Columbus, Georgia

COUNCIL BRIEFING



November 20, 2001





A Council Briefing was held on Tuesday , November 20, 2001 in the Council

Chamber Conference Room, on the Plaza Level of the Government Center, Columbus,

Georgia. Mayor Pro Tem Jack Rodgers, presiding.



PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers were Mayor Bobby G. Peters,

Councilors R. Gary Allen, Berry Henderson, Julius Hunter, Charles McDaniel,

Robert Poydasheff, Richard Smith, Nathan Suber, Evelyn Turner Pugh . Also

present were City Manager Carmen Cavezza; City Attorney Clifton Fay; Director

of Finance Kay Love and Director of Human Resources, Tom Barron.



ABSENT: Councilor Evelyn Woodson



Guest: Mr. Ted Land, Chairperson of the Districting Commission













This meeting was called to order at 7:57 a.m.











Announcements:



City Manager Cavezza opened the meeting with various announcements beginning

with a listing of changes in the upcoming Council meetings:



q December 4, 2001 Council Meeting will be a night meeting.

q December 25, 2001 Work Session is cancelled.

q January 1, 2002 ( Night Meeting) is cancelled. November 27, 2001 ( Work

Session) is changed to a Regular Session.





Referring to the Information Section of the Councilor books, City Manager

Cavezza called attention to six (6) photographs of dead trees located in the

Lake Bottom Park Section, after being assessed by the Landscape and Forestry

Division and the Parks and Recreation Division, recommendation was made to

remove these trees.



Announcements (Continued):



q Announcement of Master Builder?s expansion plans this week.

q Future sale of the Three Arts Theater.

q Three Arts Activities will be transferred to the Performing Arts Center.

q City Manager?s Agenda - Add approval is requested authorizing the $1.50

charge for 911 ?.?are ratified and affirmed? (The phrase was omitted from the

City Manager?s Agenda)



Concluding with announcements, City Manager Cavezza introduced Mr. Ted Land,

Chairperson of the Districting Commission.





DISTRICTING COMMISSION:



Mr. Land appeared and said it has been a long time since he sat with the

members of Council, and he is here today to present the final report of the

Redistricting Commission to the members of Council. He said the board

consisted of 17 members whom were appointed by the Mayor and Council. He said

having met with the Director of the Planning Division, Rick Jones and

Director of Elections and Registration, Nancy Boren on five occasions , there

were different plans considered for the new districts, based on the 2000

Census. He said two (2) plans were considered which included the portion of

Muscogee County which is Ft. Benning , and six (6) plans that considered the

new districts ( without this portion of Ft. Benning being included.)



Addressing the question why exclude that portion of Ft. Benning located in

Muscogee County, he pointed out two reasons: (1) A precedent was set in 1981

and 1991 by the Districting Commission, not to include that portion of Ft.

Benning in the districting plan and (2) The City of Columbus has (almost )

no jurisdiction on federal property. He then cited examples as, on occasion the

Sheriff Department may serve papers and the Marshal?s Department may serve

papers regarding evictions on federal property.



At this point, Councilor Poydasheff explained the legal process and said when

the records proceeded to Fort Benning by the City Government, reserved in that

deed was the right of Muscogee County Sheriff and Marshal to come on the post

to the Provost Marshal?s office coordinate with office of Staff Judge

Advocate; serve papers for dispossession of personal property, and issue

arrest warrants, which he explained that in that situation, there is normally

an extradition problem and 99 percent of the cases are waived. He further

explained that Highway 27, which is an extension of Victory Drive is the only

portion that Georgia has any impact whereas all others are excluded from

Federal Jurisdiction.



Mr. Land reiterated that the City of Columbus has no jurisdiction over Ft.

Benning.



Responding to the question from Councilor Suber regarding the reason Benning

is excluded from the Districting Plan and since the previous districting

commission decided to exclude Ft. Benning from the plan; therefore, why does

this commission continue to exclude Ft. Benning, which Mr. Land explained that

the commission tried to show leadership in their decision, since precedent had

been set in place.



Councilor Turner Pugh raised the concern that Council was not involved in

deciding how the lines would be re-drawn and said she was not aware that

Council?s role would be to appoint the Districting Commission. In the past,

she said the lines were drawn by the State Legislature, but emphasized Council

did not appoint the Commission. Mr. Land re- affirmed that Council made

appointments to the previous Districting Commission. At this point, Ms. Turner

Pugh requested a copy of the minutes from the Commission meeting that states

the members were appointed by Council members.



Clerk of Council Washington said a copy of the minutes would be provided to Ms.

Turner Pugh.



Reiterating, Mr. Land said the Commission decided not to include Ft. Benning

in drafting the new districts because of the precedent set by other

commissions. In addition to complying with the law, he stated that we tried

to pick a plan that would not disrupt the present districts. He continued to

report that according to the 2000 Census, there was a 5 percent increase in the

population of Muscogee County for a ten - year period, not a large increase).

He said the objective of the Commission was to make sure no two Councilors

would be placed in the same districts which he pointed out was achieved.



He explained that initially, Option 3 (without including Ft. Benning) was

chosen. However, by selecting this plan, we inadvertently placed two school

board members in the same districts. After meeting again, we chose a

different plan, Option 6 which does not place two Councilor members nor

school board members in the same district. He said the plan is presented in

ordinance form , and can be amended at the discretion of the members of Council.





At this time, he presented the final plan to Council members . Concluding the

report, he thanked Mr. Rick Jones, Director of the Planning Department, Miss

Aronda Smith and Ms. Nancy Boren, Director of Elections and Registration for

their assistance in providing the data needed to make necessary decisions on

this important matter. (A copy of the Plan is on file in the Clerk?s Office)



Councilor Turner Pugh expressed disapproval for the plan as presented and

requested that Fort Middle School is not removed from the District 4 because

it would have considerable impact on the district : (Note: Ms. Turner

Pugh?s district) . At such time, the members of Council continued with question

regarding the proposed redistricting plan.



Responding to the Councilor Turner Pugh?s disapproval of the final plan

submitted by the Charter Commission, Chairman Land said the Council has the

right to amend the Districting Plan.





There being no further business to discuss, this meeting adjourned at 8: 58 a.m.









Gloria Carey, Secretary