HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-04-06 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1990
CALL TO ORDER Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to
order on Friday, April 6, 1990 at 10 00 A M in Conference
Room #1 (City Clerk's Office)
PRESENT Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor Bruce Hoffman
Councilman Henry Schumann
Councilman Henry Rohr
ABSENT AND EXCUSEDR Councilman Dr H Larry Bender
ALSO PRESENT John P Kelly, City Manager
Alan F Ruf, Interim City Attorney
Dina McDermott, Assistant to the
City Manager
Peter Mack, Personnel Director
Mike Couzzo, Director of Public
Works/Parks and Recreation
Kelly Carpenter, Director of
Community Development
Pauline Walaszek, Secretary
1 MOTION TO ADOPT Temp Reso #5762 authorizing the
appropriate City officials to —execute an amended
agreement with Broward County relating to issuance of
building permits prior to plat approval for the
Tamarac Multi -Purpose Building
SYNOPSIS _0_F ACTION• RESOLUTION R-90-97 - PASSED
APPROVED _
City Manager Kelly read Temp Reso #5762 by title
* V/M Hoffman MOVED to APPROVE Temp �Reso, #5762,
* SECONDED by C/M Rohr
City Manager Kelly said the City Council previously
authorized an Agreement with Broward County and, subsequent
to the City Council approval and execution of the Agreement,
the County's Attorney contacted staff and asked that a phrase
of the Agreement be deleted because it was no longer
applicable
City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney and staff did not
want to sign off on this amendment before City Council
approval He said the amendment was Item 7 of the Agreement,
which stated the following:
"In the event the City does not record the Tamarac
Multi -Purpose Center Plat within 16 months from the date
of County approval as required in Chapter 5, Article IX,
Section 5-197(h), or within the one 6 month extension
of the recordation period permitted in Section
5-197(h), "
City Manager Kelly said "or within the one 6 month extension
of the recordation period permitted in Section 5 197(h)" was
the provision
the County wanted eliminated
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the City would be under undo strain
with this change and City Manager Kelly replied, no
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VOTE
ALL VOTED AYE
2 MOTION TO ADOPT Temp Reso #5763 authorizing the
elimination of one senior foreman and two senior service
worker positions within the Public Works Department and
authorizing the creation of one fleet services
coordinator, one mechanic position and one senior
mechanic position within the Public Works Department
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION RESOLUTION R-90-98 - PASSED
APPROVED
City Manager Kelly read Temp Reso #5763 by title
* C/M Rohr MOVED to APPROVE Temp Reso #5763, SECONbED
* by V/M Hoffman
Mayor Abramowitz said he understood that there would be
several reclassifications in the near future He said he
would not object to these changes providing it did not
interrupt the service to the City
C/M Rohr asked if the City presently had a Fleet Maintenlance
Service Coordinator and City Manager Kelly replied, no
C/M Rohr asked why this position was needed and City Manager
Kelly said this would be explained
V/M Hoffman said he knew that there would be a savings,
however, he would like to know how the service would be
improved
City Manager Kelly said there would be staff changes in the
future He said the City Council asked for a 6 month review
of the Departments during the budget process He said this
review would be submitted to the City Council no later than
next week He said the change in staff would not affect the
services
C/M Schumann said the inter -office memorandum dated January
31, 1990 indicated the elimination of three positions and
the creation of two positions He said there was another
memorandum dated the same day which indicated the elimination
of three position and the creation of three positions
Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Works and Parks/Recreation,
said there would be elimination of three positions and the
creation of three positions
Mr Couzzo said the reorganization was being requested 1
because two of the employees were no longer employed by the
City He said there would be a mechanic position in place of
a service worker He said the Fleet Service Coordinator
would act as the service manager He said the communication
and record keeping would be computerized= therefore thel
Department needed someone with experience
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the performance would improveland
Mr Couzzo replied, yes
C/M Rohr asked how many vehicles were eliminated since the
City's Police Department merged with the Broward Sheriffs
Office and Mr Couzzo said the Fleet Maintenance Departmle7nt
handled approximately 30 more vehicles when the City had
their own Police Department
C/M Rohr asked if the personnel was reduced and Mr Couzzo
said three positions were eliminated
V/M Hoffman asked if the Union was aware of this change and
Peter Mack, Personnel Director, replied yes
Mayor Abramowitz said before the City Council approved the
changes in personnel the Union would have to approve the
changes
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City Manager Kelly said the City tried to get approval for
staff changes from the union; however, there would be changes
that the Union would not approve He said the changes that
would benefit the City would be recommended to the City
Council and the Unions may not agree with them
Mr Couzzo said the Agenda should be changed to reflect the
elimination of three positions and the creation of three
positions
VOTE ALL VOTED AYE
3 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION on a proposed
reorganization of -the Utilities and Engineering
Department
SYNOPSIS OF -ACTION:
DISCUSSED
City Manager Kelly said this Item was for discussion only
He said Bob Foy, Director of Utilities/Engineering was
considering the restructure of his Department He said
approximately 8 positions would be eliminated and
reclassified He said the change would provide better
operation of the Department and the savings would be
approximately $80,000 00 providing the City Council approved
the reclassifications He said he reviewed the changes with
Mr Foy and the Personnel Director He said this change was
not in final form at this time for City Council approval
Mayor Abramowitz said he wanted the City Council to be aware
of the changes and the City Council could discuss their
concerns with the City Manager before they voted on the
changes
C/M Rohr asked if there would be a reduction of personnel and
City Manager Kelly said there would be a few positions being
eliminated
Mayor Abramowitz said he was disturbed with people who did
not want to change with the times He said he understood
that changes had to occur with municipal governments He
said the world changed and there was a Comprehensive Land
Plan and Concurrency Program He said the City had to change
with the times or else there would be problems He said this
would be a tough year and the City Council would have to
learn and study
4 DISCUSSION on a proposal to establish an Unsafe
Structure Board
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION
DISCUSSED an -a DIRECTED the
City Manager and City Attorney
to submit more information to
the City Council
City Manager Kelly said this Item would require more
discussion and there have been unsafe structures recognized
in the City He said staff donated time several months ago
to correct a home in the Mainlands He said the housing
structures in the City were in good shape; however, there
were older areas in the City that needed to be maintained
He said most of the problem houses were rented and not
maintained He said these homes were not recognized or able
to be corrected through Code Enforcement
City Manager Kelly said during the past week the City
received a Health and Rehabilitation Services (HRS)
referral He said in the report from HRS, the Chief Building
Official investigated the area or home and submitted a report
that indicated the
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problems had to be corrected within a specific amount of
time He said the Chief Building Official also indicate4 at
the bottom of the report that an Appeal could be requested
He said the State Statutes indicated that an Appeal could be
made to an Unsafe Structures Board; however, a Board of this
type did not exist in the City
City Manager Kelly said there were copies available regarding
the creation and operation of an Unfair Structures Board
He said the Director of Development Services provided the
information and was willing to meet with the City Council
individually to discuss this matter
City Manager Kelly said the City had an Unsafe Structures
Board in the past and interim City Attorney Ruf had some)
concerns that he would address
V/M Hoffman said he thought having an Unsafe Structures board
would be a benefit however, he felt that getting volunteer
Board members with the qualifications required would be
difficult He said the Board would require an Architect,
Engineer, Building Contractor Electrical Contractor,
Plumbing Contractor, Real Estate Appraiser, Real Estate
Property Manager, Social Worker and Attorney He asked how
the City could get these people to volunteer their services
V/M Hoffman asked if there was another way to accomplishithe
goal without creating an Unsafe Structures Board He asked
if the City Council or Planning Commission could hear the
cases He said it may be impossible to get people with the
required qualifications to serve on the Board as a volunteer
C/M Rohr said Broward County had an Unsafe Structures Board
He suggested the County be contacted regarding their
acceptance of an Appeal from a homeowner that has been cited
by the City
Mayor Abramowitz said this was a very good suggestion He
said he wanted the record to reflect that there was a house
two doors away from a Code Enforcement Officer that caught
fire approximately two years ago He said the house was
boarded up and ready to fall downs however, the City was not
able to do anything about it He said it was necessary to
have an Unsafe Structures Board and he agreed that findipng
volunteers for the Board would be difficult He said he
agreed with C/M Rohr's suggestion concerning contacting the
County
C/M Rohr said the City could charge the person who was
Appealing if there were costs incurred and Interim City
Attorney Ruf said this matter would be reviewed
City Manager Kelly said he understood the concern abort
finding volunteers with the qualificationst however, he did
not agree that these volunteers were not available in a iCity
with a population of 43,000
C/M Schumann said the Tam -A -Gram could inform the residen,:s
that the volunteers were needed and V/M Hoffman said the City
Council had to approve having an Unsafe Structures Board
Mayor Abramowitz said he would like to know if the County
would assist the City on this matter He asked that staff
research this as well as it being mandatory to have the
people with the qualifications described in the State
Statutes
5 DISCUSSION on a proposed reorganization of the Planning
Commission
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION
DISCUSSED an& more information
is to be submitted to the City
Council
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Kelly Carpenter, Director of Community Development, said
there were some things staying at Site Plan Review as opposed
to going on to the Planning Commission She said the signs
were being handled by the Building Department as opposed to
being handled by the Planning Commission She said the
Planning Commission has been left with a small agenda She
said the members of the Commission could be reduced and
meetings could be changed to once per month as opposed to
twice a month
Ms Carpenter, said staff was looking at ways to refine the
Site Plan Review Committee and the Plan Adjustment Committee
functions She said the Plan Adjustment Committee heard
minor revisions to site plans and the things that the Plan
Adjustment Committee heard were things that should be handled
administratively She said minor and major revisions should
be heard by the Planning Commission and major revisions
should be forwarded to the City Council for action
Mrs Carpenter said she would like the City Council to
express their concerns regarding these changes
C/M Schumann asked if the members of the Planning Commission
should be reduced and Ms Carpenter said she felt five
members were required because the workload and issues did not
generate a lot of discussion She said the items before the
Planning Commission could be handled by fewer members
C/M Schumann asked if alternates would be available and Ms
Carpenter said the existing members were very good at
attending the Planning Commission meetings; therefore she
did not feel that the added expenses for packets, mailing,
etc , were needed
C/M Rohr asked if the Plan Adjustment Committee would be
eliminated and Ms Carpenter replied no She said this
matter had to be considered further because there were minor
things handled by the Plan Adjustment Committee such as
fences She said these types of changes should be handled
administratively
C/M Rohr said when he became involved with the City he was an
alternate and it assisted him in learning He said he felt
that a training period was needed before asking a person to
volunteer He said he felt an alternate should be assigned
to the Planning Commission for training purposes
V/M Hoffman said he agreed with the concept of having a five
member Planning Commission because the City Council and
Charter Board consisted of five members and they functioned
without alternates He said he did not disagree with having
an alternate for training and to fill vacancies He said he
was concerned with deciding what items could be handled
administratively; however he would not object to staff
submitting recommendations to the City Council
Mayor Abramowitz said he was informed several times that
implementation of certain things could only be done if the
Code was changed He said he was listening to staff's
comments and he had a great deal of confidence in Ms
Carpenter ; however, he would like Ms Carpenter to inform
the City Council when the Codes had to be changed
Mayor Abramowitz said he considered the Planning Commission's
recommendations and they had more time to listen to staff
than the City Council did He said he would like further
information concerning this matter
V/M Hoffman asked if Ms Carpenter was to pursue her
suggestions and the City Council AGREED that staff should
continue with these changes
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AGENDIZED BY CONSENT
8 _MOTION TO APPROVE the revisions of the
Public�Administration Services Complex Plat for
submittal to Broward County for recordation
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION
AGENDIZED by Consent and APPROVED
Kelly Carpenter, Director of Community Development, said this
matter had to be acted on immediately, which was not Usual
She said the Public Service Administrative Complex Plat had
to be recorded by a specified date or all the approvals would
expire She said the approvals for this Plat would expire on
Tuesday; therefore, the Plat should be finalized at thisl
time
Ms Carpenter said the Plat was being amended because there
was a platted lake in the middle which was removed Sheisaid
because it was being brought to the City Council at the last
minute, there would be other things that would have to be
changed and would come back to the City Council in the
future She said because the City decided to hold the site
for future uses it would be advisable to divide the parce_s;
however, access lanes would have to be given and the engineer
has not dealt with Hiatus Road at this time She said the
approval of this site would affect the site plan because't.he
canal easement was supposed to be incorporated in the plat
She said if this was not approved, the trafficways approval
would expire at the County; however, if approved, other
things would have to be brought back to the City Council
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the lake was eliminated because the
fill was being purchased elsewhere and Ms Carpenter said
the retention would remain; however, it did not have to be
platted She said the Engineering Department reviewed the
change and approved it
Mayor Abramowitz asked if there would be problems in the
future if the City Council approved this today and Ms
Carpenter said it would cause staff to follow up and dean
with certain matters
Mayor Abramowitz asked if Ms Carpenter approved of this;lat
and Ms Carpenter said she was not pleased; however, thed plat
would have to be addressed in the future She said if the
City did not approve the plat at this time the trafficways
approval would expire and the site plan would be invalid,
which would cause the City not to be able to go to bird in
May, 1990 She said the situations could be addressed in the
near future
* V/M Hoffman MOVED to AGENDIZE the plat amendment for the
* Public Service Complex at Land Section 7 as Item 81oTL
* the Agenda, SECONDED by C/M Rohr
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE
* V/M Hoffman MOVED to APPROVE the Tamarac Utilities
* Administration Plat for purposes of getting it approved
* by the County on Tuesday SECONDED by C/M Rohr
VOTE ALL VOTED AYE
6 DISCUSSION on a proposal to conduct a survey on election
filing fees
SYNOPSIS _OF_ACTION
DISCUSSED and DIRECTED the
City Manager to conduct a
survey on the election filing
fees
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Mayor Abramowitz said there were changes in the State Law and
in the Municipalities of Broward County He said the City
received a list of filing fees of all the Cities of Broward
County He said he asked the City Clerk to submit
information concerning the filing fee for the position,
earnings of each individual position for Council He said
this was another item to bring Tamarac into the Twenty First
Century
TAPE 2
V/M Hoffman said there should be some percentage figure of
salary to be used as a filing fee for the City He said the
City of Coral Springs required a 5% of annual salary for
filing purposes He said the City of Pembroke Pines charged
3% of their annual fee per office for filing
V/M Hoffman said he felt there should be a filing fee to
insure that the people were serious to run for public
office He said the City should review this matter to see
that the fees were higher in order to have qualified
candidates He suggested the City Manager recheck the fees
and report to the City Council on his findings as well as
recommend changes
The City Council AGREED with this
7 DISCUSSION on Pension Board activities
SYNOPSIS Off' ACTION
ti DISCUSSED and DIRECTED the
City Attorney and Assistant
to the City Manager to submit
more information
City Manager Kelly said he did not have jurisdiction over the
Pension Board because it was an independent Board which
functioned on behalf of the employees He said the people
serving on the Board worked for the City and he was concerned
about the length of time taken by the Pension Board during
their meetings
City Manager Kelly said C/M Bender expressed his concern
about how long it took for the Board to deliberate certain
issues He said there was concern about the length of time
the employees attended the Pension Board meetings and he was
hopeful that the Board could be asked to speed up their
administrative action
City Manager Kelly said Peter Mack, Personnel Director,
served as Secretary to the Pension Board and tried to move
the meetings along He said he was very frustrated on the
amount of time it took
Peter Mack, Personnel Director, said he expressed his
concerns to the Board several times about the length of the
meetings He said there were many Items that needed to be
agendized and discussed by the Boards however, the
discussions were lengthy when they should be settled sooner
Mayor Abramowitz said he sat at a Pension Board meeting and
decided never to attend another one because C/M Bender also
sat on the Board
Mayor Abramowitz said he discussed with Mr Mack and City
Manager Kelly about the length of time of the meetings He
said he was disturbed that the City would be responsible to
cover any loses the Pension Board may create He said there
was approximately 10 million dollars in the Pension Fund and
he was unhappy about how the money was invested He said if
the City was required to be careful with their investments
the Pension Board should be required to be careful
Mayor Abramowitz said the Pension Fund was the employees'
money and the City was mandated to secure any financial
problems the Fund may have He said the Pension Board was
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indicating that they were separate from the City; however
the City was required to incur any losses the Pension Plan
may have
Mayor Abramowitz said the City paid for the employees who
were sitting at the Pension Board meetings which did not make
business sense
V/M Hoffman said he agreed with Mayor Abramowitz and several
years ago, when he was on the Charter Board an amendment was
passed that required the Pension Board to invest their funds
the same way the City invested funds He said the matter was
appealed to the Courts and the Courts ruled that the City had
no power to tell them what to do because they were covered by
State Regulations He said this was a problem and the Skate
Legislators should be asked to review this matter He skid a
small committee should create an Agenda for the Pension Board
which could be addressed by their Attorney
C/M Schumann asked if the City was to be the guarantor and
Mayor Mayor Abramowitz replied, yes
C/M Schumann asked who the members were of the Board and V/M
Hoffman said the members were employees of the City with one
member from the City Council V/M Hoffman said the employees
selected their own representatives and could do what they
wanted
C/M Schumann asked if the Board members could make speculated
investments and V/M Hoffman said the State allowed the Board
to invest a certain percentage of their money in common
stocks, however, the City could not invest money in common
stocks
V/M Hoffman said the Pension Board could legally place db% of
their money in the stock market He said if the stock market
crashed, the City would have to cover the losses when the
Fund needed the money
C/M Rohr said he felt this discussion was not necessary
unless he knew what the rights of the City Council were
concerning the Pension Board He said he wanted to know if
the City Council had the right to change anything
Mayor Abramowitz suggested the City Attorney inform the
Council of their rights He said he was concerned because
the Pension Fund was the employees money He asked if the
expenses for services came from the Pension Fund and Wr Mack
agreed
Mayor Abramowitz said when money was being wasted it was the
employees money and Mr Mack agreed Mr Mack said the
assignment to the Pension Trust was considered by the Board
members as a sacred trust because they recognized it was the
employees money
Mr Mack said the Pension Board members were fiduciarilyl
responsible for the Fund and the proper administration of the
money He said the Board hired professionals to make
recommendations in regard to the care and trust of the money
Mayor Abramowitz asked why there was a problem in the Pelnsion
Board and Mr Mack said the Fund has grown and the
responsibilty was large
Mayor Abramowitz said he heard Mr Mack indicate that the
Board meetings were approximately 5 hours He asked if the
Board was aware that it was a waste of the Funds money and
Mr Mack said it was a waste of the City's money as well
C/M Schumann asked if the Board ever considered hiring a
certified financial planner and Mr Mack said he proposed the
Board hire an Administrator to take over these functions and
eliminate the need for the length meetings
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C/M Schumann asked what expertise the members had and Mr
Mack said none because their area of expertise was in the
City business
Mayor Abramowitz said he informed the City Manager and Mr
Mack several times that he insisted on a billing to the
Pension Board for the time spent by the employees He said
this was a punishments however, there had to be a way to
handle this matter more appropriately He said he was able
to review the bills of the Pension Board which were very
large He said there had to be something that could be done
in order to protect the loss of money
Mayor Abramowitz said it was costing the Pension Fund money
every meeting and Mr Mack said he recommended several times
that the Board hire a professional administrator to handle
certain matters He said he sought proposals from various
companies that wanted to do the administration of the Fund
Mayor Abramowitz said this matter has been a concern for over
a year and he asked Mr Mack to propose to the Board the
hiring of a professional to do the work done by the Personnel
Department He asked why the Board has not responded
Mr Mack said there were several items that had to be
addressed first such as the replacement of the custodian
bank He said the activities of the Board moved slowly and
it took a considerable amount of time to accomplish the
hiring of a custodian bank He said the Board decided that
they wanted to approach this matter in steps and the Board
had a statutory responsibility to hire someone to be an asset
analyist He said the Board would be addressing the
professional administration services after the asset analyist
was hired
Mayor Abramowitz said he would like the City Council to have
the ability to remove themselves from the picture and force
the Board to do something that has taken a year to do He
said he did not know if this was correct or incorrect because
he did not know the City's responsibilities
V/M Hoffman said he was concerned about the City totally
removing itself from the picture as long as the City had an
ultimate financial responsibility
Mayor Abramowitz said he was referring to the running of the
meetings He said the minutes of the meeting were
explanatory however, for hours the City employees were
getting paid to sit at the meeting
Mayor Abramowitz said his suggestion was in no way meant to
punish the employees however, he felt it would protect the
employees and Mr Mack agreed
C/M Rohr said the City Council should be informed in writing
what their responsibilities were concerning the Pension Fund
Mr Mack said the Pension Ordinance could not be changed
without joint action of the City Council and Board of
Trustee.
Interim -City Attorney Ruf said in two weeks the City Council
would receive an analysis of the City Council's
responsibilities concerning the Pension Plan
-----------------------------------------------------
City Manager Kelly said the Public Works Department has been
moving into their new locations He said at the previous
City Council meeting with Construction Management Services,
Inc , it was determined that bidding would be taking place so
the existing structure could be dismantled He said the
butler building would be salvaged, tagged and stored behind
the Police Facility He said the Public Works Department
would be responsible for everything else He said the total
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cost would be approximately $30,000 00 and he would be
informing Construction Management Services, Inc to go to
bid on the project
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council wanted a smooth ahc
orderly evacuation and, as soon as possible, he wanted the
owner of the existing Public Works site to do what was
needed
---- --- --- --------------------w---__-_--___--__-_--4--
Mayor Abramowitz asked if the appraisal for the old C_ty hall
was completed and City Manager Kelly said the appraisal mould
be submitted on April 16, 1990
--------------------------------------------------- *.._
C/M Rohr said he read that there was an inspection of the
Sabal Palm Golf Course and there were several outstanding
violations He said the City was holding $20,000 00 of gabal
Palms Golf Course and the City could use this money to make
the corrections; however, he did not know what the costs
were He asked that a report be submitted to the City
Council concerning this matter and City Manager Kelly said he
would provide this report after the meeting
-----------------------------------------------------
City Manager Kelly said he asked Mr Couzzo to be present at
this meeting to update the City Council on the move fromithe
existing Public Works property
Mr Couzzo said the Public Works Department was handlinglthe
entire relocation He said there were two facilities leased
and the parks facilities would be used as well He said the
manor problem was the need for tank closures on the fuel
storage tanks and having a contractor remove them He said
the environmental cleanup had to be sent to bid and the City
was responsible for the extra site clearing other than the
building He said there was a great deal of work to be done
at the existing facility before it was turned over to Mr,
Berkowitz
Mayor Abramowitz said this was why this matter was to be
attended to carefully He said staff saved the City a lot of
money by making this move, providing it was successful
With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED this
meeting 11 15 A M
Nt RMAN BA RAMOWITZ, MAYOC
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i;;ROAL A EVANS, CITY CLERK
"This public document was promulgated at a cost -of $72 R8 or
$9 11 per copy to inform the general public, public officers
and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the
City Council of the City of Tamarac "
CITY OF TAMARAC
hPPROVW AT MEETING OF
City Clerk
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