The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:30 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute.

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mayor Cheryl A. Young

Councilor Bob Schmor

Councilor Marian Calnon

Councilor Bill Guy

Councilor Gary Hudson

COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:

None

ALSO PRESENT:

Micah Olson, Public Works Superintendent

Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder

ATTORNEY PRESENT:

None

A quorum was present and due notice had been published.

AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None.

AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: None.

4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Calnon said they held a very successful work party in Bundy Memorial Park on Saturday, March 15, 2003. She said several members of the Kiwanis Club participated, and Byron Havens of Public Works assisted the group. She said the volunteers pulled ivy and cleaned out unwanted brush and blackberry bushes. She said they marked walking paths and flower beds as outlined in a comprehensive landscape plan prepared by Christine Ebrahimi.

4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: Chair Guy said the Committee met on Monday, March 10, 2003. He reviewed the meeting activities as outlined in the Water Committee Meeting minutes with the Council, including the status of the Ninth Street wells, investigations of the Coastal wells and other source options, status of the reservoir project, and other miscellaneous items. He suggested Committee Members Jim Gillam, Finos Lunsford, and Rob Campbell be contacted to see if they are still willing to serve on the Committee as they have missed several meetings. He also suggested we solicit additional members through the City Newsletter.

4.3 Streets Committee: Micah Olson said several asphalt patches have been completed. Chair Hudson noted that there is a pothole on Sixth Street near "K" Street that should be repaired. Members of the Council asked that the gravel parking area across the street from the Post Office, and the alley behind City Hall, be graded and graveled.

4.4 Sewer Committee: No report.

4.5 Other Reports: None.

5.1 Approval of the Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of February 20, 2003.

It was the consensus of the Council that the Consent Agenda be amended to include item 5.5, Written Report from the Chief Police.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.

Councilor Schmor noted that he was not present during the February 20, 2003 Council Meeting.

The Council reviewed a copy of the as-builts for the "M" Street extension project, along with a site/plot plan for the Elam home at 1500 Second Street.

Leahnette Rivers explained that during the February 20, 2003 Council Meeting the vacation of a portion of Second Street in exchange for additional property along the south and west sides of "M" Street was discussed, based upon an understanding that Mr. Elam might be interested in moving his house closer to Second Street to improve his view of the river. She said under this scenario, the City could have left the curb along the outside of "M" Street, replaced the curb with a mountable curb on the inside of "M" Street, and added several feet of gravel area beyond the mountable curb.

Leahnette explained that she made contact with Mr. Elam on February 21st, and he was not willing to postpone the construction of his home awaiting the alley vacation process. She said he pulled his building permit just a few days later.

Leahnette explained that the street vacation process involves a public hearing, and affected property owners would have the ability to stop the street vacation from occurring, such as in the Hewitt alley vacation process. Therefore, she said Mr. Elam could not have proceeded with building his home in the area to be vacated, because he would have been encroaching in the setback area with no guarantee of a successful street vacation. She noted that the street vacation process is also an expensive process for the City. She said the area to be vacated, and the property to be received in exchange for the vacated area, would need to be surveyed, a new deed would need to be filed, and the City's attorney would need to be involved in the process. She said although Mr. Elam was not willing to postpone his home construction, he would still be willing to talk with the City about this land exchange. Leahnette said, however, that this seemed like a fairly expensive option for the City.

Leahnette said Micah Olson has located a contractor that will cut the curb for $7 per foot, plus $500 mobilization. She said under this option, the curbs on both sides of "M" Street could be cut where needed, but an inch or two of the curb would be left above street grade to contain drainage, and the street would still be protected by the curb's understructure. She said the public works crew would install the gravel shoulders.

Leahnette noted, however, that the section of "M" Street running east and west has been constructed on the south line of the existing right-of-way because the neighbor to the north has a concrete wall that encroaches into the right-of-way, and a telephone pole is also located within the right-of-way near the concrete wall. She said this section of the street cannot be widened to 20 feet, but Mr. Elam's driveway approach will be installed on the southerly side of the street in this area, which will open up the street area. She said the gravel shoulder could only be placed on the northerly side of this section of "M" Street, and the gravel area would be about four-feet wide in that section.

Leahnette suggested that staff meet with Mr. and Mrs. Thackery to discuss this proposal before a decision is made on how to proceed. It was the consensus of the Council that staff meet with the Thackery's and bring this back to Council for a final decision.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO RATIFY THE DECISION TO APPEAL THE DECISION MADE BY THE COLUMBIA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RELATED TO THE MORSE BROS. INC. FILE #AR03-01 USE PERMITTED UNDER PRESCRIBED CONDITIONS.

Councilor Hudson suggested we look into using a General Order system for minor changes to policy such as this one.

MOVED (SCHMOR), SECONDED (CALNON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 03-273.

Backup Sewer Pump for RCE Lift Station: Micah Olson said he was only able to obtain two quotes for a backup sewer pump as follows:

• FNW Queen Pump $5,125.00
• Paco Pumps $5,488.00

Micah noted that the FNW pump is identical to the pumps currently in the lift station, and recommended we move forward with purchasing the pump quoted by FNW Queen.

MOVED (SCHMOR), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF A BACKUP PUMP FROM FNW QUEEN IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,125.00.

Juvenile Accountability Incentive Grant (JAIBG) Program: The Council reviewed a letter dated March 13, 2003, from Stan Mendenhall, Columbia County Juvenile Director, requesting the City waive its JAIBG funds during fiscal year 2003, which would make them available to the Columbia County Juvenile Department for use towards the In-Home Assessment and Treatment Program as done in previous years. It was the consensus of the Council that the City's JAIBG funds be waived and turned over to the County as requested.

Suggested General Offense Ordinance Amendment: Leahnette Rivers explained that a citizen has requested an amendment to the City's General Offense Ordinance No. 516. She said he would like the Council to add paint ball guns to the Section 14, which prohibits the discharge of weapons. The Council reviewed Section 14 at length with staff and suggested this matter be referred to the Police Chief for a recommendation.

Five-Year Capital Improvement Program: The Council reviewed a draft Five-Year Capital Improvement Program for fiscal year 2003-04 with staff. Leahnette Rivers suggested the various committees review the projects prior to final adoption.

Engineering Fees: The Council reviewed pages 8 and 9 of the proposal for engineering services from Murray Smith and Associates (MSA) for the Reservoir Construction Project, along with the past invoicing costs for the reservoir project. Leahnette Rivers explained that the engineering proposal was presented on a "not to exceed" basis, with a total project budget of $295,000, presented by individual tasks and budget line items. She said some tasks have been completed for an amount less than the line item budget for the particular task. However, she said the drawings and specifications task will exceed the line item budget of $100,000. She asked Council for direction on how to deal with these excess costs.

It was the consensus of the Council that MSA present the City Council with an explanation as to why that item exceeded the line item in the budget, along with the amount of excess charges, for consideration and approval on a case-by-case basis.

Community Hall Rental Fees: The Council reviewed a revenue and expense history related to the Community Hall. Leahnette Rivers explained that the revenue and expense summary represented hard dollar costs only. She noted that staff time related to administering and maintaining the hall had not been presented in the calculations. She also noted that substantial repairs are anticipated for the front of the building, and the wood floor needs to be replaced. It was the consensus of the Council that the rental fees should be adjusted to account for significant utility cost increases in past years, and to assist with badly needed repair costs. It was the consensus of the Council that the rental fee adjustments take effect July 1, 2003, to provide regular renters with ample notice of the upcoming rate increase.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

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