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2014.01.07_TC_Minutes_Regular TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, January 7, 2014 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 Dennis J. Sheridan; and Commissioner Carl Feldman. Commissioner Louis P. Stern called in by phone, but connection was distorted. Also present: Town Attorney Glen Torcivia; Town Manager Kathleen D. Weiser; Town Clerk Beverly M. Brown; Finance Director Cale Curtis; Public Works Director Edward J. Soper; Police Chief Craig Hartmann; Assistant to the Manager Zoie Burgess; and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence. 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. Commissioner Feldman requested that two items be added to the Agenda under New Business: 1) Discussion on the refurbishing of the Town Hall and Police Station. 2) Adding a non - binding question on the ballot. Town Manager Weiser requested that three items be added to the Agenda: 1) Presentations, introduction of Attorney Brian Shutt a new addition to the Town Attorneys' staff. 2) Proposed Ordinances and Resolutions add Resolution No. 14 -001 R. 3) New Business add "Request of the Third Annual Ride with Heart for the South Florida Cycling Event. MOTION: Commissioner Sheridan moved to accept the additions to the agenda. Motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Brown Motion passed with a verbal vote. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 2 of 14 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REOUESTS: Rhoda Zelniker, Regency Highland Condominium — I have been approached by many residents regarding the bike riders. On December 29 there were masses of bike riders. People could not cross the street to get to the other side of AIA. The bikers did not stop and they should abide by the same rules as a car. I know this has been discussed many times before, but we are again asking that something be done about this. There is no bike path in Highland Beach, just a shoulder. Because of this, maybe bikers should only be allowed to ride in a single lane instead of two abreast. I believe this is a safety issue for the Town and has to be addressed. Commissioner Feldman — We have heard this so many times. We can't do anything about this as a Commission; but perhaps they can address this problem to the Town Manager. She then could turn it over to the State or our Police Department. Jerry Wolff, President of Villa Del Alto Home Owner's Association which is a six unit townhouse complex on Russell Drive on the Intracoastal Waterway. Does this Town have a Mission Statement, part of which is to protect the people and the property of the Town? Town Manager Weiser — I believe there was one that was put in the Mayor's Strategic Plan. Mr. Wolff — Over the years we have contacted the Town, State, Governor's Office and other agencies to get a "minimum wake zone" on the Intracoastal and have gotten nowhere. I understand we do not control what goes on in the Intracoastal Waterway; but we should have the right to have a patrol boat. We have had a very large water bill ($4122.00) due to a pipe breaking by the Intracoastal Waterway and the water meter running wild. Over fifty percent of that water charge is putative damage, because the rates go up depending on the amount of water used. The large wakes are causing a great deal of damage to our seawalls and our pipes and I do not feel the Town is doing anything about it. Another issue is that we have had a lot of crime on our block. There are also many cars parked overnight on our block and I do not see ticketing or warnings. At one time, there were signs regarding no overnight parking and a 20 mile speed limit. They are no longer there. Silvio Blaskovic, 1120 Highland Beach Dr . — I have an issue with structures without permits on Bel Lido Waterways. Some of the residents and I marked down every structure, boat lifts etc. for a total of 36 lots. There were 40 marine structures and, out of these 40, only 5 have permits. This information was given to us by the Building Dept. Mr. Blaskovic gave the list and photos of the biggest violators to the Town Clerk. Robert Patek, 4217 S. Ocean Blvd — Mr. Patek spoke about his concern for the beaches and how upset he is that the Town has done nothing to make the beaches people friendly. He feels the residents of the Town also do nothing to keep the beaches clean and do not obey the "dog leash ordinance" when walking their dogs along the beach. The individual homeowners are responsible for keeping their beaches clean. His complaint is that the beach rakers hired by these residents do nothing but move the debris from one property to another. They do not remove any of the debris but bury it, which eventually resurfaces. He also stated that the beach users leave their trash well above the tide line. He feels the Town should hire one contractor that would remove all debris and trash from the beach, or have the Town crew drive the beach two to three times a week to pick up all the manmade trash. Our beaches should be top priority and our community should make every effort to keep our beaches, clean, sanitary and safe. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 3 of 14 3. PRESENTATIONS: • Introduction of Public Works Director Edward J. Soper Town Manager Weiser introduced Edward Soper. Public Works Director Edward Soper gave a brief description of his background and thanked the Town for hiring him. • Introduction of Attorney Brian Shutt Town Manager Weiser introduced Attorney Brian Shutt who has joined our Town Attorney's team. Town Attorney Brian Shutt stated that he served for nineteen years in the City Attorney's Office in Delray Beach and is looking forward to working with the staff of Highland Beach. 4. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES: A) Board Correspondence: • None B) Board Action Report: • Read into the record. C) Board Vacancies: • Board of Adjustment and Appeals — Two Appointments • Code Enforcement Board — One Appointment D) Monthly Board Meetings • Planning Board — January 8 — 9:30 AM • Beaches & Shores Advisory — January 10 — 9:30 AM • Financial Advisory Board — January 17 — 9:00 AM • Code Enforcement — January 22 °d — 9:30 AM • Bd. of Adjustment — No Scheduled Meeting 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS: A) ORDINANCE NO. 13 -004 O — Second Reading and Public Hearing AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, SUBMITTING TO REFERENDUM AN AMENDMENT TO THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH TOWN CHARTER; AMENDING ARTICLE I "GENERAL PROVISIONS ", SECTION 1.06 "TOWN COMMISSION CREATED; ELECTION; TERMS; TOWN CLERK; QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS; GENERAL ELECTION LAW" TO Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 4 of 14 ESTABLISH THE TOWN'S CANVASSING BOARD TO PROVIDE THE TOWN COMMISSION THE DISCRETION TO DELEGATE ITS CANVASSING BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE PALM BEACH COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS AND THE TOWN CLERK; ESTABLISHING THE DATE OF MARCH 11, 2014, FOR THE REFERENDUM; PROVIDING A BALLOT TITLE AND QUESTION; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE AND ADVERTISING OF THE REFERENDUM; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF LAWS IN CONFLICT; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Town Clerk Brown read Ordinance No. 13 -004 O into the record. Mayor Featherman opened the Public Hearing. Hearing no comments from the public, Mayor Featherman closed the Public Hearing. No further discussion by the Commission. MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to adopt Ordinance No. 13 -004 O as read. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman. ROLL CALL: Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Commissioner Feldman - Yes Commissioner Sheridan - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion passed with a 4 -0 Vote. B) RESOLUTION NO. 14 -001 R A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 484 ESTABLISHING A MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOAD FOR THE BEL LIDO BRIDGE (BRIDGE NO. 935900) Town Clerk Brown read Resolution No. 14 -001 R into the record. Comm. Feldman — My question to the Town Attorney is that this was established in 1986 and it is now not needed. Who is responsible if something does happen and someone goes over this bridge with to much weight? I understand it is established because the dump trucks are going over, the trash trucks, etc.; but where is our obligation stated here if something happens and we negate this. How will they test it? Town Attorney Torcivia — My understanding is that this bridge is capable of a lot higher tonnage than is posted. It is posted for 15 tons now and it is capable of over 90 tons. At that level they don't need to be posted. The State only requires certain amounts to be posted. Once you exceed that amount, which this bridge can hold a lot more than the minimum, it doesn't need to be posted. There is no real liability for the Town because there is no responsibility for the Town to post something. Building Official Desorcy — To address the question about the load rating on the bridge at Bel Lido, I did some research and looked at old inspection reports. I am waiting for a new report and spoke with the DOT Project Manager, Skip Ferrara, Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 5 of 14 about the load rating and the interpretation of the data that was provided in this report. The rating on the bridge right now for a single unit truck with two axles is for 65 tons; a single unit truck with three axles 68 tons; a single unit truck with four axles 67 tons; a combination unit truck with three axles 97 tons; combination truck with four axles 86 tons; combination unit truck with five axles 94 tons. The posting rate is 15 tons. The bridge could be posted for 99 tons. The DOT does not require posting the bridge. I have not seen a report since 2005. We should have been receiving one every two years. Mr. Ferrara is having the Engineering Company that subcontracts for the DOT send me the latest report. Comm. Feldman — Do you think we should wait to get that report before we pass this? Building Official Desorcv_ — I don't think it is necessary. The Project Manager for the DOT indicated to me that the way the bridge is posted now could open up the Town to lawsuits. If a truck that was of legal weight was not permitted across the bridge that was rated for the tonnage that I indicated on the report, then the Town would be responsible. Vice Mayor Brown — I agree with Commissioner Feldman that we should wait until we get the report and not vote on it today because it is quite cracked and I would like some reassurance that it really is capable of holding 99 tons before we remove it. Comm. Sheridan — Who is the enforcing agency for this? The DOT or our Police Department? Building Official Desorcv — It is our Police Department. This all happened because a contractor building a house on Bel Lido Island had his concrete blocks turned away and had to find another way to get the concrete blocks across the bridge. As soon as I receive the report I will distribute it to Ed Soper, Kathleen Weiser and Town Attorney Torcivia for his review. MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to Table Resolution No. 13 -004 O. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman. A voice vote was taken with all in favor. Motion passed with a 4 -0 vote. 6. CONSENT AGENDA: No items were scheduled on the Consent Agenda. 7. NEW BUSINESS: A) PUBLIC HEARING: (Quasi - Judicial Hearing) Town Commission to consider a Special Exception for a 5,000 LB. Elevator Boat Lift on Property located at 4404 Intracoastal Drive. Town Clerk Brown read the Petition and Notice provided to the Public into the record. Request of a Special Exception for the construction of a 5,000 lb. elevator boat lift on property located at 4404 Intracoastal Drive. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 6 of 14 Town Attorney Torcivia asked the Commissioners if they have had any ex parte communications regarding this matter. Hearing none, Town Attorney Torcivia asked Town Clerk Brown to Administer the Oath to any person that would be speaking on this item. Mayor Featherman opened the Public Hearing. Staff Presentation: Building Official Mike Desorcv read the application into the record. He stated this application was approved by the Planning Board on November 13, 2013. Plans and construction documents were reviewed and they meet the Highland Beach zoning requirements. Letters of approval from the DEP and Army Corp of Engineers were included in the file. The Commission had no questions of the Building Official. No Public Comments were received. Mayor Featherman closed the Public Hearing. MOTION: Commissioner Sheridan moved to approve the Special Exception for a 5,000 Lb. Boat Lift on property located at 4404 Intracoastal Drive. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman ROLL CALL: Commissioner Sheridan - Yes Commissioner Feldman — Yes Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion passed with a 4 -0 vote. B) PUBLIC HEARING: (Quasi4udicial Hearing) Town Commission to consider a Special Exception for a 20,000 LB. Boat lift on property located at 4208 Tranquility Drive. Town Clerk Brown read the Petition and Notice provided to the Public into the record. Request of a Special Exception for the construction of a 20,000 lb. elevator boat lift on property located at 4208 Tranquility Drive. Town Attorney Torcivia asked the Commissioners if they have had any ex parte communications regarding this matter. Vice Mayor Brown — I have had communication with several of the residents in Bel Lido and will be able to make my decision based on the evidence presented today. Mayor Featherman — I have also spoken to several people who have come to my office and will be able to make my decision based on the evidence presented today. Town Attomev Torcivia asked Town Clerk Brown to Administer the Oath to anyone who is going to speak Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 7 of 14 Mayor Featherman opened the Public Hearing. Building Official Mike Desorcv_ read the application into the record. This application was presented to the Planning Board and approved on November 13, 2013. The plans meet the Town of Highland Beach Zoning and other governmental agency requirements. Comm. Feldman — Did the different agencies review it also? Building Official Desorcy — Yes they did. I have a letter of approval from the Department of Environment Protection. The Army Corp of Engineers does not have jurisdiction on an interior canal. Vice Mayor Brown — I understand it has been approved by you and the Planning Board with exception. Building Official Desorcy — Yes it has. Reflectors are to be added to the outside pilings to aid in navigation on that canal. Public Comments: John Rand 4211 Intracoastal Drive — This proposed lift is a matter of concern for about 15 individual homeowners. As one of these homeowners, I vehemently oppose the lift as it is being proposed. I am questioning the wording Special Exception and whether a building permit has been obtained and approved. I am making you aware that the builder started construction on this project before the Board met and continued construction after the Board met. Sally Shutt, 1083 Bel Lido Drive — Mrs. Shutt read two letters into the record; one from Evelyn DiSimone, 4221 Intracoastal Drive objecting to the approval of the boat lift and the other from George Barlow, 1984 Bel Lido Dr. who also objects to the approval of the boat lift. I am concerned if you approve this, you will be approving more and more and then it will look like Ft. Lauderdale. This is my objection to this boat lift. Silvio Blaskovic 1120 Highland Beach Dr. — I am objecting to the approval of this boat lift. I feel it should not be there. Mr. Blaskovic submitted a picture of the type of boat lift that people will be looking at if installed and a picture of what Bel Lido Isle looked like back in 1968 when he moved here. He feels the boat lift does not meet the code which he read into the record and feels it should not be approved. He also believes the boat lifts are only used to keep the barnacles off the bottom of the boat. Eugene Garrett , 1070 Bel Lido Drive — I support the position of the residents who just spoke and ask that you do the same. You have to consider what the affect is going to be on the people who have to live with this everyday visually. The Petitioner had no statement to make. Mayor Featherman closed the Public Hearing. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 8 of 14 Commission Discussion: Comm. Feldman — Is the reflective tape the special exception for the application? Building Official Desorcv — No it is not. All boat lifts, no matter what size, are a special exception and must go to the Commission for approval. It is in the Town Code. Comm. Sheridan — If every boat lift is a special exception and we have permitted other boat lifts what is our liability if we don't agree to this exception. Town Attorney Torcivia — The Building Official has always determined the Code. The dock cannot extend more than five feet but a boat lift is different. The Commission decided some time ago that they wanted to hear each one of these boat lift applications after it was brought before the Planning Board for approval. Vice Mayor Brown — In our Code the five feet refers to the docks not extending into the waterway. It is referred to as a mooring structure that you would tie a boat to and not a lift. The width of this lift is twelve feet. I disagree with Mr. Blaskovic's statement about the only reason for the lift is to keep the bottom of the boat clean. We live in a hurricane prone area and the safest place for a boat is to put it up on its lift and secure it on that lift. Mr. Rand talked about fifteen homeowners rejecting it. They did not have the time to come and voice their opinion. We are looking at a minority here versus a majority of the people who either have no opinion or they approve it. I know several who have said they approve it. Mayor Featherman made an analogy regarding an airport in the Town he lived in before coming to Florida. It was to extend the airport runways. It was denied by the Council because residents came forward expressing their disapproval. While people have attitudes that change over time, these are things that we have to expect. Everything that was said here today was proper and correct but we have to think about that before we vote. MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to approve the Special Exception for the construction of a 20,000 lb. elevator boat lift on property located at 4208 Tranquility Drive. Motion seconded by Commissioner Feldman. ROLL CALL: Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Commissioner Feldman - Yes Commissioner Sheridan - Yes Mayor Featherman - No Motion passed with a 3 to 1 vote. C) Commission to Authorize Town Manager to sign a Contract for IT Services for the Police Department with EssentialNet Solutions in the amount of $575.00 per month. Town Manager Weiser — This item was budgeted but we need to bring the contract to you in the amount of $575.00 per month. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 9 of 14 Comm. Feldman — I have some questions regarding this contract. (Commissioner Feldman read the part of the contract describing all the services that EssentialNet will be doing.) Stated that he does not see how they can do all this for $575.00. Town Manager Weiser stated that it is a service contract. Comm. Feldman — Will they be doing the repairs off site? Police Chief Hartmann — Yes, they will be able to do this remotely and that is why they can do it at this cost. They have the background and expertise to manage all these services. You incur very little cost if they have to come out outside that timeframe they have allotted to take care of the computer systems. MOTION: Commissioner Sheridan moved to accept the contract for IT Services for the Police Department at $575.00 per month, and to authorize the Town Manager to sign the contract. Motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Sheridan - Yes Vice Mayor Brown - Yes Commissioner Feldman - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion passed with a 4 -0 vote. D) Commission to authorize a letter of "No Objection" on behalf of the Granfondo Garneau Florida Ride, Sunday, March 23, 2014. Town Manager Weiser — This is a ride you have approved before. I am also adding another bike ride. It is the South Florida cycling event "Ride with Heart" that it will take place on Sunday, February 9 Both have said their riders have been instructed to obey all traffic signs and follow the rules of the road. MOTION: Commissioner Sheridan moved to authorize a letter of "No Objection" to the two cycling events: Granfondo Garneau and Ride with Heart. Motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Brown. A voice vote was taken with all in favor. Motion passed with a 4 -0 vote. Town Manager Weiser — Do you want me to continue to bring these to you for approval or do you want me to approve them and let you know? Comm. Feldman — I think you can approve them and let us know in advance. E) Commission to Declare certain Property Surplus and Authorize Disposal. Town Manager Weiser — This is a list of surplus items that we no longer have any use for. The Town will dispose of the property either by sale, recycle or destruction. It is very minor equipment. The highest value is about $25.00. MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to declare certain property surplus and authorize disposal. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 10 of 14 Motion passes with 4 to 0 voice vote. F) Discussion on the refurbishing of the Town Hall and Police Dept. Comm. Feldman — On December 3 rd at the Regular Meeting the Commissioners passed a motion to authorize staff to negotiate a contract for a Construction Manager at Risk Services with BSA Corp. to renovate the Commission Chambers and Police Station. The motion passed 3 to 2. I voted no because I did not agree with the process of the selection and the assignment. At that meeting I asked Finance Director Curtis if we had a final engineering architectural drawing plan and he stated yes. The Town Manager Weiser stated that the plans are what you have seen. I asked to review the plans and at that time Finance Director Curtis said we don't have them yet. For that reason I don't feel we should commit the Town to any agreements or contracts until the final engineering and architectural drawings are submitted because there are so many variations that can then kick in. Town Manager Weiser — They will be presented to you when we bring the contract back. They were going to meet with the construction manager and fine tune any last changes and then that will be brought to you together with the contract. It will all come together. They have the drawings that you have seen and they will fine tune them. Comm. Feldman — The drawings that we have seen are the drawings that I have. It doesn't show anything. Town Manager Weiser — That is just an elevation. All the other plans will come to you with the contract. That is what they are looking at to see if they can save the Town money. Comm. Feldman — Based on the motion that was passed, it means that you are moving ahead without getting the plans. Town Manager Weiser — No, a Construction Manager fine tunes the plans to see if they can save the Town money. Once they do that they give you a price; bring it to you and tell you that this is what they are recommending. Comm. Feldman — If I come in to Town Hall, can I see the plans? Finance Director Curtis — What you have is a 95 to 100% complete document. Our architect submitted a proposal and the drawing you have, along with a detailed backup down to the amount of nails that would be needed to do this job. The Contractor is going to look at that estimate and the drawings. At the last meeting, what you essentially did was approve the result of our ranking. That allowed us to take the next step, and engage with this Contractor, to draft a contract to bring back to you that has a full construction price. The complete sets of drawings along with all the mechanicals are in the Chief's Office. Mayor Featherman — We really need three bids and we only had two bids for the Construction Manager. I want to know if we are in violation of our Resolution that states anything over $2500 needs three bids. Town Attorney Torcivia — You can't force people to bid. We solicited proposals and those were the only two that bid. You are okay because you tried to get more proposals. Mayor Featherman — I still am concerned about getting three bids on this project. Town Manager Weiser — The Federal Government requires that their projects follow the procedure that we are following. They recommend that you use this process because it saves you money. G) Adding a non - binding question on the ballot. Comm. Feldman — In March of 2013, Attorney Torcivia stated that those residents wanting to roll back the spending limit on any project costing more than $350,000 can do so by having approximately 380 people sign a petition requesting to add a referendum to the March 2014 ballot. In 2013 I had over 250 signatures on spending limits and presented it to the Commission and they said not enough to sway them. I would like to have a ballot question added to this year's March 2014 Municipal election. The ballot question that Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 11 of 14 I am proposing is a non - binding ballot. All I am looking for is to find out what the residents want. The ballot could read: "Any project costing more than $500,000 would require a resident's referendum vote of approval per project ?" Respond - Yes or No ". Comm. Sheridan — We appointed a special committee to review the Charter. I believe there were eight people involved; some of which were on the Finance Board and this is what they came back to the Commission with. The Commission approved it. I don't understand why, after this has been done, we are going to do it again. Vice Mayor Brown — I agree with Commissioner Sheridan. Every time we get a new person on the Commission, we cannot go back and redo what we have already done. This was already approved by the Commission and therefore I am not in favor of redoing something that has already been done. Mayor Featherman — I voted against that raise. I agree with Commissioner Feldman. Comm. Feldman — By a non - binding ballot, I would like to see what the people of the Town actually want. My question to the Town Attorney is if I can make a motion of a non - binding ballot? Town Attorney Torcivia — Yes, you can. MOTION: Commissioner Feldman moved to add a non - binding question on the ballot that: "Any Town project costing more than $500,000 would require a resident's referendum vote of approval per project ?" Respond - Yes or No. Mayor Featherman passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Brown and then proceeded to second the Motion. Vice Mayor Brown called for a Roll Call vote. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Feldman - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Commissioner Sheridan - No Vice Mayor Brown - No Motion failed with a 2 -2 vote. Vice Mayor Brown turned the meeting back over to Mayor Featherman. 8. MISCELLANEOUS — ITEMS LEFT OVER: A) Approval of Minutes November 26, 2013 — Workshop Meeting December 3, 2013 — Regular Meeting No corrections were received. Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 12 of 14 MOTION: Vice Mayor Brown moved to accept the minutes as submitted. Motion seconded by Commissioner Sheridan. A voice vote was taken with all in favor. 9. REPORTS — TOWN COMMISSION: A) Commissioner Carl Feldman — Some of our residents have indicated to me that they cannot get Channel 99 and would like to see our meetings. Is there anything that can be done? Zoie Burgess, Assistant to the Town Manager - Unfortunately Comcast does not seem to be up to date with their services. There is nothing that the Town could do but make a call on your behalf. I can provide a number to anyone that calls that would enable you to get someone you can talk with directly. Depending on the technician that comes to your home, you will get some type of fix for whatever problem you are having. Being near the salt water and having old lines, the system seems to be going down. We have been looking into AT &T Universe. However, they don't consider themselves cable. Only Comcast is carrying Channel 99. Comm. Feldman — Is there anything we can do when we rebuild our Town Hall with the transmission? Zoie Burgess — Yes, definitely. B) Commissioner Louis P. Stern — Not in attendance. C) Commissioner Dennis J. Sheridan - The DOT has been notified that our asphalt is now six weeks old, and the base of the remaining parts that were not sealed will be done within the next two weeks. Then our entire walkway will be complete. Bill Moore spoke with the DOT regarding replacing the walkway signs in the middle of the street that have been taken down by vehicles. They should be replaced within the next week or ten days. Our ladder truck has been out of service once again for the past three weeks. Due to the age, the parts needed are not available and will have to specially make. I spoke to Chief Connor and it is unknown when this truck will be returned to us. She also mentioned that she hopes there will be an answer sometime in April with the negotiations between Palm Beach County and the Delray Fire Department. When it is finally settled, the first topic on her agenda will be the replacement of the fire truck here in Highland Beach. She also pointed out to me, and the residents probably don't realize this, any of these trucks on loan from Delray come to us absolutely at no cost. They are taking a truck away from their service in Delray and providing it to us. They are not obligated to do it and it will stop in the near future. D) Vice Mayor Brown — I would like to thank the Town Staff for the wonderful luncheon for Jack Lee's retirement party. I would like to welcome Ed. I take exception to the gentleman who was badmouthing our beach. I go to the beach a lot and I think our beach is a beautiful stretch of land that is public beach, private entrance. We also talked about speed limit on the Intracoastal. We have discussed this many times before and at this point we are beating a dead horse. I would like to talk about the boat lifts. There were things said that was misinformation. The gentleman has not started construction on the boat lift. He had construction on his dock which was approved. The special exception is just that. We as a Commission make the final decision one way or the other. I agree with the Mayor; we are moving forward. One of the things I try to impart to all of the people that came to me was I am the Vice Mayor of Town Commission Regular Minutes January 7, 2014 Page 13 of 14 Highland Beach, and I try to abide by what our Codes say, not by approving special exceptions without keeping an open mind to hear what others say. E) Mayor Featherman - I would also like to welcome Ed and wish him lots of luck. Today we had additions to the agenda for less than 24 hours before the meeting and did not have time to review it. I would like to request that we receive these in time to be able to review them. As far as the question of Bel Lido, people do change their attitudes over the years. If they don't want something and come out and say it, I think we have to listen to them a little bit more. 10. REPORTS — TOWN ATTORNEY: Regarding the issues of the waterway and the bicyclist, we have discussed this many times and there is not much we can do. Bikers do have a right under state law to be there. I appreciate your welcoming Brian Shutt. 11. REPORTS —TOWN MANAGER: No Report. 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING: Peter Rodis, 3400 S. Ocean Blvd — If a percentage of our Town residents want to have a referendum on the amount of money that can be spent, I don't understand how they can affect change if they are not allowed to affect change. The reality is, when you have a number of people in a small community as beautiful as ours who want to affect change on the budget and you don't let them voice their opinion and eventually change that reality, I think we are making a terrible mistake. 13. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman adjourned the Regular Meeting at 3:44 PM upon a MOTION by Vice Mayor Brown; seconded by Commissioner Feldman. APPROVED: Bernard Featherman, Mayor ^L A t-- Ron Brown, Vice Mayor Town Commission Regular Minutes Jan 7 2014 Page 14 of 14 �o Dennis JIS ' , Commissioner Lo to , o is 'oner Carl ldman, Commissioner ATTEST: Beverly M. Brown, C Town Clerk . ��' �� A Date