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03-28-02 OrgMtg MARCH 28, 2002 DELRAY BEACH CITY COMMISSION ANNUAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING (1) (2) (3) (4) Call to Order/Roll Call. The annual organizational meeting of the City Commission of the City of Delray Beach, Florida was called to order by Mayor David Schmidt in the Commission Chambers at City Hall at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, 2002. Roll call showed: Commissioner Pat Archer Commissioner Alberta McCarthy Commissioner Jeff Perlman Commissioner Jon Levinson Mayor David Schmidt Also present were: City Manager David Harden Assistant City Attorney Brian Shutt City Clerk Barbara Garito The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was given. Mayor Schmidt noted an amendment to the agenda. Consider a leaseback of property to The Pious Society of the Missionaries of St Charles Borromeo, Inc., will be considered as Item (9 A). Ms. McCarthy moved to consider this request, seconded by Commissioner Levinson. Upon roll call, the Commission voted as Follows: Mrs. Archer - Yes; Mr. Levinson - Yes; Ms. McCarthy - Yes; Mr. Perlman - Yes; Mayor Schmidt - Yes. Said motion passed with a 5 to 0 vote. Oath of Office administered to Newly-Elected City Commission Members The City Clerk administered the Oath of Office to Commissioner Pat Archer (Seat #2), Commissioner Alberta McCarthy (Seat #4), and Mayor David Schmidt (Seat #5). Selection of Vice-Mayor (for the term March 30, 2002 through March 29. 2003). Commissioner McCarthy moved to appoint Commissioner Perlman as Vice-Mayor of the City of Delray Beach for the term March 30, 2002 through March 29, 2003, seconded by Commissioner Levinson. Upon roll call, the Commission voted as follows: Mr. Levinson - Yes; Ms. McCarthy - Yes; Mr. Perlman - Yes; Mayor Schmidt - Yes; Mrs. Archer - Yes. Said motion passed with a 5 to 0 vote. Selection of Deputy Vice-Mayor (for the term March 30, 2002 through March 29, 2003). Commissioner Levinson moved to appoint Commissioner Pat Archer as Deputy Vice-Mayor of the City of Delray Beach for the term March 30, 2002 through March 29, 2003, seconded by Commissioner Perlman. Upon roll call, the Commission voted as follows: Ms. McCarthy - Yes; Mr. Perlman - Yes; Mayor Schmidt - Yes; Mrs. Archer - Yes; Mr. Levinson - Yes. Said motion passed with a 5 to 0 vote. (6) Review and Acceptance of regularly scheduled City Commission Meeting dates for the period of April 2002 through March 2003. Mayor Schmidt presented the scheduled City Commission Meeting dates to the Commission and he suggested that the May Workshop and Regular Meeting be changed to May 21st and May 28m respectively. The President of Tanzania is expected to visit Delray Beach on May 14m and he would like to schedule a working-dinner meeting for that evening to discuss business opportunities in Tanzania. It was the consensus of the Commission to change the May meeting dates accordingly. (7) Establish a date for the 2003 Goal Setting Session. The Commission indicated they would like to do an abbreviated goal setting session again this year with Mr. Lyle Sumek, this would include an evening session with the Community. It was the consensus of the Commission that staff should contact Mr. Sumek for a possible late April or early May goal setting session and bring back dates for their consideration. (8) Review and Adoption of Rules of Procedure - Delray Beach City Commission (Local Rules). The Commission reviewed the Local Rules and made the suggestion that Article II. A. 6. be changed to a limit of three (3) minutes for comments in order to maintain consistent. However, Commission would like the City Attorney to review the Local Rules and bring back suggestions at the May workshop especially as they pertain to Quasi-judicial Hearings. Commission reviewed Mr. Smith's suggestion for changing the order on the Commission agenda. The consensus of the Commission was they are satisfied with the current order of the agenda. Mr. Levinson made a motion to change Article II A 6. to three (3) minutes and bring the 2 March 28, 2002 (9) (9A) (lo) Local Rules back for review at the May workshop, seconded by Mrs. Archer. Upon roll call, the Commission voted as follows: Mr. Perlman - Yes; Mayor Schmidt - Yes; Mrs. Archer - Yes; Mr. Levinson - Yes; Ms. McCarthy - Yes. Said motion passed with a 5 to 0 vote. Review of City Commission Liaison Appointments to various Advisory Boards and outside agencies. The Commission reviewed the list provided in the agenda packet. Commissioner Levinson will replace Commissioner McCarthy as the alternate member with the Palm Beach County League of Cities, Inc. All other appointments will remain the same as presented. Consider a leaseback of property to The Pious Society of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo, Inc. The Commission is to consider the leaseback of property to The Pious Society of the Missionaries of St Charles Boromeo, Inc. at $1.00 per month for ninety (90) days in order to allow them ample time to remove their personal property and relocate. This involves the City's purchase of properties on Barwick Road. Also, giving the City Manager authority to enter into a lease-agreement, subject to insurance, and ratification at a later date. This was agreed upon by the Commission by consensus. Commission Comments. Commissioner Levinson mentioned that at the League of Cities meeting yesterday, there was discussion regarding the value of one (1) vote. The City of Wellington held a run-off election for a seat on the Commission and the election was decided by only four (4) votes, reaffirming the significance of a vote. He congratulated the incumbent Commissioner Archer, Commissioner McCarthy, and Mayor Schmidt, and he looks forward to serving with the entire Commission for another year. Commissioner McCarthy thanked staff for their assistance in preparing a presentation she will be giving over the weekend on "How to get involved in government". Staff helped prepare a very good looking power point presentation for her. She will present it to the Sigma Gamma Roe Society and truly appreciates all that staff has done. Mayor Schmidt acknowledged that he was glad his wife Jennifer made it back from a trip to Italy in time to see him sworn in this evening. Commissioner Perlman read into the record his comments which reflect the accomplishments of this Commission over the past years and goals for the future. This document is attached as part of the minutes. 3 March 28, 2002 Commissioner Archer thanked everyone in the Community who voted for her, the support of the Commission and staff. She was very pleased to be reelected by a Community which said "Yes, we want this Commission to continue with the work they are doing". She is very proud of being reelected under those conditions. The two (2) major issues she campaigned on were identifying other neighborhoods in need of revitalization and would like to review the City's zoning codes especially as they relate to the Comprehensive Plan, particularly the barrier island. Commissioner Levinson added that in regards to the Hotmail Email letter from Candace Killian, he would like the City Attorney to review this document and determine if the City needs to involve the State Attorney in an investigation of the Commission. He does not like the allegations of wrongdoing in this document and the alleged accusations of criminal actions by the Commission. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. ATTEST: City Clerk MAYOR The undersigned is the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, and the information provided herein is the minutes of the Organizational Meeting of the City Commission held on March 28, 2002 which minutes were formally approved and adopted by the City Commission on City 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 official only after review and approval by the City Commission which may involve amendments, additions or deletions to the minutes as set forth above. 4 March 28, 2002 Commissioner Archer thanked everyone in the Community who voted for her, the support of the Commission and staff. She was very pleased to be reelected by a Community which said "Yes, we want this Commission to continue with the work they are doing". She is very proud of being reelected under those conditions. The two (2) major issues she campaigned on were identifying other neighborhoods in need of revitalization and would like to review the City's zoning codes especially as they relate to the Comprehensive Plan, particularly the barrier island. Commissioner Levinson added that in regards to the Hotmail Email letter from C_andace Killian, he would like the City Attomey to review this document and determine if the City needs to involve the State Attorney in an investigation of the Commission. He does not like the allegations of wrongdoing in this documem and the alleged accusations of criminal actions bythe Commission. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Gty Clerk ATIEST: MAYOR The undersigned is the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, and the information provided herein is the minutes of the Organizational Meeting of the City Commission held on March 28, 2002 which minutes were formally approved and adopted by the City Commission on City 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 official only after review and approval by the City Commission which may involve amendments, additions or deletions to the minutes as set forth above. 4 March 28, 2002 The annual reorganization meeting is a good time to reflect on where we've been and where we're going as a commission. This past year was a very busy one for all of us and our staffand there are a number of things that I am particularly proud of. We have kept our promises to be more focused on neighborhoods. The Strategic Task Team initiative has made great strides in Delray Shores, Sudan and Chatelaine. We are starting to see great improvements in the Seacrest area and Pineapple Grove and we're continuing to see property values appreciate throughout Delray despite what has been a difficult national economy. This hard work, only leads to more tasks. Personally, I'd like to see us develop plans for every neighborhood in Delray. That's a tall order and it will take many years, but I think future commission's will point to this group, under the leadership of Mayor Schmidt as having started the movement. As co-chair of the Downtown Master Plan, I continue to be very proud of the process that we used to involve our residents in determining the future of their downtown. We met last week with the Ford Foundation and this afternoon with the MacArthur Foundation to discuss where we go from here and how we might attract significant grant monies to fund some of the initiatives that residents want to see happen in our downtown area. While we have rightly focused on our neighborhoods I am equally pleased that we continue to pay attention to our downtown, which now stretches f~om 1-95 to the ocean. I've said it many times, the downtown will never be "done", and in fact, I would argue that a healthy downtown is essential for a healthy city and healthy neighborhoods. Some people contend that we must make a choice between our neighborhoods and our downtown. I think we can and we must concentrate on both. I remain very proud of our active involvement in education. City staff worked very hard this year on the Atlantic High School initiative and I believe that that decision, albeit controversial today, will be proven in time to be a visionary decision that will give our kids the quality high school they deserve, athletic fields that we need and a middle school that will begin to bring our children home. While Atlantic High stole the headlines, Janet Meeks and our Education Board continues to work wonders with programs that are involving our business community in our schools while strengthening relationships and programs that will benefit all of our kids, Now, some will argue that the city has no business being involved in education. But this commission recognizes that you cannot have a healthy city without good schools and as such we as a commission have a vested interest in all of our schools being the best they I would challenge anyone who questions the importance of education in building a better city to visit the Village Academy. I visit often. And I'll tell you, that school is doing more to break the cycle of poverty in Southwest Delray than you can ever imagine. I can go on and on about all the good things that are underway here in Delray. And frankly maybe I should. Because this year also saw the emergence of a brand of politics that disturbs me. See, while we're out in the community working hard, we don't take the time to market and celebrate all the good works that are happening. Meanwhile, certain elements in this town work full-time to define us negatively and to create fear in our city. This recent election was a case study in what I am talking about. Innuendo, intimidation, disinformation and flat-out lies were used to discredit not only Mrs. Archer, but this entire commission and our staff. I am so gratified that an overwhelming percentage of voters rejected that negative philosophy. But I think we need to take what happened this year very seriously. So I am asking that we take a comprehensive look at our communication strategies so that our residents can be informed on issues that concern them. We need to tout what we're doing and where we're going. I travel this county and at conferences I talk to people from across this state and this country. Delray Beach is known nationally as a cutting edge city. A progressive city, a model for redevelopment. But my biggest frustration as a commissioner, is that I hear from the same few voices on every issue. We need to reach out and begin to engage and encourage new voices to come to the table. Lula and I have talked about forming an Neighborhood Advisory Board which would meet informally with the commission as a two-way communication and idea exchange. I think we need to make this a high priority. In closing, I want to congratulate the incumbents on their re-elections. I think we make a good team and I'm glad we're staying intact for another year. I also publicly want to thank Pat Archer for enduring the slings and arrows over the past few months. Those arrows were aimed at all of us. One thing that really chafed me was this allegation that this commission is controlled and part of some "downtown clique." The word clique implies a closed society. Well, this clique has done more to involve our residents that any commission in the 15 years I have followed politics in this town. This clique has done more to encourage diversity and sensitivity on the CRA than any commission since the founding of the CRA in 1985. We've been accused of being the opposite, but we're visible and accessible all over this town. I'll show you my meeting planner, it is full every day and every night and when I show up at gatherings I more often than not, run into two, three or four of my team mates. So call us a clique. I'm proud to be part of the clique. I call it leadership. The people who were sworn in tonight are up here for a reason. They have spent years working to improve this city before they even dreamt of trying for elected office. And yes They do have the support of the so-called clique, who are those that came before us and have invested years and countless hours of their lives making Delray the best city I know. To those ..who rail against the powers that be, I say join us, you're input is welcome. The residents who have been here understand the his.tory and how far we have come from the negative politics of the past. They don't want tq~ack. And yes, we do band together, because we love this town and we feel protective over the progress that's been made and we understand that there are many problems left to solve. When we went to Carmel recently, we spent a week talking about the enormous oppommities that we have here in Delray and some of the challenges we face. Chuck Ridley, who has done wondrous things for this city and is continuing to perform miracles, leaned forward to me at one point and whispered something that I'll never forget. He said: "Other cities dream, Delray makes it happen." So as we begin a new year, I say let's keep that momentum. Let's keep making it happen.