MINUTES
COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA
WORK SESSION
JULY 24, 2007
The regular monthly Work Session of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was
called to order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, July 24, 2007, on the Plaza Level of the
Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Honorable W. J. Wetherington, Mayor,
presiding.
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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Wetherington was Councilors R. Gary Allen,
Wayne Anthony, Mike Baker, Jerry ?Pops? Barnes, Berry H. Henderson, Julius H.
Hunter, Jr., Charles E. McDaniel, Jr., and Evelyn Woodson. City Manager Isaiah
Hugley, City Attorney Clifton Fay, Clerk of Council Tiny B. Washington and
Deputy Clerk of Council Sandra Davis were also present.
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ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner Pugh and Councilor Wayne Anthony were
absent, but were excused upon the adoption of Resolution Numbers 312-07 &
313-07 respectively.
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INVOCATION: Offered by Reverend Emmett S. Aniton, Jr., Friendship Baptist
Church.
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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by students from Friendship Baptist Church Day Care
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WITH KATHERINE WHITE STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE, THE FOLLOWING
RESOLUTION WAS READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR DAVIS AND ADOPTED BY THE
COUNCIL:___________________________________________________
A Resolution (311-07) ? Commending and congratulating Katherine White upon
winning the Girls 16's in the Burger King Southern Open Tennis Championship.
Councilor Davis moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by Councilor
Hunter and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for
this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent
from the meeting.
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THE FOLLOWING ORDINANCE WAS DELAYED BY THE COUNCIL AT THE REQUEST OF
COUNCILOR WOODSON:______
An Ordinance ? Amending Chapter 21 of the Columbus Code so as to increase
the membership of the Columbus Taxicab Commission from nine members to eleven
and adding representation from the Columbus Convention and Visitor?s Bureau;
and for other purposes.
Councilor Woodson said due to the fact that we are going to be discussing
the Taxicab Commission during the Work Session, she would like to delay the
vote on adding these two positions until after the presentation.
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CONSENT AGENDA:
THE FOLLOWING THREE ORDINANCES WERE SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY
ATTORNEY FAY AND ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON SECOND
READING:________________________
An Ordinance (07-49) ? Rezoning properties located at 1021 Oakview Avenue
are proposed for rezoning from RO (Residential-Office) District to SFR2
(Single Family Residential 2) District. (29-A-07-Manderson)
Councilor Baker requested permission to abstain from voting on this
ordinance. Councilor Henderson so moved. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and
carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present, with Mayor Pro
Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent for the meeting.
Councilor Allen then moved the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by
Councilor Woodson and carried unanimously by those seven members of Council
voting, with Councilor Baker abstaining and Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and
Councilor Anthony being absent for the meeting.
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An Ordinance (07-50) ? Rezoning properties located at 1716 3rd Avenue &
314 18th Street are proposed for rezoning from GC (General Commercial)
District to LMI (Light Manufacturing/Industrial) District. (30-CA-07-Jackson
Burgin, Inc.)
Councilor Allen moved the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor
Woodson and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for
this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent
for the meeting.
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An Ordinance (07-51) ? Rezoning properties located at 3127 & 3131 Macon
Road are proposed for rezoning from NC (Neighborhood Commercial) District to
GC (General Commercial) District. (26-A-07-Foresite Group, Inc.)
Councilor Allen moved the adoption of the ordinance. Seconded by Councilor
Woodson and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for
this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent
for the meeting.
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THE FOLLOWING TWO RESOLUTIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY
ATTORNEY FAY AND ADOPTED BY THE
COUNCIL:______________________________________________
A Resolution (312-07) ? Resolution excusing Mayor Pro-Tem Evelyn Turner
Pugh from the July 24, 2007 Council Meeting.
A Resolution (313-07) ? Resolution excusing Councilor Wayne Anthony from
the July 24, 2007 Council Meeting.
Councilor McDaniel moved the adoption of the resolutions. Seconded by
Councilor Allen and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council
present for this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony
being absent for the meeting.
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THE FOLLOWING TEMPORARY STREET CLOSURE APPLICATION WAS SUBMITTED
BY CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL:_______________________________
Application of Nazareth Baptist Church to temporarily close the 500 block
of Radcliff Avenue near MLK intersection, on Saturday, August 4, 2007, from
3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., in connection with a ?Block Party?.
Councilor McDaniel moved its approval. Seconded by Councilor Allen and
carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting,
with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent for the
meeting.
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THE FOLLOWING ADD-ON TEMPORARY STREET CLOSURE APPLICATION WAS ALSO
SUBMITTED BY CITY ATTORNEY FAY AND APPROVED BY THE
COUNCIL:______________________
Application of Beverly White to temporarily close 32nd Avenue from 8th
Street to 9th Street, on Saturday, July 28, 2007, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
in connection with a ?Block Party?.
Councilor Woodson moved its approval. Seconded by Councilor Allen and
carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting,
with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent for the
meeting.
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THE FOLLOWING FIVE NEW ZONING PETITIONS WERE SUBMITTED AND AN ORDINANCE
AND PUBLIC HEARING WAS CALLED FOR ON EACH BY COUNCILOR MCDANIEL:__________
Petition submitted by Robert M. McKenna to rezone 0.25 acre of property
located at 4617 Armour Road from RO (Residential-Office) to NC (Neighborhood
Commercial) zoning district. (Recommended for approval by both the Planning
Advisory Commission and the Planning Department.) (32-A-07-McKenna)
Petition submitted by Robert Lomax to rezone 1.937 acres of property
located at 466 Andrews Road from GC (General Commercial) to LMI (Light
Manufacturing / Industrial) zoning district. (Recommended for approval by both
the Planning Advisory Commission and the Planning Department.) (33-A-07-Lomax)
Petition submitted by Grady Rose to amend the text of the Unified
Development Ordinance to permit auto/truck brokers in the GC (General
Commercial), UPT (Uptown), LMI (Light Manufacturing / Industrial), and HMI
(Heavy Manufacturing / Industrial) zoning districts as a principal use.
(Recommended for approval by both the Planning Advisory Commission and the
Planning Department.) (34-A-07-Rose)
Petition submitted by the Planning Department to amend the text of the
Unified Development Ordinance to amend Chapter 8, Article 5, Flood Damage
Prevention. (Recommended for approval by both the Planning Advisory Commission
and the Planning Department.) (35-A-07-Planning Dept.)
Petition submitted by Kristi Barry to rezone 5.101 acres of property
located at 8200 Fortson Road from RE1 (Residential Estate 1) to GC (General
Commercial) zoning district. (Recommended for conditional approval by both the
Planning Advisory Commission and the Planning Department.) (36-CA-07-Barry)
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EXECUTIVE SESSION:
City Attorney Fay said we would need to have an executive session after
the meeting to discuss a litigation matter, as well as a personnel matter.
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WORK SESSION:
ROMANIA VISIT:
City Manager Hugley said that Councilor Woodson has asked for a
postponement of the presentation of the Romania visit, as she will do that at
the next Council Work Session.
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FINANCE UPDATE:
City Manager Hugley said Finance Director Pam Hodge would be doing an
abbreviated version of a finance update because we are at the end of the year.
He said Ms. Hodge indicated that she would not be able to do a report today
because of the end of the year.
Director of Pam Hodge introduced the new Revenue Division Manager who has
been with us for about three weeks now. She said Ms. Tina Coil came to us from
the State of Washington, Department of Revenue and has a degree in Accounting
and a Masters in Public Administration.
Ms. Coil said they are new to the Columbus area and she just loves the
southern hospitality. She said the community and the Finance Department have
welcomed her and she looks forward to her tenure here.
With respect to the Finance Update, Ms. Hodge said they are still closing
out the month of June, so this is a preliminary June report. She said when we
end the fiscal year, the auditors come in and they produce the financial
statements, so this is a preliminary report, as they have not closed out the
month of June.
She said in the General Fund, it is up 7.11% from where we were last year,
our revenues are at $139 million and we have not finished incurring those
revenues; so this is not a final number. She said the sewer fund is up 5% from
where we were at this same time last year and this is in comparison to where we
closed out June prior to the auditors coming in and we are still not to that
point at this time.
Ms. Hodge said the paving fund is up 6.91%, medical center almost 5%,
integrated waste is up 5.5%, E911 is up 2%, economic development up almost 6.5%
and these are comparisons over June of last year. She said the debt service
fund is up 346%, and as we talked about that last month, is from the money that
we received from the State on the Trade Center. She said the transportation
fund is down .87% from where we were last year, but this is a fund that has a
lot of funding from grants and we are doing those grant accrual from the
revenue that we expect to receive from those grants and she expect that number
to change before the end of the fiscal year.
She said parking management is up 3%, Trade Center up 2.84%, Bull Creek up
16.99%, and most of that is due to the fact that we are now running the snack
bar in-house, so that revenue is revenue that we receive directly. She said
Oxbow is up .43% and the Civic Center is down 1.23%, but as she mentioned
during the report last month, if you see a decrease in their revenue, you will
also see the same on their revenue side because it?s offset by the number of
events that they have.
Ms. Hodge said they would be coming back to the Council with the financial
report once they complete June, as well as will have the presentation by the
Auditors. She then answered questions from the members of the Council.
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ENTERPRISE ZONE 34 ACRES:
Director of the Planning Division Rick Jones said they are here this
morning to give to the Mayor & Council the understanding of what we are doing
with the 34 acres that we own in the Enterprise Zone.
He said Joe Riddle of the Community Reinvestment Department would provide a
history to the Council.
Mr. Joe Riddle then went into some details outlining the events of how we
got to this point with our Enterprise Zone/Urban Industrial Park.
He outlined the following information in his presentation:
History of Effort ? The Enterprise Zone
Enterprise Zone Funding
Enterprise Zone Purchases
Area of Activity
Available Property
Potential Uses
Issues that Need Further Discussion
Recommendations
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TAXICAB COMMISSION:
Lt. Julius Ross of the Columbus Police Department went into some details
regarding the Taxicab Commission and in his presentation, he provided an
overview of how the taxicab industry works, provided information regarding the
taxicab service on Ft. Benning, explained reasons for requiring 24-hour/7-day
dispatch service for taxicabs, examined the feasibility of home-based taxicab
companies.
He also discussed the issue of the fare rates displayed on the taxicabs,
provided information on the taxicab fee structure for Columbus and how much
revenue the city receives from the taxicab industry.
Lt. Ross also compared the taxicab fee structure and revenue for Columbus
to other jurisdictions, as well as provided copies of the taxicab ordinances of
Atlanta and Macon.
After he concluded his presentation, he then responded to various
questions of Mayor Wetherington and members of the Council.
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EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Regarding an earlier request of City Attorney Fay to go into an executive
session to discuss a matter of potential litigation and personnel issue,
Councilor Henderson made a motion to allow the Council to go into an executive
session. Seconded by Councilor Baker and carried unanimously by those six
members of Council present at the time, with Councilors Allen and McDaniel
being absent for this vote and Mayor Pro Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony
being absent from the meeting.
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At 11:11 a.m., the regular session was adjourned to allow the Council to
go into an executive session.
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At 12:10 p.m., the meeting was called back to order at which time Mayor
Wetherington pointed out that the Council did meet in an executive session to
discuss a matter of potential litigation and a personnel matter, but there were
no votes taken.
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With there being no other business for the Council to address, Councilor
Henderson then made a motion for adjournment. Seconded by Councilor Woodson and
carried unanimously by those eight members of Council present for this meeting,
with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Anthony being absent from this
meeting, with the time being 12:11 a.m.
Tiny B. Washington, CMC
Clerk of Council
The Council of Columbus, Georgia
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