Loading...
04-23-80SpMtg APRIL 23, 1980 A Special Meeting of the.City Council of the City of Delray Beach, Florida, was held in the Council Chambers at 4:30 P.M., Wednesday, April 23, 1980, with Mayor Leon M. Weekes presiding, Acting City Manager Elizabeth Arnau, City Attorney Roger Saberson and Council Members Malcolm T. Bird, Charlotte G. Durante, James H. Scheifley and Willard V. Young present. Mayor Weekes called the meeting to order and announced that same had been called for the purpose of discussing and considering the possibility of purchase by the City of the park located in the Chatelaine Subdivision. 1o Mayor Weekes reported that over a period of years the City has been considering off and on the possibility of the purchase of this recreational facility. The most recent price that the City had dealt with was on the order of $165,000 approximately a year ago, and at that price Council decided not to proceed with the purchase. Mayor Weekes further advised that yesterday (April 22nd) Mrs. Alice Finst of the Chatelaine Homeowners Association spoke with the City Manager and indicated that the owner, Mr. Nowlin, was in fact about to sell the facility for $137,500 to someone else and that the citizens of Chatelaine, as well as Mr. Nowlin, would prefer to see the City have it. Mayor Weekes stated he spoke with Mr. Nowlin who informed him that he would need to know immediately whether or not the City is definitely interested; actually, Mr. Nowlin desires a firm commitment. Mrs. Durante stated she feels the location of this facility is excellent and would be an asset to the City and to the citizens of ' that area; however, before Council makes a decision she would like to have some backup information as to cost of operation and projected income with regard to it being self-supporting. Mr. Bird advised that the facility is of a size to service approximately the population of Chatelaine; the pool is not large enough to serve the needs of the western section of Delray Beach, and the two tennis courts are not going to serve many more people than the residents of Chatelaine. Except for Chatelaine and Tall Pines most of the other developments in the western sector have recre- ational facilities of their own. Mr. Bird stated there are considerable costs involved as with any City facility - a lifeguard/supervisor and maintenance would be needed. In addition, by his personal observation, there are certain things that would have to be done to the pool, numerous electrical facilities have been vandalized, the sprinklers and land- scaping need work and the building itself needs painting. If financial evidence showed that it could be self-sustaining, he would be favor of it, and it was his feeling that if this facility were ever going to be self-supporting it should have been during the time that others have run it. Mr. Bird further stated that the down payment would be in the neighborhood of approximately $40,000 and he doesn't know where the City would come up with that kind of money. Mr. Young advised that he has been very much in favor of small sectional parks; however, he has some reservations about the expense connected with this purchase. Upon question by Mr. Scheifley, Mrs. Finst replied that the reason Chatelaine and/or Tall Pines has not gotten together and pur- chased this facility themselves is that when a study was made about five years ago there were probably less than 100 families living there and the cost on a monthly basis would exceed what the income of the residents could afford. The contract was also offered with all the advantages to the seller and none to the purchaser. The City Attorney clarified Mrs. Finst's statements by explain- ing that at the time it was discussed there were only 140 homes com- pared to 201 at present;, also in conjunction with the financing, the individuals would have had to sign personally which was a deterrant, plus the homeowners association would not have the authority to assess maintenance costs on a mandatory basis like a condominium. The City Attorney further advised that this facility has never been run the way the City would run it, in a business-like manner with regular hours, with good maintenance, etc., and for that reason there has been a reluctance on the part of many people to join. Mr. Bird commented that the overhead involved, which he would estimate at $30,000 for a supervisor/lifeguard and maintenance operat- ting expense at 300 family memberships, which would be an absolute maximum that this facility could absorb, you are still talking about $100 plus and still have not amortized the capital cost of purchase. Mr. Bird stated he feels it is essential that this facility be opera- ted like the Country Club; that is, paid for as well as operated by those citizens because its scope is entirely too narrow to say that it applies City wide. Mr. Bird moved that Council ask the Administration, Finance Department, Parks & Recreation and the Financial Advisory Board to study the matter and come back with input as quickly as practicable, seconded by Mr. Young. ' Upon question by Mr. Young~as to whether Mr. Nowlin would give the City an extension of time, Mayor Weekes replied'that either he or the City Attorney could contact Mr. Nowlin following this meeting. Mr. Bird accepted the amendment to his motion of a time limit not to exceed two weekes, seconded by Mr. Young. Upon roll call, Council voted as follows: Mr. Bird - Yes; Mrs. Durante - Yes; Mr. Scheifley - Yes; Mr. Young - Yes; Mayor Weekes - Yes. Said motion passed with a 5-0 vote. Before roll call the following d~cussion was had: Mrs. Finst advised that in conHefsation with Dan Winters he had told her he had an agreement with Isles of Delray that instead of giving park land they would contribute $35,000' to the recreation program. She further advised that the pool has been used in the past for the Every Child Swim program, there are tennis courts there, and the Parks & Recreation Director indicated that they could put in a jogging path since the City already has the course equipment. Mayor Weekes reported that Mr. Nowlin is looking for 29 or 30 percent down and the balance in three years at 10% interest with right of prepayment at any time without penalty. Mayor Weekes stated he would conjecture that the City would prepay it out of funds de- rived from the sale of certain properties which the City no longer needs. He further stated he sees a tremendous potential in this facility - jogging course, a few handball courts, picnic tables and things of that sort; however, it would have to be self-funding at a reasonable figure. At this point the roll was called to the motion. - 2 - 4/23/80 Mayor Weekes declared the meeting adjourned at 5:03 P.M. City Clerk ATTEST: MAYOR The undersigned is the City Clerk of the City of Delray Beach and that the information provided herein is the minutes of the meeting of said City Council of April 23, 1980, which minutes were formally approved and adopted by the City Council on~ /~ /~ . City Clerk NOTE TO READER: If the minutes that you have received are not completed as indicated above, then this means that these are not the official minutes of City Council. They will become the official minutes only after they have been reviewed and approved which may involve some amendments, addi- tions, or deletions to the minutes as set forth above. - 3 - 4/23/80