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02-03-2003 - Regular 'W" ...", CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEE TING FEBRUARY 3, 2003 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Schmidt called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Donald Schmidt Councilman James Brown Councilman Myron Hammond Councilwoman Harriet Rhodes Councilwoman Judith Lichter City Manager Kenneth Hooper City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Paralegal Robin Matusick Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present INVOCATION, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilwoman Lichter presented the invocation with the pledge of allegiance to follow. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There were no minutes to be approved at this time. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/PLAQUES/CERTIFICATES/DONATIONS A. Recoanition of appointed/reappointed Board/Committee members There were no board or committee members present to be recognized. B. Mayor Schmidt proclaimina February 2003 as Library Appreciation Month and presentina proclamation to head Librarian Ruth McCormack, Edaewater Public Library Mayor Schmidt read a proclamation with regard to Library Appreciation Month and presented it to Ruth McCormack, the head Librarian at the Edgewater Public Library. Ruth McCormack presented the Edgewater Public Library Annual Report. ,., ~ CITIZEN COMMENTS Pat Card, 3019 Willow Oak Drive, complimented the Police Department. He then spoke about the sign on u.s. #1 at Roberts Road no longer allowing u-turns. Mr. Card asked about the Western Area Expansion on the Consent Agenda. His understanding was that was to expand the utilities out past 1-95 in regard to the Walmart people coming in. He asked why they would want to spend any more money on it since Walmart felt through. City Manager Hooper explained it is to extend to the 1-95/SR 442 interchange. He spoke about borrowing from the bank a year ago funds to do this. Mr. Card asked if this is to be extended beyond 1-95. City Manager Hooper informed him it goes to 1-95 and if there is a developer he would have to get to the lift station. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Hammond stated three people have asked him about the dirt road extension on 35th to Volco Road. He asked about the status. City Manager Hooper stated it is included in the Edgewater Lakes PUD, that there will be improvement or a connection. Tim Howard has it in his plans and he is in for his Water Management permits. He will probably be breaking ground in Mayor June. .,",cO Mayor Schmidt stated he has spoken to a couple of people on the County Council and they had mentioned having some equipment in the area. He asked if they could make a call or two because he knows they had some interest. City Manager Hooper stated he thinks the problem with that is it is going to be relocated. Where it is isn't going to be the actual connection. They can work with them to modify where it would be and see if the County is interested. Councilwoman Lichter questioned still having an exit from the back of Florida Shores. City Manager Hooper informed her we would. Mayor Schmidt asked to run a scraper out there. Councilwoman Lichter stated it is one of the roads they clean up with the Anti-Litter Committee. She asked if a letter is written to the County to have them clean up Volco Road, which isn't ours. The corner of u.S. #1 and Volco Road is a mess. Page -2- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ~ ~ Councilwoman Rhodes asked where they are with the street lights on u.s. #1. City Manager Hooper stated Mr. Corder had looked into it and gotten some price quotes. He is looking to have that installed in the very near future. Mayor Schmidt stated he spoke to Mr. Corder about Roberts Road being too dark. He feels they need to extend longer bars on the lights so the bike path and the corners have a little more light. City Manager Hooper agreed to get with Mr. Corder and find a schedule and put it out in a memo. Councilwoman Rhodes stated she received a phone call from a gentlemen regarding the refuse rates being raised. His refuse rates were raised but yet he isn't receiving the same service because he has to pay $40 for excess yard waste. He objects to that. Councilwoman Rhodes stated she understands when they raised the rates that was included but when they received the information from the study was that not with the understanding that things remain the same. City Manager Hooper stated that size is in our current ordinance but it hasn't been enforced. If it is larger than 4 X 4 X 4, you will be charged for what it will cost to come out and pick up the second trip. He feels to date they have been fairly liberal with warnings. Councilwoman Lichter stated she also got the call. He misread the newsletter because they put two things in one sentence. It says bagged, contained, or bundled yard waste will be picked up on Wednesday for all residents. Bundles are limited to one bundle per pickup. He thought he was only allowed to put one bag out. The gentleman also complained about the $40 charge. city Manager Hooper suspects they are going to have more complaints through March and April as there is more cleanup. Councilwoman Rhodes explained the gentleman mentioned there are only two people in his household and he doesn't generate half the garbage as the majority of the people yet he is charged the same. She felt he had a good point. City Manager Hooper stated the only way around that would be allocating either tags or number of bags. This encourages people to take trash to their neighbors. It really turns into averages. Page -3- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ....... ..., Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, stated he mentioned this when they were discussing whether they would have privatization or keep the waste pickup in the City. He thinks a lot of the uproar from the citizens is keeping the service within the municipal confines was because of the service we get. The 4 X 4 bundling is what a lot of people feared they would get if we privatized. He feels with the rates they are paying the Council should try to get rid of that and take it out of the ordinance. He spoke of the palm fronds falling when there is a big wind and these palms being throughout the City. He feels the Council should take a look at that. City Manager Hooper stated it has been a month and suggested they work with it and see what they do have and the number of issues and complaints they do get. The staff is working with the residents that it has to be pretty big before they won't pick it up. Dominic Capria, 606 Topside Circle, feels the Council should get rid of the 4 X 4 X 4. Mayor Schmidt stated since he thinks everyone is going to say the same thing, he asked to hold any more comments regarding this matter until Citizen Comments so they could get through the reports. Councilwoman Lichter went on to speak about Savvy Seniors. This will be held March 12th at the YMCA. There will be four to five different lecture subjects and sign in is 8:30 a.m. and the workshop goes on from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for $3 with lunch included. She further spoke briefly on the subjects that will be discussed. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of having access to the draft for the Water Transition Committee. She sat down with City Manager Hooper, Terry Wadsworth and Rob DeLoach and they have gone through the draft page by page. The copy is available to look at in Liz's office. This was sent to the Attorney drafting it and his assistant and it will be discussed at the next meeting item by item. Mayor Schmidt spoke of being the Chairman of VCOG. They have decided to do some different things to try and teach some of the cities what goes on in the other cities. On February 24th they are going to hold their VCOG meeting at the new dispatch center in Port Orange. He passed an invitation to all of the Councilpeople. He spoke of being involved in negotiations with a couple other cities. The meeting will be held at 5:00 p.m. Page -4- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 v ~ Mayor Schmidt informed the Council of the pancake breakfast to be held on February 22nd from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Volunteer Fire Department's new building. The cost is $4. The money will go back into the Volunteer Fire Department. Mayor Schmidt stated three them had a chance the other day to go to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. They recently completed their Life Center. Over half of the kids that go to the Catholic School there come from Edgewater. Councilman Brown stated Steve Dennis of the Chamber has informed him they are going to repaint all of the City signs as you are coming into the City very shortly. PUBLIC HEARINGS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. Public Hearinq, Tanya Girvan and Patrick Girvan, owners of No Name Saloon, 2001 S. Ridqewood Avenue, requestinq Special Activity permit for Bike Week from February 28 throuqh March 9, 2003, as well as closinq from 106 Boston Road to US 1 March 6 from 3-9:00 p.m., March 7 from 1-9:00 p.m. and March 8 from 3- 9:00 p.m. City Manager Hooper informed the Council there was a fourth application where the owner didn't have a Certificate of Occupancy and doesn't have an occupational license. That is not in front of Council but the notices went out. There may be some folks expecting to hear about C & D Leathers. It is not eligible for a special activity at this time. City Manager Hooper then made a staff presentation with regard to the No Name Saloon. He further spoke about the closing of Boston Road. Staff recommends approval. Mayor Schmidt stated on the agenda request the dates are February 25th through March 9th and on the agenda it is February 28th through March 9th. city Manager Hooper stated he thinks the events are scheduled for that time period but they are asking for the special activity to be February 28th through March 9th. Councilwoman Lichter asked City Manager Hooper to review with her the benefits of closing Boston Road. city Manager Hooper elaborated on this helping to keep some of the traffic off of Riverside Drive. Page -5- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ... ..." Councilwoman Lichter questioned everyone being notified. City Manager Hooper stated on all three of the requests tonight there is a requirement of a 500 feet notice area. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if more police patrols are going to be done on overtime. Police Chief Ignasiak commented on there being more enforcement throughout the entire Bike Week. They have taken the schedule and revised it and cut down on the amount of overtime but they will be spending some overtime. They will be covering the event from start to finish city-wide. Councilman Brown spoke of the baffling that has been installed at the No Name Saloon behind the stage to cut down considerably on any noise. Councilman Hammond spoke of a few of his customers mentioning to him about their kids getting tickets from stereos. Now the people are asking if the music is audible, are they going to get a ticket. Police Chief Ignasiak spoke of this being two different scenarios. A person operating a motor vehicle is a state law and a state requirement. The State automatically assumes the driver can not hear an emergency vehicle or horn in order to safely operate that vehicle. That is an entirely different scenario from someone standing 100 feet away from a band. He further commented on the differences between these two scenarios. City Manager Hooper explained each of these events has escalated the enforcement and escalated the reduction in complaints. The numbers of complaints are greatly reduced. The baffling and noise ordinance have been effective. You are seeing improvements at every event. Councilman Hammond asked that they keep the language down. Mayor Schmidt opened the public hearing. Ray Anderson, 1905 S. Riverside Drive, feels they have come a long way since last year but that there is still more attention that is needed. City Manager Hooper commented on complaints but when they sent down Code Enforcement to measure, there weren't any noted violations. Page -6- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ...., ...., Mr. Anderson spoke of a Code Enforcement being on duty or in the vicinity while the hours of operation were going on. He stated that didn't happen. Samples were taken and again it resulted in no violations. He personally refrains from filing any violations this year for the single purpose to see who else would file a complaint. He is still the only one that hears noise. He questioned if noise will be measured this year and if the laws are going to be enforced. He feels the actual source of the noise should be measured when it is happening with live sounds which are different than recorded sounds and microphone sounds. He feels this is an area that needs attention and should be refined a little bit better. He feels they need to revisit the decibel levels and sound and microphone. He also feels they need a less intimidating method of reporting. People are reluctant to call the Police Department for a suspected noise violation. He suggested a dedicated line or a published local number in the papers. Mayor Schmidt closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of Mr. Anderson contacting her and she responded last time twice and she would say that the sound was 89% muffled but at that point she heard it at Cameron's. If she hears again from Mr. Anderson she will respond and do the best she can with layman's ear. Councilman Brown moved to allow the special activity permit, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. B. Public Hearinq, Richard Stonecipher, owner of Earthquake Maqoon's Bar, 132 W. Park Avenue, requestinq Special Activitv permit for an Oyster Roast on March 7, 2003, from noon until midniqht, with outdoor entertainment from 2-6:00 p.m. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Staff recommends approval. Councilwoman Lichter asked what outside entertainment consists of. City Manager Hooper elaborated. Mayor Schmidt spoke of Earthquake Magoon's looking to close one of the driveways and they needed letters of permission. He questioned if they ever got that. City Manager Hooper stated they tried to get their Condominium Association and their Owner's Association to reroute traffic and they could not accomplish that. Page -7- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 '-' ...., Due to there being no comments, Mayor Schmidt opened and closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Lichter moved to approve the special activity permit, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. C. Public Hearinq, Donald Crawford, applicant for Edqewater United Methodist Church, 211 N. Ridqewood Avenue, requestinq Special Activity permit for a free Bar-B-O dinner and outdoor entertainment on March 8, 2003, from 3-7:00 p.m. and waiver of the $200.00 application fee City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Staff recommends approval of the event but not waiving the fee. Mayor Schmidt opened the public hearing. Don Crawford, 2518 Tamarind Drive, stated the reason they have asked for the waiver is because they don't charge anything for the meal. Because there isn't a profit for them other than some donations which are accepted, they wanted to request the waiver of the $200 fee. They see this as a Christian Outreach activity. He asked for Council to reconsider the waiver of the fee. Jack Oneill, Edgewater United Methodist Church, stated this is not only open to the bikers but to the community as well. They do have quite a few people from the community come to this program. Mayor Schmidt closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Lichter moved to accept the special activity permit application with no waivering of the fee, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. D. Public Hearinq, staff recommendinq approval of the Stipulated Settlement Aqreement between the City of Edqewater and the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) concerninq the 2001 malor Comprehensive Plan Amendment and authorizinq Mayor/City Manaqer to execute the Aqreement City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation with regard to amendments to Comprehensive Plan Amendment 01-01ERA. Staff recommends approval. Page -8- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 '-" w Mayor Schmidt opened the public hearing. There was a brief discussion regarding this being worked on for a long time. Mayor Schmidt closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to approve the Stipulated Settlement Agreement and authorize the Mayor/City Manager to execute the agreement, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. E. ParkTowne Industrial Center, staff recommendinq adoption of Zoninq Aqreement and Purchase and Sale Aqreement City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Pretty much all of Phase I is sold. They have well over $1 million in contracts. They are under way with the design of Phase II. This is moving at a much faster pace than anticipated. He then spoke about the zoning agreement and a sample purchase sale agreement. City Manager Hooper went over the map showing the latest version of acreage to be sold. He commented on a few minor changes that have been made since the first reading of this. Councilman Brown stated Mr. Morgan and Mr. Massey have agreed to give the rights-of-way and the City is agreeing to build the roadways and stormwater retention within two years. He questioned if that is a reasonable time frame and what will happen if we do not do this within two years. City Manager Hooper stated this is a binding agreement that is our efforts to look at two years to make it occur. We have approximately $1.25 million right now to put those improvements in. The funding is there. The Council has authorized the design and permitting of at least the outside beltway. They are underway to do that and a two year time period is certainly doable. Those permits and plans are about 60% done. City Manager Hooper spoke of other cities having industrial parks that aren't similar to ours with regard to purchasing land and selling it. Most other cities lease it. City Manager Hooper then went over changes made to the landscaping requirements in Article 9 on Page 8. Page -9- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ~ .., City Manager Hooper then went over the list of property to be sold and the price per acre ranges. They advertised publicly and had no public bids. These have been negotiated sales. He further commented on the purchase and sale of the properties. Councilwoman Lichter complimented City Manager Hooper, Assistant City Manager McBride, Joe Martin, the Chamber and Economic Development. She did not think they would get Phase I filled so rapidly. She spoke of how impressive the ParkTowne Industrial Center is going to be. She feels it is a real asset to this City. Councilman Hammond spoke of what they have been up against since this project started. He feels it is really going to help this City. Councilwoman Rhodes questioned the name of the park being ParkTowne Industrial Complex, not ParkTowne Industrial Center. City Manager Hooper agreed to check. He also informed Council they are getting ready to do the signage at the front of the park. Mayor Schmidt opened the public hearing. Pat Card, 3019 Willow Oak Drive, asked how much the tax base has risen on this 19 acres where they will have a flat piece of concrete and something to store boats on. City Manager Hooper stated on some of that, there is a building to be constructed and the value of the property once they make the improvements varying and depending on each one. When they looked at trying to negotiate sales, they were interested in increasing property value and jobs coming to the area and there is a variety. He then spoke about boat storage. He feels some of these are immediate short term investments in property that have a yield for property tax. Others are longer term. Something sold today doesn't appear on the tax rolls for two years. Councilwoman Lichter feels with the competition our City has with surrounding communities, Volusia County, Brevard and the various counties around us, that our incentives and how the deals were handled was excellent. Page -10- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 '- ..." steve Dennis, Chamber of Commerce, commended the City for having the foresight to endeavor this project. He encouraged the Council to finalize these agreements. The City is in a unique situation to become a manufacturing/commercial center in Southeast Volusia where others are not at that level. rhe City will be turning money back faster than anticipated. If you have product, they will come to you to invest. He encouraged the City to go ahead and finalize this agreement. He feels this is going to be an outstanding success for Edgewater. Mayor Schmidt closed the public hearing. Councilman Brown moved to adopt the Zoning Agreement and Purchase and Sale Agreement, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. BOARD APPOINTMENTS A. Economic Development Board - Councilwoman Lichter to consider the Board's consensus to appoint Oscar Zeller to fill the remainina term of Michael Wilson who resianed Councilwoman Lichter agreed to appoint Oscar Zeller. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to appoint Oscar Zeller to the Economic Development Board, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. There was a ten-minute recess at this time. CONSENT AGENDA A. Western Area utilities Expansion Proiect/Alianment Study - staff recommendina approval of the "Studv" and reauestina authorization for Quentin L. Hampton Associates, Inc. to proceed with the Final Desian and Biddina Phases of the Proiect B. Police Department Purchase - staff recommendina authorization to purchase a 16' Police Patrol boat from Boston Whaler in the amount of $14,000 from Police impact funds Councilwoman Rhodes asked why we Ignasiak spoke of having limited Marine Patrol with our jet skis. monitoring the activities in the demand for it. are buying a boat. Police Chief capabilities with our existing He then spoke of closely river and they are finding a Page -11- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ., ..",. Police Chief Ignasiak then commented on problems along the river. Other than Edgewater, Daytona Beach is the only other city that puts somebody in the water. He then spoke of being able to help other cities. He feels this will tremendously expand our capability, make the waterways in our community a lot safer and reduce crime. City Manager Hooper stated the price is not an ordinary price. Boston Whaler is offering it at their cost. Councilwoman Rhodes stated the $14,000 to buy the boat doesn't bother her. What bothers her is the attendant expenses that will go along with the boat. Police Chief Ignasiak informed Councilwoman Rhodes we have a two year maintenance wrap around agreement that goes with the purchase of this boat from Boston Whaler. Councilwoman Rhodes questioned the officers that will be used to staff this. Police Chief Ignasiak elaborated. They intend to run this on weekends and holidays when boat traffic is the heaviest. Councilwoman Lichter asked if we are now allowed to monitor both sides of the river. Police Chief Ignasiak explained we have from the center of the channel west. Councilwoman Lichter feels both sides of the river need monitoring. What is the point of our monitoring just the side that Edgewater is located on? Police Chief Ignasiak stated if a boat stays in the center of the channel, it is in the City. Right now they are still researching this. He has requested an opinion from the Sheriff's legal counsel, which he has still not received. Councilwoman Lichter asked what happens to the jet skis. Police Chief Ignasiak stated they intend to keep the jet skis. He then spoke about being able to mount radar to the boat. He spoke of it being too sensitive to mount radar to jet skis. Councilwoman Lichter questioned where the money will go from the tickets. Police Chief Ignasiak stated all are violations of City ordinances which are now in place so the revenue would go to the City. City Manager Hooper spoke of this opening up avenues for grants. Page -12- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 'W' ...., Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, stated normally he doesn't endorse spending a lot of money but he endorses this. He spoke of two deaths on the river since he has lived here. He then spoke of an experience he had on Christmas Eve. He feels the City should purchase this boat and should have the facilities to be able to deal with an injury or problem on the river. Mayor Schmidt feels there should be ways of doing some interlocals with the Sheriff's Department and the Marine Patrol. He feels the boat is a source that will produce funds to carry its own. Councilwoman Lichter moved to accept the Consent Agenda, second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OTHER BUSINESS A. Consultinq Enqineerinq Services - staff recommendinq approval of proposal for services for the desiqn, permittinq, biddinq assistance, construction administration and construction inspection for the Hazelwood River Road Water Main Extension as submitted bv Quentin L. Hampton Associates, Inc. for the sum of $26,501.55, and authorize City Manaqer to execute the enqineerinq Work Order city Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Staff recommends approval. Councilman Hammond moved for approval, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OFFICER REPORTS City Clerk Wadsworth had nothing at this time. Paralegal Matusick had nothing at this time. City Manager 1) Special Master Discussion City Manager Hooper stated he wants to talk a little of the option of instead of a Code Enforcement Board that there be a special master program put in place. The City of Ormond Beach has done this for a number of years and Holly Hill adopted it four or five years ago. He spoke of trying numerous efforts to increase Code Enforcement compliance. Page -13- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ~ ~ City Manager Hooper further commented on how the program works and the current Code Enforcement procedures. He encouraged the Council to attend a session that will be held in Ormond Beach in two weeks to see how this works. He then spoke of expanding Code Enforcement. This is just an idea and all he is asking for is if Council wants him to gather more facts. City Manager Hooper stated our Attorney has recommended this as a pretty strong, viable process. It is a recommendation he would make if they are going to enhance their Code requirements, this is one way to do it. This could also be incorporated into the Animal Control Board. Most of the other cities retain their current Code Enforcement. There are four or five cities in Orange County that have a special master program. Most of them have gotten to the point where they are frustrated that they can't move quicker. The alternative is this citation special master is just to speed up the process. He then spoke of the ability to lien property being a stronger method. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if this does not work they could revert back to the way it is now. City Manager Hooper informed her they could. Councilwoman Lichter asked who presents the case. City Manager Hooper stated just like staff would right now in front of the Code Enforcement Board. Councilwoman Lichter asked if the Animal Control Board necessarily has to tie in with this. City Manager Hoper stated he thinks in Ormond and Holly Hill it is combined. It is optional. It can be two separate. Councilwoman Lichter asked about other employees calling violations in. City Manager Hooper explained our Code addresses that. It says those are authorized people to make a report. He spoke of other employees having other jobs and duties. Councilwoman Lichter stated she likes the objectivity of the Special Master and the speed of the set up. She feels they have some very qualified people right now on Code Enforcement with experience and on Animal Control that she would like to see be able to be filtered into something that is relevant or pertaining to that. She would hate to waste that expertise. Page -14- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 '-' "'rt1tII Councilwoman Lichter then spoke of eliminating the Beautification Committee as a separate entity and then putting it into Leisure Services but still having a sub-committee that was called Beautification. She would like these people on these boards still having some input. City Manager Hooper spoke of tasking the boards with looking at the Codes and making recommendations back to Council. Councilwoman Lichter felt this was a good thought. It was the consensus of Council for City Manager Hooper to pursue this further. Mayor Schmidt asked City Manager Hooper to get the date. He feels it would be interesting to sit in on one. Paralegal Matusick agreed to get copy of the next agenda. City Manager Hooper stated they are advertised meetings so all of the Council could go. Paralegal Matusick and Fire Chief Barlow were impressed with the professional way this was done and the quickness in which cases were handled. Councilwoman Lichter asked if these masters come out of that community and if there are certain requirements for them not to live in the community. City Manager Hooper stated there is not a requirement either way. He spoke of these being judges that have retired looking to keep somewhat active and some pay. Councilwoman Lichter asked how often they meet. Paralegal Matusick informed her once a month. City Manager Hooper commented on a story that will be aired on Channel 6. Fire Chief Barlow and City Manager Hooper did about an hour and a half with them the other day. This is our two disgruntled employees that are trying to describe to the residents of this City that there is poor public safety response and hazardous conditions because our engines can be one side of the tracks or both of them on the other side of the tracks. What is occurring they have training exercises that are done at one station where both engines wind up at a station. When they are through they sometimes go out for lunch. He has reviewed the response time since we have gone to consolidated dispatch for Port Orange, New Smyrna and Edgewater. All three are averaging right at the four-minute response time. We have a first response agreement with the other cities so if both of our engines are on one side, New Smyrna respond to the other and vice versa with us with them. Page -15- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ..., ...., City Manager Hooper stated he doesn't see any credibility to it. With the promos and the trailers they make it look like this great story and that there is this hazard that exists. He is telling Council there is no such hazard. Councilwoman Lichter asked if we have any part in the answering of this. City Manager Hooper commented on what occurred. He sees nothing there. He showed Council a picture of a billboard in Orange County. CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Dick Jones, 1530 Sabal Palm Drive, stated he is really encouraged by what has happened with the ParkTowne Industrial Center. He gave credit to the staff who completed all the hard work to get there. Mr. Jones stated sometime last fall he called Code Enforcement about a white structure being parked in the front yard of a house on the corner of 17th or 18th and Sabal Palm Drive with no wheels on it. He wasn't satisfied with the answer he received. Two more of the PODS were brought in. There are three of them parked on the front lawn of this property. He would like this looked into. Mayor Schmidt stated he saw an advertisement for the PODS today where they will bring the POD to your house, load your stuff into it, take it away and when you want your stuff they would bring it back. It sounds like these in particular are for storage. City Manager Hooper spoke of having a number of complaints throughout the City. Most of them go away pretty quick. He agreed to look into this one. Pat Card, 3019 Willow Oak Drive, feels the Council has created a problem for people that live between two empty lots in Florida Shores. He feels $40 is a lot of money. You can drag it or dump it on the lot next door to him in the drainage area. Since Christmas he has seen two dresser drawers and a tree. He assumed the out of state property owner would be billed for taking this stuff away or not. He asked how this would be addressed. He is concerned. He feels the Council is creating this problem and it is going to be more severe on every empty lot. He asked if the City is just going to pick this stuff up and if they do the City isn't saving any money. Page -16- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 ,., ...., Mr. Card congratulated the Council for encouraging special activities in the City. He wondered if the special activities and the fact that every bike associated event generates 10 days in a row of this directly across the street from where the Council is going to approve a Planned Unit Development. He wondered if the realtors ethically have to mention that the Council approved twenty days a year of this kind of stuff going on in front of them. City Manager Hooper stated on the number of activity permits, it really hasn't changed. Some of the ones that are getting a permit tonight occurred last year and occurred Biketoberfest, they didn't have a permit requirement. Some of the special activity requirements that they have legislative put in place have caused them to come in. The events aren't new. Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, disagreed with City Manager Hooper. He feels Code Enforcement is a community standard. He thinks having a volunteer board that will review these situations, even if it takes time, it's about our citizens, our people and our property owners. There is going to be disagreements. He further spoke about a radio show that was on that dealt with a tale of two cities, one with structure and one without. He feels having a situation where every event takes them right to court with a judge is going to look at it from the point of view of what does your Code say and if the Code says this, that is the ruling. With a community group, they can look at the situation. They live in this City. They will look at the situation and talk about it and they will talk to the property owner. A special master isn't going to. He feels this is a mistake. Yvonne Bice, 210 N. Riverside Drive, stated she is curious about the Special Master. She questioned if the minute someone does something wrong that they would be given a citation and not given a chance to comply. City Manager Hooper stated the first step would still be a warning. Ms. Bice asked about someone that leaves their trash can out by the street. City Manager Hooper stated everybody will be given a notice if you don't correct the problem here is the issue. Ms. Bice asked how many times do you have to be against the Code before you get a lien placed on your house. City Manager Hooper commented on what would occur. He further commented on what is currently occurring. Page -17- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003 '-' ..."", Ms. Bice likes the chance to be able to have a volunteer committee in your own community that you can speak to because they all live here and they all do something wrong too. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of calls she receives daily concerning neighbor problems with Code violations. She feels something has to be done. She suggested a combination of Special Master and citizen involvement. Ms. Bice stated sometimes you don't even know you are in violation of a Code because you might not be aware that there is one. She would rather get a warning than a citation if she is in error of something she wasn't aware of. City Manager Hooper explained this is not for minor violations such as leaving your garbage cans out or grass. It is for major violations that occur. He spoke of the first objection Code Enforcement personnel working with people being to obtain compliance. It is a difficult balance and you can't legislative community pride. Mayor Schmidt stated it sounds like a good workshop item once they get more information. City Manager Hooper would like to recover the costs associated with Code Enforcement by those that are violating the Codes. Dominic Capria, 606 Topside Circle, feels the City doesn't need a Special Master. He feels the Code Enforcement Board people are smart enough to handle it themselves. He feels if they pursued and enforced like they should, he doesn't feel they would have this problem. He mentioned the judge or attorney being paid $300 that was in the newspaper. Gail Wells, 2503 Woodland Drive, stated she is definitely for some kind of fines and she feels something needs to be done with the Codes so they are enforced. She spoke of complaints she has had that have been going on for years. Ms. Wells asked the Council to reconsider the $40 charge for yard waste. She is a strong supporter of the garbage men. She has no problem with the extra $4 but she was paying that for the service they already had. She feels there should definitely be a fee for large piles but loose brush you can pick up with a pitchfork, she hopes the Council thinks that over. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Rhodes moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer Page -18- Council Regular Meeting February 3, 2003