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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Regular_07/12/2018MINUTES VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA REGULAR MEETING July 12, 2018 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The meeting was called to order by Mayor Abby Brennan at 6:00 p.m. A roll call was taken by Assistant to the Village Clerk, Mary Ann Grieser. Present were: Mayor Abby Brennan, Vice Mayor Tom Paterno, Council Member Vince Arena, Council Member Laurie Brandon, and Council Member Kristi Johnson. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Pastor Paul Beresford expressed thankfulness for The Village of Tequesta, then gave the invocation followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Vice Mayor Paterno. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Council Member Arena moved approval of the agenda; seconded by Vice Mayor Paterno; motion carried unanimously 5-0. PRESENTATIONS Bonni Jensen, Attorney for the Public Safety Board stated that an opportunity to participate in 185 Funds presented itself. She referenced an actuarial packet that was distributed to Council and stated that it reduced the cost of the pension plan that was recently negotiated. Participation required an ordinance drafted for review by the state of Florida; a question was whether employees would be eligible for benefits during the time the department did not participate. She stated that $470,000 remained with the state in The Village's name and the police union was in favor of the participation. When Mayor Brennan inquired about the 9/30/18 deadline, Ms. Jensen answered that this was much easier to do at the required annual filing of participants than if it were made too far retroactively. Though Mayor Brennan stated that the numbers appeared favorable for The Village, questions remained. Ms. Jensen stated that participation would require a change of the benefit multiplier in the union contract to two point seven five percent. Council Member Arena clarified that even if a draft ordinance was approved by the state, Council still held the final decision of whether to participate in the 185 Funds. Mayor Brennan suggested that the draft ordinance be discussed at the next Council Workshop. Vice Mayor Paterno requested all financial calculations necessary for deliberation. Consensus of Council was for discussion at the next Workshop. CONSENT AGENDA Vice Mayor Paterno requested number seven removed for discussion. MOTION: Council Member Arena moved approval of the Consent Agenda; seconded by Vice Mayor Paterno; motion carried unanimously 5-0 with item seven removed. Minutes — Regular 07/12/18 Page 2 2. MINUTES: 6/4/18 Workshop and 6/14/18 Regular Meeting Minutes 3. Approval of Contracts Signed by Manager Under$25,000 (Per Village Ordinance we are presenting the following agreements, proposals, commitments and memorandum of understanding to Council.) 4. Approve Mutual Aid Agreement for Operational Assistance and Voluntary Cooperation Between the Martin County Sheriff s Office and the Village of Tequesta Police Department 5. Approve Interlocal Agreement for Law Enforcement Services Befinreen Palm Beach County and the Village of Tequesta , 6. RESOLUTION 23-18, A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE STORMWATER RATES FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 END OF CONSENT AGENDA 7. RESOLUTION 25-18, A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING RESOLUTION 06-17, ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC RECORDS AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEE POLICY AND SETTING A UNIFORM FEE SCHEDULE FOR PUBLIC RECORDS INSPECTION I DUPLICATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. Vice Mayor Paterno requested more information and Village Clerk Lori McWilliams informed that since there had been no increase in lien search fees since 2009, Tequesta's lien search fees were at the extreme low end when compared to those of other local municipalities and except for contractors working with the building department, this item introduced a notary fee for non-residents. Vice Mayor Paterno did not want the fee increase as it would pass on to property buyers but Ms. McWilliams explained that the increase only covered staff time and many lien search companies already charge a higher rate, regardless of our fees. Village Attorney Keith Davis read Resolution 25-18 title into the record. MOTION: Council Member Arena moved approval of RES 23-18; seconded by Council Member Johnson; motion carried 4-1 with Tom Paterno in dissent. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Carolyn Schwartz of 356 Venus Avenue complained that a neighbors overgrown plants caused problems on her property. Discussion ensued about a property owner's right to trim offending branches and that municipal codes required neat, orderly yard maintenance. Mayor Brennan suggested that Building Director Jose Rodriguez speak to the neighbor and if unsuccessful, Attorney Davis would be asked to research a possible remedy. Minutes — Regular 07/12/18 Page 3 Lyette Reback of 12150 Lost Tree Way thanked Council for the opportunity to hold the Freedom 4 Miler running road race in Tequesta and gave a brief accounting of the race proceeds. She reported that six local gold star families attended the race and everyone was very appreciative of The Village. Mayor Brennan said she was impressed with the immediate clean up after the race. COMMUNICATIONS FROM COUNCIL Council Member Johnson advised that preliminary budget reviews were being given Council's attention along with the search for a new Village Manager and firefighter union negotiations. Council Member Arena urged continued patience with construction projects, reported on a large group of bicycles he saw recently, and requested the consensus of Council and The Village Manager to allow the Village Clerk to conduct a resident survey on the idea of starting a Village trolley service. Council Member Arena relayed a resident's comments to him that the crosswalk signal at US1 and Tequesta Drive did not allow sufficient time for pedestrians to cross US1 safely. Council Member Arena asked Fire Chief Medina about revenue from the Tequesta Hills Golf Tournament; he asked Police Chief Medina about an upcoming police versus fire department softball game, invited residents to attend and receive information about hurricane preparation and stated he wished to purchase signs to advertise the event. Council Member Arena then proposed that some of the one- cent sales tax money be used for the upfront costs associated with the installation of solar panels on the new recreation center. Neither Council Member Brandon nor Vice Mayor Paterno had comments. Mayor Brennan opined that though the new Council Members may have thought their roles consisted of two meetings per month,the reality was that recently, there had been as many as two per week. STANDING REPORTS Villaqe Attornev Village Attorney Keith Davis advised that Verizon Wireless was five years into a twenty- five year lease with The Village for a cell tower at the water plant; the original lease started at $36,000 per year, had a 4% escalator and generated $42,000 in rent this year. If the contract did not terminate, the rent would be $92,000 per year by the end of the lease term. Verizon wished to change the lease terms to $2500 per month ($30,000 per year) with a 3% escalator every five years. The offer guaranteed total rent over five years of $159,000; Verizon was required to give six months advance notice if they wished to terminate the lease; it was unknown what they would do if we did not accept their request. Attorney Davis had not seen a lease terminated upon denial of a request to change terms before but there were no guarantees that it would not happen. Council Member Arena asked whether right of way use would eliminate leases on owned property but Attorney Davis advised there was still a need for general cell communication. Minutes— Regular 07/12/18 Page 4 The rights of way use was for newer technology and he was unable to predict future needs, but presently there was a moratorium on cell companies' right of way use and last year's legislation exempted applications to co-locate small wireless facilities in rights of way from the full permitting process. Vice Mayor Paterno wished to decline Verizon's request but Council Member Johnson advised she wanted to take a closer look at what was asked. Villaqe ManaQer Village Manager Couzzo introduced Community Development Director Nilsa Zacarias who declared that the process had taken finro years, but Florida's land planning agency approved Tequesta's comprehensive plan with new maps; finro developers had been waiting for this approval. She thanked the Council Members, The Planning and Zoning Board, Village Manager Couzzo and Attorney Davis for their support. State statute dictated a municipality review their plan every seven years but only a letter to the state was required if no changes to the plan were wished. Mr. Couzzo thanked Ms. Zacarias for her hard work. Police Police Chief Gustavo Medina announced, to applause, that it was his 100t'' day as Tequesta's Police Chief. He continued by sharing his goals for the department and the progress made toward them. Additional training included all officers being retrained on fingerprinting and kits available in all vehicles. He spoke of an upcoming promotion ceremony for Lieutenants Lally and Pike, and Sergeants Johnson and Korkowski and stated that the promotion process enlightened him to the high caliber of the Tequesta police officers. He relayed that at a recent award ceremony, Amber Krauss received the civilian award; K-9 Erik and Officer Loney graduated from training and were patrolling The Village; the Department continued to meet with community members. Chief Medina advised that a schedule reorganization resulted in more night coverage without jeopardizing day coverage and overtime was reduced from the same period last year, with two less personnel. He announced that the National Night Out was rescheduled for October 5, 2018, which coincided with the food truck invasion; other municipalities and the Sheriff's Departments would participate. Chief Medina reported working with nearby agencies regarding border patrol and school threat assessment, expressed thanks for the opportunity to lead the agency, and then shared the DepartmenYs new mission statement. Fire Fire Chief Joel Medina spoke about the Freedom Run on the 4th of July and how he was thankful to be a citizen of the United States; the Public Safety bike ride through the Country Club; hurricane preparedness; community involvement; and electronic plan review in conjunction with the Building Department. He announced that it was the 25t'' anniversary of the Tequesta Fire Department and that Firefighter Andre Dodd (who had 18 years of service with The Village) received the Paramedic of the Year Award at the Public Safety Awards and Zach Wichert received the Jim Weinand Firefighter of the Year award. REGULAR AGENDA OLD BUSINESS There was none. Minutes — Regular 07/12/18 Page 5 NEW BUSINESS 8. Approve Setting the Proposed Ad Valorem Millage Rate for the Village of Tequesta for Fiscal Year 2018/2019 at a Rate of 6.2920 Mills per $1,000.00 of Assessed Value and Setting the Budget Public Hearings as Follows: September 13, 2018- 5:30 p.m. — Approve Tentative Budget; and September 20, 2018 — 5:30 p.m. Approve Final Budget Village Manager Couzzo explained that the millage rate was the same as last year. MOTION: Vice Mayor Paterno moved approval of the proposed millage rate and Budget Hearing dates of September 13 and 20, 2018; seconded by Council Member Arena; motion carried unanimously 5-0. 9. RESOLUTION 24-18, A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE WRITE-OFF OF UNCOLLECTABLE EMS TRANSPORT FEES AS IDENTIFIED IN THE ATTACHED EXHIBITS A AND B, AMENDING AND INCREASING THE FISCAL YEAR 2017/2018 GENERAL FUND #001 BUDGET BY APPROPRIATING FUND BALANCE IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT IDENTIFIED IN THE ATTACHED EXHIBITS A AND B TO FUND BAD DEBT AND AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO PROCEED ON BEHALF OF THE VILLAGE PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE Village Attomey Keith Davis read Resolution 24-18, title into the record. Council Member Johnson asked about the debt collection process. Firefighter Zach Wichert explained that uncollected debt inflated accounts receivable and with 10 years of inedical bookkeeping experience, he knew that 90-95% of debt sent to collections was never recovered. He advised that the last write off was in 2016; once he exhausted his efforts (approximately 90 days), debts were sent to a collection agency; bills over 90 to 120 days old were unlikely collectable at all. Finance Director Chris Quirk advised that this would now be done once per year; Fire Chief Medina said that software and personnel changes caused a backlog and he did not expect this in the future. Vice Mayor Paterno wanted immediate write off of uncollectable debt but Consensus of Council was to continue the existing process. MOTION: Vice Mayor Patemo moved approval of Resolution 24-18; seconded by Council Member Arena; motion carried 5-0. 10. RESOLUTION 26-18, A RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA, FLORIDA, UPDATING THE VILLAGE'S PUBLIC PARTICIPATION RULES AND POLICIES TO INCLUDE GENERAL MEETING DECORUM RULES AND POLICIES AND A PROCESS FOR ADDRESSING AND HANDLING DISRUPTIONS DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. Minutes — Regular 07/12/18 Page 6 Village Attorney Davis read Resolution 26-18, title into the record and explained that this addressed rules of decorum in public meetings (aside from the three-minute rule) in an effort to allow the public to enjoy attending meetings. Vice Mayor Paterno felt that three minutes, once per month was not sufficient time for a citizen to communicate with Council. Consensus of Council was to explore Resolution 26-18 further at a Workshop. ANY OTHER MATTERS Nothing further was discussed. Meetinq Task Assiqnments . . � Jose to inquire of landowner to cut Jose Rodriguez back/remove invasive bamboo so that it will no lon er be a hindrance to their nei hbor Trolley survey Lori US1 /Tequesta Drive crosswalk— Mayor to Mayor request a longer period be given to walkers to cross. Vince says there is not enough time. Banner for Village Hall regarding softball Police/Fire Chiefs game — Vince will pay if there is enough mone in his account Keith to clarify if the Village is exempt from Keith cell tower ROW mandate Discussion on citizen comments to be Manager addressed at an upcoming workshop (not the next one per the Ma or) ADJOURNMENT: Council MemberJohnson moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Council Member Arena. The motion to adjourn carried unanimously 5-0; therefore, the meeting was adjourned at 7.�43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ��� n���� 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 referenced attachments are on fil� in the Village Clerk's office.