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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-02-11 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes0 MAIL REPLY TO: P.O. BOX 25010 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320 5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE 6 TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321 TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900 February 8, 1988 NOTICE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING There will be a Workshop Meeting of the City Council on Thursday, February 11, 1988 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 5811 N.W. 88th Avenue, Tamarac� Florida. The subject of this meeting is Wellfield Protection. CEB/nr L7 Barbuto City Clerk AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS CITY OF TAMARAC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1988 TAPE 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hart called this meeting to order on Thursday, February 11, 1988 at 10:07 A.M. in the Council Chambers.. 1PRESENT: ABSENT AND EXCUSED: ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Bernard Hart Councilman Bruce Hoffman Councilman Henry Rohr Councilman Jack Stelzer Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein John P. Kelly, City Manager Richard Doody, City Attorney Pauline Walaszek, Special Services Secretary City Manager Kelly said he suggested this meeting be held so the County's Representatives of the Wellfield Protection Program could address the City Council regarding Midway Plaza. He introduced Roy Reynolds, Director of the Water Resources Management Division and Bob Shair, Wellfield Protection Officer. Roy Reynolds, Director of`the Water Resources Management Division, said the Wellfield Protection Program was his Division's major responsibility. He said his Division was responsible for storm water and drainage, aquifer recharge, salinity abatement, etc. Mr. Reynolds said the County Commission adopted an Ordinance for wellfield protection that allowed Water Resources Management to map existing and proposed well sites to protect them from hazardous toxic materials. He said there were three wellfield protection zones and Zone 1 was the inner most zone. He said the Ordinance excluded most of the existence of listed hazardous toxic materials for Zone 1. He said Zone 2 had considerable restrictions regarding use and Zone 3 was an information gathering zone. He said wellfields required a greater level of protection than the aquifer and the closer an a^tivity was to a well the greater level of protection was needed. He said the County's definition for a vicinity of a well varied and was based on the capacity and location of the well because of the hydrology of the area. He said in general, the well area had a radius of 100 to 200 feet or a diameter of 200 to 300 feet and possibly 400 feet in some areas. He said a Zone 3 area could be large because of merging. City Manager Kelly said this City Council has been accused of allowing the water system to be polluted and asked if the water was polluted. mr. Reynolds said the wells at Midway Plaza were not in operation; therefore, pollution could not be getting into the water. He said Water Resources Management found no pollution in the City's water. He said Water Resources Management Division was concerned about the protection of the wells because accidents happen which did not mean Page 1 2/11/88 that the water was polluted. He said because of the need to protect the immediate vicinity of a well, the Wellfield Protection Ordinance was passed and businesses or wells have been moved out of the areas of danger. V/M Stein ENTERED the meeting at 10:15 A.M. C/M Stelzer said City Council received a chronological explanation regarding the wells at Midway Plaza. He said in 1984, five wells were needed and Williams, Hatfield & Stoner, Consulting Engineers, approved the location at Midway Plaza. He said in 1985, the Engineering Department approved the location and in November, 1985, the City Council approved the site plan. He said in February, 1986, the City Council approved the Referendum and Council authorized payment of $246,000.00 to the developer for drilling. C/M Stelzer said the project was started in September, 1984, and, in December, 1986, Water Resources Management informed the developer and the City of the problems with the wells at Midway Plaza. He said the Engineering Department obtained all the regulatory permits to install and operate the wells from South Florida Water Management. He asked if the Water Resources Management Division checked the wells before the South Florida Water Management issued permits. He said if the City had known there would be problems, they never would have approved this project. Mr. Reynolds said Water Resources Management Division knew of no pollution in the Midway Plaza area. He said when the City began the process in 1984, the County was beginning the Wellfield Protection Ordinance and when the Ordinance was passed, the implementation procedures were worked on with the South Florida Water Management District to begin a consumptive use permit review. Mr. Reynolds said when South Florida Water Management received a consumptive use or drilling application, it was sent to Water Resources Management Division for review. He said he could not explain specifically why this problem with Midway Plaza occurred. He said wells could exist in commercial areas because there was nothing in the Ordinance that precluded the existence of a well in a commercial area. He said Water Resources Management Division was trying to keep close association with activities that utilize hazardous materials and there were three at Midway Plaza. He said Water Resources Management Division was not aware of the problems with Midway Plaza until 1986. :3. C/M Stelzer asked if anyone could be blamed for these problems and Mr. Reynolds said he could not say if anyone was to blame; however, Water Resources Management Division has made changes in their procedures to see that this did not happen again. C/M Hoffman asked what the impact on Midway Plaza and the City's water system would be if the City decided to continue with the wells and Mr. Reynolds said if the wells were turned into producing wells, the City would need permits for them and the permits would have to be renewed. He said when the City's permits were up for renewal, Water Resources Management Division would have to inform the State of their concerns with the area and 1 Page 2 2/11/88 1 L the fact that the wells were not under the County's Wellfield Protection Program. He said the State would probably not renew the permits unless the wells were placed on the Coun•ty's Wellfield Protection Program. C/M Hoffman asked what would happen to Midway Plaza if the wells were placed on the County's Wellfield Protection Map and Mr. Reynolds said the businesses at Midway Plaza who were using hazardous toxic materials would have to change or cease. He said there would also be an economic impact on Midway Plaza. Mayor Hart said the City would be losing one half million dollars if the wells were closed at Midway Plaza because new wells would have to be opened. He said a Wellfield Protection Act should be considered in this matter because of future wells. He suggested more protection be added to the businesses at Midway Plaza to prevent seepage into the ground and water. Mr. Reynolds said the storage tank regulation was a matter for the Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) and Water Resources Management Division did accept EQCB's storage tank requirements providing the storage met with the Wellfield Protection requirements in a Zone 2. He said in a Zone 1, it was possible for a business to use a protection system and be permitted to continue their activity. He said secondary containment would only be a portion of the protection requirements. He said Water Resources Management Division did not consider secondary containment sufficient protection within a Wellfield Protection Zone 1. He said if a business wanted to stay in a Zone 1, they would have to come up with a design that would convince staff that the protection was technically and practically functional within the requirements of the Wellfield Protection Ordinance. V/M Stein said protection designing would cost more than new wells. He said Fort Lauderdale got most of their water from wells that were in a Zone 1 via the Executive Airport. He said an airport could not be oeprated without gasoline, oil, etc., and Fort Lauderdale was continuing to use the water. He asked if the City of Tamarac could achieve what the City of Fort Lauderdale has and Mr. Reynolds said the wells at Executive Airport were being moved. Mr. Reynolds said the wellfield around Executive Airport was a complicated matter and had several problems with pollution. He said the City of Fort Lauderdale designed a plan that would remove several wells from production. He said some of the wells were being utilized to continue pumping polluted water out of the aquifer. He said the pol:}-uted water would be treated and then pumped back into the ground in some of the wells to the east. C/M Rohr asked if all Codes and procedures were legal when the City of Tamarac approved the wells to be drilled and Mr. Reynolds said he could not answer the question. C/M Rohr said after the wells were permitted and drilled, the laws changed and became more stringent. Mr. Reynolds said the Wellfield Protection Ordinance was passed in August, 1984, and C/M Rohr asked when the wells were drilled. City Manager Kelly replied 1985/86. C/M Rohr said he did not understand how the City got permission and allowed this project to be done with the Weilf field kcatedtion- Gtdinance in effect. Page 3 2/11/88 C/M Hoffman said regardless of how far a chemical was from a well, it would get into water. He asked what the difference was if a company spilled chemicals onto the ground 200 to 300 feet from a well as opposed to directly into the wellhead. Mr. Reynolds said Wellfield Protection Zones 1, 2 and 3 were based on travel time. He said Zone 1 had a travel time distance from a well of 10 days, which could be less, depending on the design. He said if there were 10 days or less reaction time between a spill and it getting into a well, Water Resources Management did believe it was sufficient time for the spill to be found and corrected. He said even if the spill was found, the well was shut down because it could not be cleaned. He said a Zone 2 was based on a travel time of 10 to 30 days and a Zone 3 was based on a travel time of 30 to 210 days or a 1 foot draw down contour. He said rain, etc., was absorbed by the Aquifer. Mayor Hart said he would like Mr. Reynolds' suggestions regarding how to solve this problem and to prevent these problems in the future. He said Midway Plaza's occupants under concern were a drycleaner, photolab and nursery. He said the drycleaner could possibly send their hazardous business elsewhere, the photolab used tank chemicals and the nursery sold bottled chemicals. He said these businesses were not of major concern and he asked Mr. Reynolds to suggest what should be done. Mr. Reynolds said the Wellfield Protection Ordinance recognizes the cases where there were small amounts of chemicals in businesses; however, Midway Plaza had three businesses that utilized chemicals in an amount that was not permissible. City Manager Kelly asked how long it would take for the County to get the City's new wells in the County's Wellfield Protection Program and Mr. Reynolds said the maps could be before the County Commission for approval within 90 days. Rick Rednor, Consulting City Attorney, said the interim Ordinancejwhich was drafted for the City, had two options concerning Midway Plaza. He said one of the options was that the existing stores, which would not be allowed in a Zone 1, would have to be closed resulting in the City having to pay compensation to the stores. He said the other option was that the existing stores would be able to continue; however, they would not be able to expand and no new stores would be able to locate there that were in violation of the Zone 1 regulations. He said if the City was to adopt the interim Ordinance, the existing stores would continue to exist because the City was not prepared to purchase the stores. He said the County would have to approve the wellfields with the stores in existence. He said the County had a fund to compensate stores in this situation and the County was aware that there would be businesses that they would have to pay for if they adopted the Midway Plaza wells. Mr. Reynolds said there was a compensation section in the Wellfield Protection Ordinance; however, when the Ordinance was adopted in 1984, compensation was not considered for the future. He said the intent was to compensate the businesses that were in close association Page 4 1 1 2/11/88 or within Zone 1 and wellfields that were mapped. He said it would have to be a change of policy for the County Commission to apply compensation to wells and businesses that did not exist in 1984. C/M Rohr asked when the wells at Midway Plaza were classified as zone 1 and Mr. Reynolds said presently, there was not a wellfield protection designation for the wells at Midway Plaza because they were not mapped and put under the protection Wellfield Protection Ordinance. C/M Rohr asked when the Wellfield Map was created and Mr. Reynolds said the first maps were adopted in August, 1984. He said no zone could exist until a site was chosen and the design capacity was determined. He said after the site and capacity was determined the wells were placed on a map and approved by the County Commission. He said after the map was approved, zones were assigned and the wells were placed under the Wellfield Protection Ordinance. V/M Stein said the Midway Plaza wells were drilled after the passage of the Wellfield Protection Ordinance. He said environmental and South Florida Water District permits were secured after the passage of the Wellfield Protection Ordinance and he asked if it was possible that the County knew nothing about the wells. Mr. Reynolds replied, yesk. V/M Stein said he did not believe that the County did not know about the wells. He said the City had 4 wells with everyone issuing permits for the wells and no one in the County said anything about the wells and the problems. TAPE 2 V/M Stein asked if there was a procedure for approval of the wells required by Water Resources Management when the City began the project and Mr. Reynolds said there were no procedures required by Water Resources Management for Engineering to plan or construct a well at any time. Mr. Reynolds said when the City decided to protect the well, Water Resources Management had to approve the wells so they could be placed on the maps. V/M Stein said this matter did not concern permits but was in regard to the Wellfield Protection Act. He said there were several wells pumping water on the map; however, the matter became a problem when the permits expired. He said the State had to decide if the wells were allowed or not they were not protected. He said the only solution to keep the wells was to condemn the leases at Midway Plaza and buy the businesses. He said Water Resources Management preferrd .the City close the wells and Mr. Reynolds agreed. V/M Stein asked if something could be done to grandfather the wells in and Mr. Reynolds said there was no grandfathering in a Zone 1. V/M Stein said in order for the wells to continue, the businesses had to comply or leave and, if they left, the City would have to purchase the leases. C/M Stelzer said it was possible that the County would compensate for the businesses. He said it was not the City's fault for the problems created by the wells; therefore, the compensation matter with the County should be pursued. me asked how much money was in the fund for Page 5 2/11/88 compensation and Mr. Reynolds said there was money placed in the budget every year to take care of the problems anticipated for the year and there was no set amount in the fund. C/M Stelzer said if the City had been informed about these wells before the approval, the City Council would not have approved them or would have informed Midway Plaza about the restrictions. Mayor Hart asked when the permits were obtained because when the permits were issued, someone should have asked where the wells would be located. Bill Greenwood, Director of Utilities/Engineering, said the permits were issued on September 11, 1986. C/M Rohr said the County did not care where, when or how the wells were placed until the City wanted the wells protected and Mr. Reynolds said it was not required that Water Resources Management tell the Cities where or where not to place their wells. Mr. Reynolds said Water Resources Management Division worked with the Cities to avoid problems. He said Water Resources Management Division recommended to Cities that when they were looking for sites to place their wells, they check with the Water Resources Management Division for advice. C/M Rohr asked if this policy existed in 1984 and Mr. Reynolds replied, yes. C/M Rohr asked if the Water Resources Management Division would have advised the City not to put the wells on that site in 1984 and Mr. Reynolds said he did not know what would have been advised; however, in 1988; Water Resources Management Division would advise the problems. C/M Hoffman said Jim Brady, representative for the developer, went to the County before the project was started and was informed that there would be no problems. Mr. Brady said Bill Martin of P.S.I. went to the County and asked what the zone requirements were and was answered that an inventory had to be sent to the County from time to time. Mr. Brady said City Council was receiving very valuable information; however, the education was limited because they were not as involved with the matter. He said unless the City Council asked hard, direct, simple and declarative questions, they would not be able to make a decision regarding the wells. He said what Council has heard so far, did not pertain to the essence of the problem they were dealing with and V/M Stein asked Mr. Brady to tell Council the essence of the problem. Mr. Brady said the Wellfield Protection Ordinance from the beginning, did not have a provision regarding approval by Water Resources Management because the Cities would not approve of such a provision, causing a gap in the Crdinance. He said a person who knew the water system would not put a well in a C-1 Zoning District when the property looked like every shopping center built in Broward County. He said the City should have gone to the County to get on the map since the process was the City's obligation under the Agreement. He said there were no permits from the County and it was left out of the Ordinance because of the Cities not agreeing to it. Page 6 I C 1 2/11/88 Mr. Brady said the impact of continuing with the wells would destroy the shopping center. He said from an economic point of view, if the wells continued, there would not be a shopping center and if that was the case, the City would have problems with the developer. He said Midway Plaza was in jeopardy if solutions other than the one staff approved were adopted. He said the regulations could be reviewed forever; however, individual uses were not a factor. He said Midway Plaza is a 225,000 square foot shopping center. He said the impact would not be on individual businesses but on the entire shopping center. Mr. Brady said the City would not be losing money if they closed the wells. He said six months was spent for a solution to the problem which was analyzed by the City staff and agreed to as being the best solution. He said he has not heard anything today regarding the viability of the plan and the conversation was drifting off the path. He said he was informed by the County that the 4 wells would not be approved and, if the County has changed their minds, he would like to know. C/M Stelzer said at the previous Workshop meeting, he suggested the wells be capped so Midway Plaza could proceed providing the amount of $246,000.00 was compensated by other people rather then the City alone. He said the City could always put larger wells on their existing pumps. He said Midway Plaza should not be ruined if there was a viable way to avoid it. He said if the County made a mistake by letting the City drill the holes, then they should help with the compensation and negotiations regarding compensation should be pursued. Mr. Brady said negotiations were had economically and fairly by bringing a solution to the City that would save the City money on capital improvements that would have been done at the City's expense. He said the amount of $246,000.00 would be compensated for if the City chose the solution proposed to them by staff. C/M Stelzer said if the City Council adopted the interim ordinance, it would stop Midway Plaza from allowing new tenants who used hazardous toxic materials. Mr. Brady said the interim Ordinance would not withstand the fight that Midway Plaza would be forced to give. He said the City did not know what the Ordinance really meant and the County was not going to do the City's work. He said the County preempted the area and the County would not support an Ordinance that did what the County did because it was a separate and distinct Ordinance. Mr. Reynolds said the City wanted to protect their wells; therefore, the City could separate themselves from the Midway Plaza wells and move forward on other wells. He said Water Resources Management would assist in getting the other wells approved and, after the approval, the City could continue negotiations regarding the Midway Plaza wells. He said after the other wells were approved, the City could take their time negotiating the Midway Plaza wells because they would not be pressed for time. Mayor Hart said the City's interim Ordinance would be to protect other areas in the City, not to fight Midway Plaza. He said the wells at Midway Plaza were not in Page 7 2/11/88 use; therefore, they would not pertain to the Ordinance unless the wells were placed on the map. He suggested negotiations continue with all involved with Midway Plaza regarding the compensation of $246,000.06. City Manager Kelly said if he bought a $100,000.00 car and $50,000.00 was spent on the design, chassis, etc., and, before it would run, another $50,000.00 was needed for the engine and tires; however, another car was available for $75,000.00 that had the same things as the first car. He said it would make sense to pay $25,000.00 more to get what would have cost $100,000.00. He said the City was in the same type of situation with the Midway Plaza wells. He said $246,000.00 was invested towards the wells; however, the wells were not functional. He asked Bill Greenwood if it was less expensive to expand the capacity of the existing wells and secure the wells on Egan/St. Malachy's Church property as opposed to continuing with the wells at Midway Plaza. Mr. Greenwood said it would cost less to expand the capacity and secure wells elsewhere then pursue the wells at Midway Plaza. He said the reports prepared and submitted indicated a cost of $240,000.00 to pursue the wells at Midway Plaza and, to upgrade the existing wells, the cost would be $200,000.00. Mr- Greenwood said this matter has been on --going since January, 1987, and, the City had to decide what would be in the best interest of the City. He said he supports the suggestion of getting the other wells approved and, if needed, continue negotiations with Midway Plaza. He said the City had 13 existing wells and only 9 of the wells were on the County's Wellfield Protection Map. He said 3 existing wells and proposed sites need to be on the map. He said staff would like the guidance to implement the existing wells for protection. Mayor Hart asked how much it would cost to operate the wells at Midway Plaza and Bill Greenwood said approximately $240,000.00. Mayor Hart said it would not cost the City any more to increase the capacity of the existing wells and Mr. Greenwood agreed. Mr. Greenwood said the existing wells were not up to design capacity because they were not upgraded since they were bought; therefore, the existing wells would have to be rehabilitated regardless of what happened. C/M Rohr said Midway Plaza requested the wells be drilled prior to their construction to avoid disturbance of the shopping center at a later date; therefore, the City may not have had this problem if they did not try to accommodate the developer. He said Midway Plaza should help in compensating for the amount of $246,000.00 because there was a loss to the City. C/M Stelzer said it would cost 1/4 of a million dollars to complete the 4 holes at Midway Plaza and, instead of spending the money for the wells, $200,000.00 could be spent to increase the existing wells capacity, affording a savings of $40,000.00. He asked who would pay for the money already spent in drilling the holes. Mr. Greenwood said the City was anticipating 4 million gallons of usable water to the water treatment plant at a cost of $4,000,000.00. He said the reports submitted and t' Page 8 2/11/88 reviewed showed that 4 million gallons could get to the plant for $40,000.00 less than it would take to equip the Midway Plaza wells. C/M Stelzer said the City would still lose $246,000.00 regardless of what was done and Mr. Greenwood said it would be part of the cost for the upgrading. C/M Stelzer asked if $200,000.00 was spent.to increase the to be capacity of the spent to dig existing wells would $246,000.00 have the holes and Mr. Greenwood said the information was new data. C/M Stelzer said if the City spent $200,000.00 to expand the existing wells from the beginning, $246,000.00 would not have been spent to drill the wells at Midway Plaza. Mr. Greenwood said he understands what C/M Stelzer was saying; however, the issue was about getting the existing wells on the Wellfield Protection Map so they could be protected. Mayor Hart suggested City Manager Kelly meet with Williams, Hatfield & Stoner and Mr. Brady to negotiate the matter. City Manager Kelly said staff would be pursuing the issue of getting the existing and proposed wells, excluding Midway Plaza, on the Wellfield Protection Map. C/M Stelzer asked if the interim Ordinance was needed and City Manager Kelly replied, no. TAPE 3 C/M Rohr asked if the City would be able to get any compensation from the County and Mr. Reynolds said if the City was to receive compensation under the Wellfield Protection Program it would occur through the change in policy of the County Commission. Mayor Hart ADJOURNED this meeting at 11:40 A.M. CAROL E. B RBUTO, CITY CLERK "This public document was promulgated at a cost of $104.40 or $2.90 per copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of recent opinions and considerations of the City Council of the City of Tamarac." Page 9