HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Council 050379CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
MAY 3, 1979
The Regular Meeting of the City Council of Palm Beach Gardens was
called to order by Mayor Samuel Laurie at 8:00 P.M. in the Assembly
Room, 10500 North Military Trail, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; and
opened with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
ROLL CALL: The roll was called by the City Clerk and present were: Mayor Laurie,
Vice Mayor Kiedis, Councilman Feeney, and Councilman Aldred. Councilman
Martino was not in attendance due to business commitments. Attorney
William Brant and City Manager John Orr were also in attendance.
MINUTES: The minutes of the April 12, 1979 Workshop Meeting were unanimously
approved, as written.
The minutes of the April 19, 1979 Regular Meeting were unanimously
approved, as written.
The minutes of the April 26, 1979 Workshop Meeting were unanimously
approved, as written.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Mayor Laurie announced the following:
There will be a meeting of the City's Planning and Zoning Commission on
Tuesday, May B, 1979, at 7:30 P.M..
A meeting of the City's Palm Beach Gardens Fire Dept. will convene at
7:30 P.M. on Tuesday, May B, 1979.
A meeting of the City's Beautification and Environmental Committee will
take place on Wednesday, May 9, 1979, at 7:30 P.M..
PROCLAMATIONS: Mayor Laurie read a Proclamation proclaiming the week beginning April 30th,
1979, "Youth Week ". The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks designated
this week to honor America's Junior Citizens for their accomplishments.
City Council Regular Meeting, 5;'3/79
Page 2
INTERVIEWING OF ENGINEERING FIRMS:
The three engineering firms the Screening Committee recommended for the
v Council's consideration of appointment of one to act in the capacity of
Consulting Engineers for the City were individually interviewed by the
Council. The representatives of each firm gave a brief synopsis of their
firm's qualifications and answered inquiries of the Council as follows:
HUTCHEON ENGINEERS, INC., 1201 BELVEDERE ROAD, WPB - KEVIN MC ADAMS,
The firm of Hutcheon Engineers, Inc. was formed in 1962, a successor to
Norman C. Schmid and Associates. Their principal office is in the City
of West Palm Beach on Belvedere Road. They maintain three branch offices -
one in the City of Belle Glade and one in Palm City, west of Stuart. The
firm of Hutcheon Engineers is made up of eight principal stockholders of
the firm - all active professional engineers and registered land surveyors
within the firm. The company is made up of 45 people consisting of 7 pro-
fessional engineers in the State of Florida, two engineer interns, one
graduate engineer, three registered land surveyors in the State of Florida,
7 draftsmen, 2 computer technicians and 6 survey crews. Five of the prin-
cipals of the firm have been with the firm since the founding of the firm
in 1962; and sixteen of their 45 employees have been with the firm for
seven or more years. Mr. Hutcheon, President of the firm, has been the Town
Engineer for the Town of Palm Beach from 1962 thru 1976 and is currently
serving his twelth year with the West Palm Beach Planning Group. Robert
Howell, another principal of their firm, has been very active in City
government with the City of Lake Worth, where he is on the Lake Worth Zoning
Board of Appeals, Planning Board.. He spent five years on the Lake Worth
Utility Aurhority. Russ Gilbert is currently Town Engineer for the Town of
Jupiter and has been so for 5 years. He is an engineering member of the
seven -man Palm Beach County Code Enforcement Board. He is the Chairman
of the Town of Lake Park Planning Board and Chairman of the South Central
Technical Advisory Committee here. He has reviewed the Comprehensive Land
Use Plans in some of the southern /middle County areas. One of the regis-
tered land surveyors that has been with the firm since its foundation is
Norman Gimple. He has been registered since its foundation; and he currently
holds the position with the Palm Beach County Junior College where he teaches
legal aspects of surveying. Hutcheon Engineers mainly practices in the
field of Civil Engineering /Land Surveying; and they practice most all fields
of Cavil Engineering in the local area. With complex traffic studies, they
associate themselves with the local firm of Kimley, Horn, and Associates.
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 3
They do not have any in -house electrical expertise; but they do associate
themselves with the firm of Burke and Chappell, Consulting Engineers. In
their Belle Glade branch office they conduct some of their own soil testing.
W Here locally they deal with the abundance of testing laboratories. In
support equipment, they maintain Two -way radio vehicles for all their key
personnel and survey crews. They have three radio base stations - one at
each of their offices. They also have laser distance measuring devices for
long distance measuring, programable calculators, and most of the modern
equipment for civil engineering and land surveying. Some of their more
recent projects that the City would be most interested in that have munici-
al context would be: They have completed and construction has been con-
cluded on the Tamarind Ave. and Okeechobee Boulevard intersection rehabil-
itation project for the City of West Palm Beach. They were the engineers
for the City of Belle Glade Community Development Program, where some City
streets were improved under the program. They have worked with Palm Beach
County through the Fla. Dept. of Transportation in the preparation of plans
for 3 miles of airport road in the Glades area. They completed the con-
struction drawings and project manuals for the Town of Jupiter Storm Water
Drainage System - their municipal drainage plans. They worked with Palm
Beach County in the development of the 12th Street expansion, which is from
Spencer Avenue to Haverhill Road. They are currently negotiating with the
City of West Palm Beach on an approx. $450,000 storm drainage project on
23rd Street in the downtown /Northwood area. They are engineers for the
City of Belle Glade Housing Authority. In the local area right now, they
are working in Horseshoe Acres with their pavement improvements and storm
drainage. They are currently working at Palm Beach International Airport
on the airfield improvements project. They worked with the Town of Jupiter
in the acquisition of their water treatment plant from Tri- Southern Utilities.,
Their firm has practiced in numerous land development projects and numerous
subdivisions, mobile homes, PUD9, etcetera. They are very active in the
agriculture industry in the Glades area. They do a lot of irrigation and
drainage work for some of the major sugar mills. They are the engineers for
ten drainage districts in the Glades area for drainage and irrigation. They
just completed in the last year structuraling the Part of Palm Beach Sugar
Cane Large Load Handling Facility. They are currently certified with the
DOT for several categories: design and surveys, right -of -way maps, legal
descriptions, roads and minor bridges, and airport work. Mr. McAdams would
be the lead liaison between the City and their firm with the back -up from
Russ Gilbert. They have not performed a large amount of work in Palm Beach
Gardens. All the members of their firm have been local residents for many
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 4
years and are familiar with Palm Beach Gardens and its growth. They pre-
sented a sample contract to the Screening Committee. Their firm is not
presently engaged in any developments within Palm Beach Gardens. They were
not involved with the traffic signalization at the Tamarind Ave. /Okeechobee
Boulevard intersection. Their firm has been involved with bonding - one
being during the Town of Jupiter's acquisition of Tri- Southern Utilities.
Also, they are currently involved in the bonding for two drainage districts
in the Glades area. They have had experience working with Southeastern
Municipal Bonds, Inc. in the past. They have been involved in obtaining
grants from the Federal Government for an on -going project with the Town
of Palm Beach. Land Development is their primary business. The firm of
Hutcheon Engineers has been involved with airport work since its foundation.
They have done numerous projects at PBIA. They have worked in the Glades
with numerous air strips. They have done runway /taxiway work at Palm Beach
County Park Airport, which is known as the Lantana Airport; and have also
done taxiway construction for the airport in Boca Raton. Their firm is
not familiar with the Model Energy Efficiency Code. With an average 15 -acre
subdivision with the normal problems, the estimated turn- around time to
inspect the plans for drainage problems, roadway problems and legal des-
criptions would be ten days- two weeks.
BARKERP OSHA & ANDERSON INC. 860 U. S. HIGHWAY #I NPB - CHARLIE ANDERSON,
IVE
Their firm represents governmental clients only. They do not work for any
land developers - they went out of that business 5 -6 years ago. Their work
has been entirely for governmental units and principally in Palm Beach
County. They have had the opportunity to serve as consulting engineers for
the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners in their water and
sewer ventures. They have also worked for the PBC Solid Waste Authority.
They serve the Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District, City of
Riviera Beach, City of South Bay, and other communities here in Palm Beach
County for which they provide a fairly wide range of engineering services.
Some of their past experience has involved utility acquisition programs.
They have been involved in approx. 12 utility acquisitions representing
both the sellers and buyers. They represented the Palm Springs Utility
Corporation and sold their facilities to the Village of Palm Springs.
They have represented the Board of County Commissioners in their acquisition
~' programs, the Board of County Commissioners in Breverd County, the Village
of Tequesta, Town of Juno Beach, and the City of Riviera Beach. The
majority of their activity relates to everyday engineering services to
municipalities and other governmental entities. They have approx. 24 people
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 5
in their firm. They would like to serve the City of PBG if the City would
like for them to; and they would work out a reasonable and equitable basis
for providing services. They are familiar with the northern Palm Beach
W County area and the problems that are paramount to this area. They would
be willing to work on almost any reasonable fee basis with the City. The
City would be able to define what the project is that they want their ser-
vices for, so they can establish their fees ahead of time and let the City
know. On a Capital Improvements Program they would be willing to work on
either a fixed fee, or percentage of construction,of an a per diem basis.
They would not require a retainer. They have been water and sewer consul-
tants for the City of Riviera Beach since 1956. They have in -house exper-
tise on airport work. They would be able to report to the Council whether
or not a project is in conformance with the City's Ordinances; and whether
or not in their professional opinion drainage plans for a project are
adequate. They have a contract understanding with an electrical design firm
in Lake Worth. They do not do land surveying. The City would make the
selection of a liaison. They have two planners on staff. They serve approx.
12 governmental agencies. They have dealt with many utility purchases,
including the assessment of their value, the cost of required improvements,
and bonding. They are familiar with the Model Energy Efficiency Building
Code. With an average 15 -acre subdivision with the normal problems, the
estimated turn - around time to inspect the plans for drainage problems,
roadway problems, and legal descriptions would be within a week, assuming
a complete presentation was made previously. Their relationship with the
Board of County Commissioners is as Water and Sewer Consultants in the
district of Hypoluxo Road north to 45th Street.
LINOAHL, BROWNING, & FERRARI, INC., 426 INOIANTOWN ROAD, JUPITER -
v HLVHESLNIAIIVE
The three main principals of the firm are: Mr. Leonard Lindahl, Mr. Jan
Browning, and Mr. Ken Ferrari. They are an engineering and surveying firm.
They supply both services out of one office. They have been in business 10
years. They have two offices -one in Jupiter and one in Stuart. Mr. Brown-
ing and Mr. Lindahl are the principals of the Jupiter office; and Mr.
Ferrari is the Manager and Principal in the Stuart Office. Mr. Ferrari is
the immediate past County Engineer for Martin County and has been with the
firm for the last lZ years. The size of their firm is 33 -40 people. They
are members of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Fla.
Engineering Society, the Fla. Institute of Consulting Engineers, and others.
Over the past 10 years, their clients have been representatives of both the
public and private sectors; and they feel that they have a reasonably
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 6
balanced portfolio in both enterprises. Their personnel consists of five
registered engineers and four registered land surveyors. Mr. Browning is
both. They have two non- registered design engineers and each one of the
W registered engineers have a strong engineering background in civil works and
civil works projects. In Addition, each one of the engineers has a spec-
ialty and they try to round -out the specialities so that they cover the
basics of the civil works projects. As an example, Mr. Browning has a
Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering; and his specialty is water and
sewer utilities. Mr. Lindahl's specialty is water resources and hydraulics,
ground water, and wells and water supply. Mr. Getts with their firm has
a Masters in Structural Engineering. Mr. Dillar's specialty is highways;
and Mr. Ferrari is their Public Works Administrator and their Governmental
Coordinator. As far as working in the capacity of a Consulting Engineering
firm, they would assign one of the Principals to be the City's main contact
and they would have the pool of the other engineers as a resource to address
any particular problem in their specialty. Some additional specifics about
their firm - They think they have a balanced portfolio and that is not
totally involved in the private sector of work and not totally involved in
strictly the governmental sector. They have a feel for what is required to
communicate between the two and look at the problems of•both types of
clients. They know that the City of Palm Beach Gardens is undergoing a great
bit of expansion and that a good bit of the work at least initially would
involve a representation of the City in review of other projects and other
engineers work; and because they have a balanced portfolio of both the
private and public, they feel they can serve in that capacity well. They
have what they feel is a good track record with Regulatory Agencies for
any issues that the City might find themselves in - they communicate with
them on a regular basis; that is a substantial portion of a engineer's
business in dealing with permits and those items associated with regulatory
actions. They are used to Public Hearings, Court Hearings, and those kind
of things that involve public presentations in dealing with a City in
representing a City on those behalfs. They don't really have any conflicts
around the City of Palm Beach Gardens. They do have one project in the City
right now and when they were being interviewed by the Screening Committee,
they stipulated to the fact that they would bring that project to an early
conclusion and would not take on any more additional projects within the
City's boundaries. They do not represent any cities contiguous to PBG's
boundaries. In the 10 years of being in business, they have not passed any
claim onto their liability insurance carrier; and they feel that that is a
good demonstration of their willingness to carry things to a completion in
the best interest of their client. If there is a petition before the City
City Council Regular fleeting, 5/3/79
Page 7
that has an excellent design and has yet to pursue the regulatory aspects,
they would so advise the City to that extent. If a petitioner came in and
stated that he had all of the permits from the Dept. of Environmental
Regulation, the S. Fla. Water Management District, Corp. of Engineers,
etcetera, and he still had a technically insufficient design, they would
advise him of the deficiences of the design. They have been involved with
utility acquisitions. They do have facilities to do the engineering work
to determine the evaluation of a utility company; however, they wouldn't do
it entirely in -house with their personnel. There would be some specialized
technical expertise that would be warranted for considering the expenditures
of funds and other things involved. Seacoast Utilities is a major evalu-
ation; and they would bring in support personnel in specific areas of
interest that they don't have detail competence in. Their firm would sub-
contract to be able to handle the acquisition of the information that
would be required in determining the value of the company. They haven't
provided the City Manager with a specific fee structure; however, in their
interview, they did respond to a question as to the ranges. They have an
in -house computer and they have all their administrative functions on it.
Everybody in their office fills out time sheets on a daily basis; and when-
ever they are working on a project, they mark it down and mark dawn how
long it was that they worked on that particular project. The time sheets
are decoded and put into the computer at the end of the month. All the
project workorders are put into the computer with everybody that worked
on the project and how much they worked on it; and they are converted into
a billing rate for invoice. They do not have an in -house expert on build-
ing architecture. They do not have mechanical and electrical engineering in
support of architectural activities in their firm. They are civil works and
structurally oriented. They have worked a great deal with Diversified
Utility Services in utility acquisitions. They are currently working on a
report that encompasses the water and sewer aspects for all of the eastern
urban area of Martin County. Mr. Lindahl would be the designated person to
work with the City as far as the regular contact. With an average 15 -acre
subdivision with the normal problems, the estimated turn- around time to
inspect the plans for drainage problems, roadway problems, and legal
descriptions would be by the following meeting, assuming it meets the basic
criteria.
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION:
Page 8
PROPOSED COM- Mayor Laurie reported on the written proposals of Mr. Hilmy E. Adeeb
MUNITY CENTER and Mr. Theodore E. Davis, and the verbal proposal of Ms. Emily Obst
for their Architectural services in the refinement of the basic plans
he prepared and the preparation of preliminary plans for the proposed
Community Center, including: floor plans, as isometric, major eleva-
tions, a general site plan, and a cost estimate in the development of
the project. The Architectural fees quoted by Mr. Adeeb, Mr. Davis
and Ms. Obst were $1,600, $6,000, and $1,200, respectively.
Ms. Obst, who assisted the City in the past in its application for
Federal Funds for the construction of a library, will be requested to
provide a proposal in writing, prior to the Council's consideration of
selecting an Architect for the preparation of these preliminary plans.
The basic plans will be submitted to the various civic organizations
for their input prior to the Architect's preparation of the preliminary
plans.
PETITIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS:
PROPOSED LETTER Mayor Laurie will incorporate the thoughts of the Council into the com-
TO BE SENT TO
�� MUN. munication proposed /drafted by Councilman Martino to be sent to all Palm
Beach County Municipalities encouraging their participation in the City's
T TOURT appeal to the decision recently rendered by Judge Robert S. Hewitt re:
the City's intent to contract the services of the Sheriff's Department.
The decision and the far reaching effects it has on local governments
will be discussed at the Municipal League Meeting to be held May 24, 1979.
EXTENSION OF Mayor Laurie acknowledged receipt of a copy of a communication addressing
OGGIAIL Recreation Director Steve Henning from Mr. Chuck Clark advising that the
Westminister Presbyterian Church granted the City's request to utilize
their vacant lands to extend the City's jogging trail approx. two - tenths
of a mile, enabling it to be a distance of a full mile. The City Attorney
was requested to draft a Lease Agreement between the City and the Church;
and the City Manager was requested to contact Mr. Bob Diamond, the City's
Agent of Record, re: liability insurance on these lands.
REPORTS: Mayor Laurie reported on the City's "20th Anniversary /4th of July Celebra-
1120th ANNIUER- tion" meeting he attended Wednesday, May 2, 1979. Representatives of the
REB A- PBG Fire Dept., the Softball Committee, the Beta Sigma Phi, and the Recre-
_ION ation Dept. were in attendance at this "kick -off" meeting.
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 9
RECREATION ADV. Vice Mayor Kiedis reported on the Recreation Advisory Board meeting held
BD. mEETTT Tuesday, May 1, 1979. The Board is workshopping the priorities in imple-
5 1 79
menting Area 4 of the Recreation Master Plan (i.e., the s. 92 acres adja-
cent the City Hall) tentatively approved, with modifications, at the
Workshop Meeting of March 8, 1979.
IMPLEMENTATION Vice Mayor Kiedis proposed that the Council consider for the 92 acres: an
OF_RE7=ION expert in the field perform the grading of the land to ensure proper
FASTER—FL-AN -
_i drainage, a well be driven as the source for irrigation, the existing
irrigation pipes be removed and a new irrigation system be installed by
an irrigation company, and grass be planted perhaps this summer.
These proposals and the revised Master Plan will be discussed at the May
10, 1979 Workshop Meeting. Mr. Terry Darby, Pres. of the PBGYAA, and a
representative of the Recreation Advisory Board will be requested to be in
attendance at this meeting to exchange ideas with the Council re: this
Plan, its formal approval, and its implementation. Mr. Darby will also be
requested to address the PBGYAA's monetary contribution toward the con-
struction of the concession stand.
SEMINAR ON Councilman Aldred reported that he, together with the City Manager and City
MUNICIPAL BOND- Attorney, would be attending a one -day seminar on Municipal Bonding in
' ING
Orlando, on Friday, May 4, 1979.
ITEMS BY THE CITY MANAGER:
RENEWAL OF The City Manager provided the Council a copy of the City's existing hos-
CT7Yr7HOSPITAL- pitalization program and a proposed insurance program for the year beginning
IZATION PLAN
June 1, 1979. Mr. Bob Diamond, the City's Agent of Record, has been asked
to survey the market for competitive costs on the proposed plan and will
discuss this plan and costs at a future Council meeting.
EXCHANGE OF At the Workshop Meeting of February 22, 1979, the City Manager received the
RAICH PROPERTY direction of the Council to re- negotiate with Royal American Industries on
the purchase of an approx. 3.5 -acre parcel located on Gardens East Drive for
the purpose of an exchange with Mr. Nxch Reich of that parcel for his approx.
2.5 -acre parcel located on the northern perimeter of Plant Drive Park, with
the monetary offer for the purchase of these lands not to exceed $70,000.
A motion was made by Vice Mayor Kiedis, seconded by Councilman Aldred, and
unanimously adopted, that the City Manager be authorized to proceed with the
negotiations for financing the exchange in the amount of $70,000, with
deferred payments accruing from the funds coming in from various developments
City Council Regular Meeting, 5/3/79
Page 10
that have pledged monies to the City for recreational purposes.
The City's intentions in purchasing these lands is to combine them with
Plant Drive Park, which they plan to ultimately purchase from Royal
American Industries, Inc..
SCHEDULED ADMIN- The City Manager reported that an Aministrative Meeting has been scheduled
ISTRATIVE MEETING to take place at 7 :30 P.M. on Monday, May 7, 1979, for the purpose of dis-
cussing the Labor Contract Negotiations.
ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:40 P.M..
MAYOR LAURIE COUNCILMAN MARTINO
VICE MAYOR WIEDIS COUNCILMAN FEENEY
COUNCILMAN ALDRED
-'_7 CITY CLERK
R O U G H D R A F T
Proposed Letter to all Palm Beach County
Municipalities:
Attached for your perusal is a copy of the decision recently
rendered by Judge Robert S. Hewitt regarding the City of Palm
Beach Gardens' intent to contract services with the Sheriff's
Department.
The original intent of our City to contract services with the
Sheriff has now become relegated to a subservient position in
regard to the far reaching effects this decision has on local
governments to affectively operate in service areas.
This subject will be discussed at our next Municipal League
Meeting on May 24, 1979 at the City Hall in Palm Beach Gardens.
We would encourage your attendance. Still further, we would
encourage your participation with us in our appeal of this
decision to the State Supreme Court.
We look forward to a positive response for your support. This
�- is a definite problem for all Local governments. We should
rally to each others support.
Submitted for Council's Approval
by Councilman Michael ;;amino
(to be signed by all Council Members)
--I