Columbus, Georgia

TAXICAB COMMISSION



December 5, 2001





A meeting of the Taxicab Commission was held on Wednesday, December 5, 2001, in

the City Manager?s Conference Room, 6th Floor Government Center, and Columbus,

Georgia.



MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Wallace Archie, Mr. Tom Dobson, Mr. John Golden, Mr.

Mark Oropeza, Lt. Julius Ross, and Mr. Darren Phillips.



MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. Charles D. Pattillo





This meeting was called to order at 3:20 P.M.



MINUTES:



The motion to defer November, 2001 minutes until which time they are available

was made and seconded by Mr. Oropeza and carried unanimously by the member

present.





OLD BUSINESS:





SEC.21-14 ? COLUMBUS TAXICAB COMMISSION



Chairperson Archie recalled the discussion from the last meeting as the

amendment to Section 21-14, which deals with the make-up of the commission. He

asked Secretary Carey if she had contacted City Attorney Fay regarding this

matter, but she replied, not at this time. He said according to his

recollection, we decided to change (2) of the last sentence to read ? the

commission will also hear appeals and shall have the power to

recommend granting or reinstatement of the taxicab permit to the City Councilof

Columbus.? (Two versions of this amendment are attached to the minutes as part

of the record).



The existing ordinance now states, ? The commission will hear appeals from

denials or revocation of taxicab permits by the Columbus Police Department.



At this point, Mr. Golden called attention to the past experience when the

Council did not want that responsibility, but Chairperson Archie quickly

responded; but we will ask again and pointed out since that time, it is

possible there has been a change in the representation on the Council.



With the members being unable to establish a basis for their decision on this

issue, Mr. Phillips explained that we were going to present the second

amendment to the City Attorney and also the second one was chosen because it

was a screening process before it reached the council.



At this time, Lt. Ross recalled a previous ordinance stated that a revocation,

renewal, suspension shall not be subject to appeal to the Columbus Council. He

explained, substantially, it says once an appeal is made, that is final and

personally,, every decision has an appeal right. Referring to the new version,

he says the same thing would apply, for instance, if the commission denies an

appeal, then there should be an avenue to appeal this commission?s opinion.

Concluding, Lt. Ross recommended forwarding amendment Number 2 to the City

Attorney for reviewing.



After thirty minutes of the discussion this matter, Chairperson Archie

requested a final decision to be made by the members. Mr. Golden recommended

submitting the original amendment written by the City Attorney Fay which

states (2) ? The commission will also hear appeals and shall have the power to

recommend granting or reinstatement of a taxicab permit to the Columbus Police

Department?. (There was no vote taken)



Chairperson Archie said that he would like to know if any commission has the

authority to overturn a decision made by the police department.



Mr. Golden then suggested extending an invitation to City Attorney Fay or his

assistant to attend our next schedule meeting. He said, at that time, we could

get a verbatim answer to our questions.



Concurring with Mr. Golden, Mr. Oropeza recommended that the question and

concerns of the commission are provided beforehand to City Attorney Fay for his

review.



Mr. Golden made the motion to draft a letter extending an invitation to City

Attorney Fay to attend our next meeting and the questions would be provided by

the commission as follows: (1) Powers of the commission and (2) Shuttle

Services. Seconded by Mr. Oropeza and carried unanimously by the members

present.



NOT FOR HIRE SIGN:



Chairperson Archie called attention to a sign brought in last month, which he

said the members perceived this action as going behind (your) Lt. Ross? back.

He then asked if they (Lt. Ross) were in agreement with as long as it did not

do away with the requirements already set for taxicabs, that it would be all

right. Lt. Ross responded, yes. He explained that his concern was not voiding

issues of ordinances dealing with the cleanliness, meters in proper working

order.



There was continued discussion from the members regarding the displaying of a

sign. For that reason, Chairperson Archie stated that due to the amount of

discussion regarding a ? For Hire or Not for Hire ? sign, evidently it is not

needed. He offered to relinquish the idea and apologized for making the

suggestion.



Mr. Dobson pointed out that two weeks is a long period of time to give notice

to appear before a meeting. Chairperson Archie explained that since the

commission meets twelve times a year, if a person can come in (at any time) and

talk about any subject, then we would not get any business done. Mr. Dobson

continued to point out, that if someone has something to discuss relevant to

the taxicab business, they should be allowed to speak at the end of the meeting.



At this time, Secretary Carey pointed out to Chairperson Archie that another

letter should be drafted to the owners, notifying them of the change that this

request should be made by 12 noon on the Friday prior to the scheduled

meeting.



Mr. Oropeza moved that that the required time to notify the commission be

changed to 12 noon on the Friday prior to the scheduled meeting. Seconded by

Mr. Dobson and carried unanimously by the members present.



HOLIDAY GREETING:



Chairperson Archie wished happy holidays to all the members and that it has

been enjoyable working with everyone. He said that we accomplished some

things this year and hopefully we can accomplish a lot more next year and again

thanked the members for their time and efforts.



There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Oropeza moved that the meeting

be adjourned. Seconded by Lt. Ross and carried unanimously by those members

present at 4:20p.m.







Gloria Carey

Recording Secretary