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FORSYTH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CALLED MEETING/WORK SESSION
NOVEMBER 14, 2006
On Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 2:50 p.m., in the Commissioners’ Conference Room of the Forsyth County Administration Building, the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners held a Called Meeting/Work Session with the following persons present: Jack Conway – Chairman, Brian R. Tam – Vice Chairman, Charles Laughinghouse – Member, David W. Richard – Member, Jim Harrell – Commissioner Elect, Rhonda O’Connor – Interim County Manager, Ken Jarrard – County Attorney, Carol Haag – Aide to Chairman, Shawn Scott – Aide to Vice Chairman, Jeanne Marie Cowdrey – Aide to Secretary and Cindy Henderson – Deputy Clerk.
Commissioner Ledbetter was absent.
AGENDA
CALLED MEETING/WORK SESSION
FORSYTH COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2006 @ 2:30 P.M.
FORSYTH COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
110 EAST MAIN STREET - SUITE 210
CUMMING, GEORGIA 30040
I. Call Meeting to Order
II. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance
III. Adoption of Agenda
IV. Items for consideration and discussion:
(1) Tax Assessors Internet Access – Mary Kirkpatrick/County Attorney.
(2) Operation 21 – County Attorney.
(3) Cable Franchise Agreement with Comcast – Communications Director.
(4) Lee Technologies – County Attorney.
(5) RFP for Master Plan of Fowler Park – Director of Parks & Recreation.
(6) Fire Station 2 – Interim County Manager.
(7) Amendment to Hotel, Motel & Lodging Excise Tax Ordinance – County Attorney.
(8) Appointments to the Development Authority Board – Chairman Conway.
V. Recess Called Meeting/Work Session
VI. Executive Session if Needed
VII. Adjournment
The Chairman recognized a quorum and called the meeting to order.
Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance were given by Commissioner Laughinghouse.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
Rhonda O’Connor, Interim County Manager, requested to add as Item #1 (Introduction of Bill Amos – Code Enforcement Officer)
Ken Jarrard, County Attorney, requested to add as Item #2 (Appointment of Impact Fee Advisory Committee members).
Commissioner Tam requested to add as Item #3 (Tiered Water Bill Relief).
Rhonda O’Connor, Interim County Manger, requested to add as Item #11 (Heery Contract).
Chairman Conway requested to add as Item #12 (Lollipops).
Rhonda O’Connor, Interim County Manager, requested to remove the original Item #1 (Tax Assessors Internet Access).
There was a motion by Commissioner Laughinghouse and a second by Commissioner Tam to adopt the agenda as amended. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
UNDER ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION AND DISCUSSION THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS WERE TAKEN:
Introduction of Bill Amos (Code Enforcement Officer)
Rhonda O’Connor, Interim County Manager, introduced Bill Amos to the Board. Mr. Amos is a Code Enforcement Officer who has been assigned to the enforcement of zoning conditions. For example, if someone calls and complains that a buffer zone has been violated or there is a zoning condition that is not being met, instead of sending out the Code Enforcement Officers, Mr. Amos will be sent to investigate. This also includes UDC violations.
Appointment of Impact Fee Advisory Committee
Ken Jarrard, County Attorney, came before the Board to discuss the appointment of the Impact Fee Advisory Committee. He advised the Board that we are in the process of updating the Impact Fee Ordinance. There is a requirement with respect to modifying the Impact Fee Ordinance which is the creation of an Impact Fee Advisory Committee. The Impact Fee Advisory Committee must be created before you can adopt a new Impact Fee Ordinance. It is a gray area as to if you have to create an Impact Fee Advisory Committee in order to modify the Impact Fee Ordinance. In this situation, we are modifying the Ordinance but we are also adding a law enforcement component. Mr. Jarrard recommends that the Board form an Impact Fee Advisory Committee, make it the Forsyth County Planning Commission and to let the Impact Fee Administrator work with them. There was a motion by Commissioner Richard and a second by Commissioner Laughinghouse to appoint the Planning Commission as the Impact Fee Advisory Committee for these modifications and that this item be placed on the next Consent Agenda. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
Tiered Water Bill Relief
Commissioner Tam brought up for discussion Tiered Water Bill Relief. He stated that there are several residents who appear to have been caught by surprise by the new water bill policy. He requested the Board to consider waiving the late fees or interest while the customers adjust. There was a motion by Commissioner Tam and a second by Commissioner Laughinghouse that water bills generated through October 31, 2006 will be capped at a maximum of $300 for the water portion of the bill (not including sewer charges), late fees and interest will be waived through December 31, 2006 and that reviews will be conducted on a case-by-case basis by the Water Department. Motion carried with three members in favor (Conway, Tam and Laughinghouse), one member in opposition (Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
Operation 21
At a previous meeting of the Board, the Board sentenced one of the alcohol vendors to complete the Operation 21 course. David & Brenda Waters of Operation 21 requested to come before the Board to make a presentation regarding the Operation 21 program. Mr. Waters stated that this program is independent of the Sheriff’s Office. Operation 21 has developed an alcohol/drug awareness program called Alcohol/Drug Awareness Education (ADAE). The purpose is to educate people on narcotics and alcohol and also Georgia law and County Ordinances. The courses are taught by POST certified instructors. There is also a Pre and Post examination and is a one (1) day class. There was no action taken on this item.
Cable Franchise Agreement with Comcast
Ken Jarrard, County Attorney, came before the Board to discuss the Cable Franchise Agreement with Comcast. The baseline terms have been established and we have until the end of the year to finalize the agreement.
Comcast is willing to run the fiber link necessary to give the County real time connectivity at an estimated cost of $50,000. Also, they are also willing to give the County a one time grant of $80,000 to purchase audio/visual equipment. The current peg fee is 15 cents per subscriber/per month. The peg fee would be increased to 25 cents per subscriber/per month. The county would receive the 15 cents and Comcast would receive the 10 cents to repay the $130,000. At the time that the $130,000 is repaid, the peg fee would revert to 15 cents per subscriber/per month.
In return, Comcast is requesting:
1. To be recognized as the official cable provider for Forsyth County.
2. Signage at Parks & Recreation facilities.
3. Features on “The Current” no less than twice per year.
4. Channel line-ups and information at counters of Water Department.
This item will be brought back before the Board.
Lee Technologies
This item involves a letter of protest from Lee Technologies regarding RFP# 06-56-1540. This RFP was issued for an Uninterruptible Power Supply for the Information Technology/GIS Departments. The RFP was awarded by the Board to AC & DC Power on October 5, 2006. There were three proposals received. The evaluation team consisting of J.D. Rusk (IT Department), Jimmy Payne (IT Department) and Frank Halstead (Public Facilities) evaluated the proposals against the RFP criteria. AC & DC Power was rated #1, GA Cabling was rated #2 and Lee Technologies was rated #3. AC & DC was also lowest on price. The Board requested that the Interim Procurement Director confirm that the UPS that we would receive is “field upgradeable” as the letter from Lee Technologies indicated that it was not. This item is to be placed on the next Called Meeting/Work Session agenda for an update.
RFP for Master Plan of Fowler Park
There was a motion by Commissioner Tam and a second by Commissioner Richard to allocate up to $60,000 (SPLOST V funds) for the Director of Parks & Recreation to go
out for a RFP for the Master Plan of Fowler Park and that this item be placed on the Consent Agenda of the December 7, 2006 meeting. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
Fire Station 2
There was a motion by Commissioner Tam and a second by Commissioner Richard to go ahead and fund the additional $803,494 from the Capital Fund for the 4 bay Station #2 and that this item be placed on the Consent Agenda of the December 7, 2006 meeting. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
There was a motion by Commissioner Richard and a second by Commissioner Tam to allocate $274,814 from the Capital Fund to cover the extra cost of Station #1 and that this item be placed on the Consent Agenda of the December 7, 2006 meeting. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
The Board took a recess.
The Board came out of recess and reconvened the Called Meeting/Work Session.
Amendment to Hotel, Motel & Lodging Excise Tax Ordinance
Ken Jarrard, County Attorney, came before the Board to discuss the proposed amendment to the Hotel, Motel & Lodging Excise Tax Ordinance. This Ordinance was adopted by the Board on January 10, 2000. The Department of Community Affairs has requested that the Hotel/Motel Excise Tax ordinance identify the specific subsection of the statute by which we derive our 5% fee. There will be two (2) Public Hearings held. There was a motion by Commissioner Laughinghouse and a second by Commissioner Richard to authorize the County Attorney to move forward with the Public Hearings for the amendment to the Hotel, Motel & Lodging Excise Tax Ordinance. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
Appointments to the Development Authority Board
Chairman Conway advised the Board that there are four members of the Development Authority that have expired terms. There is also a vacancy due to a death. Five of the seven positions are up for appointment. Chairman Conway requested that the Board come up with a list of people who could potentially serve on the Development Authority Board. This item will be discussed at a future Called Meeting/Work Session.
Heery Contract
Rhonda O’Connor, Interim County Manager, came before the Board to discuss the Heery contract. The contract expired in October. At the Board’s direction, the Interim County Manager renegotiated the scope of work. The scope of work has been redefined to only include SPLOST funded projects. The contract would be for a one (1) year period. The Board directed the County Attorney to prepare the contract and present it to the Board at the November 16, 2006 meeting.
Lollipops
There was discussion regarding the sale of marijuana-flavored lollipops. A meeting was to be held today in Cobb County to discuss this issue. The County Attorney will research this issue and report back to the Board.
There was a motion by Commissioner Laughinghouse and a second by Commissioner Richard to adjourn. Motion carried with four members in favor (Conway, Tam, Laughinghouse and Richard) and one member absent (Ledbetter).
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Clerk/Deputy Clerk of Commission
The above and foregoing Minutes are hereby certified as being correct and ordered
recorded.
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JACK CONWAY, CHAIRMAN
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BRIAN R. TAM, VICE CHAIRMAN
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DR. LINDA K. LEDBETTER, SECRETARY
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CHARLES LAUGHINGHOUSE, MEMBER
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DAVID W. RICHARD, MEMBER
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