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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-09-20 Marine Advisory Board Minutes • City of Dania Beach Marine Advisory Board Meeting September 20,2006 The Marine Advisory Board met in the Conference Room at City Hall on Wednesday,September 20"'. Chairman Clive Taylor was out of town. The meeting was conducted by Mike Grady and John Kafouros acting as Co-Chairmen. Mike Grady called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Members present: Mike Grady John Kafouros Carol Storoeki Bernard Swindell Debby Bradford William Wosenitz Ray Lair Louis Webb Billy Phipps Members absent: Clive Taylor Brian Carroll Craig McAdams Others present: Chief Kenneth Land,Dania Beach Fire Dept. Ivan Pato, City Manager,Dania Beach Deputy Jason Riddle,BSO • Bob Anton,City Commissioner,Dania Beach Suzanne&Bud Witz Plus 21 interested residents(list of attendees available) Clive Taylor and Brian Carroll had requested an excused absence. Motion to excuse made by Billy Phipps,seconded by Carol Stokrocki.Motion carried Minutes of the July board meeting and notes from the August board meeting were presented for approval. Motion to approve as written made by Louis Webb, seconded by John Kafouros. Motion carried The first order of business discussed was the issue of refueling boats in residential neighborhoods. Mr. Grady asked each of the board members to express their opinion on the issue Mr. Wosenitz said he was on the Marine Board when the Commission voted to ban the practice of refueling boats in residential areas. It was decided there would be no refueling of boats with either diesel or gasoline. Mr. Wosenitz was in favor of the ordinance. He said the trucks destroyed the roads and no gasoline or diesel tax is paid to the City to help pay for road repair. • 1. Mr. Webb said he was also on the Marine Board when the ordinance was passed. • Even though it was passed it has never really been enforced. He feels it is much safer to have a responsible,licensed company delivering fuel to peoples homes than some of the other ways some people use to refuel their boats. He did not feel there was any necessity for street damage if handled properly. Everyone on the board agreed the ordinance has not been enforced and is an issue that is extremely difficult to enforce. The fact that Dania Beach is the only area in South Broward with such an ordinance was mentioned repeatedly. Several members mentioned occasions they knew of where residential refueling had openly taken place and was uncensored. Basically the board was pretty evenly divided in their opinions concerning the refueling issue with some feeling the ordinance should be kept and enforced and others of the opinion residential delivery should be legalized as long as it is strictly controlled with responsible contractors. Chief Land explained the position of the Fire Department and stated he would be glad to work with any group interested in improving the situation. John Kafouros commented with all the safety precautions in place and with proper controls he could see no objection to a responsible company delivering fuel to a • resident at his home. Mike Grady said he felt the same as John Kafouros. The ordinance should be reconsidered. Presently there are people who are basically pirating. Those are the people we should be concerned about. A reputable, responsible company with their name on the side of their truck is certainly preferable to what is presently taking place. The safety issue is the most important thing involved. Billy Phipps said she felt the ordinance should be kept as it is. She feels the trucks should not be brought into the neighborhoods and said in her neighborhood the homes are close together. A fire could be devastating. Also there are numerous children in the area and the large trucks could present a real danger. Often when trucks come to refuel there is no one at home and only one person on the truck, She feels it is extremely dangerous. One of the board members made a comment that he felt it was much safer to have commercial delivery than some guy carrying a five gallon can of gas in a pick up truck.Another member said he would like to see the ordinance revisited. It should be straightened out so that boats could be refueled properly. All commercial delivery trucks should be licensed and insured Fuel should only be dispensed by people that know what they're doing and every safety measure should be present. • 2. • A question was asked if there have been any major incidents in areas serviced by commercial fuel carriers. No one knew of anything of significance. Chief Land said he appreciated hearing the concerns and opinions of the board on this issue and again stressed he would be glad to work with any group or committee to explore all the issues involved. He suggested a committee might be appointed to work with him. Mike Grady then invited the audience to address the board with their opinions and concerns. The first speaker was Vic Lomau. He said he felt the issue of fuel delivery needs to be separated into two issues. The first one is gasoline and the second is diesel fuel which does not present the fire hazard that gasoline does. When people have their boats refueled with gasoline from a commercial dealer they are generally at their own dock with the engine cooled so it is much less chance of a fire hazard than those that pull in to a public dock for refueling and have a hot engine. He said his boat happens to use diesel. When he refuels his boat himself he usually has some spillage but when a boat is refueled by a skilled professional from a reputable company,there is little or no spillage. He mentioned that having a boat ordinance that's in place right now does not address fuel delivery as it pertains to emergency generators. The board next heard from Randy Arline. He had two letters received from fuel • carriers he has used for his boat. Both letters stated their environmental protection plans,as well as their insurance carriers and safety records. After hearing from several others,the board heard from David Sass,the owner of Anchor Petroleum. He said there is no one more heavily regulated than the fuel industry. Trucks are certified annually by DOT. They have to have a spill contractor agreement. Proper insurance is mandatory. All the trucks must have spill protection on the truck. All the employees are thoroughly trained to handle a spill. The drivers are not allowed to drive on sidewalks,driveways or in Swale areas. With reference to one area serviced by his company they go annually to the municipality and have the trucks inspected by the Fire Department. The Fire Department looks at the general condition of the truck. They look underneath the truck tomake sure there is no fuel dripping. They pull out all the hoses and check the nozzles to make sure there is no dripping and they check the fire extinguishers. Mr. Sass answered a number of questions. He explained exactly how his company handles a refueling in a back yard The board questioned him about how a spill is handled He said any time there is any kind of a spill the drivers are instructed to call the office immediately. The one person in charge of spills He then introduced Karen Marrow as being that person. Ms.Marrow explained the general operation of the company and then described what action takes place in case there is a spill. • 3. Mr. Sass and Ms. Morrow both offered their help with any information needed, A number of other guests spoke in favor of revisiting h gu p tmg the Dania Beach ordinance and looking into making the changes necessary to have residential refueling of boats. All stressed the importance of proper training,licensing,control and insurance. Following a lengthy discussion,a motion was made by Louis Webb to form a committee to work with Chief Land to revisit the residential fuel delivery ordinance and revise it to meet the present days issues and demands. Motion seconded by John Kafouros. Motion carried.Unanimous. Board members were asked to volunteer if they wished to be on the committee. The following members volunteered: Mike Grady,John Kafouros,Louis Webb,Carol Stokrocki,Bill Wosenitz and Billy Phipps. Mike Grady will act as Chairman and will contact Chief Land to set up a meeting. Mr. Sass offered any help that might be needed by the committee. Mr. Grady then moved on to the agenda item of the marina. There were several comments on the general conditions that exist. It was said the situation is actually growing worse and if something isn't done by the City soon there may be a major liability problem. The CityManager had left the board meeting to attend the budget • meeting and the board still has no liaison. No additional information on the marina was available. Chairman Taylor has said he was going to write a complete report to the City Commission. Ms.Witz furnished Chairman Taylor copies of all the board meetings for the past year but since Chairman Taylor is not present at this meeting there is no way the board has any information as to the status of the report. Several board members said they were going to contact the Commissioners. It was decided this item will be discussed further at the next meeting. Officer Jason Riddle was next called to report. He gave a brief but complete report on the derelict vessel situation and information on vessels that had been stolen. He also mentioned the recent boating accident that had taken place in Ft. Lauderdale. Mr. Grady complimented Officer Riddle on his good work. There being no additional business to bring before the board,the meeting was adjourned. Mike Grady, Acting Co-Chairman Respectfully submitted, Suzanne Witz 4. •