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Town of Ponce Inlet
TOWN COUNCIL MINUTES
Regular Meeting of January 21, 2010
1. CALL TO ORDER: Pursuant to proper notice, Mayor Goudie 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 Goudie led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. ROLL CALL:
Council present:
Mayor Goudie, Seat #1
Vice-Mayor Derr, Seat #2
Councilmember Lewis, Seat #3
Councilmember Davis, Seat #4
Councilmember Rutledge, Seat #5
Staff Members Present:
Ms. Clauss, Town Manager
Mr. Gunter, General Manager of Public Works
Mr. Joulani, Director of Planning and Development
Mr. Marks, Chief Building Official
Ms. Trepasso, Administrative Assistant
Ms. Cherbano, Human Resource Technician
Chief Scales, Fire Chief
Mr. Shepard, Town Attorney
Chief Thomas, Police Chief
Ms. Yoon, Planner
4. ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, OR DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: Ms. Clauss asked to remove item 10-A, Ordinance 2010-01, adopting Chapter 1 of the 2007 Florida Building Code and the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code. Mayor Goudie asked Council for any objections – hearing none – item 10-A was removed.
5. PROCLAMATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND AWARDS:
A. Mayor’s State of the Town Address. Mayor Goudie read his State of the Town Address (Attachment 1).
B. Recognition of the 2010 Town Employee of the Year and approval of nomination to the Volusia League of Cities for Employee of the Year. Mayor Goudie presented Building Official Adrian Marks with a plaque for Employee of the Year. Ms. Clauss read Mr. Mark’s accomplishments (Attachment 2). Mayor Goudie asked for a motion to allow for the nomination to be forwarded to the Volusia League of Cities and Florida League of Cities. Councilmember Lewis move to approve submitting to the Volusia League of Cities and Florida League of Cities application for nomination of Adrian Marks for Employee of the Year 2010, seconded by Mayor Goudie. Mayor Goudie opened for comments – hearing none – closed
comments. This motion PASSED 5-0 with the following vote: Councilmember Lewis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr - yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
6. OLD/NEW BUSINESS REQUESTED FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING:
A. Presentation from William Musser, Vice-President of Tetra-Tech, Inc. regarding traffic calming devices on Inlet Harbor Road. Ms. Clauss stated that in accordance with the last Council meeting, Council directed staff to contact a local engineer to perform the study and Mr. Musser is here tonight with this information. Mr. Musser, Vice-President of Tetra-Tech, Inc stated that he was asked to take a look at a traffic calming device for Inlet Harbor Road. This road is not a normal residential road as it has a few homes, with a conservation area on one side and waterfront businesses at the end. He stated the waterfront businesses cause delivery trucks to use the residential portion of the street. This causes the residents
in the area to complain about the speed of visitors and delivery/service vehicles using the road. The speed limit posted on the road is 15 mile per hour which is lower than most residential areas. Staff has recommended use of a traffic table device which is very effective for calming traffic when used correctly. An advantage of the model staff is recommending is that boat trailers can get over the hump. Nevertheless, an inherent disadvantage is slowing down emergency vehicles, which could affect response time. This traffic table is not permanent and can be moved to other areas if needed. The goal of using this type of device is to stop vehicles from using this area as a cut-through to other roads and speeding through areas to get from point A to point B. This is not the case here as the majority of the vehicles actually have a destination to go to at the end of the road. Mr. Musser stated that he has provided a few recommendations on what
the Town was asking for with regards to spacing and what he felt was the most effective device in the letter addressed to the Town (see attached). He said that Council needed to decide what the goal was in the use of this device. Mr. Musser also elaborated on speed bumps and the results dealing with the traffic and the noise issues speed bumps created. Councilmember Davis asked if the Town needed to do a traffic study to put in speed bumps. Attorney Shepard replied that the Town would not have to justify the placement of the device, but stressed the issue is the speed limit. The State of Florida gives the authority to the municipality on setting speed limits. An actual investigation would have to be done on the speed limit and there is no definition language for an investigation on this issue. This would allow staff to do the traffic study with a reasonableness test. Vice-Mayor Derr questioned if a speed hump would keep traffic at 15
mph. Mr. Musser stated yes but a traffic study must show a need to lower it to 15 mph. He continued that this road does not have any conditions that would account for lowering the speed limit lower than the 20 mph limit. Mayor Goudie summarized by stating that if anyone wanted a road to have a speed limit of 20 mph and lower there must be some compelling evidence to justify and defend that speed and thus would involve a traffic study. Councilmember Lewis stated the speed limit of 15 mph is reasonable in a residential area and that the use of speed tables could open the door to other speed limit issues on other roads within the Town. She would like to assist the residents on Inlet Harbor Rd. but sees no justification for spending funds for a speed table. Councilmember Rutledge stated the speed table will not work in this area. Councilmember Davis inquired if the Town had the equipment to do a traffic study. She stated before Council should
consider any device, the Town would have to obtain the data needed for an investigation. Chief Thomas stated that Volusia County would allow the Town to use the needed equipment but was concerned with a challenge to the data without a traffic engineer reviewing the data for legality. He said that a speed table would keep vehicles at 20-25 mph in that area but would not satisfy the 15 mph that is there now. Ms. Clauss asked if Council would like to table this item indefinitely until staff has gathered all data and submitted to them. Then any council member could place this item back on an agenda if the data supports reconsideration of this matter. Councilmember Davis moved to approve tabling the item indefinitely pending further data, seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Mayor Goudie asked for Council comments – hearing none – Mayor Goudie opened public comments. Jay Merola, 111 Inlet Harbor Road resident, spoke
about the speed problem in Ponce Inlet and thanked Council for reviewing the issue with Inlet Harbor Road. He and other residents on Inlet Harbor Road liked the 15 mph speed limit. Mayor Goudie closed public comment. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
B. Discussion of proposed contract for the Town Manager’s Position. Ms. Clauss said that pursuant to Council direction in September, Mayor Goudie has been negotiating with her on a contract for Town manager. Both the Town and her attorney agree that this is a sound contract. Mayor Goudie opened the floor to Council for comment about the contract and the position. Councilmember Lewis stated she needed clarity regarding “Duty and Authority”, part B, page 1, the annual review, and questioned whether Council had the authority to do this review anytime or just on an anniversary date? She believed that evaluation in a public forum does not necessarily result in the objectives that are needed. She liked the idea of evaluating with no set time and not just on the anniversary date. Mayor Goudie stated that once the parameters and goals are set there needs to be a reasonable time given to meet those expectations of the job. The language states when the evaluation is to
be done, usually one year/anniversary date which allows an individual the opportunity to meet certain goals. Councilmember Davis moved to appoint Ms. Clauss as the Town Manager according to the terms of the contract, seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Mayor Goudie asked for any additional Council comments – hearing none – Council comments were closed and he opened for public comment. Gary Comfort, 85 Ocean Way Drive, stated that the Council has made a wise decision and he is in favor of this action. Bud Solano, 67 Beverly Hills Avenue, welcomed Jeaneen as Town manager and stated that this is an excellent choice by Council. Mayor Goudie closed public comments. Councilmember Lewis stated it a pleasure working with Ms. Clauss professionally and appreciates her hard work. Councilmember Rutledge and Mayor Goudie stated Ms. Clauss has their complete confidence. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote:
Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
Mayor Goudie called a five (5) minute recess 7:15 p.m. – reconvened at 7:25 p.m.
C. Ratification of the Volunteer Firefighter’s Pension Fund Board of Trustees appointment of Victor McClellan as their fifth member. Ms. Clauss stated that the Volunteer Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees was established in 2002. It is comprised of five (5) member positions. Two are appointed by the Town Council and two are appointed by the Volunteer Firefighter Association. One position is appointed by the other four members but all must be ratified by the Council. The terms for all positions are two years and Town Council has ratified four positions at this time. The fifth position, Victor McClellan is before Council for consideration. Councilmember Davis moved to ratify the Volunteer
Firefighter’s Pension Fund Board of Trustees appointment of Victor McClellan as their fifth member, seconded by Mayor Goudie. Mayor Goudie asked for Council comments – hearing none – he closed Council comments and opened for public comments – hearing none – he closed public comments. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following votes: Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
D. Report from the Banking Services Selection Committee. Gary Comfort, member of the Banking Services Selection Committee, stated that as directed by Council the Committee and staff prepared and advertised for proposals for banking services. The RFP was developed in accordance with the Town Charter requirement for funds to be FDIC insured at all times, as interpreted by the Town attorney. When they held a proposal conference to answer questions from interested banks, it was clear that the major focus was on the FDIC insurance requirement. The Committee received only three (3) proposals and none of them meet the requirement to have FDIC insurance on all funds at all times. On behalf of the Committee, Mr. Comfort asked Council to reject all three proposals
on that basis. He then stated that the Town has some options. One would be to let staff handle the funds with smaller accounts of less than $250,000 per financial institution, but this is not recommended by the Committee. The other option is the possibility of a change in policy or legal interpretation of the policy which states that all funds must be FDIC insured at all times. Mayor Goudie stated that he read this as the Charter referring to qualified banking institutions which he feels means both State and Federal insured institutions. Councilmember Rutledge asked what other cities are doing. Attorney Shepard stated that no other city/town that he knows of has this type of provision in the Charter. He stated that Council has options and one given is to go with the State Insured Depository. The Town has a Charter that seems impossible to follow under these guidelines and needs to be clarified. At some point, a charter review committee
should look at this. Councilmember Lewis clarified that Council must reject all bids and send out a new RFP. Ms. Clauss stated yes, as it would be unfair and likely in violation of the Town’s purchasing requirements to make such a drastic change to the criteria and not re-advertise, as they believe several more banks would have responded if it were not for that requirement which seems now to be impossible to meet. Councilmember Lewis moved to reject all bids based upon a finding of non-responsive to requirements, and issue a new RFP, seconded by Mayor Goudie. Mayor Goudie asked Ms. Clauss if she had reviewed the bids. Ms. Clauss stated she had reviewed them until the point at which it was determined that none of the bids met the Town requirements for the FDIC insurance. Further review after that seemed moot. Councilmember Davis inquired as to section 6.07 of the Charter which states that the Council shall designate an
insured depository for Town funds and it does not say FDIC. She also asked if the State program is an insured depository. Attorney Shepard stated that the State program does not give funds back, whereas insurance does. Mr. Comfort stated that the State does refund funds with pledge securities from other banks which equal the amount of funds the institution is utilizing. Mayor Goudie asked for public participation. Don Romanic, 4545 South Atlantic Avenue, stated that he did not believe it was the intent of the wording in the Charter to constrict the Council or the Town. He asked that Council look at purchasing bonds or depositing funds in a worthy investment. Bud Solano, 67 Beverly Hills Avenue, stated that unless a court rules that the Town has to place its funds in a FDIC insured institution, Council can state it was acting in good faith. Mayor Goudie closed public participation. Ms. Clauss stated that if Council
rejects these bids the Town funds will remain with SunTrust until the Council selects a bank in this process. Gary Comfort asked for direction on the RFP concerning FDIC insurance. Councilmember Lewis amended her motion to include that the RFP be re- posted with no FDIC requirement, Mayor Goudie seconded the amended motion. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS / QUASI-JUDICIAL MATTERS: None.
8. PUBLIC HEARINGS / NON-QUASI-JUDICIAL MATTERS: None.
9. CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION: Raul Rio, 71 Beach Street, stated that the Mardi Claws dog parade will be held on February 6th, 2010 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and invited everyone. He also asked Mayor Goudie to be King of the Mardi Claws Parade; which he accepted. Mr. Rio also thanked the committee for their hard work.
10. ORDINANCES (FIRST READING) AND RESOLUTIONS:
A. Ordinance 2010-01, adopting Chapter 1 of the 2007 Florida Building Code and the 2009 International Property Maintenance Code. – Council removed this item from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, pursuant to Ms. Clauss’ request.
B. Ordinance 2010-02, adopting the Volusia County MPO traffic impact analysis plan: Local Planning Agency review for compliance with comprehensive plan and Town Council consideration of approval upon first reading. Attorney Shepard read Ordinance 2010-02 by title and confirmed that he had approved for legality and form: AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, PART III LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT CODE (LUDC), ENTITLED “CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING CONCURRENCY,” BY AMENDING SECTION 4.10.1.B, NEWLY ENTITLED “TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY AND REQUIREMENT”, AND DELETING SECTIONS 4.10.1.C, 4.10.1.D, AND 4.10.1.E, AND ADOPTING THE VOLUSIA COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION TRANSPORTATION IMPACT ANALYSIS
METHODOLOGY BY REFERENCE; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS PROVISION; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Clauss stated that this came about from the December 10th, 2010 joint meeting with the Planning Commission and Council. It was during that meeting that Karl Welzenbach, Executive Director with Volusia County MPO, gave a presentation on this item and stated that this will give the Town the opportunity to be at the table for discussions with other entities in regard to traffic issues. Mayor opened for Council comments – hearing none – closed Council comments. Mayor Goudie asked for public comments – hearing none- closed public comment. Ms. Clauss stated Council needs to make a motion using their LPA designation and then a second motion as Council members. Councilmember Lewis moved to find that Ordinance 2010-02 is in compliance
with the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, seconded by Vice-Mayor Derr. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Lewis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, Councilmember Rutledge – yes. Councilmember Lewis moved to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2010-02, seconded by Councilmember Davis. Mayor opened for Council comments – hearing none – closed Council comments. Mayor Goudie asked for public comments – hearing none- closed public comment. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, Mayor Goudie – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – yes.
C. Resolution 2010-01, authorizing certain benefits provided to non-union employees to be extended to union employees (firefighters). Attorney Shepard read Resolution 2010-01 by title and confirmed that he had approved for legality and form: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA AMENDING THE TOWN’S PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS TO AUTHORIZE UNION ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SAFETY DAY AND THE COMPUTER PURCHASE PROGRAM; ELIMINATING THE EXCLUSIVE VENDOR REQUIREMENT WITHIN THE COMPUTER PURCHASE PROGRAM; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ms. Clauss stated that currently the Ponce Inlet Personnel Rules & Regulations do not afford a few of the
Town's benefits to union employees because the Town has been in negotiations. Negotiations have been in excess of five years on & off with no contract to date. She asked that Council consider opening eligibility of these benefits to union employees. These benefits are the annual award of Safety Leave in the amount of eight hours for any employee who does not lose any work time as a result of an on-the-job injury and the Computer Purchase Program, which is a 12 month loan, maximum $1,200 towards a computer purchase. Please see the attached correspondence from the Firefighters Union for which I declined their desire for Council to designate a holiday date for them in lieu of the individual floating holiday. Also, with the initial establishment of the Computer Purchase Program, the Town chose to require purchases be made from the Town's contractual vendor. Ms. Clauss asked that Council consider lifting the exclusive vendor requirement from this
program. Councilmember Davis moved to approve Resolution 2010-01, seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Mayor Goudie asked for any other Council comments – hearing none – closed Council comments and opened public comments – hearing none – closed public comments. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rutledge – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Mayor Goudie – yes.
D. Resolution 2010-02, authorizing staff to apply for a grant to acquire trees for parks and Brazilian pepper tree mitigation. Attorney Shepard read Resolution 2010-02 by title and confirmed that he had approved for legality and form: A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF PONCE INLET, FLORIDA, TO ENTER INTO A GRANT MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES, DIVISION OF FORESTRY. Ms. Clauss stated that at a prior Council meeting staff was directed to take the removal of Brazilian pepper trees to the Parks, Recreation and Tree Board and to ask them look for creative ways to fund their removal. Mr. Joulani found a grant for the project which does not require matching funds. This grant does however require a resolution of approval from Council. Councilmember Lewis moved to approve Resolution 2010-02, seconded by Vice-Mayor Derr. Mayor Goudie asked for public comment. Bud Solano, 65 Beverly Hills Avenue,
asked if the Town really needed the grant and if there were strings attached. Mayor Goudie closed public comments. Councilmember Davis expressed her concern with the Brazilian pepper plants. Ms. Clauss read the part of Mr. Joulani’s memo where it clarifies uses of these funds and stated that a portion of the funds could be used in the Town’s parks. Councilmember Rutledge stated it should be Town policy to refuse stimulus funds and allow only a few exceptions from this policy like for life saving equipment. It was his opinion that stimulus programs are inherently inefficient and promote big government. Roll Call Vote 4-1 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Rutledge - no, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Mayor Goudie – yes.
11. CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Goudie read the consent agenda and asked council if there was anything they would like to remove from this agenda. Councilmember Rutledge asked for item H to be removed from the consent agenda. Hearing no objections Mayor Goudie stated that item H will be item 13-A under New Business.
A. Approval of the Town Council special meeting minutes – December 10, 2009.
B. Approval of Town Council regular meeting minutes – December 17,2009.
C. Approval of payment of December legal bill in the amount of $15,413 – dated January 8, 2010.
D. Approval of nominating the Town for the Florida League of Cities Environmental Stewardship Award.
E. Acknowledgement of Stewardship Report for Ponce Preserve.
F. Acknowledgement of Stewardship Report for Tumucuan Oaks Botanical Garden.
G. Approval of a letter in opposition to the United States Post Office Distribution Center for the plan to relocate their processing center from Bill France Boulevard, Daytona Beach to Lake Mary.
H. Approval of a letter of support for Federal grant funding to assist with storm water issues on Dunlawton, the Town’s primary evacuation route. Removed from Consent agenda and placed under New Business A.
I. Authorization to apply for a State of Florida Emergency Medical Services matching grant to purchase new ventilators, suction units and stair chairs; total anticipated cost would be $12,794 with the grant covering $9,595 and the Town match being $3,199.
Mayor Goudie asked for a motion to approve the items on the amended consent agenda. Councilmember Lewis moved to approve items A-G and I on consent agenda, seconded by Mayor Goudie. Mayor Goudie opened the floor for public participation – seeing none closed public participation. This motion PASSED 5-0 with the following vote: Councilmember Lewis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Rutledge - yes, and Mayor Goudie – yes.
12. OLD BUSINESS:
A. Discussion of sign ordinance contract and authorization for additional funding to complete this project. Attorney Shepard reported that Councilmember Davis asked him to look in the status of the sign ordinance as a special project. He stated that his two primary concerns were the length of time it has taken to complete the work that has been done on this ordinance so far and the cost, which has exceeded the contract. He stated the reason for the length of time was based primarily on comprehensive plan issues which caused delays with getting information to Attorney Morris, and also her legitimate personal issues. Attorney Shepard stressed the need to have a sign ordinance that was properly prepared and could stand up to any litigation.
In his judgment, sign ordinances are extremely popular targets for litigation. He asked Council to revise the fee agreement with Attorney Morris to complete the work “not to exceed” the sum of $12,000 along with establishing a firm deadline for delivery of a finalized ordinance, and for the Town to pay all outstanding invoices. Councilmember Rutledge inquired if the Town’s sign ordinance was improper. Attorney Shepard stated that there are Predatory Law Firms that look for restricted content in a sign ordinance. Councilmember Davis thanked the attorney for his hard work but her concern was that Council signed a contract with a cap of $5,000 that if the contract exceeded that amount then Ms. Morris was suppose to obtain written permission from the town manager. This was never done. Councilmember Davis was concerned that 90% of the ordinance has the same verbiage as the Seminole County ordinance and in the portions that
have not been completed; Attorney Morris is asking for staff to finish those portions. She believes that if staff completes those portions they will have finished the ordinance. Mr. Joulani stated that staff could complete the portions needed. As for it being similar to Seminole County’s ordinance, the Town needs one that is customized for it. He recommended having the attorney finish the ordinance or they chance damaging the constitutionality of it inadvertantly. Councilmember Lewis stated that the ordinance was very cumbersome for our community and asked if staff would be able to interpret the ordinance without needing to ask for legal interpretation regularly. She believed that staff could finish the ordinance with community workshops and Town boards for the input needed. Councilmember Davis stated that the Planning Commission needs to review this ordinance with citizens/business owners input and then send back to Attorney Morris to
review for an expert opinion and legality. Councilmember Rutledge inquired on the litigation risk with the sign ordinance with a Predatory Law Firm. Attorney Shepard reiterated his concern of a law suit in the Federal Courts and cost. Ms. Clauss stated the business community has received the draft of this ordinance and they have until March 1st to submit their comments to the planning department. The Planning Commission will forward the comments to Attorney Morris for her response at a public meeting with citizens and then with Council. She stated it would be hard for the planning department to try to explain the ordinance when they did not create it. Mayor Goudie moved to authorize staff to work with Attorney Morris not to exceed $12,000 total and as businesses submit their comments/input to streamline them to her then bring her here to defend the ordinance that she wrote, seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Mayor asked for
Council comments. Councilmember Rutledge stated his concern with fitting this ordinance to the needs of the business community. Mayor Goudie stated that this ordinance must meet the needs of the community, both business and residential. Councilmember Davis read a memo from Attorney Morris concerning policy decisions that the Town needs to address because Ms. Morris is asking for them from the planning department. Mayor Goudie move to call the question, seconded by Councilmember Lewis. Roll Call Vote 3-2 PASSED with the following vote: Mayor Goudie – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, Councilmember Davis – no, Councilmember Rutledge – no. Next was the vote on the original motion: Roll Call Vote 3-2 PASSED with the following vote: Mayor Goudie – yes, Councilmember Lewis – yes, Councilmember Davis – no, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – no. Councilmember Davis spoke for the record “that Council is asking staff to make policy decision that
only Council can make”.
B . Discussion of Town road paving determination process and approval of piggyback off the County street resurfacing contract in the amount of $43,800 for Alberta, Logger head and Pompano. Mr. Gunter stated that staff recommends that the Town piggyback off the County Resurfacing Contract with P&S Paving for this project as they were lowest bidder. Councilmember Davis stated that she could not get her number to match and needed clarification. Mr. Gunter stated that the $43,800 is the total for resurfacing Alberta, Loggerhead, and Pompano Avenues which includes the pin-striping, milling, and manhole and water value adjustments where necessary. Mr. Gunter stated that the manhole ring adjustments are $175.00 each and there are twelve that will need to be done which is
not reflected in the estimate but noted in the note section. Councilmember Davis stated that is where the discrepancy lies. If you divide $2127 by $175 it will equal 12 manhole ring adjustments. Mayor Goudie asked for a memo that reflects all cost with breakout. Vice-Mayor Derr questioned why there was no milling on Alberta Avenue. Mr. Gunter stated that milling is strictly for a road with curbing and there is no curbing on Alberta Avenue. Vice-Mayor Derr asked if this would fix the structure issue on Alberta Avenue. Mr. Gunter replied that it would and also clarified the asphalt level on the actual quote. Mayor Goudie asked for any more Council comments – hearing none, he closed Council comments and opened public comments. Mr. Meacham, 61 Alberta Avenue, questioned the 1” overlay on Alberta Avenue and inquired if that would be sufficient for this road. Mr. Meacham also asked if the road was going to be level with
removal of the swales and humps along with the heavy crack between Montrose and Riverglen Blvd. Mr. Gunter stated that the crack will reappear within a couple of years that it is inevitable and the resurfacing will go up to Montrose Avenue. Mayor closed public comments. Councilmember Davis moved to approve the resurfacing contract in amount of $43,800.02, seconded by Councilmember Rutledge. Residents in that area will know beforehand when the resurfacing will take place and it should be done within one day. Roll Call Vote 5-0 PASSED with the following vote: Councilmember Lewis – yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Rutledge - yes, and Mayor Goudie – yes.
C. Discussion of the Local Planning Agency designation. Councilmember Davis stated that the reason the Council was designated as the LPA was to expedite matters but they have not revised one section of the LUDC and she felt that the Planning Board should be designated the LPA. Councilmember Lewis agreed that when the new board is created the LPA should go back to the Planning Board. There is currently a draft ordinance that is being prepared by the attorney to combine the Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment into one board called the Planning Board. Another ordinance could be prepared for the Council to designate the new Planning Board as the LPA. Councilmember Rutledge stated that he agreed also that the LPA designation should
return to the Planning Board. Mayor Goudie said that the intent of the Council would be to redirect the LPA back to the Planning Board once the new board is created and asked for a consensus on this issue. The consensus of the Council was to return it back to the newly created Planning Board. Ms. Clauss stated that when the new members are appointed to the Planning Commission they will be trained on the Sunshine Law, Parliamentary Procedure and Quasi-Judicial procedure.
D. Discussion of Brazilian pepper tree removal. Mayor Goudie asked the Council for their support to place $1,000 into the Tree fund for mitigation of the Brazilian pepper trees on public rights-of-way. Councilmember Lewis asked about the Town’s policy on this type of issue. Mayor Goudie stated that the Town is removing these trees on public property and right-of-ways but there have been no funds placed in the budget to mitigate these bare areas after removal. Councilmember Rutledge stated that the Town is applying for a grant that could assist in this area. Mr. Joulani stated that if the Town receives the grant the maximum of the funding is $24,000 with a breakdown of 60% designated for the Town parks and 40% for mitigation. There was no support from Council on this issue.
E. Discussion of Evergreen Compensation and Classification Study. Mayor Goudie stated that in 2008 Evergreen did a compensation study for all staff positions and as a result all positions were adjusted to meet the pay band of other entities. He stated that after reviewing the information he had questions concerning data on certain band ranges for higher positions. He stated that he spoke to Gary Comfort who had experience in statistical analysis and read his synopsis report of the study. Mayor Goudie believes that this issue needs to be revisited and another study done with peer groups more in the range of the external equities. Councilmember Lewis stated that she would support a revisit of the issue as long as funds were not spent. Councilmember Davis agreed that this needs revisiting and stated that she read Mr. Comfort’s report but was not in favor of spending funds. Mayor Goudie opened public comment. Don Romanic, 4545 South Atlantic Avenue, suggested getting with
other entities within the area on what they pay per position and with peer groups similar to the Town’s population for their pay rates. Christine Pierce, 66 Inlet Harbor Road, handed Council a memo and read her concerns (Attachment 3). Mayor Goudie asked Council if they were comfortable with Ms. Clauss undertaking an internal study of their peers for salaries concerning the minimum, midpoint and maximum ranges based on Town size and external entities. Vice-Mayor Derr would like to explore the idea for a committee to review the issue and present to Council. Ms. Clauss stated that her thought would be to start with peer groups that are compatible with the Town size and economy and once Council approves that list, she would attempt to obtain the salary data from each.
Mayor Goudie stated that the time was 10:00 p.m. and needed a motion to continue the meeting for an additional fifteen minutes. Councilmember Lewis moved to approve the additional fifteen minutes needed to finish the meeting, seconded by Councilmember Rutledge. Passed by Consensus.
13. NEW BUSINESS:
A. Approval of a letter of support for Federal grant funding to assist with stormwater issues on Dunlawton Avenue, the Town’s primary evacuation route. Councilmember Rutledge stated that during the heavy rains of May 2009 Dunlawton Avenue was under water. He stated that this is an evacuation route for citizens but they are asked to leave before a weather event gets critical. He implied that this letter was a bad idea and just a way to get stimulus funds. Councilmember Lewis agreed with Councilmember Rutledge but stated Council agreed at a prior meeting to support Port Orange in this endeavor and this is a major evacuation route. Mayor Goudie stated that this is a low lying area and supports Port Orange in this endeavor. Councilmember Davis stated
that she supports this letter. Mayor Goudie moved to approve to send the letter of support, seconded by Councilmember Davis. Mayor Goudie open to public comments – hearing none closed public comments. Roll Call Vote 4-1 PASSED with the following vote: Mayor Goudie – yes, Councilmember Davis – yes, Councilmember Lewis –yes, Vice-Mayor Derr – yes, and Councilmember Rutledge – no.
14. FROM THE TOWN COUNCIL:
A. Councilmember Lewis, Seat #5 – None.
B. Councilmember Davis, Seat #4 – stated she sent her report in by email (Attachment 4).
C. Councilmember Rutledge, Seat #3 – congratulated Ms. Clauss on her new position and thanked Attorney Shepard for his assistance with the contract for Ms. Clauss.
D. Vice-Mayor Derr, Seat #2 – attended an MPO workshop about creating a long range transportation plan and dealing with an increase in the populations within the County, she said it was a very informative workshop. She encouraged residents to go to the MPO website and give feed back to the MPO concerning transportation, population, and other issues.
E. Mayor Goudie, Seat #1 – congratulated Ms. Clauss on her new position.
15. FROM THE TOWN MANAGER. Ms. Clauss stated that she was very honored to be selected for the position of Town manager and Council has her loyalty and dedication to get the work of the Town done. She stated she has provided each Council member with a calendar of events and meetings for the month of February. She was pleased to announce that payroll was now in-house and that land use and development code request for proposals has produced twelve bids. A recommendation will be forthcoming to Council.
16. FROM THE TOWN ATTORNEY. Mr. Shepard stated it has been an absolute pleasure to work with Ms. Clauss and that he felt Council made a very wise decision. He reported on the Watts proposed order and stated it is in the judge’s hands awaiting a decision on eminent domain. In the Prosperity Bank case he needs to speak with all Council Members individually on this matter. Attorney Shepard stated that he has been appointed to the Council of the Community Redevelopment Agency and though that may not provide a direct benefit to the Town, in may assist indirectly through the knowledge he will gain in this role.
17. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Goudie adjourned this meeting at approximately 10:17 p.m., announcing the regular meeting scheduled for February 21, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. and a Goal Setting meeting scheduled for January 30, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeaneen P. Clauss, CMC,
Town Manager/Town Clerk
Prepared by Kim Cherbano, Deputy Clerk
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