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REGULAR CITY OF
DAHLONEGA COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 3, 2006
CALL TO ORDER:
The Dahlonega City Council met
in regular session at City Hall on April 3, 2006. Council members present were
Michael Clemons, Gerald Lord, Sam Norton, Terry Peters, and Bill Scott. Mayor
Gary McCullough called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and called on Ralph
Prescott to open the meeting with prayer. Mayor McCullough requested everyone
to stand for the Pledge to the American Flag.
PUBLIC HEARING-ZONING:
A public hearing was conducted
by City Attorney Doug Parks concerning zoning of newly annexed properties. The
Dahlonega Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that 5.70 acres owned by
Wyman Walden located on Highway 19 North be zoned as B2 and 0.50 adjoining acres
as R2. They also recommended that 2.25 acres owned by Larry Banister and
located on Highway 19 North be zoned as B2. Mr. Parks asked for comments from
the public. Robert Bridges recommended that the properties be zoned as B1 which
would be a more restrictive zoning classification. No other comments were made
from citizens. No comments were made by the council. A motion was made by
Michael Clemons to approve the recommendations of the Dahlonega Planning and
Zoning Commission. This motion was seconded by Bill Scott and approved by all
members present.
MINUTE APPROVAL:
A motion was made by Michael
Clemons to approve the minutes of the council meetings held during March,
2006. This motion was seconded by Gerald Lord and approved by all members
present.
CITIZENS:
Ralph Prescott spoke
representing residents of Park Street. Mr. Prescott distributed a brochure
concerning Park Street that was printed by the Lumpkin County Historical
Society. Residents of Park Street are opposed to the proposed land swap which
would result in the relocation of the BB & T Bank to the current site of the
NGCSU Continuing Education Center located on Park Street. Mayor McCullough
advised that BB & T would be required to submit an application for rezoning and
an application has not yet been submitted. Mr. Prescott was requested to
submit an application from residents concerning their proposal for rezoning the
street to Historical Residential.
Tour de Georgia has requested a
one day Special Event Permit for April 21, 2006. This permit would be for
complimentary beer and wine which will be confined to the hospitality tent
located in the BB & T parking lot. City Attorney Doug Parks advised that he
recommends approval of the permit and also recommends no fee for the permit. A
motion was made by Sam Norton to approve this recommendation. The motion was
seconded by Terry Peters and approved by the following vote count: Voting for
the motion were Norton, Peters, Lord and Clemons. Bill Scott voted against the
motion.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Mayor McCullough advised that
reports have been received from the Dahlonega Planning and Code Enforcement
Departments for the month of March, 2006. Susan Newell, Chairman of the
Dahlonega Historical Preservation Commission, advised that the commission is
unanimously opposed to the relocation of BB & T Bank to Park Street. The
commission met on March 15 and approved exterior alteration applications for
Back Porch Oyster Bar and Crimson Moon. They also approved sign application for
Rick’s at the Crimson Moon and Kibitzer’s Chess. Dale Steenbergen, Chairman
of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce, advised that the Chamber
has been able to increase their staffing from four full time positions to five
full time positions and five part-time positions to six part time positions.
Mr. Steenbergen advised that the chamber staff is working hard to improve
service. The advertising budget has been increased and the staff has been able
to increase tourism services which maintaining a cash reserve of $40,000. A
copy of the budget is to be submitted to the council. Mr. Steenbergen also
reported that tourism is up approximately twenty percent within one year and
chamber membership is up from 380 members to 532. Mr. Steenbergen thanked
Mayor McCullough and council members who volunteered to participate in the clean
up campaign which was held Saturday, April 1.
SECOND READING Ordinance
2006-3:
A motion was made by Bill Scott
to approve the second reading of Ordinance 2006-3-Georgia State Construction
Codes. This motion was seconded by Michael Clemons and approved by all members
present.
FIRST READING ORDINANCE
2006-4:
A motion was made by Michael
Clemons to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2006-4-Georgia Power Franchise
Agreement. This motion was seconded by Sam Norton. City Attorney Doug Parks
advised that changes will be made to the ordinance before the second reading.
Georgia Power and Georgia Municipal Association have been working on this
ordinance for the past year. Georgia Power will agree to move poles at no cost
to the city when they are being relocated due to public works projects. Gerald
Lord advised that he does not agree with a twenty-five year agreement. Mayor
McCullough advised that the present agreement with Georgia Power is a
thirty-five year agreement. Georgia Power has also requested that each city
share their capital improvement plans to assist them with their budget
process. The motion to approve the first reading of the ordinance was
approved by all members present.
FIRST READING AMENDMENT
3-ORDINANCE 2005-2:
City Attorney Doug Parks
recommended that the first reading of Amendment 3 to Ordinance 2005-2 be
approved to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages of any kind in pitchers or
similar containers to ensure that alcoholic beverages purchased are consumed
only by the purchaser. Mr. Parks advised that a lot of other cities have
approved this regulation especially college towns. A motion was made by Bill
Scott to approve the ordinance amendment. The motion was seconded by Gerald
Lord. Sam Norton advised that this is an enforcement issue and the
prohibition of pitchers will not stop the problems. Michael Clemons also agreed
that we have an underage drinking problem but he agreed that prohibiting
pitchers will not solve the problem. Restaurant owners recommended that patrons
be prosecuted for using fake ID’s and that patrons who provide alcohol to
underage persons be prosecuted. Rebecca Merry stated that it is not fair to
restaurant owners to prohibit pitchers as a bottle of wine can also be shared by
underage persons. The motion was denied by the following vote count: Voting
for the motion were Terry Peters and Bill Scott. Michael Clemons, Sam Norton
and Gerald Lord voted against the motion.
CITY MANAGER’S COMMENTS:
Bill Lewis advised that he will
be attending the Georgia City Council Managers Conference April 5-7. He also
advised that progress is being made in remodeling the city hall building.
Preliminary drawings have been received from the architect including a customer
service area in front of the present administrative offices. This will also
provide security to all offices. Portable office space will be added to the
side of the building. Cost estimates will be submitted next month.
CITY COUNCIL’S COMMENTS:
Hal Williams advised that a
family was almost hit by a speeding automobile crossing at the crosswalk in
front of the BB & T Bank parking lot. Mr. Williams advised that this is an
ongoing problem. He recommended that two parking spots adjacent to the Holly
Theatre be designated as a loading zone. Bill Lewis advised that staff will
consult with DOT authorities concerning this matter. Mayor McCullough
recommended that Sheriff McClure be advised of events at the Holly and asked to
provide extra enforcement. Bill Scott advised that speeding is a problem all
day long not just an issue related to events at the Holly. Bill Lewis advised
that the city has agreed to pay for one half the cost of a speed recording
machine.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS:
Mayor McCullough advised that
the city is working hard to get a traffic light installed at the Pine Tree
Intersection.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Bill Scott
to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 p.m. This motion was approved by all members
present.
APPROVED BY ME THIS
__________DAY OF_________________,2006.
________________________MAYOR
Attest: ________________________CITY
CLERK |
