Minutes City Council Meeting February 13th, 2023 6:30 pm  BEORGIR  Baldwin Courtroom, 155 Willingham. Avenue, Baldwin, GA; 30511  Mayor Alice Venter, Council Member Larry Lewallen, Council Member Stephanie Almagno, and Council Member Maarten Venter (via phone) were in attendance.  Call Meeting to Order Invocation and Pledge Consent Agenda  MayorAlice Venter called the meeting to order at 6:34 pm.  a. Approval of Minutes: Council Meetings /9/23andi/23/23. and Work Session  2/7/2023.  b. Approval of Budgeted FD Hose Expense - $14,080.00  Action: A motion was made by Stephanie. Almagno to approve the consent agenda as presented with a second by Larry Lewallen. Motion  Carried 3-0. Citizen Comment  Joseph Satterfield of 205 Crooked Pine Drive announced his candidacy/desireto.  run for City Council in the November election. Council. Member Theron. Ayers joined the meeting at 6:41 pm.  Public. Hearings Reports Old Business  1. Comsideration/APproa. of GEFA 5th] Modification Resolution #2023-02119R CAO Emily Woodmaster addressed Council, requesting a modification toi the GEFA loan for the Light Street Water' Tank Project, which is nearing completion. This will be thei fifth loan modification for this project. The additional six months will ensure completion oft the project, which is estimated at thel latest July 2023. City Engineer Fletcher Holliday stated that he had no concerns regarding the Action: A motion was made by Stephanie Almagno to approve Resolution #2023-02119R for the 5th GEFALoan Modification on project DWSRF 13-016 as presented with a second from Maarten  modification.  Venter. Motion Carried 4-0.  Council Meeting Minutes  February 13th, 2023  Page I 1    2. Consideration/APproa. of GMA Master Lease. Agreement Resolution #2023: Woodmaster stated that there are two resolutions needing approval byt the Council, but they are both for the same project. In November 2022, Council authorized the purchase of a firetruck through a lease program with Georgia Municipal Association. In order to enterintot the lease agreement, Baldwin must sign a Master Lease. Agreement, creating the account, and the Supplement Lease for the purchase oft the firetruck, includingi the $60,000 warranty that was also Important. Note: Everyyear upon completion ofthel budget, Baldwin will have to submit an appropriation certificate to GMA. Payments will be made annually, and the: first payment will be due one year from the execution oft the lease. City Attorney Bubba Samuels has reviewed the lease agreements and had no concerns. Action: A motion was made by' Theron Ayers to approve the GMA Master Lease Resolution #2023-02121R and Lease Supplement Resolution #2023-02122R and authorize CAO Woodmaster to execute associated lease documentation as presented with a second by 3. onsideraton/Aprova. of Forced Entry Door Expense - $8,500.00  02121R  approved by Council.  Stephanie. Almagno. Motion Carried 4-0.  Woodmaster addressed Council with a request for the purchase of a forced entry door which both the fire department and the police department can utilize for training. Currently, Baldwin PD: and FD have been using an entry door borrowed from the City of Cornelia. Woodmaster recommended paying for the door out of public safety funds and provided Council with a breakdown of publicsafety projects and collections. The completed project funds can be reallocated towards thei forced entry door expense, and each department will share the expense of $4,250.00 each. This reallocation to the forced entry door would not affect other Police Captain Justin Ferguson stated that typically only SWAT teams practice door breach exercises, and the door would bel beneficial for active shooter exercises. Police Chief Chris Jones added that Baldwin could also sponsor door After speaking with a Habersham Metal representative, Chief Roy determined it's possible that they could build the forced entry doori if Roy were to provide them Council was in consensus to table this item until the next council  projects with allocated public safety funds.  breach training for other municipalities.  specifications. meeting.  Council Meeting Minutes  February 13th,2023  Page 2    4. Comsideration/APprova. of Cash Bond Online Alternative  Woodmaster recapped Court Clerk Susan Newsom's presentation at the February work session for a service agreement with Cash Bond Online, providing online bond payments for inmates during the weekends when there are no court employees. City. Attorney Samuels has reviewed the service agreement and found Action: A motion was made by Larry Lewallen to approve the engagement of CashBondOnline.Com for Baldwin Municipal Court and authorize the CAO to execute the service agreement as presented with a second by Maarten Venter. Motion Carried 4-0. 5. - Comsideration/APproa. of Digitize Habersham Donation  no issues.  Woodmaster recapped Peter Madruga's request for a $1,000 donation to his non- profit Digitize Habersham. Woodmaster said that she had reached out to fellow municipalities regarding ift they had contemplated the decision. Cornelia and Demorest have both made the $1,000 donation and Clarkesville has not formally discussed their donation with their board. Habersham County did consider donating but determined there with other non-profits with more pressing needs and decided to consider the donation for their next budget cycle. Woodmaster stated that Habersham County does have procedures for determining whether to use public funds for non-profits, including submitting a five-year plan, listing specific benchmarks to determine success, etc. Since the $1,000 donation Madruga requested was not in Baldwin's FY23 budget, Woodmaster recommended delaying the decision and giving Madruga the opportunity to provide that same information to Baldwin as he submitted to Habersham County, and Council can contemplate integrating the donation into Council was in consensus to table this item until the next budget cycle. 6. Consideration/APprova. of Public Works Building Bid. Award Resolution #2023- Council approved funds for a new Public Works building in November 2021, using both bond funds and ARPA funds. Woodmaster presented a recommendation of award for Square Deal Enterprises, the one bidder from the bid opening last December. The award is for the site work component ofthe project, including grading, clearing, storm drainage, etc, in the amount of The original project cost estimate was settled at just over $900,000. While the site work cost is higher than expected, the funds are available in the bond funds. Rising costs for building materials do create a variable of the unknown to the project, but the goal is still to complete the project under the original estimate.  the next budget.  02120R  $448,757.62.  Council Meeting Minutes  February 13th,2023  Pagel 13    The current Public Works building is in dire disrepair and the department is in need of a cleaner and safer space. This project will meet Baldwin'sI minimum development standards and will last 50 years or more into the future. Action: A motion was made by Stephanie Almagno to award the Public Works Building Site Development Project to Square Deal Enterprise with a cost not to exceed $448,757.62 as presented in Resolution #2023-02120 with a second by Larry Lewallen. Motion Carried 4-0.  7. Consideration/APprova. of Animal Control Invoice  Woodmaster presented a revised invoice from Habersham County for animal control services from July 2022 to November 2022. The original IGA with Habersham required a 60-day cancellation notice, which was sent in September. The services have been rendered, and Baldwin is contractually obligated to pay $12,351. Woodmaster recommended paying the expense from the general fund Action: A motion was made by Stephanie Almagno to approve the Habersham Animal Control Invoice for $12,351.00 to be expense from the General Fund Balance with a second by Larry Lewallen. Motion  balance.  Carried 4-0.  8. Consideration/APprova. of Fire Department Nepotism Waiver  Woodmaster presented a policy waiver of the nepotism clause from Baldwin's Policies and Procedures manual. Assistant Fire Chief Shaun Benfield'sson, Hayden Benfield, is wanting to enter the field and has already obtained Firefighter 1 certification and Emergency Medical Responder certification. On a day-to-day basis, Mr. Benfield would report directly to Chief Roy for any disciplinary or human resource issues, avoiding any conflict ofi interest with Chief Roy stated that he would like Benfield to work part-time, filling in while full-time firefighters are off the clock or on PTO. While Benfield needs further training and experience before being considered for full-time employment, he has already achieved two valuable certifications. Chief Roy stated that while he has had many people stop by the fire department expressing interest in working for Baldwin, they have little to no training, and that he is not receiving many applications with the ecsaytanngepereme to fill the open full-time Action: A1 motion was made by Maarten Venter to invoke the nepotism waiver for Hayden Benfield to be hired for part time for Baldwin fire department with a second by Larry Lewallen. Motion Carried 4-0.  Assistant Chief Benfield.  position.  Council Meeting Minutes  February13",2023  Page 14    Executive Session  Land Acquistion/Disposal  Action: A motion was made by Theron Ayers to close the public meeting to enter executive session for land acquisition/lisposal with asecond by Maarten Venter. Motion Carried 4-0 at 7:42 pm. Action: A motion was made by Stephanie Almagno to reopen the public meeting from executive session and authorize the execution of the affidavit for an executive session for land acquisition/lisposal where land acquisition/lisposal was discussed, and no action was taken with a second by Maarten Venter. Motion Carried 4-0 at 8:14  pm. Announcements  a. City Offices will be closed on Monday, February 20th in observation ofthe  Presidents' Day holiday.  Adjournment  Action: Amotion was made by' Theron Ayers to adjourn the meeting withas second by Stephanie Almagno. Motion Carried 4-0 at 8:171 pm.  Aliee  C  ala7/2023 Approved by Council  Emily Woodmaster,  SIRA Gy  9 LDWIN,  GF  Council Meeting Minutes  February 13th,2023  Page 15