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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-12 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2006 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco called the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Monday, June 12, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, Vice Mayor Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Patte Atkins -Grad, Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof, and Commissioner Harry Dressler. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, Assistant City Attorney D. J. Doody, Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips, and City Clerk Marion Swenson. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco led the pledge of allegiance. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco wished Commissioner Atkins -Grad a happy birthday and welcomed Vice Mayor Portner back. 1. PRESENTATION REGARDING EVERGLADES RESTORATION PROJECT: Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco announced that Bert Waters, Director, Broward Service Center, South Florida Water Management District was unable to stay for the presentation due to issues arising from Tropical Storm Alberto, and this item will be rescheduled. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco announced that Item No. 6 will be deferred to a future date. 2. DISCUSSION RE: THE DISBANDING OF THE TAMARAC ATHLETIC FEDERATION EXECUTIVE BOARD AND THE CITY ASSUMING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THIS BOARD: Parks and Recreation Director Warner and Parks Superintendent Moll appeared. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner explained that the TAF Executive Board voted to turn their responsibilities over to the City. Parks Superintendent Moll gave a presentation on the history and current responsibilities of the TAF Executive Board as well as the problems the Executive Board has experienced. Parks Superintendent Moll addressed responsibilities the City intends to assume and spoke of background checks at a cost of $18,000. Parks Superintendent Moll said the leagues are still willing to purchase their own insurance and the respective leagues will operate the concession stand and take responsibilities for repairs. Commissioner Sultanof said while he is not against this he has a concern regarding hold harmless for the City, and Tamarac should not be responsible for the leagues' equipment. Additionally, he is not comfortable with the $18,000 for background checks coming from the City and feels we should only be involved in a supervisory position. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner confirmed the City is June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 1 of 7 only taking over the supervisory role. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the possibility of piggy -backing with P.A.L. and Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said he would look into it. Vice Mayor Portner asked if this change of responsibility has been imposed upon the City and questioned background checks for the team parents. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner explained the Executive- Board's voting to disband and said anybody who comes in contact with children must have a background check. Parks Superintendent Moll clarified team parents are volunteers and there are only one or two parents per team. Vice Mayor Portner asked about the City's responsibility with regard to concession stands and Parks Superintendent Moll responded the air conditioning and the structure itself. Commissioner Dressler agreed with Commissioner Sultanof and questioned whether the Executive Board is a non-profit entity, because if it is they may have liability but no weight behind it. When the City takes the responsibility people look at us as a 'deep pocket' and any issues that arise can be quite significant. Commissioner Dressler questioned potential exposure to the City and Risk/Safety Manager Tomaszewski said she would evaluate and look into cross liability. Commissioner Dressler added the Mayor and City Commission must look at this carefully and get quantifiable information so as policy makers appropriate decisions can be made. Commissioner Dressler asked that the next time such an item is brought before the Mayor and City Commission, backup and quantifiable information be included. Commissioner Dressler said as liaison to the Parks and Recreation Board, he heard that working on the Executive Board for TAF is extremely time consuming and it has become hard for volunteers to participate. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner responded what has become time consuming for the volunteers, since they all hold full time jobs, is the background checks and coach certification. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said the purpose of today's discussion is to give the Mayor and City Commission a heads up regarding where we are going with this item. This is only the beginning of the planning stage and he will come back with quantifiable information. City Manager Miller said TAF needs professional administration; it has always been done by volunteers and over the last two years Parks Superintendent Moll has been policing the board and resolving issues between parents and the Board. City Manager Miller said when he asked Director of Parks and Recreation Warner if more staff would be needed he was told no. Staff will look at the insurance policies to ensure the leagues are handling them appropriately. Commissioner Dressler asked if the city assumes the responsibility of background checks would this be a fiduciary responsibility. Assistant City Attorney Doody said the city would be responsible for these checks if the city initiates the checks; if there is a concern on the part of the Mayor and City Commission, the background checks could be forthcoming from the leagues. Organizational issues can be further addressed but there is not necessarily a fiduciary issue. The question then becomes how we want to check and the scope of our responsibility. A standard is going to be set. Commissioner Dressler said he takes liability seriously, and this can become a mine field. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked for clarification regarding the disbanding of the Executive Board, and said she has received many phone calls from parents who are unhappy with the current situation. Director of Parks and Recreation Warner said they voted in May to disband and they are now giving the City notice. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said excellent points have June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 2 of 7 been made by everyone today but she also feels more information is needed regarding insurance, hold harmless, and staff time. Down the road, in order to do a good job we may need a dedicated staff person for this board. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned whether three years is enough for background checks and Parks Superintendent Moll said there are no guidelines, and Tamarac has accepted what TAF has done, checking every three years. Commissioner Atkins -Grad confirmed one did not have to live in Tamarac in order to volunteer for TAF. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said it appears the consensus of the Mayor and City Commission is to move forward but more information is needed. City Manager Miller said this is just a preliminary discussion and there are questions that need to be answered; he will have staff look into it and come back to the Mayor and City Commission in the next few months. 3. JUNE 14, 2006 AGENDA ITEMS: a. Item No. 6(d). PURCHASE OF PORTABLE MESSAGE BOARDS: (TR10970) Purchasing two (2) Trailer -Mounted, Battery/Solar Powered Portable Message Boards from American Signal Company, based on Contract ITB-DOT 03/04-9015-RR, P0400- PO402 and per specification FC 9274, at a total cost not to exceed $26,200.00. Fire Chief Budzinski and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz appeared. Fire Chief Budzinski gave a presentation and said one board has already been purchased and this legislation is for the other two boards. Commissioner Sultanof questioned whether the City piggy -backed onto a contract and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz said we had with the FDOT contract. Commissioner Sultanof questioned the power supply and Fire Chief Budzinski said they are battery operated and also work off solar chargers. Commissioner Dressler commended Fire Chief Budzinski, Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz and their staffs on an excellent job. b. Item No. 6(b). STRUCTURAL REPAIR OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT CLEARWELL: (TR10966) Executing Task Authorization No. 06-05E with Eckler Engineering, Inc., to provide professional services for the design of all necessary repairs to the Water Treatment Plant clearwell, including preparation of detailed plans and specifications followed by permitting, bidding assistance, and engineering services during construction, in accordance with the City's Consulting Engineering Agreement as authorized by Resolution No. R-2001-185, for an amount not to exceed $39,300.00; approving funding from the appropriate budgeted Utilities Operational account; authorizing the appropriate City officials to administer the contract. Assistant Director of Utilities Moore and Support Services Manager D'Amato appeared. Assistant Director of Utilities Moore gave a presentation and spoke of severe structural deterioration. Commissioner Sultanof asked where the money would come from and Assistant Director of Utilities Moore said the repair and rehabilitation fund. Vice Mayor Portner asked for an explanation of a clear well and why this was not repaired at the time the 2 million gallon tank was worked on, to which Assistant Director of Utilities Moore explained we did not have the report on the clear well at that time. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco confirmed the City only has one clear well. June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 3 of 7 C. Item No. 6(h). FISCAL YEAR 2005 CITY OF TAMARAC WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS ANNUAL REPORT: (TR10976) Receiving the Fiscal Year 2005 City of Tamarac Water and Wastewater Systems Annual Report prepared by the City's Consulting Engineers, Mathews Consulting, Inc., on behalf of the City of Tamarac Utilities Department as required by bond covenants for continuing disclosure for the taxable water and sewer utility revenue refunding bonds series 1996 and 2004 series capital improvement bonds. Assistant Director of Utilities Moore and Support Services Manager D'Amato appeared. Assistant Director of Utilities Moore said because of the 1996 and 2004 bond covenants we must prepare a report that shows we are stable. Support Services Manager D'Amato said the report shows we adequately maintain our water and sewer system, our rates are sufficient, we have good management, financial resources are in place for our CIP projects, and there are no financial irregularities. Support Services Manager D'Amato and Assistant Director of Utilities Moore then responded to questions from Vice Mayor Portner regarding debt coverage, pressure levels, I&I, the wastewater system and water loss. d. Item No. 60). INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT PROMOTING UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITY FACILITIES: (TR10981) Executing the "Interlocal Agreement to Promote Undergrounding of Utility Facilities and Related Implementation Activities", specifically electric utilities; authorizing a contribution for said purpose in an amount not to exceed $12,000.00; authorizing budget transfers as required for this purpose. Assistant Director of Utilities Moore and Support Services Manager D'Amato appeared. Support Services Manager D'Amato said Tamarac has been invited to join and participate in the consortium for the purpose of gathering and sharing information related to undergrounding of utilities, and to determine whether FPL's proposal for a 25% credit for undergrounding is, in fact, a valid proposal. Vice Mayor Portner asked if Tamarac is going to insist that new development have underground power lines and City Manager Miller said staff would look at that closely, as there is a significant expense involved and developers will be encouraged to underground. Commissioner Sultanof asked staff to find out if Tamarac can have its grid encased in concrete. Commissioner Dressler said FPL's infrastructure is not hardened and that is FPL's responsibility. Commissioner Dressler asked about the FLC's position on this and if they would put leverage on FPL to assume the responsibility for hardening their own infrastructure. City Manager Miller said we can not work on FPL's facilities; there have been articles in the newspaper about FPL hardening transformer stations, and he would look into it and find out what their plans are for our facilities. City Manager Miller explained FPL's proposal to the cities; they would fund 25% of the cost to bury power lines, and this proposal was made before the PSC. The cities are questioning whether 25% is a good percentage and they want to hire an electrical engineer to review the facts and figures submitted by FPL. Commissioner Dressier said the cities are being forced to spend money to subsidize a monopoly, and this amounts to taxation without representation. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco said she noticed that of the participating municipalities, many in Broward County are not represented. Commissioner Atkins -Grad said she believed many parts of Parkland are already undergrounded. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked where we are to go with this and City Manager Miller said he recommends joining the consortium June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 4 of 7 I r-, to see if we can get FPL to up their percentage. If we are going to underground public facilities we want to get FPL's percentage as high as possible. e. Item No. 6(f). AGREEMENT AMENDMENT — WOODLANDS CANAL MAINTENANCE: (TR10949) Executing an agreement between the City of Tamarac and the Woodlands Homeowners' Association, Inc., a Florida corporation, to provide for maintenance of public waterways within the Woodlands subdivision. Public Works Director Strain gave a presentation. Commissioner Sultanof said the City made a mistake in taking over the canals from the County. Commissioner Dressler said history is important, as when we work on our strategic plan and look to the future we want to avoid finding ourselves in a situation like this. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked if other subdivisions are able to enter into such an agreement with the city for canal maintenance and Public Works Director Strain said as long as it does not cost the taxpayers more to maintain the canals than it would if the City maintained them. Vice Mayor Partner asked who the residents of the Woodlands would go to if the canals are not kept up and Public Works Director Strain said their homeowner association. f. Item No. 6(g). AGREEMENT WITH CARLTON'S TREE SERVICE — HAZARDOUS TREE REMOVAL: (TR10974) Awarding Bid No. 06-12B and executing an agreement with Carlton's Tree Service, Inc. for the removal of hazardous trees for an amount not to exceed $78,925 from the appropriate accounts. Public Works Director Strain and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz appeared. Public Works Director Strain gave a presentation and said the trees in question are a result of Hurricane Wilma, and our City Arborist said they will not survive. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned the number of trees we are talking about and Public Works Director Strain said about 450; we will get reimbursed for 55% of the cost from FEMA, but he intends to appeal that percentage once the job is done. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned impact on the neighborhoods and Public Works Director Strain said the trees have become a liability and need to be eliminated. The City will do its best to replace most of the trees; additionally, as new projects come into the city, more trees are planted. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco spoke about publicizing this program and Public Information Officer Crockett said we have missed the summer edition of the Tam -A - Gram, but she will look for another venue to get the word out. Commissioner Sultanof suggested an article in the Sun -Sentinel, and Public Information Officer Crockett said she would contact the Sun -Sentinel and Forum, or consider a special mailing. Commissioner Atkins -Grad left the room at 11:08 a.m. and returned at 11:12 a.m. Vice Mayor Portner confirmed Tamarac received two grants thanks to the work of Assistant City Manager Phillips and Special Projects Coordinator Gresek. Public Works Director Strain said the trees are scattered throughout the City, randomly located, and it would be helpful to put the residents on notice. Commissioner Dressler asked that Public Works Director Strain e-mail him the number of trees in District 4 that will be affected and Public Works Director Strain said he has a map of all the trees involved and will make sure the Mayor and City Commission each get one. Vice Mayor Portner June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 5 of 7 asked if this project includes golf courses and Public Works Director Strain said it only involves public property. 4. DISCUSSION RE: REPAIR OF DAMAGED SIDEWALKS WITHIN PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY: Public Works Director Strain said staff went through the City and surveyed damaged sidewalks and rated them level 1, level 2, and level 3 hazards, with level 3 being considered a trip hazard and possible liability. We are now on record knowing all the locations and the City will be negligent if it does not repair the level 3 hazard sites as soon as possible. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said she is disappointed as the monetary figure is quite different now from what it was when the ordinance was passed. Public Works Director Strain explained at the time the ordinance was passed it was not known what the exact cost would be to repair the sidewalks; only the number of sidewalks in need of repair in Heathgate/Sunflower was known. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco said she voted in favor of the ordinance and believes it is the right thing to do for the City; but there may have been a lack of communication at the time it was considered. Commissioner Sultanof said he voted against the ordinance, and he is of the belief that it is the homeowner's responsibility to repair the sidewalks, and he would like to revisit this to find equity for the city and the property owners. Public Works Director Strain explained a portion of the damage to the sidewalks is because of trees on private property. The City will give the homeowners notice that they must trim roots and then the City will repair the sidewalk and charge the homeowner for the repairs. Commissioner Sultanof spoke of Ashmont and Clairmont communities where the homeowner associations paid for sidewalk repairs. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said after the city cleans up the current cracks the recurring expenses should be less. Public Works Director Strain explained the number of sidewalks to be worked on at this time will only be the level 3 hazards; the cost for the level 1 and level 2 hazards has not been assessed as of yet. Commissioner Sultanof said he is in agreement to fix the worst cracks and then revisit the matter. Vice Mayor Portner spoke of the $260,000 received from resource recovery and asked that the money be designated for these repairs, and added future commissions may not want to repair sidewalks. Deputy City Manager Cernech, speaking on behalf of Financial Services Director Chapman, explained what Vice Mayor Portner is asking for has already been done; the money has been placed in the general fund and we do not need to designate it for this item; the Mayor and City Commission can approve a budget transfer for this project. Commissioner Dressler said he understands the Director of Financial Services wanting to maintain flexibility and avoid earmarking funds, and he appreciates Vice Mayor Portner's concerns for the future. Commissioner Dressler said Tamarac has the best staff of any city and it is the best run city; we are going for the Sterling Award and from a policy viewpoint, the Mayor and City Commission and staff have to quantify anything we make a decision about. City Manager Miller said he has a proposal from the Public Works Department to expend $140,000 for the rest of this year to hire private contractors to attack the level 3 hazard areas, and he feels we should move forward with this. The Financial Services Director has indicated there is money available out of the fund balance, and Vice Mayor Portner is correct, we did receive an unexpected check for $260,000 that is not earmarked for anything at this point. It is part of the general fund. Mayor Flansbaum- June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 6 of 7 I Talabisco asked what the next steps are when the level 3 hazards are fixed and Public Works Director Strain said we will work diligently until we are done; there is no urgency to do the level one hazards. When we are done with the level 3 hazards we can move along expending $50,000 each year to get rid of the level 2 hazards and then move to the level 1 hazards. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked how long this will take if approved and Public Works Director Strain said it will take past the beginning of the year to complete the level 3 hazards. Those parts of the sidewalks that are the homeowners' responsibilities will be repaired and then the city will backtrack to bill the homeowners. Commissioner Atkins -Grad asked if FEMA would pay for any of the repairs and Public Works Director Strain said we did $25,000 worth of FEMA repairs this year in addition to the $50,000 in city funds that were set aside for the project. FEMA will not reimburse for root damage to sidewalks unless the damage is the result of a storm. City Manager Miller said the budget amendment item is on the consent agenda and it will be amended from $400,000 to $140,000 per this morning's discussions. All were in agreement. 5. SELECTION OF PIONEER OF THE YEAR FOR THE BROWARD COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION: Public Information Officer Crockett said there is no fiscal impact associated with this item. Vice Mayor Portner asked to have Marion Faye, who is 107, named as Tamarac's Pioneer. All were in agreement. 6. DISCUSSION OF LAND PURCHASES FOR OPEN SPACE: Deferred to a later date. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco adjourned the workshop meeting at 11:45 a.m. Marion Swenson, CMC City Clerk June 12, 2006 City Commission Workshop Page 7 of 7