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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_07/08/2004VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 250 Tequesta Drive, Suite 300 Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 (561) 575-6200 Fax: (561) 575-6203 VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA REGULAR VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JULY S, 2004 I. Call to Order and Roll Call The Tequesta Village Council held a Regularly Scheduled Village Council Meeting at the Tequesta Recreation Center, 399 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, Florida, on Thursday, July 8, 2004. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Mary Miles, Village Clerk. Council Members present were: Mayor Pat Watkins, Vice Mayor Geraldine A. Genco, Council Member Edward D. Resnik, Council Member Russell J. von Frank, and Council Member Jim Humpage. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Attorney Scott Hawkins, Village Clerk Mary Miles, and Department Heads. II. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Watkins gave the invocation and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. • III. Approval of the Agenda Councilmember von Frank made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Vice Mayor Genco seconded the motion. Councilmember Resnik requested item (d) be pulled from the Consent Agenda . The Village Manager requested addition under New Business of an item concerning Officer Malley, which would become item (c), since the original item (c) had been removed. Item (c) under presentations had also been removed. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Council Member Humpage seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. IV. Presentations and Proclamations • A. Presentation by State Senator Ken Pruitt and State Representative Joe Negron of a $200,000.00 Check from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) for Constitution Park. Recycled Paper VILLAGE COUNCIL • MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 2 Mayor Watkins introduced Jack Cory with Public Affairs Consultants in Tallahassee, Florida. Mr. Cory commented that Senator Pruitt and Representative Joe Negron were extremely instrumental in obtaining the $200,000 State of Florida Recreational Assistance Grant. Mr. Cory advised that Village Manager Couzzo and Parks and Recreation Director Corbitt were important in putting together all the documentation and qualifying with the State. State Senator Pruitt, who could not attend tonight's meeting because of an illness in the family, had sent his District Aide, Ginger Baldwin, in his absence. State Representative Joe Negron was present. Mr. Cory provided background on both State Senator Pruitt and State Representative Negron and thanked them for obtaining this grant for the people of the Village of Tequesta. State Representative Negron thanked the Village for the opportunity to represent Tequesta in the State House of Representatives. A photo was taken of the check for the grant being presented to the Mayor and Council. A proclamation was presented to both Senator Pruitt and Representative Negron, honoring their achievements and thanking them for obtaining the Florida Recreational Assistance Grant to improve Constitution Park. Ginger Baldwin accepted the proclamation and a pin on behalf of Senator Pruitt. Representative Negron was presented with a proclamation and a pin. The Mayor read aloud the text of each proclamation. Mayor Watkins thanked Mr. • Cory, Senator Pruitt, Representative Negron, Village Manager Couzzo, and Parks and Recreation Director Corbitt for their work in obtaining this grant. B. Presentation by John Zuccarelli, Mayor of Jupiter Inlet Colony, of a Resolution to Peter Allen, for being awarded as "Firefighter of the Year." Jupiter Inlet Colony Mayor John Zuccarelli introduced Tom Pisarno, Commissioner of Jupiter Inlet Colony. Mayor Zuccarelli commented that when the newspaper article about Lt. Peter Allen appeared, he had not been surprised that Lt. Allen had reacted without thinking of himself. Mayor Zuccarelli indicated that the people in the Inlet Colony considered Lt. Allen a part of their town as well, since he and the other firefighters took care of them, for which he expressed appreciation. Commissioner Pisarno read aloud the Resolution from Jupiter Inlet Colony honoring Lt. Allen for saving the life of an elderly woman, an act of heroism that earned him special recognition as Firefighter of the Year. Lt. Allen received the Resolution and expressed his thanks. C. Presentation Dr. Monroe Benaim, School Board District, District 1, School District of Palm Beach County, of the Sales Tax Referendum. This item had been pulled at the request of Dr. Benaim to be deferred to the next agenda. . VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 3 D. Proclamation declaring August 3, 2004 as National Night Out in the Village of Tequesta. Police Chief Allison explained that the Proclamation declaring August 3, 2004 as National Night Out brought the residents together so there was communication with neighbors talking to neighbors. Chief Allison indicated he would be honored if Mayor Watkins would read the Proclamation now, and at the event. Mayor Watkins read the National Night Out proclamation. E. Proclamation honoring Brooke McDowell for her achievement in the annual Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee. Mayor Watkins read aloud a Proclamation honoring Brooke McDowell, age 14, of the Village of Tequesta, who had competed successfully as far as round 5 of this year's National Spelling Bee held in Washington D.C. E. Proclamation honoring Susan O'Connor for successfully competing in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest Mayor Watkins read aloud a Proclamation honoring Susan O'Connor for successfully competing in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, which involved tens of thousands of competitors. F. Presentation by Gerald L. Valent, Vice President of Cornerstone Group Development, LLC, of a conceptual development for a part of what is currently known as the Alterra project. Village Manager Couzzo introduced Mr. Lenny Wolf, Cornerstone Group Development, LLC, a South Florida developer, who provided a presentation of a preliminary conceptual site plan for a development by the Cornerstone Group, seeking preliminary comments and ideas from the Village Council. Mr. Wolf announced that the existing Crossings and Clare Bridge facility was now under contract to Cornerstone Group. Their plan was to completely renovate The Crossings facility and to tear down Clare Bridge and to build approximately sixty townhouses there, anticipated to sell at approximately $250,000 each. The entire parcel consisted of 8 acres, and they would use 3-1/2 to 4 acres for the townhouses with 13-14 units per acre. The existing facility would be converted into condos. Mr. Wolf introduced others present on behalf of the developer. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 4 A. Request for assistance of $2,300.00 to Bay View Terrace and Shady Lane Homeowners' Association to beautify a common area. Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village Manager reported this item had been brought up at a previous Village Council meeting, where the request to help beautify a passive park used by the public that lies between Bay View Terrace and Shady Lane had been made. The original request had been for capital connection fees for City water to be waived, and Mr. Couzzo recommended against waiving fees because it could set a bad precedent. The Village Manager indicated that an alternative would be to assist with beautification efforts by providing sod, which would cost approximately $2,300.00. This would allow the beautification to remain within the Associations' budget. Vice Mayor Genco expressed disappointment since she had been hoping this could be a passive park. Vice Mayor Genco asked how the request for irrigation from the Country Club had been handled. The Village Manager did not recall, but indicated he had never recommended waiving capital connection fees. Village Manager Couzzo explained for the benefit of the audience that Vice Mayor Genco had been working to acquire this parcel as a passive park, to increase the Village's park space in the Village, but the Association did not wish that to happen and would • not agree to transfer this private property to public park space. Vice Mayor Genco commented if the Country Club had not paid connection fees, she thought this should be handled the same way. Mr. Couzzo indicated the meter installation charge was also approximately $2,300. Vice Mayor Genco requested research to handle this the same way the irrigation for the Country Club had been done. Councilmember Resnik confirmed with the Association's representative that this space had no restriction on public use of this land at present. Councilmember Humpage asked the Village Attorney if the Homeowners' Association could preclude public use in the future. Village Attorney Hawkins advised that they could deny public use in the future, unless there was some restriction against that. Attorney Hawkins recommended entering into an agreement and if public use was denied in the future the $2,300.00 would have to be refunded to the Village. Vice Mayor Genco stated she was in favor of what had been done in the past, and requested the Village Manager provide a report to the Council next week, which could be adopted as a policy for the Water Utility. Councilmember von Frank expressed concern regarding liability, to which the response was that the Village would have no liability. Vice Mayor Genco commented the worst case scenario would be that the $2,300 would have to be paid back if public access were denied in the future; the best case would be for the Village to have a policy they could adopt uniformly that an area like this would be handled like it was for the Country Club. Mayor Watkins commented there was $2,000 left in contributions. Vice Mayor Genco stated she would rather this be a waiver and to be a policy to be followed in the future. Councilmember Humpage commented this request was not to waive the capital connection fee, it was for sod, to which the . Village Manager responded that was his recommendation. Discussion ensued. Vice VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 5 Mayor Genco stated she was against giving public money for planting anything on private property. Attorney Hawkins advised that the issue was whether the Council wanted to contribute $2,300 for sod, and the policy suggestion had worked its way into the discussion. Councilmember Resnik commented he thought the discussion had been regarding making a donation of $2,300, which would be refunded if public access were denied in the future. Village Manager Couzzo confirmed with the Association's representative who was present that there was no urgency and it could be done next month; therefore, consensus was to research this item and draft a policy, and if that didn't work an alternate agreement would be provided for consideration. VI. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Watkins called for discussion of Consent Agenda item (D) which had been pulled by Councilmember Resnik. D. Recognize the Revenue of $500.00 from Wal-Mart Foundation donated to Parks and Recreation-Appropriate $500.00 from Fund Balance into Parks and Recreation to account the donation. • Councilmember Resnik asked how it had happened that Wal-Mart had provided this money, since the only backup for this item had been a copy of a check from Wal-Mart. Parks & Recreation Director Gregg Corbitt advised the request had come from his staff. The Skate Park and Summer Camp Supervisors had gone to Wal-Mart requesting assistance with their camps, the donation had been received, and a letter of thanks had been written. MOTION: Councilmember Resnik made a motion to approve Consent Item (D). Councilmember von Frank seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. MOTION: Councilmember Humpage made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Councilmember von Frank seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. Therefore, the following items were approved on the Consent Agenda: A. Regular Village Council Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2004. • B. Ratify Robert L. Garlo as the Fifth Member of the General Employees Pension Board. VILLAGE COUNCIL • MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 6 C. RESOLUTION N0.53-03/04-A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE PALM BEACH COUNTY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) GRANT AWARD; CERTIFYING THAT MONIES FROM THE EMS GRANT WILL BE USED TO PURCHASE THE EQUIPMENT SPECIFIED 1N THE GRANT AWARD AND WILL NOT BE USED TO SUPPLANT EXISTING TEQUESTA FIRE-RESCUE BUDGET ALLOCATION AND MEETS THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE EMS COUNTY GRANT PLAN. VII. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Pert Town, 364 Fairway North commented that she had made plans to attend her nephew's wedding which would have meant she would be gone for the better part of June. Then her husband had quadruple bypass surgery, so she cancelled her plans to go to Maryland. When both doctors agreed it was all right for her to make the trip, and her husband wanted her to go, she gave a key to the neighbors and told Public Safety where • the key was, and at their suggestion left a list of meds on the refrigerator. She called her husband every night, and he told her that a member of the Police Department stopped and checked on him every day. Ms. Town reported she had told Chief Allison it made you feel good living in the small village, knowing that people care; he had advised that the Village was trying to get a program to check on shut-ins, but some took it as an invasion of privacy, but she believed it was something that was really needed. Ms. Town expressed her appreciation to the Public Safety Department. Leslie Cook spoke about beautification. She had noticed Jupiter put in a lot of landscaping on Cypress Drive, and asked if the Village could do something about the view of the backs of commercial buildings that could be seen from Alternate A 1 A and Old Dixie Highway, possibly a border of landscaping of sabal palms and oleander bushes. Village Manager Couzzo responded that for approximately three years this had been under consideration, and Connie Fisher had done a plan approximately two years ago for the area of Tequesta's property just north of Rinker's parking lot. In the next week or two, that plan would be taken to County Commissioner Karen Marcus to see if this plan could be instituted not only on Tequesta's property but the other two areas that were in Jupiter. Mrs. Cook commented that nothing would need to be done along Old Dixie north of Tequesta Drive since that was natural vegetation, and that the plan which had been passed years ago, when Tom Bradford was Village Manager, was a very elaborate plan which would require maintenance, but a very simple plan could be done like Jupiter did on Cypress Drive. Village Manager Couzzo indicated that a • recommendation would be made in the upcoming budget to proceed with Connie Fisher's plan and hopefully to get some assistance from the County. VILLAGE COUNCIL • MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 7 Village Manager Couzzo announced that the Village Clerk had submitted her resignation, and that Village Clerk Mary Miles had been the best clerk he had worked with, but she was leaving to pursue unique opportunities in the private sector, and he wished her the best. Clerk Miles expressed her appreciation and commented how wonderful it had been to work for the residents of Tequesta, and thanked the great poll workers, and the Village Council. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS FROM COUNCIL Councilmember Resnik commended the Village Manager for his job as the Utility Director, and Engineer Tom Jensen and Operations Manager Russell White for their efforts in getting approval to route a new pipeline from the well to the water plant, which had saved the Village $33,000.00. Councilmember Resnik led applause for this accomplishment. Village Manager Couzzo responded staff was always looking for ways to save money, and that the Utility Department had just been notified they were the recipient of the Southeast Regional Filter Membrane Award, which would be on next month's agenda. i Vice Mayor Genco commented she found it unsettling to read in the newspaper that a development was planned within Village boundaries she knew nothing about, and requested that staff not comment for the newspaper on developments that had not been brought before the Village Council. Vice Mayor Genco recommended that a conceptual plan could be presented as had been done tonight, so everyone in the community would have the opportunity to know what was going on, and the Village Council would be able to indicate, for example, that they did not want a 16-story building in a residential area. Vice Mayor Genco requested this be adopted as a policy. Vice Mayor Genco commented this had also happened with Publix, which she knew nothing about until she saw it in the newspaper, and the building was already demolished and she had no idea what was going in or what would be adjacent. The Vice Mayor commented she realized the Village Council could not tell someone what to do, but it would really help the process if they were shown conceptually what someone wanted to do, and she would like to see the process start publicly at the Council meetings instead of being informed about it in the newspaper. Mayor Watkins questioned if a developer wanted to bring something to the Village and it was not far enough along to be submitted, if they could be stopped from going to the newspaper. Councilmember Genco clarified she was not talking about the developer, she was requesting that Village staff be stopped from commenting about it they should simply say no comment, we do not have an application-rather than make it look like there was agreement as to what would be developed there. Vice Mayor Genco commented it came across in the newspaper as if that was what was going to be developed there and she did not know that was what would be developed there, and she • did not like the public to get the impression it had been condoned, and she did not like to VILLAGE COUNCIL . MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 8 read about it in the newspaper that it was going to happen. Other municipalities in similar situations simply said no comment, and she would like that to be Village policy, until the developer had the opportunity to come before the Council to say what they would like to do and that they were going to submit an application. Mayor Watkins commented she had asked the Village Manager earlier that day if there was a problem with having a developer present a conceptual plan to the Village Council before it went to Planning and Zoning Board. Vice Mayor Genco responded, absolutely not, because the Planning and Zoning Board was the next step in the process after the Community Development Department had taken the application; and someone could come to say what they would like to do and that they were going to submit an application to the Community Development Department. There was nothing promissory about that, and at the same time if it looked like a really big problem, the Council could advise the developer they needed to work it out with the Community Development Department and then the Planning and Zoning Board. Vice Mayor Genco commented any municipality she had worked with or for did it that way and she saw no reason the Village should do it differently. Vice Mayor Genco commented she did not want another situation like the Village had with John Zuccarelli, where people talked to him outside of the Community Development Department and he had the feeling that because he was talking to the • Village Administration and the Village Clerk and a few other people that he had the okay to go ahead and do something that had never been discussed at a public Council meeting. That's what she was trying to avoid, and also she felt a little insulted as a Councilmember that she was reading about something in the newspaper for the first time that the Village Manager or possibly the Assistant Village Manager knew about and she didn't even know it had been proposed within Village boundaries. Councilmember Resnik commented he did not have a problem with a developer going to the newspaper and putting in that he wanted to build something in Tequesta, but agreed staff should not be commenting in the press before a project was presented. He did not recall that staff had done that. Vice Mayor Genco commented the press and a developer could say anything they wanted; she just had a problem with the Village coming out with a position on anything until something had been brought before the Council. Mayor Watkins wondered if an e-mail to make Councilmembers aware would suffice. Vice Chair Genco commented the awareness was really the smallest part-that was a personal thing-the idea of having someone go through the process properly was what she was really concerned about; making sure that when a developer came to the Village such as the redevelopment for the Publix site that they go through the Community Development process and that they then deal with either the Planning and Zoning Department or the Village Council, depending on what the situation might be, before any comments were made for the paper. Vice Mayor Genco asked if Community Development had seen the plans for Publix. Community Development Director Jeff Newell responded that Publix was to be located in County Line Plaza and would be before the Planning and Zoning Board this month, in July. If there were no problems at Planning and Zoning, it would be presented to the Village Council in August. Vice Mayor Genco commented, but at VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 9 this time the Village had an application for a food store which was Publix and did not know if it would be approved, but was acting like it would be approved when it had not even been through the process. Vice Mayor Genco stated she was sensitive to that because of what happened with the John Zuccarelli situation and did not want that to ever happen again because she had a gentleman who did not like her because she wanted to make sure the Village code was followed. Mayor Watkins commented she was confused about how to change the process; Publix had put a sign up on U.S. One which had nothing to do with the Village. Vice Mayor Genco responded the sign should not have gone up until they had an application in-that was her whole point. Mayor Watkins commented she did not see this as an issue but understood the Vice Mayor would like to be better informed. Councilmember von Frank commented he had had conversations with the Manager in the past about signs up on County Line Road and the Manager had told him what was happening, but he did not find it a problem. Vice Mayor Genco responded in trying to encourage development the Village was turning its back on some of its own rules, and she did not think the Village should be doing that. Mayor Watkins expressed her opinion that part of encouraging developers was they felt free to come discuss that was what they were proposing and they should not have to wait a month for a meeting. Vice Mayor Genco stated she was not talking about the Council, she was talking about the process, and asked when the application was received. Mr. Newell • advised the Village had been dealing with the developer for approximately two months, and had encountered several problems with getting proper information and there had been other problems. Vice Mayor Genco commented that it was probably a good month after it was known publicly they were going to be building there that the Village started working with Publix, and the building had already been demolished. Mr. Newell stated that was correct, and he had granted a permit for the demolition. Vice Mayor Genco commented her point was the Village was condoning something before it was even applied for. Mayor Watkins commented she did not see just talking about it as condoning it-that she was just not getting that part of it, and asked how the other members of the Council felt, and commented she did not see how to make the process any different. Vice Mayor Genco stated she would withdraw her discussion and go on to her next point. Vice Mayor Genco commented the Village was not maintaining the vegetation on Main Street, which she would like to see done. Vice Mayor Genco stated at the Pension Board there was a request to bring something to the Village Council today which apparently was not brought before the Council on dual officers, and she believed Bonni Jensen, the Pension Attorney, may have contacted Mr. Hawkins about that. Vice Mayor Genco stated the Council needed to get a Resolution addressing the dual office holding on a Pension Board-the dual office being a seated member on the Pension Board and a seated member on the Village Council. Vice Mayor Genco stated she would like to get that process going because there was a time frame. Village Manager Couzzo reported he had. spoken with Chief Weinand, Chairman of the VILLAGE COUNCIL • MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 10 Public Safety Officers' Pension Board, about that, but he had not seen any documentation. Vice Chair Genco stated that the Pension Board had passed a Resolution and apparently nothing got put on this agenda and she would like that on the next Council agenda because there was a time frame to get some things implemented. Vice Chair Genco commented that in order to get grant money from the State or Federal Government that the Village was required to follow the EEOC, the Equal Opportunity Employment Act, which says that any time the Village has a position for the Village that is either a contract position, afull-time position, or a part-time position, that that position is to be advertised. Vice Chair Genco stated she would like to make sure the Village started following that. She thought there had been times during the last year and a half where the Village had not followed that policy, and it needed to be followed, and the Council should make sure that policy was followed. It was the responsibility of the Council to direct the Manager to follow it. Mayor Watkins asked the Village Manager if that was a policy. Village Manager Couzzo commented there was a policy with a statement regarding seasonal employees and temporary employees. Vice Mayor Genco stated she had the policy here and that did not include contract employees. Manager Couzzo commented he did not know the constraints of this grant because it was the first time the Village had received this grant. Vice Mayor Genco stated this was not the first grant the Village had received-the Police and Fire Departments had received grants steadily over the years, and it was not just a question of the grant, but that the Village wanted to follow the Equal Opportunity Employment Act, and she believed it was very important to follow that; the personnel policy manual outlined it and it should be followed, and there should be no exceptions to it barring very extreme circumstances, and in that case she believed the Village Council should be advised of it. Vice Mayor Genco stated the new Council by-laws or code adopted last year did allow a Councilmember to investigate situations; they were not supposed to be interfering with the Village Manager and his management of employees; however, if there were issues which any member on the Council needed to investigate because of anything they had heard or something they had seen, the Council could do that and that was not interference. Vice Mayor Genco stated over the past four weeks she had had a lot of employees come to her, which was one of the reasons she was making this statement, and she thought it was an issue of fairness for a lot of the employees. She was not saying that there were not sometimes perception problems, but the Village needed to be very certain rules were followed so that the Council could not come under criticism from the employees or have employees feeling like someone had not been fair to them. Mayor Watkins asked if the Councilmembers had received the information from Roger Buckwalter about an arts and cultural committee he was trying to get going in the northern part of the County, which the other members indicated they had not received. • Mayor Watkins commented she needed the Council's approval to allow him to speak on VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 11 the next agenda. Consensus was to place Mr. Buckwalter on the next agenda for a presentation. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Request for waiver of voluntary annexation fees for Baldino's Restaurant property. Village Manager Couzzo advised that this was a continuation of an ongoing discussion regarding annexation procedures and costs, and the possibility of waiving costs of voluntary annexation. Councilmember Resnik asked how much it would cost, and how long it would take to recoup the cost, and the impact on Baldino's Restaurant. Village Manager Couzzo advised it was difficult to give an exact cost because it involved staff time, legal time, and legal advertising costs, but normally on a small scale annexation (under 10 acres) the cost was $7,500. The legal advertising only was between $2,500 and $3,000. On a large-scale annexation (over 10 acres) the legal advertising would be $6,000 to $7,000. Staff did not have arecommendation-it was brought to the Council because • Councilmember Humpage requested the Council look at considering waiving these fees. Councilmember von Frank indicated he was in favor of waiving the fees. Vice Mayor Genco commented that last time Mayor Watkins requested staff and the Manager look at this to get their thoughts on how it should be handled before a decision was made, and direction to staff had been to provide input within the next two months. Village Manager Couzzo recommended handling on acase-by-case basis, analyzing the costs and potential benefits for each individual voluntary annexation request. The Village Manager advised that originally Councilmember Humpage had discussed a policy waiving all costs for any voluntary annexation, but he recommended acase-by-case basis. Vice Mayor Genco commented her suggestion at that meeting had been to do it on a case-by- case basis, and the other suggestion had been to do it by ordinance. Mayor Watkins indicated acase-by-case basis made more sense to her, but this discussion was to discuss Baldino's, and the issue was to get as many businesses into the Village as possible because it was good for the Village. The Village Manager clarified $7,500 was the current cost per the code; actual out-of-pocket expense other than staff time and legal time would be $2,500 to $3,000. Councilmember Resnik stated that was the answer he was looking for, because in the letter the Council got regarding this from Councilmember Humpage it talked about $7,500 in administrative fees which he wanted waived; and if $7,500 was waived, the Village would undertake the cost, and the Village Manager was saying that cost would only be $2,500 to $3,000, absorbing the internal staff costs. . Councilmember Humpage commented he was surprised to hear Baldino's cost would be $3,000 because he was looking at the May 13 meeting minutes and Mr. VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 12 Newell had estimated the cost at $1,200. Mr. Newell acknowledged he had said $1,200 but that was for expenses outside of staff time. The $2,500 was for work staff normally did for an annexation. The expenses outside staff time were construction of the three ordinances, and advertising for the hearings on the ordinances; and referring back to the Turtle Beach annexation that was $3,000, which was a small scale annexation. Councilmember Humpage commented assuming for the sake of argument that it was $3,000, in the package he had sent the Councilmembers, he had sent a copy of the tax appraiser's value of this property and he had also showed what this property would bring in annually, which was about $1,400 net to the Village in ad valorem tax, based on the 2003 assessed value plus an estimated rise in property value of 18%. Assuming the $3,000 figure given by Mr. Newell, the Village would recover all its cost in two years. After that, the Village would continually be operating in the black with an additional tax base. A former Councilman had always talked about two lines that would eventually intersect-the ad valorem income and cost of operation-and annexation was a way to help this issue. Councilmember Humpage noted that all the others shown in his package had no charge for voluntary annexation on small parcels, and he had no problem looking at each one as an individual case but • wanted the Village to assume the posture of being annexation-friendly. Councilmember Humpage stated that in this case, if it cost the Village $3,000, all of that would be recouped in 24 months, and the Village would have another business within the municipality, it would increase the Village's tax base, and would assist in ad valorem. Councilmember Humpage indicated this would be beneficial to both parties. MOTION: Councilmember Humpage made a motion to waive the fees for the Baldino annexation. Councilmember von Frank seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. B. RESOLUTION N0.52-03/04-A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPROPRIATING ADDITIONAL FUND BALANCE FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND #415 AS FOLLOWS: $25,000 TO FUND LEGAL FEES FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INTO BUDGET YEAR 2003/2004, ACCOUNT #415-990- 599.902-CONTINGENCY. Village Attorney Scott Hawkins read Resolution No. 52-03/04 by title only. • Jeffery C. Newell, Community Development Director, explained that the unforeseen costs had been related to a couple of lawsuits that had been in • VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 13 progress, and also the Department had picked up the legal expenses of the Planning and Zoning Board, which were not budgeted. Mr. Newell explained that the lawsuit fees were hard to estimate, and although the prior fiscal year that appropriation had been made, it had not been carried over to cover fees as they came in. Now the fees had showed up and an appropriation was requested to cover them. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank made a motion to approve Resolution No. 52- 03/04. Councilmember Resnik seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5-0 vote. C. ITEM REGARDING POLICE OFFICER CHARLES MALLEY Village Manager Couzzo advised that the Village had been notified the previous day that Police Officer Charles Malley had been called to active duty to serve in Operation Iraqui Freedom. Officer Malley had already gone to St. Petersburg to begin his training to prepare to go to Iraq, and could be gone 12 to 24 months. The Village Manager recommended Officer Malley and his family be paid the difference in his military pay, approximately $20,800 versus his Tequesta Police Department salary of $38,700, a difference of $17,900 annually. The Village would be reducing the expenses for his medical coverage since he would be covered by the military. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank made a motion to pay Officer Charles Malley the difference in his military pay and his salary as a Tequesta Police Officer. Councilmember Resnik seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 5- 0vote. Mayor Watkins recognized Mrs. Malley, who was present in the audience, and wished Officer Malley well. Police Chief Allison thanked the Council for their kindness in granting the salary difference, and for making this a special place to work. Councilmember Humpage commented his son was going to Iraq so he had his granddaughter to take care of and he had just found out Jupiter Medical Center accepted the military insurance, so any medical problems that Mrs. Malley had would be handled first class by Jupiter Medical Center. Chaplain Paul Beresford announced that Sunday morning Officer Malley would be mentioned at church and a prayer would be said for him. Mrs. Malley expressed her thanks and gratitude to the Village. • X. ANY OTHER MATTERS VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES July 8, 2004 Page 14 There were no other matters to come before the Village Council. XI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, upon motion by Council Member Humpage, seconded by Vice Mayor Genco, the meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Betty Laur Recording Secretary •