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CC08-19-13MinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION Longwood City Commission Chambers 175 West Warren Avenue Longwood, Florida MINUTES AUGUST 19, 2013 7:00 P.M. Present: Mayor Brian D. Sackett Deputy Mayor John C. Maingot Commissioner Joe Durso Commissioner Bob Cortes Commissioner H.G. "Butch" Bundy Dan Langley, City Attorney Jon C. Williams, City Administrator Sarah M. Mirus, City Clerk Troy Hickson, Police Chief Bill Gulbrandsen, Fire Chief Pam Barclay, Finance Director Chris Capizzi, Acting Leisure Services Director Sheryl Bower, Community Development Director Patrice Murphy, Economic DevelopmentlSpecial Projects 1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Sackett called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. A moment of SILENT MEDITATION was followed by the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 3. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Mirus read the following announcements: A. Senior Matinee will be held on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m., Longwood Community Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. This month's feature is Match Point. 4. RECOGNITIONS/PROCLAMATIONS. A. District #5 Presentation of the Business Person of the Month Award for July 2013 to Mr. Michael Towers, President of Fleet Financial Corporation located at 750 Fleet Financial Court. Mayor Sackett of District #5 presented the Business Person of the Month Award for July 2013 to Mr. Michael Towers, President of Fleet Financial Corporation located at 750 Fleet Financial Court. Mayor Sackett read the award and presented it to him. Mr. Towers CC 08-19-13/1 thanked Mayor Sackett and the City for the award and in turn, presented the City with a new car for the Citizens on Patrol (COPS) Program with the Longwood Police Department. He was thanked for the donation and photographs were then taken. COP Chief Eugene Gray then said a few words of praise and thanks to Mr. Towers for his generosity. B. Presentation of the 2013 Key to the City Award to Ms. Karen Frenier. Presentation was deferred to the next Commission Meeting. C. Presentation of the 2013 Key to the City Award to Mr. Lenny Nolan. Commissioner Bundy read a Proclamation that outlined a biography on Mr. Leonard Nolan. He then presented Mr. Nolan with the Proclamation and Key to the City Award. Photographs were then taken. D. District #1 Nomination of the Business Person of the Month Award for September 2013. Deputy Mayor Maingot nominated Mr. Lee Corcoran, Director of Collage Companies Construction for the Business Person of the Month for September 2013. Nomination carried by a unanimous voice vote. Deputy Mayor Maingot said Mr. Corcoran would like to address the Commission about some areas of concern he has under Public Participation. 5. BOARD APPOINTMENTS. A. District #5 Nomination to the Charter Advisory Committee. Mayor Sackett nominated Ms. Andrea Elukovich, to the Charter Advisory Committee and carried by a unanimous voice vote. 6. PUBLIC INPUT. A. Presentations. A member from the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and a Tobacco Free Partnership will discuss the flavored tobacco resolution. Shirla Castillo, 1871 Pine Drive, Longwood, Florida introduced herself. She said we are here today to educate the Commissioners on the benefits of adopting a flavored tobacco resolution against banning these products in convenience stores. She is with the Florida State Youth Advocacy Board and a SWAT representative CC 08-19-13/2 in Region 3, which is the upper half of Central Florida. She is here with other representatives from Central Florida. She said flavored tobacco cigarettes were banned by President Barack Obama, and in response, tobacco companies began making many other tobacco - flavored products, such as smokeless, snus, orbs, sticks, strips, chews, raps, and others. She presented some figures on the use of these products by students. She explained a new product and how it is more discreet than a classic cigarette. She said we are here today to educate you about these products and the benefits to adopt a resolution to ban these products. She showed samples of these products and some candy to point out how hard it is to tell the difference between them. She introduced another speaker. Victoria Galvon, 628 Ashberry Lane, Altamonte Springs, FL, who discussed the flavoring and low cost of these products and being packaged in bright, fluorescent colored packages easily mistaken for candy. She said these are considered starter products by youth, who use many multiple products. She stated in 1988, nicotine was established to be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Compared to cigarettes, smokeless products contain more nicotine, so tobacco companies are targeting our youth. Nicholas Walterhaus, 1630 Myrtle Lake Hills Road, Longwood, Fl. He said over 1,200 people die every day from smoking and chewing tobacco. Because of this, the tobacco companies have to find replacement smokers. He said nearly nine out of ten smoker's start smoking before the age of 18. He talked about how tobacco companies are trying to attract the youth toward tobacco. Natalie Castillo, 1870 Long Pine Drive, Longwood, Fl. She said flavored tobacco could lead to life threatening diseases. She said traditional smokeless products like Chew and Dip contain 28 cancer -causing lesions. She said tobacco use also causes immediate damage to the dominant Aorta, a large artery that carries oxygen -rich blood to the heart, even in young adults. She said one in seven Florida youths between 11 and 17 has tried flavored tobacco. Lauren Galvon, 628 Ashberry Lane, Altamonte Springs, Fl. She said as of September 30, 2012, twenty-two (22) counties of the sixty-seven (67) counties in the State have passed resolutions. She said the program funds interventions in every county, which includes supporting local students working against tobacco. She said fruit and candy -flavored cigarettes are banned under the family smoking prevention. But, menthol cigarettes and cigarillos and smokeless products were not included. CC 08-19-13/3 Ms. Castillo said they have presented previously to Casselberry, Sanford, and Lake Mary, and all three cities have passed resolutions unanimously. She said we hope we have persuaded you on the benefits of passing a resolution and you passing a resolution as well. She said she lives in Longwood and went to Woodlands School, so it would be awesome to see this community made better by more restrictions on youth, because they are not supposed to purchase these products or have access to them. Mayor Sackett complimented her on being a very nice speaker, and commended her and her team on putting together a very good presentation. He asked her if she had a formatted resolution to see. Ms. Castillo replied, not right now. Mayor Sackett asked if she had a copy of the one that Lake Mary passed so we could temper to our resolution needs. Ms. Castillo responded in the affirmative. Mayor Sackett asked her to give to the Clerk. Commissioner Durso made a motion to move forward with preparing a Resolution and bring back before the Commission. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and motion was carried by a unanimous voice vote. Commissioner Durso said it takes a lot of courage to get up and make a case for something you truly believe in. He said he had the privilege of working in Tallahassee when Jeb Bush was Governor, and pushing this program. It was being well funded by the State of Florida, and there were real numbers that showed real progress. He said not only health benefits to the State of Florida, but also to the reduction in the number of children and adults that were smoking. He said they all did a very nice job. Mayor Sackett thanked all of them for coming and told them they could stay or leave. It was their personal choice. B. Public Participation. Mr. Lee Corcoran, 153 Sheridan Avenue, Longwood, and said he is a thirty-two (32) year resident. He said he has been involved in design, construction and development for over forty (40) years. He is here as a concerned citizen and to help make the best decisions for the people of Longwood. He said as leaders in the City of Longwood, you had the foresight to engage an architect to develop a comprehensive plan for Longwood Station and Heritage Village. CC 08-19-13/4 He said the City came up with a beautiful Victorian, mixed use, pedestrian -oriented, City Center project that captured the imagination of the City, the citizens of Longwood, and gave us a vision for the future. He said he has examples and was very excited about his project. He noted that the same architect engaged to develop this comprehensive plan for Longwood Station and Heritage Village, is now proposing to allow Weston Park to occupy the prime location in Heritage Village. He said this is a location that will determine the success or failure of your efforts to create a centerpiece and catalyst of planned redevelopment efforts in the City's traditional downtown area. He said he is trying to understand what changed and why. He offered his thoughts and felt they are not necessarily the best interests of the City of Longwood. He said his question to the Commission is how well does Weston Park meet the criteria for a successful transit oriented development. He said he has been involved in transit oriented development before and discussed his experiences. He said from his observation, Weston Park does not contribute to a mixed -use development. Nor does it create a City Center by filling the prime location for mixed use with high density residential. He noted a successful TOD should offer many of the basics services of a village center within easy walking distance. He offered his thoughts on the prime site in Heritage Village and what it should include. He said a combination of mixed use, with public transportation, is complimentary and enhances the success of both ventures. He said Weston Park does not encourage and may even discourage, mixed -use development. He said Weston Park has a plan to reduce the width of the right-of-way and the sidewalks adjacent to their buildings and wants to take all available on street parking adjacent to their development for its own use. He said to him that does not sound like a pedestrian oriented environment, and does not encourage the participation of Longwood residents in the SunRail experience. He said as a political outsider, it appears that Weston Park has usurped public leadership of the Heritage Village, and is dictating its demands to the Longwood City Commission. He said that includes approximately $2 million in public waivers and benefits, the abandonment of a Victorian facade, and disrupting the traffic flow adjacent to Longwood Station. He noted that most developments he has been involved with are required to contribute benefits to the public, and not the other way around. He shared what he thinks citizens of Longwood should be asking. He said his analysis is the size of the apartments and the benefits that developers are extracting from Longwood, suggest low-income residents. He asked if the City Center is moving in the right direction and is this really the best deal. He said it does offer high -density development and that is something needed CC 08-19-13/5 Mr. Corcoran went on to say he wonders if it is possible to achieve a mixed use, pedestrian friendly City Center, and still have Weston Park or some variant of Weston Park. He said as a longtime resident of Longwood, he looks forward to something similar to Winter Park Village, where he could take his family for a walk, stop into a shop and buy some ice cream and enjoy the scenery. He said another apartment building was not what he had in mind. He talked about an interesting article in the Orlando Sentinel on August 8 h, regarding SunRail. He asked a few more question of the Commission and said we elected you to provide leadership and counting on you to do what is best for the City of Longwood. Ms. Joanne Rebello, 301 Loch Lomond Avenue, Longwood. She started by sharing her displeasure with franchise fees. She said she has noticed on her electric bill, gas bill, telephone bill a municipal tax and franchise fees and utility tax. She said it is getting out of hand. She noted the comments made at the last meeting confused her and thought it was franchise fees that the City charged the different entities to use our right-of-ways. She said she must be wrong because it is nothing but a hidden tax, a pass -through tax, and she could not get the answer. She said if she looks at the General Fund Budget Summery from the budget, the 2013 estimate in just tax revenues, is $8,385,086 dollars. Out of that ad valorem tax is $4,438,601 dollars. She said if you add all the franchise fees and the utility taxes and the communication services tax, that is another $3,946,485 that the residents of Longwood are getting taxed. She said almost double the ad valorem tax. That does not include the storm water fee of $6.00, and does not include charges for services for garbage billing fees, which is well over $1 million dollars. She asked, if this is the administration fee that gets tacked on for the garbage bill. She said she is getting closer to retirement and on a very strained budget. She said there are a lot of people in Longwood that have a limited amount of income. She said as a homeowner and a person that pays taxes in Longwood, she is not thrilled with the fact that she is paying part of that four million and paying almost another four million. She said she hopes the commission can think about it and see what can be done, and she believes you have the authority because of the Legislature of the State. She said under the Building Permits and Related Fees, Item 11A, she said it used to be if you were a homeowner and wanted to fix your fence or make improvements to your property and doing it yourself, it was a very minor fee. She says it looks like it will be triple what it was. She asked is this for owner -related repairs. Ms. Putz, 280 West Warren Avenue, Longwood. She wants to speak on the Transit District. She has never met Mr. Cocoran, but they think alike. She said this commission has spent a lot of time and tax dollars developing a vision for our Transit District. This CC 08-19-13/6 vision has been heralded state-wide as a model for development. She said the proposed project, entitled Weston Park Apartments, is in her opinion, an insult to this vision. They have asked for no less than twenty-four (24) waivers from existing codes. Instead of ten to twelve foot sidewalks, they want five foot sidewalks, and instead of two parking places per apartment, the want one and one third. She said they want to totally eliminate the retail from the project, and also the on -street parking, which will have an impact on the pedestrian friendly streets. She asked a question of the commission. After having spent several hundred thousand dollars of our tax money to develop this vision for the Transit District, would you seriously consider approving a project with all these waivers? She said keep in mind that whatever you do will set the standard for future development. If you approve this project with all these waivers, you will never get anything better than this. 7. MAYORS AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. District #1. Deputy Mayor Chairman Maingot read an interesting letter from Anif Prasad, who is the Secretary to the FDOT. In this letter he stated, the Department supports high density, mixed use development consistent with local government plans for each station. He also refers to the question of promoting and supporting mixed -use development at our TOD, as our TOD development goes forward. He offered his congratulations to our Chief Fire Officer, William Gulbrandsen for his re- confirmation. He mentioned there were a number of interesting topics covered at the Florida League of Cities Annual Conference. District #2. Commissioner Durso said he had the honor of being elected to the full Florida League of Cities Board of Directors. He said Mayor Sackett was the voting delegate, and voted for him. He said he has worked very diligently to be involved specifically with growth management and transportation, energy and environmental quality. He chaired one of the committees, and served on the other now, and he hopes that moving forward he can help leverage our position when it comes to designing statewide policy on behalf of the League. He said what sometimes happens is that the big cities get caught up in their policy making, and the smaller cities get left behind. He said it is important that we have an equal voice. He said he would do his best to serve this City in that capacity. He said there was one presentation he really appreciated at the conference, which had to do with water policy. Specifically the Florida Aquifer, and consumptive water permits, and some changes that are coming with regard to development and water usage. He said the focus seemed to be on limiting development, but not as much on conservation. He said we are in a good position to take a leadership role on the conservation side. He has asked the League staff to send him the presentation, and he will forward them on to you. He gave an update on the FlexBus Project. At the last MetroPlan meeting, he had a discussion with Commissioner Dallari about what the City's role would be in CC 08-19-13n FlexBus. He said LYNX said they would be going to withdraw from anything more than technology development in this program. They are not going to operate a demonstration. He was asked directly if the city supported the implementation and operation of FlexBus, and he said all four cities did indicate that they support the operation of FlexBus. He was also asked directly if the Cities would pay for FlexBus, and he said based on the success and failure of the LYNX demonstration, they are fully supportive of the operations of FlexBus. He said he wants to make this clear to his Commission and to the general public that it is impossible to know what those operations will look like right now. It could be a public partnership, it could be a private partnership, it could be a public/private partnership, or it could be successful on its own and generate enough revenue to be able to sustain itself. Nobody really knows what it will look like because it is a brand new technology. We are the first ones in the country that are entertaining this type of technology, and the Federal Transportation Administration has said if it works here, they are going to use it as a national model. He said there are clear marks that have been created by our staff, and Ms. Bower can distribute them to the Commission, that will define success or failure in this instance, so we will know if it works or not. We will have the number of trips people take, whether they are on time, whether they are one minute late or five minutes late, those things are denoted in the set of standards. He said Florida Hospital gave Altamonte Springs $50,000 to support this because they believe it will be a good opportunity for their employees to get off the train and use it. He said at the next meeting it will come up and will be a much more detailed report that he will give. District #3. Commissioner Cortes said we had another great and successful Car Show. He said there were Polynesian dancers that gave a great show, and live music for the first time. He said there were over two hundred cars again and an increase in foot traffic. He said there is construction on Ronald Reagan and Palmetto, where they have opened up the intersection and closed off Orange Avenue. He said he received some phone calls and concerns from residents coming out of Longwood Plantation and Magnolia. He said on the east side from Palmetto is going to be one of those intersections that is going to be a nightmare to come in and out, and the fear of the safety of that intersection with the increase of accidents, especially in the mornings and afternoons. He said there were discussions with Brett Blackadar to monitor this intersection and possibly put in a traffic signal that FDOT or SunRail would pay for. Mr. Williams said Ms. Bower, Mr. Kombluh and he met with SunRail representatives, and Brett Blackadar. Said they looked at the traffic patterns and concerns at Georgia, Palmetto, Orange, and clearly expressed concerns with the Palmetto crossing and the need for FDOT and the SunRail folks to look at a signal light for Palmetto and 427. They were going to look at the traffic counts, inclusive of the additional traffic that is going to be created from the SunRail operations, and development of CC 08-19-13/8 Weston Park, and re-routing of school traffic. We have not had any follow up at this time. Commissioner Cortes asked that the Chief monitor this intersection and report any accidents. Mr. Williams said he would have a dialog with the Chief. District #4. Commissioner Bundy had additional comments regarding the intersection. He said they need to count the number of left turns onto Ronald Reagan from Georgia and Orange, and add this data. He lives in that area and Georgia is problematic because it is such a short area. They keep saying they want staging space to prevent this. He said the only two traffic collisions involving a vehicle and a train in the City of Longwood for the last twenty-five (25) or thirty (30) years that he knows of happened on 434 that has fifty (50) miles of staging lane, and on 427 that has about twenty (20) miles of staging lane. He said if they set the crossing arms correctly, so that they are dual crossing arms, nobody will get caught on it. He said it boggles his mind they are doing this without any regard to the 1,500 to 2,000 Longwood residents that live in that section of town. He said those people are going to come down Palmetto and Church Avenue during rush hour directly adjacent to the Commuter Rail Station in conflict with the Commuter Rail traffic. Commissioner Cortes added that signalization in this area would cost about $250,000. Commissioner Bundy stated that the Florida League of Cities was a good session, well attended and informative. There are a lot of things each of us brought back, and we will talk with the Administrator and staff on and bring things forward that will improve the City. He congratulated Commissioner Durso on his appointment to the State Board of Directors for the Florida League of Cities. He shared news about his wife Donna. She had her final CAT scan two weeks ago and last week received information she is totally free of cancer. He said regarding Weston Park, his concerns have been outlined on multiple occasions. The one thing he touched on is no conclusions were reached on after discussions about the conceptual design for staff. He said we all expressed our concerns on different aspects about the waivers, and he thinks this should be a possible agenda item, look at the waivers, and then the Commission needs to vote. Stated we spent a lot of money on the vision. It is not a new vision. There is not one of us here that cannot say they were not part of creating that vision, and he wants to look at it long and hard and debate each of the waivers and possible have another special meeting. Mayor Sackett asked Commissioner Bundy if he was asking the City Administrator to post this on the next agenda. CC 08-19-13/9 Commissioner Bundy said either that, or if he feels we will need another special meeting. Mayor Sackett asked Mr. Williams to give them his directions on this because the next two meetings are budget hearings. Mr. Williams said he would like to get with staff and get it on the agenda at a regular meeting, or create a special meeting. Mayor Sackett said to keep us aware of the agenda. Commissioner Bundy said the developers deserve to know what is going to approve and what is not before they get too far into it, and staff needs to have some assurance on it. District #5. Mayor Sackett said our World Series Babe Ruth boys, fourteen (14) and under, who are doing superior in their games they have played so far. They are tied with a team from California at 2-0 and have two more games to play to get into the semi-finals and finals. He said he will meet with our Administrator regarding the League of Cities. It was a powerful discussion on homelessness and where it is going and how to identify it. He said we have to help and be compassionate. He said he had a conversation with Congressman Mica when he was in Washington, and he was pleased that Dick Harkey came before LYNX, and said this FlexBus money was Flex money, and not neighbor network money. He said the report came through Mr. Prasad and said the Flex money needed to come through and do it correctly. He said FlexBus is moving our way, and he is looking forward to hearing the next Metro report. Commissioner Durso said just so we are clear, the FTA was very clear with the Director of LYNX, Mr. John Lewis, that that money was not meant for NeighborLink. It was meant for the four cities and FlexBus. Mayor Sackett said we were in receipt of a resignation letter from the City Clerk; Sarah Mirus dated today, August 19, 2013. Mayor Sackett made a motion to accept the resignation of Sarah Mirus as the City Clerk, an employee of the City of Longwood. The City Commission makes no determination and expresses no opinion on any allegations contained with this letter of resignation. Further, effective upon the conclusion of this Commission Meeting, Ms. Mirus is placed on paid administrative leave for the remainder of her employment, ending Wednesday, September 18, 2013, as stated in her resignation letter. During the paid Administrative leave, Ms. Mirus is encouraged to cooperate in a smooth transition of her duties to other employees of the City. Mayor Sackett said that is his motion. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. CC 08-19-13/10 8. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA. Ms. Mirus noted Agenda Item 9A was removed from the agenda. 9. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Approve the Minutes of the July 25, 2013 Special Meeting B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for August 2013. C. Approval of the Monthly Financial Report for July 2013. D. Approval of hourly rate increase for Special Magistrate to Code Enforcement for the City of Longwood. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to approve Consent Agenda Items 9 B and C. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. Discussion was held in regards to Item 9 D. Commissioner Cortes moved to approve Item 9 D as presented. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 10. PUBLIC HEARINGS. A. Read by title only and adopt Ordinance No.13-2005, annexing and amending the official boundaries of the City corporate limits approximately 30,425 square feet (.70 acres) +/- for parcel number 05-21-30-523-0000-OOAA pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 171, Florida Statutes; and providing for the subject property to be subject to taxation and regulation by the City except land development and building codes until the City's Comprehensive Plan is amended pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 163.3184 and 163.3187, Florida Statutes. Mr. Langley read Ordinance No. 13-2005 by title only. Mayor Sacket opened the public hearing. No one spoke in favor or in opposition to the Ordinance. Commissioner Durso moved to close the public hearing. Seconded by Commissioner Bundy and carried by a unanimous voice vote. Deputy Mayor Maingot moved to approve the reading and adopt Ordinance No. 13-2005 as presented, Item 10 A. CC 08-19-13/11 Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 11. REGULAR BUSINESS. A. Read by title only and adopt Resolution 13-1336, establishing revised building permit and building permit -related fees and establishing a method for determining valuation of buildings. Mr. Langley read the Resolution by title only. Commissioner Bundy moved to approve Resolution No. 13-1336. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot. Commissioner Cortes said he saw the work done by Ms. Bower, and his only concern is that several years ago fees for smaller projects were reduced. He said with this it's moving up and asked what the reasoning is. Ms. Bower replied and explained when they became a special revenue fund last year; they were supposed to be covering all the costs. That is not only the personnel costs, but also the cost of operating, employee training and everything that goes into actually issuing a permit. All these costs were figured into the fees that are proposing this evening. Commissioner Cortes asked another question regarding costs for different scenarios. He asked how many new residences do we expect to see being built within the City within the next few years. He asked are you comparing it with Altamonte, Winter Springs and others. Ms. Bower asked Randy Lamb, the Building Official, to provide a response to the question. He said he basically did an activity based costing. He looked at what the cost to providing the service. He did the survey because it was the most comprehensive and one that he could base it on. He said regarding the amount of new buildings, we have not had a lot. We have had a few new homes, and from looking at the cost of what it cost to do the inspections and process all the permits, scanning and plan review, he said it came up short in the original fee schedule to cover these costs. The fee schedule we have now is basically a scale, and it charges the same price for somebody at the low end as it does on the high end. He said he tried to use a percentage of construction valuation. He said some of these went up, and the smaller ones were affected, but he worked it to where we were not overcharging, but at least charging for the costs of our services. He said regarding the larger projects are going to go up quite a bit. They are more labor intensive and take a lot more time. He said he did not want the day CC 08-19-13/12 to day permits from homeowners to be neglected and this will provide enough money to hire help to take care of these and provide service all around. He was asked to review the existing fee schedule and this is what he came up with. Commissioner Cortes asked a question about how this fee schedule will affect the projects coming down the pipeline if implemented. Ms. Bower replied and indicated options are available in how this is implemented. She said some cities decide they do not want to charge those fees at that level because they see the other benefits that the Building Department provides, so they do augment it. She said it is up to the Commission to decide if they wish to cover costs or decide to leave a little leeway. Commissioner Bundy thanked Ms. Bower for her hard work. He said he knows she spent a lot of hours working on this and appreciates it. He said he thinks in several areas they are not high enough because they do not adequately recoup all it costs. He said other departments have been tasked to make themselves more self- sufficient. He said is happy with it. Deputy Mayor Maingot said he spent time today with those two good people before us and knows with the possible exception of Oviedo and Sanford we have costs below others. He wants us to remain competitive in future development compared to other cities, with those two exceptions. He concurs with what has been said by Commissioner Bundy. He said we definitely have to recoup some of those costs. Otherwise, we are going to have to go into the General Fund to make up the difference. He cited many different examples of average prices per square foot on commercial structures. Mayor Sackett said as a person who has taught Statistics, what you really have and what he is reading when you have Sanford and Oviedo on the lowballing end of things, it skews those averages, and therefore, what he thinks the other Commissioners are saying is that it is necessary to cover our cost. He said he has worked with you two for some time and feels they are comfortable with these being fairness built within those in will somewhat cover the cost to the point of 100 percent. He said he supports what you are doing also. Commissioner Durso asked for clarification from Mr. Lamb about him not using averages and he used the true cost to the taxpayers of Longwood. Mr. Lamb responded in the affirmative. CC 08-19-13/13 Commissioner Durso asked for clarification from Mr. Lamb about him basing his cost on a $720,000 project. Mr. Lamb said that is by using the valuation that is already established in the resolution for the cost construction. Commissioner Durso said you are talking somewhere in the neighborhood of a three percent (3%) to five percent (5%) percent difference in the cost, based on a $720,000 project. Mr. Lamb responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Durso asked if Mr. Lamb was comfortable with the figures. Mr. Lamb responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Cortes asked additional questions on additions of structural alterations and single-family structures. He asked if these are cover costs of going into revenue -making territory. Mr. Lamb said in the larger projects, yes, you are going to do that. He said he tried to make the fee fit the job. If he needs outside money for help he has that fund there. Commissioner Bundy said if you try to compare us to outlying areas like Sanford and Oviedo, there is a tremendous difference in the amount of construction that is done in those two areas because they have vast areas of open space to build on. They have been among the top in new construction in Central Florida prior to the recent economy. He said it was never residents or homeowners who got a special break. State Statute says you have to treat each project in each class exactly the same. We cannot give a tax break to a resident versus a non-resident. Mayor Sackett said a motion has been made and seconded. Motion carried by a 3-2 roll call vote, with Commissioner Cortes and Deputy Mayor Maingot voting nay. B. Request by Wendover Housing Partners, LLC asking that the City contribute $50,000 to Heritage Village affordable housing project, a proposed 120 unit assisted living facility located on Orange Avenue near the SunRail station. Mayor Sackett said this is a request for $50,000, which the County says is not on their project list so it is looking to the City for the $50,000. We put a grant in for this last year, and most all of the CC 08-19-13/14 grants went to South Florida. We were being considered, but now we are looking at different ways to commit that $50,000. He said he would like to do a discussion first and then we will do a motion. Ms. Bower said we came up with two (2) ways of providing this contribution, if you choose to do that. It would either be a Waiver of Impact Fees and that can be sewer or water and according to the developer they are going to be paying about $703,000 dollars in impact fees. The other thing the Florida Housing Finance Corporation allows you to do is to defer fees so the present value of the fee today would be $50,000, which is the difference between today and when you pay it. Mr. Williams said we have been working with the developer who is present in the room tonight. He said basically the Florida Housing Finance Corporation allows you to use a discount rate under a net present value calculation for a deferral of fees. The impact fees that were referenced total about $783,320. We looked at a two-year deferral, based upon the discount rate of 5.5 percent and after the first year, $500,000 being due, then after the second year, $283,320. He said when you do the net present value calculation of that, that would yield a total value of the deferral over the two year period in the amount of $54,836, which is about $4,800 more than what the developer's request is. He said we feel it a comfortable margin to provide in the form of a deferral. He said when you start looking at the axioms of finance; one would question why you would defer it over time, versus having the developer front the money up front. You have to take into consideration the City's overall investment rate. While we would love to be earning a 5.5 percent, the reality is we are not necessarily doing that in today's economic environment. He thinks the staffs recommendation would be for the deferral of the fees, if the Commission is so inclined to authorize us to provide that deferral and provide for staff to provide it. Mayor Sackett said the staff s recommendation is really you as a former financial guru. Commissioner Durso asked if everybody was good with this. Mr. Langley asked when are the impact fees normally due for the impact fees that are being deferred. Mr. Williams said typically upon the issuance of the public permit. Mr. Langley said if we were to defer them then they get the permit and can start building. He said then they could potentially have COs and can reoccupy the building before the money comes due. CC 08-19-13/15 He said it is kind of difficult to revoke COs, so would the developer be willing to put a lien on the property as security for payment of that money, if we were to defer it? He said I am trying to protect the City. Mr. Williams said he had discussion with Mr. Wolf about the timing for completion of the construction process, and he said about eighteen (18) months into construction, if everything goes well. Mr. Jonathon Wolf, 149 Harshton Court, Heathrow, Florida, said construction, from the time we would pull the Certificate of the Building Permit to Certificate of Occupancy would be approximately one year. He said one year of construction, residents moving in from that one year period through another six months, so that is the eighteen months of what we would call development of the community. He said to respond to Mr. Langley's question regarding the assurance of the funding. He explained the various ways this can be done and that it's something each municipality has selected their option. Mr. Langley asked Mr. Wolf if there would be an Escrow Account created with all the money that we could have direct rights to tap or could there be a Letter of Credit set aside that we would have the right to draw upon. Mr. Wolf said we couldn't have a Letter of Credit because the cost of that Letter of Credit would be charged back in and then you would be deferring even more, so he would not recommend that route. He said definitely an Inter -Creditor Agreement, where the funding of those monies would only lead to one source, with the condition being, only the time period and no other conditions. Mr. Langley asked if it would be possible to have it paid at the earlier of two years, or before the COs are granted. Mr. Wolf responded no and explained the point of the contribution. Mr. Langley said he understands what he is saying. He just wants to make sure everyone understand what kind of security they are going to get and that should be part of the motion. He said if you are approving a deferral you want to make sure that the agreement provides that we have some sort of protection other than just an agreement. Mr. Williams said he certainly thinks that the deferral with the ability to protect the City's investment in what is coming forward. CC 08-19-13/16 He said as we go forward tabling or deferring this item would put Mr. Wolf outside of the window for application with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, so it is time sensitive, so deferral with the stipulation that we have something come forward would be a staff recommendation. Commissioner Bundy said no reflection on Mr. Wolf. We have had a good working relationship but he doesn't want his back put against the wall. He said when we did it the last time it was a senior housing now it is an assisted living facility. Mr. Wolf responded it wasn't. Commissioner Bundy said that is what it says here on the Agenda. It says Wendover Housing Partners, LLC requesting the City contribute $50,000 to Heritage Affordable Housing Project, a proposed 120 Unit Assisted Living Facility, located on Orange Avenue near the SunRail Station. Mr. Wolf said that is a typo. Commissioner Bundy said he is not going to give $50,000 for another Assisted Living facility because all that does is tax our EMS Services and Fire Services. He said there is another developer that is preparing a package for the Florida Housing L-- Finance Corporation and he wants to look for repeatability. He said if it is time sensitive, they may not have time. He said when he met with them; they did not request anything other than a show of support for the project from the Commission. Ms. Bower responded it is a typo. Commissioner Bundy said he is fine with that. He asked if Mr. Langley was okay as well. Mr. Langley said as an attorney he gets into the details of an agreement and we do not have that. He suggests a possible a compromise. Mr. Williams said he wasn't sure you achieve the contribution because you are looking at a one-year time frame based upon the schedule that is out there so you would not get near the $50,000 contribution from the deferral. He said the benefit of the deferral is the two-year payment. He said we would need to guarantee some sort of protection but the benefit is over the two-year period. You are still getting the full amount of the impact fees that are due, whereas, if you just waive it up front, you are waiving those fees entirely. CC 08-19-13/17 Mayor Sackett said it seems to be the protection part where they are looking to Mr. Langley. Mr. Langley said he has a couple of ways to do it but the developer has to agree to it. Ms. Bower said the developer is agreeable to a hybrid. We can do part deferral and part fee waiver. Commissioner Bundy said you still have to have protection. Mr. Langley said the protection for the part deferral would be that the fee be paid before the CO is issued. Commissioner Bundy said whatever the fees are due the first year that would be the benefit and whatever the difference in the benefit would be a waiver of fees. He said we could do a hybrid of you count the dollar benefit of deferring the first year portion, and whatever the difference is in that, you waive those fees. Mr. Langley said what he is using a protection is that no one is allowed to occupy the building until we are paid the impact fees, so you would be giving a deferral, which would be partial compensation. Mr. Wolf made additions comment regarding boxing themselves into something that Florida Housing is ultimately going to reject. He said some of these things_ that have to do with getting Cos, Florida Housing will rejectthat with that proviso in there. He made a suggestion for Mr. Langley to get direction from the Commission to negotiate with Counsel in Florida Housing and they can bring in people that will be funding this to establish the mechanism that gives you limn -free direct rights to those monies so they can only come to you and must be paid to you within that definitive time frame. Mr. Langley said that is up to the Commission and he would prefer that any such direction would also include the City Administrator's input not just his. E . Deputy Mayor Maingot said he has not seen any protection for the City. There has been a lot of talk, but nothing is down in black and white. Mayor Sackett said his understanding is the team that is representing our City will meet with that team to develop something that legally gives us the opportunity to get the money CC 08-19-13/18 that we are looking for, and therefore, we don't have to have somebody occupying a building that we have to remove. Commissioner Bundy asked the question if this blows up is the City Attorney and the City Administrator, willing to accept the responsibility. He states this seems to allow the Commission to sidestep responsibility that we are the ones that hold. He said he is not voting for an agreement he has not seen and we are authorizing the administrator and attorney to negotiate on our behalf and approving in advance. Mr. Williams said he thinks he knows Mr. Langley well enough to say this, and he can assure you he feels the same way, that he is not going to put his pen to paper to sign the application without the assurance that the City is protected for the $50,000. Mayor Sackett said he believes what we are trying to do is to have you meet to develop that and come back and show it to us. Commissioner Bundy said it does not meet the time frame and we are approving them to negotiate a contract or an agreement on our behalf that will bind the City, without seeing it. Mayor Sackett asked about the time frame. Mr. Williams asked Mr. Wolf when the application has to be in. Mr. Wolf answered by early October and indicated there is time and offered another alternative. Commissioner Bundy said he is uncomfortable writing a check for $50,000. He asked to make a motion to table this. Mr. Williams said he and Ms. Bower were under a different assumption that time was of the essence is why this needs to be placed upon the Agenda based upon what Mr. Wolf identified as an October deadline and would recommend to table it. Commissioner Bundy said he made a motion to table it until the first meeting in September and give staff the opportunity, including the City Attorney and the City Administrator, to get with Mr. Wolf and come up with an agreement, whatever form that it takes. Mayor Sackett said he has a motion. Seconded by Deputy Mayor Maingot and the motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote to table the item. CC 08-19-13/19 C. Request by Commissioner Bundy to have a commission discussion regarding the Chambers audio system procedures. Mayor Sackett said we have a letter from the Clerk about some failures. Commissioner Bundy said what he wanted to discuss is that the Commission needs to make this a clear direction for staff that no one do anything beyond the scope of what our IT Director has allowed. He said the Administrator can come forward with the appropriate language. We spend a lot of money on technology, and he wants everybody to defer to our IT person. Commissioner Bundy made a motion that we have the City Administrator and the IT Director bring forward a policy at the next Commission meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and motion was carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 12. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT. Mr. Williams said earlier this year we were advised of an opportunity by Chris Lathrop, who is present here tonight, that the University of Florida Landscape Architecture and Planning Department within the school of Design wanted to look at the Longwood TOD. He said the documents he printed and forwarded --' to you earlier is a compilation of the students' studio work, which used the TOD as its study area. He said last week Commissioner Bundy and he joined Javier Amana, who is also present tonight, and his employer, CP & H, and we learned the University of Florida would like to continue the work this fall with the assistance of both Javier and Chris and others. They initially requested to continue the study with the City's support without any financial consideration. During the conversation we noted the City provided $3,000 worth of financial consideration to assist with the costs associated with framing and preparing the document during the first phase of the study. He told them he would bring forth a recommendation to the Commission to seek your approval to continue the study and also provide an additional $3,000 for the second round of the study. Javier and Chris are present and willing to address any issues or concerns or answer any question the Commission may have regarding the second phase. He said this is a wonderful opportunity for the City to affiliate them with the University of Florida. Mayor Sackett said the $3,000 you are asking for is to copy costs and things like that. CC 08-19-13/20 Commissioner Bundy said he has had conversation with them and they really thought outside the box and came up with some really cool things. Mayor Sackett addressed the City Administrator and said as a way of educating people, we are going to spend some money to do the cost. Is there any way we can link this for anyone out there who may be interested. Mr. Williams said we can post it on the City's website. Commissioner Bundy asked if this project won the group an award. Ms. Chris Lathrop of Dix -Lathrop said there are two studies there and one of them did receive an award of honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Mr. Williams said there was an offer to come back some time in the future to make a formal presentation to the Commission. Commissioner Bundy said he would like that because they put a tremendous amount of work both through Dix -Lathrop, the class, through CP&H Engineering and our staff assisted. Mayor Sackett asked for a motion since there is $3,000 involved in this. Commissioner Bundy made the motion. Seconded by Commissioner Durso and carried by a unanimous roll call vote. 13. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT. Mr. Langley said his partner would fill in for him at the next meeting he will be going on vacation. 14. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report. 15. ADJOURN. Mayor Sackett adjourned t1A meeting at 9:45 P.M. Sackett, ATTEST: Linda K. Jacobs as Senior Administrative Assistant, Office of City Clerk in the Absence Of: CC 08-19-13/21 arah M. Mir s, C, MBA, City Clerk CC 08-19-13/22