Mayor and Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our first city council meeting for the month of March. Happy March to everyone. Our meeting will first start with an opening prayer to be led by Pastor Matt Walls from Southside Baptist Church and the pledge of allegiance will be led by Miss Anna Millard from Northside High School. She's also an intern with Keith Warner Robbins. Oh, sorry. Uh, she's also an intern with the, uh, communications department for the city of Warner Robbins through the PI program. All right, if everyone will please stand so that Pastor Walls can start us off in prayer.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, first of all, thank you for allowing us to live in the great city of Warner Robbins. Uh, I know I've lived here since 1987 and what a blessing it is to be around such amazing people. Thank you for the mayor and the city council and all that they do to just make our city a great place to live. We pray that you would be with the goings on of this meeting. Uh, again, we just pray that you give the council members and the mayor wisdom as they make decisions on behalf of the citizens of Warner Robbins. Thank you for your blessings upon this place, upon uh this area. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

Amen. 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. Thank you. You may be seated. Thank you, Pastor Walls. and also our intern Miss Anna Millard for starting us off today. We will now take a picture with both with each of you. If one of you will come stand here and council will come join you.

Notice I didn't see Yes. Please very

going back. All right, I officially call today's meeting to order. I will now request an adoption of the agenda with the following edits. revising to add a proclamation for National Reading Month as item number two of the proclamations list. And also a motion well with the revision of moving executive session for personnel right after item number three on our agenda. Mayor, I move to adopt the agenda with the addition of item number two, proclamation of National Reading Month, and also to move um the executive session till after number three.

I'll second that, mayor. Motion by Councilman Lawren, seconded by Councilman Bib. All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I motion carries unanimously. Hey, mayor. Um, I got the consent agenda today and uh I wasn't here last week and the minutes are in there. How do you guys want to handle that? Because I'm going to have to abstain from the minutes. Madame city attorney, could could you clarify um under under our code and charter, does he have to um abstain from voting on the minutes because of his absence?

No, that's what Okay.

Okay. All right. So, now we've made it to proclamations, awards, and presentations. We do have five proclamations for this month, but this is a very busy month in celebrating different groups and organizations. So, if you all would please just bear with us through the reading of these proclamations. There are individuals here to accept the proclamations and this is very important to them. So, it's important to us. We will start with a proclamation for Girl Scouts Day. Everyone who is here to accept this proclamation, if you would please come forward. While I read the proclamation to you, I will then present it to you and we'll take a photo. And for all others here for their particular proclamation, when I announce your proclamation, I ask that you follow suit with these young leaders coming up right now. stand here in the front so that I can read it, present it to you as a group, and take a photo. And we'll keep moving in that order. Thank you. All right. Thank you all for being here today uh as we read the proclamation in your honor. This proclamation is for Girl Scouts Day dated March the 12th, 2026. Whereas March 12th, 2026 marks the 114th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the United States of America, the largest and most impactful leadership program for for girls in the world. And whereas the Girl Scouts movement began on March the 12th, 1912,

when Juliet Daisy Gordon Lowe, a native of Savannah, Georgia, organized a group of 18 girls and provided them with the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. And whereas for over a century, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America has advanced its mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. And whereas today, more than 50 million women, trailblazers, visionaries, and leaders are Girl Scouts alums who have made the world a better place. And whereas since its beginnings, the Girl Scouts has emphasized public service and civic engagement, fostering a sense of community in girls. And whereas during a time when girls are experiencing increased levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, and and depression, Girl Scouts continues to provide community, consistency, and connection for girls across the world and is a safe haven in all the uncertainty. And now therefore, be it proclaimed by myself on behalf of council and the citizens of our great city. Do hereby proclaim the day of March 12th, 2026 as Girl Scouts Day in the city of Warner Robbins. We applaud the Girl Scouts movement and the Girl Scouts of historic Georgia for providing girls with a secure, inclusive, all girls space where they can hone their skills and develop leadership abilities. I encourage our community to celebrate with our Girl Scouts for their achievements, motivation, and commitment to public service. So, let's give it up for our Girl Scouts troop who's here

visiting us today in celebration of Girl Scouts Day. All those steps right here. I can't see you. two.

Congratulations.

And we brought y'all And it's the new one. So if you don't like it, don't tell us. Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. All right. So, the individuals the the the troops that were here was a collaboration of four different local troops. And I wanted to make sure that you all knew that. Uh, and they did receive a official patch for the city of Wner Robbins government. So, it's always exciting to get patches. I used to be a brownie and I and I like to get in patches when I was a brownie, too. All right. Next up is a proclamation for National Reading Month. Anyone here to accept this, please come forward. We do have United Way Read United here. So, let's give them an applause as they walk forward, walk up. I want to thank each of you for being here with us today and for all you do in our community. All right. National Reading Month is March of 2026. Whereas National Reading Month, celebrating each year during March, serves as a nationwide initiative to encourage children, teens, and adults to

embrace the joy and importance of reading. And whereas this month-long observance builds upon the momentum of National ReadAcross America Day, created by the National Education Association in 1998 to foster a lifelong love of reading and promote literacy across all communities. And whereas throughout March, schools, libraries, families, and community organizations unite to host readalouds, literacy events, book drives, and activities that highlight reading as an essential skill and a source of inspiration, imagination, and opportunity. And whereas the city of Warner Robbins, Georgia recognizes that strong literacy skills are vital to educational success, workforce readiness, and the overall well-being of our citizens. And whereas the Read United program led by United Way of Central Georgia together with Hston County School District, Parkwood Elementary School, and Miller Elementary Schools. Thanks to the city of Wana Robbins government funding that initiative works in partnership with the city of Wner Robbins to promote early literacy, strengthen reading proficiency and ensure that every child has an access to books, mentors, and resources needed to cultivate a lifelong love of learning. And now therefore, be it proclaimed by myself on behalf of city council and the citizens of our city, do hereby proclaim the month of March 2026 officially as National Reading Month. We encourage all residents to celebrate the power of reading, participate in literacy focused events, and support efforts such as Read United that strengthen literacy and expand opportunity throughout our

community. So, let's give a great round of applause for National Reading Month. And before I present this proclamation to this group of individuals who are inspiration to all of our children here, I do want to tell you that as of last year, Hston County has received two schools that I mentioned, Miller and Parkwood, with the Reed United program. Uh we were not on the list before, but now we are. And that came from a ARPA grant the city uh granted council and I we all touched and agreed we are huge advocates for literacy and the love of learning. So I wanted to make sure I express that uh they are in need of more and more volunteers. So if you love to reach a children please see someone in the red before they leave. This is essential and sign up to volunteer and help these children in our schools learn to read more efficiently uh for their grade level. So, thank you again for being here. Thanks for all that you all do inside of our community, not just with Reed United, but also for everything that United Way does. Um, reaching the city limits of Warner Robbins. So, council, if you this is our this is this happened. Well, the Reed United Warner Robbins is because of us. So, if you guys want to come and get a picture, too, make sure you come. But these are the ones that make it happen for us every single week. Thank you. Nice.

Executive session. Appreciate it. What are the This way. Three, two, one. Okay. Okay. Now, next up is a proclamation for government finance professionals week. Anyone here to receive this, please come forward.

All right. So this is government finance professionals week March 16 through 20th 2026. Whereas government finance professionals perform essential services that ensure the effective, transparent and responsible management of public funds for the benefit of residents throughout the state of Georgia. And whereas government finance professionals serve their communities through their expertise in budgeting, accounting, treasury management, procurement, debt administration, auditing, fiscal reporting, and long range financial planning, thereby supporting the lawful and efficient operation of state, county, and municipal governments. And whereas these dedicated professionals uphold the highest standards of ethics, integrity, accuracy, and accountability, fostering public trust, and safeguarding the fiscal health of local government institutions. And whereas the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association represents finance professionals statewide and advances excellence in government financial management through education, training, and leadership development. And whereas GFOA and its member jurisdictions have established and sponsored Government Finance Professionals Week to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of public finance professionals and to increase awareness of the vital financial services they provide that benefit all Georgians. And whereas it is fitting and proper to recognize, honor, and express appreciation for the dedication, professionalism, and public service of government finance professionals who expertise, supports the fiscal stability and long-term success of Georgia's local governments. And now therefore, be it proclaimed by myself on behalf of council and the citizens of our great city, do hereby proclaim the week of

March the 16th through March the 20th, 2026 officially as Government Finance Professionals Week. I encourage all residents, elected officials, and community organizations to join in recognizing and expressing appreciation for the dedicated government finance professionals across our community and the state of Georgia. So, let's give a great round of applause for government finance professionals week. So, standing up in front of us, we do have our director, Dr. Hall, and we also have our assistant director, uh, Miss Lydia Humphre. So, give a round of applause for them as well. It's okay. It's all right. All right. Now, we have a proclamation for National Colarctal Cancer Awareness Month. Anyone here to accept this proclamation, please come forward. I will state as they're coming forward that this proclamation is dedicated to four individuals who are here with us today. One is Mr. Craig

Woodyard. He is the director of our storm water department for the city of Warner Robbins. We have Hope Hope McDuffy and Miss Pansy Thomas and Miss Danielle Ray. So, thank all of you for being here today. Did I get everybody's name? Yes, I did. Okay. So, I'm now going to read this proclamation for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month for March 2026. Each individual standing up here does have their own proclamation dedicated to them as well. Whereas colurectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer for both men and women. And whereas it is estimated that in 2026 over 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with this highly preventable disease. And whereas screening is the most effective way to prevent colurectal cancer or to find it early when it is most treatable. Yet many adults are not up to date with their screenings. And whereas the American Cancer Society and other leading health organizations recommend that individuals at average risk begin regular colurectal cancer screenings at the age of 45. And whereas observing colurectal cancer awareness month through March provides a vital opportunity to educate our community about risk factors, the importance of early detection and the life-saving potential of screening. And whereas dressed in blue day, I'm wearing my blue dress in blue day will be observed on Friday, March the 6th. I'll say that again. dress in blue day. This shade of blue, right? This this royal blue, north side eagle blue

original will be observed on Friday, March the 6, this is this Friday to bring attention to the disease and honor those affected by it. And now therefore, be it proclaimed by myself, on behalf of council and the citizens of our great city, do hereby proclaim the month of March 2026 as colarctal cancer awareness month in the city of Warner Robbins. I encourage all citizens, businesses, and organizations to go blue and join in activities that increase awareness and prevention of this disease. So let's give a great round of applause for colarctal national colorctal cancer awareness month. Thank you, Mayor Patrick Council, uh for giving me the opportunity to speak this evening. Uh first of all, I'd like to thank the two ladies here. Um Danielle Ray is a registered nurse with Emery Hospital and she's continued to support us with uh the city's colctal cancer awareness program. Also, Miss Pansy Thomas is uh been a resident of the city of Warner Robins for over 80 years now. And with that being said, also in 2011 she was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, underwent surgery in 2012, and I'm proud to say she's been uh cancer free now for 14 years. We did have one individual, Hope McDuffy, who is a service writer for our public works department. She was unable to be here this evening. Unfortunately, um she's had a uh diagnosis against with colon cancer. She's gone through some surgeries and uh she wasn't able to make

it this evening, but prayers with her and um she's uh still reaches out and was upset she couldn't be here this evening, but uh I know that um she's going to beat this and uh be a cancer survivor as well. I myself am now a three-time cancer survivor of colurectal cancer. Um it uh came back in my kidney and then in my right upper lung. And uh but we're going strong. I go next month. Uh we're hoping to go two times in a row for clean good results. So we're working on that as we speak here. Um as Mayor Patrick said, um 158,850 people will be diagnosed in 2026. And as I was doing my research on this this uh for this year, something that really jumped out at me because we always think of this as being an old person's disease and it's not. Uh incidences among Americans ages 20 to 39 is projected to increase by 90% by 2030. Not too far away, but 90%. And so I encourage everybody 45 or older to speak to your doctor about getting screened. And as the mayor said, wear blue on Friday. Um, we'll go with North Side Blue. That's okay. Um, I'm not from here, so it's all good. Um, and uh, plus the mayor is, and uh, so I definitely want to support her in that as well. But also, uh, thank you again, council, mayor, uh, Mr. Drinker for all of your support as I've gone through my journey and always being there for me to talk to and support me in my times that I've needed off. So, thank you very much.

one. All right. Now, we've made it to our final proclamation. Thank you all so much for your uh patience with us. The final proclamation for today will be one for Warner Robbins Founders Week. Anyone who is here to accept this proclamation, please come forward. And I do believe this is some of the members. These are some of the members from the Warner Robbins Heritage Society. I may not have said the organization's true name. Oh, I got the thumbs up. I got it right. The Wner Robbins Heritage Society. Let's give a great round of applause for them as they come forward. All right. So for Warner Robbins Founders Week, honoring the history of the city of Warner Robbins, March the 7th through the 14th, 2026. Whereas in 1941, at the behest of Congress, a small whistle stop town named Welston was chosen as a future site of the War Department's newest Army Air Corps depot. And whereas numerous residents, including members of the Fagan family and the depot's chosen location, banded together to donate land once a part of

the Fagan plantation as a site where as a site which became Robins's airfield. And whereas on March the 5th, 1943, the town of Wilston was incorporated as a town of as the town of Warner Robbins, named after General Augustine Warner Robbins, mentor to the Robins Airfield's first commander, who is Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Thomas. And whereas during World War II, Robins Airfield served as an aircraft maintenance depot, drawing in workers from all o all different backgrounds to populate Warner Robbins, forever changing the face of the town. And whereas in 2011, the Warner Robbins Heritage Society was created with the goal of being a bridge to the future by honoring the city's past by connecting residents to their history through through through preservation, events, and education. And now therefore, be it proclaimed by myself on behalf of city council and the city citizens of our great city, do hereby proclaim the week of March the 7th through March the 14th, 2026 as Warner Robbins Founders Week. I encourage all citizens to join in celebrating the many accomplishments of both its past and present residents and recognizing the people and places that built the city of Warner Robbins. So, let's give a great round of applause for Wner Robbins Founders Week and the individuals that make it happen. Anybody supposed to speak?

Thank you, Mayor and Council. This is a group of people here that have a just a real eagerness to We've stayed here in Winter Robbins. We chose to stay here. There's a lot of history. There's a lot of people right here that have lived here a long time. There's a lot of history right here in this group. And we love doing the history of Winter Robbins, finding out new things. And because our birthday is March the 5th here in Winter Robbins, Mayor, we'd like to give you a little birthday present from the from the Heritage Society. Oh, is it a cool shirt you're wearing? Yes. I like

Yes. And we will be having um a lots of events this within the next week including a USO style dance which will be Saturday the 14 13th. Thank you. Uh we do have maps in the back of Winter Robbins when it was just a mere infancy of it was just really tiny town and some of us were here back when it was that tiny and it's uh we encourage all to stay and look at the maps and take part of all the the things that we have in town to celebrate 83 years of Warner Robbins. Bunch of us have seen this town grow and we like it and we appreciate the mayor and the council and everything that y'all do for this town to keep it the way it is and we appreciate it very much. Thank you.

Thank you. This Ready? Three, two, one. Congratulations All right. The W robins Heritage Society wants to remind you that there are some really cool maps um at the back beyond the stairs where the uh portraits of all the past mayors are located. And I think they have some cupcakes, too. So, that's a really cool treat. Um, you know, we're going into executive session today, so you can go right on back there, see the history of our city, and then you can

wait for us to come back whenever that motion is called. So, thank you. All right. So, we are back. Now, we have our work session items who will be uh led by Mr. James Drinkard, our COO and city administrator. Mr. Drinker.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, we have a few items on tonight's uh work session. uh one of which uh the the tag grant will actually be incorporated into uh the discussion of the rest of the agenda. Um but I do want to run through those. The first thing that I want to do is uh as has kind of become a tradition is to address the land use item on tonight's agenda. So I'm going to ask Darren Curtis to to start making his way up. In the meantime, uh, city attorney Mai, if you would not mind, uh, going ahead and speaking to the public hearing item, which corresponds to item five as well on tonight's agenda.

The city has received an application for a permit to be issued by the governing authority of the city of Warner Robbins for the relocation of a burial ground, the McCoy Matthews Ry burial ground, which is currently located. Yeah, there you go. The city has received, can you hear me?

Okay. The city has received an application for a permit to be issued for the relocation of the McCoy Matthews Riyles burial ground, which is currently located on South House and Lake Road. With that uh burial ground being moved to Magnolia Park Cemetery, if the permit is approved and issued, there are some statutory factors and the city has received all required statutory information, which are five items. proof of ownership of the land in question. Archaeology archaeological report uh conducted by a Steven a hammock which identifies the graves to be relocated. A survey plat showing the area on which the burial ground currently is located. a genealogical plan which also identify descendants in next of kin to be properly notified both by the attorneys who will present to you on behalf of the owners of that current burial ground and the city as well via notice in our legal organ which is the house and home journal as well as a mitigation plan. You'll have an opportunity tonight to hear from Mr. Robert Tuckle and Miss Mary Grace McCoy who are representing uh the Annie C. Rouse Trust and the trustees of that entity which are John S. Rile, Michael Hail, Rape and Sandra R. Strickland uh and answer any questions that you may have. After if after hearing that information you are satisfied uh then you will make a vote a motion to approve uh the permit and to have it issued and to adopt the mitigation plan as presented unless you have any changes. I will say that was prepared by an expert in the field and you could absent any questions you may have rely upon that information. Uh we will be required to conduct a public hearing uh consistent with the statute which governs this issue. uh in that we will adjourn from our regular meeting. We will enter into a public hearing in which anyone who wishes to be heard on the matter and the issuance of the

permit may address and speak to you gentlemen and madame mayor. Um after that you will close out the public hearing and then we will return to our regular meeting and you will see that item five will be the motion if you so choose to make it on the issuance of that permit. I will add as a final matter, should you choose to issue it, we must follow it up with a written letter within 30 days, which will basically be the authority to issue the permit and allow the relocation to take place. Council members, if there are no questions with respect to the process and procedure, uh any questions relative to the subject itself, I would recommend we hold until the public hearing.

Okay, very good. With that, I'll ask Mr. Curtis to address the land use item on tonight's agenda. So, the uh request to reszone the property located along Gun Road. Uh it is directly adjacent to the north of 6040 Watson Boulevard, which is the Assembly Church. Um the the thing to note about this is that um uh this was uh some years ago the the property was reszoned from R1 to R4 uh in in anticipation of a sale uh for a housing development that uh that sale never took place. Uh the church has retained ownership uh through the years and now wishes uh to to rejoin this property with the main uh church campus property. And so in order to do that, it has to be reszoned uh in order to share the same zoning uh so that a a plaque can be signed by my office. So uh we we recommend approval of this request. Uh happy to answer questions. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Darren. Um, okay. With that, we will proceed through the other items on the agenda. Um, beginning with uh our consent agenda. Um, so we have a few items on there, the uh minutes from February 17th. We have a renewal of our uh Kerasoft e-plan software. This is uh a $65,248.92 item. Uh the e-plan software is what is used by several of our departments for uh submission of development plans from uh the private sector review of those plans and communication between the city uh and uh and the developers. Uh so that is a renewal. We've been using that software for a few years now uh quite effectively. We have uh employee promotions including 11 employees, two from our utilities department and nine in our fire department. Now I want to take a second and address employee promotions because to me the word is a little bit of a misnomer. Um the way we go about this, it is a competitive process. So uh we go through an open call for applicants uh and uh and a interview process etc. So these are this is a competitive process. It's not just it's not what I would consider a traditional uh promotion, but under our policies, if an employee is advancing from one position to a higher position in the organization, uh by our policies, it's called a promotion, which is why they are presented to you. Um we have uh another software renewal. This is for fifth asset, which is also called debt book. It's $45,000. This software is used for debt management, accounting, lease management and generated um generation of related

audit ready reports by our finance department. Again, this is a renewal of uh software that we have been using uh for a number of years. We have an amendment to the natural gas services contract with Robins Air Force Base. This is actually a very simple uh change. It does not change any aspect of the agreement. However, each year uh the federal government changes the tracking numbers for all of its uh outside contracts. So, this uh is acknowledging the new tracking number. That's all it does. Um then we have a number of purchasing items. The first is Real Turf Solutions. That's $58,853.75. That is funded through our TAG grant. I'm going to come back to that uh when we get to the other side of all of the purchasing items. Um this is dealing with uh some plantings along Russell Parkway. We're basically uh taking down a dilapidated fence uh that's owned by the city and replacing that with tree plantings to replace that barrier. Um but we'll discuss that in a little more detail momentarily. Um, then we have Dana Safety Supply $18,25563. It's for upfitting of a police department Ford Explorer. That is currently an unmarked vehicle. Uh, unfortunately, we've had some folks who seem to like to hit our our police vehicles uh causing some damage. So, we have to uh to take one of those unmarked cars. We're going to put that into uh service as a marked vehicle uh at this point. Um so typically if we purchase and upfit uh an explorer for police use it cost us about 74,000. So this is quite a significant savings and uh Chief Fischer feels uh this is the best path forward. Then we have uh just foyer. This is a $12,6820

uh add-on to existing uh uh software licensing. Just FOYA is the system used by our city clerk uh as well as by our police records unit and other parts of the city uh in responding to managing uh and facilitating open records requests. Uh this particular add-on will allow for uh the required redactions uh to be made from certain documents. It could be personal information uh PPE things like that. Um no personal personal health data and stuff like that um from uh from records um within the software. So it's a more efficient effective process. Um so that is all of our purchasing items under new business. Uh we have the application that Miss Mai spoke to a moment ago uh with respect to relocation of a cemetery, the reasonzoning that Mr. Curtis just spoke about with respect to the assembly at Warner Robbins. We have a joint consent agreement. This is an application from Midstate Energy Commission. Mid-state Energy is a joint natural gas operation between the city of Warner Robbins, city of Perry, and Atlantic Gas Light. Uh recently uh in January, uh the safety plan relative to natural gas uh lines operated by Midstate Energy uh was uh submitted to the state. This consent agreement simply acknowledges uh that safety plan and commits to following that safety plan. Um we have a classification plan update. Uh this relates to uh positions within our utility department. Um and addressing improved efficiencies identified by our director of utilities, Monty Walters. Um

it does not result in the increase in the number of approved positions within within the department but it deactivates uh four positions. Compliance training officer, pollution control coordinator, pollution control technician and utility locates crew leader. Creates two new positions, an assistant utility maintenance supervisor for water and assistant utility maintenance supervisor for sewer. and then increases the strength of two existing positions uh utility maintenance crew leader and heavy equipment operator. Again, this is to address some efficiencies with respect to how we handle compliance, training, pollution control. It wraps those into uh those new uh maintenance supervisor positions. um but more importantly gives us uh some specific uh boots on the ground with respect to the utility maintenance and uh equipment operations. Finally, we have uh a requested change to our veterans issues board. Veterans issues board is an advisory group uh on on imagine that veterans issues. Um when that board was originally constituted, it was constituted with membership of 18. uh they have a hard time uh achieving a quorum with 18 members and we have a hard time uh keeping uh enough appointments to fuel that board. So uh the members of the veterans issues board have requested uh that the membership of that body be reduced from 18 to nine. So that is that other item. So with that I'm going to come back to the tag grant and ask Miss Tiffany Bowen uh with keep Warner Robbins beautiful. She's the coordinator of the TAG grant uh to come forward. Councilman,

I had a question before you moved on to that next item with this veterans board. Since you had 18 and you're reducing it to nine, who gets to choose who stays and who leaves? So, uh actually, there are nine members. So, we're uh we're okay. We don't have 18 uh at this time. So, nobody has to be asked to leave. Tiffany,

good evening everybody. So, um, on your agenda, there is an item for $58,000. Um, and that constitutes 60 trees being planted along Russell Boulevard, uh, Russell Parkway, excuse me, in Co Coleman Boulevard. Um, whereas Mr. Drinker said, there is currently a dilapidated fence. Um, it is a chain link fence. Um 30 of those trees will be our new city tree, the tulip popppler, and 30 will be um a golden uh ginko.

Uh yes, it is a male only cultivar, so we don't have to worry about in 20 years it producing the uh smelly uh fruit. Um so no mess from that. Um and then no single species, so no monoculture there. Um but it will create a uh beautifification area. um where currently there's none. Um it will also create uh shade where again currently there's none. There is just a chain link fence. Um and for those of you who are familiar with Russell Parkway, um that stretch in particular um is just roadway that creates an area where people can just fly by and not really realize what speed limit they're doing in an area that's not made to be 60 mph. So those trees as they grow will visually shrink the corridor without actually shrinking the corridor. And studies have shown that as trees do that that um allows motorists to think, hey, I should slow down a little bit and do the actual speed limit, thus reducing another safety hazard there as well. Um, so nothing but benefits for these trees and it is 100% um tag. So trees across Georgia grant funded. So the city doesn't come out of pocket anything at all for this. It is funded by the Georgia Forestry Commission through the United States Forestry Service uh grant.

Mr. Drinker, I just want to thank you for hearing my cries on that fence and jumping on that and taking care of it. and not only taking care of that chain link fence, but going another step above and organizing other people in involved in this and actually beautifying that area down here so it turns away from an eyesore to looking something beautiful. Want to thank you so much for doing that. Yes, sir. I' I'd like to uh if I could point out Craig Clifton. I know he's floating around in the back somewhere. There he is. Come on out where people can see you, Craig. Craig is our public works director. the idea of going with a tree planting in that area was actually his. Uh so I do want to call him out for that.

I do. Uh Craig, thank you for taking my phone calls on that, listening to me and making sure that happens. It gets done. I really appreciate it a lot, Craig, and all the work that you put into it. You very elevated instead of just tearing down the fence, you took it to a whole another level, my brother. Appreciate it.

Yep. And that is that is common of Craig and and actually uh all of our directors finding ways to take a a relatively simple AC request and find a way to elevate um and take it take it up a notch. Uh speaking of some of our other directors at this point I'm going to ask uh Preston Pooer, our director of recreation, parks, and cultural services to come forward. He's going to lead the next two items of discussion on tonight's agenda. The first uh deals with our lifeguard program for 2026 and then he's also going to discuss uh concessions for our recreation facilities. Preston. Hi.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. We uh have been in the midst of a lifeguard shortage nationwide for over a decade. Um, I've been kind of fighting this battle for several cities along the way. Um, the the key is we have to pay them. Um, there is a lot of competition in this area for lifeguards. We have ruggies, we have the natiatorum. We're currently paying our lifeguards $15 an hour. Last summer, we did not have enough lifeguards to stay open. So, my proposal for this year going into the budget year, but um is to raise the pay for lifeguards to $15 from $15 an hour to $20 an hour. One um strategy that I've used in a previous city was to also have a retention bonus. Um in that previous city, we had a hard time. We had two pools and we couldn't keep both of them open. We had to alternate. Once we um raised the pay and offered the retention bonus, we were fine. We were let we kept p two pools open for the whole summer. We'd like to uh kind of enhance. I don't like staying status quo in our in anything we do. I want to keep moving forward. And to do that, the goal this year is to keep the um keep that facility at Fountain Park open from basically Memorial Day to Labor Day. And if we have enough lifeguards, I'd like to keep it open on Saturdays through the month of August, which would be a little bit something we've done differently. So, um basically our lifeguards are our first first responders. They are the first on scene because they

are there. Um, speaking from experience. Um, our dispatch time to get firefighters on scene in most cities is around four minutes and that's the same thing we have here. Um, station 3 would be the responding um, station. It's about four minutes. And I can assure you that four minutes is a lifetime for a 16-year-old kid handling that situation. This year we will be training handic with the firefighter EMTs at station three on three separate occasions. There's three shifts at that station. So we'll be doing three training days. So all of those shifts will uh get to know our lifeguards and our lifeguards will get to know everybody on that shift. Hopefully when the season starts we will never see the fire department there. Um, lifeguards are trained to make sure that there's nothing water related that happens. If they're doing their job, there's not a problem in the uh aquatic section of this. Um, however, we've had medicals. I unfortunately in college I was one of the first to get to a cardiac arrest and I can assure you that four or five minutes is an eternity waiting to hear those sirens. So I'd like to treat them like the first responders they are raise the pay so we can be competitive locally. And I'm offering I'd like to offer a retention bonus. my previous one of my previous cities, it was a $1,000 uh retention bonus at the end of the season if they mess if they missed less than three of their scheduled shifts. We currently down to one pool. Um the pool at Memorial hasn't been in use in two years and uh so we're just at one pool we

would like. Our goal is 12 lifeguards for Fountain. So any questions? I've got Miranda Nelson and the chief's also available if you have any questions about the uh training side. Was there any uh plans on reopening the second pool?

We would have to have 24 lifeguards and right now I'm not sure about the viability to open that pool. I'm not sure of the status. Um it has um typically if it's sitting that long um if we get through this season and we haven't decided to do something else with that pool um if this is successful we can look at it but it would also take the renovation of that pool getting it ready. So that would be a a rather large budget request. Never say never, but we're hoping that this change will um spur enough lifeguards. Um we will as soon as this airs on TV, we will probably start getting calls. Um so all right, anybody given life cards? Any questions? Okay, that'll go on the next available agenda. So the other um work session is discussion on concession stands for I know that mayor and I have chatted on multiple occasions and it it's been a conversation for you as a body for a long time. Uh you'll recall I stood up here several months ago um as a um we had the u parents group that wanted to come and um help us out and then we would use them um they would start running the concession stands and that would be um for enhancements. They would raise funds for enhancements. U we talked on and off with that group until about the holidays and um that kind of fell through. Um, so now we're back um just speaking um with you guys tonight to see if there's anything you would like to add or anything you know any any thoughts you had on concessions.

We did go out for um on July 18th we went out for RFP. The deadline was August 3rd. We did have three proposals submitted. The committee did select one of the uh one of those and then that's kind of when we started chatting with the parents group. So, we had to kind of put it on the back burner. Um, P purchasing has reached out to the selected vendor and they are still good to go. And I'd like to bring that to the council at the next available agenda. Let them know it's a local vendor. It is a local vendor. Would that be the uh North and Ballfields?

It would be North. It would be all of the ball fields. Right now we're talking at um the North Austin Sports Complex um inside and outside Tanner and Simpson and Peavey. Simpson and Peavey hopefully is about to be under construction here in the next couple of months, so it won't be in the in play. So you're denied including um Dolores Toiver. Uh Dolores Toiver um not sure that there's concessions in Dolores Toiver. Is there concession stand in Dolores Toiver? We could look at that from time to time then. Yeah, we could look at that. We can add that to it. Definitely. Yeah, they they do have the concessions at Dolores Toiver, but I don't think there's any games played,

right? It's just Dolores Toiver is uh uh not organized practice only. We we have some very few games there. It's really just a it acts as the um kind of a recreation center for that area, teen center right next to the boys club. Um so uh we can look at it but these are um the main focus on this one would be where we're playing uh baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, football on those outdoor facilities and the indoor facility in North House. What would need to happen to start having games played there and getting that park involved in some of the scheduling in the basketball and other

we could we have we've been going we're finishing up our basketball league now for youth basketball. We could do some adults there possibly. Um the hours at that facility aren't typically not open at night. Again, it's kind of a day-to-day facility. So during the day, you were looking at facility operation hours. Yeah, when we are looking at all of our facility operations hours, where are we at at repairing that damaged floor at Dolores Toiver? What was the final with that? I didn't hear anything else about that. Billy floor, I know in the there's in the old police substation. Was there another part of the No, the the the basketball gym floor was damaged. I've not seen that and I've been in Dolores.

It may have been it may have been repaired. It should have been repaired by now. If not, then I want to know why. I've been there a lot. I have not noticed that, but I can take a look. But I think it's Yeah, it just we we all talked about it, but I don't know what what would the end result of that repair was because it was a moisture problem with the floor or something like that, was it, Mayor? I think it was repaired. Yes, it was. If I may answer, yes, it was a moisture problem and it should have been repaired by now. I believe it was I believe it was repaired before I got here and even before Mr. Draker got here.

I believe it may have been two and a half, three years ago. At this point, we did have discussions and there was authorization from this body to proceed with the repair of that floor. So, I believe that has been accomplished and there is no longer an issue relative to the integrity of the floor of that facility. We I think we should have known that because it was an issue for all of us um before you got here. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't I didn't know we had that issue. And if the floor is intact, I think we should start scheduling basketball games and practice for our little league basketball program over there because it's a fine it's a great facility. We can definitely have um practices there. Um we most of the uh teams really like play at at Northston. Why can't we play games there as well?

We can't. It just depends on the what the our customer wants. But remember, uh, Councilman, one of the complaints we got about that facility was if they shut it down for games and practices, then the community can't play. So, that was one of the things that they came to us about because it just has one court instead of multiple courts like Northston. U, we can look at having the games, but I just wanted to make sure you remember the complaints about we got from them about closing it down for city business.

Yeah. But with that being said, and I I'm I'm in agreement. I remember that. But we grew up with this and Mr. Holmes can testify to this. All these gyms closed down when they were scheduling games just during the times when we had games and practices over the city. I I think that um because my charity do play basketball, we do practice over at the Lord's Toiver in the evening time late at night. So, it is being utilized for city business. As far as basketball, I don't think that it's more convenient for all the games to be at North Austin because it's a much bigger facility. So,

and I just got confirmation that that repair was approved in May on May 6, 2024. Real real quick, um, another just because I ride by it every night. Um, and this weekend it was Ted Wright was just packed. Yes. With people. Have we considered the thought of having uh operational concessions out there of some sort? We are. It's part of this is when we're having our programs out there. Track is just kicking off now.

Our track program now. Of course, football in the fall. Um, soccer's going to be using it over the summer. So, yes, sir. That's the idea is anything any anytime we are doing operational games that's what these concession stands will be running. So uh with that uh point maybe we can look at having a plan for concessions at those areas that we don't typically use for games. So if there is a situation where a game is there or tournament as either of them we can quickly activate the plan for concessions. Yes. What do you think? Good. Okay. At least have the option like you say. Yeah. If if

also if mayor if I may at the Dolores Tyler Community Center that field next to next next to it that was the field for that side of town

and I would certainly like to see some life put back in there. Now, let me having said that, I'm not one to bite my tongue or hold back. It got to be where people were scared to come over there. Well, you going to be scared until you put somebody over there. But most of these young people riding this counter here and my kids grew up playing ball over there. Softball, baseball, and what have you. I would like to see the whole city re uh with some uh new energy, new life. S circle is legendary. Raised a lot of kids if I could.

So, mayor and council, if I could building off of that, um Mr. Pruiser is working on uh a variety of items related to our facilities, the hours of operation, and steps that can be taken to activate those. He's looking at that as part of the 2027 budget. Uh because it will in order to do some of that, it will require some arranging of things and and potentially dependent on what we're trying to do may require additional personnel beyond what we currently have. So, he's putting those plans together and it will be brought forward to you at a later date. Tonight, um just to kind of bring us back because I know we have a long night ahead of us. Tonight is really uh about the concessions item. um and making sure that we've addressed any uh questions that you may have and are prepared uh and you're ready to move forward on the next agenda uh with considering an award on that RFP. And of obviously we we'll get you all the information related to that recommendation just as we normally would tonight because we were aware that uh the issue of of concessions had been a topic of discussion for some time. We wanted to make certain that we were hearing any concerns that you may have so that we can address those properly either tonight or at the next meeting.

Yeah, Mr. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I'm sorry, Kevin. Councilman, Mr. Pooer, thank you very much for all your hard work. Um, you're putting a lot into it. I know you've kind of sat back and did a lot of reading, reading the rooms, reading the city, and uh, you've hit the ground running, and I appreciate it. There's a lot more than just this that you're doing and I appreciate all your hard work. I want you to keep it up. Uh we support you. Um I like what you're bringing to the table. Understand about lifeguards and pay. That's about with anything. Um I'm in full support of what you're doing and I appreciate all your hard work. I want to let you know that and we're going to keep throwing things at you. That's right. We'll keep working it. Right. Yes, sir. I appreciate you.

Thanks, sir. Council L. Uh yeah, I'm kind of echoing what he said. Uh the uh the lifeguard situation, growing up in this town, there were two pools that I was fortunate to be able to swim in. Su was one of them and Dry Lake is what we we called it. It'll always be Dry Lake Park to me. I mean, but I grew up in those pools. and just knowing that we have that option and we we want to have great parks and recreation and cultural affairs here in this town. That's what this town was known for that for years, decades. And it kind of started drifting away just because of the different opportunities that are out there for people. But if we provide, it's the it's the age old thing. If you build it, they will come. And I go to all I go all over the Southeast and see some of the greatest recreation facilities I've ever seen in my life. And the work that you're doing now is the the grunt work. Basically, it's the the not not so glamorous. It's the asking for money and, you know, holding out the beggar's hand all the time. But we got to do what we got to do to bring that the money involved with people coming to our parks is insane. The amount of money that a that parents will pay for their kids to participate in a sport is unbelievable. And we've got to tap that market.

That's that is a direct reflection on our city at all times. If you have the facilities, people will come from all over the state and the southeast to be at them. So, thank you again for the work you're doing. To echo on what he's saying, if you build it, they'll come. is still my grandest wish to see some sort of park facility on Taber Drive with all the development that's happening over there off Ignico. We need something for kids to do on Taber Drive.

Thank you,

council members. That is uh that concludes all of the items on tonight's agenda as well as uh the uh items that we had planned under the work session. I will call your attention at your seats. There are a couple of annual reports. One from our department of recreation, parks and cultural services. The other uh from our police department and uh next at the next council meeting, we are planning a presentation by Chief Fiser uh to give you updates on uh uh public safety uh activity within the city. Um, so if between now and then if there are specific items that you would like Chief Fischer to address uh during the course of that presentation, if you would please either share those with myself or Chief Fischer so that we uh make sure we have uh the exact data available uh when he's standing up here. We want to make sure that we give you the information that you want and we don't leave you with unanswered questions. With that, mayor and council, if are there any questions remaining on tonight's agenda? Seeing none, Madame Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Drinker, and everyone who came up to share some details about the uh work session items as well as the agenda. Now that we have completed um all of the work session items, we now come to the point of our revised agenda for a public hearing. Uh the public hearing is about an application for permit. Uh and you'll learn more about this in just a moment. But before we open the public hearing, which is a requirement by our state government, we do have to have a motion to close this city council session and a motion to open up the session for the public hearing.

Mayor, I move to close this session of city council and move towards the U public hearing. And I'll second that motion, Mayor. Motion by Councilman Lawrenson for both actions. Seconded by Councilman Mack. All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. Motion carries unanimously. Uh we have now officially closed out our city council meeting for today and we are now open for the public hearing. Attorney, our city attorney, Julia Mes, will lead us in this hearing. Thank you.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. I would suggest if we might first hear from the representatives of the applicant for the permit. That's Mr. Robert Tuggle and Miss Mary Grace McCoy. I see them approaching. if you might hear from them, ask any questions you may have, and then we would open the floor up to any interested party who may be present tonight uh to make any comment they may have. I will note that this public hearing has been properly advertised in the legal organ for Hston County two weeks prior to this hearing. So, there's been notice provided directly to the descendants as identified and to the public at large of this hearing and the opportunity to be heard. And I'll just briefly restate that the public hearing is related in scope to the permit application that has been filed with the city requesting permission for the issuance of a permit uh for the relocation of the McCoy Matthews Ry Burial Ground which is currently located on South House and Lake Road. Uh and if if granted would be moved to Magnolia Park Cemetery. Uh and I believe we have before us Mr. Robert Tugle and Miss Mary Grace McCoy and they are here to address you on the statutory elements of this permit application.

Thank you, mayor, members of council. I'm Rob Tugle and I represent Mr. John Riyles. Mr. Riley, would you stand up, please? Mr. Riy is a trustee of the Annie C. Riiles Trust and the Annie C Riley Trust owns 11 and a half acres at the corner of Southston Lake Road and Russell Parkway. Located on that piece of property is a small cemetery called the McCoy Matthews Riyle Cemetery. And I also have with me today uh Miss Mary Grace Kimbro. She's got recently gotten married. That's fine. And uh Mary Grace is a recent graduate of law school and has helped me with this process. So uh she is here tonight. Um if I could, I'm going to pass out to each of you a copy of the petition. There's a petition and a mitigation plan right behind each one. Okay. Thank you very much.

You already have one. All right. Excellent. Gentlemen, I believe you have a summary of the mitigation plan, but this is actually the petition. So, you may want to accept this as well. Make sure you have

sure you have all the information. In the process of of preparing for tonight, the my client has has gone through the statutory procedure for the relocation of a cemetery. And that process included having the cemetery surveyed, which they did. And then they also hired a genealogologist who was used to um locate the next of kin of the of the persons interred there at that cemetery. of those persons. We've gotten affidavit from all of them. We've sent out letters, received affidavit and approvals for the relocation of the of the graves. They've also employed an archaeologist. The archaeologist has come up with a mitigation plan, which you should have before you now, and uh will also oversee the relocation of the graves along with McCulla Funeral Home. So, I think my clients have met all of the Georgia and statutory requirements for the relocation of the cemetery, and we're here seeking the city of One Robbins approval for the the local um municipality has to approve the relocation.

Gentlemen, if you have any questions of the representative applicant, I'm sure they'd be happy to answer whatever questions you may have. And madame mayor, I have a question. It's it's it may not be the most professional question to ask in our setting, but as a citizen who is curious, I want to ask if you know um what's what's the process of removing old graves from one location to another to ensure that there are no nothing left under the soil because we don't want poltergeist.

Yes. Okay. Well, I don't know about the poltergeist part of the process, but I can explain the the the archaeologist will will oversee the process because there are some unmarked graves there. So, they will go in and they will go through the process of removing inches of soil at a time. Now, there are marked graves and there's some more recent graves and when I say recent 30 or 40 years ago. So they may be in vaults and that process may be simple but the older graves where they will actually go in as a archaeologist and scrape away the soil to locate whatever remains there are and I do you remember the depth they go down? Yeah it's two or three in

two or three inches of time but they'll go down several feet in order to make sure that they which I guess six foot is the term you always hear as to the poltergeist. I'm sorry. I don't know about those. Yes, sir. I see there's a a removal of 1890s fence. So, a fence has been there since 1890. Um, how how far back do some of the graves go back beyond that? Uh, that's pretty much when the cemetery was started because a lot of the Well, and I we don't know exactly because there's some unmarked graves. So, it's hard to tell about the older ones.

So, around 1890 is some of the earliest graves. this in and this you probably go by this cemetery a lot, but it's located right on the edge of of Hston Lake Road and it will, as you know from your previous work on this. There's a Sprouts Market that's going into this location. So, this cemetery would be surrounded by a busy road as well as just a con a paved parking lot. Has the same family always owned this plot? Yes. Okay. Will there be any clergy present to pray over this operation?

We have not addressed that, but that's a good idea. We need some prayer. Disturbing the you know. Yes, sir. That's a that's a great idea. What? Pastor Bib. Pastor Bib, you can you do it? We talking about going to be haunted. We can let McCulla handle that. They got guys on staff. They got pastors on staff.

Not trying to make fun of the uh the grave, but uh this is unique for me to hear and just curious as many of our citizens will be curious when you hear uh a public hearing about removing graves from the 1800s. So, uh still want to bring some reality to the situation and our questions. Um but please don't take it as being disrespectful.

Yes. Madame Mayor and gentlemen, if there are no more questions of Mr. Tuggle and Miss Kimbro, uh I would request that we open the floor to any interested party or citizen who wishes to make a comment or ask a question uh regarding the subject that we have just discussed. So if there is any interested party or citizen here who wishes to make a comment or be heard regarding the application that has been discussed and received by the city, uh you now have the floor to come up to the podium and be heard. I

do have one question I'd like to ask. Have we had anybody objecting? No. No, sir. We had several family members who were just more curious about the process and what would happen with the gravestones and and all of the gravestones will be removed and all of the uh graves will be relocated together in Magnolia Park Cemetery. It won't be spread out. With that being said, may I ask sir, incurring the cost at the new place, who incurs that cost of that plot?

The the trust will incur all the cost of that. Okay. If there are no other questions and there is no one wishing to be heard, I would request that there be a motion to close this public hearing and to reopen our regularly scheduled meeting. I move to close the public hearing and reopen our regular meeting. I'll second that, mayor. Motion by Councilman Lawrence, seconded by Councilman Bib. All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I

motion carries unanimously. Thank you so much. We appreciate your participation in our public hearing. All right. So now we are back into our uh count our official council meeting. We are picking up with item marked as as three for formal public comments pertaining to the current agenda items only. If anyone is here and they have comments to make regarding agenda number four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine, you have a moment to approach the podium. Please state your name and address for the record. You will have three minutes on the clock. Please um understand and know that council is listening to you, though we may not respond to you. The floor is now open for individuals who want to make a comment, specifically for item numbers four through nine on our public agenda. Anyone else will have another opportunity to speak um after the close out of item number nine of our agenda. The floor is open. Good evening, madame mayor, uh city council. My name is Mike Hatcher. I live at 105 Rambling Creek Cove out in Byron, one of our annexed areas. Um on the uh number nine, u before you uh make a motion or vote uh to reduce the number of members on the veterans issues board, um I would recommend that they send out a at least let us know who they are. um because I would more than happily uh be a part of that board as a uh as a uh retired Air Force veteran. Um that's an

issue that's near and dear to my heart and I would be more than happy to sit on that board and I I guarantee you you can count on me to show up and and do a few things that that you need. Um on the other item uh that uh where we're talking about uh changing the uh or giving the assembly back the uh rejoining the two properties, please approve that. uh that's uh again in my neighborhood, near and dear to my heart and uh I know that uh those folks would do a good job with that property. So, thank you very much for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Hatcher. Will there be any others to discuss a current agenda item? Going once. Going twice. The door is now closed. Thank you so much. All right. All right. So, um, there has been a a request to make another revision to our agenda, which would move, if approved, the executive session to discuss personnel from its current revised location, which would be next on our agenda, moving it to after item number four. Mayor, I move to amend the agenda uh to to move item 3B, which which is a close session personnel to after um the consent agenda item number four. Mayor, I'll second that.

Motion by Councilman Lawrenson, seconded by Councilman Bib. All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. Motion carries unanimously. The agenda is now updated. So, the next item that we will discuss is item number four, the consent agenda to be discussed by Councilman Bib. Uh, thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as is. And I'll second.

All right. Motion by Councilman Bib, seconded by Councilman by Councilman Lawrenson. Any discussion?

Yes, Madame Mayor. I would like to uh announce all the people that are receiving uh their promotions if I could. Um all these promotions, there's 11 of them, will go in effect uh March the 2nd, um 2026. But I want to recognize these promotions today. Matthew Pittz is promoted from utility maintenance worker 2 to utility department equipment operator. Anthony Chestnut is promoted from heavy equipment operator to utility department maintenance crew leader. James Freeman is promoted from fire lieutenant to the to battalion chief operations. Robert Rogers is promoted from fire lieutenant to battalion tree uh chief of operations. Brian White is promoted from fire lieutenant to battalion chief operations. Jacob Gub is promoted from fire engine to department of to the department of fire lieutenant. John J. Gilbert is promoted from fire driver engine to fire lieutenant. Cameron Thorne is promoted from fire driver engine to fire lieutenant. Rochelle Boyer Blurer is promoted from firefighter to fire driver engine. Christian Cook is promoted from firefighter to fire driver engine. And Gabrielle Floyd is promoted from firefighter to fire driver engineer. Congratulations. All right. Any further discussion before there's a vote?

All those in favor of the promotions, please state I and raise your hand. I motion carries unanimously. Congratulations. Madame Mayor, just for clarification, uh, as you stated that, you stated, uh, a vote on the promotions, but not the full consent agenda.

Thank you for that clarification. I I do stand corrected. I will uh repeat a call for the motion. All those in favor of the consent agenda, please state I and raise your hand. Motion carries unanimously. Congratulations uh on the promotions. We were just a little bit excited. Uh and all those who may be present who was on this promotion list, if you will please come forward.

Let's give a round of applause for all those who are being promoted. All right, chief, deputy chiefs, etc. Um, please come forward and we will then ask any other firemen here, any other member of the Warner Fire Department to join in a second photo. Madame Mayor, just uh for the record, um you know, frequently we have penned those getting promotions um at these uh ceremonies. The fire department has actually requested uh that that be done in a separate ceremony so that more of the department can be present. Uh so I just wanted to offer explanation for why that's not occurring here tonight. They will be recognized. They're going to be doing that um as part of the larger fire family.

Thank you. Hold on one second. Congratulations

class. We just two There's a request for C there's a request for council to get in a picture with you all. So, hold tight. fast.

Three, two, one. Congratulations. Okay, we're getting ready to go session.

Need a spring in my seat.

Going to executive session. All right. Now that all the fun is complete, uh the next up on our agenda is exiting for executive session to discuss personnel pending the proper motion. Mayor, I make a motion to go into executive session for personnel. Mayor, I'll second that motion. Motion by Councilman Lawrenson, seconded by Councilman Bib. All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I

motion carries unanimously. We are now exiting for executive session. We will get back there quickly. So, we cannot stop and have too much conversation. We've got to uh get through five more items and try to see how many people are still here when we come back in. U feel free to go back to the back of the room if the Heritage Society is still there to look at some photos, have some cupcakes, and uh we'll look forward to seeing you if you can stay when we return. Thanks.

All right. All right. We're back from executive session. Thank you all for hanging in there with us. I request a motion to return to regular session. I'll make a motion to return to regular session. I second that. Mayor motion by Councilman Lawrence and seconded by Councilman Bib. All in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I motion carries. Now to uh now to amend the agenda adding in item number 10 which will be entitled resolution for a temporary amendment of the sick sick leave policy

of the sick leave policy. May I repeat temporary amendment of the sick leave policy. Mayor, I move to um amend the agenda to add item number 10, which is a resolution for a temporary amendment of the sick leaf policy. Mayor, I'll second that. Motion by Councilman Lawrence and seconded by Councilman Bib. All in favor, please state I and raise your hand. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Now we are going into item number five, which is a motion for the application for cemetery relocation permit to be discussed by Councilman Holmes.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. I bring before you to before you this evening a motion to approve the cemetery relocation permit application of the Annie C. Riiles Trust administered by John S. trials based on the information presented and following the duty ad duly advertised public hearing to grant a request to relocate the McCoy Matthews Riley burial ground to accept the applicant's mitigation proposal and to authorize issuance of the relocation permit in accordance with OCGA section 36-72-6 through 36-72-8 move for Adoption.

I second. Motion by Councilman Holmes, seconded by Councilman Curtis. Any discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. Motion carries unanimously. Item number six is a motion for a reasonzoning petition to be discussed by Councilman Curtis.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I make a motion to approve the reszoning request from the assembly of one aromomas incorporated of a portion of the property including all rightways totaling plus -3.41 acres located along Gun Road directly adjacent to the north of 640 Watson Boulevard from R4 multiple family residence to R1 single family district. I second that. Motion by Councilman Curtis, seconded by Councilman Holmes. Any discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I.

Motion carries unanimously. Item number seven, a resolution for a joint consent agreement to be discussed by Councilman Lawren. Thank you, Mayor. A motion to approve a resolution to authorize Mayor Londa W. Patrick to execute the attached joint consent agreement among the Georgia Public Service Commission, the Midstate Energy Commission, Atlanta Gas Light Company, the city of Perry, and the city of Warner Robbins, amending its pipeline and distribution certificates of public convenience and necessity for Hston County, Georgia, and petition of the Midstate Energy Commission to amend the house and countywide safety plan.

I'll second that, Mayor. Motion by Councilman Lawrenson, seconded by Councilman Bib. Any discussion? And this is a U standard process by the way. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I motion carries unanimously. Item number eight is an ordinance for classification plan update to be discussed by Councilman Lashley.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I make a motion to approve the ordinance of the city of Warner Robbins that the city classification plan be amended as is amended as follows. Deactivate the position of compliance training officer, job class 971, grade 17, authorized strength of one utility department. Deactivate the position of pollution control coordinator. Job class 927, grade 16, authorized strength of one utility department. Deactivate the position of utility locate crew uh crew leader. Job class 977, grade 16, authorized strength of one, utility department. Deactivate the position of pollution control technician. Job class 946, grade 14, authorized strength of one, utility department. Create the position of assistant utility maintenance supervisor for water. Job class 947, grade 16, authorized strength of one utility department. Create the position of assistant utility maintenance supervisor for sewer. Job class 948, grade 16, authorized strength of one utility department. Increase the authorized strength of the utility maintenance crew leader water job class 909 grade 15 utility department by one. Changing from an authorized strength of five to an authorized strength of six. Increase the authorized strength of the heavy equipment operator water job class 914 grade 12 utility department by one changing from an authorized strength of one to an authorized strength of two. and that the city's finance department is hereby authorized to transfer funds between departments and between line items within a department in the fiscal year of 2026 budget as necessary to facilitate the changes to the city's classification plan enumerated in this ordinance and I will be waving the second time of reading this.

I second motion by Councilman Lashley waving the second reading seconded by Councilman Curtis. Any discussion? Please note that these recommendations do come from uh the department director in an attempt to solely improve operational efficiencies instead of having vacant positions out there that are unfilled and then other work uh being impacted. Uh so I wanted to make sure I stated on the record this is officially for operational efficiency at the recommendation of the department director. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand.

Motion carries unanimously. I'm looking for my agenda. Give me one second. Lost veterans issues. All right. Now we are on item number nine, an ordinance for a veterans issues board amendment to be discussed by Councilman Mack.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to approve ordinance amending article six of the city code regarding boards, commissions, agencies, and authorities. And ordinance 5-22 shall be amended to include a change to the number of board members, making the total nine instead of 18. And I'd like to wave the second reading. And I'll second that. Mayor motion by Councilman Mack waving the second reading. Seconded by Councilman Bib. Any discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I.

Motion carries unanimously. Now we have item number 10 as amend as amended entitled an ordinance a resolution sorry a resolution to amend the sick leave pool policy. Thank you madame mayor to be discussed by councilman bib.

Thank you madame mayor. resolution. Whereas by the res resolution adopted on February 22, 2011, the mayor and the city council in the city of Warner Robbins adopt a revised sick leave pool policy. And whereas one of the tenants of the policy requires that sick leave hours can be donated to the sick leave pool for use by a s specific employee, but half of any such donated hours must go into the general pool while the remaining half is given directly to the designated employee. And whereas the city has recognized the need to temporarily suspend that tenant of the policy in order to meet the needs resulting from an unusual and significant line of duty injury to an employee that will cause the employee to suffer a significant medical leave of absence. Now therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and the city council that the requirement that half of the sick leave hours donated to the benefit of the specific employee shall be suspended for a period of 60 days. This is read on the second day of March 2026 and I ask that we approve this resolution.

I second that. Mayor. Motion by Councilman Bib, seconded by Councilman Mack. Any discussion? Yes, ma'am. I'd like to thank um Mr. Drinker for giving this some attention. This is much needed. Thank you for your due diligence and um wherewithal to correct what has been something that we consider mistake in the past. Thank you for your efforts at this. Any further discussion? All those in favor, please state I and raise your hand. I

motion carries unanimously. We have made it to the end of our agenda. And now we open to citizen comments. If you have any any general comment to make, you do have your opportunity to approach the podium. You will have three minutes on the clock at the top of the rotunda. Please be sure to state your name and address for the record. And also note that council and I are listening to you, though we may not respond. The floor is now open for general comments. Going once, Chief Wayne Fischer for the Warner Robins Police Department. I wish to thank Mr. Drinker, mayor and council for your last vote. It impacts my department and one of my members. Again, it's heartfelt and we greatly appreciate it and know that the city does support its employees and I feel it was worthy for me to come up and express my gratitude to each and one of you for taking the stand you have tonight. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief Fischer. Will there be any others?

Going once. Going twice. The floor is now closed. All right. Now we have made it to uh citizen sorry now we have made it to council comments and we'll be starting this week with councilman Holmes. Thank you very much madame mayor. I would like to first of all ask that you join with me in congratulating our mayor mayor Lauron W. Patrick for having been sworn uh sworn into the hall of fame North Side High School. uh Sunday, Saturday,

s Saturday. Uh I I was I was very proud. I was glad to sit with she and her family on that that uh honor. She's come a long way. She's continuing to go. I don't see a stop sign anywhere in front of this lady. Sec. If there there is one, I'mma knock it over.

All right. Thank you. Second, I'd like to thank thank Mrs. Max Swain for her tireless work for Miss Christy Hall for I mean going above and beyond the duty late into the evening and uh completing some things that we many times we don't even know they're doing it but I firsthand know they went up to at least 11:00 uh the one night this past week and completed some request and then of course our mayor again for being sure that these type things are done and carried out. Many people think it's a 8 to5 job. It's not. It's a job that takes whatever amount of time to carry out what's best for the citizens of this great city, the city of Warner Robinson. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Ditto. All right, Councilman Curtis, you're up next.

Again, congratulations on your inductee into the uh North Side Hall of Fame. Um, I just want to say I hope everybody had a great Black History Month and learned something new. Uh, I hope everybody lent and Ramadan went well. And um, I just want to say it was an honor. I had uh, a very busy week over the last two weeks. Uh, one was, uh, New York Fashion Week. Me and my wife was able to go to New York and walk on a big stage in New York during New York Fashion Week. They featured some of her um, her clothing. That was truly an honor. Uh, last Saturday, Saturday before last, we actually held a fashion show here in Warner Robbins. Um, it was called the She Flawless Fashion Show. Um, we raised a lot of money and I promise a lot of that money will go back into the community to support uh our young individuals here in Warner Robbins. And I just want to thank the mayor for coming out. I had the opportunity to walk on stage with the mayor during that fashion show after she was uh inducted into the North Side Hall of Fame and North Side Hall of Fame. But also, I just want to say thank you to uh the North Side Cheerleaders because they actually came and performed at that fashion show with a um young lady by Nquel. She has a boutique called Trophy Wife where my wife spend a lot of money. So um shout out to North Side um Cheerleaders and Nquail and the Trophy White Boutique for help coming out and helping make that a very successful event. Also, it was an honor to be able to be in attendance at the One Robin CME 50th anniversary. That was uh a phenomenal event. Great entertainment. Uh I love One Robin CME. They have been a pillar in this community for the last 50 years.

And I know even with their new leadership, it most definitely it was an honor to see um Reverend Jordan, that's my buddy. Uh he has uh mentored me in more than many ways. He is a true true true leader here in Warner Robbins. And um it's also I was honored to meet the new leadership and I can see how they're going to continue moving the church forward and you know that's just great. It's great. Mr. Holm, thank you for the invite. Um congratulations on all of the promotions tonight in the fire department. Uh, Chief Wright has been doing a great job and I most definitely got to say Greg, you are always in our prayers. Thank you for everything that you do for the city of Warner Robbins. We will always keep you uplifted. Also ask that my buddy, my little cousin, he is going through some some things right now, Maurice. So I ask that y'all keep him in our prayers. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Mack.

Thank you, uh, Madame Mayor. Also, I'd like to say congratulations, Mighty Mighty Eagle, being that, um, inducted into the North Side Hall of Fame. Um, North Side just keep shining, I tell you. Eagles fly, don't they? Um, with that being said, I'd also take a serious note to ask everybody to keep our soldiers, airmen, seammen, and marines abroad. um keep them out of harm's way as our nation is in conflict um across the board. They um provide us with the very luxuries that we take advantage of every day. So please please keep them at the forefront of our mind, thoughts and prayers as they are underway. Our our Navy personnel, airmen just hope that minimal casualties on both sides of the party and we can reach a resolution to this conflict as soon as possible. Um onto some fashion. I'd like to announce um as we enter into prom season, I think as every young ladies, it should be a ride of patch that they all have an opportunity to attend the prom and not go because of constraints of finances and things of that nature. With that being said, I'd like to announce that the lending hand in association with Angelica Moody Russell, they're having a night to shine prom boutique absolutely free presented by the lending hand to high school seniors are invited to shop for free for prom cocktail and evening dresses, shoes, and accessories. And um so with that being said, I like to ask everyone to help a young lady go to the prom. If you have any gently used shoes, accessories, gowns, or anything, please donate them. The drop off location is the style station at 45501 Russell Parkway sweet 15 in Warner Robbins, Georgia. And um they'll be able to um come and shop at the Curtis Center which will be on March 21st from 12 to 3. And um one of three they'll be um enter to win a glam session for hair makeup for prom night. So everybody in our community gets to go

to the prom. So please take advantage of that. With that being said, thank you. Thank you, Councilman. Councilman Bib, you're up next.

Thank you, Mayor. You keep winning. Hope you don't get tired of it. Keep winning. And um congratulations. Um Chief Fischer, uh it was an honor for us to do that. Humbled very much so. And uh when people put their life on the line, it's um it's humbling when you live in that city and you live up under that protection. Um, a lot been said, there's a lot going on, but the greatest thing today, the greatest thing today is my beautiful bride over there um has a birthday and uh she is absolutely wonderful. I was telling Pastor Matt when he was sitting over there that she's probably got a 97% uh attendance u here at the city council since I've been on city council for six years. She have supported me and I don't know if y'all know that but she's over there. She got my six. She's always watching. See if somebody come up behind me or something like that. So she uh she's looking out for me. She's my bodyguard. She looks out for me. She's she is a God sent from the Lord. Um God definitely put the greatest help me in my life that I needed uh to be the man that I am and I appreciate you and all that you do for me in my life. It is an honor to serve on this council. Um it is an honor to be a part of what's going on in the city of Warner Robbins. A lot of great things going on and um it is definitely humbling to be a part of that. God bless you and everybody have a great night and I will pray for Mark Mark Maurice and God we uplift him to you him and his family. We ask that you move in his life in a great way. Touch him, be with him, guide him, direct him, give him wisdom in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you. Now, Councilman Lawson.

Thank you, Mayor. And I know you see from time to time people inducted into the Hall of Fame over at North Side and you have to be the youngest inductee um ever because most of them are like they've they've had a long life and had all these accomplishments, but you've done this in a relatively short period of time. Um so, congratulations. So, I I think your your acknowledgement is even more special because of how how well you've done over the last uh many years and just being I think the youngest person I bet you had to be. So, congratulations. All right. Uh a couple of things. Um ask you to be in prayer for a family of 12-year-old Ava Little from Byron who took her own life last week. Um please be in prayer for that. um and be in prayer for the school community at large. Also, um a little 5-year-old boy choked last week as mom was one of the admins at King's Chapel and he lost his life as well. So, please be in prayer for that family. Um also, um be in prayer for our country as Mr. uh Councilman M said, our country and especially our service men and women who put their lives on the line every day for us. And then last but not least, happy birthday, Connie Bib. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. Now, Councilman Lashley. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh to add to those prayer lists, also there was a young man from uh Hston County. He's a sophomore lost his life this past weekend in an automo automobile accident. I'm not at liberty to say the name, but it's not my place to say the name, but you can you can see uh and I think the school has done a good job. The board of education has done an excellent job with addressing it with the students and everything, but another young life lost early um due to an automobile accident. Um now on to some more uh happier things. Congratulations, Mayor. I was just looking up though. Where is North Side, Georgia? It's in North Side, Georgia. We're in it right now. Oh, yeah. Is it?

It's North Side, Georgia. Is it? I have never seen it on the map. I'm wrong.

Oh, okay. Okay. Never mind. In all seriousness though, congratulations. Congratulations. That's awesome. I uh I was in a couple of halls of fame at One Robbins High School, but it was never a good one. So, uh but detention hall of fame. But, uh no, uh in all seriousness, it's it's an honor and a and a privilege to work with you and everybody up here and all of the staff and employees and living in this community. Um, you know, we think about the military every day and what everything that's going on in the world and just remember that you're the sacrifice that these people are making allow us to sit up here and be jovial and have fun and and do our jobs, but they're doing the hard work and God bless our troops. God bless our country. And uh beyond that, everybody just love each other. Um I did have to go to a house today. There was a pretty significant murder up in Mon. Uh family um daughter and a wife, dog and a cat and the husband shot all of them and then killed himself. And uh I had to we have the unfortunate job of uh cleaning that kind of stuff up. And I had to spend a lot of time in that house today. And it brings me back to a point we made before. When you get to that point in your life, you need to call somebody. Talk to somebody. There is nothing on this planet so bad that would lead you to do something like that. And you can't get out of that rut or get out of that situation unless you communicate with somebody. So, please pick up a phone, call somebody, call any of the any of the hotlines that are out there, call a local church, call a pastor, call anybody that you can think of, call 911 first and talk to them. But getting to that situation and this was a I mean

it's not a simple matter but it was an eviction. It's not the end of the world. There's help out there. You just need to ask for it. So please prevent this kind of thing from happening and talk to somebody. Get the help you need. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman. Well, you guys have certainly got me emotional up here. Uh prayers for everyone who is dealing with loss um in our community. Prayers for individuals who are facing the potential of being unhoused. Prayers for individuals dealing with any type of mental trauma. And I I like what everybody is saying. the message um you know the message that's being sent up here kind of showing you that the city government's here to support you um direct you and we hope that everyone in our community is always safe. Um I also want to state a little bit of business before we close out. Um, we do have the state of the city council and I have that on March the March the 11th, which is next Wednesday. Uh, networking starts at 10:00 a.m. So, that's when the doors open and the program will begin at 10:30. All of us, well, many of us up here will be there. Um, the new city pulse will be given out at that time as well. um the magazine that council and I prepare annually to tell you a good flip through so you can see what's happening in the city of Warner Robbins. Um I also want to say happy birthday. You're it's it's like you're almost one of the council members cuz you're you're always right here like you said having his six and making sure he behaves and it lifts him up when you know he he he gets emotional with his passions as we all do. So, we do appreciate you always being here um for all of us and showing your support. I had another thing to say, but uh the

emotional part kind of took its toll and I don't remember what it is. But guess what? We're going to do it again in 2 weeks. So, we'll see you at our next city council meeting. Hope to see you at our state of the city. And uh thank you all so much for being here and uh dedicated to staying through the end. um even when our days run long and thank you for being here when our days run short. Thank you for just being here and supporting us. And with that, I'm going to say that uh this meeting is adjourned. Enjoy your week.