6-27-11 MINUTES
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING
June 27, 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 June 13, 2011.
Motion: Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of June 13,
2011, as written
Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Parsons.
Commissioner Woods expressed her disappointment in the change made in the minutes
at the last meeting removing the comments made by Lyman Fletcher. She stated it
seems to her that they have a policy that the only person who can interpret citizen
comments is Nancy Bailey, which is definitely a duty of the Clerk's office. She stated
she is not sure putting all that authority on one person's shoulders really benefits the
citizens when their comments are not accurately reflected. She agreed Lyman Fletcher
spoke in disagreement but the reasons he spoke in disagreement were not put into the
minutes and she believed they were valid. She further stated he used the phrase
"arbitrary and capricious" four times which made her think that was the main reason
for his disagreeing with what was going on, but none of that comes forward in the
statements that were put in the minutes. She stated she would like to follow this up
with a discussion as to how the citizens' comments are going to be reflected in the
minutes because she does not believe it is a fair representation and it has been this way
for a while. She stated some citizens' comments are written almost verbatim and
others are hardly given notice. She stated it doesn't seem to matter how long they
speak, it is the content of what they say that seems to matter more, which she believes
is a bad policy for the City. She wants the Commission to take that matter up and
come up with a better policy than what they have been using so far. Mayor Borno
stated her comments are duly noted and she is welcome to her opinion.
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.
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pale 2
Chris Huffman, 824 S. 6 Street, Fernandina Beach, addressed the Commission
regarding the employee insurance. He stated the average pay in Public Works is
$14/hour. He stated there will be no money to pay for insurance if the Commission
adjusts it as in the proposals he has seen. He stated most employees in Parks have
families and frequently have to borrow money from each other just to get to the next
payday. He stated the only thing they have is the benefits package of decent, not great,
health insurance and raising the cost of the insurance, especially the family coverage,
will completely wipe out the meager budgets of employees who are barely getting by.
He stated the average worker will not be able to afford to work here. He stated if the
City loses career employees because they cannot afford to stay here and provide
insurance for their families, the work force will be replaced by lower quality employees
who are not personally invested in the City. He stated it will simply become a low paid
job with little or no benefits and no pride and little effort will be put in their work and
the City quality will decline steadily. He suggested there are other ways to tighten the
spending and he has plenty of ideas if they want to talk to him, but raising the
insurance cost to employees is not a good idea.
Bill Ray, 2841 Calumet Circle, Jacksonville Beach, addressed the Commission
regarding the insurance stating if the insurance cost to the employee goes up he will no
longer be able to afford to continue employment here.
No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Bomo 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 None.
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
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 Recreation Programs Special Events Report and the
Financial Report for May 2011 and the Public Works and Utility Report as of
June 15, 2011.
B. Extend the Annual Contract with Nautical Escapes for Portable Kayak
Concession at Dutton Island for one year.
C. Award the annual contract for Data Cabling, Troubleshooting, Repairs and
Installation to Truevance Management, Inc. at the rates listed in Bid No. 1011-
12.
D. Award a contract to TankRehab.com, LLC in the amount of $33,900 for
Interior Repair and Painting of Ground Storage (Standpipe) Tank at Water
Plant No. 4 (Bid No. 1011 -13), and authorize the City Manager to sign the
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 3
contract. Authorize staff to encumber $3,390 under a separate purchase order
for use as a contingency for the project.
Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Fletcher pulled Item D.
Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Items A, B, C, as read.
Moved by Fletcher, Seconded by Daugherty.
Votes:
Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
Commissioner Fletcher asked if TankRehab.com has a physical address. Utility
Director Donna Kaluzniak stated they do. Commissioner Fletcher also asked if we
require a performance bond for a job this size. Ms. Kaluzniak stated we did require
one.
Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item D, as read.
Moved by Fletcher, Seconded by Parsons.
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
None.
Miscellaneous 8. Miscellaneous Business
Business
A. Health Insurance Renewal.
Human Resources Manager George Foster summarized his staff report pointing out
that the table in his report is a summary of each 13 -page health plan. He stated over
the last four years the City has had double digit health insurance increases and has
reduced the benefits provided to the employees and increased their premiums, copays
and out -of- pockets. He stated the average per year increase over the last four years has
been over 22.5% but by the City reducing the benefits that our employees receive we
kept that to approximately 4.5 %. He explained there are two costs to the employee, the
premium and the deductibles and/or copays. He stated the plan that was proposed was
based on the guidance he received to try to keep the City's cost to about a 0% increase.
He stated that plan will result in higher deductibles to the employees with the
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4
individual deductible going from $2,000 to $5,000 and will also result in the family
deductible going from $4,000 to $15,000. He further stated the higher out -of- pockets
with the proposed plan would be going from an individual of $5,000 to $10,000 and for
family from $10,000 to $20,000. He stated the premium increase to employees is over
$150,000 which would average out to about $1,400 /employee /year.
Mr. Hanson stated he has some serious concerns about the proposal on the table. He
stated it does meet the strategic planning goals set out in a discussion last February.
He pointed out that they did not have the numbers on how much this was going to cost
at that time and we now have a 30% increase in group health insurance cost, which is
approximately $1 million. He stated the insurance company is losing money on us this
year. He stated for every dollar that was paid in for premiums there was approximately
$1.30 -$1.50 paid out in claims in the last year. He stated the proposal on the table to
meet the goals that were set, both decreases the coverage (and many of our employees
would not be able to pay the maximum deductibles) and passes along the higher cost
for that lower level of coverage to our employees. He stated, as an example, the
employee's share of the cost for family coverage already costs $463 /month and under
the proposal, this would go to $631 /month for an increase of $167 /month, which is
approximately $1 /hour. He pointed out that for someone making between $11-
$14/hour, taking a dollar an hour away to pay for increased family coverage is pretty
serious. He stated Mr. Foster also asked in his staff report that the Commission
approve allowing the City to offer a supplemental coverage policy for employees that
would be at their expense. He stated he believes if the employee can't afford the
increased cost of family coverage, they can't pay for the cost of the supplemental
policy either. He also pointed out that this is the 5 year that coverage has been
lowered and the increased cost was passed on to the employees also. He stated
although the City has to make ends meet, in this particular case, he believes this may
be too much and believes we need a considerable amount more discussion. He stated
this is a very complicated subject and there is a range of options. He stated he realizes
it is unfair to ask the Commission to make a commitment to put any more money
toward this when they haven't even seen the budget but as Mr. Foster pointed out they
have to have open enrollment so they can have a policy ready to start October 1. He
stated the staff report recommendation may not be the right thing in this particular
case.
Commissioner Parsons agreed that during the strategic planning the Commission did
not want to raise any part of the City budget and believes that is fiscally smart but, at
the same time, there comes a point where sometimes it just doesn't make sense. He
stated that's what those strategic plans are, strategies. He stated that was a strategy
they tried to meet and they are at a very big disadvantage not knowing what the budget
is going to do. He stated although it is not the City's fault that the economy has been
so bad, at the same time, he believes they need to find the money and not raise the
premiums for the employees. He stated this budget will be a lot of work for this
Commission, probably the hardest one they have ever done or that the City has ever
faced, but they need to find a way to come up with the money.
Commissioner Daugherty stated he agrees with Mr. Hanson that this needs to be
discussed further and they need to look at more options. He believes it would be wise
to defer until the budget workshops.
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5
Commissioner Fletcher stated he believes this issue needs more study and suggested
deferring a decision and scheduling a workshop very soon.
Mayor Borno asked Mr. Foster what date they need to make a decision by. Mr. Foster
stated they would need a decision no later than the middle of August. He also clarified
that Column B has a significant increase to the employees and to not give the
employees an increase would require both the City's increase and the employee's
increase to be picked up by the City, which would be approximately $275,000 for the
City to fund that amount. He stated that would keep the employee premiums and
benefits at the current level.
Commissioner Daugherty asked Mr. Foster if there is an option for employees to opt
out and receive a cash benefit. Mr. Foster stated the City does not have that option.
Commissioner Daugherty asked if we could go in with other cities. Mr. Foster stated
that type of action would probably take two or three years to implement and he
believes most cities would not want to do that because we don't know what is going to
happen to health insurance in 2014. Mr. Foster further explained the cafeteria plan.
Commissioner Fletcher asked if the renewal date could be pushed back so it doesn't
fall during this budgeting time. Mr. Foster stated he could contact our insurance plan
and ask for a January 1 renewal, however, they build into the renewal rates a medical
cost of inflation, so if we delayed, the 28% increase may go to a 31 -32% increase.
Discussion ensued.
Commissioner Woods asked how many employees the City is covering with our health
insurance. Mr. Foster stated we currently have 66 in the employee -only coverage, 11
with parent and child, 12 with 2 party, and 14 with family for a total of 103.
Commissioner Woods stated she appreciated the two employees speaking to the
Commission tonight and definitely feels their pain and wondered if they could have
more employee and citizen input at the workshop so they have time to speak before
they start and maybe even time to speak again after the Commission has their
discussion, so all sides are considered.
Discussion ensued regarding the workshop. It was the consensus of the Commission to
schedule the workshop on July 12, details to be determined.
Commissioner Parsons stated he did not agree with Commissioner Woods' suggestion
related to allowing people to speak at the workshop. He stated they don't do that
because you won't get a whole lot accomplished in a timely manner. He suggested she
speak to Mr. Foster and others to see what they think before the workshop.
Mayor Borno stated he also appreciated hearing from the employees tonight. He
agreed contacting Mr. Foster would be a smart move for all of the Commissioners but
agreed with Commissioner Parsons that if they go out of the format of a regular
workshop it becomes a sharing of opinions and you don't necessarily come to
consensus.
Motion: Defer action indefinitely.
Moved by Fletcher, Seconded by Daugherty.
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6
Votes:
Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
B Approval of new mutual aid agreement with Duval County School System.
Chief Mike Classey explained the purpose of the agreement, stating this is a new
agreement with Duval County School Police.
Motion: Approve Mutual Aid Agreement and authorize the City Manager and
Chief of Police to sign it.
Moved by Woods, Seconded by Fletcher.
Commissioner Fletcher pointed out that we also have a Mutual Aid Agreement with
UNF Police.
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 the Jacksonville landscape maintenance issue, stating
Jacksonville sent notifications that they are reducing their cost for right -of -way
maintenance after September 2012 and will no longer pay for anything more than
cutting the grass. He stated they are giving others the option to maintain them at their
cost. He stated Councilman Crescimbeni has a bill entered for consideration by the
Jacksonville Council to require public works to continue to maintain these things
through 2012. He further stated while our medians in our City will still be maintained,
it would certainly take away from the strategic issue of enhancing the corridor that this
Commission has supported for a lot of years so he would hope that Jacksonville would
not take any of that landscaping out.
Mr. Hanson also reported on a meeting with Deputy Secretary Michael Walker and
John Powell of Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) regarding
assistance with enforcement and support related to revocation of licenses for businesses
who allow alcohol sales to minors.
Mr. Hanson announced that Sonya Doerr, the Planning and Zoning Director, had
resigned due to health reasons, effective last week. He stated Building Official Mike
Griffin has taken over her responsibilities temporarily.
Reported the budget workshop dates have been set for August 9, 24, 31 and, if needed,
September 6 at 5:00 in the Chamber.
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 7
Reports/Requests 10. Reports and /or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney
City Commissioners A. Appointments to the Cultural Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee.
City Attorney
Commissioner Fletcher reported the Board Member Review Committee met to
consider the reappointment of three members and filling one vacant position on the
Cultural Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee. He stated it was the Board
Member Review Committee's recommendation to appoint Wanda Martin to fill the
vacancy and to reappoint Lori Gaglione, Carolyn McCarthy and Jeff Wight to another
term.
Motion: Appoint Wanda Martin to serve as a new member of the Cultural Arts
and Recreation Advisory Committee beginning July 9, 2011.
Moved by Borno, Seconded by Daugherty
Votes:
Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
Motion: Reappoint Lori Gaglione to serve an additional term on the Cultural
Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee beginning July 9, 2011.
Moved by Borno, Seconded by Woods
Votes:
Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
Motion: Reappoint Carolyn McCarthy and Jeff Wight to serve an additional
term on the Cultural Arts and Recreation Advisory Committee beginning July 9
2011.
Moved by Borno, Seconded by Woods
Votes:
Aye: 5 — Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0
MOTION CARRIED
Commissioner Daugherty
• Responded to Mr. Hanson's report regarding the City of Jacksonville not
maintaining the medians, he suggested an Adopt a Median program where local
landscapers could adopt a median and showcase their work.
• Proposed adopting an Ordinance such as the ordinance from Martin County, a
copy of which was distributed to the Commission, that prohibits retailers and
convenience stores from displaying tobacco products in front of the counter
where they can easily be taken by children. He stated this ordinance will
require those products to be placed behind the counter. Commissioner Fletcher
asked if we would be allowed to pass an ordinance that was stricter in
regulating items like that than what the State law is. Mr. Jensen stated other
June 27, 2011 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 8
counties have passed these ordinances. He stated he will do further research on
this.
Commissioner Parsons
• Wanted to include crack pipes and related drug paraphernalia in the ordinance.
• Cautioned everyone to walk facing traffic, relating a recent personal experience
he had while walking.
Commissioner Woods
• Regarding Commissioner Parsons' comments about citizens comments at
workshops, she stated that just because we have never had citizen comments at
workshops, it doesn't mean it is not a viable alternative and that it couldn't
serve to be useful. She stated we have some important issues coming up in this
City and it is a good thing to seek input in public forums.
• Stated she believes the recent signage installed on Mayport Road for
pedestrians is helping and appreciates the efforts staff has made to make that
happen. Stated she is concerned about other areas where people are parking
and walking to the beach and suggested marking the intersections more, such as
with a different paving.
Mayor Borno
• Agreed with Commissioner Woods regarding pedestrians, stating he believes
education is a major key.
• Stated workshops can be adjusted, as necessary.
• Reported on the meetings the Commission had individually with Mr.
Harrington regarding the addiction of flavored tobacco and other nicotine items.
He explained this was where the ordinance Commissioner Daugherty proposed
came from.
Commissioner Fletcher
• Stated he wanted to give his vote of confidence to Nancy Bailey.
Adjournment There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 7:02
p.m.
pl c, 6_4_4,1,
Mike Borno, Mayor/Presiding Officer
ATTEST:
adivyta adet
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk