MINUTES
COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA
WORK SESSION
MARCH 30, 2010
The regular monthly Work Session of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was
called to order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, March 30, 2010, on the Plaza Level of
the Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Honorable W.J. Wetherington, Mayor,
presiding.
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PRESENT: Present other that Mayor Wetherington were Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner
Pugh and Councilors Wayne Anthony, Mike Baker, Jerry ?Pops? Barnes, Glenn
Davis, Berry H. Henderson, Charles E. McDaniel Jr. and Evelyn Woodson. City
Manager Isaiah Hugley, City Attorney Clifton Fay, and Clerk of Council Tiny B.
Washington were also present. Councilor R. Gary Allen took his seat at the
Council table at 9:10 a.m. and Deputy Clerk of Council Sandra Davis took her
seat at the Council table at 9:03 a.m.
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ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Julius H. Hunter, Jr. were
absent.
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INVOCATION: Led by Reverend Jeff Murphy, Pastor of My Church.
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PLEDGE: Led by students from Britt David Elementary School.
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CONSENT AGENDA:
WITH MRS. REATHER HOLLOWELL STANDING AT THE COUNCIL TABLE, THE FOLLOWING
RESOLUTION WAS SUBMITTED AND READ IN ITS ENTIRETY BY COUNCILOR WOODSON AND
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL: ________________
A Resolution (107-10) ? Commending and congratulating Assistant Human
Resources Director Reather Hollowell for a job well done during Women's History
Month. Councilor Woodson moved the adoption of the resolution. Seconded by
Councilor Henderson and carried unanimously by those eight members of Council
present for this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh and Councilor Hunter
being absent.
Mayor Wetherington, Councilor Anthony and City Manager Hugley also thanked
Mrs. Hollowell for the great job that she does for the City of Columbus.
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UPDATE ON MAYOR PRO TEM TURNER PUGH:
Mayor Wetherington pointed out that Mayor Pro Tem Turner Pugh is in the
Doctor?s Hospital and she has been there since Friday. He said that she is
doing well; however, they don?t know exactly what?s wrong with her right now,
and she is hoping to go home within the next day or so. He said you might give
her a call and let her know that you are thinking about her and he knows that
she will appreciate that.
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THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION WAS ALSO SUBMITTED AND EXPLAINED BY CITY MANAGER
HUGLEYAND ADOPTED BY THE
COUNCIL:_____________________________________________________________
A Resolution (108-10) ? Authorizing the submission of an application and
if approved, the acceptance of a Judicial Council of Georgia Standing Committee
on Accountability Courts Grant for a dollar amount to be determined for the
operation of Juvenile Drug Court. Councilor Woodson moved the adoption of the
resolution. Seconded by Councilor McDaniel and carried unanimously by those
eight members of Council present for this meeting, with Mayor Pro Tem Turner
Pugh and Councilor Hunter being absent.
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WORK SESSION:
SENATE BILL 82 SCRAP METAL RECYCLERS:
City Manager Hugley said that Mr. Rick Caldwell has talked with Councilor
Henderson a few weeks ago, as well as stopped by to talk with him and also has
spoken with our public safety personnel. He said he is here today to talk with
us about the concerns as it relates to Scrap Metal Recyclers. He said the
concern has been in this community and in Georgia, as well as across the nation
where people are going in and stealing or taking scrap metal, pipes and etc. He
said it has been on our Legislative Agenda for a number of years, and there
have been a number of different pieces of legislation passed in the State of
Georgia trying to get at reducing criminal activity when it comes to stealing
and selling scrap metal. He said
Mr. Caldwell and one of his partners are here today to talk to us about what
they are doing to work with law enforcement across the State of Georgia, as
well as across state lines to reduce the opportunity for criminals to steal and
sell scrap metals.
Mr. Rick Caldwell, of Schnitzer Southeast, said he is here today to talk
about the seriousness of Copper theft, as well as to bring you up-to-date as to
what they are doing as a company, as well as an industry, not only statewide,
but throughout the country. He said two years ago Senator Seth Harp introduced
SB 203, and subsequently last year we had SB 82, which basically says that when
someone comes in to sell scrap metal at a scrap yard, we have to get their
current driver?s license, tag number, we have to identify the material and they
have to sign a statement on the material and we actually take a picture of the
material when we pay them. He said when we buy copper we can?t pay them in cash
for twenty-four hours; so, if there is anything that has been stolen hopefully
they will be notified within the 24 hours. He said they are able to pay them
with a check, which creates a paper trail, but the main thing about these two
bills is that it has increased the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony; so,
not only are they charged for the $100.00 worth of copper that they brought in,
which would only be a misdemeanor, but now they are also charged with the
willful damage that is inflicted on people?s property. He said now they feel
like they have some good legislation in place that has some teeth in it and now
it is their job to work cooperatively with law enforcement, Alabama Power,
Georgia Power, EMC and all those other companies.
Mr. Joe Buller, head of Security for Schnitzer Southeast then went into
details as to what they are doing in the Atlanta area. He pointed out that
prior to him being in charge of security for Schnitzer, he was a police officer
for Metro Atlanta; therefore, he has been on both sides of the issue and knows
the frustrations that the citizens out there have. He said approximately 2?
years ago, they created a metal task force, which started out as the Metro
Atlanta Metal Task Force and has grown to the Southeast Task Force. He said
Columbus is currently involved in it and said within the last two weeks, they
have sent out about four or five alerts from the Columbus area. He said these
alerts go out once a case number has been obtained from the Columbus Police
Department, it gives a description, the location of the theft and a description
of the items that was taken. He said it is sent out on an email alert, which
goes to other recyclers in the area, and other law enforcement jurisdictions.
He went into further details outlining several other things that they do
in trying to curtail this crime. He said they have offered this service to
Columbus, which is a free service. He said it is a grassroots effort and an
email list and they are just getting the word out. He said it has proven to
work in Atlanta, and said they have the same thing up in Macon as well.
After the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Buller then
responded to several questions of members of the Council.
One important thing that Mr. Buller said he wanted to point out is that in
Atlanta, what he did was to stop all foot traffic from coming into their
facility. He said anyone pushing a cart, buggy or walking in with a backpack,
they stop taking items from those individuals.
City Manager Hugley asked if there was a law in the Metro area of Atlanta
regarding grocery carts. Mr. Buller said there is a State law, as well as the
City of Atlanta has a city ordinance on the books. He said if there were
individuals pushing a grocery cart down the street at 2:00 a.m. in the morning,
he would have their officers to stop them to see if they had any identification
and to see what they had in those carts; the basic routine. He said what they
found was the majority of the individuals, you were able to charge them for
that cart, but said it was up to the Solicitor or the Prosecutor at that point
of time, as to whether or not they wanted to proceed with charging them. He
said for those individuals, who didn?t have any identification, they were
incarcerated. He said the biggest deterrent they ended up seeing was that once
they started enforcing the quality of life laws, the city ordinances, the
violation of pedestrian duties; and etc., with these thieves a lot of that
stopped. He said they stopped pushing grocery carts, but then they would start
pushing baby carriages on the sidewalk and stay out of the street so they
wouldn?t be violating the law because there is nothing in the law about pushing
baby carriages.
City Manager Hugley said the point he was trying to make is that they
don?t allow walk-up traffic, so they can?t walk up pushing a grocery cart full
of metal. Mr. Buller said that is correct. He said A t & T wires, Georgia
Power, they can?t take those items. He said if they don?t have a letter on file
on a company?s letterhead, they are not supposed to be taking those items.
Mr. Caldwell said they are meeting with the recyclers, as well as law
enforcement agencies to inform everybody to let them know what they can and
cannot do.
Mr. Buller and Mr. Caldwell then responded to further questions of members
of the Council.
Councilor Davis said we all understand that this is a serious problem and
very devastating and damaging and is a major problem here in our community. He
said he would ask the Administration to meet with the Administration in Phenix
City to sit down and discuss with them the issue as it relates to the problem
with the theft of scrap metal recyclers and property. Also, let?s talk to our
State Legislative Delegation and ask them to consider having some dialogue
pertaining to this matter with the Alabama Legislative Delegation.
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BOARD OF HISTORIC & ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW:
Mr. Will Burgin, Chairman of the Board of Historic & Architectural Review
said they are tasked under a city ordinance to review cases of historic
properties throughout the designated areas and as such, we maintain a set of
guidelines so that we can be consistent from committee to committee as their
membership does change; but said at the same time also communicate our best
practices, consistent findings to the constituents to the community so they can
know in advance the best practices and procedures before they get there.
He said the guidelines themselves from time to time needs to be updated
and said they are in deed in the case of having them updated most recently
because they have added new historic districts a few years ago back in 2000 and
said the guidelines have not been updated. He said primarily they spoke to the
historic districts, but did not include the new districts, such as the park
district. He said at the same time they also wanted to increase the readability
and understandability of the guidelines; and wanted them to flow more clearly
not only for their use; but also for the constituents, as we wanted to be able
to jump into sections and have them more clearly understood.
Mr. Burgin said the process that they underwent was that they applied for
and received a grant in order to have these guidelines revised. He said then
they formed a committee of BHAR members, City staff personnel, as well as other
concerned citizens in order to review the process. He said they then sent out
an RFP and had over twenty proposals to come back in for this project. He said
all of them were good candidates, but the company that was selected was a
company called Mac Tec. He said they really offered a fresh prospective on how
to get these guidelines communicated. He said there were two things that they
were looking for. (1) Web connectivity. He said as their website develops and
as citizens are more use to using the Internet, they wanted to have the ability
to be able to go to the Internet and go through the document easily with hot
links and find the sections that they needed to get to by clicking on various
buttons instead of having to read the entire text. He said at the same time,
they also wanted a user-friendly layout, those documents that you have today,
as well as the guidelines, the citizens will be able to get a copy from the
Planning Department; however, we wanted the printed document to be easy to
understand as well.
Mr. Burgin said in Chart 2.3, Requirement Design Chart, which is what
really set Mac Tec apart and what they really spent a lot of time and effort
getting into. He said this chart directs individuals to the exact location
within the document based upon their questions. He said whatever the particular
question is, it will show you in the guideline where you need to go, but it
also has an area whether or not you need to reference the UDO and whether or
not you need to get a city permit. He said it is a good way to connect the
existing city ordinances for doing this with construction work with the BHAR.
He said after this process which included the RFP and the review of the
candidates, as well as the review of the guidelines themselves, they conducted
two public hearings in order to get input and feedback. He said most the
feedback they had revolved around this chart and the majority of the citizens
that we heard from were really excited about it and they wanted to make sure
that every question was documented and everything was exactly right. He said
they did do several additions and edits in order to get those married like they
needed to do.
Mr. Burgin said they believe these design guidelines will allow the BHAR
to maintain consistency in their findings as the board does changes, as well as
it will communicate effectively to our constituents and citizens on what the
guidelines may be. He said it is his request that the Council acknowledge and
ratify these guidelines that the BHAR has adopted by a resolution. He said this
is not an ordinance, but they would like it to be adopted as a resolution to
acknowledge what they have done what they need to do, which is to communicate
their procedures and best practices to the constituents and that you have
received a copy.
City Manager Hugley said he knows that this document has a number of pages
to it, so over the next couple of weeks you might have the opportunity to go
over it and said we will come back to the Council at the next meeting to adopt
it as a resolution.
After the conclusion of his presentation, Mr. Burgin and Mr. Rick Jones of
the Planning Department then responded to questions of members of the Council.
Councilor Henderson said with respect to the guidelines, he knows that we
have to tow the line, but then asked from a process standpoint, he knows that
you are going to be really looking to work with the people in any way possible
to make sure that they can adequately explain what they are trying to do and
guide them in how they need to go about doing it.
Mr. Burgin said that is the case and most people who come before them find
them to be very flexible. He said what they are looking for in the process and
even in this description is for people to have a complete concept of what they
really want before they bring it in to us; that?s really what they want to get
to. He said as they have the capacity to do a materials description,
photographs or even some dimensions of what they are looking to do is what they
are after. He said so often the process is not complete to the extent that they
need it to be.
He said they are in the process of making a more formal process to send
out a postcard to announce that the guidelines are here and are on the website.
He said this would also give them a reminder that they are in a historic
district and there is a process. He said he thinks it will educate people on
the new guidelines, where to go and how to get them; but at the same time,
serve as a reminder for their purposes because they are frustrated equally when
people don?t know there is a process; so, we want to try and solve any problems
before anything has to come here to the Council.
After Mr. Burgin responded to further questions of the Council, this
concluded his presentation.
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FINANCE/STIMULUS MONTHLY UPDATE:
Director of Finance Pam Hodge came forward and provided an update on the
Local Option Sales Tax for the February 2010 monthly revenue report. She said
on the local option sales tax for the Police Department, 88 of the 100 police
officers have been hired at the end of February. She said on the revenues, they
have collected $13.5 million on the Public Safety 70% revenue and have spent
$9.2 million of the public safety allocation. She said for the Infrastructure
30%, they have collected $5.8 million and spent $276,000 on the Local Option
Sales Tax.
Finance Director Hodge then provided an overview of the operating funds
for the month of February, which are outlined below.
General Fund is down slightly from the same period of time as compared to
last year, at .17%; however, if the Continental Carbon Settlement the City
received last year were excluded, the General Fund would actually be up 3.5%
over last year. Sewer Fund up over 21%; and remember in this fund we changed
the allocation for the millage and this would represent the increase in this
particular fund. Paving Fund up 5.58%; Medical Center Fund up 7.31%; Integrated
Waste Fund down slightly at 1.48%; E911 up just over 2.00%; Economic
Development Authority Fund up 7.31%; Debt Service Fund up 71.37%; this
represents the bond issue where we did a refunding of 1997A Issue where
$4,360,000 was placed in the Debt Service Fund for the pay off and refinance
the 1997A Issue. She said the reason for the refinancing is that we are saving
over $750,000 for the remaining life of that Bond Issue over the next seven
years. She said that was because of the lower rate. Transportation Fund up
4.36%; Parking Management Fund down 12.89%; Trade Center Fund down slightly at
1.72%; Bull Creek Golf Course Fund down 9.7%; Oxbow Creek Golf Course Fund up
slightly at 9.2% and Civic Center Fund up 26.48%, and said you can see that
with the Civic Center they are tracking right on target with their expenditures
to revenues.
City Manager Hugley said we had someone on the public agenda a few weeks
ago that made some comments with respect to the Civic Center. He said he did
have Mr. Hester on last Tuesday scheduled to come and give you a brief update
because we are excited about the great things going on at the Civic Center and
how well they are doing. He said there was an insinuation that they were not
doing so good and then asked Ms. Hodge to repeat her comments regarding the
Civic Center.
Ms. Hodge stated that the Civic Center is up 26.48% from the same period
of time last year and their expenditures are tracking right on target with the
revenues that have been generated.
City Manager Hugley and Finance Director Hodge then responded to several
questions of members of the Council.
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Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin came forward to provide an update on the
Economic Stimulus and outlined the following information as highlighted below.
She said that we continue to provide Transparency and Disclosure and the
citizens can go to the following website to look at the various stimulus
projects that we have going on. She said one thing that they have included on
the spreadsheet is to show who is the project manager in the event there are
questions on any of the projects then individuals can contact the project
managers to respond to any questions that they have.
http://www.columbusga.org/Eco_Stimulus_Briefing.htm
Ms. Goodwin pointed out that we would be going from the monthly report to
a quarterly report as nothing changes from month to month.
She then proceeded with the update as outlined below.
Economic Stimulus Request:
City Request- $87,133,285 Confirmed Funding- $26,404,363
Not Approved- $30,854,232 Pending for Approval- $30,00,000
Mr. Rick Jones, Chief of the Planning Department then came forward to
provide an update on the Transportation Projects.
Transportation Projects
Transportation Projects Confirmed: $11 million
Veterans Parkway Streetscape $1.25 million
Rails to Trails (Phases 1 & 2) $1.25 million
14th Street Bridge $3.35 million
Mr. Jones said that we have selected a name for the new rails to trail
that we will bring to you and hope that you will approve. He said as you know
we had a contest asking participants to name the trail, to give us something
unique, something that will stand out for Columbus and we think that we have
accomplished that. He said we brought forth a committee of local citizens
together and asked them to look through the applications with us; they don?t
know who submitted the name, but they do have a listing of the names
themselves. He said we had approximately 275 suggestions to this request. He
said the committee selected the name of Columbus Fall Line Trace as the name
for the new trail. He said we hope that will meet with your approval and we
want to move forward with them and put the name up at the trail.
Mr. Jones then continued with outlining the Transportation Projects.
I-185@Victory Drive Gateway Improvement $2 million
Intelligent Transportation System $3.2 million
Columbus-Phenix City MPO $6.6 million
At the conclusion of his presentation, Director Jones then responded to
several questions of Councilor Woodson with respect to the I-185 Victory Drive
Gateway Improvement project.
Mr. Jones also responded to questions of Councilor Davis regarding the
Intersection of Double Churches Road and Veterans Parkway, as well as the
proposed Intelligent Transportation System.
Councilor Woodson requested additional information as it relates to the
I-185@ Victory Drive Project. She said once the road construction is completed
on I-185 going towards Fort Benning, she would like for us to
make sure that the street signs are large enough and clearly identified.
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SOUTH LUMPKIN STREETSCAPES:
Councilor Woodson said she would like for the City Manager, Mr. Jones as
well as herself to sit down and look at setting up some meetings to start
addressing South Lumpkin Road Streetscapes in South Columbus.
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Mrs. Saundra Hunter then came forward and presented the Metra Transit
Projects that have been approved with Stimulus funding. She said Metra has a
contract with the Federal Transit Administration for approximately $2.7 million
and 92% of those funds will be spent on buses. She pointed out that there is a
sample of the buses that they will be purchasing, which is included in the
slide presentation. She said they would also be purchasing three (3)
replacement trolleys; which are low-floor clean diesel trolley bases. She said
the low-floors are ADA accessible for wheelchairs and has a ramp that comes
out. She said clean diesel means that they are using the cleanest fuel out
there and we have been using the clean diesel for three years now. She said it
is a low surfer and also meets the EPA guidelines. She said they would be
contracting for four (4) Gilley buses; which are also replacement buses to
their fleet; which is the standard 35-feet bus and is also a low-floor clean
diesel bus that meets EPA and ADA guidelines.
She said 92% of their funding, which is approximately $2.5 million will be
spent on replacement buses. She said they replace our buses based on FTA
guidelines, which is twelve years or 500,000 miles. She said these are all
replacement buses not additional buses. She said FTA requires that they spend
1% of their stimulus funds on security and/or enhancements; therefore, they are
going to spend 3% of their money on that. She said they have security cameras
on the buses that provide security for the staff, as well as the passengers.
She said 1% of their funds are required to be spent on enhancement projects and
said the part of enhancement that they will spend their money on will be
benches, shelters and more bus stop signs, as well as what is called an
information board, which will be at the transfer center for the customers.
Deputy City Manager Goodwin said Mr. Howard Pendleton, Director of
Workforce Investment was unable to be present with us today, but said that $1.9
million has been allocated to the Youth & Adult Programs. She said the summer
youth program has taken place for last year, but said the other two programs as
outlined below are also a part of the Workforce Investment Act Program.
Workforce Investment Act Confirmed
Youth Program (completed) $923,659
Adult Job Training $384,713
Dislocated Workers $593,838
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Mr. Joe Riddle of the Community Development Department came forward and
outlined the projects for the Community Development Block Grant, as outlined
below:
CDBG-R Confirmed Projects:
Neighborhood Revitalization: $484,489
Storm Drain Rehab ? South Lawyers Lane
Storm Drain Rehab (2500 feet of pipes, Priority One pipe)
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
Confirmed: $740,907
EECBG Confirmed Projects: $1.8 million
Intelligent Transportation System
Air Quality Alliance
Energy Audit Program
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program: $740,907
Mr. Riddle responded to questions of Councilors McDaniel and Anthony
regarding the Homeless Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing Program, as well as the
guidelines for the rental assistance program.
Deputy City Manager Goodwin highlighted those programs that are included
in the grant funding.
GA Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Projects (JAG Grant) Confirmed:
Victim Witness Assistance $ 40,000
2 Contractual Victim Advocates Hired- $12,730
Circuit-wide grant for Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit
$267,000
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Confirmed:
Court Related Activities $666,990
$973,990
Court Related Activities
$666,990
Juvenile Drug Court
Adult Drug Court
Mental Health Court
Marshal?s Office
Sheriff?s Office
Police Department
Spent to
Date: $404,744.38
Balance $262,245.52
Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin then responded to questions of the
Councilor Woodson regarding benches for the Historic District. She pointed out
that the Historic District would also be purchasing additional benches as well.
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INTEGRATED WASTE, GARBAGE FEE:
Deputy City Manager Goodwin said we have had this discussion on the
Integrated Waste Fund since the Strategic Action Planning Session back in
February 2008 when you asked us to put something together and present it to you
on that fund. She said we had discussed it prior to that, but most recently the
February 2008 up until the last three public meetings that we had and the last
one being March 15, 2010 of this year. She said we have had a lot of
discussions and have taken it to the public and heard from them as well.
She then came forward and gave an update on the Integrated Waste, Garbage
Fees, giving an overview of what was presented to those in attendance at the
public hearings, as well as the survey results which included the following
information.
Overview - Collection
Current residential rate $14 / month last changed 2001
Twice weekly service for household waste collection
Once weekly service recycling, yard waste, bulk waste collection
Ms. Goodwin said since 2002 the revenues for this fund has increase a
little over 5% while the expenses have increased well over 50%. She said during
the meetings, they provided copies of the reduced rate applications and said
individuals of low income can receive up to 25% reduction in their garbage fee
if they meet the poverty guidelines that are established by the U. S.
Department of Health & Human Services.
She said at those meetings, they also provided them with a pamphlet of
frequently asked questions, which includes a lot of information. She said it
will also be posted on the City?s website so they can have their questions
answered.
Ms. Goodwin said the $14.00 per month fee also takes care of and supports
three landfills, 1 Putrescible (household) and 2 Inert, Oxbow Meadows and
Granite Bluff. It also includes the maintenance and monitoring of the Schatulga
Road Landfill, as well as the maintenance and post closure care of the Wilson
Camp Landfill.
BRAC Growth:
30,000 more citizens - 35 mile radius
65% or 19,500 estimated to live in Muscogee County
September 15, 2011 Armor School move complete
Increase Population = Increased Services = Added Expense
Director of Finance Pam Hodge then came forward and presented the update of the
financial aspects of the presentation and pointed out what information was
presented to those citizens who were in attendance at the public meetings held.
She said what they went through at the public hearings was the basic
financial information that has been presented to the Council in the past. She
said they talked about the Enterprise Fund and how we became an Enterprise Fund
for Integrated Waste. She said in 1997, the Georgia General Assembly passed HB
491, which called for the Department of Community Affairs to establish a
uniform chart of accounts and required all municipalities to adopt that chart
of account, which is what made the integrated waste fund to become an
Enterprise Fund. She said that took place in fiscal year 2001. She then
highlighted the following information.
Integrated Waste Fund Financials:
Enterprise Fund
Account for self-sustaining, business type activities
Funded by user charges
Revenue generated = 90% Residential
$14/month since 2001
Integrated Waste Fund ? Components of the Rate
Current Funding:
Daily Operations for Waste Collection, Recycling Collection, Landfill
Operations and Recycling Center
Future Funding:
Landfill Closure/Post Closure, Composting Center, Future Planning for Disposal
Fleet ?
Current Condition:
Garbage Trucks =32 (Life = 5 to 7 yrs)
Yard Waste Trucks = 16 (Life = 5 to 7 yrs)
Grab All Trucks = 12 (Life = 5 to 7 yrs)
Recycling Trucks = 10 (Life 7 to 8 yrs)
TOTAL Trucks = 70
Fleet ?
Current Condition
1 to 4 years old = 20 trucks
5 to 9 years old = 35 trucks
10 to 15 years old = 15 trucks
Current Condition of the Integrated Waste Fund
As of June 30, 2009 = ($2.4 million)
Sufficient revenue has not been generated to cover the liabilities
Ms. Hodge said we have 23 years left on the Schatulga Road landfill to
continue to monitor that landfill, which has been closed now for seven years.
She said at the Pine Grove Landfill, we have used up 23% as of June 30, 2009;
and at that time the liability was $7.3 million; meaning that the cost to do
the 30 years of post closure/closure for that landfill, the percentage of that,
which is the percentage that we have used; we should have set aside $7.3
million. She said as of June 30, 2009, we had $4.9 million set aside, which is
where that deficit for the Integrated Waste fund comes from.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Postpone vehicle and equipment replacement or fund from General Fund
FY10, purchased 2 garbage trucks from the General Fund
Postpone funding the landfill closure/post closure liability
Postpone setting aside funds for future disposal
OPTIONS ?
Monthly Residential Rates ? Currently $14
Ms. Hodge said what they provided to the citizens that attended the public
hearings is some options to look at the financial aspects of the Integrated
Waste Fund. She then went into some details in outlining the options that was
presented during the public hearings.
Councilor McDaniel said you subsidize the golf courses, as well as the
ambulance fees, but you don?t want to subsidize the garbage fee.
In response to some concerns expressed by Councilor McDaniel, City Manager
Hugley said his job is to provide you with the facts with the financial status
of any fund and then it is in the hands of the policy makers. He said what we
are doing today is to provide you with the facts and then we will be guided by
your policy decisions. He said we would do that not only with the garbage fees,
but the golf course and etc.
Councilor McDaniel said that we are in the business of service and then
asked City Manager Hugley to provide a list of all the funds that we currently
subsidize.
Councilor Henderson said he would like for the staff to provide the
projections out to year ten or beyond to show what the deficit or surplus would
be in ten years if we followed any one of the recommendations as submitted.
Also, provide the impact of taking either a $4 or $5 increase immediately,
which would accrue those funds much sooner for the first 2 to 3 years, instead
of phasing in $1 for the next few years; and see what kind of impact that would
be.
Director of Finance Hodge said they have done the projections passed year
five and they can provide that information to the Council.
In concluding the presentation, Deputy City Manager Goodwin pointed out
that at the conclusion of the presentation during the public hearing, said they
provided a survey to those in attendance and then highlighted the five survey
questions that was included on the survey. She said there were about 30
individuals who participated in the survey and there were 36 people in
attendance at the public meeting. She also provided the survey results from
those participants, as well as cost of living comparisons of various items from
2001 to today?s cost.
City Manager Hugley then offered to answer any questions of members of the
Council and stated that we are here seeking guidance from the policy makers.
There was additional information requested by members of the Council as
detailed below.
Councilor Anthony said he would like for the staff to provide a 10-year
projection. Also, if you pull out the capital expenditures in the Integrated
Waste fund, and it was funded separately, what would our projections be? Have
the staff to see how our garbage fee compares to other cities comparable to our
size.
Councilor Woodson said she would like for the staff to consider including
in the water bill, the survey that was presented at the public hearing on the
proposed garbage fee increase and ask the customers to send back a response to
us. Also, have the staff to look at putting the survey out on the City?s
website.
City Manager Hugley said we would check with the Columbus Water Works to
see if they can put the survey in a mailer that goes out with the water bill.
He said we can certainly put it out on our website.
He then went into some details in giving some clarification with respect
to the proposed additional $1 increase, as requested by Councilor Woodson.
Councilor Allen said we are all in agreement that we would like to see the
Incinerator Project implemented as soon as possible and said he would like for
the staff to make a presentation during a Council Work Session and provide a
timeline on the incinerator project and present some numbers and advise as to
when can we expect to see this project come online. He said he would really
like to see this moved up on the front burner because this would really save us
from having to purchase land for another landfill at some point, as well as
save our existing landfill and offset the cost by producing energy. He said he
thinks the Council, as a whole would support us moving this up and taking the
steps to get this implemented quickly. He said he would like for us to prepare
something to come back as quickly as possible so that we can get this going.
City Manager Hugley said we are working hard on this everyday, but said
it is bigger than Columbus and is going to take a regional effort. He said you
have to have the quality of tonnage of garbage.
Deputy City Manager Arrington said we have been working over a
couple of years looking at waste-to-energy as an option for our community and
included in that was a partnership with Fort Benning where they had a study
conducted by Pacific Northwest Labs to look at not only waste to energy
options, but to look at a number of other renewable energy options for our
community. He said that process is ongoing and we are very close now as far as
our sustainability center project with going out for an RFP for an
environmental engineering firm to come in to master plan the site out there and
to work with us on maximizing all the opportunities that are available to our
community, to include the gas to energy option, alternative fuel development
with inert materials and obviously waste-to-energy. He said waste-to-energy, as
a project is something that goes beyond just Columbus. He said the tonnage that
we generate today is not enough to fully support the type of facilities and
plants that are in the industry today. He said what we are looking at is more
of a regional project and in discussions with Fort Benning and the Valley
Partnership, we are hopeful that within the course of the next year we are able
to bring back to the Council a proposal for us to move forward on that.
He said as the City Manager has stated that even on the fast track, it is
still several years down the road. He said generally we are talking about five
years, give or take a few because of the permitting requirements for this type
of facility. He said obviously there are environmental impacts and considering
that our community is so close to non-attainment, we have to be very concerned
about the technology that is used in this type of facility.
He said we are not talking about an incinerator, but we are talking about
technology that takes all of the bad elements of the combustion process and
eliminates those through filters and through increased temperatures. He said we
don?t want to bring forward to this Council any recommendation to do anything
that would adversely impact the local environment of our community. He said
that is where we are heading and we believe that within the next year, we will
be able to bring back a proposal and a recommendation that will be the best fit
for our community.
City Manager Hugley said the staff is here to share the facts with you and
to try to map out a plan that sustains integrated waste going forward. He said
we want to provide you with as much information as we possibly can because we
know that you have to deal with constituents. He said we are trying to provide
you with information so that you can make an informed decision, and that is all
we are doing. He said we are not trying to force a garbage rate increase on the
citizens, because he cares about the citizens as much as anybody. He said when
you look at the numbers it is strictly a business decision.
He then recapped on the questions and information that he has heard from
members of the Council thus far and said we will provide that information to
you as requested. He said at that point, we would need the next steps. He said
we have been talking about this since February 2008 and there has been six
times that we have come before you and talked about this; and said now we are
coming to a point to do something. He said if it is do nothing, then we need to
start looking at what we can cut back in the general fund-to-fund integrated
waste; at least at that point we have a decision and we know what we need to
do. He said if that is what we need to do, he is prepared to do that. He said
we will bring you the information, but said we need some direction from this
Council.
Continued discussions developed on this subject, with several members of
Council expressing further views with regards to this subject, after which
additional information was requested as listed below.
Councilor Henderson also asked the staff to provide a cost breakdown of
the operating expenses that includes a scheduled vehicle replacement; and how
that would impact the numbers presented. With respect to the recycling
program, Councilor Henderson asked the staff to consider going ahead and moving
forward with a mandatory recycling program.
City Manager Hugley said he would recommend $2.00 per month increase for
five years, which would be $24.00 a year. He said he would come back to the
Council in year four and review the matter with a report back to the Mayor &
Council for further recommendations in year six. He said we would see where we
are with all the things that we have talked about. He said with all the things
that you saw, we would still have a deficit. He said we are also ready to go to
mandatory recycling.
Councilor McDaniel said when the staff gets the rates of what other cities
are paying for garbage fees, he would ask that we get those rates from
consolidated governments, as well as Jacksonville, Florida and Athens, Georgia.
Councilor Allen said when the staff brings back the numbers on recycling,
instead of a mandatory recycling program, let?s look at considering some type
of incentive program with respect to recycling; whereby, if residents are
participating in the recycling program maybe they can get some kind of a
discount.
After more than thirty minutes of discussion on this subject, Mayor
Wetherington expressed his comments regarding this issue, saying that if we
don?t look at this issue, he thinks that we may have to cut services and may
not be able to offer the services that we are offering now. He said as the
Mayor, he feels like he is obligated to support the management team that has
been looking at this matter. He said he would hope that maybe if the Council
would agree to the $2.00 per month increase, it wouldn?t take care of the
deficit, but it would close the gap a little. He said he thinks this is a
decision that is going to affect this government in a significant way if we
don?t step up and address this issue. This discussion was then concluded.
City Manager Hugley said we would bring back the information as requested
by the Council.
*** *** ***
CITY SERVICE CENTER COMPLEX PROJECT UPDATE:
Deputy City Manager David Arrington came forward and gave a twenty-five
minute presentation and update on the City Service Center Complex and outlined
the following information.
Overview
Project Concept
Funding Sources
Property Acquisition
Design Approach
Space Utilization Study
Recommendation
City Service Center
A public-governmental facility
Primary designed for customer convenience
Central location (site to be determined)
Easily accessible
Ample parking
It would house such offices as:
The Tax Commissioner?s Office
The Tax Assessor?s Office
A One-Stop Small Business Office
The Office of Elections and Registration
Police Office
Infrastructure Improvements
Infrastructure programs that require long-term financing with bonds:
Road improvements
Flood abatement projects
Other community and infrastructure projects such as
Citizens Service Center*
Natatorium*
Ice rink*
*Additional funding required to complete projects
Project Funding Sources
Deputy City Manager Arrington highlights the funding sources for this
project.
Project: 1999
2008 Project
SPLOST LOST:
Budget
City Service Center - $3,000,000 $9,5000,000 $12,500,000
Center City Pool - $3, 000,000 $7,5000,000
$10,5000,000
Parking Garage
$9,5000,000 $9,5000,000
Total
Budget $32,5000,000
Property Acquisition
Deputy City Manager Arrington said back in 2000, we acquired 2.5 acres
from the initial land allocation agreement with the Muscgoee County School
District.
In 2007, there was a land swap with the Muscogee County School District Mildred
Terry & Firestone for 3.5 acres; and in 2010 there was a land swap with the
Muscogee County School District for the Carmike site for 3.0 acres, with a
total property of 9 acres for site development.
Design Approach
Architects Engaged- 2WR, Hecht Burdeshaw
Space Study ? Urban Collage
Phase I, Relocation to City Service Center
Tax Commissioner, Tax Assessor, Elections, Revenue Division, Citizen Service
Center, Council Chambers, Human Resources, CCTV, Police Precinct, Assistant
City Manager ? Operation.
Phase II, Reallocation of vacated space at Government Center
He said Mr. Tim Jensen with Hecht Burdeshaw would serve as the lead
architect on this project, along with Mr. Harry Westcott who will serve as the
Project Manager for the city on this project.
Deputy City Manager Arrington pointed out that the space study itself
included a number of elements, as the consultants came in and met with the
management team with the government and goal setting session; then followed up
with a questionnaire to the departments affected looking at their needs from a
space standpoint, process flow standpoint and then followed up by interviews
and site visits. He said part of that process, the consultants asked the
departments what are they looking for out of the city service center and some
of the feedback that they were given, the departments wanted it to be customer
friendly, functional, energy efficient, high tech, convenient to the
government, accessible, welcoming, compatibility with its surroundings,
stately, and to look like a civic building. He said he thinks that all of this
is consistent with the original scope of the 1999 Local Option Sales Tax.
He said as part of the process the consultant developed a number of site
facility concepts, which there are two represented here today. He said there
were several areas. He said on our six acres, there are four building
footprints reflected and was a process conducted early last year. He said we
asked them to look at the parking garage, the natatorium and the city service
center, as well as to provide us with the ability to expand on that site. He
said we wanted to be a little forward thinking and not utilized this six acres
site and not provides the government with some opportunity with further
expansion. He said at that time we were looking at doing it with a separate
building on the site and just having that portion of our property undeveloped
until we got ready to develop it. He said but going back as far back as early
last year, we were looking at planning for the growth in the community and the
growth and the needs of this government for office space.
He said that is consistent with the approach that was taken by the Mayor
and Council and this government back in the late 60 & 70 when this building was
built. He said when this building was built it was built to accommodate the
office needs that existed at that time, but also there were at least three r
floors that were left vacant, that was only built out as a shell so those
additional future growth needs could be met without having to construct a new
facility. He said that was some forward thinking by the leaders at that time
and it has served this government well.
Deputy City Manager Arrington then highlighted the existing personnel and
square footage of those offices that are proposed to be moved, as well as the
future needs from a personnel and square footage standpoint. He said there are
other service type functions that are included in this space study to include a
police precinct, building security, CCG-TV and having some accommodations for a
small Emergency Operation Center in the site.
He said based on this assessment and all the information gathered, they are
now bringing forth the following two options for construction as outlined
below.
Construction Options
Option 1 ? Design and construct a 2-story building with an approximately 63,000
gross sq. ft.
Meets current space requirements
Minimal space for future growth, no space for additional government
departments.
Option 2 - Design and construct 3-story building of approximately 96,000 gross
sq. ft. Develop 1st and 2nd floor, 3rd floor to remain as shell for future
growth.
Meets current space requirements
Provides undeveloped space to accommodate future growth.
City Manager Hugley said what Deputy City Manager Arrington is providing
is the scope of the project that was shared during the 1999 Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax, where we talked about moving high traffic volume
offices to this location. He said what he presented, with Option 1 & Option 2
only addresses that aspect of the study. He said we have a second portion that
deals with the supplemental study with respect to other offices moving as well.
Councilor Henderson expressed concerns with the growth of city government.
He also pointed out that he feels that the core of governmental city functions
should remain in the downtown area. He said he would like to be provided with
information as to what available space will be created at the Government Center
once those offices that are proposed to be move to the Citizens Service
Center.
Deputy City Manager Arrington then responded to those many concerns
expressed by Councilor Henderson.
Mayor Wetherington expressed his comments with adding an additional floor
on the Citizens Service Center. He said he has received some telephone calls
expressing concerns of moving a majority of the offices to the Citizens Service
Center. He said there has been concerns expressed with respect to all of the
work that has been done downtown with the Streetscapes and other work; and then
have these people move. He said he agrees that the people who are going to
vacate this building and go to the Citizens Service Center there will be a lot
of available space left in this building. He said when we first started talking
about the Citizens Service building it has doubled from what we originally said
it would cost. He said we are also talking about a facelift on the entrance of
this current building and spending millions of dollars. He said he is worried
about how we are spending this money so fast; and he thinks it is going to be
hard for the citizens to digest. He said it is going to be a great center and
will be an honor to name it after the former Mayor J. R. Allen, but he just
don?t see the growth of government that fast where we will need another floor
right off. He said he thinks that we are talking about a lot more than what
will come out of this move. He said we didn?t really start talking about a
third floor until Councilor McDaniel asked about the consideration of the Mayor
& City Manager and other offices moving to the Citizens Service Center. He said
he thinks that the Mayor & City Manager, City Attorney?s Office should be in
the Courthouse, which is usually downtown.
After further discussion on this matter, City Manager Hugley responded to
questions of the Mayor & Council. He said everything that we have talked about
only deals with the 1999 Special Purpose Local Option Sales tax. He said we do
have a presentation on the supplement study. He said we have two options and at
some point we are going to need to give the architects some direction so that
they can start doing some drawings and prepare to move that facility forward.
He then highlighted each of the options as outlined above.
Councilor Anthony said he would ask the City Manager to look at building
the third floor out and let?s consider possibly having a third option to be
used to lease or rent out office space for incoming revenues.
Several members of the Council then expressed their views regarding this
subject and some concerns as to some of the various departments that will or
will not be moving to the City Service Center.
City Manager Hugley in responding to further questions of the Council said
that we need to move that site along and said it can?t move until they draw
something and get it ready, as well as prepare some bid documents. He said the
sooner the better.
Councilor Davis said the funding is in place and he feels that we need to
go ahead and give the architect some guidance.
After still further discussions on this matter, with City Manager Hugley
and Deputy City Manager Arrington responding to further questions of the
Council, the architect who was present in the audience then came forward to
address the Council.
Mr. Tim Jensen, lead architect with Hecht, Burdeshaw, Johnson & Kidd came forward and said the number of stories is semantics; it?s the added area.
He said they would tell any client if they think that they will never ever use
this space for anything; then you shouldn?t do it. He said if you think it
could be useful down the road for growth; whether anticipated or not, the idea
of it is to leverage this process that we will go through for change to take
advantage of the economy we are in for best pricing and the sizing of the
project that would also lend itself to better pricing; and would allow them to
look at that as an alternative during the course of the project. He said if
they could come in at a budget that made it a wise investment for the city,
then to take advantage of that opportunity that would all be best on the cost.
He said what the cost will be is yet to be seen, but the range is very
fluent. He said it could be $ 1 - $2 million, which is very loose at this
point; however, it could be less than that. He said it is something that we can
know before going forward. He said the thought is that it would be cheap space
and an easy way to expand if you felt like you would ever need it; which is a
decision that the Council has to make.
Councilor Allen said as we are contemplating this matter, he would like
for the City Manager to bring back a presentation on something with respect to
local preference for construction projects. He said he would hate for us to
bid this out and it goes to someone out-of-town.
City Manager Hugley said the State law is clear with regards to
construction project and what he wanted Deputy City Manager Arrington to tell
you on today that will work to assist us in how the money is spent locally. He
said we would come back and give you a presentation on it later; he said he
thinks this will help.
Deputy City Manager Arrington said based on the discussions with our
Project Manager and Design Team, it is going to be our recommendation that we
proceed forward with a construction manager/general contractor at-risk approach
to this project. He said what that would allow us to do is to get the
contractor on board early to work with the design team and give us more
flexibility in looking at local sub-contractors and local work to be awarded.
He said the biggest thing is that it gets the contractor and design team
together early on in the project and we feel like we will end up getting a
better project in the end.
City Manager Hugley said we will bring back a presentation to explain what
CM At-risk means, but he thinks it will address several of the Council members
as well as the Mayor?s concerns. He said because State law is very clear with
respect to construction contracts, this is probably the better way to go. He
said at some point, we can do a presentation, but said we need to go ahead and
get the architects working.
Councilor Henderson said with respect to local preference, he knows that
State law precludes us from giving any kind of percentage of local preference,
but doesn?t it allow us the latitude, because we require DBE; can we require
percentage of local participation on both materials and sub-contractors.
Deputy City Manager Arrington said that is something that we are looking
at and we think that we have greater flexibility to do something like that with
the CM At-risk and we would have more input with that.
City Manager Hugley said we think that is the best approach because this
is one of the largest projects that we will have in many years to come.
Deputy City Manager Arrington then went into the Supplemental Study as
outlined below.
Supplemental Study
Relocate all General Government Offices from Government Center to City Service
Center Building.
Additional offices to include Mayor, City Manager, City Attorney, Clerk of
Council, and Finance.
Findings ?
Additional 32,500 sq. ft. required
Cost prohibitive to move Information Technology
Approximate costs $5-$6 million
Additional costs not in current project budget
Recommendation
Proceed with Option 2 to design and construct a 3-story building of
approximately 96,000 sq. ft. Develop 1st and 2nd floor to meet current space
needs as identified in Space Utilization Study and construct 3rd floor as a
shell to accommodate future growth.
Meets original scope as outlined in 1999 SPLOST.
Is consistent with development plan for the original Government Center to
prepare for future growth.
We believe it can be accomplished within the project budget.
After more than forty-five minutes of discussion on this matter, with City
Manager Hugley and Deputy City Manager Arrington responding to further
questions of the members of Council, this matter was concluded.
*** *** ***
LEO LEWIS:
Councilor Henderson said that we had passed a resolution honoring
Mr. Leo Lewis and said he passed away this past weekend and he would like to go
ahead and request a resolution to send to the Board of Honor for them to
officially request them to consider renaming one of the soccer fields in his
honor.
*** *** ***
With there being no additional business for the Council to discuss, Mayor
Wetherington then entertained a motion for adjournment. Councilor Allen so
moved. 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 Hunter being absent for the meeting, with the time being 12:45 p.m.
Tiny B. Washington, CMC
Clerk of Council
The Council of Columbus, Georgia
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