HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-11 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Talabisco called the workshop meeting to order at 9:33 a.m.
on Monday, June 11, 2012 in Room 105, Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 881h Avenue,
Tamarac, Florida.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Beth Talabisco, Commissioner Pamela Bushnell, Commissioner
Michelle J. Gomez and Vice Mayor Diane Glasser were in attendance. Commissioner
Harry Dressler was absent.
ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Michael Cernech, Assistant City Manager Diane
Phillips, Assistant City Attorney Jacob Horowitz and City Clerk Peter M. J. Richardson.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Beth Talabisco led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Talabisco expressed congratulations to Vice Mayor Glasser and Commissioner
Bushnell upon the occasion of their respective re-election in their respective districts.
Mayor Talabisco said she was delighted to be working with her City Commission
colleagues moving forward.
1. Item No. 6(d) on the Consent Agenda. MAINLANDS PARK LAND AND
WATER CONSERVATION FUND PROGRAM. (TR12213) A Resolution of the
City of Tamarac, Florida, accepting a grant award in the amount of $200,000
from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Land and Water
Conservation Fund Program; authorizing the appropriate City officials to execute
a Project Agreement between the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection and the City of Tamarac for grant funding in the amount of $200,000
with a one-to-one match of $200,000 in local funds for the development of
Mainlands Park; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing
for an effective date. - Parks and Recreation Director Greg Warner, Assistant
Public Works Director John Doherty and Grants Administrator Michael
Gresek
Mr. Warner noted that the eastern portion of Tamarac was presently under -served in
terms of the number of parks facilities. In order to address this situation, Mr. Warner
stated that City staff had submitted two grant applications for a potential funding source
for the funding of Mainlands Park. He also briefly reviewed the community meetings
held in April and June, 2011 regarding proposed development of the park, including
amenities such as trail lighting, drinking fountains, exercise stations, restrooms and a
small parking lot. Mr. Gresek presented an overview of the two grants recently
awarded to the City of Tamarac, including $248,998 received from the Recreational
Trail Grant Program and $200,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Grant
Program. Mr. Gresek noted that commencement documents for the grants were due for
final submittal by no later than July 27, 2012. He also said that the City of Tamarac had
a three-year timeframe in which to expend these funds. Mr. Doherty presented an
overview of the anticipated timeframe for completion of the design build project. He
noted that City staff anticipated that the project would be completed within
approximately seventeen months.
Commissioner Bushnell inquired whether the park's restroom facilities would be locked
at night. Mr. Warner confirmed that the restroom facilities would be locked when the
park facility was closed. Commissioner Bushnell also inquired about potential future
facilities such as tennis courts or a putting green. Mr. Warner noted that the park site
was sufficiently large to accommodate a number of potential additional uses in the
future, with the greatest emphasis being placed on passive activities. Commissioner
Gomez complemented City staff for developing plans to bring this project to fruition in a
timely manner. Mayor Talabisco commended Mr. Gresek and his relationship building
efforts, which played a major role in the City receiving a larger proportion of available
grant funds for the Mainlands Park project. She also commended Jack Strain and his
Public Services staff for doing a fabulous job of maintaining existing park facilities, such
as the restroom facilities in Tephford Park and the Gary B. Jones Park for People and
Pups.
2. OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION OF NEW CITY OF TAMARAC WEBSITE.
Information Technology Director Levent Sucuoglu and Network
Administrator Melesha Ramcharan
Mr. Sucuoglu provided a comprehensive overview of the City's proposed new website.
He noted that representatives from each City department were working with Information
Technology staff to develop the new website in concert with Civic Plus, a leading
website design firm with hundreds of clients throughout the United States.
Commissioner Bushnell inquired who would coordinate updates to the City's web page.
Mr. Sucuoglu said that City departmental liaisons would work with the Public Information
Office to make updates and revisions as needed once the new website went live.
Commissioner Bushnell commended City staff for putting together a great new website.
Commissioner Gomez inquired about loading of the webpage and graphics on portable
devices. Mr. Sucuoglu said that the City's new website contained appropriate software
to make necessary accommodations for downloading to portable devices. Mr. Sucuoglu
said that the total cost for the new website was approximately $24,000, compared to an
initially budgeted amount of $50,000. Mayor Talabisco commended City staff for
putting together a terrific new website. Mayor Talabisco noted that the updated website
was one of the City's wonderful tools to communicate with residents. She noted that
another potential communications tool was webcasting of City Commission meetings.
Mr. Sucuoglu said staff anticipated that the City's new website would "go live" by the
end of June.
3. DISCUSSION REGARDING PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
SCORECARDS - Parks and Recreation Director Greg Warner
Mr. Warner provided a comprehensive overview of scorecards, noting that there were a
total of three levels — City-wide, departmental, and divisional scorecards. He noted that
scorecards provided the City of Tamarac to benchmark with other municipalities in the
State of Florida and throughout the nation. Mr. Cernech noted that all City departments
were deploying, utilizing and reviewing scorecard data to monitor and improve City
operations. Mr. Cernech commended Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips and
Management and Budget Analyst Bernadette Hughes for their efforts in deploying
scorecards to serve as a catalyst for continual improvements of the delivery of services
to the residents of Tamarac. Vice Mayor Glasser inquired about the methods that City
staff utilized to determine the needs of residents and families relative to parks and
recreation activities and facilities. Mr. Warner said one of the primary forms of outreach
was through outreach to parents of school children and the use of fliers and the City's
Tam -A -Gram publication. Mr. Warner also stated that staff visited various City
recreational facilities at different times of the day to determine demand for facilities and
activities such as dance classes, baseball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts.
4. DISCUSSION REGARDING SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA LEGISLATION- Mayor
Beth Talabisco
Mayor Talabisco noted that the final item on today's agenda was an issue of both
domestic and international concern, with special relevance to local governments. Mayor
Talabisco stated that she had extensive discussions with City of Sunrise Mayor Michael
Ryan about the multiple challenges presented by synthetic marijuana. Mayor Talabisco
also said that she had conferred with City Manager Michael Cernech, Deerfield Beach
Mayor Peggy Noland and Deerfield Beach City Attorney Andy Maroudis. She noted that
due to frequent changes in the chemical compositions of the various forms of synthetic
marijuana, drafting the appropriate legislation to address the matter was quite complex.
Broward Sheriff Office Sergeant Kirk Carter and Broward Sheriff Office Commander
David Robshaw provided the Mayor and City Commissioners with an overview of
current enforcement issues relative to the varying forms of synthetic marijuana, and
responded to questions from the Mayor and City Commissioners. Assistant City
Attorney Jacob Horowitz noted that the City Attorney's Office was coordinating with
BSO staff in order to address the potential problems related to synthetic marijuana in
the most comprehensive manner possible. Mayor Talabisco stated that the City of
Sunrise and City of Deerfield Beach ordinances specified that code enforcement officers
would oversee the restrictions pertaining to the sale or display of herbal
incense/synthetic marijuana. Mayor Talabisco noted that the City of Sunrise Police
Department was providing educational materials to local business owners to inform
them about the profound mental and physical effects of use of the varying synthetic
compounds. Mr. Cernech said that City staff would work with the Broward League of
Cities and Mr. Horowitz to address this matter as best as possible. Mayor Talabisco
requested that City staff draft the applicable legislation and collateral materials prior to
the City Commission's break in July. Mr. Cernech noted that he had hoped to
introduce the Mayor and City Commissioners to Fire Captain Bill Sweginis, who was
serving in the capacity of Acting Battalion Chief this week, but Captain Sweginis was
called away from today's workshop meeting.
There being no further business, the workshop was adjourned at 11:36 a.m.
Peter M. J. � hardson, C R M
City Clerk