HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-09-30 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Beth Talabisco called the Special Commission Meeting of the City
Commission to order at 9:04 a.m. on Monday, September 30, 2013 in Conference Room 105,
Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, FL 33321.
ROLL CALL: Mayor Beth Talabisco, Vice Mayor Harry Dressler, Commissioner Pamela
Bushnell and Commissioner Diane Glasser were in attendance.
Also in
attendance were City Manager
Michael
Cernech, Assistant City Manager Diane
Phillips,
City
Attorney
Samuel
Goren and
City
Clerk
Patricia
Teufel.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Talabisco led the Pledge of Allegiance.
City Manager Cernech stated that as requested at the Workshop on September 23rd the
Human Resources Department has begun the process of background checks on all the
applicants and expects them to be completed sometime this morning and Human Resources
Director Maria Swanson will meet with each applicant prior to their respective interviews to
verify the accuracy of the background checks. City Manager Cernech said this meeting is not
being streamed as of yet and asked the Commission if they wanted the meeting streamed
live. There was a consensus from the Commission to have the meeting streamed live.
City Attorney Goren gave an overview of the process that has gotten the Commission to this
point as well as the appointment process to fill the vacant District 2 commission seat created
when former Commissioner Atkins -Grad resigned. City Attorney Goren said the appointment
process would be held pursuant to the Florida Statute's Sunshine Law. City Attorney Goren
discussed alternative methods of making the appointment and added that the Commission
also had the prerogative of developing a short list following the initial interviews of all eight
applicants. City Attorney Goren stated that five interviews would be conducted today with the
remaining three conducted on Tuesday, October 1st beginning at 9:00 a.m. and final
interviews and appointment on Thursday, October 3rd beginning at 1:00 p.m. and the City
Clerk would be in contact with those that are requested to come back.
Mayor Talabisco disclosed that she did meet with Stewart Webster; Vice Mayor Dressler said
he did not meet with any of the applicants but did receive a call for a meeting with an
applicant which he declined; Commissioner Bushnell said she received three calls from Mitch
Caesar about one of the applicants and Commissioner Glasser said. she did receive a few
calls from one applicant, had a brief conversation but did not discuss anything about the
process to fill the vacancy, and was contacted by another applicant for a meeting which she
declined.
City Attorney Goren went over the interview process with each applicant prior to their
interviews and throughout the remainder of the morning and early afternoon the following
individuals were interviewed and responded to questions about their background,
qualifications, community involvement and what they could bring to the table that would
benefit Tamarac: Leonard Hixon, Gregory Beckno and Stewart J. Webster. As the Human
Resources Department was unable to verify Mr. Webster's degree from Baruch he was asked
Page 1 of 2 SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING September 30, 2013
to provide the City with documentation regarding his degree. After each applicant was
interviewed City Attorney Goren advised that there -were other applicants to be interviewed
later today and tomorrow with final selection on Thursday, October 3rd at 1:00 p.m.
Mayor
Talabisco
recessed the
meeting for lunch at 12:59 p.m. and reconvened the meeting
at 1:44
p.m. with
all
present
as
before.
For the remainder of the afternoon the same process was followed as noted above and
interviews were conducted with E. Mike Gelin and Larry Goehrig. As the Human Resources
Department was unable to verify Mr. Gelin's degree from Morris Brown College he was asked
to provide the city with documentation regarding his degree.
City Attorney Goren said the Commission will conclude interviews tomorrow after which the
Commission will deliberate and make a decision as to how the meeting on Thursday will
proceed. City Attorney Goren reminded the Commission that this is a Sunshine issue and
cannot be discussed privately amongst them but only in a public forum.
There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Talabisco
adjourned the meeting at 3:24 p.m.
Beth Talabisco, May
P'atricia Teufel, C
City Clerk
Page 2 of 2 SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING September 30, 2013