BROADCAST VIA FACEBOOK LIVE SITE: CITY OF HIAWASSEE
OPEN TO PUBLIC –City Hall Training Room Upstairs
HIAWASSEE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Monday September 25th, 2023 6PM
1. Call to order
1.1 Invocation – Amy Barrett
1.2 Pledge of Allegiance
1.3 Mayor’s Introductions of Guests and Announcements
1.4 Approve the Agenda as distributed
2. Old Business
2.1 Mayors Report
2.2 Sign Ordinance update/discussion
3. Consent Agenda:
3.1 Minutes from September 5st, 2023 City Council Meeting
3.2 Minutes from Work Session September 25th, 2023
3.3 June Financials
4. DDA/City Council Retreat-October 5th, 10AM -2PM
5. Babette Dunn – DDA/Council conflict
6. Accessory Structure Ordinance
7. Police Report
8. Economic Development Report
9. Executive Session 10. Adjournment
HIAWASSEE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES
Monday September 25th, 2023 6PM
The September Work Session of the City Council was called to order by Mayor Liz Ordiales on September 25th, 2023 at 6:00 pm. Present in addition to the Mayor were Council members Amy Barrett, Anne Mitchell, Nancy Noblet, Patsy Owens, and Jay Chastain. Staff present were Economic Development Director Denise McKay, Police Chief Jeremy Parker, Police Officer Jose Carvajal, and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick. City Attorney Thomas Mitchell was also present.
The invocation was given by Council member Amy Barrett and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Ordiales welcomed the many guests in attendance.
Council member Amy Barrett asked to amend the agenda to add Mr. Bob Anderson for discussion regarding his office building. Motion to approve the agenda as amended was made by Council member Patsy Owens, seconded by Council Member Nancy Noblet with all in favor.
In Old Business, the Mayor presented her report, which included updates on the townhouses being built next to the Bannister Funeral Home (8 townhomes on 2 acres and should be completed in approximately 8 months), the progress at Bojangles, alcohol license renewals will go out this week with an October 31st deadline, Business license renewals will be send in October, Towns County Assessor’s office has not provided the city with the millage rate yet (assessments need to be addressed before the millage can be set), the leak at the Lakeside store on Highway 75 South, the 9/11 tribute including Chief Parker taking part in the honor walk, the North Georgia Honor Guard presenting the Colors, the Blairsville Bagpipers, tribute to the veterans (Hometown Heroes banners) with guest speaker Chuck Frisk, the Lake Chatuge Rotary fundraiser (Casino night), the Dunkin Donuts grand opening (and 3am line up for free coffee for a year), the Berrong-Oakley House update (personal articles have been moved out, power is on, but there are issues with the fragile plumbing in the house so no water in the house yet), the Berrong-Oakley house fundraising efforts, thank you to sponsors of the Music on the Square as well as Tim Massey and Joyce Frick for lining up the talent, Halloween at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds (October 31st from 5 -9pm) and the Building and Planning variance meeting tomorrow night at the Towns County Civic Center ( September 26, 2023 at 6:00pm ).
Also in Old Business, the council discussed at some length the feather flag portion of the sign ordinance and the issue of enforcement of the ordinance, in particular treating all the businesses equally. Police Chief Jeremy Parker indicated that due to the discussion of the changes to the ordinance and the required planning to organize the code enforcement, the enforcement has taken a secondary place in the priority of his day-to-day tasks. Chief Parker will assign the Code Enforcement work to Officer Jose Carvajal once there is an ordinance/process in place. Council member Nancy Noblet suggested the possibility of having an officer (a retired or part-time officer) that will do Code Enforcement monthly in order to keep the patrol officers on patrol. Mayor Ordiales commented that reviewing of signs should take minimal time and additional employee was not needed. Council member Amy Barrett asked if Chief Parker could be part of the committee to revamp the sign ordinance and it was suggested that Court and Permitting Clerk Sheryl Branson be on the committee as well. After much discussion about addressing the feather flags alone vs. revamping the entire ordinance, it was decided to vote on the Feather Flag changes at the Council meeting next week.
In New Business, the Consent agenda will consist of the Minutes from September 5st, 2023, the City Council Meeting Minutes from Work Session September 25th, 2023, and the June Financials.
The DDA/City Council Retreat is scheduled for October 5th, 10 AM -2 PM at Brasstown Valley Resorts and Monica Callahan (Madison GA Economic Development Director) will facilitate the retreat.
Babette Dunn requested time on the agenda to address the question of whether there is a conflict of interest in her work with the DDA and her run for a Council seat. She read a statement regarding her volunteer work on the DDA as well as the special project for which she is being paid that is beyond the scope of the regular volunteer duties of the DDA. The project is being paid for by a private donation and no City monies will be used for the project. The DDA is a separate entity from the City and as such can receive the funds and pay for the specific project. Ms. Dunn will be paid by the DDA and will receive a Form 1099. The contract will expire on December 31, 2023, and, if Ms. Dunn should succeed in her run for Council, she will resign her position with the DDA.
Attorney Mitchell has sent sample Accessory Structure Ordinances for the Council to review. Council members Anne Mitchell and Patsy Owens indicated they had not received the information from Attorney Mitchell due to issues with their City emails. Council member Amy Barrett asked if size of the structure was a consideration as she has concerns over the proposed Firefly art project and how it will be impacted by this proposed ordinance. Mr. Mitchell explained that the Accessory Structure has been used in other cities as additional structures such as barns, garages, etc. The ordinance would define size and placement of said structures.
In the Police Report, Chief Jeremy Parker updated the Council on the connection he made with the Adventure Bags backpack company at the Chief’s conference this summer. Donated backpacks have been provided to the department, 2 bags each (1 boy and 1 girl) in 6 age ranges (infant-2, 2-4, 5-7, 6-11, 12-15, and 16-18) for children who are separated from their parents for any reason (ie arrest, traffic accident, home fire, etc). On September 8th the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety provided training to the area departments regarding recent changes to DUI laws. They then set up a safety checkpoint from 7:30 – 9:00 pm and made arrests and citations for DUI, no insurance, and seat belt violations.
In the Economic Development report, Director Denise McKay updated the council on the Paris Business Center fundraising efforts and loan opportunities. It was stated that the timeline doesn’t allow for the intergovernmental agreement to be put in place. DDA will be voting tomorrow morning on accepting the term sheet for a loan as presented from UCBI. The loan would provide up to $1,000,000.00 and would be interest only for the first 18 months. The Council was sent the UCBI term sheet and had a few questions which were addressed. In the Paris Building Center update, Director McKay is building relationships with business and schools in the area, including areas of NC and TN by sharing the services that will be offered. She shared the number of clients that have been served, how many are currently being served and some of the processes the clients go through to be considered for services. Because of the federal funding received, keeping track of the number of clients is very important. She also stated that there are loan programs that are available for businesses by working with her through the PBC to assist those starting or expanding their businesses in Georgia. The PBC building will have 4 conference rooms available to the public. An agreement has been reached with PBC partner, North Georgia Technical College to utilize the PBC as a testing facility for GED testing and adult literacy classes, along with testing for certifications for pest control and ServSafe and others to be identified as needed. This will be a great asset to the county and the surrounding area. The incubator spaces will be occupied on completion of the building reconstruction. The spaces will rent for approximately $250/month for the first 3 months and then will increase to $500/month. The first two tenants will be a baker and a licensed councilor. Utilities for the incubator spaces will be pro-rated. The restaurant will rent for $2,500/month to begin as they will be building out the restaurant as the building will be a white box with the tenant responsible for completing the buildout for their usage. The loan payment is estimated to be in the vicinity of $7,000/month. The payment will be funded through the revenues received through the PBC, the lease payment from the restaurant and SPLOST.
Janet Oliva asked for clarification on Babette Dunn’s status – Babette is not a city employee, and no city funds will be used to compensate her for the project she is working on for the DDA.
Bob Anderson of Anderson Financial Services expressed concerns regarding the proximity of the restaurant to his building. Specifically, the AC units and solar control panel (the City has offered to move them at the City’s expense to the back of his driveway on a new slab), the potential for a restaurant fire (the Paris Buildings’ designs include a fire suppression system), and his property being used as a pass-through to the rear of the restaurant building (there will be no rear access to the restaurant, all will need to enter the building from the Main Street side), and potential parking issues at times when the restaurant is open for business (there are 6 parking spaces dedicated to Anderson Financial Services directly in front of the Anderson Building).
Motion to enter Executive Session to discuss pending litigation was made by Council member Jay Chastain, seconded by Council member Amy Barrett, with all present in favor. The meeting moved to Executive Session at 7:40pm.
Motion to exit executive session was made by made by Council member Jay Chastain seconded by Council member Amy Barrett with all in favor. There being no further business, the motion to adjourn was made by Council Member Nancy Noblet, seconded by Council Member Patsy Owens with all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm