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Item 1C - 3-7-16 Workshop MinutesMINUTES OF WORKSHOP OF AGENDA ITEM# lC MARCH 28, 2016 ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD ON MARCH 7, 2016 PRESENT: Mayor Mitchell E. Reeves Commissioner Jimmy Hill Commissioner Blythe Waters ALSO: Nelson VanLiere, City Manager Cathy Berry, Human Resources Director Call to order. Mayor Reeves called the meeting to order at 6:00p.m. in the North Conference Room. Mayor Reeves explained the reason for the meeting. He asked the visitors to state their names and addresses. In attendance were Brenna Durden, of Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A., 245 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville and Chris Jorgensen, 92 W. 3rd Street. Mayor Reeves distributed packets of information, including the past two City Attorneys' contracts, to the Commissioners and clarified they are not here to discuss picking the attorney. He stated he expects that they will look at both candidates at the Special Called Commission meeting tomorrow night and make a decision as a Commission and then have the City Manager negotiate with them about contract pricing. He stated following that they will bring back the contract to the meeting on March 14. He explained he had asked staff to contact the League of Cities to see what other cities our size are paying their attorneys. He stated the basic thing is, how many hours does the City use the attorney. He stated we are no longer paying the attorney for insurance claims issues. He asked that the Commissioners think about what they can pay the attorney and the value and do they want to go to value. He stated the value right now that they are budget for is $8,000 (per month). Commissioner Waters stated they need to decide whether they want to pay an upfront retainer plus hourly. Discussion ensued. Ms. Berry explained the chart showing the other cities' payments to their attorneys. Mr. Van Liere further explained his chart on the City's history of legal expenses going back to 2011 and how the fees were billed. Further discussion ensued. Commissioner Hill stated, when staff is negotiating the contract with the selected party, they need to assure the attorney understands that Atlantic Beach has come into a potential growth phase, especially along Atlantic Blvd. and we are trying to buy legal protection for. the process. He stated the legal playing field has changed dramatically in the last few years and he believes the Commission needs to look at current best case data and try and be real world today. Discussion ensued. Mayor Reeves stated, as Ms. Durden is here, that he would ask Ms. Berry to also make sure the other law firm knows that on their presentation tomorrow night that the Mayor is not looking for them to be changing prices; that is another phase. Ms. Berry stated Mr. Krechowski already submitted his presentation for tomorrow night. Mayor Reeves stated he would rather wait until the firm is chosen and then negotiate pricing. AGENDA ITEM# lC MARCH 28,2016 Ms. Berry stated the Commission will have to decide who is going to manage the hours. She stated it can't be the attorney, because they are not going to be able to prioritize. Mayor Reeves stated it would be the City Manager. Discussion ensued about when to use the City Attorney. Mayor Reeves stated he just wanted to make sure that tomorrow night is Phase 1 of 2 and then they have to negotiate to make sure the price is right, which will be Mr. VanLiere's job. Mayor Reeves cautioned that they be careful when they enter into a contract. Ms. Berry reemphasized that it can't be the attorney who is managing the number of hours or the cap; it has to be internal. When you call them and give them a project, you don't want them to cut comers, so it has to be a managed thing. She stated she believes the Commission needs to be thinking about how that is managed. She stated there are different ways to manage it and gave several examples. Discussion ensued about how the City Attorney becomes involved in a process. Mr. Van Liere explained it is at his direction. Commissioner Waters stated she believes all development now in Atlantic Beach will be contested. Commissioner Hill agreed stating that is why he believes they need to be careful how they set up protection legally and build that into the contract. Mayor Reeves stated they also have to remember that once it moves from Point A to Point B, it is not a retainer; it is now a different fee because you have moved on to an Appeal. Commissioner Hill stated they need to budget roughly where they think they are going to be, based on the rate of development and the number of hours each development might take, or they could cover all of this in the contract and pay a little extra for it in the beginning. He stated the decision is whether they are going to get a comprehensive, all-inclusive package that is going to deal with all that at a reasonable rate, or do they get a really low rate on the basic package. Mayor Reeves stated he would be more comfortable with doing the normal day-to-day operations, i.e. Commission meetings, Board meetings, etc., and answering questions. He stated they have some things corning up that they will have to pay extra money for legal fees. Discussion ensued. Mayor Reeves closed stating he and the City Manager have reached out to the City Attorney to give them some guidelines/help on the hearing corning up and were told that each Commissipner will be personally called. Commissioner Waters stated she assumes he is talking about the hearing for the Gate Gas Station. Mayor Reeves stated yes, what is going to proceed or how are they going to run that hearing, where is it going to be, are they required to move it to a larger facility, etc. He stated they are not going to get that answer until after March 14. He stated he is comfortable now that they will get good guidance after March 14 with whichever firm they hire. He stated he believes Mr. Kornando is making the right choice and now believes that is the right thing to do. He stated he believes it would be bad for the firm that is leaving to start the process and tum around and give it to the new finn. Adjournment There being no further discussion by the City Commission, Mayor Reeves declared the meeting adjourned at 7:00p.m. ATTEST Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk -2- Mitchell E. Reeves Mayor/Presiding Officer