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CCMtg05-19-08Min ~ LONG~OOD CI~~~ COMMISSION Longwood City Commission Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longv~vood, Florida MINU~CES MAY 19., 2008 7::OU P.,M. Present: Mayor Brian D. Sackett Deputy Mayor H.G. "Bu.tclh" Bundy, Jr. Commissioner John C. Maing+ot Commissioner Dan Anderson Commissioner Mike Holt Donovan Roper, Acting City Attorney John J. Drago, City Administrator Linda F. Goff, Recordin};Secretary Tom Smith, Division Manager of Streets/Fleet Paul Sizemore, Director of Community Services . Tom Jackson, Police Chief Ryan Spinella, Executive Assistant I Laurie Mooney, Fire Chief Absent: Teresa S. Roper, City Attorne~r (Excused) Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk (E,xcused) 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. A moment of SILENT MEDITATIOl`1 was follo`ved by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 3. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Goff read the following announcements: A. Senior Matinee will be hE;ld on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from 1.:30 p.m. unti13:30 p.m., Longwood Community Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. B. Senior Spring Fling Dance avill beheld on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., Longwood Community Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. 4. RECOGNITIONS. ~ ~ A. Recognizing Commissioner John C. Maingot for his dedicated service to the City as Mayor, May 20'0( to May 2008. CC 0:5-19-08/115 Mayor Sackett recognized Commissioner Maingot for his dedicated service to the City as Mayor from 2006 through 2008. He commended Commissioner Maingot for his leadership and presented him with a ' plaque. He said the Florida League of Cities needs to have a nomination by August 11~' for Mayor of the Year. He would like to submit Commissioner Maingot's name to the Florida League of Cities as our representative. Photographs were then taken. Commissioner Maingot said it was a great privilege leading the City with his fellow Commissioners. He stated the ultimate beneficiary of this goes to the people of the City of Longwood. B. District #4 Nomination of the Business Person of the Month Award for June 2008. Deputy Mayor Bundy nominated. Damon and Melanie Chase, Attorneys at Law. Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote. 5. BOARD APPOINTMENTS. A. District #5 Nomination to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Mayor Sackett deferred the nomination. ~ a B. District Nomination to the Board of Adjustment. Mayor Sackettt nominated Autumn Doulong, 600 Devonshire Boulevard, for reappointment to the Board of Adjustment. Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote.. 6. PUBLIC INPUT. A. Public Participation. Bruce Kubec, 1416 Hearthstone Lane, said he represents the Longwood Chamber of Commerce. A little over a year ago, the Chamber requested a representative from the City Commission be part ofthe Leadership Team .for the Longwood Chamber of Commerce. At that Time, it was decided. that the Mayor would be the representative. He stated with the change of Mayor this month, they were riot sure if Mayor Sackett would be the representative or if Commissioner Maingot would continue. 7. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'SREPORT. No report. 8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. Mayor Sackett requested to take the reports out of order and said he would like to go first to run an idea by the ~ Commission. ` CC OS-19-08/116 ~ District #5. Mayor Sackett said :he would like to see a format used when giving the Commissioner Reports. First to report any meetings attended, second to respond to Public Participation, and third any other items of contention. Mayor Sackett reported on May 1.4th he attended a meeting where Dick Harkey spoke on the Commuter Rail. He indicated the Commuter Rail is on track with the release offends being imminent. On May 15`th, he attended the Mayor and Managers meeting. He attended F3luegr;~ s on May 17th and said there were 37 Senior Citizens who attended and. no once was from Longwood: He reported. Longwood Chamber will have former County Commissioner Morris speaking about State Road 434 and the Commuter Rail. The Boy Scouts will also be in attendance: He said the Community Leaders meeting in Lake Mary and the A.S.I:S. Police Awards were coming up soon. He stated he would like to know how many of the Commissioners were attending Longwood Elementary Career Day. He said the Longwood Elementary DARE Program was under the direction of the Longwood Police Department. He stated Woodlands Elementary DARE Program is under the Sherriff s Department and this Program has been cut. He aff rmed Woodlands Elementary was rF.cently in the news with three 11 year olds under Police care because they brought guns and drugs to school. He said the .Principal handled this situation very well. He said if there was any way to get DARE back into the School, they needed to do this. He stated Commissioner ~ - Anderson will be bringing up a Resolution supporting Commuter Rail. He visited ~ the Blackadar Development and the res%dents in that area have connected well with Commissioner Holt and he thanked Commissioner Holt for his efforts. Districts #1. Commissioner Maingot reported he went for the live interview regarding the Commuter Rail on May 7` . He said he had not seen. the end product. He did notice the Governor was noticeably absent until the last day. He stated he also indicated the opposition was better prepared to do battle than those in favor. He said the next item has given him a considerable amount of concern and was something the Commission nee;ds to deal with. This concerns the letter of May 14th which. the Commission was provided copies. He stated this document has presented a number of issues that have given him great course for concern. He was debating in his .mind as how best to deal with the matter, in a way that i.s truthful, in a way that represents what i:; best for the people of Longwood aaid in a way that offers the opportunity for Mr. Drago to defend himself. He said there were various ways to approach this. The; first way would be to take this as a nuisance letter from an individual who has had a rather difficult relationship with. the City and put it under the carpE;t. He stated, by the mere fact that this is now a public document that cannot happen. He; affirmed they have a fiduciary responsibility to the people who have elected them to represent their best interest. He said when certain things are raised as done in the .letter; they have to insure that justice is done. He confirmed the Charter, Section 4.05,. deals with the Removal of the City Administrator with. a majority vote. He stated this does not serve the City, at this point in Time, as a useful purpose. At the. same time, they have to concern themselves with addressing the matters contained in this letter,. whether-they are true or false. He said he has a third approach, that the Commission, without delay to get past the situation and resolve the issue, appoint CC 0~5-19-08/117 an independent counsel who will meet with the Commission's approval, and has no political affinity to the City, to investigate the concerns raised in the letter of May 14~`. He stated this person should be given 30 days to investigate the matter. Commissioner Maingot moved to appoint an independent counsel who meets the Commission's approval to investigate the administrative concerns that have been addressed in the letter of May 14~` and report back to the City Commission so they can be well informed as to misinformation , and truth and at the same tune afford the City Administrator the opportunity to defend himself. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Bundy. Mayor Sackett said this was an intense letter and he received it around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. on Friday. He has been reviewing the letter and has not been able to reflect on everything being said and trying to figure what is being commingled, what is conjecture, and what is real. He~stated he was looking at and wanted to get the context. He said Commissioner Maingot was going. deeper than what he was hoping. He was thinking, with this letter, they should turn it over to the City Attorney for recommendations within two weeks. One of these. recommendations could be private counsel. He stated this was not to delay things, but it would provide more time for the Commissioners to be .able to review the letter further. His favorable opinion would be that he agrees with what Commissioner Maingot is saying, but he would more so support turning it over to the City Attorney for a recommendation. ~ Commissioner Maingot said he thought of that,, but they have to be guarded against the appointed City Attorney investigating a matter dealing with the City Administrator. This would be a third party independent view and analysis being presented to the Commission that is complete and unbiased. Mayor Sackett said his response would be that he personally would need more time than Friday to Monday to be able to review each subsection in the letter. He would keep in mind that an independent counsel is the way he would probably go. However, he said he was looking for a decision not to be made tonight to hand this over and. to definitively act on what avenue they should take in two weeks. Commissioner Anderson said this letter has caused him a lot of concern. However, one thing he has. learned in his years with the City, whenever someone comes to him with a story, he wants to consider all sides of an issue: He stated usually when you. hear two or three different sides you can figure out where the truth lies. He said it:is very important not to create an environment where the Administrator is on trial and has to defend everything he is doing; that- said, there are serious allegations in the letter that if they sweep it under the carpet, they are not doing their diligence.. He stated he favors allowing the Administrator to address the issues as he sees. If it comes back, he will cite why the actions he has taken meets with the Charter, meets with his authority, and meets with Statutes or they won't see the justification. At that point, they need to say they need someone ~ to collaborate on those items. He declared he did not want to create an environment where they instantly cast dispersion on the Administrator and force CC OS-19-08/118 ~ him to defend himself. He stated that some content in the letter he does not agree with, some he questions and wants more information. He reiterated he would like to get answers from the Administrator ~md if there is still doubt or they are not satisfied, then they can pursue those avenues. Deputy Mayor Bundy said he was sure they have all given this a lot of thought over the weekend. He stated he discussed this with the Administrator since the arrival of the letter. First and foremost he was concerned that this not be bn.~shed aside because there are some serious allegations. He said,. by the same token, each of them has a working relationship with the City Adrriinistrator and at some point they will have to sit in judgment of these allegations. He stated he would prefer for the perception and what they owe the public is a fully impartial investigation into the matter. He said they were; nat j~zst talking about the reputation for the City Commission and the City of Lon gwood., but the personal reputation of the City Administrator that has served the Ci y well for almost 10.years. He feels they need an independent outside investigation. He suggested a list of retired judges available. through the area Counties. He reiterated this needs to be independent and out of the Commission hands and should not be done in-house. He requested a list of retired Circuit Judges from Orange or Osceola Counties to be interviewed.. He declared this needs to be done promptly. It is unfair to the City Administrator and the City to leave it dangling. He said it can be done in 30 days ~ - or less. However, if they are going to have a truly independent investigation, it ~ ~ will be difficult to investigate him while he is on the job. He stated the ' Administrator should be suspended, with pay, pending the outcome of the investigation. . Commissioner Holt said they were already finding him guilty of something. He stated the Constitution allows for due diligence. He said they received a letter and none of them wanted to bring up any of the items in the letter. They just automatically said to investigate lum. IIe stated if you read the letter and dissect it one item at a time and call the people involved in each section taking all information into consideration and formulating the truth from that, was where they needed to head. The City Administrator works on a day-to-day basis doing the daily operations for the City and the. Commission legislates. He declared it was not their job to dictate how he gets this done. He asked if anyone had talked . to the City Attorney regarding this n1att~~r. Mayor Sackett responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Holt said he had not talked with'the City Attorney regarding this matter. He stated it upsets him that the Commission is going to take this letter and start an investigation. He inquired. if they had a price for an investigation. Commissioner Maingot said, as a point of order, he nor Deputy Mayor Bundy ~ have accused the Administrator. They a:re addressing the letter itself and their . fiduciary responsibility as elected officials. He stated they cannot investigate this themselves and get it done properly and truthfully with all due diligence and at the same time with due respect to the City Administrator. If they attempt CC OS-19-08/11.9 investigating this matter themselves, then they would be creating quite a hornet''s nest and they will regret the unintended consequences. ~ Mayor Sackett reiterated that he does not feel warmed up that he understands this letter 100%. His conversation with the City Attorney today was regarding. direction on how to handle the matter and any motions during the meeting. He . agrees the integrity of the Cit-y is extremely important. He sees this as a timing issue at this time. He stated he was not hostile to independent counsel looking at the matter. He asked Mr. Roper if he could generate a list, within two weeks, of ways this can legally be dealt with and maintain the integrity of the Charter. Mr. Roper responded in the affirmative. He said he would like to put things into context and said he first heard about the letter around 4;30 p.m. on Friday. It was e-mailed to him by the City Clerk. He spoke shortly thereafter to Deputy Mayor Bundy. He spoke with Mayor Sackett this afternoon. He confirmed Commissioner Anderson spoke with Ms. Roper earlier today. He spoke with Commissioner Maingot earlier in the day, leaving Commissioner Holt as the only one with which he had not conversed. He stated the bottom line is that this is all very fresh. He has not had the opportunity to go through the entire letter, paragraph by paragraph, page by page. He said even though the letter is 8 pages with 16 different subject matters, there was really a lot more than just sixteen 16 areas at issue. One needs to take into context that these. are, as yet, unproven allegations rendered by a person who is in current litigation against the City. He affirmed one needs to not only consider the ramification of the allegations in the letter itself, and who is making those allegations, but the severity of it, because you have a man's job, career and livelihood at issue here. He stated that due process, as Commissioner Holt pointed out should take priority. Due process envisions the fact that you give someone not only notice and an opportunity to be heard, but a fair and equitable one. He said he did not think there should be a rush to judgment or a rush to seek justice as expeditiously as possible at the risk of doing the wrong thing. He stated he likes the idea of a retired Judge, as you can get this type of individual fairly quickly as a Special .Investigator and he likes. the idea of interviewing them. Given the .gravity of some of the allegations, there should be some level of independent investigation. He does think they should look at this 8 page, 16 paragraph, letter and call it down to what are legitimate issues that are deserving of investigation and weed out the ones that are nothing more than hearsay or speculation or some allegation of a conspiracy theory and cannot be proven. He advised they should investigate only those issues of concern and matters that trouble the Commission enough that there should be a special investigation. He said the entire matter would take much longer than 30 days to investigate. Mayor Sackett said he disagreed with which ones are worthy and which ones are not. He thinks. the whole thing needs to be dealt with. He stated he sees a ~ recommendation straight forward of an independent person looking at this, but did not. feel they can be as date specific as 30 days. The ultimate motive is to protect the integrity of everyone involved and keep it running forward. He said no one is CC OS-19-.08/120 ~ guilty unfil this whole matter is resolved. He would like to see a motion to get into this with an independent counsel that th.e Commission approves. Mr. Roper said he was asked if he could get a list of available options within two weeks and said they could get this done within three days. Mayor Sackett said they have a motion on the floor with a second. He inquired if Commissioner Maingot was interested in keeping his motion. Commissioner Maingot said he wanted to stay with his motion. He stated if he went with what Deputy Mayor.Bundy vvas suggesting, then they would be going straight to the Charter. He chose 1:he middle of the road rather than the Charter as stated. He spoke. with the Attorney at length today with his concerns and how they could best deal with this matter ire a wa.~ that would be equitable and as fair as possible to the City Administrator. Thus is why he is asking for an independent person. Deputy Mayor Bundy said the only rea:;ori he brought it up was because the Charter is very specific on how to handle the situation. However, with the Attorney being able to provide a list of options in two to three days or they could put the matter on the agenda to intervie~N Judges. He reiterated he j ust wanted to make sure not to run a fowl of the; City ~~harter. Mayor Sackett said he would like to see: wording in the motion suggesting it be consistent with the Charter. Commissioner Maingot said if he did that, then he would have to go with th.e removal for 45 days. He tried to ;het around this disruption and go the middle of the road. It has to. be addressed and there was nothing that prevents them from appointing an independent Investigator to Gook into the matter without having to go through the Charter to suspend.. Commissioner Anderson said he was very troubled by this concept. He is especially troubled by the idea of suspe~.iding the Administrator based on a letter. He stated it was ridiculous to suspend and lose the services of the Administrator for 30-45 days based on allegations. He said he spent a lot of time looking at that section of the Charter. This section is for-when the majority of the Commission states they have seen enough and it was time for him to go. He feels calling for this was a little premature, but he un.der;~tands they need to make sure the public has faith in the Administration and the Officials of the City. It is very different to have someone look through this letter and tell the Commission their opinion of the allegations. He said if it comes back with substantial issues, this was then they need to determine whether to initiate that Section of the Charter. He reiterated it was extremely unfair to put the Administrator in a position where he is on trial based on one letter. He prefers to see the Administrator's response. He understands that the Administrator needs to be careful how he responds. However, they need to hear the other side of the story. He said they would. not be able to answer everything that way, bec;~use there are some serious issues . CC OS-19-08/121 involved. He does not have a problem asking someone else to look at the matter and tell them which issues they will need to ask more about. Motion carried by a three/two roll call vote with Mayor Sackett and Commissioner Holt voting nay. District #2. Commissioner Anderson reported at the MetroPlan Municipal Advisory Committee, the Mayor from Maitland was talking about the Commuter Rail and requested a Resolution on the Commuter Rail be passed around to all of the cities in Central Florida and the Resolution be forwarded to MetroPlan. MetroPlan will then send the Resolutions to every elected official in the Legislature to demonstrate to them this is vitally important. Mayor Sackett asked Commissioner Anderson to move the Resolution forward as an Agenda Item. Commissioner Anderson said since they are bringing forth Charter Amendments, he would like to entertain the possibility of adding one more amendment. Since they are already addressing the Section regarding the hiring of the City Administrator and clarifying it takes athree-fifths (3/5) majority vote, he would like to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to require afour-fifths (4/5) vote to actually remove the Administrator. He said since this is a serious event that causes great disruption to the management of the Citiy and the continuity of their endeavors, he thinks it needs to be very deliberate when they go down that path. Section 4.05 (1) states it takes three-fifths (3/5) to start the proceedings. He said once going through the proceedings, he thinks it should take afour-fifths (4/5) vote to move on and remove the Administrator. If the Commission concurs, he would like this on the ballot along with the others amendments being considered. Mayor Sackett recommended delaying this unfl they get to the item. Commissioner Anderson said ever since the Hero's Monument was done he has wanted, as part of the Monument, a list of those who have given themselves in service from this community. He stated it would be a big endeavor to collect those names and they could be solicited through the City's website and newsletter.. Also, he feels Sergeant StroshaT's name should be a part of this. He affirmed those. who serve, protect us and give their life should be added. Mayor Maingot said this was an excellent idea. He suggested it should be within the periphery of the hardseape and not. on the monument itself. They need to be able to add names easily. Deputy Mayor Buridy said. this matter be brought forward as an Agenda Item so they can set criteria. He stated it needed to be a Longwood resident who made the sacrifice. ~J Commissioner Anderson said his idea was for brass plaques that names are attached to and over time they can reshuffle to keep continuity. CC OS-19-08/122 ~ Deputy Mayor Bundy suggested they might want to utilize the pillars with the service emblems and place the names on each pillar. Mr. Drago said they may want to develop a separate pillar and add bronze plates with names individually. It was the consensus of the Commission to have this on the .Agenda for the next meeting. District #3. Commissioner Holt said tl_~.e Longwood Chamber of Commerce was asking for a representative from t:he City. He stated it was brought up right after the Chamber was formulated in the Cit3~ and through the consensus of this Commission it was determined that the Mayor was the representative. Mayor Sackett advised he has been released from school responsibilities whenever there is a City affair. District #4. Deputy Mayor Bundy said they had discussed at the last meeting the cost for the Annual Board and Business Person of the Month Appreciation Dinner. Ms. Mirus put a memo in their mailboxes showing the total cost of the event. He stated 96 people came including guests, and 26 of those who responded did not attend. He said there were 86 imitations sent out so more than 26 people f ~ invited did not attend. He stated there were very few Boards with more than three people representative. In lieu of fkus, lie suggested they may want to consider doing something else. IVlaybe they eoulci consider the first Commission meeting in May or June to invite the Board Members to the Commissioner Chambers at 6:30 p.m. and have light refreshments prior to the meeting.'They could then present the tiles at the Commission meeting. to let them know we do appreciate their service. Mayor Sackett asked the Commissioners to have this in the back of their minds and requested Deputy Mayor Bundy to bring this issue up at the next meeting. Deputy Mayor Bundy confirmed the Principal of Longwood Elementary School is retiring. The Commission has already approved recognizing her. He is compiling some background information anei will ~;et this information to the City Clerk. 9. CONSENT AGENDA. A~. Approve Minutes of the ]VIay 5, 2008 Regular Meeting. B. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends payment of approved and estimated bills for dune 2008. C. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends approval of the Monthly Financial Report for Apri12008. Commissioner Holt movf,d to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Seconded by (commissioner Anderson. CC OS-19-(!8/123 Discussion was held on Item 9 B. Discussion was held regarding the cost of fuel and exploring joining with the School Board on the purchase of fuel. Motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None. 11. REGULAR BUSINESS. A. The City Clerk recommends the City Commission read by title only and adopt Resolution No. 08-1192, which designates a depository, designates authorized signers and facsimile signatures for the City. Mr. Roper read Resolution No. 08-1192 by title only. Commissioner Maingot moved to approve Resolution No. 08- 1192, Regular Item 11 A. Seconded by Commissioner Anderson and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. B. The Community Development Division of the Community Services Department recommends the City Commission discuss continuing the stormwater utility fee through the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year and give ` , staff the direction deemed appropriate. ~ Mr. Sizemore said this Item was to discuss the stormwater utility fee and seek direction from the Commission as to whether they would like an ordinance drafted and brought forward to continue the fee. He stated the fee was originally established in 1992 to help fund the stormwater maintenance activities in the City. The City does a number of things to comply with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit as well as other agency regulations regarding management of the stormwater system. The stormwater utility fee rates are included in the Agenda Packet and for a single family unit they are set at $6 per unit. Commercial and non-residential applications has an Equivalent Drainage Unit established that is based on square footage of impervious surface. These are per month and are charged as a part of the utility bill. H`e advised the last time the rates were modified was in 2004. At that time, the City adopted a much more active roll in stormwater management activities. He reviewed Capital Improvement Projects that have been accomplished. This year the stormwater program operated without any subsidy from the General Fund. The total revenue from the various revenue sources was approximately $705,500 for this fiscal year. He reported a fund balance was carried over of $746,000. The expenditures will come to around $791,000. Year-to-year they are. carrying a fund balance approximately equal to one year worth of expenditures. He said ~ the reason it was important to maintain a fund balance at that level was in the event' of a hurricane or some other natural disaster that caused flooding CC OS-19-08/124 events, they would need to have; that money available even if they would j be later reimbursed from the Federal Government. He affirmed they can project to about 2013-201.4 with significant Capital Projects. Rates as set have been sufficient for the City to be able to continue to operate without subsidy from the. General .Fund. He said with the rate of inflation and increasing constructionst>osts; these prices may not hold through 213- 2014. He advised the estimated costs in the information provided was based on 2008 dollars. In the~in~kerim, the rates .appear to be sufficient to continue this level of service. Mayor Sackett said if it began 1;.11992 and they were talking about going up to 2014, this was 22 years of a fee. It was his understanding the first $3 was to sunset and it has continued to be extended. He stated, even though this was only $6, this was the thing he hears the most that bothers people. He stated the question being asl~:ed is; if we need this money, why isn't in the budget. He said he knows we need this money and the plan to have funds available in the event something. happens. However, when does the year come that they say no, it will. sunset, and whatever they need to adequately maintain the stormwater system is within the General Fund. Mr. Sizemore said, as it stands ~iow, the fee inset to sunset October 1, ~ ~ 2008. This is why it is before the Commission again. I ' Deputy Mayor Btmdy said it will sunset when the Commission votes to not pass it to be extended,.. He stated if they don't do any Capital Projects, they will spend approximately $400,000 a year in maintenance work. He said the money had to come from somewhere. He would rather see it come from a stormwater fee than to try to cut something. He declared the term to sunset was a misnomer. The ice that ends in October 2008 was increased and set up to pay for ~ipecific projects. He said they could go back to $3 and pay the mairitenance items, but there would be no money for Capital Projects. He affirmed that any fee paid is a tax. At least this is a dedicated tax only for stormwat~r. Commissioner Maingot said Deputy Mayor Bundy hit the nail on th.e head. The fact it is dedicated should give the public assurance the money will. only be used specifically for that purpose. He stated the Commission needs to do their job to corrunur.iicate to the residents its purpose. H:e inquired how they arrive at the figures on the Stormwater CIP Proposed Project List. He said many of theprojects come back for additional funding and he would like confirmation that these figures are good. Mr. Sizemore said when lookint; at a 5 year capital improvement schedule,. at this level, these figures are at the best estimate of the Engineer. These are projects that have bee~i identified, but there is no engineering. design at this stage so they are an estimated cost. He explained more exact numbers come each year and when the project comes around you are looking at it CC OS-19-08/125 as the actual value of the dollar for that project. The final number is more exact with more engineering detail and the closer to construction. Commissioner Anderson said they were stuck in hard place with this. He said they acknowledge the fact that-this was temporary and was suppose to go away. He stated they communicated with the citizens with the list of projects they wanted to accomplish over the four year period. He declared they need to find a way to compile a list of projects in place by October and communicate with the residents again to show what they have completed and thenext list of projects. He said he suspects the vast majority of people they speak to will understand and say to go ahead with the projects. If the majority of the people say they are not willing to pay for this; then they have a hard decision to make. Mayor Sackett affirmed they are saying it is an educational matter. Commissioner Anderson responded in the affirmative. He said it is building accountability. Commissioner Holt said they need to understand also that any of these completed projects is what actually drives up the cost of stormwater. He stated once the roads are paved, the water has to go somewhere. He declared it was awesome to be able to stay at the $6 rate and still be able to do the projects and control the water. Deputy Mayor Bundy said on the paving projects, the stormwater was included in the cost of the paving project. These fees go to retrofitting current deficiencies. He stated he agrees we need to educate the people. He suggested they could have a Town Hall meeting and do a short presentation. He said people usually do not mind spending the money as long as they can see where it is going. Mayor Sackett said he would like to see the staff heavily charged with educating the public through The Lamplighter and things like that. Commissioner Anderson said that would be his motion, that at this time they proceed with soliciting feedback and show what they want to do with the fee to get a sense from the public. He said it was very important to keep -the bridge and the .accountability to the voters that it is their money. He stated they have been hearing over the years inquiries of when the City will be getting to their prof eet. Mayor Sackett said he was not sure we need a motion. He suggested having staff create something that is an educational tool to be used through ~ the website and The Lamplighter for information to explain. Mr. Drago said the last time they did a document that explained the fee to educate residents. CC OS-19-08/126 ~ C. City Administrator recommends the City Commission discuss the Countywide Mosquito Control Program and take action the Commission deems appropriate. Mr. Drago said at the last meeti~.ig the City Commission asked for this . Item to be brought forward. He stated there was a letter in the packet from the Health Department endorsing the Countywide Program. There is a letter from the County explaining the Program and stating they will continue to fund it. He said the Commission was concerned whether the County was going to drop the Program and it is his understanding they are going to commit to the timefrarr~e laid out. They are presently in year one. He said the City would continue to do the spraying until they are in year three. He stated the issue i.s whether the Commission wants to pull away from the Program entirely or leave it as stated and see what the Cotmty is going to do with the Program. I~:e affirmed they. were committed to fund year two, which is next year, following which they will evaluate and determine if they want to continue for year three. The County is committed to the Program in concept of the three year spectrum. He said the Commission has requested this matter be discussed and he does not believe it is the County's intent i:o pass the cost to the Cities. ~ , Commissioner Maingot said he lead a call this week from a resident with a ~ mosquito situation. He suggested going along with the County. However, maintain our equipment to deal with issues as they arise for spot treatments. He said residents do not seem to get response from the County. Deputy Mayor Bundy agreed wee should continue to spray and see what the County was going to do. He :inquired what the City spends on spray on an annual basis. Mr. Smith said roughly $20,000 annually. Commissioner Maingot said that was for full-time spraying. Deputy Mayor Bundy said they heed to continue to spray and keep staff trained plus keep our equipment. He stated if the City dismantles the program; the cost to restart: would tend to influence them to go along with the Program. Commissioner Anderson said keeping out system operational allows us to fill in and monitor. He agreed we: need to keep our certification of staff and equipment. ~ Commissioner Holt said th.e County Program was to put out educational literature to citizens on how to avoid mosquitoes from breeding. He said we need to be diligent on what we do. He said we need to educate citizens on the City's behalf. He said the City's Program is the best Program as we CC 05-19-08/127 are consistent with the treatment. He stated we need to continue to spray and monitor the situation. ~ i Mayor Sackett said he would entertain a motion to stay with the County Program for year two and continue to keep our resources up and available. Mr. Drago said if they take no action, they are continuing with year two and we will keep our equipment. Edward Horvath, Mosquito Control Program Manager for Seminole County, said he was available for any questions. He advised that right now they are not spraying. The Cities doing the spraying and the County is going after larvae. He asked to please call him if someone was saying they were not responding. Deputy Mayor Bundy said this was a misunderstanding, and asked if the City was supposed to be spraying. Mr. Horvath responded in the affirmative.. Deputy Mayor Bundy inquired if the County had a method to provide to the City educational materials so we can disperse this information on our website and newsletters as well as inclusion in the water bills. Mr. Horvath said that was the intention of~this Program to combine efforts into one Program, but he cannot do it all himself. He said that was exactly what he needed; the help from the City to get this information out. Commissioner Holt inquired if the County physically went out and took care of larvae. Mr. Horvath responded in the affirmative. D. Finance Division of the Financial Services Department recommends the City Commission read by title only, set June 2, 2008 as a public hearing date, and approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 08-1867 amending Section 90-181 of Chapter relative to Utilities Rates, fees and charges. Mr. Roper read Ordinance No. 08-1867 by title only. Deputy Mayor Bundy moved to approve the first reading of Ordinance No. 08-1867 and set June 2, 2008 as a public hearing date. Seconded by Commissioner Maingot. i Commissioner Anderson said he would like to know what the rates need to ~ be next year to cover the costs of running the system. He stated he thought they discussed not jumping from today to the optimal proposed rate all at CC OS-19-08/128 once, to phase it in. He-said they do have a fiduciary duty to pay for what is being consumed. . Mr. Drago referred to pa€;es 14••16 ofthe report and said this showed the ,proposed increases. He said the rate study was redesigned to increase over a three year period to get to the level they need to be. They need to keep in mind the revenue that comes in, is what can be spent. There are some capital projects that need to be clone next year in the utility section and this will be predicated on what comes in. He said one of the other things hurting the Utility Fluid that was told to the Commission by the consultant is the assessments that are loans taken from the fund balance. There also was some additional revenue added for water meters-that can be read electronically. Commissioner Anderson inquired why it costs so much more for these services in Longwood than Sanl:ando or Lake Mary. Nlr. Drago said one of the major advantages of Sanlando is that their cost of labor is probably less. The private sector does not have an ongoing maintenance program like; the City does. He said some of the systems were smaller and the cost is relative to the size of the system. i ~ Commissioner Maingot reviewed the fee table and the percentage of increase. He asked if fhe study indicates these~are the rates the City needs to charge to keep the system opf;rating. . Mr. Drago said when the consultant was here, that was his initial recommendation for the rate increase and the Commission had a problem with the 76% all at one time: They asked it be factored in over a three year o period. Commissioner ,Maingot inquired if the 76% over three years was stuplus of what is required or if it was justified. Mr. Drago said the rate st~.~dy shows it is justifiable. He added that with wastewater, a large portion of th.e cost was for the disposal. , Commissioner Maingot inquired if revenues were being transferred into the General Fund. Mr. Drago responded in the affi~.mative. Mayor Sackett said there was no incentive for saving. water or cutting consumption if it goes up 40% across the board. Deputy Mayor Bundy said he thought they requested for the consultant to make a larger spread for greater usage. He said there were not many homes using more than 30,000 gallons. Those who do are commercial CC OS-19-08/129 users. He stated they need to offer people, and provide a list of `items that ~ will reduce consumption both inside and for landscape. ~ I Mr. Drago said it was his understanding the Commission was sensitive to the majority of people that use 0-10 and 10-20 so not to penalize them and .for higher rates on the higher users as an incentive for them to go lower on the volume metric rate. He said the consultant went back and massaged the rates relative to this sensitivity and those on fixed incomes. Deputy Mayor Bundy said the per-gallon rates on those items don't seem to have changed. He stated if raising rates on large users, they can identify those and the smaller users will not have to pay as much. Commissioner Maingot said to move it from 30,000 gallons up.. Deputy Mayor Bundy agreed for'those that use over 30,000 gallons. Mayor Sackett said the fixed income person is going to see something more satisfying to them, but the grand total will be equivalent. Commissioner Holt said the hospital was not using more. because they are wasting the water. It is because they are so large. He inquired where the fine line was for those wasting. Mayor Sackett said it was not an indication of waste. The incentive is to get usage down. Commissioner Anderson said there needs to be a combination. They have been talking from a residential standpoint. From a residential standpoint you.want the slope to be steeper. If someone using a huge amount of water in a residence, you can provide incentives to use less. However, the hospital, and there could be others, are volume users because they are so big. He said this table was not mathematically flexible enough. He suggested keeping a two dimensional table and running the slope up to the mid-volume and then letting. it taper off.. There is a reason for someone who is using 80,000 gallons a month. He stated he liked the current rate where once you get past the 60,000, we don't penalize anymore. He said he likes the idea to offer incentives to use less. However, at the same time we cannot completely ramp it up on the end.. S Mayor Sackett said he thinks the math doable and somehow the grand total has to meet the needs. Mr. Drago said when the consultant was here, the current rates were good for five years and the City waited an additional five years. In the mean time, the City did draw down on the utility surplus relative to the assessments that.are loans over a long period. of time. CC 05-19-08/130 i Commissioner Anderson sugge:;ted the City could look into having a line ~ of credit used explicitly for the capital loans made on the various assessments. This would have to go before the voters. He stated those .loans could be moved off the books of these funds and it gives flexibility to absorb those projects. He said when using the line of credit, voters would authorize a specific, amount and it would then not be the City's finances in debt. Deputy Mayor Bundy saki they started doing the assessments nine years ago and they should almost be,paid off. He stated there would be a line of credit if borrowing the money and there would be, associated fees if the line of credit was not being used. He said the City would still be on the hook. if people defaulted on the assessment. He stated there would. need to be a lien against their property. Commissioner Anderson said hc: would be willing. to let it go forward. However, he was not happy with numbers. Deputy Mayor Bundy said they need to let the consultant know where they want to go. Commissioner Holt inquu•ed if there would be. a fee from the consultant. . Mr. Drago inquired if they were only honing in on the volume rate for residential and commercial rates on water. Mayor .Sackett responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Anderson said or; the wastewater fees, they set a policy if using more than a certain :ntunbe;r of gallons. He said in the case of the hospital they would be using more. However, residential you would not be using over that amount inside th:, house. If using over that amount, it would be on the lawn. He: reiterated they need to have a commercial and residential side of the table. He said they should not be charged a wastewater fee for water riot going into the system. Mayor Sackett inquired if they should take a vote just to move forward. Mr. Roper advised there was a pending motion that has been seconded. They need to have a roll call on that motion unless someone intervenes and makes a motion to table. Commissioner Maingot moved to table and give the City Administrator the opportunity to revisit .and come back with a ~ recommendation the second Commission meeting in June. • Seconded by Deputy Mayor Bundy and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. CC a5-19-Q8/131 E. The City Clerk recommends the City Commission read by title only, set June 2, 2008 as the public hearing date, and approve the first ~J reading of Ordinance No. 08-1868 amending Ordinance No. 08-1861 by proposing two additional amendments to the Charter of the City of Longwood to be submitted to the voters of the City of Longwood at the next General Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Mayor Sackett inquired if there was some way to put in the third amendment. Mr. Roper said it was not advertised. He stated it was not advisable to do an amendment at this point. Mr. Roper read Ordinance No. 08-L868 by title only. Commissioner Maingot moved to approve at first reading Ordinance No. 08-1868 amending Ordinance No. 08-1861 and set June 2, 2008 as the public. hearing date. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Bundy. Commissioner Maingot said the only changes were from laws to government within the actual wording. Commissioner Anderson inquired if his proposed amendment was not appropriate because it was advertised for two amendments. Mr. Roper responded in the affirmative and .said these amendments bring it into conformity with the State form. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to have a consensus to bring . this forward for the next meeting because of the time restraints. He said the City Clerk told him it was getting, close to when they have fo have the language ready for the ballot. NIr. Roper said it can be amended it would just have to roll over. Deputy Mayor Bundy said if this was the first reading, why they couldn't add an amendment because it would have to be advertised for the public hearing. Mr. Roper advised if the ainendmerit can make the advertisement so it is properly and timely noticed, they would be okay. Commissioner Anderson said he was under the impression they could ~ amend what was presented tonight. He stated they always amend Ordinances. ~ CC OS-19-08/132 Mr. Roper said they can do so as long as it is properly noticed and advertised prior to next meeting. Commissioner Anderson moved to amend Ordinance 08-1868 to include a proposed Charter Amendment to amend Article IV, Section 4.05 (3) to strike; the words "a majority" and replace it with the words "four-fifths".:[f possible, when the ballot language .goes out, this question should follow the question. of the hiring of the Administrator, unless thf,y have to be presented in the order they were presented to the Commission. If not, place it in the order the law requires. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Bundy. Mayor Sackett said this would be Amendment #6. Mr. Drago said the way it is strL±ctured, he thinks the numbering is how it will be on the ballot. Deputy Mayor Bundy said this was an issue that was addressed nine years ago with a Charter Amendment. and was defeated. Part of the reason it was defeated was from a practicality standpoint. If three Commissioners want the City Administrator go:rre, he is not going to stay around. He said this will just add more politics into the issue. He stated afour-fifths vote was a ~ feel good type of amendment, but it doesn't change anything unless you go through and change ever3~thing to afour-fifths. vote. Motion to amend carried. by a three/two roll call vote with Deputy Mayor Bundy and Commissioner Maingot voting nay. Original motion carried, as amended, by a Luranimous roll call vote. Mr. Roper reiterated this was provided there is publication with the amendment. 12. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPOR7C. Mr. Roper advised that he will be here at the next meeting since they have an Executive Session for Oakwood versus Longwood. He said he would like to know if there is there a consensus of the Commission to contact Seminole County Bar Association to obtain a list of retired Judges for their consideration. It was the consensus of the Commission to obtain a list of Circuit Judges from Orange County to avoid any possible political conflict. ~r Mr. Roper recommended retired Circuil: Court Judges. CC OS-19=~M/133 13. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report. ~ l 14. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned the meeting at 9:45 p.m. Brian D. Sackett, ayor ~C G~ ~ Linda F. Goff, Recording Se tart' ATTEST: / / . Sarah M. Mires, CMC City Clerk I CC OS-19-08/134