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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the Agreement, the County's Attorney contacted staff and asked that a phrase of the Agreement be deleted because it was no longer applicable City Manager Kelly said the City Attorney and staff did not want to sign off on this amendment before City Council approval He said the amendment was Item 7 of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 1 4/6/90-pw 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 2 4/6/90-pw 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 3 4/6/90-pw 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 4 4/6/90-pw 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 5 4/6/90-pw 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 6 4/6/90-pw 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 7 4/6/90-pw 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 8 4/5/90-pw 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 9 4/6/90-pw 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 1 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 1 1 1 10 4/6/90-pw