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10-07-2013 - Regular GAOL CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 7, 2013 6:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, INVOCATION Mayor Thomas called the Regular meeting to order at 6: 00 p.m. in the Council Chambers . There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag, which Mayor Thomas asked the Boy Scouts that were present at the meeting to help him with. He commented on the time he spent in Boy Scouts and all the stuff he learned, which lead him to his career as a Wildlife Officer. He then commented on becoming an Eagle Scout and did the Boy Scout pledge with the Boy Scouts . Present Mayor Michael Thomas Councilwoman Christine Power Councilwoman Gigi Bennington Councilman Mike Ignasiak Councilman Gene Emter City Manager Tracey Barlow City Clerk Bonnie Wenzel City Attorney Aaron Wolfe Absent None 2 . APPROVAL OF MINUTES There were no Minutes to be approved at this time. 3. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/PLAQUES/CERTIFICATES/DONATIONS Police Chief Dave Arcieri presented an update on this past week' s Wolf Pack, Operation CITE (Collective Initiative for Traffic Enforcement) , which he considered a big success . Mayor Thomas asked Police Chief Arcieri for an update on the second K- 9, which he did at this time. 4 . CITIZEN COMMENTS The following citizens spoke: 1 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, read a prepared statement into the record. He asked the Council if they were happy with Edgewater the way it was today and what the future would bring. He compared Edgewater to neighboring cities with regard to the issuance of building permits . He then commented on the 35' height limit being a 50% to 49. 5% vote. He asked if there was a way in the future to repair the 35 ' height. At the next election he recommended it be put on the ballot to rescind that resolution. Mr. Visconti commented on there being many projects in the City back in 2007 that fell through such as Sea Gate and Edgewater Harbor. Councilwoman Bennington identified that was a Charter amendment that was put on by the voters and the only way they could do it was if the Council decided to put it on the next election to take the height limit off. Mr. Visconti was hoping something could be done in the future. Councilman Emter commented on there being a Charter review done every five years and questioned where they fall in that cycle . City Clerk Wenzel thought it was 2014 or 2015. Councilman Emter then questioned how that comes about and how do suggestions make their way into a Charter review. City Clerk Wenzel informed him there was typically a five-member committee that reviewed the Charter and they typically would go through it section by section and make any recommendations to City Council . They do notice the meetings and the public is invited so if anybody had any suggestions, they would consider them. They bring the recommendation to City Council and Council would do a resolution to put whichever amendments on the ballot. Councilwoman Bennington pointed out that each Councilmember appoints one person from their district. Councilman Emter asked if there had been any thought or plan as to when this operation would begin or if it was too soon. City Manager Barlow informed Council it was something they could research to see if it was 2014 or 2015 and it would come back before Council, who would appoint one member from their district and it takes off from there . He believed if they assembled the committee in 2014 it would be put on the 2016 ballot. City Clerk Wenzel informed him if they were done in time it could go on the 2014 ballot. City Manager Barlow spoke of seeing in the past where the committee and the Council had recommended no additional changes to the Charter. City Clerk Wenzel informed the Council if the Charter Review Committee didn't make that recommendation that they could put it on the ballot also. Councilwoman Power spoke of some of the building going on in New Smyrna was Venetian Bay, which was already established that was being started up again. She didn't think a lot of the building going on in New Smyrna was 35 feet. City Manager Barlow informed her the only 2 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 thing he was aware of that had occurred in New Smyrna over 35 ' was the Hampton Inn on Flagler Avenue. Chuck Martin, 205 Cherrywood Lane, identified he loved Edgewater the way it was and that was why he had lived here since he was five years old. He spoke of the industrial park that had brought in a lot of business . He further spoke in opposition of having condos on the river blocking the view. He felt Edgewater was one of the last small towns and pointed out Edgewater was one of the last small towns that did their own garbage pick up. Mr. Martin had lived in Wildwood Subdivision for 20 years . He had a friend with him that was issued a citation for his wife parking on the grass in the front yard. They don't want residents run out of Edgewater. He was ready to move out and worked at Boston Whaler. He' s the kind of neighbor you want. He had a radiator go out in his truck and his neighbor put it in for him and didn' t charge him a dime . Nick Marresca, Wildwood Subdivision, spoke of the lady that complained at the last meeting about his house and people parking on the front yard. He and five people ride four wheelers at the Mondecks and they work on their four wheelers at his house. He then commented on receiving the citation and identified he drove around his neighborhood tonight and there were 28 people parked on the grass . The last time he got a warning there were 30 people parked in the grass . He is buying a house in the next two or three months and if he had to worry about Code Enforcement all the time he wouldn't live in Edgewater. He came from New Smyrna to Edgewater because it is cheaper to live here and he has worked at Boston Whaler for ten years . He doesn't want to be harassed all the time by Code Enforcement for parking on the grass and leaving his trash out. They work on the four wheelers at his house because he has tools. He has run into this problem before and tried having a shop but has to pay $300 a month to have a shop that he splits the cost for but they can't afford it. He spoke of blocking traffic and identified that 90% of his friends drive diesel trucks that were four door long beds . It was constantly an uphill battle. He didn' t see how it was fair that all of the other people in the neighborhood get away with it. He spoke of fertilizing, putting fire ant killer down, doing landscaping out front as well as putting up a fence when they moved in and he is a renter. He had photos of the 28 homes that had cars parked on their grass . City Manager Barlow informed Council the complaint he was referencing was brought up by the representative from the Homeowners Association at the last Town Hall meeting that there wasn't strong enough Code Enforcement. He further identified he received more compliments about Code Enforcement than he did complaints . He didn't know the particulars of Mr. Marresca' s circumstance but he has never received complaints about selective enforcement on any particular resident. He also described Code Enforcement as being a tough balance. He felt 3 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Code Enforcement was very fair and went above and beyond in working with the citizens to help them resolve their issues . Sometimes it ' s not always to the satisfaction of an individual but they were serving 21, 000 residents and several hundred businesses and were receiving more compliments than complaints . Mayor Thomas identified they discussed this at the HOA meeting the other night. He asked how many Code Enforcement Officers they had. City Manager Barlow informed him they had two full-time who were supervised by the Fire Marshal as well as three or four volunteers, who were able to write notices of violation and citations . Mayor Thomas spoke of Code Enforcement being complaint driven and felt Code Enforcement wasn't picking on Mr. Marresca and that someone was complaining and they were responding to that complaint. City Manager Barlow reminded Council that there was due process, which he further commented on. Councilwoman Bennington spoke of Wildwood Subdivision being notorious for not having enough parking area. She further spoke of Code Enforcement being driven by complaints but if they see something when they are driving around they do write it up. She informed Mr. Marresca that City Manager Barlow gave him the options and informed him he could plead his case before the Code Enforcement Board. Councilman Emter agreed with everything City Manager Barlow said. Code Enforcement is strong by design and its purpose was clear. They have all heard complaints and some are valid and some are not. He felt under the circumstances, when someone has the interest to come before Council and assert a condition, he felt that deserved to be looked at. He would appreciate someone meeting with them to go over the situation. Mayor Thomas questioned if Councilman Emter was asking that a Councilmember go there or asking staff, who had already been there and found him in violation. Councilman Ignasiak felt Councilman Emter was describing exactly what the Code Enforcement Board' s position and job was and that there was an avenue for Mr. Marresca to take to get due process . He informed Mr. Marresca if he felt offended to exercise his right and go before the Board and not to pay the fine. Councilwoman Power felt the problem was that even if he paid the fine, he still wanted to have people come over on the weekend and work, which she felt was the bigger issue. She didn't know if there was another place that they could park and get a ride to his house so he didn't have continuing violations . She felt he would continue to have a problem unless he could figure out a better place to put them. 4 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Mayor Thomas informed Mr. Marresca if he wanted to stay he would have another three minutes at the end of the meeting under Citizen Comments to further address this or ask any questions . 5. APPROVAL OR CHANGES/MODIFICATIONS TO THE AGENDA There were no Changes/Modifications to the agenda at this time. 6. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilman Ignasiak had comments regarding the last meeting which he felt would take considerable time so he asked to be put at the end of Council comments . Councilman Emter reported on the last Town Hall meeting. He had sent Council his follow up analysis of the meeting and suggestions for future meetings . He wasn't sure if they wanted to deal with the issues that were raised at the last meeting or not. He felt there were legitimate issues that needed to be discussed so they could all be on the same page as they move on. Mayor Thomas felt that needed to be brought up as an agenda item instead of under a report. City Manager Barlow informed him they could handle it as a continuation from the last meeting and agreed to put it on the next agenda. Mayor Thomas thought Councilman Emter was talking about issues that came up at the Town Hall meeting. Councilman Emter confirmed he was talking about the Council ' s opinion of the HOA meetings and how they go from here and not specific city-wide issues . Councilwoman Bennington and Mayor Thomas had suggestions on how they wanted to continue. Mayor Thomas suggested they discuss it under Councilwoman Bennington' s report. Councilwoman Power reported on attending the Indian River Lagoon meeting in New Smyrna at the Brannon Center. Councilwoman Bennington pointed out that she and Councilwoman Power were wearing their pink shirts for Breast Cancer Awareness month. They were on sale at the Fire Department as well as in the Finance Department in City Hall for $15 for adults and $12 for kids . Councilwoman Bennington reminded everyone that the Haunted Forest/Fall Festival was on October 26th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the YMCA. Admission was a can of food. Councilwoman Bennington felt that the discussion on the HOA meetings should occur as the last item under Other Business, Item 10E. Councilman Ignasiak wanted to deal with the issue had had up front. 5 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Mayor Thomas identified he would be out of town for the next VCOG meeting and was not able to attend the last meeting because it was the same night as the Council meeting. He suggested Councilwoman Power go to the next meeting, which were held on the 4th Monday of the month. He had an alternate but wanted her to attend. City Clerk Wenzel informed her it was October 28th at 5 p.m. and that she would get her the information. Councilman Emter pointed out last week they invited Tracey from the Edgewater Landing HOA to speak at the meeting and he felt he put on an excellent presentation by talking about the City and where they had been, where they were and where they were going. He thanked City Manager Barlow. Councilman Ignasiak pointed out that lately there had risen attention amongst the Council over the last few meetings that manifested itself in their last meeting when several of their senior members raised questions and issues about the direction and the processes that a member of the Council was making. He was not present at the meeting but he reviewed the tape and also shared those concerns and issues with it, which he wanted to address tonight. Councilman Ignasiak had two issues he wanted Councils ' opinions and direction on; the conducting of HOA or Homeowners Association meetings under the Council ' s auspice and private meetings with County officials regarding Edgewater city matters . Councilman Ignasiak identified it wasn't the idea of concept of HOA meetings that he was uncomfortable with. He felt the intent when it first started was good but that the execution had been anywhere from problematic to bad. He was uncomfortable when a member of Council, without acknowledging beforehand or consulting with his fellow Councilmembers schedules a series of meetings with all the Homeowners Associations and calls them in, sets the agenda and then invites the Councilmembers to participate . That was not participation of government or a collective effort and was not the process of the way it was supposed to work out. He felt the normal established processes of government were being ignored or disregarded. He attended the first meeting and was uncomfortable when he got there as he didn't know what the agenda was going to be until he arrived at the meeting, where he received a printed agenda. He talked to people who were there who immediately began raising concerns regarding where the other Councilmembers were and why they weren' t there. As the meeting was going on the moderator would talk to the members of the group and would mention "we" referring to the Council, which he described he was uncomfortable with. He spoke of a list he received of scheduled, upcoming Town Hall meetings . He questioned who was driving the Council ' s meeting agenda as this was not the process they normally follow. He was uncomfortable because they had not selected as a group 6 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 what they wanted to do. He was glad to see everybody attended the second Town Hall meeting. He also spoke of taking offense to being told to sit in a certain location instead of the spot where he was at. He had an issue with the Mayor being regulated to a minor role as a participant as it was the duty of the Mayor to preside over any and all Council meeting affairs and issues, which was his prerogative. If the Mayor so chooses he may delegate that prerogative to anybody he wants to. He asked Mayor Thomas if he delegated the meeting to anybody else and his answer was no. He was uncomfortable because of the fact that their processes were not being followed and felt very uncomfortable when someone else takes it upon themselves to lead meetings under the name of the Council without the sanction or approval of that Council and to set the agenda. Last week he received a memo of notes about Councilman Emter' s opinions on the meeting, how it occurred and where it went. There was reflections through there and some future ideas on where they should go and asking for their opinion. He felt this e-mail was highly unethical and should not be happening. They should not be communicating with one another as he believed this was a violation or a borderline violation of the Sunshine Law. Council should not communicate with Council over city related issues unless it was in the public view and completely transparent. Councilman Ignasiak recommended if Council wanted to pursue HOA meetings that in the future it be a Council related activity and the prerogative of the Mayor to run that meeting as he felt the Mayor should be running that meeting. If the Mayor so chooses he may delegate anyone on the Council to run it and serve as spokesman. He felt if they did that they would self correct these issues and bring everything back in line. He spoke of issues raised about duplication and excessive meetings and further suggested if they schedule another HOA meeting that they make it one hour before a regular Council meeting. He felt this would encourage representatives from the HOA' s to stay and attend the Council meeting. Councilwoman Power liked the five o' clock idea. She wouldn't even mind instead of quarterly, maybe every six months . She felt it was a good faith attempt at communication and agreed it probably should be something that is presided over by the Mayor. Councilwoman Bennington was surprised at the turnout as she didn't expect that many people. Mayor Thomas identified there were 21 people and six HOA' s represented. Councilwoman Bennington also had a problem with the process that it came about. She also had no problem with having meetings at five o'clock and felt they should continue them in some form. Mayor Thomas identified it was not how he envisioned. He thought they were going to go to the homeowners association, not have a meeting in Council Chambers involving staff. He liked the idea of having it 7 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 either quarterly or every six months, one hour before a regular Council meeting. He didn't understand why those people didn' t come to Council meetings but felt maybe they would be encouraged to stay if they did come so they could see what business Council does take care of. The biggest issue the other night was a Code Enforcement violation. He spoke of the public being able to contact staff or the Council at any time. Councilman Emter apologized for violating any process as he wasn't aware of any process . Councilman Ignasiak felt they were back in line and wouldn't have an uncomfortable feeling when they go forward with the next one. Mayor Thomas asked Councilman Emter if he met with County Chair Jason Davis . Councilman Emter informed him he had. Councilman Ignasiak pointed out that was going to be his question number two. Councilman Ignasiak spoke of several meetings ago when Councilman Emter had made the statement that he had met with local County area representatives and discussed Edgewater issues . He then spoke of the next meeting that came up where Councilman Emter met with the County Chair to discuss and try and resolve Edgewater issues and problems . He spoke of being alarmed as this was a Council form of government and they operate as a group and not independently. Their strength is their collective wisdom when they sit down and discuss issues and problems together and come to a consensus . He didn't question Councilman Emter' s legitimacy or authority to go talk to any other elected official as long as it wasn't directly related to discussions of the Edgewater Council and business of the Edgewater Council. Their views and priorities may not be in line with Councilman Emter' s views and priorities . He felt the differences needed to be aired publicly and that those people may misinterpret or misunderstand him thinking he was the voice of the Council coming to them as their collective thought, which was not happening. Worse yet, someone may have misinterpreted him as being a power broker, someone who has influence in the ability to move the Council in a certain direction, which was not happening. He had no problem with Councilman Emter going to a County representative on the Council ' s part if they have discussed the issue openly and arrived at a consensus . Councilwoman Power felt it wasn't a bad thing to have a relationship with the County Council . If it wasn't something they had decided as a Council then it shouldn't be put forward but she felt they had a general consensus about things and that was where Councilman Emter was coming from. Councilwoman Bennington didn't have a problem with any of them talking to another elected official but when they position themselves as the conduit for the Council, then she had a problem unless the City 8 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Manager was there to balance it. Everybody has opinions and views and it could be interpreted differently coming from different people. Their power is in the five of them and when one goes off on their own without the others knowing about it and comes back later and tells them what they did, that weakens them and puts them in a position where they don't know what is going on. She felt the Mayor was the only one that had the right to do that. She had a problem with an elected official from the City Council going out and representing as the conduit. Mayor Thomas expressed concern with a call he received Ms . Denys after meeting with Councilman Emter and a New Smyrna Beach Commissioner asking him if that was how the Council felt. She informed him what the subject matter was and he informed her he had discussed it with the City Manager and that it would be good. If he was in a situation where he was unsure he would poll the Council. Councilman Ignasiak didn't feel it was the intent and identified that they were looking at the process . If Councilman Emter wanted to meet with any County official he should do that if he wanted to discuss his opinions of what was going on in Edgewater. He would be comfortable with that provided the City Manager went with him as he works for all of the Council, which he felt was a balance. Councilman Ignasiak asked City Manager Barlow if he would be comfortable with that at which time he described for him why he was not comfortable with that. Councilman Emter informed Councilman Ignasiak he was not comfortable with his statement in the first place. As a member of Council he has a right to speak with other individuals having association with the City. As far as his meetings with Ms . Denys and Jason Davis, there were two issues they discussed at both of those meetings; the southeast utilities agreement and the EMS contract. He further described the discussions that occurred in an effort to move forward with a resolution for these matters at the County level . If Council had a joint opinion about a given issue, he had no problem supporting that decision. If it comes to the point where there is a question or something that Council has not expressed opinion on, that wasn't something he would be talking about. He felt they should all be out there talking about City issues to those who can do something about it and help improve the City. He spoke of attending all of the County meetings where the CRA was discussed and had individual conversations with County Council people regarding that issue. He thought they all probably had in one respect or another at other casual meetings . Councilman Emter identified all of his conversations had been discussed with the City Manager in terms of if it was appropriate and if he should do it. He felt he was not as hell bent as the implication implies . 9 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Mayor Thomas didn't feel he was getting the point. He spoke of Councilman Emter referring to "I" and "my" instead of "we. " If Councilman Emter came to the Council wanting to represent them at a meeting they would allow him to do it but the Council wanted to be informed as to what was going on. Councilman Emter informed him absolutely it was a "we" and he wasn't going to do anything to disrupt that "we. " Councilwoman Bennington identified there had never been a Councilperson that she had served with that went off on their own and reported back to the Council on unofficial meetings of what had transpired. She felt the issue was hearing about it after the fact. She suggested he ask at a Council meeting if Council minded him taking hold and running with one of their goals . She felt the problem was he was reporting what he had done after the fact. Councilman Emter asked hypothetically if he had the opportunity to speak with another elected official what process they would prefer he use to make that known. Councilwoman Bennington suggested he e-mail City Clerk Wenzel, not the Council, who in turn would pass the information on to the rest of the Council . She wasn't sure if that was within the legal ramifications . City Clerk Wenzel didn' t believe so. Mayor Thomas wanted him to bring it to them at a public meeting. There was a discussion regarding how the meetings with Jason Davis and Deborah Denys came about and why Councilman Emter was the one that met with them and not the Mayor or one of the other Councilmembers . Councilwoman Bennington felt it appeared Councilman Emter was representing himself instead of the Council. Councilman Emter felt appearances were deceiving and confirmed Council did not need to worry about it in the future . Mayor Thomas felt they needed to go back to the topic of the Homeowners ' Association meetings and asked the Council what they wanted to do about that. Councilman Ignasiak thought it was agreed Mayor Thomas would Chair any future Homeowners ' Association meetings and that they would move the Homeowners ' Association meetings to one hour before a Council meeting to avoid duplication. Mayor Thomas asked if it should be every six months or quarterly. The next one was to be held in January. Councilman Ignasiak suggested they take the measure of the feelings on the homeowners at the January meeting and see what issues had popped up. Councilwoman Bennington pointed out if any one of the Council wanted to go to a Homeowners ' Association meeting and talk to them and field questions they could do that. 10 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Councilman Ignasiak spoke of attending the Florida Shores Homeowners Association meetings . Councilman Mike Ignasiak moved to approve that the Mayor chair any and all future Homeowners ' Association Meetings and that those meetings be held one hour before a Council meeting so as to avoid unnecessary duplication, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter Mayor Thomas wanted to stray from the agenda. The City Manager of New Smyrna Beach was present to speak about a sign. City Manager Barlow explained the City of New Smyrna Beach had applied for a sign permit with the City of Edgewater as the property they wanted to put an entrance sign on was located within the city limits of Edgewater. He spoke of the relationship between the cities of Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach being extremely good and identified this came with favorable recommendation from the City Manager. He then made a staff presentation by commenting on the property where the sign was to be located and identified they had already received permission from DOT for this . He wanted to bring this to Council ' s attention to make sure they were okay with issuing a permit. Mayor Thomas spoke of a conversation he had with Mayor Barringer that morning. City Manager Barlow spoke of the delay in Edgewater getting an entrance sign being a result of the 10th Street project that was expected to go to bid the first part of 2014 . He hoped by this time next year they would be under construction with the 10th Street site and they would also have a similar sign in New Smyrna on the other side of the street coming into Edgewater. He didn't want to place a "Welcome to Edgewater" sign on that nasty parking lot on the west side of the road only to have it tore up at a later date. City Manager Pam Brangaccio spoke of it taking two years to get the permit from DOT. They had been moved from every other location and this was the one they could finally get. She further expressed her appreciation for the Fire Marshal services provided by Edgewater' s Fire Marshal Jeff Lariscy to the City of New Smyrna Beach. She felt Edgewater and New Smyrna were partners and identified it was nice to be able to always call on Edgewater. Mayor Thomas entertained a motion. Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to approve New Smyrna putting their sign on our property, second by Councilman Mike Ignasiak. 11 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter 7. CONSENT AGENDA a. Award of the Continuing Professional Engineering Services contract to Traffic Engineering Data Solutions, Inc. for Traffic Engineering Services; and Dredging and Marine Consultants, LLC for Dredging and Marine Design and Permitting Services and authorization for the City Manager to negotiate the contracts Agenda Request 2:1 b. Approval to reject the bids for Quicklime previously approved on August 19, 2013 and approval to purchase Quicklime from Carmeuse Lime & Stone, Inc. for the Water Treatment Plant Agenda Request Councilman Gene Emter moved to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Councilman Mike Ignasiak. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter 8 . PUBLIC HEARINGS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS a. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-12 : Rosemary Walker requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include . 32± acres of land located east of Meadow Lake Drive and south of 28th Street as Low Density Residential with Conservation Overlay Agenda Request City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-12 into the record. 12 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Since nothing changed since the first reading, City Manager Barlow did not make a staff presentation. Due to there being no Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilman Mike Ignasiak moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-12, second by Councilwoman Gigi Bennington. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter b. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-13 : Rosemary Walker requesting an amendment to the Official Zoning Map to include . 32± acres of land located east of Meadow Lake Drive and South of 28th Street as R-2 (Single-Family Residential) Agenda Request City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-13 into the record. Since nothing changed since the first reading, City Manager Barlow did not make a staff presentation. Due to there being no Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Christine Power moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-13, second by Councilwoman Gigi Bennington. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter c. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-15: Ronald Caldwell requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include 10 . 50± acres of land located at 195 Godfrey Road as Low Density Residential Agenda Request 2=! City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-15 into the record. 13 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Since nothing changed since the first reading, City Manager Barlow did not make a staff presentation. Due to there being no Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-15, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter d. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-16: Ronald Caldwell requesting an amendment to the Official Zoning Map to include 10 . 50± acres of land located at 195 Godfrey Road as R-1 (Single Family Residential) NIL Agenda Request 2= City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-16 into the record. Since nothing changed since the first reading, City Manager Barlow did not make a staff presentation. Due to there being no Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilman Mike Ignasiak moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-16, second by Councilman Gene Emter. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter e. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-17 : Amending the General Employees ' Pension Plan Agenda Request 2' City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-17 into the record. City Manager Barlow made a brief staff presentation. 14 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Due to there being no Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-17: Amending the General Employees ' Pension Plan, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter f. 2nd Reading - Ordinance No. 2013-0-18 : Amending the Police Officers ' Pension Plan Agenda Request 2:y City Attorney Wolfe read Ordinance 2013-0-18 into the record. City Manager Barlow made a brief staff presentation. Due to there being no Council or public comment, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilman Gene Emter moved to approve Ordinance No. 2013-0-18: Amending the Police Officers ' Pension Plan, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter 9. BOARD APPOINTMENTS a. Planning & Zoning Board - Councilwoman Bennington' s appointment due to the expired term of Pat Card, who is seeking reappointment Agenda Request Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to appoint Pat Card, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. 15 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter 10. OTHER BUSINESS a. Approval of the Fraternal Order of Police Agreement as negotiated and presented, effective October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014 mks Agenda Request City Manager Barlow made a staff presentation by identifying the major changes made to the agreement. There was a brief discussion regarding this being the second to the last year for the step program. Due to there being no further Council or public comments, Mayor Thomas entertained a motion. Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to approve the Fraternal Order of Police Agreement as negotiated and presented, effective October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter b. Authorization for the City Manager to issue a Purchase Order to Sparks Concrete LLC in an amount not to exceed $72, 870 . 00, under the terms and conditions of the City of Port Orange Bid #11-17 for the construction of the ADA compliant sidewalks on West Turgot Avenue and Old County Road Agenda Request City Manager Barlow made a staff presentation. Councilwoman Power asked if the sidewalk would be lit. City Manager Barlow informed her no, other than what street lights were already there. They continue to evaluate where they need additional streets 16 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 lights and can't afford street lights . This would also be reimbursed with Community Development Block Grant dollars . There was a brief discussion regarding there not being a need for a budget amendment as the money was already budgeted. Due to there being no further discussion, Mayor Thomas entertained a motion. Councilman Mike Ignasiak moved to authorize the City Manager to issue a Purchase Order to Sparks Concrete LLC in an amount not to exceed $72,870. 00, under the terms and conditions so set with Bid #11-17 for the construction of the ADA compliant sidewalks on West Turgot Avenue and Old County Road, second by Councilwoman Christine Power. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter c. Acceptance of the EPA Cooperative Agreement for the Brownfields Assessment Grant and authorization for the City Manager to inform staff to proceed with the EPA' s procedure to accept the Agreement m+, Agenda Request 2"' City Manager Barlow made a staff presentation. City Manager Barlow described for Councilwoman Power what Phase One and Phase Two were. After they accept the grant they would do an RFQ and hire a consultant that specialized in brownfields that would guide that part of the program, which was all paid for with the grant. A portion of the grant administrator' s salary was reimbursable as well as travel costs . Mayor Thomas thought they weren't going to call it a brownfield. City Manager Barlow spoke of Edgewater establishing an ERA (Edgewater Redevelopment Area) , which is their brownfield area and described this was a little different. They don' t have to operate within their brownfield area. If they find a site outside the brownfield area, they could still use this grant for it. Mayor Thomas asked for public comment. The following citizen spoke: 17 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Alice Haldemann, 930 Lake Avenue, asked if Mango Tree Lake was still in the brownfield area. City Manager Barlow spoke of the boundaries of the ERA being established, which included Mango Tree Lake . They haven't done any assessments or cleanups in the ERA. It allows them if someone wants to purchase a piece of property or suspects that they get some incentives to hire their own consultant to come in and do that. Ms . Haldemann mentioned Mayor Thomas having a dream of making the Mango Tree Lake a fishing park as she was wondering if this would progress that along. Mayor Thomas pointed out they promised him they would have it done by the time he retires . He felt a walking trail there would be so nice. Ms . Haldemann was wondering if they didn't find contamination if that would mean they would have to look elsewhere for help. City Manager Barlow informed her the money was only for cleanup. Due to there being no further Council or public comment, Mayor Thomas entertained a motion. Councilwoman Christine Power moved to approve the acceptance of the EPA Cooperative Agreement for the Brownfields Assessment Grant and authorization for the City Manager to inform staff to proceed with the EPA's procedure to accept the Agreement, second by Councilman Gene Emter. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter d. Authorization for the Mayor to execute the Memorandum of Agreement with the cities of New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill, establishing the Southeast Volusia Corridor Improvement Coalition Agenda Request City Manager Barlow made a staff presentation. Councilman Ignasiak questioned how the source of funding was going to be developed. City Manager Barlow informed him it was reimbursement from EPA. The memo of agreement just establishes the partnership for the $600, 000 grant they just approved. He further commented on a six person advisory committee being established. 18 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Due to there being no further Council or public comment, Mayor Thomas entertained a motion. Councilwoman Gigi Bennington moved to authorize the Mayor to execute the Memorandum of Agreement with the cities of New Smyrna Beach and Oak Hill, establishing the Southeast Volusia Corridor Improvement Coalition, second by Councilman Gene Emter. The MOTION APPROVED 5 - 0. Yes Mayor Michael Thomas, Councilwoman Christine Power, Councilwoman Gigi Bennington, Councilman Mike Ignasiak, Councilman Gene Emter 11. OFFICER REPORTS a. City Clerk Councilwoman Bennington questioned it being time to start the process for the City Clerk and City Manager evaluations . City Manager Barlow took responsibility for this not occurring yet. They had been issued today for him and City Clerk Wenzel to do their goals . The Council would have them before the November meeting. He further described the process for Councilwoman Bennington. Councilman Emter questioned when they had to have them turned in. City Manager Barlow explained they would be turned back into Personnel Director Donna Looney before the agenda cutoff for the December meeting and they would be on the December agenda for approval . There was further discussion regarding the process being a little longer last year because of the process being so new. City Clerk Wenzel identified the agenda cutoff for the December meeting was the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving. City Clerk Wenzel informed Council they were in the process of getting an agenda management program which would streamline staff' s process and reduce paper. They will be able to do their agenda items electronically and it will go to the different people that have to approve it before it goes to her. Once it was implemented, she would start with herself with the Council agenda and then work on getting all of the boards on the same program. Councilman Emter asked when she anticipated this would be received. City Clerk Wenzel wasn't sure what was involved with the IT portion. City Manager Barlow spoke of being able to make a commitment after Council approved the budget but before October 1st which brought a significant savings for the first year. The agreement had been signed; they were working on getting everything set up and then there was some training involved. He guessed around the first of the year. 19 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 He further described that Council wouldn't necessarily notice much change on their end. He then spoke of what happens behind the scenes now and the effort to go more paperless . It would be more efficient and more green. There was a brief discussion regarding the security of it and the access being limited. b. City Attorney City Attorney Wolfe had nothing at this time. c. City Manager City Manager Barlow informed Council he would be out of town starting this Thursday, October 9th through Sunday, October 20th. In his absence, Finance Director John McKinney would be Acting City Manager. City Manager Barlow informed Council that on the week of November 28th, he, John McKinney and Janet Shira would be attending the Florida Redevelopment Conference in Tampa. 12. CITIZEN COMMENTS The following citizens spoke: Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, asked what the reason was for a Councilmember going to the Homeowners Association for a meeting when the HOA has a President and Board of Directors and asked why they don't come to the Council meetings with the problems instead of the Council going there. Councilwoman Bennington informed him they hadn't gone to any yet. Sometimes HOA' s have guest speakers and City Manager Barlow was a guest speaker recently and they can ask the Council to be guest speakers . Mr. Visconti felt they could come to the Council meetings if they had any problems . Alice Haldemann, 930 Lake Avenue, wished the meetings would be called Town Hall meetings . She came to the meeting and she keeps hearing it is for homeowners associations and by the way, any citizen can come. She felt that business should be conducted at a regular Council meeting and she was puzzled about why the homeowners associations were getting special treatment. She wished they would come and felt maybe the compromise was having the meeting an hour before a regular meeting every six months . Councilman Emter identified it was originally set up as an informal effort to meet with representatives of the community. HOA' s represent 20 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 a large number of citizens and the goal was to informally try and communicate directly with them without going through standing at a podium, in the spotlight, with a three-minute time limit. It was an effort to establish dialog with various segments of the community. HOA' s were merely there as a convenient representation of a multitude . It was not and could not exclude anybody. Ms . Haldemann spoke of making it more comfortable for the average citizen to feel more welcome. Councilwoman Power felt the numbers spoke for themselves since there were 10 people there tonight besides the Boy Scouts but at the Town Hall meeting there were 21. She felt informal helped with the numbers . Agnes Witter, 223 Flagler Avenue, was at the first Town Hall meeting and there were 24 people there. She felt it attracts people because they know it is going to be informal and makes them feel comfortable. She also felt the earlier daytime meeting seemed like it was attractive. Don Garner, 2703 Tamarind Drive, spoke about the HOA meetings . He felt it was a great setup that needed to be continued. He felt the podium was intimidating. Mr. Garner referred to the motion that was agreed upon with all of the Councilmembers as to someone going out and speaking to someone else without notifying. He hoped they weren't infringing upon that person' s right in the United States. He asked what the City Attorney' s thoughts were on that. City Attorney Wolfe explained it was his understanding the Council did not limit any one Councilperson from speaking to whoever they wanted so he didn't feel it was an issue. NoraJane Gillespie, 2263 Candlewood, New Smyrna Beach, spoke of New Smyrna having a height restriction in the historic district of 60 ' , which caused a large commotion. She serves on the Historical Preservation Board and they unanimously turned down a third story for an AFL to house 96 handicap senior citizens . They capped it and approved two-stories and parking. They sent it through to the City Commission and they turned them over and said they were going to allow it. It would sit on the entrance to the North Causeway. It goes from Faulkner to Hillshire on Washington and was by a previous elected official . She asked the Council not to raise their height. Councilwoman Bennington informed Ms . Gillespie the height limitation was east of U. S . #1 . Ms . Gillespie knew what the restrictions were on it but identified industrial was allowed. 21 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 Chuck Martin, 205 Cherrywood Lane, spoke to the people in the audience and pointed out that the Council works for them. If they don't like the way they are doing something, they can vote them out. Councilwoman Power informed him or run yourself. Mr. Martin stated Mike Thomas was there because they wanted him here because he wants to keep Edgewater the way it is . Mr. Martin had a conversation with Mr. Visconti who was in the audience. Mr. Martin felt the Council was doing a great job. He loves the City the way it is and was glad to be here. Nick Marresca stated the one problem he had with the Code Enforcement deal was he had a warning before this two months ago and he told the guy about the other issues around the neighborhood and nothing happened to them. He didn't know how he was getting picked out because somebody complained. He felt everybody should be treated fairly. Mr. Marresca pointed out there used to be a back entrance to Rotary Park that was now chained off. He wasn't sure if he could park there. City Manager Barlow informed him that was public property that was intended to be a park and once they open that can they have to offer it to everyone else to be able to store their extra vehicles, trailers, etc. there . He felt Code did a very good job and again pointed out this was the first complaint he has had. Based on Mr. Marresca' s testimony he felt it almost sounded like his activities had outgrown the neighborhood. He only had a couple more months on his lease and it sounded like he may be trying to move to another area that accommodated those type of activities that had more real estate than he had. Mayor Thomas asked if there was somebody Mr. Marresca could turn his photographs into tonight. City Manager Barlow informed him he could give them to the Fire Chief who was responsible for Code Enforcement. He assured Council this was not selective and they weren't just picking on the neighborhood and they would find out where the other cases were in the pipeline. He didn' t know if they had been started but was sure if they weren't that they would be soon. Councilwoman Bennington suggested putting one of the Code Enforcement At Work signs up. City Manager Barlow spoke about picking some neighborhoods . They can site one person within a neighborhood and they go out and find ten violations and then each of those find ten more violations . He asked Mr. Marresca to turn the photos over to the Fire Chief and they would make sure everyone in his neighborhood would be treated as fairly as he had been. 22 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013 13. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Thomas adjourned the meeting at 8 : 10 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer, CMC Attest: APPROVED: City of Edgewater, Florida Bonnie Wenzel, City Clerk Michael L. Thomas, Mayor 23 Council Regular Meeting October 7, 2013