HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_06/06/2006MINUTES
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP
TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2006
5:00 P.M.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The Tequesta Village Council held a Village Council Workshop Meeting at the Tequesta
Recreation Center, 399 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, Florida, on Tuesday, June 6, 2006. The
meeting was called to order at 5:03 p.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk Gwen
Carlisle. Council Members present were: Mayor Jim Humpage, Council Member Pat
Watkins, and Vice-Mayor Tom Paterno. Also in attendance were: Village Manager
Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Attorney Scott Hawkins, Village Clerk Gwen Carlisle, and
Department Heads. Council Member Genco was absent from roll call, and arrived at
5:40 p.m..
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All those in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Council Member Watkins moved to approve the agenda, as submitted; seconded
by Vice-Mayor Paterno; motion passed 3-0.
• Mayor Humpage commented that they were waiting on Council Member Genco
to arrive, and requested that the agenda be re-ordered.
Mayor Humpage requested to move the ~Ot" Anniversary to the first agenda item, placing
licensing second, and the golf carts item last.
1) Village of Tequesta 50th Anniversary
Mayor Humpage explained that Dorothy Campbell and her associate, Alice, would be the
overseers, working with Cerese, Jeff, and Leslie Cook, who was not present. The Mayor
thanked them all and introduced Mrs. Campbell.
Mrs. Campbell explained their committee also included Greg Corbitt, and they could not
function without him. Mrs. Cam~bell explained they had 362 days and that the target
date; the SOt" anniversary is June 4t . She stated the Village was founded in 1957. Mrs.
Campbell indicated she would review the bulletin in order to get the blessing from the
council and then she would proceed with more definitive facts, figures and so forth. She
explained they would like to call the event Tequesta's Golden Tribute. She stated the
25t" anniversary was Tequesta's Tribute, but 50 years is the golden anniversary. Mrs.
Campbell explained when they had the 25t" anniversary, the 6-day celebration had been
too long, and it had been hard to work with a committee of seventeen people. She
• advised that the current committee was functioning well, and few sub-chairmen might be
Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 2
• added, but it was much easier to work with a smaller group of positive people. She
proposed a 3-day celebration on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
Friday, the 1St of June would be the last day of school, so the celebration would start on
Saturday. Mrs. Campbell indicated the scrapbook from the 25t" anniversary was
available, invited everyone to go through and take a look at it to get an idea of the events,
and proposed to do another scrapbook for the 50th anniversary. She was hoping to elicit
sponsors to reduce the cost, and hoped each proposed event would be self-sustaining.
She explained the excess money raised from these events could be used for Tequesta
Park, perhaps funding trees and so forth. Mrs. Campbell commented they would like to
repeat some of the events; they had used asummons-type invitation for one of the events
which was very successful; people thought they were in big trouble. She proposed that
when the holiday banners came down from the light post standard brackets after
December, that the golden tribute banners of the same size would go up and stay there so
that would be a six-month notice to publicize the event. Using the light posts was
suggested because posters could not be used in many locations.
Mrs. Campbell announced one of the fundraisers suggested was a personalized memorial
brick sidewalk in regard to the construction of the new Village Hall. She stated they
were going to use fifty bricks wherever they could, and hoped to sell each brick for
$50.00-it would be nice if each member of a family bought a brick. She mentioned the
official seal. Mrs. Campbell suggested that the Village consider getting attractive seals to
• use on correspondence, to be used after the first of the year, so that every time a mailing
was received by someone it would remind them that the SOt" anniversary was coming up.
Mrs. Campbell requested the Village Council to authorize the Village Manager to send a
letter to the Loxahatchee Historical Society requesting the return of their painting. She
explained that at the 25t" anniversary they had Larry Osso who is a wonderful local
painter do a rather large portrait of the Indians as they were, and it hung in the old Village
Hall. She stated that some people objected to the fact that the Indian woman was naked
so it was donated to the Loxahatchee Historical Society; it was never hung in a place of
prominence over there and she felt at this particular time it would be nice if they had their
painting back. She stated the painting was specifically designed as a commemorative
thing; it had borders on the edge that had little brass plaques on them that listed all the
council members and bigger black plaques on the bottom for the mayors, so it shouldn't
be in the closet somewhere. She stated that at Bessie DuBois's instruction, he depicted
the proper Indian, which was a Jeaga-Jobe Indian, not the Tequesta Indian, which was a
wonderful real estate play used by Charlie Martin. She stated that he also included on the
painting all the natural flora and fauna that existed in the area, the right frog, the good
birds, etc. She asked the Village Manager if he could send that letter requesting the
return of the painting. The Council Members discussed the size of the painting.
Mrs. Campbell stated they wanted to have a logo contest working with Greg Corbitt, who
had held a logo contest for the skateboard facility. Once that logo was established then
• they would use that along with their proper golden anniversary. She also mentioned that
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June 6, 2006
Page 3
• you could have stamps made for correspondence, apersonalized stamp with the Tequesta
Indian on the stamp might be fun to do.
Mrs. Campbell advised the Village Council had received a copy of the 25th anniversary
booklet on buttercup gold paper, and all copies she provided would be on that paper so
they won't get them confused with other items. She proposed that they duplicate this
brochure booklet, cutting it down to twenty pages, and suggested working with Sir
Speedy since they printed the Village's newsletter. Mrs. Campbell requested Council to
go through the brochure and advise if there is anything they particularly did not want or
did want. She reported she asked the Village Clerk, Gwen Carlisle, to see if she could
find the originals in the archives so they could be used again, and also contacted the
Chamber of Commerce to see if they had pictures. The centerfold in the booklet
contained the program of events, which she proposed to repeat. The Village Clerk had
advised 4,000 copies of the newsletter were printed, and 3,500 mailed. Mrs. Campbell
indicated she would like a quote to do 5,000 booklets, mail out 3,500, and have a backlog
of to be given to new residents.
Mrs. Campbell noted the tee shirts for the 25`h anniversary were beige with brown
printing and looked like bad uniforms, and suggested using the chosen logo on tee shirts
for the 50th anniversary, and selling them, giving them away, and/or having employees
wear them. She requested council approval regarding what was going to be done, before
she spent a lot of time getting bids, quotes, etc., for a budget. She hoped most of this
could be self-sustaining; the photo album could be created without a professional
photographer; local merchants would be contacted to offer fifty related promotions and
discounts during the event weekend such as 50% off specials at some restaurants, 50%
off specials at some of the merchandise shops. Wherever they could bring in the 50 they
would try to do it. The committee planned to start working on the publicity once they
knew a little bit more regarding what would be done, and would start with announcing
the dates and so forth in the next Village newsletter. They planned to locate a copy of the
1958 telephone directory, which was about 3 '/z pages, to see who is still around. Mrs.
Campbell referred to the proposed schedule for Saturday, June 2"d° stating it would start
with a parade; they had a fine parade last time and even had Waste Management and
garbage trucks and a guy dressed up like a dumpster. She stated the route was yet to be
determined, and they were talking with the Fire and Police departments regarding the
route. The parade would end at Constitution Park with various park activities. Mr.
Corbitt felt that most of the park activities should be held there because Tequesta Park
had been so denuded by the hurricanes. Activities would include an Arts and Crafts
show, Busch Wildlife exhibit, plant sales, and other miscellaneous fun things. She
proposed that since the egg hunt is such a successful activity, that on that day or an
alternate day, perhaps that Monday, holding a golden coin hunt, perhaps on Village
Green, using goody bags. Chocolate coins would not be used for the hunt because they
would melt, but the winner might receive a basket of chocolate coins.
•
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Mrs. Campbell suggested having an employee appreciation dinner/dance at Tequesta
Country Club on Saturday evening to express thanks from the residents to the people who
take care of the Village.
Mrs. Campbell reported during the bicentennial year the 4th of July fell on a Sunday, and
local churches did not want activities on that day because it was God's day, and she had
told them that God in His infinite wisdom planned it so that their activities would fall on
a Sunday. Thus, she'd like the local churches to bless them, and possibly hold a pancake
breakfast at the Legion Hall or St. Jude's. They would also like to have aVillage-wide
open house, well illustrated in the photo book showing where all the Village facilities are
located, and open to the public with Molly's Trolley providing transportation, so people
could see what it is like to be in the new Village hall, the Fire station, the Water
department, and so forth. After that, instead of having a birthday cake there would be a
cupcake celebration, which would be easier and neater. Also on this day there would be a
blessing of the pets. Another activity for Sunday could be a lucky duck race fundraiser,
releasing plastic ducks on the river, depending upon the tide, and using the police boat or
someone else in a boat to monitor the race. There would be huge plastic bags full of
plastic ducks numbered on the bottom; ducks could be purchased for $5.00 each and you
could buy as many as you want, but you would not get to keep them. All the ducks
would be tossed into the river and the tide would take them, and the owner of the duck
that came through first would receive a big prize.
• Proposed for Monday was a golf tournament at Tequesta Country Club. She stated that
Jim Humpage was very good at doing these, and he had come up with another wonderful
idea for raising funds, and explained to the council that in their goody bag there would be
a golf ball with a number on it. Mayor Humpage explained that he had a fundraiser for a
group, sold balls for $50.00 each, put them all in a bushel basket, and drew a circle on the
driving range. In the middle of the circle was a 6" solid dot. The balls were dropped by
helicopter, and the ball that came closest to the center won $1,000.00. Mayor Humpage
commented it was a fun thing to do, he made $6,000.00, and everyone had fun and could
keep their ball if you they find it. Mrs. Campbell stated if they did not have the golden
coin hunt on Saturday then they could have it on Monday. She advised some things had
originally been planned for Friday, but they lost Friday because of school still being
open. On Monday afternoon they wanted to have a reception for local VIP's--the original
idea was to have something at Tequesta Country Club, but everyone would be so proud
of the new Village Hall it would be better to have a reception there. This reception would
be by invitation only, and would be a wonderful closing celebration for the event.
Other suggestions were to change the skateboarding competition from May to June to be
apart of the celebration; holding a 2K, SK, or lOK run, having a sand castle contest at
Coral Cove Park, and a hotdog cookout.
For awards, especially for the kids, they were considering using special $50 bills with the
Tequesta Indian logo.
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June 6, 2006
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Council Member Watkins stated Mrs. Campbell had done an outstanding job. Mrs.
Campbell asked for the council's blessing. Mayor Humpage asked if the cost of shirts
was something the committee wanted to research or if that was something they wanted
the Village to look into that, so everyone wouldn't be doing the same job. Mrs. Campbell
responded that Greg Corbitt had resources on that and she had some resources at the
Scuba Club as well. Mayor Humpage explained the research would need to include what
items were and the cost, to get a feel for what kind of expenditure would need to be
added into the budget. He asked the Village Manager when they would start the budget;
the Village Manager that they are there already. The Village Manager advised a number
would be plugged in, so balance sheets could be run, and the Council could always add
the amount in during the budget hearings.
Mrs. Campbell stated she knew it was a lot to ask but she wanted to know if there was a
file on the 25th anniversary. Gwen Carlisle responded there was a file but it did not
contain much, and she planned to go back to the storage room to see if she could locate
anything else, or determine if it could be in another location. Mrs. Campbell mentioned
that out of the seventeen people that had been on the 25th anniversary committee, only
four of them were left.
Vice-Mayor Paterno asked Mrs. Campbell how much money she needed, to which she
responded she hoped to could break even, or even come out ahead, but might need
funding in the meantime for purchases. She suggested selling the booklets to the realtors
for them to give to their clients as a possibility. Mrs. Campbell commented that right off
the top of her head, she would ask for a budget allocation of $10,000. The Council
consensus was that was not enough. Mayor Humpage stated that between the ducks and
the golf balls they should get that much money. Mrs. Campbell commented if they did
not spend it, it would go back in, and if they needed more there was contingency. She
advised they did not want to spend a lot of time on things until they found out they were
going in the direction the Council wanted. Mayor Humpage stated he thought it was
great. Council Member Watkins agreed, saying they already had put in a lot of work in
organizing it this much, which she appreciated. Mayor Humpage agreed with Mrs.
Campbell that the 25th anniversary celebration had been too long, too many days. Mrs.
Campbell commented that Alice, who used to be the executive director of the chamber of
commerce, said that they had less than six months to plan, and she was right, since they
wanted to start the kick off with the first of the year, leading up to June 4th. Mayor
Humpage commented he hoped there would be funding left over to start rehabilitating
Tequesta Park. He stated he thought the event was great and the committee had done a
wonderful job. Council Member Watkins stated they had put a lot of work into it already
and she appreciated it. Mayor Humpage stated they had a green light and to keep going.
Council Member Watkins stated this time they needed to make sure they saved
everything and to make sure the keeper of the records had a good file. Gwen Carlisle
stated she loved records, so she would be glad to keep them as long as she was with the
• Village.
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June 6, 2006
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2) Licensing
Mayor Humpage indicated this discussion did not pertain to Community Development,
but was regarding vehicular traffic, various weights of trucks, crossing the bridge. The
Mayor suggested the possibility of a license rather than a permit, to indicate to police
officers the weight of the vehicle and that they were allowed to traverse through traffic.
Council Member Watkins commented on a neighbor using his truck, which she believed
to be close to the weight limit. Council Member Watkins asked if something more
official than the blue VOT stickers was needed. Vice Mayor Paterno indicated that this
matter was under the jurisdiction of the police department; Mayor Humpage called on the
Chief of Police to help out with this issue.
Chief Allison advised the ordinance stated that this was under the office of the Village
Manager, but it had been delegated to the Police Department. The Chief of Police
advised that there was an ordinance in place that had to be repealed to enforce this
properly. Village Manager Couzzo advised the current ordinance could be repealed and
replaced simultaneously. Council Member Watkins asked if the goal was to have
particular users who were Village residents with a reason to go back and forth, to identify
the vehicle.
Vice Mayor Paterno expressed concern regarding thru traffic and trucks going into Turtle
Creek, which were not currently going over the bridge but going in the back way, and
explained the permitting process was to help pay for policing and different things, and the
fee was very minimal from what he understood; $200 per company, so if they had twenty
trucks they were paying $200. He stated Council Member Watkins mentioned the
residents going over the bridge, and what he thought they were going to do for residents
was to give them a sticker or decal allowing them to go over, indicating that they were
residents and that would be free. He explained that any other fees would be for thru
traffic, and to comply with the ordinance, unless there were others being collected.
Council Member Watkins stated this really did not have anything to do with the tonnage,
but whether the vehicle belonged here or not, or was just going through to deliver
something.
Vice Mayor Paterno stated that the problem now is that with the bridge being at a 5-ton
limit most of the trucks cannot go over, but previously it had been an issue because they
were going over using it as a thru mechanism, which was not in effect right now. He
stated they needed to work on this before the bridge was redone in the next 3-5 years. He
stated the other issue that Council Member Watkins was talking about was the residents,
but he questioned if any permits were issued for anybody to go over between the five and
ten ton limit. Chief Allison stated they did not issue permits for that bridge, the permit
they did issue was for the 300 block of Country Club Drive, strictly for access to Turtle
Creek. Village Manager stated that what Vice Mayor Paterno was suggesting, and what
the Council was discussing was to allow this to happen, to issue a permit.
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June 6, 2006
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Mayor Humpage stated that a 10-ton vehicle was going to have less impact on that bridge
than a 30-ton vehicle, and he would like to see some kind of program put together where
the weight of the vehicle affects the road. He asked why they couldn't license these
vehicles by weight and certainly not by company, although he didn't mean to alienate
Rinker, these trucks should be accountable. Mr. Couzzo stated they cannot take trucks
over anyway. Mayor Humpage stated he wasn't talking about right now; he was talking
about when the bridge was redone and had a 30-ton limit.
During discussion it was clarified the bridge could be completed in five or six years.
Mayor Humpage commented the bridge was the focal point because of the problem, but
Tequesta Drive, and Country Club Drive took a beating by 30-ton vehicles as opposed to
10-ton vehicles. He stated the Village had to maintain these roadways so he couldn't see
why they didn't set the standard of costs to the weight of the vehicle. Chief Allison
stated the current ordinance said that Rinker can cross to service Country Club, Bermuda
Terrace, Point Drive, or any areas that not are accessible by any other road. Mr. Couzzo
stated they could not cross it now because of the weight restriction because it is posted at
five tons, with which Chief Allison agreed, but said there was no ordinance to enforce
that. Vice-Mayor Paterno stated that the current ordinance should be pulled for now,
making something quick in reference to the five tons to alleviate the problem now until
they get the bridge redone, but in the meantime to work on something going forward.
Council Member Watkins asked if two hearings would be required to change an
• ordinance. Mayor Humpage responded yes, and they could have Mr. Hawkins begin the
draft of the new ordinance covering the interim period until the bridge was back to snuff.
Council Member Paterno stated that when doing a new ordinance for the future after the
bridge was fixed, they needed to address thru traffic and make it so the Chief can do
something about it, extinguish thru traffic, and address the traffic going into Turtle Creek;
right now they had to come from the back side and have a permit. He asked if there was
some way they could get them to open up a gate along Island Way for service vehicles, to
help eliminate some of the traffic off of Country Club Drive for the people living there.
Mayor Humpage stated that Commissioner Weberman stated at one meeting that this
issue and other issues were political hot potatoes. Vice Mayor Paterno stated it was a
political hot potato for Commissioner Weberman but not for him. Mayor Humpage
agreed, and said they can could it more attractive to open up that second gate. Vice
Mayor Paterno suggested if they started charging them a hefty fee then maybe that gate
would open and give some relief to their residents. Mayor Humpage stated this was not
an issue they had to worry about at this point in time. Council Member Watkins stated
she favored the idea of doing something by way of weight, not per company. Mayor
Humpage stated he thought the weight was good but being in the construction business,
he saw twenty of these vehicles a day under normal conditions, and considered a blanket
permit for twenty vehicles for $200.00 crazy. He felt there should be a weight
consideration as well as a total amount of vehicles. Vice Mayor Paterno suggested the
fee be per vehicle and they be required to display permit. He felt the problem with the
police department was difficulty in enforcing these laws, and they needed to have some
mechanism to enforce them easily.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
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Council Member Genco arrived at this point in the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
Mayor Humpage stated that for the immediate future the current ordinance should be
repealed and replaced by a new ordinance. Mayor Humpage explained for Council
Member Genco it was the ordinance for thru traffic, vehicular traffic through town. He
explained that the current ordinance doesn't support preventing those vehicles from going
through, and a new ordinance could give the police actual powers to prevent this from
happening. The Mayor explained it was going to take two public hearings to do it, that
Mr. Couzzo and Mr. Hawkins would prepare the paperwork to repeal one ordinance and
then bring forward the new ordinance. Mr. Couzzo indicated this could be done
simultaneously. Mayor Humpage stated they could get this done is two months.
Discussion ensued regarding where thru traffic would be--primarily Country Club Drive,
but the ordinance would be within the municipal boundaries and not specific for Country
Club Drive. Mayor Humpage asked what happened at Anchorage Point. Chief Allison
stated there is an exception in the ordinance. Mayor Humpage stated they needed to take
this into consideration because that was the only way to get there unless you had a barge.
Vice Mayor Paterno stated it is the same with Bermuda Terrace, and commented that
going forward they would to have to figure out how to handle that. Mayor Humpage
stated they could still come in the back way.
Council Member Genco stated enforcing a rule within municipal boundaries that was
enforced on one selected road troubled her. She stated she was very concerned about that
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the Village for being selective as to how they decided to enforce their rules; this was
prejudicial and not even-handed. Mayor Humpage stated they were not going to
specifically make mention of a road. Council Member Genco acknowledged she
understood this, but they were enforcing a rule selectively on one road and if you started
ticketing people on that one road and were not ticketing people that were using other
roads within the Village's municipalities, people would put two and two together, and she
saw them suing the Village for not even-handedly enforcing their laws. Mayor Humpage
stated that was assuming they did not enforce it on the other roads, but suppose a truck
from Rinker come in on Tequesta Drive and chose to go up Seabrook to make a delivery
in Martin County; the truck should not do that, but should go up Old Dixie to County
Line Road; he stated they would enforce it on Seabrook as well as Country Club Drive.
Council Member Genco stated the only roads that were County or State were U.S. One
and Dixie. Council Member Genco commented although Country Club Drive, or the
bridge, was their biggest issue, they were going to have to enforce it on all the roads to
show they were doing it within all the boundaries of the village and not just for certain
roads, and the records should back that up to avoid trouble. Mayor Humpage asked Chief
Allison to comment on that. Chief Allison stated the current ordinance has a truck route
specified, which could be incorporated into the new ordinance. Council Member
Watkins stated that they were not discussing residential traffic. Vice-Mayor Paterno
asked if any other fees should be updated. Mr. Couzzo responded Fire has been updated
and they will look at Police to see if there were any issues. Discussion ensued regarding
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June 6, 2006
Page 9
posting truck route signs. Mr. Couzzo stated the signs would conform to the standard as
set by the State.
Council Member Watkins stated if there were fees for the police department that needed
to be addressed to please let the manager know so Council could address that, to make
sure they covered everything. Mayor Humpage stated it looked like they were okay on
the licensing.
3) Golf Carts
Mayor Humpage stated they were there tonight to discuss golf carts moving throughout
the Village, as there had been some issues and some complaints. He stated there were
people who were in favor of allowing the golf carts to move throughout the Country Club
area primarily, he was not aware of any other area that had been brought up. The Mayor
stated the only thing presently in place was a Florida 316 statute and nothing else. He
indicated he had one letter to read into the record, but would not do that until they heard
public comment.
(Public Comments)
Jim Kamen of 341 Fairway North stated he saw the golf carts on the roads when he
walked his dogs. He had made numerous complaints to the police department about kids
driving golf carts, and playing games with them-he had seen a group of kids probably
six months ago that were towing themselves around on a chair by a golf cart, which was
quite dangerous. He stated people were using their golf carts for transportation to go to
and from other neighbors' houses and parties, and people who did not belong to the
Country Club had golf carts just to use for public transportation. He stated the biggest
problem was the kids playing games with them, but there are numerous golf carts out
there that people drove at night just to go to the country club for dinner, etc. He did not
have a problem with people having golf carts, but they should not have their kids driving
the golf carts and anybody that lived on the golf course should not have a golf cart on the
public streets. He stated there were people driving stealth golf carts, there were people
driving ATVs that had no equipment to carry golf bags or anything else; and were being
used them strictly for pleasure, and should not be on public streets.
Joseph Capretta of 252 Tequesta Drive indicated he had received many calls. He stated
that when police stopped golf carts they gave warnings, and not tickets. Mr. Capretta
indicated he had no problem arresting people that were irresponsible and got in accidents
or races but he wanted them to realize the impact; some of the people that had received
these warnings took it very seriously and were very nervous about it. He stated they
immediately wanted to turn their golf cart in to the country club and tell them to keep the
golf cart there and they would pay the lodging; however the country club did not have
room for 100 carts, and, when you restrict the golf carts you have to remember that many
people use the golf carts instead of a car to go to the club
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
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He stated that as soon as you do that you are telling people they have to buy a second car,
and Tequesta Country Club would have to build room for one hundred golf carts and fifty
to one hundred cars for which they did not have room. Mr. Capretta commented a lot of
people who live on River Drive and they belong to Turtle Creek and that's why they
come out the entrance. He stated you have a big impact and you have some ways to
enforce irresponsible actions such as kids racing, and there were ways to make sure the
law is clear on that. He stated the police should be able to differentiate between a man
going to the golf club with a golf bag on his cart and an adult driving the cart during the
day and racing at midnight on Country Club Drive. He stated there were a lot of different
ways to enforce the law rather than attempt to ban golf carts, and the real concern the
people had to worry about were the big financial consequences, not just inconvenience.
Mr. Capretta stated this was a major issue involving a lot of people and a lot of money,
both to the boat club and the hundreds of people who owned the carts and used them as a
means of transportation. He wanted the council to give very thorough consideration to
any change they made and to try to restrict some of the abuses. He advised that most
people were responsible and even had lights on their cart if they drove them at night.
Small children should not run around with golf carts and injure someone. He stated if
you look at this issue in terms of how many injuries there had been, he would assume
very few.
Council Member Genco asked Mr. Capretta what he would propose to do with the people
that are using the golf carts in the evening for transportation, because she assumed he was
pro golf carts. Mr. Capretta responded the Council needed to decide if they were going to
allow them; his opinion was there was nothing wrong with driving a golf cart on a public
road at night as long as the driver was an adult, had lights on their cart, and was a
licensed driver, but a child at night and no lights was a different story. Council Member
Genco stated she understood. Mr. Capretta advised that under the policy that had been in
effect for some months now, the police were giving warnings to people, leading them to
believe they were going to have to give up the use of their carts which they did not like at
all, although some of them were very conscientious and were doing it. He stated there
was a gentleman with him tonight who wanted to speak but he had a hearing problem and
wouldn't be able to hear what the Council responded.
Mayor Humpage called Mr. Dean to the podium.
(Public Comment)
Mr. Tom Dean stated he had lived in Tequesta for 20 years and joined the club the same
year in August, 1986. He stated he bought a golf cart the same month and two or three
times a week he drives up Golfview and comes in the easement to the golf club. He
stated about two weeks ago he was stopped by two policemen in a cruiser who told him
he would not be able to continue because they had had trouble. He stated he was all for
the golf carts, but explained that one of the practical problems was there were only about
six or seven golf stalls left in the golf storage, and if they were not allowed to use golf
carts, there would be a lot of people that would not be able to store golf carts because the
club did not have space for them. It seemed to him that something could be worked out
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June 6, 2006
Page 11
as Mr. Capretta stated earlier. He stated the golf club also numbered the carts, so each
member received a sticker from the club each year. Mr. Dean commented if golf carts
were not allowed it would present a real problem to a lot of people, that he understood the
problems that had come up, and he was totally in sympathy in working them out so that
golf carts would not be a problem.
Mr. Russell von Frank commented people towed their boats, and suggested the possibility
instead of buying another vehicle, to put a tow bar on their car to bring their cart to the
golf course.
Mayor Humpage read Mrs. Pert Town's letter into the record: `Dear Mr. Humpage, I
understand that there will be a workshop held on June 6, 2006, pertaining to the golf cart
use within the Village of Tequesta. Since I will be out of town during the time of the
workshop and the time the workshop is held, I would like this letter stating my views to
be made part of the official record of said workshop. I firmly believe the Florida statute
governing the operation of golf carts, F.S. 316.212 should be strictly enforced. You
cannot pick and choose which laws you will enforce. If the workshop results in allowing
golf carts to be driven on public roads, I would suggest that the Tequesta ordinance
regarding golf cart use be stricter. Local governments have given us the story on the
316.212, paragraph 7. I would suggest changing the age from 14 to 16 and requiring the
driver to have a valid driver's license. If the village does not enforce this statute it is
vulnerable to lawsuits in case of an accident. Sincerely, Patricia Town'.
r. Richard Berube of Country Club Circle stated that this issue has been around a long
M
time and when he realized it was on the agenda, he made time to attend. He stated he
was an insurance agent, and he saw this from that point of view. What he found in his
insurance practice was the majority of people owning golf carts thought they had
insurance coverage and they did not. He stated the main issue here was that most golf
carts did not have liability coverage when operated on the road. A homeowner's policy
covered the golf cart while on the golf course and on the owner's property but it did not
cover it in between. A separate golf cart liability policy could be purchased, but that
could cost a couple hundred dollars. He stated this was an issue that needed to be
understood; there was no automatic golf cart liability that provided coverage on a public
roadway; and most golfers are not aware of that. He stated there was wording in the
policy that said they did, but it did not cover you in between--only while you were
playing golf; not to the golf course for dinner, not to lunch, or to the neighbor's house.
Mr. Berube advised this insurance issue could not be overlooked, and offered to address
those specifics.. He stated once a cart left your property there was no coverage until it
came onto the golf course for golfing purposes.
Mayor Humpage stated this was a workshop, and all these questions needed answers.
Mr. Phil Carey of 129 Point Circle questioned the annual cost.
•
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 12
• Mr. Berube responded to another question by stating that this truly scared him, especially
when he knew that a lot of people were using the carts without a primary liability policy,
which in his opinion made the Village the primary insured.
Mayor Humpage stated he was sure there had been issues, but none here so far.
Council Member Genco commented she assumed that the liability went with your
automobile. Mr. Berube stated no, it went with your homeowners policy--that the
automobile policy did not cover anything other than your auto. He stated it covered
liability for a trailer for pulling a boat or a recreational vehicle trailer with a private
passenger car, liability for that trailer went along with that vehicle. However, if you ran
over someone's feet with the trailer wheels or the trailer disconnected and crashed into a
storefront, that would be picked up by your automobile policy. Mr. Berube said Mr. von
Frank's suggestion of trailering a golf cart had merit in that the liability could be there.
He stated the insurance issue was critical, and he did not want the Village Council to
overlook it, because he knew from his practice that this was a big problem.
Mr. Berube responded to Mrs. Campbell's question that in order to insure a vehicle
properly it had to be a motor vehicle, and had to have lights, windshield wipers and those
kinds of amenities.
Mayor Humpage stated that he had checked with Jonathan's Landing and Admiral's
Cove, and had found if a golf cart was used on their streets, special recreational vehicle
insurance was required by the community which cost between $170 to $225 a year. He
stated you could not even have membership at their club without the required insurance;
it had been made a requirement for anyone at Admiral's Cove and Jonathan's Landing
who owned a golf cart to have full recreational vehicle insurance and it ad to have the
lights and everything. Mr. Berube brought up the fact that those were private roads, not
public roads, and offered to answer specific questions for people.
Mr. Dean stated he did have insurance on his vehicle policy. Mr. Berube responded that
was a first for him; he was not aware of a company that did that.
Council Member Watkins stated this was a difficult issue for her, because living in a
golfing community a lot of her neighbors used the golf carts for things other than golfing,
and there had been a few incidents involving kids that had terrified her, which was what
had brought this to light. Council Member Watkins expressed fear that not only were they
going to have a child hurt but she might be the one doing the hurting and she would never
be able to live with it if she hurt a child falling off a golf cart. She did not want to see
any of the residents put in that position, either. Council Member Watkins questioned the
Village Attorney whether this something the Council could even deal with because of the
situation of having public roads and if it were really a black and white issue or if there
were any options.
•
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 13
• Attorney Scott Hawkins stated the ordinance could designate the roads to permit golf cart
traffic, provided drivers were required to be 16 years or older and if there were various
physical modifications to the vehicles in question, including headlights, and taillights.
He explained golf cart traffic was supposed to be limited to the daylight hours, and felt
there were valid points to be made about the Village being the deep pocket target and he
wanted to make clear that when you did not have liability protection and somebody was
hit, there was no coverage to provide a defense and no funded money to pay a damage
claim; so the Village would have to pay the damage claim, not the insurance carrier.
Attorney Hawkins advised if someone was seriously injured, the cost of medical
expenses could be catastrophic, and the Village could be the target.
Council Member Watkins stated she could not support any issue with golf carts that
would allow unlicensed individuals as drivers and felt kids were really just tempting fate,
and she would not like to see carts used at night- just for safety issues alone. She
indicated the Village liability was very serious, and as council members they could not
afford to look at what they personally thought, but must look globally at the best solution
for all of the residents who might be walking or whatever when one of these golf carts
came by. She stated that unless they can resolve the issue of the Village liability, whether
they had to have people have proof of insurance or indemnify the Village or whatever,
that was the only way she could walk down that road. She felt they needed to protect the
Village, which would really be protecting the residents, because when the Village got a
• bill from a lawsuit, it was really the residents' bill.
Council Member Genco questioned Mr. Berube regarding whether the driver had to be
licensed under the liability coverage that he stated was available on the homeowner
policy. Mr. Berube stated no, and there were more accidents with older people and there
was no age requirement.
Council Member Genco clarified with Mr. Dean that his automobile policy required the
person operating the golf cart to be licensed. Council Member Genco indicated she
thought the policy that Mr. Berube was talking about was recreational, and there must be
two different types of liability.
Vice Mayor Paterno asked how a bicycle was insured, to which Mr. Berube responded it
was only covered on your property and. there was no limitation on age, young or old. He
stated mopeds were covered on your property, but once off your property the liability
does not follow.
Mrs. Campbell stated that 90% of the golf carts she saw were on the sidewalk, not on the
roads. She stated there were not sidewalks in the country club but it should not make a
difference whether they were on the sidewalk or on the road. Council Member Genco
stated it was still public. The Vice Mayor indicated there were golf carts coming down
Country Club Drive from Martin County to go to their club and into Turtle Creek, and he
had received complaints from people that they were almost run over.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 14
Gwen Carlisle reported she lived in Loxahatchee in the Acreage where there were ATVs,
and advised when the police stopped children under the licensed age of 16, they could
give tickets and even revoke their license until they are 21 years old.
Council Member Genco requested that Attorney Hawkins looked at whether they could
implement something in one location that they did not implement in another location as
far as the roads. Attorney Hawkins responded he thought they could designate certain
areas but there would have to be some signage, and some study as to the best way to
implement that. He recommended having an ordinance that specified exact travel paths,
some sort of registration mechanism, and age limitations.
Mrs. Campbell asked if there were any golf carts east of the river, in the main part of
town, or on Beach Road. The Mayor indicated to his knowledge all of them were west of
the bridge.
Mayor Humpage advised the way he read the statute was that a study would be required
by the state to designate particular roads, which was confirmed by Attorney Hawkins.
Mayor Humpage made clear to the Council that someone had to pay for the study and
the staff time, and then buy the sign. He stated it seemed they were primarily staying in
one area where the golf carts were predominant, and would be asking 6800 to 7200
residents to spend the money to do all these studies to make golf carting okay. The
• Mayor expressed his opinion all the residents should not have to pay when only half of
1% were affected. The Mayor also expressed concern that if this were done and
somebody was hurt on the golf cart and the pockets on the hurt side were not as deep as
Village pockets, would the Village still be holding the bag. Attorney Hawkins confirmed
the Village would still be atarget--that was just the American way, everyone is a target.
Mayor Humpage stated that the whole conversation in this workshop had been generated
by abuse. The Mayor commented they needed to consider people like Mr. Capretta who
drove from his house to the golf club or across Tequesta Drive, and this would affect
everyone in the community. Mayor Humpage indicated he felt they would have to do the
study to make this happen, and the Village would still be a target, and he was not
comfortable with it, because in his opinion the golf carts had been abused. Mayor
Humpage expressed his opinion that the golf carts should be used only to play golf and
kids should not be allowed to ride around in them, and everyone else should not be riding
around in them at night, and self discipline, parental discipline should be used. To ask
everyone in the Village to pay for this was a tough call for him, and he would have to put
that to vote. Mr. Capretta suggested licensing carts, to which Mayor Humpage
responded the first thing that would have to take place was to get rid of every juvenile
and that will not happen, and he was uncomfortable with the police pulling over kids on
golf carts and taking them home.
Council Member Genco stated that now they had come to the conclusion that people
needed to be licensed, that they needed to have insurance, and asked if the Village were
• to look at this, if they could issue some kind of decal for $20 a year to help recover their
cost. She was looking at this nice community with adults that had utilized golf carts
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 15
properly for forty years or more, safely, and it really had become an issue because the
children had abused it. She stated if the people had the liability insurance that covered
the Village; Mayor Humpage stated it covered the residents, not the Village. Council
Member Genco stated she was saying it covers the Village from a first line exposure
situation, the same way as someone using a vehicle; if there was a tree that is in the
wrong place and a vehicle hit it, the Village would get sued even though it was the driver
at fault but it did cover most of the issue. Council Member Genco commented if there
were a licensed driver requirement, and an insurance requirement, the other issue would
be daylight, which might be another requirement, along with a decal; then it would be as
safe as the Village could make it.
Mayor Humpage stated he was not trying to handicap all the good citizens who ran
around in golf carts; he is just trying to put a lid on it because it was not going to get any
better. Council Member Genco responded the only way to put a lid on it was to come up
with criteria and implement a code. Mayor Humpage agreed, but indicated the criteria
had to be something the police department could enforce. Council Member Genco
agreed, stating if people did not have a decal, they would be ticketed, and asked if their
golf cart could eventually be taken away from them.
Vice Mayor Paterno stated this community had had a golf course and golf carts for about
50 years. He felt it was a good thing to make the age requirement 16 instead of 14 as the
• state statute allowed, and to require proof of insurance, and also a $20 fee for the police
department. In regard to who would pay, the Vice Mayor indicated there are people who
did not have golf carts, but he paid a lot of taxes like a lot of people in the neighborhood
and one thing that made the area nicer was have the ability to have a golf course; and
people might need to be willing to pay a little extra to have that comfort, and it kept the
community up. Vice Mayor Paterno commented this was similar to putting lights up in
another end of town which he was for, but could ask why he should have to pay for it.
He stated he helps support the whole village.
Mayor Humpage stated they were basically talking about a confined area, but cautioned
that the decision they made would affect everyone because if they said golf carts were
okay and someone from Dover Road or Tequesta Garden Apartments went to get one,
this could escalate.
Vice Mayor Paterno stated this can be kept to a certain area only and the study could be
done, the Council was going to require insurance and have the golf carts registered and
there was nothing wrong with that. He stated the club itself needed to survive and the
club's survival had an effect on the surrounding areas, and asked the Council to think
about it. The Vice Mayor stated he agreed with the safety issues. Council Member
Genco asked him what would be fair, to which he responded by saying the driver would
have to be 16 with a valid drivers license, he had no problem with the insurance, he
thought that was a valid point which had been overlooked by many, and felt a fee to the
• Village was proper in order to have a sticker so that the police department would have a
way of knowing who owned the cart.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 16
• He stated nighttime driving was not a problem for him if it was according to the state law,
and met the requirements of turn signals, headlights, windshield, etc. He stated if a cart
was operated responsibly it should not make a difference if it were day or night.
Mr. Capretta said it was a very low number of golf carts that traveled at night, such a low
number so you could actually eliminate that problem. He stated the main issue is
daytime, adults and insurance. Mrs. Campbell asked if the country club had any rules or
regulations requiring people using carts to be licensed. Mayor Humpage responded
probably not if it were on the club grounds. Vice Mayor Paterno advised he thought you
had to be 16 and a licensed driver. Mrs. Campbell suggested working with the country
club to have some common rules and regulations.
Mrs. Betty Nagy stated it was not fair to some residents to pay for something like this,
that she was worried about someone getting hurt in the country club and then the Village
would get stuck with the bill. Council Member Genco responded if the drivers had the
liability insurance to cover the exposure that would that be sufficient. Mrs. Nagy stated
she should not be held responsible; that she works hard for her money.
Council Member Watkins responded she would like to come to a common sense
approach. She stated they have residents who are in a particular community where golf
carts would not be a surprise to see; the question to Attorney Hawkins was whether a
• common sense approach to allow the golfers in the country club to get from their homes
to the club could be taken, so that this would not be a huge liability for the Village, so the
residents as a whole were protected. She stated she could live with that but that was the
only she could support it.
Council Member Genco asked if Attorney Hawkins could research to find out what kind
of liability insurance would be potentially acceptable to minimize any exposure.
Attorney Hawkins stated yes, he could research both of these questions and some others
as well, and stated he had been talking with Mr. Couzzo about a possible strategy that
would represent a possible compromise with the view towards accommodating residents
of the Country Club, and protecting the Village, together with a study that would have to
be done by a traffic flow engineer to outline the best traffic patterns and what roadways
needed to be designated. He suspected they were not talking about that many roadways
and not that many pathways, but that needed to be studied and all these questions could
be studied. He stated there were a number of things that could be done, and a lot of
private communities had faced this problem. Attorney Hawkins noted the country club
was not a private community, they were a public community but they had a lot of the
ambience of a golf course private community and they wanted to preserve that. Jupiter
Island had passed an ordinance and designated the whole island, but they were very
isolated.
•
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 17
• Mr. Gill Hall of Country Club Drive stated the biggest problem he saw here was the age
and the number of kids riding golf carts. He stated he saw kids driving down Country
Club Drive, going in and out of the sidewalk to the street, and they were hanging on to
the back. He felt it is a very serious situation going on, and noted they have no lights and
sometimes they are hard to see.
Vice-Mayor Paterno stated he understood the safety problem and was the first problem
they needed to address. He stated he has not been here for 30 or 40 years, so he did not
look at it like the country club vs. the beach vs. somebody else; he commented he was
representing everybody, because every area would have a unique situation they may need
to address. He believed safety was first and Council could come up with something that
was workable for everybody, and still protect the Village.
Mayor Humpage stated if Council was going to look at this and come up with something
they think is palpable by everyone, then he thought they should get a handle on and find
out what the study costs. He mentioned he saw what the State mandates for the study.
Council Member Genco stated it is a determination; whatever they have to do to
determine the study. Mayor Humpage stated he would like to know how much it costs so
they can defray the cost somehow down the road. Council Member Genco stated there
should be a user fee, which means whatever decals get issued to the golf carts, if that is
where Council goes with this, they get charged with the cost to offset this fee.
• Village Manager Couzzo proposed that Attorney Hawkins and himself work on a draft
proposal with some of the items they talked about before they engage in the study,
because Council may want to do this in two phases. He stated if they like what they see
and it is palpable, then they go to the next step. He indicated they want to try and
incorporate everything they have discussed in the proposal, and maybe add some other
things, and then the study will be based upon those criteria.
Mayor Humpage stated everyone was getting their warnings, what the Chief was doing
was handing out copies of the state statute, and he wanted everyone to be informed. He
explained Council was going to look at these issues and see if they can come up with
some solution, so he asked that no one panic and sell their golf cart yet. He stated when
Vice-Mayor Paterno was talking about the golf club community that was true; that is how
Tequesta got started. He stated he has also heard everyone say the demographics of this
community were changing dramatically, and they are. He asked Chief Allison if they
find juveniles riding around on the carts, what can they do at this point in time.
Chief Allison responded by stating the policy right now was to detain the juvenile and
have the parent come to the scene and remove the child and the cart. Council Member
Genco asked how often they have been doing this. Chief Allison responded not very
often. Mayor Humpage pointed out when he came to this meeting he came down Country
Club Drive and there were three kids on a golf cart by former Council Member Resnik's
. house. He stated he would like to work with the community and keep everyone safe.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 18
. Council Member Genco stated maybe this would be a good opportunity to use the
dialogic and tell people as of a certain date if they are out there they are going to get a
ticket, so at least they could get them off the road between now and when they come up
with this rule, they can address the problem and get the parents to get these kids off the
streets. Council Member Watkins stated she would have zero tolerance for children
because that was an accident waiting to happen. Vice-Mayor Paterno stated he can
understand doing the dialogical for the children but as far as adults, and he knew some
people would not agree with him, he felt they needed to push along and allow people to
utilize their carts at this day in time. He stated if they do not have a driver license it is a
problem; He felt this was the best way to do it, and not say no until they come up with
something, it took them eight months to get this meeting together from the time it was
originally brought up, if it is another eight months it would be a nightmare for the
community.
Council Member Watkins stated they are back to the liability issue; they know the carts
are on public roads. Mr. Couzzo stated the police department was handling it on a case
by case basis, but the officer has the discretion to interpret the statute and issue a citation
if deemed necessary; if there is someone who is under the influence and driving
erratically, they are going to do something. He stated they do not want to be in the
position where administratively and legislatively they are dictating how the officers
should interpret the law in the field. Chief Allison stated they have a statute that needs to
be enforced because residents are demanding it. He stated the Police Department is
enforcing it right now. Council Member Watkins felt Council needed to protect the
police department, also. She asked if it is a state statute, do they have a choice. Mr.
Couzzo stated the officer has the discretion to issue a ticket or to not issue a ticket and
that is the way they are doing it. Council Member Genco asked whether it is a warning
or a ticket. Mr. Couzzo stated what they have been doing with underage kids is calling
their parents and he thought this was also responsive. Council Member Genco asked if
they would ticket an underage child now. She suggested as of now if they catch underage
children they get on the phone and give the parents fair warning, and then start ticketing
them. She felt that would cut down on the juvenile use almost immediately.
(Public Comment)
Mr. Carey noted there would be an impact on the club if they limited the carts. He stated
they were not able to take the carts in, that there was no room. Mayor Humpage stated he
knew where Mr. Capretta was coming from; he stated he did not want to burden the
country club and they all want to work this out. He felt the dialogic message was a good
idea. He reiterated if you took anything away from this meeting tonight was council was
trying to do what was right for the citizens and the village as a whole.
Mr. Capretta suggested enforcing the abuses. Mayor Humpage agreed. Vice-Mayor
Paterno stated he has been stopped five times in the Country Club after dropping off his
daughter at the bus stop. He noted he was handed the statute and understood about the
• discretion and the law. He commented at the same time there are laws the police have
discretion on. He stated he has people everyday telling him about the golf carts.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 19
• Council Member Genco stated if the police have the ability to either issue a warning or a
ticket between now and the next forty-five days, which is how long she thought it would
take for them to come up with a resolution, then the adults are forewarned that their
children are going to get tickets. Vice-Mayor Paterno asked about the adults. Council
Member Genco responded by stating golf carts are not meant to be recreational vehicles
and they are not meant to be a mode of transportation. She stated she has said this before
and someone turned her into Golf Digest. She stated they are called golf carts, that is
why they have the word `golf ; it does not say fun vehicle, recreation vehicle, four wheel
vehicle, it says golf cart; and when you look in the magazines, they are called golf carts.
Mr. Capretta stated they also give the police a hint when they see a golf bag on the back.
Council Member Genco agreed. Mayor Humpage questioned what about when it is
10:00 at night and they are coming back from the club. Council Member Genco stated
then it is being used as a recreational vehicle. She stated that is what the whole issue has
been; they are golf carts, not meant to be a mode of transportation and even if they do
implement this rule, it is only going to be within the areas where people are going to go
from here to the golf course; it is not going to be meant for them to go from here to Quick
Stop or from here to church; it is meant for them to go from their home to play golf. She
apologized if that upset people in the community, but this is a golf course oriented
community, not a recreational golf cart village.
Council Member Watkins stated until they do something to change what exists, the police
• have to enforce what is on the books and that means you should not be on the public road
with your golf cart. She realized this was a pain and they can assume they are going to
get stopped and given a piece of paper until this is rectified. She stated she realized it
was an inconvenience, and wished this had never came up. She stated she has lived here
29 years and it never has been an issue until the last year and half. But, she stated, it does
not exonerate the fact that they have had a statute that has not been enforced. She stated
they are in a strange position. She felt in a perfect world the Country Club would be
private and you could do whatever you wanted on your streets. She mentioned they are
public streets, and now they are forced to look to this.
Council Member Genco stated if TECCA wanted to, they could take over ownership of
the streets and maintain them and change it into a golf course community. But, she
stated, she did not think that was what they wanted. She stated when she was young, they
played with bumper cars in bumper car places and now the kids are getting a lot of
pleasure out of the golf carts and she understood that, but that was not the intended use of
those vehicles.
(Public Comment)
Mr. Tom Dean questioned the difference between a bicycle or a tricycle zipping around,
and felt the golf cart was much safer. Mayor Humpage stated golf carts were motorized
under the law so it fell into a different category, because it is motorized.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 20
• Mr. Kamen felt they have been emphasizing the younger children but he saw just as
many adults abusing that privilege. He asked if the state statute forbid the use of golf
carts at night. Mayor Humpage stated they could drive them at night by state law as long
as they have lights, taillights, wipers, and a horn. Vice-Mayor Paterno stated the way the
law read, if he was correct, was if they designate an area, a community, or the county,
whoever; and the local authority designated a certain area to be a golf cart community
those golf carts could be used for whatever, it does not necessarily have to go to the golf
course. He stated technically right now you are not allowed to use any golf carts on a
public roads. Council Member Genco stated the rule stated the golf cart may be operated
only during the hours of sunrise and sunset unless the government entity determines that
it may be operated otherwise, and then it has the criteria of the equipment.
Mr. Kamen felt the ordinance needed to be enforced the way it was written. Mayor
Humpage stated the Police was enforcing it. Mr. Kamen disagreed, saying if Mr. Paterno
was given the letter five times then it was obvious he was abusing the privilege. Vice-
Mayor Paterno stated did not want to get into an argument with him. He stated they both
know that they do things a little bit more than they are supposed to. Mr. Kamen agreed.
Mayor Humpage stated the Village is in a position now, and the Chief was enforcing
these things. He stated the officer makes the decision if the citizen is being responsible,
and advises them of the state statute and moves along. He commented if the person is
operating it carelessly or recklessly or attitude intended, he assumed the Police was citing
them. He stated Council had agreed what they were doing with the juveniles, but they
needed time for Staff to get them where they needed to be with the vehicles. He pointed
out Council Member Genco was right about the headlights and taillights, and he was not
a person who believed the carts should be out at night. He felt even if the Village took
another look at allowing them on the road, he was not a proponent of night driving for
golf carts, and felt it was too dangerous, whether or not they were adults. He stated
Council has to protect the Village so let the police operate in the fashion that they are
moving now and take a hard look at anybody who is underage. He felt Council needed to
immediately stop children and let Mr. Hawkins do his work. He felt then Mr. Hawkins
and Staff could come back with all the information and make an intelligent decision, that
would serve the entire community, without burdening anybody.
Council Member Genco asked how soon they could get a draft to look at. Attorney
Hawkins said two to three weeks, possibly by the July Council meeting. Mayor
Humpage asked Attorney Hawkins if they should do another workshop before they bring
it forward to another Council meeting. Council Member Genco felt they should do it at a
Council meeting, and make sure it received proper notification. She wanted to get going
with it. Mr. Couzzo stated it would be presented to them in a draft form, for discussion
purposes. Council Member Genco stated she wanted it sent to all of them for comments,
to see if it addressed all their concerns. She noted they can easily strike things at the
Council meeting. Attorney Hawkins stated the caveat would be that everything was in
. there; he has some ideas. He felt if the child violates, the parent loses the right to operate
the cart.
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 21
• He guaranteed they would get more enforcement, but nobody was going to like. Council
Member Genco asked him to put all that in the draft. Mr. Couzzo stated they were going
to do that. Council Member Genco asked if it would be in a strong enough form they
could take action on it. Mr. Couzzo stated they would put it together based upon this
discussion.
Council Member Watkins stated it was obviously an issue that needed to be addressed,
there needed to be some kind of resolution. Mr. Couzzo stated this would be the first
phase and the second phase would be the study, so it will be a couple of months. Mayor
Humpage felt the Village could not do anything without the study because that was State
law. Council Member Genco asked how long it would take to do the determination.
Vice-Mayor Paterno stated the state law does not say who has to do the study; Mr.
Couzzo could do the study that it does not have to be an engineer, it could be the police
department. Council Member Genco stated it did not even say that, it said
`determination'. She understood this but they have enough engineers under contract it
seemed they could have someone do it. Mr. Couzzo asked Council for direction; did they
want a traffic engineer or staff; he stated this would be a very different study if Staff did
it versus and engineer. Council Member Genco stated someone had to look at it from an
aerial viewpoint and figure out to get from point A to point B these would be the streets
that are going to be designated. She felt they did not need to do that in order to adopt the
general language of what the restrictions were going to be for the users. Mr. Couzzo
• stated the language in the statute indicated they needed to look at certain criteria. Council
Member Genco understood that.
Council Member Watkins asked Mr. Couzzo if he could find out what a study of this
nature would cost. Council Member Genco stated if it was $20,000 or $30,000 then they
could scrap the whole thing. Vice-Mayor Paterno suggested they call Kimley-Horn.
Council Member Genco stated the engineer that did the bridge lived in Turtle Creek and
they do traffic engineering and he might be interested in doing it and maybe be able to do
it speedily and reasonably. Mayor Humpage stated they could put out a dialogic, stating
they were looking at this issue in the interim, parental guidance needed to be exercised.
Council Member Genco stated the police have been told that they will be issuing
warnings and where warranted will be issuing tickets.
Lt. Mike Morrill, Police Department stated he was just looking for some direction; he
wanted the police to be able to do their job the way they are supposed to do; do they
enforce part of the law, or all the law. Consensus of Council agreed they needed to
enforce all the law. Council Member Genco stated people are on warning as of today,
and they know they could possibly get a ticket or a warning.
4) Other Related Matters -None
;~
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Village Council Workshop Minutes
June 6, 2006
Page 22
• III. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: Council Member Watkins moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by
Council Member Genco; motion passed 4-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:02 p.m.
wen Carlisle
Village Clerk
•
•
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