Aldermen Minutes
MINUTES
MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN
CITY OF OCEAN SPRINGS
REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 4, 2009
Be it remembered that the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Ocean Springs met in a Regular meeting at City Hall in the City of Ocean Springs at 6:00 p.m. on August 4, 2009. Mayor Moran presiding, Aldermen Ross, Gill, McDonnell, Cody, Denyer, Dalgo and Hagan were present. Also present were City Clerk Shelly Ferguson and City Attorney John Edwards.
The Mayor gave the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to open the Public Hearing.
At this time a public hearing to hear and act on any complaint filed in writing objecting to and petitioning for a specified reduction on any portion or portions of the uniform assessment schedule for motor vehicles ad valorem taxes affecting the complaint directly was held. No complaints were filed. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to adopt the Resolution and Order of the FY-09 Uniform Assessment Schedule for motor vehicles (Exhibit 3-a).
At this time a public hearing was held to determine whether property located at 1213 Lancelot Lane is in such a state of uncleanliness so as to be a menace to public health and safety. There was not a property owner in attendance. The Building Official provided testimony as to the existing conditions of the lot. It was described with the following problems: a) 3 unsightly vehicles in the front of the property and b) overgrown condition of lot and c) junk in back yard. The Building Official provided further testimony that the front of the lot was clean and the back of the lot was near completion (Exhibit 3-b).
At this time a public hearing was held to determine whether property located at 22 Zettel Road is in such a state of uncleanliness so as to be a menace to public health and safety. There was not a property owner in attendance. The Building Official provided testimony as to the existing conditions of the lot. It was described with the following problems: a) abandoned structure must be demolished and b) overgrown condition of lot. The Building Official provided further testimony that the property has been abandoned (Exhibit 3-c).
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to close the public hearing.
Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to grant an additional two (2) weeks to allow the property owner to proceed with the lot cleaning (Exhibit 3-b).
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to proceed with the lot cleaning at 22 Zettel Road due to property is in a state of uncleanliness so as to be a menace to public health and safety of the community and that the City proceed with cleaning the lot (Exhibit 3-c).
NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Jerry McDaniel, representative with the Ocean Springs 14-year old All Star team, asked for financial support to allow the team to travel to Midland, Texas to play in the Regional Tournament. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to transfer $300.00 from Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Alderman at Large Capital Improvement Accounts to the miscellaneous promotion account to advertise the resources of the City (Exhibit 4-a).
OLD BUSINESS
Motion was made by Alderman Gill and seconded by Alderman McDonnell to award the bid to Stewart Environmental Consultant of the base bid plus additive alternates 1-6 for the Highway 57 Sports Complex, Phase 2 – Ballfields. Motion carried with Alderman Gill, McDonnell, Cody, Ross, Denyer and Dalgo voting aye and Alderman Hagan voting nay (Exhibit 5-a).
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Ross and unanimously carried to amend the Agenda to add the Addendum.
OLD BUSINESS – ADDENDUM
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan and seconded by Alderman Gill to adopt Ordinance No. 2009-18 An Ordinance Restricting the Use of All Tobacco Products in Little Children’s Park, Martin Luther King Park, Fort Bayou Park, Hanley Road Park, Clay Boyd Park, Lemoyne Park, Trentwood Park, Inner Harbor Park, Gay Lemon Complex, Freedom Field, Steven Parker Fields, Alice Street Fields and Clay Boyd Ballfields (Exhibit A-1a). The motion passed with a roll call vote as follows:
Alderman Ross Voted Aye
Alderman Gill Voted Aye
Alderman McDonnell Voted Aye
Alderman Cody Voted Aye
Alderman Denyer Voting Aye
Alderman Dalgo Voting Aye
Alderman Hagan Voting Aye
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to accept the donation of signage for the tobacco free parks from the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition of Jackson County.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Mayor:
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to accept the recommendation of the Facilities Director to not expand the hours at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center (Exhibit 8-a).
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to authorize the Public Works Department to erect the base for the D’Iberville statue and to allow it to be removable.
Community Development & Planning:
The Planning Director stated his department is addressing code enforcement violations on Katrina damaged properties. He asked the Board for their expectations for cleaning up these properties concerning how frequently should be required for property owners to bush hog their property and removal of at-grade slabs. Alderman Hagan and the Building Official will meet to discuss this matter and report back at next meeting with a recommendation.
Human Resources & Risk Management:
The Human Resource and Risk Management Director advised the insurance rates with Blue Shield/Blue Cross are increasing by 8%. Our insurance agent, Mr. Mark Barhanovich, advised we are below average as far as the cost of our rates based on a survey done with municipalities comparable to our size. The Human Resource Committee will meet and research alternate plans with deductible options.
ALDERMEN’S FORUM
Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize up to $925.00 from Ward 1 Capital Improvement Account to repair and paint entrance columns at Braemar Subdivision.
Alderman McDonnell asked the Planning Director about the height of the crosswalk on Front Beach Drive and to have the City Engineer look at them before any are installed for the downtown streetscape. The City Engineer advised the crosswalks downtown are 2-1/4” tall and 12-15’ transition.
Alderman McDonnell stated he, Alderman Cody and Alderman Ross met with Mr. Joe Garrard about his concerns for Keyes Municipal Park. The City Engineer stated there should be a preconstruction conference within the next ten (10) days.
Alderman McDonnell asked the Planning Director what his plan is when the Youth Corps grant expires for maintenance on the bridge. The Planning Director advised the grant runs through October 1, 2009, and it will be addressed after that date.
Motion was made by Alderman Cody, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to authorize the City Engineer and Public Works Department to discuss flooding problems at Westbrook Street and Sunhaven Drive.
Motion was made by Alderman Cody, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to waive the rental fees for the Junior Miss reception for Katie Thurber at the Ocean Springs Community Center on August 30, 2009.
Alderman Denyer asked the Planning Director if the speed humps are required to meet ADA regulations. The City Engineer advised what the requirements were and they would meet these requirements.
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to transfer up to $14,500.00 from Ward 6 Capital Improvement Account to the Police Department for two (2) Segway personal transporter (PT) patrollers.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to go into closed session to determine the necessity of going into executive session.
The City Clerk returned to the meeting and announced that a motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to remain in executive session to discuss personnel in the Planning Department; and two (2) land acquisition matters.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to come out of executive session and return to regular session.
Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Ross and unanimously carried to authorize the Mayor to move employee Cheryl Alexander to the Parks and Leisure Services Department and Tawana Armstrong to the Planning Department pending written confirmation by Geri Straight and Eric Meyer to the Board and Human Resources.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize the Mayor to execute a Lease Agreement with Earl Fayard for his property on Front Beach Drive for $800.00 per month for six (6) months and amend the budget accordingly.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to authorize the Mayor to execute the MEMA Agreement No. 1604-307 for the purchase of low lying properties that were submitted for acquisition and amend the budget accordingly for $15,000.00 from ending cash balance to add to the County’s funds to reach the purchase price of the Brislin property.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to recess until 3:30 p.m. on August 10, 2009.
Meeting ended at 8:20 p.m.
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City Clerk Mayor
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