CC04-16-2018MinLONGWOOD CITY COMMISSION
Longwood City Commission Chambers
175 West Warren Avenue
Longwood, Florida
MINUTES
April 16, 2018
6:00 P.M.
Present: Mayor Ben Paris
Deputy Mayor Richard Drummond
Commissioner Abby Shoemaker
Commissioner Matt Morgan
Commissioner Brian D. Sackett
Dan Langley, City Attorney
David P. Dowda, Acting City Manager
Michelle Longo, City Clerk
Clint Gioielli, Acting Police Chief
Chris Kintner, Community Development Director
Chris Capizzi, Leisure Services Director
Lee Ricci, Human Resources Director
Lisa Snead, Financial Services Director
Ryan Rinaldo, Recreation Program Coordinator
Magdala Ridore, Human Resources Generalist
1. CALL TO ORDER. Mayor Paris called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
2. MOMENT OF SILENT MEDITATION
3. THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
4. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS. Ms. Longo read the following
announcements.
A. Senior Matinee will be held on Wednesday, April 18, 2018,
from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Longwood Community
Building, 200 West Warren Avenue. This month's feature is
The Commuter.
5. PROCLAMATIONS / RECOGNITIONS
A. Presentation of the Beautification Award to Bank of America
located at 1145 West State Road 434.
No one was present to accept the Beautification Award and
arrangements will be made to deliver it to them.
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Added In:
6.
7.
B. Recognizing the Seminole State College Television and Film
Productions Program.
Mr. Capizzi and Mr. Rinaldo recognized Mr. Buckelew and Mr.
O'Brien with Seminole State College Television and Film
Productions Program for their work with the City and presented
them with a plaque. Short videos were shown of "The Father and
Daughter Dance" and "National Night Out." Photographs were
then taken.
C. Proclaiming the month of April 2018 as "Water Conservation
Month"'.
Commissioner Morgan read the Proclamation and then presented it
to Ms. Susan Davis. Photographs were then taken.
D. Recognizing David Dowda for his service as the Acting City
Manager.
The Mayor and Commissioners thanked Chief Dowda for his
service as Acting City Manager and acknowledged his 25 years of
service to Longwood then presented him with a plaque.
Photographs were then taken.
BOARD APPOINTMENTS. None.
PUBLIC INPUT
A. Public Participation.
Judi Coad, 1695 Grange Circle, Longwood. She said as we are just over
50 percent into our budget year, looking at your agenda packet detailed
expenditure analysis for the Fire Department, we have used 81 percent of
the overtime budget amount of $218,470. She said $177,316 that has been
used since October 1'represents an average of just over $7,000 per week,
with a cost to our City in overtime, just in the Fire Department. She asked
why. Knowing there will always be some overtime pay for shift work
staff, I believe this amount is excessive. She asked is this because we
have gone months without replacing our Fire Inspector/Fire Marshall. She
asked is this overtime caused, because we are operating with just two
Battalion Chiefs. Is this because we are understaffed at the entry levels?
What is the remedial action plan so that we do not stay the course? We do
not show any employment opportunities for this department on our
website. She asked are we hiring. Are we applying for the 2018 SAFER
Grant that closes in about ten days to support new hire costs? For the shift
work, covering vacation and sick days, with minimal staff, create the
safety hazard, job burnout, and staff turnover. She said, this could result
in a reduced level of service for our citizens. We are at the halfway mark
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within our budget. Please, before it is too late, address the issue so that we
can competently and financially be on par with what was reasonably
forecast within not just our fire, but all departments.
8. MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' REPORT
District #1. Commissioner Shoemaker said she will be so happy this time
tomorrow night. She said taxes will be done as far as I am concerned, and
am looking forward to going down to Jupiter in June to attend the Newly
Elected Officials' Management Course.
District #2. Deputy Mayor Drummond said he was at the Farmers Market
on Sunday, and what a huge turnout there was. The produce stand had 20
people in line to check out, and the prices are amazing. It is a great
opportunity for the City of Longwood to promote ourselves. He thanked
Mr. Capizzi and his staff for doing such a great job with that.
District #3. Mayor Paris said tomorrow is the Mayors and Managers
Meeting, where all the cities in Seminole County get together, along with
the Chairman of the School Board and the Chairman of the Seminole
County Commission. He said at the last meeting, we were talking about
school safety, and the City of Longwood hosted the event. We brought in
a Captain from the Seminole County Sheriff's Department, who was
talking about what actions are being taken for school safety. He thought it
was a very topical subject, considering what is going on in the United
States, and it was very good information. They are doing a lot here in
Seminole County to protect our children, and we are 100 percent with
Seminole County to make sure all the schools are safe, not just the ones
here in Longwood. He has had several complaints of speeders on Maine
Street, and we passed that information along. Recently, we left the
Council of Local Governments in Seminole County (CALNO) that meets
around Seminole County. All the cities are involved, other than Winter
Springs, and we have been asked if we would be willing to be back
involved. I am going to ask if our Deputy Mayor Drummond, would be
willing to represent us on CALNO, and if the Commission wishes to re-
associate ourselves with that.
Commissioner Sackett said he believes it was a 5-0 vote that removed us
from CALNO. He said he went to CALNO meetings, and it is basically a
state mandate, but we could leave it. He said what he found in all those
meetings was that CALNO is basically a twin to the Mayors and Managers
Meeting. All the same reports come out of there, and there seem to be
different themes at times. I am not in favor of joining CALNO.
Mayor Paris said we left last time because we had no one willing to step
up and represent, so that is why I am asking Deputy Mayor Drummond if
he would like to do it.
Deputy Mayor Drummond said I would be more than happy to represent.
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Mr. Langley said for something like that, you make a motion and second
and go through it formally.
Mayor Paris moved to rejoin CALNO. Seconded by Deputy
Mayor Drummond and motion carried by a four -to -one (4-1) roll
call vote with Commissioner Sackett voting nay.
Mayor Paris said at the end of the month, we will have our new City
Manager here and I would like to have a discussion about having a Meet
and Greet for the citizens, something like a party at the Community
Building or here at City Hall. He said we can send it out on Facebook
where we can invite the citizens to meet the City Manager before his first
meeting, which is on May 7t'.
Commissioner Sackett said at the last meeting I suggested that we invite
the superior businesses within the City to something like this and asked
how this would be funded.
Mr. Capizzi said he would be happy to put something together to welcome
the new City Manager. In fact, he and Human Resources Director, Lee
Ricci, were discussing putting something together as a welcome for the
City Manager.
Ms. Ricci said we are planning something that was for the employees, an
employee appreciation event where we were going to introduce them to
Mr. Cox, and we are looking forward to that. She said she doesn't know if
we want to co -mingle the two events. It is a board decision, but if you are
doing city businesses with Mr. Cox, I don't know if you also want to
include an employee appreciation and recognition of their years of service.
I am sure he will go to any event we set up for him. I do have a little bit of
money for this.
The City Clerk said she believes she can look into the City Manager's,
Clerk's, and Commission's budgets and find money to fund a Meet and
Greet if you want it prior to his first Commission Meeting.
Mayor Paris said he would love to see something before the first meeting
to get the public out there. He said keep it separate.
Commissioner Sackett said this is implying there are two separate things
happening, sooner than later.
Ms. Ricci said she thought the employee one is in early June, and to do
something for the citizens would be prior to that.
District #4. Commissioner Morgan said he is very proud that he sees
coming up on the agenda our collective bargaining agreement with our
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Teamsters Union 385. He is very proud of our City and work between the
City and the Union. He is also happy to see so many of our heroes in the
audience this evening.
Commissioner Morgan said this past Tuesday we had a ribbon cutting at a
new establishment called Jamaica Gardens Restaurant at 203 West State
Road 434. The owners are very excited to be part of our community, and
our police and fire departments came out to support it, along with some
local citizens. On this past Thursday, Longwood Elementary had a
meeting about Lake Gem. He brought Shad Smith, our City Engineer, to
look into it, and it is something that would cost an insane amount of
money. He said what we are trying to do now is taking a little bit of the
lesser parts that you can see through and see the lake, and building up their
outdoor art class they hold there .because it could use cleaning out and
some more structure. He is looking forward to being a part of that.
Commissioner Morgan said this past Saturday he was honored to kick off
downtown Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center something
called the Europa Expo Games. It is one of the premier fitness expos in
the country. There were 250 vendors there with booths for different
supplements. There were different competitions from body building to
women's bikini competitions, to strength competitions, Karate, and MMA.
He said I used to go to it as a fan, and to be invited back as now not just as
Matt Morgan, WWE Wrestler, but Longwood City Commissioner. He
said I was honored.to represent our City and have 18,000 eyeballs all on
me and hearing our City's name called out like that. After that, I took part
in raising money for The Honor Flight, where they take veterans who have
served in our various wars over the years to Washington, DC to view the
memorials. He said the runway is lined with military when the plane takes
off and lands saluting. These heroes and veterans get on a bus and go to
all the various memorials in Washington DC with a police escort. The
experience was one he will never forget: He will be honored to take part
in one of these upcoming Honor Flight opportunities. He is really excited
about that.
Commissioner Morgan said this week on Wednesday, we have Ethics and
Sunshine Law Training, and this Thursday the Sharing Center Good
Samaritan Breakfast. On Thursday, he will also be attending, along with
the City Clerk, the Tri-County League of Cities Meeting.
Commissioner Morgan said he received a call from the head football
coach at Lyman High School, Dennis Thomas, and the reason for the call
was about something called flex helmets. Lyman High School is trying to
raise $5,000 to be able to afford these flex helmets. They are anti -
concussion football helmets. He said concussions are incredibly prevalent
in contact sports. For high school sports alone, 76.8 percent of
concussions come from football specifically. He asked the coach if he
could give him a number for his own team and what he has seen. The
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coach stated anywhere from 8 to 10 concussions in one season.
Commissioner Morgan stated he has suffered from 19 registered
concussions over the years, and I donated my brain to something called
Sports Legacy Institute out of Harvard. He said when I pass away, they
remove my brain and they are actually going to study that, along with
other athletes from all over the world that have had concussions. It is a
very serious deal, and the fact that we have to worry about our kids having
these is alarming. He said the coach is trying to raise enough money for
his entire team. Right now, he has two flex helmets. All the teams he
plays against have them. Every youth league, middle school, high school,
college, NFL teams have these flex helmets because of the studies that
have been done and how serious concussions are. No longer can you just
"shake it off' and get back in the game. Once you have had one
concussion, it is very simple to get another one. He said you can go on
their Facebook page, Lyman Greyhounds Football, and you can get the
direct link if you want to donate.
District #5. Commissioner Sackett said regarding the Honor Flight, I was
in Washington D.C. two years ago, and my best friend was in Viet Nam
during the time when 50 of his men were killed. He said I took him to see
the cemetery and Viet Nam Wall to find all his men's names, and
Congressman Mica helped him to find all 50 names. As we were doing
that, the Honor Flight came through, and that was very impressive and
nice to see.
Commissioner Sackett said he went to the Jamaica Gardens Ribbon
Cutting and it was a nice event. He is attending another Eagle ceremony
for one of his former students in two weeks. He has been to seven or eight
in the past year.
Commissioner Sackett mentioned watering days and that it has been
moved to twice a week as of March 1 lth. He said for homes with odd
number houses are on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and even number
houses are on Thursdays and Sundays. Regarding the Food Trucks, there
was wonderful food at this event, and he will be attending the Sharing
Center event also.
Commissioner Sackett said the Golden Eagle Scout Award is coming up
soon, and the Police Department gets a table and we donate to them as
well. He is proud to say our outgoing City Manager has taken care of
everything on his list he had, so kudos to Chief Dowda for doing a bang-
up job. He understands that regarding CERTS and COPS, there has been a
meeting arranged for April 24t'.
Commissioner Sackett said the Dog Washing Station was installed and has
been well received at our Dog Park. He said he received a complaint
about the garbage trucks. We are the home base of Waste Pro. This
person making the complaint said the trucks are very dirty, and leak diesel
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fuel. He would like an update on those trucks. He said we have had those
garbage buckets for 14 years, which is too long, and we need to update
them. He said regarding the Lyman High School flex helmets, in
September, I will donate $500 to start it off.
9. ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS TO' THE AGENDA.
Deputy Mayor Drummond requested that Item 1 OD be pulled for separate
discussion.
Commissioner Sackett requested that Item 1 OF be pulled for separate
discussion.
10. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes of the April 2, 2018 Regular Meeting.
B. Approve the Monthly Expenditures for March and April 2018.
C. Approve the Monthly Financial Report for March 2018.
D. Approve a purchase order in the amount of $37,037 to Varsity Courts
for the repair and resurfacing of the tennis and basketball courts at
Reiter Park.
E. Approve the third amendment to the Agreement for Legal Services
between the City of Longwood and Fishback, Dominick, Bennett,
Ardaman, Ahlers, Langley & Geller LLP a/k/a Fishback Dominick.
F. Approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Teamsters
Union Local 385 for the period of October 1, 2017 to September 30,
2020.
G. Approve a change order in the amount of $7,520 to purchase order
#160374 for Dix Hite and Partners for providing additional services
for the completion of Reiter Park.
H. Acceptance of the 2017 Complete Streets Program Annual Update.
Deputy Mayor Drummond moved to approve Items I OA, 1 OB,
IOC, IOE, 1OG, and 1OH as presented. Seconded by
Commissioner Shoemaker and carried by a unanimous roll call
vote.
Discussion ensued on Item 1 OD. Mr. Capizzi answered questions from the
Commission.
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Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Item 1 OD as
presented. Seconded by Commissioner Morgan and carried
by a unanimous roll call vote.
Discussion ensued on Item I OF. Commissioners thanked the
negotiating team and union representatives for their hard work.
Commissioner Sackett moved to approve Item 1 OF as
presented. Seconded by Commission Shoemaker and
carried by a unanimous roll call vote.
11. PUBLIC HEARINGS. None.
12. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. City Commission approval of a final plat for Bay Meadow
Farms at Longwood.
Mr. Kintner presented the Item.
Deputy Mayor Drummond moved to approve the final plat
for Bay Meadow Farms at Longwood on the condition that
the remaining site work be completed either within two
years of approval of the final plat or prior to the Certificate
of Occupancy (CO) being issued for the last home,
whichever occurs first as presented Item 12A. Seconded by
Commissioner Sackett and carried by a unanimous roll call
vote.
B. City Commission discussion regarding insurance carrier
options.
Ms. Ricci presented the Item.' She said in November, Mayor Durso
made a motion for our insurances to go out to bid. Since that time,
there are three new Commissioners and a new City Manager, so we
thought it prudent to bring that request back to the Commission
and ask you to redirect staff. She said I need direction on whether
we are doing any of it at all, or if we are, are we doing health,
property and casualty or are we doing everything? She said you
should know that PRM provides our insurance currently. She
stated, representatives are here for specific questions. On our
property and casualty side, I am locked into a two year rate
guarantee. She said on the group health side our renewal rates
over the last few years have been very low. I am very happy with
the service, I just need direction from the Commission on what you
want us to do.
Mayor Paris said all of us had a chance to speak with PRM, and
they answered a lot of questions. We have been with them for over
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20 years, so I think it is our due diligence to put this back out to
bid. He said they may be the ones that win, they probably will be
because they have been with us for so long and done a great job.
Commissioner Shoemaker said I can agree with the theory to not
get comfortable and to put it out to bid. It is a lot of work for Ms.
Ricci, she is locked into two years with one side, so I am okay if
we agree to put it out to bid. However, I don't know if there
should be a rush on it right now.
Commissioner Morgan asked if there is a down side to putting it
out to bid right now.
Ms. Ricci said the process is long and tedious, but it's my job.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process takes a bit to get through
the whole vetting thing. It is tough with insurance, but we can do
it if needed. Our relationship is strong because it is '20 years old.
Commissioner Sackett suggested we keep the status quo for two
years and then put the entire thing out for bid while they both
deactivate.
Deputy Mayor Drummond said he had a long conversation with
Ms. Ricci about the insurance and am confident what we have right
now is a good plan with good prices, and I agree with
Commissioner Sackett that we leave it as is for the time being. We
can always explore further. It is going to be a huge amount of
work. He said we are talking about eight different plans with
different price points and coverages, and it is going to take a long
time to throw all that information together.
Mayor Paris moved to send out our insurance fora --bid.
Motion died for lack of a second. - _-
Commissioner Sackett moved that we continue with'our
present company and hold off for two years then open -it all
up for a bid. Seconded by Mayor Deputy Drummond:
Commissioner Shoemaker asked when-we:open it up -in two years,
PRM would still be our insurer when we start the bid.
Ms. Ricci said that is my understanding. They would be our
insurer, we would open it up for the bid process, and determine
whether they maintain that relationship or if we move on to
someone else.
Motion carried by a four -to -one (4-1) roll call vote with
Mayor Paris voting Nay.
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13. ACTING CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
Mr. Dowda thanked all of the Department Directors who helped him
through these last three months, as well as Ms. Longo and Mr. Langley.
He thanked the Commission for their support and the Mayor for pushing
me for this opportunity. It has been a good experience, and I learned a lot,
and I really appreciate it. He also thanked the members of the union
negotiation team for their help getting this contract in place. The
comments about Maine Avenue have been addressed. On March 191', you
approved the addition of a Deputy Chief of Police at the Police
Department. Since that time, we have been through a selection process,
and I would like to congratulate Deputy Chief Clint Gioielli for his
promotion. The COP and CERT meeting Commissioner Sackett referred
to is on the 26 h.
14. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
Mr. Langley thanked everyone for Item 10E. It is a privilege to be the
City Attorney and I enjoy working with staff, commissioners and the
mayor.
15. CITY CLERK'S REPORT. No report.
16. ADJOURN. Mayor Paris adjourned the meeting at 6:58 p.m.
B Paris, Mayor
ATTEST:
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City Clerk
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