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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-05-08 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MAY 8, 2000 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order at 9:30 A.M. on Monday, May 8, 2000, in Conference Room #105, Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Joe Schreiber, Vice Mayor Karen L. Roberts, Commissioner Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Larry Mishkin, and Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, City Attorney Mitchell S. Kraft, Assistant City Manager Tim Hemstreet, and Interim City Clerk Marion Swenson. 1. PRESENTATION BY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DOT) — RIGHT TURN ONLY — UNIVERSITY DRIVE AND 76TH STREET: Public Works Director Verma gave a presentation and introduced Mark Plass, Engineer for the Department of Transportation (DOT). Commissioner Sultanof asked about computerized, on demand lights and there was discussion about a traffic signal. Mr. Plass said this would be considered depending on the outcome of the right turn only trial period, as DOT is trying to minimize proliferation of traffic signals. Mr. Plass said the DOT has been involved in a traffic study of this area for about 10 years and he has personally visited the site about 20 times. The initial traffic problems were related to the school, but now there is more traffic because of the recreation center and strip mall. Mr. Plass said because of the pattern of angle crashes there is a need for an interim fix. If U-turns become a problem then DOT needs to look at signalization. Vice Mayor Roberts said the congestion is not only caused by parents dropping off and picking up children at the school, but also by seniors using the recreation center and a U-turn lane is going to back up the third lane of University Drive. Vice Mayor Roberts asked when DOT is going to do their study, and Mr. Plass said the study would be done during periods of time when there is representative congestion. Commissioner Mishkin asked about emergency vehicle access from University to the school and recreation center and Mr. Plass responded. Commissioner Mishkin said some problems might be alleviated when new Senior and Community Center opens, but he agreed that traffic signals sometimes create additional problems. Mr. Plass said with median channelization, traffic would be able to make a left turn into the recreation center. Vice Mayor Roberts said it would be like the new Winn Dixie. Commissioner Portner suggested that DOT not do another study, but install a traffic light and Mr. Plass said the need for a traffic signal is at this point is not clear, however, the crash plan suggests certain movements need to be eliminated. To force traffic to go in another direction may or may not create other problems. Commissioner Portner said when the changes are made they are going to create confusion, and the longer the delay, the worse it will be. Mr. Plass said DOT wants the best situation possible to balance the operation and safety of the traffic. Vice Mayor Roberts asked when the last study was done for Commission Workshop Meeting May 8, 2000 1 the traffic safety plan and crash rate, and Mr. Plass responded March 1999. Vice Mayor Roberts said the median would create more problems. Mr. Plass said if during first week of school he sees an obvious problem, DOT will take out the median. DOT must also consider crashes created by putting a signal in, because people run lights. DOT studied this area of traffic but did not come up with same conclusion as the Commission. A consultant was hired do the study and the consultant came up with same conclusion as DOT. Mayor Schreiber asked how frequently the area will be monitored, and Mr. Plass said daily. Vice Mayor Roberts agreed with Commissioner Portner that now is the time to put up the barriers so people can get used to them before school starts. Mr. Plass agreed but said it is important not to do the study in the summer. Mayor Schreiber said the ultimate solution is a traffic light but he feels it may bring more problems. Vice Mayor Roberts told Chief Goldstein she wants documentation of every accident in that area. Chief Goldstein said he is concerned about the gas station at that location and hopes it is taken into the equation. Vice Mayor Roberts asked when this will begin, and Mr. Plass said a few weeks. City Manager Miller said if the Commission feels a light is necessary they may want to have a Resolution drafted for the record to be placed on the next agenda. 2. COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT CAFR : Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Finance Director Bates gave a presentation and Commissioner Portner asked if the Fire Rescue fund would show a possible deficiency in 5 years. Finance Director Bates responded. Mayor Schreiber asked where the money was going to come from in 3-5 years. Finance Director Bates said several meetings will be held to discuss this. There was discussion about the Fire Rescue Fund and the millage rate. There was discussion the relationship between the economic development program and license and permit. There was also discussion about the General Fund and the Utility Fund. 3(a) Item #6(d), INVESTMENT POLICY: (TR9013) authorizing a revision in the Investment Policy of the City of Tamarac, Section VII, Authorized and Suitable Investment Instruments, to include "Commercial Paper" and "Bankers Acceptance" as authorized and suitable investment instruments for the City of Tamarac, and authorizing its implementation. Investment Accountant Leanne Williams gave a presentation. Commissioner Portner asked about the risk and also questioned diversification in the portfolio. Investment Accountant Williams responded. Commissioner Mishkin spoke about the substantial return the City now gets and the low amount of risk involved. Commissioner Mishkin asked the Commission to be careful of assuming a greater risk. Mayor Schreiber said the Investment Advisory Board brought this up some years ago, and they feel it is a safe investment. Commissioner Sultanof said the market is in bad shape, and large production plants are closing. Commissioner Sultanof asked the Commissioners to be cautious. Commissioner Mishkin said about a year ago there was discussion about investing in Israeli bonds, and nothing came of it, and Mayor Schreiber said the City was able to get a better return on other Commission Workshop Meeting May 8, 2000 2 investments. There was discussion about the investment policy, and Investment Finance Director Bates said Bankers Acceptance and Commercial Paper are short-term investments. Mayor Schreiber asked for an expression of interest, and Mayor Schreiber, Commissioner Sultanof and Vice Mayor Roberts were in agreement, Commissioner Portner was undecided and Commissioner Mishkin was not in agreement. Mayor Schreiber called for a recess at 10:40 A.M. The workshop meeting reconvened at 10:50 A.M. with everyone present. 3(b) Item #8, DEVELOPER'S AGREEMENT: (TO1895) Motion to adopt Resolution approving a Developer's Agreement for the Westpoint DRI. Community Development Director King gave a presentation. Mayor Schreiber asked how much property is involved, how long it will take to develop and the value. Community Development Director King responded there are about 158 acres and it will take 5-10 years to develop. There was discussion about the amount of monies waived and the fees the City would get. Commissioner Mishkin expressed concern about the affect this may have on other developers and the loss of income to the City. Commissioner Mishkin said he is not happy with 9' parking spaces, and there should be a better approach to handicapped parking. City Manager Miller said the City has been negotiating with Westpoint for about 6 months. They are going to put in more streetscaping than is required and they did the construction on Hiatus Road. There was discussion about impact fees, road construction, and revising the Zoning Code. Commissioner Portner questioned the waiver of site plan review, and Community Development Director King responded. Mayor Schreiber asked about the amount of money involved and Community Development Director King said less than $25,000430,000 for the entire development. There was discussion about the floor area ratio and landscaping around the building. Commissioner Portner agreed with Commissioner Mishkin about the size of the parking spaces, and Community Development Director King said in order to meet open space requirements, parking use needs to be maximized. Mayor Schreiber said there will be very little movement in the parking lot, most of it will be employee parking or business visitors who will stay all day. Vice Mayor Roberts asked about the difference in the tax base between the undeveloped land and the buildings, and the size of the parking spaces currently at City Hall. Community Development Director King said he would check. Mayor Schreiber said Tamarac will benefit from the project, and Commissioner Portner asked about extending the agreement. Community Development Director King responded. Commissioner Portner questioned the letter of recommendation in Item #9 on the regular agenda. HOUSING RELOCATION POLICY: (TR8990) Motion to adopt Resolution authorizing the appropriate City Officials to adopt the "Local Optional Relocation Assistance Policy" to be included in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Commission Workshop Meeting May 8, 2000 3 Program for the City of Tamarac Consolidated Plan and 1st Year Action Plan; Case No. 9-MI-00, and Community Development Director King responded. Commissioner Portner asked if anyone has applied yet, and Community Development Director King said the funding would not be in place until October 1. City Manager Miller said according to the Tamarac Code, the Police Chief has the authority to issue permits for extended working hours. Both City Furniture and Zephyrhills have requested extended working hours at Tamarac Commerce Park. Community Development Director King said he has been in contact with City Furniture and Zephyrhills, and they have provided written documentation for their requests, which have been forwarded to Chief Goldstein. Mayor Schreiber suggested that it might be time to rewrite the Ordinance. There was discussion about the appropriate hours to begin and stop work and there was discussion about the noise ordinance. Mayor Schreiber asked how much longer the construction would take and Community Development Director King said it should be over by October. Commissioner Sultanof asked if they were also going to work on Saturdays, and Community Development Director King said there is no restriction on days of the week. Vice Mayor Roberts suggested a starting time later than 7:00 A.M. Commissioner Sultanof said the Isles of Tamarac have endured a lot of shock for a long time, and if the hours are extended it should be done in moderation. Commissioner Sultanof expressed concern about blasting. Mayor Schreiber said the hours should be from 8:00 A.M. — 8:00 P.M., or 7:00 A.M. —. 8:00 P.M., with no blasting. Assistant City Manager Hemstreet said Chief Goldstein is going to send a deputy to the site at around 7:00 A.M. to see if there is a high level of noise. The construction is taking place about Y2 mile from the residential area. Assistant City Manager Hemstreet said the permit would be issued to start work at 7:00 A.M. with the condition that if there are complaints about the noise the construction will be shut down. Mayor Schreiber asked if the authority that rests with the police chief could be changed to rest with the City, and City Manager Miller said it is within Chief Goldstein's purview, and he will get the Commission's feeling before he rewrites the permit. For the future, the Code can be changed. Commissioner Partner recommended 7:00 A.M.-8:00 P.M. Commissioner Mishkin and Commissioner Sultanof agreed, and Vice Mayor Roberts agreed for a period of 90 days. MIS Director Sucuoglu spoke about the recent virus that infected the computers. Mayor Schreiber said he heard from Jack Curtis over the weekend that compared to other cities, Tamarac was not doing well in the Census. City Manager Miller said the information he had was that Tamarac was among the leaders. Commissioner Sultanof said he told Mr. Curtis the figures are off and that Tamarac is above average. The big problem is the working people, who have not turned in their forms. Mayor Schreiber said the census people are going door to door after hours and they reach the working people that way. Commission Workshop Meeting May 8, 2000 4 E 1 Public Information Officer Moore said there has been good coverage on the census promotion of T-shirts, bagels and orange juice. Mayor Schreiber said he received information regarding the Vice -Mayor position, and City Attorney Kraft said it was circulated a few months ago. Mayor Schreiber said if it is in the Charter the Commission should discuss it. There was also a question on occupational licenses and pro -rating the charges. City Manager Miller said it has been sent back for study. There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Schreiber adjourned the Workshop Meeting at 11.50 A.M. Marion Swenson, CMC Interim City Clerk Commission Workshop Meeting May 8, 2000 5