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Agenda Item 1MINUTES REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING January 14, 2013 CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Mike Borno Mayor Pro Tem Maria Mark Commissioner Mark Beckenbach Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty Commissioner Carolyn Woods City Attorney Alan C. Jensen City Manager Jim Hanson City Clerk Donna L. Bartle Recording Secretary Nancy E. Bailey Call to Order/Pledge: Mayor Borno called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Borno gave the Invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 1. A. Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of December 10, 2012. B. Approve the minutes of the Special Called (Shade) Commission Meeting of December 10, 2012. C. Approve the minutes of the Commission Briefing of December 6, 2012. Mayor Borno asked if there were any corrections to the above minutes and there being none, he stated the minutes will stand as submitted. 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. No one from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meeting A. City Manager's Follow -up Report. None. 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 Building Department Monthly Activity Report, the Utility Sales Report for November and December 2012, and the List of New Business Tax Receipts for December 2012. B. List of property to be declared surplus. Mayor Borno read the Consent Agenda. January 14, 2013 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 2 Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Items A and B as read. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Mark Votes: Aye: 5 — Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark, Woods, Borno Nay: , 0 MOTION CARRIED 5. Committee Reports None. 6. Action on Resolutions A. RESOLUTION NO. 13 -01 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA URGING LOCAL RETAILERS SELLING TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO REFRAIN FROM MARKETING AND /OR SELLING FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS; TO ELIMINATE ANY SELF - SERVICE DISPLAY OR PLACEMENT OF ANY TOBACCO PRODUCT, CANDY - FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCT, OR SMOKING PIPE AND SMOKING DEVICE, BY MEANS OF ANY SELF - SERVICE DISPLAY OR PLACEMENT, OR BY ANY MEANS OTHER THAN VENDOR - ASSISTED SALES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Borno read Resolution No. 13 -01 by title. Motion: Approve Resolution No. 13 -01. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Beckenbach Mayor Borno summarized the Resolution, stating it was brought to the Commission by a group of young citizens at the December 10th meeting. Commissioner Beckenbach asked City Attorney Jensen if we can ban this type of smokeless tobacco as they have done in Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Jensen stated he does not know if we have the authority and would have to look into this further if the Commission wants him to. He stated he doesn't know if the control of that is preempted by State Statute but he can check it out. Commissioner Beckenbach asked Mayor Borno if they could direct the City Attorney to research this. Mayor Borno stated yes but further stated Providence, Rhode Island was sued and believes it is still in litigation. Commissioner Beckenbach stated the judge said the city was in its rights to do so. Mayor Borno stated they do need to search ours and there is always the possibility, depending on where they are at. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED 7. Action on Ordinances None. January 14 2013 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 3 8. Miscellaneous Business A. Marsh Master Plan Grant Writing Assistance. City Manager Hanson explained, as staff was directed by the Commission to give recommendations on how to get more grants, staff concluded the best way to move ahead most effectively, particularly with the Marsh Master Plan in mind, is to see if they can get some grant money to design and permit all the phases of the ped path which is the major project in the Marsh Master Plan. He stated they need around $100,000 to do this, which is not budgeted. He stated they believe there are some grants available for this type of design project. He stated, therefore, they got a proposal from the same company that prepared the Marsh Master Plan, HHI Design with Ginger Corliss as the lead, to research, prepare and submit as many as four grant applications to get the money for the design work. He stated the cost to the City for this would be about $20,000, or $5,000 /grant application, and each application would be approved by us prior to moving ahead. He stated we may not need four applications before we get it funded. He stated this would cost up to $20,000, which we do not have budgeted, so we would need a budget amendment if the Commission wants to go ahead with this. He stated, if so, the Commission will need to approve the proposal from HHI, authorize the City Manager to sign the documents and they will get the budget amendment prepared. Motion: Approve the Grant Support Services Proposal from HHI Design and authorize the City Manager to sign the application for the grant when completed. Moved by Beckenbach, Seconded by Daugherty Commissioner Daugherty asked what the success has been in the past with using outside grant consultants. Mr. Hanson explained we have not used a lot of outside consultants. He stated David Thompson was very effective. He stated we did get $1,000,000 in grant funding from the Water Management District for the Hopkins Creek Pond. He stated we have had mixed success but have been more successful when we target these and know what funds are available and the projects we are after. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Mark pointed out that this proposal also includes HHI searching for alternative funding sources and grants. She stated they are actually doing the research and choosing the ones that fit this project. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED B. 9 -1 -1 Inter -Local Agreement FY 2013. Chief Mike Classey explained this is Amendment No. 3 to our contract with the City of Jacksonville. He stated this is just an annual update because disbursements for the year you are going into are based upon the disbursements of the year preceding with an inflationary amount added, up to 8 %. He stated this will provide for Atlantic Beach's revenues up to $86,200 for this fiscal year and they just need to authorize the Mayor and City Manager to sign the paperwork. January 14, 2013 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 4 Motion: Approve the Interlocal Agreement Amendment for the Distribution of 9 -1 -1 Funds for Call -Taker Salaries and authorize the Mayor and City Manager to sign the paperwork. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Mark Commissioner Woods stated there is a typo on page 2, item #2 of the Interlocal Agreement, related to the dollar amount. It states EIGHTY -SIX ONE THOUSAND, but should be EIGHTY -SIX THOUSAND. She also stated, in the way this is being dispersed, there is a 30% added for benefits and training and asked if any of that revenue is going to be dedicated to offsetting our pension liability or does it just go into the general fund. Mr. Hanson stated if they are charging to the grant our benefit cost, then the pension portion of that would come out of that grant and go to the pension fund; in this case, the general employee's pension fund, because in dispatch they aren't certified police officers. He stated they would not take all of that and put it in the pension fund; they would put the same percentage they allocate for any employee hours and put in the pension fund. He stated yes, some of it will go there. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED C. Hazard Mitigation Grant. Chief Mike Classey explained as a result of TS Debby, there is some FEMA money that has come available under their hazard mitigation grant program. He stated this is part of the loss mitigation strategy that is ongoing at the EOC. He stated we had a project that was waiting on a natural disaster when the funding becomes available. The pending project, a sewer upgrade, Donner Phase II, was ranked extremely high on the county level, which means if FEMA buys off on it, it will probably be funded. He stated we now need to complete the application and turn it into FEMA and have the Commission authorize the Mayor to sign that paperwork. He explained this is a 75% grant so the City would need to come up with a 25% match of $38,750 next fiscal year. Mr. Hanson added that in recent years they have put several hundred thousand dollars a year in sewer system rehab work into the budget in connection with the sewer system master plan. He stated in next year's budget they could probably put the same amount of money in and take the 25% match for this grant and use the rest of the money toward whatever project they have. He stated they would have the same budget but would be getting more sewer rehab done, so he does not anticipate it would be an increase to the budget; it would be more work done. Motion: Approve the matching funds of $38,750 necessary to complete the proiect and authorize the Mayor to sign the related paperwork for the grant application. Moved by Daugherty, Seconded by Mark Mayor Borno thanked Chief Classey for his work on this project. Votes: Aye: 5 — Borno, Beckenbach, Daugherty, Mark, Woods Nay: 0 MOTION CARRIED January 14. 2013 _ REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 5 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report. City Manager Hanson reported on the request at the last meeting for staff to report on videotaping of meetings. He stated the motion requesting staff action was long and somewhat confusing. He stated staff's best understanding of what it was the Commission wanted was that staff was to report back on three subjects raised. He stated the first was videotaping of Commission meetings and having them available on the web for citizen access. Secondly, was the concern about the search capability for items on our website and what to put on the website. He stated the third item was the electronic agenda preparation software. He stated as staff sees it they were asked to look at those three items and report back, but it is not ready yet. He stated if that is not what they want, please let staff know. Commissioner Woods asked if they are going to research the different companies, the cost, or what they are going to research. Mr. Hanson stated there is some of that in each of these. He stated in some cases it is pretty obvious what the quickest and best way is, if they want to do this. He stated it is not meant to be an exhaustive study of all the market but to state the best way to do it, the capital and long -term cost and other pros and cons. Mr. Hanson further stated he plans to transfer some budgeted funds to get some help to prepare grant application to submit a grant to the FDOT for funding under their Safe Routes to Schools program. He stated the funds will specifically be used to improve the ped paths along Seminole Rd. and Sherry Dr. He stated the funding is 100% but may not be available until 2018. He stated the cost to Atlantic Beach would be about $5,225 for a grant application, which is due at the end of February. He further stated Commissioner Daugherty asked staff to look into some software to have citizen surveys on our website. He stated we can do that now with the current software we have. He stated if the Commission is interested in using that they will need to tell staff what they want to use it for, how many questions, multiple choice, essay, etc., then staff can work on the best solution. He stated if they want to move ahead with that in the future, there is no cost except for staff time. He answered questions from the Commission. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Woods stated she was approached by a graduate student in the Political Science Department at JU who said he, along with his professor, might be able to help us come up with a survey as part of his graduate program. She stated she will forward the information. Commissioner Mark stated Beaches Habitat also had an AmeriCorps volunteer who did surveys for them. She stated she has those surveys electronically and they may want to look at those questions to use as a template. Commissioner Daugherty suggested they form an ad hoc committee and volunteered to meet with those two people and work with them. Commissioner Mark stated that volunteer is not with them anymore but she can give him that data. Mr. Hanson stated he believes the professor and student from the university would want to know what information they are trying to get and not what questions they want to ask, because the design of the questions is all about what they do to keep it neutral. He stated he would suspect that all of the Commissioners would want to be involved in this and he believes it would be best to get the student and his professor to make a brief presentation to see what they need to prepare a survey. He stated the Commission should think about what type of long -term information they want to get that relates to the strategic plan and visioning. Commissioner Daugherty suggested that he meet with them before the next Thursday meeting and have a presentation. Mayor Borno stated they should see what he comes up with. Mr. Hanson reported bonds have been issued in the name of Atlantic Beach for Fleet Landing going back to Fleet Landing's original bonds. He stated the IRS Code allows issuance of tax exempt bonds on industrial development and healthcare facilities through the local government as the issuing agency, even though the only obligation of the issuing agency for pay back of the money is from the revenues of the health facility or the industrial development authority and not from the city itself. He stated the benefit to Atlantic Beach is getting better and more healthcare facilities at Fleet Landing, which is our biggest employer here. He stated January 14, 2013 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Pate 6 Fleet Landing wants to refund around $50,000 in older bonds and reissue to get a lower interest rate and also raise a small amount of new money to relocate the maintenance facility to free up some land they want to use for something else. He stated they intend to ask the Commission to approve this bond issue in February. He explained the City will need to get our own bond counsel to look at this issue on our behalf to advise the Commission whether the proposed issuance is fully legal and if there is any obligation of Atlantic Beach in repayment of this and whether there is any risk on the part of the City. He stated the representatives from Fleet Landing will give an informational presentation to the Commission at the next meeting and then ask the Commission to adopt a resolution to support their issuance at the first meeting in February. He stated to do that they will have to get a bond counsel moving and he and the City Attorney have had several discussions on that and are pretty close to getting someone to work for us, which will be paid by Fleet Landing's bond issuance and not by the City. Commissioner Mark stated Mr. Hanson said $50,000, which is incorrect. He stated it should be $50,000,000. Mr. Hanson stated he also understands they will be coming back late this calendar year for another issue for new money to build the facilities on the site where they are moving their maintenance facility from. He stated both the current site of the maintenance facility and where they are moving it to are both in our City limits. Commissioner Beckenbach asked how is it that we are not responsible in any way. City Attorney Alan Jensen stated it is conduit financing, where they use the City as a conduit to obtain tax free bonds. He stated it is a matter of convenience that we are allowed by Federal law to assist this facility. He stated we just want to make sure, as has been in the past, that the City has no obligation at all and no responsibility and we are just doing this as a courtesy to Fleet Landing. Mr. Hanson stated Fleet Landing is a 501(c)3 and their pledge for repayment of the cost is the future revenues of Fleet Landing and their collateral would be Fleet Landing. 10. Reports and /or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney Commissioner Daugherty • Wants to organize a Volunteer Day for staff for Habitat for Humanity. Stated he would work with Human Resources on this. • Has a meeting with Bill Bishop, President of Jacksonville City Council, on 1/22 at Dutton Island, the goal of which is to get bigger participation with Jacksonville. Mr. Hanson stated if more than one Commissioner goes to this they need to let Donna Bartle know so it can be, posted. Commissioner Woods and Mayor Borno stated this should be noticed. Ms. Bartle stated someone will also have to take minutes. Commissioner Daugherty stated this is to expose Councilman Bishop to the project and sell him on participation. • Got his real estate license recently and will look on MLS for properties on Mayport Road. • Asked the City Manager if we have had any further updates on Selva. Mr. Hanson stated they have settled on one developer and are working out the details. He stated they want to sit with the City on the irrigation issue. He stated he received a final report from John Collins on that and would like to have that presented to the Commission at the next regular meeting so they are aware of the options. Commissioner Beckenbach • He will be putting on the next agenda the proposal to hold workshops on the 2nd Monday of each month at the scheduled 6:30 time slot, and for the 4th Monday 6:30 time slot to be the standard Commission meeting. Discussion ensued regarding the issues involved in this that will need to be discussed at the next meeting. • Related to the Wolfson appeal process, he stated he will speak to Alan Jensen and wanted to tell the citizens that is what he is doing and they will discuss that at the next workshop to decide which way they are going to be going. Commissioner Woods January 14, 2013 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING Page 7 Stated she went to the Selva Marina yard sale and there was a representative from Save the Ferry selling Shuffle and Dine Cards for the ferry that give discounts to restaurants. She stated she highly recommends them. Asked if they gave approval to do whatever with the surplus truck. Mr. Hanson stated they declared it surplus and they can dispose of it, but the choice of the best way to dispose of it is open to staff. He stated normally they would put a large vehicle online for an auction but for some vehicles they can get more on trade -in so they will decide what is going to get them the most money. Wants to tentatively schedule a workshop on February 25 at 4:30 on the police building, if they are ready. Commissioner Mark At the workshop, they discussed Commissioners bringing up items for staff to do during Item 10 at commission meetings and since Commissioner Daugherty wasn't at the workshop she wanted to bring it up for his benefit. She stated to make sure there is a consensus from the Commission that they do want those requests to go forward it was discussed that that item can be brought up under Item 10 but it should be added to the next agenda under Item 8, Miscellaneous, so they can discuss and take action on it. Reminded all the JCCI is having their monthly 2025 visioning workshops beginning this Saturday at the Prime Osborn from 9 —11 and suggested they attend one or two. Asked about the hazardous disposal day by Advanced Disposal and if it is just once a year. Mr. Hanson stated Jacksonville normally conducts one at the beaches once a year and Advanced Disposal also did one on their own. She stated she would like to schedule these quarterly. Commissioner Beckenbach stated Home Depot will allow for collecting mercury bulbs and believes they will also take batteries. He stated if you do miss the hazardous waste disposal day you can take them to Jacksonville's hazardous waste site. Mr. Hanson stated Jacksonville also has collections throughout the year throughout Jacksonville. Mayor Borno • Appeared at Beaches Watch and Beaches Chamber of Commerce and gave a State of the City. He stated all three beach cities mayors gave presentations and it was a good learning process for everyone there. Adjournment There being no further business to come before the Commission, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. ATTEST: Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk Mike Borno Mayor/Presiding Officer MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER ON JANUARY 14, 2013 AT 4:30 PM City Commission Members present: Mike Borno, Mayor Maria Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Mark Beckenbach, Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty, Commissioner Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Staff present: Jim Hanson, City Manager Michael Classey, Chief of Police Donna Bartle, City Clerk Nancy Bailey, Recording Secretary The meeting, which was held for the purpose of discussing the police building project, including coming to a consensus on the problem to be solved, the major issues and options to solve the problem as well as to discuss the next steps to take, was called to order at 4:35 p.m. by Mayor Borno. Mayor Borno gave the history to date on the issues of the police building. Commissioner Daugherty stated he believes they are all in agreement that the building should not be put on the other side of the creek and that the budget initially proposed is too high. He stated they need to decide whether they want holding cells and what level of services they want for the police department. The Commissioners were all in agreement that there is a problem. Commissioner Mark asked if this Commission is committed to find a solution stating, if not, they should not spend any more time or resources on this issue and should let the next Commission address it. Mayor Borno stated their decision is to decide whether to move forward, not to design the whole concept. Commissioner Mark agreed stating they should leave the design up to the experts under the parameters that the Commission feels comfortable and can agree upon within which to work. Commissioner Woods stated they need to come up with a process that needs to be followed that is reasonable and rational and if they don't get to the end product before this Commission changes over, the process is then placed with the next Commission for follow through. She referred to the International Association of Chiefs of Police's Police Facility Planning Guidelines which she believes they should start with. City Manager Jim Hanson stated the next point is to get the major issues listed and they can then start talking about the process. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Beckenbach stated he agrees there should be more space but what he has heard is that the public does not agree with that 14,000 s.f. building that was to go on the west side of the creek. He stated the police have told them what their needs, desires and wants are and now there is a video out that the citizens can watch. He stated they can all agree that there is a certain need Minutes—City Commission Workshop January 14,2012 Page 2 and asked if it is possible that they can narrow it down to moving it over to Mayport Road or renovating this building. Commissioner Woods stated she would like a consensus that they are going to follow this procedure or some other procedure and suggested having a committee of stakeholders with a charge that does not restrain them in their process. Commissioner Daugherty stated we are an elected committee and we have been charged with a job and we should do our job. He stated he believes passing this off to committee again would be a mistake. He stated the citizen input has been done. He stated they should come to an agreement as to what the problem is, decide what levels of service they want and then work together to find a solution. He suggested a three-step phase expansion of the building, which he believes could be done at a reasonably low cost. Mr. Hanson addressed the renovation issues, stating based on the most recent flood determinations the floor elevation is over a foot too low for an emergency facility in Atlantic Beach. He stated they can do some minor additions and interior renovations. He stated the point Building Official Mike Griffin made was that when you start to do a lot of additions and renovations to the building, you trip some Federal regulations and floodplain regulations that say they have to raise the floor elevation. He stated some people have suggested we do a little renovation now and a little later so we can basically get around those regulations. He stated that is the wrong thing to do. He stated we are in charge of trying to make people live up to flood regulations; what kind of example would we be setting if we tried to play a game so we don't have to meet those regulations. He agreed with Commissioner Daugherty that it makes sense to determine what service levels they think we should have and then determine whether they can have those service levels provided in this building. He stated before they start investing money they should determine whether this building is going to serve our purposes or not. He stated they may want to bring in an outside independent architect to assess how far they can go realistically in terms of remodeling while the police department is in this building. He stated if they have to be moved out while it is being remodeled, that is incurring a tremendous cost that might be better invested somewhere else. He stated they don't need to micromanage or design the building themselves but they should look at the service levels and decide if they want a lower service level for our police department. Commissioner Woods asked if they have the option of inviting an array of different architectural firms to come in and assess the situation and give us their ideas so they have more than one option to pick from. Mr. Hanson stated he did not believe they would get a tremendous amount of work out of architects who are not being paid to do it; they would get some proposals. Commissioner Mark stated before they ask anyone to come in, they should decide on the location, i.e. whether Mayport Road is a feasible option. Discussion ensued on the feasibility of a Mayport Road location versus renovating the existing building. Mayor Borno asked whether they want to consider Mayport Road or renovating the existing building as priority one. It was the consensus of the Commission to consider Mayport Road. Mr. Hanson stated they could bring in an outside totally independent architect, but one that has been involved in major renovations of existing commercial, industrial properties, who could tell Minutes—City Commission Workshop January 14, 2012 Page 3 us about the pros and cons of renovating and expanding this building, given the State and Federal regulations and the size we are trying to get it to. He stated they could even tell that architect they are not going to design the ultimate building so they would have no incentive to lean it in one direction or another. He stated if they want to do that, it could be a viable wake-up call to say here's what we are really looking at long-term. Commissioner Woods stated they had the architect who designed this building volunteer to do exactly that. They called Melody Bishop to the podium. Melody Bishop, who worked with the company who did the original design, stated what she said was it made sense to do a quick workshop to look at the plans and study them, if they had the plans. She stated, related to the earlier comment that was made, they couldn't put it out and just ask someone to give them a bunch of designs for that; it would be difficult unless they were going to do it as a competition and everybody got a stipend and then they would get some neat designs. She stated they could also couple the design build concept with the contractor because they would be absorbing the cost. She stated she believes a workshop would be best so they could look at the plans and the various options that would help them decide if they are going to expand and bring it up to FEMA Codes, etc. Mayor Borno asked if the original designs could be requested from the firm she worked for. She volunteered to call Gee and Jensen in Palm Beach to see if they have the plans. Mayor Borno stated he would get with her during the break and give her the City Manager's number so they can coordinate this. Mayor Borno stated they all agreed to look at Mayport Road and asked if they want to make that the first priority or do they want to evaluate the current building and make a decision about it and consider the second thing Mayport Road. It was the consensus of the Commission to determine the viability of renovating the existing building to meet code, as a first priority. They agreed to get the original plans and have a workshop to discuss. Melody Bishop explained that if what they want to do is to determine whether they can expand the building, they will need to discuss the ramifications and what would they do, what would it cost, how will people be phased, etc. She stated she will need the original structural drawings for the workshop. Mr. Hanson stated they need to get the plans and then tell Ms. Bishop what the needs are, have her look them over and then sit down and talk about whether they can do this and what kind of money they are talking about. Ms. Bishop stated she would be happy to do this to a certain point, as far as she can logically. Mayor Borno opened the Courtesy of the Floor to Visitors. Art Corsano, 2314 Ocean Walk Drive W., member of the police building committee, stated there are basically two options. He stated the committee recommended having another appraisal of the building done because that kicks in the Codes of how much renovation versus elevating the building. He stated he believes elevating the building is an impossible start and is economically unfeasible. He stated rather than building up they could expand in the area between the current building and the chamber building, up to 4,900 s.f. He stated building up on that building can also become cost prohibitive. He further discussed the option of Mayport Road. Minutes—City Commission Workshop January 14, 2012 Page 4 Lou Keith, 1845 Tierra Verde Drive, suggested having two locations, one for administration and one for patrol and ACOs. Mark Tomaski, 448 Snapping Turtle Court West, stated he believes doing this in a stepwise fashion is wonderful, you eliminate one piece next door and then move forward to Mayport Road. He also stated he likes the workshops. No one else from the audience spoke so Mayor Borno closed the Courtesy of the Floor to visitors. There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Borno declared the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Mike Borno Mayor Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk Minutes of Commission Agenda Briefing January 10, 2013 Present: Mayor Mike Borno, Mayor Pro Tem Maria Mark, Commissioners Carolyn Woods and Mark Beckenbach, City Manager Jim Hanson and Public Works Director Rick Carper Mayor Borno called the meeting to order at 3:05 pm. Subjects discussed included several items on the Agenda for the upcoming Commission meeting on January 14, 2013, as follows: 1. Commission Meeting: Januar 1� 4, 2013 • Reminder of Police Building Workshop scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm. A brief agenda for this meeting was distributed. • Item 4B - Surplus Property; Sludge Truck • Item 6A - Resolution for Sale of Candy Flavored Tobacco Products. A follow -up question was asked about the legal age required for purchase of both candy flavored nicotine products as well as other tobacco related products. The Commission requested that the group requesting the passage of the resolution is to be invited to the meeting Monday night. City Commissioners asked if the City Attorney could be ready to discuss the possibility of Atlantic Beach prohibiting the sale of candy flavored nicotine or tobacco products. One of the Commissioners read an article on the web about a similar ban in the City of Providence, RI and that and the City recently won a court challenge to that city's ordinance. • Item 8A - Grant Writing Assistance for Marsh Master Plan Ped Path Design • Item 8B - 911 Interlocal Agreement for Distribution of User Fees for the Dispatch Operation • Item 8C - Hazard Mitigation Grant for the Donner Sewer Rehabilitation Project • Item 9 - City Manager Report. Several items will be brought up by the City Manager at the meeting on 1/14/13 to include a review of the motion requesting staff to study the possibility of videotaping the City Commission meetings and posting those online. A second subject was brought up about an upcoming application deadline of the Florida Department of Transportation for grants funded through their "Safe Routes to Schools" Program. A third subject to be reported will be about the City's ability to utilize the website to conduct online citizen surveys. Last, the City Manager provided an overview of a proposed refinancing of bonds related to Fleet Landing that have been issued in the name of the City of Atlantic Beach. Fleet Landing representatives will be asking for commission approval at a future meeting. • Mayor Borno brought up the need to send a representative to a hearing that will be held on January 17th by the State Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee to consider a bill on pension reform. The Mayor noted that he would not be able to attend the meeting and wanted the City Commission to discuss sending the City Manager and possibly other Commission members in his place. 2. Staff resorts requested. The City Manager distributed a list of staff reports requested by the City Commission during calendar year 2012. (which is attached and made part of this Official Record as Attachment A) 3. Staff Report Format. The City Manager reported that the staff would soon be changing the format of the staff reports to add a heading to reflect the relationship of that item to the Commission's current strategic plan, if any. 4. Tipping Fee Issue. The City Manager made a brief report about the status of the tipping fee issue with the City of Jacksonville. 5. Future Workshops. A discussion was held about the possibility of scheduling future agenda briefing workshops. The Commission concluded that they wanted a workshop scheduled for Thursday, January 24 at 3 p.m. There was also a discussion about the possibility of amending the Commission's regular meeting schedule to use the second Monday evening of each month for a workshop rather than a regular meeting and have one regular meeting on the fourth Monday of each month. This is expected to be a topic of conversation at the next meeting. 6. Appeal on the Wolfson Rezoning Case. Commissioner Beckenbach brought up a concern about the City Commission not being consulted by the City Attorney before deciding to file an appeal of the Wolfson rezoning case. He felt that the City Commission should make the decisions on which cases to appeal and indicated that he would bring it up at the meeting on Monday night. 7. Visioning and strategic planning. Commissioner Woods said that she wanted to get back to the subject of a visioning study. A brief discussion was held about the possibility of doing online surveys as part of this study. She went on to say that she wanted to consider different options on how to do the strategic planning in upcoming months. The City Manager requested that she get with him to outline her thoughts and concerns. The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 5:14 pm. Mike Borno, Mayor ATTACHMENT A Studies & Reports Requested from Staff by Mayor and Commission in 2012 December 13, 2012 m Video taping of commission meetings, proposed agenda management software and improved/ expanded document access on city website; December 10 meeting ® Breakdown of total calls received by PD as reported in 3`d quarter report; November 26th meeting ® Water park; possible addition to Rose Park expansion; November 26th meeting ® Possible ped path extensions (other than Marsh Master Plan); November 26tH meeting ® Animal Shelter; possible addition of "runs" for dogs; November 26tH meeting • System to notify Mayor on dais of commissioners' having the floor and who is requesting to speak next; November 13th meeting • "Respect" statement and expansion of Mayor's instructions to speakers at meetings; November 13th workshop • Report on Use By Exceptions/ increasing conditions to improve looks of business areas/ going to 1 approval vs. 2; November 13th meeting • Policy recommendations for ordinance language on use of electronic devices in commission meetings; October 22nd meeting • Golf Course Feasibility Study; October 8th meeting • Report on contracting for ongoing services; cost to obtain bids, how to handle; October 8th meeting • Cost estimates for additional notifications proposed for publication for UBEs, waivers, other zoning changes; September 24th meeting • Study speeding on Aquatic Dr.; July 23`d meeting • Visioning Plan; develop scope, process to hire consultant, etc.; July 9th meeting • Pension funds rate of return; June 25th meeting • Early opening for Dutton Isle gate; cost, other issues; June 25th meeting • Allegation of misleading Police Building Committee; June 11th meeting • Police Building; various questions to staff; June 11th meeting • Traffic safety complaints East Coast at 3`d St.; May 29th meeting • Voting District alternatives; (one of several requests for possible reconfiguration of proposed options) May 14th meeting • Rose Park proposed expansion; April 23`d meeting • Crosswalks on FDOT roads; cost, funding; April 23`d meeting • Tennis court resurfacing; complaint about poor workmanship; April 9th meeting • History of FAR regulations; March 26th meeting • Bus stops on Mayport Rd. cost to maintain, other issues dealing w/ possible installation of new shelters by JEA; February 27th meeting • Robert St ditch; how to make improvements; February 27th meeting • Animal control staffing (should we reduce ?); January 9th meeting Atlantic Beach Town Hall Meeting January 5, 2013 Minutes City Commission Members present: Mike Borno, Mayor Maria Mark, Mayor Pro Tern Mark Beckenbach, Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty, Commissioner Carolyn Woods, Commissioner Approximately 56 Citizens attended The meeting was called to order at 10 :00 am by Mayor Borno. He welcomed the citizens and explained this was a visioning meeting and the format and welcomed their suggestions. Then turned the meeting over to Commissioner Maria Mark for a review of the past Town Hall Meeting issues and comments. Commissioner Mark welcomed everyone and gave a recap of the main categories discussed in the 2012 visioning Town Hall Meetings: Charter Review: Qualifying candidates, expanding commission, open government, interlocal agreement Safety: crosswalks, police station, substation, neighborhood watch programs water quality and animal control Pension concerns: Health benefits, leave time Environmental Aesthetics: Aquatic Gardens, power lines underground Community visioning: city mission statements, blighted areas, Mayport corridor enhancement, business corridor, Selva Marina, sense of community Communications: PR between city and citizens, community kiosks Atlantic Beach West: more funding for community improvements, Roberts ditch, Rose Park, bus routes west First St. landscaping, senior and underserved services Mayport Ferry: hot topic at the time hopefully found solutions for this Mayport Village: anniversary and Mayport Waterfront Partnership funding Community Block Grant funding: Francis Ave, flooding Senior Center, community events, Speed bumps. Canoe access. All this information was taken into account when we did our strategic planning and the purpose of today's meeting is to gather information on citizen concerns for our strategic planning workshops this spring. From the Town Hall Meetings we got these strategic goals, in no particular order: Union Negotiations Budget Pedestrian Community Visioning Page 1 of 11 IT Software Tipping Fee Police Building Marsh Master Plan. This visioning Process really helps set the goals for the city. Commissioner Mark introduced Karen Kempf, a retired Parks and Recreation employee, who will be writing down all the comments for everyone to see. Please sign in. This will be an informal conversational process, not about any specific topic and not just about the Police Station. It is about any and all of your visions for the City to become and what the Commission should focus on. The Mayor stated if anyone had time constraints they could speak first. Citizens Comments: Jessie Dattilo: Unfunded Liabilities what is the level now compared to a year ago. Has the unfunded liability gone up or down. Daugherty: Changes to plan now will take 10 to 15 years to really have an effect. Mayor: We are basically level. Mark we have not received our current levels for the year yet. Woods: The city is not in charge of Union investment funds. City has changed how we invest our cash funds and we are making much better interest on our investments that we control. We have a proposal on the table with the Unions at an impasse now. If our plan passes it will cost more in the beginning and will make significant improvements in the next 10 years. Mayor working with FL legislature to get relief from unfunded liabilities imposed on cities. Michael Flannigan: Concern is the Police Building and that the total cost of ownership is considered. Has life cycle analysis been done? Initial acquisition cost and then the EOC cost and is concerned with the communications and IT equipment that would go in the EOC; they are expensive and the cost of maintaining is exponential. Plus the cost of staff and pensions that go along with this. Is retired and it was his duty then, with the Coast Guard, and now with the Air Force to analyze need and recommend communications and IT. Lifetime costs are many times the initial cost. Citizens will have to fund the ongoing operations and upkeep, the feed and care of anything we build. The State and Federal Governments have more than enough equipment at our disposal we should use theirs at no cost to us and not purchase our own. Page 2 of 11 Cindy Anderson: Thanked the Commission for their service. Here because of the police building. She discussed actions taken and not taken with the police building. Current building overcrowded. Why? Because of IT equipment, evidence, a lot more police officers. Since 1987 went 18 to 29 officers. Our population in 1990 - 11,636; 2010 - 12,655 - down 1,000 from 10 years ago; 10% population growth, police force 50% growth. Why the disparity. We have had a period of good financial times is this why we hired so many? Do we really need them; our population is aging so less crime. Why so many officers? Need to ask why can't we store offsite in low cost location? Even secured storage would be cheaper than where it it. Don't just accept the need for new. Look at it hard, does it all need to be in one building. The numbers for proposals is too high too much money. Also affects the pension fund. Reduce total liability by reducing staff. Start at square one when looking at this. Daugherty: I love being in a city where citizens are asking for fewer officers. Outside forces create the need for more officers. Dutton Rd., Jacksonville Beach bars letting out at night. Atlantic Beach residents want to be safe; it is a government duty to keep them safe. We hired two COPS through Federal program in order to clean up the Mayport area. Do we want to keep them? Average citizen is happy to live with minimal crime in AB. We have cut back in the past budget, cut unfilled police positions. Anderson: Seems reasonable to have offices on our major roads due to drunk drivers. Did we hire 50 % more officers because we had 50% more crime. Borno: We like any other community have a drug problem, in all parts of town. These criminals move in and we need to be on top of it. What type and level of police services do we want for the city. Think about that and it will govern what we build. Anderson: If we need the force we have, then support them with an appropriate building. If problems are from Mayport Rd., why not put the facility there. Beckenbach: 4:30, Monday, January 14 we are having a Police Building workshop. Please come to this with your questions. Mark: This may be why the confusion about this meeting being about the Police Building. It is for the Commission to have discussion. Woods: Due to Sunshine laws need to have our discussions in public. As a Commission we have committed to once a month workshops and this is the first. I appreciate the question about what do we really want for services from our police force. We need to start there before we start the design. Bill Mayhew: Commission needs to continue to look for efficiency of scale especially with the police function. Should investigate consolidating force with Beach communities Page 3 of 11 or Jacksonville. Might save millions of dollars. Assuming it won't happen there is a good lot on Mayport Rd. for about $350,000; buy it and move on. Pensions - our unfunded liability has gone up to over $9 million and that is assuming an 8% return on investments, which just is not happening. Special magistrate hearing on Tuesday about the Pension negotiations impasse with the blue collar union. Commission has a great start by closing to new members but does not go near far enough. It is the existing plan and all of its benefits. It does not go far enough; the existing plan should be closed. City contributes 26% of salary to pension costs employees only pay about 6% this is not a fair balance. Not fair to taxpayers. If employees can't afford it and taxpayers can't afford it then you should get rid of it. National average is 35% cost of salary being paid for pension cost. Should be a reasonable goal. When you make a mistake common sense says try to correct it, if you can't afford past promises then you must adjust for the financial reality. Mitch Reeves: Main topic is Charter changes. I brought it up at last Town Hall meeting. First back to Police department as to why we have so many commanders, in FL for every 1,000 (meant to say 10,000 people) people it is 2.6 commanders. In AB we have three commanders, they are really only LT.s but the title gives them clout with other departments. Also we have a swelling population on a daily basis. I want to have Charter review of elected officials. Now, there are 5 seats one being Mayor with two seats and the Mayor up for election every 2 years. The latest . change to the Charter was to have elected officials with residency requirement. Sounds good but is a smoking mirror, because they live there but are not elected by that district. Should go to 7 seats each district elected by their district only, then have two at large commissioners elected by everyone; also the Mayor. Every two years you have 2 district members, the mayor and one at large seat running for office. So there would be 4 people running. This protects the taxpayers of Atlantic Beach because it scares me that three of you can control the city. It is harder to get four to agree. Should definitely have district seats voted by only people in that district. Woods: First we were not the Commission that voted in districting, the commission that was voted in at the time was against the districting and tried to repeal it. The current commission has worked very hard to bring in citizens comments and input to the process. Daugherty: It was done by referendum; Charter changes are up to a citizen vote. Respectfully, I disagree because 90% of what we do is for the entire city. Currently I am working on improving ped paths which is for the whole city. I pay attention to the whole city when I am out and I bring all issues I see to the City Manager. We are redoing Rose Park and so I do work on things particular to my neighborhood as well as the whole city. Reeves: Citizens should have the right to have real district representation like other cities do. By having more seats it would open the door to more people who are also qualified to run. Right now you have to wait 8 years to be able to run. Page 4 of 11 Linda Spenser Almeida: I have lived here for 10 years and in the beginning I could go in town and get a seat anywhere and knew people there every time. Now it's hard to get a seat and I see strangers. Do we have the right number of officers? I don't know but it is true there are a lot more people in our city. I like having the police be so prompt and reliable. Would like to see them walking more. Wants police force to have proper facilities but would like to see current facilities improved, if it can be, or maybe a substation. But please use due diligence, have to have the public involved. The more eyes and minds the better, there is a lot to be considered and well thought out. Wants better facilities and wants there to be a lot of constructive input. Louis Keith: Commission's hands are tied on the police pension by state law. I'm a retired federal law officer. Gave example of how the pension is calculated; showed that in Florida, law enforcement gets 95% of salary at retirement, plus C.O.L.A., plus social security. State officer makes almost 2 times the rate of a federal officer. Need to talk to the legislature to fix this basic problem. Who gets 90% - 100% of their salary when they retire? This needs to be fixed this is what is killing us with unfunded pension costs. The state dictates what we can and can't negotiate. Need to use common sense. Have 6,200 hundred households. They can't afford $9 million dollars (and growing) in unfunded liabilities. We need to get innovative; we have redundancy at the beach, officers, dispatch etc. Look at what services we can share. Borno: I'm not against pensions; people have a right to them. Pensions need to be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. The legislature needs to give us relief from unfunded mandates. The Florida League of Cities wants the State to get the legislators' attention on this subject. The pension is like a 30 year mortgage that must be paid; every time you make a change you pay for the next 30 years and so we are paying for adjustments made when times were good. We are chipping away at them this year more than others. We are trying to get relief but have to work within the system. Penny Kamish: Have had 3 home invasions in 15 years. The police have always been there. The most recent being "Bob ", who was apprehended at Seaplace where he went into another home. Long time officers are important. Because of our quirky roads, it is nice for them to be familiar with our community. Do we have the right amount? I think so because they are always there when I need them. Obviously, this affects our pension liability, the number of officers etc. In good faith, I don't think you can take away what you have given but can make changes going forward. With the federal money it is given for a period of time and then when the funding stops, do you stop the program or keep it up. Chief Classey took some heat for comparables (during the Police Building Committee study) but I think it was simply a case of not understanding the difference between the functions of those departments and our own. When we look at the EOC, when we need them it is during a storm, so it is not a good idea to stay at the beach. There are so many ways to be connected. We now have WEB Page 5 of 11 EOC. Yes have a conference room but don't put the equipment in there. The overhead and maintenance will eat you alive. The state radio system is available and then you won't have a conflict and will be able to communicate to all involved. We have so many facilities that would be at our disposal there is no need to build a designated facility with all of the overhead costs. Also agree with Almeida that the more eyes the better!!! Multiple eyes and multiple disciplines are best. Our facilities do need to be improved, I'm glad the City has been saving for this but don't want to overspend. Separate facilities for storage may not be as convenient but could be the right decision. Expansion, may be needed but it does not need to go out it could go up. There is limited space in Russell Park we don't have adequate parking. Also with the presence, Mayport Rd. seems to have the most problems. Beautification efforts should include community sweat equity. It doesn't matter if it is east or west it is the buy in for community support. Daugherty: Thank you for your comments. I question why people keep saying we need somewhere to be after a disaster. In my experience from disaster relief there are police departments from everywhere. FEMA comes in and takes over. It would be a while before we would be able to come in and take over. We have a mobile command center here in AB. This is kind of a red herring with the police building. We do not really need a command center. Woods: If something happens and the City is not completely leveled we need somewhere to be. But information is moving to the cloud and if we can get our IT upgraded we will have all this information and capability to run the city in the cloud and won't need the physical facilities immediately. Steve Kallao: Seems like we are driving off the police - building cliff. I sent some information about the existing building and FEMA regulations. Please let me know if you have any questions about it. For the meeting on January 14th we should start with taking items off the table that just won't work and maybe back into a solution. I like Carolyn's suggestion to examine police procedure. It seems it is all boiling down to square footage and we should assume a $300 per square foot to start but you never know what you are going to run into during construction. Nancy Whittington: Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Thank you for not raising our property taxes. 2013 will be tough enough thanks to the feds. Main concern is how City finances are managed. We have a small tax base so your decisions make a big difference. We just want to make sure we are getting a good value for our dollar, whether it is the police building or beach cleaning. It seems that since we are still talking about the police building, the current process is not working for you. It is not at the top of the strategic plan, it is not in the budget and there has been a big public outcry to not build it. Let the processes work and maybe the police building should be considered later. There are a lot of smart people in the community. Engage with the citizens and get more input. Questions should be asking; Why do we have the most expensive government at the Page 6of11 beaches? $2,879 per person, does that make sense? Police $944 per citizen I know this is a hard way to look at it but communities everywhere are working in collaboratives we should consider this. Share resources and come up with better ideas. Find the middle grounds. St Augustine beach was able to cut their police budget in half. Does this Commission have the courage to take a closer look at the employees who answer directly to the Commission and have a clear plan for them, public reviews. Have heard good ideas about looking at the police building. Corporations have made changes with furniture and other things to improve the use of space, we should too. Again the true needs are the first step. Looking at all of the information, which took hours to get, there needs to be a better way to have information available. Please take a hard look at city finances and management of those finances. Come up with good solutions. John November: This is great. Some people think public input is bad but it is awesome. The more eyes on the project the better. We are stagnant as a city right now but things going well are improvements at Rose Park. It is the entry to the core of this part of our city. The citizens really want a water feature. Do it over time if you need but have the vision to make it happen. Improvements on the marsh have been awesome. The pier, kayak landing etc. need more improvements there, need public input. Marsh Master Plan calls for connecting Tide Views and Dutton Island we have a beautiful resource here and it is time to invest in it and have the vision to make this resource a source of pride for the City. Focus on planning first, if we can't get grants we need to commit to spending the money. Sunset Pier has made the area safer and so will more improvements. We need to acquire more property along the preserve as we can. This is first priority because if we don't acquire them for conservation they will be gone. The future Benet's landing beautiful piece of marsh land, make it a top initiative. We need to come together as a community. Marsh Fest will be every other year. I appreciate the staff, they have been amazingly supportive. Police station vision, I was born here, I love old AB the architecture, the police building looks good, if possible, incremental expansion would be good. There is room to expand up and out in the current location. I have been working with an architect on a plan. The coolest thing about it will be a porch on top that overlooks the park. Sally Clemens: I hate to follow John November. Wants to change the Charter to require more proof of citizenship from candidates for office. Also times we can take our garbage out is 6:00 in Charter (actually in the ordinance); it needs to be earlier. Pat Craft: Also born in AB was here during the war. About the Police Station if we need a Sally port and three holding cells we do not put something like that near our park where our children play. If we have that dangerous of criminal in this facility in this community, we do not put them by our children! We protect our children! Louis Keith: Just FYI - 97% arrested in Duval County are taken directly to Duval County jail. In St. John's county 100% taken directly to county jail. Page 7 of 11 Mark Tomaski: Thank you for holding these Town Hall meetings. I have never seen this level of participation. It is good. I do like the idea of looking at what we want in policing. Wish we had more of the COPS program; popular with citizens and the police. It works well that they have a connection with the community. Policing is the real issue not the building. Don't know how we got to a 14,000 s.f. Police Building plan. It is too large. Improving the station is necessary. Have seen the existing and it is a mess but that part is because of leadership. We need to take care of what we have first and then look at what we need. There is no support for a large building. Start with policing and taking care of what we have. There is support for a facility that provides a comfortable workspace. Also need a better entry with a quiet space to conduct your work, interview people. We need to put in some money and a sizeable amount but not $5m. I am a proponent of videotaping and increasing the access to information. It can be compared to a library and I wish our access to information was easier. This morning I was late because I was watching our City Manager being interviewed via video streaming in Port Orange. We used to be the leader of the three cities at the Beach and I'd like us to be that way again. Workshops don't have to be a pain. You get things done when you have them, you are thinking being creative, working together. Then you have your meetings and it is completely different. Should try the method Neptune Beach uses, one workshop a month, one voting meeting a month. Could have 7 commissioners, don't know how you would get them to agree but it could be good. Should consider having the 4 district representatives voted strictly from their district plus 2 at large plus the Mayor voted on at large. When you have three people in lock step over a period of time it is not necessarily the best for the city. Thank you for having the town meetings. Steve Fouraker: Really like the idea of video streaming. It is very important for our government to be accessible to our community and people can't make it to the meetings. Howell Park needs attention, it is being forgotten; it needs planting and cleaning to make it the natural place it is suppose to be. Years ago we had a drainage problem in the core city. The first engineer's plan would have leveled Howell Park and made it a reservoir with a clear view from Sherry Rd. to Seminole Rd. Johansson Park would have been leveled and we would not have Arts in The Park like we do. The Citizens rose up and demanded better even though the Commission had decided. That citizens committee led by Borno, did a very good job, but they worked through the ideas. After that we hired another group of engineers. They presented another overdesigned plan that was too expensive and would not work. Thank God for Mayor Shaughnessy who tenaciously led the fight against that plan. Then there was a new committee chosen and we had a consultant, Terri Whitehead, who facilitated the meetings and out of that we got the inverted crown that saved all the trees and has worked fine. Cost less, works fine. No curb and gutter. This brings me to the police building. We had one committee, they worked fine. I never thought they were to come up with the one design. I thought they were going to come up with options. Somehow the idea came up that their plan would be it and feelings got hurt. They had a limited scope to look at and were not necessarily given good information. So Page 8 of 11 when I look at the process and when I hear someone say we just have to get it done, that is not the way to go. Today we have heard a good beginning to look at what we really need. We don't need to wait for the next Mayor, you are capable people. Just got to get it done is a prescription for making a big mistake. Get experts from around the State and maybe even a new committee. I hope our meetings, I know and care for all of you, let's make these meetings different and make sure staff is acting as staff and working for you to come up with a good solution in a civilized manner. Michael Hoffmann: I have been in favor for many years of televising the meetings; live streaming is a good alternative. These town meetings have been great, learn something every time. I know it is a lot of effort and I really appreciate it. The live streaming would be good. Website needs better phone numbers for each department. Police Station was advertised as the primary concern and I agree that storage is an issue. We do need holding cells. I'm concerned too many of our youth are being hauled downtown for minor things. The guy that breaks into your house, yes, take them but we need an in between step for our youth so they are not over penalized, they don't need to be criminalized. Mr. Hatfield did a great job with the COPS program and I think we need to keep it. I'd like to see the Police Station on Mayport Rd. and the substation here. Leave the fire station here. I'm not in favor of Taj Mahal but I'm in favor of the basics as they have been outlined; evidence storage and protection, holding cells and sufficient working space. Haven't heard anything about the drainage ditch in the Donner area. Last I heard the City Manager was supposed to look into how Neptune Beach got DOT to pay for theirs and we can't. It is a long overdue problem and I would like to see movement on that. I am a long -time proponent of representative government. I think the citizens committee that resulted in the referendum on representative districts shows that the citizens have a lot of collective knowledge and good judgment. I think the 4 districts should have a direct election so they are not diluted by votes outside of the district. And that's why I would oppose the extra two at large representatives. Because then we would basically be back right where we were. Penny Camish: Thanks to all of you, it has been interesting to watch over the years. I look at all of you and may not always agree but feel you are all doing your research. I can appreciate that you take the time to research and make the best decision for the community. Not to take away from Mr. Hanson, but it seems after a certain time staff may be able to move things in the direction they want. I wish him well in his interviews in Port Orange. Not that he is a bad guy but he has maybe gotten used to getting his way. It may be good to get a fresh start. We do have a very talented community. Mitch Reeves: About the Police Station I think everyone agrees we need to do something. There is a Murray gas station right in front of our pump station on Mayport Rd. Can staff contact them and maybe they would donate and yes we would have to clean it up but they Page 9 of 11 might donate to get out of the liability. Discussion ensued as to where exactly the Hess Gas station is, if it is in City limits or not. Greg Selby: Need to get those medians out of the middle of Mayport Rd. so the police and the fire can get around. Melody Bishop: I am the architect that designed the existing police and fire station. At the time they wanted to save money, be very efficient with the design, existing building that was there. It is exciting to hear this much enthusiasm in the community and to hear all the ideas. Buildings are like your kids, so I have been following this debate for a while. I could quickly look at it and determine if you can go up two floors. The suggestion to add incrementally could be a good idea. The design criteria has changed sense the original design. Policing is more community friendly than it might have been then. I would be happy to volunteer to look at it with you. Beckenbach: Steve Kallao gave us information with criteria and regulations from FEMA, that limit our options. Lance Wolfson was showing options for incremental design, as far as the wind loads etc. We could go up, but the cost would be too high. It would require tearing down the whole thing. I am interested in talking to you about options. We do have the plans for the building. Bishop: My husband and I are involved in the community and would like to help. Atlantic Beach is our treasure here in NE Florida. Clyde Bradley: Mayport Rd is not the dividing line. Sailfish Drive is. We are not treated the same as other parts of the City. Example, Saratoga Circle had a speeding problem. I came to the City Commission and the police department twice. It was so bad the lady on the curve had to put cones out to protect her kids. A lot of people don't like to complain so I called the police department. A police officer came out to investigate and only talked to that one person. The police said go out and knock on the doors. I said it was the police's job not mine. There was one person who was the problem, who drove a white trans am, who usually did it when they leave in the morning. Not hard to figure out or do something about. I'd love to see direct representation. Daugherty: There is a small neighborhood with speed humps, how do you feel about that. Borno: The issue is the speeder; you don't redesign the whole neighborhood for one speeder. Bradley: In our street the speed limit is 25 but in all the other neighborhoods it is 20. Have called police and Mike Borno but nothing so far. If that happened over here they would get results. I never called Woods because I didn't want to put anymore burden on Page 10 of 11 her shoulders with all the grief she has gotten from other Commissioners and Mayors over time. We need a lot of things in this town before we get a water park. Need to concentrate on sidewalks, safety items. I came up with the idea for sidewalks when Beaver was here. He made it happen his last year. Daugherty: We have made sidewalks a priority and dedicated more funds. Bradley: Good because we need sidewalks on both sides of Seminole Rd. for the kids going to school. Daugherty: Next Agenda I have an item to create a survey for the citizens on line. Want to make sure staff does not create the survey. Want to know what you think we should ask. We need to do something broader where we can have 2 -3,000 responses. Bomo: This should never be an opportunity to beat up on staff. They have their responsibilities and we have our own. Linda Almeida: People don't seem to be aware of all the services on our website. They can register a complaint or a compliment and so many other things. Need the positive question on the survey; What service person helped you and how? Karen Kempf. Recreation page also has their phone number. Mayor Borno adjourned the meeting at 12:23 p.m. Carolyn Woods Commissioner Page 11 of 11 Mike Borno Mayor