Aldermen Minutes
MINUTES
MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN
CITY OF OCEAN SPRINGS
REGULAR MEETING OF DECEMBER 1, 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 December 1, 2009. Mayor Moran presiding, Aldermen McDonnell, Cody, Ross, Denyer, Dalgo and Hagan were present. Also present were City Clerk Shelly Ferguson and City Attorney John Edwards. Alderman Gill was absent.
Alderman Cody gave the invocation and the Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PROCLAMATIONS
The Mayor read a proclamation declaring the week of December 7-11, 2009, as Inclusive Schools Week (Exhibit 3-a).
The Mayor read a proclamation declaring December 1, 2009, as Sachika Denham Day (Exhibit 3-b).
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to pull item (4-c); add the Addendum to the Agenda and add item A-2b to the Addendum – An Amendment to Ordinance No. 13-1976 Rezoning Property Herein Described from C-3 and R-2 to R-3.
OLD BUSINESS
Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to adopt the Resolution Directing the Sale and Award of General Obligation Bonds, Series 2009, of the City of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, dated December 1, 2009, in the Principal Amount of Four Million Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($4,600,000); and a Resolution Approving and Authorizing the Form of, Execution and Distribution of an Official Statement Pertaining to the Four Million Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($4,600,000) General Obligation Bonds, Series 2009, of the City of Ocean Springs, Mississippi (4-a).
Mr. Eric Zala, Director of the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center, delivered a power point presentation to give an update on the Mary C’s progress for 2009.
Motion was made by Alderman Ross, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize the modification of the loading dock doors at the very back of the Trent Lott Theater at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center pending approval by Mississippi Department of Archives and History (Exhibit 4-b).
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Pastor John Watson, Springs Christian Center, presented a $500.00 check to the Deputy Fire Chief, Nate Wilson, for the Ocean Springs Firefighters Association.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to accept the Consent Agenda with exception of items (g) and (h) which were pulled by Alderman McDonnell.
Alderman McDonnell asked if there were any changes made since the last discussions on this matter. The Architects advised the contracts were within the budget of $6,592,680.00. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo and seconded by Alderman Cody to award the bid of the Public Safety Center – Fire/EOC Building Construction to GM&R Construction Co., Inc. in the amount of $2,682,066.00; award bid for Public Safety Center – Police/Jail/Court Building Construction to Gulf Construction Co., Inc. in the amount of $3,910,614.00; to amend the budgets accordingly and authorize Mayor to execute contracts pending legal approval. Motion carried with Aldermen McDonnell, Cody, Ross, Denyer and Dalgo voting aye and Alderman Hagan voting nay (Exhibit 6-g/h).
Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to award the Fire/EOC and Police/Jail/Court Building Constructions Contracts pending receipt of Mississippi Development Authority Contractor clearance.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Community Development & Planning:
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to accept the Planning Commission approval for final plat amendment for a private planned unit development (PUD) on the Southwest corner of Government and Hanley – Sweetgrass Estates (Exhibit A-1a).
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer and seconded by Alderman Dalgo to adopt Ordinance No. 2009-23 AN AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE 13-1976 REZONING PROPERTY HEREIN DESCRIBED FROM C-3 AND R-2 TO R-3 (Exhibit A-2b). The motion passed with a roll call vote as follows:
Alderman Ross Voted Aye
Alderman Gill Absent
Alderman McDonnell Voted Aye
Alderman Cody Voted Aye
Alderman Denyer Voting Aye
Alderman Dalgo Voting Aye
Alderman Hagan Voting Aye
Parks and Leisure Services Department:
The Parks and Leisure Services Department Director presented the Fort Maurepas Facility Rules sign. The Board suggested taking out “No Loud Music”; stating the hours of operation of 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and include a contact number for the police department.
Fire Department:
Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize the Fire Department to hold a 50/50 Raffle to benefit the American Heart Association Walk.
City Attorney:
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize the architect to make up to 3 modifications to the original Contract under the legal allowable rate for the Alice Street Construction project.
ALDERMEN’S FORUM
Alderman Dalgo asked for clarification of the intersection closing at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Government Street. He further stated his concerns about the detour route for the school buses loading and unloading children at Taconi Elementary School. Motion was made by Alderman Dalgo, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to designate Weed Street as one way West bound; Davis Street one way East bound for the duration of the closing of the intersection for the streetscape project and authorize Public Works Department to erect signage to indicate these are one way streets except school buses.
Alderman Dalgo asked for assistance with Morris Strickland’s project on Halstead Road. The Planning Director advised he was working with Mr. Strickland to remedy the problem with the lot lines.
Alderman Dalgo asked for assistance from the Public Works Department with the trash, broken glass and graffiti near the mural at the foot of the bridge.
Alderman Cody stated a resident contacted him about the trees and the walk near the Alice Street tennis court project. The Parks and Leisure Services Director will meet with him to discuss the plans for the buffer.
Alderman McDonnell asked for an update on the Walter Anderson Museum of Art letter of support regarding the warming kitchen. The Mayor advised the letter is forthcoming in January, 2010. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is reviewing the plans and they are waiting on a response from the technical team.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to authorize up to $4,400.00 from Ward 2 Capital Improvement Account for asphalt of Pontchartrain Court.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Ross and unanimously carried to authorize $5,274.00 from Ward 2 Capital Improvement Account; $2,500.00 from Alderman at Large Capital Improvement Account and $2,500.00 from Mayor’s Capital Improvement Account for massive renovations of sidewalks in Cherokee Glenn.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize up to $500.00 from Ward 2 Capital Improvement Account for stump removal at Inner Harbor Park.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to authorize the City Attorney and the Planning Director to draft an Ordinance concerning the speed limits based on the speed study done at Cherokee Glenn and Lover’s Lane.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Ross 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 Cody, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to remain in executive session to discuss personnel in the Police Department, City Clerk’s office and Parks and Leisure Services Department.
Motion was made by Alderman Ross, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to come out of executive session and return to regular session.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to accept the recommendation of the Parks and Leisure Services Director to accept the resignation or otherwise terminate Facilities and Maintenance Manager effective December 2, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to accept the recommendation of the Police Chief to reprimand a Lieutenant of one-day without pay and six (6) months probation.
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman Denyer and unanimously carried to remove Captain Derek Hoppner from “executive exempt status” to annual salary of $52,000.00 until DEA detail completed.
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Cody and unanimously carried to accept the resignation of Monica Beverage effective December 1, 2009, and to hire a replacement custodian from Millcreek Services.
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to recess until 6:00 p.m. on December 15, 2009.
Meeting ended at 8:08 p.m.
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City Clerk Mayor
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