CCMtg03-05-07Min~ L®NGW®01~ CI:TY COldIMISSI~l~T
~ Longwood City Commiission Chambers.
I 175 West Warren Avenue
- Longwood, ]E'[orida
1VIIPTLTTI~~S
1VIA12CI3 5, 2.007
7:00 P.N[.
Present: .Mayor John C. Maingot
Deputy Mayor Mike Holt
Commissioner Dan Anderson
Commissioner H.G. "Butch" Bundy, Jr.
. Commissioner Brian D. Sackett
Teresa S. Roper, Acting City Attorney
John J. Drago, City Administrator
Linda F. Goff, Recording S~ecret~~ry
Tom Jackson, Police Chief
Tom Smith, Division Manager Streets/Fleets
Richard Kornbluh, Division Ma~iager of Utilities
Michael Peters, Fire Lieutenant
Michael Clelland, Battalion Chif:f
Paul Sizemore, Interim Director of Community Services
Carol Rogers, Director of I~ financial Services
Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant
Absent: Sarah M. 1VIirus, City Clerl~ (Exc:used)
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Maingot cali(ed the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. A moment of SILENT MEDITATIOrT was followed by the PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE.
3. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMEr1TS. The following announcement was
made:
A. A Blue Grass Piekin' will be held on March 17, 2007 from 7:00 p.m.
until 10:.00 p.m., Longwood. Community Building, 200 West Warren
Avenue. '
4. RECOGNITIONS.
- A. District #4 Presentation of 1:he Business Person of the Month Award
for March 2007 to Bruce Lubec of Baskets & Beyond, located at 150
Wildmere Avenue. -
Commissioner Bundy read a brief biography on Bruce Kubec of Baskets
`°-' & Beyond, and presented him with the Business Person of the Month.
Award for March 2007. Photographs were then taken.
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5. BOARD APPOINTMENTS.
A. District #5 Nomination. to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Commissioner Sackett nominated Stephanie Manor, 890 Woodgate Trail,
to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Nomination carried by a
unanimous voice vote.
6. PUBLIC INPUT. .
A. Presentations. Michael Peters, President of the Longwood
Professional Firefighters Association, Loca13163.
Michael Peters, Union President; Longwood Professional Firefighters,
Local 3163; said he prepared a brief statement and would be happy to
entertain any questions. He came before the City Commission to discuss
the City staff's intention to eliminate the Engineer's position. This issue
has been an area of disagreement between. the Union and City staff for
several years. He stated City staff has recently claimed that this position
has no practical value, creates inefficiency and staffing inflexibility. He
said the Union strongly disagrees with this claim and feels the Engmeer's
position is a highly specialized and responsible element of their team.
Having the Engineer's position prevents the use of inexperienced and
Lulproven personnel, and guarantees the best-possible, candidate filling
their positions each day. He said the position in no way prevents the. use of
a less qualified person'if an emergency need arises. He affirmed the
organizational structure they currently use moves a new employee through
well defined steps, beginning with the probationary. Firefighter, the
Firefighter, Relief Engine Driver Operator, Engineer, Relief Officer in
Charge,, and Lieutenant. Each of these steps requires the employee to
increase their knowledge and abilities with each step which is then tested
through examination. He said this process is extremely important because
it proves the employee is ready for the next level. It creates progression
opportunities and is a method to reward dedicated, hard working
employees. He stated it creates motivation and sets up healthy competition
for selection to the next .level. He said the plan City staff intends to put in
place deletes many of these steps and puts a probationary Firefighter
completing their ninth month with the Department as an equal replacement
for the Engineer. These individuals would have limited emergency
experience and no supervision at the pump panel on their first.fire. He
declared this places the crew at an unnecessary risk and the employee in
an unfair position. He said these members need more time and experience
to develop to this level. This plan puts everyone below the rank of
Lieutenant in the same group with no further goals to meet, no motivation
to enhance their abilities, and no requirements for increasing their
knowledge prior to attempting the position of Officer in Charge. He said
they could see no benefit to making this change and in their opinion would -
be amove backward. Industry trends in the varied departments that they
use to compare their benefits and pay show no change of this type. He ~1.
stated the only changes are towards the creation of the Engineer's position.
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He said they have made significant progress recently with the support of
~ ~ this Commission, and sincerely hope they will prevent them from having
to take a step backward and derail the positive momentum that has been
created.
Commissioner Bundy said it ,was brought out this, was eliminating a
position, and there was nothing in between the Relief Driver and the
Officer in Charge. He asked if the F:elief Drivers; would receive the proper
training to drive the truck and. operate the pumps:
Mr. Peters said the Relief Drivers and the Engine Operators do receive
training. He stated there was i:alk of developing a department pump
operator course. He said this had not been implemented. He declared a big
problem.was that a big portion of becoming Engineer, being qualified and
mastering the skill of pumping the i:ruck, was very much experience based.
Candidates will become qualified, but they need to have enough time to
gain the experience. He affirnZed the Engineer position gave them the
ability of placing the most. qualified. and experienced person in the
position.
Mayor Maingot inquired how many Engineers were currently on staff
Mr: Peters advised there were: currently four Engineers.
Mayor Maingot inquired what was the full compliment of Engineers.
Mr. Peters advised nine was full compliment.
Mayor Maingot said he understood that since 2003 these positions have
not been filled.. He asked if it was so important, why they had not been
filled.
Mr: Peters said they went for a nurr.~ber of years and did not give a test. He
stated they did have an exam last year in which three people participated.
Those candidates felt they had passed the exam, and the exam was then
invalidated, with no promotions being made. It was his understanding the
City's intent was to eliminate the position. Therefore, no more exams were
given.
Mayor Maingot said it was his understanding there were no problems even
though they were short the number of Engineer positions. He stated the
Department functioned effectively ,without having those. people up to a
maximtun strength of nine:
Mr. Peters said they have not lost a;lyone or suffered any fatalities.
1
'~ Mayor Maingot said it was his understanding the Union agreed, during
negotiations, to a $1.,000 inc.e:ntive j.'or those employees who achieve the
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requirements established by the Fire Chief for the Driver Operator status.
He said this created more incentive for the employees to excel. and there ~j
would be more crosstraining.
Iylr: Peters said this was not necessarily correct and there were some points
he would like to clarify. The .$1,000 and the $2,000 incentives were
negotiated as replacements for the out of class pay they operated under
previously. He said it took four years to get to the Officer in Charge
position. He stated if they immediately started school to take the college
course classes for this position, you have immediately taken their focus
and placed it on management rather than focusing on the position they
were m.
Commissioner Sackett said he had met with 1VIr. Peters and asked him to
put together a plus and minus chart for area Fire Stations that have the
model we currently have, and those who do not have Engineers.
Mr. Peters said he did not have the chart at this time.
Commissioner Sackett said: from what he hadlooked into, most do not
have Engineers and they were trying to get Engineers back. in their system.
He asked if that was correct.
Mr. Peters responded in the affirmative.
Commissioner Sackett inquired what was positive about a system that
does not have Engineers.
Mr. Peters said he did not know of any positives. He said Seminole
County was. the biggest department without. Engineers. He stated they do
have a much more intense training program.
Commissioner Sackett said the outcome maybe more of a commitment
toward education.
Commissioner Anderson asked why the number of Engineers was limited.
Mr. Peters said he was not sure if the number was established for a
monetary reason. He said there were three Engineers for each shift and
this would allow for one Engineer for each truck with a backup.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if it would be advantageous to have all
personnel trained for that level of competency.
NIr. Peters said it would be a great benefit to have them trained to that
level once they were ready. He affirmed they were trairing in that
direction.
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Commissioner Anderson said v~~heri out of probation and becoming a full
~ ~ fledge Firefighter Mr. Peters had stated there was a need to focus on
perfecting their craft and skills to continue through the levels:
• Mr. Peters responded in the affirmative. He said when the skill was
obtained there was a test to rriove tc) the next level.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if he believed focusing on the skill
rather than management, and going through these steps, keeps them
focused on the craft.
Mr. Peters responded in the affirmative.
Commissioner Anderson said. he had a problem with bad publicity because
they do not have the right people to answer a fire. He affirmed he wanted
all personnel to have the skills to b~; able to respond and provide safety for
the City. His concern is not for job titles, but for skill sets on the road and
in the trucks.
Mr. Peters said skill sets were; laid ~~ut with the organizational structure
they currently have. He said it was not just title based; they had to learn
and prove themselves. He stated thy; matter Commissioner Anderson
referred to was due to a decision to have only one truck in service rather
than two. It was a poor decision on staffing for that day.
Commissioner Anderson said. he desired to achieve all personnel to be
able to provide public safety as well as being safe for the personnel.
Mr. Peters said that was optimal, birt how fast can you have personnel
obtain that skill set. He declared thi s could not be done in one year and
they would not be able to keep people past that year unless they were
showing good progress.
Deputy Mayor Holt said it was good to see Union representatives here. He
inquired how many employees were in the Fire Department.
Mr. Peters said there were 31 in the Union and a total of 35 employees.
Deputy Mayor Holt said he had touched on the stepping stone process they
go through. He inquired why there were not people stepping into the
Engineer vacant positions.
Mr. Peters said it was due to a lack of the promotional exam.
- ~ Deputy Mayor Holt said the main f ~cus was that this was a stepping
process and a motivational tool. He stated he did not understand the aspect
~ of why it was not being offered.
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Mr. Peters said there were nine positions in the budget, and they currently
had four positions filled. They. have recently had some retirements, but
two to three of the positions have been vacant for some time because
promotional exams were not being given. Due to this, the opportunity to
move to that level was unavailable.
Deputy Mayor Holt inquired who gave the .exam.
Mr. Peters advised the Department gave the exam.
Deputy Mayor Holt said many people find a comfort level and stay there.
He said with nine positions, they should be full. He inquired if people
were leaving the Department because of not being able to test to obtain
that level.
Mr. Peters said people were leaving the Department due to lack of
opportunity. He stated it should be their goal to allow for this success here.
Commissioner Bundy said being a small Department, there would not be a
lot. of opportunities. He stated they would always be fighting the battle of
losing people. If a Firefighter is going through training, they will not be
terminated if they do not qualify as a driver. He said the City would be
paying more if going this way rather than keeping nine Engineers. He said
only three employees took the last test and if this was such a major
concern, why were more not up for the test.
Mr. Peters said two individuals were not here at the time the exam was
given. At that time they only had three capable of taking the exam. He
reiterated the exam was invalidated by Administration and there has not
been an exam since.
Commissioner Bundy asked if a Battalion Chief or someone from
management goes out on response.
Mr. Peters responded in the affirmative. He said the Battalion Chief will
set up a command post.
Commissioner Bundy said they were not eliminating a position; they will
still have a classification. He stated they would offer more people the
opportunity to earn the additional incentive on top of their regular pay.
Mr. Drago said he would like to clarify a few things. He said the statement
was made that the Engineers test had not been given recently. He stated in
2003 the exam was given and there were still two vacancies. In 2004,
there was no exam with three vacancies. He said in 2005 the exam was -
given twice and still two vacancies. In 2006, there were three vacancies,
but this was when the City and the Union came to terms relative to the J
incentive pay after going through the course the Chief developed to verify
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the person was qualified. He said most of the Engineers ride paramedic
~ units; therefore, they rely on the Relief Drivers. Presently twelve
individuals were qualified to ride in i:he Engineer's position and if adding
the four current Engineers, this totaled sixteen. He said there were fifteen
new people and it was the Chief s ini:ent to have everyone qualified to
drive the truck and be able to pump.:FIe said the Chief has worked out the
numbers and the City would not be left stranded. She. understands what the.
. problems were and was trying to address those. He advised he has spoken
to other cities and the trend was to do away with the Engineer position.
B. Public Participation.
John Pagano, 109 Slade. Drive, said Yie would be speaking on Codes
Enforcement. On January 24, 2.007, he phoned and faxed a complaint to
Codes Enforcement concernin€; the addresses of 105 Slade Drive and 112
Rock Lake Road requesting to be noified of the results. As of today, he.
has still had no response. He said on January 25, 2'007, he phoned and
faxed a complaint to Codex EnPorcerzent for the addresses of 761 Waverly
Circle, 805 Sutter Loop, and the cornier of East Gate Trail and Church
where several fence sections that had. fallen over. He also sent a copy of
these requests to the. Mayor's• office. He requested. again to be .notified of
the results by fax or phone and still h:as had no one respond. On January
. 29, 2007, he phoned and faxed Codes Enforcement and requested an
~ estimated time for a response. lie distributed an Exhibit A and said he has
still not received a response concerning his request. He stated it has come
to his attention that a neighbor at 11 ~'- Rock Lake Drive has constructed a
building well within the 5 foot set back and no variance was required for •
this project. He said it was odd that he was .fined $4,500 for the exact same
thing. He went to the City Clerk's office to request a permit for the
construction and. was notified that a miscellaneous permit was issued on
that property, but no variance permit was issued. He said he was informed
that the records could be requested from Iron Mountain so he could review
the :permit and give to Codes Enforcement to investigate. This was over
five weeks ago and he has never received anything. He said it appears to
him that the City Board of Con.~rnissioners and the Codes Enforcement
. were totally incapable of handling the day to day operations of the City.
He said, as a citizen of Longwood, he had no alternative but to contact a
higher power, whether it is Senninole: Cotuity or a State Agency, and make
them aware and possibly launch an investigation concerning the
incompetence of the City of Longwood.
Warren Brown, President of Longwood Babe Ruth Baseball, 100 Canada
Avenue, Altamonte Springs, said he came to thank Mayor Maingot,
Deputy Mayor Holt, and Comrnissio:ner Sackett for participating in the
Babe Ruth Opening Day Cerernonie:~. He stated the parks looked the best
they have ever looked for opening ceremonies. He acknowledged staff did
a phenomenal job, starting with Fran Meli, Chris Capizzi, and Debbie
Renfro.
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7. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT.
Mr. Drago reported recently there had been one organization using the
Community Building several times and they had been granted a reduction in the
cleaning fees. He said the last time they abused the privilege they were put on
notice they would owe 'extra funds for cleaning. He reported Chief Jackson just
completed his 25~' year with the City.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' .REPORT.
District #4. Commissioner Bundy congratulated Chief Jackson and said he had
actually been with the City .longer, but had 25 consecutive years.
District #5. No report.
District #1. No report.
District #2. Commissioner Anderson reported at the MetroPlan meeting, there
was going to be a Commuter Rail demonstration on Sunday in Winter Park and
the Commission had received an 'invitation to attend. He said the Expressway
Authority wants to widen the Greenway to 6 lanes. and in some areas 8 lanes in
Seminole County. They do not have the environmental permits. He reported there
was an update on the possible future Wekiva Beltway extension. Orange County
is pushing forward with .their extension up through Apopka and Lake County. He
said there was no funding. for the section in Seminole County for design or right-
of-way acquisition. ~ "
District #3. No report.
9. CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Approve Minutes of the February 19, 2007 Regular Meeting.
B. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends.
payment of approved and estimated bills for March 2007.
C. Personnel Division of`the Financial Services Department recommends
the. City Commission approve the donation of accumulated vacation
leave hours to David Collins from various Public Works employees.
D. City Administrator recommends the City Commission approve an
amendment to the Continuing Professional Services Contract with
Associated Consulting International and authorize the Mayor to sign
all documents.
Commissioner Sackett inquired if Item 9 C could be separated.
" ~
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Commissioner Anderson moved to approve the Consent Agenda,
Items 9 A, B, and D. `ieconded by Deputy Mayor Holt and carried
by a unanimous roll call vo1:e.
Commissioner Sackett said when there were a numerous amount of people
being generous in donating hours to help a person, they should pause and
say thank you. .
Commissioner Sackett move°d to approve Consent Agenda Item
9 C as presented. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy .and carried
by a unanimous roll call vote.
10. PUBLIC HEARINGS.
A. The Community Development Division of the Community Services
Department recommends the City Commission read by title only and
adopt Ordinance No. 06-1817 which amends the City Comprehensive
Plan (aCPA 01-06).
Mayor Maingot announced tk~is wa:~ a quasi-judicial proceeding.
Ms. Roper announced having proof' of publication for this .and all public
hearings listed on the agenda. She then read Ordinance No. 06-1817 by
title only.
Mr. Sizemore said the Wekiv,a Parkway and Protection Act was adopted in
2004 and the City has been working; on this over the past few years. He
advised the current amendment went to the Land Planning Agency on
November 8, 2006 and appeared before the City Commission for the
transmittal hearing on Noverr~ber 20, 2006. Following which, it was
transmitted to the State of Florida Department of Community Affairs and
went through their review process.:Eie said there were some very small
tweaks made that were insignificant enough that it did not warrant any
objections, recommendations„ or comments. This authorized holding the
second Public Hearing. and moving forward with the adoption phase. If
adopted, the amendment will be transmitted back to the Department of
Community Affairs for final revie~~ and the appeal period after which this
amendment would be adopted in the Comprehensive Plan. He advised this
amendment wraps up the final Corr,.prehensive Planning requirements of
the Wekiva Parkway and Prol:ectior- Act for the City. It includes elements
of the wastewater facilities, data analysis, remaining portions of the
stormwater management data analysis, including; recommendations from
the Regional Master Stormwater Management Plan created by the Water
Management District. He stated if this amendment is .adopted, they are
ready to start preparing the 2007 Lz~nd Development implementation
- language for the Development Codr,. ,
~ Ms. Roper advised they can dispen:~e with the quasi judicial requirements
since there was no one to testify.
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Mayor Maingot opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor or in
opposition to the Ordinance.
Deputy Mayor Holt moved to close the public hearing: Seconded
by Commissioner Sackett and carried by a unanimous voice vote.
Deputy Mayor Holt moved to adopt Ordinance No. 06-1817, as
submitted, Item 10 A. Seconded by Commissioner Sackett and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
B. City Administrator recommends the City Commission read by title
only and adopt Ordinance 07-1823 amending the Fiscal Year 06/07
Budget.
Ms: Roper read Ordinance No. 07-1$23 by title only.,
Mayor Maingot opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor or in
opposition. to the Ordinance.
Commissioner Sackett moved to close the public hearing.
Seconded by Commissioner Anderson and. carried by a unanunous
voice vote.
Commissioner Anderson moved to adopt. Ordinance 07-1823. ~/
Seconded by Commissioner Bundy.
Commissioner Anderson asked the City Administrator to address some of
the issues. brought up. How do we insure under the City's proposal we
have qualified personnel.
Mr. Drago said if this position was supposed to be a motivator, then the
question has been asked; when the. exams are given no one passes them.
Under the current policy,, you cannot force someone into the promotional
position if they do not pass the~exam. He said under the Chief's proposal,
because it will be performance based, everyone will go through the
training program and everyone will become proficient. He stated the
Chief's biggest problem has been Paramedics. The bulk of the Engineers
are Paramedics, so therefore, the priority for staffing are the paramedic
trucks. This leaves the backup drivers driving the engines. He discussed
the incident on Palmetto. He said it has never been the Chief s intent to
put unqualified people on the trucks. He advised the current qualified
people will need to be retrained on the new trucks. He affirmed he was
competent the program laid out by the Chief is the right way to go. She
has documented in writing to the Commission she supports this program. -~
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Commissioner Anderson said the Chief is qualified and was accountable
l~ to the City Administrator. He 'inquired if Mr. Drago had accreditation as
well.
Mr. Drago advised he had Cl:uef Fire Officer's designation credentials.
Commissioner Anderson inquired if, in the City Administrator's opinion,.
they were placing qualified people on the equipment and. in the line of
duty. He asked, if in his opinion and the Chief s opinion, this was the best
way to provide for the safety of the citizens.
Mr. Drago responded in the affirmative.
Commissioner Sackett said trus was more than an opinion; it was their
standard of excellence. He inquired. what would be in place for motivation.
Mr. Drago said money was not a motivator. He stated if it was, they would
step up to the plate and pass the ex~uns. He said the. Chief had laid out her
plan, and she has worked in the Department, so she understands the
problems.
Commissioner Anderson said it would seem a more equitable position that
the employees' compensation. be straightforward. He inquired if this was
being achieved.
Mr. Drago responded in the a:ffirma.tive from his perspective. He said the
City pays for Paramedic. School aril they receive an increase of $7,000.
Commissioner Anderson said it wa:~ a small Department and inquired what
could be done to make this a more ~~ttractive place to serve.
Mr. Drago said many people ~,vill want to stay here, and others will want to
move on after obtaining experience., He said there are some whe ;want to
work for a small city. The City's compensation package is very
competitive to the County's.
Commissioner Bundy asked Chief Clelland if he thought any of the
firefighters' lives or health was lout at risk by doing this, or would it be a
detriment to public safety.
Chief Clelland said this would be a better question for the Fire Chief. He
said they were trying to quantify experience over time. The Union's
position was that time means everything. The City's position was, not so
.fast. He said it was an issue oi.' how do we put a factor on time. In the end,
how much experience and value of i;hat experience is over time. It comes
~ down to a policy issue.
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Commissioner Bundy said he understands the Union's position. He stated
the Fire Chief was more than qualified to make these decisions, and they
were also in a good position to have a City Administrator with fire
experience. He confirmed he was in support of this. .
1V1`ayor Maingot said our Fire Department does an excellent job. He stated
the EMS Program was incentive alone. He said he was prepared to accept
this recommendation.
Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. REGULAR BUSINESS. None.
12. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. No report.
13. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. N.o report.
14. ADJOURN.. Mayor Maingot adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m.
Linda F. Goff,. Recording Secretary
ATTEST:
Sarah 1VL 1N1:~rus, CMC, City Clerk
tN~~
Joh aingo Mayor
~~
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