PonceInletFL - 09/10/2009 Sepcial Town Council Minutes

5. RESOLUTION 2009-13, ADOPTING A TENTATIVE MILLAGE RATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 09/10. Ms. Clauss read the resolution: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE MILLAGE RATE FOR THE LEVYING OF AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAXES FOR MUNICIPAL PURPOSES ON ALL TAXABLE PROPERTY WITHIN THE TOWN FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2009 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2010; STATING THE PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE MILLAGE TO BE LEVIED IS BELOW THE ROLLED BACK RATE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Florida law requires the Town Council of the Town of Ponce Inlet, Florida, to pass a resolution or ordinance establishing the tentative millage rate for levying ad valorem property taxes for municipal purposes on all taxable property within the Town limits of the Town of Ponce Inlet, Florida, for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2009, and ending September 30, 2010; and WHEREAS, Florida law requires said resolution or ordinance to state the millage rate to be levied, and also, to state the percentage by which the millage rate to be levied is above or below the rolled-back rate as computed pursuant to Florida law; and WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Ponce Inlet, Florida, has duly considered the budgetary requirements of the Town and is now acting in accordance with the terms, provisions and procedures contained in Section 200.065, Florida Statutes at this duly advertised public hearing. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, FLORIDA: SECTION 1. ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAX MILLAGE RATE: The tentative millage rate for the Fiscal Year commencing on October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010 is 4.072 mills, which equals $4.03 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the purpose of raising income in the sum of $3,105,017. SECTION 2. PERCENTAGE BY WHICH THE MILLAGE TO BE LEVIED IS BELOW THE ROLLED BACK RATE: The percentage by which this millage rate to be levied is below the rolled-back rate of 5.46094 mills (as computed pursuant to Florida law) is 25.43%. She presented the attached PowerPoint. Mayor Goudie recapped to the audience that there were seven budget sessions since July and he complimented Ms. Clauss and the staff for their hard work. He stated that the second reading was scheduled for September 24^th. Council members McCormick and Derr also thanked the staff. Councilmember Derr had other questions regarding the Timucuan Oaks grant requirements and that in this budget those funds have been removed. She wanted to know what the long-term plan was on how to implement those changes. Mr. Joulani stated that there was a memo that was not included in this packet but Timucuan Oaks has been purchased with grant monies close to $1.5 million. There are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled in the grant but they are not time sensitive. There are three phases and the engineering part has been completed. The permitting process for the wetland walkover is being looked at. They want to finish the first phases but will continue with future grants in the coming years. Councilmember Derr asked about $9,000 currently being removed from the budget and Ms. Clauss stated that at the September 1 meeting that if there was no timeline associated with getting this done in the next fiscal year to remove it from the budget, however, a transfer from the tree fund of $2,480 was proposed to begin accumulating some monies to do the landscaping. Councilmember Derr also wanted to know about the $50,000 grant with regards to the Marine Science Center and guessed that this was earmarked and in the reserves. Ms. Clauss stated that this is earmarked in the general fund reserves and expenditures for police/fire equipment will be tracked from it. Councilmember Derr stated for clarification that there will be a freeze on pay increases and Ms. Clauss confirmed this. Councilmember Derr wanted to get further information on the Manatee Grant and what time of year that is renewed. Ms. Clauss stated that this has just been renewed. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 521.5400 and asked if accreditation and software user fees still in the budget? Ms. Clauss stated that there was no vote taken to remove this and staff has recommended that it stay in the budget. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 521.6440 for the purchase of 12 ballistic vests removed and thought that we were pursuing a grant in regards to thus – she expressed concern on that removal. Chief Thomas stated they were left in until he received the request from the Mayor to reduce the police budget by 20% and the only way to do that was to remove items line by line. He was able to purchase the vests in the FY08-09 budget. He stated that they are not pursuing the grant to purchase the vests since the grant has already passed. Councilmember Derr asked if the grant should still be pursued and Chief Thomas said he would like to but in order to reduce his budget, that is one of the items that came out, however, he was not going to risk his officers’ safety so he was getting the vest this year in order to reduce next year’s budget. Councilmember Derr asked about the condition of the vests and Chief Thomas stated that the vests have an expiration date and only those that are expiring are being replaced this year. Councilmember Derr still wants to pursue the grant and Chief Thomas stated that the only reason that they came out of the budget was because of the request to reduce his budget but the vests have already been ordered. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 521-2350 (dental) - there is $3,198 which is a reduction of $1,631 and this concerned her and Ms. Clauss states that is because they found a more cost efficient plan. Councilmember Derr looked at the salary figures in the police budget and noted there was a 24% reduction in the Commander’s position and Ms. Clauss states that this was reclassifying this position as a sergeant. Councilmember Derr noted a difference of $58,813 in the regular salaries and Ms. Clauss states that is because the sergeant position goes into that line item and includes holiday pay etc. Councilmember Derr wanted to know what the auto allowance recommendations are for this budget. Ms. Clauss stated that in regards to the take home vehicles, the Commander’s vehicle has been reassigned to the Police Chief and that auto allowance was eliminated. The only three that remain in this budget are Mr. Joulani, Ms. Clauss and for the future town manager. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 522.6400 - the ventilators that were removed and wanted to know the significance of that item along with the stair chair. Chief Scales explained that the ventilators are 13 years old, still functioned but he wanted to replace one of the two for $3,500. The stair chair is a sitting stretcher, is about 9 years old and he wanted to replace it with a more efficient model for $3,000. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 522.5250 - she was concerned about the aging equipment which needs replacing such as the fire hose. Chief Scales explained that the hose is exposed to the elements and they need to be tested annually and some of the large diameter hoses, which is about $1,000 a section, is getting old; three sections failed this year. He tries budget some funds each year for any equipment that might fail. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 522.4610 repair/maintenance of vehicles - originally there was $11,000 and this has been reduced to 10,000. She noted that the description in the line item only adds up to $7,000 and why there is an additional $3,000. Chief Scales states that this a “cushion” for any unexpected maintenance that might occur. Councilmember Derr referred to line item 522-4150 mobile data- notes that there is a $1,000 reduction but the description is labeled as before the reduction. Chief Scales states that this is for five air cards for 12 months at $42 each per month and a little extra is there in case equipment needs to be replaced. Councilmember Derr- 522.3420 cutting of a maintenance contract for the 800 mhz radios. Chief Scales stated that he is trying to reach the target goal that the Council gave him. Radio replacements and repairs are covered throughout the year and would prefer to have the contract. Councilmember Derr asked about the reduction of the Fire Marshal hours but an increase in salary? Ms. Clauss states that this should be $21,524 and will be corrected prior to the second public hearing. Councilmember Derr felt that the Council needs to take a look at the grant for the police vests as well as the ventilators for the best interest of our citizens to have good equipment. Mayor Goudie felt that the budget could still be tweaked a little bit more. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 511.4800 Florida League of Cities advertising - cost of $300 and the Council should consider removing the $150 for advertising. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 513.4000 travel and per diem - $3,000 and this was for the new manager per Ms. Clauss. 513.3110 is connected to 513.4000. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 513.4510 insurance for executive and legislative at $600 and stated he thought this had been reduced to remove Council members from the policy. Ms. Clauss stated that the regular life insurance had been and they will do so with this travel policy as well. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 513.4800, Promotions - $1,000 – and stated that he thought this had been discussed and reduced. Ms. Clauss should have been removed. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 513.5400 dues/subscriptions $2,000 and Ms. Clauss clarified that this is to keep up with the training bulletins and newsletters. Mayor Goudie referred to line item 521.5100 - $4,500 and asked if we couldn’t cut $1,000 from office supplies to go into purchasing the ballistic vests? Mayor Goudie referred to line item 521.5250 non-capital equipment - $14,500 and asked if this be reduced more? Mayor Goudie referred to line item 521.5400 dues/ subscriptions - $2,035 and asked if all of these were necessary? Chief Thomas explained that this has been trimmed but they still need to have the periodicals for case law since the police department does not have any legal advisors. There is the subscription to the News Journal ($175) as well as notary information ($185). Mayor Goudie referred to line item 521.4000 travel and per diem - $2,000 and Chief Thomas explained this is for CGIS System training and accreditation conference. Mayor Goudie echoed his concerns in regards to the fire department equipment and this should be in the capital expenses. The $50,000 in the general fund earmarked reserve could be used to for this fire equipment. Mayor Goudie stated he would like to see the millage rate be reduced to a 3.9 range. Ms. Clauss states that $20,000 has already be removed and $50,000 more would reach that goal of 3.9. Vice-Mayor Davis would like to have citizen input and she will hold her comments until the end of that. Councilmember Sturno commended the department heads for their hard work. In the building department, by doing our own inspections, we are going to save $40,000 a year. He stated that no other city in this county has come close to making the cuts that Ponce Inlet has made. He is not sure that the Council can cut more out without compromising fire and police services. Kimberly Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, stated that this is an upscale area and we should retain the millage rate and not have a “just in case” fund. Pam Jekyll, 4530 South Peninsula Drive, stated she wants to reduce services. She feels that there are too many employees and the property taxes are too high. The Council should reduce the fire/ police and public works department by 10%. A suggestion would be to close the offices two days a month except for police and fire. Lynn Berkhardt, 37 Jana Drive, is concerned about the employee buy-back and that needs to be cut out of the budget. She feels that the departments are using the “left over” monies from the budget to “Hurry up and spend” and it should be put back into the budget. She questioned if a town this size should have a Town Manager and an Assistant Town Manager. Don Rominick, 4545 South Atlantic Avenue, feels that this is a realistic budget now and that residents should realize that only 19% of the taxes actually go to Ponce Inlet and the County gets the rest. Russ Boner, 59 Beach Street, congratulated the Council and staff on a good job. He asked about the legal costs and feels that the Town needs to hire a new attorney/ law firm. Tom Rutledge, 68 Beverly Hills thinks that a healthy compromise has been reached in this budget and likes the idea of the millage rate being under 3.9. Ms. Christopherson, 14 Kelly Bea Court, stated that the residents knew what they were paying for when they moved to Ponce Inlet. The fire and police are important and should not be hindered. Councilmember Sturno stated that a large portion of the tax bill has to do with the County fees. The Town needs to have a reserve fund in case of emergencies and it is not a luxury. In regards to the carry-over hours for employees; most towns have a carry-over of 480 hours for their employees and it is fiscally irresponsible and the Council should make our employees use their personal leave time. The legal fees have been reduced from $30,000 a month to $12,000 a month. Vice-Mayor Davis stated she wants to eliminate the buy-back option tonight. Ms. Clauss stated that she would need direction from the Council to prepare a resolution to cut this out and reduce the budget by $12,500. Vice-Mayor Davis stated that she thinks that it was a Council goal should to build the reserve to a nine-month operating expenses. She supports the allocation of the $50,000 for the fire hoses, ventilator, stair chairs and radio maintenance contract. Councilmember McCormick feels the elimination of the buy-back needs to be within the legal realm of the Town policies and should be a goal. Councilmember Sturno thought that the $50,000 was a discretionary account that fire and police did have access to from the beginning. Ms. Clauss states that the Council would have to approve the funds and it is earmarked for police and fire equipment. Mayor Goudie asked if the Council was to eliminate the $12,500 buy-back in addition to the areas that he looked at, there is an additional $48,000 in savings but Ms. Clauss states that she added it to be $33,000 so far. Councilmember McCormick made a comment about furlough days and the Council could take a look at that. Councilmember Derr agreed with the buy-back elimination, agreed with the fire equipment being put back into the budget and is disappointed that the ballistic vests are not being paid for with grants and wanted to see the recent vest purchase voided. She wanted the Fire Marshal position looked at again and asked if the police department accreditation was to be kept or eliminated. Mayor Goudie wanted to know what the value of the accreditation was and Councilmember Sturno stated that this is a great accreditation and that Ponce Inlet set the gold standard and is a valuable necessity. Tom Rutledge, Beverly Hills, stated that the accreditation is important to the police department. Vic McClellan, South Peninsula Drive, stated that the town needs to have a well-trained police department. Jim Hinson, 4745 South Atlantic Avenue stated that the Town needs the accreditation to bring a higher level of professionalism to the police department. Harvey Bach, 65 Beach Street supported the fire and police 100% and has never heard of a Council rescinding this accreditation. Ms. Christopherson, 14 Kelly Bea Court, stated she wants to keep the accreditation. Nancy Epps, 127 Old Carriage, stated she wants to keep the accreditation. Councilmember Sturno states that if this is important to Chief Thomas then we should respect that and wants to have a first class police department. The Council came to a consensus to keep the accreditation. Ms. Clauss states with the cuts mentioned tonight along with the elimination of the buy backs, the millage rate is reduced to 4.0278. Mr. Hinson, 4745 South Atlantic Avenue, wanted to know when he could present the Christmas parade. Ms. Clauss recommended not going below 4.03 if there was to be room for the parade. Councilmember Sturno stated that he is very comfortable with the 4.072 which is a 25.43% tax reduction. Councilmember McCormick stated that he thinks that this is a workable budget and wants to maintain at 4.072. Pam Jekyll, 4530 South Peninsula Drive, had questions about 511.4120, 511.4170, 511.4810 and 511.4200 and thinks that $10,000 is too much for a newsletter which she felt could be placed on the website and she felt $500 for town shirts was unnecessary. Mary Lou Hinson, 4745 South Atlantic Avenue, stated that that she is the coordinator for the newsletter and the website does not support a file that large. Nancy Epps, 127 Old Carriage Road, wished the budget meetings were at a time that working people could attend. She had disagreed with allowing the personal leave buy-back and supported considering furlough days. Kimberly Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, expressed concerned that eliminating the part-time officer is putting the Town at risk and wanted to know why that position was eliminated. Jim Hinson, 4745 South Atlantic Avenue, asked again about the Christmas Parade and if this was cut out of the budget. He states that last March the Council approved the parade and he was tasked to be the coordinator. He has a group of people to organize this. There are currently 20 parade units signed up. Mayor Goudie stated that the Council did express an interest for this in March and the Council cannot waive the permit fee, however, there is a way to refund this per Ms. Clauss, as they have made donations equivalent to the fee in the past to organizations for which they would have liked to waive the fee. Councilmember Sturno asked Mr. Hinson for a dollar amount for the cost of the parade. Mr. Hinson estimates $650 but it could be less. Jerry McHugh, 37 Loggerhead Court, stated that the parade committee has done a lot of work and the citizens are expecting a parade at this point. Councilmember McCormick pointed out that the funding for the Fine Arts Show, Corvette Show, Mardi Claws and Market in the Park have been eliminated. Kimberly Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, wanted to know why the Fine Arts Festival was eliminated and that this show distinguished Ponce Inlet from other municipalities and felt they should reconsider this. Harvey Bach, 65 Beach Street, noted that the parade is a Town event and not a non-profit event. Don Rominick, also expressed that he wants the Fine Arts Show reconsidered. Nancy Epps, 127 Old Carriage Road, stated that she wants the Fine Arts Show and the Christmas Parade. Mayor Goudie stated that with this budget nothing was a given and if someone wanted something funded, they needed to ask. With regards to the special events, the Council was not necessarily looking at eliminating the event but reducing the Town’s portion of sponsorship. Mayor Goudie asked for the consensus of the Christmas parade. Councilmember McCormick and Sturno agreed they should support funding for the Christmas Parade. Ms. Clauss states that the original figure was $1,300 but the cost is now $650. Councilmember McCormick made the motion to support the Town Christmas Parade in the amount of $650, seconded by Councilmember Sturno. Councilmember Derr stated that the survey on the website showed a large percentage did not want the Christmas Parade. Faye McHugh, 37 Loggerhead Court, stated that the Council is nickel and diming items and the Council should support the parade. Jim Hinson, 4745 South Atlantic Avenue, stated the parade is for community spirit and is not for gain. Kimberly Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, noted that we should not rely on the survey because it was flawed. Councilmember Derr stated that the Council should commit to $500 and then approach Community clubs for donations. Chief Thomas stated that the original estimate of $400 for overtime could be reduced to $200. Vice-Mayor made the motion to amend the amount to $500, seconded by Councilmember Derr. The motion to amend the motion passed 5-0. The original motion, now amended then passed 5-0. Councilmember Derr stated she wanted to pursue the ballistic vest grant and cancel the present order for them for FY 08/09. Chief Thomas stated he is not sure that the order can be cancelled but he will look into this. Councilmember McCormick stated again that he is comfortable with 4.072 mills and Councilmember Sturno agreed. Councilmember McCormick made the motion to accept 4.072 and this was seconded by Councilmember Sturno. Vice-Mayor Davis wants to see the 4.03 and Councilmember Derr agrees as does Mayor Goudie. Vice-Mayor Davis amended the motion to accept the millage rate at 4.03 and this was seconded by Councilmember Derr. Pam Jekyll stated she thinks that this is wonderful. Tom Rutledge, Beverly Hills, stated that he agreed that the Council should go with 4.03. The motion to amend the motion passed 5-0 and then the amended motion passed 5-0.

10. 143 BEACH STREET PROJECT. Mr. Marks explained that there are unforeseen expenses regarding this project. He explained that there are two septic tanks on this site and it would cost $2,780 to abandon these tanks and fill them in so that they passed the health department inspection. After the demolition, it was discovered that the footing was structurally insufficient to support the building and the architect made the recommendation to correct these footings at a cost of $4,625. The Hasty Cottage Post Office structure was on piers and the perimeter beam was deteriorated as well as the support walls boards. The architect recommended a solution and this would cost an additional $9,700. The architect noted that too much of the perimeter beam was in bad shape and this would cause a structure defect and it was recommended by Mr. Marks and the architect to replace that beam while the building was already elevated at a cost of $7,500. The windows and doors should be restored and this would cost $1,500. The total cost of these items is $26,105. As the project went on, ways to save money have been found and are recommended as follows: plumbing had a reduction of $845; heating and air conditioning for the Davis House was reduced by $5,823; some wheel stops were eliminated in the parking lot for a savings of $1,060; one park bench was eliminated for a cost savings of $600; the irrigation system was reduced to a temporary system $6,000; other items were able to be reduced by $3,900; the record drawing system was eliminated saving $1,000; the lighting fixture bid was $10,000 over and above the allowance and this was reduced; the landscaping was reduced by $2,580. The total savings if all of these recommendations are acceptable is $31,812.22. So the proposal for consideration at this meeting is actually for a deductive change order (savings) in the amount of $5,707.22. Mr. Marks asked Council to accept change order #1 and this would offset the $26,000 unforeseen expenses and establish a contingency fund of $5,707. Mayor Goudie commended Mr. Marks for a great job as the project manager. Councilmember Sturno noted that this actually a net cost (not savings) of $4,300 because $10,000 of the available money is due to an error in the contract (lighting was funded twice). Councilmember McCormick recalled a discussion that the building could be moved to the lighthouse land. Councilmember Derr stated she wanted to make sure that the landscaping change does not affect the surrounding properties (buffer zone). Councilmember Sturno stated that he felt a contingency budget needs to be planned for this going forward, as a project like this should have had a contingency. Vice-Mayor Davis made a motion to accept the change order #1 as explained by Mr. Marks and this was seconded by Mayor Goudie. Vic McClellan, 4327 South Peninsula Drive, stated he fully supports moving the building to Davies Park and thinks this is just throwing good money after bad. Gary Smith, 4526 South Peninsula Drive, stated he feels that an investigative demolition was not done prior to the restoration project and that is not the last change order and more money will be spent before this project is completed. Mayor Goudie noted the volunteers solicited grants and the Town committed funds for this project and the contingency budget was removed. Councilmember McCormick noted that originally a motion was passed to demolish this building but the citizens wanted to save it and the Town was only to commit to the cost of what it would be to demolish it and no more. Councilmember McCormick moved to amend the motion for the change order to also include the movement of the building to more suitable public properties near the vicinity of the lighthouse, seconded by Councilmember Sturno. Mayor Goudie points out that the Town entered into an agreement with ECHO, received ECHO funding, put up a substantial amount of money and resources, and wants to know if the Town was going to call ECHO and tell them that the money that was supposed to be used to restore this property and that the property was moved. He felt this would put the Town into a non-compliant position with the grant and that this was unwise and felt the buildings are where there are for a reason and are being restored where there are for a reason. Mayor Goudie felt that the Town might find itself in litigation for violating the terms of the agreement with the ECHO funding. Vice-Mayor Davis stated she wanted to ask Mr. Shepard for a brief legal opinion on whether it would even be feasible to break the ECHO contract and move the buildings. Ms. Clauss noted that the grant documents are extensive and doubted a legal opinion could be brief. She suggested having Ms. Richard contact ECHO if there is a majority vote to move the building. Kimberly Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, felt that the amended motion needs to be tabled until there is a legal response and to move forward with the proposed change order. Nancy Epps, 127 Old Carriage Road, also felt that the motion needs to be tabled. Mr. Marks stated that they have already checked with ECHO and if there are any changes to the original agreement, the ECHO grant is voided and he felt that the County would demand a refund for all monies used. Councilmember McCormick withdrew his amended motion if Mr. Marks can assure the Council that moving the property is going to violate the original grant. Councilmember Sturno withdrew his second. The vote for approving the change order #1 was passed at 5-0.