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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 Page 1 of 4 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING July 10, 2017 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 Page 2 of 4 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING July 10, 2017 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. Page 3 of 4 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING July 10, 2017 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 , T �� ® A4,1 Al. $ e , ESTABLISHED ' 1963 _ =' 0 '. SEAL .' O` Page 4 of 4 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING July 10, 2017