BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CATOOSA COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING
The regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners was held at on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in the Catoosa County Administrative Building, Ringgold, Georgia.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE AMERICAN FLAG AND INVOCATION
Commissioner Hill gave the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Clark called the meeting to order, and the following Commissioners were present: William H. H. Clark, Chairman; Ken Marks, Commissioner, District One; Robert Winters, Commissioner, District Two; and Dewayne Hill, Commissioner, District Four. James F. Emberson, Commissioner, District Three was absent.
SET THE AGENDA
Chairman Clark called for changes to the agenda and the agenda was amended as follows: Additions: Intergovernmental Agreement Between Catoosa County and City of Fort Oglethorpe and add Legal Advice for Executive Session.
Remove: Budget Amendment. The Board unanimously approved the amended agenda.
MINUTES
Chairman Clark called for corrections or approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of February 20, 2007. There were no corrections and the minutes were approved as presented by unanimous consent.
AMINISTRATIVE-FISCAL MATTERS
GEORGIA FUND ONE TO AUTHORIZE INVESTMENTS Chief Financial Officer Henson said the Georgia Fund One was used by the State to deposit tax revenues into and currently the Chief Financial Officer and the Staff Accountant were authorized to transfer those funds to the local bank. Mr. Henson asked the Board to authorize deletion of William Baerg from the list and replace with Cherry Canella, and he also requested the Board authorize transferring of the funds from the Georgia Fund One Account to the County’s Money Market Account rather than the County Operating Account. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of Mr. Henson’s recommendation to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the recommendation was unanimously approved.
LOOKOUT COMMUNITY SERVICES AS CONTRACTOR WITH DHR FOR TRANSPORTATION Chief Finance Officer Henson said Lookout Community Services had been selected as the main contractor for Region I of the Department of Human Resources. Mr. Henson said the County acted as a subcontractor and Lookout Community Services had asked the County’s intention to continue the relationship for the Fiscal Year 2008. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of the County acting as a subcontractor and stating that intention to Lookout Community Services to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the recommendation was unanimously approved. [Copy of Intent Letter attached hereto as Exhibit A]
COPY MACHINE CONTRACTS Chief Financial Officer Henson presented the following copy machine contracts:
· Recreation Department – replacing machine and 6-month lease with Duplicator Supply in the amount of $71.98 per month. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of approving the contract to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the contract was unanimously approved.
· Road Department – maintenance agreement in the amount of $285.00 annually. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of approving the contract to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the contract was unanimously approved.
[Copy of contracts on file in Commission Office]
COUNTY AS FISCAL AGENT FOR FAMILY COLLABORATIVE Chief Financial Officer Henson said the Family Collaborative desired to apply for a grant for 2008 and they were requesting that Catoosa County act as fiscal agent for Fiscal Year 2008. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of the County acting as fiscal agent for the Family Collaborative for Fiscal Year 2008 to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the request was unanimously approved.
ENGINEERING AGREEMENT FOR CDBG GRANT PHASE II Mr. Brown presented an engineering agreement in the amount of $3,000 with CTI relating to Phase II of the Lakeview sewer project grant. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of approving the agreement in the amount of $3,000 with CTI to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the agreement was unanimously approved. [Agreement on file in Commission Office]
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF FORT OGLETHORPE Attorney Young said the Board had previously approved an agreement with the City of Fort Oglethorpe for the West Chickamauga Sewer Basin, which provided the County would provide 50% of the costs for the pump station from SPLOST funds dedicated to that project and Fort Oglethorpe would provide the other 50% and construct the pump station. Mr. Young said that was to allow Fort Oglethorpe to take advantage of a program offered through the City of Chattanooga. Mr. Young said since the County approved the contract, Fort Oglethorpe realized that it could not only get debt forgiveness for the pump station but they could also get it for the force main section of the interceptor so they asked that the County contribute the SPLOST money the County had dedicated for that project to them and they would build it so they could take advantage of the debt forgiveness. Mr. Young said there would be no additional cost to the County; it would be that the County would pay Fort Oglethorpe instead of the contractor. Mr. Young said the City of Fort Oglethorpe approved an agreement in that format but since there was the amendment, he asked the Board to approve the contract as amended. Chairman Clark called for all in favor of approving the agreement as amended and presented by Mr. Young to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the amended agreement was unanimously approved. [Amended agreement on file in Commission Office]
REPORTS
· A pre-construction meeting for the interceptor and collector lines would be held this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on the West Chickamauga Basin Sewer Project and he had authorized through Public Works Department to start construction of the pump station.
· Coosa Valley brought a water resources problem to the attention of the counties in North Georgia. He said the Atlanta area was suffering from lack of water, whereas, North Georgia had an abundance of water.
· The Chamber of Commerce was sponsoring a luncheon on Thursday addressing the Pandemic flu issue. Members of the State Health Department would give a presentation at the luncheon meeting.
LANDFILL METHANE GAS UPDATE Mr. Meadows updated on the Board on the status of the Corrective Action Plan, which was to stop methane gas migration offsite at Site I at the Landfill. Mr. Meadows said the Corrective Action Plan consisted of Phases I, II, and III. He said Phase I was the less expensive part of the plan and that phase should be finished by the end of April.
· Phase I determined if there was any other possibility that the Landfill might not be the cause of the methane, and it was concluded it was Landfill gas causing the migration. They also found out there was water in wells and the radius of influence of the wells was not coincided. They also found some wells were taking in air and these would be corrected.
· Phase II involved putting additional wells to backstop the gas migrating offsite to the west. Staff would like to begin some work in Phase II before Phase I was finished. They would like to have wells placed on the western margin of the Landfill and start extracting gas from that area with the intention of stopping the migration offsite. Mr. Meadows said additional testing would need to be done to determine the radius of influence of the new wells. Mr. Meadows said there would be a cost of $2,000 to get the additional information to determine the amount of gas that could be pulled at various pressures.
Chairman Clark called for all in favor of approving the $2,000 work order to indicate by saying aye. There was no opposition and the work order was unanimously approved.
LIBRARY BOARD APPOINTMENT County Attorney Patty presented the names of the candidates for the vacancy on the Library Board and handed out ballots to the Board. The candidates were: Sue Lane Helton, Janice Kennedy, Pat Silcox, and Brad Scott. The votes were tallied and Brad Scott was selected to fill the unexpired term vacated by Doug Barrows ending June 30, 2009 by a vote of 3-1.
COOSA VALLEY RDC County Manager Brown introduced William R. Steiner, Executive Director of Coosa Valley RDC. Mr. Steiner introduced David Howerin, Comprehensive Planning; Karen Howell, Workforce Investment Program; and Iris Petersmarck, Area Aging, who made presentations on the services provided through Coosa Valley RDC in these areas. He Board received packets of educational information about Coosa Valley.
Robert Parrot, Resident. Mr. Parrot said he had been before the Board on previous occasions and had spoken with Mr. Brown and Mr. Ridley on numerous occasions regarding his residence at 1569 Spring Meadows Drive. He said Mr. Ridley had offered to do a substandard fix, which he would not accept. He said he was invited by certified mail to attend a meeting at which Commissioners Winters and Hill were also present. Mr. Parent said he had serious structural issues and that he had been told the builder would be responsible. He said all he was asking was to have his house fixed. He said he was making a formal demand that this be done today, and if the Board wanted it by certified mail, he would be happy to comply. He said he would like to be notified of any action by the Board and not by Mr. Brown or Mr. Ridley.
Anthony Cooper, Representative of James Anderson. Mr. Cooper said he had a first purchaser’s warranty by Jason and Terry Elrod on September 3, 2002 and the warranty stated it was not transferable. Mr. Cooper said the second purchaser was Daniel and Rebecca Snyder and Mr. Parrot bought it from Daniel and Rebecca Snyder. Mr. Cooper pointed out several activities regarding the attempt to resolve the problem:
· Mr. Parent had a home inspector to inspect the home and proceeded with the purchase of residence after reviewing the inspection report.
· This issue was brought to their attention by Mr. Ridley on May 16, 2006, and they met with Mr. Ridley and Mr. Parent on the evening of May 16th at 6:00 p.m.
· Although the warranty was expired on the property, Mr. Anderson agreed to certain repairs out of courtesy, because there was no way to prove fault on the builder, due to the previous owners’ rights to alter the property, if they so desired. Neither the builder or Mr. Parent could be sure of what changes were made during the years between when the home was sold by Mr. Anderson and purchased to Mr. Parent. Mr. Anderson agreed to the following repairs:
n add insulation in the attic
n cut a hole in OSB for added ventilation
n replace a 2 x 10 and a 2 x 6 on the back deck
n seal under a bay window with vinyl siding.
Mr. Cooper said Mr. Parent refused the repairs; he also refused compensation; and said several contractors had been sent to the residence to make repairs and provide materials at no cost and they were also refused. Mr. Cooper said Mr. Anderson had also offered to let Mr. Parent choose the contractors and he would pay the contractors a reasonable amount to fix the problems and Mr. Parent refused this also. He said he did not see how Mr. Anderson or the County could be responsible, since Mr. Parent was the third party to own the home. Mr. Cooper said they were trying to resolve the matter and would work with Mr. Ridley to continue the efforts.
Mr. Brown said he looked into the matter two weeks ago and said it was very obvious to him that the County had no responsibility in this case. He said he had handed the matter over to the County attorneys and County staff would not have any further comments.
Burk Elder, III. Said he represented Catoosa County Americans who loved God, respected the Constitution and upheld the Constitutions of the United States and of Georgia. Mr. Hale read a document he titled Memorial to the Commission of Catoosa County regarding Georgia Memorial to Congress in 1957 relating to subversive activities, the 14th and 15th amendments, and he said elections and legislative acts since that time were null and void.
Bobby Henson, Resident. Asked the status of the pending Noise Ordinance. County Attorney Patty said the Ordinance had been sent to the Planning Commission to amend the Zoning Ordinance and hold the public hearing and then refer it back to the Board of Commissioners for adoption.
Adrienne White Rhodes, President of Lake Winnepesaukah and Granddaughter of founders. She expressed concern about the increased traffic and speeding on Lakeview Drive. She requested the Board consider a 4-way Stop at the intersection of Greenslake Road and Lakeview Drive. Mr. Brown said he spoke with Sheriff Summers about the location and the Sheriff indicated he would like to try to step up patrol in that area. Mr. Brown said upon the recommendation of the Sheriff, they would look at some kind of study. Ms. Rhodes said Sheriff Summers had encouraged her to come before the Board.
Shirley Smith, Resident. Wanted to publicly thank Coosa Valley RDC for their support of the adult education program, assistance in getting grants, and for all they had done for the Learning Center. She said they were a joy to work with, and they were an asset to the County.
Cherise Miller, Resident. She said Lake Winnepesaukah was a large tax base in Catoosa County, and she felt it would be cheaper to go ahead and put up the 4-way Stop signs rather than spend money for a study. She also addressed the water conservation issue, stating that she hoped they could do away with the political hand rubbing in this County and do what was best for the County by putting a moratorium on building. She said the contractors carried a lot of clout in the County and added that Forsythe County had put a moratorium on building. She said if Catoosa County went into discussions with other counties on the water issue, she hoped that Catoosa County would not cave in to the other counties. She said she was in favor of helping others, but the Board needed to take drastic steps to get the County out of the messy situations. She encouraged the commissioners to consider the taxpayers wishes and the water issue was a very serious issue.
There were no commissioner comments.
EXECUTIVE SESSION Chairman Clark said the Board would enter into executive session for legal advice. By way of roll call, the Board unanimously voted to enter into executive session at 10:05 a.m. Chairman Clark said there had been no action taken in executive session and called for all in favor of coming out of executive session to indicate by saying aye. The Board unanimously agreed to come out of executive session at 10:30 a.m.
ADJOURNMENT There was no further business to come before the Board, and upon motion by Commissioner Winters, seconded by Commissioner Marks, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 10:30 a.m.
CATOOSA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
William H. H. Clark, Chairman
Ken Marks, Commissioner, District One
Robert R. Winters, Commissioner, District Two
James F. Emberson, Commissioner, District Three
Dewayne Hill, Commissioner, District Four