City of Villa Rica
City Council Meeting
April 1, 2008

AGENDA

The Mayor and Council of the City of Villa Rica will meet on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Holt-Bishop Justice Center, Municipal Courtroom.

1. Meeting called to order – Collins
2. Invocation by Councilmember Best

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Approval of minutes for March 4 and March 26, 2008

5. 2007 Award of Excellence – Representative of the Georgia Court Clerks Association

Old Business
6. Outdoor Watering Update – Mabry/Lacefield

7. ORD-08-05-ADM – FY2008-09 Budget – final reading – Wood

8. WSA Water Agreement – Mabry

9. Update – Historic Preservation – Mabry/Lacefield

10. Discussion – Access Overlay/Sign Area – Best

New Business
11. Recognition of Employee of the Month – Mabry

12. ABL-03-08 – request for alcohol pouring license at El Tio Restaurant, 110 Highway 61 Connector – Freeman

13. VA-01-08 – request for variance at 101 Three West Parkway for purpose of increasing sign height – Freeman

14. ORD-08-06-ADM – amendment to water rates to implement irrigation and industrial rates – Mabry/Wood

15. Resolution – Cahaba Valley Project, Oak Trace Housing For Older Persons (HFOP)– Mabry

16. Resolution – 4th Quarter Budget Amendment – Wood

17. Indigent Attorney – Mansour

18. Discussion – traffic control measures, Shoreline Parkway at Mirror Lake Parkway – Mabry

19. Consideration of Bids – sewer extension, Old Tanyard Rd, $123,913; July 4th Fireworks, $11,000 – Mabry

20. Payments over $5000 – $8200 to Delta Municipal Supply for replacement of mobile data collector for radio reads – Mabry

21. Public Comment

22. Executive Session

23. Adjourn

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• Over five acres of forest and brush in the Mt. Zion community burned, with high winds fanning flames at least 30 feet into the air. A Carroll County and Haralson County crew arrived on scene to control the fire, creating a 14-foot break that eventually starved the fire from additional fuel. (story)
• The City of Villa Rica will retain their water restrictions due to resource obligations with the Carroll County Water Authority and the Douglasville-Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority, in which both counties are still under a Level 4 drought condition. Lake Fashion, which acts as the city’s reservoir, is only used by 1/3 while the rest is outsourced. (story)
• Despite the story above, the Carroll County Water Authority is choosing to relax its restrictions on outdoor watering by reintroducing alternate day rotations and the filling of swimming pools. Although Lake Seaton, Carroll County’s reservoir, is at full pool, the county has yet to comply Governor Perdue’s 10% reduction mandate. The relaxed restrictions will begin on April 1st. (story)
• Teachers statewide might see a 2% increase in their salary if the state legislature approves the new budget. However the raise will not equal the cost of living from last year, which was 2.8%, and the original salary increase from this year was to be 2.25%. (story)
• The Carroll County Board of Health is considering to secede from the state system, which puts county’s in districts that are run by the state, and if successful would be the first time in state history. Of course state officials are urging county officials to not follow through with their plans. The reason behind the motive is to have the county’s Board of Health split away from the state is to better cater their services to the need of the county and being able to control programs more effectively. (story)
• Carroll County is still very much agricultural in industry, yet there are only three veterinarians that care for farm animals - i.e. horses, cows, sheep and chickens. But the shortage for those vets are statewide as well. Grants and scholarships have acted as temporary solutions to the problem, yet it has done little to increase the number of vets needed. Carroll County is in a unique place considering its location to metro Atlanta to the east and rural Alabama to the west. (story)
• The Carrollton Housing Authority has been given the permission by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to demolish Davis Homes public housing complex within a year or more. Those residents living there will have the option to either move to another public housing project or be given a federal tenant protection voucher that can be used to pay rent at any Section 8 house. Most residents are asking for vouchers. (story)

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• There’s actually two stories here. First off Carroll County governments are working on the plans to revive SPLOST despite the difficulty that has risen over shared funding. Since SPLOST relies on population figures from 2006, money split for municipalities will have changed from the 2003 SPLOST although funding would likely be increased. The second story has to deal with the County sharing services with the municipalities through the Municipal Service Delivery Strategy - this directive is to elminate the duplication of services. SPLOST is to wrap up in June to be on the September ballot, while the service strategy is to be done by October. (story)
• The state legislature is awaiting approval from Governor Sonny Perdue to accept a new piece of legislation that limits the dates that SPLOST can be voted on. Both House and Senate bills are similar in design, affirming the voters would go to the polls on “primary and general elections and the month of March; the Senate version also includes the presidential preference primary.” (story)
• Despite some hard hitting hail and thunderstorms, Carroll County made it through the day-long event with some wind damage to some homes and few power outages. (story)
• Alan Lee, an investigator for the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, is seeking to fill the seat of court clerk for the county. (story)
• Residents of Villa Rica will have a chance Tuesday night to express their input on the newly proposed 103 acre Spring Lake Passive Recreation Park, which was the city’s first water treatment plant. The park is to be passive (non-recreational) holding onto its natural setting. “A public meeting will be held March 18 at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Courtroom of the Holt-Bishop Justice Center as part of the master plan’s development process.” (story)

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• Citizens in Carroll County are receiving phone calls from inmates at the Harris County Prison in Texas, attempting to con people to create a three-way call in order to talk someone on the outside. Inmates try to sell the story by saying they are attempting to reach a loved one, although the story is fabricated and if the receiver of the call believes such story, then they pay for the whole call. Harris County inmates have been known for this phone scam, randomly dialing phone numbers until someone agrees to accept the charges. Citizens receiving calls from Harris County, Texas, and are wanting to stop the calls can inform their phone company, “call Correctional Billing Services at 1-800-844-6591 and Global Tel-Link at 1-877-650-4249 to request that jail calls be blocked.” (story)
• Students participating in the new E.A.G.L.E. (Educational Activities Generating Learning Excellence), which is the predecessor of D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), say the program is “better and more comprehensive.” The program goes beyond the limitations of D.A.R.E. by including the topics of “drugs, alcohol, and Internet safety.” (story)
• There’s a synopsis of police action for Carroll County. (story)

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• Members of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners are questioning their Chairman Bill Chappell’s affiliation with the Carroll Star Newspaper, which he founded in 1995. Although Chappell sold the paper for an undisclosed amount, it seems that the buyer has a connection to the newspaper business, including the same address, all the while Chappell is still writing articles. Other questions regarding connections to Chappell’s campaign team members and the paper are rising. A brother-in-law of a campaign member was hired as an independent auditor for the county, yet the county yearly hires a independent audit firm. (story)
• The City of Bowden has narrowed the number of applicants to seven for the position of city manager, which is to perform tasks like “handling the city’s finances, dealing with the public and overseeing the city’s day-to-day operation.” (story)
• Under newly revised level four drought restrictions, Haralson County citizens can now fill existing pools and hand-water plants for 25 minutes a day, on the odd-even address system between the hours of 12 a.m. to 10 a.m. (story)
• Motorists in the Villa Rica have been the state’s average of buckling-up while driving, scoring 93% out of the state’s 87% for last month. (story)