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01-28-1992 Regular Meeting CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 • A Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Clermont was held Tuesday, January 28, 1992, in the Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Pool with the following Council Members in attendance: Mayor Pro Tem Turville, Council Member Ivey, Council Member Norquist and Council Member Cole. Other City Officials present were City Manager Saunders, Finance Director Van Zile, Planning Director Van Zile and Deputy City Clerk Brandt. INVOCATION The Invocation was offered by Council Member Ivey followed by the' repeating of The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag by all present. MINIITES The minutes of the Regular Council Meeting held January 14, 1992 were approved as presented. REPORTS CITY MANAGER SAUNDERS' REPORT LEAGUE OF CITIES AWARDS BANQUET & QIIARTERLY DINNER MEETING It was reported that the next League of Cities Quarterly Dinner Meeting and Awards Banquet, co-sponsored by the Orlando Sentinel, would be held on February il, 1992, the evening of the next regularly scheduled Council Meeting. City Manager Saunders stated that at this time, he did not have anything scheduled for the Council Meeting, and he then asked the Council if they wished to cancel the meeting or reschedule it for another time in order to be able to attend the League Banquet. 92-020 After a brief discussion, A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLE SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER NOROUIST AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO CANCEL THE_FEBRUARY 11. 1992 COUNCIL MEETING. All those who planned to attend were asked to make their reservations with Julie at City Hall by the end of next week. WORKSHOP MEETING City Manager Saunders stated that if there were no objections, he would like to conduct a Workshop Meeting on Thursday, February 13, 1992, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Conference Room. There were no objections. COUNCIL MEMBER IVEY'8 REPORT Council Member Ivey reported that he had attended a very informative seminar concerning Government in the Sunshine last week. He also stated that as the City's liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, he had attended the Chamber's yearly planning meeting where community attractiveness was emphasized for the coming year. C~ CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -2- MAYOR POOL'S REPORT PROPOSED RATE INCREASEB - FLORIDA POWER 6 QNITED TELEPHONE Mayor Pool reported that he had received notice that Florida Power was asking for a 10$ rate increase before the Public Service Commission to build four new generators. It was also reported that United Telephone was also asking for rate increases, which the Mayor stated he felt were ridiculous and excessive in light of the recent increase the City of Clermont experienced for the expanded service area. Mayor Pool further stated that he would be attending the public hearing before the Public Service Commission on March 16, 1992 to express the City's opposition to the proposed rate increase. He then asked the Council to consider passing a Resolution or writing a letter to the PSC expressing the same. PALATLARAHA RECREATION AREA It was reported that someone has been using the football/soccer field at the park as a driving range and leaving a great number of divots. It was suggested that a sign listing the rules and regulations of the park be posted to prevent this from happening. Council Member Ivey concurred, and stated that he had been down to the park and someone had turned on the lights to the tennis court in order to illuminate the area so he could change the oil in his car. In conclusion, Mayor Pool stated that he was irritated by an article written in the Sentinel by a Mr. Graves concerning various parks in Lake County and not one mention was made of the Palatlakaha Recreation Area. IINFINISHED BOSINESS FINAL READING OF ORDINANCE 241-M Mayor Pool explained that this was a request to rezone approximately 1.23 acres from R-1-A to R-1 located on Minnehaha Avenue just east of Disston Avenue and south of the Willows Townhouses. He then read the ordinance by title only. As background information, City Manager Saunders explained that the R-1-A property was originally 150' deep, however, the north 45' of the property was rezoned and included in the Willows project when it was constructed. Several months ago the owner of the property placed a request for R-2 Multi-Family zoning for this property but withdrew the request before it was heard by Planning and Zoning. The request is now for R-1 Single Family development, which would allow six lots to be platted in the area, rather than the five R-1- A lots. The other differences would include a 7.5' side yard setback, rather than the 9' setback; front yard setback of 25' as opposed to the 35' required in the R-1-A, and a minimum house size of 1,000 square feet as opposed to 1,200 square feet for R-1-A. • CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -3- Jay Vander Meer, one of the partners of the Highway 50 Trust, appeared before Council and stated that originally they had asked that the property be rezoned R-2 Multi-Family but withdrew the request because he had been reminded that during the public hearing on the Willows property, he had made the statement that in the future single family homes would be developed on the property and he would stand by his word. He then stated that two of the proposed six lots would be 102' x 105'~and the four remaining lots would be 77' x 105'. Mr. Vander Meer further stated that across the street from the property was a duplex and a home with an apartment and the Willows Townhouses were located behind the property. Mayor Pool then called for comments from those present and Ellis Konsler, representing the Willows Homeowners' Association, appeared before Council to state his opposition to the request. Mr. Konsler expressed his concern that the smaller lots and smaller sized homes which could be built on the lots might not be kept up properly which would adversely affect the Willows property which was kept up nicely. He then presented the Council a petition signed by the Willows residents opposing the request. There were no more public comments. Council Member Turville then read Paragraph 3 of a letter from John W. Stark, Trustee for the property located at 1419 Disston Avenue, which opposed the request and stated: "When these property owners bought this property they knew the zoning and accepted that zoning. It is not the duty of the surrounding property owners to lower the value of their property to benefit these owners asking for the change in zoning." After reading the paragraph, Council Member Turville stated that at the time the Willows was being developed the subject property was left with enough square footage to keep the R-1-A zoning with the rear yard line kept as a break between the zones, and he did not feel that it was appropriate to change this or make the street the dividing line between zones. He further stated that if allowed, he believed the request to be down zoning of the property. Jack Sargent, Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, who was present in the audience, was asked the reason for the Commission recommending approval of the request. Mr. Sargent stated that the Commission felt the requested R-1 designation for the property would offer a natural break between the R-1-A zoned property on the south side of the street and the R-2 designated Willows property. Mayor Pool commented that two of the proposed lots exceeded the square footage of R-1-A lot requirements and the remaining four lots exceeded the minimum square footage requirements of the R-1 zoning designation. Council Member Norquist, who is a building contractor by profession, commented from a professional standpoint that a house is built to sell and the lot size does not influence what is built • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTE REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -4- on it. He then cited examples of large, expensive homes built on smaller lots to make his point. Mayor Pool asked Planning Director Harker his opinion of the request. Mr. Harker stated that he would make the same recommendation as he did to the Planning and Zoning Commission. As to what would be built on the property or how it would be taken care of would be a judgement call and you would not know what will happen until the property is developed. Council Member Ivey stated that he believed that Mr. Vander Meer showed integrity by withdrawing his first request and then cited examples of the types of "mixed uses" existing around the subject property. He also stated that a larger home could be built on a smaller lot because 40~ coverage is allowed. After much discussion of the possible types of development which might occur on the property, City Manager Saunders stated that you cannot put conditions on a rezoning request. However, the owner of the property could put deed restrictions on the property setting certain standards for setbacks or square footage. After some further discussion, Jay Vander Meer stated that he would be willing to require 35' front yard setbacks and a minimum house size of 1,200 square feet, in keeping with R-1-A requirements. At this point City Manager Saunders commented that perhaps a 30' front yard setback should be considered to' match the setback of the home on the corner which was built prior to the current requirements and is set back approximately 30~. It was pointed out that smaller rear yards may require variances for screened rooms porches, etc. It was also pointed out that the lots would have to be replatted and approved by the City Council. 92-021 A MOTION WAS THEN MADE BY COIINCIL MEMBER NOROIIIBT. SECONDED BY COIINCIL MEMBER IVEY AND CARRIED BY A FOIIR TO ONE ROLL CALL VOTE WITH COIINCIL MEMBER TURVILLE VOTING NAY TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 241-M REZONING THE DESCRIBED PROPERTY FROM R-1-A TO R-1 IIRBAN RESIDENTIAL. THE ORDINANCE WAS READ BY TITLE ONLY BY MAYOR POOL. 80LID WASTE City Manager Saunders stated that he had met with the Lake County League of Cities Committee this morning. As background information, he recapped what had transpired concerning tipping fee inequities. In December the City Council directed the City Staff to start withholding 27~ of the tipping fees charged by Lake County with the January billing, which was the percentage calculated by a Committee of the League of Cities using the consultants reports prepared for Lake County. However, since that time the County proposed a 6$ credit, which was rejected by the League of Cities. Subsequently a joint meeting was held with County Commissioner Catherine Hanson, Lake County Staff and the League of Cities Committee to try to find some common ground for the percentage of inequity. A formula was agreed upon which would remove as many of • CITYOF CLERMONT MINLTT~S REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -5- the uncertainties as possible, such as the estimated tonnage amounts. The data used in the formula was put together by the Lake County Staff and reviewed by the League Committee and was presented at a joint meeting last week with Catherine Hanson, the Lake County Staff and the League Committee present. The calculated inequity under this formula was 20.3$. It was further reported that during the meeting the County Staff began asking questions regarding the formula and they indicated they had calculated the inequity using another method counting only occupied homes instead of all homes, and came up with a 13.5$ inequity. Because of the new disagreement over figuring the inequity, the Committee rejected this and decided that each City would have to make their own determination. Having brought the Council and those present up-to-date on the meetings, Mr. Saunders stated that at this morning's meeting the County Commission had requested that the cities hold off on withholding any money at this time because they were in the process of renegotiating a contract with Ogden-Martin for the incinerator and withholding tipping fees could put the whole system in jeopardy. The argument presented for holding off was that the cities are now paying less than the $65/ton in tipping fees which could have been enacted last October. Council Member Turville, reiterated his position against the incinerator and stated that maybe they should be in jeopardy because due to the toxic waste coming from the incinerator, the County will be required to retrofit the incinerator before they even figure out how to pay for it. Much discussion ensued concerning the inequities and expenses involved with operating the incinerator. It was also mentioned that the Tax Assessor's office would not collect any special assessment for garbage collection on the yearly tax statements without a vote of the people. If the county would bill it themselves, it would cost approximately $400,000 to set up the system according to County Staff. It was also mentioned that during the past week the County Commission again failed to make a decision and voted instead to conduct a straw ballot the first Tuesday in March regarding assessments for disposal and collection of garbage. Mayor Pool then asked City Manager Saunders for his recommendation as to what action the Council should take on this matter. City Manager Saunders stated that although he agreed with what had been said and he hated to back off at this point, but the County has shown that they are trying to remedy the situation. Council Member Ivey then stated that he believed that the issue should be resolved now because it has been dragging on for more than a year, and for more than four months the cities have been talking about withholding the overpayment in tipping fees. Mayor Pool then asked the Council if they believed that the County was acting in good faith and if they did, should the City adopt a • CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1991 PAGE -6- position of working with them by not withholding the tipping fees or if not, by standing our ground and withholding the tipping fees. After some further discussion, it was the consensus of Council to maintain its position of withholding the tipping fees. Considering this, City Manager Saunders recommended that the City Council amend the recommendation made last month from the 27$ withholding to 20.3$. It was explained that under this the City would also recoup an amount equivalent to 20.3$ of the total tipping fees billed to the City for the period March 1, 1991 through December 31, 1991. The incinerator came on line March 1, 1991. In addition, once the overpayment is recouped, future payments would be reduced 20.3$. It was further explained that all amounts withheld would be placed in a separate city escrow account. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLE SECONDED BY COUNCIL 92-022 MEMBER TURVILLE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED TO WITHHOLD AND PLACE IN ESCROW AMOUNTS EQUIVALENT TO 20.3$ OF THE TOTAL TIPPING FEES BILLED TO THE CITY FROM MARCH 1, 1991 THROUGH DECEMBER 31. 1991. IN ADDITION TO THE 20.3$ FROM ALL FUTURE PAYMENTS. NEW BUSINESS INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE 242-M Mayor Pool read the Ordinance by title only. City Manager Saunders explained we now have an emergency ordinance in place that left our sanitation rates at last year's level rather than imposing the $2 per month increase that was needed if the County raised the tipping fee from $40 to $65/ton as they had indicated they would do as of last October 1st. He then recommended that the rate ordinance be changed to reflect the prior charges, as included in the Ordinance. It was further explained that when the County Commission finally decides to change the rates, the City will recalculate any needed adjustment at that time. Passage of Ordinance 242-M will eliminate the need to adopt an emergency ordinance every sixty days. 92-023 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER IVEY AND SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE TO INTRODUCE ORDINANCE 242-M. The final reading and Public Hearing for the Ordinance will take place February 25, 1992. RESOLUTION NO. 746 City Manager Saunders explained that this resolution will amend two sections of the Personnel Policy regarding holiday pay. Under the old policy an employee had to be classified as a permanent employee, which means he must have completed his probationary period before receiving holiday pay. This provision has been eliminated, to allow employees to receive holiday pay during their probationary time. The other provision that has been deleted stated that an employee who missed fifteen days of work prior to a holiday for any reason would not receive holiday pay. It is very conceivable an employee could have approved annual or sick leave prior to a holiday and should not be penalized for this. • ~ CITYOF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -7- Approval was also requested to pay those employees who did not receive their holiday pay this past Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays due to that provision. Mayor Pool then called for comments and no one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the proposed changes. 92-024 A MOTION WAS THEN MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE. SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER IVEY AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #746 AND TO PAY THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO DID NOT RECEIVE THEIR HOLIDAY PAY FOR THANKSGIVING. CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S HOLIDAYS. The Resolution was read by title only by Mayor Pool. RESOLUTION NO. 747 Mayor Pool read the resolution by title only and explained that it authorizes the City to apply for a Highway Beautification Grant. City Manager Saunders thanked Karen Turville for her work on the grant as Chairwoman of the Beautification Committee and explained that the Committee has been working on a plan to landscape portions of the Highway 50 and Highway 27 intersection, as well as the medians on Highway 50 west of Twelfth Street. The grant, if received would be a 50 - 50 matching grant in the amount of $5,954 with the City's share being in labor and maintenance. Mayor Pool called for comments from those present and Council Member Turville stated that he believed the City should do something concerning the intersection even if we do not get the grant because it has not been properly maintained by the Department of Transportation and is becoming an eyesore. 92-025 A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER TURVILLE SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COLE AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 747 AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO APPLY FOR A HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION GRANT. The Resolution was read by title only by Mayor Pool. PUBLIC COMMENTS PALATLARAHA RECREATION AREA TENNIS COURTS LIGHTS Under this portion of the meeting it was brought up that the lights at the new tennis courts were often on and no one was playing. It was explained by City Manager Saunders that the timer was set for one hour increments and at 10:00 p.m. the lights go off permanently, no matter if the button was pushed at 10 minutes to 10:00 p.m. It was explained that the cycle could be shortened but it takes a great deal of energy to bring the system up. However, once it is on, it operates very efficiently. PUBLIC WORKS FACILITY City Manager Saunders reported that the new Public Works facility was completed and the final inspection would be conducted in the next day or so. He then mentioned that as previously discussed, an Open House would be held possibly on February 8, 1992 from 9:00 to • CITY OF CLERMONT MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 28, 1992 PAGE -8- noon. The Council will be notified when the plans are finalized. There being no further business or discussion, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Robert A. Pool, Mayor Attest: