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03-09-1999 Regular Meeting CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Tuesday, March 9, 1999 at Jenkins Auditorium. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Turville with the following Council Members present: Council Member Biddle, Council Member Brown, Council Member Lamb and Council Member Wolfe. Other City officials present were City Manager Saunders, City Attorney Baird, Principal Planner Brown, and Deputy City Clerk Whitlock. INVOCATION The Invocation was offered by Council Member Brown followed by the repeating of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by all present. MINUTES 99-056 A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe, seconded bY Council Member Biddle, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes of the regular Council Meeting hem February 23, 1999. CITY MANAGER SAUNDERS' REPORT National Training Center City Manager Saunders reviewed a proposed letter in support of the National Training Center addressed to the Florida Governor and Legislators. 99-057 A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe, seconded by Council Member Biddle, and carried unanimous!¥ to approve the letter to the Governor and Legislators in support of the National Training Center. Hancock II Well City Manager Saunders explained that the test results for Hancock II well indicate that the water quality and quantity is very good. The Hancock I well is experiencing air and CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 2 has been off-line since December. St. Johns River Water Management thinks the air is a temporary problem, however, he recommended getting Well II on line as soon as possible. The first step of getting this well on-line would be to install a new casing approximately 300' deeper and to test pump the well. City Manager Saunders recommended negotiating a price with Meredith Environmental for this initial work. He stated that Meredith Environmental has stated this work could be done for less than $50,000. City Manager Saunders further explained that the next step would be the construction of the well and distribution system which would require engineered plans and specifications. He recommended utilizing Springstead Engineering for this work since they could utilize some of the plans that they had recently developed for the Hancock I well. 99-058 A motion was made bY Council Member Lamb, seconded bY Council Member Brown, and carried unanimously to contract Meredith Environmental for the initial casing and test work and to direct Springstead Engineering to complete the required engineering for the construction of Hancock }Yell II. Workshop Council Members agreed to hold a Workshop on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Police Department to discuss attorney proposals, the Hancock well situation, E-5 lift station and other items. Community Revitalization Agency (CRA) Meeting City Manager Saunders stated that a CRA meeting can be held prior to a Council Meeting in response to Council Member Biddle's question regarding scheduling at the next meeting. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 3 COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN'S REPORT League of Cities Representative Council Member Brown stated he has taken a position to work with the local youth which conflicts with the Lake County League of Cities schedule. He suggested that Council Member Lamb be appointed to serve on this Board. 99-059 A motion was made by Council Member Brown, seconded by Council Member Wolfe, and carried unanimously to appoint Council Member Lamb to the Lake Coun~ League of Cities. VISITORS WITH BUSINESS South Lake Ministerial Fellowship City Manager Saunders stated that the South Lake Ministerial Fellowship has requested use of the Clermont Waterfront Park for the annual Easter Sunrise Service from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 4. He stated that this event has been held at this location in the past. They are also requesting that the City waive the parking fees for that event. He recommended approval. 99-060 A motion was made by Council Member Wolfe, seconded by Council Member Lamb, and carried unanimous!¥ to approve the use Of the Waterfront Park to the South Lake Ministerial Fellowship_for Easter Sunrise Service_from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Sund~_ , April 4, with a waiver of parking fees for the event. Preben Olesen - Variance Request CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 4 Mayor Turville explained the Quasi-Judicial proceeding process. City Manager Saunders stated that the applicant is requesting a variance to allow reduced lot sizes for five of the lots proposed to be platted for the Marina Cove townhouses. This is an existing multi-family project located on the south side of Chestnut Street just west of 8th Street which has never been platted before as individual lots. He stated that the Code requires a minimum of 5,000 square feet for a townhouse lot and because of the odd configuration of the property, lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 will have less than the minimum 5,000 square feet, ranging from 4,301 for lot 1 to 4,852 for lot 4. City Clerk Van Zile swore in George Hovis, 9929 Ridge Road, Clermont and Preben Olesen, 12634 Valencia Drive, Clermont. George Hovis, atto. mey for Preben Olesen explained that the lots could be platted with the 5,000 square foot minimum, however, they would have very odd shapes. He stated that the proposed lots are configured in the most logical and desirable dimensions. City Clerk Van Zile swore in Howard Barry, 439 Carroll Street who asked if the structures were existing. Mayor Turville closed the public hearing. City Manager Saunders stated that the proposed plat gives a diagram of the lots as well as a summary of the lot sizes. He explained that the present owner is proposing to sell individual units as town homes rather than continue as a rental property and this will give the owner the ability to plat the lots for individual sale. He recommended approval. 99-061 After discussion, a motion was made bY Council Member Biddle, seconded b~¥ Council Member Lamb, and carried unanimous!¥ to approve the variance_for reduced lot size, adding a restriction in the plat against time share ownership. Final Reading of Ordinance 378-M City Manager Saunders stated that Ordinance 378-M is a request by the First United Methodist Church to close and abandon that portion of Broome Street lying east of 8~ CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 5 Street and west of 7th Street. He stated that the Church owns all of the property on both sides of this street and have plans to expand the facilities that would necessitate the closing of this section of road. Mayor Turville read Ordinance 378-M by title only and opened the public hearing. Steve Cook of the Methodist Church offered to answer any questions. Mayor Turville closed the public hearing. City Manager Saunders recommended approval. 99-062 A motion was made by Council Member Biddle, seconded bY Council Member Wolfe and carried unanimous!¥ bP roll call vote to adopt Ordinance 3 78-M closing and abandoning a portion of Broome Street lying east of 8tn Street and west of 7tn Street. Final Reading of Ordinance 377-M Mayor Turville read Ordinance 377-M by title only. City Manager Saunders stated that Ordinance 377-M is for a proposed Small Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment for two parcels on the south side of S.R. 50. He recommended tabling the ordinance until the next meeting in that the Small Scale Amendment requires a Developer's Agreement which has not been finalized. 99-063 A motion was made b~ Council Member Biddle, seconded b? Council Member Brown, and carried unanimously to table the_final reading of Ordinance 3 77-M until the March 23, 1999 meeting. NEW BUSINESS Community Redevelopment Agency - Appointment City Manager Saunders stated that there is one vacant position on the Downtown Redevelopment Agency and three requests for consideration for appointment were received, as follow: Gordon H. Hallgren, Russell Lawson and Jennifer Hanks Elswick. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 6 He explained that the committee is composed of the five Council Members and two citizen appointments. Council Member Biddle stated that all three candidates were good candidates. Council Member Wolfe stated that more citizens should be involved and that the membership composition or number of members should be re-evaluated, and members agreed to include discussion of this at the March 17 Workshop. Principal Planner Brown stated he will research the legal requirements regarding members. 99-064 A motion was made bY Council Member Biddle, seconded bY Ma}or Turville, (after passing the gavel to Ma}or Pro Tern Brown) and carried unanimously to appoint Gordon H. Hallgren to the Community Redevelopment Yl genc¥. Safety Footwear Program Finance Director Van Zile stated that the Safety Footwear Program will benefit employees exposed to certain hazards. He reviewed a survey taken of area employers and stated that the proposed program includes $75 per year per employee which will be paid directly to the Lehi Shoe Company, an authorized footwear vendor of OSHA approved footwear. He estimated a cost of $4,500 in the current budget year. Council Member Wolfe stated that the amount provided for the shoes should be the difference between the cost of standard footwear and safety footwear, which is much less than the proposed $75. Finance Director Van Zile stated that all other required safety equipment is provided to employees and this would prevent a burden being placed on employees. He stated that the City's Safety Committee recommended the program. 99-065 A motion was made by Council Member Brown, seconded bY Council Member Biddle, and carriedfour to one with Council Member Wolfe voting na} to approve the Safety Footwear Program and contracting with Lehi Shoe Compan¥ for authorized safety footwear. CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 1999 Page 7 AUDIENCE COMMENTS: Bishop Field Modifications Ben Griffin stated he was grieved to see Bishop Field modified to a softball field. He asked that the plans to modify it be postponed if at all possible so that it could remain a baseball field. Matt Modica was upset that after the games begin that his team will be forced to practice at Montverd¢ and stated that the field was inadequate. He was concerned that the Softball League pay for the cost of refurbishing Bishop Field next year. Harry Morrison stated that the plans made for Bishop Field should be for next year's needs. City Manager Saunders stated that Amy Lesner has been selected as Recreation Director and will be in charge of scheduling ballfields. He stated that the budget includes money to construct one additional ballfield at the new Hancock Park this year and additional money may come from state and county grants which will be applied for more ballfields. There being no further business or discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m. Attest: Harold S. Turville, Jr. Mayor --~J:osepl~ E. Van tLrl'le, City Clerk