E PAR  HE NGN  1201 North Essa Street, Lake Park, Georgia 31636  City Hall 229-559-7470 Fax 229-559-7499 City ofLake Park Regular Council Meeting Minutes August1,2023 6:00 pm  Members present were Mayor Jena Sandlin, Mayor Pro Tem Oscar Griffith, Council Member Michelle Lane Staff Present: City Clerk Lisa Johnson, City Attorney Rob Plumb, Police Chief Matt Bannister, Asst Fire Chief  and Council Member Busby Courson  Matt Ryan  Mayor Jena Sandlin called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro-Tem Oscar Griffith led thei invocation. Mayor Jena Sandlin led the pledge.  City Attorney Robl Plumbi requested that the appointment of the new City Court Solicitor be moved up on the Agenda. Council Member Oscar Griffith made a motion to move the Agenda Item Solicitor Appointment forward on the Agenda, following the approval oft the Minutes. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the Mayor Sandlin called for the review and approval of the Minutes of the July 11, 2023 Council Meeting, and the July 11, 2023 Public Hearing Minutes. Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to approve the Minutes of the July 11, 2023 Council Meeting and thel Minutes of the Publicl Hearing on) July11,2023. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the motion. Mayor Sandlin called for any further discussion. There being Solicitor, Appointment: Mayor Sandlin reported thati itl had come to the City's attention that the City's Court Solicitor, Jimmy Miller, has moved to another firm and has decided that] he can no longer serve as the City's Solicitor, necessitating the appointment ofar news solicitor. She asked that Mr. Plumb explain this and answer any questions the Council might have. City Attorney Rob Plumb explained that Mr. Miller had served as the City Court Prosecutor fora a number of years and had decided to step down. There: area a couple of things that need attention att thist time; first, the City has nevera adopted an Ordinance creating the position of] Prosecuting Attorney,and! hel hasl brought onei for consideration. Thes second ist the: appointmentofal Prosecuting/ Attorney, and Mr. Plumb put forth Mr. Tyler Dallas, and attorney in the office ofl Langdale Vallotton, for consideration for appointment. Mr. Dallas has served Langdale Vallotton for a number ofy years in several areas, including transactional and contract work, and he has expressed an interest in serving the City in this capacity, ifit please the Council. Council Member Oscar Griffith asked Mr. Davist tot tell the Council abouth himself. Mr. Dallas introduced himself and gave a brief history; he was born in Alaska and moved to this area many. years ago, attended Valdosta High School andi thel University of Georgia, and expressed that! he would be veryinterested in serving the City and people of Lake Park. Mayor Sandlin thanked Mr. Dallas and asked Council ift they had  motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  none, she called fora vote. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  1    any other questions or discussions. Therel being none, she called forar motion to accept Mr. Dallas as the Court Solicitor for the City of] Lake Park. Council Member Busby Courson made ai motion to accept Mr. Tyler Dallas as the Court Solicitor for the City of Lake Park. Council Member Oscar Griffith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0. Mayor Sandlin then administered the Oath of Office of Court Solicitor for Mayor Sandlin then called for residents of Lake Park to speak on any concerns they might have, and noted  the City of Lake Park for Tyler Dallas.  that this portion oft the meetingi is only for citizens.  Citizens Concerns:  Glorial Luke - 201 4H Club Rd - asked tol be allowed tos speak at the end ofthe Agenda on anything discussed at the meeting, as resident's may have concerns after they have heard the Council's  discussions. Council had consensus to allow.  REPORTS OF OFFICERS/DEPARTMENT HEADS: Fire Department: Matt Ryan  Delivered the Fire Report for the preceding month, attached.  Stated that the Air Conditioning inl both Engines have stopped working, and) hei is taking them for  diagnosis, and a quote.  Water/Public Works Department: City Clerk Lisa Johnson  Presented the Water: and Maintenance Report, attached. on catching up the mowing and weed-eating.  Reported that the Maintenance Department has finished the tree trimming and will be working Reported that thel Notice to Proceed has been issued for Phase II of the Water Project.  Police Department: City Clerk Lisa Johnson  Presented thel Police Department Report, attached.  Reported that Officer Luke Brogdon's last day was, July 30; hel hast taken a position at the Christian Academy. Officer Isael Estrada has been hired to replace him and gave Officer Estrada's Reported that the new radars for the vehicles have arrived and are being installed by Lowndes  qualifications.  County at no cost to the City.  Reported that hei is working on the upcoming budget. Presented the Administration report, attached. by the end of August, but it may bei into! September.  Administration: City Clerk Lisa Johnson  Reported that the new auditors came on July 31, and they are. hoping tol have the audit finished Reported that a new problem has been discovered in the Court module of Tyler; this is not expected tol be as complicated to work out as other issues with the software, but will take some time. Staff] has met with Judge Council, and wea are working with' Tyler. The' Tylert team has looked at thej problem and believes that there are implementation issues with the module as well. Noted that there are several City contracts that are coming up for renewal or expiring, some of which have been discussed, and she will be working on having those quotes for the next Council  Meeting.  2    Reported that the new Deputy Clerk has started and the part-time employee's last day was July Requested approval for some changes toi the Personnel Policy: to change the: allowed time to take off accrued Comp' Time from 28 days to quarterly, to: improve the opportunity to take it; to seta limit for accrued Comp Time ofi no moret than 401 hours, which triggers al requirement to take the time off; to authorize Department Heads to require scheduling of Comp Time as it accrues in order to minimize disruptions in operations. Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to approve these changes to the Personnel Policy. Council Member Oscar Griffith seconded the  30.  motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0. Presented thel Financial report, attached.  Financial Reports: City Clerk Lisa Johnson  Reported that Cash Flow issues as previously discussed are typically addressed in other cities in similar situations by either supplementing from Enterprise Funds for intangible costs, or transferring funds from reserves, which are transferred back at a later time. She requested approval to transfer $45,000 into the General Fund to support the Cash Flow problem. Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to transfer funds from the Enterprise Funds to the Cash Flow (General Fund) account. City Clerk Lisa Johnson requested clarification that the money would be returned to the Enterprise Fund in November, and received. Council Member Busby Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to approve the unaudited Financial Reports for July 2023. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the motion. The motion passed  Courson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  unanimously, 3-0.  RESOLUTIONS, ORDERS. AND ORDINANCES:  Zoning Request: Mayor Sandlin stated that the City had held a Public Hearing on July 11 on a rezoning request from Mr. John Green, and per Public Comment had delayed the vote pending requested changes. She asked Mr. Green for an update regarding those changes. Mr. Green came forward and stated that Council had requested that both entrance and exit be moved to US41, rather than having an exit on Cotton Avenue. He reported that the requested change had been made to the plans and they had been forwarded for review. Mayor Sandlin thanked Mr. Green and called for a motion ont the request. Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to approve the rezoning with the change toi the plans removing the drive on Cotton. Avenue to US41. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the motion. The motion passed 2-0, with Council Member  Oscar Griffith opposed.  UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  Tom's Pond: Mayor Sandlin stated that Council Member Griffith has been in discussions with Mr. Dusty' Thomas of Thomas Aquatics regarding the upkeep of Tom's Pond and invited Mr. Thomas to come: forward. Mr. Thomas stated that there were. ai fewi items that were: recommended for the remainder oft this year and into the upcoming year: he recommended applications of a blue dye which will decrease the growth of algae in the pond by reducing the speed at which the light reaches the bottom layers; he recommended doing one application of this immediately. He further recommended that he be allowed to conduct a testing of the water to determine plant types and growth, and noted that aeration oft the pond by way of pumps or fountains would also assist the water quality in the pond, not only to control the algae, but also for thel life cycle ofthe  3    fish. Mayor Sandlin asked for clarification that thei measures he was noting were for the upcoming year; Mr. Thomas agreed, stating that there were some things that should really be done earlier, one of which was an application oft the dye. Council Member Oscar Griffith stated that e feels the dye does need to be applied immediately, noting that the Pond represents the City. Council Member Michelle Lane asked how many applications of the dye are expected; Mr. Thomas responded that he expects twice yearly, depending on rainfall. Council Member Lane asked ifthe applications were spaced out, and Mr. Thomas responded that they were applied approximately every three to: six months. Mayor Sandlin asked ifhet tests every timel he comes, and hei responded that the test is only once per year, although he does have less thorough tests that he can do himself to monitor the health of the pond. Mayor Sandlin asked if there were other discussions or questions and therel beingr none askedi ifthere wasa aj motion on thet table. Council Member Oscar Griffith made a motion to approve the first dye treatment: for Tom's Pond at a cost of $1,200 and toc consideri furtherit items during budgetdiscussions. Council Member! Michelle! Lane seconded the Millage Rate: Mayor Sandlin stated the next item on the agenda, with the suggestion to hold the current millage rate and hold Public Hearings in the City for citizen input, and asked Council if this could be opened for discussion. There being no motion for discussion, and the Mayor requested a motion for a decision. Council Member Oscar Griffith made a motion to advertise Public Hearings for the millage rates. Mayor Sandlin called for a second; Council Member Busby  motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  Courson seconded thei motion. Thei motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  EXECUTIVESESSION:  Mayor Sandlin stated that the Council needed to enter Executive Session in order to review the Minutes of the July 11 Executive Session, and to discuss Real Estate and called for a motion. Council Member Oscar Griffith made aj motion to enter Executive Session. Council Member Michelle Lane seconded the motion. The Council entered into Executive Session at 6:40 pm and reconvened at 7:02 pm on a motion from Council Member Michelle Lane and a second from Council Member Oscar Griffith, with all in favor. Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to approve the Executive Session Minutes of] July 11, 2023, with corrections. Council Member Busby Courson seconded the motion. Thei motion passed unanimously, 3- Council Member Oscar Griffith made a motion to accept the resignation of Council Member June Yeomans and declare the seat vacant. Council Member Michelle Lane seconded the motion. The motion passed Council Member Oscar Griffith made aj motion to approve thel hiring of Officer Isael Estrada. Council Member City Attorney Rob Plumb presented the first reading of an Ordinance to Proclaim the existence of the Office oft the Prosecuting Attorney of the Municipal Court; To outline the duties and authorities of1 the staff therein as expressly allowed by the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia; To provide for severability; To provide an effective datTorpalalOnimancs andj parts ofOrdinancesi in confictherewithyand; forother  motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  0.  unanimously,: 3-0.  Busby Courson seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0.  purposes.  4    Council Member Michelle Lane made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Council Member Busby Courson  seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, 3-0. The next regular meeting will be on September 5, 2023, at 6:00 pm.  Lisa dpo Johnson.cya plambo5,a033 Date'  Clerk  grashna  Date Seal  a/afar  5