Loading...
2017.01.27_TC_Minutes_Special u TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING SPECIAL MEETING Friday, January 27, 2017 9:30 AM Mayor Featherman called the Special Meeting to order in the Town Hall Commission Chambers at 9:30 AM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members Present: Mayor Bernard Featherman; Vice Mayor William Weitz, Ph.D.; Commissioner Carl Feldman, Commissioner Louis Stern (joined the meeting by telephone) and Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker. Also present: Interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes; Town Attorney Glen Torcivia; Deputy Town Clerk Lanelda Gaskins; Finance Director Cale Curtis and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a moment of silence. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Deputy Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS,DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA: Mayor Featherman called for additions or deletions to the agenda. Item 3B: Interim Town Manager Oakes added the AT&T Primary Rate Interface Extension Agreement. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS: Ron Brown, 4319 Tranquility Drive—Father Horgan, Pastor of St. Lucy's Church asked me to read the following statement: "Our Church and the Town has had a wonderful relationship, and I want this relationship to continue for many years to come. I am making St. Lucy's Church available for the municipal election that will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, without any reservation." Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 2 of 9 3. NEW BUSINESS: A) Consideration for Town Commission to Change the Polling Location for the March 14, 2017 Municipal Election. Town Attorney Torcivia—The purpose of the agenda was regarding the polling location. There was a letter received from the church indicating that because of a dispute with a certain individual the church was not going to be available. I wrote back to the church to let them know that the Town has no role in the dispute between the private individual and the church and that we hope it will be resolved. I received a response saying that they still would like the Town to be involved in trying to resolve the dispute. There has been some correspondence between Susan Bucher, Supervisor of Elections and Interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes regarding, if the dispute was not resolved and the church was not available, where would the election be. Valerie suggested Town Hall and the Supervisor of Elections suggested Gumbo Limbo, which is outside of the Town limits. This is news to us that we just heard St. Lucy's would be available. From the Commission's standpoint, what are your thoughts? From the Supervisor's standpoint, that has always been her preferred location for years. Commission Discussion: Vice Mayor Weitz — I appreciate the good news because if the appropriate steps had been taken weeks ago, we would not be having this meeting today. Let's rehash the facts here. An individual and the church got into some type of conflict dispute. It was a resident of the Town and not a Town personnel, Commissioner or an agent of the Town who got into some issues around the allegation that the church was engaged in an inappropriate election hearing. There were some issues in terms of behavior and statements which resulted in a second interaction with that individual and the church at which point the church sent a letter to the Town basically making two demands. One was that the Town get engaged and involved in somehow coercing, forcing this individual to apologize and retract his statement. Should this ever go to a court of law, between the church and the individual, not the Town, there is no indication who would prevail in terms of that situation. We do not know who is telling the truth. To retract a statement that we do not know the veracity of the truthfulness of it, that is between the individual and the church. Be aware that this Town and this Commission had no involvement in this matter. The Town Attorney sent a letter to the church indicating that. We do not control an individual of this Town with respect to things he may have done. It is not our responsibility, and we do not want to get engaged legally. In the letter that we received was a direct statement that if the apology and retraction were not made, we could not use the church. That was an inappropriate ultimatum on a governing body that had no involvement in this dispute. I am not saying that the church is wrong and does not have issues with what took place, we are just not a part of it. There was a demand with a date and if this was done by that certain date, we could not park there either. This was a threat made by an entity in the Town. Time is running out. The date that was specified would run out the clock if the apology was not made. This is the end of January and we have an election coming up March 14th. Candidates want Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 3 of 9 to get their materials made up. Until this morning we were under an ultimatum that there was no election. Suddenly there is a change of heart. I guess it was a magical intervention. The two conflicting parties were the church and the individual. To my knowledge, no correspondence or communication and none of the letters we received ever went to the alleged offending party. This was never an attempt to resolve a conflict. The two people in the conflict were not engaged. Somehow the Town became engaged and dragged into this. Now we are being told the church is available. I know why the church is available. There are certain candidates in this room that would benefit having the election in the church. This has been an allegation for years. For those of you who do not remember, this is not the first time this has happened. This happened once before when a church official made remarks that were overheard, not only by candidates but by election officials, in terms of not liking an outcome of the election and wanting to stop the elections in the church. That is on record, official and verifiable. This is round two. At that time, the Commission voted 5 to 0 to support moving the elections out of the church. It went to the Supervisor of Elections and she made a determination that she could not support that. The issue that has been maintained all along by the election official is parking. That is an irrelevant, trivial and ridiculous quantifier. I spent 12 hours on Election Day when I ran for election and there were so few cars in the parking lot at any given time. I have pictures of that parking lot over the course of seven to eight hours. We have plenty of parking that can handle this election. Our police have indicated that they can handle this election. Our election official has indicated that we can handle this election. We have the polling places, the parking and the police support and security. In elections today, many people vote by absentee ballot or early voting. I know I am covering this in detail because it is time these issues get on the table. We did not initiate a fight with the church. This Town had nothing to do with this. We are a victim in this because the ultimatums and demands were made to us by and independent entity. Twice in two years, we have had that threat. I am making a motion. MOTION: Vice Mayor Weitz moved to have the election held in Highland Beach at the Town facilities and allow the Town to handle this in a neutral independent site available to all voters of all denominations of all backgrounds, and for once and for all establish our autonomy. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Zelniker. Commission discussion: Commissioner Feldman—As a resident of Highland Beach, I am very happy with what I just heard at 9:35 today. It cleared the air and I think that is the most important thing in Highland Beach. If we can have the election there, that is fine. If we can have the election here, it is also fine. The main thing is that the air is cleared and we can go ahead with the election. There is only one thing that I can see with an election anywhere at this particular junction. We have eight candidates. I think it is a religious intrusion on the people going to three masses on that date plowing through these candidates. If we have the election at the church, and I would like to see it there, I would like to have a candidate free zone from the church to the beginning of the parking lot. The reason being is the parishioners going to mass have to go through these candidates. I have been Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 4 of 9 at many elections. People have been handing out sandwiches, candy bars, approaching them with pens and pencils. This is really a church and you have to respect it. So, if we are going to have it at the church can we do something like that? I know it would have to be agreed upon within the candidates because the federal code says you can't do this. I want to make it a very civil area if we could keep it that way. Commissioner Stern — I think it is terrible that this individual can hold up the Town of Highland Beach. I am sorry that this individual is a candidate. I think the church has been very benevolent in allowing us to come back there, and I agree with Commissioner Feldman that we should have a zone where you have your table and do not approach people who come in. It should be at the church. It is easier for parking, easier for the candidates and easier on the Town without having to involve the entire Police Department. I would vote only to do it at the church, and I thank Ron Brown for being an intermediator in getting Father Horgan to agree to allow us to come back. I don't want to be held hostage by any individual. I want it at the church. Commissioner Zelniker— I grew up on Long Island in a small town and have always had separation of church and state. We had a very little town hall and always voted there. We had a renovation here for $1.5 million and we have this room and the Library. I do believe we can work it out. We have wonderful police officers. I think it is part of the charm of a small town to have its elections in its town hall. Ron Brown is a candidate running in an election. He is speaking on behalf of the church. There is a conflict between church and state in my mind. I believe the election should be held in our Town Hall. We have the facilities to do it. It is our Town and it should be a very neutral spot to have an election. Town Attorney Torcivia — There is a motion on the floor, and if that motion prevails, I imagine that Interim Town Manager Oakes and I will be communicating with the Supervisor of Elections to see what her position is going to be on that. Historically the law reads that whenever the Supervisor of Elections of a County determines that the accommodations are unavailable, she then gets to designate another place. At this point it sounds like the accommodations are available, so I do not know what her position is going to be. This is the polling place until it is changed. It sounds like the motion is going to be to change the polling place to Town Hall in which case we will communicate with Susan Bucher, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections. There will be the discussion with that office as to whether they are agreeable to moving. As you know from the correspondence when it appeared that St. Lucy's Church would not be available her suggestion was Gumbo Limbo. We have already communicated to her that we did not think that would be acceptable to the Town since it is over three miles away and has less parking (48 spaces and we have 57 spaces). My speculation is that the Supervisor is going to stand firm that the polling place will be at St. Lucy's Church since it is no longer unavailable. If that is her position, then at next Tuesday's meeting, we will have to continue a discussion to see whether we go to court over that issue or not. It is all speculation until we hear back from her. Everything depends on whether the motion passes, we communicate with the Supervisor and we see what her reaction is. Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 5 of 9 Vice Mayor Weitz — I understand this last minute attempt to save the election at the church. There were weeks involved where this could have been resolved. One has to ask why. This is simply a political stunt to retain the election at the church to benefit certain candidates. I do not think that is the role of the Supervisor of Election to support that kind of action that has political implications. This Town has the right to hold independent and fair elections at a neutral site. For those who are not aware, certain candidates have been slurred at that site with a variety of comments based upon a variety of race, religion, and ethnicity on Election Day. Let us get that into the public. We should not have to be subjected to those kinds of statements made by some, not all, when we run a Town election. Twice it has been mandated by the church because of outcomes of the election, that we not be allowed to have elections there. This is not about making difficulty with the church. We did not create this. This is a matter of the church creating difficulty with the Town. I am asking for this Commission to finally go on record to say we are big boys, and we can hold an election and have it on a neutral site. We do not have to combine church and state and we do not have to be subject to intimidation. If it means that we have to present this in court, and I do not know what the Supervisor of Elections' issues are, parking is not it. There are plenty of parking spaces. Commissioner Feldman — To calm the atmosphere down a little, I think it should be brought to a vote. Commissioner Stern — The people of this Town are so used to going to St. Lucy's Church that I do not want anybody not going to vote. I also think we will disrupt our Town by closing the Library and the Town Hall for a whole day. I think we need to be at St. Lucy's Church which people are used to and parking is easier. Everyone is expected to go there and Susan Bucher has not yet authorized us to have it in the Town. I am in favor of St. Lucy's Church and it is not political. They just want to make it easier for the residents of this Town. Commissioner Zelniker— I disagree with Commissioner Stern on one thing. The people of this Town are very intelligent and change is always hard in life. There is nothing like a hometown election in your beautiful new creation which Ron Brown was part of. I think our community can live one day without our Library being open. It adds a great deal of charm and gives you Town pride. It is really the right thing to do. Commissioner Feldman — My fellow Commissioners made some good points but some points that are not correct. In the last few elections, Ron Brown lost, and he is a member of the church. Ron Clark lost and I am sitting here. The other Commissioners who are sitting here are not members of the church. That might not be a valid comment because if that was a valid comment, we would all join the church if we were running for office. To have a fair election, you have to control the candidates on the property and control the signs in Town, which we cannot. We have eight candidates and that can be 80 signs in a three mile stretch. If the candidates use some restraint, we will have a wonderful election wherever it is. Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 6 of 9 u Vice Mayor Weitz — You know very well that the outcome of an election does not determine the voting strength and the voting block where people are getting support from. The bottom line is that you know very well which candidates would prefer to have it in the church and for what reasons. To say that some of them might win, does not mean that that is not where the voting block and their strength is. The reason we are here today is because the church, for whatever reason at a different time, gave us an ultimatum that we could not use the church. Now the fight is let us bring it back. This is not about the original problem. The original problem was a conflict between the church and an individual resident. Now the conflict is to bring it back to the church and find all the resources to bring it back. Do you think those resources and those efforts are being made for no reason? Do you really believe that? Commissioner Feldman — I have to. Vice Mayor Weitz — This Town Hall is two blocks from the church. It is no inconvenience for residents to come to Town Hall. We have the parking. All the reasons given why we should have it somewhere else have no credibility except for the fact that there are excuses as to why certain people want to bring it back to another location. There is no validity in those arguments. There could be many people who might like it here. This Town has changed demographically. Mayor Feartherman — I am very saddened by this situation and I certainly hope that we do the right thing. ROLL CALL: Vice Mayor Weitz - Yes Commissioner Zelniker - Yes Commissioner Feldman - No Commissioner Stern - Yes Mayor Featherman - Yes Motion carried 3 to 2. Town Attorney Torcivia — Interim Town Manager Oakes and I will communicate with the Supervisor of Elections and let her know of the Town's decision. I will assume that by next Tuesday we will have a response from her and we can discuss what her response is going to be. B) AT&T Primary Rate Interface Extension Agreement Interim Town Manager Oakes — I have added an item to the agenda regarding the AT&T Primary Rate Interface Extension Agreement. I would like to call up the Finance Director as he met with our contacts at AT&T. Finance Director Cale Curtis — We are adding this on for good reason as it will ultimately save the Town money as well as give me time to negotiate a new deal with AT&T. The Town uses AT&T for all of its phone services and some of its internet services. The current technology used by AT&T is outdated and very costly for them to Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 7 of 9 maintain. Their new technology, fiber, is easy to maintain. The agreement before you is a short term agreement and locks in our current rate for the next 12 months as we put together a proposal and a solution to move over to the fiber lines as well as negotiate a new agreement. We are looking for substantial savings by moving over to the new technology, somewhere in the neighborhood of$2,700 a month. I will also reach out to Comcast to see if there is a comparison. Commission Discussion: Commissioner Feldman — I have had meetings with Comcast for our condominium and they are coming up with many great ideas. They would probably be willing to do a lot of this and come forward if we give them the year. Vice Mayor Weitz — It makes sense to try and integrate our services so we do not have multiple carriers servicing different components of the Town. MOTION: Commissioner Feldman moved to authorize the Town Manager to sign the agreement. The motion was seconded by Vice Mayor Weitz, which passed unanimously, 4. REPORTS—TOWN COMMISSION: A) Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker— I read that the law says the Town of Highland Beach decides the voting site in municipal elections. The Supervisor of Elections decides state and federal. Is this correct? Town Attorney Torcivia — That is going to be our position when we contact the Supervisor of Elections. B) Commissioner Carl Feldman — I am very pleased with the way the meeting went today. This Commission is doing a good job on presenting both sides and all sides of this situation. We all work together. I want to welcome Commissioner Stern back, at least on the phone, and I hope to see him in person at the next meeting. C) Commissioner Louis Stern — I will see you on Tuesday. Thank you for allowing me to participate today. D) Vice Mayor William Weitz — We miss Commissioner Stern and would rather see him here in person. We wish you improved health and strength. I thought long and hard about how this Town was dragged into a situation that we had no party to. This concerns me because we spent a great deal of time and expended resources to deal with this situation. I hope that the headline does not read "Highland Beach removes the voting place from the local church." The reality is the headline should read "The church eliminated the voting from the Town from the church for weeks." This Town is an autonomous, independent government body and needs to act accordingly. I hope that is the way the residents of this Town take it and understands it. Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 8 of 9 E) Mayor Bernard Featherman — I am very sorry that things like this came about. It is affecting all our candidates, our church and the community itself. Coffee with the Mayor will take place on Monday, February 131h in the Library Community Room at 9:30 a.m. There will be a guest speaker who is a neurologist and will speak on the topic of the mind. 5. REPORTS—TOWN ATTORNEY GLEN J. TORCIVIA: No Report. 6. REPORTS—INTERIM TOWN MANAGER VALERIE OAKS: No Report. 7. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING ONLY: Carl Gehman, 1123 Highland Beach Drive — I am proud of what our Commissioners did today. I truly believe you did the right thing. George Kelvin, 4740 South Ocean Boulevard —The Town did not receive a registered letter from the church, and I am not sure why you had any discussion this morning regarding this issue. The letter was delivered here in person today at 9:35 a.m. Maxine Ross, 3600 South Ocean Boulevard — I was concerned that the church would not allow parking. My request is to reevaluate the situation after the election and look into it again. 8. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Featherman called for a motion to adjourn the Special Meeting at 10:20 AM MOTION: Vice Mayor Weitz moved to adjourn the Special Meeting at 10:20 AM. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Feldman, which passed unanimously. Town Commission Special Meeting Minutes January 27,2017 Page 9 of 9 APPROVED: Bernard Featherman, Mayor W' iam Weitz, Vice Mayor e Carl Feldman, Commissioner Absent Louis Stern, Commissioner o da Zelnike , mmissioner ATTEST: Allatelt i rt C � Valerie Oakes, CMC Oate Town Clerk Ex Officio