HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-01-28 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
SPECIAL WORKSHOP MEETING
CITY COMMISSION OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
JANUARY 28, 2002
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the Special Workshop Meeting of the City
Commission to order on Monday, January 28, 2002, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City
Hall, 7525 NW 88t" Avenue, Tamarac, Florida.
PRESENT: Mayor Joe Schreiber, Vice Mayor Marc L. Sultanof, Commissioner Edward C.
Partner, Commissioner Gertrude Mishkin, and Commissioner Karen L. Roberts.
ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, City Attorney Mitchell S. Kraft, Assistant City
Manager Michael Cernech, and City Clerk Marion Swenson.
1. PUBLIC FACILITIES AND PUBLIC FACILITY FUNDING: City Manager Miller gave an
introduction of the public facilities portion of the strategic plan, and said the Commission had
instructed the City Manager and directors to come back with additional cost summaries and
engineering plans. City Manager Miller noted that a Bond Counsel representative, a
representative from Mathews Consulting, financial advisor Lavon Wishner and Attorney Craig
Eakin were in attendance to answer questions. City Manager Miller said a public facilities task
force was appointed to review the fire station, development services building, public works
shed, public services area and parks and recreation program (land acquisition).
Community Development Director King gave an overview of the site plan and said in April
2001 it was recommended that the task force pursue preliminary engineering and design for
the public services complex, which will eliminate current leasing of trailers for office space. A
4,000 square foot Public Works storage facility is also planned behind the Public Works
building. Community Development Director King spoke about onsite wetlands, and said DPEP
looked at the site and indicated that the wetlands are minimal, at best, and the replacement
ratio is 1:1. Mayor Schreiber questioned the replacement procedure regarding onsite
mitigation and Community Development Director King said one tree must be put back for every
tree removed. Vice Mayor Sultanof asked about borings, and Community Development
Director King said some borings had been done and borings have been impacted into the cost,
and while the ground is stable, fill would have to be brought in near the fire station. Extensive
borings will be performed after Commission approval of the location. Commissioner Roberts
questioned the number of borings done up to this point and Community Development Director
King said testing would be completed after County approval to avoid unnecessary disturbance
of the wetlands. Discussion was held regarding possible future relocation and development of
the wetlands on this site. Community Development Director King said additional land to
relocate wetlands has not been identified at this time and it would be very costly to develop
wetlands. Commissioner Portner asked about maintenance of heavy equipment and
equipment storage areas and Community Development Director King said it is recommended
to keep those areas available for public works to use, as it is more costly to keep those types
of areas off site. Mayor Schreiber asked about the former community storage on 22Id Avenue
and Public Works Director Verma said groundwater contamination still exists at this site and
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explained the clean-up project was turned over to the state for remediation. An update report
is expected in 6 months. In the interim, the site is being used as a staging area for stormwater
improvements on NW 22nd Avenue.
Fire Chief Budzinski gave a presentation on Tamarac Fire Station #3 and said the proposed
size (18,000 square feet) and interior layout are similar to the new station in Pembroke Pines.
Commissioner Roberts asked about the classrooms on the 2nd floor, access to the elevator, the
EOC and fueling station. Chief Budzinski said the first floor area would be used for living
quarters and would be segregated from the small lobby with a security card system door. The
EOC and classrooms would be on the 2nd floor and the public would be directed through the
lobby to the elevator for upstairs access. The fueling station cost is included in the $2.7 million
price tag, and all the cost figures are based on actual costs of stations built in 2001.
Commissioner Portner asked about inflationary costs and Chief Budzinski said the task force
recommended a design -build for the entire site, which would be more economical and
minimize change orders. Commissioner Portner questioned construction on a shallow
foundation and Renee Mathews, Mathews Consulting, said the entire site appears to have a
good limestone base three feet below the surface and after structural fill is brought in and
compacted, it will support the building. Community Development Director King spoke about
color scheme, cost estimates from general construction practices and leasing space on the
communications tower.
Assistant to the City Manager Diane Phillips gave a presentation on acquisition of the Lennar
and Caporella properties and potential sources of additional acquisition grants, including
FRDAP and Florida Communities Trust. The grants would be retroactive since the actual price
of the properties is unknown. Discussion was held regarding the grants and the land
acquisition. Mayor Schreiber said Lennar is anxious to sell since the property cannot be
developed and the city should negotiate for price. Commissioner Portner thanked the City
Manager and the negotiating team. City Manager Miller said staff is actively negotiating the
acquisitions.
Parks and Recreation Director Kathleen Margoles gave a presentation on the Tamarac Aquatic
Complex, which is to be located at Tamarac Park. Parks and Recreation Director Margoles
said that in addition to the $1.5 million grant awarded by the county for the pool, decking, and
filter system, an additional $500,000 is needed for renovations to Tamarac Park to
accommodate the pool. Mayor Schreiber questioned the location and Parks and Recreation
Director Margoles said a preliminary design and engineering study is planned to determine
where to locate the pool within the park. Commissioner Portner asked about moving the pool
to another school site and asked about the ball fields in Tamarac Park. Parks and Recreation
Director Margoles said the grant requires the pool to be near a school, and our application was
to place the pool at Tamarac Park. Although we could ask to move it, there is no guarantee
we would receive the funding. The pool at Tamarac Park would displace two ball fields. Parks
and Recreation Director Margoles gave an update on McNab Park and said negotiations are
underway for a design -build. $800,000 in grant money has been awarded and there will be no
cost to the city for development.
Assistant City Manager Michael Cernech reviewed the estimated costs of the Development
Services Building, Public Works storage facility, new fire station, acquisition of park lands, and
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aquatic complex. Assistant City Manager Cernech said the estimated value of all the projects
is $8,896,070 and would be financed through revenue bonds secured by dedicated revenue
streams (sales tax, user fees, tolls, etc.) rather than the general taxing authority of the
municipality. Commissioner Roberts asked about a possible reduction in the sales tax rate
and the term of the bonds. Assistant City Manager Cernech said the financial advisors ran
various scenarios of 10, 20 and 25 years, using 4.5-6% sales tax, and we do have the capacity
under the sales tax to finance revenue bonds. Commissioner Partner asked about sales taxes
generated and Management and Budget Officer Sammartino said approximately $3 million
was collected last year. Mayor Schreiber questioned use of unrestricted funds in the General
Fund to reduce the amount of borrowing. Finance and Policy Officer Williams said there are
not sufficient unrestricted funds to finance the projects. City Manager Miller added that the
Commission had recently appropriated $2 million for an economic development contingency
fund. Commissioner Roberts asked why there is a difference between the total amount of
bonds and the total cost of the projects. Assistant City Manager Cernech spoke about the cost
to issue the debt and said with low interest rates, it is better to increase the bond amount and
out of that, pay issuance costs. Commissioner Portner asked what the total debt service would
be and Assistant City Manager Cernech said about $1.5 million. Mayor Schreiber questioned
the term proposed for the revenue bonds and Assistant City Manager Cernech said the
financial advisor would probably recommend 20 years. Assistant City Manager Cernech
summarized the next step in the process and said an RFP for design -build of the Public Works
services complex would be prepared. The matter could come back to the Commission on
February 27th if the Commission approves moving forward at this time. Commissioner Roberts
questioned the difference in preliminary construction cost figures in Sections 4-1 and 4-2 of the
handout and the Economic Development Fund. (The consultant had, at this time, left the
meeting.) Chief Budzinski said he would contact the consultant to provide follow-up on the
figures. Assistant City Manager Cernech said the intent of the Economic Development Fund is
to hold funds in reserve to give the city flexibility in the future. The expression of interest of the
Mayor and Commission was to move forward with the proposals.
There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Schreiber
adjourned the Special Workshop Meeting at 11:10 a.m.
Marion Swenson, CIVIC
City Clerk
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