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08-01-1984 Workshop Meeting e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 A Workshop Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Wednesday, August 1, 1984 in the City Hall Conference Room. The Meeting was called to order by Mayor Beals at 7:00 p.m. with the following council Members is attendance: Mayor Pro Tem Pool, Council Members Cole, Turville and Henry. Other City Officials present were: City Manager Forbes and Finance Director Saunders. STORM DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS Council Members began the meeting by reviewing item #4 of the budget issues, the City's storm drainage improvements. It was explained that there was $15,000 in the budget for these improvements. The City Manager stated that they would select a project from the City's Capital Improvement Plan during the next fiscal year and obtain Council approval before work would begin. He stated that there were two possible areas for work to begin, and one was to move the line that runs under one of Williams Steel's buildings. It was explained that under Capital Outlay - Streets and Sidewalks in the Public Works Department Budget, $55,000 was budgeted. $15,000 of that was for storm drainage improvements and $40,000 would be for a road sealing program. Mr. Forbes explained that $35,000 had been added to revenues in the budget due to the new two cents gas tax, but that initially it would not be budgeted until the City found out how much the Lake Winona Bridge improvements would cost. The money could then be transferred to either that or any other needed street project. PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES Item # 5 concerning a preliminary study to relocate the Public Works Facility was discussed. The City Manager stated that he had some conversations with Speedy Wolfe on this matter, and that he would be interested in purchasing the City's present Public Works Facility located at Eleventh Street on Lake Minneola or swaping properties with the City. He stated that he believed that the City should investigate this matter further because the City had been discussing moving the Public Works Department for several years. The Council Members stated that they had no objections to the City Manager talking with Mr. Wolfe, looking into this matter and keeping them informed of the progress. No decisions could be made on this matter without final Council approval. FILM FOR FISHING TOURNAMENT Mr. Wimpy Burdette came to the Meeting at this time. Mayor Beals explained that he had invited Mr. Burdette to explain the film he would like to make to promote fishing in the Clermont chain of lakes. Mr. Burdette explained that to make a film of this type would cost approximately $30,000, and the film would be free to the City except for the cost of the film and a script writer. He explained that the film would probably be made with or without the City's participation, but he believed that the City should contribute so it could have cassettes of the film to promote the City and fishing in the chain of lakes. The immediate use of the film would be to air it nationally on television to promote the upcoming Ford Motor Company Fishing Tournament. After much discussion, it was the consensus of the Council that it would be best for Mr. Burdette to approach the Chamber of Commerce on this matter, since they did not believe the City could support such a venture at this time. Mr. Burdette stated that he would contact the Chamber of Commerce in the near future, and left the meeting at this time. e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -2- RADIO EQUIPMENT AND MICROFICHE The City Manager explained that the salaries part of the budget had been reduced by about $10,000 due to a reduction in health insurance costs. Health insurance costs only will increase about 5%, whereas, initially, the City expected a 20% increase. Mr. Forbes recommended that the City do the following: I. Add $2,500 to the professional services budget for microfiching building records. 2. Add $2,000 to the professional services budget for studies on utility benefit fees or water rates. 3. Add $4,200 to the budget for police salaries. This would insure that a new police officer could be added for a full year. In response to Mr. Turville's question, the City Manager stated that the police overtime would remain unchanged. 4. One new portable radio at a price of $800 be added to the revenue sharing budget for the new officer. 5. Add $1,900for two radios, one for the street crew vehicle and the other for the parks department vehicle. There was much discussion regarding the microfiching of the building department's records. The City Manager explained that he wished to insure that the plans were filmed and kept in the proper building files. Presently, the plans are kept in boxes by year with no real filing system. He also explained that as the City grows, it would be better to microfiche all building department records. It was the consensus of the Council to approve all of the items listed above. The City Manager was asked to insure that he prioritize the microfiching of building plans. They stated that they could understand keeping commercial plans, but were unsure of the need for residential plans. SEABOARD SYSTEM RAILROAD The Council discussed the purchase of the abandoned Seaboard System Railroad right-of-way from East Avenue to Twelfth Street. It was the consensus of the Council that when the property became available, the City would purchase it with money in the City's Parks and Recreation account and reserves. No money would be budgeted until the City could find out exactly how much it would be required to pay for the property. LAKE WINONA BRIDGE It was explained that the additional two cents gas tax monies would add about $35,000 in revenue for the City. The City Manager stated that due to problems at the City Engineer's office, we would be hiring another engineer to perform the Lake Winona Bridge work with Council approval. He stated that he would be approaching Richard Newman on this matter and no money would be budgeted for the project at this time, but would be available through the extra two cents gas tax. It was the consensus of the Council to wait and see how much the improve- ments for the bridge will cost and budget the funds from the extra two cents gas tax at that time. e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -3- UNITED TELEPHONE SYSTEM FRANCHISE The Council discussed the new franchise ordinance with United Telephone. Mr. Forbes explained that he had sent the telephone company the proposed ordinance. A copy of the cover letter would be in the Council Packets on Friday. He also explained that he had been contacted by the telephone company, and they would like the City to have either a 1% or 2% franchise fee instead of the 1.5% asked for by the City. The City Manager stated that the proposed franchise ordinance would be placed on the Council agenda for introduction during the August 28th Council Meeting. POLICE OFFICER As previously discussed, the Council agreed that one new full-time Police Officer would be added to City's Police Department. This officer would be used as a swingman, and approximately six months out of the year would be on duty during other officers' vacations, with the remainder of the time being spent on traffic control and other duties as needed. BUILDING DEPARTMENT COMPETENCY CARDS The City Manager explained that the City's new Building Official would be meeting with builders next Tuesday to go over building inspection practices. He also explained that one item that would be discussed is competency cards. He stated that it is no longer necessary for the City to issue them, but instead would rely on proof that contractors are State Certified or Registered Builders or holda County Occupational License. It was further explained that years ago the City gave the Block Test for competency cards for builders, but gave up the practice nine or ten years ago. Presently the City accepts County or other City's competency cards. In other words, someone with a County Competency Card could purchase one in Clermont without taking a test. Revenues from competency cards have been taken out of the proposed budget. He also explained that the City would like to adopt a Building Ordi- nance as compatible with the County's Ordinance as possible, and adopt the same fee schedule as the County's. RESERVE POLICE VEHICLE It was the consensus of the Council that the vehicle presently being driven by Mr. Smythe would be transferred to the Police Department as a reserve vehicle. A new vehicle will then be purchased for Mr. Smythe. PAINTING 500,000 GALLON WATER TANK There was much discussion on the City's 500,000 gallon water tank and the fact that it still has not been properly repainted by our contractors, Universal Tank. The City Manager presented an overview of the entire pro- ject and explained that the one year warranty inspection had revealed that much of the interior paint below the water line was cracked and peel- ing. He stated that more than a year after the warranty inspection the contractors returned to Clermont in March of 1984 to inspect the tank and stated that they would do a commercial blast on the tank (remove the flaking paint) and repaint the interior. Mr. Stephen Pinney, the City's Consultant on tank repainting, had stated that this method would not work. The only thing to do was blast the tank down to bare metal and then repaint the entire interior of the tank. It was explained that Universal Tank is not willing to perform this work. e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -4- Basically, the City has two options in this matter: (1) Agree with Universal Tank and allow them to do the commercial blast and repainting, with another one year performance bond on the project. Mr. Forbes stated that he recommended against accepting this alternative because the City's consultant had recommended that this method would not work, and in one year the tank would be in bad shape again. Two years have already gone by, and the matter is still not resolved; and in another year we would be back where we started, or (2) Try to negotiate a cash settlement on this matter. Mr. Forbes explained that he had spoken with officials from the Surety Loss Department of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. The possibility of a cash settlement was discussed with Mr. Joseph Milana, Assistant Vice President of the Surety Loss Department. The Council Members reviewed a proposed letter (dated July 31, 1984) the City Manager wished to send to the insurance company asking for a cash settlement, and requested that the City Manager change the last paragraph to state that the minimum cash settlement the City would accept would be $27,500. City Manager Forbes stated that he would do so and send the letter to Mr. Milana. Council Member Pool stressed the need to resolve the problem within the next few months. UTILITY RATES As discussed in previous workshops, Council Members agreed that this year the water, sewer and sanitation rates would not be increased. They also discussed the fact that the sewer rates must be increased in November of 1986 and that they would adopt a new proposed rate ordinance once it is approved by the EPA. UTILITY BENEFIT FEES The City Manager requested permission to find a consultant that would be willing to investigate the adequacy of the City's Utility Benefit Fees. It was the consensus of the Council that they had no objections to this request, and they asked that he report back to them on this matter. LEAGUE OF CITIES PENSION PLAN Mr. Forbes stated that as previously discussed, the League of Cities had been consulted regarding changing the City's Pension Plan from a defined benefit plan to a defined payment plan. He stated that within the next few months he would be getting back with the Council concerning this matter. FIRE DEPARTMENT The City Manager presented the Council the "Learn Not To Burn" fire safety program for children, and urged that the Fire Department be allowed to purchase the books for the elementary schools. The Council asked how many of the books would be needed. He stated that he believed that one age group should be chosen and it was not the intent to buy for every class. For example, the third grade could be chosen and the teachers taught to present the program with the assistance of the Clermont Fire Department. It was the consensus of the Council that this program was very beneficial. The Mayor stated that he would be speaking with the new elementary principal tomorrow and asked to take the program with him. WORK RELEASE EMPLOYEES IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT There was much discussion regarding the use of work release employees from LCI in the Public Works Department. Three were e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -5- used for the Parks Crews and two in trash collection. The City Manager stated that over the past several years problems had cropped up over the utilization of these personnel. While at this time, he was not recommending making any changes, he stated that he believed within the next few years the City may be required to reduce its reliance on work release employees. It was the consensus of the Council for the City Manager to carefully monitor this matter and report back to Council if any major problems arise. This matter also will be discussed during the next budget year. AD VALOREM TAX RATE The Council agreed, as discussed at the previous Council Meeting, that the City would adopt the rollback rate which would bring in the same amount of revenues as the previous year, excluding new construction. The City's new rollback rate would be 2.626, whereas, the old rollback rate was 2.595. GARBAGE COLLECTION There was much discussion regarding the City's garbage collection service, and the City Manager requested that around the mid fiscal year (March), that the City investigate the possibility of front yard vs. rear yard collection service or a private collection service. It was the consensus of the Council that there would be no problems with investigating the various options in March. BORROW PIT It was explained that for ten years the City had a contract with the Oswalt Family on a borrow pit property located just south of Broome Street and west of Twelfth Street in Clermont. For ten years the pit has been used as a percolation pond for the waste treatment plant. The contract expired this year and states that the City must restore the borrow pit to its original condition. Dikes were added by the City ten years ago. The City Manager reviewed several proposals for reducing the dikes at the pit with widely varying prices. The City Manager recommended that the low price of $3,800 from Hewitt Contractors be discussed during the next Council Meeting and work performed immediately with funds from Utility Department Contingencies. It was the consensus of the Council to bring this matter before Council at the next meeting, but only after an ad is placed in the newspaper to see if anyone else is interested in performing the required work. It was also discussed that a member of the Oswalt Family should oversee the work with the Utility Department to see that it is done properly. GROVE REHABILITATION There was much discussion regarding the citrus trees which serve as a buffer strip at the City's sprayfield site. Mr. Forbes asked what the Council wanted to do with this buffer strip, and whether citrus should be replanted or some other type of buffer strip made. The pros and cons of replanting citrus were discussed in great detail. Ginny Henry mentioned the possibility of planting and harvesting trees as a potential use for this location. The number of trees and amount acreage were discussed in great detail. It was the consensus of the Council that the City receive proposals for removing the dead citrus trees and installing a new grove. e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -6- The City Manager asked what type of trees should be planted and the Council stated that the City Staff should make various recommendations for Council approval. Account 535-4670 Repair and Maintenance of Systems was increased by $7,000 or from $17,600 to $24,600. The City Manager explained that $12,000 of this money would be for replanting part of the grove and sprayfield maintenance. With only $12,000 for grove maintenance it may take several years for the City to totally replant the buffer strip. The remainder of funds in this account would be $6,000 for sewer line cleaning, $600 for sand and drying beds, $3,000 for manhole repairs, and $3,000 for sludge removal. EMPLOYEE SALARIES There was discussion regarding employee salaries and the City's pay plan. The City Manager stated that, if there were no Council objections, he would be giving Department Heads increases based upon their performance and attainment of goals set each year. He stated that 4% would be given to each employee for a cost of living increase and a total of 2% of all salaries would be budgeted for merit increases. He then read the list of Department Heads and the estimated amount they would be making with a 6% increase. Mr. Forbes explained, however, that the exact salaries would be set by him based on each employees performance. The City Council had no problems with or objections to this matter. The Council also agreed to budget a 6% increase for the City Manager beginning October 1, 1984. Mayor Beals and Council Member Cole left the meeting at 10:00 p.m. with other business. The City Manager asked the other Council Members to stay because he had further business about the waste treatment plant to discuss. WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION The City Manager discussed the wastewater treatment plant expansion with those Council Members present. He explained that this was an extremely complex project and that it was especially complicated because both FmHA and EPA funds were being used. He stated that the City had submitted its User Charges and Sewer Use Ordinance for DER approval, and their preliminary comments were that there should be no problems with either of these items. FmHa recently approved the City's loan portion of this project, but they would not allow the City to proceed with any construction until the bonds were validated for the entire project. This presents a problem because EPA regulations require the City to begin construction within nine months after receiving approval. Construction was to begin on Lift Station #6 in December. The other problem which has arisen is that the project is divided into three segments. One for the construction of Lift Station #6, the second work at the sprayfield, and the third work on the treatment plant itself. FmHA policy does not allow the project to be divided into three segments. Their policy is to let all contracts at the same time to insure there is no cost overrun. Mr. Forbes stated that this problem could be overcome by letting bids for Lift Station #6 in December which is a small portion of the total project. Contracts for the sprayfield and the treatment plant would be let at the same time. FmHA will agree to this, but e e CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES WORKSHOP MEETING August 1, 1984 Page -7- it will require a schedule change with EPA. In order to continue with the construction schedule, the City must obtain I' contours and a survey of the Sunderman property the City wishes to purchase. However, the City cannot purchase this property or even discuss a price until we receive notification from the EPA stating the price we can offer for the land. The City Manager also stated that the FmHA would not accept some of the Engineering Contracts submitted to the EPA. They would require the City to use a joint EPA-FmHA Contract which the FmHA had already negotiated. The City Manager stated that we would be required to change contracts, and that he was investigating what the City had approved and what FmHA standards were. In conclusion, he explained that the wastewater treatment plant expansion project was extremely complicated, but he would keep the Council informed. He also stated that the City will need to request funds to pay Engineering fees from the City's Capital Improvement Fund. The City's request to upgrade the present waste treatment plant from 600,000 to 700,000 gpd also was discussed. Mr. Forbes stated that all work had been submitted to the State DER on this matter and the City was able to calculate the plant could take 700,000 gpd. The DER was now asking if the City's sprayfield could handle the 700,000 gpd. Our Engineer has stated that it could and the proper data will be submitted to the DER, and we hope to resolve this situation in the very near future. SPRAYFIELD It was discussed that one-third of the sprayfield's hay crop is poor. The hay contractor, Chuck Kuharske, had agreed that at the next cutting he would start paying $100 as part of his lease agreement. However, he has requested that the City pay for the next fertilizing of the crop since one-third of it was not up to his standards. The City Manager stated that he would discuss this with the Council at the next meeting, and that we should agree to Mr. Kuharske's request. Council Member Pool requested that Mr. Forbes obtain a cost estimate for fertilizing. SLUDGE The City Manager also explained that the City may have to have its sludge rerated from a Class I to a Class II due to a high copper content. Class I means that the City is not required to get a permit for disposal. The Utility Director is testing various manholes in the City to see where the copper is coming from. It could be coming from homes with copper pipe or from some commercial firm. The matter is being investigated, and the City Manager will report back to the Council. There being no further business, the ~g adjourned at 11:00 _~ 13. (3..~" tL Charles B. Beals, Mayor p.m. Attest: