May 11, 2017

Regular Meeting of the Mayor and City Council
City of Ball Ground, Georgia
Ball Ground City Hall ~ 7:00 P.M.

MINUTES
May 11, 2017

Item 1: Meeting Called to Order to order by Mayor Rick Roberts.

Council Members Present: John Byrd, Frank Homiller, Mickey O’Malley, Lee Prettyman and Andrenia Stoner

Staff in attendance: Donna England, Michael Chapman, Darrell Caudill, Eric Wilmarth and City Clerk Karen L. Jordan

Item 2: Pledge of Allegiance led by Council Member Mickey O’Malley

Item 3: Appearances – None

Item 4: Announcements/Informational Items/Project Updates – City Manager
• May 20th – Trade Days and Movie in the Park
• June 3rd – Ball Ground Rocks the Park Concert featuring the Local Legends

Item 5: Approval April 13, 2017, Council Meeting Minutes and May 2, 2017, Special Called Meeting

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to approve the minutes of April 13, 2017, Regular Scheduled Meeting as submitted in writing by the city clerk.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to approve the minutes of May 2, 2017, Special Called Meeting as submitted in writing by the city clerk.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Item 6: Old Business
a) Consider Second Reading of an Ordinance Prohibiting Outdoor Burning
Council Member Homiller put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member O‘Malley to approve the second reading of the Ordinance to prohibit outdoor burning as described below:
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Outdoor Burning prohibited:

a) Except as otherwise provided by law, or as otherwise set forth in this Code, no persons shall cause, suffer, allow or permit open burning of refuse, rubbish, brush, wood, trash, leaves, tree limbs or other combustible materials anywhere in the City.

b) The following are exceptions to the prohibition on outside burning.

(1) Outdoor burning in connection with the preparation of food for immediate human consumption;

(2) Small wood only fires contained in an outdoor fireplace or fire pit.

(3) Burning associated with the operation of devices that require open flame, such as tar kettles, blow torches, welding torches, portable heaters, gas grills, charcoal grills and other flame making equipment, provided that the use of such equipment does not violate other local or state laws.

c) The Chief of Police or his designee shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this section, and may issue citations for violations thereof. Any person violating any provision of this section shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each offense and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. In addition, any person violating any provision of this section which results in a fire requiring the response of the fire department shall also be liable for the costs incurred by the fire department in responding to the fire, including actual labor costs, costs of equipment operation, and costs of materials.

Item 7: New Business
a) Consider surplus property: Lot 33 Mountain Brooke North
City Manager Wilmarth stated that Tommy Owen had deeded the City of Ball Ground Lot #33 in the Mountain Brook North Subdivision in October of 2016. Since that time several home builders have expressed an interest in purchasing the lots. Therefore it is the decision of the city council to decide to sale the property on Govdeals or keep the property.

The property is described as all that tract or parcel of land lying and being in land lot 311 of the 4th District, 2nd Section, Cherokee County, Georgia being Lots 33 & 34 of the Mountain Brooke North, Unit 1, as per plat found at Plat Book 86, Page 111 of the Cherokee County, Georgia Real Estate Records which is made a part of this description by this reference. The property is further described as 04N04A-75 and is located at 315 Taylor Leigh Court.

Council Member Prettyman put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member Byrd to sale the property on Govdeals to the highest bidder reserving the right to reject any and all bids
Motion Unanimously Approved.

b) Consider surplus property: Lot 44 Mountain Brooke North
As discussed in item 7 (a) City Manager asked council members to consider the sale of this property.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member Byrd to sale the property on Govdeals to the highest bidder reserving the right to reject any and all bids
Motion Unanimously Approved.

c) Consider 1st Reading of 2017/2018 Budgets
Mayor Roberts presented the FY 2017/2018 Budget for Council consideration.
Mayor Roberts stated the budget shows and an increase of 11% over the previous previous 2016/2017 Budget.

Budget totals are as follows:
General Fund $ 920,900.00
Fire District Tax $ 250,000.00
Water/Sewer $1,150,350.00
SPLOST $ 437,020.00
Solid Waste $ 160,120.00
Total $2,918,390.00

Council Member Homiller put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to approve the first reading of the 2017/2018 Fiscal Year Budget.
Motion Unanimously Approved

d) Consider 1st Reading of Defined Benefit Plan
City Manager Wilmarth outlined the proposed Defined Benefit Retirement Plan for employees of the City of Ball Ground. He stated the Plan requires:
• Mandatory participation for all elected officials and each regular employee who works at least 24 hours per week, 5 months per year (see p. 5-7).
• Municipal legal officers cannot participate in the Plan.
• In order to receive vesting requirement and an elected official must attain eight years of service as an elected official in order to be vested (see p. 27-28).
• The Master Plan permits service with other GMEBS employers to count toward vesting and benefit eligibility; however, the amount of any benefit payable from the City’s Plan will be based solely on service with the City.
• As long as a participant is employed on Jul 1, 2017, he or she will receive service credit for prior years worked for vesting and benefit eligibility purposes.
• Past service will not count for benefit computation.
• Regular employees qualify for a normal retirement benefit at age 65 with5 years of service (see p. 14-15).
• Elected officials qualify for a normal retirement benefit at age 65 with 8 years of service as an elected official ( see 14-15).
• Participants can qualify for early retirement at age 55 with 10 years of service (see p. n13).
• If a participant elects early retirement, his or her monthly retirement benefits will be reduced to account for retiring at an earlier age.
• The monthly normal retirement benefit formula for regular employees is 1/12 of 1.5% of final average earnings multiplied by years of credited service as an eligible regular employee (see p. 22).
• The monthly normal retirement benefit for elected officials is $10.00 per month multiplied by each year of service as an elected official (see pp. 22).
• In addition, the plan provides for Auto A in-service and terminated vested death benefits (see p. 28-29).
• All employees are required to make contributions to the pan in the amount of 2.5% of earning (see p.30).
• Five percent interest will apply to a refund of employee contributions in the event that an employee withdraws his or her contributions after leaving employment ( see p. 31).
• Elected officials will not be required or allowed to make employee contributions under the Plan.
An Ordinance to establish and restate the Retirement Plan for the Employees of the City of Ball Ground was presented by Mayor Roberts for Council consideration.

Council Member Homiller put forth a Motion; Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to approve the following ordinance to establish and restate a Retirement Plan for the Employees of the City of Ball Ground.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

AN ORDINANCE

An Ordinance to establish and restate the Retirement Plan for the Employees of the City of Ball Ground, Georgia in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the attached Adoption Agreement, any Addendum to the Adoption Agreement, the Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System (GMEBS) Master Plan Document, and the GMEBS Trust Agreement. When accepted by the authorized officers of the City and GMEBS, the foregoing shall constitute a Contract between the City and BMEBS, all as authorized and provided by O.C.G.A. §47-5-1 Et Seq.

BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Council of the City of Ball Ground, Georgia and it is hereby ordained by the authority thereof:

Section 1. The Retirement Plan for the Employees of the City of Ball Ground, Georgia is hereby established and restated as set forth in and subject to the terms and conditions stated in the following Adoption Agreement, any Addendum to the Adoption Agreement, the Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System (GMEBS) Master Plan Document, and the GMEBS Trust Agreement.

Section 2. Except as otherwise specifically required by law or by the terms of the Master Plan or Adoption Agreement (or any Addendum), the rights and obligations under the Plan with respect to persons whose employment with the City was terminated or who vacated his office with the city for any reason whatsoever prior to the effective date of this Ordinance are fixed and shall be governed by such Plan, if any, as it existed and was in effect at the time of such termination.

Section 3. The effective date of this Ordinance shall be July 1, 2017.

Section 4. All Ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are expressly repealed.

First Reading of this Ordinance is Approved by the Mayor and Council of the City of Ball Ground, Georgia this 11th Day of May, 2017.

/s/ A. R. Roberts, III
Mayor

Attest: s/s Karen L. Jordan, City Clerk

e) Authorize City Manager to Execute Closing Documents from Sale of Property (Strippling Street Lot)
City Manager stated the highest bid for the sale of the 367 Old Canton Road property A.K.A. Strippling Street property was $22,500.00. City Manager Wilmarth proposed the City Council accept this amount.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to accept the bid of $22,500.00 for the sale of this property.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

City Manager Wilmarth asked Council Members to consider authorizing him and the city clerk to execute the closing documents for the sale of this property.

Council Member Stoner put forth a motion, Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to authorize the city manager and city clerk to execute any and all documents related to the sale of this property.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

f) Consider renewal of City Managers Employment Contract
Mayor Roberts presented for Council consideration an Employment Contract between the City of Ball Ground and Eric Wilmarth, City Manager. The agreement specifies compensation, duties, and termination of the employment agreement, death, and incapacity of the city manager, savings clause, construction, parole agreements, and modification.

Council Member Byrd put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member Prettyman to enter into the Employment Contract with Eric Wilmarth, City Manager to continue his employment with the City of Ball Ground on July 1, 2017, with the title of “City Manager”, and said employment will terminate on July 31, 2021.
Motion Unanimously Approved.

Mayor Roberts and Council Members commended Eric for his hard work and dedication to the City of Ball Ground.

Eric thanked Mayor Roberts and Council Members for the trust and support given to him. He said if you “can’t be happy in Ball Ground, you can’t be happy anywhere’.

Item 8: City Manager Comments
• Financial Report – City Manager Wilmarth presented an unaudited report of account balances, statement of revenue and expenditures for the month ended April 30, 2017. The report showed cash on deposit totaled $811,731.23,

• Project Updates:
Valley St. Streetscape Project – Anticipating the purchase of the last remaining piece of property needed for this project within 50-55 days.

• LMIG Safety Grant: Application for grant funding of improvements to Groover St. RR Crossing, installation of guardrails in the vicinity of Calvin Farmer Park parking area, various striping of city streets.

• Downtown Audio System – Three proposals have been received to install an audio system in the downtown area. This would allow music to be played on weekends and other designated times and the announcing of parades and other city events.

City Manager proposed council members authorize up to $17,500.00 to be spent towards the installation of an audio system in the Downtown area.

Council member Prettyman put forth a motion; Seconded by Council Member O’Malley to authorize the purchase of an audio system at a cost not to exceed $17,500.00
Motion Unanimously Approved.

• Chief Reeves prepared a written report of the department’s activity for the month ended April 30, 2017.

Item 9: Mayor Roberts & City Council Comments
Mayor Roberts commented on his interview by Channel 2 News regarding the truck traffic thru downtown. Mayor Roberts stated his comments was not directed toward the trucking industry but rather at the Georgia Department of Transportation for their poor planning of building a bypass to accommodate truck traffic.

Item 10: Public Comments

Item 11: Executive Session (If Needed)

Item 12: Adjourn
There being no further business for council consideration a motion was duly made and seconded to adjourn at 7:40 PM

The minutes of this May 11, 2017, City Council Meeting approved this 8th Day of June 2017.