Loading...
10-05-1998 - Regular ......., ...." CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 5, 1998 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Allman called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Randy Allman Councilman James Gornto Councilman Myron Hammond Councilman Gary Roberts Councilwoman Judith Lichter City Attorney Nikki Clayton Interim City Manager Kenneth Hooper City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker 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. Special meetinq of September 10, 1998 Councilman Gornto made a motion to approve the September 10, 1998 minutes, second by Councilman Roberts. The motion CARRIED 5-0. CITIZEN COMMENTS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS ONLY Dick Martinez, 317 Schooner Avenue, spoke about meetings taking place with the YMCA and DBCC over the gymnasium. He asked about having a workshop with the citizens regarding this. He would still like to see this happen. He believes the citizens of Edgewater should participate in that discussion and that decision. He doesn't feel just staff should be doing that. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Roberts had nothing at this time. Councilwoman Lichter reminded Council that on Wednesday, October 14th, between 6:30 and 8:30, she would be available to answer any questions from citizens. Mayor Allman stated in the beginning of November, Edgewater is going to be co-sponsoring an adult men's baseball league. It will be out at Whistle stop Park. Mayor Allman stated this Saturday and every Saturday thereafter until it proves not necessary he will be meeting at City Hall from 10:00 to 12:00 with an open forum also. Jack Corder and Bill Jackson will be with him on Saturday. Mayor Allman spoke about the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Fire Department. He commended the Fire Department for their work towards the event. Mayor Allman spoke of the ground breaking for Fire station #57. He feels this is another step forward for the City of Edgewater. .,.... .....- Mayor Allman spoke of local business people having quite a few problems during the fires. He spoke of Karaoke night at Athens. He read something in piece of my Mind stating that is where the new secret meetings are being held because Myron's and his picture were in the paper, but the person didn't realize the reporter from the Observer was sitting with them. If there was something going, you would have read about that. That is just how rumors get started. They will be doing Karaoke night again on October 17th. Councilman Gornto spoke about being criticized for having a panic attach on Monday the 15th We didn't even meet on Monday the 15th. The jist of the article was he had been critical of the News Journal. He was critical of the News Journal that night because of the way they presented historical facts that took place almost a year ago, as an item that was so newsworthy it deserved to be on the front page of the paper and then took two full pages of the A- section. He was also critical that night of a letter Mr. Hooper wrote to the managing Editor of the newspaper, in which he took exception to that coverage. He took the most exception to the last paragraph in the letter that came back. There was been one critical moment that has been criticized and has been the subject of conversation and a lawsuit. One point in time, there has been no pattern of trying to keep anything from the public. There has been no criticism of anything that has occurred since that date. This piece of my mind article even suggested he ought to use part of the time of the Council meeting to go over the response from the News Journal in regarding to the City's motion to have a summary judgment. He doesn't have to because the Observer has already done a pretty good job of that. Councilman Gornto read a couple of paragraphs from an article in the Observer. We have worked a year trying to pull together and get something positive accomplished. He is fed up with being fed up. Councilman Hammond agreed with Councilman Gornto. There has been a lot of negativity and he is tired of it. He spoke about a gentleman that was against him going into office that came by his place of work and spoke about Edgewater lowering the taxes approximately 3%. He hopes the News Journal will look at what the Council is doing as a whole. He would like to start seeing some positive reports and go forward. PUBLIC HEARINGS. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. First Readinq - Ord. 98-0-08 amendinq Chapter 2 (Definitions) and Chapter 10 (Hardship Relief) of the Land Development Code to add 'minor residential construction variance.' Mayor Allman read Ord. 98-0-08. Interim city Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Councilwoman Lichter and Councilman Roberts feel this is an excellent idea. Mayor Allman opened the public hearing. Due to there being no citizen comments, the public hearing was closed. Councilman Roberts made a motion to approve Ord. 98-0-08, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Page -2- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ....... 'WIll CONSENT AGENDA A. Committee Appointment - Mayor Allman's appointment of Ed Keenan to the MPO's citizen's Advisory Committee to replace John Moore B. Library Parkinq Lot Expansion proiect - Executed aqreement with A.B.M. Construction. Inc. to complete the ~arkinq lot extension Councilman Gornto made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Councilman Hammond. Interim City Manager commented on the Library Parking Lot Expansion Project. This will be completed in two weeks. Councilman Roberts asked how long the position for Mr. Keenan is for. Mayor Allman stated until the end of Council's term. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OTHER BUSINESS A. Enqineerinq Consultinq Services - Staff recommendinq approval of contract with Hans Wolfer for enqineerinq services for site plan and subdivision review. (Pulled from September 24. 1998 meetinq) Interim City Manager Hooper explained the contract and the services Mr. Wolfer would be providing. Councilman Roberts asked if he is running a private practice at this time. Interim City Manager Hooper stated he isn't doing anything for anyone else. Councilwoman Lichter stated if this gentleman works an hour, or two, or three, in turn the builder, the engineer, the project people are going to end up paying for that. Interim City Manager Hooper informed her that is correct. Councilwoman Lichter doesn't feel this is friendly. Councilwoman Lichter asked how much more on average it may cost a builder, how many hours. Interim City Manager Hooper explained it is minimal but depends on the complexity and size of the project. Councilwoman Lichter feels they need to be thinking of a list of things that will help encourage building and business and come up with some incentives. Councilman Roberts questioned if this is strictly for commercial site plan approval. Interim City Manager Hooper informed her this also included a subdivision that had a plat. Councilman Roberts spoke of there always being a site plan review fee through Community Development. Interim City Manager Hooper explained these additional fees are on top of the staff review fees. Staff's proposal is to give this a try. Councilman Roberts stated since we are accepting st. John's River Water Management permits, that should eliminate a lot of time spent on reviewing. Prior to that the City Engineer would require his own calculations on stormwater control and most of the time it was overriding st. John's. He feels smaller projects will be done fairly rapidly. Page -3- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ,.,. ..., Interim city Manager Hooper elaborated on the streamlining process that will be used. councilman Roberts suggested looking at the results in six months. He feels they should talk to some of the developers that use the system and find out what their thoughts are. Planning Division Manager Lynne Plaskett stated Mr. Wolfer would be required, prior to C.O., make sure they comply with st. John's. councilwoman Lichter asked about it being a one-year contract. Interim City Manager Hooper further elaborated on the contract. Councilman Gornto moved for approval, second by Councilman Roberts. The motion CARRIED 5-0. B. special Activitv Permit - No-Name Saloon. 2001 S. Ridqewood Avenue. requestinq Council approval to hold their first Annual Oktoberfest from October 16tn throuqh October 25tn. Patrick Girvan, 2201 S. Ridgewood Ave., owner of No Name Saloon along with his son, Jim, are available to answer questions the city put together for them. Jim Girvan elaborated on concerns expressed by the Planning Department. He elaborated on what they would like to do during Oktoberfest and the activities they are planning on having. Everything is behind a six-foot fence. They do not have a problem paying the $150 per event but the City is requesting $150 per day per event. He asked to waive the daily fee and just give them a flat $150 for the permit for the event. He spoke to 35 residents in the immediate area where the event would occur and he didn't have any complaints. Their names are provided on a petition. Mr. Girvan went on to speak about concerns of the Fire Department and Police Department. He feels this event will bring a lot of business to Edgewater. He feels they should grow together and give them a chance for the Oktoberfest. He stated they would appreciate any support. Councilwoman Lichter asked about the $150 permit fee per day for ten days and Mr. Girvan asking to waive the permit. Mr. Girvan explained technically they are going to have four days of events that they are asking for a permit for. He spoke of the improvements made to the bar. Councilman Roberts asked if they will need officers doing overtime for these events. Chief Schumaker stated absolutely. Councilman Roberts asked if a portion of the $150 per day administrative fee covers the police overtime. city Attorney Clayton explained there would be off-duty and on-duty. On-duty is covered under the $150, the off-duty would be the applicants responsibility. Chief Schumaker spoke of Casa EI Toro being a problem. Since they have taken the bar over, it has been well policed. They have had very few calls down there. They have never experienced an event of this magnitude outside of a bar and that is a political decision that has to be made. Councilman Roberts asked for Chief's input on the time as far as they are requesting extra time in the evening. Page -4- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ...., .."", Chief Schumaker explained he believes they have already set that precedent a number of Councils ago. During Bike Week all of the bars in the City have been granted from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. closing hour. Up to this point in time, that has not been a factor either. Hi-Tops was the one that made repeated requests to stay open until 3 a.m. Once you grant one bar the ability to stay open until 3 a.m., you correspondingly grant all bars that ability also. Interim City Manager Hooper feels they are into a policy area that doesn't have a lot of precedent. The rules are very fuzzy and the City has a very poor Land Development Code that would allow this to occur by special exception or any application they have here. He elaborated on how this has been done in the past. If Council is interested in meeting a middle ground and trying to work out a trial effort, they can do that. Council has full authority to say no or to come to a compromise based on what previous Councils had done in the past of working with the special areas in the zoning categories and being able to come up with conditions such as the time. There are insurance requirements and other requirements for setting aside funding for overtime for the Police. He thinks those need to be addressed and staff has some suggestions on those but the first real decision is does Council want to progress with this discussion. Mayor Allman feels they have to show some kind of basis for business friendly. The $150 for our own businesses in town is ludicrous. councilwoman Lichter feels personality becomes involved in this kind of decision and she tries to think of the total community. She also understands the businessman's point of view. It seems to her to let ten days go by without collecting something we have on the books, if we decide to go this way, would not be proper for the city. She feels $600 isn't a bad thought in figures. She feels since the bar will profit from this , they should pick up some of the expense. Councilman Roberts stated the only time they have waived the fees is for non-profit organizations. Interim City Manager Hooper stated predominantly 80 or 90% of the all of them have been non-profit organizations. councilman Hammond asked if anyone else has received any phone calls. He received around 11 phone calls and unfortunately it wasn't in favor. Mr. Girvan stated when he was out visiting the residents he didn't have one bad response. Councilman Hammond asked how long the music will go on. Mr. Girvan stated the music will be over around 1 a.m. Councilwoman Lichter asked the capacity inside by fire standards. Mr. Girvan stated they it is approximately 100 to 125. They can fit several hundred outside. He doesn't feel spacing will be a problem. He doesn't foresee a big crowd this year but they want to get a grip on it now. councilwoman Lichter feels they can be people friendly and grant permission but she spoke about a cost for fire and police services. She thinks a minimum cost could be $600. Mr. Girvan stated they would be willing to pay the $600. Councilwoman Lichter feels they need to talk about if they are ready to take the concept or not and what to do about fees. Page -5- council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ....... ..., Councilman Roberts stated if this is the first year and a trial run, why not just work within the normal hours until 2 a.m. and then we aren't having to extend hours for every other lounge. Councilman Hammond stated if the Council let's this go through on conditions and it becomes a fiasco, next year if it comes back up it would be no problem to shut it down. Interim City Manager Hooper informed him he would have to address it in the Land Development Code and the rules. The way it is structured right now, there aren't any real clear rules at all. This has never been addressed properly in the past. If it is a problem this year and it comes up next year there will be a mechanism to be able to reflect on what happened this year and Council will be able to say no. Andy Anderson, pine Tree Drive, spoke about the noise and feels we don't need it in Edgewater. Councilman Gornto stated he received one call regarding noise. There was a brief discussion as to whether or not the noise level could be regulated. Charlie Gianino, 1909 S. Riverside Drive, Unit 6, stated he is pro-business because he is a businessman. He feels the owner has done a terrific job in this location. He feels the petition has been presented very well. He lives within a quarter of a mile and has never seen him. He lives in a ten apartment building and neither has his neighbors. He feels the Council has not asked the pertinent questions such as the capacity of this building. Councilwoman Lichter clarified she asked that question. Mr. Gianino asked about restroom facilities. Councilman Roberts stated this information was listed on the application. There will be four portalets. Mr. Girvan stated they could probably fit three or four hundred people. Now that they have the addition behind that they can fit an additional two or three hundred. Mr. Gianino stated so they are going to have four hundred folks and only four johns. Mr. Girvan stated they have no idea how many people are going to show up. If there are a lot of people, they have access to sixteen more johns. There was a brief discussion regarding parking for the motorcycles. Mr. Gianino doesn't feel the people that signed the petition know what they signed. He requested they lay this on the table until Council finds out if they know what they signed. Mr. Gianino continued to speak about why he feels this event shouldn't be allowed in Edgewater. Ben DelNigro, 3130 Tamarind Drive, presented reasons why he wished Council would not approve this. Bill Schroeder, 218 Azalea Drive, spoke about the noise from the carnival. Noise coming from that direction does travel. Mayor Allman feels they should go and look at the property. Councilwoman Lichter feels a compromise could be worked out. Page -6- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ~ ~ Mr. Girvan further elaborated this is a trial basis this year. They are assuming that 100 bikes will corne at any time. If the music gets that loud that it disturbs the neighbors he asked to be called. They would like to get this going and work with together on this. Councilwoman Lichter asked what time the music stops. Mr. Girvan informed her 1:00 a.m. After that they will have music inside. Councilman Roberts asked if there is anything on the legal end that they have to consider. City Attorney Clayton explained the difficulty we have is we are not helped by the existing codes and there is nothing under which they could grant or deny that is something that will help them do this consistently. City Attorney Clayton spoke about the timing being difficult to review the site because the next Council meeting is in the middle or just before this event. She spoke about the inspections being done by Planning, Building and the Fire Department. Councilwoman Lichter stated the gentleman is corning in for a waiver of fees to hold this event. She questioned the permit for the stage. City Attorney Clayton elaborated on the type of activities that are out of the ordinary that would be associated with the tavern that would require a special permit. Councilwoman Lichter feels they can not waive ten days of expenses. She feels extending the hours to 3 a.m. is horrendous. She would like to see them pay $600 and feels the hours should not be extended and whatever else is necessary. Mayor Allman asked about the hours for taverns being extended during Bike Week. Chief Schumaker stated for the past at least four years, during Bike Week, all the bars in Edgewater have been granted an extension until 3 a.m. City Clerk Wadsworth stating there is an ordinance on the books that allows Bike Week to operate until 3 a.m. Interim City Manager Hooper feels Council needs to look at if this is what they want and if this the proper place and if they want this to be an annual event. If Council decides this is an appropriate place and this is an appropriate function, then they can work out some of the details. Councilman Roberts feels this event will never get as big as Pub 44. They don't have the property. Mayor Allman stated they have a business that is going to have the motorcycles there whether Council approves it or not. The band is going to be playing whether Council approves it or not. The pudding wrestling can be stopped. Councilman Roberts feels there has to be some sort of compromise. If this is a trial basis, why not try it without the extended hours, a certain amount needs to be paid in fees, and there needs to be good supervision by the Police Department. He suggested daily inspections and felt there had to be some kind of control in case things get out of hand to protect the public interest. Mayor Allman feels you aren't going to appease everyone. Page -7- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ~ ~ Mr. Gianino asked for a staff report on this, which Interim City Manager Hooper explained. Councilwoman Lichter feels they need to feel this out. Councilman Roberts feels it is in the best interest of the owner's of the business to keep it under control because if it does not go smooth obviously next year the City isn't going to want it to happen. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they are planning this once a year or twice a year. Mr. Girvan informed her twice a year, during Biketoberfest and Bike Week. Mr. Anderson thinks they should be thinking about how this kind of business benefits the average citizen of this City. He feels most of the people of the community won't be using this facility. Ben DelNigro, 3130 Tamarind Drive, feels Councilman Roberts is more concerned with the money we are going to be making rather than how the citizens are going to feel about this. councilman Gornto made a motion to deny the special activity application, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Councilman Roberts asked if they have any stipulations as far as being able to cut off the permit if there are any problems. Interim City Manager Hooper explained if Council wants a daily inspection, they need to direct staff to do so. He informed Council of 17 conditions listed in the agenda package. He further commented on Council being able to include additional conditions. There was a ten-minute recess at this time. Councilman Gornto made a motion to table any further discussion of this to the end of the meeting and finish all the other agenda items, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 4-1. Councilwoman Lichter voted NO. C. Water Bill Fees - Mr. Merrick appealinq the accrual of minimum month Iv water and sewaqe disposal charqes for an unoccupied dwellinq. and seekinq a reduction in the amount due Interim City Manager Hooper presented the background information for this request. James Merrick made a presentation regarding bills he was receiving he thought were a mistake because each bill would say if not paid, the water would be cut off and the meter had been gone for years. He was not made aware that this is a continuous thing. He doesn't think it is fair for him to have to pay it under those conditions. If he would have known, he would have kept the water on since he has to pay for it anyway. He is asking the charges be eliminated for the amount of time that the meter was not there. Councilman Roberts stated they have minimum water and sewer fees. He questioned if the meter was removed and how can you be expected to pay a minimum fee if there is no meter. Interim City Manager Hooper explained the portion of the ordinance pertaining to this. This was changed in 1994 because the City was having a deficit of paying its debt service. Page -8- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ..... ...,., There was further discussion regarding having to pay a minimum bill whether service is being used or not. Councilwoman Lichter questioned section 19-11 of the ordinance regarding meters. She asked if a letter goes out so the resident knows that without a meter and is it clear to the resident that they will still be charged a fee. Interim City Manager Hooper explained it is a bill that goes out. The same bill, with our without the meter, you are notified of the accrual and the amount that has been accumulated. Councilman Hammond asked Mr. Merrick if he requested the meter be removed. Mr. Merrick explained the water was cut off after the first month. Nobody made it clear to him that he was going to have to pay every month due to there being no meter and no water service. Interim City Manager Hooper elaborated on what is done across the board for any utility customers. Councilwoman Lichter asked about the agreement made by Mr. Merrick to pay $196.23 every thirty days. Mr. Merrick made that agreement based on the condition he could appeal it. Councilwoman Lichter asked about information blacked out on the agreement made by Mr. Merrick. She doesn't feel the man understood what was going on. Interim City Manager Hooper explained how staff handled this situation. Councilwoman Lichter asked Interim city Manager Hooper if it was his understanding that Mr. Merrick would go before Council even if he signed the agreement. Interim City Manager Hooper informed her yes. Councilman Gornto asked if the City has ever waived these types of fees before. Finance Director Karen Rickelman explained the only time she could recall waiving fees is if the building is totally demolished and they have abandoned their capacity. If they wanted to rebuild on that property at a later time, they had to repay the impact and connection fees in order to have that service available to them at that time. As far as waiving a minimum bill for service, there are none that she is aware of. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if they have ever had any bills of this magnitude. Ms. Rickelman spoke of a recent case involving Steve's place. He also abandoned all his capacity for all the units he waived impact fees for. Councilman Roberts asked why it took five or six years for Mr. Merrick to bring this before Council. He asked why he waited so long if he had been getting monthly bills. Mr. Merrick stated he assumed it was a mistake and it would be a simple deal to come in and get it corrected. He considered it a mistake and didn't bother with it. He didn't get any information telling him what was going on. Mayor Allman stated with the meter being taken out, he would be under the impression it would be disconnected also. Councilwoman Lichter asked if Mr. Merrick is going to reside at this location or move a family in. Mr. Merrick explained he had made several attempts to make an office out of it. Councilwoman Lichter asked if there is a hardship involved with this sum. Mr. Merrick stated there certainly is. Page -9- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 '-" ...,., Councilman Hammond stated there is almost a $2,400.00 bill. From a city standpoint there are certain obligations. He suggested cutting it in half or took off a $1,000. He questioned if something like that would be acceptable. Mr. Merrick stated that is a lot better than where he is now. Councilman Hammond asked if Council would be acceptable to this. Councilman Roberts spoke of other property owners who pay when their residence isn't being used. It would be nice to help the gentleman out but they also have to think about the other property owners and how they have been affected by the same charges on a monthly basis. Where do we draw the line? Interim City Manager Hooper stated anybody that has a $2,300 bill has a hardship. Is it extraordinary and is it impossible? He can't answer that. But do you set precedent when you do it? certainly you do. You will have other people come in. This has been since 1993 and is there a hardship involved that can be identified to Council. That is the basis. He doesn't think they are interested in changing the overall system. Councilman Roberts feels the payment schedule is set up to pay it off fairly rapidly. He asked if the payment schedule could be changed and extended to lower the payments to make it more acceptable as far as the owner being able to make a payment. Interim City Manager Hooper stated staff has no problem with that. The only reason they chose the short term was to get him underway. He wanted to occupy the building and make use of it and that this was going to be on the agenda fairly quick so the term wasn't as important as the act of helping him get going with this being an agendaed item for Council to consider. Councilwoman Lichter suggested $100 per month. Interim City Manager Hooper stated which is similar to what has been done in the past but the Council hasn't dealt with this magnitude in the past. She agreed with Councilman Hammond to cut some of the cost off. She is for knocking off about half of the number and extending the payments if possible. That is a motion. The cost being $1,196.08 cutting the amount in half but with no extension of time. Councilwoman Lichter stated from this point forward she would like to see what they are sending people when their meters are taken out of the ground. Councilman Roberts mentioned other people coming before Council asking for their fees to be dropped. Mayor Allman stated you would have to handle it on an individual basis. Interim City Manager Hooper stated anyone has the option to address Council and bring in a request as such. He thinks Council needs to recognize and incorporate in the motion that this is a hardship based on the fact it is 5 years. Councilwoman Lichter stated she believes she is making this motion in that she sees this as an unusual situation and she feels a hardship is involved that has gone for a long period of time. She feels if he clearly understood what was involved when that meter was out, he would have turned his water on as he earlier stated. Councilman Hammond seconded the motion. Councilman Roberts asked if the City has a lien on this property because of the amount due. Interim City Manager Hooper stated no. Page -10- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ..... -...' Councilman Roberts stated when large amounts are owed does this, does the City normally have to lien property to secure the funds in the future. City Attorney Clayton explained on some matters they do lien. This is not something you lien because you have control with the service availability. Mr. Merrick agreed this is acceptable to him. The motion CARRIED 4-1. Councilman Gornto voted NO. GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Doris Hill, 112 Lincoln Road, spoke about Councilman Gornto's remarks. She did read the two letters in a piece of My Mind that he referred to. She did not write either one of those letters. She thought the points were well taken. She has had a lot of problems with this Council and most of them are due to the fact that she feels the criticism of the City has come from some members of this Council. She hasn't heard anybody praise the City up there. What she has seen is some members of the Council that aren't governing by our Constitution. We have a Charter. That Charter was voted in by referendum by the people of the City of Edgewater. One of the things it states in that Charter is that our department heads will live in the City so they will have a stake in the city. That includes the Attorney and the Manager. She stated the Council has managed very well to get around that but as far as she is concerned, they have not governed by the Constitution and she doesn't appreciate it. Ms. Hill stated the other thing she objects to is the Council's choice of an attorney. She feels she came into this job with baggage and she is particularly troubled over the meeting that was held when under Attorney comments she brought up the lawsuit with Mr. Barrett. When she came into the meeting that night, Mr. Barrett was sitting here. That came up at the very end of the meeting and he was still here. She would really like to know when Nikki Clayton knew she was going to address that under Attorney comments. It was not on the agenda. And what in the name of the good Lord was Mr. Barrett doing here that night. Somebody told him. Mike Visconti, 316 pine Breeze Drive, stated for some reason the Council is blaming the News Journal about what happened at the first meeting of this Council. It took one hour and fifteen minutes to approve or disapprove of an event for the No Name Saloon. The night Council took office it took exactly fifteen minutes. Mayor Allman stated he is sick and tired of this being brought up and thrown around. Let's let the court take its due course. Let's find out what the final judgment is going to be and we will go from there. Mr. Visconti stated the previous Council was also voted by the people of Edgewater and we should have respect for those Councilman and their appointees. That night the Council humiliated the City Attorney and the City Manager. Mayor Allman stated you say it is humiliation. It was done as the Charter directed Mr. Visconti. We are talking about Charter government. It was done the way the Charter was directed. He is not going to speak anymore about this until it runs its course through the courts. He is personally getting fed up with other people constantly stirring this up and giving the News Journal and other people to talk about in this City. Page -11- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 .... ...., Mayor Allman stated we are moving forward. Let us move forward. Let the court decide this. He is sick and tired of people bringing it up, running it through the mud, running his name through the mud over the last year, when all that this Council has done is sit here and try and take this city forward. And you know what we have done it in spite of people like you. And I am proud of the fact. Mr. Visconti stated as a citizen of Edgewater he wasn't proud of what happened that night. Mayor Allman stated a lot of people weren't proud of that night. As a citizen of Edgewater, you couldn't be talking on that microphone as much over the last year as if the old Council was up here. I have sat and taken everything everyone wanted to throw at me and I am not taking it anymore. I am done with it until the courts give their final judgment, he doesn't want to hear about it anymore. Councilman Roberts addressed Ms. Hill's comment regarding Council not abiding by the Charter. The Charter does say Council has the right to give exceptions to department heads as far as residency requirement. The old Council did it, actually with the Police Chief, many years ago. I haven't heard anybody complain about that. Ms. Hill stated when they voted on that if she is not mistaken, that wasn't even on the referendum. It was understood that the Chief was not included. Councilman Roberts stated it is in the Charter so the Council in the best interest of the City can have the best people they feel will help this staff run the City. We are abiding by the City Charter. Ms. Hill stated in your opinion you are, in mine your not. Councilman Roberts stated you don't understand the Charter then. Mayor Allman stated she is entitled to her opinion. Councilman Roberts stated he agrees with the Mayor. We have been listening to negative comments for a year and it is getting pitiful. We have done capital projects. The fire department is getting a new fire house, we are going to do a recreation program and we have lowered the taxes. Most of the time when cities do capital projects they have to raise taxes. He doesn't know what you people want to complain about. Councilman Roberts stated he used to come to meetings and listen to Ms. Hill complain about George McMahon. We fired him because we didn't have any confidence in him and now you are complaining about our people. Ms. Hill stated she only complains about the things she doesn't think Council is doing properly. Councilman Roberts feels Ms. Hill's views on the Charter are wrong. If living in Edgewater is so miserable, why do you stay? He feels we have a great community and a great staff and that they are turning this place around and we have lowered taxes and he is planning on doing it again next year as far as he is concerned. The way Mr. Hooper directed our budget, he feels it is a real possibility. Councilman Roberts feels they have gotten government under control. He stated Ms. Hill and Mr. Visconti haven't had a positive thing to say about this community for years. Ms. Hill stated she has had a lot of positive things to say about this community. councilman Roberts stated he hasn't heard anything. Page -12- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ...... ...., Ms. Hill stated she hasn't had anything positive to about Councilman Roberts or the Mayor or Councilman Don't say I don't care about my city because I do. about it enough for the past ten years that I come the meetings. say Hammond. I cared to all of Mr. visconti stated he is sorry Councilman Roberts feels this way. He does have interest in the City. If you notice in the past four of the six years he has lived here, he has been a member of the Beautification Committee and tried to do a good job on that Committee for this city. He commends the Council for what they have done in the past year but the damage has already been done and a lot of damage has been done to the City. He has no animosity against anyone on the Council. He is just trying to be a citizen of this community. He has attended 85% of the Council meetings in the past six years. Mitch Cole, New Smyrna Beach Rotary Club, spoke of the great improvement in the Building Department. He has been in this area for 25 years and probably the biggest improvement of any city he knows in the last two years has been the City's Building Department. Mr. Cole spoke about the carnival they have sponsored in the past. The~ would like to hold the carnival again on October 28th - 31 t. The carnival owners need to know by tomorrow night or they are going to try and find another booking. They will have all of the necessary paperwork in by the next meeting if they could at least address it enough tonight so he could let them know something by tomorrow night. All of the money we raise goes toward scholarships and community activities at the high school. The last 25 years the Rotary has given a scholarship away and 60% of that scholarship has gone to Edgewater students. Mr. Cole heard the gentleman complain about noise and that is the first complaint he has heard. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council they would be having a work session with the Planning and Zoning Board on the 13th. If Mr. Cole wishes, he could make an ap~lication and get it in and be in front of Council on the 13 h. Mr. Cole stated if he gets a positive attitude, he could at least let them know something. This will be the third or fourth time they have done this. They will use the same site in the past. Interim City Manager Hooper thinks with the terms and conditions being followed up on, staff wouldn't object to that. He stated they could take this up as a special item during their work session on the 13th. There was no opposition from Council. Dick Martinez, 317 Schooner Avenue, stated the Charter does say the Council may waive in order to get the best candidate but if you look at the wording carefully the intent of that waiver, it intended there be a selection process and applicants. It specifically refers to selecting the best applicant. There have been no applicants. It has been sole sourced. He thinks that violates the spirit of the Charter more than the wording. Dominic Capria, 606 Topside Circle, feels they need to stop bickering. Every month is the same thing. He agrees they should have applicants. He gave Mayor Allman credit because in the past they couldn't get up to the microphone and talk the way they talked without being knocked down. He feels all they are doing is giving fuel to the News Journal month after month. Page -13- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 ~ ...., OFFICER REPORTS city Clerk Wadsworth had nothing at this time. City Attorney Clayton had nothing at this time. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council of a joint meeting with the Planning and Zoning Board scheduled for October 13th at 6:30 p.m. The purpose is to discuss Land Development Code updates. They will discuss problems they have with the current Land Development Code, types and concepts of things Council wants to do as well as the Planning and Zoning Board. Staff, Carl Gosline and himself will be talking to Council of options that other cities do and have in their codes. Interim City Manager Hooper stated on October 19th, McKim & Creed has requested to come and update the Recreational Complex Master Plan. They will describe to Council work done to date with feedback from Council and then going back. They are requesting a work session October 19th at 6:00 p.m. There has been a great deal of discussion about the YMCA and if Council wishes that is an appropriate time to have them here and understand the constraints and configuration of the site. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council of a meeting last week with DBCC at the Daytona Campus, consisting of himself, City Attorney Clayton, and the YMCA. He apologized that Council didn't know in advance but he thought he had described that on and off at times, they were having a meeting with staff, there had been some discussion as to whether it would be posted and have all of the elected officials there. He spoke about what was discussed at the meeting. If DBCC went in with the City for a YMCA, it would be located on their site. This would be part of the grant application. He left them with a clear understanding that he didn't think Council was interested in doing anything except locating the facility on the 26 acres. They also discussed the FIND project and how there would be access off of Park Avenue into the southern portion of their campus. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if Council would like the college to come in and address them regarding options. Councilman Roberts feels it is critical that they stay on their own property. Councilwoman Lichter stated whatever they do, she hopes they could afford it and that it would be their own. Councilwoman Lichter asked if these meetings should be made public. Interim City Manager Hooper elaborated on her concerns. Interim City Manager Hoo~er updated Council on the Police Contract. On October 18 , their contract no longer exists. The employees from the PEA and SPEA have their raises. The Police at this point are not enjoying those benefits and they are going to continue to work on that. The first meeting is set up the week of October 10th. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if Council would like the YMCA to come before them on October 19th. It was the consensus of Council to set this up on October 19th. Council returned to Item 7B. Page -14- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 W' ....., Interim City Manager Hooper stated the application has been denied and voted on. Is there any conditions in which Council would grant an application or put certain types of restrictions on that? He urged Council to look long term and if they are interested in that location for that function, is that appropriate for the City of Edgewater and take that into consideration when they vote. Councilwoman Lichter feels they should look at daily inspections. If they give it a positive vote, she would like to add that to the list. Councilman Hammond stated someone brought to his attention during the break, Friday is a school day. He spoke about the music stopping earlier due to Friday being a school day. Mr. Girvan stated that is no problem. Councilman Hammond feels midnight the music should stop. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of the $600.00 and made a motion not to extend the hours. Councilman Roberts feels the City needs to reserve the right to pull the permit if there are any problems. Councilwoman Lichter feels they all see this in a different light. She is giving her best compromise. What she has proposed is a compromise of her personal feelings. Councilman Hammond agreed with Councilwoman Lichter. Interim City Manager Hooper spoke of the insurance policy to protect the City from liability. He stated City Clerk Wadsworth described to him in the past, they have used $100,000 limit requested. The sovereign immunity limits is $200,000. He feels the insurance should be in the term of $200,000. Councilwoman Lichter made a motion to accept the concept in the application with the modifications earlier addressed in terms of daily inspections, increasing insurance liability, not extending hours beyond regular hours, on Thursday night the music is cut at twelve, failure to meet conditions result in revocation of permit. This will take place October 16th to October 25th with events occurring for four days. Councilman Roberts asked about the activities on the remaining days. Mr. Girvan explained all of the events will be inside. Councilman Roberts asked if the vendors will be there the whole time. Interim City Manager Hooper clarified the outside activities would occur on October 22nd through the 25th. Councilman Roberts asked about overflow parking in Winn Dixie. He asked if they should get some written agreement from the management of the plaza showing they have approval to use the parking lot before the permit is issued. Interim City manager Hooper stated they would be required to do that. That is part of the condition for the overflow parking or else they are restricted just to their property. Councilman Hammond seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED 4-1. Councilman Gornto voted NO. Page -15- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998 W'" ....., City Attorney Clayton spoke of the question regarding parliamentary procedure. The process in Florida generally is that they want you to give reasons why you do what you do. If you deny something, what would be necessary to agree. This is exactly what you followed and there has been no problem in terms of parliamentary procedure. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Gornto made a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:04 p.m. Minutes submitted by Lisa Kruckmeyer Page -16- Council Regular Meeting October 5, 1998