HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-21 - City Commission Special Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP
COMMISSION UPDATE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Harry Dressler called the Workshop of the City Commission to
order at 12.45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 in the Mango Room at the Tamarac
Recreation Center, 7501 N. University Drive, Tamarac, FL 33321.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Harry Dressler, Vice Mayor Michelle J. Gomez, Commissioner Julie
Fishman and Commissioner Debra Placko were in attendance.
ABSENT: Commissioner Marlon Bolton,
Also in attendance were City Manager Michael Cernech, City Attorney Samuel Goren,
Assistant City Manager Kathleen Gunn, City Clerk Patricia Teufel, Information Technology
Director Levent Sucuoglu, Assistant Public Services Director John Doherty, Human
Resources Director Lerenzo Calhoun, Financial Services Director Mark Mason, Parks &
Recreation Director Greg Warner, Fire Chief Percy Sayles, Chief Building Official Claudio
Grande, Community Development Director Maxine Calloway, BSO Chief Neal Glassman and
Public Information & Media Specialist Elise Boston.
City Attorney Goren said pursuant to F.S. 286.011(8) he is requesting a Shade Session as he
is seeking the Commission's advice and direction regarding the following two cases.. Prestige
Homes of Tamarac Inc., v. City of Tamarac, Broward County Case No.: CACE 10-45101 and
Prestige Homes of Tamarac Inc., v. City of Tamarac, Broward County Case No.: CACE 11-
12611. City Attorney Goren said he is looking to have the Shade Session sometime in April.
There was a consensus to have the Shade Session in April.
City Manager Cernech noted that we will not be here as long today as we have been in the
past. City Manager Cernech said the Commission may have noticed that we are having one
of these meetings monthly and the purpose is to get more information to you in a proactive
and timely way regarding some of the things that are coming up in the next few months. Staff
will be talking about Tamarac Fire Rescue and response times and how we are proposing to
resolve some issues. Staff will also be updating the Commission on some of the things that
are happening with the Landscape Master Plan; Infrastructure Improvements and
Scheduling. City Manager Cernech said the Commission has been great and staff
appreciates your flexibility in trying to make time to provide more opportunities to share
information and update you and get your feedback. City Manager Cernech said these
meetings are providing staff with good feedback. City Manager Cernech said he understands
that it can be frustrating for elected officials because we ask you to approve CIP's and it
takes a long time to go through all of the steps and it is easy to lose track of things that are
going on. City Manager Cernech said we have in the past discussed the concept of trying to
add another meeting to the calendar to give you an opportunity to talk with each other in the
Sunshine and we have been able to work them in with the next one scheduled for April 16,
2018. We are asking you to allow for a third regular scheduled meeting a month that would
last approximately 2 hours to provide you the opportunity to have a discussion and provide
you with updates. City Manager Cernech said these public meetings, they are agendized and
properly noticed and they provide us with an opportunity for you to be candid with the staff.
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COMMISSION UPDATE
City Manager Cernech said it is unfortunate that Commissioner Bolton was not able to attend
as we need to have a conversation with all five of the Commission members relative to the
importance of scheduling these meetings.
City Manager Cernech said Fire Chief Sayles has a great presentation about Tamarac Fire
Rescue staff, about challenges we are having and solutions and their impact. The information
is very detailed and if you don't understand something, stop and ask questions as this is an
important conversation. City Manager Cernech said Fire Chief Sayles has worked very hard
on this presentation and this will have a fiscal impact. City Manager Cernech said there are a
lot of things going on in Tamarac and it is important that the Commission stays informed and
able to answer any questions from your constituents.
Fire Chief Sayles gave a presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Fire
Chief Sayles gave an overview of the presentation; talked about Response Zones; Response
Data from 2015, 2016 and 201 T Station 78 challenges; Fire Station Deployment; Aid Types;
Regional Partners; Automatic Aid tracking statistics for 2015 to 2017; Automatic Aid
Received; Call Type & Volume; Summary and Planned Approach. Fire Chief Sayles
responded to questions from the Commission throughout the presentation. Finance Director
Mason and City Manager Cernech responded to a few questions from the Commission at the
conclusion of the presentation regarding the fiscal impact and the millage rate. Mayor
Dressler said it is important that staff understands that the Commission would like to reduce
the millage rate rather than maintain a stable millage rate.
City Manager Cernech talked about a conversation he had with a Ft. Lauderdale resident and
how the resident was dissatisfied with the way Ft. Lauderdale has dealt with infrastructure
issues. City Manager Cernech said we don't get those complaints in Tamarac and when we
do get complaints, we fix it. Tamarac has been proactive, we need to address the issues that
Fire Chief Sayles presented to the Commission and with costs rising constantly, we need to
take a more regional approach to providing fire rescue services. Mayor Dressler said the
Planned Approach that was presented to the Commission makes sense.
Assistant City Attorney Julie Klahr joined the meeting at 1:55 p.m. and City Attorney Goren
left the meeting at 1:58 p.m.
Mayor Dressler said this is a conversation that the City Manager should be having with our
neighbors and City Manager Cernech said this should also be done by the Commission
members as well. Finance Director Mason explained the financial aspects of the additional
unit and Firefighters and the millage rate. Finance Director Mason said it would cost Tamarac
$1.2 million for 12 Firefighters and staff has evaluated this and at the current millage rate this
is doable and sustainable. Finance Director Mason said our call volume has not changes that
much over the last 10 years and what has really changed is the calls are generated more
from residents than commercial. There will be a financial impact, but staff is planning for that.
Mayor Dressler recessed the meeting at 2:07 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 2:29 p.m.
with all present as before.
Community Development Director Calloway gave a presentation on the Landscape Master
Plan, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Community Development Director
Calloway went over the 7 segments of the Tamarac Landscape Enhancement Project and
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COMMISSION UPDATE
the Implementation Schedule over a 5-year period. Community Development Director
Calloway responded to a few questions and concerns from the Commission.
Assistant Director/ Capital Project Manager Doherty gave an Infrastructure Update
presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Assistant Director/ Capital
Project Manager Doherty talked about the I & I Program, Wastewater Cured -In -Place Lining;
Citywide Pavement Management Program; Annual Citywide Sidewalk Improvements;
Citywide Bike Paths, Guardrail Improvement Program; Culvert & Headway Program and
Signage Program. Commissioner Placko said she would like a schedule for the Woodmont
Signage Program. City Manager Cernech said the signs have come in more expansive than
we thought, and staff will deal with this internally. The cost is now $62,000 a sign, we are still
moving along with the program and will get back to the Commission with a revised cost.
Assistant Director/ Capital Project Manager Doherty continued with his presentation and
talked about the Buffer -wall Program and its various phases. Mayor Dressler talked about
the buffer -wall on Southgate Blvd. and the developer's non-compliance with the Developer's
Agreement. Assistant Director/ Capital Project Manager Doherty, Finance Director Mason
and City Manager Cernech responded to questions from the Commission throughout the
presentation.
City Manager Cernech reiterated that we have some concerns about the signs at this time
and we will address that internally. City Manager Cernech said he is sorry Commissioner
Bolton is not here as he raised a question at the last meeting regarding Shaker Village. City
Manager Cernech said the City has done some infrastructure work in Shaker Village, i.e. pipe
bursting and the work that was done was on private property. City Manager Cernech said
everything in Shaker Village is privately owned and maintained by Shaker Village. When we
finish with our projects, we leave the place in better shape than when we got there. There are
still some issues with repaving; however, we found that was because of the lack of
maintenance and any repaving we would do would be compromised by the lack of drainage.
It has been estimated that it would cost $1.5 to fix the problem and we would be happy to
contribute to the repaving but we cannot justify paying for the whole thing. City Manager
Cernech said we are in a catch 22 and he will talk about levying an assessment with
Commissioner Bolton. City Manager Cernech spoke about the condition of the Shaker Village
Clubhouse. There was a discussion about spending tax dollars on private property. The work
we did in Shaker Village did not cause the damage; however, the lack of maintenance did.
City Manager Cernech said we need a commitment from the people in Shaker Village that
they will contribute, and the City will do our part. Assistant Director/ Capital Project Manager
Doherty reported the Public Services Director Strain met with the property manager and
discovering the significant drainage problems. Vice Mayor Gomez commented that they may
not have the resources to do the repairs and Finance Director Mason said they have 358
units in Shaker Village and one way for them to fix this would be to level an assessment.
Mayor Dressler asked staff to let the Commission know if someone from Shaker Village
approaches the City to perform the repairs.
City Manager Cernech reported that we finally received all of the costs for the Colony West
Clubhouse, Cart Barn, etc. and it is no surprise that it came in over budget. City Manager
Cernech said staff will work with the construction company and subcontract to bring this
under budget. City Manager Cernech said they are working with Marker Construction and
are optimistic that we can get to be where we need to be. Mayor Dressler asked what the
current value of the property is and Finance Director Mason responded that he would have to
Page 3 of 4 SPECIAL COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING March 21, 2018
COMMISSION UPDATE
look it up based on the use of the property. City Manager Cernech said the Glades Course is
worth $15 million. We have done a lot of renovating on that course and have received a lot of
good feedback. Commissioner Placko asked when we would be closing the Clubhouse and
Finance Director Mason said sometime in September and it is schedule for the new
Clubhouse to be completed in September 2019.
City Manager Cernech said he wants to have a discussion about scheduling but it will wait
until all are present. Vice Mayor Gomez said she thinks the conversation needs to take place
now as we need to move on with the business of the City. City Manager Cernech said we
have always scheduled meetings when all 5 members were available. If we are going to
change that at the direction of the Commission that is fine. City Manager Cernech said he
wants to have a conversation about changing the way we schedule as this has become a
challenge. City Manager Cernech said other cities schedule things and if someone is not
there they still conduct the meeting. It has become very frustrating for other Commission
members to change their schedules because of one person, and this is not working for us.
Mayor Dressler said physical quorums of three clearly do not work; four or five is reasonable.
Commissioner Fishman said she agreed with Vice Mayor Gomez and she too has been
frustrated by all the rescheduling. We need to change how we schedule because this is not
working now. Mayor Dressler said scheduling for 4 is viable. City Manager Cernech said staff
is trying to be respectful of everyone's calendar and if we can't find when all five are
available, we will look for a date when four are available as we want to do the business of the
City in a timely manner. City Manager Cernech said staff needs to have a conversation and
get clear direction on how to proceed.
Commissioner Placko said Workshops and Commission meetings are scheduled very far in
advance. This is a very different Commission and we are all busy and to have holds on
calendars is just not acceptable, and if there are four or three available we should just move
forward. Vice Mayor Gomez said when she first joined the Commission she had to readjust
her schedule to accommodate meetings. Vice Mayor Gomez said we need to have a
minimum of four for important items and Quasi -Judicial items. Assistant Director/ Capital
Project Manager Doherty commented that QJ's need a super -majority presence. Mayor
Dressler said there seems to be a consensus that you don't have to schedule for five that
staff can schedule for four or three unless it is something important. Vice Mayor Gomez
talked about trying to schedule a Town Hall meeting after the shooting at Stoneman Douglas
High School and being unable to accomplish that. Commissioner Placko said if there is
something important to a Commissioner they have to take the responsibility to be there.
City Manager Cernech said we will be scheduling an update meeting in April and we will try to
keep it short. We have some more things that we need to get back with you on and other
things we need to talk about in advance of the budget discussion in June. City Manager
Cernech commented that these meetings seem to be working well with the Commission.
There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Dressler
adjourned ffie "eftlirj% at 3:47 p.m.
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