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Minutes - 06-11-01MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION HELD IN CITY HALL, 800 SEMINOLE ROAD AT 7:15 P.M. ON MONDAY, .JUNE 11, 2001 PRESENT: John Meserve, Mayor Richard Beaver, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Borno Theo Mitchelson Dezmond Waters, Commissioners AND: James Hanson, City Manager Alan C. Jensen, City Attorney Maureen King, City Clerk The meeting was called to order by Mayor Meserve at 7:15 p.m. The Invocation,. given by Mayor Meserve was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Approval of the minutes of the May 29, 2001 Commission Meeting City Manager Hanson indicated that he had misspoken, and requested that the minutes be amended to change "ductile iron water pipe" to "cast iron water pipe" in the pazagraph under Waterline Replacement on Page 3. Motion: Approve the minutes of the May 29, 2001 Commission Meeting as amended. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Meserve recognized former Mayor Billy Howell and former City Commissioner Bob Cook who were present at the meeting. 2. Courtesy of Floor to Visitors: A. Representative from AT & T Broadband -Explanation of Channel Blocking Phil Watson, Director of Field Operations of AT&T Broadband, explained that there were three applications used to .for channel blocking. Mr. Watson explained trapping techniques, sync suppression and digital encryption in detail. He indicted that by the end of the month, all Pay for View channels would be encrypted, which was the best form of security. v v 0 0 T r E E S s M S 0 E T C I O Y 0 N E N N D S O COMMISSIONERS BEAVER X X BORNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -2- June I1, 2001 Commissioner Mitchelson inquired if there was a way to block certain channels, even if they were part of a program package. Mr. Watson indicated that the Motorola digital box used by the company could be programmed for parental control. Commissioner Mitchelson thanked Mr. Watson for the informative presentation. Item. 6A was taken out of sequence and the Resolution was presented at this time. 6. Action on Resolutions: A. Resolution No. Ol-1] A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE .SERVICE OF NANCY DECANDIS ON THE CITY'S CULTURAL ARTS BOARD (Commissioner Borno) Mayor Meserve read the Resolution recognizing the yeazs of service of Nancy DeCandis on the Cultural Arts Board in its entirety. Mayor Meserve presented the framed document to Mrs. DeCandis. Mrs. DeCandis stated she was honored by the recognition and thanked the Mayor and Commissioners for their support throughout the years. Pat Pillmore of 995 Camelia Street inquired concerning an emergency exit from Marsh Oaks which was supposed to be located by Tideview Preserve, and stated that it was not shown on the flyover plans. Ms. Pilhnore expressed concern for the safety of the flyover and felt the Jacksonville Transportation Authority did not want public input on its projects. She inquired if anything could be litigated due to safety issues. Don Remley of 1309 Violet Street stated that Rose Park had been completed and thanked the Commissioners and Pazks and Recreation Department staff for the beautiful pazk J.P. Marchioli of 414 Sherry Drive expressed concern that the plans for the Core City Project had been changed from the original plan. He inquired concerning the lower cost for the project and felt that a cost/benefit analysis should be applied to all projects. Stephen Kuti of 1132 Linkside Drive read from a prepared statement concerning the Sherry Drive Reconstruction Project. He expressed concern that the city would waste $1.3 million if the St. Johns River Management District (SJRWMD) did not permit Core City Project. The statement is attached and made part of this official record as Attachment A. OMMISSIONERS M 0 T I 0 N S E C O N D Y E S N O Minutes Page -3- June 11, 2001 Alan Potter of 374 Second Street addressed the Sherry Drive Reconstruction Project in relation to the Core City Project. Background information on the project was presented. Mr. Potter expressed concern for costs associated with the Core City Project. He referenced the 1996 bond issue for utility improvements and stated that the fees and costs associated with the issue were $1,113,000. He indicated that several engineers had been retained since 1996 to design the project with over $2,000,000 being spent on engineering fees and related costs. Mr. Potter felt that work was not proceeding according to the RFP for the Core City Project which was issued three years ago and felt the city did not have the proper permits for the work. He felt there would be additional costs for the final one-inch of paving on Sherry Drive which would push the costs higher than the $1,396,461.18 bid for the project (Item 8D). He also felt that the additional fees requested by Aikenhead and Odom and CSI for the Sherry Drive 12" watermain and BellSouth conflict boxes (Item 8E) were excessive. 3. Unfinished Business from Previous Meetiug A. Follow-up report from the Regular Meeting of May 29; 2001 (City Manger) City Manager Hanson summarized his written report as follows: Sale of Alcohol to. Minors • Thanked the Police Department for their work to curb the sale of alcohol to minors and reported that only two of the ten businesses targeted in Atlantic Beach sold alcohol to minors; Deadline for Placing Items on the October Ballot • Reported that the deadline for submitting items to the Supervisor ofElections for inclusion on the October 2, 2001 ballot was September 11, 2001; and Renaming of Church Road • Reported that after a review of notes from the last meeting, it was not clear whether or not the Commission wished to proceed with the renaming of Church Road. However, before addressing that matter, City Manager Hanson reported that Chief Thompson, Public Works Director Kosoy and he had met with the residents of the affected area, and they expressed concern that the improvement would bring more crime and traffic to their area. Jacksonville Council Members Holland, Alvarez and Brown also attended the meeting. OMMISSIONERS M 0 T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N 0 Minutes Page -4- June 11, 2001 Mayor Meserve indicated that he had spoken with Council Member Holland and was told that the funds for the project would be held in the Finance Committee until the citizens' concerns were resolved. It was the consensus of the Commission to address the concerns before giving any consideration to renaming the road. The report is attached and made part of this official record as Attachment B. Response to Alan Potter's Comments on the Sherry Drive Reconstruction Project The City Manager reported that the City had received written authorization from the SJRWMD to move forward with the Sherry Drive Reconstruction project and had held a permit from the Florida Department of Health -Environmental Health/Engineering Division for the waterline replacement in the Core City Project since 1998. Copies of the letter and permit are attached and made part of this official record as Attachment C. 4. Consent Agenda: A. Acknowledge receipt of monthly reports for Occupational Licenses, Parks and Recreation, Public Works and Utility Sales Departments Motion: Approve Consent Agenda Item A as presented. Commissioner Waters referenced Item #11 of the Public Works and Utility Departments Project Status and expressed concern for the quality of sand to be spread on the beach. Commissioner Mitchelson indicated that the City of Jacksonville was sensitive to placing beach quality sand on the site and indicated that he would monitor the project. Commissioner Waters requested that a letter be sent to the City of Jacksonville requesting a written response guaranteeing the quality of the sand. There was no more discussion and the motion carried unanimously. OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X X BORNO X x MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -5- June 11, 2001 5. Committee Reports: There were no Committee Reports. 7. Action on Ordinances: A. Ordinance No. 33-O1-8 Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS OF ATLANTIC BEACH, A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER CHANGING THE WAY THE CITY COMMISSIONERS ARE ELECTED, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE (City Commission) Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. 33-01-8 on final reading. Mayor Meserve opened the floor for a public hearing and requested comments from those present. Don Remley of 1309 Violet Street supported the proposed ordinance and felt citizens received better representation when a Commissioner lived in their district. Former Mayor William Howell of 950 Seminole provided a brief history of the election process in the City of Atlantic Beach as set forth in the Charter which he had helped to write. Former Mayor Howell felt the city was too small for voting districts, but if the Commission favored them, he felt it would be best to have four districts with the Mayor serving at large. Former Mayor Howell explained why the Mayor's term of office was set at two years and pointed out that the proposed change would only allow voters to change the majority of the Commission every four years. J.P. Marchioli of 414 Sherry Drive favored four voting districts, not the two districts proposed in the ordinance. No one else spoke and the Mayor declared the Public Hearing closed. Motion: Defer the vote on Ordinance No. 33-01-08 until a later date not to exceed the September 10, 2001 Regular Commission Meeting date. Commissioner Mitchelson reiterated his opposition to the proposed ordinance and indicated that he believed the limited choice afforded by voting districts would contribute to lower voter turnout. He stated OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BoRNO x WATERS X BEAVER X X ii I BoRNO x MITCHELSON X X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -6- June 11, 2001 that he would like time to analyze and research historical data as to the potential impact of the proposed ordinance, including voter turnout statistics. Commissioners Borno and Waters supported the deferral. Following brief discussion the motion to defer carried unanimously. B. Ordinance No. 33-O1-9 Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORS OF ATLANTIC BEACH A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER CHANGING THE MAYOR'S TERM OF OFFICE AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE (Commissioner Waters) Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. 33-01-9 on final reading. Mayor Meserve opened the floor for a public hearing and invited comments from the audience. Stephen Kuti of 1132 Linkside Drive indicated that Ordinance 33- 01-08 was a compromise to the citizens'originalpmposal for four districts. He felt deferral of the ordinance would not give citizens enough time to circulate petitions to put the referendum on the October ballot. Mr. Kuti favored the four-year term for Mayor. J.P. Marchioli of 414 Sherry Drive favored retaining atwo-yeaz term for Mayor. Don Remley of 1309 Violet Street suggested sending a survey form to the registered voters to see if they wanted the change. Former Council Member Bob Cook of 1475 East Coast Drive felt it was best to retain the two-year term of office for Mayor. He felt it was important to consider that every two yeazs the majority of Council Members could be voted out of office. Since no one else wished to speak, the Mayor closed the Public Hearing. Mayor Meserve stated that he could see good and bad in both, but felt that the electors should make the decision. Commissioner Waters expressed his support for the change and indicated afour-year term for the Mayor would provide for more efficient government and continuity on the Commission. OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X BORNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X X MESERVE X Minutes Page -7- June 11, 2001 Commissioner Beaver pointed out that most incumbent Mayors had won re-election. He felt that it was important to remember that the present system allowed electors to vote for the majority every two years. Commissioner Mitchelson indicated that he saw merit in both, but leaned toward opposing the ordinance. There was no more discussion and the motion failed by a one to four vote with Commissioner Waters voting aye, and Mayor Meserve and Commissioners Beaver, Borno and Mitchelson voting nay. Mayor Meserve requested that Ordinance No. 33-01-08 be brought back for final reading before the September 11, 2001 deadline for placing an item on the ballot, to allow time for citizens to collect signatures for the matter to be placed on the ballot if they so desired. C. Ordinance No. 20-O1-51 Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, FOR FISCAL YEAR 2000/2001 BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2000 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2001 (City Manager) Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. 20-01-51 on final reading. Mayor Meserve opened the floor for a public hearing and invited comments from the audience. Alan Potter of 374 Second Street felt money not spent should be returned to the General Fund or Water and Sewer Funds. No one else spoke for or against the ordinance and the Mayor declared the public hearing closed. Commissioner Waters inquired concerning the emergency repair listed in Item 11 and felt the Commission should approve emergency repairs. Utility Director Kaluzniak indicated that the Commission had already approved the item based on quotes for the work. There was no more discussion and the motion carried unanimously. D. Ordinance No. S-O1-34 Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2, SECTION 2-361, SUBSTANCE, TO DELETE THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS FOR DAILY PER DIEM, AND OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X X BORNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -8- June 11, 2001 REPLACE THEM WITH THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE DAILY ALLOWANCE Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. 5-01-34 on final reading. Mayor Meserve opened the floor for a public hearing and invited comments from the audience. No one spoke for or against the ordinance and the Mayor declared the public hearing closed. There was no discussion and the motion carried unanimously. E. Ordinance No. S-O1-35 Public Hearing and Final Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE IV, DEPARTMENTS, DIVISION 5, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, AMENDING SEC. 2-80 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICES-APPOINTMENT, COMPENSATION; AMENDING SEC. 2-81, SAME-DUTIES; DELETING SEC. 2-82, DIVISIONS; APPOINTMENT, COMPENSATION OF CHIEFS; CREATING NEW DIVISION 6, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, ADDING SEC. 2-84, CREATED; SEC.2-85, UTILITY DIRECTOR-APPOINTMENT, COMPENSATION; SEC.2-86, SAME-DUTIES; AND SEC.2-87, OTHER DUTIES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE (City Manager) Motion: Adopt Ordinance No. S-O1-35 on final reading. There was no discussion and the motion carried unanimously. 8. Miscellaneous Business: A. Authorize staff to proceed with the construction of dune crossovers with handrails at Sixth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Streets subject to the requirements for handicapped accessibility (City Manager) Motion: Authorize staff to proceed with the construction of dune crossovers with handrails at Sixth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Streets subject to the requirements for handicapped accessibility. Commissioner Waters believed the city would get complaints of the handrails blocking the view. He felt that three such accesses were not needed. OMMISSIONERS M O T I 0 N S E C 0 N D Y E S N O BEAVER X X BORNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X BEAVER X X BoRNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X BEAVER X X BoRNO x X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -9- June i 1, 2001 Commissioner Borno inquired concerning handicapped parking. Parks and Recreation Director Johnson responded that handicapped parking was available at 6`" and 11`"' Streets, but not 13`" Street. There being no further discussion, the motion carried by a four to one vote with Mayor Meserve and Commissioners Beaver, Borno and Mitchelson voting aye, and Commissioner Waters voting nay. B. Approve Community Development Block Grant Program Housing Rehabilitation contract changes in the amount of $46,154 and authorize the Mayor to sign the amended contract (City Manager) Motion: Approve Community Development Block Grant Program Housing Rehabilitation contract changes in the amount of $46,154 and authorize the Mayor to sign the amended contract. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously. C. Action on an appeal of the decision of the Community Development Board to deny a variance requested by Craig Sutton to allow a boat to be stored in the front yard of his home at 1746 Beach Avenue (City Manager) Mayor Meserve indicated that an appeal from a decision made by the Community Development Board must be based on an illegal action of the Board. The Mayor indicated that Mr. Sutton's appeal did not cite any illegal action by the CDB as his basis of appeal. Motion: Uphold the action of the Community Development Board to deny a variance requested by Craig Sutton to allow boat storage in the front yard of his home located at 1746 Beach Avenue based on no illegal action taken by the Community Development Board to arrive at the decision. There was no more discussion and the motion carried unanimously. D. Award contract for Sherry Drive Reconstruction Improvements pursuant to the specifications of bid No: 0001-19 to Callaway Contracting in the amount of $1,396,461.18 and authorize the City Manager to sign the contract (City Manager) OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X X BoRNO x x MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X BEAVER X BoxNO x MITCHELSON X X WATERS X X MESERVE X Minutes Page -10- June 11, 2001 Motion: Award contract for Sherry Drive Reconstruction Improvements pursuant to the specifications of Bid No. 0001-19 to Callaway Contracting in the amount of $1,396,461.18 and authorize the City Manager to sign the contract. Commissioner Beaver inquired concerning the funding from the City of Jacksonville For the project. City Manager Hanson indicated that the $225,000 was included in the budget for the total project and would be used towazd the cost of the Sherry Drive improvements. Commissioner Beaver pointed out that BellSouth would reimburse the city for the additional design fees associated with the conflict boxes. City Manager Hanson commented that Callaway Contracting, the low bidder for the project, was a good contractor who had done work for the city before. The project is estimated to take 180 days and the City Manager said he would like to get as much as possible done before school starts. It was reported that the last inch of pavement would be installed at the same time as the rest of the Core City Project to protect it from damage by heavy equipment during construction. Commissioner Mitchelson expressed concern regarding permitting of the project since the design for the entire Core City Project was not complete. There being no further discussion, the motion carried by a four to one vote with Mayor Meserve and Commissioners Beaver, Bomo and Waters voting aye, and Commissioner Waters voting nay. E. Approve additional design fees for Aikenhead and Odom for changes to the Sherry Drive Reconstruction Project design resulting from waterline replacement and the installation of BellSouth conflict boxes (City Manager) Motion: Approve additional design fees for Aikenhead and Odom for changes to the Sherry Drive Reconstruction Project design resulting from waterline replacement and the installation of BellSouth conflict boxes as recommended by staff Commissioner Mitchelson inquired if the city had obtained a written contract with BellSouth related to the maintenance costs and installation of the conflict boxes. City Manager Hanson indicated that the city was working with BellSouth to determine the cleaning frequency required for the OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X X BORNO x X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X BEAVER X X BoRNO x X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X Minutes Page -11- June 11, 2001 conflict boxes. It was pointed out that if the city could not reach an agreement with BellSouth, they would be required to move their lines. City Manager Hanson felt it would be in BellSouth's best interest to come to an agreement with the city before the pre- construction conference because any larger conflict box installed by BellSouth would result in a change order and would possibly give the contractor leverage for lazger change orders. The pre-conference date for the project was set as the deadline for BellSouth to reach an agreement with the city. There being no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously 9. City Manager Reports: City Manager Hanson reported on the following items: 1997 Sign Ordinance It was reported that since the fime of the adoption of the ordinance in 1997, the property owners had up to four years to bring the signs which extended onto the city's right-of--way into compliance. City Manager Hanson indicated that within the next few weeks the city would be requesting property owners to remove their signs from the city's right-of--way. Consumer Confidence Reports for Water Quality A draft copy of the report was distributed, and it was reported that the Department of Environmental Protection required that the report be sent to every water customer. It was noted that there were no violations of any state water standard in either of the city's water systems in 2000. 10. Reports and/or requests from City Commissioners and City Attorney A. City Attorney report on the skateboard liability law hi response to Commissioner Beaver's inquiry concerning the city's liability if written rules were posted requiring written pazental consent for children under 17 years of age to use the skateboard park, City Attorney Jensen advised that in order for the city to comply with the requirements of the statute, the city would have to post such rules and would not be held liable if an underage skateboazder used the park without written parental consent. He emphasized the need to follow all of the rules found in the statute. OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C 0 N D Y E S N O Minutes Page -12- June 11, 2001 A brief discussion ensued and it was the consensus of the Commission to gather as much information as possible before making a decision on construction of a skateboard pazk. It was reported that Parks and Recreation Director Johnson was visiting parks throughout the state and would report his findings to the Commission. His report will be available for the upcoming budget workshops. Commissioner Beaver Reported that a contractor had damaged the 8`h Street access during construction of a swimming pool and should be responsible for the repairs. Commissioner Beaver requested that the city monitor the situation. Requested that the city contact BFI Refuse Service and see if they could adjust their Saturday morning schedule to allow for a later pick up at the Cloisters. Distributed copies of a brochure used during a recent fund raising event for renovations to the Adele Grage Community Center. Commissioner Beaver reported that $15,000.00 had been donated. He indicated that the following money had been committed to the pro}ect: Terry Holland $50,000 the JEA $25,000 and Ander Crenshaw $10,000 . It was reported that the next fund-raiser tentatively scheduled for the end of July would be held outdoors and would include families and children. Commissioner Borno • Indicated that a couple people who had resigned from the city's various Boards and Committees were sti111isted in the latest edition of Tideviews and requested that corrections be made for the fall issue. • Inquired concerning several large, weedy piles of dirt dumped in a yard on Seminole Road neaz Mandalay Park, and expressed concern they would impact nearby swales. Commissioner Mitchelson Requested that Commission consideration be given to holding a quarterly Commission Meeting at an alternate site accessible to other areas of the city. OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N 0 Minutes Page -13- June 11, 2001 • Updated the Commission on the recent actions of the City of Jacksonville Redistricting Committee chaired by Council Member Matt Carlucci, and suggested the Commission might wish to consider litigation to keep the three Beach Cities together. He indicated that the Committee used voting age as the criteria to set the districts, and did not appear to be interested in keeping the three cities together. Discussion ensued and Gity Attorney Jensen advised that there were guidelines and criteria the City Council must follow for the redistricting, and there would be little to challenge if they followed those guidelines. It was the consensus of the Commission that the City Attorney check into other litigation cases following the 1990 census, as well as any other options the city might have. It was suggested that the three cities might wish to join together in this matter and City Attorney Jensen will also look into this. Mayor Meserve • Urged the Commissioners to attend the Jacksonville Beach 4~' of July Celebration honoring those who fought in WWII. Mayor Meserve made the following nomination for appointment to the Cultural Arts $oazd: • Motion: Appoint Margie van de Guchte to fill the unexpired term of Nancy DeCandis on the Cultural Arts Board. There was no discussion and the motion carried unanimously. There being no further discussion or business to come before the Commission, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. John Meserve Mayor/Presiding Officer Attest: Maureen King Certified Municipal Clerk OMMISSIONERS M O T I O N S E C O N D Y E S N O BEAVER X BORNO X X MITCHELSON X WATERS X MESERVE X X