 |
CITY GOVERNMENT
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF CITY COUNCIL
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
The regular meeting of Council was held this date at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison followed by the Invocation by Pastor Bernard Clarke of St. Phillip Monumental A.M.E. Church.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF SAVANNAH AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AFFIDAVIT OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah as follows:
At the meeting held on the 22nd day of June, 2017 the Council entered into a closed session for the purpose of discussing Litigation and Real Estate. At the close of the discussions upon this subject, the Council reentered into open session and herewith takes the following action in open session:
- The actions of Council and the discussions of the same regarding the matter set forth for the closed session purposes are hereby ratified;
- Each member of this body does hereby confirms that to the best of his or her knowledge, the subject matter of the closed session was devoted to matters within the specific relevant exception(s) as set forth above;
- The presiding officer is hereby authorized and directed to execute an affidavit, with full support of the Council in order to comply with O.C.G.A. §50-14-4(b); 17
- The affidavit shall be included and filed with the official minutes of the meeting and shall be in a form as required by the statute.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED: JUNE 22, 2017 upon motin of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Mayor DeLoach introduced Garden City Police Department Chief David Lyons who is also the Past President of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. Chief Lyons was present to recognize the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department for being recertified. He stated the task is not easy to do and congratulated Chief Lumpkin and staff for keeping up with the process despite everything else that is/was occurring in the City of Savannah.
Chief Lumplkin stated he gives the credit to all of the fine men and women working for the SCMPD and thanked them for their service to the department and the citizens of the City of Savannah.
Alderman Hall stated there is another young man that could not be present today that will also be in the Down Under Hoops Classic. Samuel Jones Carter who is currently in Leadership Camp, he had a 3.5 GPA.
Alderman Hall congratulated both young men on thier accomplishments and stated after the tournament they will get the opportunity to spend three fun days in Hawaii.
Hearing closed upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Continued upon motion of Alderman Shabazz, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried to the meeting of July 6, 2017 per the petitioner's request.
Hearing closed upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Hearing closed upon motion of Alderman Foster, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Miller, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Thomas, seconded by Alderman Bell, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Continued to the meeting of July 6, 2017, upon motion of Alderman Durrence, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Thomas, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Johnson, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Thomas, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Shabazz, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Ordinance read for the first time in Council June 22, 2017, then by unanimous consent of Council read a second time, placed upon its passage, adopted and approved upon a motion by Alderman Shabazz, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Shabazz, seconded by Alderman Bell, and unanimously carried.
Continued to the meeting of July 6, 2017, upon motion of Alderman Durrence, seconded by Alderman Bell, and carried with the following voting in favor: Aldermen Bell, Miller, Durrence, Foster, Johnson, Hall and Shabazz; Mayor DeLoach and Alderman Thomas voted against the motion.
Ethel Manning, resident and owner of two Short Term Vacation Rentals appeared asking that the zoning be opened for STVR in other areas of the City besides Downtown.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Miller, seconded by Alderman Bell, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Thomas, seconded by Alderman Bell, and unanimously carried.
City Manager Hernandez stated Joe Shearouse, Sr. had a distinguished 40 year career with the City of Savannah and asked that he and his family come forward. Mr. Shearouse was accompanied by his wife Celeste, daughters Mary Katherine and Stephanie and son Joe Shearouse, Jr. He thanked City staff and Council who were staff memebrs prior to becoming Council members.
Alderman Thomas commended Mr. Shearouse on a job well done with the City for, four decades. He stated all the work he put into the City's parks and squares has and still can be seen by people whether residents or visitors and it is greatly appreciated.
Alderman Bell stated she wanted to thank Mr. Shearouse for not only being a great asset to the City of Savannah but for also being a wonderful friend to her for many years and always being there for her.
Alderman Johnson commended staff for giving Mr. Shearouse his flowers while he can still smell them and showing him the appreciation he deserves for a job well done throughout the various communities in the City of Savannah.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried per the City Manager's recommendation.
City Manager Hernandez stated approval today gives staff direction for the implementation of the 49 recommendations from the Berkshire Consultants. In addition, Council has elected to select a 7 minute response time goal that SCMPD will work towards acheiving over the next three years, enact a cost recovery mechanism for E911/Emergency Communication Services and Specialized Law Enforcement Response Units.
Mayor DeLoach stated he wants everyone to know this is a big deal and believes this is a move in the right direction. He continued stating the City is endeavoring on increasing the size and quality of the Police force moving forward.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Miller, seconded by Alderman Foster, and unanimously carried to accept the recommendations and move forward.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Thomas, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Alderman Shabazz asked that this item be explained to ensure the residents in the 5th District would be aware of what will be occurring.
John Sawyer, Water & Sewer Bureau Chief appeared stating the Department of Transportation conducts inspection of bridges every 2 to 3 years, and recommended that the bridge on Mills B. Lane be replaced. He stated the City had consultants go out and inspect the bridge and it was determined that the bridge can be repaired to make necessary improvements rather than replace which will save the City money.
Alderman Hall asked if traffic will still be able to access the bridge while the repairs are being made. Mr. Sawyer replied there will be a 60 to 90 day window and during some of the repairs traffic may still be able to access it.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Shabazz, seconded by Alderman Hall, and unanimously carried.
Continued to the meeting July 20, 2017 upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried per the City Manager's recommendation.
Continued to the meeting of July 20, 2017, upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried per the City Manager and District Alderman's recommendation.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Alderman Shabazz stated she wanted to announce to the public and her constituents that the gym floor is finally here.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Shabzz, seconded by Alderman Miller, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
City Manager Hernandez presented a revised drawing of the Central Precinct design to Council stating there is still alot of red brick present but he will reach out to the architecture and continue to work with the firm. He stated this is not the final design but is the direction staff is headed in.
Alderman Johnson stated, "we are not there yet" but it does look alot better than what was originally presented. He thanked Mayor DeLoach and Council for insisting in excellence in all we do regardless of the budget.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Johnson, seconded by Alderman Shabazz, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Bell, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Johnson, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Johnson, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried.
Upon motion of Alderman Miller, seconded by Alderman Durrence, and unanimously carried the agenda was amended to add a Settlement of Claims for Harry Glenn in the amount of $75,000.
Harry Glenn Worker's Compensation Settlement of $75,000 - Harry Glenn is a former SCMPD officer. In August 2015, Mr. Glenn seriously injured his wrist while handling a pit bull during the course of his work as a police officer. Mr. Glenn underwent surgery and is now subject to permanent restrictions which effectively disqualified him from continued employment as a peace officer.
Approved upon motion of Alderman Durrence, seconded by Alderman Thomas, and unanimously carried per the City Attorney's recommendation.
Announcements
City Manager Hernandez announced that staff has been working in consistent with Council directions on text amendments to the City's Zoning Ordinance with respect to lodging uses within the Downtown core. There is currently a petition which went before the Metropolitan Planning Commission that they took action on earlier this month which they voted to deny at the City's request. Pursuant to the normal process that action is scheduled to before City Council on July 6. City Manager Hernandez stated he plans to authorize staff to withdraw the petition or let the item come before Council at the meeting and he will recommend that Council either deny the petition or reach out to the variety of stakeholders or interested parties that wish to provide further input on the item and then continue to work through a revised petition that will go back before the MPC for formal ratification by Council at some point in the future.
