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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-19 - City Commission Retreat Meeting MinutesCITY COMMISSION RETREAT COLONY WEST CYPRESS ROOM WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008 Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco called the City Commission Retreat to order on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at 9:03 a.m., at Colony West, Cypress Room, Tamarac, FL. PRESENT: Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco, Commissioner Edward C. Portner, Commissioner Patte Atkins -Grad, and Commissioner Harry Dressler. ABSENT: Vice Mayor Marc L. Sultanof. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Jeffrey L. Miller, Assistant City Attorney Michael Cirullo, Deputy City Manager Michael C. Cemech, Assistant City Manager Diane Phillips, Human Resources Director Maria Swanson, Public Works Director Jack Strain, Director of Utilities Ray Gagnon, Community Development Director Jennifer Bramley, Fire Chief Jim Budzinski, BSO Chief Marc Duguay, I.T. Director Levent Sucuoglu, Financial Services Director Steve Chapman, Director of Parks and Recreation Greg Warner, Building Operations Manager Ken McIntyre, Public and Economic Affairs Officer Andy Berns, and City Clerk Marion Swenson. FROM THE PUBLIC: Bernard Roberts. City Manager Miller welcomed everyone to the Commission Retreat and gave a brief overview of the session. City Manager Miller said the presentation on e- government would be deferred to a workshop meeting. Financial Services Director Chapman gave a presentation on financial projections and an overview of the budget. Commissioner Portner said several years ago he suggested a utility tax, and asked the Mayor and City Commission to look into instituting a utility tax rather than having to raise the millage. Commissioner Dressler said he did not want to raise taxes unless every other avenue had been visited. Commissioner Atkins -Grad said she is curious to see what other cities are charging in fees. City Manager Miller explained at the next workshop staff will bring forward for the Mayor and City Commission an increase in Building Department fees; we are going to try to make the Building Department self supporting. User fees do not hit all the taxpayers. With regard to a utility tax, there is a Bill pending in the legislature that would prevent us from raising any fees without going to the populous for a vote. We may want to set the groundwork for a utility tax and get it in place. Commissioner Dressler asked if it is legally possible to pass a utility tax set at some average rate and then waive it. If necessary, down the road we can remove the waiver and avoid punitive City Commission Retreat March 19, 2008 Page 1 of 5 Revised 03/25/08 Revised 03/26/08 measures from the legislature. Assistant City Attorney Cirullo explained the concept is well founded; however, once the mechanism is put into place and Tallahassee recognizes it, they may change the rule and bring a different mechanism into place. Deputy City Manager Cernech said Commissioner Portner has been on the right side of the utility tax issue; Tamarac is one of two cities in Broward County without a utility tax, and as such, we have missed out on millions of dollars in past years, as well as an opportunity to lower ad valorem taxes. A utility tax may be a necessary component as we move forward. Deputy City Manager Cernech said we but we need to look at potential utility tax revenues in percentage increments and present that information to the Mayor and City Commission, who can then make an informed decision whether to implement a utility tax and at what rate. Perhaps the Mayor and City Commission may want to set a utility tax at 1 %, which reserves our right to use that tool if we need to at a future date. Commissioner Dressler said he would rather raise revenue through a utility tax, which is user based, than through millage. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said this also ties into our environment. Commissioner Atkins -Grad said she doesn't know why we didn't accept it last time, when Ed made the suggestion, what was the negativity about it? Commissioner Atkins -Grad said it's a good idea, in her opinion. The Mayor and Commissioners present were not opposed to looking into a utility tax. Community Development Director Bramley gave a presentation on the Green Initiative and with the combined efforts of Utilities, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Building and Community Development, said we have submitted our application. Tamarac is now a member of the U.S. and Florida Green Building coalitions. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco thanked Community Development Director Bramley, Deputy City Manager Cemech, and City Manager Miller for their work on this project. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said she met with our lobbyist last week and she would like to see Tamarac included in the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Best Practices book. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco spoke of the Clinton Climate Initiative and asked City Manager Miller to have our lobbyist get us information on products for member cities. Commissioner Dressler asked if there is federal money for greening and Assistant City Manager Phillips said we just started looking into particular CIP currently in the hopper for any green aspects. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said the federal government is working on an Energy Initiative Grant which is similar to CDBG. Assistant City Manager Phillips said 85% of our constituents said their main source of information is the Tam -A -Gram and the Silver Certificate provides a great opportunity to get this information to our residents through the Tam -A -Gram. Commissioner Dressler spoke of Coral Springs and their symposium on economic development, and felt we could do something similar with regard to greening, and invite the Governor to attend. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco spoke of awards for water and asked Director of Utilities Gagnon if Tamarac has applied for the award connected with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Director of City Commission Retreat March 19, 2008 Page 2 of 5 Revised 03/25/08 Revised 03/26/08 Utilities Gagnon said while we have won almost every award we know of, if there are others for which he would be interested in applying. Commissioner Dressler asked if we test our water for antibodies and hormones, and Director of Utilities Gagnon said our water comes from an underground source and it does not have to be tested for those contaminants. Community Development Director Bramley gave a presentation on Community Revitalization, spoke of diversity and demographics, and discussed neighborhood indicators. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco asked if there is anything Tamarac can do to partner with our schools and Assistant City Manager Phillips said in quarterly meetings with local principals we get updates and we are beginning to partner with them on various programs. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco said we need to bring our schools more into play through the Tam -A - Gram. Community Development Director Bramley spoke of foreclosures. BSO Chief Duguay spoke of neighborhood crimes and said crime is down this year. Most crimes are committed on our corridor roads, which is indicative of people passing through the area and committing crimes. Community Development Director Bramley spoke of revitalization and strategies. Commissioner Dressler left the room at 10:46 a.m. and returned at 10:48 a.m. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned grandfathering in landscaping issues and how we deal with existing landscaping eyesores. Community Development Director Bramley responded Code Enforcement can handle the problem. Commissioner Dressler said he has been invited to ride with the COP people as they feel the neighborhoods of Sunflower/Heathgate are deteriorating and asked if he should bring someone from Code along with him. Community Development Director Bramley said she recommends bringing someone from Code Enforcement. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said we need to instill pride and community buy -in back into our neighborhoods. Commissioner Portner suggested purchasing foreclosed properties, revamping them and then selling them. Community Development Director Bramley spoke of CDBG monies available to assist families. City Manager Miller said it is a huge national problem and requires federal intervention. The federal government has taken a few steps toward lowering the Prime rate but it has not kicked down to the banking system. North Lauderdale will host a seminar and take donations from the private sector to revitalize homes; they probably will be able to do only one or two homes. With tax reform, there is no funding to take on these issues at this time. We are monitoring the situation and when we can do something we will be first in line; but for now, it is a problem that is bigger than all of us. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco suggested Commissioner Portner speak with developers in the community. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco suggested holding an informal City Commission Retreat March 19, 2008 Page 3 of 5 Revised 03/25/08 Revised 03/26/08 lunch/seminar for local banks to learn more about what they have to say, and this may help answer some questions. Commissioner Dressler spoke of a public/private partnership to find private investors who want to get involved. Commissioner Dressler left the room at 11:32 a.m. and returned at 11:34 a.m. Deputy City Manager Cernech gave an update on Main Street and said we are in the process of purchasing property and we are working toward putting an appropriate credit line into place to purchase property. The schools at the west end of Main Street have expanded and the new Temple facility will add to Main Street. A developer has a site plan in the DRC process. With regard to the economy, now is not a good time to build and that will provide us with a bigger window of opportunity than we expected in order to be players in the development of Main Street. Public and Economic Affairs Officer Berns outlined what we have done so far with regard to Main Street and added that land purchases for Main Street on the part of the City are short term investments to facilitate the development we would like to see on the corridor. Community Development Director Bramley explained we must establish a `dream team' for the planning and financial aspects of the development. Some of our guidelines are already in place. Main Street will be a benefit to the community and the analysis by Fishkind and Associates will show us how it will benefit our residents' quality of life. The Ferguson Group, our lobbyists in Washington, will continue to search for federal money for the project. We need to have a coordinator and financial advisor for our land acquisition efforts and to let the residents know the benefits of the land acquisitions. City Manager Miller said once we have a more concrete plan for the area and we have gained the consensus of the Mayor and City Commission, we will roll out the plan with the help of the experts; perhaps we will hold meetings with a Public Relations firm, as well. Mayor Flansbaum- Talabisco questioned educating the public and Public and Economic Affairs Officer Berns said the Public Relations aspect is a key component. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said we need to get back the excitement of this project; the median age of the community is down and we need this project. Deputy City Manager Cernech said the taxpayers need to understand they are not paying for this project. Commissioner Portner added we must keep in mind who we are and who we are not; this project will bring a sense of place to Tamarac. We must look at the mistakes other such projects made and do our project right. Commissioner Atkins -Grad suggested marketing Main Street in the Tam -A - Gram. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned the time frame and Deputy City Manager Cernech said the Mayor and City Commission will see this project begin to unfold over the next six months. Our intention is to move this along as quickly as we can; because of the economy we have a window of opportunity. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco questioned factoring the cost into the budget and Deputy City Manager Cernech responded we are assessing what we have available for professional fees. This will be a private sector project but the City will be City Commission Retreat March 19, 2008 Page 4 of 5 Revised 03/25/08 Revised 03/26/08 1 1 1 involved. Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco said there is nothing like seeing professionals do their job, thanked staff for the past two days, and said she would like to see things implemented as soon as possible. There being no further business to come before the Mayor and City Commission, Mayor Flansbaum-Talabisco adjourned the retreat at 12:00 no MARION WENSQN, CM CITY CLERK City Commission Retreat March 19, 2008 Page 5 of 5 Revised 03/25/08 Revised 03/26/08