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09-15-1982 - Special ~ u u CITY OF EDGEWATER CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL.MEETING September 15, 1982 In the absence of the Mayor, Vice Mayor Pendleton called the Special Meeting to order at 1:30 P.M. in the Community Center. The purpose of the meeting was to (1) interview finalists in the selection of a city attorney, (2) select a city attorney for the City of Edgewater, and (3) approve a loan to finance the 1982 paving program for Florida Shores. ROLL CALL Mayor Robert Christy Councilman Jacob Lodico Councilman David Ledbetter Councilman Wilbert Pendleton Councilman John Wilbur Excused Present Present Present Present City Atty. M.J.Henderson City Mgr. Joseph Mitchell City Clerk Nancy Blazi Police Chief Earl Baugh Present Present Present Present Vice Mayor Pendleton said that the first person to be interviewed was Mrs. Mary Jane Henderson who is presently serving as Acting City Attorney. Councilmen Lodico, Ledbetter and Wilbur stated they had no questions at this time. Vice Mayor Pendleton noted that Mrs. Henderson had been serving as Acting City Attorney for the past few months and asked if this had given her additional knowledge of municipal affairs and confidence in her ability to handle the job. Mrs. Henderson replied that she had certainly found. the past few months to be an excellent learning experience and she had gained extra confidence in the job. She pointed out that her law partner had extensive municipal experience and she believed that it was a plus for her as City Attorney to be able to consult with her partner on various legal municipal matters. Vice Mayor Pendleton said that if there were no objections, he would entertain questions from the audience. Mr. Dan Nolan questioned the attorney's assistance to the advisory boards and some of the difficulties in the past in obtaining direct guidance and information in a reasonable length of time. Mrs. Henderson replied that she would carefully research questions from the boards and make every effort to have information back to the boards as soon as possible. Mr. Neil Asting asked about Mrs. Henderson's law partner. Mrs. Henderson said that she assumed everyone knew that her law partner is also her husband, Clay Henderson, who is a former City Attorney. Mr. William Phinney asked if future documents might be prepared in more understandable language.and also possible involvement in politics. Mrs. Henderson noted that, by law, certain requirement in language is necessary for ordinances and resolutions but she agreed that whenever possible these documents should be written so they are easy to understand. She also indicated that she would be serving, first, the citizens of Edgewater since Councils change. Her primary responsibility would be to the citizens. Mrs. Henderson also stated that if an attorney spent long hours in researching and preparing certain documents or assisting in the prepauation of documents it would not be unethical or out of order to be in favor of that specific document. Mr. Opal asked about salary. It was established that Mrs. Henderson was requesting $350/mo.retainer plus $40/hr. for additional work. 1 ~ ~ J u u Special Council Meeting 9/15/82 - 2 - There were no further questions and Mrs. Henderson was excused for the remainder of the meeting. Mr. Kenneth Hirsh was the next applicant to be interviewed. Mr. Hirsh indicated that he was still very interested in serving as City Attorney in Edgewater. Councilman Ledbetter asked if Mr. Hirsh's services to the City would be impaired since he was employed in a law firm. Mr. Hirsh replied that he did not feel there would be any conflict in scheduling his regular work except perhaps during a law suit but any lawyer that did court work would have the same problem. Councilman Ledbetter also asked if an ordinance or a resolution supercedes the charter of the City of Edgewater. Mr. Hirsh noted that as a general rule an ordinance must conform to the charter however, certain State statutes have changed some sections of charters to ordinances to be handled by Council as an ordinance. Councilman Wilbur asked Mr. Hirsh about his background in municipal law. Mr. Hirsh said that he took his political science course at the. University of Miami and his field of concentration was local government law and politics and he has had courses in municipal law, Florida constitutional law and administrative law. Vice Mayor Pendleton asked if working out of the area (Mr. Hirsh works in Ormond Beach) would cause a problem as far as accessibility was concerned. Mr. Hirsh replied that he did not feel this would be a problem. He also pointed out that he lives in Edgewater and would available after regular working hours. 1b Mr. Walter Gross asked if Mr. Hirsh was appointed as City Attorney and at some future time helieved an illegal act was taking place would he speak out about this. Mr. Hirsh replied that if, in his opinion, there was a matter that was illegal it would be his duty under the City Charter, the code of professional responsibility and as an officer of the court to so notify the Council at that time. Mr. Asting asked about the proposed legal budget for the coming fiscal year. Mr. Mitchell replied that he believed it was$600/mo plus an additional sum of $5,000 for other legal services. Mr. Hirsh has requested $600/mo retainer plus $60/hr. The retainer would cover regular meetings and possibly some special meetings. He would not charge for mileage except for unusual or excessive daytime meetings. Mrs. Gigi Bennington asked for more specific clarification on what the retainer would cover. Mr. Hirsh repeated that this would be primarily for regular Council meetings, some special meetings and normalpreoaration of standard - - ~/ documents. Naturally documents that required extensive research would not be covered under the retainer fee. u u Council Special Meeting 9/15/82 - 3 - Mr. Ben Vasquez requested that the record show the flat salary for a City Attorney and what that salary would cover in the way of services. Mr. Nolan asked about services and information for the advisory -boards. Mr. Hirsh replied that in most cases there should be definite informa- tion, after research, to give advisory boards as guidance in solving legal problems. There might be certain times when there were different possible actions that could be taken legally and then the board members would have to make their decision. Mr. Opal spoke about attorneys' fees and the amount proposed in the budget. Vice Mayor Pendleton replied that the total proposed is $12,200/yr. Councilman Ledbetter said he believed the City has spent over $19,000 this fiscal year for legal costs and that does not include some of the extra lawsuits. Councilman Lodico asked if the $600 retainer included only the regular Council meetings. Mr. Hirsh said the retainer included all evening meetings required plus at least two daytime meetings a month. Beyond two daytime meetings he would charge the $60 /hr. for attend~nce but not travelling time. 2a Mr. Jose Alvarez was the next applicant to be interviewed. Councilman Ledbetter asked what salary Mr. Alvarez was requesting. Mr. Alvarez said that he has requested $l,OOO/mo which would include everything except litigation. Vice mayor Pendleton noted that Mr. Alvarez lived in Deland and wanted to know if this distance would be a problem. Mr. Alvarez replied that there should be no problem. He would plan to spend quite a bit of time in Edgewater to acquaint himself with the City and the different departments in the City. He added that he is a municipal attorney and has had over 10 years experience as an Assistant and Deputy City Attorney for the City of Miami. In 1981 he decided to relocate his family from Miami to Volusia County and the Deland area. Mr. Walter Gross asked what Mr. Alvarez would do if he found out that illegal acts were being done in the City.such as an illegal meeting. Mr. Alvarez said it would be his responsibility not only as City Attorney but also as an officer of the court to step forward. He added that he valued his license and if, in his opinion, a meeting was not authorized by the charter he would so advise the Council and the City Manager. Mr. Nolan asked about his availability to citizens if they had questions. Mr. Alvarez said this must be determined within the confines of the charter. He would also try to be available. Mr. Nolan also asked about receiving definite answers to certain legal problems that sometimes face the board. Mr. Alvarez replied t~at if it was a legal question it should have a leqal answer but this does not mean policy makinq decisions. He would stand by a legal decision. An an~wer could b~ difficult if the attorney becomes concerned with someone's political qoals or o~jectives. , . Q <J Special Council Meeting 9/15/82 - 4 - Councilman Ledbetter asked if an ordinance or resolution superSedes a charter. M~. Alvarez replied no. Vice Mayor Pendleton said that they had now come to the second part of the meeting to select an attorney for the City. Councilman Ledbetter motioned to TABLE this until Monday's meeting so that the full body of the Council could be present to make this important decision, seconded by Councilman Wilbur. Motion CARRIED 4-0. Vice Mayor Pendleton said the next item was approving the loan for Florida Shores paving. Councilman Ledbetter said the Council should have a workshop. Mr. Mitchell explained the progress that had been made in the attempt to procure a loan for this paving program. Bids were sent out but there has been no response. At the present time the banks are not interested in municipal loans. However, he believes this will be possible in a few months. Under the code where no bids are received, we are authorized to negotiate. We have been negotiating with Southeast Bank in coordination with the auditors. It is proposed that the Council authorize a self-borrowing program to use funds from unrestricted funds until such time as funds are available through a financial institution. We have appropriated $91,739.20 for road paving. The cost of the contract is $280,307.50 so that the requested authorization is to use $190,000. from fund balance. It is a sound proposal. Councilman Ledbetter motioned to TABLE for a workshop. Motion died for lack of second. Councilman Wilbur motioned to accept the resolution, seconded by Councilman Lodico. Resolution 82-R-46 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF EDGEWATER, FLORIDA AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO BORROW FUNDS FROM THE POOLED CASH IN UNRESTRICTED FUNDS FOR USE IN THE ROAD PAVING PROGRAM UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE FUNDS SHALL BECOME AVAILABLE THROUGH BORROWING FROM A FINANCING INSTITUTION, REPEALING ALL RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Upon roll call motion CARRIED 3-1. Councilman Ledbetter voted NO. Councilman Wilbur motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Council- man Lodico. Meeting was adjourned at 3:05 P.M. Minutes submitted by: Nancy Blazi ~~~/. Mayor c_ C