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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWATER SUPPLY ISSUES MINUTES OF SPECIAL MEETING DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION WATER SUPPLY ISSUES THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009 — 7:00 P.M. 1. Call to Order/Roll Call Mayor Castro called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Mayor: Anne Castro Vice-Mayor: C.K. "Mac" McElyea Commissioners: Bob Anton Walter Duke Albert C. Jones City Manager: Robert Baldwin City Attorney: Thomas Ansbro Deputy City Clerk: Miriam Nasser Mayor Castro thanked the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the City of Hollywood and Broward County, for helping us to resolve our long and short term water issues. She also noted that the efforts made by City staff are greatly appreciated by the Commission. 2. Discussion City Manager Baldwin distributed a Memorandum to the Commission which is attached to and incorporated into these minutes. He advised that staff had originally planned to bring forward an agreement with the City of Hollywood for approval tonight, in order to address our immediate water supply issues to seek approval of our Regional Activity Center (RAC). City Manager Baldwin noted that we have been trying to explore our options to address our needs. He indicated that Commissioner Anton and staff met with the South Florida Water Management District and they agreed to remove their objections to the RAC, provided the City revises the RAC policy language to assure the District that we will not utilize water beyond the amount expected to be allocated through the current permitting process. City Manager Baldwin stated that if the Commission approves the language,we can proceed with our RAC approval. He read the recommendations listed in his Memorandum, as follows: 1) Coordinate with the Florida Department of Community Affairs on actions necessary to resolve outstanding 10-year Water Supply Plan compliance issues. 2) Immediately pursue with the SFWMD the resolution of issues relating to the City's Consumptive Use Permit(CUP). 3) Continue discussions with the City of Hollywood, Broward County and any other potential water suppliers to address our long-term water supply needs. 4) Engage an independent consultant, not to exceed the City Manager's current spending authority, to evaluate, clarify, and report on the City's past actions and existing water supply and sanitary sewer program. Bob Daniels, Director of Community Development, noted that staff has worked very hard with the SFWMD to get us to the point where we are. We now feel more confident that we will be able to have our RAC Land Use Plan Amendment not only approved, but also recommended for approval when we submit it to the Broward County Planning Council. He indicated that this will only get us to the RAC approval. However, we have serious issues to address regarding water supply and we will be back before the Commission to discuss these matters. Director Daniels introduced John Mulliken, SFWMD, and thanked them all for their support through this process. He advised that Broward County representatives could not be here tonight but reiterated their support for the City. John Mulliken, Program Implementation Manager, SFWMD, noted it is a good feeling to be back in Dania Beach since the Commission meeting on November 10. He indicated we have made a lot of progress in a week. Mr. Mulliken said that the meeting with Commissioner Anton and the District's executives was critical and added that he appreciated the time to talk through some of the issues. He stated that the revisions to the RAC policy language would allow the City to get to the Amendment approval stage. Mr. Mulliken further advised that the City will need to move quickly because of the short availability of water for the immediate future. He remarked that the District is willing to support City staff through the process. Mr. Mulliken introduced other representatives of the SFWMD: Rick Diaz, Director of the Water Supply Department, who will be in charge of the permit for the City and would eventually make a recommendation to their executive director; Christopher Pettit, Associate Attorney, who has worked with City staff in the preparation of the contract; and Carole Morris who is the best contact in the District to find anyone who is immediately needed. He thanked the City for the extra efforts made to get us to where we are now. Mayor Castro recognized Commissioner Anton and thanked all the members of the SFWMD for their support. She noted that we need to hold a Workshop on our water plan, in general, where we could include the City of Hollywood, the SFWMD, Broward County, some consultants and anyone else who can give us direction and information. Mayor Castro also recognized the extra effort made by the City of Hollywood during this process. She stated that we look forward to continue working with the City of Hollywood, Broward County and the SFWMD. Mayor Castro remarked that we are all committed to resolving this issue; we do not want to be in "non- compliance" and we want to work together. Commissioner Anton recognized Mr. Mulliken for his efforts to help us when he agreed to come to the last Commission meeting, and made us aware of the situation. Commissioner Anton noted that the meeting held yesterday at the SFWMD was well set up, and we had a very frank and open-minded discussion. He commended everyone present at the meeting, both on the District and the City sides. Commissioner Anton asked City Manager Baldwin to keep Mr. Mulliken and Minutes of Special Meeting 2 Dania Beach City Commission Water Supply Issues Tuesday,November 17,2009—7:00 p.m. Rick Diaz notified on how things are moving, and that we solicit their input in case we need them in the future. He agreed with the recommendations made by City Manager Baldwin including contracting with an independent consultant to evaluate our water supply problem. It was obvious to him, based on the conversation held with the SFWMD in West Palm Beach, that we have a serious problem and we need to start working on this issue immediately. Commissioner Anton recommended following the four steps mentioned in the City Manager's memo. Lastly, he requested to have some time set aside at all of our Commission meetings for staff to provide a brief update on this issue. Commissioner Anton motioned to move forward with the recommendations made by the City Manager and to set up a workshop on Water Issues in the near future. Commissioner Jones noted we need to bring back the Nanofiltration project at the proposed Commission workshop for further discussion. He was concerned that the Nanofiltration project, as presented, would give us quality of water but not capacity. Commissioner Anton agreed to include Commissioner Jones' request in his motion. He further noted he was not ready to scrap the Nanofiltration project, and thought this would be an item to be included in the workshop agenda. Commissioner Anton said he would like to hear the comments of the SFWMD, as well as any other experts. Commissioner Duke noted he is glad to see we gained some additional time, because we have a serious and potentially expensive problem to resolve. He indicated that he voted against the Nanofiltration project because he did not have enough time to comprehend the information that was presented, considering the costs involved. Commissioner Duke advised that he has discussed this issue with a lot of knowledgeable people and they advised that the goal with the Nanofiltration plant would not be to add capacity, but the ability to treat the raw water. He further asked who reviewed the language to Policy 1.8 on behalf of the City. City Attorney Ansbro responded that he, together with City Manager Baldwin, Director Daniels and the SFWMD's attorney negotiated the modifications to Policy 1.8. Commissioner Duke noted that we can definitely handle this issue and get through this together. He added that other cities in Broward County have similar issues. Commissioner Duke asked when we expect completion of the Nanofiltration project. Dominic Orlando, Director of Public Services, advised that it will take approximately two years. Commissioner Duke stated that we should engage an independent consultant, someone outside our regular venue although he knows Fred Bloetscher is extremely qualified in water issues. He recommended we take a look at 2-3 different consultants before we make a decision and asked for this item to be added to the motion made by Commissioner Anton. Commissioner Duke noted we should select the consultant and have their study completed to be presented at the upcoming Workshop. Minutes of Special Meeting 3 Dania Beach City Commission Water Supply Issues Tuesday,November 17,2009—7:00 p.m. Vice-Mayor McElyea thanked Mr. Mulliken and the SFWMD's staff for their support. He further recognized Commissioner Anton for his time and efforts through this process. Vice- Mayor McElyea noted that we have a good staff that will make sure we do what is necessary to address our water issues. Commissioner Duke noted he has had a number of conversations with City Commissioners in Hollywood, as well as City Manager Cameron Benson. He advised that they touched on some of the critical issues in the agreement. Commissioner Duke acknowledged the City of Hollywood for their participation and assistance in handling this issue. Commissioner Jones thanked Commissioner Anton for negotiating with the SFWMD. He also thanked Mr. Mulliken and Carole Morris for their support. He advised that he talked to the Mayor and other Commissioners in Hollywood, as well as their City Manager, who have all been very helpful in trying to work out something that is feasible. Commissioner Anton amended his motion to move forward with the recommendations made by the City Manager; keep the SFWMD apprised of status and progress; set up a workshop on Water Issues in the near future, to include the SFWMD, the City of Hollywood and Broward County; slow down on the Nanofiltration Plant project until we hold the workshop; provide a status update at each regular Commission meeting; and select 2-3 consultants to evaluate our water issues; seconded by Vice-Mayor McElyea. The motion carried unanimously. City Attorney Ansbro noted that we need a motion to authorize staff to approve the new Policy 1.8 from the adopted Amendment DCA #09-RWSP1 and incorporate the revised Policy 1.8 into the Regional Activity Center Amendment, DCA #09-2AR. The revised Policy 1.8 (in the Sanitary Sewer, Solid Waste, Drainage, Potable Water, Groundwater Aquifer Recharge Sub- Element of the Infrastructure Element) shall read: "Prior to issuance of any building permit of development, the City will consult with the appropriate water supplier to ensure that adequate water supplies to serve the new development will be available no later than the anticipated date of the Certificate of Occupancy. Any determination that adequate water supplies will be available will require the demonstration that a Consumptive Use Permit has been issued to the City with sufficient allocation available to serve the new development, given all other existing commitments for that allocation. The "sufficient allocation" in the Consumptive Use Permit (CUP) shall be defined consistent with the permit's limiting conditions as they exist at the time of building permit issuance. Permitted projects may be issued a Certificate of Occupancy only upon demonstration by the City that adequate water supply exists within the City's current legal allocation." Commissioner Anton motioned to approve the revised Policy 1.8 as presented; seconded by Commissioner Jones. Minutes of Special Meeting 4 Dania Beach City Commission Water Supply Issues Tuesday,November 17,2009—7:00 p.m. Commissioner Anton clarified that the City will not approve any new development if we cannot provide water. He pointed out that we need to solve the water situation before we look at any other redevelopment issues that we are currently facing. Commissioner Duke asked that in future, any additional information to be presented at a Commission meeting, be emailed to the Commissioners prior to the meeting. He noted it would be more effective for everyone to have as much time as possible to read the material. Commissioner Duke further questioned if the definition of "sufficient allocation" was satisfactory to everyone involved. City Attorney Ansbro responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Duke asked for an estimate as to when a Certificate of Occupancy would be impacted by this agreement. Director Daniels noted there is no specific time; however, we would look at all the projects we currently have and apply a conservative estimate of demand for those projects against what we normally have as an average daily flow, which is about 200,000 gallons. He added that our margin is about half of that number. The motion carried unanimously. City Attorney Ansbro advised that they have agreed with the Deputy City Attorney for the City of Hollywood to proceed with the agreement for the purchase of water. He explained that our Charter requires the City to adopt an ordinance after two (2) advertised public hearings before we are authorized to enter into any agreement involving the expenditure of$1M. City Attorney Ansbro noted there will be two special meetings on November 30 and December 10, at 6:00 p.m. respectively, for the two readings of the ordinance. He indicated that Hollywood staff will be presenting this item at their meeting on December 16, 2009. Commissioner Anton noted he will not be available on December 10. Commissioner Jones would like Joe Wasserman, City of Hollywood, to answer some questions. Joe Wasserman, City of Hollywood Department of Public Utilities, noted that his Director was called into another meeting and he is only attending tonight's meeting in an observatory capacity. He further stated he was not prepared to answer any questions. Commissioner Jones questioned the procedure used by the City of Hollywood's water plant to process the water. He asked if the water we get from Hollywood is raw water or if it has been treated. Director Orlando explained that we have two interconnects with Hollywood, which we can open manually if we have a problem with our distribution system. He clarified that we get finished water. Director Orlando further advised that we only buy water from Hollywood in case of an emergency and that we are using 100% City raw water from our well. We also have an Minutes of Special Meeting 5 Dania Beach City Commission Water Supply Issues Tuesday,November 17,2009—7:00 p.m. emergency interconnect with Broward County, in case the pressure in our system goes down. He pointed out that every time we buy water from somebody else it is a lot more expensive. Discussion followed between Commissioner Jones and Director Orlando regarding the different water sources for our City. Commissioner Jones asked if staff at the water plant is trained for softening and sludge. Director Orlando noted that we have six operators at the water plant and they are all licensed. Commissioner Jones stated that we need qualified people to treat the water that is coming in. Director Orlando indicated that we recently went out to bid for Miscellaneous Lime Softening Plant Rehabilitation. He noted that we received two bids and the lowest one was twice the City's budget for that project. Director Orlando advised that we will be able to address some of that work through the Nanofiltration project. Mayor Castro noted she would prefer to discuss any water issues at the proposed workshop. Commissioner Anton asked the representatives of the South Florida Water Management District if they would like to make any comments. Mr. Mulliken noted they will be prepared to contribute to the preparation of the workshop. He further advised that Rick Diaz would be the contact person to be notified on a regular basis during this process. 3. Adiournment Mayor Castro adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m. ATTEST: CITY OF DANIA BEACH LOUISE STILSON, CMC = ANNE CASTRO CITY CLERK 7 MAYOR-COMMISSIONER Approved: December 8, 2009 , AiEO �v°a Minutes of Special Meeting 6 Dania Beach City Commission Water Supply Issues Tuesday,November 17,2009—7:00 p.m.