Town of Ponce Inlet |
TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES |
Regular Meeting of January 16, 2008 |
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1. CALL TO ORDER: Pursuant to proper notice, Mayor Epps called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 4300 South Atlantic Avenue, Ponce Inlet, Florida. |
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Epps led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance. |
3. ROLL CALL: |
Council present: |
Mayor Epps, Seat #1 |
Councilmember Goudie, Seat #2 |
Vice-Mayor McCormick, Seat #3 |
Councilmember Hinson, Seat #4 |
Councilmember Sturno, Seat #5 |
Staff Members Present: |
Ms. Blissett, Town Manager |
Ms. Cassady, Town Attorney |
Ms. Clauss, Assistant Town Manager/Deputy Clerk |
Mr. Gunter, Public Works Supervisor |
Mr. Joulani, Interim Development Services Director |
Chief Scales, Fire Chief |
Chief Thomas, Police Chief |
4. ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: Removed Item 7-A (variance request) and Item 14-B (cell tower lease request). |
5. PROCLAMATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND AWARDS: |
A. Presentation of the Mayor’s State of the Town Address. Mayor Epps read the attached State of the Town Address. |
B. Recognition of David McConnell, out-going member of the Planning Commission. Mayor Epps read a certificate of appreciation which will be sent to Mr. McConnell in appreciation of his work on this board. |
C. Recognition of Chief Thomas for serving as the Town’s Keyperson in the 2008 United Way Campaign. Mayor Epps presented Chief Thomas with a certificate of appreciation for serving as the Town’s keyperson in the 2008 United Way campaign. |
D. PowerPoint Presentation from the Florida League of Cities on January 29th Referendum. A PowerPoint presentation from the Florida League of Cities was shown to provide information to Council and citizens on the upcoming referendum. This presentation will also be shown on channel 199 and is available on the Town’s website. |
6. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: None. |
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS / QUASI-JUDICIAL MATTERS. |
A. Variance request to permit the construction of paved driveway with two access points at 76 Aurora Avenue (Lighthouse Shores) – applicants are Joan Carson and Jennifer Genosa. This item was removed from the agenda. |
8. PUBLIC HEARINGS – ORDINANCES (Second Reading): None. |
9. CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION: Patricia Gadbaw, 7 Venetian Circle, Port Orange, read the attached statement from the Volusia League of Women Voters regarding the proposed constitutional amendment. |
10. ORDINANCES (FIRST READING) AND RESOLUTIONS: |
A. First reading of Ordinance 2008-02, amending the Code to create a procedure for the application and permitting of special events. Ms. Cassady read this ordinance by title and confirmed that she had approved this for legality and form: AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, FLORIDA, CREATING CHAPTER 51, ARTICLE I, IN THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, FLORIDA, RELATING TO SPECIAL EVENTS; DEFINING “SPECIAL EVENT”; CREATING A PROCEDURE FOR THE APPLICATION FOR AND PERMITTING OF SPECIAL EVENTS; PROVIDING FOR THE APPEAL OF DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF
SPECIAL EVENTS PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Cassady explained that at their December regular meeting the Town Council directed staff to work with the business owners on issues that were of concern to them. They had a very successful meeting and the ordinance in the Council packets was the result of that. Following the preparation of these packets, business owners submitted additional comments and the revised ordinance in front of them tonight is the result of incorporating those comments which are agreeable to both parties and now result in an even better ordinance. The business owners who attended the meeting were those of the Racing’s North Turn, Down the Hatch, Inlet Harbor, Lighthouse Landing, and the Lighthouse Association. Councilmember Goudie inquired as to which revisions were those of staff and which were those of the business
owners. Ms. Cassady and Ms. Blissett explained that the only revisions included were those approved by staff, as they were a culmination of those vetted. Ms. Cassady went over the changes to this ordinance. Councilmember Hinson expressed appreciation to the businesses for taking the time to meet with staff on this. Mayor Epps opened for public comment. Ray Ingrassia, Down the Hatch, expressed appreciation to the Town for working with the businesses on this and stated that it is very difficult to keep working waterfront businesses profitable as they only have certain windows of opportunity to survive and make it through the down times. He requested flexibility regarding the number of events, not imposing a firm limit of five but maybe five unless otherwise approved by Council. Constance Hunter, 4329 South Atlantic Avenue, referred to the vision of the Town as a residential community, not for special events, but asked that they make sure there
are adequate restroom facilities if they are going to have these. Dick Neeland, Inlet Harbor Restaurant and Marina, stated that he appreciated the significance of being able to work with the Town on this and stated that there is another ordinance in progress that he would like to see them work together on as well – signage. In regards to the special events ordinance, he would like for there to be no limit to the number of them unless it causes the need for additional police, fire, or medical personnel. Ronda Glasnik, Racing’s North Turn, stated that she supports the requests of Mr. Ingrassia and Mr. Neeland to eliminate the limitation on the number of events and inquired if having a parking attendant for safety would trigger this ordinance. She was concerned that things like their St. Patrick’s Day event which they’ve had for ten years now would be called a special event because of having a parking attendant and that they could be
denied a permit if someone else had something on this same date. Mayor Epps requested the police and fire chiefs comment on this. Chief Thomas stated that this ordinance would not impact most of what they do but they need a process codified for the handling of events. His department’s primary concern is traffic. Chief Scales stated that his primary concern is that the fire marshal has the opportunity to review these on a case-by-case basis and that they monitor capacities. David Trotter, Inlet Harbor Restaurant and Marina, requested that they allow the businesses one more meeting with staff to iron out a few more concerns. Mary Schlaupitz, 50 Pompano Drive, referred to previous events when they did their own traffic control and they never had any problem with it. She noted that regardless of specific regulations here Daytona Beach’s special events induce more traffic everywhere. Mayor Epps closed public comment. Mayor
Epps stated that she is not in favor of over regulation but she agrees with the chiefs that they need a process for these. She did however feel another meeting with the businesses may be in order to clarify any grey areas. Councilmember Goudie indicated that he felt this ordinance was on the right track by addressing the endless venue of events throughout the year. Vice-Mayor McCormick stated that he didn’t feel this ordinance was needed but that if they were going to have one he would like to offer each business the opportunity for more than five per year and address the concern about limiting it to one place or another on a given day. Councilmember Hinson stated that he didn’t feel most of what these businesses do would be considered a special event because they each have a seating capacity established by law. Councilmember Sturno stated that he feels the businesses have been pretty well self regulating on this but encouraged another
meeting to be held with them. All agreed that staff will meet with the business owners again on this and they will have first reading at their special meeting on January 30th – event advertising this first reading to get as much citizen participation as possible. |
B. Resolution 2008-01, urging members of the Florida Legislature to support certain issues during the 2008 Legislative Session. Ms. Cassady read this ordinance by title and confirmed that she had approved this for legality and form: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA URGING MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO SUPPORT CERTAIN ISSUES DURING THE 2008 LEGISLATIVE SESSION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING RESOLUTIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Epps stated that each summer, the Florida League of Cities (FLC) hosts
a conference for all the municipalities where they determine the key issues which they would like the State Legislature to consider the following spring. This conference was held in August 2007 and the FLC has now requested that each municipality adopt this resolution supporting these issues and disseminate accordingly to Legislative Officials. Council discussed the issues listed in the resolution and determined that they did not want to get behind the request to authorize the use of electronic traffic infraction detectors at traffic intersections but did want to add a request that they develop legislation which would provide a fair, equitable, and sustainable tax reform system. Mayor Epps opened for public comment. Seeing none, Mayor Epps closed public comment. Councilmember Goudie moved to APPROVE Resolution 2008-01, seconded by Councilmember Hinson. This motion PASSED 5-0 with the following vote:
Councilmember Sturno – yes, Councilmember Hinson – yes, Vice-Mayor McCormick – yes, Councilmember Goudie - yes, and Mayor Epps – yes. |
C. Resolution 2008-02, adopting a policy regarding charitable donation requests. Ms. Cassady read this ordinance by title and confirmed that she had approved this for legality and form: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A POLICY REGARDING CHARITABLE DONATION REQUESTS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING RESOLUTIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Blissett stated that during the budget preparation and adoption process, Council discussed the subject of donations and requested staff gather
policy information from other communities. Staff sent out a couple of requests for this and nine responded. These responses were provided to Council for discussion at the regular meeting in October as they determined the direction to give to staff for development of a resolution with the type of policy they feel would best suit the Town. Based on the direction of that meeting, this resolution was prepared for consideration at this meeting. Ms. Blissett stated that they may want to consider an additional criterion to limit these funds to 501c3 organizations. If adopted, this resolution would be applicable for all donations requested of fiscal year 08/09 and forward. Discussion of processing current year requests is on this agenda under New Business. Council discussed these and determined that if they added the 501c3 criterion, they would also want to add “or educational institutions” so they determined to leave the resolution as
presented without the addition. Mayor Epps opened for public comment. Seeing none, Mayor Epps closed public comment. Councilmember Goudie moved to APPROVE Resolution 2008-02, seconded by Councilmember Sturno. This motion PASSED 5-0 with the following vote: Councilmember Sturno – yes, Councilmember Hinson – yes, Vice-Mayor McCormick – yes, Councilmember Goudie - yes, and Mayor Epps – yes. |
11. FROM THE TOWN COUNCIL |
A. Councilmember Sturno, Seat #5, stated that he will provide an update on the Water Authority of Volusia at their Special Meeting on January 30th. |
B. Councilmember Hinson, Seat #4, indicated he had nothing to report at this time. |
C. Vice-Mayor McCormick, Seat #3, urged voters to really learn all they can before casting their vote on amendment one January 30th. |
D. Councilmember Goudie, Seat #2, reiterated Vice-Mayor McCormick’s statement before giving an update from the Volusia League of Cities Executive Committee where they decided that they should have on-going legislative advocacy so that they are not just another face in the crowd. Their next meeting will be in March. |
E. Mayor Epps, Seat #1, noted that DeLand Mayor Bill Apgar is the chair of the Volusia Council of Governments and the Volusia League of Cities and he has encouraged VCOG to work with the media as they work on tax reform with the citizens. |
12. CONSENT AGENDA |
A. Approval of Town Council Regular Meeting Minutes – December 19, 2007. |
B. Approval of Town Council Special Meeting Minutes – January 9, 2008. |
C. Acknowledgement of Annual Stewardship Reports for Ponce Preserve and Timucuan Oaks Botanical Gardens. |
D. Ratification of appointment of Aref Joulani as Interim Development Services Director effective January 2nd, 2008. |
Mayor Epps read the items A through D proposed for approval on the consent agenda. Councilmember Hinson moved to APPROVE items A-D on the consent agenda, seconded by Vice-Mayor McCormick. This motion PASSED 5-0 with the following vote: Councilmember Sturno – yes, Councilmember Hinson – yes, Vice-Mayor McCormick – yes, Councilmember Goudie - yes, and Mayor Epps – yes. |
13. OLD BUSINESS: |
A. Discussion of membership in the Water Authority of Volusia for Fiscal Year 08/09. Council determined that they would postpone this item until their January 30th special meeting so that they could allow time for their service provider, the City of Port Orange, to make their decision on this first. |
14. NEW BUSINESS: |
A. Discussion of proposals for auditing services for Fiscal Years 07/08-09/10. Ms. Clauss stated that this item is not a reflection of their current level of service but in accordance with Council policy to seek competitive bids every three years for contractual services. In accordance with that, Council in its role as the auditor selection committee approved an RFP for auditing services and after advertising twice, five proposals were received. According to Florida Statute, Council must short-list these in accordance with certain criteria. The proposed criteria pretty
well mirrors that listed in the statute with a few additions. Council revised this a bit and then accepted the criteria for this process. Ms. Cassady stated that Council may now review these proposal based on this criteria and complete the short list form at home, turning all forms into Ms. Clauss in time for compilation of the results so that they may be accepted at their special meeting on January 30th. All agreed to submit these to Ms. Clauss by noon on January 23rd. |
B. Discussion cell tower lease contract proposal from Crown Castle. This item was removed from the agenda. |
C. Discussion of ordinance to establish regulations regarding indemnification clauses within contracts of the Town. Ms. Cassady explained this item utilizing her attached memorandum. Council agreed an ordinance of this nature was prudent and directed staff to prepare such for consideration at their regular meeting in February. |
D. Discussion of charitable donations requests for fiscal year 07/08. Ms. Blissett stated that a few of these requests were specifically approved in the budget and have already been paid due to timeline commitments. Staff now seeks direction on how Council would like to handle the four remaining ones. The largest request came from Hospice for the construction of their new facility in Edgewater; they have asked for five thousand dollars as a one-time donation and offer recognition at this new facility to donors. Council stated that given the size of this request,
they would like for Hospice to meet the criteria of their newly established policy before consideration. Staff will mail this policy to them. The three remaining requests were reviewed and approved as follows: Teal Sound Drum & Bugle Corps for $100, Homeless Coalition for $3,178, and an ad in the Spruce Creek football program for $200. |
15. FROM THE TOWN MANAGER. Ms. Blissett thanked everyone for a productive meeting. |
16. FROM THE TOWN ATTORNEY. Ms. Cassady provided a status report on the Las Olas case. They are still in initial stages. The 2 bonding companies have been served with the complaint and both have filed answers with affirmative defenses. They have joined the contractors in the lawsuit. The next big stage will be discovery. Councilmember Sturno inquired as to the Town’s likelihood for success in cases like this. Ms. Cassady stated that this varies from case-to-case but if they want to discuss strategy they should have an executive session. Ms. Blissett stated property owners are seemingly
organizing to form homeowners association. |
17. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Epps adjourned the meeting at 9:35 p.m. announcing the upcoming Local Planning Agency Meeting scheduled for January 30, 2008 at 6 p.m., the Special Council Meeting immediately following the January 30th LPA meeting, and the Regular Council Meeting of February 20th, 2008 at 6 p.m. |
Respectfully submitted by: |
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Jeaneen P. Clauss, CMC, |
Assistant Town Manager/Deputy Clerk |
