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11-08-11 Workshop Meeting MinutesWORKSHOP MEETING NOVEMBER 8, 2011 A Workshop Meeting of the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, was called to order by Mayor Nelson S. McDuffie in the First Floor Conference Room at City Hall at 6:00 p.m., on Tuesday, November 8, 2011. Roll call showed: Present - Commissioner Thomas F. Carney, Jr. Commissioner Jay Alperin Commissioner Adam Frankel Commissioner Angeleta E. Gray Mayor Nelson S. McDuffie Absent - None Also present were - David T. Harden, City Manager Brian Shutt, City Attorney Chevelle D. Nubin, City Clerk Mayor Nelson S. McDuffie called the workshop meeting to order and announced that it had been called for the purpose of considering the following Items. However, he stated that before starting with the agenda, Commissioner Gray has asked to have opening remarks. Mrs. Gray stated after reading the newspaper and speaking to some of her constituents, through her enthusiasm to inform the public, she may have misused the influence of the office of the City Commission and stated she would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the City Manager, City Attorney, this Commission, and citizens of Delray Beach. Mrs. Gray stated since the beginning of taking office, she has been committed to the citizens of Delray Beach and will continue to focus her energy on bringing programs and opportunities for the betterment of Delray's citizens. Mrs. Gray stated that she loves being a Delray Beach Commissioner and loves the city. WORKSHOP MEETING AGENDA 1. Update on Village Academy School Mrs. Lula Butler, Community Improvement Director, introduced Mr. Guam Sims, Principal of Village of Academy, and stated staff has asked him to present because the city has submitted a Letter of Intent to apply for the Campaign for School Readiness offered by the National Civic League; and Village Academy will be the pilot site. Mx. Sims discussed Delray Beach Facts regarding poverty, low birth weight, school /college readiness, etc. and pooling resources. Mr. Sims presented his comprehensive plan (The Village Promise Alliance Proposal}. He defined the Village Promise Alliance, its purpose and goal. He discussed the Educational, Family Social, Social Services, Health Services and Community Services Components of the Alliance. In addition, Mr. Sims discussed the existing advantages and next steps. Mrs. Gray thanked Principal Sims for everything he is doing and asked how he proposes to have the Delray Full Service Center removed. Mrs. Butler discussed this issue. Mrs. Gray asked if and how the Neighborhood Resource Center fits into this plan. Mr. Frankel stated Principal Sims has great enthusiasm and goals. He commended Mr. Sims on the presentation. Mr. Carney stated these are very ambitious goals and this is a great effort. He also stated Mr. Sims has great enthusiasm regarding getting this done. Dr. Alperin stated aiming high has gotten the city to where we are today. He asked about the Delray Full Service Center. Mrs. Gray asked how long Toussaint L'Ouverture's lease is. Principal Sims stated it is a one year lease. Dr. Alperin stated Mr. Sims is looking for conceptual endorsement from the city. Mayor McDuffie asked about the December 7, 2011 Meeting and stated the sum will be much greater than the parts regarding partners. He stated there are alot of great bullet points for them to review. Mrs. Butler provided comments regarding the Reading Readiness Program and All America City's 3`d Grade Reading Program. She stated Village Academy is what they are focusing on. In addition, Mrs. Butler provided an update on the Children's Services Council. Dr. Debra Kaiser, Education Board, reiterated statistics for 3=d grade students. Mr. David T. Harden, City Manager, stated we will look into what the County wants from the city. 2. Fire Assessment Study Mr. Mike Burton, Burton & Associates, provided an overview of Burton & Associates, discussed statutory exemptions and presented the preliminary results of the study to determine the cost of fire protection services in Delray Beach. He discussed how that cost can be assessed to property owners in the City. He also discussed two different methods for the assessment: a fixed amount or block rate structures. Mr. Burton discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the options. He suggested the city review its assessments periodically to insure it is recovering the proper portion of costs as we move forward. Dr. Alperin stated although he is not crazy about this whole concept, the fairest way to proceed with this is the tiered rate. Mr. Carney stated he concurs with Dr. Alperin. Mrs. Gray stated she agrees with having a tiered structure for both residential and non- residential. Mr. Frankel stated he disagrees with the tiered structure because everyone is entitled to the same fire service regardless of who they are. He stated it is fairer to charge everyone the same for the service. Mr. Frankel stated regarding residential, everyone should pay the same amount; and the non - residential can be a tiered structure. 2 November 8, 2011 Mayor McDuffie stated he has been an opponent of this for a long time and this is a tax even though we call it a fee. He wants to make sure the city pays attention to the non -ad valorem assessment to keep it at a rate so that this fee does not result in double taxation. He stated there is inequity in charging for fire service based upon the ad valorem values due to exemptions, etc. He feels the tiered rate structure is the more equitable way for citizens to pay for fire service. Mr. Carney discussed the dwelling units and square footage as well as impact to residents. He stated he went with the tiered rate structure because it seems to be a fairer approach. Mr. Harden discussed the rates based on the same square footage. Mr. Burton mentioned the dates of the public hearings. The City Manager stated we will proceed with the tiered rate approach. 3. National Auto Parts Association (NAPA) Warehouse Proposal Mr. Harden introduced this item stating he had seen the presentation at the Transforming Local Government Conference earlier this year and it was very interesting. The proposal is ready for Commission consideration. Mr. Richard Hasko, Environmental Services Director, stated staff is excited about this concept and stated NAPA's proposal is based on specific Delray Beach information that staff provided to them regarding inventory rates, different parts, typical expenditures, etc. This shows some fairly significant potential annual cost savings not only in dollar amount but increased efficiency regarding staff time. He introduced Mr. Doug Bryant from NAPA and Mr. Kevin Rummell from the ESD Fleet Division who was present for any questions Commission may have. Mr. Doug Bryant, IBS Area Manager /Miami District /Genuine Parts Company /NAPA Auto Parts, reviewed the Integrated Business Solutions (IBS) via PowerPoint. He stated it is a vendor managed inventory system structure. He discussed how the system works and technician training. They partner with municipalities, open a parts store in the city's location and operate it on behalf of the municipality. Mr. Bryant provided information regarding their distribution centers, nationwide operations, parts and other services /products they provide. Mr. Frankel stated he has no objections to this. Mrs. Gray stated she is fine with this. Mr. Carney stated this sounds favorable and asked if there have been any issues regarding contracts with municipalities. He stated he is generally in support of this. Mr. Brad Crawford, NAPA Auto Parts /Southern Division of IBS /Atlanta, Georgia stated the financial analysis they perform is the first step to see if this system works for a particular municipality. Dr. Alperin stated conceptually he really likes the idea. He asked if NAPA will utilize our storage facility, if this is an exclusive contract or can the city order from other vendors. In addition, he asked are we in jeopardy if we do not go out to bid and settle into an agreement with NAPA. The City Manager explained the process regarding the national organization who will actually bid this out for us. November 8, 2011 Mr. Harden stated he would like for NAPA to manage our Utility Billing and small engine inventory for Parks and Recreation. Mayor McDuffie discussed reducing the cost of service delivery to the community. He stated this relationship would work well for the city. Mr. Harden stated staff will develop a contract and bring it back to Commission. 4. Review of Design Concepts for the City Website Mr. Douglas Smith, Assistant City Manager, stated updating the website was previously discussed at a workshop and staff will provide an update of where the city is in the process; with a draft sample page for the Commission to review. Tracy Miller, Alliance for Innovation Regional and Technology Director, has been assisting us in the design process for the home page and with the focus groups. She will provide background of what came out of that as far as the vision and goals for what we want the website to be. Ms. Miller, Information Technology (IT) Division, and staff have looked at other websites for the development of our homepage. Paul Fleetwood, IT, navigated though the sample webpage and Tracy Miller. guided the presentation and provided comments of what has been developed at this point. Ms. Miller explained how we arrived at the guiding principles. She stated readability and search capability are what people are looking for. Mr. Frankel stated it is important to have the print of the website in a format that the elderly can read. He stated drop down boxes are one of his concerns. He referenced the City of Plantation's website and stated he likes that layout. He stated this sample webpage that has been designed for our city is much better than what we currently have. Mr. Carney stated he does not like the city's website and finds it cumbersome regarding navigation. However, he does like the online monthly calendar. Mayor McDuffie stated this sample webpage is much better and he likes having the tabs across the top of the page. Mrs. Gray asked about contact numbers or information for the various departments and staff. Mr. Smith thanked everyone who has been working on this. 5. Art in Public Places Presentation (ADDENDUM This item was removed from the agenda. 6. ICMA Police Operations and Data Analysis Chief Strianese provided Commission a comprehensive review of the operations of the Police Department. He discussed the International City /County Management Association (ICMA) Final Report of Police Operations and Data Analysis and how the Police Department is moving forward. He reviewed the areas of concentration the department is focusing on and the action plan for those areas; highlighting five key strategies that have been targeted for evaluation: Strategic Plan, Calls for Service, Community Response /Investigative Division Reorganization, Review of current Police /Youth Initiative Programs and Communications. 4 November 8, 2011 In addition, he also discussed the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) findings, a staff overview, city comparison of adjacent municipalities, and the city's service population. Chief Strianese invited Commission to meet with the Police Department and participate in ride -a- longs. Dr. Alperin stated he is very impressed. Mr. Carney stated he looks forward to participating in some of the meetings and ride -a- longs. Mrs. Gray thanked Chief Strianese and the staff for all they do and stated she will participate in a ride -a -long. Mr. Frankel encouraged everyone to visit the Police Department Training Facility and discussed the meetings he has had with the department and their upcoming meetings. He stated the Police Department always responds when there is an issue in our city. Mayor McDuffie stated that he has been participating in ride -a -longs for five years now. He has seen the fruits of Community Policing. Mayor McDuffie state the Police Department does an incredible job and he is impressed with what they do. The City Manager stated a couple of the recommendations from the study have been implemented and have resulted in savings that have exceeded the cost of the study itself 7. Discuss State Legislative Priorities for 2012 Mr. Smith stated staff wanted to bring this before Commission to receive any input they may have on key state legislative issues coming up for the 2012 session. The legislative session starts on January 10, 2012 due to redistricting and staff has to get this ready before we normally would. We normally review information from the Florida League of Cities and they have not set their official legislative priorities yet. Staff will continue to review FLC after the legislative conference. Mr. Rich Reade, Sustainability /Public Information Officer, reviewed the proposed legislative priorities with Commission. He stated we have spoken to the Palm Beach County League of Cities and a number of committees to receive input. Mr. Harden stated we received letters from the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) regarding the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority. We may want to add to this to our policy- proposed efforts to change the government structure for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority in effect transfer the majority to state control as opposed to local control. Dr. Alperin stated we are losing more and more control of our own responsibilities and have to deal with the consequences because of that and it is not fair. It would be helpful, if each one of these items came about as legislation, to find out how our legislators voted regarding these specific items. Mayor McDuffie commented that sometimes as an elected official legislators look for endorsements from him during election time. As a result, it is important to know how they voted before they are endorsed. Mr. Carney asked how some of these bills passed. November 8, 2011 Mr. Frankel suggested that we send a letter to our legislators regarding how they voted on certain situations. In addition, he mentioned the red light cameras and stated in most cases you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent. Mayor McDuffie stated he is concerned about red light cameras as well. Commission thanked staff for the presentation and stated they would like to sign the letter to the legislators. 8. Proposed Change to Commission Terms Mr. Brian Shutt, City Attorney, presented the item and discussed the previous ordinance proposed last year regarding changing Commission terms. He stated he has created Ordinance No. 44-11 and staff is looking for direction as to how Commission would like to proceed. If the ordinance is adopted, it will be effective for March 2013. Mr. Shutt explained how it would affect elections thereafter. Mr. Frankel referenced the chart regarding municipalities' election fees, council /commission terms, term lengths /limits and salaries /expenses. He stated it is important to make this change in order to save dollars regarding elections. He suggested changing the length of term from two (2) years to three (3) years and leave the term limits the same. Mrs. Gray stated regarding a 3 year term length, it may allow us to have better representation on boards such as the Palm Beach County League of Cities or National League of Cities, etc. Mr. Harden discussed this further. Mr. Carney stated he had not thought of this point previously but feels this is very relevant and now he leans toward Mr. Frankel's suggestion. Dr. Alperin stated he was here when they passed term limits and he was against it at that time and still is against term limits. He thinks a three (3) year term length is a much better idea and feels this is reasonable. He mentioned the petition process and the number of signatures required for qualification. He suggested that Commission set a number such as 250 regarding the signatures required. Mr. Carney stated a number could be set as opposed to the 1 % requirement. Mayor McDuffie discussed the salary of the position. Mr. Frankel stated 24 out of 38 cities have zero signature requirements. He stated he supports 250 as the required number of signatures. Mayor McDuffie stated he supports 250 as well. Mr. Carney stated he would like to have the three year term length and reduce the number of signatures to 250. Discussion ensued between staff and Commission regarding the term length and limits. The City Attorney reiterated it will be voted on March 13, 2012 to take effect in 2013. Mayor McDuffie adjourned the Workshop Meeting at 9:05 p.m. City Clerk 6 November 8, 2011 The undersigned is the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, and the information provided herein is the Minutes of the Workshop Meeting of the City Commission held on Tuesday, November 8, 2011, which Minutes were formally approved and adopted by the City Commission on December 132011. Cite Clerk NOTE TO READER: If the Minutes you have received are not completed as indicated above, this means they are not the official Minutes of the City Commission. They will become the official Minutes only after review and approval, which may involve amendments, additions or deletions to the Minutes as set forth above. November 8, 2011