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Item 9A February 6, 2006 MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable Mayor and Members of the Commission FROM: Jim Hans SUBJECT: City Mana is Report AGENDA ITEM #9A FEBRUARY 13, 2006 Responsibilities of Building Official; It was previously reported that Don Ford will .retire from the Building Official's position effective February 13, 2006. As of the time of the writing of this ~,,, report, arrangements are being made to handle the responsibilities of the Building Official both on a temporary and long-term basis. Responsibilities related to the Tree Ordinance will be temporarily assigned to Rick Carper, Public Works Director. In the long-term, it is anticipated ~„ that these responsibilities will be retained under the Building Official's job description. Responsibility for supervision of the two painters will be reassigned to another department head. As of the time of this writing, a fmal decision on the organizational arrangement has not yet been made. We expect to be in a position to announce what arrangements have been made for handling of the building plan reviews and inspection responsibilities by the time of the commission meeting on February 13~'. Web Page Usage; The city's website is getting a considerable amount of usage. During December of 2005, there were 15,127 visits to the site for an average of 487 per day. Many of the users are city staff. The web page is what staff members open when they are going to the Internet. Out of the 487 users per day, 355 of these were "unique visitors", which only counts users once even if they may log onto the site repeatedly during the same day. Of the 487 users '~" per day, there were an average of 128 first time users to the city's web page. There were also a surprising number of out of state and foreign users of the city's website. ~" New Rules from Water Management District Limiting Landscape Irrigation to Two Days Per Week; The St. Johns Water Management District has sent letters to local governments advising of their newly adopted rules limiting landscape irrigation to no more than two days per ~' week and authorizing local governments to adopt ordinances to enforce those rules if they choose to do so. A copy of a letter dated January 27, 2006 from Linda Burdette of the St. Johns Water Management District is attached for your review. If the City Commission feels that it is necessary for Atlantic Beach to enforce this new rule on behalf of the Water Management District, then an ordinance can be prepared for your AGENDA ITEM #9A ~+. FEBRUARY 13, 2006 consideration. However, customers of the Atlantic Beach water system have already dramatically cut back on their water use in recent years. The City has seen several years of declining sales even though the number of customers served by the system has gradually increased. The decline in consumption results from new plumbing standards requiring more efficient fixtures and, most recently, from the adoption of water conservation rates, which the Water Management District mandated. The average consumption of water per customer has declined by over 20% in Atlantic Beach during the last six years. This decline in per capita usage resulted in a decline in sales volume and decreased the revenues available to Atlantic Beach for operation and maintenance of the water and sewer systems. Because of this decline in consumption, it is my opinion that Atlantic Beach has done more than our share in recent years and that additional enforcement of irrigation restrictions may not be necessary at this time. 0 w• n River St. o s Water Management District Kirby B. Green III, Executive Director • David W. Fisk, Assistant Executive Director AGENDA ITEM #F9A FEBRUARY 13, 2006 4049 Reid Street • P.O. Box 1429 • Palatka, FL 32178-1429 • (386) 329-4500 On the Internet at www.sjrwmd.com. January 27, 2006 Mr. Jim Hanson, City Manager City of Atlantic Beach 800 Seminole Road Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 Dear Mr. Hanson, On Tuesday, December 13, 2005, the St. Johns River Water Management District's (District) Governing Board approved amendments to the water conservation provisions in Rule 40C-2.042, Florida Administrative Code, limiting landscape irrigation to no more than two days a week. This water-conserving practice is being required in addition to the existing provision prohibiting irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The new amendments apply districtwide and will be implemented beginning March 1, 2006. Enclosed is a copy of the amended rule. Although the water management districts have preemptive authority to regulate consumptive uses of water, section 373.609, Florida Statutes, authorizes local governments to assist in the enforcement of District rules. The new rule amendments provide that local governments may elect to enforce the rule limiting landscape irrigation within their jurisdiction by adopting an ordinance that incorporates the provisions of the rule. The District is seeking your assistance in enforcing the new provisions in order to save water and has developed the enclosed model ordinance to assist you should you desire to adopt an ordinance. Please note that one key rule amendment allows water users to select their two irrigation days unless their local government adopts an ordinance identifying the specific two days that ~. irrigation is allowed. If a local government adopts an ordinance with specific irrigation days, those irrigation days will be as follows: • Odd numbered addresses -Wednesdays and Saturdays Even numbered addresses or no address -Thursdays and Sundays Please note that a local government has the option of designating two alternative days other than those combinations set forth above for non-residential landscape irrigation if needed to address ` utility system-related demands. Additionally, local governments with a jurisdiction divided between the St. Johns River Water Management District and another water management district may propose an alternative schedule of days when necessary to achieve a uniform schedule GOVERNING BOARD ~, David G. Graham, CHAIRMAN John G. Sowinski, VICE CHAIRMAN Ann T Moore, SECRETARY Duane L. Ottenstroer, TREASURER JACKSONVILLE ORLANDO BUNNELL JACKSONVILLE R. Clay Albright Susan N. Hughes William W. Kerr Ometrias D. Long W. Leonard Wood OCALA PONTEVEDRA MELBOURNE BEACH APOPKA FERNANDINA BEACH AGENDA ITEM #9A ~*' FEBRUARY 13, 2006 within its jurisdiction. The alternative schedule must be submtted to the District for review and approval prior to introducing the ordinance for adoption. The new rule amendments also authorize local governments that adopt an ordinance to issue variances from the specific day of the week restrictions provided the applicant demonstrates that compliance with the specified days will result in a substantial economic, health or other hardship. A variance may be granted that allows irrigation to occur on alternative days but nzay not allow an increase o~° decrease in the number of days on which irrigation may occur. A variance may also be granted where a contiguous property is divided into different zones so that each zone may be irrigated on different days than other zones of the property. However, no single zone may be irrigated more than two days a week. A variance applicant requesting to irrigate any single zone for more than two days a week should be advised to contact Caroline Silvers at the District's Jacksonville Service Center at (904) 448-7903 for information on how to apply for a standard general permit. A local government is not required to adopt an ordinance. However, ordinance adoption would be necessary if a local government chooses to identify and enforce the specific two days ~. irrigation is allowed to occur or if it simply opts to enforce the District rule that does not specify the two days of the week on which landscape irrigation may occur. The enclosed model ordinance is designed for a local government that chooses to identify the specific days for irrigation. If a local government chooses to adopt an ordinance to enforce the rule under either option, the proposed ordinance must be submitted to the District 30 days prior to adoption. .. Please note that providing the District with your proposed ordinance will enable us to maintain a current listing on the District's Web site of those local governments that have chosen to implement the specified two-day-a-week restrictions. Questions about the model ordinance should be directed to Melinda Granlund, intergovernmental coordinator, at (904) 448-7904. Local government ordinances should be submitted to the St. „~ Johns River Water Management District, Office of Communications and Governmental Affairs, 4049 Reid Street, P.O. Box 1429, Palatka, FL 32178-1429. We appreciate your assistance with the implementation of the new water conservation provisions. If you need more information about the rule, visit sjrwmd. com and click on "irrigation rule," or call the Office of Communications and Governmental Affairs at (800) 725- 5922. Sincerely, ~~ Linda Burnette Director, Office of Communications and Governmental Affairs ~.