| Minutes – August 7, 2007

Aldermen Minutes

MINUTES
MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN
CITY OF OCEAN SPRINGS

REGULAR MEETING OF AUGUST 7, 2007

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 7, 2007. Mayor Moran presiding, Aldermen Gill, Lloyd, McDonnell, Weaver, Dalgo, Denyer and Hagan were present. Also present were City Attorney John Edwards and City Clerk Adrienne Howell.

The Mayor gave the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Mayor removed by request items 3 and 5-a from the agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Hagan and seconded by Alderman Weaver to approve the Addendum items. Motion carried with Aldermen Gill, McDonnell, Weaver, Denyer and Hagan voted aye and Aldermen Lloyd and Dalgo voted nay.

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. There being no filed complaints the public hearing was closed. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to adopt the Resolution and Order of the Uniform Assessment Schedule (Exhibit 4-a).

OLD BUSINESS

Mr. Chelius Carter with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History gave an update of the status on the Charnley House.

Mr. Dennis Cowart and Mr. Frank Burandt displayed drawings of the proposal for Fort Maurepas Park. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Weaver and unanimously carried to approve the landscape plan. The Board came to a consensus for the pavilion to be one story open air.

Alderman McDonnell explained that Mr. Bobby Carter owns a historic home downtown which was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina, cost a considerable amount to repair and did not qualify for a grant through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Mr. Chelius Carter explained that there were more than one hundred applicants that did not qualify for the grant due to a lack of funding. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to send a letter from the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to the state requesting a review of the Carter home for a grant from the Department of Archives and History, to indicate the importance of the house, the amount of work that the Carter family went through to save the house and not take the route of demolition, the fact that they did not have any insurance and got very little other assistance from outside sources but still took the project to save a very historic structure within the downtown area.

NEW BUSINESS

Ms. Sandra Morrison with the Gulf Coast Women’s Center for Nonviolence thanked the Board for their funding CORRECTION TO THE MINUTES MADE BY MOTION AUGUST 21, 2007 TO READ: “and requested $5,000.00 funding for FY08″.

Ms. Claire Brou presented a request for a set back exception (Exhibit 6-b). The Community Development Director said that the request should go through the Zoning and Adjustment Board.

Motion was made by Alderman Weaver and seconded by Alderman Dalgo to approve items 6-c, 6-d and 6-e regarding waiver or reduction of rental fees. Following further discussion, motion was withdrawn by Alderman Weaver. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer and seconded by Alderman Dalgo to authorize the waiver of the rental fee of the Civic Center on September 25, 2007 for a motivational symposium (Exhibit 6-c). Following further discussion, motion was withdrawn by Alderman Denyer. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to table item 6-c for more information.

Motion was made by Alderman Denyer and seconded by Alderman McDonnell to charge $200.00 setup and cleanup fee only for the Community Center on August 22, 2007 for a reception sponsored by the Rotary Club and St. Paul Methodist Church to honor Sidney Howell which will advertise the resources of the City (Exhibit 6-d). Motion carried with Aldermen Gill, McDonnell, Weaver, Dalgo, Denyer and Hagan voted aye and Alderman Lloyd voted nay.

Motion was made by Alderman Hagan and seconded by Alderman McDonnell to charge $200.00 setup and cleanup fee only for the Civic Center on June 1, 2008 for the National Cancer Survivors Day Celebration of Life to promote the resources of the City (Exhibit 6-e). Motion failed with Aldermen Gill, McDonnell, and Hagan voting aye and Aldermen Lloyd, Weaver, Dalgo and Denyer voted nay. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to table item 6-e.

Alderman Weaver requested that the non profit rate for rental of City facilities be discussed in a work session.

CONSENT AGENDA

Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda with the exception of items (a), (z) and (aa) which were pulled by Alderman Weaver and items (n) and (t) which were pulled by Alderman Dalgo.

Alderman Weaver pulled item (a) and asked why we are to executing a contract with Jimmy G. Gouras, Planning Consultants, Inc. for CDBG. Grants Coordinator Carolyn Martin explained that Jimmy G. Gouras, Planning Consultants, Inc. was all ready selected to administer the project which is large scale and the administrative fees will be paid by the grant. Motion was made by Alderman Weaver, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to approve item (a) to authorize the Mayor to execute the contract with Jimmy G. Gouras, Planning Consultants, Inc. related to the CDBG Downtown Revitalization Projects, Round I.

Alderman Dalgo pulled item (n) and the Police Chief asked that the effective date be August 11, 2007. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize employment of Eva Pierce as Housekeeper/Janitor, hourly rate $9.50, 29 hours a week, effective August 11, 2007, probation one year.

Alderman Dalgo pulled item (t) and asked if the Public Works Department is satisfied with the street sweeper that was selected and they answered affirmatively. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to accept the bid from Ingram Equipment Company in the amount of $102,804.41 for a Regenerative Air Street Sweeper.

Alderman Weaver pulled items (z) and (aa) and CORRECTION TO THE MINUTES MADE BY MOTION AUGUST 21, 2007 TO READ: “Alderman Lloyd” asked if the right of way should be larger than 10 feet because the road needs to be widened and the Jackson County Utility Authority is planning to run a trunk line through that area. The Community Development Director said that this is the first step of the process for these developments and there is still time to work out the details with the developers. Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to approve items (z) and (aa).

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Bruce Duckett, 1406 Hellmers Lane, complained about the board discussing items in the agenda packet at board meetings that the audience is not given.

Ms. Caroline Gautier owns a historical home on Jackson Avenue that received damage from Hurricane Katrina, was also denied a grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and requested that her home and others that were rejected be included in the letter that will be sent to the state.

Mr. Jeb Moss CORRECTION TO THE MINUTES MADE BY MOTION AUGUST 21, 2007 TO READ: “Mr. John Mass”, 210 Wheaton Court, complained that the Animal Control Officer is ill equipped and asked that the animals of the community be helped. Alderman Gill asked the Police Chief to personally inspect the Animal Control Officers equipment.

DEPARTMENT REPORTS

Mayor

The Mayor presented a memorandum from the Jackson County Utility Authority regarding the increase in wastewater costs (Exhibit 9-a).

Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to authorize contracting with Cowart Architects to prepare bid specifications packages for approximately $450,000 in renovations and improvements to the Ocean Springs Community Center, in accordance with regulations and procedures with grants obtained by the Save America’s Treasures and Mississippi Department of Archives and History (Exhibit 9-b).

Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize contracting with Brown & Mitchell for preliminary designs and subsequent bid specifications for replacement of the Community Pier (Exhibit 9-c).

Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to authorize contracting with Cowart Architects for bid specifications and architectural services for the Fort Maurepas pavilion and the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center window renovations funded by CDBG Katrina Supplemental Funds, Round I (Exhibit 9-d).

Human Resources/Risk Manager

The Human Resources/Risk Manager requested a discussion and vote on a final plan for the impending employee health benefits increase (Exhibit 9-e). Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to continue paying the same percentages per employee for health insurance.

ALDERMAN’S FORUM

Alderman McDonnell asked about the outstanding bill to Walter T. Bolton and Associates for drawings for the Public Safety Building and the City Clerk said that she has researched the bill and feels that the money is owed. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to authorize the City Clerk to pay Walter T. Bolton and Associates $22,465.56 and amend the budget accordingly. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Dalgo and unanimously carried to request a copy of the drawings for the Public Safety building from Walter T. Bolton and Associates for the Police and Fire Chiefs to review.

Alderman McDonnell asked how much has been incurred defending the Concerned Citizens lawsuit and the City Attorney said that the litigation is ongoing and the total to date is $28,800.00.

Alderman Lloyd asked that a listing of properties that should not be built on be created because the Corps of Engineers may buy them. The Mayor explained that the City and County will prepare a ranked listing of properties.

Alderman Lloyd said that the Gulf Hills Country Club will hold a Salute to the Military Golf Tournament on September 21, 2007 and requested assistance to offset expenses. The Mayor will call to find out more details.

Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize $2,676.00 from the Ward V Capital Improvement Account for a beautification project at Magnolia Bayou subdivision (Exhibit 10-c).

Alderman Dalgo said that MEMA Cottage program has begun and has been a nightmare for one citizen and he does not think an approval by the Planning Commission should be required for the Cottage program. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo and seconded by Alderman Weaver to modify the Katrina Cottage policy to take the element of the Planning Commission out of the approval process. Motion carried with Aldermen Gill, Lloyd, McDonnell, Weaver, Dalgo and Denyer voting aye and Alderman Hagan voting nay.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan 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 McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to remain in executive session to discuss land acquisition on Highway 90 and personnel matters in the Police Department.

Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman Lloyd and unanimously carried to come out of executive session and return to regular session.

Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to authorize the Mayor to sign a 1st Right of Refusal agreement for property on Highway 90.

Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to allow the Mayor to the start the state mandated land acquisition procedures.

Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to recess until 6:00 p.m. on August 21, 2007.