Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

WORK SESSION

JULY 26, 2005



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

called to order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, July 26, 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.



*** *** ***



PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Poydasheff and Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers were

Councilors R. Gary Allen, Glenn Davis, Skip Henderson, Julius H. Hunter, Jr.,

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. Councilor Evelyn Turner Pugh arrived at 9:18

a.m.



*** *** ***



ABSENT: Councilor Wayne Anthony was absent, but was excused upon the adoption

of Resolution Number 353-05. Councilor Charles E. McDaniel, Jr., was also

absent.



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



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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Al-Faruck Group Number 145 & Boy Scout Troop 35

of St. Luke Church.



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MINUTES: Minutes of the July 19, 2005 meeting of the Council of the

Consolidated Government of Columbus, Georgia was 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 seven members present at the

time. (Councilor Turner Pugh had not yet arrived and Councilors Anthony and

McDaniel were absent for this meeting.)

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CONSENT AGENDA



THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED BY CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND APPROVED BY

THE COUNCIL:



An Ordinance (05-63) - Repealing Ordinance No. 05-52 and

substituting the following ordinance amending Article VII of Chapter 13

of the Columbus Code Solid Waste Collection and Disposal by changing

the guidelines for an offset to the residential rate for low-income

households, so as to reflect the February 18, 2005 guidelines

contained in the Federal Register. Councilor Suber moved the adoption

of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and carried

unanimously by those seven members of Council present, with

Councilors Anthony and McDaniel being absent from this meeting and

Councilor Turner Pugh not yet having arrived to the meeting.



*** *** ***



THE FOLLOWING THREE ITEMS WERE SUBMITTED BY CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND APPROVED

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

TEM RODGERS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR DAVIS, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE

SEVEN MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT AT THE TIME, WITH COUNCILORS ANTHONY AND

MCDANIEL BEING ABSENT FROM THIS MEETING AND COUNCILOR TURNER PUGH NOT YET

HAVING ARRIVED:



A Resolution (352-05) ? Authorizing the acceptance of a $25,000 grant

from the Knight Foundation for the Marshall Movers After School and Summer

Program.



A Resolution (353-05) ? Excusing Councilor Wayne Anthony from

the July 26, 2005 Council Meeting.



TEMPORARY STREET CLOSING:



Application of Ms. Dawnette Dunn to temporarily close Rindheart Drive

at Wellborn Drive, on Tuesday, August 2, 2005, from 5:30 p.m. to

Midnight, in connection with the "National Night Out".

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



ZONING MATTERS:



Councilor Suber said he would like to make a public apology to the City

Attorney. He said on last week some of the Council members questioned things

that he said concerning our rezoning restrictions and said he just wants to

publicly apologize because he brought us information back saying that what we

said wasn?t true. He said he appreciates him doing that for us this morning and

he publicly apologies for accusing him of not telling us the whole truth.



City Attorney Fay said he did distribute around the Council table this

morning information that should explain the previous restriction.



Councilor Woodson said she too would like to apologize to the City

Attorney. She said perception becomes a reality after you do a lot of things

and it has been heard.

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

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



WORK SESSION:



METROPOLITAN MEDICAL RESPONSE SYSTEM:



Mr. Ed Saidla of the Muscogee County Health Department said Columbus is

one of 125 cities across the United States that has developed a Metropolitan

Medical Response System. He said the enhancement of local health and medical

response to victims of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) terrorist incidents

provides for a unified response to a WMD or natural disaster.



He then outlined the MMRS Characteristics, which includes the following:

Integrated medical response system

Specially trained responders

Specialized response equipment

Specialized medical equipment and pharmaceuticals



Mr. Saidla gave some history on the program, pointing out that it began in

1996 in conjunction with the Olympics in Atlanta and is currently managed by

the Department of Homeland Security. He said the program began in Columbus in

September of 2001. He said Columbus is one of only two cities in Georgia

participating in the MMRS program. He said Atlanta has expanded to 21 Metro

Counties.



He said this program benefits all emergency responders in preparation for

a response to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) event, as well as mass casualty

incidents.



Mr. Saidla said the requirements of the MMRS Program involve the

development of multiple plans and integration of plans between Fire, EMS,

hospitals, area physicians, public health and other responders. He said it also

involves the acquisition of required pharmaceuticals and the storage of those

items, as well as the acquisition of required equipment to better equip our

responders. He said there is a requirement of integration of system

organization, plans, pharmaceuticals, and equipment to achieve operational

capability for the MMRS



Mr. Saidla outlined the total number of jurisdictions and the year it was

created.



Original MMRS 27*

MMRS 1999 20

MMRS 2000 25

MMRS 2001 25

MMRS 2002 25

MMRS 2003 3



The total jurisdictions are 125, which includes Washington DC MMST.



Mr. Saidla then showed a map of the Metropolitan Medical Response Systems

that shows the layout and an indication of where the different cities across

the Nation that are participating in this program are located.



Mr. Saidla said the Columbus MMRS program supports six counties within the

Columbus Metropolitan statistical area, which includes



Muscogee County

Russell County (Alabama)

Harris County

Lee County (Alabama)

Chattahoochee County

Marion County (As of 2003)



Mr. Saidla said Columbus is one of the few cities in the Nation that was

granted a modification of the initial $600,000 contract and provided with

$280,000 in additional funds. He said within the last year, they have received

two additional grants and have been awarded two grants in the amount of

$250,000 and $227,586.00. He said to date; they have received over $1.25

million dollars.



Mr.Saidla said we are better prepared because of the funding that we have

received. He said this funding has provided our area with specially Equipped

Mass Casualty Incident Response (MCI) trailers in?Columbus, Russell Co. Harris

Co., Lee Co. (on order). He said that each trailer could handle 100 mass

casualty victims.



He said other than training, this funding has allowed them to do other

things, which includes:



Pharmaceutical Cache

Emergency Alert/Reverse 911 System

Russell and Lee County

NIMIS Training

Radiological Detection Equipment and Training

Credentialing System for Columbus Fire and EMS



Mr. Saidla said the latest MMRS Grant Funding includes $25,000 for Weapons

of Mass Destruction training. He said it also provides over $71,000 to the

Muscogee County Sheriff?s Office with Level B First Responder Protective Gear

to protect that staff.



He then outlined the additional funding that this grant includes, which is

outlined below:



American Red Cross Shelter needs $44,685.00

Additional NIMS Training $10,000.00

Russell County EMA $27,840.00

Tone Alert Notification System

Lee County EMA $21,690.00

Tone Alert Notification System



Mayor Poydasheff pointed out that we are in compliance with NIMS Training

and said he is qualified and said if there is any Council member who is

interested in attending any NIMS training that is conducted in the Public

Safety building, let him know and he will get them scheduled.



Mr. Saidla said with this additional funding, they are hoping that they

will be able to do a large training that will include a number of area

businesses that have expressed an interest to cooperate with the City, Public

Health and the MMRS group.



In his conclusion, Mr. Ed Saidla said the importance of the MMRS program

effort is no longer unequivocal, questionable, or debatable. He said the

enhanced organization and cooperation demanded by a well-functioning MMRS

program helps prepare and unify the public health system, as well as the local

community. He said they have seen how collaboration and working together have

made a major impact in their ability to become an MMRS community, as well as to

enhance their ability to deal with mass casualty situations. ?



Dr. Koypanni, Director of the Columbus Health then expressed some comments

on this subject, saying that besides providing quite a bit of equipment and

some additional training for all the agencies, their program has been very

instrumental in creating a team. He said they meet on a regular basis and have

been having some tabletop and functioning exercises.



He thanked the City of Columbus for this partnership and working with them

in many of their programs and functions.



Mr. Saidla then responded to several questions of members of the Council.



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HEALTHCARE PLAN PROPOSAL:



City Manager Hugley said our healthcare costs continues to increase year

after year and said we are concerned as governments are concerned across this

Nation at each level of government; cities and counties are struggling trying

to find ways to contain the increased cost of healthcare and likewise we are

doing that here in our City.



He said the State made some changes to their health care plan and he has

noticed in various periodicals that other cities and counties have made changes

in their healthcare plans similar to what the State of Georgia has done. He

said we are coming to the Council today to share with you some proposed changes

that we would like to make for FY-07 starting July 1, 2006. He said Mr. Barron

is here this morning to share those with you and said we would like to get some

feedback on those proposed changes.



Mr. Tom Barron, HR Director said the issue of how to pay for healthcare is

a major one that they have been struggling with for a number of years. He said

as they have researched the issue, one constant continues to show up; that is,

cost is going to continue to rise and someone is going to have to pay those

costs. He said they have a proposal this morning that they believe is a more

fair method of sharing the cost of our program.



He said we have three approaches that we are going to focus on; which are



(1) Preferred Rates for Healthy Lifestyles (tobacco product abstinence)



(2) Spousal Rate Surcharges when City plan selected and other employer plan

available



(3) Dependent Audits to verify eligibility and deter fraudulent coverage

Tobacco Product Use



Mr. Barron said in looking at the tobacco use approach, studies show that

tobacco users incur higher average healthcare costs than those who don?t use

tobacco. He said there are other cost to employers in other ways, which

includes higher absenteeism, decreased productivity, early (disability)

retirement higher life insurance premiums, higher fire damage risk and higher

fire insurance premiums. Therefore, higher premium charges for tobacco users

are both appropriate and reasonable.



He said the State of Georgia ($40 monthly) and Synovus ($20 monthly) have

recently enacted a plan where they currently charge extra premiums to smokers.



Mr. Barron said the specific proposal is that the Preferred Premium for

non-tobacco users (rather than a punitive surcharge). He said the initial

differential that they are proposing is $18.50 biweekly as a premium reduction

for those who abstain from tobacco use. He said they would also require a

signed attestation and there would be random nicotine testing to validate that

the agreement is being upheld.



He said false enrollment in the plan as a non-tobacco user, if discovered

would results in 1-year plan suspension. He said this is the same penalty that

is used by the State of Georgia on their plan.



Mayor Poydasheff said he doesn?t know of any insurance company that does

random testing of members of that insurance policy. He said he doesn?t

know how much it would cost. He said if someone tells him that they are not

smoking, he would think that we take the word of our employees unless someone

sees them or catches them or something like that which raises the issue. He

then asked, if that would be a little more costly than is necessary.



Mr. Barron said obviously there is going to be a cost for that, but he

don?t? know if its going to be cost prohibitive; because he don?t anticipate

that we would be testing a lot of people, just enough to make sure that they

did honestly answer the question regarding smoking or tobacco use.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said he understands that this is just a proposal and

said that the approach that we have taken; he thinks that the tobacco use is

something that needs to be considered, but said it seems to him that there are

an awful lot more people who don?t smoke, than who do smoke now. He then asked,

if we will be shooting ourselves in the foot by reducing premiums by $18.50 for

the majority of our insured, as opposed to using the surcharge for those who do

smoke.



City Manager Hugley said he sees the premium of the smokers increasing by

that amount and said the current premium would not decrease.



Mr. Barron said the way that this would be handled is that we would have

an initial premium increase that would at least be equal to the amount of the

discount.



City Manager Hugley said when he talked with Mr. Barron about this issue,

his thought is that for smokers, there would be the $18.50 surcharge and for

non-smokers, the premium would not be changed, it would not be reduced.



Some discussion developed on the nicotine testing aspect of this proposal

with several members of the Council expressing their views on this subject,

after which City Manager Hugley and Human Resources Director Barron responded

to questions of the members of the Council.



City Manager Hugley said what they want to present to the Council on today

is the concept and said all the details have not been ironed out, but we just

wanted to let you know what we are working on. He said we know the State has

done this and it is working well there, and other communities have done this as

well. He said we wanted to give you something that we are thinking about, as

well as give employees as much an advanced notice as possible before the next

fiscal year starts to let you know that this is something that we are looking

at. He said we have between now and then to iron out any concerns that we have;

to fine tune it and come back with something that you can accept. He said we

would like to hear from the Council on any concerns that they have and we will

go back and research those and will fine tune it; and hopefully, we can bring

something back that the Council can accept.



He said if we have employees who do smoke, we want to work with them to

offer some kind of help that would allow them to quit smoking before the next

fiscal year starts and before this becomes effective, if you decide it is

something that you want to adopt.



After twenty minutes of discussion on this matter, with Mr. Barron

responding to further questions of the members of Council, Mayor Pro Tem

Rodgers requested that this matter be suspended, saying that the problem he has

with this is that this is being broadcast city-wide and all of our city

employees are going to be viewing this and said, what do you think their

preference will be. He said you are putting us in an untangible position here

and he thinks that we need to be careful of what we talk about.



City Manager Hugley said he agrees that we need to be careful and said that

is why he is providing the direction that he intends to pursue.



Mayor Poydasheff interrupted City Manager Hugley at this point, and asked

him to consider backing off on this presentation and to take into consideration

those concerns expressed by the Council and come back at a later date, either

individually or in smaller groups after he and the Mayor Pro Tem sit down and

discuss this matter.



City Manager Hugley said he doesn?t have a problem with that; however, he

would like to reiterate that unless there is a change in the cost overall;

because of an increased cost in healthcare, then we would not anticipate any

change for those who are non-smokers.



After City Manager Hugley then responded to some further questions of the

Council, this matter was concluded after Councilor Turner Pugh, who served as

Budget Review Chairperson had requested that this matter be brought forth to

the Finance Committee. She said this is a finance issue and it should have been

brought to the Finance Committee for discussions, but it wasn?t.



City Manager Hugley said Councilor Turner Pugh did mention that to him and

said he yields to her direction on that matter.



Discussion was then suspended on this subject.



*** *** ***



EMINENT DOMAIN:



City Manager Hugley said in recent weeks with the court decision, there

has been a lot of discussion about eminent domain. He said there is some

pending legislation at the State level regarding eminent domain. He said in

this presentation, what we will do is to show you when we have used eminent

domain.



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like to thank the City Manager for getting

the City Attorney to give them an update on the Georgia portion as it relates

to eminent domain. He said the Senate passed what may or may not be a

restrictive proposal. He said he don?t want anybody to think that we are going

to be doing anything without first waiting for the State of Georgia to decide

how they are going to handle the decision. He said what we have always done has

been surgical rather than utilizing public eminent domain as a weapon of mass

destruction.



Ms. Lynnette Gross said on June 23, 2005 the Supreme Court ruled on Kilo et

al v. City of New London, Connecticut on the right of the City to ?take?

property for public purposes through eminent domain.



She said in her presentation today, she will give the Council some

examples of the uses in Columbus, the benefit of eminent domain, and the

process for eminent when using Federal funds.

Ms. Gross then outlined several examples of eminent domain uses in

Columbus Georgia, which includes:



Cusseta Road ? Economic Development/Job Creation

Medical Center Redevelopment Area - Expansion of Doctors Hospital and Columbus

Regional, doctor?s offices, medical facilities and the Amos Cancer Center

allowed this area to be a medical ?hub?. The Amos Cancer Center property was

acquired and assembled under ?threat of eminent domain?

South Lawyers Lane Redevelopment Area (East Wynnton Park) ? Cleaned up slum and

blight and redeveloped.

Liberty District ? soon to be developed into mixed use with commercial, retail

and residential.

Second Avenue Redevelopment Area ? Revitalization of a deteriorated old

automobile district of our City.

Southwest Columbus Redevelopment Area ? preserved and restored

the Historic District



She said eminent domain has been used for Road projects, and to clear

title.



Councilor Woodson said she thinks it is important to point out that in

the areas we used eminent domain, we did relocate the businesses and

homeowners. She said we just didn?t take their property and left them out on

the street. She said they were paid fair market value. She said we need to

make sure that we do clarify that, because she received a telephone call to

that effect.



Mayor Poydasheff said people have to understand that governments, Federal,

State or local, just don?t go and take property. He said due process clause of

the Bill or Rights and the Constitution demands that we pay fair market value.

He said in the cases that we have been involved in; we have even gone further,

as we assist in the relocation process.



Ms. Gross then outlined the benefits of using eminent domain, which

includes the following:



Redevelopment

Road widening Projects

Can be used to ?clear? title to a parcel of property

Tax advantages for seller (in certain cases)



She said it is very important to note that the City has not used eminent

domain to assemble properties for redevelopment since 1999. She said although

it has been done, it is done with caution and is on a case-by-case basis.



Ms. Gross said the process for eminent domain when using Federal funds

is quiet lengthy and burdensome only because it is a protection. She said when

we identify a project for redevelopment (economic, housing, eligible government

facility) or road improvement, a Redevelopment Plan or Transportation Plan is

written. She said Public Hearings are conducted and citizens are informed as to

what area will be impacted. She said the Council approves the plan.

.

She said an appraisal is performed to establish Fair market Value (FMV)

The owner is present during the appraisal process, if they want to be and

another Appraiser must perform a review of the initial appraisal and follow the

applicable regulatory process. The owner must be paid the FMV as determined by

the Appraisal and Review.



Ms. Gross said additionally, we also compensate for relocation. She said

this includes moving and storage. She said relocation consists of finding a

?comparable unit? that meets the current unit, example: number of rooms, number

of bedrooms, porches, garages, etc. She said an owner occupant is paid the

difference between the FMV paid for his property and the price of the

comparable (less any outstanding mortgages)



She said a renter is compensated by paying the difference between their

current rent and the comparable rent for 42 months, and additionally, there are

rules and regulations for commercial/retail relocation.



Ms. Gross said it is very seldom that a case goes to a Special Master as a

contested eminent domain for compensation issues. She said it is also important

to know that there is tax advantages to having property processed through

eminent domain and as previously stated it is the preferred manner of clearing

title for Interstate properties. She said we must exercise caution when it

comes to Eminent Domain. She said there are many checks and balances built in

to the law by requiring a regulatory process and we need to use them. She said

it should be on a case-by-case basis.



She said in order to determine what?s best for Georgia; the Georgia

Association of County Commissioners (GACC) has formed a 27-member committee to

draft language to submit to Legislative body. She said she attended the first

meeting, which was July 12th and the next meeting is scheduled for August 4th.



Ms. Gross said there is an outpouring to amend the language of our current

State law; however, the committee?s challenge is how to protect the City/County

ability to redevelop, while insuring the citizens rights are not violated for

?non-public good?. She said the committee is exploring ways of providing a more

detailed ?process? that follows Federal Guidelines that must be met prior to a

governing body authorizing the ?taking? of private property by eminent domain.



In her conclusion, Ms. Gross said Washington DC?s Mayor Anthony Williams,

who is the President of National League of Cities, said it?s important to note

the court did not expand the power, but reaffirmed its current use. She said

Washington?s Mayor, Anthony Williams said with cities and towns facing

ever-shrinking resources, we need all the help we can get to redevelop our

neighborhoods.



After the conclusion of her presentation, Ms. Gross, as well as City

Manager Hugley then responded to questions of Councilor Davis as it relates to

demolition and eminent domain.



Mayor Poydasheff said when you exercise eminent domain you are taking the

property and you become the fee simple owner. He said when you demolish

property, you demolish for health, welfare and other safety concerns; but said

the property remains that of the owner.



Councilor Woodson then asked City Manager Hugley to provide a copy of the

presentation on eminent domain to all members of the Council. She said she

would also like this presentation aired on CCG-TV.



*** *** ***



DRAINAGE DITCHES:



City Manager Hugley said that we have Director of Public Services, Rufus

Riggs here this morning to give some clarification on the maintenance of

drainage ditches, creeks and easements.



Mr. Riggs said in his presentation, he will provide information to the

Council members as it relates to the ownership of creeks, ditches and how they

perform maintenance on these, as well as what our goals and objectives are.



He said normal vegetation and growth will restrict and retard the flow of

water and said when that happens, it acts as a filter for debris, which will

increase the potential for flooding. He then showed an example of what will

happen when that occurs. He said they cut the weed and grass to maintain the

flow of water; he said they cut all of those ditches and most creeks twice a

year. He said they would like to cut them two times during the growing season,

but said it?s just not possible with the total number of miles of creeks and

ditches that we maintain. He said we do this with the same number of people

that they had more than 15 years ago.



Mr. Riggs said their goal is to reduce, as much as possible, the potential

for structural flooding. He said when we have torrential downpour and deluge of

rain the streets oftentimes will flood, but said we want to keep it out of

people?s homes.



He said as it relates to the maintenance of the banks of creeks and

ditches, residents will often ask them to go in and stabilize the banks of

creeks and banks with rip raft or some other permanent structure. However, we

don?t do this because we don?t have the equipment, manpower or funding. He said

what they do is stabilize the first 20 feet from the outfall of the pipe. He

said after that, the water then normally picks up a normal flow and then flow

on down the creek. He said while it is flowing, there would be some natural

erosion flowing down the creek. He said there is no maintenance beyond the

first 20 feet.



Mr. Riggs then spent some thirty-five minutes in outlining what the

Public Services Department does in maintaining the creeks and ditches.

He then highlighted several different aspects in that process, which is

outlined below.



STORM PIPES IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS



City Repairs/Replaces When System Serves More Than A Single Lot

?

STORM PIPES ON COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY



Property Owner Repairs/Replaces

?

City Ordinance 17D-31 (a) States: Any storm water management facility, which

serves a single lot, or commercial and industrial development shall be

privately owned and maintained.



OWNERSHIP OF DITCHES/CREEKS



Ownership is determined by plat during subdivision layout

When the plat does not show ownership, the beds of non-navigable streams belong

to the owner of the adjacent land (O.C.G.A. Sec 44-8-2).



After Mr. Riggs concluded his presentation, he then responded to several

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

expressed their views and concerns regarding this subject.



City Attorney Fay also responded to questions of members of the Council.



There were requests made for additional information and research by

members of the Council, which is detailed below.



Councilor Henderson asked Mr. Riggs if they participate in any kind of

ongoing conservations or anti-siltation issues with other counties. He said he

was out at Bull Creek Golf Course this weekend and he was looking at the creeks

that feed the big lakes that they rely on for irrigation. He said they dredge

them out a few years ago, and got them to 15 ? 16 feet deep; however, they are

now 2 ?3 feet deep in those areas, and said they seem to think that a lot of

that is the siltation that comes down those creeks from Harris County. He said

a lot of the building and construction, the siltation is collecting right down

there and its making the water flow tougher. He said it?s going to be a

financial burden for us when we eventually have to go out there and re-dredge.



Mr. Riggs said there would be some natural erosion along every bank; when

the water is high and flowing fast. He said the sentiment is going to settle

some place and oftentimes it?s in those areas. He said they do participate in

the Statewide Soil & Water Conservation District. He said they do look at what

the best management practices are, so they can reduce that as much as

possible.



Councilor Henderson then asked Mr. Riggs to do some research and see if

maybe some of the building and construction processes, could be re-routing the

water during this process or possibly lending themselves to creating some of

the issues we have down here.



Councilor Hunter said he would like to have this presentation aired on

CCG-TV.



Councilor Turner Pugh said prior to airing this presentation on CCG-TV

Access Channel, inform the citizens whether or not they are owners of a

drainage ditch or creek; and advising them that they must maintain this ditch;

let?s make sure that the City Attorney gets involved in this process; to inform

them what rights they have in doing what they need to do to keep erosion from

occurring onto their property.



Mayor Poydasheff said he would like for the City Attorney to prepare a

basic statement informing the citizens of what their rights are as far as them

owning an easement. drainage ditch or creek and what they can do to try to fix

the problem.



Councilor Davis said he would like to have some information provided to

him as to the problem of drainage and waterways; when it comes to protecting

these drainage and waterway areas as it pertains to development in certain

areas, highlight what current protection measures are in place; and also

provide some suggestions as to what can we do to increase the protection of

some of these areas.



Mayor Poydasheff said he thinks that we need to consider sending letters

to the real estate companies and developers as to their obligation to disclose

to their clients, the rights and liabilities of drainage ditches, easements and

etc.



Councilor Allen said he would like for the City Manager to look at

developing a list of the dos and don?ts and the rights to ask that a potential

buyer would have as it relates to drainage ditches/storm water issues and let?s

put it on the website. Also, have the staff to look at the stormwater brochure

and determine whether or not there needs to be updates that may need to be

incorporated in it and let?s put an updated date on it.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she would like for the City Manager to check

and see if they can provide a list of those individuals who might have called

in about cleaning ditches and let?s send them a copy of the stormwater

brochure.



EASEMENTS



Mr. Riggs also provided information on easements, as outlined below.



He said an easement is a right of the owner of one parcel of land, by

reason of such ownership, to use the land of another for a special purpose not

inconsistent with the general property in the owner.



Ownership of property remains with the property owner.



Mr. Riggs said the many challenges that they have is that the public wants

the grass on stream banks cut routinely.



The public wants stream banks permanently stabilized.



Commercial/Industrial property owners want the City to repair storm water

systems on their property.



HOW DO PROPERTY OWNERS BECOME AWARE OF STORM WATER ISSUES?



Distribution of storm water brochures to all new requests for water service

customers.



He said they will put all this information on CCG=TV, as well as on their

website.



*** *** ***



STREETSCAPES UPDATE:



Deputy City Manager Bishop gave a brief update on the streetscapes work

that is being done in the Uptown and Broadway area. He said they are currently

working in the block between 12th & 13th Street and said they started on the

west side from 12th Street up to 13th back in December. He said they have

completed that area with the exception of tree planting and some minor issue on

that side. He said they are now in the last quadrant, which is mid-block north

to 13th Street on the east side. He said they should be completed with that

block sometime in September, with the exception of the work inside the big

median, but will be out of the impact area of all the merchants and property

owners in that area.



He said the process is moving well and said sometime during the first or

second week in August, they will start at 12th Street, working south down to

11th Street and they will be meeting with those merchants soon. He said they

are meeting with the merchants and property owners on a monthly basis to keep

them informed on what?s going on; where we are in the schedule and they have

been very patient with us so far. He said as we get down into the busy area

between 10th & 11th, it will become more contentious and we will have to do a

better job with coordinating with all the business owners in that area.



*** *** ***



OXBOW MEADOWS GOLF COURSE:



Mayor Poydasheff said he received a number of telephone calls and has

received a letter from Colonel Cecil Calhoun about a number of good citizens

living here in Columbus, who are influenced to an extremely greater strength by

Mr. Howard Pitts, who unfortunately died at the age of 92.

Mayor Poydasheff said Mr. Pitts was a great man and said there had been

some golf tournaments in his honor at the Oxbow Meadows Golf Course.



He said Colonel Calhoun has formally recommended and requested that the

Columbus South, the Oxbow Meadow Golf Course, be dedicated and renamed the

Howard Pitts Memorial Golf Facility.



Mayor Poydasheff said he is a strong proponent of this request. He said he

knows before it comes to the Council that it needs to go to the Board of Honor

for a recommendation and said he would like to request that.



Councilor Suber then made a motion that the request be referred to the

Board of Honor. Seconded by Councilor Hunter and carried unanimously by those

eight members of Council present for this meeting.



*** ***

***



LETTER TO THE EDITOR:



Councilor Suber said on Saturday there was a letter to the Editor from

Mrs. Lori Watts and said he personally takes exception to the last sentence in

this letter. He said it says that since the Council is knowingly disregarding a

dangerous situation. He said she is referring to the Council?s decision to

delay for 30-days the guardrails on Cherokee Avenue.



He said he just want to clear it up that we are not consciencely and

knowingly disregarding a dangerous situation; we understand her concerns and

most individuals who drive Cherokee Avenue. He said his intent was that we are

trying to save taxpayers money in Muscogee and we are also giving the

opportunity for the State of Georgia and DOT, as well as our local officials

concerning the transportation area to look at this and see if we can do it in a

way where it doesn?t put additional citizens at risk because we inadvertently

put guardrails at the wrong location, which could cause additional problems

versus clearing up that particular area.



*** *** ***



LICENSE PLATES:



Councilor Woodson said she heard in the media this morning that there was

a new law put in place on the license plates if they are covered. She said she

thinks that law has been in existence for sometime now. She said she knows that

our Police Department has been enforcing that law because she knows that

someone who received a ticket for that. She then asked the Mayor to look into

that.



Mayor Poydasheff said there is a new piece of legislation and said what it

is, is that there appears to have been some people had what appeared to be a

transparency on their license plate, but when you look at it some other way,

the lettering was obliterated. He said thanks to Mrs. Cameron, Senator Harp and

our local legislative delegation, the law has been modified and changed so that

you can no longer put any transparency or anything on your license plate; that

it has to be clear. He said this is the cover of the license plate.



*** *** ***



GOLDEN FOUNDRY:



Councilor Davis said he thinks that everyone knows that we went through

some issues as it pertains to non-attainment status of air quality and said he

noticed the letter that was included in the Agenda where it states that Golden

Foundry has applied for air quality permit and then asked someone to address

that to him, as to whether or not this is going to have any affect on the City

at all.



Mayor Poydasheff said it is not. He said someone had asked that we double

check this with our Environmental people and said we did receive a response

back, which states that it will not affect air quality. He pointed out that it

was enclosed in the information section today; and then read that response into

the records.



*** *** ***



SOUTHERN COMPANY:



Councilor Henderson said he would like to thank our local employees from

the Southern Company and Georgia Power in Columbus. He said when Hurricane

Dennis came through the devastation was not as widespread or as bad as it was

with Ivan last year. He said he had a unique prospective and said his wife drew

storm duty and went down there. He said instead of just hearing how these folks

work, she brought back some personal testimony and pictures showing just how

hard these linemen who are working for the Southern Company, who come from all

over Georgia, Florida, & Alabama. He said it shows hard they work in adverse

conditions, with one objective in mind, which was to restore power to those who

desperately needed it.



He said he just wanted to publicly congratulate that organization. He said

they are a great corporate citizen and said we don?t really recognize and

realize what an impact they have throughout this region.



*** *** ***



BOMB THREAT:



Mayor Poydasheff said he just wanted to point out to the Council that on

yesterday, we had a bomb threat at Publix on Schomburg Road and our Public

Safety personnel responded quickly and said he was very pleased with their

actions. He said they have been highly trained to handle these matters and he

just wanted to inform the Council of this matter.

He said it was not a bomb, but some sort of a toolbox.







He said there was another one early this morning at Petsmart, and said

that turned out well also. He said he doesn?t know all the details, but he

knows it wasn?t a bomb as such. He said he just want to commend our Public

Safety personnel for what they do.



*** *** ***



EXECUTIVE SESSION:



Mayor Poydasheff pointed out that there was a request of the City Manager

for the Council to go into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter

after the adjournment of this meeting and then asked what was the pleasure of

the Council in this regard. Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then made a motion to allow

the Council to go into an executive session. Seconded by Councilor Turner Pugh

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

meeting.



*** *** ***



At 11:19 a.m., the Council adjourned its regular session to allow the

Council to go into an executive session.



At 12:10 p.m., the meeting was called back to order at which time Mayor

Pro Tem Rodgers pointed out that the Council met in executive session to

discuss a personnel issue, but there were no votes taken.



*** *** ***



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

Suber then made a motion for adjournment. Seconded by Councilor Henderson and

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

with the time being 12:12 P.M.







Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council

The Council of Columbus, Georgia