CCMtg12-02-09WSMin 1:1 ~1 tl `~J~ V V ®®JI.J~ `~i,, 11 1l ~l./®~V 111VJ'1~I..Y~~~111~
I~oIlIl~~Y'J®o~ ~Il~ ~.®~aIlIlffflll~~Il®IlIl (C~Il~IlIll1~D~li ~
ll~~ ~I~r~:r~IlIl ~~~IlIlIlIl~
IL®Ilna~®o~d9 ~'~®Il°Il~l~
~~7 ~T~7~;~r~~~I~T
~1~.1~1 ~1r~1G~
~]E~IEl~llll~lE.~E~ 2®~~
40~~? ]~,I~.
Prr~~eaato M~yorr ~®flnaa C. M~iiau~ot
~eg~aaty I~~yoa° Sloe )t?aaa°5o
cCoaagaaflg~~floaaerr I~o~ boa°f~es
Coaaa~aa~~aoanea° "~,aatefla" I~aaaady
~oaanax~u~~iioaaerc lf~n n~aa ID. S~el~~fi;t
~afia°naa~ ]P®weflfl, Ciity Adlaaaiinns~ta°atoa°
S~Lr~fla 1~[1 iirraa~, ~nLry ~'flea°~
M~~r>iflyaa Il~oaa~fl~~9 ~aaa~e?~asnaa~ M~aIl~~em
)l. CA]Llt, T® ~)C~]IDIE~. Mayor. Maingot galled the meeting to order at 4:00 l~.m.
Mayor Maingot called for a moment of Silent Meditation and thc,n led the Pledge
of Allegiance.
PF~SfliJl~l']CA'1C1[®1V/IIl~1TElt~~71<]E~ ~Al~)(?J[>CDATtIE~ ]E®l~ ~t®S]IT11[®T~l
Mayor Maingot reviewed the process for. the interviews and said. they would
follow the same process as outliileci at the Work Session on DecemUer 1, 2009.
A. ~a°~y~o~n~soa~, P.A. (~e~D® ~.aa;~.)
Ms. Douglas aslced what talents experience they feel. they bring to the City
of Longwood.
Mr. Thomas Cloud, Esquire, 301 East Pine Street, Suite 1400, said they
bring as much experience as amp law firm in the State when it comes to
representing cities. He stated he was the City Attorney for two cities, and
Mr. Tom Wilkes is a City Attorney for two cities as well. In addition to
that lle has represented almost fifty (50) cities in Florida oii a variety of
issues for over thirty (30) years. He also has represeLted about a, dozen
counties. Ike advised they represented the City of Longwood with what
was one o:Ethe most difficult lawsuits it foxuld itself in regaarding the
renewal of its electric .franchise by the incumbent electric provider. I3e
affu-med that many times w11en asked a question, they provide the answer
right then and there.
CC 12-02- 09/619
Ms. Douglas aslced why he was interested in the position of City Attorney
for the City of Longwood.
Mr. Cloud said he spends a lot of time in Longwood. He has friends that
live here. Ike spends a considerable amount of time fora 501 C-3 entity
headquartered in Longwood. He likes that. the City has hung on to the
Historical past for this town. A small area of his practice 11as been Historic
Preservation for Florida. He stated Longwood also has interesting ideas
for the future and he would like to be a part of that.
Ms. Douglas aslced to describe his experience in municipal law; i.e.
nlmucipal financial documents, preparation of State and :Federal eases for
trial, plaiuiing issues, etc.
Mr. Cloud said when he got out of law school he was hired as an Assistant
Coluity Attoi7ley for Orange County. For the first five years of his. career,
he handled Orange County water and sewer,, solid waste, the
Enviroiunental Protection Department and their land use matters. He
stated this was where He met 1VIr. Wilkes who became the Orange County
Attorney. He said they grew ail in-house department for the County
Attorney in Orange County. When he .left the County, he began the
municipal practice at GraylZobinson. Since their, he has represented almost
fifty (50) cities in Florida and has worked on just about every kind of
proceeding. He said Mr. Wilkes was quite good at financial issues and
represents a number of Property Appraisers in the State of Florida.
Ms. Douglas asked them to give examples of their relationships with
Commissioners and Administration of other cities during Commission
meetings,. i.e. are they proactive, reactionary,. or laissez-faire, and the same
for the workday.
Mr. Cloud said they view themselves as pathfinders and peace makers. If
he is not commuiucating with all five Commissioners to try and see a little
into the future of where they are going, he was not doing his job.. He
stated he was constantly on the phone with the City Managers in the two
cities he works in on a frill-time basis and on the phone with other City
Managers for special counsel work he does. He declared he can do a much
better job if he can stay in corn~nunication with people and be proactive in
that. At the same time, he tries very hard not to go out of his way and
create cases or lawsuits. He said he likes to find a way to peacefully
resolve issues,, but sometimes that does not happen and you need someone
to be the shield and take the bullets. He stated he feels he can conunit to
keep the City within their budget for legal fees for. next year.
Ms. Douglas. asked if 11e could tell them his thoughts on litigation and
about any experience he has had representing cities in litigation.
CC 12-02-0.9/620
Mr. Cloud said they have worked both. ways and he has been i.nvolveci in
twenty (20) or more intergovernmental negotiations where they would
work to obtain agreements people could live with. He stated there does
come a time when you have i:o be willing to defend the city because the
entity on the other side is not willing to find a reasonable compromise. In
those cases, he said they were not afraid to defend the cities position. He
gave several examples where they saved municipalities on acquisition
costs.
Mr. Tom Wilkes, J?squire, ~O1 least Pine Street, Su.i.te 1400, said not every
lawsuit, p~u-ticularly with municipalities was the same and the response to
them really depends on the nature of the lawsuit and the :Facts involved. 1Ie
stated they have the kind o:f experience that can :fig;ure out qui.clcly if there
is a major lawsuit. He said in small towns you occasiona ly get a small
lawsuit that can be dealt with swiftly and without too much expense.
Ms. Douglas asked them to list any Comprehensive :Planning actions or
Conununity Redevelopment Agencies (CRA) they have :personally
participated in and to what extent. Tell about their land development
experience with regards to annexations, land use changes, development
agreements and economic development.
Mr. Cloud said he would start with CRA's and stated they have
represented Orange County and. worked with the City of Orlando on a
number of CRA issues regardii?.g construction of the interchange down by
the Millennia Mall. He advised they have worked on CRA's in Lakeland,
Fort Meade, Haines City, and several in south Florida. He said they have
done a variety of agreements and helped them to implement
redevelopment plans. He stated lie has probably worked on 600-700
Comprehensive Plan a~.nendments and has worked. on twenty (20) to
twenty five (25) Plans. IIe was General Counsea for the Volusia Growth
Management Commission and this was a unique Charter entity that
reviewed all of the Comprehensive Plans for all the local governments of
Volusia County. IIe developed the rules for that entity. He also has
worked on Plan amendments in Seminole County, Fort Meade, Haines
City, Orange County, Marion County, Lalcelancl, anal Hillsborough
County. IIe advised he has also litigated sprawl cases. He also reviewed
areas where he has been involved in annexation cases. He also did a
successful de-atulexation case.
Ms. Douglas asked what type of relationshps did he and his firm have at
the County, State and/or ]E'ede:r~l level in regards to helping the City of
Longwood move forward.
Mr. Cloud said they :leave very strong relationships with. Orange County
and Seminole County. La«ryers from their firm do a tremendous amount
of work within cities in Central Florida. They are a lobbyist for four or
five cities in Orange County. One of his former Junior Partners is in line to
CC 12-0~:-09/621
become Speaker of the I-louse of Representatives. He stated the current
Speaker of the House was a client ofhs in Marion County. He said they
Dave helped a number of people in the Senate. They have done the
redistricting work for the Legislature t1~e last two times. He stated they
have worked with Congressman John Mica in bringing transportation
dollars to the State and they were directly involved with the
SunRail/Commuter Rail, and High Speed Rail.
Mr. V~Iilkes said they have a lot of experience with counties. He advised
that they had also done the CRA financing for the University boulevard
interchange. I-le also did a tax increment financing for the Qsceola
Parkway interchange. He stated they bring to the City an understanding of
how County govenunent works and the understanding of how to find
connnon ground iii issues.
Ms. Douglas said the City of Longwood owns its water utility, but other
privately owned utilities exist within the City limits or right outside the
limits. Igo you have experience in dealing with utilities and i-f so, to what
extent?
Mr. Cloud said about half of his practice in his life has been working for
and with utilities to include water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, and
electric. His first job was to find a facility to consolidate package plants in
Orange County. He has worked on a number of reclaimed. water
agreements throughout the State. He was hired by eight cities when they
were having a problem in getting their franchise renewed. He was able to
get the purchase option back and franchise fees paid for seven of these
cities. He stated they have done over 1.00 utility acquisitions. He
represented a utilitythat was in the process of acduiiing a small
wastewater facility in Longwood aild developed a franchise agreement for
the City that has a purchase option in it.
Ms. Douglas asked what kind of turnaround time they would have in
getting ordinances, resolutions,. contract review etc. back to the City for
approval and who would be the City's contact. for these items.
Mr. Cloud said it usually would take between twenty-four (24) and forty-
eight (4~) Hours. He stated there would be exceptions to that rule. He said
he would be the contact person and would be on call.
Ms. Douglas advised our City Conunission meetings were the first and
third Mondays bf the month at 7:00 p.m. and ,asked if this would present a
.scheduling conflict and if so, how would they work around it.
Mr. Cloud said there would not be a scheduling conflict.
CC 12-02-09/622
Ms. 1?ouglas said they have stated their rates for service wi:tlun their
proposal and asked if those rates were negotiable and what would the City
get for their money.
Mr. Cloud said their rates were ~~easonable and were quot;ed less than the
rates the City paid them several years ago. He stated they looked at the
City's Budget acid they lctlow they can be alterable of that Budget.
Ms. Douglas asked if there was anything else they would Pike to add or
discuss that was not addressed.
• Mr. Cloud. said they brought a presentation, but he has had a chance to talk
about a lot of the things they would have covered and he did not want to
be repetitive. He stated there were sorale areas they researched and looked
at for the City of Longwood that seemed to be areas they were interested
in. One of these was economic development, particularly tivith healthcare.
He said they do a lot of work for the Florida 1=Iospital chain and a lot of
lawyers in. their firth wore expert in healthcare. IIe stated throughout their
history as a firm they have ~~orl.ed strongly for economic development.
I~Ie discussed areas of developtr.ent in which they were involved to include
the East/West Expressway, 13ut:nhatn Institute, and the U~~uversity of
Central Florida Medical School in this area and others throughout the
Mate. He said to get ecoiZOmic development you have to be able to work at
all levels and a can do attitude. He stated Mr. Winces developed an
ordinance in Windermere that they have used in other cities that puts in
place an assessment and a lien for people lief mowing their yards. He said
big or small, they try to find ways to solve problems the City would be
confronted with.
Corxunissi.oner Buncly asked wl:~.at they felt was the most important job for
a City Attorney.
Mr. Cloud said he was :here to represent the Commission and to try and do
what they want accomplished.
Cotntnissioncr ~aclcett said f,origwood has unique issues and asked what
Mr. Cloud can bring to the table,.
Mr. Cloud said he was the hard;st working lawyer you have ever seen. lIe
stated when he finds something that is unique and needs worked on he
spends every waking hour to find a solution to it. lqe said he was blessed
with partners and people to work with.
Convnissioner Cortes said the (~ity would require probably between forty
(40) to sixty (60) hours a month from the City Attorney. He asked how
they would be .able to handle these :hours without having a retainer so that
the City would be satisfied.
CC L2-02-09/6?_3
Mr. Cloud said they spend only the time necessary. He stated they find
with retainers it is a horrible deal. It creates a disincentive to get the job
done acid they do not get you the best you heed. PIe said they give high
detail in their bills. He stated it was to their best advantage to get the job
done.
Commissioner Cortes said staff may call multiple times during the day
with questions or a citizen may call and will they billed at hourly
increments.
Mr. Cloud said the best way to deal with that .should be a contact point
tluough the City Manager. He stated they don't bill for time if a citizen
calls. Their firm will try to get them to the person ii? the City they should
be talking to.
Commissioner Coi-tes asked what the most pressing issues were cities will
be facing that will need. attention and/or legal advice.
Mr. Cloud said the first one would be balancing your Budget. He stated
Comprehensive Planning was a huge issue as it impacts the ability to have
economic development. IIe said citizens feel they are not being listened to
and they would try and help the Commission find ways to address their
problems.
Mr. Wilkes said with regards fo their fees, one of the things the City gets
~ with 1VIr. Cloud is an Attorney that has done nothing but local govenitnent
and largely municipal woi:k for thirty (30) years. He stated they were here
because they love working for cities and counties. He said with their
experience, they will be able to handle matters in far less time.
Deputy Mayor Dtirso asked Mr. Cloudto talk about their Board
Certifications.
Mr. Cloud said 11e thought about taking the time to tal€e the Certification
course, but to him they are pretty meaningless. He stated he never had to
have a Certification and it 11as not affected him one bit. He said the test
that he passes everyday is giving his clients the. righlc advice.
Deputy Mayor Durso said he spoke about his experience with utilities and
enviromneital law. He asked Mr. Cloud to speale to his experience with
regards to consumptive use permits and mitigation.
Mr. Cloud said he has been involved in a number of consumptive use
permit cases. One in particular in Orange County where the City of Cocoa
tried to extend their well field further west and they were prevented from
putting anymore wells in Orange County. He is routinely involved in
consumptive use permits which are ctu-rently called water use permits. He
stated he did an ordinance in Haines City where if there is an agriculture
CC 12-02-09/624
well retired, they convert that to :municipal use that enabled diem to get a
bigger water use permit. Their fi~7n also has two lawyers that do almost
nothing bui: water use permitting..
Deputy Mayor Durso asked whai:lVlr. Clouds'general feelings were toward
Hometown Democracy.
Mr. Cloud said. he was conflicted about it. He stated he believed very
strongly in referenda. He advised ~IVinter Park to hold a referendum wb.en
they decided to acquire the electric system. I-ie said without a referendum
to show that the citizens wanted to change ownership was a huge politicah
problem. He stated having said that, he believes in the realm of
Comprehensive Plans it was a huge inistalce. He said citizens elect City
Conunissioners to deal with these issues and that was a brig part of ~~vhat
Comm~issioners do. If people do not like what is going on., they have a
direct response at the ballot box. He stated if they create referendum
requirements, it will add a huge cost onto the process. He said that he felt
we all need to trust in the participatory democracy :process of electing City
Conunissioners.
Mayor Maingot said he oracle mention earlier about understanding county
govermnent. He stated it would appear that most of lis experiences have
been dealing with Orange Coturty.:EIe inquired if this in anyway also
applied to Seminole County go~-eriunent.
Mr. Cloud said he did one piece of work for Seminole County over ten
years ago. They had a utility issue they needed help on with the University
of Central Florida to work out an agreement for Seminole County to be
able to provide reclaimed water. He stated they have represented people in
:Front of Seminole County, but they do not have any kind of
representational interest with the Seminole CountSJ :Board of
Conunissioners. He advised his first five years was with Orange County
and still does v~Tork there, but probably eighty (80%) to ninety (90%)
percent of his work is not in Orlando. He said it was all over the State of
Florida. He stated he did not se~~ a conflict there and they do not currently
represent any cities in Seminole; County.
The Conunission recessed at 4:56 p.m. and reconvened at 5:04 p.~~i.
]E;;~ ff®wle~, Q~'~an>ian~n, hF~c~a~g~ ~ ~l~n~~~, Pei, (fie®® l~.m.)
Ms. Douglas asked what talents/experience they feel they bring to the City
of Longwood.
Mr. James "Slciu" Fowler, Esq~liire, 28 West Central Boulevard, Suite 400,
Orlando, said they bring a depth of experience :he does not think is
matched in Central Florida, m~!ybe not even in the whole State. He stated
their primary mission as lawyers was to represent cities. He affirmed they
CC 12-0~:-09/625
were professional city attorneys and they do not represent interest adverse
to cities. He said they have done so with amazing success for over twenty
five (25) years.
Ms. Douglas asked why they were interested in the position of City
Attorney for the City of Longwood.
Mr. Fowler said they were City Aitonney's and it was the way they make a
living and it was their business. IIe stated Longwood has it challenges, as
do all cities, and challenge was what made it interesting to come to work.
He said he has always considered City Attorney type of work as master of
the non-reoccurring problem. Every day presents something just a little
different.
Ms. Douglas asked them to describe their experience in municipal law, i.e.
municipal financial documents, preparation of state and federal cases for
trial, planning issues, etc.
Mr. Fowler said their resume gives a sense of the answer to that question
and it was much more complete that he could give. He stated over the
years between himself and Ms. Segal-George, they have done tens of
millions of dollars in municipal financing. He said right now one of the
questions facing one of their cities deals with municipal financing in the
sense that they issued bonds that were insured and required an AAA
insurer. Through no fault of the cities, the company that insured their
bonds was no longer AAA rated and as a consequence the City was faced
with the obligation to come out of pocket to fund reserve accounts that had
not been budgeted. He stated they now needed to find a method or
procedure to give the City breathing room. He said they have been
involved in the construction of a number of projects.
Ms. Marsha Segal-George, Esquire, 2~ West Central Boulevard, Suite
400, Orlando, said she has about thirty (30) years in government and she
has been both a County Attorney and City Attorney. She also has been a
County Manager and City Manager in Florida and she has a lot of
expertise in the planning area. She stated she built the Spring Training
Center for the Minnesota Twins and has built an inc>1lerator. She said she
was very much a proponent of local govermnent and has spent her whole
life in it.
Ms. Douglas asked them to give samples of their relationships with
Commissioners and Administration of other cities during Conunission
meetings, i.e. are they proactive, reactionary or laissez-faire, and also
during the workday.
Mr. Fowler said you first have to get to laiow the people you work with
and understand how they will react to things. I-Ie stated the last thing you
want to do is not tell a Conmzissioner something they need to know. He
CC 12-02-09/626
said he has never embai7:as:;ed a Coin.missioner at a public meeting. He
stated you deed to keep people advised of what is going on, aald make
certain they understand the issues.
Mr. Thomas Feeney, Esquire, 2~ West Central Boulevard, Suite 400,
Orlando, said there were a lot of good lawyers that can react to problems
once they develop. He stated Mr. Fowler does a lot more and he is a.
visionary, a planner, and has been apart-time City Manager. hIe said Mr.
Fowler will give good advice to :'.seep the City out of trouble and develop
every opportuiuty the City of Longwood has. I-Ie stated he has been doing
City Attoizley work, at least part~•time, since 19~ ~ and they will never tell
' people who are elected what they ought to do about: a problem. He said
their job is to lay out the options and try to make the City aware of the
potential advantages and disadvantages. He stated that multiple cities
when they came into represent them had a dozen or more active lawsuits
that were draining city coffers. Within two to three years, most of those
cities have gone to two or tluee lawsuits, almost always with satisfactory
results. He said their rrm has a long term vision the way that other great
lawyers are not equipped to do.
Ms. Douglas inquired about their thoughts on litigation and about any
experience they have representing cities in .Litigation.
Mr. Fowler said when he st~uted in Altamonte Springs a number of years
ago, there were a number of lawsuits pending. Over the last thirty (30)
years, he can count all of the discretionary lawsuits they have had on the
fingers of one hand. He stated when he started in Cocoa Beach they wo~i
all of the pending lawsuits and there are no pending lawsuits now and
have not had an.y since then. He said you do things right on th.e front end
so that they are so obviously defensible that the other side does not
challenge them.
Ms. Douglas asked what successes and failures they havc; personally had
in representing a mu~licipali.ty ire litigation.
Mr. Fowler said they have been really successful. ]:Ie stated the only case
he can remember that they lost ~uas some time ago and had to do with a
billboard. He said when you have a dispute about something, you can try
to see the other person's side and be rational enough to realize litigation is
expensive and how you can use that fact to the City's best advantage to
resolve the issue in a fashion acceptable to both parties.
Ms. Douglas asked them to list any Comprehensive Planning actions or
Coimnunity Redevelopment Agencies they have personally participated in
and to what extent. Tell about flaeir land development experience with
regards to amiexations, laid use- changes, development agreements and
economic development.
CC ].2-02.09/627
Mr. Fowler said he wrote the development agreement used by most cities
in Central Florida while working for the City of Orlando. He also wrote
the original wholesale sewer agreement for Orlando thii-ty (30) years ago
and it has become a multiply connnon agreement among municipal
utilities. He stated one of the first CRA's done in Florida was Altamonte
Springs. He said they recently formed a new CRA in Cocoa Beach that
required an election because of their Charter provision. He said they have
been involved in a number of C12A's.
Ms. Segal-George said she has created eleven (11) CRA's in her career in
both cities and counties and has a lot of experience with CRA's. She
reiterated her areas of expertise were in Comprehensive Planning, and
Land Development Code. She stated she has been involved in CRA
Economic Development Plans from a ma~lager's perspective as far as
trying to diversify the tax base and create more conunercial development.
Slie has experience with regards to green construction and this is an area
she has worked on with the City of Orlando.
Ms. Douglas asked what types of relationships do they or their firm have
at the County, State and/or Federal level in regards to helping the City of
Longwood move forward.
Mr. Fowler said he was on a first naive basis with the County
Commission. He has been involved with the Florida League of Cities
(FLC) for a number of years and can call about any number of City
Attorneys or FLC Attorneys and aslc for information. He stated he receives
. more calls now that he probably makes. He said the State and Federal was
a strong suit for Mr. Feeney.
Ms. Segal-George said it was kind of unique to find someone who has
been a City Manager, County Manager, City Attorney, and a County
Attorney. She said counties were different and if you do not understand
county goverrunent and how it works a city would then b.ave difficulty in
determining how a county could help them. She stated by being a CoLUity
Manager she had a list of revenue sources when she was a City Manager
that most cities would not have.
Mr. Fowler said Seminole County has a new County Manager coming in,
they just got rid of the Plamiing Director, and the County Attorney was
about to retire. He discussed County impact fees the County implemented
a few years ago, litigation by some area cities, and the City of Altamonte
Springs working out an agreement.
Mr. Feeney said with respect to local government, he was on a first name
basis with Seminole and Orange County Cotmnissioners. He stated they
have a very close relationship with Conu~iissioners and staff statewide. He
said he spent twelve (12) years in Tallahassee and has a great relationship
with all of the Senators he served with. He stated he would be spending a
CC 12-02-09/628
l.ot of time in Tallahassee, In Washington D.C. where he most recently
spent six years and he was not al Lowed to practice law under the
congresso~aal rules; he has a lot of close friends, understands the unit
working and some complexities -ghat, if outside the system, were
inexplicable. He said knowing what was happening ahead of time, why it
was happening, anal what;the results may be to cities was an important
opportunity. He advised he was pn•ohibited frorn doinng any specific
lobbying or advocating until Jan-aary 3, 2010 in Washington. However,
this doesn't preclude hinn from giving strategic or tactical advice to clients.
Ms. Douglas said the City of Longwood owns its water utility, but other
privately owned utilities exist within the City limits or right outside the.
limits. She asked if they had experience in dealing with utilities and if so,
to what extent.
Mr. Fowler said lie and 1VIs. Segal-George both have quite a bit of
experience. 1:-Ie reiterated the more or less industry standard for a
wholesale sewage agreement was one he drafted. He stated they have
pl~rchased utilities or utility areas, built and fmanced sewage treatment
plants. FIe advised they represent Cocoa Beach who operates their own ,
sewage treatment plant. They ar+, also engaged at this time in the process
of Cocoa Beach perhaps purchasing the franchise or utility system fpm
Florida Powe3- and Light. He stated Deltona has two franchise agreennents.
Ms. Seal-George said size has been involved in purchasing a water
system, expanding a systeiu, establishing well fields, and expansion of
sewer systems. She stated she has been involved in. the expansion of a
water and sewer system with the; City of Durnnellon.
Ms. DougJ.as asked what lcincl oi'turnaroun.d time they have with getting
ordinances, resolutions; contraci: review; etc. back to the City for approval
and who will be the City's contact for these items.
Mr. Fowler said it v~Tould depend on the topic regarding the contact person.
He stated the tunnaround' time was a function of th.e challenge of the
mission. I:Ie said they earn do so:~ne things quickly having been experienced
init. He stated fast was naot necessarily the most important item to be
considered. He said it needs to be done right to avoid any future litigation
or consequences. He suggested calling cities they represent and aslc about
their turnaround time.
Ms. Segal-George said they were very responsive and that was very
impontant. She stated it was not just a question of when they would get it
done, but they will keep the City aware of what they are worl~ing on. She
said they parry cell phones and they do return calls. She stated what
separates them is that t11ey are responsive and aslc what the problem is and
how can they help. She said they will be there for the Comnussion,
Administration, and staff.
CC 12-02--09/629
Ms. Douglas said Longwood's City Commission meetings are the first and
third Mondays of the month at 7:00 p.m. Slie inquired if this would
present a scheduling conflict for them and if so, how would they work
around this.
Mr. Fowler said there will always be conflicts of some kind. He stated the
people present will be at the Conznussion meeting, depending on what the
topic is .and who has worked on the matter..
Ms. Douglas said they have stated their rates for service within their
proposal. She inquired if those rates were negotiable and what would the
City get. for their money.
Mr. Fowler said the City would get top flight service aild would never
regret hiring them. He stated everything was negotiable and they had
indicated they would work on a sliding scale. He said they would have the
appropriate people working on the job and it would not necessarily b~ the
highest rated lawyer.
Ms. Douglas inquired if there was .anything they would .like to add or
discuss that was not addressed in this interview.
Mr. Fowler said they were professionals at what they do, they are a
relatively small firm and do not have internal conflicts. He stated they
meet and talk about issues all the time and share inforinatioi~. He said they
have represented cities for thirty (30) years. He stated he would do his
absolute best to make sure the City was as equipped as they could be to
make their decisions.
Conunissioner Bundy asked what he thought was the most important role
for a City Attorney to play.
Mr. Fowler said they will not only tell them the law, but they will counsel
in the application to the situation so they can get the:results they want.
Mr. Feeney said they would communicate better than any possible other
firm t17ey could hire and will share a wealth of knowledge about the
practical consequences may be.
Commissioner. Bundy inquired what they would do to make sure they
communicate so that that the Attorney attending the Conuni~ssion meeting
was informed.
Mr. Fowler said before any Commmission meeting they meet and go over
what happened at the last meeting, brief each other on what the issues are
review the Agenda and discuss it.
CC 12-02-09/630
Mr. Feeney said this would. not l:~appen with their firm and the
Commission would not have son.leone show up unprepared.
Mr. Fowler said no one likes to be surprised or embarrassed. He stated to
call them prior to the meeting if there was a mailer the Canunissioner was
goring to ask them about so they can be prepared.
Commissioner Sackett said they mentioned in their proposal that there
should not be any conflict in that they have represented Altamonte Springs
for so many years. He asked what they were going to bring that supports
the City of Longwood and where were they going with the vision o:f the
City.
VIr. Fowler said there maybe some tlungs they are doing in Altamonte
Springs that h.e might want to s~!ggest to Longwood, but that does not
mean it is the only way. He stated they represent enough cities to know
you have to custonuze your solution to the situation. He said the flavor
here was different than what it vas in Altamonte Springs anal you have to
get die sense of the lay of the land and what is irnportaizt to the City of
Longwood and what they want '.o achieve.
Cornrnissioner Cortes said d1e City would require approximately forty (4-0)
to fifty (50) hours minimum a nion.th for services. IIe asked if their Firm
would have a problem with that.
Mr. Fowles responclecl i.n the negative. He said no one in their firm has
been doing this for less than fifl:een (15) to twenty (20) years.
Commissioner Coates said they listed a sliding hol.irly fee in their proposal,
but it had not been discussed w.iiat that fee would be.
Mr. fowler said a lot o:E conuntinities tend to adopt this. He stated he
didn't see in their application that they wanted this on the front end, but
were doing it in a mace formalized fashion much like the Consultants
Competitive Negotiatioiz ,4c.t is done. He said he charges Altamonte
Springs $235 an hour. They do not charge for travel time and any outside
expenses would be at cost.
Commissioner Cortes inquired in their opinion, what the most pressing
issues were that cities will be frcing or need legal advice on.
M:r. Fowler said within the nett year or two cities were going to have to be
pretty efficient to pay the bills. He stated with property values coming
down, the tax base was comnnt; down.
Mr. Feeney said the foreclosures prices were hardly behind us and it was
coming in a big way with. the residential market. lle stated the corrunercial
crisis has yet to occur.
CC 12-02-09/631
Deputy Mayor Durso inquired if anyone in their firm that would be
representing the City was Board Certified.
Mr. Fowler said Ms. Segal-George was Lead Certified, but if talking about
City/County Local Goverrunent, he had already been a City Attorney for
twenty five (25) years before they started that certification. He stated he
proves lus ability every day in his professional life.
Mr. Feenev said there were three lawyers in their firm that exclusively do
local government and he spends half of lvs time on local govenunent, but
he has not sat for any of the certifications.
Deputy Mayor Durso said the City of Longwood has some potential
annexation issues and asked if they would speak in regards to their
experience with annexation.
Mr. Fowler said the property owner tends to be encouraged to aruiex in are
by the City offering things that would be an inducement to the property
owner. He stated a lot needs to be considered in developing an agreement
with the property owner. IIe said with providing utilities, the City can
write their own deal, but this needs to be done in the right manner.
Deputy Mayor Durso said as the City of Longwood faces some
development and re-development issues with consumptive use permits and
mitigation. He asked if they would speak on their experience in this area.
Mr. Fowler said Altamonte Springs built a sewage treatment plant near
State Road 434 and Maitland. At that time there was a lot of vacant land in
the area and the City purchased some of this land inexpensively and resold
it with a nice return. He stated the City was able to help determine how
that area would grow and develop. He said one area there was necessary to
mitigate wetlands that was successfully done in a partnership.
Deputy Mayor Durso asked how tliey felt about Hometown Democracy.
Mr. Fowler said he personally would not vote for it. He stated it did
present certain advantages to the City if talking about annexation,
development, and approvals. He said if the City was dealing with a
property owner, they have a limited amount of time if Hometown
Democracy passes.
Mr. Feenev said one of the unintended consequences if it does pass would
be a slew of lawsuits for things like regulatory takings and abuses. He
stated he felt it would be a nightmare and what he views as bad policy.
Mayor Maingot said the City's Charter requires them to name one person
as City Attorney and as Conunissioner Bundy pointed out, there are times
CC 12-02-09/632
when that designated person cannot attend and there will be suUstitlltions.
He also alluded to the matter of continuity of information.
~~®~JH~. Mayor Maingot adjourned the meetil~.g at 6:2ar p.m.
elf®~nn Py~ ay®li
~~~~~~e J
~~n•a~aM1. I~nu°t~~,1V~I~i IAA, ~it~y ~~en h:
CC 12-0~,-09/633
7l'~nn~ IL~~'L l~fl~a~l~i ~ffit~~tn®~n~flfl~o
CC 12-D2-0.9/634