March 6

March 6, 2007

Minutes of General Meeting

Present: Kären Nady, Interim President, Frieda Romanchuck, Beautification, Louie Nady, Finance, Lon Johnston, Utility (acting Treasurer), Cathy Barnette, Governmental Affairs, Don Terry SEEDS and Frieda Romanchuck, Beautification.

Absent: Ernest Berger, Historic Preservation, and Frank Lamb Vice President

Advisory Board: Glenn Swaney and Glenn Robinson

Guests: 40 guests

Guest Speaker: Cathy Barnette, District 2 Councilwoman.

Karen Nady called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m., welcomed those attending and made brief remarks regarding election of officers. Candidates are: Karen Nady, Interim President, Frieda Romanchuck, Vice President (serves on Beautification), Treasurer Lon Johnston ( serves as Utility Board), Cathy Barnette, Governmental Affairs (serves on City Council and is a non voting member), Don Terry, SEEDS (serves on Planning Commission), Louie Nady, Finance, and Ernest Berger, Historic Preservation. A motion was made by Lon Johnston and seconded by Sylvia Ensley to elect the candidates and the motion was approved unanimously. Tomasina Werner has been asked to serve as a Press Liaison and OTDA is seeking a member for the Secretary position.

Karen remarked that an Advisory Board is being developed and John Cutright, Glenn Robinson, Frank Lamb and Glenn Swaney have agreed to serve.

Program: City of Daphne and District 2 updates

Cathy Barnette provided a power point presentation on city plans and issues. She commented that under the new system the Council has more of a role than the mayor. Sunshine laws have been in effect for about a year and there is a system regarding posting notices of meetings. The designated site for the city is on the bulletin board outside the Council Chambers.

Accomplishments to date are Bio-diesel program from grease recovery, recreation property has been purchased, the Rec board activated, electronic packets for Council members (paper copy is available again in the Library), Beautification committee has been revamped, a mission statement developed and a budget in place. The Council will visit Washington DC this month to request funds for the Library, fire station, recreation and other items.

The recent walkability conference by Dan Burden, hosted by the Trailblazers, created a good buzz about planning and assessing needs in the community. International Building Codes (IBC) remain under discussion and insurability remains on the minds of residents. A site-Containment officer is on board and an overlay district is in place on the Aranov project (Lowe’s Sam’s club etc.)

District 2 issues include sidewalks completed on Deer, Belrose, Captain O’Neal. NRCS projects include Church Street, Whiting Court and Bryant Gully. Construction on a new classroom building will be planned at Bayside Academy, May Day park improvements are almost complete, AC has been installed at Nicholsen Center, McMillan Bluff remains public access and the Deer/Holt Ave. Park has been planted.

Future projects includea household hazardous waste drop off site for Daphne residents. MBNEP is organizing a watershed study and Daphne has been invited to be included. A school feasibility study is underway. An animal shelter may be in the works thanks to Gus Palumbo. A dog park will be constructed at Trione park. An annexation study is underway for areas west of Hwy 181. The concept of a community garden has been discussed.

Discussion followed about IBC codes, ours are currently 1997, and there may be a public hearing on April 17^th again. Roof shingles remain a topic of discussion. Comments from the group included concern about insurability. There is no retrofit requirement in the codes under discussion. A Tyvek product which replaces roof felt was discussed. Water entering a home, and resulting molds, can be a problem with roof damage. Special engineering of structures and impact resistant glass will not be included in the proposed code. City code will allow plywood or other forms of window protection.

Additional questions and discussions included:

Traffic is getting serious. Is there a master plan for roads? No, as the city responds to growth rather than plans for it.
Do we have an emergency plan in place for hurricanes? Yes, however the jobs are headed by the Director of Public Works and the Fire Chief and both positions are currently vacant.
Would it be possible to provide, at low cost, weather radios to the community? She will bring that question to the City.
Do we have sirens for emergency warnings? Some are with the Baldwin County EMA. Micro-bursts do occur on the bay.
Can any building in the City withstand winds to 150 mph? No, the new City Hall will take gust to 150mph, but is designed for 130 mph.
Is parking planned for the new City Hall? No, the assumption is that a wooded lot owned by the city will be used for parking or additional land behind City Hall will be purchased for a parking structure.
Additional comments were made regarding the Tyvek roofing product as being excellent.
What is the status of a no smoking law in the City. It is delayed.
May Day park improvements are wonderful, but can we have benches? Not certain the funds are available and benches were there.
Where is the Olde Towne District? School to school and in 1994 a “streetscape” was designed that the merchants and redevelopment authority are using as a model. The goal is to put power underground and continue the street lamps. There will be a new restaurant by the park.
Will there be a charge for the Stormwater Authority? Yes, possibly about $2.80 a household a month. She discussed an overview of the responsibilities of the proposed authority.
What are future plans for Bayfront Park? Not sure, but it was included in the walkability audit of the area.
Cathy was thanked for her part in helping keep the Belrose, Dryer, and McMillan public assesses open.

Karen thanked Cathy for her comments and asked Frieda to speak about the upcoming Pine Beetle symposium. She invited those attending to meet with committee heads for specific questions and thanked everyone for coming.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.