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Home My WebLink About2015-05-07 Charter Review Board Agenda Meeting Packet AGENDA CITY OF DANIA BEACH CHARTER REVIEW BOARD THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 – 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes from April 16, 2015 Meeting 3. Discussion Items 3.1 Part II – Legislative Branch and Legislation, Article 1. – City Commission 3.2 Part VI – Registrations and Elections, Article 1. – Elections 4. Public Comments 5. Adjournment MINUTES DANIA BEACH CHARTER REVIEW BOARD THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015 – 6:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/Roll Call Chair Joe Van Eron called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present: Carolyn Jones David Clark Betty Sokol (Alternate) Terry Hale-Hicks Lisa Duke Gail Davison (Alternate) Derrick Hankerson Anne Castro, Vice-Chair Chris Barile (Alternate) Rae Sandler Joe Van Eron, Chair Bruce Hannover (Alternate) Luis Rimoli (Alternate) Tom Ansbro, City Attorney Louise Stilson, City Clerk Absent: Charlotte Sloboda (excused) Michael Kassower (excused) Board member Castro motioned to excuse the absence of Charlotte Sloboda; seconded by Board member Hankerson. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Van Eron read an email from Michael Kassower which explained that he was unable to attend due to his work schedule. The Board concurred to provide Mr. Kassower an opportunity to see if he can work the meetings into his schedule. Chair Van Eron noted that both of Commissioner Duke’s appointments were absent tonight, so Luis Rimoli would act as a voting member tonight. Board member Hankerson motioned to excuse the absence of Michael Kassower; seconded by Board member Clark. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Van Eron commented that the 90 day period began Tuesday night with the appointment of the last member of the board. He indicated that the Commission is amenable to extending the timeframe for the board to make a recommendation. City Attorney Ansbro suggested that a workshop with the Commission be held 30 days prior to the expiration of the board. Chair Van Eron was disappointed that no residents were in attendance at the meeting and encouraged the board members to speak to their neighbors for input. He stated that discussion would be by all board members and all items are open for discussion. Tonight’s goal is to prioritize and move forward. 2. Charter Review Board Procedural Items  Attendance and absences  Removal from Board The board concurred it was important that members attend; however, sometimes situations arise and absences occur. Board member Castro motioned to allow no more than 4 absences, whether excused or not; seconded by Board member Clark. The motion was amended to include that a member must attend at least 75% of the meeting before leaving with an excused absence. The motion passed unanimously.  Quorum  Voting The board discussed how to select which alternate should fill the absence of regular members. They concurred that the alternate would fill the absence of the commissioner that appointed them. However, if there was more than one absence of a Commissioner regular member appointment, the absence would be filled by lottery. Board member Hankerson motioned that a quorum would consist of 6 members; seconded by Board member Castro. The motion passed unanimously. Board member Clark motioned that alternates would be drawn by lottery if there was more than one Commissioner regular member absence, and that there would always be 10 voting members; seconded by Board member Hankerson. The motion passed unanimously. The Board concurred that Luis Rimoli would be a voting member tonight for Charlotte Sloboda. The Board concurred that Chris Barile would be a voting member tonight for Michael Kassower. 3. Approval of Minutes from April 1, 2015 Organizational Meeting Board member Barile motioned to approve the Minutes; seconded by Board member Castro. The motion passed unanimously. Item #6 was advanced because a board member needs to leave early. 6. Designation of time and date for regular meetings Consensus of the Board was to meet on the first and third Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m., for the months of May, June and July. Board member Castro noted that her son graduates on June 4 and she may not be able to attend that meeting. 4. Suggested items for Charter Review Board review:  Change election date back to March  Change residency requirements to run for City Commission from 1 year to 4-6 years  How to replace a commissioner when one leaves The Board concurred to keep these items for discussion. City Attorney Ansbro suggested we change the age of qualifying to run for City Commission to 18 years old.  Definition of excused absence for commissioners  Commissioner leaving meeting early – excused absence  Donations to non-profits – cap donations and require audited financial report City Attorney advised these items could be in the Charter. The Board members discussed the manner in which a Commissioner should notify the City that they will not be attending a meeting. It was noted that with proper notification, an excused absence should be approved by the Commission. Board member Davison noted that she will be on vacation and will miss a meeting in June and July. She left the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Board member Castro suggested an attendance policy for the Commission should be established and adopted by the Commission. She noted that other cities have policies and we should look at them. City Attorney Ansbro will look into other cities’ policies, and noted this should be a Commission decision, not in the Charter.  City Board members must list home addresses, not work addresses This is not a Charter item, however, a policy should be established to verify residency.  P & Z Board should approve all developments in the City City Attorney Ansbro suggested that Community Development Director Marc LaFerrier could provide information to the board to address their concerns.  Consequences for commission violation of Charter provisions City Attorney Ansbro noted that Attorney Sam Goren has advised that there are practically no consequences other than “public flogging”. He is looking into the court process that is practiced in the City of Miami. Board member Castro noted she looked at the charters of Weston and Oakland Park and will re- visit them again to see if there is something we can use.  Sale of public property/lease of public property City Attorney Ansbro recommended that this be reviewed by the board. Board member Castro recommended we look at the supermajority vote requirements.  Other Board member suggestions Board member Clark suggested that we change the mayor position back to one year. Board member Rimoli suggested the mayor should be an elected 4 year position. Board member Castro commented that we should consider seats or districts, and that March elections would probably work better for this. Board member Clark suggested background checks for commission candidates. City Attorney Ansbro stated he is working on an ordinance that would require a background check. Board member Castro questioned if it would be beneficial to place the ballot questions on a primary ballot as opposed to the general election ballot. She requested the City Clerk check with the Supervisor of Elections Office to see if the ballot questions could be on the primary election versus the general election. The board also agreed to discuss term limits. 5. Select items for discussion and review for next meeting No items were selected for the next meeting agenda. 7. Public Comments Rodney Collins, member of the Grant Advisory Board, commented that he was kicked off the Grant Advisory Board when the commissioner that appointed him resigned from the commission. He said the board needs to address how to replace a commission vacancy. 8. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m. Joe Van Eron, Chair Approved: