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1-10-12 Commission Workshop MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER ON JANUARY 10, 2012 AT 6:00 PM City Commission Members present: Mike Borno, Mayor Maria Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Mark Beckenbach, Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty, Commissioner Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Staff present: Jim Hanson, City Manager David Thompson, Assistant City Manager Michael Classey, Chief of Police Nancy Bailey, Recording Secretary The meeting, which was held for the purpose of reviewing the history and status of the police building project as well as to discuss possible next steps, including the creation of a committee to study options, was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Borno. Mayor Borno explained the process for public comments and opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Don Ford, 338 6 Street, addressed the Commission speaking against the new Police Building. He further addressed the comments against him serving on the committee for the Public Safety Building. He stated he believes the Public Safety Building has not been maintained or managed properly. He stated he does not believe the current building has been outgrown, but it has not been managed properly. Jeff Montanye, 33411 Street, stated we are in a recession and he believes spending money to this extend would be something we would do only if pressed against the wall. He stated if they need to increase the police facilities, why encroach on Russell Park, why not Mayport Road. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to visitors. Assistant City Manager David Thompson gave a slide presentation on the background and history of the proposed new police building from 2004 to present, including information on the votes and consensus decisions regarding the building. He stated the present status is that the architectural/engineering plans have been completed and are ready to bid if /when staff is directed to do so. He stated staff is awaiting direction from the Commission as to how and when to proceed. He, Mayor Borno and Chief Classey answered several questions from the Commission. Commissioners Mark and Woods asked questions of Ian Reeves with ADG regarding the recommendations of ADG. Mr. Reeves explained their recommendations. Mr. Thompson showed additional slides of the possible reuse of the existing facility and the evaluation of the existing building's survivability from various storm tracks. Police Chief Mike Classey gave a slide presentation on the needs of the Police Department and why they need a new police building. He explained the deficiencies of the building, categorizing Minutes — City Commission Workshop January 10, 2012 Page 2 them into security, life safety, operations and facility. He answered questions from the Commission and audience. Discussion ensued regarding options. Mayor Borno pointed out that in addition to the deficiencies previously discussed there is also no firearms /ammunition storage or hazmat storage, which Chief Classey elaborated on. Mayor Borno reopened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Jeff Montanye, 33411 Street, asked to see the site plan for the proposed Police Facility in Russell Park. Mr. Thompson explained he had not been asked to bring that as he was to speak on the history and background. Commissioner Mark gave Mr. Montanye a copy of the plan and Commissioner Beckenbach brought the plan up on his computer from which Mr. Thompson explained the aerial site plan after putting the slide on the overhead projector. Lyman Fletcher, 804 East Coast Drive, stated the presentation today was excellent. He stated he believes this is a massive building towering over City Hall, our civil government, and that is not acceptable. He stated we are creative enough to build something better in this community. Art Corsano, 2314 Oceanwalk Drive West, addressed the Commission asking if there was ever an option to build an addition with a walkway to the existing police building and renovate the existing building, which he stated would reduce the price to around $2 million. He stated this would give a much smaller footprint at half the cost. William Flood, 1737 Seminole Road, asked for more detail of the various items discussed in the presentation to give a better evaluation of how to do this. Sally Clemens, 1638 Park Terrace West, stated she has listened to the talk on the police building since the beginning. She suggested our police cars can be our substations. She stated she is one of the proponents for the new police building. She stated ADG's design has been scaled for Atlantic Beach and she likes it. She also stated nobody said Don Ford should not serve on the committee, she merely suggested that each commissioner choose a member. She stated they need to act and stop procrastinating. Steve Fouraker, 387 6th Street, agreed with Sally Clemens regarding choosing a committee. He stated he is tired of what is going on in our community and this has got to stop and people need to realize that political differences are just political differences. He stated we need to do this together and get over this stuff. He stated he is discouraged by actions of the community and they need to work on it. He stated they need to start fresh and get some new ideas and not go with the plan that has been presented to them. Don Ford, 338 6 Street, stated he is an expert in the Building Code and the code requirements are going to change in this area whereby we do not need to build to 110 mile/hour winds. He stated the codes will be reduced. He further discussed changes that are coming to the codes. He asked that they use common sense. Nigel Bennie, 147 Pine Street, stated he is concerned about the price tag and also is concerned about the pictures shown of the storage, stating you can keep records on disks to create a smaller Minutes — City Commission Workshop January 10, 2012 Page 3 work space. He stated that was a great presentation and they should minimize for more space. He further suggested that Animal Control should be removed from the police station. He stated they need to shrink the $5 million price tag. He reiterated they should shrink the storage required, using modern technology. John November, 647 Beach Avenue, stated he toured the police station today and believes what they have right now is unacceptable. He stated they need more austerity and to spend less; they don't need a taj mahal. He stated it needs to be rethought. He stated he has a plan to build a new building that includes everything that can't be housed in the current facility. He suggested keeping the current facility as office space. He stated it needs to be determined what the bare minimum is and use the existing facilities. Suzanne Barker, 1938 Beachside Court, stated she also took a tour today and knows we need to do something but believes we can come together as a community to have a professional, safe police station that is efficient and economical. She further stated we do have to improve the police station and likes the idea to keep part of the new design and refurbish the existing. She thanked everyone who has been working on this project. Mark Tomaski, 448 Snapping Turtle Court West, stated he understands the need and it is clear we need to add on to this facility. He stated he built a 4,000 s.f. office and listed the offices, and he believes $350 /s.£ is too high. He stated he has an issue with having an architect who says you can't remodel the old building when they are the same ones who did the new design. He stated throwing good money after bad is not a good idea. He stated he likes that this new commission is allowing citizen input. In response to Mr. Tomaski's remark, David Thompson explained the selection process that took place when they chose ADG. Ben de Luna, 2361 Oceanwalk Drive West, asked what the square footage is they are currently using. Chief Classey stated it is about 4,000 s.f. Mr. de Luna stated they need to consider what it will cost to maintain as well as the cost to build a new building. Mr. Hanson explained they will use a geothermal and do a green project to keep those costs down. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Mayor Borno asked the Commission where they want to go. Commissioner Woods stated she wants to get a committee involved and give them a couple of months. She stated the Commission can be involved. She has problems with where we are at now and does not believe this building falls into our community character standards. She stated she is also bothered by the building's encroachment into the park. The consensus of the Commission was to work with a committee with a constrained time frame. Minutes — City Commission Workshop January 10, 2012 Page 4 There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Borno declared the meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. 4 E N E. ailey &td,, ancy Recording Secretary