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10-13-14 MINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING October 13, 2014 CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Carolyn Woods City Manager Nelson Van Liere Mayor Pro Tern Mark Beckenbach City Attorney Richard Komando Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty Recording Secretary Nancy E. Bailey Commissioner Jimmy Hill Commissioner Maria Mark Call to Order/Pledge: Mayor Woods called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. Mayor Woods began by asking for a moment of silence for a friend of the City, Pete Rodrigues, and his family. She gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 1. A. Approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting of September 22, 2014. B. Approve the minutes of the Special Called Workshop of September 29, 2014. Mayor Woods asked if there were any corrections to the above minutes. There were no corrections, so Mayor Woods stated the minutes will stand as submitted. 2. Courtesy of Floor to Visitors Mayor Woods opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. She welcomed the audience and explained the process for public comments. Brian Vonn, 1209 W. Plaza, spoke in support of the City purchasing the Bennett property. Steve Fouraker,387 6th Street, spoke in support of the City purchasing the Bennett property. Cheryl Vonn, 1209 W. Plaza, spoke in support of the City purchasing the Bennett property. John November, 647 Beach Avenue, as the attorney representing the Bennetts, spoke in support of the land purchase. No one else from the audience spoke, so Mayor Woods closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings A. Selection of Architect/Engineer Services for Police Building Expansion and Remodeling. Public Works Director Doug Layton summarized his staff report stating staff's recommendation, after their evaluation. was to choose Clemons Rutherford and Associates (CRA) to continue on with the construction management method the Commission selected. Motion: Authorize staff to negotiate with the firms in order of their rankings for Architectural and Engineering Services for design of the expansion and remodeling of the Police Facility and authorize the City Manager to sign an agreement with the selected vendor to perform these services in an amount not to exceed $200,000. October 13,2014 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 2 Moved by Mark, Seconded by Hill Mr. Layton explained the chart showing the categories and rankings the three reviewers gave in each category for the three firms. Discussion ensued. Votes: Aye: 4—Beckenbach,Hill,Mark,Woods Nay: 1 -Daugherty MOTION CARRIED 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. Extend the contract for Polymer for one additional year to Fort Bend Services at the current contract prices (Bid No. 1011-03). Mayor Woods read the Consent Agenda. Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A as read. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Mark Votes: Aye: 5—Beckenbach,Daugherty,Hill,Mark,Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED 5. Committee Reports None. 6. Action on Resolutions None. 7. Action on Ordinances None. 8. Miscellaneous Business(Discussion only) A. PLAT-14-00100036 (Atlantic Beach Country Club) Building and Zoning Director Jeremy Hubsch summarized his staff report stating this is Unit 2 of the Atlantic Beach Country Club platting, which is for the remaining 161 lots. He showed slides of the plat (which is attached and made part of this Official Record as Attachment A). He further stated they have been working October 13,2014 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 3 with the developer to get an easement for Sherman's Creek to give us long-term access to the creek for maintenance, dredging, etc. in case it silts up in the future. He stated this will be coming before the Commission on 10/27/14 for a final vote. Mayor Woods requested the charts be attached to the minutes so they become public record. Mr. Van Liere stated he spoke with Karen Bowling, City of Jacksonville, who stated they were going to begin to propose our annexation with the people downtown. Mr. Komando stated they have been working on it, and he believes we are just waiting on that final approval before it is submitted to the City Council. Discussion ensued. It was consensus of the Commission to move this forward to the next meeting for a vote. B. Bennett Property Discussion Public Works Director Doug Layton summarized his staff report showing a slide of the property and the two retention ponds. Discussion ensued regarding the two ponds. It was the consensus of the Commission to continue discussion regarding the City acquiring the property and to put it on the next agenda under Miscellaneous Business. C. Tree Protection Report Mr. Hubsch summarized his staff report and presented slides on the Tree Ordinance providing history on the Tree Code; when Tree Permits are required and when there are exemptions; the Tree Mitigation Standards; Tree Protection Results 2013-present; Possible strengthening of the Code; Historic Corridor Designation; Rebuilding the Tree Canopy and the Tree Canopy Program. Discussion ensued. Mr. Van Liere stated the plan is to tweak the Code with all the things Mr. Hubsch has discussed, to create a priority list of locations to put trees, and enforcement related to the mitigation, i.e. survivability of the plantings and compliance with the Code after the fact. Mr. Hubsch also stated he would like to have an Atlantic Beach Garden Club established. Mayor Woods stated they need consensus to have staff follow the plan outlined by the City Manager and get back to us. Mr. Hubsch stated he will talk to the Community Development Board and come back with something more concrete and formal to present to the Commission and start talking about actual Code changes. Mayor Woods asked how long the process will take before it will come back before the Commission. Mr. Hubsch stated he can get it on the November Community Development Board meeting and could bring this back late November or early December. Further discussion ensued. 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report. • 90-Day Calendar(October- December 2014) City Manager Nelson Van Liere reported there will be a workshop for the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), which was not on the calendar. He stated it will be held on 10/27/14 at 4:00 p.m. He stated Steve Lindorff from Jacksonville Beach and Carol Westmoreland from Florida League of Cities will present a CRA 101 class. October 13,2014 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 He reported he met with City of Jacksonville (COJ) regarding the tipping fee and believes they have reached an agreement. He stated he and Mr. Komando will put it on paper and then send it to COJ so they can agree it is what they agreed on and will bring it back to the Commission. He reported the fountain is now installed and working at Mayport and 4th He stated the Dog Park at Rose Park now has a scanner at the gate to let people in and out so people now have to come pay to join the park. He stated he believes all the staff have met with the grant writer. He reported Friends of Atlantic Beach Elementary did get the track installed a while back. He stated they are waiting for the final letter regarding the FIND grant for the Marsh Master Plan's two overlooks and the kayak launch which will be funded at $150,000. He stated both the Police and Blue Collar Unions will have an agreement on the wages that were approved in the budget. Reported Timmy Johnson will now be on the General Employees Pension Board. At Mr. Van Liere's request, Mr. Hubsch reported on the Beaches Bike Path Study stating the North Florida TPO funded the study. He answered questions from the Commission. Discussion ensued. At Mr. Van Liere's request, Mr. Layton recapped his neighborhood meeting on the Seminole Streetscape Project, stating they have reduced the proposed on-street parking as a result of comments received from citizens. Discussion ensued. Mr. Layton answered questions from the Commission. Further discussion ensued regarding curbs, with Commissioner Hill stating he prefers rounded Miami curbs rather than the 8" standard curbs. Mr. Layton explained a bioswale. Commissioner Mark suggested planting muhly grass instead of curbs. 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney Commissioner Mark • Reported on her attendance at the FLC Policy Committee, stating the two matters they are going to bring before the legislation are the developments of regional impact and the enterprise zones. • Expressed her appreciation for the Citizens Police Academy, stating it is a fabulous course. She stated it should almost be mandatory that any elected official attend this. She stated besides being fun it is a great way for the elected officials to get to know our police department and see what they do and how they do it every day. She stated, as an elected official it has given her a whole new respect and consideration of what their needs are and what they need to really protect our community and give us that level of service they provide to us. She stated all the citizens should take this course; it is a way for them to meet their police officers who are doing an extraordinary job. Commissioner Daugherty • Stated he will not be here for the November 10th meeting nor will he be here on November 11, Veterans Day. He stated for the last five years he has attend the Veterans Day celebration in October 13,2014 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5 Jacksonville, representing Atlantic Beach, and would hope that someone else could go to represent Atlantic Beach. • Stated he may or may not be attending the City Manager interviews due to a work thing, which he has discussed with Cathy Berry. Commissioner Hill • Asked if there has been an update on the ant situation at the beach. He stated it is not a minor thing, but rather a massive invasion of an invasive species that we haven't really identified. He stated he would like to identify some funds to have it looked at by a professional. Mayor Woods stated she believes it is way out of our hands and we should contact EPA or whoever to take care of it. Mr. Van Liere stated he checked out the problem and he couldn't believe it; they are everywhere. He stated he heard they are pyramid ants. Mayor Woods asked Mr. Van Liere to contact the appropriate people. Commissioner Beckenbach • Stated he would like to pursue the Tree City designation and find out what that would entail. Mr. Hubsch read the criteria and stated he would send it to the Commission. City Attorney Komando • Stated they need to schedule a time to meet on the recent court order from the Wolfson variance case because it has been sent back to the City for re-review. He would suggest a time before a Commission meeting in November to schedule a special meeting so they can comply with the court's order and have the follow-up hearing. He stated he would hope they could resolve this in about an hour but after he speaks with opposing council they may need more time. He stated he would like them to schedule the time and then at the next meeting if there is a problem, he will let them know. It was the consensus to schedule this meeting on 11/24/14 at 5:00 p.m. • Stated the Charter Review Committee is coming close to the six month mark from where they began and have scheduled their upcoming meeting on 10/23/14 to work on the report that they are going to provide to the Commission. He stated one of the topics they have been discussing has been an annual evaluation for the City Clerk, City Attorney and the City Manager and in light of the fact that they are looking at a new City Manager coming in, he would like to start a conversation about having that evaluation tool prepared prior to their last set of interviews. He stated it is generally a good idea to have expectations set for the person who is coming into the job as far as what they are going to evaluate them on and what criteria you think they should adhere to. He stated he believes these will be on the upcoming agenda. Mr. Van Liere confirmed Ms. Berry has prepared one for City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk. Mr. Komando stated if there is anything the Commission believes should be added or something they would like to include in the evaluation tool, he would encourage them to speak to Ms. Berry about that. Commissioner Daugherty asked if there is a mechanism where citizens can give input to the Committee. Mr. Komando stated they are invited to every meeting and there is a public comment portion but any citizen can write an email to crc @coab.us which goes to all the Committee members for their informational purposes. He stated everything that is decided by the Committee will come to the Commission for review and the Commission will decide which recommendations they want to keep and those that are approved will be put on the ballot. Discussion ensued. Mayor Woods • Regarding the CRA meeting on 10/27/14, she met with the grant writer firm today and suggested that they come to that meeting and they agreed. October 13,2014 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pate 6 • Reminded everyone that on 10/24/14 they are having the City Manager interviews and anyone in the public is welcome to come. She stated they will be asking each applicant predetermined questions and listening to their answers at that meeting. • Reminded everyone that there is a Town Hall meeting this Saturday, 10/18/14 at 10:00 a.m. in the Chamber and Commissioner Mark will take the minutes. • Stated, related to the conversation Commissioner Daugherty brought up at the last meeting about the buy-out of the pension plans, she did a search and it is a complicated subject but is something they might want to consider. She stated usually not every employee takes the buy-out, it is a very personal decision depending on their situation, but she would like them to see if it is a good fit and if it would help the City or some of the employees at all for both police and general employees pension plans. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Commission, Ma or Woods declared the meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m. Jag_ Carolyn 1 oods ATTEST: Mayor/Presiding Officer 410110., ("441&6 Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk