HomeMy WebLinkAboutHandouts_Special Meeting_Tab 01_05/29/2009f~cclaard l~czrjzely, ll7.IJ. 103 Lighthou ie Drive, Jupiter Inlet Colarzy, FL 33469 Tel• 5615755701 Fax: 799-9991 Home Fax Phz»ze Hvme Email richGar50@gnzuil.conz The Honorable Mayor Pat Watkins and Council Members Village of Tequesta, Florida,33469 Re: Fire rescue service contract with Jupiter Inlet Colony Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Dear Mayor and Council Member: This is in regard to your ongoing negotiations with Mayor John Zuccarelli of Jupiter Inlet Colony over proposals to renegotiate the interlocal agreement for provision of fire rescue services to the Colony. First, and most important, I would point out a fact which I am sure is obvious to all of you; Mayor Zuccarelli has no right to be involved in any way with said negotiations in view of the fad that he has had and continues to have serious conflicts of interest. He cannot negotiate in good faith and as an effective and believable advo- cate for Jupiter Inlet Colony while simultaneously negotiating with the body politic of Tequesta on matters of personal financial concern. Any possible rebuttal to the effect that the two entities have now concluded their financial negotiations fails in view of the fact that those negotiations were conducted during the time that he was negotiating with you to contractually deliver JIC. All negotiations to this point are therefore irretrievably tainted. Furthermore, although your viewpoint has been effectively represented by your municipal counsel, the opposite is not true. The two points which you have made to justify the reopening of the contract are fatally flawed. First, the contract provision which allows reopening if Tequesta starts an independent fire rescue service is, I trust, an honest mistake. A cursory review of the records shows that shortly after the initiation of the contract in 1993, Tequesta initiated their own fire/rescue service and JIC was forthcoming in contributing their share of the startup costs, effectively eliminating this possible contract opener. Secondly, although the contract seems silent on time limitations, I believe that the passage of several years since the construction of your new station with- outany activation of the trigger to renegotiate would probably be judicially prohibitive. There are other con- siderations from JIC's point of view which should have been brought forth. For instance, if you absorb the area formerly served by station #11 and don't keep the station open, your resources would be spread thinner and JIC would get less service for the same dollar. You would also be the beneficiary of the tax dollars from those resi- dents, thereby actually increasing your revenue for the provision of services without increasing the cost of pro- viding services(if you close station 11). These are but a few of the points that should have been made by our side, points which I am sure you appreci- ate. The absence of these points being made speaks volumes about the authenticity of the "negotiations". In this era of transparency in government, don't you think it would have been better if an "emergency meeting", with less than twenty four hours notice to the citizens, would not have been called at 3 PM in )IC, a time when it is obviously difficult for citizens to attend? The proof of that is seen in the fad that only myself and one other managed to attend. That isn't because of lack of interest. Surely you know that half of our residents are not even in town. I'm sure that most of my fellow citizens feel as I do, that honest differences of opinion should be discussed openly and honestly. This duplicity, intentional or otherwise, is certainly the antithesis of everything that Amer- ica, and particularly Palm Beach County, is striving to avoid. Sincerely yours, :;- '~• ~ ~. c ~~/~r~~v chi ~ ~ .S-~ y -off T®WR9 ®F ~~Pil'ER 6~LET C®L®n-Y A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION 1 COLORIY ROAD TELEPFiOPIE: 561-746-3787 JUPITER IPILET COLOiVY FACSIMILE: 561-746-1068 FLORIDA 33469-3507 E-MAIL: jicolony@bellsouth.net May 28, 2009 II I)EI..IVEREI) The Honorable Pat Watkins, Mayor Village of Tequesta 345 Tequesta Ihive Tequesta, FL 33469 Re: Village of Tequesta/Town of Jupiter Inlet Colony Interlocal Agreement for Fire Rescue Services Dear Mayor Watkins: The Town is in receipt of your letter of May 15, 2009 together with proposed Resolution No. 14-09. In response to this correspondence, the Town Commission met at a Special Meeting on May 21, 2009. I am writing this letter at the request of the Town Commissioners. In lieu of proceeding with the formal requirements of the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, Chapter 164, Florida Statutes, the Town requests that the parties immediately commence negotiations concerning along-term Agreement for fire/rescue services. In furtherance of this objective, the Town requests that the Village provide a written proposal for along-term relationship whereby each party pays its fair share for fire/rescue services as soon as practicable in order to initiate the negotiation process. This alternate suggestion is made for several reasons. Assuming the "Contract Openers" provisions of Section VI of the Interlocal Agreement may be initiated at this time, pursuant to the terms of the Interlocal Agreement, these negotiations would be limited to a new fire component of the base rate "as it pertains to the added costs of the fire station" and a new rescue component based on the increased costs of the Village providing the EMS services. If only the "Contract Opener" issues are resolved in the conflict resolution process, due to the expiration date of the current Agreement, it would remain necessary for the parties to negotiate a new overall contract prior to October 1, 2013 . f The I~onorable Pat catkins, Ma~%or Village of Tequesta May 2~, 2009 Page 2 It is suggested that the current negotiation of a long-term Agreement addressing all outstanding issues may well prove advantageous to both towns. It is my understanding that the Village may be assuming a larger service area during the 2009/2010 f scal year due to its providing service to certain areas in unincorporated Palm Beach County. If the larger service area comes into fruition, the Town would then seek to renegotiate the Base Rate pursuant to Section VI (A) (3) of the Interlocal Agreement. Again, it is suggested that the negotiation of a new long-term Agreement addressing all of these issues would be more practical, The Town Commissioners sincerely hope to be able to enter into along-term Agreement with the Village of Tequesta for fire rescue services that is equitable to all parties concerned. In the event the parties are unable to negotiate along-term Agreement at This time, certainly the Town would be willing to proceed with the conflict resolution procedures set forth in Chapter 164, Florida Statutes, in order to address all "Contract ®peners.99 Please advise as to the position of the Village after you have had an opportunity to consider this proposal. Sincerely yours `~ ~.~ J M. Zuccarel