Draft Min 7-26-10MINUTES
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING
July 26, 2010
CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD
Attendance IN ATTENDANCE:
Mayor Mike Borno City Attorney Alan C. Jensen
Mayor Pro Tem John L. Fletcher City Manager Jim Hanson
Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty City Clerk Donna L. Bartle
Commissioner Paul Parsons Recording Secretary Nancy E. Bailey
Commissioner Carolyn Woods
Call to Order/Pledge Mayor Borno called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Parsons gave the
Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
Approval of Minutes 1. Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of July 12, 2010.
Motion• Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of July 12,
2010. as written.
Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Daugherty
Votes:
Aye: 5 -Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, 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.
Trevor Richter, 457 Snapping Turtle Court W., addressed the Commission
regarding Item 8C. He explained he had contacted one of the unsuccessful bidders,
Nova Water Technologies, and reported on the content from that discussion. He asked
whether the Commission had received more information than was available to the
public on the bidders for the equipment and if so could they see the life cycle analysis.
He further stated if they don't have all the information, could they defer judgment until
that information is available. Mayor Borno stated our engineer is here and will address
all of those issues during Item 8C.
Sally Clemens, 1638 Park Terrace W., thanked the Commission for doing their job
and taking a stand regazding the consumptive use permit, because there now is
favorable language in the newly revised consumptive use permit.
Chris Lester, 625 East Coast Drive, announced the newly formed Atlantic Beach
Teen Troup will have a performance this Friday night at ABET and will also perform
at Fleet Landing on Wednesday night and Friday morning for the Donner/Jordan Park
day campers at ABET.
July 26 2010 REG LAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 2
No one else fram the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor
to Visitors.
Item 7Awas taken out of sequence and acted on at this time.
7A. Ordinance No. 65-10-36, Introduction and First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, CLOSING,
VACATING AND ABANDONING A PORTION OF WALTER ROAD, AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Mayor Borno read Ordinance No. 65-10-36 in its entirety.
Motion: Apurove Ordinance No. 65-10-36 as read
Moved by Woods, Seconded by Fletcher.
Tim Gilboy explained the two slides showing the 14' road that would be relinquished
and the new 24' access road the City would receive. Commissioner Woods asked for
clarification of the drawings which Mr. Gilboy and Mr. Hanson explained.
Reverend Lowe thanked the Commission for their consideration.
Votes:
Aye: 5 - Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
Mayor Borno gave the floor to Commissioner Parsons who addressed the ethics
complaint for which he was brought before the Commission on Ethics recently.
Commissioner Parsons read the final report of the Commission on Ethics stating they
found there was no probable cause and he was exonerated on all charges and the case
was dismissed.
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.
July 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pace 3
A. Acknowledge receipt of the Public Works and Utility Departments Project
Status Report for July 2, 2010, Financial Report and Utility Sales Report for
June 2010.
B. Extend the contract for Sulfur Dioxide (Bid No. 0708-10) for one additional
year to Brenntag Mid-South, Inc. at the current contract prices.
C. Extend the contract for HTH (Bid No. 0708-11) for one additional year to
Univar USA, Inc. at the current contract prices.
Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda.
Commissioner Woods pulled Item A.
Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Items B and C as read.
Moved by Fletcher, Seconded by Parsons.
Votes:
Aye: 5 - Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
Commissioner Woods questioned the revenues being down 17.5%. Mr. Hanson
explained the bonds in the utility fund for payment of some of their projects have not
been issued yet which will be counted as revenue. She questioned several other
numbers which Finance Director Nelson Van Liere explained.
Commissioner Woods further questioned the Utility Sales report asking how they
expect the numbers to change after closing Treatment Plant #2. Mr. Hanson explained
there would be no change to the revenues because they will still be billing the same
customers for the same usage. Discussion regarding the profit margins of the two
treatment plants ensued.
John Collins, Collins Engineers, further explained the life cycle evaluation used for the
Buccaneer plant.
Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A as read.
Moved by Parsons, Seconded by Daugherty.
Votes:
Aye: S - Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
Committee Reports 5. Committee Reports
None.
Action on Resolutions b. Action on Resolutions
None.
July 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4
Action on Ordinances 7. Action on Ordinances
A. Ordinance No. 65-10-36, Introduction and First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, CLOSING,
VACATING AND ABANDONING A PORTION OF WALTER ROAD, AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting.
B. Ordinance No. 20-10-104, Public Hearing and Final 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. 20-10-104 by title.
Motion• Approve Ordinance No. 20-10-104 as read
Moved by Fletcher, Seconded by Parsons.
Mayor Borno opened the Public Hearing. He explained the purpose of the Ordinance.
No one from the audience spoke so he closed the Public Hearing.
Votes:
Aye: 5 -Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
Miscellaneous 8. Miscellaneous Business
Business
A. Revised Consumptive Use Permit for Water Withdrawals.
City Manager Jim Hanson explained the revised Consumptive Use Permit pointing out
several changes that are more favorable to Atlantic Beach.
B. Proposed Landscape Irrigation Ordinance.
City Manager Hanson explained the proposed ordinance will adopt the District's Rule
40C-2.042 by reference and eliminates several old provisions that were left over in our
ordinance from various times when we adopted the specifics of the irrigation rules. He
stated staff recommends this proposed language be placed on the agenda as an
ordinance for a first reading at the next meeting which would allow it to be completed
by the end of August and we could get our grant sometime in September before we
close out the fiscal year.
City Manager Hanson pointed out an error on page 4 in the draft ordinance, explained
what the change should be and stated that will be changed for the first reading.
Julv 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5
Votes:
Aye: 5 - Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
Item 8E was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time.
8E. Health Insurance for City employees for FY 2010/2011.
Human Resources Manager George Foster summarized his staff report explaining the
current health insurance plan which has three plans, two are open access and one is a
Point of Service plan. He explained each plan has four tiers -Individual only,
Individual plus children, Individual plus spouse, and Individual plus family. He stated
as of October 1, 2010 our premiums were projected to increase 32.78%. He stated his
guidance this year was to keep the City's premiums level and explained the only way
to do this was to pass the increased cost to the employees or reduce benefits. He stated
his recommendation was to increase the employee's premiums by 3.5%, noting this is
the second year the employees have not had any salary increases in the budget although
the May Cost of Living Index is about 2%. He stated after increasing the employee
contributions by the 3.5% it left an additional $55,000 in premiums which he is asking
the City to consider.
Commissioner Daugherty asked if it was correct that the reason for the dramatic
increase in cost is because we have had an abnormal number of claims. Mr. Foster
stated it is due to the claim experience of the City and we have had quite a few years of
having high claim experience. Mr. Foster answered several other questions from
Commissioner Daugherty. Commissioner Daugherty asked if the City was not to
subsidize the increase, would the employees still have an option to buy up and have the
same deductibles they now have. Mr. Foster stated the deductibles and out-of-pockets
are not the same; the current base plan is the new buy up plan he is proposing, which is
even less generous than the current buy up plan. He stated the problem with the buy up
plan is that it costs a higher premium and with this being the second year with no pay
adjustments he is not sure the employees can afford it. Commissioner Daugherty asked
if there have been any salary decreases in the last two years. Mr. Foster stated no.
Commissioner Woods stated we haven't decreased the salaries but we have lowered
the benefits. Mr. Foster stated this is taking away purchasing power from the
employees because now they are paying more for out-of-pockets, etc. Commissioner
Daugherty stated this is something that is happening nationwide. He stated with the
climate we are in it is hard for him to be able to support doing this. He stated he does
not believe working for a city is any different than working for anybody else, the job
market is what the job market is and that's the environment we are in.
Mr. Foster summarized the recent history of the health insurance, pointing out that in
2008 the Commission decided to change the employee ratios which, before then, the
employee had not been charged anything for employee-only coverage. He stated the
City then went with 90% for the City and 10% for the employee-only coverage, at 5%
per year, and reduced the amount the City paid for dependent coverage by 5% per year.
In 2009 there were no pay adjustments, so the Commission put a freeze on doing that
for 2009. Now in 2010, again, there are no pay adjustments and we have not adjusted
those ratios. The Commission did have along-term plan of reducing the premiums by
5% per year for dependent coverage. The city was paying 55%, but we are down to
45% now. He stated we are speaking about a 10-year plan, but the current economic
July 26. ZO10 ,REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 6
conditions for our employees have not really allowed it. Commissioner Daugherty
stated it is not good for anybody and, in the private sector, he has received two separate
pay cuts and a lot of people he knows have gotten pay cuts. He stated we have not
done any of that here, although we are reducing benefits, etc., but unfortunately that is
the environment we are in.
Commissioner Woods asked what the percentages aze that the employees pay. Mr.
Foster explained, with the current policy, the City pays 95% of the employee-only base
coverage in the lower tier and 45% of the difference in any other coverage they select
within the lower tier. He stated, for the buy-up plan, the City pays the same amount
they pay for the lower tier, so the employee would pick up 100% of any cost difference
in the buy-up tier over the base tier and they pay the same amount for the POS that
they pay for the base tier, so the employee picks up 100% of any increases in
premiums for the POS vs. the base. Mr. Foster stated his recommendation is to back
into the numbers and give the employees a 3.5% increase in what they pay and have
the City pick up the difference. He stated he is requesting approval from the
Commission for Mr. Van Liere to put in $55,616 additional in the budget. Mr. Foster
stated he does not want to price health insurance out of the employee's capability to
pay for it.
Commissioner Fletcher believes they should pass the cost on to the employee instead
of the taxpayer. Mr. Hanson stated with either plan there is a lower level of benefits
being given to the employees next year. He stated this is an increase in employee cost
before you talk about shifting the extra money to the employee. He stated what he is
talking about is shifting another $20+/- per pay period on top of that. Commissioner
Fletcher agreed stating that is consistent with what he is seeing in the private sector.
He stated $55,000 is a big number and when we aze looking at how tight our budget is,
he does not believe it is unreasonable to look at shifting $20.33/pay period vs. shifting
$55,000 out of the coffers of the citizens. Commissioner Daugherty stated that is an
extra patrol officer.
Mayor Borno stated this was brought before the Commission tonight for action because
the employees have to enroll and it has to be in place next month in order to get the
paperwork done and sent to the insurance company. He stated otherwise they would
be dealing with this at budget time. He stated we do have a percentage of employees
who are in the low pay scales who, if they hit one of these catastrophic caps with an
out-of-pocket for a family of $18,000, could very well be wiped out financially and we
could be minus experienced employees. He stated although $20/pay period is not a
great amount of money to you or me, it would be to some of the employees. He stated
all of this in the mix is why they aze trying to absorb the $55,616 estimate on top of the
$25,182 that they aze already planning in the budget. He stated, with no pay raises, we
aze pretty well where industry is right now.
Commissioner Fletcher stated he believes we need to get more creative with the cost
shazing and instead of the $55,000 on the City, the $20/pay period needs to be
considered.
Commissioner Woods asked if we have to have an answer tonight. Mayor Borno
asked if they could wait a week and see if they could make an adjustment in the cost
shaze and devise another plan to look at that would split the issue. Mr. Foster
explained the breakdown of cost to the employee and how many employees were in
each plan and tier. Discussion ensued.
July 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 7
Mayor Borno suggested the Commission meet individually with Mr. Foster and bring
this issue back before the Commission at the next meeting. Commissioner Daugherty
stated he believes they are delaying a hard decision they have to make. He stated in the
civilian world these numbers are ridiculously low. He stated he has talked to some
people who are paying $500-$600/month for worse insurance than this and for him to
go to his neighbor and say you are going to have to pay more in taxes or a higher
millage rate so that a City employee can have basically a dream policy, or one that is
far beyond what most people have, is hard for him to do. It was the consensus of the
Commission to defer to the next meeting.
Motion• Defer to nett meeting (Note• Item was readdressed during Item 10
Reports from City Commission, and the meeting date to address this item was
Parsons/ Seconded by Woods.
Votes:
Aye: 4 -Borno, Daugherty, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 1-Fletcher
MOTION CARRIED
C. Approve the recommended wastewater treatment equipment for the TMDL
improvements at the prices in Bid No. 0910-09.
John Collins explained the design and bid process and the major wastewater equipment
procurement program. He stated the recommendations of all equipment selected were
based on the life cycle cost.
Commissioner Woods asked if all of the recommended equipment was compatible.
Mr. Collins stated it was all compatible. He stated the City is not purchasing the
equipment but rather putting it in the bid at these prices stating the contractor will
purchase these pieces of equipment and install them. He further explained the bid
process.
City Attorney Jensen left the meeting at 7:41 pm . He returned at 7:43 pm.
Commissioner Woods asked how much of the design phase has been completed. Mr.
Collins stated the Wastewater Plant just went to a 60% review and they hope to finish
by October and bid it out in November. He stated the pipeline is 100% approved. He
stated they have the State permit and the only thing they are waiting on is an easement
from a shopping center to stage equipment. Commissioner Woods asked the City
Attorney if we had received the title insurance policy. Mr. Jensen stated we have the
policy.
Commissioner Fletcher asked what the variable components of the life cycle analysis
were other than energy. Mr. Collins stated they also looked at replacement costs of the
equipment. Referring to the question Mr. Richter had regarding why these bidders
were chosen, Commissioner Fletcher asked why Kruger was selected over Nova Water
Technologies. Mr. Collins explained after first cost they were less expensive but after
further research other factors determined Kruger was the better bid.
July 26.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 8
Mayor Borno pointed out that the bids came in approximately $750,000 less than what
was anticipated.
Motion: Approve the recommended wastewater treatment equipment for the
TMDL improvements at the prices in Bid No. 0910-09. This equipment and
pricing will be written into the Wastewater TMDL proiect specifications.
Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Pazsons.
Votes:
Aye: 5 -Borno, Daugherty, Fletcher, Parsons, Woods
Nay: 0 -
MOTION CARRIED
D. Proposed debt financing for Public Utility upgrades to meet TMDL standards.
Finance Director Nelson Van Liere summarized his staff report giving an update on the
financing status. He stated after discussing this with the finance advisor they will
probably make this one loan instead of two as indicated in the staff report, which will
cut the issuance cost in half. He stated they will use the services of Jack McWilliams
for Bond Counsel and Dunlap and Associates is our financial advisor.
Commissioner Fletcher asked what was the number of the coverage ratio. Mr. Van
Liere stated they aze looking at covering about $2.4 million. Discussion ensued
regazding net revenues and Mr. Van Liere clarified Commissioner Fletcher's questions.
Commissioner Daugherty asked if Mr. Van Liere has considered refinancing our
current debt. Mr. Van Liere stated the financial advisor has given him schedules for
refinancing the remaining 1996 bond issue which would save us about $43,000 and he
believes this would be worth doing. He stated the 1999 issue would cost us $10,000 to
refinance and we would save $5,000, which with everything that involves he does not
believe would be worth it, but he can do so if they want. He stated if they wanted to
save that same money it would be easier to take the fund balance and pay it off.
Commissioner Woods asked about the $1 million in grant money, stating she thought
we were getting almost $3 million. Mr. Hanson stated $700,000 was to be given to us
if we took Neptune Beach's wastewater, which we were not able to do, so Neptune
Beach got the grant directly. He stated another million was for a reuse system and with
the Water Manage District giving the Country Club the ability to do their own, we are
not building a reuse system. He stated since those two projects aze not being done by
us, what remains is $1 million in grants. Commissioner Woods asked for an update on
the new regulatory requirements. Mr. Hanson stated he cannot remember a time since
1976 that we were not planning for or building new waste water expansions to meet
new standards. He stated there aze always new standards in the works. He stated
recently discussed was the Federal standard for TMDL that is much more stringent
than the State standard which we are designing to. Mr. Collins further explained this
but stated that everything we are doing now makes sense.
E. Health Insurance for City employees for FY 2010/2011.
This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting.
Julv 26.2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 9
City Manager 9. City Manager
A. City Manager's Report.
City Manager Jim Hanson reported on the Comcast franchise agreement whereby they
aze electing to be franchised under the State legislation rather than the City franchise
agreement. He stated due to this change the City will need to adopt a new ordinance
regulating the use of the right-of--way that will apply to all public utilities. He stated
Rick Cazper is drafting this ordinance and it will be brought before the Commission in
a few weeks.
He reported a covered JTA bus shelter will be installed at Royal Palms Drive near the
ABC Liquor store. He stated they will also add a trolley stop there.
Mr. Hanson distributed the budget workshop agendas to the Commission.
Mr. Hanson stated we expect to receive grants for the Veterans Park from Jacksonville
for $50,000, Oceanside Rotary for $12,500, and VFW Post 3270 for $12,500 to build
the first phase improvements. He stated the Veterans groups are planning a ceremony
for Veterans Day. He stated they will need an Ordinance for the next meeting to get
this started.
Mr. Hanson asked David Thompson to report on a fund raising event planned by the
Atlantic Beach lifeguards. Assistant City Manager Thompson introduced Lifeguard
Captain John Phillips and lifeguazd Garrett Adamson. He stated the lifeguards are
planning to host the Atlantic Beach Community Challenge, amini-triathlon and SK
run, on August 14 on the beach to raise some funding for the competition game. Mr.
Phillips explained the Atlantic Beach lifeguards won't be participating in the event but
rather aze running the event. He explained the event is open to all; they have not set
any age groups. He stated the event will start at One Ocean and go north.
Reports/Requests 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney
City Commissioners
City Attorney Commissioner Daugherty
• Questioned why we don't ask for discounts on renewal contracts, stating he
would like to see Donna Kaluzniak ask fora 10% discount when she sends out
the renewal letters. He stated he doesn't like the staff's attitude about the tax
dollars we are spending and if we are saving one dollaz it is a good thing. He
stated he would like to see this addressed and the next time a contract renewal
comes up that the Commission get more than just 4-5 days notice.
• Believes the Commission should be better prepared for the Commission
meetings because there are a lot of questions being asked in the meetings,
especially by one particular Commissioner, that could be asked earlier and it is
taking up a lot of time and causing the meetings to run a lot longer.
• Respectfully asked that the Mayor discontinue using the timer, unless he uses it
for everyone. He stated the first time he did it, it was very offensive and he
considers it as disrespect to his opinion and the time he is allotted.
Julv 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 10
Commissioner Fletcher
• Stated the subject of the health insurance is extremely difficult but we have to
do very difficult things here sometimes.
• Announced he will be in Maine week of 9a' and will not be at the next meeting.
He stated as that affects the decision on the health insurance they might want to
call an emergency meeting to consider the health insurance if they want input
from everybody on that. City Attorney Jensen stated there was nothing wrong
with Commissioner Fletcher sharing his thoughts on that issue with the other
Commissioners as long as he doesn't ask for a response. Commissioner
Fletcher stated he would not do that as an abundance of caution and if there is a
discussion to be had it should be in the open where everyone could be there.
Commissioner Parsons
• Regarding the health insurance, he stated from the discussion tonight there are
a lot of things he has questions about and believes putting a higher deductible
on an employee who is not in a higher pay bracket could cause them
bankruptcy and then what kind of employee do you have. He stated he wants
Commissioner Fletcher to give an opinion before he leaves.
Discussion ensued and it was the consensus of the Commission to schedule an
emergency (special called) meeting on August S at 5:00 p.m. prior to the budget
meeting to discuss health insurance and asked that the City Clerk notice the meeting.
Commissioner Woods
• Stated she can only assume that Commissioner Daugherty is refemng to her in
his statement about a Commissioner asking a lot of questions during the
meeting. She agreed she does this but stated sometimes it is intentionally done
for the people who are here at the meeting because she likes to keep the
dialogue open.
• Announced that because the Commission has expressed interest in videotaping
the meetings, she has contacted a video production company who has offered
to provide a video conference for us this Thursday to explain their process.
She stated the City Clerk will be sending out an email with the specifics of the
video conference.
• Reported on the article in Beaches Leader regarding the sensitive job they have
in making the hazd decisions for the community. She defended the money the
City is spending on the skate park lighting. stating the benefit you get in return
is more than the dollar value paid out, which is something they need to keep in
mind when looking at the health insurance issue as well.
• Will be in New Hampshire, leaving on Aug 10, but will not miss any
Commission or budget meetings.
Mayor Borno
• Believes staff should be the ones to filter out the videotaping issue, not the
Commission. He stated they can report back to the Commission.
• Beaches Veteran Memorial Pazk is moving forwazd rapidly and they have
almost completed the documentation for the SOlc3 for their tax exempt status.
July 26 2010 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page. l l
He stated they have had two people voice opinions related to the pazk and
believes they do not have the total picture. He stated we are not doing away
with anything related to the playground and the basketball court is being looked
at and evaluated.
• Believes Boazd Member Review Committee should review Teen Council
Advisor applications. He would like the requirements for the Teen Council
Advisor be provided to all the applicants so they understand what it is they are
getting into before the interview. It was the consensus of the Commission to
do so. The City Clerk stated they will set those interviews for the Boazd
Member Review Committee meeting in September rather than August.
• Reported he is now on the Florida League of Cities Resolutions Committee.
Adjournment There being no further discussion, the Mayor declazed the meeting adjourned at 8:45
p.m.
Mike Borno, Mayor/Presiding Officer
ATTEST:
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk