TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGULAR MEETING. Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Transcription

1 TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, June 4, :30 PM Mayor Bernard Featherman called the Regular Meeting to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 PM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor Ron Brown; Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan; Commissioner Louis P. Stern and Commissioner Carl Feldman. Also present: Town Attorney Glen Torcivia; Town Manager Kathleen D. Weiser; Town Clerk Beverly M. Brown; Public Works Director Jack Lee; Assistant to the Manager Zoie Burgess; and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Mayor Featherman asked for any additions or deletions. Commissioner Stern requested that item #5B Resolution No R be heard before Item #5A Resolution No R. On item #11 D the $25, needed to have a zero added to the dollar amount; and #11 E include: property located in be added before Boca Raton. Mayor Featherman requested that Item #11D be removed from the Consent Agenda and be discussed further under Old Business. The Commission agreed to all Additions and Deletions. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Ann Roy - Bel Lido Isle Could someone explain what was meant at the last meeting that we can t get a price until we commit to buying? What happened to getting bids? Comm. Feldman I was not at the last meeting, but I did listen to the tape. I believe what the Manager was referring to, is that before going out for bids, she wanted to confirm that the Commissioners were behind the project.

2 June 4, 2013 Page 2 of 9 3. PRESENTATIONS Introduction of Reverend D. Brian Horgan, PhD. from St. Lucy s Church Rev. D. Brian Horgan I am the new priest assigned to St. Lucy s Parish. I have been a Priest for fifteen years and my first assignment was at St. Vincent s in Delray Beach. After that I was Pastor at St. Lucy s in Port St. Lucie. I spent five years in the Air Force as a Chaplain serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the past two years I was a teacher at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. The Bishop asked that I come to St. Lucy s Church here in Highland Beach to assist Father Grace. I strongly advocate for our second amendment rights for free exercise of religion, whatever religion that may be. During my time in the military I completed my Doctorate in Psychology. I would like people to recognize me firstly as a Priest; secondly as a friend; but more importantly as a brother, someone who just walks the journey with you with no strings attached. Post-session Update State Representative Bill Hager District #89 Rep. Bill Hager I am the State Representative to the Florida House of Representatives in this District which runs from Boca Raton; hugs the coast all the way up to West Palm Beach; Town of Palm Beach and Singer Island. Father, I would like to thank you for your service to this Parish and your service to the United States of America. This is my third year in the Florida Legislature. Previously, I served seven years on the City Council in Boca Raton. Florida Legislature is part time and we meet only sixty days out of the year. This year, we adopted a budget of seventy-four billion dollars. Our state budgets are balanced and we cannot spend one dollar more than what comes in the front door. As a result, our Bonds are triple A rated. The State of Florida has the lowest ratio of state employees to population in the nation. We have the fifth lowest taxation structure in the United States; have no personal income tax; have little business income tax and will continue to do so. We continue to put the focus on our schools and our children. I believe formal education for our children is a human right and a civil right. Today, Florida schools are rated fifth in the nation; up from about thirty-fifth, twenty or thirty years ago. In the most recent legislative session, we allocated an additional 1.5 billion dollars to the K thru 12 systems. That number is about 20 billion dollars today. We have five hundred authorized Charter Schools with 200,000 students, and have 80,000 students waiting to move into the Charter Schools. The unemployment rate today is the lowest it has been since the recession. It is lower now than the national level. We continue to work with our communities regarding beach re-nourishment. Comm. Stern Thank you for your continued service. You are doing a great job. Comm. Sheridan What is the unemployment rate at this time? Rep. Hager The unemployment rate in the State of Florida is about 7.1 percent as of the end of last month. Nationally it is about 7.2%. Gov. Scott has made the creation of jobs his number one goal. The State is well positioned for out-year

3 June 4, 2013 Page 3 of 9 significant economic growth. We have thirteen ports and have just put in over a billion dollars in our ports. They will be a point of entry. The State of Florida continues to be a beachhead for money and talent coming out of South America and, for that matter, the balance of America. 4. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES: A) Board Correspondence: None B) Board Action Report: Read into the Record C) Board Vacancies: Board of Adjustment & Appeals One Appointment D) Monthly Board Meetings Beaches & Shores Advisory Board June 11 th 9:30 AM Planning Board June 12 th - Canceled Bd. of Adjustment No scheduled meeting. Code Enforcement Board No scheduled meeting 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: A) RESOLUTION NO R A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 759 WHICH ESTABLISHED A PROCEDURE FOR FORMALLY EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TOWN MANAGER; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. MOTION: Comm. Stern moved to approve Resolution No R as of today s date. Motion was seconded by Comm. Sheridan. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Stern - Commissioner Sheridan - Commissioner Feldman - Vice Mayor Brown - Mayor Featherman Motion passed with a 5-0 vote. B) RESOLUTION NO R A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA AUTHORIZING A SALARY ADJUSTMENT FOR THE TOWN MANAGER.

4 June 4, 2013 Page 4 of 9 Comm. Stern At our Workshop last week I suggested an increase of three percent for Kathleen Weiser our Town Manager. My concern was that a higher percentage down the road could create a cumulative problem, as the Town Manager s position does not have a salary cap. There is no question that Kathleen Weiser has done better than a satisfactory job. In fact, has done an outstanding job and most recently with the sale of our Town property. I would like to suggest that we give her a one-time bonus now, of the difference between the three percent and the five percent, which would be a bit more than $2500. Comm. Sheridan I am in complete favor of the five percent; but broken down three percent for salary and the two percent for a benefit over and above, but not included in the salary, for a total of five percent. Comm. Feldman I am not clear on some of the benefits that the Town Manager receives such as the benefit for education which I believe is at $4,000; the benefit on the car ($600 a month plus mileage over and above fifty miles outside of Palm Beach County). Kathleen is doing an excellent job; and I would say a fair increase in her salary, because of what she gets now and what we hope to get in the future, would be three percent this year. Vice Mayor Brown I think she is doing an outstanding job regardless of all the benefits and what we are paying her, and I feel we should reward her with a five percent increase. Mayor Featherman I also feel that we should reward our employees with a proper increase. I believe the three percent is proper. Comm. Sheridan I know there is no cap on this position and there are caps in the Police Department and several other departments. Do we want to look at putting a basic salary cap on this position? Comm. Stern All other positions have a salary cap except for the Town Manager. Comm. Sheridan With the idea that, if a cap is established and if there is a merit bonus to be given, it certainly can be given over and above that cap. I think it is only fair if we have a basic salary cap for other department heads, we should look into it. Town Attorney Torcivia I understand the Town is going to be undertaking a Classification and Pay Study. If the study does not include the Town Manager position, perhaps it should. This way, when you get the study back, it will help you establish that range of salaries for all employees including the Town Manager. MOTION: Comm. Stern moved to increase the base salary of the Town Manager by three (3) percent and provide a one-time cash bonus of the difference between three and five percent. Motion seconded by Comm. Sheridan. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Stern - Commissioner Sheridan - Commissioner Feldman - Vice Mayor Brown - Mayor Featherman - Motion passed 5 0.

5 June 4, 2013 Page 5 of 9 6. NEW BUSINESS None scheduled. 7 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS LEFT OVER: A) Consent Agenda Item #11 D - Commission to authorize funding of approximately $25, for Phase 3 of the Public Safety Facilities (Police/Chambers) from the General Fund s Reserve for Contingency Account # with the intent to budget to begin construction in the Fiscal Year Budget. Mayor Featherman I feel Item #D should be taken off the Consent Agenda and discussed at this meeting under Miscellaneous - Items Left Over. The final recommendation made, before I agree to it, would be to not support the start of the construction until we see the final accountability of the monies that it will cost and the breakdowns before it is agreed upon. Comm. Feldman I was with the Police Chief; went through the department and reviewed the plans. It is definitely needed. I don t believe we are allocating enough money for it and, I don t think we can allocate any money until we get the quotations in. Regardless of what it comes in at; we need it. The building is in tough shape. There is a problem with mold and there must be remediation. Comm. Stern I am in total accord that the work needs to be done. I don t see how we can get started if we don t have Phase III, which is $25,000 to complete the project, and get the quotes that we need to make the decision down the road. Comm. Sheridan I feel the same way as Comm. Stern. We have to get this rolling sooner or later. If we want the figures we have to pay to get them. Vice Mayor Brown What we are looking at is authorizing the $25,000 to get a study together to come up with the plans to establish the actual cost to redo this. I am in favor of authorizing the money. MOTION: Comm. Stern moved to return Item 11D back on today s Consent Agenda. Motion was seconded by Comm. Sheridan. Discussion: Comm. Feldman asked what would happen if it costs more than $25,000. Town Manager Weiser This says approximately $25,000. You have an open contract with this Architect to do the original plans. This is the next step where he takes those plans and puts them into bid documents and construction documents. They have to give approximates because they don t know what they are going to find when they get in here. If it is any more we will bring it back to you. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Stern - Commissioner Sheridan - Commissioner Feldman -

6 June 4, 2013 Page 6 of 9 Vice Mayor Brown - Mayor Featherman - Motion passed REPORTS TOWN COMMISSION: A) Commissioner Carl Feldman We seem to be getting a number of s from Town residents and some of the information in these s is not 100% correct. One of the questions was why the Mayor asked why the vote on the Planning Board was four to three. The Mayor is 100% behind this project. He has meetings with our building and showed the plans to the residents. He is the most affected unit owner because he faces northeast. In this , it stated that he was trying to slow down the process because he was talking about the Planning Board. The Vice Chair of the Planning Board made a statement that the only thing she did not understand was that they were changing the density. She referred this to the Town Attorney and asked if it was okay to extend this, if they were changing the density. That is the reason for the vote. The same also accused the Mayor of picking on the Town Manager. She certainly can hold her own in any battle. B) Commissioner Louis P. Stern Delray Beach has received a 2013 Best Restored Beach Award from the American Shore and Beach Preserve Association (ASBPA). We had a whole presentation on beach restoration and, I had several calls from members of the Sea Turtle Watch group indicating that the south end of our Town really is losing its beach again. Hopefully, in the near future, we will address and go back into that report. C) Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan I would like to thank Father for coming here today. It is important that we continue to have the relationship the Town has with St. Lucy s and I hope we can continue to do so. D) Vice Mayor Brown We had a memorial on the beach last night for a person killed in an automobile accident. I want to thank the Police Department for all of their support, for being there, and helping everybody as they crossed the street. I would also like to thank the Town Staff for their great support. E) Mayor Bernard Featherman I had dinner with the gentleman that was a speaker at the Beaches & Shores Board regarding protecting our turtle population. On June 15 th there will be a meeting on protecting our beaches. I am on the advisory board along with Commissioner Sheridan and Commissioner Stern. This meeting will be held at the Valencia Room at the Boca Raton Hotel, 501 Camino Real, Boca Raton. The public is invited to come. 9. REPORTS TOWN ATTORNEY: You are all aware that the Inspector General lawsuit has been going on for quite a while, and there have been reports in the newspaper about possible settlements. There are discussions going on, at least among

7 June 4, 2013 Page 7 of 9 the cities, and a little bit with the County. I don t think anything is imminent, but there are at least some conversations going on about that. 10. REPORTS TOWN MANAGER: I would like to thank all the Commissioners for going through the evaluation process with me. Regarding the issue of mold in the Police Department, we had to have a mold inspection company come in and look at the Chief s office, adjacent offices, as well as the Commission Chambers. The Commission Chambers is fine but the Chief s office and the outer office have to be contained and locked until there are remediation efforts. The Chief has moved his office into the conference room. We are getting quotes on that remediation; but before we do anything, if we are going to do the renovation, I don t see doubling up on the money to do the remediation if we are going to be tearing out walls anyway. We are in the process of getting numbers and I will bring them back to you, so we can make a decision as to how we want to go with that. We have signed the contract with Cody & Associates for the pay study which will be taking place over the next month. They will be doing surveys of all the different employees and come back with a new pay and class study for us. We did a practice run this week for Code Red. Hopefully all the residents got this message on their phone. If you did not, please contact Town Hall. That means you are not in our system to receive emergency messages. Within the next two months, FP&L is going to be hardening our poles and our lines. They will be checking the poles and, where there are wooden poles, they will be be looking at hurricane resistant ones which are the concrete type of poles. 11. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Featherman asked if any item needed to be removed from the Consent Agenda. Town Clerk Brown read the Consent Agenda into the record: A) Adoption of RESOLUTION NO R A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR THE EXTENSION OF RESOLUTION NO R WHICH PREVIOUSLY EXTENDED THE VARIANCE AND DEVELOPMENT ORDER OF THE HIGHLAND BEACH RENAISSANCE (NOW KNOWN AS 3200 SOUTH OCEAN) PROJECT; PROVIDING FOR APPROVAL OF A REVISED FAÇADE AND ELEVATIONS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, CONFLICTS AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. B) Commission to schedule a Special Meeting on Monday, July 15, 2013 at 9:30 AM to set the Tentative Maximum Millage Rate for Fiscal Year

8 June 4, 2013 Page 8 of 9 C) Authorization for Mayor to Sign Renewal of existing Employee Health Insurance Plan, BCBS Blue Options D) Commission to authorize funding of approximately$25, for Phase 3 of the Public Safety Facilities (Police/Chambers) from the General Fund s Reserve for Contingency Account # with the intent to budget to begin construction in the Fiscal Year Budget. E) Authorization for the Mayor to sign a contract for the sale of the Town owned property located in Boca Raton to Douglas T. Durrett in the amount of Three Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($3,500,000.00). F) Approval of Minutes: April 30, 2013 Workshop Meeting May 7, 2013 Regular Meeting MOTION: Commissioner Sheridan moved that the Consent Agenda is accepted as read by the Clerk. Motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Sheridan - Vice Mayor Brown - Commissioner Stern - Commissioner Feldman - Mayor Featherman - Motion passed with a 5-0 vote 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING George Kelvin - Braemer Isle We Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America at the beginning of every meeting. There are a few people in the audience who do not participate. I would hope they would reconsider their decision not to participate. Town Attorney Torcivia America was founded on the principle of religious freedom. If someone elects not to follow the pledge the way other people think, they are in their rights to do that. Carol Stern Russell Drive I received a message on my phone regarding Code Red and it did not say what it was but gave an 800 number. I almost didn t open it. Tom Meyer Ocean Blvd. I want to thank the developer for taking care of the property next door to us. There is a curtain on the chain link fence surrounding the property and I would like to know if it is a rule of the Town that these curtains must be on the fence. They can become an eyesore when there

9 June 4, 2013 Page 9 of 9 are heavy winds and they blow off. We are excited about seeing that property developed and turn into an asset for the community. 13 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman adjourned the Regular Meeting at 2:25 PM upon a MOTION by Commissioner Stern; seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. APPROVED: Bernard Featherman, Mayor Ron Brown, Vice Mayor Dennis J. Sheridan, Commissioner Louis P. Stern, Commissioner Carl Feldman, Commissioner ATTEST: Beverly M. Brown, MMC Town Clerk Date