A Recess Meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ocean Springs was called to order by Mayor Ainsworth at 6:00 p.m. on March 16, 2004, at City Hall in the City of Ocean Springs. Present were Aldermen Jalanivich, Lloyd, McDonnell, Carvin, Dalgo and Gill, Attorney John Edwards and Deputy City Clerk Diane Northrop. Alderman Cody and City Attorney Oscar Jordan were absent.
Mayor Ainsworth gave the Invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Kim Yarbrough and Mark Spicer announced that the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event was scheduled in Ocean Springs for April 30, 2004, and invited the City participate.
At this time consultant John Quarstein presented ideas for a preliminary long-range plan for Fort Maurepas that he and the Fort Maurepas Foundation had been working on with Mark LaSalle and Architect Dennis Cowart, noting that they had donated their time on the project. He said that Fort Maurepas was a perfect site for development of not only a birding trail, but also a marsh walk trail. He said that they had identified all of the project resources and developed an outline which would include finishing the replica fort according to specifications of 1699, creating a marsh walk trail, construction of an interpretive center that would enable the public to interface with film, exhibits, etc., and added that the work would be done to museum standards. He said that if the Board wanted to move forward with development of Fort Maurepas, then they would need to give it great relevance. He thanked Mr. Cowart for his work on the sketches so that the concept could be visualized and added that a schematic plan, floor plan and site plan would be the next step in the development process. He asked the Board to approve the preliminary concept.
Gloria Skillestad, President of the Fort Maurepas Foundation, told the Board that a lot of hard work had been put into the project and thanked those who has contributed to development of the plan. She said that if the Board felt it was a worthy project, it should be moved forward. She said there was a need for additional consulting and architectural services to move the project forward and requested an expenditure of $15,000.00 from the remaining Fort Maurepas budget be used toward those services. She asked the City to approve $10,000.00 for Mr. Cowart to complete the next phase of the program and to approve $5,000.00 for Mr. Quarstein to come back for another three visits and continue to work with Mr. Cowart and Mark LaSalle.
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Gill, to retain the services of architect Dennis Cowart and consultant John Quarstein at a cost not to exceed $10,000.00 and $5,000.00, respectively, to move forward with the next phase of the Fort Maurepas development, upon approval by the City Attorney.
At this time discussion was held on the motion. Alderman McDonnell asked if the grants they would apply for would require matching funds. Mr. Quarstein said some of the grants were matching, but that they would be written to match each other. He added that the Fort Maurepas Foundation could also apply to private foundations for funds. Alderman McDonnell asked if the city proceeded in this direction, if the Fort Maurepas Foundation would be able to apply for grants with no more expenditure from the Board than the $15,000.00. Mr. Quarstein replied that they would certainly be able to do that. Mr. Lloyd reminded the Board that the Community Center needed repairs and didn’t know where the money would come from to fix it. He felt the project would wind up costing the City somewhere around $1 million and felt the people in the community could not afford to have another museum. Mrs. Skillestad reminded the Board that when complete, Fort Maurepas would be self-supporting.
After hearing much discussion on the motion, the question was called, said vote being as follows:
VOTING AYE Aldermen Jalanivich, McDonnell, Carvin, Dalgo and Gill
VOTING NAY Alderman Lloyd
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
City Clerk:
a) Approve Minutes of Recess Meeting of February 17, 2004
b) Approve Minutes of Regular Meeting of March 2, 2004
c) Accept Action Report
d) Pay Docket of Claims and spread docket summary upon the Minutes:
(Docket Summary)
e) Allow Water Dept. Supervisor Jacque Thomas to attend workshop on Management & Leadership Skills for First-Time Supervisors & Managers in Biloxi on April 13-14, 2004, prepay $395.00 registration fee and pay mileage expense
f) Allow Purchasing Agent Pamela Cox to attend NIGP Forum & Products Expo in Biloxi on August 7-11, 2004, and prepay $350.00 registration fee
g) Allow Public Works Director and Purchasing Agent to revise specs for lawn care maintenance contract and authorize Deputy City Clerk to advertise for proposals when ready:
(Lawn Maintenance Memo)
h) Adopt budget amendments for FYE 2004 as presented and authorize publication of those items which may exceed 10% of original adopted budget
Police Dept.:
i) Hire Lawrence Turner as Patrol Officer, effective March 17, 2004, at starting salary of $25,000.00 (Ptn. 3rd Class):
(Turner Hire Letter)
j) Award bid for 19’ Justice Base Boat for Police Dept. to Boston Whaler Commercial & Governmental Products ($49,889.00):
(Boat Bid)
k)
Allow
Fire Dept.:
l) Allow Mayor to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pertaining to fire fighting protection:
(MOU re: Fire Protection)
m) Allow Firefighters Anthony Johnson and Paul Baker to attend Domestic Preparedness Instructor Training courses in Anniston, AL as requested and pay fuel costs
City Engineer:
n) Approve Pay Request No. 5 from B&B Electrical and Utility Contractor, Inc. ($36,259.79) regarding Holcomb Blvd. & U.S. Hwy 90 Improvements (STP-9069-0(002) and release payment upon receipt of funds from MDOT:
(B&B Invoice)
Public Works:
o) Pay invoice from Compliance Envirosystems, LLC ($1,138.00) for technical assistance to City Engineer regarding Sanitary Sewer System Evaluation Survey:
(CES Invoice)
p) Pay invoices from Compton Engineering totaling $10,845.00:
(Compton Invoices)
Community Development & Planning:
q) Accept Building Report for February 2004
r) Issue permit to Harby Kreeger for maintenance dredging of boat slip and installation of two mooring pilings at 203 General Pershing Ave.:
(Kreeger Documents)
s) Issue refund to Foster’s Heating, Air & Electrical for cancelled permits at 401 Jackson Ave. ($22.00) and 112 Barbara Circle ($24.00):
(Foster Refund Letter)
t) Allow Building Official to attend Association of Flood Plain Managers annual conference in Biloxi on May 16-21, 2004, and pay all reasonable and actual expenses
u) Allow Cellular South to locate test equipment on Pine Dr. water tower for period of 72 hours and authorize City Attorney to review all related documents for signature by Mayor, if necessary:
(Cellular South Letter)
v) Accept information for proper installation of traffic calming devices and spread upon minutes:
(Traffic Calming Device Info)
w) Accept Planning Commission’s recommendations with regard to the following:
1. Thomas L. Reynolds, Sr. – Sketch Plat Approval of subdivision (Sunset Apartments location):
(Reynolds Documents)
2. Stan and Angela Sumrall – Lot Split at 3401 Bienville Blvd.:
(Sumrall Documents)
3. Craig Joachim – Lot Split/Reconfiguration for property located north of Government St., 125 ft. west of Gulf Islands National Seashore Rd.:
(Joachim Documents)
x) Accept Historic Preservation Commission’s recommendations with regard to the following certificates of appropriateness:
1. Cody Green – 401 Ruskin Ave.:
(Green COA)
2. Oliver Latil – 160 Washington Ave.:
(Latil COA)
3. Leo and Lucille Parker – 316 Washington Ave.:
(Parker COA)
4. Joan Ladnier – 526 Jackson Ave. (Amendment):
(Ladnier COA)
City Attorney:
y) Pay City Attorney’s bill for February 2004 ($2,887.50)
Miscellaneous:
z) Accept revised rental guidelines and fees for Ocean Springs Civic Center and Ocean Springs Community Center:
(Civic Center/Community Center Rental Guidelines)
aa) Pay invoice from John V. Quarstein ($2,000.00) for consultant services regarding Fort Maurepas Foundation:
(Quarstein Invoice)
bb) Accept preliminary site and floor plan for New Emergency Management & Public Safety Facility:
(EOC/Public Safety Plans Letter)
cc) Pay invoice from Walter T. Bolton and William V. Lack, Jr. for architectural services regarding New Emergency Management & Public Safety Facility:
(Bolton/Lack Invoice)
Items h, z and aa were removed from the Consent Agenda for further consideration.
Motion by Gill, seconded by Carvin, to approve the Consent Agenda, excluding items h, z and aa.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
At this time discussion was held regarding item h of the Consent Agenda. The Deputy City Clerk reported that she was still working on a budget amendment and expected to have it prepared by the next meeting.
Police Dept.
Alderman Gill asked for an update on the plans for the new emergency/public safety facility. Mayor Ainsworth suggested a work session be scheduled on the matter. Fire Chief Mark Hare told the Board that plans were finalized and the property was in the process of being cleared.
The City Engineer reported that he had reviewed the sidewalk on the Heron Bayou Bridge and said it was possible to flop the sidewalk from the south side to the north side at an estimated cost of $15,000.00-$20,000.00, if the centerline did not have to be realigned. He added that realignment of the centerline would increase the cost to approximately $25,000.00-$35,000.00. Alderman Dalgo reminded the Board that Supervisor John McKay had pledged $10,000.00 in county funds for the project if approved and that there was still $31,000.00 of county funds in the budget for the project.
Motion by Dalgo, seconded by Carvin, to authorize the City Clerk to advertise for bids for moving the sidewalk to the north side of the Heron Bayou Bridge.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
The City Engineer reported that he and the City Attorney had met with several appraisers concerning the Hwy 90 water and sewer extension easements and would have a recommendation at the next meeting.
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by McDonnell, to spend $1,300.00 on replacing the two Police Officers’ Association signs on Front Beach and to split the cost between the At Large and Ward 2 capital project funds.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
(Sewer Cleaning Truck)
Alderman Dalgo asked the Public Works Director if he would be using funds from the Sewer Dept. ending cash balance for the City’s share of the truck, but was told he felt he could purchase the truck with funds in his existing budget.
Motion by Gill, seconded by Jalanivich, to authorize the City Clerk to advertise for bids for a sewer cleaning truck, or purchase it from state contract, using 55% EPA grant funds and 45% Sewer Dept. funds.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Carvin, to allow the two city mechanics to attend the NAPA auto electric class on April 21, 2004 and pay the $20.00 fee.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
(Pre-cast Sewer Manholes)
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Carvin, to authorize the City Clerk to advertise for term bids for pre-cast sewer manholes with specifications provided by Public Works.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
The HR Director was commended for her work on the new Substance Abuse Policy.
Alderman Gill asked about the progress on clearing the public safety facility property. The Public Works Director and City Engineer said they were waiting on an extended period of dry weather and estimated it would be at least six weeks before the work would begin.
Mayor Ainsworth presented the following proposal he had received for trimming, pruning and fertilizing 64 trees on Washington Ave.
(Proposal – Tree Trimming, Pruning, Fertilizing – Washington Ave.)
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by McDonnell, to refer the proposal to the City Planner and Tree Committee for a recommendation back to the Board.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Mayor Ainsworth reminded the Board that HOSA would be dedicating the fountain on the west side of the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center property in the name of Bob and Virginia Meyers, who had donated a $100,000.00 trust to HOSA several years ago for annual proceeds to be used for certain things. He announced that he would be presenting a proclamation to the Meyers at the dedication.
Alderman Jalanivich was temporarily absent at this time.
At this time Mayor Ainsworth read aloud the following statement concerning the proposed railroad crossing closures.
“Representatives of the City and I met with MDOT, CSX and Federal Railroad Administration officials to discuss the possibility of creating quiet zones in Ocean Springs. To assist in achieving this goal, MDOT and CSX suggested closing two crossings in the City and the City agreed to evaluate this suggestion. The two crossings were Church St. and Thorn Ave. Reviewing the accident data, traffic patterns and economic impact, we can find no justification for the closing of Church and Thorn and are not in favor of this action”.
Alderman McDonnell advised that the School Board would soon be taking the matter up in a work session and taking a position one way or the other as well. He added that the residents of the Villa Maria and Samaritan House were very concerned about possible delays in receiving medical attention should a crossing close. He anticipated that more people and organizations within the community would be taking the same stance.
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Carvin, to give the Mayor the authority to respond to MDOT and the railroad concerning feedback received from the community and the Board’s feelings on the matter.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
TEMPORARILY ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Jalanivich
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Gill, to remove the Mississippi Press Outlook 2004 Ad from the agenda.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
TEMPORARILY ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Jalanivich
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Alderman Jalanivich returned to the meeting at this time.
Alderman Jalanivich asked that his item, County Seawall Maintenance, be held over until the next meeting as he was trying to schedule a meeting with Jackson County on the issue.
New Business
(Carl Hamilton – Appeal of Tree Committee Decision at Lot 71 Maurepas Landing)
Mr. Hamilton appealed to the Board that there were several other large oak trees on the lot and that he could not construct a house there without removal of the one tree. Several of the aldermen wanted to review the tree and Mr. Hamilton agreed to meet with them on site to identify which tree he wanted removed. The meeting was scheduled for March 18, 2004 at 10:00 a.m.
At this time discussion was held regarding item z of the Consent Agenda. Alderman Jalanivich asked that the proposed rental guidelines be held over until the next meeting, as the City Attorney was not present.
At this time consideration was given to item aa of the Consent Agenda.
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Gill, to approve item aa of the Consent Agenda.
VOTING AYE Aldermen Jalanivich, McDonnell, Carvin, Dalgo and Gill
VOTING NAY Alderman Lloyd
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Alderman Gill reported that there was an exceptionally dark and narrow area on Old CCC Camp Rd. where a few cars had already run off of the road and requested street lighting in the area.
Motion by Gill, seconded by Carvin, to install a streetlight at 8901 and 8903 Old CCC Camp Rd.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Alderman McDonnell submitted the following information regarding needed repairs at the Community Center due to water damage.
(Hollomon Architects Letter)
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Dalgo, to develop a set of specifications based on the information from Hollomon Architects and solicit proposals or advertise for bids to repair the water damage at the Community Center, and to include as an alternate, protection from vehicle parking between the Senior Citizens Building and the Community Center.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Mike Strife told the Board that closing the Church St. railroad crossing would be detrimental to Bancorp South.
Dr. S. H. Dees thanked the Board for their efforts and expense to slow down traffic on General Pershing with the traffic calming devices.
A representative of Courtney Farms also expressed opposition to the closing of the Church St. crossing.
Tim Taranto, who was chairman for the Rotary pancake day this year, complimented rental facilities employees Bob Ladnier and William Joiner on doing a fine job each year during the event.
City Judge Matthew Mestayer was present and said he was a big supporter of the speed bumps on General Pershing and had already seen an impact in City Court. He encouraged Board members come down and observe court proceedings. He reported that he had started a program for minors arrested for possession of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other controlled substances where, in addition to a fine, they are required to attend city court for 4 weeks in a row and felt that the program helped prevent further violations. In addition, he thanked the Board for the installation of metal detectors in the courtroom. A copy of the plans for the new emergency/public safety facility was provided to him for his review.
An unidentified member of the audience thanked the Board for opposing the potential closing of the Thorn Ave. railroad crossing.
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Dalgo, to go into Closed Session to determine the necessity for an Executive Session.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Aldermen McDonnell and Carvin were absent during the
Closed Session.
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Gill, to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel in the Fire Dept. and Administration, and potential litigation regarding City property.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
TEMPORARILY ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Aldermen McDonnell and Carvin
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Aldermen McDonnell and Carvin joined the Board at the
onset of the Executive Session.
The Deputy City Clerk announced to the audience that the Board had elected to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel in the Fire and Administration Depts. and potential litigation regarding City property.
The Executive Session began at approximately 7:45 p.m. and ended at 8:05 p.m.
Motion by Dalgo, seconded by Carvin, to resume the Regular Session.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Lloyd, to authorize payment to the Interim City Clerk of all overtime that cannot be accrued toward comp time in accordance with the Time and Attendance Policy for Exempt Personnel.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Carvin, to authorize the Mayor to readvertise the City Clerk position with Civil Service with the changes made in the job description.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by Lloyd, seconded by McDonnell, to accept the Fire
Chief’s recommendation to promote Randall S. Rogers to the rank of Fire
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by Lloyd, seconded by Jalanivich, to accept the Fire
Chief’s recommendation to promote
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
(Himel Letter – speed bumps on Shearwater and General Pershing)
Motion by McDonnell, seconded by Lloyd, that the letter from Jim and Jean Himel of 115 Shearwater Dr. concerning the speed humps on be spread upon the minutes.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
(Letter to HOSA - sponsorship of room at Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center)
Motion by Dalgo, seconded by Lloyd, to spread upon the minutes the letter to HOSA regarding sponsorship of one room at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
(Traffic Signal - Holcomb & Hwy 90)
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Carvin, to approve Supplemental Agreement #2 for Holcomb Blvd. and Hwy 90 Traffic Signal Improvements, STP-9069-00(002), at a cost of $54,526.00 to be fully funded by MDOT.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
Motion by Jalanivich, seconded by Carvin, to adjourn.
VOTING AYE ALL
VOTING NAY NONE
ABSENT AND NOT VOTING Alderman Cody
______________________________ _____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
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