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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Special Meeting_03/22/2016 MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA SPECIAL MEETING March 22, 2016 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. A roll call was taken by Village Clerk McWilliams. Present were: Mayor Abby Brennan, Vice Mayor Vince Arena, Council Member Steve Okun, Council Member Paterno (via phone) Council Member Frank D'Ambra. Attorney Davis explained that a party on the prevailing side of the motion would need to make the motion to reconsider. Mayor Brennan then passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Arena. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Mayor Brennan moved reconsideration of PNC Bank Renovation Request to Waive Village Code; seconded by Council Member Okun, item was opened for discussion. Council Member Paterno questioned whether Council was using Roberts Rules of Order and felt the reconsideration should have happened within the time- frame of being within a day of the original decision. Attorney Davis explained The Village did not strictly follow parliamentary procedures which was normally reserved for large legislative session bodies. He further explained that it typically did not apply to standing committees or regular board meetings. Council Member Arena recalled a past meeting where there was a reconsideration which happened outside the one -day time frame. Council Member Okun referenced the police car markings as a recent scenario where an item was brought up for reconsideration a second time. Attorney Davis reiterated the fact that Council generally followed parliamentary procedure and he could not name a single local government council that strictly followed every single piece of parliamentary procedure. He reaffirmed that it would be counterproductive and very difficult to accomplish any business by strictly following that procedure. Council Member D'Ambra concluded that Council was not is session on a daily basis and therefore would never be able to correct any decisions that necessitated a reconsideration. He felt it would be illogical to operate under such a basis. Vice Mayor Arena called for the vote, motion passed 4 -1 with Council Member Paterno opposed. 1. Council Reconsider of PNC Bank Renovation Request to Waive Village Code to Allow PNC Bank Contractors to Work March 23, 2016 — April 25, 2016 during the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Minutes — Special Meeting 3/22/16 Page 2 Vice Mayor Arena met with the project manager for PNC Bank this past Friday who explained the project differently. Vice Mayor Arena noticed that the large dumpster was located in the front of the bank property, not in the back near the residences. He was told by the project manager that there would not be trash and debris emptied during the night. The project manager also informed Vice Mayor Arena of the fact that there would not be any outside work that would be performed. All of the work and remodeling was strictly interior renovations. It was also noted that the bathrooms had already been stripped and removed of tile flooring. PNC Bank had requested to be able to work on phone and computer lines during one weekend in April. Additionally, there would not be large commercial vehicles on site during this time. Vice Mayor Arena suggested that there should be a stipulation in place stating the entire after- hours project be shut down, if even one resident complaint was received. He informed Council that he did witness the security risk of customers doing banking business within three feet of construction workers at the bank. Mayor Brennan was initially concerned that a precedent would have been set by allowing a business to perform renovation work outside the preset hours the Village currently allowed. She now realized that this was a special circumstance which was made evident after visiting the bank and observing the security issues that surrounded this situation. Council Member Okun felt that the initial presentation from last week was problematic as the PNC Bank Representative came across as arrogant and condescending. He felt the poor presentation set a negative tone and adversely affected his decision that night. After much reflection and discussion with a friend, he had taken a new perspective on the request to waive the Village Code regarding working hours. He suggested allowing the bank to work on a Sunday, in order to have two consecutive days to perform the labor, instead of going into the early hours of the morning. He suggested that the police be informed of the weekend work. Council Member D'Ambra pointed out to Council that he lived directly behind the bank and had not heard any noise at all while the construction was ongoing. He felt that the bank had an unusual circumstance in that they were mandated by federal law, to stay open during the week. He felt this was an important detail and negated any chance of setting a precedent for other businesses. Council Member Okun mentioned he was concerned with security at the bank, during the construction. Council Member Paterno responded by stating the security of the bank was PNC's responsibility. He also countered that PNC Bank be responsible for completing the construction work, while working within the Village of Tequesta code. He noted that there were three other PNC Bank locations within the Jupiter area for customers to utilize. Council Member Paterno opined that a precedent was being set not only in relation to the bank hours but also regarding the Roberts Rules of Order. Vice Mayor Arena reiterated to Council that the requirements for the approval of extra work hours were that no trash would be emptied at night, the dumpster was to remain located by the front of the bank, work would be permitted on just one Sunday, all work was to be interior, no work was to be performed on the exterior, and lastly, Manager Couzzo had the authority to shut down the construction project if any complaints were received or if he felt it necessary to do so. Minutes — Special Meeting 3/22/16 Page 3 MOTION Council Member D'Ambra moved for approval of PNC Bank Renovation Request to Waive Village Code Work Hours; seconded by Council Member Okun; motion carried 4 -1 under the following conditions: No trash would be emptied at night Dumpster to remain in front of bank Work would be permitted on only one Sunday All work was to be interior; no work performed on the exterior of bank Manager Couzzo had the authority to shut down the construction at his discretion ADJOURNMENT Council Member Okun moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Vice Mayor Arena. The motion to adjourn carried unanimously 5 -0; therefore the meeting was adjourned at 8:26 a.m. Respectfully submitted, � a;- rn 6,0 �A_ Lori McWilliams, MMC Village Clerk Note These summary minutes are prepared in compliance with 286.011 F.S. and are not verbatim transcripts of the meeting. A verbatim audio record is available from the Office of the Village Clerk. All reference attachments are on file in the Village Clerk's Office.