Loading...
2021.03.11_TC_Minutes_Special ocs4%GHLIA. TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH TOWN COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING/SWEARING IN CEREMONY OF , 1949 FLORID NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS' MINUTES Town Hall / Commission Chambers Date: March 11, 2021 3614 South Ocean Boulevard Time: 12:00 P.M. Highland Beach, Florida 33487 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hillman called the meeting to order at 12:00 P.M. 2. PRESENT UPON ROLL CALL Commissioner John Shoemaker Commissioner Evalyn David Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman Vice Mayor Greg Babij Mayor Douglas Hillman Town Manager Marshall Labadie Town Attorney Glen Torcivia Town Clerk Lanelda Gaskins 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Town Commission lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Hillman called for public comments. Town Clerk Gaskins stated that Mr. Fred Rosen preregistered for the meeting; however, he could not attend. Mr. Rosen sent an email thanking staff and the Town Commissioners for their hard work over the past year. Mayor Hillman presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Vice Mayor Greg Babij and thanked him for his service to the Town of Highland Beach. Vice Mayor Babij stated that he enjoyed his time serving as a Commissioner for the Town of Highland Beach and that the Commission will be better with a new Vice Mayor. Each Town Commissioner thanked Vice Mayor Babij for his contributions and service to the Town of Highland Beach. Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 2 of 7 5. DECLARING THE GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 1. Resolution No. 2021-002 A Resolution of the Town Commission of the Town of Highland Beach, Florida, declaring each unopposed candidate elected to office and providing for an effective date. Mayor Hillman read Resolution No. 2021-002 title into the record. MOTION: David/Shoemaker - To accept (adopt) Resolution No. 2021-002 as presented. Upon roll call, Resolution 2021-002 passed on a 5 to 0 vote. 6. SWEARING IN AND SEATING OF THE NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS 1. Vice Mayor Natasha Moore 2. Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman Mayor Hillman read Items 6.1 . and 6.2. titles into the record. Mr. Greg Babij left the dais. Town Clerk Gaskins administered the Oath of Office and presented Certificates of Election to Vice Mayor Moore and Commissioner Gossett-Seidman. Vice Mayor Moore took her seat on the dais. 7. FIRE FEASIBILITY STUDY 1. Presentation and discussion of the Highland Beach Fire Feasibility Study Mayor Hillman read Item 7.1 title into the record. Town Manager Labadie introduced this item (for more information about this item, please visit the Town's Media Archives & Minutes webpage to access and view the audio/video recording). Mayor Hillman thanked Fire Chief L. Keith Tomey, Ill, Assistant Chief of Operations Greg Giaccone, and Division Chief of Training, Emergency Medical Services, and Special Operations James Bradford of the City of Delray Beach for attending the meeting. Mr. Robert Finn and Mr. Terry Lewis with Matrix Consulting Group joined the meeting virtually. Mr. Finn presented a comprehensive PowerPoint Presentation on the Fire Department Feasibility Study discussing several slides concerning the study objectives, the methodological overview, the findings of the current system, the call demand by type, Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 3 of 7 the call demand by the hour and day, the options for fire and emergency medical service delivery, the status quo to continue to the contract with Delray Beach for fire and emergency medical services to include its pros and cons issues, and the municipal department to include its pros and cons and implementation timeline. Vice Mayor Moore inquired about the disparity between the Matrix Consulting Group 2016 Barrier Island Study recommendation of 21 operational personnel per station versus the 22.5 personnel that the City of Delray Beach recommended (before adding three more individuals) and the current Matrix Group study recommendation of 18 personnel. Mr. Finn explained that when the study was conducted in 2016, the Matrix Consulting Group was looking at the three-person staffing model used by Palm Beach County. The City of Delray Beach staffing modeling is used to determine time off at each of the rank structures. The current matrix structure allows for one person to be off per shift before overtime occurs. Mr. Finn continued the presentation with a discussion on the implementation costs detailing the projected implementation cost per year, for the first three years for personnel, operations, and indirect costs. He also spoke about a hybrid system including its pros and cons and implementation timeline, the public safety concept along with its pros and cons and about the cost comparison of options. At the conclusion of the PowerPoint presentation, Commissioner Shoemaker spoke about the various options such as: • The current option and possibly renegotiate or fix the contract with the City of Delray Beach. • The municipal department (Fire Department and EMS services operated by the Town. • Contract for both the Fire Department and EMS services. • A municipal Fire Department and contract for EMS services. • Public Safety Concept(merging the Police and Fire Departments) and contract the EMS service. • Contract the Fire Department and establish a Town owned EMS service (standalone). He also asked if there were a fundamental infrastructural problem with contracting fire. Mr. Finn explained there are companies that contract and provide private fire service. He also explained that during his discussions with town personnel, there were no other interested fire agencies operating in Palm Beach County. The City of Boca Raton was not a real option. The only other potential option would be to contract with Palm Beach County if the Town were to consider that versus a private provider. He proceeded to explain that private firefighting is not common, and it could lead to difficulties with obtaining automatic or mutual aid agreement with neighboring municipalities. He further explained it would make more sense to privatize emergency medical services because it has less impact on automatic and mutual aid since everyone in the county operate under the same guidelines for emergency medical service. Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 4 of 7 Subsequently, Commissioner Shoemaker commented about the level of fire rescue service that Highland Beach receives in conjunction with what the Town is paying for service. He also provided comments about the current contract with the City of Delray Beach. Commissioner David inquired about the response time and whether or not the response time is affected by the number of calls outside of Highland Beach. Discussion followed regarding the different types of units that may response to a distressed call and who would provide dispatch service for 911 calls. Commissioner Gossett-Seidman inquired about the number of tier-one (class one, Insurance Services office are ISO rated) Fire Department agencies nationally, whether the Town was compensated for service calls from 32 years ago, defining the different options related to the contract expiring, and will there be any allowable portion to renegotiation items such as the medical transport fees which could be provided back to the Town. She requested data on the calls related to the Town of Gulfstream and ambulance medical call trips. Mr. Finn explained the purpose of the ISO rating and the factors that contributed to the ISO rating. He advised that compensation for service calls from 32 years ago was not part of the scope. He mentioned, as for the contract expiring, guidance was the plan. He further explained, if the Town decides to establish any one of the various municipal departments the following should be considered: (1) plan a three-year implementation and (2) give the three-year notice to the City of Delray Beach or allow the contract to naturally expire. It will give the Town the ability to plan for the municipal department. As for the allowable portion to renegotiation items related the medical transport fees, Mr. Finn mentioned that is a legal opinion between the Town Commission and the Town Attorney. He explained that all elements of the contract were negotiable and depended upon what is contained in the contract to allow for negotiations during the terms of the current agreement. Commissioner Gossett-Seidman also inquired about the figures mentioned in the Fire Feasibility Study related to the off-season and in-season population size and whether any figures were factored in last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Finn explained it is important to know what Highland Beach demographics look like, to know where the higher population centers are, to know where the high-rises are, and where the denser populations can exist; that it will be more exemplified and enhanced terms of population density during the winter months, when the population spikes occur. As for factoring in information due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is going to be more of a move forward because the 2020 data was not analyzed. The changes will be in the 2020 and 2021 data. Discussion followed about the six-station system which includes the City of Delray Beach and Highland Beach Fire Stations, the milage calculations, and the response times and reliability (for more information about this item, please visit the Town's Media Archives & Minutes webpage to access and view the audio/video recording). Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 5 of 7 Vice Mayor Moore shared concerns about the continuation of the quality of service the Town will receive based on the alternative and the status quo. She mentioned establishing more specific criteria for what type of department the Town should end up with and discussed the possible rise in insurance rates and the understated cost in the study. She was also concern with the staffing numbers and needing a Medical Director for the EMS. The Town Commission discussed the insurance rating and ISO. Mayor Hillman suggested conducting additional research on the insurance rating and determining the insurance rating on neighboring municipalities. Vice Mayor Moore inquired about costs associated with mutual aid assistance. Mr. Finn explained that it is not typical to be charged for mutual aid assistance unless there is a significant disparity in receiving service versus providing service. Vice Mayor Moore also inquired about the estimated apparatus and equipment cost and how it would be incorporated into the estimated projected cost by year. Mr. Finn explained that the figures were a result of the County bid through the Sheriffs Office using the projected lease cost for the apparatus versus outright purchase. Vice Mayor Moore asked about the cost estimates being factored into the projections in terms of the modifications and potential improvements to the Fire Station facility. Mr. Finn advised that they were not factored in at this time. She expressed concerns with the underestimated costs of implementing a Town owned Fire Department, staffing cost and salary, the lack of inclusion of the capital improvements and underestimated fringe benefits. Town Manager Labadie spoke about the Town's multiplier compared to the City of Delray Beach's multiplier and clarified that the Town's multiplier is around 1.38. Mayor Hillman suggested Town Manager Labadie get with Mr. Finn about the staffing portion and the cost associated with staffing and get back with the Town Commission. He explained in terms of quality that the Town will needs to provide quality services to its residents. Mayor Hillman mentioned there needs to be conversations with the City of Delray Beach and Fire Chief Tomey about the Town's concerns. The Town Commission agreed to schedule a meeting on March 22 at 1:30 p.m. to further discuss this matter along with the proposed options. Further discussion ensued about the importance of the ISO ratings and its impact on the insurance rates. Following the discussion, Town Manager Labadie provided clarification on Mr. Finn's task, which includes providing a staffing model, medical transport reimbursement history data, adding fiscal year 2020 data to the final report, establishing a set of parameters by which the Town Commission will use to determine what kind of department it wants as it relates to quality service, and clarification of the Medical Director information as it relates to the contract. He advised that he and Town Attorney Torcivia are collaborating on the Certificate of Necessity process with the County for more information on the process and to clarify some legal questions; what the ISO rating information means, how it scores and to classify the number of fire agencies that fall in each tier class and level of ranking. Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 6 of 7 There was conversation among the Town Commission regarding, a tutorial, the most realistic ISO rating of the options that would be received, what will best serve the residents, metrics, response and transport time, a cost and benefit analysis, and the definition and classification of parameters for levels one, two, three and four. Questions were asked about how many trips went to the Town of Gulf Stream and who was compensated, and about the option to work with the City of Boca Raton as a backup. Town Manager Labadie advised the town was not compensated and that he had preliminary conversations with the City of Boca Raton; they are not interested in entering into a relationship similar to what the Town has with the City of Delray Beach. However, the City of Boca Raton is willing to talk and discuss mutual aid assistance with the Town. Vice Mayor Moore inquired about the inclusion of ocean rescue cost and Town Manager Labadie explained that ocean rescue would be mutual aid. 8. COMMENTS FROM TOWN COMMISSION Commissioner John Shoemaker commented about the above-reference dialogue as it relates to the comparing the statistics, projections, and costs to the level of service the Town Commission would expect. He also commented about how far the Town can go down in cost and still retain the quality of service that the Town have now. Commissioner Evalyn David welcomed Vice Mayor Natasha Moore and looks forward to working with her. She mentioned the Town needs to have fire service. However, it needs the emergency medical services the most. She also spoke about the water system and mentioned to take that out of the equation. Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman suggested that the Town Manager look at the pension plan options. She discussed the possibility of an increase for Airbnb inspections and condominiums not being charge for fire inspections. She thanked her colleagues. Vice Mayor Natasha Moore shared her appreciation for each Commissioners strength and emphasized that whatever happens, the Town will have to do its due diligence. She questioned if call demands can be factored into the contract as a way to lower the cost, and if Matrix Consultant Group can give the Town Commission other ideas specifically on how to improve the contract. Mr. Finn will provide the Town Commission with some ideas on how to improve the contract. He also provided comments about the Barrier Island study as it relates to the municipalities coming together to form the group and cost sharing. He also addressed the fixed cost that the City of Delray Beach supplements based on service. Mayor Douglas Hillman welcomed Vice Mayor Moore. He mentioned the Town Commission will work through all of the opportunities that Mr. Finn (the Matrix Consultant Group) has presented and will decide what is best for the Town. In addition, the Town Commission will work with Chief of Police Hartmann to get his input. He thanked Fire Chief Tomey and his staff for coming to the meeting. Town Commission Special Meeting/Swearing in Ceremony of Newly Elected Officials' Minutes Date: March 11, 2021 Page 7 of 7 9. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hillman adjourned the meeting at 2:53 P.M. APPROVED at the June 01, 2021, Town Commission Meeting. otze R.41:6%.00 o; 1949 ._ 1.'•. SEAL ATTEST: Ilk*�• .•'* . •....... Douglas Hillman, Mayor Transcribed by Ganelle Thompson mV) Administrative upport Specialist `La elda Gaskir?s, MMC Date Town Clerk Ig: 05/12/2021 baw: 05/14/2021 Disclaimer: Effective May 19, 2020, per Resolution No. 20-008, all meeting minutes are transcribed as a brief summary reflecting the event of this meeting. Verbatim audio/video recordings are permanent records and are available on the Town's Media Archives & Minutes webpage: https://highiandbeach-fl.munlcodemeetings.com/