HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-02-11 - City Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes0
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TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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'
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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."
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