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2007.10.02_TC_Minutes_RegularTOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING REGULAR MEETING Tuesday, October 2, 2007 1:30 P.M. Mayor Harold R. Hagelmann called the Regular Meeting to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 P.M. CALL TO Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Harold R. Hagelmann; Vice Mayor Joseph J. Asselta; Commissioner Miriam S. Zwick; Commissioner Jim Newill, CPA; and Commissioner Doris M. Trinley. Also present: Town Attorney Tom 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. 1, ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA None 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Joseph Yucht -Boca Highlands -This is the third time that I am making this request. Requesting the name of the sponsor be listed next to item on the agenda. You recently adopted a budget, and now you are raising the water rates. Which figures were used when adopting the budget? The Resolution giving FP&L an easement should have successors and assigns after FP&L. Assume it was a typographical error. Commissioner Newill -The Commission appointed me to assist the staff in preparing the budget. The water rate increase has been part of the budget from day one. Point of Order -Vice Mayor Asselta requested that Joe Yucht be removed. Mayor Ha elg_ mann - We all lose our tempers from time to time, do not feel we should throw someone out of the meeting. MOTION -Vice Mayor Asselta moved to remove Joe Yucht from the meeting due to disruptions, seconded by Commissioner Newill. Commissioner Trinlev -Refer to civility pledge at the entrance to these Chambers, and treat each other civilly. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Pale 2 of 10 ROLL CALL: Vice Mayor Asselta - Yes Commissioner Newill - Yes Commissioner Trinley - No Commissioner Zwick - No Mayor Hagelmann - No Motion fails on a vote of 2-3. Mayor Ha elmann -Who requested this water rate resolution? Town Mana eg r Sugerman -Throughout all the budget public hearings, work sessions, and meetings, wive included and disclosed various figures identifying the various scenarios and impact of the subsidies required for a balanced water plant budget in comparison with the various millage rates. The final scenario was to subsidize the water plant budget with $200,000.00 and increase the water rate. We do not use the format that Mr. Yucht was referring to in regards to resolutions and ordinances. Grafton Wolfson - 4740 S Ocean Blvd. Cannot hear what is being said. The mikes are not working. Sharon Stein -President of Bel Lido Property Owners Association -The homeowners are outraged that they will be receiving an increase in their water rates. We are paying dearly for the cost overruns from the osmosis plant. Requesting the Commission to reconsider raising the rates. Jerry Marshall -Bel Lido Property Owners Association -Something is wrong with our water billing system. Why do we have a three tier system? If we sell the property in Boca, will it offset the water rate increase? 3. PRESENTATIONS A) Caler, Donten, Levine, Druker, Porter & Veil, P.A. - Represented by Scott Porter, Partner Have a clear understanding of the qualities that the Town is seeking in their auditors, and will provide a quality audit in a timely and efficient manner. Would also be available to the Town throughout the year to answer your questions, serve as a professional resource, and advise you on matters that will ensure the continued financial stability and sound management policies of the Town. Have a significant government practice and our offices are local. B) Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A. -Represented by Edward Holt, Managing Partner Our experience with governments, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, and governmental entities uniquely qualifies us to provide the Town with efficient and thorough auditing services. Moreover, our previous experience auditing the Town of Highland Beach provides us with first hand knowledge of the Town's needs and requirements. We are proud of our history and our abilities to understand and work within the complex guidelines of Generally Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Page 3 of 10 Accepted Auditing Standards, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and Governmental Accounting Standards. Commissioner Newill -Stated that he was satisfied with the explanation of the difficulties encountered during this year's audit. 4. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES A) Board Correspondence • Letter from Jack Halpern, Chairman of the Board of Adjustment recommending the appointment of David Stern to the Board of Adjustment. • Letter from Lou Stern Vice Chairman of the Planning Board recommending the appointment of Max Angel to the Planning Board. B) Talent Bank Interviews David Stern - 2901 S. Ocean Boulevard Previously served on Financial Advisory Board for 4 years and worked on the special Water Plant Committee. Would like to be appointed to the Board of Adjustment. • Max Angel - 2727 S. Ocean Boulevard Previously served on the Financial Advisory Board. Have had extensive experience in the building trade and would like to be appointed to the Planning Board. • Jack Halpern -Ambassador South Did not know there was a vacancy on the Planning Board and have not completed an application. Have three degrees in engineering and forty years experience with planning. Apologize for coming forward at this late date. Commission did not consider Mr. Halpern as he had not completed an application. C) Board Action Report • Accepted report as submitted. D) Board Vacancies • Vacancies: One (1) Board of Adjustment and Appeals ;One (1) Planning Board. E) Consideration of Appointments MOTION: Commission Newill moved to appoint David Stern to a three-year term to the Board of Adjustment & Appeals; seconded by Commissioner Trinley. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Page 4 of 10 ROLL CALL: Commissioner Newill - Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Commissioner Zwick - Yes Vice Mayor Asselta - Yes Mayor Hagelmann - Yes Motion passed with a Unanimous Vote. MOTION: Commission Newill moved to appoint Max Angel to a three-year term to the Planning Board; seconded by Commissioner Trinley. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Newill - Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Commissioner Zwick - Yes Vice Mayor Asselta - No Mayor Hagelmann - Yes Motion passed with a 4-1 Vote. F) Monthly Board Meetings -read into the record by Mayor Hagelmann • Beaches & Shores Advisory -October 9th -Regular - 9:30 A.M • Planning Board -October 3rd -Regular - 9:30 A.M. • Board of Adjustment & Appeals -Quarterly -Oct. 16~' - 9:30 A.M. • Code Enforcement Board -October 17th -Regular - 9:30 A.M. • Cultural Board changed to Oct. 4`~ and Oct. 27~' -Regular - 9:30 A.M. 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A) The Town Clerk read the title of Ordinance No. 07-002 O on First Reading: ORDINANCE NO. 07-002 O OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, GRANTING TO FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY, ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS AN ELECTRIC FRANCHISE, IMPOSING PROVISIONS AND CONDITIONS RELATING THERETO, PROVIDING FOR MONTHLY PAYMENTS TO THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Ha elg mann -Opened Public Hearing. Receiving no comments, Public Hearing was closed. Town Attorney S1ineX -Questioned the last part of Section 11 on page 9: "Grantor waives, settles and bars all claims relating to the amounts paid by the Grantee under the Current Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance no. 357." Tonv Newbold - FP&L -The ordinance does not take effect until 30 days after the adoption. The Town will be receiving monies under the old franchise until 60 days after the adoption. There will be no loss of revenue from the old franchise until the Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Page 5 of 10 new franchise begins. Atty. Sliney -The new franchise comes into effect before the old one is terminated. The procedure for fees under the new franchise is different with the new agreement. My preference is to delete that sentence. Vice Mayor Asselta -The key is in the wording. The Town Attorney should be stating all his concerns. Attorney Rubin (FP&L) - I do not have the authority to change the wording. Will need to return to the Corporate Office to receive additional authorization to change the wording. Commissioner Newill -The wording is either acceptable or not acceptable to the Town Attorney. Attorne_ Sliney - My preference is to delete that line. MOTION: Commissioner Newill moved to table Ordinance No. 07-002 O until the Town Attorney is satisfied with the ordinance; seconded by Vice Mayor Asselta. Motion passed with a Unanimous Voice Vote. B) The Town Clerk read the title of Ordinance No. 07-003 O on First Reading: ORDINANCE NO. 07-003 O OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA AMENDING IN FULL THE TOWN CODE CHAPTER 29 ENTITLED "WATER SYSTEM," SECTION 29-10 ENTITLED "CHARGE FOR WATER SERVICE," AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ma o~ elg_mann opened the Public Hearing. Grafton Wolfson - I have a limited income. We have had numerous increases this year between taxes and insurance. Would like the Commission to reconsider increasing the water rates. The whole tier system does not sound fair. Should review the tier system. Joe Yucht -Boca Highlands -What is the effective date on this ordinance? If the Town needs money, it could pass an ordinance in the future. Town Manager Su erman -This ordinance was discussed at last week's workshop. The ordinance is available in the Clerk' Office. Today is the first reading, the rates will be published in the paper. The rate structure proposal changes: 1St tier an increase of $.32; 2nd tier an increase of $.20; 3rd tier a decrease of $.45 per 1,000 gallons usage. Vice Mayor Asselta - Still concerned and not satisfied with the third tier. Previously the water system was subsidized by the tax base. We are now under restrictions with the tax money. The increase is necessary due to the cost of the water plant, the interest payments on the loan, cost of the new well, and the cost of the additional pipes. Mana er Su erman -Town does not have an unlimited supply of water. The permit through South Florida Water Management District regulates the amount of water that we can take from the aquifer. We are not under drought restrictions, but we cannot sell more than 3 million gallons in any given month. If we went to a single tier system, those in the first tier would be paying near the top of the second tier. Ma, or Ha elg mane -The ordinance needs to be studied further. Vice Mayor Asselta - If we post pone it, it will only make it worse when we do increase it. Mana eg_r Su erman - If the rates are not adjusted now, when they are adjusted, the rates will be significantly higher. Max Angel -Villa Magna - When I was on the Finance Advisory Board, I objected to our taxes subsidizing the water fund. People should know the truth. Mayor Ha elg_mann -Closed the Public Hearing. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Pale 6 of 10 Mayor Ha elg mane - We need to relieve the taxpayers of another tax bite. Commissioner Newill - If you are not going to raise the rates, how are you going to balance the budget? Town Mana er Su erman -The Utility Fund is separate from the General Fund. The water costs are not bringing in enough money to cover the expenses of the water plant. There is already a transfer of $200,000 anticipated to be transferred from the General Fund to the Utility Fund. Comm. Newill - If we do not raise the rates, the taxpayers will be penalized equally for the over users. Comm. Zwick - It is too late to change the budget. We worked on it for over a month deciding which rate that we use. We cannot rescind what we have already done. Comm. Newill -That would be fiscally irresponsible. Raising the rates would be fair to all tax payers in Town. Town Attorney Sliney - This is only the First Reading. The Town Clerk will advertise it; it can be discussed at the Workshop; and adopted at the regular November meeting. It is not necessary to vote on it today. 6. NEW BUSINESS A) Selection of External Auditor Commissioner Newill - The proposal by Cater, Donten, Levine, et al is 22.8% higher that what we are currently paying. They try to justify the expense on page 30 by assigning a higher level of employees and additional hours to complete the audit. I have accepted the information provided by Nowlen, Holt & Miner explaining their situation and it was viable. The Committee was comprised of four members, which is why we had a tie. Feel there is a tremendous difference in their expertise with governmental accounting. Commissioner Zwick - Mr. Novak and Mr. Sugerman have you been satisfied with our present auditor? Finance Director Novak -Think that they have done a great job. The audit of the water plant was a large undertaking. Mana eg r Su eg_rman -Both firms are well qualified. Other than Nowlen, Holt being late this past year, I have no problem with them. MOTION: Commissioner Newill moved to offer athree-year contract of External Auditing Services to Nowlen, Holt & Miner, P.A.; seconded by Commissioner Zwick. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Newill - Yes Commissioner Zwick - Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Vice Mayor Asselta - Yes Mayor Hagelmann - Yes Motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Commissioner Trinley -Would like to thank the Committee for their work -Comm. Newill, Neil Burd, Director Novak and Town Manager Sugerman. Commissioner Newill - Do not recommend hiring any firm for more than two, three year contracts. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Page 7 of 10 7) MISCELLANEOUS -ITEMS LEFT OVER A) Review of Board Appointment Procedures Commissioner Zwick -Reluctant to continue with having the Chairman interview the applicants and making a recommendation, when the final disposition is with this Commission. We received a letter of recommendation today, and the interview had been done over the phone. Since the Commission has the final vote, we need to have the applicants attend several meetings before they appear before this Commission for an interview and possible appointment. Would like to eliminate Section IV from the "Board Appointment Procedures." Commissioner Newill -Agree. The ultimate decision is with the Commission and the responsibility of the interview should be with the Commission. MOTION: Commission Zwick moved to revise the "Board Appointment Procedures" by eliminating Section IV and the first eleven words of Section V; seconded by Comm. Newill. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Zwick - Yes Commissioner Newill - Yes Commissioner Trinley - Yes Vice Mayor Asselta - Yes Mayor Hagelmann - Yes Motion Passed with a 5-0 Vote. B) Attendance at 21St Annual National Conference on Beach Preservation Technology Mayor Hagelmann stated that he was going to attend. Commissioner Zwick inquired if the Chairman of the Beaches and Shores Advisory Committee was attending. Has anyone been checking the beaches after the storms? Town Mana er Sugerman has sent an inquiry to the Chairman of the Turtle volunteer Program. 8) REPORTS -TOWN COMMISSION Commissioner Trinley - No report. Commissioner Newill - Hope that members of the Commission do not start campaigning during the meetings prior to the March election and to continue to allow friends to jump up and down speaking out loud during the meeting. Commissioner Zwick - We have had this discussion before, but how can we get more people interested in submitting an application to the Talent Bank? With the manager's co-operation, we need to have an article in the next Highlander. The article should also include information about the boards and their responsibilities. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Pale 8 of 10 Vice Mayor Asselta -Congratulated the Town Manager on being granted his Ph. D. Received a notice of the upcoming "Legislative Conference" in Orlando. Is there any value of the Commission attending? For some reason our legislators do not understand where we stand on various positions. Attorne S~v -The more conferences you attend, the more your attendance will be noted. Mana er Su eg rman -The towns I previously worked for were traditionally active participants. This conference is for local elected officials to set up a game plan on how we will lobby the legislators before and during the upcoming session. Comm. Zwick - Is there sufficient money in the budget to allow for attendance at this conference? Mana eg r Superman -This is not a scheduled conference, but that is why we have a contingency account. Comm. Zwick -With the understanding of the Commission, I would like to attend along with the Vice Mayor. Vice Manor Asselta - I would be happy to volunteer to meet with or communicate with the Bel Lido Homeowners in regards to the water rates. Mayor Ha elg mann - No report. 9) REPORTS -TOWN ATTORNEY No Report 10) REPORTS -TOWN MANAGER The ad for the sale of the 2 pieces of property will be in the New York Times this Sunday, along with a 30-day electronic ad. The ad refers to our website for particulars. Comm. Newill -After the comments received today, the residents would like those two pieces of property sold to reduce their water rates. Have you thought about advertising in the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel or the Washington Post? The Highlander will be mailed this week. T'he article in regards to the "Constitutional Amendment" was stamped "rejected by the courts." Vice Mayor Asselta - In the next edition, can pictures of the various boards be published along with their monthly schedule? Comm. Trinley - I would like to congratulate Zoie for a fine job. 11) CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: Commissioner Newill moved to accept Consent Agenda Items #A, B, C, D, and E; seconded by Commissioner Zwick. Motion carried by a Unanimous Voice Vote A) A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, CHANGING THE DATE OF THE JANUARY 1, 2008 REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING TO JANUARY 8, 2008. Town Commission Minutes October 2, 2007 Page 9 of 10 B) RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, GRANTING FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY AN UNDERGROUND UTILITY EASEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF UNDER- GROUND UTILITIES ON PROPERTY OWNED BY THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH. C) Declaring Certain Property to be Surplus Property D) Authorizing the Mayor to Sign Amendment #1 for the SR AlA Tree Planting Project (Phase 1) E) Minutes Special Budget Workshop -August 14, 2007 Special Budget Workshop -August 21, 2007 Special Attorney/Client -Session 1 -August 22, 2007 Special Attorney/Client -Session 2 -August 22, 2007 Workshop Meeting- August 28, 2007 Regular Meeting -September 4, 2007 Budget Public Hearing -September 4, 2007 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING Joe Yucht -Boca Highlands -The Milani Park oral argument is scheduled tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. in West Palm Beach. Why can't the water be billed the same way electricity is done by FP&L? Generally accepted letter law, the title of the Resolution should have successors and assigns added. 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission. Mayor Hagelnann adjourned the Regular Meeting at 4:35 P.M. upon a MOTION by Commissioner Newill seconded by Commissioner Zwick. APPROVE: Town Commission Minutes Miriam S. 10 of 10 Jim New~1, CPA, Commissioner Doris M. Trinley, ATTEST: Beverly M. Brq~wn, MMC, Town Clerk Date: ~..~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~