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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-18-1995 Regular Meeting• CALL TO ORDER: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL ANNEX TUESDAY July 18, 1995 7:00 P.M. MINUTES ROLL CALL:, Art Berger Present Leo Nicholas Present Buzz Petsos Present Mayor Porter Present Mayor Pro Tem Randels Present Others Present: City Manager, Bennett Boucher City Attorney, Kohn Bennett City Clerk, Sandra Sims City Treasurer, Deborah Haggerty Sheriff's Department, Lt. Steve Salvo PRESENTATIONS: Ms. Jackie Coates, Beautification Board Member, presented the June Beautification Awards. Chairperson Fran Singer was present. Mayor Porter made a special presentation to the commercial category winner, Rockwell International. 1995 Summer Beautification Awards •Residential - Spike and Betty Schryer *Multi- Family - Sally Slaiman and Beatrice McNeely •Commercial - Rockwell International (David Ashwell, Bob Tucker and Craig Dixon present) Mayor Porter presented the Volunteer of the Month award to Blaine Burkert, who completed a computer assessment for City Hall. Volunteer of the Month *Blaine Burkert NEW BUSINESS: 1. Upon motion by Mr. Nicholas and seconded by Mr. Berger, the Regular City Council Meeting Minutes of June 29, 1995 were approved with voting was as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels. • 4 City Council Minutes • July 18, 1995 Page 2 • • L 2. Upon motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Berger, the Bray, Beck & Koetter Audit Services Contract was approved with voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels. 3. Upon a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Berger, the Regular Workshop Meetings of 7/27; 8/10, 8/31; 9/14 and 9/28 were canceled as a pilot to consider restructuring workshop meetings with voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, Against; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels. Mr. Nicholas stated that he is against eliminating regular workshops because of the sunshine law precluding discussion among Council Members outside these advertised meetings. He reiterated that discussion among Council is helpful in making decisions. Council consensus was for agenda packets to be delivered on Thursday before each Regular Meeting. 4. Upon a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Petsos, the Commercial Redevelopment Plan submitted by the Commercial Development Board was accepted with voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels. Mr. Nicholas reflected that this board was active years ago and faded out. He also stated that we are fortunate now to have interested people on board and that we should support them to keep the interest alive. Council consensus was to send a letter of commendation to members of the board for their excellent performance preparing the Plan. Mayor Porter announced that there will be a forum next week, July 25, 1995 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Library with the business community to obtain their ideas on how to implement this plan and encourage businesses that will provide more job opportunities. This meeting will be advertised as a Council Workshop in order that Council Members may attend. 5. Upon a motion by Mr. Nicholas and seconded by Mr. Berger, Lloyd's Restaurant request to finance Sewer Impact Fees was approved. The City Attorney is to prepare an agreement providing for a personal guarantee of payment within one year. Voting was 4 -1 as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, Against. Mr. Berger commented that approving this impact fee financing shows good faith and encouragement toward our local businesses. Further, a personal guarantee from the business reflects their good faith. Mr. Petsos queried why there are $50,000 additional impact fees when there are no more fixtures in the facility. City Manager Boucher stated that seating capacity is the criteria used. Mr. Berger and Mr. Petsos opined that the fee structure should be revisited. City Council Minutes • July 18, 1995 Page 3 • • 6. Authorization to expend $210,363.75 of Sewer Expansion Funds for the construction of a dedicated parallel reuse main to the City of Cocoa Beach was approved as follows: Main Motion by Mr. Nicholas and seconded by Mr. Berger and unanimously carried. Voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Amended Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Nicholas stating that approval is given contingent upon execution of an amendment to the recorded document setting forth those matters which are inconsistent. Voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Mr. Nicholas stated that even though he made the main motion, he maintains that his position is that Cocoa Beach should be paying for a lot more of the system than they are because they are getting an awful lot of water for nothing which they will in turn sell to their citizens. However, recognizing that we must proceed, he made the motion. Mr. Nicholas stated that even though he is just expressing an opinion, he wants it reflected in the record. Mayor Porter countered, for the record, that under the circumstances, millions of dollars have been saved by going with Cocoa Beach. Unless there was a very large golf course near by, which there isn't, the best decision has been made for the City. Mr. Berger reminded Council that if we preferred to construct a storage tank large enough, we would not have to send the water to Cocoa Beach and have no problem with surplus. However, if all the reuse lines were installed at this time, it would mean another $8 or $9 would be imposed on top of sewer increases just implemented for October. 7. Upon a motion by Mr. Berger and seconded by Mr. Nicholas, approval was given for the Sheriff's Department, Cape Canaveral Branch to purchase a high speed cassette duplicator in the amount of $1,375 with Law Enforcement Trust Funds. Voting was as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Resolutions 8. Mayor Porter read Resolution No. 95 -24 in full. A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A TENTATIVE PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE FOR THE LEVY OF AD VALOREM TAXES FOR 1995 ON ALL TAXABLE PROPERTY LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. No one from the public had a comment. Following are the approved tentative millage rates for FY 95. 1995 Beautification .4346 Library .0381 Storm Drainage .0000 Fire/Rescue .5000 Police .5000 City Council Minutes • July 18, 1995 Page 4 Upon a motion by Mr. Nicholas and seconded by Mr. Berger, Resolution No. 95 -24, Adopting a Tentative Proposed Millage for FY 1995 was approved with voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Discussion ensued regarding placing a notice next to the required TRIM advertisement, explaining that the Fire/Rescue millage increase was imposed by the voters in the November 1994 referendum. This item will be considered at that time. 9. Mayor Porter read Resolution No. 95 -25 in full. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA; ESTABLISHING A REVISED SCHEDULE OF ALARM SYSTEM FEES FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, SERVICE AREA; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. No one from the public had a comment. Upon a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Petsos, Resolution No. 95 -25, Establishing a revised schedule of Alarm System Fees for Emergency Services was adopted with voting as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Mr. Randels stated that this is an example of reconsidering matters when conditions change and of lowering fees as it becomes appropriate. The fee for police false alarms was reduced from $125 to $25. Ordinances - First Reading 10. Mayor Porter read Ordinance No. 15 -95 in full. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING ARTICLE II, ALARM SYSTEMS, DIVISION 2, PERMIT, SECTION 30-48, TERM_; FEE: TRANSFERABILITY, OF THE CODES OF CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORID; AMENDING THE TERM REQUIREMENTS OF AN ALARM PERMIT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. No one from the public had a comment. Upon a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Petsos, Ordinance No. 15 -95, Amending the term requirements of an alarm permit was approved for second reading. Voting was as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. This proposed ordinance eliminates permit renewals for single family units. 1111 11. Mayor Porter read Ordinance No. 14 -95 by title. • • • City Council Minutes July 18, 1995 Page 5 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, BY ESTABLISHING ARTICLE III, VESSEL CONTROL AND WATER SAFETY; BY ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE OPERATION OF BOATS AND PERSONAL WATERCRAFT WITHIN THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. No one from the public had a comment. Mr. Petsos stated that it concerns him to have laws on the books with no way of enforcement. Further, there are already laws covering careless and reckless boating. Mr. Nicholas expressed concern that officers may be called off the road to deal with the beach offenders. Lt. Salvo stated that every issue in the ordinance is already codified, except for the two hundred foot offshore limit. He agree with Mr. Petsos that it will be extremely difficult to enforce. Main Motion: Upon a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Randels and seconded by Mr. Berger, Ordinance No. 14 -95, Regulating Watercraft was approved for second reading. Voting was 3 -2, as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, Against; Mr. Petsos, Against; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. Amendment to the Motion: Upon a motion by Mr. Berger and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Randels, an amendment was approved to change "All waters within two hundred feet (200') offshore..." in Sec. 54 -36 to All waters within three hundred (300') offshore..." Voting was as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, Against; Mr. Petsos, Against; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. This amendment provides an easier eye measure for enforcement and a greater safety distance from swimmers and surfers. City Manager Boucher stated that it is possible to erect signs at the dune crossovers warning personal watercrafter users that they can be prosecuted for reckless driving of a personal watercraft or motor boats. Lt. Salvo will research further before second reading of the ordinance. 12. Mayor Porter read Ordinance No. 10 -95 by title. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 34, ENVIRONMENT, ARTICLE IV, WEEDS AND DEAD VEGETATION, BY AMENDING SECTIONS 34-121, INTENT, 34 -122, PUBLIC NUISANCES PROHIBITED, 34 -124, HEARING, 34 -125, APPEAL, AND 34 -126, REMEDY BY THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. No one from the public had a comment. Mr. Berger queried, do we need a more definitive description of vegetation so it can not be misinterpreted? City Manager Boucher stated that the tree ordinance essentially protects the intended vegetation. City Council Minutes • July 18, 1995.. Page 6 • • Upon a motion by Mr. Nicholas and seconded by Mr. Petsos, Ordinance No. 10 -95, Amending Section 34, Weeds and Dead Vegetation was approved for second reading. Voting was as follows: Mr. Berger, For; Mr. Nicholas, For; Mr. Petsos, For; Mayor Porter, For; and Mayor Pro Tem Randels, For. 13. City Manager's Report. • Sheriffs Department - Dispatching Fees Mr. Boucher stated that Mr. Duffey faxed a budget request with the $85,000 dispatching fees as a line item. He apparently did not understand that the Council expects the dispatching fees to be inclusive of the police service contract. Mayor Porter explained for Lt. Salvo that this has nothing to do with day to day operations, The city is very satisfied with the service provided by the department. Mr. Boucher is negotiating further with the County Administrator who is understanding Cape Canaveral's point of view. • P2000 Grant Mr. Boucher reported that he and CRA Consultants reviewed all the data concerning the 10 acres at the wastewater treatment plant. The paperwork from the wetlands study came to good use for this project. Another county received funding last year for a manatee protection park, so they are able to use there documentation. • Library Construction Mr. Boucher reported that the library bid document is being stalled because the county has required that the mechanical drawings be redrawn. Perhaps the bid for construction will be let next month. • Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Groundbreaking Mr. Boucher reported that groundbreaking for the treatment plant expansion was last week. • MPO Meeting Mr. Boucher reported that he is meeting with the MPO tomorrow, July 19, 1995, to discuss their preliminary list of request submitted by the cities. They had on their list: pedestrian signals by A1A and Central Boulevard; replacing one at Buchanan; the intersection improvements on Columbia Drive; and the street light booms. The utilities moved to one side of the road was not on the list. There were other requests for additional lighting along state roads, we might consider. Mr. Nicholas left at this time (8:50 p.m.). • Mr. Boucher stated that he spoke with Hartman & Associates who have contracted with the port for a preliminary engineering report to construct their own wastewater treatment plant. They will try to finish the QBEL study that will allow them to dump water into the port basin. The port wants to be able to negotiate with the City if their plans do not come to fruition. Apparently, they have not considered the cost impact to their 200 customers. Mayor Pro Tem Randels Report • Mr. Randels reported that he will be meeting with Commissioner Higgs on Monday, July 24, 1995 to discuss county ordinances that affect the City. The City of Malabar is currently in litigation with the county due to the county revoking impact fees. He queried if we are in the same position. a • City Council Minutes July 18, 1995 Page 7 Mr. Boucher responded that we have interlocal agreements with the county for road and jail impact fees. The impact fees they collected in our district includes part of Merritt Island. We do have a vote on how the money gets spent. Fortunately, he said, the money collected in our area will be coming back to Cape Canaveral. There is over $90,000 which, through interlocal agreement, will provide for bike path construction on the east side Atlantic Avenue. City Attorney, Kohn Bennett, commented that the issue is that most of these interlocal agreements provide for revenue sharing and that the county will not change or otherwise affect those impact fees without giving the municipalities an opportunity for input. They did not do that. They just started cutting impact fees. That is why the City of Malabar says that is a breach of contract. Being a small community, they relied heavily on some of these revenue sharings and therefore, considering filing an action against the county. So, the question is, "how does it affect us ?" Mr. Boucher stated that there is no guarantee that those impact fees are going to make their way back here. However, we are in a position to bargain for those revenues due the city. He further retorted that we can either spend time and effort fighting the county or do a study and pass our own road impact fee. • Consensus was to place this issue on the next agenda. • The TDC grant period for the Beach Improvement Committee is coming up. Mr. Randels has a committee meeting on August 1. He related that they have sent letters to each City Manager what amount of effort does their cities use in cleaning the beaches. The committee is planning to subsidize those efforts. Mr. Boucher has responded and other cities have said they do absolutely nothing. He urged the city to itemize every effort spent on cleaning the beaches because there will be some reimbursement for those endeavors. Mr. Boucher requested suggestions for projects that will coincide with Mr. Randels' announcement. Suggestions were made to replace the trash receptacles and the labor for emptying the cans. • Mr. Randels distributed a Xeriscape Plant Guide, published by the South Florida Water Management District. He also attended a water conservation workshop which demonstrated 50 ways to save water. • • • City Council Minutes July 18, 1995 Page 8 Mr. Petsos • Mr. Petsos queried about the progress status of the Pindziak agreement for his properties. Mr. Boucher responded that he told the Building Official this morning that his quarterly report was due for June 30 and that he expects that progress report to be included, outlining what he has done to get some of these old, outstanding permits finally closed and up to speed. He should itemize some these ongoing projects and spell out what he has done in an attempt to get some of these things finalized. • Mr. Petsos queried about the status of the North Atlantic bikeway. Mr. Boucher responded that they striped the white lines on both sides of the road, but haven't done anything more. He will check into the matter further. • Mr. Petsos reminded Council that Mr. Randels had brought up the topic of Waiver or Enhancements for bringing in new businesses. He queried about the status of that action. Mr. Boucher reported that he contacted Titusville regarding waiving their impact fees. He stated that Titusville waived fees only for redevelopment, not for new businesses. A tax abatement program will require a referendum. Because we have the lowest taxes in the county, it will difficult to justify making them lower without sacrificing city services. Mayor Porter stated that the beautification projects and available funds, compounded by grants will provide encouragement from another standpoint. We do not have a lot to give away and eliminating impact fees may jeopardize future growth. Mr. Berger commented that the city could consider doing a promotion for one year of cutting permit fees for any restoration, not new construction for both businesses and residences. Even though permit fees do not factor in stopping or starting construction, it can be a catalyst to get people thinking. Mr. Boucher stated that he will research the impact of cutting permit fees on the budget. Mayor Porter reminded everyone to attend the Commercial Development Board Meeting to promote the idea. Mayor Porter • Mayor Porter reported that he would like to schedule a meeting on Tuesday, August 8, 1995 to discuss options for a neighborhood park west of A1A at Columbia and Longpoint. This meeting would be a community forum and advertised as a public meeting. AUDIENCE TO BE HEARD: There was no comment from the audience. City Council Minutes • July 18, 1995 Page 9 ADJOURNMENT: 9:20 p.m. Attest: At.A4 Cf• cam, Sandra Sims CMC CITY CLERK • ohn K. Porter, MAYOR