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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-06-23 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2008 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco called the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Monday, June 23, 2008, at 9:35 a.m. in Room 105 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, Vice Mayor Marc L. Sultanof, Commissioner Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Patte Atkins -Grad, and Commissioner Harry Dressler. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, City Attorney Samuel S. Goren, Deputy City Manager Michael C. Cernech, and Acting Assistant City Clerk Pat Teufel Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco led the pledge of allegiance. JUNE 25, 2008 AGENDA ITEMS a. Item No. 6(b) on the consent agenda. HOME FY 05/06 1ST AMENDMENT - ONE -YEAR EXTENSION: (TR11415) Approving an Amendment to the Interlocal Agreement ("ILA") between Broward County and the City of Tamarac to provide for a one year extension for the administration of the HOME Funding Program for Fiscal Year 2005/2006 (Case No. 09-MI-08). b. Item No. 6(c) on the consent agenda. HOME FY 06/07 1ST AMENDMENT - ONE -YEAR EXTENSION: (TR11416) Approving an amendment to the Interlocal Agreement ("ILA") between Broward County and the City of Tamarac to provide for a one year extension for the Administration of the HOME Funding Program for Fiscal Year 2006/2007 (Case No. 10-MI-08). C. Item No. 6(i) on the consent agenda. APPOINTMENT OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE: (TR11417) Appointing members to the City's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Community Development Director Bramley and Housing Administrator Bauldree appeared. Housing Administrator Bauldree gave a presentation encompassing all three items as they are all related to housing. Commissioner Portner asked if elected officials were precluded from serving on the Committee and what the consequences would be if a Resolution appointing members to the Committee was not passed by June 30tt'. City Attorney Goren said elected officials were not precluded and if a Resolution appointing Committee members was not passed by June 30, 2008, Tamarac would lose money. Vice Mayor Sultanof recommended Realtor Alan Oshins to serve on the Committee. d. Item No. 6(e) on the consent agenda. PURCHASE OF RECYCLING BINS: (TR11408) Awarding Bid No. 08-09B to SCL A-1 Plastics, Ltd. for the purchase of 18 gallon curbside recycling bins. Public Works Director Strain and Purchasing/Contracts June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 1 of 6 Manager Glatz appeared. Public Works Director Strain gave a presentation. Vice Mayor Sultanof spoke of the different bins for recycling at Kings Point. Commissioner Portner asked for a definition of "junk mail", if there were any additional costs associated with the bins and how would they be distributed. Public Works Director Strain said catalogues, magazines, flyers, etc. were considered "junk mail", other than the actual cost of the containers there would be no other costs and that notices would be put in the utility bills and Tam -A -Gram and the bins could be picked up at Customer Service. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked if there was any grant money for this program. Assistant City Manager Phillips said they looked for grant funds at the State level but there were none at this time, however, they will continue to look. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco asked if this comes under the Florida Green Coalition Program and Community Development Director Bramley said yes. e. Item No. 66) on the consent agenda. RENEWAL OF BUS BENCH CONTRACT WITH MARTIN MEDIA OUTDOOR MEDIA: (TR11426) Exercising the option to renew the agreement for an additional five (5) year period between the City of Tamarac and Martin Outdoor Media, Inc. to furnish bus benches for the City of Tamarac beginning July 16, 2008. Chief Structural Inspector Pat Richardson and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz appeared. Chief Structural Inspector Richardson gave a presentation. Vice Mayor Sultanof and Commissioner Atkins -Grad were in agreement that Martin Media has done an exemplary job. Vice Mayor Sultanof spoke of an article that appeared in today's Sun -Sentinel regarding missing bus benches in Tamarac. Chief Structural Inspector Richardson said that he will go out with Martin Media and look into the situation. Commissioner Dressier asked City Manager Miller if we know if there were bus benches there during the past five years. City Manager Miller said no but that will be one of the things that will be looked into. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked if there was anything the Commission needed to do to add more benches. City Attorney Goren said the Contract provides for the addition of benches. f. Item No. 6(g) on the consent agenda. AMENDING THE SERVICE FEES FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES: (TR11379) Approving an amendment to the service fees for Emergency Medical Services. Fire Chief Budzinski and Division Chief Sheridan appeared. Fire Chief Budzinski gave a presentation. Vice Mayor Sultanof asked how we are going to educate the public regarding the fee changes and let them know that other cities are doing the same thing. Fire Chief Budzinski said this information is included in their outreach programs and they will also place information in the Tam -A -Gram. Commissioner Atkins -Grad said once people understand that insurance companies will be reimbursing them, the fear will go away. Commissioner Dressler said that people do not realize that 50% of the cost is subsidized by the City's general fund. Fire Chief Budzinski said the current transport fee is one-half of the total cost and if we charged the full fee it would be $1,400.00. There was a general discussion regarding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco said this information should be put on the web site and included with the utility bills. Assistant City Manager Phillips said they will look at how to better educate the public. Vice Mayor Sultanof said the public also needs to be educated about the difference between Emergency Medical Services and Fire Rescue Services. City June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 2 of 6 Attorney Goren said it is important for people to understand that the transport fee is not the assessment for fire that they are separate and distinct items and spoke briefly about the Britt issue. g. Item No. 7 on the regular agenda. AMENDING CHAPTER 12 OF THE TAMARAC CODE - LICENSE AND BUSINESS REGULATIONS: (T02161) Motion to adopt Ordinance on first reading amending Chapter 12, " Local Business Tax Regulations", of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Tamarac, Florida, by amending Article II, " Local Business Taxes", by amending Section 12-39, "Amount of Fee" of the City of Tamarac Code of Ordinances to conform with Chapter 205, Florida Statutes; modifying Local Business Tax Fees and Classifications and establishing equity between Local Business Tax Fees and establishing additional Business Revenue Tax Receipt Classifications and Fees (Case No. 12-MI-08). Community Development Director Bramley and Senior Revenue Specialist Yacobellis appeared. Community Development Director Bramley gave a presentation. Vice Mayor Sultanof said the fees are adequate and commended staff on a job well done. Commissioner Portner said he is not in favor of this 5% increase. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked if these are user fees and Commissioner Dressler asked if the fees were reasonable and customary; Community Development Director Bramley replied yes. Commissioner Dressler commented that if this increase does not pass the City will bear the burden and it will be subsidized out of the General Fund. h. Item No. 8 on the regular agenda. AMENDING CHAPTER 16 OF THE TAMARAC CODE: (T02162) Motion to adopt Ordinance on first reading amending Chapter 16 entitled "Pensions and Retirement", by specifically amending Section 16-56 entitled, "Members"; reducing the number of alternates on the Board of Trustees from four (4) to three (3); providing that the Mayor need only to appoint one (1) Trustee to serve on the Board of Trustees and providing for codification. City Attorney Goren and Human Resources Director Swanson appeared. City Attorney Goren gave a presentation and said that the Pension attorney reviewed and approved the amendment. Commissioner Dressler confirmed that this reduced the number of alternates from 4 to 3 and one Mayor appointed trustee. 2. DISCUSSION REGARDING SELECTION OF VOTING DELEGATE FOR FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES: Assistant City Manager Phillips gave a presentation. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco and Commissioner Atkins -Grad said they will be attending the Conference in August. Commissioner Dressler nominated Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco accepted and suggested that Commissioner Atkins -Grad be named as an alternate voting delegate. After discussion there was an expression of interest wherein all agreed to the following: Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco was designated as the voting delegate and Commissioner Atkins -Grad was designated as the alternate voting delegate. 3. DISCUSSION REGARDING OF RADIO SYSTEM REPLACEMENT: Information Technology Director Sucuoglu said this system is an essential piece of the City's daily operations and in a state of disrepair. Motorola has done an evaluation and two of the June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 3 of 6 four sites are not operating and there are no spare parts to do repairs. The proposal from Motorola, sole source provider, to replace the system is for $554,000, which includes 5 year maintenance and replacement as well as support. Information Technology Director Sucuoglu said that Assistant City Manager Phillips worked with state and federal agencies and has secured a state grant for $200,000 for this project, with pending grant requests for additional dollars on the federal level. The recommendation is to move ahead with the lease purchase of the system as we already have the $200,000 grant. Vice Mayor Sultanof asked if we are part of a cooperative and Purchasing/Contracts Manager Glatz said this contract is actually through the Broward Sheriffs Office and the South East Florida Governmental Purchasing Cooperative. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco confirmed that we had the $200,000 grant and asked how soon the new system would be implemented. Information Technology Director Sucuoglu said approximately 60 days. City Attorney Goren left the room at 10:45 a.m. and returned at 10:47 a.m. There was a discussion regarding the various grants available. 4. DISCUSSION REGARDING PURCHASE BY CITY OF HOMES IN FORECLOSURE: Commissioner Portner said that this commission has discussed this issue before and asked how and can we purchase homes, mow lawns, etc. in Tamarac in order to avoid slum and blight. City Manager Miller said a detailed memo was prepared by Community Development Director Bramley and they will be glad to preface this conversation with that memo, if Commissioner Portner desired. Community Development Director Bramley gave a presentation and said that there are 641 homes in Tamarac that are in pre -foreclosure. Community Development Director Bramley also spoke of affordable housing, programs that Tamarac has in place, and programs that we are proposing to give assistance, homebuyer education, foreclosure workshops and future foreclosure prevention activities. Community Development Director Bramley said that on August 23, 2008 we are joining with Coral Springs and Sunrise and the Broward County Housing Task Force in a foreclosure prevention seminar. These seminars have been very helpful and well attended. Essentially these seminars bring the banks to the table to sit with residents to discuss how to get out of adjustable rate mortgage and get into a fixed mortgage, and give them strategies on to how to prevent foreclosure. There are programs in place where cities do purchase properties in pre -foreclosure, rehab them and re -sell. Staff is not recommending that option for Tamarac as it does not help the homeowner since we would be rehabilitating a home and putting it back on the market with the thousands of other units already up for sale. We need to be proactive and reach out to residents in pre -foreclosure and keep them in their homes. Community Development Director Bramley said the conditions of the homes in pre -foreclosure is a huge issue and we are addressing part of that with our Community Revitalization Strategy. Another strategy is an ordinance which would require a home in foreclosure to post the number of a property management company so that we can avoid the Special Magistrate process and provide for the ability to remove personal property from abandoned property if it is a nuisance. Commissioner Portner asked how many homes had been foreclosed, how many remained vacant, if the City has stepped in with upkeep on the property, and who covers the cost. Community Development Director Bramley June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 4 of 6 said she was not sure how many homes remain vacant and yes, the City has stepped in and done some upkeep on property and has placed liens on the homes to cover the cost to the City. Commissioner Portner said we need to get people into foreclosed homes and if we don't do something now Tamarac will become an heir to slum and blight. Tamarac should be a leader in this effort. Community Development Director Bramley said our best efforts would be served by ensuring that those in pre -foreclosure stay in their units. There was a general discussion about the programs offered to assist homeowners. Community Development Director Bramley spoke of the ordinances that will be coming before the Commission in the future. Commissioner Portner asked if there is a way for Tamarac to advertise for prospective buyers of homes together with the banks owning the foreclosed property. Community Development Director Bramley said we will be working with our PIO to advertise the August 23, 2008 Seminars and get our residents there. City Attorney Goren said there about 5 lenders nationally that are involved with the massive foreclosures in Broward County and these 5 lenders will be coming to these seminars to try to renegotiate their loans, terms of debt and find ways to help people and find new property owners. Commissioner Portner confirmed that on August 23, 2008 there would be a Seminar involving citizens, banks and cities and asked if we would be advertising that Seminar and Community Development Director Bramley said we would. Community Development Director Bramley said we will also get the addresses of every home in pre -foreclosure in Tamarac and direct mail an invitation to them. Community Development Director Bramley said Housing Administrator Bauldree is on the Broward County Housing Task Force and has attended 3 seminars and is counseling our residents as they come in. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said we are conducting seminars in conjunction with the Chamber. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said she recognized Commissioner Portner's frustration. There was a discussion about advertising the event and what takes place during the Seminar. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco said she would like an update after the August 23rd event and is very interested in the Ordinance that was discussed because it will address the visuals that everyone is seeing. Community Development Director Bramley said it will come before the Commission in 3 phases; amendments to landscaping, housing codes and abandoned property. Commissioner Portner left the meeting at 11:20 a.m. Commissioner Dressler said Tamarac has done all that it can at this point to address all of our concerns about the issues of property depreciation and people being foreclosed upon and are doing everything we can to educate and subsidize residents. Tamarac cannot get involved in buying, rehabilitating and reselling properties and cannot get involved in land speculation. It is not an appropriate use of tax payer's money and it is not the purpose of government to compete in the private sector. Vice Mayor Sultanof spoke of Tamarac spending money to help people whose homes were destroyed by Wilma, foreclosures in Kings Point and West Palm Beach blight. Vice Mayor Sultanof said Tamarac does have a heart but we are not a brokerage house. City Attorney Goren said he had quick item to discuss as he will not be at Wednesday's meeting. City Attorney Goren said the State of Florida actually funded traffic June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 5 of 6 magistrates for those counties that have traffic magistrates. However, the Commission known as the Trial Court Budget Commission's Executive Committee has placed all funds in reserve which cannot be used by the court system effective July 1, 2008. This essentially ends the special magistrate program. A letter went out this morning from Judge Zeller, the Chief Judge, which indicates to the League of Cities that the program will be ending effective July 1st the consequence of which is all traffic matters, including parking tickets and traffic infractions, will no longer be heard by magistrates but will be heard by county court judges at the central court house, creating a number of significant challenges. City Attorney Goren said the numbers for Tamarac may be on the low side; they have a report that was published in April and they will look at the numbers carefully to see what impacts might occur. City Attorney Goren said there will still be pretrial conferences at the satellite courthouses, which means that you can go to the satellite courthouse plead not guilty, guilty or no contest. If you plead not guilty or not in violation the case gets bound over to the central courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale at which point a date will be set for a hearing. Commissioner Dressler asked about the fiscal impact on Tamarac. City Manager Miller said he would research and report back. Commissioner Dressler asked if tickets issued for overweight trucks would be affected and asked if we could take the parking/traffic infractions, etc in house. City Attorney Goren said the overweight citations are handled by Tamarac's Special Magistrate and we would not be able to take the parking/traffic infractions in house as dictated by state law. Commissioner Dressler asked about the impact of this on drunk drivers and City Attorney Goren responded a drunk driving charge is criminal in nature and will still be heard by a county court judge. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked about the red light camera violations and City Attorney Goren responded that the red light camera infractions will actually be reviewed by a city appointed magistrate. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco adjourned the workshop meeting at 11:50 a.m. Patricia A. Teufel Acting Assistant City Clerk 1 June 23, 2008 City Commission Workshop Page 6 of 6