TOWN OF GARNER

TOWN COUNCIL WORK SESSION

February 28, 2011

6:00 P.M.

Garner Town Hall

Council Meeting Room
 Town of Garner
Town Council
Work Session Agenda
February 28, 2011 - 6:00 P.M.

The Garner Town Council will meet in a Work Session at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2011 in the Town
Hall Council Meeting Room to discuss the following:

Dinner will be served for Town Officials in the conference room at 5:15 p.m.

A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER

B. OLD/NEW BUSINESS

1. Ordinance Amending Section 3-11 of the Garner Town Code

Presenter: Rodney Dickerson

Ordinance No. (2010) 3598 adopted on September 21, 2010 with an effective date of March
1, 2011 amends Section 3-11 of the Garner Town Code regarding tethering of animals. The
Ordinance will change the effective date of that ordinance to May 1, 2011. The Law and
Finance Committee will meet in March for further discussion of this matter.

Action: Consider Adoption of Ordinance No. (2011) 3611

C. REPORTS

1. Presentation of Garner Volunteer Fire Rescue, Inc. Audit Report for Years Ending June 30,
2009 and June 30, 2010
Presenter: Eddie Burke, Cherry Bekaert & Holland, LLP

2. Garner Revitalization Association Bi-Monthly Update

Presenter: John Hodges, Executive Director

3. Garner Revitalization Association Request to Move Downtown Concert Series to the Garner
Historic Auditorium Campus
Presenter: John Hodges, Executive Director

D. ADJOURNMENT

Note: The work Session does not include any Public Hearings or Public Comments during said
meeting.
 ORDINANCE NO. (2011) 3611

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF GARNER

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND FOWL

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF GARNER,

NORTH CAROLINA:

Section One. That Ordinance No. (2010) 3598 be amended to

change the effective date until May 1, 2011.

Section Two. That section Sec. 3-11 of the Town Code shall
be amended by adding new subsections (b) and (c) as follows:

(b) It shall be unlawful to tether, fasten, chain, tie or

restrain an unattended dog to any tree, fence, post, dog
house or any other object.

Tethering shall be permitted if the owner or other

responsible person is outside with the dog. Tethering of
attended dogs shall be on a device of at least 10 feet long
with a harness, collar or other device commensurate with
the size of the dog.

An owner must remove the dog from a tether within 30 days

of being notified by animal control and have the dog housed
indoors or in an appropriate outdoor enclosure. The animal
control officer shall have the authority to take custody of
any dog which remains tethered after the 30 day
notification period. Animals not reclaimed from the Wake
County Animal Shelter within 5 business days shall become
the property of Wake County. Owners reclaiming dogs seized
for violation of the tethering ordinance shall be required
to show proof of suitable outdoor housing.

(c) Dogs housed outdoors must be in fenced yards or pens. The

pen shall be at least 10’ X 10’ for each dog under 40 lbs.
Dogs weighing 40 lbs. or greater must have a minimum pen
size of at least 10’ X 20’ for each dog. Each dog must
have a dog house. If no natural shade is available in the
pen, a cover for the pen must be provided. Dogs must have
access to clean water and food.

Section Three. This Ordinance shall become effective May

1, 2011.

Adopted this the 28th day of February, 2011.

__________________________
Ronnie S. Williams, Mayor

ATTEST:

______________________________
Judy Bass, Town Clerk
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 GARNER REVITALIZATION ASSOCIATION
111 West Main Street, Suite 200, Garner NC 27529
Phone 919-773-4402 email: downtowngarner@nc.rr.com

TO: Hardin Watkins

Town Manager

FROM: John Hodges

Executive Director

DATE: February 23, 2011

SUBJECT: Request to Move Downtown Concert Series to the Garner Historic

Auditorium Campus

The Garner Revitalization Association is preparing for the fourth season of the Music on
Main Downtown Concert Series. Several positive changes have occurred along Main
Street since last season that has caused us to question the location of the series. The series
was started to bring visitors to the struggling Sunny Side Too Oyster Bar and was
continued after their closing as a recruitment tool for prospective owners and patrons of a
new restaurant and other retail businesses. That space is now being converted into offices
and they, like many of our Main Street tenants, do not benefit from special events like the
concert series.

With the increase in office workers, parking and logistics for frequent special events
becomes more challenging. The purchase and up fit of the former Sunny Side Too space
will add 10-12 employees, Rising Stream Media will add 2-3 employees and evening
traffic has increased at Your Time Nutrition due to classes they offer. In addition, the
Sunny Side Too space was used as dressing rooms and staging for the bands. While the
new owner is willing to help accommodate the bands, we risk liability for damages of
their new space.

In evaluating alternative spaces for the series, we have identified the lawn space at the
rear of the Garner Historic Auditorium that could become an ideal outdoor event venue
for not only GRA’s concerts, but for many other opportunities. Sonya Shaw and I have
discussed the idea of moving the GRA concert series to this space and partnering on the
series and she is in support of the change.

Some of the benefits we see in making this move include:

• Supporting the development of that campus as the hub of the Arts & Cultural District.
• Eliminating the cost of portable toilets ($1,600) by using restrooms at the Avery
Street Gym.
• Using the auditorium dressing rooms for the bands which would be helpful now that
the Sunny Side Too space has been sold.
• Improving parking to approx 350 spaces in the lots surrounding the auditorium with
additional spaces to come online after the property recently purchased by the town is
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 repurposed. Auxiliary parking may be available at North Garner Middle School if
needed.
• Rain Location in the event of inclement weather. The concerts can move inside the
auditorium, eliminating the possibility of loosing band fees if canceled.
• Flexibility of schedule to set up for and clean up after the events. Increased range of
time would give the Public Works Department, staff and volunteers greater flexibility
in supporting the events. This could potentially allow us to have local opening acts
perform before the headliners, something we can’t do when we can only close the
street at 5PM for setup.
• Ability to make schedule changes/additions with greater flexibility.
• Moving the series eliminates the safety concern caused by the proximity to the active
railroad line.
• The proposed location would allow us to offer additional benefits to sponsors and
vendors such as reception/VIP space, electricity and water.

In addition to the request to use the space on the auditorium campus, GRA requests that
alcohol sales and consumption be allowed in the designated outdoor event area just as it
is inside the auditorium. During series’ three year tenure on Main Street, we have had no
complaints or problems related to the sale and consumption of alcohol on a public street.
GRA will continue to uphold the strict guidelines of the Alcohol Law Enforcement
agency at this location. Police presence will also be used to ensure safety. This change
would also allow the Parks and Recreation Department to expand rental opportunities by
providing on outdoor reception space for events that exceeds the capacity of the back
stage lobby.

I met with Mr. Randall Johnson, a resident of Olde School Commons Apartments,
regarding the concert series at this location. Based on the proposed location of the stage
and the noise levels of current auditorium programming, he does not think the residents
of the apartments will be negatively impacted by the noise. The proposed location for the
stage will direct much of the sound toward the Avery Street Annex, across the baseball
field, and across North Garner Middle School. We believe that this location will buffer
the sound from the residents of the School Acres neighborhood and will provide them an
entertainment opportunity within walking distance of their home. Mr. Johnson went on to
say that because of the proactive engagement with residents taken by the Parks and
Recreation Department regarding alcohol sales and consumption inside the building, he
does not think the residents would be concerned about extending that to outside the
building. He is surveying other residents and I will bring any additional feedback to our
discussion of this topic with the Town Council.

I would like to request this item be added to the February 28th Work Session Agenda for
discussion. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.
A diagram of the proposed layout follows.

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