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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-04-08 Pre-budget workshop City Commission meeting minutes MINUTES OF PRE-BUDGET WORKSHOP DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005 - 2:00-5:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Mayor Castro called the workshop to order at 2:03m. Present: Mayor: Anne Castro Vice-Mayor: Patricia Flury Commissioners: Bob Anton John Bertino City Manager: Ivan Pato City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro City Clerk: Louise Stilson Finance Director: Patricia Varney Absent: Commissioner: C.K. McElyea Mayor Castro advised the agenda has been changed and we would begin with Community Development, Item #2.5.5. City Manager Pato remarked we are looking for direction and priorities from the Commission so we can bring the information forward during the Budget process in July. He indicated we would not be discussing costs,just direction and priorities. 2. Pre-Budget Discussion 2.1 Commission Projects to be included in FY 2006 Budget Discussed after Item #2.5.2 City Manager Pato asked the Commission to tell us their priorities and projects they wanted in the 2006 Budget and Five-Year CIP. We will also be prioritizing the Bond Referendum items. Commissioner Anton indicated the Public Works compound is his top priority even though it was not approved in the Bond Referendum. Commissioner Flury remarked we should do all the Bond items at the same time. She remarked the Parks and Recreation issue is 50% done, so we need to decide how we want to do Parks and Recreation. She indicated the Charlie Will Thomas renovation was already in the CIP, and needs to be number one because we have already started on it. The renovation of Patrick Meli Park is next because there is money in the CIP. She remarked the Fire Station plan is already done; she hopes we are not going to do it again. We then need to start the process for neighborhood ® improvements. She questioned why we could not do all the projects together. She understands the Library needs to be discussed because the improvements to City Hall have to be paid from Capital Improvement money. Commissioner Bertino agreed with Commissioner Flury on the Fire Station. The neighborhood improvements will need input from the people in the neighborhoods, and we will need to distribute the funds throughout the entire City, not just some neighborhoods. City Manager Pato noted that we promised the people we would bring them into the conversations for the neighborhood improvements. Mayor Castro commented she is concerned about staff and resources. Her priority in Parks and Recreation is to develop a Community Center or Park in the southwest area. She questioned who would manage all the projects. She does not want to stretch staff so thin that we do not get the right input and result. City Manager Pato commented if the Commission tells him to do everything at once, they better be prepared to support the changes that need to be made. Commissioner Flury asked how much money would be left after Meli and Thomas Parks are finished. City Manager Pato responded we distributed a list of repairs for Parks and Recreation that ® indicates things we know are needed. He indicated that community projects will take longer than some of the other projects. Commissioner Flury remarked there is no mention of a Park for the western portion of the City. She stated we need to define costs; then you can work on the details. Mayor Castro is concerned because during the workshops the Commission discussed what projects would be included in the Bond Referendum. She noted we told the public these were the things the Commission talked about that the Bond money would be utilized for. She remarked there are more projects on this list that were not previously discussed, such as the Ocean Park improvements. She is concerned about why we are changing priorities. She questioned if items in the CIP would be covered by regular operating funds, and if the Bond was separate from it. Finance Director Patricia Varney responded the CIP is only funded for 2004-2005. She noted that all the projects listed could not be covered by the Bond; these are the projects that staff looked into. The Bond money can be used for any Parks and Recreation improvement project. Our main purpose is to have the Commission tell us how to prioritize the projects. City Manager Pato advised that Ocean Park is included on the list because it just presented itself with the return of the marina. 0 Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 2 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. ® Commissioner Bertino remarked the Frost Park building has problems. He noted that money was not allocated to cover the patio. This is a safety concern during inclement weather. A covered patio is needed at Frost Park and Thomas Park. City Manager Pato responded we have significant concerns about the criminal activity at Meli and Frost Parks. Staff is concerned that adding a covered shelter will only make the activity worse. He asked for direction on the Community Center for the southwest neighborhood. Commissioner Flury questioned how they were to know. She cannot separate the CIP Budget from the Bond Referendum. She indicated we need a separate workshop for the Bond items. Finance Director Varney explained the CIP is only a plan; no funds are allocated unless the Commission funds the projects during the Budget process. City Attorney Ansbro noted whatever was told to the community is what should be done; we should not include additional items that originally were not discussed. Commissioner Anton commented there are two areas in the City that have not had any significant work. He remarked we have talked about the Southwest area for years, but nothing has happened, and this would be his top priority. He indicated the Southeast section is his second priority, followed by the Linear Park on 5t" Avenue. He thinks the patio covers should be added, and we should work with BSO to eliminate the criminal element in the Parks. He noted there are areas throughout the City that need neighborhood improvements. ® Commissioner Flury remarked she has no issue with the Southwest Community Center, but it is not her priority. She noted that Thomas Park needs a Community Center and that is her first priority, followed by the Linear Park. City Manager Pato indicated that staff would be the hold-up on the projects, and that we need to have a project manager. He indicated he would like to work on a lot of the Parks at the same time, and he would bring a plan forward. Mayor Castro stated the order of her priorities are: the Southwest Community Center, Linear Park, Thomas Park, P.J. Meli, Frost Park, ocean improvements, and I.T. Parker. She also sees the Public Services plant as a top priority. She would also like to continue with the test project for hardware and software in Code Enforcement and other areas. Commissioner Bertino has no problem with the Mayor's order of priorities, but he is concerned about funding. Commissioner Anton indicated he also had no problem with the Mayor's order. City Manager Pato suggested we hold off on the Library project until we bring people in to identify specific projects for neighborhood improvements. Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 3 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. Mayor Castro noted we need everybody's wish list before we spend any funds. She also feels we need public input from community meetings and the City website, not just Commission meetings. She suggested we include the clergy to help with community participation. City Manager Pato noted we need the Commissioners to attend the Community meetings, not just City staff. Commissioner Anton pointed out that street lighting and traffic calming devices were priorities for the communities. City Manager Pato commented we want the proper level of expertise to do things right, and we could start some projects this year. Mayor Castro remarked the City Manager should not let the Commission hold him back from starting projects this year. She commented we have the financing for the Fire Station and the plan, so we do not need to wait until 2006 for this project. Fire Chief Ken Land noted the County has approved the curb cut, traffic light, lighting plan, landscaping plan, and tree removal. Commissioner Bertino remarked we need to sit down with the County to discuss the Library. City Manager Pato responded those discussions have already begun, and he has met with ® Commissioner Rodstrom. He stated we cannot build the Library without addressing the City Hall expansion. He indicated the current building is not in compliance and was designed for expansion. He noted the Library would be the longest project because of the County issues. Mayor Castro suggested the Library could be placed in another location. City Manager Pato remarked we have safety, capacity, electrical, and fire issues at City Hall. He noted it would require other sources of revenue to pay for the repairs. Commissioner Flury remarked that City Hall should be a place of pride; the building needs a major renovation that should coincide with the Library and parking structure. She, personally, would like BSO and City Hall not be in the same building. She wants to see the Police in the neighborhoods, not at City Hall. Commissioner Anton agreed with Commissioner Flury. He commented the original plan was to move BSO out of City Hall. Commissioner Bertino commented that the Sheriff's Office may be eligible for grant money that could be used for buildings or expansion. Mayor Castro remarked she is concerned about Stirling Road, Griffin Road and parts of Sheridan Street and what the development along those corridors will be. She was uncertain if this would Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 4 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. be included in the CRA plan, and wanted to make sure we looked at those corridors and included the cost for consulting fees in the Budget. City Manager Pato responded this would be included in the Budget process. Commissioner Flury commented we need to think about how we want to utilize the Nyberg Swanson House, now that Main Street is not using the building. City Manager Pato suggested moving the City Attorney and Human Resources into the building. Commissioner Bertino commented the City Attorney should be in the main office. 2.2 Prioritize Bond Referendum Projects 2.3 City Commission's Short-Term Goals 2.4 City Commission's Long Term Goals 2.5 Departments' Preliminary Plan Changes/New Implementations 2.5.1 Fire Department Discussed after Item #2.1 A. False Alarm Fees ® Fire Chief Ken Land advised the Fire Department and BSO currently have an Ordinance for false alarms. He indicated he would like to separate the Fire Department charges from BSO charges. He suggested an escalating pay scale to recoup the actual costs associated with the response for the Fire Department. He suggested a separate charge for residential and commercial structures, and no charge for the first response. Consensus of the Commission was to develop an Ordinance and bring it forward. 2.5.2 Legal Department Discussed after Item #2.5.5 A. Code Enforcement Board and Abatement Issues City Attorney Ansbro advised he surveyed eighteen cities to obtain information on how they handle code enforcement. He noted big cities have more demand, and smaller cities do not. He remarked we have 25-30 new cases per month, and 10-20 old cases for follow-up. He explained how the Code Enforcement process works. He indicated most cities have turned to a Special Magistrate and have dismantled their Code Boards. He noted we are looking for direction from the Commission. He commented he has discussed the backlog of cases with Attorney Tim Ryan, and they concluded it would require two meetings per month with the Special Magistrate for one year or more to clear up the backlog of cases. He indicated we could pay a per-hour fee or a flat fee per meeting. He noted city attorneys generally act as Special Magistrates and are easy to ® find. Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 5 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. Attorney Tim Ryan commented this discussion is mainly driven by workload issues. He remarked the Board has been backlogged but does a very good job for the most part. He indicated we should transition to a Special Magistrate to eliminate the backlog. We currently process 25 new cases per month through the Code Enforcement Board, and we could process 40 cases per meeting with the Special Magistrate. He is concerned about the problem staff may have in processing all the paperwork if there are two meetings per month. He thinks the Special Magistrate is the way to go for code violation cases, and suggested that Abatement cases go before the Code Enforcement Board. City Attorney Ansbro clarified the Commission still needs to hear the Abatement cases; the Code Board would act as an advisory body. He noted the Special Magistrate could also hear the Abatement cases, or the Abatement cases could be placed on the agenda of regular Commission meetings, which would eliminate the Abatement Hearings. Mr. Leeds commented we have a backlog of 200 cases, but it takes 5-6 months for the cases to come before the Board due to the fact that attorneys are representing people at the Code Board meetings. He thinks the Special Magistrate would keep attorneys in line. He indicated that Attorney Ryan cannot represent staff, but if we had a Special Magistrate he could represent staff, which would be more efficient and effective. He commented there would be an additional cost to continue using the Code Board for Abatement cases because the inspectors would need to attend the second meeting and would be paid overtime. ® City Manager Pato commented that keeping the Code Board acting as the Abatement Board is contrary to the trend we see in government today. He noted there is no need for Abatement hearings; they are not required. Commissioner Anton announced the Code Board has done a fabulous job over the past years, but we have grown to the point where it cannot be handled. He indicated he brought up the idea of using the Code Board for abatements, but the City Attorney is right in saying that we do not need to have abatement hearings. He supports using a Special Magistrate because it would not have any political connection to the City or Commission. He would like more information and questioned if we would need additional staff. City Manager Pato responded we would bring more information forward; we were only looking for direction today. Commissioner Bertino likes the Code Board and wants to keep it; however, he does not want to have a backlog of cases. Attorney Tim Ryan remarked the oldest case is one and a half years old; liens are 10-15 years old. He commented the Special Magistrate is the way to go because there can be allegations of political decisions being made by the Code Board. Commissioner Flury remarked we should go with the Special Magistrate and the Code Board • should be disbanded. She noted we are 225 cases in arrears; it is unfair to a person with code Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 6 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. violations to wait a long time for a decision to be made. She indicated she would not be opposed to keeping the Abatement hearings before the Commission. Mayor Castro indicated she supports a Special Magistrate; she has heard from citizens that they would like to improve the Code process as much as possible. Attorney Tim Ryan commented the Commission needs to hear the Abatement cases; it is an important function the Commission handles. 2.5.3 Public Services Department Discussed after Item #2.5.1. A. Permitting Fees for "Right-of-Way" B. Grounds Maintenance Contract Leo Williams, Acting Director of Public Services, commented he would like standards for determining permit fees. He advised the grounds maintenance contract is due for renewal this year. He noted the Company has agreed to a two year extension with no cost increase. He indicated he would like to go out to bid this year. City Manager Pato asked the Commission if they wanted an RFP, which may result in a higher cost, or to renew the contract for the same rate. He noted the current contractor was the lower bidder by $70,000 the last time we requested bids. ® Commission consensus was to request bids for the grounds maintenance service. 2.5.4 Finance Department A. Garbage Billing B. Fees Analysis 1. Lot Clearing 2. Lien Recording Fees 3. Fire Details C. Issuance of General Obligation Bonds Finance Director Patricia Varney proposed placing garbage billing for the east section of the City on the property tax bill in 2006. She noted this would provide for better collections and would be a savings for Single Family homes. She noted that in units with four residences, the tenant pays the garbage bill; this change would make it the responsibility of the property owner. She advised we need to let the Property Appraiser know as soon as possible to input the information on the tax bill. Commissioner Bertino remarked we should make it equal, and tax the east section as we do the west section of the City. Commissioner Flury thinks we are stepping into a minefield. She indicated the new billing ® system was implemented for the east side, and we are just recuperating from the implementation Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 7 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. ® of the new system. She thinks if we make this change, it will create more headaches than it is worth. Finance Director Varney reminded the Commissioners that an increase of water and sewer rates for the next four years was approved by the Commission. She indicated by placing the garbage rate on the tax bill it would assist some of the owners, or tenants, in paying their water bill. She advised we currently shut off 80-120 people per month for non-payment of their bill. Mayor Castro has no issue with it. Commissioner Flury thinks it's a big deal if you own apartments. Commissioner Anton commented the tax bill will increase $235, in addition to the Bond Referendum and any other increase there may be. He remarked it could create problems that we haven't looked at. He is not willing to commit tonight; he would like to get some feedback from the community. Commissioner Bertino is inclined to leave it the way it is. Mayor Castro would like it on the tax bill because of the 4% discount and tax write-off. Finance Director Varney commented we currently do not recoup our costs for fees for Lot Clearing, Recording Fees and Fire Details. She advised we will be bringing changes forward, some over 100%. She wanted the Commission to be aware that we are currently losing money. Consensus of the Commission was that we should recoup our costs. City Manager Pato commented the Fire Department will resist this increase because they want to be competitive with other Fire Departments. He does not know how much other Cities and the County charge, so we will conduct a survey and bring the proposed changes forward. Consensus of the Commission was to see what other areas charge with a breakdown of what goes to the employee and what goes to the City. Finance Director Varney asked the Commission if they wanted to borrow all the Bond money at the same time, or by project. She noted this is not structured the same as a draw basis because interest rates are so low. She indicated if we borrow less than $10M there are advantages, such as qualified bank loans. A traditional bond, less than $10M, is not subject to arbitrage. City Manager Pato cautioned about going less than thirty years because we told the people we would borrow the money for thirty years. Finance Director Varney noted we could borrow all the money at the same time and earn interest on it. She noted we could also go through the FLC program where they handle everything, but their fees may be higher. She commented they could give us an estimate of what our costs • would be. Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 8 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005 —2:00-5:00 p.m. rConsensus of the Commission was to borrow the whole amount. 2.5.5 Community Development First item discussed at the workshop. A. Occupational License Fees Mr. Leeds advised only the City Commission can raise Occupational License Fees. These fees can be raised 5% every other year; the last time the fees were raised was 1993. We will provide a comparison of other cities' fees and ordinances within thirty days for the Commission to review. We would need to present the Ordinance at the first meeting in July in order to implement the fees for October 1, 2005. B. 50/50 Sidewalk Program (Public Services) Mr. Leeds questioned if the Commission wanted to continue with the 50/50 repair program knowing they may include the repair of existing broken sidewalks in the Neighborhood Improvement Project. Commission consensus was to continue with the 50150 sidewalk repair program. C. 2005/2006 Comprehensive Plan Mr. Leeds remarked it will take the rest of 2005 and 2006 to complete the Comprehensive Plan. It needs to be completed or we will lose State Revenue Sharing funds and the ability to amend our plan. D. Special Purpose Zoning Districts for State Road 84 Corridor (Marina Mile, US 1/Dania Beach Commercial Corridors (CRA), and the Downtown Local Activity Center (LAC) E. Consultant to prepare detailed Urban Design Guidelines for CRA F. Traffic Engineering consultant to identify and mitigate the impact of moving slot machines into the Jai Alai Fronton (Study Area: Northeast, Southeast, and Dania Beach Boulevard) G. Planning and Traffic Engineering Consultant Team to prepare study of Central City neighborhoods to identify and mitigate impacts of Jai Alai Site Redevelopment (Study area: Entire city east of the FEC between Griffin Road and Sheridan Street Mr. Leeds commented there are two issues with Jai Alai; what happens to the traffic in the community when the slots are moved into the existing building, and the long term impact when the building is demolished and replaced with a new facility plus a hotel/condominiums or retail. Commissioner Bertino commented we may have different traffic impacts depending on the operating hours of Jai Alai. He indicated this could affect all the other arterials in the City. He remarked we need to look at the whole City, and we should have dollars coming in from impact fees and this may be an excepted expenditure. Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 9 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. ® Mr. Leeds is concerned because the study is a long process, and Slots would bring traffic immediately. He is concerned on the short term impacts on the community and would prefer addressing those concerns first. He's also concerned with the timing of FDOT because they are in the process of redesigning Dania Beach Boulevard for a four-lane road. He indicated the traffic study would tell us how to protect the neighborhood. Commissioner Flury remarked we could not wait three years to do a comprehensive study on how to protect that neighborhood. Commissioner Anton commented we may need to change some of the ideas on the CRA, the traffic engineering studies, and the overall neighborhood studies. He understands that we need to do something in the short-term to protect the neighborhood if the slots are regulated. He suggested we plan the short-term study to coincide with the long-term study and the CRA. City Manager Pato commented we would do that and identify the costs associated with it. Commissioner Flury remarked we should not skimp on this study. She questioned if Steve Snyder would advance us the money for the study. City Manager Pato responded we could ask him, but until the pari-mutuel industry knows what will happen with the slots, it is hard to know. Commissioner Bertino remarked that we should have one firm conduct all the studies. Mayor Castro asked about the FDOT schedule. City Manager Pato responded the FDOT construction is scheduled to begin in 2007. The slots issue is causing them to take another look at Dania Beach Boulevard, but we do not want to risk the project falling out of their plans. When the time comes, they will present their plan to the Commission. We have a two year time period to have our infrastructure in place before construction begins because there is a five year moratorium after FDOT's construction. 2.5.6 City Commission Discussed after Item #2.5.4. A. COLA increase B. Attendance of Conferences City Manager Pato commented last year the Commission expressed a desire to apply the same COLA to the Commission salary as the employees' receive. Mayor Castro remarked she does not want a COLA; this is a part-time public service job, and a COLA is for employees. Commissioner Flury remarked the Commission is in the Employee Pension Plan and that is pretty significant. She would be happy to give away her COLA, but she puts in a lot of hours for ® this public-servant work. She is not concerned about the COLA, but in the future you need Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 10 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m. • people who will make a major commitment to the City. She feels sorry for anybody who wants to serve the public and work a full-time job. She does not think 3% will make a difference and it needs to be done. Commissioner Anton commented this came about because an unpleasant issue was brought up about raising the Commission salaries last year. He does not care about the COLA, but in the future the salaries will need to be raised again and it will be unpleasant. He does not know why this is coming up again. City Attorney Ansbro responded the Ordinance needs to be amended because it was not updated to reflect the will of the Commission. Commissioner Flury indicated that at a Budget workshop the Commissioners' travel budget was cut in half, which she did not appreciate. This raised the discussion to raise the Commission salary by the amount cut out of the travel budget. She noted this is an uncomfortable issue to talk about, and she does not want to deal with it again. City Manager Pato agreed with the Commissioners, but the Ordinance needs to be changed and will result in public discussion. He asked the Commission what training and conferences they might attend next year. Commissioner Flury remarked they have no idea what conferences may come up. She indicated that $10,000 for the Commission is allocated in the Budget and we should leave it alone. Commissioner Bertino pointed out that if things do come up, it might exceed the Budget item and it would need to be rectified. City Manager Pato commented we have a Travel Policy in place; all travel requests come before the Commission for approval. 3. Adjournment Mayor Castro adjourned the meeting at 4:58 p.m. CITE 1Y OF DANIA BEACH ATTEST: ANNE CASTRO n� MAYOR-COMMISSIONER L• OUISE STILSON CITY CLERK • Approved: April 26, 2005 Minutes of Pre-Budget Workshop 11 Dania Beach City Commission Friday,April 8,2005—2:00-5:00 p.m.