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HomeMy WebLinkAbout31071 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA HELD ON May Page -I- The City Commission of the City of Dania, Florida, met in special session in the Commission Room at the Dania City Hall at 7:30 P. M. , May 29, 1968. Mayor Kelly asked the Clerk to call the roll and the following city ® officials were present: Mayor-Commissioner Robert Kelly Commissioners Robert E. Houston Richard Marant Joseph Thornton 0 Boisy N. Waiters City Attorney Clarke Walden Chief of Police Donald Parton Acting City Clerk Gloria Houghton Building Inspector Hubert Walker (Absent) ® Complaint City Attorney Walden said that Mr. M. G. Bellows who is presently con- structing a 2-story apartment house in Dania had contacted him May 28, 1968, and Mr. Bellows indicated there were some problems developing between him- self and the City of Dania and he recommended that Mr. Bellow come before the Commission to discuss these matters . Mayor Kelly recognized Mr. Bellows Y who appeared before the Commission and the following were discussed: Mr. Bellows said he thought about a year ago the City of Dania would be a good spot to do some improving and, therefore, he bought a tract of land, had plans drawn for a very nice building by an architect and commenced con- struction. He said the building was almost completed and, that until recently, ® there had been no problems. Suddenly, he said, he began to run into a snag. First, he could not get a permit to put up a rental sign on Federal Highway, which he could not understand. He said he arranged with the Chamber of Com- merce to put his signs on benches, which benches were painted and placed in such a position as to indicate with an arrow which way these apartments were located as they were coming down Federal Highway. Two days later the i benches were changed around, put back on Federal Highway with the directional arrows on the benches pointing in the wrong direction--pointing north and south. He said he had ordered crushed rock which he was going to put around in the swale area, leveled out by a bulldozer and rolled with a roller and well-compacted. He said the police came around and said some of the rock was on the sidewalk and that, if the rock was not removed from the sidewalk, ® they would be arrested, or they would have to do something about getting a city truck to haul the rock away and charge the cost to him. This matter was taken care of by his laborers. On May 28, 1968, in the afternoon, two policemen pulled in with a car on his parking lot. It happened, he said, there were two tradesmen who did not have signs on their trucks and the men involved appeared on the scene and were told they would have to be taken • to jail because they did not have signs on their trucks. Mr. Bellows said he tried totemporize with the lawmen, but they would not listen and bundled the electrician and air conditioning mechanic into the police car, took them to the police station and about an hour later the mechanics returned to their jobs. He said they were warned by the police that, if they did not have the signs on their trucks they would be fined $200.00. Mr. Bellows said, that if the men had to be warned, why did it have to be in the manner it was done, and not just on jobsite; that it was a strange way to handle the situation. He said with respect to engineering, he had the City Engineer do the engineering on a private alley that was built in back of the building. He d° said the alley was purportedly to be used as a common alley by anybody whose property abouts on the alley. He said that the pitch of the alley is so that the run-off water in the event of rain would accumulate on his parking lot and that the City Engineer or Building Inspector would not permit any of the run-off water to run off to the side into the grass area. He said the water lies in his parking lot during and after a heavy rain 8"' to 10" deep because his soakage pits could not absorb sudden amounts of heavy rain. He said 5/29/68 -1- t' x MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA 1 May Page -2- Complaint (Cont'd) these kind ot t ings lead him to believe that, perhaps, he was not wanted here, that if the City of Dania did not want him to come here and build, it could just directly come out and say so without any of this harassment p and without giving him a hard time. He said this was the impression he was getting. Ile further said he had been in contact with the Building Inspector concerning obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy on his rental apartment building when it was completed. He was advised by Mr. Walker, the Building ® Inspector, that it was not up to him, that there was someone else who would arrange to inspect the building, and, if the building was satisfactory; the seal would be affixed. Mr. Bellows said he understood there was a Board here composed of electrical and building contractors, etc. who inspect these buildings and make the Certificate of Occupancy on them. He said, heretofore, the Building Inspector in other communities saw that the laws were enforced 49 and best qualified to issue a Certificate of Occupancy instead of having a Board of Contractors (some of whom had bid on his job and had not been able to get the work and who would be especially disposed to be unfavorable to it) to pass on a Certificate of Occupancy. He asked what he had to do to get into the good graces of the city. He said he had asked about garbage pick up. He said he found upon investigation that every building of any ® consequence or any size here was having their garbage picked up by the city; that he called the head of the public service department and asked what sort of receptacles would be required for him to install in order for the city to pick up the garbage and that he was informed by the gentleman that the city was not going to pick up any more garbage at apartment buildings. He said, there again, he found there were commercial establishments and motels for ® whom the city does pick up the garbage and he wanted to know why he should be discriminated against. He said he would like to have an expression from the Commission as to what it wished him to do. Commissioner Waiters said he was aware of some of the problems and had tried to correct some of them so that an orderly transition could be made. ® He said with respect to the crushed rock on the sidewalk a situation had arisen whereby a lady fell and is now trying to collect �200.00 from the city for this earlier matter. Therefore, this was the reason for the city person- nel being cautious about material left on sidewalks . With respect to people who come and work in the city without licenses, he said the city is cracking down on these people to make them abide by the rules and regulations of the ® city. Mr. Bellows said, that as far as the contractors or subcontractors were concerned, they had qualified as licensed contractors or subcontractors and had apparently satisfied the Building Department because they have been permitted to work unimpeded. He said, now that they were at the tail end of the job, there seems to be some harassment of these trades. He said, if there were objections to the trades, this should have come at the beginning s of the project and not and the end of the project. Commissioner Thornton questioned the City Manager and Chief of Police if all the tradesmen had city occupational licenses and the Chief of Police advised that his department had brought in several persons and these people then bought the occupational licenses required. It was brought out at this +� time that some of the trades working on the Bellows job did not have signs on their trucks, and that this was a violation of the city. Commissioner Thornton said he presumed that some of the people did not have signs on their trucks because they did not have occupational licenses and did not ,,.)ant to get caught working at their trades in the City of Dania. 0 Chief of Police Parton came before the commission stating he would like to clarify Mr. Bellows' situation. He said, first of all with respect to the stone, it had been dumped half way into the street at N. E. 2nd Avenue and someone in charge was asked to move it off the road because it was caus- ing a traffic hazard. He said, that on May 28, 1968, the Building Inspector requested him to pick up two men working on the Bellows' project because 5/29/68 -2- i=� MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA H May 2 , 1 Page -3- Complaint (Cont'd) t ey did not nave signs on their trucks, and that Mr. Walker said he had previously warned these men the previous Friday to get the trucks in order with signs on them. Evidently, they did not, and policemen were sent to the jobsite and they picked up the two tradesmen who were then brought before Mr. Walker, Building Inspector. Chief Parton said there was nothing said about a $200.00 fine, and when these men were through talking with Mr. Walker they told him they had been treated very well by the policemen, and that they would abide by the rules in the future. Mayor Kelly pointed out that the two men were not arrested, however, these men were previously warned on the job. They evidently did not get the message, he said, so Mr. Walker requested the police to bring the men in to give them the message again. Commissioner Houston pointed out that Mr. Bellows would have to correct some of his electrical work or he would not be issued a Certificate of Occupancy. He said, if the Building Inspector sought advice from some particular trade, he could ask the Electrical Board to go and look the job over, but that no Board had any authority to issue a Certificate of Occupancy on a job in the city; if he is in doubt about something he can refer it a particular Board and the Board will assist the Building Inspector. He said the city has had a lot of success in this method because the city cannot afford to pay an inspector for each of the trades: electrical, air conditioning, plumbing, etc. ; that the city does not have that much work to do and, therefore, the city tries to have a man who is capable or near capable in all lines, but that when he get in a pinch and is in doubt about something, he will call on some certified tradesman to help him out. Commissioner Houston said in the case of the project under discussion, there had been discovered some of the most malicious violations which have ever been made and these have been done by a Miami electrical concern. With regard to the catch basins in the alley, he said Mr. Bellows was required to put in catch basins to take care of the parking lot. He further stated the sign erection request was denied the same way that a hundred other requests .!! have been denied because of an ordinance in the City of Dania which says a sign may only be on the property to which it refers. Commissioner Waiters said there was a check list available for every- thing that had to be done on the whole job. The Chair recognized Mr. Lamar Palmer, electrician, 6 N. E. 1st Avenue, Dania, and he stated he was one of the men who had gone to Mr. Bellows' project, and that he had also bid on the job. He said it was a well-constructed job up to a point. He said he took issued with what Mr. Bellows had to say in that, if not abiding by laws and rules, as required by the City of Dania, then, perhaps, this constituted harassment, but that he believed there had ® been hanky-panky on the job all the way. He said that Mr. Bellows' main switches were inadequate. He said the prints called for one thing; that the prints did not call for electric ranges, so the bid was figured without electric ranges . Therefore, under the present set-up the service is too small. He stated there were subfeeds and the code specifically says they must be encased in concrete or they must be heavy walled, but that Mr. Bellows had Q thin wall in numerous places. He said the code also says one must have the work done in a workmanlike manner and that Mr. Bellows' job was not. He said the electrical code specifies certain other things. He stated, that Mr. Bellows comes before the Commission and states he is being harassed, and that he, in fact, is not being harassed, that the city is just enforcing its rules . A Mr. Colin Hulme, Bellows Development Corp., appeared before the Commis- sion and the Chair recognized him at this time. He questioned'Mr. Palmer and asked him if he believed the electric service to be inadequate and„if so, why he thought it inadequate. Mr. Palmer said it was just inadequate. a 5/29/68 -3- i r;..v . c i1INUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OP DANIA HELD ON May 29, 17M Page -4- Complaint (Cont'd) Mr. Hulme sai t ere were two 800 amp mains, according to the code. He said the subfeeds were being encased in concrete and he could verify that all the subfeeds running there were tied securely to the steel so that the concrete would pour around it. With reference to thin wall, he said Mr. Palmer was most likely referring specifically to the outside wiring. He said this is going to be dug out and poured around so that it also meets the code. He said he would personally like to see rigid conduit outside because it holds up better, and with reference to a workmanlike manner, he requested Mr. Palmer to be specific in this connection. Mr. Robert LaCroix, 209 N. W. 1st Avenue, Dania, came before the Com- mission and said he would like to respond to Mr. Hulme. He was recognized by the Mayor. He said the first thing he would like an answer to was with reference to the two 800 amp mains, one at each end of the building. He asked what kind of wire was going to be used to feed the mains and ranges in the 3" parallel conduits . Mr. Hulme said he could not answer this specifically because Mr. Meadows, the electrical subcontractor, went over that matter. Mr. LaCroix said technically and legally you cannot feed 800 amp mains with two parallel 3" conduit. He said the largest wire one is .able to get in 311conduit is 500 thousandths, which is good for 380 amps, that is, copper with aluminum, therefore, how was Mr. Hulme going to get 800 amps out o: two 500 thousandths . Mr. Hulme said, that basically, the service was not finished; that the cans were in and are large enough. He said he stopped the man on running the services because the junction where it comes up out of the mains under the slab was not adequate. Mr. LaCroix asked Mr. Hulme if he had looked at the bathroom fixtures ® hung in the ceiling. Mr. Hulme said there was a situation created because the plasterer let his dry wall bucklet in instead of holding it up so that the fixtures could be placed in there at right angle. Mr. LaCroix said he was talking about the fixture dangling on #2 weld wire, hung on a piece of pipe, plugged in with a 2-wire cord or a 2-wire cap on it. Mr. Hulme said it was a #18 3-wire that has a green wire running through and bonded on both sides. Mr. LaCroix said it was not bonded on both sides because he had inspected it. He said the green wire and the white wires were tied together going into the ballast. He said it had a 2-wire cap on it so it could not be grounded; and that was the workmanlike manner discussed above. He further stated the first floors were shot, but the first floor he was on was not shot. Mr. Hulme said he had supplied the gun and Mr. LaCroix :0 said that Mr. Hulme may have supplied the gun, but the fixtures were dangling on wire. Mr. LaCroix said he understood Mr. Hulme to say that the subfeeds were encased in concrete, and he was advised he was correct. He then said there was an inch and a quarter main subfeed feeding the pavilion at the pool ® that comes out from underneath the slab which is not encased in concrete and it is running right on top of the dirt while underneath the slab at the pavilion it is not encased in concrete. Mr. Hulme said this was right, but that this was one feed out of forty-two. Mr. LaCroix said he would have to dig up the floors to see. Mr. Hulme said he would be glad to dig them up. Mr. LaCroix said, that probably before the job was approved, the floors would have to be dug up. Mr. Hulme said they were talking specifically of the subfeed that comes out in the middle of the building. It was further brought out by Mr. Palmer that the rules say you cannot cut a 4" slab. Mr. Hulme said the slab that was referred to was q". Mayor Kelly asked Mr. Hulme if the City of Dania Building Inspector had, at any time, indicated he was not happy with the work and Mr. Hulme replied that Mr. Walker had not so indicated and that they have received no notice that phases of the work were unsatisfactory. Commissioner Houston said he wanted to see a final inspection made on the job and it would have to pass and suggested, that if the electrician in Dania was going to be criticized, then there was a man from the outside and he would come in and make the inspection. Mr. Bellows said he would welcome a _cr,:rnittee of the gentlemen who bid on the job, some of whom did not get the job, as :;ell as those who had not bid, and would welcome their inspection and would welcome their recommendations; and, that if anything had been don on the job that was wrong, he would be glad to have it corrected. 5/29/68 -4- h, MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA IT= May Page -5- Bid Award - Street Contract Project No . 6555 Municipal Improvements City Manager 01 erg su mute t e recommen a ion o city Engineer John Farina in that he had reviewed the bids submitted on Project No. 6555, Municipal Improvements, had checked the unit price extensions, and bid bond, had prepared tabulation of the bids, and that Contract A through D be awarded to the low bidders as follows : Contract A - Paving: Delegal Paving Co., $26,920.20 Contract B - Sewers: A. Gaudio & Sons, $12,803.00 Contract C - Water: A. Gaudio & Sons, $ 5,363.00 A Contract D - Sidewalks: Broward Construction Co., $ 1 199.40 Total A motion was made by Commissioner Houston to award the paving contract on Project No. 6555 to the lowest and best bidder, Delegal Paving Co. subject to the absolute elimination of seeding, drain fields, and driveways . Motion was seconded by Commissioner Thornton. The Commissioners voted as follows: Houston Yes Marant Yes Thornton Yes Waiters Yes A Kelly Yes Motion passed. Bid Award - Sewer Contract Project No. 6555 Muni al Improvements —emotion was ma e y ommission cier ous on o awar t e sewer contract and water line contract on Project No. 6555 to the lowest and best bidder, A. Guadio & Sons. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Thornton. The Com- missioners voted as follows: Houston Yes Marant Yes Thornton Yes • Waiters Yes Kelly Yes Motion passed. Bid Award - Sidewalks, Project No. 6555, Municipal Improvements motion was maZceommissioner ous on co awara cne sidewalk con- tract on Project No. 6555 to the lowest and best bidder, Broward Construction Co. . said sidewalks to be constructed on N. W. 4th Avenue and S.W. loth Street, the cost of which is to be assessed to the property owners . Commissioner Thornton seconded the motion. The Commissioners voted as follows: Municipal Improvements Project No. 6555 Resolution Adopted & Effective n recommen anon o t e ity ttorney, ommissioner ouston moved that a resolution be drawn, adopted and effective to proceed with the construction of Project No. 6555, Municipal Improvements and assignment of assessments on the project. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Waiters. The Commis- sioners voted as follows: Houston Yes Thornton Yes Marant Yes Waiters Yes Kelly Yes Motion passed. '* 5/29/68 -5- M:} MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA HELD ON May 29, Page -6- Test Wells - Water City Engineer John Farina submitted for review cost estimates on one 500 gal. per min. test well and one 1,000 gal. per min, test well. He said the 500 gal, per min. test well located at the southeast corner of the water plant property was estimated to cost $15,700.00, which cost included 10% contingency and 15% legal costs. The 1,000 gal. per min. test well, he said, to be constructed at the same place, was estimated to cost $16.,900.00. IIe said the City Engineers still recommend the installation of two wells, putting in one well at a time. After discussion, Commissioner Houston said he would like to go with the City Engineer to several different sites to check out the feasibility of new test well site locations. Commissioner Houston moved that the matter of selecting a test well site be tabled until the regular commission meeting of June 3, 1h68. Motion was seconded by Com- missioner Marant. The Commissioners voted as follows: Houston Yes Thornton Yes Marant Yes Waiters Yes Kelly Yes Motion passed. Bills Approved - City Engineers e ity Managers EMS for payment, subject to the Finance Com- mittee' s approval, bills from Broome & Farina, City Engineers. Commissioner Waiters moved that the City Engineers' bills for the months of February, March and April, 1968, be approved for payment subject to the approval of the Finance Committee. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Marant. Com- missioners voted as follows: Houston Yes Thornton Yes Marant Yes Waiters Yes Kelly Yes Motion passed. Commissioner Thornton moved that the meeting be adjourned. Motion died for lack of a second. Ordinance - R-Apartment Classification_Zonin - Second Reading mayor- issioner 7�e1 y.reques ea tnac the�mrtussion consider pass- ing the R-Apartment Classification Zoning Ordinance on Second Reading at this time. Commissioner Houston stated he had made a motion at the previous Monday night meeting, May 27, 1968, to bring this ordinance before the Com- ;� mission at the next regular Commission meeting, June 17, 1968, and one more subsequent meeting before passing on the Second Reading due to the import- ance of the ordinance. He said changes had been made since the First Read- ing and that there would be more changes need in the ordinance before it was finalized. After much discussion, Commissioner Waiters moved that the P.-Apartment Zoning Classification Ordinance be read by title only. Commis- sioner Marant seconded the motion. The Commissioners voted as follows: 0 Houston Did not vote, excused himself from the meeting at 9:15 .P,M. Marant Yes Thornton No Waiters Yes Kelly No Motion passed. At this time, 9:16 P. M. , Commissioner Thornton asked to be excused from the Commission meeting. 5/29/6B -6- 14INUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA May 29, 1968. Page -7- Ordinance - R-Apartment Zoning Classification - Second Reading A motion was made—by Commissioner Marant an7ff secon e- by Commissioner Waiters that the R-Apartment Zoning Classification Ordinance be passed on Second Reading and that the Third and Final Reading be on Monday night, ® June 3, 1968. There being a quorum present, the Commissioners voted as follows: Marant Yes Waiters Yes Kelly Yes Motion passed. • Licenses Mayor Kelly reported to the City Commission that Building Inspector Hubert Walker had been diligently working on a comprehensive re-licensing program for the city and had submitted his recommendations to the City Attorney for his opinion with regard to revamping the city licensing • categories and fees . City Manager's Report Mayor e y as ed the City Manager if he wished to discuss anthing at this time and Mr. Goldberg said only the things that were on the agenda in regard to the paving of the beach area, the Fire Volunteer Fund, a trash • site, and the city engineers' bills. Mayor Kelly said he presumed, at this time, there would not be a Finance Committee meeting this night. April 1968 Budget Resort mayor Kelly e y acvised. the Commission and audience that the Commissioners had just received the April, 1968 Budget Report. He said he thought the O city was financially in very good shape. He said he was well pleased to see the city's income, that the city was running about $70,000.00 in excess of the income from last year at this same period. He said that most all of the city's revenues were up anywhere from 530,000.00 increase over last year at this time with regard to the utility tax and cigarette tax. He said that licenses and permits were up about $1, 500.00 each and that the • fines and forfeitures were up $7,000.00 over last year; that the head tax from Pirates' World was $12,000.00, mainly because they did not pay anything to the city last year. He said the Florida Power 6 Light franchise was up $2,000.00, and that the only revenue item that was down was the parking meters themselves in the amount of about $800.00, but that the fines were up $700.00. • Bondsmen arvin Span, Dania, Florida, was recognized by the Chair at this time and he said with regard to bondsmen who wish to advertise at police stations, it is the policy of those police stations in Hollywood and Hallandale to permit those bondsmen who have an occupational license in their respective • cities to advertise their services, but that Dania had no such policy. He said the Dania Police Station has available the names and addresses of bonds- men who do not have an occupational license, and that he was the only one who had purchased an occupational license for bondsman services. City Manager Goldberg commented that the Chief of Police had checked some of the neighboring cities and found Mr. Span's remarks to be true and, therefore, • Mr. Goldberg said he would think it appropriate for the City of Dania to do the same thing. Mayor Kelly said he would check into the policy of bondsmen advertising their services at the neighboring police stations and what fees would be involved, if any, and would bring the matter up at a later meeting. • 5/29/68 -7- MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING CITY COMMISSION CITY OF DANIA T Rom Page HELL) May 29, 178. - Civil Service Program - Personnel ommissioner aiters requested information as to the status of reach- s ing Mr. Bachman, City of Fort Lauderdale Personnel Director, with respect to his aiding the City of Dania on their proposed Civil Service Program. City Manager Goldberg advised him, that to date, Commissioner Marant had been unable to contact Mr. Bachman in this connection. Adjournment —7 n motion made, seconded and unanimously passed, the Commission meeting adjourned at 10:00 P. M. - Respectfully submitted, ill� zi��z yor- ommissioner Kelly 4ngoria' oug ton 5/29/68 -8-