Aldermen Minutes
MINUTES
MAYOR AND BOARD OF ALDERMEN
CITY OF OCEAN SPRINGS
REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 4, 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 September 4, 2007. Mayor Moran presiding, Aldermen Gill, Lloyd, McDonnell, Weaver, Denyer and Hagan were present. Also present were Interim City Clerk Shelly Ferguson and City Attorney John Edwards. Alderman Dalgo was absent.
Alderman Denyer gave the invocation and the Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PROCLAMATION
Mayor Moran read a proclamation declaring September 5, 2007 as Good Neighbor Day in Ocean Springs (Exhibit 3).
PUBLIC HEARING
Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to open a public hearing for the purposes of discussing the FY 07-08 proposed budget (Exhibit 4-a). The Mayor gave an overview of the highlights of the proposed budget. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to close the Public Hearing.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Matt Sherer, Singing River Hospital System, presented a request for waiver of rental fee for the National Cancer Survivors Day which will be held June 1, 2008 at the Civic Center (Exhibit 5-a). Motion was made by Alderman Lloyd, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to waive the rental fee at the Civic Center on June 1, 2007 for the National Cancer Survivors Day to promote the resources of the City.
Ms. Catherine Gautier, Taxi Board Chairman, presented the recommendations of the Taxi Board (Exhibit 5-b). Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to accept the recommendations of the Taxi Board.
NEW BUSINESS
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell and seconded by Alderman Lloyd to dismiss the appeal of the Planning Commissions recommendation to deny sketch plat for Pilger Pointe Subdivision by Mr. John Pilger since he is not in attendance. Motion was withdrawn by Alderman McDonnell due to the arrival of Mr. Pilger.
Mr. John Pilger and his attorney, Mr. James Wright presented an appeal of the Planning Commissions recommendation to deny application for sketch plat for Pilger Pointe Subdivision (Exhibit 6-a). His neighbor, Dr. Jeff Sauls and his attorney, Ms. Joan Elizabeth Lund, presented an opposing view.
Neighbors of the proposed subdivision; Dr. Ray Weiss, Mr. Ken Aultman, Ms. Judy Herrington and Ms. Cynthia Ramseur expressed their opposition.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Lloyd and unanimously carried to go into closed session to determine the necessity of going into executive session.
Deputy City Clerk Shelly Ferguson returned to the meeting and announced that a motion was made by Alderman Weaver, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to remain in executive session according to Section 25-41-7 of the Code because the Board may issue an appeal able order which could have detrimental effect of possible future litigation.
Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to come out of executive session and return to regular session.
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell and seconded by Alderman Gill that based on arguments and materials presented to the Board, the determination of whether or not the area of Spanish Pointe is a subdivision pursuant to Mississippi Law is better left to a court of competent jurisdiction rather than be adjudicated by the City. Furthermore, the issue regarding the rights of the tenants in common is recognized as undivided; however, a court of competent jurisdiction must resolve whether the additional paving is an unbearable burden on the cotenants. Therefore, until these issues are resolved, I move this issue be tabled. Motion carried with Aldermen Gill, Lloyd, McDonnell, Weaver and Denyer voting aye and Alderman Hagan voting nay.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Cynthia Ramseur, 256 Lovers Lane, complained that no public notice was given to the neighbors of the proposed Pilger Pointe Subdivision. The Community Development Director explained that public notice is not required for a compliant subdivision within R-1.
Ms. Jane Beaugez, 213 Halstead Road, voiced her disapproval of the termination of City Clerk Adrienne Howell.
Mr. Bruce Agnelly, 148 Linda Circle, requested that a special audit be conducted to account for all Hurricane Katrina donations.
Mr. Bill Lucuas, 203 Front Beach, asked the Community Development Director if the Tree Report on the agenda includes a tree in question near his property and was told that it does not.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda with the exception of items (a), (c), (i) and (aa) which were pulled by the Mayor, items (h), (m) and (n) which were pulled by Alderman Denyer, items (d) and (s) which were pulled by Alderman Lloyd and items (n) and (t) which were pulled by Alderman Hagan.
The Mayor pulled item (a) and explained that Ms. Mary Lou Hutto has resigned from the Museum Commission which may remain at 6 members. Motion was made by Alderman Weaver, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to appoint Ms. Sharon McQuilken and Dr. Pat Pinson to the Museum Board, terms expiring June 30, 2011 and accept the resignation of Ms. Mary Lou Hutto.
The Mayor pulled item (c) and explained that the payments owed to Hall’s Engraving are due to purchase orders not handled in a timely manner. Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize payments to Hall’s Engraving in the amount of $35.75 and $28.95 for plaques for the purpose of advertising the resources of the City.
Alderman Lloyd pulled item (d) to discuss setting the date for the special City election publicly. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to authorize setting the date of December 11, 2007 for the special City election for the referendum vote on the 2% sales tax on restaurants and lounges.
Alderman Denyer pulled item (h) and commended Carolyn Martin, Grants Administrator, for the fine work she has done. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Lloyd and unanimously carried to authorize Carolyn Martin, Grants Administrator, on full time status due to completion of probation period. Alderman Hagan abstained from the vote.
The Mayor pulled item (i) to make a clarification in the minutes of August 21, 2007. Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to correct the minutes of August 21, 2007 regarding the motion made to endorse Jackson County’s Hazardous Mitigation program which the Mayor vetoed.
Alderman Denyer pulled item (m) and expressed his regrets regarding the resignation of Pamela Cox, Purchasing Agent. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to accept the resignation of Pamela Cox, Purchasing Agent, effective September 15, 2007 and authorize beginning the process to fill the vacancy.
Alderman Hagan pulled item (n) to abstain from the vote. Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize placement of Kristen Holley, Administrative Assistant, and Ashley Bearfield, Water Clerk, on full time status due to completion of probation period. Alderman Hagan abstained from the vote.
Alderman Denyer pulled item (s) and the Fire Chief said this was an emergency purchase that was made because the radio system went down. Motion was made by Alderman Lloyd, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize payment to Southern Linc in the amount of $64.00 for Emergency Equipment.
Alderman Hagan pulled item (t) and said that Calvin Johnson’s name was included in the memorandum but left off the agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Gill, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize placement of Lionel Cothern, Jr. and Calvin Johnson on full time status due to completion of probation period. Alderman Hagan abstained from the vote.
The Mayor pulled item (aa) and explained that vinyl coated fencing will be installed at all of the parks. Motion was made by Alderman Hagan, seconded by Alderman McDonnell and unanimously carried to authorize advertising for bids for purchase and installation of vinyl coated fencing through the park system.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Mayor
Motion was made by Alderman Denyer, seconded by Alderman Hagan and unanimously carried to officially name Ms. Shelly Ferguson as a Deputy City Clerk and appoint her as Interim City Clerk (Exhibit 9-a).
Police
The Police Chief presented information regarding a possible Curfew Ordinance which the Mayor asked the Aldermen to review and said it will be discussed by the Public Safety Committee (Exhibit 9-b). Aldermen McDonnell asked that the City Judge, City Prosecutor, High School Principal and Middle School Principal be contacted about the matter.
Human Resources/Risk Manager
Motion was made by Alderman McDonnell, seconded by Alderman Gill and unanimously carried to accept the revision on policy to compensate employees for overtime pay during declared emergencies (Exhibit 9-c).
Public Works
The Public Works Director announced that an exit interview was done with FEMA and MEMA last week and the agencies ranked the performance of the City as a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.
Parks & Leisure Services
The Parks & Leisure Services Director gave a report on the 2007 OSPL Football Program (Exhibit 9-d).
City Attorney
Motion was made by Alderman Weaver and seconded by Alderman Denyer to adopt Ordinance No. 18-2007 AN ORDINANCE TO CLOSE AND VACATE A PORTION OF RUSKING AVENUE (Exhibit 9-e). The motion passed with a roll call vote as follows:
Alderman Weaver Voted Aye
Alderman Gill Voted Aye
Alderman McDonnell Voted Aye
Alderman Lloyd Voted Aye
Alderman Denyer Voted Aye
Alderman Dalgo
