HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_05/15/1995_Public Works Committee c
;� `��; VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
, Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive
�' Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200
° ` 3 � Faac: (407) 575-6203
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PUBLIC WORK,S COMMITTEE
M�TING 1��INUTF.S
MAY 15, 1995
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The Village of Tequesta Public Works Committee held a
regularly scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357
Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Monday, May 15, 1995.
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 P.M. by Chair
Elizabeth Schauer. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the
Recording Secretary. Committee members present were: Chair
Elizabeth Schauer and Co-Chair William E. Burckart. Also in
attendance were Village Manager Tom Bradford, Village Clerk
Joann Manganiello, Village Attorney John C. Randolph, and
Councilmember Carl C. Hansen.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Co-Chair Burckart moved that the Agenda be approved as
submitted. Chair Schauer seconded the motion. The vote on
the motion was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the Agenda
was approved as submitted.
III. Consideration of Matter Related to Possible Quiet Title
Action filed by Tracy Swanson Relative to Lot 20, Block 2,
Riverside on the Loxahatchee.
Village Attorney Randolph explained that Tracy Swanson had
requested that the Village abandon a portion of this lot to
make her parcel more attractive for development purposes.
Attorney Randolph explained that in looking into the matter
from the standpoint of the Village's interest in the
property, the determination had been made at staff level
K�cUded Pn��er
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 2
that there was no reason for the Village to relinquish this
riqht of way, which had been dedicated for public purposes
years ago when it was first deeded to the County. �illage
Attorney Randolph reported that Tracy Swanson had retained
Attorney Fred Dahlmeier who had indicated earlier that day
in a phone call to Village Attorney Randolph that as a
result of the unsuccessful negotiations with the Village on
behalf of his client, that he planned to file a Quiet Title
Suit to obtain quiet title to this property for his client;
however, he was interested in resolving this matter prior to
such an action since there was no sure way ta determine the
outcome of a lawsuit. Village Attorney Randolph explained
that Tracy Swanson's position was that the Village had
abandoned the property since it had not been used as a
public hi.ghway; the Village'S positi.on was that it had not
been abandoned and even though it had not been paved it had
been recorded as a public highway and the Villaqe had never
taken any action to abandon the property. Another theory
offered by Tracy Swanson was that the deed to the County
from the adjacent property owner had been void at its
inception because no consideration was received. Attorney
Randolph explained that he believed that adverse possession
would not work against a municipality, and that the
contention that the deed was void was not valid. Village
Attorney Randolph stated that the legal question of the
abandonment issue would need to be resolved in Court and
that he believed that the Village would have at least a
50/50 chance of winning the lawsuit.
Village Manager Bradford explained that Tequesta Drive,
through the Village Comprehensive Plan, had a minimum 80-
foot right-of-way requirement; and that Palm Beach County,
under their Thoroughfare Protection Plan, also had a minimum
80-foot right-of-way designation for Tequesta Drive.
Villaqe Manager Bradford commented that some areas of
Tequesta Drive exceeded that 80-foot right of way, and that
in the area from Riverside Drive to the bridge, when the 30
feet in dispute was counted, that the right of way for that
section of Tequesta Drive was 90 feet. Village Manaqer
Bradford explained that in the late 1940's that either the
County or the State had received the additional right of
way, apparently free of charge, at the request of an
engineer who assumed that the old wooden bridge which
existed at that time would be replaced with a new bridge to
the north of that wooden bridge. When the bridge was
eventually replaced it was not placed as far north as the
engineer had anticipated. The Village Manager's response to
Tracy Swanson's request was that no more than possibly ten
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 3
feet could be relinquished, since the Village was again
faced with the necessity to replace the bridge, since its
anticipated life would expire in approximately 2007.
Village Manager Bradford stated that Richard Staudinger,
Consulting Engineer, had advised that an alignment study
would need to be completed in order to determine whether the
Village would need all of the 90-foot right of way, and that
Ms. Swanson had d�clined to pay for such a study. Village
Manager Bradford felt that this matter should be reviewed by
the Village Council since legal action had been threatened.
Co-Chair Burckart commented that the right of way should not
be given up since the Village would never get it back.
Councilmember Hansen pointed out that a section of the
bridge must alway� be available during repair or
replacement, therefore it might have to be moved slightly to
accommodate that.
Engineer Staud.�nger of Gee & Jenson commented tY�at the
bridge could be moved either north or south and that he
firmly stood by his recommendation for an alignment study.
Motion was �miade by Co-Chair Burckart to recommend to the
Village Counci]. that they stand by the Village Manager's
position in reqard to the right of way. iKotion was seconded
by Chair Schauer. The vote on the motion was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
The motion was therefore passed and adopted.
IV. Consideration of Agreement Related to the Distribution of
Assets of the JTJC to the Village of Tequesta.
Village Clerk Joann Manganiello reported that in the
litigation for the lease agreement between the JTJC and the
Village of Tequesta the Village had prevailed in SummaYy
Judqement, and the case was still in the appeal stage with
no docket set or anticipated in the near future. Village
Clerk Manganiello stated that an agreement had now been
drawn up whereby the JTJC wauld give the Village their
building, furniture and fixtures, and that the JTJC had
adopted a Resolution to dissolve their organization and
planned to liquidate and distribute all their assets.
During a brief discussion regarding what would happen if the
new agreement were challenged by litigation, Village
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 4
Attorney Randolph commented that the Village would provide
a defense for the JTJC, and Village Clerk Manganiello
pointed out that provisions had been included in the new
agreement allowing the JTJC to dissolve and to transfer
title to the Villaqe as a gift. Further discussion included
the following points: Enrollment in the recreation programs
had beeM steadily increasing; the JTJC's income exceeded
expenses and the extra money would be provided in the form
of a scholarship to help famiiies with more than one child
who wished to enroll; the cost would increase over time,
however, the Village needed to provide recreation programs
for its citizens; the Village would allow the JTJC to
provide a memorial which the Village would review and
approve, the building had been inspected and appeared to be
sound but would need some repairs; the reciprocal parking
agresment with the nearby church was set up to renew
annually and would be transferred to the Village. Engineer
Staudinger cautioned that a building inspection conducted by
an architect and a roof specialist, with a written
assessment provided to the Village, would be needed in the
event that the decision was made to proceed. Councilmember
Hansen questioned possible opposition by Tequesta Gardens;
Villaqe Manager Bradford explained that they had objected to
the initial design but had subsequently provided input to
the design. Village Clerk Manganiello reported she had
spoken to Alec Cameron who pianned to share information
regarding the transfer of title with their Board of
Directors.
The date to be inserted in the agreement as the time to have
completed the conversion of the real property to a public
park was decided as June 15, 199b.
Motion was made by Co-Chair Burckart to recommend to the
Villaqe Council that the Village receive the property
pursuant to this agreement. Motion was seconded by Chair
Schauer. The vote on the motion was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
The motion was therefore passed and adopted.
V. Status Report on Permitting and Mitigation Plan for the
Dover Ditch Improvement Project and Need for Amendment of
Scope of Services with Gee & Jenson.
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 5
Village Manager Bradford reported that Dover Ditch was a
drainage ditch located on the Jupiter-Tequesta border
between Seabrook Road and the Loxahatchee River, for which
Tequesta had assumed maintenance in 1979, and that Jupiter
had refused to participate in a project to restore the
banks, which had eroded and collapsed over time. Since
damage from Tropical Storm Gordon, Jupiter staff have been
reconsidering their pasition. The Village Manager explained
that the estimated improvement cost would total $750,000 to
provide two 54-inch burisd culverts, and that the Village
Council had authorized the borrowing of $100,000 from the
Water Enterprise Fund and also the first step of proceeding
with the permit for mitigation of the mangroves which would
have to be removed from the area. A contract had been
entered into with Gee & Jenson for the removal, however,
since very few areas were available to take the amount of
mangroves that must be removed, they had exceeded the number
of hours allowed in the contract in trying to find a
location. One possible location was determined to be
extremely expensive; the other possibility might be working
with the Nature Conservancy. Consultant Staudinger
explained that a two-acre site was required for like
mitigation, and part of the work for the Nature Conservancy,
if approved, would be removal of non-native species.
Consultant Staudinger reported that two permits with the
Army Corp of Engineers were being pursued for dredge and
fill, and that the Corp might determine that a public
hearing was necessary. Results of the permit applications
should be known within 60-90 days unless a public hearing
was held, Discussion revealed that mitigation, which was
a requirement of the SFWMD permit, might total up to
$50,000; that letters of objection had been received from
the Jupiter residents who also wanted the ditch fixed, that
the Village might be liable if the property of those
residents fell into the ditch, that the Village must
continue to maintain the ditch and must pay for repairs to
back yards which had eroded, and that the Engineer for the
Town of Jupiter had been invited to this meeting but was not
in attendance. Public Works and Recreation Director Gary
Preston explained that three yards had been repaired but the
Village could not access two other properties which needed
repair.
1Kotion was made by Co-Chair Burckart to approve the
additional expenditure to allow Gee & Jenson to continue the
process of locating a mitigation site and to authorize the
Village l�anager to execute a contract amendment prior to the
next Village Council meeting in order to save time. Motion
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 6
was seconded.by Chair Schauer. The vote on the motion was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
The motion was therefore passed and adopted. Councilmember
Hansen concurred with this motion.
IV. ANY OTHER MATTERS
Village Manager Bradford discussed the ten-foot multipurpose
utility easement which must be provided on the south side of
the property and another ten-foot easement on the north side
of the property where the iibrary was under construction,
and explained that the easement document must be signed by
the Mayor with the authorization of the Village Council.
Motian was made by Cp-Chair Burckart to approve the
execution of the ten-foot easement deed as required. Motion
was seconded by Chair Schauer. The vote on the motion was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
The motion was therefore passed and adopted. Councilmember
Hansen concurred with this motion.
Public Works and Recreation Director Gary Preston exp7,ained
that Tequesta Park was tentativel�r scheduled to open June 1,
1995, and that everything had been approved by the State of
Florida. Village Manager Bradford explained that a meeting
was scheduled, requested by the State, where the Village
would have an opportunity to air their frustrations with the
opposition of Martin County residents. Possible plans for
an opening ceremony were discussed. Chair Schauer
suqgested a plaq�e be placed in the park which would state
that the park had been paid for by the Village of Tequesta.
Co-Chair Burckart suggested the ribbon-cutting be held in
front of a large temporary sign with that message and a
photograph be taken to appear in the newspaper.
VII. COI�QSUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS
There were no communications from citizens.
Public Works Committee Meeting
May 15, 1995
Page 7
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Co-Chair Burckart moved that the meeting be adjourned.
Chair Schauer seconded the motion. The vote on the motion
was:
Elizabeth Schauer - for
William E. Burckart - for
the motion was therefore passed and adopted and the meeting
was adjourned at 5:34 P.M.
:;� Respectfully su mitted,
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Betty��Laur
Recording Secretary
ATTEST:
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J�Mang n�el��
Village Clerk
DATE APPROVED:
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