WORK SESSION NOTES OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL CITY OF DULUTH, GA JULY 27, 2015

Transcription

1 WORK SESSION NOTES OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL CITY OF DULUTH, GA JULY 27, 2015 PRESENT: BY PHONE: Mayor Harris, Council members Bomar, Dugan, Jones, Kelkenberg and Whitlock, City Manager, Department Directors, City Attorneys Councilmember Kelkenberg Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. I. PUBLIC COMMENTS No public comments received. Mayor Harris announced a change to the Special Called Agenda by adding a third item for consideration a resolution setting a temporary moratorium on sign applications and permits. Council member Bomar provided an update on the filing of an ARC Public Art Project Grant Application on behalf of Duluth Public Arts Commission, (DPAC). The intent of the funds if awarded is to accelerate new ways Duluth s communities can organically become one going forward through art. The application identifies two sites, one being Parson s Alley and the other is the space known as The Hole in downtown Duluth. Councilmember Bomar requested each member of Council read the draft application and the Planning and Development Director with any questions or concerns on or before Wednesday, July 29 th. II. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. ORDINANCES TO AMEND THE DULUTH CODE ALCOHOL {A} City Attorney Stephen Pereira explained that the Alcohol Board met on July 8th to consider several amendments to Article III of the Duluth Code. There are four (4) ordinances for consideration, as follows: 0 (1) DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS/CLARIFICATIONS: The purpose of the changes is largely to make the City s Ordinance mirror State law regarding distance requirements for both consumption on premises and package sales. (2) OUTDOOR SALES/CONSUMPTION: Amendment to the provisions relating to the sale of alcohol for consumption in outdoor, open areas. These changes are largely intended to encourage redevelopment of the downtown area. (3) HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS:" Amendments that provide clerical updates and clarification, which also address definitions in the Code and provide consistency both within the Duluth Code and with State law. Additionally, several changes have been triggered by the recent passage of the Unified Development Code (UDC), which creates the need to amend those sections that specifically refer to zoning districts that were changed or combined under the UDC.

2 Page 2 of 7 (4) SECTION 3-370/371 GAMBLING: Amendment that deletes sections and dealing with prohibitions on gambling and coin operated amusement devices at licensed premises. The City currently restricts gambling for all businesses and regulates coin operated amusement devices in a separate comprehensive ordinance. Councilmember Jones asked for clarification on the Open areas, and a reference to leasing public areas. He wanted to ensure that the Block Plaza would have less restrictions for outdoor consumption. He also requested that the Red Zone area be reviewed and noted that it currently ends in front of City Hall. The Fall Festival extends much further down the block toward Hardy Street. He also asked that the zoning under section3-250c is checked again against the UDC to make sure all businesses currently fit within those zones. Further discussion was held on retail sale of package malt beverage and wine by restaurants. This is currently not allowed by City ordinance and is permitted only with a specialty gift shop license. Staff was not previously asked to look at changing this provision. Councilmember Bomar noted that she had been asked about corkage fees for bring your own alcohol to restaurants. This is another policy decision, as it allowed by the State but not under the City s ordinance as it is currently written. Council authorized staff to place Ordinance on next Council meeting for consideration. 2. BUILDING IDENTIFICATION SIGNAGE OPTIONS RED CLAY {B} City Manager James Riker explained that staff has been working with Eddie Owen on reviewing signage options for the Red Clay. He presented several options for consideration. The proposed Main Street sign includes a digital reader board and the wall sign facing W. Lawrenceville Street/SR 120 a manual reader board. Staff felt that the view to the back of the building was not very visible at this point, and the best view would be from the signalized intersection. Councilmember Whitlock felt that having several different names for signage could be confusing. Mr. Riker noted that there are different names associated with the marketing concepts for different functions, such as one for the music school being for a different patronage than for the concerts, etc. EOP Eddie Owen Presents is part of the new contract for administration of the venue. He also noted that the benefit of having a changeable sign is that it can change, but doesn t necessarily have to. Most liked the retro design. The estimated price range for production and installation of the signs is between $50,000 and $60,000 with funding from the Wayfinding Signage Fund. The Fall Festival may be interested in assisting with the cost of changing the second sign to be changeable as well. Staff was directed to explore competitive bids for the signage and to inquire with the Fall Festival for participation in the cost to upgrade the second sign. 3. BUFORD HIGHWAY MEDIANS FOLLOW UP {C} Planning and Development Director Nick Colonna came forward and explained that during the June work session, Buford Highway Median (90%) plans were submitted to GDOT s reviewers. GDOT reviewers are holding the plans until right-of-way acquisition is near complete and utility agreements are drafted. The designer of the project is drafting the utility agreements for the City. 2

3 Page 3 of 7 The next phase of the project is right-of-way (ROW) acquisition; however, funds have not been allocated for ROW as noted at the April transportation update presentation. It was previously reported that that the costs for ROW purchase could be as much as $420,000 including acquisition services, and at that time it was agreed to move forward with updating the costs with the hope of a lower number. The costs at this time are $320,000 in ROW and $50,000 in acquisition services for a total of $370,000. To move forward these funds will have to be placed in the budget. At the June meeting, Council also requested staff solicit input from the potential developers of Proctor Square, who indicated they were in favor of the medians and felt they were a benefit to the safety and aesthetics of the area. Council also requested an accounting of the costs incurred thus far on the project which are provided for review. Staff was asked about the possibility of having the ROW donated for the Proctor Square area. City Engineer Margie Pozin noted that the timeline for the median project is a bit ahead of the schedule for any potential development. Economic Development Manager Chris McGahee noted that the property purchases are currently in negotiation, and while the future developers may be interested in offering the ROW dedication in conjunction with their rezoning procedures, the City could approach them once acquisition of the properties has happened. Staff was authorized to place a budget amendment on the August 10 th agenda. III. PRESENTATIONS 1. MARKETING/EVENTS UPDATE {D} Marketing Manager Alisa Williams came forward to highlight the activities of the marketing department and share marketing report results for April, May and June as well as on two of the four quarterly follow up meetings on the Marketing Strategy. Social media and content management: FaceBook audience has more than doubled Twitter really engaged people through tweet and go seek. Instagram not used as much, but a younger crowd does utilize this more often so it will be a focus for a few months Google plus does get updated regularly. Video: Promotional video with aerial footage from the drone, highlighting recent events Blog: Staff has created a blog which is connected to website, very visually appealing with links to other social media along the side. Website: Cover pictures are being updated regularly for visual interest. Hot buttons have been adjusted base on usage, and the statistics show that the average visit times are getting longer for website activity as well. Enewsletter: Staff changing away from constant contact so something newer and fresher, working on switching addresses. Duluth Life: 3

4 Logos: M&C Spec Call Meet/Work Sess Minutes Page 4 of 7 The print newsletter features a lot more on economic development and highlighting the projects and recent successes in the area. Staff has taken off with the City Manager s idea of SubUrban cool as a mini-logo Updated all the other mini-logos to have similar color schemes, etc. for uniforming Other promotions: KTN has started monthly broadcast promotions for the City (in Korean). Role of the Arts Shop local, etc. Events: Big Successes this year! Barefoot in the City Art Week. (Tweet & Go Seek, Didi!) The role of the City to be increased in the administration of the Barefoot event and DPAC and DFAL will also have more participation. Summerstage concert series theming concerts going forward. Geocaching 30 have been placed, with coordinates sent to the company, ready to go up on the website in the next few weeks. Duluth will be the 5 th City in the state, making GA the state with the highest number of Caches by governments. Ms. Williams also listed out recent accolades. She further noted that staff is working with the developer to create a marketing plan for The Block. The plan includes installation of signage for the three proposed locations (see map). The marketing includes real estate signs, renderings, square footage information, etc. The website will be and will include photos and video of both demolition and construction, and will also link to developer pages, etc. 2. SPLOST & RESURFACING PRESENTATION {E} Public Works Director Audrey Turner provided a brief presentation updating the current Paving and Preservation program with recommended steps moving forward with remaining SPLOST funds. She noted that staff is always investigating new techniques, and preservation gives a better bang for the buck than resurfacing. She reported the following projects this year: Resurfacing: Augustus Drive, Clare Court, Castlemaine Drive, Knott Street, Woodridge Court, Woodacres Court. Full Depth Reclamation: Brookshire Way, Howell Ferry Road. Concrete repairs at Woodhaven. There is a bid going out this week for additional 2015 paving which will incorporate another two miles of roadway. Councilmember Bomar thanked Ms. Turner for the quick response to fixing sidewalks on Ridgeway. 3. UPDATE ON SITE EVALUATION 3146 MAIN ST Wenck Associate Katie Ross explained that over the past few months, Wenck Associates have been assisting the City in evaluating the site constraints associated with 3146 Main Street (former site of Duluth Dry Cleaners) and updated the Council on the evaluation and proposed next steps. She reported that soil and groundwater samples taken. The contamination of the soil was low, but high for water. There are several options. To perform corrective action for groundwater, it can become very costly. Alternative 2 would be for remediation, submitting an application to enter a voluntary program that requires restrictive covenants and land use restrictions on the property. The City would certify and monitor that nobody installs drinking water wells. In this case, the City would need to determine how far the contamination has reached, since groundwater moves. The recommendation would be to submit the state application in December, which would begin a five-year process. Ongoing studies will be scheduled to determine how many parcels are impacted, and then to further place deed restrictions on the properties. 4

5 4. ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING PROCUREMENT POLICY M&C Spec Call Meet/Work Sess Minutes Page 5 of 7 City Engineer Margie Pozin explained that in order to gain Locally Administered Project (LAP) certification from the GA Department of Transportation (GDOT), the City must have a formal policy for procuring architectural and engineering services, and the policy must follow the Brooks Act. GDOT sent a sample for this policy, which the City Attorney has reviewed. There is a temporary hold on projects that were started without the proper procedures in place until such time as the certification process is complete. Although the policy does not require formal Council approval, the City Clerk will bring it before the Finance Committee for recommendation for amendment to the Financial Policies. It will also be included with the City s LAP certification application that will be sent to GDOT in early August. 5. PLEASANT HILL/BUFORD HIGHWAY INTERCHANGE PROJECT UPDATE City Engineer Margie Pozin explained that this project was originally assigned to Pond and Company as a task order, but the City had to cancel this task order upon recognizing the procurement for their services was not handled according to GDOT and federal requirements (Brooks Act and LAP certification) and federal funds are being used. Consistent with GDOT and federal requirements, the City put out an RFQ (request for qualifications) on May 18 th, with responses due back June 12 th. Five teams submitted qualification packages (Amec Foster Wheeler, Columbia Engineering, Moreland Altobelli, Pond and Company, and TY Lin). Two were disqualified for lack of GDOT pre-qualifications (Amec and TY Lin), and the other three were ranked and shortlisted to a presentation. Shortlist notifications went out on June 30 and presentations were held on July 9. Three evaluators participated during both the initial evaluations and the presentation evaluations. Final scores were calculated on July 9. The final rankings were (in order): 1. Pond, 2. Columbia, 3. Moreland. The City invited Pond to submit a scope, man-hour estimate and fee based on audited hourly rates, and audited overhead rates. The City will develop an independent estimate of hours for comparison/negotiation, and it is assumed the negotiations will be successful. If the City cannot reach successful negotiation with Pond, staff will formally discontinue and enter into negotiations with the next ranked firm (Columbia). Once negotiations are complete, staff will request that Council approve the award. Ms. Pozin noted that the schedule for this project has not been severely impacted as GDOT had a long timeframe mapped out. She explained that the scope of the project is comprised of several phases of recommendations: signage, site distance, safety and navigation (which are priority), landscaping, lighting and art. The scope of work continues through construction of the project. 6. GEORGIA MUNICIPAL ASSOCATION CONFERENCE RECAP Council and staff shared their thoughts and ideas on any of the sessions they attended at the GMA Conference. Council felt that GMA should consider splitting the training classes by population to provide more relevance for attendees. IV. WORK SESSION ADJOURNMENT Council member Bomar left the meeting. 5

6 Page 6 of 7 DRAFT MINUTES MAYOR AND COUNCIL CITY OF DULUTH, GA JULY 27, 2015 Mayor Harris called the Special Called meeting to order at 7:25 p.m. I. NEW BUSINESS 1. BID AWARD/AUTHORIZATION FOR CONTRACT BLOCK/PARSONS ALLEY CONSTRUCTION {C &D} The Mayor and Council considered awarding a bid for the construction of the Block redevelopment (CD-64). Two bids were received in response to the RFP for construction of The Block/Parsons Alley. This includes furnishing and installing all materials, labor and equipment necessary for the construction of site work, parking, hardscape, lighting, landscape, and irrigation. Staff review included an evaluation matrix which compared cost, timeline, experience in like projects, and references. Bids ranged from $2,406,801 to $3,106,000. Staff recommended the bid be awarded to CBI General Contractors of Cumming, Ga for $2,406,801 plus an additional contingency of $190,680 ($50,000 contingency was already included in the bid price) for a total amount of $2,597,481 subject to execution of a City Attorney approved contract. Finance Manager Ken Sakmar came forward and explained the attached CIP summary sheet and detailed the financing for this project. A motion was made by Councilmember Jones, seconded by Councilmember Whitlock, to approve awarding the bid for Block Redevelopment to CBI General Contracting in the amount not to exceed $2,597,481 and further authorize the Mayor or City Manager to execute the contract. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR CONTRACT BLOCK/PARSONS ALLEY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES The Block/Parson s Alley infrastructure project involves utilities, hardscapes, ADA accessibility, lighting, and parking improvements. Construction is phased to accommodate building construction schedules. The primary target of Phase I is to accommodate access to the proposed Dreamland BBQ restaurant facility and to install all underground utilities required by the total Block/Parson s Alley project. Pay Application request from the selected contractor should be independently verified to determine quantities, quality, and installation practices. Staff recommended that Hill Foley Rossi be selected to provide verification and Pay Application approval services as well as monthly construction administration for Phases I and II. HFR has familiarity with the site and accessibility requirements of each of the proposed buildings. The fee for this service is $14,000. A motion was made by Councilmember Whitlock, seconded by Councilmember Dugan to approve authorizing the Mayor or City Manager to execute the agreement with HFR not to exceed $14,000 as presented. 6

7 Page 7 of 7 3. RESOLUTION TEMPORARY MORATORIUM SIGN APPLICATIONS/PERMITS City Attorney Stephen Pereira explained that local governments cannot regulate based signs based on the content of a sign. He referenced a recent case out of Arizona, which was brought about because the governing authority distinguished their approval process by categories of signs, and treated them differently. The current Duluth UDC should be reviewed to ensure that no content-based discrimination exists, and therefore it was recommended to approve a moratorium of 45 days for sign applications to allow for thorough review. Approval of this item authorizes a moratorium through September 11th to allow for review, bring any recommended changes to the Planning Commission and then back to Council. This may be accomplished by the work session in August or approved at the September 14th Council meeting. There are no applications currently pending approval. A motion was made by Councilmember Whitlock, seconded by Councilmember Jones, to adopt a resolution to place a temporary (45 day) moratorium on sign applications and permits and other purposes as presented. II. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Councilmember Dugan, seconded by Councilmember Jones, to adjourn. The next scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council is August 10, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. KM 7/30/15 7