Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_10/01/2018 MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA WORKSHOP October 1, 2018 � CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM. A roll call was taken by Assistant to the Village Clerk, Mary Ann Grieser. Present were: Mayor Abby Brennan, Vice-Mayor Tom Paterno, Council Member Vince Arena, Council Member Laurie Brandon and Council Member Kristi Johnson. 1. Community Center Update by the Negotiation Committee Chair Frank D'Ambra. Mr. Frank D' Ambra, Community Center Committee Chairperson, updated Council on some of the concepts and ideas the Committee had come up with recently. Some of the ideas were to make the new building hurricane safe (up to a Cat 5) and incorporate an Emergency Operations Center within the building. Additionally, the input from residents had been encouraging and positive. Mr. D'Ambra believed the new community center was a preview to the future and could provide valuable amenities without raising taxes. Mr. Greg Corbitt, Director of Parks and Recreation, revealed that the feedback from the surveys taken online (and hard copy) were all positive and full of suggestions. He described the many functions of the Community Center and of the different types of activities it could support. Additionally, the square footage of the plan could be changed as feedback was analyzed. Mr. Jose Rodriguez, Building Director, commented that the new building could be designed to withstand winds of up to 180 miles per hour. He also informed Council that there was $791,000 in savings that the Building Department could put towards funding of the Community Center. In the event of a major hurricane, the building department could then function at the new Community Center. Fire Chief Joel Medina agreed that the Community Center would provide a legitimate way to continue residential services after a storm. He also was concerned with the extremely crowded conditions in the current EOC during hurricanes. The new EOC at the Community Center would open up grant possibilities as well as some funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after a storm event. 2. Discuss Offering Transportation Services, with Pickup at Certain Designated Locations Throughout the Village, with a Drop Off at Local Business Plazas, Parks and Village Hall. Council Member Arena revealed to Council that the Molly's Trolley Service estimate came back at $6800 for eight days at eight hours per day. The hourly rate was $95, which was cost prohibitive. Village Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2018 Page 2 3. Discuss Moratorium on Construction and Budget Requests Council Member Arena asked that consideration be given to placing a moratorium on road and sidewalk type work until April of 2019. He stated building repairs should come out of the one- cent sales tax. Council Member Arena recently learned there was $378,000 collected within the past nine months. He strongly believed funds should not be taken out of the general fund going forward. He continued by stressing the importance of cutting the budget by 2% in the coming year while acknowledging that there were some discrepancies in the budget regarding revenue. He believed that staff could be creative in finding solutions to create savings within their budgets. Council Member Arena reminded Council of the possible loss of tax money because of the exemption on the ballot and felt that it could be made up in other ways. He further believed that the $13.2 million dollar budget that was recently adopted, should have only been $12 million. In speaking to staff, he realized that numbers had not been entirely accurate and felt a 2% budget cut was an achievable goal. He understood that Brad Gomberg, Director of IT, had $100, 000 in his current budget and if there was not an election this year, Village Clerk Lori McWilliams would save $15,000. He welcomed questions from staff and asked to meet with Department Heads to discuss budget strategies. Village Attorney Keith Davis reminded Council that directions to staff must be handled thru the Village Manager as per the Charter. Mayor Brennan believed that any directions toward staff must be sanctioned by Council. Vice Mayor Paterno stated that the Village could only spend the one-cent sales tax, one time. He agreed with having a quarterly Budget Workshop and acknowledged that the Village was spending funds on salaries from the water department and he would like to figure out a different way of doing this. Additionally, Vice Mayor Paterno was concerned with not perForming needed maintenance and upkeep on roads and sidewalks. Mayor Brennan agreed that a quarterly Budget Workshop was a good idea. Council Member Johnson wondered why a moratorium was needed if there were no projects planned. Mr. Doug Chambers, Director of Public Works, indicated that it would cost approximately $300,000 per year for road improvements and repairs. Council Member Arena believed the Village could postpone any sidewalk projects for the next two years. He felt the Community Center should be the first priority and had heard that the Loxahatchee River District was coming thru soon, which could have an impact on road and sidewalk projects. Vice Mayor Paterno firmly believed that roads had to be maintained in order to avoid deterioration. The Village could not stop running as usual. Council Member Arena urged Council to put money aside in order to avoid having a sub-par Community Center. Village Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2018 Page 3 Council Member Johnson agreed that having a budget meeting was a good idea. Council Member Brandon felt that touching base with Department Heads was also a good thing. Vice Mayor Paterno added that all Department Heads should be present at the proposed Budget Workshop in order to have questions answered in a timely fashion. It was a Consensus of Council to have a Budget Workshop on October 29, 2018 and Council required that all Department Heads attend. Village Resident Mr. Frank D'Ambra suggested having a simplified reporting format that Department Heads would fill out, prior to the Budget Meeting, in order to be productive and ready for the Council. Mayor Brennan asked that the budget not contain dozens of line items. Council asked that all Departments Heads use discretion on spending and place a hold on any large purchases until Council had a chance to discuss such items at the Budget Workshop. They realized that a firewall was imperative and would allow Mr. Brad Gomberg, Director of IT, the ability to purchase the $50,000 item 4. Discuss Information on the Village's Website Vice Mayor Paterno stated that he preferred a Council based, neutral message on the Village website instead of a message from the Mayor. Attorney Davis related that controversial topics should not have differing views next to each other. 5. Discuss Uploading Meeting Audio within a Definite TimeFrame Vice Mayor Paterno would like to see the audio portion of ineetings placed on the Village website as quickly as possible and Council agreed the audio would be posted within 72 hours. He would prefer a live stream /live audio and Mr. Brad Gomberg agreed that it was a possibility, as the core function capability already existed. 6. Discuss Two Amendments to the Village of Tequesta Charter Village Attorney Keith Davis informed Council of the proposed changes to the Village Charter which included a requirement that within one year of appointment as Village Manager, the Village Manager shall reside within the corporate limits of the Village. The other proposed change included the requirement that the Village Manager shall be appointed by affirmative vote of at least four members of the Council, and must be removed by a like vote of said Council. It was ultimately decided by Council to move forward with removing the last sentence in the charter. However, Council agreed that the residency requirement could be placed in the employment contract as needed. Attorney Davis assured Council he would rewrite the wording for the Charter, as it would receive a charter referendum. Village Council Workshop Minutes October 1, 2018 Page 4 7. Discuss Village Manager Vacancy Assistant Village Manager Merlene Reid advised Council that the added responsibility of filling in for the Village Manager had been a huge burden. She was not interested in accepting the position but recommended former Fire Chief Jim Weinand. She was confident that he would be a good choice and could easily transition into the position. Mayor Brennan mentioned that Chief Weinand would need no benefits and would have the same type of contract as he previously had. It was agreed that Mayor Brennan would speak to Chief Weinand about a 90-day contract, with a month to month option, and language stating that a new hire could replace him at any time. Council believed that advertising the Village Manager position should begin again on November 1, 2018. Attorney Davis reminded Council of the upcoming litigation meeting scheduled for October 11, 2018 at 5:00 PM, with the Regular Council Meeting following Pendin Tasks: Item: Assi ned: Post Ad for Villa e Mana er, November 1, 2018 Merlene Reid Next Bud et Worksho 10/29 all De artment Heads to attend Merlene Reid �f l.� � Y:c,�-�(.��L�- Lori McWilliams, MMC Village Clerk Note: These summary minutes are prepared in compliance with 286.011 F.S. and are not verbatim transcripts of the meeting. A verbatim audio record is available from the office of the Village Clerk. All referenced attachments are on file in the Village Clerk's office.