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2010.06.29_TC_Minutes_Workshop5~ TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF TOWN COMMISSION MEETING WORKSHOP MEETING Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:30 PM Mayor Jim Newill, CPA, called the Workshop Meeting to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 PM. CALL TO ORDER: Roll Call: Members present: Mayor Jim Newill, CPA; Vice Mayor Miriam S. Zwick; Commissioner Doris M. Trinley; Commissioner John J. Sorrelli; and Commissioner John J. Pagliaro. 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. Civility Pledge: The Civility Pledge was recited by the Town Clerk. 1. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Mayor Newill asked for any additions or deletions. Receiving none, the agenda was accepted as presented. 2. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS No Public Comments received. 3. PRESENTATIONS • Report on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Town's 100' Aerial Fire Truck Chief David C. James, Delray Beach Fire Rescue Town Mana eg r Su erman stated that Fire Chief David James and members of his staff were in attendance to discuss the current status of the Town's 100' aerial fire truck as well as to provide their input on the need to replace this piece of equipment in the very near future. The Town's current aerial truck is 15 years old and has undergone some significant repair costs. • Chief James will be introducing the concept of replacing the existing truck with a more Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29 2010 Page 2 of 7 modern, more versatile truck. Since the proposed replacement truck will cost more than • $350,000.00, this type of purchase must be presented to the citizens and approved or denied via a public referendum. Chief David James of the Delray Beach Fire Rescue (DBFR) introduced members of his staff that were in attendance with him to assist with the presentation and to answer questions: Assistant Chief of Operations Russell Accardi; Assistant Chief of Administration Danielle Connor; Division Chief of Training Edward Crelin; and Battalion Chief Gregory Giaccone. Chief James stated: 1) Town's current apparatus is a 1995 Sutphen 100' mid-mount aerial truck; 2) truck is 15 years old; repair costs are increasing and reliability decreasing; 3) accessibility to buildings and maneuverability issues present problems; 4) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) established a standard for fire apparatus (NFPA 1901). This standard governs apparatus replacement recommendations, as well as minimum requirements for equipment. Current apparatus is out of compliance; 5) Compartment configuration was not intended for Advanced Life Support (ALS) equipment. Medical equipment requires constant charging and current truck is not designed to handle all this required equipment; 6) Apparatus has reached the end of its economic and technological life cycle. Maintenance Costs: Out of Service 2006 - $27,246.73 39 days 2007 - $39,655.96 62 days 2008 - $23,253.08 40 days • 2009 - $27,915.18 46 days 2010 - $17,362.84 41 days Recommending replacement vehicle to bean "Aerial Apparatus," with six ground ladders ranging in size from 10' to 50'; with elevated master stream that will reach the top floor of any Highland Beach building for an initial exterior attack; will provide additional avenue for egress from elevated floors; ALS capable; single axel to reduce overall length, accessibility, maneuverability, the lighter weight is for access to the ramps and parking garages. With approximately 60 high-rise buildings in Highland Beach, an aerial apparatus provides a rapid deployment of elevated capabilities. With two aerial apparatus within the DBFR system, we will maintain the ability to respond up to a 2"d alarm without relying on mutual aid. High- rise fires present very unique and dangerous challenges to residents and rescuers alike. An aerial apparatus enables DBFR to evacuate residents and provides an additional escape route from smoke-filled upper floors of a condominium. Aerial apparatus is used in special operations emergences including high angle rescue. Fire Chief James continued his presentation reviewing actual evacuations and rescues that have taken place in Highland Beach. Mayor Newill -How high will the ladder on the current apparatus extend? Reply - It is a 100 foot ladder, but the extension is determined on how close you can get to the building. Mayor • Newill - On the new apparatus that you are recommending to purchase, what size ladder will Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29 2010 Page 3 of 7 be specified? R my - We are recommending a 75 foot ladder rather that the 100 foot. The • single axel vehicle will allow us to maneuver closer to the buildings and with the direct water stream we will be able to supply water to the upper floors of any condo in Highland Beach. Mayor Newill -You can get the water to the top floors, what about evacuation? Reply -The greater maneuverability will allow us to get closer to the building. Mayor Newill -What will be the cost? Reply -The 75 foot ladder truck will be approximately $800,000.00, the 100 foot ladder truck will be $1 million with a delivery time of 9 months. Mayor Newill -The Commission does not decide if they want to purchase the truck. The only thing we decide is whether we want to present the question to the registered voters of the Town. Is it possible to lease the truck? Reply -Yes. There are numerous leasing programs available. The biggest part of the cost of a lease is the financing. Mayor Newill -But in the end, you actually pay more over the long run. Commissioner Pa lg iaro -Your presentation indicated maintenance costs of $135,000.00 over five years. Is this unusual? Reply -Some of the expenses are budgeted and some are associated to this brand of truck. Plus, some of the costs are due to the salty atmosphere. Comm. Pa lg iaro -What concerns me is the considerable amount of time the vehicle is out of service. Reply - We do have a spare aerial. If the aerial is not available, we use a spare fire truck. In addition, the Town has mutual aid agreements with other cities. Commissioner Sorrelli -Will we be the sole owners of this vehicle? Reply -Yes, you are the sole owner, but we have a mutual aid agreement allowing another department to cover us in case of a large fire or we could be called upon to cover another department in the same • circumstances. Comm. Sorrelli - A comment was made that the present truck is hard to maneuver. Reply -When this vehicle was purchased in 1995, a number of these buildings were not built and at the time a smaller aerial truck was not available. Comm. Sorrelli -Will you have a problem at Toscana? Reply -Even with the size truck we have now, we can only reach to the 9~' floor. Comm. Sorrelli -What are the benefits of the truck you are recommending? Reply - It is a shorter, lighter truck that will allow us to maneuver closer to the buildings and drive on to the ramps entering the condos. Comm. Sorrelli - Do all the trucks go out for each call? Reply -When the call comes in, dispatch makes that determination. Comm. Sorrelli - If we do not act on this now, could we order it and wait until March before submitting the questions to a referendum? Reply -The contractor will not accept an order for a new truck without a purchase order. Commissioner Trinlev - If we decide to lease, will it still be a 9 month delivery? R p1v -Yes, delivery will not change. We are saying a 9 month delivery, even though the last few trucks that we ordered were delivered in 6 months. Commissioner Trinlev -This question is directed to the Town Manager. Should we decide to go to a lease, would we still need a referendum? Town Mana eg r Sugerman - The answer is yes, we would still need a referendum. The Charter refers to a project not a purchase. I would like to make one quick comment about leasing. While we might want to look at leasing, the chances are good with the Town's credit rating we could go to a bank and borrow money much cheaper that the rate would be to lease it, as it would be ad valorem taxes that would be • standing behind the payment. We could take a 7 year loan from a bank and I believe the cost Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29 2010 Page 4 of 7 would be about 2/3's the cost of leasing. We should look at leasing as an option, but I know i we can borrow money against our ad valorem taxes much cheaper than leasing. Commissioner Pa lg iaro - Do you feel comfortable that our present vehicle is safe? Chief James -The vehicle is long past its efficiency. The truck has outlived its usefulness and needs to be replaced. Mayor Newill -The next step would be to take this to next weeks' meeting to make a decision. Town Mana eg r Su eg rman - We have been notified by the Supervisor of Elections staff that they need to be notified prior to August 6th to get the question on the November ballot. The Commission needs to adopt a resolution to put it on the ballot. Town Attorney can you draft a resolution within the next 48 hours or should we wait until the August 3rd meeting? Town Attorney Sliney - I am not comfortable with 48 hours, need at least a week. Town Manager - In my report, I will be asking to have a special meeting in July to adopt a tentative millage rate. We could include the resolution on the agenda of this special meeting. Commissioner Trinley -Town Clerk is there still a 75 word limit on ballot language? Reply - Yes. Vice Mayor Zwick - I live on the 17th floor of a condo. About two months ago, I had a small accident in my hallway. I became aware of the expertise of the EMT's in the way they were able to transport me to the Delray Trauma Center. I take this request personally and without . looking into it any deeper, I say hurry. 4. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES A) Board Correspondence • None B) Board Action Report • None C) Board Vacancies • Beaches & Shores Advisory -One -three-year term • Planning Board -One -one-year unexpired term (5/11) D) Monthly Board Meetings • Special Magistrate -July 1st -Cancelled -Rescheduled July 22 @ 2 PM • Beaches & Shores Advisory -July 13th -Regular - 9:30 AM • Planning Board -July 14th -Regular - 9:30 AM • Bd. of Adjustment -July 20th -Regular - 9:30 AM 5. PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A) ORDINANCE NO. 10-003 O - (Second Reading and Public Hearing -July 6tn~ AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, • ESTABLISHING A CODE OF ETHICS POLICY FOR THE TOWN; CREATING THE Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29, 2010 Page 5 of 7 • CODE OF ETHICS WITHIN CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Town Clerk Brown read the title of the ordinance into the record. Mayor Newill - At this time we can only have questions on-this ordinance as the second reading and public hearing will be held next Tuesday. Are there any questions or comments on this ordinance? I would like to comment that while we are meeting here today, the County Commission is also meeting. By all indications, they are taking a vote today to decide whether they are going to try to push their ordinance on ethics down to the city/town level. If they do so, the city and town's will have to share the cost of the County Commission's hierarchy that they established with five or seven commissioners, a inspector general and staff. What I like about our ordinance is that we tie right in to the State of Florida's ordinance and inspections without bearing any of the costs. So hopefully if the Commission opts to approve this ordinance. Whenever the County Commission puts this ordinance to a vote, the citizens of Highland Beach will have a choice of going with the expensive route of the county or the not expensive route of the Town. B) ORDINANCE NO. 10-004 O - (First Reading -July Ern) AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE EVALUATION AND APPRAISAL REPORT-BASED AMENDMENTS TO THE • COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; AUTHORIZING TRANSMITTAL TO REVIEW AGENCIES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Town Clerk Brown read the title of the ordinance into the record Mayor Newill stated that the first reading of this ordinance will be held on July 6tn 6. NEW BUSINESS • None 7) MISCELLANEOUS -ITEMS LEFT OVER A) Minutes May 25, 2010 -Workshop Meeting June 1, 2010 -Regular Meeting Minutes to be included on July 6, 2010, Consent Agenda. 8. REPORTS -TOWN COMMISSION • Commissioner John Pa lg iaro -None Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29, 2010 Page 6 of 7 • Commissioner John Sorrelli -Welcomed back the Vice Mayor. Also wanted to thank Police Chief Hartmann for the ride on the beach buggy and was glad to see the beaches clean. Commissioner Trinley -Welcomed back Vice Mayor Zwick. Vice Mayor Zwick -Extended thanks for all the considerate notes, prayers, thoughts and cards received from the Town Commission, Town employees, and residents of Highland Beach. Mayor Newill -Welcomed back the Vice Mayor and also thanked the Police Chief for the tour on the beach buggy. 9. REPORTS -TOWN ATTORNEY Nice to see the Vice Mayor back. 10. REPORTS -TOWN MANAGER Vice Mayor it is a pleasure to have you back. I want to follow up with the Commission on something I stated earlier. We will not be taking action today, but would like the Commission to think about their schedule. We will need to set the tentative maximum millage rate for the new fiscal year beginning October 1St. We can do that at a fairly simple 10 or 15 minute meeting sometime during the month of July. That is where I present to you what the current ad valorem millage rate would bring in if we kept it the same. I also give you a couple alternatives including deductions, increases, and the roll back rate. What we do at that meeting is set the tentative maximum millage rate. You might recall from past experience, when we actually set the final millage rate it can never be higher than what we set early in the process, but it could always be lower. Typically this Commission always sets a lower rate. But we do have to set a tentative maximum millage rate. If you are ready today to think about a date, it will take an action of Town Commission next Tuesday to set that date. At the same time we can schedule the proposed resolution on placing the fire apparatus issue before the voters at a referendum in November. After consulting schedules, the Commission agreed upon July 13t" at 2 pm. This date will be included on the July 6th agenda for approval. 11. CONSENT AGENDA None 12. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REQUESTS RELATED TO ITEMS DISCUSSED AT MEETING No Comments. • Town Commission Workshop Minutes June 29, 2010 Page 7 of 7 • 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, Mayor Newill adjourned the Workshop Meeting at 2:30 PM upon a MOTION by Commissioner Sorrelli; seconded by Commissioner Pagliaro. APPROVED: Jim Newil~, CPA, Mayor '' ~~_//~ Miriam . Zwi k, Vi M~r </. -. ~" ~ , ,f ~G~~c~ Doris M. Trinley, Commissioner • ATTEST: Beverly M. rown, MMC `~ Date ~ •