors for residents of

Muscogee County. He said that is a total of $710,000.00 new revenues.



Mayor Poydasheff said the $50,000 and the $2,125 is a wash, but we include

that as a matter of audit trail and proper accounting.



City Manager Hugley said it is accounting process. He said the money is

being donated to the City, but the $50,000 would go to the Marshal?s Department

to fund the Junior Marshal?s Program and the $2,125 received from Sams/Wal-mart

would be passed through the City to the Fire/EMS Department.



He said they are asking the Council to approve the revised budget that

would go from $184,877,392 to $187,639,669; which would be a 1.49% increase.

However, he would like to stress that the PO rollovers and the work in process

requests is not new money, but was just carried over from the FY-05 budget to

the FY-06, which means that the FY-05 budget was less than what we projected.



City Attorney Fay pointed out that this ordinance would be voted on next

week

by the Council.



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THE FOLLOWING FOUR ORDINANCES WERE SUBMITTED AND THEIR CAPTIONS READ BY

CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON SECOND READING PURSUANT TO THE

ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR WOODSON AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR

SUBER, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR

THIS MEETING:_________________



An Ordinance (05-81) ? Rezoning property located at 1200 17th Street from

GC (General Commercial) District to SFR4 (Single Family Residential 4)

District. (49-A-05-Elliott)



An Ordinance (05-82)? Rezoning property located at 8564 Blackmon Road from

an SFR1 (Single Family Residential 1) District to an RE5 (Residential Estate 5)

(50-A-05 Baker)



An Ordinance (05-83) ? Rezoning property located at the northwest and

southwest corners of Veterans Parkway and Wooldridge Road and north of the

aforementioned northwest corner from an RE1 (Residential Estate 1) District to

a GC (General Commercial) and an RO (Residential Office) District. The proposed

use is retail, office, and apartments. (51-CA-05-Grey Rock Development, LLC)



An Ordinance (05-84) ? Granting a franchise to Georgia Power Company for

a term of 35 years; and for other purposes.



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THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS ALSO SUBMITTED AND

EXPLAINED BY CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:________________________________________________________



A Resolution (533-05) ? Authorizing the City Manager to execute a

Memorandum of Understanding with the Georgia Power Company. Councilor Henderson

moved the adoption of the resolution. Secondedby Councilor Allen and carried

unanimously.



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GOD BLESS FT. BENNING EVENT:



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like to remind everyone about the God Bless

Ft. Benning event that will be held next Saturday morning, November 19th at

10:00 a.m. at the Civic Center. He said the Tidwell?s have done a magnificent

job

on this event as they have done in the past and said he would like to encourage

everyone to go to that event.



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RESOLUTION FOR MR. JOHN PAUL FORD:



Councilor Turner Pugh asked City Attorney Fay to prepare a resolution

expressing condolences to the family of Mr. John Paul Ford who passed away on

Saturday. She said the funeral services would be tomorrow morning at 11:00

a.m.,

at Friendship Baptist Church.



She said they are also going to have a memorial service at St. Benedict

Catholic

Church on tonight at 7:00 p.m.

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PUBLIC AGENDA:



MR. ASA HUBBARD, REPRESENTING OSCAR AND MINNIE LEE HUBBARD, RE: THE VOTE

TO DEMOLISH THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2704 KING

STREET:____________________________________________



Mayor Poydasheff said from the information that he has received said Mr.

Asa Hubbard has no standing in this matter.



City Manager Hugley said Mr. Hubbard is here, but has stepped out of the

Council Chambers for a moment.



Mayor Poydasheff said he is going to request that Mr. Hubbard talk to the

City Manager because the records indicate that they have no standing. He said

we would call Mr. Hubbard back up at a later time. (See below for additional

information on this matter)



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MR. WILLIAM MADISON, REPRESENTING THE NAACP, RE: THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND

THE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD: _______



Mr. William Madison said a young lady passed a few weeks ago that has

really given us a great lesson in history. He said there is nothing that he can

say in the form of accolades about this lady that would enhance anything that

anyone has already said.



He said the NAACP Branch of Columbus wishes to honor Mrs. Rosa Parks

through the Metra bus system here in Columbus. He said we are asking the

public, the community at large if they would like to have a memento

commemorating the life, history and story of Mrs. Rosa Parks, then they can

meet them at the METRA Bus station on December 1 ? 3, 2005 where they will have

a Ride for Rosa Program. He said they are inviting the Mayor, Council to get

involved with this program.



Mr. Madison said the NAACP is further planning a vigil as we remember Mr.

Kenneth Walker and his untimely death on December 10th, which is the second

anniversary. He said a location for a proper prayer session is being planned

and we will have further information at a later date.



He said for the bad news that he brings, he wants to give a hypothetical

case as he is trying to plan for the future. He said he has come before this

Council and asked for a Citizens Review Committee because he wants the citizens

to be able to come to some location and get some assimilance of help.



Mr. Madison then gave a hypothetical scenario saying that if the City

Attorney left home and during his absence something happens in his neighborhood

and his wife decides to call 911. He said once in a while in America, we do

have a road officer of the law that we don?t like. He said what if a road

officer went into his home during his absence and took advantage of his family

in some fashion, where can that citizen go.



Mayor Poydasheff said if any citizen is aggrieved by an action of our

Police, Fire, EMS, they have a number of places they can go. He said first of

all, they can call 911 and the police will respond. He said secondly, they

could call him or any Councilor, the City Manager or the Chief of Police.



He said he and the Chief of Police has developed a policy whereby a charge

against a police officer or anyone in his department will be investigated

internally and with the assistance of the GBI.



Mayor Poydasheff said in as much as it concerns a personnel matter, those

are not for publication until the case is fully and completely investigated;

then the announcement will be made. He said in this particular case that you

are talking about, you would be notified, as the public will be on the outcome

of the investigation. He said that?s the answer to your hypothetical.



Mr. Madison said his hypothetical and the Mayor?s response do not agree to

the safety of a community that is experiencing that problem.



Mayor Poydasheff said in the hypothetical case, the individual would be

relieved of their duty and suspended either with or without pay; however, that

will depend on the circumstances. He said people are presumed innocent until

there is a full and complete investigation.



Mr. Madison said he would like for the Council to consider his

hypothetical as being in the future, a fact of life and that the citizens

should have some office where they can go to talk with, seek help and expedite

an investigation. He said he would like for that to happen. He said he would

also like to give the Council members his telephone number because he is not

being heard here and he would ask for a call from each and every one of the

Council members so that he can be a little more clearer than he is this morning

because he is not making sense.



Councilor Suber said if Mr. Madison would like to call the Council

members, he can call the Clerk of Council and she can give him all of their

telephone numbers.



Councilor Turner Pugh said there is restrictions placed on City Council in

the City Charter and said she will follow the Charter.



Mr. Madison continued to speak for several more minutes making comments

regarding several young men who have been in the Muscogee County jail for

several years without having a trial. He said he went to see the District

Attorney?s office on Monday and did talk with him on Tuesday and said one of

these young men was released from jail on Thursday after five years of being

incarcerated. He said after two weeks of talking with the District Attorney

another young man was released and sent home after being in jail for over five

years. He said there is something wrong with this picture.



He said there is another gentleman who is sitting in the Muscogee County

Jail who has been there for over six years without a trial. He said he is

asking that this City treat people the way you wish to be treated. He said he

is not going to go away and this is the reason why we need a Citizens Review

Board so that these types of victims of our system of justice can be handled.



Mr. Madison said three black men incarcerated in the Muscogee County Jail

for five years without a proper trial is not justice for all when the NAACP

President asks the question, why they are there and they are released within

three or four days afterwards, there is something wrong with the picture.



Councilor Turner Pugh said Mr. Madison is absolutely correct. She said she

could say that because the Public Defender?s Office that was just appointed and

came aboard on January, there was a law put in place by the State of Georgia to

setup the Public Defender?s Office so that individuals who could not afford

attorneys would have representatives.



She said she do know for a fact that the Public Defender of Muscogee

County with the Chattahoochee Circuit is in the process of reviewing more than

just those three cases. She said she knows that they have gone to court on

some cases, where individuals have been locked up and have not had a trial. She

said some of them have not had the preliminary hearings and there are some in

jail on probation technicalities where they may have missed a session with

their parole officer, but they are sitting in jail for six to twelve months.

She said she knows that the Public Defender?s Office is working on that as we

speak and said this just didn?t start today.



Councilor Turner Pugh said a lot of the issues that Mr. Madison are

talking about is the Courts and this Council doesn?t have jurisdiction over

them because that is the way the law is.



Mr. Madison said he is asking the Mayor & Council not to become law

enforcement officers or judges, though many of you are legal scholars, but said

not one of you can justify six years of incarceration in Muscogee Jail without

a trial. He said he is not asking you to do that, but he is asking you to have

a heart of compassion to go to the jail and if nothing else, ask all of those

who have been there for over three years without a trial and do not have an

attorney, to raise their hands. He said this is a simplistic approach, but an

effective one.



He said he thanks the Council for hearing him, but he is asking that they

listen to what he has said.



Councilor Hunter then responded to those concerns expressed by Mr. Madison

as it relates to an independent Citizens Review Board. He said he wants Mr.

Madison to understand that this is not the first time that we have been asked

with regards to setting up a Citizens Review Board. He said Mr. DuBose on a

number of occasions has asked for such a review board. He said as a result of

Mr. DuBose coming before the Council, we have done an in-depth study of the

different types of independent review bodies that exist across this country.



Councilor Turner Pugh said one of the things that we have to realize is

that

Whatever committee this Council sets up they have very limited powers once it

gets beyond the Police Department and that?s where our powers stop.



She said one of the things that she would like for the City Manager and

City

Attorney to get involved with; from a budget prospective when we talk about the

jail and especially when we talk about the Justice Department and the order

that we

are under; and what we are supposed to be doing to try to alleviate the number

of

County inmates that we have in our jail here in Muscogee County.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she would like for the staff to do a complete

survey of the Muscogee County jail and determine how many State inmates we

have, as well as how many inmates are from other counties.



Mayor Poydasheff said he and the City Manager will sit down and talk about

this and get the information and determine where we can go from there. He said

it may be that the Judges in the Chattahoochee Circuit handle that, but said we

will work on that.



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MR. ASA HUBBARD, REPRESENTING OSCAR AND MINNIE LEE HUBBARD, RE: THE VOTE

TO DEMOLISH THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2704 KING

STREET:____________________________________________



With Mr. Asa Hubbard now being in the Council Chambers, Mayor Poydasheff

said at this moment, our records reveal that he don?t have standing to talk

about

property you don?t have. He said he would ask him to sit and wait until after

the

Council meeting is over and sit down to talk with the City Manager and the City

Attorney and explain the situation concerning the property located at 2704 King

Street that was ordered demolish.



Councilor Suber said he thinks that we need to hear what this gentleman

has to

say and give him an answer instead of going through the process and passing it

on

the City Manager. He said the decision has already been made by this Council and

he thinks that we need to hear what he has to say and maybe we can deal with it

from that prospective.



Mayor Poydasheff said we dealt with the owner of the property and said

this

gentleman is related to a former partner. He said there is a divorce and the

lady owns the house and that?s where it stands. He said technically, anyone

coming in to talk about that has no real standing, but said if you would like

to hear from

Mr. Hubbard, we can do that.



Councilor Suber said he thinks that we do need to hear from him because

this is the second time that he has come and he believes that he was told to

talk to the City Manager on last week. He said he has to believe a conversation

was held and they are back again today.



City Manager Hugley said he thinks that Mr. Hubbard needs to be heard. He

said he has had the staff to talk with him, as he is in fact the brother-in-law

of the owner of the property. He said he has come in and tried to get a permit

to do work on that house. He said the Council approved the demolition of that

house on October 18th. He said Mr. Hubbard indicated to the staff that he was

going to put approximately $1,000.00 into trying to rehab the house; however,

the staff believes that it would take considerably more to rehab the house. He

said he is not a contractor, and said the staff has gone as far as we can go in

dealing with him and we are moving forward with demolition unless we get

different directions from the Council today.



Mr. Asa Hubbard said he is the brother of Oscar Hubbard. He said this is

the real owner of the house. He said Mr. & Mrs. Oscar Hubbard have had some

difficulties, but said she is on her way down here this morning to testify

before the Council. He said they have qualified people to repair the house. He

said regarding the quitclaim deed, Ms. Hubbard will tell you that she didn?t

institute the quitclaim deed. He said it is a bogus quitclaim deed and it is a

fallacy.

He said the quitclaim that shows ownership, she had nothing to do with it. He

said his brother knows nothing about it and he didn?t sign it.



Mayor Poydasheff said he doesn?t know anything about a quitclaim deed, but

said if you are alleging that the quitclaim deed is bogus, this Council can?t

address that, as it is matter of law. Mr. Hubbard said he should be able to get

that clear today as far as the quitclaim is concerned.



Councilor Suber asked Mr. Hubbard to address the house and the condition

that it is in. Mr. Hubbard said that the house is in a repairable condition and

they do have qualified people in the family, who have worked together on many

projects, and will be working together on this house.



Mr. Hubbard said they have the funding and have paid the taxes for the

last five years that was behind and are here today asking for an opportunity to

repair the house. He said his brother lived in this house for the last 30

years, but went to the hospital about four years ago with two major surgeries,

two heart procedures and two brain procedures. He said it has taken about four

years for them to rehabilitate him back to this point. He said that is his only

real livelihood.



In response to Councilor Suber, Mr. Hubbard said they had someone

appointed to take care of the property, but they didn?t properly take care of

it while he was in the hospital. He said he spent over a year rehabilitating

him to the point where he could walk.



Mr. Hubbard said his brother and his wife are in transition of getting a

divorce, but said she is agreeable to everything, as far as fixing the house

and doing another quitclaim deed, if necessary.



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like to state for the record, as he

understands it, they are divorced. He said he understands that Mrs. Minnie A.

Hubbard owns the house.



City Manager Hugley said they can?t respond to whether they are divorced

or not, but they can respond to those facts regarding the house.



City Attorney Fay said the Tax Office provided him information showing

100% ownership to Minnie A. Hubbard in the Tax records.



Councilor Suber told Mr. Hubbard that if his brother, Oscar Hubbard is not

the owner of the house we can?t talk to him about this matter.



Mr. Hubbard said he is here today to insert the facts that his brother is

the owner of the house.



Councilor Suber said until you get the documentation from the tax office,

we have to go by the information that we have, we just can?t take your word

that your brother is the owner of the property.



Mr. Hubbard said he thinks that we will get all that clarified and cleared

up today.



Mayor Poydasheff said if there is an argument as to who owns the house,

the records show that Mrs. Minnie A. Hubbard own the house, then that would be

a matter for the courts. He said this Council could only go by the legal

records that the City has.



Councilor Hunter said we can put this at the end of the meeting to allow

Mrs. Hubbard an opportunity to get her and then we can discuss it at that time.

He said if Mrs. Minnie Hubbard is owner of record and she is the one who should

be addressing the Council; then let her come before the Council, but let?s

allow her an opportunity to get her today.



After continued discussion on this matter, Councilor Hunter said if we are

going to listen to the Hubbard?s, he thinks that we should listen to the owner,

Minnie Hubbard.



Councilor Henderson said he agrees with Councilor Hunter that we need to

wait and get some of the other questions answered from the owner.



Mr. Asa Hubbard then responded to further questions of members of the

Council, after which Mayor Poydasheff said consistent with what Councilor

Hunter has asked us to do, we will wait until Mrs. Hubbard comes and then will

listen to what she has to say.

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CITY MANAGER?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING THREE RESOLUTIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY

MANAGER HUGLEY AND APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL:

________________________________________________________



A Resolution (534-05) ? Authorizing the acquisition of Parcel 19, 0.057

acres of land for right-of-away for County Road and/or Municipal Street

purposes for the St. Mary's Road Widening Project and to authorize the filing

of a Declaration of Taking for the acquisition of said land under the authority

of the official code of Georgia annotated, Section 32-3-1. Councilor McDaniel

moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Allen and carried

unanimously by those seven members of Council present at the time, with

Councilor Turner Pugh being absent for this vote.



A Resolution (535-05) ? Authorizing the acquisition of Parcel 50, 0.041

acres of land for right-of-away for County Road and/or Municipal Street

purposes for the St. Mary's Road Widening Project and to authorize the filing

of a Declaration of Taking for the acquisition of said land under the authority

of the official code of Georgia annotated, Section 32-3-1. Councilor McDaniel

moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried

unanimously by those seven members of Council present at the time, with

Councilor Turner Pugh being absent for this vote.



A Resolution (536-05) ? Authorizing the transfer of property purchased in

the name of the Columbus Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) and known as

"Chattahoochee Land" a/k/a Tax Map #002-0002 to the Development Authority.

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

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

this meeting.



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING THREE PURCHASING RESOLUTIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY

CITY MANAGER HUGLEY AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A

SINGLE MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR MCDANIEL AND SECONED BY COUNCILOR SUBER, WHICH

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE EIGHT MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:________________________________________________________



A Resolution (537-05) ? Authorizing the approval of a contract for

welding/metal fabrication services from J & W Metal Fabricating, Inc., for the

estimated annual contract value of $95,000.00. The services will be provided

on an ?as needed? basis for repairs of facilities and equipment owned by the

City. Based on previous fiscal year usage the Public Services Department

estimates spending approximately $95,000.00 for welding/metal fabrication

services.



The contract term is for two years, with the option to renew for three (3)

additional twelve-month periods. Renewal of the contract is contingent upon

the mutual agreement of the City and the contracted vendor.



A Resolution (538-05) ? Authorizing the approval of a contract for pest

control

services with Knox Pest Control for the estimated annual contract value of

$13,440.00. The vendor will provide pest control services at 86 City owned

buildings. The contract term is for a two-years period with an option to renew

for three additional twelve-month periods. Renewal of the contract is

contingent upon the mutual agreement of the City and the contracted vendor.



A Resolution (539-05) ? Declaring vehicles and various equipment shown

below as surplus in accordance with Section 7-501 of the Charter of Columbus

Consolidated Government.





Fleet Maintenance Identification No. Description VIN

3017 Engine 18

1988 E-One Hurricane Open Cab Fire Engine 1F9PBAAB4J1037389

3104 Engine 19

1988 E-One Hurricane Open Cab Fire Engine 1F9PBAA8XJ1037509

MISCELLANEOUS MEDICAL EQUIPMENT

David Clark Pediatric MAST (15)

David Clark Adult MAST (6)

Adult Traction Splints (some missing parts) (7)

Ferno Washington Scoop Stretchers (4)

Wooden Backboards (8)

Ferno Washington Stretcher Mattresses (6)





*** *** ***



EXECUTIVE SESSION:



City Manager Hugley said he would like to request a brief executive

session after the adjournment of today?s meeting to discuss litigation and a

real estate acquisition matter.



*** *** ***



EMAILS:



Councilor Suber said it is very frustrating to turn on the computer and

see all these emails. He said some of them don?t deserve to be on our screen

and said he is wondering if there is anything that we can do about these emails

we are receiving.



City Manager Hugley said he has asked Charles Tate, who is with the

Information Technology Department to see what he can do to screen out those

unwarranted, unnecessary emails and he is looking into how we can filter and

screen those out. He said he gets those as well and said they are frustrating

to him, but said we will continue to work on that.



*** *** ***



BENCHES:



Councilor Suber said a number of senior citizens have been complaining

that there are no benches at Lakebottom Park. He said he would like for the

City Manager to look at placing some benches strategically in the Lakebottom

Park area.



City Manager Hugley said he has received a note from another Council

member with a similar request and said he has already turned that over to the

Parks & Recreation Department to see if we can do something with that.



*** *** ***



SOA DEMONSTRATORS:



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like to thank City Manager Hugley for

working with him, the Police, the Sheriff and the Marshall and the Fire

Department as we worked on the SOA Watch matter. He said he would also like to

remind the Council members that we would have the SOA Watch demonstrators in

our City this coming weekend. He said we are prepared, as we have worked very

closely with Fort Benning. He said he and the City Manager would be out there

this weekend.



He said all of our plans are in place and are very proud of our public

safety personnel for what they are doing. He said consistently we have never

hurt, vilified or insulted anyone that has come here. He said we make

absolutely certain that their first amendment rights are fully and completely

protected. He said his job is to see to it that our public safety personnel are

protected, as well as the people that are demonstrating. He said our people

consistently have done a good job and he appreciates the Council?s support in

this matter.

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

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

CLERK OF COUNCIL'S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF

COUNCIL WASHINGTON AS INFORMATION FOR THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL:

____________________________________________



(1) Biographical Sketch of Dr. Patrice Holt-Dunn, DVM as submitted by the

Veterinarian Association to replace Dr. John Bloszies on the Animal Control

Advisory Board.



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CLERK OF COUNCIL

WASHINGTON AND ADOPTED BY THE

COUNCIL:________________________________________________



A Resolution (540-05) ? Excusing Councilor Wayne Anthony from the

November 15, 2005 Council Meeting. Councilor Henderson moved the adoption of

the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Allen and carried unanimously by those

eight members of Council present for this meeting.



*** *** ***



WEST GEORGIA MH/DD/AD BOARD:



Clerk of Council Washington submitted a letter from Dr. Ralph W. Huling

resigning from his position on the West Central Georgia Mental Health/

Developmental Diseases and Addictive Diseases Planning Board. Councilor

McDaniel moved the letter be received with regrets and thanks for his service.

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

Council present at the time with Councilor Allen being absent for this vote and

Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting.



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING TWO TEMPORARY STREET CLOSING APPLICATIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND

EXPLAINED BY CLERK OF COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND APPROVED BY THE

COUNCIL:__ _____



Application of Rev. J. H. Flakes to temporarily close 5th Street between

2nd and 3rd Avenues, on Saturday, November 19, 2005 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

in connection with ?Church Day?.



Application of Mike Snapp to temporarily close 3rd Avenue between 11th and

12th Street, on Saturday, December 3, 2005 from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in

connection with providing items to underprivileged individuals.



Councilor McDaniel moved approval of the applications. Seconded by

Councilor Turner Pugh and carried unanimously by those seven members of Council

present at the time, with Councilor Allen being absent for this vote and

Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting.



*** *** ***

MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING BOARDS WERE SUBMITTED

BY CLERK OF COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND OFFICIALLY

RECEIVED BY THE

COUNCIL:___





Board of Tax Assessors, No. 44-05.

Employees? Pension Plan, Board of Trustees, October 5, 2005.

Elections & Registration, September 1, 2005.

Lower Chattahoochee RDC, September 22, 2005.

Public Safety Advisory Commission, October 6, 2005.

Uptown Fa?ade Board, September 19, 2005.



Councilor McDaniel made a motion that these minutes be received. Seconded

by Councilor Henderson and carried unanimously by those seven members of

Council present at the time, with Councilor Allen being absent for this vote

and Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting.



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING TWO NEW ZONING PETITIONS, BOTH RECOMEMNDED FOR APPROVAL BY

BOTH THE PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION AND THE PLANNING DIVISION WAS SUBMITTED

BY CLERK OF COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND AN ORDINANCE AND PUBLIC HEARING WAS CALLED

FOR BY COUNCILOR MCDANIEL:___ __________________



Petition submitted by Jim Stuckey to rezone 0.45 acre of property located

at 5014 11th Avenue from GC (General Commercial) zoning district to SFR4

(Single Family Residential 4) zoning district. (61-A-05-Stuckey)



Petition submitted by Christ Community Church to rezone 25.842 acres of

property located at 4078 Milgen Road from LMI (Light Manufacturing/Industrial)

and SFR2 (Single Family Residential 2) zoning districts to SFR2 (Single Family

Residential 2) zoning district. (62-A-05-Christ Community Church)



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING ADD-ON RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CLERK OF

COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL:___

_____________________________________________



A Resolution (541-05) ? Excusing Mayor Pro Tem John J. Rodgers from the

November 15, 2005 Council Meeting. Councilor McDaniel moved the adoption of

the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Henderson and carried unanimously by

those seven members of Council present at the time, with Councilor Allen being

absent for this vote and Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being

absent from the meeting.



*** *** ***



BOARD APPOINTMENTS:



ANIMAL CONTROL ADVISORY BOARD:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that the terms of office of Mr.

Charles Clark and Dr. John Bloszies on the Animal Control Advisory Board

expired on October 15, 2005 and that they are not eligible to succeed

themselves.



She said we have received the Veterinarian?s Association?s nominee of Dr.

Patrice Holt-Dunn to succeed Dr. John Bloszies and that she may now be

confirmed. Councilor Woodson so moved. Seconded by Councilor Suber and carried

unanimously by those seven members of Council present at the time, with

Councilor Allen being absent for this vote and Councilor Anthony and Mayor Pro

Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting.



Clerk of Council Washington further pointed out that we still need someone

to fill Mr. Charles Clark?s seat, as he cannot succeed himself.



*** *** ***



COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that the Council must nominate

someone to fill the unexpired terms of office of Ms. Marian Slapikas, who

represents Council District Eight and Mr. Gary Allen Jones, who represents

Council District 10 At-Large; whose seats were declared vacant.



She said we also need someone for Council District 5 seat who has resigned

to take a position on another board. There were no nominations.



*** *** ***



DEMOLITION OF PROPERTY:



Regarding the request of Mr. Asa Hubbard as it relates to the demolition

of property located at 2704 King Street, Mayor Poydasheff asked if Mrs. Hubbard

has arrived.



City Manager Hugley pointed out that she is not yet here.



Councilor Suber said he would like to make a motion that we delay this

matter for one week and allow Mr. Asa Hubbard come back before the Council to

address this issue. He then asked, where are we in this particular demolition

process?



City Manager Hugley said Mr. Asa Hubbard flew in from Chicago for this

Council meeting. He said maybe after the adjournment of the executive session

if Mrs. Minnie Hubbard is here, you may want to consider hearing her at that

time otherwise, he?s probably going to fly back to Chicago.



Mayor Poydasheff then said we would address this matter after the

executive session.



*** *** ***

SENIOR MEN?S TEAM:



Councilor Davis said he would like for the City Attorney to prepare a

resolution commending and congratulating the Senior Men?s 4-5 Team who won the

State Sectional, as well as went on to play in the National Championship. He

said they represented Columbus well and said he is very proud of them and would

like to have them to come down to this Council to show them how much we

appreciate them.



*** *** ***



REGINALD PUGH:



Councilor Suber said he would like for the City Attorney to prepare a

resolution to congratulate Mr. Reginald Pugh who was named as the Omega Man of

the Year.



*** *** ***



EXECUTIVE SESSION:



Regarding an earlier request of City Manager Hugley, Councilor Suber made

a motion to allow the Council to go into an executive session to discuss a

matter of litigation and a land acquisition request. Seconded by Councilor

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

this meeting.



*** *** ***



At 10:40 a.m.,. the Council adjourned its regular session to allow the

Council to go into an executive session.



At 11:13 a.m., the meeting was called back to order, at which time, Mayor

Poydasheff pointed out that the Council met in an executive session and

discussed a litigation matter, as well as a land acquisition matter, but there

were no votes taken.



*** *** ***



With Mrs. Minnie Hubbard now being present in the Council Chambers, Mayor

Poydasheff then called this matter back up.



Mrs. Minnie Hubbard said that Mr. Oscar Hubbard is her husband and they

stayed on King Street for many years.



Mayor Poydasheff then asked Mrs. Hubbard if she owns this property, to

which she said that she does. She said her and husband both owns the property.



However, Mayor Poydasheff said the records show that only you own the

property and then asked, if that is wrong? Mrs. Hubbard said whoever did the

deed, they wrote it out wrong.



Mrs. Hubbard then responded to several questions of members of the Council.



Ms. Rebecca Wiggins of the Inspections & Code Enforcement Division then

responded to several questions of members of the Council as it relates to this

property.



Mr. Anthony Hubbard, the son of Mr. Oscar Hubbard then responded to

questions of the Council.



After more than twenty minutes of continued discussion on this matter,

Councilor Suber then made a motion to allow the Hubbard?s until November 29th

to hire a licensed contractor to talk with the Inspections & Code Division to

tell them what needs to be done to bring the property of 2704 King Street up to

code, as well as show the financial means to have this done. Seconded by

Councilor McDaniel.



Councilor Suber said he would like to have Mr. Hubbard to come back to

this Council, not only send the information.



Councilor Hunter said if it?s too much of a burden for Mr. Hubbard to be

here, then at a minimum we should let him know whether or not what he has meets

our requirements; so then, he will know that he would need to be here for

sure. He said he thinks the better thing would be for him to be here, but if

he cannot be here, at least get an assurance from the City that the

documentation that you have meets the requirements.



City Manager Hugley said if they meet the documentation requirement by

November 29th, then we would need a time period that you are going to allow

them to proceed and complete the renovation.



Mayor Poydasheff said we would address that once we get the information

that has been requested of Mr. Hubbard.



City Manager Hugley said he just wants to make sure that they are able to

tell the contractor how much time the Council is allowing them that the

contractor can commit to complete it. He said then that contractor will know

before they commits to the contract that they can do the work within the

timeframe that the Council has mandated.



Councilor Hunter said if they are not able to do the work within the

timeframe, then the contractor needs to state how long it will be. He said even

if they can?t do it within the timeframe, if they can get a significant amount

of work done so that it looks like this is going to happen, he thinks it will

be equitable on our part to work with them.



Councilor Henderson said if we are going to give them the two weeks to try

to get the information together, he thinks its unfair for us to set the time

perimeters. He said he thinks it is encumbered upon them to come back to us

with an itemized list of what are the things that are going to have to be done

and a timeline to which that contractor will commit.



Mayor Poydasheff said the motion that is on the floor is only to give them

until November 29th to come up with that information.



Councilor Henderson said he understands that, but he has since heard the

discussion around the Council table as we speak to the motion that we are going

to give them a certain timeline. He said by our law, the maximum that we can

give them is 120-days.



The question was then called on Councilor Suber?s motion, as outline

above, which resulted in an inconclusive vote of 5 ? 3, with Councilors Davis,

Hunter, McDaniel, Suber and Woodson voting yes and Councilors Allen, Henderson

and Turner Pugh voting no.



Mayor Poydasheff said this matter could be reconsidered within two weeks

when we have a full Council.



Councilor Hunter told Mr. Hubbard that if you are going to be back at this

Council within two weeks, go ahead and have that information that we have

talked about here today.



Mr. Maurice Hubbard said as long as they can get that information and have

proof and pictures that the house is being worked on.



Mayor Poydasheff then explained to Mr. Maurice Hubbard that there has been

no approval of the Council to allow you to continue to work on this matter, but

said the Council can reconsider the issue again on November 29th. He said as

Councilor Hunter has stated, it would be to your benefit to come to the

Council, if you ask for reconsideration, with all the information that we told

you we want. He said there is no guarantee of how the Council is going to vote,

but at least you would have a second chance at this matter.



Councilor Woodson told Mr. Hubbard that she would encourage them not to

work on the house until they have all of these documents. She said if you go

ahead and use those materials and work on that house, and on November 29th you

don?t have all the things that we have asked of you, the house is going to be

torn down and that will be material wasted. She said if you wait to make sure

that you have met all the criteria and something happens where you don?t, you

can take the materials back to the place you purchased them, get a refund of

those materials.



Mr. Asa Hubbard said prior to them having any knowledge about the

demolition process, they had started cleaning that house out about 2 ? months

ago. He said they have cleaned off everything.



Councilor Turner Pugh asked how have the property taxes being paid during

the five-year period.



Mr. Hubbard said they paid up the last five years of property taxes about

four months ago and they are all paid up with the exception of the taxes that

are due right now.



Councilor Allen said if Mr. Hubbard gets everything lined up like

Councilor Woodson mentioned to him, we still have to take a vote on this. He

said you still have to get six votes to allow you to do that. He said you may

do all those things and it may be denied. He said he just wanted to let you

know that you still have several hurdles to go through before you get the go

ahead to do what you want to do.



Mayor Poydasheff said he would ask the City Manager and Inspections & Code

Enforcement to get together with Mr. Hubbard after the meeting for them to

again repeat to you what has happened here today.



*** *** ***



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

Woodson then made a motion for adjournment. Seconded by Councilor Allen and

carried unanimously by those seven members of Council present at the time, with

Councilor McDaniel having already left the meeting and Councilor Anthony and

Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers being absent from the meeting, with the time being 11:41

a.m.







Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council

The Council of Columbus, Georgia