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07-20-1998 - Regular ...... --- CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING JULY 20, 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 Excused Present Present Present INVOCATION. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Regular Meeting of July 6, 1998 Councilwoman Lichter made a motion to approve the July 6, 1998 minutes, second by Councilman Roberts. The motion CARRIED 5-0. CITIZEN COMMENTS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS ONLY Jack Hayman, 3003 Travelers Palm Drive, stated he was present to comment on the US 1 Arterial Investment Study (AIS). He feels this is probably one of the most important efforts and initiatives that the City will undertake because of the outcome it will have on generations to come. He feels this is an opportunity for the Council, staff and the citizens to come together collectively. He thinks the idea of looking at the future of the US 1 corridor dwarfs all of this. He feels the issues are not just traffic, the issues here are economic, social and environmental. If we mess this up, there will never be another chance to redesign and reconstruct US 1. Mr. Hayman urged Council to pay close attention to the options presented later by the Department of Transportation. He hopes Edgewater will rise to the occasion and work diligently with DOT to devise the best plan for this City. William Berg, 3035 Needle Palm Drive, read a letter from Commander Blickenstaff regarding a Veteran's Day Parade to be held by the American Legion Post #285. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they could go ahead and move this item up on the agenda. B. Special Event - Veteran's Day Parade - Edgewater American Legion Post #285 requesting permission to hold a parade on November 11, 1998, at 9:00 a.m., commencing at Veteran's Park. Councilwoman Lichter made a motion to approve this request, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. ..... ..." CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Roberts asked Interim City Manager Hooper if the marking of the roads in Florida Shores as truck routes has been addressed. Interim City Manager Hooper informed him there is a memo back which he has put in Council's mail. Two of the roads have already been designated as truck routes, the other two will take Council action to define that. If they wish to do that, let him know and he will place it on the agenda. Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the Southeast Volusia Senior Advisory Council that she was appointed to. She presented an update of the meeting she attended. The main purpose of this group is gathering information of the available facilities and activities for seniors. The Brannon Memorial Library is basically going to house senior activities for this area. Councilwoman Lichter asked Chief Schumaker about the status of the dispatchers in Oak Hill. Chief Schumaker informed her the Sheriff's Department has pulled out of that area and we will commence dispatching on August 3rd. There is a letter from Oak Hill's Council asking Edgewater to pick up that cadence. Mayor Allman had nothing at this time. Councilman Gornto stated the City went through hours of budget haggling and the Council spent two nights going over the budget line-by-line. This was an advertised workshop that was open to the public. He was looking for more public to be present to hear how the Council was going to spend the money. He feels it was poorly attended. He suspects they are going to see after they have gone through all of the work of determining how they would propose to spend the money and they set the millage, then they are going to fill the room and hear gripes about that this millage doesn't compare favorably to another town. He was a little bit disappointed. Councilman Hammond had nothing at this time. A. Public Hearing - 1998 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Mayor Allman opened the public hearing. Interim City Manager Hooper made a staff presentation. Chief Schumaker spoke about on the time table to spend this money and the advisory board that has been set up. They will meet this Friday at 2:30 p.m. He has requested the money for radios for the chaplains and a computer used to download the laptop computers. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they should specify where the $1,600 comes out of. Interim city Manager Hooper informed her it will come out of Chief Schumaker's budget. Mayor Allman closed the public hearing. Councilman Gornto moved for approval, second by Councilman Roberts. The motion CARRIED 5-0. B. Public Hearing - Ord. No. 98-0-03, amending Chapter 9.5 (Flood Control and Drainage), Article III (Stormwater Management), Section 9.5-56 (Exemptions) Mayor Allman opened the public hearing and read Ord. No. 98-0-03. Interim city Manager Hooper stated this is the second public hearing on this and this issue solely involves the avoidance of a duplication of City rules and the st. John's Water Management rules concerning drainage. Page -2- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998 '-' .""", Planning Division Manager Lynne Plaskett explained it does eliminate the duplication of the required permits for new construction. Mayor Allman closed the public hearing. Councilman Gornto made a motion to approve Ord. 98-0-03, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. C. First Reading - Ord. 98-0-05, Amending the Zoning Ordinance, Article VI (District Use Regulations and Requirements), section 606.01 (B-2 Neighborhood Business District Councilwoman Lichter feels this was well explained by Ms. Plaskett and Mr. Moore from the Economic Development Board. She stated she did not really understand what Mr. Moore was talking about when he referred to E.A.R. in that we didn't have proper requirements. Interim city Manager Hooper explained the E.A.R. is an appraisal and evaluation report that is due five years after the Comprehensive Plan is adopted and found to be consistent with the State's Comp Plan. We are in the process of going through that five year review and analysis. It started in 1997. There is a letter back from the State indicating their difficulty with what had been put into place. That is being reviewed now. We are going to make those responses and resubmit the appraisal and evaluation report form. That should be back to Council within the next 60 days. What Mr. Moore was describing is you can't amend the Comp Plan while that E.A.R. is being reviewed. Ms. Plaskett stated she would like to clarify what Mr. Moore said. Generally speaking, you can not amend the Comp Plan until the E.A.R is found sufficient by the State. Any Comp Plan amendments previously submitted prior to the required E.A.R you are allowed to continue with those. The B-2 District would fall under the category so that information was incorrect in that they could move forward with the B-2 if it warranted that. We decided the best thing to do would be to wait until the consultant came on board. Mayor Allman read Ord. 98-0-05. There were no citizen comments to be made. Councilman Roberts made a motion to approve Ord. 98-0-05, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. CONSENT AGENDA There were no items to be discussed on the Consent Agenda. OTHER BUSINESS A. US 1 Arterial Investment Study (AIS) - Purpose is to identify needed transportation improvements along U.S. #1 corridor, from south of S.R. 442 to north of 1-95 at Ormond Beach Ms. Plaskett introduced Andre' E. Lauzier, Dave Readall, Brenna Morehead, Mike Neidhart, Barbara Davis, and Gregg Caro. Andre' Lauzier, TEl, made a slide presentation of this corridor study. Page -3- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998 .., ...., Councilwoman Lichter asked about an alternative to keeping the bulk of extra traffic off our main street. She spoke about extending Williamson Boulevard. She went on to speak about six lanes. She spoke about some businesses being eliminated if the road is widened to six lanes. She feels one great way to get rid of a traffic problem is to put it someplace else. Councilman Roberts spoke about Mission Road. He feels that should be considered for alleviating some of the traffic on u.S. #1. Mr. Lauzier went on to speak about traffic projections. Mike Neidhart, Volusia County Metropolitan Planning Organization, spoke about future plans for Williamson Boulevard. Mayor Allman stated the City has already been contacted by the Speedway to use u.S. #1 to reroute traffic to SR 442 out to 1-95. We are going to pick up a considerable amount of traffic. Mr. Lauzier explained the goal of this study is for them to gather information and present it in a report to the Metropolitan Planning organization. They will come up with long and short term improvements for u.S. #1. Councilman Roberts asked once the research is done, when would DOT anticipate doing work on u.S. #1. He was informed at this time, there is nothing programmed past the AIS study for US 1. If they come up with an intersection improvement, that would not necessarily have to go through the complete environmental study followed by final design. That could be something that could be done as an enhancement project. In term of six laning the corridor, there is nothing programmed for future study beyond their study at this point. Councilman Roberts spoke about starting a beautification program down the center of u.S. #1. He asked about a time table they would have to be concerned about regarding disruption of our work. Mr. Lauzier stated in terms of main line improvements, he thinks he can say safety the DOT process is more than seven years down the road. That type of input is important to their study because they will note that in the study because there are funds available that could be identified through this study. The primary focus for the City is to do a beautification program within the medians. They will incorporate that into their study. Jack Hayman, 3003 Travelers Palm Drive, thanked TEl. He feels what would be most helpful for the community right now is if they can ask these individuals what is the role of the City and DOT in the design alternative development stage. He spoke about why he feels this is significant. He feels it would be important if they could establish what the citizens of this community can expect and what latitude they will be given from DOT. He spoke about the parking being removed from u.S. #1. He feels it is important to get this out in the open. Gregg Caro, DOT, elaborated on Mr. Hayman's concerns. Councilwoman Lichter feels Edgewater is unusual in will be divided if the six-lane goes into effect. about it being difficult to make a left at u.S. #1 Avenue due to their being no arrow to indicate you there was some way to indicate a directional area, problem could be taken care of. that the City She spoke and Park can turn. If she feels that Councilwoman Lichter spoke about making a left going north at Ocean Avenue and u.S. #1 to go to the Post Office. She also spoke about this intersection during school hours. Page -4- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998 '-' ...." Councilman Gornto asked when they are going to sit down with Edgewater and get their comments. He asked if they are collecting their comments tonight. He is not prepared to give all his comments tonight. He asked if they want a workshop scheduled. Mr. Lauzier spoke about their public involvement process on this project. They have conducted six open houses to date. coming out of their second round of open houses, they felt they weren't getting the specific localized issues as clearly as they felt they needed to in order to build consensus. Mr. Lauzier stated they would be happy to come back to a workshop if that is what Council wants. The best avenue of that is through the local staff representative being Lynne Plaskett. He commented on their staff team. They are looking for ideas on and thoughts about the alternatives. Councilman Roberts feels it is critical before Council puts in input to the DOT that they get input from the business owners on u.s. #1. Mr. Lauzier spoke about the business survey they have done. Based on what they have seen, there are sections on u.s. #1 that are much more needy of a six-lane section. Dick Jones, 1530 Sabal Palm Drive, asked why they aren't widening 1-95 opposed to u.s. #1. He was informed the Department is addressing long term improvements to the Interstate. He knows there is a section of 1-95 under design in the u.s. 92 area. He doesn't know the details of what sections are under design due to 1-95 being out of this corridor. Councilwoman Lichter feels keeping the traffic out should be an option. She suggested they have an option of how traffic could be rerouted. She agreed they need to meet with the business people. Mr. Lauzier elaborated on a no-build alternative which would prohibit future growth. Councilman Roberts feels it would be real important to keep u.s. #1 to a four-lane highway. This really is out only downtown. In order to keep traffic flowing smoother, they should modify intersections, turn lanes and so forth and do whatever it takes to keep traffic flowing as smooth as possible. Councilwoman Lichter asked what the questionnaires sent out brought in from Edgewater. Mr. Lauzier elaborated on Councilwoman Lichter's concerns. They sent out 50,000 newsletter and received responses on 3,240. The top comment from the citizens was do not widen u.s. #1. The number three comment was to widen u.s. #1 and the number two comment was traffic signal problems. From the business survey which was 1,300 distributed, 334 received, the top comment leave u.s. #1 as is. Interim City Manager Hooper suggested Council put in writing to TEl a short issue paper, a statement which he and Ms. Plaskett will draft and bring back to Council for them to vote on. Mr. Lauzier stated he would leave his business card with the city Clerk. C. Camp Out at Rotary Park - Cub Scouts Councilman Gornto moved for approval, second by Councilman Hammond. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Page -5- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998 "-' .~ GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE Wolfgang Unger, 1820 Kumquat Drive, spoke about his neighbors approaching him regarding heavy equipment traffic on Kumquat Drive and cracks in the road. He expressed concern with the children playing on the roads in Florida Shores. He spoke about a garbage truck flying down his road. He asked council to look into that kind of traffic down their roadways. Interim City Manager Hooper stated he would be bringing back to Council the recommendations over which roads can have weight limits, requirements for those and then let them vote on such. Councilman Gornto spoke about the speed of those vehicles. He spoke about school buses that go down Riverside Drive going fast. He feels if a City employee is driving a truck 45 mph in a 30 mph zone, he should get a ticket. Mr. Unger stated he knows the truck number. Councilman Gornto urged him to turn it in. Dick Jones, 1530 Sabal Palm Drive, hopes DOT is working on alternate means of transportation. He responded to Councilman Gornto's remarks regarding public participation during the workshop meetings. He feels more background information needs to be provided to the citizens. He feels the Council should keep the VCBDC and the Chamber of Commerce. He is glad to see the UTE suit coming to an end. He went on to speak about the business association with the Guava and Hibiscus Drive upgrade. He is happy to see this is moving forward. Paul Jenkins, willow Oak Drive, he thinks more children at play signs and more speed limits signs would help with the speeding problem. OFFICER REPORTS City Clerk Wadsworth had nothing at this time. City Attorney Clayton was excused from this meeting. Interim city Manager Hooper 1) Authorize advertisement of the proposed 6.44 millage rate He asked for Council's authorization to advertise the proposed millage rate of 6.44 mills. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they establish that, is there leeway in there to put the organizations into the budget. Interim City Manager Hooper explained they have a leeway of about $50,000 to $100,000 in the budget that is in the contingency area. Councilwoman Lichter asked when they will know about the grant for the firemen for the new fire station. Councilwoman Lichter asked about the fire station project not being finished until the next budget year. Interim city Manager Hooper explained they are going to do the advertising of the bid, it will start construction sometime in September and it is roughly four months for completion. He spoke about the hiring process and training process for the new firemen. Page -6- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998 '.... ..., Councilman Roberts asked about the training of the firefighters being included in the budget. Interim City Manager Hooper informed him yes. Councilman Roberts asked if they would save the expense of putting the firefighters through training if some of our volunteers are hired. Interim City Manager Hooper explained they would save some but more than likely they will do a trade. They would be taking the volunteers that are trained and moving them into paid professional and then the volunteers would be replaced who also go through training. Councilman Hammond so moved, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Interim City Manager Hooper stated they have had a request to meet with the citizens for Responsible Government. He confirmed that August 17th they will start an hour early and give them an opportunity to speak to Council at this facility. They have requested a work session with this group but it will be open to the public. It was the consensus of Council to hold this meeting August 17th at 6:00 p.m. Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council on September 10th is the first public hearing for the budget and September 15th for the second public hearing. Interim city Manager Hooper informed Council the reorganization of the Public Works Department will be on the agenda for the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilwoman Lichter made a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Minutes submitted by Lisa Kruckmeyer Page -7- Council Regular Meeting July 20, 1998