REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010 AT 5:00 P.M.

Meeting called to order by Council President Smith.

Present: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Absent: None.

The meeting was opened with prayer by Parks & Recreation Director Mark Naylor and followed by the Pledge to the Flag.

Motion was made by Councilwoman Henson duly seconded by Councilman Thomas and unanimously passed by the Council to approve the agenda for this meeting with an amendment to:

Remove R-3; remove R-8; add as R-1a transfer of Kress building to Mississippi State University; add as R-3 swap of land in relation to relocation of Knight Parker Road.

Motion was made by Councilman Thomas duly seconded by Councilwoman Perry and unanimously passed by the Council to approve the minutes dated April 06, 2010.

Motion was made by Councilman Thomas duly seconded by Councilwoman Perry and unanimously passed by the Council to approve the following proclamations to be issued by the Mayor:

April 2010 – “National Child Abuse Month”

April 2010 – “National Sexual Assault Awareness Month”

April 18-24, 2010 – “National Crime Victims Awareness Week”

April 29, 2010 - “Barbara Dorr Day”

Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14758 ORDER CONFIRMING THE RE-APPOINTMENT BY THE MAYOR

OF JACK DOUGLAS TO THE MERIDIAN AIRPORT AUTHORITY

And, Councilwoman Perry seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14759 ORDER OF AUTHORIZATION FOR SIGNING OF CORRECTION DEED

And, Councilwoman Perry seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14760 ORDER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF LEASE AGREEMENT

FOR A TERM OF FIVE (5) YEARS BETWEEN MAGNOLIA STEEL

COMPANY, INC. AND THE CITY OF MERIDIAN

And, Councilman Palmer seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Next on the agenda was the transfer of the Kress building to Mississippi State University. Councilman Thomas recused himself from the meeting and left the room as he is employed by Mississippi State University. Councilwoman Henson offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Resolution:

RESO. #5655 RESOLUTION OF THE MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI CITY COUNCIL

IN LAWFUL, REGULAR AND PUBLIC MEETING DECLARING

SURPLUS AND AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF REAL PROPERTY

And, Councilwoman Perry seconded the motion, whereupon said Resolution was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Recuse: Thomas.

Councilwoman Perry offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Resolution:

RESO. #5656 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER RECEIVED

FROM ALICE ROBERTSON FOR PURCHASE OF SURPLUS, FORFEITED

TAX LAND SURPLUS PROPERTY AND AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF

QUITCLAIM DEED

And, Councilman Thomas seconded the motion, whereupon said Resolution was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Resolution:

RESO. #5657 RESOLUTION OF THE MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI CITY COUNCIL

IN LAWFUL, REGULAR AND PUBLIC MEETING AUTHORIZING

THE RECEIPT OF REAL PROPERTY

And, Councilwoman Henson seconded the motion, whereupon said Resolution was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Resolution:

RESO. #5658 RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE INTENTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL

OF THE CITY OF MERIDIAN TO CALL A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE

PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING CERTAIN AMENDMENTS TO ORDINANCE

NO. 3966 ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL ON JANUARY 11, 1994, SO

AS TO RECLASSIFY CERTAIN LANDS IN THE CITY OF MERIDIAN FROM

DISTRICT R-1 TO DISTRICT B-1 (MAY 18, 2010 @ 5:15 P.M.)

And, Councilwoman Henson seconded the motion, whereupon said Resolution was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilwoman Perry offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14761 ORDER AUTHORIZING THE MERIDIAN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO

SPONSOR A CAMP FIRE ACADEMY ALONG WITH THE MISSISSIPPI

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO BE HELD JULY 23-30, 2010

And, Councilwoman Henson seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilwoman Henson offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14762 ORDER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF

CITIZENS CORPS GRANT PROGRAM AWARD FROM THE MISSISSIPPI

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY

And, Councilman Palmer seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Councilman Palmer offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14763 ORDER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF TASK ORDER #3

BETWEEN THE CITY OF MERIDIAN AND CAROLLO ENGINEERS

(SEWER EVALUATION STUDY)

And, Councilwoman Henson seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer, Smith.

Nay: None.

Motion was made by Councilwoman Henson duly seconded by Councilman Palmer and unanimously passed by the Council to approve the claims docket dated April 15, 2010 in the amount of $2,661,516.90.

President Smith advised of the notification of legal advertisement for the following: a) statement of qualifications & experience for auditor.

At this time John McClure (executive director) and Kenny Watts (president) with the Alliance for Downtown Meridian appeared before the Council to make a presentation. They went over the purpose of the Downtown Alliance and stated they would be making routine reports to the Council about what they have been doing and have accomplished. They will be having an audit soon and will provide a copy to the city.

President Smith called on Mayor Barry for her report. She recognized Louis and Howard Crenshaw from Newton who were at the meeting. They are involved with a development project on Front Street. She also recognized representatives from Watkins Development from Jackson who were also present at the meeting. Their company provided financing for the renovations of the King Edward Hotel and are involved with the renovations of the Standard Life building in Jackson.

The hour of 5:30 p.m. having arrived, the hearing as called for in Resolution No. 5649 regarding the appeal by John and Dana McElroy and Alan Lamar of the decision by the Meridian Planning Commission to not recommend rezoning of their property located at 5805 Newell Road was opened with motion by Councilwoman Henson duly seconded by Councilman Thomas and unanimously passed by the Council. City Attorney Bill Ready stated that the appellant side and the opposition side would be allowed 20 minutes each to present their case. City Planner Don Jemison appeared first and went over the history of the rezoning request. Those appearing to speak were as follows: 1) Attorney Patrick McCraney representing Mr. and Mrs. McElroy. He stated that there were two thresh-holds that had to be met in order to request rezoning of property in the city. There must be a change in the character of the neighborhood and a public need. He stated that the public need has been established in so far as there are not enough assisted living facilities in the city. He stated that in the area requested to be rezoned that there are single-family homes, however, a lot of the area is zoned R-3. Highway 39 North is just behind the property in question and there are three churches, a Christian school, a funeral home and a convenience store. He stated that this represented a change in character of the neighborhood. He urged the City Council to vote in favor of this rezoning request. He asked that he be able to save the rest of his 20 minutes for rebuttal. 2) Dr. Jeffrey Cook, 6550 Newell Road, appeared in opposition to the rezoning of this property. Dr. Cook stated that there were nice single-family homes in this area and they did not want the proposed rezoning approved. 3) Attorney Eric Hessler representing two property owners on Lindley Road appeared. He stated that his clients were against the rezoning of this property. He also stated that rezoning requests for this property have been denied three times. 4) Laurel Dement appeared representing estates in this area and stated that they were against the rezoning of this property. She stated the property was purchased as R-1. 5) Dr. John Hodge, 6540 Newell Road, appeared in opposition to this rezoning. He stated his family bought a home in this area because of the current character of the neighborhood. 6) Attorney McCraney appeared again at this time. He once again stated that there was a public need for the proposed facility on this property and that there was a change in the character of the neighborhood. 7) Theta McElroy, 7769 Lakeview Drive, appeared and stated she was in favor of the rezoning and that she did not believe an assisted living facility would bring in that much more traffic to the area. Community Development Director Don Farrar appeared and stated that the Community Development Planning Department recommended that this property be rezoned. Motion was made by Councilman Thomas duly seconded by Councilwoman Perry and unanimously passed by the Council to close the hearing. Councilman Thomas stated that the Planning Commission voted not to approve the rezoning. He stated he that he heard a lot of opinions but has not heard or seen any data that there is a need for an assisted living facility. The Planning Commission stated that there was not a change in the character of the neighborhood and the Council has to deal with the Planning Commission’s decision. He stated he has not heard any evidence sufficient for him to disagree with the Planning Commission’s decision. He state he could not support over-riding what the Planning Commission decided. Councilwoman Perry stated that there is another rule on the books that was not mentioned. You cannot change an area when the people who are directly affected in the area are opposed to it. She said she went over every name on petitions and looked at their addresses and did not find anyone on Newell Road in that area who were for the rezoning. The ones who were for the rezoning did not live in that area but lived further down Newell Road in the other direction. She said there was a need for this but the character of the area has not changed. Councilman Palmer stated that the Planning Commission is set up for a particular purpose and if the Council is not going to follow their recommendation then they need to do away with the commission. Council President Smith stated that the City Council has made decisions in the past that were not what was recommended by the Planning Commission. (COPY OF DVD OF PUBLIC HEARING KEPT ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COUNCIL) Councilman Thomas offered and moved the adoption and passage of the following Order:

ORDER #14764 ORDER DENYING APPEAL OF JOHN C. AND DANA MCELROY AND

ALAN LAMAR TO RECLASSIFY CERTAIN LANDS IN THE CITY OF

MERIDIAN FROM DISTRICT R-1 TO DISTRICT R-2 (5805 NEWELL

ROAD)

And, Councilman Palmer seconded the motion, whereupon said Order was discussed, passed and adopted by the Council by a vote as follows:

Yea: Thomas, Perry, Henson, Palmer.

Nay: Smith.

President Smith called for citizen comments. Mrs. Virginia Coleman, 3104 10^th Street, appeared regarding the condition of her neighborhood.

President Smith called for Council comments. Various comments were made.

There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned. Sine die.

Respectfully submitted,

Pam McInnis, Clerk of Council