7-22-13 Workshop MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION
HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER ON JULY 22,2013
City Commission Members present:
Mayor Mike Borno
Mayor Pro Tern Maria Mark
Commissioner Mark Beckenbach
Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty
Commissioner Carolyn Woods
Staff present:
Jim Hanson, City Manager
Alan Jensen, City Attorney
Donna Bartle, City Clerk
Nancy Bailey, Recording Secretary
The meeting, which was held for the purpose of discussing the agenda items for the Commission
Meeting of August 12, 2013, was called to order at 6:55 p.m. by Mayor Borno.
Item 7E was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time.
7E. ORDINANCE NUMBER 90-13-219,Introduction and First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, COUNTY OF DUVAL, STATE
OF FLORIDA, AMENDING A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SPECIAL PLANNED AREA
(SPA) KNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC BEACH COUNTRY CLUB SPA, TO INCREASE THE
TOTAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS PERMITTED FROM ONE
HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) TO TWO HUNDRED (200), WITH A MAXIMUM OF TWENTY-
SIX (26) TO BE ALLOCATED TO LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
AND THE REMAINING ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR (174) TO BE LOCATED ON
ADJACENT LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE; PROVIDING FOR
SPECIAL CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS OF FACT; PROVIDING FOR A
SAVINGS CLAUSE; REQUIRING RECORDATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Mayor Borno read the Ordinance by title.
Principal Planner Erika Hall explained this is an amendment of the SPA that was approved for
the Atlantic Beach Country Club. She stated this is to add 20 additional units.
Commissioner Woods asked about the signage. Ms. Hall explained the sign.
Commissioner Beckenbach stated it was his understanding that the 20 homes might not be built
and the reason they might not be built is that this is land collateral just in case something goes
awry with the project. He stated he heard the clubhouse needs to be renovated and expanded and
they will use this as collateral. He asked if after the loan for the clubhouse is paid off can they
see if we can have a conservation easement, as it was originally planned, for that particular piece
of property. Mr. Hanson stated there were representatives from the Country Club in the audience
who could address that.
Gary Silverfield, 1175 Fortune Parkway, Jacksonville, representing Atlantic Beach Partners
explained this was a plan to get the clubhouse expanded from 5,000 s.f. to 11,000 s.f. He stated
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this was a way for the developers to loan the club an additional $3,000,000. He stated to request
to get that financed and raise equity they needed some additional collateral because the club
itself didn't have any additional collateral other than what they were already using for the golf
course, swimming pool and tennis courts. He stated the club hopes this is never used. He stated
they have approximately three years to refinance the $3,000,000 and if that does not happen they
have the right to develop it into additional lots. Mr. Hanson stated he was told by one of the
country club representatives that while their intent may be to pay them off in three years that
may mean they have another loan and this property would continue to be pledged as collateral
for another loan, presumably at a lower interest rate. Mr. Silverfield stated they have several
alternatives but the plan is to sell enough memberships to use initiation fees to reduce this loan.
He further stated if they need to refinance it they will have the whole collateral, the whole club,
and at that point they could use that as well. They could use this collateral if they need to go to a
bank to refinance this repayment loan. Mayor Borno asked if once it is paid off then is it still
property of the country club. Mr. Silverfield explained that once they build everything it will
then in lump sum be given to the club, including this piece. Mr. Hanson asked, at some point in
the future when it is no longer needed as collateral, can we get the conservation easement that is
to be applied over the rest of the golf course property applied to that additional 20 acres as well.
Mr. Silverfield stated he believes it is already in the agreement; that once that is paid off it
automatically goes with the conservation easement as well.
Rick Wood, 414 Old Hard Road, Fleming Island, further explained when they first started
loaning money to the club they told them they needed collateral. He stated as he discussed with
the City Manager, once that loan was paid off they would be prepared to grant a conservation
easement over it. He stated after discussing this with the country club, the Selva Marina Country
Club Board came back and said they didn't want a conservation easement over this seven acres
because they want to use it for future collateral even once they pay the loan off He stated his
answer would be, long-term, that there would not be a conservation easement, allowing the club
to have flexibility with lenders. Commissioner Beckenbach stated the clubhouse area does not
have a conservation easement either. Mr. Woods stated no, it does not. Commissioner
Beckenbach asked if the clubhouse, being zoned a SPA, would have to come back to the
Commission for any change from being a clubhouse. Ms. Hall stated that was correct.
Commissioner Daugherty asked how this benefits the City. Mr. Hanson explained their deal
with the developer was a 5,000 s.f. clubhouse and they don't believe that is enough to attract the
membership they want to get. He stated they want an 11,000 s.f. clubhouse and the only way for
them to get the money to do it is to take this loan and they need collateral to do it. Commissioner
Daugherty stated he is hearing from a lot of citizens that Atlantic Beach is going from being a
community with a lot of character to being kind of an elitist group in some areas. He stated he
believes Selva Marina is turning into something that the average person in Atlantic Beach can't
afford. He stated his concern is that we are turning into Ponte Vedra and asked if that is what we
really want as a community. Mayor Borno stated he takes that as a perception that people may
not be cognizant of what the Board for Selva Marina is doing under their fiduciary
responsibilities. Mr. Hanson agreed stating they are taking their best shot to try and make it
survive. Commissioner Mark stated they have indicated the homes, the clubhouse and all the
architecture is going to be compatible with the Atlantic Beach character. Commissioner
Daugherty asked how going from 180 to 200 homes affects traffic. Mr. Hanson stated the traffic
numbers were presented in Ms. Hall's report. Commissioner Daugherty stated he didn't look at
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that report. Discussion ensued. Mr. Hanson stated they are working on getting a master
agreement prepared related to the conservation easement, the annexation and the reuse. He
stated it is their hope to get it ready for Commission approval by the time they have the second
reading of this ordinance. He stated they plan to have a special meeting before the August
workshop for the second reading.
Workshop-only Items:
1. Appointment of Special Magistrate for dog cases.
This item was discussed later in the agenda under City Manager Follow-up Report.
*Discussion of Agenda Items on August 12,2013 Commission Meeting:
1. Minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of July 8, 2013, the Special Called
Commission Meeting of June 24, 2013, the Commission Workshop of June 24, 2013 and
the Town Hall Meeting of July 13, 2013.
There was no discussion on this item.
2. Courtesy of Floor to Visitors
3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings
A. City Manager's Follow-up Report.
Appointment of Special Magistrate for dog cases.
Mr. Hanson stated they need to discuss appointing a Special Magistrate because right now they
don't have anyone to hear a dangerous dog case. He explained that when Jacksonville Beach
appointed their Special Magistrate in 2007, the City Manager, Chief of Police and City Attorney
interviewed candidates. He stated he would propose to use the same process to do that. He
stated selection criteria would be relative experience, availability and cost to the City. He stated
he would propose they work on an hourly basis because we don't know how many dangerous
dog hearings we will have. He stated State law will not let us appoint the same magistrate that
Jacksonville Beach has because that violates the policy of holding two separate offices.
Discussion ensued.
City Manager Hanson reported the City has received notice that the St. Johns Water
Management District has approved a grant in the amount of$442,000 for the reuse construction
project which will cost us about $1.1 million. He stated this is a 40% grant. He congratulated
Director of Utilities Donna Kaluzniak and John Collins who worked hard to get this grant
approved.
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
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Page 4
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 Financial Report, Building Department Monthly
Activity Report, List of New Business Taxes and Utility Sales Report for June.
B. Declare the list of property as surplus so that the items on it may be disposed of in
the most beneficial way to the City.
Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda.
Commissioner Woods expressed her concerns about our pension numbers and water assumption
numbers. Discussion ensued.
5. Committee Reports
None.
6. Action on Resolutions
None.
7. Action on Ordinances
A. ORDINANCE NUMBER 90-13-218, Public Hearing and Final Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, COUNTY OF DUVAL, STATE
OF FLORIDA, MODIFYING A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLANNED UNIT
DEVELOPMENT (PUD) KNOWN AS THE FLEET LANDING PUD, TO PROVIDE FOR
THE INCLUSION OF AN ADDITIONAL 2.06 ACRES IN THE SITE PLAN, TO CHANGE
THE ZONING DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION OF SAID ADDITIONAL 2.06 ACRES FROM
COMMERCIAL GENERAL (CG) TO PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD), AND TO
MODIFY THE APPROVED SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR RELOCATION OF
CERTAIN FACILITIES THEREIN; PROVIDING FOR SPECIAL CONDITIONS;
PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS OF FACT; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE;
REQUIRING RECORDATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Borno read the Ordinance by title. There was no discussion on this Ordinance.
B. ORDINANCE NO. 65-13-38,Public Hearing and Final Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, FOR PARTIAL
ROAD CLOSURE OF ORCHID STREET, A PLATTED STREET WITHIN THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH AS RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 18, PAGE 34, AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Borno read the Ordinance by title. There was no discussion on this Ordinance.
C. ORDINANCE NO. 80-13-83, Public Hearing and Final Reading
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING
CHAPTER 22 UTILITIES, TO ADD ARTICLE V, RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, TO
INCLUDE DEFINITIONS, PURPOSE, PUBLIC POLICY, AND BENEFITS, RELATIONSHIP
TO OTHER LAWS, CONNECTION REQUIRED, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND
OWNERSHIP OF NEW RECLAIMED WATER FACILITIES, USE OF RECLAIMED
WATER, CROSS CONNECTION CONTROL, UNAUTHORIZED WORK ON RECLAIMED
WATER FACILITIES, INSPECTIONS, RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF WELLS,
DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICE, CITY'S RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE, CITY NOT
LIABLE FOR INTERRUPTIONS IN SERVICE, BILLING AND COLLECTION OF FEES,
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Borno read the Ordinance by title. Commissioner Woods clarified that this is based on
other communities' experience and is pretty thorough. Mr. Hanson agreed they mostly went by
Jacksonville's ordinance. Commissioner Daugherty asked at what point do they set the fees.
Mr. Hanson stated they will need to start to look at that in a couple of months but it is not urgent
that they do that right now. Discussion ensued.
D. ORDINANCE NO. 20-13-124, Public Hearing and Final Reading
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF
ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA FOR FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2012 AND
ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2013, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Borno read the Ordinance by title. Commissioner Beckenbach pointed out a scrivener's
error changing "will provided" to "will provide" in the third Whereas. There was no other
discussion.
E. ORDINANCE NUMBER 90-13-219, Introduction and First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, COUNTY OF DUVAL, STATE
OF FLORIDA, AMENDING A PREVIOUSLY APPROVED SPECIAL PLANNED AREA
(SPA) KNOWN AS THE ATLANTIC BEACH COUNTRY CLUB SPA, TO INCREASE THE
TOTAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS PERMITTED FROM ONE
HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) TO TWO HUNDRED (200), WITH A MAXIMUM OF TWENTY-
SIX (26) TO BE ALLOCATED TO LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
AND THE REMAINING ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR (174) TO BE LOCATED ON
ADJACENT LANDS WITHIN THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE; PROVIDING FOR
SPECIAL CONDITIONS; PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS OF FACT; PROVIDING FOR A
SAVINGS CLAUSE; REQUIRING RECORDATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This item was taken out of sequence and discussed earlier in the meeting.
8. Miscellaneous Business
A. Public Hearing for UBEX-13-00100056. Request for a use-by-exception to allow on-
premises consumption of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine and liquor by Javier U. Perez
on behalf of Cantina Maya Sports Bar & Grille, located at 1021 Atlantic Boulevard within a
Commercial General (CG) zoning district.
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Page 6
Erika Hall explained the request for a use-by-exception, stating the applicant currently operates
with a 2-COP which allows beer and wine sales and he wishes to expand to also serve liquor.
She explained the applicant meets the criteria from the State for a 4-COP and the Community
Development Board reviewed this and recommended unanimously that the Commission approve.
Commissioner Daugherty stated he sees no reason not to approve this as there is another
restaurant in the same shopping center that serves liquor. He further pointed out that the
applicant applied for this use-by-exception on May 23, 2013 and this is the end of July and it will
still be a while before he gets this. He stated this is just one of the items they need to consider
when determining how they are conducting meetings. He stated he doesn't believe this is being
very business friendly. He stated this is a good example of how their new schedule really affects
new businesses trying to open and might be a wakeup call for the Commission to look at
changing the way they do things a little bit, especially for use-by-exceptions. Ms. Hall stated it
previously took 6-8 weeks to get a use-by-exception; it has to go to the Community
Development Board for a recommendation and then to the Commission for approval. She stated
what they are realizing now it that it is taking 11-13 weeks because of the change in the
Commission's meeting schedule and the new extended notice requirements. Discussion ensued.
B. Public Hearing for UBEX-13-00100059. Request for use-by-exception to allow for the
sale of electric vehicles in a new building within the Commercial General (CG) Zoning District
(58 10th Street West).
Redevelopment and Zoning Coordinator Jeremy Hubsch explained the request for the use-by-
exception showing slides of the site, development standards and site plans. He stated this request
is unique in that the applicants claim to do 90% of their sales on the Internet and will not be
displaying their products outside. He stated the applicants were here and could explain their
operations. He further stated the Community Development Board also approved the zoning
variance to reduce the required parking from 19 spaces to 11 spaces; however, if this use-by-
exception is denied the zoning variance will be null and void. Mr. Hubsch answered several
questions from the Commission.
Commissioner Woods stated the Commission was contacted by some people concerned about the
traffic on the street so she did a traffic study for 1 hour and 22 minutes and counted 160 cars,
which came out to approximately 1.95 cars/minute. She stated it seemed to be local traffic and
there was only 1 car going toward Mayport Road during that time. She expressed concern about
the parking condition. Mr. Hubsch stated one of the conditions they are mentioning is to prevent
them from doing test drives so there won't be people driving electric vehicles and adding more
traffic into the area. Discussion ensued.
Mr. Hubsch stated the recommended conditions would be no outside sales or placement of
merchandise; the applicant shall construct a building similar to what is presented as site plan 2,
with parking on the side of the building and building closer to the street; no test driving electric
cars in the neighboring residential streets; and all development standards listed in the
development regulations shall be adhered to.
Ted Jackrel, Moto Electric Vehicles, answered several questions from the Commission. He
stated they could not agree to the test drive clause explaining they have to drive the cars on
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occasion to local business people, such as body shops. He stated they also test them out before
they ship them to make sure everything is working.
Jason Canning, 1713 Furman Rd., Jacksonville, architect on project, explained the site plan for
the building and the location of the roll-up door for delivery of vehicles. He answered questions
from the Commission.
Commissioner Daugherty stated he didn't want them to use his neighborhood for a test track.
Debra Jackrel explained the trucks that come to their property are the flatbed type that hold two
cars. She stated the trucks back up to their door and are in and out in about 15 minutes. She
stated they have owned the property and had all the vans and buses there for 19 years, with big
trucks bringing all those vehicles in. She stated, if anything, she would think someone would
have complained about that in the last 19 years. She stated they have been good neighbors,
courteous, and she spends half her life picking up the beer bottles, etc. from the neighborhood.
She stated she has landscaped her other properties well beyond what probably 99% of Atlantic
Beach businesses have done. She reiterated they are courteous neighbors and are not going to go
test driving all throughout the whole neighborhood and driving people crazy. She stated they
will go down the block to make sure the thing is working properly because they don't want their
clients to be upset when it gets to them and doesn't drive properly. She stated they will not be
meandering through all the developments for an hour test drive. She stated they are respectful of
the neighborhood and, if anything, they are more respectful than three quarters of the people.
She stated she believes everyone would welcome getting rid of the vans and buses from the
neighborhood and adding an electric car. She further stated test driving of the vehicle will not be
clients doing it but rather a licensed employee who will test the vehicle and get it right back to
the facility. Discussion ensued.
Commissioner Daugherty asked if they can approve this without the variance for the parking.
Mr. Hanson stated the Community Development Board already granted the variance. Mr.
Hubsch stated the variance for parking would be null and void if they turned down the use-by-
exception. Mr. Jensen stated the final action for a variance is by the Community Development
Board. Mr. Griffin stated the Commission can look at the parking as a part of the criteria of the
use-by-exception. Discussion ensued.
C. Public Hearing for ZVAR-13-00100058. Request for variance from Section 24-161(h),
to allow a reduction in required parking from 19 spaces to 11 spaces (58 10th Street West).
Mr. Hanson explained Mr. Hubsch pointed out that this was mistakenly put on the agenda. He
stated the Community Development Board gave them the final variance and this should have
never been put on the agenda.
D. Request for a Waiver from City Code Section 19-7 Driveway Limitations to Allow a
Circular Driveway on a Lot with Less Than 100 Foot Frontage at 149 Oceanwalk Dr. S.
Public Works Director Rick Carper showed a site plan of the existing driveway stating the
owners are proposing to install a circular driveway. He explained the reason they need to come
before the Commission was the lot frontage was 90' and our Code requires 100' unless waived
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by the Commission. He stated this is a special case in that the Architectural Review Committee
and the Homeowners' Association have both denied the application from the homeowner due to
the number of trees in the proposed plan and the homeowner went back to the Homeowners'
Association and his appeal was denied. Mr. Carper stated there is nothing in our Code that says
the Commission can't give him the waiver anyway but they have traditionally never approved a
waiver that had not been approved by the appropriate homeowners' association. Mr. Hanson
agreed it is not up to the City Commission to enforce homeowners' association covenants and
restrictions and if they give him permission to do this he still couldn't do it without the
homeowners' association approval or they could take him to court. Mr. Carper explained the
issue is that his plan effectively produces a parking lot in the front of his house and they don't
want to see that. He stated he meets the City's tree requirement. Discussion ensued.
E. Staff recommendations on addition to Chapter 21 parking on Right-Of-Way.
Chief Mike Classey summarized his staff report explaining, if the Commission desires the City
to have an enforcement mechanism, he recommends changing the wording to state "parking in
the right-of-way on a very occasional or infrequent basis for periods generally short in duration
is permissible. Parking in the right-of-way is not intended to be a solution for a limited driveway
and/or garage parking. No persons shall routinely park in the right-of-way, where routinely is
defined as three or more occasions within any seven day period." He stated he believes that is
much more clearly defined than saying "72 continuous hours". Chief Classey answered
questions from the Commission. Discussion ensued. Mr. Hanson stated there are individuals all
across the City parking on the right-of-way and the problem they have on the South end of
Seminole has been brought up several times over the years where they have just a few houses
that often have four cars and it looks like a used car lot. He stated we don't have the manpower
to enforce this Citywide, but the real question is, does the Commission want them to enforce it at
all or should we ignore the complaints. He stated he believes the complaints are valid; it looks
terrible; and it is a public safety hazard. He stated he believes the policy should be to respond to
the most serious problems, i.e. south Seminole Road. Chief Classey stated this change would
cover us and our officers would be able to exercise discretion. He stated their top priority is not
going to be going out looking for that single car parked on a right-of-way that they might be able
to write a ticket for. Commissioner Woods asked if they have to use the police to solve this
problem; Code Enforcement deals with everything else in the Code, can they not deal with this
as well. Chief Classes stated, legally, yes, according to Alan Jensen's opinion on it; however it
comes down to more of a manpower issue. He stated we have a single Code Enforcement
Officer that has plenty to do in the City otherwise. Further discussion ensued.
F. Construction Services for Rose Park Improvements.
Rick Carper summarized his staff report showing a slide of the site plan. He explained the bids
came in substantially higher than was budgeted. He stated staff suggested down-phasing the
project for a budget of $187,000, which he explained; or rejecting all bids and placing this
project on hold until completion of the Parks System Master Plan. He stated, alternatively, the
Commission may choose to award the contract to C.C. Borden pending successful negotiations
by staff to bring cost within budget as discussed in the staff report. Discussion ensued. Mayor
Borno suggested Mr. Carper prepare an amended agenda item outlining the changes in the down-
phasing project for action on August 12. Mr. Carper answered questions from the Commission.
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9. City Manager
A. City Manager's Report.
City Manager Hanson reported the tentative schedule for presentations in the Budget Workshops
was attached, stating the actual presentation of items may vary based upon how quickly each
subject can be covered and the number of questions asked.
He also reported on the latest Alcohol Deployment on June 28, stating out of 17 restaurants and
stores that were checked, the underage informant was unable to purchase alcohol at any of those
locations.
He reported on the fuel efficiency of Police Vehicles stating with the more efficient gas powered
vehicles as well as the hybrids and one all-electric vehicle, the fuel efficiency of the fleet has
improved dramatically, going from 13.37 mpg in 2007 to 18.64 mpg through June in 2013 .
He also explained a Revised Mutual Aid Agreement has been prepared and signed by the various
jurisdictions due to a recent judicial ruling arising out of a DUI case that indicated this mutual
aid agreement was invalid because it was too broadly based due to Atlantic Beach police officers
and other jurisdictions having authority to exercise police powers anywhere in Duval County at
any time. He stated this revised agreement more narrowly defines the areas in which the officers
have extra jurisdictional authority as well as the conditions under which they would use that
authority. He stated this is to report to the Commission that he has signed this as City Manager
under the authority granted in 2011 because it amounts to a clarification of a previously
approved contract and because our police officers need the ability to exercise their police powers
in areas adjacent to our City. This new agreement has a five-year term and will extend until
2018.
He stated the Strategic Plan for this month is completed and he distributed copies to the
Commission.
10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney
A. Discussion and Recommendations for the Process and Procedure of Commission
Evaluation of City Manager/City Clerk/City Attorney.
Commissioner Beckenbach stated he spoke to a number of people pertaining to this and thanked
Bill Mayhew and Karen Kempf in particular for helping him out with this. He stated he is
requesting an evaluation for the City Manager, the City Clerk and the City Attorney. He stated
he does not want individual evaluations because that is not a real evaluation as far as the entire
City Commission. He stated the Commission is the body that is responsible and he and a number
of the citizens believe that the Commission in total should review and have it out in the open so
the citizens could find out how they actually feel about each of the individuals. He stated Karen
Kempf did a lot of the writing for the evaluations. He further summarized his recommendations,
including explaining a 360 performance assessment, which he stated is the individuals who work
below them would also be involved in the evaluations. He stated this would involve a number of
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Page 10
individuals who, as a group, would anonymously make recommendations from the bottom up.
He stated he would like feedback on his recommendations.
Mr. Hanson expressed his comments related to this recommendation. He stated he supports
performance reviews. He stated he agrees with many of the articles submitted by Commissioner
Beckenbach, reading excerpts from the articles. He pointed out that reviews have to be done in a
relaxed, open and private atmosphere. He stated all of the reviews he has done with employees
over the years have always been on a one-on-one basis, with no one looking on and he believes
employees would consider it horribly demeaning if there was such a thing. He stated he has
never heard of such a thing done in corporate life. He stated performance reviews of managers
in most other states are done in executive session, which is equivalent to Shade Meetings in
Florida. He pointed out that there were notations in both of the articles about that, reading those
notations. He stated he believes meeting with the full Commission would be the best way to
have a performance review of the City Manager. He stated, however, Florida is different from
other states in that there is no exemption to doing that out of the Shade Meeting and any written
document that you come up with is a public document. He stated, in his opinion, you cannot
have an open and honest discussion in front of a crowd in a meeting. He stated the comments
from the elected officials will inevitably be slanted; some will not want to embarrass anyone and
are careful what they say and others will do exactly the opposite. He stated, second, the manager
cannot respond in a public performance review because it would be perceived as a public dispute
with the elected body which would be detrimental to the City. He stated there is a certain debt of
loyalty that a manager owes to their elected body and you don't create a lot of negative stories in
public. He stated, third, both articles talked about elected officials being able to have a good
conversation about their own effectiveness and he seriously doubts they would have that
discussion in public nor would it be helpful to the City to do that. He stated the process here has
been that the elected officials have met with him on a one-on-one basis. He stated after all of the
elected officials have met with him, if there is an issue of salary to be brought up, it is brought up
by the Mayor in a public meeting with an agenda item and the Commission will decide whether a
raise is to be given or not. He stated he believes the current process is designed with all the
issues considered and is as good as it can be in Florida, given the Florida law, and he would
recommend that they keep it the same.
Commissioner Beckenbach stated he believes the evaluations should be on paper so there is
some historical record of what has transpired. He stated currently there is nothing on paper.
Commissioner Daugherty stated he believes it would be a lot more productive if it was done
privately.
Commissioner Mark stated she liked a lot of the suggestions and could use them one-on-one, but
is not convinced that to do this as a collective body, the way it has to be done under Florida law,
would be the most effective way because it opens it up to becoming a popularity contest,
personality conflict and a lot of other undercurrents that have nothing to do with the actual job
performance of these three officials. She stated she agrees that the Commission needs to have a
more structured way to do these evaluations so they do give feedback to them and vice versa so
they can work and be effective together. She stated they work at the pleasure of the Commission
and the Commission makes the decision about who is in those positions. She reiterated she
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strongly disagrees that the evaluations should be done in a public forum such as Commissioner
Beckenbach is suggesting.
Mayor Bomo asked the Commission how many of them have ever been in any organization
where they had to have an evaluation in public. He stated none of them are in public; it's always
one-on-one. He stated that is basic Management 101. He stated when you have a responsibility
to someone below you, you always do it one-on-one; it's never done by committee. He stated he
has always given each of them a one-on-one evaluation and believes that is a responsibility he
has as an elected official.
Commissioner Woods asked if the Florida Law prohibits the entire Commission having a review
with the City Manager, City Attorney or City Clerk. Mr. Jensen stated that is not prohibited, but
it has to be done in public. Mr. Jensen stated it is in 286.011 of the Florida Statutes.
Commissioner Woods stated they should come up with some guidelines for these reviews. She
suggested that Commissioner Beckenbach come up with something and bring it back to the
Commission.
B. Discussion of City Code pertaining to parking restrictions for boats and trailers.
Commissioner Daugherty explained there is an issue related to the parking restrictions for boats
and trailers in his neighborhood due to the lot sizes and stated he believes it is time to revisit this
Code. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Woods stated she doesn't have a problem with having
these things in the front yard. She asked why were all these citations issued all of a sudden. Mr.
Hanson explained they have one Code Enforcement officer and do not have the manpower to
enforce all of the Codes, especially with the emphasis the Commission asked staff to put on the
Royal Palms neighborhood several years ago. He stated the City employees want to be fair to
everybody and when they receive a complaint and go out, they find others. He stated because
they don't keep a consistent enforcement that creates a wave of complaints to the Commission.
He stated when you give several citations for the same thing and you have not enforced it for a
while then people start fussing about it, whereas if it had been a consistent level of enforcement
over the years the complaints go away. Commissioner Woods asked if there was a complaint or
did we just go out there and decide to start issuing citations. Mr. Hanson stated he did not know,
he would have to ask the Code Officer. Commissioner Woods stated she went out and looked at
a lot of these citations and one man mowed down a whole half a forest to get his truck moved
and she believes that was a pretty bad solution. She stated we have these codes in the book and
we have to decide whether to take them all off or enforce them everywhere and hire more people
to do this enforcement everywhere. She stated it seems like we are going back to the same
conversation about parking in the right-of-way. She asked if it is on the books so they can solve
it when it becomes a problem or is it on the books because you really want it to be a "Stepford
Wives" community. She stated she does not believe that is where they really want to go. She
asked should the policy be that you respond to complaints or that we are just going to clean up
the whole town. (Commissioner Beckenbach left the meeting at 9:53 and returned at 9:55.)
Mayor Borno stated the Commission has stated they want good uniform Code enforcement. He
stated we have one person and she is more professional than some that we have had and she is
very thorough and experienced. He stated she gets a lot of things done without citations but
some things she can't solve without citations. He asked, are we willing to turn around and tell
her not to do her job to the best of her ability. He stated that is a question for them to think
Minutes—City Commission Workshop July 22,2013
Page 12
about. He stated he believes she does a good job with the restraint Code Enforcement has and it
takes a special person to be able to function in that job; not everybody is cut out for it. He stated
he is willing to go through a review of the ordinance and listen to anyone who wants to make a
proposal to change it. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Mark stated she will put an item on the
next agenda to have the Community Development Board look at this and make a
recommendation. (Alan Jensen left the meeting at 10:04 and returned at 10:07.) Commissioner
Daugherty suggested that the Commissioners come up with some things they would like the
Community Development Board to review. Mr. Hanson asked that they send their suggestions to
him.
11. Courtesy of Floor to Visitors
Commissioner Mark suggested having Public Comments at beginning of the workshop.
Mayor Borno opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors.
Mark Tomaski, 448 Snapping Turtle Court West, spoke in favor of the business with the
electric vehicles stating it is a very nice business. He stated their website shows Atlantic Beach
in a good light and this is the kind of business we want here. He also discussed the COPS
program stating they are quite helpful when out in the community. He further discussed the
review for non-elected officials stating it was in a negative context but he was looking at it from
both sides. He stated our City Clerk would have nothing but gold stars on her review, so he
doesn't believe it is always a negative thing to have these reviews and constructive criticism is a
good thing. He stated if there is some way they can work this out so they can have yearly
reviews, he believes it is so positive to do so. He understands what the Mayor says when he says
do it privately and in the corporate world it is done privately, not publicly. He stated, however,
he believes there has to be some public input and some input also from the people who work
underneath these managers. Lastly, he stated he believes some people would like to make
comments at the end of the meeting as well as at the beginning of the meeting so perhaps it
should be both.
Bill Mayhew, 1870 N. Sherry Dr., commented on the salary review stating they only said we
were competitive regarding benefits. He stated he would like to know what the other cities are
paying in benefits. He further commented on compression stating management needs some
flexibility in this area. He also stated they should be careful about endorsing a pay for
performance plan and should consider going to some type of bonus arrangement. He stated until
they get the pension plan under control they are not going to have a satisfactory compensation
system because they will be spending too much money. Regarding evaluating people publicly,
he stated their basic assumption is that they, as individuals, and the person being evaluated are
not mature enough to do it in a respectable way, which is a very negative assumption. He stated
he would urge them to reconsider this, stating they can evaluate people publicly and be kind
about it, even if it is negative.
Paul Gonzales, 780 Begonia, stated he was surprised there was such a restrictive ordinance
regarding boats here. He stated they don't live in a covenanted neighborhood with a
homeowners' association so they believe they should be able to work something out where they
can park those boats. He stated if they had room on their lots they would be happy to pull them
Minutes—City Commission Workshop July 22,2013
Page 13
to the side, but they don't. He stated if the Commission would ask Code Enforcement to back
off while they are looking into this it would be appreciated.
No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to
Visitors.
Commissioner Daugherty pointed out that they have two vacancies coming up for Code
Enforcement Board and they only have two applicants. City Clerk Bartle stated only one has
confirmed. Commissioner Daugherty stated if they know anyone they believe would be a good
applicant and would be interested in volunteering, please ask them to apply. He also stated the
City's trash contract is coming up in July 2014 and he believes they should put it out to bid soon
rather than waiting.
There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Borno declared the meeting
adjourned at 10:24 p.m.
644A4A)
Mike Borno
Mayor
osev,26
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk
*Formal action(if needed)will be taken at the Commission Meeting of August 12,2013.