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08-21-2006 - Regular Q (J CITY COUNCIL OF EDGEWATER REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 21, 2006 7:00 P.M. COMMUNITY CENTER MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Thomas called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mayor Michael Thomas Councilwoman Debra Rogers Councilman Dennis Vincenzi Councilwoman Harriet Rhodes Councilwoman Judith Lichter Interim City Manager Jon Williams City Attorney Nicholas Palmer City Clerk Susan Wadsworth Present Present Excused Present Present Present Present Present INVOCATION, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE There was a silent invocation and pledge of allegiance to the Flag. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There were no minutes to be approved at this time. 3. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/PLAQUES/CERTIFICATES/DON ATIONS A. Representative Dorothy Hukill presenting a ceremonial check for a FRDAP Grant in the amount of $200,000 Representative Hukill presented a check in the amount of $200,000 to Mayor Thomas for an FRDAP Grant for improvements to Kennedy Park. Mayor Thomas asked Representative Hukill to stay due to moving Item 9A up on the agenda. Page 1 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u <J 9A. FRDAP Grant - staff recommending approval for the City to enter into a Project Agreement with the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection for grant funding in the amount of $200,000 for Kennedy Park upgrades and authorize the Mayor or City Manager to execute the Agreement Leisure Services Director Jack Corder made a staff presentation. Councilwoman Rhodes complimented Mr. Corder for doing a great job. Mr. Corder also recognized his staff for their efforts. Mayor Thomas confirmed the building going over there was covered under another grant. Mr. Corder commented on having two grants that are helping put the fishing pier in now that are $125,000 or $135,000. They used those grants as their matching portion for this grant so they didn't have to have cash in hand for the City's matching portion. He spoke of having a timing issue and having to wait to find out if the City would get this grant before they could move forward with this project. Mr. Corder confirmed the $200,000 was going to be used to help develop other portions of the park such as restroom facilities, improved parking and stormwater issues they have to deal with. They will be getting into the actual design of the park within the upcoming year and will bring them to Council for approval. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if they have looked into the lengthening of the boat docks. Mr. Corder agreed to look into this. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to approve for the City to enter into a Project Agreement with the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection for grant funding in the amount of $200,000 for Kennedy Park upgrades and authorize the Mayor or City Manager to execute the Agreement, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . Page 2 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (J (J B. Interim Police Chief Taves presenting "Officer of the Quarter" plaque (sponsored by the Miami Tract Hunt Club) to Officer Alan Clark Interim Police Chief presented examples of why Officer Alan Clark was being named as "Officer of the Quarter" and presented him with a plaque. Mayor Thomas moved Item 5 up on the agenda and asked for Citizen Comments before City Council Reports. The following citizen spoke: Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, informed Council of a piece of property that is for sale on u.s. #1, 1620 Edgewater Drive, the Settle-Wilder property, which is across from the Fire Station for $650,000. He spoke to the Pastor and the price is negotiable. He believed this was a prime location and would be a beautiful site for a new City Hall. He asked that the City look into it. Mr. Visconti then mentioned Councilwoman Rogers' comments regarding the sand in ParkTowne. He thought maybe the City could purchase this land if the city gets money from the sale of the sand. 4. CITY COUNCIL REPORTS Councilwoman Rhodes had nothing at this time. Councilwoman Lichter thanked City Clerk Wadsworth for providing the Council with an updated list of the Boards and Committees. She expressed concern with the Council never receiving reports from the County boards that Edgewater citizens serve on. She feels they need to hear once in awhile what is going on so they can keep up-to- date. Councilwoman Rogers commented on a recent newspaper article regarding the dredging material. She commented on Interim City Manager Williams responding to the Executive Director at the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) and he is respectfully requesting consideration of a proposal and he has given a proposal. This proposal will be presented to find on September 22nd, three days before they have to make their final determination on the millage rate. She spoke of calls she has received regarding lowering the millage Page 3 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u CJ rate. She reminded everyone when she initially talked about the dredging material she spoke of the proceeds to be part of a reserve for City Hall. She appreciated Mr. Visconti's comments. She felt this property would be perfect and confirmed Mr. Visconti said $650,000. She hoped Interim City Manager Williams would definitely jump on that. She spoke of there being something else in the works to help them with that but she wasn't at liberty to discuss it at this time. Mayor Thomas reported on several meetings he has had with Interim City Manager Williams where they are discussing the future of Edgewater and how to shave the budget and still get the benefits and services from the City. He met with the Police Department staff and got a feeling from them. He also rode with the garbage men for three hours and got a good feel of what they do and what they go through. He is going to try and go back and ride with each employee. They are doing everything they can to keep the services and shave the budget. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS This item was handled earlier on the agenda. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS, ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS A. Public Hearing, the City of Edgewater requesting Amendment No. 1 to the Development Agreement for ParkTowne Industrial Center Assistant City Manager Liz McBride and Interim City Manager Williams made a staff presentation. Councilwoman Rogers had a problem with the eighty-foot maximum building height, especially with the two items they have in front of them, the proposed Charter Amendment and the Land Development Code the Council is working on. Interim City Manager Williams informed her the eighty-foot referred to the silo. He spoke of this having to fall within the Federal Aviation Administration guidelines (FAA) due to Massey Ranch Airpark being located in that area. Councilwoman Rogers stated she sees Volusia County purchase from us. She asked what they are going to do with the proceeds from those. Interim City Manager Williams informed her the proceeds would go back into the General Page 4 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u Fund. Councilwoman Rogers asked how much it would be. Interim City Manager Williams informed her it is a pre- negotiated contract to be for $71,500 for that one-acre parcel. That is to also accommodate the widening of 10th Street. He then spoke of using the proceeds towards the annual debt service requirement for this next fiscal year. Councilwoman Rogers suggested using it as a start for a City Hall reserve fund. Interim City Manager Williams informed her the debt service for this project is about $505,000 per year so obviously the $71,500 they could use to offset that and provide some savings to the General Fund. Councilwoman Rogers stated she didn't have a problem with any of it but at this moment, the silo, the height, until they get further along with the height limitations they are talking about in the Land Development Code, she is thinking it would be best if they put this off until after they have their vote in a couple of weeks on the Land Development Code amendments. Councilwoman Rhodes mentioned this bringing jobs to the city and everyone knowing this is something she has been pursuing for eight. years. She has no problem with it. She feels it is incumbent upon them to provide for their citizens. She is in favor of this and didn't have a problem with an eighty-foot silo. Interim City Manager Williams commented on this adding to the industrial tax base which helps shift some of the tax burden from purely residential to a more industrial and commercial tax base. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following citizens spoke: Andy Anderson, pine Tree Drive, started talking about the City putting out a list of the phone numbers at City Hall and about the phone system at City Hall and Mayor Thomas informed him he was asking for public comments on the item they are discussing. They had already gone through Citizen comments but informed him he would have another chance at the end of the meeting. Dave Ross, 1803 Needle Palm Drive, stated an industrial park is an industrial park. Having been in business all of his life, he would be hard pressed to believe that this City or any other city in the United Stated could attract Page 5 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 <J u industrial not allowing an eight-foot silo in their prime industrial park. They must have industry in this town and when they start refusing to allow industry into an industrial park, close it up and rent it out or sell it to New Smyrna and let them do it. Dominic Capri a , 606 Topside Circle, stated he would like to see the $71,500 go to reduce the $350,000 a year that the City has to pay. Mike Thompson, Volco Road, stated for quite a while he worked in the concrete business right after he got out of the electronic business. He spoke of the silo at Rinker being less than 35 feet. Councilwoman Rhodes asked who wanted the eighty-foot silo, the plant itself. Interim City Manager Williams informed her yes, during their due diligence process that was one of the concerns they expressed. Mike Hail, Kimly, Horn & Associates, explained it is a much more efficient operation with an eighty-foot silo. He felt they would find seventy-feet silos at Tarmac, which is located a quarter of a mile away. He spoke of this not being an occupied structure. He spoke of this being a $3.5 million project and referred to the impact fees and the tax base. In talking to the owner today, it may be more like fifteen to twenty full-time positions and possibly even more. Florida Rock wanted him to communicate to the Council that they are committed to doing this project if they can get the height restriction. Councilwoman Lichter felt the City is very lucky to have people coming into our industrial park. Councilwoman Lichter felt people that aren't actually in Edgewater should identify they are in the County because it kind of gives a little different perspective if you are a voting, taxpaying resident in Edgewater or if you live in the County. Kimberly Buck, Alan Engineering Group, requested if the City does continue this to discuss the height limitation, if the other provisions could possibly move forward to allow this project to move on. Page 6 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.) (.) City Attorney Palmer stated the item before the Council is an amendment to the Development Agreement, which is an agreement between the City and other parties who have yet to agree to it. If there was an approval tonight, it would still need to be agreed to by the other parties that are required to give their consent subject to the agreement. Councilwoman Rogers moved to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Development Agreement for ParkTowne Industrial Center with the exception of the height. Councilwoman Rogers asked Interim City Manager Williams and Development Services Director Darren Lear to investigate the heights at the Rinker and Tarmac plants. Councilwoman Rogers' motion died due to the lack of a second. Councilwoman Lichter moved to approve Amendment No. 1 with the condition that the revised legal descriptions is attached as Exhibit A and authorize negotiation for signatures to be obtained from the owners, second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The MOTION DIED 2-2. Mavor Thomas and Councilwoman Roqers voted NO. B. Public Hearing, Tom Corbett, agent for Federal Trust Ban, requesting site plan approval for construction of a 26,691 square foot retail center with an out-parcel designated for a 3,000 square foot financial institution in accordance with Section 21-93.03(e) Development Services Director Lear made a staff presentation. Due to there being no comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Rogers moved to approve the site plan in accordance with Section 21-81.01(m) and 21-93.03(e) of the City of Edgewater Land Development Code, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . Page 7 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u The ordinances listed below were transmitted to the Florida Department of Community Affairs on April 18, 2006 (with the exception of 6F) and will be heard for second reading on September 11, 2006. C. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-10, City of Edgewater requesting amendments to the data and analysis, and the Goals, Objectives and Policies within the Future Land Use, Conservation and Coastal Elements of the Comprehensive Plan, 1st reading 4/17/06, Item 6C D. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-11, City of Edgewater requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include 17.63~ acres of property located southwest of the Edgewater Lakes Subdivision Phase 1a (Northstar Lane) as Public/Semi-Public with Conservation Overlay), 1st reading 4/17/06, Item 6D E. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-13, Targator Partners, LLC requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include 2.67~ acres of land located along Falcon Avenue, west of Riverside Bank as High Density Residential, 1st reading 4/17/06, Item 6F) F. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-14, the City of Edgewater requesting amendments to the data and analysis; and the Goals, Objectives and policies within the Future Land Use and Housing Elements of the Comprehensive Plan, 1st reading 5/1/06, Item 6A Interim City Manager Williams informed Mayor Thomas that on Items 6C, 6D, 6E, & 6F he could read the titles into the record and a motion to continue to the first reading of April 17, 2006. Mayor Thomas asked if they wanted him to read them. City Attorney Palmer informed him he could read the agenda items into the record and entertain a motion or he could do it. City Attorney Palmer read the agenda items into the record with regard to Items 6c, 6D, 6E and 6F. Page 8 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.) (.) Councilwoman Rhodes moved to continue Items 6C, 6D, 6E, and 6F until September 11, 2006, second by Councilwoman Rogers. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . G. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-15, Tom Corbett, agent for Federal Trust Bank, requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include .45~ acres of land located west of USl and south of 1900 S. Ridgewood Avenue as Commercial, 1st reading 5/15/06, Item 6A City Attorney Palmer read Ord. 2006-0-15 into the record. Due to there being no comments, Mayor Thomas opened and closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Lichter moved to approve Ord. No. 2006-0-15, Tom Corbett, agent for Federal Trust Bank, requesting an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map to include .45+ acres of land located west of US1 and south of 1900 S. Ridgewood Avenue as Commercial, second by Councilwoman Rogers. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . H. 2nd Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-16, Tom Corbett, agent for Federal Trust Bank, requesting an amendment to the Official Zoning Map to include .45+ acres of land located west of USl and south of 1900 S. Ridgewood Avenue as B-3 (Highway Commercial) City Attorney Palmer read Ord. 2006-0-16 into the record. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following citizens spoke: Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, asked if there was a conservation overlay on this piece of land. A threatened and endangered species assessment provided by the City on December 19, 2005 indicated the property does not provide suitable habitat for listed, threatened, or endangered species. The property does contain three large, active Page 9 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u gopher tortoise burrows. Mayor Thomas asked when she found those. Ms. Carlson stated last month. Councilwoman Lichter asked if they could be located. Ms. Carlson informed her they should be. There was a brief discussion regarding placing the gopher tortoises down by the Animal Shelter. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing and strongly suggested they include in the motion there will be a live relocation of the gopher tortoises that exist on the site. Councilwoman Rogers moved to approve Ord. No. 2006-0-16, Tom Corbett, agent for Federal Trust Bank, requesting an amendment to the Official Zoning Map to include .45+ acres of land located west of US1 and south of 1900 S. Ridgewood Avenue as B-3 (Highway Commercial) and that they make sure there will be a live relocation of the gopher tortoises, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . Mayor Thomas felt it made more sense for them to discuss Item 6L with regard to Resolution 2006-R-07 before they discussed Item 61. Councilwoman Lichter commented on there being a couple of ways to get things in front of the voters. She then commented on excluding certain items from the 35-foot prohibition because economically it could kill this City. She then referred to a hospital or a new City Hall. Council has the right to vote on a motion to exclude residential from our over 35 feet but they also want to put one on there for exceptions. Councilwoman Rhodes stated let the voters decide if they want a 35-foot cap and let them decide if they want that cap to extend to commercial and industrial property. Interim City Manager Williams clarified that Mayor Thomas felt they were putting the cart before the horse in the order that things were being presented on the agenda and he had made the request to move up the resolution relating to the ECARD ballot question and then move directly from that into the ordinance that City Council is proposing to clarify the language. Page 10 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.) u Mayor Thomas then moved Item 6L up on the agenda. L. Res. No. 2006-R-07, authorizing and directing that a proposed Charter Amendment related to maximum building heights be submitted to the electors of the City of Edgewater at the November 7, 2006 General Election as requested by Edgewater Citizen's Alliance for Responsible Development, Inc. City Attorney Palmer read Res. 2006-R-07 into the record. Councilwoman Rhodes didn't have a problem letting the voters decide anything. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following citizens spoke: Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, asked if they are trying to eliminate the comments at the end of the meeting. Mayor Thomas informed him they aren't on that yet. Councilwoman Lichter informed Mr. Visconti he could talk on this subject. Dominic Capri a , 606 Topside Circle, stated he didn't understand why they had to vote on this to change the Charter when they got enough signatures to put it on the ballot. City Attorney Palmer explained the Statute requires some City action to place the item on the ballot. Mike Thompson, Volco Road, unincorporated Volusia County, mentioned there being a 35-foot height limit in Fairfax County, Virginia. He stated the height limit they have been circulating around and having signed is a carbon copy of the Jacksonville Beach height limit. He has been online and checking on places such as the Walmart Supercenters and they all meet the requirements. He spoke of Walmart reducing their building height by one foot to reduce their energy bills. He understands there are exceptions. He spoke of this being primarily designed for condos. Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, representing ECARD, stated she was confused about the ordinance. It sounds like the Council wants to vote to amend the amendment. As far as public buildings, they can do that, as long as it is for the public. If it is a hotel out by the interstate, Page 11 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u absolutely not. If it is anything on the river, absolutely not. She didn't feel they needed to have an eighty-foot silo. She feels the City is going to look better as far as keeping things on a low keel. As far as a hospital, if they didn't have all of the development that has been approved, they wouldn't need another hospital for all the people that will move to Hammock Creek that are over fifty- five. She didn't think the City would need a hospital that is over thirty-five feet and certainly not the high schools. Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, couldn't see why the Council had to tie their hands in the height of the buildings. He feels a fifty-foot height might be better. If they put a limit on it, they are tying their hands and can't approve what they want to approve. John Cordeiro, 1515 Pine Tree Drive, stated he has been coming to meetings for four years on the thirty-five foot and the people have spoken. They signed petitions. He feels the Council never does what the taxpayers want. He mentioned there being over $7 million in wages for the employees of the City. It upsets him that the Council doesn't care about the taxpayers who pay the money to run this City. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing. Councilwoman Rogers moved to approve Res. 2006-R-07, authorizing and directing that a proposed Charter Amendment related to maximum building heights be submitted to the electors of the City of Edgewater at the November 7, 2006 General Election as requested by Edgewater Citizen's Alliance for Responsible Development, Inc., second by Councilwoman Rhodes. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . I. 1st Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-30, proposing an Amendment to the Charter of the City of Edgewater providing for exceptions to the prohibition against new building heights in excess of 35 feet City Attorney Palmer read Ord. 2006-0-30 into the record. Interim City Manager Williams made a staff presentation. Page 12 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 {J u Mayor Thomas confirmed they are giving the voters two choices, either the citizen initiative 35-foot height cap, or if the Council approves this, yes we want a 35-foot height cap excluding commercial, industrial and semi- public. Interim City Manager Williams stated they are wanting to clarify the position by saying don't bind yourself and prevent the development of the tax base that the City wants and desperately needs. Councilwoman Rhodes stated this is an opportunity for the voters to vote and let the taxpayers tell the Council want they want. Any time they have that option she feels they are remiss in not taking advantage of it. Councilwoman Lichter feels both viewpoints can win. It is a win-win situation. She feels if they get the yes vote on their signatures it takes care of their worries about condos and residential heights. She feels the City needs desperately the industrial base and the business base. She mentioned a hospital looking at land to the south. If they came in for special exceptions on all these things, it would be costly and they would go elsewhere. She feels if the voters don't want to. make that exception they will vote no. Councilwoman Rogers had a problem with Item 2 - Any mixed- use buildings of which at least 70% is dedicated to non- residential. Then the other 30% could be construed as residential. Interim City Manager Williams informed her that was correct. Councilwoman Rogers stated the reason for this is so they are saying everything other than residential but yet they are sliding in 30% on that one item. She mentioned having a problem with stores that have a second floor for homes for people. Interim City Manager Williams stated if that is something the Council wants to consider they could move to strike that language. Councilwoman Rogers expressed concern with having renters and this area not being in the close proximity of where they are right now. They have had a lot of issues of where they are going to identify downtown Edgewater. This would almost dictate that. Until they get there, she doesn't Page 13 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 CJ u want to have it start somewhere else and then they decide they want it somewhere else. She likes the idea but feels they don't have any vision of that yet. She feels they need to pay attention to that and then bring it back once they have decided where they are going to build a City Hall and where they are going to call downtown. Interim City Manager Williams didn't disagree and stated he thought what staff was trying to do was be proactive in saying they could potentially be faced with an option to do this. If it is approved by the voters and put into the Charter and then they have somebody that comes before the Council with an application for a mixed-use project, the only way they would be able to allow it is to amend the Charter at another election, which would involve a lot of time in making sure that those changes are made. Councilwoman Rogers felt then perhaps they could add something to this so they have their built in flexibility. She suggested they come up with some verbiage to add to that to protect the City in that type of a situation. Councilwoman Rhodes suggested they take it out. Councilwoman Rogers feels right now that is open language and they need to seal it so they have the flexibility later on. Councilwoman Lichter mentioned things changing when Council changes and things not staying the same. Interim City Manager Williams reminded Council they were putting this before the voters and they are looking for this clarification. It behooves them to figure out something that accommodates everybody's interest now. Councilwoman Rhodes questioned why that has to be in there at all and feels that eliminates the issue. Interim City Manager Williams informed her it didn't have to be and it also eliminates the opportunity. He didn't feel Council wanted to bind themselves from any potential positive development in that respect. Councilwoman Lichter felt the sentence should be broader. Interim City Manager Williams explained they have tried to come up with the best definition or description to try to be all encompassing so it doesn't hit a wall if they get into a situation in the future. Page 14 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u Councilwoman Rhodes asked give them the language to accomplish. City Attorney Palmer if he could include in the motion that will City Attorney Palmer felt they needed to be careful in terms of this going into the Charter and it needing to be definitive in a sense that it creates a rule. He would be hesitant to add anything in there that says except as specifically exempted by the Council. Councilwoman Lichter asked if had to be in the Charter. Cit Attorney Palmer stated the reason it is being proposed as a Charter amendment is as an exemption to the previous Charter amendment that was just discussed. If the previous Charter amendment passes and there is a broad 35-foot prohibition they couldn't get around that within the Land Development Code. Councilwoman Rhodes suggested making it 85% instead of 70%. City Attorney Palmer had a concern with increasing the number. Councilwoman Rhodes felt if they could make the number high enough than it is not feasible. Councilwoman Rogers stated then why even have it. She was in agreement with what he is thinking down the road. They need to have some protection because they aren't down the road yet and they don't have that vision. Councilwoman Lichter asked when this had to be ready to go on the ballot. Interim City Manager Williams informed her tomorrow morning. Councilwoman Lichter felt if it had to be by tomorrow morning, why don't they eliminate it for now. Interim City Manager Williams felt from a protection standpoint that they were protecting themselves by adding language. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of limiting where mixed uses can be. Interim City Manager Williams stated if the concern is appropriate zoning districts, they might be able to provide some of that control from the Land Development Code. City Attorney Palmer stated most mixed-use projects would probably be in a PUD zoning district and they might be able to add some language that limits the mixed-use exception to whatever is provided in the PUD Zoning Agreement. If this is something Council would like him to do, he suggested Mayor Thomas continue this until after the break and he would be happy to take a few minutes to work something out. Page 15 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u <J There was a ten-minute recess at this time. The meeting recessed at 8:18 p.m. and reconvened at 8:34 p.m. City Attorney Palmer commented on the options he came up with after speaking with Interim City Manager Williams and City Attorney Rosenthal. The first suggestion and probably the safety approach would be to leave the text as written and then deal with any more restrictive regulations within the Land Development Code. As the Charter is a broad governing document, they can make it as broad and narrow the restrictions in the Land Development Code but they can't go the other way around. Interim City Manager Williams stated currently there are no provisions for this type of use in any of the zoning classifications we have right now in the Land Development Code. They would have to go back and propose some amendments to that and make that language available in there. If they provide that broad verbiage in the Charter and make it black and white then they could certainly go back and address it through the use of the Land Development Code. City Attorney Palmer stated that would be the safest and most clear-cut approach. A second approach would be to add some language where it would say any mixed use building of which at least, and they could leave it at seventy or change the percentage of its square footage is dedicated to non-residential uses if a special exception is granted by the City Council. He felt they might run into problems with that in that the criteria for a special exception included in a Charter amendment is unclear and would probably need to be flushed out. The third and final approach would be to strike it in whole and if the Council was so inclined they could bring it up for a Charter amendment in the future. Councilwoman Rhodes questioned if they took it out if it could be addressed in the Land Development Code. Interim City Manager Williams informed her no it could not. The Charter prevails over the Land Development Code. Councilwoman Rogers stated they have a second reading of the Land Development Code amendments and she is now at the point that they should continue this and she understood it would not be done in time to go on the ballot for this November. She then listed the uses this would affect. Page 16 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.) o With the way developers are as creative as they are, she doesn't want them coming in and beating up the 35-foot height they are talking about. She didn't have a problem with a school, a hospital or a public facility like City Hall. She had a problem with "other buildings" and "commercial" . Councilwoman Rogers made a motion that they continue this until after the second reading of the Land Development Code amendments dated September 11th. Mayor Thomas stated he had to take public comments before they could make a motion. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following citizens spoke: Chris Balmer, 148 Williams Street, apologized for stumbling over his words as to still being a little perplexed. Councilwoman Rogers asked if she could make one comment and stated for the record that Mr. Balmer is not a resident of the City. Mr. Balmer stated you could back that up with he has five tax bills and pays $12,000 in City taxes. Councilwoman Rogers stated that was fine but he still wasn't a resident of the City. Mr. Balmer stated he doesn't vote but he pays taxes in the City. Mr. Balmer stated the City has turned down jobs tonight in the industrial park that the Economic Development Board has worked so hard to bring to the City and now they are talking about an ordinance. Mayor Thomas stated it was a two-two tie so he thought it was going to have to come up again. Mr. Balmer stated that was good because the folks back there left very disappointed and were thinking that was a dead issue. Mayor Thomas stated he probably should have explained that. Mr. Balmer asked if it was going to come up again. Mayor Thomas stated he thought it would and asked if it would. Interim City Manager Williams stated that was Council's pleasure but the motion died that was on the floor. He thought they could request to bring it back up. He suggested they consider doing that. Page 17 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u Councilwoman Rogers said she wanted to state for the record that she made a motion to approve it with the exception of the height on the silo so she is all for jobs in the City. Councilwoman Rhodes stated but that killed the deal. Councilwoman Rogers stated it didn't kill the deal. Mr. Balmer stated he thought this was his time. Mayor Thomas informed him it was. Mr. Balmer stated in general if they can't have their silo the jobs won't come here. Mr. Balmer also pointed out to Councilwoman Rogers for the record that he is a business owner in the City as well as his wife who is opening up a business in this City. Mr. Balmer feels with the ordinance it is a great thing to look at to make exceptions because it doesn't tie their hands as much. The thought of the Council not passing an ordinance that allows exceptions is scary to the business owners of this community. Mr. Balmer informed Councilwoman Rogers he felt she had some great points on the budget. He feels the taxes are too high here and the numbers need to come down but he feels she hasn't put a lot of thought behind how to move that number down besides cut, cut, cut. He feels they can cut and that it is important to cut and that there is probably wasteful spending that they can cut however to increase industrial and commercial tax base that isn't exempted from increases is another way to control the budget. Councilwoman Rogers stated she fully understood but said in her defense that he had no idea what she has been doing and how far she has been looking into things and the fact that there are lots of problems within the City right now that he is not aware of that has not been made public so before you go making statements perhaps he should wait and see. Mr. Balmer encouraged the ordinance and felt it should be passed and he appreciated the Council's time and efforts. Dominic Capria, 606 Topside Circle, asked if there are two readings for ordinances or just one. City Attorney Palmer stated there are would be two readings but the Supervisor of Elections needs the language. They can still strike it at a later date if it doesn't pass at second reading. Page 18 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (J u Andy Anderson, Pine Tree Drive, stated it looked like they could talk over the three minutes from what he has been seeing. Mayor Thomas stated no, they had a debate and it was unfortunate they took Mr. Balmer's time. He apologized for that. Mayor Thomas stated they are going to three minutes and they are talking on the subject of the 35-foot height cap Charter Amendment proposed by the City. Mr. Anderson hoped when this is put on the ballot it would be on there in a way that people could understand what it is about. He feels politicians have a tendency to put things on the ballots so you think you are voting for it and you are voting against it or you think you are voting against it and you are voting for it. He hopes it is clean, clear and precise. Mike Thompson, Volco Road, stated he is the mouthpiece for the environmentalists and he does not live in the City. There are a couple of things that upset him about this. They said they needed a fifty-foot high loading dock to unload their trucks. He has seen a lot of trucks and everyone of them goes under the bridges that are marked fourteen and fifteen feet on the interstate. The second thing he has a real problem with is the City uses the word DRI, Division of Regional Impact, Development of Regional Impact. A DRI is over 500 housing units. If a DRI is exempt all you have to do is one high rise that has more than 500 housing units in it and you are exempt. He briefly commented on exemptions. He feels the Council needs to rethink where they are going. The people want a 35-foot height limit and a place to live. He suggested they contact ECARD's attorney and talk to him to see what is exempt. The City might not even need what they are talking about. Dave Ross, Needle Palm Drive, stated if the concern is regarding this seventy/thirty is not what they want today but it may be appropriate tomorrow then he suggested they simply remove the language and when it becomes appropriate put it back in as another Charter Amendment. That's not difficult to do. If the people want it, they will give it to them. Take it out and you have solved the debate. He Page 19 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u firmly believes if they are prudent and diligently do their representation fairly of the citizens of the City they will put this wording in there to exempt commercial, industrial and public use buildings from the 35-foot height. The City will die a very slow death if they aren't real careful. There is no way that many commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities, can live with a 35-foot height. Some can, a lot can't. He asked the Council to give the voters a choice. Mr. Ross also clarified he is an environmentalist and the man that previously spoke is not his mouthpiece. William Glasser, 1703 Needle Palm Drive, by the fact that this will be an amendment to the Charter implies or means that it will go for a vote by the citizens because they don't say the intent is to put this on the November 7th ballot. For Item L they did specifically say November 7th. Mr. Glasser then asked if it is on the ballot they have early voting now going on and if they vote early will they get to vote on this when it appears on the ballot for November 7th. City Clerk Wadsworth informed him the early voting now is for the Primary Election for the County. Jean Kayat, 201 N. Riverside Drive, stated her husband and herself own a manufacturing company and are very well aware of what is required and what the companies need to be efficient. It is very important to manufacturing that they not limit them to 35 feet. The City of Edgewater will die a very slow death. There won't be any need for new schools and there won't be anybody working in manufacturing. They need manufacturing and a balance of types of businesses. They can't exclude manufacturing because it is a huge part of any community. Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, representing ECARD, stated she talked with her attorney this afternoon and this situation has happened in other towns where they have done the height amendment. This has come up and people have said they can't have industry but there is a lot of industry that is not over 35 feet. The ballot language in the petition is very clear. It's not really restricting that much. They could go ahead and put the ECARD on there and then come back if they are going to need to and do an amendment later. See how this one goes and come back and put something else on. She feels they are going to get a hodge podge of buildings. She stated condos are not going Page 20 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u on that river. over 35 river and she hopes commercial doesn't go on the She has commercial behind her and none of those are feet and they are flourishing. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Rhodes feels the key is to let the voters decide. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to put this on the ballot. City Attorney Palmer believed there was currently a motion on the floor. Mayor Thomas stated he thought they couldn't make a motion until he closed the public comment. City Attorney Palmer corrected himself and believed now was the time for Mayor Thomas to entertain a motion. Councilwoman Rhodes made a motion to put this on the ballot and let the voters decide, second by Councilwoman Lichter. Mayor Thomas asked Interim City Manager Williams if the Land Development Code passes with a 35-foot height cap on second reading and they wanted to give a variance to a hospital or school could they do that. Interim City Manager Williams informed him under the Land Development Code there are provisions for variances on every zoning classification except for those PUDs so yes they could provide it. However, if this goes to the voters and is passed that supercedes anything they have in the Land Development Code. The Charter will prevail if the amendment is passed. The MOTION CARRIED 3 -1 . Councilwoman Roqers voted NO. J. 1st Reading, Ord. No. 2006-0-32, proposing an Amendment to the Charter of the City of Edgewater amending Section 3.11(b) (Rules and Journal) to provide that City Council meetings shall include one period for "Citizen Comments" to be determined by City Council in lieu of two periods at the beginning of the meeting and directly prior to adjournment Mayor Thomas made a staff presentation. City Attorney Palmer read Ord. 2006-0-32 into the record. Page 21 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing and asked for Council Comments. Councilwoman Rhodes, Councilwoman Rogers and Councilwoman Lichter all suggested they leave it to the voters. The following citizens spoke: Andy Anderson, Pine Tree Drive, felt the problem with this is if you have something you want to say you have to wait until the meeting is over and sometimes the meetings run until 1 o'clock in the morning. He didn't think this was right. He feels if they are only going to have one time for comments it should be at the beginning of the meeting or somewhere in the middle, not at the end. Councilwoman Rhodes feels if they only have one maybe the meetings won't last until 1 o'clock in the morning. Mayor Thomas feels if it is real important they will wait to say something. Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, stated one of the concerns the citizens had when this particular amendment was put in the Charter last time was the fact that the Council would limit people's ability to speak. It was just mentioned they were going to go to five minutes after the meeting but that doesn't say that so what happens is if the citizens pass this the Council has the ability to change how long someone can talk. He suggested if they are going to put this on the ballot to tell the people they are going to give them five minutes at the end of the meeting. Mayor Thomas felt this was a good idea. Councilwoman Rhodes suggested putting one five-minute period. Dominic Capri a , 606 Topside Circle, felt it was good what the Mayor was trying to do. They had six minutes, three at the beginning and three at the end and they are going to five. Mike Visconti, 316 Pine Breeze Drive, stated the only reason he says at the end of the meeting is because things come up during the course of a meeting. Page 22 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.J- (..) Mayor Thomas felt by sitting through the meeting they might learn something or the question you might ask might be answered during that meeting. He again mentioned the citizens still being able to talk on each agenda item. John Cordeiro, 1515 pine Tree Drive, felt whether it is at the beginning, in the middle or at the end or during every subject, it's not fun to sit there two or three hours and face all this that get being taxpayers. It's not fun to be put down and not paid attention to. If they paid attention to the real taxpayers of this City and the people that own this City that is the first thing they should think about doing. Councilwoman Lichter stated they are taxpayers too. Bob Kayat, 201 N. Riverside Drive, suggested they start the meetings a little earlier. Councilwoman Lichter commented on having workshops before regular meetings. She feels people have a right to talk but that it has been abused. She further commented on the Councilmembers being taxpayers also. She helps the citizens of our community and explains it all doesn't just happen at the meetings. It happens when the citizens need help. She mentioned the other meetings and workshops they attend. She feels people have a right to talk but that they should be polite and not criticize week after week. She then mentioned serving the community for eight years. She feels the Mayor is trying to accommodate a situation that good manners would take care of if the audience would react that way. Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, felt people do get redundant and don't always hear. She is very grateful and spoke for ECARD that the City Council has been very kind and patient with her environmental stuff. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to approve Ord. 2006-0-32, proposing an Amendment to the Charter of the City of Edgewater amending Section 3.11(b) (Rules and Journal) to provide that City Council meetings shall include one period for UCitizen Comments" to be determined by City Council in Page 23 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u lieu of two periods at the beginning of the meeting and directly prior to adjournment. City Attorney Palmer stated just for clarification if it is the Council's desire he recalled it being five minutes. Councilwoman Rhodes included in her motion one five-minute period for citizen comments. Councilwoman Lichter suggested trying it before it becomes an ordinance or goes into the Charter. She asked if this means they have to put it in the Charter on this same vote. She asked if the Council has a right in the Charter to make rules and regulations for running their meetings. Mr. Heeb stated he served on the Charter Review Committee that placed this on the ballot the first time. He spoke of this starting from when the City was in tremendous controversy over the assessment for the wastewater treatment plant, etc. and people from Florida Shores would come to these meetings and they were kind of squelched. A lot of them were very upset because they were limited to what they could say and when they could say it. They wanted this in the Charter and it passed. He felt they had a shot at this with five minutes. If they left it blank, they would have a problem. City Attorney Palmer stated the Charter is very specific as to the citizen comments periods. It allows the Council to set its own rules. Councilwoman Lichter seconded the motion. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . K. Res. No. 2006-R-06, objecting to certain amendments to the Volusia County Charter proposed by the Volusia County Charter Review commission and authorizing the City Manager to expend money in opposition to inform the citizens of Edgewater City Attorney Palmer read Res. 2006-R-06 into the record. Interim City Manager Williams made a staff presentation. Page 24 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u C,) Mayor Thomas spoke of attending Frank Bruno's luncheon today with twelve or thirteen of the Mayors in Volusia County and they were mostly in consensus of supporting this. Councilwoman Lichter spoke of coming from a State that doesn't have a County level of government. In Cheshire, Connecticut, home rule is very important. She feels these powers take away more than she feels needs to be with this concept of home rule. She was willing to go with Interim City Manager Williams' recommendation. Mayor Thomas reported that he discussed the water issue at length. They couldn't discuss it because of four members being present from WAV but he let them know how he felt about the water. Councilwoman Lichter informed him of a very important vote that will take place on Wednesday morning. Councilwoman Rhodes and Councilwoman Rogers were in complete agreement with Interim City Manager Williams on this one. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following citizens spoke: Andy Anderson, Pine Tree Drive, stated the City at least once a year publishes all the different departments with their respective phone numbers. Mayor Thomas informed Mr. Anderson they were not there yet. He informed him they were talking about the Charter Amendments for the County. Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, representing ECARD, asked if they are referring to the Charter Review amendment that gives the County jurisdiction over property annexed into a City for ten years. They are against that too. They would like to see a no limit put on that. Ms. Carlson further stated the Charter Review Commission is made up of the Glenn Storch's of the community, the development lawyers and developers. The County Commission itself could put something on the ballot that does the same thing without having these folks do it. She asked if the citizens of Edgewater have to pay anything on this. Page 25 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u Interim City Manager Williams stated they are suggesting $.50 per capita. Ms. Carlson then suggested if this is opposed it would help developers, so she feels they should let them pay for it. It's on them and they are the ones that are going to gain. Mayor Thomas mentioned there being three amendments they aren't supporting. Interim City Manager Williams stated those were amendments 4, 5, and 6 and they believe those fall under Volusia County's home rule and they don't want to object to those. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Lichter moved to approve Res. 2006-R-06, objecting to certain amendments to the Vol usia County Charter proposed by the Vol usia County Charter Review commission and authorizing the City Manager to expend money in opposition to inform the citizens of Edgewater and not to exceed $.50 per capita, second by Councilwoman Rogers. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . L. Res. No. 2006-R-07, authorizing and directing that a proposed Charter Amendment related to maximum building heights be submitted to the electors of the City of Edgewater at the November 7, 2006 General Election as requested by Edgewater Citizen's Alliance for Responsible Development, Inc. This item was previously discussed in the meeting. M. Res. No. 2006-R-08, amending the Personnel policies and Procedures Manuals for General/Non-Management Personnel, Supervisory Personnel and Directors/Deputy Directors Personnel Director Debby Sigler made a staff presentation with regard to the proposed amendments to the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manuals. City Attorney Palmer read Res. 2006-R-08 into the record. Page 26 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (.; u Interim City Manager Williams further commented on the weekly/bi-weekly pay and the cashing in of sick time. He also mentioned going into union negotiations next year and what they will be looking at. Councilwoman Rogers is pleased they are going in this direction. Mayor Thomas stated he met with Ms. Sigler twice this past week and he has full confidence in her. Mayor Thomas opened the public hearing. The following spoke: Geoff Swetts, Driver/Paramedic, Edgewater Fire/Rescue, representing the Employee Management Committee for the Fire Department personnel, presented a history of the Employee Management Committee. He was willing to meet with Interim City Manager Williams and Ms. Sigler to discuss this. They have had a good faith effort in the last seven months waiting for this to come to Council and now they have been told there is a possibility it might not be approved. Interim City Manager Williams further elaborated on Mr. Swetts' concerns. Mr. Swetts invited anyone on the Council to meet with this Committee. Mayor Thomas closed the public hearing and entertained a motion. Councilwoman Rhodes moved to approve Res. 2006-R-OB, amending the Personnel Policies and Procedures Manuals for General/Non-Management Personnel, Supervisory Personnel and Directors/Deputy Directors, second by Councilwoman Lichter. The MOTION CARRIED 4 - 0 . 7. BOARD APPOINTMENTS There were no Board Appointments at this time. 8. CONSENT AGENDA There were no items to be discussed on the Consent Agenda at this time. Page 27 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u () 9. OTHER BUSINESS A. FRDAP Grant - staff recommending approval for the City to enter into a Project Agreement with the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection for grant funding in the amount of $200,000 for Kennedy Park upgrades and authorize the Mayor or City Manager to execute the Agreement This item was handled earlier on the agenda. 10. OFFICER REPORTS A. City Clerk wadsworth had nothing at this time. B. City Attorney City Attorney Palmer referred to two memorandums with regard to Animal Shelter Bonds and what options are available to the City if the Bond proceeds in the amount of $500,000 are insufficient to construct the Shelter and Ad Valorem Tax Assessment and ParkTowne Industrial Center - Base Leg Drive and Rowan Way with regard to whether the City has a legal obligation to construct Base Leg Drive and Rowan Way, as same are depicted on the plat of ParkTowne Industrial Center. They are of the opinion that there is no legal obligation to construct the road however if that issue were litigated obviously ruling of a court would be determinative. Interim City Manager Williams stated he would be looking for Council's consensus whether or not they are willing to take that gamble on August 31st to finalize the budget process. C. Interim City Manager Interim City Manager Williams stated they have basically finished up the budget and are getting it into its final format for preparation for August 31st. He believes it is a budget that creates a win-win situation for everybody. They are going to recommend that they roll back the taxes to 6.15 mills. He feels this is a start in the right direction. The budget attempts to address the large amount of water and sewer transfers that are coming from the Water Page 28 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (,J C) & Sewer Fund of which they've gotten comments previously from our auditors placing the emphasis on the need to balance the General Fund without such large transfers. They are recommending a roll off that transfer of $100,000. The budget provides for a transfer to a capital projects fund for $100,000, which would help with the planning for the future in our future capital expenditures. Most importantly, it provides for about $275,000 towards fund balance, which hopefully will get us back to our minimum level for reserves pursuant to the Charter. They know the emphasis is there to roll back the taxes and they want to roll back the taxes and they recognize Council's vision and the citizens vision to do that and they are going to place a continued effort to doing that. He spoke of some of the issues not being created over night and them not being resolved over night. Once they adopt the final budget on September 25th, they talk about his contract. Hopefully at that time they determine he is the gentleman they want and they will continue those discussions into October. Those discussions will focus on a strategic approach and action plans to try to help achieve the overall goal of lowering the taxes and providing some money for the capital expenditure needs as they begin to emerge over time. It is going to take some to fix some of the issues. They want Council to playa major role in their strategic plan as well as receive citizen input to help with that strategic approach. Interim City Manager Williams recognized that the voted debt service is going to go down from .06 mills to .0317 mills. He feels they are heading in the right direction. Councilwoman Rogers stated they were supposed to have a budget meeting last week and asked if any of the papers were available for them to start reviewing those. Interim City Manager Williams stated they are shooting for a goal of getting the final version to Council by Friday. They are trying to provide some condensed formats and line item detail as well. He feels they will be presently surprised at the level of presentation. Interim City Manager Williams commented on the memo he provided to Council regarding the Green Coast Energy presentation. He provided Council with all of the e-mail communications he has had with representatives from East Coast Energy. He has also provided them with a comment from Councilman Vincenzi and the franchise agreement for Page 29 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u their review and direction. He is looking to see if they are interested in pursuing this and in what capacity. Do they want those folks to pay for the due diligence, do they want the City to pay for the due diligence, or do they say thank you anyway. Councilwoman Rhodes wanted to know how they get around Section 8. City Attorney Palmer stated they have had very brief telephone conferences with Interim City Manager Williams and having received no directive from him or from the Council to perform any significant search, they haven't spend any time. They didn't want to spend any time on research without direction from the Council to incur the cost. They made brief recommendations that Jon asked the applicant to enter into a reimbursement agreement, as is generally required of any developer in the City. Councilwoman Rhodes asked City Attorney Palmer to read Section 8 now and tell her what he thinks. City Attorney Palmer stated having not researched the exact structure that they are proposing to the City, he couldn't give an opinion tonight that would not violate it. It would be a question that requires more research. He feels there are concerns and issues that are raised by that section. Councilwoman Rhodes stated everything else is moot if that section reads like she thinks it does. City Attorney Palmer stated if negotiations or any agreements with them would violate this, he would recommend the City not enter into any agreements or letters. Councilwoman Rhodes asked if they could tonight as a consensus tell City Attorney Palmer to research and find out if this says what she thinks it says. Any further discussion is moot and a waste of time. To her it is very clear and she would like an opinion from City Attorney Palmer if it is or it isn't. Mayor Thomas stated he was with Councilwoman Rhodes. Councilwoman Lichter asked if when people call in for a question to be answered, is the City paying the lawyer by the hour for those services. Interim City Manager Williams confirmed they have incurred costs up to this point. Page 30 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u () Councilwoman Lichter feels they have an awful lot on their plate right now. She isn't closing her mind totally but she doesn't feel they should spend another nickel on this issue with the lawyer at the moment. She feels they have enough to contend with at the moment and they could put this off. Councilwoman Rogers believed they needed to have the attorneys tell them if it would put the City into jeopardy but at the same time, she agrees with Councilwoman Lichter. She doesn't want to spend any money researching something right now when they are trying to reduce the millage rate. Councilwoman Rhodes stated the public has been told that this puts $6 million into the City coffers and it will save on electricity costs. She felt they had an obligation to investigate it but didn't want to spend any money such as getting a list of cities where this is already occurring. She wants an assurance that she has done everything she can to investigate whether this is a viable option for the City or not. Interim City Manager Williams commented on money that has already been spent. If Council is still interested tell him in what capacity they want him to do that in. If not, tell the folks and go on about their business. Councilwoman Lichter she commented on this being a new endeavor and asked if they have other customers. Rob Hunter, Green Coast Energy, stated the technology they are proposing is not a new endeavor. Green Coast Energy was formed as an umbrella company to bring in experts. These aren't people who are new to the game. They are dealing with other potential businesses at this time. Councilwoman Lichter questioned not having a reference at this moment. Mr. Hunter informed her if she wanted references for projects they worked on they could provide those. Interim City Manager Williams further explained Green Coast Energy is basically serving in the capacity of a consultant. They are a newly formed company that will go out and shop this letter of interest to GE that says they have a City that is interested and find out if they are interested and present the capacity they go forward in. He Page 31 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u () didn't think Green Coast had broke red a deal like this before. Mr. Hunter stated the company itself is about a year old. They are not actually brokering the deal. They actually have relationships in place and hire them to come and build the plant for them. Councilwoman Lichter again stated they have enough on their plate. Mayor Thomas agreed. Councilwoman Rhodes stated in her professional opinion, Section 8 precludes the City from doing anything with them. Based upon that, she feels this is clear and that in 2013 when the City's contract is up with FP&L they would look into their project and maybe they would have customers they could talk to. Mr. Hunter clarified that Section 8 reads the grantor agrees not to engage in the business of distributing and selling electricity. Councilwoman Rhodes stated or it says competition and they would be competition. Mr. Hunter stated he would but a franchise between the City and FPL cannot bind a third party. He can still generate and distribute electricity. He commented on a letter he provided at staff's request that clarified that. Councilwoman Rogers stated at this point with what is going on with the City and all the decisions they are making at this time she feels they should pass at this time. Mayor Thomas stated that would be his opinion too and was concerned about robbing the source to burning wood chips and putting emissions in the air. Councilwoman Rogers stated the fact that they have to make decisions for the citizens and that they don't have any references that can tell them this has worked and that the money they have offered to the other cities is as Mr. Hunter said, there is no history. They need history. 11. CITIZEN COMMENTS/CORRESPONDENCE A. Tentative Agenda Items The following citizens spoke: Page 32 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u o Ferd Heeb, 115 N. Riverside Drive, congratulated City staff and Jack Corder for their efforts in getting the grants that were announced tonight relative to the redevelopment of Kennedy Park. Mr. Heeb then commented on a facility that is provided in the park for washing boats. He spoke of why he feels this is a mistake. Mayor Thomas and Councilwoman Rhodes agreed with Mr. Heeb. Andy Anderson, pine Tree Drive, commented on problems he is having with the new telephone system at City Hall. Councilwoman Lichter and Councilwoman Rhodes agreed it is a nuisance. Mr. Anderson stated he would appreciate it if that could be corrected. Rob Hunter, 2521 Travelers Palm Drive, stated he may be a developer but he is also a citizen. He stated he listened to the City's needs tonight. We need jobs, industry, revenues, increase in taxable values, and as Councilwoman Rhodes said if they had these opportunities it's almost their duty to think about it and look at it. What Green Coast is talking to the City now about is not putting together contract. That is later down the road. What they are asking is if they are interested in these benefits and learning more about it. If Section 8 of the franchise is the issue, he suggested they go to the PSC and ask them. He feels this would be a fair resolution. If the City is really swamped right now, he would like for them and the City to come together again and speak about it. He then commented on the process. Councilwoman Rhodes wanted to see somewhere that this is occurring and working. Mr. Hunter informed her there are many biomass plants that are being utilized throughout the u.S. and allover the world. He stated if she would like he was sure he could pull her off several examples. Councilwoman Rhodes asked him to give her examples for herself, this has nothing to do with Council. Mr. Hunter agreed to send her information about other plants. Councilwoman Rhodes stated the fact that it worked somewhere else with another company doing it doesn't mean it is going to work with Green Coast Energy. She had a problem with not being able to do any research on his company. Mr. Hunter spoke of being able to do research on the companies that build the plants. That is not the issue Page 33 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 <.J u at hand. The issue at hand is is the City interested in exploring an opportunity like this. Councilwoman Lichter stated she would be at a future date. This is not the appropriate time. Her cup runneth over. She then mentioned things that are going on in the City right now that they are dealing with. Interim City Manager Williams suggested if Council was wanting to look at this after the first of the year, the City has partnered with Johnson Controls on other performance based contracts, such as the radio read project. He has had some discussion with Johnson Controls. They have a division within Johnson Controls that has a biomass plant up and running at the University of South Carolina. They can certainly bring those folks in to discuss that after the first of the year and they can have dialogue with Green Coast and those folks and evaluate it from that perspective. At some point in the future they are going to have to incur the cost. There are no appropriations in the budget for it. Councilwoman Rhodes expressed a concern with burning wood chips. Mr. Hunter stated burning wood chips is something of a misnomer for the fuel that is being used. Biomass is a wide variety of fuels. He agreed to bring it back to his board that the City wants to meet again after the first of the year. If they have a letter of interest, he could probably convince them to pay any funding or legal expenses within limits but no guarantees. Interim City Manager Williams asked Council if they wanted him to have the folks from Johnson Controls attend that meeting also. Councilwoman Rhodes informed him absolutely. Dot Carlson, 1714 Edgewater Drive, stated Edgewater needs a map. When she was out collecting signatures, the residents didn't know where a lot of the subdivisions were. They don't have the big picture. There are 13,300 homes proposed for the City of Edgewater and 7,500 acres is what Edgewater is going to be growing by. Interim City Manger Williams commented on Ms. Carlson referencing Hammock Creek and the DRI project that is coming. He commented on a link on our website describing the public meetings that are coming out. He spoke of exploring a map that they can put out there. Page 34 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 (J u Mr. Carlson commented on the Future Land Use Map changing constantly. We are annexing so much in so fast the people of Edgewater don't really have a clue what is coming at them like a freight train. Interim City Manager Williams stated the best avenue he could suggest is the website. Ms. Carlson stated ECARD is doing a newsletter and all of the subdivisions will be in there with an idea of where they are located. John Cordeiro, 1515 Pine Tree Drive, stated there were a lot of people here earlier that said they enjoyed coming here for three hours. He wished they had come before November to see if they would have enjoyed it then. He has to wait two more years before he can start enjoying it. Mr. Cordeiro commented on Hammock Creek. When these developers bought that land why didn't they go to the County? The County has done a study on all that land and every decision they come up with, it's not buildable. That land is not buildable so how can they buy that land and now the City annexed it in so now the City is going to have the problem and not the County. Councilwoman Lichter commented on having a workshop with the County in the beginning. Interim City Manager Williams stated he thought what Mr. Cordeiro was referencing was that Mr. Marshall did a study out in that area and has described that the property should not be developed. Before that process even gets to dirt being turned, he assured the Council that there would have to be another study done to ensure it can in fact deal with the drainage. Mr. Cordeiro stated the only green they are interested in is the green going into their bank accounts. Mayor Thomas asked him whom he was referring to. Mr. Cordeiro didn't know but said he was sure that is what happens. He didn't have proof. Councilwoman Rhodes informed him he shouldn't say it if he didn't have proof. Mr. Cordeiro informed her she says a lot of things. Councilwoman Rhodes stated she has proof. Mr. Cordeiro informed her he has been listening to her for four years. She says one thing and turns around and votes just the opposite. Councilwoman Rhodes informed him he was so wrong and told him to prove it. Mr. Cordeiro Page 35 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u u mentioned the towers. She said she would never vote for something that high and then she turned around and voted for it. He didn't want to get into that. Mr. Cordeiro stated he was here two weeks ago and spoke of taking a three-minute shower. He tried it and it doesn't work. He is now worried that once they cut down all the trees that he is going to have to carry portable oxygen in order to get oxygen. Councilwoman Lichter informed him the new tree ordinance is very explicit. She then commented on a letter they received from a gentleman that has lived his whole life in Edgewater that has moved to Coral Trace. He finds it very derogatory when people talk about a place that he and the people that live there enjoy living in. Councilwoman Rogers stated they all read that letter. She stated that was one letter. City Clerk Wadsworth stated she had to change the CD and that it would take about five minutes. Mr. Anderson stated speaking of conserving, they could turn the thermostat up about fifteen degrees and save some juice there. Mayor Thomas asked if Mr. Anderson if he had a retaining wall on City property. He asked who gave him permission to build that wall there. He stated and then he has the audacity to call him and complain that the City workers can't cut it but he got the right-of-way blocked. Mr. Anderson stated he didn't call him and complain about anything. Mayor Thomas stated he is tired of him going off on tangents. Mr. Anderson stated who is talking about a wall. He wasn't talking about any wall. Interim City Manager Williams agreed to have staff research it. Ms. Carlson agreed with Mr. Anderson that it was freezing. 12 . ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 10:14 p.m. Page 36 of 37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006 u Minutes submitted by: Lisa Bloomer u Page 37 of37 Council Regular Meeting August 21, 2006