CITY OF CALHOUN



CITY OF CALHOUN

REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING

DEPOT COMMUNITY ROOM

109 SOUTH KING ST

March 13, 2017 7:00 P.M.

MINUTES

PRESENT: James F. Palmer, Mayor

Matt Barton, Mayor Pro Tem

Al Edwards, Councilman

David Hammond, Councilman

Jackie Palazzolo, Councilwoman

ALSO: Eddie Peterson, City Administrator; Paul Worley, Assistant City Administrator; Sharon Nelson, City Clerk; Larry Vickery, Utilities General Manager; George Govignon, City Attorney; Jeff Defoor, Director of Electric Utilities; Jerry Crawford, Water and Sewer Director; Lenny Nesbitt, Fire Chief; Brad Carrick, Telecommunications Director; and Neal Russell, Ordinance Officer.

1. Mayor Palmer called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone in attendance.

A. Mayor Palmer gave the invocation.

2. Mayor Palmer led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag.

3. Councilman Hammond made a motion to approve the March 13, 2017 agenda. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

4. Councilman Edwards made a motion to approve the regular minutes of the February 27, 2017 City Council Meeting. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved. Councilman Edwards made a motion to approve the executive session minutes of the February 27, 2017 City Council Meeting. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

5. Mayor’s Comments: None

6. Council Comments:

A. Councilman Edwards submitted February reports are as follows:

1) Water, Sewer, and Engineering

Water and Sewer Systems Active Projects

o The 2” Galvanized Line Replacement Project -The project as a whole is approximately 77% complete. Thor Drive, Hunt’s Subdivision, Spring Valley, Davis Road, Edwards Street, Fox Street, Short Street, and West Street are all complete. The next area being sections of Cherry Hill Dr., Sherwood Dr., Highland Ct., and Valley Circle is under construction.

o Flocculation and Sedimentation Control Project at the Mauldin Road Water Treatment Plant- The project has been completed except painting of the repaired pipe section.

o The new NPDES permit for the Wastewater Treatment Plant went into effect March 1, 2016. Several items required under the new permit have been implemented. The required Design Development Report has been submitted to and approved by EPD. The chemical feed systems are under construction.

o The Nutrient Trading Monitoring Pilot Program is underway. The first phase was funded by a Section 319 Grant and has been completed. We are working on a second 319 Grant application to continue the monitoring. EPD would like for the second phase of monitoring to include a larger scale in conjunction with the small plots. North Georgia Water Resources has agreed to help fund the In-Kind match should the grant be awarded.

o Wastewater Treatment Plant Motor Control Center Upgrades Phase I has been completed with Phase II in the submittal stage.

o Miller’s Ferry Loop Water Main – This project is complete and in operation.

o South Calhoun By-Pass utility relocations- GDOT gave us a “Notice to Proceed” on February 19th. The water and sewer relocation project has been delayed by issues involving wetlands. The required categorical exclusion has been issued by EPD and a copy sent to GEFA. Construction began on March 6, 2017.

o Pisgah Drainage Area Sewer Replacement – Bid opening was January 4, 2017. IPR Southeast was the low bidder at $1,029,191. The project is budgeted at $1,045,002.

Water & Sewer Projects in Development

o Wastewater Treatment Plant Motor Control Center Upgrades- Phase II

o S.R. 156 Water Main Relocation (GDOT/ RR Bridge Replacement @ Ranger) - GDOT has contacted us regarding the attachment of the new water main to the proposed bridge.

o North Wall Street and Redbud Road Intersection improvements- GDOT has asked for an estimate to relocate any utilities in conflict with the proposed project.

o Hwy 41 South at Lynn Creek (GDOT Widening Project)

Projects in Engineering Conceptual Design

Sewer

o Blackwood Creek Trunk Sewer Replacement

o Yarborough Street Replacement Sewer

o Louise Ave., Cherry St., and Florence Ave. Sewer Replacement

Water

o Bellwood Road Water Transmission Main

o Curtis Parkway Water Main

o Reeves Station Water Main (replacing existing 6” C. I. with an 8”)

o Second Interconnect with Pickens County

2) Water Treatment Plant Facility

o Total gallons withdrawn: 260,570,000

o Daily average: 9,306,071

o Wells: 98,600,000

o Big Springs: 0

o Percent produced by Brittany Drive: 37.8%

o Brittany Dr. daily production to capacity: 29.84%

o Mauldin Rd. daily production to capacity: 36.15%

o Rainfall for February – 2.36”

o Due to the persistent drought, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has revised the current drought response to a Level 1 Drought declaration for Georgia (see Map). No additional watering restrictions have been issued above those already in place for the past several years. The City of Calhoun Water System does not have any type of water supply shortage! Outdoor watering as per the existing guidelines may continue under the Level 1 declaration. The existing outdoor restrictions and the Georgia Drought Response Map can be found at

3) Waste Water Treatment Plant Facility

o Treated a daily average of 3.430 MGD, with an average BOD effluent of 6, average suspended effluent of 10, and an average COD of 49.

4) Water Distribution

o 473 work orders completed, 11 new water connections, 16 water service leaks repaired, 17 water main leaks repaired, 21 water services changed to new main lines, 324 meter changes, 22 utility locates called in for work orders, 454 utility locates responses.

o Installed 1,800 feet of 2” poly line to replace old 2” galvanized line.

o Finished installing 1,200 feet of 2” poly line to replace old 2” galvanized line along Coggins Loop.

o Finished installing 600 feet of 2” poly line along Scott Lake Road to replace old 2” galvanized line.

5) Waste Water Collection

o 2,400 feet of Sanitary Sewer Services TV inspected, 291 utility locates

completed, 5,800 feet of sanitary sewer lines cleaned, 5 new sewer connections installed, 3 sanitary sewer services repaired.

6) Police Department

o Made 394 cases with 5 DUI’s

o Fines collected by Municipal Court - $45,279

o Issued 414 warnings

o Investigated 43 highway accidents, 45 private property accidents

o Provided 89 escorts

o 1,448 incident reports

o Responded to 249 alarms

o Miles patrolled: 48,433

o Responded to 4,066 calls for service by E-911

7) Municipal Court and Probation

o Total Court cases- 269

o Court cases dropped- 80

o Number of Bond forfeitures- 142

o Number of Probation cases- 19

o Failure to appear- 36

o Subpoenas served- 7

8) Court Services and Enforcement

o The following streets were maintained by inmate trash detail: McDaniel Station Road, Curtis Parkway, River Street, Oak Street, West Line Street, Forrest Avenue, Harlan Street, Calhoun Avenue, Pine Street, Spring Valley Drive, Stewart Drive, Spring Valley Boulevard, Maplewood Drive, Greenbriar Circle, Deer Field Drive, Old Belwood Road, and Richardson Road.

o Total bags of trash collected by inmate detail were 63.

o Also, assisted various City Departments that may need help, such as code enforcement, police, city court, city hall, recycling, and others.

9) Fire Department- Suppression

o Responded to 162 calls for service for the suppression division, with 6 fire incidents.

o Responded to 15 medical service calls.

o Responded to 7 hazardous conditions incidents.

o Responded to 17 false alarms or false calls, 16 good intent.

o Fire Station tour and Safety presentation for 22 girls in GA’s from First Baptist.

o Completed all routine vehicle and station maintenance.

Training Division

o Department completed 747 hours of training.

o Training consisted of: firefighter self rescue, downed firefighter rescue, and pump training.

10) Fire Inspection Department

o 103 total reported activities/inspections completed during the month.

o Completed 25 annual inspections and 32 requested inspections.

o Performed 11 follow up/re-inspections.

o Performed 28 consultations.

o Completed all routine vehicle and station maintenance.

Training Division

o Lt. Duvall attended the City Safety meeting.

o Inspections attended LEPC meeting

o Tagged and GPS located 10 new fire hydrants put in service in Parks Place expansion.

11) Building Inspection Department

o Issued 54 permits for an estimated cost of $1,480,220, collected $11,477 in permit fees. This included 11 new residential, 4 residential HVAC, 2 industrial HVAC, 2 industrial electrical, 2 commercial remodel/addition, 1 grading permit, and 162 total inspections.

B. Mayor Pro Tem Barton submitted February reports are as follows:

1. Electric Department

o The bad pole replacement project continues on South Industrial.

o New residential construction continues at Willowbrook and Gilmore with 3 new temporary and 3 permanent power connections

Work orders in process or completed

o Newly created- 94

o Completed and closed- 100

Consisting of:

o Capital construction- 7

o Street and security lighting-22

o Distribution Maintenance-10

o Outages/trouble calls- 6

o Meter maintenance/replacement-7

o New customer meter sets-11

o Electric locate tickets processed- 196

o The City of Calhoun’s Electrical load for February is projected to be 30,180,000 kilowatt hours. This is 5,503,000 kWh less than last year, which was the record February. Reduction is primarily due to the mild winter and reduced large industrial loads. Actual numbers will be released later this week.

2. Telecommunications Departments:

o Installed one new internet and one new point-to-point circuit.

o Started work to connect two new internet connections at previous customer locations.

o Upgraded one customer to new access system bringing project completion to 38%. Have 108 remaining to do.

o Reconfigured a port at each of three meter reading tower sites to support new cloud based servers for meter data collection and reporting.

o Started construction of fiber line for new bank.

o Waiting for one customer to complete transfer of circuit from T1 to new point-to-point before decommissioning SONET equipment.

o Relocated 450 foot aerial fiber drop to an underground drop to clear the path for a customer’s building addition.

o Worked with vendor to upgrade finance software database to new version. Upgraded client software on 62 computers.

o Installed security camera system and five cameras at the Depot.

o Created YouTube channel, installed electronics, and tested camera for streaming and storing council meetings. To my understanding, we will by trying the system tonight.

o Opened and closed 13 work orders.

3. Geographic Information Systems:

o Submitted annual Boundary Annexation Survey report to Census Department.

o Worked with Engineering Department to run water modeling sessions.

o Updated water meter data and physical building addresses for Billing Department.

o Updated water meter data and several sections of the Water System map.

o Updated Zoning map.

o Updated fiber map.

o Added new fire pre-plans for buildings for Fire Department.

o Updated City and GIS web sites.

4. Downtown Development Authority

o The DDA director attended a Business Engagement Committee meeting; a Young Professionals meeting; a CVB Tourism meeting; Chamber of Commerce Booster breakfast & hosted the Northwest Georgia Mainstreet Managers Regional Retreat.  The DDA & HPC had a joint meeting with Joel Cordele of Georgia Downtowns.  They developed a strategic plan for Downtown Calhoun 2017-2018.

o The planning for the annual Barbeque, Boogie & Blues in downtown is underway. There will be tractor rides, arts & crafts vendors, food vendors, & live music featuring Kurt Thomas and The Fly Betty Band.  Along with the annual events there will be new additions including a car show cruise-in, & petting zoo.  The dates are April 28th & 29th.  We look forward to event and hope to have a record crowd.   

o Safety Committee

o Safety topic- Accident Prevention

o Safety Inspection- Library and Utilities Department

o Vehicle Accidents: 1

o Workers Compensation: 3

C. Councilwoman Palazzolo submitted February reports are as follows:

1. Street Department

o Completed 40 shop and 17 street department work orders.

o Installed 5 new street signs.

o Removed trees that had fallen on the mountain bike trail.

o Replaced 50 feet of sidewalk on North Wall Street.

o Cleaned out ditches on North Industrial Boulevard.

2. Cemetery Department

o Performed routine maintenance on Fain and Chandler Cemetery.

o Supervised the opening and closing of 12 grave sites.

o Sold 13 new grave spaces.

3. Parks Department

o The Parks Department grounds crew picked up litter, hauled garbage to the dump, and maintained records at records room.

o The building and maintenance crew performed routine maintenance on city buildings and all fountains.

o Remodeled cubicle at City Hall.

o Repaired holes in the wall and painted at building inspection.

4. Animal Control

o Housed 13 dogs and 3 cats – I am happy to say at this time they are completely empty. Big congratulations to Clyde and his staf,f and also a lot of volunteers throughout the community that have helped to get those animals adopted.

o Number of dogs adopted: 0

o Number of cats adopted: 0

o Number of dogs rescued: 1

o Number of cats rescued: 2

o Number of dogs reclaimed by owner: 4

o Number of cats reclaimed by owner: 0

o Number of dogs euthanized: 0

o Number of cats euthanized: 0

o Number of warnings given: 33

o Number of bite cases: 3

o Citations issues: 5

5. Calhoun Recycling Center

6. [pic]

6. Recreation Department

CALHOUN PARK

o The official ribbon cutting and opening ceremonies for Calhoun Park – Phase I will be held Saturday, March 25, 2017 at 9:00am. We hope that everyone can attend.

PROGRAMS

o Youth Basketball: GRPA District tournaments were played February 17 through February 25. There were five teams representing Calhoun Recreation Department, and four teams advanced to the GRPA State Championships. Our agency hosted the 7-8 Girls district tournament with 10 teams participating. The economic impact for this 4 day tournament was $28,080. Teams from Fannin, Trion, Summerville, Gilmer, Pickens, Murray, Bremen, Catoosa, Gordon and Calhoun participated in this event.

o Calhoun and Gordon County Recreation Departments hosted the United Way All-Star Warm up tournament February 9-11, 2017. There were 22 teams that participated. Proceeds from this event will go to United Way.

o Youth Soccer – Youth Soccer registration ended on February 10. There are 326 boys and girls participating in Spring Soccer. Assessments were held February 11 and drafts on February 13 and 14. Practices and games are now underway.

o Youth Baseball and Softball – Registration for baseball and softball ended on February 24. Assessments were held on February 25-26 and drafts on February 27 and 28. Practices have started.

o Tennis – CHS and CMS – practice daily; Home matches February 23 and 27; Adult Leagues are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; Calhoun Tennis Academy – Tuesday and Thursday

FACILITY USAGE

Billy Bearden Recreation Center:

Meeting Room – 3 events

Playground Pavilion – 3 events

WEBSITE USAGE

Facebook Page

4,174 views 26 – New Likes

11- Posts 13 - Posts

4 –comments 216 - Views

53-referrals 4,135 - Reached

1,392 – Searches 3,857 - Engagements

2017 UPCOMING EVENTS

USA SOFTBALL – 16 GOLD SOUTHERN TERRITORY QUALIFIER – JUNE 9-11, 2017

USA SOFTBALL – 18A NATIONAL QUALIFIER – JUNE 9-11, 2017

USA SOFTBALL OF GEORGIA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – 16U – JULY 7-9, 2017

GRPA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS – 7-8 COACH PITCH – BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL – JULY 11-15, 2017

GRPA STATE FOOTBALL – NORTH REGIONALS – DECEMBER 2-3, 2017

D. Councilman Hammond submitted February reports as follows:

1) Northwest Georgia Regional Commission

o The Regional Commission (RC) oversees 15 counties and 49 cities in Northwest Georgia that helps to reallocate federal dollars to various programs that benefit the citizens. This is another area where your tax dollars are coming back to your community. Three areas we concentrate on are the Area on Aging; that’s homebound citizens. We have an Alzheimer’s Unit and we have people who just need living assistance so they can stay in their homes and have better quality of life issues. If you have someone in your family or know someone that may need services have them contact the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission and see what is available. There is a waiting limit but it is getting shorter. The other part of that is workforce investment. You can’t have economic development in your community if you don’t have jobs. If you have jobs and suddenly something happens, the industry changes. Case Manufacturing; we lost that business. They were a manufacturer of heavy ground equipment that relocated. All of those workers had to be retrained to do another job. Workforce Investment out of the RC comes in and not only helps those individuals with training to get new job skills, but also helps them with applications and hunting new employment opportunities. The final leg of that is the Planning and Community Economic Development. If you don’t have a large community with the reserves or the capital to do planning the RC is available to assist communities with twenty year comprehensive plans so that as their community grows you have quality growth that goes with that. Bud Owens, the new County Commissioner who just took his seat last month will be there representing County. I will be there representing the City, and Dwayne Bowman is the private sector member on this Board. That is three representatives from Calhoun Gordon County, but we have a fourth, Dr. Michelle Taylor of the Calhoun City Schools is the Governor’s appointee. She is there representing youth, representing education, and in theory, it helps the citizens of Calhoun and Gordon County better understand what is available and how we can take advantage of all the opportunities that come our way.

2) Library

o We have some new news about the Calhoun Gordon County Library that is a jointly funded entity. City of Calhoun owns the building. The City and County split the cost of that, but it has recently been shifted to the Northwest Georgia Regional Library Board for management responsibility oversight and supply costs. We do have the newest member of that library board, Alvin Long, in the back. He was recently appointed by the County. I will mention that the Library numbers are pretty staggering, 72,000 visitors annually. It isn’t books any longer. It goes from computers to e-books, e-audio, adult programs, and certainly children. It was included and expanded on our last SPLOST. If you haven’t been by and seen our new library go by. There is nothing better than the ability to read.

o There are 11,009 library card holders, 6,413 library visitors, and 5,222 total circulation.

o There were 351 story time attendance, 80 adult program attendance, 147 digital new users, 173 e-books, 167 audio books, 1,270 computer logins, and 6,587Facebook visits.

o Free Basic English classes are offered every Saturday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.  Free child care is offered for those that are attending the Basic English classes.

3) Tom B. David Airport

o The Airport is an authority supported by both Gordon County and the City of Calhoun. The airport is the 7th largest permanent based aircraft airport in the state of Georgia. There are currently 118 airplanes based at the airport. The six counties that have more aircraft have populations of 150,000 or greater, where Gordon County only has 56,000. The airport has a 6,000 foot runway, where most others only have 5,000. Therefore, our airport can handle any of the largest corporate jets, other than commercial jets, for local industry. Also, we have a $10 million project occurring at the airport in the next three to five years where there will be a parallel taxiway running adjacent to the runway. This will be coming from our federal tax dollars that we pay on April 15th coming back to Calhoun. They have never issued a full refund for a project and they are doing a full refund on this taxiway. They are doing this for a couple of reasons; they do see it primarily as a safety issue, with the seventh largest airport mainly staffed with aircraft, safe takeoffs and landings are important. With a taxiway you can do quite a bit more. But it also adds to the economic engine of that airport. When you look at McCollum Field in Cobb County and DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in DeKalb County you see that these airports are maxed out. They are huge economic engines with growth and new industry coming. Because of that the Airport Authority Board came to the City Council and the County Commission during the last few months and made a pitch for a $5 million Bond project that will start in the next few months. This bond project will allow the end build of the region right by the terminal which will allow space for large commercial jet placement. Eddie Peterson and I were at the last meeting and there were two major companies that had signed on to do work out of Tom B. David Airport. One of those individuals has four jets that they will be housing. Each jet generates around $168K annually in ad valorem tax. So, sometimes when we think about an airport we don’t think about it as an economic engine, but it is literally the next piece in our basket of diversity and economic growth. Future expansions will allow the airport to grow even more and grow the positive local economic impact. Topping that off with more economic growth, Calhoun, Georgia offers, and has offered for 30 years, a Revolving Loan Program for economic development in and around the city limits of downtown. In those 30 years we have probably retained or grew 100 plus jobs. You will see them all up and down Main Street. We currently have $2.5 million in assets. Most of these assets came to us from the Department of Community Affairs. Again, your tax dollars coming back from Atlanta for growth and development in our community. We currently have eight loans outstanding, but we are in a bad situation. We have a lot of money and we need to loan it out to individuals who want to grow businesses here in Calhoun. It’s tied to job retention and job creation. It’s reviewed by an independent Board made up mainly of bankers in our community. I am the ex-officio member and we want to do business. We want you to do business. If you see someone who has started an economic engine in Calhoun and needs some investment capitals have them come by City Hall and get an application.

7. Public Hearings and Comments:

A. Mayor Palmer opened a public hearing of a building height variance for Calhoun Hospitality, LLC at a location of parcel #057B-096 (Lovers Lane Road). The applicant is requesting to exceed the maximum building height of 50 feet per the zoning code and to allow a proposed hotel building up to a height of 60 feet. The Zoning Advisory Board met on March 9, 2017.

• Administrator Peterson stated that all of the legal requirements had been met.

• Councilwoman Palazzolo stated that the ZAB met on March 9, 2017. The ZAB recommended that the variance request be approved.

• Mayor Palmer asked for comments. We will begin with the applicant or their representative.

• A representative of the applicant was present, Mr. Tony Patel. Mr. Patel, 33 Waterside Drive, Cartersville, GA 30121, gave a presentation on the height variance request providing drawings to the Council. Mr. Patel noted that Marriott had received a direct request from Mohawk Industries for an upscale hotel to allow accommodations for lengthy stays for all their guests from overseas. Mr. Patel stated that the height variance request was for the parapet only.

• Mayor Palmer asked for other comments. There were none. Mayor Palmer closed the hearing and asked for a motion.

• Councilwoman Palazzolo made a motion to accept the recommendation of the ZAB and approve the variance request. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

• Councilman Hammond noted that the Council will be revisiting this ordinance. It was applicable many years ago; however, with the development of the hospitality industry coming to all of these entrances and exits we have on Interstate 75 we are planning to update it so that it doesn’t require a variance to go with taller buildings.

B. Mayor Palmer opened the public hearing of a zoning change request for the existing zoning of Ind-G, to be rezoned to a Tower Site (TS) for 0.2296 acres at a location of parcel #C10-041 (CL Moss Parkway) for Skyway Towers, LLC.  The zoning change request is for a proposed new 190 foot cell tower in order to help improve coverage and capacity issues.  The Zoning Advisory Board met on March 9, 2017. 

• Administrator Peterson stated that all of the legal requirements had been met.

• Councilwoman Palazzolo stated that the ZAB met on March 9, 2017, however, they could not reach a decision and no vote was taken.

• Mayor Palmer asked for comments. We will begin with the applicant or their representative.

• A representative of the applicant was present, Mr. Andrew Rotenstreich of 420 20th Street North, Suite 1400, Birmingham, AL 35203. Mr. Rotenstreich addressed the Council stating that he was here on behalf of Skyway Towers who is proposing to construct the tower for Verizon Wireless, which will be the anchor tenant on the tower. This property is located on CL Moss Parkway. The property is zoned Ind-G and we need the rezoning to the (TS) tower site district in order to construct the tower there. We are proposing a 190 monopole telecommunications tower. This is the single pole design. It is not the big tower with the guide wires coming off. It is not the big, fat, three legged lattice tower. It is the single pole design similar to power poles, just taller. Made by the same folks. Also, as you said in your report, this is a two prong issue for Verizon Wireless. This is both a capacity site and a coverage site. So, what do we mean by that. A coverage site kind of speaks for itself. The coverage in downtown is not what Verizon needs for it to be so they want to increase the coverage downtown for all Verizon Wireless users of cell phones, ipads, laptops, and so forth. But, it is also a capacity issue. Some of the other areas right outside of downtown, and in portions of downtown, there may be some coverage, but the use of the existing Verizon sites is such that the folks that are using their Verizon Wireless devices are using the capacity of the antennas that are already up in the area, and those antennas, after so much usage get taxed. And therefore, you end up having dropped calls, slow connect speeds, and the surfing on your iphone or ipad doesn’t go through. You get a fast busy signal sometimes when you try to make a call. So in order to alleviate those capacity issues you need more infrastructure, or another site, or more antennas, which is what we are proposing. So this one site will accomplish those two issues for Verizon Wireless. The first thing that Verizon Wireless does in this situation is look for existing cell towers where it can just hang its’ antennas. We call that colocation; we do it every day. In this particular case there were no towers that could, were tall enough to meet the engineering requirements of Verizon, or located in a place that would help Verizon improve its coverage. There were two towers nearby. One of them was actually owned by the City of Calhoun and we looked at that one first. Obviously, we would love to be on City owned property or City towers, but the tower height is too short and it won’t give us the coverage that Verizon needs. The second is a tower owned by a company called SBA. Again, that tower is located too far west. So, when we tried to get on it and looked at what coverage we could get it didn’t reach the parts of downtown that it needed to reach, or that Verizon needed to reach. Because no existing tower was in the area that Verizon could use its’ only alternative is to come before you and request a new tower. Now, if I could, I wanted to show you some documentation to help prove the need for the tower. (documents handed out) So, what we are handing out there is a package of documents to give you some information. The first page is a site plan of the proposed parcel. The parcel is a kind of a long, narrow parcel on CL Moss Parkway. If you look in the middle of that parcel you will see a square. That’s the lease area that Skyway is leasing from the land owner and they will have access along the dotted line along CL Moss Parkway to that 100 foot by 100 foot leased area. If you will turn the page you will see an aerial photograph which is just showing you kind of the lay of the land. It is a fairly wooded area surrounding this property and the business that operates in front of the property is Parrish Wrecker Service. If you flip the page one more time, I wanted to give you a diagram of the type of pole like I described earlier. It’s the single pole design. Verizon Wireless will have its antennas at the top and we are building this tower to accommodate additional carriers. So, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, the other carriers decide they need this to improve the coverage in the area they can simply hang their antennas on this pole and it will be built now to support that. Mayor Pro Tem Barton asked how many more antennas could be put on, to which Mr. Rotenstreich responded three more in addition to Verizon, and that is indicated on that diagram. The next page is to show you the existing towers and where our proposed site is. So you have a map of several, well over a dozen, towers that are in and around Calhoun. The blue dots are existing towers. The red dots are existing towers with Verizon equipment. So you can tell that Verizon has the City of Calhoun somewhat surrounded for the most part. The site off to the left is the proposed site. The next page is a three colored map. This indicates Verizon’s existing coverage. The green is what we are trying to obtain here. That is the best coverage available. We refer to that as in-building coverage so you can use your Verizon phone or device where it is green. As you get further away from the existing sites, or from the antennas the signal weakens and you get in to the yellow areas that we typically refer to as in-vehicle, and then the red, which is even further away, you get into what we call outdoor coverage. What we have here is the green areas on the map with the little triangular shapes in the middle. Those are the existing Verizon towers; the green is in-building coverage. You can see that we have a gap in the middle which is down-town Calhoun, and that is what we are trying to fill. So, if you turn the page that is the same map with the proposed site turned on getting the coverage in to downtown, that good in-building coverage. If you turn to the next page it says “Proposed LT Coverage Using Existing SPA Tower”, that is one of the towers I mentioned earlier. It was just outside to the west of where we needed it and the engineer who did the map explains why that site didn’t work. It created that larger yellow coverage within the coverage. And then, if you look at the next map as further information, going on the Calhoun tower, the engineer indicated why it didn’t work to use the City of Calhoun’s tower because of its height and what areas it didn’t cover. This next map kind of touches on the capacity issue, the first was talk about the coverage. So, the capacity issue is basically you want as small a group of coloring as you can get for each of these. Bringing out the large group of one color, that is where that site, that tower is covering a very large area, therefore having to cover a lot more people and cars and traffic in that area. If those colors get too large that means that antenna is covering too large of an area and it gets over-capacitated. That is what we are trying to relieve here. If you turn to the next page it says “Proposed Capacity Relief with the Stinger Site” you can see it would turn on that site. It takes away some of that dark blue, and takes away some of the red so we don’t have that capacity issue in those areas anymore. And then the last page would show what happens if we went on the City tower, how the capacity relief is not nearly as great and doesn’t hit the extended target for the engineers. I know I threw a lot at you but I wanted to show that Verizon has done its homework here. It’s looked at additional sites to try to use this equipment to place the antennas on. But, I didn’t want to stop there. The other question I think comes up quite often is “why do you have to build on this particular piece of property”, you know “why do you have to be here, why can’t you be down the street”? Well, we did our homework on this and what we are passing out now is, in essence, a copy of the revised zoning map for the City of Calhoun and you see a black circle in the middle. That is what we refer to as our search area. So, in order to get the coverage that Verizon Wireless needs we need a site somewhere right in that circle or right outside. And, as you can see our circle basically encompasses the City of Calhoun. There isn’t any property in the City of Calhoun because of the historical nature of downtown, and also because a lot of it is commercial or residential nature and we couldn’t meet the setbacks that your ordinance has to put towers on property. So, when we couldn’t get right inside the circle, we couldn’t go east because we had the same issue. We also had the mountain in the way that would interrupt the coverage. So we had to look west. We looked to the northwest. We have a red rectangle outline, and we looked in the southwest, where we have a rectangle outline. If you turn the page that is a blow up of the red rectangle on the southwest side of town. These are individual parcels that have numbers in them and why each of those parcels would not work. Some of them we approached landowners and they were not interested. Some had buildings on the property and we couldn’t fit a compound large enough for the tower and some couldn’t meet setbacks and meet the ordinance in place. Also, the southwest side of town was not where Verizon needed to be. When we showed them they couldn’t get in the search area. We said where do you need to be. They said we need to be in the southwest. So if you turn to the next page this is a map identifying that rectangle in the northwest side, each individual property, and why each of those properties didn’t work. The property labeled property six is the location where we are looking to place the tower. By placing the tower on that property we are located in an industrial zoned property, we are surrounded on all sides by industrial zoned property, and we meet all provisions of the ordinance including setbacks and so forth. So, we did our homework once we realized we couldn’t find existing towers and we wanted to share that with you so that you could see what we did to get to this spot. Now, with that said, the City has an ordinance that we have to follow and we have filed an application, and that application was submitted with several documents, many of which I shared with you tonight. And there is a couple of factors that ordinance says we are supposed to look at in order to rezone the property. Number one is the height of the tower. We are proposing a 190 foot tower. That is a little bit small in the industry for what we typically do, but what we want to do is make sure we are staying under 200 feet. Because of that the FFA is not requiring that we light the tower. So there will be no lights on the tower so it will clearly not be visible at night. The next issue to look at is the proximity to residential structures and residential districts. Like I said, we are surrounded by industrial zoned property. The closest residences are almost 800 feet away, some townhomes across CL Moss Parkway. Next, is the nature of uses on nearby properties. There is an electrical substation to the north; there is the river and agriculture to the west, the multi-family across CL Moss Parkway we have just mentioned, and wooded and commercial to the south. You can see that on the aerial map I provided. The next thing to look at is the surrounding topography and the surrounding tree coverage. Again gently rolling hills around there, industrial area, and wooded on all sides. The design of the tower, again, we are using that single pole design. It is the least obtrusive design that we have in the industry and that is the one we are using, keeping it under 200 feet. You know the use, it’s a pole. I can’t hide the fact that it’s a pole. But as far as the use goes it is pretty innocuous. There’s no lights, no noise, no odor, no dust, no traffic. Mayor Pro Tem Barton asked if there were no wires, to which Mr. Rotenstreich replied, no wires. So as far as uses go it is pretty innocuous. The next thing to look at is the proximity of other antennas or towers. Again, I showed you in the maps where the closest towers are, why we couldn’t use those, which we would love to use, but why we needed this tower. So, with that said, we think we meet the provisions of the ordinance. If you guys have any questions I would be happy to try and answer. Councilwoman Palazzolo asked if the tower would improve the reception that the high school and middle school gets. Mr. Rotenstreich stated yes, the target area is down town. Councilwoman Palazzolo asked how soon once you have the tower up, how soon would other carriers lease the other antenna? Mr. Rotenstreich stated that would be up to the other carriers. It depends on their budgets and when they want to use it, but it will be available from day one. Councilwoman Palazzolo asked what do you all see as far as use. Mr. Rotenstreich stated that he knew Verizon would because they were the ones who asked them to do this. I just don’t know, but when they see it is here and they see a tower that they can easily get on they are going to be here as soon as they can get the budget money to get here. As you said in your earlier discussion, this area is growing. Economic development is growing here big time and they are going to be here when they can get here. Mayor Pro Tem Barton asked if there was an estimated life cycle time on the pole. Mr. Rotenstreich stated he believed it is a 30 year lease. The pole will last the entire term, if not much more actually, but the lease is 25 or 30 years. Mayor Pro Tem Barton stated he was looking it up on line and wanted to know if there was any thought process on making it look like a tree. Mr. Rotenstreich stated there are, and we would consider doing that if you guys wanted us to. Here is where we find that works; mainly when we are building a short pole just to cover a few blocks and we are building maybe a 100 foot pole next to 70 or 80 foot trees. That is where that really works. If you get into this size tower so we can cover more ground with fewer structures, it kind of looks like a giant bottle scrubber, quite frankly. And it is a little more obtrusive because you have all of these limbs, and pine needles coming off. The pine needles will come off over time due to weather and they will scatter around the area so we wouldn’t recommend it for this size, but if you guys wanted it we would do it. Councilman Hammond stated I certainly know that technology is expanding always, and our desire to have it is always there. We always want it, but not in my back yard, obviously. Do you have a copy of our ordinances with you there? Mr. Rotenstreich stated he did have a copy of the ordinance at his seat. I want you to look at Section 10-A.5, Section 7. My biggest issue is what’s already existing on that lot. These are regulatory compliance issues. “Hazardous/volatile substances. Use of a lot by a tower shall be prohibited when another principal use, on the same lot, includes the storage, distribution, or sale of volatile, flammable, explosive or hazardous materials such a propane, gas, natural gas, dangerous chemicals, or hazardous waste”. Your aerial shot shows that the scrap yard, wrecker yard, whatever you want to call it. It only shows ten vehicles there. I went by today and counted that there is 42 there; three 18 wheelers. I’m very reluctant having the two on the same site. Now, what the owners do and how you deal with that, that’s doesn’t concern the City Council. But we do have that in our ordinances. I have a copy here for you. I would be very receptive if that salvage yard wasn’t there. But being there I do see an issue. Mr. Rotenstreich asked, and the concern is? Councilman Hammond replied, you’ve got 42 vehicles there with all types of flammable fluids in them, and particularly the three 18 wheelers there. You never know. Our ordinance says you shouldn’t have it there, then, in theory you shouldn’t have it there. Mr. Rotenstreich stated that he had looked at it once; I’ve looked at it on Google Earth a couple of times, and I’ve been by there too. One time on Google Earth there were none there. Councilman Hammond responded, yes, sure. Mr. Rotenstreich stated, yes, you are right, and then one, this one had a few there, but that is a short term—Councilman Hammond responded stating he knew it had changed, but that is why I went by today and counted it, and I’ve never seen it more full. Now, I am assuming the person who is willing to lease the land for the tower owns the business. Mr. Rotenstreich stated, that’s right, that is my understanding. Councilman Hammond said I think there would be less roadblocks in the way of this project if that business wasn’t located on that lot. That’s just a personal opinion. Mayor Palmer asked if there were any other questions. City Administrator Peterson stated, so the city tower not being high enough, well, the mountain that it is on is about 690 and I’m sure, I don’t know what the tower is, but I’m sure it’s at least 150, so that’s around 840 and what you are proposing is an elevation starting at 620 and 190 gets you at 810. Actually, the city is 30 feet higher, if that’s a 150 foot tower, I’m not sure if it is or not. Mr. Rotenstreich said I’m not sure of the size. I mean, look, like I said, that would be a preference to go on there because that’s a lot quicker and cheaper for us, and gets some money for the City. We have to turn in those candidates to Verizon and let their engineers assess it, and the assessment that came back is the information I shared with you. Mayor Pro Tem Barton said, even with the information you shared, to me it looks like the proposed and the City tower. I’m not trying to get it on the City, but the City tower looks like there is more green to me. Mr. Rotenstreich stated the capacity issue, I think, was the main issue. The SBA tower, the other one was the one…Mayor Pro Tem Barton stated yes, it does have more green on that one, I agree with that. After a short pause Mayor Palmer asked if there was anyone in the audience with questions or comments concerning the request? Mr. Joe Stewart of 501 Sugar Valley Road, Calhoun, came to the podium. I’m an adjoining property owner and I have some concerns with the location of the tower. First off, obviously visual. I’m very concerned with that, and the proximity of it. It is right next to my property, and to my home and my pasture land, and I believe this also encroaches right in to the City area, and that concerns me about beauty and overall visual aspects of it. Also, it is right next to a couple of recreation areas. It is next to a soccer field, two soccer fields. I know it’s a tower. There is no way you can get beyond that; a tower is a tower. No lights; lights; wires; it’s a tower. What if something catastrophic happens and it suddenly falls. Where is it going to fall? It’s going to fall on something. It’s going to fall on me. You never know what can happen with an act of God or anything like that. So, that concerns me as well. You know with today’s technology, I understand he has done his research and everything, but I don’t see how we can’t come up with a better place for this tower. An existing place with an existing tower, if it’s the City or something like that. You know I really think we could come up with something better than putting up another tower. We’ve already got towers all around. And also I’ve got personal reservations with it. Will it do anything to my property values? I think it will reduce them. I just would prefer it be looked at and placed in a different place. Mr. Stewart then took his seat. Mayor Palmer asked if there was anyone else with questions or concerns concerning the request. Mr. Rotenstreich asked if he could respond to Mr. Stewart’s concerns. At this point Mr. Larry Vickery of 578 Camelot Circle came to the podium. He stated there is another subdivision within just 1,000 to 1,100 feet of that tower site as well; Camelot Circle is a pretty nice place. I can tell you that I don’t think me telling you that it’s not a pretty sight to see a tower is going to do it. But what I would say is that we have a proliferation of both tower sites in Calhoun, Georgia because of the mountains and the high portions that Eddie was talking about where the City’s tower is. I would probably ask that these people provide, or fund, an independent review by a tower specialist and an antenna specialist to see the azimuth that you are talking about with these small circles. I saw that report earlier. It’s a pretty closed defined area and the signal strengths, we’ve done those studies before and they seem to be pretty limited. I‘d like to know the tolerances between the two color hues that you’ve got. I’d like to know the actual tested strengths, and issues that are going on. If downtown is your specific location and the City tower basically, by line of sight, stands over downtown Calhoun. I don’t want the proliferation of the tower. My personal goal is not to have to look at it. But I’m not going to use that argument. I want to see the test results why one of the other two towers that are within line of sight of this location can’t be used. That’s my goal and my request. Mr. Vickery then took his seat. Mr. Rotenstreich stated that if there was nobody else he would like to respond, if he could. Mayor Palmer then turned the floor over to Mr. Rotenstreich. Mr. Rotenstreich stated that with regard to a couple of items brought up by the folks in the audience. I’m sure George, I think has got with you guys on the federal limitations that we have with what can be considered. The federal laws have kind of put restrictions on denying towers for general aesthetic concerns. Health effects are obviously out, which I don’t think it was brought up. The property values, unless there is some specific detail, the examples of loss from property values. I’ve got some property value reports I’d be happy to share. One’s from Powder Springs, Georgia where we put up a site recently. I’ve got one copy if you would like to look at it. It was done by an independent MIA certified appraiser. This other one was actually performed by an independent appraiser, but hired by the City of Covington to look at this issue. In both cases they looked at the prices of homes near towers before the tower was built and after the tower was built and there was no decrease in property values, and the appreciation was not less than houses that were not close to towers. So the conclusions that were come from these reports done in Georgia is that there is no loss of property values due to the towers. The other thing with regard to the concern of catastrophic loss and the tower coming down. Let me explain it this way, and I believe we put this letter in the application. If not, I’ve got copies of it. The tower will be a pole. In the unlikely event something were to come through and make it fall, it doesn’t fall like a tree. The strongest part of the pole is the base because you’ve got footings 30 feet in the ground. So, they build what they call a stress point in the tower, and this stress point is going to be at 97 feet. In the unlikely event that something happened, the tower will bend over because the antennas are on the top and the weight will pull it over, and it is designed to fall within the compound. That’s why we lease 100 feet by 100 feet. With regard to your comment about the ordinance, I really believe that this wrecker service wouldn’t apply here. They are not storing, distributing, or selling volatile, flammable, explosive, or hazardous materials. I guess what I think you are trying to say is that the gasoline that would be in some of the vehicles would cause a problem. We see this type of ordinance all over, and the intent is to not put them next to places that are in the business of storing these things. I’d also say that our site is going to be several hundred feet from where the cars are. We will have a self contained generator with a double hulled gas tank inside the building for the generator so if the power were to go out. Councilman Hammond asked if that’s acceptable, having something inside your tower? Mr. Rotenstreich stated all of that meets with Georgia Department of Environmental regulations. We put them near gas stations and all of that all of the time because those are the parts of town where this type of activity goes on, which is where the ordinance drives us to these parts of town and away from the residences as far as we can. So, we think we’ve done our homework here. We meet every provision of the ordinance. We are doing the least obtrusive design that we can. We think we’ve showed you the reason why we have to have it, and why we have to have it here, in this particular location, and we’ve done our homework to put it in a location that meets with the ordinance requirements. Councilman Hammond said let me make one comment off your comments. Federal Government does regulate what this governing body can do. There are some things that whether we want to or not, we can’t. That’s just the way the law works. But I do believe there is an issue here with item seven that is in our Code of Ordinances. It definitely causes a problem for me. Mr. Mayor I will make a motion that we table this for future discussion to see if there is any way that, at least item number seven can be rectified and in a satisfactorily manner. City Attorney, George Govignon stated just as I advised you in the work session there is a FCC declaratory ruling that was upheld by the City of Arlington vs. FCC, in the United States Supreme Court, it does create a “shock clock” for a better way of putting it, no march madness, pun intended. But, the application was filed on or about January 23rd so we are inside the shock clock, but the shock clock is 150 days. The FCC fact sheet from 96 also indicates that the City is capable of…let me double-check on that, because there was an issue about that at the Zoning Advisory Board, discussing the flood plain, with the crossing water over CL Moss, and we had some statistics regarding the fact that, for example, 50 years. I don’t have them here, it would be part of the environmental assessment, but according to the FCC’s own fact sheet local zoning authorities may wish to obtain a consulting engineer to evaluate the proposals submitted by wireless communication licensees. The consulting engineer may be able to determine if there is some flexibility in geographical location. Councilman Hammond asked where are we on the time frame right now. Do you know that? Right now, we go 150 days from the date of filing; the decision has to be rendered on or about June 22nd, 2017, before their obligation to be within 30 days. I don’t imagine tabling that long, however, there are several other sites and there is no indication as to who those providers are on those. Councilman Hammond stated like I said, I think we’ve got a reason here in the ordinance to have a table on this and see if any of these issues, and I’m not discussing the issues. I certainly hear what you’re saying, and feel for you, but I know that what the federal law says, we have to stand on that. So I understand that, by our own ordinance it’s in black in white. Mr. Rotenstreich asked, what would you ask from us to, what is the issue you are going to be deciding? Councilman Hammond said I would not be able to consider it as long as there is a salvage yard on that lot that has stored vehicles with the liquid contents that are flammable, whether that be transmission fluids or gasoline’s, and I do know at times that there are very few, but today wasn’t one of those days. Today was a day where it was maxed out and I just think we don’t need two things on one lot if it could potentially be a problem. And that will be up to you and the owner obviously. Mr. Rotenstreich said so the direction to me is you want to table this for us to go back to the owner. Councilman Hammond said I think we’re going after, in my opinion, and this is just my opinion, and it’s just one vote, but to resolve our number seven in my mind, we will have to resolve our number seven. Mr. Rotenstreich asked what we do to try and resolve that. Councilman Hammond stated that would be up to your infinite wisdom and I’m sure you’ve got something you can work with there. The clock is running though, as the man said. City Attorney Govignon said I would advise, as of right now you only have the Verizon maps, and so, as you have members in the community who have registered issues, placement is the critical issue. You cannot prohibit, nor can we effectively prohibit, however we are not obligated to guarantee optimal placement under zoning ordinances. So, it you are going to table, you may want to consider an outside engineering report. Not that I consider that Verizon is in any way, shape or form suspect, I also, from looking at the application from Thursday, don’t know what type, what other providers are already on those towers because there will be other providers on this tower. Councilman Hammond said if we are going to table it we need to do the most due diligence we can when it comes to whatever legal says. City Attorney Govignon said yes, and that would be consistent with what I explained to you as the substantial evidence based upon what you are going to act one way or the other. Mayor Pro Tem Barton said, and we wouldn’t take long. We don’t want to hinder you. Mr. Rotenstreich stated, no, and I appreciate that, and I know George knows this, but the same shock clock that he referred to also says that the City has 30 days after we file the application to request any additional information, and if that information is not provided within that 30 days then the application is deemed complete. So our argument is we’ve got a complete application, we’ve met the ordinance, we’ve met all of the rules that have been set forth by the ordinance, and we have proven the fact of the need for the tower. We have proven the need for this location in the industrial area, so I’m not sure exactly what else we would need to provide. I guess I’m just trying…Mayor Pro Tem Barton said, well, for me, we just got the information on Friday, so the zoning board had longer and they didn’t come to a decision. So, being on us, we didn’t have much time to prepare and you gave us more information to look at. So, for me to take one with me wouldn’t hurt, just to get more digestion. Mr. Rotenstreich said I am very happy to try and work and get this resolved absolutely. City Attorney Govignon said, what I would propose, we meet the second and fourth Monday’s of each month so we would only be talking about tabling the matter two to four weeks tops, and once we can advise as to what needs to be done. And certainly the rules allow for an extension of time and cooperation. Mr. Rotenstreich agreed, stating they do. Councilwoman Palazzolo said I do have one question about the favorable zoning, and you have area six and area ten that say candidate submitted for Verizon review. Mr. Rotenstreich said that candidate, that land owner, later withdrew their acceptance of that. But, it was a candidate that initially was submitted. But before Verizon could look at it that candidate said sorry, we’re not interested anymore. We actually liked that site, quite frankly. We were having some setback issues because it abuts some commercial zoning, which gets into the setback issues. City Attorney Govignon said, what I would recommend to the Mayor and Council while we are here, is to table it to the second meeting of April so that counsel won’t have to keep coming back and forth, and that would be well within the four week, the five week time period for you to consider what you want to do, and maybe before then report back to counsel. Councilman Hammond said, second meeting in April. So, I will amend my motion for that date. City Attorney Govignon said it will help give counsel a definitive time table. Mr. Rotenstreich said that would be helpful. City Attorney Govignon said, in other words, not add infinite until June. Mr. Rotenstreich said, and I may call you and say, look I’ve talked to the land owner and we’ve got some resolution and we’d like to propose it, and maybe we can get on an earlier date if that works. Mayor Palmer called for a second. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye to table the zoning request until the second meeting in June. Motion approved.

C. Mayor Palmer opened the public hearing for the purpose of hearing comments and feedback surrounding the redevelopment area and the necessity to draft an Urban Redevelopment Plan (Plan) to combat the economic development concerns within the redevelopment area. The Plan is available for viewing by the public at City Hall, 226 South Wall Street, Calhoun, GA 30701, or online at cityofcalhoun-.

• City Administrator Peterson stated that all of the legal requirements have been met.

• Mayor Palmer opened the floor to Chris Montesinos of Hometown Consultants, to present the Urban Redevelopment Plan.

• Mr. Montesinos stated the Urban Redevelopment Plans are foundations for tax allocation districts. They also help with obtaining CBDG grants, as cities with Urban Redevelopment Plans(Plan) are given an additional twenty bonus points when being scored, which gives you leverage in getting the grants you apply for. They are also a great tool for tax allocation districts. These plans were adopted by the General Assembly as a powerful, flexible and easy-to-use legislative tool to support successful public/private revitalization partnerships, giving cities specific powers to rehabilitate, conserve, or develop any defined geographic area that is designated a “slum area”. It can be used alone, or in combination with many of Georgia’s other legislative redevelopment tools to support local comprehensive planning, revitalize faltering commercial and industrial corridors, recruit and nurture small businesses, rehabilitate older homes and neighborhoods, ensure architecturally compatible infill development, and generate new adaptive reuses for old industrial agricultural facilities.

• Mayor Palmer opened the floor for any questions or comments concerning the request. There being none, Mayor Palmer closed the hearing and asked for a motion concerning the adoption of the Urban Redevelopment Plan. Councilman Hammond made a motion to adopt the Urban Redevelopment Plan. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

• The plan is available for review on the City website at

8. Old Business:

A. Mayor Palmer stated there was a tabled item of a request by the Water Distribution Department on some surplus equipment. The list has been amended and the Water distribution Department is requesting the following service trucks and backhoes be declared as surplus and sold on gov.deals:

1) 2000 F-650 truck w/utility body VIN ending in 15089 122,937 miles

2) 2005 F-650 truck w/utility body VIN ending in 18653 83,879 miles

3) 2004 F-650 truck w/utility body VIN ending in 84495 141,082 miles

4) 2000 F-650 truck w/utility body VIN ending in 15090 151,951 miles

5) 2000 F-650 truck w/utility body VIN ending in 14925 114,914 miles

6) 1991 F-800 dump truck VIN ending in 04600 62,979 miles

7) 2000 LB 75 backhoe S/N 031025195 3,359 hours

8) 2005 Backhoe 310SG S/N ending in 61065 3,341 hours

9) 2005 Backhoe 310SJ S/N ending in 52898 2,498 hours

10) 2005 Backhoe 310SG S/N ending in 41958 5,670 hours

Councilman Hammond made a motion to bring the tabled item back for discussion. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved. Councilman Hammond made a motion to approve the request. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

9. New Business:

A. Judge Pat Rasbury, Gordon County Magistrate Judge, addressed the Council regarding Gordon County’s Accountability Court (handout given) program and the current truancy issues in our school systems. Gordon County currently has an Attendance Review team and a Truancy Treatment Team. Once you get to a certain point in the process there are no repercussions for the parents that don’t make sure their children get to school. The Truancy Treatment Team was established in Gordon County in 2003 as a resource to address the large number of children absent from school, by offering referrals and resources to support families to keep children in school. Gordon County currently has some laws on the books that can be addressed, but they are lacking teeth. Judge Rasbury stated he was seeking a partnership with the City of Calhoun and Gordon County through an Ordinance that would provide for a Truancy Court that would allow for parents who continue to let their child miss school to be fined, do community service, and probation. Monies collected would be placed in a fund to be used for students in need. He stated this program is to better Gordon County and to be here for the kids. This could be done by having a contract between the City and Gordon County basically delivering all of the liability to the Gordon County Magistrate Court. He stated he almost has the ordinance completed. Jim Ledbetter is in the process of reviewing it and he would like to have City Attorney Govignon review it to see if we can get the plan in place and get some of these problems rectified. He stated he would love to have any feedback or constructive criticism that can be given. Mayor Palmer stated he and the Council were very interested in what affects our children and the outcomes, and certainly the importance of graduating. Attendance leads to graduation. Everyone up here have family members that are involved in the educational process. He stated they would have George look at it and he would certainly speak to the County and see where they were with it as far as a partnership on it and if it can be done.

B. Jerry Crawford, Water and Sewer Director addressed the Mayor and Council regarding the Watershed Assessment and Protection Plan for the City of Calhoun. The final version has been approved by Georgia Environmental Protection Division and it is now ready for adoption. Councilman Edwards made a motion adopt the Watershed Assessment and Protection Plan. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

• The Plan is available for review on the city website at

C. Mayor Palmer stated there was a recommendation by the Calhoun Utilities Engineering Manager, David M. Burnett, for the Bid Award to Universal Controls, Inc. in the amount of $89,750, to design and install a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Councilman Edwards made a motion to approve the recommendation. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

D. Mayor Palmer stated there was a request from the Calhoun Police Department for approval to use Asset Seizure funds to purchase a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox at a cost of $15,500.00. The vehicle will be used by the Special Operations Division. Mileage is 39,287. Councilman Edwards made a motion to approve the request. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

E. Mayor Palmer stated there was a special event permit request by Stephanie Starr, event organizer, for Tripp Day, to be held on Saturday March 18, 2017. The event is a community hoedown fundraiser for the Tripp Halstead Foundation. The event would require that Trammell Road be closed between North Wall Street and North Piedmont Street (approximately 180 feet) from 8:00AM to 7:00PM, for vendor displays. Two Gordon County officers will be on duty during the event. Councilman Hammond made a motion to approve the request. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

F. Mayor Palmer gave the first reading of an ordinance change to Chapter 18 and Chapter 50 of the Calhoun Code of Ordinances to add fire protection and prevention requirements to the C-1 District concerning loft apartments. The public hearing will be held on April 10, 2017.

10. Other written items not on the agenda: None

11. Work Reports:

A. Eddie Peterson

12. City Attorney Govignon stated that there was a need to go into executive session with the grounds being attorney/client privilege due to threatened litigation [O.C.G.A. §50-14-2] and discussion of personnel compensation [O.C.G.A §50-14-3(6)]. Councilman Hammond made a motion to go into executive session. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

13. Mayor Pro Tem Barton made a motion to adjourn the executive session. Councilman Hammond gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

14. Councilman Hammond made a motion to return to general session. Mayor Pro Tem Barton gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

15. Mayor Pro Tem Barton made a motion to decline the counter offer of North Georgia Electric Membership Corporation concerning providing power to the new lighted intersection of Red Bud Road and I-75 interchange. Councilman Hammond seconded the motion with all voting aye. Motion approved.

16. Councilmember Hammond made a motion to take no legal action regarding the wage request of City employees. Councilman Edwards gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

17. Councilman Hammond made a motion to give an employee promoted to a new position a retroactive increase of $25,000 pro-rated to January 1, 2017. Councilwoman Palazzolo gave a second with all voting aye. Motion approved.

18. Councilman Hammond made a motion to adjourn the regular session. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Barton with all voting aye. Motion approved.

Approved: Submitted:

_____________________________ ___________________________

James F. Palmer, Mayor Sharon Nelson, City Clerk

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