COC APPROVED MINUTES Cochran City Council Tuesday, September 10, 2024 Regular Meeting @ 7:00 City Auditorium, 102 NS Second Street, Cochran, GA31014 I.Callt to Order II.I Invocation Mayor Billy' Yeomans called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Councilman KeithA Anderson delivered thei invocation. Councilman Andrew Lemmon ledt the Pledge of Allegiance. III. Pledge of Allegiance IV.A Attendance Council Members Present: Mayor Billy Yeomans Keith Anderson (District 1, Post 1) Gary Ates (District1, Post2) Carla Coley (District 2, Post 1) Lonnie Tedders (District: 2, Post 2) Andrewl Lemmon (District: 3, Post 1) Shane Savant (District 3, Post: 2) City Staff Present: Richard Newbern, City! Manager Jim Elliott, City Attorney Candace Summerall, City Clerk entered meeting at 7:08PM V.Adopt Agenda/Minutes Mayor Yeomans asked if there were any additions or changes to the agenda. Councilmember Carla Coley made ar motion to adda a discussion about when the city observes Halloween to the agenda asi item #10. Councilmember Shane Savant seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Councilmember: Shane Savant made ar motion to add a discussion abouty water and waste sewage billing for the Recreation Department asi item #11.Counclmember Gary Ates seconded. Ther motion passed Councilmember Andrewl Lemmon made a motion to accept the amended agenda. Councilmember Shane unanimously. Savant seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Regular Session on August 13, 2024 Work Session on August 13,2 2024 Special Called Meeting on September 3, 2024 Lemmon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The council reviewed and approved the minutes fromt thet following meetings: Councitmember Shane Savant made ar motion to approve all sets of minutes. Councimember. Andrew Vi.Agendal Items 1. Employee of the Quarter- Police Department Davis was awarded. a certificate of appreciation. 2. Proclamation for "Georgia Reads Day" would be observed fort this recognition. Mat Leopard, Police Command, introduced Officer Nick Davis and thanked him for his hard work. Officer Nick Mayor Billy Yeomans Announces Proclamation for Georgia Reads Day declaringt that September 30th 2024 3. Consider a permanent name for Ash Street Park City manager announced ther requirement fort the city park located off Ash Street to! have and official decision byt the end of ther month. Mayor proposed two names for the council to consider and directed members to call city clerk bye end of day Friday with their vote of Cochran City Park or Earl. Arnold Community Park. Mayor proposed that ap plaque honoring! land giver, Earl Arnold should be present with either name chosen. 4. Consider postponing the October 8 Council Meeting to October 10 City Manager Richard Newbern explained that the Georgial DCA Conference for 2024 CDBG. Award is from October 7-10. He requested moving ther regular council meeting from October 8to October 10. Councilmember Gary Ates made ai motion to change the meeting date to October 10. Councilmember Andrew Lemmon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 5.0 Consider extending liquor license expiration dates Mayor Yeomans introduced thei item to consider extendingi for six months thee expiration date of two liquor licenses due to expire on January: 30,2025. Todd Stanich, representing Mr. Patel, addressed the council requesting the extension. He cited difficulties with sewage connections and other issues that have delayed the project. Councilmember Carla Coley asked about the specific delays. Mr. Stanich mentioned sewage issues and potentially needing to install a septic tanki instead of connectingt to city sewage. City Manager Richard Newbern clarified that the property is zoned B-2 and located int the city, which requires connection to public sewer. The council agreed to discuss further details ine executive session duet to potential litigation. 6. Consider amending' Water and Sewer Ordinance City Manager Richard Newbern presented: a proposal to amend the ordinance to require residences and businesses within 750 linear feet of city water/sewer services to connect, rather thant the current 500 feet for water and: 2001 feet for sewer. Councilmember Carla Coley brought up Senate! Bill 121, which prohibits municipalities from requiring farms orresidences with at least 1 acret to connect to public water/sewer. She suggested measuring from ther right- of-wayi instead of buildings for consistency with state law. The council agreed to table thei item to refine the language and bringi it back at the next meeting. 7.Consider: awarding bid for Municipal Building floor repair Public' Works Director Willie Barrow presented the sole bidr received from Darrell Browni for $38,5001 to repair thet floori in the East Dykeswing. Councilmember Shane! Savant expressed concern about ponsistentyrecelwing: only onel bid for projects. Councilmember Carla Coley suggested considering at full renovation of thel back portion of the buildingi in the neari future rather than piecemeal repairs. Councilmember Gary Ates made a motion to accept the! bid. Councilmember. Andrew Lemmon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 8. Consider appointment tol Library Board Mayor Yeomans nominated Tyler Sapp to serve a 4-year term on the! Library Board from. July 1,2024 tol June 30,2028. Councilmember Shane Savant made a motion to appoint Tyler Sapp. Councilmember. Andrew Lemmon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 9. Discussion on proposed clearance of delinquent ad valorem taxes City Clerk Candace Summerall presented a plan to waive outstanding property taxes for owners who purchased propertywith pre-existing tax liabitity. She sought Council input on this proposal before Summerall explained that the proposal would applyt tot tax debts from years prior to: 20231 for properties Councimember Shane Savant requested" written parameters for how these decisions would be made to Councimember Carla Coley emphasized thei importance of consistency in applying the policy. After discussion, the Council agreed to approve the tax write-off plan, contingent on thei issuance of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) byt the City Clerk. The SOP will outline the specific criteria and process proceeding. purchased in 2022 or earlier. ensure consistency and avoid potential legali issues. for determining eligibility andi implementing the policy. 10. Discussion on Halloween observance date Councilmember Carla Coley raised concerns about the decision to observe Halloween on November 2 rather than October 31. She suggestedt the city should observe Halloween on October 31 unless itf falls ona City Clerk Candace Summerall explained the police chief made the decision based on staffing and safety Wednesday or Sunday. considerations. 11. Recreation Department water/waste sewage billing Councilmember Shane Savant questioned the decision to start billing the Recreation Department for water City Clerk Candace Summerall explained that during ar recent audit, she discovered the Recreation Department had not been paying for utilitiest for manyy years, resultingi in an outstanding bill of almost $5,000. She proposed starting tol bill them att the government rate, consistent with other subsidized entities like the Councilmember Savant expressed concerns about changingt thel long-standing arrangement withouti full Council input andi int ther middle ofal budget year. Hes suggested" waiting until the start of the next fiscal year to Councilmember Carla Coley agreed that the timing should align witht the Recreation Department'si fiscal year After discussion, the Council agreed toi implement the! billingf for the Recreation Department: starting at the beginning of the Recreation Department's next fiscal year. This decision allows the Recreation Department and waste services. library. implement the change. forp proper budgeting. time to adjust their budget accordingly. VIl. City! Manager Dscussonlems.updates City Manager Richard Newbern provided updates on: Progress ont the roof, windows, and doors program Upcoming GMAI District 9r meeting on September 24 Training on House Bill 581 in Tifton on October1 Work oni recently awarded CDBG grant Upcoming presentation att the City Planning Institute meeting in! Dublin on October 4 City Clerk Candace Summerall provided additional updates: Waste Management check for limb trucki issue has noty yet been received byt thet family Municode contract signed for updating ordinances online, allowing for more recent updates before Applications for the Christmas parade will be available on Friday. September 13", parade Dec 6th. Thanked council fora approving the change in insurance brokers, which has benefited city emptoyees Reminded council members about the! House Bills 581 training on October 1 andi invited them to attend codification Completed mandated clerk! hours VIII. Council Discussion Items Mayor Billy Yeomans: Addressed comments made on: social media about citys governance, specifically referencinga Clarified misunderstandings about public comments at meetings, stating that citizens have always been allowed to speak, with thet time limit recently changed fromf four to three minutes Expressed" frustration with inaccurate social media posts about city operations and! hisr role asi mayor Responded to criticisms about his position, emphasizing that he does not take a salary for his role as Stated that het has donated $81,500 toi the city overt his 81 months as mayor by not accepting a salary Addressed a comment suggesting the city doesn'tr need ar mayor, agreeingt that the current structure Clarified that Chris Coley is not the official spokesman for the city of Cochran, despite his active Expressed his motivation for serving as mayor, stating he does thej job because he loves the city and Facebook post by Councilmember Shane Savant mayor or COVID bonus could potentially be changed toa city council with ac chairperson presence on social media sharing city information its people Councilmember Keith Anderson (District 1,Post 1): No specific items discussed Councilmember Gary Ates (District 1, Post 2): No specific items discussed Councitmember Carla Coley (District 2, Post 1): Discussed Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, sharing local statistics on youth suicide attempts from the Georgia Student Health Survey Reported that out of 1,101 Bleckley County students surveyed: 45 students reported attempting: suicide on one tot two occasions 16: students reported attempting suicide ont three tot five occasions 16 students reported attempting suicide ont five or more occasions Emphasized thei importance of addressing mental health issues and removing thes stigma Discussed the concept of integrity, defining ita as how we speak, live, and treat others Cited biblical references regarding integrity and truthful communication Addressed concerns about heri integrity being questioned: at ap previous meeting Clarified thats she had received consultation from the city attorney and did not have a conflict of Requested that council members extend courtesies to each other and avoid personal attacks during Mentioned having 52 pages of casel law discussing free speech rights for council members, offering surrounding them interest regarding the rezoning matter meetings to share thisi information with other council members Councilmember Lonnie Tedders (District: 2, Post 2): Councilmember. Andrew! Lemmon (District 3, Post 1): No specific items discussed Uponr returningi from executive session, Council. Addressed Agendal Item #5 Councilmember Gary Ates made a motion to extend the liquor licenses fort boths stores by six months. Councilmember. AndrewLemmon seconded. The motion passed unanimously. XI. Adjournment Councilmember Andrewl Lemmon made a motion to adjourn. Councilmember Gary Ates seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned. 9:50PM. CITY. Op BeE GEORGIA, Candace! Summerall, City Clerk -I No specific items discussed Councilmember Shane Savant (District 3, Post 2): Thanked school administrators. and lawe enforcement officers for their swift response ande extray work Requested more detailed Public' Works reports, specifically asking for information about where work Suggested this would help councit understand the work being done and allow the Public Works Referred to ap previous one-on-one meeting with the City Manager and requested follow-up on items Addressed comments made during the previous week's tax meeting, particularly the mayor's Clarified that his questions tot the City! Manager weret business-related: and not personal attacks Emphasized thei importance of the City! Manager reportingt tot the City Council and ther need for Referenced previous discussions about performance appraisals and thei importance of addressing Suggested that when councit members ask questions or "digi in," it should be viewed as a coaching following a recent tragic shooting at as school in Georgia Expressed confidence int thes safety protocols inj place at local schools was donet to bei included ont the front page department to showcase theire efforts discussed statement about adjourning the meetingi if personal attacks continued Requested timely follow-upi from the City Manager on council inquiries council members to ask questions concerns throughout they year session for the City! Manager IX. Public Comments 1. Don Davis, 154. Jefferson Street: Expressed disappointment in howr recent property taxi issues were communicated Requested at full explanation of what happened andp plans to prevent future issues 2. Mickey Harbin, 196 9th Street: Expressed concern about the discord and unprofessionalism displayed duringt ther meeting Urged council members to find ways to work together more effectively X. Executive Session The council entered executive session to discuss potential litigation. Councilmember Gary Ates made a motion to enter executive session. Councimember Shane Savant seconded. The motion passed unanimously. At9:19PM 9:25 PMfollowing! 5-minuter recess. seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 9:47F PM Councimember Gary Ates made a motion to exit executive session. Councimember Lonnie Tedders