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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_07/12/2001VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TIIURSDAY, JULY 12, 2001 TEQUESTA RECREATION CENTER 399 SEABROOK ROAD 7:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Village Council held a meeting at 399 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, Florida, On Thursday, June 12, 2001. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. by Mayor Geraldine Genco. Roll call was taken by Mary Wolcott, Village Clerk. Councilmembers 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 in attendance: Village Manager Michael R. Couzzo, Village Attorney John C. Randolph, Village Clerk Mary Wolcott, and Department Heads. II. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE .D, ..r T,,. ~. , ,.,..,r gave the invocation, regazding challenge, and led the Pledge of Allegiance. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA ' ~ ~' , ~~ ~ asked to remove item 6D and item 6H. She asked to add under ANY OTHER MATTERS, a Council Communication to read into to the record; and under ANY OTHER MATTERS wanted to speak to the proposed impact fee redistricting by Palm Beach County, and Budget Workshops. ' ,., y' ~~~ asked to add a short discussion under ANY OTHER MATTERS ~. ~ . , about scheduling with regard to the JMZ letter from Skip Randolph and the response we received. IV. PRESENTATIONS A. State Senator Ken Pruitt with a legislative update. State Senator Ken Pruitt thanked staff for organizing his visit. He stated the legislature passed significant education reorganization measures, eliminating the 13 member Board of Regents. Each University will have its own Board of Trustees. He mentioned they are embarking upon cleaning up the Everglades, creating 8000 new jobs-an 8 billion dollar cleanup. Four years ago they put 3 million a year for water cleanup Page 2 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 projects throughout the State of Florida. This year they will have put 144 million into water cleanup projects throughout the state, including 10 million for Lake Okeechobee, 2 '/z million for the Lake Worth Lagoon, 4 million for the St. Lucie River, and 4 million dollars for the Indian River Lagoon. One million dollars for the Loxahatchee was vetoed. The Loxahatchee and all the water bodies are the lifeblood of our state. They will put in for 4 million next year. State Senator Pruitt remarked we are now in the second year of simplified tax, which passed. There were no growth management provisions that were passed. They are not going to pass any growth management measures without funding. The local citizen ends up footing the bill. Florida's infrastructure is literally crumbling beneath our feet. It is critically important that we start dedicating a funding source to rebuilding infrastructure throughout the state. The session will be starting earlier because they will be redrawing the district lines. If there are any issues we'd like him to bring forward, he needs to know by September. Regarding the budget, though we are in no means in a recession, there has been consistent downturns in revenue projections. The estate tax repeal done by the Federal Government will be spread out just over five years, costing us another 175 million dollars per year. There perhaps will be revenue sharing provisions. He stated at anytime please call him toll free, and he'd answer any questions. f "Y"~~~~ ~ ~~+"~ asked about the million dollars vetoed b Governor ",t r~ , , y Bush, and who would have managed it_ State Senator Pruitt responded Jupiter would have. He stated we got the Department of Environmental Protection, Water Management and local community approval. The million dollars was vetoed. Senator Pruitt added they earmarked 38 '/z million dollars for Lake Okeechobee last year and another 10 million this year. Now that the Lake is low, it is amazing what we are able to do out there for cleanup. There is a 35 mile berm. We need to take advantage of water levels we have right now to clean up our waterways. ~,'""'~ asked if the Loxahatchee drainage basin is now separated from the Lake Okeechobee. Senator Pruitt stated most of the funding is going to regulate the dairy farms, and that we would segregate it. Your help is paramount to let the agency know how critically important it is to get the funding. Page 3 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 B. Introduction of New Employee Chief Allison introduced Officer Joseah Petrick, stating he is a long-time Palm Beach County Resident coming to us one hour short of his Associates Degree, which he'll finish after field training. Chief Allison stated the last week in June was a stressful time for his three senior sergeants, who went through a 100 question test, were submitted to an assessment center testing. Once the scores were tallied, the winner by an 8 '/2 point margin, Sergeant Donald Ricciardi, is now Lieutenant Ricciardi. Lieutenant Ricciardi thanked the Chief, Assistant Chief and fellow employees, people he knows throughout the town, and his wife for their support and confidence in him. Chief Allison stated a vacancy was left after Lieutenant Ricciardi moved up. Back in January they went through similar testing for sergeants, and James Pike missed being Sergeant by one point during that stressful time. It was a moral boosting thing for the Department, and they are very excited that James can move up into this new Sergeant's position. Sergeant James Pike thanked everyone and stated he loved working for Tequesta. Chief Allison thanked the Council for their trust in him and allowing him the flexibility to meet the changing needs of Tequesta. stated Joseph Petrick is the first officer appointed in ,- , years that did not come out of the auxiliary, the Chief has told him we are down to two officers in the auxiliary-it seems to him that needs to be stimulated. He is sure Joseph Petrick qualified. V. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Establish Village Manager Priorities to become the basis for the Village Manager Report f ..%i~ f, r.'~ffll~i ~fiY.. _....I : !~'i ~~~ wanted to add requirement of the Town Manager to develop a plan to add an additional leg on the water plant. There is the issue of supplying water to the 300 extra customers up on County Line Road. If we continue to have this drought, one of these days, one of our wells is going to get salt water intrusion. If we start looking at making sure we have a supply. It takes about a year or more, so we want to make Page 4 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 sure we have a plan in place. As we go to negotiate with Jupiter in the months ahead, I think we will be in a stronger negotiating position as well. We have the potential for 5 million gallons out of the plant. • "mentioned it is her understanding they are ready to add the trains on, it is just a question of allocating the budget and making a determination when to start the process. We have an item second from the bottom, stating expansion of water and customer base. The understanding is that with these priorities we would like to see a plan on how to accomplish them and updates on achieving them. r~ '~ ~ .. : ,asked how many priorities do we want to give the manager between now and next month, and is it realistic to have that y ~f' , ~~~ :, ,~y, responded these are supposed to be major man . reoccurring items and not one-time type items-10 or 12 would be more than sufficient. They are all part of planning, we really don't have any choice. She suggested the Councilmembers rank them, and have the Clerk tally them. .,. • ;,n.. ~. f~~....y .. ., . . ~~ ,~, ' ,~~~ stated the one dealing with grant development has been an ongoing development, and we might want to think about establishing this as a permanent position. There are many grants we are not taking advantage of because we don't know about them. Under public works projects, the listings aren't necessarily public works projects, and I don't understand what is trying to be conveyed here. Village Manager Couzzo responded the Village has spoken about the development of a skateboard park, we can continue with that and to look for grant funding. ~~~i stated for the YMCA we had to fund the services for the different programs, and we have to buy equipment, do fencing and a number of other things to accommodate the planned programs that the YMCA will be offerin " ~ ~~'~ ~~~ ~~ clarified after asking, g~ ., , f , ., „ r~. , that it fell under recreation, and Public Works projects are things such as the Seabrook Road im r_ ovements. YMCA, skateboard parks, etc. are recreation items. ,,, ~ , , ,~ asked to add the word "Recreation" to Public Works Projects. f 'r ~ ~ `~ ~ l ~ ~~~''~'~" ' ~ stated to think of these as items we want him to do a l.. r... /_ i1 i !. ~ 7 year from now we will appraise him on his performance. He thinks Mr. Couzzo should have the assignment of cleaning up the mess in the Country Club with the sewers. He has gotten many calls on it. He thinks Page 5 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 eventually we' 11 have to go in there, after fighting with Encon and all of the people we are going to fight with, and we are actually going to come u with some money to fix it up. The question is how do we fix it? ''1~ , ; , „~ responded she had several meetings with Mr. Dent, numerous phone conversations. She has talked with Mr. Couzzo and Chief Allison. Code Enforcement is now looking for any violations the contractor is making. They are taking pictures. The next Encon meeting, I will attend it with pictures and a list of complaints I have received. I have faxed a list to Mr. Dent several times. The fear is that the contractor is having so many problems he could end up with problems completing the job and leaving things in an uncompleted state. ' ~~"' stated the second hase is when we are all done we will eventually have to o in there and clean it up and try to restore it to what it was. r. stated she is hoping there will be adequate resources. Mr. Couzzo needs to stay on it and possibly monitor it on a daily basis. ,,,, . `'i~ ~ ~"~,.. ,~ ,stated she is trying to understand the language of . , .~~ _ .. the cover memo, "the establishing of the Village Manager Priorities to become the basis of the Village Manager's report," will these priorities now become the basis of your monthly report to us? Village Manager Couzzo explained these priorities would become the bulk of the report- that isthe intent of identifying these. ," ~ .' ~`1 , , asked if at the same time he would not be ignoring the charter requirements, that the manager's functions and day to day activities are reported in detail to the Council, is that correct? Village Manager Couzzo stated these items would make up the bulk of the report, the rest of the report would follow the course that I have been over the last 10 months. Attorney Randolph stated as long as he is reporting the issues that he is involved in, then he is meeting the charter provisions. It is up to you as a Council as to how you want that report to be provided to you, the language in the charter is broad enough to let you determine the manner in which he does it. ::~~~'%'~~~ stated she finds it very helpful to find the r.. ..,/.. , 1 summaries of various staff meetings he holds, and the summaries of those meetings helps me to address many citizens concerns. Page 6 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Determination of Village Manager Priorities were selected as follows, with item numbered "1 "being the most important: 1. Funding for new Vllage buildings 2. Monitoring of ongoing sewer, water and Swale construdion 3. Management of new faalifies, design, etc. 4. Vllage staff: fill open positions and work with staff development 5. Public Works and Recreation projeds: YMCA, skateboard park, parks, etc. 6. Grant development 7. Master planning of the 2003 Water Franchise Agreement 8. Relationship development, concentrating on ENCON programs, Jupiter Tequesta Juno Beach Chamber of Commerce, Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce, Jupiter, Martin County 9. Expansion of water plant and customer base 10. Comprehensive plan: amendments due to annexation issues and possibly overlay distrid 11. Annexation issues with Palm Beach County VI. CONSENT AGENDA Items D and H were previously struck. A. Approval of Village Council Workshop Minutes of May 10, 2001. B. Approval of Architectural and Engineering Selection Committee Minutes, May 29, 2001. C. Approval of Community Appearance Board Minutes, June 6, 2001. E. Approval of Village Council Workshop Minutes, June 19, 2001. F. Approval of Village Manager's Report, June 11, 2001- July 6, 2001. G. Approval of Ordinance Codification through Ordinance No. 559. i~. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve the CONSENT AGENDA excluding D and H, Vice Mayor Capretta seconded; motion carried S-0. D. Approval of Village Council Meeting Minutes, June 14, 2001. ",~S',~~~, , ~~~ asked if on page 25 under ANY OTHER MATTERS amend her comments on Jupiter High School-"this is our Page 7 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 children's future," as opposed to "this is our children." The last paragraph is incorrect I requested workshops prior to the budget on recreational needs and citizen request for this service, and received no response from the Mayor. MOTION: Councilmember Walker moved to approve the minutes of June 14, 2001 as amended; seconded by Councilmember von Frank. °~~ P 3 stated on the same page, line #7, the word ending with "your" should be "r," line 21 on the same page, the "don't" is a "do," and on that first paragraph, line 10 from the bottom, the word "not" should be omitted. Motion carried 5-0. H. Ratification of Appointment of Richard Berube as a member of the Charter Review Board. ~" ~ ~ stated Mr. Berube was her selection to replace Gary von Brock for the Charter Review Committee. ~~, r ~~~; 'requested it be pulled because she has a serious concern: we now have three members of an extremely important advisory board who are also members of a local political committee called "ACT." As I am sure Mr. Couzzo can explain and help us with the potential perception of a Sunshine violation may exist for some residents. ACT meets at least monthly, the Charter Review Board will meet quite frequently. This is an extremely important review board. I wouldn't want any one of our citizens to have any kind of potential misgivings about its members. Village Manaser Couzzo agrees it is a very important consideration, and at the first meeting of the Charter Review Commission, the Village Attorney gave direction regarding the Sunshine Law and the prohibitions about them talking amongst themselves in any fashion regarding anything relating to that board. remarked it is the potential perception a resident might have that is of great concern to her, given the importance of what the review board is going to do. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to accept Mr. Berube, seconded by Councilmember Dalack; motion carried 4-1 with Councilmember Walker dissenting. Page 8 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 VII. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Arnold Blum_ 410 Tequesta Drive, stated at the last Council Meeting Ms. Walker publicly criticized Mr. Couzzo for not returning her phone calls. He stated he went to the Village to research it, reviewed the Manager's Report for the period of December 11, 2000 to May 4, 2001. The report shows during that meeting there were at least six meetings and six phone conversations with Mr. Couzzo. The Village keeps a phone log, and he found that from March 28 to present, every call Ms. Walker made to the Village was either answered, acted upon or was returned. If she did not answer, a message was left on her answer machine. On several occasions multiple attempts to return her calls were made and not responded to by her. He finds no evidence supporting her accusations. Mr. Couzzo has treated you with respect and,professional sm f,~ have you retained any records to back up your accusations? ',' ~~~., ,''~ res onded_ she had. Mr. Blum stated he would like to see those records. v'.,,,,,, „ ~,,,,,,, , , ~ N,,,,.,., responded he could submit a request to her in writing. Mr. Blum stated since she publicly accused Mr; Couzzo, he believes she owes him an apology for her misrepresentations. ......... ....rc.. ,. ,,...,.,.... stated she did not accuse, she stated a fact. Mr. Blum stated since she is so reluctant to apologize, he can only assume she intentionally misrepresented the fact in an attempt to undermine Mr. Couzzo's character. He asked, Ms. Walker, why should you be trusted when you deliberately misrepresent the facts and falsely accuse innocent people. What makes you worthy of representing our Village? Why can't you show Mr. Couzzo the same respect and courtesy he has shown you. How can you possibly think you could misrepresent facts and not be found out? Dottie Campbell, 4 Tradewind Circle, stated several meetings back at a well attended meeting in the other building, she sat behind the recording secretary. She looked up after one of the speakers identified himself, and was really halfway through his first paragraph, then looked over and on the timer it was just approaching three. In the interest of fairness, I would like to present to the Council a digital timer that can be set and reset for three minutes so we don't have to worry that we weren't fair. Jim Humya~e, 426 Cypress Drive, stated I hope by now all of the people on the Council has received a copy of my letter which was sent to the Village Manager for the request Ms. Walker made with reference to my company, Electrical Systems.. We are on the opposite sides of the political fence, for that reason she has embarked on this witch hunt. The Village has some 211 vendors, yet she only requested the information about Electrical Systems and a general contractor that I was involved with. I have been providing the Village with services since the 80's. Ms. Walker claims her request is one of a citizen-she is a Councilman and Page 9 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 represents the Village. I consider her remarks punitive in nature. Councilmembers, Citizens and I have made an issue to financial accountability. Under her watch 2.5 million dollars was placed in anon-interest bearing account, with no one checking on that-it lost us $125,000 in interest, and $140,000 is still unaccountable by the auditors. The Village borrowed $550,000 at 5.71 %- where were your inquiries then? Council is attempting to work together and move forward to the best interest of the citizens. You cannot serve the citizens of this Village when you serve no just cause. Jim Humpage is an honorable man, and displeased. You seem to be continuously going after misinformation, fear and negativity. The election is over and the guard has changed. What would you like to know? „ , ~• . ,~.' ; stated, thank you for bringing this up Mr. Humpage, I greatly appreciate it. First of all, I wanted to comment that I thought the remarks in your letter reading my mind were rude, disrespectful and very, very presumptuous. Secondly, I made the request after you were appointed and approved by this Council as a member to the advisory board on the Charter Review. According to some research that I have done from the Commission on Ethics, we may be in ethical violation to allow a contractor who works for the Village of Tequesta, who contracts with the Village of Tequesta, to serve on an advisory board that will directly advise Council. That may be true with regards to the Board of Adjustment. I have written to the Commission on Ethics, and I have requested a determination from them. I am acting to protect the Village of Tequesta. ~, ', , ~;,,~ stated she would like to interrupt because there are accusations that a Councilmember_ has discovered or feels we are doing something wrong. fir r i,f / !' ray; ~~~~ '~ stated she is researching to make sure we have done ~. ~ . f ,~/J.f r.'' . ~ f ,~ ~ f rx' nothing wrong as per ethics. ~~~ stated she understands and is trying to handle things at a higher level. I have come across a lot of things I have had ethics questions about, and I don't go and make reports to the Ethics Commission with regard to it, inste~.d I call the Village Attorney and ask him to do the research so that we can handle our own business here and resolve our own matters. Behind the scenes work is not serving our good. We will have focus on us as we were doing something wrong as we may not be. And we pay an attorney to advise us on things, so I would rather deal with things on an above-board manner with one another and with our Attorney than doing theset hinds in this. manner, and if you have a concern, deal with the attorney. ..i~,.~:, .;.,;,„,; stated she is doing what Mr. Dalack did two years ago, why is it different? • Page 10 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Mr. Humya~e stated it was fine to report to the Ethics Commission, but what purpose does it serve to have eve invoice copied if it is a matter of whether or not I should serve. `' ~ ~ ;, ~,y.,~. ' ., stated it is what my lawyer advised me to do, so that when I wrote the letter I had information. ,stated we have an issue where it is our duty to evaluate this, Mr. Randolph, and I would appreciate Councilmember Walker working with our Village Attorney if she would like to and getting some answers, and I would like to have a report at the next Council Meeting as to the nature of these concerns. Attorney Randolah stated that before he is directed to do anything by any one particular individual on the Council, it would help me to know if it was the will of the whole Council. MOTION: Mayor Genco passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Capretta and motioned that the Council direct the Village Attorney to find out if there are arty ethical issues involved with hiring a contractor and having that same contractor work for the Village and serve on the Charter Review Board. Councilmember von Frank seconded Motion carried 5-0. Cyrese Colbert, Gallery Square North, remarked when we have come before the Community Appearance Board, there was a gentleman on there that does landscaping for the Village, and he instructed us on what to put in Gallery Square North. If it is a problem, it has been a problem, and it was before this Council ever got here. Harold Ta,Ylor, 13 Chapel Court, asked about the empty lot at 357 Tequesta Drive and the old building at the downtown plaza, if they could u date him on construction and when the plaza would be torn down. . ~ , ?..... ~ responded we will be discussing both of those things tonight. VIII. DEVELOPMENT MATTERS A) Public Safety Facility, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta Florida. t ,,,..:,- -- ,,., _ _, stated this would be a quasi judicial hearing, requiring swearing-in of witnesses. 1. Villa a Clerk Wolcott swore in, en mass, witnesses. 2. ~~ d'~ id not claim ex-parte communications. 3. Bob Masserelli, Gee and Jensen Engineers, Architects and Planners, stated he was here with a site plan application and special exception application for the Tequesta Public Safety Building, the new facilities for the Police and Fire Department. The package Page 11 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 • presented includes the site plan, landscape plan and architectural drawings for the project. Basically the building will be located at the old City Hall location. East of the site, a portion of the property will be utilized for parking, meeting parking requirements as well as storm water management. It is designed to stay out of the cone of influence of the well field to provide environmental protection of the wells so we don't impose any harm there. The site provides for parking, landscaping, sign requirements, and landscape buffering. The application is for the special exception to allow for the Public Safety building on the site and approval of the site plan. Community Develoument Director Newell stated there are three parts to the application: special exception use, variance request for parking requirement, and a site plan review. In matters concerning special exceptions, there is a criteria it is evaluated by, as follows: the proposed use is a valid use for consideration by the Village Council; Police and Fire Rescue have reviewed the proposed use to ensure the protection of the public health, safety and welfare; there should not be any adverse effect on the value of the surrounding properties; the use is compatible with adjacent development; and the character of the zoning district where it is to be located, which is a C-1 commercial district. The waiver for landscaping and screening requirements is part of the special exception. Variance request for the reduction of parking spaces from 92 spaces to 51 spaces, egress and ingress access is provided and causes minimal interference with traffic on abutting streets. The use conforms to applicable regulations of the C-1 Commercial District. Staff recommends approval contingent upon the acceptance of the waiver, landscape waiver and variance request. The variance request that comes before the Village Council is to reduce the parking requirements from 92 spaces to 51 spaces. Staff comment is the parking reduction does not adversely affect the site, staff would not recommend any further reduction in the parking. Staff recommends approval of the site plan contingent upon approval of the parking variance and landscape waivers, understanding the issue of the training tower and front monument sign will be addressed at a later date. y "' ''~` f.._ ~~"~~' ' stated that she was concerned about the reduction ~in parking and wondered about the possibility of back where the proposed training tower is. Community Develoument Page 12 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Director Newell stated that the training tower is planned for the future. asked what is going to be done with the land now, could we possibly put in five additional parking spots. Community Development Director Newell stated he would have to go back to the site plan and make that determination, it would be a little difficult at the moment. `' ` ~~ ~ stated she would like Mr. Newell to do ~, that. asked about the landscaping waiver. Community Development Director Newell responded they are requesting a waiver for where the dumpster container will be contained, a comment by public works was that area would be a little tight for maneuverability for the garbage truck, so they moved it a little into the hedge line. Also where the fuel tank would be for fueling the vehicles, under normal circumstances that would require landscaping as well, and they are asking for a waiver for that fuel area not to be landscaped. Bob Masserelti stated they had to move the dumpster for maneuverability of the garbage truck to be able to back out without harming the building or the structures around the building. There is a wall around the dumpster the purpose of the perimeter buffer is to provide screening from the adjacent property-you are still providing a screening. ,''~ '' ' ~ ;stated with regards to the landscape plan, she noticed there is also a waiver for no trees to be planted in the gas tank's island. Mr. Masserelti stated there is a lot of activity at the island and access to it, by planting trees, they can interfere with that, it is not a practical place to locate trees. ' stated if we have money in the budget, she would request increasing the size from 12 ft. to 14 ft. of the eight laurel oaks to blend in more with the existing oaks. asked if it had rain sensors. Community Development Director Newell stated rain sensors were a requirement of our code. ~"~ ,~, ~~~ asked how many parking spaces were required for employees and how many are available for the public. Page 13 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Community Development Director Newell responded the code requires 1 per 200 sq. ft. of gross floor area. Y ,a~; , ~ stated it was her understanding that the original calculation for parking spaces included the building that the fire trucks were kept in, literally that was courned twice. Mr. Masserelli stated in answer to the question about employees, in talking with the Police and Fire Chiefs, there would be about 20 people on each shift, so approximately 27 spaces available for the public. .,. „, s asked how many parking spaces were on the entire site before it was torn down. Mr. Masserelli stated there was a roximatel 35-40, slightly more than a shift. . ~ ~ i asked if there were ever any current difficulty with parking with the site as it used to be. Mr. Masserelli responded from his conversations with the Police and Fire Chiefs, there has not been a problem. Phil Cornell, Gee and Jensen, remarked in the square footage of the apparatus bay, there is 3600 square feet there, so if you apply the 200 square feet against that number, that is about 14 or 15 spaces. Also included in our totals when we were doing the programming for all the needs, in addition to what the Chief said they need for their staff, there is also about eight or so cars there not being used. Cvrese Colbert, Gallery Square North, asked about the hedge, with a 5 ft. landscape buffer, is that existing? Mr. Masserelli stated it would be completely rebuilt with enhanced landscape. Cvrese Colbert asked if the asphalt is going to be ripped out, and what kind of fence was going up, if scut-through was planned, and will a new gas tank be installed. Mr. Masserelli responded the trees will be short-leafed figs, there will be a six-foot opaque fence along the boundary. The cut-throughs will obviously be eliminated because of the fencing going up and the landscaping. Cyrese Colbert stated she was concerned because we have filed a reciprocal parking agreement with the court, and how were they going to have their reciprocal parking with the Village. Mr. Masserelli stated he had not seen the agreement addressed. Page 14 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 r ~~ „ ' r~' '~' ~ stated the a Bement stated when there was a Village Hall there, they held public meetings-that is no longer true, we don't have a 'Village Hall there anymore, it is a Public Safety Building. Cvrese Colbert stated one thing you have to remember that was your portion of it, not ours. Cyrese Colbert asked the Village Attorney if we were in violation of the reciprocal parking agreement. Village Attorney Randolph stated he would doubt that the fact we don't have acut-through would make it in violation of a reciprocal parking agreement. Each party can use the others parking lot, unless it specifically stated in the agreement that you have to have a specific pedestrian cut-through. I think it has been suggested that the reciprocal parking agreement could still be in effect, that a person would simply walk around the hedge as opposed to cut-through. Cvrese Colbert responded if the Village of Tequesta would like to get rid of that arkin agreement, we would love to get rid of it. y~, „ , ~ ., stated no, because we may have a referendum in November that says we may build a City Hall right next door, and that agreement applies. Consensus of the Council was to direct the Village Attorney to review the reciprocal parking agreement and make a report to Council if any amendments are needed as a result of the Public Safety Building the way it is proposed. Dottie Campbell stated now many of the firemen park in the east r r,~fc side. You are going to need all the parking you can get. , , ~~ ~'t~ mentioned there is sufficient parking for the employees plus ,... 27 for the public. Wiese Colbert stated also we went through this litigation for five years-these trees you had installed here, trees you have planted here, we could never put anything that big here because the fire engines wouldn't have clear view with the oncoming traffic with trees you are proposing to plant here. Mr. Masserelli responded the current place where the fire engines are is in the back, and it doesn't make a difference because the bay is on the front of the property and they see when they pull out, so the tree issue is not the same. The other question is about the drainage, the drainage to the property is at the retention area in the back, and there will be a series of inlets in the parking lot to take the water back there. It will be sloped away from the other parts of property. Page 15 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Cyrese Colbert asked what is meant by an opaque fence. Mr. Masserelli responded you are talking about a wooden fence or shadow box fence, it is a solid fence rather than a masonry wall. Cvrese Colbert stated because of the difference between our asphalt and the ground, what are you going to do to keep that embankment high. Mr. Masserelli stated after the property is regrated, if there is still a problem with a slope between the properties, a retaining wall or something like that could be put in. Cyrese Colbert asked if we were going to tear our land down to match theirs. Mr. Masserelli stated the whole site was going to be regrated in order to handle drainage directing water back to the retention pond. What you see in the elevations now will not be the same after the contractor has finished his work. It will wind up being married elevation-wise. ~..J Village Attorney Randolph explained we have three things to handle, the first is the special exception and then the variance and then the site plan. MOTION: Councilmember Walker moved to approve the special exception for the special safety facility in the C-1 District contingent upon attorney review of the reciprocal parking agreement. Seconded by Councilmember von Frank. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: Yice Mayor Capretta moved to approve the variance for parking requirements. Seconded by Councilmember von Frank. Motion carried 5-0. MOTION: mice Mayor Capretta moved to approve the site plan. Councilmember von Frank seconded. Motion carried S-0. IX. NEW BUSINESS A) Consideration of adoption of: 1. Resolution No. 49-00/001, a Resolution of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, relating to increasing the Local Communications Services Tax rate; providing for intent; providing for increased Local Communications Services Tax rate; providing for notice to the Department of Revenue; providing for severability; providing an effective date. Page 16 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Village Attorney Randolah explained both Resolutions should be adopted, or should read. The purpose is to increase the conversion rate that has been established by a new State Statute to allow the maximum by law. If you were to accept those rates, you would not have to take any action tonight. I believe by some analysis by your finance department, you would not receive as much money as if you increased those rates. That is the purpose of these Resolutions. Finance Director Forsythe stated telecommunications is really made up of three taxes. What the state attempted to do was to consolidate them. She went back and looked at the 1999 numbers, and found that in year one, the amount would remain the same, but in year two, we could lose $20,000, so we are asking for the top amount. They are giving us two years to get a safe harbor. My suggestion was to go ahead and take the maximum rate they would allow us to do. • read Resolution No. 49-00/O1 by caption only. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to accept Resolution No. 49-00/01, Vice Mayor Ccrpretta seconded. Motion carried S-0. 2. Resolution No. 50-00/Ol, A Resolution of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, relating to requiring and collecting permit fees from providers of communications services and increasing the Local Communications Services Taa; providing for intent; providing for election not to require and collect permit fees; providing for election to increase Local Communications Services Taz; providing for notice to the Department of Revenue; providing for severability; providing an effective date. read Resolution No. 59-00/O1 by caption only. Finance Director Forsythe stated this Resolution provides an opportunity to you to impose a flat rate to cover a cost for issuance of a permit for a telecommunications industry to work in the right- of-way. Quite frankly, I think a .12 percent is simpler. • Page 17 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve, seconded by Vice Mayor Capretta. Motion carried S-0. B. Ordinance-First Reading-An Ordinance of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, Amending Sections 1 and 8 of Exhibit "A" pf Section 2-30 of the Code of Ordinances, Village of Tequesta, Florida, relating to Employees' Pension Trust Funds to amend definitions and provisions relating to qualifications for and payment of disability benefits; providing for severabiGty; providing for repeal of Ordinances in conflict; providing for codification; providing an effective date. read the Ordinance by caption only. • Finance Director Forsythe explained a discrepancy was found by one of her employees in the Ordinance in place and the way we are required to handle it in order to make our code consistent with state law, which has been amended from time to time. The state law provides certain ways these changes are done, and we are amending the ordinance in accordance. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve the Ordinance on first reading. Vice Mayor Capretta seconded Motion carried S-0. C. Resolution No. 51-00/Ol, a Resolution of the Village of Tequesta, Palm Beach County, Florida, approving a Water Service Agreement between Metropolitan Construction Services, LLC (Waters Edge Phase II), and the Village of Tequesta Utilities Department, and authorizing the Village Manager to execute the applicable agreement on behalf of the Village. read Resolution No. 51-00/O1 by caption only. Russell White, Utilities stated this parcel is located on County Line Road in a small cul-de-sac. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank moved to approve resolution No. SI-00/01. Councilmember Dalack seconded. Motion carried 5-D. Page 1 S Council Minutes July 12, 2001 D. Resolution No. Tequesta, Palm establishment o Jacksonville and Florida. 52-00/01, a Resolution of the Village of Beach County, Florida, supporting the f Amtrak passenger rail service between West Palm Beach along the east coast of read Resolution No. 52-00/01 by caption only ,r .,ra,,.~ ~,. . ~ , ~`' ~~ was concerned with their hours of operation. . there have been many concerns over the last year and a half to get them to stop blowing the whistle at midnight. South Florida. stated public transportation is a major issue for MOTION: Councilmember Dalack moved to approve Resolution No. 52- 00/01, Councilmember von Frank seconded Motion carried S-0. E. Resolution No. 53-00101, a Resolution of the Village Council of the Village of Tequesta, Florida, establishing a public records policy and setting a uniform fee schedule for public records inspection/duplication. read Resolution No. 53-00/O1 in its entirety. ,stated she was opposed because she felt it was another layer of government between us and the citizens. MOTION: Councilmember von Frank approved Resolution No. 53- 00/01, seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Motion carried 4-1, with Councilmember Walker dissenting. X. ANY OTHER MATTERS ;. ~ ~ read a letter to Michael Couzzo into the record regarding correspondences with Mr. Gueddes and Mr. Randolph, stating you have not returned my phone calls and ignore my efforts to communicate. I believe you owe me the courtesy. I never attempted to interfere with any employee, and don't expect to in the future. The Village may want to be against documenting any of Page 19 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 our employment or labor concerns. And regazding the letters Mr. Gueddes and Mr. Randolph wrote, who asked them to write them, and how much do they cost the taxpayers? I expect a response in a letter from you next week. '' ' ~ ~ remazked ou were asking Mr. Couzzo to provide you with information? ,. ~ ~ `' ~. ," . ,responded who we could and could not speak to, Mayor, and the contracts were brought before the Council and the Council had at that point and time had the opportunity of saying either we approved the contract or not. ;' ` '~ asked if it is true that in the collective bargaining sessions you can have executive sessions. Village Attorney Randoluh responded I cannot answer your questions as to what happened at that session or what the discussions were because Michael Whelan is the one that handled that. ~~ ' ,, stated my understanding is that those issues you were asking Mr. Couzzo to provide information on where items which were like a mediation regazding a disciplinary action against an employee, and it was a union related situation that a decision had been made on. Village Manager Couzzo remarked I believe the matters that Councilmember Walker is referring to were grievances by CWA representatives going back approximately two years ago. After finalizing the current labor contract with the CWA two months ago, the representatives asked to meet with me regarding some outstanding labor issues and asked if I would look into them because they are still pending. That should be going to mediation. One of the things you do as an administrator is try to avoid mediation at all costs. So we have looked at them, they are still all pending. "' ~, ~ H `~ , " f "', stated the second item she had deals with the proposed county impact fee, restructuring and redistricting. I had by a memo of June 28 in a memo to Mr. Couzzo requested this be an agenda item. I would simply like to inform Council and the Public tonight what the Commission is up to and what will be discussed Saturday at the public meeting. Currently when impact fees are imposed, the district within which those fees remain is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the turnpike, Martin County Line and Donald Ross Road. So the monies that are taxed stay within our district. The County proposes redistricting from 14 down to 6, so the impact fees would now go to road improvement, libraries, public buildings, and law enforcement. We now cover an area from the Atlantic Ocean out to the beeline, from the Martin County Line down to Blue Heron Boulevard. The impact fees that will be if they pass will not necessary stay within our community. The second concern is that Page 20 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 the impact fee is going to be increased by 15% due to needs of more roads, predominantly in the Southern section of this redistricting. `~~' ~,~ stated thirdly, with regards to the Manager's Priorities and how we would like to comprise his monthly report, I would like to discuss that at the next Village Council Meeting, if I have the consensus of the Council. ~~~: , M ~,~,. ,, thanked Mr. Couzzo for sending a listing of tentative dates for budget workshops and meetings. She stated she was becoming very concerned because the TRIM notice to the county on or about August 4. July 24 seems very close to the deadline date, and if we have problems or discussions my concern is are we going to be able to hold a second meeting, and possibly we can move that date up. ,~,~ ,,, "f ` ~ stated we received the priorities, and she read them into the minutes (see V. A. above). ,stated there was an item the Clerk is going to read as an informative, and then we need to make some decisions on a meeting with JMZ. Village Clerk Wolcott read a letter from the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management to Mr. Couzzo regarding a controlled burn within the Village of Tequesta east of Highway One, and north of Beach Road, 707, a 5.8 acre tract, requesting backup and coordination available from Police and Fire. Village Manager Couzzo stated we received this fax this afternoon, the Chief has not been advised of this. The Police and Fire will be apprised of this. v' 'a r- = t ~YS' r. "`l,~ ,,,:, _,~~, , _~;, stated while she has no objections, there were a number of citizens very concerned, perhaps we can have local coverage in both the local Courier and the Palm Beach Post so the citizens understand what is going on and why, and what precautions are being taken for their home. Consensus was in favor of supporting the controlled burn. "f'f ~; stated we received a letter from Mr. Randol h about the recent . ,.,~, ,..,. p request ofNMr. Zuccarelli. He sent a fax this afternoon, saying he basically changed his mind about his request. I think we need to get together to come to some decisions as to what we want to do as far as the existing contract that the Village has with Mr. Zuccarelli, the building demolition and a few other issues, and I would like to have a workshop to discuss these things and to give the Page 21 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 manager and attorney some direction. I am thinking we can do it on July 24, with which would be a very short meeting we are doing for the tentative millage rate that we have to do for the TRIM notification. Village Manaser Couzzo stated he received the fax about 5:30 that evening, and Mr. Zuccarelli and he keep missing each other to discuss it again. He indicated additional issues he wished to discuss prior to the Council heazing what we first discussed, so I hope to get in touch with him to see what the other issues are. Some issues aze regarding a cross pazking agreement that is existing with the new owners of NationsBank, and I am meeting with our attorneys tomorrow on that. ~~ Council Consensus was to have the meeting with ,IMZ at S: 00 on July 24, 2001. .. '' ~, ,'~ . ~ .: stated there is something he has been looking into, it is the library. In that library, we have nearly 4,000 card carrying members, and 1,500 from Martin County. It turns out the library only has room for so many books, it is not large enough. I've looked to see if it is expandable and came to the conclusion that it is not. I had Jeff look into it briefly as to whether one of the walls was expandable, anc~ it is not. His conclusion was we could only go up. For those of you who saw the $300,000 roof on the library, there is no way it is going up, and therefore the issue comes up to be a more effective use of the library. The idea is you can request books from the central library or other library, and also they would have funds where you could buy new books, bestsellers. We would have to find some way working with the library to teach people how to use it more effectively. The library has classes for children and they just have one room. They have talked to me about our recreation center. So the whole thing is, there is another organization called the Friends of the Library, a countywide outfit that would try to raise money to be used for equipment, but could also be used to fund the amount of new books and bestsellers. This whole question we went through seven or eight years ago, it seems that we should find some effective way-see if we can't add some programs to teach our people a more effective use of the library. I am sorry it isn't bigger or expandable. 4 ~ "~~~ :.~ .:,,, stated she volunteered in that room for children's hour .~_...... ...::n.: r. ~ and the number of children that are turned away from that session is phenomenal. By fire code it can only hold a certain number of children. Thank you Mr. Capretta for continuing to look out for our younger population. • MOTION: Councilmember von Frank made a motion to hold the Special Council meeting for Tuesday 24`h at 5:00 p.m., seconded by Councilmember Dalack. Motion carried 5-0. Page 22 Council Minutes July 12, 2001 Meeting was adjourned at 9:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted. Village Clerk • •