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06.30.2021 - City Council MinutesCity of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 CALL TO ORDER The City Council met in a retreat format on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 in the Clermont City Center. Mayor Murry called the retreat to order at 9:08 AM with the following Council Members present: Council Members Pines, Entsuah, Bates, and Purvis. Other City officials present were Interim City Manager Dauderis, City Attorney Mantzaris, and Deputy City Clerk Lueth. OPENING COMMENTS Mayor Murry provided opening comments stating that there will be no votes and that the retreat will be open to the public as determined by the Council. The Council provided consensus that the public should be allowed to participate. Interim City Manager Dauderis shared the staff's goals for the meeting which are to set a new priorities list for a new strategic plan. She introduced Michelle Bono as the facilitator for the retreat who came highly recommended by the Florida League of Cities (FLC). Ms. Bono provided opening statements reminding the Council that this is not a staff retreat, this is a Council retreat. She reviewed the format of the meeting for the day and the agenda. AGENDAITEMS 1. Past/Current Priorities and Progress Interim City Manager Dauderis introduced Assistant Public Services Director Jim Maiworm for the presentation. Assistant Director Maiworm presented a PowerPoint presentation and spoke to the following topics: • Rebranding • Acquisition of the Arts and Recreation Center • Splash pad • Downtown -Waterfront Master Plan • New Police Station • Victory Pointe • Defined entry features to the City and Downtown • Kehlor Recreation Center Recreation • Boat Ramp • Downtown Street Scape • New Public Services Facility • Reviewed awards and recognitions Interim City Manager Dauderis explained to the Council that these are the major projects that have been done from the previously adopted vision and strategic plan. Council Member Entsuah asked about the funding for the Public Services building due to the Governor's veto of state funds. Interim City Manager Dauderis informed the Council that the Public Services Director will present on that topic later on. Interim City Manager Dauderis proceeded to go through the department priorities list previously provided to the Council. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 City Manager Leadership and direction to implement City Council strategic goals. Develop new youth council and restart citizen's academy. Communications — Website, Social Media, Citywide Text Alerts. Fire Department Fire Chief Ezell told the Council that it is a misnomer to call them a "fire department" as they do so much more than just put out fires. Fire personnel work in hazmat, emergency response, pandemic response, building services and many other areas. Chief Ezell presented a PowerPoint presentation the goals of the fire department: • Goal: Increase response time to calls for service to within six (6) minutes 90 percent or more of the time. o Currently, Clermont Fire is able to do it 85-90 percent of the time. • Goal: Reconstruction of Fire Station #2 o This is a challenging project with many moving pieces. The most significant being that it is a postage stamp lot for a fire station. o Construction is planned for Calendar Year 2022. • Goal: Purchase of fire engine in FY 2022. o The new engine will replace an engine that was surplused through Procurement Services in 2020. o The Fire Department is currently down an engine in their reserve fleet. • Goal: Purchase of a new Ladder Truck for FY 2025. o The Fire Department is building a fleet replacement program so that the replacement of vehicles becomes more operational and less like large capital purchases. o The Fire Department is going to provide an annual document that will assist with the forecasting for replacement vehicles. The projection should be that they are replacing a vehicle every other year. o The Fire Reserve Fleet should be half the size of active fleet. • Goal: Implement Advanced Life Support transport service. o This is an ambulance response service. When staff has measured the City response time versus the County's response times, staff is seeing that the County is not meeting active response times. They are delayed up to 15 minutes. o After speaking with the County EMS director, it was stated that the long-term plan is to rely more on municipalities. o Worst case scenario in the short-term is that the City takes over the County ambulances (2) at a cost of 2.2 million. • Goal: Construct Fire Station #5 in the southern part of the City. • Goal: Establish a Public Safety Training facility in the South Lake area. o When City staff are training in Taveres it is a 45 minute turnaround to get City crews back into the area. o Clarified for the Council that it is not the facility in Taveres, it is the time. The facility is fantastic. • Goal: Fire Station #1 generator needs replacement. o The current generator is too small, so they are looking at a replacement generator that can run the entire station. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT DUNE 30, 2021 After Fire Chief Ezell concluded his presentation, City Attorney Mantzaris stated that the ISBA with the County is a significant fire component that needs to be renegotiated. The County is looking to utilize the agreement more which allows them to call City fire anywhere within the ISBA. Chief Ezell said that he has found two issues with the agreement. The first is the cost sharing, the second is that the County dispatch is not following it. In regards to the cost sharing, he stated that it is a mess for staff to go through and fix. In regards to the dispatch, he indicated that the County is sending which ever crew is closer and so Clermont crews sometimes have to go as far out as Leesburg. Chief Ezell feels that there is a time issue and there should be boundary restrictions. City Attorney Mantzaris stated that staff is looking for direction from the Council as to whether there should be a renegotiation of this agreement. Council Member Bates asked how much reciprocation the City is getting from the agreement. Chief Ezell responded that they are getting some, but not a lot. The difficulty is that the County does not staff their trucks the same way the City does and if a half empty truck arrives to a scene that is not useful for the City. Council Member Purvis asked about the generator at Fire Station #1. Chief Ezell confirmed that in emergency situations staff does respond out of that station, and when the current generator is working there is only minimal power. He would like to see a generator that powers the whole facility. Council Member Purvis agreed and wants the emergency command center fully powered. Council Member Purvis asked Chief Ezell to bring back to Council at one of the upcoming meetings a more strongly put together proposal. He asked staff that this be included as an agenda item. Council Member Bates asked about the power situations at the other fire stations. Chief Ezell responded that there is an issue at Fire Station #3 in that the generator is ok, but the casing is rusted out. Council Member Purvis stated that he would like to see the City acquire Fire Station #4 from the County. Chief Ezell said that the facility acquisition has been part of ongoing conversations. Council Member Pines stated that the City needs to support its police and fire and going to extreme areas of Lake County is not okay. She suggested that the Council consider the need to raise taxes to take care of more people. Mayor Murry said he agrees with Council Member Purvis about the generator. He also asked about purchasing an ambulance. Chief Ezell explained that County EMS is supportive of Clermont having an ambulance service knowing their response rates are falling. He further explained that County EMS is on active duty 80 percent of time, this does not include eating or writing reports; they are at their maximum. Mayor Murry asked about Fire Station #2 being named after Ray Goodgame. Council Member Purvis said he supports the idea. Mayor Murry said that he would support moving forward with this as well. Police Department Clermont Police Captain Graczyk provided the staff presentation via PowerPoint. • Goal: Review the needs for marine unit. • Goal: Purchase a mobile command center. o Deploy an asset to an active scene that requires the experience and resources those operations need. It would allow for secure hostage negotiations. o Funding would come through military surplus. • Goal: South Lake Public Safety Training Facility • Goal: Establish wellness way public safety building. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 • Goal: Renew Body/Dash camera program in 2025. Public Services Public Services Director Stoney Brunson provided the staff presentation via PowerPoint. • Goal: Construct new Public services facility. o Current contractor will not do the project due to cost increases in construction. Council Member Bates asked about the price adjustments. Director Brunson said that the cost is approximately $1,000,000 higher than original bid. Council Member Entsuah asked about using another contractor. City Attorney Mantzaris responded that the contractor and the City are trying to negotiate an out of the contract that is beneficial to both parties so that the City can go with another contractor or rebid the project. Council Member Purvis asked if there was a way to cut the costs of the project. Director Brunson said they had the project set up in phases so they could cut if needed, but the project budget still does not work. • Goal: Complete wastewater plant expansion. • Goal: Construct two lower Floridan wells. • Goal: Continue downtown mater plan. • Goal: Update utility master plan. Parks and Recreation Parks & Recreation Director Scott Davidoff provided the staff presentation via PowerPoint. • Goal: Upgrade Arts and Recreation Center. o The Parks and Recreation Department has outgrown the current facility, and he highlighted different projects. • Goal: Complete Victory Pointe. o There are a number of projects left incomplete. Space needs to re-examined. It is not large enough to host large events. • Goal: Meet us in the Middle. o Clermont is the middle of the Coast to Coast trail. This is a branding initiative. • Goal: Improve fields. o The issue is not maintenance, but overuse. The base work needs to be redone. • Goal: Install sound systems. Following the director presentations, Interim City Manager Dauderis went through the goals via PowerPoint of the following departments: Building Services, City Clerk, Finance, Human Resources, Planning & Development, Information Technology, and Procurement Services. Mayor Murry opened the floor for comments from the public. Dani Page, Tuscany Ridge — Asked staff to expand on the Diversity and Inclusion program. Interim City Manager Dauderis said that the City maintains its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) standing and does an EEO survey every two years. This program is an internal effort based on togetherness. City Attorney Mantzaris said that having a program or policy in place like this one is a protection for the City. Interim City Manager Dauderis explained that the City is not an affirmative action or quota employer. The City hires based on merit and experience. 4 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT DUNE 30, 2021 2. Budget Background and Outlook Finance Director Pam Brosonski presented a staff presentation on the City's budget via PowerPoint. She reviewed the following topics with the Council. • Reviewed budget process and timeline. • Reviewed revenues and expenses by fund and department. • Provided highlights of the Fiscal Year 22 budget. • Reviewed American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funding as it relates to FY 2022 budget and the prohibited uses. Director Brosonski also highlighted that the expenses in debt service encompassed the master plan, recreation, police department, radios and infrastructure for public services. Council Member Purvis requested that Director Brosonski create a slide for future budget presentations what each city debt is and when the loan will be paid off. Director Brosonski also provided an overview of restricted funds versus the General Fund. She gave the example that the Water Fund can only be used for water fund purchases whereas the General Fund can be used for anything. When asked what fund would be used to replace fire trucks, Director Brosonski said fire trucks could be purchased with Infrastructure, General, or Fire Impact Fee Funds. Interim City Manager Dauderis asked what happens when an unexpected fund need comes up. Director Brosonski replied that the finance team reviews unspent funds or they will push off department's projects. Council Member Purvis asked about the unfreezing of 14 city positions that were mentioned as part of Director Brosonski's slide on the American Rescue Plan. He questioned whether these positons need to be restored. Interim City Manager Dauderis said that each position would be evaluated for its need prior to recruitment. Mayor Murry asked if the police department would be getting additional positions. Interim City Manager Dauderis stated that the police department would be gaining six (6) new positions. Council Member Bates asked about the City's reserves and why are they only at 22 percent. Director Brosonski explained that Fiscal Year 2022 will restore the balance to 25 percent. Council Member Purvis asked to be reassured that the 25 percent is actually a good number. Director Brosonski said that 25 percent is the professional recommended number to fund 90 days of operations. 3. Strategies for Effective City Councils Michelle Bono led the Council in a team building discussion and exercises. The topics considered were: • What Google Teaches About Teamwork • What Makes a Perfect Team? • Behaviors of Good Teams: Turn Taking and Social Sensitivity • Habits of Highly Successful Councils • The Value of Thinking Again • Thinking Like A Scientist • Two Types of Conflict: Relationship vs Task Retreat was recessed at 12: 05 pm City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT RUNE 30, 2021 Retreat returned at 12: 21 PM 4. Lincoln Park South Lake Alliance Presentation Sharon Keys, President of the South Lake Alliance, made a citizens presentation to the Council via PowerPoint regarding the acquisition of Lincoln Park Middle School which they would like to see turned into a community facility called "Champions Corner". She covered the following topics: • Who We Are • Why the Facility is Needed • Potential Reach of the Facility • Phases of Development and Activation • Operations and Costs • Opportunity Cost • Requests of the City Council o Full Workshop in August o City staff to assist with collecting local data needed to complete the study or perform and economic impact study. o Take ownership of the Champions Corner concept with proof of sustainable programming. o Take ownership of the MOU to negotiate better terms on the facility lease with Lake County Schools. o Partner with the South Lake Alliance on funding for the renovations costs (through public funding or public sector grants). o Consider allocating ARP funds towards the renovation costs. o Assist with facility maintenance and operational repairs in the future. Mayor Murry opened the floor for comments from the public. William Montgomery, Clermont — Supports the concept. Wants the City to take the project over entirely. Steve Smith — Supports the concept. Raymond Thomas — Supports the concept. This will help alleviate poverty. Shannon Gueirrea, Find Feed Restore — Supports the concept. Wants the City to take the lead on the proj ect. J. Brian Miles — Supports the concept. Suggested the City join as a partner. Seeing no further comments, Mayor Murry closed the floor. Council Member Bates stated he is supportive of the project, but he is not in favor of the City taking it over. He stated he is still confused about what the ask of the City is. Ms. Keys responded said they are in need of the City to assist with the acquisition and upfront costs of the project. She explained that the total cost of renovations is $3,600,000. There is also ongoing monthly costs of $26,000 for just lights, utilities, and maintenance and overhead. This cost does not include personnel. Council Member Entsuah stated that he is in support of the concept, and if properly planned and managed the City can take this over. 0 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT J UNE 30, 2021 Council Member Pines supports the concept, but her biggest concerns are the costs. She strongly feels that another workshop needs to be scheduled. Mayor Murry disclosed that he used to be on the committee and was a founding member of the South Lake Alliance, but he has since resigned. He is in full support of the project. He believes that the City needs to take the lead of purchasing and running this facility. The Council decided that August 17 would be designated as the South Lake Alliance workshop. The Council informed the South Lake Alliance that the workshop needs to address the following items: • Timeline of payments and requirements by Lake County and the School Board. • Timeline of involvement from inception to date. • Analysis of the memorandum of understanding. • Two (2) separate business models; one with City involvement, one without. • Full cost analysis of maintenance and operations on a monthly basis. The Council wants as much information as possible for the workshop. Ms. Keys asked if data can be shared by staff to prepare studies. City Attorney Mantzaris said that all city data is public record and is free to share. Retreat was recessed at 1: 02 PM Retreat returned at 1:13 PM 5. Priorities Discussion and Selection Facilitator Michelle Bono led the Council in a discussion on setting and selecting priorities based on conversations she had with each of them prior to the retreat. Mayor Murry - Create opportunity to retain youth. o A lot of development and growth, but we have done very little for the needs of our youth. o Job opportunities, economic development. - Community Center o South Lake Alliance Community Center. It gives underprivileged kids opportunities. - Build More Affordable Housing o Big problem. Businesses need employees, but employees can not live here. It is too expensive. Losing workforce to surrounding cities. Wants a workshop on workforce housing. - Create jobs walkable from housing and building better neighborhoods. o Traffic is a problem. o Commercial properties are not placed inside residential communities. Council Member Bates - City Manager Recruitment o Need leadership at the top. The Interim City Manager is doing great job, but there is a heavy burden on staff. 7 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 o Needs to focus on the core of what a city is supposed to do and do it well. - Traffic - Wellness Way development o How are we going to develop this area to make this the best area possible and better than what we have here? Council Member Purvis - Resolve the parking situation downtown o This has already started Council Member Entsuah - Vocational Training o More needed - Parking and Traffic Issues - City Manager Recruitment - Better Ways to Improve the Quality of Life Council Member Pines - Multifamily/Workforce Housing o Workshop requested for ordinance review. o Rental prices in the community o Hooks Street and Wellness Way - Waterfront Park Area o Other people non-residents using municipal facilities. o Free Admission to parks for residents only. Resident pass. - History of Clermont o Support historical society. o We need to remember where we came from to understand where we are going. Ms. Bono asked if there were any questions on the stated priorities of the Council. Council Member Purvis made a comment that the City is not in the social services business and feels that the visions of the Council are getting a little bit out of the wheelhouse of what a municipal government is supposed to do. He feels that the Council needs to focus on administering the City and not redoing the social fabric of the community. Mayor Murry stated that while he understands Council Member Purvis's point with growth, people come, and the Council needs to plan for that by expanding services. Council Member Pines stated that she agrees with Council Member Purvis in many respects, but the Council before them passed ordinances and this Council has to make sure their directive is done correctly. Council Member Entsuah disagreed with Council Member Purvis and said the City needs to take the lead in rewarding people and businesses who are doing new types of construction and utilizing new technologies. Council Member Purvis stated that he is not opposed to expanding some services, but when there is discussion on getting into education, he would rather see the City focus on transportation to existing sites that provide the educational services. 91 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT NNE 30, 2021 Ms. Bono asked the Council if there were any other priorities they could think of. The Council unanimously agreed that the following should be added to the list: - Properly Funding All Departments. Council Member Pines said that the Council needs to address raising taxes and millage rates. Council Member Bates stated his opposition to raising taxes. Council Member Purvis expressed support for a justified tax increase. Mayor Murry stated that he is open to increasing taxes as it is a product of growth. Council Member Entsuah stated he would not be taking a position at this time. - Transportation The Council discussed how they would like to create a public transportation system possibly separate from the service that currently serves Clermont and south Lake County. - Traffic - Community Center (Champions Corner) Mayor Murry sees this as an educational center, arts center, and athletic center. He wants the police more involved and wants the Boys & Girls Club moved to the Community Center from the Arts & Recreation Center (ARC). Council Member Purvis reminded the Council that it was Mayor Murry who pushed for the Boys & Girls Club to be at the ARC years ago. Mayor Murry said at the time he just wanted a location at for the club. The studies at the time showed that the school would have been the best location, but the school did not want it there. Council Member Bates questioned if the demographics from the studies had changed over the years. Mayor Murry said he believes they have not despite being 10-12 years old. - Trash and Parking - 8' Street Pier/Docks for Boats so they can come downtown - Quality of Life Downtown Mayor Murry opened the floor for comments from the public. Dani Page, Clermont — concerned that an increase in services could lead to increased pressure on infrastructure and an eventual increase in taxes. Seeing no further comments, the floor was closed. Council Member Purvis asked if there was any law or process available regarding a municipality limiting growth. City Attorney Mantzaris said that annexation is purely legislative and is really the only tool available to limit growth. The Council had a discussion with the City Attorney about tools for development. Council Member Purvis said that the City needs to consider limiting development, especially for residential until the City can catch up with services such as Fire and Law Enforcement. City Attorney Mantzaris cautioned the Council about the risks involved with limiting development of already annexed land. Council Member Purvis asked the City Attorney to see if there is a way to restrict or slow development like the Council is able to do with school concurrency. City Attorney Mantzaris informed the Council that the state legislature has gutted municipalities' abilities over the years to control developments. W] City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 Council Member Bates recommended that the City host a community forum like was done ten (10) years ago to get public input on how to move the City forward. Council Member Entsuah is supportive of the plan, but would like to have it after a new city manager is in place. The rest of the Council agreed. Retreat was recessed at 2: 40 pm Retreat resumed at 3: 00 pm Upon resuming, Council Member Pines asked that the expansion of the Clermont cemetery land be added to the list as they had received an email about its upcoming sell out. Ms. Bono reviewed the identified priorities of the Council. - Traffic issues o Hartwood Marsh Road o Hancock Road o Hartle and Hooks Road - Increase Public Transportation - Increase and Diversify by location Workforce Housing - Maintain or Build Adequate Funding for City Services - Implement Solutions for Downtown Clermont - Explore New Community Center - Explore Use of Waterfront Park - Envision Proactive Strategies to Guide Development - Enhance 8t' Street Pier for Community Benefit - Maintain History of Clermont - Expansion of Clermont Cemetery Ms. Bono then had each council member come up to identify their top five priorities. Council Member Purvis asked for an opportunity for staff to tell the Council what their priorities are. Interim City Manager Dauderis responded that she is not able to accommodate that request as staff s responsibility is to carry out the priorities of the Council. After the members had considered the issues, the following priorities were ranked. 1. Maintain or Build adequate funding for City Services 2. Find Solutions to Traffic Issues 3. Find ways to retain and honor Clermont history 4. Waterfront Park 5. Affordable Housing Interim City Manager Dauderis asked for clarification on defining each of the priorities. Council Member Pines said she does not need to workshop some of these items as staff is already working on them. Council Member Bates agreed that there should not be a workshop on each priority reminding the Council that the purpose of the all -day retreat was to avoid workshops. Mayor Murry said he wants to see a workshop on traffic and transportation. He would like to see proposals for all electric fleet vehicles and a Clermont public transportation system. 10 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT DUNE 30, 2021 Ms. Bono suggested that maybe instead of having dedicate workshops, the Council could have a standing item on their meeting agendas for the City Manager to provide updates on the priority list. The Council agreed to this idea. With regards to history as priority, Council Member Purvis and Council Member Pines asked that staff work to increase the partnership with the Clermont Historical Society. With regards to Waterfront Park and the 8' street pier, they should be combined and it might require a workshop. Council Member Bates felt that it did not require a workshop as it just requires a plan and a budget. The rest of the Council stated they would like a workshop on the subject. Closing Comments Council Member Purvis said that he believes the meeting went well and served the Council well. Council Member Pines thanked City Staff for all the work they do on a daily basis. Council Member Bates asked what the Council can do to move meetings along in a more timely fashion. Mayor Murry replied that as mayor he is not going limit public comment and if he has to sit there until 11:00pm or midnight that is what he is going to do. If that is what the people want, that is what he is going to do. Council Members Purvis and Bates asked if there is anything the Council can do with presentations by applicants. City Attorney Mantzaris said that if an applicant is denied and were given an arbitrary time to present their case, then it is more difficult in Court as to the arguments because it becomes about the time and not about the substance. He did say that there are things the Council can do to help move the meeting along. He has observed that a lot of irrelevant information is brought up and discussed. He believes that part of the reason is that there are three new Council Members who are still learning the process. Council Member Pines said that there is too much sales pitch by applicants and that they just need to provide facts to the Council. City Attorney Mantzaris clarified that there is a party to a proceeding and public member. He said there are some measures the City Council could take to their rules of procedure that would address quasi-judicial proceedings. Council Member Purvis asked staff to come back with a revised rules of conduct. The Council gave its consensus. Council Member Entsuah stated that he would like a full recodification code. Deputy City Clerk said he believed the City Clerk had put it in her budget proposal. Interim City Manager Dauderis clarified that it is not in the budget, but is a discussion item for the Council during their budget hearings. Council Member Entsuah stated he wants it in the budget and Council Member Purvis agreed that it needs to be done. The consensus of the Council was to wait until a new city manager is in place and then do it in the next budget cycle. The Council discussed term limits and would like to explore going to three (3) year terms. Mayor Murry, Council Member Purvis, and Council Member Entsuah supported the proposal and asked for a future discussion. Council Member Bates was against. Mayor Murry thanked staff and Ms. Bono on behalf of the City Council. 11 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL RETREAT JUNE 30, 2021 ADJOURN: With no further comments, this meeting adjourned at 3:57 pm. ATTEST: Tracy Ackroyd Howe, City Clerk 12 APPROVED: Tim Murry, yor"