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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-30-05 Minutes WS Stormwater CITY OF OCOEE CITY OF OCOEE MINUTES MINUTES CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP November 30, 2005 at 6:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Vandergrift called the workshop to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Clerk Eikenberry City Hall. called roll and declared a quorum present. Roll Call: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Johnson, and Commissioner Parker. Also Present: City Manager Frank, Public Works Director Zaitooni, and City Clerk Eikenberry. I. PRESENTATION OF THE STORMWATER PROGRAM UPDATE Public Works Director Zaitooni stated that he will give a presentation on a long range stormwater program to show what has been done in terms of analysis for the next five years. He stated he will give the presentation and have a question and answer period at the end. Mr. Zaitooni showed the how the current revenues are generated with Charges for Services ($5.00 flat fee for residential) making up 85% of the revenue, roughly 1.4 million dollars. There is an additional 1% in miscellaneous revenue which is from late fees and penalties, as well as a 14% beginning balance. personneloperatingtransfers The current expenditures has four components: 22%; 18%; 25% ($192,000 debt service and 15%-16% transferred into administrative to fund general capital outlay government); and 35%. Mr. Zaitooni continued stating that Revenues vs. expenditures for the current fiscal year FY05- 06 are Revenues of 1.38 million from the $5.00 flat fee and miscellaneous and interest, as well as some carry forward money totaling approximately 1.6 million. He stated the City had to settle for 1.6 million in expenditures although the needs were greater than that. Some major projects had to be postponed because there is not enough money in that fund. Mr. Zaitooni reviewed the fee structure in Chapter 150 of the City of Ocoee Code of Ordinances. The fees are assessed to developed lots and parcels in two classes: residential and non residential. The residential is a flat fee of one ERU (equivalent residential unit) multiplied by the number of individual dwellings on that parcel. Regardless of the size, the charge is the same, which is one ERU. For non residential areas you have the impervious areas which are divided by 2054 (the square footage for one ERU). There is no fee for undeveloped land at the current time. Mr. Zaitooni stated they looked at models from other cities. The City of Orlando places their fees on the annual tax roll; the 2004 fees are $82.56 annually or $6.88 monthly per ERU. One ERU = 2000 sq. ft. They calculate fees different from us by using a sliding scale as opposed to a flat fee. He stated that if you have a property that is 4000 square feet you would be charged two ERUs. The sliding scale is based on the amount of impervious area you have on your property. On the commercial and multi-family properties they have a sliding scale but they allow discounts if Ocoee City Commission Workshop 3 November 30, 2005 there is stormwater management on the property. They also charge fees for undeveloped areas because those areas do contribute to stormwater issues with runoff, etc. At this time the City of Ocoee does not do that. The Winter Park model has monthly billing; residential is based on a sliding scale from 1,099 sq. ft. up to 8.900 sq. ft. There model reflects the cities wishes to have property owners pay their fair share rather than a flat fee. Their ERU is a little different, 2324 sq. ft., and Commercial is based strictly on ERUs, the amount of impervious area on the parcel. He stated Customer Service Supervisor Sills is here to explain any utility billing questions that the Commission may have. He stated Buddy Elmore is also present to discuss some small projects that are needed, and Assistant Public Works Director Elliott is also here to answer questions. Public Works Director Zaitooni reviewed the Expenditures that will be needed over the next five years: personnel, equipment, operating, capital projects, debt service and administrative fees totaling 12.2 million dollars. He also demonstrated the shortfall that will occur each year over the next five years if the current fee structure is continued. He reviewed a list of fifteen stormwater projects that need to be done which total $5,406,000. Mr. Zaitooni said looking at the revenue analysis and knowing what the current needs and revenues are it is apparent that fees will need to be adjusted to cover the expenditures. He stated there are a few options in increasing fees; a sliding scale model and a flat fee increase model. Increasing the flat fee from $5.00 to $6.50 per ERU would increase revenues by $414,000 annually. He showed a model that increased the fee to $6.50 this year and then another $.50 per year each October up to $8.50 where it would remain. He stated the sliding scales model will be more forgiving for smaller parcels of land, where the flat fee does not give that option. He concluded by stating that staff recommends 1) changing the stormwater ordinance, 2) reaching consensus on projects, 3) increase fees as recommended, 4) place stormwater fees on annual tax roll. II. DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED STORMWATER FEES Commissioner Anderson asked how many of the 23 projects that were identified when they got the bond have been completed. Mr. Zaitooni stated three of the projects (Forest Oaks Stormwater Outfall, Northern Durango Drainage System, and Sawmill Pond #4 Outfall System) on the current list were leftover from that list; they probably completed approximately 60% of the items on that list. Commissioner Anderson asked about repaving of roads on Hill, Spring, and West and if the Mr. Zaitooni berm will be lost and how will that affect stormwater. said the berms will be maintained when the roads area paved. He added that $80,000 is left in miscellaneous projects if Commissioner needed to assist with stormwater collection on those roads that he mentioned. AndersonMr. said that Russell Street going over the railroad tracks has a lot of standing water. Zaitooni stated that those can be added to the five year plan for large projects or handled with Mayor Vandergrift miscellaneous funds as smaller projects. said on Hill Street near the church we need to create a chimney in the retention ditch to keep the water in the ditch until it got to a Ocoee City Commission Workshop 4 November 30, 2005 certain height and then go out. He said there are some common sense solutions that we can do Mr. Zaitooni such as swale drainage on those streets Commissioner Anderson was discussing. said those types of things can be done operationally, we just need to balance the cutting in with the residents desire to keep their established sod. Commissioner Anderson asked what we have for stormwater retention around the Starke Lake. Mr. Zaitooni said that we are hoping that the City Hall Pond project will be funded with DEP money. It will take our ditch and create a stormwater pond which will drain 200+ acres. We additional like to treat it for pollutants before it drains into Starke Lake, as well as the other 6 pollutant removals that are on the project list. They would like to create small retention areas (swales) along the shores of Starke Lake wherever possible, as suggested by the Mayor. Beyond that, they are not considering any other addition of retention ponds on Lakeshore. He added that another problem is the high water tables because the water cannot seep in as much as you want it to because of the pressure of the water underneath so you may not get the retention that you want by creating the swales. There was further discussion with regard to Starke Lake retention. Commissioner Anderson asked if we have any stormwater issues related to the widening of Highway 50 that will create funding needed to move utilities. He said it will not be related to Commissioner stormwater, but it is an additional expense that taxpayers will have to bear. Johnson said that is a discussion for another time and the relocation of sewer lines has no relevance to this topic we are discussing. Commissioner Anderson confirmed with Mr. Zaitooni that the pipe at the end of Flewelling that had deteriorated had been fully repaired and relocated. Mr. Zaitooni stated that there are more projects in the city than they can possibly afford to fund at this time, the purpose is to create a five City Manager Frank year plan with the most urgent projects. stated if Commission agrees with the projects, conceptually, we will have to bring them back and include them in the CIP in next year’s budget. Commissioner Hood asked if any of these projects are in the current CIP. Mr. Zaitooni stated the Center Street Collection System was broken into the two years; some is budgeted for this year and it will have to be finished next year. Mayor Vandergrift Mr. Zaitooni asked if there was any money left over in the bond issue. said less than $20,000 and he was unsure of the interest rate. The loan was for over 2 million and the debt service is currently $192,000 per year. Mayor Vandergrift Mr. Zaitooni asked about the number of employees. said there are five; Buddy Elmore is the supervisor and there are four operators responsible for cleaning ditches, running the sweeper, lake watch, and one for general maintenance. Those five employees are used solely for stormwater issues. The operating costs are approximately $300,000 maintaining retention ponds and equipment, etc. Mayor Vandergrift added that collecting the money on the tax roll will save us approximately Mr. Zaitooni $50,000. said we would also pick up some parcels that we are not currently collecting on. Mayor Vandergrift asked about the $950.000 for Pioneer Key. Mr. Zaitooni said FDEP put in $850,000 and CDBG has put in $500,000 this year and we are asking for $400,000 next year. This is a 2.6 million dollar project. It will be an educational park and kiosk and will include Commissioner Johnson sidewalks. asked about the property on the north side of the road that Ocoee City Commission Workshop 5 November 30, 2005 Commissioner we own and Mr. Zaitooni said that 8.5 acres is exactly where the park is going. JohnsonMr. Zaitooni said he heard we are trying to buy the property on Pine Street; said he is not certain but he may be referring to a parcel that the Expressway Authority is trying to sell and gave the city the right of first refusal, he does not believe any decision has been made yet. He said Mr. Wagner asked for a price with the consideration of using the grant from SJRWMD which will be used if they decide to purchase. That grant money cannot be used for the Pioneer Key project Mayor Vandergrift because it comes with many conditions attached. said he would love to see the city get the property on the east/west expressway just to the west of the SR 429 on Palm Avenue and develop some low income housing/rentals on those 10 acres. He said it belonged to Commissioner Johnson the Ropers, but he eventually sold it back to the Expressway Authority. said the church owns all the property around the parks and he is trying to talk to them as well. Mayor VandergriftMr. Zaitooni asked if Orange County is contributing toward the project. said to the extent that they are delegating the Federal CDBG money they are contributing, Mayor Vandergrift otherwise no. said it would be nice to have a trail run through that property. Mayor VandergriftCity Manager Frank asked about setting the rate by resolution. stated that the fee can be removed from the code and set by resolution if that is how they would like to handle it. Commissioner Anderson asked about the utility fee structure as it applies to undeveloped land. Mr. Zaitooni explained that under the current structure they are not paying stormwater, the City Manager Frank ordinance does not require that. said he does not object to adding undeveloped land as long as it is significantly less than developed land. We need to look at what other cities are doing. Commissioner Anderson asked for clarification with regard to Winter Parks process and expressed that he feels every parcel in the city should be paying a stormwater fee, regardless of Mr. Zaitooni developed vs. undeveloped. stated the city of Orlando currently charges Commissioner Anderson approximately $34 per acre annually for undeveloped property. said we need to look at various scenarios on how to charge these undeveloped properties. Mr. Zaitooni said that is in the works. Public Works Director Zaitooni said he recommends changing the ordinance; they will bring an ordinance back in January with a rate structure that is either on a sliding scale or an increased flat fee to increase the revenues over five years. City Manager Frank said the decision on the projects will be made at budget time for the next fiscal year so the Commission will get another look at that. He clarified the ordinance brought back in January will propose a higher fee structure which may reduce the impact on smaller homes by keeping the fee at $5.00 or going to $5.50 and having a larger increase on larger properties. He said as long as they can accomplish the same revenue that would be received with a flat fee of $6.50, they have some time to work on a sliding scale before the ordinance is adopted. III. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Ocoee City Commission Workshop 6 November 30, 2005 APPROVED: Attest: City of Ocoee ____________________________ _________________________ Beth Eikenberry, City Clerk S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor