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11-23-15 Workshop MINUTES OF WORKSHOP OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD ON NOVEMBER 23, 2015 PRESENT: Mayor Mitchell E. Reeves Commissioner Jimmy Hill Commissioner John Stinson Commissioner M. Blythe Waters ABSENT: Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty ALSO: Nelson Van Liere, City Manager Rich Komando, City Attorney Donna L. Bartle, City Clerk Nancy E. Bailey, Recording Secretary Call to order. Mayor Reeves called the meeting to order at 5:07 p.m. in the Commission Chamber. City Clerk Bartle called the roll. 1. Sec. 2-19 Rules of Conduct and Procedure at meetings. Mayor Reeves stated they are only concerned about the rules the Commission may have some problems with or would like to change the wording on. He opened the item for discussion. Commissioner Hill stated he wanted to establish how they should address each other. Mayor Reeves stated he believes they need to show respect for the office and respect for each other. He stated he believes everything should go through the Chair, i.e. to speak to another Commissioner or a City employee. Commissioner Hill stated he believes that everyone needs to understand the type of government they have and believes it is really important that Mayor Reeves also understands that he is a Mayor/Commissioner and presides over these meetings. He stated the fact that he just said they might want to get permission from the Chair to talk to employees is extremely worrisome, because it was probably the most productive thing in the past two years to be able to ask a Department Head a question without going through some cumbersome mechanism. He stated it is a control issue and he personally believes the new mayor needs to completely understand his position is a Mayor/Commissioner, not a Mayor of the government, with exactly the same powers as the rest of the Commission until he is presiding over a meeting. He stated Mayor Reeves is a go getter and a hard working guy and he took off in the past three months even prior to being sworn in and put his feet in a lot of things that were very cumbersome and worrisome for him to watch because it is not how he understands the government to function. He stated he just wants to establish that those rules are understood by everybody. He stated the Commission can get a lot done, but they have to do it as a team. He stated none of them should be in City Hall at all giving direction; their only goal is to direct the policy as a group. Mayor Reeves stated he was talking about in this room, if they need staff to come say something, all he is asking is that they go through the Chair. He stated he believes they have to get it under control and he believes it is a courtesy to go through the Chair and they can stop people from interrupting. He stated the other thing Commissioner Hill was referring to is a whole different issue and they can discuss that later, but that is off topic at this time because that is not what they are discussing. Commissioner Hill asked that they set a meeting for that discussion in a public meeting because that is what is worrying him more than this. He stated in this room it is in the public, under cameras and he is very comfortable with the way that is going to be taking place because of the documentation. He stated he believes Roberts Rules are very effective and if they follow them they will be in great shape. He stated he looks forward to a very productive two-year period of working as a Commission. Commissioner Stinson stated he is concerned that some times the agenda gets rearranged and it is his understanding that if you are going to do that it takes the majority of the Commission to agree on that. He stated if you are a citizen and are planning on coming for a particular part of the meeting but don't want to stay for the whole meeting, if the agenda has been changed he believes they have a hard time with that. Mayor Reeves clarified he believes that what Commissioner Stinson would like to see is, if the Chair changes the agenda and moves something up, that we have a motion and vote on it. He stated he agrees with that. Commissioner Hill stated on that same note, when they have a group of concerned citizens engaged on one issue, that would get moved forward and their issue would be handled. He stated it always bothered him that they would be dismissed before the real action took place because of our process. He stated he believes we should advise citizens that there will be more discussion on this later in the meeting. He stated he has seen large groups of concerned citizens leave the room based on an amended schedule of the agenda so he agrees they should vote on it, but should also inform the citizens there may be another conversation on the item later. Mayor Reeves stated he supports that. Commissioner Waters suggested it be stated that this is Courtesy of the Floor; we will have further discussion during the full meeting and those who would like to go can go, those who want to stay to hear the discussion, please feel free to stay. Referring to Commissioner Stinson's comment about changes on the day of the meeting, she stated it is a difficult thing to predict and asked him to elaborate. Commissioner Stinson further explained he was saying rather than to just arbitrarily change the agenda, that they have a vote to move it up on the agenda. He stated he is not saying not to change the agenda because a lot of that they have to do for the courtesy of the visitors, but instead of it just being a unilateral, arbitrary thing, he believes it should be voted on. Mayor Reeves stated one of the duties of the Chair is that he can move agendas around but he agrees with Commissioner Stinson and supports that and will follow that if everyone agrees. Commissioner Stinson stated he would like to hear the City Attorney's comments on this. City Attorney Komando stated if there are amendments to the agenda it happens as the first thing in the meeting and it is generally done by a motion. He stated what has happened here is there is a head nod or consensus and both ways are acceptable as long as it is acceptable to the Board as a whole. Mayor Reeves stated he is concerned about Rule #4 and suggested amending that to say that the Chair can change the time. He stated he doesn't want to do selective enforcement. He stated right now it says -2- 5 minutes twice and he believes if everyone does their homework they can do that. Commissioner Stinson suggested a button system for the Chair to recognize those Commissioners who want to speak. Mayor Reeves stated he agrees and has asked staff to look into the cost of a system like this and will report back. He further stated he has also asked staff to check on a flat screen television to be put behind the Commission for the audience to see the agenda better. Mayor Reeves stated most cities have gone to 3 minutes for public comments and suggested that we do the same and asked for feedback. Commissioner Hill stated he believes we are small enough that he would like to keep the 5 minutes time as long as they can but suggested they ask the citizens for input. Discussion ensued. City Attorney Komando stated some other government bodies have a rule that allows any sitting member to move that the rules be waived and they can request additional time. Further discussion ensued. Mayor Reeves asked if they want to continue to have Town Hall Meetings four times a year. Commissioner Hill stated that process is a very broad net for information you can't get in any other way. He stated he is in favor of them but will listen to the Commission. Commissioner Waters stated it is an underutilized tool by citizens but at the same time she is not sure that taking the tool away is the answer but maybe they should be looking for a solution to help citizens utilize the tool better. She stated it is a very informal discussion and benefits citizens who don't want to sit through a Commission meeting. She stated she is agreeable to continuing them as well, but with the caveat that they try to encourage more citizen participation in them. Commissioner Hill suggested different advertising to notify the citizens of the meetings. Commissioner Stinson stated he does not believe they can take away any opportunity for the citizens to talk to the Commission but it is an underutilized tool. Commissioner Hill stated he believes a round table format would be a better atmosphere. Mayor Reeves stated they have a meeting scheduled for January. Mr. Van Liere clarified it is set for January 9 at Jordan Community Center. Further discussion ensued. Commissioner Stinson asked if it is fair to have Atlantic Beach residents speak at one point in Courtesy of the Floor and then those outside the City at another point. Mayor Reeves stated you have to give everybody the opportunity to speak and equal time to speak but doesn't know if they can divide them. Mr. Komando stated the Chair has the prerogative to arrange the order of the speaker forms but you cannot limit people based on where they live. He stated they may also want to consider that people may live somewhere else but work in Atlantic Beach, or they spend time here on the weekends, or spend time in the restaurants. He stated some of those people feel a connection to the beach just as much as some of the residents do. Mayor Reeves stated he worked with the City Clerk and they made some changes to the blue slips which are now yellow. He explained the changes. He answered questions from the Commission. The Commission gave consensus to the changes. City Clerk Bartle discussed the Town Hall meetings, stating the resolution is vague so if they don't want to have them on Saturdays they can have them on another evening. She stated normally staff has been discouraged from coming so if they need staff there they need direction and with staff not being there a Commissioner has always offered to do the minutes. She asked that they consider those points if they are going to continue this. Mayor Reeves stated he believes they should invite a staff member to some of these Town Hall meetings. -3- 2. COAB Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) -Technical Advisory Committee. Mayor Reeves turned the meeting over to Steve Lindorf, 2092 Vela Norte Circle, who explained his background. Mr. Lindorf gave a presentation on the CRA Basics explaining why you would do redevelopment; what CRAs are and what they can and cannot do; rules of engagement; how to be effective with a CRA; best practices and how to get started; the CRA Board; Tax Increment Revenue (TIF); Use of Funds; reporting requirements; and what goes into a successful CRA. Mr. Lindorff answered questions from the Commission. Mayor Reeves thanked Mr. Lindorff for speaking tonight. Adjournment There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Reeves declared the meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m. ATTE T Mitchell E. Reeves ∎'47/124 w Mayor/Presiding Officer Donna L. Bartle,, CMC City Clerk -4-