MINUTES WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 15, 2016, AT 6:32 P.M. CITY HALL, 116 FIRST STREET NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA

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1 MINUTES WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 15, 2016, AT 6:32 P.M. CITY HALL, 116 FIRST STREET NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA Pursuant to proper notice a Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Neptune Beach was held August 15, 2016, at 6:32 p.m., in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 116 First Street, Neptune Beach, Florida. Attendance: IN ATTENDANCE: Mayor Harriet Pruette Vice Mayor Richard Arthur Councilor John Jolly Councilor Kara Tucker Councilor Scott Wiley City Manager Andrew Hyatt City Attorney Patrick Krechowski City Clerk Karla Strait, CMC STAFF: Director of Public Safety Rick Pike Director of Public Services Leon Smith Finance Director Steve Ramsey Community Development Director Amanda Askew Call to Order / Roll Call / Pledge Mayor Pruette noted that everyone was present. AWARDS / PRESENTATIONS / RECOGNITION OF GUESTS Swearing in of Police Officers Tipping Fees SWEARING IN OF THREE NEW POLICE OFFICERS: Chief Pike introduced newly hired Officer Ortiz, Officer Stucki, and Officer Dzamko. Chief Pike invited the families of the officers to come forward for the swearing in. Mayor Pruette administrated the oath of office to the new officers and newly promoted Lt. Michael Key. Chief Pike commended his staff for having received 100% on their accreditation and communications. Mayor Pruette asked City Attorney Krechowski to give Council some information. City Attorney Krechowski advised he was pleased to report that last week the Jacksonville City Council approved the Tipping Fee Settlement Agreement. It will take a week or two for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry to sign the Ordinance. He made the point that this issue was resolved under Mayor Pruette s tenure. Mayor Pruette stated City of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and Sam Mousa, Chief Administrative Officer of Mayor Curry played a huge role in assisting the City on the Tipping Fee issue. City Manager Hyatt reported the following: COMMITTEE REPORTS / NONE CITY MANAGER S ACTION LIST

2 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 2 He is still in the process of gathering information regarding the potential relocation of City Hall. He should have information available for Council at the September workshop. Another budget workshop meeting will be held on Monday, September 22 nd. The Truth and Millage Rate and setting the Budget meeting is also important as far as the public hearings and approving the budget. The roof on the City Hall building has been patched. The Police Department is now fully staffed. The City received a JAG grant to be used for obtaining protective gear for our police officers. The Police Department is working to raise funds for the Empty Stocking Campaign. He is continuing to work with the City of Jacksonville on the Lifeguard Station. The drawings were reviewed and recommendations were made. The public restroom at the Public Safety building is now completed and open to the public. The Beaches Mayors have encouraged the public to Paint the Beaches Blue the week of August 21 st through the 27 th to honor all police officers. The City of Jacksonville will begin paving on Atlantic Boulevard from Third Street to the Ocean beginning in November. The City will be holding a Celebration of its 85 th year Anniversary in conjunction with a Night out Against Crime this October. Senator Bean s staff will be at City Hall this Thursday the 18 th between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to meet and address any questions from the public. The ADA Mat on the beach will have to be removed during the Beach Renourishment Project. Twenty two new parking spaces were recently opened up on Second Street behind Neptune Baptist Church. An RFP has been sent out to add another 40 parking spaces along Second Street. The project is expected to cost the City about $60,000 to $70,000. Chief Pike has directed his staff to remove some no parking signs. He is going to add two parking signs and study the opportunity to provide paid parking by kiosks. The Better Jacksonville Tax will end in 2030 and the City will be losing approximately $400,000 per year. The City will need to identify a revenue stream to replace that money. He felt paid parking would be one opportunity. The City of Atlantic Beach has asked to borrow our Menzi Muck to clear out some of the ditches behind the old Publix on Atlantic Boulevard to help reduce some flooding issues. He asked Council how they felt about loaning Atlantic Beach the equipment. Mayor Pruette stated the City purchased the Menzi Muck in 2004 for approximately $50,000. Director of Public Services Leon Smith advised the equipment cost about $150,000. He added the machine is now 12 years old. In December of 2013 it had to be shipped to Lakeland for some repairs that cost the City $15,400. This year we had to put in a new fuel tank which cost approximately $3,500. She did not support loaning it out due to its age and the possibility of having to make more repairs. Councilor Wiley asked Mr. Smith how much time the project would take. Mr. Smith stated to complete the project would take two or three days. Councilor Wiley asked who would be supervising the project. Mr. Smith replied he would personally supervise the project and our operator would be operating the equipment. Councilor Wiley stated he supported loaning our Menzi Muck as long our staff would be operating and supervising the project.

3 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 3 Vice Mayor Arthur suggested leasing the Menzi Muck to Atlantic Beach and having them pay market rate for our operators and employees and any other cost associated with the use of the equipment. Councilor Jolly agreed with Vice Mayor, if we provided the equipment and employees they should pay the cost and any cost of repairs. He added that it would be nice for the City of Atlantic Beach to stop accusing Neptune Beach for their flooding issues. Councilor Tucker agreed with Vice Mayor Arthur and Councilor Jolly. TO HAVE THE CITY ATTORNEY DRAFT A CONTRACT AND CONSIDER A FAIR MARKET VALUE AND INCLUDE THE COST OF LABOR OF SUPERVISION. City Manager Hyatt asked City Attorney Krechowski to include in the agreement that the City will be held harmless for any damages. CITY CLERK S AGENDA ITEM TRACKING LIST City Clerk Strait stated the issue of outdoor sales has been forwarded to the September workshop. Councilor Arthur asked the City Manager when the Solid Waste Contract for Waste Pro would be prepared for Council approval. City Manager Hyatt stated they are still negotiating the contract. Waste Pro wanted a seven year agreement with an escape clause. They also wanted to increase the franchise fee from 10% to 12%. The contract should be in place no later than October 1 st. Councilor Arthur asked when Waste Pro would be taking over the tipping fees. City Manager Hyatt stated Waste Pro would be taking over the tipping fees when the agreement is in place. Officer Pike stated he felt it would mean a lot to the police officers for the community to participate in the Paint the Beaches Blue campaign that Atlantic Beach Mayor Reeve s initiated with the other Beach Mayors. He added the Neptune Beach Senior Center is hosting an ice cream social that will benefit the No Empty Stocking Program this Wednesday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Chief Pike advised Council that the Neptune Beach Police Department are good neighbors with the Atlantic Beach police and have allowed them to use our shooting range for many years without asking them to assist with its upkeep. Mayor Pruette stated it was time Atlantic Beach starting contributing to the upkeep of the range and asked Chief Pike to write a letter to Atlantic Beach asking for their assistance. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Pruette opened the floor for public comments. Lynda Padrta, 1113 First Street, supported asking Atlantic Beach to contribute with the upkeep of the shooting range. She felt the City Manager has shown professionalism in the preparation of the budget. She did not support allowing Atlantic Beach to use our Menzi Muck. She supported the new undesignated fund. She was happy the infrastructure maintenance was being addressed. She did not favor allowing drones due to concerns about privacy.

4 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 4 Alan Martin, 1113 First Street, was concerned about ADA compliance and asked the City Manager to have the Code Enforcement Officer inspect the sidewalk dining regularly to make sure they were not extending into the rights-of-way. There being no further comments from the public, the public hearing was closed. PROPOSED ORDINANCES / NONE CONTRACTS / AGREEMENTS FOP Union FOP UNION CONTRACT: City Manager Hyatt thanked the FOP for working with him during the process of revising the union contract. The draft contract was in the agenda packets. The contract was revised to update language that was no longer necessary. It did not include a cost of living adjustment. The union was requesting a 4% increase but for the past three years the City has given a 3% increase. The four years prior to that no salary increases were given. He asked Council to forward this to the September 6 regular meeting for approval. Mayor Pruette stated during the four years that no salary increases were given, the City split the insurance rebate money with the employees so they did get something. Councilor Tucker thanked the City Manager and FOP for reviewing the contract. She agreed with the changes that were made in the contract and supported the 3% salary increase. Councilor Jolly also agreed with the revisions and supported the 3% salary increase. Vice Mayor Arthur asked if the salary increase was being called a cost of living increase based on the index. City Manager Hyatt stated that is correct any merit increases required an evaluation review process. Vice Mayor Arthur supported the 3% salary increase but added the City could not continue to give 3% salary increases every year. He asked the City Manager what the total cost of the 3% across the board salary increase would be. City Manager Hyatt replied the total cost overall was approximately $98,000 and that included all employees. Mr. Hyatt added that is in the contract to renegotiate salary increases each year. Councilor Wiley stated with the current city employees he would support a 4% salary increase this year. TO ADD A SALARY INCREASE OF 3% AND FORWARD TO THE SEPTEMBER 6, CONSENT AGENDA FOR APPROVAL. Local 630 Union LOCAL 630 UNION CONTRACT: Mayor Pruette stated she spoke with City Manager Hyatt regarding the position of Deputy City Clerk. She explained that the current City Clerk Karla Strait was the previous Deputy City Clerk and since the City Clerk is no longer in the Union that the position was removed from the contract. She asked City Manager Hyatt what he had found out today. City Manager Hyatt responded that the position of Deputy City Clerk was pulled out of the contract before he was hired. Finance Director Ramsey advised they did not put the position in the previous contract. City Clerk Strait stated she felt the position should remain in the contract in case is it was filled in the future. Mayor Pruette stated she not think the position of Deputy City Clerk should be included in the contract because they knew they wanted it out at the time. If Council decided down

5 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 5 the road they wanted to hire a Deputy City Clerk they could consider adding it at that time. She felt it should be excluded. Councilor Wiley stated when City Clerk Strait was hired Council discussion allowing her to hire part time help. He asked if that would be considered as a Deputy City Clerk. Ms. Strait replied no the position in question was intended for a full time Deputy City Clerk. She explained at one point when she was the Deputy City Clerk she made a request to have the position removed from the Union and the Union fought back to have the position remain in the contract. She did not understand why the Union would agree to remove it now just because it was not filled. Mayor Pruette asked the City Clerk what her recommendation was. City Clerk Strait stated she was not aware of any discussion or negotiations between the City and Union to remove the positon. Councilor Wiley stated if the position is in the union contract and it is not filled then it has to be filled by request of the Council. He did not see any harm in leaving the position in the contract. It s just a positon that is not filled at this time but the need may arise in the future. Vice Mayor Arthur felt since the position did not apply to anyone at it should left out. Councilor Tucker supported removing the position since it was not filled. Councilor Jolly stated there was no intention at this time to hire a Deputy City Clerk so it should be removed. City Clerk Strait stated there are other positions listed in the contract that are not currently filled such as the Accounts Payable Clerk. She felt if Council wanted to remove positions from the contract that were not filled they should remove them all. Mayor Pruette agreed and asked Director of Finance Ramsey if he had any comments. Mr. Ramsey commented the he did not have a problem removing the positon of Accounts Payable Clerk. TO REMOVE THE POSITION OF DEPUTY CITY CLERK AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE CLERK FROM THE UNION CONTRACT. City Manager Hyatt added there were also changes in the language of the draft contract included in the packet. The Local 630 asked that they receive a salary increase consistent with what the FOP received. Councilor Wiley stated he would support a 4% increase. TO FORWARD TO THE SEPTEMBER REGULAR MEETING CONSENT AGENDA FOR APPROVAL. Beaches Local Food Network BEACHES LOCAL FOOD NETWORK / LICENSE AGREEMENT: City Manager Hyatt stated he requested information from the Beaches Local Food Network regarding the terms of the contract. He asked them to provide documentation for their license and other documents. Councilor Jolly suggested making the following change in Section 5: The fees shall be used for projects within Jarboe Park or other city parks. planned by Licensor s Beautification Committee and approved by Licensor s City Council.

6 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 6 Vice Mayor Arthur asked if amending that language, how would that change the access to the Ish Brant Beautification funding and who could use the money. City Manager Hyatt explained the fees would continue to be used the same. One thing he wanted everyone to understand is that he considers medians parks and the fees should be used also for Christmas lights, etc. It helps the City be able to use the money in conjunction with the Ish Brant Beautification Committee. Councilor Jolly explained his intent is to delete the word leasers since the IBBC is now considered independent from the City as a 501(c)3 organization. Vice Mayor Arthur stated the fees were originally intended to be used to improve the area the Green Market was using. Mayor Pruette suggested removing or other city parks. Councilor Wiley agreed with Councilor Jolly that other parks should be included. THE FEES SHOULD BE USED FOR PROJECTS IN JARBOE PARK OR OTHER CITY PARKS. ISSUE DEVELOPMENT Res. No RESOLUTION NO : A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA, AWARDING THE BID FOR SURGE BASINS AND PACKAGE PLANT MODIFICATIONS. City Manager Hyatt stated two bids were received for the RFP. The lowest bid was $948,000 from Sawcross, Inc. They vetted the company and found they have experience with these types of projects with other local city governments. They also had good references. The bid would cost more than what was projected by Burton & Associates. The City s cost will by $872,000 and a grant for $275,550 will be provided from the St. Johns Water River Management Division. Mayor asked Director of Public Services Leon Smith to explain what this project would achieve. Mr. Smith explained the main wastewater treatment plant was modified years ago but it is still compromised during heavy flows. This project will help lower the nitrogen levels so the City will be not be fined. FORWARD TO THE SEPTEMBER REGULAR MEETING FOR APPROVAL. Drones DRONES, PRIVACY AND SAFETY CONCERNS: Mayor Pruette stated she received an regarding concerns about privacy and safety of the use of drones within the City. She felt Council should discuss the issue because drones are becoming more and more popular. Councilor Wiley advised not long ago he asked the Council to consider airspace used by paragliders. He learned a lot during that time about the City could and could not control regarding airspace. He added the State regulations the City Clerk provided in the agenda packet would supersede any Ordinance the City adopted and we should be consistent with the State. Vice Mayor Arthur agreed F.S is well written and he was not sure the City needed to add additional language in our Code or adopt duplicate language. He felt the Code Enforcement Officer should be aware of the State Statute. Mayor Pruette asked Council if they felt the City needed to adopt something to coincide with the State.

7 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 7 Councilor Jolly asked Chief Pike if he was aware of F.S since he also enforces State Law and the Statute says prohibited use of drones. Chief Pike stated he would review it. Mayor Pruette stated she has heard complaints from several people. Councilor Jolly agreed there is a State law and the opinion of Attorney General stated we cannot go beyond what their law is. The State law is precise and well written. Councilor Tucker agreed with enforcing the State Statute and would like to give Chief Pike time to review it. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Pruette opened the floor to public comments. Michael Aston, 1523 Summer Sands Drive, voiced concern about the safety of drones. He felt it was an important for Council to consider. Lynda Padrta, 1115 First Street, asked if the City should consider street ends as parks. She made a suggestion to give residents an incentive to lower the amount of trash generated in the City. Kerry Chin, 227 Margaret Street, questioned if there could consequences regarding the use drones. There being no further comments from the public, the public hearing was closed. COUNCIL COMMENTS Mayor Pruette asked if the restaurant sidewalk leases have been raised. City Manager replied no. Mayor Pruette felt the City should consider raising the amount of rent. She felt the City raised the rent each year. She also stated the restaurants were not pressure washing the sidewalks according to their lease agreements. Councilor Wiley thanked staff for getting the twenty-two new parking spaces installed quickly as they did. Councilor Jolly thanked staff for paving the outside of the school building on Seagate Avenue painted. Councilor Tucker advised at the previous meeting she was asked to follow up with the City of Jacksonville in regards to the ADA beach access mat. She spoke with the new Division Chief and they have not had any issues with the ones in Hanna Park or Jacksonville Beach. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. Attest: Harriet Pruette, Mayor

8 August 15, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING PAGE 8 Amanda Askew, Acting City Clerk Approved: