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5-23-16 MinutesMINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING May 23, 2016 CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD 1►/r W Y1�i1.1CC Mayor Mitchell E. Reeves City Attorney Brenna Durden Commissioner Mitchell R. Harding City Manager Nelson Van Liere Commissioner Jimmy Hill (arrived late) City Cleric Donna L. Bartle Commissioner M. Blythe Waters ABSENT: Commissioner John Stinson (excused) Invocation and pledge to the flag Commissioner Waters gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Call to Order: Mayor Reeves called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. City Clerk Bartle called the roll and Mayor Reeves noted that a quorum was present. He explained Commissioner Hill is coming back from Daytona and will be here in 20-30 minutes and Commissioner Stinson's absence was approved to go out of town on business. Mayor Reeves explained the process for public comments and reported that he would be moving Item 8A from under Discussion to the Consent Agenda. Mayor Reeves explained that last week was Public Works Week and there was a great luncheon to honor them. He called on Public Works Director Don Jacobovitz to read the proclamation that was presented at the luncheon. Mayor Reeves thanked Mr. Jacobovitz and the Public Works Department for their work. 1. A. Approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting of May 9, 2016. Mayor Reeves asked if there were any corrections to the above minutes. There were no corrections, so Mayor Reeves stated the minutes will stand as submitted. 2. Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors Mayor Reeves opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. City Cleric Bartle called each speaker to the podium. Nancy Whittington, 1861 Beachside Ct., requested that Item 3A be deferred. She explained her objections to the project noting the citizens being affected by it heard about it for the first time at the Town Hall meeting on May 7, 2016 and the item should have gone to a workshop next. She stated the language in the agreement is very important and asked for the deferral. Suzanne Barker, 1938 Beachside Ct., stated she was very disappointed with the outcome of the Gate Meeting on May 12, 2016 and stated her reasons. She believed there was no discussion or concern about the community and stated she wished it had been videotaped and held in the Commission Chamber so that the citizens could see how her Attorney was disrespected by several members of the Commission. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 2 Susan Perry, 179 Pine St., spoke unfavorable about the final decision of the Gate hearing and stated that the Commission will be held accountable. Chris Jorgensen, 92 W. 3rd St., thanked the Commission, City Attorney and City Manager for the effort put forth to appease a small resident group in opposition to a legitimate business, Gate Petroleum. He mentioned the need to review and update Ordinances. He thanked the Public Works Department for their work and thanked Commissioner Harding for bringing up shade on the end of the pier. He also stated he believes the parking issue has been resolved. Mayor Reeves recognized former Mayor Mike Borno and former Commissioner Maria Mark in the audience. (Commissioner Hill arrived at 6:56 p.m.) Maria Mark, 1148 Linkside Dr, stated she would hold her comments until the next meeting when all the Commissioners would be present. E. K. Cottrell, 1656 Park Terrace East, President of the Friends of Atlantic Beach Elementary, thanked the Commissioners and staff who attended the Public workshop and believed they should be commended for allowing the opportunity for citizen input. He urged the City to move forward with the Safe Routes to School project explaining that the Memorandum of Agreement does not solidify one particular plan, but it is an important step in moving forward and knowing the project is moving forward and if the City feels a workshop or other input from the community is worthwhile from that point, they would fully support that. Mike Borno, 223 Ocean Forrest Dr N, addressed Item 3A, Safe Routes to Schools. He gave the history of the program and expressed reasons for his opposition to the project. He asked for the City to research it further to see if it is warranted. Suzanne McMahon, 208 Belvedere St., thanked the Commission for allowing citizens to be heard. She referred to the future land use section of the Code as she explained her opposition to the Gate Station project. Steven Fouraker, 387 6th St, stated he missed the Gate Station meeting and wished it had been videotaped. He spoke in opposition of the Gate Station. He also spoke about the bike path noting that he left the Town Hall meeting with the impression that the Commission would be looking at other designs to see what else could be done before furthering this particular plan. City Clerk Bartle read the name and comment from one citizen who did not want to speak, as follows: Lisa Herrold, 659 Sherry Dr., opposed the Safe Routes to Schools Memorandum of Agreement and asked that the item be moved to a workshop. No one else from the audience spoke so the Mayor closed the Courtesy of the Floor to visitors. Mayor Reeves explained that since the Gate hearing was 14 1/2 hours, including breaks, it would be fair that the Commissioners give their comments at this time. Commissioner Hill stated he believes the Gate Gas Station issue is probably the most divisive thing the community has seen in a long time. He believed it is really important that we as a community realize that we haven't moved past gasoline; we still use petroleum. He stated he wants to get into a greener environment May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Paye 3 and get into a greener world. We haven't done it yet, but are moving towards it. In the meantime, we all drive cars and we all use fuel. Much more importantly, the thing that weighed most heavily on my decision to move it forward was, while a lot of crowd members spoke on both sides of the issue, no one from the crowd brought compelling evidence that made me change my mind. What drove my decision was that all three parties had excellent evidence and all three parties in the dispute that actually weighed in officially had a pretty lengthy opportunity to give their position. He explained that property owners hold a tremendous amount of leverage to do what you want within the Codes. He stated he would be beating the bandwagon to modify our Code, but the way it sits today, this Commission had virtually no choice nor were they really, other than the community not supporting it, able to make a big swing without leveraging or actually making the City liable. He believed the Diner is important but the Diner was able to maintain an opportunity to stay in business from our action and it's an iconic business that was not shoved to the curb which could have easily happened. He believes that Gate will try to build a gas station that suits our community as well as any gas station can, but knows that people will not be happy with any gas station. He explained his interest in changing the Codes. He explained there were a lot of citizens that spoke in opposition and also in support and doesn't believe there was much credibility into the large crown that wasn't resident -driven. He stated, although it was heard and understood, it did not sway anybody's vote. He thanked the Mayor for the opportunity. He further explained it was a long process and a very stressful process because a lot was weighing on it; a lot of people's lives were affected by it. He stated he believes they made the best decision they could and did not have a lot of other options. Commissioner Waters stated it was an emotional and divisive issue in the community and one of the things we heard tonight was the emotion coming out of the side that did not get what they wanted to happen to happen. While that emotion is certainly understandable, I think making personal attacks and making derogatory statements don't help the community moving forward. We are tasked as elected officials to make a decision that is balanced and takes into consideration every aspect of our community and to meet the best decision with the information and the materials that we have. I think we worked really hard to listen to everyone and while there is a lot of desire to have a different outcome, our Code unfortunately is fairly clear in what it allows and while we can look back to a more intense restriction in a different land designation code, the bottom line is that the Gate station lies in CG and is controlled by the Code for CG, not the Code for CL. Again, we made the best decision we could, not because we weren't listening to both sides; not that we didn't hear both sides; not that we didn't hear concerns. I may not think that we need another gas station either, that doesn't dictate whether or not a commercial enterprise sees the ability to make a good business decision in putting a gas station there for them. Our Code is the law that we live by and I understand that attaching to certain parts of it makes people feel like we could have made a different decision. Unfortunately, I think the fact that it was unanimous showed that we really did feel that the Code supported the staff's decision in approving the Gate gas station and I think, that shows level headedness and consideration of the facts. We tried really hard to hear people, but to make decisions based on the facts and I think we did that. Commissioner Harding concurred with the other statements made by Commissioners Hill and Waters, but believed that he should comment since there was a specific insinuation pertaining to not paying attention and having something better to do. He stated that as of today, I haven't learned how to write, take notes or type without looking at the paper and if I'm taking notes, because it is important what you're saying, that obviously I have to look at my paper to write it down. If there's a misunderstanding that someone thought that their comments were insignificant, then I apologize for that but I simply was trying to do the most thorough job that I know how to do. That leads into the decision that we had to make. He stated he listened to countless hours of opinions on both sides of the issue, in addition to the 15 hours of deliberations that we all sat through. Quite frankly put, I had a full understanding when I came into the meeting of what was contained in the huge notebook that I was given to read. He stated he was aware of the CL and CG zoning limitations and that he did not find any evidence in any of the testimony to support that the City made an May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 error in issuing the permit. He agreed with Commissioner Hill that the Gate audience had no impact on him whatsoever on the task at hand which was to vote whether the City made an error. He stated he simply did not see any evidence to the contrary. Mayor Reeves thanked the Commissioners for their explanations. He stated he wished the two people had stayed and listened to our side; we listened to them and it would have been nice if they would have stayed and listened and for the public to listen to our side. He explained it was not an easy decision to make. He had sleepless nights thinking about it. He reported that he had a voter come to him and say there are 500 voters sitting out there; you have to run a year and a half f om now; it's going to go to circuit court either way; go with the voters; get them to vote for you; get back in office. He explained he was not elected to do that; he was elected to do what is right for the City; he made a dedication to himself that from day one all votes would be on the facts, the facts only and not the emotions. He stated this has been a tremendous emotional rollercoaster; it has separated friends and brought in new fiends. He stated this Commission made a tough decision. For someone to stand up and say that this Commission did not take the time to take this seriously, he challenges that. He displayed and referred to the binders of information that the City provided prior to the hearing noting its content and explaining he had studied it all. He pointed out that the appellants provided nothing until the hearing. He explained how the appellants wanted them to listen to them about different Codes and seemed like they were speaking for the court reporter to be prepared. He explained that if it goes to Circuit Court, he will be on the right side for our City because that is his responsibility. He stated he is not scared of a corporation. I don't care if they sue us. It was not about the money. It was about the facts. He further stated, it was not about Beach Diner being left. That was never said. They were honoring their lease. He explained that in that hearing they allowed the attorneys to negotiate and took a recess to let them negotiate and come up with a settlement. He stated that comments were made that this Commission did not hear the residents or anyone else; that's not true. He explained that nine out of the ten changes that we got Gate to commit to where for the residents; it had nothing to do with Gate; nothing, it was all about the residents. He stated we were not allowed to stop the station from coming in. They had the rights. They had no variance. They asked for no variances. They asked for no exceptions. He explained we would have had a quasi hearing just like every other Commission did in the past that everybody was happy with, but instead we did a de novo. He explained that the de novo allowed the citizens to be involved, to look at new evidence, listen to testimony, listen to attorneys on both sides and make a decision. He stated they acted as a Community Development Board. He explained there were comments that were made that it should have been sent to the Community Development Board, but that would have been easy. He stated it would have been wrong to set that precedence. It's never been set before, ever. He explained the City gave the citizens the hearing that they wanted and he was listening for something that would change his mind, but the other lawyers did not give it. He reiterated that it was as if we were being prepared to go to Circuit Court. He believed we were fair to the citizens and that the whole city was represented. He agreed that the Commission needs to look at zoning again and reported that he asked the City Manager to add money to the budget for more legal fees and consultants to help us go through our ordinances so they can be corrected. He explained he would be okay with no more filling stations, but you can't stop in the middle and change the rules. He explained how this Commission has taken the issue serious, has listened and will make a change. He explained he did not owe the citizens an apology for voting 5-0 noting that they did their best. He reported the budget will need readjusted to pay $30,000 to $40,000 for the hearing but believes it is worth it because they gave the citizens the hearing that they wanted. He explained the money could have been put somewhere else for a park or something. He stated he hoped the Commission made the right call, but only time will tell. He stated that if the appellants appeal and the Circuit Court rules in our favor, we were right. If the appellants don't appeal, maybe we were right. Maybe we will never know. He expressed they made the best call and it has been stressful. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings A. Safe Routes to Schools Memorandum of Agreement with JTA. City Manager Nelson Van Liere explained the agreement facilitates the grant project moving forward and also outlines that the City would still have public meetings to discuss the project before going forward with the design to the final stage. He reported on the three-hour meeting noting that he believed he heard most of the people were in favor of the project, but just wanted some individual tweaks to it. Public Works Director Don Jacobowitz reported that he received an email on April 13th from the DOT concerning going forward with this. He explained they just wanted to reassure us that the action we are taking tonight is just to make the commitment to go forward, not a commitment to select any route over another route. He stated they reminded us that if we don't move forward at this point, then somebody else will. He explained that those dollars that are afforded to us to do this project are just for us to make improvements to make Safe Routes to Schools and if we don't do that, someone else in Duval County will. He stated they are giving us funds that will benefit our citizens and make the route safer no matter what route we select and we will be having a workshop after today. City Attorney Brenna Durden explained she has reviewed the entire package including the referenced email, drawings and specific language in the second whereas clause and believes the language is acceptable and does not tie us to a particular project path. She stated that ultimately, if the City chooses to go forward, obviously the sidewalks will be along Sherry Drive and/or Seminole Road or both, but within that it could fluctuate. She explained that from that perspective she agrees with the DOT statement that the agreement would not tie us to a particular path. She further explained the designated budget noting that it is probably the most confining aspect of the project moving forward and if there is going to be a different path along Sherry Drive and Seminole Road in some respect, it would have to, in order to qualify and be consistent with the MOA, be within the original budget. Motion: Approve the Memorandum of A14reement with JTA and authorize the Mayor to sign the MOA. Moved by Hill, Seconded by Waters Commissioner Hill stated if we move forward with the motion, we should have a committee because it appears to be staff -driven and in a hurry. He expressed concerns about the valid potential for building a safe path on Sherry Drive because of the concrete poles and the limited space. He stated he believed there was a lot of opposition to the path, not just emotional but legitimate opposition and we need the community involved in getting it right. Commissioner Waters believed there was a consensus to move forward to utilize funding to improve sidewalks to school, not a consensus on a specific path. She agreed that a workshop is the next phase. She explained that several Commissions have established an interest in making sure that the City is navigable for families by foot and by bike to encourage that we have less car traffic headed to the parks, the beach, and to Town Center. She supported moving forward by approving to obtain the funds from JTA and holding workshops in order to get community involvement as to what the exact path should look like. Commissioner Harding stated he felt the workshops were promised and agreed upon to determine the paths. He believes there should be consideration for existing sidewalks, repairs, and additional transit routes for bicycles and pedestrians. He stated that, if the purpose of the memorandum is to simply earmark the funds with no definitive route, he agrees we should move forward. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6 Mayor Reeves stated this has been on the table since 2012 and no Commission has voted on it. He believed that no one is against safety for our children, but stated we need to work to make sure that the routes are right. He expressed his concerns and wanted assurance that signing this document tonight is only a next step, that there is a guarantee to have workshops, and that we are not committed meaning we can stop it at any time or change the routes. He stated he believes there are more people for it than against it and that people don't fully understand it. He reported on his meeting with JTA and explained that our grant writer is here to give her feedback. Lisa King, Senior Vice President of Langton Consulting, 9158 Heckscher Dr. Jacksonville, explained there is very limited funding available for sidewalks and cautioned the Commission that it may be a great while before the City would have the opportunity to receive it again. She explained the grant noting that it is a great opportunity but she also agreed that the comments being expressed about the decision makers not having input into whether this is something they want to pursue at all this late in the stage is a significant concern. Ms. Durden asked the Public Works Director to comment on the timeframe. Mr. Jacobovitz stated the DOT was expecting the project to start as early as next July and dedicate the funds as soon as possible. She stated she does not believe we are tied to a very specific path; however, that doesn't mean we have $680,000 just to use on a path willy-nilly. She explained it has to be used for Safe Routes for Schools, and that based upon the location of the school, it will end up being on Seminole and Sherry or somewhere within that area. She further explained that if the Commission approves it now and decides later that they don't want to go forward, then there is the risk that the City could be responsible for the dollars that have been spent. Commissioner Hill expressed his reasons for not having concerns in moving the item forward. He believes it needs to be branded so that the Community understands we intend to connect the City in a way that makes Atlantic Beach much more useable and help everyone understand what we are doing. He stated that after listening to the expert advice of the grant writer, he is more convinced that he absolutely does not want to be irresponsible with taxpayer money in anyway and build a bike path across the street from a bike path. Commissioner Waters stated one of the things that has been mentioned, looking at east west paths, is that there is access to Atlantic Beach Elementary from Seaspray Avenue. She explained the request from several people to have a scatter plot made to show the density of students that would use the path, and to use the data to help with the project. She explained that the Safe Routes to School is a grant to do part of a larger walkability, bikeability project in the City that has been going on for multiple Commissions. She believed it would be nice to have a scatter plot available for the workshop so that we'd know where the intensity is. Commissioner Harding agreed with Commissioner Waters and believes the request for east west routes should be considered at the workshop. Mayor Reeves expressed feeling comfortable now with the project after hearing the City Attorney's comments. Roll Call Votes: Aye: 4 —Hill, Waters, Harding, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pate 7 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 and Special Events Report for April 2016. B. Award the contract for Combined Beaches Outfall Repair (Bid No. 1516-09) to J.D. Hinson in the amount of $532,763.52. City Clerk Bartle read the Consent Agenda. Mayor Reeves stated he would like to pull item 4B for discussion. Mr. Jacobovitz explained his staff report. Motion: Approve Consent A14enda as read. Moved by Waters, Seconded by Harding Commissioner Hill asked what is driving the need for this. Mr. Jacobovitz explained that the outfall we have is insufficient at this point and has heard that we've had environmental concerns with it and needs to be replaced. Mr. Van Liere answered questions about the location of the outfall. Commissioner Hill asked staff to look into whether or not the dredging would affect the outfall project and if so find out if the Army Corp would help us carry the cost because it is a huge amount. Mr. Jacobovitz agreed to talk to them about it. Mayor Reeves asked how the percentage is calculated for the cities. Mr. Jacobovitz explained it is based on the percentage of use of the effluent pipe. Mayor Reeves asked if the other cities have voted to approve it. Mr. Jacobovitz answered he does not believe they voted, but he has spoken to the Public Works Directors from the other cities and they believe they have a commitment. Roll Call Votes: Aye: 4 — Waters, Harding, Hill, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED 5. Committee Reports None 6. Action on Resolutions A. RESOLUTION NO. 16-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE FUNDING ALLOCATION FOR DIVISION OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS CULTURAL FACILITIES GRANT PROGRAM. City Clerk Bartle read the Resolution by title. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 8 City Manager explained the ordinance stating this goes along with the grant authorization for the grant application that was done at the last meeting. Melissa Beaudry, 532 Lancaster St., Jacksonville, FL representing Langton Consulting and Lisa King, Senior Vice President of Langton Consulting, 9158 Heckscher Dr. Jacksonville, explained the report they submitted to the City Manager. Ms. Beaudry also reported they will be contacting the Dial -A -Ride program to see if there is an opportunity to apply for grant funding to help. Mayor Reeves asked for an update on the Bennett property. Ms. King reported the project ranked 16th out of 42. She stated they had funding for the first 15 projects, but it is possible that one of those projects ahead of us could fall out. If that happens, our project would move up. Motion: Approve Resolution No. 16-03 as read. Moved by Waters, Seconded by Hill Roll Call Votes: Aye: 4 — Harding, Hill, Water, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED 7. Action on Ordinances A. ORDINANCE NO. 45-16-22, Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS AS NOTATED AND TO READ CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE WHERE PREVIOUSLY NOTATED CITY CLERK: CHAPTER 18, SOLICITATIONS; 18-2 PERMIT, REGISTRATIONS AND FINGERPRINTING REQUIRED; SECTION 18-3, FEES; SECTION 18-4, REGULATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS; SECTION 18-6, INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND RECORDS; SECTION 18-7, REVOCATION; SECTION 18-8, EXCEPTIONS AND CHAPTER 20, TAXATION; ARTICLE III, LOCAL BUSINESS TAX; SECTION 20-53, HALF YEAR RECEIPTS; AND SECTION 20-54, DUE DATES AND DELINQUENCIES; PENALTIES AND DELETING THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY CLERK SHALL DISCONNECT WATER SERVICE FOR NON PAYMENT; AND SECTION 20-56, COMPLIANCE BY RECEIPT HOLDERS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Clerk Bartle read the Ordinance by title. City Manager Van Liere explained the Ordinance. Mayor Reeves opened the Public Hearing. No one in the audience spoke, so Mayor Reeves closed the public hearing. Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. 45-16-22 as read. Moved by Waters, Seconded by Harding There was no discussion. Roll Call Votes: Aye: — Hill, Waters, Harding, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 9 8. Miscellaneous Business (Discussion only) A. Combined Beaches Outfall Repair - City Bid No. 1516-09. This item was moved to the Consent Agenda and acted on earlier in the meeting. B. Impervious Surface Area Audit. Mr. Jacobovitz explained his staff report. Commissioner Waters stated she believes one of the things this represents is that it is a change in impervious surface. At one time, the impervious service allowance in Atlantic Beach was 35%. She believed that what people are seeing.is these homes are huge. They take up so much of the lot. There is a lot of objection. People look at them and say there is no way that isn't taking up more than 50% because when it was approved nobody knew what 50% looked like. She stated she thinks a lot of the objection has been to the fact that now that they can see what 50% looks like, it looks to be too much. She explained one of the reasons they requested the audit was to see if we are granting too many variances. She believes the answer is no; we are not granting variances. She expressed concern that so many of the new houses being built in Atlantic Beach are covering too much of the surface of the lot. Mr. Jacobovitz answered questions about what counts as impervious surface. She believes there have been changes in the Code and that the question is do we need to revisit the Code on this specifically before revisiting the Code as a whole. Commissioner Hill stated every community is wrestling with this exact same issue. He explained how technology has advanced noting it could help solve some of our percolation issues and help collect some of our rainwater back into the ground where it belongs. He would much rather see the City mandate that than mandate swales. He explained the disadvantage of swales. He reiterated that he would like to see less swales and more surface that will actually take the water on the lot. Mayor Reeves explained he was going to pull this item off the agenda tonight and move it to the next meeting since Commissioner Stinson was the one that requested it along with Mike Borno, but Commissioner Stinson is watching tonight on vacation. He stated that if Commissioner Stinson has questions, we will allow him to ask them when he comes back. 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report. • 90 -Day Calendar (June 2016 through August 2016). Mr. Van Liere reported that the Mayport Corridor Redevelopment Open House will be held in the Commission Chamber on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 fiom 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and citizens are welcome to share their input and ideas. He reported that the City Attorney has given notification that we've exceeded the $7,000 for the month through May 20th; $22,000 of that was for the Gate hearing as of that date and about $8,000 for other things unrelated to Gate. He also reported that the Public Works department has regularly scheduled meetings on the Shore Preservation project. They sent out some information about the upcoming project. The bids are due back for the job on May 27th. They plan to award it on June 17th and give notice to proceed on July 7th which is when the dredging operation would commence. He referred to the 90 -day calendar and explained the Town Hall meeting is set for Saturday, July 16th at 10:00 am in the Commission Chamber. Commissioner Hill asked about the location of the dredging. Mr. Van Liere explained it would be about 8 or 9 miles offshore. It was the consensus of the Commission to accept the 90 -day calendar as submitted. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 10 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney Mayor Reeves welcomed City Clerk, Donna Bartle, back from her vacation. Commissioner Harding • Commended Chief Deal and his staff for the successful policing strategies for the Dancin' in the Streets that just occurred. He received no news of any serious incidents. He was there for a short time and believed everyone enjoyed it. • Attended the Citizens Police Academy Graduation on Thursday, May 19th and congratulated the Chief and his staff for putting in countless hours to foster a better understanding of our law enforcement and how they operate and for improving communications which is very important. • Reported he is looking forward to attending the Employee Picnic on Thursday, May 26 and will be one of the people manning the grills. • Reminded everyone that the Florida League of Cities meeting is being held at the Atlantic Beach Country Club on Thursday night and asked for a maximum turnout from Atlantic Beach staff. Commissioner Hill Apologized for his tardiness this evening explaining he got caught up in traffic and did not mean to burden the Board. He thanked them for accommodating him and stated he will watch the video to see what he missed. Commissioner Waters • Congratulated Town Center Agency for 30 years of Dancin' in the Streets. • Congratulated the Jacksonville Public Library for completing their renovations and for their 30 -year anniversary this week. • Thanked Chief Deal and the Atlantic Beach Police Department for their work at Dancin' in the Streets. • Stated we did not get elected to get reelected. We did get elected to serve the people and to do what we deem to be in the best interest of City. Mayor Reeves • Mayor Reeves asked Chief Deal to speak on the progress of the ABPD move. Chief Deal reported that most of the department has vacated and moved into 902 Assisi Lane, but Property and Evidence, Records, and Patrol personnel are still working out of the Police building. He explained he is still there also and will be the last one to leave the facility. He further explained the progress of the move. • Congratulated Chief Deal for his great job this weekend. • Asked Mr. Jacobovitz to explain what is being done on Dutton Road towards the park. Mr. Jacobovitz explained they are clearing out vegetation on the side of the road to put in a path leading to the park. • Asked Mr. Jacobovitz to explain the relief on Seminole Road and when it will be completed. Mr. Jacobovitz explained it should be done by the end of this week. • Asked Mr. Jacobovitz to report on Francis Street. Mr. Jacobovitz reported that the project is not behind, but the money that we get fiom the CDBG program is expected to be expended already. He explained there hasn't been enough progress for the grant providers in Jacksonville to be happy about, but we are making progress with the contractor. May 23, 2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 11 • Reminded everyone that the Florida League of Cities meeting is being held at the Atlantic Beach Country Club on Thursday night. • Reported he attended the event at the library on Saturday stating a lot of people were there and it was a lot of fun. • Reported that Dancin' in the Streets was fun and Patsy Bishop was presented with a proclamation. He thanked Chief Deal for his great work. • Reported that Downtown is having an issue with their pension and it's going out to a vote and it does affect us at the beaches. He explained what he and the City Manager is doing as an alternative for funding. • Reiterated that he asked the City Manager to put funds in next year's budget to really evaluate the Zoning Codes. He encouraged the Commissioners to share any concerns they have about the budget with the City Manager. • Thanked everyone for allowing the extra time for comments and believed it was important to have the Commission respond. Adjournment There being no further discussion, Mayor Reeves declared the meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m. ATTEST: lul)a4i V , �- Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk Mitchell E. Reeves Mayor/Presiding Officer