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06-05-2000 - Regular r "-'- CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING JUNE 5, 2000 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 Dennis Vincenzi Councilwoman Harriet Rhodes Councilwoman Judith Lichter City Manager Kenneth Hooper City Attorney Scott Cookson City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Present Present Present Present Present Present Excused Present Present INVOCATION. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Reqular Meetinq of May 22. 2000 Councilwoman Lichter moved for approval of the May 22, 2000 minutes, second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The motion CARRIED 5-0. PRESENTATION/PROCLAMATIONS/PLAOUES/CERTIFICATES/DONATIONS A. certificate of Recoqnition presented to Bobbv Reed and Dennv Bloomer. Parks & Recreation, Sat. Larrv Jarkovsky. Cpl. Gary McElroy and Officer Tim Huqqins. Police Department. for rendering care to a citizen in an attempt to save a life. Mayor Schmidt asked Chief Schumaker to present a scenario of what happened, which he did to the best of his knowledge. Mayor Schmidt presented Denny Bloomer, Sgt. Jarkovsky and Cpl. McElroy with certificates. Bobby Reed and Officer Huggins were not present but their certificates were accepted by Mr. Bloomer and Chief Schumaker on their behalf. Mayor Schmidt stated it is nice to know we have some trained officers and personnel that are willing to go that little extra. Mr. Bloomer informed the Council that the gentleman's name was William Berg and he was the founder of the Senior League. CITIZEN COMMENTS Pat Card, 3019 willow Oak Drive, read a prepared statement regarding the proposed Land Development Code opposing some of the language regarding watercraft, trailers, R.V. 's and campers. Mr. Card passed out copies of his statement to the Council. Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, spoke in favor of moving City Hall. He recommended the Council seriously consider appointing a Committee to start studying and researching where they might consider moving City Hall to. "-' ""'" Mr. Heeb commended staff for the obvious effort they put into developing the Land Development Code, which is a very professional document. He encouraged Council to take time to study the Code and not take any action before considering all of the ramifications to the current citizens. He spoke about the people moving to Edgewater because of the lifestyle Edgewater offered. Mr. Heeb stated although most of the provisions of the Code deal with development there are some provisions that deal with individual rights. He hopes Council will not disenfranchise these people. Mr. Heeb spoke about the issue regarding boats and R.V.'s. Mr. Heeb further spoke about excluding Bed & Breakfast establishments from residential areas. Mr. Heeb stated if the intent of the Code is as stated in Section 21-03.02 to lessen congestion in the streets, secure safety, provide adequate light and air, prevent overcrowding of land or buildings, avoid undue concentration of population and preserve natural resources and community amenities of beauty and visual interests, he feels there is a simple solution and that is to limit population growth. It all goes away. Jay Michael McKay, 1717 S. Riverside Drive, read a prepared statement opposing certain restrictions in the proposed Land Development Code with regard to boats, R.V.'s and trailers and storing these vehicles on your own property. He further spoke about property owners' rights. Councilwoman Rhodes asked that all of the citizens understand that these codes were written by their neighbors. They weren't written by anybody that is not going to abide by the same rules that they are. There was a brief commotion in the audience. Mayor Schmidt asked to keep this civil and hear from one person at a time. We are not here to restrict to the point where nobody wants to live here. Please keep in mind also that his address just like everyone else here falls within the City of Edgewater. He has the same concerns that everybody else has here. Councilwoman Rhodes stated it is not the Council against the citizens, we are all Edgewater and we all want the same thing. Councilwoman Lichter stated she wanted to hear from the audience. She understands. We all live here and this is one City. They are trying to write something that is comfortable for everyone. Doug Thompson, 3211 Travelers Palm Drive, gave his reasons for having his motor home. He asked if anyone has thought about grandfathering in what is already here and then go from there. He contacted the city before he bought his car trailer and they told him as long as the leading edge of the trailer is behind the front leading edge of the house, beside his house. He called about the motor home as well. It is parked in front of his car trailer. There is current tags on everything in his yard. It is a nice looking piece and he doesn't see how they can restrict things like that. He asked Council to really consider this. Dave Ross, 2803 Needle Palm Drive, stated they moved here because they were allowed to utilize their personal property to store their motor home on. They shopped and bought a corner property so they could park it in the rear lot. It has been stated that this set of regulations is for the public interest. The health, safety and welfare of this community. Page -2- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 '-' ...., Mr. Ross feels there is no health or safety issue with his R.V. stored on his property. The remaining issue is that of welfare. He referred to section 21.03-02 of the proposed Code. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This Code is not an expression of public interest. It is a compilation of a few public or private opinions, not necessarily a state of public interest. He doesn't want to make this a personal issue. There are parts of this draft that are no more or no less except the expression of a very limited number of personal opinions. He asked where is the overwhelming public outcry for this revision. Rid our city of all motor homes and camping trailers except for a few pop ups. He didn't hear this at election time from any of the Council. It wasn't a mandate then, why is it a mandate now. He questioned why the Code was presented to Council in the extreme. Personal opinions at work hoping Council will concur. He spoke about the most important thing in his and his wife's life are their home and their motor home. They purchased their property primarily because they knew they could store their motor home on their property. He spoke about what is involved with owning an R.V. He asked Council if they are prepared to present to the courts that this is a reasonable taking of property or use of property without remuneration. Not a threat, it is going to court if you try this group of people. He referenced section 21.34-06 and this Code being to protect property values. He commented on research he did. They don't understand why people who moved into Edgewater ever purchased property here. They knew as he knew what the code restrictions and lack of restrictions were. If they didn't like them, they shouldn't have bought here. He thinks they should move and not impose their concept of beauty on him. He is an outspoken person and doesn't mean to be arrogant. If this passes, their motor home is off their property, he will sellout and he is out of this City. He presented his sense of what he thinks the primary negative affect on our community is - Beauty and visual interest is simply a lack of reasonable care and maintenance by some property owners and occupants of their property and most of these don't have R.V.'s parked on them. He urged Council to rewrite this. Elvin Leichty, 121 Oak Ridge Avenue, stated in the effort to solve some abuses, you have lumped all R.V. owners, motor home owners, boat owners into one package. This is extremely unfair to put everyone in this category because of a few. He feels the ordinance as written and as proposed is completely unacceptable. The united states Government deems it unconstitutional for any local government to restrict private property or parking of any vehicle purely for aesthetic reasons. Carol swiney, 2008 s. Riverside Drive, asked to speak during the paving of Pelican Place. Len Cunningham, 3303 Orange Tree Drive, pointed out items in the proposed Code that he doesn't feel Council paid very much attention to. He stated that section 21.34-06 will shut down two businesses in this community. He has a 27 foot fifth wheel on the side of his house that is hooked up to power to keep it from being damaged. He plans to ignore this if it is passed. He asked which Councilmember is not related to or have a close friend in the real estate business. He feels the Council has a conflict of interest if they have a real estate license, are involved in a real estate business or have close friends or relatives in the real estate business. He feels they really need to consider what they are doing to their citizens. He questioned why? He states property values are going down. The cost of building a new home is going down eight to ten percent per year. If Council wants to do something to protect property values, pass an ordinance to make these people that own the empty lots to clean them up. Very few of them owning R.V. 's and boats have ugly houses. It just doesn't happen. Page -3- council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 '-' ." Yvonne Bice, 210 N. Riverside Drive, stated she feels very strongly against the trailers, watercrafts and motor vehicle codes that are going to be passed. She feels it is a punishment to those people who are not as fortunate as others to have an unlimited amount of money to go out and pay for this parking facility. Ms. Bice spoke about being opposed to the bed and breakfast concept on Riverside Drive. She did not buy here so a bed and breakfast could be put next door to her. She thinks if it was defeated two years ago it shouldn't even be put on the books to give somebody a chance to say they would like to have one. People all have different things they like or dislike. People can make an issue out of everything. Mike Aloise, 2810 Needle Palm Drive, concurred with Mr. Ross. He also owns a 24 foot fifth wheel trailer that is parked in his driveways. He owns boats, cars and trucks. He is also a businessman that pays his taxes. He operates his business out of a trailer that exceeds the six foot limit. He feels not only are they restricting his rights to what he can do with his property they are also restricting how he can operate his business, and that is not right. Karen Mason, 1847 Coco Palm Drive, stated one of the main reasons she bought her house ten years ago was because she didn't want to live in a community where they told her what she can and can't do. Her motor home cost her twice as much as her house did. She commented on what her major concerns are. She feels her personal property belongs at home with her under her responsibility, not someone's storage area. She spoke about the devaluing of property. Mayor Schmidt asked Ms. Mason how long her motor home is. She informed him 28 feet. Councilman Vincenzi feels a lot of the citizens are wasting their breath because they will find a lot of people on the Council are sympathetic to their cause. A gentleman asked why are they even talking about this then. Councilman Vincenzi stated because these are codes that have been written and proposed. A gentleman asked by who. Councilman Vincenzi stated by staff. He feels if the citizens let them listen to themselves discuss the problem and see what they decide, they will find that a few people on the Council that are sympathetic. A gentleman asked who decided there was a problem. That is the problem. Councilman Vincenzi stated you are talking about one section of a big document that includes a lot of things. A gentleman stated if they are going to waste their time, why doesn't the Council go ahead and tell them what they are going to do. Councilman Vincenzi stated you can get up and speak but if they start discussing it, they will find a lot of people are going to see their point of view or have already seen it. They are going to make changes. Dan Holland, 2936 vista Palm Drive, spoke about the boat he owns. A lot of people moved to Edgewater for one reason, to grow a family, to have a good area and to have the ability to use your property, kind of a rustic feel, without having to be the big subdivision in the City. What you did by telling these people maybe they are wasting their time, all of them are here to tell the Council something. We all have a voice in this. Councilman Vincenzi stated he sees their point and if he lets them talk about it, this is the first of two public meetings. Mr. Holland stated Councilman Vincenzi just told this man, you are probably wasting your time, we already know what you want. He stated they all took the time to come here. He represents fifteen or twenty people that couldn't be present tonight. Page -4- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 -- ~ Mr. Holland spoke about the six foot requirement for boats. He feels the Council needs to listen to everybody that is there. Councilman Vincenzi stated all he is trying to tell the citizens if the Council understands their point. Councilwoman Rhodes stated none of them have spoke publicly opinion. Mr. Holland stated except Councilman Vincenzi who you may be wasting your time. We are not wasting our time. all came out here for a reason. an said We Councilwoman Rhodes stated exactly and we asked you to be here. We wanted to hear what you have to say. She thinks if they listen to the Council they will find there is probably a great deal of them on the Council that feel the same way the citizens do. She feels he is beating a dead horse. Mr. Holland stated so let's hear your opinion then so they can go home and be with their families. Tell us your opinion and then we won't waste our time. Councilman Vincenzi stated this is one piece out of an entire document of codes. Mr. Holland suggested they drop this out of the agenda and when they can figure it out better, come back. A gentleman stated we can argue the points and issues all night long. They would like to know the Council's position and then they would know how to approach the Council. Mayor Schmidt stated someone just stated they are politicians. Before he was a politician, while he is a politician and long after he gives this job up, he is a citizen of the City of Edgewater with the same concerns, the same thoughts with the same issues as every single person in this room. We are not trying to ban anyone from having a boat, an R.V. or anything else in their yard. The six foot height limitation, he will be the first one to admit, and he can probably get four other people to shake their heads, it's not going to fly. They know they have length issues to deal with and they want to deal with them. Councilwoman Lichter stated right now they have things on the book that are there that are probably in many ways more stringent. They are unclear and they have to work on something that is practical, right, clear and if there is a safety issue at all, address that. She lives in a planned community for other reasons. She would prefer to keep her boat in her driveway. So don't automatically assume that people aren't receptive or understand how the citizens feel because they do. She commented on phone calls she receives from a neighbor that can't see out her driveway because of a boat. She checked out the situation. Let us go the route, that she believes, that if the Council can, that boat should be there and if the Council can, that R.V. should be there and if the Council can, they should be as lenient as they can but if there is a safety factor, they have to write that into a code and then they have to enforce it. JoAnn Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, feels the agenda should be written so the Council has their discussion before they ask for comments then they would eliminate three quarters of the comments. Councilwoman Rhodes states the City Charter makes them do it this way. Russell Steele, 1911 Orange Tree Drive, spoke about having a handicapped daughter that loves to travel in his motor home. Before he purchased his latest motor home, he went to all of his neighbors and asked if they minded if he purchased a motor home and parked it in his driveway until he can make arrangements to build a shed. Everyone of his neighbors had no objection. He believes in protecting the property of the taxpayers. Page -5- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ...,. ...,; Mr. Steele believes that somewhere this Council can come together and represent all the people to benefit all the people with a code that all of the people can live with where the people who need motor homes can have motor homes. People who don't like motor homes don't have to be pestered with them. He feels they need to get some people together that realize what this City needs and try to meet the needs of all the people and not some of the people. He spoke about a committee he served on when he lived in Tennessee that helped write the Disabilities Act. He feels they need to realize what they are doing to the poor, the disabled and those of well means. He feels they need to serve all the people all the time not part of the people part of the time. A gentleman stated he drove Florida Shores yesterday for 2 ~ hours handing out pamphlets and not one boat or R.V. was parked on public right-of-way. A gentleman from 1850 Coco Palm Drive, stated he was born and raised in New Smyrna Beach. Since he is a native of Florida, he doesn't own a motor home, he doesn't have a boat in his yard so he guesses that makes in a minority all the way around. He spoke about a neighbor that helped him out during the hurricane last year. He feels the people should be able to keep the R.V.'s and boats on their property. Mayor Schmidt called a ten-minute recess at this time. Esther Arns, 1851 Royal Palm Drive, spoke about a vacant lot they own on Queen Palm Drive that is very dry and very volatile. She realizes there are things being done to address this but she would like someone to bring it to someone's attention a little bit sooner. She is not available to get enough reclaimed water to keep her sprinklers going back there to keep that area wet and she hopes that issue is also being resolved. Don Sanders, 2226 Woodland Drive, stated he owns a boat. He moved here because he didn't want any restrictions on his property. He wanted to own his home, own his land, be a good neighbor and have good neighbors. He feels this code shouldn't even be proposed. He is strictly against this. Jon Farris, 2109 Kumquat Drive, stated he has lived in this area his entire life. He bought his house in Florida Shores for one reason only, his. His stuff, his property and he does what he wants with this. He doesn't have a 32 foot motor home or a big boat but he will after he pays for his house in 29 years. Mr. Farris asked about the agenda that says public hearings, first reading, staff recommending approval of the new Land Development Code and official zoning map. You sir said we were wasting our time talking about this. Councilman Vincenzi stated this is the first meeting and when they put that in there, it says staff recommending approval. That is what they recommend. Councilwoman Rhodes stated we are not staff. Mayor Schmidt stated the nice thing about it is they don't have to listen to staff. Mayor Schmidt stated with the way this is going, we have heard a lot of information from a lot of different people. He thinks it is safe to say that for the best interest of any of this, we are going to go ahead and table the public hearing, Item 6A. He thinks what is going to be in the best interest of everyone here is they want to put together a public input committee of interested parties with their ideas. He thinks the easiest way to do this is to contact the city Clerk with their name, address and phone number. He is thinking 10 to 15 people from allover the City should serve on this Committee to hash out the issues. Page -6- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 '-" ....., Mayor Schmidt stated they know there are adjustments that need to be made to the Code. He doesn't want anyone in the room to think they are not listening. He feels they need to have something on the books that is fair across the board. It was the consensus of Council to table Item 6A. City Manager Hooper asked Mayor Schmidt to get a motion. If the issues are the boats and the canopies, the rest of the Land Development Code is what he thinks is acceptable, bring that to Council in an advertisement, they will delete the two sections they are talking of, send those to a Committee and that will come back to Council for further recommendation but continue with the rest of it. Mayor Schmidt feels they also need to include bed and breakfast establishments. Mr. Jenkins also suggested vehicle restoration permits. Councilwoman Lichter doesn't think there is a background necessarily of boaters, campers, etc. that should be compelled to deal with bed and breakfast. She served on the Planning & Zoning Board when bed and breakfast establishments were discussed. This does not apply to the whole City like the boats, R.V.'s and campers. It is not only Florida Shores that this applies to. Every nook and cranny that isn't a planned development with their own code restrictions is involved here. Mayor Schmidt stated he feels this is still an issue they need to pullout. Mr. Jenkins stated they need to pullout the vehicle restoration because it is being cut from five years to two and most of those people still don't know about that. A gentleman in the audience stated a lot of work went into that. Mr. Jenkins stated originally when it was done, four or five years ago. He also suggested pulling the commercial vehicles ordinance and definition and taking a better look at it. He made some suggestions at the last meeting and he thinks the Council should deal with it that way as far as what license it requires. Councilwoman Lichter stated there are a lot of things that need readdressing and looking at. The jest of this evening's meeting was, not even the covers, it really was boats and R.V.'s. She feels this is what the Committee should look at and the rest they should hear in the regular public hearing. Mr. Jenkins feels if Council is going to create a Committee, they should look at everything. Councilman Vincenzi feels they should keep the boats, R.V's and motor homes separate. The rest of the issues they can talk about at the public hearings. Mr. Jenkins stated you need the canopy one in there for sure. City Manager Hooper stated what he described to Council at the adoption process was that staff was going to have a glitch committee anyway and bring back to Council in six months the things they saw that were in error. If he is hearing Council right and the motion is to continue this until two weeks, they will readvertise and take out the portions that deal with the canopies, the boats, the R.V.'s, and vehicle restoration. They will bring the rest of it back. Councilwoman Rhodes so moved, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, stated when all this started to come to a head when it was being shown to the Planning & zoning Board there was a derogatory article in the newspaper. That person is not here tonight to correct the record but he had sited him as being someone who spoke up at that meeting, one of four and he only sited him and said that he had been sited numerous times for numerous vehicles without tags. He wanted to correct that. It was one vehicle one time and that was because someone wanted to get at him politically. Page -7- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ... ..." Lou Panico, 3016 Needle Palm Drive, feels Council is doing a great job. It's a thankless job. He is sure they all appreciate council being up there. It seems that most of the property we call Florida Shores and up to Route 1 was a parcel of land that was owned by the Federal Government. It was sold on the marketplace by the Army Corps. of Engineers. Of all things to fund the development of the Intracoastal Waterway to develop our fair County of Volusia County. He feels they have a duty to their country to maintain their rights for recreational boating. They fought for them and our land is actually part of land that was sold to develop Florida in a maritime sense. Unfortunately, Council has to wrestle with those responsibilities. They believe Council will do the right thing and they are going to help them do it. Allan Rathman stated he grew up in New Smyrna Beach. He can't afford to pay to store it and pay rent so he has to store it at home. He doesn't plan on moving his boat and he will not move his boat. If he has to get a court injunction and look at everyone that is involved in this into their back history, he will and he will not move it. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Brown spoke about how beautiful the YMCA building is. He urged everyone to go by there. He is proud of it and feels they will be very satisfied. Councilman Vincenzi had nothing at this time. Councilwoman Rhodes stated her report was going to be the calls she received regarding the R.V.'s and boats. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the Water Summit she and Mr. Hooper attended on May 25th. Mr. Feaster has sent Council a report of what occurred at the meeting. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about First Call for Help. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the Adopt A Street Program. She spoke to Steve Dennis from the Chamber to try and set up a date for a meeting. The Chamber currently has a fund raiser they are working on but will sit down with the Council after that. Councilwoman Lichter asked for a copy of the new Charter they passed. City Clerk Wadsworth informed her it is in print. Councilwoman Lichter asked about the status of fixing the fountain that was hit by a car. City Manager Hooper stated Jack Corder is working on some restoration to it. He is going to put it back in a reasonable condition. D.O.T. is looking to purchase that particular piece of property in the next six months but they are going to go ahead and make that fixed up and there is an insurance claim against that to reimburse the city. Mayor Schmidt had nothing at this time. PUBLIC HEARINGS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. 1st Readinq. Ord. No. 2000-0-12. staff recommendinq approval of the new Land Development Code and Official Zoninq Map Mayor Schmidt asked if they need any other type of motion to continue this to a second reading. City Manager Hooper informed Council they also continued the official zoning map. Both of those will be brought back to Council and will be described as the motion was directed. Page -8- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ..... ..., B. 1st Readinq. Ord. No. 2000-0-13. staff recommendinq approval to declare a citYWide ban of the sale and use of personal fireworks by the public City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Councilwoman Rhodes stated if you can't use fireworks anyway then why do you have to ban the sale of them. City Manager Hooper stated the way the law currently allows is you combine certain kinds that you can purchase. Mayor Schmidt stated if you did that wouldn't there be a potential for trouble by letting people sell them and then you can't use them. Councilwoman Rhodes stated but then the businessman who is making a living off of selling them could sell them and make his living and then you could hold on to them until you can use them. Mike Hayes, Fire Department, explained right now if they put a ban into effect that says they can not sell them, hopefully they will not buy them from their vendors and be stuck with everything. If we get a lot of rain in the next week or week and a half, we might lift this ban. Right now the drought index is still very high. Councilman Brown asked what they do if it does rain and they have a ban on this. City Manager Hooper explained it would be an emergency order. Mr. Hayes explained Daytona just did it because they have received more rain than us. Councilman Vincenzi would rather go on the record as banning the sale and use just to let everyone know we are against it because of the conditions right now. Mayor Schmidt read Ord. No. 2000-0-13. City Manager Hooper stated this is an emergency ordinance so the first is not an advertised public hearing that you have tonight. The second reading of this will be advertised for the next Council meeting. Councilman Vincenzi moved for approval, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. C. Res. No. 2000-R-11. Mayor Schmidt recommending approval to express our desire for the Florida Public Service commission to approve a new sinqle area code. 386 (FUN). for Volusia County. replacinq 904 and 407 city Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Mayor Schmidt read Res. No. 2000-R-11. He commented on the reasons for doing this. Councilman Brown moved for approval, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. CONSENT AGENDA A. Code Enforcement Board Appointment - Councilwoman Rhodes to consider Board's recommendation to appoint Bobbie McGuire to fill the remaininq term of Frank Roberts who resiqned because he no lonqer resides within the city limits B. Code Enforcement By-Laws - Board requestinq approval of amended by-laws. Mayor Schmidt read the Consent Agenda. City Manager Hooper informed Council the by-laws have been reviewed and drafted by the Code Enforcement Attorney. Page -9- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ~ ..", Councilwoman Rhodes moved to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Councilman Vincenzi. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OTHER BUSINESS A. Reauest for the pavina of Pelican Place - staff recommendinq establishment of Pelican Place Assessment District. Approximate city cost. $13.250.00: residents' cost. $26.500.00. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. He spoke on the assessment being done per lot. The residents want it paved and are willing to work with one of two methods proposed. Carol swiney, 2008 S. Riverside Drive, stated her house is on the corner of Riverside Drive and Pelican Place. She supports establishing the assessment district on a per lot basis. She spoke about a meeting held two months ago with the City Manager and Finance Director. After they left, they prepared an information packet that was given to all of the neighbors and it compared the two city approved assessment options. She provided Council an up-to-date copy of the assessment comparison and went over it. She spoke about a neighborhood meeting they had. Ms. swiney stated the owner of 2014 S. Riverside Drive, Mrs. Dyett and herself were the last two to sign originally to agree to have Edgewater looking into paving the road. At the time, 1998, neither of them were unhappy having the road unpaved. For the past two years, the two of them, along with the other people, have continued to join their neighbors in urging the City to go forward with the project. She further commented on the comparison sheet. She spoke about paying substantially more under the lineal feet assessment method. She was asked at a neighborhood meeting to compromise her position away from this assessment per lot by agreeing to a third type of assessment. This was an assessment where she was charged more than anyone else. She rejected this proposal since she felt she had already made a substantial compromise in agreeing to be part of the project in the first place. She urged Council to do the common sense and fair way using the equal assessment by lot. She thanked Councilwoman Lichter for working on this for the past three years with a high level of dedication. Councilwoman Rhodes asked how they would like this assessed. The residents stated how they would like it assessed. Councilwoman Lichter stated Mrs. Garrett approached her three years ago when she was campaigning regarding some of the residents not being able to breathe because of the dust. She has met with the people six or seven times. She stated it wasn't just this street that was originally involved, so was Lincoln Road. She presented a history of this matter. Florida Shores is assessed per lot. Nothing is right or wrong, except the wrong would be to compel anyone to go in on something, when we are talking seven people who were close friends. She further commented on different ways to look at this. She doesn't want to see this fail but on the other hand, she doesn't want to force anyone to get a road and go in on a project for that kind of money. She attended every meeting but their last and decided to leave it up to the professionals to make the judgment of which would be the best way. She personally, unless they can all agree themselves on something, would rather not see it done. She would hate to see someone pressured and forced into putting in that kind of money. She feels it should be a consensus or they should have more time to decide, or she thinks they should let the professional to decide. Councilman Brown stated if it is by lot, what size are the lots? Councilwoman Rhodes explained the lots are different sizes on Pelican Place. Councilwoman Lichter stated you look and you see. She spoke about approximately 20 or 30 little streets in the City that aren't done. Page -10- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ~ ..", Councilwoman Rhodes stated they were given a petition that was signed by everybody and it was stated that if they had the other petition to sign they would sign that one as well. Her tally of who really wanted it and who didn't came up three and three. She agreed with Councilwoman Lichter. She feels the residents need to work it out and if they can decide how they want it to go, they could let the Council know or if they want to leave the option up to Mr. Hooper, they can do that. Councilman Brown agreed that they should let the residents make the decision. Carolyn Goings, 120 Pelican Place, asked the Councilmembers to make the decision. Councilwoman Rhodes stated she doesn't live in their neighborhood and doesn't want to get into their neighborhood. The government is in everybody's business way too much already as far as she is concerned. She thinks they have the option. Councilwoman Lichter stated there are times that streets are mandated to be surfaced such as Florida Shores. Mrs. Goings stated she understands this is a unique situation and asked if they are going to give all twenty streets that are not paved the same options they have given them. Councilwoman Rhodes stated why not. Is there a problem with that? She then suggested doing it on a case by case basis. City Manager Hooper explained they can do this case by case. They certainly make it easier for staff to say here's the rules Council wants. This one, from here on, they could say by lots or by footage. That makes it easier when the next group of six or seven come in he can tell them how it is done and they won't see this again. They are setting a policy over how you do it. Florida Shores is the only one that has been done. It's big and its not the same beast they have in front of them today. The vast majority of assessments are done by lots. He would prefer that the Council would say they should go back and if six of them want to do it one way and one says no, then you have a six house, six lot assessment. Somebody could opt out. At this point, it's seven or none. That is the direction he thinks he is working with. If somebody wants out and wants to come back to Council in five years and say I want it and our price is up because it's per foot, is that what Council is going to be willing to go with then. That is what they need to hear. Councilman Brown stated he has a problem with there being no lot sizes. City Manager Hooper explained they are platted lots. Mayor Schmidt asked if they should be thinking access to one driveway. All seven of them have one driveway. Councilwoman Rhodes stated and then you have the person that lives closest to Riverside Drive that is using less of the road, so maybe these people at this end should pay more because they have to travel the road more. Councilwoman Rhodes stated you can look at it a million ways and none of them are wrong. City Manager Hooper stated that is part of why the logic of an impact fee really prevails. Impact fees done by the County and other cities are done on a house basis. Mrs. Goings asked City Manager Hooper if he is saying that if they were assessing for the sidewalk in front then the person that has 135 would pay 135, tQe person with 75 or 95 would pay that. What is the difference between a sidewalk and a street? City Manager Hooper explained it depends on if it is put in as part of the street. Mrs. Goings feels it really amounts to six to one. Although Councilwoman Rhodes came up with a consensus of three and three. There are some people on the street that would probably pay two assessments just to get the street. Ken has made his recommendation and he wants it by lot and Judy is for lot. Carol is also for lot. The rest of them have signed a petition for per lineal feet. Page -11- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 ..... ..." Mrs. Goings stated she doesn't feel there is any reason to go back and do any assessing. They know they all want the street and you as much have said we are going to get the street. She would rather leave it up to the City Council to do the decision making on this. Councilman Vincenzi stated it sounds like they want the Council to make the decision so they aren't mad at each other. Councilwoman Rhodes stated they would make the decision and they could be mad at them. Vivian Dyett, 2014 S. Riverside Drive, stated she did not feel it was binding when she signed for lineal foot. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, doesn't feel the way it was done in the Shores was right, even by lot because it did make a person with three lots pay more than a person with two lots, even though the benefit was no different. He feels there is only one fair and equitable way to do it. How many people benefit and you divide it by that number. He doesn't know how you pave the road if someone opts out in the middle. He commented on why he feels Florida Shores should have been done by beneficiaries. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to pave Pelican Place and assess it by lot, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 4-1. Councilman Brown voted NO. City Manager Hooper informed Council the price has been defined to Council on the road. The project now will go through construction drawings, the bidding for the process. The assessments at this point are set. If there is a change, it is the change in the city's 1/3 which is the same in Florida Shores. It will go on the tax rolls, not this coming year but the following year. They will be billed for this year's assessment. They can pay it at one time. He has been over this with the individuals. They know how they can pay. Councilman Vincenzi asked if this sets precedent for future roads. City Manager Hooper stated it does to him. He is going to bring them back to Council and recommend this method they have used. Councilman Vincenzi feels they just need a policy that says if you want your road paved it is a per lot assessment and everybody pays their own share. B. Grant Writer/Consultant - staff recommendinq approval for citv Manaqer to enter into a contract for qrant writinq/consultinq services with ESA Consultinq Group. Inc. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. They advertised and had four responses. The recommendation is to go with ESA Consulting Group, Inc. He would like to hire this person for a six month process as a contractor and let him do the first few grants and set up the programs. We will not be duplicating a staff and a consultant. This is just for the consultant at this time. The contract will be negotiated and brought back to Council. Mayor Schmidt asked if they could get a history of their accomplishments at a future meeting. City Manager Hooper stated he should have put a brief outline on the agenda because they did submit their resumes and so forth. He will make sure each Councilmember gets a copy of that. If Council is uncomfortable they can wait until they get that. Councilwoman Rhodes moved for approval, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Page -12- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 '-' ..."", OFFICER REPORTS City Clerk Wadsworth had nothing at this time. City Attorney Cookson was excused from this meeting. City Manager Hooper 1) Update of reclaimed meter problem/concerns City Manager Hooper presented an update of north to south route. There is really nothing that can be done to cut off certain areas. They have been able to meet with the state and we can rent a pump and take water out of the borrow pit that they have talked of and put in the reuse system. They are trying to do that within a week or so. They are underway with trying to upgrade the quantity of water that can go into the reclaimed so that we will not have the shortages. Councilman Vincenzi asked if it is the supply of the reclaimed water or is it the pressure. City Manager Hooper stated it is the supply. Councilman Vincenzi stated if you have everybody using it when they aren't supposed to use it, it still leaves the problem of being able to supply enough pressure to run sprinkler heads. City Manager Hooper explained the system is designed so that if we had enough water, you would have pressure. We start losing pressure at the plant and through the whole system it depletes very quickly. What appears to be a pressure problem is really a supply problem because there isn't enough water. We run out every day. We produce about 1.5 million gallons and we could probably sell 3 million gallons. It goes 2 to 1 ratio on what we produce. Through the times when we don't have drought conditions, we have plenty of pressure and it works fine during those times when there isn't the high demand we have today. Mayor Schmidt spoke about an article in the newspaper the other day from Port Orange's Mayor. This is not just a problem in Edgewater. Councilwoman Lichter stated it was brought up at the Water Alliance that most of the cities are going to have to go into metering and charging. City Manager Hooper stated that is one of the things he thinks our next consumptive use permit will dictate. Councilman Brown asked if the borrow pit will be hooked into the system. He questioned if it was spring fed or where does the water come from? City Manager Hooper explained the water is a ground water fed. It is spring fed in essence but it is the surficial, the upper Florida aquifer that feeds it. It has gone through the permitting and the design so we can only draw down a million because that is the rate that it infiltrates in there. It meets all the criteria for public access water. 2) Update of Pension Board Action - Larrv Westfall's disability claim and ~ension claim. No Action to be taken by city Council at this time. Staff is seekinq direction from council concerninq future aqenda of this item. City Manager Hooper stated this is a complicated subject. Mr. Westfall was disabled in the line of duty some number of years ago. The date of the injury was May 1994. The Council two years ago changed the pension program. Mr. Westfall's contention is that he is eligible for a retroactive portion of that disability. The previous Council had that, they had the question, they debated the question and it is his opinion that the previous Council decided that Mr. Westfall was not eligible for retroactivity. Judy was the only one on this Council that was there. Page -13- council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 '-" ..." Councilwoman Lichter stated it was very clearly stated Mr. Hooper. The previous Council had a compassion because he was hurt in the line of duty and offered him a two-year retroactive amount. When he pointed that out to the pension board, they still are under the impression that it was not clear and Mr. Westfall says the previous Council's idea was that it should apply to him. He has been discussing this with his attorney and he has included those letters in the package that describes that. He asked Council if they want to bring the ordinance back and have it stated specifically, or do they want to allow Mr. Westfall to go through his due process, which is really between his attorney, the pension board attorney and Principal who are our fiduciary folks that handle the pension plan and let them read the ordinance and let them settle it. That is what his letter to him has said. The ordinance only benefits active members. The reason that was done is the Police Department increased their contribution from one percent to six percent. A promise was made that they were not going to pay their six percent and have that retroactive to somebody that didn't pay the six percent, which would be the case with Mr. Westfall. Councilwoman Lichter feels the settlement was generous. City Manager Hooper stated he has not been paid the settlement. The two years has not been paid to him and he did that because he appealed and he wasn't going to pay an appeal amount that was under appeal. He asked Council if they wanted it brought back to clarify the ordinance or do they want him to send it on to the pension board attorney and our labor attorney to negotiate it out. Councilwoman Rhodes stated if that was their decision, she doesn't need to see it. City Manager Hooper informed Council at the last pension board meeting they had the previous Chair, Gary Conroy, who testified at the last meeting that it was clearly his intention in negotiating that it did not apply to Mr. Westfall. Councilwoman Rhodes stated if it would clarify anything legally, go ahead and bring it before them. Councilwoman Lichter stated there are people alive that are witness to what the intent was and sometimes words can't clearly identify to 1,000 percent no matter how you write something. The last City Council was quite friendly with this gentleman and she knows their intent. Mayor Schmidt feels they should give it to the lawyers. 3) Votran service to the citv recreational complex on W. Turqot Ave. City Manager Hooper informed Council of the letter written to Votran requesting they put in a route. He further presented an update on the skateboard park. City Manager Hooper informed Council certified mail has gone out to 71 lot owners informing them that they have growth and underbrush on their lots. There is 45 days to clean them up and then the City will come in and clean them and put a lien on the property. He will be back talking to Council on how much that lien should be. The notices have been sent out. Councilman Vincenzi asked if that was 71 people that they couldn't get in touch with or that live out of State. City Manager Hooper informed him it was the first 71. They went out and did an assessment of 1/5 of Florida Shores. There will be roughly five more times that. Mayor Schmidt stated if Votran says, and he knows it has been mentioned where they don't have the time constraints, he said to remind them that they park in winn Dixie's parking lot for a certain amount of time every day. Page -14- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000 'W ..." city Manager Hooper went over a letter he wrote to Oak Hill stating that they have passed an ordinance that intrudes into our Chapter 180 Service Area which is the sewer and water service area we had reserved in 1988. We have entered into an agreement with the County over how to serve that. He would like to send this certified. The Statutes allow us a period of time in which we can appeal their ordinance. This is the period of time to do it. They have sent this to the City Attorney to review it. His concern is there are areas between the south of Edgewater and Oak Hill that are wanting service right now and are wanting to annex into the City and he doesn't want this five-mile radius area to become an issue for future annexations. He has asked the Attorney General to review the ordinance. He asked for authorization to sign and send this to them. It was the consensus of the Council to send the letter. CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, presented two examples of why he said what he said about the lots. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Vincenzi moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer Page -15- Council Regular Meeting June 5, 2000