City Council Continues Working On Details to Set Up City

In Thursday's Special Called Meeting, the City Council continued to make process on the myriad details it takes to get a new city up and running.

In its latest meeting the City Council narrowed down which bank it would use for city business and discussed the formation of a city Planning Commission. And Acting Attorney Bill Riley said at its July 24th meeting, the city may be able to look into passing an ordinance to lift the building moratorium.

That's surely music to the ears of the 100 or so business owners waiting to get the go-ahead to launch their businesses. The city placed a moratorium on all new business effective May 1 to allow the City Council to get planning and zoning ordinances in place before issuing business licenses.

On the agenda was an ordinance to amend the intergovernmental agreement with Gwinnett county for Land Use Services which the city's attorney asked that the Council table until the next meeting at the county's request.

Other items in the packed agenda:

Report on TAN (Tax Anticipation Note): City consultant John Kashmar presented a 4-page RFP for a $500,000 loan to the Council. The loan will be used by the city to operate until it begins collecting revenue from franchise fees and property tax. Kashmar said the city could expect to get a loan "in the neighborhood of 3 percent."

Kachmar reported on the submissions received by several banks on providing banking services to the city. He said SunTrust and BB&T were the most competitive with BB&T offering the most competitive services.

In all four banks were vetted said Councilmember Jeanne Aulbach. "BB&T met our criteria and was superior with better rates and offered FDIC assurance. And its electronic banking capability was superior to the other banks," she said.

Councilmember Phil Sadd voiced an objection that the council would not have an opportunity to first meet with a banking representative before making a final decision. "I wouldn't put $2.7 million of my money in a bank without meeting them first," Sadd said.

Kachmar confirmed that it was customary for cities to choose a bank without personally meeting with a bank representative and also offered that there is no contract with the bank so the services with the bank can be terminated at any time.

The City Council heard recommendations from Riley and Kachmar on recruiting members for the city's Planning Commission. Both recommended that the number of members be reduced from seven to five members.

Kachmar also made a recommendation that the the Council put a package together to use in recruiting citizens for the Planning Commission and possibly asking for potential members' resumes as part of the package. "Let's get the best people we can find," said Mason on hearing the recommendation.

The City Council heard proposals from two companies to provide Community Development Liaison Services. Kashmar presented proposals from CH2MHill and Pond & Co. The services are required as part of the agreement between the city and county.

All City Council members were present with five people attending.

Up next, the City Council has scheduled a Special Called Meeting for Monday, July 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. to be held at the at 5993 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Peachtree Corners.