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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-02-88 . MINUTES OF THE CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1988 CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Ison called the meeting to 7:30 p.m. The Mayor led in prayer and the allegiance to the flag. order pledge at of PRESENT: Mayor Ison, Commissioners Johnson, Bateman, and Hager, City Attorney Rosenthal, Assistant City Attorney Woodson, City Manager Ryan, Assistant City Manager Finch, Public Works Director Brenner, Acting City Clerk Grafton, and Deputy Clerk Resnik. ABSENT: Commissioner Dabbs (out of town) PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS - Presentation of Plaque to Marvin Sanders Mayor Ison read the inscription on the plaque and presented it to Mr. Marvin Sanders for his 12 years of service on the Planning & Zoning Board. Mr. Sanders accepted the award and thanked the Commission for recognizing him. He said he enjoyed working with the City staff and the other members of the Planning & Zoning Board over the years. Commissioner Bateman personally thanked Mr. Sanders for his contributions and especially in helping him when he was on the Planning & Zoning Board. Commissioner Hager said Mr. Sanders had been a close personal friend of his and that they had worked with each other at the City and at different organizations in Ocoee. Commissioner Johnson said Mr. Sanders was very much appreciated in the City and that he would be missed. APPROVALS - CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Bateman moved to pull Items C and D for discussion. Commissioner Bateman moved to approve Items A and B, Commissioner Johnson seconded, and approval was unanimous. Commissioner Bateman had a question on Item C as to whether the "tobacco" signs he had seen on right-of-way property in Ocoee were addressed at all in the sign ordinance. He said he thought they were a traffic hazard and that even though they were meant to be temporary, they seemed to remain permanent most of the time. - Assistant City Attorney Woodson said the third paragraph in Section 10 prohibited poster panels which advertised products or businesses not connected with the site on which they are located but that it may not pertain to these signs if there are stores by the signs that sell those cigarettes or products. Mr. Woodson said he would look through the . Page 2 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 ordinance and find the appropriate place to mention this type of sign and include a provision to prohibit them. He said the City should be very careful in regulating signs since there was case law that provided sign owners constitutional protection. e Mayor Ison asked if the language would be added for the second reading. Commissioner Bateman clarified that he was not opposed to the signs, just the location they were being placed in. Assistant City Attorney Woodson asked whether the Commission wanted to prohibit the signs in the right-of-way where there was traffic or to prohibit the placement of these signs anywhere in rights-of-way. The direction was for the City Attorney to include the language prohibiting these signs in rights-of-way in time for the second reading. Commissioner Hager moved to approve the ordinance for the first reading, Commissioner Bateman seconded, and approval was unanimous. City Manager Ryan read the ordinance by title only. Commissioner Bateman had a suggestion on Item D regarding the new zoning categories. He suggested it would be easier to designate the R-1-AAAA as RCE and the R-1-AAAAA as RCE-l in order to make for easier reading (not having to count the As each time). Other than that, Commissioner Bateman did not have any further comments on the ordinance. Commissioner Bateman moved to approve the ordinance with the proposed changes to those zoning designations for first reading, Commissioner Johnson seconded, and approval was unanimous. City Manager Ryan read the ordinance by title only. OLD BUSINESS - OTHER BUSINESS Report from the Cemetery Advisory Committee - S. Woodson Mr. Woodson read from the memorandum sent to the Commission with the Committee's recommendations for improvement of the City's cemetery. Mr. Woodson said a new flag pole was needed at the entrance. The Committee suggested that one of the City's service organizations may be interested in donating the item. Mr. Woodson said the Committee was also concerned that non-residents were taking advantage of the reduced cost of lots provided to City residents. Mr. Woodson said the Cemetery Committee wanted to see a provision added to the cemetery lot contracts which would only permit the resale of lots back to the City. There was also some discussion that the increased price of lots may cause some people to try to sell the lots they bought since they could now get a higher price for them. That was also a factor on the provision to . Page 3 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 only allow lots to be sold back to the City and only at the initial cost paid for those lots. The other recommendations discussed were the hiring of a full-time caretaker for the cemetery, platting new. lots in the unplatted area of the cemetery, and creating a perpetual care fund for the upkeep of the cemetery. Greg Collison, of Collison Funeral Home, said he felt it was most important to the City to set some definite guidelines on the type of monuments allowed, specific policies on prices for lots for residents and non-residents, and new policies regarding charges for upkeep of the property. Mr. Collison said even the new, higher prices were still relatively inexpensive in comparison with other cities in the area. He stressed that the City needed to find some way to keep the non-residents from finding ways to get residents to secure lots for them at the discounted price. e Mayor Ison questioned the caretaker and the perpetual care fund. Commissioner Johnson said the Committee wanted to know if the money put into the cemetery, through payment for lots, would go to hiring a full-time caretaker. He said the new rates could possibly help fund this as well. Commissioner Johnson said this would alleviate many duties from Marian Green who could then spend more time on her personnel duties. Mayor Ison asked whether funding for such a position would be possible. City Manager Ryan suggested the Commission could discuss the position in the budget process. Commissioner Johnson questioned the amount of time the Street Department and Marian Green spent on upkeep of the cemetery and all the administrative duties involved. Buddy Elmore, Street Department Supervisor, said the Street Department spent about 4-6 days a month on upkeep of the cemetery grounds. The Street Department also shows people where lots are located when they are choosing their lots. e Commissioner Bateman said if the City was not making a profit from the cemetery, maybe it would be in the City's best interest to have a funeral home take over the work and that the City could go out to bid on a year-to-year basis for a contract to take care of the cemetery in all facets including the upkeep of the property and administrative details as well. He felt the hiring of a full-time caretaker might be difficult. The Commission directed City Attorney Rosenthal to work with the Cemetery Committee to make the necessary changes on the reselling of lots. City Attorney Rosenthal said he would try . Page 4 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 to get some sample deeds from other cities or cemeteries and look at them for any other possible changes to incorporate. Mr. Woodson said the Cemetery Committee would work on changes to the Rules and Regulations and then report back to the Commission. Request to Terminate Water & Sewer Service at Triple T Inn (Holiday Inn West) Mayor Ison moved ahead on the agenda to the lssue with Holiday Inn. He said the item needed to be addressed early in the evening in the event more time was needed during the meeting for the hotel's legal representative to contact the hotel owner. e City Attorney Rosenthal said he had sent a demand letter at the direction of the City commission outlining that the City was requiring a total of $259,736.19 and that nonpayment would result in disconnection from the City's water and sewer system. The total fee included payment for 138 equivalent residential units (ERUs), 18% interest resulting from late payment, and legal fees incurred by the City. Stuart Capps, legal representative for Triple T Inns, said that Triple T was ready to settle but did not agree on the interest charges. City Attorney Rosenthal said the agreement with Prima Vista utilities did not provide for late interest charges but that the City felt this was a reasonable charge. City Attorney Rosenthal said the City would agree to split the interest charges and therefore only charge Triple T Inns a 9% interest rate in an effort to avoid lengthy litigation. Stuart Capps said his client was willing to settle for $227,843 and that this figure was based on a different accounting of the hotel's ERUs. Mr. Capps said the original Prima Vista Utility figure was only 106 ERUs. Mr. Capps said that his client was willing to compromise and would use the City's ERU figure if the City was willing to drop the late interest charges. Mr. Capps also said it would be Tuesday, August 9, before Triple T Inns would be able to submit payment to the City. The Commission said regardless of the monetary amount settled on this evening, payment would be due to the City no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, August 5. 8 Mayor Ison recommended the City stand on its compromise on the 9% interest rate charge and that the City should not compromise further. The Commission agreed and Mr. Capps said he would need some time to try to reach his client to see if that was an acceptable figure. J e e e Page 5 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 Proposal for a Central Wastewater System, Florida Community Services - J. Tanck Commissioner Johnson proposed a Workshop Session on this item so that Commissioner Dabbs could also be present. Commissioner Bateman agreed and Mayor Ison asked Mr. Tanck if that would be convenient for him. Mr. Tanck said he did not have a problem with that. It was decided that the Workshop would be held before the next regular Commission Meeting on Tuesday, August 16, at 6 p.m. in the Community Center. A Charter Revision Workshop was also scheduled for that evening and would take place at 7 p.m. immediately following the Florida Community Services Workshop. Mayor Ison asked the Commissioners to get in contact with Mr. Tanck if they needed any other information before the Workshop Session so that no further delays would be necessary due to lack of information. Update from Langton & Associates regarding Grants Research M. Langton Pat Barrett was at the meeting representing Langton & Associates. Ms. Barrett said she had given the Mayor and Commissioners a report detailing the information she had gathered during the individual interview sessions she had held with the Commission and staff members. Ms. Barrett suggested three grants the Commission might be interested in pursuing. Ms. Barrett described the Florida Recreation and Development Assistance Program, sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources in Tallahassee. She said there were two options in this program. The first grant was for municipalities interested in monies for passive park areas. This grant would not allow the City to build any specific recreational facilities but would rather provide financial assistance towards the acquisition of land for purposes of green space or areas where people could simply enjoy undeveloped land. This grant involved a matching of City funds of $1 for every $2 the grant provided. The other grant would allow monies toward active parks or areas where specific recreational facilities such as pools or baseball fields could be developed. This grant involved a matching of City funds of $2 for every $1 the grant provided. Both of these grants had a deadline for entry of October 31 and the maximum amount of funds available under each grant would be $120,000. Mayor Ison asked if it was necessary to buy the land first or if the City could enter into an agreement where it would buy the land if it got the grant for a passive park. Ms. Barrett said the City would need to acquire the land first, and not wait to see if the grant monies became available. e Page 6 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 The second grant Ms. Barrett discussed was a Special Category Grant for historical preservation. The monies were available to projects in excess of $50,000 and the grant application deadline was September 15. Ms. Barrett said the City would need to provide cost estimates on work to be done to the Withers-Maguire House, photographs, and details on the work scheduled to complete the restoration. She said there were no matching fund requirements but that the application would score higher if there was some local financial assistance pledged as well. Ms. Barrett said there was a time limit involved and that the work that the grant monies was to pay for would need to be completed within 18 months after the grant was approved. Commissioner Johnson asked Ms. Barrett about the Wastewater grant and when the deadline was. Ms. Barrett said the grant had a March deadline and that they would work on that grant application as well. e The Florida Main Street grant was discussed and Ms. Barrett agreed it was a good project but that there were certain restrictions applied and it required cities to hire a Project Director and incur the operating costs for that position. The Emergency Medical Systems grant was also discussed. Ms. Barrett said she had met with Mr. Ryan and representatives from neighboring cities on July 6 to discuss an agreement between the cities of Ocoee, Apopka, Maitland, and Winter Garden on an Emergency Communication System. The representatives agreed to consider the proposal to work together on the project and to respond back to Ms. Barrett by September 6. City Manager Ryan said the Emergency Medical Services grant required matching funds and that it would be very expensive to maintain it in the budget in future years. The Commission directed Ms. Barrett to work on the projects listed in her report as numbers 1, 8, 9, and 7. - Agreement with Triple T Inns Regarding Sewer Fees Mr. Capps approached the Commission again to let them know that he was able to reach his client. Mr. Capps said they were willing to pay the City $235,000 by Friday at 4 p.m. which was less than the $243,000 that the City was asking. Commissioner Johnson questioned the figures changing. He said as far as he was concerned, they had known of the amount since December and he was not willing to reduce the amount anymore than compromising on the 9% interest rate. City Manager Ryan said on behalf of the hotel, they felt they were working with the City by negotiating with the staff and e Page 7 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 therefore felt they were in compliance and did not feel they owed any late charges since discussions seemed to be ongoing. Mayor Ison said the City would not compromise on the fee other than the lower interest rate charged for late payment. He said under the new ordinance, flow would not be a topic for discussion, and that there would be an even higher amount charged per ERU. City Attorney Rosenthal said his recommendation was to disconnect sewer service if the City did not receive $243,789 by Friday. Mr. Capps reiterated that his client felt they had acted in good faith with the City and that he understood the offer being made and would get in contact with his client again and get his response. e SPECIAL STAFF REPORTS Public Works Director - Ray Brenner Public Works Director Brenner reported to the Commission on three projects. Mr. Brenner said the Maguire Road and S.R. 50 utility relocation would be completed in about two weeks. He reported that there had been some traffic congestion because of the work but basically things were going smoothly. The water main relocation at Bluford and Silver Star was set to begin. Mr. Brenner reported that a pre-construction conference had been held and a Notice to Proceed was to be issued for Monday, August 8. Mr. Brenner said this would put the contractor about 30-40 days ahead of the Department of Transportation's scheduled start date at the same location. Public Works Director Brenner said he had received a quote this morning from Mr. Harris regarding the Ocoee Senior League Field lighting for $70,000. Mr. Brenner said the amount included demolition, new installation of lighting, and poles. e Triple T Inns - Payment of Sewer Fees Mr. Capps returned and said he had spoken with his client and was ready to sign the agreement for $243,789.59. Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the authorization of settlement for the amount of $243,789.59 and in the event that payment was not received by the City by 4 p.m. on Friday, the agreement would be terminated and Holiday Inn West would be disconnected from the City's sewer service, Commissioner Hager seconded, and approval was unanimous. City Engineer - Dennis Finch City Engineer Finch asked for direction from the Commission on the Change Order policy. He said item #6 in his staff report needed a definite monetary amount set. Commissioner e Page 8 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 Bateman suggested that the words "up to say $2500 or $5000 or" be deleted from #6 on the staff report. Commissioner Bateman moved to approve the change order policy with that change incorporated, Commissioner Johnson seconded, and approval was unanimous. Commissioner Hager said that change orders were unavoidable but wanted to stress that staff be as restrictive as possible when proposing a change order. e Direction Regarding Retention Pond Maintenance City Engineer Finch asked if the Commission had any questions on the staff report he had submitted. Commissioner Bateman asked whether the City wanted to own the retention areas or have the homeowners' associations own them. City Engineer Finch recommended that the City continue to own them as they have in the past but that the City get funding from new projects coming in. Assistant City Attorney Woodson said he needed a consensus of the Commission as to the ownership so he could begin drafting the ordinance. Commission consensus was to continue City ownership of the areas but assess property owners who benefited from them. City Planner - Holly Myers, Assistant Planner There were no comments from the Planning Department on the continuation of any projects. Mayor Ison said he had received a letter from the Department of Transportation regarding the Five-year Needs Analysis on the four-Ianing of Silver Star Road from Hiawassee Road through to Winter Garden. Mayor Ison said a response from the City should be submitted within 30 days. Direction was given to City Engineer Finch to draft a response. COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS/PUBLIC: comments at this time. There were no citizen RECESS: 9:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: 10 p.m. NEW BUSINESS e REPORTS AND INFORMATION - CITY MANAGER City Manager Ryan said he had submitted the proposed budget for the Commission's review. Mr. Ryan pointed out the first copy of the computer printout that showed the cash carry forward had depleted from a balance of more than $830,000 to less than $130,000. City Manager Ryan said the only additional personnel other than the already-approved Associate Planner would be an Assistant to the Finance e Page 9 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 Director. City Manager Ryan gave a summary of the budget message that accompanied the printout. He said the proposed budget was based on a property tax increase to 5.0 mills. He agreed that the rate was a "drastic increase" and said it was attributable to short falls in the level of spending versus the cash position. He said the City had grown on paper but that there were no new rooftops or shopping centers yet to add to the needed revenue. e City Manager Ryan said the City needed to give the County a not-to-exceed figure on the millage rate. He suggested the Commission use the 5.0 mills as a maximum figure. It was decided that the Budget Workshop scheduled for Monday, August 8, be postponed until Monday, August 15, so that Mayor Ison and Commissioner Dabbs could be in attendance since they would not be able to attend the Workshop on August 8. City Manager Ryan reminded the Commission that they needed to adopt the budget by August 30 or the proposed budget would automatically become the adopted budget. Mr. Ryan said the City had to set the millage rate by September 6. A Workshop to discuss the City's water and sewer capacity sale also needed to be set when Stanley Cohen, the City's Financial Consultant, could be in attendance. The first reading for the ordinance had already tentatively been set for August 16. Therefore, a date for the Workshop needed to be set before Tuesday, August 16. It was decided that the Workshop would be held on Monday, August 15, along with the Workshop on the Budget. City Manager Ryan said a rate adjustment would be necessary in the Sanitation Department. Mr. Ryan said his budget message recommended a $1 increase, bringing the residential service to $ll/month. Mr. Ryan said there was no anticipated rate increase for water and sewer services. - CITY ATTORNEY Request Approval for Additional Appraisal Work with Rex- McGill Appraisers (Stucki) City Attorney Rosenthal said the City needed to have an updated appraisal completed on the Stucki property. He recommended that the City Commission approve authorization for the City Manager and the City Attorney to obtain appraisal services from Rex-McGill. He said the money to pay for the appraisal would come out of the Bowness Road funds. The Commission asked that the staff keep an accurate account . e e Page 10 City commission Meeting August 2, 1988 of the money coming out Commissioner Bateman moved additional appraisal services, and approval was unanimous. of the Bowness Road funds. to approve the request for Commissioner Hager seconded, Request Approval of Non-Waiver Agreement (Ronald L. Stucki) Mr. Rosenthal recommended that the City Commission approve the Non-Waiver Agreement with Florida Municipal Liability Self-Insurers Program, authorizing execution thereof by the Mayor and City Clerk. Commissioner Johnson moved to approve the request, Commissioner Bateman seconded, and approval was unanimous. Direction Regarding Sewer Charges for Lake Olympia Village Assistant City Attorney Woodson referred to his memorandum to City Manager Ryan and explained that staff had questions regarding the appropriate sewer capacity charge for the remaining, still to be connected, 72 ERUs that had been reserved by Lake Olympia Village by payment of $400 per ERU to Prima Vista Utility Company. Mr. Woodson said he recommended the City require Lake Olympia to pay the increase in the capacity charge from $400 to the new fee of $2500 per ERU for the remaining 72 ERUs. He said the City should also require Lake Olympia to enter into a Developer's Agreement for sewer service in a form similar to the one drafted by Foley & Lardner. Assistant City Attorney Woodson said under the typical Prima Vista Utility Development Agreements in the past, it was specified that the developer was liable for any increased capacity charges imposed prior to actual connection to the system. Therefore, if the City were to demand the increased payment, it would be acting in a manner consistent with the prior established practice of Prima Vista Utilities. Mayor Ison said he wanted to hold off on any response to Lake Olympia Village until he had time to review his Prima Vista notes on this particular matter. COMMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS commissioner Johnson asked about the paperwork he received regarding a lawsuit against the City. City Manager Ryan said the notice had been received earlier in the day and was copied for the Commission for informational purposes. City Attorney Rosenthal was to research the lawsuit and report back to the Commission. Commissioner Johnson also asked about some trees at the City Barn that were waiting to be planted. He said they looked as if they were dying and suggested that the staff plant them e e e Page 11 City Commission Meeting August 2, 1988 around the retention pond off of Ocoee Hills Road or the retention pond area by Alton Julian's property on White Road. His main concern was that they not be left at the Barn to die. Commissioner Hager had no comments. Commissioner Bateman asked whether the other Commission members had seen the article regarding the proposed storm water drainage ordinance in Winter Park. City Manager Ryan said they would get a copy of the ordinance for the Commission's perusal. Assistant City Manager Finch said the ordinance had been tabled by the Winter Park Commission because they felt it needed to be reworked in certain areas. Mayor Ison asked the Commission whether they had received a copy of the article on cable television. He said the Better Business Bureau had given Cablevision Industries an unsatisfactory rating. Rick D'Loughy of Cablevision Industries said the rating was made some time ago and was no longer appropriate given the measurable improvements the company had made over the past months. ADJOURNMENT: 10:45 p.m. MAYOR ATTEST: DE