PRATTVILLE CITY COUNCIL
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2007
7:00 P.M.

The Prattville City Council met in regular session on Tuesday, August 21st at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall with Council President Argo presiding. Roll was called and all were recorded as being present. After the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag, Councilman Wood gave the invocation.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: August 7th Public Hearing Minutes. Councilman Fank made the motion to approve the minutes and Councilman
Macready seconded the motion. The minutes were approved (7-0).

COMMENTS FROM PERSONS PRESENT:

Mr. Bob Lee, 112 Quail Run, Prattville, AL 36067, appeared before the Council to remind them of his previous request for City Planner Joel Duke to educate the Steering Committee for the “War on Litter” about the proper placement of real estate, yard sale, and political signs prior to the kick-off of the political campaign season. He further suggested that placing an article in the Prattville Progress regarding this issue would be helpful.

Mike Moore, 1087 South Memorial Drive, Prattville, AL 36067, came before the Council to urge support for Sunday sales of alcohol and the sale of draft beer in Prattville. He reported lost revenues due to customers driving to Montgomery to make purchases on Sunday.

Councilman Renegar asked Mr. Moore to provide the Council with specific figures of loss revenues at the September 4th council meeting. Council President Argo asked Mr. Moore to provide the Council with a list of the names of the other citizens who are in attendance at the evening’s meeting regarding this issue, along with their address and the name of the business they represent.

John Smothermon, Manager of Outback Steakhouse, appeared before the Council to request support regarding draft beer sales. Mr. Smothermon stated that Outback’s issue is more of a dry stocking problem rather than with a loss of revenue.

Council President Argo informed Mr. Smothermon that draft beer sales is not something that can be passed by the City Council. He recommended that Mr. Smothermon contact State Representative Mac Gipson and Senator Wendell Mitchell regarding draft beer sales.

MAYOR’S REPORT:

Mayor Byard thanked Mr. Moore and Mr. Smothermon for appearing at the evening’s meeting and encouraged them to contact their state representatives.

The Mayor reminded everyone of the called council meeting for Thursday, August 23rd at 6:00 p.m., which is a joint meeting of the City Council, the Historic Prattville Redevelopment Authority (HPRA), and the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC).

Mayor Byard requested a Finance Committee meeting for next Tuesday, August 28th in the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor urged the Council to approve Ordinance number one, which moves District one voting site from the Autauga County Courthouse to the Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce building. He further asked for approval of Resolution number 4, which is a leased fire truck. The payment schedule will be discussed at the Finance Committee next Tuesday evening.

COUNCIL REPORTS:

Councilman Gillespie requested to receive a copy of the 2007-2008 budget on paper as well as on disk.

Councilman Macready commended the Police Department on keeping incidents to a minimum during the grand opening event of Bass Pro.

Mayor Byard thanked Councilman Macready for his comments regarding the Police Department and added that it takes joint effort of several departments working together behind the scenes to pull off successful events such as the Bass Pro opening.

Council President Argo called a Finance Committee meeting for Tuesday, August 28th at 5:15 p.m. in the Mayor’s office.

AGENDA

1. ORDINANCE: TO DESIGNATE THE PRATTVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS THE VOTING LOCATION FOR DISTRICT ONE. (ORDINANCE BOOK 2007, PAGE 018).

Councilman Gillespie made a motion to adopt the Ordinance and Councilman Renegar seconded the motion. Because Ordinances are generally held for two weeks, it is necessary for the council rules to be suspended if immediate action is to be taken. Councilman Renegar made the motion to suspend the rules and Councilman Miller seconded the motion. The rules were suspended (7-0). There being no discussion, the Ordinance was adopted with the following vote:

2. RESOLUTION: TO WAIVE FEE FOR THE AUTAUGA COUNTY FAIR ASSOCIATION. (RESOLUTION BOOK 2007-A, PAGE 026).

Councilman Macready made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Fank seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following vote:

3. RESOLUTION: TO DECLARE NAFECO A NON-RESPONSIBLE BIDDER FOR BID NO. 07-019 FOR ONE CLASS A FIRE ENGINE FOR THE FIRE DEPARMENT. (RESOLUTION BOOK 2007-A, PAGE 027).

Councilman Wood made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Gillespie seconded the motion. During discussion, Councilman Renegar questioned Fire Chief Stanley Gann as to what determines NAFECO to be non- responsible. Chief Gann reminded the Council of the memo with the attached list of exceptions, which he had provided for them regarding this bid item. There being no further discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following vote:

Ordinance Book 2000, Page 012, To Set Council Procedures, specifies in Section 22, that all ordinances, resolutions or propositions submitted to the council which require the expenditure of money shall lie over until the next meeting; provided further, that this rule shall not apply to the current expenses of, or contracts previously made with, or regular salaries of officers, or wages of employees. Therefore, it is necessary to suspend the rules on agenda item number 4.

4. RESOLUTION: TO AWARD BID NO. 07-019 TO SUNBELT FIRE FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE (1) CLASS A FIRE ENGINE.

Councilman Miller made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Gillespie seconded the motion. Councilman Fank made the motion to suspend the rules and Councilman Miller seconded the motion. The rules were suspended (7-0). During discussion, Councilman Renegar stated that he is in favor of the purchase, but that he still has questions regarding the bid specifications.

Council President Argo passed the gavel and asked to be recognized. He stated that he supports the idea of purchasing a fire truck but that he is in total agreement with Councilman Renegar that the Council should have additional time to review pertinent information before voting on this item. Council President Pro-Tempore Miller passed the gavel back.

Chief Gann stated that the purchase of this truck will allow the fire department to take a 1976 model truck out of service and place a 1989 model truck in reserve. When asked by Councilman Gillespie if the price of the truck will be affected by having to wait an additional week, Chief Gann stated that the price will not change before the next council meeting. When asked by Councilman Miller if waiting two weeks to make the purchase would cause great strife for the fire department, Chief Gann’s answer was “no.”

Councilman Wood questioned the total amount of the fire department’s capital budget and Finance Director Rod Morgan stated that it is $150,000.00.
After much discussion, the consensus of the Council was that there remains significant questions regarding the financing of the lease purchase of the fire truck. Councilmembers also agreed that they needed additional time to review the information provided by Chief Gann that outlines the reasons why NAFECO is not a responsible bidder.

Councilman Renegar made a motion to hold the Resolution until the September 4th council meeting. Councilman Wood seconded the motion to hold. The Resolution held (6-1) with Councilman Fank opposed.

5. ORDINANCE: PETITION FOR ANNEXATION OF 102 INTERSTATE COURT. (ORDINANCE BOOK 2007, PAGE 019).

Councilman Renegar made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Gillespie seconded the motion. Because Ordinances are generally held for two weeks, it is necessary for the council rules to be suspended if immediate action is to be taken. Councilman Renegar made the motion to suspend the rules and Councilman Gillespie seconded the motion. The rules were suspended (7-0). There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following results:

6. RESOLUTION: TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH BAPTIST HEALTH FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE FOR HOSPICE PATIENTS. (RESOLUTION BOOK 2007-A, PAGE 028).

Councilman Miller made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Macready seconded the motion. There being no discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following results:

7. RESOLUTION: TO RE-APPOINT HOOTIE GIPSON TO THE E-911 BOARD. (RESOLUTION BOOK 2007-A, PAGE 029).

Councilman Fank made a motion to adopt the Resolution and Councilman Gillespie seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the Resolution was adopted with the following vote:

CLOSING COMMENTS:

Councilmembers Gillespie, Wood, Miller and Renegar reiterated the fact that they are in favor of the purchase of the fire truck. They further expressed their interest in a delay of two weeks to gather additional information regarding the acceptance of the bid and the proposed financing arrangements.

Council President Argo reminded everyone of the called meeting of the Council, which is scheduled for Thursday, August 23rd at 6:00 p.m.

ADJOURN:

There being no further business to come before the Council, Councilman Macready made a motion to adjourn and Councilman Fank seconded the motion. The meeting closed at 7:55 p.m.

APPROVED:

_____________________
Gina P. Smith
City Clerk

_____________________
Dean R. Argo, President
Prattville City Council