Mayor and City Council held their regular meeting on Thursday, September 21, 2006 in Plains City Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Meeting was called to order by Mayor Godwin at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was done by Clerk Smith.
Invocation:
Mayor: Mayor L. E. Godwin III Present
City Council: Jimmy Bagwell Absent
Eugene Edge, Sr. Present
A. B. Jackson Present
Wade Medlock Absent
Patricia Taft Present
Amy Wise Present
Minutes: Approval of the August 17, 2006 minutes and the August 31, 2006 called meeting. A motion was made by Councilor Edge, seconded by Councilor Wise to approve the minutes as presented. All in favor; motion carried.
MATTERS FROM CITIZENS:
Keith Moncus – came before the Council to give an update on the repair needs for the ambulance. He states he had taken the vehicle to Plains Auto Care to get an estimate on repair costs. During the process the new owner had to put a new battery in the vehicle because it operates off two batteries and one was completely dead. After putting in the new battery and checking the vehicle out thoroughly Keith states the mechanic could not find anything wrong except the air conditioner. The air conditioner was repaired by converting it from a R12 to a R23. The total cost for the battery, converting the air conditioner, and checking the vehicle out was $290.00.
Keith also informed the council that the tires which were donated were in no better condition than the tires that are currently on the ambulance. He has gotten a quote from Perry Brothers for $623.00 and a quote from Plains Auto Care for $440.00 plus tax. Both quotes include balancing.
Mayor Godwin stated the City could purchase the tires out of the Fire Department budget.
After some discussion a motion was made by Councilor Taft and second by Councilor Wise to purchase the tires from Plains Auto Care in the amount of $440.00 plus tax using the Fire Department budget. All were in favor; motion passed.
Keith also informed the Council that he was asked to attend a yearly meeting for the Red Cross held at South Georgia Technical College this past August. Plains C.E.R.T Team was given an award in recognition for their leadership and was the only front-line disaster teams that this Chapter had ever recognized.
Mayor Godwin also wanted to thank the C.E.R.T. Team for working traffic the weekend the storm up rooted a tree that had fallen across Hwy 280.
Keith also stated the C.E.R.T. Team will be helping out with the Peanut Festival and Parade and also they will be manning their booth that will be set up in the park for display.
Keith mentioned a radio was purchased from Fuller Communications for the C.E.R.T trailer for $460. He stated they had about $600 in their checking account and wanted to know if the City would match the cost of the radio in the amount of $230.
After discussion a motion was made by Councilor Wise and seconded by Councilor Edge to pay $230 towards the radio for the C.E.R.T. trailer. Funds will be deducted from the Fire Department telecommunication budget. All were in favor; motion passed. The bill will be submitted to the City of Plains for full payment ($460) and the C.E.R.T. team will write a check to the City for $230.00.
Councilor Edge asked Keith about the emergency/disaster plans. Keith stated it is still in progress and that there hasn’t been a meeting for several months. He mentioned the plans that we have are a good layout to go by and we would set up another meeting in the near future. Councilor Edge and the Mayor thought it would be a good idea to include someone from the Boys & Girls Club as well.
Honorary Councilmember for the month of October: Mr. Joey Recker was nominated by Councilor Wise to be honorary Councilmember for the month of October.
BUDGET AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety: Sgt. Sanders passed out her report from the Police Department. She stated a lot of the issues that the City was plagued with in the past have dropped tremendously. Citations and warning are being issued.
Sgt. Sanders mentioned that counterfeit money is being passed around Plains and Americus. She gave the council information on what things to look for in determining if the bills are counterfeit.
Sgt. Sanders brought up a serious issue to the Council on the need to purchase and install a repeater for the Police Department. She explained that one of the officers went out on a call; after the officer stepped out of the vehicle they tried to radio for back-up but the call did not go out. The problem is the Sheriff Department sits down in a hole and in certain parts of Plains the signal does not reach the Sheriff’s Department. What the repeater will do is transmit the signal from a handheld radio to the Sheriff’s Department without the transmission being lost. Sgt. Sanders stated there is a great need for the repeater and she has a quote of $2,336.00.
Mayor Godwin made a recommendation for Councilor Edge and the City Clerk to get with the Accountant to see if there are enough funds in the budget to cover the cost of the repeater, if not check with GMA to have it financed.
Sgt. Sanders also stated there is an emergency grant fund available for police departments. Mayor Godwin asked Sgt. Sanders to check into the grant as well. He stated it would be nice to get the grant.
There was much discussion and the Mayor asked Councilor Edge to continue to work on this issue and if there is a need to have a call meeting to set one up.
Councilor Edge also wanted to address the issue of saggy pants and wants the attorney to draft an ordinance for saggy pants. Mayor Godwin states he didn’t like it but didn’t think we could pass an ordinance. Councilor Edge stated he saw it on television where a City passed an ordinance on saggy pants. There were many comments made on this issue and the Mayor asked the Clerk to check with the Attorney.
Subdivision & Streets: Councilor Edge wanted to know what could be done about getting the sidewalks repaired because they are in bad shape. After much discussion Mayor Godwin asked Councilor Edge and Councilor Wise work up a plan and list the areas by priority and get the inmates to repair the sidewalks a block at a time.
Councilor Jackson wanted to know if the inmates could blow the sidewalks and streets after mowing because it looks bad several days later when the cut grass dies.
Councilor Edge also stated he wanted the City to purchase rain coats for the inmates to use whenever they are working outside on rainy days.
Water & Sewerage: Mayor Godwin stated the City had received a letter from Ms. Doris Sanders of EPD concerning numerous violations at the Treatment Plant. Mayor Godwin stated he went to the Treatment Plant and it looks awful. He also states there were weeds growing in the drying beds which indicates the drying beds haven’t been used in some time. He added Ms. Sanders agreed; what they were doing is re-circulating the sludge back through the pumps which could cause the pumps to burn out instead of wasting it. Mayor Godwin informed the Council he faxed a copy of Ms. Sanders report to OPTECH. He also informed the Council that Bob Monette and two other guys that the City dealt with were no longer with OPTECH; he talked with a gentleman from Alabama (Jefcoat). Mayor Godwin told the Council to think about breaking the Contract with OPTECH and hire its own person to operate the Treatment Plant. He repeated the Treatment Facility was a disgrace because of poor operation and neglect.
Councilor Jackson asked how long is the Contract with OPTECH? Mayor Godwin replied the City has 2 ½ more years. However we could get out of the Contract with the number of violations that we are being sited for because of poor operation and neglect. Mayor Godwin stated he would talk with Ms. Sanders again, but in the meantime be considering the option of the City hiring its own person to run the Treatment Plant.
Councilor Taft wanted to know how OPTECH responded, because according to the copy of the letter the City could be fined if there is no corrective action or plans put in place. Mayor Godwin stated they responded by answering every violation, but he wasn’t sure if they would actually perform the corrective actions because he personally has never seen anything they had done.
Councilor Edge stated he agreed with the Mayor. All he had ever seen them do is ride around. He added if you call them about a problem you can get one to respond and the one is always slow to respond. Councilor Edge also stated OPTECH gets paid therefore we expect to receive services.
Councilor Taft asked what kind of qualifications would the individual have to have for that job? Mayor Godwin stated they would need to be certified in water and sewerage and plant operator. He added that the City could contract with John Bergozza. Mayor Godwin added that John had worked for Plains some time ago, but John now owns his own water and sewerage company. Mayor Godwin stated that John operates the facility in Dawson and Baconton and he oversees two other facilities. He added John has agreed to oversee Plains facility until we could hire someone and get that individual trained.
Personnel: Sgt. Sanders stated the ad for the Police Chief position needs to be re-run again in the paper. She also stated she spoke with Chief Association Office and they told her to get them a copy of the ad and they would help her get the word out about the position. She also states the Chief Association Office is granting her permission to remain in charge until the position is filled and the next chief school will be held in January 2007.
Mayor Godwin stated that he was pleased with the way things are going now and if we could hire someone part-time to fill the position that would be great.
Sgt. Sanders stated she has had a number of people interested but the pay and no benefits is a draw back. Mayor Godwin stated that’s why we need to get someone on a part-time basis because the City can’t afford to pay the salary they would be expecting.
Hospitality & Public Relations: Councilor Wise stated she understands the Golden Peanut Auction was a success and everything turned out good; and the ladies on the Council helped with refreshments. Councilor Wise reminded the Council that the Peanut Festival is this coming weekend and for everyone to attend if possible. She also mentioned the Industry Fish Fry will be held next Tuesday in Americus at the Georgia Southwestern Golf & Conference Center at 6:30 p.m.
After some discussion it was asked for Clerk Smith to call the Chamber and confirm the number of attendees from Plains. The Council also agreed to ride together in the van.
Industry & Trade: Councilor Jackson asked had anyone talked with Mr. Wiley about his property across from President Carter. Mayor Godwin stated he had talked with Mr. Wiley some time ago about getting the property cleared. Clerk Smith stated she talked with Mr. Wiley earlier and Mr. Wiley stated he had spoken with President Carter himself and they are working something out.
Councilor Wise stated the City of Leslie had a special election and Dr. George Bagley was voted as there new mayor. Councilor Wise also stated Commissioner Bowen is the new Chairperson and Commissioner Hurley is the new Co-Chair for the Board of Commissioners resulting from the resignation of Tift Pace.
Clerk Smith read a thank you card from Ms. Carol Anderson.
Councilor Jackson wanted to inform the council that USDA also helps individuals with housing assistance. If the person qualifies they are eligible to receive up to $7,500 grant with a 1% loan repayment. Paperwork can be picked from Councilor Jackson or City Hall and the contact person at USDA is Tricia Williams.
Finance: No Report
Other Business for approval/discussion:
EXECUTIVE SESSION – PERSONNEL
A motion was made by Councilor Jackson, seconded by Councilor Wise to adjourn to executive session at 7:55 p.m. All were in favor; and motion carried.
After discussion a motion was made by Councilor Wise and seconded by Councilor Taft to return to regular session at 8:40 p.m. All were in favor; motion passed.
A motion was made by Councilor Edge and seconded by Councilor Wise to let the Personnel Committee and Police Committee review Police Department personnel for promotions and salary increases as per Personnel Policies. All were in favor; motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Councilor Jackson and seconded by Councilor Taft to adjourn at 8:43 p.m. All were in favor; motion carried.