REGULAR MEETING OF
Be it remembered that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen
of the City of Ocean Springs
met in a Recess meeting at City Hall in the City of
Ocean Springs at
McDonnell, Cody, Dalgo and Gill, were present. Also
present were City Clerk Janet
Dudding, Deputy City Clerk, Sue Ann London and City
Attorney, John Edwards.
Alderman Joe Carvin was absent due to a broken foot.
Alderman Cody gave the Invocation.
Mayor Ainsworth led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Ainsworth made a Proclamation to honor Shawn
J. Lopes of the Fire Department
for his 20 years of service in the
service on
Lopes Day in the City of
The Mayor noted that Governor Haley Barbour was in
Ocean Springs today to recognize
the
achievements. He visited with the students and took
questions from them. He also
toured the Mary C. O'Keefe Center, downtown Ocean
Springs and the Walter Anderson
The Mayor also noted that more than 8,000 people
from the City traveled to
the State SA High School Football Playoff Game where
represented the South State Champion. Even though
the outcome was not in their
favor, the Mayor said their will be an Appreciation
Tailgate and Cookout on December
15th at 4:00 p.m. at the western practice field. He
asked the media to let the public
know about the event.
Rather than following the Agenda, the Mayor elected
to begin with a presentation by
the Parks and Recreation Department that dealt with
Charlie Carr property the city has
previously discussed as a pOSSible
purchase for recreational use. The property is located on Highway 90.
Mr. McKay stated that the biggest priorities for the
recreation department were soccer
and basketball. Football has scheduling problems.
Baseball and softball are
overcrowded. Program rooms are needed because all
rooms now are in use each
evening. A skate park is also needed to serve those
youths that do not participate in the
traditional team sports.
Mr. McKay stated that the Recreation Department
would not be able to accomplish their
goals without purchasing this property. In his
words, "it is a must."
Mr. McKay stated that if the land is purchased the
soccer fields could be ready for play
very soon. He stated that with the improvements to
additional soccer fields, the City would meet the
requirements of the Ocean Springs
Soccer Association. David Hill of the Ocean Springs
Soccer Association verified the
comments regarding the soccer requirements.
Mr. McKay stated that after the soccer fields are
complete the next needed item would
be a multi-purpose center that would include basketball
and tennis.
There has been a great deal of trouble in gaining
the permits from DMR for the
Highway 57 property that has already been purchased.
Hopefully by the time the
improvements could be done to the Carr property, the
permits would be in place to
begin on the Highway 57 property. This would be
Phase II and other recreational items
would be placed there.
An estimate of cost by Mr. McKay would be 1.4
million to purchase the property and
another $100,000 to make the soccer fields ready for
play, making the cost 1.5 million.
Mr. McKay stated that the Highway 57 property would
have four adult softball fields and
an additional five youth soccer fields. He also said
that the more soccer fields the better
because, from a maintenance standpoint, it would be
better to not have to use every
field every day and more fields would allow for
better scheduling and having the field
out of use from time to time to keep it in good
playing shape.
Mr. McKay urged that the purchase of the Carr
property would be a good and fast
solution for the City. It would be a way to enhance
the Recreation Programs for the City
by providing needed space for team and individual
sports. He asked that the Board
move forward with the purchase.
David Hill, from the Ocean Springs Soccer
Association, stated how much the community
had grown and the need was great for recreation in
Ocean Springs. He said there were
more than 800 athletes from ages four to 18 that
participate. At this time, these
individuals have to travel to Gautier to have a
place to play soccer which makes it
prohibitive for some to participate. The soccer
association has had to return registration
money to families who are not able to get their
children to Gautier. Mr. Hill stated that
the soccer association supports the plan as
presented as meeting the present and
future need for soccer in Ocean Springs.
Questions were also raised for providing fields for
baseball. Mr. McKay stated that
baseball will not be immediately addressed in Phase
One of development, but plans are
in the works to address the needs for baseball.
Mrs. Burke, a citizen, questioned how much money had
already been spent on the
Highway 57 property which included land purchase,
trying to obtain permits, attorney
fees and other miscellaneous items. The Mayor
responded that the amount was roughly
$800,000. She also questioned whether the City had
the financial resources to make
this purchase.
Jamie Sablich, a citizen,
stated that he had four children who had been in recreation
programs in the City of Ocean Springs. He stated
that having adequate facilities has
always been a problem. He is President of the Ocean
Springs Athletic Foundation which
is an organization that was formed to raise money to
inject into the athletic programs of
the middle and high schools. He stated that their
efforts have had positive results
throughout the school system. He also stated that
the City needs programs that start
children in athletics in order to have success later
on. He urged the Board to purchase
this property in order to set students on the course
to athletic success.
Frank Leach, from the Jackson County Board of
Supervisors, presented a letter in
opposition of the land purchase. He stated that he
supports recreation in Ocean
Springs, but does not think this purchase would be
in the best interest of the City of
Ocean Springs. He stated that the land should not be
taken off the tax rolls and then
spend more than $100,000 per acre to put soccer
fields on. He stated the property
would be better served to stay a commercial piece of
property and generate taxes to
the City. He read a letter stating his opposition of
the land purchase. At this point,
Alderman Dalgo left the room until Mr. Leach
finished reading the letter. He suggested
joining with the
developing a piece of property that is owned by the
Mr. McKay stated that the baseball field at the High
School was built with city funds as
well as the Taconi gym and
now the City has to pay to use these facilities. The School
District has written a letter to the Park and
Recreation Department that said that City
programs could not use these facilities. In light of
these facts, Mr. McKay stated that he
did not think it would be in the best interest of
the City to go on board with the School
District.
Mr. John McKay, President of the Board of
Supervisors in
member of the Board of Aldermen for the City of
Ocean Springs, gave a history of the
Park and Recreation Department and their trying to
acquire land for recreational use.
He stated that he was not representing
and speaking on his own behalf. He stated that over
the years the City has had several
pieces of property become available throughout the
years, but they did not purchase
them due to different issues. In the time that has
passed Ocean Springs has many more
children than in the past and something needs to be
done to accommodate these
children. He asked the audience to tell him where
another piece of property this large is
located within the City of Ocean Springs. He stated
that he didn't think there was one
and if the City didn't do something now, the children
of Ocean Springs would have to
wait another five or ten years before something could
be done.
Other citizens spoke out about the hardship of having
to drive to Gautier to practice and
to play sports.
Questions were raised about the possible use of
grants and Mr. McKay explained that
grants could not be used until a piece of property is
actually purchased.
Alderman McDonnell asked how long it would take and
how much money it would take
to accomplish Phase I of the development of the
property. After discussion and
assistance from Mr. Bolton, an architect who helped
Mr. McKay with the drawings for
the meeting, it was determined that a ballpark figure
to purchase the property and
make all of the proposed improvements would be 4.5
million dollars. Alderman
McDonnell pointed out that the City does not have 4.5
million at its discretion and the
only way to get this money it to raise taxes. He
stated that it would be better to go for
it all and get the 4.5 million and not do the project
by piece meal. He thinks the
proposal should be put on a referendum and let the
public decide. He offered to make a
motion to go out for 4.5 million in bonds and solve
the problem.
Alderman Lloyd stated he would go one step further
than Alderman McDonnell and ask
the Board to pass a bond issue and then let the City
decide, within the allotted
timeframe, if they do not want the City to proceed
with the purchase. This can be done
by gathering signatures, 10 percent of the electorate
or 1,500 - which ever is greater,
and they can make known that they do not want the
City to make the purchase. This
process would save some time. Attorney Edwards
spelled out exactly what it would take
to accomplish this.
Alderman Gill discussed the length of time that the
City has spent trying to purchase
property and get it ready for use for recreation. The
Highway 57 property has had
many setbacks, with the most difficult item being the
permit process through DMR. The
property was purchased several years ago, but the
City has not started work on making
it ready for recreational use. Alderman Gill
addressed the comments by Alderman
McDonnell regarding having a referendum. Alderman
Gill suggested that the
referendum be for 2.6 million instead of the 4.5. He
stated that the City can finance the
purchase and then have the referendum to vote on 2.6
million to finish the
improvements as shown in both Phase I and Phase II
and not have to raise taxes as
much. Alderman Gill stated that if the City did not
purchase the property, that it would
not be available in the near future. Alderman Gill
was against raising taxes and
Alderman McDonnell stated that the citizens in the
audience were not opposed to
having their taxes raised for this project. Alderman
McDonnell wants to make the
people aware of the entire cost of the project and
not the land purchase only. Alderman
Gill said that the location, in the heart of the
City, was better for the citizens. It would
be more convenient for families to use. He also
stated that the Recreation programs of
the City had outgrown the facilities that are
available.
Alderman Dalgo stated that he supports the purchase
of the property. He also stated
that too many issues are being discussed which created
confusion. He suggested that
the Board move forward with the purchase and if
purchased, spring soccer could be
finished at the new location. He stated that the
price was now reduced to $1,350,000.
He stated that if the Board moves to purchase the property
tonight, the problems with
soccer that the City has had for more than ten years
will disappear overnight. At least
one recreation issue will be addressed. If further
development is needed after the
purchase is made, then June, at election time, would
be ideal to have a referendum to
ask citizens if they want to proceed with the
additional phases. He said that he takes
exception to Mr. Leach's comments about the property
being overpriced. Alderman
Dalgo stated that two appraisals were done. One appraisal
by Daniel Schroeder and one
by Mr. Meyers and the average of the two appraisals
exceeds 1.8 million dollars. He
stated that Mr. Carr has offered to sell the property
for almost one half million dollars
below appraisal. He said that he didn't think that
Mr. Carr would be willing to wait three
more months and still offer the property at the same
price.
Alderman Jalanivich stated that he has been
supportive of recreation since he has been
on the Board of Aldermen. He stated that too many
people are only looking for the
negative side of the issue. He asked the individuals
that are not in support to look to
the positive effect this purchase would have for the
City. He also mentioned that the
property owned by the school district would be two to
three years away from having
something usable. He stated that the Carr property
already has improvements that
could be used right away such as concessions, parking
and lights. Water and sewer are
also already on the property and are ready for use.
Alderman Jalanivich questioned
Alderman McDonnell if he would support the purchase
if it came to a referendum or
would he fight the project.
Alderman McDonnell then stated he would support the
referendum because it gives the
citizens the opportunity to say that they want the
project to go forward and that they
are willing to have their taxes raised to pay for it
to get the benefit. He continued to
state that he would rather have a referendum so that
the project would not have to be
done by piece-meal. He said he would rather do a
complete project. He added that he
is very much in support of Recreation and would like
to have this issue decided and
then move on to other needs the City has such as the
Public Safety Complex and
getting water and sewer out to Highway 57. He stated
that all of these projects will
require taxes to be raised. Alderman McDonnell asked
architect
of actually building a gym and his reply was 12 to 16
months, depending on the type of
construction done. Alderman McDonnell also pointed
out that if there is enough
opposition to purchasing the Carr property at 1.4
million, signatures could be collected
and a referendum could be forced. A referendum could
take place for either the 1.4 or
the 4.5 million. He says to get all on board and approach
the project from a positive
standpoint and have facilities for all sports
completed in less than two years. He stated
that all he is asking is to let the people decide how
they want their tax dollars spent.
Alderman Gill pointed out that $450,000 was spent for
the Sports Complex without
asking the taxpayers and without having all monies to
complete the project. He stated
that Alderman McDonnell was on the Board that
approved buying the land and then
having a referendum to complete the project. Alderman
Gill stated that is what the
Board is doing in this instance. Alderman McDonnell
said he is trying to point out that
there may be a referendum just on the purchase of the
property. He stated that he
believed that people will go out and collect signatures
to force the property purchase to
a referendum. Alderman
Gill asked Alderman McDonnell if he would participate in gathering signatures
and he responded "no." He added that if the people ask him about
how to start a petition he will provide that information
because it is their right to vote.
Alderman McDonnell stressed that they have the
opportunity now to vote to go for the
entire needs of the project by putting it on a
referendum and letting the people vote
the whole project.
Mr. McKay stated that the legislature says that the
Board should do what they feel is
right, then go out for the bond to cover the whole
project and if 1,500 signatures are
gathered then put it to a vote. He also stated that
to put it to a referendum without the
Board voting in favor of the project would be like
putting a hurdle up at the outset. He
said that to put it to a referendum at the beginning
would waste time. Alderman
McDonnell stated that he does not see the referendum
as a hurdle, but as a responsible
solution and that the people should be able to vote
on the entire project. Mr. McKay
also stated that if the project does not pass a
referendum he feels that he has done all
he can to make this project a reality.
Alderman Dalgo pointed out that we are getting ahead
of what is needed to be
accomplished at this meeting. The decision at this
meeting is for the purchase of the
property. He says that he didn't think an executive
session would be necessary to make
the decision. Alderman Cody stated that he had a
legal question that needed to be
answered.
At 7:30 p.m., Alderman Cody made a motion to request
a closed session to discuss
potential litigation regarding the purchase of the
Carr property. The motion was
seconded by Alderman Gill. The motion carried unanimously.
Alderman Cody made a motion with a second by Alderman
Jalanivich to stay in closed
session and go into executive session to discuss
potential purchase of property and
possible litigation. The motion carried unanimously.
At 8:50 p.m. Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a
second by Alderman Gill to
return to regular session. The motion carried
unanimously.
Alderman Cody made a motion with a second by Alderman
Jalanivich to purchase the
piece of property offered by Charlie Carr in an amount
not to exceed 1.6 million dollars
for the purpose of providing space for recreational
activities. Discussion followed.
Alderman Gill asked for Alderman Cody or City Clerk
Janet Dudding, to explain the
financing that would not include a tax increase.
Alderman Dalgo pointed out that the
discussion went off track by discussing other future
needs for recreation when they
were only trying to accomplish making a decision to
purchase the Carr property.
Alderman Dalgo also stated that if the publiC wants to further develop the property, the
a referendum could be put before the citizens for the
monies needed for those
developments.
City Clerk Dudding stated that currently the City has
1.77 mills levied to service general
obligation debt. If the 1.77 mills are kept constant
it will be enough to finance the 1.6
million. This will be accomplished by using the
$179,000 set aside in special revenue
funds. The special revenue fund means that it is
legally restricted to use for a certain
purpose. This is restricted to use for parks and that
makes the money available. That
money plus the amount of money that will become
available as the City pays down its
debt. She pointed out that Mr. Gill was correct in
that debt will be paid off in four years,
but that is not the new debt. The four year pay down
refers to debt that is presently on
the books. The first year is this year where there is
1.77 levied to service the debt on
the books this year. Next year we keep the 1.77,
assuming the same amount of
assessed valuation, the City will have 66,000
available toward the debt service of the
1.6 million. Year three will have 85,000 available
for the service of the 1.6. Year four
will have 132,000 available for the service of the
1.6. Year four, all the debt the City has
on the books that is being serviced by the 1.77 is
gone, meaning the whole 250,000 will
be available to service the 1.6 million debt over 12
to 14 years. If the 1.77 remains
constant and if the assessed valuation remains
constant - and it is actually expected to
grow - then the City can service the 1.6 million debt
over 12 to 14 years with no tax
increase.
Alderman McDonnell stated that he had a problem with
the fact that there are no
guarantees for tennis or basketball and that those
items will be covered in a
referendum at a later date so that does not resolve
needs for those programs in the
near future. All that is accomplished by the vote is
taking care of soccer. He stated that
he will not support the vote because he hoped that
the entire project could be put
together and vote on all of it at one time, but the
majority of the Board only wants to
purchase the property. Ultimately the tax payers will
have to decide how they want to
develop the property and how much they are wiling to
spend and how it will be paid
for. He stated he was willing to speed the process up
by taking care of the entire
project at this meeting. He stated that he cannot
support the vote for the property.
However, once the property is purchased he will
support developing the property. He
stated that he supports the right if the citizens to
have a vote on how their tax dollars
are spent.
Alderman Dalgo wanted to avoid confusion by stating
that the City has been waiting for
certain regulatory agencies to permit property
already purchased by the prior Board of
Alderman and that process does not look good. Being
able to take care of immediate
needs for recreation is critical so that additional
generations of Ocean Springs' children
will not have to be without recreational facilities.
He noted that basketball will not be
taken care of without a referendum, but soccer needs
can be addressed with a vote for
this property. He stated that Alderman Cody deserves
credit for working on finding a
way to finance the purchase and not have a tax
increase.
Alderman Gill stated that he is in favor of the
motion to purchase the property because
the property will not be available if the City waits
until June to purchase. He is also in
favor of the motion because when a referendum is
placed before the public it will be for
approximately 2.6 million instead of 4.5 million
which will save tax payers money. He
stated that he feels like citizens will be more
likely in favor of a referendum for
improvements if the property has already been
purchased.
Alderman Lloyd stated that he will support the issue,
but wanted to point out that the
City is not walking away from the Highway 57
property. The City is still trying to get the
Highway 57 property mitigated and bring it into play.
The purchase of the Carr property
is a stop-gap measure to meet immediate recreational
needs. Alderman Lloyd also
mentioned the price of the property as being below
the appraised value. He also
wanted to thank Charlie Carr for working with the
City on this project.
The motion carried with all Aldermen voting aye
except Alderman McDonnell who voted
nay. The motion carried.
Attorney Edwards stated that by adopting the
resolution to purchase the property, the
ad must appear in the newspaper by Thursday, December
9, and that would make
January 4, 2005 the deadline for directing the
issuing of the bonds.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Dalgo to adopt the
resolution of intent, according to the Mississippi
Code, as follows:
Resolution declaring the intention of the Mayor and
Board of Aldermen of the City of
principal amount not to exceed one million six
hundred thousand ($1,600,000) for the
purchase of providing funds to pay for the cost of
acquiring land for recreation facilities
and other public improvements within the City.
By roll call vote as follows:
Alderman Jalanivich aye
Alderman Lloyd aye
Alderman McDonnell nay
Alderman Cody aye
Alderman Carvin absent
Alderman Dalgo aye
Alderman Gill aye
The motion carried.
Alderman Lloyd made a motion with a second by
Alderman Cody to attach a copy of the
resolution to the minutes of the December 7, 2004
meeting. The motion carried
unanimously.
At this point the Mayor returns to the Consent Agenda
and pulls item j. Alderman
Jalanivich requested to pull item f, h, 0 and x.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Dalgo to approve the
Consent Agenda except items f, h, j, 0 and x. The motion
carried unanimously.
Department
Reports
City Clerk
The City Clerk requested authorization by the Board
to advertise for public depositories.
If approved the advertisement could go into the
newspaper by Thursday, December 9,
2004 and have a meeting with responders on December
21, 2004. If anything arises in
meeting with the interested banks, the RFP might
require an addendum. If all alright,
can finalize the RFP by January 21, 2005.
Alderman Cody makes a motion with a second by
Alderman McDonnell to authorize
advertisement for public repositories. Alderman
McDonnell questioned if the City Clerk
was proposing that the City continue the practice of
splitting the City's depositories with
several local banks or give it to just one bank. City
Clerk Dudding responded that in the
past it had been popular with the Board to split
between many banks and the system
allows for that. Dudding pointed out that it is not
necessarily good banking practice to
split the depositories, but it is ultimately up to
the Board to make that decision. She has
given the Board information on all the banking
services used by the City in a cost
analysis format. With no other discussion, the motion
passed unanimously.
City Clerk requests that the Board authorize $5,800
installation on the City's leased
purchased network of $7,895 document imaging software
and $5,195 document
imaging hardware to be included in five year
financing package, with $3,221 annual
hardware and software support.
Alderman Jalanivich stated that he did not see this
purchase as a requirement for the
City Clerk's department. The City Clerk explained how
this software would benefit City
Hall and that the cost was already budgeted. She also
explained that the financing
would take place over five years with a rate of 2.98
percent.
Alderman Cody made a motion with a second by Alderman
Lloyd to authorize $5,800
installation on the City's leased purchased network
of $7,895 document imaging
software and $5,195 document imaging hardware to be
included in five year financing
package, with $3,221 annual hardware and software
support. The motion carried
unanimously.
Alderman Jalanivich brought up the point that he did
not like the Agenda copied on
both sides of the paper. He also brought up that documentation
pertaining to item h
was not in his packet. He was told by City Clerk
Dudding that information was left out
purposely because he was party to a suit against the
City and item h is the bill from
attorneys dealing with that suit. He asked to have a
note put in his packet explaining
that should it arise again. He also said that now
that he understands the situation, he
would like to go ahead and have the Board vote on
item H and he would abstain.
Alderman Dalgo made a motion with a second by Alderman
Cody to authorize
$2,959.62 payment to Frielich,
Leitner & Carlisle for legal services rendered.
The motion
carried unanimously. Alderman Jalanivich abstained
from the vote.
The Board continued with the pulled items of the
Consent Agenda. Alderman Jalanivich
made a motion to deny payment of $162.50 to
Solutions, Inc. for work on the
Recreational Complex. Alderman Gill seconded the
motion. This item is
on the Consent
Agenda. Both aldermen stated that charges are made to
the City and progress is not
being made on obtaining a permit from DMR.
Alderman Lloyd asked if Alderman Jalanivich would
consider making a motion to pay
this bill and then terminate Solutions, Inc.
services. Alderman Jalanivich the agreed to
amend his motion to read authorize payment of $162.50
to Solutions, Inc. for work on
the Recreational Complex and terminate Solutions,
Inc. services. Alderman McDonnell
questioned if the services of Solutions, Inc. were
terminated would it be more costly or
stop the permitting process. It was determined by
City Attorney Edwards that the
services of Solutions, Inc. were obtained "at
will" and not by contract so that should not
effect prices charged. The Mayor stated that he will
contact DMR and have them speak
directly to him for future needs. After discussion,
the motion carried unanimously.
Continuing with the pulled items from the Consent
Agenda, Human Resources Director,
Jill McDonnell stated that item j was pulled because
the original amount requested in
the budget transfer was $1,750.00 and should have
actually been $2,400.00.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Gill to authorize
$2,400.00 budget transfer from Human Resources
personnel services to Human
Resources consumable supplies. The motion carried
unanimously.
Police
Department
Chief Belk stated that he didn't have anything else
to report from his department, but
would address item 0 that was pulled from the Consent
Agenda.
Alderman Jalanivich stated that he pulled item 0 which
was to authorize promotion of a
Lieutenant to Capitan and a Patrolman first c1assto
Lieutenant due to retiring personnel.
Alderman Jalanivich questioned if Chief Belk already
had individuals for the open
positions. Chief Belk responded that he did not have
individuals for these positions, but
was simply asking for authorization to go forward
with the hiring process. For the
record, Chief Belk noted that the patrolman
description should not have included first
class and should simply be patrolman.
Alderman Jalanivich then made a motion with a second
by Alderman Gill to authorize
promotion of a Lieutenant to
personnel. The motion carried unanimously.
Alderman Dalgo asked about the new hire that is requesting
training at a cost of
$3,000. and if lateral transfers were available that
would have been more cost effective.
Chief Belk noted that after talking to Civil Service
regarding having hired already trained
personnel and this individual who has military
training, he would still be required to
have police training. Chief Belk wanted to give
individuals who were long standing on
the training list that were not certified police
officers from another city, an opportunity
to get break into law enforcement in Ocean Springs.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Cody to approve
purchase of $10,432.70 copy machine from Lanier with
yearly maintenance plan of
$1,732.00 funded through the federal building
equipment grant for the new Public
Safety Complex which has been approved from the
Bureau of Justice Department. The
motion carried unanimously.
Alderman Jalanivich made a
motion with a second by Alderman McDonnell to approve
$35,000 grant from the Mississippi Office of Highway
Safety for the purchase of two (2)
in-car cameras, overtime, and other commodities. The
motion carried unanimously.
Fire
Department
Fire Chief Mark Hare complimented the new Building
Department employees and said
that they are very knowledgeable and works well with
the Fire Department.
Risk
Management and Human Resources
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Cody to authorize
payment of an invoice not to exceed $250.00 for repairs
to the alarm system at Fort
Marepaus. Alderman Jalanivich
suggested installing a dehumidifier rod to help with the
moisture problem inside the Fort. He will pay for rod
from his budget. The motion
regarding the invoice carried unanimously.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Cody to authorize
payment of $512.84 to Ford Motor Credit for a
vehicle. The motion carried unanimously.
Public
Works
FEMA/MEMA update will be given at the December 21,
2004 meeting.
Community
Development and Planning
City Planner Scruggs discussed the changes made to
traffic flow on
brought up by Alderman Lloyd. City Attorney Edwards
stated that this change must be
made to the Ordinance affecting these streets.
Alderman Lloyd made a motion with a second by
Alderman McDonnell to change
Ordinance 14-9b, p. 769 affecting
carried unanimously.
City Planner Scruggs requested authorization on an Interlocal Agreement with
County regarding signage on
and cannot be extended. City Attorney Edwards is
drafting the agreement. This does
not require action at this time and will be brought
to the next meeting.
Back to the Consent Agenda City Planner Scruggs
addressed item x. Alderman Cody
made a motion with a second by Alderman Gill to
authorize $107.50 refund payment to
Anchor Realty & Development for water fees that
were not necessary after locating an
existing 1 1/2" water meter and tap on property
at
unanimous except for Alderman Jalanivich abstaining.
City Planner Scruggs requested an Executive Session.
Alderman's
Forum
Alderman Jalanivich requested that the names be
updated on the Plumbing, Mechanical
and Electric Boards. These individuals also need to
be in contact with the new building
officials. He stated that people should be on these
board that want to participate. He
said that City Planner Scruggs should determine why
these boards are not meeting and
have them become more active so that the City stays
in line with its ordinances.
Alderman Gill wanted to discuss an animal control
problem with the Chief of Police.
There was a problem with a raccoon biting a young
child. Fortunately the raccoon was
caught and it was determined it was not rabid.
Alderman Gill asked Chief Belk and City
Attorney Edwards to check into the liabilities of
such a situation.
Mayor's
Report
The Mayor explained that there has been discussion by
the Jackson County Board of
Supervisors about removing the Municipal Waste
Disposal from the Solid Waste
Management Plan. The Mayor has discussed this issue
with other municipal leaders and
they would like for this item to stay in the Solid
Waste Management Plan.
Citizens and environmental activists, Becky Gillette
and Brenda Songe spoke out and
stated that the 20 year plan should be based on need
and they are concerned that out
of state and county garbage could be brought into
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Lloyd to approve the
resolution to urge Jackson County Board of
Supervisors to provide in its Solid Waste
Management Plan for a Publicly Owned Facility for
Disposal of Municipal Waste.
Aldermen Jalanivich and Lloyd voted aye and the rest
of the Board voted nay. The
motion failed.
Alderman McDonnell made a motion with a second by
Alderman Dalgo to approve the
resolution with the provision that no out of
deposited in it. Aldermen Jalanivich and Lloyd voted
nay and the rest of the Board
voted aye. The motion carried.
Alderman Lloyd discussed a Tidelands grant that has
been awarded regarding the
recreational pier and boat ramp and would like to
start the permit and engineer
processes.
Alderman Lloyd made a motion with a second by
Alderman McDonnell to begin the
engineering and permitting process for the
recreational pier and boat ramp retain Joe
Gill for this process. The motion carried. Alderman
John Gill abstained.
Alderman McDonnell had several questions regarding
Tidelands monies and their
possible use on the Highway 57 property for water
removal. Using these grant monies
might reduce the tax burden to citizens. Mr. Gill
noted that it would be useful to
research use of these funds.
Alderman Jalanivich brought up concerns regarding the
Elks and the fishing rodeo they
have at the pier and the fact that an additional boat
ramp and parking will interfere.
Alderman McDonnell sated that additional parking will
be added and the area will be
enhanced. Joe Gill noted that these factors will be
taken into consideration.
Alderman Jalanivich made a motion with a second by
Alderman Gill for all Department
Heads and Alderman that would like to attend the
Fourth Annual New Partners for
Smart Growth in
hotel expenses. Alderman Jalanivich said he would
take the expenses for this trip from
his discretionary fund.
Alderman Lloyd asked about the cost per person to
attend and was told that an
approximate total cost for each person that wanted to
attend would be $1,000.00.
Aldermen Lloyd and Dalgo both expressed concern that
the cost could be excessive if
many people decided to attend. Alderman McDonnell
offered to support a motion that
would send one Alderman and one Department Head in
order to lower costs.
A vote was taken on the motion with Aldermen
Jalanivich and Gill voting aye and the
rest of the Board voting nay. The motion failed.
Alderman Jalanivich made another motion about
attending the Smart Growth
Conference and limiting participation to two Aldermen
and two Department Heads and
that the Aldermen would pay their expenses from their
discretionary fund. Alderman Gill
seconded the motion. Alderman Dalgo noted that the
travel budget had been cut during
the budget process and was worried about enough
funding in the travel account.
Alderman Jalanivich then amended his motion to add
that two Department Heads could
attend if their travel budgets allowed. Aldermen
Jalanivich and Gill voted aye and the
rest of the Board voted nay. The motion failed.
Alderman McDonnell made a motion that up to two
people period could attend the