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10-29-1997 - Workshop CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER WORKSHOP OCTOBER 29, 1997 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Mayor Allman called the Workshop to order at 7 : 00 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Randy Allman Present Councilman James Gornto Present Councilman Myron Hammond Present Councilman Gary Roberts Present Councilwoman Judith Lichter Present Interim City Attorney Nikki Clayton Present Interim City Manager Kenneth Hooper Present City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Present Police Chief Lawrence Schumaker Excused Police Lieutenant Bill Britain Present INVOCATION, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag. MEETING PURPOSE The purpose of the Workshop was for the City Council to discuss with members of the City' s advisory boards/agencies/committees a process for selection of members to fill vacancies . Interim City Manager Hooper identified in the Council package each one had the public notices that were sent out and a copy of a sample letter that went to each of the board members. They also had a current listing of the advisory boards and their appointment dates and the revised application form. Interim City Manager Hooper explained what would be occurring tonight was a communication between the Council, some of the applicants, some of the board members and the chairmen of the various boards to help Council get a feel for the request. They wouldn' t be doing any appointments and would just be having a general discussion about appointments . 1 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council that staff was here with each one of the boards to answer any questions or any concerns concerning a liaison or how they go about doing that. Councilwoman Lichter asked if the District that the person lived in could be added to the application, which Interim City Manager Hooper informed her it could and that it would be added by staff once the application was submitted as the applicants probably wouldn' t know which district they were in. She felt if in the end result they want to vary the neighborhoods the people live in that it would be very helpful. She wanted to know if the other Councilmembers felt it would be helpful to know the district. Mayor Allman and Councilman Roberts felt it was important. Councilman Gornto commented on why he felt it was more important on some boards than it was on others . Councilman Roberts felt they had a lot of boards with five members so they could have one member from each district and one at large member. Councilman Gornto spoke of some of the boards requiring expertise that may all come from one area. Mayor Allman disclosed that he was going to run through the Boards alphabetically and asked for the Chairman to take the podium when their board was called to explain what the Board does . Mayor Allman identified the Animal Control Board had five members with three year terms and met quarterly. He further commented on the expertise and requirements to serve on the board as well as the function of the board. At present there was no one serving on the Board. Mayor Allman then identified the Beautification & Tree Committee had five members with three year terms and met the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room. He then commented on the functions of the Committee. All of the members' terms had expired although Mike Visconti wanted to remain as Chairman. Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, presented Council with some pictures of medians in Texas to give them an idea of what they could do with Edgewater' s medians. He also showed Council a sign that was made two years ago for the beautification award which they hadn' t presented in the last year and a half. He introduced Felicia VerWay, the previous Chairwoman of the Beautification Committee, thanked her for what she had done and informed her he hoped she would stay on. He then commented on the goals and master plan of the Beautification Committee with regard to having a fountain at SR 442 and U.S. #1, adopting a median. Councilman Roberts asked Mr. Visconti if he had given any of the signs he made out in the past. Mr. Visconti informed him he was waiting for Council to approve the plan or come up with a different plan. 2 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Councilman Roberts liked the idea of having the award for different businesses and even residents as well, which he felt was an incentive for people to beautify. He felt another main issue would be SR 442 if they were able to do the widening plan and keeping some green area along SR 442 . He felt the Beautification Committee needed to focus on that as well. Mr. Visconti had a sketch of that too. Councilwoman Lichter expressed concern with the newspaper boxes at the corner of U.S. #1 and SR 442 as she felt they looked awful. Mr. Visconti informed her he heard Eckerd' s was buying that property and they were going to build a building there. Mr. Karet identified that was correct. Mr. Visconti then commented on the bus stop benches and wanting to see them uniform with concrete slabs . He also suggested getting rid of the advertisements on the benches as he felt they were an eyesore. Mayor Allman agreed with getting rid of the advertisements . Mr. Visconti then commented on flowering trees and choosing a City flower and City tree. Mr. Visconti commented on having left hand turn lanes on SR 442 instead of creating a runway down the center. He then commented on the appearance of the truck stop coming into Edgewater off of I-95. He felt they should have "Welcome to Edgewater" signs coming in from the north, south and west. He further commented on handing out the beautification awards and reviving the Edgewater Pride Campaign. Councilwoman Lichter commented on the merchants beautifying the medians down the middle of U.S. #1 . She confirmed with Mr. Visconti that when he was talking about a flower or tree, he was talking in front of the business establishments . Mr. Visconti was talking about the front of the establishments and the medians . Councilwoman Lichter identified a common theme of something that was indigenous to Florida that would grow easily. There was further discussion regarding the fact that reclaimed water should have been put in the medians when the repaving was done on U.S. #1 and the fact that they would have to have water in the medians in order for any beautification in the medians to survive. Councilman Hammond questioned planting trees and the trees getting bigger and blocking the view. Councilman Roberts identified FDOT would have limitations on the trunk size of trees on any major highway. Mr. Visconti pointed out that Port Orange and South Daytona had beautification. Councilman Gornto identified Edgewater had only one palm tree in the median at the north end of the City, just south of Pomeroy Appraisal and Sun Bank. 3 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Councilwoman Lichter pointed out up to this week the application no longer included the Beautification & Tree Committee. It was on an old one but wasn' t on the most recent but was now on the new one. Councilwoman Lichter felt they were on their way to getting new members as Mr. Visconti was interested, Ms. VerWay was interested and a gentleman in the audience was interested in serving on the Beautification & Tree Committee. She also mentioned Ms . Carter was a liaison from the Economic Development Board. Mayor Allman identified the next one was the Citizen Code Enforcement Board. He asked if a spokesperson from the Board was present. Tony Fowler, Chairman of the Citizen Code Enforcement Board, spoke of being the only board in the City that could levy fines and this putting them in a situation where they could be liable at times for their actions. The Board requested that they always had legal representation at every one of their meetings. Their Board worked very well together. The Board also requested when there were new members to be appointed to the Board that they also get a chance to see the applications and make a recommendation to the Council. At the moment there were no vacancies on the Citizen Code Enforcement Board but there was a vacancy coming up. Councilman Gornto questioned the Economic Development Board currently being the only board that reviewed the applications, interviewed the applicants and made a recommendation to Council. Councilman Roberts identified they were the only board that requested to do and that as this was done while he was on the Economic Development Board. He felt this was helpful and identified if the other boards wanted to have the same liberty that it would be great. Councilman Gornto thought so too. Mr. Fowler questioned if this request was a formal request, if he had to do it on paper or do it at another time. Interim City Manager Hooper felt it was a formal request. Councilman Roberts asked if they should make it a policy for all boards to be able to review the applications when vacancies came up. Interim City Manager Hooper informed him they could take that action at a Regular Meeting. Mr. Fowler again mentioned the request to have legal representation at every Citizen Code Enforcement Board meeting. Mayor Allman identified the next Board they would be discussing was the Construction Regulation Board. He asked if there was a spokesperson. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they had a full board. 4 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Mayor Allman informed her it appeared their next opening wouldn' t be until May 1998 . Les Ogram, Chairman, Construction Regulation Board, identified they presently didn' t have any openings. They had a Fire Inspector, an architect, a General Contractor, an Electrical Contractor, a Plumbing Contractor, an insurance agent and another architect, who was the citizen at large. He felt they were a valuable board to the City that did a good job. He informed Council that they could handle more responsibility. They act as an appeals board if someone has a complaint against the Building Department. There was a brief discussion regarding the Board having input when personnel were hired in the Building Department by helping staff screen applicants for inspector positions. This was no longer a duty of the Board but Councilman Roberts felt maybe it should be. Councilman Gornto asked if that was the additional responsibility they were looking for. Mr. Ogram informed him he felt they could be of assistance to the City in that capacity. Councilman Gornto asked if there were any others . Mr. Ogram informed him yes, but there were too many to mention tonight. Interim City Manager Hooper felt the Council wanted to hear those things . Mr. Ogram spoke of being able to approve codes that directly affected the building trades in past years, which was something that had not been asked of them lately. He felt quite often it seemed they were there because they were required to be there by law and that they didn' t get asked enough for their opinion. Councilwoman Lichter felt their bylaws did not have meat. She wasn' t sure what their actual functions were which she felt could come back to them spelled out a little better if the Board members wanted to meet and think of ways that their input or advice might be helpful . Councilman Roberts felt the Board should review their bylaws and if they had recommendations for changing them to present them to Council and that more input from the Board in the capacity of selection of Building Department personnel and any revisions in enforcement of building procedures on the job site was what the Board was there for. Councilwoman Lichter questioned which Department Director the Construction Regulation Board worked with. Mr. Ogram informed her Mr. Karet. Councilwoman Lichter agreed with Councilman Roberts . Mayor Allman felt they had a wealth of talent that was willing to give their time and expertise and he wasn' t sure why they weren' t using them more. He recommended they review their bylaws and draw up a plan that Council could look at. He appreciated the spectrum of the board and was very impressed. Mr. Ogram spoke of taking what they do quite seriously and the concern of the Board with regard to the lack of responsibility they seem to be given. He also mentioned not knowing 5 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 the last time they had a meeting and identified it was because of a lack of agenda items as often as not. Councilwoman Lichter suggested Interim City Manager Hooper speak with Mr. Karet and from that perspective come up with some ideas and the board also come up with some ideas of where the usefulness of these individuals could be better put. Mayor Allman felt this seven member board was highly capable of sitting down and reviewing their by-laws as well as Interim City Manager Hooper and Mr. Karet. He felt they needed to use this board more so than they had been doing. Not often do you have such a variety of people that they could draw from that cost them nothing. Mr. Ogram agreed wholeheartedly. He spoke of reviewing bylaws in the past. He had been on the Board for a long time and commented on their responsibilities varying over the years with different administrations . Councilman Roberts felt the other boards could review their by-laws, make recommendations to Council and staff. Mr. Ogram spoke of not knowing they had the authority to do that. Councilman Roberts felt they needed more input from the members on the bylaws. He felt it was time to establish their responsibilities so they get the best use out of these people. They have a vast talent in this group of people and they should take advantage of it. Councilwoman Lichter felt the Board had the talent to come up with more ideas to advise the Council. Mr. Ogram agreed to deliver the message to the Board. Mayor Allman presented Mr. Ogram with the new set of by-laws so they could start working on them right away. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if they had a meeting coming up any time soon. He thought the next one was in November. Mr. Ogram informed him that was correct. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if they review appeals and if there were appeals from the Building Official. Mr. Ogram informed him that was all they had met for the last few times they had met. They had also discussed the new Code that came out that all of the communities were trying to get voted in. The Building Official had been most informative about that trying to keep them updated. He also attended most of their meetings . He spoke of sitting on appeals where buildings were condemned. In each case they supported the Building Official' s decision that they should be demolished. Mayor Allman moved on to the Economic Development Board. Karl Gerwe, Chairman, Economic Development Board, 6768 S. Atlantic Ave, Chairman, Economic Development Board, pointed out there were mistakes on the application regarding their board. They were a 9 6 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 member board that met at 6: 30 p.m. In the purpose he felt they needed to add that they also provide support to existing businesses and that they weren' t just trying to attract new business . He recognized that 5 of the 6 existing members were present and that they were down three members and had submitted their recommendations . They had done a phone interview but he thought in the future they were going to bring the applicants in for an interview by the Economic Development Board. He then commented on previously being known as the Industrial Development Board. He spoke of the Industrial Development Study that was done back in 1993 by Mr. Martin and the Board back then. They had a Business Linkage Study that was done by a consultant that looked at what businesses were in Edgewater and were a good target for Edgewater to pursue. He spoke of the Economic Development Board brochure and fact sheet that had been done by the most recent board and was provided to the Volusia County Business Development Corporation (VCBDC) and the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce for incorporation into their packets that go out to prospects . They link with the VCBDC. He was an ambassador member. As Chairman of the Southeast Volusia Economic Development Board and a current member as was Tom Alcorn, he was a member of the Volusia Manufacturers Association. They were trying to do economic development specific to Edgewater. He requested a workshop with the Council and the Economic Development Board to look at what they are proposing to do and for Council to provide them some guidance. Mr. Gerwe identified what changes had been made to their by-laws recently. He also spoke of not having a residency requirement on their board. He wanted to Southeast Volusia attract more quality business that would raise the standard of wages in this area. Mr. Gerwe asked that Council at their earliest convenience take a look at the applicants they recommended be appointed to the Economic Development Board. Mr. Gerwe spoke of wanting to see the City formalize the relationship with the Florida Inland Navigation District on the industrial park. Mr. Gerwe spoke of zoning issues in the past with regard to Hibiscus Drive and the need for beautification on U.S . #1 to attract business . Mr. Gerwe then informed Council they had an awards program that they wanted to start doing again where an award was presented to Coronado Paint and Boston Whaler because of their contribution towards Edgewater' s economic development. Mr. Gerwe again commented on their by-laws and explained that what they were asked to do was pretty comprehensive. They wanted Council' s support when they come to them with recommendations as well as their feedback. 7 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Councilman Roberts felt it was critical that they get a lot of input from the Economic Development Board as the FIND project kicked into gear, which he felt was the most important economic development project that the City was facing. He also felt it would be a critical pathway to the future as far as an industrial tax base. Interim City Manager Hooper presented an update about FIND by identifying the next hurdle was the grant application for the $1 million. The County staff was working on it and believed it was due the 29th so it should be here and he would find out tomorrow if it showed up today. He has talked to Mr. Roach and as soon as they have that in hand they are going to have a meeting and move forward quickly. Councilman Roberts felt the Board should spend time touching base with the college because of the connection between the FIND property and the South Campus . He felt that would be critical to tie those entities together. After a request of someone in the audience, Interim City Manager Hooper explained what the FIND project was. Mr. Gerwe commented on the parcel of land where the FIND project was to be located. This was a very important project in the City and the Board certainly wanted to be involved. Councilman Roberts asked what the acreage was of the spoil site. Mr. Karet informed him the actual spoil enclosure would be 90 acres . Dick Jones, 1530 Sabal Palm Drive, immediate past Chairman of the Economic Development Board, pointed out the FIND project was located on the northwest quadrant of the railroad and West Park Avenue. Part of that development would include a direct access road from Edgewater into the South Campus of DBCC. He then identified the project itself would cover a 50-year period and would not be short term. He further commented on the qualities of the people that should be on the Economic Development Board including good common sense, good management skills and good people skills . It was important for the Chairman to be able to have a good rapport with the Beautification Committee, the Land Development Regulatory Agency and the Council. He also mentioned conventions and conferences where representatives could be sent from the City to attract other businesses into town. It was very important for the Chairman to be able to work with Jerry Fox, the Executive Vice President of the VCBDC as well as the Executive Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce. He further commented on the responsibilities and time involved with being the Chairman of the Economic Development Board. He felt the job of Chairman should be made into a part-time position. He felt they needed to look at the possibility of moving this Board into a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) . He then commented on New Smyrna Beach, Port Orange, and Ormond 8 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Beach having CRA' s. He also commented on when they updated the by-laws last January with regard to the applicants being reviewed by the Economic Development Board and submitted to Council for approval . Councilwoman Lichter spoke about the training of craftsmen, which she felt there may be a need for and the use of retirees . They have a lot of retired talent in Edgewater. Councilman Roberts spoke of having a representative from SCORE at one of their meetings . Mr. Gerwe informed Council that Roland Bazin had been working on a project with the Chamber to try to develop some sort of a vocational/technical program in conjunction with DBCC. Councilman Gornto commented on the property that had been acquired for the industrial park and for the spoil from the river. When it was acquired from the railroad they allowed one cut across the railroad which would be the road access that would be built to get in there and go all the way through to the DBCC South Campus . Tom Alcorn, member of the Economic Development Board, commented on the negotiations with FIND with regards to trying to get access across the Florida East Coast Railroad and what was involved with doing that. He spoke of adjacent land that was industrial that had not been able to be developed. Now they had a 12" main that went up to Porta Products and he took it to the back of his property so if somebody wanted to develop in the industrial land it gave tremendous opportunity. He further commented on the economic impact to the City if they do it correctly with regard to the jobs it would create, the land value it would create and the tax benefits to the City. He further commented on DBCC wanting to work with the City to help develop the property. Councilman Roberts spoke of FIND doing all of the negotiations with Florida East Coast Railroad and the City not having to get involved with working out the crossing for access. Mr. Alcorn informed him that had been negotiated and was not a problem. It was all part of the contract and was something FIND did. He further commented on Joe Martin' s involvement with the negotiations. Mr. Gerwe complimented their Board Coordinator Liz McBride who did a professional job in dealing with all of them over the years . A gentleman in the audience read the public notice with regard to the purpose being for the City Council to discuss with members of the City' s advisory boards/agencies/committees a process for selection of members to fill vacancies which he heard very little about. He wanted to know how they were going to fill these vacancies which was what the workshop was for and why they were here. He suggested the speakers be limited to so many minutes so everybody would get a chance to come up 9 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 to the podium. Mayor Allman informed him they had to give an overview of what each board did and if there were questions they had to be answered. Mayor Allman moved on to the Firefighters' Pension Board. Bill Vola, Chairman, Firefighters' Pension Board, identified what they were involved with and restricted to by Statute was the management of the firemen' s pension program. The Board was made up of five members. They had one vacancy. They needed people that had a background in financial management, in accounting, in investment practices and policies that could provide the firemen' s pension trust fund with sound fiscal management and sound investment oversight. Mayor Allman then moved on to the General Employees Pension Board. Mayor Allman, Chairman, General Employees Pension Board, identified the Board was a six member board with two year terms that met quarterly and as needed. The purpose of the Board was to review investment funds, benefits and determine financial stability. They had one vacancy on that Board that would be filled Monday night. Mayor Allman moved on to the Land Development Regulatory Agency. Don Masso, 317 Pine Breeze Drive, Chairman, Land Development Regulatory Agency, identified their board consisted of seven members and they had two vacancies. He then identified qualifications he felt any members of this board should have. He went on to explain what the Board does and what their responsibilities were, which included serving as the City' s Local Planning Agency (LPA) . Councilwoman Lichter asked if seven members was a sufficient amount of people on the LDRA. Mr. Masso believed so. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they wanted to review the applications like the Economic Development Board and make recommendations and if it had to be written into their by-laws . Mr. Masso felt it would be helpful if they were allowed the discretion of reviewing the applicants and offering Council their recommendations. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of serving on the LDRA for six years and previously in Connecticut for eight years . She took a technical course on map and graph reading at a technical college and couldn' t have functioned without that type of background. Councilman Roberts commented on why he felt with this Board geographic location was important in the selection of people as he felt there should be good representation from all districts on this Board. Mr. Masso didn' t disagree with that as long as the qualifications of the people were equal . Councilwoman Lichter felt that should be a 10 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 consideration that they do with all of their boards and committees as far as finding people from different areas . It was the consensus of the Council to have representation from all of the Council districts. Councilman Roberts felt neighborhood representation is critical when the use of a particular piece of property is being discussed. He felt it may come down to a review of the by-laws and a decision by Council . Mayor Allman moved on to the Library Board. Jean Haughwout, Chairwoman, Library Board, 204 N. Riverside Drive, presented a background about the Edgewater Library to help them understand its operation. There were seven members on the Board. The Board has three or four meetings a year as needed on Tuesdays at 3 : 30 p.m. The Board was not responsible for any funds and was an advisory board and liaison between the Librarian, the County and the City. She further commented on their responsibilities. Ms . Haughwout spoke of the lack of parking being an issue that had not been resolved. It was going to be discussed this Monday evening and if approved they would acquire 20 much needed parking spaces . Ms . Haughwout identified they review applications of perspective members and make recommendations to Council. Mayor Allman moved on to the Parks & Recreation Board. Tom Tipton, Chairman, Parks & Recreation Board, commented on what the Parks & Recreation Board does. They felt there should be more interaction with the other boards . He spoke of having no indoor recreational facilities as they were all outdoor facilities . This was one of their priorities . They needed to make more residents more aware of some of the facilities and the things that go on in Edgewater. The Board had five members and they had no vacancies . There was further discussion regarding there being more interaction between the boards . Councilman Roberts spoke of an advisory board inviting another board to sit in on their meeting if they have a joint interest. He felt this was a great idea and that the recommendations coming back to Council would be more effective. Mr. Tipton informed Council they also wanted to have the chance to review applications prior to making recommendations to Council . Councilman Roberts spoke of Council wanting more input from the advisory boards . 11 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Mr. Tipton spoke of things he had learned tonight about problems other boards were having and identified he felt it was an excellent idea to have the workshop. Councilwoman Lichter felt the indoor recreational facilities needs were evident. She was wondering why they needed to meet with other boars on that particular subject, maybe for grants for combining youth and seniors. Mr. Tipton informed her by working with other boards it gives them more ideas to deal with. Councilwoman Lichter further commented on the Parks & Recreation Board having a liaison with the Beautification Committee. Mr. Tipton felt by having meetings with the other boards that might simplify the process without getting into liaisons . Councilman Roberts asked if the Board made connections with private organizations such as the Booster Club and the YMCA in trying to develop some public/private partnerships to enhance the Parks & Recreation Department. He felt that might be something the Parks & Recreation Board might want to research. Mr. Tipton explained they make a recommendation to Mr. Corder, who helps them out with how far they can go so they don' t step on somebody' s toes . They don' t try to run the City' s departments and were there to make recommendations . Councilman Roberts felt Mr. Corder should utilize the Parks & Recreation Board to do the legwork and research to bring in private organizations . Mr. Tipton identified they had worked with Mr. Corder on grants and things of that nature. Councilwoman Lichter asked about when they acquired the 26-acres on Turgot Avenue if paving the street was a priority. Mayor Allman felt they were getting off the beaten path. Mayor Allman asked if there were any further questions regarding the selection process with the Parks & Recreation Board. Their first opening wouldn' t be until August 21, 1998 . Mr. Tipton informed him there was normally no problem as far as filling vacancies that occurred on the Board. Mayor Allman moved on to the Police Pension Board. Gary Conroy, Chairman, Police Pension Board, pointed out there were five members on the Police Pension Board that had two year terms . He then commented on the moneys that were derived into the fund. Mr. Conroy identified when Ferd Heeb came to them as a Trustee he helped them a lot because he was a retired CPA and some background in finance was very helpful . Mayor Allman moved on to the Veterans Park Advisory Committee. 12 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Jack Corder, Parks & Recreation Director, identified the Veterans Park Advisory Committee was formed to resolve issues and activities at Veterans Park. They were currently inactive due to meeting on an as needed basis and they hadn' t had any issues in several years . They had lost one organization that was now defunct so they would be down to a four member board at the present setup. Councilman Roberts questioned why this was not incorporated into the Parks & Recreation Board. Mr. Corder explained at the time they were having issues at Veterans Park by individuals claiming they were representing Veterans organizations so they felt it would be wise to put a committee together of the local Veterans organizations to deal with the issues and that it had been working well . Mayor Allman mentioned the memberships that had expired quite a while ago. Mr. Muller indicated he was willing to serve again. He liked the idea of the different Veterans organizations . Councilwoman Lichter questioned it being a Veterans Advisory Committee instead of Veterans Park Advisory Committee. Mr. Corder informed her it should tie in with that particular park. Councilman Roberts felt they had discussed the process for selection. Part of the process was allowing board members to review applications and make recommendations to Council before selections were made. He also mentioned board members being from each of the districts also being part of the selection process . Councilman Gornto spoke of advertising for new applicants when they find they only have a few applications. He felt the vacancies should be advertised on a regular basis and encourage people, which he felt should be part of the process for getting people to apply to serve on the boards . City Clerk Wadsworth explained in the newsletter she asked for applicants to contact the City Clerk' s office if someone was interested in being appointed to one of the boards and she sends them the applications . They have also advertised in the newspaper but it was quite expensive. Carl Zeese, 519 Portside Lane, presented some background as to how he was appointed to the LDRA by explaining he initially saw a notice on his utility bill . He felt they had a good avenue for getting people in but they had to do something so people didn' t think they were falling through the cracks such as notifying people that the application was received and they would be considered. Karen Hall, 519 Wildwood Drive, had been getting most of her information in the newspaper but spoke of a question that was asked of the Council about their vision for 2010 and the fact that none of the 13 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Council really had an answer for that. She was wondering if there was any vision for Edgewater for the year 2010 with regard to overall planning. She felt cleaning up the City would make it look so much better. She felt this would be advantageous as it would help with economic development. Councilwoman Lichter felt there was a dream and a plan. She identified they had a Planning Director and a Planning Board. Their plan was not just Edgewater but it fit into a bigger situation because of the sharing of water and facilities . Tonight they had to come up with a concrete method of how they were going to put people on boards and committees to work cooperatively to further that dream. Ms. Hall informed Council she served on the Volusia Growth Management Commission for the City of Edgewater. She has listened to other cities give their spiel on what their cities were planning but hadn' t heard anything from the City of Edgewater. Ms. Hall then presented some suggestions of things that could be done to improve the appearance of the City. She felt they needed to have an overall view of what they wanted the City to look like. Ms. Hall then commented on having certain standards for new businesses and how Port Orange had grown. She believed New Smyrna and Port Orange got grants for beautification of the medians . There was further discussion regarding obtaining grants for beautification. Councilman Roberts felt they all had the same vision and would all like to see the City change drastically. He asked to be given a couple of days as they had just gotten into office. Councilwoman Lichter felt they had to put in the roads, the sewers and the infrastructure and now that that was done they wanted to go forward. Ms . Hall wanted Wildwood and Park Avenue to be addressed. They felt like the red headed step-children because of the attention that had been given to Florida Shores . She felt the industry would be going in on Park Avenue. Ms . Hall asked for the Council to get together and put together what their vision was of Edgewater. She wanted to see a vision from this Council for the year 2010 as far as what they envision the City to be. Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, commented on why he felt they were blessed in Edgewater. Mayor Allman identified for the selection process they would be taking recommendations from the various board members that had openings . Whether or not the people recommended were selected would still be 14 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 left up to Council but he felt the recommendations would be weighed heavily. He felt each board should have the authority to review the applicants because working together was an intricate part of making the boards and the City work. Councilwoman Lichter questioned how they factor in the district issue and wanted to know about the nomination process. Mayor Allman commented on how he felt they would factor that in. He felt the recommendation of the Board was very important. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of Mr. Gerwe being present the night the Economic Development Board reviewed his application. She felt it wouldn' t hurt for an applicant to be present at the Council meeting also in case Council had any questions of the applicant. Interim City Manager Hooper asked if Council wanted all of the applications for the appointments Council had on the agenda for next Monday night to be sent back to the advisory boards for them to make a recommendation and then bring that back to Council within the next month. It was the consensus of Council to remove any appointments other than the Beautification Committee and the Veterans Park Advisory Committee from Monday night' s agenda and bring them back to Council as soon as they receive the recommendations. Councilwoman Lichter commented on the Animal Control Board needing a veterinarian and humane society representative. City Clerk Wadsworth informed Council that the Animal Control Board was another one that didn' t have any current members and they may want to add that to the agenda on Monday night also. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of there being a couple of veterinarians in town. She felt in terms of the veterinarian and the humane society representative that they may need to go outside Edgewater. Susan Hammond suggested if a person wasn' t qualified for one board that they may be willing to serve on a board they may be qualified for. Councilman Roberts pointed out that a lot of the applicants will check off several boards they want as options and list them in priority order. If there isn' t an opening then Council could consider the other boards they chose. Mayor Allman felt all applicants should be contacted and given the opportunity and that Ms. Hammond' s suggestion was a very good idea. Councilwoman Lichter stated generally a Councilperson from a particular district made a recommendation that generally went by turns so at least one person had a say once in a while. She suggested a 15 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 recommendation be made by each Councilperson for each appointment within each board. Don Masso, Chairman, LDRA, suggested if the boards were going to have the capability of interviewing the applicants if it was permissible to have the applicants listed on their agenda so they could interview them that night and then forward their recommendation to the Council. He felt it was almost impossible for each person on the board to interview all the people at different times . City Attorney Clayton wasn't sure the intent was for the applicants to be personally interviewed. She thought the idea was to refer the applications to the board for review. If the Council wanted to give direction that they wanted to have personal interviews then that was a logistical issue. Councilman Roberts felt at this point just being able to review the applications would be the first step before they got into any interviews . Mr. Masso felt the application wasn' t filled out so they knew anything about the applicant. Councilman Roberts identified they could always call the person on the application. Mr. Masso expressed concern with seven different people contacting the applicant. Councilman Roberts suggested the Chairman from each board make the phone calls . Mr. Masso felt all of the members should have some voice in the recommendation for the replacements . Councilwoman Lichter asked what the Economic Development Board did. Councilman Roberts informed her they only reviewed the applications and didn' t interview people at the board meetings. The Chairman contacted the applicants and provided input to the Board after he spoke with the applicants. He felt at this point they weren' t putting any input into it and that this was a big step in giving the boards a little more flexibility and input into the operation of their boards . Mr. Masso asked if he could inform the Board what he had found out under Chairman' s Comments on their agenda. Interim City Manager Hooper suggested the Chairmen of the all of the boards speak to whoever was preparing the agenda and have that be coordinated so they have the right to bring it up wherever they see fit. Some boards may want to only look at applications but for some boards they may want to have them come in to be interviewed. He felt that should be up to the discretion of each board as to how they would make their recommendation back to Council. City Attorney Clayton further explained the process the boards use to do appointments was something the boards had the ability to decide. Mr. Masso confirmed he could call each member on his board and ask their opinions on how to do this and that he wouldn' t be violating any Sunshine Law. City Attorney Clayton informed him that could be 16 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 discussed at an advertised meeting as far as how they wanted to proceed. Mr. Masso expressed concern with this delaying their recommendation to the Council by perhaps two months . Councilman Roberts suggested they have a special meeting or workshop for this purpose. City Attorney Clayton suggested Mr. Masso speak work with the person that did the agenda and decide how they wanted it set up on an agenda either at a special meeting or workshop. Bob Garthwaite, LDRA, asked if there was a cover letter that goes with the applications that explained how to fill them out and what kind of detail they were looking for. Interim City Manager Hooper informed him there was not. Mr. Garthwaite explained he went through some applications and some were very vague and others were very detailed. He felt a cover letter explaining what they would be looking for in the way of experience and knowledge would help the Board when they review the applications. Mayor Allman felt that would be a good idea and that it could be drafted by the Chairman of each board. A gentleman suggested that an ad hoc committee would shorten the process and simplify the entire procedure. Councilwoman Lichter felt putting people on boards shouldn' t be a competitive situation amongst themselves . She expressed concern with a name being put up and there were negative votes . She hoped it could be a consensus thing. She spoke with Interim City Manager Hooper about how it is done in other cities . She felt the Council should take turns with appointments and do them on a rotation basis . Interim City Manager Hooper identified the City of Oviedo puts one name on the floor and they go around and vote, which he felt winds up with negatives when they are done. The best one that he encouraged was where everybody has an appointment. If you have a board with five members, then District 1 gets to appoint and it goes all the way around so everyone has one appointment on a rotation basis. They would have an organized system of appointments and they would be recommendations from each district. Councilwoman Lichter confirmed it wasn' t just getting the people from different areas but also the Council that represented the different areas had a rotated input. Interim City Manager Hooper informed her that was correct. Councilwoman Lichter asked what Council thought. Mayor Allman felt it made a lot of sense. Councilman Roberts didn' t have a problem with it. 17 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Councilman Roberts found it odd that some of the boards had two-year terms and some had three-year terms and asked why there wasn' t more consistency in the duration of the appointments and would they correspond with the fact that they have two-year terms for elected officials . Interim City Manager Hooper commented on there being a great deal of inconsistency which he suspected was a result of being done at different points in time by different Councils . They described having each one of the advisory boards update their by-laws . He suggested having one uniform set of by-laws that would be tailored for each board, which would be the easiest thing to do and then they could re-address it. Mayor Allman liked what Interim City Manager Hooper was saying about the appointment process but felt they would run into political hack appointments and wasn' t sure if that would work out or not. There would definitely be negatives on a vote system where somebody got voted down and he didn' t like that either as he didn' t feel they should be subjected to being voted down when they were volunteering their time. He felt the recommendations from each of the Board Chairman would weigh very heavily. He liked the recommendation that they contact an individual to see if there is another board they may want to serve on. He felt with the appointment process, with everyone weighing very carefully the Chairman' s recommendation was a viable part of how they should do this. He wanted the least amount of negative to come out of this as possible. Mayor Allman asked if any of the board members had any ideas on selection as he felt it was a very difficult process at best. Maureen Borner, Citizen Code Enforcement Board, had three people interview her personally in City Hall . She believed it was a board that was set up to interview people for all of the different boards. City Clerk Wadsworth thought she was talking about the Screening Committee. Councilwoman Lichter felt they had added a good element here with the boards and committees giving their input and that that was a plus . She felt they all wanted to get the best people on but they also must consider the area situation, the different districts . She questioned what would happen if she didn' t have any applicants to appoint from her district. Councilman Hammond identified he was going to look at the person' s qualities . He wanted to get the town to work together in finding the right people for the job and not whose district is whose. He wanted to find a qualified person to fill the position and he didn' t care where they were from in the City. Councilwoman Lichter questioned still taking turns in the appointments so people weren' t turned down. Councilman Gornto spoke of the boards 18 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 recommending to Council which applicants to appoint. Someone on Council would make a motion to accept or it would die. From the other applicants if someone had an individual they wanted on the board that was qualified or not that he would make the motion and if he had the votes he could carry the day. He asked if that was what Councilwoman Lichter was trying to avoid. Councilwoman Lichter informed him she was trying to avoid people' s feelings getting hurt and the Council getting into a political situation. Councilman Gornto felt the Chairmen of the boards and committees would bring to them the best qualified people. Unless they have evidence that the process was not working, then they should support them in what they are trying to do. Councilwoman Lichter had no problem with that but she thought another factor got thrown in regarding areas of town by Councilman Roberts . Councilman Gornto agreed with the district idea for one committee but for him it was qualifications over the zone. Paul Jenkins, Willow Oak Drive, felt there was a way to do this where they narrow it down to who is acceptable to all. If they take the recommendations of the board and if there was someone else that some board members felt strong about, they could handle it by way of process of elimination until they get to the one that was acceptable to all. City Attorney Clayton identified he wasn' t talking about a private vote that was out of the Sunshine and was talking about having a tally vote with the piece of paper being available for inspection. She felt that was a very complicated system. She thought they were trying to encourage people to come forward. She felt if they had a mixture of recommendations by the boards and then perhaps a rotating series of appointments among the Councilmembers they would find they would get the best of both worlds . Mr. Jenkins felt they would run into problems when one board member wants to appoint someone that someone else opposes. City Attorney Clayton commented on how it worked in the judicial branch, executive branch and legislative branch. Mr. Jenkins expressed concern that a board can get too powerful on its own and tend to be controlling who comes on that board with them. Councilman Roberts identified that was why the Council could override the recommendation and that the board members were appointed by the Council. A board member commented on term length. His board had three year term limits . He didn' t think he was too productive the first year. He felt if the term length was cut back to two years they would be doing a disservice to themselves because it takes time to build up experience. He felt the Economic Development Board would be in the same position. 19 Council Workshop October 29, 1997 Councilman Roberts felt if they were getting the right people on the board that it shouldn' t take a year to get into the swing of things . Councilwoman Lichter asked if they were set for how they were going to do this . They were getting input and recommendations from the Committee, some place on the application in the future they would know what district they come from because they were going to try in certain boards and committees that might need that type of variance in town but in others they will just picked for expertise. She asked if they were going to incorporate the rotating type nomination process . Interim City Manager Hooper informed Council they couldn' t officially adopt how they were going to do it tonight as they were in a work session. He agreed to bring the three items back and Monday night they would decide how they were going to make the appointment. He reminded them they wouldn' t have a recommendation as they would be dealing with boards that had nobody on them right now. Interim City Manager Hooper reminded Council they had a work session scheduled on November 10th to update Council on the FIND project as well as the Fire Station Siting/Expansion/Construction. On November 24th he scheduled the Charter update for the discussion of how they want to appoint a Charter Committee, update of the finances and budget for the City and the City Attorney' s report on in-house versus contract. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Councilman Roberts moved to adjourn. The meeting adjourned around 9: 30 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer, CMC 20 Council Workshop October 29, 1997