HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-25 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Harry Dressler called the Workshop of the City Commission
to order at 10:06 a.m. on Monday, September 25, 2017 in Conference Room 105, City
Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, FL 33321.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Harry Dressler, Vice Mayor Debra Placko, Commissioner Marion
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, Assistant City Attorney Julie Klahr and City Clerk Patricia Teufel.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Fishman led the Pledge of Allegiance.
1. TR13004 - Parks and Rec Fee Study, Fees and Charges: Item No. 6 (c) on the
Consent Agenda. (TR13004) A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of
Tamarac, Florida, accepting the Comprehensive Fee Study for the Parks and Recreation
Department, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein by
reference; adopting the proposed fee schedule, a copy of which is attached hereto as
Exhibit "B" and incorporated herein by reference; authorizing the City Manager to amend
the fee schedule; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing an
effective date. Parks & Recreation Director Greg Warner appeared and gave a
presentation, a copy of which is on file in the City Clerk's Office. Parks & Recreation
Director Warner went over the background of the Fee Study; talked about the Fee Study
and the Consultant's tasks; the findings of the Fee Study; the Benchmark Study, the
recommendations/implementation; went over short-term goals and medium -term goals.
Parks & Recreation Director Warner went over some of the proposed fees for shelters
and room rentals; summer camp fees, Senior program fees and transportations fees.
Parks & Recreation Director Warner then went over the next steps that staff would be
taking because proposed fee increased need to be done in steps. Parks & Recreation
Director Warner said the proposed increases over the next three years would bring in an
additional $235,000. Mayor Dressler commented that some cities are able to provide
services at no cost to the public.
Vice Mayor Placko asked if there was a separate cleanup fee for the shelters and Parks
& Recreation Director Warner said there is a cleanup of $50.00 which is refunded if the
shelter is left in clean condition. Vice Mayor Placko asked if we give priority to Tamarac
children for the summer camp and Parks & Recreation Director Warner said we give
residents a head start on registering which is two weeks before non-residents. Vice
Mayor Placko asked how the 25% match for camp worked and Parks & Recreation
Director Warner said it has to be paid in cash and we work with people to set up a
payment schedule if necessary. Parks & Recreation Director Warner talked about the
need for a true methodology for setting fees. There was a brief discussion on getting
the maximum use out of our facilities. Assistant City Manager Phillips said one of the
challenges we have is to make sure things are affordable and noted that we rely heavily
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on non-residents in order to maximize the use of our facilities. Parks & Recreation
Director Warner noted that Tamarac eliminated the non-resident fee at the fitness
center a few years ago. Vice Mayor Placko asked if any of the fees would deter people
from participating and Parks & Recreation Director Warner said no. Commissioner
Fishman asked if other cities gave a reduction in camp fees for additional children and
Parks & Recreation Director Warner said they do not show that they offer reductions.
Commissioner Fishman left the meeting at 11:05 a.m.
Commissioner Gomez said we have great facilities and offer great services and noted
that the rooms are always in use. Commissioner Gomez said she we need to do what
has been proposed. There was a discussion of the possibility of doing half day shelter
rentals instead of whole day shelter rentals. There was a discussion about rates
charged for non-profit groups. Parks & Recreation Director Warner noted the $235,000
would bring cost recovery up from 24% to 26%. Mayor Dressler commented that the
costs to provide these services still will not be recovered with these increases.
Commissioner Gomez said she would like to see the age demographics for all four
districts. Parks & Recreation Director Warner said they will need to look at operational
efficiencies to keep costs in check. Mayor Dressler said we need to increase fees
otherwise we will not be able to continue to provide these services.
2. Hurricane Irma Wrap-up: Mayor Dressler said he was very stressed out when he
heard about the situation that occurred at the Hollywood nursing home as well as the
fact that there were seniors without power and no elevators. Mayor Dressler said the
City sent out personnel to knock on doors where people were the most vulnerable
Commissioner Fishman along with City personnel knocked on doors in Clairmont in
Kings Point. Mayor Dressler thanked all the Commissioner members who were out
helping people. Vice Mayor Placko added that staff contacted the ALF's and nursing
homes to see if they needed assistance. Mayor Dressler said Tamarac implemented a
game plan that was tried and true and he could not be prouder of Tamarac employees.
Mayor Dressler thanked everyone who works in Tamarac for the job they have done
and continue to do. Mayor Dressler noted that he received emails from people saying
how good the City has responded.
Public Services Director Strain provided the Commission members with a map
indicating where debris has already been picked up, a copy of which is on file in the City
Clerk's Office. Public Services Director Strain said we have pretty much picked up
debris almost everywhere in Tamarac. Public Services Director Strain reported that we
have picked up 17,000 cubic yards to date and we estimate we will be picking up
around 170,000 yards, however, this figure does not include approximately 30,000 cubic
yards we have in the canals. Public Services Director Strain said it is not necessary to
pick up the debris in the canals right away. There is a meeting scheduled on
Wednesday with NRCS to do a site visit to make sure they are fully aware of what
needs to be removed when they get the funding.
City Manager Michael Cernech explained how the monitoring system works with
Ashbritt picking up the debris, TetraTech monitors the debris removal and there is a
Tamarac employee also monitoring the debris removal. The collection of the debris is
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monitored via GPS in order for us to get FEMA reimbursement. City Manager Cernech
reiterated that debris pick up is spread across Tamarac. City Manager Cernech went
over the debris collection process in detail. City Manager Cernech said staff has not
talked to the Commission about collecting in private communities yet. City Manager
Cernech said FEMA has a new rule in place limiting debris collection to two passes and
there is no way to pick up all the debris with two passes. We have been working with
property owners to get their debris out to the swales in order to get picked up. City
Manager Cernech said the debris removal will be going on for months.
City Manager Cernech reported that Ashbritt was here on the Tuesday after the storm to
start picking up debris but we still have some challenges. In the past six weeks, we
have had three hurricanes which statistically does not happen. Houston is devastated
and people are hauling everything out of their homes waiting for companies like Ashbritt
to come and collect that debris. Ashbritt has 1,000 trucks in Houston at $18 a cubic
yard and Ashbritt is working in Tamarac for $8.60 a cubic yard; Miami Dade is paying
$15 a cubic yard and West Palm Beach is paying $16 a cubic yard. Ashbritt is under
contract for $8.60 a cubic yard and if there are no trucks there is no pickup. City
Manager Cernech said the Army Corp of Engineers is loading up equipment and crews
and sending them to pick up debris at $36 a cubic yard. Ashbritt has asked for an
increase to a number closer to $14.50 a cubic yard. That is a fluid number and they will
reduce it when necessary. City Manager Cernech said we have estimated between
170,000 — 200,00 cubic yards of debris will cost about $3 million to pick up the debris
with FEMA picking up 79% of that cost. We are moving cautiously because when you
take the increase into account it will cost about $5.5 million and it is uncertain how much
FEMA will pay or whether we have to spend our own money. Whatever happens with
pricing we will be in a good position for debris pickup in public ROW's and that is why
we have been working with communities to get the debris in the ROW. Other cities are
taking similar approaches and are struggling with how to get debris picked up.
City Manager Cernech said we have had a lot of dissatisfaction expressed with the
debris pickup but it is getting picked up slowly but surely. We have had as few as 4
trucks and as many as 12 trucks and as Ashbritt has contracted with numerous other
cities there are a limited number of trucks. Irma impacted Florida, Georgia and South
Carolina and those crews have stayed home to clean up debris there. We are doing two
things: 2) we are trying to get debris picked up and 2) get debris out of the private
communities. FEMA has offered limited guidance. We are handling pickup in order to
get maximum reimbursement from FEMA. City Manager Cernech said we will have to
make a decision about picking up debris in private communities while minimizing our
risk. City Manager Cernech explained the pickup process should Ashbritt and TetraTech
enter private communities. City Manager Cernech commented that Tallahassee should
be putting pressure in Washington D.C. for Florida. City Manager Cernech said debris
will have to sit for a while until we get more assets to pick it up. City Manager Cernech
said no one could have foreseen three hurricanes happening. People need to
understand that yes, the debris is unsightly, but you have a roof on your house,
electricity, food and water and we should be grateful. There are a lot of things we could
have been facing that we are not.
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Getting the debris removed is our number one priority. He talked with the CEO of
Ashbritt and they are committed to getting the debris picked up. City Manager Cernech
said that at some point on Wednesday we will come before the Commission with
pricing. We will have a plan that we will be presenting to the Commission on
Wednesday. City Manager Cernech said he appreciates everyone's patience and we
will get through this.
Mayor Dressler said the Mayors in Broward County had numerous conference calls
about the debris removal issued and that we were in a jam as it was not in our control.
We talked about price gouging and the Mayors did not want to get in a bidding war and
the possibility of working together with other cities. It is not clear if FEMA will reimburse
or not because they keep changing the rules. We knew we had a problem with Houston
but with the reports coming out of Puerto Rico we knew it was worse. Mayor Dressler
said you can't plan for everything and there are things that are out of our hands. Mayor
Dressler said professional staff will deal with the cleanup and FEMA and the
Commission will help get the message out about how lucky we came through the storm.
There is no immediate solution to the issue of debris cleanup as the sub -contractors will
go where the money is. We will have to get the word out to be patient. Mayor Dressler
said the question is what is Tamarac's responsibility for debris removal on private
property which is something the Commission needs to ponder before Wednesday.
Mayor Dressler said he thinks it is Tamarac's responsibility because it is a safety issue
and we need to do what is in the best interest of the people of Tamarac. We need to get
the message out for people to be patient and let them know we are working on getting
this solved.
Vice Mayor Placko said everyone can agree that the residents many not like the
information we give them but if we are honest they will be more understanding. Vice
Mayor Placko asked if there is any way we can provide people with a schedule of debris
removal and Public Services Director Strain said we will not be able to tell a specific
street when their debris will be picked up and went over the methodology of debris pick
up. Public Services Director Strain said we started on Tuesday and there are some
cities that still do not have a contractor. Public Services Director Strain reassured the
Commission that we will get all the debris picked up but we have to do it in the most
efficient manner. We have to make sure we keep the contractors busy so that they
make money and stay. Vice Mayor Placko asked how do we know how much debris
there is to be picked up. Public Services Director Strain said we have people going out
through the City but right now we only have four trucks and we need to keep them here
and as busy as possible. We will work with private communities to find a place to put the
debris and if they advise the Commission that they are having difficulty to call public
services. Public Services Director Strain said that yesterday we had eleven trucks but
that today we have four trucks. Public Services Director Strain said he will provide the
Commission with new maps showing which areas have had the first pass through. City
Manager Cernech said we need to communicate to people to get the debris out. City
Manager Cernech said we moved our debris site to a more central location which allows
the trucks to make shorter trips. Public Services Director Strain said it will be a constant
battle of people taking assets from other cities.
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Vice Mayor Placko asked when bulk pickup be resumed and Public Services Director
Strain he did not know as this has been ceased until further notice. Public Services
Director Strain said if someone really complains Public Services will go out and talk to
them.
Commissioner Gomez said she has received plenty of emails and calls regarding debris
pick up and people are frustrated. Part of the problem is people are not putting the
debris in the ROW. Commissioner Gomez said we need to explain to people the
methodology of how the debris is picked up and we need to explain how the three
hurricanes have affected the way debris is being picked up. Commissioner Gomez said
we need to remind people to separate their garbage and storm debris and let them
know not to put black bags in the debris pile because it will not get picked up.
Commissioner Gomez asked how many tarps have been distributed and Public
Services Director Strain said 10 -13 tarps. Commissioner Gomez confirmed that to date
we had picked up 17,000 cubic yards and with Wilma we had 300,000 cubic yards
which filled up a 3-acre debris site. Public Services Director Strain said centralizing the
debris site has have shortened routes and has helped keep assets here; we are working
12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Public Services Director Strain reiterated the debris
collection process. Public Services Director Strain noted that people will have two to
three weeks' notice before the final pass for debris collection.
Mayor Dressler said we have to explain that things change from day to day and people
need to be patient and we are doing everything we can. Mayor Dressler said people
should be grateful for what they have. Commissioner Bolton said he respects the City's
position and Public Services is doing a very good job. Commissioner Bolton said the
City is also doing a good job of getting information out to people and commended the
Commission on the hard work that everyone has done. Commissioner Bolton said just
because some Commission members are not posting to social media does not mean
they are not out there in the Community. Commissioner Bolton thanked the City staff
and the Commission for doing an excellent job and hopes life will resume to normalcy
shortly.
Public Services Director Strain told the Commission that if they have a dissatisfied
resident have them call Public Services.
3. Other
There being no further business to come before the City Commission for consideration,
Mayor Harry Dressler adjourned the meeting at 12:45 p.m.
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