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Item 1C- Draft minutes of the Special City Council Meeting February 12, 2018February 12, 2018 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 20'18, AT 9:00 A.M. CITY HALL, 116 FIRST STREET NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA Pursuant to proper notice a Special City Council Meeting of the City Council of the City of Neptune Beach was held on Monday, February 12, 2018, at 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 116 First Street, Neptune Beach, Florida. Attendance: IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Elaine Brown Vice Mayor Scott Wiley Councilor Richard Arthur Councilor Rory Diamond Councilor Fred Jones STAFF: Chief of Police Richard Pike Commander Gary Snyder Director of Public Works Leon Smith City Manager Andrew Hyatt City Attorney Patrick Krechowski Deputy City Manager Amanda Askew CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH: Mayor Ellen Glasser Commissioner John Stinson City Manager Joe Gerrity Deputy City Manager Kevin Hogencamp Chief of Police Michelle Cook Call to Order Neptune Beach Mayor Elaine Brown called the special meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Pay for Parking Councilor Arthur, Neptune Beach, gave a history of the parking project. He stated that it Discussion was a combination of the merchants, City of Neptune Beach and City of Atlantic Beach looking at parking solutions in the Town Center and what can be done to fix the parking issue. He added that with technology today a seamless, integrated parking solution could be implemented across the Town Center. Commissioner John Stinson, Atlantic Beach, explained that Atlantic Beach recognizes the parking issue and formed a committee that has met every two weeks. The committee heard presentations from the Beaches Town Center Agency and made a recommendation to the City Commission for the City Manager to meet with Neptune Beach officials and Beaches Town Center Agency to develop the parking solution. The recommendation was approved and Atlantic Beach is ready to move forward. Mayor Brown assured the public that Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach, and the Beaches Town Center Agency are looking out for the residents and they are the priority when moving forward with this project. February 12, 2018 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 2 Discussion: Vice Mayor Wiley, Neptune Beach, questioned how the proposed system would solve the problem of turnover when a customer can buy more time. He also added he had concerns with cars parking in residential areas. Councilor Arthur stated that a consolidated system is needed to avoid a third party that would come in and contract with the private lots. He explained that the pay for parking tries to influence the behavior of the customer based on rates to create the desired occupancy rate. Vice Mayor Wiley commented that there is much groundwork that needs to be done. Councilor Arthur said that the purpose of today's meeting was to get consensus and provide direction to City staff to work the numbers and look at legal aspects. Mark Rimmer, RTA Consulting Services, stated that the turnover issue would be addressed by having certain spaces with designated time limits that would not allow additional time to be purchased. There are private lots that would be for those patrons only. There would also be off-street spaces that would have time limits and there would be spaces available for those customers who wish to stay for longer periods. Councilor Diamond, Neptune Beach, stated he supports the pay for parking system and also has concerns regarding turnover. He also said that it should be easy to understand and most importantly the parking should be cheap if not free to citizens. Mr. Rimmer explained that the parking project started out as a management program then there was a cost associated with that and how to generate enough revenue to pay for the operations. He added that being able to retrieve the data and constantly analyzing it would be part of the process as it progresses. He stated that for the first six months, the numbers would be reviewed daily. Councilor Diamond questioned how long it would take to get an idea of the dynamics of the system once it is operating. Mr. Rimmer stated that for the first six months, the numbers would be reviewed daily and weekly meetings should be held to go over the numbers from the previous week. Councilor Jones, Neptune Beach, stated there should be price sensitivity and time limits. He added the only way to actually see the groundwork is to get it implemented and evaluate the results. He added that there should be a definitive mission statement outlining the goals of the program. Mayor Brown stated that the revenues would be designated as an enterprise fund so the needs of the City could be met. She agreed the process should be easy and should be something people are willing to pay for as it is going to good use. Mayor Brown asked Mr. Rimmer about the enforcement aspect of the project. Mr. Rimmer stated the enforcement is done using golf carts that could make between three or four complete rounds through the Town Center area every hour. A picture of the license plate would be made and marked with GPS. The proposed idea is everyone gets one notification the first time. The second violation would be an invoice. If that is not paid, then the normal parking ticket process would be followed. February 12, 2018 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 3 Neptune Beach Police Chief Richard Pike confirmed the violation process that Mr. Rimmer explained and stated that there may be some ordinance changes that need to be made pertaining to the parking system and any fines that would be set. Councilor Jones asked at what point would a violation be reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Mr. Rimmer answered that the system would have the capability interface with the FDLE and the local police department. Councilor Diamond questioned how someone without a Smartphone would use the kiosk. Mr. Rimmer stated that the customer could input their license number into the machine. Councilor Diamond inquired about penalties for the different areas and what kind of signage would notify the customers what the penalties are. Mr, Rimmer stated that the idea is to get as much continuity as possible. He added that he recommends that once any kind of agreement and consistency is in place, the education process should begin. Councilor Arthur stated that he would like to get a consensus on the management, enforcement, rate matrix and citizen permitting aspects. He stated that under the management piece, Neptune Beach would purchase the kiosk package and the revenues would be disbursed by Neptune Beach. The contract would be under Neptune Beach to reduce the fees. There are options for the enforcement piece which could include in-house or a third party, non-profit organization with each property owner having a contract with that organization. . The rate matrix is the third piece and representatives from Beaches Town Center, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach would need to make a determination on the rates and how that would work. Citizen permitting is the fourth piece. He stated there were examples of other cities' citizen permitting programs. Vice Mayor Wiley stated that the management piece should be handled by Neptune Beach. He added that Neptune Beach Public Safety should handle the enforcement. Neptune Beach City Attorney Patrick Krechowski stated he had concerns with a private entity sending a notice telling Neptune Beach to issue a parking ticket and he added that Neptune Beach could not issue a ticket on private property and impact someone's driving record. The private lot enforcement would have to be up to them. Atlantic Beach Police Chief Michelle Cook stated that there is a "public parking specialist" position who has the authority to issue parking tickets. There is required state training for this position. She explained the ticketing process using a public parking specialist. Atlantic Beach City Manager Joe Gerrity explained that Atlantic Beach passed a resolution on November 13, 2017, for the City of Atlantic Beach to proceed with pay for parking and to negotiate the details with Neptune Beach. He added he has no interest in signing an agreement to enforce parking on private lots. He also said that Neptune Beach would manage the paid for parking program. February 12, 2018 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 4 Atlantic Beach Mayor Ellen Glasser stated she had concerns with private lots. She added to get the City lots up and running and review that process first. Councilor Arthur stated it is important to have enforcement over the entire area and have a collective rollout. He would like to have one enforcement solution to present to the private lots. Recommendation Mayor Brown stated her recommendation is to move forward with the management and for Management enforcement structure for Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach limited to what can be and Enforcement controlled. She requested the City Attorney look for an umbrella contract for the public parking specialist. She confirmed that she wanted to see both an internal person and a third party structure. Councilor Jones stated he had questions regarding the cost and resources difference with a third party or in-house. Vice Mayor Wiley stated he supports moving forward in order to get more information and comparison to get to the next level. Councilor Arthur questioned if the system is handled internally, what does that mean for the system and could we model the third party as they do in Daytona Beach. Councilor Jones suggested contacting cities that used third parties, such as Daytona Beach and inquire how they reached their decision to go with a third party administrator. Rate Matrix Mayor Brown suggested Council confer with the City Manager regarding the rate matrix. Citizen Permitting City Manager Hyatt stated City staff suggested a reduced rate. Councilor Arthur stated he mentioned a 50 percent discount. He asked Commissioner Stinson if Atlantic Beach had discussed this issue. Commissioner Stinson answered that the conversation they had regarding citizen permitting had been complicated by the fact that it could jeopardize the beach renourishment funding. Councilor Arthur explained that a virtual permitting system had been discussed. He recommends a discounted percentage piece of 50 percent as a baseline. Vice Mayor Wiley commented that there should be a discount and would like to get citizen input and see what some other cities offer. Councilor Diamond stated he would like to offer free parking for citizens, but he would reach out to citizens for input. Councilor Jones commented that what is important is what are the guiding principles of the parking program and the potential benefits. He added it also important to educate the citizens on how the parking system will work. Mayor Brown stated that there should be an educational piece informing citizens what is in place that has to offset costs to them such landscaping and other infrastructure. Councilor Arthur suggested a separate zone for free citizen parking. February 12, 2018 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 5 Public Comment Tom Patton, 1827 Leeward Lane, Neptune Beach, questioned if the City of Neptune Beach would be making the entire :investment for the hardware and software for the system. He stated he supports a reduced rate for residents of Neptune Beach. Mayor Brown concluded that the costs for the system would be shared by everyone. Adjournment There being no further business, the special meeting adjourned at 10:43 a.m. Elaine Brown, Mayor Attest: Catherine Ponson, City Clerk r _ c � JaW. Approved: LOTL Ellen Glasser Mayor Attest: Donna L. Bartle, CMC City Clerk