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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_6/8/2023MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FL JUNE 8, 2023 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Molly Young at 6:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Lori McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Molly Young, Council Member Frank D'Ambra, Vice -Mayor Laurie Brandon, Council Member Patrick Painter, and Council Member Rick Sartory. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Council Member Patrick Painter An invocation was offered followed by the pledge of allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Item fifteen was pulled from the agenda. MOTION: Vice -Mayor Brandon made a motion to approve the agenda with the removal of item 15; Council Member D'Ambra seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. PRESENTATION 1. FCCMA Award Presented to the Village Council Recognizing 35 Years of Home ADC Rule - Lori LaVerriere Lori LaVerriere, Immediate Past President of the Florida City County Manager Association and Deputy City Manager for Palm Beach Gardens, honored the Tequesta Council and manager with a certificate commemorating the Village's 35 years of a council-manager form of government. The recognition highlights the village's commitment to separating administration from direct political influence and fostering a system based on merit and impartiality. This transition 35 years ago aimed to establish a framework that would ensure unbiased implementation of policies set by the council. By introducing a professional village manager into the system, the council-manager model promotes neutrality and merit - based practices. 2. Presentation on Palm Beach County Library System, Events and Opportunities - Doug Crane, Director, Palm Beach County Library System Mr. Crane, Director of the Palm Beach County Library System, provided a presentation to council on the locations, statistical use, benefits and services of the Library System. Some of the programs include reciprocal browsing, vast and diverse collection of free materials, research assistance, children and teen libraries, and the bookmobile. Mr. Crane announced the free lunch program for children age 18 and younger. 3. General Employee Pension Board Presentation - Member Ben Ward Mr. Ben Ward, Secretary of the General Employee Pension Board, provided a summary of activities and information on the performance of the funds as of December 31, 2022. He announced the equity returns were 10.53% versus the index of 7.56%; the Plan's market value was $8,602,862 and the overall plan return was 9.97%. Overall, the actuary reported the Fund is in excellent actuarial status and the Fund remained fully funded at 102.9% as of September 30, 2022. He discussed House Bill 3 signed into law that has to do with making sure investments are not being made based on social, environmental or corporate governance characteristics; he noted the Board looks at financial performance and risk and does not consider those noted elements. A report will be filed every year with the State and some adjustments will need to be made with fund administration. He discussed retiree applications as they are seeing more long term employees retiring and more pension participation. Council Member D'Ambra asked about the gross number and if it was a pure gross number or after the mutual fund expenses have been deducted? Mr. Ward believed pure gross. Mr. D'ambra requested the fund expenses be broken out. He asked what the investment expense number (on last page) was reflective of and Mr. Ward would need to ask and provide an answer at a later date. He asked if Ms. Jensen had a concern about the administrators internal audit since she recommended the board audit the control structure of the administrator. Mr. Ward noted it was due to more activity and more payouts being requested and would receive more information at the next meeting on the audit specifics. Council Member D'Ambra noted that when interest rates were low, it made sense for the plan to self fund the actual retirement distributions; but with a smaller plan, there could be other variances such as life expectancy going beyond the actuarial assumption. He noted when interest rates rise, it may be a good idea to look at laying that liability off through the purchase of an annuity. He asked if the Board considered looking at this issue and felt it was worthy of consideration. He inquired as to the duration on the fixed income funds and asked for those numbers to be provided to see how much risk exposure there was to the changes in interest rates and he would like the duration numbers included in future presentations. Lastly, he discussed the leveling process and contribution ranges; minimum, recommended and maximum ranges. He would like the Board to bring the actuarial recommendation and range to Council to consider in the budget process. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented; Vice -Mayor Brandon seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. 4. MINUTES: April 13, 2023 Regular and May 1, 2023 Workshop 5. Consider Approval of Contracts Signed by Manager Under $25,000 (Per Village Ordinance we are presenting the following agreements, proposals, commitments and memorandum of understanding to Council.) A. Compressed Air Supplies and Equipment, Inc. Service Agreement - Fire Department, $1,886.86. B. Dive Rescue International Host Rescue Agreement - Fire Department; See agreement for details. C. FPL LED Lighting Agreement -Public Works; See agreement for details. D. GA's Lawn Mower, Inc. Credit Application -Public Works; See application for details. E. Johnson -Davis, Inc. Drainage Repairs -Utilities, $7,500.00. F. JustFOIA Public Record Software Upgrade -Village Clerk, $6,195.00. G. Linetec Professional Underground Utility Contractor Estimate 10685-Utilities, $700.00. H. Verizon Connect Global Positioning Systems Service Order -Public Works; See order for details. 6. SE 04-23 - This is a Special Event permit application for an annual running race organized by Palm Beach Roadrunners, a registered 501(c)(3) organization. The event is to be held on Thursday, November 23, 2023 from 6:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. No alcohol will be served. Free food and water and Gatorade will be provided. The projected number of attendees for the event is 2,200. The applicant will hire ten (10) Police Officers including a Supervisor, and Fire Detail. 7. Consider Approval of IT Security Awareness Policy 8. RESOLUTION NO. 12-23 OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, DECLARING CERTAIN PROPERTY TO BE SURPLUS AND DIRECTING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO DISPOSE OF SURPLUS PROPERTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE VILLAGE'S ADOPTED PROCEDURES; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. END OF CONSENT AGENDA COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no citizen comments. COMMUNICATIONS FROM COUNCIL Council Member Sartory addressed outreach he received from residents: 1. The condition of the post office facility and noted the Manager spoke with him and he would relay the information to the resident. 2. Would the Village build a sound wall for Brightline along North Cypress all the way to Countyline Road - he understood the concern and noted there was a natural tree buffer there and did not know if a sound wall would be a good use of resources as it would only benefit a small amount of residents as a whole - he spoke to the manager and there was not much the Village could do. 3. Flooding issues on Dover Circle and understood staff would keep an eye on this in the future. Council Member Painter recognized village staff and committee members for helping make the Village as great as it was. Vice -Mayor Brandon commented on our youth doing summer activities and recognized Public Works, Police and Fire on the recent house fire and the work they did to contain and save lives. She also thanked the residents for keeping their distance and allowing staff to work. STANDING REPORTS Village Attorney No report. Village Manager 9. Village Manager Standing Report El Portal kick off meeting was Tuesday. Tequesta Drive sidewalk project (Seabrook to Riverside) would be starting in the next few weeks as they were waiting on the contractor to mobilize. Public Works had replaced half the lights in Tequesta Park on the main baseball field. A successful Bridge the Gap program was held and the summer camp program was in full swing with the highest attendance ever. The Environmental Advisory met June 14, Planning and Zoning June 15 and the budget workshop was June 20. Police Department 10. Police Department Standing Report Chief Medina highlighted training of staff, officer certifications, crime prevention tips available to residents and businesses. The TRAC committee members would be recognized by the Traffic Safety Committee of Palm Beach County for their community assistance. He just received notice the police would be honored for traffic safety by the Florida Department of Transportation as they fell within the top three. Mayor Young asked police and fire to do a safety and education campaign leading up to July 4th and the Chief advised they would provide public education and tips. Fire Department 11. Fire Rescue Standing Report Captain Ray Giblin noted they received their new ladder and are training staff; they received the new air fill station and traffic preemption on all vehicles. They finished hydrant testing and attended the Governor's Hurricane conference. Vice -Mayor Brandon thanked fire for the water training this week. UTILITIES 12. Utilities Department Standing Report Director Craig noted the kick off meeting for El Portal was upcoming, working on the vulnerability assessment and the new intern was assisting and would be making a presentation in July. There was a heavy rain event on May 24 and it took 20-30 minutes to drain after the rain stopped. She noted they are looking at ways to mitigate. She commented on staff certifications received allowing lab staff to perform testing rather than send to an outside entity. She noted they changed their online payment system to Invoice Cloud. She introduced her Engineering Intern. She noted on the Customer Service Dashboard that April was an anomaly or outlier; pointed out revenue by customer type; noted portal users increasing and commented on accounts receivable based on days. Council Member Sartory asked for an explanation on cross control and inquired on the 180 days was about $50,000 in arrears and asked how many of those are residents or non-residents? Ms. Craig noted about half are inside Tequesta, but most would be residential customers. She stated cross control connection could be done in house, but would require additional staff and resources. Council Member D'Ambra commented on the pump station at the Reserve being built on US 1. He advised the pump generates noise and it was easy access to station. He asked they look at securing the area so it was not accessible to outside parties. Ms. Craig would look into the issue. REGULAR AGENDA OLD BUSINESS 13. ORDINANCE NO. 09-23, SECOND READING, AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE VILLAGE CODE OF ORDINANCES AT CHAPTER 2. ADMINISTRATION. SECTION 2-81. VILLAGE MANAGER; AUTHORITY AND DUTIES. TO INCREASE THE VILLAGE MANAGER'S CONTRACT EXECUTION THRESHOLD FROM $25,000.00 TO $75,000.00; PROVIDING THAT EACH AND EVERY OTHER SECTION AND SUB- SECTION OF CHAPTER 2 ADMINISTRATION. SHALL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS PREVIOUSLY ADOPTED; PROVIDING A CONFLICTS CLAUSE, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND AUTHORITY TO CODIFY, PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Attorney Davis read the title into the record. Mayor Young opened the hearing for public comments; there being none the hearing was closed. Mayor Young opened the hearing for Council comments; Council Member D'Ambra asked the Manager to explain the rationale behind the increase to $75,000. The Manager explained the need to be more flexible, especially when purchasing vehicles. Mayor Young also noted Council could reverse the threshold if they found it was not working, and detailed backup would still be provided. MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to approve Ordinance 09-23; Vice - Mayor Brandon seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. NEW BUSINESS Resolution No. 13-23, A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FL, ADOPTING THE REFUSE, RECYCLING, AND YARD WASTE COLLECTION RATES FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 MOTION: Consider adopting the annual refuse, recycling, and yard waste collection rates of $191.88 for Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 2023 and ending September 30, 2024. 14. Conceptual Presentation Application from MDK TEQUESTA LLC for a new two- story, 5,956-square-foot professional office building. The subject property is located at 110 Bridge Road. Attorney Davis provided a legal disclaimer for conceptual presentations stating that the conceptual presentation was not mandatory, was not a quasi-judicial proceeding, no council action would be taken beyond discussion, and the outcome and comments were not a guarantee or assurance of the final action that may be taken by the Council. Community Development Director, Nilsa Zacarias, introduced the two story, 5,966 square feet office building that was proposed for Bridge Road. Mr. George Gentile of 2GHO presented to Council on behalf of MDK Tequesta. The office building would be utilized by Cary Stamp & Company Wealth Management and Financial Advisors. Mr. Stamp was a longtime Tequesta business who wanted to maintain his office in Tequesta. Mr. Gentile reviewed the design, setbacks, footprint, height, parking limitations, and roof deck for the new building. He noted it would maintain the footprint of the existing structure. Council Comments: • Recommended softening the style and adding more of the West Indies or Mediterranean Revival architecture. • Suggested reviewing the Treasure Coast Regional Planning concepts for ideas. • Was concerned with the landscape and any variances that would be needed. • Was concerned with the height of the building given it was only two stories. Mr. Gentile would review the height with the architect, but felt that may have been incorporating the roof deck elevator. Citizen Comments: Mr. Tom Bradford of 44 Chestnut Trail liked the building and architecture but was concerned with parking and any agreement that needed to be entered into with surrounding restaurants and businesses. He also provided feedback on streetscapes and landscaping. 15. Consider Approval for Road Improvements and Repairs with Wynn and Sons Environmental Construction Services Co. Inc in the amount of $38,158.00. Pulled from agenda. 16. Consider Approval of Chen Moore and Associates Work Authorization for Final Engineering Design and Permitting of the Dover Ditch Living Shoreline Project for a Lump Sum Cost of $46,920 (Project Cost Share: Tequesta 60% ($28,152)/ Town of Jupiter 40% ($18, 768)) Ms. Craig detailed the lengthy permit process with the Army Corps of Engineers and the need to move forward in anticipation of receiving the state appropriations to meet all deadlines. MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to approve the Chen Moore work authorization for final engineering design and permitting of the Dover Ditch project; Council Member Painter seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. 17. Consider Approval of Chen -Moore and Associates (CMA) Work Authorization for Water Treatment Plant Process and Control Improvements Project Amendment #2 at a cost of $55,400 MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to approve the Chen Moore work authorization for the water treatment plant process and control improvements; Council Member Painter seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. 18. Consider Approval of an Agreement with Fortiline, Inc., to Purchase Water Meter Fittings and Water Line Accessories, Piggybacking on their Agreement with the City of Deerfield Beach/ Southeast Florida Governmental Purchasing Group Ms. Craig highlighted the cost and timing benefits from leveraging the purchasing cooperative. MOTION: Council Member Sartory made a motion to approve the agreement with Fortiline, Inc. for water meter fittings and water line accessories; Council Member D'Ambra seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. 19. Consider Approval of CROM Coatings and Restorations, a Division of Crom, LLC, Agreement for Water Storage Tank Repairs for $28,100 Mrs. Craig detailed the need for specialty care and routine maintenance due to the age of the tanks. She felt CROM was the best company for the maintenance. MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to approve the agreement with CROM for water tank repairs; Vice -Mayor Brandon seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. ANY OTHER MATTERS Council Member D'Ambra requested Council revisit the demolition of the concession stand at Tequesta Park along with the Tequesta Park sports league. Council was open to workshopping a request for quote (RFP) for a league, but felt the structure needed to be demolished as it was a safety issue. Vice -Mayor Brandon announced the start of budget season and advised everyone to ask questions. Mayor Young addressed the sound wall for Brightline to see if Council was interested in workshopping the idea. Council felt landscaping was the best route to take. Manager Allen provided a recap of a meeting with the Palm Beach County Sherriffs office regarding the patrolling of Beach Road. They were providing more coverage for the area and complaints had started to trend down. The Beach Road Association would be provided an update as well. Ms. Zacarias was pleased to let Council know the Tequesta Park Master Plan was selected by the American Planning Association as a great example of public participation, design, and collaboration. It would be presented at their next conference in Jacksonville. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:24 PM. MOTION: Council Member D'Ambra made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Vice -Mayor Brandon seconded the motion. Carried unanimously 5-0. Respectfully submitted, � (1�_`�)az 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.