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1987.02.24_TC_Minutes_SpecialTOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA Minutes of Meeting of Town Commission SPECIAL MEETING i Tuesday, February 24, 1987 3:00 P.M. The Special Meeting of the Town Commission was called to order by Mayor Edward J. Sullivan in the Town Commission Chambers at Town Hall. Also present were Vice Mayor Mary Louise Blosser and Town Commissioners John J. Basso, William A. Grier and Betty Jean Stewart. Also present were Town Manager Hugh D. Williams, Town Attorney Thomas E. Sliney, Town Clerk Mary Ann Mariano and members of the general public. Mayor Sullivan noted that the purpose of the Special Meeting was to consider an agreement between the Town of Highland Beach and The Clarendon for the installation of a communications antenna for use with the Boca Raton Communications system for police communications. Attorney Sliney noted that the agreement as approved by the Clarendon had no substantial changes from the prior agreement approved by the Town Commission in March of 1986. Vice Mayor Blosser expressed her concern regarding liability factors with running any wires through the elevator shafts and for any access to the rooftop area where the antenna is proposed to be installed. Attorney Sliney stated that the Town's only liability would be limited to the terms of the Town's contract with Boca Raton for the use of the • antenna. Mr. Williams noted that the Town had already paid Boca Raton $25,000 toward the new communications system and that this antenna was an intrical part of same. MOTION was then made by COMMISSIONER BASSO/COMMISSIONER CRIER to approve the agreement between the Town of Highland Beach and The Clarendon for the installation of a communications antenna to be used in conjunction with the Boca Raton Communications system and to authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. Vice Mayor Blosser voted no. The Mayor and remainder of the Town Commission voted aye. The MOTION carried 4 to 1. There being no further business to come before the Town Commission at this Special Meeting, same was adjourned at 3:20 P.M. APPROVED: MA R BETTY JEAN 5TEWART • ATTEST: D AT E: ~~~~ 7 s ~F' 7 VICE .MAY R MA13,Y LOUISE G. BLOSSER dd~~ I NER JOHN J. BASSO .~ ,' ~- OMMISSIONER DAV D T. RO INSON ~-- ~, . t----~ ISSI~ER ROBERT F. SCHOL ti ~l-- ~' ..... • Feb . 24 , 1987 Let us NOT confuse the issues. Interference in the election per se is not the proper business of this Commission. The business of this Commission is to uphold the Town Charter, the Town Ordinances, and all the other laws to which we have sworn observance...as well as to handle whatever else may be properly considered Town Business. Accordinly, I wrote a letter to the Town Attorney on Feb. 12, 1987. My letter dealt with two aspects that properly are the concern of this Commission: 1) the assumption of valid candidacies as a prerequisite to the required certification after election, and 2) the conduct of the business of this Commission. It should be noted that nowhere in my letter did I mention blocking a candidacy, striking anyone's name from a ballot, or issue a legal challenge. (Will the Town Clerk please now read for the record, first, the Sun-Sentinel article of Feb. 12, and then my letter to the Town Attorney, -~l~~ase • ) To continue: Regarding certification: To me it means that I would personally attest that the election was proper in that all candidates qualified in compliance with the Town Charter; that as far as I could- know, the election itself was properly conducted; and that the vote tally givenrus resulted in specific numbers of votes for each candidate. In other words, it's a matter of personal integrity. I have observed the laws anc+ served this Town to the best of my ability. I have never lied, and I don't intend to start doing so Vice Mayor Blosser - 2 - • • Regarding the conduct of Town business: The Sun-Sentinel article of Feb. 1?_ presented facts and raised questions which in my mind demanded action. The article placed this Commission in a 'Catch 22' position-- either7ask the Town Attorney to investigate, OR,k~ be prepared subsequently ti to read well-deserved articles to the effect that the Highland Beach Commission sits on its hands, doesn't observe its own charter, silently acquiesces, etc. Once it had been raised, the issue could not have been expected to disappear. That fact should have been obvious to anyone who has watched TV or read a newspaper in this post-Watergate era. Public officials have public responsibilities. I looked forward to seeing some additional letters by Commission members to the Town Attorney--or at least one from the current mayor or .~ ita '7~ r" t ~~ f the mayor presumptive. I am informed that there were fle~re. If that is the case, I am ashamed of the apparent disregard on the part of my fellow Commissioners for the reputation of this Town as well as for the reputation of this body. I have too much respect for my fellow residents in Highland Beach to participate in seeing this town made a laughing stock. Pegarding the Town Attorney's letter to the Town Manager, dated Feb. 18, 1987, of which we all have copies, Mr. Sliney has written his opinion. It is my right to accept it or to reject it. It does NOT uphold or defend our ordinances or the Town Charter. Every office in this nation ,from the Presidency on down, has qualifying requirements of same kind. To indicate that the only means • of enforcing properly drawn and properly processed qualification requirements is by a judicial decision makes a mockery of the work done over many years by governmental bodies in the drafting of qualifications. Vice Mayor Blosser - 3 - ;,, w It makes a mockery of the entire process. Ordinances 422 and 517, pertinent to this issue, were drafted and approved by the present Town Attorney--who now doesn't wish to defend the very legislation he said was legal. Several of us now seated approved those ordinances on the basis of presumed legality: In 1981--Sullivan and Blosser, with Basso absent. In 1985--Basso, Stewart and Blosser. Mr. Sliney, however, now tells us in effect that to all intents and purposes, these ordinances and this section of the Charter are useless and not worth the paper they are written on. I disagree and reject his opinion. I feel certain that electoral qualifications are fully defensible when there is a desire to defend them, and that in many other communities, in ,gable similar instances, they have been successfully defended. In conclusion, I hereby request that the following public documents and this statement be permanently attached to the minutes of this meeting for the information of future Commissions, staff, and registered voters including prospective candidates: Sun-Sentinel article of Feb. 12, 1987. My letter to the Town Attorney of Feb. 12, 1987. Ordinances 422 and 517. The Town Attorney's reply, addressed to the Town Manager, dated Feb. 18, 1987. -0- Siatt photo/PNIL SKINNER substance. ling i; centers should be built ons. Major six-lane road that another major six-lane to build the shop- i here isn't any bet- ~ping center in he coun- htmind is going to build 's at a major intersec- being discriminated inctir~ for all in this Ina stt'onHly wattled letter to Nayur Uoak Campbell, Leadership Cablevision asked that the City Commission withhold renewal of a franchise agreement for its competitor Sunbelt Denntronics Cable Ltd. after Sunbelt extended its cable service be- yond its approved service area. Leadership also asked that any expansion of Sunbelt's service area be denied by the commission. Sunbelt had requested Tuesday night that the commission accept a new fran- chise agreement to include the expanded area. The commission did approve a new agreement for Sunbelt but said that Sun- belt would have to apply for an expansion of its service area. All cable' companies must get the city's permission to operate in Delray Beach. And the companies' service areas are lim- ited by the city. Uels ;,alp! U+e caV1e w~,s ul5uatlcu lulu uur partially developed neighborhood after residents there had requested service. Sun- belt was unaware it had violated its fran- chise agreement, he said. Chambers said the expansion is neces- sary to increase the company's customer base and meet rising cost of doing business. "I apologize if we went in error," Cham- bers said. "We only realized we were out- sideour area after our competition pointed it out to us." Sunbelt's franchise area covers about 13 square miles west of Interstate 95. The company has 800 customers in Delray Beach, about 680 of which live in the Pines of Delray development. Leadership serves the rest of the city. Officials from Leadership, a subsidiary SEE CA®LE /2 Highland can~date may be unable to run By ELAINE A. ELLIS and NEIL SANTANIELLO slan w.ne.s HIGHLAND $EACH -Town Commis- sion candidate David Robinson may not have Lived in town long enough to seek of- fice, according to county records. To qualify for election, a candidate must be a resident of the town and a registered voter in-the town's precinct for one year prior t0. the qualifying date, according to the town eharter. Robinson, however, stated his address was 2000 Presidential Way in West Palm Beach when he filed his campaign report as a Palm Beach County Commission can- didate in July 1986, said Palm Beach Coun- ty Supervisor of Elections Jackie Winches- ter. Seven months after this campaign re- purt was filed ,showing the West Palm Beach address, Robinson, 49, entered the Highland Beach Town Commission .race stating his address as 3912 S. Ocean Blvd. in Highland Beach. "Until the town has something to say, I have no comment," Robinson said Wednes- day from his condominium at the Regency Highland. "Obviously I feel I'm qualified to run or I wouldn't have filed." Robinson said that he owned his High- land Beach property throughout his bid for the co~snty cornmissioa seat, stating, "1 have been a resident of the town of High- land Beach for five years." In January 1986 Robinson filed to run for the Palm Beach County Commission seat held at the time by Commissioner Ken Spillias. ; In -June, however, he withdrew .from the race citing lack of time to suc- eessinlly pursue the leak - The county voter registration records show that a change was made to Robin- son's voter registration on July 22, 1986, but the change is not specified. Winchester said it has been up to the courts to decide what provides proof of i es- idency, but oftentimes it is voter registra- tion. Town Attorney Thomas Sliney had no comment on the situation, stating he had not been asked to investigate, but would be happy to do so if the town officials request- ed him to. e e +l n ;- e k