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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #01 Approval of Minutes Budget Workshop OCOEE CITY COMMISSION Ocoee Commission Chambers 150 North Lakeshore Drive, Ocoee, FL August 9, 2007 MINUTES 7:00 P.M. I I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Vandergrift called the Budget Workshop to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. City Clerk Eikenberry called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Anderson, Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Keller, and Commissioner Johnson. Also Present: City Manager Frank, City Attorney Rosenthal, City Clerk Eikenberry, Finance Director Horton, Senior Accountant Brosonski, and Accountant Rosenberg. I II. Budget Message - City Manager Frank City Manager Frank introduced the budget for FY 07/08 Budget. Last year the Commission adopted our preliminary budget at 4.6295 for FY 07/08, which is the same rate as the current rate for this FY 06/07. The budget was balanced at the state-mandated rolled back rate minus 5%, which comes out to a millage rate of 4.0777. The budget before you tonight includes health insurance funded at 3.2 million, which will cover the staff recommended plan that will be presented shortly. It also included a 2% merit and 2% COLA for general employees, and the union employees will receive the pay increases as determined by their contract. Tax reduction legislation does allow the Commission to exceed the 4.077 rate up to the rolled back rate of 4.2923 with a super majority vote. Any rate above 4.2923 up to the current millage rate of 4.6295 would require a unanimous vote of the Commission. No millage rate above 4.6295 can be adopted without a citywide referendum. Mr. Frank said they distributed a document (attached) showing a break down of the capital projects, funded to the general and utilities funds, the CRA, and various grants by district. The staff also provided a wish list of items and projects (attached) not funded in the budget, but recommended by department directors if additional funds become available. I III. Discussion on Health Insurance Human Resources Director Carnicella said they have distributed a spreadsheet that is similar to what they have seen during other discussions on health care. He summarized it by saying this year the City is spending $2,890,146.00 for our health care, next Fiscal Year the same plan would cost $3,462,000.00. We have budgeted 3,224,000,000, which would require additional funds of $238,401.00 to fund next years plan. Mr. Carnicella said the plan that he is recommending, on the far right side of the spread sheet, is the Health Reimbursement Plan (HRA) from Blue Cross, Blue Shield. It would cost $3,051,404.00 to fund this plan for the upcoming year. He said they are prepared to talk about how to get to the funding level tonight, but not prepared to talk about plan design because he and Crown Consultants have reviewed a number of health plan options in the last two months. If we choose a plan were we partially self fund, we will begin to take money from the insurance companies pocket and put in back in the City. He added that if claims remain as they have been, with the same level of usage rather than higher claims, than you will begin to realize a savings over what you would have paid if you remain fully insured. Utilization of the Plan is what will drive the cost in the next few years. Mackie Branham and Ray Tomlinson are here from Crown Consulting to discuss the details. Mr. Branham said an HRA is a long term plan; it is not something you jump into for one year. He discussed the costs for Fixed Policy, insurance, and cost of doing business. Commissioner Hood said the HRA models being shown are all hypothetical; we could be two major surgeries away from paying out far more than what we are paying not. He stated he would rather pay the additional $238,000 and know that they will not incur any more liability than that. Mr. Branham said you have a $50,000 stop gap for the City in this plan per member, which means the City does not pay any claim over that amounts. The current plan has $125,000 of exposure, so this would be taking $75,000 worth of exposure away from the City per member. Human Resources Director Carnicella said we have insured our risk against those large claims over $50,000, there is a layer of insurance over our plan to cover catastrophic claims. Commissioner Hood said if we have some really bad years, won't our policy increase in this plan also? Mr. Branham said that will happen just as it would with the fully insured plan. Commissioner Anderson confirmed that the numbers used to get the quote from Blue Cross were projections from our own numbers from last year. Mr. Carnicella said they projected our claims to go up by 18% next year even though our claims have not done that over the last several years. This way we will be able to budget for mid range, not the best case or worst case scenario. He said United Health Care said they will not come down below 19.8% increase; they started at 23%, but won't go lower. Mr. Carnicella said he does not recommend they make a decision tonight on which way they want to go, he wanted them to see the numbers. He said with the rest of the package that they would like to present, we are hoping to be able to control our costs and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in premium in the years to come. He hopes that we will get down to single digit increases, rather than double digits. Commissioner Anderson asked if this will eliminate co-payments. He also asked if, in this scenario, if we would have realized 300,000 - 400,000 in savings could some of that savings have been put back into the plan to pay for deductibles, etc. Mr. Carnicella said that is exactly what we are trying to do, buffer the employees from out-of-pocket costs. The first year will be the toughest, but after that we should be able to give it back the employees. He said the co-pays were put back in the plan because that helps employees not get to the first $1000 that the City is going to pay for the employees. A regular office visit co-pay of $15 and it will not come out of the $1000. The $1000 applies to three things: in-patient hospital stay, surgical event, or diagnostic testing. Mr. Carnicella said there are many details that would need to be explained to employees if we change plans. In a catastrophic health event, the most an employee would pay is $3500 out-of-pocket. He added that statistics show that will only happen to approximately 4% of our employees. Commissioner Hood asked if we spoke to the employees to ask them what they want to do. Mr. Carnicella said 98%-100% would like to keep the plan the way it is. Commissioner Hood said maybe we can barter with them and see if they would like to give up merit and cola raises to cover the same insurance that they have. Mr. Carnicella said that we wanted to give you a quick outline of the numbers, and let you wrestle with the numbers and make a decision about which way you want to go. Commissioner Anderson asked why we don't see a fully insured plan offered by Blue Cross. It appears they want our business back, and perhaps they could give us the same option at a much lower cost than United. Mr. Carnicella said we asked Blue Cross to give us a quote on a similar plan. They came up with a similar plan to the HRA with larger deductibles and larger out of 2 packet expense, and they would only increase the plan by 5% over what we are paying now. Mr. Carnicella said the problem with that is that they will do the same thing United Health Care did to us before. He said United Health Care low-balled the premium, and have since asked for double digit increases. Mr. Branham said on the HRA component said going back to a question asked earlier, if the City realizes a savings in the first year, they may be able to roll it over the next year have the City cover the first $1250, instead of the first $1000. Commissioner Anderson asked if we could use that to fund the clinic. Mr. Carnicella said that we believe if we institute the total package and include the clinic; it will save the City about $100,000. There would be no co-pay, free lab work, and hopefully free x-rays. The employees will have the option of choosing how much they want to pay by the way they use the plan. Mayor Vandergrift said we need to talk to the insurance companies about a three-year contract. Mr. Carnicella said Blue Cross has guaranteed us a three year contract with a cost increase no greater than 5%. Commissioner Anderson asked if there would be any communication with employees to explain the new plan. Mr. Carnicella said he can speak for almost 100% of employees that they would not to change plans because they are concerns about the change. Commissioner Hood confirmed that United made almost $1,000,000 off of the City last year, and yet they want to increase the premium by 19%. Mr. Carnicella said that is why we want to get into partially self insuring. Commissioner Johnson said that Blue Cross is coming back and doing what United did by giving us a lower price, and then making up the cost with big premium increases. Mayor Vandergrift asked if other carriers are going to offer similar HRA plans, or are we locked into Blue Cross forever. Mr. Branham said other carriers have a similar model and we could switch at any time. United Health Care offered a similar plan but their administrative fees were higher and their stop loss component was higher. Commissioner Johnson asked if they could explain what could be done in the best case scenario, if claims stay the same or lower than recent history. Mr. Carnicella said we could reimburse those employees that had the catastrophic event. He added the plan cannot be written that way, because it is contingent on the claims that come in and if savings are realized. Mr. Carnicella said if any savings are realized in this plan, we plan to turn it around and give it to the employees in some form. We want the help employees focus on wellness to keep our costs down so they can share in the cost savings. Mayor Vandergrift we currently budgeted 3.2 million for insurance. He summarized to say Plan #1 & Plan #2 that we currently have will cost 3.4 million. Plan #3 which is the HRA plan we have been discussion will cost 3 million. I IV. Staff Presentation and Discussion regarding FY07/08 Budget City Manager Frank began the budget presentation. He said the budget is balanced at the 4.0777 millage as previously stated. He reviewed the General Fund Tax reduction legislation does allow the commission to exceed the 4.077 rate up to the roll back rate of 4.2923 with a super majority vote. Any rate to be adopted above the 4.2923 rate up to the current millage rate of 4.6295 would require unanimous vote of the commission. No millage rate can be adopted above 4.6295 without a city wide referendum. City Manager Frank turned it over the Finance Director Horton to begin reviewing the budget of the smaller departments and stated the Directors of the larger departments will review their budgets after that. 3 Finance Director Horton reviewed the proposed budget of the following departments, including personnel, operating expenses, and capital expenses: CITY COMMISSION - Finance Director Horton CITY MANAGER- Finance Director Horton COMMUNITY RELA TIONS- Finance Director Horton CITY CLERK- Finance Director Horton FINANCE DEPARTMENT-Finance Director Horton GENERAL GOVERNMENT-Finance Director Horton Ms. Horton said it had gone down substantially due to funds that were put in last year in anticipation of the sale of the Coke Property. Commissioner Anderson asked why it went from 3 million to 8 million from FY06. Finance Director Horton said that is when we took insurance out of individual departments and placed it in this fund. LEGAL DEPARTMENT- Finance Director Horton INFORMATION SYSTEMS- Finance Director Horton Commissioner Anderson asked if we are going to have to change to a different operating system. IS Director Ross said we will have to go to Windows Vista because XP will no longer be available; it will still work with our server. HUMAN RESOURCES- Finance Director Horton The following department budgets were introduced by the Department Director or designee. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - Building Official Jones Commissioner Johnson said in the last few years we have added employees in the inspection department, but with the decline in building why do we still need as many employees? Building Official Jones said inspections have only slowed down 17% and we have 8 subdivisions just getting ready to start up. Commissioner Johnson said the Commission was told when they asked for extra inspectors that they would be made aware they would no longer be needed if the building inspections decreased. Mayor Vandergrift asked if anyone else recalled that conversation and no on replied. City Manager Frank said we can get you the data showing the number of inspections. Inspectors were doing 22 inspections per day and doing over 12 is too many to do good inspections. The funding from the permit fees pays for the inspectors. State law may require we lower our building fees; the HBA has been monitoring that on a regular basis to make sure we have enough inspectors out there to match the fees that we are charging. Mayor Vandergrift agreed and stated that inspection fees have to be spent on inspectors and not placed in General Fund. Commissioner Hood asked if they can get the data showing the inspection fees pay for the inspectors. Finance Director Horton said on Page 3-4 of the budget book you will see the breakdown of licenses and permits for the dollar amount. It does include business taxes, infrastructure fees, fire re-inspection fees, etc. Ms. Horton said that they can do an analysis for them and bring back the specific figures for inspections. POLICE DEPARTMENT - Chief Reffett Commissioner Keller asked about the new Police Department Building. City Manager Frank said it is not showing in the Police budget at this time; if we did pursue the purchase of the building we could be coming back to Commission to do an amendment because it would be long term financing and impact fees. We would do an internal loan or execute a bond. In future years the debt service would show in the budget. Commissioner Anderson said didn't we used to have money in the budget for plans, such as architectural. City Manager Frank said it is not necessarily in the show in the General Fund budget. Finance Director Horton said it would be funded by impact fees or the bond issue. 4 Commissioner Keller said he noticed after adding a new communications officer last year, we cut one this year. Chief Reffett said we reclassified a supervisor position to a regular Communications Officer. There was discussion that the money for the unfilled communications officer was used to reorganize the department when another Deputy Chief was added. Commissioner Keller said he would like to see more police officers in the budget, and take them off of the wish list. He said we need at least two more, if not four. Commissioner Hood said he would like to see us purchase a personal water craft for lake patrol. City Manager Frank said we have meeting set up with Police Department, Parks Department, etc to discuss patrol of lakes. He said we are looking into a small boat and adding safety inspections, etc. Mayor Vandergrift asked if the millage we are at right now can be increased. City Manager Frank said it can be increased to 4.2923 with a Super Majority Vote. A millage rate between 4.2923 up to 4.6295 would require a unanimous vote. He said we need a cost for increasing the police officers. Commissioner Keller said $195,000 for three more. We also need the millage rate increase to cover the insurance increase. Finance Director Horton said the $300.000 additional funds would take the millage to 4.2073. and adding the $195.000 back in for the police officers would take you back to the computed roll back rate of 4.2923. Mayor Vandergrift asked her to put that in writing for the next meeting. Commissioner Hood said if 99% of the employees want to keep the same plan, he feels we should work with employees on keeping the current insurance plan if they would like to consider that option by taking a reduced COLA or merit increase. City Manager Frank said .5 percent of the COLA would get us approximately $70.000 - $80,000. Commissioner Anderson said we are looking at a long term plan, if we stay with the same policy we will have big increases every year and employees will not want to keep giving up their raises to keep the same policy. Mayor Vandergrift said if we add on officers, we have to add on vehicles. Could the replacement vehicles be stretched by moving them into the upper staff use? City Manager Frank said because of budget constraints this year, we placed the five absolute worst vehicles in for replacement as opposed to approximately 10 in a normal year, so they cannot be used for anything else. There was a brief discussion regarding school crossing guards and school resource officers. FIRE DEPARTMENT - Chief Firstner Commissioner Anderson asked if the inspector fees work the same as the building department. Chief Firstner advised it is part of the General Fund. Finance Director Horton said there are administrative and other costs included, it does not just cover salaries. Mayor Vandergrift asked Wanda to break out the fire inspector numbers for Commissioner Anderson to see. Commissioner Hood asked how much would six additional firefighters cost. Commissioner Keller said for 3 the cost was $195,000, doubled would be $400,000, so with part of that taken off it would be around $360,000. Finance Director Horton, referring to earlier question about inspector's salaries, referred to Page 3-5 where it shows Fire Plan Review Fees, which is enough to cover salary for inspectors. She said it was projected $181,000 for this year, but next year's projections are $160,000 because of the reduction in building. Commissioner Anderson said whatever is not being used for inspectors should go into the general fund. Finance Director Horton said that the Fire Dept is part of the General Fund. There are other administrative fees that go along with that, not just salaries. Commissioner Hood asked what it would cost to put a portable station out there in District 1. City Manager Frank said it would depend on staffing levels. Commissioner Johnson said you have a building by the Girls Club. 5 Commissioner Keller asked about the proposed Fire Assessment Fees. City Manager Frank said doing "quick math" it will probably approximately $80 per residence, which should pay approximately 25% of the fire department budget. He added that we may be able to reduce the residential taxes because commercial a large portion of the fire assessment fees. Commissioner Anderson asked about the ALS budget for this year. Chief Firstner said all operational costs for ALS are built into this budget. There should be no additional costs for ALS service. He added that the current paramedics, who are not already certified, are now getting certified. In 60-90 days they should be operational with 10 paramedics that deliver ALS service. We are getting a small passenger vehicle (rescue truck) that can roam the city. We don't have staffing to bring all three engines up as we originally proposed, but as staffing permits we will go from two to three engines. We should have two engines and rescue truck out next year sometime. Chief Firstner said that all new hires will have to be paramedics, and added that he is getting no interest from current employees wanting to go ALS; he believes they are waiting to see what negotiations occur for paramedics. Commissioner Hood said he doesn't understand why firemen are not taking advantage of free training. City Manager Frank said typically the paramedics make 15% more than EMTs, so that should be a good motivator. Mayor Vandergrift said even with the additional money incentive, not everyone likes blood and guts. Mayor Vandergrift asked if we are getting fast vehicles to race with Health Central to see who can give ALS first. Chief Firstner advised Health Central's services are already taxed; it is about upgrading the service level so we are not going to be competing with them, we want to be able to give the ALS service on the scene within 3-5 minutes, even if Health Central arrives much later. Health Central will still be doing the transport. Commissioner Keller said it is all about giving them ALS service as soon as we arrive, instead of waiting for Health Central to get there. Commissioner Anderson asked if we have an agreement with Health Central to swap meds, bandages, etc. Chief Firstner said they just met with them last week to discuss the contract; they are guided by Medicare billing protocols. He said they have a good working relationship with them, and they are willing to work out the details. Mayor Vandergrift said he has still not seen any evidence that our residence were getting slighted by using Health Central. Weare going to have a hard time getting those positions filled without offering alot more money. Commissioner Hood added that the staff brought us figures that proved that we arrive at the scene frequently before Health Central, and as we know minutes can save lives. He feels a million dollars is cheap to save lives compared to some of the things we spend money on. Commissioner Anderson added that the figures showed that only 8% of the time did Health Central arrive before us on the scene. The rest of the time, we are there first and need to be able to provide ALS services. Discussion ensured regarding getting our own Fire Dispatching. Chief Firstner said the level of service being provided we are getting at a greatly reduced amount. Mayor Vandergrift said it bothers him that we have to pay a half million dollars for fire dispatching. Chief Firstner said our contract is only for approximately $130,000; it is a three year contract has only gone up 3% per year. ENGINEERING- City Engineer Wheeler Commissioner Anderson asked if traffic lights are coming from impact fees. Engineer Wheeler advised a portion comes from the developers, and the rest come from road impact fees. PARKS AND RECREA nON/CEMETERY - Director Haves Commissioner Keller asked why the Park Ranger is shows on the Recreation Organizational Chart, but he is budgeted under Parks and that does not make sense. City Manager Frank said it can be moved. 6 Commissioner Hood said he thought we just completed the playground resurfacing at the Beech Center. Parks and Recreation Director Hayes said they added a play structure and that had the new surface placed on it, but the old play structure is now getting the resilient surface. Commissioner Hood asked if the Before/After School Daycare revenue goes to Parks and Recreation fund or General fund, and Mr. Hayes advised the General Fund. Commissioner Hood asked if we are only allowing $120,000 to finish Central Park as shows on Page 3-76. City Manager Frank said we moved funding for the Blackwood Avenue resurfacing into the CRA budget and freed up $200,000. rfyou look on the wish list you will see it has been changed from $400,000 to $200,000 of unfunded money because we found $200,000 more to budget toward Central Park. Now only $200,000 remains unfunded and we need that to complete the upgrades at the park. Commissioner Hood asked to take this $200,000 off of the wish list and place it into the budget. Commissioner Anderson and Keller consented. Mavor Vandere:rift said this is a work session and we should not be amending the budget at all tonight. Commissioner Hood said the Police Department item and this item should not be calculated yet, but placed on a list of amendments that will need to be considered at the Public Hearings. Commissioner Anderson asked what is happening on the Montgomery Property. Mr. Hayes advised there is nothing in the budget this year for the Montgomery property. Commissioner Anderson asked about the Rogers Property. City Manager Frank said we have the $200,000 grant and $200,000 match from impact fees. Mayor Vandergrift said if we are spending $400,000 on Central Park he would rather see some of the money spread around to Montgomery Park and the Beech Center Park. Commissioner Hood said he would prefer to finish our existing parks first. City Manager Frank said we could put in for another FRDAP Grant next year and have $400,000 to develop the Montgomery Property. Commissioner Hood said Central Park is the one that is used the most and needs major renovations. City manager Frank advised that the sale of the Coke Property has been delayed also and some of that money was earmarked for the Crown Point ball fields and the Rogers Property. Commissioner Hood said why spend our money if we can spend the Developer's money to build new parks and ball fields. Mayor Vandergrift said the restroom improvements need to be made at Sorenson Field also, especially with regard to ADA standards. There was discussion regarding leakage from the retention pond onto the fields at the Beech Center. Utilities Director Smith said those issues have been resolved. He said once more reclaimed water is used in the area they will discontinue use of the pond completely. There was discussion regarding repairs and maintenance to the cemetery. Commissioner Johnson said he wants to add money to the budget for gate repair and irrigation. Commissioner Hood asked if they can bring back figures for that at the next budget meeting. I IV. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:22 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor 7 Budget Workshop OCOEE CITY COMMISSION Ocoee Commission Chambers 150 North Lakeshore Drive, Ocoee, FL August 13, 2007 MINUTES 7:00 P.M. I I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Vandergrift called the Budget Workshop to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. City Clerk Eikenberry called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Anderson, Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Keller, and Commissioner Johnson. Also Present: City Manager Frank, City Attorney Rosenthal, City Clerk Eikenberry, Finance Director Horton, Senior Accountant Brosonski, and Accountant Rosenberg. II. Continuation Of Staff Presentation and Discussion Regarding FY 07/08 Budget PUBLIC WORKS/ ADMIN- Public Works Director Krug reviewed the budget PUBLIC WORKS/ STREETS & TRAFFIC- Public Works Director Krug reviewed the budget Commissioner Anderson asked if CRA would put the money back into our budget for resurfacing in the CRA area. City Manager Frank said we would probably propose resurfacing and streetscape project in the CRA budget. Commissioner Anderson asked about the Capital Expenditures item regarding the reconfiguration of City Hall and the Police Station. Public Works Director Krug said that will depend on what happens with the relocation of the Police Department; we may have to reconfigure the existing buildings. Mayor Vandergrift said did we find the plan that would remind us which roads need to be resurfaced that was started by the previous director? Public Works Director Krug advised they found a list of streets where there are five categories of repair needed, based on visual inspections. It is an accurate list and will be good structural basis, and they are adding on items that have come up since the list was created. Mayor Vandergrift asked if Lady Avenue was just resurfaced. Public Works Director Krug said it is the section from Marlene to the north, not the section that was recently done. Mayor Vandergrift asked if Johio Shores will be done this year. Mr. Krug advised they will do some pothole repairing there, but otherwise it is not in as bad of condition as the others on the list. He also asked about Nicole Blvd. Mr. Krug said the goal is more than just resurfacing; we will be doing milling and planning to the streets to make sure the resurfacing will last. Commissioner Anderson asked if there was any money to help with drainage. Mr. Krug advised that would be in the stormwater budget, along with the large projects, we are trying to get smaller projects taken care of that help improve the existing infrastructure. Commissioner Anderson said he thinks it should go along with resurfacing. Mr. Krug said the resurfacing projects that we have this year will not create further drainage issues. There are areas around Jemima to see if French drains will help to get the water percolate down into the ground, it will still need swales, but it would be a good test project to see if it could be used elsewhere in the city. PUBLIC WORKS/ FLEET MAINTENANCE- Public Works Director Krug reviewed the budget Mayor Vandergrift asked if they have a water truck. Mr. Krug said they have a trailer that carries water. Commissioner Hood said Clarke Road would look nice if we put Crepe Myrtles between Silver Star and AD Mims and near Westyn Bay. Mayor Vandergrift said he would like to expand the adopt-a-road program to include not only cleanup, but beautification as well. Mayor Vandergrift asked about hybrids. Mr. Krug said there are no new ones in the budget this year. He added that you could research that further. PUBLIC WORKS/ STORMW ATER- Public Works Director Krug reviewed the budget Mayor Vandergrift asked the Engineer Wheeler to give us more information on the Sawmill City Pond. Mr. Wheeler said this pond caused drainage issues in the 90s, and a sinkhole in 2000 resolved the drainage issue temporarily, now it is back to being a drainage problem again. Mayor Vandergrift asked if they have considered drilling shallow wells along the pond and moving the water from the center of the pond to an upper aquifer. Engineer Wheeler said SJWMD is not allowing installation of any new drain wells, only repair of existing wells. Shallow wells may be different than those types of wells that require 200 foot depth. Commissioner Anderson asked Finance Director Horton how much we have left after we pay our bond debt with stormwater fees, and can that money go into the general fund? Finance Director Horton advised it is an Enterprise Fund, the money has to there. PUBLIC WORKS/ SOLID W ASTE- Public Works Director Krug reviewed the budget Mayor Vandergrift said we still need to look into handling Commercial Solid Waste in-house. City Manager Frank said we are looking into that. Commissioner Anderson asked what our revenue is for Commercial. Finance Director Horton said the commercial franchise fee that we are getting is in the General Fund, however $165,000 of that is being transferred back over to the Solid Waste Fund to help that fund. She asked that $210,000 is staying in the General Fund. Last year none was transferred. Mayor Vandergrift asked about a device for aligning tires for $75,000, and also asked if it is being done in house. Mr. Krug said that it was $45,000 and it was on the wish list, not in the budget. He added that the tire changing is being done in house and with the new fleet division they are trying to bring as much back in house as possible to add efficiency. UTILITIES DEPARTMENT- Utilities Director Smith reviewed the budget Commissioner Keller said the budget shows 22.5, but in the organizational chart it is 24.5. There are two positions, field Operations Supervisor and a Utility Compliance Technician (Utility Compliance Inspector) paid out of one department but shown under the org chart of the other department. Utilities Director Smith said some employees such as the_Utility Compliance Technician work in both the water and wastewater departments. Commissioner Hood asked about the increase in the cost of fluoride. Mr. Smith said it has increased about 500%; there is only one manufacturer in our area and we are still providing it in the water. Mayor Vandergrift asked how much the fluoride costs. Mr. Smith said he doesn't have exact figures, but compared to the cost of chlorine, power, etc., it is not cost prohibitive. Mr. Smith said the Traco came in last week. Once we get permitting from FDEP, we will start putting pipes in the ground. Mayor Vandergrift asked where we are with CUP regulations (consumptive use permit / how much water we can use daily and how much we can take out of the ground annually per SJWMD) 2 Utilities Director Smith said permits were submitted on time in December 2006. It was not permitted by the expiration of the permit, so the district has extended last year's conditions. The biggest issue is population; we are working with St. Johns consultant in Gainesville. It is hard to work out data on the service areas with enclaves that are our service area, but outside city limits, and we are working on getting accurate data. Discussion followed regarding alternative water policies in surrounding cities and SJWMD permits that will only be granted for a limited amount of time; after 2012 they are going to be looking at how cities are going to get alternative water other than grand water. Mr. Smith said we need to be involved in this process all along to ensure the City gets the best possible access to various water supplies. Commissioner Hood asked if Villa and Son Landscaping, who takes water from our hydrants, are paying for that water. Mr. Smith said the City made a temporary accommodation for them to use metered water that the City made for the about 5 or 6 years ago; we have recently asked them to pay for the capacity if they are going to do this on a long term basis. Commissioner Anderson said we need to make a vote on how to get the utilities in the north section. That would help with consumption use, reclaimed water. Utilities Director Smith, Orange County will sell us the system, but they have capacity and capital charges; it will not be cheap. Commissioner Anderson, we should look at a plan of what the costs would be. Commission needs to have a dialogue as to whether or not it is doable. City Manager Frank said the first step is to see if the County is even interested in selling. Consultants would have to come in and analyze the system for cost effectiveness. Mayor Vandergrift said the City Manager and himself should talk to the Chairman about purchasing it, wholesaling it, or other alternatives. Discussion followed. Winter Garden has reuse lines in Westyn Bay area that are not being used; they are currently using potable water. Mr. Smith said we are still negotiating with Orange County, but at this time it is low pressure that can only be used for irrigation. The consensus being that this issue should be placed on a future regular Commission Agenda for discussion. End of presentations from the departments. QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSION Commissioner Keller asked if the items presented on the wish list or in the first budget workshop are included in the budget or do they need to be considered separately. Mayor Vandergrift said we need to look at items separately and asked Finance Director Horton what 1/10 of a mil represents in terms of dollars. Ms. Horton said .10 of one mil is $231,543. City Manager Frank said he also wanted to advise them that the Fire Service Fees are included in this budget which assumes 1.1 million dollars in revenues. This would help us divert some of the money budgeted for the fire services into other areas. He said we will have exact figures at the Tentative Budget Hearing, but it appears that the fee would be $60 - $80 per single family residential unit. Commissioner Hood asked what the mandated millage rate from the State was. Finance Manager Horton said the roll back rate minus 5% is 4.0777. Commissioner Hood confirmed that if we don't include this revenue from the Fire Fee, we will have to reduce the budget by 1.1 million dollars, or find other revenue sources. Commissioner Johnson said he does not see the difference in raising taxes or adding a Fire Assessment Fee. City Manager Frank said it divides the Fire Fee more fairly because the Commercial customer pays more with the flat fee and it costs more to provide services to them. Mayor Vandergrift asked Finance Director Horton what the millage rate would be to make up the millage rate if we take out the Fire Assessment Fee. Ms. Horton advised 4.5528. 3 Commissioner Anderson said if we keep the millage where it is and vote on the Fire Assessment Fee but don't implement it yet, we will be in better shape next year because if we have to roll back the millage even further it will put us in a real difficult position next year. Commissioner Johnson said he does not know how we can afford to roll back with all of the projects and infrastructure issues; he said he feels we should keep our millage rate the same as the current year. He said he did not have a problem explaining to his constituent why he would not vote for the roll back rate. Commissioner Hood asked if we went back to the 4.6295 from the current year instead of the 4.0777 where the new budget is currently balanced what would the difference by in revenue. Finance Director Horton advised it is $1,176,000. Commissioner Hood asked what obligation are we under to stay with the 4.0777. City Manager Frank said there is no obligation; you just have to have a majority vote. Mayor Vandergrift said he was on Channel 6 news tonight speaking about how the State is treating all municipalities as though they are tax and spend governments. They are not taking into consideration the growth we are dealing with and they are increasing the growth by crippling the city's abilities to increase taxes so northerners will come here because their taxes so much higher than Florida's. PUBLIC COMMENT Joe Johnson, Waterside subdivision, said he does not understand why we are having a budget crunch issue when property values have brought in so much more money. The reason the State did that is because the property owners cannot handle higher taxes. He said he is stuck where he is because he can't afford to move and get hit with the higher taxes if he is not protect by the Save Our Homes. He thinks the City should comply with state mandate, or go above and beyond at trying to reduce resident's taxes, not figure out a way to add on other fees. He said maybe he is naive about how they run cities, but it doesn't sound right to the residents. Commissioner Anderson asked the average amount of taxes for a homeowner in Ocoee. Finance Director Horton advised that a home valued at $225,000 at current millage of 4.62985 would have municipal taxes of $925; at the proposed rate of 4.0777, taxes would be $810; an increase of$110 per year. Commissioner Hood asked if City Manager Frank could go back and try to eliminate $715,000 from the budget before the Budget Public Hearing, without taking away anything Commission has added or projects and without the Fire Fee. City Manager Frank said without the Fire Fee it would be 1.8 million that has to be eliminated. Commissioner Hood said that would be almost impossible. Commissioner Keller said it depends on what you would want to eliminate. Our budget is 64% personnel. Do we eliminate personnel, projects, or what? Not only are they taking money away via taxes, they mandate things that we have to do also. Are they going to tell us to cut police personnel, eliminate road projects, etc.? He added that when he was in Tallahassee he was told that if all cities were like Ocoee, the new legislation would not have to be passed. Most cities put a lot of fat in their budget. All cities are getting punished for those who have abused tax increases in the past. They got around forcing all cities to reduce their millage by allowing them to keep it where it is via unanimous vote. Commissioner Keller said he doesn't think it would be wrong to keep the current millage rather than cutting personnel or services. He added that homeowners who have stayed in the same home for many years have had a cap on their tax increases while the new neighbor with the same home may be paying two or three times as much. It has gotten to the point where people are stuck where they are because they can't afford the new taxes. The state and federal government has to start looking collecting fees for the things they are mandating the cities to do rather than placing tax burdens on cities. 4 Commissioner Johnson said the cities are losing money at the same time we are being forced to bear the cost of things such as school crossing guards, right of ways, stormwater maintenance. PUBLIC COMMENT Rosemary Wilsen, 1019 Shady Maple Circle, said the Safety Spring Fling Committee would like the budget to go from $1000 to $3000. She also asked if the City had looked into legal services that are less expensive, such as having an in-house attorney. City Manager Frank said very few cities have their own attorney anymore because it is not cost effective when you still need to retain other attorneys to deal with different issues. He added that we use much less legal assistance than we have in the past. Commissioner Hoods said legal fees are high this year because of the money for Colony Plaza. Ms. Wilsen said she thinks it is worth the exploration to make sure we are getting the best services rather than being complacent. Mayor Vandergrift would like to have CM consider an RFP for legal services. Commissioner Johnson said he would vote to go out for RFP for the first time in 20 years. He thinks it is time to look and see if we can bring an attorney in-house. Mayor Vandergrift said he would like to see a report of the state mandates and how much they have cost us over the years such as the comprehensive plan. Rosemary Wilsen (continued) said we are falling behind in Economic Development. When Faller Grove is completed, no one will shop in Ocoee anymore. She said she thinks the city has some wonderful things, but we are getting behind with all the growth because we are not growing in the right direction. Weare losing a lot of business to Winter Garden. She added that some day in the future offices should be moved out of City Hall and the building should be used as the Tanner Hall of Ocoee, with its beautiful location and lake view. Commissioner Anderson asked Public Works Director Krug if the air conditioner at Beech Center in the budget is the same as what is on the wish list. Mr. Krug said the wish list would be to reconfigure the air conditioner at the Beech Center, by moving it out of the ceiling for easier maintenance. Commissioner Anderson said he believes we should do the air conditioning because it will save us money in the long run. Commissioner Anderson said he is not comfortable voting for the fire fee to balance the budget. He feels we should keep the millage where it is in the current year. Commissioner Johnson said he doesn't have a problem voting for the fire fee but keeping it at zero for now. City Manager Frank reminded the Commission that the typical homeowner would make out better with the fire fee than with higher ad valorem taxes, because some of the extra burden of the fire fee would be pushed onto the Commercial customers. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to leave in all the money for Central Park and finish that project because it has been needed for a long time. Commissioner Anderson said he did not see money placed into the budget to redesign the entrance to City Hall and thinks we need $30,000 or so in the budget for that. Commissioner Anderson asked what we are doing about the retention pond by City Hall. City Engineer Wheeler said the driveway needs to be widened and it needs grade changes. The street floods when it rains. He said moving the old Fire Department and sodding that area helped, but there is still a lot of paved area around that has no stormwater collection or drainage system. He said the project would cost $100,000 - $205,000. Commissioner Anderson said he would like to do some landscaping on Clarke, north of Silver Star Rd. to AD Mims Road. He said Commissioner Hood mentioned Crepe Myrtles. He said he also thinks we should look into standardizing our landscaping throughout the city. Commissioner Hood said it is inexpensive eye candy; people like to see that sort of thing. Commissioner Anderson said we need an additional $50,000 - $60,000 for traffic calming. He added that we need upgrades to parks such as Vignetti and Tiger Minor. He said we need to look as some of the things on the wish list as necessities. 5 Commissioner Keller said he already expressed what he would like to add in the budget with the additional 3 Police Officers and the Fire Inspectors. Other items to consider are the current insurance coverage, and Clarke Road paving. He said we will have as many issues next year, maybe even more if they cut taxes back again, so we have to be realistic about what we can put off to another year. Commissioner Hood said he feels that going to the roll back would be going backwards. Commissioner Keller said in hindsight he wishes he would have voted to leave money in the budget for projects last year. Commissioner Anderson said that the City Manager needs to bring back a wish list without the Fire Fee, and then add it if we need to for the projects. Mayor Vandergrift said the most difficult job we have is deciphering between wants and needs Commissioner Hood said he understands about wants and needs, but we are starting to look run down and we need to keep the City looking better. Commissioner Anderson said we need to be careful we don't set the millage so low that we have to bond money to pay for projects and leave behinds a debt for our children. Commissioner Hood asked if we have room to bond more. City Manager Frank said by Charter we can bond about 1.25 billion dollars and we have about 20 million bonded now. Commissioner Hood added that it would lower our rating. Mayor Vandergrift announced that the Tentative Budget Public Hearing will be September 13, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. Commissioner Johnson said he would like to put $25,000 in the budget for Ocoee High School and then he would not be able to come to the commission to ask for any other money. He is also in favor of hiring someone to assist with Economic Development. He asked about the analysis of the building department. City Manager Frank said that the person that was supposed to do that for us fractured his hip so he was delayed in beginning the study. PUBLIC COMMENT Rosemary Wilsen, said she wishes the Commissioners would stop giving money out to the schools and let our grant awards programs handle that. Commissioner Johnson said the schools are having a difficult time because the county has cut them off and that is why he would like the City to help out local schools. He said he would much rather give money to the schools then to things such as WMFE or the Airport Authority. I III. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9: 11 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor 6 MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION September 4, 2007, at 7:15 P.M. REGULAR CITY COMMISSION MEETING I A. CALL TO ORDER Invocation- Commissioner Keller Pledge of Allegiance - Commissioner Hood Roll Call and Determination of Quorum - Acting City Clerk Sibbitt Mayor Vandergrift - Announced this was a tough evening for the Ocoee Employee Family due to a tragic incident and gave his condolences to our employee and her family on the lose of their child. . , I B. PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS I C. COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS/PUBLIC I D. COMMISSIONERS ANNOUNCEMENTS Commissioner Hood - 1) Remind everyone that the Fire Department is offering free CPR lessons to Ocoee Residents only on the 4th Wednesday of each month from 7-9:30 p.m. at Fire Station One. 2) Residents are invited to the Founder's Day Volunteer meeting on Wednesday, September 12th at 6 pm at the Tom Ison Center. Commissioner Anderson - Provided the Commission with a handout on mobile bleachers for possible consideration during the budget. Commissioner Johnson - None Commissioner Keller - Stated up until now a lot of the issues with the Charter School Review were the possible Ocoee High School students being rezoned. He thinks everyone has now gotten an awakening this first Friday of the school year when students were not allowed home due to the storms. He further stated the one thing that does come from this unfortunate event is how important a Charter School is to the community because if that had been a Charter School and under the City's School Board they could have done something quicker in order to alleviate the issue. Mayor Vandergrift stated he received a correspondence from Orange County Public Schools and he feels they are trying to set up a situation where the responsibility will be on the City during an emergency situation. He also announced there will be a School Board meeting on September 11th and a Work Session on September 13th. City Attorney Rosenthal added that most of the City's who received the correspondence are declining because the legal liability will be shifted from the School Board to the City. Commissioner Hood stated his son was held at school during the storms and he was informed as to what was going on and he felt the school can keep his child if it will prevent him from getting struck by lightening. He supports the school for their actions. Commission Johnson stated he would like for everyone to have clear thoughts because there are a lot of different things involved in running a Charter School. Mayor Vandergrift - Read letter from Foundations of Light, Inc. thanking the Mayor for being involved with the Habitant for Humanity Fundraiser. City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 I E. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approval and Acceptance of the Regular City Commission Minutes of August 21, 2007. (City Clerk Eikenberry) Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 2. Reappointments to the Ocoee School Advisory Board. (City Clerk Eikenberry) Members of the Ocoee School Advisory Board serve two-year terms. Currently the Ocoee School Advisory Board has nine (9) members and their resolution allows no less than seven (7) members and no more than fifteen (15) members. The two-year terms of Debra Booth, Ivor Leitch, and Greg Murphy ended August 31, 2007. All three have indicated they are willing to serve another two-year term, if reappointed. There are no applications on file for residents interested in serving on the board. Pulled from Consent Aaenda and Voted on Separatelv Mayor Vandergrift stated through an intermediary he tried to contact the Chairperson for the board and ask her if she had decided to look into Charter Schools a little better since she has made two public announcements that she is against it. He further stated he would like for consideration to not reappointment Chairperson Booth. A brief discussion ensued regarding the Ocoee Advisory Board not being a Charter School Board and members being able to have there difference in opinions. Commissioner Hood. seconded bv Commissioner Johnson. moved to approve all Reappointments to the Ocoee School Advisory Board. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Approval for Purchase of a New ALS Rescue Truck. (Fire Chief Firstner) In order to provide ALS citywide, a vehicle will need to be purchased that can respond to ALS calls throughout the City, in order to provide the upgraded service to as many residents as possible. The rescue unit will respond with Health Central Ambulance and a fIre engine when the nature of the call requires it in order to maintain the same level of service without a delayed response. Pulled from Consent Aaenda and Voted on Separatelv Commissioner Anderson inquired as to why they would not want to have an ALS vehicle that could transport someone instead of waiting for a transport vehicle to get there. Fire Chief Firstner stated an ambulance type vehicle would serve that need however, that type of truck cost approximately $100,000 and it does not really work into their immediate plan of bringing all their engines up to ALS capability and serving the entire community. He further stated they are just trying to bridge the gap right now since they are short of man power to bring all three engines up at the same time to provide ALS. It was also planned that the vehicle could be turned over to another department in the City that could use it as a utility type truck, which would not be possible if it were an ambulance since it does not lend itself into other conversions. Commissioner Anderson. seconded bv Commissioner Johnson. moved to approve Purchase of a New ALS Rescue Truck. Motion carried 5-0. Page 2 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 Mayor Vandergrift inquired about an AM Radio and if there was any movement into that direction. Fire Chief Firstner stated it was placed in the budget and he will speak with the City Manager on proceeding with it. 4. Approval to Piggyback State Contract for Purchase of Computer Software. (Information Systems Director Ross) Every year, the City purchases computer software for new and existing PCs. Once again we have reviewed prices and found the State of Florida contract to offer the best deal. This year we have replaced 70 computers and purchased 32 new ones - each requiring new software licenses totaling $62,382.18. Software licenses for most computers include Office, OneNote, server access, Communicator, and antivirus. We also wish to purchase $600 worth of software licenses for new products to improve efficiencies at remote sites. All newly purchased Microsoft software is added to our existing maintenance contract that entitles the City to free upgrades, home use, and the right to install the software when needed and pay for any new licenses at one time at the end of the year. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 5. Approval of Special Event Permit To Authorize Sale Of Alcoholic Beverages Application by the Ocoee Lions Club for Founder's Day on October 19 & 20, 2007. (parks and Recreation Director Hayes) The Ocoee Lion's Club has submitted a Special Event Permit to Authorize Sale of Alcoholic Beverages Application for the purpose of selling beer at the Founder's Day Celebration on Friday, October 19th and Saturday, October 20th of2007. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 6. Certification of Non- Ad Valorem Assessment Roll for Solid Waste Inclusion on the Orange County Tax Roll. (public Works Director Krug) The City Commission approved Resolution No. 2006-002 on February 21, 2006, to provide collection of residential solid waste fees through the Orange County Tax Roll. Per Florida Statutes and the May 2, 2006, agreement with the Orange County Tax Collector with respect to the use of the Uniform Collection Method for residential solid waste, the City is required to certify the non-ad valorem assessment roll by September 15 of each year. The FY 07-08 Tax Roll revenue for Residential Solid Waste is $2,348,400. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 7. Certification of Non- Ad Valorem Assessment Roll for Stormwater for Inclusion on the Orange County Tax Roll. (public Works Director Krug) The City Commission approved Resolution No. 2006-003 on February 21, 2006, to provide collection of stormwater fees through the Orange County Tax Roll. Per Florida Statutes and the May 2, 2006, agreement with the Orange County Tax Collector with respect to the use of the Uniform Collection Method for stormwater fees, the City is required to certify the non-ad valorem assessment roll by September 15 of each year. The FY 07-08 Tax Roll revenue for Stormwater is $2,275,470. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 8. Approval for Mayor to Execute the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program Grants for Prairie Lake Park (F08180) and Rogers Property (F08107). (Parks and Recreation Director Hayes) Page 3 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 The City of Ocoee has received two grants totaling $400,000 through the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) for Prairie Lake Park ($200,000) and for the Rogers Property ($200,000) for development of outdoor recreational facilities. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 9. Approval for Purchase of Police Boat with Police Impact Fees. (Police Chief Reffett) As Ocoee's population has increased, larger numbers of the public are using the Starke Lake chain oflakes for water activities. In order to help provide a safe, recreational experience for the people who utilize these lakes, the Police Department seeks to purchase a boat with police impact fees. To date, the Police Department has been able to utilize a personal watercraft to patrol the lakes, but as the lakes have become more congested, additional visibility and coverage are required. The boat will augment the personal watercraft and allow additional visibility and City personnel on the lakes. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 10. Approval of Sale of Property to Orange County for Improving Good Homes Road. (City Engineer Wheeler) The City of Ocoee, Orange County, and the Florida Department of Transportation have been working cooperatively to make improvements to the Good Homes Road and Colonial Drive intersection. The Florida Department of Transportation and Orange County entered into a Locally Funded Agreement on July 12, 2006, to add lanes and reconstruct Good Homes Road. As part of the Villas at Woodsmere development project, the City of Ocoee acquired title to a tract of land within the project during the platting process known as "Tract 5". This property may now be conveyed to Orange County for inclusion in the roadway construction project. The Florida Department of Transportation will pay the City $50,000 for this property. Approved on Consent. Motion Carried 5-0 11. Approval of CDBG Project Agreement for Pioneer Key II Mobile Home Park Reconstruction. (City Engineer Wheeler) The City of Ocoee applied for and was awarded a total of $1.5 million to undertake a public infrastructure reconstruction project in the Pioneer Key II Mobile Home Park under the Orange County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a federally funded initiative. Proposed improvements include upgrades to roads, stormwater management, potable water service, and sanitary sewer utilities. Orange County has asked the City to be responsible for bidding the work, on-site inspection of construction and providing approved progress payments from the selected contractor to the County, as work is accomplished. The offered Project Agreement between Orange County and the City of Ocoee is a standard form used throughout the county for similar projects. It imposes on the City the same conditions imposed on Orange County by the federal CDBG program-conditions that are effectively already imposed on the City through terms of the grant award. This approach allows the City to provide better control of the project within the limits of the CDBG program. Consent Aaenda Vote Commissioner Anderson. seconded bv Commissioner Hood. moved to approve Consent Aaenda Items 1. throuah 11. excludina Items #2 & 3 which was removed and heard separatelv. Motion carried 5-0. Page 4 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 I F. PUBLIC HEARINGS 12. Ocoee Professional Plaza - Waiver Discussion. Advertisement and Notices Sent out to all Homeowners and HOA in Brentwood, Silver Glen, and Lake Olympia. (Advertised as Public Hearing in the West Orange Times Legal Classified on Thursday. August 23, 2007). (Principal Planner Fabre) The proposed Ocoee Professional Plaza site is located on the northeast comer of Silver Star Road and Ridgefield A venue. The property is currently vacant, zoned C-l (Neighborhood Shopping District), and is approximately 1.7 acres in size. The small-scale site plan proposes the construction of a 3-story office building with a total building floor area of 22,884 square feet. In order to proceed with review of the small-scale site plan, the applicant has requested three waivers from the requirements of the Land Development Code. On August 7, 2007, Ocoee Professional Plaza waiver requests were presented to the City Commission for their review and formal approval. During this meeting the City Commission voted to continue this item to the next available meeting and place it as a Public Hearing item on the Agenda to allow for public participation. Since then, an advertisement and notices were sent out to all homeowners and HOA in Brentwood, Silver Glen and Lake Olympia per City Commission directive. Principal Planner Fabre stated that on August 7, 2007, Ocoee Professional Plaza waiver requests were presented to the City Commission for their review and formal approval. During this meeting the City Commission voted to continue this item to the next available meeting and place it as a Public Hearing item on the Agenda to allow for public participation. Since then, an advertisement and notices were sent out to all homeowners and HOA in Brentwood, Silver Glen and Lake Olympia per City Commission directive. He stated the proposed Ocoee Professional Plaza site is located on the northeast comer of Silver Star Road and Ridgefield Avenue. The property is currently vacant, zoned C-1 (Neighborhood Shopping District), and is approximately 1.7 acres in size. The three waiver requests as (1) setback of 30' from road, rather than 50', which is a common waiver granted by Commission in the past, (2) landscape buffer reduced from 25' to 15', and (3) maximum building height code not clear and they want to clarify his request is acceptable. Principal Planner Fabre said that staff is recommending approval of the waivers, as well as the small scale site plan. He further gave a brief history and provided exhibits for the proposed plaza. Mayor Vandergrift read an e-mail from Mr. Scott Blynder regarding the proposed plaza and his opinions on the waivers. Mayor Vandergrift opened the Public Hearing. Mayor Vandergrift read a letter from a concerned minor who does not want a three-story building behind her housing development. Anthony Ewen, Representative for the Developer, stated they wish to respect everyone in the City of Ocoee. He further stated when the subdivision was approved by the City the parcels in front of that subdivision was zoned commercial development and those buying into that residential development knew that they were purchasing near commercial parcels. Mr. Ewen stated they do not want to put a retail building in that location that is why they worked with the City for several years to put an office type building. He further stated they do not need to have a 45ft. building and do not mind bringing it down to the limitations however, the setbacks are Page 5 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 what is very difficult to work with. Mr. Ewen stated he is asking for consideration from the residents which is why the developer is willing to pay for improvements on Silver Star Road so that the residents do not have the safety issues they have today. David Evans, Evans Engineering, stated they have been working on this development with the City since 2004. He further stated with the improvements on Silver Star Road he feels everyone will be excited. He briefly explained the proposed changes they would be doing to Silver Star Road and the setbacks for the property. Commissioner Johnson asked for the City Attorney to please read what the zoning and use for that property is. City Attorney Rosenthal stated the zoning for the property is C-I which is a neighborhood shopping district. He further stated essentially if anyone comes in with a plan that complies with the requirements of the City Code they can do any use they want within C-1 which does include retail. He further stated it is not an issue of whether there will/will not be a development there since there will some day be a commercial development which could be better or worse but that is up for the City Commission to decide tonight. City Attorney Rosenthal briefly explained the process for waivers and the offset benefits it would bring. Commissioner Johnson stated everyone needs to look at what is going to be the benefit for all. Brittany, minor and resident of Ocoee, stated for the four houses on Marsden Street they should be given 10 more feet out and a 10ft. brick wall built up so that if there is a child molester looking out of the office building they can not see into her yard. She also stated she felt the building looked liked a hotel and the entrance should be turned around to face the road and not the Brentwood housing development. The roads in the Brentwood housing development are already busy and putting a new office building by them is going to make it busier and harder to get out of the neighborhood, so she feels they should consider adding a traffic light. Nick Lepp, Renaissance Planning Group, stated he can answer any questions about traffic. Mayor Vandergrift inquired if the roadway could support the amount of traffic using the left turn. Mr. Lepp stated at 285 ft. the roadway could support the about of vehicles making a left turn. Questions rose regarding the plans that were presented to the Engineer and those submitted to the City Commission. City Attorney Rosenthal briefly explained that with respect to waivers the staff does not wait until the project is 100% percent done to then bring it back to the City Commission so from a procedural standpoint while the plans are being revised the issues that required actions are being brought before them for input. David Wheeler, City Engineer, stated FDOT has looked at Ocoee Hills Road for a traffic light and they do not feel it is warranted. Commissioner Hood inquired what the price is for a traffic light. Mayor Vandergrift briefly explained a program that the Police Department could participant in for a traffic signal. Valerie Powell, 1207 Flewelling Avenue, inquired where the parking would be, how far the setbacks were not including the parking lot, if there would be shrubbery, if the wall could be negotiated, and information on the turn lanes and entrance. Mayor Vandergrift recessed so that the City Planner could share the plans with any residents present and answer informational questions. Page 6 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 Recess - 8:20-8:35 p.m. Valerie Powell, 1207 Flewelling Avenue, thanked the Mayor for allowing everyone to look at the site plan. She further stated she does not feel that a 45ft. building is going to enhance the quality of life for the residents in any of the three neighborhoods affected. She also does not think a smaller building will hinder the project and a smaller building would also go with the architecture of the other surrounding buildings. Ms .Powell stated she would suggest as opposed to a 6ft. wall if they could put in an 8 ft. or 10ft. wall instead. Lastly she suggested that the hour of operations be normal business hours such as 8am-6 pm. DJuna Doby, 304 Forrest Crest Court, stated she is against the project and because the building is behind her home she feels it will be a major impact on her family. Ms. Doby further explained her reasons for not wanting an office building being in her backyard which included her view of the building from her yard, her pool being affected by the dirt during construction, and traffic problems on Silver Star Road. Susan Segal, 303 Forrest Crest Court, stated if she comes out the front of her house she will be able see the office building in front of her. She further inquired as to how many office spaces will be leased and as to why a three-story building verses a two-story building. Anthony Ewen, Representative for the Developer, stated it would be 12 tenants and the hours of operation would be approximately 7am -7 pm. James Fleming, 511 Orange Ave., stated the developer has a right to develop that land but he feels they could build a 35ft three-story building without having to go to 45ft. He further stated they should put the pretty side of the office building facing the houses and the unattractive side of the building facing the street. Chris Townsend, 112 Hercules Court, stated this is a reoccurring theme and he has great concern with the building towering his home. He purchased the home knowing that parcel was commercial but he was also aware that there were restrictions to that parcel that would protect the surrounding residents. He disagrees with the height waiver for the building and urges the City Commission to maintain the height restrictions. Rodney Armstead, 1107 Coastal Circle, feels this will have an impact on a much wider scope and inquired if there has been an alternate for a two story building. Edward Quinn, 1081 Coastal Circle, important thing is that the decision they make today will affect them down the road as they start setting precedent to allow 45ft buildings. He agrees with current restrictions of a 35ft building. Michael Hopper, 1405 DarIa Street, agrees with the other residents and feels they should not approve the waiver on the height and also feels that they should consider having Richfield redone since it will be an inlet and outlet into the subdivision. Page 7 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 Edward Carman, 103 Marsden Street, briefly stated his concerns on the traffic patterns laid out and the wall height. DJuna Doby, 304 Forrest Crest Court, inquired as to what the projected time of construction would be. Representative for the Developer stated it should be 10 months. Ms. Doby further inquired if flow of traffic would affect the Links bus route. The Links bus route is across the street and since there will be an increase of traffic flow will a cross walk be added. Mr. Lepp, Renaissance Planning Group, stated there will not be any crosswalks. Commissioner Anderson inquired if there was going to be a sidewalk in front of the office building property. Mr. Lepp stated there will be sidewalks. Regina, 803 Sullivan A venue, inquired as to how long it would remain on and as to how bright the lighting in the parking lot would be. Mayor Vandergrift stated the lighting they use is supposed to be directed downward and is not supposed to go off of the property. Mayor Vandergrift closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Hood stated he has a few issues such as the esthetics of the building. He also agrees that it looks like a hotel building and feels they can add some decorative touches to the building to make it visually pleasing. He further stated he agrees with a 10ft wall but feels an 8ft wall would be more adequate. Lastly, he does not want to see a building over 35ft and supports a red light out on Ocoee Hills. Commissioner Keller stated he would like to see a 35ft structure as well and also agrees with Commissioner Hood that an 8ft wall is what they need. Commissioner Johnson stated one ofthe things they can look at is making the front entrance a smaller wall and widening the road so that it is safer to come in/out. He also agrees it should be a 35ft building. As far as the road improvements Mr. Johnson stated he thinks it would benefit everyone since it does not look like the state is going to do it. Community Development Director Wagner stated the tallest wall they have built in Ocoee is 7ft and it was approved by the Commission. He further stated the wall will not block the entire view of the building but the trees will block the view so they may want to keep in mind that they have approved a 7ft wall before. Community Development Director Wagner stated as far as the 20ft they are getting dedicated that is the minimum amount they need to ultimately widen Silver Star Road and would encourage the City Commission to approve that waiver. Anthony Ewen stated they do not have the issue with the 35ft. building. He further gave a description of the wall. Commissioner Hood inquired about enhancing the look of the building in which a brief discussion ensued. Commissioner Anderson stated they have been talking about an 8ft wall over a 6ft wall but he feels concerns with citizens is visual pollution in being able to look into their home. He inquired if the developer could possibly replace the windows on the north side and install narrower windows for lighting purposes only. Mr. Ewen stated his tenants are going to want to be able to see out of there office and he would have a hard time getting tenants if they change the windows out. Further discussion ensued regarding site visibility issues. Commissioner Anderson further stated they have a marquee out in front of the Brentwood Subdivision and he Page 8 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 feels the developer should replace the Brentwood sign and widen the road and maintain a new marquee on their property. Commissioner Anderson further discussed having an integrated sign, building the wall before the development goes up, the developer partnering with the City to install a traffic light at Ocoee Hills, and possibly having a tile like roof to enhance the building. Mayor Vandergrift stated that no has mentioned brown fields and City's all over the States and Nations are suffering from this. He further stated he has mentioned before the possibility of building up and giving the City a skyline. With that in mind he does not have a problem with a 35ft or 45ft office building. Mayor Vandergrift stated he does not feel the windows are a problem and in most office building atmosphere they are not looking out of the windows during work hours. He would suggest for the wall that they build a block stucco wall and put the plants going up it like Islesworth. Commissioner Anderson. seconded by Commissioner Hood. moved to deny the 3rd waiver reQuested allowina a maximum buildina heiaht of 45ft. Motion carried 5-0. Commissioner Anderson. seconded by Commissioner Keller. moved to approve the 1st and 2nd waivers reaardina the buildina setbacks and buffer setbacks subiect to the followina conditions: 1) A 7ft hiah wall in lieu of a 6ft hiah wall. 2) Spanish ESQ. tile or eQuivalent. 3) Enhanced architectural detail to buildina. 4) re-workina the internal median and street sian for the Brentwood subdivision. 5) Silver Star Road improvements from Ocoee Hills Rd. to Silver Crest Blvd. be done as presented. 6) the construction of the wall be done at the beainnina of the proiect. and 7) the top stOry be addressed to reduce the ability to visually look North and East . Motion carried 5-0. Recess 9:50 - 10:00 pm I G. REGULAR AGENDA 13. Approval of New Employment Agreement for the City Manager as a Result of the Workshop held on July 10,2007. (Human Resources Director Carnicella) The City Manager is covered by an employment agreement with the City of Ocoee which provides for yearly salary increases as the City Commission authorizes. The Commission conducted a workshop on July 10, 2007, to evaluate the City Manager's performance and considered amending his employment agreement. The City Manager has reviewed his contract and has considered the issues that were raised during his review. The City Manager's current contract expires September 30, 2007. Commissioner Johnson stated he had two problems with the contract: 1) the lease option on the vehicle which he felt should stay at $700 and 2) was the 12 months on the severance pay which he feels should be 9 months. Commission Anderson stated his problem with the severance was that if they decided not to renew his contract they would still have to pay him a 6 months severance and he did not feel like that was right. City Attorney Rosenthal stated that there was not a non-renewal prevision so this would basically continue him. City Manager Frank clarified that it basically means he either leaves on his own walking away with nothing or they tell him to leave and he gets a severance pay. Human Resources Director Carnicella briefly addressed the board and explained the merit and cola increase the City Manager would receive. Commissioner Anderson stated he did not like the paragraph Page 9 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 regarding if the form of government changed he would still get his severance pay. He further stated he agreed with Commissioner Johnson on the two changes he proposed. Commissioner Anderson stated he did not like the section in the contract regarding alternate work schedule. City Manager Frank stated he agreed with him and that section was added by the City Attorney. Rosemary Wilsen, 1019 Shady Maple Circle, inquired if the 6 months and 9 months they were referring to, did that include the 3 months notice required. City Attorney Rosenthal stated there is no notice required in this contract. Commissioner Johnson. seconded by Commissioner Keller. moved to amend the contract as follows: $700 in car allowance (DaraaraDh 4b.2). 9 months on the severance Day (DaraaraDh 7b.2a. b. d). and 9 months for the health insurance (DaraaraDh 7b.2a. b. d). Motion carried 4-1 with Commissioner Anderson oDDosed. Commissioner Anderson. seconded by Commissioner Keller. moved to aDD rove the City Manaaer's contract with the DroDosed amendments. Motion carried 5-0. 14. Discussion of State Farm Building. (City Manager Frank) This item was heard first under Regular Agenda. City Attorney Solik gave an overview of the State Farm Building and some of the options that would be available to the City Commission. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the possibility of purchasing/leasing the existing State Farm building verses building a new Police Station on the vacant A.D. Mims property. Mayor Vanderarift. seconded by Commissioner Johnson. moved to offer $3 million or work out a lease oDtion. Motion failed 3-2 with Commissioners Hood. Anderson. and Keller votina No. Commissioner Anderson. seconded by Commissioner Keller. moved to Droceed with the architectural renderinas on the A.D. Mims DroDerty and Droceed forward on the A.D. Mims DroDerty. Motion carried 3-2 with Mayor Vanderarift and Commissioner Johnson oDDosed. City Attorney Rosenthal received clarification that he is to go back and communicate with the State Farm Property owners or their attorney that the City Commission is not interested in further pursuing the State Farm building. I H. STAFF REPORTS City Manager Frank briefly stated that several meetings ago they had discussed Code Enforcement doing a sweep of the trailer parks and he was recently informed that they did have the opportunity of doing one today and he will make sure to forward the information to the Commission of how many people were cited once he receives it. Page 10 of 11 City Commission Regular September 4, 2007 I I. COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS I Commissioner Keller - stated Sawmill had a recent police study regarding speed bumps however they have not heard back on what was determined. Public Works Director Krug stated they have a lot of requests and he has been advising all the requestors on what the findings and status was. He is letting those requestors that did not meet the warrants know what part of the warrants they did not meet. He believes Sawmill may have been one of the ones that did not meet the warrant. Police Chief Reffett stated they had enforcement in the Sawmill subdivision for about seven days during the daytime and they did not issue any tickets. He did inform the citizen that had made the complaint. Commissioner Anderson - wished his son a Happy Birthday! Commissioner Hood - 1) Inquired if the City cleans easements. City Manager Frank stated the City does not typically clean easements, if it is a piece of right-of-way or City owned properties then they do maintain it. Commissioner Hood further inquired if they could notify all the residents on Sal Street that they can move there fence back and maintain the easement themselves. Mayor Vandergrift stated if they do away with the pig trail they will have some problems. It was decided to have staff look into the pig trail and the possibility of maintaining it. 2) stated our prayers go out to the family of the tragedy that took place this afternoon and to the family who also suffered a loss during the weekend on Starke Lake. Mayor Vandergrift - announced there is a Health Insurance Workshop at 7pm on September 5, 2007, in the Commission Chambers. I ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:22 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee Melanie Sib bitt, Acting City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor Page 11 of 11 I CALL TO ORDER MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION September 13,2007, at 7:15 P.M. CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL SESSION Mayor Vandergrift called the special session to order at 6:45 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. City Clerk Eikenberry called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Anderson, Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Keller, and Commissioner Johnson. Also Present: City Manager Frank, City Attorney Palmer, City Clerk Eikenberry 1. APPROVAL TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT FOR THE HEADLINE ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE 2007 FOUNDER'S DAY CELEBRATION. (Parks & Recreation Director Hayes) The headline entertainment for the 2007 Founders Day celebration will be Blake Shelton and the contract for Mr. Shelton's services has been negotiated at $32,500. Funds will come from the City's Founder's Day account and sponsorships. Parks and Recreation Director Hayes said that they are requesting approval for the contract for the headliner act at Founders' Day, in the amount of$32,500. Any expenditure over $25,000 has to be approved by the Commission. Commissioner Anderson, seconded bv Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the expenditure of $32,500 from the City's Founders' Dav account and sponsorships for the entertainment contract with sinaer Blake Shelton. Motion carried 5-0. Commissioner Johnson added that they just received another $5,000 in sponsorship and they are up to $60,000 at this time. 2. INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR DISPATCH SERVICES. (Deputy Fire Chief McNeil) A new agreement for dispatch services will be required to continue those services for a one (1) year period, starting October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008. The cost of the dispatch service is shared between the Cities of Winter Garden, Maitland and Ocoee, and is based on the cost of dispatcher salaries and the call volume allocation between the cities. The cost of the one year contract is $143,840, which represents 35.5% of the total call volume. This cost will be assessed in the FY 2008/2009 budget. Deputy Fire Chief McNeil advised they are asking for an extension of the contract for Fire Dispatching Services. They have come to the end of their initial three-year contract, and the new contract is basically the same except that it is only a one year contract. The total contract is for $405,182 which is the cost for 8 dispatchers that is shared with the City ofOcoee, Maitland and Winter Garden. The cost for Ocoee is an estimation of$143,090 because we are billed in arrears. Mayor Vandergrift asked where the money goes that is charged on the phone bill and said he would like to be made aware of when there is a problem with the service because he had a problem when there was an issue at the middle school. City Manager Frank said he believes the 911 fund is a capital type account for system upgrades and 911 enhancements. Deputy Chief McNeil said that would have gone to our own police department dispatch, not to the Fire Department dispatch at the county. Mayor Vandergrift asked which cities are doing their own dispatching. Deputy Chief McNeil said that Orlando and Apopka have their own dispatchers. Commissioner Anderson. seconded bv Commissioner Johnson moved to aoorove the Interlocal Aareement with Oranae County for Fire Disoatchina Services. Motion carried 5-0. 3. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor