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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-03-22 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCity Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 1 CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1993 Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on Friday, March 22, 1993 at 9:00 a.m. in the Council. Chambers of City Hall. PRESENT - Mayor H. Larry Bender Vice Mayor Irving Katz Councilman Norman Abramowitz (entered at 10:00 a.m.) Councilman Henry Schumann Councilman Joseph Schreiber John P. Kelly, City Manager Dina McDermott, Assistant City Manager Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney Mary Blasi, Finance Director Karen Jackson, Secretary 1. DISCUSSION regarding the golf facility proposal. Mr. Kelly said the City received one proposal for the golf facility from Alan Grassano. V/M Katz suggested that the City emulate the Japanese concept of a two or three tier driving range. He said the problem on Nob Hill Road seems to be that there is not enough acreage for the 90 slots needed for the driving range as is. C/M Schreiber asked what the City can expect from the proposal made by Mr. Grassano. Alan Grassano of Grassano Associates, Inc., said he and Tom Wilson created the proposal to the City for the golf facility. He said Mr. Wilson recently built a driving range in Boca Raton near the airport which had a lot more acreage than this proposed site. He said there is an uncertainty in the precise revenues in this marketplace. He said they felt that the $% of the gross revenues is a very fair and equitable way to pay the City of Tamarac. Mr. Grassano said they feel that this facility should be able to do a minimum of 100 to 150 buckets per day for most of the year. He said it is uncertain whether a two or three tier facility is appropriate for this location. Mr. Grassano said Grassano Associates, Inc. has the financial background and the golf expertise and has been successful in the past. Mayor Bender asked how much can be charged for a bucket of balls and Mr. Grassano said $4.00 per bucket of 60 balls. Mayor Bender said he invisioned golf driving lessons and other such situations. Mr. Grassano said there will be accessory retail stores and golf professionals giving lessons, depending on the number of stalls available. Discussion was held regarding the possible revenues received from this facility. V/M Katz asked the cost for construction and Mr. Grassano said approximately $200,000.00. Mr. Grassano said he is a successful businessman who is here to City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 2 put up a facility which is pleasurable to the public, to make a profit and can pay the City a reasonable amount of 8%, which is very fair. He said this protects Grassano Associates against the downside and protects the City on the upside. Walter Rekuc, resident, said there has to be a buy-out for a provision on a long term contract. He asked if the City has a copy of the Boca Raton contract and how many people participate at the Mainlands Golf Driving Range per day. He said a 15-year buy-out would be very costly to the City. Mr. Grassano said he never raised an issue regarding a buy-out. Mr. Rekuc asked if the City received a copy of the Boca contract and Mr. Kelly said, no. V/M Katz said Council should reserve decision and allow some time for the Finance Director and Mr. Kelly to discuss other considerations and then hold another workshop for further discussion. Mayor Bender requested an Expression of Interest to determine whether or not Council wants to pursue this, at which time another workshop may need to be held. C/M Schreiber said the City put out a Request for Proposal and Mr. Grassano is the only one who made an offer to the City. He said a golf driving range can generate some decent revenue, but it is up to the City to get an evaluation from Ms. Blasi and then the City could make a counter offer. C/M Schumann said he would like to check into this further. V/M Katz said he is interested in proceeding. Mayor Bender said more exploration should be done on this and then Council will meet to discuss it further. 2. DISCUSSION regarding the Continental Cable audit correspondence. Mr. Kelly said Council received the most recent communication from Continental Cablevision dated March 12, 1993 responding to the fire communications from the MAS (Municipal Administrative Services) group. Mr. Kelly said MAS has provided the City with a followup which includes their attempts to respond to the concerns raised by Continental Cablevision. He said Ellen Filipiak, Vice President and District Manager of Continental Cablevision, is present to address any concerns Council may have. He said Mr. Sheets of MAS had contacted him regarding the determination by the City as to what is to be done with the 3% and/or the 5% and the rest was not significant. Mr. Kelly said MAS is interested in moving out of this situation and feel that at this point they are the middle man and Council needs to make a determination. He recommended that Council deal with the minor issues as well. C/M Schreiber said this all refers to the franchise fee and whether or not it should be left at 3% or raise it to 5%, which in raising it to 5% would pass through to the consumers. Mayor Bender said a franchise agreement was prepared by the City in the past and went into effect. He said there is a clause in the agreement which states that 5% would be collected at that time. He said when the law was changed to 3%, Continental Cablevision reduced the fee to 3%. He asked why it is necessary to have Council reapprove this to 5% when it is documented in the agreement which is currently in place. City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 3 Mayor Bender said he had requested that the City Attorney review the legal aspects of this clause. He said there are a number of years left on the franchise agreement. V/M Katz requested clarification of the franchise agreement. Mayor Bender said there is a possibility that a previous Council acted on the fees illegally. He said they did not alter the contract or the franchise agreement and there was nothing in writing to indicate that any action was taken other than the minutes of the meeting. He said the contract, as written, makes provisions for changes. He said that it is his opinion that Council does not need to get involved because the agreement is bonafide. Mayor Bender said the original contract was for 5% and the Federal Government changed it to 3% and then it again went to 5%, one of the previous Councils held discussion and voted on the item and there was no need to vote on it due to the fact that stipulations were in the contract. He said when it went from 5% to 3%, the fee was automatically cut back, but when going from 3% to 5%, Continental Cablevision insists that Council has to approve it, even though the contract states that they should proceed. C/M Schumann asked if Council passed a Resolution in 1985 regarding this and Mayor Bender said there is no documentation except for the minutes of the meeting. Mayor Bender said contracts should be binding for the length of time it states. He said the franchise agreement was never changed, there was no ordinance or resolution passed. C/M Schreiber asked if the request is for Continental Cablevision to comply with the contract which requires 5%. He asked if Council realizes that the increase would be passed through to the consumers. Mayor Bender said the basic franchise agreement provides for this and it behooves the City to honor the contract. Further discussion was held regarding this. C/M Schumann asked if the City Attorney has reviewed this contract and if there is anything in the contract that refers to pass through and Mr. Kraft said there is no mention of pass through in the contract. Mr. Kraft said the reality is that franchise fees are a pass through to the customer, which is Continental Cablevision's position in this matter and they have the right to do it. Stan Bernard, resident, asked if Continental Cablevision reduced the rates when the franchise fee went from 5% to 3%. C/M Schumann said he does not remember any reductions in the rates. Ellen Filipiak, Vice President and District Manager for Continental Cablevision, said at present, they do not have a separate line item for the franchise fee, but it is built into the base rate, based upon the 3% currently being paid to the City. She said other cable companies do have a separate line item. Walter Rekuc, resident, suggested that the City leave it at the 3% for the benefit of the taxpayer and have Continental Cablevision identify it as a separate line item. Mr. Kraft said the contract is a matter of interpretation where the City will take a position and Continental Cablevision will take a particular position in the matter and then it may be resolved through litigation. City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 4 C/M Schreiber said the City should leave the franchise fee as is until the Federal Government changes their regulations. He said the public may become upset with an increase through the City. Mayor Bender said the cost of cable television is high. He said the City of Hollywood is in the process of filing papers to regulate the rates. C/M Schumann said it will cost the consumer more with the 5%. V/M Katz suggested that the City remain with the 3%. He said there are a number of multi -family dwelling units wanting cable television. Mayor Bender said there are a number of condos that are looking for individual satellite dish use and suggested this be held in obeyance for more information. TAPE 2 V/M Katz asked the City's position regarding the various cable situations and Mr. Kraft said the City has one definition for gross revenues and Continental Cablevision has another. V/M Katz said everything found by MAS has been contested by Continental Cablevision and there are no grounds for an impartial advocate to resolve this and asked if this will go to litigation. Mr. Kraft said people can meet for discussion regarding any particular subject. V/M Katz asked if the City has attempted any type of mediation regarding this and Mr. Kraft said he has had no direct discussion with Continental Cablevision. C/M Schreiber said for the small amount of money being discussed, it is ludicrous to go to litigation regarding this and mediation may be the way to handle this. Further discussion was held. Ms. Filipiak stated that she is willing to hold discussions regarding this situation. V/M Katz said he would like to receive the tax figures from Mr. Markham's office and then have Staff meet with Continental Cablevision regarding this. Mayor Bender requested that the City Attorney meet with Continental Cablevision and review all documentation in this matter. 3. DISCUSSION regarding single family garbage proposals. Mr. Kelly referred to the single family garbage proposal regarding the bag concept. He said there were 8 haulers responsive with bids for the 20 and 30 gallon bags, which included Kimmins, County Waste, All Service, Industrial Waste, Seacoast, Browning Ferris, Larry O'Connor and Southern Sanitation. Mr. Kelly said financial statements were not submitted by Seacoast Sanitation or All Service Refuse. Ms. Blasi said these two companies did not update their financial statements from the previous bid. Mr. Kelly said it is Council's option as to whether or not they would like to waive the requirement for this. He said Seacoast Sanitation did come in as the low bidder again. He said for a 20 gallon bag, they offered $.85 and for a 30 gallon bag, $1.32, which was for the 3-1/2 year term contact and a 5-1/2 year contract. Council reviewed the proposals. City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 5 C/M Schumann asked if this is only for the bag pickup and if there was anything proposed for a bulk pickup and Mr. Kelly said Council directed that it be only for the bags. Mr. Kelly said the bulk pickup was indicated for four times per year in the package proposal. He said there was a provision that they would be providing bulk pickup four times per year in addition to the bags. C/M Schreiber asked if there is something wrong with the lowest bidder. C/M Schumann said Seacoast Sanitation could not do it for $1.10, and asked how they could do it for $.25 less. V/M Katz said there were two problems the last time, which had to do with the formula of the tipping fee and performance. Mr. Kelly said Council needs to make a determination regarding the submittal of the financial statements from All Service and Seacoast. He recommended that Council make a determination as soon as possible regarding these proposals. V/M Katz asked if the City has finalized on multi -family garbage removal and Mr. Kelly said, yes. V/M Katz asked if the City has received a check for retroactive franchise fees and Mr. Kelly said the City has not received a check. Ms. Blasi said the check was not sent because the signed contract was not received back by the waste hauler. C/M Abramowitz asked how much it would be for one 30-gallon bag, twice a week, and C/M Schreiber said it would be $12.32. Ms. Blasi said this would equal $13.34. Discussion was held regarding the various increases. C/M Abramowitz said it was determined that in order to burn pound of garbage, it would cost $.0317. He said this is a contract which has a combination of cans and bags. He said a survey was done on single family homes which showed that in the older population of the City, the vendor collects 34.45 pounds of garbage per household per week and in the younger population, the vendor collects 47.97 pounds of garbage per household per week. He said this equals a 40 gallon can which comes to approximately $10 per month. C/M Abramowitz said in the City, the general households are in the older bracket. He said the costs to the single family residents should be approximately $9 per month, based on a 40 pound can twice a week, plus any additional bags. V/M Katz said two 20 gallon bags per week, will accommodate 47 pounds. He said the maximum for a 20 gallon bag, as per the Request for Proposal, is 30 pounds. C/M Abramowitz said if the survey was done correctly, there will be much less garbage picked up than in the multi -family areas. He said there will be less garbage generated in Tamarac than in the neighboring cities. Discussion was held regarding the number of single family homes in the City. C/M Schumann said there is an alternate program consisting of unlimited curbside pickup at a cost of $12.30. Discussion was held regarding the amount of garbage that can fit into the 20 and 30 gallon bags. City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 6 C/M Schreiber said it was established that the City wanted to try something that worked in another city and may reduce the cost to the consumer. He said the majority of the residents in the City are senior citizens and they do not generate much garbage, plus there is the recycling program. He said the City received a low bid proposal for bags. He said the City signed an agreement, which included a penalty clause, giving Waste Management the money if they did not receive the single family contract. C/M Schreiber said this would mean that the City may have to pay $250,000 to $300,000 in penalties if Waste Management does not get the single family contract. He said in the past six months or so, it has cost the residents of the City over a half million dollars in savings, while attempting to finalize the single family garbage contract. He said the residents could have been saving $3 to $5 per month. He suggested that the City try the bag system and if it does not work, then go to another system. V/M Katz said if Council is going to go with the low bidder, the first thing that Council has to decide is whether or not they want to waive the technicalities regarding the financial statements. Mr. Kraft said under the terms of the Request for Proposal, it is within the right of Council to waive any technicalities. V/M Katz asked if Mary Blasi was satisfied with the last Request for Proposal and the financial statement submitted by Seacoast and Ms. Blasi said, no. Ms. Blasi said the City received a three month financial summary for December 31, 1991. She said the City should have received a twelve month financial history for 1992. Mayor Bender said one of the reasons Council recommended going with the bag system was due to the user fee —don't use, don't pay. V/M Katz suggested that Council allow Staff to hold a discussion with the low bidder and whatever technicalities will have to be dealt with, followed by another meeting, with backup, and to be in a position to discuss it. Mr. Kelly said with the last bid award, Industrial Waste was 2 minutes late in submitting his bid and Council did not waive that technicality and there was pressure from some of the other haulers regarding this. He said the various haulers are requesting that All Service and Seacoast be rejected based on the lack of their financial statements as required in the Request for Proposal. He said Council needs to contend with this situation in the near future, if they have not determined that they will accept them. Mr. Kelly said if Council makes a determination that these two bids will be rejected as done the first time, then Seacoast and All Service will be eliminated. C/M Abramowitz said he would like to find out how much garbage is picked up within the City of Tamarac for single family homes. He said statistically, in the eastern section of Tamarac, there are a little less than 10% that would use the bag. He said in the family section, there are 11.3% who use a bag. Mr. Kelly said at present, the bag proposal from the eight vendors is the only thing on the table for discussion. He said until the proposals from the eight vendors are rejected, Council may not consider any other options. V/M Katz asked the downside for the rejection of the bid and Mr. Kraft said the downside would be the possibility of a lawsuit by the person who comes out on the bad end of the arrangement. 1 n V/M Katz asked if the Finance Director would be satisfied with the appropriate financial statements and Letters of Credit from the C 7 iJ City Council workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 7 haulers and Ms. Blasi said, yes. Bill Laystrom, attorney for Southern Sanitation, said the failure of the low bidder to produce financial information is of concern to Council regarding the contract. He said there are six or eight responsible bidders who have submitted prices. He said if there is a hauler who cannot provide the service combined with the lack of knowledge by the residents as to how the bag system would work, then the program will fail prior to beginning. Harold Carter, representative for All Service Refuse, said the Request for Proposal that was responded to, did not request an audited financial statement to be included in the package. He said the prior Request for Proposal did and in the prior bid package, it was submitted. He said the financial information requested in this Request for Proposal stated financial data. TAPE 3 Ms. Blasi said it states in the Request for Proposal that financial documents will be submitted. She said there were no financial documents submitted by Seacoast and All Service. Mr. Rekuc said a cost analysis by the City Manager is missing from the documentation. Dennis Urbanski, General Manager of Southern Sanitation, asked if all of the Request for Proposal respondents were aware of this meeting because some of the firms are not present. He said the firms who took the time to attend this meeting are Southern Sanitation, All Service Refuse and Larry O'Connor Sanitation. Mayor Bender RECESSED this meeting at 10:35 a.m. to attend an Executive Session and RECONVENED at 11:13 a.m. with ALL PRESENT. C/M Schreiber suggested that Council waive the technicalities regarding the two vendors who failed to provide the financial statements for this proposal and move ahead by awarding this proposal to the low bidder. V/M Katz recommended that Staff receive the financial statements requested and Letters of Credit and also receive a letter from the City Attorney regarding the downsides of the situation. C/M Abramowitz said it had been indicated that there may be a problem with the low bidder fulfilling the contractual obligations. Mayor Bender asked if C/M Abramowitz wanted to address the financial statements issue or whether he wants to go with the lowest, responsible bidder. C/M Abramowitz said he will not state that any vendor is not responsible. He said during the previous bid process, a vendor's bid was rejected for being two minutes late; therefore, if something was not submitted as requested in this bid, it should be handled the same way. C/M Schreiber said there is a great amount of indecision regarding the bag system. He suggested that the City should go with unlimited, curbside collection system. He suggested that the Council reject all bids for the proposal of bags. He said there are too many variables for the bag system. Mayor Bender said he is uncomfortable in the fact that it has taken so long to produce a contract for single family waste collection. He said it is up to the Finance Director to be satisfied with the financial statements submitted to her and pursue what is missing. He said he is willing to go with the lowest bidder on bags. C/M Abramowitz asked the City's position be, based on the Request City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 8 for Proposal, if Staff were to conclude that the lowest bidder, Seacoast, was not the most responsible bidder. Mr. Kraft said if Staff were to conclude that they were not the lowest, responsible bidder, then Council would move on and choose somebody else with which Staff could negotiate. Mr. Kelly said Council can accept or reject Staff recommendations as to whether or not they are responsible. C/M Schreiber said it is the responsibility of Council to make the decisions. Mayor Bender said he would prefer the 30 gallon bags, but have both available. C/M Abramowitz asked if Seacoast and All Service can provide the required financial statements and representatives from both firms responded that they could provide this information. Tony Spaddaccia, representative of Industrial Waste Service, said his company was rejected due to being two minutes late with the bid. He said they put a lot of time and effort into creating the bid, which set a precedence for the next bid. He asked why the guidelines can be overlooked for this process, regarding the financial statements. He requested that Council not overlook the specific details of the Request for Proposal. C/M Abramowitz asked why Southern Sanitation raised the rate for the 5-1/2 year contract term. Mr. Urbanski said they made the decision in terms of the element of risk involved in providing a bag program. He said they felt it would be more advantageous to the City to offer the lower price on the shorter term, which was a business decision they made. He said there was an option included in the contract for an opportunity of an extension of the current 3-1/2 years. Discussion was held regarding the bids for the 3-1/2 and 5-1/2 year terms. C/M Abramowitz suggested that All Service and Seacoast be permitted to produce the financial documents requested. Dick Marant, representative for Seacoast Sanitation, said everyone knows that the firms involved are responsible bidders and had gone through this process less than six months prior to this bid. He requested that Council give direction to the haulers. He said there was a lot of money spent in preparing for these bids. Mr. Kelly said he does not see that all of the residents will be benefitting from the bag system, with the lowest bid at just under $11.00. C/M Abramowitz said what has changed is the lowest bid going from $1.10 to $1.32. He asked what the escalation will be per year. Ms. McDermott said the tipping fee conversion factor, which is two cents for every dollar that the tipping fee increases, and a cap of 4% on the CPI, which is annually. Marie Horenberger, representative for Browning Ferris Industries, said it is evident that this process is flawed. She said there is dissatisfaction with Council regarding the bag system and it may be that the bag system is not the most equitable system for all the residents of Tamarac. C/M Abramowitz asked who the next lowest bidder is after Seacoast Sanitation and Mr. Kelly said All Service Refuse for the 20 gallon bags. C/M Abramowitz said Southern Sanitation is the next lowest on the 30 gallon rate on the 3-1/2 year contract. City Council Workshop Meeting 3/22/93/KJ Page 9 C/M Schumann said Industrial Waste is the next lowest on the 5-1/2 year contract. Further discussion was held regarding this. C/M Abramowitz said he would like to review the financial statements when they are received. Mr. Marant recommended that Council let the bid process work. He said all of the haulers who responded to the bids were qualified and requalified and are performing in other municipalities throughout Broward County and performance bonds have been posted. With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:45 a.m. CAROL A. EVANS CITY CLERK 1