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2012.06.05_TC_Minutes_RegularTOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, June 5, 2012 1.30 PM Mayor Bernard Featherman called the Regular Meeting to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 PM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor Ron Brown; Commissioner Doris M. Trinley; Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan; and Commissioner Louis P. Stern. Also present: Town Attorney Glen J. Torcivia; Town Manager Kathleen D. Weiser; Town Clerk Beverly M. Brown; Chief of Police Craig Hartmann; Delray Fire Rescue chief Daniele Connor; Finance Director Cale Curtis; Public Works Director Jack Lee; Library Director Maria Suarez; Assistant to the Town Manager Zoie Burgess; and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence in honor of former resident Joseph Yucht. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Mayor Featherman asked for any additions or deletions. Receiving none, the agenda was accepted as presented. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REOUESTS Arlin Voress — 4403 Intracoastal Drive Would like to address Item #5 on today's agenda — Resolution covering a salary adjustment for the Town Manager. I have met with her many times as she has an open door policy. She is knowledgeable about the Florida statutes and the rules of Florida municipalities. Employees are happy with her and she has met with them to enhance their performance. She has also used her connections with the county for the benefit of the Town. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 2 of 12 Carl Feldman — 3210 S. Ocean Blvd. At last week's meeting, the Commission had a discussion on the walking path. Many hundreds of feet of the path are fine; the Commission should only repair the broken areas. Many residents I talked to are against replacing it with cement. The residents of Villa Costa would like to thank the Town Manager for her assistance in helping us with a problem this past week. Fire Chief Danielle Conner — Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Conner stated that she had stopped by to say hello and to introduce their new Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Green. Assistant Chief Green previously worked for the West Palm Beach Fire Rescue and has thirty years' fire experience. 3. PRESENTATIONS A) Advanced Institute for Elected Municipal Officials "Certificate of Completion" to Commissioner Dennis Sheridan. On behalf of the Florida Institute of Government, Town Manager Dailey Weiser presented Commissioner Dennis Sheridan with a Certificate of Completion of the 2012 Advanced Institute for Elected Officials. This is a great accomplishment and she encourages all Commissioners to attend. 4. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES: A) Board Correspondence: • None B) Board Action Report: • Attached C) Board Vacancies: Board of Adjustment & Appeals — One Appointment Boca Airport Authority Aviation Advisory Committee — Re -appointment Interview: Paul Resnick — 4740 S. Ocean Blvd. Mr. Resnick stated that he had just completed a two-year term on the Board and would like to be re -appointed. He has attended all of the meetings, but 50% have been canceled due to lack of quorum. The primary responsibility of this Advisory Committee is noise abatement. The staff at the airport works to minimize the complaints. MOTION: Commissioner Stern moved to appoint Paul Resnick to a two-year term (6/12 — 5/14) to the Boca Airport Authority Aviation Advisory Board. Motion seconded by Commissioner Sheridan. A voice vote was taken with all in favor. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 3 of 12 • Code Enforcement Board — One Appointment D) Monthly Board Meetings • Charter Review Board — June 6th — 2 PM • Financial Advisory Board — June 7th — 9:00 AM • Beaches & Shores Advisory Board — June 12th — 9:30 AM • Planning Board — June 13th - Cancelled ■ Bd. Of Adjustment — June 19th - Cancelled • Code Enforcement Board — June 20th — Cancelled 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: A) RESOLUTION NO.12-001 R A Resolution of the Town Commission of the Town of Highland Beach, Florida, Authorizing a Salary Adjustment for the Town Manager. Town Clerk Brown read Resolution No. 12-001 R, title only, into the record. Discussion: Comm. Stern stated that he has only worked with the Town Manager for a few months, and has been impressed with her work. Would recommend a 3% salary increase. Comm. Sheridan — Agreed with the statement made by former Mayor Voress. The Town Manager jumped into a difficult position, and has controlled the situation. Recommend a 3 1/2% increase. Vice Mayor Brown — Worked with the Town Manager prior to being elected as the president of Bel Lido Homeowners. She has had a tough job this past year. Would recommend a 5% salary increase. Commissioner Trinley — Very pleased with her performance, especially with the staff. During this economic times, believe 3 1/2% would be realistic. Commissioner Stern — I would like to change my recommendation to 3.5%. Mayor Featherman — Have looked up the average salary for this position in these poor economic times. Would also recommend 3.5%. Town Clerk Brown — The average of the five numbers comes to 3.8%. MOTION: Commission Sheridan moved to adopt Resolution No. 12-001 R, authorizing a 3.8% salary adjustment for the Town Manager. Motion seconded by Commissioner Stem. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Sheridan - Yes Commissioner Stern - Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 4 of 12 Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion passed with a 5 - 0 vote. 6. NEW BUSINESS None 7. MISCELLANEOUS — ITEMS LEFT OVER: A) Discussion and Direction on the Walk Path Alternatives. Mayor Featherman — Let's start with Commissioner Trinley. Can you give us your views on that? Comm.Trinley — I have not changed my views since the last meeting. Is there any news from the Financial Advisory Board or haven't they met yet? Manager Weiser — The Financial Advisory Board meets later this week. What we talked about was that you need to give them a clear direction of what they should be looking at if anything at all. I have provided you with an updated memo with updated costs. These are written quotes, so that you can feel pretty comfortable about looking at the four different alternatives. The four alternatives are: 1) patch and repair the walk path that comes to approximately $65,000; 2) put new asphalt coating on it would be $370,000; 3) to do a new concrete walk path is $693,000 plus 10% in engineering costs; and 4) to do a decorative stamped concrete walk path is approximately $980,000 plus 10% engineering costs. Comm. Stern — It is my thought that we have a somewhat previous commitment to complete the work here on the Town Hall. Even though the walk path is not as bad as some think and worse as others do think, I am of the opinion that if we were able to widen the path so it is uniform and repair it in the sections necessary and keep us in the top of the $65,000 to $70,000 repair range. I think that is where we should spend our money now and revisit in the future. That would be my thoughts. Comm. Sheridan — I would like to reiterate what Mr. Feldman has said. He has walked it both ways and he recommends that we do what the state does - only patch those sections in need. I am totally in favor of that. I am not in favor of doing the entire walkway at this time. I think that should be in the future because we do have an obligation. We have entered into some engineering studies here in the town hall complex and I think that should be our primary concern at this time. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 5 of 12 Comm. Trinlev — I would agree with Commissioner Sheridan and also with Commissioner Stern. I think that we should spend just what we have to at this particular time and concentrate on what we have already committed to. Vice Mayor Brown — If not now, when? I have been here for 12 years and I think I have heard people say we are going to do it. We are going to fix the walkway. We have people fall. We have people hurt themselves and if not now, when? I hear the future, what future. It is dire economic straights; we can't afford to spend any money. If it is okay and there is nothing wrong with the walkway, why are we even talking about it? We are talking about patching it and making it a half effort and in the future we are going to what, go out and repair it again. Plus the $65,000, from the way I read this, does not include making the walkway six feet wide. I did make a statement the last time saying that we could spend up to $350,000 and that was wrong because if we take any debt, it has to be approved by our residents. This is not something that I, Ron Brown, want. This is something that the residents say they want. They didn't say they wanted it patched. They said they wanted it replaced. They wanted it fixed. I recall it was second on their priority. So when we say no we are not saying no to the Commission, we are saying no to our constituents, our residents, the people who said this is important to me and we are saying "well not quite, sometime in the future". Mayor Featherman — I do support a modest fix up on our Town's walkways wherever they are needed. In many areas the walkways are fine and don't need much in the way of repair right now. I have walked not only on the walkways but I have talked to numerous people who are on the walkways and they seem to feel that the opposite ends really need work but in the middle there is not much work that has to be done. It is not that I don't want the walkways to be perfect. Of course I do but I am concerned about our residents and how we ought to spend their tax dollars at this difficult time. Our residents have gone through a recession that has been difficult for many of them. We need to be thoughtful and sensitive to our residents and support modest improvements now and put off doing more until our economy improves. Several professional engineers have said that it would be better to make repairs with asphalt rather than concrete. Concrete breaks up and cracks easier. It would be a cause for slips, trips or falls that could lead to serious injuries. We do want our residents to be safe so I am supporting the fix -up program. Comm. Stern — Is there a compromise amongst us that maybe we could revisit and see what it might cost to do it in sections and make the path to six foot so there is more room for the bikes and for the walkers. This would also provide more safety for the walkers and less chance of falls. Is there a compromise here between $60,000 and $100,000 and have it look like a new path in one and one and a half years. Manager Weiser — I believe the compromise to that would be the asphalt because you couldn't patch into a larger type of walk path. What you might want to consider doing since you have it in your strategic plan is patch it now and we move forward perhaps in the next budget or the next following budget with putting aside the money, with whatever you end up doing with our budget, so that in the next two to three years we look at some kind of total widening and resurfacing project. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 6 of 12 Comm.Sheridan — Do we have to get permission from the State to widen this? Manager Weiser - No. Mayor Featherman — Is there any other questions from our Commissioners? Comm. Triple v — Do we have any idea of the history of the slip and falls on the walk way. How many people in how many years? Manager Weiser — What we know of is two in about ten years. Vice Mayor Brown — And I know of one in the last year out of Bel Lido but she didn't sue anybody. She just said she fell. It was from jogging going south and I know it is really bad down there. Comm. Trinley — I certainly don't want to see anyone hurt. I was just wondering how big a problem it is and how many of our residents truly use the path. We are a town of over 4,000. I don't know I was just wondering. Mayor Featherman — I think it is important that we do some fix -up now. I would rather be safe than sorry for any of our residents and I think that to start that modest fix -up would be the thing to do right now. Perhaps in a year to two years as the economy improves and we see things are changing then of course we could go into further fix -ups. Manager Weiser — I make a suggestion that you make a motion that the funding for the repairs be included in the next budget. Comm Sheridan — Is it set at that 65 or is there a leeway in that 65. Manager Weiser - 65 is a pretty good number. Comm.Stern — But that's just the path as we know it today. Manager Weiser — Repairing it and patching it, yes. Vice Mayor Brown — Where are we going to repair that. How many patches are we going to have? Mayor Featherman — I believe Jack Lee has some answers. Public Works Director Jack Lee — When we were asked to look at this I had Bill Moore go out and inspect the whole walking path. They rode the walk path and identified the problem areas they felt needed repair. There are several throughout the Town. They seem to be a little bit worse down south. Since then, my understanding is that there are a few more problem areas that have popped up. I think the $65,000, it was actually $60,000 I added $5,000 for inflation, fuel costs and stuff. I think the $65,000 would cover the majority of the bad areas on the walk path. Mayor Featherman — You do have a small buffer in there. Director Lee — Yes, almost $5,000. Vice Mayor Brown — I have one other question. I don't see anywhere where they are cutting out the roots or are we just going to patch over it. Ninety percent of damage from what I see is from an associated root from a tree or a bush and if we just patch over it it's going to do the same thing. Director Lee — You are correct. The contract does not address the root areas and with that extra $5,000 I think, I know that they have two ways; there is a physical way that you can cut the root out and then put a root barrier in there and they also have a chemical that some cities use around meter boxes that you can spray and it is supposed to stop the roots from going back into the walk path. So, I would think that extra four or five thousand dollars would cover the cost of that. Vice Mayor Brown — Can we put that in the contract something to the affect that the contractor is to remove all tree or brush roots causing the asphalt to buckle. Director Lee — We can definitely add that in there. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 7 of 12 Mayor Featherman — One other thing I would like to know is did we get competitive bids? . Director Lee — No. Mayor Featherman — I thought anything over $25,000 we should get two other bids beside the one we have. Director Lee — We will definitely do that. Comm. Stern — Mr. Lee is the root problem a serious problem? Director Lee — Yes it is. Historically we have had a problem with Australian Pines. The roots travel underneath the asphalt and when the asphalt heats up in the sun it wants to lift up the asphalt. Since we planted those Royal Palms they seem to like asphalt. I had an Arborist come in and look at our Royal Palms about two months ago and he said that the roots on the Royal Palm are trying to get between the rock base and the asphalt for the moisture. To really do this correctly at some point, we need to completely redo the walk path. I would definitely address the root problem at that time. If we are just talking about repairing the damaged areas that need repair right now, I can get the contractor to give us a revised quote that would cover the root removal too. Comm. Stern — Is there also a possibility that we could get a contractor bid for widening it at the same time so we could do it in sections but at least someday have a path that is wider end to end. Director Lee — You could definitely get a quote on widening it. The walk path goes all the way down from six feet to four feet and kind of wavy through the Town. Comm. Stern — Is there room in that four foot area to go to six feet. Director Lee — Yes. We have already talked to FDOT. They regard it as routine maintenance. If you are going to widen that path it is going to be more difficult, it is going to be more expensive. I would say at least double it. I don't know how good it is going to look. You are going to have strips of new blacktop and the old but I can check into that if you would like to get a cost estimate on widening it six foot wide all the way through town. I will definitely get the contractor to add the root removal on there. Mayor Featherman — I think what we are looking at right now is to repair it rather than to go in depth. You can ask for an alternative. If a motion is made we would like to have three competitive bids to do the job before the job is placed. Director Lee — We will do that. So what you are saying is that you don't want to look at widening it now. Mayor Featherman — I think we shouldn't do anything like that right now. The whole purpose is for the safety of our Town's residents right now. Director Lee — You just want to repair and repave the bad areas at this point. Mayor Featherman — Yes. Then when we go into it further in a future date we want to do such as my distinguished colleague wants to have done as a consideration. Vice Mauer Brown — All the other bids already have widening to six feet. The only bid that doesn't is to repair and replace. MOTION: Comm.Sheridan moved to obtain three bids to repair and patch, where necessary, the walk path throughout the Town. Funding to be included in 2012-2013 Fiscal -Year Budget. Motion seconded by Comm. Stern. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Sheridan Yes Commissioner Stern Yes Commissioner Trinley Yes Vice Mayor Brown No Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5 2012 Page 8 of 12 Mayor Featherman Yes Motion passed with a 4 to 1 vote B) Discussion and Consideration of Declaring Library Books and Audio Books Surplus Mayor Featherman — At last week's meeting there were a couple of questions in relation to this item. Will the Library Director Maria Suarez, come forward? Library Director Suarez — Good afternoon, Sir. Mayor Featherman — Could you kindly have questions replied to that our Commissioners would ask. Manager Weiser — Can I add a comment? You have a memo that our Library Director, put out that I hope addressed your questions regarding the books and the audio books that we declared surplus that were dated 2011. The first was a collection that was read by British narrators and as I understand it most of the patrons can't understand them and that is why they decided to get rid of those particular books. The other ones were being deleted because they are doubles and there was a demand for them when they were first purchased and now there is not. Library Director Suarez — That is correct. Mayor Featherman — Is there any questions that our Commissioners would like to ask on that. Comm. Sheridan — Yes, I have a question. The first question is that if the people were going to have difficulty reading these books should we not have known that in advance? Library Director Suarez — You don't read them. They are audio books. You listen to them. The supplier said Mari these are books people like and would you like to subscribe to them and see how they work. So I said okay let's start and we started. After five or six months the patrons starting complaining that they could not understand because they were being read with a British accent. It was a British publication that recorded books which my supplier was selling. We in the Library would like to see what patrons would like and would not like. If it works great; if it doesn't work it doesn't work. That is the reason. Comm. Sheridan — The other is that you had mentioned that we had doubles with a lot of books. Library Director Suarez — Yes that is correct. During the season it doubles or triples. People checking in and out books. If you want to read a James Paterson book you have 40 people waiting for the same book so I usually buy two or three copies of the same book because you need to move them. People do not want to wait. Comm. Sheridan — What is the average waiting time to read a book? Library Director Suarez — When they are in demand, we put them at 7 days. The regular time is 14 days. So we reduce the time so that they turn over faster but even with that. MOTION: Comm. Stern moved to approve the request of the Library to remove these books from their shelves and in the future that the Library Staff will review the policies before they purchase books. Motion seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5 2012 Page 9 of 12 Discussion: Comm. Trinley — To declare the audio books as surplus is one thing, but will they be donated to any kind of charity? Library Director Suarez — Yes they are going to the Veteran's Administration Hospital. Mayor Featherman — I know that Libraries don't take used books normally. Library Director Suarez — Yes we do take donations. What I do with the donations, I see if the book could be checked out. If it can be, I catalogue it. If it is a double of a book that we already have and the donated book is in better condition I switch them. The others, The Friends of the Library take care of selling them. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Stern Yes Vice Mayor Brown Yes Commissioner Sheridan Yes Commissioner Trinley Yes Mayor Featherman Yes Motion passed with a 5-0 vote. 8. REPORTS — TOWN COMMISSION: A) Commissioner Louis P. Stern — No Report. B) Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan — No Report. C) Commissioner Doris J. Trinley — No Report. D) Vice Mayor Ron Brown — No Report. E) Mayor Bernard Featherman — I have now completed over one-year of service of my three-year term as mayor. It has been a privilege to serve this wonderful town. Most of other towns and cities are running a deficit in their budgets right now. We in Highland Beach do not have a deficit. We have substantial reserve funds to cushion us in an emergency. Our town operating budget is approximately 10 million dollars annually. While most of our sister towns have only about a 15 percent reserve fund, we have three times that amount, with nearly $5 million dollars in our reserve fund. The reason that a healthy reserve fund is so important is that the reserve funds provide the money to support the town if emergencies occur. Many of us belong to condo or other associations that have to assess their member when there are emergencies. In our town, emergencies could arise from natural disasters, fund shortages, or many other types of problems or emergency needs, that will affect us in the near future. We all should commend the former commissioners and leaders for taking good care of our reserves. I would like to see us continue that tradition of good management of the funds which our citizens pay in taxes. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5, 2012 Page 10 of 12 9. REPORTS — TOWN ATTORNEY: No Report. 10. REPORTS — TOWN MANAGER: The summer issue of the Highlanders went out this past week. Included in the issue is the water quality report and the emergency preparation guide. The Florida League of Cities Annual Conference will be held at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood from August P — 25th. If you would notify me or the Town Clerk, we will make the proper reservations. A leatherback turtle was stranded on the beach last week, and a number of residents had to help it dig its hole for the eggs, pull her out of the hole and then assist her getting back to the water. If you go on www.bocahighland.com there are pictures taken during this process. 11. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Featherman asked if any item needed to be removed from the Consent Agenda. Town Clerk Brown read the Consent Agenda into the record. A) Commission Authorization to Purchase three (3) new Pulsafeeder Sulfuric Acid Metering Pumps from TSC Jacobs, Inc. B) Selection of Mayor Bernard Featherman as the Town's Voting Delegate for the 2012 Florida League of Cities Annual Meeting C) Authorization for Mayor to Sign Renewal of Existing Employee Health Insurance Plan, BCBS Blue Options 5461 D) Authorization for the Town Manager to Approve two (2) Blanket Purchase Requisitions E) Approval of Minutes April 24, 2012 — Workshop Meeting May 1, 2012 — Regular Meeting MOTION: Comm. Stern moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Comm. Sheridan. Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5 2012 Pa e 11 of 12 ROLL CALL: Commissioner Stern - Yes Commissioner Sheridan Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion passed with a 5-0 vote. 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING Harold Hagelmann — 4740 S. Ocean Blvd. Disappointed that we are not putting in a complete new walkway. When Jack Lee goes out to bid, I hope he stresses that the roots need to be removed. In Boca Highlands, we had a leatherback turtle last week that was over 600 pounds and five feet wide. It was very exciting. Everyone pitched in to give her a hand. One of her flippers was injured, and someone from Gumbo Limbo repaired it before she was put back in the water. Joe Cannizzaro — Bel Air Drive Why do we have to bring to the Commission surplus audio books? Manager Weiser — Part of the required purchasing policy to take them off the books as an asset requires Commission authorization. Any property purchased with tax payers money has to be authorized surplus by the Town Commission? Do we have a specific policy for salary increases for staff? Manager Weiser — We have a classification system that is used and employees are given evaluations on their anniversaries. Every job in the classification system falls into a grade. Managers are handled differently as they have a contract. 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman adjourned the Regular Meeting at 2:33 PM upon a MOTION by Commissioner Stern seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. APPROVED: h�tryi/bocz"Ut— Bernard Featherman, Mayor Ron Brown, Vice Mayor Town Commission Regular Minutes June 5 2012 Pa e 12 of 12 ATTEST: ly M. ]Krown,-MMC Town Date Trinley, Commit Dennis J. Shen'2iun, C mmissioner uis Stern, C mmissioner