OTHERS
PRESENT:
Art Vinson, Melissa Hage, Michael Rogers, Laura Gafnea (Oxford College)
Agenda
(Attachment
A)
1. Mayor’s Announcements
Mayor Eady advised that
after the work session there will be a special called meeting. During this
meeting, the City Council will adopt the Community Development Block Grant
resolution and go into Executive Session to discuss real estate and personnel
matters. Following the Executive Session, the City Council will return to open
session to potentially take a vote on a real estate matter. The meeting will
then adjourn.
Mayor Eady stated the
tour of Dried Indian Creek will begin at Oxford College Farm at 11:00 a.m. on
May 22, 2021. Box lunches will be provided. Anyone wishes to attend should
notify Matt Pepper by email by May 18, 2021.
2. Committee Reports
a. Trees Parks and
Recreation (TPR) Board – Michael Rogers stated that the Board has been involved
in a project to restore the tree canopy on Emory Street that was lost when the
water main was upgraded. They are also working on updating their tree
inventory list for the City. The Board has also reviewed guidelines for
allowing individuals to donate a bench. The original request was for Asbury
Street Park, but they are recommending that donations be allowed for all parks
in the City.
Laura McCanless asked if the tree survey from
several years ago has been located. Matt Pepper advised that Beryl Budd is
working on locating that information.
b. Planning Commission –
Matt Pepper stated that the Planning Commission does not have any updates at
this time.
c. Downtown Development
Authority (DDA) – Matt Pepper stated that the Authority has not met since the
May Regular Session Council meeting and has no updates at this time.
d. Sustainability
Committee – Melissa Hage stated that the tour on Saturday will be conducted by
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) Stream Team.
The Committee is working with John Devine on
documents for the application for the grant from GADNR to restore the Dried
Indian Creek corridor. The next committee meeting is May 24, 2021 at 10:30
a.m. During this meeting they will be meeting with their student intern who
will be working on a sustainability plan for the City of Oxford.
Councilmembers should expect for the intern to contact them for input.
Laura McCanless encouraged those invited to
come to the tour as the Stream Team provides important information to make
future decisions.
Ms. Hage extended an invitation to all on the
call to join the tour.
e.
Committee
on Race – Avis Williams reported that the Committee will not be having an event
in June because Pastors Williams and Johnson have been very busy lately with
COVID relief activities. There will be some information on the City website
about Juneteenth. They are planning an event for December.
3. Yarbrough House
Discussion
Mayor Eady presented the idea of getting
estimates to do some minimal renovation work on the Yarbrough House to make it
usable as a history center/welcome center which would be operated by the Oxford
Historical Society as proposed by them. Renovations would include renovating the
larger bathroom, gutting the kitchen, doing wall repairs, painting, and getting
it ready for use. His guess is it would cost around $100,000, but the cost
will be contingent on the cost of materials, which are priced extremely high at
the moment. He recognizes that it may be more prudent to wait until the cost
of materials decreases. The offer by the Society is on the table, and the
renovations would need to be done before the property is utilized as a public
space.
Avis Williams asked if the Oxford Historical
Society is in a rush to make this move, or can the City wait a few months. Mayor
Eady advised that the City does not have to be in a big hurry, but he is
concerned about it continuing to deteriorate without work being done to it.
However, he is sensitive to the high cost of materials right now. He would at
least like to get some idea of the cost as a baseline.
George Holt stated that it has been sitting
there for quite some time and can sit there a little longer. He does not feel
now is the time to work on it. He does not think the City Council should take
any action until the Society gives a written statement of exactly what they
propose to use the property for, and an accurate estimate is obtained of the
cost to complete the work.
Laura McCanless has the same concerns as others
about the current cost of materials. She also wondered if there would be much
interest from the public with the COVID-19 pandemic just starting to wind down.
Lynn Bohanan asked if it has been determined
that this proposal is how the property will be used. She does not consider
kitchens and bathrooms minor work.
Mayor Eady clarified that the work in the
kitchen involves removing the cabinets to create a blank slate for the Society
to put their displays up. He does agree that a nice ADA bathroom would be some
significant work.
Ms. Bohanan stated she was under the impression
there were other structural integrity issues that needed to be addressed before
renovations could start.
Mayor Eady stated there was some discussion
about removal of flooring to examine floor joists. This assessment was bolstered
by some observations from an architectural firm. However, this approach would
be very expensive. Other than the large bathroom, which would be torn out to
the floor joists anyway due to water damage, there are not any areas of the
house that seem to be in danger of collapsing.
Ms. Bohanan also expressed concerns about the
cost of materials.
James Windham stated he was confused why the
City Council is discussing spending $100,000 on the Yarbrough House. The issue
was discussed in the April Work Session and the conversation centered around
selling the house, moving it, tearing it down, or ignoring it.
Mayor Eady confirmed that those options were
discussed, and no resolution was reached. He was reminded recently by the
Oxford Historical Society that their proposal had been made and was on the
table.
Mr. Windham stated he thought their proposal
had been rejected. He had no other comments other than that he agreed with the
observations of the other City Councilmembers.
Mayor Eady stated that it seems there is
consensus to not take any action at this time, and not to ask anyone to waste
time obtaining estimates. He believes the proposal by the Society was paused
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Windham stated he believes there are a lot
of small projects that could be completed around town without spending a lot of
money, such as removing some asphalt and planting flowers.
Jeff Wearing asked if the Society will come up
with designs and recommendations. Mayor Eady advised the Society is not asking
for any structural repairs to the house. They are only asking for repairs to
make the structure safe for occupancy by completing the items mentioned
earlier, which would be the defined scope of work. Mr. Wearing advised he is
for it in general, but now many not be the best time.
Mr. Holt stated that some drawings were
reviewed a year or so ago regarding the repairs under discussion. Those plans
can be used to obtain an estimate.
4. Operating Budget and
Capital Budget for FY2022 (Attachment B)
A public hearing was held prior to this meeting
regarding the proposed operating and capital budgets for FY2022.
Councilmembers have had several opportunities to review the proposals and ask
questions.
George Holt advised his questions have been
answered by Matt Pepper. No other Councilmembers had questions.
5. Employee Handbook
Revision (Attachment
C)
Matt Pepper stated that the current handbook
was adopted in 2011. There have been changes in the form of government and in
other areas that precipitated the need for a revision. The City has worked
with the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) to bring the handbook up to date.
A revised version was provided to all Councilmembers along with the original
version. Mr. Pepper provided an overview of the changes. He stated that City
staff will be reviewing the manual on a more regular schedule and expect to
bring requests for updates to the City Council periodically.
George Holt stated that it will take more than
one or two work sessions to make decisions on the updates, as there are many
changes. He and Lauran Willis and Bob Schwartz had started working on an
update several years ago. He would like to have a tracked version printed out
so he can compare it to the changes they had discussed. He also does not
understand some of the changes that are being proposed. He wants to make sure
the City Council understands these changes. He also mentioned that the job
title of Utilities Superintendent has never been voted on and needs to be
changed to Utilities Supervisor.
James Windham asked if anyone has reviewed the
City Charter in relation to the roles of staff and Councilmembers.
Mr. Holt also expressed concern about the
“employee at will” language in the revised version because it implies that an
employee can be fired without reason and the addition of another holiday
(Veteran’s Day).
Matt Pepper advised that the “employee at will”
language was recommended by GMA staff.
Mr. Windham asked if GMA recommended carrying
more than 80 hours. The City Council specifically addressed this issue in the
previous writing of the handbook because employees were carrying three, four,
or five years of vacation. An employer provides vacation for employees to take
some time away and refresh their well-being.
Mr. Holt asked why the book lists vacation time
as days rather than hours. He knows it was listed as days in the original
handbook, but he feels it should be shown in hours.
Mayor Eady asked Councilmembers to consider
this document a first draft and provide notes and comments to Mr. Pepper.
Marcia Brooks will provide a tracked version
electronically to all Councilmembers and a printed tracked version to Mr. Holt.
Mr. Windham suggested that Mr. Holt should be
involved in the revision process of the handbook at an earlier stage given his
expertise in the human resources field.
6. Excess Cyber Security
Liability Insurance
Matt Pepper advised
that as part of our liability insurance we have cyber security liability
insurance up to $250,000. Excess liability coverage is offered to increase the
limit to $1,000,000 for $3,380. City staff recommend purchasing this excess
liability insurance. Security features are in place with the City’s IT
services provider including backups every four hours on site and every day off
site. In addition, the provider monitors the City’s network and servers 24/7
for suspicious activity as well as the most up-to-date malware threat
monitoring. The excess liability insurance is another level of protection.
Laura McCanless stated it is a good idea to be
proactive given recent cyber compromises. She asked what the excess insurance
covers. Mr. Pepper advised it covers costs up to $1,000,000 resulting from a
ransomware attack or cyberattack. Marcia Brooks added that it pays consultant
fees to restore data as well as ransom fees. George Holt asked for
clarification on exactly what the insurance will pay for. Ms. Brooks advised
she would provide details regarding the coverage to the Councilmembers.
James Windham requested assurance from the
City’s IT services provider that security is in place that can block most known
ransomware. He knows that some victims of cyberattacks have not kept their
security systems up to date. He supports having the extra insurance.
Avis Williams stated that their school system
in Putnam County had the most up-to-date measures in place and their system was
down for ten days. It cost them $1 million to resolve the issue.
7. Work Session Meeting
Review
a. Yarbrough House – hold
on any actions
b. FY2022 Operating and
Capital Budgets – adoption June 7, 2021. Millage rate will be voted on after
Newton County Tax Digest is released.
c. Employee Handbook – Councilmembers
will receive electronic tracked copy for review (George Holt will receive paper
copy).
d. Excess Cyber Liability
Insurance – Matt or Marcia will provide further details on coverage to
Councilmembers.
8. Adjourn
Mayor Eady adjourned the meeting at 7:38 p.m.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Marcia
Brooks
City Clerk/Treasurer