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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-05-23 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, MAY 23, 2005 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Monday, May 23, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Joe Schreiber, Vice Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof, and Commissioner Karen L. Roberts. ABSENT: Commissioner Edward C. Portner ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, Deputy City Manager Michael C. Cernech, Interim City Attorney Samuel S. Goren, and City Clerk Marion Swenson. Mayor Schreiber led the pledge of allegiance. 1. MAY 25 2005 AGENDA ITEMS: a. Item No. 6(e). SUPPORTING AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA CONSTITUTION — PERIODIC REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS IN FLORIDA: (TR10716) Supporting amendments to the Florida Constitution requiring the periodic review and approval of all sales tax exemptions and exclusions in the State of Florida; directing the City Clerk to provide copies to the Governor, members of the Florida Legislature, Florida League of Cities, and the Broward League of Cities. Assistant City Manager Phillips gave a presentation. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the period during each August allowing for the tax exemption for school clothes and also spoke about cutting off funds to such an extent that it becomes burdensome to provide services. Assistant City Manager Phillips said these types of tax exemptions would have to be reviewed periodically, and funding is a concern of the legislature. Commissioner Roberts said the reasoning behind the amendments is because of tax exemptions for things such as ostrich food, whereby thousands of dollars are lost each year. The League of Cities would like to have these types of exemptions reviewed. b. Item No. 6(f). AGREEMENT RENEWAL — ACTION LABOR OF FLORIDA, LLC (A/K/A: STAFFING CONNECTIONS (TR10713) Exercising the second renewal option of the agreement between the City of Tamarac and Action Labor of Florida, LLC (a/k/a: Staffing Connection) providing for crossing guard services effective October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2007; and amending the agreement to approve a rate increase from $7.98 per hour to $8.92 per hour, effective May 2, 2005. Building Official Jones and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz appeared. Building Official Jones explained the adjustment is due to the recent constitutional amendment establishing minimum wage. Commissioner Roberts asked how many crossing guards we have and Building Official Jones said we have 21 this year, but the number varies from year to year due to boundary changes. Mayor Schreiber asked how much the increase will affect our budget and Building Official Jones said the amount falls within the budget parameters for this year. Commissioner May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 1 of 6 Sultanof questioned the shifting of crossing guards and Building Official Jones said due to the varied dismissal times some guards may be shifted to man different crossings. C. Item No. 6(g). AGREEMENT WITH COLEMAN TECHNOLOGIES, INC. FOR NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM: (TR10720) Awarding RFP 05-09R, "Upgrade of Voice and Data Communications Network (CISCO Solution)", and executing an agreement with Coleman Technologies Inc. for a total cost not to exceed $541,983.46. IT Director Sucuoglu and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz appeared. IT Director Sucuoglu gave a presentation and explained the difference between the system we currently have and the new system. Mayor Schreiber asked how long the new system would take to implement and IT Director Sucuoglu said 150 days from the date of the contract, which would bring us to October 2005. Mayor Schreiber asked how the installation and setup cost would be paid and whether the city had checked the company's credit rating. Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz said it would be paid similar to construction projects, and IT Director Sucuoglu said the company's background and customers were checked. Mayor Schreiber asked which other cities in Broward County are using the system and IT Director Sucuoglu said Hallandale Beach recently implemented a similar system; City Manager Miller added Plantation is currently doing a study of the system. Mayor Schreiber questioned the vulnerability to hackers, and IT Director Sucuoglu responded the system would be open to some threats; however, CISCO is one of the pioneers in intrusion detection and to date there have been no major breakthroughs into these systems. Mayor Schreiber asked what the city intended to do with the equipment it currently owns, and IT Director Sucuoglu said it could be auctioned on e- bay. Commissioner Roberts asked how long the training would take and IT Director Sucuoglu said it will be very quick; the company will not touch the existing equipment until the new equipment is in place. Additionally, it is a practice of the company to work with each user as the equipment is installed. Commissioner Roberts questioned the use of the trunk line and IT Director Sucuoglu said that would be the city's choice. We can decide to provide caller ID for each individual line or still provide the trunk number that no one can get back to; part of the project is looking at a new block of numbers. The old numbers will be maintained for six months to a year. Commissioner Roberts asked if there would be an extra cost to change the numbers and IT Director Sucuoglu said it would be about $.20 per line, or about $5.00 - $6.00 per month. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the two lines to public works and IT Director Sucuoglu said one is for Building. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the ownership of the fiber and IT Director Sucuoglu explained the lines were put in place by the cable company, and they belong to the city. Commissioner Sultanof asked about future dependency on BellSouth and IT Director Sucuoglu said they would provide the high speed lines; BellSouth will do the billing and remain our telecommunication vendor. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the savings to the city and IT Director Sucuoglu said this was discussed during his previous presentation on the system, and we expect to see a savings of $56,000 annually over a 5-year period. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the message system and IT Director Sucuoglu said it is a closed system for internal broadcasting. Vice Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked about system maintenance and training once implementation is completed; IT Director Sucuoglu said the system would be maintained in-house and training for new employees would be available. d. Item No. 6(h). APPROVING PROJECTS RECOMMENDED FOR INCLUSION IN SIXTH PROGRAM YEAR — ANNUAL ACTION PLAN — CDBG: (TR10703) Approving the May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 2 of 6 7 L 1 projects recommended for inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2005 Annual Action Plan for expenditure of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant funds estimated to be $481,741 for the sixth program year (Case No. 8-MI-05). Community Development Director King gave a presentation and said two requests were received from Parks and Recreation — temporary part-time social worker and life skills support for the senior program. Additionally, there are added funds for finance auditing purposes, HUD training funds, with the remaining funds going to minor home repair programs. Once approved, the 30 day public review period will begin tolling and then the item will be brought back to the Mayor and City Commission at the July 13t" meeting for formal adoption. The consolidated 5-year plan on spending the funds will also be brought forth. Mayor Schreiber asked if the county will administer the program this year and Community Development Director King said the county is under contract until September 30, 2005. These funds pick up after that. Commissioner Roberts asked if 18% is normal for administration costs and Community Development Director King said these types of costs can go up to 20%. Mayor Schreiber asked about the possibility of cutting down on administrative expenses and Community Development Director King said if we do not spend all the funds they can be transferred to the minor home repair program. Commissioner Sultanof asked if the consultant was available during the program or on an as -needed basis and Community Development Director King said they work with us daily. Commissioner Sultanof questioned whether the social worker would stay with us during the program and Community Development Director King said if funds were to be eliminated and the city wanted to continue the program the city would have to fund it through the general fund. 2. PRESENTATION OF BUSINESS PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS: IT Director Sucuoglu spoke of the highlights of business process improvements for the I.T. Department over the past five years. Commissioner Sultanof asked about the training at New Horizons and IT Director Sucuoglu said the company provided off -site training at their business located on University Drive south of Commercial Boulevard. Commissioner Sultanof asked how the rental of the towers dovetailed to HTE, and IT Director Sucuoglu said we hold individual contracts with the companies for five-year periods with options for three, four, and five year renewals. Commissioner Sultanof asked what would happen if the system were to go down, for example, during a hurricane. IT Director Sucuoglu said the towers are designed to withstand 140 mph winds and the systems are designed to stand up to these types of possibilities. Commissioner Sultanof informed everyone that in a newscast the previous evening there was discussion of the S.A.F.E. program, providing cell phones to seniors for use in an emergency, and he wanted everyone to know that Tamarac has this program in place and we are ahead of the curve. Commissioner Sultanof asked if the program is publicized and Public Information Officer Crockett said it has been publicized several times. 3. PRESENTATION RE: WOODLANDS WATER MAIN IMPROVEMENTS: Utilities Director Gagnon and Assistant Utilities Director Moore appeared. Utilities Director Gagnon said this program is in the CIP and we are ready to move forward with it at this time. Assistant Utilities Director Moore gave a presentation and explained the location and change in size of the water main. By rerouting the original project the city will lower the cost of the project from $500,000 to $80,000. At this time we have gone out to bid and the project should begin within 8-10 weeks after the bid is awarded. Vice Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked how this will affect the residents and Assistant Utilities Director Moore said the May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 3 of 6 contractor is required to maintain access for the residents. Mayor Schreiber asked if surrounding residents will be notified and Utilities Director Gagnon said they would be notified by letter and since it only affects 12 houses they will also be notified personally. Assistant Utilities Director Moore said a meeting will be scheduled with the homeowners and these improvements will enhance water pressure. Utilities Director Gagnon added that Assistant Utilities Director Moore's analysis saved the city $420,000 with the improvements still being accomplished as needed. 4. UPDATE ON FY06 REFERENDUM: City Manager Miller and Deputy City Manager Cernech appeared. City Manager Miller said during the retreat at Satellite City Hall staff talked about Parks and Recreation projects and the lack of funding for these projects, and during the past few CIP presentations, it was determined that referendum is the way to fund the projects. Most of the projects are from Parks and Recreation; however, several others were discussed previously, and at this time, staff would like the Mayor and City Commission's authorization to discuss the projects with the public to see if the public is in agreement with the proposed projects. At today's meeting, staff will go through the list of projects with the Mayor and City Commission. While the City's acquisition of land for parks and recreation programs has been successful we do not have funding to develop the land. Deputy City Manager Cernech explained the first series of projects are the same as discussed in the past, and they are the ones the Mayor and City Commission requested staff bring forward: Sports Complex Expansion ($2.6 million); Aquatic Center Annex ($400,000); Southgate Linear Park ($4 million); Dog Park ($155,000); and the Waters Edge Parcel ($508,600). Commissioner Sultanof questioned funding for the dog park and Deputy City Manager Cernech said ways to raise additional money were suggested but in the meantime staff proposed to go forward expecting to spend $155,000. Commissioner Roberts said the parking area is about 1/3 of the cost and she would like to see a breakdown on all costs, and requested more detail on all projects. Deputy City Manager Cernech said up to this point the total estimated cost for the projects is $7,784,100. All the aforementioned projects are in the CIP and were approved by the Mayor and City Commission. Additional projects discussed but not in the plan are: Tamarac Community Center expansion ($2 million); Recreation Center Demolition and Reconstruction ($2 million). Commissioner Sultanof asked if a portion of the original funding for the Recreation Center (about $3 million) came from the state and City Manager Miller said he would have it researched. Commissioner Sultanof left the meeting at 10:50 a.m. Commissioner. Roberts questioned the cost difference between the $3 million and the $2 million and Deputy City Manager Cernech responded Public Works determined that the demolition would not be a significant expense. Mayor Schreiber asked if the facility could be improved without tearing it down and Deputy City Manager Cernech said it is not on a par with our other facilities. Commissioner Roberts added with regard to the classrooms, the primary grades are not able to use rooms on the second floor. Deputy City Manager Cernech enumerated the projects not included in the CIP: Maintenance Compound Relocation ($725,000); and Citywide Bikeway System ($1 million). Mayor Schreiber asked whether the bikeways is a county project, and Deputy City Manager Cernech said our part of the project will be to tie all our facilities together. Mayor Schreiber stated that if we proceed with bikeways then we may have increased liability and questioned how bikers would cross May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 4 of 6 University Drive. Deputy City Manager Cernech said bikers would have to utilize the same crosswalks as pedestrians. Commissioner Roberts added that University Drive is a county road and the county should pay for the bike path. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the cost for the noted projects is $5,725,000 for a total project cost of just over $14 million. The fire station facades and renovations for Stations 41 and 78 come to $550,000 and are in the CIP but are slated to be funded through the referendum. The original proposal was for exterior renovations; however, interior renovations are also needed, due to the standard set by Station 15, for a total of $14,059,100. Deputy City Manager Cernech stated that at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meetings with segments of the community, the majority of those participating in the exercise did support additional tax payments for the benefit of expanded projects. Mayor Schreiber said the seniors are the largest voting bloc in Tamarac and they are not interested in many of the projects; the Mayor and City Commission should pick and choose what needs to be done. Additionally, developers along Southgate Linear Park should pay part of the cost as those residents in the immediate area will use and benefit from the park. The Tamarac Community Center expansion would pass a referendum as it is more serviceable to the community. Deputy City Manager Cernech continued that it is important for the public to weigh in on these issues. There have been discussions with the Mayor and City Commission regarding the Cultural Performing Arts Center; a feasibility study was done which was to have been presented at a commission retreat in June; however, the retreat was cancelled. The consultants are scheduled to come to the next workshop to make their presentation. For the purposes of construction of the facility we will need $10 - $12 million. Mayor Schreiber said before putting a referendum for $20 million or more to the residents we must make sure it will pass. A lot of residents say they do not need certain amenities and it is better to go slowly and pick and choose those things that will be acceptable. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the City Manager will speak with each commissioner individually regarding land purchases; some parcels are too small for residential development but very necessary to Tamarac for ongoing green space. Commissioner Roberts asked why Tamarac did not bring the properties before the Land Preservation Board as other cities did, and also asked why the retreat was cancelled. City Manager Miller said he was not able to get all the commissioners together at the same time. Deputy City Manager Cernech explained the debt millage requirement and the debt service payments at both $14 million and $30 million. There was discussion of the average taxable value (said figures received from the property appraiser) of single family homes in Tamarac ($80,991) and condominiums ($45,815). Commissioner Roberts stated the figures may not be accurate as the housing figures have doubled in the last six months. -- Deputy City Manager Cernech said based on an assessed value of $275,000 the impact for the property owner for the $14 million would be an additional $110 per year; based on $30 million it would more or less double. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the next step in the process would be to invite representatives of individual homeowner associations to meetings at city hall for input (by district with the district Commissioner and Mayor present); then to review and revise the project list based on homeowner association input and then revisit the issue with the Mayor and City Commission at a workshop in August. Mayor Schreiber said the commission needs to choose those items it believes will pass; many people will not buy into the projects if the millage rate increases and it is the Mayor and City Commission's job to decide what the public will or will not vote on. City Manager Miller said the Mayor and City Commission could provide their input today, prior to going to the public. Commissioner Roberts said many people are in favor of some of these projects and would like to see them accomplished soon, May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 5 of 6 rather than having them phased in over 10 years. Commissioner Roberts and Mayor Schreiber said they would like to get background information on every project before moving further ahead with anything. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the information was previously distributed, but he would make sure the Mayor and City Commission received the information again, as well as prepare a presentation of the entire CIP to the Mayor and City Commission. Deputy City Manager Cernech confirmed the following: the only items added to the CIP that the Mayor and City Commission had not previously seen were the Cultural Center and land purchases; the consultant will come before the Mayor and City Commission at the next workshop meeting; and the land purchases will be discussed with the Mayor and City Commission one on one. City Manager Miller agreed it is a big decision and there are two commissioners not present at this time. Deputy City Manager Cernech added that the CIP was adopted anticipating funding through a referendum. The timeline was discussed in January as well as the steps needed to get to the March 2006 election. Community input will determine how the referendum questions are structured. Commissioner Roberts said she did not want staff to go to the public prior to getting the Mayor and City Commission's thoughts on which projects they preferred; the commission should be consulted first. Mayor Schreiber added the leaders of the city should have the wisdom to know what the people want and whether the city can afford the amenities. City Manager Miller said today's presentation is a recommendation, and staff will do what the Mayor and City Commission want; if a special meeting is needed one will be set up for this discussion. The Mayor and City Commission can then pick and choose what they want to be brought to the public. All agreed additional background information and a special meeting are needed. Vice Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco questioned a time line and Deputy City Manager Cernech responded the time line as discussed in January, needs to be adhered to in order to have a referendum ready for the March 2006 ballot. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Schreiber adjourned the workshop meeting at 11:40 a.m. Marion Swe son, CMC City Clerk 1 May 23, 2005 City Commission Workshop Page 6of6