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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-04-26 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCITY OF TAMARAC CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING MONDAY, APRIL 26, 1999 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Schreiber called the workshop to order on Monday, April 26, 1999, at 9:30 a.m. in Conference Room #1 of Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. PRESENT: Mayor Joe Schreiber, Vice Mayor Larry Mishkin, Commissioner Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Karen L. Roberts and Commissioner Marc L. Sultanof. ALSO PRESENT: Robert S. Noe, Jr., City Manager, Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney, Tim Hemstreet, Assistant City Manager and Carol Gold, City Clerk. 1. 4/28/99 Agenda Items: Mayor Schreiber asked about Item 10(a), Investment Report, in particular, where the extra money came from, and City Manager Noe said he would look into it. Mayor Schreiber questioned item 11(b), Temporary Resolution #8566, authorizing the appropriate City Officials to award Bid #99-13B, entitled "Epoxy - Lined Ductile Iron Pipe and Fittings", to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder Southeastern Municipal Supply Company (SEMSCO) for $15,890.40. Mayor Schreiber said the bid on one item is about 50% lower than other bids and asked if this is normal. Purchasing/Contracts Manager Flurry responded that the price is reasonable. Mayor Schreiber questioned item 11(c), Temporary Resolution #8578, authorizing the appropriate Officials to accept and execute a Utility Easement Encroachment and Hold Harmless Agreement with SB University, LLC, NB University, LLC and 3510531 Canada, Inc., for the sidewalks erected in a utility easement in the McNab Marketplace (Wendy's) Project, located on the west side of University Drive and North of McNab Road. He asked why the City approved or permitted a sidewalk to be placed over a utility easement, and Utilities Director Woika responded. Commissioner Roberts said this is a connecting sidewalk, and if they did not put the sidewalk over the easement it they would have had to go around the easement. Mayor Schreiber asked about item 11(d), Temporary Resolution #8585, approving the use of School Bus Transportation for sponsored recreational programs and events, by entering into an Agreement with the School Board of Broward County for a total not to exceed $12,000 annually, approving funding from the appropriate accounts. He asked who is being transported, and City Manager Noe responded the summer camp children. Mayor Schreiber asked if the stormwater fee had been paid with regard to item 15, Temporary Resolution #8576, issuing Development Order No. 192.2 and granting New Development Site Plan approval to Beverly Enterprises, Inc., to allow the construction of a 64,531 square foot Assisted Living Facility (ALF), located at the southeast corner of University Drive and NW 64 Street; specifically a portion of Parcel "A" of the "Bruce Plat" according to the Plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 135, Page 11 of the Public Records of Broward County, 4/26/99 Florida; Case No. 32-SP-98. The response was that the fees have not yet been paid. Commissioner Roberts said she wanted to clarify that with regard to item 13, Temporary Ordinance #1849, second reading, amending Article II, Franchise Requirements and Responsibilities, of the City of Tamarac Cable Television Ordinance, that the sentence "increasing the maximum allowable Franchise Fee from 3% to 5%" means we have the ability to raise to 5% but we don't have to. City Clerk Gold indicated that there was a typographical error on the agenda, item 11(a) should read the minutes of the April 14, 199 Commission meeting, not April 10. 2. Public Information Committee Report: Vice Mayor Mishkin said he was debating whether the City should expand the mailing of the newsletter or discontinue the Tam -A -Gram entirely, since about 2,000 issues did not get delivered. Mayor Schreiber asked how many copies of the Tam -A -Gram were printed, and Public Information Officer Moore responded about 18,000. Mayor Schreiber said if 2,000 out of 18,000 did not reach their destination, that was not too bad, and it is the Commission's responsibility to provide the information but impossible to make people read it. Commissioner Roberts said in her neighborhood, the Tam -A -Grams are placed in Sun -Sentinel type machines, and people pick them up at their convenience, and she questioned whether mailing the Tam -A -Grams would only get them to residents who pay utility bills, Public Information Officer Moore said a separate mailing list was created for the City of Tamarac, which consists of approximately 26,500 households, but there is difficulty in measuring the effectiveness of the Tam -A -Gram. Of the 18,000 printed, 15,000 are set aside for distribution by volunteers, and the rest are placed in spots, such as libraries, to be picked up by residents. Commissioner Sultanof said Stan Bernard, of the Public Information Committee, was supposed to speak with the City Manager about delivery of the Tam -A -Gram and said he wants to know how much it will cost to send the Tam -A -Grams via bulk mail, using the lowest non-profit rate. Commissioner Portner said he lives in a single family home, with no homeowner association, and everyone is pleased to receive the Tam -A -Gram in the mail. Public Information Officer Moore said the average cost of mailing the Tam -A - Gram is about 16.5 cents per piece, which comes to about $4,000 per mailing. Commissioner Roberts asked what the printing costs are, and Public Information Officer Moore responded they are about the same for the Quarterly Report, and the printing cost only for the Tam -A -Gram is about $2,200. Vice Mayor Mishkin asked for an expression of interest to mail out six (6) issues of the Tam -A -Gram per year, and try this for one (1) year. There was an expression of interest. Walter Coghlin, 4806 NW 49 Court, Tamarac, FL 33319, spoke about mailing the Tam -A -Gram. 3. Economic Impact of Residential v. Commercial Development: Vice Mayor Mishkin said there has been a lot of talk about attracting businesses to 4/26/99 2 Tamarac to reduce the tax assessed to homeowners, and the memorandum from Community Development Director Miller confirms that. While business in Tamarac is very good, when a business closes at 5 P.M., the business does not use City services until the next morning, and homeowners need service 24 hours a day. Tamarac needs to attract businesses and perhaps the City should offer cost abatements. Vice Mayor Mishkin asked the City Manager and Community Development Director to make a stronger effort to attract businesses to the City. Mayor Schreiber said he read Mr. Miller's report and residential taxes do not cover the cost of providing services, while commercial and industrial taxes do. He feels Tamarac is doing very well compared to what it used to be but he said the owner of the south half of Tamarac Commerce Park is in no hurry to develop the property. Commissioner Portner said he has had dealings with the Pritzka family, and it is true they are in no hurry to do anything. He asked if the City would consider urban redevelopment, which is highly profitable. Commissioner Sultanof said since he first arrived in Tamarac, there has been movement; Walgreens, Eckerds, ALF's, and economic development does not happen overnight. Culligan is moving in and there will be more growth soon. Tamarac has been a bedroom community, while Coral Springs and Sunrise both have a lot of land to work with. Commissioner Portner said Tamarac has been a retirement community, but younger people are moving in and they are demanding more than Tamarac has to offer. The City needs a vision, because in the next 10 years it will not be a retirement community. Mayor Schreiber said Tamarac is not in the same league as Sunrise or Coral Springs, and we need to attract businesses from out of state. He would like to see the little pockets of land on Commercial Boulevard developed, and he feels the Community Development Department is doing a good job attracting economic development. Finance Director McGarrity responded to a question raised by Mayor Schreiber earlier in the meeting, regarding the Investment Portfolio. The overnight repos and bond proceeds were not put on the books and that is why there was extra money. 4. Florida Municipal Investment Trust: Vice Mayor Mishkin said the report was very enlightening, and he does not want to see a loosening of investment policies, and the Investment Advisory Board is doing a good job. Finance Director McGarrity responded that derivatives are not permitted in Government. S. Municipal Parking Lot Report: Commissioner Portner said there is a parking problem in Tamarac Lakes North with Handi Vans, and he questioned whether they could use the old parking lot that was previously condemned by the EPA. He asked if there could be some relaxing of the use of this piece of property, because if Handi Van cannot get relief they will try to take their business to Davie. Commissioner Portner said he learned it will cost about $278,000 to clean up the site and the revenue from Handi Van will not cover this 4/26/99 3 cost. He also questioned the scoring by the Department of Environmental Protection. Public Works Director Verma responded. Mayor Schreiber said that since this fell in Commissioner Portner's District, he should try to come up with a solution and bring it back to the Commission at another time. 7. Satellite City Hall -Site Location: Assistant City Manager Hemstreet gave a presentation and said the staff recommended Tamarac Square, north of Olde Time Pottery. Commissioner Sultanof and Mayor Schreiber questioned the location, and Assistant City Manager Hemstreet said Tamarac Square is accessible from Sunshine Plaza. Vice Mayor Mishkin asked to have this delayed for a few days so the Commission could look at the various sites. Mayor Schreiber suggested putting this item off until the next workshop. Commissioner Portner questioned the site in Sunshine Plaza and Assistant City Manager Hemstreet responded. Vice Mayor Mishkin said the exposure is more visual facing Commercial Boulevard than State Road 7, and also asked if BSO was going to participate. Assistant City Manager Hemstreet replied that BSO did not want to be active unless they were paid between $30,000-$50,000 per year. 6. Quarterly Report: Finance Director McGarrity made a presentation and there was discussion about sending out bills for the $20.00 turn on fee. City Attorney Kraft said the difficulty in waiving fees is the bond covenants, and there is nothing in the code that allows for free services. Finance Director McGarrity said fees are to recoup costs. Commissioner Roberts and Vice Mayor Mishkin both agreed that the City should waive the fees if it was the City's error that the people were not billed the $20.00. At 10:55 A.M. Commissioner Roberts left the meeting. Vice Mayor Mishkin asked for the progress on the internal auditor, and City Manager Noe responded that the City was unable to obtain a private firm to do the internal audit, and they would have to try to hire an internal auditor and raise the salary. Utilities Director Woika made a presentation and Mayor Schreiber said the wastewater capacity problem was growing and questioned purchasing space or establishing our own system. Utilities Director Woika responded and said chances of getting the necessary permits are very slim, and the City is in the process of doing a wastewater study now. Mayor Schreiber questioned the stormwater fund balance and asked if the City would consider a rate change at the end of the current year, and Public Works Director Verma said the money is earmarked for various projects. Commissioner Portner questioned landscaping on Commercial and Mr. Verma responded. Commissioner Portner asked about the 16" water main on Commercial Boulevard and 94th, and the proposed schedule and Mr. Woika responded. Commissioner Portner asked about the grant, which pays for hiring 4/26/99 4 more police for three years, and wanted to know what happens after the 3 years. City Manager Noe responded that after 3 years the City pays. City Manager Noe introduced the new Risk Manager James Sredzinski. 8. MediaOne Update: City Manager Noe said there will be a telephone conference with MediaOne this afternoon, MediaOne agreed to post a $100,000 bond and they are finishing the work. Vice Mayor Mishkin questioned the consequences if the City does not abate the fees. City Attorney Kraft said if we demand the fees there is the possibility we will be sued as charging an illegal tax, and may not have construction completed. Mr. Hemstreet said not having construction completed may cause MediaOne to breach contracts with other companies, which may in turn put the liability on the City for delaying construction. City Manager Noe said cable is the most important service the residents get, and for the City to have refused MediaOne to continue until the $800,000 permit fee was paid may have taken years to resolve. In the last several months, MediaOne has not performed as they should have, but previous to that there has been an amicable relationship with MediaOne. City Attorney Kraft said this is an area that may be litigated and he advised not discussing it at this time. Mayor Schreiber said the public is upset about the damage caused by their work. Also, some people do not have cable ready sets, and MediaOne took out the converters and charged twice as much for new ones. Vice Mayor Mishkin said he inquired about broadband a few months ago, that he told them to go ahead and install it, and was then told it would not be available until late 1999. City Manager Noe said MediaOne overestimated how quickly they would get it installed in the county. Vice Mayor Mishkin received a letter from the League of Cities regarding the passing of Walter Falk's wife, and asked if the Commission would like to send a letter of condolence. The consensus was to send a letter to Mr. Falk's daughter. There being no further business, Mayor Schreiber adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m. JOE SCHREIBER MAYOR CITY OF TAMARAC Carol Gold, MC/AAE- APPROVED AT MEETING OF City Clerk 4/26/99 5