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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-01-30 - City Commission Workshop Meeting MinutesMAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC. FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING January 21, 1985 JOINT MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE AND PLANNING COMMISSION TAMARAC, FLORIDA There will be a Joint workshop Meeting of the City Council, Beautification Committee and Planning Commission on Wednesday, January 30, 1985, at 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 N.W. 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida. The purpose of this workshop meeting is discussion of the Municipal Facilities. The public is invited to attend. Carol E. Barbuto Assistant City Clerk "An Equal Opportunity Employer" 1 1 it 41 ;AM* JOINT WORKSHOP MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL, PLANNING COMMISSION AND BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE January 30, 1985 Tape 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz called the meeting to order on Wednesday, January 30, 1985, at 9:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers. ROLL CALL: PRESE T: CITY COUNCIL: BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE: PLANNING COMMISSION: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Philip B. Kravitz Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein Councilman Jack Stelzer Councilman Raymond J. Munitz Councilman Allan C. Bernstein Chairman Florence Bochenek Morris Landman Seymour Stein Howard Kusnick Lynn Redfield Brewster Hoffman Nicholas Camerano William Sutter (absent) Chairman Arthur H. Gottesman Vice Chairman Herman Larry Bender Commissioner Martin Schoenfeld Commissioner Lynn Redfield Commissioner Lee Rappaport Commissioner Jerry Leibowitz Commissioner Emil.B tner(absent) Commissioner Saul Mesinger (absent) Elly F. Johnson, City Manager Jon M. Henning, City Attorney Carol E. Barbuto, Assistant City Clerk Joann Colwell, Secretary Tape 1 MEDITATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Kravitz called for a Moment of Silent Meditation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Kravitz noted for the record that this meeting was called at the request of the Chairpeople of both the Planning Commission and the Beautification Committee. He said the purpose of the meeting is discussion of the municipal facilities. Planning Commission Chairman Gottesman pointed out that the drawings that were submitted weeks ago are not the same as those displayed today. Craig Kenyon said he and George Miller of Miller & Meier Archi- tects are working for the City and it is their responsibility to design a City Hall and Police facility to the City's needs. He said they have had input from City staff, Council and are seeking input from the Planning Commission and Beautification Committee. George Miller said they have tried to develop a site plan with easy access, especially for the Fire and Police Departments. He said the median cut is set for this purpose and the Fire Depart- ment should remain at its present location. He said if too many curb cuts were set between this location there would be confusion without easy acceleration lanes. 1 r 1/30/85 /pm �� Mr. Miller said they tried to locate City Hall in a place to be seen well from the road and act as a hub of the complex with visitor parking and drop off area in front of City Hall. He said the City workers would park in the back of the complex with a circular drive around the property to allow easy traffic in and out of these parking lots. Mr. Kenyon said they spoke with the DOT regarding the opportunity for a traffic signal at this intersection and they said they agree there is a need for a signal at this location. He said the DOT's process is to review traffic flow after the facility is open and they have agreed to initiate that process now and to immediately move forward on this. Nicholas Camerano of the Beautification Committee, said when this was presented to the Beautification Committee, they thought this was only one lane around the property and they discovered that it was two-way. He said the Committee felt another exit was needed to go south to help relieve some of the traffic. Mr. Miller said there is the possibility of cutting in at that point and making a right turn; however, the problem is there is no median cut at that location and could cause confusion. He said the hardest problem they encountered is where to cross the median. Florence Bochenek Chairperson of the Beautification Committee, said the Beautification Committee objected to the fact that the first impression of this complex by the observer is that of a parking lot in front. She suggested the building be moved to the front of the area so that it be most apparent. Mr. Miller said exposure, view and convenience must be considered but the entrances from most buildings today are from the parking lots and not from the street. He said the concept of turning the entrance the most important part of the building, to the back where the parking would be was not appealing. He said to solve the problem they put a small area for visitors parking in the front. Mr. Miller said they designed the two-story building with an important entrance at this point with light, view and sculpture. Mrs. Bochenek said they want convenience for the visitors but they also want a beautiful complex to be seen from the road. Mr. Miller said it will be a predominant part of the property and he noted that the entrance to City Hall should not be a back door. Mrs. Bochenek said another area of concern is the Police facility and she questioned why the emergency road was not placed with a separate ingress/egress for safety purposes. C/M Bernstein asked how many parking spaces are provided for visitors and Mr. Kenyon said 52 spaces are planned in the front but there are a total of 378 parking spaces on the site. He said they had responded to the Planning Commission's request to in- crease parking. C/M Bernstein asked about overflow parking since there could be as many as three hundred visitors to the City Hall complex at one time. Mr. Kenyon said the site is 14 acres and they are limited to the acreage of the site. He said the green space, buildings and parking are all very important and must work together. He said they showed a maximum amount of parking leaving space for a community center which may be developed in the future. 2 1/30/85 /pm C/M Bernstein asked what provision has been made if the parking should prove inadequate in the future and Mr. Kenyon said at this present City Hall there are 155 parking spaces in the lot with approximately 60 spaces added in the gravelled area to the south, totalling over 200 spaces. He said there are almost double that amount provided for with this new facility. He said there is always the possibility that there will not be enough parking for an unusual situation but there is a limited site to work with. C/M Bernstein said frequently fire stations have signals espec- ially designed to control the traffic signal as a warning when there is a fire and the trucks must leave the site. He asked if this will be used at this location and Mr. Miller said it is recommended and the City can apply to the County for this. C/M Bernstein asked what consideration was given to the problem of both police and fire vehicles responding simultaneously on an emergency basis. Mr. Kenyon said the two independent ingress and egress areas from the location would cover this situation. V/M Stein referred to the Council Minutes of 9/12/84 at which time the Police and Fire facilities were planned to be together. He said; however, the Police and Fire Departments objected to this arrangement and the Council took staff's recommendations and split these departments. Mrs. Bochenek said one of the Beautification Committee's objec- tions about the entire project was that they received all of this information but the members of the Committee were not aware of what was suggested. She repeated her concern that the City Hall will not be as prominent as the Police Station. Mr. Miller said the City Hall will be prominent because it is two stories tall and, with the skylight material planned, will be lit brightly at night with shadowed areas around it. He said the main hall or auditorium will also light up; therefore, there is no way the City Hall will take a second position. Seymour Stein, of the Beautification Committee, said the Boca Raton City Hall has parking on the side with no parking in the front and he questioned whether any provisions have been made for the proposed Community Center. Planning Commissioner Schoenfeld said if the City builds a Com- munity Center, there will be provisions for sufficient parking. Bruce Hoffman of the Beautification Committee, said a major concern is that there is only one ingress/egress for the whole property and this will be a very busy complex. He suggested the County be requested to provide another median cut for official use only. Morris Landman of the Beautification Committee, said the City Hall should be a point of beauty within the City and he objected to the Police and Fire Department facilities having prominent places for Tape 2 viewing on the property. Lynn Redfield of the Beautification Committee and Planning Com- mission, asked the present grade elevation of the site in relation to flood criteria and Mr. Kenyon said the building is required by the South Florida Building Code to be above 100 years storm flood criteria, which would give the elevation of the site from 10 to 11. Mr. Redfield asked if they have considered making this higher to gain some prominence and Mr. Kenyon said it is above the criteria by two feet now. 3 1/30/85 /pm Mr. Redfield said one of the auxiliary uses of a municipal complex such as this is as an emergency shelter during hurricane or storm and he noted this should be sufficiently elevated because of that. He questioned whether any consideration was given to demolishing the present Fire Station, continuing 75 St. as a dead-end road and having the various buildings combined to funnel into a 75 St. intersection which is signalized and could be improved. Mr. Kenyon said the funds set aside in the bond issue did not contemplate reconstruction of the Fire Station. Mr. Redfield said he would like to see the concept he just mentioned considered further. He suggested the visitors parking area in the front of the building be eliminated and established elsewhere with use of the front area for overflow parking in the future when and if it is necessary. Mr. Miller said if the Fire Station is relocated, the problem is that the Fire Department wants prime access of that road to fight fires. He said if time is added to their immediate egress it could cause problems and it is not good planning to put an exit in front of the Fire Station. He said to bring the building forward and eliminate visitor parking would cause the building to be turned around because the visitors would have to park in the back and walk all around the building to enter. Mrs. Bochenek said a great deal of money has already been expended but she noted that she would rather see money wasted now and have the building completed the way it should be then to have something that is not acceptable. She said most of the members of the Beautification Committee are objecting to where the buildings are being placed on the site. C/M Stelzer said the Council asked the people to permit the building of a City Hall complex, issue bonds and, after question- ing where this complex should be built, the people agreed to have this on 88 Ave. He said the Council hired Miller & Meier at public meetings and has reviewed these plans several times. He said public input is always sought and yet no one from the Plann- ing Commission or Beautification Committee gave any input. Mrs. Bochenek said their objections are that the normal procedure was not followed and the Beautification Committee did not have the plans submitted to them. Planning Commissioner Gottesman said the normal procedure is that they review these plans and they were not informed that plans were being submitted to Council for approval. He said they received the plans after Council approved them and 3/4 of the money allocated for engineering was spent. Commissioner Gottesman said since Council already accepted this concept, he questioned whether comments of either the Planning Commission or Beautification Committee would be considered. He said there are 14 acres of land but the Fire Station is presently on 2 acres leaving only 12 acres for this complex. He said they are planning for the year 2000 and this building is totally inadequate. Commissioner Gottesman said the architects have said that the new City Hall is being planned for 50,000 people and he thinks a rotunda for 250 people is much too small. He said the architect has told him that 88 Ave. will eventually become a 3 lane road. He said he was told there has been a model in existence for 9 months now and he questioned why the Planning Commission has not been shown this. 1 IJ 4 1/30/85 /pm � 4 1 Commissioner Gottesman said he cannot foresee a Community Center at this location. He said he has been told by the Administration that in the near future there will be approximately 400 employees and he questioned where this many people would park. City Manager Johnson said he did not tell Commissioner Gottesman that and he questioned where he got these figures. Commissioner Gottesman said he was talking about more than 400 people by the year 2000. City Manager Johnson said they would not all be in that building. Commissioner Gottesman repeated that there will be a parking and safety problem with the proposed situation there. City Manager Johnson said there was the largest crowd at the last Council meeting in recent history and there were still several vacant spaces. C/M Stelzer said he is not against input from the Planning Commission and Beautification Committee but he questioned where they were from March, 1984 to the present. Lee Rappaport of the Planning Commission, asked why a service road is not provided in the northern area of the property for Police use only. Mr. Miller said the problem is that there is no access across the median at this point. Commissioner Schoenfeld said there are three main issues raised here today: 1. The entire complex is insufficient for the year 2000. He suggested this be eliminated from discussion since this is a major decision on the part of Council. 2. Aesthetics vs. Efficiency - He suggested the visitor parking be put on the side with the building put up front. 3. Entrances and exits - He suggested another exit be considered with a deceleration lane separate and apart from the road. Nicholas Camerano of the Beautification Committee, said 6 months ago he suggested the Police Station be located elsewhere since the acreage would be sufficient for City Hall alone. Mr. -Miller said they were told by the DOT that the emphasis was on maintaining these two lanes as strong entrances and exits but he will discuss this further with them. Commissioner Schoenfeld said if there is more good created by another exit, it is more import- ant than isolated instances of people making right turns and U turns. Mr. Miller said the building is designed and turned north/south to meet the ecology of the area using the sun on the building for light and control for cooling. He said if they turned the building they would have to reevaluate the complete mechanical system. He said this is done by State Law and they must conform because the Code demands they do this. Commissioner Schoenfeld said the study should relate to moving the building forward and concluding which direction the building will face. Larry Bender, Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission, said the drawing shows a large complex in a small area of space. He noted that there is vacant space between buildings, parking spaces and roads which could be reduced by proper traffic patterns. Mr. Kenyon said the parking spaces cover approximately 70% of the open space when the Fire Station and the proposed Community Center are considered. He said the resulting open space is the result of the City's Ordinances requiring green spaces on municipal pro- jects. He said the green area is broken up because access was the primary controlling factor. 5 1/30/85 /pm Howard Kusnick of the Beautification Committee, said for aesthetic purposes, the Police Station should be moved back on the same angle with the City Hall moved forward on the same angle. He said the visitor parking could be considered on the side instead of the front. Mr. Miller said the roofs act as canopies and, if moved forward, it would challenge the loop road to where it will be located. Mrs. Bochenek asked if the Police Station could be moved further over and back so that the City Hall could be moved forward. Morton Student, resident, said the City Hall, rather than the parking lot, should be seen from 88 Ave. City Manager Johnson suggested that the City staff have an oppor- tunity for input as well and Mayor Kravitz said they will have that opportunity. Don Scribner, resident, suggested the Police Department be elimin- ated entirely with the County taking over the police activities of the City. Mayor Kravitz said that is out of order at this time. Commissioner Redfield asked the status of the electrical, mechani- cal and air conditioning drawings is at this time and Mr. Miller said they are all moving together. Commissioner Redfield asked what ceiling is proposed for City Hall and Mr. Kenyon said most of it is tile ceiling. Commissioner Gottesman questioned whether the Police Department could stay in the present City Hall with a revamping and Mayor Kravitz said Council decided long ago that this was not feasible. Commissioner Rappaport asked what is planned for the present City Hall property and Mayor Kravitz said that has not been decided at this time. City Manager Johnson said Commissioner Gottesman made the comment that the procedure in the Code had not been followed on this project and he noted that this site plan was displayed in the hallway of City Hall for some time. Tape 3 City Manager Johnson suggested Council question the architect regarding what the costs would be to make the suggested changes. Richard Rubin, City Planner, said he was not present when the accusation was made that improper procedures were followed regard- ing the site plan and he asked what the problem is. Commissioner Gottesman said he and others have commented that these drawings were submitted to them after they were approved by the Council and this is the reverse procedure that is normally followed. Mr. Rubin said the City Council is the client, this is their building and they have instructed the architect where it is to be conceptually located. He said the Council has not approved the drawings but has instructed the architect to prepare the working drawings. Mr. Kenyon said the Council reviews the drawings at each phase, schematic, design and working drawings and presently, they have accepted the design and authorized development of the working drawings. Mr. Rubin said when Mr. Kenyon prepares a final site plan, as required by the City Code, the procedure is that it must be reviewed by the City Engineer, City Planner, Chief Building Official and the Fire Chief: 1 1 R 1/30/85 /pm 1 I Mr. Rubin said when they feel the drawings comply with the law, they are submitted to the Beautification Committee first. He said this was done, there were questions and they wanted the Planning Commission's input. He said this was immediately placed on the next agenda for the Planning Commission and, based upon that, this Workshop meeting was called. City Attorney Henning said he received memos from Mr. Rubin that on 11/6/84, 12/4/84, 12/11/84 and 12/18/84, the site plan went through staff review with comments and suggestions at each meet- ing. He said this site plan has not been approved by the Council but is at the stage of consideration of both the Planning Com- mission and the Beautification Committee. Mr. Henning said if the changes recommended are agreed to by the developer, which in this case is the City Council, the drawings may have to be redone. He said what was approved by the Council on 9/12/84 was the general locations of the buildings on the site plan. He said this Workshop meeting is to fine tune the details, such as, how many lanes of driveway, handicapped spaces, traffic control devices, parking locations, lighting, etc. He said; however, the basic locations of the buildings was discussed for months by the Council and was agreed upon in September. Mrs. Bochenek said she is sorry her Committee did not have an opportunity for input on the placement of the buildings on this site. Commissioner Gottesman said the biggest problem they have concerns the location of the buildings and he noted that 70 to 75% of the money for engineering drawings has been spent already. Mr. Henning noted for the record that the architects are not authorized to do any work as a result of this meeting until it is brought up at a regular meeting. Mayor Kravitz adjourned the meeting at 10:45 a.m. I L"lowdK"M MA 0119 i This public document was promulgated at a cost of $103.50 or $2.88 per copy to inform the general public and public officers and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the Council of the City of Tamarac. ILI 7 1/30/85 /pm