PALM BEACH SHORES TOWN COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING November 17, 2008

Transcription

1 PALM BEACH SHORES TOWN COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING November 17, 2008 Thomas R. Mills, Mayor Lisa A. Tropepe, Vice Mayor Commissioner Alan D. Fiers Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan Commissioner John M. Workman Town Attorney Keith Davis Town Clerk Carolyn Gangwer Town Administrator Cindy Lindskoog 1. ROLL CALL, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: a. Regular meeting of October 20, AGENDA APPROVAL: Additions, substitutions, deletions 4. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: a. Financial report for October ) Monthly Budget Report Summary 2) FYE Final Budget Reports 3) Fund balance summary b. Police department report 1) Introduction of new part-time officer c. Fire department report d. Staff reports 1) Town Administrator 2) Town Clerk Update on Building Official/Inspection/Code Enforcement Services contract with Hybyrd Inspections, Inc. e. Legal update f. Planning and Zoning Board report 5. MAYOR, COMMISSION REPORTS: a. Commissioners Priority Items 6. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: a. Consideration: approval of special event permits for Sunset Celebration and Wiki Tiki Tuesdays at Sailfish Marina for b. Ratification of PBA contract. c. Update on status of Police Chief Wille and long term resolution thereof. d. Discussion: underground utilities. e. Discussion: Zoning District B redevelopment and renovations. f. Discussion: Property Owners Association requests that Town include POA one page newsletter as an insert in the Town s monthly newsletter. 7. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS and PROCLAMATIONS: a. Second reading of O Amending Chapter 28 Finance in order to revise the deposit and accounting requirements for town assessed impact fees. b. First reading of O Amending Chapter 46 Offenses regulating activities on the parkway and at the inlet gazebos, setting penalties for infractions to be included in the town s fee schedule which is adopted by resolution. c. First reading of O Amending Chapter 10 Animals by placing fines for infractions into the town s fee schedule which is adopted by resolution. d. First reading of O Amending Chapter 38 Garbage and Trash to clarify that the function of solid waste collection and disposal is reserved in the town and the town s franchisee. e. Resolution R Amending FY budget. f. Resolution R Amending FY budget. Page 1 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

2 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS: 9. ADJOURNMENT. MINUTES The regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Thomas Mills, who led the assembled in the pledge to the flag. Roll call revealed that all members were present. Also present were Town Attorney Keith W. Davis, Town Administrator Cindy Lindskoog, Town Clerk Carolyn Gangwer and Acting Police Chief Steven Kniffin. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The October 28, 2008 regular meeting minutes were approved on a motion by Vice Mayor Tropepe and second by Commissioner Workman. AGENDA APROVAL: Town Administrator Lindskoog requested that Items 7.e and 7.f be moved to be included in the Financial report (item 4.a). Commissioner Fiers moved to approve the agenda as amended, and after a second by Vice Mayor Tropepe, the motion carried unanimously. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: a. Financial report for October ) Monthly budget report summary: Commissioner Sullivan moved for approval of expenditures for the month of October in the amount of $223,842. After a second by Vice Mayor Tropepe, the motion carried unanimously. 2) Fund balance summary: There were no questions regarding the FYE 9/30/08 Fund Balance Summary. 7.e. Resolution R Bookkeeper Wendy Wells gave a brief presentation regarding the backup material included with Resolution R The first page included a FYE 9/30/08 final budget report before budget amendment #2. The revenues were pretty close to what was projected, explained Ms. Wells. The only real change was that termination of the pension plans cost less than anticipated. The departments over budget included police, solid waste and dispatch. The second sheet presented a FYE 9/30/08 final budget report after budget amendment #2. Some of the overages were paid for with unanticipated revenues. Exhibit A is attached to R-13-08, and it shows how the amendment will be done. Town Administrator Lindskoog noted a non-cash donation (for professional services) made by Gentile, Holloway, Mahoney for playground and landscape design which adds value to the Community Center of $20,000. Commissioner Fiers opined that most of the year end budget projections were right on, or under, with the exception of the Police department and Dispatch department. Mr. Fiers understands that the police expenditures had to be increased due to the late year donations, but he stated that he was uncertain why the dispatch expenditures were so high. Ms. Wells explained that the salaries were higher than projected, and she will meet with Acting Chief Kniffin to determine what happened, and to ensure that this does not occur this year. Vice Mayor Tropepe moved to approve Resolution R-13-08, after it was read by title only by the Town Clerk. After a second by Commissioner Fiers, the motion carried unanimously. 7.f. Resolution R Resolution R was read by title only. R was approved on a motion by Vice Mayor Tropepe and second by Commissioner Sullivan. Page 2 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

3 Bookkeeper Wells was given kudos for a great job on the town s finances. b. Police department report. Acting Police Chief Steven Kniffin introduced new part time officer Braden Byk, who has been in law enforcement since Mr. Byk is a certified EMT and First Responder in addition to being a certified police officer. Mayor Mills and the Commission welcomed Mr. Byk to the Town of Palm Beach Shores. The police report was filed. The Commission asked questions about speeders on the way to Marriott, the 7 trespasses and 3 auto thefts listed on this month s report. c. Fire department report. The fire department report was filed. There was extensive discussion regarding the on-going issue of false alarms. The Town Clerk was directed to send out fines more frequently than at the end of the 12 month cycle. It s possible that the Certificate of Use code could be used to close down those businesses who continue to have multiple false alarms. d. Staff reports. 1) Town Administrator: Commissioner Fiers will give an update on the Port of Palm Beach during his report. Mayor Mills will report on the Palm Tran bus stop issue and on upcoming meeting regarding Peanut Island in his report. Community Center: water test on doors later this week. Still outstanding are bar surface replacement, carpet replacement and problems with the elevator. The building will need to be retrofitted to meet DERM concerns regarding lighting. Beach parking lot lighting: a lighting engineer has been contracted to work on lights DERM will need to approve any plan. Donations to Community Center have been received, and are appreciated. A thank you letter is being drafted to the community groups regarding donation procedures. Ms. Lindskoog explained that donations should really be coordinated with the working list of Community Center needs. Playground: the area has been prepped, some landscaping and irrigation have already been installed. Delivery date of the equipment is uncertain. Memorial bricks discussed. There appear to be wind load problems with the donated flag pole. An alternate plan would have the Town purchasing a 30 flag pole and having it installed for $2200. The Property Owners Association have kindly offered to pay for installation. Ms. Lindskoog will meet with POA President Jack McDevitt to finalize flag pole and memorial brick issues. Mayor Mills, Acting Chief Kniffin, Fire Chief Fauci and Town Administrator Lindskoog recently attended a meeting at Palm Beach County along with representatives of Riviera Beach to see the county s dispatch in action. Both the county and Riviera Beach have assured the Town that they will be kept in the loop on this issue. Commissioner Fiers asked if there was any discussion of keeping the island system dedicated to the island? The Mayor noted that Riviera Beach was very quiet during the meeting. Mr. Fiers suggested looking into this. The overhead lights at the inlet will be turned off by FPL, although the town will continue to pay rental on the poles. The rental costs ends when the town pays to have the poles removed, remarked Ms. Lindskoog. Tri-City Barbeque scheduled for December 5 th. Please let the Town Administrator know if you re planning to attend. Commissioner Fiers suggested that now would be a good time to see if there will be a Spring Bling in 2009, and if so to try and carve out some of the funding to help defray the town s police costs during the event. Acting Chief Kniffin stated that he is working on this. 2) Town Clerk: Page 3 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

4 The Clerk s written report is included in tonight s meeting binder. The regular monthly Planning and Zoning Board meeting for November has been cancelled due to lack of agenda items. The next meeting will be on December 23 rd. Code Enforcement Special Master hearing tomorrow at 2:00 pm. This is a status hearing on 340 Bamboo Road. Results of research on where the town does its legal advertising Audit Bureau of Circulation reports show that the latest circulation figures for the Palm Beach Post at 34% of the town, and the Sun-Sentinel at.8% of the town. The Home Town News was also contacted, and they no longer publish for this area at all. In addition, the Clerk called the Week Day newspaper and spoke with someone who is going to provide pricing and deadline information, but this has not been received yet. Employees Christmas party 3 quotes were requested, and the best proposal seems to be the Islander Grill (located at the Palm Beach Shores Resort) for $2,060, which covers everything for 60 people. There was general consensus among the Commission members that this was a good price, and that they are looking forward to this annual event. Update on Building Official/Inspection/Code Enforcement Services contract with Hybyrd Inspections, Inc: Mayor Mills noted that the Town Clerk prepared a thorough review and comparison of costs for the Commission s review. Mike Crisafulle was present, and thanked the Commission for taking a look at this issue. There were no questions from the Commission. e. Legal update. The Cities of Boca Raton and Delray Beach have filed motions for a re-hearing on the dual taxation issue. f. Planning and Zoning Board report. The draft minutes of the October Planning and Zoning Board meeting were filed. MAYOR, COMMISSION REPORTS: a. Commissioners Priority Items: Vice Mayor Tropepe happily reported that the Let Us Vote initiative was approved by 3 to 1. This process began three and a half years ago, and culminated with approval on November 4 th. The Vice Mayor noted the complete support of all Palm Beach County municipalities in this effort. Ms. Tropepe has served, and continues to serve as Chair of the League of Cities Home Rule Committee, which helped to spearhead the LUV effort. The audience gave the Vice Mayor a well deserved round of applause for her efforts. Commissioner Alan Fiers reported that the inter-local agreement with Riviera Beach is back on track. Council Person Dawn Pardo was pulled away from this effort, due to her business, but she is again fully involved with this issue. January 15, 2009 is the tentative date set for the meeting with the affected property owners, and it will be held at the Riviera Beach City Council chamber, as a large majority of the properties are in Riviera Beach. A letter will be drafted inviting all property owners in the designated area to this meeting. The owners will be asked what they need to have done, and what they can do to eradicate petty crime. In addition, Riviera Beach will work on getting their Certificate of Use code in place. The Port of Palm Beach: Commissioner Fiers and the Town Administrator have attended several meetings since the October 30 th joint meeting. At a recent Palm Beach Council meeting, that body voted in favor, 4-1 to come on board tentatively supporting expansion of the Port, based on a list of items, which Commissioner Fiers read aloud for the assembled: The Port of Palm Beach District agrees that any plan to deepen and widen the channel will result in no increase in storm surge that could erode and cause further problems in the Lake Work estuary and basin. Page 4 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

5 The Port of Palm Beach District agrees to limit ships to no more than 700. (This was repeated by Palm Beach a number of times at the meeting). The Port agrees to limit the deepening of the harbor channel to 38. (this may be the point of some debate and negotiation, as the Port wanted to go to 42 ) The key issue here is that a 42 depth would allow for a whole new class of ships known as Panamax. The Port District agrees to work with the Town, the US Corps of Engineers relative to the proposed upgrade of the Lake Worth Inlet sand transfer plant. (Palm Beach has a major sand problem, so this is vital to them) And, most important to Singer Island are the last 2 items: The Port District agrees to extend the feasibility study of modeling of the impact on the coast line to the southerly marker R90 to +400 (that s south into Palm Beach, about 2.5 to 3 miles, and north to the McArthur Park) Commissioner Fiers explained that this will include a flow modeling of the ocean and the impact of the dredging on sand flow from McArthur Park all the way down to 3 miles into the Town of Palm Beach, so that we understand how dredging will impact sand drift and flow. Currently, the study was only to go 1600 to each side of the inlet which (in Mr. Fiers opinion) was clearly insufficient. The Port District agrees that no blasting will be utilized in widening and deepening the channel and harbor. This is critical for Palm Beach Shores, because blasting could undermine building foundations. The Mayor of Palm Beach has agreed to sign the letter including these items, and urging the Port to give these items careful consideration. Commissioner Fiers would like for Palm Beach Shores to send a letter stating that Palm Beach is moving in the right direction on this issue. Mayor Mills stated that he was not inclined to sign such a letter because many of the issues have nothing to do with Palm Beach Shores. There was further discussion regarding this issue, including how a possible letter could be worded, how to ensure that the Town s concerns are truly being considered, how far the feasibility study should go, and how Riviera Beach can be encouraged to join this effort. From the audience, Jack McDevitt asked if the Commission should seek citizens input before the town takes any stand on the Port expansion issue? Mayor Mills agreed that, at the point that the Town is working on their list of items, citizen input can be sought. Commissioner Fiers asked that Code Enforcement and a monthly budget projection report be taken off of his list of Commissioners Priorities. Commissioner Workman reviewed his 4 priorities, noting that two of them, under grounding of utilities and how to incentivize District B, are on the agenda for discussion later in the meeting. Mayor Mills reported: A recent meeting with Jeff Marshall from Catalfumo Construction. Mr. Marshall provided the most recent plans of the Ocean Mall redevelopment. There is no wall shown along the border with the Town. Landscaping and sidewalk only are shown. Mr. Marshall explained that a survey was done with the Palm Beach Shores property owners who live along the northern side of Bamboo Road, and they wanted beautification more than a wall. The Mayor noted his concerns about how Beach Road will be constructed, and asked for Commission input as to whether this should be a one way road or not. In addition, no bus stop is shown. Discussion ensued regarding how to address the bus stop issue. Correspondence will be sent to County Commissioner Karen Marcus about the Town s concerns regarding the lack of a bus stop just outside of Palm Beach Shores, along Ocean Drive. Vice Mayor Tropepe recalled the meeting when Dan Catalfumo presented the Ocean Mall redevelopment plans to the Town Commission, and promised that he would work with the Town. She asked that these minutes be provided to the Commission for review. A complete review of how legal fees are being passed on to developers is being done. New forms have been drafted, and each developer will be required to sign that they re aware that additional costs will be charged relative to the town s review of their projects. Page 5 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

6 SWS has challenged the Town s exclusive contract with Waste Management. Attorney Davis commented that the Code Enforcement Officer has notified 7 or 8 violators to get Waste Management roll off containers within a month. That month is nearly up. The Commission will be seeing Ordinance O later in the meeting which amends Chapter 38 Garbage and Trash, and updates some antique language as well as codifying the dumpster requirement issue. Peanut Island the County is changing the designation from recreation/parks to public use. They have promised that no restaurants or other businesses will be allowed. This issue will be carefully monitored. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: a. Consideration: approval of special event permits for Sunset Celebration and Wiki Tiki Tuesdays at Sailfish Marina for Commissioner Workman moved to approve special events permits for Sunset Celebration and Wiki Tiki Tuesdays at Sailfish Marina for the season. After a second by Commissioner Fiers, the motion carried unanimously. b. Ratification of PBA contract. Mayor Mills noted that he has been reporting each month to the Commission on the progress of the contract talks with the PBA and very little has changed since his last report. He thanked the officers for their help in keeping the costs down. Vice Mayor Tropepe stated that she felt comfortable with having the Mayor taking the responsibility of negotiating with the police union. She opined that it was not really necessary for the Commission to ratify the contract because they were not involved in the negotiations. Ms. Tropepe stated that it would be helpful to have the previous contract to compare to the one under consideration at this meeting. Mayor Mills stated that the main difference is the compensation. Last contract called for annual 4.5% increases plus COLA. This contract calls for 4% increase only. For the most part, the contract remains the same. Commissioner Fiers asked about Article 26, covering holiday pay. He noted that compensation for holidays has been increased from 8 hours up to 11.5 hours per holiday. Mr. Fiers opined that this represents an additional 1.8% increase in the officers pay rate. Commissioner Fiers opined that past practice has been that all hourly employees enjoy the same rate of increase as provided to the PBA members, so they should receive the additional 1.8% as well, however, that s up to the Commission. He remarked that the true amount of the rate increase should be kept in mind during next year s negotiations with the union. There was some discussion about who should be negotiating with the union in the next cycle. Commissioner Workman suggested that staff calculate what it would cost to give all hourly staff 1.8% more, and report back next month. There was general agreement among the members to have this done. Commissioner Workman suggested that during the next negotiating cycle, the Commission should be kept apprised of how talks are going, and should see a draft of the contract before it is executed, to avoid any future misunderstandings. c. Update on status of Police Chief Wille and long term resolution thereof. Mayor Mills made the following statement regarding Police Chief Roger Wille s status: Page 6 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

7 As most of you are aware, Chief Wille has suffered with a debilitating medical problem for some time, in fact, nearly 3 years. The problem recently accelerated, and the Chief was placed on administrative leave while a medical course of action was determined. This administrative leave was terminated when his physician recommended that he be granted indefinite medical leave under the Family Medical Leave Act. This is based on a 12 week period which has almost expired, and will be renewed starting with the November 19 th pay period. All of the Chief s salary payouts are taken from his sick leave. Since he has taken very few sick days in his 30 year career with the Town, he still has adequate time to fulfill the leave. It is hoped by then a permanent disability status will have been obtained, at which time the Chief has plans to retire. It was the Mayor s opinion that the Police Chief would probably not be able to return to work. The Mayor stated that Acting Chief Kniffin is doing an outstanding job of keeping him informed with updates every 24 hours. Acting Chief Kniffin is attending many good meetings, and this has resulted in the possibility of getting a loaner of a 4 wheel vehicle from Polaris. Vice Mayor Tropepe offered her wishes that Chief Wille have a speedy recovery. There was brief discussion about when Chief Wille will retire, and how he will maintain health insurance coverage until he can apply for Medicare. d. Discussion: underground utilities. Commissioner Workman led discussion on this item. He gave a brief recap of previous discussions about placing the town s utilities underground, feasibility study, what FPL s cost would be, and how the town would pay for this project. This discussion was deferred until after the end of the last fiscal year, when the budget was complete. Commissioner Workman concluded that discussion of under-grounding of utilities should be postponed for now, until some of the town s debt is paid down, and until the economy improves. Discussion ensued. Commissioner Sullivan agreed that this discussion should be put on hold for at least a year. Vice Mayor Tropepe concurred, but would like to keep track of Jupiter Inlet Colony s lawsuit against FPL. Commissioner Fiers agreed that consideration of under-grounding the town s utilities should be delayed, but kept on the stove until the Town s current debt expires. e. Discussion: Zoning District B redevelopment and renovations. Commissioner Workman explained that he asked for this item to be placed on the meeting agenda in an effort to keep the issue of redevelopment of some of the town s older properties in District B on the front burner. He opined that redevelopment of this area would not only improve the tax base and the look of the Town, but would take care of some of the crime trouble spots. Commissioner Workman will plan to attend the December Planning and Zoning Board meeting and ask that board to look at this issue. f. Discussion: Property Owners Association requests that Town include POA one page newsletter as an insert in the Town s monthly newsletter. Property Owners Association President Jack McDevitt explained the reason for this request the current editor of the Tropical Topics has informed the POA board that she no longer has an interest in working on the newsletter. The POA board discussed many options, and came up with the suggestion that articles from various town residents be sought, and placed on a one page document which could be inserted into the Town s newsletter. Extensive discussion ensued. Attorney Davis cautioned that when a government endorses a private group (by including their newsletter with the Town s), they open themselves up to all sorts of problems. Page 7 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

8 Any other private group could demand the same platform provided to the first group. After further discussion, Commissioner Sullivan moved to not allow the Property Owners to place their newsletter as an insert in the town s newsletter, second by Commissioner Fiers. The vote was 4 YEA and 1 NAY with Commissioner Workman dissenting. ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS and PROCLAMATIONS: a. Second reading of Ordinance O Ordinance O was read by title only by the Town Clerk. Commissioner Sullivan moved to adopt Ordinance O on second reading. After a second by Vice Mayor Tropepe, the motion carried unanimously. b. First reading of Ordinance O Ordinance O was read by title only by the Town Clerk. Discussion ensued. Vice Mayor Tropepe asked for clarification of what was being regulated? Attorney Davis explained that this ordinance adds roller skating and roller blading to the list already in town code (bikes, quadricycles, etc.) prohibited between sunset and sunrise, and also prohibits fishing from or near the gazebos at the inlet. Mr. Davis noted that the police need this wording in the Code in order to issue citations to violators. Mayor Mills asked if the sunset to sunrise could be changed from dusk to dawn? Commissioner Fiers asked for a specific distance from gazebos, arriving at 75. Town Administrator Lindskoog confirmed that this would not jeopardize the FRDAP grant which only requires fishing to be allowed on the site. Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve Ordinance O on first reading with the addition of no fishing 75 feet from the gazebos, and changing sunset to sunrise to dusk to dawn. After a second by Commissioner Workman, the motion carried unanimously. c. First reading of Ordinance O After being read by title only, Ordinance O was approved on first reading on a motion by Vice Mayor Tropepe and second by Commissioner Fiers. d. First reading of Ordinance O Attorney Davis explained that Chapter 30 Garbage and Trash is being amended with this ordinance as a result of issues with construction roll off dumpsters. In addition, some antiquated language is being updated or removed. Ordinance O was read by title only by the Town Clerk. Commissioner Sullivan moved to approve O on first reading, second by Commissioner Workman. Discussion included the town s exclusive franchise with Waste Management, the fact that the current agreement between the Town and Waste Management was arrived at through a competitive bid process, and some complaints by town residents and contractors that Waste Management s prices are higher for construction dumpsters than some other haulers. Mayor Mills explained that the town got a lower price for regular refuse and recycling removal for residents by including the dumpster requirement in the contract. The Town Clerk was asked to include the contract price for construction roll off dumpsters with all building permit applications and development applications so that contractors and property owners will be aware of what the dumpsters will cost. Page 8 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting

9 The motion carried on a unanimous vote. Commissioner Sullivan expressed his disappointment that Waste Management continues to have difficulty with picking up vegetative waste every Monday, as spelled out in the contract. PUBLIC COMMENTS: There were no comments from the public. The meeting adjourned at 9:55 pm. Carolyn J. Gangwer, Town Clerk Thomas R. Mills, Mayor Page 9 of 9 November 17, 2008 Town Commission meeting