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01-20-1961 - Special ~ "" i: " -... ...,; l r ......., SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDGEWATER, VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, HELD JAN. 20th, 1961. A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Edgewater, Florida, held January 20th, 1961 was called to order by Mayor Crawford C. Shaeffer at 2:40 P.M. ROIL CALL Mayor Crawford C. Shaeffer Councilman G. V. Beck Councilman S. A. Seng, Sr. Councilman R. P. Smith, Sr. Councilman D. T. Armstrong City Clerk Frank F. Dippery City Att'y John E. Chisholm Present Present Absent Present Present Present Present Mayor Shaeffer stated the purpose of the meeting was to discuss Charter changes an~ nothing else. The changes suggested were as follows:- Limit Spending to $500.00 without bids. Hire City Manager at discretion of City Council Stagger terms of Councilman Elect Councilman at large. Also changes of Florida Shores. The first two were voted on at Regular Council meetings and were not up for discussion again. Stagger terms of Councilman. Councilman Idrmstrong stated he was in favor of staggering terms of Councilman. Discussion followed. Motion duly made by Councilman Armstrong the terms of Councilman be staggered. Councilman from'l & 3 to be elected for one year and Councilman from 2 & 4 to be elect- ed for two years until such time as Councilman from 1 & 3 are elected for two years. This would necessitate an election every year. Motion died for lack of second. Discussion on Councilman elected at large. Motion duly made by Councilman Armstrong a Councilman be qualified from the zone in which he resides, but be voted on City Wide. Seconded by Councilman Beck. Roll call vote being as follows:- Councilman Beck Councilman Seng Councilman Smith Councilman Armstrong Mayor Shaeffer Yea Absent Nay Yea Nay Discussion on Florida Shores. Councilman Beck stated as far as he could see Florida Shores has not lived up to their contract which expired in May 1960 and as far as he could ascertain they had not answered two separate letters in which the City stated they had not lived up to their agreement by fulfilling their contract and has not made any attempt to renew contract or work out any agreement. The roads have not been completed as described in contract as there is less than 6u of shell on some of the roads. This applies to units 11 thru 27 only. Councilman Armstrong stated there are 10 miles of drainage canals for drainage of 3000 acres of land and questioned if this was sufficient. Florida Shores have failed to give the City plans of this drainage system which the City has repeatedly ask for. I think in all fairness we have gone along pretty well with them. v '-' .- ,.) ~ Motion duly made by Councilman Armstrong, Mr. Moynahan be notified that by the 27th of January if a suitable agreement is not negotiated for the upkeep of plats 11 thru 27th, that on that date the City Council will ask the Legislature to exclude that portion of Florida Shores from the City of Edgewater, Vo1usia County, Florida. Seconded by Councilman Beck and roll call vote being as follows:- Councilman Beck Councilman Seng Councilman Smith Councilman Armstrong Mayor Shaeffer Yea Absent Yea Yea Yea Councilman Beck ask that Attorney Chisholm write a letter to Magnuson Properties advising them of the action the Council will take if a suit- able agreement is not reached by January 27th. There being no further business Councilman Beck moved we do now recess until January 27th at 2:30 P.M. Seconded by Councilman Armstrong and by vote CARRIED. Time 3:45 P.M. CONTINUATION OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDGEltTATER, VOWSIA COUNTY, FIDRIDA HELD JANUARY 27th, 1961. The Continuation of the Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Edgewater, Florida, held January 27th, 1961 was called to order by Mayor Crawford C. Shaeffer at 2:30 P.M. ROLL CALL Mayor Crawford C. Shaeffer Councilman G. V. Beck Councilman S. A. Seng, Sr. Councilman R. P. Smith, Sr. Councilman D. T. Armstrong City Clerk Frank F. Dippery City Att'y John E. Chisholm Present Present Present Present Present Present Mayor Shaeffer announced this meeting was for the purpose of discussing action to be taken regarding Florida Shores and no other business will be brought up at this time. Councilman Armstrong:- The issue before us is the contract between the City of Edgewater and Magnuson Properties. The subdivision of Florida Shores. It is my understanding the representatives of the Legislature meet on February 1st and anything we want to bring before the Legislature must be brought before the representatives at this date. If we do not have our business ready by this date it will be a long time before we can bring it before the Legislature again. Through correspondence with Mr. Moynahan of Magnuson Properties we have informed them of the conditions of certain streets, canals and drainage ditches and culverts in Florida Shores that were not completed to our satisfaction as per agreement. We have no other choice in all fairness to eve~one concerned but refuse to take over the responsibility of maintenance. Letter written by Attorney Chisholm in May was read. There was no answer to this letter. On june 20th another letter was written to Magnuson Properties informing them fuf our intent to cause Units 11 thru 27 be removed from the City of Edgewater unless an agreement could be worked out on or before this date. Up to now that is the way it stands. I believe Councilman Beck has further inform- ation he wishes to present. It v ...., .- ~ v Councilman Beck:- At the last meeting Mr. Scofield stated I spoke in generalities when I spome about conditions of streets in Florida Shores. This morning it was raining and I took time to make inspections to sub- stantiate my statement. Attached to these minutes are the findings of Councilman Beck's. I am willing to negotiate if they are willing, other wise I am in favor of removing that part the contract covered which the Citizens voted on. Councilman Smith:- The part in question covers about 147 square blocks or approximately 1650 lots of which 85% have been sold. I have traveled over most of this territo~ and do not find it in any worse shape than some of the other streets here in the City. Some of the culverts have been repaired as promised and work is being done eve~ day and I am sure Mr. Scofield can say if they will take care of the other culverts. l-Ir. Scofield assured him they would all be taken care of in time. I found a patch of s~ on Willow Oak as Councilman Beck states. All these things can be rectified easily. This Council is not responsible for actions of the former Council when Florida Shores was taken in. I have stated the City could only do for them the ability of our pocket book. I want to say this. The City took over the subdivision as a whole and I cannot see why the part in question ever came up. There is no kidding ourselves, it will be a big task and it will be 3 or 4 years before we can be in a position to do ve~ much. In all fairness to the people, I do not feel I am justified 1;0 caSt a vote to put them out. Councilman Seng:- I do not feel I can add much to anything that has been said. I realize roads get washed out and rough, but look how Park Ave. was before the County black topped it. It is going to take a long time before this developes as we would all like to see it. It is like a new business. We have good years and we feel good, get a few bad years and we have had a bad deal. There is no use to complain now. All we can do is pick-up the pieces and go on. I believe the ditches can be cleaned out and roads fixed as they have promised. I cannot vote to take that part out of the City. Councilman Beck:- Please do not misunderstand me. All I am asking is to negotiate or get an agreement in vlTiting, not word of mouth, so they cannot deny it. Just some kind of written agreement guaranteeing the repairs will be done so the City has something to show what we are working for. Mayor Shaeffer:- Councilman Beck and Councilman Armstrong have listed things that are wrong. I want to take the blame for the corner of Willow Oak Drive which is caused by the City garbage truck. It is reported some streets are in bad shape. When streets are used hard the shell is bound to go down. I have talked to Mr. Moynahan and he has stated they would not negotiate an agreement, but he has assured me they would not move out until their invest- ment is taken care of. I am sor~ this came up as it is causing a rift in the City. I know if this Council votes to ask Legislature to take these units out of the City, they will form their own town and if I lived in Florid"a Shores I would be one of the first to sign up to do it. I think, and hope this can be worked out before I leave office and I go along with Councilman Smith, I cannot spend a lot of money there yet. I intended to pave Indian River Boulevard before fall, but now I have to ask the Council to do this. I do not want to see these units taken out of the City and I feel in my heart Florida Shores will stay on the job and finish all they have promised. Councilman Beck:- I would like to ask Mr. Scofield if a written agreement could not be worked out. Mr. Scofield said a concern as big as Magnuson Properties, their word was good. Councilman Beck stated he did not want to force them, but a written agreement is all I am asking. Attorney Brasson:- I am here to represent Magnuson Properties and not to argue. I view the issue more a moral question than a legal o~ The area was developed as a whole unit. It would not be right to have part and part out of the City. The streets serve the entire area and a lot of land developed in the state has a lot more wrong than this. I think Florida Shores are good Citizens of Edgewater. They dedicated a Park & Pier, agreed to give 5 acres for Indust~, v '-' . ...J ~ which I understand thru an agreement with the City they sold for $1,500 which was turned over to the Park & Pier here at Park Avenue. Also they allowed a drain ditch to empty into the main canal to the river which drains all the West part of City. They have put in escrow two or three lots for an Ameri.can Legion Post and are willing to give land for an auxiliary Fire Station. \fuen you take in a person, it is with good faith and you expect a first class citizen. The political powers some day will have to maintain this. The tax dollar will eventually do this. There is police and fire protection, garbage collections which everyone pays regardless. There is a moral obligation and I feel it should be treated as a whole in all fairness to the people. Councilman Armstrong:- To keep the records straight, we do not want to take that part out. No one wants to, but we want some agreement or assurance they will keep their promise ~d make these corrections. All we want is something to back up their statements. We all know there is a definate violation as it stands. We do not want to lose that part, but we still have not got what we want. We stand at their mercy. I would like to ask Attorney Chisholm, if we do go in and do work, do we have to accept responsibility from then out. Attorney Chisholm stated it would be the City's responsibility. All we can do then is wait for them to finish the job. Councilman Smith stated Mr. Moynahan was here in Mayor June and was asked to put up a performance bond, which he refused to do, and I agree. The Bond should have been put up when the agreement was made. Mr. Moynahan has taken care of drainage canal bridge on Indian River Boulevard and a number of others, and I would like to ask Mr. Scofield if they intend to take care of the East and \'lest drainage in the same way. He was assured by Mr. Scofield they would be taken care of. Councilman Smith then stated, as I said before other parts of the City are lots worse than Florida Shores. Councilman Beck:- I am new at all of this and I do not know Mr. Moynahan or Mr. Magnuson and I just met Mr. Scofield at Council meetings, but the culvert on Fern Palm Drive is not in yet and I raise ~ doubts whether we get what we want if these things are not done. Mayor Shaeffer stated the culvert on Fern Palm Drive was scheduled to be put in this Saturday and the dragline was probably on the job right now. Mayor Shaeffer then ask what the Councils wishes were. Motion duly made by Councilman Beck, we retain Florida Shores in its entirety whether or not Magnuson Properties complete repairs as promised, seconded by Councilman Armstrong and by vote CARRIED. Roll call vote being as follows:- Councilman Beck Yea Councilman Seng Yea Councilman Smith Yea Councilman Armstrong Yea Mayor Shaeffer Yea There being no further business Councilman Beck moved we do now adjourn, seconded by Councilman Seng and by vote CARRIED. Time 3:30 P.M. 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