BROADCAST VIA FACEBOOK LIVE       SITE: CITY OF HIAWASSEE
OPEN TO PUBLIC – City Hall Training Room Upstairs

HIAWASSEE WORK SESSION AGENDA
October 25^th, 2021 

1. Call to order
   • Invocation – Nancy Noblet
   • Pledge of Allegiance 
   • Mayor’s Introductions of Guests and Announcements 
   • Approve the Agenda as distributed 
2. Old Business
   • Mayors Report
3. New Business
   • Culture Corridor – Bonny Herman/Sarah Faneuff
   • Cities United Essay Winners 
   • Alcohol Licenses Approval for:

Clipper Petroleum         Market K                      Ingles iMarket              Ingles Market    
Sundance Grill              Hiawassee Brew           Monte Alban                 HIR Gastropub

• 2022 Calendar Review 
• 2022 Council Retreat- Date/Location
• Approval of Sheryl Branson as Court Clerk
• Consent Agenda – November 9^th   
  • October 7^thCity Council Meeting Minutes 
  • October 25^thWork Session Minutes 

4. DDA Support Position
5. Police Report
6. Economic Development Update
7. Executive Session
8. Adjournment

HIAWASSEE WORK SESSION MINUTES
October 25^th, 2021 

The City of Hiawassee October Work Session was called to order at 6 PM on October 25th, 2021, in the Upstairs Training Room at City Hall by Mayor Liz Ordiales. The meeting was broadcast over Facebook Live.

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

The Invocation was given by Councilmember Nancy Noblet and was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  The Mayor welcomed all guests including Sarah Fanueff and Pat Malone.  Motion was made by Councilmember Nancy Noblet to approve the agenda as distributed, seconded by Council member Anne Mitchell with all in favor. 

In her report, Mayor Ordiales gave the update on COVID-19 (55% at least 1 vaccination, 51% fully vaccinated), and boosters are available at Ingles. Business License renewals were mailed last week and are due by December 15^th. The Property Tax bills will go out in the next few weeks and are due January 14th. For the 2020 collections, only ½ of 1 bill remains unpaid ($60.00). Hotel/Motel collections for short term rentals are starting to come in - July (collect in August) $2,093.54 and August (collected in September) $4,218.02. GMRC is offering a Construction Training certificate in 20 days (placement is included and grants are available), the University of Georgia College of Public Health has selected Hiawassee to do a study of what we need in the health care industry – a short video was played. The Men of Water fixed a leak on Bell Street and a generator was installed at State Farm lift station. We won the bid for the Kubota from Hamilton Gardens. The Kayak ramps are still being used but are nearly on the ground and will be closed for the winter so that the floats are not damaged. Halloween this coming Sunday at the Fair Grounds – set up begins at 3 pm for treaters from 5 – 8 pm. Next year there will be a costume contest.  Mayors Park car counter shows lots of cars have passed through (776 on 9/28- fishing tournament; 380 on 10/11). Jim Powell, one of our Hometown Heroes has been appointed by President Biden to serve on the US Energy Board. Yoga on the Square continues, and we have several Squarecrows currently residing on the Square. “Serenity” sculpture created by Ron Salzer of Hayesville has been given to the City to display on the Square for an undetermined amount of time. Due to the election on November 2^nd, the November Council meeting will be held on November 9^th. Mayor Ordiales stated that the City Council unanimously voted to put the Alcohol Package Store referendum on the ballot at the June 1^st City Council meeting. We initiated a contract with the county to conduct the election and on August 20 – the end of the Elections Qualifying period – the seats for Mayor and Council Posts 1 and 2 were uncontested which did not mean we could cancel the election. The County has always charged the City for costs of an election.  The cost of the election is based on the kind of election it is and the City doesn’t know how much it will cost.  Many comments have been made on FaceBook and the City will not engage or comment or create any banter on these comments. She expects that if the package store referendum does pass, it will be a significant income stream for the City.

Sarah Faneuff, a graphic artist from Young Harris, presented the Cultural Connection brochure to the Council and described the work that she and Bonny Herman, who financed the project, did to research some “off the beaten path” places of art, culture, and historic significance for visitors to explore in the area from Blue Ridge to Clayton.  The City only paid to print the brochures.

Councilmember Anne Mitchell read the winning entry for the 6^th grade “Georgia Cities United” essay contest “If I were Mayor” written by Dillon Pirkle.  Other winners were 7^th grade – Mary Lee Durham. 8^th grade – Jaden Crooks, 9^th grade – Gabriella Rowling - Each will receive a certificate for their winning entry.  

Alcohol license renewals for 2022 will be on the agenda for the Council meeting on November 9^th.  We have received renewals from Clipper Petroleum,             Market K, Ingles iMarket, Ingles Market, Sundance Grill, Hiawassee Brew, Monte Alban, and HIR Gastropub. The deadline for receiving the renewals is October 31^st.

The 2022 City Council meeting and Holiday schedule was given to the Council and will be on the agenda for approval at the November City Council meeting.

On the agenda for the November City Council meeting will be the appointment of Sheryl Branson as the Chief Court Clerk for the Hiawassee Municipal Court. Sheryl has attended the mandated training and has worked with Judge Sneed over the last two months. Judge Sneed is recommending her for Court Clerk as well as Mayor Ordiales and City Clerk Bonnie Kendrick.

On the Consent Agenda for the November 9^th meeting will be the minutes of the October 7^th City Council Meeting and the October 25^th Work Session Minutes.

The Council discussed the 2022 retreat timing and location. The City will be contacted soon by the University of Georgia to see if we wish to schedule a retreat and the Council decided they wished to move the retreat back to the March time frame.  Last year it was moved to May due to COVID-19 concerns.

Discussion around the DDA support position (motion to approve the creation of the position was tabled at the October 5^th Council meeting) was mainly related to the title of the position, defining it as a stand-alone position not tied to Denise’s position, and how much work is needed to be done (Paris Business Center support, Main Street Program, etc.). Attorney Thomas Mitchell spoke about how much work another city had found the GICH program to be and that person stated it could have been more effective if she had had more time to devote to it. Mayor Liz stated that she had been approached by a few people based on the FaceBook discussions in the previous meeting, but it didn’t make sense to talk to them without a job description which will come from the Vinson Institute.

In the police report, Chief Paul Smith discussed the traffic – 300K vehicles through the City.  He also told the Council that he had hired another part time/on call officer – Jose Carvajal.  He also reminded everyone to be very aware that scams increase this time of year.  Be aware that your social media presence gives a LOT of personal information (family members, etc) which scammers will use.  Caller ID can be spoofed.  If you get a call asking for personal information or account number, etc.  Hang up and call the institution they claimed to be from on a KNOWN number for the institution.

In the Economic Development update, Director Denise McKay gave the recap of the last First Friday, ribbon cutting at Backyard Bait and Tackle and reiterated that the county has been accepted in the GICH (Georgia Initiative for Community Housing) program.  Director McKay also presented the Council with the “Towns Forward” economic development brochure which covers Towns County, but many of the initiatives are Hiawassee only. In the Paris Business Center update, the RFP is out for the building restoration and the video walk through of the buildings is posted on the City’s website.  She also presented the hours she spends on the projects she is working on and an analysis of DDA volunteer hours.  From Oct 5 – 20 (15 days) the volunteers have logged 61 hours equivalent of $1,551.23 at an average rate of $25.43. 

There was no need for executive session. Motion to Adjourn the meeting was made by Councilmember Amy Barrett seconded by Councilmember Nancy Noblet with all in favor. Meeting adjourned at 6:53pm.