The Henry County
Board of Commissioners held a Regular Meeting at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, November
1, 2004, in the Community Room,
Leland Maddox, Chairman, presiding
Lee Holman, Vice-Chairman, District V Commissioner
Warren E. Holder, District I Commissioner
Gary M. Freedman, District II Commissioner
Jason T. Harper, District III Commissioner
Gerry Adams, District IV Commissioner
Also attending were Linda Angus, County Manager; Patrick Jaugstetter, County Attorney; LaTonya Wiley, Deputy County Attorney; Susan B. Craig, County Clerk; Shay Mathis, Deputy County Clerk; Rob Magnaghi, Deputy County Manager & Public Safety Division Director; Michael Harris, Public Works Division Director; Danny Taylor, Economic Development Division Director; and others.
Chairman Maddox called the meeting to order and asked for an Acceptance of the Agenda. Commissioner Holman made the motion to accept the Agenda with the following addition: Resolution Authorizing Execution of Corrective Deeds Regarding Hood Road Right-of-Way. He stated this would be placed on the Agenda as item #VIII-A; Commissioner Adams seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Adams, Harper, Freedman, and Holder voting in favor.
PUBLIC
COMMENTS:
There were no public comments.
PUBLIC
SAFETY:
Request
Approval to Accept a $2,000 Donation from the Sam’s Club to the Bureau of
Police Services to Assist in Purchasing Bullet-Resistant Vests.
Chuck Evans, Marketing Director for Sam’s Club, advised that the Henry County Bureau of Police Services has been chosen to receive their “Hero Award” in a monetary grant of $2,000, and he wishes to donate a $2,000 check to the Henry County Bureau of Police Services to assist in Purchasing bullet-resistant vests for the Police Officers.
Commissioner Harper made the motion to approve the resolution authorizing the acceptance of a $2,000 grant donation from Sam’s Club for Purchasing six (6) bullet-resistant vests for $1,950 with $50 remaining toward the purchase of vests in the future; Commissioner Holman seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Harper, Holman, Freedman, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
Request Approval of a Bid Pertaining to a Project to Install Voice/Data Cabling for the Jail Complex.
Sealed bids were solicited for a project to install voice/data cabling at the Henry County Jail complex, and twelve (12) vendors submitted bids for this project. Funds are available in the Sheriff’s communication account to complete this project. Com-Tech’s bid in the amount of $16,464.10 meets bid specifications and is recommended by departmental personnel. Chairman Maddox made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Harper seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Harper, Freedman, Holman, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
Request Approval of a Bid Pertaining to Maintenance Services for the County-Wide Early Warning System.
Sealed bids were solicited for maintenance services for the County’s early warning siren system. One vendor submitted a bid for this service as follows:
Loudoun Communications, Inc. Bid Amount: $4,800.00/
Funds are available in the budget of the Emergency Communications department for these services. The bid from Loudoun Communications, Inc. meets specifications and is recommended by department personnel. The award is a unit/price contract with no fixed quantities, and the unit prices shall remain fixed for the contract period and any renewals.
Commissioner Harper made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Adams seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Harper, Adams, Holman, Holder, and Freedman voting in favor.
PUBLIC WORKS:
Request
Approval of a Bid Pertaining to the Purchase of CRS-2H Asphalt Emulsion.
Sealed bids were solicited to purchase asphalt emulsion on a renewable contract basis. Two (2) vendors submitted bids that meet the required specifications for this contract. Funds are budgeted within the Department of Transportation for this commodity, and Central Oil Asphalt Co.’s bid meets bid specifications. The recommended award is a unit/price contract with no fixed quantities or amounts, and prices may be subject to re-negotiation by vendor. Supplies will be ordered as required and approved.
Commissioner Holman made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Holder seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Holder, Freedman, Harper, and Adams voting in favor.
Request Approval to Allow DOT to Add a Change Order to the Design Contract with Neel-Schaffer, Inc., to Increase the Scope of the Design Work.
The scope of the original design contract is limited
to the improvement at the intersection of
Commissioner Holman made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Freedman seconded.
Chairman Maddox asked if all the vendors bid somewhere near $39,000.00 for the design work, or was that low because the awarded vendor was going back and complete the $22,500.00 increase.
Mr. Michael Harris, Public Works Division Director, stated the change order amount was not sent out for bid; the original bid came in from Neel- Schaffer, Inc. at $39,348.00.
Chairman Maddox asked who is the next lowest bidder and did it include the change order cost.
Mr. Harris said it did not include the amount. Commissioner Freedman asked who requested the
change order, and Mr. Harris said his department requested it. Mr. Harris said, “once the vendor got into
the design, it was noticed there were two areas on
Chairman Maddox said $22,500.00 was a lot of money for a change order; it is well over 50%. He asked if it went back out for bid, with the corrections included, would the quote be less than $61,000.00. Mr. Harris said, “perhaps it would be; the main portion, regarding the $39,000.00, has been awarded to Neel-Schaffer, but the remaining part could go out for bid.” Chairman Maddox said, “when you get into change orders, that is when you get burnt.”
Commissioner Holder cautioned the Board regarding going back to bid on another piece of the entire design. He said if the bid is awarded to another contractor, then there are two designers trying to match things, and it will never work.
The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Harper, Freedman, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
HUMAN & COMMUNITY SERVICES:
Request Approval of an Amendment to the
The Senior Services Department is the local Agency
on Aging, and Henry County Senior Services desires to accept the amendment of
the ARC FY 2004-05 budget to increase the funding from the Atlanta Regional
Commission in the amount of $1,867.00 to provide Home Delivered Meals to the
seniors of
Commissioner Harper made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Holder seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Harper, Holder, Adams, Freedman, and Holman voting in favor.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Appeal to a Final Plat – Resolution to
Determine Appeal on Denial of
Peachtree Homes, Inc. has filed a Notice of Appeal
of the decision of denial on
Commissioner Holman made the motion to approve the resolution for discussion purposes; Commissioner Holder seconded.
Mr. Steve Schafer, Development Plan Review Director, said this was a requirement put on one of the conditions to connect to the other subdivision, Belmont Farms. He said normally it is advantageous to have the connectivity between subdivisions, but it is not a good idea in this case, because this would be connecting a new subdivision with a subdivision 15 to 20 years old.
Chairman Maddox asked how many entrances the new subdivision will have. Mr. Schafer answered, “one.”
Commissioner Holder said he wanted to commend Mr. Schafer for bringing this to the Board’s attention; he did exactly what he was supposed to do. The Board needs to look at the movement or latitude when discussing variances. Commissioner Holder stated the Board cannot create ordinances for every particular situation. He said there are times when connectivity is the right thing to do, and the Board is not doing anything to violate the Ordinance, but this is an issue where the Board has the discretion to do the right thing.
Commissioner Freedman said the LCI (Livable Communities Initiative) strongly recommends interconnectivity between subdivisions and commercial tracts, because it bogs down roads. He said when connecting an older neighborhood with a newer neighborhood or creating a “thru-street,” a disservice has been done when requiring connectivity. Commissioner Freedman said on a case-by-case basis, the focus should be on the overall impact.
Commissioner
Commissioner Holman made the motion to approve the resolution by filling in the blank of the last portion of the resolution:
“NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the
Commissioner Adams seconded.
Chairman Maddox asked how many homes will be built in the new subdivision. Mr. James Bingham, Treasurer of Peachtree Homes, Inc., said it was originally designed for one-hundred, four (104), but the final number is ninety-nine (99) homes.
The motion carried 5-1-0 with Commissioners Holman, Harper, Freedman, Adams, and Holder voting in favor, and Chairman Maddox voting against. Chairman Maddox said for the last four (4) years, he has contended more than one (1) entrance and exit should be created in a subdivision; therefore, he voted against the resolution.
Appeal to a Survey Plat – Resolution to
Determine Appeal on Denial of the Survey Plat on
Mr. Douglas Scott has filed a Notice of Appeal of
the decision of denial of the Survey Plat of two (2) lots located on
Commissioner Holman made the motion for discussion to determine if the resolution is approved or denied; Commissioner Adams seconded.
Mr. Douglas Scott, the Executor of the Estate of the above-mentioned property, said he lives on two (2) acres of the twenty-six (26) acre property. He said all family members live on this property, and his great-grandson wants to build a house and raise horses on five (5) acres of the property.
Commissioner Holman said he was totally in favor of
Mr. Scott having access to all of the improvements done on his property from
Chairman Maddox asked if there was any opposition to this request; there was no response.
Mr. Scott asked how long this item would be tabled, because his great-grandson is ready to build and has been waiting for six (6) months.
Commissioner Holman said the language crafted by the
County Attorney reads as follows and would be in addition to the
resolution: “the property owner
shall place appropriate signage at the entrance to the easements serving the
Scott property, Fishpond Court and Branch Forest Way, to advise future owners
of the existence of easements or to advise future owners that the easement is
the site of a private driveway.”
Commissioner Freedman said the resolution states the County’s minimum road frontage is thirty (30’) feet; and questioned why the County requires thirty (30’) feet.
Mr. Chris Mercer, of Development Plan Review, said the Ordinance requires thirty (30’) feet of road frontage for any piece of property that has over two (2) acres; if it is under two (2) acres, it has to have sixty (60’) feet of road frontage.
Commissioner Holder said back in 1982, the County disallowed access off of easements; it had to be deeded right-of-way. It was set at thirty (30’) feet as the minimum amount required to give access to property.
Commissioner Holman said in looking at the plat, the
dirt road going to the grand daughter’s home is actually on platted Crown Chase
property. Mr. Scott submitted to the
Board a plat showing Tract A, Tract B, and Tract C plus his home on the
property (the plat currently showing four improvements and a possible
fifth). Commissioner Holman asked, “are
you asking for access to those five improvements to
Commissioner Holman stated, “the resolution is
flawed; I am perfectly comfortable voting in favor of a variance to allow you
to have access to
Commissioner Holder said his concern is the reduction of the amount of required footage for deeded right-of-way to a public roadway. He said, “even though it is all family property and has been for over 40 years, many things can cause families not to remain families, and that is why you have to look out for each parcel, and each parcel will have adequate access to a public road.”
Mr. Steve Schafer, Development Plan Review Director, cautioned the Board that approval of anything less than thirty (30’) feet could set a precedent.
Commissioner Holman amended his motion to table this issue for thirty (30) days; Commissioner Adams amended his second. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Adams, Holder, Harper, and Freedman voting in favor.
Resolution Adopting an Updated Short-Term Work
Program (STWP) for 2004-2008 and Annual Capital Improvements Element (CIE)
Pursuant to the
The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 requires that an
update of the Short-Term Work Program and Capital Improvements Element of the
Comprehensive Plan be prepared on an annual basis for jurisdictions assessing
impact fees for water and sewer services.
The updated Short-Term Work Program and Capital Improvement Element has
been reviewed by the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of
Community Affairs for compliance with the provisions of the Georgia Planning
Act. This report includes local
improvement projects and plans initiated and completed to carry out the
Comprehensive Plan. The Adoption
Resolution will be sent to the ARC and DCA to complete compliance requirements
for Qualified Local Government Status with the State of
Commissioner Adams made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Harper seconded.
Commissioner Freedman referenced page 6 under
“General Planning,” where it states, ‘dirt paving of
Commissioner Holder referenced page 11 ‘New Hope – from New Hope Drive to EOP resurfacing,’ stating that project was completed last year or year before. He said this report needs to be updated, because there are several that are questionable.
Ms. Kimberly Smith, Planning and Zoning Director, said staff still has to provide the information for the report.
Commissioner Harper suggested any corrections from this list should be noted and given to staff, because it will be updated in the next few months.
Ms. Angus,
Commissioner Harper said, “we were granted an extension and this has to be adopted today. This has gone through the ARC and to keep us in compliance, we have to adopt this list, and if we have to amend it or formulate a new list, we can go forward.”
Commissioner Holman said in reviewing the list, he lost interest because he found numerous mistakes. He asked what the purpose of adopting this list was.
Commissioner Harper said in defense of the staff, the Board was given this list before it was given to the ARC, and chances have been given for corrections.
Commissioner Holman ‘called the question.’ The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Adams, Harper, Holder, and Freedman voting in favor.
The Chairman asked for a vote on the motion; the motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Adams, Harper, Holder, and Freedman voting in favor.
AGENDA AMENDMENTS / EMERGENCY AGENDA ITEMS:
Resolution Authorizing Execution of Corrective
Deeds Regarding
WHEREAS, in 1993, Thomas Rodes and Charles and Barbara Loggins conveyed two portions of a cul-de-sac at the end of Hood Road in Land Lot 95 of the 11th District, Henry County, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, the deeds conveying such property made reference to a survey which was prepared in error (a copy of the original survey is attached hereto as Exhibit “A”); and
WHEREAS, a corrected, revised survey has been prepared and is attached hereto as Exhibit “B;” and
WHEREAS, the current owners of the
surrounding properties desire to correct the errors in the right-of-way deeds
by conveying to
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT AND IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Henry County as follows:
1. That the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners is authorized to execute a quit-claim deed releasing Henry County’s interest in the improperly conveyed right-of-way as shown on Exhibit “A;” and
2. That the County Attorney is authorized and directed to deliver such quit-claim deeds to the adjacent property owners’ representative upon receipt of properly executed right-of-way deeds conveying to Henry County the proper right-of-way for Hood Road as shown on Exhibit “B.”
Commissioner Holman made the motion to approve the resolution; Commissioner Harper seconded.
Mr. Jaugstetter,
Chairman Maddox asked if there was any opposition to this request; there was no response.
The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Harper, Holman, Holder, Freedman, and Adams voting in favor.
COMMISSIONER(S) COMMENTS:
There were no Commissioner comments.
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
11/09/04 Tuesday 6:00 P.M. Board of Commissioners, Planning
Commissioner, and Comprehensive Plan
Steering Committee Meeting
11/15/04 Monday 9:00 A.M. Regular BOC Meeting
11/16/04 Tuesday 6:30 P.M. Regular BOC Meeting
11/25/04 Thursday THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
11/26/04 Friday THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
12/06/04 Monday 9:00 A.M Regular BOC Meeting
12/07/04 Tuesday 9:00 A.M. Regular BOC Meeting
Commissioner Holder moved to adjourn into Executive
Session, in accordance with the provisions of O.C.G.A. 50-14-3, and other
applicable laws, and pursuant to advice by Patrick Jaugstetter, the
(An Executive Session was held.)
Commissioner Holman made the motion to reconvene into Public Session; Commissioner Harper seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Harper, Freedman, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
Commissioner Holman made the motion to authorize the Chairman to execute the affidavit of Executive Session; Commissioner Harper seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Harper, Freedman, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
Commissioner Holman made the motion to adjourn at 12:32 p.m.; Commissioner Freedman seconded. The motion carried 5-0-0 with Commissioners Holman, Freedman, Harper, Holder, and Adams voting in favor.
Leland Maddox, Chairman
Peggy L. Malcolm, Deputy
County Clerk