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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-08 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, November 8, 2010 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Talabisco called the workshop meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. on Monday, November 8, 2010 in Room 105, Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, FL. PRESENT: Mayor Beth Talabisco, Vice Mayor Harry Dressler, Commissioner Pamela Bushnell, Commissioner Michelle J. Gomez, and Commissioner Diane Glasser. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, Deputy City Manager Michael Cernech, Assistant City Attorney Julie Klahr and Assistant City Clerk Patricia Teufel. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Talabisco led the pledge of allegiance. 1. UPDATE REGARDING THE FT. LAUDERDALE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT: Update Regarding the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. Airport Manager Clara Bennett and Operations Manager Rufus James appeared. Airport Manager Bennett gave a presentation. Mayor Talabisco thanked Airport Manager Bennett for a very thorough presentation. Commissioner Bushnell said the airport board is one of the finest she has had the honor to work with and is very excited about the Foreign Trade Zone Program. Vice Mayor Dressler asked if noise abatement was a daily issue and Commissioner Bushnell said yes and spoke of a website that you can track the flights in and out of the airport. There was a discussion on the proposed Water Park at the facility and Airport Manager Bennett said they must comply with the Quit Claim Deed and any non aviation activities must be first approved by the FAA. 2. Item No. 6 (d) on the Consent Agenda. AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE 2010 EDWARD BYRNE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT MEMORANDUM: (TR11950) A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, authorizing the appropriate City Officials to approve and execute a Memorandum of Understanding for the 2010 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) between the City of Tamarac and the Broward Sheriffs Office for the period of October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2013; authorizing the Broward Sheriffs Office to continue to serve as the lead agency and provide for the administration of the 2010 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG); providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date. Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips and BSO Chief Marc Duguay appeared. Assistant City Manager Phillips gave a presentation. Chief Duguay said the funds would be used to provide 536 hours of proactive patrolling of the business and commercial areas in Tamarac. Assistant City Manager Phillips said that this ties into the City's Strategic Goal #5 to establish business and commercial area police details. Commissioner Bushnell confirmed the enhancement of police services at this time of year is a good thing to do. There was a discussion on how best to deter identify theft by not carrying certain items in purses and wallets. Commissioner Glasser asked if we still had Resource Officers in our schools Page 1 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 and Chief Duguay said we did. Mayor Talabisco asked if once these funds run out, would we be eligible to apply for more funding and Assistant City Manager. Phillips responded yes. Vice Mayor Dressler commented that this is a good time of year to have extra patrols and asked if they would be on foot or in cars and Chief Duguay replied it would be both. Mayor Talabisco said that Tamarac appreciates all that BSO does and we are fortunate to have the best police and fire personnel. 3. DISCUSSION REGARDING BUS SHELTERS: Discussion Regarding Bus Shelters. Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley and Planning and Zoning Manager Frank Zickar appeared. Community Development Director Bramley gave a presentation regarding the Broward County Grant Program for bus shelters. Community Development Director Bramley addressed the concerns of the Mayor and Commissioners regarding the location of the bus shelters, the determination of where the shelters would be placed, how best to meet the needs of the community, advertising, aesthetics, maintenance of the shelters and the contracts we currently have in place for shelters. Mayor Talabisco left the room at 10:43 a.m. and returned at 10:47 a.m. Community Development Director Bramley said staff will bring recommendations to the Mayor and Commission either in December or January and the shelters should be in place sometime the latter part of next summer or early fall. 4. Item No. 6 (f) on the Consent Agenda. LIEN AMNESTY PROGRAM: (TR11948) A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, approving and authorizing a Lien Amnesty Program during a period of six months beginning December 1, 2010 through June 1, 2011; ' providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date. Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley appeared and gave a presentation. Mayor Talabisco asked if there were any cities that had successful lien amnesty programs and Community Development Director Bramley responded Pompano Beach. Commissioner Bushnell spoke in favor of the lien amnesty program. Commissioner Glasser commented that a lot of people were not in compliance due to the economy and asked if staff had looked into some sort of a payment program and if liens would be reduced. Community Development Director Bramley said staff does not recommend offering a payment program because it would defeat the purpose of getting the lien off the books, liens would be greatly reduced and would have to be paid within 30 days. Commissioner Gomez said we need to encourage people that have come into compliance to apply to the lien amnesty program and asked who should be contacted for information. Community Development Director Bramley responded that people should contact Mark Woods in Code Compliance. Commissioner Bushnell asked when the program would begin and Community Development Director Bramley said Community Development/Code Compliance would start December 1, 2010 and Building in January 2011. Commissioner Bushnell asked if staff would contact all 1050 property owners and Community Development Director Bramley said letters will be sent out and there will be an article in the Tam -A -Gram. Commissioner Gomez asked how long the process would Page 2 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 take and Community Development Director Bramley responded that an expeditious process is important and we are expecting to bring batches to Special Magistrate twice a month and abate twice a month. Commissioner Gomez said she would like the public to be aware of the process to avoid any problems. Commissioner Bushnell asked if there were going to be any more Neighborhood District Meetings. Deputy City Manager Cernech said they would resume in 2011 and this would be one of the topics that would be discussed. Community Development Director Bramley said that if the City has a good response the program will be extended past the initial six months. Vice Mayor Dressler recalled in previous discussions of having a window to create a sense of urgency so people would not think this was an open ended program and confirmed that people would be made aware of the time frame. 5. UPDATE REGARDING THE WOODLANDS NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: Update regarding the Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District. Deputy City Manager Michael Cernech and Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley appeared. Deputy City Manager Cernech gave a brief history of the Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the Mayor and Commission received a letter from Mike Jula, District Chairman, requesting that the Commission remove and replace two of the District representatives. At the request of Mayor Talabisco a copy of the letter was distributed to the Commission (attached hereto and incorporated herein). Deputy City Manager Cernech said the letter did not explain why the Board was asking to remove and replace the two members from the Board. There are certain criteria for being appointed to the Board one of which is you must be a property owner and a taxpayer. The first gentlemen the Board is asking to remove is Mr. Ed Brown, whose name is not on the property deed and, therefore, technically he is not a property owner or taxpayer. Staff has discussed this issue with the City Attorney and this is a District issue and the District needs to engage an attorney and decide on their own about removing the two individuals from the Board. Staff is advising the Commission of what is going on in the District and is not asking the Commission to make any decisions as it is simply an update as you did receive correspondence on the matter. The second individual the Board is asking to remove and replace is Mr. Leonard Hixon who is actively out in the District with a group of individuals circulating a petition to dissolve the District and who admitted that is the reason he wanted to be on the Board. Staff has spoken with Mr. Hixon and advised him that the Commission does not appoint members to boards and committees to try to do away with them. Further, if that is what Mr. Hixon wishes to do, he should resign his position on the board. Mr. Hixon has been made aware of staffs feelings and has said that he will make a decision about what he needs to do. Staff met with the individuals circulating the petition in order to understand why they wanted to do away with the District. Deputy City Manager Cernech said they were told that they did not believe it was legal or legally established; in fact, they believe that it is illegal. The City Attorney's office has also answered correspondence that was received on the issue of legality. Deputy City Manager Cernech said he, as well as Assistant City Attorney Klahr, wanted to assure the Commission that the District was formed under the appropriate statute and all of this was explained at the meeting. Staff needs to take a more active role in terms of trying to assist the District to move forward to a point where decisions could be Page 3 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 made about whether the District merits consideration or not by the people in the District, as well as assist individuals who would like to do away with the district to make sure they have the right facts. The petition and the fact sheet that is being circulated, which is not entirely factual, was also discussed. Staff also spoke to them about a petition that they will be bringing before the Commission in the future calling for the dissolution of the District. Chapter 163 says the governing body will consider such a petition and consider such action and we advised the opposition that the Commission will in accordance with the Statutes, receive, validate and consider the petition when it is submitted and given the opportunity to present their case to the community and the community would make the ultimate decision. Deputy City Manager Cernech reminded the Commission that the District Board is subject to the Sunshine laws and as such, the Board is taking more time to take the steps they need to get public input, set goals and objectives for the District and to give the residents the opportunity to make some fact based decisions about how they want to affect their neighborhood. Deputy City Manager Cernech said that he, along with Community Development Director Bramley and other staff members are working with the Board to try to accomplish this by providing facts, information and guidance. Community Development Director Bramley commented that the documentation upon which the opposition based the District's illegality was very carefully reviewed so that staff could address their concerns. Staff determined that a lot of the information pertained solely to HOA's and this District is not an HOA it is an Improvement District which is different. Staff tried to convey that these are two different entities and will continue to work with them to understand. Deputy City Manager Cernech concluded that staff will be assisting the District in doing some outreach to the affected property owners and residents and will help them do some goal setting, strategic planning, and establish priorities. Deputy City Manager Cernech reiterated that the reason for the update was because the Commission received correspondence and will probably receive additional correspondence. We now have several other neighborhoods that are interested in pursuing similar Districts as they see the benefits and as such we will be talking with the Commission about this globally. Staff wants the Commission to understand what some of the challenges are and since this has not been done before, we are learning how to handle some of these issues as we go. The District Board also needs to go slowly and to make sure they are doing the things they need to do so that they can then ask the affected people what it is they want, if they want it, and put forward some things that make sense for the District. Mayor Talabisco confirmed that this was a Neighborhood Improvement District and not just about gating a community and spoke of the concerns of the residents when the Woodlands Overlay District was created. Mayor Talabisco asked staff to stay involved with the leaders because this is important and said the enabling legislation is good legislation for the City of Tamarac as a whole. In terms of the letter received, it is up to the District Board to decide and not the Commission. Vice Mayor Dressler asked if the District require a referendum in order to become a district and Community Development Director Bramley Woodlands Neighborhood Improvement District did not require a referendum in order to be established. When the City Commission adopted the Page 4 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 ordinance it was required that when a revenue stream is established that it must be subject to referendum. Vice Mayor Dressler clarified that the Commission only passed enabling legislation and that when the District needs a revenue stream that it must be passed by referendum. Vice Mayor Dressler recalled that the Commission was to be arms length to the process and provide appropriate support and that he wants the community to be self -determining. Vice Mayor Dressler said given the facts he does not want to see staff get involved in such a way as to create a legal exposure to the City. Assistant City Attorney Klahr added that we have been very careful to avoid that. Commissioner Glasser said that she does not intend to be involved in anything that goes on in the district. Commissioner Bushnell said Tamarac did not take the responsibility of appointing members to the Board and certainly should not take responsibility of replacing a current member. There was a discussion regarding the appointment of members to the Board. Mayor Talabisco said she does not want to receive any more letters like Mr. Jula's and wants the Board to work out their issues. Commissioner Gomez thanked Deputy City Manager Cernech, Community Development Director Bramley and the City Attorney's Office who worked hard to bring forth positive aspects of the District and said that there is a group of people who want to help their community and another that is scared and in order to move forward people will need to understand and Tamarac is trying to give them some structure. The Board needs think about the community and figure out who is best for their Board. Commissioner Gomez said maybe there could be a public relations piece stating the pros and cons of the district and setting out the facts to dispel the misinformation that is being circulated. Commissioner Gomez was in agreement that the Commission cannot get involved. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the Board is working hard to try to work though the issues but they are constrained by the Sunshine laws, they don't have staff and it is difficult for them to meet and discuss issues. Staff will work more closely with the Board and help them get in a position to be successful. This District will have a neighborhood wide ability to make some positive changes as opposed to what they are now doing section by section. Mayor Talabisco thanked staff and asked for future updates. 6. DISCUSSION REGARDING CANCELLATION OF THE DECEMBER 20, 2010 WORKSHOP MEETING AND DECEMBER 22, 2010 REGULAR MEETING DUE TO HOLIDAY: Discussion Regarding Cancellation of the December 20, 2010 Workshop Meeting and December 22, 2010 Regular Meeting Due to Holiday. Assistant City Clerk Patricia Teufel appeared and gave a presentation and asked for a consensus to cancel the December 20t" workshop and the December 22"d regular meeting. All were in agreement. 7. Item No. 6 (c) on the Consent Agenda. ELECTION OF A VICE MAYOR: (TR11930) A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, electing a Vice Mayor to serve a term of one year beginning November 17, 2010 and ending November 2011, with no succession; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing an effective date. Assistant City Clerk Patricia Teufel and Assistant City Attorney Julie Klahr appeared. Assistant City Attorney Klahr gave a Page 5 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 presentation. Commissioner Glasser nominated Commissioner Bushnell to serve as the next Vice Mayor. All were in agreement. City Manager Miller said that previously the Commission expressed concern regarding the aesthetic condition on Commercial Boulevard at the Turnpike and said we have been notified by FDOT that we have received a grant under the Highway Beautification Program and asked Public Works Director Strain to discuss the particulars. Public Works Director Strain said Tamarac is the recipient of a Broward Highway Beautification Grant for the FY 2013/2014 for the section of median that the Commission has asked for improvements. Staff had asked the Turnpike Authority to see if they had any funds but were advised that all funds had been expended. Subsequently staff spoke with Elisabeth Hassett, Landscape Architect for FDOT, who worked on Tamarac's behalf and made a request for this grant and as a result of her efforts, Tamarac was awarded a $150,000 grant, with no match required. The work will, unfortunately, not start until July of 2013. In the meantime we will be working with Ms. Hassett on a design. Mayor Talabisco asked Public Works Director Strain for Ms. Hassett's contact information as she would like to get in touch with her to express our appreciation. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Talabisco adjourned the workshop meeting at 12:08 p.m. Patricia Teufe Assistant City Page 6 of 6 City Commission Workshop Meeting October 25, 2010 1 1