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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 0617931 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS JUNE 171 1993 The Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was called to order by Mayor Russo at 7:32 PM, in the Assembly Room of the Municipal Complex, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL The City Clerk called the roll and present were Mayor Russo, Vice Mayor Monroe, Councilmen Jablin and Clark and Councilwoman Furtado. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Russo stated the announcements were as posted on the City's Bulletin Boards. There are no presentations. Mayor Russo welcomed Sam Carsillo back. ITEMS BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL Golf Course Litigation. Councilman Clark presented to the City Council for their review and approval the proposed settlement of the litigation involving the City's golf course. By way of background, Councilman Clark commented on the past history of the golf course. The lawsuit arose from the development and construction of the golf course in 1990 and 1991. The course was proposed by a small company called Public Golf Corporation which received a turn -key contract from the City to design and construct the golf course. The subcontractor architect was Roy Case and the construction CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 2 was subcontracted to a Fort Pierce construction company called Gettler & Sons, Inc. Design and construction of the golf course commenced in June, 1990. There was no apparent problem until March or April of 1991 when the course was near completion and it received heavy rains. The front nine holes, especially, were flooded to a depth of 2' or more in places. Through a review by the City Engineer, it was revealed that while the golf course was properly located and properly sculpted, it was between 2' and 3' lower than called for in the design. The City withheld payment of the balance of the Public Golf's contract price (somewhere between $750,000 and $900,000) and used that money to fill and raise the course to near - design levels. Public Golf disagreed and filed a civil action. The City counter - claimed against Public Golf and Gettler, Case and Gettler's bonding company were also brought into the action. Gettler then sued the individual then - members of the City Council. Since the lawsuit was filed, the City has spent well over $100,000 in legal fees. If action not settled now, it will cost at least an equal amount to bring the case to trial. Since Public Golf Corp has few, if any assets, the City may not be able to recover damages if it prevails in the lawsuit. A mediation session was attended last Thursday, and all parties and their lawyers met until a settlement CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 3 ITEMS BY THE was proposed. All parties accepted the proposed settlement subject to City Council approval, except Roy Case. Settlement is before the Council Members tonight. Under this settlement, the City will pay $78,000 to the attorneys for Public Golf Corporation which money will be paid to certain creditors of Public Golf. In addition, the City will pay $30,000 to Gettler. The parties to the settlement will execute a full release of all claims in connection with the litigation. The Roy Case claim will not be terminated. He has asserted a claim against the City for $8,000 in legal fees. The City will attempt to resolve this minor claim separately. After discussion by the City Council, a motion was made by Councilwoman Monroe to approval Resolution #73, 1993 which was read by title only by the City Clerk. Seconded by Councilwoman Furtado. Passed unanimously. Vice Mayor Monroe then moved that $108,000 to provide for the settlement per Resolution #73, 1993 be taken from the Council's contingency Fund. Seconded by Councilwoman Furtado and passed unanimously. Mayor Russo thanked everyone for their efforts in having this matter settled. Acting City Manager Herakovich announced the annual Police Auction to be held Saturday, June 26th, at 10:00 AM at the Public Works facility. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 4 Acting City Manager also announced the health insurance package had been bid through the efforts of the City's Agent of Record, Kurt Gehring of PDI Resources and there had been six providers responding resulting in an unprecedented 18% lower -than- previous -years cost. It will be provided by Anthem at a cost of $777,132.20 per year. The City Manager recommended acceptance of that low bid and also advised that she would like to come back to the Council with a proposal that would split that savings costs partially in benefits lost by the employees and the other half to be saved to help with budget woes in the next year. VICE MAYOR LINDA MONROE Vice Mayor Monroe welcomed County Commissioner Warren Newell (District 3) who was in attendance. Then, Vice Mayor Monroe asked Mr. Gehring about possible additional savings, such as a bonus to an employee who scrutinizes his bill and finds an error, as lowering claims expenses will help to lower costs. Mr. Gehring discussed this and the fact that employee premiums are now pre -tax for that employee. There are other areas that could become pre- tax for employees and that is another program that is available and can be put together in the next couple of months. Vice Mayor Monroe asked about payment of premiums for dependents, now a flat $80 /month per employee for dependents, and it doesn't' matter whether CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 5 there were ten people in the family or one person. Mr. Gehring said the split could be different and it would benefit the employee with one spouse or child and but hurt the larger family with a higher monthly rate. Motion by Councilwoman Monroe to approval the proposal as submitted by Anthem. Seconded by Councilman Clark. Passed unanimously. COUNTY COMMISSIONER A Mayor Russo introduced Commission Newell and thanked him for his support in the City's wishes. Mr. Newell discussed the fire drill he had just attended as an active participant. Commissioner Newell stated he wanted to sit in and listen to a City Council Meeting and get a feel for the City's ideas and needs, and hoped the City would also come to him in order to foster a cooperative effort between himself and the City. He also suggested perhaps the City could work out a deal with the County for joint use of the City's golf course. REPORTS OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL Mayor Russo explained that he talked with Commissioner Marcus yesterday and perhaps there was something the County could do to get the County residents to play the City's golf course. Mayor Russo also reported on the Task Force for the CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 6 University should be on the Donald Ross site but a lot more than the university was discussed to be located there. So, the City will be monitoring plans through the planning forum. Vice Mayor Linda Monroe Mayor Russo asked Vice Mayor Monroe how the members are being selected for the 2 -1/2 days meeting. Vice Mayor Monroe reported, as she has been at each meeting, that they were working on the fund raising and they have now met that goal. Names of participants have been received and the Steering Committee will select from among those names. There are three types of members: Public Officials, Private Sector members and Civic /Non - Profit members. There will be 100 participants total and will represent a cross - section of the North County residents. The City Council is invited to attend under the "Public Officials" category and will receive invitations. Mayor Russo The Mayor asked if there was anyone in the audience from "It's a Jungle ". The owner was present. Mayor Russo mentioned the owner's ad in the newspaper which was very negative toward the City of Palm Beach Gardens and said he didn't know that the City Council was voting to put the owner out of business. Mayor Russo suggested perhaps the planning staff could meet with the owner to discuss their problems. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 7 councilwoman Lauren Furtado Mayor Russo also brought up the topic of the water situation at Ballenlsles. He stated he was concerned because there had been a meeting there Monday night and Councilman Jablin, Councilwomen Furtado and Monroe attended. Councilwoman Furtado thought that Rim Bishop had handled the questions very well and had been forthright. Mayor Russo said that, although he didn't attend the meeting, he got a package at his home and said all the other residents there also received one and the report scares residents. Councilman Jablin also received the report and expressed his concern. Mr. Jablin stated he told Mr. George Cox, a member of the Landfill Committee, that if he was going to be on a committee that the City Council sets up, Mr. Jablin preferred Mr. Cox report back to the City Council before he calls a press conference or hands out unapproved reports that may contain only half truths or unconfirmed rumors. Mayor Russo was advised that Mr. Cox agreed to go through the City Council from now on. Mr. Jablin agreed to be liaison to this task committee. Councilwoman Furtado thanked Linda Kosier for getting the resumes together on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Councilwoman Furtado commented on the May monthly report as provided by City Manager Herakovich, stating it was informative. Councilwoman Furtado suggested the City CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 8 start looking at Donald Ross Road's design with the thought that there could be something substantial going on there in the future. Councilman David Clark Vice Mayor Linda Monroe Councilman David Clark reported that they had the first meeting of the Charter Review Committee Monday and felt the Committee achieved a good starting direction for the review and will be working together very well. Vice Mayor Monroe reported that she attended the first meeting of the Sign Committee and they, too, are off to a good start. COMMENTS FROM —THE PUBLIC Sam Carsillo Resident Sam Carsillo addressed the City Council on several subjects, including a canine dog, sending officers to Crime School in Washington, D.C., housing for the enlarged police and fire departments, and train whistles. Mr. Carsillo was advised that his concerns could also be brought to the attention of the City Manager or be addressed at the Town Meeting on June 28, 1993, at Palm Beach Gardens High School at 7:30 PM. When Mr. Carsillo brought up the problem on Burns Road, Mayor Russo reported that it had been taken care of in a meeting that Mr. Carsillo had missed. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 9 -CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Russo said they had a note to pull Resolution 70, 1993, conditional use for the Discovery Zone, as Seth Gadinsky is out of town. Mayor Russo advised Rich Walton that the Resolution was not specific enough and asked that Mr. Walter review it and modify the Resolution as necessary in accordance with the letter received from Discovery Zone. Vice Mayor Monroe requested that item 4, Resolution 67, 1993 be pulled. Vice Mayor Monroe made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda with the exception of items 4 and 7 which were removed. Seconded by Councilman Jablin. Passed unanimously. The City Attorney then mentioned that there were some blanks in item 6, Resolution 69, 1993. Vice Mayor Monroe then made a motion to reconsider the Consent Agenda. Seconded by Jablin and passed unanimously. Vice Mayor Monroe made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda with items 4 and 7 pulled and item 6, Resolution 69, 1993, to be approved with the numbers $38,969 and $56,136 in the two blanks of said resolution. Second by Jablin and approved unanimously. The following items were approved: 1. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of 5- 20 -93. 2. Approval of Minutes of Workshop Meeting of 5- 27 -93. 3. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of 6 -3 -93. 4. Resolution 68, 1993 - Approval of Interlocal Coop- eration Agreement re: Housing and Community Development's (HCD) Urban County Program. 5. Resolution 69, 1993 - Approval of Human Resource Director Position and setting the minimum and maximum salary range. 6. Resolution 72, 1993 - Authorizing the City Manager to file an application requesting a portion of the CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 PUBLIC HEARINGS ordinance 7, 1993 Palm Beach County Emergency Medical Surcharge Award Program Funds. 10 Services Mayor Russo was advised that this ordinance was not out of the Planning & Zoning Commission and asked that any action be postponed until July 1, 1993. Mayor Russo declared the Public Hearing open, which was duly advertised on June 2, 1993 and held on the intent of Ordinance 7, 1993, amending Chapter 160 of Title XV, Land Usage of the Palm Beach Gardens Code; providing for the exemption of the City of Palm Beach Gardens from the requirements of ordinance 89 -23 adopted by the Board of County Commissioners. Councilwoman Furtado made a motion to postpone the Public Hearing until July 1, 1993. Seconded by Vice Mayor Monroe. Passed unanimously. Resolution 67, 1993 Vice Mayor Monroe asked the City Clerk to comment on the changes in the Resolution. The City Clerk advised that the changes were: 1) third whereas, the word "Principals" was corrected to read "principles "; 2) next whereas, the third line, "neighborhood" has an "s" on the end; 3) and the second line at the end where it says "traditional" was changed to "transitional ". Vice Mayor Monroe asked about the third correction and asked what the State requirements were for group homes. Mr. Walton stated it required the City to treat them as a house and CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 11 to be located anywhere a house can be located. Since the term "transitional" is unclear, Vice Mayor Monroe recommended that the word "transitional" be stricken from the paragraph. Vice Mayor Monroe further requested "single family" be deleted from that paragraph. Vice Mayor Monroe then made a motion to approve Resolution 67, 1993 as amended. Seconded by Jablin. Passed unanimously. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION BALLENISLES PARCEL 4, WINDWARD COVE A petition was before the Council to amend the width of the sidewalks in BallenIsles's Windward Cove to be _ reduced from 5' to 4' and also requesting that we incorporate two strips of land from the adjacent golf course into the property platted under Windward Cove in order to accommodate some back -yard screen enclosures. Mr. Nader Salour, Senior Vice President of BallenIsles Country Club was present at the request of the home owners and explained to the City Council that the residents would like the width of the sidewalks reduced in order to increase their landscaping area. Mrs. Donna Cessaro- Penque of Urban Design Studio also spoke for the residents and, in addition to restating the requests of the residents in Windward cove, she reported that the Council may wish to approve this request, since there is CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 12 - three feet of green space between the curb and the sidewalk and guidelines only require two feet of green space. After continuing discussion, Councilwoman Monroe suggested that, subject to Staff looking into it, the residents could take one foot of green space and put the extra foot of concrete on the curbside and then take away one foot of concrete from the lawn area; the City still retains its 5' sidewalks and the residents of Windward Cove get the extra foot of landscaping area they want. Mayor Russo stated that staff will look into this and if appropriate, this compromise will be added to the next meeting's Consent Agenda. MILITARY TRAIL LANDSCAPE ISSUES The City Manager reported on the mortality of the slash pines in the Military Trail median. The City Forester outlined several scenarios for City Council review and the City Manager requested direction from the Council. She stated the installer's claim is that, with the storm of the century, root damage was caused to the newly - planted trees and, hence, they died. The City Manager requested the Council explore alternatives - whether to try slash pines again or try oaks from the City's nursery, etc. Mayor Russo stated he would like action to be taken that will make the area look good, even if City employees must personally go out and take care of CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 13 watering until the trees "took ". Vice Mayor Monroe asked if an independent person, such as a person from the Agriculture Department, had confirmed the storm caused the trees' demise. Vice Mayor Monroe then made the recommendation to direct Staff to further investigate this problem, as quickly as possible and, if firmly convinced that the storm really did do it, then fall back to choice two which is to plant more oak trees. If they believe the damage was not caused by the storm, they should attempt to work out an agreement with the provider of these trees and reach some sort of a compromise. Jonathan Kaye of Trader Horn Nursery (provider of the trees) then spoke to the City Council, stating the trees in question were planted about a week before the election. The storm hit between the 13th and 20th. The trees were installed properly and the installation and care were supervised by the City Forester. They were watered by water truck as supplied by the installer, and also by the storm. A temporary irrigation system was installed and is manually operated. The installer even used a fungicide because the swales had held water from the storm. The storm also caused root damage because of the extreme swaying of the trees in the wind. Mr. Kaye suggested that, since the dead trees had been removed and destroyed, it would now be impossible for someone like Gene Joyner to come in and make a positive assertion that CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 14 the storm did or did not cause the demise of the trees. Mr. Kaye suggested, that since residents on Military Trail were not happy with the look of the pine trees, that another type of tree, like laurel or live oaks, be used, as they have had very good luck with them. This installation, according to Mr. Kaye, is the first job where he has lost more than 5% of plants installed. He felt the storm was the major contributing factor for the loss. If not for the storm, the trees would have been guaranteed and replaced if they died. He did all he could professionally and personally to make sure the city lost as few pines as possible after the storm. He stated the care was there and the concern was there. In Mr. Kay's letter to the Council, he mapped out a scenario of replacement, to replace 10% of those that died as a good gesture even though the damage was not his fault, since he does not cover acts of God. Also, he had reworked the bill for the existing trees that were lost and until this matter was resolved on the pines. Mr. Kaye's recommendation is that the pines would not do well there due to debris in the medians and shellrock and poor drainage and the City should consider oaks. Vice Mayor Monroe stated that the issue of the trees' demise still needs to be addressed by staff; she also felt an act of God would be a freeze killing a tree or a tornado taking the top off a tree, etc. But, too much rain did not seem CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 15 — to apply, in her opinion, since there is always a gamble when pine trees are planted. Councilman Jablin attested to the integrity of Mr. Kaye and that Mr. Kaye did take a tremendous amount of care with plants he put in Councilman Jablin's restaurant. Mayor Russo suggested City Manager Herakovich get with the City Forester again and see what his recommendations are and report back. TOWN MEETING Mayor Russo reminded everyone present that there would be a Town Meeting on Monday, June 28, 1993. Mayor Russo felt there should be a presentation at the meeting by the Police Chief; an EMS presentation; discussion about any other budget items; what it will cost the taxpayers per home under the proposed budget; let the residents know about the golf course. Vice Mayor Monroe also suggested taxpayers be more informed about a police facility and Acting City Manager Herakovich was asked by Mayor Russo to include this. Acting City Manager Herakovich was directed to talk to Joe Wise and get some projection of what a police facility entails on a 30 -year basis. Vice Mayor Monroe also suggested that handouts - anything that residents can hold in their hands and review - would be a big help, especially when talking about millage rates. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Commission, Vice Mayor Monroe made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Councilman Jablin. Passed unanimously. The CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, 6 -17 -93 16 meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM. APPROVAL J MA OR tU560 COUN I N B j VICE MAYOR/ MONROE COUNCILWOMAN FURT"'O COUNCILMAN CLARK y�I�I%A V. KOSIE CITY CLERK