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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWeekly Update - 03-11-16 Weekly Update Week Ending March 11, 2016 Cape Canaveral VISION Statement Administrative Services Community Development Economic Development Culture & Leisure Services Public Works Services Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Canaveral Fire Rescue – No Report CAPE CANAVERAL VISION STATEMENT WE ENVISION: A bike-able and walk-able Cape Canaveral that retains and enhances its residential feel, characterized by low-rise buildings not more than 4 stories in height. This residential and business friendly atmosphere is one of a live-able, attractive, safe, secure and sustainable coastal community that embraces the beach and riverside as the main amenities, and supports local culture and education. WE ENVISION: A1A as a “complete street” with a native-landscaped and tree-lined median with traffic calming elements and dark-sky street lighting. “Complete street” amenities include bicycle facilities, covered transit stops, and safe pedestrian crossings that invite pedestrians and bicyclists to access the beach, river, local neighborhoods and adjacent communities. Our improved “complete streets” will allow us to calmly travel to intimate waterfront destinations and a walk- able downtown core. Multi-use paths lined with shade trees should be wide enough for bikes and pedestrians and lighted so anyone can walk or bicycle safely anywhere in town, day or night. WE ENVISION: Welcoming community entrance features that create a sense of arrival and unique community identity. The “downtown” will contain an architecturally rich and unique mix of uses, with wide tree shaded sidewalks and umbrella covered café tables at restaurants and bistros where friends gather, interact, and enjoy drinks and dinner. WE ENVISION: A community that; removes or transforms blighted and unfinished buildings into attractive structures, offers city-wide green spaces, provides a pet-friendly park with ample shade, and actively recruits and supports businesses that enhance economic viability and serve our residents and visitors. WE ENVISION: Open shorelines and rivers accessible to the public including amenities that take advantage of the water, such as limited and quaint water-view establishments and intimate public gathering and entertainment places that may include pavilions, gazebos, or a performance stage. Administrative Services Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 The City Manager’s Office is responsible for the day to day administration of all City departments in accordance with City Council’s established policies/direction, local ordinances, resolutions and State/Federal laws/rules and regulations. Telephone conferences, meetings with citizens, documents prepared/reviewed/approved and meetings/conferences held are numerous and may not be included in the Weekly Updates. Highlights: • Met with Department Directors regarding various projects/issues/initiatives. • Participated in all day Strategic Planning session with Consultant and Department Directors. • Executive Assistant provided CCO lunchtime counter coverage. • Executive Assistant provided assistance to City Council Members and select Department Directors. City Clerk’s Office Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted various telephone/walk-in requests from the Public/Staff and provided assistance to City Council. Highlights: • Records Management - continued preparation/review of records for future disposition; continued preparation of records for offsite scanning; 1 cubic foot (1 box) of records sent for offsite scanning; updated Master Schedule of Contracts access instructions in Laserfiche. • Council Meeting – continued preparing for 03-22-2016 Regular Meeting. • Attended Strategic Planning Meeting with Consultant, Department Directors and City Manager. • Met with Economic Development and Leisure Services Directors and Graphic Design Contractor regarding City website. • Along with HR Director, interviewed candidate for Deputy City Clerk position. • Met with Executive Assistant to the City Manager regarding assignment of duties in her absence. • Continued planning/recruitment for 2016 Relay for Life of Central Brevard Beaches Team Sun, Space & Sea; Event is Saturday, April 16th at 3pm and runs to 6am the next morning. If you are interested in participating in any way, please go to www.relayforlife.org and search for Central Brevard Beaches or call the City Clerk’s Office at 868-1220 x221; as of this week, there are 9 Teams/70 Participants that have raised $10,341.92. Financial Services Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted various telephone/walk-in requests from the Public. Highlights: • Attended Key Staff Strategic Planning Session to discuss Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for the City. Human Resources/Risk Management Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities. Highlights: • Participated in Directors’ Strategic Planning Workshop conducted by Dr. Tom Freijo with the objective of conducting analysis of organizational roles and their effectiveness in achieving sustainability as well as Vision/Mission Goals. • Completed Workers’ Compensation Employee Audit and identifed a variety of code adjustments which will result in an annual insurance premium savings of $8,885.00. • Successfully resolved two long standing Workers’ Compensation cases resulting in a significant reduction in the City’s risk ratio. This is significant in that risk ratios are used to determine future WC insurance premiums. HR is diligently working towards “raising the bar” on Safety awareness in order to prevent workplace injuries as well as achieve greater operational efficiencies. • Coordinated Confined Spaces training for PWS employees • Administered Personal Services Contract for Community Development. With credentials in Urban Planning, the City is confident that services provider will economically enable Staff to focus on projects critical to the Mission/Vision of the City. • Responded to State request for Emergency Management Generator information pursuant to Chapter 252 and Chapter 2006-71, Laws of Florida. • Administered/participated in second series of the ICMA Leadership workshop focusing on time management and importance of understanding the Budgeting process. • With two new cases in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida is now reporting 50 imported cases of Zika virus infection, four of which are among pregnant women. With dry conditions during the month of February and into the first week of March, City employees and residents are advised to remain vigilant and not underestimate the risks as we enter the warm and rainy season of spring and summer. • Screened and interviewed candidates for a part time Wastewater Plant Operator and Deputy City Clerk vacancies. HR continues to seek the qualified candidates who contribute to the diversity, sustainability and added skills to the talent pool. • Met with representatives from Brombacher Insurance, Inc. to discuss strategies pertaining to United Healthcare and Health First Physicians Group annual contract negotiations. The two parties are currently at an impasse in the process. Staff has been advised of the negative ramifications should parties fail to reach agreement by April 1, 2016. HR is providing assistance to employees in contacting participating doctors’ offices in order to inform said providers of the negative economic impact should members transfer to in-network providers. In-network services provided by Health First Hospitals are not impacted by this current contract impasse. Community Development Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted various telephone/walk-in requests from the public, including performing plan reviews, processing permits, conducting inspections, performing site visits, issuing Notices and conducting research. • The Building Division conducted 38 inspections, processed 26 building permits and 13 BTR, fire and alarm permit applications; 18 new building permits were issued. • Processed 1 new contractors’ information packet (Contractor Lic., Liability Insurance and W/C Insurance) allowing them to pull permits in Cape Canaveral. • Responded to 7 emails, faxes and calls requesting permit information from realtors and home inspectors. • Received 2 new BTR applications. • Verified/scanned 1,624 pages of Department documents. • Closed 18 expired building permits. • Scanned 17 pages of Certificates of Insurance (Contractor Verification). • Code Enforcement performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted with various requests from the Public and provided office coverage throughout the week. Highlights: • Issued three (3) notices of violation. • Received four (4) new requests for Code Enforcement. • Received one (1) tree removal application for residential property. • Conducted one (1) tree inspection. • Conducted ten (10) site inspections for potential Code Enforcement cases, expired permits and compliance inspections. • Responded to three (3) lien information requests. • Continued to scan elevation certificates/tree removal applications/support documents into Laserfiche. • Responded to two (2) business owners with questions regarding non-conforming ground signs and requirement to bring these types of signs into compliance by September 2016. • Scanned/verified 362 pages of documents and prepared one box for destruction. • Prepared Staff recommendation for a 12 month extension to the Casa Canaveral Assisted Living Facility Site Plan Approval. Recommendation will be forwarded to City Manager for consideration. • Met with property owners regarding possible addition to existing structure at 510 Harrison Avenue. • Prepared correspondence for Traffic Engineering firm outlining City Code criteria for the preparation of a traffic study related to redevelopment of the Spaceport Amoco property. • Prepared Community Redevelopment Agency Annual Report for FY 2014/15, which will be forwarded to appropriate agencies to include Brevard County. • In conjunction with Public Works Services, met with City Manager to discuss initial steps of possible Community Redevelopment Agency improvements to Oak Lane. • Participated in Staff analysis of Internal Strengths and Weaknesses of the City in anticipation of the City Council Strategic Planning retreat. The meeting was facilitated by Dr. Tom Freijo who will also facilitate the Council retreat in April. Economic Development Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 Performed day to day duties/responsibilities, conducted various meetings with business stakeholders, potential investors, citizens, realtors and Staff. Performed site visits and conducted research as necessary. • Strategic Planning Initiative. City Manager and Directors met collectively with Facilitator to participate in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analyses and roles in conducting an organizational analysis. In the next step, the Facilitator will meet one-on-one with each City Councilmember to review the basics of the Strategic Planning Process and engage each Councilmember in a discussion of what he/she views as the 4-5 most important goals for the City in the coming fiscal year. Lastly, the City Council and Staff will attend a Strategic Planning Retreat with the Facilitator. • Met with City Manager and Staff to discuss issues associated with residential construction on Oak Ln. • Branding, Outreach, Marketing and Social Media activities: o GovOffice has finished website clean-up. City Staff is finalizing content, updating images and adding new features. o Created North Atlantic Avenue Streetscape Project page on the website to house project updates and FAQs. o Staff met to discuss the use/inclusion of Google Calendars on the new City site. o Created a Hootsuite account to monitor the City Social Media campaigns on one portal. o Discussed the Community Garden options with local 4-H representative. o Instagram followers are up to 102 with 5 new posts. o Facebook page likes are up to 2,727. o Twitter followers are up to 159 with 49 likes. o Continued Founders Day poster and collateral work. • Economic Snapshot by the numbers (Source: EDC) 3.3% Increase in January 2016 airport passengers compared with January 2015, reaching 34,613 passengers. 4.7% Brevard's January 2016 revenue per available room increased 4.7% year- over-year, reaching $59.86 for the month. $164,038 January single family home median sales price, up 17.2% from a year ago and down 0.6% from December 2015. $138,000 January condominium median sales price, up 19.0% from a year ago and up 3.8% from December 2015. • City Hall Status: o City Council awarded construction bid to Doug Wilson Enterprises, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $4,300,000. o Staff and contractor are coordinating negotiated Value Engineering elements with Design Firm, GLE. o City Attorney’s Office is preparing Construction Agreement with a Guaranteed Maximum Price provision. Once complete, a pre-construction meeting will be coordinated. o Contractor is prepared to start by March 31st. o FPL has begun work to remove pole located on the site. o Staff is coordinating a Temporary Parking License Agreement with the vacant neighboring commercial building at 160 Polk Ave. This will be used for employee parking during construction. o FL Today published the attached article. Cape Canaveral to get new city hall R. Norman Moody, FLORIDA TODAY 6:05 p.m. EST March 7, 2016 After more than a decade of planning, Cape Canaveral unveils plans for its new city hall. Artist rendition of the new city hall building. Construction is expected to start at the end of the month (Photo: Provided by City of Cape Canaveral) CAPE CANAVERAL For more than 10 years, Cape Canaveral officials talked about what to do about the cramped space in their small city hall building. Finally, around the end of this month work will start on the construction of a new city hall building that will bring city hall staff and files stored elsewhere into one building that will be more than five times the size of the existing structure. "It's so exciting," said Todd Morley, the city's director of economic development. "The contractor says he's confident he could have us in by April 2017." The two-story Mediterranean Revival style structure will be built near the existing city hall, where a closed off block of Polk Avenue will help make way for a public plaza at the new city government complex. "We've been talking about a city hall for a long time," Mayor Bob Hoog said. "We put it off for a while to put the finance together. It's something that's been needed for a long time." Before they were moved out to a nearby building, seven employees shared 730 square feet in the building department. Files are stored elsewhere because the current city hall, with a total of 3,140 square feet, just did not offer the space. Even with the changes made over the years, the current building remains cramped. City Council meetings are held in the nearby public library. Cape Canaveral City Hall (Photo: R. Norman Moody / FLORIDA TODAY) The new $4.3 million, 18,517-square-foot city hall building will sit on a 1.74-acre property that encompasses a lot next to the current city hall and space from the closing of Polk Avenue. The city bought a property next door and last year tore down a building there to help make way for the new city hall and plaza. City leaders want to create more than a city hall. They want it to be a town center of sorts. The plaza outside the city hall will include benches, bicycle racks and paving brick. A knee-high wall around the plaza will have indirect lighting built in. It will even be equipped with a charging station for electric cars. "We want to have not only a community focal point but a community gathering place," Morley said. City leaders know that they want to keep the old building to be used for the community, though it will need some remodeling and a decision made on exactly how is will be used. "The jury is still out on that building," Morley said. "It's going to be a community center of some sort." Hoog said that while it was a long wait, the city will get what it needed, employees will have better work space, the council will have its own chambers and offices now elsewhere will be consolidated into the one building. "It's been a long time waiting to see this," he said. "It was a lot of effort on everybody's part." Contact Moody at 321-242-3651 or nmoody@floridatoday.com Follow him on Twitter @RNormanMoody or on Facebook at facebook.com/norman.moody.79 Culture and Leisure Services Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted various telephone/walk-in requests from the public. Director Meetings • City Manager – Strategic Planning Session • Space Coast Little League Opening Ceremony • Administrative/Financial Services Director • City Engineer/Dock Builder • Cocoa Beach High Student – Take Stock in Children Mentoring Program • Economic Development Director – City Website Athletic Leagues Monday night advanced tennis has one player running away with the league at a stellar 7-0 record with only a few more weeks left in the season. Monday night kickball continues to have a great start and completed the third week of the season. Wednesday night intermediate tennis began the first round of playoffs. Wednesday night kickball played make up games and will move into playoffs next week. Wednesday night advanced racquetball started playoffs this week; everyone will be chasing down last season’s champion who remains at the top. Thursday night softball has 7 teams having fun and enjoying the competitive season so far. Thursday night intermediate tennis has the first place player with only one loss this season; it will be an interesting couple of weeks to see who will finish the season on top! Summer Camp - Registration has begun! If you’re looking for a safe, fun summer experience for your elementary aged children, we invite you to join the fun. Registration is limited to 25 campers per week and only payment secures your spot. Community Historical Preservation – Cultural Programs Manager and Staff Historian, Molly Thomas, has begun Phase II of her Canaveral Cemetery Recording Project, an independent preservation project conducted as part of Florida Public Archaeology Network’s larger endeavor “Florida Historic Cemetery Recording Project.” Volunteering her services on days off, Mrs. Thomas has obtained clearance to visit Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the purpose of updating State files relating to historical cemeteries located on base property. Many of the individuals interred in these cemeteries were part of Cape Canaveral’s first settler families. The plaque shown below is displayed at the entrance to the Cape Canaveral Community Cemetery. This memorial was erected as part of an Eagle Scout project in 2006 and was made using bricks from the original lighthouse. Public Works Services Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 Staff performed day to day duties/responsibilities and assisted various telephone/walk-in requests from the public. Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)/Sanitary Sewer System • Lift Station Nos. 6 and 7 Improvements Project. Installation of all components and emergency generator at Lift Station No. 6 located on Imperial Blvd. completed. Installation of most components at Lift Station No. 7 located in Manatee Sanctuary Park completed; waiting on pole transformers to be relocated to concrete pad within the Park. Easement Agreement signed with FPL; system start-up is scheduled for late-March or early-April. Several revisions were made to the proposed site plan to accommodate residents in the neighborhood (e.g.; elimination of fence, planting of additional trees, etc.). • Sludge Belt Press Addition and New Reclaimed Water Tank. Construction of new reclaimed water tank complete; new tank is on-line. Currently performing clean-up of work area and expansion of stormwater ponds. Work continues on expansion/rehab of the belt press building. Operational check-out of the new belt press completed week of February 22; rehab of older belt press initiated on February 29. Initial results indicate the new belt press uses only ½ the amount of polymer as the older belt press. Project includes two of the wastewater-related projects performed with funds from the City’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan. New reclaimed water tank with reshaped stormwater pond – looking northeast. • Holman Road Sanitary Sewer Line Installation – Phase I. This sewer replacement project was initiated in mid-January. Contractor installed all new sewer pipe; permanent lateral connections made at 12 locations. Bypass pump and piping removed from site; TV monitoring and pressure testing of new sewer pipe completed. Currently installing small lift station at end of roadway for 399 Holman Road; pedestrians/vehicular traffic should avoid construction area if possible. This is one of the wastewater-related projects performed with funds from the City’s SRF loan. Stormwater • Annual Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Report. Staff submitted Annual TMDL Report and other documentation to Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). Report includes summary of completed stormwater improvement projects and planned projects to meet pollutant reduction goals. FDEP conducted site visit at PWS on March 3; Staff will continue to work with FDEP to complete projects which help the City to reach pollutant loading reduction goals in stormwater. Infrastructure Maintenance (IM) • North Atlantic Avenue Streetscape Project. Field work initiated week of February 1. Staging area established and equipment/supplies being transported to site. Contractor “potholing” to accurately locate underground utilities in the right-of-way; silt fencing installed. New reclaimed water and stormwater piping being installed in the vicinity of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe Avenues. Maintenance of traffic (MOT) includes the closure of one lane on North Atlantic Avenue during working hours; flagmen will be utilized to direct traffic. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe Avenues may be closed at the intersections with North Atlantic Avenue during working hours. All roads will be open after working hours. Second project update letter to be forwarded to area residents and businesses. Estimated time of construction is eight months. NOTE: All businesses in the North Atlantic Avenue corridor will remain open during the streetscape construction activities. • Shoreline Restoration Grant. Staff is working with the City Engineer in preparing an EPA 319(h) grant for the armoring of the shoreline at Manatee Sanctuary and Banana River Parks. Shoreline erosion continues to impact the parks, and may eventually impact the boardwalk at Manatee Sanctuary Park. The grant application is due March 31, 2016. • Beach Crossover Refurbishment. Refurbishment of Monroe Avenue beach crossover is complete; refurbishment of the Adams Avenue beach crossover will be initiated on March 14. This crossover will be closed to the public during the construction activities. Refurbishment of the Monroe Avenue beach crossover – looking west. Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Cape Canaveral Precinct Update for Week Ending March 11, 2016 Patrol Division Weekly Statistics March 3 thru March 9, 2016 Type Weekly Total Case Reports Written 25 Case Reports Closed 18 Arrests Made 12 Front Desk Weekly Statistics March 3 thru March 9, 2016 Type Weekly Total Phone Calls Answered 55 Walk-ups Assisted 23 Fingerprint Cards Completed 3 Notary Assistance for Citizens 1 Citizen On Patrol Weekly Statistics March 3 thru March 9, 2016 Type Weekly Total Patrol Hours Completed 11 Special Detail & Meeting Hours 6 Training & Office Hours 13 Miles Driven 148 Total Volunteer Hours 30