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01.16.2024 - City Council MinutesCity of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 CALL TO ORDER The City Council met in a workshop session on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 in the Clermont City Council Chambers. The workshop was called to order at 6:30 pm with the following Council Members present: Mayor Murry, Council Members Pines, Myers and Gonzalez. Other City officials present were City Manager Bulthuis, City Attorney Mantzaris, and City Clerk Howe. OPENING COMMENTS Mayor Murry noted this is a workshop and there will be no action taken at the workshop. AGENDA ITEMS City Manager Bulthuis introduced Police Chief Broadway. Police Chief Broadway showed a brief video on active threat training that took place at Real Life Church in conjunction with other agencies. City Manager Bulthuis and Mayor Murry commended Chief Broadway and the Police Department on the level of training. 1. Meet Us in the Middle Plaza and 8th Street Docks Project Update City Manager Bulthuis provided an overview of the public meeting discussion of the 8th Street pier project. The city has scheduled to have another community meeting in February. The city has been approved for a $200,000.00 grant toward the project which will go before council at the next City Council meeting. He also stated that the city will look into other funding sources along with Parks and Recreation Impact fees. This project is one of the city's legislative priorities. City Manager Bulthuis introduced Jeff Powell from Powell Studio Architecture to give an update on the project. Mr. Powell gave a brief synopsis of the CRA plan and a timeline of events since 2015 when the CRA plan was approved by City Council. Mr. Powell reviewed the existing conditions of the pier and space around the pier. He reviewed the conceptual plan and the comments they received from the community meeting in March, 2023. After taking all the feedback from the meeting into consideration and getting a site survey done, they were able to put together a conceptual design for the area. The new design shows 28 boat slips, 8 wake/ski boat slips and 8 personal watercraft docking stations with a breakwater. There will be a fishing pier, pedestrian walkways, amphitheater style greenspace, restrooms and the Meet Us in the Middle Plaza. The project would be completed in phases. Council Member Myers asked about the cost of the project. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 Mr. Powell stated that his current estimate would be $6.5 to $7.5 million. As the design enhances and the project moves further along, he would have more of an actual cost. City Manager Bulthuis explained to council that funding will have to be discussed, how much to allocate from impact fees and other funding sources. There was talk about moving the pier to Victory Pointe but the city does not have a land lease there which would increase the timeframe and cost. The next step is to have a workshop February 20 and invite the public. There is a proposal to do the next round of engineering to move this project forward. Direction is needed from council on how they would like to proceed. Mayor Murry stated the public will have an opportunity to speak on the is project at the February 20 workshop. The pier has been closed for two years, and the city needs to move forward with this project as soon as possible. Mayor Murry explained to the public that Parks and Recreation impact fees can only be used on new projects, it cannot be used to tear down the existing pier or rebuild it. Mayor Murry opened the floor to allow for public comments. Keith Mullins, 640 Drew Avenue - In favor of the project. David Colby, 3072 Santa Maria Avenue — In favor of the project. Great for local businesses. Royce Johnson, 1083 Glenraven Lane — In favor of the project. Consider bicycle parking. Darren Johnson, 1075 W. Lakeshore Drive — In favor of the project. Mayor Murry closed public comments. Council directed the City Manager to move forward with the project. 2. Pickle ball City Manager Bulthuis provided history on pickle ball courts in the city. He spoke to Lake County regarding a regional park planned between Clermont and Groveland and was told this project is not moving forward right now. He introduced the Parks and Recreation Director to present some options to council on adding more courts in the city. Parks and Recreation Director Forman provided three options to council. 1. Add pickle ball lines to existing tennis courts at Hancock and Palatlakaha Park. 2. Convert Felter Park tennis courts to pickle ball courts. 3. Add six additional pickle ball courts at the Arts and Recreation Center. He reviewed the details and costs of each option along with different variations each option has. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 City Manager Bulthuis informed Council of the impacts of adding more pickle ball courts to the Arts and Recreation Center. Mr. Bulthuis stated that converting Felter tennis courts to pickle ball courts was a good option and encouraged City Council and residents to push Lake County for a regional park. Mayor Murry and Council Member Pines stated their concerns with adding more courts at the Arts and Recreation Center. Council Member Myers asked Parks and Recreation Director Forman his preference of the options presented. He stated that converting the courts at Felter Park would be his suggestion. Mayor Murry opened the floor to allow public comments. Royce Johnson,1083 Glenraven Lane - Appreciates the options and is in favor of converting Felter Park courts. Sophia O'Keefe, 489 W. Minnehaha Ave. - In favor of converting Felter Park courts. Resident — spoke regarding pickle ball, In favor of converting Felter Park courts. Gwen McFadden, 13331 Skiing Paradise Blvd. — thanked Council for listening to the community. Mayor Murry closed public comments. City Attorney Mantzaris stated that there does not need to be a formal vote, can be a consensus from council in what direction they would like to go. Depending on the consensus, staff may have to go through the procurement process. City Manager Bulthuis said that staff will gather information and the project may come in under the threshold to have to go through the procurement process. Mayor Murry asked Council what direction they would like to go in. The consensus of the City Council is to convert the courts at Felter Park to pickle ball and add pickle ball lines to the tennis courts at Hancock Park. 3. Board Appointments City Manager Bulthuis provided Council with a summary of vacancies on the boards. He asked for direction on how Council would like to move forward with board appointments as far as having applicants come before Council. Mayor Murry stated he wants the process to stay the same as it is now with applicants coming before Council. City Manager Bulthuis spoke about the role of the pension boards. They are a separate legal entity that invests millions of dollars. The city contributes a percentage and if the pensions do not make its goals, then the city has to contribute more to reach the goal. He recommended the volunteers for these boards have experience. City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 4. Code Enforcement Board City Manager Bulthuis stated that staff is recommending returning to a Special Magistrate in place of a Code Enforcement Board. Development Services Director Henschel explained that a Magistrate is more efficient, consistent and unbiased. There has been an issue with getting a quorum with the current Code Enforcement Board members, meetings have been canceled due to this. Council Member Pines supports a Special Magistrate. Development Services Director Henschel showed Council a survey of the surrounding cities in which the majority use a Special Magistrate in place of a Code Enforcement Board. Code Enforcement Manager Wallace stated that best practice is to have an unbiased person for these proceedings. Code Board members have been amazing but there are times they ask questions that are not relevant to the case. They have not had a quorum since September. It is more cost effective to have a Special Magistrate. Council Member Myers said we need people who are dedicated. Her concern is the voice for the residents. City Attorney Mantzaris stated that he also serves as a Special Magistrate and explained the difference from a Code Board. In his opinion, Special Magistrate is an efficient process, residents get a better voice in front of a Special Magistrate than of a board. Special Magistrates are licensed attorneys and are trained in those matters. It also provides a certain amount of flexibility for the proceedings. City Manager Bulthuis explained that the goal is compliance. If Council is interested, staff can draft a new ordinance to return to Special Magistrate. Staff will draft an Ordinance with the first reading being at the January 23, 2024 Council meeting. If Council decides not to move forward with a Special Magistrate, they can vote for denial of the Ordinance and it would not -move forward for a second reading. City Manager Bulthuis informed Council that there is an opening for an alternate on the Lake County Arts and Cultural Alliance and Ms. Draper would like to be reappointed. Deputy City Manager Davidoff explained the role of the Lake County Arts and Cultural Alliance. The other boards that need selections are as follows. Lake League of Cities, Mayor Murry and Council Member Gonzalez serve as first Vice President and second Vice President and would like to continue on the board. Mr. Purvis served on the Tourism Development Committee and Council will have to appoint a new member, Council Member Pines stated her interest. Lake Apopka Natural Gas, Mayor Murry currently sits on the board and would like to continue. 4 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 5. Review of Resolution No. 2021-003R City Manager Bulthuis stated that staff would like to rephrase a section of the resolution. Section 2, C refers to Public Meeting and Hearing Protocol and Conduct. Subsection B, refers to Agenda Items Submitted by the Public and stated that the requestor submits a request to the City Manager to place an item on the agenda. Staff would like to change so a requestor asks City Council during public comment at a Council Meeting. Part of the section stated that the City Manager may reject a request if the City Manager determines it is not in the best interest of the City. Determining what is in the best interest of the City is a decision for Council. City Attorney Mantzaris explained that staff is recommending removing the first step of going to the City Manager while keeping the rest of the language regarding going in front of Council. There will be no vote tonight, a new resolution would be brought before council for a vote to amend the current resolution. Mayor Murry stated this was done to provide residents the option of having more than three minutes at the podium during public comment on an item that was a benefit to the community. Council Member Pines asked City Attorney Mantzaris if this process is atypical of cities. City Attorney Mantzaris stated that writing the current resolution was the first and only time he has ever drafted that language and he is not aware of this process being used in other cities. The process that is used elsewhere is that a citizen speaks at a meeting and asks to be on an agenda. Mayor Murry stated that he has no issues with going back to the original process of residents asking at a Council meeting. City Attorney Mantzaris clarified that staff can update the resolution with the strikes and underlines that City Manager Bulthuis presented, any part of this resolution can be updated if Council chooses. The consensus of the City Council is to move forward with the language change presented to them at this workshop. City Manager Bulthuis spoke about a request he received from a resident to add an item to the agenda. He stated that it is similar to an item that has already been brought before Council regarding the 3 minute time limit on public comments. Mayor Murry directed City Manager Bulthuis to deny the request. The resolution will be on the agenda for the January 23, 2024 Council meeting. City Manager Bulthuis stated that the Mayor received a letter from a resident where some issues have been confused regarding social media comments being turned off on city pages. The City is not required to have comments on. Last year, staff asked and he verbally agreed to the change. 5 City of Clermont MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP January 16, 2024 The Public Information Officer is being criticized for making this decision, the City Manager made the decision. Unless directed by Council, staff will not be turning comments back on. City Attorney Mantzaris said that this is not a council issue. The City Manager is responsible for every employee and council is prohibited from interfering. The Council can direct the City Manager to open social media to comments, anything else is beyond the scope of the Council. Mayor Murry stated that it is not Council responsibility to get into personnel matters. 6. Other City Manager Bulthuis asked Council how they would like him to proceed regarding the interaction with a resident at Light Up Clermont regarding barricades on 1 Oth Street. The consensus from Council was to move on from the incident, no need to publicly continue. City Manager Bulthuis informed Council if any member of the City Council has to hire a professional to assist them with filling out the Form 6, they can submit the cost and the City will reimburse up to $1,250. City Attorney Mantzaris clarified that in order to be reimbursed, the Council Member will need to go to a professional who is familiar with the form and provide documentation. City Manager Bulthuis discussed adding monitors to the council chambers and removing the screen behind Council. Mayor Murry opened public comments on items 3 and 4 of the agenda. Mr. Bryan Bain, Nautica Mile Drive — spoke regarding membership on the Code Enforcement Board and if they eliminate the board he hopes they will look for other opportunities for citizens. ADJOURN: With no further comments, this workshop adjourned at 9:55 pm. ATTEST racy Ackroyd'Howe, MMC City Clerk _.d, 6 APPROVED: WLr Tim Murry, Mayor