REGULAR MEETING OF
Be it remembered that the Mayor and
Board of Aldermen of the City of Ocean Springs met in a Regular meeting at City
Hall in the City of Ocean Springs at
Alderman Cody gave the Invocation.
Mayor Ainsworth asked members of the
Boy Scouts to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jackson County Civil Defense Director
Butch Loper presented a letter of appreciation to
Firefighter Ray West, which is signed by the Director of the Mississippi
Emergency Management Agency Robert Latham (Exhibit 3).
Mayor Ainsworth presented a
proclamation to Pamela Cox proclaiming March 2005 as Purchasing Month in Ocean
Springs (Exhibit 4).
Mr. Ed Crenshaw, VP of Public Relations
for Gulf LNG Energy of
CONSENT
AGENDA
Motion was made by Alderman Jalanavich,
seconded by Alderman Carvin and unanimously carried to approve the Consent
Agenda, except items (t, x), which were pulled by Alderman Lloyd and items (f,
h, k, y) which were pulled by Alderman Dalgo.
Item (w) was pulled and voted on later in the meeting.
DEPARTMENT
REPORTS
City
Clerk
City Clerk, Adrienne Howell, introduced
new Deputy Clerk, Melinda McDowell. A motion was made by Alderman Jalanavich and
seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to adopt the budget amendment
(Exhibit 6-a) as presented by the City Clerk.
Police
Department
Alderman Dalgo questioned the Chief of
Police as to whether or not three employees needed to attend the Regional
Financial Management Training Seminar in Atlanta, GA on May 11-12, 2005 (Exhibit
5-f). A motion was made by Alderman
Jalanavich and seconded by Alderman Carvin to authorize three employees to
attend the seminar. The motion failed as
follows: Aldermen Lloyd, Jalanavich, and
Carvin voted Aye and Aldermen McDonnell, Cody, Dalgo and Gill voted Nay. Motion was made by Alderman Cody and seconded
by Alderman McDonnell to send two police department employees and one fire
department employee to the seminar and authorize payment of travel expenses. The motion passed with Aldermen Lloyd,
Jalanavich, Carvin, McDonnell, Gill and Cody voting Aye and Alderman Dalgo
voting Nay.
Motion was
made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Carvin and
unanimously carried to authorize the transfer of Roy
“Bryan” Wallace from Patrol to dispatcher position at no salary change and
authorize the patrolman position to be filled (Exhibit 5-h). Chief Belk said he intends to eventually
transfer Mr. Wallace back to a Patrol position.
Chief Belk addressed the issue of the
current 120 hour cap on comp time. He requested
a temporary suspension of the 120 hour comp leave cap, and explained that the
16 hour comp time cap for new hires is very difficult to work with. He pledges to do his best to keep the comp
time hours to a minimum but cannot predict when overtime hours will be needed.
Fire
Department
No report.
Risk
Manager/HR
Item 5-x of the Consent Agenda was
discussed regarding a leave policy for part-time regular employees. The Human Resources Manager recommended a change
in policy to follow
After a discussion of Item 5-y of the
Consent Agenda a motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman
Carvin and unanimously carried to deny any attendance of the Motivational
Seminar.
City
Engineer
Mr. David Compton, City Engineer,
reported the following: the pile driving at the
Alderman Dalgo requested an update on
the sewer problems in Canebrake Subdivision.
The Mayor reported that he sent a letter to Mississippi Gulf Coast
Regional Wastewater Authority informing them of the sewer problems and asked them
to make a recommendation to fix the problems.
Mr. Compton also contacted Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Wastewater
Authority and asked them to get involved in resolving the sewer problems and will
follow up for a response.
Public
Works
Motion was made by Alderman Jalanavich
and seconded by Alderman Lloyd to exercise the “Two Year Mutual Party Contract
Extension” on sewer pumps and plastic drainage pipe biannual bids if agreed
upon by suppliers and if not agreed upon authorize the solicitation of bids
(Exhibit 5-p). The motion was
unanimously carried.
Mr. Kaufman reported that Mrs. Tonya
Martin, homeowner at 8309 Holiday Drive has requested to attach to the city sewer
system at her own expense (Exhibit 5-q).
This property is outside the city limits. City Clerk Howell questioned what the
recourse would be if this customer failed to pay their sewer bill. Alderman Cody made a motion to have Mr.
Kaufman draw up a feasibility study with cost estimates including a deposit
plan to provide water and sewer at 8309 Holiday Drive and present it at the
next board meeting for consideration. The
motion was seconded by Alderman Jalanavich and unanimously carried.
Mr. Kaufman voiced concerns about the current
comp time policy. He is having a
difficult time with the current policy requiring a 120 cap on comp time leave
and a 16 hour cap on comp time leave for new hires. Aldermen Cody and Lloyd are working on a new
policy and should have it ready by Friday (March 4, 2005). Motion
was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Jalanavich and unanimously
carried to temporarily change the cap on comp time leave to 240 hours for all
employees including new hires effective tonight.
Mr. Kaufman reported that work has been
completed on the water tank on Halstead road after residents complained of foul
water. The chlorinator was not working
properly due to a faulty valve. Work is
being done at
Alderman McDonnell said that he received
a call from Mr. Robert Barq, owner of the mini
storage in O.S., about problems getting information on how he can get sewer
hooked up to his business. Mr. Kaufman
said that he sent a letter to Broussard plumbing in June or July and the board
authorized him to be allowed to tie into the same grinder pump that
What-A-Burger and
Alderman McDonnell said that Mr. Johnny
Mladnich called him and said that he had some
decorative light poles that he had acquired many years ago from front beach in
Ocean Springs and would like to donate them at no cost back to the city. Mr. Kaufman will contact Mr. Mladnich and inspect the light poles.
Alderman Dalgo said that he had received
a complaint from a resident on
Community
Development and Planning
Alderman Lloyd asked if there was any
provision to require residents to rebuild a pier or remove the pilings from the
water once a pier has been damaged from a storm. Mr. Scruggs said that he will call DMR and
see what can be done. Motion was made by
Alderman Lloyd, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to accept
the recommendation to authorize Phyllis Consentino to
construct a pier and deck at 121 Pine Drive (Exhibit 5-t).
Motion was
made by Alderman Jalanivich and seconded by Alderman Gill to adopt Ordinance No.
4-2005 REQUIRING ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
REGARDING DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS NOMINATED AS A HISTORIC SITE, PROPERTY OR
LANDMARK AND/OR BUILDINGS IN EXCESS OF 50 YEARS IN AGE (Exhibit 5-w). The motion passed with a roll call vote as
follows:
Alderman
Jalanivich Voted Nay
Alderman
Lloyd Voted Nay
Alderman
McDonnell Voted Aye
Alderman Cody Voted Aye
Alderman
Dalgo Voted Aye
Alderman Gill Voted Aye
Alderman
Carvin Did not
vote, was out of the room
Motion made
by Alderman Jalanavich and seconded by Alderman Lloyd to pass a resolution authorizing
the City to sell a piece of un-useable land measuring 330 sq. ft. on
Mr. Scruggs
gave an update on the C4-B district and said that he received opinions from the
property owners and the planning commission and would like this matter to be
considered at the next board meeting.
Alderman
McDonnell reported that he received a letter from Mr. Dinero
of
Alderman
McDonnell voiced concerns that resulted from a meeting with residents that live
in the C4-B district regarding traffic, water runoff, congestion from parking
and further encroachment on adjacent neighborhoods in the area around the
harbor. Alderman McDonnell made a motion
which was seconded by Alderman Gill to place a six month moratorium on
additional development excluding the harbor dock dry storage facility and its
ancillary structure, the existing Marine Mart and the harbor master’s house in
the C4-B (which are all located in the Ocean Springs harbor area). The motion failed with Aldermen
McDonnell and Gill voting Aye and Aldermen Jalanavich, Lloyd, Cody, Dalgo and
Carvin voting Nay. Mr. Scruggs advised
the board that the matter had not been before the Planning Commission, but they
will review it at their Tuesday (March 8, 2005) meeting.
Motion made
by Alderman Cody and seconded by Alderman Carvin to have the Planning
Commission in conjunction with the City Planner, the Police Chief and the Fire
Chief study the traffic impact, the marine impact, the noise and provide a
method to control the situation and come back with a recommendation so there
will be a basis for action being taken. Motion
carried unanimously.
Alderman
Lloyd made a motion seconded by Alderman Jalanavich for the Planning Commission
to give a recommendation at the next meeting on a moratorium on the C4-B Harbor
area. Motion carried unanimously.
Alderman
Dalgo made a motion which was seconded by Alderman Gill to have the matter of
the C4-B harbor area be remanded to the Planning Commission for a study of the
issue, making a recommendation with all of the concerns mentioned tonight and
present back to this board ASAP and while this process is going on that a temporary
moratorium will be in effect that will not allow any building permits to be
pulled or allow any construction other than what is going on right now
excluding the harbor master’s house, Mr. Dinero’s and
Mr. Harris’s businesses. Mr. Scruggs
said that the Planning Commission could have an ordinance in two weeks or a
recommendation for a moratorium to be put in place. Mr. Edwards, City Attorney, said that the
Planning Commission may make a draft of the ordinance and will also have a
recommendation whether the impacts do make a difference or do not. If they do make a difference they may make a
recommendation of a further moratorium. Mr.
Edwards said a moratorium at this time would not be arbitrary or capricious
because the board is staying the period until they have all of the facts. The motion passed with Aldermen
McDonnell, Cody, Dalgo and Gill voting Aye and Aldermen Jalanavich, Lloyd, and
Carvin voting Nay.
Dr. Pontius, from the audience,
expressed a concern that the Planning Commission does not handle commercial
business. Mr. Scruggs said that the
Planning Commission can look at commercial and can look at residential but does
not look at every business permit that comes in.
Alderman McDonnell made a motion which
was seconded by Alderman Dalgo to include the Harbor Commission along with the
Planning Commission to look at the issues in C4-B and make a recommendation to
the board. Motion was passed
unanimously.
Parks
and Recreation
Motion was made by Alderman Jalanavich
and seconded by Alderman Dalgo to adopt a Resolution Authorizing and Approving
the Execution of an Equipment Lease-Purchase Agreement with First Continental
Leasing for the Purpose of Lease-Purchasing Two Buses and for the City Attorney
to review the lease and sign off on it (Exhibit 6-b). The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor
No report
City
Attorney
At the request of Mr. Edwards, a motion
was made by Alderman Jalanavich, seconded by Alderman Cody and was unanimously
carried to authorize the Mayor to sign Right of Way and Easement Deed for Centerpoint Energy Resources Corp to have a five foot
easement on a very small piece of property south of Porter Street and west of
Martin Avenue (Exhibit 6-c).
ALDERMAN’S
FORUM
Motion was made by Alderman Cody and seconded
by Alderman Gill to pay for the replacement of the American flags used on Hwy.
90 with funds coming from the following Aldermen accounts: Gill, Curtis, Dalgo
will donate $500, Alderman McDonnell will donate $1,000 and the remainder will come
out of Alderman Cody’s account. The
motion passed unanimously. The total
cost to replace 229 flags is $3,492.25.
NEW
BUSINESS
Citizen Claire Brou
requested speed bumps on
Alderman McDonnell requested that Chief
Belk bring back an action plan in two weeks outlining the plan for manpower
covering the beach this summer. Chief
Belk reported that there was a great deal of overtime in relation to this issue
last year.
AUDIENCE REQUEST
Citizen Morris Sonnier
representing the O.S. Civic League, a non-partisan group, passed out a handout
with information on anticipated available money as a result of note
payoffs. Mr. Sonnier
asked if there would be a tax increase and a discussion of how the City plans
to pay for the 19th Hole Project followed. Alderman Gill made a motion which was seconded
Alderman Lloyd to ask the City Clerk to come up with a written plan to show the
public how the City plans to pay for $1.6 million dollar referendum. The motion carried unanimously.
Citizen Anne Burke asked to see a copy
of the 2003 audit. City Clerk, Adrienne
Howell, said that the audit will be ready in two or three weeks.
Citizen Ray Krystosek
of Fort Bayou Estates had a question about redistricting and what district he
would fall into and who his alderman would be.
Alderman Gill gave an explanation of the redistricting. Mr. Scruggs reported that he and the City
Clerk will be mailing out notices to the citizens who are affected by the
redistricting and The Mississippi Press will be publishing full color
redistricting maps including breakdown by wards.
EXECUTIVE
SESSION
Motion was made by Alderman Jalanavich,
seconded by Alderman Carvin, to go into closed session to see if they would
remain in executive session. The motion
passed with Aldermen Jalanavich, Carvin, McDonnell, Cody, Dalgo and Gill voting
Aye and Alderman Lloyd voting Nay.
The City Clerk returned to the meeting
and announced that a motion was made by Alderman Carvin, seconded by Alderman Jalanivich,
and unanimously carried to remain in executive session to discuss matters
relating to litigation and personnel in the Supervision and Finance department.
Motion was made by Alderman Cody,
seconded by Alderman Jalanivich and unanimously carried to come out of
executive session and return to regular session.
Motion was made by Alderman Cody,
seconded by Alderman Jalanavich, and unanimously carried to promote Patty
Gaston to Deputy City Clerk with a $3.00 an hour salary increase.
Motion was made by Alderman Cody, seconded
by Alderman Dalgo, and unanimously carried to adjourn until 6:00 p.m. on March 15,
2005.
________________________ ______________________
City Clerk Mayor
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Date Date