TOWN OF TALLULAH FALLS
STATE OF GEORGIA
REGULAR MEETING
December 8, 2016
MINUTES
The regular monthly meeting for December 8, 2016 of the City Council of Tallulah Falls, Georgia was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by Mayor Pro-tem Deb Goatcher
- Mayor Pro-tem Deb Goatcher
- Councilperson Bill Coldren
- Councilperson Larry Hamilton
- Councilperson Teri Dobbs
- Police Chief Bill Goatcher
- Fire Chief Robbie McCutcheon
- Town Administrator/Clerk Patti Polk
OTHERS PRESENT:
See attached sign-in list. (for attachments, contact Town Clerk)
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to accept the minutes of the November 3, 2016 Regular City Council Meeting and the November 29, 2016 Special Called Meeting. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher recognized Tammy Whitmire with the Rabun County Board of Elections to discuss the requirements of holding a Special Election for Mayor and contracting with the County to hold said election.
Ms. Whitmire, Election Supervisor for Rabun County, commented she does all elections for surrounding cities except Tallulah Falls and gave a timeline for conducting a 2017 Special Election. Once the formal call for election is made, a Resolution notification will need to be prepared by the Town’s attorney. The notification will be ran in the Northeast Georgian on January 19th and January 26th editions. The qualifying period will take place February 6 through February 8th, 8:30am – 5pm. The set fee for qualifying will be equal to 3% of the Mayor’s salary. Early voting will occur between February 27th and March 17th at the Rabun County Elections Board. Election Day will be held on March 21, 2017 at Tallulah Falls Town Hall.
Ms. Whitmire reviewed the standard agreement for services and confirmed the cost would be only the amount it costs the County for conducting the election. There is no profit made. Costs include advertising, poll worker salaries, and other supplies (i.e., ballots, envelopes, postage). The amount will be billed in a single invoice at the end of the election by the Rabun County Board of Elections.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to set a $3,500 budget the election. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to authorize the service agreement for Rabun County to conduct the Special Election for Tallulah Falls. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Hamilton and passed unanimously.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Hamilton to call for a Special Election to be held on March 21, 2017 for Mayor. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
Attorney Report:
Allyn Stockton was not in attendance to provide attorney report.
Fire Report:
Attached hereto and made a part hereof. (for attachments, contact Town Clerk)
Fire Chief Robbie McCutcheon asked for the Council’s approval of a $1,000 budget to purchase a toolbox and tools for the Fire Department. The money would come from the Founder’s Day Fundraiser where approximately $2,500 was raised.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Coldren to approve the requested $1,000 budget for tools and toolbox for the Fire Department. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Hamilton and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher recognized Gary and Donna Verdino for their monetary donation of $200 to the Fire Department and $400 to the Police Department, a monetary donation from Chuck and Elizabeth Pratt of $200 to the Police Department, and Liberty Baptist Church in Tiger for their donations of water/Gatorade/snack bags/paper goods. Thank you notes have been written to all.
Police Report:
Attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Police Chief Bill Goatcher recognized Gary Verdino, Jerry Jaeger, Mike Early, and Dave Shanks for their assistance in making the December 2nd Chirstmas Pot-Luck Dinner a success.
Chief Goatcher asked for the Council’s approval to use the services of Tom Ramey and his bucket truck for putting up and taking down the Town’s Chirstmas Lights. Mr. Ramey indicated the cost would be $150 annually.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Coldren to approve the $150 annual fee. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Hamilton and passed unanimously.
Chief Goatcher discussed a recent request made by Tallulah Falls School (TFS) for a Tallulah Falls Police Officer to escort their basketball team to an out of town game in Towns County. The cost to the school will be the pay for the off-duty police officer plus a $50 fee for the officer to use a patrol car. This is a one-time request and any future requests from the school will be subject to availability without any guarantees.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to approve a one-time request from TFS for the use of an officer and car for the Towns County game. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Hamilton. Councilperson Coldren abstained from the vote since he is an employee of TFS.
Water Report:
Attached hereto and made a part hereof. (for attachments, contact Town Clerk)
Chief Goatcher noted the issue of no water on Hickory Nut Mountain for the past several days and gave a “Hickory Nut Mountain Water 101” overview. The primary issue was a broken valve causing two pumps to go out. MidWay Electric installed new pumps with a float valve to tell pumps when to turn off. Chief Goatcher is having one of the pumps rebuilt for future back up.
Chief Goatcher further explained the need for future safeguards to prevent a water outage from happening again. He made recommendations of investigating the possibly of telemetry (i.e., radio control), hardwiring which will cost more than telemetry, and purchasing a motor to have as back up should one go out.
Councilperson noted the “ultimate fix” for the Hickory Nut Water issues is to have a ten (10) thousand-gallon storage tank on top of the Mountain.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs for Chief Goatcher to investigate options and cost estimates to fix the Hickory Nut Mountain water issues. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Hamilton and passed unanimously.
Chief Goatcher stated the “boil water” mandate remains in effect for residents until the water sample results are received back from the EPD confirming it is safe.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher announced the water permit application was submitted to EPD by Hayes James on November 23, 2016. Hayes James has requested a follow up meeting with the Mayor and City Attorney to discuss the amended 2014 water line map signed by Carl Seaman showing Demorest servicing the area covering the Tallulah Falls School and two roads within the Tallulah Falls.
Financial Report:
Attached hereto and made a part hereof. (for attachments, contact Town Clerk)
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher commented on available SPLOST 6 funds for Town Hall Renovations and asked Chief Goatcher to review the recent purchases made and upcoming purchases.
Chief Goatcher stated recent purchases included the installation of heating/air system, connection to natural gas, and new light installation. Upcoming purchases to be made include a gas tankless water heater, a heater for the Fire Department, kitchen cabinets, and ADA compliance front doors. These purchases were approved in the previous Council meeting.
Chief Goatcher commented on the two propane wall heaters needing to be removed and confirmed they cannot be converted. A resident is interested in purchasing both wall heaters and will do the removal.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to sell the pair of wall heaters for $100 and have resident to remove them. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher commented the Financial Audit Agreement with Mixon & Associates, for year ending June 30, 2016, has been signed and submitted.
Street Report:
None
Public Safety Report:
Fire Captain Mike Early noted Tallulah Falls Fire Department had sent volunteers to assist with the Rabun County Fires.
Councilperson Dobbs commented on an upcoming Appreciation Dinner being held at the Waterfall on December 15th for the firefighters that assisted with putting out wild fires in the area. She will get more details on the event to share with Fire Chief McCutcheon and Fire Captain Early.
Mayor’s Comments:
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher asked for a motion to approve year-end bonuses for the employees Bill Goatcher for $500, Matt Nall for $400, Patti Polk for $200, Dave Shanks for $50, and Tracy Payne for $50.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Coldren to approve all year-end bonuses. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Dobbs and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher noted the $1,500 donation that Tallulah Falls School committed to contributing to the Town of Tallulah Falls and asked for a motion to use the money towards the 2016-2017 Archway Partnership Agreement in the amount of $3,000.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Dobbs to use the money towards the Archway Agreement. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher asked for a motion to approve the $250 Silver Level Sponsorship for the 2016 Tallulah Falls School Twin Rivers Challenge.
A Motion was made by Councilperson Hamilton to give Tallulah Falls School the amount of $250 for the Twin Rivers Challenge. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Coldren and passed unanimously.
Mayor Pro-tem Goatcher announced a Town Hall Meeting has been scheduled for January 19, 2017 at 6pm. In addition to putting an announcement marquee outside Town Hall, an email to all town residents will be sent as a reminder.
Councilperson Dobbs commented on the Solar Eclipse Event happening in our area on August 21, 2017. Activities are being planned by Georgia State University, Rabun Gap School, and Explore Rabun and expand a 4-day to 5-day timeframe causing hotels in the area to be already booked. Tallulah Falls should consider having Blue Grass on the Square Saturday and Sunday to promote Tallulah Falls and give local businesses exposure
Open Floor:
Councilperson Hamilton made the Motion to adjourn; seconded by Councilperson Coldren. The Motion passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.