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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_12/13/2001TQ- pt- VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 250 Tequesta Drive, Suite 300 Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 (561) 575-6200 Fax: (561) 575-6203 MINUTES REGULAR VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA DECEMBER 13, 2001, 7:05 p.m. 399 SEABROOK ROAD TEQUESTA, FLORIDA 33469 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Village Council of the Village of Tequesta held a Regular Village Council meeting on December 13, 2001. Mayor Genco called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m., and Village Clerk Wolcott called the roll. MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilmember Russell J. von Frank, Councilmember Sharon D. Walker, Mayor Geraldine A. Genco, Vice Mayor Joseph N. Capretta, and Councilmember Basil E. Dalack. ALSO PRESENT: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr., Village • Attorney John C. Randolph, Village Clerk Mary Wolcott, and Department Heads. IL INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Pastor Paul Beresford of First Baptist Church gave the invocation and Councilmember von Frank led in the Pledge of Allegiance. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember von Frank wanted to discuss letters under "Any Other Matters." Councilmember Walker requested to have item D pulled from the "Consent Agenda." She also stated she may have to leave before the meeting is over. Vice Mayor Capretta announced he would like to have a discussion about the plaza, a discussion about water, and a program to honor outstanding citizens under "Any Other Matters." MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve the agenda as amended; seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Motion carried 5-0. r~ L Recycled Paper IV. CERTIFICATION OF DECEMBER 4, 2001 SPECIAL ELECTION A. Certification of the results of the Village of Tequesta Special Election held on December 4, 2001.-Village Clerk Mary Wolcott pillage Clerk Wolcott read the results of the Village of Tequesta Special Election held on December 4, 2001, stating regarding the site location of Village Hall, the citizens elected 357 Tequesta Drive, and the citizens elected to approve the new Village Charter. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve, seconded by Councilmember Dalack; motion carried S-0. Dottie Campbell, 4 Tradewinds Circle, commended the Village Clerk for doing an excellent job with the election. It was clean. We attended the Supervisor of Elections seminar on the new voting machines, and they are so easy to use. I would like the Council to back up Mary to request at the February meeting to have the machines here. V. PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS A. Presentation by John DuBois on the Florida History Museum, and consideration of adonation.-Councilmember Sharon D. Walker • Mr. DuBois stated one of the things they have been doing over the past year is improving relations. The Lighthouse has enjoyed over 40,000 visitors since its restorations, and is expecting to exceed that over the next year. One initiative is to build a permanent visitor center-rebuild either a replica of the old keeper's house or a replica of the old weather center. They are putting a brick on the walkway for the Town of Tequesta. They are developing a firefighter exhibit that will begin in March next year. They have so much community and enthusiasm. They display historic relics and artifacts collected. There is a new General Manager for the museum and a new museum educator. He made a presentation to the Mayor, showing a brick within the Path of History. Councilmember Walker asked Council to consider a donation to the Florida History museum, increasing the amount to $2000. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve the donation of $2000, seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta; motion carried S-0. Leslie Cook stated she has long been associated with a group supporting the Lighthouse. We are going to try to outfit the little house behind it with artifacts to show the children of the county what life was like in the late • 1800's and early 1900's. 2 • VI. CONSENT AGENDA All items listed under Consent Agenda are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Village Council Member so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. A. Village Council Regular Meeting Minutes of November 8, 2001.-Village Clerk Mary Wolcott B. Special Master Code Enforcement Hearing Minutes of September 27, 2001.-Village Clerk Mary Wolcott C. Consideration of reappointment of Mr. Jim Humpage as full member of the Board of Adjustment, with a term beginning December 14, 2001, and expiring December 14, 2004.-Village Clerk Mary Wolcott D. Village Manager's Report for the Month of November (pulled) MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve A, B and C of the "Consent Agenda; "seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Motion carried 5-0. Councilmember Walker stated to Mr. Couzzo, when I was reviewing the Village Manager's Report, there was a letter from In-Rem Solutions stating a contract copy was enclosed, and I would like a copy of it. MOTION: Councilmember Walker moved to approve item D of the "Consent Agenda; "seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta. Motion carried S-0. VII. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Dottie Campbell, 4 Tradewinds Circle, remarked when they first started on Country Club Drive, she was aghast and shocked at what was going to happen to us. What we have is a mess, but not as bad as the Country Club Community. I took pictures, and would like to pass them to the Council to look at and then send to Encon. The pictures that we took were not pictures that we would use, the slabs of concrete. The rest of these pictures showed other damage. I don't know what they use that for. We don't know what they're doing, but they are there. Yard art. The favorite thing I have is the last one. This piece of concrete has been here so long, they decorated it with tinsel. I don't know why our community does not continue to muscle Encon. Can't we do something? I would encourage all of you on Council to go through on a weekly basis. Von Frank says he does, and he goes to the Village Manager. In the meantime, can't we put pressure on Encon to go in and take care of things? I would request that all of you in the audience take a ride through there. Mayor Genco stated she has had a lot of conversations with Encon. Although . our engineer is supposed to be the lead engineer, Encon has the power, and signs • the check. When there is a complaint, they say it is our project. I think our engineer understands our problem now. Encon's meeting was unfortunately tonight. Jim Humpage stated he is president of the ACT Committee and they are honorable guys. We have meetings about once a month at the Lighthouse Restaurant. We invite everyone to come. Next Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. We need your input to be effective. The reason I am here is our new charter and the location of village hall are now certified and we know which direction we are going. I would like to ask Council to have a discussion and decision time for what we will do with the property at Tequesta Plaza. I for one would like to see the Village do something with Zuccarelli. They will complete the Plaza as they see fit. So I would like to see this on the agenda. Ron Priore mentioned clearing the lot at 357 may have been a little premature. I had a few questions to the Council whether they were involved with the decision making to clear the property. Does the Village need proper permitting before it can be done? What was the purpose of clearing the property before the vote? Mayor Genco remarked we discussed clearing at least part of the property. It made sense if we were going to clear part of the property, we might as well do the whole thing. According to Palm Beach County, we were supposed to clear most of it. Councilmember von Frank stated he did a walkabout of the property and it was covered with debris, etc. It was abominable. ' I was happy to see the garbage removed. Ed Resnik thanked the Village Council on behalf of the Charter Commission for review of the charter and their care, and their astute change which improved the charter. I personally think the charter as approved will serve the Village well for the coming years. I would say approximately 13 percent said no, 14 percent yes, and the other 73 percent by not voting had no objection to it. I hope we can proceed into the New Year by optimism and fellowship. I have lived in Tequesta for 22 '/2 years. I support the Village, and improvements have been tremendous over the last few years. I recently served, and am serving now on the committees. I am looking at possibly serving the Village now by running for Council, to keep this Village a great place to live. Mayor Genco acknowledged they went through the charter article by article, reading it, and the Council discussed each item. Every item we had on that charter passed unanimously. This weekend Mrs. Walker, you sent a letter opposing the charter. I'd like to ask you why you changed your position. Councilmember Walker responded she stated on record she questioned the • manager's residency. 4 . Pert Towne stated when I moved here in `81 we had a friendly Village--you go to Publix and every one knew you. Now we have these anonymous letters going around entitled Citizens for Responsible Government. If it is an open letter to taxpayers of the Village, why does it only go to certain people? As far as I am concerned, they have no credibility. I talk to many Village employees who are embarrassed and ashamed, and do not believe any current employees are involved in this. There is also the Whistleblowers Act that protects them, so there is no reason for them to be afraid. These letters are causing a morale program for the employees. I would like to see the Council direct the manager to try and find out who is behind it. Mayor Genco responded she is right, that is a great suggestion, and that it is affecting the employee's morale. Councilmember von Frank stated you stole my thunder, what I was going to talk about under X. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to instruct the Village Manager to pursue whomever is sending out these letters and use whatever is at his disposal; seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Village Attorney Randolph stated it is appropriate to ask the manager to look into • it, and he can report back to them on what he is able to find. From the way I understand the motion, there is no criminal activity on anybody's part. If they are employees, you may have a different situation. Leslie Cook stated it is criminal activity-they are placing the letter in mailboxes. Councilmember Walker mentioned this is highly an emotional issue, put it on a business level. Motion carried 4-1 with Councilmember Walker dissenting. Peggy Verhoeven, Pointe Drive, said she has never had a letter in the mailbox, or rocks thrown in the driveway. It is fairly odd. I think that the people who worked the polls on the 4~' of December deserve a huge "thank you." The election went smoothly. Harold Taylor, 13 Chapel Court, thanked everyone for a job well done this year. Our old Village Hall has been demolished. The question remains what to do with the Southwest Parcel Plaza. Mr. Zuccarelli stated a park wouldn't fit. I recommend selling it back to JMZ with a portion of that money being put towards Main Street and Bridge Road Improvements. Both of those projects would certainly improve our downtown area. Both of those would definitely contribute • • to the success of Mr. Zuccarelli's project. We need to get on with this. We have been talking about Main Street and Bridge Road for a long time. John Zuccarelli congratulated the Council for having the referendum, and stated hopefully now there is some direction on where the Town Hall is going to go. I would really like to get some sort of commitment. Bridge Road those that were here remember just knocking down a few buildings and putting up a new building. I know the Manager is going out for bid on Bridge Road. That whole area was going to be built over, and that is what I relied on when I invested. Now the direction is buildup on this end of Tequesta Drive, so now help me get Bridge Road done and Main Street done. I would like to have some direction from the Council as to what you want to do with the Bridge Road Site. The other thing that troubles me is I still have acounter-suit against me. If you are going to rely on the referendum, then there is no need to sue me to swap the property. And before I spend any more money... Mayor Genco mentioned you realize your injunction cost us $17,000. John Zuccarelli stated I am not going anywhere, I will complete the project, I have a great relationship with Mr. Couzzo. VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Ordinance 566-first reading and public hearing-An Ordinance of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, annexing into the Village parcels of land, which are contiguous to the Village limits, owned by Polly A. Morgan. A residential property located at 19654 North Riverside Drive, Tequesta, Florida 33469; providing a legal description of the property proposed to be annexed; redefining the boundaries of the Village to include said real property; providing for repeal of all ordinances in conflict; providing for severability; providing for an effective date; providing for advertising; and providing that this Ordinance shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, Florida, and Florida Department of State upon adoption.-Village Manager Michael R Couzzo, Jr., Community Development Director Jeffrey C. Newell i. Mayor Genco announced the Public Hearing was open, and read Ordinance No. 566 by caption only. ii. Community Development Director Newell stated Mr. Horniman is currently on vacation so he is stepping in. He wanted to relay the information that the annexation meets the requirements of the Village of Tequesta. There is going to be approximately 15 plus acres involved. We have currently annexed in the Rood property. 6 • This is adjacent to the Rood property. In is under private ownership. iii. Public comment. None. iv. Council comment. Councilmember von Frank asked how many additional homes this will entail. Community Development Director Newell stated that information was not available at this time. v. Mayor Genco announced the Public Hearing was closed. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to adopt Ordinance No. 566 on~rst reading; seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Mayor Genco aye Vice Mayor Capretta aye Councilmember von Frank aye • Councilmember Walker aye Councilmember Dalack aye Motion carried S-0. B. Ordinance 567-first reading and public hearing-An Ordinance of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, annexing into the Village parcels of land, which are contiguous to the Village limits, owned by R Edward Glendenning, a residential property located at Riverside Drive, Tequesta, Florida 33469; providing a legal description of the property proposed to be annexed; redefining the boundaries of the Village to include said real property; providing for repeal of all ordinances in conflict; providing for severability; providing for an effective date; providing for advertising; and providing that this ordinance shall be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, Florida, and Florida Department of State upon adoption.->rllage Manager Michael R Couzzo, Jr., Community Development Director Jeffrey G Newell i. Mayor Genco announced the Public Hearing was open, and read Ordinance No. 567 by caption only. • 7 • ii. Community Development Director Newell explained this is the second parcel, which is continuous to the Rood property, and the same comments apply. iii. Public comment. None. iv. Council comment. None. v. Mayor Genco announced the Public Hearing was closed. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to adopt Ordinance No. 567 on first reading; seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta. Mayor Genco aye Vice Mayor Capretta aye Councilmember von Frank aye Councilmember Walker aye Councilmember Dalack aye . Motion carried 5-0. IX. NEW BUSINESS A. Request for Waiver from Application Fees by Jeffrey Spear for two (2) separate parcels.-Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Community Development Director Jeffrey C. Newell Jeffrey .Spear stated they are planning for single family homes in the area being annexed. If we could have put this together and put it through on one application, we would have one application and one set of fees. We are here with this request. It is expensive to get these parcels through, and get the annexation. We feel this is an issue of economics and fairness. We are looking for some assistance with that. We feel it would be fair to pay the out of pocket costs the Village would have, but nothing above. Community Development Director Newell stated through the process of adding two parcels into the entire package is that the Village would incur costs. It was his recommendation to waive half of the normal fees. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank motion to accept the waiver, seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta; motion carried 5-0. 8 • B. 1. Resolution No. 14-01/02-A Resolution of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, establishing a Committee to the Village Council to be known as the Teen Council Advisory Committee; establishing its purpose; providing for its makeup; and establishing the term of its existence; providing an effective date.-Councilmember Sharon D. Walker Mayor Genco read Resolution No. 14-01/02 by caption only. MOTION: Councilmember Walker moved to approve Resolution No. 14 -01/02. Councilmember von Frank stated he felt this was putting the cart before the horse and this should be held until the new Parks and Recreation Director comes onboard and gets his bearings. Mayor Genco stated we have passed a Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and they haven't gotten off the ground yet. We may want to pursue this in the future, we may want to table this. Councilmember Walker remarked the point of both of these committees is to act in coordination with the Parks and Recreation • Committee, but their focus would be strictly limited to their titles. They would recommend, suggest and assist with youth events sponsored by the Village. In particular, I have spoken with Principal Ferrar at Jupiter High School. There is a great interest. There is great excitement that teens could actually be productively involved in their government. Motion died for lack of a second. 2. Resolution No. 15-01/02-A Resolution of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, establishing an Advisory Committee to the Village Council to be known as the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee; establishing its purpose; providing for its makeup; and establishing the term of its existence; providing an effective date.-Councilmember Sharon D. Walker Mayor Genco read Resolution No. 15-01/02 by caption only. MOTION: Councilmember Walker moved to approve Resolution No. IS DI/02. Motion died for lack of a second. C 9 • C. Resolution No. 16-01/02-A Resolution of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, approving the operation of a marine unit as a permanent division of the Tequesta Police Department subject to funds being appropriated each fiscal year.-Village Manager Michael R Couzzo, Jr., Police Chief Stephen J. Allison Police Chief Allison stated we were successful since last January with the Marine Unit. We were successful in enforcement for education, with a total of eight rescues, and five were bona fide saves. In the current budget this year, you approved the Marine Unit. Mayor Genco read Resolution No. 16-01/02 by caption only. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve Resolution No. 16- 01/02; seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta. Vice Mayor Capretta mentioned he was always in favor of this, and he thinks it has proven to be very successful. Motion carried S-0. Councilmember Walker left at 8:35 p.m. (previously announced she would leave • early). D. Update on Hattie I. and Wilburt A. Siegel vs. Village of Tequesta.- Village Manager Michael R. Couzzq Jr., Village Attorney John C. Randolph (No backup provided) Village Attorney Randolph stated as you well know this case we are involved in resulted from a code enforcement violation. The Siegels appealed the decision of the code enforcement hearing. The Circuit Court found the Village in favor. Then it was appealed in the Fourth District Court of Appeals. They denied the appeal. The most recent thing that has been done is the Siegels' attorney filed a motion for a rehearing. I anticipate the response will come any day. There is no action the Council needs to take at this time. At the time of final ruling for rehearing, then action can be taken. Councilmember von Frank stated they are senior citizens. They own several pieces of property. They are not registered voters in the Village. They are the only people that demanded of the Village that they cut their front lawn. The people behind the Siegels have an autistic child. Their growth has broken the fence. If this child gets bitten by a rodent, he cannot communicate with his mother. • 10 Consensus to discuss the Siegel case at the next meeting, at that time there will be • more information. E. Discussion regarding contractual agreement with Song & Associates for plans and specifications for the new Village Hall at the 357 Tequesta Drive parcel, and appointment of a Negotiating Team (i.e. Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Jr.; Police Chief Steven J. Allison; Fire Chief James Weinand; Finance Director JoAnn Forsythe; Accountant Dan Gallagher; and Bill Reese from Reese, Macon &Associates).-Village ManagerMichael R. Couzzo, Jr. Village Manager Couzzo. stated this follows the state statute for a selective committee. Song + Associates was the firm previous selected, and they have done a site analysis, a needs assessment, and they have interviewed staff to try and make a determination as to the size of the facility. The selective committee at that time negotiated a fee with that. We couldn't do the design, specifications and construction drawings prior to this. The situation now will involve fees for services to design. Once a negotiated contract is in place, if that is approved, the contractor signs it and we will start working- Councilmember Dalack stated this is not an authorization to hire Song + • Associates, but the size and extent of the building. Vice Mayor Capretta stated on the Public Safety Building we worked with an architect, the Police chief and the Fire Chief. This time we will build Village Hall and the staff and Mr. Couzzo will decide what we need. Village Attorney Randolph stated this is advice from the manager of who he wants on his staff. He is going to do it, report back to you and get your approval. X. ANY OTHER MATTERS Councilmember Dalack stated since there is litigation pending, I think we should have a closed door session immediately followed by an open session or soon thereafter regarding Mr. Zuccarelli. Village Attorney Randolph requested the Council's advice regarding pending litigation, and requested scheduling this. He stated they could schedule it tonight. Vice Mayor Capretta stated we have to make a decision because we just voted to put Village Hall on 357-you have to drill a well first for $650,000. That will take about a year. I want a workshop on water for four hours. Jupiter is trying to take our customers from us. Once you tell me what your strategy is, then one • 11 • decision leads to another. Each takes a workshop session of several hours. If you chart a critical path of Village Hall, that well comes out as number one. Mayor Genco asked on the JMZ site, are we agreed we would like a closed door session? Consensus agreed to a closed door session regarding JMZ. Councilmember Dalack stated he is wondering if the appropriate time would be January 10 before the Regular Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. That way we are sure that everyone will be here. irllage Attorney Randolph stated the session would be held at 6:00 p.m. on January 10, 2002, at this location, 399 Seabrook Road. Myself, Peter Horton, Village Manager Couzzo, Mayor Genco, Vice Mayor Capretta, Councilmember Walker, Councilmember von Frank, Councilmember Dalack, and a Certified Court Reporter would be present. MOTION: Councilmember Dalack moved to approve; seconded by von Frank. Motion carried 4-0. Councilmember Dalack stated he would like to see on the January 10 Agenda to • put the Council's disposition of the allotted purpose of the Tequesta Plaza Parcel. Councilmember Dalack mentioned we needed to start working on water issues. I think we need several hours to discuss the situations with water-drilling wells, Jupiter, Hobe Sound. It is hard to discuss one without discussing the other. Workshop, then we'll put on the next meeting following the workshop. It should be scheduled around the first of the year. Jim Humpage stated he did some research on the permit Tequesta has on the new RO well. What I read is that 357 Tequesta Drive may not be the place where you are going to place the well. There are three sites mentioned in the permit. We may find we want to do another avenue. If you read the documents, you can only use four million gallons per day. Councilmember von Frank stated the anonymous letters he wanted to talk about had already been covered. Vice Mayor Capretta stated we had "Ed Ficker Day." We were going to honor John Giba, but he passed away before we had a chance to do that. There a lot of people we should be honoring. I would like the Village Manager to look into how to do that. • 12 • XI. ADJOURNMENT Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted: ~ , - ~ +~.; ~ ~ ~ a I Mary Wolcott, Village Clerk • • 13 • SUPPLEMENT TO MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 13, 2001 AGENDA ITEM IV: CERTIFICATION OF DECEMBER 4, 2001 SPECIAL ELECTION Certification of the results of the Village of Tequesta Special Election held on December 4, 2001-Village Clerk Mary Wolcott Village Clerk Wolcott stated that on December 4 a special election was held, selecting the site for the new Village Hall, and for ow amended Charter, which was an ordinance which was passed in October. The results were: for Question One, Site Selection: Site One - 568 votes, that is 357 Tequesta Drive; for Site Two there were 509 votes; so, 357 Tequesta Drive came out on top. For Question Two with regards to whether the citizens were for or against the new Charter amendment: 531 votes were for and 521 were against, so the new Charter amendment has prevailed. Ms. Wolcott reported there was a very nice turnout at this election with 27.02% of the registered voters, which was a very high turnout related to the rest of the county. Ms. Wolcott stated, "So if you approve of the results of the election..." Motion Councilmember von Frank stated he made a motion to approves Vice Mayor Capretta seconded the motion. Mayor Genco asked if everyone was in favor to certify the results. All stated "Aye': Motion carried S-0. Councilmember Walker asked, on the sheet provided by Mr. Wolcott it gave the precinct, the number of registered voters and the number of ballots cast, and there were also columns A, B, C, and D, and asked to what those figures related. Village Clerk Wolcott responded that it showed precincts A, B. C and D; look under Question One, A, so in precinct two there were 298 people who voted for that. Ms. Wolcott commented there appeared to be discrepancies in some of the numbers; however, there were some issues on which people chose not to vote, so there were under votes. Dottie Campbell, 4 Tradewinds Circle, Assistant Clerk at Precinct 14, stated she wanted to commend the Village Clerk for making this the easiest election any of us had ever worked. The room was cleaner, and everything had gone smooth, all because of the good work Mary Wolcott had done. Ms. Campbell reported that she, Geoff Goldsbury clerk of Precinct 14, and Pauline Hutchinson Inspector, had attended the dedication of the new Supervisor of Elections office at Military Trail and Gun Club, had toured the building, and had tested and operated the new voting machines, which were wonderful. Ms. Campbell requested that the Village Council back up Village Clerk Wolcott to request at the February Village Council meeting there be some of the new voting machines in order to become familiar with the machines. END OF SUPPLEMENT