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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_6/3/2019MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FL JUNE 3, 2019 6:00 PM VILLAGE HALL CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Abby Brennan at 6:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Abby Brennan, Mayor, Council Member Vince Arena, Council Member Laurie Brandon, Council Member, Vice -Mayor Kristi Johnson, Vice -Mayor, and Council Member Kyle Stone, Council Member. Due to the number of business owners in attendance, Item 7 was addressed first on the agenda. 1. Village of Tequesta - Needs Assessment Report Mayor Brennan noted the report was well done, however, it took into assumption the community center would be built which had not yet been approved by Council. Additionally, she stated some residents were questioning the need for an inside basketball court due to extra maintenance and staff costs that had not yet been considered. She was hearing from the community that people felt this was a done deal. She suggested if a community center was going to be built to build a new building with a second story on the exact same blue print without a gym as an option. She discussed the Community Center Advisory Committee (CCAC) cover letter and survey that was discussed at the last CCAC meeting and questioned if Council really wanted to put something out to the residents that stated $6 million and no tax increase She voiced concern that if you showed a plan and costs, then you are basically stating it was a done deal, and as a Council this has not been voted on. Marcia Nielson, 94 Beechwood Trail, stated the assessment was the same old flawed data in a prettier form. She felt Council needed to back track and felt decisions were being made based on flawed data and the target was always changing. She asked to let the committee to do their work and asked about an extension. Mayor Brennan stated the committee has a survey they want to send to every resident, yet council had not yet approved it. Acting Manager Weinand explained the survey came in too late to be placed on 'this workshop agenda, and would be added to the June 13 Regular�Council Meeting for discussion. Mayor Brennan felt it needed to be discussed at the workshop level first. Ms. Nielson asked Council to stop now and not put anything out until Council decided what they wanted and asked what the vision was for Remembrance Park. Detailed discussion took place regarding the proposed survey, the vision for Remembrance Park, the need to solidify accurate and clear information to release to the public after the location and design had been chosen, and additional concept plans for a building with a gym and one for a building incorporating the current basketball court space. Need to do more work as a Council before going out to the public and consider smart modular multi -use areas that allow flexibility. Acting Manager Weinand explained REG was chosen to do the conceptual plan for the Seabrook Road site (Remembrance Park) and REG was not asked to see where the building would best fit at Constitution Park. The cost for the Remembrance Park plan was $35,000. Mark (last name inaudible), Country Club resident, stated there were two separate issues and both needed consideration: the building and comprehensive consideration of all park space and vision for development - green space was critical and should not be taken away. Consensus of Council agreed to place the proposed community center location of Constitution Park on the June 13 Regular Council agenda, not place the CCAC survey on the agenda, and hold a workshop on Saturday, June 8, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. to discuss what the community center committee has done to -date and the meeting would progress from there in regards to the community center topic (content, size and location). Attorney Davis discussed the CCNA procurement process that previously took place. Consensus of Council agreed to remain with REG and request quotes for two more designs without palm trees. 2. Discuss the Village's Audit Committee Attorney Keith Davis explained the resolution as written would have each Council Member appoint a member to the Audit Committee. He explained that beginning on July 1, 2019, the state law changes on the audit committee composition and selection, but would not affect the committee the Village established before July 1. Mayor Brennan suggested having three people serve on the committee with one being a CPA and she agreed to serve on the committee due to her finance background. Council Member Stone recommended Sebastian Loaiza, however, he was not a CPA. Mayor Brennan noted Council Member Arena had a specific staff member appointment and asked if Council wanted a staff member on the committee to which Consensus of Council agreed no staff members should serve on the committee. A resolution would be placed on the next meeting for approval. 3. Discussion on Environmental Working Group and Sunshine Law Implications Attorney Davis advised if the committee was going to do research, recommend Code changes, and make recommendations to Council, then it would be a decision making committee that would be held to the Sunshine Law. Council Member Brandon explained the group was passionate and pro -active with a great deal of experience. She stated they understood the sunshine committee requirements wanted to suggest solutions to Council. Attorney Davis would write a resolution and bring back to Council. 4. Water Distribution Update Acting Manager Weinand explained there had been a setback on the new meter install with Mr. Wickham's resignation. He stated Dennis Rick was working with Census who was not responsive to the Village's needs due to our small size. He noted there were a lot of changes taking place at the Water Treatment Plant and Water Distribution, a rate study was coming on the June Council Meeting and recommended hiring a full-time Utilities Director. Vice -Mayor Johnson recalled Council approving two superintendents rather than hiring a Utility Director. Mr. Weinand explained the Director would have a bigger picture of the plant, whereas Mr. Litteral was a water maker and Mr. Wickham handled getting ,the water from the ground. He reminded Council of the storm -water utility problems and the upcoming audit concerns. Ms. Reid, Assistant Manager/HR Director reminded Council they previously approved a Utility Director and Mr. Weinand had put it on hold when he came on -board - but it was always planned to have two superintendents and a Utility Director. Acting Manager Weinand noted the water utility would fund the Director position and then part of the manager's salary would return to the General Fund. He stressed the importance of a Director with the large projects forthcoming and the need to oversee the big picture. Mayor Brennan noted Mr. Allen (the incoming manager) would Skype in to help find the right person as he was in support of hiring a Utilities Director. 5. Discuss Request for Accommodation (ADA) Letter by Juan Carlos Gill Attorney Davis mentioned there had been two recent court dismissals - Long Boat Key and Ocala and suggested Council stay the course as there appeared to be positive forward movement in favor of municipalities. Village Clerk McWilliams explained she was asked to see what it would cost to have a company remediate the website files. She reviewed her recommendation to hire ADA Site Compliance to immediately remediate the Village's website documents as quickly as possible at a cost of $8,895. She noted she was not an ADA expert and was learning as much as she could. Vice -Mayor Johnson asked why IT was not involved and Acting Manager Weinand stated he could be brought into the issue. Attorney Davis advised the Court appeared to be of the opinion that the older documents were not causing harm, unlike new and current documents such as the current budget, filing out a website form, etc. Clerk McWilliams advised moving forward she had trained staff how to create compliant documents and stated staff could continue to remediate the files or IT could step in and take over and do it, or hire the outside company. Mr. Davis advised at this time the priority was to remediate the website documents - not those in the document center. Consensus of Council agreed to hire the outside company to remediate just the website files - not the document center. Mr. Mark (last name inaudible), Country Club resident, questioned what was meant by remediation and Clerk McWilliams explained. The resident stated it should be easy to acquire a list of all documents that required OCR. He stated it was was not a complicated process and producing the list was easy and there were plenty of agencies to do the conversion. 6. Discuss Council Discretionary Funds and Explain what the Funds can be Used Towards and Discuss Increasing the Mayor's Discretionary Fund Account (as requested by Council Member Arena during the 3114119 Council Meeting) Attorney Davis advised the last time action was taken on this item was in 2013 and basically if the item served as a public purpose it was good. Mayor Brennan stated that not every Mayor would do what she does and that she does everything she can. She noted she runs out of funds each year and Council Member Arena assists. Acting Manager Weinand stated a travel fund could be started in the General Fund for any Council Member who needed to travel. Council discussed attendance at events and meetings that were required as opposed to those that were not and how discretionary differed from travel funds. Council Member Brandon felt that if a travel fund was created, it be equal for all Council and Mr. Weinand noted it would be one fund for use by all and Council Member Stone suggested $5,000. Consensus of Council agreed to have a travel fund for Council's use established. 7. Discuss Limited Displays of Outside Merchandise for Businesses Mayor Brennan explained Lisa Hoyer, owner of Pleasure Tiki, discussed with her the difficulties experienced by the businesses during the off season summer months and asked to hold a discussion on allowing limited displays of outside merchandise. Attorney Keith Davis explained there had been a prohibition on the books for a long time disallowing outside displays, however, it was a Council decision and could be revised. Mayor Brennan noted there were frequent code compliance complaints with Home Goods and Tuesday Mornings in this regards. Attorney Davis reminded Council businesses were allowed four special events a year. Lisa Hoyer, owner of Pleasure Tiki, addressed Council and stated in this day and age, businesses need to be able to place a rack of merchandise outside their businesses to show they were open. She mentioned they were losing revenue and Council needed to rolling racks that would not block the sidewalk. She felt it would provide a friendlier atmosphere and stressed that businesses were simply trying to stay alive in the summer. She pointed out that every couple of years Code Enforcement comes down hard on the businesses. Vice -Mayor Johnson inquired on ADA requirements and Acting Manager Weinand advised he would research the requirements and report back. Glen Hoyer, owner of Pleasure Tiki, commented on approved benches and that a clothing rack would not exceed the bench size and suggested it be based on the square footage of the outside display area. Detailed discussion took place on busiest days, size of racks, small business versus big box business, and businesses taking advantage. Attorney Davis suggested researching other municipalities to see what they have codified into Code. Mr. Doug Chambers, Director of Public Works, reviewed FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) standard minimums for ADA compliance. If there was a curb adjacent to the sidewalk, the sidewalk had to be a minimum of six feet; if there was curb, the sidewalk had to be a minimum of five feet. The standard was a four foot clearance for ADA compliance. Consensus of Council agreed to have Community Development look at other cities do and Legal to write recommended Code for discussion at a council meeting. 8. Discuss Village Manager Transition Plan Mayor Brennan referenced previous discussion regarding an overlap for a smooth transition. She explained Mr. Allen prefers to have Mr. Weinand on an hourly basis as needed - not a retainer (Ex. for union contract negotiations and budget). The hourly rate would be based on what Mr. Weinand is making now and would be handled internally through the Human Resources Office as a part-time employee. Consensus of Council agreed to 160 hours as needed. 9. Set Budget Workshop Dates for FY 19120 Budget The budget workshops were scheduled as follows: • Monday, June 17 — 8:30 a.m. — General Fund Budget Workshop (half day) • Tuesday, June 18 — 8:30 a.m. — General Fund Budget Workshop (half day) • Thursday, June 20 — 8:30 a.m. — Utilities Fund Budget Workshop (half day) Council Member Brandon moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m.; motion seconded by Vice -Mayor Johnson; motion carried unanimously. Council Member Brandon moved to re -open the meeting; seconded by Vice -Mayor Johnson; the meeting was re -opened at 8:16 p.m. for discussion regarding the colored cross -walks in the Country Club. 10. ITEM ADDED: Discussion Regarding the Colored Cross -walks in the Country Club Council Member Brandon voiced concern with the bright red cross -walks and Mr. Weinand and Mayor Brennan have heard both positives and negatives. Doug Chambers, Director of Public Works, explained there were limited color options, discussed costs and savings to complete the project in-house, and discussed asking Palm Beach County Transportation Authority for funding. He explained the yellow pilings were temporary. Detailed discussion ensued as well as discussion on creating an Aesthetics Committee. Mayor Brennan noted additional staff would be needed in the Clerk's Office with all the committees being added. Discussion took place on increasing the role of the Planning and Zoning Committee to include aesthetics. Mr. Chambers suggested putting a conceptual map of the community with sidewalks, swales and bollard lighting to see what it would look like and how far into the right-of-way it would extend. He asked Council to give the cross -walk fifteen days to cure and see what it looked like and noted it was a short-term fix. He suggested to continue to chase funding. ADJOURNMENT Vice -Mayor Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:33 p.m.; seconded by Council Member Brandon; motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, �((,U fyua 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.