HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-11-05 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1990
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on
Monday, November 5, 1990 at 10:00 A.M. in the Conference Room 1.
IyRESENT
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor
Bruce
Hoffman
Councilman
Dr. H.
Larry Bender
Councilman
Henry
Rohr
Councilman
Henry
Schumann
John P. Kelly, City Manager
Michael Couzzo, Director of Public Works and Parks and
Recreation Departments
Patricia Marcurio, Office Manager City Clerk's Office
************************************************************************
1. DISCUSSION AND pACTION concerning awarding of
Bid #90-31 for the construction of four {4j tennis courts to
Hardrives Tennis Division in the amount of $68,200.00.
SYNOPSIS ___OF _ ACTION:
Agendized by Consent and the Council
gave an Espression of Interest for
this item to be revisited at the Regular
Council meeting on November 14, 1990.
Mayor Abramowitz referred to the item on the Agenda regarding the tennis
courts. He said Council had given permission for the installation of
the tennis courts.
* V/M Hoffman MOVED to AGENDIZE discussion regarding tennis courts,
* SECONDED by C/M Bender.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE
Mayor Abramowitz said this was sent out for bid awhile back and, through
the confusion of the bidders, came back with a bid of a type of tennis
court the City was not looking for. He said other bids have been
received.
Mr. Couzzo said the first memo sent to City Manager Kelly was dated
November 5, 1990 was a recap of the bids and is Staff's recommendation
for award of the bid. He said the second sheet is a bid opening recap
from the City Clerk's Office of what actually transpired. He said the
City had two bidders and there were a number of alternate bids. He said
Hardrives, Inc. has submitted a bid that is recommended for the
construction of four tennis courts which would double what the City
originally had with a three -cushion surface with all of the fencing
installed.
Mayor Abramowitz said the recommendation is for four tennis courts with
the total price of $68,200.00 which is $3,200.00 more than what was
approved for spending which means City Manager Kelly needs to find
$3,200.00 to accommodate this. He said he has been receiving many phone
calls regarding when the tennis courts would be constructed.
C/M Rohr asked if this money comes from the funds set aside for Parks
and Recreation.
Mr. Couzzo said in Paragraph 4, it is Staff's recommendation after
confirming with the Finance Department that $3,200.00 be derived from
Page 1
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ
the Recreation Impact Account and transferred to the Tennis Court
Construction Account.
Mayor Abramowitz said for many years, the residents have requested
tennis courts and the two that were present were done away with. He
said he is in favor of this.
City Manager Kelly said they are looking -for authorization of the
construction of four tennis courts rather than three.
* C/M Bender MOVED to APPROVE Staff recommendations, SECONDED by
* C/M Rohr.
Mr. Couzzo said there is anticipation of this being completed t y the
beginning of 1991.
Ms. Marcurio said there is a Resolution prepared for this and asked that
this be included in the approval.
City Manager Kelly said City Attorney Ruf is not available, and the
Resolution is not accessible at present.
Mayor Abramowitz said action cannot be taken at present, but Mr. Couzzo
and the Parks and Recreation Department knows that they have permission
of the City Council to enter into the contract with Hardrives, Inc.
City Manager Kelly said this is incorrect. He said the direction has
been given and the Item will be on the Regular Agenda with all of the
other Resolutions with the back up and the City Attorney's sign off on
it.
Mayor Abramowitz said this will be revisited at the next Council
meeting. He said he wants an expression of interest in going with the
Parks and Recreation Department in building the tennis courts.
V/M Hoffman said there is a Motion on the floor to Approve the
construction of the tennis courts and suggested Tabling the Motion for
Approval with an expression of interest given.
A V/M Hoffman MOVED to TABLE the Motion of Approval, SECONDED by
-A C/M Rohr.
VOTE:
Mayor Abramowitz asked for an expression of
said aye.
2. pISCUSSION ANP��x4�gp;�,�, TIpN on a
of the old City Hall.
AYNOPS,I'llPr, ,ACTION:
TABLED for a report from the City Manager.
ALL VOTED AYE
interest by Council and all
proposal for the sale
Mayor. Abramowitz said a proposal for the sale of the old City Hall has
been brought to City Manager Kelly.
City Manager Kelly said the initial terms of the proposal are contained
in the original letter from the proposed purchaser and copied to Council
for consideration. He said subsequent discussion with the perspective
buyer has improved the terms to the City. He said the purchase price is
$531,000.00, which is the appraisal price. He said the original offer
was $500,000.00 and has since then countered and the appraisal price of
$531,000.00 was proposed. He said the terms of payment were at
$80,000.00 down and terms needed to be discussed which would be 5 years
at 10% and 3 years at 9%. He said they are looking for a 157day
feasibility period during which time as -built construction plans would
be obtained at the City's expense. He said there are no as-builts for
that structure and they would like to conduct their own structural and
physical inspection of the property. He said the buyer's
representations to the City include the following: 1) the City has
Page 2
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ
1
1
marketable and insurable fee simple title to the property subject only
to the encumbrances, which will be provided in the Contract, 2) that the
improvements to the property, although in need of repair, have not been
condemned and 3) that the property is properly zoned.
City Manager Kelly said the key provisions are as follows: 1) a
children's entertainment center, including, but not limited to: mini
golf, mini baseball facilities or a batting cage and an enclosed mini
skating rink, 2) provided for a 200 seat catering take-out facility. He
said they would like the closing to take place within 15-days after the
feasibility period. He said Zeev Meirovici, Buyer, and Tom Mayer,
Broker, are both present to discuss their offer with Council.
C/M Rohr said there will be a situation with pinball machines involved.
He said everything, other than the pinball set up, is acceptable. He
said the machines are the largest attention draw and he feels this is
not the type of thing needed in the City.
Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to hear from the petitioner on the
type of facility this will be and he asked them to come forward for
their presentation.
Tom Mayer, Broker Representative for the Purchasers, said he can inform
the Council about the principles involved and less about the concept
itself. He said to his understanding, this concept does not exist in
South Florida at present. He said the principles are a partnership of
which one of the participants involved is an engineer who has hobbies of
antiques and grandchildren and the other participants are doctors
specializing in internal medicine. He said in broad terms, they have
been looking for a location in South Florida for the past 18 months and
neither have heard about the City of Tamarac. He said when he brought
the principles to Tamarac, they loved it and are planning to move
eventually to the City.
Mr. Mayer said their broad idea is to create or recreate a concept
called the "Children's Village" in which the grandparents and parents
can take their children with them and, while the children are playing in
many types of children's games, the parents can have a sandwich or join
the children in these activities. He said he does not know if pinball
machines are included. He said the parents can sit and enjoy the water
from the second floor. He said the reason they chose Tamarac, is
because they are looking for a City which has a very low crime rate, a
peaceful City and the parents and/or grandparents can go with the
children to a place where parties can be held and other events as well
as enjoyable activities.
Mr. Mayer said the principles know of the McSugar concept, which is very
crowded and this concept is entirely different from that. He said this
is a concept where children and their parents and grandparents can be
involved and be comfortable. He said one of the principles, Zeev
Meirovici, is present and would be happy to answer any questions
regarding their ideas.
C/M Rohr asked about pinball type machines and if this is for children
up to teenage which is the situation in concern. He said the City does
not have a large teenage population but once this is established, it
will draw from all of the surrounding cities those children which are 16
and over. He said it depends on the type of set up.
V/M Hoffman said this is a low crime City and he would like to keep it
that way. He said there are no youth gangs in the City and they would
like to keep them out of the City. He said it seems that these
electronic games attract lots of children that have nothing better to do
than hang around and, in many cases, create problems. He said
everything else does sound good. He said it would be nice to have a
place for the children and parents and grandparents. He said there is
no way to keep the children not wanted out of the situation. He said to
sell the property would be fine, but discussion needs to be held
regarding the pinball machines and the parties involved should know what
is and is not wanted in the City.
Page 3
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ
Zeev Meirovici, Buyer, said the concept is similar to Chuck E Cheese.
He said the machinery with all of the noise will not be in the facility.
He said 16 and 17 year olds would not be encouraged to come to a ;lase
like this because they would have no interest in this type of
entertainment. He said the highest age level would be 12 or 13 years
old.
C/M Schumann asked if the establishment is intended to operate 7 days a
week and what the.hours of operation would be.
Mr. Meirovici said he is looking for this establishment to be ideally
for the children and; hopefully, would be open 7 days and possibly until
11:00 P.M., depending on the amount of people there.
C/M Bender asked if alcoholic beverages would be served on the premises.
Mr. Meirovici said no alcoholic beverages would be served at the
facility.
Mayor Abramowitz said everyone on Council has the same fears regarding
gang intrusion. He said they are anxious to sell the old City Hall. He
said the low crime rate in the City was not by accident. He said this
is by choice and hard work. He said he is concerned and would like more
information. t
C/M Bender said he would like to give direction to City Manager Kelly to
make an impact study and investigation with documentation and to find
out if there are any problems with similar facilities.
* C/M Bender MOVED to TABLE this discussion until more information
* is gathered.,
Mayor Abramowitz said the business arrangements between a buyer and
seller are not being discussed at present. He said there is a distinct
problem and he asked if the request is to have City Manager Kelly meet
with these principles again, refine and define what they need and what
the City wants, and speak with other cities for past experience. He
said the last thing that Council wants is to encourage gangs.
City Manager Kelly said before any action is taken, the principles have
made an offer of $531,000.00 and he asked if this is within the realm of
approval.
Mayor Abramowitz said he does not want to discuss the money since this
is not the Council's concern at present. City Manager Kelly said this
Is one of the concerns of the principles if they are going to pursue
this.
Mayor Abramowitz said by the Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday,
November 14, 1990, he would like City Manager Kelly to come before
Council with more information.
V/M Hoffman said if everything else is satisfactory then the amount of
money is satisfactory also. Mayor Abramowitz said he agreed.
City Manager Kelly asked for clarification of mini golf.
V/M Hoffman said there should be some feedback from Council on what.City
Manager Kelly should discuss with the principles involved.
Mayor Abramowitz said, based on what five people have said, there is a
concern expressed with this. He said Council is not looking to mako
this into a six-month long deal. He said if he could be assured that
the concern by all is a groundless concern, everything else will fall
into line.
C/M Rohr suggested that the important fact that needs to be brought back
to Council is how they will restrict this facility from the older teens.
Mayor Abramowitz said a report needs to be acquired by City Manager,
Kelly for complete information.
Page 4 j
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ
Mr. Meirovici asked if Council was familiar with Ninja Turtles. He said
the games would be like that and children of the ages of 17 and 18 would
not be interested in this type of game..
C/M Schumann asked if the mini golf, mini baseball and the roller rink
would be outdoors.
Mr. Mayer said the mini golf and baseball would be outdoors but the
roller rink has been extracted due to not having enough space for it.
He said the idea is to put the mini golf between the buildings and the
mini baseball cages would be on the other side. He said they would not
take any of the parking space away.
Mayor Abramowitz said there have been other representations made to the
City in regard to the sale of this property and the reason nothing has
succeeded is because the City'Council and the City Manager are very
conscious of wanting to bring in whatever fits into the lifestyle of the
City. He said that is what is uppermost in the minds of Council.
* C/M Schumann SECONDED the Motion to TABLE this item pending more
information acquired by City Manager Kelly.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYR
Mr. Mayer said he has been a broker for some time in the State of
Florida and is trying to look at the City's point -of -view and, from a
seller's point -of -view, the City is very lucky to have a buyer like
this. He described briefly the principles involved who are strong
people and know what they want and luckily are not present to be
discouraged by what has been described, because their concept is
different than the concerns of the Council and match exactly what
Council wants for the City. He said this is an electronic age we live
in and electronic equipment cannot be prevented in an electronic age.
He said this is only one of the games which will be monitored
electronically. He said as far as safety is concerned, the risk exists
but there will be a guard or two to watch over the facility and the risk
would be the same as the risks of restaurants on University Drive that
are being robbed during the day.
Mr. Mayer said the concept itself is a concept that Council should
encourage for other cities in this County and could not be more pure and
innocent than it already is.
V/M Hoffman said he cannot disagree with this, but Council has a
responsibility that is a little different than the average business
concern. He said Council may have to forego a good deal because it is
not right for the future of the City. He said a person may start with
the bapt.of intentions; however, things change. He said possibly there
are nof_efrough young children attending then games are added to attract
the Q144g children and add more traffic. He said these things sometimes
get duf. o� hand. He said his concern is once Council goes along with
this, Council loses control. He said once the property is sold and the
permits that are needed are granted, control leaves the Council and from
that point on, the control is under the new owners and Council cannot
state what type games to bring in and what ages to exclude. He said he
accepts the fact there is nothing similar to what is being proposed for
the City but it needs to be investigated and compared to facilities that
are close in similarity.
Mayor Abramowitz said when discussion is held, things do come up. He
said he has heard a lot in this meeting that have possibilities. He
said he cannot cast his vote until all information is accessed and
reviewed. He said Council has expressed their desires and willingness.
He said this will be reviewed when more information is available.
C/M Rohr said he agrees with the concept as a whole but would like to
know how much in the facility would be devoted to the pinball machines.
He said he would like a layout of percentages of what would be devoted
to each activity in the building. He said in a City made up of 61%
senior citizens, the residents would like it to remain without problems.
Page 5
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ
Mayor Abramowitz said no one wants problems and Council has a
responsibility for making a decision for the future of the City.
V/M Hoffman said there is a possible change in the Code on enforce"nt.
He said North Lauderdale is changing their Code to speed up the
enforcement of violations. He asked if there has been anything dome by
Tamarac.
City Manager Kelly said he instructed Steve Oxenhandler, Director of
Development Services, to prepare a report for Council on what is
recommended to pursue in this area.
V/M Hoffman said he read from the Quad City News that North Lauderdale
is working on a method to speed up the enforcement of violations to
where there is no waiting for 30 to 90 days.
Mayor Abramowitz said Tamarac did that a long time ago.
V/M Hoffman said this is different. He said Council needs to decide if
they want to give the Code Enforcement officers the right to levy fines
this way.
Mayor Abramowitz said this was done last year and, at one time, 120 days
was the normal time from the time of issuance to coming before Code
Enforcement. He said at present, they have a method that within 15
days, they are brought before Code Enforcement.
V/M Hoffman said the article states that a Code Enforcement officer
issues a warning and the person is given a certain amount of time to
correct it. He said if it is not corrected, the Code Enforcement
officer levies a fine, which could be appealed to the Courts. He
suggested this be reviewed.
Mayor Abramowitz said there will be a workshop meeting at 9:30 A.M'on
Wednesday, November 7, 1990 regarding Woodmont ACLF and any other items
that need to be discussed. He said City Manager Kelly will have the
remainder of information to be discussed on that subject.
With no further business to discuss, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this
meeting at 10:00 A.M.
NORMAN ABRAMOWITZ, MAYOR
CAROL A. EVANS
CITY CLERK
"This public document was promulgated at
copy to inform the general public, public
recent opinions and considerations of the
Tamarac."
:ost of $69.52 or $; 5#`viper
officers and employes fi_
City Council of the 3.i€- sbf
CITY OF TAMA RAC
APPR ED AT MEETIINNNG QF �" o
City Clerk
Page B
City Council Special Meeting
11/05/90/KJ