04-04-83 v ,
MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF THE ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION HELD AT THE CITY HALL ON APRIL 4, 1983 AT 7:00 P.M.
PRESENT:Commissioner William I. Gulliford, Jr. , Chairman
Commissioner Robert B. Cook, Sr.
Mayor-Commissioner Robert B. Persons, Jr.
Commissioner Catherine G. Van Ness
AND: A. William Moss, City Manager
Alan C. Jensen, City Attorney
Carl Stucki, Chief of Police
Wallace Bowles , Superintendent of Public Works
Adelaide R. Tucker, City Clerk
AND: Douglas Miller, Engineer for England & Thims, Inc,
ABSENT: Commissioner John W. Morris, Jr. , Out of Town
Commissioner Gulliford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m, for the purpose
of discussing the problems in Selva Marina units 10 - 12C. For the benefit of the
audience, he introduced the Comiissioners and noted,for the record, that Commissioner
Morris was out of town and regretted not being in attendance. He then introduced the
City Manager, the City Attorney, Wallace Bowles, Superintendent of Public Works,
Carl Stucki, Chief of Police, and Douglas Miller, Engineer for England & Thims, Inc.
There were thirty-five citizens present.
Mayor Persons asked the Chair to allow him to take up a miscellaneous item of business.
He stated that Mr. H. D. Tappin, who was in the audience, had made a request on behalf
of his boy scout troup. One of the scouts has arranged to have a load of dirt to take
to one of the area schools to smooth off the playground and he requested that the City
donate the use of a city truck to carry the dirt. Mayor Persons took the position
that since the City donates money to a lot of charities, he felt this would be most
admirable. The sentiment of the Commission was in the affirmative. Mayor Persons
suggested that Mr. Tappin get in touch with the City Manager within the next few days
to discuss the matter.
Commissioner Gulliford encouraged the audience to be objective and appreciate each
other's position. He commented that the Commissionerswere not judges, only a body of
their peers,and people that feel responsible and concerned about the well being of the
entire community. He stated that there were restraints and constraints on the Commission
as to what they could and could not do, and said this was a very complex issue.
Commissioner Gulliford said they were not sitting there to condemn or to judge, only
hopefully, to give some direction and resolution to the problems.
A general discussion ensued concerning the roads, the drainage problems, the area of
maintenance and street lights.
The Commission explained to the audience in depth that Mr. Bull owned the streets;
that a prior Commission had approved the developments with non-dedicated streets, so
therefore there is no legal nor moral responsibility that the City has for the main-
tenance or repairs of the streets. Some of the possible problems with the streets are :
alignment, width, turning radius, drainage and line of sight. The opinion of the Com-
mission was that if there is some action the city could take without jeopardizing
either the city or the majority of the citizens, then the Commission would feel compelled
to pursue that. But by virtue of the fact that the city does not own the streets, there
are side line problems such as easements for drainage that would have to be provided.
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Minutes-Committee of the Whole
April 4, 1983
The City has a perpetual easement for use of the streets for the Public Safety
and Sanitation Departments.
Cynthia and Lance Davison, 1912 Hickory Lane, said it was their understanding that
Mr. Bull had offered to dedicate the streets and the city refused them. They were told
that the City could not accept streets that do not meet the city's specifications. They
were also told that Mr. Bull had wanted to keep the streets, and he entered into a
contract with B. B. McCormick to maintain them.
Jim Valenti, 1912 Oak Circle inquired why building permits were issued for a develop-
ment with roads that did not meet the city specifications. Mr. Moss explained that
since then an Ordinance has been passed that has minimum specifications and all the
streets have to be dedicated. Mr. Valenti asked for a copy of the current manual on roads.
Mr. Davison and Mr. Fran Leik, 355 19th Street expressed the opinions that Mr. Bull's
roads were, in most cases, far superior to some of the city streets, with the exception
of perhaps problems with fire trucks.
Several citizens commented that they felt their tax dollars should go to maintain the
streets. Mr. Leik added that the citizens were having to pay to update the sewer system.
Commissioner Gulliford encouraged him to attend the next Sewer Committee meeting, that
perhaps he had a misconception.
Peggy Burton, Cynthia and Lance Davison, Debbie Tafflin, 1871 Selva Marina Drive,
Lionel Currier, 1927 Selva Marina, Dru Nichols, 343 19th St. , Dan Yant, 1908 Hickory
Lane and John Sale all complained about the lack of maintenance and street lights.
Mr. Sale commented that if the city would bring a truck out, they would load the debris
on his street. No action was taken.
The suggestion was again made that the citizens form a Home Owners Association.
Commissioner Cook then made the following motion:
We, as a Committee of the Whole, recommend to the Commission, that they hire
the firm of England & Thims, an impartial firm, to do a study to determine
the cost to bring the development up to the city's minimum standards for sub-
divisions.
Mayor Persons seconded the motion, which carried unanimously.
Street lights were discussed at length and Mr. Moss advised that he had requested an
estimate of costs for street lights in the area and would bring it to the Commission
upon receipt.
Mr. Davison expressed the opinion that they had all learned a lot about the situation
that exists, and felt the Commission was on their side to help settle the problems. He
stated that, with the City Manager's approval, they would hold an organizational meeting
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Minutes—Committee of the Whole
April 4, 1983
at City Hall on Wednesday, April 20, 1983 to form a Home Owners Association,
He thanked the Commission for their time.
The question was asked who put up the stop signs, and Mr. Moss replied that he did,
due to significant safety problems.
Commissioner Gulliford asked if anyone else had any comments. As there were none,
Commissioner Van Ness made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Cook and carried unanimously.
Commissioner Gulliford declared the meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.
Pf"
liam I. Gulliford
Chairman
ATTEST:
Adelaide R. Tucker
City Clerk