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P.O. BOX 25010
TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33320
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5811 NORTHWEST 88TH AVENUE TAMARAC, FLORIDA 33321
TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900
May 2, 1988
NOTICE OF
TOWN MEETING
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
Please be advised that the City Council will hold a Town
Meeting on Wednesday, May 18, 1988 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m. at the Tamarac Recreation Center, 7501 N. University
Drive, Tamarac, for the purpose of discussion on Utilities.
All meetings are open to the public.
Carol E. Barbuto
City Clerk
CEB/nr
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS
CITY OF TAMARAC
CITY COUNCIL'TOWN MEETING
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1988
TAPE 1
CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor Abramowitz called this meeting to Order on
Wednesday, May
18, 1988 at 7:00 P.M. at the Recreation Building at
Tamarac Park.
PRESENT:
Mayor Norman Abramowitz
Vice Mayor Jack Stelzer
Councilman Dr. H. Larry Bender
Councilman Bruce Hoffman
Councilman Henry Rohr
ALSO PRESENT:
John P. Kelly, City Manager
Richard Doody, City Attorney
William Greenwood, Director of
Utilities/Engineering
Carol E. Barbuto, City Clerk
Pauline Walaszek, Special Services
Secretary
Mayor Abramowitz introduced the City Council and staff to
the residents. He said City Manager Kelly would be
conducting the meeting and, after the presentation was
made, the residents would be allowed to speak on the
subject.
Mayor Abramowitz said a resident asked how the City
Council could vote on a matter that included a lot of
money. He said the consent agenda stops the City Council
from spending several hours at a meeting. He said the
City Manager discussed each Item individually with each
Councilmember and if the City Council does not know about
an Item or is not aware of what the Item entailed, the
Item could be pulled out of the Consent Agenda for
separate discussion.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council received back-up
material before every Council meeting. He said the
back-up material informs the City Council about the Item.
Mayor Abramowitz said the City Council held Workshop
meetings which inform the City Council and City staff of
several matters. He said the City Council discusses
their concerns at these meetings to become more aware of
the City. He said this meeting would be a minor version
of the Workshop held recently on Utility/Engineering
matters and he thanked the residents for their attendance
at the meeting.
City Manager Kelly said a few weeks ago he met with the
City Council to advise them of the budget. He said on
June 3, 1988 the Department Heads would be submitting
their proposed budgets for the coming Fiscal Year. He
said he would be comparing the proposals with the
anticipated revenues and cut back where it is necessary.
He said he calls Workshops for the City Council regarding
the budget and, unfortunately, only a few residents
attend. He said the City Council does not receive input
on the budget until the final hearing. He said he asked
the Mayor to consider a Town meeting to inform the
residents about budget matters before the final hearing.
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City Manager Kelly said it would be a tough budget year
and the City needed the residents help. He said the City
would be getting less money from the developers because
development has slowed down. He said developers' fees
are the life -line of the City and, when the development
ceases, the Planning and Engineering Departments would
diminish because they operate on monies from the fees.
He said most of the Parks and Recreation programs are
self-sustaining because of the fees. He said the
decrease in development would affect each and every
department in the City.
City Manager Kelly said this meeting would pertain to
matters concerning the Utilities Department. He said it
was important to know the functions, responsibilities and
events concerning the Utilities Department. He said the
water in the City was probably the best water in Broward
County.
City Manager Kelly said in 1962, the United States
Environmental Protection Act identified 25 contaminants
in the water. He said in 1974, a Clean Water Act was
adopted to enforce protection against the 25
contaminants. He said in 1974, scientists were just
beginning to detect organic chemicals in the water. He
said many Cities implemented disinfectant programs to
protect the residents from chemicals that cause health
problems.
City Manager Kelly said when Bill Greenwood, Director of
Utilities/Engineering, became employed by the City, he
spent most of his time in front of Broward County's
Environmental Control Board explaining why Tamarac was
not doing what should be done. He said the debt service
on the Utility bills was for the Bond issue received by
the State which was approved by the voters.
City Manager Kelly said because progress was not being
made fast enough on protecting the water quality and
because Congress's determination in seeing that the water
was safe, the Safe Drinking Water Act was Amended in
1986. He said the Amendment requires that an additional
83 contaminants must be monitored and controlled by June,
1989 and, each year after, 25 additional contaminants
must be monitored and controlled. He said the residents
would have to pay for this monitoring.
Referring to the corroded pipes on display, City Manager
Kelly said the pipes came out of the ground and into the
residents' homes. He said when the City installed the
lines they were installed properly; however, the
developers cut corners and did not compact the ground
surrounding the lines. He said vibration from the trucks
and cars cause the pipes to burst. He said all of the
pipe lines in the City would go to Tampa if connected
together because there are approximately 260 miles and
the Utilities/Engineering Department maintains those
lines.
City Manager Kelly said 150 lines are water, 30 lines are
force mains and 83.4 are gravity sewer mains. He said
the City has 13 water wells, 68 sewage pump stations and
2 major water stations. He said there are 68 people and
7 engineers working in the Department. He said the
average age of the vehicles date back to 1980 or later.
He said Tamarac Utilities West (TUW) had 84.5 miles of
asbestos cement water lines and it would cost
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$10,000,000.00 to replace the lines. He said Tamarac
Utilities East (TUE) had 7 miles of asbestos cement water
lines, which would cost $790,000.00 to replace. He said
the more the City waits to replace these pipes, the more
the project would cost because of inflation.
City Manager Kelly said what the residents pay on their
utility bills did not pertain to property taxes. He said
money paid by the residents for property taxes did not
help funding the City's departments or staff. He said
the utility bills pay for the department, operations,
maintenance, etc.
City Manager Kelly said recently, the City Council
approved $98,000.00 for a study conducted by Hazen &
Sawyer, Consulting Engineers, to assist the City in
complying with the Safe Water Drinking Act. He said part
of the Study would determine how to monitor the water and
the economic impact for the coming years. He said for
every disinfectant there are always by-products involved.
City Manager Kelly said there are concerns recently
regarding lead in the water and it is believed that the
lead was caused by the lead soldering around the pipes.
He said the City needs the residents help in finding
solutions to these problems. He said this problem is
nationwide and the residents would not be able to move
and get away from it. He said the taxpayers would have
to pay for the up -keep and repairs to the water system.
City Manager Kelly said Mr. Stuart submitted a petition
to the City Council which stated that studies were done
during other reviews. He said these studies could not
have been done. He said the petition stated that the
water and sewer costs were too high. He asked Mr.
Greenwood where the City stood on the chart of charges in
Broward County and Mr. Greenwood said the City was 20 out
of 24 with higher rates to the average customer.
City Manager Kelly said the petition stated that garbage
costs were very high for a community this size. He said
Tamarac had the lowest garbage rate in Broward County
which was $6.37. He said the petition mentioned the debt
service which was the bond issue the public voted for.
City Manager Kelly said when the budget is adopted, he
did not want the residents to be surprised with the rate
increase on their utility bills. He said the City
Council wanted to attempt privatization whenever possible
in the City. He said the City Council wanted to report
to the people regarding their investigation in getting
funds before they go to the residents for funding.
Mayor Abramowitz said the residents will have to make the
proper decision as the City Council would have to make
the proper decision. He said he would like the public to
attend the Workshop meetings for the Budget so they can
be informed of what is happening in the City and why the
City Council had to make the decisions they did. He
asked the public to observe the pipes that were on
display before they leave the meeting.
At this time, Mayor Abramowitz asked for public input.
Sylvia Brland, Resident of Colony West, had concerns with
the sewer bills being so high. She said a petition was
given to the City Council before the meeting which was
barely addressed. She said most of the people present at
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TAPE 2
this meeting were residents of Colony West and they were
attending the meeting because of their bills being so
high.
Mayor Abramowitz said the petition was received before
the meeting and the City Council would have to review it
before they commented on it.
Judy Campbell, Resident, asked if the asbestos piping was
throughout Broward County and if the pipes would be
replaced.
Mr. Greenwood said there were no health hazards caused by
that piping; however, the main concern about the piping
was that it did not meet the structure requirement on
County roadways. He said the Environmental Protection
Agency is concerned about the short fiber piping;
however, the asbestos piping was made with the long fiber
piping. He said the State required the main lines to
receive a thin coating of calcium on the inside of the
pipes which would prevent the asbestos from getting into
the water system.
Carl Alper, Resident, asked when the water conduits had
to be repaired and Mr. Greenwood said the small piping is
the galvanized pipes along the road. He said the City
was responsible for these pipes along the road
right-of-way and the customer is responsible from the
road right-of-way to their property.
Mr. Alper asked how much it would cost to repair the
piping and Mr. Greenwood said the galvanized piping would
cost approximately $300,000.00 in the west and the east
would cost approximately $30,000.00.
Mr. Alper said the City relied on help from non -paid
volunteers and suggested the City create a Committee of
volunteers to concern themselves with the safety of the
water in the City. He suggested the City investigate the
water of the surrounding Cities to prevent the water in
Tamarac from becoming contaminated. He suggested the
City allow more Policing when the streets are being torn
up.
Irving Lopatey, Resident, asked Mr. Greenwood to explain
the City's responsibility for the piping and Mr.
Greenwood said the City's normal right-of-way is 70-feet;
therefore, 25-feet would be property line. He said
anything on the road right-of-way would be the City's
responsibility and from the right-of-way to the dwelling
was the resident's responsibility.
Vickie Beech, Resident, asked how long these problems
existed in the City and Mr. Greenwood said the City
bought the system in 1979 and he could not explain the
happenings from 1979 to 1984. He said when he became
employed by the City in September, 1984, $24,000,000.00
in operation was needed to upgrade the system and supply
test quality water in Broward County.
Mrs. Beech asked why the problems were not corrected
before this time and Mayor Abramowitz said two years ago,
the Utilities Department was required by law to conduct 2
tests and, this year, the department is required to
conduct 28 tests. He said the City would be mandated to
conduct 83 tests next year and 25 additional tests
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therein after. He said the Federal Government and the
State have changed the rules and the City will have to
comply to those changes.
Mrs. Beech asked how much the City needed in costs and
Mayor Abramowitz said until the budget is processed, the
amount could not be determined.
Unannounced Speaker from the audience said he
investigated the meter system at his home because his
bills were so high and found that the meter had so much
mud on it that it could not be read.
Mayor Abramowitz asked if a complaint was sent to the
City. He said he has yet to see one complaint come
before him that has not been addressed. He suggested a
complaint be written to the City regarding these types of
matters because the City would not know the matters
needed correction without the resident's support.
Mr. Greenwood said he would look into this matter. He
said the meter reading system is computerized and were
read by a hand held micro -processor. He said the actual
consumption was registered from the meter. He said if
the meter cannot be read, the computer would indicate so
and, if there was a problem with the reading, staff will
go and investigate the reason why.
V/M Stelzer said because his bill was high, he spent a
week in the Utilities Department investigated how the
bills were determined. He said the department had a
great computer system.
Anthony Grimaldi, Resident, asked where the $98,000.00
approved by Council for the study by Hazen & Sawyer came
from and Mr. Greenwood said the 4.7 million gallons of
water treatment plant expansion came from developer's
contribution in aid of construction, also known as,
developer impact fees.
Mr. Grimaldi asked what the City had to hire an outside
firm for a study when the City had their own engineers
and Mr. Greenwood said the technology and regulations
were changing daily. He said the study would bring in
the best knowledge and information regarding water
treatment matters and the new regulations would be
complied with more accurately and professionally.
Mr. Grimaldi asked if it would necessary to hire outside
engineers every year and Mr. Greenwood said it would cost
the City more money to hire the personnel needed for the
studies as opposed to hiring outside consultants.
Unannounced Speaker from the audience asked if it was
possible for a water bill to contain the same cubic feet
and consumption for three months and Mr. Greenwood
replied, yes.
Mayor Abramowitz said if the residents were aware of the
procedures and operations of the Utility Department they
would see that these types of things actually do happen.
Unannounced Speaker from the audience asked if the City
could get Federal, State or County assistance for the
projects and Mr. Greenwood said there are no funds
available at this time.
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Unannounced Speaker from the audience had concerns with
their water bills because they were away for 3 months and
the bill remained the same as if they were home.
Mr. Greenwood said the meters are read and rounded off to
the nearest thousand of a gallon.
Unannounced Speaker from the audience asked how long the
current debt service would be active and City Manager
Kelly replied, 30 years.
Unannounced Speaker from the audience asked the City
Council to comment on this matter.
C/M Hoffman said the City Council paid the same taxes at
the same rate as everyone else. He said the City must
have pure water and in order to keep it this way, the
residents will have to contribute. He said there was an
Ordinance passed regarding the Utility Department
allowing a resident not to pay their bill if they felt
there was something wrong. He said the Ordinance was
passed because a Councilmember had a problem with a high
bill. He said if the residents felt their bill was not
appropriate, they should report it to the Utility
Department. He said Colony West's bills seemed too high
and the matter would be investigated and corrected if a
problem is found.
C/M Sender said before looking to the residents for money
to subsidize the problems, he would be looking to the
County, State and the Federal Government for funding. He
said he would do whatever is possible to reduce operating
expenses within the City before the City turns to the
residents. He said he would be looking in the Commercial
and Industrial areas for additional monies. He said the
City was investigating how the other Cities were raising
funds for their projects and budget.
C/M Rohr said the people have to be more conservative
with their water. He said he would be willing to pay
costs needed to keep the water healthy. He said in 1992,
the City is expected to be built -out and the developer
impact fees will not be available. He suggested the
residents consider how they want their City to be in the
future and what they will have to do to keep the City in
good shape.
V/M Stelzer said the reason he became involved with the
meter system was because his bill was too high. He said
the computer system used for meter reading was very good.
He said the piping would be replaced when the City
replaces their roads; however, the piping replacement was
not an urgent matter.
V/M Stelzer said there were chemicals in the system that
correct the asbestos problems. He said there were
several galvanized pipes that need to be replaced;
however, the homeowners would have to pay approximately
$450.00 for the replacement. He said the rusting of the
pipes would cause breakage and leaking resulting in loss
of water pressure.
V/M Stelzer said approximately 70% of the money in the
budget went to salaries. He said the Unions demanded
raises for the employees every year. He said if 5%
increases are given, the 5% turns into 30% because of the
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benefits and this increase results in the budget
increasing 21%. He said as long as the increases are
mandated, the residents would have to pay higher taxes.
Mayor Abramowitz thanked the residents for attending and
he said if the residents had any questions or complaints
they should contact the City.
With no further business, Mayor Abramowitz ADJOURNED the
meeting at 8230 P.M.
CAROL E. BARBUTO, CITY CLERK
"This public document was promulgated at a cost of $97.20 or $2.70 per
copy to inform the general public, public officers and employees of
recent opinions and consideration of the City Council of the City of
Tamarac."
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