REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2007 AT 5:00 P.M.

 

Meeting called to order by Council President Thomas.

 

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

 

Absent:  None.

 

 

            The meeting was opened with prayer by Dr. Keith Grubbs of Midway Baptist Church and followed by the Pledge to the Flag.

 

 

            Motion was made by Councilwoman Henson duly seconded by Councilman Harris and unanimously passed by the Council to confirm the agenda order for this meeting with an amendment to:  move C-6 to R-9; add as R-10 appointment of Penny Kemp to the Tourism Commission.

 

 

            President Thomas advised of the notification of legal advertisement for the following: a) live fire shoot house.

 

 

            Members of the Community Foundation of East Mississippi appeared and presented a check for $7,500 to the city in support of improvements to the Carousel in memory of Lucille Rosenbaum.

 

 

            President Thomas called for the Mayor’s report.  CAO Ken Storms stated that the Mayor was in China promoting the city.

 

 

            Motion was made by Councilwoman Henson duly seconded by Councilman Palmer and unanimously passed by the Council to approve the minutes dated March 06, 2007.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14005       ORDER AUTHORIZING INSTALLATION OF A STREET LIGHT

                                    AT THE CORNER OF WINDMILL DRIVE AND 10TH AVENUE

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

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

 

ORDER #14006       ORDER DECLARING EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES SURPLUS

                                    AND NO LONGER NEEDED BY THE CITY OF MERIDIAN AND

                                    AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF SAID SURPLUS EQUIPMENT AND

                                    VEHICLE

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14007       ORDER AUTHORIZING TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO WESLEY HOUSE

                                    CONCERNING PERSONNEL AND OPERATION COSTS ALLOWABLE

                                    THROUGH VICTIM/WITNESS GRANT #05NW2223

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14008       ORDER APPROVING TAXI PERMIT FOR: EDWARD MILLER, JR.

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14009       ORDER APPROVING AND ADOPTING FINAL PLAT OF

                                    THIRTY-NINE PARK SUBDIVISION, A RESIDENTIAL

                                    SUBDIVISION OF 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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDIN. #4314         ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY’S SUBDIVISION

                                    ORDINANCE TO CLARIFY TEXT

 

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

 

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

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDIN. #4315         ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY’S ZONING ORDINANCE

                                    NO. 3966 SO AS TO RECLASSIFY CERTAIN LANDS IN THE

                                    CITY OF MERIDIAN FROM DISTRICTS R-3 AND B-2 TO

                                    DISTRICT B-3 (VICINITY OF HIGHWAY 39 NORTH AND

                                    NEWELL ROAD SOUTH OF WINDMILL DRIVE) INCLUDING

                                    AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF

                                    MERIDIAN

 

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

 

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

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

RESO. #5420                        RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF LETTER/

                                    APPLICATION TO STATE FARM INSURANCE FOR

                                    PURCHASE OF CHILD SAFETY SEATS FOR THE MERIDIAN

                                    POLICE DEPARTMENT

 

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

 

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

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14010       ORDER ADDING AS AN OVERLAY THE NAME “SAM COCKRELL

                                    JR. AVENUE” TO 17TH AVENUE FROM 22ND STREET TO 24TH STREET

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

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

 

ORDER #14011       ORDER REVOKING TAX EXEMPTION GRANTED TO GREATER

                                    MERIDIAN BAPTIST CHURCH, 3312 STATE BOULEVARD,

                                    MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI

 

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, Harris.

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 March 15, 2007 in the amount of $941,218.45.

 

 

            Randall Jennings with Real Life Junction appeared before the Council at this time.  He appeared to explain why the program the City of Meridian has contributed to has not been started yet.  He said that he did not receive funding from the public entity he was trying to work with and had not received funding from a grant that he requested.  He was asked to provide the city with an itemized use of the funds ($12,500) the City of Meridian has given him for this after-school program.

 

 

 

            Next on the agenda was the request from Hope Village for tax exemption on property located at 2433 23rd Avenue.  Motion was made by Councilman Harris duly seconded by Councilman Palmer to approve the tax exemption request.  Council members were advised by City Attorney Bill Hammack that in his opinion it would be stretching the law by granting this tax exemption request until the property was actually being used by Hope Village for purposes other than to store items.  Councilman Harris withdrew his motion and Councilman Palmer withdrew his second.

 

             

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

 

ORDER #14012       IN THE MATTER OF:  THE APPOINTMENT BY THE CITY COUNCIL

                                    OF PENNY KEMP TO THE LAUDERDALE COUNTY TOURISM

                                    COMMISSION

 

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, Harris.

Nay:  None.

 

 

            President Thomas called for citizen comments.  The following citizens appeared regarding eight (8) pit bulldogs at the corner of 30th Avenue & 38th Street: Lauren Wells, 3002 38th Street; Macy Anderson, 2929 38th Street, Peggy Harmon, 3000 38th Street, and Otha Barham, 3100 38th Street.  They presented pictures of these dogs and a copy of an ordinance the City of Richland adopted regarding the banning specific breeds of dogs inside the city limits.  They asked the city to adopt an ordinance like the one Richland adopted in order to make communities safer and more sanitary.   Randy Hammon with the Grassrootz organization appeared regarding the demolition of houses in the city.  He asked that when the agreement with Lauderdale County is ended that the city utilize the money placed in the budget for demolition of houses be utilized and get more of these houses removed.  Bill McBride, 1806 Apache Ridge Road, appeared and urged the council to increase the pay for police and firemen.  He asked that the police go back to 8 hour shifts and that they be given cost of living raises in order to raise the entry level pay for these positions.  He also stated there were only three captains in the police department now and that there used to be more.  The opportunity to move up in the police department is not there anymore because of the decrease in the number of captain positions.

 

 

            President Thomas called for council comments.  Councilman Harris did not make any comments.  Councilman Palmer stated there was a problem on 45th Avenue with 6 pit dogs.  They need to look at an ordinance regarding this.  He said he hopes everyone will think about the vote next Tuesday on the school bond issue.  Councilwoman Henson did not make any comments.  Councilwoman Perry thanked those who prayed for her grandson who is doing better.  Councilman Thomas stated he appreciated those who come to the meetings and come forward to speak.  There have been many opportunities lately – St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, concerts, magicians, performances at the Riley Center.  Hal Holbrook who performed at the Riley Center stated that it was one of the two most beautiful theaters he has ever performed in.  There are a lot of good things going on in Meridian.  Some events coming up are Army Band concert, water color workshop, Smithsonian program, jazz band performances.  The upcoming school bond issue is a chance for citizens to support the community.

 

 

            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