Council discusses community development

Perry Mayor Randall Walker and Council met Monday for their first work session of August. The session was met with a full agenda of items to be discussed and reviewed with the first being the request for a sidewalk encroachment at a property that was previously Peach Palette. Community Development Director Bryan Wood spoke on behalf of the request and presented a slide show of photos that displayed the area of discussion.

According to Wood, renovations had been made to create somewhat of a ramp for wheelchair access; however, the height of it caused the step-up to exceed the maximum allowed for the height of a step. A question regarding the possibility of a trip hazard was brought up by council to which Wood acknowledged that the chance of tripping was always a possibility. Inquiries from council also came regarding whether there would be a railing on the handicapped ramp, and according to Wood’s response, a railing was not a requirement. After a lengthy discussion that included several comments from council members that reiterated safety concerns, and after determining that an immediate decision on the matter was not necessary, City Manager Lee Gilmour recommended that this item be tabled at least until the regular meeting on Tuesday. Mayor and council agreed, and the item was tabled.

A discussion followed that was also headed by Wood with input by Fire Marshal Michael Paull of Perry Fire Department regarding a landing at 907 Carrol Street. In his remarks, Paull informed mayor and council that buildings were required to have landings. “Existing buildings are limited to … almost a nine-inch drop. They are required to have a platform to step out on … a landing.”

Once again, the issue of safety was a concern with council as they discussed this matter as well. In his comments, Gilmour said, “First, I’d like to check and see. If this is correct, and the platform is on private property, there isn’t anything we can do about it.” He went on to suggest that council finds out for certain if any of the platform was on city property. Mayor Walker voiced his concern of whether the platform was ADA compliant. Following more discussion among council members, the matter was tabled until more information could be confirmed.

Next on the agenda was the discussion of a traffic calming policy. Wood expressed that this was a follow-up on items of concern that were voiced about six weeks prior, which resulted in him being asked to develop a traffic calming policy. In his research of other Georgia cities, Woods mentioned that he found various policies and ordinances that had been put in place, and one thing that most of them had in common was that they were geared toward traffic on local and residential streets, where commuters were driving in excess of five to 10 miles over the set speed limits. Types of devices and accompanying approximate costs were presented to council for information purposes.

In his remarks, Gilmour spoke of the desire to follow up on the information presented. He indicated that how the city handles it and the decisions that are made would in some ways depend upon the streets in question. Gilmour also mentioned doing a follow up of more cities and what they were doing. In addition, he suggested that there be a petition created wherein a majority (65% to 75%) of homeowners were in agreement with the process.

City Manager Gilmore took the stand to present proposed development standards for east Perry. With the help of a pictorial slideshow, he offered an overview of expansion plans and criteria with recommendations from the city. Following that, he reviewed a handout that had been distributed to mayor and council that addressed the selection process for boards and commissioners. Mayor Walker commented that he would like to see the process move forward quickly. Immediately following a brief discussion, Gilmour presented a slideshow presentation that gave information regarding Crestwood Park and presented the funding proposal for water/sewer expansion in east Perry and finally, the authorization to proceed with employee pay plan, merit program and minimum capital.

Special Events Coordinator Anya Turpin gave an overview of an ambassadorship program called “We Speak Perry.” According to the handout that Turpin passed to attendees, this program is set in place to ensure that every ambassador is armed with the knowledge and tools that they need to cultivate meaningful conversations with residents and visitors about the community and all that it has to offer. This program received favorable responses from council with the recommendation that the youth of the city were also targeted as participants in carrying out the plan.

With no additional council member items and after brief head/staff items, the meeting was adjourned.

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