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Draft Min 1-25-10MINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING January 25, 2010 CITY HALL, $00 SEMINOLE ROAD Attendance IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Mike Borno City Attorney Alan C. Jensen Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty City Manager Jim Hanson Commissioner Paul Parsons City Clerk Donna L. Bartle Commissioner Carolyn Woods Recording Secretary Nancy E. Bailey ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem John L. Fletcher (Excused) Call to Order/Pledge Mayor Bomo called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Woods gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Approval of Minutes 1. Approval of the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of January 11, 2010. Motion: Aaurove the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of January 11, 2010, as written. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Parsons. Votes: Aye: 4 - Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED Courtesy of the Floor 2. Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Mayor Borno opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. He welcomed the audience and explained the process for public comments. Sally Clemens, 1638 Park Terrace West, addressed the Commission regarding the proposed rental fees for Adele Grage. She stating the rental fees for private parties, such as weddings, birthdays, etc. do seem to be low compared to other local venues. She stated the proposal to have a nominal increase for non-profits over three years seems to be a reasonable suggestion, but she believes there seems to be some foggy math that should be forthright for the citizens. She stated in a memorandum on January 4, City Manager Jim Hanson stated the expenses include an estimated 90% of the cost of the Recreation Director, the administrative assistant, insurance, utilities, repair and maintenance, lawn care and a small amount of staffing for the Public Works Departments. She questioned why 90% of the salaries, lawn care and small staffing for Public Works would be included in the cost to run Adele Grage Center. She stated more realistically would be the cost of water, electricity, bathroom supplies, repair and maintenance. She further asked if a similar cost analysis would be done on City Hall, would it include the City's staff salaries, Jack Russell Park and the Skateboard Park. She stated it seems a little misleading and breathtaking to have an estimated total yearly expense of $179,946 with a rental income of $16,569.62. She further discussed January 25, 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pase 2 Atlantic Beach Experimental Theater, stating ABET has along-term annual rental contract with Atlantic Beach for $200/year. She stated ABET uses this facility 4-6 times/week, has a paid employee, and uses our water, electricity and restroom facilities. She further stated ABET generates income from program receipts and has received grants. She stated the rental contract for ABET ran from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009 and questioned if the City was asleep to not renew this annual contract before discussing these proposed rentals where they jump from $100/hour. She stated that could cost a maximum of $800 for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday rental. She questioned what the right thing to do is and what is fair to all of Atlantic Beach's citizens. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Unfinished Business 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meeting from Previous A. City Manager's Follow-up Report. Meeting None. Consent Agenda 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 Monthly Financial Report for December 2009, Utility Sales Report and Building Department Monthly Activity Report for December 2009. Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Woods pulled Item A. She questioned the percentage loss increase in the Utility Sales Report from 12.71% in December 2008 to 13.65% in 2009. Public Utilities Director Donna Kaluzniak explained the sources of the loss and what they are doing to balance these losses. City Manager Jim Hanson explained this particular number is shown as a hard number, in that it takes direct pumping versus the sales on the meters, with no accounting for other types of losses such as Ms. Kaluzniak explained, i.e. flushing hydrants and lines, etc. He stated usually when cities report water loss, they report net of those other things, but that is more a soft number because it is a kind of engineering calculation and, for his purposes, he wants to see the hard number which he believes is a more pure number. He stated when comparing with other cities you must keep in mind that, in most cases, what they put out is that number after taking out those other calculations. Mayor Borno asked if the optimum was to always try for 10% or a little under, which is a soft number that is usually standard throughout. Mr. Hanson clarified the rule of thumb that EPA used to give out was to keep it under 10% and believes we can do better than that. He stated a lot of cities are January 25.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Paee 3 in excess of 25% because they haven't spent the time Atlantic Beach has trying to get the meters correct and assuring the lines aren't leaking, etc. He stated Ms. Kaluzniak has put a lot of time in this over the last ten years. Ms. Kaluzniak stated the meters were replaced in 1996. She further explained the metering system. Commissioner Daugherty asked if the residential meters are audited on a regular basis. Mr. Hanson stated there is a meter testing system at Assisi Lane. Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A, as read. Moved by Woods, seconded by Daugherty. Votes: Aye: 4 -Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED Committee Reports 5. Committee Reports None. Action on Resolutions 6. Action on Resolutions None. Action on Ordinances 7. Action on Ordinances Ordinance No. 20-10-101, Introduction and First Reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA FOR FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2009 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2010. Mayor Borno read Ordinance No. 20-10-101 by title. Public Works Director Rick Carper explained the budget modification was needed because at the time the budget was put together they didn't know how much money they would have. He stated although they knew they would have excess from the sidewalk and tennis court projects, it was too late in the City of Jacksonville process to move that into a new account for the storage shed. He stated the initial plan was just a simple storage shed for the tennis program and the baseball program. He stated when they found out they had the extra money they asked COJ to roll that all into one pot and instead of just a simple storage shed they wanted to add an outdoor restroom near the tennis courts. He stated this is out for bid right now and is structured as a design/build project. Mayor Borno clarified this is CDBG money. Motion: Approve Ordinance No. 20-10-101, as read. Moved by Woods, seconded by Parsons. Commissioner Parsons asked if the proposed storage building would have any extra room to use for the Police Department storage. Mr. Carper stated there will only be approximately 200 s.f. of storage area which he does not believe would make a dent in what the Police building has and they don't have any money to make it any larger than that. January 25, 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 Votes: Aye: 4 - Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED Miscellaneous 8. Miscellaneous Business Business A. 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 2015 Vela Norte Circle. Mr. Carper showed a slide of the existing property and explained the request for the waiver. Susan Carlin, 1700 Selva Marina Drive, stated she will be moving to 2015 Vela Norte Circle. She gave pictures of the property to the City Clerk and explained why they requested a waiver. Motion: Aaurove Waiver from City Code Section 19-7 Driveway Limitations to Allow a Circular Driveway on a Lot with Less Than 100 Foot Frontaee at 2015 Vela Norte Circle. Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Woods. Commissioner Woods asked if they plan on the pavers being pervious and will they use sand or concrete to put the pavers in. Ms. Carlin stated she thought they will use sand but was not sure and although she thought her contractor would be here tonight to explain, he was not. Commissioner Daugherty asked who is responsible for replacing the pavers in the easement should work be required. Mr. Carper stated in order to get a right-of--way permit to install pavers, they have a revocable encroachment permit that they have to get as part of this process which stated the extra cost of reinstalling paver driveways due to utility work in the right-of--way is borne by the homeowner, not the City. Votes: Aye: 4 - Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED B. Review of the City of Atlantic Beach Investment Policy. Finance Director Nelson Van Liere summarized his staff report and explained he included the existing investment policy for Atlantic Beach to show what is allowable by State statutes and our policy, along with a portion of an investment policy from the City of Melbourne that incorporates portfolio composition and diversification requirements. He stated our current policy has no guidelines and he stated he believes adding some of these constraints into our policy would improve it. He stated the recommendation in his staff report is to allow him to incorporate some of the language found in other policies. He stated he would also like to remove some things that are allowed, but are extremely unlikely we would do, just to clean the policy up and make January 25, 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 5 it easier to understand. He also recommended writing a portfolio composition guideline and requirements to diversify and build that into the policy. Commissioner Woods stated this is a pretty complicated subject and she is not sure how much investment background Mr. Van Liere has or how much any of the Commission have. She stated she believes it would be better to have an ad hoc committee to work with Mr. Van Liere to come up with the recommendations. She stated she would like to see more brains than theirs look at this issue, so Mr. Van Liere doesn't have sole responsibility for what happens and he can get some guidance and insight from other people. Commissioner Parsons disagreed stating he believes Mr. Van Liere has done a great job and does not see why we need to have an ad hoc committee looking over his shoulder for this, even if it is for a short while. He stated he feels very comfortable with what Mr. Van Liere has put in front of the Commission and how he is letting the Commission look at everything and make decisions. He reiterated he certainly does not think he needs an ad hoc committee. Commissioner Daugherty stated he agreed that giving Mr. Van Liere all the power for making changes bears a lot of responsibility on him and agreed with Commissioner Woods that any of the Commission are not very qualified to make policy on this. He stated he believes it would be good to get some recommendations from some people who know a lot more about this than they do. He stated he supported Commissioner Woods' suggestion. Commissioner Parsons stated Mr. Van Liere is not the only one who looks at all of this, he has a boss he has to answer to and they go over things. He stated that is what the City Manager's position is all about and he believes it is disrespectful to say those things about the people they have hired in those positions. He stated they are very capable of doing the job they have been hired to do. Mayor Borno stated he believes they should have Mr. Van Liere give them recommendations from his extensive research and then the Commission could sit down independently with any citizen they believe has a great fmancial background, for their opinion, before the next meeting. He stated what is being proposed to come back to the Commission is to make an adjustment in our policy so we don't have all our eggs in one basket. He stated they could get an ad hoc committee, but he doesn't think that is the way to go. He believes the Commission should look at the recommendation and then do their research. City Manager Hanson stated he doesn't believe it would take much time to put together a policy, committee or not. He stated there are two options, come up with an ad hoc committee that might meet once with Mr. Van Liere and have a policy to propose; or let Mr. Van Liere make a proposal and get copies to the Commission and they can meet with people they believe are experts for their feedback. They could then decide if they need a committee. Mr. Van Liere stated the policy we have basically follows the State statute and all he was asking was to put more controls on our existing Investment Policy. He stated he was coming to the Commission with a recommendation to restrict what we can do even more than what the State says you are allowed to do. City Attorney Alan Jensen asked for clarification that the statute was originally passed in 1995 and our policy was adopted shortly thereafter. Mr. Van Liere stated they used the boilerplate investment policy the Florida League of Cities put out right when the laws were passed. Mr. Jensen stated the statute says if you want an investment policy, this is what will be it, but if you don't want a written investment policy then here is what you shall follow. He stated we adopted an investment policy in 1995 or 1996 and there have been 6 or 7 amendments to that statute since that time. He stated he believes what Mr. Van Liere is saying is he just wants to bring our policy up to current statute and January 25.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6 even make it stricter. He reiterated the City's hands are pretty much tied in what we can do as far as investments, either with a written policy or without one. He stated if there is going to be a policy, this Commission has to approve it. Commissioner Woods stated, after reviewing the State statute, she realized our investment policy follows that statute. She referenced Section 2, Investment Objectives, which stated "the city's investment portfolio should be managed in a manner to attain a market rate of return throughout budgetary and economic cycles while preserving and protecting capital in the overall portfolio." She stated she believed this was the point Mr. Van Liere was making. She stated she looked at many ordinances throughout the United States and they all had that sentence in them, but when you go farther to see how you actually do that it is not spelled out very well. She stated she did not mean to demean Mr. Van Liere's abilities or character at all but was just trying to say he was not an investment specialist. She stated he is a wonderful finance manager and does a great job. She agreed with Commissioner Daugherty that this was a lot of responsibility for him for not having the expertise and to be able to have a round table discussion about these policies with people who do this for a living she would believe he would be comfortable with. She agreed with the City Manager that this doesn't need to be a long-term committee, stating she just wants to make sure all the bases are covered and that Mr. Van Liere is covered as well. She further stated the Commission had agreed with Commissioner Fletcher to wait until he returned to bring this up again. Mr. Hanson stated they had agreed with Commissioner Fletcher to wait to propose an amendment. He stated he and Mr. Van Liere realized after the last meeting that most of the Commission did not realize we even had an investment policy, so they wanted to get it in front of the Commission at this meeting so they would have a basis to go from here. Mr. Hanson suggested, since some Commissioners were uncomfortable, that it is not a lot of work to get an ad hoc committee together to sit down with Mr. Van Liere to discuss the investment policy. He stated we just need the Commissioners to suggest some names and have the Mayor appoint a committee. After further discussion, it was the consensus of the Commission to give recommendations of applicants for an Investment Policy Ad Hoc Committee to the City Clerk and have the Mayor appoint a committee. Mayor Bomo further directed Mr. Van Liere to proceed with drafting the policy for review by the committee. C. Policy for Donation and Placement of Memorials in City Parks and Other Public Areas. Mr. Carper summarized his staff report explaining the background of the policy as previously presented to the Commission and the proposed changes. He stated this was a draft policy for discussion by the Commission and direction to staff. He presented slides of suggested benches and bike racks. Commissioner Parsons asked for clarification regarding whether someone could buy something and bring it before the Commission for approval. Mr. Carper stated he would recommend they get approval before they buy the item. After approval by the City, the City will then contract for or install the item. Mr. Hanson stated the City wants to assure anything that is put in a City park meets some commercial grade January 25, 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 7 standard and is not going to fall apart. Mr. Carper stated if someone wants to purchase the item for the memorial, rather than the City purchasing it, he would need to see the specs for that item to make sure it meets the City's standards. He stated, either way, the person wanting the memorial would pay for it. Mayor Borno referenced Item C regarding native trees, stating he would like to have this state that a copy of the list of native trees will be held at the City in whatever office they decide is best. Mr. Carper stated he would put that list on the City's website and it is also available from the University of Florida's website. Motion: Amend the draft policy to add at the end of Item C. "the approved list of native trees will be located at the Public Works office and online at coab.us" Moved by Woods, Seconded by Daugherty Votes: Aye: 4 -Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED Motion: Amend the draft policy to add to the last sentence under Item A, ", or as approved by the Citv Manager". Moved by Daugherty, seconded by Parsons Votes: Aye: 4 -Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED Motion: Approve City of Atlantic Beach Memorial Donation Policy, as amended Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Daugherty Votes: Aye: 4 -Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods Nay: 0 - MOTION CARRIED D. Request for meeting dates to consider and adopt a general update to Chapter 24 of the City Code (Land Development Regulations). Mayor Borno stated there has been a workshop set for Monday, February 1 in the Commission Chamber. Mr. Hanson stated there will be two subjects on the workshop, the Police Building and Chapter 24. He stated they will provide food for the meeting. City Manager 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report City Manager Hanson asked Ms. Kaluzniak to update the Commission on the EPA Numeric Nutrient Criteria. Ms. Kaluzniak gave a slide presentation explaining the January 25.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Paee 8 Numeric Nutrient Criteria and the concerns thereof, as well as the impact it will have on Atlantic Beach. She pointed out this criteria only applies in Florida, no other state is required to meet this criteria. She then answered several questions from the Commission. Reports/Requests 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney City Commissioners City Attorney Commissioner Daugherty • Stated he thinks the bowling event he received a flyer on is wonderful and although he will not be able to participate he wishes the participants luck. Commissioner Parsons • Asked if they will receive any information on the Police building prior to the workshop. Mr. Hanson stated all he had is the drawings and he would give him a copy of those. Commissioner Woods • Clarified what Commissioner Daugherty was talking about is the Dial-a-Ride Bowlathon that the beaches are participating in. She stated there is a friendly competition between Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach city members. • Stated she believes we are remiss to not participate in the Mayport Waterfront Partnership and believes we owe it to our neighbors to help them improve. She stated she is willing to become the representative for Atlantic Beach. Mayor Borno stated after an extensive review he found that all of their issues were resolved and he sees no reason for Atlantic Beach to have official representation because we have no authority there and there are no issues that need our action. He stated anyone can go observe, but his feeling is that we should not be appointing anyone to that. He stated the Navy and Coast Guard have joined back to observe, but not to be a member of the Partnership. He stated he believes we have enough to be paying attention to officially without trying to be involved in something that we have no authority over. He stated it is outside our City limits and Jacksonville, if anybody, should be the one that should be stepping up to the plate, if they are looking for support. He stated if Commissioner Woods would like to attend she can, but he will not appoint anybody from the Commission to be a member of the Partnership. Commissioner Woods stated she believes that is a shame. Mayor Borno • Reported on the Duval Legislative Delegation meeting he attended regarding beach renourishment. • Encouraged the Commission to complete their review of Chapter 24. • FL League of Mayors fly-in is March 3-4 in Tallahassee and he plans to attend. • FL League of Cities Legislative Action Day is March 23-24. • Asked if anyone read the National Fisherman cover story, stating it is destroying the recreational fisherman, charter boats, etc. • Reported on the meeting with the City Manager on the Beaches Women's Partnership. January 25.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 9 Eric Kritsky, 196 Seminole Rd., commented on the parking situation on Seminole Road right-of--way and challenged the Commission to address the situation. Mr. Hanson asked that he leave his phone number and he would have the Code Enforcement Officer contact him. Adjournment There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. Mike Borno, Mayor/Presiding Officer ATTEST: Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk