HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-04-12 - City Commission Special Meeting Minutes��
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RECORD OF COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS/ACTIONS
April 11, 1986
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
CITY COUNCIL
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
Please be advised that the City Council of Tamarac will hold a
Special Meeting on Saturday, April 12, 1986, at 2:00 P.M. in
the Council Chambers of City Hall, 5811 NW 88th Avenue, Tamarac,
Florida, on the following items:
1. Utilities West -
(P oiect 85-18)
on:
Turnpike Forcp Main Crossin
- Discussion and possible action
a) Approval of Change Order No. 2 with Lanzo
Construction Company increasing the contract by
$26,855.00 to furnish and install four (4) force
main valves.
b) Budget transfer.
FINAL ACTION: APPROVED a) and b).
2. Utilitips_West - New Bond Issue - Temp.
Reso, 14084 - Discussion and possible action to
select a bond underwriter or underwriters to
implement the sale of bonds for Utilities West
improvements.
(This item appears on the Special Meeting Notice
for Friday, April 11, 1986, at 7:00 P.M. However,
it is anticipated that on April 11, Council will
Table this item to this meeting on April 12).
FI A ACTION: APPROVED T9mR. Reso. #4084 selecting
L.F. Rothchild and William R. Hough as Bond Underwriters
at a bid amount of 1.55 subject to review at a Council
Workshop meeting before the bonds are actually issued.
Council retained the firm of Fine, Jacobson, Schwartz,
Nash, Block & England, P.A., as Bond Counsel at a cost
not to exceed $5,000.00.
The public is invited to attend.
Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes
If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the rity
Council with respezt to any matter cW-Sidered at such meeting or
hearing, he will need a record of the proceedings and for such
Purpose, he may need to ensure that a vert►atim record includes
the toetimony ana evidence upon which the ap
peal is to be based.
CarQl E. Barbuto
Assistant City Clerk
CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
April 12, 1986
Tape 1 CALL TO DER: Mayor Hart called the meeting to order at
2:00 P.M. on Saturday, April 12, 1986, in the Council Chambers of
City Hall.
ROLL CALL: PRESENT:
Ir Mayor Bernard Hart
Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein
Councilwoman Helen Massaro
Councilman Arthur H. Gottesman
ABSENT AND EXCU D: Councilman Jack Stelzer
ALSQ PRESENT:
Larry Perretti, City Manager
Richard Rednor,Consultant City Attorney
Marilyn Bertholf, City Clerk
Patricia Marcurio, Secretary
MEDITATION AND F ED E QF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Hart called for a
Moment of Silent Meditation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
UTILITIES WEST
1. 'l s W st - Turnpike For M 'n C o s'ng (Project
5-=181 - Discussion and possible action on:
a) Approval of Change Order No. 2 with Lanzo Construction
Company increasing the contract by $26,855.00 to furnish
and install four (4) force main valves.
b) Budget transfer
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION[:
APPROVED a) and b).
Bill Greenwood, Utilities Director/City Engineer, said the
request to furnish and install 4 force main valves required to
control the flow of sewage to the existing treatment plant and/or
divert sewage to Broward County for treatment. He said these
valves were initially planned within Williams, Hatfield & Stoner's
comprehensive plan, however, they inadvertently omitted them from
the design drawings.
Mr. Greenwood said regarding cost effectiveness, the more that can
be put into the existing plant would be the least amount of cost
to the City for treatment. He said they request that this Change
Order be conditioned for the 4-inch and 6--inch wet taps in Lanzo's
assumptions to be verified. He said it presently reads that Pump
Stations 3 and 4 can be shut down for an 8 hour period during
daylight hours. He said the condition they are placing on Change
Order #2 would be that these two pump stations can be shut down
during the hours from 8:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M.
Mr. Greenwood said to implement Change Order #2 would require
transfer of funds from existing funds and he referred to the
Budget Transfer Sheet (See Attachment 1).
"Account #432-367-538-656 - instead of $9,040.00, the Balance
should be $216,185.00.
Account #432-367-538-651 - instead of $78,575.00 should read
$78,576.00."
C/M Gottesman asked why this was omitted by Williams, Hatfield &
Stoner and Mr. Greenwood said they are classifying this as an
error in omission and have instructed the consultants to perform
the engineering at no additional cost to the City. He said the
City will have to pay for the actual installation of Change
Order #2.
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C/W Massaro asked where this money will come from and Mr.
Greenwood said the project is essentially complete and has been
budgeted 73% for new capacity from the CIAC funds and 27% for the
old capacity from the General Reserve Fund.
C/M Gottesman MOVED APPROVAL of Change Order #2 to allow the
installation of 4 force main valves which are necessary to the
system at a cost of $26,855.00, which has already been allocated
in the budget. SECONDED by V/M Stein.
C/W Massaro asked if this should be on the Tentative Bond Issue
listing and Mr. Greenwood said this project was funded 100% by
General Reserve and CIAC funds.
Melanie Reynolds, resident, asked how much has been paid to this
Lanzo Construction to date. Mr. Greenwood said the original
contract price was $246,070.00, Change Order #1 was a deduct of
$3,647.00 and Change Order#2 is $26,855.00 for a total contract
price of $269,278.00. He said there were no changes in time
extensions.
Emil Beutner, Planning Commissioner, asked if they were automatic
or hand operated valves and if all the equipment was included in
the price. Mr. Greenwood said these are all manually controlled
gate valves since there is no need for automation of these valves.
He said these valves will give the flexibility to run the existing
sewage treatment plant near its permitted capacity. He said the
changes will be done manually as major conditions change.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
b) V/M Stein MOVED APPROVAL of the budget transfer
SECONDED by C/W Massaro.
k_�
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE
2. Utilities West - New Bond Issue - Temps_Reeo._#4084 -
Discussion and possible action to select a bond underwriter or
underwriters to implement the sale of bonds for Utilities West
improvements.
SYNOPSIS OF ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. R-86-122 PASSED.
APPROVED selecting L.F. Rothchild
and William R. Hough as Bond
Underwriters at a bid amount of
1.55 subject to review at a Council
Workshop meeting before the bonds are
actually issued. Council retained the
firm of Fine, Jacobson, Schwartz, Nash,
Block & England, P.A., as Bond Counsel
at a cost not to exceed $5,000.
Mr. Rednor read Temp. Res.4_: #4084 by title.
Frank Etheredge, Finance Director, said he distributed a sheet to
Council with an estimate of what it is expected that the bond In
issue costs will be based on Mr. Greenwood's sheet of the capital
projects. He said the total of $12,276,000.00 had the Land
Section 7 purchase removed to give the required projects of
approximately $11,400,000.00. He said based on estimated under-
writer's fees of $176,700.00 or 1.55% of the total.
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4/12/86
/pm
1_:
16
Mr. Etheredge said the other items concern Insurance, Bond Coun-
sel, and other miscellaneous items that must be paid with the
total bond issue of $11,847,000.00.
V/M Stein said there was a Committee appointed including Mr.
Etheredge, Finance Director, Alan Ruf, Consulting City
Attorney, and himself, as Council Liaison, to interview the under-
writers. He said at that time they were told there were two other
underwriters wishing to be heard and they were also interviewed.
He said it was discovered that one of these underwriters was not
interested in the underwriting but wanted to be the City's Fin-
ancial Manager.
V/M Stein said subsequently they received a call from another
underwriter who then submitted his proposal. He said in the
negotiations, the lowest bid came from L.F. Rothchild & Co., which
was at 1.55%. He said this was considerably less than was paid to
the previous underwriters. He said the proposal ran from 20 to 25
or 30 years. He said in discussion with Bond Counsel and the
underwriters, they were told it would not be impossible to have
this for 30 years.
V/M Stein said they bid at 25 years because in this way more
people would be responsible to pay this back. He said if it were
f-loated for 30 years, those people coming into the City will help
carry the load. He said if the City were able to float the bonds
today, the 12 million dollars would cost the City less than 10
million dollars. He said the Committee stresses urgency because
the market at this time is favorable and, since there are reports
that the agreement is almost completed on 201 and the engineers
have already been selected, the funds are needed to proceed.
V/M Stein said the Committee has recommended L.F. Rothchild
together with William R. Hough & Co. with Rothchild being the lead
underwriter. He said there is an amount of $5,000.00 for the fee
of William R. Hough & Co.
C/W.Massaro asked how the figure of $11,847,100.00 was arrived at
since the sheet prepared by the Utilities Director showed a bond
amount of $12,276,551.00. She said that amount seemed insuffi-
cient since the cost was taken for various work done on the rehab
program.
V/M Stein said the figures show approximately $800,000 for the
land in Land Section 7, which was removed. C/W Massaro asked who
took this amount out and V/M Stein said the Utilities Director
took this out because it does not belong in there since the land
is not going to be used. He said if the City decides to put the
Public Works building at that location it must come from a differ-
ent fund-, not from this bond issue. He said the only thing that
can come out of this bond issue is what it is for and that is
wastewater treatment.
V/M Stein said the exact amount is not to be determined today and
the purpose of this meeting is to get bond underwriters. He said
whether they float 11 or 12 million dollars has nothing to do with
this meeting.
Per. Etheredge said the rehabilitation was not to come from the
bond issue but from CIAC funds and was not included in here.
C/M Gottesman asked if the price would be reduced if the bond
issue goes to 12 million dollars instead of the 10 million dollars
quoted.
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4/12/86
/pm
John Berani of L.F. Rothchild, said the 1.55% is a gross discount
that represents the lowest of underwriting fees that they have
currently charged for this type of financing. He said he would
anticipate that if the issue is 12 million dollars, a similar fee
would be charged. He said the only variable in this financing is
what is called "sales commission" to the salesmen. He said the
technical name for the sales commission is "average take -down".
Mr. Berani said that number has to do with the ability to market
securities at a particular time in the market place. He said that
cannot be predicted. He said if there is a super saturation or
other major problems, that portion of the fee could go up. He
said there is a fixed price of 1.55% and they would have to
discuss market conditions if they drastically change.
Mr. Berani said in terms of the overall conditions of the market
place, it is impossible to predict what the market Will be then.
He said it is their professional judgment that interest rates may
go down over the next few months and conditions may improve.
C/M Gottesman asked if a 30-year bond issue would not have an
adverse affect on people considering settling in Tamarac and
V/M Stein said when the issue is floated that amount is set for 30
years. He said the City has taken advance money towards the 201
or wastewater program already and will continue to do that. He
said whether the City floats bonds for 25 or 30 years would be
done at the advice of the bond counsel and underwriters at the
time.
C/M Gottesman asked what would be the soonest date these bonds
could be taken to market and Mr. Berani said approximately 6
weeks. C/W Massaro asked what the engineering fees of $10,400.00
are for and Mr. Etheredge said that is the report from Williams,
Hatfield & Stoner that has already been received to determine the
cost of the projects. He said that will be paid out of these
proceeds.
C/W Massaro asked what the Paying Agent and Registrar are and
Mr. Etheredge said it will probably be Barnett Bank, who will be
paying for the coupons every month, the retirement and registering
of the bonds, handling all transactions, etc. C/W Massaro
questioned what Closing and Contingency are and Mr. Etheredge said
that would be for any closing costs. He said the sheet he distri-
buted to Council was only to give a vague figure of what this will
cost.
C/W Massaro asked what the underwriters fee would cover and
V/M Stein said it is listed in a memo to the City Manager from
John Montalvo of the Finance Department dated 4/10/86. He said
this memo notes that the average take -down of sales commission,
management fee, underwriting risk, expenses of the underwriter,
travel, and printing.
C/W Massaro asked if the rate that has been set for the residents
was based on a 20 or 30 year issue and Mr. Etheredge said he
believed it was 25 years. He said it was $27,805,000.00 in
Principal, 10% for 25 years, about $3,060,000.00 per year was used
to base the ratio.
Mr. Berani said the City submitted a proposal that said 20, 25 and
30 years. V/M Stein noted that the rates are as follows:
20 years - 7.25%
25 years - 7.38%
30 years - 7.38%
He said the coupon for
one year would start at 4.75%.
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4/12/86
/pm
C/W Massaro asked Mr. Etheredge if the rates the City is charging
now are based on 20 or 25 years and Mr. Etheredge said 25 years.
He said this rate study used 1984's expenditure figures.
V/M Stein said the residents are being charged based upon 10% not
7.25%. Mayor Hart noted that a Workshop Meeting will be held to
determine the length of time for which the bonds will be floated.
Jerry. Heffernan, Bond Counsel for the City, said the rates being
discussed today are market rates and when a Workshop Meeting is
held in approximately a month, the numbers and rates will be
known.. Mr..Berani noted that the Workshop Meeting date and the
marketing hav-e to be almost within one day of each other because
if a maturity is agreed upon, the securities will be marketed the
next day.
C/M Gottesman asked why the underwriters are designated at 90% and
10% and Mr. Heffernan said the divisions are typically made that
way. He said the City is selecting L.F. Rothchild as the actual
Manager of this transaction and William Hough will be Co -Manager
and will participate in the sale but not in the management side of
it.
Clark Bennett of William R. Hough & Co. said in structuring the
deal there are certain responsibilities that are required of the
lead underwriter. He said he structures the deal, does the
computer work, checks the market, obtains the insurance, etc. He
said as joint underwriter he may or may not ask to participate in
any.of that work. He said in this case he has elected to do the
work. -and has offered that split. He said they have elected to
assujnB_to take that split.
-"(C,/W`.-A saro requested a partial Verbatim Transcript at this point
- Df__the:-7iinutes) -
g/W.--'sassaro: The only thing that I wanted clear is that if these
figures do change we have absolutely no responsibility to this
underwriter. Is that correct? Mr. Rothchild.
Ar,__Rothchild: You will be presented with a purchase contract and
we will discuss with you interest rate considerations at a
Workshop, that you indicated that you want to have, and, you have
no liability. If there is no deal there is no liability.
C/W-Massaro: There is absolutely no liability.
Mr. Rothchild: We understand that but we are going ahead with the
full faith of the City that you want us to do this and there is a
need to do it. And, we obviously will incur a great deal of
expenses...so is your bond counsel to do it ... and we will be
coming in at 1.55%. I think that is our understanding.
(End of partial Verbatim Transcript).
V/M Stein MOVED that the City retain L.F. Rothchild and William R.
Hough & Co. to underwrite the utility bond issue at the bid amount
of 1.55 subject to review at a Council Workshop Meeting before the
bonds are actually issued. SECONDED by C/W Massaro.
Mr. Rednor asked the underwriters if it is absolutely clear that
if the City, regardless of market reasons, decides that they do
not wish to issue these bonds, both the underwriters and the bond
counsel will receive no fee including no costs that are incurred.
Mr. Rothchild said if, for whatever reason, the City decides not
to authorize them to proceed there will be no liability.
Mr. Heffernan said that is typical with all bond counsel.
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4/12/86
/pm
Mr. Heffernan said when they were hired two years ago, the Council
had requested two transactions, a general obligation for the new
City Hall and a water and sewer parity bond issue, which was all
that was anticipated at the time. He said when it was discovered
that there were some legal problems when they did the refunding,
they did the refunding first. He said technically speaking, the
contract he has with the City is for two transactions and not
three.
Mr. Heffernan said they have agreed to do this transaction at
$5,000.00 because it is a parity issue and they believe it can be
Tape 2 handled at that rate.
VOTE:
ALL VOTED AYE
V/M Stein MOVED that the City retain the firm of Fine, Jacobson,
Schwartz, Nash, Block and England as bond counsel at a sum not to
exceed $5,000.00.
C/W Massaro asked Mr. Heffernan what their hourly rate is and
Mr. Heffernan said his normal hourly rate is $150.00 but they will
charge $100.00 per hour for him and use associates at $75.00 per
hour. SECONDED by C/M Gottesman.
VOTE: ALL VOTED AYE
Mayor Hart adjourned the meeting at 2:50 P.M.
MAYOR
TEST:
ITY CLE K
CITY OF TAMARAC
APPR Ep AT MEETING OF
ti
City Clerk
This public document was promulgated at a cost of $52.41.or
$1.45 per copy to inform the general public and public officers
and employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City
Council of the City of Tamarac.
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4/12/86
/pm
C�
MAIL REPLY TO:
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TAMARAC. FLORIDA 33320
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TELEPHONE (305) 722-5900
RECORD OF COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS/ACTIONS
April 1, 1986
NOTICE OF
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
TAMARAC, FLORIDA
There will be a Special City Council meeting on Saturday,
April 12, 1986, at 2:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City
Hall, 5811 NW 88 Avenue, Tamarac, Florida.
The purpose of this meeting is to hold an interview with
Dennis Sparks, candidate for the position of City Manager.
The public is invited to attend.
FINAL ACTION: The City Council held an interview with
Dennis Sparks and he will submit his proposal to Council in
writing for their review.
Marilyn Bertholf, CMC
City Clerk
Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Florida Statutes
If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the city
Council with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or
,purposeWaring, he will need a record of the proceedings and for such
, he may need to ensure that a verbatim record includes
the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HANDICAPPED STATUS
CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
April 12, 1986
Tape 1 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hart called the meeting to order at
2:50 P.M. on Saturday, April 12, 1986 in the Council Chambers of
City Hall.
ir ROLL -CALL: PRESENT:
Mayor Bernard Hart
Vice Mayor Sydney M. Stein
Councilwoman Helen Massaro
Councilman Arthur H. Gottesman
ABSENT AND EXCUSED:
AL PRE ENT•
Councilman Jack Stelzer
Larry Perretti, City Manager
Marilyn Bertholf, City Clerk
Patricia Marcurio, Secretary
Larry Perretti, City Manager, noted that on Mr. Sparks resume it
was documented that his last employment was as County Adminis-
trator in Caroline County, Virginia, from 1985 to present. He
asked for an update as to what has transpired since that time.
Dennis Sparks, candidate for the position of City Manager, said
the resume is outdated and he is presently a Management Consultant
working with a Consulting Engineering firm. He said he also has
his own firm of Sparks and Associates in Virginia. He said he
left Caroline County at the end of August, 1985. He said he is
10 currently working on a municipal consulting project in West
Virginia.
Mr. Perretti asked why Mr. Sparks left Caroline County and he said
that was an interim position and this was not the type of locality
he was looking for nor was he the type of employee they were
looking for. He said he was only there 3 months and, in that
time, he received a $594,000.00 City B.G. Grant Form, 4 new
industrial prospects and some other unrelated items.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks to describe his management style as
it relates to a Council/Manager form of government. Mr. Sparks
said it was traditional. He said the City Council are elected
officials who are representatives of the people and the City
Manager is appointed by the Council to conduct the daily routine
affairs of the City. He said his philosophy in dealing with
employees ,is one of participative management. He said he believes
in teamwork with open lines of communication between all members
of Council, City Manager, the public and employees.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks how he would describe his work
habits and personality and Mr. Sparks said he has been accused of
working too much. He said he is an organizer and he feels he is a
very nice guy.
Mr. Perretti said Tamarac isbasically a residential community of
retirees who demand the most efficient operation possible from
their municipal government. He asked how Mr. Sparks would instill
confidence in these re-sidents.upon assuming the position of City
Manager. Mr. Sparks said he has had a good relationship with the
residents in the past and he is aware of the two different func-
tions of the Council and the City Manager.
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4/12/86
/pm
Mr. Sparks said as the City Manager he would carry out the duties,
wishes, Resolutions and Ordinances that Council passes. He said
he would take the staff and try to lead them in a team approach in
that direction.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks what his management philosophy would
be for improving morale among the City employees after assuming
the position of City Manager. Mr. Sparks said he believes in
teamwork as opposed to a dictatorial style. He said he would meet
with the Department Heads on a regular basis to discuss problems,
achievements and the direction that the Council wants to go in so
that there will be open lines of communication.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks what experience he has in dealing
with various community groups who function in a watchdog capacity
over municipal government. Mr. Sparks said he believes he has
good experience with that in Washington County. He said the group
consisted of about 3,000 residents and he felt they needed to know
what was going on in government. He said the residents resented
the government taking action without notifying them. He said if
they knew the reasoning of the governing body, they could better
understand their actions.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks if he had any experience as a County
or City Manager when the Police or Fire Departments were not under
his authority. Mr. Sparks said he was a County Administrator in 3
counties in Virginia and it is not much different than Florida.
He said in addition to the governing body there were those elected
constitutional officers that demanded attention as well. He said
the Fire Departments were volunteer groups.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks which of the following: budgeting,
personnel/labor relations, utilities, finance, public safety or
engineering would be his strongest field and which is his weakest 44
field. Mr. Sparks said he has good experience in budgeting,
personnel and finance and his weakest field would be engineering.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks what type of degree he has.
Mr. Sparks said he has four degrees; two Associate Degrees, one in
Business Administration, one in Pre -Teacher, one in Business and
Law and an M.B.A., Master in Business Administration. He said he
also has about 10 years experience in public administration.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks to describe in detail his greatest
achievement relative to a governmental reorganization program
resulting in meaningful savings and improved delivery of govern-
mental services. Mr. Sparks said there have been several but
probably Washington County was the largest, significant develop-
ment that he was able to achieve. He said in Washington County,
Virginia, which is on the Virginia/Tennessee border and is the
16th largest of 95 counties in Virginia, he reorganized the
governmental structure relating to departments and personnel. He
said he organized three new departments, central accounting,
central purchasing and legal services. He said this resulted in
significant savings to the County.
Mr. Sparks said this resulted in no increase in personnel but
there were many changes. He said the tax rate did not increase
and yet the level of services did increase.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks to describe in detail the most
controversial issue that he encountered as a City Manager and the
end result.
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4/12/86
Mr. Sparks said in Washington County there was a renovation of an
old school building into a County office building and this became
controversial in the political environment. He said they did this
instead of building a new building and they saved more than half
of a million dollars.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks if he feels it is important for a
City to have an overall plan for parks and recreation facilities
where condominiums flourish with their own recreational facil-
ities. Mr. Sparks said he feels planning is good from a business
standpoint. He said planning is a combination of research and
putting the conclusions or recommendations of that research into a
projected implementation.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks what is the smallest and largest
budget he has dealt with and what the millage rates are that he
has been dealing with. Mr. Sparks said the largest budget was 30
million dollars and the smallest was about 13 million dollars. He
said in Virginia the rate is not calculated in a millage fashion
but he is familiar with it.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks if he had any experience dealing
with unions and what is his attitude about them. Mr. Sparks said
no, not in the public sector since unions are not allowed in the
public sector in Virginia. He said he feels when many unions are
formed.they probably could have been avoided if the employer had
made some concessions.
Mr. Perretti asked Mr. Sparks how long a tenure he is seeking with
Tamarac and what his minimum salary and benefit requirements would
be. Mr. Sparks said there are two ways this could be approached:
first, as an employee and, second, as a consultant for one year
and help to get established. He said he has an interesting way to
save the City money and reduce risk for all.
Mr. Sparks said the salary he would seek would be $55,000.00 and
the.benefits would.depend.on which approach is taken. He said the
tenure for a City Manager is not very long.
Mayor Hart asked Mr. Sparks what his experience is in securing
County, State and Federal grants for a City and Mr. Sparks said he
feels his experience has been fair. He said he has worked on
F.E.M.A., Federal Emergency Management Agency grants, and a grant
for a utility. He said he has been an advisor to an Industrial
Development Authority, 3 Planning Commissions, Airport Com-
missioner and a Commissioner on the Executive Committee of the 5
County Emergency Medical Services Council. He said they all
received grants of one type or another.
Mayor Hart asked Mr. Sparks what his experience has been in
securing economic development companies for the counties in which
he worked. Mr. Sparks said he has one reference that calls him an
expert in that area and he has had good experience in that field.
He.said Caroline County received an industrial development grant
in 90_days time with.4 prospects. He said in Washington County
there is a list that involved manufacture, commercial, retail and
industrial companies. He said in Page. County, a.smaller county,
there was.an electronics manufacturer, which involved the develop-
ment of a new industrial site.
Mayor Hart asked Mr. Sparks if he would like to live in Florida
and Mr. Sparks said he likes South Florida and the job depends on
the people involved.
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4/12/86
V/M Stein asked Mr. Sparks how soon he could begin and Mr. Sparks
said he could come as soon as he is needed. V/M Stein asked for
an explanation of the option of "consulting basis" and Mr. Sparks
said it is a concept. He said if he were to come to Tamarac
representing Sparks and Associates as an interim City Manager for
a period of one year. He said in this way the City could benefit
as follows:
- on this basis, the City would have the opportunity to see what
his performance is like without any appearance of a long-term
situation.
- on this basis, he could relocate to Florida and it would not
cost the City for benefits, sick leave, etc.
Mr. Sparks said he tried to estimate the net savings to the City,
conservatively, was approximately $5,500.00 for one year. He said
if, at the end of one year, the City decided that they wanted a
City Manager other than him on a permanent basis, he would offer
his services at a 30% discount to the City for an executive
recruiter. He said he would be in a better position to recruit
and screen a selection for the City since he was in this position
for one year.
V/M Stein asked Mr. Sparks if he felt a City Manager position for
Tamarac was not a full time job and Mr. Sparks said no, he would
be a full time consultant but the only difference would be there
would be a contractural contract rather than an employment con-
tract. He said one of the major benefits to him would be that as
a consultant, he could legitimately take his living expenses as a
business deduction with I.R.S.
C/W Massaro asked Mr. Sparks how long it has been since he was a
City Manager and he said he has not been a City Manager but has
been a County Administrator of 3 counties. C/W Massaro asked when
was the last time he was a County Administrator and Mr. Sparks
said August, 1985. C/W Massaro asked if that was where he earned
between $43,000.00 and $45,000.00. Mr. Sparks said no, that was a4q
short 4 hour encounter in Garden City, Michigan, where he was
hired as a City Manager. He said he went there and saw some
things he did not think were ethical and he left immediately.
C/W Massaro asked Mr. Sparks how long he was County Administrator
in Caroline County and Mr. Sparks said 3 months. C/W Massaro
asked what the problem was and Mr. Sparks said Caroline County is
a small rural county and was not what he was looking for.
Tape 2 C/W Massaro asked Mr. Sparks what his salary was in his last
position as County Administrator and he said $32,000.00.
C/W Massaro asked Mr. Sparks why he is seeking such a higher
salary from Tamarac and Mr. Sparks said it is a larger place with
more responsibility. C/W Massaro asked how many people were in
the County he was Administrator of and Mr. Sparks said 18,000
residents plus an Army base in the area with approximately 13,000
people.
C/W Massaro asked what the problem was in Garden City, Michigan,
and Mr. Sparks said the Mayor of Garden City represented the
Council and he told him that they would pay for his lodging for a
day or two so he could find a house in the area. He said it was
the principle of the issue. He said the Mayor suggested he pad an
expense account and it would be reimbursed to him and he refused
to deal that way. He said they also told him not to talk to any
of the Department Heads unless it was approved by the Council
first. He said they also wanted an itinerary at least a week in
advance before he made any visits to the Fire or Police Chiefs.
C/M Gottesman noted there was a lapse of one year between
Mr. Sparks employment with Washington County and his last employ-
ment and Mr. Sparks said that is right.
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4/12/86
/pm
Mr. Sparks said during that period of time he was a commercial
pilot and was active in management consulting. C/M Gottesman
noted that Mr. Sparks gave the Council some newspaper
icles
that were not favorable as well as letters of recommendation from
other -people. Mr. Sparks said he felt everything should be
public,knowledge.
/M GQtt-esman asked about Mr. Sparks plans for relocation if
"necessary and Mr. Sparks said he would have to find a place to
Lives anted would not need to move all his household goods.
bmit his proposal to Council
C/M gb`ttesman suggested Mr. Sparks su
n1writing and he said he would. C/M Gottesman asked Mr. Sparks
if he would pay for his own relocation if he were hired as a City
Manager.
Mr. Sparks said if he were hired on a consultant basis the City
would not pay for the relocation because he would not move all of
his household goods. However, he said if he were hired on an
employee basis it would be done with permanency in mind and the
City would pay for his relocation.
C/M Gottesman said this is basically a City of retirees and he
asked Mr. Sparks what his feelings are about enticing large
industry to this area. Mr. Sparks said the determination of
whether or not industry should be sought should be made by the
Council of the City as the governing body. He said if the Council
does decide to solicit industry it would be for a tax base and
would seek clean industry.
Mayor Hart said it should be understood that the Council is not
looking for a one year City Manager and he asked Mr. Sparks to
elaborate on his experience with Washington County. Mayor Hart
noted that Washington County had a population of 72,000 people
with 270 employees and a budget of 30 million dollars.
Mr. Sparks said he had a good governing body there to work with
and the area is a combination of urban, suburban and rural. He
said the governing body was conservative and yet progressive and
they managed to do a great deal without spending a large amount of
money.
Mr. Sparks said it was a very political area and he was the 14th
County Administrator in 17 years and he stayed longer than any
except for the first. He said he brought the level of pro-
fessionalism up. C/W Massaro asked the amount of salary he
received there and Mr. Sparks said $35,000.00.
Mayor Hart asked Mrs. Sparks her feelings of Florida and she said
she enjoyed Florida.
C/W Massaro noted that although there have been 3 City Managers in
the last 2 years, the previous one was here 7 years.
Ed Soloman, resident, said as a former resident of Virginia, he
agreed with Mr. Sparks' description of the various areas of that
State.
5
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4/12/86
Mayor Hart noted that the interview was over and the City Manager
would contact Mr. Sparks regarding Council's decisions. He said
Mr. Sparks should submit both proposals in writing for Council's
review.
Mayor Hart adjourned the meetin at 4:00 p.M.
MAYOR
TTEST:
CITY CL K
CITY OF TAMARA(;""'=
AMOVED T MEETING QE-�c�
City Cier
This document was promulgated at a cost of $52.41 or $1.45
per copy to inform the general public and public officers and
employees about recent opinions and considerations by the City
Council of the City of Tamarac.
I
a
6
/pm 4/12/86