City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. It's now 6 p.m. We'll call the July meeting of the Mayor and Council to order. If you will stand, we'll have our Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

If you'll remain standing, we'll have our invocation. Dear Lord, we thank you for the opportunity that we have to come here together. And Lord, we just ask that you be with us to make the sound decisions for our city and our community. And Lord, we ask that you be with those that we remembered during the last few weeks and the last few months, Lord, that have lost loved ones. And we ask that you would guide us and direct us in the way that we should go and in the decisions that we should make. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. okay uh do we have any citizens comments no okay all right so we have the minutes from our june 20 26 meetings do i have a motion to approve have a motion to have a second i have a motion a second to approve the minutes is there any corrections or additions Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, same sign. Hearing none, motion carries. Okay, our next item on the agenda is our mayor and council announcements, and Mr. Oglem, we'll start with you.

Hey, lucky me. Good evening, everyone. Good to see a crowd here, and it seems like it's been a long time since I've been here, but... If you got to go to the Carrollton 4th of July parade and the other festivities that our city put on over the 4th of July holiday, what a treat. And the parade where there was thousands of people. I want to thank everybody with the city, the police department, the marketing department, and parks and rec department that cleaned it all up. They did a great job. And the fireworks show was fantastic. Kudos to our city personnel. That's all.

I will echo Bob's sentiments on that. I enjoy riding in that parade every year, and it seems to get bigger. So thanks again to all the city employees and the volunteers. Brett?

I don't really have a whole lot tonight. My wife and I got a new puppy today for the first time in 16 years. So if y'all would pray for us, I'd appreciate it.

Good evening. I hate I missed the parade. I won't miss the next one next year. I heard a lot about it. I'm very proud of the city. We have been working in the ward to gain the visibility and where we need to go in the future. And we have a survey that you can take it, QR, or you could pencil and stub it. So we're trying to get this out throughout the ward just to let them know, give us some feedback on what we're doing. So we will try to share it with you. with the council sometime maybe in late September or something, but you know where we were.

Okay, all right. Well, I was not at there, but I was around there when y'all had the June 19th parade, and that was a good turnout for that, too. Yeah. And I understand that the water park is doing great as usual. We're still waiting in line to get into it. But, yes, I want to thank the Sertoma Club for always putting on the 4th of July parade. They do a great job, and they've done it for years, and we do appreciate it. It brings a lot of people into our city. And it's still, according to the newspaper, that's still one of the largest parades in the state of Georgia.

So that's pretty good, yeah.

So we're very excited about that. And it's always great to see the spirit and the camaraderie during this 4th of July event that's all the way through the city, whether it's the parade, the fireworks, the music. But it all comes together, and it makes a great day to be in our city. Other than that, I don't have a lot. And I will turn it over to Mr. Brooks for his comments.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. A couple things tonight, just to make everybody aware of. One, we're excited. Our public works department has Been doing two-day routes all the way back to 1973. So we, this week, are going to a three-day route schedule. And we're using our automated truck that doesn't require a full crew. That helps us in many ways. When we go a three-day schedule, it frees up one entire crew to handle any other issues that we might have, whether it be potholes or trees that have fallen or things that need to be cleared from the roadways and stuff. So very excited about that. We did door hangers and let the folks in the different subdivisions know, and we have to use this automated truck in subdivisions that don't have overhead power. So those are Farmington, Provincial Park, Morgan Landing, North Point Grand, Yellowstone, Stony Brook, and Morgan Townhomes. And so all of those will be now on the on the route with our automated truck. And I'm sure there'll be a few growing pains with that process as folks have to get their their bins out turned the right way. And but anyway, we're excited about that. Ricky Jacobs has done a great job implementing that schedule and going to that. And then we've also updated our website. sanitation and we've got an application on there for our helping hands program that would help seniors or disabled that are not able to get their cans up to the road if they fill out the application and it does require providing proof that you're unable to get your can up there have somebody that can get your can up there for you so we're excited about that and I just wanted to recognize ricky for the outstanding job he's doing over there and um just uh i'm excited we've made a change to go to three days you know since 1973 we've been doing all the routes in two days and it's getting to be uh getting to be a chore for us uh another thing i'd like to brief the council on and uh you know we've had several uh several sightings of coyotes in the uh uh in different subdivisions and city parks in town, Longview Park being the one where we've had a couple of sightings, and actually the coyotes were a little bit more, the coyote was a little bit more aggressive in Longview Park, which makes us feel like that there's probably a den back there in the woods, maybe protecting pups or things of that nature. So we've had several reports, and we have, we contacted DNR today, two weeks ago, Well, a week and a half ago, we hired professional trappers. A lot of the subdivisions don't have a HOA or a POA, so they don't have a means to vote and approve to pay, those types of things. So we do help some of those subdivisions out. We put traps out in Sunset Hills. We put some traps out in Heritage Hills. We've got three traps out at at Knox Park, so trying to be proactive. This is not something, I mean, Longview, I've said Knox two, three different times, Longview Park over on Longview Street. This is something that we've done. I've had to do probably three or four times in the past five years. This is the third time that we've put traps out at Sunset Hills, second time at Heritage Hills. So we've put them out over close to the city schools before. So it's not uncommon, and that's what DNR said when we talked to them today. I just said, can I get a few tips to put out And, uh, but basically they reiterated, this is normal behavior for urban wildlife. It's not unique, um, to the city of Carrollton. The lady actually said that they've, they have sightings in the city of Atlanta, numerous sightings. Um, but you know, some things that they, they said to do is, uh, you know, secure the trash. The easiest way to keep coyotes from your home is to eliminate their food source, bring pet food inside, do not leave dog or cat food bowls outside overnight. Um, Feral cats, they said if you're feeding feral cats, be aware that leftover food and the concentration of cats themselves act as a major coyote attraction. They also reiterated that trapping takes time. Because I asked, I said, we've been trapping for a week, and we've got these sightings, but we haven't gotten any. She said it could take three weeks to a month. She said it just takes time. Professional trappers are deployed in the area. She said if professional trappers are deployed in the area, just please be patient with them that it could take. several, several days, if not weeks, to safely remove coyotes. There's a flyer that DNR has. Again, it says, do not feed or approach the coyotes. Secure food attractants. Haze or scare coyotes out of your yard. Coyotes are naturally wary of people. Consistent hazing helps keep the fear intact. She did say that We are now cohabitating humans, people, and coyotes, urban, suburban, rural, city. We're cohabitating. There's going to be conflict. You're going to have conflict with coyotes, but as long as you don't run from them or run towards them, just do things to scare them. Be very aware when you're walking outside at dawn or dusk and Monitor pets when they're outdoors, even if in a fenced-in yard. Carry an air horn and noise maker when walking pets outside. So we're going to put out on our social media page a little insert, a little post about living with coyotes as the DNR said, I got you each of y'all one of these, as they put out on their website. And so, you know, we called DNR today just to see what else we could do. They confirmed that we're doing everything that we could and should be doing in terms of having the professional trappers out there. And then we're also going to put out that post and have a link to this flyer. So I just wanted to update you guys on that and anybody else that might be listening or watching or hopefully will be on the radio in the morning as well.

So thank you.

Oh, and I did hear, unfortunately or fortunately, however way you want to look at it. I'm out of town every year, the week of the fourth. That's when we've done our family vacation for the past 35 years. But, um, every now and then I'll get a text message that says the, you know, the, uh, Fireworks show was really good or whatever. I always get a text message if they're delayed in any form. What time are y'all shooting the fireworks off? But I can't tell you how many text messages I got. So that fireworks show must have been really, really off the chain this year because I got numerous messages about what a great show it was. So, again, thanks for everybody that was involved in making that happen.

We'll have to stay home and see it one year.

One year. One year.

One other thing, we just attended the Georgia Municipal Association Conference. And for those of you who don't know, we have our own youth council. This is made up of students from the high school, Carrollton City School, And they come in and meet with us, and then they visit and find out all there is about city government, whether it's in the police department, the municipal court, the wastewater treatment plant, and they all still talk about having to go to that. And they do projects. And we had a young lady that started last year, two years ago now, One of her goals was to do a teen court, a peer court for high schoolers. So what is Maya's last name? Yeah, Myra Dopley was chosen to come. She and our sponsor, who is with our rec department, Tara Lugan, they were asked to come to GMA this year, and we're talking several thousand people from all the cities in Georgia. So they were highlighted there and was actually presented to all the other possible youth councils or cities that wanted to go and learn about them. So I'm very proud of our youth council. They've done an outstanding job. And these young people, they've learned a lot. I've had one parent tell me it was the best learning experience they'd ever had. So we're very proud of our young people and the ideas that they bring. And they've given us some really good ideas. Sometimes it's nice to have a different perspective from young people as to what we need in our city. So I just want to say thank you to the Youth Council and to the parents that help us, you know, in supporting these children or young people. I won't say children. They're not children, I guess, anymore. But so anyway, I just wanted to reiterate the fact that our Youth Council was actually recognized this year at the Georgia Municipal Association Convention. Okay. Do I have a motion to approve the agenda items for consideration? So moved. I have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. I have a motion and a second. to approve the items for consideration on the agenda okay the first item we have oh i'm sorry you need to vote you need to vote okay all those in favor say aye aye all those opposed same sign hearing none motion carries okay our first item on the agenda is the carroll county hazard mitigation plan mr brooks thank you madam mayor this is something that we do periodically with the

The county approved the resolution of the mitigation plan. They sent it over. I sent it to Ms. Griffiths. She went through it and made some corrections in a few minor spelling errors and some grammatical errors. eras but the substance of it was fine and it's what we've always done so we just ask that you approve that resolution tonight knowing that both myself and miss Griffiths have reviewed it okay so do I have a motion to approve the Carroll County hazard mitigation plan with the Corrections as iterated by our city attorney

Okay, I have a motion, do I have a second?

Second.

I have a motion and a second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Hearing none, motion carries, thank you. Okay, the next item on our agenda is a rezoning request for 305 Mandeville Avenue, but before we do the rezoning request, I have some stuff I need to read to you. at this time we will hear rezoning requests since many of you may not have previously attended a public hearing on a zoning request i want to quickly review our procedures one no person in attendance shall speak unless formally recognized upon rising to speak each person recognized shall state their name and home address speakers must not employ tactics of intimidation profanity or threats of violence in their comments All comments shall be directed to the mayor and council, not to the petitioner or those in opposition. In accordance with Georgia law, each side, not each individual, is allowed a total of 10 minutes of public input. This means that all those speaking in favor of the request have a total of 10 minutes, and all those speaking in opposition of the request have a total of 10 minutes. Time devoted to questions and answers that the elected officials may ask should not be counted against any time limitation. Since we do have limited time, please try to avoid restating what another may have already stated. The applicant shall be allowed to speak first in order to present their application. Others may then speak indicating first their support or Opposition to the application. The applicant will then be allowed time for rebuttal. Rebuttal must be limited to points or issue raised by opponents to the application at the hearing. Okay. All right, Ms. Connolly?

Yes. The first zoning item on your agenda this evening is a rezoning request at 305 Mandeville Avenue. And the request is to rezone a .28 acre tract from RM, which is residential multifamily, to C3, which is neighborhood commercial. The applicant is requesting a rezoning request. to C3 in order to construct a neighborhood grocery store. The Planning Commission did review this request at their June Planning Commission meeting, and they did vote 8-0 to approve it with conditions. Since that time, I know we had our work session in late June, and I do want to present a set of revised conditions to you tonight. that include both the first two, which are the Planning Commission conditions, and then the two additional that we discussed at our work session. I'm going to go over those briefly, and they're also on the screen. Number one, any construction must adhere to the design standards set forth in Article 4 of the Unified Development Ordinance, including off-street parking, curb cuts, and dumpster enclosure locations. Number two, the owner and developer is responsible for the installation of the water and sewer infrastructure. Number three, the sale of drugs not approved by the FDA excluding tobacco products shall be prohibited. And then number four, the sale of alcohol either for consumption on premises or retail package shall also be prohibited. If you have any questions, I do believe the applicant is here or the applicant's representative.

Okay. Does anyone want to speak to this matter?

Good afternoon. I'm the applicant. My name is Diana Perez, and my address is 70 River Valley Drive here in Carrollton. And my zip code is 30117. I wanted to just talk a little bit further about what the reason why we're trying to rezone, other than it being a small grocery, well, a grocery store, family-owned grocery store. ALSO, WE HAVE A GROCERY STORE RIGHT NEXT TO IT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S JUST NOT MEETING THE CONDITIONS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THERE, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE IT TO THE ADDRESS OF 305 MANDAVILLE AVENUE. THE REASON IS BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY IS ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THIS LOCATION. WE'VE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR YEARS, AND IT'S A It's a family-owned location. It's a location where it's a business, where we're well-known in the community, especially in that part of the community, which there's a lot of foot traffic. A lot of people get there walking, by bikes. The community is pretty close. Everyone knows each other by name. And it's a familiar face also that's there. It also offers products for the diversity that's in the community. Because going to a Walmart or to a food depot may not necessarily offer certain products that the community looks for, which is the reason why I feel like we are essential there. It's in a neighborhood where they have from an ice cream shop to a laundromat to a Dollar General to a car washing station. it's very local and i feel like it it offers a lot for the community the community that's something that the community can benefit from and also is there any other questions that you guys would like to ask me personally does anybody have any questions no ma'am okay thank you thank you so much okay i'd like to make a motion to wait just a minute okay yeah yeah is anybody here in opposition

Okay, hearing none, now you may make your motion.

I would like to make a motion to approve the rezoning of 305, oh, sorry. I'd like to make a motion to approve the rezoning of 305 Mandible Adam to include the four conditions that Ms. Connerly read.

Okay, I have a motion. Do I have a second? I'm sorry, is that rezoning it from RM to C3?

Yes, rezoning from RM to C3. Okay.

Mr. Aglum, do you amend your second to include that in the motion?

Yes.

Thank you.

Okay. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, same sign.

Hearing none, motion carries.

Okay. All right. The next item on the agenda is a special use permit request.

Yes, the final zoning item for this hearing is a special use request to increase density in the C2, which is the general commercial zoning district at 109 and 111 South Park Street. The applicant is also requesting a waiver to reduce side setbacks as part of this request from 15 feet to 5 feet. You guys, the Planning Commission has reviewed this request in June. They did make a motion to deny the request in June. You guys have since reviewed this at your June mayor and council work session. At this time, we are still continuing to work with the applicant. And we would like to continue to work with the applicant to get the best product on the ground at that site, if possible. And so at this time, our staff is requesting a postponement. The applicant is here if you have any questions. But we are asking for a postponement until the August meeting.

OK. All right. Do I have a motion to table this item until the August meeting?

So moved.

I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second.

All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Same sign. Hearing none. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Same sign. Hearing none. Motion carries. We'll get with it, I promise. Next item on the agenda is to adjourn. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

So moved.

Do I have a second? Second. All right, I have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, same sign. Hearing none, motion passed.