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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNULL (420) MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008 — 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order Mayor.Anton called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Reverend A.J. Davis, Greater Mt. Zion AME Church, gave the invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag. 3. Roll Call Present: Mayor: Bob Anton Vice-Mayor: Albert Jones Commissioners: John Bertino Anne Castro Patricia Flury City Manager: Ivan Pain City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro City Clerk: Louise Stilson 3.1 Year in Review- Mayor Anton Mayor Anton presented the following State of the City report: Past Mayors have started a practice of the out-going Mayor providing an end of the year/State of the City update. I want to make clear that the information and accomplishments I will be talking about are a direct result of the actions taken by this City Commission and certainly the hard work and dedication of our city employees and management staff. Dania Beach is in better financial condition today than ever before. We have a healthy reserve fund and have been able to maintain it while still moving ahead with the many needed improvements. We accomplished this by providing balanced budgets without increasing taxes as some of our neighboring cities did. In fact, we lowered taxes from a millage rate of 6.39 to 5.404 Mills, some a result of state mandated cuts and some as a result of direct City Commission action. Maintaining this reserve fund will certainly be a challenge in the future but a challenge I believe we can and will manage. We have completed long overdue renovations to P.J. Meli Park and C.W. Thomas Park. This completes the overhaul of all three of our Major Parks: Frost Park, P.J. Meli and C.W. Thomas Park. All of these parks will service our residents for many years to come. We acquired FRDAP Grants for Frost Park Phase II improvements and applied for and received FRDAP grant monies for improvements to C.W. Thomas Park, which includes playground equipment for a total of almost a Quarter Million Dollars. This new equipment was also installed in many of our smaller neighborhood parks. We applied for and received approval from the Children's Services Council Summer Camp grant for the P.O.W.E.R Summer Camp Program. We completed the renovations to the I.T. Parker Center making this a first class facility we can all be proud of. We completed the expansion of City Hall providing the necessary room for our current and future City operational needs. A Master Plan of the City Hall Campus was developed and approved to include a permanent Library on-site. This was accomplished with the cooperation and 50% funding from Broward County, saving the taxpayers over $100,000. We have also secured a commitment from Broward County to fund the Library building to the tune of $3,016,000. We are purchasing the vacant property adjacent to City Hall known as the 109 Park Street property. Last Wednesday I signed the contract and we will be closing on the property the last week in March. This acquisition will open up a multitude of options for the City and eliminate the need to build a very large parking garage on the current City Hall site that would literally overpower City Hall. As important, this acquisition will save $3M or more in construction costs for that garage. Our pier and beach are doing well after being refurbished and re-nourished. We have just completed the update on the Bathrooms and are working towards updating our Marina. The City of Dania Beach is again at the forefront with the installation of 123 Solar Powered lights in the western area of the City, on time and within budget. This was completed with funding from the 32nd Year CDBG grant monies. We are now moving forward in providing lighting in other neighborhoods that were promised street lighting. We are close to completing the long overdue infrastructure improvements throughout the eastern portion of the City. Broward County is working towards completing the sewage and drainage installation in our western areas. Many of us, including me, campaigned on and promised these projects to our residents. The updating and replacement of this infrastructure will enable us to provide the necessary water and sewer to current residents along with the new developments we have approved and expect to approve in the re-development of our Downtown area. We are also well under way in updating our Public Works Facility and Water Plant to continue to provide our residents the best possible water and sewer service. We just completed a new 2.2 million gallon water tank. I am very proud of our Public Works Department. They recently completed water infrastructure improvements in the south west section of the City using in-house employees; they Minutes of Regular Meeting 2 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. laid 7,000 feet of pipe, installed 14 fire hydrants and installed over 250 water services. By doing this work in-house we saved tax payers approximately $400,000. As I stated earlier, sewers and drainage are being installed by Broward County in the western areas of the City. We expect this to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2010. We have broken ground on the promised new Fire Station located on 301h Avenue in the western part of our City. This was another project that the voters in this City clearly wanted, indicated by the approval of the bond issue. Our new procedures for handling Code Compliance cases eliminated a backlog of 127 code cases waiting to be heard. We have also reduced the time it takes for a non-compliant code case to go before the Special Magistrate from several months to 90 days. We created and adopted planning and zoning code changes that created a Transit Orientated Corridor and Downtown Transit Orientated Development plans. Why is this important? For years every development or developer needed to get a variance to move the project forward. Developers were unsure if they would be approved or not and were not inclined to invest significant dollars into projects on the chance that they may not be approved. There was not a plan as to what we would approve or what we didn't want in these areas. Now this is clearly spelled out. The City Commission has interviewed and selected a CRA Director to help attract new development for our Downtown area. We have put out to bid and selected a group to update our citywide zoning. As many folks are aware, there are currently three Codes that apply depending upon where you live geographically in the City. In addition to that, many of our codes and zoning ordinances are outdated and difficult to understand. We will be making this process much more user friendly for our residents and folks looking to come into this City. We have selected a group to do the Master plan for our Neighborhood Improvement project for the Southwest College Gardens and Sun Garden Isles. We are completing the design of the Community Center that we have promised our residents. These issues have been a long time coming and will soon be a reality. The Traffic Light at S.E. 51h Avenue and Dania Beach Boulevard is now a reality; the base has already been installed, and the mast arm with the lights will be going on soon as it is being coordinated with the improvement under construction by FDOT. Trying to get this light installed started well over seven years ago. The intersection modification to S.W. 2"d Avenue is nearly complete. We are underway in our traffic calming for the S.E. though there is clearly more to do. We have been successful in attracting and approving many projects in the western areas of our City. They include several townhouse and single family projects both large and small. Several hotels have been approved and are under construction or in the permitting process. Several Minutes of Regular Meeting 3 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. commercial projects have been approved highlighted by the expansion of the DCOTA facility and several new developments on Marina Mile. We have not been successful in the redevelopment of our US-1 corridor and our downtown area; several large projects are on hold including the Jai-Alai/Boyd Gaming project. There are a multitude of excuses for this, but the fact of the matter is we need to do a better job in the future and I am confident we will do that. There are many challenges ahead that we are facing, probably the most significant is revenues. Municipal Governments face the same and sometimes more rising costs of doing business. Couple that with the unfunded mandates being placed on local Government, the slow pace of the economy, slowing redevelopment, property tax reform, and diminishing property values, money will be very tight requiring Commissioners to make some very difficult and certainly unpleasant decisions in the future. In closing, I want to point out that we face some daunting challenges ahead. Our new Mayor, Al Jones, will lead us in facing and overcoming these challenges. We have been fortunate in that we have had consistent leadership from the Past Mayors for several years and I look for this trend to continue. Last, I want to thank the voters of Dania Beach for the honor of serving a second term as your Mayor and I look forward to serving as your Commissioner for the next 3 years. 3.2 Seating of Mayor Albert C. Jones Mayor Anton passed the gavel to Mayor Jones. Mayor Jones noted that there will not be a change in the Vision of the City. He further remarked that the Commission is a team that will work together for the best of the City. Mayor Jones commended Mayor Anton on the fine job he has done as Mayor of the City. He thanked his wife for her support through the years, as well as his parents, family and friends. 3.3 Election of Vice-Mayor Commissioner Flury motioned to appoint Commissioner Castro as the Vice-Mayor; seconded by Commissioner Bertino. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Commissioner Flury Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Castro Yes Mayor Jones recessed the meeting for five minutes at 7:26 p.m. Mayor Jones reconvened the meeting at 7:34 p.m. Minutes of Regular Meeting 4 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. 4. Presentations and Special Event Approvals 4.1 Special Event Request of The Field Irish Pub and Restaurant for St. Patrick's Day Celebration, to be held at 3281 Griffin Road, on Monday, March 17, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. — 10:00 p.m. 4.2 Special Event Request for the Dania Beach Fire Rescue Open House, to be held at Fire Station 41, 116 W. Dania Beach Boulevard, on Saturday, March 29, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. 4.3 Special Event Request for the "March for Michael" celebration, to be held at C.W. Thomas Recreational Complex, 100 NW 8`h Avenue, on Saturday, March 29, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. —6:00 p.m. 4.4 Special Event request for the Florida Intercultural Academy School Picnic/Field Day, to be held at Frost Park, on Friday, May 30, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m. Commissioner Flury motioned to approve all the Special Event Requests; seconded by Commissioner Anton. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes 5. Proclamations 5.1 Children's Week Mayor Jones presented a proclamation to Deborah David, Director of Community Relations and Resource Development of the Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, Inc., recognizing March 30, 2008 through April 6, 2008 as Children's Week. 6. Citizen Comments Jimmy Crimminger, 237 SW 15`h Street, Dania Beach Heights, remarked on items #7.5 and #7.7. He commented on the Commission Workshop on March 15, and thanked the Commission for looking after the interests of the residents of Dania Beach. Greg Schaffer, 350 SW I" Avenue, commented on a letter he received from the City on the damaged sidewalk in front of his home. The letter notified him that the sidewalk needed to be replaced within 60 days, but if the repair if not completed, the City will lien his property for the full price of the repair. He noted that his dilemma is that the City began the repairs and now he has to pay for these or have a lien placed on his home. Mr. Schaffer stated he cannot afford the cost of the repairs and asked the Commission for consideration on the repayment. Minutes of Regular Meeting 5 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. Mayor Jones recommended the City Manager work with Mr. Schaffer to have the problem resolved. The consensus of the Commission was that Mr. Schaffer be given the remainder of year 2008 to pay the cost through the 50150 Sidewalk Program. Leon Mermelstein, 1055 SE 6`h Avenue, thought the problem he addressed at the last Commission meeting would have been resolved by now. However, he received a second notification that his water would be turned off. He thought Mayor Anton had said the matter would be held in abeyance and that he would be contacted, however these things did not happen. Mr. Mermelstein further indicated that he would not be allowed to remove his sprinkler meter unless his house is demolished. Commissioner Flury commented Mr. Mermelstein is the only person in the Sheridan Ocean Club that received the letter. Dominic Orlando, Director of Public Services, explained an irrigation system must have a backflow preventer. Mr. Mermelstein wants to take out the irrigation meter and have the same system as everyone else in his development. He does not want to pay the $50.00 backflow fee nor the $100.00 yearly backflow inspection fee. Mr. Mermelstein indicated that Mr. Orlando was not nice to him when he met with him. City Attorney Ansbro apologized for not addressing the issue in a timely manner and advised Mr. Mermelstein that he and Mr. Orlando would meet with him. He added that Mr. Mermelstein would have the opportunity to come back to the City Commission, if he does not agree with the response he receives from the City. Vice-Mayor Castro clarified for the record that Mr. Mermelstein will not have his water turned off and all fines will he held in abeyance until the matter is resolved. Bob and Fay Bartelmes, 214 SW 2nd Terrace, thanked the Commission for the assistance the City provided when a truck ran into their house in December, 2007. 7. Consent Agenda Items removed from Consent Agenda: 97.4 was withdrawn; #7.6 7.1 Minutes Approve minutes of the February 26, 2008 City Commission Special Meeting Approve Minutes of the February 26, 2008 City Commission Meeting Minutes of Regular Meeting 6 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11, 2008—7:00 p.m. 7.2 Travel Requests: Request of Patricia Varney, Finance Director, to attend the Florida Government Finance Officers Association Annual Conference in Jacksonville, Florida from May 18-21, 2008, for certification purposes (Estimated cost $931.00; remaining budget $2,633.13) Resolutions 7.3 RESOLUTION #2008-042 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA OPPOSING THE PROPOSED CHARTER REVIEW PROPOSITION PROVIDING FOR MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE AND MUNICIPAL LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 7.4 RESOLUTION 42008-044 Withdrawn A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA OPPOSING THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS' FUTURE DEPLETION OR REDUCTION OF THE LEVELS OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE BY SENDING WATER INTO THE SOUTHERN BASINS UNLESS A DOCUMENTED, PROFESSIONAL BASIS EXISTS TO DO SO; URGING MUNICIPALITIES IN BROWARD COUNTY AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO JOIN IN THIS OPPOSITION; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, THE GOVERNOR, AND ALL OTHER MUNICIPALITIES LOCATED IN BROWARD COUNTY; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 7.5 RESOLUTION #2008-045 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, DECLARING CERTAIN PERSONAL PROPERTY TO BE OBSOLETE, SURPLUS, AND OF NO FURTHER USE TO THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT; DECLARING THE INTENT OF THE CITY TO TRADE THE SURPLUS PROPERTY FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 7.6 RESOLUTION #2008-046 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE SERVICES FROM CHEN AND ASSOCIATES RELATING TO ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM; PROVIDING THAT THE COST FOR SUCH SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED FIFTY-FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($54,100.00); PROVIDING FOR FUNDING; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Attorney Ansbro read the title of Resolution 42008-046. Vice-Mayor Castro explained that the Neighborhood Improvement Program will include the four communities that were originally included in the CPTED study conducted some time ago. She asked if the resolution could be amended to include the entire neighborhood, and where the funding would come from. Vice-Mayor Castro advised that Chen and Associates agreed to Minutes of Regular Meeting 7 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. incorporate the other 2/3 of Dania Beach Heights for a sum not to exceed $50,000. She clarified this would not include College Gardens because they already have sidewalks, lighting and traffic calming devices. Vice-Mayor Castro motioned to adopt Resolution #2008-046 with an amendment for additional funds not to exceed $50,000.00 from the Capital Projects Fund, to include the entire community; seconded by Commissioner Anton. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes 7.7 RESOLUTION 42008-047 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PURCHASE SERVICES FROM CALVIN, GIORDANO AND ASSOCIATES FOR DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE SOUTHEAST SECTION OF THE CITY; PROVIDING THAT THE COST FOR SUCH SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED TWO HUNDRED FORTY SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY FOUR DOLLARS ($246,864.00) PROVIDING FOR FUNDING; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Ordinances- (Titles read by City Attorney) 7.8 ORDINANCE #2008-009 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO ZONING; AMENDING SECTION 8-4 (ENTITLED "SITE PLAN AS CONDITION TO BUILDING PERMIT") OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES TO ADD CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE EXPIRATION OF SITE PLAN APPROVALS AND TO CHANGE THE SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING ADDITIONS WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM SITE PLAN REVIEW: AMENDING SECTIONS 10.12 ("SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS"), 10.13 ("VARIANCES") AND 10.30("APPEALS") OF CHAPTER 28, "ZONING", OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES TO ADD CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO THE EXPIRATION OF SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS, VARIANCES AND APPEALS; CREATING ARTICLE IV-B OF CHAPTER 33, KNOWN AS THE "ZONING APPENDIX" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO GRANT AUTHORITY TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD TO APPROVE VARIANCES PERTAINING TO SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES (EXCLUDING MARINE-RELATED STRUCTURES) AND TO APPROVE BUILDING ADDITIONS SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS, AND PROVIDING FOR EXPIRATION OF APPROVALS OF VARIANCES, SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS, APPEALS AND SITE PLANS, AS WELL AS EXTENSIONS OF THE FOREGOING SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (FIRST READING) 7.9 ORDINANCE #2008-010 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO ZONING; REPEALING ARTICLE 29 (ENTITLED "PERVIOUS AND IMPERVIOUS AREAS") OF CHAPTER 28, "ZONING", OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES; CREATING A NEW ARTICLE 3 TO BE ENTITLED "IMPERVIOUS LAND AREA REQUIREMENTS" TO BE PLACED IN CHAPTER 33, THE "ZONING APPENDIX" OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO PRESCRIBE NEW REGULATIONS GOVERNING PERVIOUS AND IMPERVIOUS AREAS OF LAND WITH THE CITY; ESTABLISHING CERTAIN PERCENTAGES OF AREAS OF LAND REQUIRED TO BE PERVIOUS, BASED Minutes of Regular Meeting 8 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11, 2008—7:00 p.m. UPON ZONING DISTRICTS AND PROVIDING FOR WAIVER OF SUCH REQUIREMENTS UNDER LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; FURTHER,PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (FIRST READING) 7.10 ORDINANCE #2008-011 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO ZONING; REPEALING SECTION 10-15 (ENTITLED "ADMINISTRATIVE VARIANCE PROCEDURES") OF CHAPTER 28, "ZONING", OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES; CREATING A NEW ARTICLE IV-A TO BE ENTITLED"ADMINISTRATIVE VARIANCE PROCEDURES" TO BE PLACED IN CHAPTER 33, THE "ZONING APPENDIX" OF THE CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES, TO PRESCRIBE REVISED CONDITIONS GOVERNING SUCH VARIANCES WHICH ARE GRANTED BY THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT REVIEW BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD AND THE CITY COMMISSION, SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (FIRST READING) 7.11 ORDINANCE #2008-012 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO THE PLAT KNOWN AS THE "DANIA COLORED CEMETERY PLAT'; RE-NAMING THE PLAT, TO BE KNOWN AS THE "DANIA BEACH WESTLAWN CEMETERY PLAT'; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;FURTHER PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (FIRST READING) City Attorney Ansbro read the title of Ordinance #2008-012. Commissioner Bertino motioned to adopt the Consent Agenda, with the exception of Items #7.4 and #7.6; seconded by Commissioner Flury. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes 8. Bids and Requests for Proposals There were no proposals at this meeting. 9. Public Hearings and Site Plans 9.1 ORDINANCE 42008-008 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN; PROVIDING FOR ADOPTION PURSUANT TO SECTION 163.3184, FLORIDA STATUTES; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (SECOND READING) City Attorney Ansbro read the title of Ordinance #2008-008. Minutes of Regular Meeting 9 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday, March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. Mayor Jones opened the Public Hearing. Seeing as there was no one to speak in favor or opposition, he closed the Public Hearing. Commissioner Anton motioned to adopt Ordinance 42008-008, on second reading; seconded by Vice-Mayor Castro. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes City Attorney Ansbro advised the following item was a quasi-judicial hearing and swore-in those who would speak. 9.2 RESOLUTION 42008-043 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA APPROVING THE VARIANCE REQUEST SUBMITTED BY PASTOR ALEX WILLIAMS, REPRESENTING THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH, FROM CHAPTER 28, "ZONING", ARTICLE 28, "SIGNS", FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 134 NW 12TH AVENUE, DANIA BEACH; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Attorney Ansbro read the title of Resolution #2008-043. Kristin Dion, City Planner, described the location of the project. She advised that the applicant is requesting a variance to allow a 24 square foot monument sign to advertise the church services and hours of operation. Mayor Jones opened the Public Hearing. Pastor Alex Williams, 8441 NW 261h Place, Sunrise, Florida, thanked the Commission for hearing the request. He noted they are responsible for the error in the size of the sign and it would be a hardship to them not to be able to use it. Pastor Williams asked for a favorable consideration to their request which would only be used to give information that will be a positive impact on the community. Fay Bartelmes, 214 SW 2nd Terrace, commented that other people on US 1 had to remove their signs. Seeing as there was no one else to speak in favor or opposition, Mayor Jones closed the Public Hearing. Vice-Mayor Castro confirmed with Ms. Dion that notices were sent out to the adjacent neighbors and no complaints had been received. Vice-Mayor Castro motioned to adopt Resolution 92008-043; seconded by Commissioner Bertino. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Minutes of Regular Meeting 10 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes 10. Commission Comments 10.1 Commissioner Anton Commissioner Anton noted the Cemetery has a lot of headstones that are coming out of the ground and need to be repaired. He thinks the Cemetery grounds need to be updated. Commissioner Anton asked City Attorney Ansbro to bring back an ordinance at the next meeting that allows headstones. City Attorney Ansbro noted the City does not have an ordinance that addresses the size of headstones. Commissioner Anton would also like benches, trees and garbage cans installed at both Cemeteries. Dominic Orlando, Director of Public Services, noted the plots at the Cemetery are small and if we allow large monuments, we will not be able to dig the graves. He mentioned that the monuments could be changed once all the graves are occupied. Director Orlando clarified the case referred to by Commissioner Anton would not be a problem because all the surrounding graves are occupied. The Commission would like Director Orlando to provide some guidelines as to what size headstones would be allowed in both Cemeteries. Commissioner Anton motioned to approve the monument requested by the man (no name mentioned); seconded by Vice-Mayor Castro. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes Commissioner Anton noted that Broward County Mass Transit cancelled the bus service in the west area of the City. He asked the City Manager to draft a letter for the Mayor's signature to the County and ask them to reconsider the bus route for that area. City Manager Palo noted that the community bus service was cancelled by the County due to budget constraints. Minutes of Regular Meeting 11 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. Commissioner Anton read a letter of appreciation received from the filming company regarding the filming of a movie in Dania Beach. 10.2 Commissioner Bertino Commissioner Bertino commented on the excellent service he recently received from the City's Rescue Department. Commissioner Bertino questioned the status of the Dania Beach Hotel. City Attorney Ansbro noted the mortgage for the former owners has been satisfied and the property can now be destroyed. He indicated that the current owners are requesting the return of their $100,000 bond which they deposited in 2005 and have stated they will not demolish the structure at this time. They have been informed that if they do not proceed with the demolition by March 15, the case will appear before the Unsafe Structures Board and their deposit will be retained by the City. Commissioner Bertino questioned when Tigertail Lake would re-open for the enjoyment of the community. Kristen Jones, Director of Parks and Recreation, noted she contacted the County and is awaiting a response to determine when we can open it for our residents. She noted the Lake will never be used for swimming; only for fishing, boating and water sports. Director Jones indicated there is currently a problem with staffing the facility. She is trying to have the ordinances changed to install a dog park at this location. 10.3 Commissioner Flury Commissioner Flury had no additional comments. 10.4 Vice-Mayor Castro Vice-Mayor Castro thanked her colleagues for selecting her as Vice-Mayor. Vice-Mayor Castro requested a follow up on a house located at the end of NW 35`h Avenue currently under construction. City Manager Pato advised staff is taking care of the situation. Vice-Mayor Castro commented the Neighborhood Master Plan meeting went well last Saturday. She noted Michele Mellgren did an excellent job and is personally working on this project. Vice-Mayor Castro thanked the community leaders for their participation. 10.5 Mayor Jones Mayor Jones thanked the Commission and the residents for their confidence and support. Minutes of Regular Meeting 12 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday,March 11,2008—7:00 p.m. Mayor Jones noted that he received a scholarship to attend the Community Redevelopment Conference in South Carolina. Mayor Jones advised he met with Governor Crist today in Tallahassee and discussed the solar lighting. He also met with Ken Pruitt, President of the Florida Senate, and talked about the solar lighting as well. Mayor Jones noted he also met with the City's new Lobbyist, Carole Duncanson, and mentioned to her some of the items that need to be addressed: solar lighting, right-of-way on US1, and flooding in the southeast area. Mayor Jones noted the "March for Michael" event to be held on March 29 will honor Michael Curry, Jr. who died in Afghanistan. He invited everyone to participate in this community event. Mayor Jones noted he will try his best to do a good job as Mayor. He mentioned he will no doubt make mistakes, and asked the people to assist him. 11. Discussion and Possible Action There were no discussion items on this agenda. 12. Appointments Mayor Jones appointed Derrick Hankerson to the Dania Beach Housing Authority Vice-Mayor Castro motioned to approve the Board appointment; seconded by Commissioner Flury. The motion carried on the following 5-0 Roll Call vote: Commissioner Anton Yes Vice-Mayor Castro Yes Commissioner Bertino Yes Mayor Jones Yes Commissioner Flury Yes 13. Administrative Reports 13.1 City Manager City Manager Pato thanked Mayor Anton for working closely with City staff during the past year. He noted staff is looking forward to a good working relationship with Mayor Jones. City Manager Pato noted a Commission Workshop will be held Saturday, March 15, at 8:00 a.m., to discuss some of the financial challenges faced by the City as we begin the process of preparing next year's budget. He also hopes to discuss how to move forward with public/private partnerships for the Park 109 property. The City's legislative priorities will also be discussed. Minutes of Regular Meeting g 13 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday, March 11, 2008—7:00 p.m. 13.2 City Attorney City Attorney Ansbro had no comments. 13.3 CityClerk— Reminders Saturday, March 15, 2008 — 8:00 a.m. City Commission Workshop Thursday, March 20, 2008 — 6:00 p.m. Abatement Hearing Tuesday, March 25, 2008 — 7:00 p.m. City Commission Meeting Wednesday, April 2, 2008 —6:00 p.m. CRA Board Meeting 14. Adiournment Mayor Jones adjourned the meeting at 8:54 p.m. ATTEST; CITY OF DANIA BEACH LOUISE STILSON, CIVIC ALBERT C. JONE CITY CLERK MAYOR-COMMISSIONER Approved: March 25, 2008 Minutes of Regular Meeting 14 Dania Beach City Commission Tuesday, March 11,2008—7:00 p.m.