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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_08/14/1973MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCILMEN OF THE • VILLAGE OF TEf~TESTA, FLORIDA The first regular August Council meeting of the Councilmen of the Villa a of Tequesta, Florida was held at 7:30 P,M., Tuesday, August 14, ~3 at the Village Hall. Counci Lnen present were Messrs: Rassell, Frank, Leone and Del Ninno, also present were Robert Harp, Village Manager, Christopher H. Cook, Village Attornep, Alvin W. Butterfield, Building Official, Gary Preston, Recreation Director and Charles R. Jonas, Village Clerk. Vice Mayor Little had advised he would be out of town and unable to attend-the meeting. The meeting was opened with Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by Councilman Frank. Upon motion by Leone, seconded by Frank and unanimously passed, the minutes of the July 24, 1973 meeting were approved. Upon motion by Frank, seconded by Leone and unanimously passed, Mr. Carl L. Long was appointed to the position of Village Ciwil Defense Director. Mr. Long was present at the. meeting and thanked the CounciLnen for their approwal of his appointment. • Upon motion by Leone, seconded by Frank and unanimously passed the Annual Audit report of the Sewer Department was accepted and the suggested budget transfers as requested by the Auditor were approved. Councilman Frank asked about building permit fees and license fees and asked if the Village was higher or lower than other municipalities, The Village Manager advised that occupational license fees were governed by State Law since last October, but a recent small review of existing building permit fees indicated our fees were at least equal to most other municipalities. He also asked a ~1~te fogging machine and stated that the mosquitoes were thrivi~ on-the fog we were using. He was advised the Malathion we ase using is used in conjunction with diesel fuel as a carrier. Councilman Frank said he was concerned about the residents of Tequesta not getting their money back, since they cancelled out their petitions for variances to the Zoning Ordinance. He was informed that since the meeting had been legally advertised, it had to be held, but if there were changes made in the Zoning Ordinance at the August 17, 1973 Public Hearing, the same people could return to see the Zoning Board of Adjustment at no cost to them; he asked that all Councilmen receive a copy of all minutes of the hearings of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, so they can keep up with what is happening; he mentioned the budget worksho~ meeting and was informed that since he and Mr. Little were out o town when the meeting was held, another meeting will be set at a~ later date. 80 8-14-73 - 2 Councilman Frank then made a motion that a referendum be held to change the Charter to enable the residents of the Village of Tequesta to vote for the Mayor. The motion passed 3-1 with Leone voting against the motion. Mayor Russell commented he felt the people should have the right to decide if they wanted to vote for their Mayor directly and asked Mr, Harp to see if there was any scheduled elections in November. Mr. Harp said he didn"t believe there was but there was a possibility of a special school bond election in October and if not a date for our referendum vote would have to be set. Mr, Baron said he felt that the people should not only be able to vote for Mayor, but Councilmen should be elected by plurality instead of seat numbers. Councilman Leone reported on the water problem and stated that we were going ahead with the U.S.G,S. water study even though they have no funds available at present, he hoped to get financial assistance from the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District, Palm Beach County, Martin County and the Central F~ South Florida Flood Control District. He also stated that a sample of water had been taken from each well and sent to Aqua-Chem to be tested. He recommended that we stop giving permits to drill wells or have • open ponds dug. Mr, Leone said he hoped that all the people serviced by the Village of Tequesta water system realize that it is a very serious water problem and asked them to help in any way possible. A motion was made by Leone seconded by Del Ninno and passed unanimously that the Village Attorney write a resolution prohibiting well drilling and opdn ponds to protect the water table. Mr. Leone also stated that the U.S.G.S, had asked for a report from the Village of Tequesta showing every water customer and the amount of water used by each customer and said that Mr. Karl Kandell has received permission from a State agency to operate a water company for the Little Club. In doing this it would relieve our Water Department of this burden and therefore pos~ibl~ make! water his available.~> Mr. Cook read a resolution entitled - A Resolution Prohibiting the Drilling of Wells or Open Ponds Within the Village of Tequesta. Upon motion by Leone, seconded by Del Ninno, Resolution No. 6-72/73 was thereby passed and adopted and signed by all Councilmen present, Councilman Leone also stated that Teleprompter Corporation did not want to grant us water easements in their property lying north of County Line Road and east of the FEC Railroad in Martin 81 8-14-73 - 3 County, but would be interested in selling the entire tract to the Village. Mr. Leone said that the Water Department Consulting Engineer did not believe the investment would be worthwhile at this time. Councilman Del Ninno said he was concerned about the lack of people interested in the County Commission meeting held in the Village Hall and could not understand why more people did not attend. He also asked about the signal light at Seabrook Road and Tequesta Drive and was advised by Mr. Harp that it would be installed in late September. He asked about the piles of sand on AlA and stated a letter should be sent to Rinkers to see about reu~oving it from the road. Mr. Harp advised the sand was caused by drainage of the southeast corner of Bridge Road and Old Dixie Highway. Mr. Stephen R. Halas, a Pillage resident, addressed the Council stating the problem that will occur when Beacon Street is made into a two (2) lane road, and could not see why the Pillage would take 6 feet off one side and 4 feet off the other when there was more easement on the south side and not take 4 feet off his yard. He also stated that as long as the records were in the courthouse, the law stated you must have 15 feet easement or Swale and said for the Pillage to take 4 feet was against the law. Mr. • Halas referred to his letter of July 5, 1973 to the Village Council concerning Beacon Street. After a lot of discussion from Mr. Halas and several other residents of Beacon Street, it was concurred that all residents wanted a two lane road, they just didn~t want to give up their land. Mr. Cook stated the law about easements or swales. The law states that if a new road is being built there must be a 15 foot road right-of-way, but if the road is already in existence the traveled road can be right up to the property line. The drainage problem on Beacon Street and Elan Avenue was talked about and the Village Manager said that Brockway, Owen and Anderson Engineers, had advised it would cost from $15,000. to $50,000. to put in drainage. Councilman Frank suggested dry wells and was told the engineer, Mr. Barker, did not advise them. It was decided to go ahead and two lane Beacon Street as per plans and specifications which were approved previously and Mr. Harp is to get bids to get this started. Mayor Russell asked if the Tequesta Park sign that the State required and the sign honoring the Kiwanis Club had been taken care of at the present time. He was also interested in the rules and regulations and asked Mr. Harp, Mr. Preston and Chief Dusenbery to work on these as soon as passible. Mayor Russell was informed that the Park is in Martin County and our rules and regulations could not be used if they had an ordinance covering park rules and our Police Department, even though they a;e~ Martin 82 8-14-73 - 4 Count De atlas could not arrest an ne for breaki Y p yo ng our rules, but could if they were asked to leave and did not. The Mayor said he was advised there was no money available to four lane County Line Road at this time, but read in the paper the County had a surplus of moneg for road projects. He asked Mr. Harp if he would contact Mr. Culpepper to try to divert this excess money into four laming County Lime Road. He also asked about the National Flood Insurance and was told that the latest information had been referred to the Building Official for his review and comments. The Sign Committee reported to Mayor Russell that there were more than 100 signs in violation of our Sign Ordinance and they were waiting for some sign violations to be corrected before they reported any more. The Mayor then asked if all property on Beach Road was posted, and if anything was done to slow traffic coming off the bridge. Mr. Harp advised that they were not sure at this time that all Beach Road properties in the unincorporated area had been posted and fences but would review this. The Village Manager explained that these was a sign on the east end of the bridge indicating the curve and the junction of the road into Jupiter Inlet Colony with an attached sign indicating a recommended speed of 25 MPH on the curve. The forming of an additional Region 11 was asked about • and found that it had been dropped and Palm Beach County stayed in Region 10. The Mayor asked about our Obscenity Ordinance and was advised by Mr. Cook that ours was as good as the Countg~s and and there was no need for change at this time. Mayor Russell then read the highlights of the Audit Report on the sewer department .and then asked the Village Manager about the investment of funds. The Mayor asked the Councilmen if they had any objections to forming three ad hoc committees to study the following: 1. A committee to study and review the garbage franchise. 2. A committee to ,review the salary structure for Village employees. 3. A financial committee to review the Villages investments. Mayor Russell then advised the Councilmen he had received a letter from Mr. H. Nixon on I-95 and that a hearing will be held at the Village Hall on August 22, 1973 at 7:30 P.M. to discuss the location of I-95. He spoke of receiving a copy of the Jupiter- Tequesta Area Community Survey, compiled by the Jupiter-Tequesta Junior Women~s Club, and highly commended them for their fine and complete report on what has been done and what should be done in the future, He asked Mr. Harp to secure a copy for each Councilman. He stated that the money to make Tequesta Drive a four lane road • from U.S. Highway No. 1 to Old Dixie Highway was in the budget last year and the Village did nothing waiting for the County and State 83 8-14-73 - 5 • to do their part. The Council determined to consider this matter again and the Village Manager advised he would have Mr. Sam Barker, Brockway, Owen ~ Anderson Engineers, appear at the August 28, 1973 Council Meeting to review the plans which had been previously prepared for this project. The Mayor said the Community Appearance Board is asking the Village to do something with the lot next to the Village Hall. He asked Mr. Harp and Mr. Preston to get together and cow up with a suggestion to improve the appearance of the lot. He also asked that the parking at the Tequesta Hardware be looked into as the cars are now parking too close to the road and eliminating any sidewalk area. The Village Manager advised that the request for beautification of the lot had previously been referred to Vice~iayor Little. The Village Manager asked the Councilmen to allocate Federal Revenue Sharing Funds for the Planned Use Report - Juiy 1, 1973 - June:30, 1974 in the amount of $13,819.00 for Recreation (Bicycle paths, playground equipment, etc.), also $16,144.00 to the Revenue Sharing Actual Use Report for the period thru June 30, 1973 for: Public Safety (signal light) $7,516.00 Recreation-Bicycle path 8,628,00 ,~' $16,144.00 The motion was made by Leone, seconded by Del Ninno and unanimously passed to allocate and designate the funds as stated. The Village Attorney advised the Councilmen that the State of Florida, Depar~ent of Natural Resources has a copy of Ordinance No. 207 and are checking to see if it is legal, and stated that all ordinances effecting water usage have to be sent to them. Some problems with the bicycle path and sidewalks were brought to the attention of the Council and discussed by residents. Thep stated that the children were run off the sidewalks by the older people and had to ride in the road and also when the children are asked why they ride on the road they said there was too much water on the path and the older people told them to ride on the road and they donut know where to ride. The Mayor informed them that the path and sidewalks were for bicycles and walking to protect our children and asked Mr. Preston to check into this situation as soon as possible. Mr. John Harlow a member of the Board of the Loxahatch e ~,~' River Environmental Control District, ~ ~~~ ~~'~ ~ ~ /~~ ~ ~~ concerned about reading of the high colifoim ~ count since the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District has taken over the sewer plant. Mr. Harlow advised that there was a problem with a tank which necessitated emptying the tank to have repairs made and it was at this time that the coliform count had risen, but not to a dangerous level. He also advised the District $4 8-14-73 - 6 has appropriated $12,000. for maintenance and repairs to keep the plant at the high efficiency the Village of Tequesta was able to attain. Mr, Harlow also advised he is in charge of the sewer plant and if there are any future problems to please contact him directly. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:30 P.M, bq Mayor Russell. Respectfully s ted, GG2~ Charles R. onas Village erk Corrections as per August 28, 1973 Council Meeting: Page 80 - last paragraph - "the Council would try to arrange for the people to return to the Zoning Board of Adjustment at no cost to them," Page 81 - 3rd paragraph from bottom, last line - "make more water available". Page 84 - last paragraph - "Mr. John Harlow, a member of the Board of the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District said. he had received a letter from the Village Manager stating the Council was concerned ......" 85