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08-02-2000 Special Meeting CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 1 A special meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Wednesday, August 2, 2000 at Jenkins Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. The following Council Members present: Council Member Biddle, Council Member Mullins and Council Member MacLauchlin. Other City officials present were City Manager Saunders, City Attorney Guthrie and Deputy City Clerk Maddox. Mayor Turville stated that the purpose of the Special Meeting of the City Council was to give consideration to proposed Ordinance No. 400-M. Mayor Turville stated that Council Member Lamb was present in the audience and wished to make a statement. Ms. Lamb read a statement questioning the legality of the special meeting stating that she did not feel the public had proper notice of the special meeting and that this issue regarding the City's participation in the M.S.T.U. had been tabled at the last Council Meeting to a time certain at the August 8, 2000 Council Meeting. Ms. Lamb stated she called the Attorney General's office and requested a legal opinion regarding this meeting and was advised that they would issue an opinion if 3 members of the Council voted to request the opinion. Ms. Lamb stated that the County is required by law to provide and finance EMS and cannot exclude the City of Clermont from that service. Ms. Lamb stated that she felt the public was not getting due process by having this emergency meeting and based her decision on her interpretation of the 2000 Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual, and stated that because of that did not feel she could participate in the meeting. Ms. Lamb left the meeting. Mayor Turville then called the Special Meeting of the Council to order and the Invocation was offered by Council Member Biddle followed by the repeating of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by all present. Mayor Turville explained that Ordinance was introduced at the Council Meeting held July 11, 2000 as an emergency ordinance and at the time of the final reading at the July 25, 2000 meeting it was tabled until the August 8, 2000 meeting. Mayor Turville stated that the County was requesting the City to participate in a M.S.T.U., which required the participation of all of the cities in the County and the County had a deadline of Friday, August 4, 2000 to either have CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 2 the M.S.T.U. or the ambulance service would have to be funded from the County's general funds. Mayor Turville stated that the reason the emergency ordinance was tabled is because the Council Members and Staff felt they needed additional information from the County. Mayor Turville stated that he and City Manager Saunders attended the County Commission Meeting on Tuesday morning to make an effort to find answers to our questions regarding this issue and the urgency of our City's participation. Mayor Turville stated that they discovered that if the City of Clermont was not on board, there could not be an M.S.T.U. at all. Mayor Turville stated that they received answers to the Council's concerns regarding this issue and stated that the County did set a millage of .55, did say that the cities could choose how long they wished to initially commit to, and received a commitment from the County that their intent was to help offset our City's costs for services that we provide. Mayor Turville stated that he called this special meeting because if the City of Clermont did not discuss this and make some decision by Friday, there would be no discussion, decision or vote because the possibility of having an M.S.T.U. would be gone and the County would run the ambulance service out of their general fund with no input required from any of the cities. Mayor Turville stated that he felt that the Council is charged with doing the business of the City and he felt a special meeting of the Council was called for in order to accomplish this business timely. Mayor Turville invited discussion and questions from anyone regarding whether there was appropriate notice and requested that City Attorney Guthrie offer his opinion. City Attorney Guthrie stated that Council Member Lamb had called him and reviewed her issues with him. Mr. Guthrie stated that he felt the Notice of the Special Meeting was sufficient and stated that State Law requires reasonable notice. Mr. Guthrie stated that "reasonable notice" is not defined precisely and even the Attorney General, who is a great protector of the Sunshine Law has not set absolute standards, just suggested standards for notice and these suggested standards must be applied to the situation of when a public body needs to come together. City Attorney Guthrie stated that in this case there was more than 24 hours notice, the notices were posted and faxed to the media as is traditionally done for notice requirement for a public meeting, particularly one that is an emergency in that it deals with an emergency ordinance and stated that his opinion was that the City is in compliance with the law in terms of giving a reasonable notice. City Attorney Guthrie stated that in his manual, the Attorney CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 3 General has suggested that he cannot state an absolute standard and that he feels 24 hours is a reasonable notice. City Attorney Guthrie stated that in his opinion, the caveats listed by the Attorney General, such as rezoning, budgeting, taxation, appointment of public officer, etc., do not apply to this issue. Mayor Turville stated that in Ordinance No. 400-M the City is choosing whether it wishes to be included in the M.S.T.U. or not. Mayor Turville stated that the County is the levying body and they are the ones that are advertising and will have the hearings on the actual tax rate. City Attorney Guthrie stated that the actual fixing of the amount of the millage will be decided by the County Commission at their budget hearings, which are public meetings required by law to be the subject of two quarter page ads and after their meetings they will affix and set the millage. Mr. Guthrie stated that at this time the City is just considering whether to op into a mechanism, which the County has proposed in terms of the County wide M.S.T.U. pursuant to Section 125.01 and is not involved in the budgeting or taxation. City Attorney Guthrie stated that this emergency ordinance is valid for 60 days and then must be adopted in the regular ordinance process. City Manager Saunders confirmed that a notice of this special meeting was faxed to all of the newspapers between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on August 1, 2000. Council Members Mullins, Biddle and MacLauchlin all stated they were comfortable to moving ahead with the meeting and Council Member Biddle stated that this ordinance was on the last public agenda for the last Council Meeting and there were no comments at all from the public regarding the ordinance at that time and this ordinance has been discussed extensively. Mayor Turville reminded the Council Members that an issue brought forward at a special meeting of the Council requires a 2/3 vote, and in the absence of Ms. Lamb, that will mean the four Council Members seated must vote unanimously in order to pass this ordinance. Mayor Turville read Ordinance No. 400-M in its entirety. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 4 County Commissioner Cadwell stated that he wanted to explain how the M.S.T.U. will benefit the City. Mr. Cadwell gave a brief history of how the County got to the point of deciding that if the ambulance service for Lake County was going to change then the Cities, hospitals and County should work together to effect the change. Mr. Cadwell stated that representatives from the League of Cities, the hospitals and the County met every week for several weeks. Mr. Cadwell stated he presented the idea of setting up a non-profit group to run the ambulance service to Sumter County and they wanted to be included. County Commissioner Cadwell stated that they set up a non-profit group including one commissioner from each County, one representative from the Hospitals, one representative from the League of Cities from Lake County and one from Sumter County, and one citizen from each County, to be the Board of Directors and governing body of the ambulance service. Mr. Cadwell stated that the Board is moving forward with the transition and all of the cities agreed their preference was to fund the ambulance service with an M.S.T.U. Mr. Cadwell stated that the County will have funding for the ambulance service and he hopes it will be with an M.S.T.U with a tree community based ambulance service with no profit motive in the service whatsoever. Robert Moore stated that in previous years the funding for ambulance service in Lake County was divided between two different taxing districts, the North Lake County Ambulance District and the South Lake County Hospital District. Mr. Moore stated the North Lake County District was administered by the County Commission and they set that ad valorem and the South Lake Hospital District was administered by the South Lake Hospital Board which meant over the years there were two different millages in place, two different administering bodies and two different taxing rates to provide the same service. Mr. Moore stated that one taxing unit, one administering body and one taxing rate would be better and that was the reason for the M.S.T.U. Mr. Moore stated that when funds are mixed with the general fund, it makes it very difficult to track those dollars and with an M.S.T.U. there is one fund, accounted for separately so you know exactly what is going in and what is coming out, and the funds are restricted to be used for just the purpose of the M.S.T.U. and cannot be used for anything else. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 5 Council Member Biddle stated that he felt that his questions and concerns regarding the M.S.T.U. were answered. Mr. Biddle stated that it is his understanding that there is going to be a new ambulance service in Lake County and it is either going to be funded out of general revenue dollars or by an M.S.T.U. which specifies that the money created can only be used for an ambulance service and he feels that the M.S.T.U. is the best way to go. Mr. Biddle stated if the Council does not approve to be included in the M.S.T.U. by Friday, there will be no M.S.T.U. and the County will be responsible for County wide ambulance service, but the funds will be processed through the general fund of the County. Council Member Biddle asked if some of the funds would come back to the City of Clermont to help offset the City's costs since we have our own response team and County Commissioner Cadwell stated that the Board of County Commissioners agreed that they will recommend to the Ambulance Board that ifa City comes to the Board and shows it can enhance the ambulance service in Lake County, that they set aside the funds to offset the costs to that City for those services. Council Member Mullins asked what the cost to a citizen was to call an ambulance to their home and Robert Moore stated that the average charges in Lake County are $421.00 and stated there were approximately 19,000 patients transported in Lake each year and approximately 4,300 in Surnter County, whose average cost to the patient is $471.00. Mayor Turville asked how was the proposed millage rate of.55 compare with the bids that were submitted earlier in the year by private service operators. Mr. Cadwell stated that the .55 is in line with AMR's bid, who the Board did not want to go back with again and Rural Metro's bid was considerably lower but members of the Board of Commissioners did not feel they could provide the service and in fact, Rural Metro pulled out of negotiations with the County. Mr. Cadwell stated that the committee was charged only with looking for a way to govern the ambulance service and that the Board of Commissioners felt it was time for the County to run its own ambulance service. Council Member Biddle asked Fire Chief Bishop to give the Council his comments and Chief Bishop stated he felt an M.S.T.U. was the way to go and the fact that the City has only committed for one year gives us an opportunity to address any issues that may come forth. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 6 Chief Bishop asked what would happen if the M.S.T.U. failed and Commission Cadwell stated the County Commission would reassume the responsibility for ambulance service. Commissioner Cadwell stated that AMR used employees of Florida Hospital and although there were complaints regarding the administration of that business, there was never a complaint of the actual employees providing the service to the citizens. Mr. Cadwell stated there is a transition plan to bring those paramedics and EMTs on board and Mr. Moore stated that Lake and Sumter Counties own all the vehicles, hardware, life-packs, defibrillators and communication equipment. Ann Dupee asked if the agreement for the City of Clermont is for one-year and Commissioner Cadwell stated that it was and that at any time either County can get out of the operation. Mr. Cadwell stated that the administration costs are split between the numbers of calls each County gets. Ms. Dupee asked what the collection rate was and Commissioner Cadwell stated that the collection rate is at about 49.5% and there is a payor mix including private pay, which pays all of the call out of their pocket, medicare which pays about $257.00 for an ambulance call, third party insurance and others which make up 8 or 9 payor categories. Ms. Dupee stated that her opinion was that the M.S.T.U. was the better plan, with more accountability. Ms. Dupee stated for the record that she was not here for personal politics and did not have an "ax to grind". Mona Phipps stated that this proposed ambulance method is used in many cities all over the United States and she thinks it will be very good for Lake County. Ms. Phipps stated for the record she is present at the meeting because she cares. City Manager Saunders stated that he felt an M.S.T.U. was the preferred method for financing as it is restrictive, well defined and much easier to account for. Mr. Saunders stated that if the City Council does not address this situation prior to August 4, 2000, there will not be any opportunity for public input or even any opportunity for the City Council to take any action at all on whether the City prefers the M.S.T.U. or ad valorem. Mr. Saunders stated that if the Council adopts it, we will be included in an M.S.T.U., and if the Council does not adopt this, the ambulance service will be on general millage. Mr. Saunders stated that the .55 mil is going CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 7 to be assessed County wide one way or the other, either as an M.S.T.U. or as an increase in the County ad valorem. City Manager Saunders stated that his final point is that this is not the adoption of the .55 mil and the County's public heatings on that will come later and the public will have input at that time. Council Member Biddle confirmed that if the Council fails to take action tonight the Council will actual eliminate the chance for public input on this in the future and City Manager Saunders stated that the County Attorney advised that if Clermont's City Council did not address this matter before August 4, 2000, there is no reason to address it at the next Council Meeting because at that point there is no possibility for an M.S.T.U. for the County. City Attorney Guthrie concurred with City Manager Saunders and the County Attorney and stated that the Council needs to act before August 4, 2000 in order to meet the requirements of the State TRIM law that the M.S.T.U. appear on the TRIM notice that goes out to all taxpayers so a failure to act tonight would nullify the ability of the County to create an M.S.T.U. for ambulance services and that fact constitutes the emergency of this emergency meeting of the Council. City Attorney Guthrie that an emergency ordinance is valid for only 60 days and then will be brought back before Council for consideration and City Manager Saunders stated he intends to re-advertise an introduction as well as a final hearing so there will be two other meetings in front of the Council. A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded by Council Member Mullins and carried unanimously by roll call vote to approve Emergency Ordinance No. 400-M. CITIZENS COMMENTS Ann Dupee, as President of the Operating Board of Hospice of Lake and Sumter County and stated that some of their patients were being dismissed from hospitals and because they were CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 8 not considered an emergency, they sometimes had to wait several hours for ambulance service. Ms. Dupee said that the Board has had an ambulance donated to Hospice and drivers have volunteered so that these patients will no longer have to wait. Ms. Dupee stated further that the City of Groveland has advertised a Notice of Public Hearing an ordinance annexing fight-of-ways on State Road 19, County Road 565, County Road 565-A, County Road 561-A, State Road 50 and State Road 33 Groveland. Ms. Dupee stated that these annexations affect the City of Clermont's borders and the City of Groveland would have control of deciding regarding issues pertaining to water and sewer and would be policing and maintaining those fight-of-ways. Ms. Dupee stated she feels this could have possible serious ramifications for the City of Clermont and thinks we should be represented at their meeting on August 7, 2000, both in person and in writing for the record. City Manager Saunders stated he has talked with Mr. Yarborough, the City Manager of Groveland and stated Ms. Dupee's explanation was correct. Mr. Saunders stated that the annexing of road fight-of-ways on those sections of Highway 50 and County Road 561-A will directly affect the City of Clermont. City Manager Saunders stated Mr. Yarborough informed him that he and the Mayor of Groveland are presenting an amendment to the ordinance on Monday night, that will scale back the Highway 50 annexation to stop at Max Hooks Road and the 561-A annexation to stop at the intersection of 565-A and 561-A. City Manager Saunders stated he was going to issue a letter to the Mayor and Council Members of Groveland indicating our City's objection to them annexing the area east of Max Hooks Road on Highway 50 and the area east of 561-A. City Manager Saunders stated that this situation could be avoided if we had the Joint Planning Area Agreement in place. After discussion the City Council directed City Manager Saunders to write a letter and have a City representative present at the Groveland City Council Meeting on Monday night. Carlos Solos stated that since his name was brought up at the beginning of the meeting, he wished to state for the record that he attended this meeting to listen and had no political agenda. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 2, 2000 Page 9 Mr. Solos stated he just wanted to obtain information regarding the M.S.T.U. so he would have enough information to make a decision. Bill Delaney stated that he lived on 561-A and stated he was opposed to the City of Groveland annexing right-of-ways in their area. Mr. Delaney stated he spoke with Groveland's City Manager Yarborough and was informed that Groveland wanted to annex the right-of-ways so that they could get rights to the utilities, especially water and sewer. Mr. Delaney stated he questions Groveland's ability to provide services. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Attest Harold S. Turville, Jr. Mayor