Loading...
10-13-1998 ~ ~ I' CITY OF EDGEWATER BEAUTIFICATION , TREE COMMITTEE OCTOBER 13, 1998 7:00 P.M. CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM MINUTES CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chairman visconti called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room. Members present were: Chairman Mike Visconti, Mike Tanksley, Rose Hoffman, Terry Webb, and Patrick Conway. Also present were Parks and Recreation Director Jack Corder and Recording Secretary Lisa Kruckmeyer. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Reqular Meeting of September 8, 1998 Mr. Tanksley made a motion to approve the September 8, 1998 minutes, second by Ms. Hoffman. The motion CARRIED 5-0. OLD BUSINESS Discussion re: Update on Medians Chairman Visconti asked Mr. Corder for an update on the medians on U.S. #1. Mr. Corder informed the Committee he submitted the original application and they sent him a letter back requesting additional information with a new application form because they changed the old form. He hand delivered the new application and blue prints on October 1st. Ms. Hoffman asked what additional information DOT requested. Mr. Corder informed her they wanted information regarding the plants such as size and growth projections. They also wanted the common name as well as the latin name which he has never had to provide before. Chairman Visconti asked if the other cities have to go through the same thing. Mr. Corder feels that over the past six months, DOT has gotten a lot stricter, even with inspections on the highways. Chairman Visconti spoke about DOT having a meeting in Orlando regarding the beautification of Florida and America. They had ex-amount of millions of dollars to give out for beautification. Mr. Corder thought he was talking about the enhancement project they have. When those funds first '-" ...", became available, the state already had it spent before anybody could even apply for it. Chairman visconti asked if they would have to go through this for every meeting. Mr. Corder informed him yes, they do. Every median we plant on, we have to get a permit. He asked DOT if we could start on the project before they give us the final okay. The answer was a flat no. Ms. Hoffman asked about the south median. Mr. Corder informed her he hasn't touched that yet. Chairman visconti feels they would be spinning their wheels if they went to the merchants. Mr. Corder stated if you go to them, you have to already have a plan devised. Ms. Hoffman suggested getting the permitting first before going to the people. Mr. Corder explained not necessarily because they don't know what the cost is going to be for each median. Ms. Hoffman feels first they should do a plan for a median and then go a merchant informing them what the Committee wants to do. They could then ask if they would like to adopt a median. Mr. Corder stated it could be approached that way. Mr. Conway stated they first discussed this a year ago. He feels this is a waste of time. Ms. Hoffman asked about the City taking away some of the beautification money. Mr. Corder explained $6,000 was pulled from the $22,000 they had, for a mural. This was done during the budget process. Mr. Conway asked who suggested the $6,000 be taken out of the $22,000. Mr. Corder informed him the Mayor suggested it and they voted on it. Councilwoman Lichter requested funds for the mural. Mr. Tanksley feels the mural is part of beautification. Mr. Conway feels the Beautification & Tree Committee has the smallest budget of any committee. Mr. Corder informed him he believes there is only one committee that has a budget. Ms. Hoffman stated we finally got this far and now they are taking it away little by little. It is like you are beating your head against the wall and not getting anywhere. Mr. Conway stated he is going to turn in his resignation. He feels the Council should have asked the Committee how they felt about taking the $6,000. He feels the Committee has not made on inch of progress over the past year. Page -2- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 '-'" ...., Ms. Hoffman is not opposed of the mural but feels the Council should have spoken to the Committee. She doesn't feel it should have been snatched from the Committee when they have worked so hard to get that far. Chairman Visconti stated Councilwoman Lichter had no idea the money was going to be taken away from beautification. Ms. Hoffman stated she is for the mural but she doesn't feel it was handled properly. Mr. Corder stated this is the first Council to put money in a specific line item for beautification. Mr. Tanksley spoke of Mr. Grace's original thinking to do two test medians and see if that wouldn't stir City Council and the citizens. Mr. Corder informed Council the money in the budget is for the median to the south. We still have $16,000 to do that median. Chairman Visconti spoke about the City doing the north and south medians and the merchants filling them in in between. Ms. Hoffman feels we need someone that knows how to write grants to produce money for the City. She understands the City can't provide all of the money for the medians and feels we need grants. Mr. Tanksley feels it was the Committee's biggest loss when they lost Mr. Grace. Mr. Corder stated he has dealt with grants before. Chairman Visconti spoke about Port Orange hiring someone to do nothing but grants. Mr. Corder stated grants used to be simple but the guidelines have changed and there is a lot of paper work involved as well as follow-up. Mr. Conway mentioned the federal government putting in $200 billion for state roads and beautification. Mr. Conway again stated he is going to resign tonight. If Edgewater doesn't get their hands on some of that money, they are missing out on something big. A lot of that money is for beautification on the highways. Ms. Hoffman asked if they should ask the Council if they are planning on hiring someone to do strictly grants. Mr. Tanksley stated Councilwoman Lichter is the primary force behind this. She definitely wants a grant writer. Page -3- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 "-- ..., Chairman visconti asked about applying for $16,000 they have. Mr. Corder stated they commented on the grant application process time it takes. a grant with the could. He and the length of Chairman visconti suggested applying for a grant every year then they would be doubling their money and maybe could do the medians all the way through. Mr. Tanksley asked Mr. Corder if he felt he was running into any opposition from DOT because they have plans to not have medians on u.s. #1. Mr. Corder stated not on that aspect. He just believes DOT has their own regime and their own set of standards they go by and that is what the City is dealing with. He feels the district office is stricter than the state. with DOT you don't make waves. If you do make waves, it will get rough. Ms. Hoffman asked what north end. Mr. Corder started. If he was to get started next week. longest. the goal is for the medians at the planned on already having this get the permit tomorrow, they would The jack and bore work will take the Ms. Hoffman asked if Mr. Corder located anyone to do the jack and bore. Mr. Corder informed them he has located two companies. The question will be timing with them. Both companies are DOT certified to do that type of work. Discussion re: Livinq Memorial Mr. Tanksley spoke about the location of the Memorial Wall being placed back in the Cemetery's hands. Ms. Hoffman asked why do they have to put it in the cemetery when the City has property it can be placed on. Mr. Tanksley spoke about leasing the property for 99 years. The City would own the Memorial Wall. Ms. Hoffman spoke about putting this wall where the Veteran's wall is. She feels it might be better to keep the walls together. Mr. Corder asked how much the wall is going to cost. Mr. Tanksley spoke of our only cost being pouring the footings. Mr. Letter suggested contacting the Veterans group about donating some money for the first piece of the wall, which could be for Veterans. Page -4- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 --- '-' Mr. Tanksley spoke of placing names of both sides of the wall saving money. He suggested placing the names of the Veterans on a wall at Veteran's Park and the non-Veterans portion could be at the Cemetery. Ms. Hoffman spoke of this wall being for the living as well as the deceased. There was some discussion regarding the cost involved with the wall. Mr. Corder spoke about if they replace the wall at Veterans Park, he would have to replace all of the name tags on the existing wall. Chairman Visconti asked if this wall would fit at Veterans Park. Mr. Corder informed him it would. Mr. Corder spoke about the wall that exists at Veterans Park. The Committee further discussed placing the wall at Veterans Park and beautifying the median that goes to the park from u.s. #1. Mr. Conway spoke about being told in the past when Eckerds is built, the City could use water that they would be putting in. Mr. Corder explained there will be water on u.s. #1 when Eckerds gets the project done. Chairman Visconti suggested putting a well on the median. Mr. Corder informed him they could look into it. Mr. Tanksley spoke about the reason they were going to put the Camellias at the Cemetery was to get them away from Riverside Drive because of salt-water intrusion. Ms. Webb stated she wants to plant something and she wants to do it soon. She feels they should start small with donations. Chairman Visconti suggested someone make a motion regarding where the monument is going to be. Ms. Webb asked if the idea of the wall was to get money for the Camellias. She clarified her idea, which snowballed into a monument, was for any occasion. She feels it would be crude for someone to plant something in the Cemetery for Mother's Day or birthdays or Christmas. Ms. Webb doesn't feel they need to incorporate the Memorial Wall with the Camellias. Mr. Tanksley agreed with her. The Committee discussed putting the Camellias on the stretch of vacant land between the Church and the Cemetery. Page -5- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 '- ~ The Committee then discussed the Cemetery not wanting to take the wall down and replace it with Camellias. Mr. Tanksley explained the gentleman who complained to the Cemetery about taking the fence down is concerned that the beautification and wall will bring too much traffic into the Cemetery. Mr. Conway stated we are making a lot of progress tonight. We aren't going to get the medians finished this year, we're not gonna get the fence down or get the monument right away. The Committee briefly discussed the Cemetery not having a big enough well to establish the Camellias. Review Camellia donation coupon prepared bv Terrv Webb Ms. Webb read the coupon she prepared. Ms. Webb stated the wall with no money is an unattainable goal. The Camellias aren't. Ms. Hoffman spoke about Ms. Webb being anxious to see things accomplished but it doesn't happen over night. Chairman Visconti asked who owns the right-of-way between the sidewalk and the road. Mr. Corder informed him DOT owns it. They also own the sidewalk. Chairman Visconti feels they should just forget about u.s. #1. Ms. Hoffman suggested doing a median with dwarf Camellias. Chairman Visconti asked if the City has any right-of-way on the other side of the sidewalks. Mr. Corder stated where DOT right-of-way ends belongs to the homeowner. Chairman Visconti suggested going door-to-door asking the businesses to put up a tree on their property. Mr. Webb suggested starting at the Cemetery. Ms. Hoffman again spoke about a doing a median with dwarf Camellias. She feels it would be more professional. Mr. Corder informed the Committee they need to come up with a plan for the south median so they can apply for the permit now so they can get it this year. They should get the plans in the working and once they have enough money, they can go after it. Ms. Hoffman made a motion to do the medians one at a time and do the Camellias on one. Ms. Webb asked if they can plant anything else until they get that money. Page -6- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 .... ....., Chairman visconti feels they should do one project at a time, starting with the medians. Ms. Webb asked if they have the money for that. Chairman visconti informed her we have the money for the first two medians and one south. Ms. Hoffman feels they should start at the north and south and then go to the center. Mr. Tanksley recalled discussion regarding putting donated Camellias in the medians to keep the public out of there from looking at their own tree. Ms. Hoffman feels they should send people that make donations a map showing exactly where the tree is at. She doesn't think they are going to have a traffic jam. Mr. Tanksley suggested drawing up four or six median designs and label any future medians as A, B, C, or D as being typical so they won't have to reinvent the wheel for every median. Mr. Corder stated he is not sure that would work because each median is different in size. Mr. Tanksley feels that would give continuity throughout the City without getting boring. Chairman visconti would like to be a year ahead all the time. Mr. Corder suggested at least six months. Chairman visconti asked about applying for a $16,000 grant for February. Mr. Conway asked if the city could put up the money and when the grant comes in, give it back. Mr. Corder spoke about there being a lot of grants out there that will not let you start on a project until the grant is approved. If you start the project before you get the grant, they void it. Mr. Corder explained if they want to apply for a grant, one of the first steps they are going to have to do is go before Council and ask if they can use the $16,000 to apply for a grant. DOT will require a resolution by the city that you are applying for this grant. Ms. Hoffman suggested picking out a median they want to do, figure out the size of it, do a blueprint of it and how they are going to place the Camellias and trees. She suggested doing the Camellia median in the middle. Ms. Webb feels they should come up with four different ideas for medians. Page -7- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 ~ ...., Mr. Corder commented on the medians going north from Orange Avenue having curbs and medians going south having no curbs. The medians to the south are a lot larger. He suggested the Committee consider doing an A, B, C design for the north and an A, B, C design for the south. Chairman Visconti asked for the measurements of the different medians. Mr. Corder stated he has some of them but would have to measure what he doesn't have. Ms. Webb asked if there is a height requirement in the medians. Mr. Corder explained there is a three-foot site line and the tree trunk can't have a diameter of no more than 4 inches. Ms. Webb asked which median they are going to start with. Mr. Corder informed her at the north. Ms. Webb asked if this is where they are going to put the sign. Mr. Corder stated DOT has a serious problem with the sign. The application is going through without the sign. Once we get the permit, we are going to go back to the sign. Mr. Corder stated if the Committee wants to apply for a grant, they need to come up with a plan. Once he does the plan, he has to put all the paperwork together off that plan to submit. The deadline is February 1st. The earliest they would be able to start the median if they apply for a grant would be next October. Ms. Hoffman asked how soon they could start the Camellia median. Mr. Corder stated if we pay for it ourselves, he would have to submit the application and wait on the permitting. Chairman Visconti felt they were getting off the track. Mr. Corder stated if they do a Camellia median and pay for it themselves, it would probably be done before a grant would get back. Ms. Webb asked about irrigation. Mr. Corder stated they would have to come up with irrigation. Chairman Visconti stated even with getting donations, you still can't plant them until you get the permit from the Department of Transportation. Ms. Webb feels it is going to take a while to come up with enough money to put in irrigation in the median. Ms. Hoffman suggested incorporating in with the price of the plant. Page -8- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 '-"" ....., Chairman Visconti told Ms. Webb to take her coupon with her and bring changes to the next meeting. They will okay it to put it in the paper and it costs $150 to put it in the paper. Ms. Hoffman suggested doing a budget first to see how much to charge the people. The Committee further discussed how much to charge people. There was a discussion regarding the Chamber of Commerce sign being relocated. Mr. Corder spoke about having a hard time finding somewhere to put it out by SR 442 and 1-95. He already has an extra sign that used to be on SR 442 that he has been looking for a place to put it. The only property the City owns out by 1-95 is the Water Plant, which is on the wrong side of the road. Chairman visconti feels they are going over the same thing over and over and over again. Ms. Hoffman asked which median would be easiest to put water in that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg. Mr. Tanksley mentioned the median going to Veterans Park on SR 442 that is owned by the city. Chairman Visconti feels they are going somewhere they can't be. Mr. Corder stated they have to jack and bore everywhere they go. We are looking at $36 per foot no matter where they go. Chairman Visconti asked if it would be less expensive for the City to purchase a water truck. Mr. Corder explained to Chairman Visconti on the highway, in the summertime those medians are so hot, if you do not water them daily, they will burn up. Mr. Corder suggested preparing the medians for the south now and not waiting until next summer to do it. If we decide not to go with the grant, we will be putting that in before next summer. He spoke about once they start doing all of the medians, he doesn't have the manpower to maintain them. Ms. Hoffman spoke about trying to get a business to take care of them, like an Adopt a Median program. Mr. Corder suggested the Committee start initiating this program. Ms. Webb would really like to see the community get in on something. She suggested doing this by districts by getting dollar donations from the community. Mr. Corder told her they need to put a program together to do that. Page -9- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 , . -.. ....., Ms. Webb would like to see the community get involved instead of just the business people and Committee members. She would like to see the dollar go towards hiring a landscape person to mow the median once a week during the summer when the grass is growing. Mr. Corder doesn't feel they are going to get that to happen. The City is mowing the sides of U.S.#1 and the right-of-way because the people in District 1 won't even mow in front of their own places. Mr. Corder doesn't think they are going to get that to happen. Ms. Hoffman asked if the cheapest median would be the one going to the river from u.S. #1 at SR 442. Mr. Corder stated it doesn't matter if it is reuse or regular water at this point. Any medians up toward the north end of the City could be looked at. He estimated the cost to jack and bore to be between $2,000 and $2,500. Mr. Corder stated if they have plans together and they go to businesses asking for money and they go back to Council, with a plan and money to beautify a median, and ask for money for water, Council would give the Committee the money. Chairman Visconti stated the first line of battle is to go to the merchants and make sure they have enough money and enough people involved in it. Ms. Hoffman stated they can't do that until they have a plan put together. Ms. Hoffman questioned any businesses that would have the money to pay to beautify a whole median. She doesn't feel there are too many businesses that can afford to do that. Ms. Hoffman spoke about the businesses that are taken care of the medians in New Smyrna on the South Causeway. Mr. Corder explained the tags in the medians specify who donated the plants in the medians. The businesses don't take care of the maintenance. Mr. Corder suggested the Committee speak to Coronado Paint, Boston Whaler, and WACO. Ms. Hoffman suggested running a survey in the paper asking if there are any merchants interested in beautifying a median. Mr. Corder feels they would get a better response from the merchants if they spoke to them face to face. Ms. Webb spoke about sending the ad out with the utility bill. Mr. Corder suggested putting it in the City newsletter. The secretary stated they could put a notice on the back of the utility bill. Page -10- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 . . '-'" ,." Ms. Webb asked how much it would cost to mail out flyers. The secretary informed her of the cost to mail newsletters. Mr. Corder stated they wouldn't have to mail out flyers because it could be incorporated into the newsletter. The secretary questioned if people make donations and the Committee decides not to do the project. Mr. Corder stated if donations come in, they could use them elsewhere. The secretary stated but what if you are asking for donations for a specific project. Mr. Corder suggested making it broad enough to cover beautification in general. The Committee discussed how much to ask for for donations. Chairman visconti suggested asking for $150 for a tree and $30 for Camellias. Beautification Award - District 4 & Business The secretary informed the Committee that the winner for District 4 is not six months old. The second choice was 3034 vista Palm Drive. She asked the Committee if they wanted to go with the second choice or make new picks. The Committee decided to go with 3034 vista Palm Drive as being the winner. The secretary reminded the Committee to come with a pick for District 1 to the next meeting. After tabulating the choices, Palm Auto Wash was chosen as the winning business. MISCELLANEOUS Chairman Visconti wants to talk about his idea of Edgewater's Green on the median going to Veterans Park at the next meeting. Chairman Visconti stated they promised Mr. Harmon from the Camellia Society to be put on the agenda so he could make a presentation to Council of the Camellias. Ms. Webb questioned if she was doing the coupon for the medians or the wall. The Committee agreed to concentrate on the medians. Page -11- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998 '-" ~ Chairman Visconti stated they want to get on the agenda for Mr. Harmon to make a presentation. Mr. Harmon would like see the Camellia made the City flower. Chairman Visconti would like to talk to Council at the same time regarding what their master plan is for landscaping the medians. Ms. Hoffman suggested letting the Council know that if we get enough participants to plant a median if they would donate the money for water. Chairman Visconti stated they wouldn't even listen to him until he had the money in his hand for the fountain. He had over $3,000 donated towards the fountain. The City gave him $2,000 to finish the fountain. Kevin Grace was the first City Manager that came in that wanted beautification in Edgewater. He would like to go before council and see what their views are. Once we get on the agenda, we can make up a format and give it to Council listing what the Committee would like to do to beautify Edgewater. Mr. Tanksley would like to have a workshop with Council without the media there. The secretary informed him it would have to be a published meeting that would be open to the public. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Ms. Hoffman made a motion to adjourn, second by Ms. Webb. The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Lisa Kruckmeyer Page -12- Beautification & Tree Committee October 13, 1998