HIAWASSEE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA/MINUTES 
August 4^th, 2020

The August 2020 City Council Meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers
Closed to the public….Broadcast Via Facebook Live, City of Hiawassee Facebook Site

1. Call to order
   • Invocation – Nancy Noblet
   • Pledge of Allegiance 
   • Mayor’s Introductions of Guests and Announcements
   • Motion to Adopt Final Agenda as Distributed
2. Old Business
3. New Business
4. Ethics Committee Appointee – Al Fickle
5. Motions/Approvals
   • Consent Agenda – May Financial not available
     • Minutes from July 7^thCity Council Meeting 
     • Minutes from July 27^thWork Session

6. Approval of Sewer Service Moratorium Extension
7. First Reading of the Sewer Services Ordinance 
8. First Reading of the ‘Technology Fee’ for Police Citations 
9. Executive Session
10. Motion to Adjourn

HIAWASSEE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 
August 4^th, 2020

August 4, 2020, City Council Meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. in council chambers by Mayor Liz Ordiales.  The meeting was broadcast via FaceBook Live due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Present in addition to the Mayor were Council members Anne Mitchell, Amy Barrett, Jay Chastain, Nancy Noblet and Patsy Owens.  Staff present were Economic Development Director Denise McKay and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick. Also present was City Attorney Thomas Mitchell.

The Mayor introduced guests, Alvin Fickle and his wife Sybil. Mr. Fickle has agreed to replace Susan Phillips, who has moved to Pennsylvania, on the Ethics Board as the Mayor’s appointee. 

The invocation was given by Councilmember Nancy Noblet and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mayor Ordiales advised the Council that the agenda would need to be amended to remove the first reading of the Sewer Ordinance because it was passed in April, first reading of the Technology Fee Ordinance was sent earlier today, so the Council can choose to remove it from the agenda, and approval of the intake repair (quote came this afternoon) for $239,274.00.  The repair requires bringing in a barge big enough for a crane to lift the intake 12’ and replace and fix the floatation devices due to wrong equipment installed.  The repair is $10,000.00, the $229,274.00 is for the barge and crane.

Motion to Adopt Final Agenda as amended was made by Councilmember Patsy Owens, seconded by Councilmember Jay Chastain with all in favor.

Mayor Ordiales relayed to the Council the information from the GMA conference call this morning.  Dr. Deborah Birx of the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force.  She said that things started to get bad after Memorial Day.  Cases are escalating.  Georgia is a high plateau state – no improvement since reaching a peak and over 10% positivity rate.  There are 110 counties in Georgia that are in the red zone and Towns is one of them because of the increases per capita.  The task force thought rural areas would be spared much of the impact of COVID-19, but that is not the case. Dr. Birx recommends small gatherings of 10 or less, wear a mask, wash hands, walk away, and that a vaccine is expected sometime during the first quarter of 2021.

City Attorney Thomas Mitchell swore in Mr. Alvin Fickle to the Ethics Committee.  

Councilmember Amy Barrett asked about gatherings in excess of the stipulated numbers and who enforces it.  Attorney Mitchell said that any law enforcement officers can enforce the mandate from the Governor.

The was no new or old business.

The motion to approve the consent agenda which consisted of the meeting minutes of the July 7th Council meeting and the July 27^th Work Session was made by Councilmember Nancy Noblet, seconded by Councilmember Anne Mitchell with all in favor.

The motion to approve the Sewer Service Moratorium extension for 90 days was made by Councilmember Amy Barrett, seconded by Councilmember Nancy Noblet with all in favor.

The motion to approve the first reading of the Technology Fee Ordinance was made by Councilmember Amy Barrett, seconded by Councilmember Nancy Noblet with all in favor.  Mayor Ordiales asked the Council to again consider the 2 reads in 1 meeting for ordinances.  If this change were in place, ordinances such as this one where there is full Council support would be in place after the first reading.  The stipulations for this to work is that every Council member is present, and the vote is unanimous. Any Council member could vote no, which would cause the ordinance to go to a second reading.  Mayor Ordiales will put it on the agenda for the August work session.

The motion to approve the intake repair at the Water Treatment Plant for $239,274.00 was made by Councilmember Amy Barrett seconded by Councilmember Nancy Noblet with all in favor.

 Councilmember Amy Barrett asked about the TurfCare quote that was on the agenda at the work session.  It was agreed to move it to the August Work Session for further discussion.

Motion to enter executive session to discuss litigation was made by Councilmember Jay Chastain, seconded by Councilmember Nancy Noblet with all in favor.

Motion to exit the executive session was made by Councilmember Anne Mitchell, seconded by Councilmember Amy Barrett with all in favor.

Motion to adjourn was made by Council member Jay Chastain, seconded by Council member Nancy Noblet with all in favor. Meeting Adjourned at 7:30pm