Columbus, Georgia

Georgia's First Consolidated Government

Post Office Box 1340
Columbus, Georgia, 31902-1340
(706) 653-4013
fax (706) 653-4016

Council Members

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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