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11-28-16 Minutes MINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING November 28, 2016 CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Mitchell E. Reeves City Attorney Brenna Durden Mayor Pro Tem Jimmy Hill City Manager Nelson Van Liere Commissioner Mitchell R. Harding City Clerk Donna L. Bartle Commissioner M. Blythe Waters ABSENT: Commissioner John Stinson 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 6:33 p.m. City Clerk Bartle called the roll and Mayor Reeves noted that a quorum was present. 1. Approval of minutes. A. Approve minutes of the public meeting on November 7,2016. B. Approve minutes of the public meeting on November 8,2016. Mayor Reeves asked if there were any corrections to the above minutes. There were no corrections, so Mayor Reeves stated the minutes stand as submitted. Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors Mayor Reeves explained the process for public comments and opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. City Clerk Bartle called each speaker to the podium. Diane Latta-Brandstaetter, 254 Oceanwalk Dr S., commented that she spoke at a Town Hall Meeting a few weeks ago expressing her concerns about fox sightings in her neighborhood. She stated it is worse than that, it is a coyote problem, not a fox problem, and there are cats that have gone missing. She said humans eradicated the red wolf, so there is no longer a predator for the coyote, other than man. She discussed using Florida Wildlife trappers with experience in trapping. She stated she had several articles for the Commission to read and submitted a handout to the City Clerk to distribute to the Commission. She is very concerned about the safety of household pets and children and asked the Commission to think very hard about a solution. Lane Campbell, 1592 Linkside Dr S., requested the Commission consider allowing dogs on the beach before sunrise or after sunset off-leash. Brittany Norris, 1183 Violet St., spoke in favor of allowing chickens, but has concerns about the fees, the annual renewal cost and the inspections. She spoke in favor of a one time fee, less government oversight and would like to see some revisions made. November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 2 Chris Jorgensen, 92 W. 3rd St.,thanked Public Works about the new roof at the Tideviews restroom area. He stated when the CRA report is addressed it is important to put things in context. He expressed a desire to have stringent regulations for medical marijuana. He spoke in opposition of allowing chicken coops. David Bennett, 1887 Beachside Ct., expressed concerns over how we spend our dollars. He stated we are a small city and he asked the Commissioners to look at our pension to be sure we are funded properly and make sure salaries are commensurate with our population. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Reeves closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings There were no items. Mayor Reeves stated since the last Commission meeting he and others have received emails regarding medical marijuana. He wanted to make it clear to the public that what the voters passed was not recreational use of marijuana. He stated they passed that a doctor has to give a prescription,just like a drugstore. He wanted to clear up any misconceptions the public may have. 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 Major Public Works Projects Fiscal Year 2016-2017 Status Report as of November 17,2016,Building Department Monthly Activity Report for October 2016 and Recreation Programs Special Events Report for October 2016. B. Award the bid to Sawcross, Inc. in the amount of$358,000 for Construction of the Chemical Storage and Feed Facility for Phosphorus Removal (Bid No. 1516-12). City Clerk Bartle read the consent agenda. Mayor Reeves asked if any Commissioner wanted to pull an item from the Consent Agenda for discussion. Commissioner Hill pulled Item 4B for discussion, stating he wanted a brief report from the City Manager so the public understands the high cost of the bid. City Manager Nelson Van Liere stated this comes from new regulatory FDEP regulations to get more phosphorus out of our discharge. He stated the engineer, J. Collins &Associates knew that this was high, but they were our only bidder and we are trying to meet the regulatory requirements, so they worked to get the price down another $30,000.00 dollars. He stated this is also the same project that we got a grant award for$62,700.00 to help offset the cost. Mayor Reeves asked the City Manager to explain to the Commission why we would only get one bidder when it seems like a pretty simple bid to build a block building. City Manager Van Liere explained he believes they have designed a whole process to remove phosphorus. Public Works Director Don Jacobovitz explained it is the economies of scale. He stated all the contractors in this area who would normally bid on this,bid on multi-million dollar contracts for the same process. He stated we have not found anyone in this area who does smaller volumes like we have. November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 3 Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A. . Moved by Hill, Seconded by Waters Votes: Aye: 4 - Harding,Hill,Waters, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED Motion: Pass Consent Agenda Item B. Moved by Hill, Seconded by Waters Votes: Aye: 4 -Harding, Hill,Waters,Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED 5. Committee Reports There were no reports. 6. Action on Resolutions There were no resolutions. 7. Action on Ordinances There were no ordinances. 8. Miscellaneous Business (Discussion only) A. Draft ordinance for Pilot Program for Permitting Backyard Hens. Public Works Director Drew DeCandis explained the details and requirements of the proposed Ordinance, stating this is a common practice in many cities. He stated it is a pilot program for eighteen months before final approval. He described the requirements for the chicken coops and discussed the fees for a new permit and the inspections involved. Commissioner Waters stated urban chicken keeping has become more popular simply because there is a desire to connect children and families with their food source. She spoke favorably in terms of the animals disposition and minimal disease. Commissioner Hill discussed changing the shielding portion of the blinds, due to mosquito problems. He commented on the $50.00 fee for the inspection, suggesting considering it an inspection deposit that may be returned if they pass the inspection. Commissioner Harding supported the initial permit fee, but did not feel they should impose a reinspection unless it is complaint driven. He expressed concerns if a HOA could override the approval of the City permit and felt this is one of the things they should look at. Mayor Reeves spoke in support of the Ordinance and HOA approvals prior to the City issuing a permit. Mayor Reeves asked Mr. DeCandis if it was correct that any HOA would have to sign off before the City approves the permit, and Mr. DeCandis stated yes. Mayor Reeves stated the Atlanta CDC warns against November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 kissing chickens. Mr. DeCandis stated if there is a public health emergency declared by the County Health Department, they can require that the chickens all be removed immediately and destroyed. Mayor Reeves wanted to make sure we have some provision for those wanting to get rid of their chickens. Commissioner Waters stated Standard Feed has an ongoing program that will take unwanted chickens at all times. Commissioner Hill requested they be careful with the permitting process. He would like to make sure they clean up the language of the permitting process to be sure any structure being built is okay for chickens. He stressed that he wanted this to be a right for a citizen to have, similar to any other rights a citizen has. He feels otherwise it will be too easy to be a target point for neighbor disputes. Commissioner Waters addressed Commissioner Hill about the requirement for screening, stating it was so the coop would not be visible from a neighbor's yard. She stated she changed the language because a lot of places wanted fences or screening and she wanted plants or evergreen screening to be an option. She asked if he felt the possibility of screening with evergreens answers his questions regarding mosquito control. Commissioner Hill stated he believes it would serve the overall purpose better if we let them screen a portion of it and not to screen the entire area. Motion: Move the draft Ordinance to the next meeting for a 1st reading. Moved by Waters, Seconded by Hill There was no further discussion. Votes: Aye: '4 -Hill, Stinson,Waters, Reeves Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED B. Agendas/Commission Meetings (Mayor Reeves) Mayor Reeves explained he pulled this item at the prior meeting to discuss how we can streamline the meetings and be better prepared to run the meetings more efficiently and not as lengthy timewise. He stated people get tired and brevity may be helpful to staying clear headed and making the best decisions for our city. He gave'an example of courtesy of the floor, asking if it might be a good idea to add some time for the commissioners to respond to the citizens. Commissioner Hill stated this issue has been addressed in the past and he supports any efforts and ideas. He stated his recommendation would be, if we try any changes, we do them for three meetings and we sunset them and then take official action on it if it is a positive change. Commissioner Waters stated she supports any efforts to streamline the meetings and concurred with Commissioner Hill to see if the changes work,then we adopt them. Commissioner Harding spoke in support of streamling the meetings, but if additional workshops or roundtable meetings are added, he would like to see them made in conjunction with the Commission meetings. He stated he understood the idea is to streamline and shorten the Commission meetings, but he does not want to add more Saturday meetings for the staff or others, due to other obligations and time constraints that affects everyone. November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5 Mayor Reeves thanked the Commission for their comments and suggested they share their comments with the City Manager or the City Clerk and put it back on the agenda under discussion. He stated one of the things we seem to do is unfinished business from the previous meeting. He felt a great suggestion for the City Manager would be for him to update us on the projects we just had a meeting about and the things we have asked him to do. He suggested it may be a good idea for the City Manager to brief all of us at the same time in a public atmosphere about what we are going to talk about, such as right before the meeting so we are better prepared. Commissioner Hill stated the concept of a group briefing by the City Manager concerns him. He stated it gives an opportunity for a head nod or an agreement that would be outside the scope of the general public to have their say. He stated he is not a fan of that concept. Mayor Reeves stated he understands how Commissioner Hill feels, but in that concept, the City Manager could subconsciously do that with us now. He said the City Manager, in his own mind, could be deciding who is for and who is against and if he is bringing it; so this way it would be out in the public. Commissioner Hill stated he was not worried as much with the City Manager reading the head nods, as the opportunity for Commissioners to pass the head nod or some other version of a form of communication or consent when this format is just a better format for that. He explained he just wants to keep it in the Sunshine. City Attorney Durden assured everyone that any meeting like they have been discussing would be in the Sunshine and the public would be allowed to attend. The consensus was to put it on the agenda for the next meeting when all the Commissioners are in attendance and if someone is out,we will move it to the next agenda. 9. City Manager A. 90-Day Calendar(December 2016 through February 2017) City Manager Van Liere referred to the 90-Day calendar and advised we will have a Town Hall meeting on January 21, 2017, and the Tree Lighting ceremony on Saturday, December 3, 2017 from 3 to 8 pm. Timmy Johnson has been working with the historical group to have photos for our 90th year celebration at Adele Grage for the month of December. City Manager Van Liere reported on the following topics: • The Dutton Island Road project is substantially done and is being wrapped up. • Advised that the outfall for our utility system located on the left where the jetties are as you drive into Mayport Village, is underway. They are fusing pipe together where the Atlantic Beach,Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach sewer outflow goes out to the river. • Francis Street is wrapping up and going well. • The guys doing the tree survey will be there for another week or two working on the trees in our rights-of-way and our parks. • Posted the budget book on the City's website, but if any Commissioner wants a hardcopy, let him know and he will provide one. Mayor Reeves requested a hard copy. • Gave an update on dredging, dune restoration and protection of sea oats. November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney Commissioner Harding • Hoped everyone had a great Thanksgiving with their family and he is very thankful for living and working in AB. Commissioner Waters • Expressed gratitude for her life at home, with the City and with our neighbors. Commissioner Hill • Apologized for not being able to start his first 5K because he was sick on Thanksgiving Day. • Remarked on the CRA, stating he hopes representatives will keep a neutral tone. • Will attend area school report hosted by Scott Shine. • Believes they spend public money responsibly and welcomes public feedback and concerns. City Attorney Durden • Update on Gate litigation: Received a Voluntarily Dismissal last week from Adeeb and Beach Diner on the complaint case, which just leaves the Petition for Writ case which is only on the record that this Commission created with our 14-hour hearing. All of the parties were pleasantly surprised. • Spoke about the .Florida League of Cities training video for appointed Board and Committee members and elected officials. Looking into dates to hold the training and will probably start in the late afternoon and last about 4 hours. • Asked for some direction or a consensus on whether theywant the draft of the temporary moratorium for medical cannabis dispensing facilities to go to the Community Development Board for a recommendation, or just go to the City Commission. Mayor Reeves asked how the other commissioners felt in regards to having it go to the Commission or Community.Development Board. After a brief discussion,the consensus was to have it handled through the Commission and not go to the Community Development Board. Mayor Reeves • Reported events taking place in December to celebrate our 90th year and encouraged everyone to attend the events. • Will attend the NE Florida League of Cities Dinner Meeting in Lake Butler on December 1St • Will be at the Governor's Leadership Dinner in Tallahassee on December 5th • Will speak at the Florida League of Mayors in Orlando on December 7th. • Reported Commissioner Hill will attend the public meeting at Fletcher High School on December 8th. He urged anyone that has concerns about the public schools to attend the meeting. • Reported the dredging will stop at 4th Street very soon and return in the Spring. • Held their 1St breakfast meeting today with Mayor Elect Brown of Neptune Beach, Mayor Latham, Councilman Gulliford, and House Representative Cord Byrd and exchanged ideas of how Tallahassee and the City of Jacksonville could help the Beaches. • Missed the race and the Thanksgiving Day event at Pete's since he was out of town. • Thanked Chief Vic Gualillo for his help with the Thanksgiving project and asked him to explain it. Chief Gualillo explained the program which provides Thanksgiving meals to some of the underprivileged in our community. Atlantic Beach Country Club,Publix,Trader Joe's and BEAM helped in the effort. Twelve hot meals were provided and they hope to continue this program. November 28,2016 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 7 • Reported being approached by a group interested in having a Friday night Farmer's Market in the Mayport area. They want to have education for children about how to grow food and make good food choices. He asked the City Manager to send the presentation out to the Commissioners. • Reported on efforts to put a neighborhood grocery store on Mayport Road to help build the community. • Spoke about the CRA and suggested that people speak with Planner Derek Reeves if they need information. Adjournment There being no further discussion, Mayor Reeves declared the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. Mitchell E. Reeves Mayor/Presiding Officer ATTEST: Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk