Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

REGULAR MEETING

OCTOBER 21, 2003



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

order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, October 21, 2003, on the Plaza Level of the

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

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



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

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

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

Suber. City Manager Carmen Cavezza, City Attorney Clifton Fay and Clerk of

Council Tiny B. Washington were also present. Councilor Evelyn Woodson arrived

at 9:05 a.m.



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ABSENT: Deputy Clerk of Council Sandra Davis was absent.



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INVOCATION: Offered by Pastor John Skelly, Pastor of Edgewood Drive

Presbyterian Church.

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by students from Cusseta Road Elementary School.

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GARDEN CLUB OF GEORGIA:



Ms. Joann Brown said she is here this morning to inform the Council about

an event that will be coming up in Columbus very soon. She said the Garden Club

of Georgia, Inc., is a 16,000 member non-profit gardening organization

representing women throughout the State of Georgia who have been practicing

good horticultural stewardship for the past 75 years. She said on Wednesday,

November 5th, the Garden Club of Georgia and CSU is going to be sponsoring a

legislative one day seminar; which will be geared towards addressing the most

important environmental issues anticipated for the 2004 Legislative Session in

Georgia as well as in Washington.



She said some of the State?s most prominent legislative environmental

leaders would be participating along with representatives from Washington. She

said the Garden Club has chosen the City of Columbus to host this event;

because we are proud of the way you have protected our environment. You have

promoted smart growth and green space beautifully. You have carefully protected

the Chattahoochee River and they are aware that you share our concerns for

protecting this water all the way down stream, keeping it clean, free and

flowing. She said the seminar is open to the public, and they have also invited

high school and college students to attend this event as well, because they

seriously believe all Georgians need to be involved in protecting our natural

resources.



Ms. Brown said they encourage all Georgians to be better informed about

the legislative process. She said registration will be held on November 5th

from 9:15 - 10:00 a.m. and the seminar will end at 2:45 p.m. She said the

registration fee of $20.00 does include lunch, which will be held at the Frank

G. Lumpkin Athletic Center at CSU.



Mayor Poydasheff said we would like to thank the Garden Club of Columbus

for choosing Columbus to host this event. He said this Council and the City

Manager, as well as all of our people are very much in tune with smart growth,

protecting the environment and the Chattahoochee River.

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PROCLAMATIONS:



?FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK?:



With Mr. Don Burke, of Mead Westvaco Corporation standing at the Council

table, Councilor Davis read the proclamation of Mayor Poydasheff, proclaiming

the week of October 19 - 25, 2003, as ?Forest Products Week? in Columbus,

Georgia

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MINUTES: Minutes of the October 7 & 14, 2003 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 Woodson, which carried unanimously by those ten members of Council

present for this meeting.

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ZONING PUBLIC HEARING:



THE FOLLOWING ZONING ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED AND ITS CAPTION READ BY CITY

ATTORNEY FAY AND A PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD AS

ADVERTISED:



An Ordinance - Amending text of the Zoning Ordinance of Columbus, Georgia

by limiting the period of time to table a case to six (6) months, regardless of

where the case is in the zoning process. (39-A-03-Planning Div.)



PROPONENTS & OPPONENTS:



Members of the Planning Division staff was present, but did not make a

presentation, as there was no one present to oppose this proposed rezoning

ordinance.



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THE FOLLOWING ZONING ORDINANCE WAS ALSO SUBMITTED AND ITS CAPTION READ BY

CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND A PUBLIC HEARING WAS HELD AS ADVERTISED AND AFTER MORE

THAN AN HOUR OF DISCUSSION WAS AMENDED BY THE COUNCIL:



An Ordinance - Rezoning approximately 22 acres of property located at 6802

Mobley Road fromR-1 District to an R-2 District. (40-A-03-Brian Grier, Inc.)



PROPONENTS:



Mr. Alan Kamensky, 6930 Weathersfield Road said he is here representing

Mr. Brian Greer, who has a contract to purchase 15.8 acres on Mobley Road for

future use as a subdivision. He said several months ago, they applied at the

Planning Advisory Commission from an R-1 & R-1A District to an R-2 District to

build a 46-48 lot subdivision. He said they are here today to again request

that the Council rezone this property to an R-2 District.



He said over the past several months, they have discussed with the

neighborhood their rezoning proposal for this property. He said they have also

talked with PAC members, as well as members of the Council.



Mr. Kamensky said the PAC denied their request and an unusual thing

happened at that meeting when one of the PAC members instead of making a motion

to deny their request for R-2, made a motion to approve rezoning for R-1A; when

Mr. Johnson, Zoning Administrator informed them that they couldn?t do that, but

they had to either vote for or against the R-2 request, at which time they then

voted against the R-2 request. He said in going through this process, they

know that there is some opposition to rezoning this property from an R-1 to an

R-2 District. He said many people consider this a drop of two zoning

classifications; however, they consider it a rezoning within the same area,

i.e., single-family residential housing. He said they feel the R-2 is a

legitimate request and would allow them 46 to 48 lots; whereby an R-1A request

would only be about 42 lots.



Mr. Kamenskly said they are here for an R-2 classification today, but said

they are willing to listen to the Council in any requests that they Council may

have. He said because the Planning Division has approved this wholeheartedly,

they feel that the report the Planning Division has submitted to the Council

speaks for itself.



In response to Councilor Allen, Mr. Kamensky then outlined the size of the

lots and the type of homes that the developer is planning on building in this

area. He said as R-2, the proposed lot width is 60 feet and has a lot deep of

125 ? 130 feet average lots. He said there would be approximately 46 lots. He

said in rezoning it as an R-2 District, there is a 2.5 acre buffer area that

will be located in the northeast corner of the property.



Using a map of the area, Mr. Kamensky showed the area of the property,

saying under their R-2 plans there is 2.5 acres that abuts most of the lots in

Waterford Subdivision that will be left as a natural area. He said they are

planning on building houses in the 1500 - 1550 square foot range with a price

range between $167,500 - $185,000.



Councilor McDaniel then asked Mr. Kamenskly, if his client would agree to

an R-1A zoning, because it is surrounded by R-1A, to which he said that they

have discussed that and said it was requested at the PAC meeting and several of

the neighbors who have said that if they went to an R-1A they would acquiesce.

He said he and Mr. Grier have talked about it and he feels if that is what the

Council would like to see happen, R-1A; he could live with that.



Councilor McDaniel said eventually it is going to be rezoned and said the

only thing that we are trying to do is to protect the neighbors and try to be

fair with the petitioner. He said he has talked with some of the neighbors and

most of them have said they would support R-1A since it is surrounded by R-1A.



Mr. Kamensky said if the Council feels that is the best way to go, they

would agree to R-1A.



Mayor Poydasheff then asked Councilor McDaniel if he was making a motion

to rezone the property to R-1A, to which he said no.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said Mr. Kamensky has spoken with all of the Council

members and said he doesn?t feel R-2 is going to be approved, and he thinks

that R-1A is a reasonable compromise on this and then made a motion that this

be changed to an R-1A classification. Seconded by Councilor Turner Pugh.



He said this Council in recent years has taken the position that we will

down zone property; however, he doesn?t like it, but it is a part of the

ordinance now and several members of the Council have addressed this issue the

last time this came up. He said within two weeks, he would bring forth an

ordinance to stop this practice, effective with any zoning that takes place

after December 1st. He said anything that is petitioned after December 1st

would have to go back through the entire process; so that the developers cannot

come in and ask for a higher classification, knowing they will settle for a

lesser classification.



Several members of the Council then expressed their views as it relates to

the motion of Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers to change the zoning classification to an

R-1A District.



Councilor Henderson said he feels that we need to wait and hear from the

residents before we vote on the motion to change the classification. There were

no objections expressed in this regard.

Mr. Kamensky then responded to several questions of the Council.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she doesn?t have a problem with listening to

the homeowners, but said one of the things that she thinks we should do, is to

give the homeowners some understanding as to what we are thinking or

considering. She said if they come forward and are opposed to an R-2 zoning and

if we already know that we don?t have any plans on rezoning it R-2, but are

planning on rezoning it R-1A then they need to know that.



Mayor Poydasheff said if there is anyone in the audience who is arguing

for a reduction to R-1A, which is what basically surrounds this area, pointed

out that there is a motion on the table and his sense of the Council is that

they are going to do just that. He said he would respectfully request that you

don?t make that argument, but any other argument against or for this will

certainly be entertained. He said that would save the redundancy.



Councilor Allen then asked Mr. Kamensky, if he would entertain a motion to

amend the ordinance, to allow no more than 42 lots on this project. Mr.

Kamensky said he would prefer to just rezone it to R-1A. He said under the

current situation, they are topped out at 42 lots and said he doesn?t like

restricting ordinances beyond the scope of the ordinance itself. He said they

would follow the letter of the law as R-1A.



Councilor Allen said he would make that motion and allow the Council to

make the final decision on it; however, he would wait until after the vote on

the motion to change the zoning classification is taken and then make it at

that time.



Councilor Davis said there are two things that he is concerned about on

this road, which is the excessive speeding and the narrow width of the road. He

said he thinks that we need to have the staff to go out and take a look at the

road, as it seems to be deteriorating at a rapid pace. He said he also knows

there is some storm water issues that the people are concerned about.



He then asked Mr. Kamensky, if the storm water would be diverted on the

backside of the property and not back onto Mobley Road, to which Mr. Kamensky

said under either plan, the detention basin is on rear of the property.



Speaking to Councilor Allen?s earlier request to allow a condition in the

ordinance, to limit the number of lots to no more than 42, Mr. Kamensky said if

that is the request of the Council, they would acquiesce, if the limitation is

desired.



City Attorney Fay pointed out there is a motion to amend the ordinance to

an R-1A, which is a less density classification and said we will allow those

who are in opposition to this ordinance, to be heard before the Council takes a

vote.



OPPONENTS:



The following individuals then appeared and expressed their opposition to

this proposed rezoning ordinance.



Mr. Mike Mayhew, 99 Lismore Drive, said he has some additional petitions

to file with the Council and then filed them with Clerk of Council Washington.



He said when they originally went before the PAC and Mr. Kamensky said it

was addressed R-1A; it was never addressed to his knowledge, as R-1A. He said

when they went before the PAC, it was an R-2 zoning request and that is what

they were against.



Councilor Suber said Mr. Crain is the individual from the PAC that asked a

question and he made a recommendation to amend the ordinance at that particular

time and he thinks that Mr. Kamensky stated that he would not go along with

that and that is when it was voted down 4 to 1 to go back to R-2 and Mr.

Kamensky said he would take his chances from that point on.



Mayor Poydasheff stated that is correct. However, Mr. Mayhew said Mr.

Crain did try to request an R-1A, but Mr. Johnson said he couldn?t do that, but

had to make the motion for the R-2 zoning.



Mr. Mayhew said when this matter first came up, they were fighting an R-2

District and said he is also opposed to R-1A as well. He said you are going

from 46 houses in an R-2 to 42 houses in an R-1A, which is not much of a

difference. He said the residents were fighting an R-2 that was originally

petitioned and now they come to the Council and it can be changed here, which

he opposes. He said he thinks that it needs to go back through the process.



Mayor Poydasheff explained that under the rules as they exist today, the

Council has the right to amend any ordinance with six votes. He said under the

rules today, it doesn?t have to go back through the process and PAC.



Mr. Mayhew then responded to questions of several members of the

Council.



He then expressed his further views and outlined the three most important

issues that their neighborhood is concerned with, which includes the following:



(1) Traffic on Mobley Road

(2) Decrease in property values

(3) Opposition to R-1A



In response to a question of Councilor Davis regarding how many lots can

be put into an R-1 zoning, Councilor Allen said that the total lots that can

fit on this property is 40 lots; however, it does not allow for road

infrastructure and right-of-way. He said once you put that in, you will go down

to around 30 lots. He said in an R-1A classification, you can put in

approximately 60 lots, but when you put in the infrastructure and right-of-way,

that would take it down to approximately 42 lots, which is what Mr. Kamensky

mentioned earlier. He said this is why he wanted to amend the ordinance to

restrict it to no more than 42 lots.



Several members of the Council responded to many of the concerns of Mr.

Mayhew pointing out that regardless of what the zoning classification will be,

the developer will be responsible for controlling the water runoff and said

they won?t get a building permit until they do control that runoff. They stated

that they must have an engineer drawing or plans for that entire development

before any permits are issued.



After several members of the Council continued to express their views on

this subject, other additional opponents were then allowed to be heard to

express their views, as outlined below.



Mrs. Sally Lassiter, 6855 Ranch Forest Drive said those who have come

today, came to voice their opposition, came prepared to defend their thoughts

with regards to an R-2 zoning petition and said they have had to do some

thinking on their feet. She said they came assuming this would be a discussion

of R-2 versus R-1 and they knew with rezoning to an R-2, there was a 2.5 acre

buffer; and then said she doesn?t understand why the buffer disappears if the

zoning becomes R-1A.



Mayor Poydasheff said there is no buffering between or among residential

R-1, R-1A or R-2; however, the buffering applies when you are confining the

zoning by a commercial and residential use; and said that is to protect the

residential property owners.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said the green space in the pond area was offered as

a conciliatory measure to the neighbors in order for them to get R-2; to which

Mr. Kamensky stated that is correct.



Ms. Lassister asked the Council to notice the size of the lots that is all

around their neighborhood and said they would want these lots to be similar in

size to theirs.



City Manager Cavezza responded to some concerns of Councilor Suber, as to

the proposed R-1A lots as compared to those in the Lismore Drive area.



Mr. Tommy Butts, 6617 High Ridge Drive, Autumn Ridge Subdivisionsaid he

cannot support R-1A because there will be 3 lots that will be built behind his

property; no matter whether the zoning is R-2 or R-1A. He said even if this

property is rezoned, he would like to point out that at the southern end, there

will be R-1 and to the northwest and the north, there will be R-1 and to the

northeast, there will be R-1. He said he would like to see the area remain

R-1. He said he is also concerned about the trees as well as the animals.



Mrs. Kim Banks said her family is one of the newest members to the

community as they just moved to this area from Washington State. She said they

live on the corner lot of Ranch Forest Drive and Mobley Drive and have been

here for about three weeks. She addressed concerns as it relates to the

overcrowding of Double Churches Elementary School as well as the traffic in the

area.



She said if they have 42 more houses added to this area that would be an

additional 84 people trying to get to work in the mornings and more cars on the

road, as well as more children going to the schools. She said she is in the

process of trying to get them to change the school bus route so that the

children don?t have to stand on such a busy corner, as there are no sidewalks

on that particular corner where the school bus picks them up.



Mr. John Benn, 993 Lismore Drive, Waterford Place said he has lived there

for approximately 15 years now. He said Councilor McDaniel had stated that this

property would be rezoned and said he needs to have someone explain to him, why

is it that this is an automatic rezoning.



Councilor McDaniel said it is not automatic; however, said one day it is

going to be rezoned.



Mr. Benn said what the Council is going to be voting on is very important

to them and said if this property behind him is rezone, he feels that his

property value will go down.



Ms. Margaret Alberici , # 5 Lismore Court, Waterford Place said she has

many reservations regarding the building of 42 lots if the R-1A zoning is

approved. She said the residents of Autumn Ridge, Waterford Place, Mobley Road

and Ranch Forest will be faced with living with the consequences of all these

houses that will be built. She said this will affect the overcrowding of the

schools, more congested traffic and the chance of more accidents with this

additional traffic, as well as more pollution and noise in the area.



She said even going from R-2 to R-1A there is going to be a lot of houses

in a small area and the consequences of overcrowding will be many. She said

when there are more houses there will be a drain on energy, water and other

resources. She said all these things needs to be taken into consideration.



Ms. Alberici said they like their green space and said she feels that

overcrowding does nasty things to people. She said she really would like to see

a nice park built so that the residents of the community can come and enjoy the

green space. She said she doesn?t feel that there are enough parks in the area

and adding all these extra houses would really put a damper on things.



Mr. Mike Mayhew who had spoke earlier came forward again and said he met

with Mr. Brian Grier on Friday and said there were three plans shown to him at

that time; however, one of those plans is not here today. He said that plan did

show a retention pond behind Waterford Place on the R-1A. He said the three

plans that were shown are not architectural drawings; therefore, from their

standpoint as homeowners, what are they to believe.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said he thinks Mr. Mayhew?s comment should be

reinforced by Councilor Allen?s motion, to limit the number of houses that

would go into that development to 42. He said there is some engineering changes

that could conceivably be made that would change slightly the configuration of

that development and could possibly be one, two or three different plans. He

said regardless of what it is, the intention of Councilor Allen is to limit the

actual number of houses.



Mr. Mathis Banks, 6730 Ranch Forest Drive said he has heard a lot of

discussion as it relates to the overcrowding and all other aspects of the

rezoning; however, he would like to know what are the plans as far as widening

Mobley Road.



City Manager Cavezza said currently there are no plans of widening Mobley

Road, but said we would look into it. He said widening Mobley Road would be a

challenge like a lot of residential areas, where you are talking about the

taking of people?s front yards. He said that would probably be awhile before we

get to it.



Councilor Allen said in regard to the road, we will continue to repair and

patch as needed on an ongoing basis.



Regarding the comment made by Mr. Mayhew, Councilor Allen said he doesn?t

have any reason to doubt Mr. Grier?s ability to develop the subdivision and

said he has no reason to doubt that he is not going to do what he says he is

going to do. He said he has to file a plan and will follow that plan. He said

he is licensed by the City, and governed by the Home Builders Committee; so,

therefore, his peers govern him. He said he believes Mr. Grier is an honorable

man and will present a plan and will follow what the Council dictates. He said

he doesn?t doubt that he will do the right thing.



After more than one hour of discussion on this issue, City Attorney Fay

advised that there is a motion on the table to reduce the zoning classification

from an R-2 District to an R-1A, after which Mayor Poydasheff then called the

question on the motion, which carried unanimously by those ten members of

Council present for this meeting.



Councilor Allen then made a motion saying that under the R-1A zoning plan

that was just approved by the Council, a condition be added that there be no

more than 42 lots developed. Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers.



Councilor Suber then asked Mr. Kamensky, how many homes can go into the

property with an R-1A zoning, to which Mr. Kamensky said approximately 44

homes. He said under R-1A they had plans to put in 42 homes and said he doesn?t

have a problem with Councilor Allen?s request.



The question was then called on Councilor Allen?s motion, which carried

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



Mayor Poydasheff then pointed out to those residents who were present in

the audience and interested in this matter that the proposal for an R-2

District has failed and said it is now an R-1A District, with no more than 42

lots being developed on this property.



City Attorney Fay then declared this public hearing having been held and

advised that this ordinance will be voted on at next week?s Council meeting.

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CITY ATTORNEY?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING TWO ORDINANCES WERE SUBMITTED AND THEIR CAPTIONS READ BY

CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON SECOND READING:



An Ordinance (03-95) - Amending the Zoning Atlas of Columbus, Georgia by

changing certain boundaries of a district located at 5385, 5389, 5393, 5397,

5401, 5405, 5409, 5413, 5417, and 5421 Schatulga Road, from an R-1A District to

a M-1 District. (38-CA-03-Driver) Mayor Pro-Tem Rodgers moved the adoption of

the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor Allen and carried unanimously by those ten

members of Council present for this meeting.



An Ordinance (03-96) -Providing for the demolition of structures located

at 3129 Schatulga Road (Susie Johnson Anderson, owner); 3133 Schatulga Road

(Susie Johnson Anderson, owner); 3636 St. Mary's Road, Lot D28 (Vanessa Barton,

owner); 2213 ? 1st Avenue (W. Richard Jordan, Jr., owner); 3466 Marathon Dr.,

Lot 31 (Mamie R. Nelms, owner); 3200 Tip Top Drive (Roger Rudd, owner); 400 ?

29th Avenue, Lot 33 (Spellman-Hung Capital, LLC owner); 3137 Schatulga Road

(Willie Clarence Willis, owner); 1009 Britt Avenue (Naomi Fedd White, owner);

and for demolition services for the Inspections and Code Division in accordance

with a Tabulation of Bid sheet.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers moved the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by

Councilor Woodson.



City Manager Cavezza said before the Council votes on the ordinance, he

would like to bring to the Council?s attention that Mr. Roger Rudd, the owner

of property at 3200 Tip Top Drive came here this morning, saying that he

received late notification of first reading on last week and that he was out of

town. However, he had his opportunity at first reading and there has been no

progress to the house; nothing has changed and said he indicated that he would

like to speak at the end of the Council agenda, to speak on this matter. He

said he wanted the Council to be aware of that before the vote.



Mayor Poydasheff then asked what was the pleasure of the Council in this

regard.



Councilor Suber then made a motion to allow Mr. Rudd be heard at this

time. Seconded by Councilor Henderson and carried unanimously by those ten

members of Council present for this meeting.



Mr. Roger Rudd, 1226 Dunbar Avenue said he is the owner of the property at

3200 Tip Top Drive, saying that he purchased that land from Mr. Kenneth Childs,

who is also present here this morning. He said he had spoken to Ms. Wiggins and

she told him that this matter was going to come before the Council and she

would send him a letter. He said he received the certified letter notice on

October 10th and said he was out of town. He said once he got back into town on

October 15th, he picked this letter up at the post office.



City Manager Cavezza said all that is really a moot point now as the

Council has allowed him to speak here this morning.



Mr. Rudd said he wants to have the house redone and brought up to Code and

to have someone in the home within 30 days. He said he is very interested in

what Ms. Wiggins wants, in that getting the property built up with the

materials brought in by the previous owner or bringing it back to its original

state. He said he could have this done within 30 days, if the Council would

allow him the opportunity to get started on that and have 30 days to complete

the job.



City Manager Cavezza then asked Ms. Rebecca Wiggins of the Inspections &

Code Enforcement Division to give a status report on this issue.



Prior to Ms. Wiggins making any presentation, Mr. Rudd then responded to

some questions from members of the Council. Mr. Rudd said he purchased the

property approximately 2 to 3 years ago and said that the reason he hasn?t done

anything on it is because Mr. Kenneth Childs wanted the property back. He said

his attorney, Mr. Kenneth Spencer told him he had title in the property that he

had in the house. He said he had a lot of collectable items in the house that

belonged to him. He said those items were not removed by Mr. Childs, therefore

the City came in and removed them.



Mr. Rudd said the house was vandalized and said he has cleaned up a lot of

materials and things that were stored in and around the property.



Ms. Wiggins then responded to questions of Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers regarding

the notices of the houses and notice of inspections. She said he was not

unaware that we were heading toward this process of demolition, to which Ms.

Wiggins said that he was aware.



Ms. Wiggins said Mr. Rudd did receive all of the notices that they are

required by law to send. He said they were all sent certified mail and were all

signed for. She said she talked with Mr. Rudd on a few occasions over this long

period of time and said before they condemned this house after many, many

complaints; they had written it up for repairs in the Summer of 2002, but no

repairs were done at that time. She said you would see from the photographs

that this house continues to deteriorate and continues to be vandalized. She

said these photographs were taken on October 1,

2003.

She said on last week when Mr. Rudd was not here, there was a neighbor

present who lives in the condominiums down below this property and she was here

to ask that the Council not extend any more time to Mr. Rudd. She said she is

not here today, because she didn?t know that Mr. Rudd would be here today. She

said they also received a letter from another neighbor and said with the

Council?s permission, she would read it into the record. However, Councilor

Suber said he didn?t think that was appropriate because they are not present

here this morning.



City Attorney Fay then advised Ms. Wiggins that she could put the letter

with the Council?s records and file it with the Clerk of Council. (Ms. Wiggins

did not file the letter with the Clerk)



Mayor Poydasheff said he agrees with Councilor Suber, you can put that in

the record, because he thinks that we have seen enough.



Ms. Wiggins said Mr. Rudd has stated that he wants a period of time to do

this job, but with all due respect to Mr. Rudd, this has not happened and they

believe that it will not happen.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then moved the request of Mr. Rudd be denied.

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

Council present for this meeting.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then made a motion to adopt the ordinance. Seconded

by Councilor Suber and carried unanimously by those ten members of Council

present for this meeting.



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THE FOLLOWING THREE RESOLUTIONS, EXPRESSING APPRECIATION TO THOSE

EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE RETIRED FROM THE SERVICES OF THE

CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT WERE SUBMITTED AND THEIR CAPTIONS READ BY MAYOR PRO TEM

RODGERS AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL, PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION

MADE BY MAYOR PRO TEM RODGERS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ALLEN, WHICH CARRIED

UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE TEN MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (478-03) - Expressing appreciation to Nurse Virginia E.

Williams upon

her retirement with the Jail Medical Clinic after 5 years of service.



A Resolution (479-03) - Expressing appreciation to Herman M. Murphy upon

his

retirement with the Columbus Water Works after 15 years of service.



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THE FOLLOWNIG THREE RESOLUTIONS, EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF

THOSE FORMER EMPLOYEES OF THE CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY WERE

ALSO SUBMITTED AND THEIR CAPTIONS READ BY MAYOR PRO TEM RODGERS AND ADOPTED BY

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

RODGERS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ALLEN, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE TEN

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (480-03) - Conveying condolences to the family of Jerry S.

Patterson, former Plans Examiner with the Inspections & Code Enforcement

Division, who passed away on September 5, 2003.



A Resolution (481-03) - Conveying condolences to the family of B. O.

Newsome, former District Fire Chief with the Columbus Fire Department, who

passed away on August 14, 2003.



A Resolution (482-03) - Conveying condolences to the family of John W.

Chapman, Sr., former Lieutenant with the Columbus Police Department, who passed

away on September 25, 2003.

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

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

PUBLIC AGENDA:



Mr. John Kittrell, who had requested to be listed on today?s Public Agenda

to hold a hearing before the Council regarding his certificate of

qualifications being suspended for one year, called on yesterday morning and

cancelled his scheduled appearance.



City Manager Cavezza pointed out that Mr. Kittrell has opted not to come

before the Council on today.



City Attorney Fay then advised that Mr. Kitrell has waived his right to

appeal to the Council on a suspension on his contractors license.

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

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



RECOGNITION OF ROBERT L. WRIGHT:



Councilor Turner Pugh recognized the presence of former City Councilor

Robert L. Wright, who was present in the Council Chambers.

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

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

CITY MANAGER?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING FIVE PURCHASING RESOLUTIONS HAVING BEING INCLUDED WITH THE

CITY MANAGER?S AGENDA WERE ALSO SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY MANAGER CAVEZZA

AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION MADE BY

COUNCILOR TURNER PUGH AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ALLEN, WHICH CARRIED

UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE TEN MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





A Resolution (483-03) - Authorizing the purchase of five (5) Ticket Reader

Issuing Machines (TRIM) from GFI Genfare, Inc., (Elk Grove Village, IL), in the

amount of $18,100.00. The TRIM units are mechanisms attached to the bus fare

boxes that allow customers to use swipe cards to ride the bus.



A Resolution (484-03) - Authorizing the purchase of eight (8) ShopFax

Pocket PC?s

from World Information Systems, Inc.(Greensboro, NC), in the amount of

$19,325.00.

The PC?s will be used to keep inventory on repair parts for the buses and other

vehicles

used by the METRA Transit System.



A Resolution (485-03) - Authorizing the purchase of kitchenware from

Aramark

Corporation in the amount of $61,843.88. The items will be used at the

Columbus

Convention and Trade Center, and include condiment dispensers, coffee urns,

pots and

pans, chafers and accessories, table skirts, serving utensils, etc.



A Resolution (486-03) - Authorizing payment to Sheraton Inn Columbus

Airport to

provide assessment center accommodations for the Columbus Fire and Emergency

Medical Services in the amount of $29,168.00.



A Resolution (487-03) - Authorizing the purchase of an additional

telephone

system upgrade from BellSouth/BSFS in the amount of $42,615.26 for the Columbus

Convention & Trade Center.



*** *** ***



NEXT WEEK?S COUNCIL MEETING:



City Manager Cavezza said next week?s meeting will be a Council Work

Session and said we would like to have that Work Session at the Trade Center.

Mayor Poydasheff said that he thinks that we need a vote on that.



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that we have an add-on resolution

for the Council?s approval in that regard. Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then moved the

adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and carried

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



THE ABOVE ACTION APPROVED THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION:



A Resolution (488-03) - Changing the location of the October 28, 2003 Work

Session from the Council Chambers to the Convention & Trade Center at 9:00 a.m.





*** ***

***



LEGISLATIVE LUNCHEON:



City Manager Cavezza said immediately after the Council?s Work Session we

would have the Legislative Luncheon with the School Board and the Legislative

Delegation.



*** ***

***



UPCOMING EVENTS:



City Manager Cavezza highlighted the following additional upcoming events,

which are outlined below.



Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003, 10:00 a.m. Parade of Heroes,

11:30 a.m. Session at Golden Park for the soldiers & their families



*** *** ***



EXECUTIVE SESSION:



City Manager Cavezza requested a brief executive session after the

adjournment of today?s meeting, to discuss a personnel issue.



*** *** ***



TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES:



Councilor Woodson said some time ago, she had asked about the possibility

of having some speed bumps put in on a couple of streets and was told that they

didn?t meet the criteria. She said on yesterday, she drove through a street

that is a lot smaller and even though there is a lot of heavy traffic; the

length is not as wide as the ones that she had mentioned and said it concerns

her that she saw them installed there.



City Manager Cavezza said the speed tables are all part of a system called

traffic calming devices. He said for every call that we have in favor of them,

we have calls that oppose them. He said we have some criteria that has to be

met in order to put the speed table in. He said in the Lakebottom area where

there was an exception with regards to a safety issue in that children were

running across the road at all times, we put them in there.



Councilor Woodson said it is her understanding that there are now some

new requirements for these streets and then asked the City Manager to do an

analysis of those two streets, which was previously requested, to determine

whether or not they meet the new criteria to have them installed in the area.



City Manager Cavezza said to the best of his knowledge, with the exception

around Lakebottom, they haven?t put any in unless they met the criteria, but

said they would follow up on that.



*** *** ***



STREET LIGHTING:



Councilor Woodson said she would like to have the City Manager to provide

her with the requirements for street lighting in neighborhoods. She said she

would like to know how far light poles have to be; because there are some

neighborhoods in Oakland Park where the trees cover some of the lighting. She

said there are a lot of areas were it is really dark.



City Manager Cavezza said in many of the old areas like that, they are 400

feet apart and the new standard is 200 feet; however, if the neighborhood wants

to go to the 200 feet or adjust it, the way they have been doing it, is that

the community pays for the pole and any digging that has to be done; Georgia

Power pays for the light, and the City picks up the light bill. He said a lot

of the neighborhoods don?t want their front yards dug up and said we can handle

it on a case-by-case basis.



Mayor Poydasheff said we should send someone out to trim the trees, to

which City Manager Cavezza said we are in the process of doing that citywide.



*** *** ***



DISTRICT TWO:



Councilor Davis said for the last four to six weeks, he has had a lot of

his constituents before the Council and said everyone at the Council table have

heard their concerns; and said they are very valid concerns. He said there

seems to be a popular demand for growth in the District 2 area in the north end

of the area. He said some of the issues that are an extreme concern of his and

the residents are the roads, the infrastructure dealing with roads, traffic,

overcrowding of schools and green space development. He said it is not going to

go away and development is going to continue.



He said he is very concerned about planning and smart growth issues, and

said today we need to really consider some type of Work Session or perhaps,

when we have the Retreat, to discuss this matter. He said the issues that we

are going to deal with are going to get bigger and bigger and said that we need

to start looking at some of these issues, to try and determine how we are going

to deal with some of them.



Councilor Davis said he is starting to hear from a lot of the constituents

that he represents, that we need to deal with it. He said we are going to have

to plan and talk about these things in some type of forum, i.e., a Retreat or

Work Session. He said he don?t know if we are behind the curve; however, he

knows that we are not ahead of the curve. He said Columbus is not the only City

that is dealing with these matters. He said he has great confidence in our

Engineering and Planning Division and they do a good job; however, everyone

agrees that things are moving at such a rapid pace that we need to take some

time to study these issues.



City Manager Cavezza said during the Work Session on next week, we will

review several projects that touch on what Councilor Davis is talking about and

you will see what projects are on the TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan). He

said the Council would have to address these and make some decisions if the

Council wants to juggle the priority around. He said the Comprehensive Plan has

been well received during the public meetings all across the board, and he

believes that it will go a long way to take a lot of the arbitrary out of our

zoning issues and discipline the system.



He said the suggestion that Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers made about going back

through the cycle, he certainly supports it; because he thinks it will help

discipline the system and makes it very mechanical for the staff to follow a

plan that the Council has approved. He said the other part of that is the

Unified Development Ordinance that we are also working on; which has

opportunities to control growth or make some significant changes if we want to;

however, we need some guidance from the Council on that.

He said we would soon be brining that to the Council, for their suggestions.



Councilor Turner Pugh said Councilor Davis?s area is not the only area

that is experiencing growth; however, it has taken over from where Councilor

Allen?s District has left off on the most contentious on zoning issues, which

is probably why you don?t hear from the rest of them as much. She said we all

have that same heartache as it relates to traffic and our road projects.



She said we have a lot of growth out in the St. Mary?s Road area, as well

as Southeast Columbus and we are all going through the same thing. She said

that is why it is important that our legislators continue to fight to allow us

to get the additional one cents sales tax for operations; because we are

running out of funds to operate. She said we have a lot of State and Federal

mandates that are coming down, one of which is a mandate for Indigent Care that

might cost us additional funds. She said we are meeting with the Judges and the

individuals from the State. She said that could be a potential to cost our

budget an additional $2 - 3 million. She said we feel your pains and we have

those same pains.



Councilor Davis said when there is new development there is a cost and

expenditures that we are dealing with. He said expenditures are becoming far

greater than the revenue that the City is generating and as you expand the

boundaries, the bigger the issues; the more things we have to deal with.

Therefore, he thinks it is very important that we talk about these things as

soon as possible.



Councilor Anthony said he would like to suggest that in January, we do

another one of the planning retreats similar to the one we had on last year. He

said he would like for the City Manager to look at two possible dates, January

22-23 or 29-30.



City Manager Cavezza said that we are planning for a Retreat during that

timeframe; however, he doesn?t know the exact dates.

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

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



CLERK OF COUNCIL?S AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF COUNCIL WASHINGTON AS

INFORMATION FOR THE MAYOR AND

COUNCIL:





(1) ACCG Memorandum, Re: Farmland Protection Program.



(2) GMA Memorandum, Re: NLC Steering and Standing Committee Appointments.



(4) GMA Mayor?s Day Conference on January 24?26, 2004 at the Omni Hotel

at CNN Center, in Atlanta, Georgia.



*** *** ***



NLC STEERING & STANDING COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS:



Councilor Woodson asked that her name be submitted for reappointment to

serve on the HD Committee.



*** ***

***



BOARD OF HEALTH:



Clerk of Council Washington submitted a letter from Dr. Jimmy Sullivan,

Chairman of the Board of Health, submitting the resignation of Dr. Bobbi Farber.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers moved the letter be received with regrets and thanks

for her service. Seconded by Councilor Allen and carried unanimously by those

ten members of Council present for this meeting.



Councilor McDaniel said that Dr. Sullivan called him regarding Dr.

Farber?s resignation and said they are recommending Marquette McKnight for this

seat. He said she has been working with them on some issues. He said he is

nominating her for this seat.



*** *** ***



MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING BOARDS WERE SUBMITTED BY CLERK OF

COUNCIL WASHINGTON AND OFFICIALLY RECEIVED BY THE

COUNCIL:



Building Contractor?s Examining Board, June 5, 2003.

Building Contractor?s Examining Board, July 3, 2003.

Building Contractor?s Examining Board, July 22, 2003.

Building Contractor?s Examining Board, July 23, 2003.

C.I.R.C.L.E., August 12, 2003.

Elections & Registration, September 4, 2003.

Housing Authority, September 17, 2003.

Planning Advisory Commission, October 16, 2002.

Planning Advisory Commission, November 7, 2002.

Planning Advisory Commission, November 20, 2002.

Tax Assessors, No. 40.

Uptown Fa?ade Board, September 15, 2003.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers made a motion that these minutes be received.

Seconded by Councilor Allen and carried unanimously by those ten members of

Council present for this meeting.



*** ***

***



THE FOLLOWING NEW ZONING PETITION, RECOMMENDED FOR CONDITIONAL APPROVAL BY

BOTH THE PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION AND THE PLANNING DIVISION WERE SUBMITTED

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

FOR BY MAYOR PRO TEM RODGERS:



Petition submitted by the Planning Division to rezone approximately

2.88 acres of property located at 2818 8th Street, et al., from an R-4 and C-2

Districts to an R-3A and R-3 Districts. (42-CA-03-Planning Division)



*** *** ***



BOARD APPOINTMENTS:



INDUSTRIAL & PORT DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION:



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

filled the unexpired term of Mr. Wade Tomlinson on the Industrial & Port

Development Commission. There were no nominations.



*** *** ***



UPTOWN FA?ADE BOARD:



Clerk of Council Washington pointed out that she has spoken

with Ms. Lisa Collins of Uptown Columbus and they are working on a

recommendation for someone to succeed Mr. Peter Bowden on the Uptown Fa?ade

Board. Councilor Davis asked Clerk of Council Washington, if Mr. Kelvin Welch

has been re-nominated, to which she said he has been nominated for another term

of office and confirmed by the Council on last week.



*** ***

***



Mayor Poydasheff then asked if there was anyone who was not listed on the

Council?s Public Agenda, but had an issue to address before the Council, they

could be heard at this time. There was no one who wanted to be heard.



*** *** ***



EXECUTIVE SESSION:



Regarding an earlier request of City Manager Cavezza, Mayor Pro Tem

Rodgers made a motion to allow the Council to go into an executive session to

discuss a personnel issue. Seconded by Councilor Henderson and carried

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

Councilors Turner Pugh and Suber being absent for this vote.



*** *** ***



At 10:45 A.M., the Council adjourned its regular session to allow the

Council to go into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter. At 10:54

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

personnel matter, but there were no votes taken.



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

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

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

Councilor Woodson having left the meeting immediately following the adjournment

of the Executive Session, with the time being 10:58 A.M.





Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council, The Council of Columbus, Georgia