Loading...
4-28-14 Workshop MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP OF ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER ON APRIL 28,2014 City Commission Members present: Mayor Carolyn Woods Mayor Pro Tem Mark Beckenbach Commissioner Jimmy Hill Commissioner Maria Mark City Commission Members absent: Commissioner Jonathan Daugherty Staff present: Nelson Van Liere, City Manager Richard Komando, City Attorney Donna Bartle, City Clerk Nancy Bailey, Recording Secretary Call to order. The meeting, which was held for the purpose of discussing the agenda items for the Commission Meeting of May 12, 2014, was called to order at 6:31 p.m. by Mayor Woods. She stated she would assume that Commissioner Daugherty is hung up in traffic and will be here as soon as he can be. She stated she was going to move Items 8A-8D up since there were people in the audience for these items. Item 8A was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time. 8A. Public Hearing- UBEX-14-00100010- Request from American Well and Irrigation for use-by- exception as permitted by Section 24-111 (c) (6), to allow contractors, not requiring outside storage in the Commercial General (CG) Zoning District on property located at 1651 Mayport Road. Redevelopment and Zoning Coordinator Jeremy Hubsch summarized his staff report for the use-by- exception, showing various slides of the site. He stated this was the former location of Christy Plumbing. He explained the Community Development Board recommendations, also shown on a slide. He stated the applicants were here to answer questions. Mr. Hubsch answered questions from the Commission. Joe Conselice, Owner, American Well & Irrigation, answered questions from the Commission. Mr. Conselice stated he was agreeable to the conditions requested by the Community Development Board. Commissioner Hill stated he wanted the recommendation removed regarding limiting the number of vehicles allowed. He also spoke in favor of the chain link fence. Discussion about the chain link fencing ensued. Mayor Woods explained to the applicant that no decisions would be made tonight since this was a workshop. Item 8B was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time. 8B. Request for a Waiver from City Code Section 19-7 Driveway Limitations to Allow a Thirty Foot Driveway at 436 Beach Avenue. Public Works Director Rick Carper showed a slide of the preexisting conditions before the development took place showing the 20' wide driveway and indicating where they want to put the new 30' driveway using pervious pavers. He stated the developer was here if they have questions. There was no discussion from the Commission. Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 2 Item 8D was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time. 8D. Approval of City Sanitation Contract Modification and Extension. Public Works Director Rick Carper explained that at the February meeting the Commission approved extending the contract and authorized the City Manager and him to meet with Advanced Disposal to modify the contract as necessary. He summarized his staff report explaining the contract. He passed out pamphlets of the new plastic dumpsters that will replace what they currently have, stating they are quieter and don't rust. Mayor Woods asked if our commercial businesses recycle and was that a consideration in this contract. Mr. Carper stated commercial recycling under State law is an open market. He stated they can't require them to recycle; but the businesses are allowed to contract with anyone they want if they want to recycle. Brad Gardner of Advanced Disposal answered questions from the Commission. Mr. Carper stated the hauler will replace their entire primary collection fleet by the end of 2018. He further stated, after the staff report was sent to the Commission, they received a five- page letter from Bill Redman giving a summary of the contract explaining what our financial benefit is. He stated he will make sure a copy gets to the Commission before the next meeting. Item 8C was taken out of sequence and acted on at this time. C. Sailfish Drive Storm Sewer Point Repair. Public Works Director Rick Carper summarized his staff report showing a slide of the areas with the stormwater pipe leaks. He answered questions from the Commission. WORKSHOP-ONLY ITEMS: 1. Proclamation for Public Service Recognition Week. Mayor Woods read the Proclamation in its entirety proclaiming the week of May 4-10, 2014 as Public Service Recognition Week. *DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS ON MAY 12,2014 COMMISSION MEETING: 1. A. Approve the minutes of the Regular Commission Meeting of April 14, 2014. B. Approve the minutes of the Commission HRO Workshop of March 12, 2014. C. Approve the minutes of the Community Meeting for the Multi-Use Path of March 19, 2014. D. Approve the minutes of the Special Called Meeting of March 24, 2014. E. Approve the minutes of the Commission Workshop of March 24, 2014. Commissioner Hill stated there was a consensus given at one of the meetings that they would not record the HRO Workshop. He stated, in the future, when there is an issue of that importance he would like to call for a vote for a consensus so they are sure, because he believes there was some confusion on that issue. Mayor Woods stated anytime he would like a roll vote he can speak up and they can decide. 2. Courtesy of Floor to Visitors Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 3 A. Proclamation Declaring Saturday, May 17, 2014 as National Kids to Park Day. 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetings A. City Manager's Follow-up Report. City Manager Van Liere stated Chief Mike Classey has been working with the consultants on the Police Building and they will have a fee proposal to us by Friday and if it is acceptable they will proceed. He stated it doesn't need to come back to the Commission since they already received approval up to a certain amount; he just wanted to let them know where it was at. He thanked everyone for the budget input. He stated it gave him a lot to work with. 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 and Financial Report for March 2014. B. Approve the 90-Day Calendar(May—July) for the Mayor and Commission. C. Authorize the City Manager to sign the two-year audit agreement extension engagement letter for services with Purvis, Gray& Company. D. Extend the contract with R& D Landscape & Irrigation for one year at the rate of$55,620.00 for Streets and $63,489.00 for Parks for a total cost of$119,109.00. E. Authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement for the Hazard Mitigation Grant for Donner Subdivision Sewer Upgrade. Mayor Woods read the consent agenda. Commissioner Beckenbach asked about the 90-day calendar. Mr. Van Liere explained the calendar is for staff to set the dates for the meetings they know they are going to have and any alternative meetings they want to add to the basic calendar. He stated for each will be the topic, time, place and whether it is to be recorded and the format for the meeting. He stated the 90-day calendar allows the Commission to see what is coming in advance and being on every consent agenda they will have a chance to say whether they can make a meeting. He stated what he is asking is that they come to the meeting with their calendars and if someone wants to change a date, they will pull that item off the consent agenda, make a motion to move or add a date, etc. He stated in the staff report each month they will have a bullet list of the items added to the calendars. He stated this way they won't have the problems of whether they are going to record the meetings, how the floor will be set up, etc. He stated he believes by them adopting the calendar each month, it will solve these problems. Commissioner Beckenbach suggested using the Google calendar. Mr. Van Liere stated they could use those tools to allow them to put the calendar together but he believes it is also good for the public to see what is coming and it is very easy to flip through these three pages and see what is coming. Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 4 Commissioner Hill questioned whether the contract with R&D was from the conversation they had during the budget workshop about increasing it and does it reflect the increased number. Mr. Van Liere stated this is for the current level of services. Mr. Carper explained this item is just for the existing contract, covering the parks, Atlantic Blvd. and Mayport Road medians, the areas they currently maintain. He stated he strongly recommends that we extend the contract; they are very responsive, do a very good job, and we get a lot of compliments about our parks they maintain. He stated it is the same price it has been for the last three years. Commissioner Beckenbach asked about the extension for Purvis Gray. He stated he doesn't know what the policy is as far as continuing with the same firm on a regular basis. He asked if after the two years, would the City be required to go with another company. Mr. Van Liere explained they have to form an audit selection committee and the existing auditor is able to partake. He stated there are two schools of thought. One is if you change out then you get a new set of eyes, a fresh look from a different perspective. He stated the alternative is, if you stay with the existing firm, they know your business better than anyone; they have already been through your books, they know what looks normal and not normal and if you want to insist that you have a fresh set of eyes, you can have the partner assign different staff to it and accomplish the same thing. He stated some cities require that you rotate, others see the value in keeping the same one. He explained the auditors don't just audit our books, they have a lot of knowledge about our operation. He stated they know the history for so many years on how our revenues are tracking and so they have a lot of insight when they look at the numbers and a new firm would have to start from scratch. He stated when you bring in a new firm, it is a lot of extra work on the staff. Commissioner Beckenbach asked, for a city that is looking at a change, is it a six-year period that they would change out. Mr. Van Liere stated that seemed typical and they did four plus two, which is typical, and that allowed them to change after four if the service wasn't what they desired. He stated they have been excellent, so he sees no reason not to do the extra two. Commissioner Beckenbach asked if, at the end of the two-year period, there will be an audit committee that will get together and then the firm will be able to apply. Mr. Van Liere stated he is pretty sure the existing firm can participate in that, but either way the committee will be formed and they will go through the process. 5. Committee Reports Mayor Woods stated tomorrow night will be the inaugural meeting of the Charter Review Committee in the Chamber at 5:00 p.m. She asked if it would be videotaped. City Attorney Komando stated he had no issue with it just being audiotaped. He stated he anticipates there will be a good amount of very helpful conversation that he believes the public would want to review. Mayor Woods asked if there were any other rules or regulations concerning this committee they should be aware of. Mr. Komando stated it is standard for any appointed board or commission where they are required to meet in the sunshine. He stated they will need to appoint a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. He stated they will discuss the different roles and keeping minutes and will also discuss the Sunshine Laws. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Hill asked if the Commission can sit in on the meetings. Mr. Komando stated he believes they can but the statute forbids them from participating because the recommendations from the committee will come back before the Commission. He stated he would advise against discussing any of the matters. Mayor Woods asked if that includes private discussions with anyone on the committee; is she allowed to call up anyone and say, hey, have you guys considered this; are they allowed to make comments like that. Mr. Komando stated, no, discussing something with the committee is open to the Sunshine, because it is some business that will come before the Commission at a later time. Mayor Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 5 Woods stated she just wanted to make all of this very clear before they get going; they are strictly observers. 6. Action on Resolutions A. RESOLUTION NO. 14-04 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH RENAMING DONNER PARK COMMUNITY CENTER IN ATLANTIC BEACH THE "GAIL BAKER COMMUNITY CENTER". Mayor Woods read the resolution by title, stating the ceremony will be held May 13 at 4:00 p.m. 7. Action on Ordinances A. Ordinance No. 5-14-61,Introduction and First Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE II, CITY COMMISSION, SEC. 2-16, TIME AND PLACE OF REGULAR MEETINGS, TO PROVIDE FOR TWO (2) REGULAR MEETINGS PER MONTH EXCEPT FOR DECEMBER, CHANGING THE TIME TO 6:00 PM, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Woods read Ordinance No. 5-14-61 by title. City Manager Van Liere summarized his staff report and explained his proposals for a solution related to the ordinance. Commissioner Hill stated he had no problem with 99% of this but would like to see the meeting go to 7:00 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m., explaining his reasons. Mr. Van Liere stated if Commissioner Hill believes he is doing staff a favor by making it go to 7:00 p.m., they would rather grab a quick bite, get the meeting over with and get back to their families. He stated he believes they would rather get home earlier in the evenings because they have to go to work at 8:00 a.m. the next morning. Mayor Woods stated, also, the Commission has control over the order of the agenda so if they know there is an item that people would want to be there for,they could hold it until later in the meeting. Mr. Van Liere answered questions from the Commission about the proposed new deadlines/scheduling for the agenda. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Mark stated it doesn't matter to her either way and she does understand the stress on staff. Commissioner Beckenbach stated when they talked about this previously, staff said they could not give the amount of time prior; or they would not have gone to a workshop. He stated they were trying to get the agenda packet on the Tuesday before the meeting and he was told it would be very difficult to have it on Tuesday and now Mr. Van Liere is saying that it is not going to be only Tuesday, it will be at least the Thursday before. He stated his concern is the citizenry is really who is the most important along with what the Commission has to review. He stated he hears what Mr. Van Liere is saying but he is not sure if he understands how he is going to work this or if it is realistic. Mr. Van Liere stated he has talked with the people who do the reports and a lot with Donna Bartle and they believe they can do this and that it will be an improvement to have that information out there earlier. Commissioner Beckenbach stated, from his standpoint, he wants to make sure they have that exposure and that they do get the Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 6 agenda at least ten days before and that it won't start slipping to the point that they get it on that Thursday or Friday before the meeting, without exposure to the citizenry, and they go back to the same thing. Further discussion ensued. Commissioner Hill reiterated he would not mind trying this. He stated he watched the other system for many years work real well, then he saw the changes and saw the advantage to that. He stated he believes this hybrid of it, where they can plug in a workshop, might be a solution that hasn't existed. Mayor Woods clarified, currently, if the Commission meeting is going to be on a Monday, then the agenda items are due two Fridays before that Monday meeting and then the agenda would be put together on Monday and supposedly they would get it on Tuesday or Wednesday. She stated now for a meeting to be on a Monday, then the due date for agenda items would be three Fridays before the meeting date, instead of two Fridays before. She stated then staff would start putting it together on Monday and the goal would be to get it out on Wednesday. Mr. Van Liere stated it could be anywhere from Wednesday to Friday. Ms. Bartle stated she would hope that staff already knows what they are planning to put on the agenda back at that 3`d Friday to meet that deadline and that they would only fall back on adding more stuff if there was something that was of an emergency that had to come up on that next meeting or if something comes out of the Commission meeting and one of the Commissioners feel like they need to put something on that very next meeting. She stated then she would have to have a new deadline for something like that to be added, otherwise, she would just want to go ahead and finish that agenda. She stated she would like to hear that by Tuesday that they would at least need to tell her that they are working on something and would be able to give it to her by Wednesday. She stated otherwise she will just go with the agenda and assume nothing is coming in new. Mayor Woods stated right now it is three Fridays before the meeting, unless special circumstances come up at the Commission meeting and they can address it at that point. She stated then they aim for having the agenda out on the Wednesday. Ms. Bartle stated one reason she thought about the Friday was in case they did need more time to get something out and also if they were able to prepare the minutes and get them in the packet. She stated if minutes are not a concern for them, they will at least be able to go in two weeks later, which is better than what it is now. Mayor Woods stated they can aim for Wednesday and see how it works and if extenuating circumstances keep coming up and it is always Thursday or Friday then they can address that at that time. She stated she likes having those two days to think about it and make phone calls immediately when you see it, because if you get it on Friday and read it and then come Monday you forget some of those immediate questions. She asked if everyone is OK with this. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Beckenbach stated it sounds as though there is a consensus to go ahead and attempt to work with it. He stated he, personally, doesn't really mind what they are doing now. He believes this is the first time they have had a small agenda that has actually worked relatively well. He stated he believes they are moving along in the right way right now and would like to continue to do it, but if it turns out that he is in the minority then he will work with the Commission in any way. Commissioner Hill stated staff hasn't asked them for much, there has been a lot of change and a lot of new ground covered by staff and there has been a lot of stress on them. He stated he wouldn't mind giving them the leeway to try it. He stated they can certainly go back immediately if it created a Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 7 dilemma, but he wouldn't mind giving it a shot. He stated there were some other things that were done that were long overdue that seemed to have really had an immediate effect and this might be one of those things. Mayor Woods asked if the Commissioners had any comments about the 6:00 start time. Commissioner Mark stated she supports changing it to 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Hill stated he will go with what everybody else feels. Commissioner Beckenbach stated he understands that staff is here for a full day. Mayor Woods stated if they change it to 6:00 p.m., as she stated previously, they can adjust the agenda so if there is an important issue they can wait until 7:00 or 7:30 until people have a chance to show up before they discuss it. Commissioner Beckenbach stated it usually ends up being 6:15 after the minutes, etc. anyway, and they can move important things to the back. He stated it is fine, he is not going to make it a big deal. Mayor Woods stated so it sounds like 6:00 p.m. Commissioner Hill asked if they can ask Commissioner Daugherty at the next meeting since it is coming up for discussion one more time. Mr. Van Liere asked the City Attorney if they fiddle with the time between the two readings, is that a material change that would cause it to have to go back to first reading. Mr. Komando stated no. 8. Miscellaneous Business A. Public Hearing- UBEX-14-00100010- Request from American Well and Irrigation for use-by- exception as permitted by Section 24-111 (c) (6), to allow contractors, not requiring outside storage in the Commercial General (CG) Zoning District on property located a at 1651 Mayport Road. This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting. B. Request for a Waiver from City Code Section 19-7 Driveway Limitations to Allow a Thirty Foot Driveway at 436 Beach Avenue. This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting. C. Sailfish Drive Storm Sewer Point Repair. This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting. D. Approval of City Sanitation Contract Modification and Extension. This item was taken out of sequence and acted on earlier in the meeting. 9. City Manager A. City Manager's Report. None. 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney Commissioner Mark Reminded the Commission about the FLC dinner/meeting being hosted by the Beaches on May 14 at Casa Marina. She stated it has been tradition that the elected officials try to get donations for door Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 2014 Page 8 p ' prizes to be given away at the end of the dinner. She stated it would be great if they had 100% participation, including the City Attorney, City Manager and City Clerk. Reported the Beaches Watch meeting on May 7 at 7:00 p.m. will have a report from the Consolidated Task Force put together by Bill Gulliford. She stated they did not have any next step for the HRO after the last workshop, so she will bring that up at the next meeting to discuss. She stated she is hoping that they will be close to having some kind of ordinance to introduce very soon and will discuss it with Mr. Komando. She believes they are getting closer to finalizing the language for that ordinance and wants to continue to move that forward. Mayor Woods asked if she has a date in mind for when they get to the calendar item. She suggested either she or the City Manager email it out to everyone and he can get it on that calendar. Mr. Van Liere stated since they haven't started this process yet, they don't have all of the Commissioners' availabilities loaded up into anything so they will have to do the best they can one more time to get this calendar thing working. He asked that they get with Yvonne Calverley. Commissioner Hill Asked, because of the nature of the HRO and that they keep getting conflicting responses from what appear to be very qualified experts on both sides of the issue, is there a mechanism in place where they could plug in the two leading speakers, the one who provided the legal background for Equality Florida and the attorney, Roger Gannam, who provided some of the constitutional questions. He stated he wants to hear from both of them again before they go too much further with this because, if anything, the federal question was muddied more during the last workshop. He stated it is definitely not a clear issue and he keeps getting more information from both sides. He stated they are both truly experts and both have a strong opinion and asked if there would be the possibility during one more workshop for the Commission to hear from both of them again. Mayor Woods stated she thinks if they had some specific questions or something. Commissioner Hill stated he had questions for both sides but there was no mechanism to ask them during the last proceeding we had. Commissioner Mark stated she believes, particularly for Commissioner Hill's benefit, that he should write down what his questions are so they can be addressed. She stated she believes it would be helpful for the entire Commission and Mr. Komando, if he could write his questions down and send them to Mr. Komando ahead of time. Mr. Komando stated he is also welcome to contact either of the experts on his own. Commissioner Hill stated he was being kind on the confusion part; he believes some of the confusion is in general and, to be honest, the question is a constitutional issue. He stated he is not confused at all about it; he clearly understands it. He stated he just wants more. He stated he doesn't want to go hours and let both people have the floor for an hour at a time. Commissioner Mark stated if he is doing this mainly as a public gesture and truly already knows the answers to his questions, that is one thing. She stated if he really doesn't know the answers or doesn't have clarity on those answers, then that is another thing. Commissioner Hill stated a fair approach would be to give equal time to both issues. He stated it just seemed kind of wasteful to have both those really qualified experts in the room and have one minute from each of them on such an important issue. Commissioner Mark stated again, if he has specific questions or areas that he wants clarified, either for the benefit of the public or for the benefit of you or the Commission, for expediency she would strongly suggest that he have them in writing and send them to the two so they can have time to prepare, including Mr. Komando since he is the one who will be ultimately drafting the ordinance. Commissioner Hill stated, as much as he appreciates that, he is probably not going to write them; he will do them in an open format because he doesn't want to leave something out that develops during the meeting. Mayor Woods stated it does help to give staff and the enommonnumw Minutes—City Commission Workshop April 28,2014 Page 9 experts time to gather their information rather that pulling it out of their hip, so any specific questions he could have written down would be good and as the conversation develops, it develops. Commissioner Hill stated he understands, as long as he is not limiting the process. Mayor Woods Related to the dinner/meeting for Florida League of Cities, she wanted to let anyone out there with a business know if they want to donate something for a door prize, please just bring it to City Hall or give any of the Commissioners a call. She stated this is good exposure for your company. COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS Chris Jorgensen, 92 W 3rd Street, stated time and money spent on the HRO is not justification to continue. Mayor Woods stated she believes everyone on the Commission was able to meet today with the search firm looking for the City Manager. She stated she asked Mr. Baenziger what the next step was and he said they will create a beautiful brochure and put out an RFP. She stated she just wanted to let everyone know the process is moving right along. Commissioner Mark stated he will also meet with staff next week. Adjournment There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Woods declared the meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Carolyn Woods Mayor .Le„, Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk *Formal action(if needed)will be taken at the Commission Meeting of April 14,2014.