Mayor Garrett called the Regular Meeting of the Decatur City Commission to order at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5, 2018.

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1 MINUTES DECATUR CITY COMMISSION Regular Meeting November 5, 2018 City Hall: 7:30 p.m. Mayor Garrett called the Regular Meeting of the Decatur City Commission to order at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5, PRESENT: Mayor Garrett, Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh; and, City Manager Merriss. ABSENT: Commissioner Smith. MINUTES of the Regular Meeting of October 15, 2018 were approved on a motion by Commissioner Drake, second by Mayor pro tem Powers; and, Mayor pro tem Powers and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye. 1 MINUTES of the Executive Session of October 30, 2018 were approved on a motion by Commissioner Drake, second by Mayor pro tem Powers; and, Mayor Garrett; Mayor pro tem Powers; and, Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE. City Manager Merriss stated that the Police Department recommended the issuance of an alcoholic beverage license for the retail sale for consumption on premises of beer and wine to Hannelore DeRoover for Java Monkey, 425 Church Street. She stated that the application had received approval from all required departments and all fees had been paid. She added that the location was not subject to a sidewalk table plan. Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, issuance of the license was approved. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS. Mayor Garrett opened the meeting for public comment. Hearing none, the public comment was closed. CONTRACT FOR SERVICES FOR TRAFFIC SIGNALIZATION DESIGN AT TALLEY STREET/SOUTH COLUMBIA/SHADOWMOOR INTERSECTION. Project Manager Courtney Frisch recommended establishment of a project budget of $27,000 and approval of an agreement with Pond and Company for professional engineering services in an amount not to exceed $23,325 to design intersection and traffic signal improvements at the Talley Street/South Columbia Drive/Shadowmoor Drive intersection. She stated that Pond and Company was currently included in the approved contract list as an on-call consultant for professional design services. She added that Pond and Company was the consultant for the Talley Street Multimodal Transportation Study and was familiar with the intersection characteristics. She stated that the intersection would be designed as a split phase signal and would include: no change to the current intersection geometry, left turn lane and protected/permitted phase of the signal on southbound South Columbia Drive, rebuild of northbound rightturn curb radius onto Talley Street, leading pedestrian interval, new curb ramps and crosswalks and 1 Mayor Garrett did not vote as she was not at the October 15, 2018 meeting. 1

2 sidewalk extensions on Shadowmoor Drive. She added that funds for the project were available in the Capital Improvement Fund budget. In response to a question from Mayor pro tem Powers, Ms. Frisch clarified that the current recommendation was only for the design phase. In response to a question from Mayor Garrett, Ms. Frisch reviewed the operation of a split phase traffic signal. In response to a question from Mayor Garrett, Ms. Frisch stated that once design was complete, a request for proposals would issued for sidewalk construction. Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, the project budget and agreement were approved as recommended. CONTRACT FOR SIDEWALK REPAIRS. Project Manager Courtney Frisch recommended establishment of a project budget of $50,000 and award of a contract to Georgia Safe Sidewalks of Lawrenceville, Georgia for the repair of sidewalks throughout the City of Decatur. She stated that Georgia Safe Sidewalks had performed satisfactorily in previous contracts. She stated that the following corridors had been identified for repair by the city staff: South Candler Road, College Avenue, Scott Boulevard, Oakhurst Park, Scott Park, McKoy Park and Glenlake Park. She added that funds were available in the Capital Improvement Fund budget for sidewalk work. In response to a question from Mayor pro tem Powers, Ms. Frisch stated that she would review the sidewalk repairs that were not completed in previous work. She explained that there were multiple possibilities for why a specific location may not have been addressed. In response to a question from Mayor Garrett, Ms. Frisch stated that sidewalks that would need to be replaced would be marked and would have to be included in a separate sidewalk reconstruction contract. Mayor Garrett stated that she had received positive feedback from residents regarding the previous projects completed by Georgia Safe Sidewalks. On a motion by Commissioner Drake, second by Commissioner Walsh; and, Mayor Garrett; Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, the project budget and agreement were approved as recommended. FISCAL YEAR AMENDED BUDGETS. Assistant City Manager Andrea Arnold recommended adoption of Resolution R amending the budgets for fiscal year to reflect changes in revenues and expenditures since the revised budgets were adopted on June 18, She stated this process formalized the reconciliation of fiscal year-end budgets in a manner consistent with State law and noted that additional year-end financial information would be available upon completion of the comprehensive annual financial report which was scheduled to be done by the end of the calendar year. She stated that there was an overage of $19,000 in one division budget but there were no other significant changes. She stated that there was no change to the bottom line of the general fund budget. 2

3 Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, Resolution R was approved as recommended. CONTRACT FOR SERVICES. City Manager Merriss requested authorization to execute an agreement with the DeKalb History Center, Inc. for provision of grant funds of $5,000 for capital equipment and maintenance needs for the Historic Courthouse on the Square and for the Historic Complex on West Trinity Place. She stated that the current budget included $5,000 to fund a grant to the DeKalb History Center. In response to a question from Commissioner Walsh, City Manager Merriss funds were approved as part of the City Commission on an annual basis. On a motion by Commissioner Drake, second by Mayor pro tem Powers; and, Mayor Garrett; Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, the contract for services was authorized as recommended. REQUESTS AND PETITIONS. Tonio Andrade, 119 West Dearborn Circle, thanked the City Commission and staff for work that had been done to improve traffic conditions on South Candler Street. Dr. Andrade submitted a petition asking for additional improvements to make South Candler Street safer. The following residents supported the petition and expressed their concerns regarding the lack of safety on South Candler Street: Laura Spriggs, 228 West Davis Street; Nina Knapp Jebens, 1339 Deerborn Drive; Gloria Grevas, 126 East Hill Street; James Van Duys, 132 West Street; Sandro Gisler, 313 Kirk Road; April Biagioni, 315 Mimosa Drive; Susan Greco, 158 South Candler Street; and, Chris Stirn, 538 South Candler Street. The petition was accepted by the City Commission and staff was requested to review and provide a response. Decatur Tourism Bureau Director Linda Harris requested the City Commission allow the Decatur Tourism Bureau to incorporate the City of Decatur logo in its re-developed Visit Decatur Georgia branding. She presented some examples of the proposed log. On a motion by Commissioner Drake, second by Mayor pro tem Powers; and, Mayor Garrett; Mayor pro tem Powers; and Commissioners Drake and Walsh voting aye, the request was approved as recommended. REPORTS AND OTHER BUSINESS. Mayor Garrett read the Zoning Board of Appeals agenda for November 12, Mayor Garrett read the Planning Commission agenda for November 13, Upon nomination by Mayor pro tem Powers and Mayor Garrett, Mayor pro tem Powers, and Commissioner Drake voting aye, Conor McNally was appointed to the Decatur Development Authority and Downtown Development Authority Boards. 2 2 Commissioner Walsh recused herself from voting on this item. 3

4 Mayor Garrett offered her condolences to the family of Miles Jenness, who was killed in a car accident near South Candler Street. Mayor Garrett thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. Commissioner Walsh offered her condolences to the family of Miles Jenness. Commissioner Walsh noted that the City Commission had recently approved an updated transportation plan that included a zero tolerance policy for towards traffic and pedestrian fatalities. She added that she was supportive of the petition and appreciated the meaningful comments made by the residents. Commissioner Walsh encouraged everyone to vote on November 6, Commissioner Walsh thanked city staff and volunteers for their services that led to a successful Wine Festival on November 3, Commissioner Walsh invited everyone to the Affordable Housing Summit on November 10, 2018 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Manuel J. Maloof Auditorium. Mayor Garrett stated that a video recording of the Affordable Housing Summit would be made available on the City website. Commissioner Drake thanked city staff and volunteers for assistance in supporting a successful Wine Festival. Commissioner Drake encouraged everyone to vote on November 6, Commissioner Drake offered his condolences to the family of Miles Jenness and thanked his parents for attending the meeting. Commissioner Drake thanked the residents for their insightful and concise comments. Commissioner Drake invited everyone to the open house and workshop to kick-off planning for improvements to the railroad crossing at Atlanta Avenue on November 15, 2018 at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House, 701 West Howard Avenue from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mayor pro tem Powers stated that the most crucial transportation challenges faced in Decatur were related to visibility, signage and aggressive driver behavior. He added that an effort towards changing behavior would be required for the desired changes to take place. Mayor pro tem Powers stated that the collaborative relationship that the City had with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) would be helpful in finding solutions to make the streets safer. Mayor pro tem Powers welcomed back Mayor Garrett and stated that her presence was thoroughly missed at the last two meetings. Mayor pro tem Powers encouraged everyone to vote on November 6, Mayor pro tem Powers reminded everyone that November 12, 2018 was Veterans Day and thanked all veterans for their service. 4

5 Mayor pro tem Powers offered his condolences to the family of Miles Jenness and thanked his parents for attending the City Commission meeting. Mayor Garrett thanked the City Commissioners and residents for the insightful comments. She requested that City staff review the petition and provide a response to the City Commission providing information and options on implementing additional improvements on South Candler Street. Mayor Garrett invited everyone to the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association meeting on November 12, 2018 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 321 West Hill Street. Mayor Garrett stated that she attended the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) State of the Region breakfast with Commissioner Walsh. She added that two of the most critical challenges discussed at the breakfast were affordable housing and transportation. Mayor Garrett stated that she attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Columbia Senior Residences at East Decatur that would provide 92 high quality apartments dedicated for seniors 62 years of age and older. Mayor Garrett encouraged everyone to vote on November 6, She added that there was a Decatur specific referendum question regarding allowing restaurants to serve alcoholic beverages earlier on Sundays. City Manager Merriss recognized Police Investigator Mark Hensel for attending the meeting as part of the City s E5 Leadership Academy program. Meredith Roark City Clerk 5