Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 8B_2/13/1997 ,s VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA f�r;� Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive �,� . y� Tequesta,Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200 =' •. e Fax: (407) 575-6203 may 'M cool VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24, 1997 I . CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Redevelopment Committee held a regularly scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Friday, January 24, 1997 . The meeting was called to order at 9: 00 A.M. by Chairman Joseph Capretta. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the Recording Secretary. In attendance were: Chairman Joseph Capretta and Committeemember Carl C. Hansen. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, Village Clerk Joann Manganiello, and Department Heads . Committeemember Mayor Ron T. Mackail was absent from the meeting. • II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chairman Capretta announced that there were no changes to the agenda, therefore, the Agenda was approved as submitted. III . COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens . IV. REVIEW OF REVISED CONCEPTUAL SITE PLANS AND COST ESTIMATES FOR FIRE-RESCUE FACILITY Village Clerk Manganiello reported that at the November 13, 1996 meeting, the Committee had directed staff to focus on Phase I of the Facilities Master Plan containing Recycled Paper - REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 2 the Public Safety Facilities and on ways and means of implementation. Conceptual site plans had been revised for the Fire-Rescue Facility which reflected a reduced cost. Each site plan included renovation of the Village Hall for the Police Department with no variation to previously stated cost estimates. Ms . Manganiello described the conceptual site plans presented. Scheme A was described as a new addition to the existing garage for Fire-Rescue living quarters with the Annex Building to remain as is for Fire-Rescue Administration and Department of Community Development. This plan included a 150-square foot connecting hallway between the buildings and was the least costly alternative of those presented since it did not call for renovation of the Annex building, for a total estimated cost of $1, 647, 700 . Scheme A-1 and Scheme B both contained a new addition to the existing garage for Fire-Rescue living quarters, renovation of the Annex Building for Fire-Rescue Administration only, with the Department of Community Development to be relocated. Scheme A-i would include a 150-square foot connector between buildings; while Scheme • B would house the facilities all under one roof. Total estimated cost for Scheme A-1 was $1, 861, 300; and for Scheme B was $1, 841, 500. Ms . Manganiello reported that renovation of the Police Department would cost approximately $365, 000. Ms . Manganiello pointed out that the parking areas shown on all three conceptual plans included parking for a possible Village Hall, which would not be needed if the Village Hall was constructed elsewhere. The retention area had been relocated. Water tank removal was not included in the cost estimates; however, all of the parking was included. Discussion regarding parking and removal of the water tank ensued. Village Clerk Manganiello explained that the Water System Manager had looked into having the tank removed, which he wished to do regardless of whether any renovation was done, and preliminary cost estimates indicated that removal would be A REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 3 approximately $50, 000. Ms . Managaniello reported the architect had indicated that only fifteen more parking spaces would be needed if only the Public Safety facilities were constructed at this location. Village Clerk Manganiello presented and described the conceptual renderings. Three double stacked apparatus bays, approximately 65' in length, were shown. The third bay had already been renovated to house the new ambulances . New living quarters for Fire-Rescue personnel were included in all three scenarios . A 150-foot corridor would connect the proposed new construction with the Annex building in schemes A and A-1 . Ms . Manganiello explained that the difference between A-1 and B was only the cost of the corridor between the Fire-Rescue building and the Annex building; and that Scheme B would probably be the best choice if renovation of the Annex building was to be done immediately. Councilmember Hansen questioned whether the changes now being made to the Annex building would need to be changed again if renovation of that building were delayed several months. Ms. Manganiello explained that the present plan was for the Department of Community Development to move into the eastern portion of the Annex building and for Fire-Rescue Administration to operate . from the western portion. Renovation would take into consideration the space needs assessment and add extra square footage if necessary. In the event the Department of Community Development vacated the Annex building, Fire- Rescue would have more than enough space to meet their space needs. Village Manager Bradford commented that cutting an opening for the proposed corridor on the western wall of the Annex building would mean that office space must be reconfigured. Committeemember Hansen questioned what would be included in renovation of the Annex building, to which Ms. Manganiello responded that renovation would include gutting the building, providing new plumbing and electrical wiring so that one electrical box could serve both the Annex building and the new Fire- Rescue living quarters, and a new facade. Chairman Capretta suggested that input be obtained from Fire Department Administration personnel as to which plan would be the best for their operations . A - REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 4 V. REVIEW OF PHASE I OF THE FACILITIES MASTER PLAN: PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES • COST ESTIMATES • FINANCING OPTIONS (OTHER THAN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS) • PHASING PLAN Chairman Capretta questioned how operations would proceed during construction. Councilmember Hansen pointed out a $30, 000 hurricane hardening allocation, which Ms . Manganiello explained was specifically for the dispatch area in the Police station so that communications could continue during a storm, and if renovation was done the entire building would have to be brought up to code for hurricane hardening standards . $80, 000 had been included for on-site portables and utilities to the portables to be occupied by Public Safety_personnel during phasing. Village Clerk Manganiello explained that Gee & Jenson Architects had recommended the simultaneous renovation of Village Hall for the Police Department and renovation/new construction of the Fire-Rescue Facility and possibly the Annex building as the most cost-effective way to proceed; and also recommended that- current facilities be vacated to further reduce costs and expedite completion of the project. Councilmember Hansen questioned whether new plumbing in the Annex building was code mandated or only to make the building more suitable for the purpose intended. Ms . Manganiello reported that according to the architect that any changes to an existing building required bringing the building up to code as far as Fire Code and Life Safety. Chairman Capretta commented that a new law effective January 1, 1997 required building openings covered with glass to be hurricane resistant, which had increased the cost of replacement glass four times that charged by window companies before the law went into effect . A TV special. regarding the subject had reported that not one piece of glass had been sold since the law became effective. An alternative was to place storm shutters A ' REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 5 over windows which would then allow the replacement glass not to be hurricane resistant. Mr. Ken Meinken questioned whether the cost of the conceptual plans presented at today' s meeting had been included in the conceptual cost of the Tequesta Fire- Rescue System when it was originally set up, to which the response was that it had not been. Village Manager Bradford agreed that if the renovation cost were included in the original conceptual cost then the difference between the Fire Rescue service provided by the Village and that of Palm Beach County would decrease. Mr. Meinken reported that County Commissioner Karen Marcus would address the Beach Road Association on February 3, and would bring Fire Chief Brice' s top assistant with her, whose purpose was to address the northern unincorporated area of Beach Road in an effort to show those residents response times and their costs under Palm Beach County versus what they would be under Tequesta, and this sum of money should be included in the formula. Chairman Capretta commented that government did not set aside funds for depreciation the way industry did, so that when buildings deteriorated the funds for renovation must be found; and the Village was out of space and the facilities were not in compliance with codes . Work was now being done to reduce the cost from the original $7, 500, 000 plan proposed by the architects . Mr. Meinken expressed his opinion that a complete plan for new facilities would better serve the Village long-range, rather than patching up existing facilities . Chairman Capretta assured Mr. Meinken that the whole plan would be done and that only a small piece of it was being discussed at this meeting. Chairman Capretta explained that there was a feeling that only Police and Fire-Rescue should be on the present site, and that a Village Hall should be located somewhere in the downtown 'area. Mr. Capretta reported that there were , several alternatives which involved having the Village Hall downtown, one of which including sharing facilities with Lighthouse Gallery, which had made several offers for the Felhaber property and would like to either renovate the old Publix building or tear it down and build a big facility of which part would be occupied by the Village. Village Clerk Manganiello reported that if the Village REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 6 chose to have all three buildings on the present site that ways had been found to reduce the $7, 500, 000 cost to $3, 800, 000, and that no land cost would be involved since the land was already owned by the Village. Chairman Capretta explained that land would need to be purchased for a'downtown site, and that the only reason to build the Village Hall downtown would be to provide leadership or participation with an entity such as a cultural organization in order to provide an attraction to the public in that area. Mr. Capretta discussed several alternatives for downtown development, and stated that no matter which plan was developed that a permanent Public Safety facility was needed, and ways were. being researched to provide the best facility at the lowest cost . Chairman Capretta questioned how much of the $3 . 8 million would be spent if only Public Safety was located on the present site, to which Ms. Manganiello responded that the cost would be from '$1. 6 to $1 . 8 million, depending on the scenario chosen. New construction costs were stated as from $85 to $98 per square foot, while renovation costs were $65 per square foot. Ms . Manganiello explained that renovated Public Safety facilities would meet code requirements . Village Manager Bradford commented that initially all Department heads had been consulted to find out what they believed their space needs to be; however, during the last two to three months work had been done with the architect to reduce costs and thus space. Village Manager Bradford stated that he believed the next step should be for the architect to prove to the Fire Chief and Police Chief and to the Redevelopment Committee that the gross square footage now envisioned for the building footprint would be functional, and allow the Fire Chief and Police Chief to comment on the proposed layout. Chairman Capretta cautioned that the most effective operational layout should be chosen even if it were more expensive in order to reduce operation costs over the next twenty years, and that the Chiefs must envision how operations over that time would be carried out since new technology would become available. REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 7 Councilmember Hansen suggested that the architects should be asked to prepare a floor plan which the Chiefs could comment on at the next meeting. Councilmember Hansen expressed his satisfaction with the phased approach taken by the Village, which allowed more time for decision making, as well as being able to take into account new developments and events which could have an effect. VI. DISCUSSION RELATIVE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A "PRESENTATION" OF THE VILLAGE' S FACILITIES MASTER PLAN AND IT' S "VISION" FOR THE FUTURE TO TEQUESTA RESIDENTS Chairman Capretta commented that the Public Safety portion of the plan was the most defensible, and that the next decision would be how to finance it and how to sell it to the public. Chairman Capretta suggested that a model be constructed to demonstrate the proposed concept to the public at a series of meetings to be held on the subject. A transition plan for operation during the 18-month construction period would be needed. Chairman Capretta outlined steps in order they should be accomplished, and listed the first item as a more detailed plan which the two Chiefs approved and could publicly defend to the Village Council and to the public as to why they needed it, how it would operate, its cost effectiveness, and why it would last for the next twenty years . Chairman Capretta commented that the public had expressed concern regarding possible inconvenience over Village Administration' s move to the downtown area; however, everyone liked the arrangement to pay water bills at the bank. Mr. Capretta commented that 2/3 of the 4600 water bills were paid in person. Chairman Capretta commented that contractors also regularly visited the Village Hall in person. Chairman Capretta commented that residents came in person to the Police Department to ask that their homes be watched while they were out of town. Chairman Capretta speculated that in the future those requests could be handled by computer. Chairman Capretta discussed a recent robbery at the Passages Condominium, which was supposed to be the most secure of the nineteen condominium buildings REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 8 on Beach Road, and the facts which appeared to indicate that the job had been done by professionals . Mr. Meinken discussed a second robbery at the 400 Building. Chairman Capretta commented that the robberies indicated that technology could not handle everything. Chairman Capretta summarized by stating that at the next Redevelopment Committee meeting more detailed plans would be presented and the Fire Chief and Police Chief would explain their preference. Councilmember Hansen questioned whether the water tank • could be removed soon, to which Village Manager Bradford responded that the Water System Manager had requested a proposal from a Georgia company which did such work for the entire southeastern United States . In some cases the company did the work free for the scrap metal, however, that was not anticipated to happen in this case. If the cost should turn out to be in the $50, 000 range, then funds would have to be requested in the next budget . Councilmember Hansen questioned the ultimate occupancy plan for the new Village Hall . Ms . Manganiello responded that the Department of Community Development would be located at the new Village Hall, and although the Public Works department was not to be located there, Director of Public Works and Recreation Gary Preston would have his office at the Village Hall . Interim quarters were discussed. If a plan were chosen to utilize the whole Annex building for the Fire Department, then the Department of Community Development would have to be housed on-site in portables during construction or in off- site rental space. Village Manager Bradford explained that half the approximate $1, 800, 000 cost of the new Village Hall would be charged to and paid for by the Water Department, since they would occupy half the space; and the Department of Community Development could pay rent. Also, the current rent being paid for administrative offices would cease when the new Village Hall was occupied and that amount could be applied toward debt service. Chairman Capretta commented that several things were REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 9 changing downtown, and anticipated that Mr. Van Brock would request permission to build a second Sterling House ECF in the near future. Chairman Capretta explained that the initial feeling of the Village Council that an ECF was not desirable may have been wrong since it had turned out there was a market for ECF facilities, and the Waterford was converting some of their units to ECFs . Chairman Capretta commented he was changing his position from not wanting a second ECF behind the existing Sterling House, since that land was absolutely useless for any other development. Another position taken by the Village Council was that no more shopping centers were wanted within the Village. Mr. Van Brock had developed a plan to put a 32, 000 square foot shopping center consisting of small shops on the corner of Tequesta Drive and Old Dixie and a bank on the other side of The Flame, as well as a , lot of parking along the edge of the property, since both The Flame and McCarthy' s are short on parking. Other problems were the situation with Lighthouse Gallery and the Felhaber property, which required a decision of how that would be addressed. Village Manager Bradford commented that he did not like Mr. Van Brock' s shopping center design with parking in front which gave a view of asphalt when empty; and . suggested that with parking behind the shops parking problems for The Flame and McCarthy' s could still be solved. Another problem brought up by Village Manager Bradford was that the point of ingress and egress was right by Tequesta Oaks Drive and might not be allowed that close to the existing intersection. Mr. Capretta commented that all of these situations were violations of the original downtown plan, and therefore must be addressed. Chairman Capretta commented that new commercial development would have an effect on existing businesses . Chairman Capretta had also learned from Mr. Van Brock that the post office was planning to expand to the east. Chairman Capretta discussed the Lighthouse Gallery situation, and stated that a detailed plan must be formulated. Joe Hall commented on the facilities situation in general that he believed a decision should be made now whether the new Village Hall would be built downtown or on the present site, to have a master plan made now, and then to head in REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 10 that direction. Mr. Hall favored building on the present site since the Village already owned the land, and commented that building a Village Hall downtown would cut the tax base because someone else would be cut out of using that land, and he believed the present structure had been well-built. Village Manager Bradford explained that the present facility had been constructed using materials geared towards residential use rather than public use, so that baseboards, etc. , had to be replaced and there was no storage. Chairman Capretta commented that Public Safety needed to be on the present site in order to retain good response times, and although the Village Hall could be built on the existing site at a cheaper cost, the reason to build it elsewhere would be to pursue other objectives, such as joining with Lighthouse Gallery to keep them in the Village. Village Manager Bradford explained that he had met with the new director of Lighthouse Gallery, who was in the process of figuring out what the Board wanted. The Village Manager commented that the extra costs to place Village Hall at a location other than the present site must be outweighed by the spillover effect of it going to the other location. Chairman Capretta discussed offers made by the Village and by Lighthouse Gallery on the Felhaber property, which were all accepted and then turned down. Discussion ensued regarding the amounts of tax money which would be coming into the Village with new developments which had recently been completed. Village Manager Bradford responded to Mr. Hall that the Village Hall problem had been solved for a couple of years by moving Administration downtown and continuing to hold meetings in the Village Hall chambers . Chairman Capretta commented that it was hoped to have a total plan within a year if Lighthouse Gallery and Felhaber made a decision. Mr. Hall suggested residents be informed about the great land which could be developed by Mr. Van Brock and provided with the information that Mr. Van Brock could be contacted regarding development. Chairman Capretta commented that the DiVosta Tequesta Oaks project was the first real catalyst for getting the downtown redeveloped. Councilmember Hansen commented on the possibility of the Village helping to get something in Tequesta Plaza which people would like, as well as REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 11 possibly locating the Village Hall there, and expressed the opinion that it would be good to wait to see what happened with that property. Mr. Hall commented that the cost effectiveness of moving the Village Hall downtown versus building it on the existing site must be determined. Chairman Capretta presented a scenario in which Lighthouse Gallery was approached by Jupiter and by Juno Beach to leave Tequesta, and asked for the Village to help them. The Village could (1) tell them to buy the Felhaber property and the Village would help with zoning, government grants, and would rent space in their building; or (2) condemn the Felhaber building and have it torn down and then sell the land to Lighthouse Gallery; or (3) buy the Felhaber building and tear it down and make the land available to Lighthouse Gallery as a grant, and possibly even build Village Hall there with the Gallery. Chairman Capretta explained that with each step in this scenario the Village would get in deeper and deeper, and that the role of government was not to spend taxpayers' money in that way. The Village should instead provide a catalyst to get Lighthouse Gallery to do something themselves . Councilmember Hansen commented that the Village was not trying to move the Village Hall to another location at any cost, but that it was another option. In response to Councilmember Hansen' s question regarding construction specs and plans, Village Manager Bradford explained that those would be done after finalization of the schematics, that the architect must be hired specifically to do that, and the architect' s fee would be approximately 7% of the construction costs. The February 3 Beach Road Association meeting brought up by Mr. Meinken to be attended by Commissioner Marcus was discussed and a suggestion was made that Mr. Meinken be given data regarding Tequesta' s Fire Rescue operations so that he would be able to ask questions at the meeting. Chairman Capretta explained that water bonds would be obtained for the reverse osmosis plant and a decision needed to be made whether to combine with those bonds the REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 24 , 1997 PAGE 12 funding for the new facilities if possible, or to have a separate general obligation bond issues. Timing of both projects would be a determining factor. VII. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters to come before the Committee. VIII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10 : 31 A.M. Respectfully submitted, • Betty Laur Recording Secretary ATTEST: Joann Manganiello Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: