| 09/24/09 |
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CITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES September 24, 2009 Mayor James Gabriel called meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Invocation by Pastor Freddie L. Hickmon, Miracle Temple Church Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Commissioner Larry Travis - Present Commissioner Diane Shupe - Present Commissioner William Coughlin-Present Vice Mayor Byran Williams- Present Mayor James Gabriel-Present Staff Present: James D. Drumm, City Manager Thomas G. DePeter, City Attorney Jenny L. Parham, Deputy City Clerk Christian Popoli, City Planner James Troiano, Police Chief Verne Riggall, Fire Chief CITIZEN REQUESTS AND COMMENTS Russell Roberts, 115 NW 4th Street, in regards to the gentleman who complained of the noise from the past concert at the Lion’s Club, wanted to clarify that the previous concert event was not the Lions’ Club event. Spoke in favor of the Lion’s Club event this weekend stating he hoped there would be an amicable agreement to work this out. NEW BUSINESS CONSIDER ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION (PBA) REGARDING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNIT WITHIN THE HIGH SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT. Mr. Drumm described the negotiation process and presented the proposed agreement for a three year contract with PBA. States current agreement expires September 30th and hopes to have an agreed upon contract prior to its expiration. Briefly outlined the agreement. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE TWO Commissioner Coughlin arrived at 6:42 pm. Mayor Gabriel assured the citizens that the Commission is behind the police department and would like to do more for our officers but we now have to do more with less. Commissioner Coughlin states this is a reasonable contract, feels the City tried to do what they could do. Chief Troiano stated staff had worked hard on this contract, feels this is a good contract that was negotiated in good faith. Attorney DePeter pointed out this contract still has to be voted on by the members, if rejected will have to continue negotiations or reach an impasse. Chief Troiano stated they were scheduled to vote on the agreement Monday night. Motion Commissioner Travis to accept the labor contract with the PBA for the period of October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2012. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. CONSIDER FIRE SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH ALACHUA COUNTY. Mr. Drumm stated he had hoped to have a draft agreement with the county for fire services but does not. States staff has been negotiating with the County but we are waiting as the County as not reached an agreement with the city of Alachua and they are not willing to move forward. States we have tried to contact the County but they are not returning phone calls. Mr. Drumm proposed a thirty day extension of the current contract or a proposed agreement for a contract at the current amount of $133,000 with $335 for each call to the city of Alachua. States this would not leave citizens outside the city limits without fire services. Commissioner Travis states he has no problem with either of these proposals but feels the $335 for calls in Alachua should be per vehicle responding. Mayor Gabriel questioned if thirty days would be sufficient time. Mr. Drumm stated this was a simple contract, can be extended to sixty days if the Commission wanted to. States if the county wants to take over fire services themselves, they only need to let us know. States we don’t have to have the county’s money to operate a fire department. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE THREE Commissioner Coughlin stated he does not feel we can operate without the county’s funding, feels we need to proceed with both issues. Chief Riggall feels the issue comes down to a loss of memory on the County’s part. Pointed out the city of Gainesville receives approximately $800 per call per unit to respond in the county. Considerable discussion on fire services, costs and number of calls. Attorney DePeter states he does not feel the county has presented a proposed contract since the beginning of negotiations and they have had our numbers for two years. States when you provide a service you tell them what services you are providing and the price. Attorney DePeter stated the county made a low offer to us, we are saying this is not good enough, suggested to make an offer for next year on what we will do. Mr. Drumm pointed out we may not have jurisdiction to enter the county to respond to calls after the contract has expired, which happened to the city of Hawthorne. Vice Mayor Williams feels there will be a point where we have to say we can’t keep doing what the county tells us to, we can’t continue doing this as they are not paying for the services. Ross Ambrose, 320 SE 6th Avenue, as a citizen, looking at dollars, our budget has been cut for two years and we are now being asked to cut more by the county. States 43% of our calls are out in the county, in looking at data, the county did not cut their budget by 1% and raised taxes for the services we provide but they are asking us to take less money. Stated he had spoken to Paula Delaney and we are referred to as a contractor. Pointed out county firefighters are not happy, they are aware of federal dollars and want to apply for grant, county refused to let them apply. Mr. Ambrose stated that as there is a hiring freeze, there is $260,000 in a fund for hiring, but they aren’t going to spend it as they are not going to hire anyone. States he feels our commission is being over fair and would like as a citizen for the commission to fight, enough is enough, and feels the city should send a really strong message. Dean Davis, 22827 NW CR 236, feels the commission should tell the county we are not coming. Drew Travis, 15337 NW 214th Terrace, states she finds it difficult to believe we are paid less for calls in the county and Alachua and asked why we are not paid per unit per call. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE FOUR Mr. Drumm stated there was not a contract, their best negotiating tool is to wait until the last minute. Mrs. Travis stated she feels the city should tell the county we will not respond to the county. Vice Mayor Williams pointed out the county stated they paid the city of Gainesville more as their personnel is paid a higher salary. Chief Riggall stated we have the same training and the trucks are the same. Mayor Gabriel asked what would happen if we no longer received funding from the county? Mr. Drumm stated it would mean the layoff of two possibly three firefighters. Commissioner Shupe questioned if we willing to do that. Chief Riggall talked about scenarios with fewer firefighters. Attorney DePeter recommended to sign this agreement and present to county for signature. States as we realize they can’t get done in a few days, have them sign the 30 day extension, then start negotiations for next year. Dean Davis stated he felt we still are going to loose money with this agreement, sounds like we are subsidizing the county. Commissioner Shupe stated she had concerns with extension, feels there will be nothing signed by October 1st, are we authorized to go on county fire calls? Attorney DePeter stated the county manager may be able to authorize the one month expenditure. Commissioner Shupe stated she did not think it was fair to ask High Springs residents to subsidize county calls, if we say we are not going to accept an agreement with them, we need to keep in mind we will have to make cuts. Russell Roberts stated Chief Riggall said we couldn’t maintain the current level of service, but we would be responding less to outside the city and would be here more, wouldn’t we have more service? Mr. Drumm explained that if we did not have a contract with the county we would have to layoff firefighters and would have less firefighters. Commissioner Travis pointed out there is also mutual aid agreements to help as backup. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE FIVE Motion Commissioner Travis to ask the city attorney/manager to present this extension and agreement to the county and letter stating we want to have negotiations for next year. Second Commissioner Coughlin. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. REPORT CITY ATTORNEY EVALUATION SCORES AND DISCUSS CITY ATTORNEY PERFORMANCE. Mr. Drumm presented the city attorney’s annual evaluation score of 4.15. Motion Commissioner Travis to accept the evaluation scores for the city attorney. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Gabriel expressed appreciation to Attorney DePeter for all his hard work. Attorney DePeter thanked the commission for their evaluations. CONSIDER AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE FOR THE REPAIR AND SERVICE OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND BEACONS FOR FY 09/10. Mr. Drumm presented an agreement for the repair and service of traffic signals and beacons with the City of Gainesville. Motion Commissioner Coughlin to approve the agreement with the City of Gainesville. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. CONSIDER RESOLUTION 2009-V, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HIGH SPRINGS, FLORIDA; FIXING THE SERIES DESIGNATION, DATE, INTEREST RATE, PAYMENT PROVISIONS, MATURITY AND REDEMPTION PROVISIONS OF THE CITY’S WATER AND SEWER REVENUE BONDS AUTHORIZED BY RESOLUTION 2007-J; AWARDING SALE OF THE BONDS TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; DESIGNATING THE BONDS AS QUALIFIED TAX- EXEMPT OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mr. Drumm reported as part of the Phase 2 & 3 funding, the City Commission will now consider the final bond resolution establishing the details of the bond. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE SIX Will Weathers, Gardyner Michael, presented a re-cap of the interest rates with a correction in interest rate to 4.125 Resolution 2009-V was read by title only by Attorney DePeter. Motion Commissioner Travis to adopt Resolution 2009-V. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Roll call vote: Mayor Gabriel – yes Vice Mayor Williams – yes Commissioner Coughlin – yes Commissioner Shupe – yes Commissioner Travis - yes Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. Mr. Weathers stated the new phase will have considerable expense and questioned if the Commission would they like for him to look for a bridge loan. Gave explanation of bridge loan, which gives short term money until we receive the long term money. Mr. Drumm stated we currently have a contract with Mr. Weathers for these services. Commissioner Coughlin suggested a rate study. Mr. Clark stated we have a study, when we applied with RD, one of the requirements is to look at the current rates charged to determine eligibility to pay loan. Mr. Clark to send spreadsheet to Commissioner Coughlin. Motion Commissioner Travis to authorize Mr. Weathers to look for funding for a bridge loan. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. Mr. Weathers stated he has been working on Phase 4 and requested partial payment of $5,000, which is reimbursed by RD. Motion Commissioner Coughlin to authorize partial payment of $5,000. Second Travis. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried 5 – 0. Attorney DePeter, presented an email from Rebecca Manning, RD, requesting updated documents as the old counsel legal fee schedule was rescinded. Attempted to complete document, will submit to RD. Read portion of RUS Bulletin regarding bond and local counsel fees. Requested memo of understanding be approved stating his fee shall be $90 MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE SEVEN per hour, as in contract, not at the rate as in the rural development bulletin. Attorney DePeter recommended authorization of legal services agreement and memo of understanding on what he will be paid. Motion Commissioner Travis to authorize legal services agreement. Second Vice Mayor Williams. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried unanimously. Motion Vice Mayor Williams to approve the memo of understanding. Second Commissioner Coughlin. Mayor Gabriel declared the motion carried unanimously. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT/UPDATE Reported he is going on vacation October 1st, tentatively made agreement with 1. Bill Whitley to cover the October 8th meeting, prepared letter appointing him as Acting Deputy City Attorney. Commissioner Coughlin, in regards to Attorney DePeter being on vacation, reiterated the Commission’s desire to contact the County regarding the fire contract. Attorney DePeter stated he will deliver the agreement approved by the Commission and will request something in writing from the county on their stance. Commissioner Shupe asked if we are signing the contract? Mr. Drumm stated the Commission had authorized the Mayor to sign. CITY MANAGER REPORT/UPDATE Art in City Hall October 2nd 6 – 8 pm 1. October 10th fall festival and car show, October 9th drive-in at Civic Center Park. 2. 3. This is the last meeting in fiscal year, will present final budget report and will present this years budget for amendment within 60 days. 4. Update on Catherine Taylor Park’s restroom Sewer update, active in, SE and NW 1st Avenue, shortly in Riverglen, coming 5. along quickly. 6. Update on SRWMD, has appointment set up for October 7th to get them to move forward with the waterwell site and see what grant funds are available. Will report back at the October 8th meeting. Attorney DePeter announced Alachua County had agreed to a joint meeting on October 26th. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE EIGHT Mr. Drumm announce that on October 22nd there would be a ground breaking ceremony on the pocket park and downtown parking area. Commissioner Shupe presented information on free continuing education offered by Purvis Gray for Helen McIver. Mr. Drumm informed the Commission we are requesting bids for the demolition of the old school. COMMENTS AND CONCERNS COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Travis none Commissioner Shupe reported odor in the water. Mr. Drumm explained possible reasons and is to check into and have lines flushed. Mike Clark explained typically in our system, a lot of rain in a short period of time can affect the quality of the well, if chlorine is increased it will take care of the smell but there could be a built up of carcinogenic over a period of time. States we never had to do anything but put chlorine in as the water has always been good. Commissioner Coughlin - none Vice Mayor Williams asked if it was possible to get together with Christian for Plan B for the restrooms. Mr. Drumm stated they were meeting on October 6th to discuss. MAYOR Mayor Gabriel stated the City had a conversation with the school board a couple of years ago regarding the districting boundary lines. Stated the city felt resident of High Springs should be able to go to High Springs school. Pointed out some residents have moved to other areas when they found out they would be going to school in Alachua. Mr. Popoli stated the school concurrency element is based on concurrency service areas which are designed to help predict the amount of students that will go to certain schools. Explained the numbers have recently been updated and the new zones will be determined and we should have it within a year. He pointed out that when we get our new school the zones will change anyway. MINUTES CITY COMMISSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 PAGE NINE Mayor Gabriel requested Mr. Popoli to get some assurance that this will be done, we don’t want people walking away from High Springs due to this. Mr. Drumm requested Mr. Popoli give an update on the school selection committee and their timetable. Mr. Popoli stated the date would be set next week. States their goals is to begin the engineer process in January. Stated they are tentatively ranking the projects based on a number of criteria and he had advised them of the City’s wishes to have the Wang property as the #1 choice. States it looks like next month we will have the a recommendation from the school board staff. With no further business to discuss, Mayor Gabriel adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by: Jenny L. Parham, CMC |