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4-11-11 v MINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING April 11, 2011 CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD Attendance IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Mike Borno City Attorney Alan C. Jensen Mayor Pro Tem John L. Fletcher City Manager Jim Hanson Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty City Clerk Donna L. Bartle Commissioner Paul Parsons Recording Secretary Nancy E. Bailey Commissioner Carolyn Woods Call to Order/Pledge Mayor Borno called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Borno gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Approval of Minutes 1. Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of March 28, 2011. Motion: Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of March 28, 2011, as written. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Parsons. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED Courtesy of the Floor 2. Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Mayor Borno opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. He welcomed the audience and explained the process for public comments. Sally Clemens, 1638 Park Terrace West, addressed the Commission regarding Item 8E. She asked when the contract with ABET for $200 /year was again renewed wasn't the reason for rewarding such a contract because ABET provides community service. She asked why the City would give 10% after expenses back to ABET for having the summer children's camp. She stated it seems like with more use of the facility, the cost would be to our City for electricity, supplies and general maintenance. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Unfinished Business 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meeting from Previous A. City Manager's Follow -up Report. Meeting Mr. Hanson reported Josh Ashby, Executive Director of Fleet Landing sent him a request that Item 8A be deferred until May 9. He stated Mr. Ashby informed him the attorneys for both Fleet Landing and Kangaroo had agreed to the May 9 date. Consent Agenda 4. Consent Agenda ALL MATTERS LISTED UNDER THE CONSENT AGENDA ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ROUTINE BY THE CITY COMMISSION AND WILL BE ENACTED BY April 11, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 2 ONE MOTION IN THE FORM LISTED BELOW. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE ITEMS. IF DISCUSSION IS DESIRED, THAT ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND WILL BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO THE CITY COMMISSION ON THESE ITEMS. A. Acknowledge receipt of the Building Department Monthly Activity Report for March 2011 and the List of New Business Taxes issued in March 2011. Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda. Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A as read. Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Fletcher. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED Committee Reports 5. Committee Reports None. Action on Resolutions 6. Action on Resolutions None. Action on Ordinances 7. Action on Ordinances A. ORDINANCE NO. 20-11-109, Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA FOR FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2010 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2011. Mayor Borno read Ordinance No. 20 -11 -109 by title. Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 20 -11 -109, as read. Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Fletcher. Mayor Borno opened the Public Hearing. No one from the audience spoke so the Mayor closed the Public Hearing. Votes: Aye: 4 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons Nay: 1— Woods MOTION CARRIED Miscellaneous S. Miscellaneous Business Business A. Approval of location of Fleet Landing sign. Mayor Borno stated a request has been made for a deferral again to the May 9th meeting and asked for a motion to defer. April 11, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 3 Motion: Defer to May 9, 2011. Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Fletcher. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED B. Report on Septic Tank to City Sewer Conversion Program. City Manager Hanson stated this report was offered as background information because it relates to Item 8C, the use of the Block Grant funds. He explained the Septic Tank to City Sewer Conversion Program, stating there were originally 279 septic tanks and 67 residences still need to connect. He stated the majority of those left are in Marsh Oaks and a lot of them are in lower income areas and may qualify under the HUD income guidelines so they could use Block Grant monies for those connections. Commissioner Daugherty asked if the Block Grant funds pay for the entire project or only a portion of it. Mr. Hanson stated if they are income eligible the entire project will be paid from the Block Grant funds. Discussion ensued regarding the CDBG eligibility and funding as well as other options through the City for loans to pay for the conversions. Both Mr. Hanson and Ms. Doerr stated the City works closely with the homeowners regarding all aspects of the conversions. Don Remley, 1309 Violet Street, stated he is one of the homeowners who had the dispensation to 2012 and asked if that is calendar year or fiscal year and what was the date he has to be hooked up by. Mr. Hanson stated it is a year after the assessment runs out and the assessment runs out November 2011. Commissioner Daugherty asked what happens if people do not meet the deadline and are they allowed to extend the deadline. Mr. Hanson replied the Commission can change the Ordinance if they want, but the deadline has never been extended yet and enforcement would go to the Code Board, which has the authority to fine them up to $250 /day. C. Request to approve proposed projects for fiscal year 2011/2012 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Motion: Approve both projects as described herein authorizing the City Manager to submit the request to the City of Jacksonville and sign documents as necessary to execute the contract. Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Woods. Commissioner Daugherty expressed concern about using the funds to fully fund the sewer conversions, stating he understands the Community Development Block funds are supposed to help the entire community. Ms. Doerr explained it is to benefit low and moderate income areas and they have designated all of the area that consists of Marsh Oaks, Royal Palms, and Donner as April 11, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 their target areas. She stated getting rid of septic tanks anywhere benefits the entire City because they drain out into the marsh. She stated there are several bills in legislation that are increasing the pace of getting rid of septic tanks. Mr. Hanson agreed stating this is an acceptable project and one of the more common uses of Block Grant funds is to rehab individual homes for people who can't afford to do it, with the theory being that old and run -down homes tend to drag down the whole neighborhood. Ms. Doerr stated they have used their allocation of the funds for housing rehab for many years but it was really difficult to manage and they really weren't improving neighborhoods. She stated her recommendation is that this project is the best usage of the limited amount of money we receive. Commissioner Daugherty asked what the income qualifications were. Ms. Doerr explained it is a certain percentage of HUD's Section 8 income limits based on the number of people in the household and can go up to close to $50,000 for a household of 4 people. She stated income is rarely the reason people in our target areas don't qualify. Commissioner Daugherty stated he would like to see this money go to our parks rather than to a few individuals. Ms. Doerr stated we have allocated 100% of our CDBG money for the past three years to Jordan and Donner Parks. Commissioner Parsons stated this money does get spread around and it is great for the people who get to benefit this time; next year it will be somebody else. Commissioner Woods asked if we don't use this money to help those who can't afford these conversions, how does the work get done. Mr. Hanson stated the homeowners are responsible for getting it done; the alternative if they say they are not going to do it is that they go to the Code Board who can levy fines of up to $250 /day. Commissioner Woods stated then if these people cannot afford to do this and the Commission is not willing to use this money for them, they could end up losing their house. Mayor Borno stated that would be the worst case and is why they try to be proactive and as soon as they know they will get the money they send reminder letters to these people to entice them to apply. Ms. Doerr stated the people have to qualify by income eligibility and other things. Commissioner Woods stated, regarding Commissioner Daugherty's concerns, this may not be one of those things you can see that enhances the quality of life but anything that protects our marsh, enhances the quality of life for the entire city. She stated she supports this, understanding that this is more of an infrastructure issue that the City is dealing with. Commissioner Fletcher stated when you look at the CDBG money over a five -year period, rather than one year at a time, this fits in. He stated over the long haul he believes it makes sense and he will support it. City Clerk Bartle asked for clarification that the motion was the recommendation. Mayor Borno stated yes. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED D. Appointment of a Navy representative to the Community Development Board as required by 2010 HB 7129. April 11, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5 Ms. Doerr explained HB 7129 requires local governments to add a non - voting ex- officio member to the local planning agency, which in our case is our Community Development Board, for the purpose of information sharing in the development and comprehensive planning process. She stated they have a good candidate, Matt Schellhorn, who has volunteered to serve in this role and staff recommends his appointment. Motion: Appoint Naval Station Mayport Community Planning and Liaison Officer Matt Schellhorn to the Community Development Board as a non - voting ex- officio member of the Board as required by 2010 HB 7129. Moved by Woods, Seconded by Fletcher. Commissioner Fletcher stated he fully agrees with this person but asked why this appointment is not going through the normal Board Member Review channels. Mayor Borno explained it would go through the Board Member Review if it was going to be a voting member, but this is an ex- officio member who doesn't vote on anything and it is for specific purposes as spelled out in this House bill for comp plan purposes. Commissioner Fletcher stated if the rest of the Commission is comfortable with that then he is. Discussion ensued regarding Mr. Schellhorn's background. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED E. ABET's Summer Camp at Adele Grage. Assistant City Manager David Thompson presented the staff report explaining ABET has approached the City about running two separate summer camps, one for the older children and one for the younger children. He stated they will continue to provide scholarships for low income children. He stated the camp will be confined to the theatre facilities and will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. He further stated ABET will receive a portion of the gross income (10 %) to pay for the theatre props, etc. Motion: Approve ABET's use of the Adele Grage building for summer camps for 2011. Moved by Woods, Seconded by Daugherty. Commissioner Daugherty asked for further explanation of what the 10% portion of the income that ABET will receive will be used for. Mr. Thompson explained it will cover ABET's other expenses over the course of the year, not specifically the summer camp. Commissioner Daugherty asked how many scholarships will be offered and how they will be advertised. Mr. Thompson stated they will go through Dee and Gail at the City's community centers as far as selection goes. He stated in the past they have given at least a couple of slots in each of these classes, depending on the demand. Commissioner Fletcher stated, to address Sally Clemens concerns, we had the YMCA running these summer camps and they declined to do it further because they weren't making any money. He stated he reviewed, in detail, ABET's financials and believes, with the extent of time and effort that ABET invests in generating that little 10% of April 11, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6 income, which will ultimately be used to support programming they provide us, it is not exorbitant. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED City Manager 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report. Mr. Hanson reported on several emergency sewer line repairs which totaled approximately $30,000. He distributed the draft copy of the Strategic Plan to the Commission which will be on the next agenda for approval. Reports/Requests 10. Reports and /or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney City Commissioners Commissioner Woods Ci ty Attorne y • In response to Mr. Lippes' addition to the minutes, she provided a document to the City Clerk and asked that it be attached to the minutes (which is attached and made part of this Official Record as Attachment A). She stated Mr. Lippes kept insisting that she had written to the State Attorney's office as a citizen and her letter clearly says otherwise. She stated in the opening paragraph she introduced herself as a City Commissioner and in the closing paragraph she talks about her obligation to her constituents being the reason she is bringing it forward and signed it as Atlantic Beach City Commissioner. She stated she wanted it attached to the minutes as a quick response. Adjournment There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m. F1 Ide` Mike Borno, Mayor /Presiding Officer ATTEST: W73 Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk ATTACHMENT A Angela Corey lii ` '` ` ' Florida State Attorney 10 FEB 15 Fi i 4: 03 220 East Bay Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 February 5, 2010 Dear Ms. Corey, I am a sitting City Commissioner in the City of Atlantic Beach, FL. The city recently entered into a binding agreement with Mr. Sones, with Mr. Paul Harden his acting attorney, concerning concessions given by the city in order to obtain a utility easement on Mr. Sones' property. Because of questions that have arisen concerning the validity of Mr. Sones and partners ownership of the "Sones Property ", aka The Estates ofAtlantic Beach and to the SJRWMD, Old Sherry Road. I looked into the matter. In the search for answers many more questions and concerns have arisen. I do not have all of the documentation, or answers to these questions and more, nor do 1 have the time and resources to discover them. I do however feel an obligation to my constituents to bring them forward and ask for your help in finding the truth. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance. Sincerel)1 : l J Carolynoo s ) Atlantic Beach ity Commissioner 904 -241 -8973