CITY OF MANCHESTER
BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN AGENDA
August 16, 2011
6:30 p.m.
No Work Session at 5:30 p.m.
COMMITTEES: Safety; Finance; Street; Street Lighting;Water & Sewer Commission;
Recreation; Tourism; Planning Commission
Ordinances
CITY OF MANCHESTER
BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN AGENDA
August 16, 2011
6:30 p.m.
No Work Session at 5:30 p.m.
COMMITTEES: Safety; Finance; Street; Street Lighting;Water & Sewer Commission;
Recreation; Tourism; Planning Commission
Ordinances
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND MANCHESTER MUNICIPAL CODE 8-206 RELATIVE TO THE MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCES
WHEREAS Manchester Municipal Code 8-206(6)currently specifies that distances imposed by that section be measured from "main entrance" to "main entrance" of the respective premises; and
WHEREAS the location of the "entrance" might, in certain circumstances, be uncertain; and
WHEREAS the Board of Mayor and Alderman of the City of Manchester, Tennessee believes the term "main entrance door" provides a more definite point from which measurements should be made.
BE IT THEREFORE ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that both references to "main entrance" contained in Manchester Municipal Code 8-206(6) be changed to "main entrance door."
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that there be added to Manchester Municipal Code 8-206 the following sentence:
"Whenever the distance between the permitee and either a church or school is calculated to be within 50 feet of the minimum distancesimposed by this section, the Police Chief or his designee shall measure the distance with a tape measure or such other instruments as may give an accurate measurement or, if in the opinion of the Chief of Police, compliance or non-compliance with the distance requirements can be determined only by a licensed surveyor; then the Chief of Police shall employ a licensed surveyor to perform the measurement."
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE that this Ordinance shall take effect on and after its publication and passage, the public welfare of the City of Manchester, Tennessee requiring it.
PASSED FIRST READING: , 2011
PASSED SECOND READING: , 2011
PASSED THIRD AND FINAL READING: , 2011
Betty Superstein, Mayor
Esther Greene, Finance Director
CITY OF MANCHESTER
Board of Mayor and Aldermen
August 2, 2011
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen met in regular session August 2, 2011 at 6:31 p.m. in the Boardroom of the Manchester City Hall. Mayor Superstein presided over the meeting. Present wereAlderman Norman, Alderman Holmes, Alderman Patton, Alderman French, and Alderman Thomas. Alderman Parsley was absent. Also present were Program Coordinator Burnette, Chief Financial Officer Greene, City Attorney Gerald Ewell, Utilities DirectorPennington, Asst. Chief Bellamy, Health & Codes Director Gray,Chaplain Benjamin, Information Systems Director Smotherman,Public Works Director Carter, Executive Administrative Assistant Loyd and others.
Minutes
Alderman Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes of July19, 2011. Alderman French seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by a vote of five to zero.
Correspondence
Mayor Superstein read a thank you note from Mrs. Judy Worthington. The City recently honored Mayor Worthington by naming the Interstate 24 Bridge at Exit 114 the Roy L. Worthington Memorial Bridge.
Comments from Citizens
None.
Communications from the Mayor
Mayor Superstein stated there had recently been an internal audit done regarding the stimulus funds being used for the Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion. She said there was much work and time put in to the gathering of records for the audit. She stated there no findings identified during the review.
Committee Reports
Safety Committee –
Alderman Holmes stated there was nothing to report to the Board.
Finance Committee –
Alderman Thomas stated there was nothing to report to the Board. Chief Financial Officer Greene stated there would be a meeting the following Monday.
Street Committee –
Alderman Norman stated there would be a meeting the following Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Street Lighting –
Mayor Superstein stated Alderman Parsley was on his way to the meeting.
Water & Sewer Commission –
Alderman Norman stated there would be a meeting Thursday at 3 p.m.
Recreation Commission –
Alderman Patton stated there was nothing to present to the Board. She stated there would be a meeting next Thursday at Noon.
Mayor Superstein stated Recreation Director Gamble was not attending the meeting to spend time with her newborn twin grandsons.
Tourism & Economic Development –
Alderman Holmes stated there would be a meeting on the last Monday of the month.
Planning Commission –
Alderman Holmes stated there was nothing to report to the Board.
Ordinances
Alderman Thomas made a motion to approve the ordinance. Alderman Holmes seconded the motion. The ordinance was passed with a vote of five to zero.
Alderman Norman made a motion to approve the ordinance. Alderman Patton seconded the motion. The ordinance was passed with a vote of five to zero.
Old Business
None.
New Business
None.
Items from Board of Mayor and Aldermen
None.
Adjournment
The Board recessed at 6:36 p.m.
Following the Beer Board meeting, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting was reconvened at 6:38 p.m. Alderman French made a motion to adjourn the Beer Board and to reopen the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Meeting. Alderman Patton seconded the motion. The motion was approved with a vote of six to zero.
Alderman French made a motion to amend the City OrdinanceChapter 8 section 206 regarding when beer permits should not be issued. He stated he would like to change the language in the ordinance from "main entrance" to "door to door" and said doors to be the primary entrance door of the facility. City Attorney clarified the request. Alderman French also wished to add to the ordinance that all permits within a distance of 50 ft be measured by Manchester Police Department or bids placed for a surveyor to measure the distance if the distance is in question. Alderman Norman seconded the motion. City Attorney Ewell asked for a minute to write up the ordinance.
City Attorney Ewell stated he would write the ordinance as an ordinance to amend Manchester Municipal Code 8-206 relative to measurement of distance. He said the ordinance will substitute the word "main entrance door" for "main entrance" both times it appears in the ordinance. He stated it will also provide that when it appears the distance is within 50 ft. of distances prescribed that the Manchester Police Department will measure the distance with a tape measure or the City may employ a surveyor to measure the distance.
City Attorney Ewell stated he could write the ordinance out if the Board prefers or could proceed if the Board is satisfied with the summary.
Alderman Patton asked if the language should include measuring with a tape measure "when possible" as it may not always be possible to measure with tape measure. Alderman French stated he included both options for that reason.
City Attorney Ewell asked if the Board would like the ordinance written out in its entirety or if the summary was sufficient. The Board agreed the summary was sufficient.
Mayor Superstein asked if there was any discussion. There was no discussion.
The ordinance failed with a vote of three to two. Alderman Thomas and Alderman Holmes voted no. Alderman French, Alderman Norman, and Alderman Patton voted yes.
Adjournment
The Board adjourned at 6:44 p.m.______________________________________
Mayor Betty Superstein
Attest:
___________________________________________
Amy Loyd, Exec. Administrative Assistant
Plans to build a new Manchester Police station are on indefinite hold until the economy improves, Mayor Betty Superstein said. The city had budgeted $1.4 million for the construction of a new headquarters for the Manchester Police Department, planned for location on Interstate Drive. It received two bids, both of which were over $2 million, too expensive for the city at the moment, she said. The lowest bidder, Sain Construction, was asked to see if changes could be made to make the project come within the $1.4 million target.
“The architects and others met with Sain to discuss the options, and found they could only reduce it by $170,000,” Superstein said. “That wasn’t enough to move forward. It’s still too much over our budget.” The project was to be paid for in part by a USDA Rural Development grant, and $200,000 in federal stimulus funding. Those funding sources required that the project be done with American made products and materials, adding to the cost, she said.
In a memo to department heads explaining the hold on the project, Superstein wrote that “Our budget it too tight, the economy is still too sluggish, and therefore all bids have been rejected,” she said. “We will wait and hopefully the economy will continue to get better,” she said. “When the economy is better we will work again on financing a police station. I hate it, but this just is not the time to be going and borrowing more money. We can wait a while on a new police station. Everybody is stuffed into city hall, but we’ll be okay.”
Property taxes paid to Coffee County will remain the same for residents in Manchester and Tullahoma in the coming year, but rural residents will pay 11 cents more, and Coffee County Schools will have to find a way to deal with a $481,000 cut in revenue, as a result of votes taken Tuesday night by the Coffee County Commission.
The commission, at the end of a three and a half hour meeting, approved a 2011-12 fiscal year budget after approving a motion to keep funding for Coffee County Schools at 2009-10 levels. Rural residents, who did not have a tax increase last year, will have one in the coming year, as the commission voted to replace 11 cents of the rural rate devoted to rural debt service which was removed from the tax rate last year.Coffee County Schools had requested some $481,000 in additional funding to pay for new and used busses to replace busses which have reached the end of their legal lifetime, under state law. Schools Director Kenny Casteel said that the system may have to look at cuts in bus transportation to make up the shortfall.