City Council Minutes February 20, 2017 Work Session

MEMBERS PRESENT: Jerry D. Roseberry, Mayor; Councilmembers: Sarah Davis; George Holt; David Eady; Melvin Baker; Mike Ready; Jim Windham.

OTHERS PRESENT: Bob Schwartz, City Manager; Dave Harvey, Chief; Lauran Willis, City Clerk; Jody Reid, Utility Superintendent; Mary Carter, Kendra Mayfield, Todd Cain, Jeff Wearing, Hoyt & LaTrelle Oliver, Sarah Sattanno, Tara Vakili, Jason Thomas, Peggy Madden, Judy Greer, Don Henderson, Daniel Parson.

The meeting was called to order by the Hon. Jerry D. Roseberry, Mayor.
Agenda – Attachment-A

Mayors Announcements/SPLOST
Mayor Roseberry asked Hoyt Oliver, Chairman of the 2017 SPLOST Committee to give an update on the 2017 SPLOST initiative.  Oliver said that the committee has completed their research and has put together a flyer that will be mailed to the citizens of Oxford encouraging their participation in the upcoming 2017 SPLOST special election.  Roseberry reminded everyone that the 2017 SPLOST Committee is funded by the Committee and donations from citizens.
   
Farmers Market
Councilmember David Eady presented a draft copy of the rules and site design prepared by the Farmers Market Committee.  Eady said they used the rules and regulations for the Emory farmers market to create a working draft for the Oxford Farmers Market.  The site design was created based on discussion at the last meeting. The design includes parking along the west side of the greenspace, and it envisions a wooden fence along the east side (near the sidewalk). The design suggests signs on the north and south ends of the property to direct visitors to the entrance and exit with a gravel surface for vehicle traffic.  Eady invited comments for further discussion.  Attachment B

Future Development Plan
City Manager Bob Schwartz said the Planning Commission is recommending an amendment to the zoning ordinance to meet the needs concerning the future development plan required for Oxford College. City Attorney David Strickland provided a draft ordinance amendment. Schwartz announced there will be a Public Hearing on March 6, 2017 at 7:00 pm for the purpose of considering the amendment.  Attachment C

Fiber
Councilmember Jim Windham presented discussion and a video regarding the need and advantages of the installation of fiber optic cable throughout the city.  After discussion, Mayor Roseberry said he would like to see a business plan and asked Windham and Eady to bring this item back for more discussion.

Online Payments
City Clerk Lauran Willis announced that the City is ready to go live with Online Payment processing effective March 6^th, 2017.  Attachment D

Unfit Buildings
City Attorney David Strickland presented comparison documentation of the Oxford Code and State Code as it relates to the enforcement provisions pertaining to unfit buildings.  Strickland also presented examples and discussion on how other surrounding cities handle unfit dwellings and blighted property. After discussion, Mayor Roseberry asked City Manager Bob Schwartz to prepare an estimate of the cost and training cost to hire someone part time or full time to manage this task.  Attachment E

Street Patching Bids
City Manager Bob Schwartz and Utility Superintendent Jody Reid presented two bids for six street patches around the city. The low bid was from Southland Paving Co., LLC.  The funds for this project will come from our street paving item in our capital budget and our FY2017 LMIG grant from GDOT. This item will be on the March agenda for a vote.  Attachment F

 Projects Status and Engineer’s Progress Reports
This item was tabled due to time restraints.  Attachment G

A motion was made by Windham, seconded by Davis to adjourn at 7:23 pm.  The motion was approved 7/0.



Respectfully submitted,

Lauran Willis, CMC/FOA
City Clerk