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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-11-16 - City Commission Special Meeting MinutesCity Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 1 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING NONDAY, NOVENBER 16, 1992 CAL3� Tq DADn: Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on Monday, November 16, 1992, at 10:30 a.m. in Council Chambers of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 Northwest 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PLEDGE A$ A�TjLAgZMCE: Mayor Bender called for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor H. Larry Bender Vice Mayor Henry Schumann Councilman Joseph Schreiber Councilman Norman Abramowitz Councilman Irving Katz ALRO PRZ;9X)R ,; John P. Kelly, City Manager Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney Karen Jackson, Secretary 1. PUBLIC PAR7,XCJY4TION -- Any member of the public may speak to any issue which is on this meeting notice. Speakers will be limited to three minutes during this item. There will be a thirty (30) minute aggregate time limit for this item, and speakers are encouraged to sign up in advance with the City Clerk prior to their participation. Florence Bochenek, resident, protested the removal of the chain at Springlake II due to the street being very narrow and the possibility of increased traffic and the safety and welfare of the residents. Harry Dugowson, President of Springlake II, expressed his concerns regarding the removal of the gate between Westlake and Springlake II. He said the residents of the area were not informed of the meeting which had been previously held by Council concerning this issue and Council proceeded to take action to remove the gate without any input from the area residents. He said the removal of this gate will create potential danger to all of the residents on that street due to many walkers and children on bikes in the area. He requested that Council reconsider such action. Ernest Citron, resident, stated that this area was originally developed as an adult community. He reviewed the history of the development. He said there were objections by the residents at that time regarding the through -traffic on NW 77 Street. He said this was built without sidewalks and the only access anywhere in the neighborhood is by walking on the street. Mr. Citron said the average age in the community is 70 years old. He said removing the gates will put the residents in jeopardy. He said the neighborhood objects to the impact of traffic going through the area. He requested that Council reconsider the removal of the gate. Matt Friedman, Vice President of Springlake II, said it was at the request of the City several years ago, for the residents to agree to a zoning change to accommodate a request which the City made with the prospect of increasing its tax base. He said not everyone in the community was in favor of this, but were persuaded to be broad-minded for the future. Mr. Friedman said there are records reflecting the consultation with the Fire and Police Departments and the ambulance services regarding the gate and that the Fire Department would have a key to the lock for access. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 2 Mr. Friedman said he does not feel that there has been a problem with the emergency responses in the past seven years. He said the removal of the gate will create a problem of safety to the residents due to the traffic that will be generated. He stated that Kings Point has a similar gate in their community. Lawrence Gould, resident, expressed his concerns regarding the removal of the gate at Springlake II. He said he has driven the distance from the firehouse to the entrance of the Westlake community on NW 77 Street and the time it takes to travel this distance equals 60 seconds and another 30 seconds to reach any part of the community from the entrance in the middle of it. He said the entrance of the Westlake community is almost as wide as Westlake Drive; therefore, he sees no problem for any truck accessing the community through this entrance. Mr. Gould said in comparison with the entrance at Springlake II, which is much narrower and where the gate is located, any truck would have to make a 90 degree turn and sometimes, would have to back up and again pull forward. He asked why Springlake II has been existing with one entrance for 12 years with no conflict with the City. He suggested that Council not disturb a situation that has caused no problem to anyone in the past. Mark Majesky, resident, said he had purchased his villa on the entrance of Springlake II based on the fact that he was told that the gates would remain in place and that it would be a good place to raise children. He said there are many elderly people walking through the streets as well as children playing and riding bikes. He suggested that Council not change something that has not been a problem. Martin Kane, resident, said he is a part of the ad hoc committee of Westlake Villas. He said the residents feel that the gates are a part of the community and disagree with the removal of the gates. Herb Dobbins, resident, said at the gates, there are walking areas on the side of the gate if people want to walk through. He said if the gates are opened, it will create a lot of traffic and will present a problem for walkers. 2. DISCUSSION IMP, POSSIBLE ACTIQN regarding the Springlake gate. SYNOPSIS,„ Qr ACTION APPROVED rescinding previous Council action removing the gate and then, TABLED any further action pending information from the City Attorney regarding the City's liability under the Safe Neighbors' Act. Mr. Kelly said on Thursday, November 5, 1992, Council had voted to have the locks and gate removed between the streets at NW 99 Avenue and NW 96 Terrace. He said the decision was based on the reports from the BSO, the Tamarac Fire Department, and emergency services personnel that put the City on notice that the gates compromise the safety of the residents who could be denied timely response by public safety entities. Mr. Kelly said residents from the community were greatly distressed by the decision and scheduled a meeting with C/M Schreiber on Friday, November 6, 1992, to protest the Council's action. He said he joined the meeting shortly after it began. He said the contentions of the residents are as follows: 1) the Ci-�y should have notified them to be at the meeting; the City conceded that point and arranged for this meeting to accommodate the residents; 2) the City through the Council, Fire Department and Police Department, had committed to closing off the street to protect the residents. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 3 Mr. Kelly said the minutes of the Council meeting dated October 20, 1987 and November 12, 1987 indicated Council approval only for a break away chain across the area. He said the site plans include the gates and it is not necessary when Council approves a site plan to indicate all of the terms that are included on the site plan. He said the orders of the prior meeting indicated a chain and the site plan indicated a gate. Mr. Kelly continued, 3) their safety concerns are two -fold, they do not want the neighboring community, which has children, to have easy access to their community and without the barrier, they are afraid that the children will be playing in their streets. He said the residents also expressed concern that their street will invite people from both sides to take shortcuts, jeopardizing their safety and the safety of the children who may be playing in the street. Mr. Kelly said the barrier provided a comforting sense of isolation and protection to the residents and without it, they feel vulnerable. 4) They argued that there is no reason to remove the locked gates because there have not been any real problems to present. Mr. Kelly said Staff's position is that the barriers are located in the middle of a City -approved and dedicated right-of-way. He said the public record shows that the City has been put on notice, that the locked gates are an obstacle to the efficient and effective delivery of public safety services and represent a significant liability exposure for the City. Mr. Kelly said the possible options are as follows: 1) to vacate the right-of-way; the City would have to get a hold harmless agreement from the community indemnifying the City from any lawsuits that might arise as a result of the gates. He said the City may need to utilize the right-of-way in the future, which is a reason why the Council may not want to abandon the right-of-way. Mr. Kelly said the second option is to replace the gates with a breakaway chain or a breakdown gate. He said the present gates are a liability even without being locked due to their inability to be readily moved, which could impede emergency vehicular traffic. Mr. Kelly said the chain which was originally approved by Council in 1987 is an acceptable option to the Public Safety Officials, which would deter vehicular traffic. He said the only vital option, which protects the City's interest and provides protection for the public safety by deterring the traffic through the community, is to authorize that the gates be replaced with a heavy duty, two-inch breakaway chain. C/M Schreiber said this was brought to his attention after Council had taken action to remove the gates. He said he was not aware of the situation in the neighborhood. He said Springlake II had acted in the best interest of the City and cooperated fully with the City so that it was possible to develop the property in front of it without any problems. He said the residents have been living with this situation for five years and there is no evidence of any problem regarding emergency service vehicles having access to the area. C/M Schreiber said the City has not vacated a right-of-way and there is no evidence that the City will need the right-of-way at this time or in the future. He said it would be fine if the City vacated the right-of-way or resolved this problem, and stated that Council must leave the gates for the residents. He said it is not a detriment to the City and the residents will be able to live in peace and tranquillity. C/M Schreiber MOVED to RESCIND the previous action taken by Council to remove the gates. C/M Katz requested that Staff report on this as to whether or not City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 4 there is a problem with access of emergency vehicles. He said it is understood that the Fire Department has the key to unlock the gates and asked if the Department shares the key with the other emergency services within the City. Jim Budzinski, Fire Chief, said this key is a security key which fits numerous facilities throughout the City. He said the Fire Department is the only department authorized to have this key. He said the City cannot hand out a key to each patrol car or ambulance that may be in the area. He said even the property owner does not have a key to the gates due to security purposes. Chief Budzinski said the Fire Department and the ambulance service carry map books indicating the travel routes and street accesses to each of the communities in the City. Chief Budzinski said the original intent behind the gates was to separate the two communities and to provide security in each community. He said as a compromise to having a street in this location, the gates were agreed to, with the Fire Department maintaining access to them. He said any type of barrier there needs to be readily movable or passable by emergency vehicles. C/M Katz asked how the other emergency services gain access and Chief Budzinski said they have to depend on their maps or, in the event that one of those entrances were blocked, they would have to make contact through the Fire Department. He said in most cases, contact is made with the Fire Department on each emergency response and the Fire Department does respond to such calls. Chief Budzinski said the only time that this would need to be u3ed is if one of the main entrances is obstructed for some reason. ae said the gates give secondary access to the community. C/M Abramowitz asked if there is any course of action to be taken by the City based on the Safe Neighborhood Act, which is allowing the City to close off the street. Mr. Kraft said it is possible that the street can be closed, but there are other variables which may be considered under the Safe Neighborhood Act and he would need to have time to review the requirements. C/M Abramowitz said the City has provided, in many instances, connecting exits with breakaway chains or fences. He said this situation is looking to retard vehicular traffic. He said there have been objections from the residents in this area on both scenarios. He suggested that the City review the options under the Safe Neighborhood Act, which would permit the City to close the street and remove the liability from the City. Mr. Kraft said this would need to be researched. C/M Abramowitz suggested that the City take away the gates and put a series of six breakaway chains, which would deter people from going through them. He asked if this would cause a problem. V/M Schumann said there may be an increase in liability by doing this and C/M Abramowitz asked why. V/M Schumann said there is a possibility that one of these chains could swing up and break a windshield and injure a person. C/M Abramowitz asked if there are other locations in the City which have a series of breakaway chains and Chief Budzinski said there is a location with one chain, but not a series of chains, in existence within the City. C/M Abramowitz said there are residents who are dissatisfied and it is his duty to protect the residents and the City. He asked if there is any way to eliminate the traffic and maintain the residents' security. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 5 C/M Katz said one of the sets of plans had a similar type access which was a 30-foot sodded grass area, which was certified for a 32-ton load on top of it with a breakaway chain. He said if this sodded area was planted, it would deter traffic. He said this works in other developments and may work in this community as well. Mayor Bender said it is his duty to figure out a compromise in situations of this nature. He said the City and the residents have good points. He said there is nothing wrong with installing a chain which would be large enough to be seen visibly without any problem. He recommended that a sign be placed on the location indicating that this be used in emergency situations only and is to be broken by authorized emergency vehicles. TAP$ 2 C/M Schreiber said the City made a commitment to these residents and the residents have honored their part of it and now the City wants to change it. He said the City has an approved site plan which shows two gates with fences in this area. He said there is no proven reason for taking down the gates. He said this situation has been in existence for 5 years. He said the Fire Department and other emergency entities have no problem accessing these communities. C/M Schreiber said if the City removes these gates, the City may be subject to a lawsuit because the City issued the site plan with the fences on it. Mr. Kraft said it was his understanding that problems do exist with emergency access. Mayor Bender said it was brought to his attention that one of the residents had a problem getting an emergency vehicle to him at which time they had to leave the truck next to the gate, carry stretchers and walk across the property into the other area. Mr. Kelly said the issue arose with the BSO and the Fire Department in the past during a Plan Adjustment Committee meeting. During one of those meetings, the Fire Department went on record recommending to him that the City Council take action to remove the gates because there was a concern about the public safety and the City's liability. C/M Abramowitz asked how many records does the City have concerning health and safety problems in this area and how many instances have there been. He asked why this situation has resurfaced. Mr. Kelly said he does not have this information. Chief Budzinski said the Fire Department has not had this problem due to having possession of the key, but he cannot speak for a BSO or ambulance delay in response. He said it is not feasible to distribute the key to everyone involved due to security purposes for various buildings in the City. C/M Abramowitz asked what the time savings would be for access to these communities if the gates are removed and Chief Budzinski said access is not hindered unless there is an obstruction of the primary access to either community. Chief Budzinski said the gates are not used on emergency responses unless there is an obstruction. C/M Abramowitz suggested that 3 or 4 breakaway chains be installed. C/M Katz said if there is a long stretch of grassy area, a road no longer exists. He said if there were breakaway chains on either end of the grassy area, it would deter traffic also. He said this would be a means of securing the area and still allowing emergency vehicles the access needed. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 6 Matt Friedman, resident, asked if this would also apply to Kings Point, which has the identical gate in existence. He said it was reflected in the minutes of the meeting 5 years ago that the emergency service departments were surveyed for their approval prior to the installation of the gates. Chief Budzinski said the difference between Kings Point and thzs community is that the gates in Kings Point block access between Westwood Drive (a public street) and the community, not between two communities and is a secondary point of access for the Fire Department. Mr. Kelly said in the minutes of a previous Council meeting, the only reference made was to a chain going across there. He said on the approved site plan, there was no discussion on the gate itself. Discussion was held regarding the Council presiding at the time of the decision to install the gates. Herb Dobbins, resident, said 5 years ago, the developer came before Council and stated that he could not develop this property due to the lack of demand for single-family homes. He said the residents were approached to agree to a zone change. He sa-d the residents agreed to the zone change and in return, certain conditions were placed on the agreement. He said the Council cannot do anything less than remain with the agreement that was made. He said the existing gates are not necessary for the Fire Department or the EMS. Mr. Dobbins said there is a very large double entrance on NW 77 Street and there is no need for these gates to be opened. He said it takes 60 seconds to drive from the Fire Department to this location. He said if the development of Westlake needs a second entrance, then have the developer create a second entrance. C/M Abramowitz SECONDED the Motion by C/M Schreiber to Rescind the previous action of the Council regarding the removal of the gates. Harry Dugowson, President of Springlake II, said each emergency vehicle carries a bolt cutter, which can open the lock in one second. C/M Schreiber said the Motion was to Rescind the previous acticn of the Council regarding the removal of the gates. He said to continue, let the City vacate the right-of-way to resolve the problem. C/M Abramowitz asked if the City has the ability to vacate without having a hold harmless and Mr. Kraft said he would not be able to advise this. C/M Abramowitz asked if the City would be able to proceed under the Safe Neighborhood's Act, leave the gates intact and remove any vestige of liability that the City would have in the event that there would be a problem. He said he would like to have this researched by the City Attorney for a response. C/M Schreiber AMENDED his Motion that Council RESCIND the previous action and then TABLE the matter until a report is received from the City Manager regarding the Safe Neighborhood's Act, SECONDED by C/M Abramowitz. C/M Katz said if the Council is looking to eliminate the City's liability and allow a gate to remain in a public right-of-way where the City has a liability, he would like to see that a hold harmless agreement be provided to the City by someone to allow the City to keep the gate in place. V/M Schumann asked what can be decided after the action is rescinded. n J 1 City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 7 C/M Abramowitz said based On the information received from the City Attorney, Council can either leave the gate up or take further action. Discussion was held regarding the Motion. C/M Abramowitz asked if Council would be precluded from taking any further action if this were to be approved and Mr. Kraft said, no. Mr. Kraft said the issue was presented to him that because of this gate, there has been a health and safety issue because of ambulance services not being able to provide quick access from one side of the street to the other. He said if there is a threatening incident that would prevent an emergency vehicle from getting to the Other side of the street, there is a liability to the City. C/M Katz asked if the Motion is agreed upon by Council to rescind the previous action, would the City be in the same position as before. Mr. Kraft said the Motion stops the previous action by Council and maintains the status as it has been since 1987. He said the City will still have the same liability as it previously had. VOTE: C/M Katz - NAY V/M Schumann - NAY C/M Schreiber - AYE C/M Abramowitz - AYE Mayor Bender - AYE Mayor Bender RECESSED the meeting at 11:37 a.m. and RECONVENED the meeting at 11:42 a.m. with ALL PRESENT. 3. a. MOTXQN - TQ-J PT T®r4p _ Re20_ 8639, approving a carnival sponsored by St. Malachy Church on Wednesday, November 18 through Sunday, November 22, 1992, on a portion of vacant property on University Drive, north of the Church. (tabled 11/05/92) b. DISCUSSION AND POSS;al& ACTIPP regarding the City's stage for use by St. Malachy's Church. SYNOPSIS OF ACTION;, RESOLUTION R--92-178-PASSED APPROVED 3.a. 3.b. Agendized by Consent and then APPROVED lending the stage to St. Malachy's Church for repair and usage and executing a hold harmless agreement with St. Malachy's Church for this usage. 3.a. Mr. Kraft read Temp. Reso. #6393 by title. C/M Katz MOVED to APPROVE Temp. Reso #6393, SECONDED by C/M Abramowitz. Mr. Kelly said St. Malachy's Church is requesting permission to conduct a carnival. He said the City has been assured that the appropriate permits and safeguards will be provided to enable Staff to give Council their recommendation. Mr. Kelly said Council has been issued a copy of the Fire Chief's report stating that he is generally satisfied with the traffic access, fire lanes, hydrant availability and other such requirements. He said the City has the appropriate affidavit for flame proofing. He said one concern which was raised was that the Council extend the Code requirement to 300 feet for hydrant space service. Mr. Kelly said the access from NW 64 Avenue has been worked out. He said the other consideration from the BSO was that the carnival comply with the City's Noise Ordinance and the Florida Statutes. He said one of the provisions in the permit was the time of operation. He said the City would like documentation that security personnel have been contracted to provide that service and that a City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page S list of personnel working the carnival be supplied to the City. Mr. Kelly said Dan Wood, Building Official, has provided the City with his four requirements, which have been distributed to Council. C/M Abramowitz said St. Malachy's Church has held this carnival for 20 years and is their primary fund-raising function. He said the City has always worked closely with St. Malachy's Church and has foregone permit fees in the past. C/M Schreiber asked if all requirements in the memo from Captain Goldstein of the BSO have been met and Mr. Kelly said this is an on -going situation as the operation is being conducted. C/M Schreiber asked if BSO will be monitoring this and Mr. Kelly said, yes. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE C/M Abramowitz said the City has a stage which is in complete disrepair. He said St. Malachy's has offered to take the stage, repair it and make it available to the City at any time contractually. Mr. Kelly said it would be in the City's interest to declare the stage as surplus, which is not in good condition. Mayor Bender asked if St. Malachy's would store the stage and Mr. Kelly said, yes. Mr. Kelly said the City was looking to purchase a new one because of this one not being in good condition. Mayor Bender asked if it is legal to do this and Mr. Kraft said the City would need to comply with all of the requirements regarding the disposal of City property. Mayor Bender said this will need to be handled at another time due to this not being on the agenda and not legally posted. Mr. Kelly said St. Malachy's wanted to utilize the stage for the upcoming carnival. C/M Abramowitz asked if the church can repair this in time. Matt Lyons, representative of St. Malachy's Church, said the church is prepared to have this repaired in time for the carnival. Mayor Bender said Council should vote on the loan of this equipment at present. C/M Abramowitz MOVED to APPROVE lending the stage to St. Malachy's Church and executing a hold harmless agreement regarding the use of the stage, SECONDED by C/M Katz. VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE 4. DX4gUU0N AND POSAT,)IIA ACTION regarding the Golf Driving Facility at Mayor Bender's request. SYNOPA T,B. OF ACTION - APPROVED directing the City Manager to prepare a Request for Proposal for interest in the development of a golf driving range and pursue this on a lease basis. Mr. Kelly said at a previous meeting, Council did not take any action on some consultants' reports. He said Mayor Bender met with Mike Couzzo, Director of Public Services, to discuss his concerns with the subject. TAPE 3 Mr. Couzzo said this is to discuss the possibility of the use of 11 City Council Special Meeting 11/15/92/KJ Page 9 the 8.5 acres located west of the existing Public Services Complex. He introduced Pat Davis, Vice President of Hazen and Sawyer, the consulting engineer on this project. Mr. Couzzo said it was the direction of Council at previous workshops to proceed as far as the City could go with the project. He said the City has filed applications with the regulatory agencies which claim jurisdiction of the wetlands, which are the DER, Corps of Army Engineers and the Office of Natural Resource Protection. Mr. Couzzo said after preliminary discussions with these agencies and after their input on the City's applications, the City needs to provide them with a mitigation plan which would make an arrangement to take the existing wetlands, to be able to dredge and fill those and create a new wetlands area. He said there is a considerable amount of biological engineering work that needs to be done with this and get it from the application stage through to a final acceptance stage and a final mitigation plan. Mr. Couzzo said Mr. Davis can speak more technically at the Council's request. C/M Abramowitz asked how much this would cost and Mr. Couzzo said in order to do the preliminary biological work, the City is estimating $22,100, which is the best case scenario. He said this is if no one requests public hearings and there are no public objections. He said if there are public objections, these regulatory agencies are required to hold the public hearings, which will involve additional costs. C/M Abramowitz said Council is being told that the preliminary report up to mitigation is $22,100 if everything goes perfectly. He said Council is being told that it is going to require a great deal of fill in order to prepare the land. Mr. Couzzo said this will require a dredge and fill permit. He said he made no comments about the fill. C/M Abramowitz asked if the City will have to do something to the property to change it from being a wetlands and Mr. Couzzo said, yes. C/M Abramowitz said he understands that there are a few people who have approached the City indicating that they would like to get involved with this project, build the project and enter into a contractual agreement with the City to run the project and share in the profits. He said this is totaling up to $45,000 to $50,000 without building a driving range. He asked why the City would want to do something like this. Mr. Couzzo said that is a decision which Council will have to make; however, regardless of what is done with the facility, now that the agencies have claimed jurisdictional wetlands, those issues will have to be addressed by the City at this time or at such time in which the City would sell or transfer the property or do any type of development on the site. C/M Abramowitz said if a person comes in and wants to put up a factory there, it would be like the situation across from City Hall, where there was a terrible muck problem. He said the developer decided that he wanted to put homes there and decided that the quarter million dollars that it would cost in order for him to fill in there and make it so that the City would grant them permits, was economically feasible. C/M Abramowitz asked if the City must provide a certain amount of wetlands according to the Tamarac Comprehensive Plan and Mr. Couzzo said the City needs to provide some sort of tradeoff in the mitigation plan to satisfy these regulatory agencies. C/M Abramowitz said he cannot see spending $42,000 without building anything, but only to make it suitable for building City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 10 purpose i� and Mr. Couzzo agreed. C/M Abramowitz said instead of the City asking 1.9 million dollars for the land, he suggested that the City ask 1.8 million dollars for it. He said the City does not need to pay for this and Mr. Couzzo agreed. Mr. Couzzo said this report would only put the City into a position whereby there would be a plan which would be approved by the regulatory agencies, but does not include the costs for whatever was in the mitigation plan that was agreed upon. C/M Abramowitz said that means that the $50,000 would be on the low end and Mr. Couzzo agreed. Mr. Couzzo referred to the October 23, 1992 memo which was sent to him from Hazen and Sawyer, which outlines the costs involved. C/M Abramowitz said it was indicated in the memo that if the City does nothing, the City stands the chance of losing the application and the $10,000 fee goes by the wayside and Mr. Couzzo said the City would have to reapply for the applications. He said the City may not lose all of the $7,500 to Hazen and Sawyer, but a percentage of that would have to go into reapplying. C/M Abramowitz said this is not the first time that the City or any City has done something with an idea in mind and found cut that it is not practical or sensible. He said he is not in favor of throwing $45,000 or $50,000 more in the hope of savings a portion of $7,500. Mr. Couzzo said the intent is to keep the City Council informed as to the available options. Mayor Bender asked where the funds will be coming from and Mr. Couzzo said Staff recommends that the funds come from the existing Parks and Recreation Impact Fee Account because this would be a parks and recreation facility. Mayor Bender said under these conditions, this is the only way that money can be utilized anyway and Mr. Couzzo said these funds could be used for other developments in parks and recreation. C/M Abramowitz asked what would happen if the golf driving range is not built at this location. C/M Schreiber asked if Council is talking about a public park and recreation facility or a private enterprise. He asked if the City has the legal right to expend these funds. Mayor Bender said this is referring to a golf driving range which will be open to the public for a fee to cover expenses. He said it is no different than what is currently in existence with the school. C/M Schreiber said the City is currently at the point where there are some people interested in developing this and possibly eliminating the need for the City to spend the money to correct the problem. He said the original purpose was to provide a golf driving range to the public. He said the public will have tc pay whether the City owns it or someone else. He asked why the City should get involved with this amount of money. Mr. Couzzo said it is the Staff's intent that the ownership would remain with the City of Tamarac, unless the City chose the option of selling the property to a developer who wanted to develop it for this purpose. Mayor Bender said the City is always looking to raise revenue, and this is a way. He said rather than raising taxes, it is time to figure out other means to raise revenue for the City. V/M Schumann said if a half million dollars needs to be tied up, City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 11 it will be a long time before revenue will be seen. C/M Abramowitz said the Cities of Margate and Hollywood are having difficult times with their golfing endeavors. He said the City wants to provide to the public an opportunity to have a recreational facility and provide an additional revenue source to the City. He said if there is a possibility that there is someone who wants to develop the driving range and is willing to enter into a contractual agreement with the City on a partnership basis, why not share this situation with someone. He asked if there are any objections to sharing this which will provide the recreational area and additional income. C/M Katz said he does not know if the City can legally get into a partnership arrangement and C/M Abramowitz said the City has the ability to lease property. C/M Katz asked what will be leased and C/M Abramowitz said the developer would build the golf driving range, he would expend all of the funds, and a lease agreement is entered into with them whereby the City would share a certain amount of the profits. He said they would provide the staff. Mayor Bender asked if the City would be leasing the property and the facility and C/M Abramowitz said, yes, and after a certain period of time, after the end of the lease, the facility gets turned back over to the City for $1.00. Mayor Bender said the current problem is getting the ground prepared. He said the question arose as to whether the City can even sell the ground unless the people are interested in expending the money to comply with the regulatory agencies. Mr. Couzzo said he does not believe that it is the Council's intention to sell the property at present and all agreed. Mr. Couzzo suggested that the City go out for a Request for Proposal (RFP) on some type of arrangement that C/M Abramowitz was suggesting and have somebody come in on a long-term agreement with the City to develop, to operate and for the City to lease back to them with a certain percentage coming back to the City. He said the City still has to address the issues of the wetlands, whether the City chooses to do it or the developers choose to do it, which is at the Council's discretion. Mayor Bender said Council needs to make some sort of decision. V/M Schumann said when this began, he was under the impression that this was going to be an in-house project. He said at present, the City has spent $10,670, three-quarters of which was for the preparation of a permit application. He asked if the City has anyone in-house who is capable of filling out a permit application. He asked what is so difficult about filling out an application that asks specific questions. Mr. Couzzo said Hazen and Sawyer is the City's consulting engineer and even with what is being recommended, they do not feel that they have the expertise in their operation to do this and their sub -consultants, Coastal Zone Resources, is doing the bulk biological. V/M Schumann asked why it took $7,500 to an outside firm to prepare the application which comes from the Environmental Protection Agency with specific questions asked on the application. He asked why the City cannot fill out this application without the assistance of an outside firm. Pat Davis, representative for Hazen and Sawyer, said there are certain parts of the application which had to be filled out by a biologist. He said Hazen and Sawyer did all of the dredge and fill calculations, which is civil engineering. He said Gordon Sparks, Deputy City Engineer, and his crew is able to do this type of work, which is a small portion of what was done. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 12 Mr. Davis said Hazen and Sawyer then hired Coastal Zone Resources, which is a biological sub -consultant that specializes in wetlands issues. He said they visited the site and documented what types of species are growing there and whether or not they are endangered species, the types of plants and animals that live there and then made recommendations and held meetings with the Army Corps of Engineers, the DER and other jurisdictional agencies. Mr. Davis said the entire biological portion of the application is something of very particular expertise. He said there are thousands of pages of regulations governing wetlands removal. He said there were additional regulations published last year and are very difficult to understand. He said it is very important to get a beneficial determination as to how they view jurisdiction. Mr. Davis said if the City removes, dredges and fills there wetlands, the amount of wetlands that the City is going to add back is less than 1 to 1. He said if the biological consultants are able to show that the wetlands exist and by showing that impact and by proving to the biologists from Army Corps of Engineers and the other agencies that they are not as valuable as what the agencies might initially want to bargain for, the City would be able to build lesser acreage, not 1 to 1, but 1 to less than .5, which is a very significant benefit to the City, by doing the study. He said if the City had attempted to bargain itself, the City would have had to replace every acre destroyed with another acre, based on the lack of knowledge, background and expertise of the City in this area. Mr. Davis said if the City decides to move forward to obtain a dredge and fill application, there is a value to doing it if the City decides not to build the golf driving range, but to sell the property. He said when selling property in South Florida that has a wetlands on it, the prospective purchaser knows that he would have to spend the money to permit and remove the wetlands prior to developing, but also that there is some risk, because one never know when entering into this type of negotiation as to whether one will actually get the permit or not. Mr. Davis said if the City is going to try to sell the property in the future, it should be recognized that the City has a hezd start knowing that the permit is going to be accessed. He said the City just has to go through all of the hoops that the agencies have submitted. He said it is not known whether a future owner would achieve the permits. C/M Abramowitz said when this began, the concept of the golf driving range was great, but the ability to do it is lacking. C/M Abramowitz MOVED to APPROVE a Request for Proposal be started, for people who are interested in the golf driving range, who are interested in doing whatever is needed to build it and go into a contractual arrangement with the City. C/M Abramowitz said the City of Davie recently traded some very valuable land for wetlands because they needed it in order to comply with their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. He asked if Tamarac is able to make such an agreement. Mr. Couzzo said he does not think that this is a part of the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan because the agencies weze not aware that this was a wetlands until the process was started. C/M Abramowitz said the City may be in violation if the City removes this. He said maybe the agencies did not know about it and maybe Kelly Carpenter, Director of Community Development, figured it in her computations. Mr. Couzzo said in the mitigation plan, the trade off would be as mentioned and the City would not be eliminating the wetlands, but would be substitutina them for another area_ F_ City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 13 ti. C/M Abramowitz said the City would have to spend money to create another area to replace the wetlands and Mr. Couzzo agreed. Mr. Kelly said he attempted to do what C/M Abramowitz is suggesting when he first met with the regulatory agencies. He said he had asked if the City could trade off the land in the Bon-aire site, where there is a wetlands area as a mitigation, but the regulatory agencies insisted on an on -site mitigation and that it had to be at Land Section 7. Mr. Kelly said the consultant has provided the City with a lesser trade off than what was originally expected; therefore, the City saved approximately half an acre. He said the idea to go towards an outside person through a Request for Proposal makes the most sense. He said if the City does not handle the wetlands issue, the other parties will have to do it, which would be negotiated off the price of the land as a trade off, which is understandable. Mr. Kelly said he would be uncomfortable using City monies from the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee Account because the City is discussing a commercial venture at present, which should more appropriately come from the City's Contingency Account. He said whether this is a golf driving range, a WalMart site or whatever, it is more appropriate coming from the Contingency Account. He said after the City gets the Bon-aire proposal from the County, which is $150,000 coming off of the balance of the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee Account, leaving a balance of $425,067, the best way to handle this type of project is to go out for a Request for Proposal. Mr. Kelly said there are a number of consultants who have come to the City stating that they are willing and anxious to get into this with the City and are willing to put up the venture capital instead of the City. Mayor Bender asked if it would have to be determined in advance on the Request for Proposal as to what the City would like to get and Mr. Kelly said it is always negotiable, depending on the action. C/M Schreiber SECONDED the Motion for the Request for Proposal. C/M Abramowitz recited the Motion as being that the City Manager prepare for Council's perusal, an RFP regarding interest in developing a golf driving range on a lease basis. Mayor Bender asked if this sounds legally appropriate and Mr. Kraft said with it coming back to Council for approval. Mr. Couzzo asked if this includes the continuation from this point on the wetlands issues and C/M Abramowitz said this would be the only way to do it. C/M Abramowitz asked if Hazen and Sawyer has the influence downtown to keep this process alive. Mr. Davis said it is not so much the influence downtown, but the regulatory agencies are bureaucrats. He said there have been some agencies who have declined to declare jurisdiction, which is very good, but whether the agencies would redeclare the next time is not known. Mr. Davis said the permit expires on a due date; there is a time limit from when the application is processed to when the City responds. C/M Abramowitz asked if there are extensions and Mr. Davis said the City already applied for one extension which was granted. He said if it is a question of 30 days, then there is confidence in an extension, but if it is 6 months, that is different. Mayor Bender suggested that Council consider the City putting out the money to get this started so that the process is not stopped and then the City can attach the amount of money onto the price of City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 14 the property. C/M Abramowitz said if this was a question of spending $40,000 and then having a driving range built, that would be different. He said he feels that Mr. Davis can get the time needed. Mayor Bender said Mr. Davis just stated that there is no guarantee of an extension beyond 30 days with the regulatory agencies and Mr. Davis agreed. Mayor Bender said the City already spent $10,670 and asked -f Council is willing to lose this money and possibly have to start from scratch and C/M Abramowitz said he does not think that this money will be lost. Mayor Bender said this would be a calculated risk of going beyond the 30 days and that it may be canceled. Mr. Davis said there is a definite risk involved. He said once the clock starts with the regulatory agencies, and they are given specific reasons to continue, but the time period cannot be indefinite. He said the City will probably be able to obtain an extension, but a 6 month extension is questionable. C/M Abramowitz asked what the status would be for a 3 month extension and Mr. Davis said he will discuss this with the agencies and find out what they are willing to consider. Mayor Bender asked how much time is needed for the Request for Proposal process and Mr. Kelly said the Request for Proposal can be ready for Council review in approximately two weeks, but for something of this nature, the City will be going nationwide to find companies willing to do this. Mr. Kelly said the Request for Proposal will need to be left in circulation for at least 45 to 60 days for responses. Mayor Bender requested the number of months for the entire process and Mr. Kelly estimated 6 months. C/M Abramowitz said he would rather lose $10,000 than $400,000. C/M Katz said if Mr. Davis can get the City a 3 month extension, the City will be well into the Request for Proposal to see if there has been any interest generated. Mayor Bender said the City cannot reapply, because every time there is a reapplication, there are permit fees involved. C/M Abramowitz said the $10,000 went for the biological report. C/M Schreiber said the permit fees are only $500 and Mayor Bender said they are more than that. C/M Abramowitz said it totals $1,100. He said one of the largest companies in the United States has been requesting to get involved in this project. Mayor Bender said he wants to be sure of the time element. VOTE: C/M Schreiber -- AYE C/M Abramowitz - AYE C/M Katz - ABSENT V/M Schumann - AYE Mayor Bender - AYE Mr. Kelly said he provided a copy of the correspondence from, A. J. Gallagher to Council regarding their $11,000 authorization for their premium in which they responded to Council's concern that they received a double payment and that they only received a single payment. He said the insurance is currently in effect and Council will need to address this soon. 11 City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 15 C/M Schreiber said A. J. Gallagher had submitted a bill for approximately $11,000 which was for the risk management information. He said A. J. Gallagher acted as a risk manager in regard to the services securing the binder and whatever they have done. He said based on an agreement by the past Risk Manager, who authorized them to do it, they are requesting payment for their service. C/M Schreiber said there was a question by V/M Schumann as to why the City needs to pay this, when they are earning a commission. He said on this particular insurance, A. J. Gallagher is not earning a commission, but a brokerage fee. He said the point is the $11,000 paid to A. J. Gallagher, who rendered risk management services to the City in regard to the coverage. C/M Abramgtz asked if this is standard in the business and C/M Schreibe'il_-'�'id, no, but the City is dealing with a company that is not remgAiJLgd in the State of Florida. He said the City Manager informer toi'ticil that the Florida League of Cities is financially shaky an& tffis company is more secure. V/M Schumann said an example would be if he had a broker or agent to place automobile business for him, the broker gets a commission from the carrier when he places the business. He asked why he would have to pay the broker because he puts the business with a certain Company. Mayor Bender asked if the City had some type of agreement that this company would act as the Risk Manager and Mr. Kraft said, no. Mr. Kraft said at the last Council meeting that this was discussed, the Council had a copy of the proposed agreement which A. J. Gallagher had submitted to the City. He said since that time, he sent the agreement back to the agent for A. J. Gallagher for their review. He said the City has no formal written agreement with A. J. Gallagher, but apparently what the City had was the previous Risk Manager entering into negotiations, making sure that the City was properly covered effective October 1, 1992, which was the anniversary date. Mr. Kraft said it seems that there was some type of understanding that A. J. Gallagher would be paid the $11,000. C/M Schreiber asked if the broker fee has been paid by the City. Mr. Kraft said he understands that the only thing that the City has paid is the coverage or premium for the insurance and the brokerage fee has not been paid, and is pending Council's action. Mayor Bender said at present Council has no back up on this item and would like to have the City Attorney review the documentation and bring it back to Council at the next meeting. C/M Schreiber said Council acted on the Resolution to provide the multi -family waste hauling service to Southern Sanitation on Friday, November 13, 1992. He said he received a phone call to the effect that actually the low bidder on the two cubic yards indicated that if he would provide, according to his bid, three times per week service, it would be less than the two times that Southern Sanitation bid. City Council Special Meeting 11/16/92/KJ Page 16 Mr. Kraft suggested this be properly agendized based on the item being a very volatile area, which would give those with any interest the ability to be present to participate. With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at 12:35 p.m. CAROL A. EVANS CITY CLERK H. BENDER MAYOR CITY OF TAMARAC AppR1 wn AT UCrT#Aff% nr 11p4g19 �,