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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 12-01-1994 WorkshopCITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING December 1, 1994 A Workshop Meeting of the Cape Canaveral City Council was held on December 1, 1994, at the City Hall Annex, 111 Polk Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 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 Interim City Attorney William Potter Present City Clerk Faith Miller Present BUSINESS: 1. Interview of prospective Boardmembers. Mr. William Potter, Interim City Attorney, directed several questions to three (3) prospective Boardmembers (Dr. John Fredrickson, Roseann Gallagher, Bob Gorham) regarding their past experiences and interest in serving as City Boardmembers. After Council discussion, it was decided to place on the agenda for Tuesday night's meeting four (4) Resolutions for appointments to the following Boards: Board of Adjustment - Joan Calvert, Marilyn Rigerman; Library Board - Roseann Gallagher; Planning & Zoning Board - Lamar Russell, Dr. John Fredrickson (Buzz Petsos was appointed to Council, thus having to resign his position on the Planning & Zoning Board); and Recreation Board - Bob Gorham. 2. Presentation by Warren A. Wright Chief. Environmental Public Affairs, Department of the Air Force, re: Restoration Advisory Board (December 6. 1994). Agenda this item for Tuesday. 3. Discussion Re: Filling of vacant Councilmember position. Mayor Porter stated that there were two (2) applicants for the Councilmember position: Helen Filkins and Buzz Petsos. Mrs. Filkins explained that she had been involved in the City in various aspects since 1972 and that she had served as President of the Cape Canaveral Citizens Association also since 1972. She spoke in reference to the City's future challenges on the issue of tourism and she favored keeping commercialization from the City's beaches. She expressed her desire to serve as a member of the City Council. Mrs. Filkins spoke regarding the City's history and the applicability of the Jennings and Snyder lawsuits to the City. She also stated that she was the Vice Chairman of the Citizens Action Committee in Cocoa Beach. • • City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Workshop Meeting December 1, 1994 Page 2 Mr. Petsos stated that he also appreciated Mrs. Filkins' concerns regarding the recent lawsuits (Snyder, Jennings, etc.) relative to the limitations placed on elected officials in dealing with developers or individuals coming before the City's Boards on issues relative to zoning and development matters. He stated that HB 77 and SB 2585 had been presented to the legislature in the past year and hopefully within the next year legislation would pass that would allow city officials to speak to their constituents again on the aforementioned issues. Mr. Petsos stated that he hoped to utilize his past knowledge and fresh outlook to benefit the City. He spoke briefly regarding environmental concerns (beach erosion) and the need for police and citizens to work together to benefit the community as a whole. Mayor Porter stated that the Council had two (2) very qualified people interested in filling the Council vacancy. Agenda this item for Tuesday. 4. Discussion Re: Negotiations with top - ranked firm for the position of City Attorney. Mayor Porter stated that the firm of Amari, Theriac & Eisenmenger was selected as the top ranked firm. He stated that there were two (2) different types of contracts before the Council, an hourly based contract and a retainer contract. Discussion followed regarding the differences, advantages and disadvantages of both types of contracts. Mayor Porter stated that there may be future issues which may pose conflicts for the Amari, Theriac firm and he suggested that the City utilize Mr. Potter's firm on conflict matters and also in the preliminary stages in the defense of any matters which represented challenges to the City's zoning. Mr. Boucher stated that there was a provision in the contract that allowed the City to subcontract other specialties of law at the desire of the City Council, if the firm did not specialize in a special area of law or if the firm had a conflict of interest in a particular area of law. Mr. Potter stated that he had enjoyed working with the City and his firm would be happy to assist the City in the future, but he felt it would be better to allow the City the flexibility to designate conflict counsel on a case -by -case basis rather than entering into another contract with his firm. After additional discussion regarding the retainer vs. hourly type of contract, Council determined to agenda this item for Tuesday. 5. Discussion Re: Resolution No. 94 -63. Reappointing members to the Construction Board of Adjustment & Appeals. Agenda this item for Tuesday. 6. Discussion Re: Annual Christmas bonuses. Mayor Porter suggested that the Mayor and Councilmembers forego Christmas bonuses. Mr. • 1 City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Workshop Meeting December 1, 1994 Page 3 Nicholas stated that he was surprised to see Council included in the calculation of Christmas bonuses. Council concurred to take Christmas bonuses for Councilmembers out of the proposed expenditures. Agenda this item for Tuesday. 7. Discussion Re: Possibility of rescheduling City Council meetings scheduled during the upcoming holidays. Council concurred to schedule December 20, 1994, and January 3, 1995, as combined Council workshop and regular meetings during the upcoming holidays. 8. Discussion Re: Approval of cooperative purchases. Agenda this item for Tuesday. 9. Discussion Re: Defining Councilmembers' areas of interest. Mayor Porter stated that he would like Council to take a serious look at the designation of Councilmembers' areas of interest. He stated that there may be potential to redefine how the areas were divided and he explained his reasons for same. He suggested that Council table the areas of interest until after the overall City goals and strategies were established. He asked Council to submit their ideas for the future of the City in order to develop a cohesive overall plan for the City. Mayor Porter further asked that each Councilmember submit a list of 10 items by Tuesday's meeting that would include a draft "want/wish list" which would in turn be used for setting the City's future goals and objectives. This would allow the City to set its priorities for the next 1 -3 years. Council concurred to table defining Councilmembers' areas of interest until after the drafting of the City's Goals. 10. Discussion Re: Communication with constituents. Mayor Porter brought forth his idea that each member of Council attend a homeowner /condominium association meeting once every three (3) months on a rotation basis to address the members about City happenings, projects, future plans, etc. This would allow Council to become more visible within the community and provide a means for Council to hear constituents' concerns. If Council concurred, he would like to have the City Clerk's office set up the meetings for each Council member on a rotation basis. Mayor Porter stated that he would commit to proceeding with this plan himself and he hoped that the rest of Council would also consider becoming involved as well. He briefly described his feelings regarding being more pro -active in the community and meeting with his constituents. • • City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Workshop Meeting December 1, 1994 Page 4 Mr. Nicholas stated that he wished to first see a list of the number of condo /homeowner associations within the City, the number of units in each association, when they met, etc. Mayor Porter stated that this plan would help give people a better feeling of closeness to local government. He stated that he would definitely be meeting with the associations as his schedule permitted and he hoped that Council would consider joining him in this effort. 11. Discussion Re: Scheduling of presentations by firms responding to RFP No. 94 -06. Consultant/Professional Engineering Services. Council concurred to short list the firms at the December 20, 1994, Council meeting to five (5) and the five (5) firms would in turn be scheduled for presentations before Council after the holidays. 12. City Manager's Report. Mr. Boucher stated that the Canaveral Port Authority would be holding a pre - construction conference on the sand bypass project on December 15, 1994, at 10:00 a.m. at the Port offices. Mr. Boucher stated that the City had received notice from the Sheriff's Department that it would receive $88,000 from last year's contract which would be used to offset the cost of this year's contract. Mr. Boucher stated that the City had won the Abbott appeal on the satellite dish lawsuit. Mr. Boucher stated that in response to a request by Mr. Nicholas, Fire Chief Dave Sargeant had provided a memo to Council on the status of false alarms within the City. Mr. Boucher reported that the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) expansion would be bid the following week. He stated that the under allocation of funds from the federal government would not allow the City to receive funding for the reuse project. He stated that Gary ReVoir, Hartman & Associates, had suggested bidding all the reuse site work as an alternate to the WWTP bid. If the plant bids were received in amounts as anticipated then the loan funds could be used to construct the plant modifications and the reuse system may have to wait for funds from the State. Mr. Boucher stated that the City would be ready to secure funds for the reuse project in January, but the problem was that there were no State funds available and the next funding allocation would be in October 1995. Mr. Boucher commented that the City would be contacting the local Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) office regarding the possibility of receiving a 9 -month extension to the Indian River Lagoon Act requirements. Discussion followed regarding funding for the reuse project, providing reuse to Cocoa Beach per the interlocal agreement, and providing reuse to Cape Canaveral residents throughout the City through one construction project vs. • • City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Workshop Meeting December 1, 1994 Page 5 constructing the reuse lines in phases. Council concurred that if it would only take another 10 -12 days to prepare the bid specifications for the entire reuse project then the bid should not be advertised until all of the design work was completed; if it would take longer than 10 -12 days then the bid should be advertised as previously discussed - the WWTP expansion and the reuse site work as an alternate bid. Mr. Boucher stated that Council had tabled revising the fire inspection fees and he questioned whether or not Council wanted to discuss the matter at the next workshop. Council concurred. Mr. Boucher stated that an engineering firm, BPRH, had wanted to make a presentation to Council on December 15, 1994, regarding a development concept for the 85 acres north of Villages of Seaport. Mr. Porter strongly advised that the Council should avoid voicing any opinion on the development until it had gone through the proper City procedures. Council concurred that the request for a presentation should go through the Planning & Zoning Board. DISCUSSION: 1. Mr. Potter stated that the Royal Mansions case was set for trial on January 9, 1995, and the other side had moved to continue the trial and his firm was vigorously arguing against the continuance. 2. Mr. Nicholas stated that a recent County Commission agenda had included items relative to the opposition of mandated functional reclassification and prioritization of expenditure of State highway funds and a comprehensive street lighting safety study. He asked to receive additional information on both items. Discussion followed regarding the number of street lights out within the City. Mr. Boucher stated that FPL was supposed to fix broken street lights within 3 -5 days and he would request a status report on same. 3. Mrs. Helen Filkins commented that Mr. Randy O'Brien was the new County Commissioner for our area and she suggested that Council invite him to attend a City Council meeting. 4. Mr. Nicholas referenced a newspaper article regarding a vehicle fire on the beach in Cocoa Beach which had been used as a movie set. He voiced his objection to allowing such activities within the City. 5. Mr. Nicholas referenced a letter from James Kingston regarding the City's maintenance of International Drive. Mr. Boucher stated that the City's maintenance responsibility ended at the last traffic island within the development and Mr. Gluskin was researching the recording of the easements for the North Banana River Drive extension. • • City of Cape Canaveral, Florida City Council Workshop Meeting December 1, 1994 Page 6 6. Mr. Nicholas commented on the status of the ll'I'P land transfer to the Port. 7. Mr. Randels stated that an Economic Development Agency (federal agency) workshop was scheduled for Wednesday, December 17, 1994, at the Radisson and he encouraged Councilmembers to attend if possible. 8. Mr. Randels stated that the City had drawn the Town of Malabar for the Space Coast League of Cities' Christmas gift exchange and he presented his ideas for the gift. Council concurred with Mr. Randels' gift idea. 9. Mr. Randels stated that he was appointed to the Florida League of Cities Legislative Committee. 10. Mr. Randels stated that the Space Coast League of Cities Christmas dinner was scheduled for Monday, December 12, 1994, at Patrick Air Force Base beginning at 7:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:23 P.M. Faith GG`NMiller, CMC / °° o` "'� City Clerk $" • NPAEN- DES fRUC •