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REGULAR CITY OF DAHLONEGA
COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 7, 2007
CALL
TO ORDER:
The Dahlonega City
Council met on May 7, 2007 at City Hall. Council members present
were Michael Clemons, Sam Norton, Terry Peters and Bill Scott.
Mayor Gary McCullough called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and
opened the meeting with prayer. Mayor McCullough requested everyone
to stand for the Pledge to the American Flag. Mayor McCullough
presented the Golden Nail Award to Freddy and Shirley Welch to
recognize the expansion and renovation of the Smith House
Restaurant. DDA Director Joel Cordle advised that this expansion is
Phase I of the planned renovations for the Smith House Restaurant.
Mayor McCullough stated that the Smith House brings many visitors to
Dahlonega.
MINUTE APPROVAL:
A motion was made by
Bill Scott to approve the minutes of the regular council meeting
held on April 2, 2007. This motion was seconded by Sam Norton and
approved by all members present. A motion was made by Terry Peters
to approve the minutes of the special council meeting held on April
12, 2007. This motion was seconded by Bill Scott and approved by
all members present.
DEPARTMENT
REPORTS:
Mayor McCullough
advised that reports were submitted by the Dahlonega Planning and
Code Enforcement Departments concerning activities of those
departments for the month of April, 2007. Susan Newell, Chairman of
the Dahlonega Historical Preservation Commission, advised that the
commission met on April 18, 2007 and approved sign requests for
Melissa’s Just off the Square Country Café and Cranberry Corners.
She also advised of a possible violation of regulations in obtaining
an application for renovations for alterations. The mayor and
council were requested to hold a work session concerning needed
amendments to the sign ordinances. Mayor McCullough recommended
that these concerns be addressed by City Attorney Doug Parks. Mr.
Parks will be requested to draft an amendment to the ordinance if
needed.
FIRST READING
ORDINANCE 2007-2:
A motion was made by
Michael Clemons to approve the first reading of Ordinance
2007-2-Retirement Benefits. This would change the vesting period
from ten years to five years. This motion was seconded by Bill
Scott and approved by all members present.
FIRST READING
ORDINANCE 2007-3:
A motion was made by
Bill Scott to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2007-3-Excise
Tax for Liquor Sales. This motion was seconded by Michael Clemons
and approved by all members present.
CITY MANAGER’S
COMMENTS:
DDA Director Joel
Cordle recommended that an Agreement be approved with the Stauback
Company for project management services including master planning
and long range planning for the downtown streetscapes. They will
also determine the boundaries for the Dahlonega Downtown areas and
select consultants to determine the scope of work for a request for
proposals. The cost for these services in the amount of $18,000
will be funded by the Dahlonega Downtown Development Authority. A
motion was made by Michael Clemons to approve this recommendation.
The motion was seconded by Terry Peters and approved by all members
present.
City Manager Bill
Lewis recommended that the city “piggy back” on Jim Parks’ water
line project from Moores Drive to Wimpy Mill Road to increase the
water line size from a six-inch to a twelve-inch line. The cost
difference is $58,640. The work is to be performed by Townley
Construction. The staff has also discovered that we have another
opportunity to save money by taking advantage of Townley
Construction working on Wimpy Mill Road in the same area of a
scheduled project related to the new water plant. This project
calls for the installation of a booster pump to boost water from
Wimpy Mill Road to the Sky County water tank. The pump is necessary
because the hydraulics of our distribution system will change when
the new water plant comes on line. The pumps will fill the tank and
improve pressure and flow at the middle school, 19 N and North Hall
Road. The total cost of this project to include the pump is a
little over $750,000. By including the piping and valve work
related to this project in the Parks project we can save additional
costs. The cost for this additional work will be $70,800. Mr.
Lewis also advised that the Townley Contract for sewer installation
for the Middleton project will be increased due to rock problems. A
motion was made by Michael Clemons to approve these recommendations
contingent upon the city being able to pay cash for the projects.
The council was
advised of the need to ratify the Lumpkin County Water Sales
Agreement. A motion was made by Michael Clemons to approve. The
motion was seconded by Sam Norton and approved by all members
present. The council was also advised of the need to ratify the
NGCSU Lease Agreement. A motion was made by Bill Scott to approve
this. The motion was seconded by Sam Norton and approved by all
members present.
Project Engineer
Ricky Stewart advised that two proposals were received for
geotechnical work for the new water treatment plant site. Jordan
Jones and Goulding Engineering recommended that a bid from Piedmont
Geotechnical Consultants at a cost of $36,230 be approved. A
motion was made by Michael Clemons to approve this recommendation.
The motion was seconded by Terry Peters and approved by all members
present.
MAYOR’S
COMMENTS:
Mayor Gary
McCullough recommended that the June council meeting be changed to
June 12 due to lack of a quorum. A motion was made by Terry Peters
to approve this change. The motion was seconded by Michael Clemons
and approved by all members present. Mayor McCullough advised that
he has been able to secure funding by private donors to fund the
July 4th celebration.
CITY ATTORNEY’S
COMMENTS:
City Attorney Doug
Parks advised that revisions to the Corridor Overlay Ordinance
should be completed soon and a special meeting may be needed to
approve the second reading of the ordinance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Ryan Arnold was
introduced to the Mayor and Council. He is an intern that will be
working with Joel Cordle over the next two months to write grants
and also working on the City’s Master Plan for downtown.
EXECUTIVE
SESSION:
A motion was made by
Bill Scott to adjourn to Executive Session at 6:35 p.m. to discuss
land acquisition. The motion was seconded by Sam Norton and
approved by all members present.
A motion was made
by Bill Scott to adjourn the Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. This
motion was seconded by Michael Clemons and approved by all members
present. Mayor Gary McCullough announced that no action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by
Terry Peters to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Michael Clemons
and approved by all members present.
APPROVED BY ME THIS
_____________DAY OF________________,2007.
MAYOR
Attest: CITY
CLERK |
