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2007.05.29_TC_Minutes_Workshop TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING WORKSHOP Tuesday, May 29, 2007 1:30 P.M. Mayor Harold R. Hagelmann called the Workshop to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call : Members present: Mayor Harold R. Hagelmann; Vice Mayor Joseph J. Asselta; Commissioner Miriam S. Zwick; Commissioner Jim Newill, CPA; and Commissioner Doris Trinley. Also present: Town Attorney Thomas E. Sliney; Town Manager Dale S. Sugerman; Town Clerk Beverly M. Brown and members of the public. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was given, followed by a minute of silence in honor of members of the military, both living and deceased. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA 1. Receiving no additions or deletions, Mayor Hagelmann declared the Agenda accepted as presented. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Joe Yucht ? Boca Highlands - The Board of Governors of the Boca Highland Center request that you negotiate the following seven items with the County in regards to Milani Park: 1) speed in resolution of the construction of the park; 2) number of parking spaces; 3) parking lot is always to be staffed with an attendant while the park is open: 4) walls and fences around the county park; 5) use of the parking lot by Boca Highlands after the park closes; 6) Boca Highlands will grant an easement to the county for the overflow of surface rain water; 7) park is to be lighted. Jim Smith ? 1225 S. Ocean Blvd. ? In our area, we have had a problem with standing water and condo?s watering both the sidewalk and road on A1A. We contacted Town Manager Sugerman with our concerns. Both he and the town staff contacted FDOT and the condo association to eliminate this problem. Just wanted to publicly thank him. Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 2 of 10 Deanna Kelvin ? Boca Highlands - Milani Park ? never heard of a park that is 2/3?s parking and 1/3 recreation. This should be a historical museum with a history of Highland Beach. The history should include: 1) Indian relics; 2) 1850 ? 1950 ? input of and the honoring the Japanese population and history of that period. Have great concerns with the diesel fumes if buses were to park in the parking lot. Vice Mayor Asselta - Joe Yucht did not do justice to the Committee or its suggestions. Part of what the Committee would like is a museum and a parking lot with a play ground separate from the actual parking lot. We are in the process of doing a survey on how much beach is at the site and the amount of parking required for this amount of beach area. Dan Palaske ? Boca Highlands ? With a separate playground area in the parking lot, the residents of Dalton Place will hear the noise of the laugher of the children playing there. Will not support it. st Jason (last name unclear) ? 1 Vice president of Boca Highlands ? Strongly suggest that you co-operate with Boca Highlands as this park will affect us the most. It is more important to have a gate attendant and life guard rather than limiting the parking spaces. George Kelvin ? Braemar Isle ? Has the Milani litigation been settled yet? We have asked either the county or the town to add flowers and grass to this piece of property ? to no avail. It does not seem like anyone is in favor of this ill conceived plan. Has a traffic study or environmental study been submitted? The county is always spending money unnecessarily. Will they continue with these plans when Tallahassee reduces the taxes? Mark Sikawick ? Aberdeen - I have young children and they have no interest in playing in this park. Rita Yucht ? Both the Vice Mayor and Joe Yucht need to control their tempers. Barbara Stone ? Evanton Baye ? Can we get a brick walk through the property and have the wall built ? like tomorrow? Have seen individuals receive deliveries from trucks just driving across the empty lot. 3.PRESENTATIONS None 4.BOARDS AND COMMITTEES A)Board Correspondence ? None Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 3 of 10 B)Board Vacancies ? ? One (1) Board of Adjustment; One (1) on Cultural Board Received an application from Dave Goldberg ? needs to be interviewed by the Chairman of the Board of Adjustment. C)Board Action Report ? None D)Monthly Board Meetings ? ? Beaches & Shores Advisory ? June 12th ? Regular ? 9:30 A.M ? Planning Board ? June 13th ? Regular ? 9:30 A.M. ? Code Enforcement Board ? June 20th ? Regular - 9:30A.M. . ? Cultural Society Advisory ? June 28th ? Regular ? 9:30 A.M. ? Board of Adjustment & Appeals ? None Scheduled ? Financial Advisory Board ? None Scheduled 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS None 6. NEW BUSINESS A)Hiring Independent Counsel for Planning Board ? Beach Byrd Estates Attorney Sliney ? On April 26, 2007, Larry Townsend, Chairman of the Planning Board requested that the Town hire an independent counsel to represent them in the th case of Byrd Beach Estates. During their special meeting on April 25, the attorney representing the homeowners raised allegations of a conflict of interest by myself. He claims that I have a conflict due to the fact that one of my colleagues previously represented the developer. I do not feel there is a need for me to recuse myself, but have done so to allow the process to continue. Attorney Rusty Roberts has previously represented the Planning Board, and he has agreed to do so again. Consensus - include with the Consent Agenda for Regular Meeting. B)Awarding a Contract for SR A1A Streetscape Project Town Manager Sugerman ? The Bids have been opened for the long awaited Phase I ? SR A1A Streetscape Project. The low bidder was Vila & Sons with a bid of $139,455.40. The bid is about $40,000.00 less than we anticipated. Comm. Trinley ? What is the planting time line since we are getting into the hurricane season? Mgr. Sugerman ? Once the contract is awarded, they have ninety days to complete the plantings. They will be staked, are native trees, and will be prepared for any weather. Comm. Trinley ? Are they guaranteed? Mgr. Sugerman ? They are not guaranteed against hurricanes. There is a one year warranty if they are watered and fertilized. Comm. Trinley ? How big is the root system? Mgr. Sugerman ? They have 14 ft. of wood with 8 inch trunks. Include with the Consent Agenda for Regular Meeting. Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 4 of 10 Comm. Trinley against ? requested that a representative of Vila & Sons be in attendance. C)Approval Change Order #2 ? Florida Design Drilling Corporation for Work Associated with the Construction of Well #8 Town Manager Sugerman ? The construction associated with the drilling of Well #8 is coming to an end. The well casing is in place and the well has been constructed to its optimum depth. Unfortunately, the raw water yield from the open hole is not as good as can be expected. Therefore, the design engineer and the contractor are recommending that they be authorized to acidize the well to open the existing rock formation at the base of the well casing. The effort to acidize the well is an item that had an original bid price of the $65,000.00, but that amount was not included in the original project budget, nor in the award of the contract because we did not know if we needed to acidize the well or not. In addition, we have another $4,000.00 in acid tank rental costs until the project is finished. This Change Order is in the amount of $69,000.00. As mentioned in previous memos, we also had a cement ?overrun? of nearly $53,000.00. This overrun of cement was because of the sand infiltration when the driller got near the bottom of the hole. You will recall that the driller was experiencing caving in of the side of the well hole. The additional cement was added to shore up the walls of the hole and to protect the well casing from a collapse of the ground around it. While the cement ?overrun? is not a change order, it is an additional cost to the project. In working with the design engineer and the contractor over the last few days, we have been able to negotiate a reduction in the amount of changes for the cement overrun. The contractor has expressed to us that they will reduce the charge by $22,000.00. The net effect on the overall contract will be an increase of $45,805.66. Mayor Hagelmann ? If we spend this money, what insurance do we have that we will increase the water? Tom Tessier ? ARCADIS ? The acidization was included as an option in the proposal as you only need to use it about 30% of the time. The Town?s two existing wells have vastly different yields. One well currently has a specific capacity of 45 and the other has a specific capacity of 112. Right now, new well #8 has a specific capacity of only 23. After 35 years in the business, I have never seen a well yield less than an additional 35% after acidization. Comm. Newill ? Will the well specific capacity only be brought up by 30%? Reply ? Expect to get more than 30%. The 30% is the minimum. Mgr. Sugerman ? The actual Change Order will be $69,000.00, but the actual cost will be $45,805.66. Consensus - include with the Consent Agenda for Regular Meeting. D)Approve Change Order #1 ? ARCADIS for Construction Oversight Work Associated with the Construction of Well #8 Town Manager Sugerman ? There have been a number of changes to the construction activities associated with the drilling of Well #8. This has included the relocation of the well from the library parking spaces to the area formerly used by Sprint with their telephone equipment; pressure grouting and remudding of the open hole (to shore up the problems from sand infiltration); the testing of adjacent existing wells; adding cement to the exterior of the well casing; and the soon to be undertaken acidization of the well. None of these activates were in the original contract with our design Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 5 of 10 engineer ARCADIS. At the same time, we needed ARCADIS to provide construction inspection services for all of these extra activities. ARCADIS is asking for an additional $10,483.00 in compensation over their original contract of $76,000.00. Mayor Hagelmann ? What was the cost of putting in additional cement? Tom Tessier ? It includes the time involved in the overall management of the project when there was a problem with sand infiltration when the driller got near the bottom the hole and was experiencing caving in of the side of the well hole. Mgr. Sugerman ? This is a modification of their base contract. Keep in mind, this is a $1.2 million dollar project, and the modification is 1/10 of 1 percent. Consensus - include with the Consent Agenda for Regular Meeting. E)Discussion ? Citizens Serving on More than One Advisory Board Town Manager Sugerman ? We recently had an inquiry regarding the Town?s rule about citizens serving on more than one advisory board at a time. This was prompted by a citizen who put in a talent bank form to serve on a second advisory board. When doing a search for the written rule about citizens only being allowed to serve on one board, we were not able to find such a rule in the Charter or in the Code of Ordinances. As it turns out, it is an ?unwritten? rule that was adopted by a former Commission 5-6 years ago when there were a lot of individuals who had talent bank forms in the hopper, and some thought it unfair that certain individuals held positions on more than one board when other individuals couldn?t get an appointment to a single board. Vice Mayor Asselta ? There are only three mandatory Boards, and their members need specific qualifications. Jack Halpern was appointed to two as at the time as we had no other qualified individuals and we were unable to have a quorum. FAB needs individuals with management experience or a degree in finance. Let times dictate the appointments. Grab talent that is offered. Not in favor of limiting. Comm. Newill ? Agree with the Vice Mayor on Boards that need specific requirements. If you do not appoint individuals with specific backgrounds, you take away the effort of the Board. Mgr. Sugerman ? The only state mandated Boards are the Board of Adjustment and Planning. Will continue discussion at next meeting. 7) MISCELLANEOUS ? ITEMS LEFT OVER A)Report from the Milani Park Committee Vice Mayor Asselta ? At the Committee?s last meeting, we discussed six or seven different variations/suggestions that could be made to the county primarily in the interest of reducing the parking. Suggestions : bus parking ? eliminates 20 parking spaces; museum; walking paths similar to Gumbo Limbo; an unarmed guard or parking attendant. If 100 cars are acceptable, try to come up with a compromise with a museum and a walking path. The letter received from the Boca Highlands Center Committee is different than the resident?s comments that I have been receiving. The consensus of the Committee was to go forward and meet with Commission McCarty before the county?s plans were formulated. Manager Sugerman ? The Town Commission and the town are in a strange position, as the county owns the land and we are not a party to the present lawsuit. Commissioner Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 6 of 10 McCarty has requested that she receive some input from the Commission before the application is submitted. Boca Highlands? seven points only address the parking lot. Town Attorney Sliney ? The town does not have a current site plan on record and has not approved anything. Once the lawsuit began the county did not proceed any further in the process. The County now has to submit a new site plan and start the process all over again. Manager Sugerman ? People keep referring to a restaurant. The building located on the site is for the life guards and possibly to sell snacks. Vice Mayor Asselta ? Nothing wrong with putting a children?s park on the east side. Joe Yucht - As a Committee Member, we only had two meetings. I shared with each committee member the seven point letter from Boca Highlands. Boca Highlands did not address the east side as it is not adjacent to their property. My hope in joining the Committee was to reach a consensus before the county submitted their plans. Do not envision this happening. Since the property has been purchased, the cost of the park has increased 250%; Commission McCarty would like to cut the ribbon before her term ends and there is now a moratorium on capital improvements. Speed is of the urgency. Vice Mayor Asselta ? Nothing is written in stone. We are in the process of determining at different tides how much beach is available. Waiting for a report from Beaches and Shores Committee to review the ecological factors regarding turtles. This project has been bouncing around for a number of years. We will not do anything that will hurt the town. Mayor Hagelmann ? The county is insisting on a 100 car parking lot. Boca Highlands wants to be sure that their security is not breached. The property now looks like a dump. Commissioner Zwick ? In favor of the Town Commission going forward. The residents of Boca Highlands are impacted by the empty lot that was created by the county when they clear cut that lot. Did the county do it deliberately? It is quite a welcoming sign when you enter the Town from the south. It is an unfortunate situation. A proposal should be made to Comm. McCarty so that some type of a settlement can be reached. Comm. Trinley ? Has a phone call been made to Comm. McCarty to set up a meeting? Manager Sugerman ? This is an agenda item ? does the Commission have their own list of items that they want to be submitted to the County? Comm. Trinley ? Submit the letter from Boca Highlands as they are the most affected. Comm. Newill ? If I lived in Boca Highlands, I would agree. But I also represent another 47 condo?s and 150 houses. Have been approached by residents regarding the 100 car parking lot. Manager th Sugerman ? This will be an agenda item for the meeting of June 5, after the Town Commission takes a formal position on the matter, I will then contact Commissioner McCarty. B) Minutes Regular Meeting ? 4/3/07 Workshop Meeting - 4/24/07 Regular Meeting ? 5/1/2007 Special Meeting/Attorney Client Session 1 ? 5/14/2007 Special Meeting/Attorney Client Session 2 ? 5/14/2007 Special Meeting/Attorney Client Session 3 ? 5/14/2007 Include on the Consent Agenda. Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 7 of 10 8) REPORTS ? TOWN COMMISSION Commissioner Trinley ? I have a number of things: 1) Would like a representative from Vila & Sons attend the next meeting to answer questions about planting of the trees and hurricanes; 2) At the last meeting, Officer Bonham stated that pay was not equitable within the police department. Can you explain the problem? Manager Sugerman ? Do not reply to personnel issues in a public session. 3) We recently received another offer for the old water plant. Are we going to look into the offer or put the property up for sale? Reply - Will include it on the next agenda. 4) Would like to commend Jack Lee and Joe Sterlicchi on the water quality report that we just received in the mail. Commissioner Newill, CPA ? 1) The recent offer was more than the appraisal that we have on the property that was done two years ago. If the Commission accepts the offer, the money needs to go into a reserve to reduce the water plant loans. Would support taking this to a referendum to be sure that the money is used towards water plant expenses. The pipeline has passed its life expectancy and needs to be replaced. Would be in favor of selling the property. 2) The Legislature is on vacation until June. It has been said that they did nothing in this session, which is erroneous? They passed a bill increasing school taxes 7.2%. 3) If we lose 2.6 million, that is 26% of our budget. Our debt is $1.4 million or 13% of the budget; the water plant is 4% of the budget; police and fire take up 49% of it. It is something to start thinking about. Commissioner Zwick ?I have two items: 1) The Mayor has asked me to be the liaison between the Friends of the Library and the Cultural Advisory Board. Both Mari Suarez and Emily Firtell are very co-operative and they do not need very much liaison. The Cultural Board would like to make their appeal again to the Town?s people for donations to support their programs. They are a Town Board, should we be providing them with a budget so that they do not have to charge an admission fee to their programs? When they appeal for money, the money is deposited in the Towns coffers. Is this co-mingling of funds proper or ethical? Should they be using town stationary? Some sort of definitive conclusion must be made. Comm. Trinley - Would like a copy of Tom Sliney?s letter in our next packet. Comm. Newill ? In the monthly budget report, the money that the Cultural Board has raised through donations should be listed as a separate item. Mgr. Sugerman - The Commission has reimbursed the Cultural Board for ?Light up the Holidays, so some of the money is co-mingled. Can they raise money from the town?s residents. Comm.Newill ? Two groups are requesting donations from the town?s residents. Have concerns that the letters are going out on town stationary. Comm. Trinley ? How successful were the campaigns? Mgr. Sugerman ? The first Cultural Board solicitation raised ? $23,000.00; the Friends of the Library raised - $21,000.00 and the membership drive of the Cultural Board raised $2,200.00. Comm. Newill ? Believe we should be cautious with allowing solicitations from our Advisory Boards. Vice Mayor Asselta ? I was voted down when I requested a separate line item for the Cultural Board. Concerned about Advisory Boards soliciting money on town stationary. They should have their own stationary . Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 8 of 10 2) Felt we had a very productive public hearing on the dock issue last week. Since then, have received calls from residents regarding people renting their docks to non-residents. Have been advising people that the staff is not large enough to roam through the Town looking for violators, but residents should become pro-active. If they know of someone renting out their dock, please call code enforcement, and code enforcement will investigate it. Mayor Hagelmann ? These items should be on the next agenda for further discussion. Comm. Trinley ? Can you advise the cost of publishing and mailing the ?Highlander?? Would like the Commission to consider eliminating it. Vice Mayor Asselta - When we gave permission to Toscana to install docks, it was with the stipulation that they do not lease them. Can someone follow up to be sure they are not being leased? Mgr. Sugerman ? We depend on residents notifying us if someone is renting a dock Unless we receive a complaint, do not send code enforcement out. Vice Mayor Asselta - At the ?Special Public Hearing? on the docks, I never explained my vote. Felt both sides were articulate, and the ?fight to view? was not the real issue. The real issue is that it would have been incompatible to have boats docked both perpendicular and parallel. They all have to be either one way or the other. Recently Mari Suarez notified me that the ?Friends of the Library? will be hosting an event on July 3rd in th celebration of the 4 of July. It was very disturbing not having something on memorial Day. Mayor Hagelmann ? Two years ago, we had a representative of Fish and Wildlife attend a commission meeting, who promised ?no wake? signs. I am happy to announce that these signs were installed last week. 9.REPORTS ? TOWN ATTORNEY Would like to second the comments made by the Vice Mayor in regards to the quality rd of the presentations made at the ?Public Hearing? on May 23. It was superb. 10. REPORTS ? TOWN MANAGER No report. 11. CONSENT AGENDA None Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 9 of 10 12.PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING George Kelvin ? Braemar Isle ? During the meeting it was mentioned that the original plans of the county are eight years ago, which indicates all their reports are also eight years old. The town should not relate to these eight year old reports. Decorative masonry wall ? what does that mean? What kind of landscaping? A parking lot with 100 cars. What are the fees? The county needs to be more specific. Mark ? Aberdeen Arms ? Oppose a 100 car parking lot. Boca Highlands Committee is self-serving to themselves, not the whole town. They are interested in using the parking lot at night when the park is closed. Comm. Newill ? why are you against it? Comm. Newill ? If I lived in Boca Highlands, I would be in favor of their suggestions. But I do not, and I was elected to represent the whole town. Would like to see a much smaller parking lot. The fees will be in direct proportion to the number of cars parking there. If you go by Spanish River Park, the parking lot is often empty. Joe Yucht ? Boca Highlands ? We have been negotiating with Mary McCarty since 2000. We have discussed using the parking at night with her. We also have made compromises with her. If anyone else has suggestions, they should bring them forward. Jack Lee ? Public Works Director ? Well driller is confident that the well will produce at least 1600 gallons. On the other hand, if it does not produce enough, we will have to look at other options. Vice Mayor Asselta ? Is there anything in the contract that will allow us not to pay if the well does not produce? Jack Lee ? Cannot get anyone to agree to a guarantee on what the well will produce. The other two wells are putting out 2200 gallons a minute. If this well does not put out at least 1400 gallons a minute, it will not let us put out 3 MGD. The flow from the well is not what we expected it to be. The acidation process will take place starting the second week of June and will take two weeks. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission. Mayor Hagelmann MOTION adjourned the Workshop at 4:15 P.M. upon a by Commissioner Zwick seconded by Comm. Newill. APPROVE: __________________________________________ Harold R. Hagelmann __________________________________________ Joseph J. Asselta, Vice Mayor Town Commission Workshop Minutes May 29, 2007 Page 10 of 10 __________________________________________ Miriam S. Zwick, Commissioner __________________________________________ Jim Newill, CPA, Commissioner _________________________________________ Attest: Doris M. Trinley, Commissioner _________________________ Date: ____________________