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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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