City of Fayetteville Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

City Manager’s Bi-Weekly Report 240 South Glynn Street • Fayetteville, Georgia 30214 770-461-6029 • fayetteville-ga.gov

May 29, 2018

Police or Fire Emergency 911 Police Non-Emergency 770-461-4441 Fire Non-Emergency 770-461-4548 City Hall 770-461-6029 City Manager 770-719-4144 Water & Sewer 770-460-4237 Water & Sewer After-Hours 770-997-5189 Public Works 770-460-4230 Main Street Fayetteville 770-719-4173 Code Enforcement 770-719-4150 City Court 770-719-4277 Building Permits 770-719-4062 Burn Permits 770-719-4051 Job Line 770-719-4182 Public Information Officer 770-719-4147

City Manager Ray Gibson helps Spring Hill Elementary School students think through a city’s transportation needs for their Community Planning project.

City connects with Spring Hill Elementary to engage in Community Planning project Students in Ms. Stalvey’s and Ms. Snell’s third-grade classes at Spring Hill Elementary School in Fayetteville were tasked with thinking through the building of “a good community”, and that project recently culminated in a 150-minute Media Center workshop, where they used common household materials to illustrate the key elements of those communities.

Spring Hill Media Specialist Jeff Eller invited City Manager Ray Gibson to join the group at the Media Center to hear and see the

students’ ideas and to give feedback.

Eller said he began the workshop by showing students the City of Fayetteville website, and on there they saw Gibson’s City Manager page.

“They said, ‘We should give him a call,’” Eller said. “I told them, ‘He will be here in about 30 minutes.’ They were pretty excited.”

One small group built a school with cardboard boxes and packing materials. Other groups built transportation infrastructure, a water amusement park, a hospital, a farmContinued on Page 3

City Manager

Fayetteville wins Public Safety Games

Ray Gibson

Mayor

Ed Johnson Mayor Pro-Tem Council Member

Paul Oddo Council Members

A new winner’s plate is being engraved for the Fayette County Public Safety Competetition trophy, and it will have “Fayetteville” engraved on it for 2018 in honor of the City team consisting of fire fighters and police officers. Peachtree City Police hoisted the trophy for the last five years, and the Peacthree City Fire Department kept it for the two years before that. The trophy has been around since 2000. Competing over several weeks in everything from spike ball to bowling to softball and golf, Fayetteville FD/PD stood out with 530 points to Peachtree City Police’s 455, Peachtree City Fire’s 155, and Fayette County Fire’s 80. Welcome to Fayetteville, Public Safety Competition trophy!

Harlan Shirley

Kathaleen Brewer

Our Vision

Fayetteville shall be a city of innovation and opportunity that fosters a vibrant and welcoming community for all.

Our Mission

To provide efficient and effective municipal services to the community through a culture of transparent leadership, excellence and teamwork.

Rich Hoffman

Scott Stacy

Our Values

The City employees, the City Council and all of our City-related boards will always function in a way that reflects well on the City and is in alignment with our vision and mission. The Core Values we will use to make decisions and guide our behavior are to: Be responsive; Act as one team; Act with integrity; be fully accountable.

Bi-Weekly Report - May 14, 2018

Page 2

Spring Hill Elementary Community Planning project

Spring Hill Elementary students building “good communties”

Continued from Page 1

to-table restaurant, and a house. Other community elements discussed among the students included farms, grocery stores, a water and sewer plant, entertainment venues, apartments, walking trails, airports, helipads, and even launch pads.

“Each of those elements that you were working on today are important in creating a sense of community,” Gibson told the students. “A community is for all. That’s why we have different types of homes for people to live in. We have different kinds of businesses and different kinds of transportation.”

Gibson used a Downtown Redevelopment Plan map to show students some of the ideas being proposed to enhance the Historic Downtown Fayetteville area, including more park space, additional vehicle parking areas, recreational features and a new Fayetteville City Hall. The workshop then became a bit of a press conference as students asked questions about the work and costs involved.

Gibson and other City of Fayetteville personnel will Page 3

follow up with these and other Spring Hill students over the summer as part of Fayette Visioning Initiative’s “Fayette Vision Summit Experience”, a day camp to be held at Spring Hill.

“These students are amazing,” Gibson said after visiting the school. “Their presentations and their questions were impressive.”

Gibson said he is proud to have Spring Hill located here in the City of Fayetteville.

“Last year, I met Jeff Eller when he helped us set up a special town hall meeting in the Spring Hill cafeteria,” Gibson said. “I was impressed then with him and with his ideas to engage the students with city governance and community planning.

“Our elected officials are leading us to do more to engage the public, especially these days as we have so much growth and opportunity ahead of us,” Gibson said. “It is exciting to work with the school faculty and to meet these young students, the future of Fayetteville, and to see they are taking such a keen interest in the future of their hometown, their ‘good community’.”

Bi-Weekly Report - May 14, 2018

Welcome new employees

The Police Department recently welcomed Officer Tracy Baker, and the Water and Sewer Department recently welcomed Albert Beach.

City upgrading document management system The City of Fayetteville’s Information Services Department has launched a document management system upgrade project aimed at reducing paper usage and freeing up physical storage space while providing staff and the public with quicker, easier and broader access to official documents.

A document management system called Laserfische was installed by Tallahassee, Floridabased MCCI in 2005. Since then, the City’s document management needs have grown exponentially, and fortunately so has software technology.

The upgraded software will allow documents to not only be scanned as images, but it will also automatically read the documents and process the information into database form. It will offer users fillable forms that can be processed quicker, and it will

offer search functions for stored meeting minutes, financial reports, employment applications, public safety documentation, contracted studies, City projects, maps, informational brochures, and more.

“One of the benefits of this upgrade is that we will reduce unnecessary data entry and

processing by City employees,” said IT Director Kelvin Joiner.

“Additional benefits will be increased document processing speed and increased accuracy.”

Joiner says the upgrade will also help the City maintain state and federal reporting and compliance standards while increasing document security.

Hwy. 54 traffic signals set on timers during repaving Local residents have asked why traffic signal timing along Hwy. 54 changed recently, and the answer is that Georgia Department of Transportation contractors had to cut the loops that detect waiting vehicles in order to perform a repaving project that stretches from the Coweta County line all the way to Bi-Weekly Report - May 14, 2018

the Tara Boulevard intersection in Clayton County.

Fayettevile Public Services Director Chris Hindman says traffic lights along the route are temporarily set on timers. He said the city and Fayette County are working with the state to try to make any possible adjustments to get traffic moving better.

Page 4

Welcome new businesses

Fayetteville Mayor Ed Johnson (holding scissors) is pictured above at Your Pie Pizza with owners Jeff and Carmen during the May 25 grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony. The new pizzeria is located in Fayette Pavilion on the west side near the cinema facing Pavilion Parkay. Below, Mayor Johnson is pictured with Mulu of Mulu’s Ethiopian Kitchen at their grand opening ribbon cutton on May 11. Mulu’s is located next to JC Penney in the Banks Crossing shopping center at Hwy. 85 and Banks Road. Welcome to Fayetteville!

Page 5

Bi-Weekly Report - May 14, 2018

Natural debris and trash can clog storm drains, which can result in local flooding and erosion.

Whitewater Creek, which runs over this dam at The Ridge Nature Area in Fayetteville, is one of the main water bodies affected by the city’s stormwater runoff. These pictures above and below show the same portion of the creek. The one below was taken a day after heavy rain moved through the area.

Bi-Weekly Report - May 14, 2018

Page 6

Stormwater management is the whole community’s concern One of the world’s most valuable natural resources is water, so it is reasonable that communities must do what they can to protect and wisely manage this resource.

One of the most important considerations in managing the growth of a municipality is to limit the amount of stormwater runoff, soil erosion, and watershed pollution caused by that growth The residential population of the City of Fayetteville has tripled over the last three decades from about 6,000 people in 1990 to nearly 18,000 now. The city back then had a relatively sparse commercial district, but it has since become a regional shopping and dining destination serving the south side of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.

All of this development affects the way water flows from the clouds to the ground and into the streams. As Fayetteville continues to grow and develop, and especially as the historic downtown district is expanded, strategic stormwater management will continue to be important.

As required by state and federal regulations, the City of Fayetteville updates and enforces ordinances addressing water and soil runoff caused

by commercial and residential development. Construction plans are reviewed thoroughly, and particular attention is given to how the project will affect rainwater and stormwater flow across the property.

In many cases, detention ponds and retention ponds are required.

These features allow water redirected through storm drains to collect and more gradually move down the drainage basin into nearby streams and creeks.

The City maintains over 50 miles of storm drain pipe, and the upkeep of that infrastructure is funded through the Fayetteville Stormwater Program by fees found on water and sewer bills.

Each residential bill includes a $4.37 monthly charge, which represents the cost of mitigating 3,800 square feet of impervious surface (rooftops, pavement and similar hard surfaces that water cannot penetrate). Non-residential property owners pay $4.37 per Equivelent Residential Unit (per 3,800 square feet of impervious surface).

This fee, of course, is only charged on properties existing within the City of Fayetteville limits.

The Fayetteville Stormwater Program is also responsible for sending annually more than 200 water samples from area streams and creeks to laboratories to monitor quality.

While City personnel do what they can to protect our local streams, residents can help as well by picking up litter, including garbage and even lawn clippings, before it enters the stormwater system. Neighborhoods can help by keeping detention and retention ponds in good repair.

While this attention to water quality is important to Fayetteville and Fayette County residents, it also represents neighborly stewardship of a resource that is needed downstream as well. Water falling in Fayetteville eventually finds it way into the Flint River, which runs along the eastern border of Fayette County and through western-midde Georgia before it heads through Albany and dumps into Lake Seminole at the borders of Alabama and Florida.

That water continues to the Gulf of Mexico via the Apalachicola River.

Find more Stormwater Program information on the City’s website.

What’s the difference?

Retention vs. Detention Local residents visiting Fayetteville government meetings may get confused when they hear about “detention ponds” and then “retention ponds”. Are they different things?

Yes. The purpose of a detention pond, several of which are found in Fayetteville, is to detain water, allowing it to more slowly run off. A retention pond accepts run-off water as well, but it is designed to permanently maintain a certain water level.

Page 7

Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

Water Department Lift station preventative maintenance

1

Sewer backup

1

Water main break

1

Grease trap inspection

3

Hydrant flushing

3

Meter install

May 11-24, 2018

Total Water Department Work Orders: 78

6

Water leak

14

Other

22

Water meter maintenance

27

Building Department

May 11-24, 2018 Total Inspections: 168

Demolition

1

Fence

1

Foundation only

Demolition: 1

Total permits: 49

Foundation only: 13 Plumbing: 27

3

Plumbing

Electrical: 42

5

Electrical

12

Mechanical

12

Mechanical: 26 Building: 59

Building

15

Code Enforcement Disposal of garbage

1

General maintenance

1

Inoperable vehicle/junk

1

Lighting standards

1

Parking on grass

1

Prohibited signs

2

Grass cutting Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

Initial Inspections: 88 1st Re-inspections: 109 2nd Re-inspections: 12 Citations: 1

2

Working without permit

Total Inspections: 210

Code Enforcement Cases: 157

Permit required Utilities

May 11-24, 2018

Verbal Warnings: 3 Written Warnings: 77

5

Violation Notices: 6

6 137

Stop Work Orders: 0 Page 8

Asking about building permits now can help homeowners avoid headaches later Spring and summer are busy times of the year for Taliercio says it is the contractor who needs to obtain homeowners wanting to make improvements to their the permits, and generally that cost is passed to the properties, and while the City encourages this sort of homeowner. Even in those cases, he says it is wise for investment, the Building Department recommends homeowners to ask for copies of the permits and for that residents check with them about any permits the results of the inspections of the completed work. that may be necessary.

Be wary if a contractor As a general rule, anything that agrees to do the work but tells changes a home’s structure or the homeowner to secure the alters the electrical, plumbing or permits.

HVAC systems needs a permit, “You lose levels of protection says City of Fayetteville Building when you pull the permits Official Greg Taliercio. Permits yourself,” Taliercio said. are not normally required for “Whomever is granted the replacing kitchen cabinets, for permit becomes the contractor, example, so long as the electrical and it is that person who will be and plumbing fixtures remain held responsible for completing in the same places. Replacing the work properly to pass appliances such as refrigerators City of Fayetteville Building Department inspection.” and stoves is fine without a The permit fee, which can gtaliercio@fayetteville-ga.gov permit, of course. However, be as low as $75 depending 770-719-4062 replacing water heaters, heating on the scope of work involved, and cooling systems, and other such projects do covers administrative costs as well as all required require a permit. inspections. In some cases, it may also cover a reIn many cases, pre-built sheds delivered and inspection, though the City does exercise the right to anchored in place do not need a permit, but assess separate re-inspection fees if needed. building a shed on site does require a permit. Major Taliercio says some residents have reported remodeling projects normally require permits, but receiving contractor invoices that include “permit simply replacing siding on a house, so long as the fees” above what the City charges the contractor. siding is up to city standards (no vinyl, for example), While it may be that the contractor is charging will not require a permit. for the time and effort involved in obtaining the When in doubt, Taliercio says it is best to ask. permit, Taliercio says the City of Fayetteville The Building Department can be reached at 770Building Department can often grant a permit in 719-4062. Taliercio can be e-mailed at gtaliercio@ 20-30 minutes or quicker if the applicant arrives fayetteville-ga.gov. prepared with all of the necessary documentation, While most building codes are based on State identification, and payment. of Georgia standards, different government In cases where contractors apply for the permits, jurisdictions can in some cases require stricter the resident still has the right to inquire with the standards. So it is best for homeowners to check with Building Department and to see copies of any their jurisdictions before heading into an unknown paperwork on file. situation.

“It’s all public record,” Taliercio said.

“The codes we enforce are mandated by the state,” So what about homeowners who choose to forego Taliercio said. “As a jurisdiction, we have the right to the permitting and inspection process, disregarding make certain aspects of the code stricter, but we can’t applicable state and municipal law? relax the codes, nor can we pick and choose which “You’re taking a risk,” said Taliercio. “It can be code sections to enforce.” a pretty big deal when you go to sell your home. If Taliercio notes that building codes exist primarily you’re working with good real estate agents, they to protect homeowners and other occupants, oftentimes ask to see permits for these changes including future homeowners and occupants. you have made,” he said, adding that there may be “It’s really about safety,” he said. “That’s our insurance coverage problems down the road as well primary function. And as technology and codes in such cases. change, it’s our role in the Building Department to “We like for people to call and ask about their ensure the work being done is up to current codes project,” said Taliercio. “We’d rather tell them, and standards.”

‘No, you don’t need a permit for that,’ or, ‘Yes, you Oftentimes, homeowners will hire contractors do need one’, than to find out later through code to do remodeling and repairs, and in those cases enforcement.

Page 9

Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

Police Department

Visit fayetteville-ga.gov to learn more about the Police Department’s Security Assessments program.

Fire Department Activity for May 10-23, 2018

TOTAL EMERGENCY INCIDENTS: 128 Cooking fires

1

Arching/electrical

1

FIRE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES: Fire safety events

2

Phone/Cable lines down

2

Assist residents Motor vehicle accidents Fire/smoke alarm activations Dispatched and cancelled EMS calls Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

11

Fire Marshal inspections

Assist police

Good intent/no incident found

3 (w/ 145 individuals) 13

Code compliance inspections Code compliance re-inspections

21

EVENT PARTICIPATION Joseph Sams School Field Day Boy Scouts Troop 71 Fire Warden Training

4 6 8 10

22 70 Page 10

TUSK tickets available for June 2

TUSK, a premier Fleetwood Mac cover band, will perform in concert June 2 at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater in Historic Downtown Fayetteville. Box office opens at 6, gates open at 7, opening act starts at 8, and TUSK takes the stage at 9. Tickets available at SouthernGroundAmp.com.

Junior Police Academy June 25-30 FREE Space is limited

770-719-4295 Page 11

Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday, June 2 TUSK (Fleetwood Mac tribute) in concert at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater. Box office opens at 6, gates open at 7, opening act starts at 8, TUSK performs at 9. SouthernGroundAmp.com Saturday, June 9 Boz Scaggs in concert at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater.

Box office opens at 6, gates open at 7, opening act starts at 8, Boz Scaggs performs at 9. SouthernGroundAmp.com Friday, June 15 FREE Moovie Night: “Beauty and the Beast” (rated PG) at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater, sponsored by Main Street Fayetteville and Fayetteville Dwarf House, gates open at 7, movie starts at sundown Saturday, June 16 Main Street Market (rescheduled from May 19) on the Old Fayette County Courthouse Lawn, 10-3, sponsored by Main Street Fayetteville Friday, June 22 Lunch on the Lawn, 11:30-1:30, on the Old Fayette County Courthouse Lawn, sponsored by Main Street Fayetteville Saturday, June 30 Foghat in concert at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Amphitheater.

Box office opens at 6, gates open at 7, opening act starts at 8, Foghat performs at 9. SouthernGroundAmp.com

fayetteville-ga.gov facebook.com/fayettevillega.gov

Bi-Weekly Report - May 29, 2018

Page 12