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09-07-1994 - Special ~ ~ CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER SPECIAL MEETING SEPTEMBER 7, 1994 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hayman called the Special Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the community Center. ROLL CALL: Mayor Jack Hayman Councilman Kirk Jones Councilwoman Louise Martin Councilman Michael Hays Councilman David Mitchum City Attorney Krista Storey City Manager George McMahon City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Present City Manager McMahon asked Council to set a date for the final public hearing for the budget. He recommended September 26, 1994 at 7:00 p.m. It was the consensus of the council to hold the final budget hearing on September 26, 1994. city Manager McMahon stated he had a request from utilities Director Terry Wadsworth to make an emergency replacement of our transmission for our sludge truck which is $5400. Councilman Hays made a motion to authorize the emergency expenditure of funds to repair the sludge truck, second by Councilwoman Martin. The motion CARRIED 5-0. City Manager McMahon stated he would like to discuss the status of the County inter local service agreement for an area of interest from Boston Whaler to Ariel Road. He stated this could wait until the end of the agenda. Road pavinq program - councilwoman Louise Martin's request for discussion City Manager McMahon explained the reason for Councilwoman Martin's request. Councilwoman Martin stated she has received letters and phone calls from residents that feel the cost of paving is too much. She went on to talk about Hibiscus which can not be assessed 1/3 because the Florida East Coast Railroad doesn't want to pay that 1/3 because they have their own access road. She stated all of this has been added into everyone's payment. City Manager McMahon explained the Council has tried to equalize the assessment amount by splitting part of it up for drainage, part of it up for the assessment and part of it up with the revenues in the City for the cost savings we can make once the roads are complete. Finance Director Fred Munoz explained the charts which list the figures involved with the road paving project. City Manager McMahon explained the misunderstanding as to what is being assessed in Florida Shores. He stated this project would not be done if the entire City was not sharing in the cost. He stated the misunderstanding that only Florida Shores people are paying for this project is not correct. '-" ....., There was further discussion regarding the costs and services involved with the road paving project. There was a discussion on the roads to be paved that are included in the assessment area. community Development Director Mark Karet explained the process which needs to be followed before the paving will begin. He explained the equalization hearing was held on September 12, 1994, the City will advertise for bid the week of October 3, 1994 for a four week period, the bids will be opened the week of November 4, 1994, the contract will tentatively be awarded on November 21, 1994, and the notice to proceed will be issued tentatively on December 5, 1994. He explained the paving project will take approximately 18 months to complete. Mayor Hayman asked if there are any objections of council for citizen comments. Councilman Hays asked if Councilwoman Martin was finished which she was. There was no objection from Council for citizen comments. Councilman Mitchum stated there is going to be other public hearings to address this matter on September 12, 1994. Reverend Roger Miracle, Friendship Baptist Church, Hibiscus Drive asked not to be removed from the Florida Shores Subdivision. He stated Hibiscus Drive is the perfect street for heavy traffic, if the project is going to be done the City might as well do it all, and he did not come to be part of a fractured city. He feels the City would be harming businesses. He stated he would love to have free paving but it is going to cost the church $12,000 to pave. He explained their street is scraped three times a week but it needs to be scraped once a day. Doris Hill, 112 Lincoln Road, commented on assessable lots. She asked if the City is just including buildable lots. Finance Director Fred Munoz stated all vacant lots are being assessed. Mrs. Hill went on to say that Hibiscus must be paved. She stated most of it will be paved and the only part that will not be paved is the part that abuts the railroad. She feels the City should be picking up the railroad portion. Mrs. Hill spoke about 12th Street. She stated 50% of the people who live on 12th Street own property that can be called part of this assessment. Mr. Munoz elaborated on the people being assessed on 12th Street. Mrs. Hill feels 26th and 34th do not have to be paved at this time. She feels 26th, 34th, the part of 12th that can't be assessed and the part of Hibiscus that can't be assessed should be taken out of the assessment. vic Liedwell, 2510 Evergreen Drive, asked if the people who live on a street that is not taxable on the other side are going to be charged 2/3 or 1/3. Mr. Munoz explained the way the assessment is being charged. He stated 1/3 of the total cost would have to be paid. George Ewing, 2923 Royal Palm Drive, stated he wants paved roads. He asked why should just the people in the assessment district have to pay for it. city Manager McMahon explained everyone in the City is sharing in the assessment cost. Page -2- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 ~ ...., Mr. Ewing stated the people in the assessment district are picking up 2/3 and they are picking up part of Hibiscus. city Manager McMahon stated normally this is what you do with an assessment project. Mr. Ewing commented on the increasing of the stormwater fee from $3 to $6. He asked if the extra $3 is going to pay for the drainage in the assessed area. He was informed yes it is. He stated the other $3 is going to remain as an overall fee for the rest of the city. He asked how that is going to work. councilman Mitchum explained what his proposal was. He feels drainage is a City-wide problem. He stated he also proposed to increase the stormwater fee to help pay for the stormwater project in Florida Shores but it will not stop that fund from taking care of city-wide problems in the future. City Manager McMahon explained what the $3 increase will be used for and what the current $3 stormwater fee is being used for. Mr. Ewing commented on the city not currently assessing vacant property for stormwater. He feels the city should give a lot of consideration to including the vacant properties. Mayor Hayman explained the problems the City came across when the stormw~ter fee was discussed. I , Cliff Clark, 1818 Evergreen Drive, stated he is all for paving. He commented on a big portion of the cost is going to be for draina4e. He commented on when this was brought up by Councilman Mitchum the figures were 60% for paving and 40% for drainage and now itiis 77% for paving and 23% for drainage. City Manager McMahon elaborated on Mr. Clark's concerns. Councilman Mitchum explained 70%/30% was also mentioned and that he was disappointed when it came out to 77%/23% but the fact of the matter is that is what it is. He stated they were all disappointed with that. Mr. Clark spoke on how the increase has taken place. He asked the cost savings if the assessment is paid up front. Mr. Munoz listed the cost savings if this is paid before October 12th. Robert Pogg, 2925 Yule Tree Drive, feels Hibiscus should be paved. He asked where the $40 per linear foot figure came from. city Manager McMahon stated it came from the engineering study. Mr. pogg asked how the City knows what it is actually going to cost if the bidding has not been done yet. City Manager McMahon further elaborated on Mr. pogg's concerns. There was further discussion regarding the figures for the proposed paving project. I I I Sabrina Pogg, 2925 Yule Tree Drive, stated they moved here a year and a half ago from Daytona Beach because of the taxes so they decided to move to Edgewater. Since they have moved here, they have put in the sewers and now paved streets. She asked when the taxes are going to end. She stated people can't afford this. Richard Jones, 1530 Sabal Palm Drive, commented on people being concerned about the costs being incurred on their property. He commented on the people of Edgewater not being able to afford all of these changes. He explained he was under the assumption the stormwater fees would be taking care of all of the stormwater runoff problems and the construction associated with that and the residents were only going to have to pay for the actual paving of the roads. He stated the people don't understand where the high fees are coming from. City Manager McMahon and Mayor Hayman elaborated on his concerns. Page -3- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 .... ....., Councilwoman Martin stated she has asked that this be on the agenda tonight because she is concerned that the people have to know what is going on. Michael Visconti, 316 pine Breeze Drive, asked why did the City let it out of the bag that we have a $15,000,000 project instead of going to some firm and have the firm give you the amount that it costs to pave the streets in Florida Shores. Mayor Hayman stated I under the laws of this state, any citizen or anybody to include private enterprise can come in and see that information. City Manager McMahon further elaborated on Mr. Visconti's concerns. I Mr. Visconti asked if Meadow Lake would be assessed. He was informtd Meadow Lake would not be assessed. Martin:Ludwig, 2223 Travelers Palm Drive, stated last year a 12% increase was shoved down their throat to build a $750,000 reserve fund. He asked what the status is of this reserve fund. City Manager McMahon elaborated on this matter. Councilman Hays commented on the reserve fund balance. He explained this money needs to be there in order for the City to obtain bonds. He stated this money needs to be there in case of an emergency situation. Mr. Ludwig asked if the City is making progress and he was assured we are. Mr. Ludwig commented on an increase in his taxes. City Manager McMahon elaborated on his concerns. He stated 80% of the tax bill goes to the County and 20% goes to the City. Gary R6berts, 2411 pine Tree Drive, commented on the streets in question for paving, Hibiscus, 35th, 26th, 12th, etc. He feels Hibiscus should not be taken off the schedule. He feels the . I buslne~s people deserve a paved street. He feels the people on 35th and 12th deserve a paved street as well. He feels 26th and 32nd are questionable and can possibly be taken out because there are no residents or businesses on those streets. There was a ten minute recess at this time. Billy Klein, 2910 Needle Palm Drive, commented on the 9500 buildable lots in Florida Shores and asked if the sewer assessment was done on 6000 buildable lots. Mr. Munoz clarified the sewer assessment was done on 6000 parcels which included two or more lots. Mr. Klein feels 9500 buildable lots is extremely high. Councilman Mitchum clarified it is equivalent lots not buildable lots. Mr. Klein feels the residents of Florida Shores are going to find out their assessment is going to be a lot higher than what is being estimated. Mr. Munoz clarified his concerns. Mr. Klein also asked if the County is going to assess the people for the $25,000 spent to place these people on the tax rolls. Mr. Munoz stated the City is assessing $824 per lot which will be placed!on the tax bill in the amount of $89.36 per lot per year. I Mr. KIJin asked why the City can't send out the billing. Mr. Munoz stated it must be an in place system for collection in order to sell bonds. Mr. Klein spoke about the last time the streets were paved. Page -4- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 ~ ~ Councilman Hays stated we have been going over this at public meetings for many months. He stated if we get this rolling, we can get it going on this year taxes and hold the tax down because if the city delayed this another year, likely interest rates would go up and the cost of paving itself continue to rise. Mr. Klein stated tomorrow is an election and there is another one in November and he feels that is the time for the people to get some satisfaction. Councilwoman Martin stated the paving was taken out of the CIP program because the people said they didn't want it and they didn't want to pay that much at that time and it was taken out. She stated we can't stop the increase in cost. She stated the longer you delay it the more it is going to cost in the end. Jim Slep, 3003 Kumquat Drive, commented on the prepayment option. He asked if there will be an adjustment made when the bids come in in November if the assessment is prepaid. He was informed there would be an adjustment. Gerri Small, 1829 Victory Palm Drive, stated the City has never done a surveyor asked anybody if they wish to prepay. Councilman Mitchum elaborated on Ms. Small's concerns. Ms. Small commented on statistics in the newspaper which said the City would borrow no more than $16,500,000 which is higher than the figures being quoted. City Manager McMahon explained that is a bond validation figure. Dominick Fazzone, 302 Paradise Lane, commented on a paving committee that was established about two years ago to create a paving program. He stated at that time they couldn't come up with a plan where the people of Edgewater would be happy with it. He stated the only plan they came up with was 50/50. Mr. Fazzone commented on Councilman Mitchum's proposal of 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3. He expressed concern about the City uniting and asked Council to consider uniting Edgewater. Cliff Clark, 1818 Evergreen Drive, commented on the cost per lot and the discount if the assessment is paid early. Mr. Munoz elabor~ted on his concerns. I I Enqineerinq and surveyinq proposal from Quentin L. Hampton Associates, Inc. relating to professional desiqn services for Air Park Road from 22nd street and Silver Palm Drive to the north riqht of way line of SR 442 at Air Park Road City Manager McMahon made a brief presentation at this time. utilities Director Terry Wadsworth gave a detailed description of the proposal from Quentin L. Hampton Associates, Inc. Mr. Wadsworth answered questions presented by Council. Councilman Hays made a motion to accept the proposal from Quentin L. Hampton Associates, Inc., second by Councilman Mitchum. The motion CARRIED 5-0. , Councilman Jones asked if a decision on the road paving program is going to be made at a later meeting. He was informed there is a public hearing on September 12, 1994. Hold public hearinq on proposed millaqe rate of 6.13178 and Res. 94-R-17 Adoptinq tentative FY-1994/95 city budget Mayor Hayman read Res. 94-R-17. Page -5- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 -- .."", Mayor Hayman opened the public hearing. , City Manager McMahon gave a staff report and summarized the proposed millage rate and proposed budget. Martin Ludwig, 2223 Travelers Palm Drive, stated last Friday he took his proposed tax sheet into the New Smyrna office, stated his reJection, they took down the information, and he signed it. He was!informed he would be contacted to have his property reassessed and he hasn't heard anything yet. He stated he called and they couldn't find anything regarding his complaint. Mr. Ludwig continued to explain his situation. He stated the changes have now been made and his assessed valuation has been put back where it belongs. He commented on problems his neighbors have had with assessed valuations on their tax bills. Mayor Hayman stated this Council has no role in the property appraisal and assessment process that he is talking about. Mr. Ludwig asked what formula is being used to assess the property of the property owners. Mayor Jayman stated he would help Mr. Ludwig with a call to the countY!TaX Assessor's office to talk to the correct people to get this matter straightened out. , i Doris Hill, 112 Lincoln Road, spoke on the paving of the property on the!east-west streets and these streets being added into the assess~ent district and there are no property owners to assess for the paving of these streets except those property owners already included in the special taxing district. She feels this is unfair and the City must pick up the added cost of these parcels that are not assessed. Mrs. Hill stated a promise was made that no added taxes except the $3 additional stormwater fee would be necessary to get the north-south paving accomplished. She stated the City can not not pave the north-south streets. Mrs. Hill asked what is more important putting three more people on bad roads in City vehicles generating expensive repair bills or spending those dollars on the roads and then adding the extra people~ Mrs. Hill commented on the City survey that was done. She referr~d to certain questions on the City survey. ! Mrs. Hill commented on hiring two more police officers and a building inspector. She stated the citizens of Edgewater can not affordiit. I I Mrs. Hill stated if the City is going to raise the taxes, make sure the money goes for capital improvements. That benefits all of us. Or put the dollars into the reserve fund for future emergency use. She feels we don't need these extra employees. She stated they aren't going to die without them but they are going to die if they don't get those roads. Pat Palmier, 617 Mooring Lane, commented on the amount of the emergency reserve fund. There was a brief discussion regarding the emergency reserve fund. Mr. Munoz stated at the end of FY 1993 the total reserve fund was $522,035. Page -6- Council special Meeting September 7, 1994 ~ ~ Mr. palmier stated last year when the taxes were increased 26% he understood that but he didn't like it but it needed to be done in order for the City to catch up. He asked why the City is proposing a 5% tax increase this year and why this couldn't be postponed for another year. Mr. Palmier asked Mayor Hayman if he voted against the 5% tax increase because there were problems with it or if he didn't feel this increase was justified. Mayor Hayman elaborated on his concerns. Mr. Palmier then asked if we had an increase or decrease in incidents in Edgewater during the past year. Police Chief Schumaker stated it has increased by approximately 17% to 18%. Mr. Palmier questioned the need for additional police officers. City Manager McMahon elaborated on his concerns. Mr. Palmier stated he lives in an area where he would like to see police!presence a little more. I I . Mr. Palmler asked if accommodations are going to be made for low income families. city Manager McMahon stated he wished they could and explained why this could not be done. Mayor Hayman further elaborated. Councilman Hays commented on the property annexed into the City and the need for more patrol because of this. He went to speak about increased police patrol and getting to know the officers who patrol the streets. Scott Simmons, 2114 Needle Palm Drive, commented on his property being vandalized. He can justify to a point the police department needing an increase in officers. He commented on the Building Department hiring a building inspector to increase the permit process. He stated because of all of the increases his house is going up for sale because he can no longer afford to live in Edgewater and it has become too much of a burden. City Manager McMahon commented on the water and sewer rate increases. I George:Ewing, 2923 Royal Palm Drive, commented on the amount of the general reserve fund. He spoke about tax rates in previous years. He then spoke about assessment increases. Mr. Ewing spoke about the general reserve fund increases over previous years. He feels the tax increases at this time are atrocious. There was a brief discussion regarding the budget. There was a ten minute recess at this time. John Garr, 2304 35th Street, commented on the bike path on Roberts Road being redone. Councilman Hays stated there was a budget discussion on changing the Roberts Road Bike path progressively from asphalt to concrete. Mr. Garr does not understand why the bike path was not made with concrete to start with. Councilman Hays stated the money was not there and it was done with unappropriated funds. He further elaborated on this matter. will Anderson, pine Tree Drive, commented on the salary cost for some of the people who work for our City. He feels the salaries are too high. He went on to list the past and present salaries of the Finance Director, City Clerk, Chief of Police, and the utilities Director. Page -7- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 ....... ....." Dan Hatfield, 231 Old County Road, stated he appreciated the time Council has spent in the budget workshops. He spoke about the lengthy process that was followed involving the budget. He thanked Council for the tough decisions they have made. Dominick Fazzone, 302 Paradise Lane, commented on the proposed property taxes for the city of Edgewater. He commented on two additional police officers being added to the Police Department. He feels it is worth the extra $.13 a week to get the quality of life the City of Edgewater is giving to the citizens. Mr. Fazzone feels the city should hire a building inspector to help with the issuance of permits in a more timely fashion. Gerri Small, 1829 Victory Palm Drive, spoke on the cost of increasing taxes and the sewer and road assessments. She stated she can not afford to live in Edgewater. She can't sell her house due to the high costs against her home due to the assessments. She stated Council is doing a great job but there are a lot of people that can't afford it and she asked when the spending is going to stop. Councilwoman Martin stated the ClP was not something the City decided to do, it was a state mandate. She stated they tried to get it done before the state stepped in because they don't care how much they charge you. She stated it was something that needed to be done. City Manager McMahon further elaborated on the state mandates for the ClP project. Rick Clark, 126 E. Connecticut Ave, stated he respects the police force but we can't afford two police officers. He went on to explain why the City doesn't need another building inspector. Chief Schumaker explained the need for two more police officers. City Manager McMahon further elaborated on the subject of discussion. Councilman Jones spoke about how Edgewater is growing. He stated the bigger the City gets the more demands it has. He commented on the ClP program discussed four years ago and the paving being taken out of it. He feels the City needs to come up with innovative ideas to get our staff to be more productive without hiringlmore people. He cautioned the Council for projects they may take on in the future. Chief Schumaker presented statistics on where the City stands for Police Officers per thousand as opposed to the County, the State of Florida and the United States. He stated we are 30% below the lowest figure. Councilman Mitchum spoke on the budget and the need to increase our police patrols. He commented on how the city is growing in size. He feels City staff does a great job with what we have got to work with. Mayor Hayman stated he doesn't want to see a tax increase. He presented his concerns on the sewer and paving assessment. He spoke about an article in the News Journal regarding a report published by the Combined Forces of organized Labor and the united 'States. Mayor Hayman went on to talk about how the City can get revenue. He commented on the additional police officers. He stated he is not comfortable with this increase. I Mayor Jayman spoke about making up for an approximately $80,000 shortfall if we go through with the paving program. He commented on what the citizens want regarding the levels of services within the City. He is not convinced the City needs a 5% tax increase. Page -8- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 ..... ..., Councilman Hays explained why he does not want his taxes to go up and why he does not want the quality of life to be decreased. Councilman Hays spoke on the projections that were made on the water revenues which was based on historical data. Councilman Hays expressed his support for the Police Department. Mayor Hayman closed the public hearing. Councilman Hays made a motion to approve Res. 94-R-17 setting the proposed maximum millage rate at 6.13178 mills, second by Councilman Mitchum. The motion CARRIED 3-2. Mayor Hayman and Councilwoman Martin voted NO. The next meeting to be held regarding the proposed maximum millage rate will be held on September 16th. Hold Dublic hearina on Ord. 94-0-21 Increasina stormwater manaaement utility fee , , Mayor Hayman stated staff recommends the adoption of this ordinance as drafted. Mayor Hayman read Ord. 94-0-21. Mayor Hayman opened the public hearing. Edward Keenan, 1905 pine Tree Drive, spoke regarding the stormwater. He asked if the stormwater will be done after all the projects are completed or will it be stopped by a sunset law provision. City Manager McMahon explained the bonds need to be paid off and they are scheduled for fifteen years. Mayor Hayman stated there is no sunset law provision in the ordinance as it has been presented. Mr. Keenan feels it should be. Mayor Hayman asked for legalese regarding the suggestion for a sunset 'clause. city Attorney Storey explained this can be included and she doesn't feel that substantially affects the notice that was provided on the ordinance. Councilman Hays stated if Council wants to address the $3 increase with the sunset provision on that he doesn't have a problem with it. city Attorney Storey further elaborated on this. There was a discussion regarding the $3 earmark for the project being deleted in fifteen years. Finance Director cautioned that two years from now if the city decided to refinance the bonds because interest rates drop, at that time we could revisit and extend the number of years with the new bonds. City Manager McMahon further spoke about the bonds. City Attorney Storey explained the current ordinance not earmarking the $3. Councilman Jones made a motion to insert the sunset provision as well as the dedication to bonds and accept Ordinance 94-0-21, second by Councilwoman Martin. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Ord. 94-0-20 Increasina refuse rates City Manager McMahon made a brief staff presentation. ! Mayor Hayman read Ord. 94-0-20. There was a discussion regarding the $.50 equipment reserve fund. Page -9- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994 ..... ..., , councilman Hays asked how the 3 cans per month is going to be monitored, who will keep track of this and how there is equity in that. ICity Manager McMahon stated we will pick up what is out there And we will advise people at the time that we are limited to thr~e cans for extra trash. He stated if a cost needs to be reduced in that budget or the people do not want to pay the rates now being charged, we can accommodate by reducing the level of service. There was further discussion regarding the charge for garbage cans over three. There was a discussion regarding a bag system where people get their bags from the city and are charged for each bag. Councilwoman Martin made a motion to approve Ord. 94-0-20, second by Councilman Jones. The motion CARRIED 5-0. Ord. 94-0-22 Increasinq water rates i City Manager McMahon briefly addressed this subject. I I Mayor HaYman read Ord. 94-0-22. I Mayor Hayman asked if there was anything to show the public. city M~nager McMahon stated there is a public hearing on this scheduled for the next meeting. He stated if someone is intere~ted in reviewing the study, they can contact the utilities Direct6r or the City Clerk. I i Mayor Hayman spoke about a conservation packet the City purchased and distributed a while back, which is a device you place in your faucet heads and also gives you a recommendation on how to reduce the 5 gallon consumptive use. Mr. Clark asked to speak during the first reading. ~Ck Clark, 123 E. Connecticut Ave., stated he has no problems with stormwater, paving or garbage but he does have a problem with increasing the water rates. He asked Council to try and find a place in the budget to help pay for this. Martin!Ludwig, 2223 Travelers Palm Drive, complained about the quality of water within the City. He commented on the policy the City has for paying the minimum water bills. He commented on a six-mortth policy for people that are not here year round. Councilman Hays made a motion to accept 94-0-22, second by Councilman Jones. The motion CARRIED 5-0. I Wilma Bowzer, 116 Merrimac street, asked how the water meters are read. !She stated she would like to see the complete reading on the water bill so people know exactly what they use. She asked where the breaking point is on the bill. utilities Director Terry Wadsworth stated he believes there are prior and current readings on the bill which are usually in three numbers because the city only bills in thousands. He explained printouts are available at City Hall with their readings from month to month. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Mitchum made amotion to adjourn, second by Councilman Hays. The meeting . I adJourned at 12:11 a.m. I Minutes submitted by: I Lisa Kruckmeyer ! i I i Page -10- Council Special Meeting September 7, 1994