HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-04-19 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCity Council Workshop Meeting
4/19/94/KJ
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CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1994
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to order on Tuesday, April
19, 1994 at 1:00 p.m. in Conference Room #1 of City Hall.
PRESENT:
ALSO PRESENT;
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor Irving Katz
Councilman Larry Mishkin
Councilman Joseph Schreiber
Councilwoman Sharon Machek
Robert S. Noe, Jr., City Manager
Dina M. McDermott, Assistant City Manager
Karen Jackson, Secretary
Mr. Noe expressed his appreciation to Council to enable Staff to present an orientation.
He said he directed the Department Heads to keep their presentations brief and to give
a basic overview as to what their department does. He introduced Vernon Hargray,
Director of Public Services.
V/M Katz said he would not be present for a Workshop meeting scheduled for Monday.
Mayor Abramowitz requested that discussion be handled quickly.
V/M Katz handed out a letter from N & S Butters regarding the satellite road to Hiatus
Road. He said Mr. Butters has indicated that he would start and spec the first industrial
building in Land Section 7 if the satellite road is built. He said the City has to put the
Lift Station in anyway and the City is currently contracted with Engineering to do the
water and sewer on Nob Hill Road. He said this is an ideal opportunity to be considered
for Land Section 7.
V/M Katz said the money is in place for the road impact fees for this area. He said he
has been speaking with Ellen Hamilton, representing Pritzker, who owns Leadership
Housing and the DRI Westport. He said he also has a working relationship with Susan
Motley, of Ruden, Barnett, et. al., who represents the Pritzker family.
Mayor Abramowitz said a workshop will be held on Monday regarding the Land Section
7 situation to provide the necessary information to the new Council members and then
hold another workshop when V/M Katz is available to be included.
Mayor Abramowitz announced that he would be leaving the meeting at 3:00 p.m. to
attend a meeting in downtown Fort Lauderdale for the Broward County Sheriff's
Steering Department.
Vernon Hargray, Public Services Director, greeted Council and said the Public Services
concept took place in 1991. He stated the goals and objectives of each department.
He said each department under Public Services has Operations Managers, who are the
following: Kline Jones, Public Services Operations Manager; Alan Levine, Public Works
Operations Manager; Ed Doyle, Parks and Recreation Operations Manager; Jill Ducato,
Social Services Coordinator and Mike Vaillant, Utilities Operations Manager.
Mr. Hargray said the Directors are responsible to know all of the tasks and
responsibilities of their department. He reviewed the changes which have occurred
based on the changes within the City and regulations mandated to the City. He
recommended that Tamarac work as a team in order for its goals to be met.
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Mr. Hargray introduced Kline Jones, Public Services Operations Manager, who explained
the functions of the Public Works and Engineering Departments. He introduced Gordon
Sparks, City Engineer.
V/M Katz said he does not agree entirely with what was said. He said he has always
believed that if someone could be placed in-house to do the work for a consultant, the
in-house services are maintained longer than the cost of a consultant. He suggested
that the City look for someone who can do this work in-house, rather than continually
looking for consultants.
Mr. Jones said the City will look for an in-house staff for this but will not over build.
Gordon Sparks, City Engineer, explained the organizational chart and the functions of
the Engineering Department. He stated that it is being considered for the City to get
out of the design business due to the fact that there is more work than can be handled
by the existing staff. He said it would be cost effective to use consultants instead.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City currently has a designer and two drafters on staff. He
recommended that each situation needs to be evaluated by the City Manager, who
needs to make a decision in each case. He said cheapest is not always the best. He said
the quality of the work, the ability to perform, the money being spent and the ability to
do the work in a proper fashion are most important.
V/M Katz referred to Item #3 regarding Lift Station for Land Section 8, but sees
nothing for Land Section 7.
Mr. Sparks said there are two lift stations in Land Section 7. He said if this area is going
to be hot in the near future, it will be put on-line.
Discussion was held regarding Lift Station 44.
V/M Katz referred to Item #12 regarding annexation. He said the City cannot annex
from other cities, but can annex from unincorporated Broward.
C/M Mishkin asked who sets the priorities for the Engineering Department and Mr.
Sparks said Mr. Hargray.
C/M Mishkin asked how the information is fed to him and Mr. Hargray said the Planning
Department communicates with him as to what the developers are planning on doing.
Mr. Hargray said the staff was previously involved in construction, not in maintenance.
He said the City is currently in the maintenance business. He said when a developer
comes in with a site plan, the City will be prepared for these plans.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council will have the final say over such decisions for
development.
C/M Mishkin asked if the City monitors the Comprehensive Plan and Mayor Abramowitz
said the City is continuously monitoring this ten year Plan.
Ed Doyle, Parks and Recreation Operations Manager, familiarized Council with the four
parks in Tamarac, which are Tamarac Park, Sports Complex at Tract 27, Veterans Park,
and Caporella Park. He explained the various functions of each of the parks.
Mr. Doyle stated that the City has Before and After -School Programs which work in
conjunction with Tamarac Elementary School. He said the all the counselors are HRS
Certified and have completed first aid and CPR classes.
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Mr. Doyle explained the Summer Camp Programs and the Senior Trips Program. He also
familiarized the Council with the special events which take place throughout the year,
such as the Turkey Trot, Holiday Lighting Festival and Fourth of July Festivities.
C/W Machek commended the Recreation Department for the new Teen Program. She
requested that Mr. Doyle explain the functions of the Tamarac Athletic Federation and
the Parks and Recreation Board.
TAPE 2
Mr. Doyle said Tamarac Athletic Federation (TAF) is a group of volunteers who run the
Tamarac Sports Programs. He said the Parks and Recreation Board is an advisory board
which meets the second Tuesday of each month to discuss future development
possibilities of the City's parks and recreation programs.
Discussion was held regarding the various programs provided by the City.
Mayor Abramowitz recommended a workshop be held to discuss situations involving
the Summer Camp program and the problem with the over -crowded school issue.
Jill Ducato, Social Services Coordinator, explained the history, functions and services of
the Social Services Board and Department. She said the Department hired two drivers
and a secretary. She said there is a great demand for the services provided by the
Department. She said there is a survey in the April Tam -A -Gram for suggestions.
V/M Katz said the problem in the City is that many residents are not aware of all the
services available to them, such as peer counseling and an Alzheimer's Day Care
Center. He said he would like to see a youth counselor in the City.
Mayor Abramowitz said services from the Area Agency on Aging, Meals on Wheels and
the Senior Connection are all available to the residents.
Alan Levine, Public Works Operations Manager, gave each of the Council members a
framed map of the City for their offices. He said the final delivery of the fish has been
completed and installed in all of the City's waterways. He said the fish will seek out the
deepest portion of the waterway.
Mr. Levine explained the functions of the Public Works Department, which include
painting, janitorial work, construction, and many other services to the departments. He
said there are various areas of the Department which include landscaping and
beautification, road crews, fleet maintenance and canal crews.
V/M Katz referred to the Streets and Drainage and asked what street lighting the Staff
is responsible for and Mr. Levine said the City has the responsibility of changing all of
the street lights on University Drive.
V/M Katz asked if the City installs catch basins and Mr. Levine said one was installed at
Veterans Park due to a drainage problem. Further discussion was held regarding the
various drainage problems throughout the City.
C/M Schreiber asked if it is the obligation of the City or the property owners to replace
catch basins. Mr. Hargray said if it is in the City's right-of-way, it would be the City's
responsibility.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if there is an ongoing program for cleaning out the catch
basins and Mr. Levine said all of the catch basins are covered.
Mr. Hargray said there are nine people on staff who maintain 12-1/2 square miles of
streets and drainage.
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C/W Machek asked if it would behoove the City to have a cherry picker to do the
maintenance on the street lights based on the fact that the Recreation Department has
lights that also need to be changed.
Mayor Abramowitz said the lights on University Drive are much higher than the lights at
the ball fields.
Mr. Levine said at present, it is not cost effective to purchase a cherry picker. He said
there is money allocated in the budget for a bucket truck. He said once the bucket
truck is in place, it will be utilized four days per week.
Discussion was held regarding the maintenance of the ball fields and other locations
throughout the City.
Mayor Abramowitz asked how the budget is holding up with the fleet maintenance and
Mr. Levine said the five-year replacement program is working well.
Mr. Noe stated that any budget discussion during this orientation is purely incidental.
Mike Vaillant, Utilities Operations Manager, explained the functions of the Utilities
Department, which includes the Water Plant and Lab.
TAPE 3
Mr. Vaillant said the two main goals of the Department are conservation of water and
maintaining a leak -free system.
Mayor Abramowitz suggested that Council take a tour of the water plant. Further
discussion was held regarding the Utilities Department.
C/M Schreiber asked if pipe replacement has been started on NW 71 Place and Mr.
Vaillant said it has not been started. He said the City has an ongoing program to
replace pipes and lines. He explained the reasons for the pipe replacement.
C/M Schreiber recommended that the public be given the correct information and
Council be aware of this information in order for Council to answer any questions from
their constituents.
C/M Mishkin asked how much money is user fees and Mayor Abramowitz said all of the
money is appropriated as a result of the revenue from the Utility Department.
C/M Mishkin asked about Capital Improvements and Mayor Abramowitz said that is CIAC
Funds. Further discussion was held regarding this.
V/M Katz asked if it will be necessary to index next year and Mr. Hargray said the City
has approximately 1.2 million dollars of CIAC Funds.
V/M Katz referred to the Utility budget in the past couple of years.
Mr. Hargray said these tie into each other. He said the rates were predicated on the
amount of money that was available in the CIAC Funds. He said Hartmann and
Associates recommended a 21% increase based on the City's Capital Project needs.
Mr. Hargray said the City has approximately three million dollars in CIAC Funds. Further
discussion was held regarding the expenditure of the CIAC Funds and the City's
revenues.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City has been approved for a license by the South Florida
Water Management District. He complimented the Department on the success of the
City's water.
Mayor Abramowitz asked about the mandated asbestos piping.
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Mr. Vaillant said EPA has a problem with asbestos cement pipe. He said there is
discussion about the fire size and the pipe being injurious to people. He said there is no
tremendous problem with it; however, EPA has said that when asbestos pipe areas have
to be worked on, the City is mandated to remove the asbestos pipe and replace it with
steel pipe. He said this is included in the budget cost.
Mayor Abramowitz gave the gavel to V/M Katz, RECESSED the meeting at 2:45 p.m.
and then left the meeting.
V/M Katz RECONVENED the meeting at 3:00 p.m. with all present. He introduced
Stanley Hawthorne, Finance Director.
Mr. Hawthorne expressed his appreciation to the Finance staff for their efforts in
making this presentation as well as in the budget preparations and the Comprehensive
Annual Financial Report. He explained briefly how the budget for Fiscal Year 95 would
be handled. He introduced Thelma Fagelbaum, Deputy Finance Director.
Ms. Fagelbaum said the Finance Department is responsible for preparing the annual
budget. She said there are four divisions in the Department: Accounting, run by the
Comptroller, Karen Willard; Customer Service, handled by Angie LoSasso, Utilities Billing
Supervisor; MIS, run by Glenda Christian, MIS Director and the Purchasing Agent is
Sherry Bauer.
Ms. Fagelbaum reviewed the various functions and duties of the Finance Department.
She said the City of Tamarac Finance Department has received the Certificate of
Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the City's Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report for the past eight years, which is a prestigious award presented by the
Government Finance Officer's Association. She introduced Karen Willard, Comptroller.
Ms. Willard explained the duties of the Accounting Department, which includes
accounts payables and receivables, cashier, payroll, maintaining the general ledger and
other such functions. She introduced Angie LoSasso, Utilities Billing Supervisor.
Ms. LoSasso explained the use of the porta-processors utilized by the meter readers
and the customer service billing process. She said the billing includes water usage,
storm water charges, recycling fees, alarm violations and other such fees. Further
discussion was held regarding the Customer Service duties.
C/M Schreiber asked if there is a way to have the meter readings done as a
computerized system and Glenda Christian, MIS Director said it is possible, but it would
be extremely expensive.
TAPE 4
Ms. LoSasso explained how the porta-processors work and how the billing is done for
each unit. She introduced Glenda Christian, MIS Director.
Ms. Christian said the MIS is responsible to oversee all computer related functions of
the City. She said this includes all computer systems throughout the City consisting of
90 mainframe users, 52 IBM PC users and 27 Macintosh users. She explained how the
mainframe system works and the various duties it performs.
V/M Katz asked what the condition is of the mainframe and Ms. Christian said it is still
functional for the current needs of the City.
Ms. Christian said the City is spending more money on maintenance than would be
needed for a new system.
WM Katz asked if there will be a workshop held to discuss the needs of the MIS
Department and Mr. Noe said Council may hold workshops whenever needed. He said
the Budget document will not be completed until July for presentation to Council.
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Mr. Hawthorne said the Budget is very important and workshop meetings will be held to
make Council aware of budgetary issues. Further discussion was held regarding the
need for holding workshop meetings.
Mr. Noe said he could not be satisfied with his own work product if a comprehensive
approach to the budget was not presented. He said at present, he does not know what
items merit an in-depth discussion. He said his past experience is to present problems
and the issues from the Staff perspective and priorities. He said this is an issue of
presenting the budget in a rational way.
Ms. Christian continued to explain the various duties of the MIS Department.
C/M Schreiber suggested that the presentations be shortened.
Mr. Noe said this entire presentation could have been given to Council in writing.
V/M Katz said this orientation was designed for the new Council people.
C/M Mishkin expressed his appreciation for these presentations. He said a study should
be made as to the feasibility of replacing the entire mainframe system rather than
making continuous repairs.
C/W Machek asked if the City currently has the ability to utilize E-Mail to communicate
with cities that have inter -local agreements.
Ms. Christian said the City currently does not have an E-Mail system, but is being
considered. She introduced Sherry Bauer, Purchasing Officer.
Ms. Bauer explained the functions of the Purchasing Department which include:
shipping, receiving, purchase requisitions and purchase orders, quotes, oversees Public
Services warehouse, phone system, pagers, copiers, fax systems, mobile phones and
uniforms, as well as making sure the school crossing guards are doing their job. She
said there are other such duties handled within the department.
Ms. McDermott introduced Mike Vonder Meulen, Director of Community Development.
Mr. Vonder Meulen provided Council with a zoning map. He introduced Brad Nyhan,
Code Enforcement Supervisor.
Mr. Nyhan said the Code Enforcement Division addresses occupational licensing and
maintaining Code compliance. He said the Department also utilizes the Broward County
Code of Ordinances. Further description of the Department's functions was given.
C/M Mishkin said there seems to be a layer of local, County, State and Federal Codes.
He asked where the City fits into this and Mr. Nyhan said the Code Enforcement
Division attempts to delineate what jurisdiction a situation falls under. He said if it were
a technical Code, they would look to the Building Official to start work on the job.
Mr. Noe said the City must enforce the South Florida Building Code.
Mr. Kraft said the South Florida Building Code is a special act of legislation. Further
discussion was held regarding this.
Mr. Vonder Meulen said the other section of the Community Development Department
is Planning. He explained that the department provides for future development which
entails utilizing the Comprehensive Plan, Land Use Plan, site plans, platting, zoning and
other such items. He said there are many items which fall under the jurisdiction of the
Planning Division, such as special exceptions to the Code. Further discussion was held
regarding this.
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TAPE 5
Mr. Vonder Meulen said variances are reviewed by the Board of Adjustment. He said
there are some pressing issues within the Department which need to be addressed as
soon as possible. He said there will be a request for an extension of time for the
Westport DRI.
Mr. Vonder Meulen said there are two recent Supreme Court decisions, Schneider vs.
Brevard and the Department of Commerce vs. Delray in addition to the Jennings case.
He said these cases have created a situation where the cities must identify rezonings
and site plans. He said the approval of such requests are now considered to be quasi
judicial instead of quasi -legislative. He said there are certain court proceedings which
have changed due to this. He referred to Mr. Kraft for further clarification.
Mr. Kraft explained the definition of quasi-judicial system. He said this mandates that
cities be sensitive to ex-parte communications. He said each party must be present in
this type of case, site plans and rezonings. He further explained the details behind this
situation.
WM Katz recommended that Mr. Kraft meet with each Council person for further
information regarding this matter.
Mr. Vonder Meulen said another item which falls under pressing issues is the fact that
there are three vacant positions within the Department, GIS Planner, Code Enforcement
Officer and a Senior Planner. Discussion was held regarding these vacancies.
Mr. Vonder Meulen said the City is currently initiating the Broward County citation
process. He said there will be a review of the recommendations of the Occupational
License Equity Committee in the near future. He said there will also be some site plan
changes coming before Council in the next few weeks.
C/M Schreiber asked for a definition of major and minor revisions.
V/M Katz said that would be a subject for another workshop meeting.
Ms. McDermott introduced Larry DuPre, Personnel Director, who explained that the
Personnel Department recruits and retains the best possible employees in the City. He
said the City needs to meet the Federal Civil Acts Law, American Disabilities Act and
other such laws.
Mr. DuPre said the Department negotiates labor agreements and interprets contracts.
He explained the current status of the Union contracts. He said there will be a class and
pay study done for every position in the City.
C/M Mishkin said there must be cities with a similar size as Tamarac. He suggested that
some guidelines be obtained from other cities to assist with the class and pay study.
Mr. DuPre said the City of Tamarac badly needs a class and pay study. He said there is
no provision for increases of any kind.
Jim Budzinski, Fire Chief, gave a brief summary of the duties of the Fire Department
which consists of two stations, three pieces of front-line fire suppression equipment,
dive rescue team. He said the Fire Department is involved in C.O. inspections, site plan
review and plans review. He said the Department is also involved in CPR certifications,
first aid, hurricane preparedness, fire safety drills and other such activities.
Mr. Budzinski said the City currently has 41 certified fire fighters of which 32 are
EMT's, six are paramedics, and 30 are dive rescue certified. He said the City currently
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has submitted an application that would allow for Advanced Life Support (ALS) service
and transportation for medical emergencies.
Mr. Budzinski referred to and reviewed the Annual Report issued to Council at a
previous meeting. Further review of the services provided by the Fire Department was
held.
Mr. Budzinski said he will be asking for the ability to bill the residents for the hazardous
materials service the City currently provides to the residents. He said this is a
tremendous cost to the City and the City does not have the capability to absorb these
costs.
Mr. Budzinski said the pressing issues for the Fire Department include the minimal level
of service the City currently provides. He said any additional service or expansion of the
Department will require additional provisions. He said due to the increase in emergency
responses, the Department is no longer meeting the requirements. Further discussion
was held regarding the need for increased staff.
Mr. Budzinski said there is a meeting scheduled with the EMS Review Committee on
Thursday regarding the ALS application, which makes a recommendation to the
Broward County Commission. He explained the various repairs done to the aerial
platform and the ongoing repair needs to the Department's equipment. Discussion was
held regarding the equipment needs.
With no further business, Vice Mayor Katz ADJOURNED this meeting at 4:50 p.m.
CAROL A. EVANS, CMC
CITY CLERK
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