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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_07/13/1999• VILLAGE 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 VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 • I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Village Council held a workshop meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Tuesday, July 13, 1999. The meeting was called to order at 5:31 P.M. by Mayor Ron T. Mackail. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, Recording Secretary. Councilmembers present were: Mayor Ron T. Mackail, Vice Mayor Carl C. Hansen, Basil E. Dalack, Joseph N. Capretta, and Elizabeth A. Schauer. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, Village Clerk Joann Manganiello, and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Schauer made a motion to approve the Agenda as submitted. Vice Mayor Hansen seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Ron T. Mackail - for Carl C. Hansen - for Sasil E. Dalack - for Joseph N. Capretta - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for • The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the Agenda was approved as submitted. VILLAGE COUNCIL DQORRSIiOP • MEETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 2 III. CObRR[TNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS (NON-AGENDA ITED2S) There were no communications from citizens. IV. REVIEN OF PROPOSED FY 1999-2000 BUDGETS A) Community Development Special Revenue Fund B) ovater Enterprise Fund C) Refuse and Recycling Fund D) Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund Village Manager Bradford explained that all the funds to be reviewed at this meeting were enterprise funds, meaning stand-alone funds made up of fees charged for • services. The village Manager explained that the Community Development Special Revenue Fund analysis began on page 26 of the budget document, and the department was receiving a tremendous amount of permit fee revenue as a result of all the new construction in the Village. village Manager Bradford commented that funds were being accumulated for drawing upon in the future as permit revenues decrease and/or during a recession, and pointed out that the fund would produce $37,700 in interest during the next fiscal year. The Village Manager reported Scott D. Ladd, Director of the Community Development Department, had recently lost the use of a contractual Building Inspector who had taken a full-time position with Cocoa Beach. Mr. Bradford explained that the State of Florida had increased the requirements for inspectors after Hurricane Andrew, making it more difficult to become qualified to be an inspector. Larger cities used specialized inspectors, such as separate individuals for electrical, plumbing, mechanical, etc; while Tequesta needed a multi-qualified individual who could inspect all the trades. Mr. Bradford commented VILLAGE COUNCIL WORRSAOP • N$ETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 3 more and more cities were hiring contractual inspectors, and explained that the demand for inspectors was now very high. The Village Manager announced that Tequesta had made arrangements for the Town of Jupiter to perform Tequesta's inspections until Mr. Ladd could find a long- term solution to the problem. Mr. Bradford explained that Planning & Zoning for the village was also included in this fund. Vice Mayor Hansen pointed out there was no index for pages 29 and 30, and questioned why Community Development was shown as a function of Public Safety. Village Manager Bradford explained that building inspection services was a public safety function under the accounting code of the State of Florida. Councilmember Capretta commented that major construction would probably only last about a year, and someone could be hired to do inspections for that time period. Mr. Ladd estimated that major construction would last 3-5 years. Vice Mayor Hansen commented there would be a lot of homes torn down and rebuilt, and he believed Mr. Ladd's department would remain busy following the current construction boom. Mr. Ladd commented that certification required for an inspector was the same for residential and commercial construction. village Manager Bradford called attention to page 40 of the budget document, highlighting the analysis for the water Enterprise Fund. The Village Manager explained that some time ago the Village Council had passed Ordinance 529 which provided for automatic increases in water rates based upon the Consumer Price Index. Mr. Bradford reported the worst case figures had been placed in the budget and revenue from the index rate increase had not been included because of concern regarding consumption in relation to rainfall. A 1.8~ increase would go into effect October 1, based upon the CPI. The Village Manager explained that rate could possibly drop as a result of comparison with details provided by the VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP • b~ETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 4 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Village Manager Bradford reported total operating expenses had increased 2~, to $2.56 million, and that this year was the last step increase in debt service for the 1998 bond issue, going from approximately $394,000 to $526,000 per year for the bond payments. The required debt service ratio was 1.2 and was at 2.51 including the increase in the debt service, which meant there would be no problems meeting the debt service requirements. Village Manager Bradford reported that one of the major items the Water Department wished to purchase during this fiscal year was a GIS (Geographic Information System) platform to graphically display all infrastructure improvements entered into the computer program which would allow for better project planning and internal mapping capabilities. Cost for the village area only would be • $100,000 with Palm Beach County to cost share $50,000 so that they could obtain basic data per lot basis for their for property appraisal and mapping departments. Village Manager Bradford reported that the Capital Improvement Program has been updated to reflect projects which the Village needed to undertake, including completion of the reverse osmosis treatment facility and telemetry system. The Phase I and Phase II engineering services to design the telemetry system would be presented to the village Council at their next meeting. Proposed expenditure for the remainder of this project was $2.579, and hiring the new plant operator which had been planned for the current year had been delayed until after the new Utilities Director had been hired, and was now planned for early next fiscal year. Village Manager Bradford commented Lighthouse Gallery and School of Art had requested an increase in their long-standing donation from the Village from $5,000 to $10,000, which had been included in Aid to Community Organizations in the budget. Councilmember Capretta commented he did not like allowing • approximately $800,000 in surplus funds to remain in the Community Development Department's enterprise fund when VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP • MEETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 5 funds were needed in other areas of the Village, and requested the total of excess funds in all the enterprise funds and a determination of the proper surplus for each fund and that a minimum and maximum amount be established; so that excess funds above the proper level could be utilized elsewhere. village Manager Bradford responded that the other enterprise funds were about as low as they could be, and that balances should be approximately 25~ of expenditures. Councilmember Capretta commented the Village had hired a new Utilities Director who had two jobs, to build a new reverse osmosis plant and handle the stormwater utility projects. Councilmember Capretta commented that a business plan for expansion of the water department was needed in order to determine the proper timing and sources of funding, and stated he might have just found the funding source. • Councilmember Capretta cautioned that staff not forget h k i at on and to wor on t about the possibility of expans when the new Utilities Director was on his feet enough to undertake this project. village Manager Bradford responded he would look at the Community Development Department's fund and determine how low it could go and still protect the integrity of the fund. Councilmember Schauer questioned whether the donation to Lighthouse Gallery could be made a line item, to which the Village Manager responded that it was already a line item titled Aid to Community Organizations, for which $11,000 had been budgeted with $10,000 going to Lighthouse Gallery and $1,000 to Jupiter High School Project Graduation. During discussion of procedure for obtaining the funds for Project Graduation, the Village Manager explained that Jupiter High School could write a letter to him in April of each year requesting the funds. Councilmember Schauer commented she was going to be on the Jupiter High School Advisory Council and would inform the school regarding writing the letter. village Manager Bradford reported the village also gave $7,500 annually to JTAA which came from the General Fund. Mayor Mackail . questioned the $150,000 amount shown as Jupiter Increase, VILLAGE COUNCIL DPORRSHOP • b~ETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 6 which the village Manager explained was the remainder of the Jupiter rate increase paid during the first quarter of this fiscal year. Mayor Mackail commented that interest income was dropping off, to which Village Manager Bradford responded that at the last check with the State Board of Administration the annual rate of return for idle funds was 4.918, and had dropped during the prior year. The village anticipated an average of 4.3~ during the next fiscal year based on the estimated rate of decline in interest paid by the SBA over the next year. Vice Mayor Hansen questioned whether the amount shown in the Water Enterprise Fund was based on rates remaining the same, to which village Manager Bradford responded that there would be two increases, the automatic rate increase under the Ordinance passed two years ago allowing automatic increases based on application of the Consumer Price Index to the Village • operations, and that the worst case scenario was an 1.8g increase, which possibly could be lowered to 1~ or .9~ based on analysis results, and which would be effective October i. The second increase would be as a result of the report written by consultant Robert Ori pertaining to charges the Village provided for services other than consumption such as meter installations, re-reading meters, testing meters, etc., and Mr. Ori's recommendation to raise these charges. Village Manager Bradford commented that these increases would be presented to the village Council at either their August or September meeting. Mr. Ori also recommended that the capital connection, or impact fee, be increased from $1,500 per ERC to $2,130 per ERC to represent the village's new cost as reflected by the reverse osmosis plant. This was also described as the cost of reserving capacity. village Manager Bradford explained that none of these items were in the budget because the Village Council had not seen them yet and the amount of money for commodity charges was not significant. The Village Manager explained that the revenue flow for the Tequesta Water Department was very rain sensitive, and it was very VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP • MEETING MINQTES JULY 13 , 19 9 9 PAGE 7 difficult to make any assumptions as to revenue because the rate of sales varied according to rainfall. Vice Mayor Hansen questioned whether expansion of water services into Martin County would incur additional costs. Village Manager Bradford responded that would mean additional costs which were not in the budget, and charges for the people the Village wanted to serve, capital connection fees, and the cost of extending lines to the customers would need to be determined. Councilmember Capretta commented that a business plan was needed. Utilities Director Matthew Morrison explained that staff was in the process of developing a plan, and that in this type of operation recouped casts almost immediately. Mayor Mackail commented that the step rate conservation plan had hurt water revenue but had been done because it was the right thing to do, but it might • not be the right thing to do now. Village Manager Bradford commented that in Mr. Ori's report he had stated he was not able to recommend an alteration of the step rate at this time because the current Village computer system was not able to generate the information he needed, but after the new system was in operation with 12-18 months of data, he would be able to tell with some accuracy what alterations to make to the steps. Village Manager Bradford reported Mr. Ori had a fundamental disagreement with the village Council's idea regarding step rates since he wanted to make the steps more stringent. Councilmember Capretta commented that the village had gone into the step rate program knowing it was not profitable because they felt it was right to promote conservation and believed they were doing what was desired by South Florida Water Management, but Jupiter did nothing and South Florida Water Management had rewarded them for it by granting their permits. Village Manager Bradford commented that there was another reason the step rates had been instituted, which had been Councilmember Capretta's idea, to delay going to reverse osmosis as long as possible, and it had worked and had • bought the Village ten years. The Village Manager VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP • NBETING MINQTES JULY 13 , 19 9 9 PAGE 8 commented that the Village's permit with the District said the Village would have a conservation rate structure, and there was flexibility in what was considered conservation. Mr. Bradford stated that some communities had gone to a flat rate across the board like Jupiter, moving from an old system that charged less as consumption became higher. Mayor Mackail questioned the target expansion area for an outlay of $500,000, to which the village Manager responded it was mostly Pine Tree Drive and the area north of County Line Road containing approximately 350 single family homes now using well water. Councilmember Capretta commented that was basically expanding in the Village's own territory, and a business plan was needed for expansion out of village territory, and suggested a market survey asking whether people would buy water from the Village. Village Manager • Bradford explained that Jupiter Island's purchase of Hydro Tek in Hobe Sound had effectively cut off village expansion to the north, which if true, would limit expansion to the 350 homes north of County Line Road. Discussion ensued. Utilities Director Morrison reported Jupiter Island (South End Improvement District) had agreed to go with Hobe Sound Utility. Vice Mayor Hansen commented the Village was building a reverse osmosis plant with the capability of handling four trains in the future and the business plan should include locations for future wells and their cost. Village Manager Bradford commented the Village was waiting to finish the RO plant before going into that expansion. Councilmember Capretta suggested that a projection could be provided regarding water demand if the 350 homes were added and when the water contract with Jupiter ran out. Village Manager Bradford commented that in 2003 the Village franchise to serve Jupiter customers on this side of the river would expire. Mr. Morrison explained staff was looking at all options. Village Manager Bradford suggested that to avoid war with Jupiter in 2003 that a swap for the 900 homes now serviced by the village could be made for 900 • in Martin County in an amicable agreement. Councilmember VILLAGE COUNCIL ~PORRSHOP • b~ETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 9 Dalack suggested that since it seemed there was no opportunity to expand northward other than within Village territory, the Village Council should not concern themselves with expansion. Village Manager Bradford referred to page 49 of the budget document for the analysis regarding the Refuse and Recycling Enterprise Fund, and explained costs had been cut as a result of the new 8-year contract with Nichols Sanitation. The village Manager reported average savings was 31g--single family 39~, multifamily 22~, and commercial 3$~. Village Manager Bradford explained that the village's bargaining chip in negotiating the new contract had been the 8-year term because the Village did not have sufficient volume with which to bargain, and reported that the level of service was guaranteed for 8 • years. The Village Council agreed that Nichols Sanitation had done a great job in providing service to the Village. Village Manager Bradford commented that the Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund had been created to account for the expenditures and revenues of the Stormwater Utility which became operational on October 1, 1996, to provide a means for addressing required federal mandates concerning water quality as in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program associated with stormwater runoff and for flood control and associated infrastructure repair and maintenance. Major capital projects proposed were Fairview Drive Project $43,630; Golfview Drive Project $50,000; Country Club Drive Drainage Extension Project $42,000; and Bridge Road Drainage Improvements $90,000. The Village Manager reported collapsing infrastructure needed repair, and pipes under the roadway on Bunker and Golfview needed replacement, and that 30}~ concrete pipes would be used for replacement. It was also reported that work was in • progress on a permit for Country Club Drive Drainage Extension to Tequesta Circle. Mr. Bradford reported VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP • N~ETING MINUTES JULY 13, 199s PAGE io ENCON had contracted with a Jupiter company to sewer Tequesta Circle and Golf Club Circle, and the Village was trying to get a permit so that Village drainage work could be done at the same time. Mr. Morrison reported timing problems with some of the work, but he was trying to tie in the work. Mr. Morrison reported sewering would begin in 6-8 weeks. village Manager Bradford explained that ENCON was not required to get Village approval before beginning work because the Judge had issued an order stating they were in compliance with Tequesta's Ordinance 209. Councilmember Capretta questioned why ENCON did not have to do dewatering on those streets but did have to do dewatering on other streets. Discussion ensued. Village Manager Bradford advised ENCON did not get a dewatering permit and therefore the Village would report them if they did dewatering. Councilmember • Capretta suggested a letter be written to ENCON requesting the data that led them to the conclusion that dewatering was not needed. The village Manager explained that the proposed annual assessment was $6.48 per equivalent residential unit per month of $77.75 annually, a 4.5~ increase as recommended to the Village Council, and that this cost appeared as a non-ad valorem assessment on the property tax bill. A 4~ discount could be realized by property owners if paid by December 1st. The total budget expenditure was $371,796, with revenue of $371,796 which reflected a $16,656 General Fund subsidy requested by the village Council. Vice Mayor Hansen questioned why the Pension Fund was in the budget document since it was accumulated from money paid by the Village to employees over which the Village had no control, to which village Manager Bradford responded the Village had limited control of the funds and must account for the funds in their accounting system to make the authorities happy. Finance Director Holloman explained that this was a trust fund and the village was • required by State law to include it in their budget to be legally in compliance, and that bills were paid out of VILLAGE COUNCIL NORRSH4P • FETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 11 the fund. The Vice Mayor asked where pension funds came from, to which Village Manager Bradford responded they could come from the Village or a third party. Village Manager Bradford reported no one had retired yet, and that this plan had been instituted for new hires on January i, 1996, while older employees remained in the Florida Retirement Plan. The Village Manager reported an actuarial study would be coming to the Village Council to look at contribution savings. Councilmember Capretta commented that contributions might need to be reduced. Village Manager Bradford explained that on July 22 the Village Council would adopt the tentative millage rate and the time and place for two budget hearings, September 9 and September 21, would be announced. Village Manager Bradford stated it was his opinion that no increase in the millage rate was needed this year. Mayor Mackail recalled the philosophy a year ago had been to increase taxes 1-1/2$ so that funds could accumulate for a public safety facility and a Village hall, and the Village was now very close to having funding available for those projects without a tax increase. Mayor Mackail questioned whether those projects could be accomplished during this year, to which village Manager Bradford responded details regarding that would be discussed at the Redevelopment Committee meeting scheduled for July 15. Discussion ensued. Mayor Mackail suggested excess funds could be used for facilities projects, to which Village Manager Bradford responded the Village was very close to having enough money without using funds surplus. Councilmember Capretta expressed concern that the Village not expend more funds than could be supported by the new construction, and estimated $5 million as the maximum debt the village could afford. Councilmember Schauer commented she was not comfortable obtaining proposals from other attorneys as requested by • Councilrnember Dalack at the last meeting, and was satisfied with the current firm and the level of service VILLAGE COUNCIL DoORKSHOP . MEETING MINIITES JIILY 13, 1999 PAGE 12 they provided, and would like to stay with that firm. Councilmember Dalack commented there was nothing wrong with comparison shopping. Councilmember Capretta commented this was not being done with the idea of getting rid of the present firm, with which Mayor Mackail concurred. Councilmember Schauer explained that she had felt that the proposal was to change the firm, which she believed would be a slap in the face to Mr. Randolph. Village Manager Bradford explained that he had called Mr. Randolph to inform him of the request, and had obtained an RFP from Palm Beach Gardens and other information pertaining to this issue. It was explained that Mr. Randolph would be submitting a proposal. V. ADJOIIRNMENT • vice Mayor Hansen moved that the meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Dalack seconded the motion. The vote on the motioa was: Ron T. Mackail - for Carl C. Hansen - for Sasii E. Dalack - for Joseph N. Capretta - for Elizabeth A. Schauer - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted and the meeting was adjourned at 6:45 P.M. Respectfully submitted, cx.~v/L_/ ~a~~_~C Betty Laur Recording Secretary • VILLAGE COUNCIL NORKSHOP • MEETING MINUTES JULY 13, 1999 PAGE 13 ATTEST: Joann Manganie o Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: is , ~ 9 4S n LJ • Board of Adjustment Meeting, July 19, 1999, 7:30 a.m. Village Council Meeting; July 22, 1999; 7:00 p.m. Employee Pension Trust Fund Meeting; July 28; 9:00 a.m. Village Council Meeting; August 12, 1999; 7:00 p.m. Special Master Hearing; August 19, 1999; 10:00 a.m. * All times subject to change /nmh Corel\MyFiles\Agendas\Agenda Workshop Meeting 6-13-99