Loading...
CCMtg01-19-09Min L~ONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION ]Longwood City Commission Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida MINUTES JANUARY 19, 2009 7:00 P.M. Present: Mayo' Brian D. Sackett Deputy Mayor John C. Maingot Com~~issioner Joe Durso Commissioner Mike Holt Commissioner H.G. "Butch" Bundy Teresa S. Roper, City Attorney John J, .Drago, City Administrator Sarah :[VI. Mirus, City Clerk Richard Kornbluh, Division Manager of Utilities Carol Rogers, Director of Financial Services Tom Jackson, Police Chief Laurie Mooney, Fire Chief Fran N[eli; Recreation Program Manager i Paul S'i:zemore, Director of Community Services 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. A moment of SILENT MEDITATION was followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 3. COMMUNITS.' ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Mirus, read the following. announcement: A. Senior P?Iatinee will beheld on January 21, 2009 from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m., Longwood Community Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. This month's feature is SS Minretes. 4. RECOGNITIa?NS. A. Presentation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Good Citizenship Award to Doctor Bill Byrd. Deputy Dvlayor Maingot read a Proclamation recognizing Doctor Bill Byrd and presented him with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Good Citizenship i Award. F°hotographs were then taken. CC 01-19-09/13 B. District #2 Nomination of the Business Person of the Month Award for February 2009. Commissioner Durso nominated Mr. Steve Young, Owner of Steve's Florist, 1155 West State Road 434, Suite No. 159 for the Business Person of the Month Award for February 2009. Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote. 5: BOA1zD APPOINTMENTS. None, 6. PUBLIC INPUT. A. Public Participation. Jo Anne Rebello, 301 Loch Lomand Avenue, spoke first regarding Item 11 D and said it was unfortunate that we were losing a City Administrator that has brought this City forward by completing projects that languished before his tenure and who initiated fresh ideas as witnessed throughout the City. She stated, at this time,. cities need a strong and competent hand to lead. them through these tough and unpredictable economic times. She said, after reading the attached documentation relating to this issue, she was intrigued by Commissioner Bundy's proposal that a former employee, Patrick Miller,. be considered as Interim. She stated it became apparent to her that while Mr. Miller was employed with the City, he was not suited i for the position. She declared he lacked. the knowledge and management skills to do his job effectively. She said the thought of Mr. Miller being at the helm of this City so concerned her, that she decided to investigate his former employment history based on his original application, as well as his latest resume. She declared there were inconsistencies in both. He states he was the Assistant City Manager /Utilities Director for Lake. Worth, Florida and that his reason for seeking employment was that his contract was terminated to allow for severance pay. She cannot find that his job title was ever as an Assistant. City Manager in Lake Worth, but she can state that he was .fired from his position as Utilities Director. She stated a quote in the Palm Bench Post Newspaper,. dated January 2S, 2003 referring to Mr. Miller, by the City Manager,, states "I just. need a Director who had more management, financial, and utility .experience." She also referenced an article from August 30, 2000 relating, to Mr. Miller's vying for the Manager of Volusia County, while employed by Palm Beach County.. She declared it also appears that IVIr. Miller has not had any consistency in his last three positions since 2006. She said one could wonder why he should even be considered. She stated if this Commission was in such a rush to replace Mr. Drago, then it needs to consider the financial ramifications, as well as the competency of the individual to hold the position until such time that the proper procedure is followed, according to our Charter, Article IV,.Section 4.04 (a). She. stated this brings her to Item 11 F and said this proposed Ordinance by ~ Commissioner Durso was in direct violation of the Charter, Article IV, Section 4.07 [(b)] (1). She said she was surprised by his proposed action, CC O1-19-09/14 considering he served as Chair on the most recent Charter Review Committee. She stated she would give him the benefit of not knowing the rules, but according to his campaign flyers, he is well versed in the ways of government. She asked that he withdraw this prohibitive Ordinance from t:he Agenda. 7. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT. No report. 8. MAYOR AN:D COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. District #2. C;ommissioner Durso said he had a ntunber of items he would like to discuss this evening that he would like to be recognized through the Mayor for a series of statements and questions. He stated the first issue was with regards to the Severn Trent~water contract. He first inquired if the finance books had been officially closed by the City. Mr. Drago said, according to Ms. Rogers they were .not closed. Commissioner Durso said he had discussed this with Ms. Rogers a few weeks ago and he has a specific question as to whether or not the cost of the contract operations was greater than or less than the last year of the water plant operation costs. He stated he was basically asking if the City actually saved money by privatizing the contract. He inquired when he could expect an anstiver. ~ Ms. Rogers advised within the next two weeks. Commissioner Durso inquired what the inventory policies were in the City and if there was any relation to past and future budgets when mal~ing purchases. Mr. Drago said he did not believe there was a formal inventory policy. He stated Ms. Rogers does an inventory every year as part of the audit. Mayor Sackett inquired when the audit inventory was done, who's responsibility was it, was it aiuiual, and how was it handled. Ms. Rogers advised the City does not maintain a policy on small tools. She said they do not inventory small tools or small items, they are period costs. She stated they are expendable items and are accounted for as they are purchased with the assumption they will be used over a period of a year or less. Commissioner :Durso said, at one point in the future, they need to investigate having some formal inventory policy or procedure. He stated when the City purchases something, barring basic office supplies and things of that nature; there should be a wa3~ for the City to track it. Ms. Rogers said that policy is delineated in the footnotes of the financial statements. She stated the City inventories any capital purchases and maintains a detailed inventory of all capital items. She said anything over $1,000 was the threshold. CC 01-19-09/15 Deputy Mayor Maingot said they should take a second look at some of the things they have been doing in the City. He stated Commissioner Durso's point was well ~ founded. He said there were power tools that were a couple hundred. dollars or . less and they need to determine some level to quantify in terms of items that should be an entry level. Commissioner Bundy said even small power tools were expendable. He stated there was bar code software available that these items can be scanned. If they are damaged, it needs to be documented and have accountability. Commissioner Holt said in the constriction industry there was a form to be filled out when something broke in order to obtain a replacement. He stated he would like to have Florida Statutes researched in regards to what this falls Linder. Commissioner Durso said many of the cities and counties have taken advantage of the Federal and State stimulus packages by making specific requests for infrastructure items. He inquired if Longwood had taken advantage of this. Mr. Drago advised the City of Longwood has sent requests~to the Florida League of Cities. He said the requests go to the Florida League of Cities and they forward these to the Federal Government. Commissioner Durso said it has come to his attention that the City does not have Budget Workshops. He declared the City needed to start having public Workshops on the budget and requested the Commission have a discussion to ~ determine a time frame of holding these. Mayor Sackett suggested the time to bring things forward would be with a new City Administrator in place. Mr. Drago advised, by Charter, the budget has to be presented by August 1St. He suggested they would want the workshops prior to that to frame the expenditltre package. He said they could have additional workshops once it was presented if . they felt it necessary. Commissioner Durso requested Counsel to provide an update on the Board and Committee Appointment Ordinance. Ms. Roper said she was going to address this matter under her report. She stated she would have it ready to go into the Commission mailboxes tomorrow. She advised she had some questions prior to finalizing it. Commissioner Durso requested an update on the Public Relations Plan for Parks and Recreation Programs. Ms. Meli said she would bririg this forward at the next Commission meeting. CC 01-19-09/16 Commissioner Durso said he had received several phone calls over the weekend ~ regarding water pressure at Reider Avenue and Longwood Groves. He requested this matter be looked into. Commissioner Durso said he would like to address Ms. Rebello's comments. He stated he hasn't received a phone call or any communication from Ms. Rebello indicating any concern about any of the issues that were brought up in the Ordinance. He said there were a number of differences of opinion on the way the Charter read with regards to the Personnel Policy. He stated the Charter specifically mentions the Personnel Policy. The question was whether or not the Ordinance could be changed through the Personnel Policy and whether this would directly affect t:he Administrator's role with regard to the City Clerk's staff. He said his purpose in bringing forth that Ordinance was not to violate the Charter, but merely to start the discussion of bringing the City Clerk's staff under her control. He stated he believed the City Clerk's staff should report directly to the City Clerk, not to the Administrator. District #3. Conunissioner Holt said he appreciated the Clerk's Office putting together the 201)9 Calendar. Commissioner =Holt said they received some information from the Florida Department of'I'ansportation regarding rebuttal from a City Attorney. Mayor Sackett said he reviewed this information today and suggested this be deferred to his report. Commissioner bolt inquired how the proceedings would go regarding the contract with the Fire Department and what they are trying to mitigate to move forward. Mr. Drago said there have been proposals and counter proposals. He stated they have agreed to certain articles. He said he has not seen the last round of counter proposals. He stated this would boil down to the economic issues and they have asked for some counter proposals relative to the salary plan. He said they were adamant regarding their step plan, but he could not recommend this due to the cost involved. I~:e has not reviewed their new proposal. Commissioner Holt inquired to the schedule of meetings. Mr. Drago advised they have a first meeting where their proposals are presented and information is collected. He said the meetings were set up between Personnel, staff, and the negotiator and there was no set time frame. Commissioner 1=lolt inquired about the presentation from Parks and Recreation regarding the Farmers Market. ~ Mr. Drago said this was supposed to be either the first or second meeting in Febniary. CC 01-19-09/17 Mayor Sackett requested it be presented on February 16~'. District #4. Commissioner Bundy said they had received a Memorandum from Deputy Mayor Maingot. He stated he had planned on discussing Reiter Park regarding the amount of money it ballooned into, plus the fact they did not get it started or completed in time for the State grant. He said they could not afford to do the renovations at this time. He stated he spoke with Mr. Warren Brown who had suggested, until the economy picks up and funds become more available, perhaps they could look into converting some of the space into ball fields. He said the infrastructure would be similar to that for park renovations. He suggested, with the consensus of the Commission, to have Ms. Meli meet with Mr. Brown and discuss this matter. Commissioner Holt suggested, since it was going to be staged work, to go ahead and do the underground work and retention on the land recently required and move ahead through some of those projects and fiilfill the obligation through the permitting process. Mayor Sackett said the possibility of staging some things could be a preference, but they could still do some of the things Commissioner Bundy was talking about. Commissioner Bundy said he wanted to initiate some discussion to indicate they are willing to discuss the matter. i It was the consensus of the Commission for City staff to have a discussion_ with Mr. Brown regarding this matter. Commissioner Bundy said City staff had started undertaking a review of the Personnel Policy. He said there haven't been any major revisions for the last fifteen to twenty years. He stated he would like for Department Heads, Union Representatives, and employees to have some input. He will bring this matter up at a later time. Commissioner Bundy said with Ms. Rogers leaving, effective January 30~', and being in the middle of a search for a City Administrator, he would like to move the search over to the City Clerk's Office. He would like for the City Clerk to head it up with the assistance of Dawn Jackson. He stated by doing this, there would be some continuity. Commissioner Holt said he would like to hear comments from the City Clerk. Ms. Mirus said it was whatever the Commission desires. Commissioner Holt said they had received a letter from Florida City and County Management Association (FCCMA) and inquired if they could move forward with this. CC 01-19-09/18 Commissioner Bundy said they were already using FCCMA, and they have contacted the Range Riders. Mayor Sackett said this letter was notification that it was in process. He inquired if this ~~as the way they needed to go, or leave it with the Personnel Manager. Ms. Roper said this had been discussed a couple of meetings ago and it was decided in the past that Personnel had conducted the search for Administrators, so it was given to Personnel. She stated she did not believe the Charter addresses this being one of the Clerk's responsibilities. Mayor Sackett: said Ms. Jackson was already part of the dialogue with FCCMA and inquired v~hat was wrong with the process they had in place. Ms. Roper said .nothing was wrong with the process. She stated the original idea was that since Personnel had the experience in the past, they would know the proper procedures to follow up on the search. Commissioner Bundy said this was Linder the .Department Director. He stated the Personnel Manager was collecting the information and Ms. Rogers has been heading it up.,13e said with Ms. Rogers leaving they need to have a go-to person for the Commission. Deputy Mayor Maingot said Ms. Jackson was onboard with this and she has conducted the search in the past. He stated they alr°eady have an organization looking into the various, applications and will reduce them down to a number from which the Commission will be making the final selection. He said he did not 'see the need for bringing the City Clerk into that process. Mayor Sackett asked Ms. Rogers for a timeline and at what stage they were with this process. Ms. Rogers said. the applications have slowed down.. She advised they had approximately 37 applications. She stated Ms. Jackson has assembled. the files as the application;; are received. Once the cut-off date is met, she will then send these to the Raxige Riders. She said. the cut-off date is February 19th and the following week, the files will be .sent to the Range Riders for review, then back to the Commissio~l to make their short list evaluation and schedule meetings with the expectation of making a selection at the March 15th meeting. Commissioner ]Holt said he understands the Policy and Procedure that when submitting an application you need to go through policies set forth. He stated they were not asking the Personnel Manager to step aside, rather to have somebody to ~ go to when this all comes back. He said appointments were normally set up through the Clerk's Office and a tag team would not hurt,in this particular time due to losing two major players. CC O1-19-09/19 Ms. Rogers said the most recent search for the Fire Chief was. handled by the Personnel Manager. Mayor Sackett. said he has confidence in what she can do. He stated he was not sure that process was a responsibility of "the City Clerk. Commissioner Bundy said his point was not to take away the policy and procedures from the Personnel Manager. He declared ..she was doing a very good job. However, she reports to Ms. Rogers what the responses have been and at what stage in the process they are. He inquired, with Ms. Rogers leaving, who she was going to report to. Deputy Mayor Maingot said that somewhere along the, line they need to resolve the issue of an Interim City Administrator. He stated there was no reason why that person could not be the Interim Administrator. Commissioner Bundy said he was not so sure he would want the Interim Administrator be the one to help find the permanent Administrator. He stated with Ms. Rogers and Mr. Drago leaving he would feel more comfortable with having the City Clerk overseeing the process. Deputy Mayor Maingot said after the Personnel Manager has sent this information to the Range Riders, what function the City Clerk would have in the process. Mr. Drago said the Range Riders would shortlist to ten applicants and the Commission would then shortlist to five. They would then need to determine an interview schedule and the type of interview procedure. The Personnel Manager would then set up the schedule. He stated he believed Commissioner Bundy was saying if there was a problem, the Personnel Manager would go to the City Clerk to help resolve it. Commissioner Bundy said he would like a consensus that the City Clerk be the person the Commission would go to, and also the Personnel Manager report the results of the search. It was athree/two consensus of the Conunission to move forward in this manner with Mayor Sackett and Deputy Mayor Maingot voting nay. District #5. Mayor Sackett reported Seminole County Commissioner McLean will be at the next meeting to see about. a corporate sponsorship of a table for the Seminole Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at the. cost of $500. He said Commissioner McLean's goal was 100% participation by the cities. Deputy Mayor Maingot said each individual Commissioner desiring to attend should pay to attend. v~ CC 01-19-09/20 ~ Mayor Sackett .said Relay for Life has been meeting often. He stated they have requested to advertise in our water bill. • It was the consensus of the Commission to move forward with advertising Relay for Life in the water bill. Mayor Sackett: inquired how Mr. Sizemore would be bringing forward the information regarding. the billboards. Mr. Drago said this would probably be an agenda item and Mr. Sizemore would probably do a matrix. Mayor Sackett inquired what had occtured with the water issue in the Woodgate area over the .Holidays and how communication fell apart. Mr. Kornbluh said if all of their phone lines are busy, it automatically rolls over to Utility Billing, Mayor Sackett said some communication broke down and people were frustrated. Mr. Drago said a lot of cities were subscribing to You Tube and My Space for public service ~trinouncements. Mayor Sackett said he was impressed and welcomed SunTrust being moved to the Thrift Store. He inquired about an update with the Pic N' Save property... Commissioner :Bundy said Fresh Market was not doing any expansions due to the economy. He stated Aldi Foods has indicafed some interest and he also gave Mr. White a contact number for the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Store. Mayor Sackett; said one of the key people in the Commuter Rail Project was Mr. George Lovett. He stated his last meeting with them was approximately six weeks ago and they saw the footprints for everything. He said there were some negotiations on how things needed to be tweaked and it was down to the final plans. He stated prior to that meeting he had three meetings with Mr. Lovett where he kept offering $1.8 million. He .said they were originally looking at $2.7 million and since that time, Mr. Lovett came back and. said we could message those numbers to bring it up to $2.3 million when looking at the square footage. He affirmed they have received a letter stating he wants to know something by • January 21St. He: said he would like to go to Mr. Lovett and say they can make this a doable project if they make it $2.4 million and not do the $3 million. He • affirmed the people he spoke with today said that was a workable number. He stated he would like to have .the confidence of the Commission to meet with ot~r Attorney and Ivlr. Lovett, before his imposed. January 21St deadline to make that statement. He said the other cities were starting to run into these same problems and they were using Longwood as an example. CC 01-19-09/21 Deputy Mayor Maingot said that was the value of the four acres. He inquired if this includes or excludes the actual funding they have to give to the City for the disruption and relocation of our facility. He declared this should be in addition to , the cost of purchasing the four acres. Mr. Drago said their limit was $50,000 for relocation, and the City would have to apply for that through a grant program. He stated there were additional meetings being set up with the Florida Department of Transportation and their engineers relative to trying to get a handle on the exact cost of their typical platform versus the cost of what the Commission wants. He said we were having trouble reconciling. their numbers. He stated that once the numbers are reconciled, ACi would probably come back to the Commission to provide what the standard platform cost is and show the difference in the costs. He advised that some of the previous standards were now an upgrade that the City will have to pay for. He said they will have a double cost, whatever they agree upon with Public Works and whatever the extra costs are for the upgrades. Deputy Mayor Maingot inquired if the City had any idea of where the Public Works facility would be relocated and what costs were involved for the property and the new s"tructure. Mr. Drago said if'the Commission stays with the game plan, Public Works was going to be moved to Orange Avenue. He stated this was roughly around. $3 million to include the building and the purchase of the property. He said Mr. ~ . Larry Adams had tentatively stated Public Works could be put on one part of the property and the other part of the property could be used. as a park. He stated they felt all along the City should be made whole and that has been the position, unless the Commission changes that position. Deputy Mayor Maingot said they were hearing $3 million and that was today's cost, not next year. He stated what will it cost the City if they say to them what they are presenting does not make us whole. Mayor Sackett said they will pull the station and just drive through. Deputy Mayor Maingot inquired who had that authority. He said with all the other things that have to get done, where do they find the funds. Mayor Sackett said this one needs to be a priority and they need to get the number from the Florida Department of Transportation as high as they can. Commissioner Bundy said he states in his letter that Federal Rules mandate evaluation be based on appraised values and not replacement costs. He stated he agreed with the Mayor that we need to let them know something by the 21St. He said he had a phone call from Ryan Von Weller with Orange- Crown Holdings today and he seems to think if it goes to the high end to the $2.4 million that we ~ ' can make it happen with little or no out of pocket expenses. He stated the Administrator was right, they need to come down on their land cost, but they CC 01-19-09/22 don't want to lose the station. He said Option B for the State was to buy the land ~ to the north, including parts of their land. He stated if they do that, all of Orange Crown Holdings effort to assemble parcels is out the window. It is to their advantage to assist the City and help make this happen. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the number then was $2.4 million with them helping us with the $50,000. Commissioner Bundy said he would not agree to that being the bottom line number. He suited he would like to leave it up to the discretion of the Mayor in the discussions and give him a range of $2.2 to $2.4 million. Commissioner Durso said, in light of the people who are making these decisions in Tallahassee, they have all seen general revenue money and trust fiend money disappear very quickly when things like this are not done. He stated if they get a fair offer betwc;an $2.3 and $2.45 million, they should move on it. Commissioner Holt said Deputy Mayor Maingot worked on this when he was Mayor and knows the players. He suggested Deputy Mayor Maingot and Mayor Sackett work in conjunction. It was the consensus of the Commission for the Mayor to move forward from $2.3 to $2.45 million with a conversation with Mr. Lovett and the respective Attorneys ~ tomorrow. District #1. Deputy Mayor Maingot said with regards to the water problem, he also received a lot of calls. He stated it was not a question of letting them know about it, but it :should not have happened in the first instance. He said there were procedures the Operator in charge dropped the ball. He stated the good representation i:rom the City when trying to save the sihlation, at that point in time could not do much as it was already being discharged. He said if having water held in a storage area, it should be flushed on schedule so to avoid contamination and ionization of the water. Deputy Mayor Maingot reported he attended the CALNO meeting on January 7th in Altamonte S prings. He had distributed a Memorandum dated January 16, 2009 to the Commission regarding Capital Projects. ale said he spoke with the City Administrator regarding the Oak Ridge and Talmo sewer project and suggested the pipes be installed for reclaimed water at the same time the streets are dug up. He stated other projects need to take a higher priority over~the Reiter Park project and until such time these issues have been resolved; it would be prudent to put the Park project on hold. In addition, since Reiter Park will not be taken out of service, he recommended deferring constriction of the Futsal Courts at Candyland Part: resulting in an additional savings of approximately $55,000. He said the Tallahassee Budget for 08/09 has a shortfall of $2.3 billion and next year, ~ the 09/10 Budget will have a $4 billion shortfall. He declared the City needs to tighten our belts and look at how we are spending. He said it was better to be proactive at this; point in time. He stated it was their fiduciary responsibility to the CC O1-19-09/2 people who elected them to take the necessary preemptive action to ensure the City's finances remain whole so they can continue to meet their debts and provide ~ the level of service they have been accustom to. He affirmed he had another thought in mind in the area of cost savings that they immediately look at an effective efficiency in handling medical transports. He said 85% of the Fire Department's service is associated with medical transports. He suggested a smaller emergency unit be used rather than dispatching a_Fire Truck, which is a costly high consumption unit, for the question of additional manpower to accompany every one of their medical transports. He asked the Administrator and Fire Chief check with the County to see if they have not already begun to give consideration to this. Mayor Sackett advised this was an agenda item for tomorrows Mayor and Managers meeting. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he would like to see the new Administrator take a comprehensive review of every Department and fimction within the City and put together a proposal and plan of action as to how we can do things better and more efficiently. Mr. Drago said the Deputy Mayor brought up the Futsal Court. He inquired if the Commission wanted the purchase order to not be issued and cancel the project., Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to not issue the purchase order, and put on delay the constriction for the Futsal Court. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Commissioner Bundy called for a point.. of order. He said this matter would need to be brought back as an agenda item since. they authorized the purchase order at the last Commission meeting. Ms. Roper advised since. the purchase order had not been executed and there was no date set for the performance, it should not matter to delay the project. Mayor Sackett agreed it should be on the agenda so it is public information. 9. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Approve Minutes of January 5, 2009 Rebular Meeting. B. Finance Division of the Financial Services Departmenfi recommends payment of approved and estimated bills for February 2009. C. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends approval of the Monthly Financial Report for December 2008. Commissioner Bundy moved to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot. CC 01-19-09/24 ~ Discussion was held regarding Item 9 B and 9 C. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 10. PiTELIC HEARINGS. A. The Community Development Division of the Community Services Department recommends the City Commission read by title only and adopt Ordinance No. 08-1872, which amends the City Comprehensive Plan (CPA 01-08) to be consistent with the 2005 District Water Supply Plan. Ms. Roper read Ordinance No. 08-1872 by title only. Ms. Minis announced proof of publication. Mayor ~5ackett opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor or against the Ordinance. :Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous voice vote. Commissioner Bundy moved to approve Ordinance No. 08-1872, as submitted. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot. Mr. Sizemore reviewed an Addendum to the Item. He explained this was an arithretic error to one of the tables on page five and this would need to be incorporated in the package when it is transmitted to Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review. Commissioner Holt moved to amend by adding the Addendtun to Item 10 A, as submitted for the arithmetic error on page 5 of the Water Supply Facilities Work Plan (WSFWP). Seconded by L)eputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous voice vote. Commissioner Durso inquired if by changing this, it locked the City into the Winter Springs Program. Nancy Smith, Consultant with the Gail Easley Company, said through the City's 2007 modification to the consumptive use permit, they selected the Winter Springs Project. She stated this was a separate item that would amend the Comprehensive Plan and it will put into the Comprehensive Plan that the City of Longwood has selected the Winter Springs Project. She said if they get into the budget in a year and need to amend this, they will have to amend the Comprehensive Plan as well. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the details were very good and the City was moving i~1 the right direction. He stated the City of Winter Springs has CC O1-19-09/25 obtained the consumptive use permit for this Project and reclaimed water was available to the City of Longwood up to approximately 99,000 gallons ~ per day. Ms. Smith said the cost figure was just the water cost. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the distance was much shorter to bring the water from Winter Springs than from the Yankee Lake Project. Commissioner Durso said he had one concern about capacity. He stated it seemed clear that the Yankee Lake Project would provide greater capacity. Ms. Smith said the Yankee Lake Project could potentially have more water available to the City. She advised there was a consultant working with the City for over a year and a half to do the modification to the V Consumptive Use Permit. She stated if all of this data was accepted by the District, then they should all be fine. She said she did not want to answer technical questions since she was not an engineer. Mr. Sizemore advised on page 12 of the Data Analysis document, Table 3, Projected Annual Average Day Demand, was from some of the information that was part of the Consumptive Use Permit. He said you can see the projections out to the year 2020 and the second from the bottom line indicates the available capacity being provided by the Winter Springs Project coming on line in 2014. Their projections out to 2020 showed there was adequate additional capacity provided by that Project. Commissioner Durso said he understands the projections; the problem is that best laid plans often go awry. He stated we were assuming this was dl~ring a rainy season where the aquifer will be refreshed on a regular basis and the water will be there. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the missing link was reclaimed water. He stated people are now using a tremendous amotmt of potable water to water their lawns. As this system comes on line we will be introducing the distribution system for the non-potable water and this will compensate for the additional increase in consumption. Ms. Smith said she had one other clarification, in terms of how the documents were prepared. She stated they have the ORC response, which summarizes what the objections are, and then a brief response. She said she will be revising a paragraph related to the table that was amended. Commissioner Btuldy said they were indicating participation in the Winter Springs Project and at this time not participating in the Yankee Lake Project. He stated if something were to happen and Winter Springs changed what they were doing, it did not preclude us from withdrawing and going. into Yankee Lake, or if the County made a better offer. e CC 01-19-09/26 ~ Ms. Smith said at any given time, as they go through any process and they have additional data, this was. an amendment process. Main motion carried, as amended, by a unanimous roll call vote. 11. REGULAR EtUSINESS. A. City Administrator recommends the City Commission discuss the eminent domain issue relative to the taking of private property by a governmental agency and give staff the direction deemed appropriate, Mr. Drago said he was asked by Commissioner Durso to have the documents for the Commission's discussion. The first several documents are those that were reviewed with. each Commissioner by the Florida Department of Transportation (FOOT). He stated the back doctunent were crafted by the City Attorney with the help of our Eminent Domain Attorney relative to partial takings.. He said the gentlemen from the FOOT were present if the Commission would like for them to express the concept of the Ordinance. James Ellicott, Broker and Appraiser, Florida Department of Transportation (FOOT) Legal Department, said Edwin Barfield, Right-of- WaylErnnent Domain Specialist, was also present and had. a lot of information on specific projects, but he was not an employee of the • Florida Department of Transportation. He stated the primary purpose of an Eminent Domain Relief Ordinance was to allow the condemning authority to get a binding decision on a cure plan for a property that is partially acquired. He said it would be for some sort of partial acquisition from a property and the remainder was left non-conforming. He stated he did review the proposed ordinance provided by the City Attorney and it was essentially the same as the City of Ocoee. He said if the City prefers the overall language of that Ordinance, they would request it be amended so they can obtain a binding answer to a cure plan. He stated~there was other language in their recommended Ordinance that makes it a better Ordinance, but the key was the binding agreement portion. He said the whole idea was to reduce right-of--way costs and make projects more. affordable. He stated this allows them to do more projects. He said this vas one of those things that costs nothing to implement, yet, has incredible returns. ]:4e stated they would present a cure plan and the designated City Officialwould review this and decide whether it met the City's needs. If the City does notfeel it is in their best interest, they can deny the plan and hopefully provide. information that would make it acceptable. He said this was needed for litigation purposes. He stated he was working on this in every city and county. Mayor Sackett said the City's concern was that they did not want to see a. lot of smaller lots that don't conform or haveparking. He stated there were a lot of smaller properties and spaces along State Road 434. CC 01-19-09/27 Commissioner Bundy said one of the things they were discussing was if the Department of Transportation (DOT) comes in and states they need land for widening, the property then does not meet the City's setback requirements and are in violation. He stated without a plan, they could come to the City and find out whether a variance would be allowed. He said he would like the City Attorney to prepare a matrix of where the differences were between the two Ordinances and then come back for discussion. Commissioner Holt said he wished there could be an ordinance drafted to stop the FDOT from doing what they want to do and not listen to what the cities say. Mr. Ellicott said this Ordinance really .goes in that direction. He stated it does make it po"ssible for the City to make that final decision. He declared all they were asking for was that the City makes, the decision. He said often the property owner receives payment .and continues on without making any aesthetic improvements they should have done. Commissioner Durso inquired if the property owner is required to agree with the proposed cure. Mr. Ellicott. said when they propose a cure they obtain a bid for that cure. ~ He stated if the property owner wants to, they can call the contractor. Commissioner Durso said to be clear, what they are trying to get to was when taking. property; they try to prevent the property owner from going to court by proposing a solution and have the City agree to the cure. Mr. Ellicott responded in the affirmative, Commissioner Durso left the meeting at 9:23 p.m. and returned at 9:25 p.m. Deputy Mayor Maingot said when they met, two areas were specifically addressed, one being State Road 434 and County Road 42,7, the other State Road 434 and Central Florida Parkway at the Hospital. He stated what they were introducing. this evening was a sweeping addition of what they would like the City to agree to. He said they needed fo be careful as while they want to work with you and ensure progress is made, they also have to ensure people who do business within the City and along the areas where they are to acquire property that this is not done to put them at a great disadvantage. He stated the last thing the City wants is a blighted situation along the expansion project. He said by taking the footage proposed, some of the businesses will go away. He stated the City has to continue to live with the situation. , CC 01-19-09/28 Mayor Sackett said the City originally said they would prefer total ~ prope-rty be taken rather than non-conforming. He inquired if the premise was to go from I-4 to 417 faster, driving right through our City. Mr. Barfield said it was to increase mobility. Mayor Sackett said we did not want people driving right through our City. We want them to stop at our shops. Mr. Barfield said they want the control to be vested with the City. If the city determines that loss of parking was going to be to such a detriment that this business would no longer be viable; what they are looking for is a decision on that. He stated once they know for certain that the City was not going to allow that to remain as anon-conforming property, the owner has the ability to ask that their entire property be purchased. Mr. Ellicott advised they cannot condemn more than they actually need for the project. However,. they can offer to buy an uneconomic remainder if the property owner makes that request. Mr. Barfield reiterated they were looking for a decision from the City as to whether it was a viable property after the road project. Commis'sioner Bundy said this, in fact, makes a stronger case for a property' owner to get more money if the City does not allow the non- conforn~ing use. He stated this solves that problem because now the City is involved in the process ahead of the game. He said there may need to be some merging of the two Ordinances, but that should be deferred to the Attorneys to determine where the differences are. Commissioner Durso said he agrees in trying to protect business owners, but this is the tool to do that. He stated if the City does not agree with what was being proposed, then the property owner has some leverage. Mr. Barfield said it not only helps the property owner, but it also helps the condemning authority. He stated they were looking for a determination to be made: whether it was going to be viable or not from the City's perspective. He declared they were not asking the City to allow non- conforming properties to remain. Mayor Sackett said they needed a comparison between the two Ordinances and the merge of the two documents; they have a step to go in, and have the comfort level. Commissioner Holt said he was comfortable with moving in that direction ~ and bringing it back. CC O 1-19-09/29 Mr. Drago inquired if the Commission were to adopt an ordinance in the next couple of months and the DOT has not finalized or approached any of . the property owners along State Road 434 for any right-of--way taking, ; does the ordinance take precedence. Kurt Ardaman, Esquire with Fishback Dominick, said the process was such that if the ordinance is in place, it can be used, even if the project has already commenced. He stated it is how you solve the problem and when you solve the problem can occur after the project has already been commenced.: He said the sooner the ordinance is in place, it gives a ' property owner and the DOT the ability to come to the City and get the City Commission to make a decision about a cure plan, the better off they will be. He said there were some very good questions the Commissioners have asked. He stated you can't force a property owner to cure his own property, but the combination of the Ordinances gives a lot of incentive and ability to help make projects a lot better, with the City's involvement. He said one thing that would affect the City was access. Clearly one of the primary reasons for the project is to move traffic, and one of the ways to do that is to limit access. This creates a lot of pain and pressure on businesses and property owners. He stated the DOT's willingness to work with the City and the property owners in designing access was very important. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the knowledge of the takings, so the City can ' see what is at stake beforehand, was not addressed. ~ i Mr. Ardaman said the ordinance was an attempt to encourage property owners and give them and the DOT an opportunity to come to the City. He stated when a property owner does come into show how their property is affected by a taking; they should show the whole property with the improvements, show where the taking is, and how the property is affected. He reiterated that the property owner cannot be forced before any taking happens, but they can be encouraged and that is what this ordinance accomplishes. B. The Community Development Division of the Community Services Department recommends the City Commissi®n consider the request for Historic District Matching Grant Funds for the renovation of the building located at 242 West Warren Avenue and take action the City Commission deems appropriate. Mr. Sizemore said this was a request from Joan Manti for the supporting stricture located at 242 West Warren Avenue. She is proposing to replace the roof on this struch~re with an estimated total cost of $4,876. He stated the Historic District Matching Grant allows matching funds to be provided for supporting struchtres at the discretion of the Commission up to $3,000. The applicant is requesting $2,400 for the replacement of the roof. He ` CC O1-19-09/30 advise>d they have made a selection of asphalt shingle and a color out. of ~ the Historic Disfrict Code Book. Mayor Sackett inquired what was budgeted in the account. Mr. Drago advised there was $7,000 in the account. If the Commission desires to grant the request, they would need to make a motion to authorize the expenditure as part of the matching. grant. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to approve Regular Item 11 B, as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Durso. Comrr.~issioner Durso inquired how many applicatioris the City receives. Mr. Drago said there was two or three a year, and some years you don't receive 'any requests. Commissioner Holt inquired if there were any other roofing proposals. " Mayor Sackett said the Applicant indicated no. Commissioner Holt inquired if there was an insurance claim, would this hinder the Grant.. ~ Joan 1V[anti, 449 Harvest Oak Court, Lake Mary, said she was the Owner of the hroperty at 242 West Warren. She stated they did have the insurance company come out and would not let them put in a claim for the roof. She said there was water damage inside the property. She said the reason they did not get another quote was because this company did the roofs at other properties they owned and have had no problems with him. Commissioner Durso inquired if in addition to .the roof they needed to do sealing and insulation. Ms. M~mti responded in the affirmative and said that was at a cost of $6,000. , Commissioner Bundy requested time to go into the conference room and ask a glzestion of the City Attorney. He said he may have a conflict and would like to get her Wiling. The Commission recessed at 9:53 p.m. -and reconvened at 9.:58 p.m. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to extend the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried. by a unanimous voice vote.. Commissioner Bundy said he has done some work for the Mantis. He stated he does not have an ongoing business relationship with them. He CC O1-19-09/31 said, under the advice of the Attorney, he wanted to make this statement and bring that out. He stated it was the City Attorney's advice that he does , not need to recuse himself. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. C. The Community Development Division ~of the Community Services Department recommends the City Commission review the building plans for the restoration of the historic structure located at 211 West Warren Avenue. Mr. Sizemore said it has been over a year since the Commission has seen anything on this property... At that time, the Applicant was looking to build an addition to the property. It was going to be a residential unit and the remainder of the property would be used as office.. He stated the Applicant was going to combine the new'addition with restoration on the structL~re that was damaged in the fire. He advised at that time the Applicant came before the City Commission requesting a variance because of the parking impacts related to building the addition. The item was tabled. Following that meeting, the Applicant decided to withdraw his application for the variance and pursue other options. He said that based on the input the Applicant heard from the Commission, rather than moving forward with attempting any kind of an addition, he d'ec'ided to restore the building back i to its original state by following the City guidelines and the Department of Interior Standards for the restoration of historic structures. In that vane, he submitted a site development plan application that met the requirements of the Historic District Codebook. The parking requirements were much less, as a result of the square footage of the building. The Applicant has submitted his building permit applications and they have been through the review process acid the Building Official has done his review. He advised that ACi was brought in to do an architectural review because of the importance of this stricture and their expertise in evaluating renovations and restorations to historic structures. He affirmed ACi has been through these plans and they have had several meetings with their Architect who is present at this meetinge He stated a number of revisions have been made. to the plans to ensure the historic integrity of the structure is going to be retained and the struchire will be firmed up so it can continue into the future. He said ACi has provided an e-mail, which is included in the Agenda Item that indicates the set of plans before the Commission does meet the requirements of Longwood's Historic District Codebook. He stated prior to issuing the building permits; staff wanted to bring this item to the City Commission so they can see all of the work that has been done on the project and so the Architect could appear before the Commission to answer any questions they may have regarding the renovation. Mayor Sackett. inquired, at this point, what Mr. Sizemore was requesting ' the Commission to do. CC O1-1.9-09/32 Mr. Sizemore said the request was for the City Commission to review the building plans and if they find them acceptable to approve staffs issuance ~ of the building permits to begin the restoration of this structure. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to approve Regular Item 11 C, as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Durso. Commissioner Holt inquired if there was ,going to be some type of lightening rod installation. Michael'A. Smith. Architect, 151' Circle Drive, Maitland, said it was in the electrical plans. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. D. Finance Director recommends the City Commission review and discuss the attached information regarding the selection of an Acting City Administrator and give staff the direction deemed appropriate. Commissioner Bundy said they .have looked over the names. He stated he had a conversation with Chief Jackson several months ago and. there was absolutely no way he wanted to step into this position. He said, fortunately for them, he has changed that stance. He stated he could not think of anyone in a better position to serve as the Acting or Interim City Administrator. He said. that the Chief knows all of the Department Heads and all of the people. He affirmed that he has a unique problem solving ability, which is some of the things they will need over the next few months.. He stated he spoke with Mr. Doper toelay regarding this matter. Commissioner Bundy moved to appoint Chief Jackson as the .Acting/Interim City Administrator effective tomorrow morning and have the present Administrator available for consultation as needed and this will in no way affect Mr. Drago's pay or Separation Agreement. Seconded by Commissioner Holt. Mayor Sackett said when he spoke to Chief Jackson he said he was available Febniary 2nd and inquired if that was correct. Chief Jackson responded.in the affirmative. Mayor Sackett said that was in conflict with what the motion states. Chief Jackson said the original date that was discussed with him was with ~ the City Administrator being here through February 1St Commissioner Bundy inquired if he would be available to step in tomorrow. CC 01-19-09/33 Mayor Sackett said he would prefer next Monday, January 26~' to allow for the transition. ~ Commissioner Holt inquired what the difference would be. He said every time the City Administrator is out,. Chief is appointed the Acting. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he was surprised at what Commissioner Bundy has stated. He declared from his reading the Separation Agreement ' there will be a $10,000 liability. Commissioner Bundy said. according to what Mr. Roper told him today there would not be a liability. Deputy Mayor Maingot. inquired why this was being nlshed through. He said it was great to go with Chief Jackson, but he questioned the rationale. He requested to see the Separation Agreement that states they will not be subject to a penalty. He stated there was a stipulation in terms of his termination with the City that was agreed to. Mayor Sackett. said he spoke to 1VIr. Roper today and his understanding was that the. employment with the City actually goes through January 31St and it is not considered termination effective tomorrow or next Monday. Deputy Mayor Maingot said his interpretation of the motion was to require ti.~/ Chief Jackson to assume the position of Interim City Administrator as of ~ tomorrow, which was not the end of the month as per the Separation Agreement. He requested a copy of this document. The Commission recessed at 10:12 p.m. and reconvened at 10:20 p.m. Ms. Roper said she spoke with Mr. Roper during the recess and the liquidated damage clause being referred to was more to protect the City than Mr. Drago in case he had breached it. Mr. Roper had explained if Mr. Drago is kept in a consulting position through the end of the month with his regular pay and insurances as specified, placing Chief Jackson in~an acting position will. not violate the Separation Agreement. She reiterated there was no termination; he would be kept in a consulting position through the rest of the month. Commissioner Durso said if for no other reason, the transition period would be helpful since Mr. Drago will still be working with the City and working with the Acting City Administrator. He stated that Chief Jackson taking over for three or four days while Mr. Drago was on vacation was a lot different than a foil scale transition of duties as the Acting Administrator of the City when Mr. Drago departs. Mayor'Sackett said speaking to the logistics of this; doing this now as compared to next week or letting it sunset on February 1St, what does this CC 01-19-09/34 mean as' far as Chief Jackson's responsibilities. He stated he would be ~ Chief as well as the Acting City Administrator at the same time and he would :need to transition someone in. He inquired how this would work. Ms. Re~gers said if it was effective tomorrow, then he would need to be relieved of his duties as Chief and appoint someone in his place. Mr. Drago advised according to the Charter, no Administrator can appoint a Department Head, whether it is as an Interim or full-time, unless they get eonfirrnation from the City Commission. If Chief Jackson takes over as Acting City Administrator tomorrow with him as a Consultant, then at the first meeting in February, Mr. Jackson would need to give the Commission an agenda item recommending an Interim Police Chief and also, if he desired, an item appointing an Interim Finance Director. Ms. Roper said in talking with Mr. Roper, it was her understanding that this was going to be accomplished all at one time. Following Chief Jackson.'s appointment, then immediately appoint someone Interim Chief of Police. ' Commissioner Bundy said before going any further, he wanted to ask Chief Jackson. He stated before calling Mr. Roper, he spoke to Chief Jackson this morning and he said he was prepared to start tomorrow. ~ Chief Jackson said the difficulty was the transition period. He stated he had per,;onnel that could assist on an interim basis. He said if he assumed these responsibilities tomorrow, it would be 14 days before he could appoint someone as the Interim Chief. Commissioner Bundy inquired who he appoints to run the Department when he goes on vacation. Mayor Sackett said he has a new role as Acting Administrator and they would need to have an Acting or Interim in his place. He stated they needed to get the Interim Police Chief in place at the February 2nd meeting and the ].nterim Finance Director. He asked Ms. Rogers if this would be the prod°ss. Ms. Rogers said as she saw it, the appointment would need to be the next Commission meeting, otherwise, there was no one in charge of the Police Department. Deputy Pvlayor Ivlaingot said otherwise, they would be violating the Charter, because one person cannot serve two offices. Commissioner Bundy said that was why he asked if Acting, because the Chief occupies two offices when he is the Acting Administrator when the Administrator goes out of town. CC 01-19-09/35 Mr. Drago said he believed the Charter had an interim provision if the City Administrator goes out of town for a short period of time. However, if the Admin_ istrator leaves, then there is an Acting clause in the. Charter that spells out how the Commission handles this. Mayor Sackett said lie was looking for direction from the Attorney. He said the motion and second would not work according to our Charter. Therefore, it cannot be a legal statement because of the mechanics. Ms, Roper said they were running into time constraints to have everything, completed per the Charter. Commissioner Holt said they needed to do whatever they had to do legally Ito get everything in order for this transition to go smoothly. He stated Chief Jackson would also need to bring forward a contract. Commissioner Bundy withdrew the motion. Commissioner Bundy said from this point on when he asked questions for people to tell him exactly what they mean and exactly what the laws are. He stated he would never have brought this up had he not discussed this prior to bringing the matter up. Mayor Sackett moved to continue with Mr. Drago until Febniary ~ 2nd and at that time the appointment of the Interim Administrator to be Chief Jackson. Chief Jackson will have an agenda item at the Febniary 2"d meeting as to who will be the Interim Police Chief,. as well as the Interim Finance Director. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot. Deputy Mayor Maingot said there was one provision Chief Jackson had mentioned fo him. He stated in assuming the Interim City Administrator position, at the appointment of a permanent City Administrator, he return to his substantial post.as the Chief ofPolice. Commissioner Holt said this was why he stated they needed a contract to say what the Chief would be reimbursed for and other stipulations. Deputy Mayor Maingot said there was also a variance of five percent salary wise. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. E. City Administrator recommends the City Commission read by title only, set February 2, 2009 as the public hearing date, and approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 09-1885, establishing pass through costs to developers for City consultant services on development applications. CC 01-19-09/36 Ms. Roper read Ordinance No. 09-1885 by title only. ' Commissioner Holt moved to approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 09-1885 and set February 2, 2009 as the public hearing date. Seconded by Commissioner Durso. Comn:ussoner Bundy said this was connected in a way to ACi in that one of the things the Administrator suggested when they where discussing this was to f gore out a way to have these as a pass through cost. He stated the first pou=t hasn't occurred because they haven't talked with ACi as to what the costs were going to be. He said this handles a developer bringing a project into the City and presenting what they would like to do. He was referrit~ig to projects that have not been brought to the City yet,. but they were a~~ticpating them and the ability for ACi, to be able to act as a City Facilitator. He suggested they could accomplish both with this Ordinance by adding a section that the City would bear the upfront costs of the facilitator, but upon site plan submittal, those costs would be passed through'to the developer. He stated this would give ACi the ability to go out on behalf of the City for economic development. , Mr. Dr•~go said he had a meeting with Mr. Adams of ACi. last week and got a better understanding after the. last meeting where Commissioner Bundy brought this up. He stated that Mr. Adams contract with ACi is ~ broad enough and flexible enough that on a case by case basis, Mr. Adams can approach the City Commission and lay out a plan. In this regard, he felt it would be incumbent upon the City Commission to use that approach on.a case by case basis. He said the contract was also.designed so some of his fees can be recuperated if he became the architect of record for the developer. If they are not the architect of record, then he would get his fees in this manor when reviewing. the plans on behalf of the City. Commissioner Holt said they could not do both. and there was a stipulation to that effect. Mr. Drago said Mr. Adams was aware of that. Commissioner Bundy said if he was the architect of record, then he cannot act as the City Facilitator. Mr. Drago said they discussed this .and Mr. Adams vas fine with this. He stated this would work better between him and the Commission. He said this Ordinance was designed, not only for ACi, but for other consultants they use. ~He stated it also provides a mechanism at the Commissi.on's ~ discretio~ri that staff time can be charged to the developer. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. CC 01-19-09/37 F. Commissioner Durso requests the City Commission discuss creating a Division 4, entitled City Clerk in Chapter 2, Administration, Article IV, Officers and Employees in the Longwood City Code. Commissioner Durso said the purpose of this particular item is to eliminate a conflict and to put City Clerk staff under the City Clerk and not under the City Administrator. He was previously advised by Counsel that there were Charter issues with this. He had a specific question as to whether or not changing, the Personnel Policy would be sufficient, because the Charter refers to it. If it is not sufficient, he would like a suggestion on how to get there. He would also like a discussion among the Commission to find out if everyone is agreeable to this. Mayor Sackett inquired what the reason was for this. Commissioner Durso said that currently the Charter and the Personnel Policy, according to Counsel, gives control of all staff, including the Deputy Clerk, to the City Administrator... He declared that made no sense. and inquired why the Deputy Clerk does not work for the Clerk. He stated there was an inherent conflict of interest when the Commission asks the Clerk to do something and she has told the Deputy Clerk to take care of it if the City Administrator does not want that. He said the Deputy Clerk is all of a sudden between the Clerk and the City Administrator. He stated the City Clerk is created as an individual Department for a reason and he ~ does not understand why they have created a department and not given the support staff to that Department Head. Mayor Sackett said his understanding of how this works is that they have the City Commission, then they have the City Administrator and off to the side the City Attorney with their staff for which they pay for. He stated they theri have the City Clerk who has the. responsibility and task assigned, and it has always worked as far as he sees. He inquired if he was creating something that has the City Administrator and the City Clerk at the same levels, because that is not the way the Charter sets up this City. ' Commissioner Durso said the City Administrator, City Clerk, and City Attorney were all independent bodies of our ,government. Mayor Sackett~said he was not sure what was broken in the present system. He stated he would like to turn this over to the City Clerk next to see what the whys were of this when the City has been a government for 140 years and this was the way it has worked. Commissioner Durso said he was actually the impetus for this, not the City Clerk. He stated he has had conversations with staff who don't think that it works. They are responsible to two parties and when there is a given conflict and there have been issues, they want to be responsible to one CC O1-19-0°/38 party. He said he did not see the reason why they would not allow the Depui:y City Clerk to be responsible to the City Clerk: Mayor Sackett said as for tasking responsibilities, yes, but the hiring and firing is by Administration. Deputy Mayor Maingot said they were confusing the issue. He .stated the City P~dministrator was responsible for the overall financial and budget controls. He said in terms of day to day responsibilities, the City Clerk has total control as to who is doing what for all of the employees. under her supervision on a daily basis. He stated there could have been areas of conflict on account of personalities and disposition of the personalities between the City Administrator and the City Clerk. He said that did not mean i:liat the structuring in terms of their functional responsibilities has confusion. He stated when it comes to who ultimately hires; all of the staff, other than those the Commission hires, are under the control of the City Administrator. He said there needed to be a very good reason to change; this. Mayor Sackett said Ms. Rogers had questioned an area that went to the City Attorney's Office. ' Ms. Roper said this was regarding the Clerk being appointed the custodian of the cemetery and that is not. the way it reads in the Charter, she was the record keeper. If this were to pass, this wording would need to be changed. She started, as Mr. Durso pointed out, this is in conflict. with the Charter and she has Attorney General Opinions that say the Charter comes first and the Ordinances and Charter must agree. She said the Clerk's duties were defined by the Charter and ordinances. She advised she had an AttornF~y General Opiriion .from Indian Rocks that was. very similar. Commissioner Holt inquired who, was in charge of the Cemetery. He asked tihe City Clerk who has been taking. care of it. Ms. Mirus said the Clerk's Office handles all of the records and sales and Public Works handles the marking and maintenance. She stated even though it was in her budget, she did not have control. Commissioner Durso reiterated this was meant to start a discussion, not circumvent the Charter. He said his whole idea was that the City Clerk should :have domain over her staff. i Deputy Mayor Maingot reiterated that the City Clerk executes complete control of her staff. i Commissioner Durso said he would withdraw the Item and come back at a later time with a more appropriate constitutional version. CC 01-19-09/39 12. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. Ms. Roper reported she had prepared the Ordinance regarding Boards and Committees. She said she had two concerns with ~ it and will be sending the proposed draft to the Commission tomorrow highlighting the concerns. She stated Commissioner Durso had asked that they ' attempt to limit a sitting Commissioner's. ability to reappoint if re-election was coming up in the near future and the seat was being contested. She stated she spoke to other City Attorneys regarding this issue and they all agreed with her that this was probably not constitutional and would not hold up to a challenge, since as a sitting Commissioner that is one of their duties. Her suggestion is to shorten the time period in which the reappointment can be made. She said there was a time period between an election and an appointment that would facilitate what Commissioner Durso wants to have in effect. 'She stated the second item was for Boards that meet quarterly or more often that they can only have three absences within a 12 month period or five within their term of appointment counting backwards from their last absence. She did not address Boards that meet less often. She inquired if the Commission wanted this to state "all Boards". It was the consensus of the Commission for this to pertain to "all Boards". Ms. Roper said she did not define meetings, but she did add with appropriate review by the Chair and a proper excuse, a member could be excused from attending a meeting. Commissioner Bundy said they had removed excusing by the Chair three years ago. He stated there were no excused meetings.. Deputy Mayor Maingot said placing the verbiage "consecutive" makes more sense. He suggested this could be brought down to one or two paragraphs. Ms. Roper said she took the current Ordinance and amended it. Commissioner Bundy said the Commissioner could determine if the absences were excusable and re-appoint the member with an explanation. Commissioner- Durso said the whole point of bringing this forward was to approve accountability amongst the Boards. He suggested for Boards that meet less than quarterly to leave it per term. Commissioner Holt said if it was an election year, then that Commissioner should defer appointment. Ms. Roper said her opinion was that was not constitutional and would not holdup to a challenge. She stated the sitting Commissioner would be giving up their electoral duties. Commissioner Durso said he made it clear he was not going to conflict with the prior appointment made by a sitting City Commissioner. He said his thought ~ process was for future appointments and to protect someone, like in his instance, CC 01-19-09/40 where an appointment has been made for three years from his District,. which is the course of ]us term. Ms. Roper said it reads at this time that the City Clerk notifies the Commissioner when an appointment is coming up. She inquired if it would be appropriate to say the City Clerk will notify you within 30 days and the appointment shall be made at the Commission meeting immediately preceding the expiration. She stated they would not delineate,. that meetings were meetings. Ms. Roper advised she had the litigation report from Mr. Roper to be distributed to the Commission. She said she also had a letter sent to her by the Seminole County Attorney and by the Attorney for Penn National Gaming, Inc. regarding the legality of card rooms. She stated she has issued her opinion on this and it is included in they packet. Deputy Mayor Maingot said the litigation report dated January 7th had a lot of issues that need some sort of guidance and should no longer be pursued. 1VIs. Roper suggested he contact Mr. Roper regarding this as he handles the litigation. She :recommended possibly holding a Shade Meeting to discuss those matters with Mr. Roper regarding what action they desire him to take. Commissioner Bundy suggested they each review this and talk with Mr. Roper and if there were matters he recommends they drop, this can be an agenda item. 13. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. Ms. Mirus reported she had a meeting with the Supervisor of Elections on Friday. She said he had some suggestions being made to our Code of Ordinances. She stated she was still. waiting for cost figures on Early Voting for this year and once she receives those she will bring it forward to the City Commission for consideration. 14. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned the meeting at 11:09 p.m. ~ ~ ~ H~ r Bi°ian D. Sacl~ett, Mayor ATTF;S~ i j~J Sarah M. Mir°us, CIVIC, MBA City f;lerk l,~ CC 01-19-09/41 This Page Left Blank Intentionally. CC 01-19-09/42