---
date: 
title: 2019 08 16 2019 Minutes
source: 2019/2019_08_16_2019 _Minutes.pdf
pages: 1
---

Stockbridge
Where Community Connects

su ARY MINUTES
FY2020 BUDGET RETREAT (Day Three)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2019 8:00 A.M.

Mission: To provide visionary leadership Mission: To
provide visionary leadership and superior
municipal services that enhance the quality of life for citizens while creating a welcoming
business atmosphere focused on sustainability and
expansion of tourism and cultural events.

Mayor Ford called the meeting to order.

Invocation by Mayor Ford.

Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.

City Clerk, Vanessa Holiday was asked to proceed with a verbal roll call. Mayor Ford,
Mayor Pro Tem Blount, Councilman Alexander, Councilwoman Gantt, Councilwoman
Robinson and Councilman Thomas were all in attendance.

Also, in attendance: City Manager Randy Knighton, City Clerk Vanessa
Holiday, City
Attorney Michael Williams, City Treasurer John Wiggins, Senior Accountant Rashonda
Favors, Public Works Director Decius Aaron, Economic Development Director James
Touchton, Human Resources Manager Renee Wheeler and Main Street
Manager Kira
Harris-Braggs

Motion to adopt the Agenda made by Councilwoman
Robinson; second by Mayor Pro
Tem Blount. The motion passed 5-0.

acilitated by Randy Knighton, City
anager
Mr. Knighton recapped that 8/15
meeting noting the budget requests and various
presentations will be reviewed and various items will be taken into consideration to
bring
a balanced budget before the Mayor & Council for
adoption.

Public Works (General Maintenance, Facilities
Maintenance, Parks, Water & Sewer,
Wastewater and Stormwater) —
Decius Aaron
Mr. Aaron noted the Department of P ubiic W0 rks is the
largest department within the City
and is responsible for managing an d maintain
ing streets and sidewalks, water
infrastructure, sewer infrastructure, stormwat er infrastructure, the production and
distribution of water, the collection and treatment of
wastewater, maintaining the City's
vehicle and equipment fleet, maintenance,
repair and construction of city—owned

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August 16, 2019 Location: 9000 Avalon Blvd. Alpharetta, GA 30009
buildings, maintaining the City’s parks and cemeteries, maintaining the City’s rights-of-
ways ranging from litter pick to mowing and supporting City events, Council Initiatives and
other City activities.

Mr. Aaron referenced the Public Works staff
experience, job titles and duties, proposed
implementing a Career Track Program and developing and implementing an Employee
Recognition Program; and cited Public Works goals of providing quality service to the
public, maintaining an atmosphere that is conducive to professional growth and
development, updating department ordinances, developing and implementing a standard
specifications for water, sewer and stormwater Construction Manual; enhance employee
safety, build effective work relationships, plan forthe future through training and
development and strengthen supervisor competencies.

Mr. Aaron noted the following as significant
budget issues and challenges: Infrastructure
Street Points: Stormwater Infrastructure, Wastewater
Infrastructure,
Water Infrastructure,
Streets and Sidewalk Infrastructure, Accessibility Infrastructure, and Facilities
(City
Buildings). Operational Stress Points: Balancing Public Works Functions vs Non-Public
Works Functions, Public Works Functions consume 67% of staff time and Non-Public
Works Functions consume 33% of staff time. Financial Stress Points:
Recouping
sanitation fees from new residents after tax notices have been Ensure stormwater
mailed;
rates provide adequate revenues to cover all
operational and maintenance costs; Ensure
sanitation rates provide adequate revenues to cover all
operational and maintenance
costs.

Mr. Aaron highlighted FY2019 Accomplishments:
Implemented computerized Work Order
System, Installation of park surveillance cameras, installations of Pour & Play surfaces at
parks, renovations of park restrooms, completed 10 miles of street resurfacing, completed
installation of the AMI metering system, met or exceeded all federal and state
regulations,
received Gold award for plant operations, renovated the
Municipal Court building to
include space for Building and Permitting services,
replaced the HVAC systems at the
MMCC and City Hall; and the Municipal Court
building is in process.

Mr. Aaron noted the FY2020 proposed
budget includes Major Capital Equipment
purchases of (1) Landscaping Truck w/Bed, (1) F350 Truck; (1) Transit Van, (3) F150
Trucks, (1) F250 Truck (1) Mini Dump Truck, Two (2) SCAG Mowers and (10) Weed
eaters.

Mayor Pro Tem Blount referenced a stormwater issue in the McCain Creek subdivision
and made a request that staff make it part of the
process to notify homeowners in writing
with information to include whether or not the issue is the
City’s responsibility or the
responsibility of the homeowner, and also do its part to correspond with the developers
before, during and after construction.

Mr. Aaron noted the department has stormwater
inspections over a 5-year period and
stressed the limitations of the City as it relates to private
property.

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August 16, 2019 Location: 9000 Avalon Blvd. Alpharetta, GA 30009
Councilman Alexander asked staff to address the issue of
delayed billing for new
developments and homeowners and bill immediately; and asked if there was any legal
recourse the City could take when
developers leave homeowners with building issues.

Mayor Ford referenced prior issues with detention ponds.

Attorney Williams response was: Public Infrastructure/Roads (One Year), anything
undedicated would be the responsibility of the HOA or the homeowner and further noted
the City’s Nuisance and Abatement
process will help to a certain point.

Councilwoman Robinson expressed the importance of
educating the public.

Mr. Aaron recommended increasing Sanitation Fees to $15.00
up from $12.00 and
recommended the city-wide access control system in the amount of $366,667.35

Ms. Holiday asked staff to please into the last increase for the merchants of the
Transfer
Station and will fon/vard the contract to the City
Manager, City Attorney and Public Works
Director for review.

Mr. Aaron noted Public Works would be
implementing a Plan of Action for Maintenance of
City facilities.

Councilman Thomas made a request to see the General Maintenance
Supervisor in the
field and riding the streets; commended the Public Works Plan of Action and
wants to see
more from the Public Works leadership; asked that the City stop the last—minute calls for
Public Works assistance and adhere to the
30-day advance notice in place.

Councilwoman Gantt asked if Public Works was short-staffed in
any area.

Mr. Aaron referenced the increase in Non—Public Works duties
(i.e. Events).

Mayor Pro Tem Blount stated the Public Works team should complete the tasks as
assigned.

Mr. Aaron noted RFP’s for Landscaping and Janitorial services for the
City were coming
forward.

Mr. Knighton noted mowing and litter pickup are tasks
primarily carried out by the
Temporary Staff, therefore, with the on-call contractors in place, the Temporary
Stafﬁng
budget will be reduced.

Councilwoman Robinson referenced the issue of Public Work’s
support of Events and
asked staff to speak or meet with
surrounding cities who also carry out events and find
out what they are doing successfully.

Mr. Knighton noted individual requests
require Council consensus

Councilman Alexander noted several issues that are
unsatisfactory in the Public Works
area that need to be addressed; asked if a vote was required for a Beautification
Plan;
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asked if there enough funding in the budget to address the lack of
general maintenance;
asked the City Manager to utilize the $25,000
spending authority and advise if the amount
needs to be increased to carry out the needs of the
City; and asked for a dedicated Street
Sweeper to be added to the fleet or an on—call contractor.

Civic Projects Heather Hubbell of TSW

Ms. Hubbell thanked the City for giving TSW the
opportunity as the On—Call Architectural
contractor and gave an overview of the
progress of the Amphitheater noting the total
occupancy of 4,185 (staff, security, performers and processions) and 3,498 sold seats.

Ms. Hubbell noted the construction bids will close on
September 5, 2019 and information
will only be given to the awarded bid recipient.

Ms. Hubbell noted the designed had been updated with the
requested pavers, and there
is an Acoustical Engineer on board, and noted the
vegetation along the stream would
help to buffer the sound.

Ms. Hubbell noted the stream has been determined to be a stream and has filed for
National Permit.

Councilman Thomas questioned the perimeter of the Amphitheater for
non—payers; and
the response was the entire venue would be
completely enclosed.

Ms. Hubbell noted the scope of work for TSW relates to the
Amphitheater and the
Detention Pond; Falcon Design is working on
parking. Ms. Hubbell referenced the (3)
structures that need to be removed, noting the scale for
parking is 1 —
4 per seat.

Mr. Knighton reiterated the removal of the
(3) three structures and referenced the LCI
Land Use Guide for streets.

Ms. Hubbell referenced the concept design of the
proposed Cultural Arts Center and
noted 250-seat capacity with dressing room, 18 VIP
parking spaces, 202 standard
parking spaces, 56 angled parking spaces with 2 in/out entrances/exits, great footprint for
outdoor events, and noted the building could be
expanded towards the back lot and
would have a 9-month timeframe with an estimated cost of $11 .5 million +
$500,000 for a
total estimated cost of $12 million dollars.

Councilwoman Robinson asked about the addition of a water feature at the
proposed
Cultural Arts Center; and use of the meeting rooms at the for Senior services.
facility

Councilwoman Gantt noted event space in the Cultural Arts Center could be rented and
free up the TSCC for other uses; and agreed with the estimated
$12 million cost.

Mayor Pro Tem Blount expressed concerns about residual maintenance costs for a water
feature at the Cultural Arts Center.

Ms. Hubbell noted an Interior Design has been added to the
project

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There was discussion about the Youth/Senior Center
going more in the direction of an
Activity Center/Community Center.

Downtown Development Authority
Mr. Touchton noted the DDA Chair (Raoul
Clarke) asked him to present the proposed
FY2019 DDA budget of $45,000 (consistent with prior on his behalf.
years)

Councilwoman Gantt noted Mr. Clarke’s absent was due to a
recently acquired Executive
position with Lowe’s; noted the old fire station will be the DDA’s first project when the
building is deeded overto the DDA.

Mr. Touchton recommended a Master Plan; noted the
Bridge Project has an estimated
cost of $3.5 million; and noted a developer had informed him of the concern of
Burke
Street not having enough land for a mixed—use development.

Ms. Harris—Braggs noted the Carl Vinson Institute of Government based the RSVP
plan
their calculations and is certain the mixed-used
development can be done.

Councilwoman Robinson noted the Council approved the RSVP
plan and any changes
should be brought back to the Council.

Councilwoman Gantt noted there have been no changes to the RSVP
plan by the DDA.

Economic Development —
James Touchton
Mr. Touchton noted he had been on board with the
City as the Economic Development
Director for (8) eight months and is happy to have added the tools of the
consisting City’s
DA (Development Authority) and the
City’s PFA (Public Facilities Authority) as valuable
tools in the City’s toolbox to move fonNard with the
bonding and financing of projects.

Mr. Touchton noted an increase in the
proposed FY2020 budget for Professional
Services from $6,000 to $25,000 noting it takes funding to make the
City
successful.

Mr. Touchton also noted a decrease in the
proposed FY2020 budget of $3,000 removing
a phone land line as he is out of the office quite office and utilizes his City cell phone.

Mr. Touchton proceeded to present a Draft
copy of the City’s Marketing Brochure noting
all the information was not included as he was
waiting for information from staff to include
in the brochure and referenced copies of similar brochures from other
municipalities that
had been included in his presentation.

Mayor Pro Tern Blount asked only completed presentations to be placed on the Agenda.

Councilman Thomas asked for the use and purpose of the
proposed brochure.

Mr. Touchton noted this would be a marketing tool to market the
City of Stockbridge and
referenced different marketing components.

Councilwoman Robinson noted additional funds
may need to be added to the
Marketing/Hospitality budget for Economic Develop as Mr. Touchton takes over the
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August 16, 2019 Location: 9000 Avalon Blvd. Alpharetta, GA 30009
outreach to businesses, holding meetings with the business
owners, and further stating, if
we are not at the table, we are looked over and we need to
put more skin in the game.

Mr. Touchton cited other cities who not that
long ago were sleepy rural towns such as
Kennesaw and Lawrenceville, and both are
booming successful cities now was due to
their investments in marketing their respective cities.

Mr. Touchton made a request for an RFQ forthe Economic
Development Strategic Plan
for the City of Stockbridge.

Councilwoman Gantt asked for an update on the
City’s parcel list; Mr. Touchton noted is
was being submitted to the members of the DDA very soon.

Mr. Touchton noted he rode the City with a member of DCA and
was told the City of

Stockbridge does not meet the qualifications of an Opportunity Zone as there is no blight;
maybe some not so good—looking buildings and code enforcement issues, but no blight.

Mr. Touchton suggested the City market the fact that there is no
City Property Tax and
consider a CID in partnership with Clayton and
Henry County, noting
it would be a
monumental task but stressed the importance of the aesthetics of the
City and tying the
into economic development.

Councilwoman Robinson asked Mr. Touchton what the Economic
Development
department needs from the Mayor & Council to be successful.

Mayor Ford echoed the sentiments of Councilwoman Robinson and asked what the City
can do to set the entire city up for success.

Mr. Touchton requested staffs assistance to
get the Marketing Brochure completed in
FY2019, move fon/vard with the proposal from Next Site in the amount of $22,000 that
would require a FY2019 budget amendment
noting economic development is notjust
about buildings, but it also about bringing jobs and needs direction from the
Council.
Councilman Alexander stated emphatically and wanted to make it clear that the Economic
Development Director reports directly to the City Manager and asked if there was a need
for dedicated staff that needed to be added to the
department. There was no response.

CVB/Marketing James Touchton, Kira Harris-Braggs

Mr. Touchton noted the pros and cons of
bringing
a CVB (Convention Visitors Bureau) in-
house, noting the costs are in upwards of $500,000 annually to operate and once formed,
is set in stone.

Ms. Harris-Braggs gave an overview of Tourism and asked Who? What? And
How? Ms.
Harris-Braggs noted the FY2017 Tourism funds were $445,329 and FY2020 is estimated
to be $534,286 and noted the firs 3 cents
goes to the General Fund leaving an estimated
$300,000.

Mr. Harris-Braggs continued with the Tourism
presentation by noting: Main Street assist
with tourism by placing feet on the street
(specifically in the downtown area); Businesses
assist with tourism by placing a face in the place; and the CVB
places heads in beds with
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something special or unique.

Ms. Harris—Braggs then defined a Tourist
as follows: Someone who is not local; travelled
to the destinati on (60-75 miles
minimum); had an overnight stay and plans to spend
money. (Notju st someon e passing through that’s defined as a traveler, not a

tourist).
Ms. Ha rris-Braggs noted the must—haves for
Tourism: Shopping, Dining, Entertainment,
Cultura I Experiences, Historic Sites,
Venues, Meeting Places, Visit—Worthy Locations and
Hotels.

Ms. Harris-Braggs then posed the
question a s to whether or not the City could do this well
with an estimated $300,000
considering you must have a CVB Board in place, staff to
consist of a Director, Welcome/Info
Center, 8 ales, Marketing and Promotions, Tourism
Strategy and Tourism Development or workin g w/Collaborative where the
City could
partner with other area assets, don't have to
provide the salaries, benefits, etc., must be
clear about objectives, and must
communicate.

Stockbridge Capital Projects Resolution
Council Consideration to
approve the intent to fund the Amphitheater, Cultural Arts
Center, and other capital projects. Motion to
approve made by Councilman Alexander;
second by Councilwoman Robinson. The
motion passed 5-0.

Canon Copiers Agreement
Mr. Knighton referenced the
request for City Copiers utilizing National IPA contract
Number Fl—R—O251-189 for Multi—Function
Copier Devices and Service Solutions City of —

Stockbridge Contract No. 2019-00025P in the amount of $50,000
through 9/30/2023.
Motion to approve made by Councilwoman
Robinson; second by Councilman Alexander.
The motion passed 4-0
(Mayor Pro Tem Blount was not present for the vote).

Motion to adjourn made by Councilman
Alexander; second by Councilwoman Robinson.
The motion passed 4-0
(Councilwoman Gantt was not present forthe vote).

Respectfully submitted by:

Vanessa Holiday, ity Clerk CMC n th ony 8. Ford,
ayor

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August 16, 2019 Location: 9000 Avalon Blvd.
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