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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-07-1995 Regular Meetingr S'? CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING February 7, 1995 A Regular Meeting of the Cape Canaveral City Council was held on February 7, 1995, at the City Hall Annex, 111 Polk Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Mayor Porter. ROLL CALL: Mayor John Porter Present Mayor Pro Tem Rocky Randels Present Councilmember Arthur Berger Present Councilmember Leo Nicholas Present Councilmember Buzz Petsos Present City Manager Bennett Boucher Present City Attorney Kohn Bennett Present City Clerk Faith Miller Present PRESENTATIONS: 1. Presentation to Lt. George McGee in recognition of service to the Sheriff's Department's Cape Canaveral precinct. Mayor Porter and former Mayor Joy Salamone presented Lt. George McGee with a plaque in recognition of his seven (7) years of service to the City's Cape Canaveral precinct of the Sheriff's Department. Mrs. Salamone expressed her appreciation to Lt. McGee for always placing the City first during his years in Cape Canaveral. Lt. McGee stated that he enjoyed working with the City and thanked the City for its appreciation as well. 2. Presentation by Marguerita Engel. Keep Brevard Beautiful. Ms. Marguerita Engel, Keep Brevard Beautiful (KBB), thanked the City on behalf of the KBB Board of Directors, for its public /private partnership with KBB. She stated that the Brevard Correctional Institution had supplied 4,332 hours of labor during the past year to the City for litter reduction and clean -up which equated to a cost avoidance of $27,000. She stated that the Adopt -a -Shore teams had picked up 167 bags of litter along the beaches and shorelines of Cape Canaveral and during the 1994 Trash Bash 161 bags of litter were collected. She announced that the 1995 Trash Bash was scheduled from 9:00 to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, 1995. Mr. Randels stated that he felt it was also an opportunity for the City to thank KBB for all of its worthwhile programs. He also stated that the newest Adopt -a -Shore team was AJT & Associates who had adopted the shoreline from Cherie Down Park to Polk Avenue. 3. Presentation by Dr. David E. Sawyer. Superintendent, School Board of Brevard County re: upcoming bond referendum. Dr. Sawyer stated that the three (3) area school principals were also present along with Mr. Ralph Williams, liaison between the School Board and the City. He explained that the School Board wanted to ensure that every municipality understood the scope of projects included in the r City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 2 School Board's capital improvement plan. He distributed information to Council which summarized the projects included in the plan. He further explained the details of the plan which addressed the needs of the school district throughout the year 2000 which provided for specific investment in current schools but also the requirement to build additional schools in the County where enrollment growth had been substantial. He stated that the plan detailed $376 million dollars of investment through the year 2000 which allowed for construction of five (5) new schools in the southern end of the County and renovations and repairs to 39 existing schools. He stated that the handout also included a listing of all capital projects undertaken during 1990 - 1994 which totaled $160 million dollars in improvements; and $62.7 million dollars in investments during the current fiscal year on school improvements. He stated that the School Board had approved the presentation of a ballot question for a referendum before the citizens of Brevard County asking that the School Board be given the authority to sell $350 million dollars of municipal bonds over the next five (5) years to support all of the projects included in the capital improvements plan. The bonds would be sold as needed to support the project list. The bond referendum was scheduled for May 2, 1995, and the ballot question included the statement that it would be funded with a maximum of a two mil increase in any taxable year to support the investment in the schools. The two mil cap would produce a window of opportunity to repay the investment in 8 -12 years. He stated that the Board's bond counsel and bond underwriters were confident that 12 years was the outer limit to repay the bonds with the two mil increase. It would actually be a 1 mil increase the first year and up to two mils the second year and continuing out to no more than 12 years. Dr. Sawyer stated that the School Board was in the process of initiating a very complete public information campaign to kick off on Monday, February 13, 1995. He stated that the School Board had the obligation to provide for their students the very best educational opportunities possible. Dr. Sawyer answered questions presented by members of Council, the City Manager, and members of the audience. The questions were relative to the following subjects: current School Board bond indebtedness; substantial growth projections; use or non -use of impact fees; historical perspective on how the existing schools came to a state of such disrepair; funding source of prior $230 million spent on capital improvements; alternative contingency plan if bond referendum not approved by the voters; possibility of using bond proceeds to increase teachers' salaries; SAT scores within the County; annual budgeted amount of School Board funds set aside for replacement/maintenance expenses; School Board operations budget; and the issue of State lottery funds that were used for education possibly in lieu of other funds set aside for education expenses. Mrs. Salamone stated that when she had served on Council that Council had heard numerous times how bad the school's infrastructure problems were in the State of Florida. She stated that the schools were in tremendous trouble and needed the support of cities throughout Brevard. She encouraged Council to adopt a resolution in support of the schools. Mayor Porter stated there was a real conflicting message being sent by the citizenry to decrease taxes and then on the other side that it was okay to raise taxes for particular programs. He suggested that a resolution be placed on the next Council workshop meeting for discussion. Council concurred. r City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 3 Mayor Porter introduced Commissioner Ray Sharkey, Canaveral Port Authority, who was also present in the audience. After a ten - minute break, the meeting was reconvened. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 1. Regular City Council Meeting of January 17, 1995. Motion by Mr. Nicholas, seconded by Mr. Randels to approve the minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of January 17, 1995. Mr. Randels stated that a correction was needed on page 3, paragraph 3, where it showed Councilmember Randels as voting twice and did not show Councilmember Petsos' vote on Resolution No. 95 -06. Motion by Mr. Randels, seconded by Mr. Berger to amend page 3 of the minutes to delete Councilmember Randels' second vote substituting Councilmember Petsos' vote. Motion on the amendment carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. Motion on the main motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Motion Re: Acceptance of Annual Audit Report for FY 93/94. Motion by Mr. Randels, seconded by Mr. Petsos to accept the Annual Audit Report for FY 93/94 as presented and explained to Council. Mr. Boucher stated that Council had received a copy of his response to the auditor's management letter which would be sent along with the CAFR report to the Auditor General's office. Mr. Nicholas questioned how prevalent was the matter of the Building Official not signing off on final inspections. Mr. Boucher stated that out of a handful of permits that were tested, there was one exception. Mr. Randels questioned if it would be possible to borrow the transparencies used during the auditor's presentation that he could use during various presentations to area citizens. Mr. Tom Kirk, Hoyman, Dobson & Company, would provide transparencies to the City Clerk's office for use as needed. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 2. Resolution No. 95 -08, Authorizing City to enter into an engineering services agreement with Stottler Stagg & Associates for consulting engineering services. City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 4 Mayor Porter read the title of the Resolution. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA; AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND THE CITY CLERK TO ENTER INTO AN ENGINEERING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH STO'ITLER STAGG & ASSOCIATES, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, PLANNERS, INC., TO PROVIDE CONSULTING ENGINEERING SERVICES TO THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Nicholas, seconded by Mr. Randels to adopt Resolution No. 95 -08. Mr. Randels stated that he had reviewed the changes Council had requested to the agreement. Mayor Porter questioned the one (1) year time frame for the contract and Mr. Kohn Bennett, City Attorney, explained the specifics of the renewal clause and the contract time limit. Mr. Petsos questioned if the 60 days notice for contract renewal included rate increases. Mr. Bennett responded that rate increases must be given at least 90 days prior to contract renewal as per the wording included in Exhibit A to the agreement. Mr. Petsos stated that there was a small correction needed on page 11, Item 13(a) to add the word "year" to the phrase "one (1) period... ". Mayor Porter stated that he hoped the engineers would help the City face some of the fundamental problems it had rather than just reviewing site plans and other basic engineering tasks. Mr. Roy Cowell stated that after 23 years of his association with Stottler Stagg in Cape Canaveral that the day had finally come when the firm could join in and create something that the City and his firm could be proud of and he looked forward to it. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 3. Ordinance No. 01 -95. Repealing Chapter 2, Administration, Section 2 -28., Councilmembers' areas of interest for first reading. Mayor Porter read the title of the Ordinance. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, REPEALING SECTION 2 -28, COUNCILMEMBERS' AREAS OF INTEREST; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Nicholas, seconded by Mr. Petsos to adopt Ordinance No. 01 -95 at first reading. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 4. Ordinance No. 02 -95, Vacating a certain alleyway located within the City, Petitioners - Jim Peeples, Paul & Marcia Freeman, for first reading. Mayor Porter read the title of the Ordinance. City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 5 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, VACATING A CERTAIN ALLEYWAY LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY; PROVIDING A LEGAL DESCRIPTION; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY OF THE CITY TO EXECUTE A DEED; REPEALING ALL PORTIONS OF THE CODE IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; ESTABLISHING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Randels, seconded by Mr. Berger to adopt Ordinance No. 02 -95 at first reading. Mr. Boucher stated that there was a question raised at the last meeting about the water pressure on the line and the Building Official had reported back to Council by memo included in the Council packet. He stated that Mr. Morgan had reported that the relocation of the utilities would not affect the residents in the area and the cost would be borne by the developer's client. Mr. Randels stated that Council's concern was that there was a long range plan of having a loop system entirely around from the north to the south of the system which would maintain the water pressure and water could flow from both ways. Mr. Nicholas stated that the loop system did not allow sediment to build up in the system and also supplied sufficient pressure for use of fire hydrants as needed. Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Randels both expressed that they were not happy with the answers given regarding the loop system. Mr. Ed Fleiss, Agent for the developer, stated that the petition before Council was to vacate the alleyway and within the alleyway was a 2" water line. He stated that their intention was to abandon the 2" line and to replace it with a 6" line that would run within the property from Lincoln to Buchanan Avenues which would have an easement over the 6" water line. He stated that the vacating of the alleyway would not have any affect on the looping of the water line. He stated that the relocation of the 6" water line showed on the site plan. Council asked to see the site plan at the next workshop meeting. Mr. Boucher suggested that Mr. Fleiss obtain something in writing from the Engineering Dept. for the City of Cocoa showing the maintenance and integrity of the system with the new water line. Mr. Fleiss stated that the site plan had been approved by the City's Planning & Zoning Board. He explained that the developer had to provide adequate fire protection for the condominium building so he was working with the Cape Canaveral Fire Department and the City of Cocoa to meet their requirements and part of that would be the dedication of the water line and the provision of an easement for maintenance and operation. Mr. Nicholas stated that he wanted to be assured that the City's interests were protected and Council needed to see the site plans. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 5. Ordinance No. 03 -95. Amending City Code of Ordinances. Section 82 -32, to place a time limit on the validity of building permits. for first reading. Mayor Porter read the title of the Ordinance. r City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 6 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, BY PROVIDING AN ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT TO THE LIST OF AMENDMENTS IN SECTION 82 -32, AMENDMENTS OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO PLACE A TIME LIMIT ON THE VALIDITY OF BUILDING PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Nicholas, seconded by Mr. Randels to adopt Ordinance No. 03 -95 at first reading. Mr. Boucher stated that the Ordinance would place a three (3) year limit on all new construction in all zoning districts and it tied enforcement to the nuisance abatement code through the Code Enforcement Board. It would also allow the developers and individuals to know up front that the City expected their construction project to be completed in no more than three (3) years and the appeal for an extension was to City Council directly. Mr. Nicholas stated that the Ordinance would take care of future concerns and he questioned if the City was doing anything to correct the immediate problems. Mr. Bennett explained that he and the City Manager were working on policy statements to be given to the Building Official. Mayor Porter stated that he did not feel that the Council could more clearly define what it wanted to accomplish. He stated that the majority of the Council wanted unfinished buildings throughout the City cleaned up. He clarified that the Ordinance would limit new construction to three (3) years and the City was going to try and go through the maze of regulations to require the completion of unfinished buildings throughout the community. He stated that it appeared that the weak link was that there were a lot of judgement calls placed on the Building Department. Mr. Boucher stated that there must be due process given to the affected party and that each individual be treated in the same manner. Mayor Porter stated that Council was asking that the procedure start immediately. Mr. Boucher stated that he had been in contact with the Property Appraiser's office and if a building under construction was 90% complete or more it could be placed on the tax rolls as improved property. He stated that the memo from the Building Department which ranked projects in the City by percentage of completion was forwarded to the Property Appraiser's office which would be investigating the matter further. Mr. Randels expressed his concern that three (3) years for construction completion was excessive and he explained his reasons for requiring completion within 12 months. He stated that the City's current ordinances in this respect were not working and the City could not get a handle on the existing problems. Mr. Bennett stated that in case law he had read the judges did not agree with a reasonable time period being 12 months. Mayor Porter stated that if the new Ordinance included reasons for why the City wanted the construction period to be a certain amount of time and it supported the reasons so that the Ordinance was defensible in court, then the developer would understand ahead of time the amount of time he would be allowed to complete a project. Mr. Nicholas stated that one (1) year may be acceptable for individual buildings or small projects, but large scale developments would require longer than 12 months. Mayor Porter stated that it could be taken structure by structure or one phase at a time prior to beginning construction on another phase. City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 7 Mr. Berger commented that he felt three (3) years was adequate to address future problems. He stated that he did not feel that Council was addressing the matter as a friendly City and that there may be problems in the City, but the problems should be addressed in a cooperative manner. He referenced particular projects in the City that had taken over one (1) year to complete, such as Rockwell and Villages of Seaport. Mr. Berger stated that Villages of Seaport pulled a building permit on the entire development as approved by the site plan and in turn would received individual building permits in phases. Mr. Randels stated that the first draft of the ordinance specified time limits in different zonings. Discussion continued relative to the unfinished buildings situation and the proposed Ordinance. Mr. Boucher stated that the policy statement he was working on would be given to the Building Official to address current problems and the policy statement would also be copied to Council. Mr. Randels stated that a City ordinance was in fact the City's policy. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 6. Ordinance No. 04 -95. Amending City Code of Ordinances, Section 70- 29(a). Levied. re: change in the wording for the levying of a public service tax, for first reading. Mayor Porter read the title of the Ordinance. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 70- 29(a), THE LEVYING OF A PUBLIC SERVICE TAX; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Randels, seconded by Mr. Petsos to adopt Ordinance No. 04 -95 at first reading. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 7. Ordinance No. 05 -95, Amending City Code of Ordinances, Section 38- 2(d)(1)(a), Fire Safety Fees, to provide for reduced fire safety fees. for first reading. Mayor Porter read the title of the Ordinance. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 38 -2 (d), FIRE SAFETY FEES, TO PROVIDE FOR REDUCED FIRE SAFETY FEES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion by Mr. Nicholas, seconded by Mr. Berger to adopt Ordinance No. 05 -95 at first reading. Mr. Boucher stated that on page 2, Item no. (d)(3), may need to be changed to reflect the other City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 8 fees that were lowered to $25.00. Mr. Randels stated that he supported the reduction in the fire safety fees and that the fees should be borne by the businesses for the fire inspection services that they were receiving. Mr. Petsos stated that the City was providing the fire inspection services at a much lower rate than fees charged by insurance companies for the same services. Motion carried with members voting as follows: Mayor Porter, For; Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For; Councilmember Berger, For; Councilmember Nicholas, For; Councilmember Petsos, For. 8. City Manager's Report. Mr. Boucher stated that he had received a call from Senator Bob Graham's office today advising that the City had received funding for one (1) police officer under the COPS FAST grant which was administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. He stated that the formal announcement was due out on February 10, 1995. Mr. Boucher stated that he had a meeting with the Small Business Industry Council of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the formation of a Cape Canaveral Business Alliance similar to what they had with the City of Cocoa. He stated that this would allow the City to work together with the business community and the Chamber towards a common goal. He stated that the Chamber approved the Alliance and the Cape Canaveral Association of Businesses was also in favor of the Alliance. Council concurred with the City being included in the Business Alliance. Mr. Boucher stated that the City's Commercial Development Board would act as the City's liaison with the Business Alliance. He felt that the Alliance was a good concept and the Cape Canaveral business community wanted to get involved in projects to help bring more business to the City, improve the quality of the business in Cape Canaveral, and work on the redevelopment of A1A. Mr. Boucher stated that the engineering firm of O'Brien & Geer in conjunction with its 50th anniversary celebration had offered its services to the City for a civic project. He had suggested a project involving the feasibility of a park on Long Point Road and that the firm could research the permitting requirements for Long Point Park and possibly help with the layout and design of the project. Council concurred with Mr. Boucher's suggested project. Mr. Boucher stated that library staff had expressed concern over a statement in the City Goals and Action Plan about evaluating the use of the library meeting room for Council meetings. He stated that Ms. Stewart had placed the project on hold for awhile, but things had been cleared up and the project was proceeding. Mayor Porter stated that the item had read "research the possibility" and he could not believe that the project had been placed on hold based on a possibility of research. Mr. Boucher stated that the legislature last year had provided that municipalities were allowed to recover costs associated with prosecuting code enforcement cases. He stated that he would be working with the City Attorney to develop a policy statement to provide for the cost recovery if Council agreed. The imposition of the costs would be done by the Code Enforcement Board. Council concurred with pursuing the recovery of applicable costs. City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 9 Mr. Boucher related that Council had in the past eliminated the second workshop meeting of the month on a trial basis and he questioned whether or not Council wished to have the workshop meeting on February 16th. He stated that Council may want to have the workshop meeting as scheduled since he would be having a couple of items on the agenda relative to engineering tasks for the Master Plan and the A1A concept. Mayor Porter wanted to keep as an option the elimination of the second workshop meeting of the month if the agenda was light. DISCUSSION: 1. Ms. Miller questioned if Council had any changes to the Volunteer application that was distributed at the workshop meeting. Council did not have any changes. 2. Mr. Berger questioned the status of the re- bidding of Lift Station No. 1 and Mr. Boucher responded that the lift station would be re -bid after the receipt of the wastewater treatment plant bids on March 6, 1995. 3. Mr. Nicholas stated that he had attended the last Code Enforcement Board meeting and he was upset at the City's procedure for towing junk vehicles. He stated that it appeared that the Code Enforcement Officer was reluctant to have cars towed away because he was concerned with the liability that the City may incur. Mr. Nicholas did not recall the City incurring any liability with regard to towing abandoned vehicles and he did not feel that the Code Enforcement Officer should take this enforcement approach. He asked the City Manager to review the matter further. 4. Mr. Petsos stated that Mr. Randels had mentioned a few months ago about $69,000 in funds that were available from the County's Beach Improvement Fund and he questioned whether or not the City had requested any of the funds. Mr. Boucher responded that the City had not requested the funds. He stated that the City had to wait until the sand transfer project was finished to see what the Port would be doing with regard to beach revegetation. He commented that the Port had $50,000 of funds available for planting vegetation on the dunes. Mr. Randels stated that he supported what Mr. Petsos had said because the tourist development funds were available for whatever was needed for beach improvement. Mayor Porter stated that the City should ask for the funds to pay for the additional 20% cost of the lifeguards. Mr. Berger stated that $50,000 would not cover the cost of placing vegetation along the entire Cape Canaveral stretch of beach and that the City should also request TDC funds for plants as well. Mayor Porter stated that the City needed to put some thought into the overall strategy to obtain grant funds. He commented that going after the volunteer programs would also provide the City needed assistance in several areas. 5. Mr. Randels stated that he had attended an all day workshop in St. Augustine, sponsored by St. Johns River Water Management District, relative to land acquisition, floodplain and stormwater management, wetlands, etc. He stated that St. Johns had compiled a xeriscape book which he felt was very informative and the book would be available in the City Manager's 0 r City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Regular Meeting February 7, 1995 Page 10 office. 6. Mr. Randels stated that the bee business on Madison Avenue was back in business and he had given the information to the City Manager to investigate. 7. Mrs. Rigerman stated that the Ad -Hoc Committee for the Architectural Review Board was struggling with philosophy and many items relative to the formation of the Architectural Review Board and she invited Councilmembers to attend their meetings and provide their input. 8. Mr. Nicholas stated that he had approached the United Agencies building owner regarding the possible sale of their property and the owner had indicated that they were not interested in selling the property. He stated that the current owner had paid $300,000 for the building. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:45 P.M. Approved this 21st day of February , 1995. John K. Porter, MAYOR