CITY OF  Cleveland GEORGIA  Cleveland City Council Meeting Minutes Monday, May 8, 2023-6 6:301 P.M. Cleveland Community Center/Police Department 342 Campbell Street, Cleveland, GA  1. Call to Order  Mayor Turner called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.  PRESENT:  Mayor Josh Turner, Council Members Rebecca Yardley (Mayor Pro Tem), Jeremy  McClure, and C.J. McDonald  Council Member Bowen was not in attendance.  Also present were City Administrator Kevin Harris, City Attorney Keith Whitaker, and City  Clerk Lisa Ritchie  2. Invocation - Dr. Phillip Weaver, Cleveland First Baptist Church & White County  Ministerial Alliance 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Approve Agenda  Motion by Council Member MeDonald,seconded by Council Member McClure, and voted, unanimously, to approve the agenda with the following amendments:  Postpone the Minutes of the May 1, 2023 Meeting Add pending litigation and real estate to Executive Session  PUBLIC HEARINGS  5. Second Public Hearing - 2023-09 - Leak Protection  Mr. Harris addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He stated that a leak protection program will provide guidance and minimize risks. He said the program will only be for  residential customers.    There were no comments from the public. Mayor Turner closed the Public Hearing.  6. First Public Hearing - 2023-11-Amendment to the Personnel Policy  Utilization of Technologies Policy Wireless Mobile Device Agreement  Mr. Harris stated that the policies were written by the city'si insurance company.  There were no comments from the public. Mayor Turner closed the Public Hearing.  DEPARTMENT REPORTS  7. Economic Development and Planning- Director Tom O'Bryant  March April 2023 Report  Mr. O'Bryant addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He reported the following  April items:  Occupational Licenses - 3 (Woodland Resort, IT Computer o Building Permits - 4 (Atlantic Billboards, residential remodels) O Sign Permits - 5 (Cabin Rental of Helen, Atlantic Billboards, IT Building Inspections - 22 (Yonah Shadows, Jackson Downs, Plan Review-: 2 (Oak Springs Cottages, Waffle House GDOT Current Commercial Activity - 4 (Apex Banks, Atlantic Billboards, Waffle House, Scooters Coffee) O Development Inquiries - 7 (Haines Gipson Engineers, Norton Commercial, Cook Communities, Santiago -Truist, John Simpson  Repair, North GA Reign Gymnastics)  Computer Repair, Great Therapy) Parkside Downtown, signs)  utility)  Sugar Oak LLC, Summitt Investment Properties)  Grant Applications  Appalachian Regional Grant full application is currently under review by ARC in Washington, DC. GDOTT Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant application for preliminary engineering for sidewalk and crosswalks connecting Freedom Park and City Park. Held kick-off meeting, steps and  process identified.    Infrastructure and Planning  London Land Surveying is drawing up a plat with the proposed easement for the gravity flow sewer line ati the Head Street lift station. The new well draw down test results have been submitted to Georgia EPD for review. DDA meeting. Downtown housing discussion, expansion of city square commercial area, grant status update, downtown activities reported by Hulsey Road Culvert/Bridge replacement. Water line is on, testing passed. Sewer gravity completed on NOK side of road. Sewer force main partial and  Chamber.  plugged for now.  8. Finance Department = City Administrator Kevin Harris  March April 2023 Report  Mr. Harris addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He reported the following April  items:  Revenues and expenditures were down in comparison to this  time last year  Net income increased over last year's year only 77% of the budget has been spent  O At this time last year, the city had spent 84% of the budget, this  9. Fire Department - Chief Ricky Pruitt  March April 2023 Report  Firefighter Mark Gunter addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He reported the  following April items:  Total of 113 Calls: 63 inside the city and 50 in the County White County Fire Department responded 5 times in the city  10. Police Department - Chief. Jeff Shoemaker  March April 2023 Report  Chief Shoemaker addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He reported the following  April items:  O Total occurrences- = 1,950 O Total 2023 occurrences- 7,260    Public assists - 407 Premise checks - 949 Field interviews - 24 Incident reports - 49 Accident reports-21 netpatweuppemeal-to Citations Issued - 142 Warnings - 287 Warrants-1 11 Juveniles-0 Citations  Misdemeanor, non-traffic- 6 DUI, Alcohol, & serious offenses-3 Driver's license, Registration, & Insurance-17 Moving violations, traffic control, etc. - 88 Equipment, seatbelt, etc. - 28  11. Public Works Department- - Assistant Public Works Director Ricky Hunt  March April 2023 Report  Mr. Hunt addressed the Mayor and Council Members. He reported the following April  items:  O Inside New Water Cut-In & Sewer- -7 O Water Quality - 1 0 Meter Change Outs-1 14 City Hall Maintenance-2 O Sewer Backup-2 Miscellaneous-2 Check for Leaks - 4 O Police Car Repairs - 1 O Final Reading Do Not Lock- 12 O Garbage Request - 18 O Hydrant Service- 2 O Police Department-1 1  O Cut Off and lock meter - non-payment-12  Garbage request change 4 o Meeting with customer- -3 O Snowbird-3 Final Read and Lock Meter- 8 O Payment Agreement-1    Street Repair-2 ) Meter Inspections-8 Residential Cut On -1 1 Residential Turn On-1 11 Commercial Turn On-4 City Park epairs/Maintenance-2 After Hours Work-6 City Park epalir/Maintenance-1 1 Monthly Meter Readings - 2,244 Monthly Meter Re-Reads-18 O Utility Locates-114  CITY ADMINISTRATOR KEVINHARRIS  Mr. Harris addressed the Mayor and Council Members. 12. Package Store Application Update  Mr. Harris stated that his intentions are to put the application out on Friday. Once the application is available, there will be a 30-day time period in which applicants may apply. The city will have 60 days to review. If there are more than three qualified applicants,  Bates Carter will assist with a lottery.  13. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) Reporting Update Mr. Harris stated that the reporting due date was April 30. The city is currently experiencing substantial problems with the IT platform. The Federal Government recognizes that there is a problem and has given the city a 60-day grace period.  14. Job Postings  Mr. Harris stated that, currently, there are two job postings at this time; 1) Finance  Director, and 2) Water reatmenv/Dstripution Operator  CITY ATTORNEY KEITH WHITAKER  Mr. Whitaker did not have any items to report.  NEW BUSINESS  15. GMA District 2 Officers Nominations for 2023-2024  Motion by Council Member Yardley, seconded by Council Member McClure, and voted, unanimously, in favor of the Georgia Municipal Association's (GMA) nominating committee's nominations for GMA's District 2 Officers for 2023-2024 as follows:  President - Robert (Buddy) Moore, Councilmember, Blairsville    First Vice President - JoAnne Taylor, Mayor, Dahlonega Second Vice President - Matt Fields, Councilmember, Royston Third Vice President - Mark C. Reed, Commissioner, Cornelia  16. Highway 115-Cemetary Street Line Replacement (Phase I)  Mr. Harris stated that there will be two phases of water line replacement. The first phase will be going from United Community Bank to the cemetery. He stated that Appalachian Grading will begin Phase Ifor $57,000. He said this is a SPLOSTV project. Mr. Harris stated that Phase II will be discussed further at a later time.  Motion by Council Member McDonald, seconded by Council Member McClure, and  voted, unanimously, to approve phase I bid as submitted.  17. Approval of Meeting Minutes  May 1, 2023 Meeting Minutes  Approval of the May 1, 2023 Meeting Minutes was postponed during the approval of the  agenda.  UNFINISHED BUSINESS 18. Employee benefits  Ms. Ritchie addressed the Mayor and Council Members. She stated that on both level- funded plans and community-rated health plans the insurance carriers either declined to quote or did not have rates competitive with Georgia Municipal Association.  UPCOMING CALENDAR ITEMS  Ms. Ritchie provided the upcoming calendar item.  19. City of Cleveland Offices will be closed on Monday, May 29, in observance of  Memorial Day  PUBLIC COMMENTS  Ms. Judy Lovell, 341 W. Kytle Street, addressed the Mayor and Council Members. She discussed Neil Gap Bus Line that ran through Cleveland between 1946 and 1947. Ms. Gloria Sutton, 81 Ebony Lane, addressed the Mayor and Council Members regarding Yonah Cemetery. Ms. Sutton also requested an explanation regarding the Mayor and  Council's decision to sell the talon property.    Mayor Turner stated that the current building quotes are considerably higher than they were when the project was planned. He stated that they are looking into other options Council Member Yardley asked how many people were from Ward 2. Nine citizens raised their hands. Council Member Yardley asked those Ward 2 citizens that object to the sale of the property raise their hands. Eight citizens from Ward 2 raised their hands. Ms. Annie Sutton addressed the Mayor and Council Members expressing her opposition Ms. Henrietta Sutton addressed the Mayor and Council Members expressing her  and they do not want to put a financial burden on the future of the city.  to the sale of the talon property.  opposition to the sale of the talon property. back to the community and to the children.  Council Member McClure stated that he wishes to return the Police Department building Council Member McDonald stated that they are looking to find a solution that will not indebt citizens fori the next 30 or 40 years. He said building an $18,000,000 facility to be  financed by our grandchildren was not the answer.  EXECUTIVE SESSION  Motion by Council Member McClure, seconded by Council Member McDonald and voted,  unanimously, to enter an Executive Session at 7:50 p.m.  20. Discussion regarding personnel, pending litigation, and real estate  Pending litigation and real estate were discussion topics added during the amendment of Motion by Council Member Yardley, seconded by Council Member McClure and voted, unanimously, to adjourn the Executive Session and return to the City Council Meeting at Council Member McDonald opened the door to allow citizens to return to the regular  the regular meeting.  9:28 p.m.  meeting. There were no citizens waiting to return to the meeting.  ADJOURN  Motion by Council Member Yardley, seconded by Council Member McClure and voted, unanimously, to adjourn the City Council Meeting of May 8, 2023, at 9:28 p.m.    16l  Josh Turner  Mayor  Council Member Ward3  SS  Mau /Bowen  Nan Bowen  Council Member Ward 1  C.J. McDonald  Council Member Ward 4  Rukladluy ABE ADth  Rebecca Yardley  Cbuncil Member Ward 2 Mayor Pro Tem  Lisa A. Ritchie  City Clerk