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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-26-06 Minutes WS MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION July 26, 2006 at 6:00 P.M. CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP I A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Vandergrift called the workshop session to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. Roll Call: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Johnson, and Commissioner Keller. Also Present: Assistant City Manager Croteau, Deputy Public Works Director Elliott, City Engineer Wheeler, Police Chief Reffett, and City Clerk Eikenberry 1. Discussion regarding potential sites for the Ocoee Police Department. Assistant City Manager Croteau thanked Deputy Public Works Director for the presentation she has worked on for tonight's meeting. She announced they would be going over the potential sites for the police station; most of the information should seem familiar because Bob Zaitooni presented a large majority of it to Commission in January. Assistant City Manager Croteau went over the power point slides. She began by listing the selection criteria as being 3.5-4 acres in size, having multiple good access roadways, having the least potential for hazardous materials, having compatibility with surrounding areas, and the property must be for sale. She stated the sites they were reviewing were (1) the property owned by the Ropers on Maguire Road, (2) the property owned by Certi-Fine on McKey Street, and (3) the property owned by the city on Bluford near McKey Street and Oakland. She said they added one more site for review and that is on the comer of A.D. Mims and Clarke Road because it is currently for sale. Assistant City Manager Croteau gave the details of the Certi-Fine & Crittendon property as being 3.98 acres after vacating Floral Street and is being sold for $2.1 million; however, the appraised price was $1.44 million. She listed the pros and cons of the area and said it would compliment downtown Ocoee. Next, she gave the details of the Roper property as being 9.93 acres and the owners are asking $3.9 million; the appraised value is $3.67 million. She stated this site was located in the CRA district and is a possible stormwater site for the expansion of Maguire Road. The owners have indicated willingness to sell; however, if the City were to resell any portion of the property before 2027 they would want the profit returned to them. She continued by listing the pros and cons of that property. Assistant City Manager Croteau gave the details of the city owned properties between Bluford A venue, McKey Street, and Oakland Avenue. She said that some owners have expressed intent to sell and they would have to vacate Oakland Avenue. Currently, the city owns approximately 2 acres and with the purchase of the other two sites they would increase that to 3.59 acres. She said it would allow for joint parking and a centralized governmental facility. She also listed the pros and cons. Workshop on Potential Police Sites July 26, 2006 Lastly, Assistant City Manager Croteau gave the details of the property on the comer of Clarke Road and A.D. Mims as being 14 acres and costing $3.5 million. She thought they could make it a joint use facility and maybe add a park or other facility. The owners were unwilling to consider selling smaller parcels at this time. She listed many pros and a few cons to purchasing this property. Assistant City Manager Croteau said the strategy to follow would be to first purchase the property, and then secure the financing for design and construction, preparation of the site and building drawings, and construction. From start to finish she estimated it to take 12-18 months. She stated the funding would be police impact fees and some general fund. The potential for parks impact fees is one of the properties since it can be used for some park location. Police Chief Reffett thanked the Mayor and Commissioners for coming out tonight. He said he has looked at all of the potential sites and he kept in mind the future growth of Ocoee while doing so. Reason being is that is a good central location for both north and south. He said he likes the idea of having a park located nearby and sees the city growing more north and the prices are going to rise. He believes that the property on A.D. Mims and Clarke is the most beneficial location and is away from the southern industrial area, which is busy with trucks and possible chemical hazards that could interrupt their operations. He also thinks that it would be practical to be so close to the fire station as well. Commissioner Keller inquired if we knew if the other two people near the Bluford property are interested in selling. He was informed that neither of them have interest in selling. He said, since that was the case, he thought purchasing the parcel on A.D. Mims would allow for future profit of selling pieces, as well as opportunity for more parks. Discussion ensued regarding the roadways surrounding the A.D. Mims site and the options available for outlets and access points. Commissioner Johnson said he prefers the A.D. Mims site and thinks the problem with the roads are repairable. He said the only reason he does not want to use the Roper property is because of the twenty year contract of not selling. However, that parcel is perfect for large commercial. He thinks we need to do something quickly. Commissioner Anderson said that the Roper property was his first choice and he does not think we would sell it within twenty years and could possibly change it to ten years. He wished they had a presentation to show the developments for the next twenty years. He said he believed the North West section of Ocoee was going to have a lot of development and the Hwy. 50 corridor was going to be worked on commercially. He stated that the A.D. Mims site would be his second choice. Commissioner Hood said he prefers the A.D. Mims site. Mayor Vandergrift said he saw many potential sites that he thought were great; however, he found out today that we were only looking for property that was for sale. He asked if they were ready to go now with the A.D. Mims site or should they give it another month of looking. Commissioner Anderson said the last page showed the Freeman property that was not for sale, but he thought they might sell if asked. He mentioned the Ed Roberts' 4 acres just south of our Recreation Department, and the Rogers' property of 36 acres. Assistant City Manager Croteau explained that the Roberts' 2 Workshop on Potential Police Sites July 26, 2006 property was 3 acres and he did ask us if we would like to purchase it for $350K. She said they had looked into that for additional property for the parks system. She said he had gotten approval from Orange County for a paintball stadium and she does not think he really wants to sell that. Police Chief Reffett asked his staff to look at the potential sites and negotiate the pros and cons of each so that they were included in the process. Assistant City Manager Croteau explained why they are keeping the search to land that is available and for sale and are trying to stay away from eminent domain. Commissioner Keller suggested giving staff the top 2 options from Commission and let them come up with the numbers and come back to the next Commission meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee ~: .c--- <:..- =.) {..""" S. Scott Vandergrift, Ma 3 I A. CALL TO ORDER MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION July 26, 2006 at 6:00 P.M. CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP Mayor Vandergrift called the workshop session to order at 7:08 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. Roll Call: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Hood, Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Johnson, and Commissioner Keller. Also Present: Assistant City Manager Croteau, Fire Chief Firstner, Deputy Fire Chief McNeil, and City Clerk Eikenberry 1. Discussion regarding the consideration of Advance Life Support (ALS) services in the City of Ocoee. Fire Chief Firstner began the meeting by showing the Commission some photographs from a crash scene of a man crushed between two semi trucks. He said the man was still alive and viable; however, Lieutenant Ellis had to make patient contact while the firefighters stabilize the area to determine if ALS services are necessary. The ALS staff from Health Central had to wait on the sidelines until the patient is brought to them so that they can transport them to the hospital. The Ocoee Fire Department is not currently licensed to proved ALS services. Fire Chief Firstner explained the number of minutes that passed between the time the accident took place and when the patient was transferred to ALS care. Fire Chief Firstner went over their normal response times and the comparison between the time they get there and the time Health Central arrives. He gave his best professional recommendation of how to implement ALS in the City of Ocoee. First, he recommended that all three engines are staffed with certified paramedics to provide ALS service in the City. This means they would need another 6 employees at a minimum to be at an operational level of 12 to make this program feasible. He discussed the certification and incentive pay and said Valencia is the best and most recognized for certification in this area. He said the program takes one year to complete. Fire Chief Firstner recommended that funding of $38,000 be approved in this year's budget to certify up to 10 of their current employees. He asked that they approve the funding mid-year to cover the incentive pay for the paramedics and will need additional funding for the new paramedics that become certified. He gave the projected cost of a supplemental pay of $7500 on an annual basis; with 12 additional employees it would cost $90,000. He declared the other costs involved as well. Commissioner Anderson asked if implementation would take place next year and when the money would be needed. Fire Chief Firstner gave a time-line of the process and the costs thereof. He said the basic funding would come from ad-valorem taxes; however, alternatives such as grants are available, which he plans to apply for. The grants will pay for training costs, equipment, and supplies only. The Motor Vehicle Accident Cost Recovery program should be Workshop on ALS Services in Ocoee July 26, 2006 considered to help offset the cost of the ALS. He said he spoke about this program at a previous meeting. Fire Chief Firstner again went over the time-line of the implementation, beginning with enrollment in the certification program at Valencia. He said he received interest from 7 of his current employees who would like to enroll and the funds for tuition could be available by the beginning of the fiscal year. Commissioner Anderson asked what would happen if the employee does not pass the program or drops out. Fire Chief Firstner said that is something he would discuss with the Human Resources Director. He proposed that between October and January they would begin preparing their cost recovery ordinance for review and approval. He said that time frame would give them almost a year to recover some of the costs with the Motor Vehicle Accident Recovery Program. Fire Chief Firstner went over the incentive costs and budget necessary for such. He explained that the County Medical Director has to approve each and every paramedic that practices on the field; therefore, nobody will be practicing their ALS skills until approved by him, which should not take place until July. In August 2007 he expects to have at least 7 certified paramedics with the Medical Director signing off in November. By October 2007 they should begin purchasing the necessary equipment and apply for their ALS state license. He feels the earliest realistic time to implement the program would be January 2008. Commissioner Anderson inquired about the cost of coordinators/trainers. Fire Chief Firstner said that would be in the 2006-2007 FY budget; he said he already requested funding for a trainer in the budget and discussed that with the City Manager and Finance Department. He further discussed the comparable ALS fees for municipalities of similar size, the projected revenues, transport service fees, and the wear and tear of vehicles. Fire Chief Firstner showed a map of the City and the surrounding areas. He said that Winter Garden is in the process of upgrading their service to ALS. He stated that ALS will automatically give us shared service responses with Orange County. He said if we go ALS, it will add to the entire mix of resources in the area. Commissioner Anderson declared his excitement of implementing ALS in Ocoee. Commissioner Hood said he was in favor of the ALS. Commissioner Keller agreed and asked if we could offer limited service with our certified paramedics while we are in the process of getting ALS implemented. Fire Chief Firstner said he would look into implementing it in steps and accelerating the service. Commissioner Johnson inquired about dispatching and said he would like to see our EMT's get paramedic training. Fire Chief Firstner said they could easily work with the County on dispatching issues. Commissioner Anderson asked to give the chief some direction. Mayor Vandergrift said he still has trepidations about it and still has a lot of questions that need to be answered. He said it comes down to a financial issues and emotional issues, but overall it looks good and it seems like it has already been inserted into the budget. 2 Workshop on ALS Services in Ocoee July 26,2006 William Mendoza, 7-year firefighter/paramedic, stated that going ALS is a public service for them and they are not in the job for the money, but for helping the citizens. He would like to be able to offer this to the public because it is the right thing to do. Martha Lopez-Anderson, citizen, stated that she has been present for all of the meetings discussing implementing ALS services and the importance thereof. She said that when her son died Ocoee was the first to respond and she will never know if it would have helped any to have ALS then; however, they should move to make a difference to other people. She said she was amazed with the Mayor's comments regarding public safety programs and his reservations with it. Mayor Vandergrift said he was not trying to upset her, but he thinks we already offer great public safety and he is thinking of the tax payers paying for us to replace one service with another that costs so much money. He apologizedfor upsetting her. 2. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee ~. d S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayo -It. I' r 3