HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-10 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP
MONDAY, JULY 10, 2017
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Harry Dressler called the Workshop of the City Commission to
order at 9:39 a.m. on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Conference Room 105, City Hall, 7525 NW
88th Avenue, Tamarac, FL 33321.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Harry Dressler, Vice Mayor Debra Placko, Commissioner Marlon
Bolton, Commissioner Michelle J. Gomez and Commissioner Julie Fishman were in
attendance.
Also in attendance were City Manager Michael C. Cernech, Assistant City Manager Diane
Phillips, City Attorney Samuel S. Goren and City Clerk Patricia Teufel.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Dressler led the Pledge of Allegiance
1. TR12977 - Taste of Tamarac 2017 In -kind Support and Waiver of Fees: Item No. 6 (d) on
the Consent Agenda. A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida,
approving a request from the Tamarac Chamber of Commerce for in -kind support and to
waive fees for Friday, October 13, 2017, and Saturday, October 14, 2017, for the Taste of
Tamarac event to be held at the Tamarac Community Center on Saturday, October 14,
2017, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; providing for permits, proper insurance, and execution
of a hold harmless agreement. Parks & Recreation Director Greg Warner and Tamarac
Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director Peter Mason appeared. Parks & Recreation
Director Warner gave a brief overview of the item and noted that this is the 14th year for the
Taste of Tamarac which is the signature fund raiser for the Chamber of Commerce. This
event is very popular and they expect 1,000 to 1,200 attendees. Parks & Recreation
Director Warner went over the waiver of fees and in -kind support elements and noted that it
be a total of $7,300 in fees waived. Mr. Mason noted that it was a pleasure and privilege to
be here and said this event assists small businesses in Tamarac. Mr. Mason said they will
have 25 to 30 restaurants along with other vendors that will be participating this year. Mr.
Mason thanked the Commission for consideration of the waiver of fees.
2. TR12972 - FY17/18 CDBG Annual Action Plan: Item No. 9 (a) on Public Hearings. A
Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, approving the projects
recommended for inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Action Plan attached hereto as
Exhibit 1", for expenditure of the United States Housing and Urban Development
Community Development Block Grant funds estimated to be $338,151 for the eighteenth
program year; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective
date. Community Development Director Maxine Calloway and Housing & Neighborhood
Program Manager Coleen Christie appeared. Community Development Director Calloway
said this is the annual presentation to the Commission and noted that the funding has been
decreased this year but there are no changes to any of the programs. Housing &
Neighborhood Programs Manager Christie gave a presentation, a copy of which is on file in
the City Clerk's Office. Housing & Neighborhood Programs Manager Christie went over the
purpose of the Annual Action Plan; the funding cycle and funding allocation; recommended
activities; home rehabilitation; public services; program administration; proposed
performance goals and loan terms. Housing & Neighborhood Programs Manager Christie
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also went over the application/selection process; income eligibility and discussed the public
review schedule.
3. TR12979 - Grant Application for BRP Program: Item No. 6 (c) on the Consent Agenda. A
Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida authorizing the
appropriate City Officials to submit a grant application, attached hereto as Exhibit "A", to
Broward County for Broward Redevelopment Program Funds in an amount up to
$1,000,000 For the Tamarac Village Park Project; providing for up to a 1:1 in -kind and/or
cash match in local funds in an amount up to $1,000,000 in the event of approval of the
application; providing for acceptance of the award and execution of documents upon legal
review and approval; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an
effective date. Financial Services Director Mark Mason and Grants Administrator Michael
Gresek appeared. Grants Administrator Gresek gave a presentation, a copy of which is on
file in the City Clerk's Office. Mr. Gresek said the purpose of the Broward Redevelopment
Program is to promote economic growth and job creation and provide for land acquisition
projects and public improvements as well as address "blight" municipalities. Mr. Gresek
described the area of Tamarac Village Park that the funds will be applied to. Mr. Gresek
said we will find out in November if we get the grant and will then have three years to
construct the project. Mr. Gresek responded to a few questions from the Commission.
4. TR12967 - FY 2018 Nuisance Abatement Initial Resolution: Item No. 6 (h) on the
Consent Agenda. A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida,
Relating to the Provision of Nuisance Abatement on Certain Real Properties by the City in
Accordance with Chapter 9, Article li, Division V of the City's Code of Ordinances;
Determining that Certain Real Property has been Specially Benefited by the City's
Abatement Of Nuisances Thereon; Directing the City Manager to Prepare or Direct the
Preparation of a Preliminary Nuisance Abatement Assessment Roll; Establishing a Public
Hearing for the Proposed Levy of Unpaid Nuisance Abatement Assessments on the Annual
Tax Bill and Directing the Provision of Notice in Connection Therewith; Providing for
Conflict; Providing for Severability; and Providing for an Effective Date. Financial Services
Director Mark Mason appeared and gave a presentation, a copy of which is on file in the
City Clerk's Office. Financial Services Director Mason went over the history of the Nuisance
Abatement program and talked about the number of properties and the proposed
assessments. Financial Services Director Mason responded to a query from Mayor
Dressler and City Attorney Goren went over the appeal process available to property whose
properties have been abated.
5. TR12981 - 2017 - 2020 FPE Contract Renewal: Item No. 6 (1) on the Consent Agenda. A
Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, authorizing the
appropriate City officials to execute an agreement with the Federation of Public Employees,
a division of the National Federation of Public and Private Employees affiliated with District
1-MEBA (AFL-CIO) for the period from October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2020;
authorizing the preparation of amendments to Chapter 16 of the City Code for review by the
Pension Board and approval by the City Commission; providing for conflicts; providing for
severability; and providing for an effective date. Human Resources Director Lerenzo
Calhoun and gave a presentation. Human Resources Director Calhoun said this is a
renewal of the three-year bargaining agreement. Human Resources Director Calhoun said
for the first year there will be a 2.5% wage increase and a 3% wage increase for the second
and third years. We have already allocated $399,591.59 for the first year. Human
Resources Director Calhoun went over some additional changes to the agreement. Human
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Resources Director Calhoun added that certain provisions of the General Employee
Pension Ordinance were clarified and changes have been drafted to effectuate these
changes and it is expected to come before the Commission in August of 2017. Human
Resources Director Calhoun responded to a few questions and comments from the
Commission.
6. Discussion on Little Free Libraries in Parks - Parks & Recreation Director Greg Warner,
Assistant Parks & Recreation Director Linda Probert and Fire Union Tamarac District 4
President Local 3080 Billy Duesler appeared. Parks & Recreation Director Warner gave a
presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Assistant Parks &
Recreation Director Probert went over samples of the library boxes; talked about
researching what other cities and counties have done and advised that staff is looking to
placing one box being placed at the Sports Complex and another at Caporella Park. Parks
& Recreation Director Warner said he is looking for a consensus from the Commission to
move forward with this project. Parks & Recreation Director Warner said he has called the
Tamarac Library to discuss a partnership with the City of Tamarac Friends of the Library.
People are not returning the books but they are taking and reading the books and noted
that ideally, we want people to return the books. Mr. Duesler said there is a person in the
fire union who can make the boxes which will be 24"x24"x34" tall, have three shelves and
two clear doors. These boxes will take about one and one-half weeks to build and the
Union has the funds to cover the costs of building two boxes. Mayor Dressler said he
agrees with starting out with two boxes and if it is successful looking to increase the number
of boxes. Parks & Recreation Director Warner, Assistant Parks & Recreation Director
Probert and Mr. Deusler responded to questions and comments from the Commission.
Mayor Dressler recessed the meeting at 10:33 a.m. and reconvened the meeting at 10:42
a.m. with all present as before.
7. Update on Code Enforcement - Community Development Maxine Calloway and Code
Enforcement Manager Scott Krajewski appeared. Community Development Director
Calloway gave a presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office, and went
over the Code Enforcement organizational chart. Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski
went over the zone map; code staffing hours; talked about calls over the weekend; initial
inspections and re -inspections; cases issued per zone and the Performance Measures for
2014, 2015 and 2016. Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski also talked about inspection
projects; working with BSO in the evenings and talked about code enforcement officers shift
rescheduling to address issues. Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski then talked about
different cities in Broward County that were surveyed and reported that none of the cities
that surround Tamarac use officers in the evenings. Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski
talked about current processes that the officers use to enter information electronically and
moving forward acquiring new software, Sungard Trakit, which should allow officers to work
directly from their vehicles.
Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski responded to questions from Vice Mayor Placko.
Commissioner Gomez wanted to have code enforcement officers work in the evening and
on weekends because people don't care about the code. Code Enforcement Manager
Krajewski said Dina Lugger and Richard Zalewski occasionally go out between 9 pm and 12
am when it is warranted. Commissioner Gomez said she felt that that was not good enough
and that someone should be out between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to address illegal
overnight parking and reiterated that she believed we need an officer on the night shift.
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Commissioner Gomez talked about panhandlers on Commercial Blvd. and University Dr.
Commissioner Gomez said she would like to try having a night shift officer for a few a
months. Commissioner Gomez said she understands that there is a number for people to
call at night and on weekends but was unable to locate it on the website and said it needs to
be more prominent and perhaps it should be in the Tam -A -Gram. Mayor Dressler asked if
the Commission was in favor or hiring another code officer for evenings. City Manager
Cernech said he did not think it was appropriate for the Commission to tell staff how to staff
their departments and before you direct us to hire another officer to allow staff to do an
analysis and advise the Commission if it needs to be done before moving staff around.
There was a lengthy discussion regarding overnight parking between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00
a.m. City Manager Cernech said the code relative to overnight parking is old and archaic
and should be taken off the books as we have not ticketed anyone for blocking the streets
for emergency vehicles. City Manager Cernech said our communities have changed and
people need a place to park their cars at their home. We have not experienced any safety
issues between 2:00 a.m. and 6.00 a.m.
Mayor Dressler said the Commission should not instruct staff on how to staff their
departments. What we have here is the Commission needs to decide to either enforce the
ordinance on the books or repeal the ordinance as this would be the easiest way to fix this
issue. Community Development Director Calloway, Code Enforcement Manager Krajewski
and City Attorney Goren responded to a few more questions, comment and concerns
expressed by the Commission.
8. Discussion Regarding a Resolution Encouraging the United States Renew Participation
in the Paris Agreement. Commissioner Julie Fishman appeared and gave a presentation, a
copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Mayor Dressler said he was adamant
about having resolutions be non -partisan and would not sign a resolution that came across
as bi-partisan. There was a lengthy discussion between Mayor Dressler and Commissioner
Placko about the resolution. Mayor Dressler asked Commissioner Fishman what her object
was and Commissioner Fishman responded to have Tamarac take a position on climate
change. Commissioner Fishman said she will look at what the National League of Cities
and the Florida League of Cities has put forth on this issue. All agreed that it would be safer
for the Commission to take a position on global warming.
There being no further business to come before the City Commission for consideration,
Mayor Dressler adjourned the meeting at 12:10 p.m.
Patricia Teufel, CIVIC
City Clerk
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