Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-10-22 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COMMISSION OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission to order on Monday, October 22, 2001, 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. Portner, Commissioner Gertrude Mishkin, and Commissioner Karen L. Roberts. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, City Attorney Mitchell S. Kraft, City Clerk Marion Swenson, and students from Taravella High School: David Ovadia, Mark Berman, Ben Wiles, Kira Bokalders, Kristy Andre, Noah Fortinsky, Brian Dubrow, and Kevin Chan. Commissioner Portner wished Commissioner Roberts a happy birthday. Mayor Schreiber announced that in conjunction with Florida Government Day, students from Taravella High School were participating in today's workshop and daily activities of the directors. 1. PRESENTATION BY EDITH LEDERBERG, AREA AGENCY ON AGING, FOR ADDITIONAL FAIR SHARE REQUEST: Edith Lederberg of the Area Agency on Aging gave a presentation, explained the fair share and added that Tamarac was honored last year for donating a full fair share for the past five years, and received $887,716 in services from the Area Agency on Aging of Broward County, Ms. Lederberg introduced Ricky Garber and Gail Weinstein of the Area on Aging and Tamarac Residents. City Manager Miller said the amount of money involved is $3,920, and explained that the state is having significant budget problems, and more services will have to be provided locally. For every $1.00 provided by Tamarac, we receive $9.00 in return in the way of services. There was a unanimous expression of interest to increase Tamarac's fair share by $3,920.00. 2. DISCUSSION OF WATER RESTRICTIONS AND ELIMINATION OF THE 18% WATER RESTRICTION SURCHARGE: Director of Utilities Ray Gagnon introduced Laboratory Manager Fran Oney, who gave a presentation and said restrictions would be lifted effective October 10th. Mayor Schreiber asked if lifting restrictions and eliminating the surcharge would generate sufficient revenues to make up for any shortfall. Director of Finance Robert Lange said the consumption levels would bring the revenue back to what it was prior to the implementation of restrictions. Commissioner Roberts asked if information on code restrictions prohibiting watering of lawns between the hours of 9:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. would be sent via the water bills, and Laboratory Manager Oney said the city would use the same education process it used to notify people of the restrictions. October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 1 3. OCTOBER 24, 2001 AGENDA ITEMS: a. Item No. 8(m). AMENDMENT TO ANNUAL BUDGET FY01: (TR9572) Amending the annual budget of estimated revenues and expenditures of the general fund and the capital construction fund for fiscal year 2001. Finance Director Robert Lange gave a presentation and said this is an accounting application to account for all funds received and provide for payback. Tamarac was reimbursed for services provided for the senior program and the excess funds need to be transferred to the Community Center Construction project account. Commissioner Portner asked why the grant had to be repaid, and Parks and Recreation Director Margoles explained that the original grant from Broward County CDBG was for construction of the Community Center. After receiving the funds it became evident that the reporting process was too onerous, and it was decided to pay back the money to Broward County. The city received a subsequent grant for the same amount for the Senior Program, and reporting requirements were not as strenuous. Many grants must be repaid if the requirements of the grant are not fulfilled. b. Item No. 8(o). WAIVER OF RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 2-56: (TR9576) Waiving the residency requirements of Section 2-56 of the Tamarac Code for Merlie Winnick-Schwartz. City Clerk Marion Swenson gave a presentation. Mayor Schreiber asked if this is a violation of the Tamarac Code, and City Attorney Kraft said the Commission could waive the requirements. Commissioner Portner asked why, when there are residents who want to represent Tamarac on boards and committees, would the Commission want to select someone who lives outside the city limits. There was discussion about amending the code to provide that only residents may serve. Mayor Schreiber said there is someone on the Board of Adjustment for many years who is not a resident of Tamarac, but other people could serve in his stead. Mayor Schreiber added that the Insurance Advisory Board requires more knowledge, and suggested the residency requirement be waived so Ms. Winnick-Schwartz could finish the term. Mayor Schreiber and Commissioner Portner asked the City Attorney to draft an ordinance eliminating waivers. Vice Mayor Sultanof said he is in agreement with amending the ordinance to eliminate waivers for those who live outside the city to serve on boards and committees, but he would like an exemption for the Veterans Affairs Committee. After discussion there was an expression of interest not to revise the ordinance from Commissioner Roberts, Vice Mayor Sultanof, Commissioner Mishkin, and Mayor Schreiber. Commissioner Partner disagreed and said he wanted the ordinance revised. All were in favor of waiving the residency requirements for Ms. Winnick-Schwartz. C. Item No. 8(r). CONTRACT FOR SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD SERVICES: (TR9579) Awarding the contract for School Crossing Guard Services to Action Labor of Florida, LLC (a/k/a Staffing Connection), the successful bidder of Request for Bid No. 02-03B (Case No. 37-MI-01). Code Enforcement Manager Cindy Diemer gave a presentation. Mayor Schreiber asked about removal of the no thoroughfare signs at the Isles of Tamarac, and Code Enforcement Manager Diemer said she would ask Public Works to follow up with Broward County to get the signs removed. October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 2 Mayor Schreiber questioned the value of the equipment in Item 80) on the consent agenda, and whether there would be any use for the equipment here. Item 80). IBM AS400 SURPLUS: (TR9522) Declaring the IBM AS400 9406-500 Computer System located in the Information Technology Department as surplus and authorizing the sale of said equipment through a sealed bid process; placing all proceeds into the general fund. City Manager Miller said the IBM AS400 9406-500 is no longer compatible with our existing system. Commissioner Portner asked if there is a minimum that the City will accept. Purchasing and Contracts Manager Flurry said this is being taken to a sealed bid process and it will be posted on the website. Purchasing and Contracts Manager Flurry added that she did not know the value of the equipment, and there is no minimum bid, but the city has the right to reject any bids. Mayor Schreiber asked who would own the message board in Item 8(k) on the consent agenda. Item 8(k). LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUNDS: (TR9532) Authorizing the Tamarac Division of the Broward County Sheriffs Office to use Law Enforcement Trust Fund monies to purchase a Trailer Mounted General Purpose Message Board at a total cost not to exceed $22,000.00. Chief Dugger said the city would own the board. Commissioner Roberts questioned the amount of money in the resolution, and Commissioner Portner asked for an explanation of LETF monies. Chief Dugger explained how LETF monies are collected with regard to forfeitures and the money is used to purchase items that are not necessarily budgeted. Mayor Schreiber asked about the non-taxable bonds in Item 8(n) on the consent agenda. Item 8(n). TAMARAC LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR 2002 LEGISLATIVE SESSION: (TR9570) Approving the City's Legislative Agenda for the 2002 Legislative Session which outlines the City's position on particular legislative issues. Mayor Schreiber discussed the second homestead exemption for people over the age of 65, and Vice Mayor Sultanof said people who buy non-taxable bonds do not have to show them as income, which means they can then have an income above the $20,000 allowed to qualify for the second homestead exemption. Vice Mayor Sultanof said this is not fair to people who are in dire need of the second exemption. Commissioner Roberts said the county has given two different figures over the last two years showing what Tamarac's losses would be, and the figures need to be pinpointed better. Commissioner Roberts asked about waiving the requirement for receipt of a one-year warranty bond in item 8(h) on the consent agenda. Item 8(h). PERFORMANCE BOND RELEASE - BEDDING BARN: (TR9545) Releasing a Public Improvement Performance Bond in the form of Check #0153 in the amount of $1,500.00 for the Water Distribution System Improvements installed by Bedding Barn, Inc., for the Bedding Barn Project located at 8201 West Commercial Boulevard and waive the requirement for the receipt of a one year warranty bond. Utilities Director Gagnon said several others have been passed in the last few months, and the one-year warranty will be over the end of this month. Commissioner Roberts questioned Item 10 on the agenda, and asked whether consumption in public places affected whether alcohol could be served if an event were October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 3 being held at the Community Center. Item 10. AMENDING CHAPTER 3 - "ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES": (TO1944) Motion to adopt Ordinance on first reading amending Chapter 3 entitled, "Alcoholic Beverages", Section 3-1 entitled, "Consumption on streets or in public places", relating to the definition for alcoholic beverage, of the City of Tamarac's Code of Ordinances in order to be consistent with the most recent statutes of the State of Florida; providing for codification. Community Development Director King said with application for a special event permit and alcohol license, alcohol would be permitted for an event held on city property. The change is to bring Tamarac consistent with state law. Mayor Schreiber questioned Item 8(p) on the consent agenda and asked how Tamarac would handle the additional cost to the budget and what is meant by optional continuation of benefits. Item 8(p). AMENDMENT TO THE CITY OF TAMARAC PERSONNEL MANUAL: (TR9575) Amending the City's revised Personnel Manual by adopting the Military Leave Policy. Personnel Director Maria Swanson gave a presentation and said the cost is provided for in the budget. Optional continuation of benefits addresses health insurance or not. Vice Mayor Sultanof asked how many employees are involved at this time, and Personnel Director Swanson said so far four have been notified to go for their physical and are on standby. Commissioner Roberts asked whether anyone is in a position that would hurt the city if they were required to appear for active duty, and Personnel Director Swanson said three are firefighters, and arrangements may need to be made to replace them while they are gone, or their positions may need to be covered by use of overtime, as there are minimum staffing requirements per shift. 4. DISCUSSION OF CODE ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS: Commissioner Roberts said she received an e-mail regarding code violations, particularly the vacant land on Commercial Boulevard, which is the site of the future library. Commissioner Roberts said the violations have been dealt with and corrected, and she appreciates the residents' help in finding sites with violations that need to be corrected. 5. DISCUSSION RE: CREATION AND LOCATION OF A MEMORIAL PARK TO BE DEDICATED TO THE VICTIMS OF SEPTEMBER 11: Commissioner Roberts said she received information from a resident regarding an advertisement placed by Tamarac, and the money could be better utilized by a memorial for the events of September 11t". Commissioner Roberts said the city would be getting property from the County at the end of Pine Island and McNab, and she would like to call this property a memorial park and dedicate it to the victims of terrorist acts. Mayor Schreiber said there was discussion of a 6' wall being built on the parcel. City Manager Miller said the DRC deferred this item and Community Development Director King has been asked to make sure visibility to the property would be clear. Mayor Schreiber said he would prefer a living wall rather than a concrete wall, and City Manager Miller said the developer was considering a concrete wall for security, but perhaps they could landscape the city's side. Commissioner Portner said he would like to see statuary in that park to commemorate September 11t". There was an expression of interest to name the park Memorial Park. October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 4 6. DISCUSSION OF CITY HALL — SPACE ISSUES: Mayor Joe Schreiber said we must look to the future, and perhaps use some space in City Hall for state and federal representatives. Commissioner Roberts said she would like to see all the departments closer together, rather than paying rent to a shopping center. Mayor Schreiber said the Commission should determine whether they want everything under one roof, and City Manager Miller said this would be discussed in conjunction with the engineers' and architects' plans for one -stop permitting, and Tamarac will take a long range view. However, we are not at that point yet. Commissioner Roberts said with economic cutbacks looming ahead, we might have to rethink some of our plans and tighten our belts. Mayor Schreiber said Commissioner Lieberman informed him that the library schedule has been moved up, and it should be completed by March 2003, plus, a meeting is in the offing between the County, Library representatives and Tamarac. 7. DISCUSSION RE: POSTING OF BOND BY DEVELOPERS TO COVER COST OF ANIMAL REMOVAL AND RELOCATION: Mayor Schreiber said he believed that when developers reduce wooded areas it becomes a problem, and he would like to see the requirement for a bond to cover the expenses resulting from disturbing the animals' habitats. Vice Mayor Sultanof asked if developers post a bond for extermination, and chemically treat the ground when they clear it. Community Development Director King said there are particular applications developers apply for prior to any removals, and the ground is treated prior to the slab, which is more for pesticides. For spraying other than clear and grub, nothing is required. Commissioner Portner asked if this could be made retroactive, and City Attorney Kraft said no. There was a unanimous expression of interest in developers posting a bond. 8. DISCUSSION OF AT&T CABLE'S PERFORMANCE: Mayor Joe Schreiber said AT&T's service is abominable, and Tamarac has already experienced the problems that are facing other cities. Mayor Schreiber asked what Tamarac could do within the confines of the agreement for better performance or if we could institute penalties. Interim Assistant to the City Manager Diane Phillips said the franchise agreement provides for a fining process, and this is outlined in the CAN Ordinance passed last year. One of the difficulties would be in pinpointing violations and implementing fines. Mayor Schreiber asked for a study of ways and means to address future problems, and said one very big complaint is the failure to get a customer service person on the phone. Interim Assistant to the City Manager Phillips said spot calls are made periodically, and as of last Friday, it took only 90 seconds to get connected with a person. Commissioner Roberts said a resident would be coming in to see Ms. Phillips today because they had a problem with their bill; there are different billing costs for the same service. Another problem Commissioner Roberts became aware of is that when people call AT&T they are told to take their concerns to the city, and this is rude. Mayor Schreiber said he would like Tamarac to look into possibly creating and erecting its own cable satellite system — examine how it could be done, the cost, and whether it would be economically worthwhile. We would then have better control of the service, and we need to generate new forms of revenue. Commissioner Portner said at one time he recommended this and was told it was too expensive. October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 5 Mayor Schreiber said he had a discussion with the Jewish War Veterans regarding use of a City facility one time each month at no cost to the JWV. Vice Mayor Sultanof said he spoke to Parks and Recreation Director Margoles about a liberal policy as it results to certain organizations, and if the City is going to do something along these lines, it needs to consider other organizations. Vice Mayor Sultanof said he is in favor of this suggestion, and he knows of a magic society that would like to use the facilities and in turn would provide services in exchange for use of the facility. Commissioner Mishkin said some facilities are no longer available. Commissioner Portner spoke about patriotism, and the fact that patriotism should be with us year in and year out. Mayor Schreiber said his request was not because of the September 11th events, but the JWV needs a place to meet. Commissioner Roberts said she felt this would open a can of worms. Mayor Schreiber asked the commission to think about an exemption for the JWV and it would be discussed at a later date. Mayor Schreiber spoke about the need for showers at the Community Center, and said in the future all construction plans for city facilities should be closely reviewed. Vice Mayor Sultanof agreed. Commissioner Roberts said this was discussed when the Community Center was being built and it was decided not to include showers because of possible liability. Also, it was decided that with the water situation in South Florida, adding showers to the Community Center might raise the consumption rate. Mayor Schreiber spoke about increasing fees if it becomes an issue. There was discussion about the number of showers to install and possible complaints because of the showers being in constant use and people not being able to get a turn. Mayor Schreiber said the fitness room is too warm. He felt the air conditioning was not adequate and suggested adding ceiling fans to the fitness room. Commissioner Portner said a fitness room should be warm, and Vice Mayor Sultanof said many times there is heat generated from the number of people using the facility. Mayor Schreiber said he would like to see those appointees to the Planning Board have more professional backgrounds, such as engineering, architecture, construction or development. Additionally, Mayor Schreiber said he would like to see training provided for the members of the Planning Board. Vice Mayor Sultanof said all applicants provide information on their qualifications, which needs to be looked at closely. City Manager Miller said members of the Planning Board are given an orientation before they take their position, and there is training available through professional organizations. This can be brought back at mid -year or in the next budget year for allocation. Mayor Schreiber said if people with professional backgrounds were selected, this would eliminate the need for training. Commissioner Portner asked whether commissioners are allowed to attend Planning Board meetings, and City Attorney Kraft said commissioners could attend the meetings. Commissioner Roberts asked the commissioners to join the Tamarac Elementary PTA at a cost of $5.00 per person for the year. October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 6 1 There was discussion about giving direction to the City Manager to attract a lobbyist for Tallahassee. Commissioner Roberts said it would be beneficial to Tamarac to have a lobbyist in Tallahassee. All agreed to direct the City Manager to proceed. City Manager Miller said he would send letters of interest and ask for proposals. The Commission could then interview and rank the lobbyists. There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Mayor Schreiber adjourned the workshop meeting at 11:20 a.m. Az't�'-4 Marion Swenson, CIVIC City Clerk October 22, 2001 City Commission Workshop 7