HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-05-17 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesCity Council Workshop Meeting
5/17/93/KJ
Page 1
CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 17, 1993
Mayor Bender called this meeting to order on
Monday, May 17, 1993 at 9:00 a.m. in the Conference Room #1 of City
Hall.
Mayor H. Larry Bender
Vice Mayor Irving Katz
Councilman Norman Abramowitz
Councilman Henry Schumann
Councilman Joseph Schreiber
John P. Kelly, City Manager
Dina McDermott, Assistant City Manager
(entered at 9:25 a.m.)
Mitchell S. Kraft, City Attorney
Kelly Carpenter, Director of Community Development
(entered at 9:45 a.m.)
Karen Jackson, Secretary
1. DISCIISM= regarding Charter Board terms of office to
coordinate with Council's terms of office. (Section 8.01)
C/M Abramowitz said this is an excellent suggestion based on the
previous election.
V/M Katz said he has no problems with this recommendation.
C/M Schumann said he has no problems with this.
Mort Winter, Charter Board Chair, stated that the Charter Board
had brought this to Council's attention prior to the last
election, but it was not acted upon.
2. 2i4rUSSION regarding any Council member being able to
succeed himself more than once. (Section 4.02)
V/M Katz said the limitations by Charter state that a Council
member can only succeed himself without an intervening term. He
made reference to a newspaper article from 1988 regarding term
succession by Helen Massaro. He said the Council members should be
allowed to serve if the electorate wants them to serve.
C/M Abramowitz said the voters should be able to make the choice.
C/M Schumann suggested that the voters make the choice and it must
go on the ballot.
Mr. Winter asked what the effective date would be for this and
Mayor Bender said a determination would have to be made following
legal consultation.
Discussion was held regarding items that were on referendum from
the previous elections.
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3. DISCUSSION regarding taking Council compensation out of the
Charter by Ordinance. (Section 4.04)
V/M Katz suggested to the Mayor and the City Manager that some of
these items should be reviewed and if they are agreed upon, that
they be put on referendum. He said this item was discussed prior
to the last election and it was decided that it not be placed on
the referendum.
V/M Katz said this alludes to taking the Council compensation out
of the Charter. He recommended an alternative means of
compensating the Mayor and Council which would be by the action of
the State, the same as they do for the County. He requested that
Mayor Bender describe this procedure.
Mayor Bender said he has had concerns regarding this portion of
the Charter. He said after examining how the State and County
regulate, it makes sense to remove this from the Charter and
provide for the State to handle it. He said doing this will
eliminate all current and future problems that may arrive as a
result of regulating compensation.
C/M Abramowitz said he is against taking the Council compensation
out of the Charter because at one time there may be a Council who
is financially responsible and another time a Council may not be.
Mayor Bender said the State has formulas they use involving
density, population, budget amounts and other such items.
C/M Schumann said he is in favor of this if it is other than the
Council controlling it.
Mayor Bender said the formula is regulated by the State and the
information used for setting these compensations is published by
the State.
4. DISCUSSION regarding going back to At -Large elections.
(Section 6.04)
V/M Katz said there were so many complaints from the previous
election, he felt it was necessary to have Council discuss it
again.
C/M Abramowitz said what happened at the last election took away
the power of the people of the City to make a determination as to
who would be representing them on the Council. He said At -Large
elections do have a place in an area where there is a tremendous
amount of voters. He said it is extremely difficult and expensive
to run At -Large. He said there was a problem in the past where
minorities could not get elected to office because there were
minority areas that were overwhelmed by the population of the
City. He said Tamarac is a City with approximately 30,000 voters.
C/M Schumann recommended that the City remain with district
voting. He said district voting prevents any political
organization from altering a vote in a district other than their
own.
V/M Katz recommended that this be brought before Council again
when C/M Schreiber is in attendance for further discussion.
Anthony Grimaldi, resident, said this was discussed during the
General Election and the courts ruled that the At -Large election
was not in the best interest of the people and the people of
Tamarac voted to not have the At -Large elections any more.
Discussion was held regarding At -Large elections.
Mayor Bender said this is a decision that should be made by the
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5/17/93/KJ
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residents and should be placed on an agenda for further
discussion.
C/M Schumann said the people passed this by an overwhelming
majority during the last election and now Council wants to have it
removed.
Discussion was held regarding the election process for the mayor.
5. QJS=22ION regarding Council taking a four -consecutive week
vacation. (Section 4.06)
V/M Katz said every year there has been a problem of trying to
squeeze four or five weeks of reading into one week because the
Charter states the Council must take four consecutive weeks of
vacation time. He said historically, these weeks have been at the
time that the City is required to have figures for Mr. Markham's
office. He said he is uncomfortable giving a vote on something
about which he is not fully aware. He stated that Council should
be able to determine when the best time is for them to take off
and whether or not they want consecutive weeks for vacation.
C/M Abramowitz said Staff has the ability to do more work during
the four weeks that Council is off. He said this is a period of
time when many people are on vacation. He asked if the time that
Council takes for vacation is considered disruptive.
Mr. Kelly said it is not a question of being disruptive. He said
the provision in the City Charter where it dictates when Council
shall take vacation is inappropriate. He said Council should be
able to take vacation whenever they want.
V/M Katz said the City does not shut down and if the City Manager
needs a vote on an item, but needs to wait four consecutive weeks
for Council action, then it is not in the best interest of the
City.
Mr. Kelly said any reference of the Council taking a vacation
should be out of the Charter.
C/M Abramowitz said he would like to know when his vacation is
going to be scheduled well in advance.
Mayor Bender said the Charter is a general guideline of rules and
regulations which should not be contaminated with administrative
instructions.
Mr. Kraft said the purpose of this being in the Charter is based
on the meetings being held two times per month. He asked if the
terminology should be in the Charter that the Council meets two
times per month, except when vacation is so designated.
CONSENSUS OF OPINION. ALL AGREED
6. DISCUSS?ON regarding night meetings.
C/M Abramowitz said he would be against changing to two night
meetings due to many people in the City who have difficulty
driving at night.
V/M Katz said the consideration was for two night meetings. He
said he is on the Board of Directors of a number of organizations
and one of those meetings conflicts with the fourth Wednesday of
the month Council meeting. He said he was offered work as a
consultant part-time with an Engineering firm but had to refuse
due to being at the Council meeting. He said holding two night
meetings may benefit a younger person who may want to run for
office but also held a job during the day.
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C/M Abramowitz asked if Staff is paid overtime when they attend
the night meetings.
Mr. Kelly said compensatory time is accrued most of the time and
occasionally overtime is paid.
C/M Abramowitz said Staff is present during the day and it is a
little less expensive to hold the day meetings.
Mayor Bender said Council originally decided to hold the night
meetings to give the residents who work an opportunity to attend
Council meetings. He said the attendance at the night meetings has
been sparse. He said based on the public participation at the
night meetings, he questions whether the night meetings should be
continued. He said the night meetings are a burden on the elected
officials and the employees who have to attend them. He
recommended that the night meetings be canceled.
C/M Abramowitz recommended that the meetings remain as is.
C/M Schumann recommended that they remain the same.
7. DISCUSSION regarding holding workshop meetings on Fridays.
V/M Katz suggested that Council hold workshop meetings on Fridays,
which is the best day for him to attend.
Mayor Bender said he is not
in favor of designating
a specific day
for any special or workshop
meeting.
C/M Abramowitz said he is not
in favor of this. He
said many of
the Council members serve on
various other boards or
committees
which is in the City's best
interest. He encouraged
further
involvement and recommended
that other arrangements
should be made
when there is any conflict in
meeting times.
C/M Schumann said he is in favor of calling a workshop meeting
when needed.
8. DISCUSSION regarding Code Enforcement officer.
Ms. McDermott said the Administration has been reviewing the
departments on a 6-month review basis.
TAPE 2
Ms. McDermott said during the past year the City had three Code
Enforcement officers and a Supervisor of Developmental Services.
She said the City no longer has the position of Supervisor of
Developmental Services and the City has expanded the Code
Enforcement Division.
Ms. McDermott said the City has five Code officers on the road,
school crossing guards under the purview of the Community
Development Department and there is quite a bit of new development
within the Planning Department. She said there is a very large gap
of proper supervision for Code Enforcement. She said the City's
goal is to put somebody in the field who would handle all of the
districts and monitor all of the activities of the Code and who
can intercede with the community, the Code officers and assist the
communities on an as --needed basis.
Ms. McDermott said one of the other concerns for the 1993/94
Budget is to start some community clean-up days where the City
would go into a neighborhood and Code Enforcement would help to
organize and schedule it through the Homeowners' Associations and
the waste hauler.
Ms. McDermott said the City is looking to add a Supervisor for
Code Enforcement.
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C/M Abramowitz said he understands the need for this. He asked if
this person would also be a Code officer in the field and Ms.
Carpenter said, yes.
C/M Abramowitz asked if they are considering someone who is
currently on the City's payroll and Ms. Carpenter said the
position will have to be posted in-house and any of the existing
officers will be able to apply for that position. She said if none
of them are hired, it would be advertised in the newspaper.
C/M Abramowitz said he is against hiring a Supervisor for five
people and he understands that there is a big problem with school
crossing guards. He asked if the plan would be for the duties of
this person to include being an active Code Enforcement Officer
who would supervise the Code Enforcement officers and the crossing
guards.
Ms. Carpenter said the proposal on the table did not include the
school crossing guards but it can be part of the proposal if that
is what Council chooses to do.
C/M Abramowitz said there are more problems with the crossing
guards than there are with the Code Enforcement Officers.
Mr. Kelly said Staff is looking to privatize the crossing guards
this year, which will be discussed during the Budget process.
Mayor Bender said he spoke with the Sheriff's office regarding the
situation with the school crossing guards in Woodmont, where there
are children sitting in the street who are in danger of getting
hit by a car. Discussion was held regarding this.
V/M Katz said a working Foreman would be fine, but he does not
want to establish the same situation as when Steve Oxenhandler was
working for the City as Supervisor of Developmental Services.
Ms. Carpenter said the Code Enforcement Officers can be supervised
very well in the office. She said the problem that she has is
supervising them in the field when she is managing the Planning
Department and the school crossing guards, as well as Code
Enforcement. She said it is difficult for her to get out in the
field on a daily basis.
C/M Abramowitz said she is not being paid to go out in the field
to check on the Code Enforcement Officers.
Ms. Carpenter said there is no one being paid to do this, which is
the problem at present. She said when the Department was
consolidated, the City did not envision the need for monitoring
the officers in the field on a daily or an as -needed basis.
Ms. McDermott said it would not only be for monitoring the Code
officers, but would be assisting in areas where a business or a
resident may have a problem that they would like someone of a
higher authority to try and resolve.
Mayor Bender questioned the salary of $39,129 per year and the
amount of benefits included. Discussion was held regarding the
salary, benefits and the job description.
Mayor Bender said this salary seems to be a bit high.
C/M Abramowitz said that salary is a bit high and asked how many
officers the City of Sunrise has.
Ms. McDermott said six or seven.
C/M Abramowitz said if the salary is too high from the offset,
there is no incentive if they are good and they would be making as
much money as Department Heads. He said he would look to get a
City Council Workshop Meeting
5/17/93/KJ
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qualified person for less money.
Mayor Bender questioned the benefit package and asked what type of
benefit packages other cities offer and Ms. Carpenter said she did
not research benefit packages, just salaries. Further discussion
was held regarding benefit packages.
C/M Abramowitz recommended that surveys be done with other cities
that are comparable to Tamarac.
C/M Schumann referred to a previous memo regarding the Director of
Developmental Services position which was eliminated. He asked who
would be the Community Development Director and asked if the
Developmental Services Director would supervise Code Enforcement.
Ms. Carpenter said the position of Developmental Services Director
had specific day-to-day supervision requirements over Code
Enforcement officers. She said that position also had a Building
Official who supervised the Building Department on a day-to-day
basis. She said when the Code Enforcement Division and school
crossing guards were combined into Community Development, there
was no person with the time to do the day-to-day supervising of
the school crossing guards or the Code officers, which was added
over and above what she currently did.
Ms. Carpenter said after living through it for a year, there is an
additional person needed to assist with the complaints from the
field, where the Code officer cannot handle it, and the day-to-day
supervision of those officers.
Ms. Carpenter said she is having trouble maintaining the
supervision in the office and in the field.
V/M Katz asked if the City would be eliminating one of the Code
officers from the field or increasing the Department to six
officers.
Mr. Kelly said both options are being considered.
Mayor Bender recommended that considerations be made to cover the
City with an extra person on Staff if it is needed.
C/M Abramowitz said he agrees that another Code officer would be
beneficial to the City.
C/M Schumann said he has no comment either way regarding this.
Mayor Bender said there are two parts to this question, one is the
establishment of a supervisor position for Code officers and the
other item is the concern regarding the salary. He recommended
that further surveys be done regarding the salary of this
supervisor and he has no objection to creating this position.
9. DISCUSSION regarding the Commercial Boulevard Beautification
Joint Proiect with the Citv of Sunrise.
Ms. McDermott introduced Paul Callsen, Director of Public Works
for the City of Sunrise. She said there was a meeting between the
City Manager of Sunrise, Mr. Kelly and the Staff regarding the
beautification of Commercial Boulevard from the Sawgrass
Expressway to Pine Island Road.
Ms. McDermott said at present, the City of Tamarac maintains a
portion of that median and Sunrise maintains a portion of it. She
said there has been discussion to do a joint beautification
project along that roadway; Tamarac would maintain a portion of
the roadway after the improvements have been installed and Sunrise
would do the same.
F�11
1
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C/M Abramowitz asked how much this would cost and Mr. Kelly
recommended that the presentation be heard prior to discussing
figures.
Ms. McDermott said the project encompasses total median, which
includes curbing, irrigation, brick pavers, ground cover, plants,
trees and shrubs. She said this is a key gateway area of Land
Section 7.
Mr. Callsen said one of the responsibilities of the Sunrise Public
Works Department is the development and maintenance of public
rights -of -way such as medians. He said at present, the City of
Sunrise is involved in the Community Enrichment Program, which is
a major capital improvements program. He said one component of
that program is a project for median development which will
include some border medians.
Mr. Callsen said Tamarac and Sunrise share some common boundary
along Commercial Boulevard starting at the intersection of Pine
Island Road, going west to the Sawgrass Expressway. He said the
City of Sunrise has employed a landscape architect to design this
project. He said this project has been broken down into two
phases, easy and hard. He said the easy part is under
construction, which are completely Sunrise -owned streets not
needing permits from the County or the State.
Mr. Callsen said the harder part is the more
administratively
complex projects. He said this shared boundary
that exists between
the two cities is approximately 1.7 miles. He said there is
curbing and a few trees that do not fit into
the Florida
Department of Transportation Code 546.
Mr. Callsen said the portion of the roadway
from Pine Island Road
to Nob Hill Road is a City street, the north
owned by Tamarac and
the south owned by Sunrise. He said from Nob
Hill Road to the
Sawgrass Expressway is County roadway to the
point where the
Sawgrass limited access right-of-way begins.
He said this
particular section of roadway is governed by
at least four
governmental agencies.
Mr. Callsen displayed the concept proposed by the City of Sunrise
which was created for one of those medians. Discussion was held
regarding this concept which includes pavers and trees.
C/M Schumann asked if this would be irrigated or xeriscaped and
Mr. Callsen said it would be irrigated.
Ms. McDermott said the proposal would be that Tamarac would pay
for half of the funding and would maintain half of the median and
Sunrise would fund and maintain the other half. She said it would
be curbed, irrigated, sodded, ground cover, trees, plants and
interlocking pavers.
C/M Abramowitz asked if Tamarac had previously been involved in a
similar project and Ms. McDermott said the City had been but this
is going to be handled in a different manner.
Ms. McDermott said the City is trying to create an image to
Tamarac and in the process, trying to establish the western
corridor to bring future business and growth. She said Pulte Homes
is developing in that vicinity and realtors and other agents are
looking at Land Section 7 for multiple uses. She said the goal is
to make that area look like it is part of the City of Tamarac. She
said there is work and funding in place for an area which is
immediately adjacent to this section.
Mayor Bender asked why the County keeps being discussed and Ms.
McDermott said all those agencies are involved and they have
ownership of pieces of the roadway from Nob Hill Road to the
bridge at the Sawgrass Expressway. Discussion was held regarding
City Council Workshop Meeting
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the median projects with the County.
Mr. Callsen said the County may or may not decide to develop this
roadway in the future. He said the approximate cost of this
project will be $140,000 for the development, which includes the
irrigation systems and all of the landscaping and hardscaping. He
said the maintenance costs cannot by calculated until a design is
chosen.
C/M Abramowitz asked if there is any possibility that the
developers can pay for a portion of the median maintenance and
development.
Mr. Callsen said it is mandatory in Sunrise that all developers
pay a median development fee.
Mr. Kelly said the City of Tamarac does have opportunities for
negotiations with the developers for participation in this. He
said Sunrise is ready to make a commitment there. He said this is
a chance to handle the medians properly with a potential partner
who has a great track record for beautification projects in the
City of Sunrise. He said this will be cost effective for both
cities and he would not like to miss an opportunity to do this
project right instead of letting the County or the Department of
Transportation handle this.
V/M Katz asked if this precludes the City of Tamarac from getting
the funds from Pulte or any other developer.
Mr. Kelly said the City of Sunrise just has to know that Tamarac
is willing to cost -share in this project but how Tamarac gets its
money is Tamarac's business.
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: ALL AGREED
TAPE 3
Mayor Bender RECESSED the meeting at 10:35 a.m. and RECONVENED
at 10:40 a.m. with ALL PRESENT.
10. DISCUS61ON regarding Ordinance 0-93-9, which amended Chapter
23 of the Code regarding requests for temporary holiday sales
from wayside stands. (July 4, Halloween and Christmas)
C/M Abramowitz said at the last Council meeting, an Ordinance was
passed giving permission for July 4, Halloween and Christmas sales
for sparklers, pumpkins and Christmas trees. He said he has
received a number of calls from the organizations involved in
these sales, such as the Boy Scouts of America and St. Malachy's
Church, regarding a performance bond which is required. He said to
get a $10,000 performance bond is prohibitive. He said there is no
problem with the insurance requirements.
C/M Abramowitz said he received copies of the Ordinances from
neighboring cities and Broward County and all of them originally
required a $10,000 performance bond and have subsequently changed
it to $1,000.
C/M Schumann asked why a performance bond is required when they
are not in a contract with the City. Discussion was held regarding
this.
C/M Abramowitz said another concern was the $500 fee and he
recommended that the fee be reduced to $250.
C/M Schumann suggested that the requirement for a performance bond
be eliminated.
Mr. Kraft said the purpose of the performance bond is additional
City Council Workshop Meeting
5/17/93/KJ
Page 9
assurance to the City if there is
said it is Council's prerogative
performance bond.
something not done properly. He
to require or dismiss the
Discussion was held regarding the performance bond requirements.
Abramowitz said the vendors are requesting that Council change
th�perft)i*ance bond from $10,000 to $1,000 and the fee from $500
`:Mayor $eri&r said the performance bond is not necessary. Further
djscussanh was held regarding this and the cleanup process by the
vendb s
C/M Abramowitz recommended that the fee be reduced to $250 and, if
Council wants to waive it for any group, it would be Council's
decision to do so.
Mayor Bender said the consensus is to reduce the fee to $250 and
to eliminate the performance bond.
Mr. Kelly said Pulte Homes has requested permission to pay their
required traffic impact tees in phases as opposed to being paid in
advance.
Ms. Carpenter said in the past, Council had changed the platting
Ordinance to allow park impact fees to be paid at the time of site
plan rather than at the time of platting. She said Pulte Homes is
objecting to traffic impact fees being required at the time of
site plan and are requesting these fees be paid at the time of
building permit but the Code does not provide for the ability to
pay the traffic impact fees in phases.
V/M Katz said he has no problem with these fees being paid in
phases. He said Pulte Homes has a reputation for completing
projects which they begin and they are a reputable developer.
C/M Abramowitz said he would like to approve this based on the
need to bring business into the City of Tamarac. He said there are
certain things that will need to be changed in the future. He
asked what the City can do to be protected and Mr. Kraft said get
the money up front.
Ms. Carpenter said the concept of impact fees is that there has to
be a rational connection between the charging of the fee and the
use for which the money is put up. She said if Pulte Homes never
builds Phase 2, then by law, the City is not entitled to those
fees anyway and they would have to be returned at some point in
the future or they would sell that property with those fees to
someone else. Further discussion was held regarding this.
Ms. Carpenter said proposed amendments to the text in Chapter 10
will be made.
V/M Katz referred to a memo dated May 13, 1993, regarding the EMS
Service.
C/M Abramowitz said as the President of the Sroward League of
Cities, he received a letter from Mr. Osterholt to address the
League regarding the EMS Service. He said Margate and Sunrise
admitted that they make no money on the EMS Service and it is very
costly to run.
V/M Katz said the cost to the residents per month quoted by
Margate and Sunrise was $24 per person for a combined Fire
Department and EMS Service.
Mr. Kelly said this information has been requested and will be
provided to Council upon receipt for further discussion.
City Council Workshop Meeting
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Page 10
With no further business, Mayor Bender ADJOURNED this meeting at
11:05 a.m.