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05-06-2013 - Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER WORKSHOP May 6, 2013 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL Mayor Thomas called the Workshop to order at 5: 01 p.m. in the Council Chambers . Present Mayor Michael Thomas Councilwoman Christine Power Councilwoman Gigi Bennington Councilman Michael Ignasiak Councilman Gene Emter City Manager Tracey Barlow City Clerk Bonnie Wenzel City Attorney Aaron Wolfe Absent None 2. PRESENTATIONS a. Presentation by the Code Enforcement Division regarding the benefits of using a Special Magistrate ma. Agenda Request 1u Presentation City Manager Barlow made a staff presentation. Fire Chief Steve Cousins introduced Fire Captain/Fire Marshal Jeff Lariscy, who was going to make a presentation by identifying the pros and cons and different options related to how they process the Code Enforcement cases in the City. He commented on the current Code Enforcement Division Summary, current Code Board process, Code Enforcement Special Magistrate and Opportunities to Increase Efficiencies . Councilwoman Bennington asked what the cost was for the Code Enforcement Attorney last year. Captain Lariscy spoke of not having the Attorney at every meeting in an effort to save money. Fire Chief Cousins identified it was roughly $200 per hour. They budgeted about 1 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 two hours per meeting. He estimated the cost to be about $4, 800 . He further commented on the hardships that were created by delaying cases as a result of not having the Attorney at every Code Board meeting. Councilwoman Bennington wanted to make sure the Attorney fees were covered by what the City had collected in citations and fees . Captain Lariscy then commented on the types of cases worked by the Code Enforcement Officers . Fire Chief Cousins further explained there were things that went on behind the scenes that weren' t commonly associated with Code Enforcement. Captain Lariscy then showed Council before and after photos of some Code Enforcement cases . Fire Chief Cousins identified for Councilman Ignasiak that a notice of violation was given to the property owner and not a renter of a property per Florida Statutes . Fire Chief Cousins identified something that may look very simple in terms of trash could often times contain things that were problematic turning them into health and safety related issues . Captain Lariscy continued his presentation by commenting on why time was important. Councilwoman Power questioned how many cases were commercial compared to residential . City Manager Barlow identified a majority of the cases were residential related but they did work their share of commercial . Fire Chief Cousins spoke of having pretty good compliance on the commercial side . Captain Lariscy felt the business owners were probably better educated than the residents . City Manager Barlow identified a lot of commercial was aesthetic. Most of the commercial cases were dumpster enclosures and landscaping. Captain Lariscy briefly spoke of commercial cases being harder cases . Councilwoman Power noticed some of the thrift stores started putting their wares out front again and then they were gone. City Manager Barlow identified some of them had to be re-educated. Captain Lariscy felt they see how far they can take it. Captain Lariscy then commented on the Current Code Board Process . Councilwoman Power asked about giving the property owner ten days to come into compliance and questioned if this was ten business days, which it was not. 2 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 Councilman Ignasiak questioned how they notice a vacant property owner, which Captain Lariscy explained they had to post the property, post a notice at City Hall, and send regular and certified mail to the property owner registered with the Property Appraiser' s office, which was expensive . Councilwoman Power asked if they had to wait until the mail came back before they took the next step. Captain Lariscy identified as long as as attempt had been made or the notice of violation had been delivered they could follow it right on through. There was further discussion that by law the City had to use the address where the tax bills are sent, which was the address in the Property Appraiser' s records or they could use an address provided to them by a property owner. City Manager Barlow then commented on the challenge with foreclosed properties as a result of these properties changing hands while going through the Code Enforcement process . He further commented on City staff bringing properties into compliance and then liening the property for the cost to the City. Captain Lariscy continued his presentation of the Current Code Board Process . Councilwoman Power asked about the property owner getting billed for the City to come in and mow a property. Captain Lariscy informed her they give them the opportunity to pay it and then they lien the property. City Manager Barlow explained with foreclosed properties the liens aren't satisfied until the property sells . He also identified a lot of the liens are satisfied but some of them may lay out there for several years . City Manager Barlow spoke of mowing properties sooner as it costs less to do it, the City has less money tied up and there were less complaints from the neighbors as well as less of a chance of reducing the neighboring property values . Captain Lariscy spoke of people questioning why the process takes so long and identified some of the things they had done to try to speed up the process . Captain Lariscy continued his presentation by describing what a Special Magistrate was and what they do as well as the Special Magistrate Process . Councilman Ignasiak asked about extenuating circumstances that would allow Code Enforcement to go on property. Captain Lariscy identified every city' s Attorney was different. He further commented on how emergency situations were treated. Fire Chief Cousins identified they 3 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 try to rectify the problems if possible. Councilman Ignasiak expressed concern with public safety issues . Captain Lariscy identified the law allows them to go right to a hearing for emergency situations . Councilman Emter questioned how many times a year they find an emergency situation. Captain Lariscy spoke of seeing quite a bit of unsecured pools, which was going down as a result of banks taking the foreclosed properties over. He estimated they get two unsecured pools a month. Fire Chief Cousins spoke of biggest problem area being in between the time a property is abandoned and the bank takes it over. Captain Lariscy spoke of doing further research and finding out who the lending institute was . Once they send them a copy of the notice of violation and they are aware there is a violation on the property, they seem to want to step in and take over that property. They find this has been working for them and would continue to let the banks know. Councilwoman Power questioned if they elected to have a Special Magistrate that that didn't preclude the City Attorney from being there. Captain Lariscy explained the Magistrate would not represent the City and staff would have to have their own attorney if they felt one was needed. It was not mandatory for the City to have an attorney there. City Manager Barlow further explained for complex cases City staff would consult with the City Attorney but he didn' t necessarily need to be at the Code hearing. There was then a brief discussion regarding the Code Enforcement Board having their own Attorney that represented them. Fire Chief Cousins spoke of one attorney not being able to represent both sides . City Manager Barlow further commented on the purpose of the Special Magistrate or the Code Enforcement Board. There was then a discussion regarding Ty Harris being the Code Enforcement Board Attorney for quite a while . Councilman Emter asked if they had an estimate of how much the Code Enforcement Board Attorney was paid over the last year or two. City Manager Barlow didn' t have that figure but agreed to get it for the Council . City Manager Barlow commented on the enhancements that were made to Code Enforcement in an effort to help maintain property values . There was further discussion regarding having Attorney Harris at the meetings only when there was a suspicion a case would be challenged, which City Manager Barlow and Captain Lariscy identified didn't work. 4 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 Captain Lariscy continued his presentation by commenting on the Special Magistrate Process. There was then a discussion regarding the difference in the length of time between the Code Enforcement Board process and Special Magistrate process . Fire Chief Cousins pointed out the Code Enforcement Board met once a month on a certain day and time, which was identified in their by-laws, which didn't allow them the flexibility to move the cases closer or back as they needed. Councilman Emter asked if it would be possible for Council to establish twice a month meetings but cancel one unless there was an emergency situation where the timing element was most important. City Manager Barlow informed him that was a possibility and depended on the availability of the members appointed to the Code Enforcement Board. Captain Lariscy identified they wouldn't be able to cancel a meeting because they would be issuing citations for two meeting dates . Councilwoman Bennington felt the easiest solution as far as when the Code Enforcement Board meetings were held was to not specify a date and time in the by-laws and identify they had to meet at least once a month. Captain Lariscy commented on a previous attempt to change the day of the meetings to Wednesday and how difficult it was as there were seven members on the Code Enforcement Board. They still hadn' t come to a conclusion. Councilman Ignasiak was looking for something more convenient for the City and felt if it was easier to schedule one person than it was to schedule seven and worked to their advantage then the Special Magistrate was an option they should explore . Captain Lariscy further commented on the workload included with getting the agenda packets together and to the Board members . Councilwoman Power questioned if they went with the Special Magistrate if they would have two meetings a month. Captain Lariscy advised her they could do it as many times as they wanted. Captain Lariscy continued his presentation by commenting on the Process Requirements . Fire Chief Cousins identified the current Code Enforcement Board process worked but they were looking to speed up the process, which was the biggest benefit of having a Special Magistrate . He further identified things that stimulate complaints being made to Code and taking care of the issues earlier having a huge impact on the surrounding neighborhood. Captain Lariscy continued his presentation by going over the Comparison by Jurisdiction. 5 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 There was a brief discussion regarding the number of cases in other cities compared to Edgewater. There was then a discussion regarding having both a Code Enforcement Board and Special Magistrate. There was then a discussion regarding whether an Attorney is needed when they have a Special Magistrate. City Manager Barlow spoke of having a Code Board Attorney at the meeting to represent the seven members or having a Special Magistrate, which is similar to a judge that hears the cases in lieu of the Code Enforcement Board. Councilwoman Bennington asked if they decided to go to a Special Magistrate how soon the program could be instituted. City Manager Barlow estimated about 90 days and further commented on what was involved in the process . Councilwoman Bennington pointed out they had Code Enforcement Board appointments on their Regular meeting agenda tonight. City Manager Barlow recommended they still make the appointments as they would still be hearing the cases until they amend or abolish the Code Enforcement Board. Councilwoman Bennington expressed concern with the enthusiasm of the members of the Code Enforcement Board if they knew they were going to be dissolved. City Manager Barlow identified some of the members were aware and he hadn't heard any resistance from the Board itself as they were being as transparent as they possibly could. Captain Lariscy felt the Board would agree with speeding up the process . City Manager Barlow informed Council if they gave Staff direction to go with a Special Magistrate and then change their minds that they could stay with the Code Enforcement Board. Councilwoman Bennington asked City Manager Barlow if he wanted a consensus or wanted them to wait and vote at the Regular meeting. City Manager Barlow informed her he didn't need a vote or authorization but brought it to Council ' s attention because he wanted to make sure he understood where Council wanted to be . Councilman Emter spoke of attending several Code Enforcement Board meetings . He felt they were good all the way around. He was interested in more detail about the cost factors . He was uncomfortable going into it blind. There was further discussion regarding the cost for the Special Magistrate being the same as the Code Board Attorney or less . 6 Council Workshop May 6, 2013 City Manager Barlow agreed to put the actual numbers together. He needed consensus from Council if they wanted him to start the process and bring the numbers or if they wanted him to bring the figures back first before giving him direction. Mayor Thomas spoke in favor of looking at a Special Magistrate. Councilman Ignasiak was also in favor but he wanted to see some projected figures . It was the consensus of Council start the process . City Manager Barlow agreed to bring the figures back. Councilwoman Power felt they should move forward and mentioned the cost savings with regard to the paperwork. Captain Lariscy spoke of the need for more training for the Code Enforcement Board and cost being a factor as to why they haven' t received more training. Chief Cousins felt if they became more efficient they would continue to clean up the City much faster. The sooner they close the cases out, the sooner they free up the Code Officers ' time to start the next case. Councilwoman Bennington spoke of also figuring in the Code Officers ' time to the cost. Mayor Thomas commented on contacting Captain Lariscy on two separate occasions regarding Code Enforcement matters . He felt they needed to speed the process up to keep the City beautiful. 3. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Thomas adjourned the Workshop at 6: 01 p.m. 7 Council Workshop May 6, 2013