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05-08-2000 - Regular ....... ...", CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING MAY 8, 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 Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Legal Assistant Robin Matusick Present Present Present Present Present Present Present 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 April 17. 2000 Councilwoman Lichter moved to approve the April 17, 2000 minutes, second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The motion CARRIED 5-0. PRESENTATIONS I PROCLAMATIONS I PLAQUES ICERTIFICATES/DONATION S Mayor Schmidt read a letter and plaque regarding Civility Month. Councilwoman Rhodes read a proclamation. CITIZEN COMMENTS Dominic Capria, 606 Topside Circle, spoke about the tax case of Edgewater Landing versus the County. He read a prepared statement. Lynn Englehart, 1851 Travelers Palm Drive, spoke against the proposed Middle School location at Coronado Horse Farm. She referred to an article in the News Journal on May 5th. She feels this property should be left as a wildlife preserve or a natural wetland. She spoke about using the site at 12th Street and Mango Tree Drive. She urged Council to think about the safety of the children and to not go along with the Volusia County's appropriation to use that land as a Middle School. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, supports the Middle School at the Coronado Horse Farm. He spoke in opposition to the 12th Street and Mango Tree Drive site. DarIa Zakaluzny, 3022 Silver Palm Drive, supports a new Middle School, even if it doesn't go in at that site. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Brown spoke about a meeting he had in New Smyrna the group that put in all the effort to build Manatee Park. have indicated they would turn over the records to our City help us build a park comparable with that. As he gets more information, he will get more information to the people. with They to '-" ..."", Councilman Vincenzi spoke about a luncheon he attended sponsored by the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce honoring teachers that were nominated as Teacher of the Year. He spoke about the Crystal Apple Award that was given to four of the teachers. There were two teachers nominated from Edgewater. Robert Miller, from Edgewater, received one of the crystal apples. Councilwoman Rhodes stated over the past couple of weeks she has toured the Department of Environmental Services, the Fire Department, the Police Department, and Parks and Recreation and aside from it being interesting, she has to say the level of vision and commitment and dedication of the Department Heads in this City is truly impressive. They not only account for the present, they all have a vision for the future. She is very impressed with the commitment and level of services of the workers in this City. She also attended the luncheon where the Crystal Apple Awards were handed out. Councilwoman Lichter stated on Saturday, April 22nd, she joined the Halifax Indian River Task Force that was cleaning the islands in the river and all of Riverside Drive. She spoke of the volume of trash that was picked up at Kennedy Park. There were 183 volunteers and most of them were from Boston Whaler. She thanked the Edgewater residents that also attended. There were 16,500 pounds of trash collected. There were 390 bags of trash. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the Halifax Indian River Task Force meeting. Each city involved on the east river are going to make presentations to the Task Force regarding stormwater projects. Edgewater will be asked to make a presentation in August. Councilwoman Lichter stated the Museum of Arts and Science is putting on a series on Environmental Awareness in June 2000. She passed out information brochures to the Council. Councilwoman Lichter stated on May 6th she was at the Coronado civic Center for the ECHO Tourism hearings. We are now involved in the Archaeology dig on the Turnbull Plantation. She went to speak on that behalf. She had also seen Jack Corder there. He added the Recreation Complex and the boat ramp to their next year's list. Councilwoman Lichter stated there will be a Water Summit May 25th from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at Daytona Beach Community College. Council will be receiving notice from the County and the Alliance will be there, the technical group, the County Council and the Water Advisory Council. Councilwoman Lichter stated she ran into Dee Anderson in Winn Dixie and she mentioned the newspaper said the Council would be holding a meeting at the Florida Shores Clubhouse. She, nor not anyone on the board, to her knowledge, has been approached about a date for that. She wondered if they could not firm up on when they are going to do that since the Clubhouse is rented out. Councilwoman Lichter stated she spoke to the lady from Votran at the MPO meeting about getting a bus route to stop in front of the new YMCA complex. Mayor Schmidt spoke about an MPO workshop he attended where they talked about what the MPO is all about and the services they offer. In essence what they do is distribute federal funds for road projects and bicycle paths and things like that. It was very informative. Page -2- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 '-' .""" Mayor Schmidt spoke about the proposed Middle School. He went to a School Board meeting several weeks ago, and as a citizen he voiced his opinion. After that, he was accused of possibly working for the other side instead of having the concerns of the children of Edgewater. This is an issue they are going to have to deal with in the future. He spoke about the proposed sites that were discussed such as a site on U.S. #1, Roberts Road, Mango Tree Drive, Oak Hill, and Indian River Boulevard. He further commented on why he feels the Indian River Boulevard site is the best place for the Middle School. PUBLIC BEARINGS. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. Res. No. 2000-R-09. Supportinq Volusia County School Board in the planninq and desiqn of Middle School site 'FF'. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Saralee Morrissey is available to answer any questions. Staff recommends approval of the recommendation supporting this site. Councilwoman Lichter stated her first concern is safety. She would say from past experience with all good intent when we deal with the County or the State to say I believe, I think, they promise, maybe isn't enough for her. She wants to see it in writing. She can not prematurely say yea or nay. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the financial implication to our community. She spoke about the Board of Education having to find the property for the school. She is supportive of the concept of a school here but she doesn't have to help select the property. She also feels ecology is a factor. If she is pushed tonight to a vote on the resolution as is, she could not support it tonight. She supports the concept of the school being here but she has to see things in writing. City Manager Hooper commented on it being too soon to have some of the data Councilwoman Lichter is asking for. Steps will occur but it is premature at this time to have all of that data. Councilwoman Lichter stated in the past when a school was built in this community, did the City Council at this preliminary time get involved with the support. City Manager Hooper stated he thinks the normal function is to ask the local governments. He spoke of the due diligence process the School Board goes through. Councilwoman Lichter feels the Coronado Horse Farm is a risky place safety wise. A bit riskier than other places. She has doubts at this time. Councilman Vincenzi spoke in favor of planning a Middle School but he also has questions about the proposed site. He hasn't received any information in writing regarding this. Councilman Brown also feels we need a Middle School in our area. He also hasn't received any information and would not be happy with a school that is not safe for the kids. He spoke about kids cutting through people's property and the potential for vandalism. He would like to see more paperwork. He likes the area but if it can't be made safe he can't see that would be the place to build a school. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if they have recourse to see that it is made safe. They can build a school there if they buy the property whether we want them to or not. Any input we would have as far as the safety factors go would be through the County and the School Board. Page -3- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 ~ ~ Councilman Brown feels they have an opportunity with the widening of S.R. 442 that possibly it could be incorporated in to build in more safety factors. Councilwoman Rhodes spoke about making suggestions that could be more efficient and less costly to keep our kids safe. City Manager Hooper stated the efforts and the discussion with DOT are under way. That first stage is underway. What he is hearing Council say is they support the idea and the concept but they would like a little more. He suggested they bring this resolution back at the time the due diligence is completed and then they can have from the School Board more information for Council. The School Board is seeking input from the Council and they want to work with the City. Councilwoman Lichter feels sidewalks in themselves do not guarantee safety. She spoke about receiving no information from the Board of Education or any meeting dates. She would be more supportive if the Board of Education came to speak to the Council. city Manager Hooper asked the council if they would like to continue this item and then at the end of the due diligence time frame, the School Board or himself will work to bring Council as much information in the way of facts as they can. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if at the end of the due diligence time frame they will have any more concrete facts than they have now. City Manager Hooper spoke about the crossing guards being controlled by the City as much as anybody. If we want it, we are going to help do it. The due diligence will tell the Council a little more about how much they know of the property, if they have come across any problems. There may be more facts in the way of what DOT will be able to do and there may be some preliminary site plan evaluation to that. Saralee Morrissey, Volusia County School District, spoke about the concerns being expressed also being concerns of the School District and School Board. It is their feeling that this site, they think at this point in time, is most suitable for a Middle School. Some of the issues Council has raised are a little bit beyond their due diligence and come with the actual school planning and site design. All that has been funded for Middle School ~FF' is the site acquisition. She further spoke about safety concerns that have been discussed with D.O.T. Ms. Morrissey explained crossing guards are funded by Volusia County and are funded for elementary schools only. At this point in time, the County Council has not funded crossing guards at middle schools and has left it to each community. Ms. Morrissey explained they are in due diligence right now which is a lot of the exploration on the site regarding the soils, the bald eagle, and whether or not they are able to work within it. She further spoke about working with D.O.T. She would be happy to come back at a later time. Councilman Vincenzi stated he would like to hear from her after they are done with their due diligence. He asked if they would finish the due diligence process and decide to purchase it or will they finish the process and then come back and speak to people. Ms. Morrissey stated they may finish the process and not decide to purchase it. They don't have to have the Council's support to move forward though they would like to have it because it would be a positive indicator of working together in the long term. Page -4- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 ~ -....I Councilman Vincenzi would be willing to put this on the next meeting after the due diligence process is done. Ms. Morrissey explained their option runs out in July and she would be happy to come back before that and hopefully have all the answers. Councilman Vincenzi feels the resolution is premature. Whether they decide to put a middle school there or not really is not up to the Council. They are just voicing their concerns and the concerns of the citizens. Councilwoman Lichter feels they should know what the City is going to be required to do. She asked if this could be tabled to a future time. Ms. Morrissey explained they do not need a formal resolution. Whether that site works out or not, they do believe that this middle school belongs in Edgewater and they would like to feel comfortable that they can work together. They are going to have these issues at whatever site is chosen for a middle school. Councilwoman Lichter asked if there is a certain amount of acreage that is needed for a middle school. Ms. Morrissey stated their site standard for a middle school is 40 developable acres, for a high school it is 80 and for an elementary school it is 20. Councilwoman Rhodes asked Ms. Morrissey if she felt confident that if they came back sometime before their option runs out in July, that they would have more answers for us. Ms. Morrissey stated she doesn't want to leave Council with the impression that she can answer all the questions. She feels like Council wants specifics that she won't have. city Manager Hooper explained Ms. Morrissey will come back and tell the Council the results of the due diligence and basically say whether or not they are still interested in purchasing the site after they have learned more about it. The site planning and how you are going to do traffic is probably not going to have any more information than they have today. Ms. Morrissey commented on their experience in other communities. David Turner, willow Oak Drive, presented a petition to council with a letter that was given to the School Board. He read the petition. council decided to table this issue until a later date and bring it back when they have more information. City Manager Hooper asked Ms. Morrissey if she had a date when the due diligence would be done so they could reschedule their meeting. Ms. Morrissey asked to schedule her towards the end of June. B. Res. No. 2000-R-10. Supportinq Volusia Council of Governments. Inc.. in its application for funding from the Emerqencv Medical Service Award Trust Fund for a study of the Fire/Rescue and Emerqencv Medical Services delivery system. city Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Mayor Schmidt stated he does sit on the Volusia Council of Governments and this is a resolution that every city has done. It allows us to show full support so they can get the money to conduct a study. Ed Keenan, 1905 pine Tree Drive, spoke about why he thinks this is a very good idea. Legal Assistant Matusick read Res. 2000-R-10. Page -5- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 ~ ...., Fire Chief Tracey Barlow spoke about his support of this. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about for two years every city in this county worked on five or ten problems of interaction. Her and Tracey served on the Fire/Rescue Sub-Committee. She commented on some of the problems they have run into. Mr. Barlow stated he supports the study as long as it is equitable. He offered his assistance to Council so they can assist in giving direction of mapping out a scope of work for the consultant and so they don't duplicate. Mayor Schmidt stated the question has been brought up of exactly what are they going to do with that. There is questions going around at every VCOG meeting that some will benefit and some won't. The big thing is to get the support and the money and get the process going. Councilwoman Lichter moved for approval of Res. 2000-R-10, second by Councilman Vincenzi. The motion CARRIED 5-0. There was a ten-minute recess at this time. C. 1st Readinq. Ord. No. 2000-0-11. Amend Chapter 11 (Occupational License Taxes. etc.) Article II (Miscellaneous Taxes and Requlations). section 11-34 (Reserved) by enactinq the Bodv Art Code of Ordinances. Legal Assistant Matusick read Ord. No. 2000-0-11. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Mayor Schmidt opened the public hearing. Due to there being no comments, he closed the public hearing. Councilman Vincenzi moved for approval of Ord. No. 2000-0-11, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. CONSENT AGENDA A. Planninq and Zoninq Board Bv-Laws - Board requestinq aooroval of Bv-laws as amended. B. Librarv Board Aooointment - Mavor Schmidt to consider Board's recommendation to reaoooint Sue Shaw for another three year term. C. Firefiqhters' Pension Board - Councilman Vincenzi to consider Board's recommendation to aoooint Mary Tse for a full two year term D. State Funded Grant Aqreement - requestinq authorization for the Mayor to siqn the Deoartment of Community Affairs comoetitive grant contract from the EmergencY Management Preoaredness and Assistance Trust Fund for $21.558. Councilwoman Rhodes moved for approval of the Consent Agenda, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OTHER BUSINESS A. citizen Grievance - Certified letter from Thomas Buell concerninq BellSouth's olacement of an uograded switch box located in the riqht-of-way at 1412 S. Riverside Drive. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. He sees no problem with its location except aesthetics. Bellsouth has offered to try to do some accommodation by sheltering and trying to provide some screening for that. Page -6- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 ..... ""'" Mr. Buell was not present. Mayor Schmidt asked if they have added more lines to the neighborhood and that being the reason they need it. city Manager Hooper elaborated on what has happened. councilman Vincenzi stated he rode by there and Mr. Buell has a very nice yard. The thing that upsets him is that they did not ask anyone if they could put this monsterous box in that location but then they say well it's there now, if you want it moved it is going to cost $25,000 and someone is going to have to pay for it. city Manager Hooper commented on the issue with the franchise service agreement. If it were a brand new location, they would come in and ask. If it is an expansion, that is how they were not required to ask. Councilman Vincenzi stated that bothers him even though it is in their agreement that they have the right to do that. He asked if it is possible to modify the agreement so this doesn't happen in the future. At least so they have to notify people before they do something. City Manager Hooper stated no sir. The agreement and what is in it is by State Statute and each city is requested to adopt it so they can make it uniform through the State. Councilman Vincenzi stated this is the same situation as when Florida Power & Light put the poles down S.R. 442. They didn't really ask anyone, they just dumped the poles down there one day and started installing them. Councilwoman Lichter stated it is one ugly box. City Manager Hooper stated he did get assurance from Bellsouth that they would do better at working with us. He has had the Regional President, the District Engineer and they have an intergovernmental liaison. All of them have been in the office and have encouraged a better working relationship and have been very responsive. Even worse, there is additional work to in right there. They are going to have to dig in front of that. It is underground and has to have a sump. There is a pit to be dug, gravel to be put in and then replaced. They did notify us of that. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if they notified Mr. Buell. City Manager Hooper informed her yes. Councilwoman Lichter asked if there is a plan that Mr. Buell has seen or we have seen of what they are going to do to help camouflage it. City Manager Hooper stated they have agreed to meet with Mr. Buell and work with him to develop what he would like. Councilwoman Lichter asked if there will be others on Riverside Drive that look like that. City Manager Hooper explained they have described to him no other expansions in that area along Riverside. There are a couple on the west side of S.R. 442 and they are going to provide us a map showing where those are going to be. Councilwoman Lichter asked if he had another complaint about trucks parking in front of his house. City Manager Hooper explained his complaint was about visibility. city Manager Hooper stated he is not sure there is an action to take. Mr. Buell asked him to place it on the agenda. He wanted to address Council but evidently he is not here. Everything is compliant with the Statutory requirements. There really is nothing to change. Page -7- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 'w" ""'" B. Parks Master Plan - Staff recommendinq acceptinq Plan and adoptinq expenditures for 9roiects. City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Councilman Brown moved for approval, second by Councilman Vincenzi. The motion CARRIED 5-0. C. Naminq the New Recreational Park Complex on Turqot - Councilwoman Lichter. alonq with letters of recommendation. suqqestinq naminq the park 'Hawks Park Recreation Complex' in honor of Dr. Milton Hawks. Councilwoman Lichter commented on the heritage of Edgewater and why she would like to see the Recreation Complex named Hawks Park Recreation Complex. She feels you couldn't ask for a better role model than Dr. John Milton and Esther Hawks. Councilman Vincenzi stated he has no objection to naming this Hawks Park Recreation Complex, however, the complex he feels belongs to the people of Edgewater or will when it is completed and he thinks instead of voting for this tonight, he feels they should put it out for public input, possibly through the newsletter. Councilwoman Rhodes stated once people send in names, how do they make the decision. She would like to see some criteria as to how the decision will be made before it happens. Councilman Vincenzi suggested putting in the newsletter that the historical society recommends this name and why, tell a little about the history and culture of this city, and then just ask for input and approval and see what people say. Councilwoman Lichter stated very often leaders have to take the leadership role. She is trying to pick a name that has a deeper significance. She feels to get to the roots of our community is very important. Councilman Vincenzi agreed but felt this was something that wasn't imperative that had to be done tonight. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if they could make a criteria that the name has to be historically accurate to Edgewater. Councilman Vincenzi feels it would be nice to get public input on something like this. City Historian JoAnne Sikes, 125 E Palm Way, stated she has tried for many years to call attention to the fact that nothing in the City of Edgewater remains with our town founder's name. There is one privately owned building. She feels they have been very lax for many years. As many times as they have tried to call attention to this, no one has ever responded. Ms. Sikes stated she loves Edgewater but she would love to see this community do something in honor of the man who came here many years ago and founded this community. She would really like Council to consider this. She further commented on things he has done in this community. Ed Keenan, 1905 pine Tree Drive, suggested naming Indian River Boulevard after the Hawks' family. He spoke about the naming of the Alan R. Thomas Water Treatment Plant. He spoke about naming it after one of the previous Councilmembers. He suggested naming it the Edgewater YMCA or call it the Hammond building or include two people if you want. Mr. Hooper has had more to do with it probably on doing the footwork with how to get the money, locally and what we got out of Washington too. Page -8- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 '-" ..." Councilwoman Lichter stated before the last Council, she attended City meetings for six years and that subject was on the agenda. The total recreational complex is what she is suggesting this name for. Paul Jenkins, Willow Oak Drive, stated Councilman Vincenzi, he appreciates as a citizen his gesture but he would like to say a few things about it. The issue of naming it after someone that is still alive would set well with a lot of people. He thinks if there were any citizens that were worried about what it is going to be named, they would have heard form them by now. Michael Tanksley, 204 S. Park Place, reiterated what Ms. Sikes said. He spoke in favor of naming the facility Hawks Park Recreation Complex. He asked Council to please consider this name. Councilwoman Lichter made a motion to name the Recreation Complex the Hawks Park Recreation Complex, second by Councilman Brown. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OFFICER REPORTS A. City Clerk City Clerk Wadsworth had nothing at this time. B. city Attorney Legal Assistant Matusick reported the Animal Control Board had a hearing on a dangerous dog appeal on April 11th. The Board found the dog dangerous. The owners were then allowed to appeal to County Court. The hearing was today. The judge upheld the ruling by the Animal Control Board and did reiterate the fact that the animal was dangerous and found it to be euthanized. Legal Assistant Matusick reported amount of the invoices for the attorneys: Foley & Lardner for February & March was $2,024.00. For sid Nowell, it was $250. For David Kornreich on personnel matters it was $587. The city has saved over a total of $17,000 for the months of February & March. C. city Manaqer 1. FOOT request for variance procedures relatinq to SR 442 Improvement proiect City Manager Hooper explained D.O.T.'s plans are at the 90% on the design and widening of S.R. 442. They have sent a letter requesting the city give them a waiver for any variances for each of the lots that are going to have right-of-way taken. D.O.T. has approached him on behalf of the city and asked if we would be interested in a blanket variance so they could do across the board and say there was no compensation for having that variance. He went on to explain he has met with D.O.T. to find out what is in it for the City. If we were to do such, could we get additional landscaping or sidewalks out to 1-95. The basic answer was there wasn't particular an amount of money that was going to be given to the City or compensation for landscaping or anything else. He sent a copy of the letter to our attorney. In summary, we are probably hurting the residents of the City. If we were to grant this blanket variance, then D.O.T. would not fully compensate or have to fully compensate some of those individuals that are losing a particular amount of their property and have in question, whether they have a conforming or non- conforming lot. Page -9- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000 , '-" """ City Manager Hooper agreed all of these lots should be batched at one time and be presented to the Planning & Zoning Board so there can be proper determination on what they are going to do. As far as a blanket variance and a waiver, her recommendation is that they don't grant that. Each one will be brought back to Planning & Zoning. If there is an appeal from that, they could come back to Council. Councilwoman Lichter asked how many properties they are talking about. City Manager Hooper stated about twenty to twenty-five. He further commented on the taking of these properties. City Manager Hooper asked Council if they agree with him, he is seeking that he will respond back to D.O.T. saying we will have Lynne Plaskett as the point of contact and that we will batch them and have those variances go to the Planning & Zoning and they would go through the normal city process. He asked for a vote for him to respond in that manner. There were no citizens to comment at this time. Councilman Vincenzi so moved, second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The motion CARRIED 5-0. 2. Update: Rules/Regulations alonq the Intracoastal Waterwav city Manager Hooper stated they sent out letters to all the residents on Riverside about filling and trimming of mangroves and that kind of activity. They have gotten quite a bit of response back of asking how we are supposed to do and what we can do. City Manager Hooper stated he and Finance Director Michele Goins have updated the budget. Our revenues are in at 99% of what they are supposed to be. Expenditures are very, very close. There will be a budget report on the 22nd agenda. CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Mike Visconti, 316 pine Breeze Drive, feels the proposed location for the Middle School would be the perfect spot. He asked if anyone knew how much it costs to bus children. Mayor Schmidt stated in the people he has spoken to, it is a million plus a year. Mr. Visconti stated there are about 400 children in Florida Shores. They are all in walking distance to that school site. He spoke about safety procedures and having to slow down on U.S. #1. He questioned why this can't be done also on S.R. 442. He feels you have to have crossing guards. If you are going to have safety for the kids, you either spend it on bussing or spend it on crossing guards. He again commented on the Coronado Horse Farm being the perfect site. He urged Council to consider this site. Councilman Brown asked if the C.A.P.S. would be eligible or qualified to be crossing guards up there. Chief Schumaker stated by the time the school is built, he hopes so. Right now, it is restricted to police officers at school crossings but they are learning their trade and some point in time in the future he would have no problem with that. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Rhodes moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer Page -10- Council Regular Meeting May 8, 2000