CCMTG03-02-09Min
L,, LONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Awenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
March 2, 2009
'7:00 P:M.
Present: Mayor Brian D. Sackett
Commissioner Joe Durso
Commissioner Mike Holt
Commissioner H.G. "Butch" Bundy
Teresa S. Roper, City Attorney
Tom Jackson, Acting City Administrator
Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk
Tom Smith, Division Manager of Streets/Fleef
Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant
Laurie Mooney, Fire Chief
Fran Meli, Recreation Program Manager
Richard Kornbluh, Division Manager of Utilities
David Dowda, Interim Police Chief
Paul Sizemore, Director of Community Services
Katrina Powell, Interim Director of Financial Services
Absent: Deputy Mayor John C. Maingot (Excused)
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
2. A moment of SILENT MEDITATION was followed by the PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE.
3. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. None.
4. RECOGNITIONS.
A. District #3 Presentation. of the Business Person of the Month Award
for March 20.09 to Donna D'ishman, Owner of Donna's Barber Shop,
located at 185 South Ronald Reagan loulevard, Suite #125.
Commissioner Holt read a brief biography on Donna Dishman, Owner of
Donna's Barber Shop, located at 185 South Ronald Reagan Boulevard,
Suite #125, and presented her with the Eusiness Person of the Month
~ Award for March 2009. Photographs were then taken.
5. BOARD APPOINTMENTS. None.
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6. PUBLIC INPUT.
A. Presentations. A representative from the Children's Cabinet of ~ '
Seminole County would like to do a follow-up presentation so that the.
City Commission. will remain aware of their efforts on behalf of the
children in Seminole County.
Lynn Whitcomb, Communications Coach for The Children's Cabinet of
Seminole. County, said they have been here before and were back to share
what they have accomplished, over the past year. She stated there were
thirty-seven partners of the Children's Cabinet. She represents the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Heidi Stone, who was with her,
represents the Foundation of Foster Children. In the past year, they have
been working to help create three additional Children's Cabinets in
neighboring counties as well as the formation- of a Central Florida
Regional Children's Cabinet. She. said they also identified their first
priority, worked on it and created a report that was communicated to the
community in a community forum held at Northland Church. She stated
the first priority was the State of Housing for Children that was adopted in
2007. The Committee was tasked with assessing the current housing
conditions for children,identifying barriers and gaps, identifying agency
resources, and making recommendations to the Cabinet. She reviewed the
community needs and said there were approximately 240 families that
have. been identified as homeless and this entails about 560 children. She ~
stated 71 % of these families have a roof over their head every night by ~
being housed with another family or in a motel. This leaves 29% that are
in.a tent, car, or in the woods. She advised the Committee came up with
twelve (12) recommendations, six (6) being prevention. As a Cabinet, they
identify the crisis and the individual agencies then begin to work on these.
She advised the Cabinet has tasked one group to work on transitional
housing. She said they were a Cabinet for al Children and also worked on
childcare, child abuse prevention, adoption,, and substance abuse. She
reviewed how the City of Longwood can help and list the Children's
Cabinet as a partner to make Longwood the best community for children.
She stated they meet on the second Wednesday of the month and
suggested they come. to a meeting.
Commissioner Durso said the work the Children's Cabinet has done in
.Seminole County has been tremendous. He suggested,the Commissioners
and the community get involved since this is a community problem.
B. Public Participation.
Hector Rivera, 688 South Highway 17-92,, said he was here to talk about
the Temporary Sign Ordinance. He stated there was a provision that states
temporary signs have. to be removed every 90 days. He said they were
having a problem with the economy in their Plaza that has about twenty
(20) tenants and it was impossible to rotate the sign. He stated the City
was also losing revenue from permits for the sign, and they were losing
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~ advertising spots. He said they would like for the 90 days to be eliminated
for at least two (2) years. He affirmed his store has been in this location
for twenty-four (24) years.
JoAnne Rebello, 301 Loch Lomand Avenue, said she had several issues to
address on tonight's Agenda, but all were related to one topic, austerity.
She stated this City must wisely choose their expenditures in these tough
economic times. There are several items the Commission is addressing
tonight that cause her to wonder if the Commission understands the full
impact of their decisions. She questioned Items 9 D, E, and F. She said she
provided a handout to the Commission regarding. Item 11 B and stated
.during these tough economic times, with so many people unemployed,
how can they justify giving. a 19.74% salary increase. She stated since
being given the opportunity in 2003, with very little experience, to
succeed the previous Clerk, who was making considerably less after
thirteen (13) years than the present Clerk is making at this time, the Clerk
has received raises every year,. plus a one time bonus of $2,500 for
completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree. She said this latest request will
amount to an 85% overall increase for t:he last six (6) years. In her mind,
that is not acceptable. She declared,. although the Clerk does a good job
and she applauds her for continuing her education, one that has been
supplemented by the taxpayers, it is not part of her job requirement. She
~ said she was not against a 3% budgeted. across-the-board increase, but
anything in excess of that is fiscally irresponsible..She affirmed the
Commission must look to where the City will be when the final shortfall is
realized. According to the Property Appraiser, we have a 7.5% to 10%
decrease in ad valorem revenues. She stated this figure does not include
any other revenue laws, such as the City's share of State and County taxes.
She said if the predictions are accurate, then we are looking at a
substantial loss in revenue to our overall budget, more than a half a million
and possibly as high as a million dollars. She declared the City needs to
tighten its budget. She asked the Commission to think long and hard of the
long term effects of these decisions.
Tom DeNegre, 330 Ferdinand Drive,. said tonight the City Commission
will talk about the City Clerk's salary increase of about 20%. He stated all
the Commissioners know these times are tough for the next few years. He
said the City Clerk does an excellent job and if he were to grade her, she
would get an A+. He stated the Stock 1Vlarket closed today at its lowest in
twelve (12) years. He said the City Clerk has provided the salary range
from six cities around the Longwood area with an average salary range of
$72,251. He stated the City Clerk of Altamonte Springs makes a salary of
$73,688 and has been in her job for twenty five (25) years. Our City Clerk
j right now has a salary of $61,800 and is asking fora $10,451 increase for
a total of $74,000. He said top management positions for Federal Express
took a 20% decrease in salary, middle management took a 10% decrease
in salary, and regular employees took a .5% decrease in salary. He stated it
was his understanding that Longwood has approximately 200 homes with
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water disconnects. This most likely means they are not paying their taxes
and this would be about a half million dollars less in property taxes. He ,~j
said the Longwood City Commission needs to be accountable to the
citizens of Longwood and watch how they spend their money. He declared
they could not afford a 20% increase at this time. He inquired how many
budgets related to the community were being increased in a similar
amount or any at all.
7. ACTING CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT.
Mr. Jackson reported there have been some incidents in the past with water where
there was less than a favorable job of getting notice to the public. He said one
solution would be using a service called Flash Brief that is subscriber based. He
stated there would be a link on the City's website that a citizen could sign onto to
obtain information. He said there would be administrators of this program and
reviewed how they could relate this information to the public. In an emergency
configuration the program puts out a distinct sound that continues until the
receiver accepts the.message. He. said if the e-mail account is linked to your cell
phone, this alert also comes across the cell phone. He stated the citizens would
sign up for this alert and they can also unenroll if they so choose. He advised the
whole process is about $6,000 a year with a monthly fee of $95. He said the
company was donating this to the City on behalf of the Police Department and in
honor of Sergeant Karl Strohsal. He affirmed there would be no cost to the
citizens for the amount of time they are involved with Flash Brief. This can be
used to send alerts in any kind of template the City wants to utilize. He stated it
can be used in conjunction with other systems throughout the County and
provides the City with a message board to the .public for all types of messages.
Mayor Sackett inquired if this would have helped. with the issue at Christmas
time.
Mr. Korribluh said if people were signed tip for it, yes..
Mayor Sackett said that was where they needed to get people to sign up.
1VIr. Jackson said they would place an article in The .Lamplighter and with the
Commission's consensus to move forward with this, Flash Brief would like to
have a press release to notify the public. He stated we would continue to post it on
the City's website and education through Homeowner Association Groups and
Business Groups. He said with upcoming City events they can send this
information out and test the effectiveness.
It was the consensus of the Commission to move forward with Flash Brief.
Mr. Jackson said they have engaged in conversation with the Florida Department
of Transportation (FDOT) about the acquisition of our Public Works facilities. H~e
forwarded to the Commission an Offer and Purchase Agreement for the Public `J'
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~ Works property. He stated FDOT's preference was for the City to present to them
' so they can review it.
Mayor Sackett said they have had meetings with this Offer Proposal and FDOT
was asking the City to Offer the Property and submit to them the Offer for their
approval.
Mr. Jackson said if they can move forward with. this so the City Attorney can
advise who needs to sign the Offer.
Mayor Sackett said time was very important regarding this matter and said the
total amount was about $2.2 million. He inquired if the Commission wanted to
move forward.
It was the consensus of the Commission to move forward with this Offer.
Mr. Jackson reported he received a letter today on the ISO rating for the Fire
Department. He advised in years past it has been a rating of four (4), and the
lower the number the better the rating. He reported we were now down to a rating
of three (3). He said he had a letter from ISO congratulating Chief Mooney and
Mr. Kornbluh for their cooperation during the public Protection Classification
Survey.
~i Mr. Jackson said he would like to work with staff regarding a Moratoritun on
Temporary Signs and how they can move forward with this on plazas that have
multiple merchants.
Commissioner Holt said he would like for the Acting City Administrator to meet
with the Commissioners individually regarding this matter.
Commissioner Bundy suggested the existing pole signs could retrofit reader
boards on these and it would be permanent.
Commissioner Durso suggested the Moratorium be reviewed every six (6) months
to make sure it still applies.
It was the consensus of the Commission to move this forward through the Acting
City Administrator and staff with individual conversations with the
Commissioners.
Mr. Jackson reported he received a letter of resignation from Mr. Sizemore today
who sought employment in Mesa County, Colorado. His last day of employment
will be March 13, 2009 after five and a half years of dedicated service.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT.
District #5. Mayor Sackett. reported he received official word that Congressman
Mica was able to procure $26 million and Seminole County will receive $1.4
million of this for SunRail enhancements. He said a $350,000 check will be
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coming to the City of Longwood for enhancements to our Train Station. He
reported the Mayors and Managers and Envision Seminole met recently. He stated
the Mayors and Managers and Envision Seminole have supported the idea of
changing some of the wording temporarily in the Florida Statutes that designates
money as Capital Outlay and allowing it to be for operating, costs instead. He also
attended the School Board meeting and they are looking at a cut of $110 million
next year.
Mayor Sackett inquired if there has been any movement on the Fifth Third Bank
property.
Mr. Jackson said he and. Mr. Sizemore have tried to contact Mr. White on several
occasions and have had no response.
Commissioner Bundy advised he spoke with Jennifer Crane and there was a
wholesale home improvement store looking at this property. He said a more
promising note was that Wal-Mart's Real Estate Conunittee had looked at the
property.
Mayor Sackett requested the Acting City Administrator coordinate a meeting
regarding this matter.
Mayor Sackett reported Babe Ruth's Opening Day was this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. ~
and inquired if the Commissioner's would be available for opening pitches. ~
Mayor Sackett said he reviewed the last Commission meeting and he was still
confused regarding the matter with the Codes Enforcement Board. He stated the
conversation went toward training of the Codes. Board. He thought they were
trying to deal with miscommunication between Attorneys.
Commissioner Holt said they could not discuss the case due to pending litigation.
He stated the result and the outcome was that the Codes Enforcement Board had
some issues and these would be addressed through training by the Board
Attorney. He said the Board has some new volunteers and they have some old
cases coming before them, not knowing the history of these. He stated through
what has come about, he believed everything would be put in its place. He said
both the City Attorney and Board Attorney understood there was a
miscommunication and this was being addressed.
District #1. Absent.
District #2. Commissioner Durso said he would like to talk about budgets: He
stated he made a request last week of staff for some. budget.information, including
copies of the last three years budgets. He said the first item revolves around the
City's pay stricture. He stated he was concerned with the way the City has
strictured its pay. He said there was a Community Services Coordinator that has J
been here for four years and makes $49,000. Another Community Services
Coordinator has been here .four years and eleven months making.. $49,000, and
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~ there is a Community Services Coordinator that has been here less than one year
and makes $49,000. He said there. were numerous instances where people have
been with the City for very long periods of time and they were making the same
that people who have been here a year or two were making. He stated as they
approach the new budget workshops, he would be suggesting the City look into a
comprehensive pay plan similax to one the State and County uses. He said there
should be some formal pay schedule for employees and formal expectations of
those employees once provided that type of pa.y schedule. He stated there were
some disparities in the way the pay is structured in the City and he hopes the
Commission takes a look at this when the time comes.
Commissioner Durso advised he went through a few contracts and he had some
questions regarding these. He said there were a number of issues he had with the
City Engineer Job Order Contract. He declared, as a whole, he felt Job Order
contracting was a bad idea. He stated that all too often, vendors view government
as a bottomless pit of money. He said it seemed the City had already paid .Metzger
and Willard .$162,000 this fiscal year. He inquired where the City was prior to this
contract.
Mr. Jackson said when Commissioner Durso inquired about these earlier, he
asked the Interim Finance Director to look into these facts. He requested Ms.
Powell to come forward and address these concerns.
i ~ Ms. Powell said she would also like Mr. Sizemore to come forward as he has
some background as to why the City went with this Engineer. She said it was her
understanding that the project list for this year is considerably less than ~vliat the
City has done in previous years.
' ~ Mr. Sizemore said all-in-all the City will end up with the same number of capital
projects designed and completed as in previous years. He stated there would
probably be. a larger number of smaller non-capital projects being done. He said
they have gotten more efficient. at being able to issue those contracts. now that we
have JOC.
Ms. Powell said if we want to address the dollar amount, then they need to look at
the project list. She stated they may want to place some projects on hold to reduce
the number.
Commissioner Durso said another item that concerns him was that with the slow-
down in the economy, comes aslow-down in ot~r spending, then a reduction in the
number of projects. He stated the reduction in the number of projects does not
seem to correlate at all to the amount of money we are spending with this
particular firm. He inquired if it was as simple as going back and doing an RFP on
this contract.
Mr. Sizemore said'the contract he mentioned was with Metzger and Willard for
the City Engineer services. He stated the services that h_e renders are not going. to
be dependent on permit volume. He said the Building Official services through
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PDCS would be directly correlated to the. volume of :permits. He stated part of the
agreement for the City Engineer Services was that there was a continuing services ~
contract that each six (6) months a Purchase Order is issued for an amount that '
pays for him to come in and do the day=to-day work. He advised this was
approximately $30,000 for a six (6) month period based on his hourly rate and
other items that are a part of that contract. In addition to his being the City
Engineer, Mr. Willard is the consulting firm that does the Engineering Design for
the public infrastructure projects for the City.
Commissioner Durso inquired if they know how much the City has to spend on
projects, or do they do this. j ob by j ob.
Mr. Sizemore advised they quote each separate job, except for the continuing
services. He explained that each year when the budget is created, a.certain
amotmt is placed in professional services, which is based on what they expect to
spend over the next year and based on historical value. He said as they come
across a project that needs engineering design, they request a proposal and Mr.
Willard provides this. A Purchase Order is then issued for that separate project.
Commissioner Durso inquired if the Commission approved the increase. in the
hourly rates.
Ms. Powell said she could not find where it came be:Eore the Commission, all she ,
has is a signed-off letter with Mr. Drago's approval.
Mr. Sizemore said he would like to be able to research this. further. He seems to
recall this being a part of one of the six (5) month contracts.
Mayor Sackett. suggested this was something that should be an Agenda Item as
they needed more time on this than in a Commissioner's Report.
Commissioner Durso said he felt it was important that they begin to talk.. about
this and he would be glad to make it an Agenda Item for the next meeting.
Commissioner Holt said he had no problem with the way he was going with his
Report. He stated if it were placed on as an Agenda :[tem, this would be another
two weeks. He said he would like to continue with. staff present and it gives them
the opportunity to discuss. the matter.
Commissioner Bundy said he would like to have the information so he can look at
it and formulate his questions. However,. they started asking a lot of questions
about the Finance Department and now these questions are being posed to
someone who was not here. They just received information that March 13~' will
be Mr. Sizemore's last. day and he is the person that. has been through most of this.
He stated he would like to hear some of this, but he also would like to have an
Agenda Item for the next meeting. He said when they outsourced this service,
CADD services were being provided and he inquired if we were paying extra for
those services.
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~ Ms. Powell said if it was 'involved with a contract for a particular project, we are
being charged additional for that.
Commissioner Bundy said if they were going to do comparisons, they need to
hook at the fact that the City had a CADD operator, a surveyor, and at least one
and possibly two support people on staff in addition to the Engineer's position.
All of this needs to be included to make a fair comparison.
Commissioner Durso said he was not bringing this up to hire additional staff, but
these types of payments for one day a week was unacceptable. He stated they
needed to work up a process where they not only get away from the JOC, but
more actively involved in the RFP's and providing greater oversight. to the
contracts they do grant.
Commissioner Durso said the next contract was the Page, Dixon, Chandler,
Smith, LLC contract for the Building Official. He requested numbers for where
they were before they privatized and where the: City is now. In 2005, they had
four (4) employees and paid benefits for which it cost $1.96,000 on those
employees. In addition to this, the City paid $20,000 for certification that could
not be achieved in-house for a total of approximately $216,000. He stated on
April 17, 2006 the Commission approved an agreement with this company and in
2007 we had two employees with the City that were overseeing this contract.
~ Those two employees were $76,000, and in addition for this contract, the City
i spent $1.96,000. He affirmed he intended to spend a lot of time going through
contracts and suggested the City could probably save half a million to three
quarter of a million dollars just by reconfiguring the way we do things, and
holding people accountable for the work they a:re doing for the City. He said he
would discuss this fiirther in the fiiture.
Commissioner Durso reported he attended the 1VletroPlan Transportation
Technical Committee and there was a tremendous focus on cooperation between
the cities, counties, and the State of Florida. He said he would provide copies of
the PowerPoint to the Commission.
District.#3. Conunssioner Holt said he also had been working on similar
projects as what Commissioner Durso addressed. He stated a lot of this was
pushed through under their noses and they had no idea what was going on and it
has f Wally come to light. He said the State Attorney's Office had sent information
for Apri122nd on.the 23rd Annual Victims Right. Week Award. He inquired if the
Commission should fill this out as a team, or if it was individual.
Mr. Jackson said in years past the nomination was authored by the appropriate
department it was applicable to.
District #4. Commissioner Bundy said for the past several years Leadership
Seminole does a Bowling Tournament as one of their fund raisers. He stated he
had a team ready to bowl on behalf of the City of Longwood. He requested a
consensus from the Commission to sponsor the team. The event is Sunday, March
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15, 2009, 2:00 p.m. at Longwood Lanes. The registration fee is $300 for the
totunament. ~
Mayor Sackett said he was willing to bowl and pay himself.
Commissioner Durso said he would bowl and pay.
Commissioner Bundy said he would not ask the City employees to pay so he
would withdraw. He stated if anyone was interested in bowling it was $60 a
person.
9. CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Approve Minutes of the February 16, 2009 Regular Meeting.
B. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends
payment of approved and estimated bills for March 2009.
C. The Building Division of the Community Services Department
recommends the City Commission consider a request to waive the
building permit fee related to the installation of a burglar alarm
system at the Sharing Center of Longwood at 600 North Highway 17-
92.
D. Financial Services Department recommends the City Commission
approve a contract not to exceed the amount of $227,150.00 to Elster ~
Amco Water Inc. for the.furnishing and installation of an Advanced
Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Fixed Network water meter reading
system and authorize the Acting City Administrator to sign all
appropriate documents.
E. The Community Development Division of the Community Services
Department recommends the City Commission approve a purchase
order to Associated Consulting Internatio~ial in the amount of
$58,500.00 for a Special Area Design Plan for the Dog Track Road
area and authorize the Acting City Administrator to sign all
appropriate documents.
F. The Community Development Division of the Community Services
Department recommends the City Commission approve a purchase
order to Associated Consulting International in the amount of
$42,600.00 for a Special Area Plan to study potential consolidation
and relocation of City facilities and authorize the Acting City
Administrator to sign all appropriate documents.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve the Consent Agenda as
submitted. Seconded by Commissioner Durso.
Discussion was held on Items C and D.
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~ Commissioner Durso inquired if the installation of the new system in Item
I D would save the City money over the long run.
Mr. Jackson said overall this would become an automated system and a
certain number of meters would go in at no cost as part of the pilot
program. There have-been some adjustments in the Utility Billing to
compensate for this cost.
Mr. Kornbhih advised part of the rate increase this year was based on
putting this system in and accounted far this cost along with an increase in
the rates over the nextthree years. He :;aid some of the costs that will drop.
were for the meter reading and each time meters are added, then a portion
of the cost. will be eliminated until they are all changed. He stated they
would also gain regarding water conservation and would eventually be
able to go to a rate based on peak demands.
Ms. Powell said it was her understanding that the rate increase was to fund
this and it would be paid once collected.
.Discussion was held regarding Items E and F.
Mr. Jackson said these t~vo items were brought forward from the. Febntary
~ 2nd City Commission meeting. He stated. Mr. Adams has had some
dialogue with the Church and Dog Track to come up with a concept
pleasing to both entities.
Commissioner Bundy said the City Commission needed to step forward to
take steps to implement bringing parties together that are in the position to
design and. fund development. He stated this was to help start
implementing these projects.
Mayor Sackett said this was part of a mission and vision for the City. He
suggested moving slower on Item F.
Motion failed to carry by atwo/two/zero roll call vote with Mayor
Sackett and Commissioner Durso voting nay, and Deputy Mayor
Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent Agenda Item 9 A
as submitted. Seconded by Mayor Sackett and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent. Agenda Item 9 B
~ as submitted. Seconded by Mayor Sackett and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
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Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent Agenda Item. 9 C
as submitted. Seconded by Mayor Sackett and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent Agenda Item 9 D
as submitted. Seconded by Mayor Sackett and failed to carry by a
two/two/zero roll call vote, with Commissioners Bundy and Durso
voting nay and Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent Agenda Item 9 E as
submitted..Seconded by Mayor Sackett and carried by a tunanimous
roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve Consent Agenda Item 9 F as
submitted: Seconded by Mayor Sackett and failed to carry by a
two/two/zero roll call vote with Mayor Sackett and Commissioner
Durso voting nay and Deputy Mayor :Maingot absent.
10. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. Acting City Administrator recommends the City Commission read by
title only and adopt Ordinance 09-1886 which creates a "Water
Conservation Ordinance".
Ms. Roper announced having proof of publication. She then read
Ordinance No. 09-18.86 by title only. ~
Mayor Sackett opened the public hearing. No one. spoke in favor or in
opposition to the Ordinance.
Commissioner Holt moved to close the public hearing. Seconded
by Commissioner Durso and carried by a unanimous voice vote
with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to adopt Ordinance No. 09-1886, as
submitted. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried by a
unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Maingot absent.
11. REGULAR BUSINESS.
A. Acting City Administrator recommends the City Commission review
a Lease Agreement with T-Mobile for the construction of a cell phone
tower at Fire Station 17 and give staff the direction deemed
appropriate.
Mr: Jackson said on August 18, 20.08 there was an Agenda Item before the
Commission for a Lease Agreement with T-Mobile for replacement of a
cell tower on the property at Fire Station 17. At that time it was approved
to prepare the Lease Agreement and this is before the Commission for
. review.
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Commissioner Bundy moved to approve Item 11 A, Seconded by
~ ~ Commissioner Durso.
Commissioner Holt said he voted no the last time this came before the
Commission and he would be voting no again. He referenced information
by the I.A.F.F. regarding the dangers of having a cell phone tower. He
suggested they rethink placing a cell phone tower in, this area.
Commissioner Durso inquired if the increase referenced in the Lease
Agreement in~Section 4 was a correct number.
Mayor Sackett said it would raise. 3% over what it currently is each year.
Commissioner Bundy said he had a concern regarding Item 9. Holding
Over,. and said this paragraph created a permanent lease by stating "a
tenant-at-sufferance".
Ms. Roper said the City would have to take legal action to remove it.
Mr. Jackson recommended tabling this Item to allow review and
restructure of the Lease Agreement.
Commissioner Bundy moved to table. to a date as deemed suitable
by the Acting City Administrator. Seconded by Commissioner
Durso.
Commissioner Holt said he would like the critical questions regarding the
health effects of the tower being that close to the firefighters and
paramedics that live underneath it.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor
Maingot absent.
13. The City Clerk requests. the City Commission review the City Clerk's
accomplishments as it relates to her goal-oriented appraisal.
Ms. Mirus said in accordance with her contract, before the Commission is
her goal oriented appraisal that outlines her accomplishments for the last
year. She stated some of her major accomplishments are the completion of
her Masters Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in
Public Administration. She is the only City Clerk within Seminole County
that has. her Masters Degree. Also, she did apply for her Master Mumicipal
~ Clerk (M1VIC) Certification on December 18, 2008, but has not heard from
~ the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) other than receiving
. an electronic mail acknowledging they had received her application. She
advised if she receives the iVIMC Certification she. will be the second
Clerk in Seminole County with this Certification. She stated it took the
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one Clerk that received her MMC Certification approximately eight years
to obtain her Certification. She .stated she received her CMC Certification ~
in March 2006, so i't took her almost two years to obtain her NIMC '
Certification if it is accepted. She included iri the Agenda Item the salary
survey for cities within Seminole County. Before the Commission is her
request for her annual salary that is within the .salary range established for
the Clerk.
Mr. Jackson advised he did have correspondence with Deputy Mayor
Maingot who is out of town' and he wished to express his appreciation to
the Clerk on a job well done of her many accomplishments. He said
Deputy Mayor Maingot's position on her raise was at $6`5,000 on her
request. He stated the Clerk works for the Commission and is a City
Officer. A few years back the Commission asked the current
Administrator at that time if all of the Department Heads were being paid
the average of the contemporaries. throughout the County and the
indication vas that not all were. However, there was a systematic
approach to getting them up to the average. of their contemporaries and
there has been amulti-phase effort. He said when the Clerk asked to be
compensated at the average,. it would be at the completion of the directive
several years back, but he .also realizes those were different economic
times.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve the City Clerk's contract for •
$74,000, as submitted. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy.
Commissioner Holt said the Commission received the Memorandtun
fisting the Clerk's degrees and certification as he requested. He stated this
was very impressive and when she was hired one of the 'stipulations was
for her to obtain the-education necessary to do the job of City Clerk. He
declared within a short period of time she has mastered degrees and
accomplishments for this and applauded her for these accomplishments.
He said the $74,000 was not outrageous. at all and she was a contract
person for the Commission.
Commissioner Durso said he was one, to award accomplishment and Ms.
Nlirus has done a fine job• as the City Clerk. He stated she has done an
exceptional job, in addition to her work, of bettering herself so she could
.serve our community. That being. said, he stated we were in some
interesting financial times and it was difficult for him to talk about going
through contracts: and cutting contracts, then look at a 19% increase in one
shot. He affirmed that Ms. Mirus deserves this; .she works very hard and
has earned it. He said if you look at the Clerks from the other cities, with
the exception of two, she is at the low end. 13e asked to amend the motion
to some sort of middle ground. He reiterated that he could not. agree to
19% at one time, although she was.very deserving of'the. raise and to be at ~
the. level of her contemporaries:. He stated this was a by-product of a
horrible pay system in this City. However, at this particular point he felt
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~ they should come down between the t`vo numbers. He said he would
recommend going to $68,500 and felt this was fair and reasonable. He
stated the Commission could come back to this at a firture date and adjust
the salary for the position. He affirmed this was not a pay increase; this
was an adjustment to the position.
Commissioner Bundy said the Commission made a commitment to the
employees several years ago to bring their pay scales up to at least the
average in Seminole County. He stated Mr. Sizemore benefited from this
and. Ms..Rogers prior to that and other Department Heads. He .said they
could address this in the future, but ne:~t year would be worse than this
year. He stated if they bring the position into par this. year, then it goes
back into line with the types of salary increases everybody else is getting.
He reiterated they made a commitment to this adjustment and Ms. Mirus
has done an outstanding. j ob and he would support this increase. He said he
was in favor of this increase and she deserved it.
Commissioner Holt said he was not looking at this position as a
Department Head, but as a contracted position. He stated they had several
positions they were already spending money on to fill and he did not want
to replace the City Clerk. He said $74,000 was still an average.
Mayor Sackett asked the Acting City Administrator if there was a range
~ for any position such as this one in any of the other cities.
Mr. Jackson said he did not know.
Mayor Sackett said he was in a field that has a salary range. He stated he
has three degrees and when he obtained his Masters Degree he received an
annual increase of $2,500. He also knows he needs to be thankful that he
has a job with 1,000 people that were going to be laid off. He said the
County was actually talking about salaa-y reductions for teachers. He stated
he agreed with everything that has been said about the City Clerk and the
wonderfiil job she is doing, but he can't go more than 5%. He declared the
times were unfortunately not right.
Commissioner Durso said he was not opposed to getting the position to
$74,000. He does not think this should be done in one failed swoop. He
declared that doing this over time was a much more principal and fiscally
responsible way.
Ms. Minis advised the salary range for the City Clerk's position is from
$49,000 to $74,000.
1
~ Mayor Sackett inquired if other cities had salary ranges as well.
Ms. Minis said she received these figures from the City's Personnel
Manager.
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Motion failed to carry by a two/two/zero roll call vote with Mayor
Sackett and Commissioner Durso voting nay and Deputy Mayor ~
Maingot absent.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve the City Clerk's contract. for
$72,251, as submitted in her request. Seconded by Commissioner
Bundy.
Commissioner Bundy said this amount was the exact County average.
Motion failed to carry by a two/two/zero roll call vote with Mayor
Sackett and Commissioner Durso voting nay and Deputy Mayor
Maingot. absent.
Commissioner Durso moved to adjust the City Clerk's salary to
$68,500. Seconded by Mayor Sackett and carried by a three/one/
zero roll call vote with Mayor Sackett voting nay and Deputy
Mayor Maingot being absent.
C. The Acting City Administrator requests the City Commission read by
title only, and set March 16, 2009 as a public hearing date and
approve the first reading of Ordinance 09-1887, which establishes a
digital traffic enforcement program designed to enhance public safety ~
on roadways throughout the City.
Ms. Roper read Ordinance No. 09-1887 by title only.
Commissioner Holt moved to approve as submitted, Regular Item
11 C. Seconded by Commissioner Durso.
Mr. Jackson said this was the creation of an Ordinance to establish digital
enforcement ofthe red zone/red light running cameras. He stated there was
movement among the State to press forth a Bill that would duplicate this.
The only difference is, if the City has an Ordinance in place prior to the
State affecting a State Statute, then we are grandfathered in and can control
all of the revenue generated from this Ordinance. He declared the focus of
this Ordinance was not necessarily to generate revenue, but yet enhance
traffic safety. He said in his position as Chief he has asked for officers
every year over the last seven to eight. years with no accommodation. If this
camera system goes in, it is at no cost to the City. He stated each of the
vendors he has reviewed suffers the entire cost and request the City to
engage in a multi-year contract with two years as the minimum. He
declared the benefit of the cities that have put these red light cameras in
have seen. a reduction in traffic crashes. He said without.the increase of law
enforcement to support our traffic volume in the City, they need every tool
they can get to enhance the safety of the motoring. public.
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Commissioner Durso said he has had several conversations with the
Acting City Administrator regarding thus matter and he is actively
' reviewing. presentations from companies involved in this type of product.
He stated it was awin-win for the City and will not only help increase
traffic enforcement, but will make our roads safer.
Commissioner Holt said a. lot of cities have not. implemented citation fees
at this time. It was under study until the Attorney General's Office
concludes whether or not you can cite predicated on some of the problems
they have had. He inquired if these issues have been resolved and it was
okay to go ahead and cite.
Mr. Jackson said there has been a lot of study in this. Hepointed out that
enacting the Ordinance does not necessarily put the mechanism in place. It
simply provides the City being grandfathered in so if we do put the
program in place, the City can control the revenue generated as opposed to
the State giving tis three-fifths cut. He said this was a civil traffic
infraction in regards to issuance of a citation and all of the companies
interviewed have a similar dollar amount for the infraction with a certain
administrative fee. All of the companies have a system in place where the
violation is noted on video that is sent to the Police .Department for fiirther
evaluation to ensure the violation did occur. He affirmed there were
mechanisms within this Ordinance that allow a violator to appeal it within
~ a specified amount of time and to appear before a hearing body.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor
Maingot absent.
I1. City Clerk recommends the City Commission read by title only and
adopt Resolution 09-1213 which amends the City Commission Rules
and Procedures.
Ms. Roper read Resolution No. 09-1213 by title only.
Commissioner Holt moved to adopt Resolution 09-1213, as
submitted, Regular Item 11 D. Seconded by Commissioner Durso..
Mayor Sackett said he agreed with this transition and thanked Ms. Mirus
.for putting this together.
Ms. Mirus said this brings the Reports together at the end of the Agenda
and moves things forward. She said the Commission can always move the
Regular Business .ahead as needed.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor
Maingot absent.
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E. The Recreation Manager of the Community Services Department
requests the City Commission review and discuss the St. Johns River
Water Management District stormwater permit r-equirements for
Reiter Park and provide. staff the direction deemed appropriate.
1VIs. Meli reported the City has received the permit from St. Johns River
Water Management District for Reiter Park. She said it was. decided to
postpone Reiter Park to a later time. However, they have funding that is
designated for stormwater work. only. She stated they were requesting to
go ahead and meet. the requirements of the St. Johns Water Management
District permit by doing the stormwater work. This would involve placing
underground piping, digging a retention pond, and the grading of the site.
Mayor Sackett inquired if the retention pond had been moved to the
former Bernard property.
IYIs. Meli responded in the, affirmative.
Mayor Sackett inquired what Reiter Park would look like if this was done.
Ms. Meli advised there would be a retention area with a fence. The
grading would be done to prevent standing water in the-Park and all areas
of the Park would be able to be used at all times. She stated there would be i
new grass, the tennis courts, basketball courts, and the pavilion would ~
remain. She said they would phase in the rest of the Park if deciding to ~
move forward with the existing plans.
Mayor Sackett requested an explanation of the fiend roll-over balance.
Mr. Jackson advised there was not a stormwater master plan; they have a
capital improvement. plan. He said for the stormwater funds to be applied,
the Commission would have to recognize this as~an appropriate project to
be placed on the list. He stated one other consideration was that the
Bernard property and the portion of the field just west of Church Avenue,
north of the Fire Station accumulate water during heavy rains. This
standing water causes conflict to the roadway in that area and undermines
it. Through this project, it should resolve the standing water overlap issue
onto Church Avenue and would also be beneficial to this area as well. He
affirmed this project will allow this water to be relocated. He reiterated the
stormwater fund is to be used exclusively for stormwater. He, said there
was an ample balance to address this issue tlus year. If the City complies
with all of the standards of the St. Johns Water IVlanagement District
permit over the next eighteen months, it will allow the City to choose the
further development of Reiter Park to phase in as each project becomes
financially feasible, and the infrastructure for the water will be done.
Commissioner Bundy inquired when the permit expires. ~ '
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~ Ms. Meli advised the permit was a five year permit and expires in the year
2014. She said a great deal of the Park: was not usable when it rains. If
they have the stormwater funds available for this work, the Park could be
used for various events. She stated it had been suggested. atone point to
put some new ball fields there. She affirmed the stormwater work would
have to be done before ball fields or anything could go there.
Commissioner Holt moved to rnove forward with. the construction
of the stormwater system, including the pond, pipes, and grading
with funds from the Stormwater Management Fund in order to
satisfy the requirements of the permit from the Environmental
Resource. Seconded by Commissioner Durso.
Commissioner Bundy said they were. going to spend $590,000 for a Park
that they were not going to get any money back on, and they voted. down
spending $22.7,000 on new meters that would pay for themselves.
Commissioner Holt said they could do this work as fords were available.
He stated we did not have to htury and turn this area into ball fields or
_ play areas. He said they could corner o:Ff the area that is a roadway hazard
and a safety issue. This area can be roped off; dig the retention pond so
water will drain into it trntil they have the fiends to support the project. He
stated if they were working toward this, the permit would be good.
Ms. Meli said once they start the. protect, she did not know if there was a
time limit on the permit or if they needed to .show progress on the project.
Commissioner Holt said this was a question they would need to ask. He
stated he did not want this to go away and lose the permit. He said if it
. could be done incrementally he felt the Commission would be more
satisfied. He declared doing the work over by Church Avenue as a safety
issue would be a selling point to move this project along.
Commissioner Bundy said we had five :years to start the project as the
permit is good for five years.
Ms. Meli advised that once we meet the conditions of the permit, we can
wait ten years to do anything else. She said within the next five years they
would like to_get the stormwater completed.
Mr. Jackson.said the concept of digging the hole and placing the orange
mesh fence arotrnd it would not supply the piping and infrastructure that
will pull the water from the other region. He stated with the safety hazard
that would present, he would not recommend doing it. He advised the fund
that will supply the money for this was the Stormwater Fund that can only
be used for stormwater. If moving forward with this project,. it would
accomplish the Storrnwater Project for the Park as well as the Stormwater
Project to alleviate the flooding on Church Avenue down West Church
CC 03-02-09/109
and Longwood Groves. Upon completion of it, everything would be
completed up to the point that the Commission could decide when to start
implementing the other phases of this project. He said once the
Stormwater Project was done, the leisure would be on our side for when to
complete the rest of the Reiter Park Project.
Commissioner Bundy inquired what they were. going to do about the
muck. He said they have run into issues on other projects with similar
circumstances and the cost- balloons.
1VIs. Meli said they did an RFP and the price t;he contractor quoted is the
cost. She stated if they find items under there, this was an unknown.
Commissioner Bundy said. they know there is muck there and it is
expensive to remove it. He inquired if the contractor was going to remove
the muck without over-runs to the project.
Ms. Meli said the plan calls for the Park to not be totally demucked. A
level of it is coming out and anything they build will have geo-textiles or
pilings and this has already been considered.
Commissioner Bundy said they were trying to move forward from the way
things were done in the past on contracts and contracting. He stated he ~
wanted some insurances that when they say $590,000, that there are not a ~
lot of change orders.
Ms. Meli said the contract has been reviewed by the City Attorney's
Office. She stated she would need to defer to the City Attorney as to how
strong the contract is in regards to the price.
Mr. Jackson said the City has a five year window on this permit. He
suggested rather than starting it with uncertainty, to hold off and do it all
at one time. He said at that time; perhaps the Stormwater Fund will have
more of a balance, and the Commission will have more of a comfort factor
in executing this.
Commissioner Bundy said he has not said he would vote against this, he
just wanted to have some assurances that when they say $590,000 it is as
close as possible. He .stated he knows there are unforeseen things in the
construction business.
Commissioner Durso said if there is an alternative to be sought, without
killing this, they should find it. He stated he has dealt with St. Johns Water
Management District in the past and going Through that process again
would delay everything even further.
Ivls. Roper advised they could make a motion to table it and if a motion to
table passes,. then they would not vote on the original motion.
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Ms. Meli said they were looking at approximately eight to ten weeks to
complete this project.
Commissioner Bundy said this contractor has an outstanding reputation
for getting projects done on time. He stated he wanted this project to be at
least 90% done before Mr. Jackson leaves the Acting City Administrator
position.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote with Deputy Mayor
Maingot absent.
12. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. No report.
13. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report.
14. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned the meeting at 9:55 p.m.
Brian D. Sackett,. Mayor
.ATTEST: C_
Sarah M. Mires, CMC, TvIBA
City Clerk
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