HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-10 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP
MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Talabisco called the Workshop of the City Commission to order at
9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 10, 2012 in Conference Room 105, Tamarac City Hall,
7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, FL 33321.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Beth Talabisco, Vice Mayor Michelle J. Gomez, Commissioner Pamela
Bushnell, Commissioner Diane Glasser, and Commissioner Harry Dressler were in
attendance.
Also in attendance were City Manager Michael C. Cernech, Assistant City Attorney Julie
Klahr and Interim City Clerk Patricia Teufel.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Beth Talabisco led the Pledge of Allegiance.
1. DISCUSSION REGARDING "OPERATION NIP IT": Community Development Director
Jennifer Bramley, Housing Administrator Angela Bauldree and Code Enforcement Officer
Mark Woods appeared. Ms. Bramley, Ms. Bauldree and Mr. Woods gave a presentation (on
file in the City Clerk's Office) Ms. Bramley talked about the Mission, the staff involved, the
funding and the time frame for Operation Nip It. Code Enforcement Officer Woods spoke of
Phase 1 — Designation of areas/neighborhoods and said that Tamarac Lakes 1 & 2,
Westwood Section 23, Academy Hills and Mainlands 10 have been identified as the targeted
areas. Mr. Woods then gave an overview of Phase 2 and how the program would be
introduced to the selected neighborhoods. Ms. Bauldree went over Phase 3 — NIP It
Grants/Loans, the three income levels that would qualify for assistance and the application
process. Mr. Woods discussed Phase 4 — Compliance and Most Improved Awards for
properties that come into compliance voluntarily based on visual curb view improvements.
Mr. Woods said that all violations will be tracked and Ms. Bramley said they will report back to
the Mayor and Commission at the end of the program. Commissioner Glasser was concerned
with the communities that pay maintenance fees which include things such as painting and
asked what would happen if a house was issued a citation for painting and was waiting for
the association to paint the house. Mr. Woods said we will work with the associations if they
have someone that is scheduled to be painted and we will ask them to provide us with a
schedule as to when the items will be taken care of. Commissioner Glasser asked if we
check with HOA's to see if they have maintenance programs before issuing citations. Ms.
Bramley said for NIP It we will, but they do not do this on a regular basis. We will be going out
to talk with the HOA's prior to the start of the program and we will be able to ascertain at that
point what the time frame is. Vice Mayor Gomez confirmed that for moderate income families
there will be a 50% zero interest loan to be paid back within twelve months and asked when
the funds would be distributed. Ms. Bauldree explained that as soon as eligibility is
determined an award letter will be given to the applicant and they in turn will have to provide
us with 2 estimates that actually list out the violations. The loan agreement will be signed
upon receipt of the estimates and a contractor is selected. Repayment to the city will
commence once the work has been finished. Vice Mayor Gomez asked if the contractors
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would be licensed and Mr. Woods responded that those are required to be licensed will have
to provide proof and they will be referred over to the Building Department to obtain the
required permits. Contractors such as painters are not required to be licensed. Mayor
Talabisco said the positive effects of this program can be astounding.
2. UPDATE REGARDING WOODMONT SIGNAGE PROJECT: Community Development
Director Jennifer Bramley, Planning & Zoning Manager Frank Zickar appeared. Planning &
Zoning Manager Zickar gave a presentation (on file in the City Clerk's Office). Mr. Zickar
provided a list of the seven key entrances where the signs would be placed, discussed the
City's and HOA/Property Owners' responsibilities, gave a brief accounting of the program to
date, provided an artist's rendering of the proposed signage and the anticipated time line for
the replacement of the signs at the seven key entrances. Commissioner Glasser asked if the
signs would be illuminated and Mr. Zickar said yes and that the HOA's have agreed to pay for
the lighting of the signs. Vice Mayor Gomez commented that the signs were elegant and
asked what materials would be used. Mr. Zickar responded that it is metal re -facing of the
current sign in most of the locations. Commissioner Bushnell confirmed that the new signs
will be the same size as the old signs and asked how this concept will fit into the future look
of Tamarac and will this design be considered for other communities. Community
Development Director Bramley said the neighborhoods need to identify themselves and if we
get another neighborhood on board for this program we would bring the designer back as
some neighborhoods need to be unique. Commissioner Dressler interjected that Woodmont
is a pilot program and said there might be one or two of the locations in Woodmont that have
stone walls as part of the original design and hoped that we will not remove those walls.
Commissioner Glasser confirmed that at this time we are not doing anything with the Country
Club signs and Ms. Bramley said that if the signs are redone on the Country Club property
then they would need to adhere to the sign code as we are looking for a consistent look
throughout Woodmont.
3. Item No. 6 (c) on the Consent Agenda. TR12285 IAFF Union Contract: Resolution of the
City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, approving the agreement with the
International Association of Firefighters, Local 3080; authorizing the appropriate City officials
to execute an agreement with the International Association of Firefighters, Local 3080 for the
period from October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2015; 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 Maria Swanson and Assistant Chief Jeff Moral
appeared. Human Resources Director Swanson gave a presentation (on file in the City
Clerk's Office). Ms. Swanson said they had 8 negotiation sessions and have a tentative
agreement. Ms. Swanson discussed the key pieces of the agreement: wages, changes to
the pension plan, disability benefits, vesting and also touched on changes to 17 additional
articles which addressed operational issues. Ms. Swanson noted that the primary focus of
everyone during the negotiations was the sustainability of the pension plan. Ms. Swanson
said she wanted to recognize Chris Dixon and his team and everyone involved in this
collaborative effort. Commissioner Bushnell congratulated everyone for a job extremely well
done. Commissioner Glasser also congratulated everyone and asked how Tamarac's
pension plan compared to other cities in Broward County and was concerned that we would
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_ potentially loose some firefighters to another city because they could get a better deal. Ms.
Swanson said she does not expect that to be the case as this agreement passed
overwhelmingly. We have not decimated the defined benefit plan and there are places that
are having to do that and did not believe anyone would be leaving Tamarac for someplace
else where they are changing their plans completely for new hires. Vice Mayor Gomez said
the teams have done a phenomenal job and had expected the process to be more
contentious. Commissioner Dressler said it is important for people to understand that
pensions are complex things and there are no two that are alike as there are numerous
variables which cannot be controlled and said the sustainability of a plan like this will be an
incentive for people to stay in a city that is financially stable. Mayor Talabisco asked Ms.
Swanson if she were to make a statement to the residents what would it be. Ms. Swanson
responded that she would assure the residents that in Tamarac the administration and the
firefighters worked together to come up with changes that would reduce the cost and
maintain a plan that helps the firefighters retire in an appropriate manner for the work that
they did on behalf of the residents. Ms. Swanson said she is truly pleased at the outcome
because they came forward and recognized very early in the process what the City was
saying they needed to do and they came to the table and got it done. Mayor Talabisco
commented that the tone and spirit over the last 10 years has changed for the better in these
negotiations and said she believed that the Sterling process helped tremendously.
Commissioner Dressler said the taxpayers of Tamarac should be happy with pension cost
controls while still maintaining high levels of service.
4. Item No. 6 (f) on the Consent Agenda. TR12286 Administrative Services Contract -
General Employees' Pension Board: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of
Tamarac, Florida, authorizing the appropriate City officials to execute an agreement with the
City of Tamarac General Employees' Pension Trust Fund to provide administrative services
to the pension trust fund and to perform those duties and responsibilities which are described
in this agreement effective October 1, 2012, nunc pro tunc; providing for conflicts; providing
for severability; and providing for an effective date. Human Resources Director Maria
Swanson and Financial Services Director Mark Mason appeared. Ms. Swanson said the
General Pension Plan had a private company that administered the plan and over the
summer the company proposed a fee increase of 65% to administer the plan for the next
year. At that point we decided to look at different options for administering the plan. After
looking at the functions of the administrator, the finance department and human resources we
decided to make a proposal to the General Pension Board that HR and the Financial
Services Department administer the plan and absorb the costs and save the plan $50,000 a
year. The board approved the proposal and we took over administration of the plan on
October 1, 2012. In order to administer the plan we have to have an agreement but it had to
be agreed to first by the Board and then the Commission. Ms. Swanson said that this is a
more efficient and less expensive approach and will make things less confusing for the
employees as they have always contacted HR first regarding pension issues. It is our
intention to propose similar modifications in our other plans. The Fire Pension Plan chose to
keep the outside administrator for this coming year and will reconsider this in the future. This
is an open ended contract between the City Commission and the General Employee's
Pension Board agreeing that we will perform the administration of the plan. Financial
Services Director Mason said the key issue for us is that the City contributes the cost of the
Page 3 of 8 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING December 10, 2012
administration it is not paid for by the employees. It is a specific line item associated with our
contribution into the plan. Commissioner Glasser said she had a lot of confidence in Ms.
Swanson and Mr. Mason. There was a general discussion regarding the benefits to the
employees by having the plan administered in house. Commissioner Bushnell confirmed that
the $50,000 to administer the plan was the total outlay and asked if any other cities handled
the administration of their pension plans. Ms. Swanson said some do and some don't.
Commissioner Bushnell asked if there sufficient staff to handle the administration of the plan
and Ms. Swanson said yes. Commissioner Dressler said this makes perfect sense and
complimented everyone for a job well done.
5. Item No. 8 (a) on Ordinances First Reading. TO2267 - School Special Exception Code
Amendment: Motion to adopt an Ordinance of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac,
Florida, on first reading to amend the regulations pertaining to the use of schools by
specifically amending Chapter 24, "Zoning," of the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Tamarac, Florida; providing for codification; providing for conflicts; providing for severability;
and providing for an effective date. Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley and
Planning & Zoning Manager Frank Zickar appeared. Ms. Bramley said this is a land
development code amendment which is very simple. All types of schools are permitted by
right in our code in specific residential zoning districts and also in all commercial zoning
districts. As a result when a school comes into a center and it is not modifying the site plan
then we don't see it until the very end of the process at the safety inspection. This will make
all schools in those specific residential and commercial zoning districts a special exception.
When this is adopted on second reading it will become effective immediately. This will mean
that it will be subject to the special exception requirements: we would require a conceptual
site plan, if it is going into commercial center the center would need to come up to code, we
would need traffic and impact studies and it would have to go through the Planning Board
and City Commission. This is a higher level of review of all schools going in to specific
residential and commercial zoning districts. Mr. Zickar said this applies to elementary through
senior high school. Ms. Bramley said staff did a review of schools in surrounding
municipalities and found that in most cities schools are special exceptions. Commissioner
Bushnell asked about rules for day care centers and Mr. Zickar said day care centers are
special exceptions also. Commissioner Glasser expressed concern about schools taking over
entire shopping centers which prevents new businesses from coming into Tamarac. Ms.
Bramley said that one of the things we will be looking at as part of the special exception is the
impacts of a school to the center and if an existing school is looking to expand it will have to
come through as a special exception and go through the Commission. Mayor Talabisco said
that this was a much better process and Vice Mayor Gomez said this is a great idea for safety
reasons. Commissioner Bushnell asked by what means the Commission can decide not to
grant the special exception. Assistant City Attorney Klahr responded that the Commission
has to review the information that is put in front of them and depending on the information
that is provided, as well as staff's recommendation, you will weigh all that information and
evidence and make a determination to approve or deny. Mr. Zickar said that special
exceptions require that the site be upgraded so this slow down the influx of schools that we
have seen recently.
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Mayor Talabisco moved out of order to take up No. 8 — TR12283- RFP 13-02R — Pool
Management Services
8. Item No. 6 (i) on the Consent Agenda. TR12283 - RFP 13-02R - Pool Management
Services - Jeff Ellis: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida,
authorizing the appropriate City Officials to award RFP 13-02R and execute an agreement
with Jeff Ellis Management, LLC, for swimming pool management services at the Caporella
Aquatic Center, for a two-year contract; approving funding from the appropriate accounts;
providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing an effective date. Parks &
Recreation Director Greg Warner and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Keith Glatz appeared.
Mr. Warner gave a presentation (on file in the City Clerk's Office) and a brief history of the
Aquatic Center management services over the last year. Mr. Warner said we went out for an
RFP and got three responses: Aquatic Management, Inc., Jeff Ellis Management and USA
Pools, Inc., with Jeff Ellis Management being the highest scoring and most qualified
proposer. Mr. Warner discussed the benefits of awarding the bid to Jeff Ellis Management;
the professional staff, safety record, past performance, knowledge of the facility and
accountability, the equipment they will provide and the frequency of training their staff. Mr.
Warner said this is a two year contract with the option to renew with the same conditions and
pricing as the original agreement. Mr. Warner said the cost to the City will be $294,376.90
annual operation fee and discussed gate and class programs revenues and the annual
minimum management fee and performance guarantees. Mr. Warner said that by outsourcing
the management of the aquatic center there will be cost saving to the City of $75,263.10.
Commissioner Dressler said the easy way for people to look at a program is to look at them
in terms of their capacity utilization and asked if we measure attendance of the programs we
offer. Mr. Warner that one of the measures that they currently have for all Parks and
Recreation programs is program attendance to capacity and their goal is 60% of capacity and
if it drops below that we evaluate the classes to see if we need to drop them or not. In this
agreement we are requiring Jeff Ellis to add two new programs the first year and be at 60% of
capacity and they will add three new programs at 78% capacity for the second year.
Commissioner Bushnell said she is glad we are moving forward with Jeff Ellis as she had
received numerous emails regarding the poor performance of the previous company. Vice
Mayor Gomez said as a former lifeguard it is good to see the continuing training of their
lifeguards and thanked Jeff Ellis for coming out and helping maintain the aquatic center in the
interm. Mr. Warner thanked John and Ben of Jeff Ellis Management for coming down from
Orlando to attend the workshop.
Mayor Talabisco move back into the regular to take up Item No. 6 on the Workshop agenda.
6. Item 6 (d) on the Consent Agenda. Update on Sabal Palm North/TR12272 - First
Amendment to WSDA-Sabal Palm North: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City
of Tamarac, Florida, authorizing the appropriate City Officials to accept and execute a First
Amendment To The Water and Sewer Developer's Agreement with SPL Holdings, LLC, for
the Sabal Palm North Project and to serve as the Assignment of the Water and Sewer
Developer's Agreement from Prestige Homes of Tamarac, Inc. to SPL Holdings, LLC.,
located at 5101 West Commercial Blvd, requiring a reduction of 67 ERC's for water and
sewer from 322 ERC's to 255 ERC's; requiring payment of $433,500.00 for water and
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$561,000.00 for sewer; requiring a total payment of $994,500.00 in CIAC Fees; authorizing
and directing the City Clerk to record said agreement in the public records of Broward
County; providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date.
Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley and Public Services Director Jack Strain
appeared. Mr. Strain said that this is an amendment to the Water & Sewer Developer
Agreement necessitated by the decrease of 67 units that is now planned for the Sabal Palm
North project. Ms. Bramley gave a brief update on the status of the development of Sabal
Palm North and said there were a number of issues that resulted from the original approval of
the Amendment to the Deed Restrictions. The City had approved a modified site plan and
amended the deed restrictions which were then sent to the County Commission. The County
Commission accepted the deed restrictions with the exception of one item and that was the
sound wall on the turnpike. Ms. Bramley said that permits have been issued and they are in
plan check pertaining to some of the entrance features and the five models. The deed
restrictions that are currently recorded specify, and the amended deed restrictions also
specify, that no residential building permits are to be issued until the payments are made to
the HOA's. Ms. Bramley said she spoke with the attorney last week and they are preparing
estoppel letters so that prior to the issuance of those residential building permits we will have
documentation that those fees have been paid. The other issue concerned a disagreement
between the developer, Sabal Palm LLC, and the school board as far as school concurrency
and how to meet school concurrency. There is a decrease in the number of units but an
increase of students generated because they went from townhomes to single family homes
which will result in larger families in the unit. There was some disagreement as to the terms
of the original agreement with the school board and it is her understanding that they have
reached an agreement and that agreement will be before the school board in January. With
regards to the sound wall, originally there was to be a 19 ft. sound wall and the City
Commission had approved an amendment to the deed restrictions to go down to a 10 ft. wall
on top of a berm. Broward County had disagreed and their position was not based upon
acoustical studies, they just wanted a 19 ft. sound wall because that is what is in the
development to the north. The developer brought in a sound expert who was able to show
that with a 10 ft. wall on top of aft. berm they would get the same benefit in Sabal Palm North
as the property to the north. They submitted their documentation for consideration and they
are looking to agendize once county staff has been able to review the documentation and
form a recommendation to the county commission sometime in early February. Ms. Bramley
said that we are progressing which is a good thing. Commissioner Bushnell was concerned
about residents hearing that a permit was pulled and the HOA's not having received their
fees from the developer. Ms. Bramley confirmed that the developer can pull permits for things
other than a building permit prior to the fees being paid to the HOA's, but they cannot pull a
building permit until those fees have been paid.
7. Item 6 (j) on the Consent Agenda. TR12281 Approval of AHAC Report: A Resolution of
the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, to receive the recommendations on the
affordable housing incentives report prepared and presented by the Affordable Housing
Advisory Committee which having delivered its report will continue reviewing incentive
strategies and finalize recommendations fulfilling its ongoing responsibility; providing for
conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date. Vice Mayor Gomez
asked Assistant City Klahr if there was a possible conflict of interest in voting on this matter
Page 6 of 8 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING December 10, 2012
on Wednesday evening as she knows some of the individuals on the Affordable Housing
Committee as she works with some of the organizations that they work for. Assistant City
Klahr said she did not believe there was a conflict of interest but will continue to research this
in an abundance of caution and this will need to be addressed on the record at the meeting
on Wednesday evening. Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley and Housing
Housing and Neighborhood Programs Manager Angela Bauldree appeared. Ms. Bauldree
said this item is to report on our Affordable Housing Advisory Committee triennial report
required under our SHIP dollars and even though we have not received any funds in the last
three years we are required to do this in the event we receive funding in the future. There are
eleven incentive options that cites may take advantage of when implementing their affordable
housing programs. Tamarac has been reviewing those eleven options since 1999 and three
of the eleven have been in place since 1999. Following are the three that we will be making
recommendations on: a) The processing of approvals of development orders or permits, for
affordable housing projects is expedited to a greater degree than other projects; g) The
establishment of a process by which a local government considers, before adoption, policies,
procedures, ordinances, regulations, or plan provisions that increase the cost of housing; and
j) the preparation of printed inventory of locally owned public lands suitable for affordable
housing. Ms. Bauldree addressed the Commission's concerns and questions.
9. Item 6 (h) on the Consent Agenda. TR12271 - Notice of Intent for Stormwater
Assessment: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida, setting
forth the City's intent to use the Uniform Method for the Collection of a Non -Ad Valorem
Special Assessment to be levied upon real properties lying within the municipal boundaries of
the City, as more particularly described in Exhibit "A," attached hereto, to fund
enhancements, improvements, additions to, and maintenance of, the city's stormwater utility
system; stating a need for such levy; providing that a copy of this Resolution shall be
forwarded to the Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, and the Florida Department of Revenue;
providing for conflicts; providing for severability; and providing for an effective date. Financial
Services Director Mark Mason appeared and gave a presentation (on file in the City Clerk's
office). Commissioner Glasser said she was concerned about adding something to the tax
bills of the residents of Tamarac as we just did this with the Solid Waste Assessment and
was not sure how receptive everyone will be to this. Mr. Mason said they had about 29
phone calls and a number of people that came to talk to the Commission about the Solid
Waste Assessment at the hearing and following the tax bills going out in November we
received an additional 20 — 25 phone calls about it. When you are talking about that number
of phone calls compared to the 17,418 properties that were affected, this is a relatively small
amount of people with issues. Commissioner Glasser says understands the concept but does
not understand why we have to do this now and asked if could be done in another year or so.
Commissioner Bushnell agreed with Commissioner Glasser to wait before adding this to the
next tax bill. Mr. Mason said if the Commission approves this it does not necessarily mean
you have to do it and if you elect to do this sometime in the future we will come back with
another Notice of Intent. This is simply a Notice to the Property Appraiser and the Tax
Collector letting them know that we may potentially be doing this. Vice Mayor Gomez said
she understands that this is a placeholder and was concerned about people being prepared
for this. Commissioner Dressler said he was surprised that people cannot comprehend the
Page 7 of 8 COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING December 10, 2012
benefit of a lump sum versus a series of cash payments. It is actually better to have the lump
sum because you will have an opportunity to invest the monthly payment and earn a rate of
return and if you compound that over eleven or twelve months you will end up with more
money than what the lump sum would be. People will need to understand that this will be to
their benefit. There was a general discussion regarding notification and education of the
residents about the assessment and how to educate them to properly budget their funds in
order to make the lump sum payment with their taxes.
There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Talabisco
adjourned the meeting 11:55 a.m.
- - Lk)w�
Patricia Teufel, C C
Interim City Clerk
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